getting to philosophy (11. 854)

Reminiscent of other connections and daisy chains discovered in the linkages in the growing universe of articles, following the first hyperlink in the main text of a Wikipedia entry (in English at least) and repeating the process for subsequent pages will bring one ultimately to the article on the love of wisdom and the process of critical inquiry, some ninety-seven percent of the time, with the small remainder consisting of orphaned topics or a self-referencing tautologies. This phenomenon may be due to the recommended style of contributing and editing and points to a certain hierarchy of taxia. Because of the changing nature of online encyclopaedia, the number of steps it takes to arrive a philosophy can vary from day to day, sixteen paces from apple juice to the discipline and it would be interesting to see the outliers that take the most jumps. More from Open Culture at the link above.

the sammies (11. 853)

Via tmn, we learn of the awards ceremony hosted by the US Partnership for Public Service that acknowledges the seen and unnoticed efforts by contentious bureaucrats of the federal government, who many are presently reviling as the Deep State. Named for the late benefactor Samel J Heyman, businessman and philanthropist who encouraged recent graduates to pursue a career in government, the gala has been hosted annually during the first week in October in Washington, DC and a selection committee of journalists, politicians, educators and corporate executives nominates individuals in the categories of emerging leaders, citizen services, science and the environment and safety, security and international affairs plus employee of the year out of the pool of the two-and-a-half million who work for America’s largest employer. The awards ceremony is surprising moving and deserving of its monicker as the Oscars of government work.

synchronoptica

one year ago: rotating ramen (with synchronoptica)

seven years ago: a sanctuary of internet freedom, navel-gazing, antique Japanese hoardings, bacterial phages fight tumours plus more unbuilt architecture

eight years ago: more on the pioneers of Information Theory

ten years ago: more on Scottish secession 

eleven years ago: the US debt ceiling

10x10 (11. 852)

analogical harmony: Edwin Babbit’s Principles of Light and Colour (1878)  

riding the rails: a guide to a cross-country trip on America’s Amtrak

world level zero: how well travelled are you—see previously  

porifera: an appreciation of the barely understood sea sponge  

me and my aero: one inventor invented both the flying ring frisbee and an innovative coffee press—via Kottke  

type tuesday: Microsoft’s new default font (see previously here and here) and more typographical briefs  

the cry of cthuthu: Poseidon’s Underworld reads the July 1979 anniversary issue of Starlog—see previously

small world: kinetic microphotography captures biological processes and microbes in never-before-seen ways  

road trip: charting the longest possible drivable distance through Eurasia  

come up off your colour chart: Taylor Swift lyrical swatches

synchronoptica

one year ago: faithless electors (with synchronoptica) 

seven years ago: the stage play that coined race plus a legitimising veneer for populist prejudice

eight years ago: a visit to the Hessen Landtag

ten years ago: Roman emperor Hadrian 

eleven years ago: a photographic scavenger hunt in Leipzig plus gifting votes

anywho (11. 851)

Usually used in the sense of regardless or it is what it is, quand même has a range of meanings from acknowledging to dismissing an obstacle to interjection and emphasis—as well as a filler to signal that one is gathering their thoughts. We especially liked the nuance of the phrase’s rhetorical function—outcome deferred to suggest that one’s interlocutor probably does not have a good plan or acknowledging grâce salvatrice despite of one’s designs or execution. It hits all the definitions of utility of communication between sender and receiver: reference (context), poetic (coding, sloganising), emotive (hortatory), conative (imperative or invitational), phatic (salutary signals) and the metalingualtic, reflecting on the words themselves. I suppose a lot of words, especially spoken ones, admit this level of plasticity.

synchronoptica

one year ago: Outward Bound (with synchronoptica), German Star Trek plus assorted links worth revisiting

seven years ago: nostalgia and whataboutism plus I spy with my little AI

ten years ago: exploring the Baltic

twelve years ago: a series on music and rembrance

semi-obscure, guilty pleasure, cultural punchline (11. 850)

Planet Money directs us to an engrossing cross-over podcast episode from 99% Invisible on the fast-food enterprise that was singly responsible for the phenomena of the chain restaurant with its often copied by but no means faithfully reproduced White Castle System of Eating Houses, which was able to overcome a strong public aversion to the idea of eating ground beef—in patty form as a hamburger—directly attributable to the influential work by Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, about the unsanitary business of meat-packing by establishing a rigid regime of uniformity for its eateries, instilling assurance in customers with consistency and cleanliness through a range of programming and marketing. Though not as celebrated as another chain that opened later in the same city, White Castles first opened in Wichita, Kansas in the 1920s and expanded regionally to other college and factory towns but its innovation and legacy was overtaken by second-wave imitators usually given credit for the business model with their more aggressive expansion propelled by car-culture, restaurants built not in urban centres but along highways and byways, and franchising, something that the family-owned business never did lest the experience and reputation be sullied by out-sourcing the name. Whilst a bit of an insult for the misattribution of globalisation, in terms of menu and McWorld, White Castle has cultivated a different definition of success and has built a loyal fandom.

synchronoptica

one year ago: an old school webring (with synchronoptica) plus a logic-based constructed language

seven years ago: the Ig Noble Prize plus Big Tech to disrupt the corner shop

eight years ago: subway etiquette plus no assembly required 3D printed machines

eleven years ago: navigating new technology plus the problem with biometrics

twelve years ago: the Pope in Lebanon 

rough draft (11. 849)

The note taking app (I wonder a bit about the necessity and utility of this feature in the first place) introduced by Google this past year has an experimental mode that will generate a podcast hosted by a pair 

of interlocutors which will summarise one’s project and research material and help one brainstorm and make connections through “banter and back and forth,” with documents and sketch that one primes and prompts it with. At first I thought I wouldn’t subscribe to such an idea (no one asked for this, artificial intelligence should solve our big problems rather that make them more granular) given the limits of triangulation and the recourse to standard essay-structure of generative text but maybe this Audio Overview has some potential for reflection and insight, especially if one could tweak the hosts to the style of their favoured podcasters (to steer away from the doctrinaire and outright propaganda) and be consistent over several iterations.

high hats and arrow collars, white spats and lots of dollars (11. 848)

Although originally founded on Washington, DC’s F Street in 1867 in the capital’s shopping district, the luxury department store solidified its reputation on this day in 1924 with the opening of its flagship store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, next to St Patrick’s Cathedral, made possible by its merger with the Gimbel Brothers, Inc. (both chains founded by Bavarian immigrants). Ten other metropolitan retail sites were opened over the decades with seasonal boutiques operating in executive resorts and universities before turning suburban malls, then to catalogue sales, e-commerce and factory outlets.

inspeccionando las tropas (11. 847)

Via Super Punch, we discover Mexico’s newly elected president, Claudia Sheinbaum, visiting one of the country’s military academies and addressing an audience of cadets and alumni ahead of her inauguration ceremony scheduled for next month. Though by far the most interesting story is victory of this progressive individual with little significant dispute from her competition and the peaceable transfer of power, but the venue is also worth noting with those hulking modern buildings that look like something built by the Galactic Empire, the Heroico Colegio Militar’s Tlalpan central campus, completed in 1976. Located just south of the capital, it was designed by famed sculptor, poet and architect Agustín Hernández Navarro, recognised internationally for his monumental and futuristic ensembles, with references to pre-Columbian heritage, the Brutalist abstraction of the main hall is meant to invoke the Mayan god of rain Chaahk, also associated with warfare.