Wednesday, 1 January 2025
Tuesday, 31 December 2024
effervescence (12. 128)
Having previously explored the physics of tiny bubbles, we enjoyed this deep dive that brings together the study of flutes and coupes, the fermentation process and the celebrated through probably apocryphal declaration by Dom Pierre Pรฉrignon that he was tasting the stars, which nonetheless has its place above earthly bounds insofar that the science behind it fizzy drinks also has applications in aerosols, cloud formation and carbon-sequestration on our planet and beyond. The article circles back to the glass and the toast with suggestions to optimise effervescence and all the factors, virtual sytnhesis of synaesthesia, that effect the palette. More BBC features correspondent Nicola Jones at the link above.
fifty-two more things (12. 127)
Following the tradition of Tom Whitwell and others, Kottke directs our attention to the index of weekly lessons gleaned from the most interesting items encountered by Kent Hendricks. 
There are a lot of engrossing, data-driven behavioural nudges in this rather disabusing list showing that correlation is not causation necessarily, like the increased likelihood of receiving an ADHD diagnosis on 31 October because kids are excited about Halloween trick-or-treating—unrelatedly, the third most popular podcast in America is entirely about telling parents that their kids are not autistic but rather telepathic—swears have a measurable effect on endurance and strength and the tyranny of trendy baby names. A few items we had also come across, like Russia’s suit against Google amounting to a googol and diocese of the Moon. Most were however very new to us and we also liked the study that, objectively, showed AI’s carbon footprint is less than a human’s as they can perform the same task, writing an essay, creating a picture, in far less time and the amount of energy expended (see also further down about metabolic loads and caloric costs) and CO₂ expelled by a biological foil is far greater or that the Cocaine Bear was taxidermied and is licensed to officiate marriages in Kentucky. Check it out and let us know what are your favourites.
synchronoptica
one year ago: AC/DC’s first gig (with synchronoptica), assorted links worth revisiting, Holy Mountain (1973), the chimes of Big Ben plus a New Year countdown
seven years ago: 2017 in review, the Anywhere on Earth archival rule, more on the Greenwich Time Signal plus racing home for New Year’s
eight years ago: biodegradable bullets plus New Year’s greetings
nine years ago: more year end lists plus Saint Silvester
ten years ago: x-ray film bootleg vinyls, the origins of the ball drop plus welcoming 2015
Monday, 30 December 2024
pray, observe the magnanimity (12. 126)
Following a soft-opening on this day in 1879 at the in hopes to forestall another episode of “copyright piracy,” Gilbert and Sullivan held the official premiere of their comic opera on New Year’s Eve at Fifth 
Avenue Theatre of New York City. The perfunctory but well attended and critically acclaimed performance was staged by a touring company in order to secure a British copyright in Paignton near Torquay, and with American law at the time respecting no foreign intellectual property rights, the collaborators with a US premiere hoped to avoid an encore of the previous year’s debut of HMS Pinafore, successful in London but rapidly taken up by American acting troupes with some one hundred and fifty unauthorised productions that took license with the libretto and netted no royalties for the authors. Publication of the score was also delayed until their reputation and credentials could be cemented, the show opening in London the following April. Both transatlantic runs were very well received and the narrative of an apprentice being released from his indenturehood with a sort of rumspringa from the impressment he was accustomed to (pirate tropes were quite in fashion at the time) and the piece endures as the duo’s most performed and referenced works.
green-eyed monster (12. 125)
Via Miss Cellania, we are referred to the annual roundup (since 2015) of Bloomberg/Businessweek editors of contributors nominating the stories they wish they’d written, capturing some of the best journalism of the year with their Jealousy List with articles that they wished that they had scooped or otherwise explored more in depth. We especially enjoyed how traditional media is assaying influencer and how a compelling and insightful narrative can come out of tradwives, furry conventions and the limits of fandom. The by-lines for who nominated each piece are good recommendations to follow on Bluesky after the last exodus from Twitter. The entire index is worth browsing through—do let us know which is captivating and contrite.
mmxxiv (12. 124)
As this calendar draws to a close and we look forward to 2025, we again take time to reflect on a selection of some of the things and events that took place during the past year. Thanks as always for visiting. We’ve made it through another wild year together.
january: The ruling Progressive Democratic Party secures the presidency in Taiwan, along with Bangladesh and the Marshall Island, kicking off the biggest year for elections. The International Criminal Court rules that Israel must take all measures to curb genocidal conduct in Gaza but falls short of ordering the halt of the incursions. Japan lands on the Moon. february: Violent volcanic eruptions force evacuation in Iceland. King Charles III announces he has cancer and will step away from public-facing duties for the present. Ex-Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson interviews Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Special council investigating Joe Biden’s unauthorised retention of classified material from his vice-presidency opts not to press charges, citing the US president’s failing memory. Long time host of NPR’s Morning Edition, Bob Edwards, has died, aged 76. Israeli forces push further into Palestine, escalating raids in Rafah. Jon Stewart returns as host of the Daily Show after a nine year hiatus. Opposition leader and Putin critic Alexie Navalny found dead in remote arctic penal colony where he was detained for the past three years. The Supreme Court of Alabama has declared frozen embryos legal persons and fearing for legal peril, university clinics in the state have suspended in-vitro fertilisation procedures in response to the ruling. One hundred thousand protest votes of uncommitted for Joe Biden are cast against Joe Biden in the Michigan Democratic primarily over his support for Israel. Veteran senator and Trumpism foil and sometimes enabler, Mitch McConnell, announces he will step down as leader of the Republican Party in November. Dissident Nalvany is permitted a public funeral.march: Fashion doyenne Iris Apfel passes away, aged 102. One day ahead of the Super Tuesday primaries, the US Supreme Court ruled that no state can keep Trump off the ballot. Over a hundred Palestinians are massacred by Israeli force as they rush a rare relief convoy entering the besieged city of al-Rashid. Nikki Haley drops out of the race for the Republican party nomination for presidential candidate.
Joe Biden delivers a wide-ranging, fiery and impassioned State of the Union address, remonstrating that one cannot just love their country when one’s side is winning. Dragon Ball Z creator Akira Toriyama passed away, aged 68. Facing an imminent ground incursion into Rafah, the Speaker of the US Senate called for Israeli elections and regime change, as America’s petition for an immediate ceasefire was vetoed in the UN by Russia and China. Accused of monopolistic practises harmful to innovation and consumers in the “superior smart phone” market, the US department of justice files an antitrust lawsuit against Apple. Wild media speculation left the royal family with little choice about coming forward with the Princess of Wales cancer diagnosis. A terrorist attack at a music venue on the outskirts of Moscow kills dozens, burns down the concert hall. A abstention by the US during a UN ceasefire vote allows the resolution to pass, triggering the ire of the Israeli government though the assault on Gaza continues unabated. april: Seven humanitarian aid workers of World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli airstrike whilst travelling along a pre-authorised aid corridor to bring food to the starving outside of Deir al-Balah. Israel
kills several top Iranian generals in a bombing of the country’s embassy in Damascus, Syria. A powerful earthquake strikes Taiwan, displacing thousands. Actor and comedian Joe Flaherty passes away, aged 82. Mรฉxico severs diplomatic relations with Ecuador after raid on its embassy in Quito resulted in the apprehension of the former Ecuadorian president seeking asylum there. OJ Simpson passes away, aged 76. Iran launches a barrage of projectiles at Israel in retaliation for its attack on an embassy in Syria. The historic Bรธrsen of Copenhagen is severely damaged by fire. Unprecedented flood inundates the Gulf of Arabia. Israel strikes back against Iranian military installations. In an extraordinary Saturday session, the US House after months of delay passes separate foreign aid packages for Taiwan, Israel and Ukraine. The US Federal Communications Commission votes to restore net-neutrality. Fresh from declaring being poor a crime, the US Supreme Court entertains Trump’s claim for presidential immunity. The criminal trial against Trump stemming from a hush-money payment made to a porn-star begin in Manhattan. may: Protest rage on college campuses across the United States for the country’s materiel support for Israel and the universities’ financial ties in the ongoing assault on Palestine.
Author Paul Auster passes away, aged 77. A second whistleblower formerly employed by Boeing dies within the space of month. Labour sees big gains in UK local elections. Stormy Daniels gives testimony in the Trump trial. US announces pauses in delivering Israel materiel aid after resolution for incursions into Rafah. Legendary grindhouse director Roger Corman passes away, aged 98. Author Alice Munroe passes away at 92. The president of Slovakia narrowly survives an assassination attempt. The president and foreign minister of Iran die in a helicopter crash near Azerbaijan. The Internation Criminal Court of the Hague issues arrest warrants for Israeli leader Benjamin Netayahu and Hamas in Gaza head Yahya Sinwar. China conducts provocative military drills around Taiwan, expressing dissatisfaction with the newly elected president. Russian air assaults continue against Ukraine. Ireland and Norway join Spain in recognising the state of Palestine, while Israel presses on with incursions into Rafah despite condemnation from the UN.june: Mรฉxico elects its first woman president to continue the liberal and progressive policies of her predecessor. 
july: Labour wins in the UK General Election. France’s second round of voting keeps the extreme right from power. Iran elects progressive reformist Masoud Pezeshkian. Actor Shelley Duvall passes away, aged 75.
Just ahead of the US Republican National Convention, an assassination attempt was made against presumptive party candidate Trump, who forty-eight hours later announces junior senator from the state of Ohio, JD Vance as his running-mate. Ursula von der Leyen reelected as European Commission president. Veteran actor Bob Newhart has died, aged 94. A massive IT outage linked to Windows PCs disrupts banks, travel and media outlets globally. Israeli president Netanyahu addresses the US congress with thousands protesting his presence as the assault on Gaza continues. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed during a raid by the Israeli Defence Forces on his compound in Tehran. Joe Biden calls for radical reform for the US supreme court, including term limits, an enforceable code of ethics and a constitutional amendment limiting broad immunity from prosecution for holders of the high office. august: a prisoner-exchange sees American journalists detained in Russia freed. Anti-immigration riots spread violence in Sunderland over several days. Trump agrees to debate Harris but only on his terms.
Global stock markets had a case of the Mondays and sharply decline faced with a possible US recession and opposing currency policies. Kalama Harris picks Minnesota congressman Tim Walz as her running-mate in the American presidential election. Google found in violation of anti-trust laws for its monopolistic practises in advertising and creating a walled-garden. During the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Joe Biden formally and symbolically passes the torch to Harris and Walz in a moving speech capping a fifty-year political career. Potential spoiler candidate independent RFK Jr drops out of the US presidential race and endorses Trump, who in exchange vows to declassify more files on the Kennedy assassination. French authorities detain Telegram founder Pavel Durov at the ORLY departure lounge over lack of moderation on the platform abetting organised crime.september: the Israeli public call for a nation-wide general strike after the bodies of six hostages held by Hamas are recovered over the government’s handling of the war that has lasted nearly a year with no signs of ending.
Consummate, veteran actor James Earl Jones has passed away, aged 93. Trump and Harris hold a televised debate, meeting one another face-to-face for the first time. China raises its retirement age for the first time since the 1950s. Catastrophic floods strike central Europe, with thousands displaced in Poland and Czechia. After a series of deadly knife attacks, German reintroduces checks at all of its land borders. A second assassination attempt on Trump is thwarted as he is golfing on one of his courses. Israel planted explosive devices in thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah months ahead of a coordinated explosion that killed nine individuals and wounded hundreds. Tens of thousands evacuate southern Lebanon as Israeli airstrikes intensify, killing over five hundred individuals. The king of Thailand signs same-sex marriage bill into law, making the
nation third in the Asian-Pacific region to recognise LGBTQ+ equality
after Taiwan and Nepal. Veteran actor Maggie Smith passes away, aged 89. New York City mayor Eric Adams indicted on fraud and corruption charges. Continuing to bombard Beirut, Israeli Defence Forces have killed Hezbollah senior leader Hassan Nasrallah. Singer-songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson dead at 88. Israel launches a limited ground offensive into southern Lebanon. october: Former American president Jimmy Carter turns 100. US ports shut down as dockworkers go on strike. Tehran fires a barrage of hundreds of missiles into Israel. The Europa Clipper is launched to study the Jovian satellite.
As Palestinians continue to be displaced by violence in Gaza and the West Bank, Israel has expanded combat operations into Lebanon, Iran and Yemen. Trump is interviewed by podcaster Joe Rogan. Israeli Defence Forces kill Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, with Israel vowing to take Rafah. Israel bombs weapons depots near Tehran as the forced depopulation of northern Gaza continues. Moldova holds a referendum, narrowly deciding to pursue EU membership. Parliamentary election results in Georgia are rejected by president Salome Zourabichvili, who calls for mass rally and investigation into voting irregularities that gave the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party a controlling majority. North Korea deploys ten thousand soldiers to Russia to fight in western Ukraine. Israel bans the UN agency for Palestinian refugees from operating in the occupied territory while bombing a five storey apartment complex in northern Gaza, killing scores. Scores of people are killed as flooding ravages Valencia. november: Veteran entertainment producer Quincy Jones dead at 91. Following a controversial outcome in Georgia, Moldova re-elects pro-Brussels government of Maia Sandu. Elon Musk to spend election night with Trump watching returns—handing over executive control of X to the former president. Donald Trump is re-elected as the president of the United States.
The coalition government of Germany collapses. Australia bans social media for youths under sixteen years of age. Canada orders Tik-Tok to cease operations in the country but lets users keep the app and continue making content. Already ravaged by successive hurricanes that has rendered the country’s electrical grid inoperable, an earthquake strikes Cuba. Youtube celebrity Jake Paul fights Mike Tyson to an audience of sixty-million. Russia launches a major attack on Ukrainian infrastructure, and Biden authorises the use of long-range missiles into Russian territory. Pope Francis calls for investigations to determine whether Israeli forces are engaging in genocide in Palestine. Thomas E Kurtz, co-inventor of BASIC, passes away, aged 96. The International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahyu, former defence minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, possibly killed by an Israeli airstrike in July, for war crimes in the prosecution of the offensive in Palestine. After thirty-five years with the show, Pamela Hayden announces her retirement from The Simpsons. Israel and Hezbollah reach a truce to stop the war in Lebanon. Trump announced a tranche of punitive tariffs for Canada, Mexico and China that will only punish US businesses and consumers, a possibly add to inflationary pressure at the supermarket, a major factor in re-electing Trump to office. Syrian rebels take Aleppo as government forces retreat. 
december: Trump nominates Kash Patel to head FBI, prompting Biden to give his son a blanket pardon. South Korea declares martial law. The CEO of a major America health insurance provider is assassinated in broad daylight in New York City. Romanian constitutional court annuls election after suspected Russian interference. Syrian rebels capture Damascus as Bashar al-Assad reported flees the country. Taking advantage of the power vacuum, Israel launches heavy airstrikes on Syrian defences and infrastructure. The diet of South Korea votes to impeach the country’s president. Tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain passes away, aged 73. A day after being tried in absentia for the war crime of using chemical weapons, a top Russian general was assassinated by an exploding e-scooter in Moscow. The Pelicott rape case concludes in France. A vehicle-ramming attack strikes the Magdeburger Christmas Market. Russia accidentally downs an Azerbaijani civilian airplane while repelling Ukrainian attacks. Former US president Jimmy Carter passes away, aged 100. calendrical correspondence (12. 123)
In addition to aligning dates and days to the years 1986, 1997, 2003 and 2014, 2025 matches up with the calendar for 1975, due to its periodic nature. I wonder what events from a half-a-century might resonate and repeat for the upcoming year. Proximate to other quinquagenaries, we have touched on some of the anniversaries already, like the rise of Margaret Thatcher, the reopening of the Suez Canal, the fall of Saigon and the end of the Franco dictatorship, but we wonder what else the past might say about the present.
synchronoptica
one year ago: Dry January (with synchronoptica), 2023 in review, Sweden’s Words of the Year, defining the syllable, a look towards 2024 plus professional measurers
seven years ago: happy birthday to a veteran scientist, more on making God gender-neutral, CB operators plus New Year’s Eve eve
eight years ago: assorted links worth revisiting plus Rankin and Bass theology
nine years ago: more links to enjoy, lampooning MAGA plus Fermi’s Paradox
ten years ago: new top level domains plus molybdomancy
Sunday, 29 December 2024
the boy who wouldn’t grow up (12. 122)
Released almost twenty years to the day after the stage adaptation on this day in 1924, J M Barrie’s novelisation of Peter and Wendy, the Paramount feature—then called Famous Players-Lasky, was considered to be a lost film for decades. The only known fragment of footage was in the promotional compilation, The House that Shadows Built, put together by the studio in 1931 to celebrate its twentieth anniversary and exhibit movies that never had a proper theatrical release which featured scenes from several silent-era pictures that only are extant as clips, sort of like the lost plays of Ancient Greece that only are referenced in footnotes. A well-preserved copy was found, however, in 1950 and prompted the Disney animated version a few years later. With fidelity for the original story, the Darlings ultimately adopt the Lost Boys and Wendy is allowed to return to Never Never Land once a year to assist with Spring Cleaning. Peter is played by Betty Bronson and George Ali acts as Nana the Dog (a Doug Jones, Andy Serkis of that time and a far better nursemaid than the Lost Boys had) and Crocodile.
