11x11 (12. 172)

concrete feats: the landmark Våga Water Tower on coast Varberg, Sweden  

ſpy v ſpy: a look at the world of espionage in the Middle Ages—via the new Shelton wet/dry 

obelisks: researchers discover a new form of life with circular RNA—that appear less alive than viruses  

we were wrong that day—we broke the law: convicted January Sixth capitol rioter known as MAGA Granny rejects clemency offer  

winning odds: a collection of vintage Japanese lottery tickets  

cinematic universe: The Goonies and Back to the Future happened on the same day in 1985—via Kottke  

шрифт: foundry excavating Ukrainian fonts from the underground  

dark web: Trump has granted an unconditional pardon to Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht 

red team: research students—under supervision recreate—viral pathogens identical to those that caused the 1918 influenza pandemic  

lexicon: a glossary of medieval words from Middle English whose meanings have shifted  

solar gate: 4D printed blinds mimic plants to open and close on their own

crash course (12. 171)

This is ghoulish and possibly what’s in store for the American educational system, its department defunded and tasked with eliminating itself and focused on removing all trace of guilt or bad feelings from school curricula (getting rid of critical race theory—as the MAGA party understands it, see previously here and here)—and other fields of study to preserve the pride of white Christian settlers and their ilk): via Damn Interesting’s Curated Links, we learn that a Utah-based edutainment start-up has summoned up an AI emulation of diarist Anne Frank, murdered at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp aged fifteen in 1945. Not only does the experience to be marketed to young pupils have the uncanniness of a tireless, overly accommodating docent and is unconscionably disrespectful to her memory and other victims, it gets biographical information incorrect and seems with some prodding to twist one of Frank’s more famous quotes, “in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart,” as a directive to deflect blame for the Holocaust on the Nazis. School districts seem quick to adopt these models with no regard for the philosophical implications, educational value (it seems rather antithetical to the entire lesson) or whether or not educators have any input or remedy for what such avatars dispense.

synchronoptica

one year ago: Arthur Miller’s The Crucible (with synchronoptica), artist Iris Wildros plus an art artefact

seven years ago: more colour stories, ecological treats plus Dr Seuss’ commercial work

eight years ago: Trump to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts, famous songs using borrowed tunes, global Hyper Loops plus American Carnage 1.0

nine years ago: the Mind Expanding programme of Hans-Rucker Co 

ten years ago: Euro/USD parity plus ageing and rejuvenation

pangram (12. 170)

In recreational and trivial mathematics, a pandigital number is value that uses its digits at least once (usually without redundancy), the first of which in base ten radix is 1 023 456 789 (one billion, twenty-three million, four hundred sixty five thousand seven hundred eight nine) and chiefly have applications in fiction and commercial advertising to display a sample credit card or identification document or phone number—reserved in many cases so they are associated with any real individual. The smallest number in Roman numerals is 1444—that is, MCDXLIV. A pandigital number in base thirty-six notation (heexatrigesimal) would use all numbers and all letters—except zero. Despite their non significant nature in terms of maths, they do possess some interesting and unexpected properties, such as the zeroless palindromic pandigital number 12345678987654321 is the square of 111111111—called a repunit—that is a number with only one digit.

so call me maybe (12. 169)

Via Quantum of Sollazzo we are directed towards a really insightful, disabusing and longitudinal study that demonstrates that romance is not dead from The Pudding. There is a significant decline but on balance the frequency of the love song has remained steady as a genre once one admits tastes have undergone a paradigm shift from the serenade to ballads of heartache, breakup and amour-propre. The interactive data-driven treatment is loaded with playable clips, from Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me” to Lizzo’s “About Damn Time,” “Angel of the Morning” from Merrilee Rush & the Turnabouts to the collaboration from Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, as examples of tracks charting from 1958 to 2023.

the tegos tapes (12. 168)

Via Clive Thompson’s trusty alternative to doomscrolling, we learn that pioneering electronic composer Vangelis (see previously) has not only several film soundtracks to his credit but also, among many side projects, recorded a box-set of rather exclusive twelve hour tapes for doctors to listen to while performing the arduous task of surgeries to keep focused during the monotony—see also. The limited-run 1998 compilation (only twenty were made for partners in the practise) was thought lost to history, until one dedicated fan hunted down, on a tip, a copy of a textbook on micro-neuosurgerical (by the eponymous physician, a close friend of Vangelis, asking him to make these tracks and undergo a magnetic resonance scan of his brain, the latter request politely declined) in a bookstore in Athens with the accompanying music on videotape. Much more at the links above.

syzygy (12. 167)

Given sufficiently clear and dark skies, one can avail oneself of a rare treat in the heavens tonight when six planets will appear to be in alignment. Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Venus and Saturn all visible, mostly to the unaided eye or with the help of a good pair of binoculars, not actually queued up but along the elliptical disk of the Solar System and happen to be on the same same side of the Sun as us, not in a straight line as in the case of opposition or eclipse but as a great arc as their orbits are only inclined by a few degrees. Time and Date had been a go-to source for me for calculating duration and day-count in between two dates but failed to appreciate that it also features a real-time planetarium based on one’s location as a tool to anticipate the rise of the worlds. If you can’t make this one, you get a second chance on the last day of February with Mercury joining in. Coming from the title from the Greek συζυγία or yoking together, this apparent astronomical union poses no threat to the Earth with a supposed collective gravitational tug (actual oppositions of the inner planets occur about every forty years and have no deleterious effects), as rumoured now and back in March of 1982 when an invisible Pluto made the count that would cause greater incidents of seismic activity or increase pressure on the Sun and result in sunspots and solar flares, with (for those counting) the next such grand lineup, albeit staggered, scheduled for 19 May 2161.

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: Saturday Night Fever (with synchronoptica), a stochastic parrot plus assorted links to revisit

seven years ago: a minister of loneliness plus Project Crested Ice (1968)

eight years ago: Trump’s inaugural speech was not lifted from the Bee-Movie though it seemed plausible, more on the Europe right-wing plus speculation about a 2020 Zuckerberg candidacy

nine years ago: telephone booths as private raves plus more rogue exoplanets discovered

ten years ago: threat-com levels raised plus artist Rob Gonsalves

american carnage 2 (12. 166)

Don’t visit the official White House website. It’s been thoroughly trumpified already…

coming attractions (12. 197)

As a little preview for Tuesday’s apparent planetary alignment in case the weather isn’t cooperating tomorrow, in the predawn western skies of Germany, one can see, so far, Venus (♀—the Morning and the Evening Star due to its proximity to the Sun but at its most elongated orbit currently), Mars (♂—on the wane and appearing dimmer than the gas giant), Jupiter (♃), Uranus (⛢) and Saturn (♄) staggered along the great arc of the elliptical. 

Ideal views are expected to peak on the twenty-first of this month but can be seen for a few preceding days and for a few days afterwards. Consult local guides for the rise and setting of the planets and share what you see of our solar system.