ecstacy garage (12. 532)

We are directed—courtesy of Web Curios (lots more to explore there) to this rather incredible archived catalogue of ephemera (see also) in this collection curated by the Cornell university library of scarce hip-hop party and event fliers, spanning from circa 1977 to 1984. Not only to these handcrafted promotions document the scene with information on performers, venues, admission and dress code, this is also an amazing graphic design resource that bookends a cultural moment. The archive is approaching five hundred items with additional information regarding provenance.

✨ (12. 531)

Via Quantum of Sollazzo, we found this metaphorical reading of artificial intelligence as the parable of stone soup—with stock and produce donated by curious onlookers—to be deliciously fitting. I don’t recall being exposed to the classic fable with returning soldiers being refused quarter by the equally destitute and war-ravaged residents of a village that they pass through—rather with woodland creatures. Watching the soldiers boil rocks in a cauldron, the group realises that they have a bit to spare after all and contribute various ingredients for flavour, and invested with the main dish decide to make a proper banquet with much revelry. The technology behind AI is not a multiplying factor but only exists and returns value because of human knowledge, experience and effort. Much more at the links above including how AI tutoring and shoehorning it into educational programmes isn’t to teach young people but to reinforce its own learning—to give better-phrased over-confident answers—magical indeed.

operation rising lion (12. 530)

Amid stalled negotiations between the US and Iran aimed at curbing the country’s nuclear ambitions (attempting to work out a previous deal that lifted sanctions in exchange for regular inspections reached under the Obama administration), Israeli defence forces launched a predawn aerial attack on Iranian uranium enrichment facilities at Natanz and military infrastructure, the extent of the damage unclear but killing in the process several leading scientists and senior officials, including the commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s missile programme Amir Ali Hajizadeh. Despite not wanting an atomic capable Iran, America initially distanced itself from Israel’s strike—explicitly saying there was no US involvement and warned not to retaliate—Trump since weighed in, warning of more brutal punishment if they fail to concede to US terms. Meanwhile Tehran and Hezbollah are threatening retribution against Israel and its backers and air traffic in the region has been suspended and petrol prices has seen a significant jump with expectations of escalation.

 synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronoptica) plus more on proxy addresses for the unhoused

seven years ago: internet tendency, a beatnik monk, monumental baobabs, legal aid for lemonade stands plus a theatrical trailer for the Trump-Kim summit

eight years ago: more links to enjoy, words as web colours plus troll cakes

nine years ago: machine-generated grimoires 

ten years ago: even more links to enjoy plus a visit to Lohr am Main

11x11 (12. 529)

somewhere beyond the barricade, is there a world you long to see: Reuters’ delivers a deadpan juxtaposition of Trump’s attendance at a showing of Les Misérables just after sending in the US marines to quell demonstrations  

💩: defecation syncope and other perils of pooping 

renascidos: a cosplay parenting craze with hyperrealistic dolls has captivated Brazil, prompting some legislation against their appearance in public  

tin roof rusted: a VH-1 Behind the Music style documentary on the importance and influence of The B-52’s 

artek: the upcoming centenary of Crimea’s famed Soviet youth camp that once hosted Samantha Smith—see also  

have you tried clearing your cache: a concept artist with a reputation for the mischievous develops a dating website based on harmonious browsing history  

pomp and circumstance: a preview of Trump’s grand military parade to be held this weekend—previously  

more cow bell: artist Margareta Sarvana performs the Schalger song Itke en lemmen tähden (Nur nicht aus Liebe weinen) on a Swedish variety show in 1973—via Pasa Bon! 

the schwatz awakens: a preview trailer of the Space Balls sequel to premier in 2027, when Mel Brooks turns 101

simple article summaries: Wikipedia suspends an experiment that would display AI generated synopses after editor and contributor opposition  

i’m michael barbaro, see you tomorrow: California governor Gavin Newson interviewed by the New York Times on Trump’s ICE raids

synchronoptica

one year ago: counting crows (with synchronoptica), a Minoan archaeological discovery, emotion-cancelling technology, Trump’s revenge agenda plus assorted links to revisit

seven years ago: internet freedom index, more movies scripted by AI, Reagan tells Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall (1987) plus a meeting of Dear Leaders

eight years ago: memory holes, courtroom sketch artists, waste-water popsicles, mobility and mobile devices plus a surrogate social network

nine years ago: Citigroup tries to copyright the word Thanks, carbon sequestration plus more on the Trump travel ban

ten years ago: Erasmus and free-will, more links to enjoy plus Jung and Freud

the stand in the schoolhouse door (12. 528)

Occurring on this day in 1963, as our faithful chronicler reminds, possibly as a staged event to allow the governor whom promised to his constituents upon his inauguration for “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever” to save face, George Wallace (previously) blocked the entry of into the University of Alabama’s Tuscaloosa campus for two matriculating students, Vivian Malone and James Hood—the former the first Black graduate and the latter returning years later in a teaching position after being forced out by racists and both given a death-bed apology by the former governor. The state national guard federalised by executive order (EO 11111, see above) compelled Wallace to step aside and allow the new students to complete their registration, providing “assistance for the removal of unlawful obstructions of justice” across the state and allowed students to enrol in previously all-white schools. The Kennedy administration afforded Wallace this publicity stunt over warnings for repeated counter-demonstrations and violence like that that had occurred in Mississippi with desegregation, and while not able to ultimately quell all riots did focus attention on Wallace and his arguments for states’ rights versus civil rights.

flaming mo (12. 527)

The fleet of self-driving murderbots already incendiary enough in both the figurative and literal sense have been making for some spectacular footage of Trump’s made-for-tv crackdown on dissent playing out in Los Angeles. Tear-gas canisters are generally not used on the streets because they can cause traditional petrol-powered automobiles to explode and possibly are far more flammable for a vehicle that stores ninety kilowatt hours of chemical energy in the battery array—the equivalent to some eighty kilograms of TNT that can cause a runaway reaction through the engine at over a thousand degrees centigrade. A battery aflame can require up to forty times the amount of water to extinguish that a regular dumpster fire. Waymo autonomous cars have attracted special attention—though as above not necessarily the work of protestors—as a symbol of rage against the technocracy that is more and more aligned with and facilitating the police state with well established contracts with authorities like ICE and other policing agencies to provide real-time surveillance with casual and passive use. To see these marauders circling the block for a potential client has supposed prompted some to hail a ride to commit arson once they show up, not to destroy dragnet evidence but rather punish the collaborators. Someone, I’m sure will use this as an argument against electric vehicles—and for individual ridership at the expense of mass-transit, then have it—but it’s far more a critique against their extractive nature (subscription services are a revenue-multiplier), deregulation and the spying of course.

smoke-filled room (12. 526)

Coined by journalist Raymond Clapper and the Associated Press reporting on the selection process, leaders of the US Republican party gathered in a room at the Blackstone Hotel, considered one of the finest and most exclusive luxury accommodations of Chicago, host to numerous presidents during the twentieth century, to reach a consensus on whom their nominee would be. This secretive conclave of GOP power-brokers chose a compromise candidate in junior senator from Ohio, Warren G Harding (previously here and here) after several non-conclusive rounds of voting among delegates at the convention being held at the Coliseum across town. The fact that Harding had not been a serious contender prior to this private meeting confirmed in the minds of many that the American political machine was not truly representative and inscrutable, like the concept of the star chamber, and the phrase became shorthand for the murky, hazy inner workings.

synchronoptica

one year ago: constant entertainment (with synchronoptica) plus solving Zeno’s paradoxes

seven years ago: white-washing white supremacy, assorted links worth the revisit plus a memorial to those lost to Hurricane Maria

eight years ago: segregated America 

nine years ago: an ugly colour for cigarette packaging, rethinking heath and hygiene plus the Playboy mansion sold

ten years ago: romancing Sparta plus the immortal cells of Henrietta Lacks

avant la lettre (12. 525)

We thoroughly enjoyed this appreciation of one of the most successful products of all time in the BiC Cristal, introduced in 1950, the ballpoint pen ubiquitous and archetypal surpassing one hundred billion sold in 2006. In development since 1930 when inventor Lázló Bíró (the genericised namesake of the writing instrument “biro” in many European countries) when inspired for the mechanism, a rolling metal nib, by witnessing a group of children playing with marbles in a muddy puddle and observing how the objects left a trail of water in their wake, Bíró experimented with various models and eventually recreated a prototype with a narrow reservoir of viscous ink encased in the body and kept from drying out by the nib and cap. Incremental improvements continued over the every years until the launch of Cristal. The pen was enshrined in the permanent collection in the Museum of Modern Art (see previously), the design virtually unchanged for decades. Much more from Open Culture at the link above.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the EU votes (with synchronoptica) plus assorted links worth revisiting

seven years ago: recycled illustrations and early modern memes plus the Alexander method for improving poise and posture

eight years ago: hung parliament in the UK  

nine years ago: an advertising homage to the cats of the internet, world food resources, removing Confederate symbols from Washington’s National Cathedral, Star Trek coins from the Canadian Mint, a sci-fi screenplay written by AI plus the gig economy and moonlighting

ten years ago: more links to enjoy