synchronoptica
one year ago: ceramicist Yoonmi Nam (with synchronoptica) plus the age of ludicrous inventions
seven years ago: A Million Random Digits plus assorted links to revisit
eight years ago: more misattributed quotes
nine years ago: Sร mi tone poems
ten years ago: theodicy, get anything delivered, more links to enjoy plus RIP Leonard Nimoy
Courtesy of our faithful chronicler, we learn that the exiled Napoleon Bonaparte eluded his guards and escaped aboard a Sylphe-class brig of the French navy called the Inconstant, making his way back to the mainland on this day in 1815, having under the terms of the Treaty of Fontainebleau been exiled to Elba less than a year before, conveyed there on the HMS Undaunted. 
Knowing the unpopularity of the King Louis XVIII, realising his family would not be joining him, not receiving the stipend promised and hearing rumours he was to be sent to a more remote location in the Atlantic, Napoleon plotted his return, amassing an army of followers. The banished emperor was not exactly a captive during his time on the Mediterranean island, with it designated as condition of his abdication as la principautรฉ de l’รฎle d’Elbe to be an independent principality “possessed by Bonaparte in complete sovereignty and as personal property”—until his death, at which point it would pass back to the Kingdom of Tuscany. Although eager to leave his villa in Portoferrario, aside from assembling an small army of loyalists, Napoleon during his short time there reformed the island’s legal and educational system, ordered the construction of roads, overhauled the nascent iron mining operations and improved agriculture.
We had come across this collection of micro-bar banner advertisements from the 1990s and early 2000s a few years ago, and so were pleased—via Quantum of Sollazo—to discover the curation of button ads was a ongoing project of one anonymous individual and a reminder of the aesthetic that resonates somehow, certainly seeming less intrusive, distracting, badly juxtaposed and a bit more captivating than the commercial ecosystem we are served nowadays. 
There are two theories regarding the format, unobtrusive yet large enough to catch the eye—the first being that GeoCities, the then largest provider of personal hosting required users to have a link back somewhere on the page to the host or that Netscape sought a way to scale assets, informed by credit card logos, for publishers and promoters easily adjusted to fill blank space—either way many users started making buttons of their own to create a directory. Moreover, these banners, in deference to their chosen native platforms and browsers were sometimes labeled “best viewed in…” with recommended plugins to enhance the website’s experience, gradually displaced by pop-ups, badges and social media icons for sharing or subscribing.
synchronoptica
one year ago: 1983’s Thriller (with synchronoptica), assorted links worth revisiting plus the problem with loving the unborn
seven years ago: the art of craft, combatting food waste plus the spatial frequency effect
eight years ago: sign language lessons, civil forfeiture, passports of defunct countries plus flag emoji
nine years ago: the educational system of the Caliphate plus a spy-proof underseas cable from Brazil to Europe
ten years ago: more links to enjoy, DeepMind plus some otherworldly plants
Honouring his musical hero on this day in 2009, US president Barak Obama invited Stevie Wonder to the 
White House to bestow a Gershwin prize on the artist, a distinction from the Library of Congress for popular music and lifetime contribution, given in the tradition of the fraternal collaboration that produced Rhapsody in Blue and many other standards from the American Songbook. The first recipient was, with input from public broadcasters PBS and NPR, was Paul Simon with a gala performance in 2007 including Philip Glass, Alison Krauss, Grover and Elmo and Art Garfunkel. The below promise was a campaign song for Obama’s bid for presidency and he doubted whether their relationship would have been sustainable if they had not been mutual fans.
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Via Clive Thompson’s always excellent Linkfest (lots to explore there), we are directed to a revealing tool created by the photo app-maker Ente that discloses what the Google Vision API (Application Programming Interface) sees when it sees your photos. Intrigued by the idea of seeing myself how the algorithms see me and not having a standard headshot handy, I snapped a quick selfie and uploaded 
it—not the best picture and obviously it got a few things right but didn’t think I necessarily presented as fatigued or wary—or particularly agnostic (I like to think of myself as a vaguely Jesus-y bon vivant, thank you), and not only did it zero in on my location, it also annoyingly focused on the pile of laundry in the background and decor and makes up a little narrative of insights for targeted advertisements, which are way-off base. I understand that’s how the commercial ecosystem works and people are algorithmically pigeon-holed and typecast all the time—sometimes with consequence, but seeing it in action, all the good and bad bits to be gleaned even from information and artefacts that are not public-facing, is a bit of off-putting fun.
synchronoptica
one year ago: Austria’s national anthem (with synchronoptica), assorted links worth revisiting plus Hitler’s first official postion
seven years ago: a Trump-branded property in Panama, street debater kits plus animator Len Lye
eight years ago: signals to the stars, a cruel captivity called off, our privileged view of the Cosmos, a flatpack pavilion for urban gardening plus a fast food franchise with a view of a Roman road
nine years ago: where are my flying cars, attentive listeners plus a Beaux Arts apartment in Manhattan
ten years ago: a tarot deck inspired by the art of Edward Gorey
In the aftermath of the fiercely contested US presidential election of 1800 (see previously), a three-way race among incumbent John Adams, Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson, with Jefferson ultimately winning with the electoral college by a very narrow margin. Once realising that they were unseated Adams and the Federalist party attempted to fill as many judicial vacancies as possible with loyalists and avowed “anti-Jeffersonians”—mostly circuit judges, during the last days in office. 
One of these appointees was a wealthy businessman and lawyer from Maryland, the plaintiff, William Marbury—nominees approved by the senate en masse. The new judges received their commissions and sworn in, however, for a few, it was not accomplished before inauguration day—including for Marbury—Jefferson instructing his secretary of state, James Madison, to withhold those commissions not yet delivered and declare them void. The ensuing lawsuit, elevated to the supreme court, was decided on this day in 1803, ruling that Marbury was legally entitled to his commission and withholding it was a violation of his rights—issuing a writ of mandamus and ordering the matter be remediated, but more over established the principle of judicial review, meaning that the courts have the power to strike down statues and legislation that run counter to the constitution, understood as the national codex and not just a statement of political ideas and aspirations and gives the judicial branch the responsibility to review the acts of the legislative and executive.
johnny 5: artificial intelligence and inkblot tests—see previously
hop-on, hop-off: a new train route through Central Europe allows passengers to visit cities at their own pace
boone and wesson: the disturbing trend of aggressive baby names in the US—see also, see previously—via Miss Cellania
sixth-tenths of a letter: the depth of natural history visualised as pages in a book
ok boomer: Chinese netizens’ approach to uncomfortable questions is reply at random (ไธ้ฝไนฑไผ, everything is chaotic, xฤซqiรจ dลu shรฌ hวnluร n de) and defuse intergenerational conflict
bluelights in the basement: RIP Roberta Flack
protect & survive: Shades another post-apocalyptic UK mini-series in the vein of Threads and The Day After Tomorrow
express limited: a collection of Showa-era Japanese gate entry tickets, a unique surcharge of the train system
integrated information theory: Richard Dawkins (previously) chats with AI, asks it is it conscious
On the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Zelenskyy has again rebuffed increasing 
overtures from Trump over a half-trillion dollar deal for mineral rights—first framed as protection money now demanded as pay back for monetary and materiel assistance provided by the preceding US administration that was never characterised other than a grant and not a loan to be repaid, which is far higher than what the US gave. At the same time Zelensky says, after being accused of being a dictator and forestalling elections by imposing martial law, he is willing to step down from the presidency for the sake of peace and/or NATO membership. The press conference was held hours after Russia launched, on the eve of the start of the war, the largest aerial barrage of drones and missiles yet on Kyiv and other major cities. Shuttle diplomacy continues with the UK and France travelling to Washington to secure Europe a seat at the table for any negotiations. Ever with an eye towards the transactional, US envoys are hoping to have sanctions lifted and for American businesses able to resume operations in Russia.
synchronoptica
one year ago: JAL’s travel pamphlets (with synchronoptica), cognitive offloading, spying vending machines plus placenames on Christmas Island
seven years ago: the side-by-side, flags per data plus the repeal of net neutrality
eight years ago: attacks on state marijuana laws, David Lynch’s doddles, mood-elevators, workforce disruptors plus assorted links to revisit
nine years ago: a wine bottle fire extinguisher, rotten boroughs plus the plant-fungal information super highway
ten years ago: David Bowie as the Elephant Man, more links to enjoy plus crusaders reach the Holy Land
