⅊ (13. 037)

Exclaves and enclaves being a favourite topic and particular obsession of ours, we really enjoyed this introduction to the blog and travelogue of vice president of the International Border Research Group—an organisation of frontier studies enthusiasts (the title is the cartographical symbol demarcating a property line) through the lens of a house in Trieste (Trst) directly on the Italo-Slovene border boxed in by Italian neighbours (see also where BorderPoints treks the bifurcated addresses of the town of Baarle-Hertog tracing every twist and turn of this other historic curiosity). Such boundaries of course no longer carry the burden of animosity and division but it’s a rather brilliant undertaking to trace all the markers and stroll back in time (there are several of these photographic safaris in the spirit of Diamond Geezer’s excursions) and something we’d quite like doing next time we’re landlocked.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronopticæ) plus a visit to Frickenhäusersee 

twelve years ago: Switzerland searches for a new national anthem plus cinnamon safety

thirteen years ago: Swedish words of the year plus the GOP hijacks the US government 

fourteen years ago: blooming baobabs 

fifteen years ago: strobe light internet plus the Feast of the Holy Innocents

sixteen years ago: a sensible safety-to-convenience ratio 

living flower (13. 036)

Masterful at marketing and self-promotion across all media, Salvador Dalí never encountered an art form that caused him to shy away from disrupting with his signature surrealism. Though his career in jewellery design spanned for several decades, one could be forgiven for thinking it was a one-off project (see also) as his most radical creations were exhibited as a contemporary collection, with a forward for his 1959 catalogue calling them a protest against emphasis on precious materials. Craftsmanship was not reserved for costume jewellery, however, with diamonds, rubies, platinum and gold and some broaches and pendants were motile, as can be seen on the Pathé newsreels clicking through to the source above. Modelling an ensemble of Dali´’s pieces is Madelle Hegeler including a leaf-veined hand, the Eye of Time Watch and a pair of garnet and pearl lips inspired by Mae West’s come-hither smile. More from Open Culture at the link up top.

viral moments (13. 035)

It’s always going to be a hard slog picking out those highlights and nadirs of trending topics that gained a lasting—or at least defining—purchase on the past twelve months, but we nonetheless appreciated this albeit highly Anglo-centric and non-controversial assortment of virality that we made didn’t have the tolerance or time for when they presented themselves and mostly receded from public purview. A mix of marketing and memes, the Blue Origin flight to the edge of space with Katy Perry, Gayle King, Aisha Bowe (former rocket scientist), civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, film producer Kerianne Flynn and Jeff Bezos’ then-fiancee Lauren Sánchez and the Labubu phenomenon—a reprise of the Beanie Baby craze with a much protracted trajectory—was the hardest to ignore, with the latter though claiming to draw from Nordic folklore, specifically admitting to be a knock-off of the good luck trolls (Gjøltrold), and free from occult practises, more than one polity has banned the collectible over concerns that the familiars could influence children into summoning demons and has been associated with the Mesopotamian malevolent deity Pazuzu (𒀭𒅆𒊒𒍪𒍪), mainly over the similarly snarled expression and the blind-box nature of the spirit, protective but unpredictable, and whose likeness was a popular amulet of the ancient civilisation. We could well relate to Beyoncé’s incredulous reaction to her long overdue Grammy win, however.

the story so far (13. 034)

A photographic retrospective of the moments that have defined the first quarter of the twenty-first century, we quite enjoyed this feature from The Guardian’s Jonathan Freedland taking up the mantle of chronicler of those who have encapsulated, bookended the history of the previously century and those saying we’ve reached the end of it. A challenge no doubt to distill the past-present down to a few dozen watershed events, illustrated by arresting and indelible images, this survey meets the task—from the representative picture captured by Susan Meiselas in Liberty Plaza’s Zuccotti park Manhattan as debris from the Twin Towers was raining down with the life-sized bronze of a business man (sculptor John Seward Johnson’s 1892 commission Double Check of a well-appointed executive taking stock of the contents of his briefcase before going to the office) sitting sedately amid the fear and chaos. Meiselas did not know at first whether this still figure was a person or a statue and since became a makeshift memorial for the office workers lost during 9/11. The anthology, year by year, covers the Iraq war, the rise of social media, natural disasters, the Great Recession, mass-migration, Brexit, COVID, Trump, etc. And so it goes.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a starquake (with synchronopticæ), the mathematical properties of the year plus the life and career of Anna Banana

twelve years ago: Russian discontents plus historic maps of the Americas

thirteen years ago: privacy screens for traffic accidents to prevent rubbernecking 

fourteen years ago: Samoa adjusts its timezone 

seventeen years ago: Hey Ya and the Peanuts 

eminent tragedians whom no one ever goes to see (13. 033)

Premiering on this in London in 1871, the debut collaboration of Gilbert and Sullivan (previously) called Thespis, or The Gods Grown Old was more of a burlesque—reportedly as neither score nor book was ever published (see above) and most of the original songs lost—and not in keeping with the later sophisticated works of the duo but was considered quite passable for charity entertainments of the time. Drawing from research and many attempts beginning in the 1950s with resurgent interest to recreate the two-act play (the theme was also revisited towards the end of their careers with The Grand Duke, with a petty dictator replaced by a theatre company), the reconstructed plot involves the legendary first actor and father of drama (played by prominent comic J L Toole) ascending Mount Olympus with his troupe of thespians who agree to trade places with the pantheon temporarily, who’ve grown weary of their jobs and feel ignored. Invested with omnipotence by Jupiter with Mercury remaining as consul, the actors prove themselves to be comically inept at divine governance, inverting mythological fate and order within the space of one year—for which the gods, vindicated as indispensable eject the company and curse the profession. Below is a sample of one of thosee unauthorised productions in full as imagined by the Connecticut Gilbert and Sullivan Society.

9x9 (13. 032)

christmas day storm: heavy rains and landslides batter Los Angeles area  

vertex summary: holiday reception by renowned fiddler in Nova Scotia cancelled due to AI search erroneous labelling the performer a sex-offender—via Super Punch  

soft cell: astronaut Tibor Kapu debuts geometries that can only exist in microgravity aboard the ISS  

high holidays: an assortment of newspaper clippings on confiscated marijuana Christmas trees of yesteryear  

autocoup: a viral fake video of an overthrow in Paris is throwing the government in turmoil  

daemon est deus inversus: the occult imagination of W B Yeats  

winterval: seasonal breaks and the signal most observed public holiday—maybe not the one you’re thinking of—from Quantum of Sollazzo  

neighbourhood watch: AI powered app issues false crime alerts across US, terrorising residents  

spirit of the season: US launches strikes against ISIS militants in Nigeria—accused of persecuting Christians 

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronopticæ), Wild Strawberries (1957) plus a classic from Goorge Harrison

thirteen years ago: an antique Bible 

fifteen years ago: Boxing Day and Second Christmas 

rhönblick (13. 031)

For a sunny but cold and bracing Christmas Day walkies, we trekked to a little shelter on the peak of the Leichelberg near the Ellenbogen overlooking the village of Kaltensundheim and the valley of the Felda, a tributary of the Werra, below. 

The march of this border region of East Franconia with the documented mention in 23 December 795 was fortified with a Kirchenburg in Romanesque style in the early fifteenth century as well with a protective wall and gates and was originally under the jurisdiction of the counts of Henneberg but with the branching off the family over successive generations, properties of the district was divided among several collateral lines, the villages flanking each side of the mountain, Kaltensundheim, Kaltennordheim, Oberkatz and Aschenhausen falling under different lordships with shifting alliances. 

 In the latter on the opposite side of the mountain, we visited the former synagogue, among the few intact testaments to the long history of the Jewish community in Thüringen it was saved from arson by locals during the Pogroms of 1936 and after expulsions preserved as a warehouse, restored as an assembly hall and memorial with information about the history and Holocaust. 

 Between Aschenhausen and Kaltensundheim (since reunited as constituents under one a single municipality) there was a pictureques landscape of series of ponds at the woods edge for exploring but it was too chilly in the shadows for much looking around today but will definitely return soon.

recourse to the method (13. 030)

Though upon reflection both family members and insurgents conclude it would have been better had the ruling couple been executed by revolutionary forces when they attempted to flee Bucharest three days earlier rather than suffer the additional indignity of a drumhead court-martial and show trial, those that called to order the extraordinary military tribunal on this day in 1989 at Târgoviște to try Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu deemed the proceedings necessary to legitimise the coup and rule out the possibility a resurgence by their sympathisers. Not at liberty to pick their own legal defence, the appointed lawyers eventually siding with the prosecution before judgment and sentencing that took only about and hour with the verdict a foregone conclusion, the deposed general secretary of the Communist party of Romania and his wife maintained their innocence and that the Romanian Revolution was a Soviet plot against them and called the trial unconstitutional. The Ceaușescus were charged with genocide with over sixty-thousand victims (unclear due to the summary nature and without prior formal investigation or discovery, if the crime was levied for his twenty-four year reign or for suppressing the recent uprising), using the military to subvert the power of the state and people, destruction of public property, self-enrichment and undermining the national economy and attempting to escape justice by trying to flee the country—with over a billion dollars held in foreign bank accounts. Arguing that only the National Assembly could remove him from power, the dictatorship came to an end when the couple were brought before a firing squad, Ceaușescu reportedly humming a few bars from the Internationale as he was gunned down. Whilst not conducted in a public forum, the entire trial and execution was filmed, though camera crews weren’t quick enough to capture the shooting—footage and images were circulated in the press two days later.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the murder of Kitty Genovese (with synchronopticæ), a walk to the tripoint of three German states plus the president-elect’s overtures for the Panama Canal

three years ago: the first Nativity scene

four years ago: a white Christmas, the launch of the JWST, Gorbachev resigns (1991) plus the shorthand of Charles Dickens

five years ago: a Christmas greeting, The Stone Tape Theory plus artist Desireless 

six years ago: a celestial season’s greetings, Unword of the Year, AI carols plus more yule-log

seven years ago: more seasonal salutations, even more yule-log plus Martian rovers