(13. 757)

synchronoptica

one year ago: an MTV-like channel devoted to novelty songs (with synchronoptica) 

two years ago: the dissolution of East Germany plus a banger from George Harrison 

three years ago: assorted links to revisit 

four years ago: RIP Gorbachev, Street Fighting Man plus more Gorbymania

five years ago: more links to enjoy, numeracy plus vintage animated commercials

six years ago: more knock-off Halloween costumes, the Gdańsk Social Accords (1980), even more links, Lincoln Logs (1920) plus Tom Hiddleson as macaroons

day one hundred seventy-seven (13. 756)

The US initiates fresh airstrikes on Iranian missile launchers positioned on the strait island of Larak, claiming to observe the Revolutionary Guard preparing to fire rockets carrying sea mines (an inefficient means to deploy them—Trump offers an AI-generated video of Kharg Island being “blown to smithereens!!”—into the Hormuz. The IRGC attacks US assets based in Jordan. The Supreme Leader urges Muslim nations to unite against their common enemies, America and Israel, vowing to avenge his father’s death. The US company Educational Testing Service confirms that it has suspended certifying its Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) in Iran as part of the latest sanctions on the Islamic Republic. Trump demands that all Canadian concerns doing business with the US relocate to America immediately. Iceland narrowly rejects resuming the accession process to join the European Union.

we got cool and hot (13. 755)

Unbidden and out of nowhere, I got “Soul Food to Go”—from The Manhattan Transfer—stuck in my head and in an attempt to exorcise it—or pass it on to someone else—I looked it up, having forgotten the claymation music video—studio of Will Vinton, who created the California Raisins and later working with computer animation, the M&Ms characters. From their 1987 tenth studio album as the follow up to their double releases in 1985 of Bop Doo-Wopp and Vocalese (named for the style of scat-like jazz singing where words are added to a soloist’s instrumental performance) which garnered the most Grammy nominations, twelve, second only to Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Brasil, marking the group’s foray into Latin music. The musical setting is from Brazilian artist Djavan’s song “Sina.” Officially retiring with a Christmas concert in 2023, there have been several incarnations of The Manhattan Transfer (named after the John Dos Passos’ seminal novel about the transition of New York’s working class from the Gilded to the Jazz Age) since its founding with each formation focusing on different genres from swing, pop, rhythm and blues, a cappella and American songbook standards. Just for you, the pleasures of the soul—come on, come in and check it out.

👅 (13. 754)

Inclined to screw up my face and stick out my tongue when doing a delicate or precision task, I can well imagine that this slim dental retainer with a pressure sensitive trackpad to be worn on the palette that personal experience is testimony to the accuracy of the tongue, clicking, scrolling, swiping and dragging—with a range of other haptic cues—to keep one’s pointer from being lost on the screen. Moving from the experimental phase with volunteer trials to public sales, we learn courtesy of Clive Thompson’s Linkfest—individuals with mobility limitation are the first priority, but the hands-free Mouthpad (see also this kiss-by-wire prototype which we are not sure went anywhere) but hundred of individuals have signed on to the waitlist to purchase the device, including professionals like surgeons, pianists, mechanics and technicians. The makers have also recognised the potential to incorporate it with other wearables for text to speech applications with augmented-reality spectacles. More at the links above.

10x10 (13. 753)

cycle of cathay: a look at the etymology of the antiquated exonym 

landslide: over three thousand dead and missing in the aftermath of Himalayan flood catastrophe  

not the droids you’re looking for: a group of kids swede a brilliant remake Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope 

modern toss: the sweary comic workplace comic by Mick Bunnage and Jon Link honoured with an anniversary exhibition—via friend of the blog Nag on the Lake  

non-zero probability: idiomatic extensions of Black Swan Events  

pennywise: an homage to the gleeful villains of Tim Curry (RIP)  

game, set, match: a gallery of tennis-related art ahead of the US Open 

ice stupas: locals in the northern Indian desert valley are engineering artificial glaciers as a reservoir to safeguard water 

skålspænder: a Viking woman’s grave uncovered in Jutland with surviving remnants of her clothing  

nusantara: defining the maritime region of South East Asia by mapping its borders to the Java-based thalassocracy

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronoptica), the origins of Fanta plus Trump’s lack of public appearances 

two years ago: the K-Pop Fab Four plus weird academic book jackets 

three years ago: artist Victor Ekpuk plus Higher Love (1986)

four years ago: a stylistic departure for the Byrds, Canada and the UK’s Manhattan Project plus more links to enjoy

five years ago: a news music anthology, even more links to check out, Hey Jude (1968) plus very strong animadversions

six years ago: the Moscow-Washington hotline (1963) plus lockdown fantasy levels

day one hundred seventy-six (13. 752)

With overtures for the annexation of Greenland unabated, Iceland prepares to vote on a referendum to restart the accession process for EU membership. Though not as consequential as the US decision to not support continued British control of the Suez Canal which ended the Empire, the Trump administration is threatening to withdraw support for UK sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) if Prime Minister Burnham does not increase defence spending, presumably with the purchase of US weapons systems. Trump’s friendship with with Argentine president Javier Milei probably has more to do with than actual plans to take claim the archipelago for America—probably, but the announcement which cites the need for a review of allies’ commitment to NATO coincides Russian threat to the UK for providing weapons to Ukraine. Ottawa neighbourhood Central Park, whose streets are named after NYC attractions and personalities, to rename one designated in honour of the real estate developer twenty-five years ago Taco Avenue. Violent settlers besiege locals in the West Bank town of Qusra and an Israel drone attacks a hospital in Gaza.

splendor solis (13. 751)

The earliest version of the illuminated manuscript appearing in Augsburg around 1530, the alchemical guide with allegorical instructions on transmutational experiments is attributed to legendary Renaissance natural philosopher Salomon Trismosin and features rich illustrations by Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach and Hans Holbein with a format comparable to a book of hours. According to the author’s own lore as laid out in a brief autobiography in a second volume attributed to him, Aureum Vellus (the Golden Parchment), Trismosin set out on a quest to find the true Philosopher’s Stone after observing a miner called Flocker transform lead into gold but took the secret to his grave. Encountering only charlatans during his search, Trismosin finally met a genuine alchemist in Venice, a fellow German seeker called Tauler, who taught him the rudiments of preparing the Stein der Weisen (Lapis philosophorum). Producing precious metals, however, was a rather basic trick when it came to wielding its power, which was said to be able to imbue bodily rejuvenation as the panacea or even immortality, and Trismosin is said to have then travelled East to unlock its further secrets. Early Renaissance surgeon Paracelsus encountered Trismosin in Constantinople where he was mentored in the arts of alchemy himself. The text does not contain the recipe but rather the process of discovery that one has to be willing to submit to comprehend humanity’s place in the natural world—the symbolism of the imagery is unknown, perhaps lost on us novices—but may, read with the text provide a key to esoteric alchemical reaction. Much more from Open Culture at the link above—which although most appreciative of the introduction, the way on the main page it bleeds into the previous article about how AI companies are buying and shredding antique books without a break gave us a little scare that The Splendour of the Sun had already been consigned to the woodchipper as well.

avant et retour (13. 750)

Flautist and composer of the Stadtorchester of Essen, Paul Wetzer, arranged this musical palindrome (see previously), one of two witty duets for his Opus № 32 as a table canon, a retrograde and inverse counterpoint meant to be placed between two players, reading the same lines in opposite directions. Bach’s 1747 Das Musikalische Opfer includes instructions for such a setting in his movement the Prussian Fugue, a ricercare (not a palindrome, from the Italian to seek and find) that expands to six voices, and is thought to be the first table canon, Wetzer’s 1900 piece part of a well-established tradition.

*    *    *    *    *

synchronoptica

one year ago: Wilholt’s Law (with synchronoptica) plus Skynet becomes self-aware (1997)

two years ago:  assorted links worth revisiting plus correspondence from the complaints department 

three years ago: more links to enjoy 

four years ago: another MST3K classic plus even more links to revisit

five years ago: a rare earth element, the founding of Nuuk (1728), more on botanical anatomy plus Smells like Teen Spirit (1991)

six years ago: mystic Manly Palmer Hall, Wuppertal’s flying train, electrical engineer Otis Frank Boykin, communion cheese plus Netflix founded (1997)