Rainbow aurora above an Icelandic waterfall

And capped off by the central band of the Milky Way.  Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day.

"Final Cut"

Explained at Cinerama Film:

Rickroll

Clever.  Via Bored Panda, where there is more science humor.  (re "rickroll")

Wallpaper

A screencap I took while recently rewatching North by Northwest for the umpteenth time.  I am intrigued by the stylish wallpaper in the background of the hotel room, which brings back vivid memories of the 1950s

Caiman lurking in rubbish

One of the photographs of the week at The Guardian, which somehow seems emblematic of our times.  Credit: Tercio Teixeira/AFP/Getty Images.

It's virtually a parody of a "Christmas message"

When I saw this travesty, my first thoughts drifted back to Christmas Eve of 2016, when I posted an "alternative Christmas message" from 2008, courtesy of the BBC:

"In the Name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful.

"Upon the anniversary of the birth of Jesus, Son of Mary, the Word of God, the Messenger of mercy, I would like to congratulate the followers of Abrahamic faiths, especially the followers of Jesus Christ, and the people of Britain.

"The Almighty created the universe for human beings and human beings for Himself. He created every human being with the ability to reach the heights of perfection. He called on man to make every effort to live a good life in this world and to work to achieve his everlasting life…

Jesus, the Son of Mary, is the standard-bearer of justice, of love for our fellow human beings, of the fight against tyranny, discrimination and injustice…

"Now as human society faces a myriad of problems and a succession of complex crises, the root causes can be found in humanity's rejection of that message, in particular the indifference of some governments and powers towards the teachings… of Jesus Christ.

"The crises in society, the family, morality, politics, security and the economy which have made life hard for humanity and continue to put great pressure on all nations have come about because… some leaders are estranged from God…

"If Christ were on earth today, undoubtedly He would hoist the banner of justice and love for humanity to oppose… terrorists… the world over…

"Today, the general will of nations is calling for fundamental change… demands for a return to human values are fast becoming the foremost demands of the nations of the world.

"The response to these demands must be real and true. The prerequisite to this change is a change in goals, intentions and directions…

"We believe Jesus Christ will return… and will lead the world to love, brotherhood and justice.

"The responsibility of all followers of Christ… is to prepare the way for the fulfilment of this divine promise and the arrival of that joyful, shining and wonderful age…

"Once again, I congratulate one and all on the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ. I pray for the New Year to be a year of happiness, prosperity, peace and brotherhood for humanity. I wish you every success and happiness."

That message, posted at The Guardian, was authored by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, then president of Iran and considered to be the embodiment of the greatest enemy of the United States.  It is a message of peace, hope, and reconciliation.

In contrast, Donald Trump has hijacked the opportunity of a "Christmas" message to rage that those who oppose him should "rot in hell" - a message of anger, hate, vengeance, and damnation.  It continues to baffle me how he can consistently bamboozle the Christian right into revering him and supporting him financially.  This man has no concept of the principles of Christianity or the meaning of the Christmas story.

Related:  Excerpts from an Atlantic op-ed about the dangers of Christian Nationalism

"The corruption of American Christianity is nothing new: Modern-day pharisees from Jerry Falwell Sr. to Paula White have spent 50 years weaponizing the gospel to win elections and dominate the country, exploiting the cultural insecurities of their unwitting brethren for political, professional, and financial gain, all while reducing the gospel of Jesus Christ to a caricature in the eyes of unbelievers. 

The crisis at hand is not simply that Christ’s message has been corroded, but that his Church has been radicalized... Mobilizing in response to this perceived threat, the forces of Christian nationalism—those who seek to demolish the wall between Church and state, asserting far-right religious dominion over the government as well as the country’s core institutions—are now ascendant both inside the Church and inside the Republican Party. It is no coincidence that, just recently, Donald Trump began suggesting that he would ban any migrant from entering the United States unless they are Christian. Those who don’t share “our religion,” the famously impious ex-president pronounced, won’t be welcome here if he’s elected again...

Perhaps the only thing more dangerous than authoritarianism is authoritarianism infused with religious justification. It hardly matters whether the would-be tyrant is personally devout; Vladimir Putin’s lack of theology didn’t stop him from partnering with the Russian Orthodox Church to frame the bloody invasion of Ukraine as God’s ordained conquest of a satanic stronghold. To believe that it couldn’t happen here—mass conflict rooted in identitarian conviction and driven by religious zeal—is to ignore both 20th-century precedent and the escalating holy-war rhetoric inside the evangelical Church...

I believe that God took on flesh in order to model servanthood and self-sacrifice; I believe he commanded us to love our neighbor, to turn the other cheek toward those who wish us harm, to show grace toward outsiders and let our light shine so they might glorify our heavenly Father. Not all professing Christians bother adhering to these biblical precepts, but many millions of American believers still do. It is incumbent upon them to stand up to this extremism in the Church.

Comments closed.  Moving on to other matters.

Thinking of cousins at Christmas

I'm going to close my pre-Christmas blogging with excerpts from an insightful article in The Atlantic.  The Great Cousin Decline discusses how smaller modern families are diminishing the number of cousins for today's young people.

Perhaps you’ve heard: Americans are having fewer children, on average, than they used to, and that has some people concerned. In the future, the elderly could outnumber the young, leaving not enough workers to pay taxes and fill jobs. Kids already have fewer siblings to grow up with, and parents have fewer kids to care for them as they age.

Oh, and people also have fewer cousins. But who’s talking about that?

Within many families—and I’m sorry to have to say this—cousins occupy a weird place. Some people are deeply close to theirs, but others see them as strangers. Some cousins live on the same block; some live on opposite sides of the world. That can all be true about any family relationship, but when it comes to this one, the spectrum stretches especially far. Despite being related by blood and commonly in the same generation, cousins can end up with completely different upbringings, class backgrounds, values, and interests. And yet, they share something rare and invaluable: They know what it’s like to be part of the same particular family...

Maybe you don’t find this alarming, given how oddly indeterminate the cousin role can feel. But cousin connections can be lovely because they exist in that strange gray area between closeness and distance—because they don’t follow a strict playbook. That tenuousness means you often need to opt in to cousin relationships, especially as an adult. And the bond that forms when you do might not be easy to replace...

The typical family experience is changing. Some researchers say that American family trees are turning into beanstalks—tall and narrow. People are more likely to have multiple generations of relatives alive at the same time (because of longer life expectancy) but fewer “lateral” relationships, like cousins and siblings (because of a decreased fertility rate). Although the average number of lateral relatives varies across race and class groups in the U.S., the cousin decline is either imminent or already happening across all of them...

Only about 6 percent of adult cousins live in the same census tract (typically about the size of a neighborhood); the rest live an average of 237 miles apart... 

Compared with siblings, cousins tend to have larger gaps in socioeconomic status, and might grow up in different home environments. In childhood, that can make them good role models—more likely to differ from you and your siblings in ways that could be eye-opening. And in adulthood, given that many people find friends who are similar to them, extended family can provide a rare opportunity to have your opinions challenged...

That’s the funny thing about cousins: In all other areas of your life, you might not be alike at all. But knowing the nuances of your family ties through decades of exposure—however sporadic—is a form of closeness in itself. The low stakes of your own relationship can make you perfect allies—but the potential for detachment also means you have to work for it. You can intentionally insert yourselves into each other’s lives, or you can slowly fade out of them...

Consider this, though: In middle age and older, the cohesion of a whole family can begin to depend on the bonds between cousins. Along with siblings, cousins become the ones organizing the reunions and the Thanksgiving meals. The slightly random houseguests in your younger years become the stewards of the family in your older ones—as do you.

A cousin-sparse future, then, could be a greater loss than people might recognize. It might also make the relationship that much more important: With fewer of them around, cousins may need to depend on one another even more. Families are shrinking—but that doesn’t mean they need to come apart.

Warm Christmas greetings to all my cousins.  I love all of you.

An unusual Christmas image

A devil figure is set ablaze during celebrations in honor of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception in Guatemala City on December 7, 2023. The event marks the beginning of the Christmas season in Guatemala

One of the Photos of the Week at The Atlantic.  (Credit Johan Ordonez / AFP / Getty)

Christmas song mashup

Clearly mashed by someone tired of Mariah Carey every Christmas.

"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo" explained

I remember seeing that sentence many years ago, accompanied by a detailed explanation of how it was grammatically correct.  But I couldn't remember the details, and was pleased to see the construction posted in a discussion thread at the ELI5 subreddit.

The key is to understand that the uncapitalized word "buffalo" can refer to the animal or to the verb meaning "to bully/harass," and the capitalized Buffalo refers to the city in New York state.  One can also insert clarifying words ("Buffalo buffalo, whom Buffalo buffalo buffalo, also buffalo other Buffalo buffalo"), and then omit the clarifying words as is sometimes done in standard spoken English.

See also the Wikipedia page for tons more information. 

"...human kind/cannot bear very much reality"

It feels awkward to be an elderly English major and only realize now that Burnt Norton was an actual place.  I wish I had known 60 years ago what I learned this week:

He [T.S. Eliot] was visiting his friend Emily Hale in Chipping Campden when they strayed into the garden of Burnt Norton House, overgrown and abandoned after the owner Sir William Keyte went mad and set fire to it.

The neglected gardens and the air of decay inspired his poem Burnt Norton, in which he meditates on a moment of joy and reflects on the nature of time. It is a beautiful setting, with breathtaking views towards Wales from the edge of the Cotswolds scarp, but Eliot was a pretty glum poet — the critic Randall Jarrell said he would have written The Waste Land about the Garden of Eden.

I'm sure that information must have been footnoted in tiny fonts or in the backs of anthologies, but I never noticed (or never remembered) it.  So once the narrative gets past the seemingly impenetrable opening lines:

Time present and time past

Are both perhaps present in time future,

And time future contained in time past.

If all time is eternally present

All time is unredeemable...

and enters the gardens..

Footfalls echo in the memory

Down the passage which we did not take

Towards the door we never opened

Into the rose-garden... the roses

Had the look of flowers that are looked at.

There they were as our guests, accepted and accepting.

So we moved, and they, in a formal pattern,

Along the empty alley, into the box circle,

To look down into the drained pool.

I now understand he was describing a real place.  I still don't fully understand those opening lines, but with advancing age I do understand that all time is unredeemable.

Photo credit Nancy D. Hargrove, via Semantic Scholar.

Addendum:  See also the 2019 post "Thoughts Upon Reading T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets." And note the relevance of Frost's The Road Not Taken.

Medieval knights battling snails

Snails are surprisingly common depictions in the marginalia of medieval manuscripts, often depicted in battle with armored knights.

Sometimes the creatures appear to be hovering, attacking knights in mid-air. Occasionally there is more than one. This is the uniquely medieval phenomenon of the fighting snail – and to this day, why they were depicted remains utterly mysterious...

But for a brief period in the late 13th Century, illuminators – those who decorated books – across Europe embraced a new obsession: fighting snails. For a comprehensive study of these warring gastropods, the art historian Lilian Randall counted 70 examples, in 29 different books – most of which were printed in the two decades between 1290 and 1310. The illustrations are found across Europe, but particularly in France, where there was a thriving manuscript-production industry at the time, says Clarke.

The specific scenarios that warring snails found themselves in varied, but broadly followed the same format of a snail-assailant standing off against a knight. Often, the molluscs have their antenna – technically their upper tentacles, or ommatophores – pointed aggressively forwards, as though they were swords. In one, a snail is shown fighting a nude woman. In a few they're not depicted as regular molluscs at all, but hybrids between snails and men – who are being ridden by rabbits, naturally.

More information, and many illustrations, at the BBC.  Image (cropped for size) credit to The British Library.

The 2023 King William's College quiz

Posted today at The Guardian.  I'm going to take a break from blogging to join a group of friends across the pond to tackle the quiz.  Readers here are welcome to post thoughts and possible answers in the Comments section of this post.

Poorly-designed signs

Many more examples at Bored Panda.

A chilling new acronym: WCNSF

 The [Gaza] conflict has filled hospital wards with patients classified by the abbreviation “WCNSF” – “wounded child, no surviving family.”