The Echo of a Distant Time 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇩🇪🇩🇰🇨🇦🇺🇦

An allegorical composition depicts a poised, elegant woman seated barefoot atop the exposed summit of a vast iceberg rising from a dark, gently undulating sea at sunset. She wears a lustrous, metallic gold bodysuit that reflects the warm amber light of the horizon, her blonde hair arranged in an immaculate, mid-century coiffure, and she holds a slender champagne flute with composed assurance. The iceberg itself is semi-translucent, revealing beneath the waterline a colossal submerged mass embedded with luminous financial charts, numerical readouts, and faint architectural silhouettes—suggesting hidden systems or unseen complexity beneath apparent surface glamour. Above, a dramatic sky of violet and copper clouds deepens the theatrical mood, while the calm ocean contrasts with the immense, concealed structure below. The overall effect merges luxury iconography with economic metaphor, evoking the notion that visible prosperity rests upon far larger, obscured foundations.

Just the tip of the iceberg: US Gross Domestic Product growth is anaemic and well under Dow Jones projections. {CNBC 20 February} www.cnbc.com/2026/02/20/p...

Four young women, barefoot and draped in diaphanous, wind-torn gowns of pale gauze, stand shoulder-to-shoulder upon the corroded balcony of a derelict high-rise, their backs and profiles turned towards a vast metropolis sinking into dusk. The skyline stretches to the horizon beneath a turbulent, copper-violet sky, its atmosphere thick with smoke plumes rising from scattered urban fires, suggesting civil collapse or environmental catastrophe. One figure, clad in darker fabric, is clasped protectively by the others, their intertwined arms conveying mutual solace amid desolation. To the left, the skeletal façade of a ruined building bears the fragmented remnants of large lettering; below, the city grid appears dim, fractured, and wounded. In the foreground lies a crumpled American flag, dirt-streaked and abandoned, its symbolism sharpened by the apocalyptic panorama beyond. The overall composition evokes allegory—beauty and fragility confronting ruin—rendered in painterly, cinematic tones of amber light and encroaching shadow.

CDC: suicide rate in the former United States reaches its highest level in seventy-five years. {HR News 20 February} hrnews1.substack.com/p/report-sui...

A high-contrast black-and-white glamour photograph shows model Betty Brosmer reclining in a shallow swimming pool, her body partially submerged and refracted by rippling water. She leans back against the pool’s edge with arms extended outward along the coping, head tilted slightly rearward in an expression of exuberant laughter, teeth visible and eyes half-closed. Her blonde hair spreads damply around her shoulders. A sheer, dark, gauze-like fabric clings across her torso and hips, rendered semi-transparent by saturation, creating a sculptural interplay of light, shadow, and texture rather than overt concealment. Sunlight scatters across the water’s surface, producing luminous, abstract patterns that ripple over her skin and the pool floor beneath. The composition emphasises buoyancy, sensual vitality, and mid-century pin-up aesthetics, with tonal gradations ranging from bright highlights on shoulders and face to deep shadows beneath the fabric.

A perfect, happy moment in time, long ago and never to be known again: the otherworldly Betty Brosmer, in all her 1950s glory. {source unknown}

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A full-length outdoor photograph shows Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal standing upon the runners of a dog sled on a snow-covered mountain trail, viewed from behind as she turns her head over her shoulder towards the camera with a poised, self-aware expression. She wears a white fur hat and matching fur-trimmed winter boots, her otherwise unclothed figure rendered in warm, sunlit tones that contrast strikingly with the surrounding alpine landscape. Ahead of her, a team of huskies strains into their harnesses, mid-motion, kicking up powder as they pull the sled forward along the rutted track. Evergreen trees line the slope to the left, while distant, snow-capped peaks rise beneath a pale blue sky. The composition juxtaposes vulnerability and endurance, glamour and wilderness, the human form presented as both sculptural subject and provocative focal point within an expansive winter environment.

Ready to say goodbye to winter: Karen McDougal in Playboy, December 1997.

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A contemplative portrait of Sidney Poitier, photographed circa 2000, presents the actor seated in three-quarter profile against a softly illuminated interior wall. He wears a dark tailored jacket over a pale shirt, complemented by a richly patterned red tie whose intricate motif catches the warm light. His posture is relaxed yet dignified, one arm extended along the back of a sofa, shoulders slightly angled. The afternoon sun casts geometric shafts of light and shadow behind him, modelling the planes of his face and accentuating the thoughtful steadiness of his gaze. His expression is composed and introspective, conveying intellectual gravity and seasoned assurance. The restrained setting and nuanced lighting underscore an atmosphere of quiet authority and reflective poise.

“So much of life, it seems to me, is determined by pure randomness.” —the honourable Sidney Poitier, 20 February 1927 to 6 January 2022. {photo: Los Angeles Times}

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A stylised, graphic illustration presents a stern portrait of Donald Trump rendered in a bold, high-contrast manner reminiscent of mid-century political poster art. He is depicted from the chest upward, wearing a dark navy suit, crisp white shirt, and vivid blue tie, with a small American flag lapel pin fixed to his jacket. His expression is severe and unsmiling, brows furrowed and gaze directed slightly off-centre, conveying rigidity and authority. The palette is dominated by saturated oranges and deep shadows, with heavy cross-hatching and etched linework emphasising facial contours and texture. Behind him, an indistinct interior backdrop of panelled walls and patterned surfaces heightens the dramatic chiaroscuro, lending the composition an austere, propagandistic intensity.

Seeing people saying the tariff ruling is ‘the beginning of the end’ for Trump. STOP: always assume the worst in any given situation in life, and most especially where Donald Trump is concerned. Hath the last decade taught us nothing? America is chastened, as it were, from on high.

A vivid performance photograph captures singer Nancy Wilson mid-crescendo before a full orchestra. She stands centre stage, torso arched and left arm flung outward in expressive abandon, gripping a silver hand microphone in her right hand. Her face is animated, eyes closed and mouth open in a powerful, sustained note. She wears a sleeveless evening gown: the bodice densely encrusted with bronze and gold beading, tapering into a pale, vertically pleated skirt that catches the stage lights. Behind her, rows of formally attired musicians—brass and woodwind prominent—sit before music stands, softly out of focus, creating depth and grandeur. The warm, amber lighting and sweeping gesture convey theatrical intensity and the disciplined splendour of mid-century concert performance.

The lady with the honey-coated, velvety voice: Nancy Wilson, 20 February 1937 to 13 December 2018. {photo: Dutch National Archives}

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A studio glamour photograph depicts Cindy Crawford reclining diagonally across rumpled white bed linen, her body angled towards the camera in a poised, self-possessed posture. She wears black lingerie comprising a lace brassiere and matching briefs, the dark fabric contrasting with the pale bedding and softly lit background. Her long, voluminous brunette hair falls in loose waves about her shoulders, framing a direct, steady gaze and composed expression. The lighting is diffused and warm, accentuating the sculptural contours of her form while maintaining a polished editorial aesthetic. The setting is minimal and intimate, with no visible ornament beyond cascading white drapery, focusing attention upon her presence and the carefully styled composition.

The quintessential supermodel: Cindy Crawford, born 20 February 1966. {source unknown}

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Nathan MacKinnon, the Colorado Avalanche star, scored with 0.35 remaining on the clock to propel Canada past Finland 3–2 in the men’s Olympic semi-final. USA v Slovakia is coming up. The hockey in these games has been off the charts.

A grandiose, allegorical digital painting portrays three women advancing across the steps of a neoclassical capitol engulfed in flames. Clad in stylised garments fashioned from the American flag and wearing spiked tiaras reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty, they brandish rifles and pistols while ammunition belts cross their torsos. Their expressions are fervent and exultant, mouths open as if shouting above the tumult. Behind them, crowds surge amid smoke and fire, national flags whipping in the heat. At the summit of the staircase, a suited male figure stands before an inferno, arms raised as though addressing or inciting the mass below. The composition fuses patriotic iconography with apocalyptic spectacle, rendering a hyper-dramatic vision of insurrectionary nationalism and civic collapse.

The Supreme Court rules that Trump’s tariffs are illegal. The question is: who is to stop him from working around court orders? (Answer: nobody; Trump knows an adoring nation of armed yahoos will fill the streets with blood if he is ever challenged.) {AP 20 February} apnews.com/article/trum...

A hyper-stylised, satirical digital illustration depicts three glamorous women seated at computer terminals within a brightly lit call-centre environment. Each wears a headset, a star-spangled corseted costume in red, white, and blue, and a sash reading “Team America,” their outfits evoking pageantry entwined with patriotic iconography. Silver tiaras resembling the Statue of Liberty’s crown rest upon their coiffured hair. Their expressions are poised and congenial as they engage with unseen callers, fingers poised above keyboards and mice. Behind them, through an implied rupture in space, an infernal tableau unfolds: a cityscape consumed by towering flames, fleeing civilians, emergency vehicles, and a colossal skeletal Uncle Sam figure looming amid smoke and fire. The juxtaposition contrasts the polished, commercial interior with apocalyptic devastation, rendering the composition an allegory of spectacle, nationalism, and mediated catastrophe.

An insight into how awful human nature is beneath the veneer, especially in #Murica: a comedian’s fake hotline for reporting undocumented immigrants is inundated with submissions, often citing the pettiest justifications imaginable. {WP 20 February} www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

A colourised publicity portrait presents actress and singer Janet Blair poised beside a sunlit outdoor swimming pool. She stands upon pale stone paving, one hand resting lightly on the polished metal rail of the pool ladder, the other set at her hip in a relaxed yet assured stance. Her auburn hair is styled in buoyant mid-century curls, accented with a crimson flower above her temple. She wears a fitted white one-piece swimsuit patterned with green and orange palm fronds, paired with brown strappy sandals. Behind her, aquamarine water glimmers softly, bordered by manicured lawns and mature trees, evoking a serene, affluent leisure setting. Her bright smile and upright posture convey Hollywood vitality and effortless summertime glamour.

A vintage postcard given a lush, high-fidelity heartbeat: Janet Blair, 23 April 1921 to 19 February 2007; singer and actress, born in Altoona, Pennsylvania. {source unknown; colourised}

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A low-angle press photograph shows the neoclassical façade of the United States Department of Justice building in Washington, DC, its tall Corinthian columns rising against a pale winter sky. Suspended between the columns is a large vertical banner bearing a monochrome portrait of Donald Trump, accompanied by official insignia and the slogan “Make America Safe Again” beneath the word “Justice.” An American flag hangs prominently to the right, partially unfurled in the cold air. In the foreground, the blue hydraulic arm of a Genie Z-80/60 lift intrudes diagonally across the frame, suggesting the banner’s recent installation. Bare tree branches edge the composition, reinforcing the austere civic setting and the formal, institutional scale of the display.

Becoming more like the Soviet Union all the time: a giant banner featuring Trump’s mug unveiled outside the DOJ Building. {CNN 19 February} www.wcvb.com/article/dona...

A colourised publicity still from The Naughty Flirt (1931) presents two young women seated upon an upholstered settee before a panelled interior, their styling emblematic of early-Depression Hollywood sophistication. At left, Alice White, fair-haired and petite, wears a diaphanous peach chiffon evening gown embroidered with delicate beadwork; her posture is slightly guarded, knees angled inward, one foot lifted as though adjusting her slipper, her expression sidelong and faintly apprehensive. At right, Myrna Loy, dark-haired and poised, reclines with greater assurance in a sheer, burgundy-toned gown with jewelled shoulder straps, pearls at her throat and wrist, one leg crossed elegantly over the other. Their contrasting demeanours—White’s tentative curiosity beside Loy’s composed confidence—create a subtle narrative tension, heightened by the warm tonal palette, polished parquet floor, and patterned cushions that evoke the intimate glamour of pre-Code studio interiors.

Theatrical Duality: Alice White is pretty in pink, alongside Myrna Loy in The Naughty Flirt (1931, WB). 25 August 1904 to 19 February 1983.

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A highly polished, retro pin-up style illustration depicts a dark-haired woman in pale blue satin lingerie with lace trim, standing barefoot upon an ornate Persian carpet in a warmly lit drawing room. She bends slightly at the waist, hands pressed to her ears in animated delight, as though reacting to the music issuing from an antique phonograph positioned upon a carved wooden side table. The gramophone’s polished brass horn gleams beneath heavy crimson drapery, while a fire crackles within a marble fireplace, casting amber light across patterned wallpaper and gilt-framed décor. One feather-trimmed high-heeled slipper lies discarded at her feet. The composition blends theatrical exuberance with nostalgic domestic luxury, employing saturated colour, idealised form, and meticulous detailing characteristic of mid-century commercial illustration.

19 February 1878: Thomas Edison receives a patent for the phonograph. Just try to imagine a time when it was not possible to hear music on demand, unless one possessed a piano or a fiddle and played those instruments oneself. Thank God for Edison.

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A sepia-toned publicity photograph from Picture Play magazine, circa 1930, portrays actress Dorothy Janis seated in a poised, sculptural arrangement upon a low pedestal. She wears a strapless satin dress whose lustrous surface catches the studio light, the fabric draped closely along her torso and thighs. Her legs are folded to one side in an elegant, balletic configuration, bare feet extended with deliberate grace. Janis’s dark, softly waved hair frames her face in a short, period bob; her gaze turns upward and away from the camera, imparting an air of contemplative detachment. Behind her, broad palm fronds cast graphic shadows across a pale backdrop, lending the composition an Art Deco theatricality. The image exemplifies early sound-era glamour photography, balancing modern sensuality with stylised restraint.

Dorothy Janis, 19 February 1912 to 10 March 2010. A Texas native who enjoyed a brief burst of fame at the tail end of the silent filmage, with only one of her films being a ‘talkie’. At the time of her passing, she was one of the last surviving performers of that era. {photo: Picture Play c. 1930}

A retro, mid-century pin-up style illustration depicts a red-haired woman in a red polka-dot bikini standing barefoot in a sunlit farmyard. Her expression is exaggerated in comic alarm, eyes widened and mouth agape, both hands pressed dramatically to her cheeks. One foot lifts instinctively from the grass as though recoiling. At her feet lie three hens, sprawled and motionless upon the bright green lawn. A single red high-heeled shoe has slipped aside in the grass. Behind her rise a weathered barn, small wooden sheds, a white fence and a field of ripening maize beneath a blue sky streaked with soft cloud. The painterly composition blends pastoral idyll with theatrical shock, employing saturated colour, idealised anatomy and humorous melodrama characteristic of vintage American commercial illustration.

“Avian flu continues spread in Pennsylvania egg, turkey facilities.” {CIDRAP 19 February} www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influe...

Megan Keller, at 4:07 of overtime, wins the gold medal for Team USA. Canada led most of the way, but then the US tied it 1–1, via captain Hillary Knight, with 2:04 remaining in regulation. Congratulations to the American team, and to #Canada on their silver medal.

An Impressionistic rendering in thick, tessellated brushstrokes depicts a young red-haired woman seated barefoot beneath a broad oak in a sunlit rural yard. She wears faded blue denim overalls, one strap fallen from her shoulder, the cloth creased and weather-softened. An open book rests across her lap, fingers poised upon its pages as her gaze lifts thoughtfully towards the middle distance. Around her, autumnal leaves scatter across parched earth in ochres and muted golds. A glass jar of amber liquid stands nearby, refracting the light. Behind, a weathered farmhouse with peeling paint, shuttered windows, and a shaded porch holds a rocking chair and potted flowers; a suspended tyre swing hangs from a branch. The scene balances agrarian nostalgia with quiet interiority, suffused in honeyed late-afternoon luminosity.

“The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.” —in memory of Harper Lee, 28 April 1926 to 19 February 2016.

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A colourised studio portrait of Merle Oberon presents the actress in three-quarter pose against a softly graduated grey backdrop, the lighting diffused yet directional, modelling her features with sculptural restraint. Her dark, softly waved bob frames a porcelain complexion; arched brows and elongated lashes accentuate contemplative eyes that glance slightly off-camera, while her lips are defined in a muted carmine. She wears a finely knit, high-necked jumper in warm ochre, its close weave tracing the natural line of her shoulders and torso, paired with a deep russet skirt. One hand, adorned with a simple ring, rests lightly upon the curved arm of a polished wooden chair, introducing a subtle note of domestic elegance. The composition, characteristic of mid-century publicity photography, balances intimacy and poise, foregrounding Oberon’s refined bearing and controlled glamour.

“Without security, it is difficult for a woman to look or feel beautiful.” —the distinguished British actress Merle Oberon, 19 February 1911 to 23 November 1979. {photo: John Springer Collection/CORBIS/Getty Images}

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A stylised, comic-book rendering portrays a silver-haired middle-aged man identified as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, depicted in three-quarter view with a guarded, sidelong expression. He wears a dark navy business suit, crisp white shirt, and textured mustard-yellow tie; his stance is slightly angled, one hand adjusting his cuff as though caught mid-motion. Heavy inked contours and saturated hues lend the image a graphic-novel intensity, with pronounced shadowing across his brow and jawline to heighten dramatic effect. Behind him rises a wrought-iron fence with spearhead finials, partially obscuring dense green foliage and a flowering shrub bearing violet blossoms. The architectural façade of a pale building appears beyond, its window framed in white. The composition employs bold linework, heightened contrast, and exaggerated facial modelling, signalling its AI-mediated, illustrative reinterpretation rather than a naturalistic photograph.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in custody on charges of misconduct in public office, the first senior British royal to be arrested in nearly 400 years. A shame the UK abolished the death penalty more than sixty years ago. {AP 19 February} apnews.com/article/brit...

Olympic women’s hockey: the gold-medal game, US v Canada, is about to get underway. May the best side win.

A sombre, Pre-Raphaelite-inflected nocturne depicts a nude young woman seated upon a lichen-darkened rock at the edge of a hushed lake, her body drawn inward in a posture of guarded introspection. She clasps her knees tightly to her chest, shoulders rounded, long rain-dampened black hair cascading over her arms and partially veiling her torso; a circlet of ivy threads through her tresses and trails along her spine. Her head inclines towards her knees, eyes lowered, a tear glistening upon her cheek in the last embers of dusk. Across the still water, stippled with pale water lilies, a ruined castle rises in shadow against a sky suffused with bruised violets and smouldering rose-gold light. Pendant branches frame the scene, deepening the atmosphere of elegiac solitude and mythic melancholy.

#Saturn Time and patience grow short — with this useless world and its inhabitants. And, frankly, with waiting on thee - www.reddit.com/r/ArthurNewh...

A brooding, cinematic tableau depicts a solitary woman standing barefoot upon jagged coastal rocks as a turbulent sea heaves below a storm-laden sky. She is viewed from behind, her long black hair whipped laterally by the wind, a diaphanous black gown slipping from one shoulder to reveal the pale architecture of her back. Her arms are lifted slightly, palms turned upward in a gesture suggestive of invocation or surrender. On the horizon, beneath a bruised firmament streaked with fading amber light, the ringed planet Saturn hangs luminous and improbable, its pallid glow piercing the gloom. Waves fracture against the cliff in white tumult, and the entire composition fuses Romantic sublimity with cosmic melancholy, positioning the figure as both supplicant and defiant witness before immensity.

#Saturn Where are you? Can't do this alone any longer - www.reddit.com/r/ArthurNewh...

A sepia-toned allegorical illustration portrays four sharply dressed women in tailored business suits standing upon a gleaming stone parapet, laughing and gesturing exuberantly. One tilts a champagne bottle in celebratory spray beside a prominently displayed American flag, its fabric rippling against a smoke-streaked sky. Beneath them, in a ravine of collapsed girders, fractured concrete and pulverised masonry, construction workers in hard hats and high-visibility vests struggle amidst the wreckage. Faces smeared with grime and blood, they reach upwards in desperation, one man extending a mud-caked hand towards the elevated figures above. The composition emphasises vertical disparity: corporate triumph and spectacle occupy the summit, while labourers remain engulfed in ruin below, the scene functioning as a pointed visual metaphor for social stratification, indifference and the brutal asymmetry of power.

Sabotage: during the first year of the restored Trump regime, OSHA recorded ‘a substantial drop’ in workplace inspections {NYT 18 February} www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/u...

Olympics hockey (M): Team USA over Sweden in OT via Quinn Hughes, the Americans will play Slovakia in the semi-finals.

A cinematic night scene unfolds in driving rain outside a glass-walled, high-technology office. In the foreground, drenched men and women in business attire press their palms against the illuminated façade, faces contorted in disbelief and desperation, briefcases abandoned amid puddles and scattered papers. Beyond the transparent barrier, under cold blue light and cascading data screens, an elegantly dressed blonde woman in a flowing, metallic evening gown laughs and gestures triumphantly, flanked by identically poised female figures in tailored grey suits whose composure and synchronised applause suggest artificial precision. The interior glows with digital dashboards and algorithmic displays, while the exterior remains shadowed and chaotic, a stark chiaroscuro juxtaposition of exclusion and ascendancy, evoking technological displacement and the spectacle of power insulated behind glass.

Microsoft’s chief AI officer has stated that nearly all white-collar jobs will be automated within a year and a half. {Futurism 13 February} futurism.com/artificial-i...

A warmly lit publicity still from The Breakfast Club (1985) shows Molly Ringwald in a relaxed, intimate close-up. She reclines slightly on her side, propping her head upon one hand, auburn hair softly tousled and framing her face. Her expression is open and luminous, a half-smile playing across her lips, conveying both youthful confidence and reflective vulnerability. She wears a muted rose short-sleeved blouse, a delicate cream lace scarf knotted at the throat, small pearl stud earrings, and a slim dark wristwatch—details emblematic of mid-1980s collegiate style. The shallow depth of field renders the background indistinct, focusing attention upon her bright eyes and the naturalistic, empathetic tone that defined the film’s ensemble portrait of adolescent introspection.

Molly Ringwald, born 18 February 1968, sits pretty in arguably her most famous role: Claire Standish in The Breakfast Club (1985, Universal).

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A richly coloured 1937 cinema poster for The Toast of New York features a dynamic diagonal composition dominated by bold, block lettering. At the top, three suited men—Edward Arnold, Cary Grant and Jack Oakie—stand in animated conversation, their faces turned towards one another in gestures of rivalry and ambition. Below them, Frances Farmer reclines in soft focus, gazing upward with a pensive, luminous expression, her coiffured blonde hair and satin gown epitomising late-Depression glamour. The title, rendered in sweeping red capitals with a looping gold “The,” cuts across the centre. Production credits appear along the lower margin, including direction by Rowland V. Lee and an Edward Small production, evoking the polished bravura of RKO publicity art.

“Only little people call it stealing. Big people call it borrowing.” — the esteemed Edward Arnold (18 February 1890 – 26 April 1956), as Jim Fisk in The Toast of New York (1937, RKO). Naturally, the little people continue to tolerate all this ‘borrowing’, but I digress.

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Olympics: #Canada knocks off Czechia in OT, 4-3, to reach the semi-finals of the men’s tournament. An excellent hockey game.