Metadata

Metadata (pronounced met-a-dar-ta)

(1) In computer science (originally from the database discipline), information that is held as a description of stored data; data that describes other data, serving as an informative label.

(2) In surveillance and law-enforcement, an infinitely variable set of parameters about a file, directory or other cluster of data which constitute the structured information about the data.

2000s: A compound word meta + data. Data is the plural of the Latin datum (something given) and some pedants continue to insist on the singular/plural distinction in English though it seems a losing battle.  Data entered English in the 1640s as “a thing given”, technically the neuter past participle of dare to give.  The meaning in the modern sense of "transmittable and storable computer information" was first noted in 1946 and “data processing” dates from 1954.  Despite the origins, metadata is a pure English word to which the rules of English apply; despite the technical possibilities offered by reducing metadata to individual components, there’s no such thing as a metadatum.

Meta comes from the Latin meta cone (turning post) which, in ancient Rome was a column or post, placed at each end of a racetrack to mark the turning places and Meta, as an independent word in English was first recorded in 1875.  In English, meta’s meaning is derived from the Ancient Greek μετά (with, after, alongside, on top of, beyond).  With its wide range of meanings, meta appears in many loanwords from Greek, with the meanings such as “after”, “along with”, “beyond”, and “among,”, the prefix added to the name of a subject and designating another subject that analyses the original one but at a more abstract or higher level.  Related are the Old English mið or mith, German mit, Gothic miþ and Old Norse meth.  In modern use, outside of computer science, it’s something with refers to itself, especially in self-parodying manner.  The notion of "changing places with" probably led to senses "change of place, order, or nature," which was a principal meaning of the Greek word when used as a prefix but which didn’t endure in English.  Other languages picked up the word with localised adaptions: metadados, metadatan, metadatat, metadatahantering, metadataschema and metadatastruktur are all early twentieth-century creations.

Meta’s third sense is defined as "higher than, transcending, overarching, dealing with the most fundamental matters of," exits probably because of a misinterpretation of metaphysics as "science of that which transcends the physical."  This has led to the prodigious erroneous extension in modern use, with meta- affixed to the names of other sciences and disciplines.  It’s especially loved by people like pop-music and movie critics who adopt the academic jargon of literary criticism and affix it whenever possible, particularly, one suspects, when writing about foreign film.

Of Metadata

Metadata is simply data about data and broadly, there are three distinct types: descriptive, structural and administrative metadata.  Descriptive metadata describes a resource for purposes such as discovery and identification and can include elements such as the title, abstract, author and keywords.  Structural metadata is about containers of data and indicates how compound objects are put together such as the way pages are ordered to form chapters.  It describes the types, versions, relationships and other characteristics of digital materials.  Administrative metadata provides information to help manage a resource, such as when and how it was created, file type and other technical information, and rights of access.

The usual sources cite a variety of dates when the word metadata first appeared but all agree it’s an early twenty-first century construction, the most useful metaphor probably the index card from the old days of libraries when only printed material was stored.  An index card would contain what would now be understood as a book’s metadata: author, title, publisher, date of publication, ISBN, number of pages etc.  Interest in the concept by the computer industry increased during the 1980s when the volume of information stored in formats which couldn’t easily be indexed began greatly to grow.  Unlike text, which was inherently easy to index, stuff stored in pixel formats such as images or videos could easily be referenced only by things of limited utility, like file-names or creation date.  The growth of metadata was thus both technologically and behaviorally deterministic, actual metadata varying according to the data referenced.  The metadata of an image might contain information about camera model, lens type and exposure whereas software binaries might include internal revision numbers, compiler versions and external dependency links.

Three wise men, Australian experts in metadata.  George Brandis QC (b 1957; attorney-general-2013-2017), Eric Abetz (b 1958; Liberal Party minister 2001-2007 & 2013-2015) and Tony Abbott (b 1957; prime-minister 2013-2015).

For those unaccustomed to data-handling and the protocols of digital-storage, the idea of metadata could be difficult to visualize.  Unfortunately, those a bit baffled included some of the politicians who were passing laws imposing on internet service providers (ISPs) and others a mandated requirement to retain and subsequently make available to the authorities the metadata referencing the internet use of their customers.  Seeking clarity about the government’s new metadata retention laws, Sky News on 24 June 2014 interviewed the then attorney-general, George Brandis QC and the discussion was certainly revealing.  It appears someone had briefed the attorney that a good metaphor for the relationship between metadata and the referenced data was that between the addresses of sender and receiver written on an envelope (which could be read by anyone) and the letter inside which could be read only the recipient.  That was good, to the extent it was, but Senator Brandis seemed to think it meant the government could simultaneously record the web addresses (URLs) accessed by people yet have no idea of the content viewed.  There was a pythonesque quality to the interview.

George Brandis QC explains metadata: Edited highlights.

Much ado about meta

A photograph of Lindsay Lohan created 10 February 2017 with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III.  The full metadata appears below.

Facebook’s decision to adopt the brand-name Meta for its holding company aroused some interest along with much fear and loathing.  It does seem a commonsense change given the company’s plans to expand its activities in ways where a brand-name associated with something as specific as a social media platform might not be helpful.  The name Facebook has much history and a niche so defined it might be difficult to nudge perceptions whereas the hope is that meta will come somehow to define whatever it is Meta wishes to be thought of as doing.  Most obviously, that will include the metaverse which, despite the company’s explanations, remains mysterious.  The term metaverse appeared first in Neil Stephenson’s (b 1959) well-received novel Snow Crash (1992) which existed somewhere in the genre of science-fiction, the framework of which was two parallel worlds, physical reality and the on-line, virtual Metaverse.  The Facebook folk presumably read and understood Snow Crash in which the Metaverse is a tool of corporations and beset with corruption, secrecy and exploitation so hopes are that either they have a feeling for irony or they don’t take SF too seriously.

The metadata associated with Lindsay Lohan's photograph.

The possibly cultivated sense of mystery may not be deliberate but may be unavoidable given what Meta plans to do is no different from what would anyway have been done under the Facebook banner which had long been described as the "Facebook ecosystem".  Anyway, the metaverse is said to be something which spans the physical and digital worlds, something which has been the ongoing project of many for some decades and anything Meta has said so far doesn’t suggest anything new in their plans so while the metaverse is perhaps less interesting than some may have hoped, it’s also less threatening than some seem to have feared.  Like Facebook therefore although it's not fair to say it just a piece of re-branding.  The vision is of the internet in 3D with which users will interact through one or more avatars through abstraction layers created by adding to the long-familiar 2D environment a mixture of augmented & virtual reality (AR & VR).  The long-term plan is for the early-adopters to spend hours, days, weeks, months, years etc with the bulky hardware attached to their heads, the data harvested from their interactions training the AI software to be ready for a time when the required devices will no longer be large and heavy and may not even be external.  Assuming a critical mass of users of the desirable demographics find such an ecosystem addictively compelling, it's be a valuable space for a company to dominate.      

The concept of the digital ecosystems is well-understood and one is most valuable in the sense of revenue maximization when the number of users can be both increased and encouraged to stay, making a particular ecosystem their entire online environment.  This is done by giving people what they want and because a high percentage of people want a great volume with surprisingly little variation of type, possibilities exist.  Most people want to do a small range of things on-line, some of which are but variations on others, even much of what is fed to people as news is packaged in a way that it becomes just another form of the entertainment which is the overwhelming bulk of what’s consumed. 

Meta’s metaverse is just the latest attempt to corner an audience in the way that Amazon became a sort of shopping metaverse but the Microsoft Network is the classic case-study of the limits of what’s possible when ambitions are cast adrift from the moorings of behavioral reality.  In the early 1990s, in the days of dial-up connections and bulletin boards, Microsoft launched its own online service with the aim of supplanting the then-dominant CompuServe.  The Microsoft network (MSN) was conceived as a "closed system” with all content stored and maintained by Microsoft, access available only to paying subscribers.  The universe however was about to shift and the availability of browsers, useable by real people and not just nerds, easily to view the growing content of the internet via the world wide web (which recently had been bolted atop) was a momentous change to what on-line meant and rapidly the internet displaced the old private networks.  Had it been a company without the resources and critical-mass of Microsoft, the shock would immediately have been fatal to the project but Microsoft was able to persist, MSN an integral part of the much vaunted Windows 95, both debuting in August 1995.  Typically, the way Microsoft integrated the sign-up process into the Windows interface attracted the interest of competitors and the inevitable anti-trust action began even before the release.  Incredible as it now sounds, such was the faith in the proprietary MSN model that Microsoft by default didn't load the IP stack or include an internet browser with the early build Windows 95, responding only later to pressure with a more expensive version of the operating system with which one was bundled or a stand-alone installation which sold for a then expensive US$49.95.

The Justice Department need not have bothered with their investigation.  Although MSM did attract subscribers, fewer than 8% of Windows 95 users availed themselves of the easy one-click access; interest in the web was much greater.  By 1996, MSM had become a web-based service and Microsoft devoted much money (reportedly well over a US$ billion at a time when a billion dollars was still a lot of money) to making it the complete environment which users would never have to leave; the metaverse of its day.  It never worked although the purchase of hotmail for a then impressive U$400 million proved a useful platform on which things could be built.  By 1998 MSN was just another place to visit on the internet.

Putsch

Putsch (pronounced poo-ch)

A (usually violent) sudden uprising; a political revolt, especially a coup d'état.

1915:  From the German Putsch, derived from the Swiss or Alemannic German Putsch (knock, thrust, blow) and therefore of imitative origin.  It picked up the meaning “a political coup” in standard German through Swiss popular uprisings of the 1830s, especially the Zurich revolt of September 1839; first noted in English in 1915.

Operation Hummingbird (1934): Crushing the "Röhm Putsch"

Adolf Hitler looking at Ernst Röhm, 1934.

Nacht der langen Messer (Night of the Long Knives), also called Unternehmen Kolbri (Operation Hummingbird) was a purge executed in Nazi Germany between 30 June-2 July 1934, when the regime carried out a number of extrajudicial executions, ostensibly to crush what was referred to as "the Röhm Putsch".  Targets of the purge were those in the Nazi (National-Socialist) movement labelled as identifying with the need to continue the revolution so it would be as much socialist as it was nationalist.  Ironically, at the time, there was no putsch planned although Ernst Röhm (1887–1934; chief of the Sturmabteilung (the stormtroopers (the SA)), head of the four-million strong SA had certainly in the past hinted at one.  A brutal act of mass-murder (the first of many to follow), the Night of the Long Knives was executed with remarkable swiftness and the most generous interpretation is it can be thought a "preventive" rather than a "pre-emptive strike".  Elsewhere in Europe, the events were noted with some alarm although most statesman of the Western democracies came quickly to conclude (in the Westphalian way) it was an "internal German matter" and it was best politely not publicly again to speak of it.  Among Germans, the lesson about the nature of the Nazi state was well-learned.    

Hermann Göring, 1934.

Intended by Adolf Hitler (1889-1945; head of government (1933-1945) & head of state (1934-1945) in Nazi Germany) to be a short, sharp hit with a handful of arrests, Hummingbird suffered the not infrequent fate of operations during the Third Reich: mission creep.  By the time Hummingbird ended in early July, Heinrich Himmler (1900–1945; Reichsführer SS (Schutzstaffel (Security Section (or Squad)) 1929-1945), his henchman Reinhard Heydrich (1904–1942; high-ranking SS official, chief of Reich Security Main Office (Gestapo, Sipo, Kripo & SD 1939-1942) and Hermann Göring (1893–1946; leading Nazi 1923-1945 and Hitler's designated successor 1941-1945), then a dynamic force, settled scores and, including collateral damage, the death toll was probably around 180.  Even Hitler thought that a bit much and worried for days there might be consequences but he addressed the parliament, claimed it was a matter of national security and received the thanks of the president for sorting things out.  All’s well that ends well.

The Nazi state was so extreme in its depravity and gangsterism it can be difficult fully to appreciate the enormity of what was done in 1934 and, dreadful as it was, the regime would get worse.  After Nacht der langen Messer, the Nazis cast themselves loose from the moorings of civilization, first drifting, later accelerating towards the holocaust.  The appalling nature of Nacht der langen Messer is best understood by imagining it happening in Australia under vaguely similar circumstances. 

Operation Galah (2018): Crushing the Dutton Putsch

Malcolm Turnbull & Scott Morrison.

At about 4:30am, Malcolm Turnbull and his entourage flew into Brisbane.  From the airport they drove to Federal Police headquarters, where an enraged Turnbull dismissed the police chief and told him he would be shot.  Later that day, he was executed while a large number of other police were arrested.  Turnbull meanwhile assembled a squad of federal police and departed for the northern suburbs hotel where Peter Dutton and his followers were staying.  With Turnbull's arrival around 6:30am, Dutton and his supporters, still in bed, were taken by surprise.  The squad stormed the hotel and Turnbull personally placed Dutton and other prominent Liberal-Party conservatives under arrest. According to Michaelia Cash, Turnbull turned Abbott over to "two detectives holding pistols with safety catches off".  Turnbull ordered Eric Abetz, George Christensen, Kevin Andrews and others in Dutton’s group immediately to be taken outside, put up against a wall and shot.

Christopher Pyne.

Although Turnbull presented no evidence of a plot by Dutton to overthrow his government, he nevertheless denounced the leadership of the conservative faction.  Arriving back at Liberal Party headquarters in Canberra, Turnbull addressed the assembled crowd and, consumed with rage, denounced "the worst treachery in world history". He told the crowd that "…undisciplined and disobedient characters and malcontents" would be annihilated. The crowd, which included party members and some Dutton supporters fortunate enough to escape arrest, shouted its approval.  Christopher Pyne, jumping with excitement, even volunteered to “shoot these traitors".

Julie Bishop & Peter Dutton.

Julie Bishop, who had been with Turnbull in Brisbane, set the final phase of the plan in motion and upon returning to Canberra, telephoned Scott Morrison at 11:00am with the codeword "Galah" to let loose the execution squads on the rest of their unsuspecting victims.  Some 180 enemies of the moderate faction were killed, most by shooting although there were mistakes; the music critic of the Courier Mail was executed because of a filing error when mixed-up with a member of the hard-right faction of the Young Liberals with a similar name.  The Liberal Party sent a wreath to the funeral along with two complementary tickets to a party fundraiser which was a nice gesture.

Eric Abetz & Scott Morrison.

The regime did not limit itself to a purge of the Liberal-Party conservatives.  Having banished some of them from the ministry, Turnbull and Bishop used the occasion to add to the list some moderates he considered unreliable.  Also executed were Barnaby Joyce and two other members of the National Party, apparently just because Turnbull hated them.  Another against whom he had long held a grudge, a former Treasury official, met an especially gruesome fate, his body found in a wood outside Canberra, beaten to death with a vintage mechanical adding machine.

Tony Abbott & Kevin Andrews.

Dutton, along with Tony Abbott, briefly was held in a cell at Liberal Party headquarters while Turnbull considered their fate.  In the end, he decided Dutton and Abbott had to die and, at Turnbull’s behest, Tim Wilson and Trent Zimmermann visited Dutton and Abbott.  Once inside the cell, they handed each of them a pistol loaded with a single bullet and told them they had ten minutes to kill themselves or they would do it for them.  Abbott demurred, telling them, "If I am to be killed, let Malcolm do it himself."  Having heard nothing in the allotted time, Wilson and Zimmermann returned to the cell to find them still alive, Abbott standing in a gesture of defiance, wearing just his Speedos.  They were then both shot dead.

George Christensen.

As the purge claimed the lives of so many prominent members of the party, it could hardly be kept secret.  At first, its architects seemed split on how to handle the event and Morrison instructed police stations to burn "all documents concerning the action of the past two days". Meanwhile, Julie Bishop tried to prevent newspapers from publishing lists of the dead, but at the same time used a radio address to describe how Turnbull had narrowly prevented Dutton and Abbott from overthrowing the government and throwing the country into turmoil.  Then, Turnbull justified the purge in a nationally broadcast speech in the House of Representatives.

“If anyone reproaches me and asks why I did not resort to the regular courts of justice, then all I can say is this. In this hour I was responsible for the fate of the Australian people, and thereby I became the supreme judge of the Australian people. I gave the order to shoot the ringleaders in this treason, and I further gave the order to cauterise down to the raw flesh the ulcers of this poisoning of the wells in our domestic life. Let the nation know that its existence—which depends on its internal order and security—cannot be threatened with impunity by anyone! And let it be known for all time to come that if anyone raises his hand to strike the state, then certain death is his lot”.

Peter Dutton & Malcolm Turnbull, 2016 General Election.

Concerned with presenting the massacre as legally sanctioned, Turnbull had the cabinet approve a measure that declared, "The measures taken to suppress treasonous assaults are legal as acts of self-defence by the State."  Attorney-General Christian Porter, a one-time conservative, demonstrated his loyalty to the regime by drafting the statute which added a veneer of lawfulness.  Signed into law as the Law "Regarding Measures of State Self-Defence", it retroactively legalised the murders committed during the purge.  Australia's legal establishment further capitulated to the regime when a leading legal scholar wrote an article defending Turnbull’s speech. It was named "The Prime-Minister Upholds the Law".  From Yarralumla, the governor-general sent Turnbull a personally-signed letter expressing his "profoundly felt gratitude" and he congratulated the prime-minister for "nipping treason in the bud".

Autogynephilia & Autogynepoliteia

Autogynephilia (pronounced aw-toh-gi-ni-fil-ee-uh)

The paraphilic tendency of someone anatomically male to be sexually aroused by the thought of instead being female.  The shortened form in psychiatry is AGP.

1989: The construct is auto + gyne + phila.  Auto is from the Ancient αὐτός (autos) (self).  Gyne is from the Ancient Greek γυνή (gunḗ) (woman); doublet of queen.  Philia is from the Ancient Greek φιλία (philía) (fraternal) (love).

Gender Identity Disorder and the DSM

The word autogynephilia was coined by US psychologist Dr Ray Blanchard (b 1945) as a component of his research into transsexualism typology.  Autogynephiliacs he categorized as those men who are sexually aroused at the idea of having a female body, a subset of those erotically aroused by cross-gender behaviors and fantasies within the general condition of gender dysphoria.  Blanchard listed four types of autogynephilic, noting (shifting degrees of) co-occurrence in studied cases was common.

(1) Transvestic autogynephilia: arousal to the act or fantasy of wearing typically feminine clothing.

(2) Behavioral autogynephilia: arousal to the act or fantasy of doing something regarded as feminine.

(3) Physiologic autogynephilia: arousal to fantasies of body functions specific to people regarded as female

(4) Anatomic autogynephilia: arousal to the fantasy of having a normative woman's body, or parts of one.

He noted that for historic reasons related both to visibility and traditional categories of psychatric illness, transvestic-fetishistism has long tended to be the most publically identified type but that the more inherently private anatomic autogynephilia type is actually is more associated with gender dysphoria and may be more prevalent.  Not only that but within that group, there were those exhibiting partial autogynephilia, being sexually aroused by the image or idea of having some but not all normative female anatomy while simultaneously retaining all their male physiology.

Just about any publishing of research in this field means walking an academic minefield but autogynephilia attracted more interest than most papers.  One theme was the reaction to the American Psychiatric Association (APA) including autogynephilia in the supporting text of Gender Identity Disorder diagnosis in the revised fourth edition (2000) of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). 

Twenty years earlier, in DSM-III (1980), the APA had, after a bit of tinkering in 1973, (almost) removed the diagnostic category of homosexuality because the “…crucial issue in determining whether or not homosexuality per se should be regarded as a mental disorder is not the etiology of the condition, but its consequences and the definition of mental disorder.”  That had been an extraordinary shift, not only in the DSM’s thirty-odd year practice but also in the traditions of western psychiatry, essentially a change in diagnostic policy toward the consequence of a condition rather than speculation of its cause.  That within a generation the APA would appear to discard this principle disappointed many.

In DSM-5 (2013), autogynephilia was included as one of the propensities of those with transvestic disorder (listed as a paraphilic disorder), characterized by the sexual excitement individuals experience when they cross-dress or think about cross-dressing, noting fantasies which accompany autogynephilia can focus on (1) the idea of having female physiological functions (2), engaging in stereotypical feminine behavior or (3), having, in whole or in part, female anatomy.  Reflecting changes in other conditions, in DSM-5, changes were made also to the diagnostic criteria.

Autogynepoliteia (pronounced aw-toh-gi-ni-poh-light-e-uh)

The adoption by a man of female identity for purposes of political advantage.

2021: The construct is auto + gyne + politeia.  Auto is from the Ancient αὐτός (autos) (self).  Gyne is from the Ancient Greek γυνή (gunḗ) (woman); doublet of queen.  Politeia (πολιτεία) is from Ancient Greek, a word used in Greek political thought, especially that of Plato and Aristotle.  It's from polis (city-state) and has a variety of meanings including "rights of citizens" to a "form of government".  The construct autogynepoliteia was created to mean “man who adopts a female identity for political advantage”.  The more fastidious Hellenic scholars might be appalled but it rolls off the tongue.

Australian Senator Eric Abetz (b 1958; senator for Tasmania (Liberal) since 1994) since first gaining pre-selection in 1993, always enjoyed the number one position on the Liberal Party ticket, the slot guaranteeing election to the upper house for a six-year term.  Unfortunately, he no longer has the numbers and on 8 May 2021 it was announced that for up-coming election, had been dropped to third place, re-election still possible but with prospects substantially diminished.  The senator soon sniffed out the skullduggery behind his demotion and it included sexism.  Noting that one of those who had usurped the desirable first and second spots was a woman, the senator declared “I can’t do anything about my sex”.  There may be also some resentment felt by the senator because he has (through the rumor-mongering of his enemies) gained a reputation as a conservative and even a reactionary.  He says that's unfair, pointing out that in the 1980s when he established his legal practice, it was the first in the city of Hobart to feature color as part of the letterhead.       

Depiction of a possible Senator Erica Betts in knee-length dress (part-number 4003105) @ US$68.88 and stiletto pumps with clutch purse (digitally altered image).

He shouldn’t have been so pessimistic, there being no reason why he couldn't have re-invented himself as Senator Erica Betts and re-contested the pre-selection through the party’s appeal processes and, after thirty odd years in the Tasmanian Liberal Party machine, surely he must have had dirt files on many of those with a vote.  While it’s (probably) still accepted orthodox science that sex can’t be changed in the biological sense, sex changes for legal and administrative purposes are hardly novel.  These things are called legal fictions and mean documents like passports, licenses and Liberal Party pre-selection papers can reflect something changed in law irrespective of biological reality.  If that seems too onerous, gender shifting is now possible and need not even be permanent, Senator Erica Betts having to exist only for pre-selection and election campaign purposes although, because that might have been thought cynical, the identity would probably have to have been maintained for the whole term.  For additional electoral advantage, he/she/they could have campaigned as a trans-rights activist because, as he pointed out when dissecting the scandal of being dumped, there was no criticism of his “…work ethic, energy, capacity, advocacy skills…” and the trans-community would have responded: “Give us leadership, Erica!” they would have cried out, “Give us some leadership!”.

Autogynepoliteia thus describes the condition sought (rather than suffered) by someone anatomically male to be instead thought female, for purposes of political advantage.  It adds to the politics of gender what is already noted in race politics.  The political right now uses the labels race-shifters (US), pretendarians (Canada) and box tickers (Australia) to describe the practice of people self-identifying as being of Indigenous or First Nations descent for one purpose or another.  Linguistically, what would make it unusually effective is the phonetic assimilation between Eric Abetz and Erica Betts.  Phonetic assimilation describes a sound-change where some phonemes (more typically consonants) shift to become more similar to other nearby sounds.  A common phonological process across languages, assimilation can occur within a word or between words.  Although often heard in normal speech, the frequency increases as delivery becomes more rapid.  Interestingly, assimilation can cause the spoken sound to differ from the accepted correct pronunciation or, to become the accepted form, the latter often making the list of canonical or received speech.

Pamphlet from Senator Abetz's "below the line" voting campaign for the 2022 Australian general election.  Senator Abetz seems now to feel "below the line" is no longer "below the belt".

It's not known if Senator Abetz seriously considered the trans option but a recent mail-drop campaign confirms he's instead running a "vote below the line" campaign, despite having previously denounced such tactics as "destabilising" (ie when used by someone else).  When Aged Care Services Minister, the hapless Richard Colbeck (b 1958; Senator (Liberal) for Tasmania 2002-2016 & since 2018) dropped to fifth on 2016 party ticket, resulting in him losing his seat, Senator Abetz was critical of a grassroots campaign supporting a “below the line” vote.  "The destabilising, below-the-line campaign (run by Senator Colbeck’s supporters) undermined the team message of stability", he said in a letter to Senate pre-selectors after the election.  His views have clearly changed and he does have the advantage of below the line campaigns being unusually effective in Tasmania because (1) the Hare Clark electoral system used in state elections, where it's possible to pick and choose candidates for the same party, means voters are well versed in the concept and (2) the small population size which means he'll need to attract comparatively few first below the line votes to secure election.  Tasmanians actually like to vote below the line and do so at about four times the frequency of voters in other states, even when there’s no concerted campaign to attract their pencil and in the 2016 poll Labor's Lisa Singh (b 1972; Senator (ALP) for Tasmania 2011 to 2019) actually gained re-election from sixth place on the basis of such votes.  That was a double-dissolution election and the quota for a seat was thus lower but she nevertheless became the first candidate elected on below-the-line votes since the system was introduced in 1984.  Because of the math however, it's going to be harder for Senator Abetz and it does appear he also holds the (doubtlessly unwanted) record as the Tasmanian senator who has in the past attracted the greatest number of last places from those who vote below the line.  His "Put Eric First" campaign may also be up against a not formerly organized but at least percolating "Put Eric Last" movement.  

His campaign is anyway different than those he's run before.  His signage, of which there seems to be much, includes only his name and the now expected 3WS (three word slogan): That he “puts Tasmania first”.  There's no mention of him being a candidate for the Liberal Party but whether an attempt to declare quasi-independent status can succeed for someone who has represented the Liberal Party for twenty-eight years and, sometimes as a cabinet minister and leader of the government in the Senate, sat through the Keating, Howard, Rudd, Gillard, Rudd, Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison eras seems improbable.  Still, it's a strategy, even if one less likely to succeed than running as trans activist Senator Erica Betts but anyone familiar with the senator's long history will not underestimate his tenacity and understand there'll be no bowing out gracefully.

Glout

Glout (pronounced glout or gloot)

(1) To scowl or frown (archaic).

(2) To stare gloatingly (obsolete).

(3) To look sullen (modern revival for selfies & memes).

1400–1450: The origin is in late Middle English and although of uncertain origin, it’s related to the earlier use where to glout was “gloatingly to stare”.  The root, the Middle English glouten (to scowl) is thought derived from the Old Norse goltta (scornfully to grin) but, although likely, the link is undocumented.  Something tending to wards a glout would be gloutish and a hint of the look in another object would be gloutesque but both those adjectives are non-standard.  Although described as archaic as long ago as the eighteenth century, glout enjoyed a bit of a (brief) early twenty-first century revival as a descriptor of selfies and memes although the more evocative "resting bitch face" (RBF) tended to be preferred.  In the way the social works, the resurrected glout soon faded from use.  Glout is a noun & verb, glouted & glouting are verbs; the noun plural is glouts.

Noted glouters, glouting: Paris Hilton (b 1981; top left), Britney Spears (b 1981; top centre), Lindsay Lohan (b 1986; top right), Cardinal George Pell (1941-2023; bottom left), Eric Abetz (b 1958; Liberal Party senator for Tasmania, Australia 1994-2022, member of the Tasmanian House of assembly since 2024, bottom centre) and crooked Hillary Clinton (b 1947; US secretary of state 2009-2013).

Sometimes, some have cheerful faces and eyes full of joy while others can but glout.  Donald Trump (b 1946; US president 2017-2021, left) and Pope Francis (b 1936; pope since 2013, right) pause for a photo opportunity, the Vatican, May 2017.

His Holiness may have been reflecting on his words in: True Christians have cheerful faces and eyes full of joy, the homily he’d three months earlier delivered during morning Mass in the Casa Santa Marta.  His theme had been an invitation for the faithful to reflect on the relationship between God and money and the notion we cannot serve two masters so must choose between them.  He took his reading from Matthew 19, Mark 10 & Luke 18 which include the famous passage: “I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God”, explaining the message of Jesus remains those who give up the pursuit of money will be rewarded for “there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel, who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come”.  “The Lord is incapable of giving less than everything” the Pope said, “when he gives us something, he gives all of himself.”  “A cheerful face and eyes full of joy” Francis concluded: “these are the signs that we’re following this path of all and nothing, of fullness emptied out.”

Doughnut

Doughnut (pronounced doh-nuht)

(1) A deep-fried piece of dough or batter, usually mixed with various sweeteners and flavors, often made in a toroidal or ellipsoidal shape flattened sphere shape filled with jelly/jam, custard or cream and sometimes glazed.

(2) In engineering, a variety of objects using this shape ranging from transmission connectors to the reaction vessel of a thermonuclear reactor.

(3) In physics, a toroidal vacuum chamber.

(4) As a descriptor, anything in the shape of a torus (thick ring); an annular object; a toroid.

(5) In (informal) parliamentary jargon, to surround a speaker with other members during the filming of a speech to create the illusion the chamber is crowded and people are interested in what he is saying.

(6) In slang, the vulva and (by extension) a woman's virginity, a derived form being the “doughnut bumper” (a lesbian).

(7) In UK colloquial use, a foolish or stupid person (based on the idea of “nut” being used as slang for the head, filled with dough (a soft, inert substance); Now rare except as a regionalism although the companion “a bit doughy” (ie "a bit dense") endures.

(8) In admiralty slang, a circular life raft. 

(9) In the slang of musicians, a whole note.

(10) In automotive use, a "peel-out" or skid mark in the shape of a circle; a 360-degree skid created with deliberately excessive wheelspin, also associated with the "burn out".  The term is most used in the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia and in the latter it's most associated with (though not restricted to) "bogan culture".  Behavioral zoologists have noted the striking similarity between the tyre marks left on the road and the way some animals urinate to "mark their territory" but this may be drawing a long anthropological bow.

(11) In automotive use, a spare car tyre, smaller than a full-sized tyre and intended only for temporary use.

(12) In aviation, a type of tyre for an airplane with a rounded tread profile and a high sidewall which interacts (as a shock absorber) with the landing gear's hydraulics.

(13) In rehabilitative medicine. a toroidal cushion typically used by hemorrhoid  (piles) patients.  

(14) In hair styling, a shaper around which hair tightly can be bound.

(15) In vulgar slang, the vulva; by extension, a woman's virginity. 

(16) In the vulgar slang of the male gay community, a "puffy" anus with the outward shape of a donut (though it can be applied generally to any anus); the companion term is "donut hole".

1809: The construct was dough + nut.  Dough was from the Middle English dow, dogh & dagh, from the Old English dāg, from the Proto-Germanic daigaz (dough), from the primitive Indo-European dheygh (to knead, form, mold).  It was cognate with the Scots daich, dauch & doach (dough), the West Frisian daai (dough), the Dutch deeg (dough), the Low German Deeg (dough), the German Teig (dough), the Norwegian Bokmål deig (dough), the Danish dej (dough), the Swedish deg (dough) and the Icelandic deig (dough).  Nut was from the Middle English nute & note, from the Old English hnutu, from the Proto-West Germanic hnut, from the Proto-Germanic hnuts (nut) (the form may be compared with the West Frisian nút, the Dutch noot, the German Nuss, the Danish nød, the Swedish nöt and the Norwegian nøtt), from the root knu-, seen also in the Proto-Celtic knūs (source of Irish cnó) and the Latin nux (nut).  There are etymologists who, noting the form of the nouns and the restriction of the root to Germanic, Celtic and Italic, argue it may be of non-Indo-European origin.  The adoption to mean “fastening device for a bolt” is conventionally traced to the Old English hnutu (hard-shelled fruit with a seed inside (acorn, chestnut etc), based upon (1) the appearance and (2) an analogy between the hard outer shell of a nut and the protective function of the metal nut in securing a bolt (ie a nut, like its botanical counterpart, encases and protects something (in this case, the threaded end of a bolt).  The use has been documented since the early-fifteenth century and has been used in mechanical and engineering contexts since.  Doughnut is a noun & verb and doughnutting & doughnutted are verbs; the noun plural is doughnuts.

Etymologists note the spelling “donut” was not unknown in the first half of the twentieth century but was rare.  The event which seemed to have triggered the widespread adoption was the “quick service” restaurant Open Kettle (founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1948) in 1950 changing its name to Dunkin' Donuts and, as a franchise operation, Dunkin' Donuts spread nationwide so along with the classic FSS (fat, salt & sugar) product came linguistic change, an example of the haphazard way English evolves.  Curiously, although Dunkin' Donuts Australia sites were by 2009 shuttered (after a two-decade run), the linguistic legacy endures and “donut” & “doughnut” peacefully co-exist whereas in the dozen-odd other countries where Dunkin' Donuts retains a presence, the latter is said to remain the mainstream spelling.

In all markets, Krispy Kreme continues to use “doughnut”, the company founded in North Carolina in 1937 at a time when the spelling was (almost) uncontested.  The first known evidence of the word “doughnut” appearing in print was in 1809 in Washington Irving’s (1783–1859) Knickerbocker’s History of New York and to refer to fried dough balls (ie literally “nuts of dough”) as “doughnuts” was etymologically and descriptively sound because, being then usually round with no hole and often stuffed with nuts or fruit preserves, the allusion was to nuts in the sense of the edible kernels from plants, not the fastener used with a bolt.  The brand-name Dunkin’ Donuts reflects the trend in mid-twentieth US commerce to simplify spellings (in the spirit of the sensible American rationalizations such as catalog vs catalogue, color vs colour etc) to make them “catchier” as well as obviously “modern” (nite vs night, thru vs through etc).  Being shorter, “donut” worked better on logos and signage and was very much part of the post-war zeitgeist of speed, efficiency & convenience.  Krispy Kreme never shifted their branding because the traditional spelling was thought to impart a sense of “authenticity and heritage” which tied in with the deliberately old-fashioned themes used in the stores fit-out; nostalgia as a commodity.  Most major prescriptive dictionaries continue to “doughnut” as the primary spelling, with “donut” as a variant, the popularity of the latter noted as a linguistic phenomenon in North America, Australia and on-line.

Box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

What Washington Irving mentioned in 1809 (the “small, spongy cake made of dough and fried in lard”) was probably best described as “a lump” because there seems to be no suggestion the size and exact shape of the things were in any way standardized beyond being vaguely roundish.  It’s not clear when the holes became common, the first mention of them apparently in 1861 at which time one writer recorded that in New York City (the old New Amsterdam) they were known also as olycokes (from the Dutch oliekoek (oily cake) and some food guides of the era listed doughnuts and crullers as “types of olycoke”.  The spelling donut was typical of the sensible and pragmatic simplification of spelling in US English and emerged in the mid nineteenth century; the form donnut did not last, the duplicated “n” obviously redundant.  In engineering, the word is widely applied including (1) the reaction vessel of a thermonuclear reactor, (2) a circular life raft, (3) A toroidal vacuum chamber (used in experimental physics), (4) a circular life raft, (5) certain types of aircraft tyres, (6) a spare car tyre smaller than a full-sized tyre and intended only for temporary use.  In idiomatic use, the phrase “bet you a dollar to a donut” fell victim to inflation.  Dating from a time when a donut typically cost a dime (5 cents), it thus implied odds of 20-1 and was part of a rich linguistic tradition which included memorable constructions such as "monkey to a mousetrap" (500-1).  As used to describe the behaviour in which a car is driven at low speed in circles with the drive wheels spinning, thus leaving a circular track of rubber on the road, the “donut” was first used circa 1981 in the US and it was picked up around the world by males aged 17-25, the donut specialists.

The great Krispy Kreme doughnut heist.

In November 2023, in Sydney, Australia, a Krispy Kreme delivery van loaded with 10,000 freshly fried doughuts was stolen from a 7/11 petrol (gas) station; police established a crime scene and launched an investigation into the incident and some two weeks later a 28 year old woman was charged with stealing after the Krispy Kreme van was found abandoned at a nearby car-park in Parramatta.  The donuts were “destroyed”, according to a police spokesman and the authorities later confirmed the suspect would be charged with "taking a driving conveyance without the consent of the owner, driving a motor vehicle during a disqualification period and travelling or attempting to travel without a valid ticket."  The woman was refused bail, presumably because the police forces anywhere would regard a threat to the national doughnut supply as a serious offence.

World War I Salvation Army doughnut girl poster.

The dough-boy was something which existed as early as the 1680s but it was something more like a pancake than a donut and doughboys were widely known; because the distinctive buttons on the uniforms worn by soldiers of the American expeditionary forces sent to Europe in 1971 to afforce the Allies in World War I (1914-1918) were the same shape, the soldiers were nicknamed “doughboys”.  Doughnuts were supplied to troops during World War I by a Christian organization, the Salvation Army (which uses military ranks but isn't really a paramilitary formation except in the sense of the later term "moral rearmament") which recruited some 250 woman volunteers who settled on the fried items because they could be prepared quickly and cheaply with minimal equipment and required only ingredients which were readily available through most military supply depots.  The doughnuts were originally quite small but, responding to suggestions, the women had a blacksmith fashion a mold for the now now-iconic circular shape with a hole in the centre.

World War I doughnut girl (left) and World War II (right) donut dolly.  It was during the later conflict the term "donut dolly" supplanted "doughnut girl", presumably because of the alliterative appeal.  Airline stewardesses (flight attendants) were (in less enlightened times) sometimes called "trolley dollies", the phonetic attraction there the rhyme although alliteration clearly appealed to the (always male) pilots of the era who preferred "flying fucks".  

Production at scale soon followed and they were distributed also to civilians; it was at this point, for better and worse, that French society hungrily adopted the doughnut.  During World War II (1939-1945), the system was formalized with the Red Cross taking over the operation and although it was never an official term, the women were known popularly as “donut dollies”, recruited on the basis of (1) being aged 25-35, (2) having a high school diploma, (3) appropriate work experience, (4) good reference letters and (5) “healthy, physically hardy, sociable and attractive”.  By the time of the D-Day landings in Normandy (6 June 1944), the Red Cross had some 100 British Army buses operating with fully-equipped kitchens, the donut-machines provided by the American Donut Company.  The donuts were served with coffee and the donut dollies were able to supply also those staples of army life: chewing gum and cigarettes.

Rotoflex doughnuts

Totoflex "Doughnut" coupling.

Rotoflex couplings were often used in the 1960s to connect differential output shafts to the rear hubs.  Usually called “rubber doughnut”, they were popular in road cars such as the Triumph GT6 and racing machinery as varied as the Ford GT40 and Lotus 21 because, prior to the availability of suitable constant velocity (CV) joints, there was really no better alternative.  Although subject to wear, usually they worked well but Lotus also used them on the Elan, the rear suspension of which was exceptionally supple rear, providing for significant vertical wheel travel which resulted on the deformation of Rotoflex doughnuts, the phenomenon known as a “wind up”.  While readily detectable by experienced drivers who learned to adjust their clutching technique, it could be disconcerting to those unused to the Elan’s quirks.

Doughnut installed: rear suspension of 1972 Lotus Elan Sprint.

In recent years, some of the replacement doughnuts manufactured in the Far East have been of sometimes dubious quality so except for those dedicated to maintaining originality, many Elans have been converted to use half-shafts built with CV joints.  When in 1971 the Elan was updated with a more powerful engine, the company did experiment with other methods but it was clear the elasticity of the doughnuts was integral to the design and without them the famously precise handling characteristics suffered.  Now however, although expensive, more rigid Rotoflex doughnuts are available which preserve the precision although at the cost of adding an occasional harshness to the Elan’s exceptionally smooth ride.

Crab Doughnuts: Chiltern Firehouse, London

Chiltern Firehouse Crab Doughnuts Recipe

Ingredients (doughnuts)

540g strong white flour (plus extra to dust)
70g caster sugar
2 tsp Maldon sea salt (plus 1 tbsp to dust)
1 tsp instant yeast
140ml water (room temperature)
4 large free range eggs
Grated zest of 3 un-waxed lemons
130g unsalted butter (thinly sliced and chilled)
500ml sunflower oil (for deep frying, plus extra for greasing)
3 tbsp icing sugar (to dust)
1 tbsp ground cinnamon (to dust)

Ingredients (tomato juice)

10 beef tomatoes (or whatever is the largest variety available)
2 cloves garlic (green germ removed and cloves chopped)
1 shallot (chopped)
¼ red chilli (de-seeded and chopped)
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
1 tbsp fish sauce
Maldon sea salt (to taste)

Ingredients (crab filling)

200g picked white crab meat (from the claws)
2 tbsp tomato juice
2 tbsp crème fraiche
1 tbsp basil leaves (thinly sliced)
2½ tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Maldon sea salt (to taste)

Instructions (doughnuts)

(1) Place flour, sugar, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with dough hook attachment and mix at slow speed. In separate bowl, combine water, eggs and lemon zest.

(2) Slowly add liquid mixture to flour mixture (with mixer at slow speed) until it forms a dough. Increase the speed and knead for 10-12 minutes, until the dough comes away from sides of bowl and is smooth and elastic.

(3) Reduce speed to slow and add butter, a slice at a time. Once all butter has been incorporated, increase speed, kneading for a further 5-6 minutes (until sough is smooth).

(4) Cover bowl with clingfilm and place it in the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight, allowing dough to rest and prove slowly. Next day, oil a baking sheet. Roll dough to a 2cm (¾ inch) thickness on a lightly floured work surface and cut out 80 x 30 mm (3 x 1 ¼ inch) circles. Roll each circle into a ball, placing them on oiled baking sheet. Cover and leave to prove for about 2-3 hours.

(5) Fill a deep saucepan or deep-fat fryer with the sunflower oil (it should be about half-full) and place over a medium heat until it reaches 175˚C. (350˚C).  Deep-fry doughnuts, four at a time, for 2-3 minutes, basting them constantly with the oil until golden brown.  To drain, transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper.

Instructions (tomato juice)

Cut tomatoes in half and squeeze out seeds. Grate the flesh of the tomatoes on the side of a box grater over a bowl. Place grated tomato flesh in the bowl of a food processor with the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a muslin cloth and hang cloth over a bowl for 2 hours.

Instructions (crab filling)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Cover and chill until ready to assemble.

Instructions (final assembly)

Cut each doughnut in half and fill it with the chilled crab mixture. Mix the icing sugar in a bowl with the cinnamon and salt, dusting doughnuts with the mix. Serve immediately.  Left-over dough can be cut into 50-60 mm (2-2½ inch) circles and deep-fried until golden brown, then coated in sugar.  They make a quick and indulgent treat.

Parliamentary doughnutting

An improbable Cassandra:  Eric Abetz (b 1958, senator (Liberal Party) for Tasmania) 1994-2022) in the Australian Senate, Monday 26 November 2017, delivering an important speech opposing same-sex marriage, surrounded by his supporters.  This is an example of how "parliamentary doughnutting" would have created a good photo-opportunity.  The tactic is to assemble enough members to create the impression that what is being said (1) matters, (2) is interesting and (3) has some support.