June 21, 2017
Japanese Sumo Robots
ロボット相撲 (slyt) "It's like watching typewriters fight."
Fashions of the Plain People
"Amish dress practices are slow to change because they are viewed as religious precepts. But change they do, and not only for utilitarian reasons. Amish fashion – change for the sake of change – exists, but it is subtle, slow, and miniscule. [...] Individual signs of rebellion or boundary testing include, for women, wearing prayer kapps that are smaller and thus expose more of the ear, kapps with untied strings, kapps with pronounced heart-shaped designs on the back, dresses in brighter colours, decorative pins on jacket lapels, and small frills and ruffles on sleeves." [more inside]
“Winston from Overwatch...because he's adorable.”
NYC divests pension fund from private prisons
Gothamist: New York City's pension fund is the first in the nation to fully divest from private prisons, according to Comptroller Scott Stringer. Trustees of the city's pension fund voted unanimously to divest in mid-May, and have since pulled $48 million of stocks and bonds from three companies: GEO Group, CoreCivic, and G4S. [more inside]
"It belies a mastery of the form."
You know what's kinda relaxing? Watching smart people give advice about their field of expertise. When they happen to also be talented comedic actors, it's even better. So please enjoy "Wood Support" with Nick Offerman and "Doc Support" with Ken Jeong (Part of Wired's "Tech Support" series).
You're Perfect
Rainbow Gathering photographs by Kate Harnedy.
Reinventing the toilet
Traditional flush toilets aren’t an option in many parts of the world, but neither is leaving people with unsafe and unhygenic choices. Now, one company is piloting a new loo that's waterless, off-grid and able to charge your phone.
Aguas! aguas!
Freakishly fast dog runs around 2000 feet in Mexico city traffic, with a biker trying to catch up. They cross at least 5 big intersections. Amazingly, the dog gets caught and no one gets run over. (Warning: dog goes under a car at the beginning but seems to not get hit. ) (SLTwitter) [more inside]
Antique Mahjong Sets
The Old School 1%
High-end cocktails at 60km/ hr. Luxury trains are special trains designed specifically to offer an elegant train ride, and evoke a strong sense of association as in history, heritage and decadence of a leisurely ride.
Maharajas' Express
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Maharajas' Express
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Book of Biscuits #1: he's a dog, and a knight. Beware! Or be happy. Orf!
MeFite hanzoschmanzo made a comic about a dog. That dog is a knight. His name is Sir Biscuits, the Bone of Treat-Cadia, and as a warning, he might have an anger problem. If you like this, you can see more at Spencer Ranch (and on Wordpress), and Behance. [via mefi projects]
Eight days a week 🐙 🦑
In honor of eight-day-long Cephalopod Week, here are eight fantastic facts about octopuses and their ilk. For example: the Humboldt squid can turn itself blood-red and effectively become invisible in their usual depths, where they exhibit the behavior that earned them the nickname "red devils."
“Covering America for the world, including Americans.”
How The Guardian Lost America (Steven Perlberg/Buzzfeed News) -
"The Guardian’s US newsroom didn’t become the voice of the Bernie left during the election. It didn’t break huge campaign scoops. Years after winning a Pulitzer for the Edward Snowden story, Guardian US has slashed costs, leaving employees stewing about mismanagement, infighting, a sexual harassment allegation, and unrealistic business expectations."
It wasn’t about what we thought. It was about the young people.
When the Village People released their hit in 1978, the American branch of the Christian-centric organisation YMCA threatened to sue them. About 40 years later, the Australian YMCA has decided to embrace the song - partnering with Boy George to record a cover for their new youth-focused initiative Why Not? - highlighting marriage equality, youth unemployment, and mental health.
This Ken would like you to know that he is a graphic designer.
On Tuesday, Mattel unveiled a new line of diverse Ken dolls to accompany the now diverse Barbie (previously). But who are all these Kens? R. Eric Thomas of ELLE Magazine describes All the Ken Dolls You Will Meet in Your Lifetime.
tick tock tock tock
Against The Clock is a YouTube series from British music portal FACT where electronic musicians of various predispositions lay down a track in their studios. Some use just Ableton or Logic on a laptop and a MIDI controller, others go full hardware and Eurorack, while some explain their process and others are silent throughout the video, but all of them have just 10 minutes to build that track from scratch. [more inside]
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