consanguinity and so do my sisters and my cousins and my aunts

Mental Floss has gathered an interesting though archaic collection of specific terms for family members. Though not in common-parlance, I really appreciate the fact that ones father's sister is properly known as ones fadu and relations should be honoured with more than generic titles, I think.
Most of the catch-all English words—which do certainly enjoy a greater degree of specificity in other languages and cultures, are derived from French and German words. Some of the peculiarities are interesting to note, as well—like the Germanic Eltern for the English parents (from the Latin parens) is always dual and can never signal a single parent, except when constructed as alleinstehende Mutter, or sister-germane, from the Latin germanus for real and sincere and having nothing to be with the exonym for the country.

zifferblatt

 Some enterprising minds have opened up a new cafe in London, the Presurfer reports, where time is money and patrons pay only based on the time that they are there, clocking in and out with the mug given them at the door. Coffee and light-fare and use of the internet and kitchen are free. Ziferblat (in Russian) and Zifferblatt (in German) is the word for the face of a clock and a similar concept was already debuted here in Wiesbaden in the early summer by another Russian entrepreneur with the same amenities. I think it's a pretty keen idea and I wish both cafes success but I do wonder where people put more a premium on loitering—or are both locales inviting the same, like-minded clientele.

badge, device or cognizance

The ever inspiring Muse at BibliOdyssey shares her latest discovery of the lettering artwork of designer and bookbinder Albert Angus Turbayne though his big book of turn-of-the-century monograms and ciphers. A cipher in this context refers to the stylistic linking together of letters, as opposed to a typographic ligature, like &, æ and ß. There is a very nice representative gallery at the link above, but one can also find the exhaustive collection of initials and styles at Project Gutenberg should one be searching for his or her initials.

corbels and consoles

Actress and activist Joanne Lumley, Bond Girl and Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous, has commissioned architect and civil engineer Thomas Heatherwick to build a pedestrian bridge spanning the Thames.

The lush and living gardens and park will be in memory of Princess Diana, and the concept echoes the elevated promenades of other modern metropolises, like the Sky Line in New York City, and more historic constructions, like how the old London Bridge was outfitted with homes and shops, as well as a means for traversing the river. The article from WIRED! magazine emphasizes the link to another actor, di Caprio, as inspiration, and while such an imaginative structure could be out of the dream-scape of Inception, the architect actually faced an enormous challenge in aesthetically accommodating all the tonnes of soil, and he found his solution with a perimeter to distribute the weight evenly, which left jagged, afford semi-private loggia against the railings, where people could gaze on views of the city and waterway or if so taken, reenact the romantic scene from Titanic.