drainspotting

Unlike in most other places where the æsthetic of manhole covers tends towards purely utility and economy, in Japan it’s a matter of community engagement with some nineteen thousand designs reflective of local industry, culture and history. Visit the link up top for a tour of the Nagashima Imono casting factory where many of the manhole covers for Japanese municipalities are made.

gläserne decke oder the apple of his eye

Number One Daughter unabashedly indulged her shared delusion of prominence and validity with her first foray as a good will ambassador, sharing a platform with imminently qualified world leaders at a G20 subcommittee meeting on women in leadership positions.
The presumption by that classless twit that she belongs at the adult-table was bad enough in itself, but she went on to defend her father’s advocacy for families and women, eliciting boos and hisses from the audience that had gathered to observe this panel. We don’t even know where to start and we can’t reconcile the fact that this is even worth the mention—Angela Merkel, noted physicist and chancellor, on the occasion of her second encounter with Dear Leader’s offspring was not available for comment.

would you like freedom-fries with that?

We appreciated this essay from Gizmodo correspondent Matt Novak on how the media is subtly and not so subtly preparing American (and world) audiences for a hot war with North Korea, marching lock-step with the war drums of Dear Leader.
Though ostensibly elected for his pledge to end America’s role as the global police force and with assurances that his competitor would surely lurch the country into conflict, the change in narrative and the language that it’s couched in renders (so far as sophistry is an effective tool) anyone who might question why the Hermit Kingdom is suddenly an existential threat to the US and its NATO allies or even point out how this back-peddles campaign promises a condemned traitor, whose credibility and geopolitical grasp is forever more suspect. We were eager to catch Curveball lobbed to the intelligence community and no one spoke of the aftermath. Indeed, as with the hearts-and-minds drive of Iraq Attacky II that had its share of cheerleaders in the press to silent the contrarian cads, we ought to be critical of the profusion of coverage of North Korea and ask ourselves if we’re being informed or re-educated.

boardwalk empire

The ever-intrepid explorers at Atlas Obscura treat us to a rather gloomy tour of faded glory that permeates the once bustling Atlantic City, New Jersey—whose real estate is reflected in the Monopoly board game. Considering how this collapse in the jobs market and touristic draw was in part precipitated by Dear Leader’s personal mismanagement, it does seem rather fitting that the iconic game itself was plagiarised from an earlier game meant to teach economic-literacy and warn players of the dangers of slum lords and concentrated wealth.