global hawk

Via Slashdot, we learn that a company specialising in wireless power transmission has announced it has developed an electromagnetic field generator that could permit drones to remain aloft indefinitely—never needing to idle for a recharge. Our cargo cult-like obsession with automation and seamless delivery makes me think of how the pre-Enlightenment natural scientists supposed birds of paradise had no feet and lived their entire lives in the skies.    

boy, those germans have a word for everything

Today we were introduced to the concept of Sollbruchstellen—constructive or mechanical elements—where a consumer item is predetermined to break after a period of time. While it also describes the sectionality of a bar of chocolate made easy to break into pieces, Sollenbruchstelle has come to be associated with planned obsolescence—geplanter Obsoleszenz, which the EU has sought to curtail. Incidentally, the English equivalent for Schadenfreude—taking pleasure in the misfortune of others—is epicaricacy (from the Greek ἐπιχαιρεκακία, joy upon evil) but has fallen out of common-parlance in favour of the former.

earth below us

Colossal directs our attention to the work of videographer Bruce W Berry, Jr. whose meditative montage compiles time-lapse footage of vistas taken from the International Space Station. There are extensive details on telemetry to be found at the source link above but it’s surely an intuitive and immediate experience to be in awe of the passing terrain and the impact that human habitation has had. Making nearly fifteen orbits daily, there’s no end to the views from the ISS for its crew to document and share.

gesamtkunstwerk

In order to decontextualize and decolonise the aesthetic for the movement’s centenary year (previously), a miniature clone of the Bauhaus building in Dessau is going on a world tour. Acknowledging the often overlooked power of design to influence environments and outlooks, this outreach project aims to educate and enlighten as it makes the school mobile.

5x5

barra de atención: documenting the endangered and disappearing no-frills bars of Madrid

vetrai veneziana: exploring the storied village of Murano that once held the European monopoly on glass

treasured gaze: a look at the eighteenth century obsession with eye-portraiture—via Everlasting Blört

brannock device: a deep dive into the measuring instrument found in finer shoe stores—based on the barleycorn

futurelight: a collaboration between an automotive company and an outdoor apparel manufacture produce a featherweight camper