mister resetti

A talented cartomancer called Silkirose is creating a tarot deck (see also here, here, here, here, here and here) whose Major Arcana, greater secrets, features characters from Animal Crossing.
Admittedly while I like the idea of social simulations in video games, world-building and civic-engineering, the social platform and the idea of inhabiting that world with others is kind of a turn-off, though this title from Nintendo (see previously) with all its possibilities for mirroring the real life does seem worthwhile, worth looking into and genuinely relieving.

touched by an angle

Our gratitude to Things Magazine once again for catching this fantastic update we overlooked from our friends over at McMansion Hell (see previously here and here) with this vintage 1973 edition and this garrulous real estate listing that hits all the resounding features and elements: lawyer foyer, Olive Garden bar, trypophobic wine rack, etc. Check out both Kate Wagner’s blog for a tour of the entire property and the source link up top for much, much more.

mambo № 5

Though propelled back into renewed popularity with Munich artist Lou Bega’s sampling and remixed version released on this day in 1999 in German markets on his debut album A Little Bit of Mambo, the history of the jazzy dance number goes back half a century before (see also) that with the composition and recording of Mambo King Cuban musician Dámaso Pérez Prado. Here are both songs for your listening pleasure.
Bega’s reintroduction of the tune (there is a lot of original material and is by no means just a remake and only takes inspiration from a few albeit central riffs) was incredible popular and quickly garnered accolades. It was a candidate campaign song for the Democratic Party’s 2000 election push though sponsors had second thoughts over the line “A little bit of Monica in my life…” and a BBC children’s television programme, still basking in the success from its first recording venture Can We Fix It? Yes We Can!, in 2001 released a cover-version featuring the construction engineer’s voice actor singing, replacing the litany of girlfriends with construction materials and tasks: “There’s a house with a roof that leaks / It’s an urgent job and could take us weeks… A little bit of tiling on the roof / A little bit of making waterproof / A little bit of concrete mixed with sand / A little bit of Bob, the Builder Man.”

side quest and news cycle

Vis-à-vis this other Hero’s Journey, this earlier commentary on the UX of going off the reservation and visiting websites outside of social media’s walled gardens, and this brutally accurate observation that in terms of open access, security, tracking and general skezziness that news sites have taken on the reputation that was accorded to porn sites a decade ago, this image from Mattsurelee (from Instagram, a platform we want no truck in either but thankfully brought to our notice from Nag on the Lake) really spoke to us.
I fully empathise with how news outlets and reporters are not just underfunded and face withering and atrophy but are facing outright assault and hostility and we all need to do a better job of supporting newsrooms and local reporting, but at the same time, I don’t think this coy, bullying approach is the right one—especially for an established audience that has agency and makes the choice to return to a trusted source and be made to jump through hoops and turn tricks to prise open content, ultimately made to find it syndicated elsewhere.

avtomobilny

Sold domestically as the Zhiguli (Жигули, after the mountain range bordering the Volga) and branded as the “Lada” for export (see previously, the designation being an earlier variation for the region in reference to the pirate gangs encamped in the valleys), the automotive manufacturer introduced its VAZ-2101, the initialism standing for Volga Automotive Plant. With seven models in the series, some seventeen million cars were produced until the line was discontinued in 2012—manufacturing at an Egyptian factory continuing until 2014.