non molto bene

The self-promoting human haemorrhoid, Steve Bannon, despite a recent session of speaking of truth regarding his former client’s (lack of) wealth, business acumen and candour that’s nothing terribly insightful and the conclusions that we haven’t reached by ourselves, will have to look elsewhere for a campus for his planned “gladiator school for cultural warriors” other than the for thirteenth century former Carthusian monastery outside Rome.
The Italian government did not dash the plans of the disgraced ex-propaganda minister out of ideological reasons (and to be a legitimate businessman in Italy, I’d imagine there’s more requirements for aplomb and a stricter dress-code), but rather that this grifter took a page from the playbook of his real estate mogul past boss (maybe it was Bannon’s idea in the first place) and tried to short-circuit bidding process for receivership of the state-offering, the property, and attempted to secure his first year’s lease using forged banking documents. Let’s hope that the financial world has learned the lessons from Trump’s enablers Deutsche Bank and tells these hucksters and carnival barkers vada via.

maskinåldern

In a noble and hopefully not misguided attempt to remove human biases though we consistently see how technology amplifies our worst instincts, the city council of Upplands-Bro is experimenting with a robot interviewer that will screen candidates and hopefully determine the best qualified fit for their municipal coordinator of on-line media services.
What do you think? I wonder if having a robot interlocutor has a calming effect or is more like focusing a rather unforgiving camera on the subject. This community outside of Stockholm has demographically one of the highest concentrations of people of non-Swedish heritage and the city government is hoping to signal through this experiment its willingness to combat discrimination in the jobs market and corporate culture that is not inclusive.

flagellation, regulation, integrations, meditations, united nations, congratulations

Referred by Messy Nessy Chic, we are afforded a chance to spend some time in the Montreal hotel honeymoon suite (Room #1742) of John and Yoko Ono Lennon refurbished ahead of the fiftieth anniversary of the Bed-Ins for peace that began in late March 1969 in Amsterdam with a two-weeks intervention. The next iteration was planned for New York but Lennon was barred entry into the US over a previous marijuana possession charge and so moved to Canada. Having arrived on 26 May and inviting guests over the ensuing week like Timothy Leary, Dick Gregory, Allen Ginsburg, Tommy Smothers and others, all took part in a recorded chorus of the anthem “Give Peace a Chance” in the suite on this day.

inō mononoke roku

Located in the city of Miyoshi, near Hiroshima, where the protagonist of the titular Edo-era saga faced a gauntlet of thirty yōkai (previously) over thirty days, Japan has opened its first museum dedicated to the country’s rich folklore tradition, seeded with an endowment of over five thousand manuscripts and artefacts donated by the estate of an ethnographer and researcher named Koichi Yumoto. Learn more and receive a guided tour of the latest addition to an ensemble of collections in the area from Open Culture at the link above.

off the shelf

As part of an advertising campaign that encourages people to make their own living spaces just as iconic and reflective of their signature style, IKEA in the United Arab Emirates is running a “Real Life” series showcasing famous living rooms recreated using only store furniture and accessories. Much more to explore at the links above.

los tributos o el traje nuevo del emperador

Against the advice of his handlers who, despite how much that they might like focus to be deflected away from the Mueller press conference and Michael Flynn’s turning of states’ evidence, Trump announced a new raft of punitive tariffs against Mexico if it did not quell illegal immigration.
Already betraying his profound, stultifying ignorance of economic principles—tariffs are a kind of tax but a regressive one that US consumers pay, not the Chinese, Europeans or Mexicans—to pander to those who might vote for him a second time by appealing to the lowest common denominator of bigotry and insecurity—a sacrifice owed his base, there’s of course no indication how progress towards satisfying the requirement might be gauged nor who is to impose these sanctions on cross-border trade, nor whether this brash announcement is in violation of the trade deal Trump negotiated to replace the NAFTA accords he withdrew from.