unuseless

Having encountered the idea of chindōgu (珍道具) previously, we appreciated coming across this deeper dive into the design conventions of the inventions, interventions and other “curious tools” that are categorized as unusually useless. These obsessive, eccentric and otherwise over-engineered gadgets adhere to a set of principles including:

• There must be the Spirit of Anarchy in Every Chindōgu
• Chindōgu are not Propaganda
• Chindōgu cannot be Patented

Discover a whole gallery of inventions created in this spirit at Open Culture and at the links above. The Selfie Stick was probably created according to these design commandments but broke through like so many backscratchers, shoehorns and other as seen on TV items to more mainstream retail.

i want the world to know—got to let it show

Observed on this day to commemorate the March on Washington of the previous year, the second one rallying for lesbian and gay rights and greater activism for the AIDS crisis in the US capital, National Coming Out Day was first held in 1988 and the annual awareness day—under the principle that close-mindedness and homophobia thrive in silence and prejudice and ignorance are quickly disarmed once people know that a loved one, friend or acquaintance have a gender identity that’s other than heteronormative—prompting a world where all individuals can live openly and truthfully. In the past three decades, it has expanded internationally with events held also in Ireland, Switzerland and the UK.

päntsdrunk

Though perhaps not as wholesomely shareable as the Danish concept of hygge and perhaps not as resonant as another word in the language jingfin that has prompted millions of Chinese to declare themselves spiritually Finnish, we appreciate that the Finns also celebrate the concept called kalsarikännit—roughly translated as the state of pants-drunkenness, extolled in a book by journalist Miska Rantanen subtitled the path to relaxation.
The government of Finland (which back in 2015 also created a pair of emojis to convey the concept) offers the definition of “the feeling when you are going to get drunk home alone in your underwear—with no intention of going out.” Anecdotal evidence plus the country’s consistently high global rankings for happiness, openness, equality and egalitarianism suggests that there’s something to the practise and the balance it brings. Read more at Kottke at the link above.

galvanic response

Not to be outdone by one traditional retailer’s patent of a shopping cart that registers biometric feedback of customers via sensors embedded in the handle to gauge and assess one’s response to various stimuli and better tailor advertisements and enticements according to one’s mood, a virtual re-seller whom consumers voluntarily erect a shrine to in their homes will use aggregate data to determine and detect if suppliants might not be feeling a bit under the weather or nursing a cold and peddle an appropriate prescription to them.
The proprietary personal assistant foregoes the need of a consultation since it could detect an encroaching hoarseness in one’s voice or signals that betray a cognitive delay from a bad night’s sleep that could portent something serious. What do you think? While gimmicky, phoney artificial intelligence might be an easy and attractive thing for businesses to foist on people, this tawdry and manipulative deportment engenders distrust and justified creepiness for actual smartness.

ōsaka banpaku

Via Dark Roasted Blend, we discover a virtual menagerie of cybernetic beings and early robots through an appreciation of the demonstration models created by famed architect and engineer Arata Isozaki.
The duo Deme and Deku were created for Expo’70 Osaka pavilion (previously) had heads with separate control rooms mounted in eye stalks—one which perceives the environment and relays telemetry to the other which instructs the robot how to perform its repertoire of movements and expressions and standing, tower above seven meters in height. Additionally, the world’s fair featured the first spherical concert hall, designed by Karlheinz Stockhausen (previously), debuted the first IMAX film and had exhibits of early mobile phones, local networking and Maglev trains. Learn more at the link above and find a whole gallery of images including video footage of the robots in action, plus maybe find other robot pals we might have forgotten.

hanchō-hōchō.

Last week after decades of operation, the largest fish and seafood exchange in the world, the historic Tsukiji Market (築地市場) of Tokyo held its final tuna auctions but there was little time for nostalgia for the workers of the market with the whole mammoth administration and daily inventory displaced and set up in Toyosu, a subdivision created out of reclaimed land on the waterfront of Kōtō and freeing up the valuable mid-town real estate that the sprawling marketplace and underlying infrastructure occupied.
The great migration, quite the undertaking, was documented by photographer Mizuho Miyazaki, as featured on Spoon & Tamago at the link up top. The title refers to the giant knives skilfully wielded by merchants, fish-mongers to cut and prepare flanks of fish for sale and distribution that captures the eye and admiration of buyers and tourists, but we were happy to see an appreciation of forklift drivers whose unglamorous jobs are too often overlooked but who really run the pre-dawn logistics that makes the whole enterprise possible

der once-ler

Recognising that (beyond the intrinsic value of trees and woodlands in themselves) afforestation and reforestation efforts are as important as reducing emissions and that every little bit helps, Berlin-based search engine Ecosia (previously) the Guardian reports has offered the energy company that owns the land that the remnant of Hambacher Forest a million euros to purchase the parcel and preserve it in perpetuity.  Ecosia’s search machine is in an browser overlay that is non-intrusive and generates revenue through advertisements which are used to support tree-planting and other conservation campaigns and one can learn more at the links above and get updates at the organisation’s own blog here.

flintheart glomgold

Though we should not expect much in the way of business acumen from an individual who managed to lose money running a casino and has filed for bankruptcy multiple times but I was surprised to hear, despite stating his every intention to personally capitalise on high-office, that Donald Trump has actually lost (to his consternation and envy for the success of more legitimate businessmen) over a billion dollars in wealth since the 2016 election.
His strategically located Washington, DC hotel is doing a brisk business by visiting dignitaries those who wish to curry favour with the US despot as are his tacky resorts and the plenipotentiary powers that come with members’ dues, but those ventures combined with aggressive tax-avoidance and outright evasion are not able to rehabilitate the family brand, sullied with a bothersome reputation of sexual predation, bigotry, wilful ignorance and imprisoning young children.