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.

ain’t misbeheavin’

It’s with a heavy heart that we say good-bye to humourist and old-timey, Tin Pan Alley virtuoso Leon Redbone (RIP, *1949 – †2019).
Adopting the stage name for his first acts in Toronto in the 1970s, the Cyprian-born Dickran Gobalian cultivated his signature look of dark sunglasses, a Panama hat and a skinny black tie, Redbone gained mainstream commercial success, though a recipient of critical acclaim by those in the business for quite some time with a cover version of the now problematic Christmas ballad “Baby It’s Cold Outside” and performed the theme song for the 1980s television sitcom Mister Belvedere. Redbone announced his retirement from recording in May 2015, citing health concerns, his eclectic musical tastes and knowledge of past genres making him much older and wiser than his years attested to.

would you like freedom fries with that?

One underestimates the mushy-headedness of the Trump regime and their oil baron cronies at one’s own peril now with the US Department of Energy trying to foist “freedom gas” on world markets—as opposed to Russia (setting the stage for the next fight) or Middle Eastern sourced fuel—since their shipments of liquefied natural gas contain “molecules of US freedom” as a bonus.
No one liked the midichlorians.  Moreover, this push for more exports to Europe is equated with America’s liberation of the continent during World War II and the subsequent Marshall Plan. Secretary Rick Perry stuck with his slogan even after reporters pointed out to him how the name smacked of “freedom fries” and “freedom toast” hurled as dumb insults at NATO partners who were unwilling to commit to what turned out to be a very much trumped up and unjustified pretence to invade Iraq.

thread of discussion

The always captivating Present /&/ Correct direct us to a massive collection of antique Japanese darning thread cards—the pressboard remnant that the thread was spooled around.  We are invited not only to marvel at the abundance of brands and packaging designs but to also reflect on an industry focused on repair and mending (繕い, tsukuroi) whose existence necessarily owes to mass-production and the restorative, therapeutic value (see also) of fixing bashed and worn things. Much more to explore at the links above.