party on the patio

We quite enjoyed this series of artful photographs taken from a bird’s eye perspective of these vintage mosaic tile and concrete outdoor furnishings as captured by Jonathan Tan of Singapore’s public housing shared balconies. Put in context, these bright tables and stools reflect the optimism of the city-state’s Housing & Development Board’s efforts to help alleviate a housing crisis and foster a communal spirit and encourage neighbours to dine together on the decks. More at the link above.

nighty-nite

Via Boing Boing, we are referred to a simple, self-coordinating, synchronising programme conceived by Masamichi Souzou, a company championing happiness and well-being, that allows one to put to bed their website—according to the visitors’ time-zones, the kanji top-level domain suffix, みんな, being everyone—like a physical store or business branch with workers who need rest and recuperation and signal the importance of adequate sleep and highlight the forces and diversions that make us indebted in terms of something so fundamental as adequate shut-eye.

6x6

sounds to me like someone’s got a cases of the s’posedas: an interesting look at wanna, gunna, gotta  

gable top: Japanese milk carton graphic art  

jim jordan is a scary twit whose scandals are quite crass: Bette Midler performs an homage to Mary Poppins with her “GOPs a Cult for Scammer, Liars, Thugs and Traitors” 

 yacht boy problems: Jeff Bezos’ super yacht requires its own support ship  

the green knight: the cinematic adaptation of Sir Gawain’s tale to be released this summer  

recto-verso: a look at early printing and pagination standards and practises

merriam-webster defines…

In a very meta move with proceeds going to an international charity dedicated to improving and expanding access to education, Merriam-Webster is auctioning off its helpful, edifying definition of an NFT (Non-fungible token, previously) as an NFT. The dictionary definition is: a unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain, and that is used to certify authenticity and ownership (as of a specific digital asset and specific rights relating to it). More at the links above.

dogs would be terrible poker players

Via the New Shelton wet/dry and introduced by the above irony that canine companions would have far too many tells to be successful gamblers, we are presented with the prejudice of our perceptions and the readiness of many to dismiss our feline friends as aloof despite a domestic bond—the only successfully asocial interspecies friendship we’ve managed—that’s endured for untold generations. Given the typical feline social structure and humans wanting to impose and expecting to imprint on our housemates, it’s little wonder that we misinterpret their signals and signs of affection. More relationship advice from the BBC at the link above.

sleeper car

Via the always interesting Maps Mania, we learn more about the happily resurgent phenomenon of night trains (previously) whose network could once again connect the continent and in response to shifting attitudes, expectations and environmental awareness—including legislation to outlaw short-haul flights where alternative and less polluting modes of conveyance are possible. There’s an informative article and even an interactive route-planner to plan one’s future over-nighter and experience waking up in a new city. 

 

 

ice saints

Sainted fifth century bishop of Vienne in Gaul Mametus is venerated on this day as the first of three feast days that fall on the last possible—according to forecasters’ lore—frosty nights of the year—heralding the full onset of Spring and marching towards should we weather this last cold snap. Usually falling just before the Feast of the Ascension, Mamertus is credited with establishing the traditional Rogation Procession, a parade leading up to major holidays and is considered a ritual to stave off earthquakes and other natural disasters.

when cats are maddened by the midnight dance

Based on a poetry anthology by T.S. Eliot, the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber premiered at the New London Theatre on this day in 1981. The two act narrative portrays one night in the lives of the members of a tribe of semi-feral felines cast their “Jellicle choice” and decide which cat—sort of echoing the 1976 cinematic adaptation of Logan’s Run—would ascend to the Heavyside Layer and be reincarnated. As the first mega-musical blockbuster, Cats introduced the strategy and template for productions to follow and arguable raise the bar for entry for less well financed endeavours.