still life with wine and cheese

An interesting meta-analysis from Cornell University of over half a millennium of food and drink in art—without even the need to repair to the food-selfie iteration of the still life—reveals that we’ve always had a penchant for the exotic and indulgent and much more likely to capture that in portraiture—or as a social snapshot, rather than every day fare. With license, certain subtle messages were encoded with the spread that appears on the table and this in depth study is an appetising reflection of how tastes evolved over time and even, through the lens of the Last Supper, how portions have grown. Take a look at the gallery of artfully arranged meals for yourself to better understand what the statistics and trends disclose.

fjord fairlane

Although I was delighted every time we had to take a ferry whilst navigating Norway, I could imagine that the routine could get a little grating for a daily commute, and so as TYWKIWDBI informs—the country may soon be offering drivers an alternative in the form of tubular floating bridges that are buoyant at a point several metres below the surface of the water. The unconventional engineering is required, which should be rather seamless for drivers in a land already replete with underwater tunnels, as the fjords’ terrain is too difficult to raise a traditional bridge and delve too deeply to drill a regular tunnel—plus spoiling the scenery too, I suppose.

well done, sister suffragette

Through the lens of a hideous gaff of a prominent news organisation that recently resurfaced to face ridicule making the social media rounds, Collectors’ Weekly has curated a nice but unsettling assortment of posters and trading cards from America and the UK that went viral as a backlash to the growing movement to secure the right to vote for women. Looking through the gallery gives one a shudder but also an appreciation for how far society has come in terms of equality and how pernicious that last mile to go can be.

gathers no moss

Halfway between Copenhagen and Gothenburg, a family picnicking in the forest on the estate of the late Swedish parliamentarian Alfred Bexell discovered in 1925 hundreds of hidden aphorisms and maxims carved into the moss covered boulders several decades earlier.
Known as Bexell’s Talking Stones, it was later discovered that the landowner had employed two masons to work the engravings over several seasons but Bexell never declared his motivation to share these bits of wisdom or why he kept it a secret, but it does seem rather enchanting and rangers have ensured that visitors can trace their own path of discovery. Dygd âr makt translates to “virtue is power.”

These jihadi hijinks are engineered to foment a religious war and sew more distrust but are the work of disgusting nihilists.
Now these terrible events are cycling in and out so quickly as to stint every one of us of the time to mourn and reflect. Appeasement is concession and not accommodation and certainly not tolerance.
Here are some scenes from some of the places where such dread and brutal violence was visited just in the past month at more tranquil times.

raubdruckerei

Being something of a manhole-fancier myself (that sounds like an awful indictment so perhaps the German term Kanaldeckel is better), I really appreciated being introduced to the urban artist called Raubdruckerin by the fabulous Nag on the Lake. This exhibitionist has made a circuit of dozens of cities to pirate the impressions of the signatures of the plumbing that lies underneath the asphalt but can really be iconic symbols of a place on to tee-shirts and tote-bags and just as representative as a skyline.

creative commons

For a decade, Wikipedia has held an annual competition to showcase the best photography that freely licensed for anyone to use, and Twisted Sifter has a finely curated gallery that features the superlatives from this past year and links to see all the winners lauded since 2006. There’s some really amazing and iconic images to discover, and the effort and enthusiasm really highlights the importance of this community of volunteers.

offworld colonies

Messy Nessy Chic transports us to the Mojave Desert where NASA and visionary artist and Andrea Zettler share the other worldly landscape for the elective and investigative outdoors activities.
While the space agency is field testing accom- modations for the Moon, Mars and beyond, Zettler is expanding on a dream to camp like alien with these fantastic self-contained pods that recede into their surroundings. Zettler’s science-fiction æsthetic is an exploration that certainly has the potential for cross-over into the realm of applied engineering and design, as well as the social needs of people living in isolation. Learn more about the Wagon Station Encampment in the deserts outside of Joshua Tree at the link up top.