the fourth estate or deplorable me

Budding entrepreneurs in one particularly enterprising digital corridor of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia could be said to be influencing political sentiment in America as much as much or more than any coordinated hacking attack by capitalising on a business-model that is very much the Frankenstein’s monster of social media, albeit not in a way that is quite so sensation nor begging of response in kind.

Having abandoned positive articles in favour of the candidate Bernie Sanders for propaganda having to do with the last contenders remaining—especially what’s been found more profitable and proliferate in undermining the competition, several score Macedonian webmasters have taken to generating content that recursively perpetuates whatever misinformation that the internet sustains and catering to the partisan who long for nothing more than conformation-bias. That social media sites are pledging to filter out the catch-penny content that they’ve encouraged and depend on is irony enough, but it seems all the more just in a way in the context of so many Albanians and their compatriots being duped by Nigerian princes and other schemes when the internet first came into being. What do you think? Our economic-models are already based to a great extent on flattery, but how does that become more or less incorrigible when planted directly in unchallenged echo-chambers?

5x5

it’s the blue meanies: Beatles’ LEGO Yellow Submarine with minifigs

net-zero: a fleet of hydrogen-fuelled passenger trains enter into service in Germany

you have died of dysentery: blistering look at voter suppression as told with an Oregon Trail style exposition

oooga chaka: music video director Jonas Åckerlund looks back at some of the catchiest and most influential Swedish songs from the past four decades

story-boarding: tiny film sets as movie posters

wear and tear

Amazingly, material scientists working in the laboratories of University of California’s San Diego campus are developing fabrics and casings (and even circuit-boards) that can repair themselves using an ink like compound infused with magnetic particles that can be directed to a rip or crack and instantly cauterise the wound at first signs of disintegration. This self-healing function is a lot like our own pliable, living skin and may make some significant inroads into our culture of over-packaging (if our stuff was more resilient, maybe handling wouldn’t be of such importance) and disposable outlook on things. What if you had socks that darned themselves? I think that would in itself be a motivation to mend and rehabilitate things not yet imbued with the ability to patch themselves up.

sweater weather

The fabulous Messy Nessy Chic invites us to peruse the pages of a gem of car-boot sale find in the big book of British knitting patterns called “Wit Knits,” published in 1986. These ugly sweater connoisseurs, including Joanne Lumley (aka, Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous), haven’t even a touch of irony in their enthusiastic modelling.  Be sure to check out the entire rogues gallery (which might even inspire a crafty project) at the link up top.

rendition

When the German government failed to respond to the extradition demands of Turkey to turn over some four thousand suspected dissenters and dissidents who were party to the failed coup attempt thought to reside in Germany, the Turkish government accused Germany of harbouring terrorist elements, which will boomerang back and destroy Germany. The tense exchange comes right after a series of purges and censorship of the press. It is unclear which persons of interest Turkey is hoping to be offered up or whether radicals are of the established variety (Berlin said to antagonise Ankara over its tolerance for the Kurdish minority) or if they recently fled the country. There was not a rush of political asylum-seekers but many lawyers who suddenly found themselves on the wrong side of the coup did seek sanctuary in Germany.

franchisement

There’s a rather austere neo-classic sculpture now kept in the US Capitol (finally being put on display rather than being hidden in the building’s crypt as it was for the first few decades after it was presented to Congress) that features the busts of three pioneers that helped secure the right to vote for women—anachronistically not until 1921. The likenesses suffragettes Susan B Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott appear as an ensemble evoking the colossal monument at Mount Rushmore but there’s obviously an unfinished rough bit. Although the artist’s original intent is unknown (possibly signifying that the job of achieving universal suffrage was not done), legend holds that this space is reserved for the first female president.

lordy, lordy

Revisiting a post from the beginning of the year for the benefit and edification of all our fellow-travelers (regardless of your year of matriculation and whether or not you are a Scorpio or Ophiuchus), we inspect the select cavalcade of things (forty plus one) attaining their fourth decade this year.

with my sword and magic helmet or electric youth

Fast Company features a suite of wearables—an exoskeletal enhancement, that impart super powers on those who don them.
There’s a harness, a truss that provides gentle nudges to keep one oriented and an earpiece that promises to filter out unwanted environmental noises and enable people to have a conversation that rises about the general din without shouting themselves hoarse, but what I found most clever was a concept (that’s been in development for several years apparently) called the Ouijiband, referencing those involuntary, nervous motions that move a planchette across a Ouija board, that would attach to the user’s wrist to guide and refine one’s dexterity—be it improving on a surgeon’s hand or as a mechanical trainer to perfect one’s tennis-swing. What do you think? Once we have these prosthetic-assists available, is it negligent to try out anything without them? There is the question of ego versus responsibility on one hand, if one indeed foregoes the short-cut in the first place, but what happens to play and experimentation if none of us are willing to doff our accessories?