socially equitable spaces

The silhouette of the structure depicted struck us as very familiar but it was not until we were acquainted with latest offering from Design Studio Baklazanas, a Constructivism rug inspired by Moscow’s iconic Narkomfin Building (Дом Наркомфина). The utopian landmark was designed by Moisei Ginzburg (*1892 – †1946) in 1928 as an experiment in communal living with common corridors, shared kitchens and living spaces with the architecture acting as a “social condenser” to dispel traditional masculine and feminine roles and became an influential vision for later generations of planners and engineers. More to explore at the links above.

executive function

Whereas most research studies have operated under the assumption that by examining the WEIRDs (that is—Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich and Democratic) we are looking at representatives of humanity as a whole, the cognitive flexibilities demonstrated by populations subject to less stable environments where repetition and conservative behaviour are less tenable are causing ethnographers and psychologists to confront their institutional biases.
Secure in our routines, we adopt one cognitive set, informed by past success and a predictable present context, instead of being receptive to set-shifting, since there’s little sense or economy in reinventing the wheel and expending the mental energies needed for that task, but people like the semi-nomadic Himba of Namibia are rewarded for their mental limberness and willingness to pursue new and novel strategies.

found sounds

Digging through the cast-offs at the Recycling Centre—which is often used as a disposal point for surplus office equipment as much as a place to trade up or declutter—I found a vintage Phillips  dictation machine that’s really robust and solidly-built.
I like especially how the microphone feels and can pretend that I’m recording a podcast. Once I figured out the controls, fortunately it was reboxed with the instruction manual, I started listening to the mini-cassettes, not wanting to inadvertently erase a bit of history. So far, I’ve only made it through one tape—it’s interesting to note how the emphasis was on storage and not necessarily fidelity—and so far encountered an interesting sonic collage of a German woman taping a phone conversation and a man intoning a lesson on Arab vocabulary. “Sadiq means friend.” We’ll see what the rest hold. As always, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions.

spuntino

Recently a team of archaeologists uncovered a delightfully well-preserved “fast food” counter from the ruins of Pompeii (previously).  In the Empire such thermopolia (singular thermopolium) catered to merchants as conveniences and those without the means to set up and staff a kitchen at home—whose value menus included such on-the-go and processed (fermented and thus the domain of Bacchus rather than Demeter) fare as mulled wine, lentils, baked cheese and preserved fish.

8x8

interview mit bauhäuslern: a curated exhibit of the art and design movement’s journal (previously), published from 1926 to 1931

it’s 10 pm—do you know where your children are: the history of American public service announcements

erisology: the new discipline of agreeing to disagree—named for the goddess of discord that started the Trojan War

symbol and cipher: Louise Borinski explores how abstract shapes acquire meaning

audience-share: a gadget that helped marketers gauge what engaged radio-listeners in the 1930s

kannen: radical Japanese concept art of the late 1960s—see also

nattåg: Sweden plans to revitalise overnight train services in a push for more environmentally friendly travel options

less is more: the life and work of Maria Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in graphic novel format 

nengō

The always interesting Spoon & Tamago showcase the tribute that logographic artist Issei Nomura has created to honour the passing of one imperial era and coming into being of the successor one.
This ambigram (previously) perfectly distils the interim and transition from one reign to the next, reading either as Heisei (平成,which can be interpreted as “universal peace”), the period named for the one hundred and twenty-fifth emperor lasting from 1989 until his voluntary abdication on the last day of April or as Reiwa (令和, which can be understood as “beautiful harmony”), from 1 May onward depending on its orientation. Learn more at the links above.

true grit

Though not to be invoked on those small annoyances that can nonetheless snowball cumulatively and become overwhelming, the Finnish concept of sisu—which does not have a straightforward equivalent in English (see also)—signals an especially tenacious form of bravery and resilience that emerges at one’s most dire moments and boosts courage, energy and resolve from a reserve that one did not realise one had to persevere despite of oneself and past failures.
It’s always a bit tricky and judgmental to say that something in our behavioural quiver is reserved for extraordinary circumstances since sisu gained common-parlance during the 1939 Winter War and invasion by the Soviet Union and its continued cultural resonance surely meant it has been called on during less harrowing times, so try not to assess the threshold of others and yourself too critically. The stoicism of not indulging counter-measures too readily and ordering things in perspective is an internal process that develops naturally and is also a demonstration of the same unimagined strength no matter what crisis one is facing.

spring cleaning

Our village held what was billed as a Ramadama—a new term to me, from the Bairishe dialect (see also) for “Räumen tun wir!”—that is an organized tidying up effort, I suppose like #Trashtag challenge.
A tractor took a group of people out past the main road and they collected litter from the field and side of the road, a noble effort certainly though this area pretty clean to begin with. The first such call for volunteers goes back to 1949 when the lord mayor of München rallied over seven thousand to clean up rubble from the war by his side and has been a civic exercise organised by communities, schools and clubs ever since.