Timmy the Tooth

US viewers have a new broadcaster in charge for Russia 2018, and it looks like Fox is not afraid of a gimmick or eight

No one likes to be condescended to – unless you’re talking about the American soccer public. That, it appears, is the core of the strategy Fox Sports is applying to its World Cup coverage. This is, of course, virgin territory for Fox, the six previous World Cups having been beamed out to American households by ESPN. In 2011, when Fox won the bidding war to show the two tainted tournaments to come – Russia and Qatar, the blood money Cups – network executives committed to doing things differently. With the outline of Fox’s broadcast plans now clear, we can say they’ve succeeded – just not for the better. The new era is here, and if the early signs are accurate, it will mostly suck.

Fox and Telemundo together paid $1bn for the rights to show the 2018 and 2022 tournaments – more than double the amount forked out by the ESPN/Univision ticket for South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014. Failure by the US men’s team to qualify for Russia immediately made the network’s decision to put in such an aggressive bid look flawed. It’s perhaps to their credit that, even with interest in this tournament likely to be lower in the absence of the USMNT, the Fox execs haven’t retreated into a shell of self-pity. On the contrary, they’ve gone harder, deeper, further than anyone could have expected in the search for “hooks” to get the US public excited about a tournament from which the US itself will be absent. Sadly for them, the hooks are no good. If ESPN, in its slightly soft, Michael Ballack-friendly coverage of previous World Cups, tried to embody The Quiet European, Fox is going all out to be The Dumb American.

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• England captain to earn £200,000 a week plus bonuses
• Move is statement of intent as club tie up biggest names

Harry Kane has signed a new six‑year contract at Tottenham Hotspur worth up to £200,000 a week including bonuses as the club’s chairman, Daniel Levy, dramatically raised the wage ceiling of the squad.

Kane, who is preparing to lead England as captain at the World Cup finals in Russia, was previously on a basic wage of £100,000 a week. Under the terms of that deal, which he signed in December 2016 and was due to run until 2022, he also earned hefty bonuses.

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A new book, Red Card, tells how US prosecutors exposed racketeering among American football officials – and revives fears that Fifa is being permitted to move on too quickly

There is a lightbulb moment in Red Card, a gripping new book on how the US authorities exposed massive corruption in Fifa, when prosecutors finally understand exactly what they are dealing with. It comes in January 2012 as Chuck Blazer, the general secretary of Concacaf who has recently been flipped, outlines Fifa’s complicated structures and how he, and others, have creamed millions from sports marketing rights.

At that point the US prosecutor Evan Norris – who has previously convicted members of the Gambino family, including an assassin with a predilection for dissolving his victims in vats of acid – calls colleagues out of the room before making a triangle with his fingers.

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The Diversity Committee Task Force is proud to report significant progress was achieved during the 2017-2018 school year. While our reach may have exceeded our grasp with regard to several items within our mandate (i.e. attempts to dismantle America’s pervasive culture of systemic racial oppression), we remain optimistic about the future of diversity and equity on this campus.

A summary list of our accomplishments includes the nomination of a Chief Diversity Officer, the purchase of five (5) copies of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me, and the partial drafting of a 12-point plan to rectify centuries of intergenerational disenfranchisement experienced by people of color.

Following an unfortunate incident involving a former student, this Task Force was assembled to identify and address the root causes of the College’s diversity-related issues. Which, it turned out, happened to be our existence within a continuum of ideologies and policies focused on the singular function of enshrining white privilege in all aspects of civic, economic, and cultural life.

Suffice it to say, this proved a tough nut to crack.

Still, we’d be selling ourselves short if we failed to mention our updating of the College website to feature a Diversity page outlining our institution’s commitment to envisioning a future where all students learn in an environment untainted by America’s legacy of withholding educational opportunity from non-white communities.

While it is true that students of color continue to allege mistreatment from campus security, faculty, fellow students, residential life coordinators, administrators, and custodial staff, it is also true that the new admissions brochure features a stock image of not one but two students of African-American descent.

As the summer break begins and we reflect upon the past year’s endeavors, we hope you will focus on the small, incremental steps we made toward inclusivity, rather than our objective failure to create a haven of equality where no English professor would ever dream of reading an uncensored excerpt from Huckleberry Finn juxtaposed against Wu-Tang Clan lyrics. And where, even if said English professor did misguidedly incorporate such an activity into her lesson plan, she would not attempt to alleviate the burden of stating a certain racial epithet aloud by requesting the class’s only black student read the word because “he’s allowed to.”

On a somewhat related note, the Diversity Committee Task Force has been asked to meet with campus attorneys to discuss a public relations strategy in the wake of the recent press conference held by said former student alongside civil rights icon and legislator, Representative John Lewis.

Next steps for the Task Force include auditing course reserves to ensure the representation of authors from diverse backgrounds, investigating whether the Nips brand snacks in the cafeteria are racist, and untangling the post-colonial chaos upon which so many of today’s global conflicts are predicated.

Wealthy, mostly white soccer clubs in the US have long snatched up the best pitches – but in liberal Seattle, one official is taking a stand

A few years ago, Exequiel Soltero wanted to rent two soccer fields in a well-to-do Seattle suburb. Finding places for his Latino immigrant soccer league to play matches had become quite a challenge: the area’s soccer fields were always snatched up by wealthy, mostly white clubs who had the money and expertise to navigate the city’s leasing process. It was a complaint he often heard from other clubs in Seattle’s lower income communities.

They felt shut out.

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Football governing body acts as part of crackdown on unauthorised World Cup sales

Fifa has filed a criminal complaint in Switzerland against the ticket website Viagogo as part of a crackdown on unauthorised World Cup sales.

The move by football’s world governing body, shortly after an undercover investigation by the Guardian revealed Viagogo’s involvement in the illegal resale of football tickets in the UK, represents the latest in a line of legal challenges to the company’s business practices. Last week, a UK government minister urged consumers to boycott Viagogo as National Trading Standards launched an investigation into allegations that it has persistently misled consumers, while the Competition and Markets Authority has separately threatened the company with court action.

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“I see the media is working overtime speculating where I am & what I’m doing. Rest assured, I’m here at the @WhiteHouse w my family, feeling great, & working hard on behalf of children & the American people!” — Melania Trump, May 30, 2018

Hello, it is me, Melania Trump, ecstatic First Lady of the United States. As you know, the media has been making a big stink about how I have not been seen in public for nearly three weeks since a minor kidney procedure.

This has led many to believe that I am sicker than the White House let on or that I have finally come to my senses and fled the country and my marriage for the hills of Slovenia, those beautiful, beautiful hills, which are so, so very far away from here.

But that is simply not the case! I, Melania Trump, have been visiting with our nation’s fine children to learn about bullying and the terrible effects it can have. I certainly have not been spending three consecutive weeks standing super still in a White House hallway disguised as a pillar to avoid my husband. But if I were, I would be appalled that Donald has not once asked where I was.

How could you miss me, silly people? It’s me, Melania. I have been in the White House this whole time, meeting with my staff and planning some truly wonderful events. There is no way that I am actually getting my affairs in order so I can fake my own death and have my staff hold an elaborate funeral for me while I board a private jet and fly to my hometown of Sevnica, the only place where I truly feel free.

Really, it is time for you to stop speculating. It is not nice. I am Melania Trump, the First Lady of the United States, and I have been very busy planning the White House’s Fourth of July celebration, and not at all trying to squint so hard that I make myself disappear. That would be preposterous. It doesn’t work either.

You there! Turn around! It is me, Melania! I am right here! I am nowhere else. Look, I am right behind you! Ah, you just missed me. Oh well. I’ll catch you next time. Help me, please. I’m fine! I can’t do this anymore. Don’t worry about me! This was not what I signed up for. Everything is A-OK!

Use your favorite dark chocolate and Dutch cocoa powder for a totally homemade, shelf-stable brownie mix that bakes up more flavorful, rich, and chewy than anything you can buy in stores. Read More

• Victims included France players and Russia’s own goalkeeper
• Emergency WhatsApp helpline will allow fans to report issues

Racist and homophobic chants are on the rise in Russia before the World Cup finals, with LGBT and ethnic minority supporters travelling to the country being issued with details of an emergency WhatsApp helpline to report any issues or request urgent help.

Although overall incidents of discrimination have declined, a report found there has been a spike in the number of discriminatory chants heard inside stadiums in Russia, many of which are being used for games during the World Cup, beginning on 14 June.

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Special occasions often call for fancy cakes: tall and towering, beautifully decorated. Classic white cake has been a staple for weddings and events of all kinds forever. This style of cake requires layers that are tender and finely grained, with enough structure to stand proudly in all their finery for hours. White cake with white […]

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[ By SA Rogers in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

The kind of military technology only imagined in sci-fi movies like Iron Man and Star Wars could be coming to an international conflict near you sometime in the very near future. As if missiles and nuclear bombs weren’t enough, militaries around the world are currently developing a terrifying range of deadly weapons as well as aircraft that could take warfare into space. Some of it is unconfirmed – like Russia’s supposed mind control guns, which impair the higher cognitive functions of crowds – while some is already in early stages of deployment, like the puke-inducing ‘thunder generators’ now in use against protesters by local police.

Hypersonic Projectiles

Hypersonic weapons fly over five times the speed of sound to not only make them a hell of a lot more powerful, but also evade detection, tracking and attempts to destroy them. Among them is the Electromagnetic Railgun under development by the Office of Naval Research – essentially a flying hypersonic strike that whizzes through the air at around 5,600 miles per hour. It’s capable of traveling up to 100 miles, arrives with virtually zero warning and tears things up about as much as you’d expect. Oh, and it’s also guided. It uses magnetic fields generated by huge amounts of energy to travel.

Though it has cost the Pentagon about $500 million since they first began working on it in 2005, there’s some question as to whether it will ever be implemented due to the sheer expense of it. The military now appears to be more interested in the spiked projectiles than the weapon that fires them, investigating their use in available powder weapons before moving forward on testing the railgun.

Thunder Generators

Thunder generators were first tested as a way to ‘humanely’ scatter birds away from crop fields and other areas, like the landfill seen in the video above. But of course, if it’s capable of generating shock waves that scare birds, it could also be leveled up for crowd control usage on humans. While stunning people from a range of 30 to 100 meters will only create the kind of sonic blast that either makes people run in panic or knocks them off their feet, get closer and it kills. It looks pretty nondescript – just a single barrel that can be mounted on a mobile base – but you can put several of them together for a more powerful effect, and a curved barrel will allow the sonic waves to turn 90-degree corners. The similar LRAD Sound Cannon (Long Range Acoustical Device) looks a like a speaker.

Developed in Israel, it’s now being marketed for military and security applications, and it’s equipped with enough gas to produce around five thousand blasts. It’s just one of many acoustic weapons in use and development by military and police forces, often deployed against protesters like those at the Dakota Access Pipeline in South Dakota. Just a short blast from a typical sonic weapon can make everyone in a crowd spontaneously puke. Unsurprisingly, their use can also lead to health problems like hearing loss and traumatic brain injuries.

‘Smart’ Tracking Bullets

The phrase ‘dodging a bullet’ may seem quaint very soon thanks to tracking technologies that make sure bullets don’t miss their targets. So-called ‘smart bullets’ contain optical sensors to hit moving and evading targets, and even a novice shooter using the system for the first time will almost certainly hit the mark. This DARPA project achieves extreme accuracy at sniper ranges that can’t be achieved with traditional rounds, and the .50 caliber bullets travel at hundreds of miles per hour.

Powered Exoskeletons

Iron Man-style powered exoskeleton suits have plenty of possibilities that aren’t nefarious, like helping medical professionals lift and carry patients more easily, or allowing paralyzed people to walk. But in addition to mobility, they bestow the wearer with an uncanny strength, and several different models are being developed for use by soldiers. One is Lockheed Martin’s FORTIS knee-stress-release device, which uses independent actuators and motors along with a lithium ion battery to let soldiers carry 180 pounds up five flights of stairs without tiring while also preventing knee injuries. DARPA is testing a battery-powered exoskeleton as well, and China and Russia have their own versions, “turning soldiers into Stormtroopers.”

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Future War 8 Terrifying Coming Advancements In Military Technology

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[ By SA Rogers in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

As many of you are aware, it was recently brought to our attention that some of our players’ health records have been handled with less sensitivity than we would have liked. Specifically, if you died of dysentery between 1986 and 1993 while playing Oregon Trail, that information was likely shared with your cousins, neighbors, or other persons who were allowed access to the Apple IIe in your family’s basement. Some of those disclosures were repeated through other channels, at times using custom Print Shop banners taped to windows or bedroom doors. In some instances, players logged in under other users’ names so that they could create tombstones claiming that the deceased person was a lame dorkwad. On the earliest versions of the game, which weren’t set up to block obscenities, the publicly available information about users was even more damaging, graphic, and physically impossible.

This was an entirely unforeseeable usage of the tombstone functionality of Oregon Trail. If anything, our zeal for the social sharing of sensitive medical information was way ahead of its time. And, although Oregon Trail users were complicit in the exposure of their sensitive dysentery information on our platform, we like to think that we’re better than that. If we’re not then we need to get off our high horse right now. No, really, this horse is scaring us. It is weirdly tall and has trampled some of the crisis management people we brought in to help craft this statement.

Still, we like to think that creating really deeply offensive epitaphs was not the only reason you played Oregon Trail. We know, from listening in on your most recent sessions with Dr. Paulsen, that your other entertainment option was to go buy carob chips with your emotionally distant father while he ranted about the Iran Contra affair. That sounds nice.

We would like to assure our users that we were unaware of just how prevalent the offending tombstones were until our current CEO found one claiming that he himself had died of dysentery in 1988 and “looked like a penis.” This information was identical to a review posted on Glassdoor, and is something that finds its way into Mother’s Christmas letter every year, and is therefore known to be the work of a bot or sibling. Tactics of this kind have no place in a democracy and Mother told you to stop, Jeffrey. Users are encouraged to take common-sense measures to identify old hard drives and back over them in a borrowed Buick Sentry with Dr. Paulsen on speakerphone. He’s our doctor now, too. Is that weird?

Some news outlets are claiming that, from the beginning, the creators of Oregon Trail were aware of the relentless, albeit fictional, HIPAA violations built into the game’s platform. Our attorney said this is the most blatant case of res ipsa loquitor he has ever seen, which must mean “sorry not sorry.” Besides, if Oregon Trail is about anything, it’s about grit and personal responsibility and a growth mindset.

Our big focus for the coming year is finding new ways to engage people with Oregon Trail while sharing less private dysentery information. Whether it’s life outcomes based on income stratification or just shooting at natural resources, there is still so much about Oregon Trail that we can celebrate.

I love this recipe. I love everything about it. Its flavor is a perfect balance of butter, toasted nuts, and fruity sweetness. And its texture? A tantalizing combination of flaky layers and airy pastry: think éclair shell and pie crust combined. Which is, serendipitously, exactly what this Almond Puff Loaf is: a thin base of buttery […]

The post Almond Puff Loaf Bakealong appeared first on Flourish - King Arthur Flour.

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

Architect, engineer and inventor Buckminster Fuller developed the world’s most infamous dome structure while searching for the most efficient housing solution possible during the 1940s. The dome structure finds the shortest paths between two points on a sphere, and its structure is modular by nature and practically infinitely scalable. That makes it an ideal basis for all sorts of projects, from interactive art installations and temporary theaters to prefab homes and gigantic greenhouses.

Dome of Visions Greenhouse by Metsä Wood

Built by Finnish company Metsä Wood and designed by Atelier Kristoffer Tejlgaard, the Dome of Visions uses laminated lumber to create a massive greenhouse, avoiding the need for welded brackets. “Those who enter inside are embraced with the warmth of a calm summer day, the smell from countless rosemary bushes, busy bumblebees and a 100 year old olive tree snuggling, sheltered from the spring-fresh wind outside,” says the designer. “Dome of Visions hosts debates on the future of sustainable and environmentally sound housing.”

Nature House in Northern Norway: Dome Encloses a Cob Home

How do you grow food almost year-round in one of the world’s harshest climates? The Hjertefølger family discovered a way to make it work on the island of Sandhornøya in northern Norway, within the Arctic Circle, by covering their homemade cob house with a 25-foot-high dome. Within its walls are a solar-powered five-bedroom home an dan irrigated garden that stretches their growing season by a full five months.

Prefab ‘SmartDome’ Home

Prefab dome homes are certainly nothing new. Though the craze to build them has died down a bit since the 1970s and ‘80s, they still make for striking structures, and renewed interest in modularity has increased their popularity again. These prefab domes by Slovenian-based Smartdome can be placed just about anywhere, featuring adjustable steel legs to accommodate uneven terrain.

Robotic Solar-Powered Dome Robot

‘Walking Pod,’ a giant robotic geodesic dome powered by two commercial dishwasher engines, made its debut at San Francisco’s Maker Faire and, later, the Burning Man festival in 2013. Created over a period of three months by welder Scott Parenteau, the design aims to be a “mutated version” of Theo Janssen’s StrandBeest. It requires just 800 watts of power to run at its top speed of 0.2 miles per hour, getting most of it from two 12-volt batteries hooked up to an inverter.

Geodesic Dome Tent by North Face

Not only does The North Face’s new dome tent provide six feet of headroom inside, using space efficiently, its shape gives it the ability to withstand winds of up to 60mph since the force is spread evenly across its structure. While the company has had ‘dome tents’ for a while now, these two new models are much rounder than previous designs, offering considerably more space. Unfortunately, it’s only available in Japan.

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Fuller House 15 Geodesic Dome Creations Pay Tribute To Buckys Classic

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[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

Not sure what kind of rolling pin to buy? The most important thing to remember about a rolling pin is that it should feel comfortable in your hands and produce results you can be proud of. Here's the one we reach for most often. Read More

Vegan "cheesesteak" sandwiches that might be more delicious than the real thing. Read More

[ By SA Rogers in Destinations & Sights & Travel. ]

While many hotels are so lacking in personality, they could be located pretty much anywhere, these 14 thoughtfully designed tourist accommodations are infused in the character of their respective settings, taking cues from vernacular architecture or distilling the essence of their particular surroundings. You could stay in a fairytale treehouse village in Thailand, a Game of Thrones-themed ice hotel in Norway, a converted sugar mill in the mountains of China or an environmentally friendly resort on the beach in Chile designed with surfers in mind.

Emiliano Hotel, Brazil by Chad Oppenheim + Arthur Casas

A beautiful folding geometric facade gives Rio de Janeiro’s Emiliano Hotel lots of character, with panels opening or closing to give the rooms privacy and protect them from the weather. Located right on Copacabana Beach, the hotel has a fresh, modern look topped by an infinity-edge swimming pool. Inside, vertical greenery, skylights and more geometry give it a lush and airy feel. Rooms start at about $469 per night.

Fairytale Keemala Nest Hotel in Thailand by Architect Space

This hotel in the tropical hills of Phuket almost looks too amazing to be real. The design of the Keemala hotel is based on a fictional tale of four clans of ancient Phuket settlers, with four different styles of architecture: clay pool cottages, tent pool villas, tree pool houses and bird’s nest pool villas. Every room has a warm and welcoming atmosphere and comes complete with its own tubs and views of the grounds or the sea beyond the trees. Rooms start at around $657 per night.

Game of Thrones Themed Ice Hotel by HBO Nordic + Lapland Hotel

Would you sleep well with the Night King looming over your icy bed? HBO Nordic teamed up with the Lapland Hotel’s Snowvillage to create a ‘Game of Thrones’-themed attraction full of sculpted faces, white walkers and fur upholstery. This special edition ice hotel opened in Kittilä, Finland in February 2018 and will be up through April; rooms start around $200 per night, but you can stop by and take a look for the entry price of $18.

Alila Yangshuo, China: Sugar Mill Turned Hotel by Vector Architects

A crumbling 1960s sugar mill in China’s Guangxi region has become a dramatic new hotel called Alila Yangshuo, complementing the existing stone with new concrete structures. The grounds are primed for exploration of the former mill site and the Karst Mountains outside, contrasting industrial and natural settings with stunning results. Rooms start at $215 per night.

Maison Heler by Philippe Starck

An 18th century traditional Alsatian home will stand atop a modern tower in Metz, France – trees and all – in a surreal 14-story, 119-room hotel by Philippe Starck. Maison Heler literally elevates the region’s historic vernacular architecture high above the streets, with the ‘home’ containing a restaurant, lounge, meeting spaces and a rooftop terrace and garden while the tower contains guest rooms. The project will be developed as part of the Hilton Group Brand’s Curio Collection, a series of 50 upscale hotels with unusual personalities.

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Destination Design 14 Stylish Hotels Infused With The Character Of Their Settings

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[ By SA Rogers in Destinations & Sights & Travel. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

Last week Jack Wilshere was recalled to the England squad for the first time since 2016, although the last time he played for his country was against Iceland at the European Championships in the summer of that year.

Since then his career has taken a few different turns. Firstly, he decided to go on loan to Bournemouth which I still think was a bad idea. It felt a bit impetuous at the time, a decision reportedly made because he was frustrated at not being named in Sam Allardyce’s first (and only) England squad.

He was making his way back from injury (again) and felt that with Aaron Ramsey, Granit Xhaka, Santi Cazorla, Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny as midfield options that his playing time would have been minimal. Even so, he’d been involved in both our opening league games, but rather than stay he decided to drop down to a team battling against relegation rather than stay with one that – at the time – we hoped would fight for the title.

That said a lot, and when you look back at it now it seems even more foolish. Concerns about playing time were understandable, but he should know Arsenal better than anyone. On the opening day Aaron Ramsey did his hamstring and missed over three months; by October Santi Cazorla’s injury nightmare had begun and the Spaniard has still to play for us since; while Granit Xhaka’s disciplinary issues saw him miss plenty of games.

When you consider that the make-up of our midfield had yet to be decided, there was every chance Wilshere could have forced his way into the reckoning if he’d had a bit of patience, but he went on loan and did ok on the south coast. However, towards the end of the season he wasn’t starting games anymore. Then he broke his leg in a challenge with Harry Kane and he was back to square one again in terms of his fitness.

This season he’s played 31 games, having begun the campaign very much in the second string playing Europa League and Carabao Cup, but the 26 year old spoke yesterday about how Arsene Wenger was prepared to let him last summer. He told the press on England duty about the conversation he had with the manager:

It was an honest conversation. It had been boiling up for a while. Everybody knew I had a year left on my deal and had been out on loan, got injured and wasn’t really in his plans.

He just said: ‘At the moment we are not going to be offering you a contract so, if you can get one somewhere else, you can go.’

Turns out the injury meant he couldn’t get one, so he stayed, and was given assurances by Wenger that if he played well in the cup competitions he’d have a chance for the Premier League, and so it’s proved. Although you might ask how much of his recall has been down to his form, and how much of it is because our midfield is a troublesome area in which we struggle to maintain balance and control, and thus we’ve been trying all kinds of combinations to varying degrees of success.

Still, it puts into sharp focus this current situation we have with his contract right now, which expires in a little over three months. We all know what’s going on. Arsenal have offered him something that he doesn’t seem willing to sign. He has every right to consider the deal unacceptable, and I wrote some days ago about why that might be.

Nevertheless, as Arsene Wenger tells us he wants to keep Wilshere and hopes he’ll commit, it’s impossible to listen to that without the subtext of it being on the club’s terms. They appear to have drawn a line in the sand when it comes to the financial offer they’re willing to make, and unless something changes it’s as likely to be unacceptable to the player in the future as it is now.

Which leads you to just one outcome: Jack Wilshere leaving the club on a Bosman in the summer. My suspicion – and it is only that – is that the relationship between player and manager is not what it used to be. I think when Wenger opened the door for Wilshere to go on loan he took his decision to leave for Bournemouth as one which said he wasn’t willing to stay and fight for a place at Arsenal.

Regardless of how it was dressed up about getting fit again, he’d have got plenty of playing time with us if he’d stayed, and I don’t think things have been the between them same since. Even this season, when he has been fit for almost the entire season, it hasn’t been enough to convince manager or club to offer him even the slightest increase on his wages to tempt him to stay, and that says plenty.

So, unless something big happens between now and June, and the situation alters, we’ll be down at least one midfield player this summer. With question marks over Aaron Ramsey’s future – and it looks like his agent is starting to feed stories linking him with other clubs – on top of the significant need we already have to rebuild in this area, it looks like we might end up tearing down midfield like we did with the attack in January.

Out went 60% of our goals from the previous season in the shape of Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud, and in came Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. If we lose Wilshere and potentially Ramsey, it leaves us with Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny as established central midfielders, and it means there’s a lot to be done in the transfer market to get us up to scratch.

With a World Cup, a shortened transfer window as new rules come into play, and the overriding issue of the manager’s situation, we’d better hope that the people behind the scenes – Sven and Raul – are on the ball this summer, because there could be a hell of a lot to do.

Right, that’s your lot, have a good Interlull Thursday.

While I was in Japan last week, a colleague from Washington State asked if his local apples were on sale in Japanese supermarkets.  I looked.  They were not.

If Washington State apples, organic or not, are exported to Japan, they are invisible in supermarkets.

They certainly are invisible to me.  Japanese food labels are in Japanese, as is information about country of origin.

But I asked.  The apples I saw were grown in Japan.

The only imported fruit I could find were bananas—not labeled as to origin but Japan does not grow them—and blueberries from Mexico.

Imported fruit, it seems, is not available for local consumption because it would compete with fruit produced by local farmers.

Less expensive fruit is imported but used for food service; it is not easily available for home purchase.

This helps explain why the Japanese do not eat much fruit.  It is expensive even in local stores.  The prices I saw looked like those in Manhattan.

And this brings me to the uniquely Japanese use of fruit as a luxury gift item.  These melons (not my photo) cost more than $100 each (the exchange rate is about ¥100 to a dollar).  But  saw melons like these in specialty stores costing much more—$150 and up.

As for strawberries, these gift packs cost $20 each but more elegant packages go much higher.

These are part of a complicated culture of obligatory gifts.  To Westerners like me, the prices are shocking.

The fruit is locally grown, at least.

Before this set of friendlies, we can focus on Russia 2018 contenders, dark horses – and England – but also the desperate need for a successful tournament

As the friendly international spring break descends upon the season like a dose of Sunday afternoon blues, it has become a reflex response among those watching to sigh a little, to count the days, to see this severance from the teat of club football excitement as a draught of cold water, another unwelcome interruption from the dying hand of international football.

Related: How absurd to boycott World Cup when Russia is so bound up in our economy | Barney Ronay

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The inexperienced McTominay is seen as being a more reliable choice than Pogba for Manchester United

In theory, it ought to have been a fine day for the brand. “Glory, glory Man United” echoed around Old Trafford as Manchester United closed in on a record-equalling 13th FA Cup. The marketing department could savour the sight of two of José Mourinho’s bigger buys on the scoresheet.

Yet two more languished unused on the bench even before “United” began to appear an inappropriate suffix as the manager eviscerated his team. If there was one thing worse than being castigated in public by the Portuguese, it was presumably being spared censure only by virtue of being omitted. If the scorers on Saturday, Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic, seem to be Mourinho’s disciples, two who he stated on Friday would form part of his legacy, Paul Pogba and Alexis Sánchez represent recent disappointments. They formed a contrast, a pair who are delivering and a duo who were dropped.

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mohawks

the book: http://theycantalk.com/book

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Graphics & Branding. ]

What started as a project to create a few letters for an album cover morphed into an entire alphabet derived from the collective contributions of this Swedish punk band.

Bassist Anton Bolin was working on the new record’s graphic design and “wanted to do something that suits the dirty hardcore punk we play. So I started to pee a logo and when it was done, I realized that it would be a refreshing typeface for the world to see.”

The half-year process involved urinating on bed sheets, photographing them and then turning them into vector formats using digital software. Rapid dehydration was a challenge — in each attempt, a letter had to be made in a matter of seconds if at all.

A lot of testing was involved in the selection and stretching of sheet material as well to achieve the desired effect. To save anyone interested in replicating the process some time and trouble, the band’s album also includes a quick-and-dirty DIY tutorial on making urine-based type.

“It was so limiting to have to adapt to your bladder,” said Bolin. “On a good day you had three maybe four attempts to create a letter.” The results, though, were worth the wait. The resulting typeface looks dynamic and organic, much like the streams of urine that went into its creation. Pissjar Sans (“a typeface made of piss”) is also available for free from the band’s website.

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[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Graphics & Branding. ]

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Classic Italian-American lasagna with ricotta cheese, mozzarella, and more is a difficult dish to make vegan without those essential dairy ingredients. The secret to this convincing version is to offer up familiar textural and flavor cues so that you're less likely to notice what's not there. Read More

Our favorite tips and techniques for cooking with fiery and smoky dried chilies, like anchos, guajillos, chiles de árbol, and more. Read More

DAVE: Now, everyone, I think in light of recent happenings with harassment in the workplace, we should begin this meeting by letting our female colleague speak.

(Dave gestures to Cheryl)

JACOB: Yes!

ED: I agree. This is vital.

ALEXANDER: Truly great idea, Dave.

CHERYL: Thank you, and—

DAVE: It’s important for us as allies to let you speak.

ED: We’re big-time allies.

CHERYL: Thank you. I—

JACOB: Just one thing, Dave. What if she doesn’t have anything to say? Isn’t it just as bad to force a woman to say something when she doesn’t actually want to say anything?

ALEXANDER: I’m pretty sure that’s sexism. I learned about sexism on a podcast that had a woman on it.

DAVE: Wow. I never thought of that. I guess it’s time that I sit back, shut up, and pay attention.

CHERYL: I actually—

DAVE: Cheryl, it’s okay. You don’t have to speak.

CHERYL (like two decibels louder than usual): I want to speak!

(The men all look uncomfortable.)

ED: Cheryl, you know I’m an ally, but… wasn’t that a little… shrill?

ALEXANDER: Cheryl, I’m so sorry. See, sometimes, when women speak up, men sometimes interpret it as being “shrill,” even though it would seem just fine if a man spoke in the same tone. I learned that from a listicle written by a woman.

ED: I am so sorry, Cheryl. I’m sorry as an ally.

CHERYL: Thank you, Ed. Now—

DAVE: Women are 50% of the nation, they should be 50% of the conversation.

JACOB: Although, we only have one woman and four men in this room, so does that mean that Cheryl gets to speak more than all of us?

DAVE: Yes, I think that’s how it works. Look, I don’t understand equality, I just know I need to do it if I don’t want my name hashtagged all over Twitter.

CHERYL: Actually, if you hired more women, it’d be easy for women to speak 50%—

DAVE (appalled): Cheryl! You know I care deeply about gender equality in hiring. I disregard stereotypes. I just hired you that male secretary!

CHERYL: You fired a woman to do it. And—

DAVE: Do you think your stereotypical female secretary was really happy perpetuating the patriarchy, Cheryl?

CHERYL: I was grooming her for a management position!

ED (sotto): Shrill.

ALEXANDER: I think what Dave is trying to say, Cheryl, is that now that we let Karen go, she’s free to be in a management position anywhere she wants. Or to manage babies! One thing that’s happening right now, Cheryl, is that women think they have to be in the workplace, but it’s actually totally okay to stay home and have children. According to an article I read the title of, women still can’t have it all.

JACOB: Have you thought of that?

CHERYL: Thought of what?

JACOB: Staying home and having children. I mean — and I’m saying this as an ally — it’s not like you’ve contributed a lot to this meeting so far.

CHERYL: I—

ED: Yeah, Cheryl — and I’m also saying this as an ally — maybe the working world isn’t the right place for you.

CHERYL: I—

DAVE: Wow, Cheryl. I’m saying this as an ally — I’m shocked to see you go, but I accept your resignation.

(Cheryl’s head explodes, scattering bloody bits around the room.)

ED: Shrill.

ALEXANDER: So shrill.

[ By SA Rogers in Design & Products & Packaging. ]

At the outset, the idea of wearing what equates to a pair of horse blinders so you can focus feels a little ridiculous. The rise of open-plan offices where employees have little to no peace, privacy or space from each other has resulted in a slew of workarounds, from giant helmets to special view-blocking, soundproof furniture. Clearly, there’s a need for balance, especially when you’re trying to work on an important project. The ‘Focuscap’ offers some semblance of this with an extremely simple, inexpensive design.

Created by designer Hannes Grebin of Berlin, the cap is slim, portable, transformable, and very easy to use. When the flaps are unfolded, your focus is directed straight in front of you, whether at your desktop, your computer or a book. It might even be useful at a movie theater, where a neighboring patron using their cell phone can be a major distraction. Grebin says it can help prevent motion sickness, too.

While its ability to block out distractions on either side of you is obvious, it’s not clear how the hat provides ‘privacy on demand,’ as advertised – after all, you might not be able to see the people around you, but they can still see you – and whatever you’re doing.

“As we are still pavemen or mammals kept in an unnatural environment, Ib believe that only by reclaiming the normal, stress-free human state through simple tools and techniques can we finally unleash our actual creative potential and create our meaningful work for a brighter future,” says Grebin.

Would you wear it?

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[ By SA Rogers in Design & Products & Packaging. ]

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[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

The art world tends to be exclusive by design, but a gallery founder and a curator in NYC decided to team up and do the most inclusive thing they could think of by offering to display any work sent their way in the ultimate “open call” for artists.

The exhibition, dubbed Et Tu, Art Brute? specified only one criteria: artworks had to be 12 by 20 inches or smaller in order, to avoid complicated shipping problems and ensure enough space would be available to put up all the pieces.

Curator Jamie Sterns and gallery founder Andrew Edlin weren’t sure what to expect, but the packages started to roll in — some dropped off locally, others mailed from around the world — photographs, films, drawings, paintings, sculptures and more.

Over 700 works by famous artists and first-timers arrived, all of which would end up being rotated through and displayed side by side with equal priority at  AEG Underground in The Bowery. Every work was priced at $200, the gallery operators and artists splitting proceeds 50/50.

The whole project questioned conventional ideas of insider and outsider art, and what it means to curate when an exhibit is in essence anti-curation by design. In a way, it wound up being like a work of installation meta-art, a critique and commentary on the art world itself. (via Arsty)

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[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

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H.P. Lovecraft on behalf of Unilever

It is a realism so hideous that I sometimes find hope impossible. If such an accursed blasphemy can indeed be, then man must surrender all arrogant notion of his place in the cosmos. I think even now I am paralysed by the mere suggestion — teetering on the precipice of hysterical, gibbering madness. Merciful creator, I cannot accept, I cannot believe it is not butter!

E.E. Cummings on behalf of Redbull

it g/ves
u.
w       4       ings

Flannery O’Connor on behalf of Life Alert

The old woman had begun to move forward. Her neck was craned out as if she was a peahen trying to peck at something that was always being drawn away. She lurched suddenly, swaying as if one leg were shorter than the other. Crumpling, she fell on the pavement.

“Help!” she screamed. The darkness seemed to be sweeping down from the crooked roofs of the houses. A child who had been sitting on the steps in front of a store came towards her. He looked at her face as though he had never seen one like hers before. “Help!” She cried again, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”

The boy set his face hard. “There will always be fanatics,” he said. He went back the place he had been sitting and stared over the uneven skyline of the city. None came to help the old woman, for there was no one left to come.

Charles Bukowski on behalf of L’Oreal

sure, I know that you are tired of hearing about it, but
they won’t let you not
hear about it I mean
it was the same for the bartender
“Jesus,” he said, “that’s how it
is, if possible.”
he liked to talk about the way
1 big woman let herself be changed
by
marriage
parties
vitamins
rosaries or
the lack or excess
of coke
“maybe she’s born with it,”
there were tears in his eyes,
maybe
it’s Maybelline.

Charlotte Brontë on behalf of Reese’s

“Wicked and cruel girl!” I remonstrated, “You have gotten peanut butter in my chocolate!”

Looking darkly and doubtfully on my face, as incredulous of my sanity, Grace grasped me by each shoulder and shook me vigorously.

“What! What!” She bellowed out aloud, “It is you who have gotten chocolate in my peanut butter! For shame!”

Here ensued a pause, filled up by Harold placing the mixture to his lips.

“I need not ask either of you;” he said and ground his teeth. Some hated thought seemed to have him in its grip. “I dare like it,” he subjoined stormily, “Two great tastes that taste great together.”

Arundhati Roy on behalf of Islay’s

It was no performance. The enormity of his terrible desire threatened to reduce the Imam to one of those blind, insane beggars who wander the streets singing surahs for alms. He groped his way along the wall, collapsing beneath the welcoming boughs of the old khejri tree. For the first time since the riots, he let his imagination take over completely.

Would he walk barefoot across the desert? Would he stand atop the walls of the Red Fort crying out blasphemies? Would he shave off his beard?

Renounce all virtue?

Curse his own children?

Hurl himself into the ocean?

The wise tree repeated the question back to him as he wept great, silent tears.

What would you do for a Klondike bar?

Jorge Luis Borges on behalf of Energizer

There is exists within the library of Damascus a certain book which is said to contain all books that ever have or ever shall be written. Its pages are innumerable and its lines contain the very essence of eternity. So it is with the strange, cylindrical object that was forced into my possession by a stranger who called on me at my apartment on Calle Cordoba. In a low voice, as if entrusting me with a secret, he told me that it is a cursed thing. It contains neither beginning nor end, and no hope can exist of grasping its infinitude. I understood then that I had been given the Energizer battery and I should never be rid of it. Like the ouroboros of the alchemists or the Jormungandr of the Norse, its flow returns to its source. Even as the threads of time unravel, it just keeps going and going and going.

David Foster Wallace on behalf of Wendy’s

Where’s¹1 the beef?

¹ By which I mean to say, “Where is² the beef?”

² This seems to suggest that the beef exists, which I don’t know has been established. If we’re not sure of the location of the beef, can we be sure of its existence?³

³ The USDA⁴ states that “beef grades” are “highly regarded as symbols of high-quality American beef.” The USDA goes on to cite various grades (Prime, Choice, Select, etc.) but does not specify if the beef described is actual or merely theoretical.

⁴ US⁵ Department of Agriculture

⁵ United States⁶

⁶ United States of America⁷

⁷ (Where the beef is, if it is indeed anywhere).

Ernest Hemingway on behalf of Payless

Baby shoes. For sale. Never worn.

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

The electric vehicle revolution is accelerating faster than anyone expected, with many experts predicting at least 100 million electric cars hitting the roads by 2035 – making up 85% of new car sales. That’s less than two decades away. Cheaper battery costs are set to make these cars far more affordable for the average person, so before long, they’ll be a lot more enticing to consumers than gas guzzlers that cost much more to run. That, of course, could leave us with a whole lot of empty gas stations. There are currently about 150,000 of them in the U.S., a decline from the 1994 peak of 200,000.

Within the blink of an eye, gas stations are going to seem as quaint and outdated as soda fountains and VCRs, more curiosities than anything else. But that doesn’t mean we have to knock them all down. Many of the buildings could be reused almost as-is, and research firm Gensler has teamed up with Reebok to envision what that might look like. Their ‘Get Pumped’ partnership repurposes the gas stations of the year 2030 as community fitness hubs, giving them green roofs, walking paths and workout equipment.

First of all, they explain, gas stations are usually centrally located, and the ones located alongside major highways could become dual electric car charging stations and gyms. Reebok calls them “the power grid of the future.” Some are set up as networks surrounding highway interchanges where multiple stations are usually located. ‘The Oasis’ transforms a larger station into a nutrition center with juice bars, farm-to-table restaurants, yoga and meditation. At ‘The Community Center,’ smaller local gas stations become hubs for car charging, nutrition classes, an auto repair shop, a minimart and popup workout centers run out of trucks.

“Reebok believes that we’re always training to be our best,” says Austin Malleolo, head of Reebok fitness facilities. “This design work with Gensler allows us to imagine a future where there is zero barrier to entry for an opportunity to work out and be healthy. Consumers may not need gas stations anymore, but instead of wasting them, we’re recycling them, and maximizing the space so that they become places of community.”

“We envision our cities of the future to have a network of fitness oases between home and work where you could stop and recharge more than just your car. Imagine an option to leave the traffic jam to unwind with yoga, get your Crossfit Fix, or pick up a green juice and your weekly farm share all in one place!” said Alfred Byun, designer at Gensler.

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[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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