Timmy the Tooth

[ By SA Rogers in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

Blow-up dolls and boyfriend-shaped body pillows may make you feel a little less lonely, but they can’t give you a massage – unlike this multifunctional bed that performs so many functions, you half-expect it to cook you breakfast in the morning. Sold by a variety of Asian retailers for roughly $600 USD, including SG Shop and English TaoBao, this slightly bonkers piece of furniture incorporates virtually everything you can imagine (reasonably) wanting to be built right into your bed, from USB chargers, speakers, power outlets and a pop-out laptop table to an actual built-in massage chair with multiple settings.

Lift up the mattress to find plenty of storage underneath for extra bedding and ubiquitous pillows. There’s also hidden storage in the bench at the foot of the bed, and shelves all along both sides. Optional features include leather upholstery instead of the default fabric, which comes in a multitude of colors, and even a freaking safe to hold your valuables.

If there’s one glaringly obvious feature this bed doesn’t have to offer, it’s a mattress long enough for the average American. The small size measures just 4’11” while the large size adds a foot. So if you’re larger of stature, this bed might not be for you – at least, not to sleep in. It would still make a pretty cool living room lounger. If you were designing your own all-in-one dream bed, what would you add? A mini fridge? A built-in coffee maker?

h/t My Modern Met

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[ By SA Rogers in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

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• La Liga president Javier Tebas says French club ‘laughing’ at the FFP rules
• He adds that the Brazilian player ‘is peeing off the diving board’

The president of La Liga, Javier Tebas, has accused Paris Saint-Germain of “laughing” at football’s financial fair play rules. Referring to the French club’s £198m signing of Neymar from Barcelona, Tebas said: “We’ve caught [PSG] peeing in the swimming pool and Neymar is peeing off the diving board.”

The Spanish league president was speaking at the Soccerex Global Convention on Wednesday, two days after it emerged he had written to Uefa to ask for an investigation into what he described as PSG’s “history of non-compliance” with FFP. Tebas expanded on this at Soccerex, saying clubs backed by national gas and oil revenues were inflating costs for all clubs and destroying the industry.

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

Retro-futuristic architecture seems to exist outside of time, perhaps in parallel universes where the versions of the future envisioned by their creators actually became reality. They combine design elements from the decades in which they were built with futuristic elements as the architects imagined them, recalling the science fiction of their respective eras, often seeming like remnants from movie sets. Many still stand in a rapidly changing world, feeling like portals to somewhere very far away.

Walden 7 by Ricardo Bofill

Built in 1975, this housing structure by Ricardo Bofill located outside Barcelona, Spain takes inspiration from the science fiction novel Walden Two by B.F. Skinner. It originally included 446 residences in 18 towers, resulting in a labyrinth organized around seven interconnecting interior courtyards. Bofill imagined that this structure would be a utopian urban residence addressing many of the problems of urban life, with space for gardens and social interaction as well as two swimming pools. The high rise still stands and functions as an apartment building, with some units combined to create larger spaces.

Palais Bulles by Antti Lovag

The strange and bulbous Palais Bulles, or Palace of Bubbles, was built in 1989 on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Though it’s often used as a setting for fashion shoots and film festival parties, architect Antti Lovag emphasizes that how the structure is inhabited is its most important aspect. “Whether for economic reasons or lack of technical solutions, human beings have confined themselves to cubes full of dead ends and angles that impede our movement and break our harmony.”

Monsanto House of the Future by Monsanto

Did you know that infamous agrochemical giant Monsanto (known for creating Agent Orange during the Vietnam War) built a ‘house of the future’ at Disneyland in 1957? Located at the entrance to Tomorrowland, the house was designed by Monsanto in collaboration with MIT and Disney Imagineers, showcasing their vision of what life would be like in 1987. Made of fiberglass, the house was elevated on a pedestal with the intention of allowing it to rotate. Everything was modular and made of synthetic materials. Monsanto’s House of the Future closed in 1967, and though it was scheduled to be demolished in one night, the wrecking ball bounced off its tough facade, and a 2-week demolition job was ultimately required to take it down.

Habitat 67 by Moshe Safdie

First built as a pavilion for the World’s Fair in 1967 after architect Moshe Safdie conceived it as his master’s thesis, Habitat 67 remains one of the most unusual buildings of its kind, featuring 146 residences and a network of interlocking forms and walkways. The architect wanted to maximize the amount of private space and natural environments within a small urban footprint, enhancing the quality of life with gardens, fresh air and views. It was intended to be the first phase of a much larger complex, but Safdie’s vision for futuristic affordable housing failed to proliferate due to the high per-unit cost of his design.

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Somewhere Outside Of Time 13 Classic Retro Futuristic Architectural Visions

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

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Thanks to the never-ending battle between Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner, the thought of someone dropping an anvil on your head seems like a minor inconvenience at worst. But as YouTube’s How Ridiculous demonstrates with a refrigerator, cartoon violence has misled us once again.

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“Joel Osteen is defending the decision not to open his Houston megachurch as a shelter during the initial flooding from Harvey in the face of withering criticism on social media.” — New York Times, 8/30/17

JOEL’S ARK
GENESIS

1
There was once a man named Joel, who was much beloved
And (by his own admission) supremely pious as well.

2
And one day, God looked upon the Earth, and He said unto Joel
“Joel, you are my holiest of disciples and I require your assistance.”

3-4
“In the coming days, there shall be a storm.
A fearful storm. A storm so vile and wretched,
That it shall be difficult to even write jokes about it.
(And, indeed, when people do tell jokes about the storm
They shall be obligated to mention the many charities you should donate to
As if that makes their jokes any less opportunistic).”

5
The Lord paused, “I have gotten off the subject. What was I saying?”

6
“Oh right… Joel, you have oft claimed that you are my holiest of disciples.
And in the face of this fearful calamity, I require your assistance—”

7
But then, just as the Lord was about to tell Joel what to do,
Joel, wise and dauntless beyond mere years, interrupted Him

8-9
And Joel spake thusly, “O Lord, I know what you are about to say!
You wish for me to take my wealth and build an Ark
A haven large enough to shield, hypothetically-speaking, over 16,000 people
From the ravages of your neverending storm…”

10
And the supreme Lord, mighty and eternal, reveled
At the sublime wisdom of His holiest of disciples.

11
And then Joel continued: “Also, I should make it so that
No one will be able to get onto the Ark except for me!”

12
And then there was a pause.

13
A long pause.

14-15
And then God, disheartened (and not the least bit confused)
Forced Himself to say “… no?
Why would I force you to build such a massive Ark Joel,
Unless it was for the betterment of mankind, and not—”

16
Joel, supreme in his awesome beneficence, exclaimed thusly:
“Yeah, no. I hear you, God. But here’s a counteroffer.”

17
God replied skeptically, “… I’m listening.”

18
“So, hear me out…” proclaimed Joel unto the heavens above,
“What if I take my wife and family onto the Ark—”

19
“I’m still listening,” replied God.

20
Joel continued: “And then I pray reaaaaally hard for everyone else.”

21
And there was another pause.

22
Longer this time.

23
“See, you’ve lost me again,” replied God.

24
And Joel replied, “No, I don’t think you understood what I meant, Lord.
If I tell everyone I’m praying for them,
Then I won’t have to do anyth…”

25
Joel had noticed that God was looking at him
And shaking His head.

26
“Come on, man… I’m God,” said God exasperatedly.
“Just keep the Ark open for a few weeks, alright?”

27-28
Yet at that, poor Joel (confusion sprouting from his heart
Like a sapling in a field of fertile peat), replied:
“But, Lord, what if the Ark gets a little wet on the inside?
What then, God? Shall I still let people onto the Ark, even if there is
A strictly cosmetic, easily-fixable level of flooding?”

29
And God, almighty and supreme, spake:
“Yeah, it’s a hurricane…”

30
And there was a third pause.

31
Joel tried to fill the silence with a cough this time.

32
But that only made the silence feel louder.

33
Finally, after much thinking Joel exclaimed:
“I got it! What if I let people into my ark…
But only after every other possible alternative is full?”

34
And God replied “That’s still a dick move.”

35
“What if I just block everyone who tries to call me out in a public forum?”
Joel blurted out.

36
“Woah, that’s waaaay worse!” replied God, taken aback.

37
“Sorry. I’m just stressed,” muttered Joel.

38
In His omnipotence, God could tell
That Joel wasn’t really all that sorry.
But God didn’t want to make a scene.

39
So He said nothing.

40
Finally, after the longest pause of all
Joel hesitantly suggested “OK… how about if I wait for five whole days
And then I let everyone onto the Ark? Does that work?”

41
And God said, “I mean, that’s still really bad optics.
Why don’t you just let people onto the Ark from the beginn—”

42
But Joel shrugged, for he had no response
That didn’t make him look like a self-serving, egotistical prick.

43
And thus, Joel gathered up his materials,
And constructed his massive Ark,
And waited for the rains to begin.

44
And, ultimately, Joel learned nothing from the whole experience.

For ways ways to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey, click here.

If our extensive pepper mill tests showed us one thing, it's that not all mills are created equal, and none excel in all areas. Still, after rounds upon rounds of testing, we've found our favorites, including the fastest mill, the best inexpensive mill, and the best electric one. Read More

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

If you’ve got an appetite for backcountry exploration but hate setting up tents, perhaps a more comfortable wilderness hut would be a better fit. Designs for home-like retreats in remote locations range from minimalist sci-fi sleeping pods to luxurious vacation properties with modest exteriors that retain the feel of a homesteader’s cabin, and they’re often self-sustainable, portable and low-impact.

Back Country House by David Maurice

Throughout the wilderness of New Zealand, adventurous backpackers can find basic, rustic huts that will put a roof over their heads for a night or two. ‘Back Country House’ by LTD Architectural keeps the spirit of those simple structures while making it a whole lot more comfortable. Designed for the architect’s own family, the home features a spacious terrace that functions as the living room, with an outdoor fireplace and two sunken tubs in the deck keeping it cozy in winter. The pop-up tub covers double as tables for a sunken seating area.

Drew House by Simon Laws

A series of pavilions joined by outdoor walkways offers living space for a family near Queensland, Australia. Though it looks like a reclaimed sewer pipe, the rounded pavilion was just built to that shape using metal sheeting, capped on one end with hardwood louvers. All components were constructed offsite and transported to the plot to minimize disturbance. The passive solar home is self-sufficient, with rainwater tanks and recycling systems, solar power panels and solar hot water.

Tiny House in the San Juan Islands by Prentiss Architects

Overlooking the sea from its perch on Washington’s San Juan Island, Eagle Point Cabin by Prentiss Architects looks modest from the outside, with its rustic wooden facade and grassy roof. But inside, it’s just as comfortable as any high-end home, offering a wood stove, a wall of windows for whale watching, a spacious bedroom and a bathtub with a view.

Eco POD Hotel in Switzerland

Designed by Robust Outdoor Brands, Switzerland’s first eco POD hotel features dreamy little rounded rooms set into a snowy landscape. After dark, when they’re illuminated from within, they look almost too much like a fairytale to be true. Each low-impact room is made with FSC-certified wood and double-glazed windows and accommodates two people.

Tye River Cabin by Olson Kundig

Located in a dense forest near the Tye River in Skykomish, Washington, the Tye River Cabin by Olson Kundig architects is envisioend as a meditative retreat with pivoting glass windows that swing open to blur the lines between outside and in. The architects set the cabin on a concrete base and wrapped the exterior in rusted steel siding.

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Wilderness Huts For Backcountry Glamour 15 Not So Rustic Retreats

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

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We make no presumptions about why you’re seeking our help today: maybe you’re here because you accidentally followed Mike Pence on Twitter for a few minutes and you’re feeling unclean. Maybe your uncle Ralph shared a misspelled update on your Facebook wall last week warning about contamination at a fishing hole back home in Indiana and a couple of your friends liked it. Maybe you’re just feeling generally insecure about your life ever since you found out that the exposed brick in your new apartment wasn’t original to the building.

Whatever the circumstances, you’re here because you’re an urban professional below forty with an income north of six figures and a STOP KEYSTONE XL bumper sticker on your rarely-used road bike, you’re insecure about your social status, and you want to remind your family, friend, and coworkers of your place in the world. With that in mind, may we humbly suggest that you use social media to share a short, wryly funny humor piece from a respected national magazine riffing on the currently-trendy idea of tiny houses?

You see, by sharing an 800-word article that revolves entirely around the reader understanding both the concept of the tiny house and the term’s trendy buzz in Ivy League-educated coastal circles, you will be communicating a number of subtle things to your friends and family.

You will be reminding them that you care about the tiny-house movement, and that you’re familiar with the ethos behind it. (It’s an aesthetically and environmentally rooted reaction to the proliferation of McMansions. Don’t worry if you forgot; that’s beside the point.)

You will let them know that, beyond simply being familiar with the concept of a tiny house, you are likewise aware that the concept is currently enjoying a moment in the spotlight. This will communicate cultural literacy and a profound engagement with the world around you, or at least that you have an online-only subscription to Harper’s Bazaar.

If you’re lucky, some of your friends and coworkers will, upon seeing your post, assume that you have purchased a number of recently-published books on the matter of tiny houses. This will signal that you are educated and have ample leisure time to read books about architecture. Likely, in your friends’ minds, these books on tiny houses will sit tastefully on a modern Scandinavian coffee table, bathed in the soft glow of your newly-installed skylight, nestled between some back issues of the New York Times Magazine and perhaps serving as an ersatz coaster for a bottle of that high-pH water that your college-aged daughter is apparently drinking now.

This is all well and good, of course, but to truly demonstrate that you are a well-off urban professional who probably would’ve gone to the Women’s March if Carl hadn’t scheduled his goddamn presentation for lunchtime again, it is vitally important that the article you share about tiny houses be a humor piece. After all, sharing an article that simply observes and comments upon the concept of tiny houses is old hat by now. Affluent liberal urbanites have been sharing straight news articles about tiny houses for five or six years by this point. It’s one of their favorite things to do, its popularity even rivaling such perennial favorite affluent-urban-liberal pastimes as wearing sportcoats to Arcade Fire concerts and feeling guilty about owning Audis.

On the other hand, a humor piece on the subject — one that pokes light fun at the idea of living in a tiny house while respecting the ethics of the concept — would show your friends that you are far from stodgy; rather, you are with the times and possess a sense of humor about yourself. I am familiar enough with the concept of the tiny house and its place in our culture to joke about it, your post will tell your friends. Moreover, I am able to have a nice, jolly laugh even about the things I believe in. I probably wrote my honors thesis at Dartmouth about Infinite Jest and own a newly-renovated brownstone in Cobble Hill.

As you can clearly see, there are few better ways to remind your friends that you are, in fact, an apartment-dwelling liberal whose idea of “modest living” includes a month or two in Tuscany every year than to share a humor article about tiny houses with your friends on social media. If you find sharing this article helpful to your self-esteem and social standing among the other Montessori-school parents, you will be glad to know that there are a wealth of similar humor articles available online. These articles, which gently riff on subjects like man buns, charcoal lemonade, the frustrating aspects of owning a summer home, co-working spaces, and hygge, are, of course, written exclusively by, for, and about the kind of people who just blithely assume that everyone has a housekeeper.

Thank you for your time; we hope that this suggestion has been helpful. Good luck with your self-image-affirming Facebook activity, and we wish you the best in finding a couple of nice new L.L. Bean sweaters, the ones that go so well with your dress shirts, for the fall.

• Leaked document alleges 25 players from 12 countries given TUEs
• ‘More than 150 players were caught doping in 2015,’ say Fancy Bears

The Football Association and Fifa have condemned the latest hack by the Fancy Bears group after details of failed drug tests and therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) among footballers were made public.

A small cache of emails between Fifa staff and doping officials were leaked by the Russian hacking group on Tuesday. Alongside the correspondence, which has not been verified by the Guardian, Fancy Bears claimed that 25 players had been allowed to use TUEs at the 2010 World Cup, including the former Premier League players Dirk Kuyt, Juan Sebastián Verón and Carlos Tevez.

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• Supporter group releases statement condemning young forward
• ‘We cannot accept that one of our players demand such figures’

A group of Monaco supporters has criticised Kylian Mbappé and his entourage for their conduct during the summer transfer window as the teenage France forward edges close to joining Paris Saint-Germain.

Reports in France have suggested PSG are in talks over a €140m (£128m) move that would see the 18-year-old join initially on loan in a bid to avoid financial fair play sanctions from Uefa after the £198m transfer of Neymar. The Brazil forward Lucas Moura would also move to Monaco as part of the deal.

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• Club confirm fans were removed from King Power Stadium during match
• Police say two Leicester fans were arrested for homophobic chants

Leicester City have condemned the homophobic chanting that took place against Brighton & Hove Albion after confirming some of the club’s supporters were removed from the stadium during match on Saturday.

According to witnesses, the abuse began in the closing stages of the game the hosts won 2-0. Following the match, fans of both clubs voiced their concerns on social media.

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The CDC tracking of the papaya outbreak continues, with a score of

• Case Count: 173
• States: 21
• Deaths: 1
• Hospitalizations: 58
• Recall: Yes

All foodborne illness outbreaks are devastating for victims but fascinating for investigators, since each is different.

This investigation has traced the illness-causing Salmonella to one kind of papaya (Maridol, under Caribeña, Cavi, and Valery brands) to one Mexican farm (Carica de Campeche).

But four Salmonella strains have been found in papaya samples and in ill people:

• Kiambu
• Thompson
• Agona
• Gaminara

The shift from one to another is evident in the epi curve:

The moral:

• Don’t buy Maridol papayas.
• If you have one, throw it away (but be careful not to cross contaminate surfaces)
• If you don’t know where the papaya was grown, don’t eat it

If you are interested in the legal implications, check Bill Marler’s website.

Aries

An unexpected discovery this week will make all your current problems feel small. Specifically, the discovery that an extinction-level event happens on Earth with some regularity at least once every 50 million years, and our planet is currently overdue.

Taurus

If you feel as if life has been moving too fast lately, consider taking a vacation down south. Due to special relativity, time moves more slowly at the equator than the pole.

Gemini

Thanks to the Andromeda Galaxy, which is approaching the Milky Way at a rate of 110 kilometers per second, you will rethink your own mortality.

Cancer

The explosion of Supernova 1989A sent an unexpected shower of gamma rays through your flesh as a young girl, the escalating mutations from which may eventually make your astrological sign more ironic than it currently is.

Leo

Consider investing in the wristwatch industry. Man-made dams are slowing the rotation of the earth and increasing the length of the day. And more seconds in a day mean the timekeeping market will only continue to grow.

Virgo

Look towards Betelgeuse, the bright red giant likely to go supernova at any moment. In fact, it may have already exploded, and you just don’t know about it yet. In that sense it is similar to your ambitions.

Libra

Watch out for Venus this week. Escalating CO2 levels in its atmosphere led to an out-of-control greenhouse effect, turning the once-verdant world into a hellscape of constant lightning storms, 800 degree heat and deadly sulphuric acid rain. In any case, perhaps it is time to start carpooling to work.

Scorpio

Mercury is in retrograde, which means that if you were to record its relative location in the sky every night you would notice that, against the plane of stars, it appears temporarily to move backwards in comparison to the rest of the bright objects that move along the ecliptic. This is all that this means, though.

Sagittarius

The Sun will play a big role in your life this week, mainly because all life on earth owes its existence to its energy, with the possible exception of the chemotrophs living in deep-sea vents.

Capricorn

You will find you have something in common with a new friend — namely, the fact that both of you live in a solar system that orbits Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy, with an orbital period of 100,000 years.

Aquarius

Spend a day at the beach or taking a hike. You deserve it! Also, as the core of the Earth cools, the tectonic plates will cease their motion, and continents and mountains will slowly erode into the sea until Earth is a blue ocean planet, making dry land a fleeting luxury.

Pisces

Thinking about quitting your job? You may want to reconsider. The inevitable heat-death of the universe, in which all existing matter will end up as stray, lonely photons in a sparse and cold universe, will render all life decisions ultimately meaningless.

In the wake of watching the horrors in Charlottesville, Virginia play out on our televisions, many comedians became our commentators. Our collective conscience. Saying the things that our leaders couldn’t. Or wouldn’t. It brought to mind one of my all-time favorite comedy albums. Dick Gregory at Kent State. The bold double LP was recorded before the student body of the Ohio university, still reeling from the senseless loss of life of political protesters at the hands of the National Guard on the school’s campus in May 1970. It’s more than a comedy record. It’s brilliant and inspired oratory. But of course Dick Gregory was more than a comedian.

Somewhere in between the trails blazed by Lenny Bruce and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is Dick Gregory. Both satirist and social activist, Gregory was more overtly political than Bruce and funnier than Dr. King. And while history heralded those two magnificent martyrs whose lives were lost less than two years apart from one another in the turbulent 1960s, Gregory was a contemporary of both men who continued to talk the talk and walk the walk until we lost him this past weekend.

Gregory had virtually no predecessor. A small handful of black comedians had released comedy albums before his 1961 debut LP In Living Black and White. Redd Foxx. Nipsey Russell. Moms Mabley. But none were overtly political. And none had found a way to bring an authentic black perspective to mainstream white audiences. As Gregory liked to say, he dared to stand “flatfooted” in front of white audiences and talk directly to them.

When “Greg”… as many of his friends called him… recorded that first album at the Playboy club in Chicago, he was only 28 years old. Already well established as an important and provocative new voice in comedy, he commented on the LP about how he was being called “the black Mort Sahl” in the press. Greg joked that, “in the Congo papers, they call Mort Sahl the white Dick Gregory.” His jokes on the civil rights movement had a bite and a rage to them that were belied by Greg’s easy-going style. His delivery was the epitome of cool and the antithesis of the smiling, tap dancing Negro performers white audiences had grown accustomed to seeing. He even had the audacity to take on white hecklers, once firing back, “Trying to get you to shut up is like trying to explain integration to a lynch mob.”

Much has and will be written about how Gregory famously passed on Jack Paar’s invitation to appear on the Tonight Show because black comedians were not allowed to sit down with Paar. (Paar conceded and Gregory did appear and did sit down with him.) More has and will be written about Gregory’s landmark autobiography, which he entitled Nigger with a dedication to his mother saying that every time she heard that word from that day on, they were just advertising his book. From arrests and attempts on his life, Greg’s absolute commitment to social justice will stand as his legacy even over and above his comedy. But what probably will go under-reported and under-appreciated was how real, authentic and accessible he was. He loved to engage, one-on-one with real people, giving his phone number to anyone who asked for it. He never stopped traveling, observing, reading, watching, listening, reaching out and reaching back right up until he fell ill just a few days before his passing.

I first met Greg on a movie set about fifteen years ago. My friend Carr D’Angelo was the producer of the film and knew how much his work meant to me, so he invited me to come and hang out while Greg filmed. I sheepishly asked if I could bring a few LPs to get signed. Carr said yes, not anticipating that I would be bringing eleven albums. But Greg didn’t mind, chatting as he autographed the lot with his trademark inscription: “To You, From Me.” When he got to the Kent State album, I remarked that it was my favorite. Genuinely curious, he asked why. I told him that it moved and inspired me. That I had loved his material about the inherent corruption in our two-party system and how if we were “one nation under God, our God is the green Jesus.” We also discussed the centerpiece of the album, his extended metaphor using the movie Frankenstein to illuminate the inherent dynamic between white and black America. In the bit, Greg explained how the film’s scariest character was Dr. Frankenstein because he was the one who dug up the “monster” and turned him into something frightening. I told him how I often quoted that routine and had even used it as the basis of a film school term paper on morality in classic horror films. Greg just smiled and gave me a little side-eye as he finished signing. Then he slipped me his business card, which bore only his name and phone number. “Call me anytime, brother.”

Through the years, I would call Greg from time to time. Just to talk. And we talked about everything. He never failed to be up to the minute on every aspect of every news story and had a point of view that was usually pretty far from the mainstream. I didn’t always agree with him but I always wanted to hear what he had to say. And after the passing of both Richard Pryor and my dear friend Jonathan Winters, Greg’s perspectives on each were warm, unique and personal. Remembering those conversations makes me that much sadder that I don’t know who to call today to talk about him.

I have always felt that it’s the job of the comedian to see things differently and yet with total clarity. From the most mundane observations about food/airplanes/popular culture/etc. to our most intimate inter-dynamics as individuals and as groups of people, the comedian seeks a truth from his or her unique perspective and communicates it in a way that makes us laugh and, in doing so, gets us to agree with them. That’s what laughter is. Agreement. It’s a superpower and, as such, I have always regarded the comedians who had the greatest impact on me as heroes. And from the first moment I was exposed to the powerful work of Dick Gregory, he became a major hero of mine. And he always will be.

A 25-year-old U.S. citizen has been charged with using a drone to smuggle more than 13 pounds of methamphetamine from Mexico by drone.

Hello, everyone. I am Ivanka Trump — first daughter, adviser to the president, and advocate for women. As has been reported by media outlets such as the New York Times and Politico, I am the strongest proponent for the advancement of female and LGBT rights in my father’s administration, tirelessly working to influence his policies with my own socially conscious agenda.

…

…

PSYCH!! That was a good one, huh? Bet I got you there! Man, I can’t believe how many of you idiots keep eating this shit up!

Every day, I sit idly by tweeting meaningless platitudes while my father spouts racist rhetoric, enacts religious bans, bars transgender people from military service, and revokes protections for working women, but one call from an “insider source” to the New York Times can get me an article about how I am fighting very hard to exert my socially liberal influence. And you dumb motherfuckers eat it right up!

I mean, it’s so easy it almost isn’t FUN anymore, you know?

I honestly don’t even know why you naïve rubes keep falling for my act… oh wait, I DO. I’m blonde, beautiful, wear dresses that blend glamour and business, and have a tone of voice that is the perfectly calibrated level of soft hiss to make you think, “Wow, it sounds like Ivanka really does care!” Guess what — I don’t!

Many nights, Jared and I sit in our lavish mansion and just laugh and laugh about how much I’ve got so many of you complete shit-for-brains fooled. “Tiffany could never get away with this,” I often exclaim, “But I can! I’m Ivanka!”

All right. That’s enough for now, assholes. I have to go convince my father to bolster his parental leave pla — sorry, I couldn’t even get through that sentence without bursting out laughing! I have to go ensure that the labor practices being used in the Chinese factories that produce my shoe brand are sufficiently abusive. Be sure to buy my book, Women Who Work ! It’s 256 pages of trite and meaningless hot air disguised as female empowerment, but knowing you fuckwits, you’ll probably fall for it anyways.

Love,
Ivanka

• Catalan club’s third offer includes a remarkable £36.6m in add-ons
• Coutinho emailed transfer request to Liverpool last Friday

Liverpool have again underlined their determination to keep Philippe Coutinho by rejecting a deal worth up to €130m (£119m) from Barcelona for the unsettled Brazil international.

Barcelona’s third attempt to prise Coutinho from Anfield constituted a guaranteed €90m (£82.3m) plus a staggering €40m (£36.6m) in add-ons, an increase of €5m and €25m respectively on their previous offer. The Spanish club made an anticipated third bid on Friday having been encouraged by the transfer request the 25-year-old emailed to Liverpool’s sporting director, Michael Edwards, one week ago.

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[ By SA Rogers in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

Every dumb thing we humans do in this modern-day ‘civilized’ world is laid out in excruciating detail in these miniature scenes by artist Frank Kunert – not to mention our fears and anxieties. A row of public toilets is placed on a stage so strangers can watch you poop. A bride and groom poise at the end of a diving platform far too high above a pool, their friends and family watching below. A children’s slide empties onto a highway, and a bassinet is equipped with a desk so the little one can get to work as soon as possible. Pipes funnel human waste straight from the toilet upstairs into a television set, and a balcony projects into the path of a train.

Each of these works is a darkly humorous critique mocking us for contemporary habits and practices, from setting ourselves up for danger a la the Darwin Awards to creating cycles of consumption that kill us instead of satisfying us. Art museums are literally out of reach. The only living tree visible in the neighborhood is solely accessible via a dangerous staircase. A beautiful modern villa cuts off sunlight to the hovel below.

Some of the scenes look ordinary upon first glance, and it takes a moment to realize what’s wrong with them. Doors on the side of an apartment tower might lead into nothing but air, or a single chair at a formal dining table is placed out in the cold while the rest are cozy indoors.

Kunert painstakingly crafts each of these miniature scenes as part of his series Photographs of Small Worlds, and then documents them for his portfolio. He works on each one until it captures the mood and message he’s aiming for without any digital manipulation. You can see more of his work at his website, which offers much of his portfolio in photo book form, or in person September 10th 2017 through January 28th 2018 at Germany’s Museum Boppard.

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[ By SA Rogers in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

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In their infinite wisdom, NBC recently saw fit to take a good and beloved Premier League broadcast strategy and make it bad and hated by cleaving its once-unified televised and streaming services into two smaller and less satisfying parts, and charging for each separately. Turner, which recently bought Champions…

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[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

Packing the environmental impact of as many as 275 actual urban trees, these multi-functional CityTree units are dense and efficient fighters of urban air pollution (the single largest environmental health risk). Each CityTree can remove 240 metric tons of CO2 per year, as much as a small forest.

Developed by Green City Solutions in Berlin, the CityTree is covered in moss cultures — their high surface area ratios help remove dust and other airborne gasses and chemicals at a rate much higher than normal trees. Each unit has solar panels providing electricity and automated rainwater collection systems to store and distribute moisture as needed. Sensors help monitor soil humidity, temperature, water and air quality in and around each unit.

CityTrees have started sprouting in places like Paris, Brussels and Hong Kong, occupying a few square meters on city sidewalks while also (optionally) serving as public seating. Of course, air pollution is rarely evenly distributed in cities, so placement in high-traffic/emissions areas is also critical.

Developed by an architect and an engineer, the CityTree has been in the works for over a decade. “Our ultimate goal is to incorporate technology from the CityTree into existing buildings,” one of the designers told CNN. “We dream of creating a climate infrastructure so we can regulate what kind of air and also what kind of temperature we have in a city.” Beyond this compact and mobile application, lessons learned from monitoring and growing dense mosses on individual CityTree installations could also be applied on larger structural surfaces down the line.

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[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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In addition to capturing moments of road rage, an action cam mounted on a motorcycle rider’s helmet can occasionally record a straight-up miracle, as was the case with Matthew Murray who ended up plummeting 250-feet off a mountain road after a problem with his bike’s steering.

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I am a faithful subscriber to Jerry Hagstrom’s Hagstrom Report on issues having to do with agriculture.  He attended the International Sweetener Symposium in San Diego and took notes.  If you want to know how the sugar industry is dealing with the “eat less sugar” message, here are some hints (wish I’d been there):

From José Orive, executive director of the London-based International Sugar Organization:

There is “sugar diarrhea” in the media, Orive said, referring to the many articles urging reductions in sweetener consumption.  “We need to talk the bull by the horns in pointing out the role of sugar in human nutrition” and talking about the importance of exercise.

From Craig Ruffolo, an analyst with McKeany-Flavell in Oakland, CA:

We need to get back to positivity, not negativity. The sugar industry has a really great message. It starts with 15 calories per teaspoon.

From Courtney Gaine, president and CEO of the Sugar Association:

“We have this obesity crisis that has become a massive economic problem,” Gaine said. The pressures on governments to address the human and economic costs of obesity have combined with “a public health community that does not trust industry” she said.

A lot of the food companies “who should be our friends” are instead reformulating products and advertising they are using less sugar, she said. Coca-Cola is replacing its “Coke Zero” with a label that reads “Coke No Sugar” and is already supplying Delta Air Lines with napkins bearing that slogan.

From Lynn Dornblaser, director of innovation and insight at Mintel, a Chicago market research firm:

“Products making low sugar claims won’t be going away anytime soon”…The “no high-fructose corn syrup” claim “is not losing its power.”

Hagstrom’s summary comes with references:

▪  American Sugar Alliance – “An Evaluation of the Global Sugar Market Environment” by José Orive
▪ “Sugar Market Outlook” by Craig Ruffolo
▪ “The New State of Play for Sugar: Trends, Policy, Consumption and Activism” by Courtney Gaine
▪ “Consumer Trends and Industry Response” by Ron Sterk
▪ “Trends in sugar, sugar reduction, and sweeteners” by Lynn Dornblaser

Iced coffee is a brilliant way to sell people ice for the price of coffee (which is mostly water to begin with). Cold brew on the other hand is a different process that results in less acidity, among other benefits, and you can do it yourself at home with this top-selling Takeya, now down to $18 on Amazon.

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

Elevate your camping style with the latest high-performance gear like twig-burning stoves, tree tents, bear-proof coolers and portable loungers. These major upgrades will keep you dry, warm, fed and comfortable no matter how rugged your destination, even when you’re traveling on foot instead of in a DIY RV, fancy pop-up car tent or luxuriously equipped off-road trailer.

Biolite Basecamp Stove

By now, you’ve probably seen the cool BioLite, a compact portable stove that burns twigs and then uses the heat as energy to power your gadgets (if not, you should check it out!) Now, the company is taking things up a notch with the BaseCamp, a portable grill that runs on larger pieces of wood. Smaller pieces of firewood or fallen branches both can be placed in the stove’s opening to cook your food – even in camping locations that don’t allow campfires – and an orange power pack on the side collects the energy. The BaseCamp also features a built-in light.

Scrubba Portable Laundry Wash Bag

Prefer not to tote dirty laundry around on an extended camping trip, or want to freshen up your favorite hoodie halfway through? The Scrubba is a brilliantly simple way to wash textiles. Its interior is lined with little nubs that scrub your garments as you massage the exterior of the bag for a machine-quality wash in three minutes. That’s more effective than using a bucket, and you never even have to get your hands dirty. The bag weighs just 5 ounces and doubles as a dry bag.

Tentsile Tree Tent

Marketing itself as a ‘portable tree house,’ the Tentstile tree tent lets you sleep high above the ground (how high is up to you!) by attaching to three nearby tree trunks. Stack them on top of each other to create temporary treehouse cities with your friends, or hang hammocks underneath them for an extra dry sleeping space. The number of people you can sleep using these systems is only as limited as the tree trunks around you.

Yeti Hopper Cooler

Dubbed ‘the world’s toughest cooler,’ the Yeti has become a household name for its durability and dependability. The hard-sided Yetis keep food and ice colder for longer than any other cooler on the market, and now the company is offering soft-sided versions, too, like the Hopper and the Hopper Flip. Each one is waterproof, including the Hydrolok zipper, and can withstand a bear mauling.

Sea to Summit Tarp Poncho

Heading into rainy territory? Keep your gear – and yourself – dry with the Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Nano Tarp Poncho. Made of lightweight waterproof fabric, it’s big enough to accommodate your pack while you’re hiking, and then converts from a wearable into an ultralight 2-person shelter.

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Happier Campers Take Your Gear To A New Level With These 15 Innovations

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

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With good-quality Dutch cocoa powder and plenty of butter, homemade Oreos are easier than you'd think to make. Plus, they're just as sturdy and dunkable as the original—no squishy filling here! BraveTart shows you how. Read More

Tiger Woods had Vicodin, Dilaudid, Xanax, Ambien and THC in his system when arrested on suspicion of DUI on May 29, according to a toxicology report obtained by ESPN.

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Welcome to Meat Sack, a guide to sports-related body horror. Today’s column is about enjoying the great outdoors.

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[ By WebUrbanist in Technology & Vintage & Retro. ]

Some great institutions are becoming even greater in the digital age — places like museums continue to scan high-quality paintings and photographs for distribution and agencies like NASA put vintage pictures and video footage online for everyone to access.

Joining the cool kids’ club, the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) has taken its Art of the Poster collection from the Golden Age of graphic design (late 1800s through the early 1900s) and put it up on the web for anyone to share.

“Featuring over 200 printed works, Art of the Poster 1880-1918 presents a look at lithography’s rise in popularity during La Belle Époque,” reports MyModernMet. “It was during this time that artists like Alphonse Mucha, Jules Chéret, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec popularized the art form, which gained public prominence thanks to new methods of production.”

In the late nineteenth century, lithographers began to use mass-produced zinc plates rather than stones in their printing process. This innovation allowed them to prepare multiple plates, each with a different color ink, and to print these with close registration on the same sheet of paper. Posters in a range of colors and variety of sizes could now be produced quickly, at modest cost.

At the time, many of these masterpieces were essentially commercial in nature, designed to promote products, stores and restaurants. Today, they have made their way into the archives of art history, helping to bridge the gap between popular culture and the closed-door art world of museum exhibits.

 

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[ By WebUrbanist in Technology & Vintage & Retro. ]

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Want a truly great mixed green salad full of vibrant lettuces, flavorful herbs, and bitter greens? You're not going to find it in the pre-mixed salad section of your supermarket. Instead, make your own with the freshest whole heads of lettuce, radicchio, herbs, dandelion, and more. You won't look back. Read More

1. The Funny One (Who Makes Problematic Jokes About Caitlyn Jenner)

He’s outgoing, quick-witted, and so hilarious you’ll totally overlook his thorny stand up set about Caitlyn Jenner where he misgenders her and calls her a “man with boobs.” You’ll smile and just politely chuckle, after all, you don’t want to be uptight about the whole thing. It’s just a joke, right? He doesn’t mean it.

2. The Mama’s Boy (Who Doesn’t Hang Out With You During Your Period)

You’ve always wanted a sweet guy like this: somebody who’s kind, caring, and texts his mom very day. Sure, he doesn’t want to spend time with you when you’re on your period because he says you’re “too emotional” and “it’s just so icky,” but you totally get it. I mean, you don’t want to be clingy or anything. I guess his mom didn’t have periods then? Whatever.

3. The Hipster (Who Says The N-Word When He Raps Along to Songs)

If you go to a liberal arts school, you know you’re going to be dating this beanie-wearing, chai latte-sipping, Nietzsche-quoting guy who knows the lyrics to all the new Frank and Kendrick, including the ones that aren’t exactly “his” to say. You feel like you’ve read a Jezebel article on this, but you don’t want to get into an argument about the whole thing. It’s fine. Just let it go.

4. The Freshman (Who Wears a “Tequila Bandito” Costume on Halloween)

Rawr, since when did you become such a cougar? Though he’s just a college baby, there’s something about that wide-eyed stare and blissful naiveté that gets your motor running. You’ll spot him at the Fright Night party wearing a tasteless sombrero, fake mustache, and problematic poncho, but you’re drunk. And it’s not like anybody even cares. If somebody cared, they would have said something. So. Not your problem.

5. The Religious Guy (Who Can’t Tell Your Asian Friends Apart)

He goes to church every Sunday, reads the Bible before bed, and your parents love him – so you know he’s a good person, right? He does keep mixing up Lisa and Frankie, but that’s an honest mistake. He’s just bad with faces, and they do look alike. Sorta. If you squint. Crap, no wait, you didn’t mean it like that–

6. The Commitment-Phobe (Who Doesn’t Think Bisexuals Are Real)

Are you hanging out? Hooking up? Dating? Who knows, because you’ve never said more than three words to him outside of the bedroom. You know it’s an issue that he thinks that bisexuals are just gay people “faking it,” but it’s not like you’re planning on marrying the guy. You don’t need to be the one trying to like, fix him or whatever.

7. The Political One (Who Writes “No Fatties” On His Tinder Bio)

A former volunteer for Hillary’s campaign, this tightly wound guy speaks in Politico articles and poll numbers from Gallup. He is always telling you how woke he is, so you try not to think too hard about the fact you matched with him on Tinder even with that bio. You’re not fat, so it’s not an issue. I mean, he swiped right. So that’s basically a compliment. You should honestly be flattered. Stop thinking so hard.

8. The Frat Bro

Okay, you knew what you were getting into with this one. You’re on your own here.