The world’s best souvenir shops
Why should I write better when a machine can do it for me?
Because actually no one can do it for you, because your voice is unique among all the people on earth. Siri never petted a horse's neck. Alexa has never been ghosted by the captain of the football team.
But you have lived, your heart is beating, you have suffered, and you have something important to say.
It's a human's job, to use words, and whatever job you give to a machine, that part of your brain goes dark.
Maybe it's worth it when it comes to remembering phone numbers and directions, but when that part of your brain that uses words goes dark, that's a vast area that's very close to your soul.
Don't let some internet platform convince you that what you have to say and create isn't worthwhile. Words are the echo of your soul.
Honing that echo matters.
THAT’S A LONG TIME: Croatian Freediver Shatters Record For Longest-Held Breath. “On June 14 of this year, Vitomir Maričić took one last gulp of pure oxygen and lay down in a pool. There he remained, cool as a sea cucumber, for 29 minutes and 3 seconds.”
“Rembrandt documented his face as it aged through time, from the fresh-faced playfulness of youth to his careworn old age.” He did about 100 self-portraits in total.
Read the article on The Collector
The Gentleman’s Surprise Chair circa 1888
Found on Reddit.
13 Things I Found on the Internet Today
Library of wood:
This one is in Canberra, it has 47000 samples.
Found on Present & Correct.
Dr. Seuss’s Little-Known “Adult” Book of Nudes
Not necessarily what you’d expect from Dr. Seuss… or is it ?
Found by one of our awesome MNC Ambassadors (thanks for the tip Eliza) on Brainpickings.
Chef Dean Baldwin Lew was looking to host a dinner of an invasive species. The Ministry of Natural Resources told him that it was illegal to carry the Rusty Crawfish over land as a single pregnant animal could extend the population to another watershed. His only option to cook & serve was to do the whole thing in the actual river where they are caught.
“We served riverbed watercress and apples from the adjacent parking lot, cheddar from the next town, washing it all down with county whites cooled to the same temperature as the water on our feet.”
Summer restaurant goals
Found here
The only painting Van Gogh ever sold during his lifetime. The price was 400 francs ($2.000 in today’s money).
See it close up here
So we’re only doing this every couple of months now?
Other things. Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI / FBI history in artefacts / how much does the internet weigh? / Based on a True True Story?, a scene-by-scene breakdown of Hollywood films at Information is Beautiful, via Kottke) / the Stephen Merchant collection of Star Wars memorabilia / a collection of Department Store Catalogues at Archive.org / A collection of famous fake images, including The Book of Veles. There’s also an upcoming documentary on Swiss contactee Billy Meier, I Want to Believe.
Why does Switzerland have so many bunkers? / curl up and dye with the Punpages, via b3ta, which also links to this thing of beauty: London Live Tube Map / a homage to the original Fiat Panda 4×4 / all about trick decks / should you dump your toxic friend? / The Chairs of Doctor Who(via b3ta) / Small Wonders Magazine, an online publication / The Guide To Sleeping in Airports / Save or Shred? On the Allure and Conundrum of Unpublished Novels / a list of Abandoned Blogs (via MeFi). Or just click around on our sidebar.
Microsoft’s Top 50 products / all about IBM’s once world-beating design language / the first selfie in space, 1966 / a test to decide on your views on the nature of reality / an archive of perfume bottles / Philip Graham on The Adventures of Tintin, from 2012 / The Office of Collecting & Design, and on Instagram.
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Music things. The official Sonic Youth Reverb shop / the excellent sounds of Oxford band Mystery Biscuit / the meticulously packaged releases of California record label Time Released Sound / Pocket Operator DIY contest winners / a new release from Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan / an interview with Andy Vella / decaying vinyl acetate of Mixes of a Lost World / The Art Of Poison-Pilling Music Files.
Cloudberry Records has a blog on all things indie / The New Cue, a music newsletter / buy the late Andrew Weatherall’s music gear at Soundgas / Shadow Garden, ‘a moonlit anthology of contemporary DIY guitar music’ / is Subvert.fm the ‘next Bandcamp’? / an amazing set of esoteric musical browser tools at Femur Design / a project about Shared DNA in music / math-y prog from Japanese guitarist Yusuke Terauchi.
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Art things. The work of Kathleen Guthrie / the paintings of Caroline Walker (via (Wallpaper*) / the joy of a night out in 80s Leeds / The Rembrandt, a short story by Edith Wharton / monographs and more at Modern Art Press / prints and more at Flummox Industries / art, fashion and the automobile in inter-war France / Wrong Answer, a bookshop / the miniature home sculptures of Ted Lott / The Last Ships, a photography project about shipbuilding in 1970s Britain by Chris Killip (via Meanwhile).
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Architecture things. Dezeen interview with Venice curator Carlo Ratti in which he blames Dezeen for the state of architecture / was the Biennale a Tech Bro Fever Dream? / the world’s ‘smallest mobile tiny house‘ / exploring the World War 2 scars of London / Gloriously Unnecessary: The Return of the Architectural Folly / celebrate five years of the Perambulations architecture walking guides / architect Duncan Baker-Brown on adaptive re-use.
London from the Rooftops, the photography of James Burns / The Twentieth Century Society’s Buildings at Riskreport. More at the Guardian / How Saudi bought Britain’s architects / Graven Hill, ‘The chaotic brilliance of the UK’s biggest self-build town’ / restoring the Brutalist Villa Gontero near Turin / Common Edge, architectural musings.
