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Here's what we looked at this week:Dremel's new Blueprint Multi-Drill is designed with innovative features that consumers can use. AI-designed footwear is here, with a new "influencer" business model.Industrial design case study: Modern Weave 3.0, by KEM Studio, is an experimental furniture design incorporating rope.Gimmicky furniture design strikes again: A multi-position chair lands $780K-plus on Kickstarter.Combo furniture: LG adds a projector and speaker to a floor lamp.Outside-the-box thinking: The Adaptchula, …

Ben Ramanauskas wants to abolish the pensions triple lock. As a longstanding advocate of it, you'd expect me to disagree. And I do, but not violently. Ben proposes replacing the lock with simply raising the state pension in line with average earnings. This has two great merits. One, as Ben says, is that it aligns the interests of pensioners and workers. It tells today's pensioners: "you're in the same boat …

I visited Los Angeles for the first time in February of 2001. I’d passed on previous opportunities to visit because I assumed it would be a place I’d hate. The only things I knew about it was there were lots of earthquakes and fake people. I didn’t work in the movies, had no interest in plastic surgery or fancy cars and generally didn’t think there was anything I’d find interesting …

The Crimea Tavern, Castleford, Yorkshire A distinctive Victorian red-brick pub with an arched frontage, across the road from the River Aire on the north side of the town centre. It has been closed since 2009, and planning permission has now been granted for its demolition.

A cartoon coded in CSS from comiCSS.

The Voyage of Magellan, Interlude: The Mutineers’ Return

We’re all over the Finland scene today, with a brand new single from Cats of Transnistria…one of my favorite acts on the Soliti roster. That said, they’ve mostly been quiet for the last few years since 2019’s Aligning…save for a single that seemed like a one-off for the moment. Well, today you get to visit their ethereal realm as they

In this edition: Green Eyes and the explosion of cryptid festivals Appalachian folk horror Cryptid Media – Folk horror resurgence/British Cryptids Pop Cryptid – Jackalope or nope? Hello and welcome to the 3rd edition of the Pop Cryptid Spectator – my chronicle of observing the changing appearance of and attitudes towards “cryptids” in popular culture. My interest is in exploring the expansion of cryptozoology into a mass cultural phenomenon – …

By IlmariLast time, I had just arrived at the gates of the castle of Good Magician Humfrey. I asked Jenny, my new companion, how to get in, and she suggested using her cat, Sammy, to find a way in.Sammy kept pawing the wall, and checking it, I wound a loose brick, behind which I could find a switch. Flipping it opened the gate and let me in.There’s traditionally three obstacles …

I saw this interview in 1999, around when "The Straight Story" came out, and it totally changed how I look at/understand art/the world. I am always looking for the eye of the duck.Rest in peace, David Lynch.

Howdy Captain, Thanks for your work and for cat photos. All players in this story are mid 20s. I (call me Emm, she/her) have been in a wonderful, spellbinding relationship with Ell (he/him) for about a year and half now, and we’re getting engaged in a few months! He has gotten along swimmingly with all the people I care about in my life except…I’ve been unable to get May (she/her), …

This month we published To The Cold Land by J.M.K.E., the most legendary punk rock band in Estonia, in our 33 1/3 Europe series. Its author, Brigitta Davidjants, gave us some insight into why she wrote about this album, the connection between punk and political defiance and how we can explore soviet history through music. By Brigitta Davidjants Shortly after Estonia regained independence in 1991, my generation found itself in …

The first Soho Radio show of 2025. JON ‘MOJO’ MILLS goes baroque, plays some excellent new tunes, and throws in some garage-punk, mod-beat and prog to round things out Track list Dave Richmond ‘Baroque Theme’ (B) The Stone Poneys ‘Different Drum’ The Stone Poneyys ‘Evergreen (Pt One)’ The Zombies ‘Care Of Cell 44’ Quiet World Of Lea & John ‘There Is A Moutain’ Sunchariot ‘You’re Lovely’ Barclay James Harvest ‘Galadriel’ …

We all know that one of the juvenile pleasures of Wingspan is calling out the birds that sound like human anatomical features. Abbott’s Boobie! American Woodcock! Truly, I will never age past thirteen. Finspan is the second spinoff of Elizabeth Hargrave’s unexpected smash hit, following last year’s Wyrmspan by Connie Vogelmann. Designed by David Gordon and Michael O’Connell, Finspan drops us into the sea. It also changes the nature of …

The Great Smoky Mountain Council is celebrating 110 years of service in the Knoxville, Tennessee, area with a series of events over the next year. The council has upheld the core values of Scouting in East Tennessee for more than a century, shaping young men and women into productive citizens. The council has produced numerous leaders, including a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, and continues to impact local communities in …