Monthly Archives: October 2014

Future Planning Committees

Posted on October 30, 2014 by things magazine

How far ahead are things planned? While it’s shocking to discover that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is primed to fill multiplexes until 2028, it’s not surprising to find that most major companies have long-term planning departments looking into what the … Continue reading →

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Don’t look back

Posted on October 29, 2014 by things magazine

Radio 4’s current book at bedtime, The Restoration of Otto Laird, abridged from the novel by Nigel Packer, is the Goldfinger-esque tale of an architect coming to terms with his past / related, Chisel and Mouse make sculptures and 3D … Continue reading →

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Bottomless cups

Posted on October 28, 2014 by things magazine

Floating Feasts, a wonderful piece about gluttony on the high seas, taking in demand, logistics, supply, infection and the technology that underpins life on the modern cruise ship: There’s also a soft-drink-only package, which comes with an insulated cup. The … Continue reading →

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Friday collection

Posted on October 24, 2014 by things magazine

DOS POP, the soundtrack to the games of your youth / CUMULUS is a new documentary about Imogen Heap / Spawn of Gerrymander: A Series, at Design Observer / Up Start is a student art competition / a bit more … Continue reading →

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Round and round

Posted on October 22, 2014 by things magazine

Chelsea Hodson owns stuff. Marina Abramovic chronicled it / a beautiful sketch book by Kim Jung Gi / there is extreme mechanical beauty within: the Atari / Namco F-1 1976 arcade game (see above) / explode some songs; the process … Continue reading →

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Slice of life

Posted on October 22, 2014 by things magazine

Natalie Luder’s Fou Lard is 100% silk “Crèpe de Chine”, digitally printed to masquerade as thinly sliced meat: ‘The French word for a silk scarf is foulard. The word is composed by fou (insane) and lard (bacon).’

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To boldly go

Posted on October 22, 2014 by things magazine

In this era of funny-shaped mp3 players and Bluetooth speakers it’s refreshing to find a company still building music boxes. At least, that’s what the MusicMachine 2 claims to be (via Design42day). Designed by Maximilian Büsser and friends, a company … Continue reading →

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Diplomatic bags

Posted on October 21, 2014 by things magazine

How much every embassy in London is worth, a speculative look at the value of non-sovereign land in the capital, conducted by Spears. From North Korea’s Islington semi (value c£750k) to the Americans’ £600m new structure in Vauxhall (their soon-to-be-vacated … Continue reading →

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Drifting a bit

Posted on October 20, 2014 by things magazine

Dan Hicks has an ‘occasional blog’ about interesting things like archaeology, museums and material culture / the Walker Art Center has a great cache of blogs / what’s your best nursing ghost story? / Razor Crazy Cart XL. 3m09s for … Continue reading →

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Thinking small

Posted on October 16, 2014 by things magazine

Tim Dunn is the UK’s foremost expert on model villages. His weblog, The Model Villager, is a bit sparse at the moment but he has an excellent piece on Bekonscot Model Village and Railway in Buckinghamshire in the latest issue … Continue reading →

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Industrial landscapes

Posted on October 16, 2014 by things magazine

Fire Face’s Small Radios Big Television is ‘a game about exploring digital places stored in analog media’. It has a beautiful aesthetic and sound design, although don’t expect swift and simple answers (via RPS) / A sale could end man’s … Continue reading →

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To keep heat flash out

Posted on October 14, 2014 by things magazine

‘One in Five‘ was an information leaflet issued by the Women’s Voluntary Service for Civil Defence in February 1957. A starkly terrifying document, it attempted to reduce the impact of the hydrogen bomb by suggesting that a bit of intensive … Continue reading →

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Shining light on a conspiracy

Posted on October 14, 2014 by things magazine

The Great Lightbulb Conspiracy tells the tale of how early bulbs were essentially under-engineered in order to keep sales at a healthy level. This ‘conspiracy’ was set in motion by the Phoebus Cartel, an affiliation of big bulb manufacturers to … Continue reading →

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Driving and filing

Posted on October 13, 2014 by things magazine

Madle.org, one of those sites so filled with things (in this car car-related, although there’s also a sideline looking at cars on bags) that it’s impossible to know where to start) / The Paper City is a well-observed tumblr by … Continue reading →

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Unsorted ephemera

Posted on October 13, 2014 by things magazine

Big bundle of things to sift through / Adventures in Stationery is a book by James Ward, a man who claims to like boring things / flickr’s Stationery Junkies pool / a fine selection of found favourites at Proof, the … Continue reading →

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Lost Destination / a concrete island

Posted on October 10, 2014 by things magazine

Space, Hope and Brutalism: English Architecture 1945-1975 is a new book by Elain Harwood, the latest in a line of recent books about concrete and society, architecture and nostalgia. Many people find it hard to get authentically nostalgic about the … Continue reading →

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Boom before bust

Posted on October 10, 2014 by things magazine

Up and down (and a little out of date). ‘This is the Liberal Socialist Dream… Crappy Apartments with no Air Conditioning going for over a million dollars…’: CNN goes wild for the Peckham boom / sort of related, things you’ll … Continue reading →

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Navigation methods

Posted on October 9, 2014 by things magazine

The Flame in the Flood is a beautiful-looking upcoming game (via RPS) / the mysteries of food / architect Nat Chard has a fine eye / the Nintendo smartwatch / London: The Collected Guide, a box set from Herb Lester … Continue reading →

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‘… a missing diagram explaining the escape from the roof of the Marks and Spencer’

Posted on October 9, 2014 by things magazine

Centre Pompidou is closed for holiday, a work by Thomas Mailaender, currently showing his Cyanotypes series. His earlier installation ‘Night Climbers of Cambridge‘ builds on the legendary book of the same name by proto urban explorer and fascist sympathiser Noël … Continue reading →

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“Told you so, didn’t I?” observed the Rat to the Mole.

Posted on October 8, 2014 by things magazine

A fantastically creepy whispered version of The Wind in the Willows. The book has one of our favourite endpapers: The Wind in the Willows, illustration by E.H.Shepard (as is the above image) – the definitive edition. Visit the Kenneth Grahame … Continue reading →

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