Chinese Selfie Culture

New Yorker – "China’s Selfie Obsession"

"An unforeseen complication of meeting so many wang hong at once was that it was hard to keep them all straight. They tended to bear only an impressionistic resemblance to their Meitu-improved profile pictures. But anytime I took out my iPhone 6 to take a selfie with someone, I was rebuffed. People would suspiciously ask what kind of camera it was before walking away with expressions ranging from offense to pity. “I can’t allow you to take a picture of me with that camera—it’ll be too ugly,” a woman from Chongqing told me. I assured her that I was not a wang hong and would not be posting it, and we reached a compromise: she would take a selfie of us on her Meitu phone, edit her face, and then send the photo to me."

NBA City Edition Uniforms Leak

SportsLogos.net – "Video Game Leaks Nearly Full Set of NBA City Edition Alternate Jerseys"

Architect Kengo Kuma

Wikipedia
Arch Daily – "Asakusa Culture and Tourism Center / Kengo Kuma & Associates"
Dezeen – "Kengo Kuma reveals plant-covered Eco-Luxury Hotel for Paris"

The Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) in the Bronx

Wall Street Journal – "The Best Architecture of 2017: Buildings of Quiet Ambition"

"In the Bronx, a new 911 emergency call center designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill is a cube-shaped fortress of shimmery recycled aluminum serrated to catch light and nestled into a sloping landscaped berm. Basically a stronghold slotted with only a few strategically placed windows, the Public Safety Answering Center II, or PSAC II (an older one is located in Brooklyn), is the most technically advanced building owned by New York City. Here is where the police and fire departments coordinate emergency responses and it has been organized with keen sensitivity both to intense security requirements and the highly stressful nature of the work, featuring not only a generator capable of supplying uninterruptible power but also workstations that can be customized for sitting or standing. Workers get no views, but the ceilings are high, the indirect light is ample, and a plant-filled green wall freshens the air. Attention has been paid as well to the forces’ different customs: The police prefer bright lights and shared TV monitors; the fire department wanted a dimmer ambience and more individual screens (two or three per desk).

PSAC II will handle over 10 million emergency calls a year, but for drivers passing it on the Hutchinson River Parkway at dawn or dusk, this 450,000-square-foot monolith looks more like a pink-purple mirage gentled by a waving sea of grass."

Kellogg's NYC Cereal Cafe

Bloomberg – "Kellogg Is Going All In on Cereal Cafes"

“We want cereal to be seen as modern,” said Aleta Chase, a marketing executive at the Battle Creek, Michigan-based company.
...

"Kellogg has argued that cereal declines are easing as younger customers embrace it as an all-hours snack. But the turnaround has been elusive, and the cafe in Union Square is an attempt to generate some foodie buzz. In fact, it was the slew of pictures posted by visitors to the Times Square location that helped convince the company it needed a bigger space.

“We needed something that was more experiential,” Chase said. “There’s a more lasting emotional connection if they experience it firsthand -- that’s hard to do with a TV commercial.”"

Wall Street Journal – "Kellogg Aims to Give Cereal Snap, Crackle, Pop Beyond Breakfast"
KelloggsNYC.com

Previously,
Cereal Business & Nostalgia

World Record Road Trip

"741,065 km (460,476 miles): As of April 2017, the longest driven journey in the Guinness World Records, by Swiss couple Emil and Liliana Schmid. On the road since October 1984, they have traveled across 186 countries in the same Toyota Land Cruiser—and they’re still going." via Quartz Obession

'The Prada Double Club Miami' by Carsten Höller for Art Basel

DesignBoom – "carsten höller X fondazione prada: interview on the prada double club miami"

"scientist and artist carsten höller highlights miami art week 2017 in a three-night-only collaboration during art basel with milan-based arts institution, fondazione prada. titled ‘the prada double club miami’, the piece is set in a 1920s film studio complex, formerly an ice factory, and comprises of an internal club and an outdoor tropical garden."

Ultra Violet

New York Times – "The Future Is ... Purple"

"It “communicates originality, ingenuity and visionary thinking,” Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, said by way of explanation. It is found in the cosmos (think of all those swirling purple nebulae!), the wellness movement (amethyst crystals!) and was a favorite color of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who, Ms. Eiseman said, used to wear a purple cape when he was trying to be creative. Ditto Wagner, who liked to surround himself with purple when he was composing. Also, of course, Prince."

Previously,
2017 Pantone Color of the Year: Greenery

David Rockefeller’s Rolodex

Wall Street Journal – "David Rockefeller’s Rolodex Was the Stuff of Legend. Here’s a First Peek."

NBA to Create G League Team in Mexico City

New York Times – "N.B.A. Plans to Put a Minor League Team in Mexico City"

The Best Slalom Skier in the World

New Yorker – "Mikaela Shiffrin – She seems to be a sure bet to win gold at the next Olympics. But so much could still go wrong."

1,000 Mini-Pitches Nationwide by 2026

Washington Post – "In player development, U.S. Soccer Foundation seeks to maximize mini-pitches"