urbansheep@gmail.com

"What do I do with an on-demand fiesta? Really? The possibilities are endless, but we have a few ideas… * “Mariachi bomb” your friends by requesting one without their knowledge! * Serenade your lover with an intimate performance. Romántico! * Planning an engagement? Order the fiesta, and we’ll put the ring in the piñata. * Be employee of the month and order a fiesta for your office!" - × × ×

Пока что instant classic. На американский Mad Men британия отвечает Даунтонским аббатством. Очень, очень. Всё, что так цепляло в MM, здесь сыграно в лучшем имперском стиле — персонажи, отношения и другой мир эдвардианского общества. • #letmeshowyou - × × ×

“A Giant Among Giants: What the IPO filing did not make clear was just how Glencore, founded four decades ago by Marc Rich, a defiant friend of dictators and spies who later became one of the world’s richest fugitives, achieved this kind of global dominance. The answer — pieced together for this article over a year of reporting that included numerous interviews with past and current Glencore employees and a review of leaked corporate records, dossiers prepared by private investigative firms, court documents, and various international investigations — is at once simpler and far more complicated than it appears. Like all traders, Glencore makes its money at the margins, but Glencore, even more so than its competitors, profits by working in the globe’s most marginal business regions and often, investigators have found, at the margins of what is legal.” - × × ×

“Color forecasting is almost as old as the fashion industry itself. In the late 19th century, color cards issued by French textile mills were snapped up by their American counterparts, eager for ideas and direction. As Regina Lee Blaszczyk, a historian and author of the forthcoming book The Color Revolution, notes, Margaret Hayden Rorke, an American actress, suffragist, and the country’s first color forecaster (heading the Textile Color Card Association for four decades), traveled to the Paris shows each summer to soak up the latest tints, like the brownish-green Vert Amande— ven employing an American foreign correspondent, Bettina Bedwell, to act as a “spy.” (Intel from Bedwell, in 1936: “Many Frenchwomen are getting away from black.”) This idea—that color trends begin on Paris runways, still holds a certain sway, at least in the popular imagination; witness the “cerulean blue” monologue in The Devil Wears Prada, in which Meryl Streep as an imperious fashion editor describes how a color that begins life in gowns by Oscar de la Renta in 2002 is then copied by other designers and is ultimately “filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner.” But Paris may not be the ultimate source; as Blascyzk points out, cerulean blue was tapped by Pantone in 1999 as the “Color of the Millennium.” Coincidence?” - × × ×

“Color has been more important than silhouettes—will it still have that power in 2013?” Shah asks. “Yes, but adding a layer of complexity, and shapes that are astonishing,” answered a British colorist without pause. The others nod. “We put seasons and dates on things,” Shah told me the day after the meeting. “This color is for Summer 2013,” he says, accenting each word with a beat. “People still need a direction. People may want to do things closer to season, but you still need to start someplace. People always need confirmation. Even if you’re as strong as Zara, they need a start.” - × × ×

"Worst case scenario I'll be found wandering in the woods somewhere, muttering URLs to myself" - × × ×

* - × × ×

Суров. А ещё почему-то, если взгляд отвести чуть в сторону, изображение становится похоже на паззл (или это я просто слишком много чая выпил). - mindszenty

ОМГ, зло! ^ паззл постоянно читается. - tobe

"The Data Journalism Handbook is a free, open-source reference for anyone interested in the field of data journalism. It features contributions from over 70 of the leading global voices of authority and has now been released, remarkably only 6 months after its conception. It is a joint initiative between the European Journalism Centre and the Open Knowledge Foundation and is published by O’Reilly Media." • #визуализация - × × ×

“Almost 50,000 projects have sought financing on Kickstarter since the site began on April 28, 2009. About half successfully reached their fund-raising goals. Each dot represents how much a project raised by its deadline. Active projects are shown as of 5:30 p.m. Friday.” - × × ×

Масштаб денег, лежащих у людей в «прикосновенном запасе» (и которые они готовы пустить в венчурное микрофинансирование, оно же гэмблинг для гиков), внушает. - × × ×

#letmeshowyou - × × ×

“It seems like it’s completely written in stone — there’s been no consultation. They announced it in a way that makes it seem like some kind of prize that I’ve won, to be living on an army base, which is insulting.” - × × ×

“Ground-based air defense systems could be deployed as part of a multi-layered air security plan for the Olympics, including fast jets and helicopters, which will protect the skies over London during the Games,” a spokesman for the ministry said in a statement.” • #безжалостный_постмодернизм - × × ×

Если бы это была статья в The Onion, там была бы цитата про то, что государственная доктрина поменялась, и что “we did our bloody homework and we go for scary rather than going effective. Scary beats the hell out of effective any day if you ask me”. - × × ×

“Charlie Brooker explained the series' title to The Guardian, noting: "If technology is a drug – and it does feel like a drug – then what, precisely, are the side-effects? This area – between delight and discomfort – is where Black Mirror, my new drama series, is set. The "black mirror" of the title is the one you'll find on every wall, on every desk, in the palm of every hand: the cold, shiny screen of a TV, a monitor, a smartphone.” • #letmeshowyou • #trendtaste - × × ×

Трёхсерийные британские сезоны — самое ужасное, что было изобретено в современной практике медиа-наркотиков. Очень качественно и очень мало. Резкий пик удовольствия и потом ни-че-го, всё кончается за считанные часы. ¶ С полнометражным кино такого ощущения не возникает, и даже шестисерийные сезоны Торчвуда на этом фоне кажутся верхом гуманизма. - × × ×

Сам по себе Black Mirror оказался исключительно мрачен и по-телевизионному бескомпромиссен к зрителю, напомнив этим Generation Kill (после которого просто идёшь умываться и пройтись по воздуху) и The Wire, но социальная фантастика Брукера воспринимается больше как художественный приём, гипербола «без последствий» (в отличие от саймоновских фильмов, основанных на вполне реальных событиях). Но вот то, что Брукер оживил подзабытый жанр футурологических скетчей — это очень хорошо. - × × ×

“When someone in the United States buys an iPhone, iPad or other Apple product, a portion of the profits from that sale is often deposited into accounts controlled by Braeburn, and then invested in stocks, bonds or other financial instruments, say company executives. Then, when those investments turn a profit, some of it is shielded from tax authorities in California by virtue of Braeburn’s Nevada address. ¶ Since founding Braeburn, Apple has earned more than $2.5 billion in interest and dividend income on its cash reserves and investments around the globe. If Braeburn were located in Cupertino, where Apple’s top executives work, a portion of the domestic income would be taxed at California’s 8.84 percent corporate income tax rate. ¶ But in Nevada there is no state corporate income tax and no capital gains tax.” - × × ×

“For instance, one of Apple’s subsidiaries in Luxembourg, named iTunes S.à r.l., has just a few dozen employees, according to corporate documents filed in that nation and a current executive. The only indication of the subsidiary’s presence outside is a letterbox with a lopsided slip of paper reading “ITUNES SARL.” ¶ Luxembourg has just half a million residents. But when customers across Europe, Africa or the Middle East — and potentially elsewhere — download a song, television show or app, the sale is recorded in this small country, according to current and former executives. In 2011, iTunes S.à r.l.’s revenue exceeded $1 billion, according to an Apple executive, representing roughly 20 percent of iTunes’s worldwide sales. ” - × × ×

“I interviewed Stephen King for the UK Sunday Times Magazine. The interview appeared a few weeks ago. The Times keeps its site paywalled, so I thought I'd post the original version of the interview here. (This is the raw copy, and it's somewhat longer than the interview as published.) I don't do much journalism any more, and this was mostly an excuse to drive across Florida back in February and spend a day with some very nice people I do not get to see enough. I hope you enjoy it.” - × × ×

Ага, она клёвая. - × × ×