There will always be times in the day when you are in desperate need of a caffeine boost, yet no where near the closest café. and for these times, mokase have comprised the answer to your caffeine-deprived prayers, in the shape of a phone case that converts your smartphone into an on-the-go espresso maker. using a simple system of a disposable insert which houses the coffee, and an app that heats it up on demand, the mokase pours out an espresso made by your smartphone.
On setting out to develop a product to brew coffee whilst out and about, Luigi Carfora and clemente biondo of ‘smart k’ had the idea of incorporating it into a gadget already carried around every day—the smartphone. the duo successfully designed a case that measures less than 1cm in thickness, is completely waterproof and insulates the coffee when brewed. through a side slit in the mokase, the ‘mokaromi’ cartridge is inserted. the coffee—sealed within a vacuum on the inside of the cartridge—is freed when inserted into the phone, as the ‘spout’ breaks the membrane of the vacuum allowing the drink to exit....
Jeff Domansky's insight:
Using a disposable insert which houses the coffee, and an app that heats it up on demand, the mokase pours out an espresso made by your smartphone. At least, that's the intended design. Fanciful? Yes. Bring it on!
It has the world's largest print run: a staggering 220 million copies. And yet no literary critics have deemed it worthy of their commentary.
Until now.
German literary critic Hellmuth Karasek lowers himself to reading an Ikea catalog in a clip hosted by the mega-retailer's Swiss channel on YouTube.
Admittedly, it's a bit of a slog getting through the first three minutes, but once you settle into the right headspace, there's actually quite a bit to enjoy here. He references Freud and Goethe, and if he's being ironic, he's playing it so subtly you might be forgiven for taking it as an earnest review.
Jeff Domansky's insight:
Why slog through Goethe and Proust when you can just read the IKEA catalog? Literature 101 students take note. ;-)
Perhaps you’ve noticed that Homer Simpson has been getting dumber as The Simpsons continues its run as the longest-running animated sitcom ever, but like a wise idiot once told us, stupid is as stupid does.
Dr. Simon Singh wrote a book in 2013 called The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets that included a spotlight on the 1998 episode “The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace.” In that episode, Homer becomes obsessed with Thomas Edison and decides to become an inventor. A scene in the script required a glasses-clad Homer to be placed in front of a chalkboard with complex mathematical equations. One of the writers on staff had a physicist friend who was researching the then-theoretical Higgs Boson particle and nabbed a scientifically accurate equation from him:
“That equation predicts the mass of the Higgs boson,” says Dr. Singh. “If you work it out, you get the mass of a Higgs boson that’s only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is. It’s kind of amazing as Homer makes this prediction 14 years before it was discovered.”...
Jeff Domansky's insight:
Gotta love Homer and his bumbling brilliance created by some talented writers.
Some Internet memes rely on added sugar and mysterious ingredients to extend their shelf lives, as we discussed yesterday. Others, such as “Alex from Target,” are like French black truffles — not only are they wild, rare and out of the reach of most of us but they also require highly sensitive snouts to root them out.
Let’s get to the nut graf: “It turns out that Alex from Target is not a marketing ploy and he’s an actual, genuine person and bagger,” who just happened to be “fangirled” for his “super hot” looks while doing his job on the line in Texas, TMZ reported with all due exuberance yesterday.
In fact, according to TMZ’s blurb accompanying its video report, “Little Al's employer tells TMZ the Internet phenomenon is 100% genuine grassroots.”Lest you think this story is strictly for the tabloids, consider this revelation from the New York Times’ Leslie Kaufman: “The Alex phenomenon became the subject of news articles on the websites of Time, the Washington Post and CNN over the last two days. TheDallas Morning News tried furiously to confirm just which Target he worked for.”
And that’s nowhere near the half of it....
Jeff Domansky's insight:
As Thom Forbes writes, on the Internet, sometimes there is no point. That's a great point! In fact, that IS the point if you get my drift. This is a classic internet story worth studying.
An Ohio man has become infected with misinformation about the Ebola virus through casual contact with cable news, the Centers for Disease Control has confirmed.
Tracy Klugian, thirty-one, briefly came into contact with alarmist Ebola hearsay during a visit to the Akron-Canton airport, where a CNN report about Ebola was showing on one of the televisions in the airport bar. “Mr. Klugian is believed to have been exposed to cable news for no more than ten minutes, but long enough to become infected,” a spokesman for the C.D.C. said. “Within an hour, he was showing signs of believing that an Ebola outbreak in the United States was inevitable and unstoppable.”
Once Klugian’s condition was apparent, the Ohio man was rushed to a public library and given a seventh-grade biology textbook, at which point he “started to stabilize,” the spokesman said....
I guess I’m in a metaphysical mood today. Thinking about writing for the internet, how it’s different, and finding your own style.
So, let’s set the scene…
Seth Godin, Lao-Tzu and I walk into Hemingway’s Bar & Grill. Godin says, “I’ll have a Purple Cow.” I say, in my best Homer Simpson salutation, “Beer me.” Lao-Tzu says, “Ommmmm.”
Drinks with Seth Godin That’s me channeling Seth Godin, echoing Lao-Tzu.
Except I’m not a bald guy and I don’t wear saffron like either of these wise men....
Some confusion is obvious on the set of NBC's "Today" show, regarding the Internet and the @-sign. This is reportedly footage from between segments that was not originally aired, and apparently dates to January 1994, around the time of the Northridge earthquake (that occurred literally five minutes from where I'm sitting, and which I remember very well indeed).
Both the video and audio of this clip were in terrible shape when I received it recently -- I've cleaned up both as much as possible, though the quality (especially hue distortion) still definitely isn't anything to write home about.
Don't laugh too hard at Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric. It's easy to forget how relatively recent a phenomenon the Internet is for most persons who use it today!
Jeff Domansky's insight:
Very funny clip and reminder how far the internet now reaches into our daily lives and business.
When he was around 32 years old, Leonardo da Vinci applied to the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, for a job. The duke was in need of military expertise andLeonardo's 10-point CV emphasized his military engineering skills....
Jeff Domansky's insight:
Jason Kottke shares this fun post about Leonardo da Vinci's resume with a twist at the end.
Bringing ideas to life in an organization can be a bumpy ride.
We’re all familiar with the myth of Isaac Newton sitting under the apple tree, waiting for inspiration to fall on his head. Newton’s apple is one of the more common symbols of innovation, right up there with Archimedes shouting Eureka from his bathtub. Metaphorically, that’s what we do when go to a brainstorming meeting to come up with new ideas. If the conditions are right, and the coffee strong enough, the next great idea just might fall on our heads.
What is often overlooked is what happens next, after the apple falls, when we have to actually bring that idea to life. If we’re not careful, Newton’s apple can turn into Newton’s applesauce, a watered down imitation of the idea. One of my first cartoons (back in 2002) was about this phenomenon.j...
Jeff Domansky's insight:
Tom Fishburne shares a brilliant post about design innovation. Recommended reading! 10/10
In honor of the Food Issue, this week we're highlighting fabulous kitchen gadgets, including a selfie toaster, a DIY cheese kit, and a cutting board for the obsessive chef.
Move over, Jesus: With the Selfie Toaster from Burnt Impressions, anyone's face can be emblazoned on a slice of toast. After uploading your chosen selfie on the Vermont-based toaster company's website, you'll receive a toaster with a custom insert featuring an image of your glorious visage (or even that of your favorite celebrity—Kanye toast, anyone?). It's the perfect gift for "the person who has everything," or just a total narcissist....
Jeff Domansky's insight:
Burnt Impressions Selfie Toaster $69. I mean, who doesn't want one of these? Recommended smiling. 10/10
Writer and illustrator Austin Light recently shared a funny series of sketches from his notebook that reimagines movie titles with one letter removed. The idea started on reddit where users were asked to, “Pick a movie, remove one letter, give a brief description“.
As a daily art project, Light took the concept one step further, drawing a scene from the imaginary film. He also penned a brief synopsis for each. You can see the entire album on Imgur. For more from Austin, check him out at the links below....
Jeff Domansky's insight:
Here's a little creativity with your coffee and some fun with movie titles.
People are looking at your LinkedIn profile, and they’re laughing at what you, in a public forum, have decided to present as your professional identity. Last week, five people (who chose to remain anonymous) scrolled through your hobbies and skills and broke into fits of laughter at each one.
When they looked at your employment history, noting the various part-time jobs and internships you thought it would be a good idea to include, they were almost in tears. I mean, come on—you like playing racquetball and you list “social media” as a skill? What does that even mean? You know what Twitter is and you own those weird-looking goggles?
Somebody give this man a job! Seriously, we hope that you have actually found a job and are not, in fact, starving to death because you are incompetent
Insider information about the most enduring animated clichés, from the identity of the Grim Reaper to the true location of people stranded on desert islands.
Jeff Domansky's insight:
This week The New Yorker's Bob Mankoff has an excellent cartoon slideshow.
It’s well known that cartoonists have very fertile imaginations. Case in point: this cartoon by Joe Dator, which appears in the current issue.
Yet, as it turns out, the surreal scenario envisioned by Joe owes less to his imagination than you might think. I’ll let Joe tell you about it. Take it away, Joe.
“The gondola is based on one I saw at a stoop sale in Queens. They had some nice sweaters, too.”...
Jeff Domansky's insight:
There's always time Bob Mankoff and a New Yorker cartoon.
The Cambridge classicist Mary Beard weighs in on the ancient art of joking....
Dear Laughter Lovers,
Have you ever wondered why I always start my newsletter with that salutation? Well, wonder no more. It’s because “laughter lover” is the English translation of philogelos, the Greek word that serves as the title of the world’s oldest joke book.
In last week’s magazine, there was a fascinating Profile by Rebecca Mead of the noted Cambridge classicist Mary Beard. What especially interested me was the mention of Beard’s most recent book, “Laughter in Ancient Rome: On Joking, Tickling, and Cracking Up,” which is published by University of California Press. (She is incredibly prolific, so by the time you read this she may have an even more recent book.)
Coincidentally, I had just finished reading this title, which I found to be as enjoyable as it was erudite. It includes a chapter on the Philogelos. I contacted Professor Beard to see whether she would write a bit about it. Being the agreeable sort that she is, she said yes. Take it away, Mary.
A few years ago, the English standup comic Jim Bowen presented a show with jokes that were based entirely on the one surviving ancient joke book, the Philogelos. It’s a collection of some two hundred and sixty short gags, written in Greek; it probably dates, in the form we have it, to the fifth century A.D., but some of the jokes go back centuries earlier.
I particularly like the one about the thuggish, philistine Roman who destroyed Corinth in 146 B.C. When he was overseeing the transport of the precious antiques that he had looted from the city, he said to the ships’ captains: “Don’t break anything, or you’ll have to replace it.”
Bowen’s show was apparently successful, or, at least, it was widely reported as such in the U.K. press, which at first sight was a bit worrying for those of us who think of laughter as much more a cultural than a natural human response. By and large, the rules of laughter (at what, when, when not, et cetera) are something we learn—we’re not born with them. So how come people still laugh at the jokes in the Philogelos almost two thousand years later, in a completely different culture, one whose rules of laughter we ought not necessarily to intuit? I have various explanations for that, none of which involve abandoning my basic position on the cultural aspect of laughter and joking....
Jeff Domansky's insight:
Punchlines. that are more than 2000 years old? Yes, they're still crazy after all these years according to Bob Mankoff, columnist at the New Yorker, and classicist and Cambridge professor Mary Beard. They share a hilarious look at humor from the Greeks and Romans and why it's so enduring. Need a little humor and creativity with your coffee? Highly recommended. 10/10
To get content containing either thought or leadership enter:
To get content containing both thought and leadership enter:
To get content containing the expression thought leadership enter:
You can enter several keywords and you can refine them whenever you want. Our suggestion engine uses more signals but entering a few keywords here will rapidly give you great content to curate.
Your new post is loading...
Using a disposable insert which houses the coffee, and an app that heats it up on demand, the mokase pours out an espresso made by your smartphone. At least, that's the intended design. Fanciful? Yes. Bring it on!