Link About It: This Week’s Picks
Reasons to watch the stars in 2017, how to unleash your creativity, new electric cars, historic science illustrations and more
1. Tricks To Help You Keep Your Resolutions
According to Statistic Brain, just eight percent of Americans will succeed in keeping their New Year’s resolutions. Considering most of them focus on self-improvement, many are worthwhile attempts at betterment that should be kept for as long as possible. From reminding yourself why your resolution is important to holding yourself accountable by checking in with somebody about it, FastCo has compiled a list of helpful tricks and tips for you to keep that resolution well past February.
2. Switch Off to Switch On Creativity
In his book, “Too Fast To Think,” Chris Lewis (CEO of global agency Lewis) explores the ways in which modern life—aka mostly distracting technology—is causing our creativity to be stifled. In an interview with It’s Nice That, he explains that many ideas appear from the subconscious, and the subconscious is often drowned out in this day and age. Essentially, switching off in one way means switching on your ideas tank. “Stop staring at your phone and stare into space. You might be hit with something far more valuable,” Lewis says. Read more at It’s Nice That.
3. Faraday Future Presents the FF 91
Last night at CES, Faraday Future followed up its 2016 debut with a reveal of their first production model, the FF 91. Featuring record-breaking acceleration and range, the forthcoming electric car will be available in 2018, but can be reserved today for $5000. The FF 91 sports an innovative design language, futuristic autonomous capabilities and a seamless digital user experience. Skeptics question whether the FF 91 will see the light of day—we think if they get enough pre-orders it will! And we want one. See more at The Verge.
4. Building in the Clouds With Sky Village
Created for SPARK at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, James Paulius’ interactive installation “Sky Village” encourages kids of all ages to problem-solve and unleash their inner engineer. Paulius also makes a thoughtful point regarding the world’s population and the desire (or need) to inhabit new spaces. With pieces crafted from wood that was reclaimed from water towers in Manhattan, “Sky Village” is well-considered and educational, but ultimately invites imaginative play.
5. Make Your Apple Watch Look Like a Tiny Macintosh 128K
If you rely on innovative tech but are also partial to nostalgia, Elago’s W3 Stand for the Apple watch has you covered. The very cute charger (which has been available for a few months) looks very similar to the Macintosh 128K, which was released way back in 1984 and was undoubtedly one of Apple’s most significant and still recognized products. Read more at Apple Insider.
6. Must-See Space Events of 2017
From the moon and Jupiter getting extra close in April, to a total eclipse of the sun set to cross the USA in August, and the always-spectacular annual Geminid meteor shower (where up to 120 shooting stars fly across the sky), 2017 is set to be yet another year to keep looking up. With a list of the seven occurrences, National Geographic has set up a calendar and an explanation of all the most spectacular cosmic events for the year to come.
7. 16th Century Scientific Flap Illustrations
As understanding of the human body and organ-interconnectedness developed during the Renaissance, artists began interpreting scholarly scientific knowledge in new ways. One such manifestation was anatomical flap illustrations, or layer upon layer of drawings outlining the positions of major organs. It wasn’t just doctors drawn to these works, the broader public found these illustration educational too. Learn more about the history of anatomical flap drawings at Atlas Obscura.
8. Dry January Drinking Options
One of the most daunting elements of a dry January happens to be finding options beyond non-alcoholic beer or tonic and bitters when one chooses to go and about with others who are not participating. While not a new article, Buzzfeed provided a substantial list of creative alternatives last year. It touches upon flavors for every palate and it’s sure to come in handy. Most of the recipes came by way of England, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be replicated at any local bar—especially with ingredients as simple as lemon juice or cream or mint.
Link About It is our filtered look at the web, shared daily in Link and on social media, and rounded up every Saturday morning.
