Link About It: This Week’s Picks

Japan's 1,000-year-old cherry tree, Shel Silverstein's houseboat, NASA's remote teams and more from around the web

Japan’s 1,000-Year-Old Cherry Tree Blossoms Again In Japan’s Miharu (a town in the Fukushima Prefecture), a 1,000-year-old cherry tree continues to blossom. While there are no tourists flocking to see it this year, the tree—known as the Takizakura—is as glorious and mesmerizing as ever for those who live nearby. One such individual is Sidafumi Hirata, who has visited the tree since his childhood and is …

Eight Sets of Artistic + Design-Forward Playing Cards

Whether playing games or learning magic tricks, here are some of our favorite sets

Believed to be made first from wood block prints during the Tang Dynasty in China, playing cards existed in India, Korea, Persia and Egypt before making it to Europe around 1365, when the French popularized the suited deck style commonly found today. Whether it be a game of poker or dickhead, a magic trick or even divination, cards continue to entertain us centuries later. Here …

Stockholm’s Art-Filled Subway Captured by Photographer David Altrath

From Lars Arrhenius’ 8-bit-inspired tiles at Thorildsplan station to Ulrik Samuelson’s “ghost garden” at Kungsträdgården, and Björk and Åberg’s mural at Solna Centrum Station, artwork saturates Stockholm’s subway system. German photographer David Altrath explored the underground (or tunnelbana in Swedish) over several late nights last year, capturing images at a time that, “it seemed like I was the only person there,” he tells Wired. Altrath …