The Man Behind Modern Ghost Stories
Born in 1862, Montague Rhodes James was an acclaimed intellectual who published a handful of stories (from short quips to long, academic papers) that are widely regarded as the basis upon which modern ghost stories are built. Not entirely for the narratives, but rather the topics: his stories are unpredictable and based on haunted objects, unfamiliar beings and odd circumstances. Cynthia Zarin, of The New Yorker, writes “Scholarly efforts have been made to unearth the early trauma that would account for James’ succession of wraiths, screeches, hairy faces, and skeletal hands creeping out from under the pillow. He reported his own childhood as happy.” Read more about the author at The New Yorker.
This Airline Wants to Calm Your Flying Nerves
Regardless of all the statistics about flying being the safest way to travel, the anxiety for many is unavoidable. Rather than drinking booze or taking a pill (or just enduring the nervous sweats), Virgin Australia wants its customers to start practicing mindfulness while flying. Starting next year, people can let the airline know they’re nervous travelers and they will be sent “calming communications before the flight and support them during the flight.” With guided meditation, the airline hopes to offer a stress-free trip. Read more at CNN.
NYC’s Central Park Tower to be the Tallest Residential Building in the World
Topping out at a 1,550 feet, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture‘s forthcoming Central Park Tower will set a new precedent for Billionaires’ Row, aka West 57th Street in NYC. 179 two-to-eight bedroom residences will start on floor 32. Designed by Rottet Studio, they’ll range from 1,435 square feet to over 17,500 square feet. It’s the ‘Central Park Club’ that may be most appealing however, as it offers amenities (such as a bar and swimming pool) on three of the building’s floors—including floor 100 (over 1,000 feet up). Read more at designboom.
Bringing Extinct Species Back From the Dead with Gene-Editing
American scientist Ben Novak has spent the past six years working on a process referred to as de-extinction—with the goal of bringing back the passenger pigeon species that died off in 1914. In Melbourne, Australia Novak has used gene-editing to weave the Cas9 gene into the reproductive organs of common pigeons. Cas9 enables the use of CRISPR, a tool that acts as molecular scissors and enables a cut-paste of DNA. Soon, perhaps, Novak will see to the passenger pigeon’s return. This could lead to the reemergence of the dodo or even the woolly mammoth—and that will bring up greater questions over what it means to bring an extinct species back, whether we should, and what happens if re-extinction occurs. Read more about the process at the Wall Street Journal.
Palm’s Minuscule New Mobile Phone Sidekick
In an effort to revive the Palm brand—one synonymous with the PalmPilot and Personal Digital Assistants and so many other widely-embraced developments in the ’90s and early aughts—a California company has released a new device under the name. It’s the first release with Palm branding since HP acquired and shuttered the brand—and it’s not what one would expect. The Palm smartphone is being touted as an Android-powered sidekick to your first phone. It has nothing to do with the original Palm tools, opting instead to be a Verizon-exclusive aluminum and Gorilla Glass phone for when you do not want to carry your primary phone. Read more about Palm’s vision and the device’s specs over at Endgadget.
Stephen Hawking’s Last Book Offers Brief Answers to Big Questions
In his collection of final thoughts, published 16 October, physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking addresses nothing less than the future of humanity. The book, called Brief Answers to the Big Questions, emphasizes the importance of regulating artificial intelligence, implementing clean nuclear fusion power and preparing for asteroid collision. He also predicted that gene editing tools will create an advanced race of superhumans—and so much more. In many ways, it’s a parting gift from the world-famous thinker and humanitarian. Read more about the book on Quartz.
Revolutionary Self-Lubricating Condoms
Other than gimmicky changes like colors, textures and flavors, condoms have remained relatively the same over the past 50 years—Lelo‘s efforts at a structural overhaul with HEX aside. However, a new self-lubricating condom, designed as part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s competition, might just revolutionize the industry. Created to encourage safer sex, this condom remains lubricated for “1,000 cycles (scientific speak for thrusts), which works out as 16 minutes” unlike others whose “slipperiness” wears off quickly. With apparently just 1/3 of men in the US using condoms regularly, this invention might radically reduce STIs and keep countless people healthy. Read more at Dazed.
This October, MoMA will release a limited run of skateboards (500 each of two styles) designed by the beloved Yayoi Kusama. The designs Yellow Trees (1994) and Dots Obsession (2018) are classic Kusama—all spots and bright colors. Though this isn’t a first for either party (MoMA has released similar pieces based on works by Warhol and Basquiat, and Kusama made a custom Infinity Mirror Skate Deck in 2017), it is an exciting, hand-painted (Kusama painted over the digital renderings because she felt they needed to be altered a bit) drop for collectors and skaters alike to covet. Read more about the upcoming release on 
Beloved French-born, Australia-based artist 
“This is the era of the formerly unwanted plant,” Ligaya Mishan writes. The common weed holds no nutritional or aesthetic value in traditional settings, but adventurous chefs and florists are finding a place for weeds alongside traditionally more grand flowers and ingredients. The switch is being attributed to a broader cultural moment—that our perception of beauty is changing. Weeds are an intrusive species that finds its way into places it isn’t welcome. And their presence—in nature, in bouquets, in dishes—is synonymous with perseverance, diligence, and the adage of the underdog. Danish-born chef Esben Holmboe Bang says, “A wild dandelion is as coveted as a white truffle.” Read more about the common weed’s welcoming party at the 
Dover Street Market, founded by couple, and heads of line Comme des Garçons, Rei Kawakubo and Adrian Joffe, has found success in the retail space by defying the setting, methods, and stocking practices of traditional stores. Their brand coexists in each of Dover Street Market’s six locations with competitors and upstarts alike; streetwear, luxury, and everyday items are placed throughout the store like a bazaar: “Dover Street Market groups most of its single-brand spaces, which make up the majority of the floor plan, by creator, giving each designer permission to dream up site-specific installations. As long as they put up panels to protect walls and conform to strict size requirements, almost anything goes,” Alexandra Marshall of the Wall Street Journal writes. But the idea has become more than just a retail space; the hospitality of Kawakubo and Joffe has helped launch brands like Gosha Rubchinskiy and Jacquemus, and their fluid business style has remained relentless through trends and market crashes alike. Read more in-depth analysis at the 
SkyRyse
In another move in the NBA’s efforts toward being the most player-oriented professional sports league, the association will adopt a free-for-all policy in regard to sneakers. This move will allow players to wear any colored sneakers, whenever they please—moving on from the 51% rule which required the sneaker to be 51% white if the team were home and 51% black if the team were away. Since Nike took the helm on jersey design last year, they have made it a goal to broaden team’s looks and color palettes. So, no longer does a team have to have a white home or a black away jersey—it can be green, or blue, or red, or cream (and the sneakers players wear no longer have to match). Read more about the change on 
Beyond soda, “
As children seek to replicate what inspires them in the outside world, they seem to capture it through the distortion of imagination—and developing skills. Since 2016, an artist (known only as Tom) has been turning his son’s doodles into lifelike but (obviously) anatomically-incorrect images, much to the delight of others. They’ve been posted to Instagram under 
As new music festivals are announced and older ones fold, one thing remains consistent: attendance numbers are lower and ticket prices are higher than ever. Larger festivals don’t necessarily translate to digital content well: stages are lit for immediate impact, aren’t designed with secondary audiences in mind, and render livestreams and ripped videos almost unwatchable. Pickathon—a 3,500-ticket festival on an 80-acre farm just south of Portland, Oregon—is catering to its in-person and internet audience. The festival is adorned with installations and extraordinary stages built to let the festival’s 500-person production team, led by founder Zale Schoenborn, capture video and images to create a year’s worth of content that they hope to monetize on YouTube and Netflix to balance out their costs and hopefully break even. Read more about Schoenborn’s efforts on 
