I truly appreciate the important social and emotional value of stopping to think and talk with people, especially over food. The habit/ritual of fika I think is an important one of mindful breaks and letting your brain unwind, something both introverts and extroverts can appreciate.

It’s so much more than an opportunity to consume caffeine. It’s a moment to slow down and appreciate the good things in life. As explained in “Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break,” written by Anna Brones and Johanna Kindvall: “Functioning as both a verb and a noun, the concept of fika is simple. It is the moment that you take a break, often with a cup of coffee, but alternatively with tea, and find a baked good to pair with it. You can do it alone, you can do it with friends. You can do it at home, in a park or at work. But the essential thing is that you do it, that you make time to take a break: that’s what fika is all about.”

more at: Why we should all embrace fika, the Swedish coffee break : TreeHugger

I think it is a great activist approach to promoting healthy behaviors in a playful way. I’m also thrilled to see that there is a huge demand for this playful kind of sign creation and development, and Tomasulo has been able to turn it into a business.

The signs, the brainchild of then-graduate student Matt Tomasulo, were meant to help people think differently about distances in the city, and to encourage them to get out of their cars and explore the place under their own power.When it debuted in 2012, the project drew international notice and received lots of favorable press coverage, including here on CityLab. It also got the attention of Raleigh’s city government, which eventually took the signs down for violating local ordinances. But the city’s planning director was a fan of the concept behind Tomasulo’s action, and soon they reached a compromise. The signs went back up, with the blessing of the city, as a pilot education project.

More at the source: The Knight Foundation Is Funding a Large-Scale Expansion of Raleigh’s ‘Guerrilla’ Wayfinding Signs – CityLab

I think this kind of placemaking and wayfinding is great, as it promotes the landmarks in a city and promotes walking. I think it would be a great opportunity for actual cities to order these, even for temporary things like festivals or during a longer tourist season.

Glad to see this guy is still active. I featured him awhile ago on this blog, and I was worried that businesses might have a problem with some guy marking up their sidewalks, but if anything I would argue it provides a nice surprise for people passing by your business location, making it more memorable.

Most of us don’t really like rainy days, but Seattle-based artist Peregrine Church makes good use of the rain.

“We make rainworks to give people a reason to look forward to rainy days! It’s going to rain anyway. Why not do something fun with it?,” he says.

Peregrine uses a product called Always Dry (the Wood & Stone formula), a superhydrophobic coating that protects surfaces from water and other liquids.

With the help of stencils he sprays his artworks onto sidewalks, it will last 4 months to a year depending on the foot traffic. His artworks slowly fade over time and are most vivid in the first couple weeks.

Source: Seattle artist’s works come to life when it rains | News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KOMO

This is an awesome idea! What a great use of space that encourages community involvement, cuts down on long commuting traffic in and out of the city, and more than anything is FUN!

Kazakhstan is no stranger to the harsh winter season. That’s why Shokhan Mataibekov, the brain behind The Slalom House, has proposed it as a 21-story residential apartment with an outdoor ski slope starting from its roof. The proposal is currently in the hands of the Union of Architects of Kazakhstan.Mataibekov, a skier himself, thought of the idea as he would travel four hours to reach the nearest ski slope. On the other hand, the Slalom House will be built in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana.Residents of Astana experience minus 15 degree Celsius temperatures during winter, hence, the locals take advantage of the bitter cold by flocking the nearest ski slopes. But thanks to Mataibekov’s proposal, skiers need not go further than home anymore.

Source: Don’t Fight the Snow, Build an Apartment Building with an Outdoor Ski Slope

In graduate school I had the opportunity to perform a (very light) literary review of any archaeological topic of my choosing. I chose children’s artifacts, for the exact same reason these museum curators chose too; a surprisingly little amount is known about how children lived.

A sledge made from a horse’s jaw, the remains of a medieval puppet, the coffin of a one-year-old Roman child, and the skeleton of an Anglo-Saxon girl will all go on display in Cambridge today as part of a unique exhibition illuminating the archaeology of childhood.

More photos and the full article at: The archaeology of childhood | University of Cambridge

As the article points out, often artifacts associated with children are often unclear in their use. Were they toys? Tokens of protection? And how many toys made of paper, wood, or other perishable items have been lost to history? A very fascinating topic.