Björn Jeffery

A long Swedish interview with me, mainly about Toca Boca. In the newspaper where I got my first job, almost 20 years ago now.

(via Han skapar lek-appar för miljoner – Ekonomi – Göteborgs-Posten)

In fact, it’s almost anti-discussed due to the obsession in media and political circles with the alleged rise of the robots. We’re so busy worrying about how to counteract an imaginary, robot-driven productivity surge that we’re barely paying attention to the real story of the productivity slowdown.

“Financial independence isn’t so much about freedom from work. It is more about freedom to do your best work, without money getting in the way.”

I retired at 30. The best part isn’t leisure — it’s freedom. – Vox

“Unlike many children’s television shows which “are saying, ‘Come on, join in, kids, sing along,’ which I think is patronising”, Stampy talks directly to the audience. “It’s like speaking to a person, I guess.”

Stampy Cat: Joseph Garrett’s cartoon from Minecraft that is bigger than Justin Bieber – and has just been linked to Disney – Online – Media – The Independent

Afrobeat coming strong now. Absolutely loved the original, and here’s a new great version with Drake and Skepta.

Ojuelegba Remix ft. Drake & Skepta

Madeline Levine, psychologist and author of The Price of Privilege, says that there are three ways we might be overparenting and unwittingly causing psychological harm:

When we do for our kids what they can already do for themselves;
When we do for our kids what they can almost do for themselves; and
When our parenting behavior is motivated by our own egos.
Levine said that when we parent this way we deprive our kids of the opportunity to be creative, to problem solve, to develop coping skills, to build resilience, to figure out what makes them happy, to figure out who they are. In short, it deprives them of the chance to be, well, human.

“Standing upright it is quickly transformed into a slide, a puppet theatre or a cave, whiled the upholstery inside has a sound-absorbing effect. The non-figural form invites children from different ages to transform and use Dyyni in their way”

(via Kids design at Cookies Show – Petit & Small)

The stakes for play are higher than we think. Play is a way of being that resists the instrumental, expedient mode of existence. In play, we do not measure ourselves in terms of tangible productivity (extrinsic value), but instead, our physical and mental lives have intrinsic value of their own. It provides the source from which other extrinsic goods flow and eventually return.

Imagine two 4-year-olds trying to play a simple game of catch. They can’t do it. Neither can throw the ball straight enough or catch well enough to make the game work. But a 4-year-old and a 9-year-old can play catch and enjoy it. The 9-year-old can lob the ball gently into the hands of the 4-year-old and can leap and dive to catch the other’s wild throw. In a world of just 4-year-olds catch is impossible, but in an age-mixed world everyone can learn and enjoy this game.

To counter, traditional hotels from the Ritz-Carlton all the way down to the local innkeeper need raise their respective games and remember what the core of their business is: service, grace and providing comfort for guests. They need to bring back small, human moments that add up to something far deeper and more substantial than a points scheme. And they need to remember that the best hotels are vibrant ecosystems in the community and that is part of what makes them interesting.

This is easier than it sounds. For one, like the airline industry, there’s a lot of weird, operational scar tissue that still exists in the hotel world. Namely the fact that you can’t officially check-in until 3pm and have to be out at noon. And, sometimes you get the feeling there’s been so much emphasis on operational efficiency (read: cost-cutting) that some of the texture and nuances of a stay are missing.