Björn Jeffery

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. Reclaiming the Power of Play – NYTimes.com

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 […]

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 […]

(via WIZKID – OJUELEGBA – YouTube) My latest Naija obsession. This genre is going to blow up. (Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

glutenimage: d’après Robert Doisneau The gluten free museum. Clever.

The newsstand is an experiment, but Brûlé said the company could create franchises and spin off the newsstand business if it succeeds. “It’s important for us to, I think, remind the market that — is it really a crisis of print, or is it a crisis of print distribution? And I would argue that part of it is the latter,” Brûlé told me. TB is bringing back the newsstand. How Tyler Brûlé has extended Monocle […]

This is my annual summary. It is my way of remembering the year that past and to close the books. This is the fifth year I’ve done this, and if you are curious you can find 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 online too. 2014 was another eventful year and my third in the US. These are some of the things that I did over the year: January The local coffee place in the not-so-great area […]

Wabi-sabi nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi