Topics

Feb

Fond ‘n Funny Valentines from Un-Secret Admirers

by Your friends at OIC on February 11, 2021

Deer head with heart-shaped glasses on a funny valentine card, part of the cultural traditions of Valentine's Day. image © Sheron Long

Who sent this funny valentine? Today you get to open someone else’s mail
and unmask the admirer. Read on…
© Sheron Long

Cultural Tradition Stamped with Love

Every Valentine’s Day, fond and funny valentines go out around the world in TikTok and email, on Facebook, by text, and in an instant on Instagram. It’s a cultural tradition.

Today, however, with so much shelter-in-place time on our hands, the old-fashioned handwritten Valentine’s card, the kind sealed with a stamp and a kiss, is loving its revival. Have a fun look at these tokens of love intercepted by OIC. Read more...

Your friends at OIC 2 Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions

Feb

In the Kitchen with OIC: A Fun Japanese Food Tour!

by Joyce McGreevy on February 2, 2021

Yuma Wada serves sushi in Tokyo, the setting for his Japanese food tour and trivia night. (Image © by Yuma Wada/ Ninja Food Tours)

What could be fresher than sushi made from Japan’s catch of the day?
© Yada Wama/ Ninja Food Tours

Yuma Wada Turns Trivia into Virtual Travel to Tokyo

A funny thing happened on the way to Yuma Wada’s Japanese food tour and trivia night. You know how it is. One minute you’re folding the laundry or microwaving leftovers. Next minute you’re at a fish market in Tokyo.

Maybe I should explain.

Collectively speaking, it was an ordinary weeknight, work had stolen our weekend, the kids were restless, and supper smelled . . . uninspiring. We’d all been “at home” nearly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for eleven long months. Read more...

Joyce McGreevy 4 Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Japan/The World's Chefs

Jan

SOS: Save Our Skeuomorphs!

by Joyce McGreevy on January 4, 2021

A smartphone on a sailboat contains a compass app, a skeuomorph that carries a cultural memory of an ancient invention, the nautical compass. (Photo by TheHilaryClark and Pixabay)

What smartphone app resembles a 12th century nautical tool? The answer’s due south!
TheHilaryClark/ Pixabay

Skeuomorphs “Net” Cultural Memory

As we sail into a new decade, a titanic debate continues to rock the boat from port to computer port. On one side, designers who’ve jettisoned skeuomorphs. On the other, those who are still on board with them.

Should skeuomorphs be set adrift? Or treasured because they’re anchored in cultural memory? What are skeuomorphs, anyway?

Someone holds up a digital tablet with a compass app, a skeuomorph that incorporates a cultural memory of an older compass. (Photo by TheHilaryClark and Pixabay)

Some designers dislike skeuomorphs’ ties to the past, as in this digital version
of a nautical compass.
Geralt/ Pixabay Read more...

Joyce McGreevy Comments

Cultural Symbols/Language & Culture

World Views: