A weekly round up of what we’ve been up to at MxM...

Things we’ve been reading

What would the united states of reddit look like mapped? We particularly enjoyed the “missed connections” locations on Craigslist mapped against state.

A long, but interesting article from 1984 about the significance of VisiCalc, the start of business modelling with spreadsheets.

72 hours of #gamergate — an analytical breakdown about who actually is tweeting about gamer gate. Includes some interesting stats: “Roughly 25% of all Gamergate activity is coming from accounts created in the last two months.”

The end of apps as we know them — Apps aren’t just isolated destinations anymore, they need to be part of a system that works together.

Rebecca Wright on the ratio of women with design degrees vs those actually in the industry. Why is there such a drop off after university?

Things we’ve been looking at

37 awesome things from Tokyo Design week. This modern interpretation of Hokusai’s work is a highlight.

Brave new worlds — the architectural visions of sci-fi cinema — Some of us are thinking of going along to this series of talks on the 1st November about the ways sci-fi and architecture can influence each other.

Egon Schiele - the radical nude — More than 30 pieces from Schiele’s short but urgent career — the queues are long but well worth the wait! (Or you can book in advance online.)

Crumbles, replacing words with short videos — we’re always keen to enhance our gif-like communication abilities.

The art of Gothic — an interesting look at Britain’s obsession with all things Gothic.

Things we’ve been learning

Why you shouldn’t wash your jeans (unless you really have to) — If you’re someone who owns raw denim, you need to read this to discover just how to look after it.

Why flying on a plane makes you feel terrible! Lack of oxygen is a big factor…

How to smuggle your secrets past incredible danger, from the man that taught Edward Snowden. Very interesting article explaining how to use encryption keys to secure your email.

How things get where they need to be — an article explaining life on board a colossal cargo ship.

How to interview a designer with the perfect design exercise — an interesting breakdown of an interview technique for finding the right designers.

Things we’ve been eating/drinking

Despite being positively eviscerated by this hilarious Guardian review, we still kind of want to try Beast, a restaurant that serves steak and crab.

Smokin’ aces, a new stall in Chapel Market selling boxes of BBQ for £5. Eat with caution.

Sasha sushi, for when the BBQ gets a bit too much...

And whilst we haven’t been eating pumpkin, we’ve certainly been carving it (this one is by Fiona).

Happy Halloween all!

Tara Bloom

Tara Bloom

A cynical & geeky cave dweller, Tara often ventures out to @madebymany to do a myriad of useful things. These include, but are not limited to: research, strategy, scrum mastering and propagation. Looking surprisingly like her avatar, she can often be found loitering here: @scandaloust

@scandalousT

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