Cultrface – a blog dedicated to culture and how it enriches our lives.

Jenkem spoke to Black skaters about their skateboarding experiences

In 2020, Jenkem interviewed a host of Black skaters to expose some of the issues they’ve faced while skateboarding. This came as an effort to “be better allies and friends” during the Black Lives Matter protests of summer 2020. Here’s an excerpt from Rashad Murray’s interview:

Have you seen or experienced racism within your own skate community?

I’ve been told I jump higher because I’m black. My heelflips are good because black skaters are better at heelflips than kickflips. The one that pissed me off the most was, “You don’t skate like most black skaters.” Some people wouldn’t consider these to be racist comments but I do.

They might not be harsh slurs but they are microaggressions that made me feel some type of way. I didn’t even know how to process most of it because I was much younger when this all happened. I was still learning about myself and seeking acceptance so I didn’t even know how to really react. I knew I was mad but I didn’t know if I was overreacting or not, which is such a ridiculous thing for me to tell myself. When you’re a kid you just want people to like you, but now I don’t care about that at all. I’m gonna defend myself and any other skater of color that’s being disrespected.

What comes to mind when you hear someone say “Blue lives matter,” or “All lives matter?”

I usually laugh, yo! I think it’s such a ridiculous thing to say. What the fuck is a blue life? When you go home and take off that uniform you’re not a cop anymore. Being black isn’t a choice but being a cop is. If a cop is afraid of dying while on duty, they should quit their job.

Also, obviously, all lives matter. If someone you loved was diagnosed with breast cancer and you made a post about supporting the people battling that form of cancer, no one would comment “What about skin cancer?” It would be rude, inconsiderate, and simple-minded to say something like that. So to anyone who says “Blue lives matter” or “All lives matter” go fuck yourself. Black people are being killed, so do something meaningful to help stop it.

Related to Black folks and skateboarding: the Uganda Skateboard Union, Corey Johnson’s top 5 skateboarders, and my favourite Hey Arnold! Gerald t-shirt

The frozen town of Vörkuta

Nestled in the north-eastern part of the Komi Republic in Russia is a town called Vorkuta. It’s a coal-mining town with a population of about 50,000 and has the distinction of being the coldest city in Europe with a record temperature of −52 °C (−61 °F) [text is in Finnish].

Despite that population, many villages in Vorkuta are considered “ghost towns” covered in snow and ice. Weird Russia profiled the ice dwelling in March 2021:

Many of Vorkuta’s once bustling apartment buildings feature impassable stairwells coated with slick ice. There is no one left to defrost Vorkuta’s abandoned structures. Vorkuta’s remaining residents are continually relocated to more compact buildings that are more affordable to heat. With each passing year, more of Vorkuta’s buildings are reclaimed by the elements.

Vorkuta is swiftly becoming one of the world’s most haunting ghost towns. Thick sheets of ice and endless snowdrifts ensure that Vorkuta’s abandoned buildings remain literally frozen in time. Onlookers who are hearty enough to brave the extreme cold are never able to forget rooms full of stacks of books, rows of bottles, and bedroom furniture entombed in ice. The icy fate of Vorkuta is a sobering reminder that humans do not dominate nature as effectively as we think we do. Vorkuta reminds us that—in the coldest corners of the world—we are only one power failure away from our cities devolving into inhospitable ice palaces.

I’m sure Elsa from Frozen would love the place nonetheless.

Rikesh Chauhan's brief history of Cuban cigar brands

While I don’t partake, cigars have a certain sophistication and charm to them and they are synonymous with the island of Cuba in the Caribbean. Cultrface’s spiritual forefather Rikesh Chauhan wrote a brief history of Cuba’s various cigar brands for EGM Cigars on his website and opened with a historical correction (I’m here for anything that says Christopher Columbus didn’t discover shit first):

Although the origin of the cigar as we know it today is often associated with Christopher Columbus and his exploits in the Americas, it can be traced back much earlier — to the Mayan era, in fact. As with most herbal commodities, the initial cigar was supposed to contain medicinal qualities which the ancient Aztecs and Mayans would utilise for mental and spiritual well-being and betterment. The ‘sikar’, as it was referred to those thousands of years ago, would also be used as an offering to the Gods in addition to recreational and leisurely pursuits. While it wouldn’t take very long for modern man to realise there were no true medicinal benefits, the practise of smoking cigars would continue on for centuries, eventually leading to its discovery by Columbus and subsequent introduction into Spain, Europe and the rest of the world. If you are a smoker, it is paramount to acquire the skill of how to cut the cigar properly, as this fundamental aspect of your smoking ritual not only influences the overall quality of your experience but also ensures an even burn, optimal flavor distribution, and a smoother draw, thereby elevating your enjoyment of the fine art of cigar smoking to its fullest potential.

Give it a read and smoke ’em if you got ’em.

Making bird prints out of LEGO stamps

Colossal covered the LEGO® stamp art of Roy Scholten, a Dutch artist who used LEGO® pieces with paint to create prints of various bird species:

From his studio in Hilversum, Scholten forms dozens of winged creatures found in The Netherlands as part of 50 Birds. The 6 x 6-inch designs adeptly arrange the rigid blocks into beaks and round bellies with small lines of white left between.

More on birds and LEGO®: François Mitterrand’s controversial final meal, the 13 birds of Christmas, and Ekow Nimako’s Afrofuturistic LEGO® universes.

Potato milk is apparently a thing

I’ve written about donkey milk, moose milk, and pea milk but there’s a new milk in town: potato milk.

Moss & Fog covered potato milk on Monday and its environmental benefits:

First came cow’s milk. Then soy, rice, and almond milk came on the scene. A plethora of other nut milks joined the party, until oat milk took the spotlight a few years ago.

Now there’s another dairy alternative, this one in the form of potato milk! We had to do a double take, it seemed so out of the ordinary. But Dug, a premium entrant from Sweden promises delicious creamy taste, with a much smaller carbon footprint than traditional alternatives.

The main benefits from an environmental perspective is its water use. Almond milk is notorious for requiring a lot of water to produce it but potato milk is more sustainable and requires fewer resources to grow.

Try some Dug via this taster pack on Amazon or check the official website for a list of stockists.

Sophia Tassew on the need for equality as a standard in fashion

Sophia Tassew spoke to Bustle about inclusivity in the fashion industry, the need for more progression, and why she’s taken a break from modelling. Here are a few excerpts:

You’ve always been a fierce proponent of equality within the modelling and fashion industries, why is that important to you?

For me, it’s simple: equality should just be the standard, and that’s it.

Over the past number of years, the dialogue is very much about sharing personal negative experiences and anecdotes, as it to prove myself or my worth. And I’m over it. We shouldn’t need to share all this negativity in order for the industry to see us as equal participants and treat us in the way we deserve.

How would you assess the state of equality in modelling and fashion?

Progress has been made, but it’s not the radical progressiveness we need; we just want clothes for larger bodies that are well made and actually fit us. A lot of brands will dress their campaigns to seem inclusive, but clothes are still poorly made. Online, people find a sense of community in their shared disappointment, rather than finding comfort in our shared joy.

It’s why I put a pause on modelling, because I had so many bad experiences. I’ve had too many shoots where I’ve ended up crying in the toilet or sign a contract knowing it’s going to be a negative experience. It really shouldn’t be that way.

And please bask in the ambience of her viral tweet.

An interview with Ariel Woodson aka kiddotrue

Another day, another great interview with my friend, Ariel aka kiddotrue, especially for Black History Month.

What is your favourite city in the world?

Hands down, New Orleans.

What’s the most unusual item you take everywhere you go?

Red lipstick. Can totally change the mood of an outfit or event in an instant.

Why do you do what you do?

Fat people are people and should be treated as such. That’s what fat liberation is all about and until things like access to medical care, fashion and media representation are all equal, there’s no end to the fight.

Where do you go to relax?

There are these amazing spa and sauna buildings all over the area where I live. I could go sit in a pool of hot, bubbling water for hours (and I have)!

69, 280, or 420?

420! I like big, even numbers.

How do you say goodbye in your culture?

Byeeeeeeeeeee!

Can you stop a volcano?

While researching the eruption of Cumbre Vieja, I asked myself “can you stop a volcano from erupting?”. The short answer is theoretically yes, but the longer answer is kinda but it’d take unfathomable effort, time, money, and resources with no guarantee of success.

Bill McGuire wrote a piece on how to stop a volcano based on Yellowstone Park’s supervolcano:

Yellowstone is no ordinary volcano. Three times in the last couple of million years, this so-called supervolcano, located in the western US, has blown itself apart in some of the biggest explosions ever known.

The last, which happened around 630,000 years ago, pumped out enough ash to cover most of the country, and left behind a giant crater – the Yellowstone Caldera – more than 70km (44 miles) across.

The huge volumes of sulphur gas blasted into the atmosphere by the eruption would have blotted out the Sun, causing global temperatures to plunge and spawning a volcanic winter that lasted for several years.

But Yellowstone is still restless. Earthquakes are common, the ground repeatedly swells and sinks, and the area is peppered with boiling springs, mud pots and geysers.

A gigantic body of magma still lurks beneath the volcano, so another massive eruption could happen some time in the future. There are concerns that the resulting volcanic winter might destroy our civilisation, but not if we can take action to try and stop it first.

NASA have a plan to stop the potential eruption: drill a hole in it. The idea is that an 8km-deep borehole would allow for large volumes of cold water to flow down the hole and reduce the heat inside. This would theoretically cool the magma, make it harden and prevent it from feeding an eruption. Sounds good in theory but it comes with a large cost—NASA estimates the price of this work at $3.5bn (£2.57bn). It would also take hundreds, or even thousands, of years to do, by which we might all be forced to live in the metaverse anyway.

More on volcanoes: Volcano pizza and La Soufrière’s eruption: before and after photos

Monique Wells talks to Atlas Obscura about 'Entrée to Black Paris'

Custom travel itineraries are cool as you can retrace the steps of a variety of people. Monique Wells had the idea to do that with her company called Entrée to Black Paris, containing 13 walking tours, cooking classes, and museum tours centred on Black people and Black cultures. Wells spoke with Atlas Obscura about the origins of the project and the allure of Paris for Black Americans in the 20th century.

Why has there been such a strong African-American presence in Paris, as opposed to elsewhere in Europe?

It’s tied up in the history of the United States’s involvement in World War I. A large number of African-American troops served in France and were not allowed to fight with white Americans. They were “given” to the French and fought valiantly next to French people. They were awarded medals for their bravery, they were invited into French homes. This was an experience that they could have never hoped for on U.S. soil.

When the war was over, they went back home and talked about that. The summer after that war ended is known as the Red Summer, because anti-Black riots erupted in two dozen cities and racist violence killed or injured hundreds of people. White America felt that it needed to put these Black men back into their place.

France took on this sort of mythical quality. It was seen as a place where Black people could just be people. And that’s where the myth of the colorblind France really took hold.

Related to Black Americans in Europe: African Americans in Soviet Russia

The 12 million possible combos of bubble tea

I haven’t had a bubble tea in over 10 years but I still remember the flavour (chocolate and ginger). Apparently that’s one of about 12 million options according to Julia Janicki and Daisy Chung who created some brilliant data viz for Taiwan Data Stories:

As two Taiwanese people living abroad, bubble tea runs in our blood. For the uninitiated, bubble tea is a Taiwanese tea-based drink with tapioca balls also commonly known as “boba.” Although bubble tea can be made with other liquids and toppings, many people often order the standard: milk tea with boba. However, in Taiwan, the birthplace of boba (depending on which origin story you believe), locals often customize their drinks as if they own the shop! In fact, there are countless more flavors and toppings in Taiwan than we ever see abroad.

This made us curious: exactly how many unique boba drinks are there in Taiwan? And after living away from home for more than 10 years, are we missing out on any new developments in the boba scene? To answer these questions, we analyzed drink menus from the top 5 most popular stores as of Feb 2021 according to YouTuber Data66’s Google Trends data.

With this page, you can make your own bubble tea and download the result. Something to note before you visit a bubble tea shop and can’t decide what to get.

More on Taiwan: How to make a Taiwanese Castella

Chris Burkard new book 'Wayward' features amazing photography and personal stories from his life and career

Book cover of Wayward by Chris Burkard

Renowned surf and nature photographer Chris Burkard has published a new book titled Wayward, containing stunning shots and candid commentary about his career and life.

With never-before-seen images and the stories behind them, Burkard crafts an original narrative that combines the page-turning drama of a great explorer’s adventure story and the immediacy and power of unforgettable photographs. Chronicling both the failures and the successes he has experienced in building a career, Burkard shares an infectious passion for photography, surfing, and chasing dreams in some of the world’s most awe-inspiring places.

Grab a copy on Amazon, Bookshop, or Abrams.

Surf photography related: The amazing photography of Roger “Sharpy” Sharp

Black Film Archive's Black History Month film list

Whether you need some audiovisual content to complement the books you’re reading during Black History Month or you’d prefer films as a replacement for books, Black Film Archive’s 28 Black Films for the 28 Days of Black History Month has you covered:

[…] In building the second edition of 28 films for 28 days of Black History Month (the first predates Black Film Archive and is here) I thought a lot about Black refusal in film. When I watch a movie, I often ponder the space where the script (or Hollywood idea of what the film is) ends, and Black stars and directors use their instincts to bring subtle (and non-subtle) gestures and life to a world that would not have it otherwise. The films selected here are constructing worlds that embody pain, joy, love, and laughter to bring the fullness of Black life to us all.

Black History Month is a serious business to me. However you choose to celebrate this season, I hope it brings you peace, joy, and an abundance of great cinema.

Maya Cade

It’s another case of “some you’ll know and some you won’t” but they’re all worth a watch if you make the time.

Espresso-chocolate chunk cookie cake

I regularly put (decaf) coffee in my hot chocolate drinks (and vice versa) but altogether in a cookie cake? Sounds like heaven to me. Joy Cho kindly published a recipe for Eater:

Think of this easy recipe as a edgier, caffeine-spiked version of your classic chocolate chip cookie. Brown a stick of butter until it smells nutty and toasty, then whisk in brown sugar, granulated sugar, and a tablespoon of instant espresso powder. Mix in an egg and a splash of vanilla extract, then add the dry ingredients. Chop up a bar of good-quality dark chocolate (chunks over chips, forever and always) and a generous handful of chocolate-covered espresso beans (they’re easier to find than you may think) and fold those in to finish. Spread the dough into a cake pan and voilà, have a wonderfully decadent, espresso-laced cookie cake ready to serve (or savor on your own) in under half an hour.

The double-dose of espresso does double duty here: the espresso powder infuses the cookie with subtle coffee notes and tempers its sweetness, while the chocolate-covered espresso beans provide pops of concentrated flavor. Taken together, they’re a reminder that just a few ingredients can go a long way in transforming a classic into something new and unexpected. Consider sending a cookie care package their way if you’re looking to surprise someone with a thoughtful gesture.

There’s a reason the Cookie Monster is my favourite character from Sesame Street.

Chocolate related: Hot chocolate with added spice and emerald marine chocolate mint tart

JSTOR's Black History Month article picks

We’re past halfway through Black History Month in the US but there’s never a bad time to get educated. On January 31st, JSTOR Daily editors picked their favourite stories for BHM, covering the lives and experiences of Kwame Ture, Carter G. Woodson, Black cowboys (which we’ve covered too) and ’15 Black Women Who Should Be (More) Famous’.

Here’s an excerpt from the piece on Kwame Ture, formerly known as Stokely Carmichael:

[…] Carmichael prompted his students to see African American Vernacular English (AAVE) as a “counterlanguage” representing resistance to racist oppression. As Carmichael later said in his 1968 speech “Free Huey,” “We have never spoken English perfectly. And that is because our people consciously resisted a language that did not belong to us.”