What's All This Then?
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What's All This Then?
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From The Ground Meat Cookbook.
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Two Mice Photographed in a Comically Dramatic Struggle in the London Underground.
Printing Money. Depressing.
"The policeman isn't there to create disorder; the policeman is there to preserve disorder." The Chicago Political Quote Hall of Fame, by Edward McClelland.
Well, that's one way to do it.
I Love the 20s.
Th story of the Mojave phone booth.
Local note. What If Your Alderman Were Goth? The Chicago Genius Herald has the answer for some reason. Thanks Peteski.
So you know, 251 words you can spell with a calculator. Via Meanwhile.
The Care and Feeding of the Uffington White Horse.
50 States of True Crime.
Designer Jordan Vincent takes a look at overnight stays in National Parks. via kottke
Local note. Great cause, great event. Bid on a tour of the Wilco Loft/Studio with Jeff Tweedy, for you and 19 of your pals. To benefit The Evan Joseph Gerstein Foundation.
Space Time Generator. Yup.
Pour 15 Minutes d'Amour, Classique. Great browse.
Modern Fossils by Christopher Locke.
Design Around the World great, deep series by Tobias Van Scneider.
These recently unearthed designs from 1973 show what McDonald's almost looked like.
Related to the last. "...stupefied in admiration of her unapproachable beauty."
Posted without comment: "I created a character for myself, wrote my dialogue, filmed myself in a front of a green screen and used visual effects to edit myself into scenes from Black-ish, Season 5."
From Weimar to Tokyo, the Origins and Influences of the "Japanese Bauhaus." Great, illustrated piece by Meg Miller for AIGA.
Local note. Free for dinner Friday?
Sammiches.
i09 has a (mostly) great list of weird and/or geeky "romantic" movies to stream on Valentine's Day.
Reporter Kashmir Hill spent six weeks blocking Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Apple from getting her money, data, and attention, using a custom-built VPN. Here's what happened.
Charlotte Dann has magnets in her hands.
"...a collaboration engineered to express the native flavors of three creameries in Connecticut, Vermont and Pennsylvania and create a new, totally original American cheese."
Dinosaur Statues of Questionable Accuracy
Here's a list of everything Steven Soderbergh read or watched in 2018, by date.
"I feel like Jonah in the belly of the whale."
Scarfolk Council Toys & Games. "Assault and battery not included."
The Manhoff Archives, 16mm color film and more from the Soviet Union in the 1950s.
Puzzling.
Miniature Calendar.
Vote, and when you're done send some pizza to the polls.
"We get the big truck, start driving, see the people we know, and buy. We do that for about a week and usually run out of money." Local note. Architectural Artifacts is having a moving sale.
Local note, Live Art: Design Your Visual Voice with Carlos Segura at the Michigan Avenue Apple Store on Thursday. Woot!
Lots of places I'd like to go. The Calvert's list boutique bookshops across the New East.
The Color Wheel Of Book And Movie Titles.
Shots from Google Earth showing approximately seven square miles of various landscapes around our planet. Absolutely gorgeous.
X-Rays of Oregon Zoo residents.
When you ask FOTA Wakiza Gamez to redub a Kickstarter video, he delivers the goods.
Colossal's headline sums it up. A Gargantuan Purple Sea Monster Lurks Inside a Two-Story Warehouse at Philadelphia's Navy Yard.
Lego Vestas Wind Turbine.
Let's Read Old Magazines.
Local note. Admission 2018, an event next week here in Chicago, about organizing events, w/ a great line-up of speakers including some pals: Jessie Char, Hugh Forrest and Bryony Gomez-Palacio.
Seven endangered species that could (almost) fit in a single train carriage.
"Earlier this summer, Theo Jansen released an improved iteration of his strandbeests, wind-powered machines that walk along the beach." From Kottke.
Gmunk presents the first drone screen performance. Woah.
The Web Design Museum exhibits over 900 carefully selected and sorted web sites that show web design trends between the years 1995 and 2005.
Buttercream succulents decorate edible planters by Leslie Vigil.
Mirai Live is an online community providing accessible bonsai knowledge based in sound horticulture.
"For an entire generation, MySpace was a gateway to the addictive social networking platforms that are now a ubiquitous feature of our lives. And for many members of that same generation, MySpace was a gateway to another inescapable part of modern life — writing code."
Open Culture on the history of the 20th Century as told by 16,000 sound effects from the BBC.
Carrot dodecahedron and other carved vegetables.
"Podcast From The Past is the weekly podcast where we discover the memories, mysteries and stories held by postcards that for some reason we never threw away."
Lewis Pugh just started The Long Swim, a 350 mile journey up the length of the English Channel and equivalent to 16 Channel crossings.
Great, funny episode of Back to One, "a podcast about acting." Peter Rinaldi chats with John Christopher Jones.
Your Next Kitchen, Via Things.
The mission to build the ultimate burger bot.
A Japanese mini truck garden contest.
Giant hats, portly pigs, and drive-thru donuts.
"Restoring dignity to the garden gnome." Pellegrino Cucciniello's Nino.
"A bank glitch gave a 24-year old, down-on-his-luck Australian man access to unlimited funds. Then he did exactly what you think he did with it." By David Kushner.
"Whether it's a running gag in the industry, a movie easter egg, or a very popular prop, it has certainly caught our attention." That One Newspaper.
Photographer Art Shay sure has some stories to tell.
NBA Court Database. Via Kottke.
A commemorative coin for Canada's most famous UFO sighting.
An embossed and foiled deck of cards by Malika Favre. Check out the limited edition prints too.
Hey Chicago, Third Coast Percussion wrote a new soundtrack for the 1966 Academy Award winning film Paddle to the Sea, and will be performing it live at Thalia Hall in May, along with other works that look "at our relationship to the bodies of water that connect our lives." I, for one, am very excited for this.
It's that time of year again folks, time for the 2018 Minnesota State High School All Hockey Hair Team.
For MCJ, SR Flat Plants. Via Swissmiss.
Spike Jonze directed FKA Twigs in a wonderful new spot for Apple's Home Pod.
Chicago Magazine's The Hidden City is so fun.
Vox has a great video about how smart phones are designed to be addictive, and how you can stop that behavior. via Kottke
Optimology°
Chicago intersections isolated as shapes.
The Best Things Found Between the Pages of Old Books. Via everyone.
Probable relink - More Perfect. A podcast from the makers of Radiolab about how the Supreme Court got so Supreme.
Marshall point out this good use for a fidget spinner. Great.
Four architects turned pastry chefs.
Gremlins enamel pins.
Arnold Batliner was the most storied coin washer at the St. Francis.
"Some of the sound systems put out 1,250 watts and can shake the windows of shops and cars as the group rides past." The stereo cycles of Sicily. Thanks Marshall.
"Q: Some people have cited different Droste-effect packages, encountered at a young age, as their introduction to infinity. Was that your experience? A: Yes, I was very intrigued by the Royal baking powder label or the infinity effect of parallel mirrors at a young age."
With the weather being dastardly, the Charlotte Checkers (AHL affiliate of the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes) sent home all non-essential personnel, told fans to stay home, and played a home game in an empty arena.
Inside the World's Only Button Museum. Yay! Christen and Co. on Chicago Tonight.
SlideShare Gems. Woah.
A new logo for This American Life by Erik Jarlsson.
Staying in the pocket.
RIP Dr. Rosenberg.
Never knew this. September 3rd, 1967 was named Dagen H.
Artifacts, tokens, and curio from the secret brother(and sister)hood of Beeteeth.
Roads to nowhere.
By superimposing a rectangular grid on the earth surface, a grid built from exact square miles, the spherical deviations have to be fixed. After all, the grid has only two dimensions. US road grid corrections.
Destroying a LEGO Star Wars Super Star Destroyer by ramming it into a piece of wood at 67mph.
All the rejected license plates from Ohio, 2017 edition.
The Millennium Falcon Is The Lockheed P-38 Lightning Of Star Wars
Everyday Objects Obsessively Organized into Patterns by Adam Hillman. More here.
A critical look at the the first page of Art Spiegelman's Maus. How to Design a Comic Book Page.
Gastro Obscura, the world's most wondrous food and drink.
"...when a critical number of people try to find balance at the same time and their movements sync up, they can align with the sway of the bridge. And that's when things get scary."
Our fave caterer is raising money to help each family at the Montessori School of Englewood, a Chicago Public Charter Elementary School, with their Thanksgiving dinner. C'mon now, we're in, you should be too.
Used Car Commercial for a 1996 Honda Accord.
Realidades habitables. Paper shapes by Diana Beltran Herrera.
"On Sunday 2 July, a drone was spotted on the approach path to Gatwick Airport. This is the disruption it caused." Thanks Marshall.
How to win carnival games, backed up by science.
"The card catalog is everything that is the best of the 19th and 20th centuries. And they look beautiful, and smell fantastic." Card Catalogs and the Secret History of Modernity, by Tom Carmody, for Kottke.
Trailer for Phantom Thread, the new film by Paul Thomas Anderson.
Lucky for us, photographer Stefan Draschan is very, very patient.
This is the best video I've seen all week. via Kottke
That cow from 146 years ago.
From the always great podcast, The Memory Palace, A Brief Eulogy for a Commercial Radio Station.
Motor Trend's World's Greatest Drag Race #7.
"The visual equivalent of a Moog synthesizer."
Dave Sieg has preserved perhaps the last operable Scanimate, the iconic 1970's analog motion graphics box.
Perception vs. Reality, Joe Alexander looks back at a classic Rolling Stone print campaign.
UFO Drawings from the National Archives.
The state of the galaxy in Star Trek Discovery.
Thirty-two wind turbines recreate the sound of horse hooves hitting the ground.
What's Worth Preserving? Kicking this ChiDM initiative. You should too.
This is wonderful. J.R.R. Tolkien reads from The Hobbit.
Black, a wallpaper series using shapes and lights.
"A review of the Periodic Table composed of 119 science haiku, one for each element, plus a closing haiku for element 119 (not yet synthesized)>" Via Open Culture.
"I found the old matchbook lying on a desk." And then Pablo Iglesias Maurer made this happen.
Margaret Hamilton, lead software engineer of the Apollo Project, standing next to her code that took us to the moon.
"Because femmes belong in tech. Because femininity is not antithetical to engineering and logic. Because version control is important even for side projects with a team of 1 (you)." Git It, Gurl.
If you happen to be visiting Unalaska, Alaska, watch out for Bald Eagles.
"I replaced the narrator in The Wonder Years with an 80's horror synth." Nice job Jon.
Magical, Striking Scenes From... Google Street View, especially #15.
It's a good thing these characters are cute, or this would unwatchable. The Most Painful Things A Human Can Experience.
The horror of desktops and the hoarders who never delete (or file away) anything.
Fanilows, potterheads, moonies, and other fandom nicknames.
"Taking place in a creepy Victorian mansion, you'll be asked to babysit the seemingly normal 11-year-old, but it won't be long before things take a turn for the worst when the long-dormant demon inside the Annabelle doll comes to life, possesses the entire house and tries to steal your soul..." Annabelle's House.
Color naming around the world.
Accidental Wes Anderson.
I know for a fact that she is a seriously badass woman.
Who Americans spend their time with. Poetry in data.
Before the Internet.
Alphabetized Newspaper is a collage made from the front page of The New York Times with all text re-arranged alphabetically. Huh.
Trailer for Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later. August 4th can't come soon enough!
How Logos Became the Most Important Quarter-Inch in Business, by the always-observant Rob Walker.
"...I've been lucky enough to meet countless exceptionally talented and hard-working independent creators in many different fields. However, a lot of these artists are struggling with the same problem. Many are unable to break the cycle of burying their own goals below part-time or full-time work, living project to project without the benefit of breathing room to assess and develop their careers. This project aims to break that cycle." Right on Andy
Got a big garden? Bicycle Wall of Death for sale on eBay! by Simon MacMichael. Thanks Marshall.
Forget other robot fights, Japanese robot fighting is where its at. Via kottke
Chicago Flag Mosaic Project, congrats to the Lane kids and our pal Jeff Solin. Magnificent.
Password Rules Are Bullshit and Correct Horse Battery Staple.
The Digital Dada Archive.
"I can usually make a few planets per day, but the alien landscapes are massive and can take anywhere from a week to a few months to complete." Sci-fi-o-rama chats with model maker Adam Makarenko. Fantastic.
Time is money. More time is more money. Amen Carlos.
100 Burgers.
"Welcome to the one-stop destination for images and information about Action Transfers and Instant Pictures, and the home of SPLAT (the Society for the Preservation of Letraset Action Transfers)."
Guy Sucks At Photoshop, Spends 10 Years Mastering Microsoft Paint To Illustrate His Book.
Fabien Barral visits Marc Bessant at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studio Lots of pics and insights into this amazing facility.
The Unsatisfying Challenge.
"I always refer to them as 'art for the people' because most people can afford to have one if they want." A short history of those sofa-sized $19 black velvet paintings, by David Bell. Thanks Marshall.
The Pudding, a "weekly journal of visual essays." Nicely done, lots of data visualizations, smartly presented. Bookmarked,
Chart chart.
Classic photographs, reinterpreted in Play-Doh.
Science Fiction Interfaces. Only great.
Brilliant stupidity from Clickhole: A Master At Work: George Saunders Orders One Mousetrap Over The Phone.
"...might be a recipe for a happier life." The Dollar Store For Danish Design.
Cal Henderson's talk from Webstock on the history of emoji. is great.
"Drawing your objects gives you time for reflection and you start to think deeply about your relationship to your stuff and other human relationships that might surround that object." A Grain Edit interview with Kate Bingaman-Burt.
"I just gave a $4 million apartment complex for homeless women and kids to the YWCA. Let me explain why." Way to go Rick.
Local note. There's a buzz about Tuesday April 18's event at Big Delicious Planet. Sweet.
"We've done almost no research into this area, but human reproduction in space is going to be key to us living on Mars." Space Sex is Serious Business. Design and animation by Tom McCarten.
For MS and BB, Diagon Alley is coming to Aurora this summer.
Very good news out of Cupertino. The Mac Pro Lives, by John Gruber.
Unsolved Mysteries People. Via FotA Andrew Huff.
An in-depth look at the story of the Chicago flag.
Speaking of the Chicago Flag, it's also a thing that many, many people get a tattoo of.
Related to the last, if you haven't listened to this before (or if you have, do it again because its great), 99% Invisible talks city flags.
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the flag of Chicago. The flag is beautiful, and a pretty big deal around here.
"Ope!"
"This is the best thing that's happened to typing since electricity."
Chicago street gang business cards.
Gray on Pantone colors for Boba Fett.
Trailer for the new season of Mystery Science Theater 3000. We are very excited for this.
A look back at Chicago's own (and long gone) Riverview Amusement Park.
For MS and BB, Yuengling's butterbeer ice cream.
From FastCo Design, A Reading Guide for Designers Who Want to Write.
RC vehicles that fly at appropriately scaled speeds. Whoa, cool.
Why Tea and Coffee Aren't Made the Same.
True. True-sh, False-ish. False.
RIP Ms. Ollie, the owner of my old resident dive bar, Ollie's, and the unofficial mayor of Berwyn St. in Edgewater.
"In the basement of the Congregation Sons of Moses synagogue on the Lower East Side, hulking iron machines rattle and clank amid rolls of colored paper and strips of dark leather." Quick film from the NYT on A Bookbinder's Craft.
Diana Budds on Nixon, NASA, And How The Federal Government Got Design. Thanks Marshall.
Open Culture on 42 hours of ambient sounds from Blade Runner, Alien, Star Trek and Doctor Who.
Inbox of Forgotten Emails.
I say this without irony, I love the 1-80 Truck Stop.
FoTA Adam Savage visited Weta Workshop in New Zealand to check out some of the incredible props for the upcoming Ghost in the Shell film.
"Our objective in making this film was something of a psychology experiment: We sought to capture people facing a difficult situation, to make a portrait of humans in doubt." Ten Meter Tower from The New York Times, via Kottke
"The garage door was yet another point of elaborate decoration for the MidCentury home. It provided a broad canvas for designers to decorate..." Via Whet.
#0000EE and friends.
The Complicated Truth Behind Rat Kings.
Mark Liberman "ran a 'Speech Activity Detector' (SAD) on the recordings of the same two [Inaugural Address] speeches, and used the results to create density plots of the relationship between speech-segment durations and immediately following silence-segment durations."
If only my tears made this beautiful a river.
"There was a fish in the percolator."
Extreme popcorn.
Polar Bear. Pronghorn. Beluga. Iron Man. General Motors codenames for its self-driving cars.
The evolution of the American one dollar note, from 1862 to today.
Cards Against Humanity is hiring a CEO.
Giving new meaning to Sweatin' To The Oldies.
Women's March on Washington. Use button labeled "donate".
Local note, Winterlude Pop-Up Dinner from Big Delicious Planet. You really ought to do this...
MailChimp 2016 Annual Report. So fun.
Paul Gets a Passport, a beautifully illustrated and interesting post from Codex 99, as usual.
Everything Steven Soderbergh saw and read in 2016.
Best gif of 2016.
The tumbleweed snowmen of Albuquerque.
Sure, I listened to Pipeline driving through the snow this morning, but it hardly inspired me to surf in Lake Michigan.
Fab 1977 Star Wars lobby cards. Found at Masters of the 80's, which is chock full of great stuff.
"47-year-old female has lower arm pain after ringing bells." Christmas hurts.
Film of the first Amazon Prime Air delivery, by drone.
Marshall writes, "Just in case you ever wanted to know what it's like captaining a freighter through the Welland Canal — or "The Ditch" as they call it."
Sweet film on Busy Beaver moving.
A Taxonomy of London Coffee-Shop Names.
"Every morning Fidel would walk out in his fatigues and ask me if his outfit was 'too matchy matchy.' It was funny every time." The Fidel I Knew Was the Life of the Party, by Dave Hill. Thanks Marsh.
When robots fight. Thanks Marshall.
"Cue that silent head exploding poof gesture..." Public Image Ltd. by Muriel Spark.
Of course this exists. The Hipster Nativity Set.
"Intercourse, according to Noyes, should be an 'innocent and useful communion,' a 'joyful act of fellowship,' and a 'purely social affair,' comparable to a stroll in the park..." Reinventing Sex, by Peter von Ziegesar.
So you know,
Ways To Die That Are More Awful Than Dissolving In A Scalding Acid Bath, Ranked.
Graphic Design Related GIFs from Pixelo. Right on. Via Design Taxi.
Here is today.
Fabien Barral has tirelessly featured a ton of interesting, inspiring studio sites over the years, so it's only proper we point out his own.
Exploring the secrets of soothing spaceship sounds.
Illustrated Anthony Bourdain Interview from T Mag. Fast, silly, fun.
Karolina Halate's Brightly Lit Terminal, an installation in the town hall square in Gerlingen, Germany.
The site for design studio ToyFight is surprising and so much fun. Via Mr. Cup.
The secrets of Chicago's not-so-secret society of magicians.
Excellent interactive feature from Radio Free Europe, Budapest: 60 Years After The Uprising.
Vice President Joe Biden gets permission to drive a Corvette, immediately does a burnout.
"Jean-Charles Debroize was asked to recreate Caravaggio's Saint Matthew and the Angel from 1602, which was destroyed by Allied bombing in the Second World War. Here's how he did it."
"Did you clean your plate?"
As a pencil lover, this was wonderful. nprED takes a look at the history of the pencil.
The Oatmeal on why Christopher Columbus is awful and should not be celebrated.
First!
Modern Interpretations of Picasso's Guernica, by Ron English. Via Isn't.
Kevin Wisbith's Death Star over Florida and other stuff to scale. Via Things.
An analysis of the colors used on the ten most popular websites.
Bloomberg takes a look at what unites and divides Americans in One Nation Divisible: The American Electorate.
WBEZ in Chicago answers the question, "What happened to the people displaced by the Eisenhower Expressway?"
Movies + Album Covers = Why the Long Play Face?
"The answer to the question of why certain combinations of words make good band names, surprisingly, is related to the fact that people don't really know what words mean."
"At the studio of the Swedish architecture firm Mer, there is an entire room decorated in screwed up pieces of paper. It's a smart way of reminding its team that this humble material is the starting point for almost all creative activity."
Waves3 by Tobias Zimmer. The results of an experiment with sound-, water-, and light-waves.
You Goat Mail.
"Okay Jim, since you are my guest, and I am your host, what are your pleasures? What do you like to do?"
"Oh I don't know. Play chess. Screw."
"Well let's play chess."
Gene Wilder as The Waco Kid.
You've never seen a monster dance this well. Puttin' on the Ritz.
Related to the last, Smoking Popes have an amazing cover of Pure Imagination.
Gene Wilder passed away today. RIP.
Horrible fortune cookies from the creators of Cards Against Humanity.
"Are we very old friends?"
"No, I wouldn't say friends, Dolores. I wouldn't say that
at all."
The new trailer for HBO's
West World.
Local note. Love this pic. Rogers Park Baseball Grounds, Clark and Devon, 1908.
Olympic athletes crafted from layered paper by Barcelona artist Raya Sader Bujana.
Kickstart this, Why Every President Sucked
The Olympics has nothing on this Belly Flop Competition in Oslo, Norway.
"Either way, you won't have the 22-inch horseshoe shaped bratwurst in a house-made bun topped by crispy fried sauerkraut, mustard and beer cheese sauce to kick around anymore at Lambeau Field." A sad day.
Samuel Van Hoogstraten. Still Life with Ziplock Bag of Weed, Tom Petty Cassette, c. 1666-1668. On Familiar Things.
Apropos of nothing. Chicks on Speed.
BITcoin from Dori the Giant.
Saddest Kickstarter projects.
"For almost 12 years in the 1920s and '30s, William Sansome Tucker spent time working on his experiments on Kent's idyllic coast, creating enormous concrete shells as tall as a house to try and listen for enemy aircraft. Known as Sound Mirrors, it was technology that ultimately led to the invention of radar."
"All this Lego analysis had me eager to build something, so I recreated the above chart with Legos." Statistical analysis of 67 Years of Lego Sets, by Joel Carron. Fab.
A bit of excitement on the Blue Line last night. Thanks JD.
A very interesting painting technique by Haris Lithos. Very.
Tobias Zimmer an experiment with sound, water, and light-waves. Sweet. see also his fantastic Database, a public installation on the subject of surveillance.
Palettable.
Our favorite Chicago-history photo site, Calumet 412, celebrates their 7000th entry. "This post is dedicated to the patron saints of Calumet 412, the Everleigh Sisters of the Everleigh Club in Chicago's Levee Red-Light District. As a reminder, CAlumet-412 was the phone number at the infamous, yet elegant and upscale brothel, located at 2131-2133 S Dearborn."
Cabel's 4th of July Fireworks Photos for 2016, Always excellent.
Tilt-shift Van Gogh, via Isn't.
Bonhams auction lot of Space History Artifacts. Via Things.
An interview with @tasteofstreep.
"If they don't value our time enough to pay for it, we don't value their project enough to consider it." MK12's great reply to an agency offer to pitch for free... in order to get into the real pitch.
Warning, don't start watching these Blank on Blank animated interviews if you have to accomplish anything this morning. The John Updike one is great btw.
"Maybe they tinted the bricks after the fact in Photoshop, but the effect is still great." Using Lego as Pixel Art for Masterpieces.
I gotta go by my Ma's over by dat Nort Avenues Jewels dere. The Disappearing Chicago Accent, by Edward McClelland.
Particular and fluid in-browser simultators.
Joe Hanson says "Watch the gif for 20 seconds, then look at the picture. Do what Joe Hanson says.
Coffee Drip Printer. Why not? Via Quips.
"Boy, you leave Tim to his own devices for a few hours and he establishes the official kottke.org stance on sandwiches." This and only this is a sandwich.
13 Animals Made from 13 Circles by Dori the Giant. Also see her Galaxy Glasses. Via Isn't.
Soviet grocery catalog. Yum. Via P&C.
72 New emoji arrive later this month.
Q: First, please introduce yourself. A: Hi, I'm a man who draws "123" the most in the world. Nice to meet you.
"These new highways will have a far-reaching economic impact on the entire nation." How Highways Wrecked American Cities. via Kottke
A subterranean camera obscura, by Anna Heinrich and Leon Palmer. Check out their other projects, including some fantastic projection installations.
"Börkur Sigpórsson's opening title sequence to Icelandic crime series Trapped is an intimate minute of surface and tension." -Art of the Title.
Mego!
Deja Vu from Lapham's Quarterly. What goes around comes around.
For MCJ, a giant octopus kite.
I Am A Cyclist, And I Am Here To Fuck You Up
The Chimbu tribe from Papua New Guinea are totally badass. Via Ziya Tong.
The past took down the future with a single spear.
A massive video wall for the Salesforce lobby in SF.
The Comma Queen on reflexive pronouns.
Toy transplants.
Saugatuck, Michigan is a lovely place to visit, so long as you avoid the Melon Heads.
Surprisingly this is not a parody. Sheesh
A Bear's-Eye View of Yellowstone.
Drones outfitted in LEDs accompany traditional Japanese musicians for a performance in front of Mt. Fuji.
Welcome to the middle of this post. Now, can I please have your email address? Give it to me.
Ol' Walt had a pretty boss set-up.
Van Life. Not for me, but way better than these.
"It looks like she was hauling vegetables, then dropped them behind her and pulled out a sword and shield because something's about to go down. Her face looks like 'I dare you.'" A brief history of women on the $20 bill.
Scented temporary tattoos from Tattly.
Text-Mode "A collection of text graphics and related works, stretching back thousands of years. Textiles, BBS-graphics, poetry, mosaic, typography, and much more. Collected by Raquel Meyers and Goto80." Great browse, via Waxy.
Local note: Center for Lost Arts Redux, this summer on Goose Island. Hurray.
555.
The Mona Lisa, as computer generated art, from 1965.
The infamous Murder House in Los Feliz is up for sale. A great history about the house and its "Christmas presents still underneath the tree," here.
A chunk of yesterday's Paris Roubaix race, from in the saddle.
Computers and Automation cover, from 1965. I love this image. That is all. Via Rebecca Lynn.
Watch this on your phone.
Local note from 1909, Chicago's street numbering system and how it got that way. PDF. Remember, Indiana is odd. Via Chicago Detours.
Local note. 1896 footage of the Ferris Wheel at Clark and Wrightwood! "After having been moved from the grounds of the Columbian Exposition of 1893, Chicago, the amusement ride would eventually be dismantled and moved to St. Louis in 1903. This short movie, by the famed Lumiere Brothers, is among the first film ever shot in Chicago."
The Colour Clock, time as a hexadecimal color value.
An old way of looking at things, Isometrically Speaking, by Gregory Han. Via Nate.
Real-time face capture and reenactment of RGB videos and the end of video as proof of anything. Whoa.
(Press release) + (word cloud) - (make and model name) = a whole lot of marketing jargon.
New and fantastic. The Office of Kate Bingaman-Burt.
Richie Jackson can do some pretty incredible stuff on a skateboard.
"You can sharpen a pencil without a pencil sharpener, but you can't sharpen a pencil without a pencil." As essential now as it was three long years ago, How to Sharpen a Pencil.
Windlicht is an installation by
Dutch artist and inventor Daan Roosegaarde using wind turbines to make art.
3/14.
"On Wednesday, Nick Wingfield, who covers Amazon for The New York Times, visited the only Amazon bookstore in existence, in the University Village mall in Seattle."
This one. Or maybe this one. "George Dawe was an English portrait artist who painted 329 portraits of Russian generals active during Napoleon's invasion of Russia... I'm using digital copies of these paintings as a basis for my own work."
The New York Pizza Project, by Jonathan Lethem. Via This Isn't Happiness.
Alex Morgan is the bomb.
Excellent and comprehensively illustrated, Kitbashed's Complete History of the Millennium Falcon.
On this historic 36th anniversary of the "Miracle on Ice," we ask the hard hitting questions. Questions like, was it fixed?! (spoiler alert: probably not)
Related to the last, I've just declared it Conspiracy Day here at CP. Enjoy.
MS, that article was clearly bought and paid for by "big pilates". DON'T BUY THE LIES.
"This demo shows the performance of the new Schneider Electric logic controller Modicon M241. A specific number of candies will be thrown into a cup while this is moving. At the end the cup will be placed on a belt which moves it out of the machine." A weird, wonderfully overly-dramatic industrial film found by accident: Candy in the Cup Machine.
If you're like me you spend a lot of time on frozen water. And with wildly fluctuating temperatures this winter you should know what to do if you fall through the ice.
A tribute to legendary skateboarder, Ed Templeton, narrated by another legend, Steve Olsen.
"The date has been circled on your calendar for months. The scent of waffles is in the air. You know what that means... Galentine's Day is almost here!"
Chicagoland drivers rejoice! You can now watch a "queue cam" to see what the wait is at your local emissions testing facility.
BB and I hit the ground running the morning, getting ourselves into a link wormhole about Hands Across America. Here's a story from one year after the event. And then 25 years. And The Ramones' Something to Believe In.
"In the morning of Shrove Tuesday the whole kingdom is quiet, but by the time the clock strikes eleven, there is a Bell rung, call'd The Pancake Bell, the sound whereof makes thousands of people distracted, and forgetful either of manners or humanities." Via Mefi.
Posted without comment: "How the Founder of Moon Juice Eats Every Day."
NHL Players that look like Tilda Swinton.
The trailer for the LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens video game is some wholesome family fun.
Stefan Glerum's Stained Glass Project for an Amsterdam residential development is fantastic.
"To help navigate the vast amount of data contained in our FOIA UFO collection, we've decided to highlight a few documents both skeptics and believers will find interesting." —The Central Intelligence Agency. Via Things.
I love the way the portfolio of Spanish design studio Relajaelcoco is all about process. Check this entry for the development of La Latina Map. Via FormFiftyFive.
Google is offering some great immersive experiences right now. Though no doubt better in person, from your desk you can trek Mont Blanc in the alps, or take a tour of the Guggenheim Museum in NYC.
This is why you should always wear a cup for sports.
Animated gifs as a design material.
So you know, the wars that inspired Game of Thrones (or, A Brief History of The Wars of the Roses).
A charming trailer for the new Netflix series LOVE.
Meanwhile, exciting things are happening in Iowa City.
Everything fun about watching politics is embodied in this single story out of Senate race in Alabama: "The Magically Moving Part in Richard Shelby's Hair."
Faces in Things.
Related to the last, from AIEEE! to ZZZZZWAP! in one gif.
Excuse me, gotta make a call.
Make a 3D-printed Lego head that looks like you.
Dear visitor... Lovely, smart site for Dutch design firm Kok Pistolet.
Always worth reading this time of year, The Monsters of Christmas.
The Atlantic's live feed of the emojis being used to describe candidates on Twitter.
The math problem that stumped thousands of mansplainers, 'splained.
"I'm lesbian the horse now" Autocorrect Hates You, from The Oatmeal.
I'm not looking for spoilers, I just need someone who was there last night to place the number "7" in this sequence: 5, 4, 3, 6, 2, 1. Thanks in advance.
Born and raised on Tatooine. Took up photography lately.
Jeremy Clarkson demonstrates Amazon Prime Air.
Black Friday.
Head over to Rea's Design is fine. History is mine and we'll see you in an hour or two.
A Ride in the City, a lovely trip on the Brown Line, by Ryan J Bolger.
Better stock up.
Related to the last, Gordon Lightfoot's The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. And, in case you want even more info, here are annotated lyrics.
40 years ago today, the Edmund Fitzgerald was lost under Lake Superior.
RIP George Barris.
"At some point in the next two to three years, I predict that Go Set a Watchman will be selling for a penny." Selling books for one cent.
Build your own paper version of the Cassini spacecraft. Note: This is the "challenging" version.
A conference celebrating the creative, original, static (no backend) web sites, both old and new, that stand the test of time. Web 1.0 2015 in Portland, OR.
For MS, R2-D2 and R2-Q5 shakers.
For MCJ, octopus chandeliers.
First co-working, now co-living.
The Inspiration Stream from Veerle. Beautiful choices.
A Midwest patch.
31 Days of Horror.
Miniature Star Wars chocolates.
The Wall, Rome's northern frontier in LEGO.
The tenth and final Annual Report by Nicholas Felton. Bravo.
Music from The Legend of Zelda performed by a 73-piece orchestra on the Late Show. I could listen to this forever.
Oli ko goli.
"Between naps and 'turning over' your baby can learn his or her way around banking, car repair, breakfast preparations, wedding planning, and romantic matchmaking." The Baby Be of Use Bundle, by Lisa Brown.
Quick, take a screenshot.
"Our orange fox is big with the different festivals, it's been a perennial seller. We have the faux fur lion costume this year that's doing great. So all our furry animal costumes. The basics do well too, like sexy cop -- we have a sexy SWAT team that just flies off the shelf because girls go as like a SWAT team." Sexy Halloween Costumes.
Phubbed!
What's with all the weird-looking squash?
Do you know what tonight is? It's Friday Night!
Evolution of a Software Engineer. Yup. Via Kottke.
"Today my target was 35 seconds. I shed tears of disappointment because I was not in good condition. I am not satisfied with today's time." Hidekichi Miyazaki finished the 100 meter sprint in just 42.22 seconds. Oh yeah, he's 105 years old.
"According to patent drawings, it's a cloud, or a bean, or a web, or an explosion, or a highway, or maybe a weird lump." The Shape of the Internet.
If you were ever curious about Harry Potter's family beyond his parents (and the dreaded Dursleys) JK Rowling has you covered.
Leadership Merit Badges, a bit from a Cultivate Conference talk by Michael Lopp of Pinterest.
"What does Worf's quarters look like? What about the large forward windows on Deck 3? What kind of communal areas exist on the ship? Malls? Markets? Gardens? All these questions will be answered." Building a virtual USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D.
The secret skateboarding paradise on top of Moscow's Soviet-era buildings. Thanks Marshall.
Dungeons & Dragons & Bitches. Mildly NSFW.
17. Nothing beats a firm bottom, and other rules for oyster eating, by Rowan Jacobsen.
History of awkward silences in this area, park bench.
French graphic designer Nicolas Damiens takes the ads out of Tokyo.
Julius Grimm painted the moon in 1888.
This Swinging City, in the 70s.
Beyoncé Palettes.
Banksy's Dismaland.
TV Channel Guide from the Future, by Rex Sorgatz.
Happy Birthday, Rodney Mullen!
Mark King "tried a million ways to get Soleil to try new foods, eat what was in front of her, and stop saying she doesn't like something before ever having tried it." The he had an idea, and put it on Kickstarter.
If you're in NYC, look up. Stephen Powers has a message for you.
"Sales after you die don't count." Business lessons from David Hieatt of the Hiut Denim Company. Excellent interview, via Craig Mod.
"In some quarters, for the most secret documents, manual typewriters and carbon paper are back in fashion." Spycraft is back. Mr. Smiley would appreciate that.
So you know, The Best Coffee Maker Today.
Sound advice from Jason Kottke and Paul Anka, Just Don't Look.
A musical about Clara Peller, the "Where's The Beef?" lady.
Local note, eat the garden in the garden at Big Delicious Planet next week.
Sweet CBC Retro 1974 Mod Bag. Thanks Marshall.
The Brosmind Interdimensional Viewer.
For JC. Adam Savage and Chris Hadfield go incognito at Comic-Con 2015.
One brave man tried to eat as many calories as a Tour de France cyclist... it didn't end well.
Elijah Wood shows off the One Ring on Conan.
M-80s have been illegal since 1966, so i'm not sure what the dummies down the block are setting off every 20 minutes all night, all week, around the 4th of July.
Panic's Cabel Sasser hasn't released his 2015 fireworks roundup yet, but here's last year's, with links to the rest. Also, from the MoOM archives: Mike McHenry's firecracker collection. Boom!
Know your terminology and types of aerial shells before heading out to the display this weekend. And do me a huge personal favor and don't ask "IS THIS THE GRAND FINALE?" every thirty seconds, just shut up and enjoy it.
In honor of our first President, George Washington by Brad Neely. NSFW and NCHA (not completely historically accurate).
Local note for Arizonans: here's the auction site with pieces from the recently-closed Bill Johnson's Big Apple restaurant. If I win the lottery today, I'm buying everything, life-sized fiberglass bulls and all.
365 Days of Pixel Art.
"His materials are little more than smoke and water vapor, and the results vary with the size and temperature of the location." Berndnaut Smilde's ten-second indoor clouds. Via Kari Byron.
That Weirdo Announcer-Voice Accent: Where It Came From and Why It Went Away, by James Fallows.
Bedrock City in Arizona is for sale.
Making the rounds, 2 Kinds of People.
Noted without comment, owl cafes in Tokyo.
Pills.
Detailed tutorial on building a cityscape in illustrator by Veerle. Super organized and full of "Sheesh I've been a fool for not doing it that way" moments.
"Your future dream is a shopping scheme." Sex Pistols Mastercard. Via the Largehearted Boy.
Nice video explaining Protected Intersections For Bicyclists. Via Mefi.
Andy + Andy + 13,000 Square Feet = A great big XOXO idea.
30 Endangered Species, 30 Pieces, by Bryan James. Fab. Via Daring Fireball.
Kurt Russell as Jack Burton has so many questions.
The ultimate guide to every hot dog style from around the world.
MS's nightmares now have a soundtrack.
London's Regents Canal path now has duck lanes.
"The owners claimed that the characters in it came alive, sometimes leaving the painting and entering the room in which it was being displayed." Cursed paintings.
The news summarized in GIFs.
"You should design with your mother in mind. If she can't understand your site, others will struggle as well. Your mom loves you too much to give you honest feedback. My mom thinks you're probably a lovely person, but may not like your work. She'll try to use your website and tell you how she really feels."
"People love Chicago more because its flag is so cool." Roman Mars on why most city flags kinda suck. via Gapers Block.
Rogues Gallery, swindlers and their swindles, from Lapham's Quarterly.
Huge Star Wars Lego Super Star Destroyer destroyed at 1000 frames per second. Sweet.
"We request that you do not open your windows in your suite during this time to avoid the annual migration of High Rise Flying Spiders. A Chicago phenomenon..." Via Chicagoist.
Wes Anderson characters in Lego by Matt Chase.
Noted without comment, /r/lonelyheartbeats/.
An excellent talk by Chris Glass at Creative Mornings Cincinnati.
For MS, living off the grid in a yurt on abandoned Chicago land.
Street "artist" "Wanksy" has found a novel way of getting Ramsbottom's potholes filled quickly.
Cool Uncle Tricks: How to Bounce a Dinner Roll and How to Levitate.
My dog can see an invisible door.
501 kph.
Camping season is just around the corner. With that in mind, here is all you need to know about dealing with ticks.
"As in prior years, it is important for you to know that I have absolutely no idea whether our tax returns and our tax payments are accurate." Sincerely, Donald Rumsfeld.
"By convincing us that Tex-Mex wasn't really Mexican food, she forced us to realize that it was something far more interesting: America's oldest regional cuisine." First We Feast's Illustrated History of Tex-Mex. Is it lunch time yet? Via TMN.
The Drone Aviary is an investigation of the social, political and cultural potential of drone technology as it enters civil space.
LEGO Golden Girls could happen.
The cuddly, fluffy, surreal world of Angora show bunnies.
"Are you finished or are you still working on that Jesus?" What was on the menu at The Last Supper, according to John Varriano.
It turns out that the moon has a vast population of human beings. An April Fools prank from 1859.
"In 2BC China used their invention, paper, to wrap tokens and money and these were the earliest examples of what we know today." Neal Whittington on Envelopes.
Let's all count the ways Marion Bataille's pop-up book, Numero is brilliant.
Last chance to enter the Core77 Design Awards.
Just four days left to submit to the Core77 Design Awards.
"Two girls who switched continents get to know each other through the data they draw and send across the pond." Dear Data is a year-long, analog data drawing project by Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec. It's also possibly the most awesome thing ever made with a series of post cards.
Linked annually, on this date. Pitch 'n' Putt with Joyce 'n' Beckett.
FoTA Sonnenzimmer are getting some much deserved recognition in this Chicago Tribune write up.
Pantone business card holders.
The harder you skate, the better it looks.
The Queen's fifth coinage portrait.
Wes Anderson inspired luggage.
Little known fact: The 'Dawn of Man' opening sequence in 2001 cuts away seconds before the Flintstones theme becomes recognizable." Xkcd charts Stories of the Past and Future. Fab.
Hyper Real CG. Like it says on the label.
"Everything in a Wes Anderson movie is intentional," Seitz says. "He's like Stanley Kubrick with a smiley face." Fast Company has a look at how the world of The Grand Budapest Hotel became a reality.
From the Comedy Bang Bang podcast, the best edition of Harris' Foam Corner. RIP Mr. Wittels.
Jeff Jackson is a member of the North Carolina Senate, today he found himself the only legislator there on a snow day, so he did what any smart progressive person would do. He got busy legislating. Bravo.
Kayaking gone wrong.
Matthew DiVito is Mr. Div, he makes Gifs.
Speaking of podcasts, Inquisitive sets off on a new series of episodes that look "Behind the App" and the history of iOS development.
Local note for Munich. Our man, Brendan Dawes opens "Somewhere Amongst the Trees" at Dog & Pony this Sunday. Wish we could be there.
Gorgeous metallic moon phase calendars.
So you know, what happens when an ordinary balloon, left outside, is covered by freezing rain and then deflates.
Lovely enigmatic images from NASA Space Suit Tests in the 1960s.
Kim Janssen for the Bright One, Only in Chicago: The Hit Man, the Priest and the Missing Stradivarius.
Need some new podcasts to plug into? Wailin Wong of Basecamp has you covered.
"Why did people lose their minds over Beanie Babies?" A great read about a weird, very brief chapter in history: "Plush Life."
The great Canadian flag debate, fifty years later.
How to survive falling through the ice.
The New York Times lost 500 days in 1898. Via I Love Typography.
Amish buggy doing donuts. Yep.
Pokémon as Corporate Identities.
MS, BB, JC and Aaron are proud to be found in this happy group. Busy Beaver Button Co. Celebrates 20 Years.
The Muppets cover Biz Markie, kind of. via Kottke.
Business Town!, "what value-creating winners do all day." Fabulous.
Noted without comment.
Cute Mt. Fuji envelope.
"It's like a party on every page." The new Canadian passport under a black light.
Put on your tin hat. 10,000 cases from the Project Blue Book files have been declassified. "the official investigation by the United States military to determine what the Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) phenomena was. It lasted from 1947 - 1969." Fun.
Parachuting Beavers. Like it says.
Classic cars on the big screen.
After five years, Carole is back with Netdiver's Best of the Year, an inspiring browse.
The word "does not mean what people think it means. It is a word that describes a personality trait not a crude action.'"
A classic. "Indeed, drawing endless pictures of Kurt Cobain, taking deep puffs from a contraband bong (often my only confidant in these late hours), eating tonnes of Goldfish snacks - this was my ritual, my communion, my glimmer of hope in an awful, awful childhood." From the journals of Samuel Van Hoogstraten, painter of the unparalleled Still Life with Ziplock Bag of Weed, Tom Petty Cassette, c. 1666-1668.
Dinosaur's Pen, a sweet tumblr on old computers and ancient tech. Followed.
Stack and Scare monster blocks and tons of other great work from Don and Ryan Clark, aka Invisible Creature in Seattle.
Listen to Paul Thomas Anderson on WTF with Marc Maron.
Glacial hydrospeed.
Hello Wood built a Christmas tree in Budapest out of 5,000 wooden logs.
How candy canes are made by hand. VIA Kottke.
Astronauts is a kids' book from 1961 with "exciting, accurate punch-outs, ready to assemble." Swell.
"...inveighing against Christmas Pye, as an invention of the Scarlet Whore of Babylon, a hodge podge of superstition, popery, the devil and all his works." A Miscellany of Christmas Pies, Puddings and Cakes, from All Things Georgian.
#
MS, good news! Toho is going to start making Godzilla movies again!
If it's good enough for the Kaiser, it's good enough for me! Products branded with Kaiser Franz Josef's face.
Two words. "Cotton Balls."
An architect's tips for turning the living room into an epic pillow fort.
So, a Gif Novel is a thing now.
Related to my previous post. Good Flag, Bad Flag, or, How to Design a Great Flag, by Ted Kaye. (I've officially fallen down the rabbit hole)
"...if you want to design a kickass flag, start by drawing a one-by-one-and-a half inch rectangle on a piece of paper." 99 Percent Invisible's episode on Vexillonaires (flag people who lobby for better flags).
During October, iZettle (a payments platform) "invited six small businesses to open up their own flagship store in one of the most popular shopping districts in London - for 12 hours only." Very smart.
Winter is coming.
The family that went to the moon, and stayed there.
I'm not a car guy, but this is awesome.
From the desk of Aaron Draplin.
Hannah Rothstein plates up Mondrian, Magritte, Rothko and others, for Thanksgiving.
Very good advice.
Tested takes a look at the legacy of Stan Winston and The Terminator.
So you know, how to make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich.
Fairgoers in new-model cars ride through displays of Earth's history at the 1964 World's Fair in Queens, New York.
"The website is about people having fun. It is all about donuts. We don't sell donuts we eat donuts. The website is a fun site." If you're a writer looking for a job, and you also like donuts and having fun, this listing might be your dream come true.
Scary clowns are terrorizing France.
On Sunday Nik Wallenda will cross the Chicago River on a tightrope 50 stories up. Then he'll do it all over again with a blindfold.
Ghost Stories from the absolutely wonderful podcast Love + Radio.
"Hello, I am OSHbot. What are you looking for today?"
The scientist who thought that birds migrate to the moon.
Seriously, it's not an RPG supplement, new scans of The Voynich Manuscript from Yale.
Related to the last: Beards.org, where you not only encouraged, but are also regularly thanked for growing a beard.
I want to join the "Revision Killers", just one of Matt Stevens' badass Design Gangs.
Cute cacti cupcakes.
FotA Cameron Esposito has a new stand-up album out: Same Sex Symbol. To help promote the release, she did this meaningful Q&A with Claire Zulkey.
"The concept behind Ziferblat, which means clock face in Russian, is that customers pay for their time rather than their tea."
The classic green army men doing yoga.
"Lost life by stab in falling on ink eraser, evading six young women trying to give him birthday kisses in office Metropolitan Life Building." The story behind George Spencer Miller's headstone: Kissed to Death.
Winter is just around the corner. Gizmodo has a nice guide for how to stay warm when it's cold outside.
The explosion of crayon colors since 1903.
'Cattoo': The Rise of the Cat Tattoo
If you're going to watch one 2 minute-long commercial for pudding today, please make it this one.
Print your own t-shirt in an old ice cream van in Paris.
Ruhlman Egg Flowchart.
The science behind tattooing, including tattooing in slow motion.
Craig Robinson's last eight years of sleep graphed.
"Just a quick recording outside my house, please use how you like I don't want any credit (AS I DESERVES NO CREDITS) I mean come on anyone can stand with a microphone and record outside! So go ahead and take it." A big, special thanks to Drewy685 for his recording.
A Million Times, an installation by Humans since 1982. What time is it? More info from The Fox Is Black.
Every wonder about the Figure in Figure Skating? It's actually quite literal. And things get complicated in Ice Dancing.
Walk. Don't Walk. Dance!
Not everyone who jumps off cliffs is doing it for an energy drink commercial... some people just like to jump off things. This is how it's done around LA.
Glad I don't work in Death Valley, high of 114 degrees. LA had a measly 104.
Meet the Ipsums, by Tim Holman and Claudio Guglieri. Yes!
Camping scenes embroidered by Stephanie Clark. Via The Jealous Curator.
The Crying Game, "infant distress vocalization as competitive advantage during violent conflict." Tomer Ullman's winning presentation at the Festival of Bad Ad Hoc Hypotheses. Via Mefi.
"Faur then reconstructs these grey WPA photographs with hundreds of differently colored crayons to give them back the lost color of their time."
I happen to know of several Fresh Signals readers who are archivists, they'll be happy to know they now have an official color.
Interesting backstory on Chipotle's secret plan to create the Chipotle of pizza, in Boulder. Via Caroline Vanderoef.
FUBAR, robot mascot of the 80s shopping mall. His home page is still under construction.
My grandfather built this, fun query for Google. Via Ben Pieratt.
Thought I'd kick things off with a shout out to my home town of Boston, where the world's oldest commissioned naval vessel still floats. Check out the diagrams of the USS Constitution's naval battles 200 years ago, mixed in with these accounts of its service.
From FastCo, Your Design Team Needs a War Room. Good read, but if we lose the foosball table BB and I are outta here!
Monoscope. Just because.
History of an Icon: La Vespa.
A giant pencil lamp.
FoTA Daniel Zarick made a really dumb app that also happens to be really really fun (if you're into pointless competition). Check out The Shakedown.
Kilobot Swarm, from the Self-Organizing Systems Research Group at Harvard.
50 Shades of Drake.
"The following is what happens when you ask the citizens of Massachusetts to combine two of their favorite traditions: the Boston accent and complaining about other drivers."
"The robots will be able to roam freely throughout the darkened museum, splashing light across the artwork their controllers decide to approach. This has all the fun of breaking into a museum with none of the illegality."
Re-Directed Art. Thrift shop paintings, modified by David Irvine. Via Chipley.
I Am a Food Blog, by Stephanie Le. Great photography, recipes and writing, plus as an added bonus, fun typography. Bookmarked.
Amen.
"This is a very British revenge: cryptic, torturous, educational."
A scammer gets his comeuppance. Thanks Andrew.
Director Peter Atencio has found a link he will never click on.
"I built a giant spirograph - 8 feet in diameter."
For MS. There is no better summation of how absurd "marketing speak" is than Weird Al's video for Mission Statement.
I'm generally not a tattoo person, but I've finally found the tattoo I would consider getting: Bob Ross, Firing Machine Guns, Atop a Giraffe. Via Cracked.
We got to talking about safety videos and this came up. Dumb Ways to Die.
"I love screenshots. I screenshot everything. all the time. Never export, never save, always screenshot. As a result my desktop is a giant mess." As someone who uses solid, empty wallpapers and as few icons as possible, this makes ever fiber of my being hurt.
Abbey Garden off the southwest coast of England boasts a massive collection of 20,000 plants from all around the world.
Carly Ayres is pinning stuff that makes her uncomfortable. Me too, eesh. Via Tina.
"Kingston graphic design graduate Marianne Hanoun has spent the last three years collecting every star from every Disney and Pixar animated feature-length film, to create The Disney Universe, a beautiful 4m long print." —Creative Review.
3D printed medieval armor for Barbie. Via io9.
Art + Hip Hop.
Bearcam! Live from Brooks Falls, waiting on Salmon.
Sam Sifton makes a hamburger.
BugJuggler is a 70ft tall robot that uses hydraulic cylinders to hurl cars into the sky and catch them in mid-air.
Google's design principles.
"Mr. Koenig was a master of the intuitive and the counterintuitive, of the succinct and the sly, of the sales pitch that masqueraded as meaning."
"The project you've been working on for the past 3 months is due tomorrow morning and the client just asked for 500 last minute changes... Don't panic, we've come up with a simple way to make your upcoming extra hours easier." Agency Survival Kits.
A comic on the pointlessness of reading internet comments.
Now that's my kind of bus stop.
DDC-004 "Pacific Northwest United States" Action Cap.
Here's how to make a Donut Cake. It looks pretty difficult, so probably only for seasoned chefs.
So you know, when to ghost a party. By Caroline Paul and Wendy MacNaughton.
So you know, The World Cup of Everything Else. Thanks to Marshall, who wonders where the "bacon bracket" is.
All Our Patent Are Belong To You, Right on Elon.
Local Note, check out the Chicago Design Museum's opening, Starts/Speculations, this Friday evening. It is absolutely worth it.
Posted without comment, other than it's dangerously close to the real life version of "Tiny Hats." It's Huggums, ponchos for dolls.
10 Vintage versions of modern technology.
Artifacts #54.
Brazil Fourteen.
An axe murder that was captured on Google Street View has been solved by police. Phew.
"On this day in 1964, T. S. Eliot wrote to Groucho Marx to confirm that a car would be at waiting at the Savoy to pick 'you and Mrs. Groucho' up for dinner."
Gynandromorphs!
Local note: The Chicago Alternative Comics Expo is this weekend.
Hustwit on Vignelli in words and photographs.
Local note for NYC today, Manhattanhenge.
Twinkind, make a 3D photo figurine of yourself. Cool, but sorta creepy too. Thanks Tiberio.
Moving some stuff around in the FN Pack & Ship Zone today. Hoping to make enough space to build a Dreamatorium.
Local Note & Repost. I will be teaching a 1-Day screenprinting workshop this Saturday. It's perfect for those who have an interest in printing but little or no experience. Hope to see you there.
"Can it be drawn from memory? If yes, you win at logo design." Armin Vit chats with TCG.
Signs from the near future.
A McDonald's fries holder.
Tiny PMS Match.
Local Note: I'll be teaching a 1-day crash course in screenprinting on May 31st. Sign up here. It's going to be a lot of fun.
"Two gray eggs and one yellow egg hover above abstract tricolor pastel stripes reminiscent of a flag. Birthing forth from the blue nexus where the eggs merge there is a circle and the ominous word 'Futures...'" Paul Ford on Amazing Military Infographics.
The New York Pizza Project.
The rate at which people drown after falling out of a fishing boat
correlates with he marriage rate in Kentucky and other Spurious Correlations. Via The Loop.
Macaulay Culkin took to twitter yesterday get a little meta.
"Every time now that I would play a sound through the speaker, the vibration caused by that sound will make the crystals to jump up and down." Dancing Colors, by Fabian Oefner. Fab.
For MS, The Weirdest Giant Monster Movies Ever Made.
Local note. You can jump on twitter today and ask Ventra anything you want. It's sure to be a hilarious mess.
Bocandy sends you premium candy from around the world every month.
You'd think at some point we'd all say, "Enough with the iconic images made from Lego already." Maybe not quite yet.
The Tiny Grand Budapest Hotel.
An interesting read on Soylent.
"New Orleans socialite Mickey Easterling sees your open casket, and she raises you a full-on Weekend at Bernie's extravaganza. Dressed in a pink feather boa, with a cigarette and champagne flute, and the word 'Bitch' emblazoned on a broach on her shirt, she insisted that she be propped up a bench during her wake, overlooking the festivities."
Did you guys hear about the dead whale that washed up in Newfoundland? Did you hear that it might explode? Has the whale exploded yet?
Whiskey on the rocks, with CNC-milled rocks, from, a Suntory ad campaign.
New Scientist on M.C. Escher's impossible (or maybe not) waterfall. Thanks Marshall.
The dumb way we board airplanes is dumb.
Fans and packing chips. A hypnotic installation at Art Museum of Lugano, Switzerland. Via Things.
GIFs by Typical Hope. Via The Fox Is Black.
Something & Something Else. Via Brand New.
For Shakespeare's birthday, The Sun gave his plays the tabloid treatment. Brilliant.
Wheat is Wheat is Wheat, an exhibition highlighting "the contentious, potentially arbitrary connection that products have to packaging" at the San Francisco Museum Of Craft and Design, by Peddy Mergui.
First person view of Blue Angels practice. Yowza. Via The Loop.
Thomas Kadlec has recreated the USS Voyager's bridge for Oculus Rift
Way to go Boston.
Local Note: 20x2 returns to Chicago again, tomorrow night at Schubas, featuring lots and lots of Friends of CP, including Mig Reyes, Justin Kaufmann, Dan Henrick, and even me.
Pointer Pointer.
"You shopped at Sears. You wore Toughskins jeans. You paged through the Fall/Winter catalog, thumbing frayed edges onto the toy section. You mowed your grass with a Craftsman lawnmower, and ate hamburgers off a Kenmore grill. I know you shopped at Sears, because everyone shopped at Sears." Sears is dying.
The Zillion Dollar Grilled Cheese, a sandwich offered here in Chicago for the decidedly-less-expensive-than-its-name-would-imply price of $100.
A clever campaign, fundraising for returning veterans, selling a minute of pre-recorded silence.
Sweet Valley High No.8: "Half a Pigeon."
Game of Firms.
So here's this song performed at Social Media Marketing World conference: "Let's Get Social."
Fuck Your Noguchi Coffee Table.
The world's first weather forecast completely made out of paper.
Posted without comment: Camp Grounded.
"Next time you wander down the cereal aisle with your shopping cart, ask yourself this: Why on Earth are all the cartoon mascots--Fred Flintstone, Cap'n Crunch, the Trix Rabbit, and so on--staring directly at your crotch? How Cereal Boxes Are Designed To Hypnotize You, by John Brownlee.
Brand New Plus, new policies in effect today.
Secretary Pauline Edwards demonstrates the use of closed-circuit television for self-assessment, London, 1963.
Photos from Brendan Dawes' solo show on design with data, the Dot Dot Dot Exhibition at The Sheffield Institute of Arts. Somebody bring this to the States please.
Behold the 1977 Star Wars Toyota Celica, the grand prize in a "Space Fantasy" sweepstakes. I actually owned that car, sadly, without all the boss customization.
The very best of everyones favorited animated punching bag, Milhouse.
"There Will Be Bleed" 2014, inkjet on paper. Via Rob Walker.
Need some help picking out a new board game? This website has you covered.
Ever wonder how Chicago's neighborhoods got their names? Mental Floss has the answers.
"Upon the recent conclusion of Norway's July 22 memorial site competition, Swedish artist Jonas Dahlberg was unanimously selected by the competition jury to be the designer." His idea is brilliantly simple and heartbreaking.
"11 idiosyncratic accoutrements in Wes Anderson films"
"My business card plays Tetris."
The Great Discontent: Alissa Walker. Yay!
The Tetris diet.
You guys, a poutinerie is opening in Chicago.
"I will begin by stating that I'm not exactly sure if my talk tonight is about the search for inconsistencies in patterns or for patterns in the seemingly inconsistent." Kevin Broome short insightful presentation on pattern recognition.
Looks like we might be seeing more than one monster in this movie... The new trailer for Godzilla.
50 years ago today. Ali vs Liston 1 in Miami. So great.
Sir David Attenborough describes Olympic curling.
Happy couple.
"...how exactly one goes about creating an apparently non-utilitarian mashup of art and writing on the typewriter." Artyping from 1939, including sweet examples. Via The Cartoonist.
"Climb aboard your vessel of choice and let the ambient hum of idling engines and chatter of astronauts send you into a deep Hypersleep."
Control Room an installation by Roxy Paine. Click through all ten images. Just, wow.
Just in time for Valentine's, Zulkey tests out Seventeen magazine's new book, the Ultimate Guide to Guys.
Talking "Dibs": Cecil and Mefi.
This Saturday, The Multiverse Council brings you Logan's Run, brought to life as an epic live-action street game in the alleys of San Francisco. Via Laughing Squid.
Local note: Poutine Fest. Need I say more?
Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and True Romance Valentine's Day cards by PJ McQuade. Via Laughing Squid.
Is parking straight too mainstream for you?
A touching tribute to Blur's Song 2 via the fourth ticket barrier from the right at the Canary Wharf Underground stop in London.
Ugly Renaissance Babies. Via Laura Olin.
In 2014, AIGA turns 100.
Modern Snowman, by Brock Davis.
This is the only weather website you will ever need.
With over $45 billion spent, Sochi2014 is the most expensive Olympic event ever - winter or summer. The Anti-Corruption Foundation digs deep to find where all the money went.
It's not every day that that your local paper gets to warn you to be on the look out for a ghost ship full of cannibal rats.
"No, that would make even less sense, if she's a planet, everything else should be a moon. It would be better if she were a star and everyone else was a planet. Or like, she could be a black hole sucking everyone in. This is such bs." NYT Magazine's Hillary Cover Makes No Sense: A Brief Scientific Chat.
Always Read the Plaque
From now on, when anyone asks, "So which camera did you shoot that film on?" I'm going to say, "This."
Peter Freuchen "once escaped from a blizzard shelter by cutting his way out of it with a knife fashioned from his own feces," and that's not even the most interesting thing about him. This guy was, in his time, the most interesting man alive.
DTP nerd alert. Dave Girard on the rise and fall of QuarkXPress for Ars. Via John Gruber.
The Roseanne house is for sale.
From the local public access show, Motorsports Unlimited, starting at around 4:11, here's talking desmodromic valves to a completely indifferent audience.
Women with a half face of makeup. Interesting.
Choice Metafilter posts from 2013.
Japanese Economic Mythbusting, an interesting chat with economist Noah Smith.
FotA Phineas X. Jones weighs in on the Cubs' new mascot.
BB and I can't stop saying, "A walk on the moon!"
"The calendar is a great gift for veterans and lovers of history," reads the publisher's site for the 2014 Stalin Wall Calendar. Huh.
Pointless Diagrams.
Kickstarter saved a ton of indie cinemas last year.
Related to the last, also by Shin Seung Back and Kim Yong Hun, "A day of my computer mediated life had been recorded by capturing a screen shot of my desktop every time I clicked." Just brilliant.
Kim Jong-Un, alone on a ski lift.
Siri is not Her.
Michelangelo's grocery list.
You won't see much of this at your local ski hill. Scott Stevens is an amazing snowboarder.
The quietest place on earth will drive you crazy in 45 minutes. Via TMN.
Christmas Gifs.
That's progress.
The Wreath of Khan.
"Santa is a concept, not an idea. It's an emotion, not a feeling. It's both yesterday and today. And it's tomorrow as well." To help with this year's refresh, making sure everyone's on the same page, here's the new Santa Brand Book.
Un café... 7€
Un café, s'il vous plait... 4,25€
Bonjour, un café, s'il vous plait... 1,40€
Numberphile's collection of advertising for watches, which by and large always has the product set for 10:10.
"A little thing that can turn into anything at anytime." A father annotates his daughters Christmas wishlist.
A collection of alternative Christmas trees.
"The creepiness appears to have peaked in the mid-1930s, about a decade after the parade first began."
"Remember that these words should be used sparingly so that they can retain their meaning, and you are set!" How to Start Cursing: 12 Steps (with Pictures).
@JFK_1963
Thanksgiving is a little over a week away but that doesn't mean you can't plan ahead. Go pick up the wonderful greeting card, the 12 Foods of Christmas by FoTA Nourishing Notes.
"We are LogoThief, we exist to name and shame logo thieves and all others who plagiarise the work of logo designers." Via Quipsologies.
A brief history of cars doing barrel rolls in mid-air, including some super-sweet old, old-school wire frames.
You are following this whole BatKid thing live in San Francisco today, aren't you? Our hero!
Stackable wood soldiers, gnomes and snowmen.
Noisli is a background noise and color generator to help you work or relax.
A banana-shaped pool table.
This is the first year that Hanukkah and Thanksgiving will overlap. The next occurrence will be in the year 79811.
Now that winter seems like it's arrived here in Chicago, here are some tobogganing tips from Geddy Lee.
Huh?
"He spent 24 years working in dark, dank seclusion - all with the aim of protecting the public. Now, after two months cooling his heels in a safe house, the Bay Bridge troll has emerged from hiding."
Butterbeer is on the secret menu at Starbucks.
Now this is a company video: Froggy's Fog.
It's easy to see why Cirque du Soleil came to prominence in the mid-80s when you look at their competition. This 1985 Ringling Bros. brochure is downright creepy. Via Popdose.
A great story in the Trib about the legacy and the death of Dominick's, particularly the ones in my neighborhood.
"If you put da money over there me take an go way and no bother you no more an if you don't put the money you feel sorry alright." Calumet 412 on the Chicago way, from December 18, 1910.
Roland Deschane has introduced Thomas "Painter of Light" Kinkade to Star Wars. Via Jeffrey Bates.
"Dear Dell, Do you know what my wife and I went through because of this? How terrible we feel because we scolded a cat that did nothing wrong?" A malodorous tech support issue gets a fix. More info here.
TaxCox. Hello!
Defaced Japanese Textbooks.
Don't look for any context or explanation, because you'll have more fun with out it: here's some research being done at University College London.
Adam L. Penenberg challenged hackers to investigate him and what they found out is chilling. Via Dan O'Neill.
Halloween in charts and graphs.
"Picture it, your house, present day. You go to the mailbox and there you find a complete set of all four Golden Girls in lego form."
SNL hits the perfect note with the trailer for the (fake) Wes Anderson slasher flick The Midnight Coterie of Sinister Intruders.
The Two Of A Kind project from ignant. An artist is given three simple items to be transformed into a unique artwork.
Possible relink, but it's Friday and this is great. Madeon - Pop Culture (Dance Video).
And here I am complaining because the heat in the office is out and I'm cold...Naked skiing from the new ski flick Valhalla. Maybe NSFW.
Presenting the world's fluffiest bunny.
Workwankers, "you know who they are, now you know what to call them behind their backs."
Cabel Sasser's terrific presentation on pressure, from XOXO.
Lego in space.
Superhero squirrels.
The new meme that could also save your life (if you're a lady), #mamming. Via FastCompany.
Welcome back little fellow.
"30,000 pegs, 2,000 tonnes of soil, 2,000 tonnes of sand, 11 acres and one huge team effort combine to create the largest Iland-art portrait in the UK and Ireland." Via Simple Scott.
A bad lip reading of Game of Thrones. Or, as you will now know it Medieval Land Fun-Time World.
Gem-o'-lanterns.
When Rob Walker points to ten things to waste your time on you should pay attention.
"In case you did not enjoy the landscape on the opposite side of this frame, here is a drawing of Christ's teeth." —David Bussell.
Don't miss our neighbor Max Temkin's great talk at XOXO and be sure to stay to the end for a sweet song about the Mars Rover by The Doubleclicks.
"Romolo Ferri folds down into his Lambretta Record, and takes a deep breath. It is August 8, 1951, and the brave pilot intends to break the speed record for the scooter category."
Bacon soap.
It's always nice to see two of your favorite people get together. Claire Zulkey chats with Alissa Walker.
Sounds familiar.
"Someday, the last person you follow will tweet for the last time. When will that be?" If our Twitter timelines actually extended off the screen in both directions, how tall would they be?
Empire Drive-In is a temporary "full-scale theater made out of wrecked cars and a 40-foot screen constructed of salvaged wood."
Tales You Lose, Andre Levy paints coins. Via Boing.
Dirk Loechel created a massive starship size comparison chart.
Local note, an exhibit of select works from Brian Taylor / Candykiller starts today at Rotofugi.
Duplicating a masterpiece by scanning the topography of its surface and then 3D printing.
Tweetegrams.
Hockey season is right around the corner, which can only mean one thing... it's time for EVERYONE to fight.
Prince Fielder needed a nacho.
Louis C.K.'s beautiful talk about how terrible cell phones are.
Kelli Anderson's talk from Webstock rocks, Finding the Hidden Talents of Everyday Things.
Nothing makes me happier for the approach of winter than watching snowboard videos. And no snowboard video has me more excited this year than this one for The Interior Plain Project. Great work guys.
Surfing with a flare.
"Real problems but not real actual problems, just middle class ones." Follow Middle Class Problem.
So you know, September 7th is Cassette Store Day.
The Talking Room wherein Adam Savage interviews John Landis. Via Tested.
A great episode about the Chicago River from my absolute favorite podcast, 99% Invisible, Reversal of Fortune.
Here is your daily dose of dance music, cats, sci-fi & underwater adventure, and so much more...Dreams Are Real via Mrs. MCJ.
The Clandestine Paris Party Planners with a Taste for the Abandoned.
If you have $300 to spare, why not spend this weekend indoors, with just you, the one you love, and this romantically charged harp seal statuette.
"26 Bloggers make 26 popsicles that will make any freezer full of voom voom shebang." It's Popsicle Week.
"Let's face it Joe, I love seafood." A 1978 spot for Lenny's Clam Bar, starring Frank Sinatra Jr.
For MS, creepy doll head shakers. Via Laughing Squid.
The Old Skateboards Sons & Co. Board Manufactory of southern Germany.
Between a stolen pie and some pilfered horses, it's been a busy week on the Twitter feed for the Gwent Police in Wales.
The vegetable figures of the Lambeth Country Show.
"A manacle represents a 5-year prison term, while a bear is reserved for professional safecrackers." Explanations of Prison Tattoos.
Sarah DiNardo. Tape Artist.
Here's a free lesson for you, The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Parkour.
Batman vs The Penguin. With Pete Holmes as Batman and Patton Oswalt as The Penguin. Maybe NSFW.
Local note. "Don't be confused if you see references to Gym Shoe or Jim Shoo instead - while Jim Shoe seems to be the preferred spelling by a wide margin, it isn't the only variation." Peter Engler chases down a dream, of a sandwich.
Driving alongside the Union Pacific #844 as it heads south from Cheyenne to Denver.
The answer to the question, how do astronauts put on space suits?
After lunch we got talking about pranks and how awful and mean (and yes, funny) they can be. This, of course, reminded me of my personal favorite, the College Humor Prank War. With each responding prank the level of humor, embarrassment and potential for bodily harm are increased exponentially. Fair warning, some of these are NSFW (mostly due to language and lewd noises).
Space Travel and You, Disney's Mickey Mouse Club Magazine from 1956.
Spellchecking Joyce. Ha.
Nice process video on the print production of a Louis Vuitton origami invitation. More from the designers, Happy Centro, on the piece. Via Noquedanblogs.
The Worst Portfolio Ever, and how it got that way, by Alex Cornell.
Anagramatron, or, if you like, A Mango Ran Art.
My sister is funny.
Jennifer Daniel's Beep Bop Boop.
Hand stamped playing card greeting cards.
You guys! Muzak has expanded into Aroma Marketing! Tweet us your #CPsignaturescent ideas now!
The European Space Agency's Jupiter Mission Control, made of Lego.
150 years ago today, from the Civil War Trust.
"Hopefully we've done the writing some justice." I'd say so. Adam Gault and Stefanie Augustine's beautiful Gettysburg Address Revisited.
Take a butcher's hook at this Cockney rhyming slang. If not now, then Christian Slater.
"Now hold on, you might say, that really isn't a very impressive design education given the reputation of your work. And you'd be right. Which probably means we also know a thing or two about self-directed and independent learning." Dan and Mike launch Schoolhaus, a new type of design education. Awesome!
Well, hello Jen and Naz.
Around and around... Fountain 193 and 475 Volver by Cinthia Marcelle.
A California couple discovered a perfectly preserved, fully stocked 1961 fallout shelter 15 feet below their backyard.
We in Chicago, and those of you in Boston, learned just how stressful it can be when a hockey game goes to nearly 3 full overtime periods. Luckily we were all treated to multiple viewings of this Geico commercial. I can't get enough of that camel.
Cameron Moll chats with Jason Fried on an excellent episod of the "Hired" podcast.
All the extra hands helping with FN stuff today can only mean one thing... we had pizza for lunch.
This is the best fast food training video I have ever seen. "Hot drinks really get you goin'..."
Book stacking in Japan. Who'd a thunk? Via Kelli Anderson.
Skull and crossbones sugar cubes.
A nice little peek at how they make the sausage at one of our favorite podcasts, Radiolab Behind the Scenes.
Cute house-shaped planters for your desk.
Add animated gifs to your bike's wheels. Via Under Consideration.
Wooden bots and characters by LouLou & Tummie.
Our pal Veerle gets the Great Discontent treatment today. Yay.
"Hope you sell a lot of artisanal denim today!" Park Slope Family Circus.
Categorizing People Running for Trains in Slow Motion.
Drawn, one of our favorite illustration sites, is no more.
Vintage print advertising found in Mom's basement.
"...the whole staff was shot through with drunks, incompetents, and hacks." An illustrated history of Newsweek, by Andrew Losowsky.
If Wes Anderson wrote the Bible it would sound like this."
Stormtrooper Minimalist.
Hiring a skywriter to write stupid things in the sky. Thanks Claire.
A great piece about Director of Photography Laura Merians, who shot Bjork's Mutual Core and the internet favorite that clearly inspired it: Solipsist.
Posted without comment (though not for lack of trying): Newt Gingrich on Cell Phones.
Two things learned at Mother's Day dinner at Lawry's last night: the history of Chicago's competing spinning salads and memories of the Kungsholm Puppet Theater.
You've probably seen this already but... Space Oddity from the ISS.
The Column at Jeu de Paume. Adrian Paci's installation starts with a block of marble loaded on a ship from China to Paris. By the time it reaches its destination it has been carved into a column.
If you were to edit together the openings of all 72 episodes of Pimp My Ride, here's what it would look like.
If you're a seasoned railfan, this might be a good weekend to hightail it to New York to catch the Grand Centennial Parade of Trains.
Cabling a rack of Dell C5220s. Via Jesse Newland.
Rhizome's history of ASCII art.
Transcript of an interesting conversation between Julian Assange and Google's Eric Schmidt from 2011. It's very long. Skip down to the second half and start where they are discussing "bitcoin" for the best stuff. Via Mefi.
"Nice! Nice! Nice!" Melcom makes life easy.
Kevin Cornell's Bearskinrug was recently redesigned and looks just great. Also, Kev has summed up Mad Men in two drawings and totally gets Twitter.
Take it from a hockey town that knows a thing or two about National Anthems, this was awesome at the Garden last night.
A resignation letter in the form of a cake (and also a great promo for a new cake-making business).
Insomnia Cookies, delivering treats until 3 a.m.
"I don't want this day to end."
In Receipt Of The Now "allows visitors to walk away with a paper receipt of the moment they stood in the gallery, complete with the context of what was happening in the rest of the world." From the mind of Mr. Dawes.
If you want to hide something on the internet from Michele, put it behind a link that says "face-sized spider."
Nice collection of absurd Infomercial GIfs. "Because real life is hard."
You've probably seen a business you once loved close their doors permanently. You also likely know of a designer, artist or brand (big or little, online or offline) that could flourish in your area if the right opportunity came along. That leaves you with two options if you want to bring functional beauty to unused retail spaces
Birth of a Pond, time lapse. Hypnotic.
Michael Williams visits Cleveland's office supply store that time forgot.
Unfortunate ad placements. Thanks Marshall.
Brendan Dawes is posting video tidbits of his experiments with the Leap Motion device.
Tangentially related to the last. "Are you finished or are you still working on that Jesus?" Anthony Grafton on what The Last Supper looked like and also what was on the menu, according to John Varriano.
Michael Bierut's Chromatophobia.
"I Am the Edison Phonograph." The demo record used to help make sales, played for customers by phonograph dealers in the early 1900s.
The Verge finds out how to print yourself as a gummi bear. Sweet.
Custom super hero action figures as business cards! From Resoluut in Amsterdam.
Airport signs, lost in translation. Via Language Log.
Gallente Space Station cake.
Dataisnature.
90 years of Time Magazine covers in two minutes.
Tina's SXSW Keynote. All hail Swissmiss.
So you know, how Chris Hadfield serves a snack.
LinkedIn is a Virus, by Matt Haughey. Amen.
"Bear in Space has an unusual premise for a children's book. It is the fictional story of a bear who shares film of his vacation to the Moon with his animal friends, but that is not the unusual part."
Ursus Wehrli Organizes Everything.
Seattle's Invisible Creature is Don and Ryan Clark. Their client gift, a totally custom Lego kit called Eye Creature, came to our attention because someone saw they were using a Field Notes memo book to sketch out ideas in the "how we made it" video, but that's not why we're linking it today. We're linking it because it looks like just about the most fun project possible and we're totally jealous of the whole thing. Not to mention that we desperately want one.
Sick of that peppy marimba ringtone? Hate scrambling for your phone only to realize it's not yours that's ringing? Tones for your phones by Boys. Via LAIY.
"Joseph Martinez paints inside matchbooks with such precision and patience you won't believe it until you watch the video for yourself. The art is often times smaller than the size of a dime."
Don't you hate it when that happens?
"I am bored, therefore I make GIFs"
-René Descartes (1596-1650)
"Based on the numbers in your IP we've create this lovely colour palette for you to enjoy."
Curious Rituals, gestural interaction in the digital everyday, or, the weird stuff we do with our phones and stuff. Download the pdf. Via Andrew Sullivan.
When producers and DJs aren't working on music, they get very sad and/or deeply introspective.
"Someone bought michelinguides.com and did something funny with it." Via Ben Kay.
Just call 800-546331331-5055 for all of your Electro Tri-Satone Distribuandscaping needs!
Skyler is in the back working hard packing Field Notes orders and listening to Kid President sing a love song.
Like icing on a cake, a wax seals really help to class up Valentines love letters. Check out this history and how-to and make yourself one today!
In case you were wondering, how usb memory sticks are made.
Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally offer advice on How to Engage in Romantic Love.
Bookshelf wallpaper. Via BB-Blog.
Deadspin keeps this wonderful series going: "Eventually, all American baby names will resemble some kind of old Welsh dialect."
An Illinois farmer left his entire estate to two soap actors.
Peter Atencio noticed this very timely promo for the 2013 Oscars involving jokes about both The Matrix and Viagra.
"Although gender differences on average are not under dispute, the idea of consistently and inflexibly gender-typed individuals is." This study debunks the notion that men and women are psychologically distinct.
In this day of confusing ecclesiastical news, I always turn to Jim Gaffigan for clarity and vision.
"You shouldn't say that, it's off-putting." "You should be off pudding." Zach Galifianakis trades barbs with Jennifer Lawrence and others in Between Two Ferns: Oscar Buzz Edition Part 1.
Things Fitting Perfectly Into Other Things. Thanks Claire.
Supposedly, the first photo of a bird being flipped.
"#4 - Cubs game. As a Sox fan, it makes me barf to say this, but you'll get better photos and it's more interesting to walk around Clark and Addison even though it's just a bunch of frat guys. Hell, you'll probably feel pretty comfortable with that." How to visit Chicago like a Chicagoan.
"If there's one thing you need to know, it's that I am definitely NOT two kids in a long trench coat posing as an adult." Joe Kwaczala's OKCupid Profile got him banned from the site.
Drawing in three dimensions with cardboard, by Daniel Agdag.
"Curating artisanal manliness by coordinating expeditions that invite robust young gentlebros 'to find out what [they] are made of; to be measured by the wilderness.'" Really.
"Gone were the days of fresh leaves in the Almeida's garden. Gone were her long strolls across the wet and cool green grass. That fateful day, Manuela got condemned to three decades of solitude in a dark dusty place full of crap."
WNYC's analysis of the city by zip code: the Dogs of NYC. Elsewhere, cats are apparently too busy being unrepentant killing machines to be counted.
"I won a Tony for The Man of La Mancha and then I started buying land at Exit 21 on the I-195 in Jackson, NJ." If you need a reason to further investigate the weird ads that run in the New Yorker, here's a quality example: Mitch Leigh's Jackson Twenty-One. Thanks Claire.
Lousy Book Covers and how they got that way.
An 80s Video Dating Montage that's either 100% fake or 100% true.
Posted without comment (other than BB will likely really enjoy this): Vinnie Jones' Toughest Cops: USA.
Just before it began being gutted and turned into condos, a time lapse of thawing out Fulton Market Cold Storage, whose former building we can see from our windows here at CP.
"Nothing weird is going to happen."
"Eric Standley works with hundreds of layers of colored paper creating intricate laser cut stain glass windows." Thanks Marshall.
Now you can either just skip the mildly-healthy parts of your breakfast or simply make your morning bowl of anything a bit more delicious: bags of cereal marshmallows and nothing but.
"The Distributrice reinvents the takeout coffee service by taking over the smallest commercial space in Montréal. Next to one of the most popular subway station, a barista serves you espresso, americano and latté directly on the street."
designjargonbullshit.com.
Game Over.
Baseball Card Vandals, Nuff said. Via Chuck Anderson.
Please, don't be so modest.
"Plasticine Tatooine is a 100% unofficial and completely made up collection of intergalactic nonsense featuring some of the more rubbish Star Wars characters sculpted lovingly from plasticine." Via Pikaland.
To ring in the new year, FotA Mike Sacks has updated his Photos of TV with new photos of TV.
Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter are clearly running out of ways to be weird.
Everything is Terrible's "So, You Moved to Paducah..."
"Yayoi Kusama's interactive Obliteration Room begins as an entirely white space, furnished as a monochrome living room, which people are then invited to 'obliterate' with multi-coloured stickers." Timelapse.
Wallpaper for MS.
An alternative to the fireplace loop for your TV: the Bacon Yule Log.
Nate Otto says everyone should make a painting. Sounds like a fine idea.
This feels like it might be a stealthy promo for something else, but whatever the case, it's a good blend of strange and creepy: the CataCombo Sound System, a casket that will continue to play music for you well into the afterlife (with a social media component to boot!).
"So there's a lot in the show that looks familiar at first glance, but the more you look at it the more you realize something else is going on..." Rhizome chats with Rob Walker about imaginary brands, fictional products, and his gallery show, "As Real As It Gets."
Good cards to have on hand for this holiday party season: "I deeply regret my behavior on the evening of..."
Lunar Trails by Seb Lee-Delisle "features a full size arcade cabinet running the vintage 1979 game Lunar Lander. As you play the game, the path that you take is rendered on the wall with a large hanging drawing robot." Via Waxy.
Brand identity style guides from around the world.
Maria Popova on a timeline of future events as predicted by famous novels. Sweet.
A taxonomy of seven designer phenotypes and Core77's 2012 Designer Gift Guide.
Blowed up real good.
Every book a surprise. No two alike. Collect all 112 million titles. The Biblio-Mat.
These Star Wars business cards are done with a nice feel for type. See also, Lego SW mini-figs in real life situations. Via Quipsologies.
Interesting piece on Morning Edition just now, Why Coke Cost A Nickel For 70 Years, from Planet Money.
So you know, why you shouldn't mess with us.
Lego New York by JR Schmidt. "I used images like these to set the elevation and color of the blocks. I put them together using an assortment of maps and satellite imagery." Fantastic.
For when your cookies don't contain enough candy and/or aren't interactive enough: Pinata Cookies Tutorial. Via bblinks.
"What happens if I get pulled over and I'm sober, but an officer or his K9 buddy smells the ounce of Super Skunk I've got in my trunk?" A Guide to Legal Marijuana Use from the Seattle Police Department. Via Romenesko.
The Possessed Satanic Toaster from Hell. Yep.
The Celtics' Kevin Garnett, Master of the Metaphor.
As an early heads up to make sure you're prepared for January 5th, here's a brief history of Bird Day in the US and Europe (but mostly about how the Soviets celebrated it).
Discovering counterfeit Sriracha hot sauce and how to keep a vigilant eye for the fakes in the future. Via Doobybrain.
With Obama, Clinton, and Nixon as examples, Jonathan Alter explains how to interview a president.
I am sure you knew already, but in case you didn't... This is Halloween.
"There is money to be made by doing those things, but you lose something, and I don't want to lose what I was raised with all my life." The History of In-N-Out Burger, by Ben Bowers. Via Greg Storey.
Paul F. Tompkins' excellent web series, Speakeasy, has returned for a second season of interviews. Today's guest is Patton Oswalt.
Long before he was the comedy guru and improv teacher to Tina Fey, Bill Murray, John Candy, and John Belushi, Del Close released a satirical album called "How to Speak Hip" with fellow Second City player, John Brent. Here's the full record.
Kanye West + Wes Anderson = Kanye Wes
Denny's Hobbit menu.
Yes, this problem could be solved with a nation-wide screening of Footloose. In the meantime, there will be no dancing in Japan.
Thomas Quick: the Swedish serial killer who never was, a fascinating and convoluted story by Elizabeth Day that could have been taken right out of a Henning Mankell novel.
Infographics for Middle-Earth. Yep, and many of them are pretty cool too. Via Mefi.
Local note. Daily Candy on our fave caterer and how her garden grows.
Signal vs. Noise, from our former office mates at 37signals, gets a lovely redesign.
Breakfast link, Franzbrötchen.
That Al's Deli is only ranked #4, and that they picked their roast beef of all choices, shows you how subjective a list like this is, but here's Chicago's ranking of the 50 best sandwiches in the city anyway.
Chocolate dice for BB's little gamer.
Tiny Post Offices that Kyle Durrie encountered in his travels in his Type Truck. Sweet. Via Quipsologies.
"Simple Ways to Hack Your Breadstick" by The Onion's Troublehacker.
Excellence in data viz and information design, The Information is Beautiful Award Winners.
Gil Inouoe recently visited David Byrne's office. He brought a camera. Via ISO50.
The Prince of Sealand has passed away at 91.
A little bizarre and equally wonderful: Staggering Beauty (warning: rapid flashing lights).
Muhammad Ali Goes to Mars: The Lost Interview.
William Kremer on elevator behavior. "In such a small, enclosed space it becomes vital, she says, to act in a way that cannot be construed as threatening, odd or in any way ambiguous. The easiest way to do this is to avoid eye-contact." Via TMN.
Local note: Field Notes partner in crime Aaron Draplin will bring his Tall Tales Speaking Fiasco to one of our favorite local coffee shops later this month. Better hurry though, tickets are running out.
I'm surprised this never caught on.
Are you a freelance artist or other creative looking for health insurance? Comic artist Colleen Doran has some advice.
Paul F. Tompkins will release several episodes of the Pod F. Tompkast over the next few weeks, after a long hiatus. Here's my favorite clip of Tompkins, introducing another comedian in his signature style.
For JC, the HAL 9000 desktop.
The Bacon Method.
Somebody should have thought of Star Wars Family Minivan Decals a long time ago. Thanks Jay.
God Hates Kittens. Via DWL.
Live2D is interactive 3D animation of 2D images. Just watch the video. Yipes.
Testing, Testing, a post from Things Magazine on "a small collection of tests, psychometric, psychological and others..." Lovely.
Something is wrong on the internet.
Comedians Kristen Studard and Joe Avella show us what it is like when HR people interview for HR positions in Interview.
Awesome Dad alert. Ron Fugelseth sent his 4-year-old son's favorite toy train into space. Via Laughing Squid.
It would take forever to read the liner notes on this CD: 2601 people wrote this song.
Using People as Pixels, Guillaume Reymond's latest project animates an eleven-story building. Amazing. Check the artist's other work at Not So Noisy.
Related to JC's post below, an old favorite.
The Cure For Greed injection kit features a 24-karat gold plated syringe and a
single 5 ml dose of dollar ink recovered from approximately $10,000 in US currency.
That was some amazing weekend in Portland. Thanks to Andy and Andy for making it happen, thanks to Heidi for having lunch with me at The Overlook Hotel without fear and thanks to Aaron for fighting the good fight and keeping the fires stoked at the Field Notes HQ NW.
If you were wondering what that comet or astroid or UFO was that landed recently in midtown Manhattan, don't worry. Turns out it was the revolutionary new exercise facility Fit Wet, which just barely avoids being absurdly ridiculous because it came from outer space.
The hipsters of Oz.
I have no regrets. Worst College Majors for your Career.
How to sort lentils, from Porkulent.
Ever wonder what a boat propeller looks like in action underwater? Thanks to the internet, you can spend the rest of the day watching videos of just that. Via Doobybrain.
"300 fine wires suspended from two ropes, connected themselves at each end to a slowly rotating arm, form an evanescent surface which interacts with the architecture." David Letellier's kinetic sound installation at the Saint Sauveur chapel in Caen, Caten.
For MS, the Tala Cook's Dry Measure.
Planet lollipops.
Sneaking into a Target to change the signage, offering up Better Names for Things.
Why it's maybe not the best plan to hire Dan Harmon as your wedding officiant.
Gif'd up Minnesota State Fair moments. Nice, via Than.
Five Years of Project Meta: An All-Sky Narrow-Band Radio Search for Extraterrestrial Signals, 37 of them to be exact.
Tangentially related to the last. Pete Straz is the authority in my book.
Zodiac pillowcases. Via Design*Sponge.
It's time to move on. John Sellers is telling the world that Microsoft Lauren needs our help.
Related to the last, MarsClock lets you see times for all three of NASA's Mars rovers.
StartUP is a showcase of bold creative directors who took the leap and became entrepreneurs.
Make your own electronic bookplates.
After a long, hot bicycle ride, nothing refreshes like Sriracha. Thanks, Andrew!
So you know, which professions drink the most coffee.
Extraterrestrial hobo nickels.
Ten things Edith Zimmerman learned from reading every last word of this month's Cosmo.
Feeling unmotivated? Brendan Dawes lines up some excellent inspiration for you.
If you are anything like me you are jonesing for some hockey action while melting in the August heat. To help you get your fix, Hot Ice, a video from 1939 featuring the Toronto Maple Leafs vs. the New York Rangers. via Backhand Shelf
A bit of mid-morning pleasantness that is exactly what you think it will be. Fawn On a Lawn.
It's been really hot in New York this summer. How hot? Well, have you seen the Statue of Liberty lately?
Related to the last, get out your tin foil hats, the conspiracists and their conspiracies
Year of the Robot, "a daily transmission of interesting robots found on the internet." Via swissmiss.
Our occasional co-conspirators and 16" softball teammates Gapers Block have launched a lovely refresh to their site by designer and starting pitcher Vince Jose Cancasci.
A classic. "Indeed, drawing endless pictures of Kurt Cobain, taking deep puffs from a contraband bong (often my only confidant in these late hours), eating tonnes of Goldfish snacks - this was my ritual, my communion, my glimmer of hope in an awful, awful childhood." From the journals of Samuel Van Hoogstraten, painter of the unparalleled Still Life with Ziplock Bag of Weed, Tom Petty Cassette, c. 1666-1668.
Using helmet-mounted cameras as the bicyclist's black box to help nab bad drivers.
Great headline on an interesting story about the recovery of a stolen Matisse which was replaced with a copy that went undetected for two years, Topless Woman Found. Details Sketchy.
"A richly illustrated book full of never-before published typewriter memorabilia, intriguing historical documents and entertaining anecdotes, The Typewriter: a Graphic History of the Beloved Machine is a beautiful ode to an all-but-obsolete creative companion."
1880s Mardi Gras floats in New Orleans.
Travel times across Lake Michigan... SS Badger: 4 hours. Lake Express High Speed Catamaran: 2.5-3 hours. 19 Year old Kai Lenny windsurfing: 2.8 hours.
These photos from the World Tobacco Sniffing Championship don't exactly make the sport look all that appealing.
Meow Is The Time.
Copywriter vs Art Director.
New up-close footage of the San Diego fireworks disaster has popped up. The way it's framed makes it look like a modern-day Pompeii.
So you know, the world's first Internet Cat Video Film Festival will be held on August 30th at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.
"This video is either an animated data visualization, or ambient data art - or just a labor of love." Stanley Cup Summed Up Visualization, by Bård Edlund.
Hand carved soap stone gems.
When John Pasche designed a logo for the Rolling Stones he was paid £50. The V&A Museum just bought the original artwork for $92,500.
London Lockdown. Olympic brand exclusion zone, with maps and details.
If you're looking for a new excuse to put into practice, here's the 30th Frame theory, as recently invented and utilized by the Russian police.
If you've ever wondered why's an airstrip and a plane sitting atop 77 Water St. in Manhattan, here's your answer.
24 Illustrators draw images of the great Bill Murray before they're assembled into a coloring book.
For MS: how Anthony Bourdain came to be ANTHONY BOURDAIN. Via The Fox Is Black.
Like clockwork, here's the story you read every four years about the policing of the Olympic rings logo. This one's just better because it involves a cool butcher who owns a dune buggy (who cares if that fact/photo doesn't relate to the story at all? It's a sausage-themed dune buggy!).
If you grew up in Cincinnati in the eighties, this will probably make you really happy.
Equal pay for equal work? Ask Batgirl.
"I run a comedy website called The Oatmeal. Last year I wrote a blog post about another website called FunnyJunk which stole a bunch of my comics and hosted them on their website without giving me credit. They apparently didn't like my blog post and recently FunnyJunk sent me a letter stating that unless I pay them $20,000 in damages they're going to file a federal lawsuit against me. You can view the letter along with my response here. I'm going to try and raise $20,000 and instead send it to the National Wildlife Federation and the American Cancer Society. I'm hoping that philanthropy trumps douchebaggery and greed." He's already raised $118,000 in just 24 hours, you can donate here.
An easy DIY Lego key holder.
Star Wars rubber stamps.
The Yes Men (potentially) strike again with this pitch perfect Shell Oil PR disaster hoax video.
"I kind of get quite annoyed when people think that shin kicking is quite literally two guys facing each other and kicking each other as hard as possible in the shins." Footage from the Shin-Kicking Championships held annually in Gloucestershire.
Our pal, Kate Bingaman-Burt, gets The Great Discontent treatment this week. Yes, she is that cool. And here's one thing I know for sure about her: in October of 2004, Kate owed $7039.24 on her Chase Mastercard.
Disclaimer: Hornady Zombie Max ammunition is NOT a toy (it is live ammunition), but is intended only to be used on... zombies, also known as the living dead, undead, etc. Yup.
Hot Wheels and Angst in Metropolis II. Via Things.
Galaxify!
Miniature cyclists.
Melvin the Traveling Mini Machine. Rube Goldberg on the go. Fascinating. "Oh, the wonders of the world."
NeverSeconds, one primary school pupil's daily dose of school dinners.
Just in time for this weekend's NATO summit here in Chicago, A.V. Club Chicago has a great interview regarding the city's "long history of anti-protestor violence."
The Raw Magazine rejection form letter. Efficient. Via This Isn't Hapiness.
For BB: camera cookie cutters.
How Parisians Mess with New Zealanders.
"My theory is that it dates from the 18th century and the silver mines in Mexico, because in those mines the word 'taco' referred to the little charges they would use to excavate the ore." A professor at the University of Minnesota attempts to answer the question, "Where Did the Taco Come From?"
100,000 LED lights float down the Sumida River. Via the always observant Craig Mod.
"This is our largest seizure of cowboy hats." Sorta sounds like the Scandinavian version of Smokey and the Bandit.
"Ollie handplant vert baseplate. Handplant poseur street 900." Skate Ipsum.
A Mother's Day card for a badass mother, check.
Noted without comment: blk.
Fried chicken and waffle ice cream.
Wait, this is a trend?! When did we decide to become the city that makes terrible music about ourselves? Central Lakeview Merchants Association.
Uniqlo Wake Up.
I'd like Star Wars if this happened.
The very best of sandwich design. The "duo-tones" by Charles Schiller look especially delicious. Via BB-Blog.
Dog (or cat) names for graphic designers.
Exploiting the worst thing ever, regularly endured by nearly everyone: Holding the Door Open for People That Are Far Away. Via Doobybrain.
The paintbrush has a lemon scent, the cleaver has a strong peppermint scent and the ice cream is a combination of both. Daniel Ting Chong's soap.
A clip from an Idaho television program showing a dance craze sweeping the nation in the winter of 1958: The Stroll.
Footage from the 1969 Pea Pushing Derby held at Walton-on-Thames, Surrey. Via Arbroath.
"...a true imposter object is designed to sit alongside their more expensively produced doppelgangers in established outlets, with the veneer of respectability that implies." —Things Magazine.
Teensy Obamas for your plants.
Thou shalt not commit logical fallacies. Sage advice. Thanks Dan.
Brendan Dawes on Hillman Curtis. The Generous Man. Amen.
Andrew Kuo's Wheel of Worry, May 2010, subjects of concern while falling asleep.
It took Abigail Uhteg two months to make 35 intaglio and letterpress books and during the process she took 3000 photos. Here they are, set to music. It's a mesmerizing five minutes that leaves you wondering what the heck you're doing mousing around all day.
Very local note. Chicago and Noble, 1906. Fab.
Local note. The intersection of Diversey and Logan, 1937. "The Showboat Dixiana was a night club and cabaret docked on the river."
Images from men's adventure magazines of the 50's and 60's "in an environment of orderly homes with sunny patios depicted in women's magazines of the same era." Terrific. True Adventures in Better Homes by Nadine Boughton. Via Ant.
"After googling 'perfect grilled cheese,' I charted the advice and elements recommended by my sandwich-loving peers. What follows are the crudely drawn results." —Lindsay Eanet.
A hand sander and a huge stack of paper. That's it.
PBC, highlighting the kind hearted & thought provoking comments on Pinterest.
Woman Picking Fruit in Stock Photo Endorses Al Franken, by Tim Murphy. Via TMN.
Weekend project, make your own Reese's peanut butter eggs.
Need some last minute Easter decorations? Print these out.
Obama & Uhura.
Sorry Darth, but now that you have touched the Stanley Cup you now have no chance of winning it. Ever.
Alice in Wonderland meets Star Wars in Ben Chen's Imitated Caterpillar tee at Threadless.
"Sure. We all knew that opening a chain of 1,500 Adam's Bone® takeout restaurants on the same hot August weekend was a potentially risky venture..." You Look Nice Today's Letter to Shareholders, including an announcement that new episodes start on Monday!
Two great Copyranter posts: World Map: Metal Bands Per 100,000 People and the very first Wal-Mart print ad, from 1962.
Boodha USB dock by Diploo.
The Orient Express? The Orient Express.
Tacocopter.
Describing Otaku Gangsta Bobby Solomon from The Fox Is Black writes, "there's a crazy, contemporary sci-fi world out there to explore, let's start dreaming." Amen to that.
Anica Cuppetelli and Cristobal Mendoza's Nervous Structures are composed of 144 vertical elastic strings, illuminated by a video projector. The strings move in response to the presence of a viewer and the results are gorgeous. Via ISO50.
Batman gets pulled over by the police in Maryland.
Screenshots of Despair. Via Waxy.
"Keeping in mind the crude progression of subcultures from Beatnik to Hippie to Punk to Grunge to Hipster, what kind of prominent group will emerge next?" Flavorwire asks, What Comes After the Hipster?
Watch those hems, boys!
Perfect poached eggs. Always use fresh eggs.
My Modern Met posts a series of production photos of a new collaboration between Chinese "hiding in plain sight" artist Liu Bolin and French street artist JR. So great.
30, 40 or 50, we can all learn a lot from listening to Matt Haughey.
Related to the last. Pete Straz is the authority in our book.
Nick Kindelsperger on variations on a theme, regarding the Chicago style hot dog. Via Gapers.
So you know: the man cave is dead.
So you know: How to have a good idea.
File this under "I wish I had thought of that." The Peoples Pennant.
A response to BB's earlier post in name only. The answer is Micro Machines.
Yum. Glitchiness.
One of the most magical things about the Internet is that it's a whimsical rabbit hole of discovery. Keep that rabbit hole open. ↬ swissmiss.
"Another kind of data that I've been collecting is keystrokes. For many years, I've captured every keystroke I've typed --now more than 100 million of them..." The Personal Analytics of Stephen Wolfram's Life. Via Waxy.
A nightmare vacation for MS.
What's your favorite place on Earth?
Star Wars Yoga by Rob Osborne. Via Laughing Squid.
Doug Wheeler's "infinite" installation at the David Zwirner Gallery. Randy Kennedy profiled Wheeler for the NYT. Via Trenchant.
"Maybe they think we aren't worth saving, and they have given up trying to tell us whatever it was they wanted us to know." Poland's only officially registered ghost hunter is concerned that the world's ghost population is decreasing.
"Through the research into the current situation of food preservation, I've learned that we hand over the responsibility of taking care of food to the technology, the refrigerator. We don't observe the food any more and we don't understand how to treat it. Therefore my design looks at re-introducing and re-evaluating traditional oral knowledge of food, which is closer to nature." Save food from the refrigerator.
Using a tried and true formula that worked well for him in the last election, President Obama has set his sights on winning the internet vote by once again officially declaring that Omar was his favorite character from The Wire.
Finally! The world now has a 24-hour cupcake dispenser.
The secret history of February 30th. By Alasdair Wikins.
Bruce Lowell's LEGO creations.
This might include advice from the Insane Clown Posse but trust me, it's worth the read. Jessie Thorn's 12 Point Program for Absolutely, Positively 1000% No-Fail Guaranteed Success.
Mark Sinclair for CR on how "Emilio Gomariz exploits the Mac OS X desktop to create beautiful performances from the various commands and functions which form everyday user experience." A Ghost in His Machine.
Have you had your 300 units of alcohol in the last 45 minutes? Cassetteboy vs The BBC News.
Atelier Volvox gives new life to plush toys by turning them inside out.
"On an unseasonably warm November night in Manhattan on our way to get ice cream, we stumbled upon what appeared to be a vintage shop, brightly lit display window and all. As we began to walk in, a man sitting out front warned us that we were welcome to explore, but nothing inside was for sale. Our interests piqued, we began to browse through the collections the man out front had built throughout his life. This is a story of a man and his home."
February 22nd should be a National Holiday here in the States. Why you ask? Well, because this happened.
Discovering The Mysteries Of Rice Krispyhenge. Robert Krulwich on Brock Davis, who plays with his food.
Local Note: FoTA (and nicest couple in the Chicago design scene) Andy & Julie of Letterform will be guests on stage at this Thursday's Show 'n Tell Show. Get your tickets here. (Rumor has it Andy's beard might get a little trim on stage. That alone is worth the price of admission.)
Don't drop in on Nikole Herriott if you're hungry. You've been warned.
BibliOdyssey on the Mistick Krewe of Comus 1873 'Missing Links' Parade Costume Designs and 1910 Float Designs. Laissez le bon temps rouler.
"The copy editor called in sick today, so should we make sure to double check everything? Nah, I'm sure it's all fine."
Relink: photographer Jacob Sutton shoots this short film of snowboarding in a suit made of LEDs in the middle of the night.
"Its a snap." This is probably the best ad ever for a technical college. Warning: It gets a little gruesome at the end.
Ten riders will race 18,000 miles around the world in the World Cycle Racing Grand Tour. The event kicks off Saturday at 9am from Greenwich Park in London.
Noted without comment, Babyccinos.
Turns out that Woolly Mammoth sighting in Siberia last week was just a hoax.
Whoever the kid is holding a giant cut out of his own face at the recent Florida-Alabama game deserves a full scholarship immediately. More info here.
Vulture sent FotA Julie Klausner to cover the Golden Collar Awards, "the Oscars for dogs."
"Sex with sharks." A conversation between NY and Las Vegas, using photos. Via Waxy.
iOS '86 by Anton Repponen. Brilliant. Via Waxy.
Still more, some print ads (including one with Donna Summer) and images from the Afri Cola campaign in this post from Below The Clouds.
These two links likely prove that the Mayans were right all along and the world is going to end this year: a woolly mammoth spotted in Siberia and video evidence of Iceland's lake monster.
A Conservatory, a Zoo, and 12,000 Corpses.
Telling the future by looking at asparagus with the Asparamancer.
Everything you always wanted to know about sex, in space.
For those couples who can't be together on Valentine's, what better way to show your affection than kissing a robot animal thing together? The Kissenger.
While wandering in New Orleans, FotA and former CP Guest Editor, Jami Attenberg, captured perhaps the world's greatest Bar Mitzvah banner.
Customize your own Zippo lighter.
"Unlike daily Chinese calendar in common households, this calendar shows the whole year at a glance. The unconventional format is ideal for marking long term projects and goals. Moreover, this calendar also references the graph paper that is commonly used by students for writing Chinese literature."
This project from Scott Garner "takes traditional still life painting into the fourth dimension with a motion-sensitive frame on a rotating mount." So great, via Today and Tomorrow.
Iconic Ballplayers as Jumbotron Art. Sweet.
A review of the Schindler 9300AE Escalators at the JCPenney in a Maryland mall. Via Doobybrain.
Nobody does a better impression of Michael Caine than Michael Caine.
For BB: a trip through B&H's conveyor system.
When retail expert Ron Johnson left Apple for JC Penny we suspected something interesting was going to happen. When creative head Michael Francis left Target to join him, we were even more sure. We were right.
A rundown of 10 popular misconceptions. MS, you might not like the last one.
If only there was a clip of Warren Buffett playing I've Been Working on the Railroad on the ukelele on Chinese state television to help celebrate the Chinese New Year. Oh, wait, what this over here?
LEGO + Star Trek = USS Reliant NCC-1864
"Recently, Paula Deen has admitted that she's had Type II Diabetes for years. Accordingly, she's putting out a cookbook of healthy food. Here are some excerpts!"
Yes, Virginia, a Death Star really could destroy a planet.
Stone pillows. Via Black*Eiffel.
"After Mr. Gilbert took matters into his own hands, the man reached into his pocket and silenced the device. Mr. Gilbert asked him: 'Is it off? It won't come on again?'" A great, yet awkwardly uncomfortable read about a recent incident at the New York Philharmonic: "Rogue Ringtone Halts a Maestro."
Really difficult, but posted without comment: Wolf Blitzer's "A Salute to Politicians."
Leaf shaped post-it notes.
Footage of the world's largest firework fired off recently in Japan.
Soviet Mars.
"I watch MythBusters and they inspired me to blow a building up." 7-year-old Maxwell Hinton is my new hero. "One big wish, boy implodes building."
Some movie tie-in efforts are a bit less appetizing than others: the Dark Vador Burger, complete with black bun, available soon at a French fast food chain.
For MS and BB: a Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix hollow book safe with secret flask and box.
The newly formed Canada Party is now in the running to become our next president. Via Peachfuzz.
"I recognize the unconscious spirit of rebellious independence that exists in all of us, and the compulsion you or I may have to demonstrate that we wear no man's yoke..." A all-staff memo from Leo Burnett.
"Equipped only with some rolls of brown packing tape and a scalpel, artist Max Zorn constructs unbelievably realistic portraits."
The Hanke-Henry Permanent Calendar in which every date is on the same day each year. My birthday would always fall on a Friday so it's fine by me.
An actual edible image for pizzas!
A history of Earth in 24 hours.
Top 10 Top Ten List.
"I want a baby doll and a waterproof with a hood and a pair of gloves and a toffee apple and a gold penny and a silver sixpence and a long toffee." A 100 year old letter to Santa was recently found in a chimney in Dublin.
Stiknord. "By building a collection of texts and imagery dedicated to the aesthetics of the North, we want to ease the often repetitive, time and money consuming process of constructing tactile inspirational material for each and every project." Sublime. Via ISO50.
"After a lengthy review, we simply couldn't ignore the strategic insights into holiday cheer that McGarry brought to the table." The ad agency Droga5 has lost its own holiday card account to another agency.
"I remember the hairy bastard walking down the rug of my bedroom, my girlfriend screaming, me using a shoe to kill it and then what I remember being two hundred thousand little spiders running everywhere." Wolf spiders.
A perfect new site design and branding for Herriott Grace by OMFG Co.
Colossal on Patrick Jacobs' magnified portals into miniature worlds. Amazing.
"Whatever that thing was, it had to be big." Just in time for the Olympics, London now has a mysterious river monster problem.
Illusory, a tasty image collection from Liz Medrano Freeman. Via Things.
A sweet, new Lunar Calendar for 2012 by Dimitre Lima.
The house from American Horror Story is for sale.
Andy Baio's No Copyright Intended raises important and generational issues and the comment thread is well worth perusing. The post started as a reaction the the excellent Pulp Fiction remixed into chronological order.
Simple. Stolen. By Julien Berthier.
"Three important contemporary web sites, recreated with technology and spirit of late 1997, according to our memories."
Smithsonian Magazine Retina. Awesome start. Via Kirstin Butler.
Santiago Sierra's No is on tour. Via It's Nice That.
Radio Spiritworld, a 30 minute round-up of everything that's going on in the afterlife. Via Lost At E Minor.
Hey Berlin, how's it going?
Count down to Christmas with the Cthulhu advent calendar app.
"...and the Doc went on to explain that this woman, who looked as fertile as the Tennessee Valley, could bear no young. Her insides were a rocky place where my seed could find no purchase." That's biology! And here's Serbian textbook to prove it.
"...walking putrefied carcasses, whose breath was infectious and sweat poison." Call it what you will but it sounds like Zombies to me, in 1665.
Right on, Grandma.
New holiday items from CP alum Art School Girl.
My holiday shopping is finished. Everyone gets one of these.
For BB, meat pillowcases.
12 Days of Giveaways from Busy Beaver Button Co. Starts today!
"Countries do not exist where I am from. The discovery of the Higgs boson led to limitless power, the elimination of poverty and Kit-Kats for everyone. It is a communist chocolate hellhole and I'm here to stop it ever happening." Man arrested at Large Hadron Collider claims he's from the future. Via James White.
While you were having brunch, nursing a hangover, or watching a football game yesterday, 80-year-old Pat Moorehead set a new skydiving record by jumping out of a plane 80 times in one day.
The Prisoner Who Now Stands Before You, a murder case that KG followed at The Outfit may finally be resolved. The accused is set to stand trial this week. Background: One Of These Days I'll Chase You Down and Quod Erat Demonstrandum, Baby.
Darth Vader wants his 1,000 square metres of land in Ukraine.
Firing pistols underwater and filming it all with a high-speed camera. Via Doobybrain.
The Talks. Johannes Bonke and Sven Schumann chat with interesting people like Bruce Weber, Ewan McGregor and Michel Gondry. Bookmarked.
Muppet cake pops.
So you know: why leftovers don't taste quite as good.
Future now. Warsaw riots on Poland's Independence Day (11/11/11) as see from a camera mounted on a robot helicopter. Just wow. More here.
John Gruber's presentation, The Think of It Versus the Feel of It, from The Çingleton Symposium in Montreal.
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot.
Today's Creative Mornings NYC event with Jessi Arrington included a rainbow parade.
For MS and BB, Team Weasley.
How to make a Death Star ornament.
Local note for Trekkies, A Klingon Christmas Carol is back for a second year in Chicago.
This gum promo is both clever and gross. Via Denver Egotist.
Gay Black Woman Muslim Blind Rich Chinese Man Canadian British Ally Nerd Thin Middle Class American Transgender Bald Tall Deaf Catholic Straight Lesbian Hot Genius Indian Ginger Mute Athlete Large Atheist Special Needs Bisexual Poor Human.
Hoxton Street Monster Supplies are now available online.
For BB: Yakov's Dinner Adventure Funny Promo.
What happens when a fireworks display, which was intended to last for 30 minutes, goes off all at the same time.
For MS, get ordained as an official Jedi Knight.
"It's long been a Chicago tradition that if you clear your parking spot of snow, you can save it with chairs or other sundry items. It's also long been a Chicago tradition that people here are nice to each other. It's time the second tradition trumps the first."
Through 14 rooms, around the house, and a jump over the hot tub.
Wit & Whistle has some pretty unique holiday cards including a couple in 3D. Via Elephantine.
Forgive me if you've seen it already but this CBS News piece could be titled why I love sports. Awesome.
Tattoo It Yourself Card, Lady and Gent. Great idea.
SO&SO, a short-form journal for the wandering interneteer
"Instead of 'Gross National Product,' Bhutan uses 'Gross National Happiness' to measure its socio-economic prosperity, essentially organizing its national agenda around the basic tenets of Buddhism." Balloons of Bhutan a joyous project by Jonathan Harris.
2.6 Billion years of time travel in 12 months.
City Terrorized By Wild Pranks. "Two women, who said they were actresses, were arrested on State street, near Harrison, while masquarading in male attire." Halloween in Old Chicago.
Roger Angell's scorecard from last night's World Series game. Now that's an infographic!
4,348,255,929.
"At 100 bucks a pop, these 24k Gold buttons let the other 99% know who's boss." As if we needed another reason to love the Busy Beaver Button Co.
Grip Limited's Big Orange Slide, Anatomy of an Agency.
Alfred Hitchcock's Ghost Stories for Young People.
So you know: if you happen to have $300,000 burning a hole in your pocket, Carhenge, the automobile-based replica of Stonehenge just outside of Alliance, Nebraska, is for sale. A batch of photos taken from a trip there a couple of years back, here.
Video of the cool Metalmorphosis Sculpture by David Cerny. Via Laughing Squid.
A teaser film for chef Grant Achatz's upcoming new theme for his Next restaurant: Childhood. Love the use of the blender's mixer. Via Waxy.
The Small Happy Birthday Box.
For MS, the Crystal Spider from Jeremy Kool's The Paper Fox Project.
Spooky Sock Monkeys, 2011 edition.
Celebrating Steve, filmed live at the Apple campus in Cupertino, California on October 19th.
Trash Bin Basketball.
Related to the last. They missed a very crucial moment in Chris' career.
Contemporary globes.
Taking a page from our Field Notes saying, "I'm not writing it down to remember it later, I'm writing it down to remember it now," FotA Amy Krouse Rosenthal has set up a voice mailbox to record descriptions of moments in time, the audio from which she'll later turn into a film.
If you ride a carbon-fiber bicycle you might not want to check out Busted Carbon. It's pretty frightening.
Marinus Boezem started this artwork in 1987 and he hasn't worked on it since, but it's getting better all the time.
W or M.
A Halloween-themed corn maze in Danvers, MA just received the greatest possible free advertising.
Sweet video from Sensory Minds on the making of Regiowall-Stuttgart, a ten-meter long wall with 16 touch screens, on which several users can simultaneously learn about tourism in the region. Via Design Made in Germany.
Capturing photos of people's reactions to something particularly scary at a Canadian haunted house.
For MS: living in Breakfast at Tiffany's.
On apple pie and the feeling of fall, by Nicole Herriott. Yum.
Hey SD, here's a costume for Briscoe.
How you may live and travel in the city of 1950. Via Gavin Rothery.
I was glad to be a part of 5by5's audio special, Thank You, Steve Jobs. Nice work Dan.
Jason Kottke's round-up of Steve Jobs linkage.
Woz.
Fuck.
For SD's hard drive collection: a power strip pig.
Hot-tub cars and shoes with headlights, from the mind of The Accidental Futurist, Steven M. Johnson, by Steven Heller.
Stencils for user interface design.
"Save a pretzel for the gas jets." Rick Perry gets the Bad Lip Reading treatment.
"We conduct spot checks to ensure the sausages are being piped properly and are not over-stuffed. If I feel they are too taut, they are to be re-done. They should feel like a man feels in his loins when he is making time with his lover." My Very Own Sausage Party.
"George Dawe was an English portrait artist who painted 329 portraits of Russian generals active during Napoleon's invasion of Russia for the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace." That's cool but now let's take them and replace the face. Beautiful and fun, check this one.
From this morning's episode of 848 on WBEZ, FotA Justin Kaufmann attempts to get to the root of the Bears/Packers rivalry and why he hates the latter so much.
FotA Matt Ruby and Jared Logan bring to life the "Haters Gonna Hate" animated gif.
"Create a new identity for our brand Actelion. Don't touch the logo, but create something the world of pharma has not seen before." Mission accomplished by Onformative using Processing to create a "corporate imagery tool." Via Nicholas Felton.
Related to below: the Qualatex Balloon Network is apparently still going strong. I've already made BB promise to agree to the QBN Code of Ethics.
It sounds dirty but I promise it isn't. Grinding the Crack. I think I found a new sport.
Meanwhile in Volume 4 of the Qualatex Balloon Network Curriculum Series...
The Yes Men have launched The Yes Lab "to help activist groups carry out media-getting creative actions around campaign goals," like the great "Coal for the Rich" prank here in Chicago earlier this year.
Ben is seeking graph zen.
Ira Glass runs into a little trouble trying to film in Wrigleyville.
The World's Greatest Drag Race.
Legoflesh, yeah, me too Daniel.
Cornelis Bega. Woman Playing Guitar Hero, 1664-65. "Even in her squalor, amidst the Costco snack packs and novelty wizard bongs, our young musician, in form and moral intention, resembles the finest Renaissance angel."
Scenes from the University of Kentucky's recent record-setting World's Largest Water Balloon Fight. Via Doobybrain.
Nikole Herriott "On Moments," as the summer winds down.
How well does your favorite Girl Scout cookie sell?
Yes - But No.
Well, I know what I'm having for lunch now. Mental Floss' Tribute to the Grilled Cheese Sandwich.
Music video of the moment: Madeon - Pop Culture (Dance Video).
A sport I will not be participating in anytime soon: Rocky Mountain Highlining.
Maria Lucimar Pereira turns 121 on Saturday.
I was really hoping the last entry about bears would be more like this.
If Field Notes are just too darn analog for you check the new Wacom Inkling. Cool. Thanks Marshall.
At the end of World War II the Chrysler Corporation tooted its own horn by dispatching small hardbound books to its shareholders chronicling what was involved in their contributions to the war effort.
A wonderfully dumb, interactive joke: Phil Collins Weather Report.
Collectors Weekly gets the interesting inside scoop on the fake vomit gag industry, most of which is centered just around a mile or two from CP. Who knew?
Braving the elements, Herman straps a GoPro to his handle bars and bikes through a near desolate New York during the hurricane. Nice Madeon soundtrack too.
You are listening to Irene.
The iPad Bridesmaid.
An infographic showing the time spent using Tupperware.
A photo of the devastation caused by Washington DC's earthquake. Thanks Claire.
As the cyclists pass by, handing out unconventional foods (to say the least) at the Tour of Utah.
Your arteries will start to clog just by looking at this: Making a Pizza Out of Pizza-Flavored Foods. Via Doobybrain.
A blog dedicated to gastronomic atrocities of the past.
Posted without comment: a demo of the video game Champion Jockey.
A selection of objects from the traveling Museum of Broken Relationships.
The Long Beach Free Store, wherein you can take what you'd like if you also leave something, feels vaguely familiar for some reason.
The current "Popularity Issue" of Businessweek is one huge, 37-page infographic. CD Richard Turley explains. Via Jennifer Daniel.
Hipster Ipsum, "artisanal filler text for your site or project."
The title says it all: Dog Parkour.
Ron Arad's 360 degree projection installation at the Roundhouse in London, Curtain Call.
A Wilco bike, by Todd Simeone.
Great moments in awkward advertisement placement, 1912 edition.
Colorful mortar & pestles by Tahir Mahmood.
Rollerblading at insane speeds down a salt mine in Poland.
Ted Cassidy's (aka Lurch) advertising demo reel, and more male voiceover demos.
Spanning 200 innings and 48 hours, 32 minutes and 45 seconds, the world's longest baseball game was played last weekend in Vermont.
Best part about Mike Huckabee's new Learn Our History series for kids isn't the creepy animation or the obvious political bent. Nope, it's the angry, knife wielding disco lover in the "Regan Revolution" episode.
A nice profile of our pals Brendan Dawes and Lou Cordwell and moving from client work to creating things. We're on the same wavelength, see my recent presentation at Creative Mornings.
For MCJ, a sea octopus tee.
"To create the chart, Velo gently scraped Wikipedia's list of Crayola colors, corrected a few hues, and added the standard 16-count School Crayon box available in 1935." The history of Crayola colors, charted. Via This Isn't Happiness.
Daniel Rozin makes sculptures and installation that react and respond to the location and movement of the viewer.
For MS, a carved quartz salt and pepper set. Hurry, only one left!
Uh oh. Someone accidentally printed the Ed Hardy t-shirt design template.
"You give. Teen girls go to college. I shave my head. Everybody... um... wins?" Fifty For Fifty.
"A friend of mine posted a picture of her cat Hoohaw cradling a magnifying glass and I couldn't help myself."
The Periodic Table of Irrational Nonsense. Via J-Walk.
"Subliminal Sex Messages and Pornography in Advertising and Cartoons" or "Seeing what you want to see because you have a theory and something of an obsession yourself"? Via Doobybrain.
This American Life When Patents Attack! An excellent episode on an important issue. More here.
What kids of the world eat at school.
Glow Sticks + Blender. Nuff said.
Yikes. Sewer geysers look dangerous.
Our #1 most requested film of all time about clearly the most interesting machine in our office.
A visualization of US Debt in 100 dollar bills. I think the url of the the site says it best. Yowza.
Local note: The A.V. Club says "Screw it, we're doing a music festival too." Great lineup.
"This is an amazing deal. I have ordered these before, they're pretty good quality. You do get 12 sets of the same 3 mustaches. That wasn't a problem for me, but you might want to know that."
Seven Roomba automated vacuum cleaners, each with a different colored LED light attached.
Valentin Ruhry's Untitled (Hello World.) Lighted switches in a display. Simple and lovely.
Danny Hillis "wanted to build a Clock that ticks once a year, where the century hand advances once every 100 years, and the cuckoo comes out on the millennium. The vision was, and still is, to build a Clock that will keep time for the next 10,000 years." Jeff Bezos is helping him do it. Bravo to that.
It's Better in the Wind
Nightmare fuel: Vaudeville Ventriloquist Dummy Portraits.
Didn't realize that you could qualify "world's largest" down to specific regions, but apparently you can. The Titanic Museum in Branson, MO.
Probably NSFW: Know What's F**king Crazy?
For MS, Harry Potter inspired jewelry.
For SD. *SPOILER ALERT* You may want to brush up on your Wandlore before you attend the midnight screening tonight.
The Media Artist Contingency Plan will "help guide you towards the quickest methodology of seriously damaging your laptop hard drive during that moment of urgency." Via Doobybrain.
"A town where you could afford to fail, and you could afford to experiment." Monocle's Gabriel Leigh visits on video with one our Chicago heros, Rick Kogan.
For high rollers, it's important to replace the 4/$ key on your keyboard with this solid gold model. Via J-Walk.
"I put up the camera to catch an arm thief and got someone stealing a Picasso."
If the weather is good tomorrow will be the very last Shuttle launch. Check this Wapo video history of modern spacecraft.
Data Underload #12, Famous Movie Quotes.
"The APPP is a political party whose aim is to influence the public with regard to limiting the phenomenon of unproductive use of time in the Swiss economy industry, in research, and educational institutions." If you've ever seen me make a presentation you know I support the Anti Powerpoint Party.
A peek inside Craig Robinson's cool new book, Flip Flop Fly Ball.
Giuseppe Randazzo creates virtual stones and sorts them. The results are beautiful.
Maud, the Cowboys and nachos, The Texan Way. Amen to that.
"After five rounds, they definitely thought we were gluttons. But you've got to ignore them; you've got to get in the zone." Trying Every Cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory.
What the NYPD will be doing later today with all those confiscated fireworks.
NCZ's 2012 Republican Presidential Logo Primary.
High fashion healing with these luxury band aids.
Local note, this Friday evening is an opening reception at Rotofugi for new exhibits by Aesthetic Apparatus and The Little Friends of Printmaking. Side note, SD visited AA back in 2006 when they made our Field-Tested Books poster.
The Graph Stamp Set includes three 3" x 3" stamps: two rectangular coordinate stamps, (100 blocks per square inch and 16 blocks per square inch) and one polar coordinate (pattern consists of 6 concentric circles).
Stuxnet: Anatomy of a Computer Virus, a film by Patrick Clair. A well written overview, presented through data in motion, images and typography. Must-see.
Worth a rare blind link. So very great.
For some reason, Chicago's NPR affiliate WBEZ didn't ask Erica and Fuzzy to participate in their promos of real life couples talking about the station, so they had to make one themselves.
Ant and his team at DK won the Grand Prix at Cannes for their digital experience work for the Cosmopolitan in Vegas. Very cool, check the lobby.
For BB, Pixbag covers for SLR cameras.
Make an app using Metro Chicago government data and win cash and glory.
Christian Palino on the rebranding of the Canadian Olympic Team. Simple. Thoughtful. Lovely.
Tips on making a Father's Day talking bouquet. We recommend adding one of these.
Related to the last, Dijital Fix is one of our first and most awesome Field Notes retailers and they're always ahead of the curve. Case in point, they now accept Bitcoin payments.
Lynne Peril's slideshow on The Rise and Fall of the Office Wife.
From the desk of...
Bianca Chang's Works in Paper are "inspired by the subtlety of tone on tone signage and the shadow-play of 3 dimensional letterforms." Via .
"She loudly proclaimed her love for Mexican women. She used profanities directed at men in a steady stream, then moments later held a toddler in her arms." So, um, here's what's going on in San Diego.
For 170 days Dale dressed in different costumes and waved at his son as his school bus went by.
Don't not use the bikelane or you could get a ticket too.
The World's Smallest Postal Service now has a kit available so you can make your own miniature letter.
Local note, The Dogs of War. Via Gapers.
Related to the last, An Additional Balcony.
"Everybody, I know you can believe in yourself!" The greatest motivational speech ever for someone learning how to ride a bike.
Three days ago, Jed Mildon did the first ever triple backflip on a bike Here are the physics on why why that is so awesome and so difficult. Via It's Okay To Be Smart.
Yowza, Olafur Eliasson's Your Rainbow Panorama installation in Denmark is finished. "...measuring 150 meters around,
the transparent glass unit is designed to act as a visual compass for the city." Via Jason Kottke.
Ah, for the days when the Thunder Lizard and the Potbellied Rex roamed the earth.
Rob Walker, "I offered the amateurs on Crowdspring.com $200 to design a logo for my newsletter. Here's what they came up with."
"What the wife selects on her console will be paid for by the husband at his counterpart console." 1966 film on how we will use computers in our daily lives.
For MS: "That's not sausage"
Posted without comment: taking a stroll through Denver with baby masks on.
"Keep your blood off our equipment." Photos from Northcoast Zeitgeist.
Found the perfect beach umbrella.
Painting a BMW in a tiny New York apartment.
For MS, instead of a napping loft you should get this.
Cement Eclipses, a book based on a series of "small interventions in the big city," by Isaac Cordal. Via Wooster.
The Chicago Tribune compares "Charity" drop-off boxes. More here.
"Police Capt. Edward Byrnes said whatever hit the front yard left a crater about 18 inches deep and roughly the size of a coffee table." Bernards Township, New Jersey's Mystery Hole. Via J-Walk.
"...the old Calvin Trillin quote: 'Anyone who doesn't think that their home town has the best hamburger place in the world is a sissy.'" A Hamburger Today's Side-By-Side-By-Side Taste Test.
"I work at a used bookstore, and I buy books from people everyday. These are the personal, funny, heartbreaking and weird things I find in those books." Forgotten Bookmarks. Totally charming.
Miss Sharon, "A true relic of the 70s, this book. I found it at a thrift store -- can you believe no one else wanted it?" Burt Reynolds Hot Line. Via the always vigilant Shaun Usher.
Standing Clock lets you track how many hours you don't spend sitting in an office chair.
"Which is all good and well, until the next day when you look at Google Translate history." Jan Chipchase, from the always insightful Future Perfect.
Our pal and one very smart guy, John Tolva, on starting his new job as Chief Technology Officer of the city today, The Kind of Innovation Chicago Is.
An autistic man started having trouble singing the National Anthem at Fenway. The Red Sox Nation helped him out. Magnificent.
Vegan Black Metal Chef, Episode 1: Pad Thai.
Peter Antencio notices a most troubling aspect of Microsoft's purchase of Skype. I, for one, welcome our robot overlords.
A chupacabra? A naked mole rat or hairless raccoon? Whatever sort of creature is haunting Rochester, NY, there's now a $7.00 reward for its capture. Also, it's been nicknamed 'Dimples.'
Yves 'Jetman' Rossy made his first US flight on Monday, cruising above the Grand Canyon, strapped to a jet-propelled wing.
The Anton LaVey Pez Dispenser. Kinda creepy, but not nearly as unsettling as this video made by the same artist for his Sammy Davis Jr. statue. That music will haunt me for days.
Read about Grace Bedell last night and now, after seeing the other offerings available that tell her story, it's been decided that we'll write a one-man show where our own BB, a Bedell himself, will play Grace. Might be a musical.
Maybe all that jealousy here in Chicago has been for naught. From the LA Times: "A wrong turn for L.A.'s food truck scene?"
Djiloriann, Dindasür, Litsabbur, Tjardiis.
Facebook icons by Leonard Savage.
Tired of all those tilt-shift photos and videos that make everything look like cute little toys and models? Yeah, us too. So let's go the other way, an amazing actually miniature Knuffingen Airport.
Spring cleaning in Copenhagen means fishing for bikes. Via Gary Hustwit.
One of the greatest YouTube compilations I have ever seen: Nicholas Cage Losing His Shit
New stamps are being unveiled today to commemorate space flight past and present.
The Lincoln, Nebraska group behind the impressive backyard productions of Jurassic Park: The Musical and Dr. Quinn: The Musical, are now trying to raise money for this year's performance of X-Files: The Musical.
"True Fact: The only investment safer than Beanie Babies is Barbies."
"Technically adults only upon its release, it now seems only vaguely erotic/smutty in spots. I would call it 'Not Safe for Church Work.'" WFMU presents The Intimate Amours of Cleopatra, an LP. Dig the cover.
For MS, shakers by Waylande Gregory.
This live blog will cover anything and everything happening in the world, except for the royal wedding.
Speaking of MTV, here's their compilation of reality show elimination lines.
Noted without comment, The Monkeytail.
RIP Lynn Hauldren, the Empire Carpet Man.
"So my wife sent me on a side trip to IKEA this weekend. My friends and I started asking ourselves – What if you lived in IKEA? Well take a look..."
I have a sneaking suspicion this list will be useful over the next 5 semesters of school that I have left. 50 Things Every Graphic Design Student Should Know.
I Am the Coin, an installation by Micah Lexier featuring a story by Derek McCormack and twenty-thousand custom minted coins, one of which is the narrator.
This is not really a surprise but the claim is well-verified with examples, Japan's Skymall is stranger than ours.
Nikole Herriott's Saturday Sandwich. Yum.
#uchicaption
Alderman Ed Bus has finally appeared on stage with Mayor Daley.
Fortunately heard more than a few of these last night: The NHL's Goal Horns, In Order.
Sweet Juniper returns to the abandoned Detroit Public Schools Book Depository, this time with a video camera.
"Before I left for work yesterday I placed this folder on my wife's desktop to celebrate our third anniversary." Cute.
If you're looking for a royal wedding souvenir without William and Kate on it there's this. Via Pikaland.
Hovering Art Directors. Like it says. Thanks JSM.
"The Taste tag is a new, extremely useful feature in HTML11. The tag was developed as part of the sensory experiences development trunk whose aim was to create a new set of useful features aimed at mobile users."
In case you don't already know, 50 reasons not to date a graphic designer. I, personally, am guilty of at least half the things on this list (probably more).
"There's a German word that I'm looking for."
Some direction, in case you want to make a porn movie. From a smart campaign for Canal+ by BETC Euro RSCG.
For BB (and me) I'm Scooterist.
Any new venture that has Bren and Lou involved and that uses this bit from Dandelion Wine on their temporary page has our complete endorsement. Beep.
William Staehle's Silhouette Masterpiece Theatre. Via the always observant This Isn't Happiness.
Chad Robertson and Elizabeth Prueit, Tartine Bakery at The Selby.
Sunday in the park with Chicago's Cold War missile defense shield. Thanks Marshall, I feel so much safer now.
"...suddenly a myriad of iridescent hexagon lensflares flood across the screen."
Sting Ray X-Ray. Oh yeah.
Cross-Stitched Pixel People. Via Laughing Squid.
The FBI needs your help cracking a code and a murder case. If that's too daunting for you, maybe you'd be better off figuring out who owns the fish?
Kate Donnelly's From the Desk Of... Via the Casual Optimist.
The Breakfast Project.
Related to the last, in case you didn't know, Albert Brooks is now on Twitter. A sample.
A Geeky Growth Chart.
In case you're stuck, some April Fools' Day ideas.
Everything about this news report is fun (the very last sentence in particular): "Fake Bombs at Balloon Museum."
You can almost hear a teenager whining, "Stop it! You're embarrassing me!" Dads on Vacation. Thanks Claire.
I'm an Egyptian cobra out on the town.
No matter if it's a prank, an art project, or is somehow inexplicably real, after watching Rachel Sequoia's Share the Air presentation at the Venture Capital Fundraising Club of Silicon Valley, we're ready to fork over the $500,000 she needs to get started.
Truly site specific street art. Thanks Jason.
For BB, an infant Kim Jong Il costume.
T&T on Comfort #4, for which two floors of an elementary school in Paris were connected by nine inflated, lighted foil tubes. By Lang & Baumann. See also, Comfort #6.
Houdini's concert rider. Via Shaun.
Many things continue to be organized neatly.
Rice Krispyhenge. From Brock Davis.
Everyday for iPhone. Film by Adam Lisagor and Noah Kalina.
Dudes, enjoy the coolness that is The Selvedge Yard. Vans, Bunnies, HST, etc, etc. Via the recently redesigned Monoscope.
In the Santa Clarita Valley, Newhall Memorial names Dr. Richard S. Frankenstein as interim chief medical officer. He says it's "pronounced Franken-STEEN." Via J-Walk.
Hey! Can I paint a big white dot on your roof? Stephanie Avery won the Awesome Foundation's first Toronto award and has a cool plan. Via The Puzzler.
How to catch a paper tiger. From Terry Border, via Andrew Sullivan.
A retro arcade cake mold.
"The attacks have been described as an unprovoked flurry of scratching and biting." Note to MS: Don't go to Vermont.
Ben's Tournament Brackets.
FotA Amy wants to put the school back in Art School Girl.
Just announced. C77DA, The Core77 Design Awards. "An annual celebration of excellence, enterprise and intent."
The history of science fiction as a hand-drawn and lettered graphic. Via ninebelow at Mefi.
DW's been warning us for years but we were all too arrogant or stubborn to listen. Now there's proof, via Siberian air traffic controllers, that the cat aliens are here and they're stealing our talking cats. I, for one, welcome our new overlords.
"The gift included with this letter of appreciation is a small reward for your very courageous effort bringing cleaner air to Toronto while going from point A to point B on a bicycle instead of a car."
The newest season of the very ridiculous podcast Superego has just launched. Highly recommended listening.
"Rocky will enhance your 'indoor outdoor' flow considerably, especially if you load him in through the garage roof like we did." Selling a boulder that fell through a roof during the recent New Zealand earthquakes. The bid is already up to $8000, so get moving.
It's (K)not Wood, a blog dedicated to all things faux bois.
Have tea with Jean-Paul Gaultier, Donatella Versace, Naomi Campbell, Karl Lagerfeld and Claudia Schiffer.
Money talks, especially when folded by the hands of New Orleans artist Dan Tague.
"The new name has something to do with Charlie Watts, Beckett's Watt, Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, dim light bulbs, riots, cheap amps, chaos theory, and the friend who threatened violence if I didn't drop my old moniker." Will Schofield's "Journey Round My Skull" is now 50 Watts. Rebookmarked.
Cupcake vs bacon toothpaste.
I stumbled onto the Russian Retrofuturism LiveJournal community and was immediately sucked into a space-time vortex that made half an hour disappear. I. II. III.
Local note: WGN's Snowed Under: The Blizzard of 2011 airs this Thursday evening. Keep an eye out for some Above the Sun footage.
Well, actually our engineering strength is also our social weakness. Via Matt Haughey.
Did NPR affiliate WBUR have a prank played on it or could that actually be Terrence George's real voice? Let it play for the full minute before he starts talking. Via Atencio.
The story of the Bruno, Nebraska Barn Move. 350 people, with each person lifting 56 lbs., helped move a 10 ton barn 115 feet to higher ground. Video of the event, here. Via Beer or Kid.
If you just need one for social status, the $23.86 iPad Model will do just the trick. Make sure to read through all the comments and customer discussions. This one's a favorite.
Bob Edwards chats with Ken Nordine.
This weekend, Daniel spotted the Human Carpet at a bar. Here's a 2009 story about him in the NY Times.
Is it too early for chocolate cake? Also, Nikole is cooking something that should be done in a couple hours.
Fat Cookies in San Francisco delivers their desserts by second story window.
"The first hour is over | It came off mostly right | Just three things crashed down | Two guys and a light" Fragments from Doomed Musical! The Musical, by Ben Greenman (of course.)
"I'm surprised some crazy cat lady hasn't adopted him because he looks like Voldemort and would complete her live Harry Potter pet collection." A kitten for MS.
The snow monsters of Japan.
Bruno Zalum and Camille McMorrow's Return of the Lost Sock project "salves the painful wounds of sock loss with design treats and practical advice for the parent of a lost sock."
Jesse Thorn interviews Dick Cavett on The Sound of Young America.
"There is a metal detector, so don't try to sneak in flasks." Local note. Mayoral candidate Alderman Ed Bus to hold City Hall press conference tomorrow. At CP, "We're on the Bus."
Yesterday magCuluture posted a magazine every hour to celebrate their Fifth Anniversary, 24 x 24.
"My sister plays an actress getting captured. We... tie her up... then sit at a table and make plans how to get rid of her."
Everything Is Terrible at its finest: Jobs? On My Internet?
What Katie Ate. Dangerous around lunchtime.
Related to the last, Matt played Daniel Oeffinger in a Mograf Exhbition Match of Layer Tennis this past season.
A Could-Have-Been Love Story. Darling.
Several days after Claire and I got stumped by a McDonald's bus ad, GOOD stepped in by calling the chain's PR department and received an answer. Unfortunately, "the truth is not nearly as interesting as the wild speculations."
After a thirty year absence, Matthew Baldwin returns to his local roller-skating rink. For me, it'll always be Glendale, AZ's own Great Skate.
I believe these are physics demonstrations, but whatever they are, this dude rocks.
Austin TX's Waste Services Department is looking for a new name. (Thanks Mrs. BB)
Halló, my name is Iceland.
Related to the last. National UFO Reporting Center
Report Index by Month. Click through for awesome event details.
These installations by David Spriggs are made of acrylic on multiple sheets of transparent film housed within a display case. Via BB-Blog.
Jumbo gummi bears.
"When my campaign had to raise money in the 53rd, we did a series of celebrity cakewalks. We'd get one of the lesser-known Murray brothers and one of the gals from Designing Women. If that don't work, we'll sell off a couple old buses to Atlanta or rig the lotto." Zulkey receives responses to a political questionnaire she sent to Chicago mayoral candidate Ed Bus.
Flipping through the new In Graphics Magazine.
Finally a company has dared attempt to harness the power of pizza and cookies and put them both in a single box. America is saved.
Spencer Burback kicking butt at Black Rock Freeride in Falls City Oregon. Terrific camera work too. Via Matt Haughey, of course.
"It occurred to me that being an artist is a great deal like being a dictator. Just like a dictator, I must live in a closed loop of self-delusion. A place where my words and ideas always ring true. A gilded daydream of grandiosity." Long live Kim Jong Phil. Via Mefi.
"A little experiment with Trapcode Particular, Trapcode Sound Keys, and After Effects. There are no keyframes in this animation." -Mattias Peresini. Via Fox Is Black.
"Disregard thirty years of GUI advancement by immersing yourself in full-screen mode. Impress curious onlookers at internet cafes." Cathode, a vintage terminal emulator. Via Andy Baio.
Forget "Soda Versus Pop," check this awesome soft drink brand infographic. Via Ben Greenman.
Apparently in Russia, it's customary to announce your crime before you perpetrate it on national television. Also guess it doesn't hurt to throw in that you're doing it because you "want to destroy the world financial system."
A look at Chicago's "window paintings of popular childrens' cartoon characters, slightly misproportioned, festooning large storefront windows or walls, cheerfully waving at passersby."
Kim Neill's Pantone Chip Cookies.
Our JFK Speech, smart interactive site celebrating the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's inauguration. Via Creative Review.
Too clever? A misprint? Obvious to everyone else but us? The confounding McDonald's bus ad neither Zulkey nor I can figure out.
A smart interactive window display by students at Hyper Island for the Australian streetwear brand WeSC.
BibliOdyssey on Victorian Infographics.
Things Organized Neatly, a simple, beautiful idea for a site. Oh, and our FN show up here and there. Via Craftzine.
Google Science Fair.
A new study finds, "with rare exception, celebrity endorsements were largely ineffective and failed to yield the benefits popular wisdom promises." MS, please call Steve Guttenberg's people and cancel that Field Notes in-store appearance.
"A visual solution? I get it immediately!" Things Real People Don't Say About Advertising.
Playing Card Polyhedral Construction. "This page has ideas for two constructions that can be made with playing cards. In each case, the cards are just cut and interlocked without glue or tape." Cool.
Diego Bernal, who made the great track for Layer Tennis' Exhibition Season recap video, is running for City Council in San Antonio's District 1. If something changes and Chicagoans are allowed into the booths, he has our vote.
Consumed, a catalog of everything William Rugen ate last year, photographed and tagged. Yowza.
Thunderbirds are go.
NBA court painting and design, the good, the bad and the ugly. Via Noisy Decent Graphics.
We'd can't bring ourselves to schedule a meeting, even if it's only to have one to boycott.
Relink. Mom, this is how Twitter works, by Jessica Hische.
DonQ wants to know if you qualify as a Master Of All Skills.
"Don't feel bad: your friends aren't as happy as they seem"
Norad's annual Santa Tracker has now been ported to Google Earth.
Experiments using the Kinect for live 3D capture and overlay projection via a holographic screen. Woah. Coded with Processing by Sarat Babu and Stefan Dzisieswki-Smith.
Spiral Path of a Blindfolded Man, from the aptly titled stream of images, Endless Forms Most Beautiful.
Cool but sorta creepy too. BMW uses an "afterimage" to brand their logo in viewers minds.
Boing Boing gift idea, Wikileaks Jewelry. Gotta say it looks wicked cool against that black-on-black espionage background. Thanks Jamie.
Future = now. Word Lens.
Sculpture's Rotary Signal Emitter Picture-Disc LP. Very difficult to explain, very easy to love. "Sculpture is an audiovisual performance duo from London - electronic music producer, Dan Hayhurst,and animator, Reuben Sutherland." Via Feuilleton.
Vogue on Vogue, taking all the 2010 covers from various regional editions of the magazine and combining them into individual images. Lovely.
Kevin Byrd wrote us to confirm that, once again, things have gotten out of hand at Armchair's holiday party.
Office Fridges.
Which came first, this or this?
Today you... tomorrow me.
"This is the water tower on top of the Wyman building in downtown Minneapolis. Carmichael Lynch, the ad agency where I work, occupies the top 4 floors of the building. Several months back I was asked to come up with some concepts for the water tower." Totally brilliant, from Brock Davis.
Local note. Happy Sweet 16th birthday to Heidi and everyone at Big Delicious Planet.
"As a reminder Mr. Haberny, Ed McMahon passed away June 23, 2009. It is not only disrespectful but also utterly moronic to request that he host your birthday party at McDonald's." Cash4Gold really can be so unreasonable sometimes.
Now that's my kind of headline. Wisconsin Man Builds Planetarium in Backyard.
Finally a Tumblr site dedicated to one of our favorite things: Kim Jong-Il Looking at Things. Also a good excuse to re-post Waki's That's My Uncle Kim!
The first public ride on the Formula Rossa roller coaster at the recently-opened Ferrari World theme park in Abu Dhabi. Via Doobybrain.
Video interview with visual futurist Syd Mead, Blade Runner, Aliens, Tron, on creativity, imagination and the future. Thanks to John Straun.
Newspaper Blackout Horoscopes for the week of November 29, 2010, by Austin Kleon. Via Glass.
Trippy.
FotA Steve Gadlin's I Want to Draw a Cat for You finally gets a Groupon. And on the same day the company entertains a $6 billion offer from Google, no less. Coincidence? Hardly.
"I'll put in the new light switches and you give me some drawings." Merci Monsieur Picasso.
Ministry of Stories & Hoxton Street Monster Supplies, an 826ish shop and writing center in London from We Made This.
Mr Blog.
Relink. iPad light painting.
Today and Tomorrow on Nils Völker's One Hundred and Eight, "an interactive installation made out of ordinary garbage bags which can be selectively inflated and deflated by two cooling fans." You have to see it in action.
Things Organized Neatly. Yep.
Related to the last. Lothar Meggendorfer.
How do you buy this book?! Someone, please help! Via J-Walk.
The symbol for USB connection is the mark of devil worshipers? You'd think they would have chosen Firewire.
Kitsune Noir = The Fox is Black. Nice. Especially since The Space Suit of the Week won't be interrupted.
Chirp from Garmin. For geocaching. Via Matt Haughey.
"Nothing will arrive in your mailbox; no content will go online. An issue exists for one night, in one place." Pop-Up Magazine. Via SPD.
Pixelated Star Wars characters.
"Some people like taking their time..." artist Kim Rugg used an Excato knife to revise a newspaper front page, putting all the text in alphabetical order.
Hmm, we do have a very large supply of packing tape on hand.
The designers have Layer Tennis and now the coders have some fun, The Standardistas' Open Book Exam, next Tuesday. Should be fun.
Wonderwall ScreenSaver from the minds at tha ltd. Amazing. Via Folkert.
3D paper graphics by Yulia Brodskaya.
Finally, a bike helmet that will not mess up my hair.
The Baseball Card Hall of Infamy, by Drew Dernavich.
In case you can't find your phone
A swell design contest on Dribble. What state do you live in? Thanks Marshall.
Part kid, part machine, all cop.
Monomoda on the Paper Typography of Bianca Chang which are all measured and cut by hand. Via Luke Williams.
An ad agency does something useful with award trophies. Via Ben Terrett.
What hands do whilst waiting for devices to catch up with their intent. Hand Pause. From the always observant Jan Chipchase.
What's the most expensive mistake you've ever made at work? Via Waxy.
Local note for St. Louis. Come out Monday to see Bill Keaggy & Kevin Guilfoile at The Royale. They'll be talking about The MoOM, The Curators, The Thousand, Milk Eggs Vodka and tons of other stuff.
For MS and anyone else who's cleaning up their office, Paperwork: What to throw out... and when.
When amazingly bad ideas are put into practice, great things can happen.
The colors of the web.
"It's an incredibly slow Food Network news day, so let's pass the time until Sandra Lee does something stupid by gawking at McDonalds foods from around the world! Here's a sampling of menu items that aren't available in the United States."
Presenting for your enjoyment a fine selection of Tea and Kittens for the removal of stress in office environments.
Related to an earlier post, bacon pancakes. Via Neatorama.
Eliza Williams takes a look at a Chelsea Space exhibition on the working practices of iconic London designer Barney Bubbles for CR.
Light painting through space with an iPad. Fab. More background at the Dentsu London blog. Thanks Paz.
The Urban Speaker is an art installation that transforms public space into an instant stage for mass communication. This portable urban furniture allows people to broadcast their voice in public by calling a telephone number from their mobile phones. Friday, October 8th from 3-7pm. Via Wooster Collective.
Tom Scocca's A Brief, Subjective Guide to the Baseball Playoffs. Thanks Claire.
Dmitri Medvedev and Vladimir Putin sit down together to enjoy some milk, some bread, and a little Ronnie James Dio on Medvedev's hi-fi.
Breaking into your apartment is easier than you think.
Little Drifters.
Andy Rutledge's fun acronym-based parody: How to Join the AIGA.
Google's handy tool for comparing Android phones.
I find your lack of mask disturbing.
Nice wall hooks designed by Geneviève Gauckler. Via Happy Mundane.
Not our usual kind of Drink Link. Greg and Cam have something great going. Get involved today.
Trend alert: Foxes.
PSFK on robot generated "Ladies & Gents" washroom symbols, from an installation by Nanda Khaorapapong and Patrick Tresset. The site for which is, appropriately, robotically updated.
Man Dies While Riding the Hipsterest Bike Ever Via Sean Crowe
Although the band Ween's unreleased Pizza Hut jingle is the official pizza song of the studio, this is now its understudy, should the first not be available.
In honor of his 200th post, FotA Andy Ross gives his readers what they've been aching for: his dancing. Keep an eye out for his very nicely framed Field-Tested Books poster by Spike Press. Andy field-tested The Mortdecai Trilogy for us in the last edition.
Pantone Visa cards.
Peter Montgomery really, really gets into Halloween and he has a big idea for his yard this year, but it needs a little kick start.
While a British village is blaming a computer error for printing out a police sketch of a burglar that looks like he has hair made of lettuce, the most likely truth is that Cabbage Head is still alive and well.
For when you need to look creepy in public: Sascha Nordmeyer's Communication Prosthesis.
Well MS, you can forget about visiting our Field Notes retailer on Reunion Island. This will probably be waiting for you.
Because it makes you smile when it pops up in your feed reader, Faces Of The Last Season of Oprah.
In the Library perfume, featuring "a warm blend of English novel, Russian & Moroccan leather bindings, worn cloth and a hint of wood polish."
Badaude found a batch of French recipe cards from the 1970s and 80s, and has decided to start posting them every Friday.
Bamboo Bicycles from Greensboro Alabama's With Not For. Via Andy Richardson
Today is Park(ing) Day, an annual, worldwide event that inspires city dwellers everywhere to transform metered parking spots into temporary parks for the public good.
Kumi Yamashita creates art from shadows. Wow. Via Michael Surtees.
"I could tell you but then you would have to be destroyed by me." Emblems from the Pentagon's Black World. More here and here's the very coolest one of all, from expert/author Trevor Paglen.
BllankWall projects on a cute little car. Fab. Via T&T.
A great blog for foodies, What Katie Ate.
Prince Charles and START Festival goers watch a performance of the cat toy organ.
Martha Cansler and Danny Rosenberg have a lot of cool stuff. A lot. Via Public School.
Apropos of nothing. "I found this photo tucked away in an old paperback copy of Dune at the Value Village thrift store. I'm almost positive it was placed at a random page as opposed to being used as a bookmark. The book cost .69 but the photo is priceless."
Arthur Ganson's kinetic sculptures, Machines. Check the videos. Thanks Marshall.
Don't clap when switching on the light, just blow in the ear.
Frank Chimero wants you to know that there is a horse in the Apple Store.
Grain Edit visits the Enormous Champion studio.
How do you feel about corporations mixing with politics? Let one know at Dear Target. Via Ben Rummel Design.
"My boss got a call from her kid's teacher; she was calling every parent to apologize profusely for the movie she'd shown in class that day. She'd pulled a version of The Giving Tree off YouTube and played it for the class. Unfortunately, she'd pulled the wrong version. It was this one."
As Glenn Beck's rally kicked off this weekend in DC, Jeff Jetton did the only thing that made any sense: dress up like pregnant demon and carry a sign reading, "I Want a Sandwich." Via Wonkette.
"Things that are made from organic material age and decay, especially when they stop being alive. A piece of home-baked bread, say, left on your kitchen counter, will get moldy relatively fast. Lord knows what some ground beef would smell like after a week. But the artist Sally Davies has been photographing one McDonald's hamburger and fries every day for 137 days. They look basically exactly the same."
Taking pictures of the picture.
Houseplant Picture Studio. I could struggle to describe this, or you could. You go first.
So you know. Aliens could operate through robots, astronomer says.
"Seeing a pattern, he renounced for 28 years doing any work on Aug. 26, but in 1890 he forgot the date, went to work, and broke his left leg for the fourth time."
A large collection of shows from Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre on the Air including Ambersons, Huckleberry Finn, and of course, WotW. Via It's Nice That.
Golden Girls nesting dolls.
"Are you finished or are you still working on that Jesus?" Anthony Grafton on what The Last Supper looked like and what was on the menu (pdf), according to John Varriano for Gastonomica.
"The importance of sunscreen at a nude beach cannot be overestimated." Vacation planning. Oh, and a FAQ.
"Warning: Journalist hiding their own opinions by using phrases like 'some people claim.'" Tom Scott's
Journalism Warning Labels. Via Waxy.
Photos from this weekend's bizarre Gathering of the Juggalos. FotA Nathan Rabin was there researching his next book and files this great report on witnessing it first hand.
Kaner with the Cup.
Related to the soda post, want fries with that?
BB called it: the 'White Board Quitter' was a hoax.
"We Kennedys have always slept in museums." FotA James Kennedy has thrown in his hat for the race to spend a month at the Museum of Science and Industry with his audition video.
Ceejay Epton has changed her name to Ceejay A Apple B Boat C Cat D Dog E Elephant F Flower G Goat H House I Igloo... and so on. Easier just to call her Miss Alphabet.
Maybe the finest, most dramatic exit ever: "Flight Attendant Uses Emergency Slide to Escape Dispute." Thanks Claire.
One spicy grasshopper roll please.
A paper pinhole camera, The Pinolta.
Posted without comment: "These are images of mythological centaurs. They have a sense of majesty and power." Centaur Tales.
What Ben likes.
Inside Insides, magnetic resonance imaging of food. Via VSL.
Wish I could be in Manchester right about now. Bet it'll be a great party. Happy 10th Anniversary to Bren and all our co-conspirators at magneticNorth.
Like with any overnight success, there are bound to be companies that spring up to try to steal away business. As such, I Want to Draw a Cat for You now has to compete with May I Please Draw an Owl for You? and I'll Draw Any Animal You Want.
The new Rupee symbol.
One with sweet. Pete Straz's Greasefreak gets a name-check in a New Yorker food review this week. (Without a link, of course, Sheesh.)
Web 1.0 graveyard: 15 sites that were before their time.
A Continuous Lean visits Brimfield, the world's largest outdoor junk market.
Tokyo after everything. Yowza.
The San Francisco band Stripmall Architecture has launched their iPhone 4 Trade-In Program, allowing you to trade in your new phone in exchange for "a pristine, fully-functional copy" of their latest album.
Our pal Nick Campbell's amazing CrossProcess and ShakeItPhoto iPhone apps have a new home. Introducing Banana Camera Company. Yay.
If this hadn't turned out to be a scam, I would be buying cases of the stuff: Candwich, the sandwich in a can.
Sound Not As Memory But Experience. Geoff Manaugh on Take a Closer Listen, a book on found sounds by Roger Zuydervelt.
Best crop circle ever, at Cley Hill, nr Warminster, Wiltshire UK. Reported 9th July. Via Michael Paukner.
For BB: the octopus foretold it. All kneel before the soothsaying cephalopod mollusk.
Sad news from Mr. Ed's Elephant Museum that's saved from being too depressing by a link to a previous story.
I'm sorry, were you saying something? I didn't hear you because I had on my TV Hat.
Double Rainbow! Whooo!
It's not quite up to the level of Unhappy Hipsters, but it has its moments, Catalog Living. Via Andrew Sullivan.
As we head into a weekend of overeating, overdrinking and blowing digits off with illegal explosives, a thoughtful reflection on what freedom really entails: information being free.
Garage Sale Report June 26, 2010.
Well, there are plenty of people who think Paul Graham walks on water.
Dear blank, please blank. Via @rands.
Ben on wearing the right shoe brand when you work in advertising.
This guy seems like the Japanese equivalent of our country's Len Cella.
"News of a nuclear reactor in the neighborhood got a mixed reception."
Local note. The Reader's Best of Chicago 2010 is up, with cover art by Ray Noland.
A well designed church bulletin in motion instead of print, displayed on monitors in the chapel. Via Doobybrain.
Not the sort of thing we link very often, a very hot pin-up calendar. Definitely rated X.
All proceeds from the sale of peliCAN will be donated to the Gulf Restoration Network.
For SD, the Bat Boy action figure.
100 Years of Scoreboard Watching, by Scott Allen.
Jeremiah Moss is tracking down Hopper's "Nighthawks." Via Mefi.
"118: Down a blind alley." Typical American Expressions. 547 audio examples with explanations from WFMU. This should be boring, and is, in a hypnotic sort of way. "413: Point, there is no."
As Ronnie del Carmen says, "This does kinda sums it up nicely."
Firefly is an interactive lighting installation that reacts to human behavior "like a swarm of glowing insects." More from c77.
For Heidi, how come we have never heard of Acquired Taste Magazine until just now? Bookmarked. Via @wejetset.
I'd like to think you might see this ad while flipping though a magazine in your Egg Chair and then look up to the tv and see this spot.
"If you have a strong, loyal community, you can do anything." Startup Quote.
Buy something from us today and we'll tweet about how great thou art.
Guys, if we all band together we can get Charles Clinton, Hockey Announcer on NBC tonight, reporting on the Hawks/Flyers game. Wouldn't that be great, guys? More Charles here.
For BB: a report from Toronto's recent Poutine Eating Championship. Not recommended for the faint of heart or weak of stomach.
Posted without comment: Your Daily Sales Affirmation.
"The installation uses multiple highend LED projectors, each mapping a different set of animations and projecting onto various surface depths." Trippy projection mapping for Alcatel-Lucent by Superbien.
Yum, Nutella stuffed bananas.
Highlights from Steve Jobs appearance at D8 yesterday.
Related to the last. What's with that photo caption?
50 Tokyo taxi tops. Via SE.
Who knew there was a "best illusion" awarded every year? The runners-up are great too.
Spectacular photos from the The Third Moscow Zombie Parade, a flashmob, gathered on May 15th.
In answer to Zulkey's post today on buying running supplies, here's one of the best scenes from Modern Romance.
Local note. We Are Family, our pals at The Post Family are having a show in collaboration with the AIGA that opens this Friday. They've invited "nine voices from the far reaches of Chicago's graphic design community to the Family Room Gallery."
MIL-C-44072C Brownies.
"Everyone thinks they know L.A., even if they've never been west of St. Louis. Nobody walks in L.A., right? There's that Missing Persons song, or that line from Steve Martin's L.A. Story: '...it's not like New York, where you can meet someone walking down the street. In L.A. you practically have to hit someone with your car. In fact, I know girls who speed just to meet cops. But the truth is people do walk in L.A. And bike. Fully 12 percent of all trips in Los Angeles are by bicycle or on foot–that's more than Austin or Portland." GOOD's Walking in L.A. series.
"We went, with some friends, into the woods. A few days later we left the woods. Our memory of the time we spent in the woods is a bit fuzzy; fortunately, someone thought to make an audio recording of it." The Magic Number, new from You Look Nice Today.
An absolute necessity for my next birthday: the Cakewich Cake Pan. Via bblinks.
A pure CSS Coke can.
The Big Caption, wonderfully offensive/funny captions added to the Boston Globe's popular Big Picture photos. Via Doobybrain.
"Messages containing hundreds of variations on words such as argh, meh, grrrr, oooo, ewww, and hmph, are printed as an endless waterfall of text accumulating in tangled piles below." Christopher Baker's Murmur Study.
The ads you allow on your site are part of your brand. Amen. Via DF.
From the TMN Galleries, "In Lists, manuscript archivist Liza Kirwin has raked together an exhaustive pile of historically significant notes, grocery lists, and romantic ephemera from some of the 20th century's greatest artists..."
How spiders spend a typical day: 72% resting, 18% building a spider web, 9.9% preparing/eating food, 0.1% telling farmers how "terrific" pigs are. More animals here.
"Don Julian Santana devoted his life to honoring this lost soul in a particularly unique, fascinating and for some, unnerving way: he collected and hung up dolls by the hundreds. Eventually Don Julian had transformed the entire island into a kind of bizarre, and to some, horrifying doll infested wonderland." La Isla de la Munecas.
Think of this little jar as a reminder of how terrible your trip back home was, or how long you had to sleep on the airport floor.
Mmm, pancakes. Via A Whole.
Badaude makes predictions for the UK's general election based on hair.
Everything is Terrible helps you learn How to be Street Safe against attackers or if you get in a fight with Bob Log III.
If we had any reason to hire an actor right now, you can bet it would be Fabrice Yahyaoui. So you know, he can also act in French films.
"... and that was how we lost Brutus. Needless to say, we went shoe shopping an hour later." Wait, What?
Candy Spelling's 17,000 sq. ft of storage, likely holding the largest archive of Love Boat and Fantasy Island materials in all the world.
How does your collection compare MS? The Shaker Project, via Swiss Miss.
"But every cloud has a silver lining. In this case it's a brand new vending machine, chock full of snacks the likes of which I've only hithertofore heard tell of in rumors and legends. Behold!" Mathhew Baldwin's Vending Spree.
Cary Grant in Star Wars via Hitchcock. Via @Lileks.
I am not an artist. Via Drawn.
John Gruber's analysis of Gizmodo and the "lost" prototype iPhone. If you're only going to read one thing about this...
The new $100 bill.
PSFK asks what would happen if Europe became plane-free.
Related. Cannes artistic director Thierry Fremaux is still crossing his fingers for ToL.
LED LEGO.
Related to the last, the video of our panel isn't up yet but The Ze Frank Conversation is. It is one of my favorite sessions from this or any year's conference.
A quiz that tells us agency branding has jumped the shark: Ad Agency or Indie Band?
A tax form for the marginally employed. We're partial to the deductions for "Indispensable pajamas" and "Obamamania."
Eating off the People's Princess. Yep.
Dan's The Pipeline podcast gets the Page One treatment at the iTunes store today.
Group seeks restraining order against KFC's new sandwich. I'd probably be running marathons today if this kind of thing happened more when I was growing up.
Cleveland's own author/chef/national treasure Michael Ruhlman shares his essential kitchen tools. Must-haves for any foodie.
Wolfpack Hustle crashed the LA Marathon by hosting an underground bike race on the closed marathon course at 4 am. So cool. Via A Whole.
"Even the strictest ethicist should feel comfortable eating them by the boatload." Why it's okay for vegans to enjoy oysters.
An Assortment of Underachieving AT-ATs by Tobias Lunchbreath. Via Laughing Squid.
Visual aesthetics in early computing (1950-80). An awesome scroll.
Word of Mouth's Shooter's Sandwich recipe sounds great. Bookmarked for Millennium Park summer concerts. Via Mefi.
Horizont, Installation, 2010, Plasma display, rotating gear and dvd player. By Stas Chepurnov.
Sometimes you find yourself edging ever closer toward the meaning of life through the internet. And sometimes you end up on Men With Meat Names. No biggie. We're partial to T Bone Burnett.
A math teacher's shadow trick. Via Waxy.
Star.
Irresistible headline, Man Arrested at Large Hadron Collider Claims He's From the Future.
King of cool.
I've finally found the lead singer for my Smiths cover band. Meat Murder is Murder.
Karen Huang writes to show us "a compilation of links on non-Newtonian liquids, which shows how a simple solution made of cornstarch and water behaves like a slimey monster when placed on a speaker."
"The truths of the world, the reality, is not defined by the spoken word. In fact, it's not even speakable." Alan Rabinowitz, wildlife conservation expert and true inspiration, on The Moth radio broadcast ("Man and Beast," fifth link down). Gripping, off-the-cuff storytelling and the absolute best about humanity.
"If you send me a cake, I post a link to your work on the internet. You will be judged solely on your cake rather than your work, which makes this an equal opportunity link site." The Internet Sends Me Cake, served fresh by the amazing Jessica Hische.
We're big fans of the TED conferences. Here are two inspiring talks from Danielle DeBoe and Terry Schwarz, both at the recent TEDxCLE event.
"We can't use this design at all. The background clashes with the trousers I'm wearing today." Perhaps it's time to revisit Clients From Hell. Via Debbie Millman.
I'd expect that these will get old soon, but for right now, good times: Michael Buble Being Stalked by a Velociraptor.
Snopes debunks the elementary school production of Scarface.
The Life & Death of a Gobstopper. Via J-Walk.
Altered antique plates.
You may know Carlos Segura as a distinguished and respected designer, but did you know him as a member of Clockwork? Awesome.
Content-Aware Fill in Photoshop. Layer Tennis players under 15 minute deadlines are going to dig this.
Regarding Kottke's post on Supersizing The Last Supper, here's what was on the menu, according to John Varriano for Gastonomica, pdf.
Dan Benjamin's weekly podcast, The Pipeline features a chat with Jason Kottke this week.
"In many ways it is showboating, of course. I'm the circus performer in the cape and the shiny crash helmet, being lowered feet-first into the cannon. Let's see how far I can go this time." As noted last week, North2 is under way as Ben Saunders attempts to set a World Record in a solo expedition to the North Pole. Yay!
A day in the life of designer Andrew Hoffman. Via Curved White.
I'm with Jason and Paul.
Wow, that Gina Trapani seems really cool, and she has a killer sense of style too.
Dan chats with Merlin Mann on this week's The Pipeline.
Bigassmessage.com.
I am very sorry I didn't link this earlier. Please forgive me.
Putting the "Mmm" in McCain, the politician rebrands with bacon.
Here's what was going on in Italy in 1979: Stefania Rotolo Goldrake Live Appearance.
For those heading to Austin for SXSW, Sarah Hepola took an extensive breakfast-taco tour.
Relink. "70 workers are building a wooden 4 x 12 m 'digital' time display in real time: a work that involves 1611 changes within 24 hour period. Seamlessly documented and shot on HD video, a 24 hours movie or clock is now available." Standard Time by Mark Formanek.
Edward Tufte Presidential Appointment. How about that?
For your next Star Wars party.
John Struan of Super Punch writes, "I spotted ads at Ads of the World that looked suspiciously like Thomas Allen's photographs and contacted him about them. He's pretty angry. The ad company thinks they're fair use." The ad company is dead wrong.
Are these the ingredients of the perfect crime? You could dress up as a cow and shoot your rich Uncle Oswald, then stand there and chew your cud as the police searched for clues. Hunting blinds, 1897-1991.
Message-in-a-Cookie cutters.
"This weekend I thought it would be fun to add some color to my block! So I went outside and traced my footsteps with chalk down the sidewalk. As I was doing this, a grumpy old man came up to me and yelled at me to stop. I actually thought about stopping until a boy came up to me with a giant smile and said "make more.'" –Katie Sokoler. Via KN.
I chatted with Dan Benjamin for the fourth episode of his interview show, The Pipeline. I'm in good company too.
Make a deposit by taking a photo of a check.
TOMY toy cars carrying sushi and Chinese food models.
In the manner of previously featured Chinese artist Lii Bolin, Alexander Thieme demonstrates how not to be seen in this video of him painting himself to match his surroundings. Via Today and Tomorrow. Of course, as we all know, there are other ways to not be seen.
Laptop Reflections. Via DesignNotes.
"Hominids I know insist that fire is a good thing for us. I'm more inclined to consider such statements as fiction, unsupported by facts." And Now a Few Minutes With Andy Rooney's Homo Erectus Ancestor.
Perhaps the greatest typo of all time.
"Through this mechanical process researchers anticipate that
the robot will have its own drawing style. The current prototype is seen here using a camera to view the
subject and an articulated arm to draw their face."
KG reminds us that regarding Johanna's Art Inspired by Stevie Nicks, "the very best works are the result of people commissioning portraits of themselves with Stevie, preferably on a tambourine." True that.
Here's why Gilbert Gottfried doesn't get hired very often for commercial voice over work.
Nice webcast... webcast... webcast... webcast.
A good, quick response to yesterday's collection of abysmal, absurdly-expensive Super Bowl spots: Have You Ever Wondered Why So Many Ads Are So Bad?
Happy birthday bubble wrap! Love, Bags of Air.
There's a law firm in San Francisco called Morrison Foerster. Guess how they're repositioning themselves through a new site design? Thanks Jake.
The flash mob has officially died: Dr. Pepper's 'Be A Pepper' at the NY Stock Exchange. This almost warrants another Unsolicited Response.
How to suck at Facebook. Infantile but funny.
The Twitter feed of Jürgen Habermas. Via Marginal Revolution.
Known to iPhone users, and probably coming soon to the iPad -- and now a kind of protest T-shirt. (Thx Tom.)
He's our partner In Field Notes and a co-conspirator in many other plots. Today Aaron Draplin gets Humble Pied.
Posted without comment: The Chevy Volt Dancers. Via Peachfuzz.
The DDC's Junkin' Report, January 2010. 41 views in full color.
Fed Up, a blog by an elementary school teacher who is "eating school lunch, just like the kids, every day in 2010." Via Design Info.
Milking 'Got Milk?', "a photo essay of the ad campaign that won't go away." Via the handsomely redesigned Denver Egotist.
An exploration of 14 of the largest, strongest, and in some cases, strangest, creatures that have called our planet home.
Argument that the design world "aspires to replace depth psychology as the universal panacea."
For Grace and Isabelle (and myself), Lady Gaga cookies.
For MS, Rainshakers. Via Swiss Miss.
Kate MccGwire's "Insular." Fifty layers of paper, burnt. Via Vera Pilpoul.
Posted without comment: Crying Girl DVD.
The Thunder Generator: lethal at ten meters.
Crap Hound #4: Clowns, Devils & Bait! Kick in via Kickstarter.
BBC Radio series, History of the World In 100 Objects, is off to a great start.
Gene Simmons on the Mike Douglas show, 1974, includes leaden performance of "Firehouse."
Pantone tins. Via artatheart
Triangular Nose Magnet.
Good offers tips on how to spend the whole day in bed.
Recycle your old cell phone to help Haiti quake victims. Via Unconsumption.
Flickr pool & blog of images from boulevards, streets, drives, avenues, etc., named for MLK. It's open-source photojournalism; join in.
Peter Schuyff's elaborately carved pencils. Via Junkculture.
The outdoor printing plant, steamroller included. Via SimpleBits.
Scrabble cake.
Recordings made in a call center in a New Delhi suburb reworked into "a half hour of sound that flirts with narrative, but also manages to transform the everyday into something sonically complex."
Photos from the recent performance in Los Angeles of Star Wars Burlesque.
So you know: Laundry Guide to Common Care Symbols. Via J-Walk.
A thousand magazines hanging in a gallery. Via It's Nice That.
What girlfriends and boyfriends Google: Dan Ariely investigates.
"Robots will take over the world. They will have lasers." Visions of the next ten years from today's youth.
Soft circuit finger-puppet battle.
Guy has a jaguar-shaped motorcycle.
Sushi etiquette. Via Swiss Miss.
"The squonk weeps continually at its own ugliness, and when surprised dissolves entirely into tears." Unlikely creatures from American folklore.
Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium turned into a winter theme park. Via Archinect.
Science Cookie Round-Up.
August 1945, he took a business trip to Hiroshima; survived atomic bomb; went home to...Nagasaki. Became "only official survivor" of two atomic bomb blasts. Lived to age 93.
Nick Thune shares his picks for top ten years of the last decade.
BB, if your 2010 resolution was to try more bacon-related foodstuffs, here's your first stop of the year: Bacon Flavored Popcorn.
Lots of technical gibberish, but interesting none the less if you've always wanted the details on how the Times Square ball drop gets beamed around the world: Satellite/Fiber Feeds for New Years Eve.
Apple Vanity Plates.
Two fun holiday greetings: Xplane's Business Cliché Find-It Poster and Square America's Art of the Photo Christmas Card.
From Regretsy: Attack of the Clonestamp.
An unexpected third party in one of the wedding announcements in today's NY Times.
"This year, we've decided to give you control over the climate in the Torchbox office. Just push the button and see a flurry of snow fall on your favourite member of Torchbox."
Mmmm. Pi.
How I like to imagine BB's marriage proposal went.
Local note for those in NY: tomorrow morning, Mark Malkoff is going to attempt to crowd-surf across Manhattan, all of 13.75 miles of it. "Individuals can carry me two feet or two blocks. I'll take anything. Luckily I only weigh 130 pounds." Via PSFK.
Creativity's collection of ad agency holiday cards.
Emotionally Traumatic Christmas Toys.
Sand castle explosions, backwards. Nuff said.
Bacon ornaments.
Local note: the Dairyland dog track is closing at the end of the month, leaving 600 greyhounds without homes. Info here on adoption and donation. People like myself, Jay Ryan, and Neko Case can all vouch that they're great dogs very deserving of any help you can give.
"In a normal environment, a carcass gets cold in 8 to 36 hours losing an average rate of 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit per hour. However, the ice world of Hoth is not an average environment." How Long Could Luke Survive in a Tauntaun? Via Cynical-C.
USC, University of Santa Claus.
From today's NY Times, maybe one of the most fun obituaries ever: "Giorgio Carbone, Elected Prince of Seborga, Dies at 73."
Posted without comment: a preview of Cirque du Soleil's Viva Elvis.
Two bookmarks for you, one mostly visual, one mostly text. Both with excellent titles. My Love For You is a Stampede of Horses from Meighan O'Toole and Steamboats Are Ruining Everything from Caleb Crain.
Tkng th vwls frm pplr brnds.
"If it's good enough for Molly Ringwald..." The Pretty in Pink Christmas Tree. Here's what it looks like in the wild.
In Indonesia, setting a world record for the largest amount of sky lanterns ever launched (10,000+). Somewhere there's a group of Sony ad execs kicking themselves for not making this the next Bravia ad.
Turn your iPhone into a nesting box alarm clock.
You'd better watch out. Sketchy Santas.
The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board's Cheese & Burger Society, featuring dangerous things to look at this close to lunchtime. Some nice use of Patrick Warburton, too. Via Torrez.
An answer to a question raised at lunch the other day: Are Salvation Army Bell-Ringers Paid Employees?
Dork the Halls with these nerdy Christmas tree ornaments. Via Peachfuzz.
Notcot goes behind the scenes at ISO50, the home of designer, musician, Layer Tennis competitor and member of Deck Network, Scott Hansen.
The winners have been announced for The Tracy Awards for this year's worst advertising.
I predict The Pancake Project will have a book/sitcom/movie deal in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... Happened yet? Via Cynical-C.
When news breaks, FotA Ben Greenman is there to set it to song: Fragments from Tiger! The Musical: A Fantasy.
Wire & Twine's holiday gift ideas.
Mirrors and Art by Daniel Rozin. "Using a warm and natural material such as wood to portray the abstract notion of digital pixels." Wooden Mirror -1999.
Another Science Fiction, an intersection of art and technology in the early space race. Collected and annotated by Megan Prelinger for Berg
"Beginning as a formal exercise in direct observation, these paintings of paperclips have evolved to accommodate not only the lyrical possibilities of a manipulated paper clip but the distinct personality of the person doing the manipulating." Via Drawn.
"Usually when I find CD-rs out in the world, they've been tossed out of car windows or left on the counters of stupid hipster coffeeshops. The last place I ever expected to find an unlabeled CD-r filled with music would be in the middle of the f***ing desert."
For BB: Mmmvelopes, bacon flavored envelopes. Via Beer or Kid.
Meep!
Bread, grilled eel with orange slices, wine. The Last Supper menu. "History's Table" (pdf) by John Varriano.
Christoph Niemann leaves nothing to the imagination. Via Kottke.
"'People tell you that you need all this stuff for a baby,' says Kelly Breslin. 'All you really need is diapers, a place to change him and boobs.'" Living in 380 sq ft.
Ha! Plattencover Kollagen, calling these "record cover collages" does not do justice to their awesomeness.
Agency Cossette West turns a GAP store upside down in Vancouver. Via Denver Egotist.
So you know, The History of the Internet in a Nutshell.
The first ten minutes of the recent record breaking Domino Day 2009 in the Netherlands. Via Design Info.
Newmoticons.
Beautiful Cassette, a gallery curated by Splorp.
"We used to learn our alphabets by reading those classroom banners that associated each letter with an animal or object... I thought it was about time to adapt an old method to a new medium." Christopher Monro DeLorenzo's keyboard sticker set. Sweet. B is for Bowie. Via It's Nice That.
Seven ways to kill an idea, illustrated.
Kalashnikov is a person? Apparently so, and he just turned 90. Always thought it meant "machine gun" in Russian, or something to that effect.
A Garden Jawa to keep your pink flamingo company.
Expo '70, Osaka Japan as photographed by Larry Burrows.
Skeptical if this is real or not, but regardless, it's funny: George Hutchins for U.S. Congress. The site is registered to someone named Paul Beach, which leads to more "Is this real?" questions.
What if...
For MS: you can avoid catching the swine flu with the Touch Stick.
Been much better lately, but maybe Richard Branson can completely alleviate my fear of flying with this new iPhone app.
For BB: 6 Reasons Bacon is Better Than True Love.
Weezer's brilliant infomercial campaign, in collaboration with the Snuggie.
39 gold chromolux cardboards folded by Martin Pfeifle.
The world is a tough, ugly place sometimes. So why try and candy coat everything when teaching your children new vocabulary? My First Dictionary.
If you need to see what the weather's going be be like, but only in the context of an illustrated version of our president, Obama Weather has you covered.
Several times a year, the Atlantic sends a tidal wave up the Amazon. It's loud, violent, and full of debris, and it can be up to 13 feet high. So, naturally, people surf it.
Ideo took a bite out of an Apple. Really. Via Cult of Mac.
It's strange to begin with, but take this instructional video for non-English speakers out of context and it becomes a great piece of absurd comedy. Via Cynical-C.
Congrats to friends and Andrews Huff and Mason for making this year's Crain's 40 Under 40 list.
"No major incidents reported in West Tennessee this morning." The skeptic in me says that we can only infer that something truly horrible is happening in West Tennessee this morning. Via J-Walk.
So you know: how to make a charred corpse and a brain cake. Via J-Walk.
Ghosts aren't just scary, they're apparently a big civic nuisance as well: Britian's most haunted village cancels Halloween.
Grafik Magazine online. Finally.
Infinite Solutions with Mark Erickson is still filled with a dangerous mix of very bad, yet very subtle advice.
A compilation video of Zimoun's Sound Sculptures & Installations. Awesome. More here. Via Today and Tomorrow.
Local note for MS: On November 6th you can meet your boyfriend for just $75.
"Why would you buy an iPhone Dummy We have no idea, but you know you want one." Via J-Walk.
Time-lapse video of Kiel Johnson making a sculpture of a twin lens reflex camera from cardboard, hot glue, and tape. More of Johnson's awesome work here. Via Surfstation.
That was quick. The Balloon Boy tee.
Vidafine on Philips Design Probe-biosphere farming, a "far-future" concept.
"The soundwaves are actual objects, each is 6 metres high, reminiscent of the height of a tree, despite looking like digital intervention. I recorded them when the forest was still there."
Soundstills by Tviga. Via TMN.
Notebook.
Local note. Randy Zweiban's Province is the bomb.
The next best thing to being at this week's An Event Apart in our fair city.
"In the late 60's I worked for Bell Labs for a few years managing a data center and developing an ultra high speed information retrieval system... One day I took a camera to work and shot the pictures." Sweet. Via Plep.
With Halloween just around the corner, you'll need to get started in the next day or so if you want to carve Star Wars character pumpkins this detailed. Via Transbuddha.
Determining the best and worst mustards.
"Can we get more people to choose the stairs by making it fun to do?" Absolutely. So great.
If you read DW's post below and asked yourself, "Why is NASA going to bomb the moon?!" There's a very simple answer: it's because "you don't mess around with God's America."
Cats that look like Hitler.
In Defense of Food's Michael Pollan asked readers for rules about eating and collected his top 20 favorite replies, like "Don't eat egg salad from a vending machine." Dietary Dos and Don'ts.
R.I.P. Edgar Allan Poe. Again.
If your government agency is having trouble keeping its secrets and you want to put a stop to it, best to come up with a top secret 'how to stop leaks' document. Just make sure that it doesn't get leaked, because that would be pretty embarrassing.
BibliOdyssey on "The Leonardo of Wermsdorf." Fanciful, technical illustrations by Karl Hans (Joachim) Janke who "was committed to a psychiatric institution in 1950 with a diagnosis of chronic paranoid schizophrenia." Tons more at Deutsche Fotothek
What happens when you skimp on your CGI budget.
"I think it's made from uranium, plutonium, fertiliser, sulphuric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid and ammonia, with a splash of mace. I do not believe it's a foodstuff. It's a weapon." Jeremy Clarkson tries a bottle of hot sauce. (Via Mrs. BB)
Whoever's in charge of "defunct discount retail chains" on Wikipedia is on the ball: Gold Circle, Ames, Richway,, Venture, Hills, Zayre, and Turn Style. Bonus: Did you know Service Merchandise and Montgomery Ward are back in web form? Can you tell it's Friday afternoon?
"Handmade? It looks like you made it with your feet." Regretsy, the dregs of online crafts.
For the MS salt & pepper shaker collection, Hoodies Bones.
Cabel visits the Kashiwa Mystery Cafe. So cool.
Bacon as a Bookmark.
"Are the readers of Cosmo really that simple that they can't tell the difference between a 'contemptuous' versus a 'polite' face?" Claire wants to know and SD helps figure it out.
Lenin As He Is Today. "Here we have some screenshots from Russian TV channel where the operation of regular service on Lenin's mummy was shown." Via J-Walk.
So you know: the latest odds for who will land the 2016 Olympics.
An interview with Ira Glass about deciding to not bringing This American Life back to television anytime soon.
Cooking with Christopher Walken, which is also exactly what it sounds like.
TromHula. "Just like it sounds: half trombone, half hula hoop."
A montage of available bachelors from the video dating service Video Mate, circa 1983.
Computers: Those Amazing Machines. Fab, via Spacesick.
Very Important Pixels.
Proceed with caution through Sept. 29th, Mercury is in Retrograde! "Since Mercury rules communication, it's said that everything goes haywire in that area -- emails get deleted or bounced back, mail is returned, calls go out into the ethers, etc."
What it looked like in the Threadless warehouse during their 9/9/09/$9 sale.
"Kathy Jacobs created the decor for the wedding ceremony and reception entirely from store inventory, including a gown made entirely from items found at 99 Cents Only stores." On the scene at this week's series of dollar store weddings.
The Tracy Awards, like the Golden Raspberry Awards given to terrible movies, but these are for advertising embarrassments.
Anders Nyberg's wooden things.
"Take my word for it: no client will turn down this offer, since the one thing these kind of people like more than arguing about logo sizes is looking at lots of options." -Michael Bierut.
Shalene Valenzuela paints on things.
It's a well-established fact that MS doesn't like spiders in the slightest. But surely she should be able to develop some positive feelings about the newly discovered Heteropoda davidbowie, right?
So you know: How to Beat Up Anything.
In response to Taco Bell's little-too-similar toy giveaway, Kidrobot has kicked off a Death to False Vinyl Rally, starting in just a few minutes in NYC.
Testing the familiar old warning of "Any rebroadcast, retransmission, or account of this game, without the express written consent of Major League Baseball, is prohibited." Via J-Walk.
That feel-good story being passed around all last week about rapper Roxanne Shante having her PhD paid for by her record label due to a contract loophole? It was a hoax.
For next to BB's desk: Scooter Wall Decor. Though, for that price, why don't you just buy an old, motor-less, real scooter?
"Who is checking these?" The answer was "I am." Testing the validity of clearance warnings attached to underpasses. Via J-Walk.
There, I Fixed It, an ongoing collection of temporary solutions. Reminds me of Vladimir Arkhipov's excellent book Home-Made: Contemporary Russian Folk Artifacts.
Posted without comment: Ed Hardy Hand Sanitizer.
For MS, forget the hot fudge sundae, today is banana split day.
Didn't we learn anything as a society after that Agency.com Subway debacle from a few years back? Our pals at the Denver Egotist profile a few more truly terrible ad agency videos.
Visualizing Gordon Bell's bits.
The winner and runners-up for best joke at the Edinburgh Fringe Fest. Via J-Walk.
The World Athletics Championship in Berlin have rolled out their new motto: "Have a Good Time!" Okay, BB, let's see you defend this one like you did with the 2012 Olympics logo. Via Murketing.
Who really loves Bing? Iowa really loves Bing. Via Peachfuzz.
How to cook tortellini and bake muffins in a hotel room using only available materials in the room.
"I love these things."
The Pharaoh of Pop. Michael Jackson, circa 1550 BC.
Yay Adrian and crew. EveryBlock gets bought by MSNBC.
The story of the UK's largest-ever jewelry heist earlier this week, complete with a duped professional makeup artist, a fake music video, and the getaway captured on video.
What will be haunting you tonight in your sleep: an artist's rendition of Britain's ideal pet based off a nationwide survey.
Some memories of working with John Hughes during his time as a copywriter here in Chicago in the 1970s.
Hey, you want to read an excerpt of a book I really like? Literary Tattoos.
Spy Numbers. "Extending beyond the phenomenon of number stations, the exhibition explores the themes of intrigue and conspiracy."
It's being mocked to death, but Investor's Business Daily asinine healthcare "editorial" deserves infinite scorn, especially from the man in question himself.
At lunch today, read in our favorite weekly trade magazine, Nation's Restaurant News, this article about branding which quickly builds into a wonderful, awe-inspiring pile of empty buzzwords and phrases, like suggesting you create a "brand touchpoint wheel" or develop an "integrated communications development process." This is why we love this magazine.
The alternate intro to Full House. Via Peachfuzz.
It's always time to scroll If Charlie Parker Was a Gunslinger, There'd Be a Whole Lot of Dead Copycats.
Strange collection of actor's reels. Most of them are just monologues, but some like Harold Dennis' have clips from the films they've been in, just edited really oddly (wait for the scene at 0:56 in Dennis').
Can't pin down exactly what emotion I'm feeling about NBC's Los Angeles affiliate's user-generated mood reporting, where you can select how each news story makes you feel, but I think right now I'm leaning toward "Sad."
"Did you see how The Softy was doing on The Daq this afternoon? Almost made me spill my Bucks." Following yesterday's post about RadioShack turning into "The Shack," here are suggestions for 20 more companies whose brand names could be shortened.
Follow along as our partner Aaron Draplin and his band of junkers tackle the World's Longest Yard Sale from Gadsden, Alabama to West Unity, Ohio.
12:34:56 7/8/09 too.
RadioShack has decided to re-brand itself as 'The Shack', following a trend that started with Circuit City ('The City') and Pizza Hut ('The Hut'). Ugh.
Greatness. Steal Our Ideas. "Our entries will save you the time and energy it usually takes to think of stuff, while building the credit needed to chat yourself up at award shows." Via The Presurfer.
Posted without comment: "I take these fake cookies, this threat to the Girl Scouts by Wal-Mart, quite personally."
Musselsoppans Vänner: Don't Make Waves.
Local Note. On Thursday Public Works debuts their lecture series featuring Jay Ryan and Chris Kaskie.
Pruned on Thanet Earth and the crystal palaces of the coming salad crisis era.
"Antiquated printing technology meets eighties sci-fi aesthetic in this special Tron-niversary Edition of DIY Friday."
Relinking Jan von Holleben's Dreams of Flying just because. Via RB in the NYT.
Track asteroids and comets that could destroy Earth on Twitter.
"So you're thinking about becoming a designer? If I could tell you only one thing about going into the field, my advice would be _________ "
Local note. Cody Hudson, Justin Fines, Andy Mueller, and Chris Eichenseer in group show starting this weekend. Public Works at the Andrew Rafacz Gallery.
"Always wait until finishing your woodwork with the skillsaw prior to using your meth" and "Latex paint, despite being thick and creamy, does not coat your stomach and provide the same relief as Pepto Bismol" are among many Things I Learn From My Patients on the Student Doctor Network Forums. Via Cynical-C.
The Phrenology Bike Helmet, so as to protect the personality traits stored within your brain.
"Not sure what these are, they are too heavy to float, but they look like surf boards. They have legs under them like a very tall table. I think they are some sort of surf training tool. If you would like one or both of them, please let me know if you would like them." This and more gems at You Suck at Craigslist.
"Before the show, we did a paternity test and it turns out that you're not the father of post-structuralism." The Noam Chomsky Show by the Australian sketch show Chasers War on Everything.
Local note. The deadline for nominations for the Chicago Innovation Awards is approaching.
Wilhelm Staehle's Silhouette Masterpiece Theatre. Via Monoscope.
More info on Adam Barraclough, the 17 year old con artist in the UK who convinced a great number of people that he was the head of a multi-billion dollar company who was preparing to start an airline.
"I work at a used and rare bookstore, and I buy books from people everyday. These are the personal, funny, heartbreaking and weird things I find in those books."
There's not a single second of this that isn't incredibly awkward: Blackout Crew's Rumpa Pumpa. MS, when you get tired of Eurovision, you should start watching European club-music music vids. They're all weird.
Lengthy and complex series of instructions for a very short commercial. "The amount of thought and effort he put into this fifteen second spot is downright impressive."
For BB. Enjoyed last night and comes highly recommended: homemade vanilla ice cream mixed with crumbled up pieces of Vosges' chocolate bacon bar. Because it was so incredibly good, I think the next concoction to try making is this.
A now outdated collection of the 17 perfect games in the history baseball. It will need to be updated. Also, Obama is awesome.
FotA Justin Kaufmann took to last weekend's Pitchfork Festival to have bands like The Black Lips and the Vivian Girls check the accuracy of their Wikipedia entries. And for BB: there's a five part talk with Wayne Coyne, who seems to really, really like to talk.
Everything is Terrible finds an old promo for the store fixture company Image by Design, complete with stirring cover of Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time.
This is my same reaction to mushrooms. Also, could this be considered competition for Possum in the House? Maybe I shouldn't be linking it.
Try not to smile.
Roller Skating Down a Roller Coaster. Video of the stunt, here.
Ad firm Boondoggle went to Cannes and all they got were five worthless lion statues. Via Denver Egotist.
Los uniformes para Cinco de Mayo, episodio dos.
Two internet memes brought together for one beautiful t-shirt: Three Keyboard Cat Moon.
Variations of incomplete open cubes.
Being listened to here at the studio right now: WJJG-AM 1530, where we're finally hearing Out and About with Ron and Joe, Joe being the owner of our neighborhood's oft-visited Vinnie's Sub Shop and the hardware store next door. Trying to find the words for the show thus far, but it's indescribable.
Considering a trip to Sydney next year and I think the Roar & Snore package at the Taronga Zoo just sealed the deal. Via bblinks.
On Thursday the world's largest cupcake will be at Covent Garden's Real Food Market.
The demand turned out to be so great for Think Geek's April Fools prank, the Tauntaun Sleeping Bag, that the site is now in talks to actually produce the thing (complete with its warm intestinal pattern).
Shots from this past weekend's Peashooting World Championship.
A collection of Twitter Fail Whale sightings, which we were happy to find included Jennifer Daniel's sixth volley from April 10th's Layer Tennis match. Via Czeltic Girl.
Alexander Michael is Siloboy.
Mentioned only because it's pretty nifty: Erica Reid Gerdes (disclosure: my wife) recently completed a project to type up and share her grandfather's WWII handwritten memoirs
and scan in 1400 family photos.
America's Most Endangered Malls. Expect this to be a couple of red letter years for Dead Malls.
A nice response to the Grand Prix winning campaign for Wrangler.
Katie Holten created the Tree Museum to celebrate the communities and ecosystems along the Grand Concourse, a 100 year-old boulevard in The Bronx. Visitors will be able to listen in on local stories and the intimate lives of trees offered by current and former residents: from beekeepers to rappers, historians to gardeners, school kids to scientists.
"If you want to understand this country and its people and what it means to be optimistic and complex and tragic and wrong and courageous, you need to go to his home in Virginia. Monticello." Maira Kalman on Thomas Jefferson. Via Making Light.
The story of the Going Out of Business Store. "We're not. It's just the name of the store." Via Murketing.
"Why, if someone was to put out a poster, they'd sell 1,000 copies in his dorm alone!" Crazy story of the rise and rapid fall of the Ohio art/head shop that made Farrah Fawcett an icon.
We want to watch Jurassic Park. "We can come get it from you and we'll bring you two (2) Session beers." Via Czeltic Girl.
The headline says it all: "Wallabies get high in poppy fields, make crop circles." Via PXJ.
...and don't mess with The Weiner Circle either.
Note to budding restaurateurs: do not name your restaurant anything even remotely close to our beloved Superdawg.
Printable plans for making for your own Paper Taco Trucks. Via Torrez.
The Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt. Set aside the next couple of hours to read all of the comments.
Posted without comment: This Week in Public Comment.
Anyone with even a passing interest in the history of advertising needs to listen to this week's TAL for the story about the ongoing(!) feud between legendary copywriter Julian Koenig and legendary art director George Lois. (Podcast is free for the next week.)
"The Ukulele Guide includes not only the standard moustache groups, but also exotic and endangered moustaches like the Shirley Temple and the LARP-stache. Recently cultivated strains of moustache such as the Octopus also feature prominently, and the headstock is graced with an inspiring moustache quote, sure to please any moustache fancier."
"If I wanted you to call me by any other name, I would have offered that to you." Whatever you do, do not call Elizabeth 'Liz'.
Plastic Flashback, a visual history of the credit card. Via mktg.
Local note for those in NYC. FotA and Field-Tested Books contributor Andy Ross has a one-man show, Melancomedy, running at The People's Improv Theater throughout the month. Well worth your time to catch some of Andy's monologues like German Club and Sudoku.
For BB, if he happens to check in while on vacation: the Innocenti and Piaggio scooter ridden by Phil Daniels in Quadrophenia was recently sold at auction.
Koogle, the world's first kosher search engine. "If users attempt to search for an item or post a message on the Sabbath, it crashes and won't let you."
FotA Alissa Walker passes along this contest over at Dwell, wherein readers are invited to submit ice cream flavors based on designers or architects (like "Mies Vanilla Rohe" or "Walter Grapeious"). Winners will get their flavor made and sold by Coolhaus in LA (don't miss this video Alissa put together about them).
Laugh with your fingers. Press a key
35 Tip Jars Designed to Make You Give More Money.
For all of your form-based communication needs: the Bureau of Communication.
Related to SD's earlier post, Barbie Foot.
For MS, who tried this here at CP a while back but we were all well past the point of no return: a local PR firm has put in place a complete ban on all internal emails and IMs.
Here's your chance to snag a Riley/Pierce Snooker Suite, a sofa that converts into a pool or snooker table.
A brief history of Italian beef.
For the bacon crowd: Blue Plate Special pillows. For nerds: Ctrl - Alt - Del pillows. For people from States: State pillows.
Congratulations to the 106 students at Knowlton School in Berwick, Maine who just set the new Guinness World Record for most people dressed as superheroes in the same room. Via Transbuddha.
So you know, social networks around the world.
"Follow your dreams, unless your dreams are stupid." Comedian Eugene Mirman's commencement address at his old high school.
Upon losing her lawsuit against Quaker Oats over feeling duped after she learned that Crunchberries aren't a real fruit, this California woman likely exited the court room to smoke a candy cigarette and eat some gummi worms to help her relax. Via Czeltic Girl.
How to make a Nacho Hat.
Merlin Mann rates star reviews in order of usefulness.
When "The Man" tells you to turn your music down, you only have one choice: drive through City Hall.
Posted without comment: The $49.99 Walk.
"This week I butted heads with a very stubborn, closed- minded person. I'm just glad I had the sense to realize that it was me." The Personal Journal Of Doogie Howser, M. D., a collection of all the diary entries from the show.
"...an excellent painting for me... I love the entire feeling of it, especially the unique composition and my confident Mona Lisa smile..." Shudder.
Caught the play The Lieutenant of Inishmore yesterday at the Northlight Theatre. Most violent, gruesome play I've ever seen, with buckets upon buckets of fake blood spilled, but also really funny. Comes highly recommended if you find it playing in your town. Written by Martin McDonagh, who also wrote the terrific film In Bruges.
"I saw you weeping in the photocopier room. Please don't let it happen again." David Fullarton's workplace installation made entirely from office supplies and a wicked sense of humor. What I do at work when I'm supposed to be working.
For MS' deck, Tetris pots.
Posted without comment: Spiderman and the Pigeons.
...there's an app for that.
For MS and BB, following our conversation this morning: the two most interesting dishes I was served in China: Fried Scorpions and Fried Silk Worms (which look a lot like cicadas). Unfortunately, I wasn't daring enough to try either one, but was told that both tasted like french fries.
For MS, Salt & Pepper Cell. Via @AisleOne.
So need to get this, the Ecto 1 v The Delorean Film Crash tee
Sorta related to the last. Gonks!
The Clock Clock. Via Build.
104 Year old Ivy Bean is the oldest person on Twitter.
Cooper-Hewitt and The Nature Conservancy asked 10 designers to develop products from 10 endangered eco-systems around the world and Pentagram designed the exhibit and explains the details.
Coolhaus ice cream sandwiches. Via Good.
Visible Tweets.
I couldn't possibly get away with being an American traveling in China without posting at least one odd English translation. Also, doesn't the Nongfu Spring water bottle remind you of the Arrowhead Springs brand?
"Without really knowing what I was doing, for my first paying job, I had contributed to a plague: the profusion of sexless, blankly cheerful little people that I have come to call Neutered Sprites." -Michael Bierut.
Pregnant dolls from 19th century Japan.
"The shot was taken by shutting off all the lights in the room for 30 minutes and taking a long exposure of the path the Roomba took while cleaning up."
"Being a junk collector has no boundaries." I'll say. An excellent illustrated post as an example of "forensic graphic design," by Dennis P. Moran.
Traveling to China tomorrow morning, to Dunhaung specifically, where my father learned that Camel Hoof Tendon is a local delicacy. So he's been sending lots of camel recipes. He's mocking my tendency of being pretty picky, but this time, I'm eager to give it a try. A full report promised upon dromedary consumption.
"McVeigh uses almonds to gain the trust of the chipmunks that live in his backyard. Then he photographs them playing with Star Wars action figures."
The Preppy, Eclectic Dorm Room of Drew University Senior Maximilian Sinsteden. Sheesh.
Out with the old, in with the owl. Meagan Fisher's new site.
Would you eat a stack of 16 sugar cubes?
Bento box Moms have nothing on this Dad.
In case you don't want to say it out loud, Stop Talking cards.
Fun Twitter trend #crapnamesforpubs.
Meagan Fisher and I got sketched at FOWD by Rich Wells.
BB, isn't there an old saying in Cincinnati that goes something like "You can use a busty mannequin as BBQ bait, just as long as you don't chain her down." If not, there should be.
If you're wondering what exactly is going on with today's Ref coin flip, that's Mary Brogger's Haymarket Memorial he's standing in front of, which is located on the site of the infamous Haymarket Affair of May 4, 1886.
Adobe app icon pillows.
For MS, sparrow salt & pepper shakers.
The Vader Project. Some pix and some more pix. Oh yeah!
A large, rusty, cast-iron dinner service by Belgian designers Studio Job.
What's in illustrator and former Layer Tennis competitor James Hutchinson's fridge? Awesomeness, that's what.
For DW: The Denver Egotist's great multi-part rant about Chipotle's new advertising and menu.
For MS: science confirms that the neti pot is the real deal.
Muji USA Online, finally.
Hey MS, it's scutigera coleoptrata season. Maybe this will solve your spider problem.
A Da Vinci portrait has been found in a Tuscan cathedral window. No sign of his towel however.
Shinichi Maruyama's "Kusho." black ink in air. Beautiful.
Write your own message with Yellow Owl Workshop's LCD card and gift wrap.
"It's not expensive and it's nourishing, so that's the only thing I can tell you about it." Depression Cooking with 93 year old Clara. Via BB.
Related to the last, from Joe C, "This way is a lot easier and cheaper."
Walgreens has pulled the Chia Obama off their shelves after "a few complaints." Lame. (Via G****B.)
Cakewrecks is still totally worth checking out, not only for its never-ending parade of truly sad cakes, but also to remind you that there are way too many well-made Stargate cakes out there.
Don't judge people according to their appearance, by Peter Chmela. Via Thinking for a Living.
Less than #000000.
If you can possibly hold off on dying for another couple of months, these Star Trek caskets and urns should be available soon.
In all my years of production, I can say the piece of advice I use on each and every shoot is don't let the Japanese popstar dressed as a pineapple guard the camera equipment. Especially if you're in Sweden.
A story by our pal Jennifer Sharpe for ATC, Anybody Wanna Start a Commune?
Not quite the spiritual answer they were looking for.
Also from this weekend and as absurdly delicious as a mix of chocolate, bacon, and salt sounds: Mo's Bacon Bar. BB needs to buy one immediately.
For MS, some zen salt and pepper shakers.
Everything is Terrible passes along valuable info on getting your kids into commercials. Poor Katie.
"The picture frame will attack TVs close by, preventing them from working properly by changing the channels, muting them, turning the colours to black and white, shutting them down, turning them on at night with full volume and generally doing its best to turn it's owner against the new medium."
Posted without comment: Water Is Life, the "water awareness song and movie."
Local note for anyone within driving distance to Los Alamos, New Mexico this weekend: a memorial service will be held for Ed Grothus this Saturday afternoon. Also, some good news: "the family has no plans to close the Black Hole." And if you missed it, here's our five part series about the place and the man who made it. Thanks Bram.
For MS, here's what was being made in my house last night: Matzoh Crunch (also known as "Matzhoh Crack").
Piece Together For Peace, or how to make animals out shapes from a world map. Via Infosthetics.
If you're looking for a wooden spoon check out Herriott Grace.
24 hours of PrayStation for 4/1. Thanks for that Joshua and thanks to Jeffrey for pointing it out.
Laptop Direct's newest promotional effort: free funerals. Via Arbroath.
Unemployed Stuff: to do list.
Chinese architecture stamps.
Centraal Station Antwerpen gaat uit zijn dak! Try not to smile. Thanks Jeff.
Windfall, a story on Flickr, built from Lego. People who like this sort of thing will find this exactly the sort of thing they like.
Related to the last. Kate Bingaman-Burt's Flickr set on prepping for the PDX premiere.
Numerous photosets of the moment: The Goonies 20th Anniversary Reunion from Astoria, Oregon where most of the film was shot. Via Cynical C.
Giant fire-breathing baby robot terrorizes Tokyo's Roppongi District. Sweet.
Light Art Performance Photography. Like it says. Via The Minister.
On the occasion of their 13th anniversary, Art Lebedev Studio threw a party. "We bought 50 feather pillows."
Great fundraising idea and outside of building a time machine, the only way of buying affordable real estate in NY: adopt a building in the Panorama of the City of New York at the Queens Museum of Art. Via I Like.
A huge collection of newspaper infographics.
For BB: the BBQ, bacon, and pork sausage combination that is the Bacon Explosion. Your arteries will hurt after just looking at it.
The step by step process of building of an Egg Zeppelin, which is exactly what it sounds like. Via Arbroath.
For DW: Battlestar Galactica Snacks. Via Czeltic Girl.
Wow, that cart that none of us like to use in the freight elevator can be sold as a table for $900?
Seriously the cutest thing I've seen all week. Via Jezebel.
Hey MS, apparently finding spiders at Whole Foods happens all the time. Luckily your salad spider wasn't this one.
Dave Cuzner of Grain Edit shot some of his collection of cool stuff for Inspiration Resource. Fab.
The world's largest billboard (one and a half acres in total), complete with several full-sized BMWs mounted to it.
So you know: a collection of out of the way spring break locales, from Degobah to the Justice League's Club JLI.
Something to hold on to for the next time you're waiting for a flight and upset about a slight delay: Michael J. Totten's incredible story of getting stuck at the Rome airport, battling Alitalia, a baggage handler strike, and a near riot. And that's just the first couple of paragraphs. Via Czeltic Girl.
Something about seeing a child with a gigantic tarantula on her face makes me think MS wouldn't like visiting the Living Museum of Spiders in Bogota.
Local note, related to the last. Canonical.
Esquire lists their picks for the best sandwiches in America and readers respond with their own favorites. Also makes for a good reason to repost the best documentary ever made about this very important subject: Sandwiches That You Will Like.
Igotapostcard.
"Crisalidas" by Fernando Gutierrez, a "luminous collage of moving images processed from mass media, re-interpreted into an intuitive and sketchy drawing on acetate." Spectacular. Hi-res image here.
"If a child was told to mime playing the guitar on the TV, it would probably look like this."
Now that we've finally cleaned it all out after having moved in a year ago, I think I've just found the perfect solution for what to do with the now empty space: How to Make a Mini Golf Course in Your Basement. More random home advice here.
Henrietta Swift and Christopher Smith create famous monuments with their shadows. Thanks Cooper.
"I have to warn everybody! Math is coming!" Nicolas Cage: A Career in (Baffling) Pictures. Wonderfully stupid humor.
A new site about nothing in Amsterdam.
Craig is leaving notes taped to lamp posts looking for like minded people to do things with him and also warn them about his time machine. Craig's Notes.
Curiosity's Light-Light is an installation at the Louis Vuitton store in Tokyo. It's made of illuminated spheres floating on hot air. Via Designboom.
Non-Americans speaking in American accents
A tribute to discontinued cereals.
I was lucky enough to catch a preview screening of I Love You, Man earlier this week. The movie was great, but even greater was the Q&A session afterwards with Jason Segel, Paul Rudd and John Hamburg. Segel stole the show with this. Thanks, Andrew!
Watch a life size blue whale swim across your screen.
A Japanese Life of Bento. Via Waxy.
"Aeneas and The Sybil added The Underworld the the Places I've Been Application." The Aeneid on Facebook. Awesome. Via Eternally Cool.
Not sure if the address would still be valid some 80 years after this ad was published, but if you're looking for a solution, it might be worth a try: How to Obtain a Better Looking Nose.
DesignApplause on the new Porsche Museum in Stuttgart.
A brilliant front page from today's Rocky Mountain News. It's very last one. Reminds me the farewell edition of Chicago's finest. "It took 102 years to finish and these are the final pages of The Chicago Daily News."
Very entertaining browsing: the Michael Jackson auction catalogs.
"I rescue, salvage, and recycle other people's words." -Will Ashford.
So you know: Ways To Be Cool. Pay particular attention to the last on the list. It's totally true.
Apropos of nothing: if the new trend in schools is working while standing, might we propose that we call this The Walter Murch Method?
MS, for your trip to Arizona soon, make sure you stop by the Heart Attack Grill, which you might recall having read about earlier in our favorite lunchtime magazine, Nation's Restaurant News. Via Denver Egotist.
For BB, how to make bacon mayo. Via Neatorama.
Leo Villareal's complex light sculpture in the concourse walkway between buildings at The National Gallery of Art in DC is made up of 41,000 programmed LED nodes and is titled "Multiverse."
Clever advertising for a band via a short piece of video that's sure to make the rounds: A Day in the Life of Abbey Road.
Gothamist's collection of the Top NYC Transit Typos. Via Czeltic Girl.
The 50 Dollar Logo Experiment puts an online design services' "unlimited revisions" claim to the test. Via Andy Rutledge.
Bram sends along some more info on Ed Grothus' passing: here's from the Santa Fe New Mexican, a piece from the Los Alamos Monitor, and some memories (and a couple of good links to previous stories) from the Santa Fe Review.
Day 316 and tree 152 of the annotated and illustrated journal of the author climbing a tree every day. Yowza. Via Made in England...
The financial climate doesn't have to be all doom and gloom. Just ask this Miami banker.
Ed Grothus, the wonderfully eccentric owner of the Black Hole in Los Alamos, NM and subject of our serialized documentary, Laboratory Conditions, passed away yesterday (here's his obituary). While we only got to spend a day with Ed, we'll miss him dearly and our wishes go out to his family and his many friends and admirers. Someone better step up and get those two granite monuments put up immediately.
So you know: a listing of the nation's best cupcake bakeries.
Posted without comment: The Never Ending Story: The Van.
As if the barkers and creepy clowns weren't enough, here's just the thing to keep you away from the state fair this year: Ride Accidents, a listing of injuries and fatalities befallen upon those seeking thrills and amusement. Via Cynical C.
So you know, a chart taking apart the $819 billion stimulus package.
The ___ Cards.
This is what Lawrence Yang thinks whenever he sees one of the new Pepsi ads.
From the Corn Dog Pizza to Bacon Shell Tacos: This Is Why You're Fat, a collection of delicious things your arteries will hate you for enjoying.
"So, you finally caved. You've accepted a friend request from your Mom, Dad, crazy Aunt Ida, and your college roommate's newly divorced mother. Well here's your chance to get back at them for taking away your public privacy." Via Laughing Squid.
For MS, Rubik's cube salt and pepper mills.
There are Klingons among us and they are robbing 7-Elevens in Colorado.
"They mustn't have had a clue what it was." Before you begin a career in burglary, it's probably best to educate yourself on popular artists of the day first.
Evan Roth's videos from inside international airport x-ray machines.
I'm not sure if this is sexy, sartorial or just silly but I know I like the title, Pugnacious Puffy Pants at BibliOdyssey.
Anyone can Swiss.
Anna The Red's Bento Factory. How to have Wall-E, Yoshi and lots of other characters for lunch.
"Hello is this the International Space Station? It is? May I please speak with Amanda Huggenkiss?"
Related to below: the story behind the selling of 867-5309.
867-5309 is for sale on eBay.
Impressive.
So it's agreed. Neither Pittsburgh or Phoenix are as awesome as Chicago, and neither of us will probably watch the game anyway.
Phoenix's music scene is also nothing to brag about. Though we are the home base of Alice Cooper, Jimmy Eat World, and The Meat Puppets (who went to my high school and were rumored to have been kicked out for riding motorcycles through one of the halls, which thinking about it now seems like a highly improbable and very stupid rumor).
The Steelers' logo is based on the Steelmark, the handsome Paul-Rand-esque symbol of an industry synonymous with Pittsburgh. The Cardinals' helmet features an angry songbird borrowed from St. Louis, and it's on both sides of the helmet, which is lame. Lame like a city full of expansion teams that are younger than I am.
Speaking of Air, they often tour with the band Phoenix who make fun music videos with Roman Coppola. So I ask you BB: where's the cool band named Pittsburgh, huh?
Okay BB, Pittsburgh may have Mr. Rogers, but how can that one little fact possibly compete with Phoenix's massive dust storms, the world's most documented UFO visitation, or the ability to fry eggs on sidewalks? And really, you can keep Mr. Rogers. I'd chose Wallace and Ladmo over him any day.
I will say that Phoenix is worse than Pittsburgh because a) Marty Robbins, Stevie Nicks, and Lynda Carter were all born there, b) you can't wear sweatpants to dance clubs, and c) there was never a Disco-basketball-astrology film nor a Star Wars-porn-chick-flick set in Phoenix.
In the interest in creating a rivalry around the office because BB's hometown team is playing my hometown team in the Super Bowl, I will say that Phoenix is better than Pittsburgh because a) Marty Robbins, Stevie Nicks, and Lynda Carter were all born there, b) we have far more and far better Mexican restaurants, and c) our team used to be the Chicago Cardinals, which makes them like an extra double hometown team.
Star Wars yoga poses. Yes, Star Wars yoga poses. Via John Hodgman.
Best part of the whole Blagojavich mess? The return of the smug, gum chewing kid. He must be Pat Quinn's son?
Instructions for the World Nude Day 2009 competition, "1. Get nude. 2. Get a mate to film you. 3. Do something funny." Via MiEBG.
Local note: Our favorite caterer aims to revive the faltering noontime economy with a Lunch Bailout Plan! Fixed menu, recession-priced. We have them here every Thursday. (Full Disclosure: BDP is my wife's company.)
More than four million sales and $40 million dollars later, a look at the business side of the Snuggie.
"The notebooks function like a security blanket for me. I can't go into a meeting unless I have my current notebook in my hand, even if I never open it." All of Michael Bierut's National Blank Book Company marble-covered composition books stacked on a chair. (I guess we're going to have a mighty tough time moving him over to Field Notes.)
Kitsune Noir on the experimental video work of Volkan Ergen.
Our friends at the design firm smashLAB publish an open letter to the Discovery Channel asking that they make their show Smash Lab less sucky so it will stop damaging their good name on Google.
TDR folds. Always admired their work, branding and confidence.
A photoset posted without comment: Aretha Franklin's Hat. Here's BB's favorite.
Abraham Lincoln: the true father of the emoticon?
BBDO's Bring Your Kids to Work Day prank/promo. Via Denver Egotist.
Wash your hands with hands.
Terrific, in-cockpit, multi-camera footage of landing a 747 in San Francisco. Also, the takeoff in London. Via Telstar Logistics.
Speaking of Sullivan, the Chicago Architecture Foundation hosts just a handful of Graceland Cemetery Tours per year and they always sell out quick. Either plan your Chicago trip around these dates or, if you live here, you have no excuse. Best two or three hours you'll ever spend (in a cemetery).
Posted without comment: Chia Obama.
"It's all yours now. Good luck." Lip Reading at the Inauguration.
Pets in Uniform. We're guessing/hoping that the person who thought this business up is now a multi-millionaire. Thanks Claire.
Local note. "Prepared properly, a good beef is as good as Chicago food gets. Likewise, a bad beef is probably the worst thing that can happen to you. Kudos to purveyors of juicy, shaved beef on a crusty bun with fresh peppers in tangy, salty broth." GreaseFreak knows all.
Former CP crew member Dave Reidy takes on the role he was born to play as Ted Teddington, creator of the Amazing Amazer.
Is Obama President?
Turner made two things for us.
Obama's People.
Surprised that it wasn't an original creation, Justin Watt gets to the bottom of his family's favorite cookie recipe by tracking down his grandmother's source material.
Professional Fingerboarding, complete with wide angle lens. Via Denver Egotist.
Presidential Inaugurations on video from McKinley to W.
The perfect estimate for bad potential clients. Via Andy Rutledge.
Z$100tn.
A Wikipedia entry on why you shouldn't tell people to not stick beans up their nose, a point well illustrated in this Home Movies classic.
In case you need it, some perspective: Letters to Obama from Navajo children. Thanks, Sarah.
"Dude, you mean you didn't get a tracking number?"
Fuzzy responds to our earlier "Push Button, Receive Bacon" post with his own collection of hand dryer humor.
BB: the 2009 dates haven't been posted yet, but keep your early May open for a trip down to Eureka Springs, Arkansas for the next annual Mid-America BMW '02 Fest.
Posted without comment except for a quick "Yeah!" and a big thumbs up: Captain Mark Approves.
Blossom Goodchild clarifies facts regarding October 14, 3009. Stay with it. Wow.
Amber waves of buttery ice cream with roasted non-partisan pecans. Yes Pecan!
A friend of the Bush daughters on getting invited to the White House for dinner and really bad movies.
"Women do not do any of the creative work in connection with preparing the cartoons for the screen, as that work is performed entirely by young men." A Rejection Letter from Disney from 1938 and printed on some unfortunate stationary.
Tell the Obama-Biden administration that design matters by endorsing the U.S. National Design Policy Initiative.
Doesn't this skull made from a blend of Cuban and Mexican Dark Chocolate (and cast from a real human skull) look delicious?
Watches worn in space.
The School of Life.
For MS, DIY nesting doll salt shakers.
An explanatory sling, perfect for the injured who are tired of answering the question "Hey, what happened to your arm?" Via bblinks.
Couldn't have come at a better time as I try and figure out how to build a better home office: Where We Do What We Do, shots of people's work spaces.
Today's afternoon project, make space origami.
Dave Allen is a surviving member of an endangered species - a professional bookbinder. Via Things.
Ron English, The Secret History of KISS. Spectacular. Via Made in England By Gentlemen.
A tradition that never fails. Each year some newspaper site posts a gallery of photos of kids scared by Santa Claus and then I can't resist linking it up.
Related to the last: the Dean and Company website just launched this week. It looks like something Henry Darger would have made if he'd gotten into web development.
Some holiday ads from the Great Depression. Via GB.
A magical spring outing for BB and MS, the Harry Potter exhibit.
The history of Krampus, the Sinister Sidekick of Santa from Germanic alpine regions. "His brief is to punish the children who have misbehaved during the year."
Make gift tags from holiday shopping bags. Via d*s.
Feast of Fools interviews FotA Andrew Huff from Gapers Block who shares some tips on blogging.
FotA and Field-Tester Ben Greenman has just penned his latest opus: Blagojevich! The Musical.
Three posts that I think should be required reading if you're looking for some context about the death of print (or how information is flowing today, and it's not from paper) 1. The Newspaper Industry and the Arrival of the Glaciers, 2. Content and Its Discontents, and 3. Change Happens.
Finally an excuse to post this: the smug, eye rolling, gum chewing kid in the background (to the right) at Gov. Blagojevich's election night acceptance speech from two years ago. If we'd all known what that kid knew back then.
Bye-Bye Blackboard.
Captured By the Norwegians.
Footage from an RC plane's water balloon bombing run.
So you know, holiday shipping deadlines at other popular online stores. For Coudal things, Jewelboxing, Field Notes, Dead Can Dance discs or Pixies discs we recommend ordering by December 15th so you have time to make sure it's wrapped up all nice and pretty. (For procrastinators we also offer 2-Day and overnight shipping.)
For the wannabe wizard, mystical fire. Via Technabob.
"Suddenly you notice that he's waxy, flat, and lacking the definition demonstrated in the other subjects, and his presence takes on a ghostly quality." All in the Family, from Secret Fun Blog.
The electrical, bio-mechanical, totally rad sculptures of Christopher Conte. Via Everyone Forever.
Speaking of the Christmas Story house, it can be rented out for Christmas eve and morning. Heads up for next year.
How hard could it be to recount ballots? Apparently not as easy as it sounds as Minnesota Public radio has shown with examples. Plus you can vote for what you think the voter's intent was. Via Graphpaper.
Local note. The Winter Pageant Redux at Redmoon Theater, right in our neighborhood is magical. Def bring the kids.
Peter Coffin and Cinimod Studio's awesome public flying-saucer performance, "Untitled (UFO)"
Bas de Boer's Today's Issue, "a selection of interesting links that grabbed my attention for longer than 20 seconds... nothing more, nothing less." Bookmarked. Via Joachim Baan.
"When Rich was eight years old, he asked his mother if there was anything in the medicine cabinet that could blow up. She told him, 'Of course not!' Within 30 minutes, he proved she was wrong." Rich's Incredible Pyro.
"Despite an ambitious number of signs, I felt my local Home Depot wasn't addressing some of the strongest benefits of owning a shed. I decided to make some new signs and try them out!" The Shed Prank.
A digital compendium of the news that says Traditional Publishing, R.I.P. Thanks Alex.
The Portable Library Project explores "ideas surrounding archiving, journaling, libraries, ephemera, and incorporating an art practice into everyday life." Very nice.
Reporting on news and developments concerning unmanned aerial vehicle systems, the Drone Report.
For the biologist in your family, a knitted frog dissection.
Base jumping off the Burj Dubai.
Top 10 Beards from Karl Marx to ZZ Top.
Great clip art resource for those times when you just can't find the perfect "two girls riding in back of a pick-up sitting on a barrel of poison" image. Thanks Mike.
Disputed ballots from the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota.
In case you're looking for barstools.
Show me your dock, I'll show you mine. Clipped from Quipped.
Notice.
Two options and that's it. Quarter Pounder, the McDonald's concept in Tokyo. Here are some more photos of the place.
R.I.P. 1+1=3. We've enjoyed Via'ing you over the years.
The translations seem a bit off, so good luck in trying to figure out what's going on. But you'll still wind up having a blast exploring the 3D Eco Zoo. Via Byrdhouse.
But I think we can all agree that a zombie fighting a shark is just the worst it can possibly get.
"Simon: your outright rejection of running zombies leaves you exposed, in a very real and damning sense, as a terrible racist." Thanks Stuart.
Congratulations to the stick for making it into the Toy Hall of Fame.
It's easy to believe that nothing could ever be considered an equal to Wisconsin's House on the Rock, but then I visited St. Louis' City Museum this weekend and learned otherwise. It is a bewildering mix of fun and fear. More info on its history here and Zulkey's reaction here.
How to kill time on the web now that the election's over. We recommend visiting CP at least five or more times per day.
Tired of your current position? Up for a major change? Apply here.
The painful spectacle of a big expensive promotion gone wrong. Read the news report first, Carnival's World's Largest Pinata goes unbroken, and then the company's completely un-fun Fun Crowd site. Still, they got in the Guiness Book, right?
Noted without comment. The Sky Factory.
For BB: Bacon Flash Drives.
"Those amazing sideburns and mustache get me going." Obama Rally Missed Connections. Thanks Jamie.
Another mysterious giant Lego man has washed up on a beach.
It's easy to get caught up in what we've voted against. Screw that. Here's what I voted for.
In a rare fit of volunteerism, James and Candy drove to Bucks County, Pennsylvania to help Obama's campaign. After going door-to-door in a suburban neighborhood, they made a collage of the results.
Fired up. Ready to go.
Teenager changes his name to Captain Fantastic Faster Than Superman Spiderman Batman Wolverine Hulk And The Flash Combined and takes the title for world's longest name. "His grandmother is no longer speaking to him."
For all your Abe and Mary Todd needs: The Association of Lincoln Presenters.
We are happy to see so many people are on board with our proclamation for November 4. Please forward it to other interested parties. It will be a beautiful day tomorrow in Chicago and the national forecast looks very good too. Plus the weather should be nice.
This. F@#&ing. Election. A visual guide to a seemingly endless battle.
Dave takes on the Colonel by answering KFC's $10 challenge from their recent TV spots.
Why engineers will always be the kings of Halloween: behind the scenes look at building a Star Wars AT-ST Costume.
Halloween at Cake Wrecks: Ghost cakes, mummy cakes, and for MS, two batches (1, 2) of spider cakes.
Terrifying. Photos from The Practical Encyclopedia of Good Decorating and Home Improvement. 1971. Via c77.
For MS: Obama is a friend to the Flat Stanley movement.
Not a good sign for Obama: the Alien has switched his endorsement.
Design Sponge is accepting entries for their ugliest pillow contest. Check out some past entries here and here.
Charles Meets Barack.
"...a giant child armed with a box of crayons has been set loose upon the landscape." Dutch tulip farms. Via swissmiss.
Shakespearean actors reading celelebrity sex tape transcripts. Not even one tiny bit safe for work. Via Andrew Sullivan.
The Noodle Soup Oracle shall provide you with answers at lunchtime. Via bblinks.
Baconnaise, the flavored mayonnaise, gets right to the point with their tagline: "Everything should taste like bacon."
"I mean, when you see 700 shambling dead zombies walking toward the Civic Center up the bridge, it would probably get the Secret Service's attention." Zombies Pose No Threat at Palin Event. Some video of the undead here.
From the writers behind Weird Illinois: Haunted Illinois, an online collection of paranormal activity from across the state.
Couple of great print ads for travel irons.
Fred Flare is having a grand opening party tonight for their first ever door store in Brooklyn. From clicks to bricks. Congrats guys!
Shop Untouched Since 1960s, boarded up and forgotten, only recently discovered. Remarkably similar to This American Life's best show to date: "The House on Loon Lake."
Posted without comment: An Ode to David Ogilvy.
Hal 9000 has a wicked photostream.
Murder is murder, even in ones and zeros.
From Mechanix Illustrated, November 1968. What Will Life Be Like in the Year 2008?
Touched Echo by Markus Kison is an installation on Brühl's Terrace in Dresden that uses bone-conduction to send visitors back in time. Via Precious Forever.
Photos from the White House Bowling Alley, which is sadly no longer in use. Note the Nixon photo, which you might remember hanging over "The Dude"s tiki bar.
British journo Jeremy Clarkson hates motorcycles, and the Vespa GTV Navy 125 is no exception. Even as a well-known scooter fan, I have to agree with pretty much everything he says.
Levi van Veluw's series of self-portraits depict himself as landscape. Watch the video too.
Our friends at Design Observer are up for the Cooper-Hewitt People's Design Award and voting ends in an hour. Give them your vote won't you?
To "help protect the diversity of costuming" at your upcoming Halloween party, a handy downloadable poster warning guests not to wear "non-clever and hastily assembled Sarah Palin costumes." Via Balloon Juice.
Los Alamos' Black Hole made an appearance on NPR's Morning Edition yesterday. For more on "Atomic Ed," check out our five part documentary: Laboratory Conditions.
Secret footage from the G-8 Economic Summit. Via Todd Harrison.
A machine translation of a post and interview at Slanted about Daniel Citizen's graduate thesis, The Spam Annual Report 2007. It's full of interesting facts and the report itself is beautifully designed and set, appropriately, mostly in Courier.
The PDP11 Handbook.
Trouble coming up with a Halloween costume? Dress like a celebrity.
Ironic Sans needs your opinion on a very important matter.
An old shop and ice cream parlor untouched since the 1960s.
Mr. Broome writes, "...both chock-a-block with adrenaline pumped eye candy. Perfect for a Friday." 1. 2. Vroom.
Limited edition cereals from Air Bed and Breakfast, complete with accompanying theme songs: Obama Os, "Hope in every bowl!" and Cap'n McCains, "Experience a surge at the breakfast table!"
The Great Southern California ShakeOut, "the largest earthquake preparedness activity in U.S. history."
The Landscape Anthropology of Photography Museums (and the spatial implications of graven images.)
Noted without comment. Five ads for rayon that ran in the August, 1966 issue of Seventeen.
"Adam," a mural mosaic. Hmm.
DAConnect, "the first hologram for your car." A little skeptical about how real this is, but who knows. More info on their site. Via Denver Egotist.
Yes We Carve, dedicated to the making of Barack O' Lanterns.
John Cleese rants about the American misuse of "could care less".
"But who is 'Steve' and why is he angry? And why does the mere mention of his name stop Charlie cold?" Charlie Rose by Samuel Beckett.
Posted without comment: Juicy Jay's Sizzling Bacon, bacon flavored rolling papers.
Will Hudson found the actual in the virtual by organizing a big show of work that has been featured on It's Nice That and displaying it at The Plymouth College of Art in Devon UK. Here's some photos of the exhibition. We're happy to have had our Field Notes included.
Some interesting bus stop ads.
Just the facts, sir and ma'am.
Meat and cheese combo proves edible, as researched by Jason Santa Maria and company.
So you know: what politicos eat for breakfast.
The Cape Farewell Expedition to the Arctic to investigate climate change. Included on the voyage are people like Jarvis Cocker, KT Tunstall, and Leslie Feist, all of whom apparently have the expertise to get this global warming thing all wrapped up in no time. Ongoing photoset here.
Gothtober 2008, the sixth year of this collaborative, Advent-esque calendar. This year's theme is "Haunted Mission de Santa Gothtober." Via Czeltic Girl.
Thanks to The Da Vinci Code there has been a lot of effort spent analyzing "The Last Supper," but until now nobody has answered the most basic question, "What did they eat?" (pdf). From Gastronomica, via Nag on the Lake.
Clever idea or disaster waiting to happen: The Bonfire and Banned Books Event in Bridgewater, Mass.
Both painful and hilarious: Keepin' It Realtor, a large collection of "creative" real estate advertising. Via Copyranter.
"How my personal identity would be documented if it were considered in graphic design terms." Christopher Doyle™. Clipped from Quipped.
So you know: How to Land a 747.
While in NY this weekend, we decided to walk 60+ blocks to the Peanut Butter & Co. restaurant near NYU. Highly recommend ordering "The Elvis" (peanut butter, bananas, honey, and bacon, grilled to perfection).
There's still time to buy the Elvis is Alive Museum in Hattiesburg, MS. Among other items, the purchase includes a 1974 Cadillac Limo and the rights to two different books "that detail the beliefs that Elvis did not die on August 16, 1977."
Due to bad weather yesterday, Yves Rossy, the Fusion Man, had to once again reschedule his attempt to jet pack across the English Channel. When it finally does happen, you can watch it here, live.
Related to the last. Slashdot points out they overlooked an important error message.
"...like Proust's Madeleine, an error message from a machine out of your past can transport you back in time." The 13 greatest error messages of all time.
What happens on Main Street affects Wall Street. Language NSFW.
Google's Project 10 to the 100th.
Needed to refind this for a visual reference. Don't ask. Great looking catalog for 1976 Superior Funeral Coaches. I'm betting on layouts like this making a big comeback soon. Dig the typography and, of course, the classic landaulet styling.
Posted without comment: Laugh Your Abs Away.
"Dear Designer, the advantage of designers wearing black at conferences or at any other occasion is that you can easily distinguish between designers and clients. Which can give you a head start if you are looking for new opportunities." LoveLiza
Today is PARK(ing) Day. Find a temporary park near you.
Posted without comment: the history of Marian McQuade and National Grandparent's Day put to song.
Who says you have to leave your beloved pooch at home while you go for a bike ride?
Letterpress chocolates, appropriately via Design Milk.
Two things I thought my high school teachers made up in the 80s, but are apparently longstanding education memes: Ta Ta Ti Ti Ta and Mimal.
Big fun. Frame stabilization is applied to the famous Bluff Creek, California sasquatch footage from 1967. Lots more enhancements and information here.
Crossing Everest on a Unicycle. "I am going to ride my unicycle 1000km, from Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal."
Noted without comment. Suspicious Vans. Via G&H.
Matt's childhood box of curiosities.
RAF officer breaks 37-year silence on UFO radar mystery. Via Mefi.
Flowing Data "asked readers to collect data about themselves or their surroundings and then visualize it some way." The Personal Visualization Project. Via Glass.
Airplane hostel prepares for liftoff. Indeed!
A new bookmark that will be visited every day around this time: A Hamburger Today, the hamburger blog.
Robyn Okrant has decided to live according to the advice of Oprah for one year. According to the NYT story about her last month, her husband has been mostly supportive of the project, acknowledging that "there's been some nice brownies and I enjoyed the decluttering project."
The Homestar Extra, a planetarium for your house from Japan.
Paper trains.
"...the very anti-Pixar essence of these characters: they have no background, no purpose nor story to tell. Yet, they have a soul and a clear personality..." An illustrated post from wm$na on Peter Thaler and Lars Denicke of Pictoplasma.
"Don't underestimate the dark side of the triangle." Darth Vader Explains the Pythagorean Theorem. Via Transbuddha.
Want to "give your home an edgy look with some serious pizzazz"? Z Gallerie takes inspiration from Damien Hirst.
Posted without comment: moving the KFC secret recipe to a more secure facility.
Obama Supporter Buttons for every conceivable form of person or object, from snake lovers to sail boats. Via bblinks.
Could've used this yesterday, Umbrella Today?
Boicovideo, video reviews of magazines.
Like the Kindle, but prettier.
So you know: A List of Frivolous Political Parties. For my money, you just can't beat the Rhinoceros Party in Canada.
Much better than the standard def pair you're wearing: HD Sunglasses.
Hunting the 62mph Autobahn Skateboarder.
magCulture on OK Collections, a sweet, new magazine from The Netherlands that would be perfect in the MoOM Museum Shop, if there was such a thing.
Ugly Overload. MS, don't scroll down too far or you'll see the Stowaway Spider and won't be able to sleep tonight.
Posted without comment: JetAngel, advertising using branded, decommissioned military aircraft, or rather, "Turning on the afterburners on advertisement!"
Peacay on Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae (The Great Art of Light and Shadow.)
"Schoolgirl breaks world record for balancing snails on her face." What they never explain in these stories is how this all got started. And why?!
Elderly people upset at 'elderly people' road signs. Non-jumping deer are likely the next to complain.
"She rolled down her window and asked if it was open, then looked heartbroken when told that it wasn't." Sioux City is maybe a little too excited about their new Olive Garden. Via Cynical-C.
For the MS salt and pepper collection, toilets.
Posted without comment: Sheep Stomach Lamp Shades.
Stars as Lego characters. Thanks Henry.
The story behind the Go Miniman Go! campaign to celebrate the Lego man's 30th birtHDay. It all launched yesterday with this spot.
What makes a good chocolate chip cookie?
Wired says, "Show us your geek tattoos".
Anyone want to go over to Dave Cuzner's house? Nice tour of the environment that inspires Grain Edit.
"I'm Steve Parry, I'm not Michael Phelps!"
A must have, the Chococlock.
Commercial signs that move in Tokyo and Osaka.
Noted without comment. 100thofasecond.com.
For SE, the Valmont Bike Park in Boulder.
Grain Edit has a peek inside Small Studio in Lyon, France.
The Making of a Meat Cake. Not a vegetarian friendly link in the slightest.
The Olympics in Lego.
One day is 360 turns and every turn is exactly 4 minutes. Turntime.
The Human Marvels, presenting peculiar people.
James Ellis on his brief career in printing.
Passport book from the Expo 86 in BC, Canada.
Posted without comment: "If the Border Patrol Doesn't Get You, the Chicken and Burgers Will - Go Vegan."
Fantastic read on the future of suburbia.
Salvador Dali and SpongeBob Squarepants at The Daily Heller.
Cool stuff found in Bill Keller's Grandfather's garage.
The process behind the prosthetics for Shrek: The Musical.
de-noted is a blog to see what would happen if you release a question written on a bank note.
Who knew that scientists were working on an invisibility cloak in the first place? I still want my jet-pack, though.
Some pretty strange theme restaurants.
A possible answer to the question: "Why doesn't the Kool-Aid Man shatter when he smashes through walls?" Via Transbuddha.
So you know, this is what $748 million will get you.
General Electric's Widescreen 1000 TV from 1978. Via bblinks.
We were semi-excited to see the Olympics opening ceremony this evening, but then we watched Los Conquistadores de Ecuador and certainly nothing will ever be able to top that experience.
You know the economy is bad when celebrities start appearing on dollar store products. Thanks Claire.
Although the "people in animal costumes" idea has long since worn out its welcome, it's refreshing to see that it's still very funny when it isn't intended to be funny: Polar Bear Escape Training at a Tokyo Zoo.
For the CP studio where a lot of IMing occurs, the i-Knock.
A global warming rug.
I Am Rich, a completely useless iPhone app that costs $999.
So you know, how to give yourself elf ears. Via BB.
The Temple of Tame Tigers seems like the real life version of a favorite Far Side strip: "Trouble Brewing."
Chicago's been seeing some unfortunate weather again this summer, and last night, I happened to be trapped on a CTA platform during quite a light show. Thanks for the video, Andrew!
LEGO powered time-tracking.
Some tattoo ideas for BB should Chicago win the 2016 Olympic bid.
Not sure if it's appropriate to get out the "We're #1" big foam hand for this one. A study has found that US and Spanish dollars contain the highest traces of cocaine of any currencies.
The Ridemaster Pro, "the ultimate fully interactive horse simulator."
Leaving an AI chat bot on sex-oriented chat sites to see what happens. "She's still in there now, getting harassed. Poor thing."
In case you're going for a swim, the most deadliest sea creatures.
Jurassic amber soap (with insect). Thanks John.
10 Tips to make your bike the ugliest on the block.
So you know: a list of fictional ducks.
For math lovers, the Pop Quiz Clock.
"Libidinous inclinations aside Death, although dreaded and loathed, plays a morally ambiguous role compared to Zombies who seem to be purely evil." An annotated visual survey of Zombies in art history. Found among other things.
I'll be interested to see who gets this web design job in San Diego.
All reports are that the "boutique death movement" is alive and well.
Backyard Paradises.
Cake Wrecks, via Glass. Maybe we should send in Steve's birtHDay cake?
Sweet, Gizmodo gets an exclusive tour of the Lego factory.
For BB and DW, an idea for your next scooter rally. Via Neatorama.
Design by hacking cheaply made plastic junk.
This is the first time this phrase has appeared in Fresh Signals, The sound of jelly wobbling. Via The Big Noob.
The Process. Thanks Kelli.
Yes it is.
"A trip across the US is approximately 3000 miles coast to coast. At this rate, she only needed to run 2.5 miles a day which is definitely possible!" Hamster Across America. Via Torrez.
No further comment needed. Snack foods that sound like sex acts.
10 More Must-Try Exotic Fruits. Via That's How.
Your iPhone is full of beer. Via MACup.
The art installation "is open to anyone willing to risk life and limb for a thrill ride." Lagombra's Bicycle Rollercoaster.
Posted without comment: Journey at The Center of the Earth. Via Transbuddha.
The contradictions swirl and build. Behold a site of Soviet-born artist Yevgeniy Fiks who lives in New York and is mounting an exhibit in Russia of portraits he painted of current Communist Party, USA members. It raises some provocative questions.
America's regional hot dog styles. Sorry Chicago, LA has bacon on theirs. Via Metblogs.
NPR reports today that Germany is considering "Kinder voting", extending the vote to all citizens, even those in diapers. Perhaps the kids could simply come up with some t-shirts.
Ben Greenman's latest contribution to musical theater: A-Rod! The Musical.
Jim Denevan makes freehand drawings in sand. Really big beautiful drawings. Via CH.
For MS, Improv Everywhere filled a subway car with identical twins. "The Rosenblum twins had the same song queued on their iPods - that's the level of dedication these agents had."
Send Barack Your Baby. "When your baby arrives, Barack will give it your choice of a kiss, a hug, or hope." Via Bits & Pieces.
Save the Arecibo Observatory, so Bond nemesis Alec Trevelyan can keep threatening London and Jodie Foster can continue talking to aliens.
I have absolutely no idea what this site is all about and it doesn't really bother me in the least.
Posted without comment: the Everyday Wedding Ring. Via 2 or 3 Things.
Starting with the Old Testament, in seven months without interruption, all 66 books of the Bible are written in calligraphy by a robot. Check the video.
Excellent, I was just wondering this the other day. How Californians see America.
Are you suffering from hidden talents?
"It has reconsecrated the painting after Dan Brown deconsecrated it." Peter Greenaway presented a show of lights, music and sound in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie Monday night. Reinventing The Last Supper.
In an odd yet interesting play on the word "vintage", Prince Charles has converted his classic Aston Martin to run on biofuel distilled from British wine.
"This one time, at Camp Camp..."
Nice print ad by JWT Hong Kong. Stuck in the wrong job?
Well finally. That question I never had the nerve to ask Sister Mary John in grade school has been answered beautifully in a coloring book illustration.
A man on a mission to find the world's greatest chocolate bar.
"Instant origami is the contemporary interpretation of the traditional Japanese paper folding technique - focusing on speed and imagination rather than on the technically brilliant execution."
Pink Tentacle reports in from Yamagata with this year's crop of rice paddy art.
Posted without comment: a dramatic video reconstruction of how you would fit 13 people into a Volvo station wagon.
Cute copper tortoise grater.
For MS, a little something to think about on that next bad hair day.
For BB, "Every Monday all U can eat bacon."
Things of the day. Saint, SAT Question, Song, Theorem, Planet, Baseball Stat and Astronomy Picture.
The rest of the summer is justthisclose to being sold out in The Deck, our ad network. If you have a product or service that could benefit by being in front of millions of web, design & creative professionals, give us a shout quick.
Sleeveface rolls along. Love this one. Thanks Andrew.
Oilcloth homage.
Matthew's Typical Infographic.
Copy Writer, Marketing Materials, $18/hour. "While you are writing copy you will also fill the role of security guard. We will buy your uniform. You won't carry a gun."
Are you right or left-eared? Diana Deutsch's Cambiata illusion. Thanks Ant.
More kids and animal noises. Bzzzpeek. Adorable. Thanks Thomas.
My daughter and I were just discussing this yesterday, so this extensive chart would have been very helpful. How to mimic animal noises in other languages.
Related to the last, The Moccasin Bar in Hayward, WI.
For SD's new pad, couture keys. Via AT:LA.
"Each issue of The Thing is conceived of by an individual artist, reproduced and wrapped by the editors and sent to the subscribers." The Thing 2 is getting set to go.
Somewhat related to a running conversation at lunch about an ad featuring these long necked creatures: Giraffes Declared Kosher. MS and BB: maybe those people in the ad are eating giraffe?
"All you have to do is insert a coin and a piece of china will slowly move forwards and fall into the bottom of the machine, breaking, and leaving you happy and relieved of anger."
Quick, grab some Legos and fix that wall. Via The Letter.
Stumbled on Night Owl Paper Goods at a shop over the weekend. Check out their nice line of eco-friendly wooden cards.
J.K. Rowling on The Fringe Benefits of Failure in her Harvard Commencement address.
FlickrTwitterThinker, from Avoision.
Water sculpture by William Pye.
So you know, a sculptural crochet primer.
According to this in-depth analysis of Facial Hair in Presidential Elections, both Obama and McCain would be wise to remain clean-shaven.
Related to the last. A Teenager's Guide to Understanding and Preparing for the Second Coming.
Everyone needs a little sunshine in their lives. Enter S.A.D. tees.
Create your own Persian rug!
Summer is here, and some great weather for cruising a few yard sales. You just never know what you might find.
So you know: The Tuna Calculator, informing you on how much tuna you can safely eat in a week.
Physiognomy. "Fourteen faces were constructed, de-constructed and fused."
The Letterpress Process, photo sequences illustrating the steps involved in printing jobs. Sweet. Via Design Observer.
Michael Wolf's photo series of Chinese copy artists, standing with their paintings. Found among other things.
A statement followed by a question separated by a colon: an effective journalistic technique?
"Random compositions made by converting pictures into music using a scale of colour." By Hoagy Houghton a GDi student at the University of Brighton. Via It's Nice That.
Discussed at lunch: Murray from Flight of the Conchords and Chuck Todd: separated at birth? Apparently we're not the only ones who think so.
How does your "Brand Timeline Portrait" look? Here's Dear Jane Sample's. Via the unstoppable Mr. Parker.
Erik Nordenankar's self-portrait is large. Really large. Really, really large.
Macbook Pro x blackboard paint = Blackboard Pro.
Related to the last and as poignant as ever today. Edward Kennedy's Eulogy of RFK.
Senses Working Overtime's photosets ought to just about destroy your morning. Mmm, Sweden House.
Click on "Small Ads" at Brian Taylor's Candykiller.
Pencil Talk.
Marital Rating Scale from 1939.
Per our lunch conversation yesterday about Adam West being the one-true Caped Crusader and particularly fitting for today: Batman Politics. Via One Good Move.
A house for $100. James Mathias is trying something different in these slummy real estate times.
Posted without comment: Things Younger Than John McCain.
Behind the scenes look at how Obscura lit up the Meatpacking district in NYC with 20 HD projectors. Thanks Geoff.
The brand new Mellow Johnny's bike shop (Texan for Maillot Jaune) opens in Austin.
In an Absolut world where Absolut gave away free money. Yeah, I'd live in such a world.
"What is the oldest piece of code that is still in use today, that has not actually been retyped or reimplemented in some way? By 'piece of code,' I'm of course referring to a complete algorithm, and not just a single line."
Did God mess with Chip Kidd's New York Times this morning?
Multiple design plans for the 'Angel of the South', a project that simply seems like an excuse to build something randomly huge in Southern England.
"A helmet-like balloon that is connected with the seat can be tilted over the heads of the two people seated. Their heads thus are enclosed a narrow cylindrical space that is covered by a glass-clear plastic dome above which a transparent balloon hovers."
1470 piece Craftsmen Professional Toolset. The photo gives me tool envy.
See where some of the $152 billion stimulus package is going.
The "CBS Eye" has Shaker roots. Via L&UL.
Do fast cars go to heaven? Via Things.
It seems that Cobra Commander and General Hawk have found the internet.
Need a new word to describe a collection of disparate images held together purely by the taste of the curator. For example, Crabstick's Graphic Anything set. Via Scott Hansen.
Portland + Bikes = Top Prize
Thanks to Kevin Byrd and everyone at Armchair Media for a great meal and some sight-seeing on Friday. If you're anywhere near Atlanta this week, don't miss their beautiful work for this year's Modern Atlanta event.
Baby Car Logos. Via Glass.
Six reports about guerrilla gardening in London.
According to all of his mates / He exhibits some curious traits / But he does what he pleases / He's counting his sneezes / And recording the times and the dates.
15 Horribly Tacky Cake Toppers.
The University of Delaware Library's 200 Years of Children's Books collection. Via Plep.
And from yesterday's lunch conversation about what was thought to be Errol Morris' next movie, instead of Standard Operating Procedure: The Story of 'Nub City', where residents of a small Florida town decided to pull insurance scams by amputating their own limbs. We have to stop being so morbid at lunch.
Designer tip. Before presenting a new logo, it's wise to rotate it and make sure it looks OK that way too. Via Torrez.
For my next birtHDay party, I will be having a Donald Judd pinata. Franco Mondini-Ruiz has a show running at Frederieke Taylor Gallery.
Harlan Ellison and Robin Williams discuss L. Ron Hubbard. Fast and furious.
So you know. How to paint a Pan Am 727.
"These images represent the state of urban life today. In our childhood, skyscrapers were buildings that we had to raise our head to look at. Now we can imagine our future by bending down to examine tiny models of buildings." Urban Fiction by Bejing artist Xing Danwen.
Bad mags. Like it says.
Year of Creativity 2008. "Reinvent yourself. Because people are like ideas: new ones can change the world."
So you know, what's better for heating a mug of water, the stove or the microwave?
A world freehand circle drawing champion. I didn't know such a thing existed but apparently it's quite a big deal.
Shooting stuff in slo-mo. Via Clusterflock.
When WFMU writes "follow the jump for more boring images." who am I to resist?
Hands as lots of things.
Bento lunches that look like album covers.
So you know, an in-depth article on how fingerprinting works.
Explanation of all the items on the menu for The Last Meal on the Titanic. A fun idea for a very morbid dinner party. Via Cynical-C.
The seven names (and logos) of God.
Star Wars 1942 action figures. Via Dark Roasted.
Wii Remote hacks.
Robynne Raye and Michael Strassburger of Modern Dog are Debbie's guests on Design Matters today. Listen live at 3pm Eastern.
Dieter 'Didi' Senft's Guitar Bike.
Hair Formula 1, 2005: hair dryers, hair rollers, hair pins, tar paper, ping-pong balls. Created by Michael Johansson. Via Made in England by Gentlemen.
Posted without comment: Oxygen Plus, portable oxygen spray. Via Eyebeam.
"Ringo Starr's head was chopped off, but the rest of the Beatles were untouched."
A new study shows that just being exposed to the Apple logo can make you more creative.
Five dangerous things you should let your kids do. (Via Kimzyn.)
For Spencer, Cupcakes!
Thinking Machine 4.
Marathons? No problem. Run a marathon without water while wearing car-tire sandals? No problem for these Maasai warriors who will run the London Marathon. Impressive.
Noted without comment. A found book.
If you want me to stop cutting down these oak trees, please just give me a sign. Via Arbroath.
"We're roommates. We make call-and-response baroque scenes on a dry erase board. They usually have nerdy characters from nerdy things in them." I think you better have a look at this.
Star Wars Toys That Unintentionally Look Like Other Celebrities.
A list of billionaire college dropouts. More interesting would be a collection of billionaire preschool dropouts. Via Transbuddha.
Some talk and video about Mimosa Pudica: The sensitive plant. If you can find one at your local nursery, they're a blast to have around the house.
Indexed: Before his time, really.
For the Bluetooth user who wants to move beyond those awful earpieces and appear even more ridiculous: The Bluetooth Microphone Dental Insert.
The Bacon Flowchart.
Top Power-Lunch Spots in the US. Strangely, neither Bari nor Vinnie's is included.
Remainders at BibliOdyssey. Love this.
Diet HD, "with deep blue lenses that make the food you're eating look, well, disgusting."
"Don't hate the part of you that most makes you feel alive." Amen, Brian.
The letterhead of Robot Salesmen Ltd.
The automotive family tree.
Likely the most depressing link for the day: Three Squares Greetings, greeting cards for the incarcerated.
The Drum Table, with durable, interchangeable and rearrangeable percussion inserts.
Evan Hecox on Arkitip Chronicles. Via Naz.
The day they broke into Hal Riney's island, the video and the whole terrific story.
Advertising Vs Reality: A Product Comparison Project, "a study of 100 different products by comparing the look of the products as shown by the packaging with the actual contents inside the boxes."
Hal Riney has died.
Shira Bicycle CB Radio and AM Radio and Burglar Alarm. Man I wish I had one of those for my Orange Krate.
A collection of the Strangest Christian Products and Signs, including the Lego Church.
To keep in mind for when we open the CP Oceanography Center: The Marion Hyper-Sub.
True Story of a Twitter Marriage Proposal. "I'd be happy to spend the rest of my geek life with you."
Posted without comment: Why choose if you can combine?
A good place to start in your preparations for tomorrow: The National Corndog Day Blog. Via AdFreak.
From experience we know that few things generate clicks and joy like explosions do. So thanks to Dave Faris and Mefi, here are seven fuses to light. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Ah, that's better.
Felt cereal boxes. Nuff said.
The Sun-Times should probably be less embarrassed about the identity of the winner in their $1,000 mock-the-Tribune music video contest and more concerned that the combined age of the second and third place winners is 133.
Adland on a swell print campaign for Nova 101.5, Le Grand Mix. Dig the funk version.
Permanent Vacation. Two unattended computers send endlessly bouncing out-of-office auto-responses to each other. By Cory Arcangel. Via Boing.
Everyone's a (Food) Critic.
"When you run out of stars, you can always use asterisks." Marc John's Post-it note drawings. Via C-Monster.
Origin unknown. Maybe Mars?
"The blood that spilled was our blood." A More Perfect Union. Obama's speech in Philly today made us proud to be with him.
Cavalier Egyptian Attitudes to Trademarks: Windows Potato Chips. Maybe more disturbing is that they're "ketchup flavored."
An international team of researchers appears to have proven the old adage: Short Men Are the Jealous Type. "By contrast the least jealous women were of average height."
Inventive layout for the portfolio of designer Seth Rieder. Via Netdiver.
A Vending Machine for Crows, training crows to fetch coins on the street and bring them back for a treat. Via Torrez.
"At any given point, we have more than 1,664,000 people who are ready to pray for your brand." Very funny and sure to offend: Christvertising.
Played in Britain, a publisher of books about sports in the UK, largely about the details, like architecture and the balls used in football matches. Via I Like.
Zeldman is Debbie Millman's guest on Design Matter today, listen live at 3pm EDT.
Posted without comment: Who Needs a Movie? Via AdFreak.
Minor League Baseball Logo Tournament, day two.
The Evolution of the Yeti, raising the issue that they aren't always white in color (but rest assured, they're always abominable). Via 1+1=3.
Try making this Nutella Ice Cream. SO good.
7 Insane Conspiracies That Actually Happened.
Top 10 Barely Legal Gadgets for the Modern Spy. Via Dark Roasted.
The Wiindow Curtain Control, using a Wii controller.
In honor of Pulaski Day: Hardkorowe Pierogi.
"Potatoes baked on hot pebbles!" and other mobile food bars in Tokyo.
A little difficult to move around in, but chocked full of old tech goodness: Retro Electronics and Audio Lab in Midland, TX. Start on the Television Photos and Repair Journals page.
A complete list of Obsolete Skills. Via Transbuddha.
How people in different countries count money by hand.
"Something's out there flying around that is highly unusual." More from Tecnologia Obsoleta.
The idea behind The 2008 Art Shanty Project, "We plan to offer 20 Residencies of $700 for construction of shanties and projects. These are intended for artists to build a shanty and spend a significant portion of time on the ice."
"Can you provide some more color as to what you are doing for your supply chain initiatives to reduce manufacturing costs per hectoliter?" Joe Herrick of Gutterman Research: The Earnings Call Hoaxster.
"I wish I could wake up tomorrow morning and the diorama would be ok." Museum Officials to Consider Returning Destroyed Diorama. The story never really explains why it was destroyed, resulting in a very strange read.
The Western Round Table on Modern Art (1949), 7+ hours of audio including Frank Lloyd Wright, Duchamp and others. Via Edward Lifson.
Le Grand Content, answering all the questions of the universe, via PowerPoint.
Finally! The fourth season of Radiolab starts today.
Wm$na interviews artist Antony Hall who communicates with electric fish, trains worms and has some really sweet goggles too.
Silhouette Masterpiece Theatre.
Guess who they're rooting for in Obama, Japan?
Funny Op-Ed piece by Dave Eggers in yesterday's NY Times: Losing to Idaho, about California's embarrassment over not picking Obama.
From YumSugar's Random Kitchen Gadgets: Useful or Useless? the peanut butter and jelly spreader and the Batter Finger.
No, Hillary Clinton Is Your New Bicycle.
Sometimes mail goes missing, but don't worry it'll eventually get there.
A fitting relink for the day: Tree-Nation.
"Typical advertising is for jerks. Joey the Midwife isn't." Joey the Midwife: An Advertising Agency.
Bring your camera to the polling place tomorrow.
Sand/Light is an experiment that uses a data as a map to determine whether the particles should change their speed because of an obstacle. Via John Nack.
So I'm moving to Finland. It's dark most of the time during the winter. How do I make fake windows? Ask MetaFilter.
Pics or it didn't happen. Well, here you go.
If you're looking for a crafty-but-awkward Valentine gift, get stitching!
"Sufferers will often attach a personality to their alien hand and will try to punish it for disobedience." Bizarre Diseases
Bizarre new mammal discovered. "The cat-sized animal, which is reported in the Journal of Zoology, looks like a cross between a miniature antelope and a small anteater." Via bblinks.
"Office Collar has been designed in response to the open plan working environment. The collars act spatial isolators, narrowing the field of vision, therefore enabling their wearer to focus on the tasks in front of them." Via J-Walk.
All the lil' birdies are free for you to enjoy. Download, print, cut and play!
"For Mr. Oudolf, in fact, the real test of a well-composed garden is not how nicely it blooms but how beautifully it decomposes."
Car logojacking.
The life cycle of a blog post.
"The intrasauce technique consists in injecting a sauce inside an ingredient with a syringe -- think Grand-Marnier injected in the flesh of a duck (a dead one, I mean). For optimal absorption, the sauce must be injected slowly and in several passes." Read more notes from the Molecular Gastronomy Conference.
Bringing in the sunlight into dark, dreary apartments any way you can: Sheet Metal Tests. Via Eyebeam.
"I dreamed I was a fireman in my Maidenform bra."
Last year, it was Sydney. This year, many more cities will celebrate Earth Hour on March 29th. Turn off your lights for an hour, enjoy the stars, and think of what we can do to change.
German DJs and their living rooms. Found among other things.
John Thibodeaux writes, "I just saw the post about the Christmas tree bonfire and thought that if you think that looks like fun, you might want to check out how we recycle our Christmas trees down here in New Orleans."
10,000,000 Zimbabwean dollars = US$3.90 = 2.60 euros = £2
"Every year in January, a few of my neighbors drive around picking up dead Christmas trees that people have put out on the curb for disposal. They drag them all out to the beach, make a huge pile, and light it up." Via Transbuddha.
Trevi Fountain Prankster Strikes Again in Rome, in what sounds like a real-life version of that popular ball drop spot for Sony.
Manjula's Kitchen, a homemade Indian vegetarian cooking show on YouTube. Too awesome.
"I rescue, salvage, and recycle other people's words... At some unpredictable point along the way, in my mind, the images start to invent themselves." Will Ashford's "Recycled Words."
If anyone cares beside me, we're still in the lead. Take that Leo.
How to build a LEGO geodesic dome.
"While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles. Now, while doing this draw the number '6' in the air with your right hand. You foot will change direction and there's nothing you can do about it." Courtesy of Jeff Bridges. Thanks JJ.
"The Gomboc is a roundish piece of clear synthetic material with gently peaked, organic curves. It looks like a piece of modern art. But if you tip it over, something unusual happens: it rights itself."
CR runs down Design Museum's Designs of the Year Shortlist. Quite a varied bunch.
Bring bad design to justice. Thanks Ches.
Peacay on cabinets of curiosities.
All the nouns (53,463) in the English language visualized and arranged by semantic meaning equals 80 million tiny images.
Copy of the moment: "The next stage of watercraft is here. Leap ahead of your friends and neighbors in coolness factor when you show off your Amphibious Tank at the next lake party." It gets even better from there.
What Alberto was holding in his right hand all day. Every day.
"People wonder what in the world it is because this is the Bible Belt, and everyone is afraid it's the end of times."
Man vents anger.
Everything you need to know about 2008.
Nicholas' personal Feltron 2007 Annual Report has now been posted.
A long exposure light show and even better, a variety of projects created with Tesla coil sparks and long-exposures, including "making of" details. Sweet.
"It does seem a bit weird watching an explicit 1920s porn film set in a dress-maker's shop in the National Library."
Building a Meat Cabin. My arteries hurt just looking at it.
Ten Years Ago.
"You wouldn't believe it. He's plastic." Finding Vladimir Lenin at the South Pole. Via Dark Roasted.
"One village of artists exports about five million paintings every year -- most of them copies of famous masterpieces. The fastest workers can paint up to 30 paintings a day."
For 30 Euros you can commission a Palestinian youth to spray paint your message on the Israeli West Bank Wall barrier.
C-Monster starts by covering the art industry but you never know where it will go from there.
Ted Serios "was an unemployed alcoholic bellhop from Chicago who could allegedly project images on unexposed film by staring into the lens of a camera with intense concentration." Via gmt+9(-15).
MS: next time we're in Arizona at the same time, we should hit up the Sedona Vortex Tours.
The Royal Channel. The official YouTube channel of the British monarchy.
Flip Books.
WPIX opens up their Holiday Yule Log as a download, for those of us not in New York.
Artist Nils-R. Schultze knows what to do with fountains when it's too cold for water. Via MoCo Loco.
"During the course of my holiday I will send three postcards to one person of your choosing. These postcards will be rant-ravingly insane, yet they will be peppered with unmistakable personal details about the addressee. Details you will provide me." Drive Someone Insane with Postcards. Via Chris Glass.
For those who like both GPS and the sound of their own voice: YourPND, which allows you to bypass the voice that comes with a device and instead succumb to your own disturbing vanity. Via Springwise.
Light emitting wallpaper by Jonas Samson. Neat!
Immanuel Kant: Wrong on Metaphysics, Wrong on Ethics, Wrong on Aesthetics and Wrong for America.
Ad agency AKQA's holiday message. When the gerbil runs on the wheel, the neon sign lights up. Via AdFreak.
Noted without comment. Eyescapes.
Chips and candy with the branding removed by Derek Stroup. Thanks Hubs.
This Peanut Looks Like A Duck, "a site about things that look like animals."
Happy birtHDay "blog." Via bblinks.
AdFreak's ongoing Freakiest Ad Moments of 2007.
"...the user sits on the chair, the user's alter ego appears in the Delay Mirror. The alter ego mimics user's action with a few second delay." A simple, fascinating project by Kenichi Okado. Here are a couple video clips.
For decades, astronomers have theorized about the Star of Bethlehem. Dave Ex Machina offers up a new theory involving the destruction of Alderaan. Via Cynical C.
Ship Lifting in Russia. Via Dark Roasted.
Giant Spider Attacks Space Shuttle, news at 11.
If we had one of those Secret Santa things going on here at CP, someone would be getting either these USB-heated boots or this USB tape dispenser. Luckily, we don't.
"A reproduction of Edouard Manet's 'Bar at the Folies Bergere' made entirely of old Pantone chips. Over 5,000 unused chips were painstakingly colour matched and and stuck down over four long nights." Greatness. Via It's Nice That.
"I've always viewed bacon as 'the candybar of meat' so I only felt slightly weird about it." For BB: Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies with Maple Cinnamon Glaze.
Collective Perception. Found among other things.
The Solar Powered Dollhouse, "full of alternative energy goodies!" Nice, principled idea, but can you imagine receiving it as a kid? Via Eyebeam.
Newley Purnell's latest adventure, the Waffle Hot Dog. And while you're there, don't miss his previous encounter with the French Fry-Encrusted Corn Dog.
The. Best. Menu. Ever. You should know I was tempted to use all caps for "Ever".
Video of Marian Bantjes chatting with Debbie Millman at the recent Design Matters Live. '"I tend to become very obsessed with things and go completely overboard." Lucky for us. Marian played Armin Vit in our 11/2 Layer Tennis Match and her "Click Me. Love Me" art print is part of our Gifted collection.
"A series of American Sign Language hands that I made from matchbooks I found on the street."
"There is no way to communicate the part of me that believes..."
For MS, Foodpairing.
The teacher of the Typography class in the previous post is Douglas Wilson. As a sneak preview for a new project we're just about to launch we commissioned Douglas to painstakingly assemble another set of his Blind Boxes. The first set sold out fast and this edition contains even more printed ephemera and various other found items. So you know, there are only 20 18 of the Second Edition Blind Boxes available.
"I gave each student in my Advanced Typography class a Field Notes to fill with whatever their heart desired. Some of them created beautiful stuff, while others doodled until the book was filled. Either way, it is fascinating to see what they created!" So great.
Likely following his "It's Not a Real Hijacking!" piece, a student in Ontario was arrested for his 'fake bomb' art project at a school fund raiser. Best line: "The dinner was canceled, the Toronto police bomb squad arrived in force, along with its robot..." Via Art Info.
Seen while driving yesterday: Abe Frohman's, "Chicago's Finest Sausages."
The maiden flight of a 1/2 scale X-Wing Fighter, Artoo? Are you there? Artoo?
Just before we're about to typeset the credits to roll at the end of Laboratory Conditions, Pierre Mai of Ottobeuren, Germany and Kevin Hamm of East Helana, Montana have joined the list of Executive Producers on our current film projects.
"I love what the Clinton campaign has done with this pamphlet. The colors are rich, the illustrations are well done and endearingly retro, and the use of die-cut is just fantastic. Have a look."
What If My Computer Randomly Plays Classical Music? Via Cynical C.
Kent French, the world's fastest clapper. Via Dark Roasted.
The Belle & Sebastian Wall Calendar: Toast to Glasgow, wherein "Each month a member of the band takes you to their favorite place in this fair city." Via I Like.
To The Stars! "German, Italian, British fantastic illustrations and promotional literature - all from the Golden Age of Retro-Future." 1930s-70s. Via Boing.
25 Hours of FedEx flight operations. Thanks Henry.
ThirstyLight, lights up when it's time to water your plants. There are many victims of mine that could have benefited from this invention. Via Torrez.
Today's field trip with the kids, American Science & Surplus. Wee.
Posted without comment: A summary of routines by David Cain, Juggler for Jesus.
Steve Gadlin overcomes his fears and tries a Pizza Cone. Later, he reports back with an unsurprising review.
Expo 67 ephemera.
Food company Podravka's latest annual report arrives blank. Bake at 100° for 25 minutes. Via c77.
So you know: How to Build a Paper Transformer. Via Andy Rutledge.
Simply Breakfast, daily photos of what Jen had to eat. Via I Like.
Tenspace, "...the movie combines the numbers one to ten with images derived from ikebana - the Japanese art of flower arranging." Thanks Romain.
Amy Sedaris' home. Just as kooky as I expected.
Posted without comment. Abstract Nationale.
Simon Husslein's "Nest One" light installation. "A woven sphere is glowing at sunset. Changing colours symbolize new life plated into a dying tree." Via vvork.
One way to watch a live Layer Tennis Match is to dedicate one monitor to each volley.
"Museums are jammed with chicks, standing around, looking at art."
"In my opinion, it appears to be a juvenile Sasquatch." Thanks Joe.
Best snap from the Seed Conference yet. Is this thing on?, from Rich Orris.
Another holiday, another chance to feel inadequate. It took me half an hour to carve just ONE of these things.
Money pubs, home of the world's most expensive wallpaper.
Mmmm.... car-baked cookies.
Ironic Sans interview with Art Binninger, "the Ed Wood of 1970s stop-motion animated Star Trek parodies."
A New Violent Conception of Life and History, Kevin Broome's collection of quotes on why the Neo Futurist group dyed the Trevi Fountain and what exactly it means.
Over the weekend Olive Riley celebrated her 108th birtHDay making her possibly the world's oldest blogger.
This past weekend marked the 40th anniversary of Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin's famous bigfoot film.
Note to everyone at CP: let's throw out our bulky workspaces and get Scooter Desks, thus becoming the weirdest office to visit ever.
Posted without comment: Phone Fingers. Via 1+1=3.
For the clueless environmentalist: the 6-Door Prius Limo.
Meticulous Tasks "explores the relationship between the value of a piece of work and the time and effor put into it. Over a two week period I chose a mundane task to do each day that would produce a finished image."
FF Studio Visit to the Berkeley garage that is the workspace of artists Brendan Monroe and Evah Fan.
Awesome mirror prank. Via Mefi.
Not exactly a museum, but this is rather MoOM-like in scope. The World Directory of Pasta Shapes and Names, part of the "integrated multimedia communication on pasta and related activities".
Shake Pole 30.09. 831 fluorescent tubes powered by the electromagnetic field surrounding overhead power lines. By Richard Box. Via vvork.
So you know: Notes on Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day, which falls on December 8th of each year (no matter which one it is). Via bblinks.
What's could possibly make apple pie any better? Bacon. Via BoN.
The entire studio is crying right now. Stacy Hedger, "Miss Douglas."
Posted without comment: a song about Roberto Luongo, the Canucks' goalie.
"To make the butterflies, we starting tossing about different ideas for generative wing design."
One Sexy Apple, the story of Honeycrisp apples.
Posted without comment: The Back-Up, a shotgun holder for under your bed.
MS, now that we discovered that you can wash a keyboard in the dishwasher, you want to try this experiment? Dishwasher Lasagna Florentine.
Um, hey, CP - how about a little corporate fun? Via BB.
Now that's a true bad ass.
So you know: the Romanian UFO Network has a blog. Via Eyebeam.
Yowch. Someone at NASA should keep their day job. Via Design Info.
Mona Lisa from recycled train tickets. Thanks Brad.
The seven deadly sins of company naming. Clipped from Quipped.
"Eight artists snuck into the depths of Providence Place mall and built a secret studio apartment in which they stayed, on and off, for nearly four years until mall security finally caught their leader last week." 1 Room, No View. Via Eyebeam.
Weather Flags used by the US Department of Agriculture in the late 1800s.
8 legs good, 2 legs bad.
"I was parked next to a really friendly guy with a lovingly cared-for but nondescript '92 Thunderbird, and we talked for an hour or more, trying to pretend either of us cared about the other's vehicle." BB enters his Vespa in a car show.
The good old PB & J - Back to save the world.
Russell Byars of Pennsylvania has been officially crowned the new World Stone Skipping Champ.
Taste Test: Gum.
Faces in Places, Via 30gms.
Peter Feigenbaum's gorgeous model railroad slums.
The Modern Ephemera Society, a photo pool. Via Mr. Glass.
Anti-telemarketing counterscript. If only I could find a way to screw up all these prerecorded calls.
Tim Gaudreau's self-portrait as revealed by trash. Clipped from Quipped.
UNKL delivers a UniPo six-pack of Wilco.
Decals for interior design. Of course, the Fleet Vehicle Identification Symbol System completes any room.
It's PARK(ing) Day.
Wonderful gallery of sci-fi paper models with printouts.
Barry Bonds says Mark Ecko is stupid for doing this. Via Mule.
Listen in to the wild tales of Iceland's resident gnomes, dwarves, elves and hidden people.
Standing 27 feet tall the world's largest chocolate fountain pumps 2,100 pounds of deliciousness at 120 quarts per minute.
This is not safe.
Feeling adrift in a sea of fetish possibilities? Here's a map.
"The first speed-reduction device I tried was this Mr. Potato Head." Via Zawodny.
eCommerce as imagined in 1967.
"Where are my legs?" "Here are your legs!"
Residents of San Francisco: Vote for Chicken John or Don't Vote for Chicken John, the choice is yours. Via Torrez.
Local Interest: Our friends from Galewood Cookshack will be at the Logan Square Farmers' Market this Sunday, filming for Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.
Saveur magazine features food from Chicago this month. Not all content is online as of yet, but "Heartland of the World", "City of Pork", and a short article on Chicago culinary inventions are. Check the print edition for interesting articles on Bruce Sherman, Rich Melman, and a photo essay about how Chicagoans shop for food.
For SD, Nepal Air sacrifices goat for Sky God. Perhaps you should add this to your pre-flight checklist?
So you know: The Basics for Avoiding "Cop Talk" in radio reporting.
Three years worth of edible art for bento boxes. Via Make.
"In Russia suspended ceiling is not only a stylish element of the flat interior, it can simply save your dwelling from flood made by the careless neighbors living above." Bubble Ceilings. Via Neatorama.
From a single sheet of paper. Thanks Howard.
"Design the copywriter's birtHDay card. They said." Excellent. Via The Serif.
"I am here to work in a total post-modern sort of sober, commonsensical way".
Little hand-painted people, left in London to fend for themselves, a tiny street art project. Via Wooster.
Bin Laden (Almost) Meets Bush in Australia.
Posted without comment: Cow Bingo. Via bblinks.
In-N-Out Burger's secret menu. Via Coding Horror.
Intimate Exchanges is a "multi-play" where two actors make decisions Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-style, cycling through 10 characters and 8 different plays. It can be perplexing, but each show is a new experience. Here's the decision tree.
Via Grand Text Auto.
Finkbuilt asks, "What would happen if you shipped 20 unassembled old-timey wooden fishing lure kits off to be finished by a bunch of artists?"
Local note. This experimental sound installation currently at the Lincoln Park Conservatory has the coolest title ever, In the event that the stag horn fern becomes metallic and that each of its bifurcating leaves rings like a tuning fork, please turn off this recording. Via Tolva.
Dust Bubble collects fine links on hot air ballooning but misses the most important one, The Golden Age of Ballooning, parts one, two and three. "Louis the 16th is dead already?"
Our last Infrequent Mailing included a contest called Missed Connections and we've just posted the winners. Thanks to everyone who entered. Last week we sent out another edition of the newsletter with short updates on various projects as well as a new contest called Stupid Camera Tricks. Subscribe under "Via Chicago" on the left and you can still get in on the contest action.
When Peacay tosses out a salad of linkage for the weekend it's a good time to pay attention. Offcuts at BibliOdyssey.
Strange Beautiful on The Conet Project and recordings of shortwave "numbers stations." More at the Internet Archive.
"I'm sorry for violating the safety and security of your home." Guilt ridden burglar returns loot, apologizes in letter. Via Cynical C.
"In our initial conversation when I asked, 'Why me?' he answered, 'Because you sound like the kind of person who stays there.'" An interview with writer Tom Bodett on becoming the Motel 6 spokesman.
Looking for sports phrases this afternoon for some tagline inspiration when BB and I ran across Clip Words Live, "over 500 ready to use headlines, phrases and statements." We realized we were out of a job when we read such gems as "Volleyball is our thing!" and "Peer pressure is awesome!"
Yesterday was La Tomatina in Buñol, Spain. Here's some photos from this year's event.
The Ghost of Market Crashes Past. Looks like it's about time to clear out the accounts and make some room under the mattress. Via Defective Yeti.
If You Can Read This, You're Hired. Recruitment ads that need to be decoded and beer mats that reflect well on their creators.
"You: different-sized pupils, thin, white, duke-like. Me: only 13 and clueless." Our Missed Connections contest.
Erik uses Field Notes for a very important list. Ethan's trying them out and Damien compares them to another popular method of capturing visual thinking.
"Why frogs?" "Because they are small and light." Frog Can Fly, a project from Mi-Mi Moscow. Via wm$na.
"I was in the hammer lane doing double nickles in my wiggle wagon when this county mounty shot me in the back." Trucker Lingo.
Noted without comment. Antichrist and Barcodes.
The Brazilian gesture for speed, the Serbian three-finger salute and lots more at A Nice Gesture, "stories of gestures and sign language about perception, semiotics, and technology." Via Plep.
From the Wood Green Mob to the Dark Side Ninjas, a complete list of London gang names from The Evening Standard. Via Eyebeam.
Oh that it were so, eh BB?
For fans of Shadow Divers: the recent discovery of the USS Grunion. Also interesting to read the search team's blog and see the first photos ever taken of the submarine's wreckage.
"The inventors of the Chickens Suit, this ingenious 'piece of freedom,' truly believe that there is a real need for this world to suit its chickens. We talk from experience. Chickens Suit has made our lives richer." Via bblinks.
"Ideas fly like left jabs and connect like right hooks." The Draft FCB Creative Rumble definitely needs an Unsolicited Response, but I'm afraid we just don't have the heart for the job. It's much too sad. Via Mr. Parker.
Photoset of the moment: snaps from the Cardboard Robot Rumble in San Francisco. Via Laughing Squid.
Britney Spears' fragrance rips identity from Mondonation. Sheesh.
Language Log collects the data and looks at the use of the phrases 'I Mean' and 'You Know.' Via One Good Move.
Everything Lebowski Fest including the oh-so-sweet Nixon Bowling Poster. Thanks to Marshall and friends.
The Beginners Guide To Lock Picking. You'll be an expert thief in no time. Via Eyebeam.
Don't Buy - Updates Soon.
Mes-Etolies by Barragán and Aitken, is an interactive installation that responds to the viewer's presence with light. [translate] Via Designboom.
Musselsoppans Vänner's excellent collection of random images. I. II. III.
Internet, Bah Humbug!, a letter to US News and World Report from Defective Yeti's late grandfather.
A guide to creating a minimalist home.
The Swap Meat in the New York Times Magazine, in case you missed it. "...a virtuous circle of artful swag."
Chicken Hypnotism and video to prove it works. Via Dark Roasted.
The Worst Domino Rally Ever. Via Transbuddha.
Noted without comment. "UFO" footage from Haiti last week.
Cooking with Christopher Walken. Via BoN.
Posted without comment: Ballad to A Wigged Dog.
Learned about on the trip through Nebraska: the life and death of 'snoop books', small directories of who was associated with which license plate.
Posted without comment: 130 Cats in One Flat.
During the first decades of the 20th century, copies of a young woman's death mask were widely sold in France and Germany and hung on the walls of many homes. Via The AKS
Keep reloading The Morgue for visual non-sequiturs, collected by Micah J. Bauer.
All about crop circles.
The Mission Stencil Story "is an interactive, choose-your-own-adventure story that takes place on the sidewalks of the Mission district in San Francisco. It is told in a new medium of storytelling that uses spraypainted stencils connected to each other by arrows. The streetscape is used as sort of an illustration to accompany each piece of text." Via La Petite Claudine.
Now you can sleep at IKEA.
Kolya: Works in Paper. "Money circles the globe forming links between cities on opposite sides of the world. I must give them a voice and share the stories they tell... I ask them the question: 'Where have you been?'" Via It's Nice That.
Each issue of The Thing is conceived of by an individual artist, wrapped by the editors and sent to the subscribers. Via Apartment Therapy.
Noted without comment. American Clown: Athletic Dance for Men or Boys. Via Bibliodyssey.
Speaking of mysteries revealed...
"An unbound magazine in a box... the first truly new idea in publishing since paperbacks." An ad for Aspen Magazine, October 1967. Via Paper Cuts.
Great idea, and really useful: Walk Score. Via GB.
An occasional correspondent and link-trader, filmmaker Theresa Duncan, has committed suicide. We didn't know her very well but what we did know was funny and smart. Her site The Wit of the Staircase stands frozen at its last update. The blog's title come from a French phrase that is used to describe that super-witty remark that occurs to you on your way out of the party, where you could have used it. We won't come up with one in this case.
Magic oranges from Spain!
Planning a trip to see the in-laws in August. Even though we already have our favorites, thank goodness I checked "869 Listings for Dunkin Donuts in Boston, MA"
A look at McDonald's menu items around the world.
Jaime writes, "Regarding TW's post today on Faux finishing... Why not pick up the art yourself?"
So you know: Build your own Mont Blanc pen for under $20.
Warning: people in colder climates might not believe this is possible. Did you stop by a roadside truck stand for pecans on your Sunday drive? Or maybe you caught an alligator this weekend (who didn't)? Or you have more okra in your garden than you expected? The Crescent City Farmers Market has the right recipe for you.
On entering the former church the visitor is met by an empty expanse of water with a single step at its edge. Bridge by Michael Cross. More photos from people who visited the installation. Via Computerlove.
Defective Yeti's favorite story of all time: The Horror of Blimps. Very funny. For some reason it seems reminiscent of This American Life's most famous piece, "Squirrel Cop."
Posted without comment. From the SF Chronicle's received voice mail collection: "It's time for the revolution." Via Torrez.
For DM, there are more bagel cutting difficulties out there than you thought: The Meaning of Cutting a Bagel in Half.
Visiting The World's Largest Rock Shop in the seaside town of Great Yarmouth. "Rock" as in "hard candy."
The US has lost the height war. "Americans reached a height plateau after World War II, gradually falling behind much of the industrialized world."
IHOP is buying Applebees. Can't wait for the Southwestern Monterey Jack Blueberry Ribs'n'Funnelcakes Combo.
The Hidden Hazards of Circus Thrillers, from the July 1936 issue of Modern Mechanix. Via Eyebeam.
Why you shouldn't use your cell phone at a concert.
Recipes from top restaurants for the home kitchen. Via Vagablond.
Interesting selection of car license plates from Latvia, where the government allows you to write any word you like, as long as you can pay for it.
Weather icons collected from various press websites. Via Subtraction.
Noted without comment. Institute of Modern Science. Via D&T.
Joshua Allen evaluates SmartWater using The Knowledge For Thirst's standard SAD/RAD binary schema.
The Micro-Fiber Militia, local crochet graffiti artists.
Flurries in Buenos Aires. It's the first major snowfall since 1918.
"A train on a chip, plus more things found with microscopes." Thanks Matt.
Solving the Enigmas of Everyday Design. Via Core 77.
I think I'll start doing a Monday Drink Link here and there, due to my typical Monday morning need for a little extra caffeine. Today I'm thinking about cold-brewed iced coffee.
Take Shape Design & Patterns. Via Designcollector.
Local note. Jeremiah Ketner Twilight Gathering, a solo show, opens tonight at Rotofugi on Chicago Avenue.
The Hanakotoba Plant Communicator. "It can convey to you what your plant cannot in a 200 word vocabulary." Via bblinks.
So you know, how to make your own mac tablet.
An interview from American Public Radio's Weekend America with Kate Bingaman Burt of Obsessive Consumption. Kate has created an exclusive limited-edition for our Swap Meat.
It's a natural for the Swap Meat, but I'm glad we didn't get this meatloaf cake in the mail.
A triumph of design simplicity, iDea.
For BB, Mark Bazer as Ravinia's Programming Director. "We host the BoDeans June 17th. But if you miss them, don't worry. They'll be back 7 more times this season."
If you can't beat em, you can always fake your death.
"Testimony from dozens of persons and police officers depict seeing what appear to be witches flying through the skies of remote Mexican towns." Via Torrez.
Deyrolle, the strangest shop in all of Paris. Via Cynical C.
Happy birtHDay Canada. Your CN Tower is all fancy now.
Every four years, one presidential campaign is immediately finished due to some random, inconsequential thing. For Howard Dean, it was the scream. In 2007, Mitt Romney's dog strapping story is it.
"As the screensaver dims and shifts to a moon, it provides a gentle reminder: maybe it is time to go home, cook some dinner or go for a drink, and let the computer continue doing nothing." By ORG.
Fifteen Polaroids placed in a row close to the floor. "Fiskur," by Darri Lorenzen. Via VVork.
Um…
"It is our mission to define a set of guidelines to which all information posted on the Internet must adhere, and to hold responsible those who would knowingly break those guidelines." Net Authority, a wonderfully subtle spoof. The "How to Spot a Violation" section is terrific. Via Cynical C.
Global Cities at the Tate looks at the changing faces of ten dynamic international cities: Cairo, Istanbul, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Mumbai, São Paulo, Shanghai and Tokyo.
Face your pockets. Clipped from Quipped.
BrickWorld was held here in Chicago over the weekend. Check out the photos.
Furni's DIY Clock Parts Kit. Buy the kit, then design a clock. The best design makes it into their next collection.
Don't shoot, Buster, that martini is made with Smirnoff. A selection from our current exhibitions in The MoOM, The Museum of Online Museums.
The creator of this map has had the interesting idea to break down the gigantic US GDP into the GDPs of individual states, and compare those to other countries' GDP.
Love Your Earth, a competition from DesignBoom.
Build your own Tricycle Chariot, from the December 1950 issue of Popular Mechanics. Via Make.
Posted without comment: No Thumbs from the California Driver's Handbook. Via Torrez.
Ping Mag's Korean Rubber Shoes Redesigned, which is much more interesting than it first sounds.
Janek Schaefer's Vacant Space. "On entering, the gallery appears silent. Panoramic projections of unoccupied spaces merge and slide across one wall.
Plugging headphones directly into the projection wall reveals random layers of amplified location recordings that influence the scrolling visuals in different ways."
More magaziney and bookish goodness: The magCulture blog and Intralibris.
Geoff on the sounds of hypothethical earthquakes.
Instructables teaches you how to make Bacon Placemats. Perfect for your next swanky dinner party. Via Cynical C.
Looking to get out of work early today? Simply go to your office, turn up your speakers as loud as they go and repeatedly listen to these NYPD Siren Samples from the NY Times. You'll be asked to leave in no time. Unless you live in NY. Then nobody will even notice. Via Design Info.
Many Sunday Afternoons on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Via Grow a Brain.
New York Magazine profiles the Minister of Information, Edward Tufte: "Thirty-five, forty dollars a book, 1.4 million copies?" he says, with a quizzical smile, when I ask about money. "You can multiply."
A soviet-era Skoda Capri 205, complete with wooden tires. Via Eyebeam.
The 70th anniversary of Madge and Harrisson's Mass Observation. For more info about the movement, there was also this great piece in the New Yorker last year: "Surveillance Society."
"Several people have asked me what test equipment and tools I use to work on old radios so here are
photos and descriptions." Via The DDC.
It's brand new so it's difficult to say whether Bad Idea a Day will turn out good-bad or bad-bad. Looks bad (in a good way) so far. Via fimoculous.
Talk about a ride.
"While I have no strong feelings towards Al Gore one way or another, I also had nothing better to do. This was how I found myself standing in an hour+ line, with no actual intention of buying the book being autographed."
"For as long as I can remember, I've had this implicit sense of a relationship between letters and colors. To me, every letter seems to have a color of its own." Letter Color Synaesthesia. Via Design Info.
"I'm not talking to a ghost, I'm opening the curtains." TMN interviews artist Kaylynn Deveney about her A Day in the Life project.
Inexplicably weird, impressive and even a little unsettling, all at once: Japanese Custom Vans. Via PSFK.
"This blanket has several sheets containing a traditional bedtime story. Each 'page' adds a layer of linen making you warmer (or cooler)." Bedtime Stories Sheets. Via bblinks.
For BB, Vosges' bacon candy bar.
Secret Rooms of the Stasi, the former GDR's Ministry for State Security. Also everyday stuff in the DDR, Life and Style exhibition. Via an excellent wm$na post.
Jessica posts an update on the status of her a shiitake mushroom log.
"That's when it occurred to me: Nobody says that hamburgers can't be shaped like hot dogs. Thus the Hamburdog was born."
On her way to work, Karin Eriksson gets to see this unbelievably awesome truck. Our local equivalent is our beloved meat truck, which we never seem to see anymore. The last time we got all nostalgic about the meat truck, we did a Flickr search on the subject. Hours of fun for your Friday.
"Though movies and television would like us to believe otherwise, it was very rare when gunfights occurred with the two gunfighters squarely facing each other from a distance in a dusty street." Complete List of Old West Gunfights. Via Cynical C.
Dinner in the Sky, freaky. Check out the video too.
"After the bats set fire to a hangar and a general's car, the Army Air Forces had seen enough of the experiment." The Bat Bombers. Via That's How.
Local note. Former Guest Editor and our best pal in Mississippi, Kate Bingaman Burt has a show up at Fraction Workspace through June 1. Here is Kate's photoset on the installation and gallery. In case you didn't know, Fraction is right next to CP all-time fave Club Lucky.
Enjoy oysters? Admire the work of Frank Gehry? You may like Oysters Guggenheim Bilbao, complete with your daily dose of titanium. Via Megnut.
Like a ghost from the virtual world, a wire-frame sculpture of a Subaru Impreza by artist Benedict Radcliffe. It was parked outside a gallery in Mayfair which was showing more work by Radcliffe inside.
Tis the season: Designboom analyzes the top trends in HD for 2007. I'll probably just stick with the $7 pair I bought at that gas station two years ago.
Everything you could possibly ever want to know about the 1975 AMC Pacer. Via Chris Glass.
"6 curious artists strip away not only most of modern life's familiar structures, but an entire dimension: they have elected to inhabit a structure that effectively forces them to live in 2 dimensions." Flatland. Via Veer.
Selected stamps from David McFarlane. Very nice.
So you know. Corey Arnold's account of how to be an Alaskan fisherman for FF.
"Our friend Jacob who is a bit artsy went to new York for a week. We got a hold of his keys and turned his tiny and messy flat into an art installation."
Guilt Trip Cookies, with the nutrition facts painted on with icing. Via bblinks.
"Depending on your palate and perspective, they are either the worst thing to happen to pickles since plastic brining barrels or a brave new taste sensation to be celebrated." Kool Aid Pickles.
One of the weirdest footnotes in history: The Circumcellions. Via Cynical C.
The Objets Trouvés feature at Tofu-Magazine presents an eclectic collection of experimental film, documents, pictures, sounds, movies. Collected on the web and elsewhere.
How Magazine interviews designers about their personal collections.
Sights and sounds of a virtual forest.
Tiny. Cardboard. Vintage. Analog. Audio equipment. Fab. Via Serif.
FBI Special Narcotics Agent Max H. Roder's collection of 28 diaries, kept on a day to day basis so he could recall things if he had to go to court. Via Notebookism, who we found because they highlighted the Bearskinrug Sketchbook in the Swap Meat, which, as far as we know, has very little to do with narcotics.
Secret NY started with large sculptural yellow arrows that were placed around Manhattan. New Yorkers were invited to send audio messages from their mobile phones about the specific places where they encountered one. Over time it has become a sort of index of unique moments of living in New York.
Art project or wonderful prank? Either way, it's great. Dan Smith Will Teach You. Via PSFK.
1+1=3's Old School Cycling Logos. As the owner of a new Bianchi, I'm a little biased, but they're all great.
Really bad wiring jobs.
"Goal Sculptures just kind of happen as you walk around a deserted sports field. It feels like you're making sculptures with your eyes." Via Gravestmor.
Video from a series of guest lectures at the NY's School of Visual Arts. The 3-part George Lois talk is particularly good. Thanks Andrew.
The Billion Trees Campaign, part of the United Nations Environment Programme. Via Perpetual-Elaboration.
MS, this one's for you. A real gem of nature is The Hawaiian Happy Face Spider. Via Points of Departure.
Nice little collection of Dynamite magazine covers.
Posted without comment: Kinder Surprise tv spot. Via AdFreak.
Zulkey's interview with Zach Galifianakis. Weird timing after all the Zach posts we put up yesterday.
Deviant Sex Act Fabricator, from our friends over at Aesthetic Apparatus.
Push for Free Cheese. Via bblinks.
"Sky-catcher gives access to an online archive of photographs of the sky above Amsterdam... the background image of this page is the last taken picture of the sky." There's a cool poster available too.
"I place stencil images on transparent or opaque materials, then leave these on the roof of my studio and let the particulate matter in the heavy air fall upon them." The Smog Collectors series by artist Kim Abeles is an artistic protest against smog "that materialize the reality of the air we breath."
Andreas Muller was born in 1976 in Germany. He started his Crop Circle research in 1993/1994 with his final work in school. Since then he has been continuously researching, investigating and documenting the phenomenon, not only from his desk but also with extensive work in the fields, with a focus on England and Germany.
Paleo-Future, A site that "looks into the future that never was." In general, nothing is every as cool as it was going to be. Via India Uncut.
The Year 2000, as seen in German postcards from 1900. Via 1+1=3.
Medieval Clipart "culled from various period sources, most notably woodcuts of the 15th & 16th centuries."
At some point this was bound to happen. Wallpaper from the 70s, found among other
Noted without comment. How Does an Expert View Heaven?
Lee Ranaldo and Leah Singer put images with music and never do it the same way twice.
Napkin folding instructions for your next dinner party.
How often is the public given the power to name a hamster? Choose wisely.
The Durian Palace. "A home of the King of Fruits on the World Wide Web". Durian chat, durian poetry, durian botany, durian recipes... you get the idea.
Re the aforementioned Mingering Mike, there's a gallery of his records and an interview with his author/DJ/detective up at TMN.
Wojciech Kosma's Untititled Network, a performance for four laptops at The Center for Contemporary Art, Seville Spain. Via Vvork.
Mark Bennett's print series of famous floorplans includes The Home of Jane & George Jetson and The Home of Norman Bates (near) Fairvale, CA. Thanks Alison.
In Canada they have Tandoori Sizzler Doritos. In Chicago, we don't have Tandoori Sizzler Doritos. Canadians, help a brother oot! (Watch the Bollywood-esque commercials in the Doritos Screening Room.)
Our brand new Lowercase Tee site and the Obama-Bama tee got a nice writeup in Time Out Chicago's Kids section today. And YES, we do now offer that tee in adult sizes!
Felix of Avoision writes, "I was trying to figure out how people digitize home movies. I came across a site that offered that service, but also provided their clients with server space to post and share their converted movies. The search feature, along with some creative keywords, is just a blast."
Two sites related to The Deck are up for Webby awards this year. The always great Design Observer is short-listed in the Culture category and Threadless (a relative of YayHooray) in Community. They both have all our votes, Can they have yours?
Simply perfect, from Wooster. "Emperor Constantino."
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!
Dear No First Name. You'd be surprised how many cover letters from job applicants we receive that are addressed to the very same person.
100% Recuerdos Ajenos, 100% Other People's Memories. "I have found all of the photos and objects that are shown here in the streets of Buenos Aires..." Via the always observant gmt+9 (-15).
"I have no explanation for buying this old tackle box at a garage sale on Saturday." Glad Coop did though. Via The DDC.
Home Decorators Ambush F Train. Clipped form Quipped.
FecalFace's Studio Visit series is always interesting. In this episide, Andreas Trolf checks the Santa Cruz home and studio of skateboard graphic artist extraordinaire Jim Phillips.
"We spent most of 2003 in Sydney trying to set up a magazine. After immense frustration it went nowhere but out of its ashes TA KE HA RA, a kind of anti-zine, was born." Via City of Sound.
Rosemary Williams' The Wall of Mall.
"The redesign of American currency was meant to foil counterfeiters. But in Colombia, a highly specialized criminal subculture has stayed barely one step behind."
We're planning some changes over at the Lowercase Tee site and will let you know when we're up and running with some new tees! Meanwhile, if you have photos of your kids wearing any of our tees, old or new, that we could post up in our brand new Flickr photostream, please send them to crew(at)lowercasetee.com. Thanks to all of you who have sent us the photos that we've featured on our site over the years -- we would love your renewed permission to share them at Flickr.
Our friends at smashLAB have just launched a great new project: Design Can Change.
Here's a funny bit that applies productivity techniques to accomplish procrastination. Enjoy.
The header, "1974 Custom-Built Motorcycles," is a pretty subtle description for this eBay auction.
"Because of the popularity of guide horses, service horses and emotional support horses, there has been a increasing demand for sneakers and shoes for miniature horses." No comments necessary. Via Designboom.
Clotaire Rapaille believes all purchasing decisions lie beyond conscious thinking and emotion and reside at a primal core. He helps Fortune 500 companies sell to the reptilian brain.
For the busy kidnapper who doesn't have the time to leaf through magazines looking for those few specific letters: The Ransom Note Generator. Via Andy Rutledge.
A prank in a university lecture hall, Reach!
So you've just made 50 custom cds (using Jewelboxing, of course) and now you've got to figure out what to do with that weird spindle/cylinder/box thing that the blank cds came in. If you like bagels, you're in luck.
MS and I were talking about this quote from a story in the Trib: "...with Bush facing a strong morning sun in his eyes on a cloudless morning in the Rose Garden while Vice President Dick Cheney stood off to the side, hands in pockets, in the shade of a tall tree," saying that it was a really odd way to describe the scene, but then a video surfaced and it's exactly as it sounded. Weird.
FotA Melanie Orndorff has just launched Cupcake Finder. Sadly it's just for LA and NY at the moment. But no bother, because, as everyone in Chicago knows, it's Alliance Bakery or nothing.
"Personal pies, an audit of my life so far." Goes well with Nicholas Felton's 2006 Annual Report. Via I Like.
"On the wall outside his former residence - flat number 27B - where George Orwell lived until his death in 1950, an historical plaque commemorates the anti-authoritarian author. And within 200 yards of the flat, there are 32 CCTV cameras, scanning every move." Via Archinect.
Jake from skinnyCorp has a brand-new, totally awesome toy, a time-lapse camera set-up that is solar powered and sits in a weatherproof housing.
"A 2-hr long broadcast of a creepy, meandering, experimental soundscape that could have easily been mistaken as a takeover of earth's communications systems by alien overlords." WFMU on Radio Net 1977.
For DW: The History of Blogging.
The wildest, wackiest and most groomed beards and moustaches went on display at the International German Beard Championship.
10 Things you never knew about the Nintendo Wii
Coop, "After raiding my vintage decal collection to decorate my new hoopty, I got sucked into yet another black spiral of obsessive behavior, and once again found myself trolling eBay, searching for more vintage water slide decals."
The Deep Wood Press in Mancelona, Michigan is printing money via letterpress. Really.
It's not him, but this is pretty close to what it would look like if BB snuck up and started taking photos of your lunch. Via Torrez.
The DDC and cutting edge vector graphics.
Kevin Broome writes. "Your Swap Meat reminded me immediately of the work of Ray Johnson, a recently discovered 'favourite artist of all time' who mailed thousands of pieces of art to friends and colleagues via the New York Post throughout the 50's and 60's thus forming the New York Correspondence School of art. More here. The documentary about his life and work, How to Draw a Bunny is highly recommended."
"Each entry was researched carefully (meaning not at all) and judged on a variety of criteria, such as ugliness, randomness of mascot choice, cheapness of costume, and the all-important creepiness factor." The 25 Worst NCAA College Mascots. Via IBC.
MetroNaps might come in handy with all of this early drinking.
Related to a conversation had while walking back from getting lunch at Vinnie's today: Christian Clown Training. "There are a few common sense rules that all clowns should be aware of before entering a nursing home. First, call the activities director and get permission to come." Via Byrdhouse.
The crew over at Industrial Brand Creative does is again by taking top honors at yet another Canstruction Vancouver.
Robert Reich's first (and possibly last) video blog. Via Zach Klein.
Everything Wrong With America in One Photo. Sean Crespo takes on a morning show in NY. Via AdFreak.
A river of images, carefully categorized and curated at If Charlie Parker was a gunslinger, there'd be a whole lot of dead copycats.
The Solar Mount. Moon River describes an attempt to use the Mont Saint-Michel natural monument in Normandy to construct the biggest sundial ever.
Always both inventive and provocative, Jean Baudrillard has died at age 77.
Screenvader.
"In the case that one of the relationships completely evaporates (which, let's face it, Lisa's not heading in a good direction), we've still got other branches to take up the slack. Best of all, because Lisa was high-resistance anyway, her departure barely affected net current, which decreases from 3.1 A to 2.8."
Official gifts from the GDR found among other things.
Right before she got canned, Zulkey received a box of business cards, so she's holding a contest asking for the most creative way to get rid of them. The prize? A box of business cards.
Fun if you have kids at home. Fun if you don't. Bzzzpeek, animal sounds kids make in various languages.
Only in Berkeley. Transcendentist, the first eco-friendly dentist office in the US. "Every visit includes a foot massage, sound and color therapy are used to soothe patients, and the office even has its own line of essence infused, natural body products."
Moon River on electronic graphics, then and now.
Microlandscape dioramas by Walter Martin & Paloma Munoz. Via No Sense of Place.
Online dating summed up in two pix from Matthew.
NFCTD.
Hallmark starts tackling serious issues with their new line of cards, everything from cancer to depression to infertility. Luckily, none start with "So I've heard you've got..." Via AdFreak.
We were just talking about this. It's February in Chicago. Via GB.
Kinda like pizza in a cup. Via BoN.
Reinterpreted, vintage paint-by-numbers kits at the Corey Helford Gallery's Charity By Numbers project. Via The How Blog.
Doing some research and randomly ran across Hummingbirds.com, a surprisingly informative, well put together batch of knowledge, including an About section answering such pressing questions as "Do hummingbirds migrate by riding piggyback on other birds?" and "I found a baby hummingbird! Now what?"
ZZ Top's Billy F. Gibbon's Bus Ball.
Been looking for just the right ribbon magnet for the back of your car?
Without comment: Rapping presidents for NY Honda dealership. Via AdFreak, who did comment by saying, "God, I hope they never do something like this around Martin Luther King Day."
Pikapika, sketching with light and time. Fab.
Speaking of cars, in FotA Chris Glass' hunt for a new ride, he's put together this chart, to better weigh his options.
"A Useless Account allows you unlimited account editing! You're bound to use it at least once!"
A catalogue of other "hoax devices" to be on the lookout for. Via AdFreak.
A sad day indeed for Wisconsin residents and fans of mystery alike. The Death of The Wonder Spot.
"I'm so sorry to disturb you, sir, but it appears to be morning. Very inconvenient, I agree, sir. I belive it is the rotation of the earth which is to blame, sir." Stephen Fry as Jeeves as The Voco Clock. Wonderful. Via bblinks.
Lots of people around town are purchasing beer and sheet cakes with computer-printed Super Bowl images. Each time I see one, I think about this fabulous error message cake. Hope Aunt Elsa appreciated it as much as I do.
"How to have fun... and get things done." A set of vintage 1950's storybook style print ads. Via Rashomon.
For JC: Some brief clips from 21st Century Jet a PBS series on the making of the Boeing 777. Highly recommended viewing.
Aardvarchaeology on Mongolian Cuisine and Cursing.
Winners of Unshelved's Pimp My Bookcart contest. Via Chris Glass.
"This is a chocolate brownie, fudgy and rich, delicious at room temperature and absolutely dreamy when re-heated just a touch in the microwave." Kitchen Chick on Martha's Fudgy Chocolate Brownies. Think there's still a couple left in the CP kitchen from this morning's batch.
"The Ad Generator is a generative artwork that dynamically creates fake advertisements in order to explore how advertising language constructs and manipulates meaning."
Standing by for Jaime. Thoughts have been thunk. Deeds to follow.
MS, you'll love this: The Frilled Shark, "a living fossil." Via Zach Klein.
During January of 2007, a group of people are locked into a primate exhibit in Adelaide Zoo in Australia. Here's a panoramic QTVR photo of The Human Zoo.
All the Super Bowl Logos. Has something to do with the page's image compression, sure, but everything from the early to mid '70s looks like it came from a video game, particularly '73. Via AdFreak.
A lot like our Verse by Voice, but with motorcycles and about football. Dare Bear.
Noted without comment. "After placing the swan on the pants..."
Best postage stamp ever.
Lovely coinage. T9onyms. Pronounced "tynonyms," two words made by texting the same numbers on a cell phone pad.
Super cool, like most things found completely by accident. NewBold Products, "your Pinewood Derby timer, software and tv headquarters."
For BB, in celebration of his newest backup drive: Maxtor's MacWorld display. Via Frog Design.
Veerle talks up the Float bed by Max Longin, the less expensive alternative to the $1.35 million one by Janjapp Ruijssenaars.
Recently uncovered audio from an MLK speech at Temple Israel in Hollywood in 1965.
Reno 911's Mary Birdsong responds to Christopher Hitchens' article "Why Women Are Not Funny" on Zulkey.
Noted without comment. Wall Taping Gallery.
"The earliest articles on the incident did not refer to 'little green men.' That color was apparently later injected by the national media, although Lucky Sutton's son now says his father described them as 'silver' with 'a greenish silver glow.'"
"Peace will come to the world when the people have enough to eat." The passing of Momofuku Ando, inventor of Ramen instant noodles. Via bblinks.
Posted without comment. Home of the Small Grin. Thanks Claire.
The top 10 most ridiculous products for babies. That said, there were many times I wished I had a forearm-shaped beanbag as I snuck away from the crib at 4am, even though the squeaky floor would have blown my cover.
Nicholas Felton's highly anticipated 2006 Annual Report has just been published. Of particular interest, the reporting on "number of animals eaten."
Don't do it Garrison.
Up there with one of the best Fresh Air interviews ever, yet, strangely, not a single question ever really gets answered. Terry Gross talks to Frank Luntz, political pollster and language expert.
Macheads, today would be a good day to pay attention to John at Daring Fireball.
A real size fiberglass Mini was attached to a ramp that would move the car up and down creating a Yo-Yo effect.
"...he put a dot on a sketch of the South West Peninsula, wrote 'somewhere here' and hoped for the best." Via one+one=thr33.
Where would we be without the Gary Burghoff Enhanced Fish Attractor Device? Celebrity Patents. Via Waxy.
Bacon. Anytime. Anywhere. God Bless America.
Photoset of the moment: Military Weaponry for Kids, scans from a coloring book from China. Via Byrdhouse.
There are only two of us here at CP who don't own an iPod. We didn't have any excuse before, but now we're going to start citing this as the reason: Ergonomic Nightmare of the Week: iPod.
Happy birtHDay to Virginia Call, she's 113 today. Wow.
So you know. 77 Things You Need to Know About 07. Via Swissmiss.
"If anything, your average upwardly mobile young professional has so outstripped and outclassed the mid-eighties yuppie that if Gordon Gekko himself were to show up in polite society in 2006, he would look kind of provincial." The Return of the Yuppie. Interesting read. Via PSFK.
On the annual holidays on Catalina, we were trying to remember the name of a boat we'd seen a couple of years back off Descanso Beach and ran across this site, Shipwrecks of Southern California. The ship, by the way, was the Valiant.
100 Things we didn't know last year. Via BoN.
"A displaced architectural space" titled Perpetual (Tropical) Sunshine for the Lyon Festival of Light 2005. Created by Fabric. Via Pruned.
Coded but Not Hidden, WaPo story on "number stations," previously described and sampled in this great Akin Fernandez NPR piece. Via SlasHDot
The ElectriClerk, "a fully-functional retrofitted prop computer." Created from a 1988 Mac, a 1923 Underwood, a fresnel lens, assorted mechanical parts and the mind of Andrew Leman. Beautiful, just beautiful.
Girl Guide Cookies, circa 1971. Via Chris Glass.
Marshall asks, "Don't you hate it when you're travelling far from home and you lose your camera?"
Local note. A no-cover, no-minimum guide to the seamier side of 1959 Chicago. Via the Goof.
"For this special podcast the whole show is just radio station IDs and promos from demo LPs of the 70s and 80s." Via WFMU. Fab.
Food-O-Mat, 1959, Acme Market, Nottingham Plaza, Syracuse, NY.
Stan goes back to letterpress school and we're all more than a little jealous.
Some men don't miss a trick. From Finkbuilt.
"Dear McDonalds, what exactly is this Grimace creature you have spawned? Is he a mutated prune? A malformed mushroom?" Top 10 Creepiest Fast Food Mascots.
All the flavor of Rick Steves, with a unique Bill Moyers aroma. PBS
Blend Coffee. Via AdFreak.
AdFreak's Top 10 Advertising Stories of the Year.
Tons of tech detail on how to choose CD/DVD archival media. To cut to the chase, Patrick McFarland endorses Taiyo Yuden discs, the only brand we sell with our Jewelboxing Studio and related products. Via slasHDot.
Core77 asks if this could go on forever?
"The glow of your teeth exudes the courage of raw liver." The Surrealist Compliments Generator.
Number One is The Zappa.
Nothing says Happy Holidays like a photoset of kids screaming at Santa.
"Whenever I want to relax I start to design full body car advertisements. Yes, I know - It is a strange hobby, but it is fun." Found among other things.
30gms snaps a picture of these nice holiday decorations in the windows of the studios of Cartlidge Levene.
Maybe this is the Mars announcement DW.
"The survey was conducted online by Brand IQ of 339 members of the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas." Via AdFreak.
Avian Android. "Sculpture, android bird's voices, a mechanical reconstruction of organic life-forms, electronically controlled." Via Next Nature.
Christoph Büchel's Minus, "a punk band's entire equipment frozen at -25° Celsius immediately after their concert, arresting the transitory moment of the performance in a kind of standstill."
Fictional chemical substances, mostly from science-fiction, a fun browse. A-M and N-Z. Via Large Hearted Boy.
The high school football comeback of the century. Make sure to stick around until the very last second. Via Zach Klein.
Nina Katchadourian's Talking Popcorn is a sound sculpture that involving language, translation, Morse Code and, of course, popcorn. Via Vvork.
"This is a circuitbend Sega Megadrive2. It has got a magnetic patch-bay." A beautiful contraption.
We've received some odd promos from time to time here at the studio, but nothing as interesting as Global Fish's arctic meal in a box. Via Reluct.
Know someone who is hard to shop for? How about a Taco Truck Pillow?
"I got the impression most of the delegates took the surroundings for granted, while I was obsessing over the typography, the chairs and the general ephemera of international relations, 1950s-style." I Like Visits the United Nations Building. Via Things.
Personal trainer Poul Nielsen's Business Card. Fantastic.
Notcot's gift ideas for your indie ninja.
"I've been really busy ranking everything in the world in order of best to worst. But instead of showing you the best this or worst that, I've decided to show you the items that I've ranked exactly in the middle." Via Zach Klein.
Dekotora, rides pimped.
"So I've been thinking about hands and arms. I started by thinking of extremely small hands, on my hands. So here are some drawings from that thinking." Via Plastic Bag.
Beta Tank is an organic display system that uses air bubbles for pixels. Via Infosthetics.
492. If you are still reading this test, do you really need a test score to prove you are a nerd?
Sally writes, "Here are the All Blacks doing their Haka, which they perform in front of all the teams they meet before the game. They played France last week and won 47-3. How's that? The revenge game Saturday at gmt+1. You should totally try to see that." Duly noted.
Photos from Katrin Sigurdardottir's installation at The Renaissance Society called "High Plane 3." Check her other recent works too. Via Bezembinder's.
Noted without comment. Skateboarding Girls. Via Le Petite Claudine.
The very handy Mailbox Locator. Via Lifehacker.
"As one woman put it, the picture appeals to her simply because it shows, 'just what Jesus looked like.'"
Reason enough to start planning a trip to NYC: Evil Dead: The Musical.
"There is no room for aggression as long as one is properly equipped." Miss Geschick & Lady Lapsus' Make Love Not War bedding.
It's somewhat well known that I heart Chipotle. So I was excited to find out they're holding their first-ever ad contest. Lots of entries to browse through, like this gem.
"The difference between the little people architects draw on their sketches and the little people interaction designers draw on their sketches."
The Motor-scooter: A Mother of Transportation Invention, photographs of scooters being used to their fullest extent in Vietnam.
"Here is Mr. Staaland with his radio collection. He has special interesting in hi-end receivers."
"Australian artist Nike Savvas makes final adjustments to her art piece consisting of over 50,000 polystyrene balls." Via Moon River.
"Apparently it's not about doing something different," said an anonymous G&M creative. "It's about giving the process a name and being all secretive about it. Which is so much easier." How can you not help but love the ad shop G&M Plumbing? Here's their response to Ad Age's story about TBWA's Media Arts Lab. Via AdFreak.
Petr Weigl's "Fossil" series of acid-etched concrete panels. Sublime. Via Gravestmor.
Building a cheaper, less stressful workplace. Ryan's Office 2.0 Experiment. Via Andy Rutledge.
Dutch Tape Funeral March "The work consists of 13 rolls of duct tape initially placed at the top of the 16-foot-high gallery wall. On the day of the opening the rolls of tape were released so that they could 'roll' down the wall under their own weight, a process that took over 8 hours to complete." Awesome.
Mike Ford makes little gadgety sculptures out of switches, tubes and other old-school hi-fi components. So cool. Via the always-observant PCL Linkdump.
Mr. Fairfield's Color Block. Much to explore in the archives here, for example, Chalkboard Cezanne.
Now that the day is finally here, go back and enjoy all 31 days of Secret Fun Blog's Halloween Countdown, featuring nearly every plastic skeleton ever made.
A little peek at TBWA's Media Arts Lab, the secretive firm in charge of Apple's advertising.
If you enjoy your paper's police blotter as much as I do, you'll really enjoy having Chicago musician, actor, and voiceover artist Darren Stephens read it to you in Inside Chicago's twice-weekly STOP! Police! podcast. Via GB.
Yukonishimura, works of paper. Via Moon River.
Selling the computer revolution with marketing brochures like this beauty. Most with complete docs in PDF format.
"This group of stock letterheads came out of a book of 120 samples from 1963. They were meant to be used by people in advertising to catch clients eyes and I am sure they did just that."
Kitschy Pink Flamingo Faces Extinction.
Sometimes there's no better way to tell a story than with a quick infographic on an index card.
"Nothing can be more impressive that a gigantic city, rendered in miniature form." Tinselman's Small Model Archive: Cities.
Carved crayons by Diem Chau. Via NOTCOT.
"What if the internet turned into a werewolf?" A wonderful classic, revisited: Erik Blevins' letters to Patton Oswalt. Via Waxy.
Noted without comment. The Nutty Buddy.
"Soon, the oil reached frying temperature and I dumped a few chips into there. Meanwhile, the computer was still happily chugging along running Quake 3." A guy wants to try using oil to cool his computer, and becomes hungry for some homemade fries. So he tries both at once.
X-Entertainment posts great stories about toys, B-movies, forgotten TV shows, and junk food all year 'round, so as you'd guess, they go nuts for Halloween.
C.H.U.N.K. 666. "After the apocalypse, everything will change, including the laws of physics as we know them. We, due to our experience in riding chopper bicycles, tallbikes, and the like, will finally find ourselves at the top of the food chain." Thanks to Our Man in Vancouver.
Peacay finds this sweet print campaign for the Anagram Book Shop in Prague.
Positive Ape Index tests their homemade lake racer. So cool. "This car was built from scratch, in a little garage, by friends, just the way all those guys in the black and white photos did it back in the day. To see it run for the first time, out on that same lakebed, was truly thrilling."
Excuse the family post but my brother-in-law, John Christopher Jones, gets a very nice notice as part of Charles Isherwood's NYT review of GBS' Heartbreak House on Broadway. Yay! Also, check the audio slide-show about the costumes.
Craig's video peek at the new, massive SkinnyCorp, Threadless HQ.
Geoff on The Reserve at Shadow Crest Cove and other things to name your subdivision.
Noted without comment. Awesome boy.
Local note: 4 Years Later, a show featuring projects from the anonymous You Are Beautiful collective is taking place at Ai Gallery until November 18th. If you're not in Chicago, check out their projects online.
For conspiracy nuts everywhere. Each frame of the Zapruder film, isolated and scanned.
Posted without comment. What Happens When You Microwave a Furby.
Museum Camoflauge. Via c77.
For some unknown reason, today is the slowest Monday for Jewelboxing sales in the last 15 months. Lets see if we can fix that. Order a JB kit before midnight tonight and we'll also send you a Field-Tested poster and book, a Copy Goes Here DVD, some CP stickers and live Pixies CD from Japan. After you order, write us at crew at jewelboxing dot com and say "Please."
Arash and Kelly's Genius Pad. In case you need more room for your message. Via BoN.
"The white table we usually use for our meetings is covered in local specialities everyday - it's almost like some kind of sweet festival. Today we''ll show you some of their lovely package designs."
German DJs and their living rooms. Via Cinamonas.
Noted without comment. I Strip For God.
How to build a Morse code signaler and see how long it takes before someone figures it out. Via Cynical-C.
"If you are not happy with finished product, you take it and pay us. We do not consult with clients - we unleash the project!" Cyber D-Sign Clan, for all your business card and web design needs.
Links to this site as a blooming graph. Via d*s.
Video of sidewalk chalk artist Julian Beever, from Matt.
John reads 700 Hobo names aloud, all in one take. Via TMN.
Local note. The Massive Change exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago should be great. Isn't. Scattered, patronizing, even tacky in spots. Take a pass.
The art of Derek Stroup.
Sweet promo site in Ikea's closets.
For the person who has everything. Via c77.
Le Rhinocéros.
The top ten college pranks of all time. On Wisconsin.
I-Mockery's Ultimate Guide to the Halloween Candies of 2006. Via Cynical-C.
Noted without comment. The official website of Bunny Yeager.
Design Will Save the World. [Translate] Michael Lévy for eTapes on Lebedev, CP's long-time favorite design studio. Via Design et Typo.
Oh Flint, maybe someday you'll rebound. Wes Janz documents the depopulation of what was once one of Michigan's gems. Via Archinect.
"Now that I got the hot dogs, where the heck was my seat?" A joyous Improv Everywhere Mission at Yankee Stadium.
50 Berkeley Square, the most haunted house in London. Via Things.
Noted without comment. 30 days of screen caps of cable newsreaders. Via Khoi.
Truth: selected realizations.
"There are a lot of gross candies in this world. A lot. I didn't realize the level of grossness that candy has sunk to." Candy Addict's Top 10 Grossest Candies. Via Cynical-C.
Peacay on The Trades including Finders or Collectors from 1800 London. Early bloggers perhaps?
A British street artist known as Moose creates graffiti by cleaning dirt from sidewalks and tunnels. A great NPR story. Via cpluv.
Tuned Stairs at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. "The installation turns the stairway into a musical instrument. Each step plays a xylophone note as the visitor steps on it." Check the videos. Via wm$na.
Nice article in Good Magazine about the next generation of American public spaces.
WebDesktop is a neat little app that lets you display any URL as your desktop background.
PixelStamps is a collection of stamps "pixelated by the pixelartists of the world." Via Werbeblogger.
Some ad agencies go for clever on their clients' billboards, whereas others just stick $100,000 on one and figure the odds of someone stealing it.
Lots to explore. PhotoStatic, a magazine about xerography. Via dbhq and The Nonist.
The constantly updated catalogue of entrances to Hell in and around the United Kingdom. From Coop.
Speaking of Carlos, Step Magazine features Segura in big, well-deserved profile this month.
Remembering Alvin "Shipwreck" Kelly, king of the flagpole sitters.
Posted without comment (mostly because I don't have a clue about what's going on): The Bubble Baba Challenge.
Anthropologist Jason Santa Maria uncovers these beautiful resin and aluminum sculptures which are based on the skeletal systems of famous cartoon characters.
Aqua graffiti.
"At night projections from moving cars are shone on the buildings downtown. Each car projects a video of a wild animal. The animal's movements are programmed to correspond to the speed of the car." Via Wooster.
Octodog's Frankfurter Converter follows the old adage, "If you can't get your child to eat their dinner, just convert it into an off-putting meat creature."
Interesting conversation between Geoff McFetridge and Chuck Anderson on a truly awful sofa. Geoff was also featured on CP in Slowtron's Western State series and Chuck's work can be found at Nopattern. Via Meathaus.
Creative Bastard's telemarketer trap. Via the Fireball.
Pick a number, any number... via MeFi.
Improv Everywhere's Slo-Mo Home Depot.
"For them, sex is like shaking hands, and they do in all kinds of positions." Hippy Sex Fiends and Brutal Machiavellians, an interview with Frans de Waal. Via The Nonist.
7deadlysinners found this note about something that was lost.
The Gloves Project. L'expo au Café Pop à Nantes du 6 au 28 octobre 2006. Via HGF.
10,000 Reasons Civilization is Doomed.
Often a little crass, but regularly pretty clever and funny: The YoungGuns Awards Call For Entries. Via Goodness.
This years Ted Talks include industrial designer Ross Lovegrove, 11-year-old concert violinist Sirena Huan and a handful of other speakers who's brains are twice the size of mine.
"Once a year, my co-worker Jeff gets together with all of his friends to dig a hole. For no other reason than to dig a hole." The Big Dig 2006. Via Zach Klein.
Industrial Brand Creative asks What would you put on your customized Heinz ketchup label? and then asks for submissions.
A day in the life of Amos Crowley, Wonder Wheel Operator. Via BR.
Noted without comment. "I'm unhappy seeing your look of unhappiness."
Interaction Design Classics #1: The 'progress bar' on the Voice-O-Graph in Badlands. User interface stuff and Malick all in one post. That's why we love City of Sound. That, and the great big masthead.
Light From Tomorrow by Thomson and Craighead.
In the "nothing's cooler than yesterday's view of tomorrow" department," Mechanix Illustrated's British House of the Future, circa 1956. Found among other things.
Don't agree with all of them, as some were certainly inteded to be creepy from the start, but what can you do? YesButNoButYes' Ten Creepiest Icons in Advertising History.
"Who won't like it? People who often go to bed extremely intoxicated on alcohol. Very conservative people, who don't even care about the benefits of better sleep, improved health, etc." The Floating Bed. Thanks Claire.
Designing Movement: An Aesthetic Investigation of Motion in Product Design.
Posted without comment: The "Hanging With Hannah" Doll. Via Byrdhouse.
A nice inventive bit o' collateral, The VW Jetta Backseat Driver's Manual. Via Airbag Industries.
Everything about the show has always been impossibly gaudy and dated, from the sets to the typefaces. Yet no one in their right mind would want it any other way. The Fabulous Price is Right Site!
Kubik-Berlin, Large, modular, stackable, programmable blocks of light. Check the videos. Via WMMNA.
The two-million dollar comma.
Cell Phone Disco, an electromagnetic experience.
Pika Pika, a lightning doodle project. Made with long exposures and lots of ingenuity.
Some nice Lego print and outdoor.
If you haven't gotten enough, agency.com has launched WhenWeRollWeRollBig.com, explaining how all of this was their plan from beginning, as well as making their own wacky photoset. Brilliant! Viral is awesome!
12/9/68, Stanford. "This was the public debut of the computer mouse. But the mouse was only one of many innovations demonstrated that day, including hypertext, object addressing and dynamic file linking." Via Broome. Nice reference for our 72° research.
For Coop. This is Bari, the joint we're talking about in the Unsolicited video. CP rating: 4 forks.
To go along with MS's post, AdFreak's comments section about the video is a blast to read. And don't miss the new t-shirt.
Super sweet promo site for what sounds like a great conference in Montreal. Adapt 2006, advanced digital art production techniques. Via NetDiver.
"George Smith's two year old child at William's, Bay county, died last week in great agony after eating heartly of canned peaches." Michigan Obituaries from 1800's. Morbidly fascinating. Via Things.
"Land of the Fembots," The Speigel Catalog, 1969.
Noted without comment. The Anniversary Inn Bed and Breakfast - America's Favorite Romantic Getaway. Thanks Jesse.
A follow-up: MoHDI's Otter Pop Bandolier. Thanks, Dave.
The Chinese/Indian border, but in miniature. Via CGist.
Alexander the Grape! I could totally go for an Otter Pop right now.
And, of course, perhaps the most famous outtake of all time: Orson Welles' Frozen Peas Session.
Cash in an envelope.
Sage advice.
A new kind of clock, in a mural, in a window, in Detroit. Chronographic. Via c77.
"The cars are split into three categories. Our Ferrari F430 Spider resides in f1, while our Lotus Exige falls into f3. f1 cars enjoy a higher point value than f2 or f3 cars." ecurie25, shared car ownership. Via Springwise.
I told you why there was no ice in the arena!
"Guys, you're a design school. Please give us better ads." Everyone's a critic. Thanks Claire.
The Portugese Soccer Action Figure, with "Unique Uppy-Downy Action!!" Via Goodness.
We've always wanted to do this. Just noticed that Hoefler & Frere-Jones employ fictional character Steve Gibbs (scroll down) to help oversee unwanted calls and emails. Great idea.
Pancake & Franks letterpressed stationery and cards.
7 Deadly Gummy Sins by Elliott Back.
Peacay on The Lion Family Tree.
Brian "Mr. Inferno" Concannon, who believes jumping off cliffs is alright, but a lot more fun if you're engulfed in flames. Via Transbuddha.
How to paint anything the color of the Golden Gate Bridge or approximately, #C25E34. Via Make Ready.
Apparently our Dear Cell Phone User Cards weren't quite enough. At least in Stockholm anyway. Thanks Marsh.
The Designers Republic turns 20 today. Congrats!
If you think you've got the perfect plan, think again: the many methods of drug smuggling. Via Torrez.
"Q-Link is... the official online service for Commodore owners. It's easy-to-use, full color, and interactive." Grab your C-64 or an emulator, read the Member Guide and log on.
I'd seen pictures of this project involving 12 students at Wieden+Kennedy's experimental ad school, 351 hours and a zillion pushpins, but never had anything to link. Thanks to Mike at W+K, now I do. If you want to succeed, you have to Fail Harder.
Now available in Chicago.
Noted without comment. One Year Supply $5.00 A Week For 2 People.
Signs you are not my new roommate.
Antique Trunk Manufacturers' Labels. Lots of nice type references. Via The DDC.
Airline Meals, "The world's leading website about nothing but airline food." Via Upgrade.
Creativebits takes a look back at Photoshop Version 1.0.7
What we'll be eating for lunch today at CP. Via Byrdhouse.
The 2010 South African World Cup logo.
The skip intro button is the most used button on the Internet.
Dinner in the Sky. If you drop your fork, just let it go. You're not getting it back. Via Springwise.
A fascinating story about the search for a downed CIA spy plane: The Hunt for 928. Via Things.
Finally an answer: What's the heaviest fish that a cat can carry? If this is a typical feature, I would watch this show every week.
"I have eaten a few of these. The standard procedure is to buy two: one to sample, and one for the archive." Limited Edition Candy, a photoset. Via Chris Glass.
"My completed DIY-synth... Finally!"
"The future approval from the past." Machine translated retrofuture site, chock full of good, if sometimes incomprehensible, stuff.
Odd Shout-O-Phone spans border, and dozens of other ideas whose time has still not yet come at Modern Mechanix.
How to Build a Puppet Chewbacca. Via Drawn!
Uma Thurman's Severed Head.
"The court giggles that, even though Seinfeld is ostensibly a 'show about nothing,' their opinion here is not 'about nothing' at all, but is in fact a 'difficult and interesting' copyright decision! Oh, tell another, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York!" All-Time Jeopardy Champion Ken Jennings' blog is about the minutiae of minutiae, but it's also pretty funny.
QTvr of the Luce Foundation Center for American Art hall at the Smithsonian
FFF on a german pizza restaurant's World Cup Pizzas: "I've never been to Angola. I know virtually nothing about Angola, but I'm guessing that Call a Pizza are assuming that's the case with their topping choices here."
Huge set of photos from Design Mai, Berlin's International Design Festival, plus a letter from there, by David Womack and Aliced Twemlow at c77.
Stan goes back to school and takes a letterpress course.
"When you think about it, department stores are kind of like museums" - Andy Warhol. Ralf posts on The Forgotten Shop, a store that was last open 30 years ago, but has been maintained in original condition and is now an exhibition.
Your hover tank is now available. Ships in 1-2 months.
The Fake Name Generator provides a set of fictious data for an individual. I am now Becky J. Wagner from Nashiville.
At Cannes, Martin Sorrell explains what two things need to be eradicated in advertising: the creatives and the clients.
Head On's hardly the first commercial to take advantage of needless repetition.
iStache: Because you've always wanted a mac application to add a moustache to your photos. Via Feaverish.
The History of Chocolate Covered Bacon. Via Cynical-C.
In the spirit of our Dear Cell-Phone User cards, Russell Davies has had about enough of 'street teams' and has made a set of Stop Bothering Me with Your Urban Spam cards.
Shigeki Hayashi's The Entertainment Ceramics 2. Don't ask, just go.
Hi, I want to cancel my AOL account.
Man, we need a minihompy.
Fascinating audio browse. The Free Information Society's historical sounds collection. Via Growabrain.
"This quiet 51-year-old Californian for the past 22 years has been creating giant plywood people who pop up in fields and on storefronts all over Monterey County, California."
Everything you could ever possibly want to know about sandpaper.
Light Tracer "invites the participant to write, draw and trace images in real physical space using a series of light sources." Check the video. Via Jeansnow.
Electrical Walks, Samples of Raw Sounds. This is not field-recording (check Michael Oster's F7) but capturing electromagnetic signals from the environment and then converting them into sounds. Who's up for mashing some of these meaty sounds together? Via BldgBlog.
Following JC's previous post: Playboy Club Recruitment Brochure from the early 60s. "If the exciting life a Bunny leads interests you, you may be interviewed by the Bunny Mother in any Playboy Club or at International Headquarters in Chicago." Via Sharpeworld.
Not for BB, even though the thing's scientific name has "Vespa" in it: The Giant Asian Hornet. Via Cynical-C.
Lots of fine work in a cool interface from Art Directors Club Nederland awards.
Shift Mag 115.
Good roundup of new technology at the World Cup.
Five Words to Never Use in an Ad. Via AdFreak.
Agrippa (a book of the dead) appeared in 1992 as a collaboration between artist Dennis Ashbaugh, author William Gibson. Via The Cartoonist.
Will be remembered as either: "why that airport advertising smells divine!" or "I really hate those things."
Bus Uncle: someone desperately in need of one of our Dear Cell Phone User cards.
Metafilter picks up where we left off Booking Bands. There are some really great ones there. The Diary of Anais Ninjatune, The Color Deep Purple, House of Sand and Foghat, A Perfect Day for Bananaramafish, Flowers For Algernon Blondes.
Interesting ice cream flavors from Japan. Via Designboom.
Airigami: the art of folding air in specifically prepared latex containers. Via Transbuddha.
An interesting, personal account: 10 years since Timothy Leary's death.
Well, we knew it was coming, but it's still a sad, sad day. R.I.P., Freehand.
WMMNA on Sharing The Meal: Communication Pleasure on the Table, a social interaction installation by Ah Kwan.
One thousand numbers = One thousand paintings. Via Boing.
TECH Cocktail is a Chicago gathering of bloggers, tech entrepreneurs, etc., on July 6.
When having to go without your computer for a week, what do you do? You build a MacBook Slo. Via Chris Glass.
Might have to stop through Milford, MI and pick up a few Hoffa Cupcakes this weekend. Via