Visualizing Empires' Decline

As an experiment in information art, Pedro M. Cruz has created video representation of the evolution of the top four empires in decline during the 19th and 20th centuries; the British, French, Spanish and Portuguese:

Visualizing empires decline from Pedro M Cruz on Vimeo.

Cartophilia
Via beancounters

Pop-up book of phobias

I'm afraid of heights, especially twisty mountain roads. I may also be developing a fear of comment spammers.

The Pop-up Book of Phobias from donvanone on Vimeo.

Via davidthompson

Bio-Diversity

Christoph Niemann has fun with flora. They are very cute.

Lots more at Abstract City Blog - NYTimes.com

Going West

Andersen M Studio did this fabulous animation for the New Zealand Book Council.
I saw it here.

Furry Friends

The Wooster Collective talks to Neozoon about their furry installations, and what they mean for how we view animals.

"Our concern is the animal and its environment. We question the relationship of people and animals in a Western urban surrounding. You could really describe it as schizophrenic. On one hand, tons of meat: thousands of animals slaughtered every hour outside the cities and sold in clean plastic with expiration dates, and preferably not to be recognized as such. And on the other hand pets: insanely bred toys and overloaded with emotions. Its just interesting to see, how we perceive animals and how they seem to differ in value, just depending on what fits us best."

Read more at GOOD

The London of Sherlock Holmes

The London Of Sherlock Holmes...Mapped

'Some interesting patterns emerge. Naturally, there's plenty of action around the Baker Street area, but Holmes never once set foot in nearby Soho. Zooming out, there's a surprising cluster of incidents around Crystal Palace. The reason is elementary when you know that Conan-Doyle lived for a time in South Norwood. We haven't plotted the numerous out-of-town locations mentioned in the books, but you can get a sense of Holmes' peregrinations by noting which rail stations he used most. Southern stations Charing Cross and Waterloo are visited a combined total of 16 times, while King's Cross and Euston are only blessed with the detective's patronage on four occasions.'

Via My Own Private Book Club

Kid's Books from Poland

Kid's Books from Poland, part 2:
J. M. Szancer's Insect Armies 

 A Journey Round My Skull

Autocomplete Me

I'm loving this site.

What’s going on here?
Remember that time you were innocently searching for “how to avoid swine flu” but Google assumed you were searching for “how to avenge your brother’s death”? Yeah, that totally wasn’t what you were searching for, but it ended up being super helpful after your best friend “accidentally” stabbed Michael.

Autocomplete Me
Via

The World In Lego

To rebuild buildings, places and objects in Lego has become so commonplace that it takes a unifying theme to put a method to the brick madness. For us at Environmental Graffiti, what could be better than to highlight the beauty of selected UNESCO World Heritage Sites? We’ve picked ten incredible Lego equivalents.

The World In Lego
Via Intelligent Travel Blog

Words Become Images

Very cool project. Your words. His (or her) images.

See more at Words Become Images
via

The Corruption Perceptions Index

According to this index New Zealand is the world's least corrupt country. Somalia is most corrupt. Canada sits at number 8.

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) table shows a country's ranking and score, the number of surveys used to determine the score, and the confidence range of the scoring.
The rank shows how one country compares to others included in the index. The CPI score indicates the perceived level of public-sector corruption in a country/territory.

See the CPI 2009 Table

Simon's Cat

"Animator Simon Tofield's cat Hugh has become an internet celebrity after a cartoon made by his owner turned into a YouTube hit. The London-based illustrator focused his animations on the antics of his cheeky cat. Over 45 million people are thought to have viewed the videos in a little over a year, with Mr Tofield being offered book deals as a result."

My Modern Metropolis

Kisses from Paris

This is the first year in a very long time that I haven't visited Paris and I'm missing it. I know that no one feels sorry for me.

Kisses from Paris by Yvan Attal  on Vimeo.

Via

The A-B-Cs of S-e-x-y

"British photographer Julian Hibbard pairs his signature dark images with the twenty-six letters of the alphabet in his racy new abecedary The Noir A-Z. The collection is a shadowy, voyeuristic look at the noir side of life, tapping into childhood memories, cinematic recollections and strong cultural references like fairytales."

Flavorwire
Via

Ten Notable Apocalypses That (Obviously) Didn’t Happen

"Apocalyptic predictions, such as those warning of global destruction in 2012, are nothing new – they have been around for millennia"

See them all at Smithsonian Magazine

The Decade in 7 Minutes

My Modern Metropolis

Speak like a 1950s hipster

I'm too young to talk like this. Honest!

Peel your ears (1) and get this, nickel rats (2). Some nighthawk (3) has been using his noggin (4) so much that rather than hittin' the hop (5) they've compiled a collection of the best US slang from the 1920s to the 1960s. So grab a flop (6), chill your chat (7) and learn how to talk like a real hipster.

More at The Guardian
Via

Charming comics

See more comics at Blue Tea

Louis Vuitton’s First Aid Kit!

Too rich for my blood.

To celebrate the Red Cross’s 150-year anniversary (that’s a century and a half of global humanitarian aid, people), luxury label Louis Vuitton has crafted a limited-edition Red Cross Kit.

Grazia Fashion

Dawn of the Dead Mall

The landscape is littered with the giant carcasses of failed retail emporia. Ideas for what's next are no less visionary. But are they any more practical?

Peter: Who the hell cares?! Let’s go shopping!
Roger: Watches! Watches!
Peter: Wait a minute man, let’s just get the stuff we need. I'll get a television and a radio.
Roger: And chocolate, chocolate. Hey, how about a mink coat?  - Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Read more at Design Observer

Alles Neu

I have no idea what he's on about but I love his band of monkeys.

Via 3quarksdaily

Just who is this guy?

Via The Daily What

Twillionth

An event has been triggered in the continuum. The Twimline has been compromised. The New Adventures of Stephen Fry

Dr. d billboards - Changing the message

Dr. d. is a street artist from London. He makes changes to existing billboards.

Spotted By Locals

Spot the Opie

"RCA Secret, the Royal College of Art in London's annual fundraising exhibition, launches this Friday. The premise behind the exhibition is simple: 2,400 postcard-sized artworks are available to buy, all at just £40 each. What makes things interesting is that in amongst works by students at the RCA (who of course may go on to be art superstars in the future) are a number of paintings by famous artists."

More at Creative Review

Guy Fantastico - Nom de Guerre

This is the video for the song 'Nom De Guerre' by Guy Fantastico. It's off his debut album Nesting, which was produced by Bobby Birdman.

The Origins of Friday the 13th

This Friday some people will be so paralyzed with fear they simply won't get out of bed. Others will steadfastly refuse to fly on an airplane, buy a house, or act on a hot stock tip. It's Friday the 13th, and they're freaked out.

More at Intelligent Travel Blog

8 Animals That Ran for Government

Some crackpots think the world is controlled by giant lizards, but what they don’t know is that several animals really have tried to be elected to power. Meet the real-life political ‘party animals’ at Business Pundit

Via

Bundts! Bundts! Bundts! Past Bundt Recap

There are loads of recipes. There's an apple bundt that I'm eager to try.

What happens Sunday, November 15th? It's National Bundt Day!
Do you have your recipe ready to celebrate this awesome day of Bundt cake goodness?!

Check out more Bundty Goodness at The Food Librarian
Via

Let the Baboon Drive, Dammit!

Let the Baboon Drive, Dammit!

The World's First Comprehensive Guide
to Commuting on a Motorcycle With a Pet

Commuting with your pet on a motorcycle? That just might be the holy grail for any serious biker. And yet most novice riders have no idea how to achieve this lofty goal.

Given a little encouragement any animal can ride as if it were born to be wild. Some cute pictures of bears, cows, guinea pigs and more.