There is no low impact solution when oil is involved.
Thanks Bruce
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Pretend you know better.
Smugopedia is a collection of slightly controversial opinions about a variety of subjects. We offer you the chance to buy a fleeting sense of self-satisfaction at the small cost of alienating your friends and loved ones:
Sushi
It's only worth bothering with sushi if you're going to go to the Tokyo Fish Market. Nothing else is really fresh enough to capture the perfect simplicity of toro or uni.
Love
Socrates' speech on love in the Symposium--arguing that love is merely a longing for immortality and ideas are immortal--is just a conceit of the intellectual. I prefer Aristophanes' speech, imagining a world in which humans were once four-armed, four-legged, and two-headed balls who tumbled around doing cartwheels, each one split in two and yearning to find their other half.
Stanley Kubrick
Although Clockwork Orange and 2001 are enjoyable films, Stanley Kubrick's artistic triumph was clearly Barry Lyndon. Its cinematography is flawless.
That Kubrick bit? I have said it many times. I wonder how many friends I've alienated.
Thanks Bruce!
National Porcineographic: a Portrait of America as a Young Hog
Sewing-machine magnate W.E. Baker held a party to celebratethe centennial of the Battle of Bunker Hill, fought nearby; and it was the Corner-Stone Party for a 'Sanitary Piggery', one that Baker believed would inaugurate a filth-free future for the whole hog-rearing industry. Each of the 2.500 guests received a copy of this peculiar map of the United States as a souvenir of the event.
THIS PORCINEOGRAPH is copied from the Census Surveys of 1870, adding only 3 feet of territory (?) resting on Cuba, Mexico and Sandwich Islands, and the Hydro-Cephalus from Canada. Congressional Legislation is required to PERFECT this GEHOGRAPHY.
Via Strange Maps
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tony Orrico, Human Spirograph
Tony Orrico — artist, dancer, human spirograph. He creates remarkable large-scale mock-mathematical drawings with a savant’s focus and a marathoner’s endurance, sometimes drawing for up to four hours continuously.Brain Pickings
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Plotting a World Record, One Marker at a Time
This what I call niche collecting!
Artist and graphic designer Allister Lee works out of his Studio B.I.B. in Toronto, where he makes commercial art for shoe and clothing companies like Nike, Stussy, Miskha, and Adidas. Because he only uses black markers in his art and advertising graphics (B.I.B. means “Black Is Beautiful”), he also happens to be amassing the world’s largest collection of black markers. While he has a small number of colored markers—including some of those fruit-scented Sanford Mr. Sketch markers—Lee does not collect them. He started with less than a dozen markers back in 2002, and now has close to 600. When he gets to 1,000, he plans to call “The Guinness Book of World Records.”
Thanks Bruce!
Monday, April 25, 2011
elBulli's Dishes by Francesc Guillamet
This video of elBulli's Dishes by Francesc Guillamet is part of the exhibit 'The Art Of Eating: From Still Life To Ferran Adria' at the CatalunyaCaixa's CX La Pedrera in Barcelona. The show explores the relationship between art and food over the centuries. I've wanted to eat at El Bulli since I first read about it years ago. Mr. Nag and I once rented a house not far from Roses, Catalonia but unfortunately had neglected to make a reservation years in advance and so missed a golden opportunity to find out what all the fuss was about.
Via
Extreme Dog Grooming
Although these dogs are probably not physically harmed I suspect they suffer deep emotional scarring.
Link - Via My Rusty Sieve
Link - Via My Rusty Sieve
Nag's Lane
Soubriquet, blogger and occasional commenter here, sent me this photo along with a little historical background. I love it!I saw this and thought you might like to see your distant property. I used to walk along Nag's Lane with my grandfather, it goes fromVictoria Street to Horsefair, where the horse-sales used to be...Now Horsefair is a shopping mall. The building dates from about 1750, might be a bit earlier. It was, I think, related to the coaching inn, not far away, at the end of Victoria street. All along this side were stables, a blacksmith, and accommodation for the coach-crews and grooms.
Films Compressed Into Barcodes
Moviebarcode is a blog that publishes images from movies compressed into barcodes. Above is Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
The Presurfer
Sunday, April 24, 2011
The Bear With His Own Postal Code
At one time Smokey (the) Bear had his own zip code. At the height of his fame at the National Zoo he received 5,000 letters a week.- Futility Closet
He now has his own website and Facebook fan page.
He looks like he's had a makeover.
One man, 100,000 toothpicks and 35 years
Via his website Weaver estimates he’s spent over 3,000 hours on the project, and the toothpicks have been sourced from around the world:
An incredible kinetic sculpture of San Francisco | ColossalI have used different brands of toothpicks depending on what I am building. I also have many friends and family members that collect toothpicks in their travels for me. For example, some of the trees in Golden Gate Park are made from toothpicks from Kenya, Morocco, Spain, West Germany and Italy. The heart inside the Palace of Fine Arts is made out of toothpicks people threw at our wedding.
And there's video too, courtesy of A London Salmagundy:
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Shakespeare's Writer's Block in Stop-Motion Claymation
What Romeo and Juliette have to do with William Shatner and modern justice.
This film was Anna Cohen's animated short film final project at Emuna College in Jerusalem, released in July, 2010. It tells the story of William Shakespeare with writers' block, and how his two "friends" (Romeo and Juliet) assist him in overcoming it.
The animation was made using two animation techniques: stop-motion and Flash animation.
Link
Messenger Bags with Glasgow city maps printed on the liner
I would love to have one of these for every city I visit.
Bags with built in navigation and local knowledge; bags which keep you on Trakke.
R.I.P. Hazel Dickens, Mountain Singer and Champion of Workers' Rights
Hard luck and hard times.... she was a woman who came from humble roots and never forgot it.
Part 2, where she talks about the tough lives of miners is a reminder that the advances and benefits we enjoy today as workers, union or not, are due to the fights of the unions.
Mr. Nag calls me a hayseed but I can't help but love this music.
Via John Gushue . . . Dot Dot Dot
Rube Goldberg Contest at Purdue
Inspired by cartoonist Rube Goldberg, college students nationwide compete to design a machine that uses the most complex process to complete a simple task - put a stamp on an envelope, screw in a light bulb, make a cup of coffee - in 20 or more steps.
Purdue Newsroom (I can't remember where I picked this up. Let me know if I stole it from you.)
Friday, April 22, 2011
Wireless Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens
Concept Camera: The WVIL from Artefact on Vimeo.
Thanks Bruce!The WVIL camera is not a real product, but a Concept Camera envisioned by Artefact's award-winning design team. It answers the question: “what’s next for camera design?”
The patent-pending WVIL system takes the connectivity and application platform capabilities of today's smart phones and wirelessly connects them with interchangeable full SLR-quality optics. It is the inevitable solution for photographers who expect the power of modern mobile devices but who also demand uncompromised quality.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Fluid Movement
An amazing collaboration between Yo-Yo Ma and a young dancer in LA, Lil Buck in support of arts in schools.
Via clusterflock
10 Best Places to Live for Escaping World Conflict
I was glad to see Canada on the list because it has few world enemies, ranks consistently high on the Global Peace Index, and is relatively homogeneous. I won't have to flee if a world war breaks out.
See the other relatively safe countries at Expatify.
Thanks, Bruce, for making me feel more secure.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Television
From the film 'Television Comes to London', this song encapsulates the sense of wonder about this new technology, in a very British pre-war way! "A mighty maze of mystic magic rays is all about us in the gloom" indeed!
Biocouture
Biocouture is a research project harnessing nature to propose a radical future fashion vision. We are investigating the use of microbial-cellulose, grown in a laboratory, to produce clothing. Our ultimate goal is to literally grow a dress in a vat of liquid...When you're done with it simply toss it in your compost bin.
via Book of Joe
Symmetry
Filmmakers Will Hoffman, Daniel Mercadante, and Julius Metoyer III play with our yearning for balance, and reveal how beautiful imperfect matches can be.
Thanks Tom
Monday, April 18, 2011
A Viagra-Laced Beer Is Launched To Toast The Upcoming Nuptials Of William & Kate
With only 1000 bottles for sale you'll have to buy it quick!
Bottled virility for the Monarchy. Raise a glass, and a body part, to the soon to be wed Royal Couple with this Viagra-laced beer from Brew Dog. The Royal Virility Performance is a limited edition artisanal brew made with various well-known aphrodisiacs in honor of Prince William's upcoming nuptials to Kate Middleton.
Read more at If It's Hip, It's Here
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Growing Up And I'm Fine
Images from Le Livre de la Sante by Joseph Handler (Monte Carlo: Andre Sauret, 1968)
La transformation du visage, drawing by Jean-Paul Goude
Points d'impact de ces nutriments dans l'organisme, drawing by Henri Schmid
La crossance de la tete, drawing by Peter Wyss after 'Human Development' by Frank Falkner
Link - Via A London Salmagundi
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Quilt car a work of art
'The guild is 30 years old, we wanted to make a big splash, so this is our big splash,' said Patricia Watt, a member of the Niagara Heritage Quilters' Guild, who drives the quilt car to various locations around the Niagara region as a promotional tool for their group.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Photos of elderly animals by Isa Leshko
I've outlived so many animal friends. Perhaps that's why I find these photos so touching.
Photos of elderly animals
Blue, Australian Kelpie, Age 19
Red, Chow Mix, Age 14+
Handsome One, Thoroughbred Horse, Age 33
Photographer Isa Leshko is traveling to sanctuaries across the country to photograph animals that are elderly or at the end stage of their lives. “I began the series as a means of exploring my feelings about my mother’s decline due to Alzheimer’s Disease,” she says. “As I’ve worked on this project, though, I’ve come to realize that these images are a testament to survival and endurance. And they raise questions about what it means to be elderly.”
Psychologist Who Cleared Death Row Inmates Is Reprimanded
A psychologist who examined 14 inmates who are now on Texas’ Death Row — and two others who were subsequently executed — and found them intellectually competent enough to face the death penalty, agreed on Thursday never to perform such evaluations again. Lawyers for the 14 inmates hope the agreement will help their clients, who they argue are mentally handicapped, to escape lethal injection...
Read more at Follow Me Here
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Turning a Vintage Trailer into Living Space with Matthew Hofmann
Matthew Hofmann from Hofmann Architecture recently completed a contemporary renovation of a vintage 1970′s Airstream trailer which currently serves as an efficient living and working space.
Via Notcot
Peepworld
It took artist Alan Wolfson eighteen months to create this intricate world in miniature. He was inspired by a model of the Paris Opera House that he saw at the Musee d'Orsay. I'm glad he got inspiration from it; I saw the same model and liked it very much but as usual was not inspired to create anything.
I decided to do something similar, but did not want it to look like an architectural model with cross-sectional views. I came up with a street scene with views into the bar ('Subway Inn'), and down the subway entrance. You can also see into a slightly open window at the fire escape, which looks into a dressing room. The main interior view is into PEEPWORLD, a fictional 'porno palace,' similar to those which existed before Mayor Giuliani cleaned up the neighborhood, and before Times Square was developed into the family-friendly theme park environment it is today.
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