Le squelette joyeux

Via La boite verte

Crystal Blue Persuasion

via  Cakehead Loves Evil

Halloween story

The following narrative was found in a manuscript box sent to the Library by an unknown donor.

More at  The Library Time Machine

Dog and Cat Enjoy Halloween

Dog and Cat Enjoy Halloween by Leslie Jones, 1940

Dog Art Today

Away For A Bit

I'm in Ireland for a few weeks and internet is not as available as I thought it would be. I'll be back here at the end of the month.

Autumn in Niagara

A Message for Mankind

A mashup of Charlie Chaplin’s famous speech from The Great Dictator and scenes of humanity’s most tragic and most hopeful moments in recent history, spanning everything from space exploration to the Occupy protests, with an appropriately epic score by Hans Zimmer.

YouTube Link

Via Brain Pickings

Sir Isaac Brock's Funeral Procession

Niagara on the Lake has been in a bit of a frenzy of re-enactment and history buffs are beside themselves with glee. The Town is celebrating the bicentennial of the War of 1812 and there have been battles and fireworks aplenty with events continuing through 2014. Below is the funeral of Sir Isaac Brock. Yet to come is the burning of Niagara which I'm hoping will not be too realistic as I don't wish to become homeless.

This whole extravaganza is being spun as "200 Years of Peace'" rather than Canada's victory over the invading Americans because, being polite Canadians, we wouldn't want to offend our neighbours to the south. 

More Killer Art From Damien Hirst

In a recent retrospective at Tate Modern bad boy artist Damien Hirst refabricated his two-part installation piece In And Out Of Love first exhibited in 1991.
During its 5 month run visitors passed through a room of live butterflies - hatching, mating, laying eggs and eventually dying - before entering a room displaying Hirst's butterfly paintings.

9000 butterflies died during the show's run and the animal rights community is up in arms.

Read more in the Telegraph

Thanks Bruce!

Mondrian Cake

Yet another example of sugary treats imitating art.

Mondrian Cake at SFMOMA rooftop cafe photographed by Nicole J. Caruth.
Via bookofjoe

A Tiny Hand Out

Ornamental Thoughtfulness is an installation of  tiny bronze hands in public places throughout central Wellington in New Zealand by artist and educator Mary Whalley.

The purpose of these hands is to hold offerings, small gestures of thoughtfulness to whomever notices. These offerings are meant to engage passers with anonymous tokens of generosity. A silent act of kindness that the artist hopes will create a butterfly effect of positivity or at the least, interrupt the everyday mundane with anonymous kindness and memorable beauty.

Video by Vibol Moeung of Foxtree Studio

Via Organic Green Roots

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Cupcakes

I adore these cupcakes inspired by Hunter S. Thompson's  Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Nicola Shipley of Tattoo Cakes.

Via Laughing Squid

All Natural Canadian flag

Reddit contributor Cuervo2099assembled this Canadian Flag from natural materials found on a hike.

Via Twisted Sifter

Dutch Landscapes By Mishka Henner

Noordwijk aan Zee

When Google introduced its free satellite imagery service to the world in 2005 governments were concerned that the visibility of political, economic and military locations would compromise national security. Digital cloning, blurring, pixelization and whitening out were used to censor views of these sites.

Surprisingly, one of the most vociferous of all governments to enforce this form of censorship were the Dutch, hiding hundreds of significant sites including royal palaces, fuel depots and army barracks throughout their relatively small country. The Dutch method of censorship is notable for its stylistic inventiveness compared to other countries: imposing bold, multi-coloured polygons over sites rather than the subtler and more standard techniques employed elsewhere. The result is a landscape occasionally punctuated by sharp aesthetic contrasts between secret sites and the rural and urban environments surrounding them.

More images at Catalogue Raisonne
Via Uncertain Times

Fashionable Trimmings Made From Food Waste

 London-based designer Hoyan Ip reuses leftovers to create fashionable trimmings, such as buttons, belt buckles, sequins and embellishments in various shapes, sizes and colors.

Called ‘Bio-trimmings’, the wasted food was dried, cooked, blended and transformed into sustainable products.

Artist's site
Via Unconsumption

Eric Clapton sells Gerhard Richter painting for record £21m

Clapton has also sold off part of his extensive guitar collection to raise money for the rehab clinic he founded in 1998 to help treat drug and alcohol addiction.

Even before the sale, the Sunday Times Rich List estimated the Cream guitarist' s wealth at some £140m, making him the 17th-richest British musician.

The Times Music Millionaires list dated April 2012 pegs his income at just £130m.  I'm not sure why there is a discrepancy and it's probably petty to worry about a measly £10m.

BBC News

Traditional Bookbinding in Sidney British Columbia

I met Master Bookbinder Paul Tronson when I worked at Willowbank Heritage Estate. He does amazing binding and restoration using traditional techniques without chemicals.



Read more at his site.

Marilyn Monroe vs. Mamie Van Doren

I guess this says it all.

Via Retronaut

Eiffel Tower worth 344 billion to French economy

 Italy's Monza and Brianza Chamber of Commerce declared the Eiffel Tower  to be worth six times its nearest rival, the Colloseum in Rome, valued at 91 billion euros .

The study by based its findings on a monument's “image, brand and visibility”, calculated by cross-referencing 10 different parameters from various analysts and statistics bodies.

More at  The Telegraph
Thanks Bruce!

The Greatest Shoe Collection Of All Time

Filipino First Lady Imelda Marcos' 2,700 shoe collection has succumbed to termites and water damage. Unfortunately mine remains intact as I  put away the sandals and take out the mukluks. I am Niagara on the Lake's discount Imelda.

Link Via frequent contributor Bruce.

Re-creating The Poster That Inspired a Beatles Classic

The song "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, might seem like an obtuse flight of fancy, but it was actually inspired by--and, in many cases, lifted wholesale from--a Victorian circus poster Lennon had picked up at an antiques shop some time 

Link

Paris Versus New York

Via Gadling.com

I Hate My Hipster Parents, Why Can't I Just Be Elmo?

 Cheezburger

Beau Coop

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

Dawn breaks. The hens descend from their bespoke Versailles-inspired Le Petit Trianon house to their playground below for a morning wing stretch.

The details:

• The buyer will receive an initial farm consultation and grounds survey and two additional onsite visits from Heritage Hen Farm expert, Svetlana Simon.
• Simon will select three to ten heritage-breed hens carefully selected to suit your region.
• Installation includes two custom-designed and installed raised vegetable or herb garden beds.
• Package includes a multilevel dwelling, nesting area, "living room," broody room, library with books, two Heritage Hen Farm pasture grazing trays, waterer, feeder, and chandelier. All other props and furnishings not included.
• Please allow 6 weeks for delivery.
• Delivery not included.

Available at Neiman Marcus  for $100,000.00 (yes you read that right)
Via Notcot

Nonsense Cookery

Edward Lear’s recipe for Gosky Patties, 1872:

Take a pig three or four years of age, and tie him by the off hind-leg to a post. Place 5 pounds of currants, 3 of sugar, 2 pecks of peas, 18 roast chestnuts, a candle, and 6 bushels of turnips, within his reach: if he eats these, constantly provide him with more.
Then procure some cream, some slices of Cheshire cheese, 4 quires of foolscap paper, and a packet of black pins. Work the whole into a paste, and spread it out to dry on a sheet of clean brown waterproof linen.
When the paste is perfectly dry, but not before, proceed to beat the pig violently with the handle of a large broom. If he squeals, beat him again.
Visit the paste and beat the pig alternately for some days, and ascertain if, at the end of that period, the whole is about to turn into Gosky Patties.
If it does not then, it never will; and in that case the pig may be let loose, and the whole process may be considered as finished.

Copied in its entirety from Futility Closet

Australia's Prime Minister Rips Misogynist a New One in Epic Speech on Sexism

 I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man, I will not. Not now, not ever. What i won't stand for, what I will never stand for is the leader of the opposition peddling a double standard, a standard he has not set for members of his own front bench.

Link

Joe Fig: Cinematic Paintings

 Artist Joe Fig paints portraits of famous artists as portrayed in classic films.

Artist and Muse - Toulouse-Lautrec, 2012.
Courtesy the artist and Cristin Tierney Gallery.

Lovers - Frida and Diego, 2012.
Courtesy the artist and Cristin Tierney Gallery.

More at  The Morning News

Joe Fig: Cinematic Paintings
September 6th through October 20th, 2012

At Cristin Tierney

Crosley Keepsake Turntable

The Keepsake is a turntable that comes in its own retro styled suitcase. It has built-in full range speakers and a USB connection.

I love it!

Via The Awesomer

Last Week’s Episode of ‘Revenge’ Re-Enacted By Cats

This has a strange appeal. I haven't even heard of Revenge, much less watched it, but I suspect the feline version is superior.



And yes I do know that this is my second cat post in a row. I'll get a grip on it.

Via Flavorwire

Litter Trippin'

Mind-blowing psychedelic kitteh video from Walter and the Wizards from the album Litter Trippin', brought to you by Litter Genie® brand.

Via everlasting blort

Wear Yoda, She Ra, Smurfs and More!

BongaChopShop makes wonderful one of a kind clothing from recycled vintage fabrics. Do you think I'd look even more like an aging eccentric if I dressed like this?

 Via Neatorama

When You Don't Want To Explain.

Via  Pinterest

You Bet Your Life Outtakes

Watch this until the end. Groucho is hilarious.



Via Miss Cellania

This 5 year old rocks!

I know the content is a little creepy but this kid is amazing.
Via

Housing Homeless Fishies

(image via: Jason deCaires Taylor)

Coral acts as shelter for various marine organisms. As pollution kills off coral underwater wildlife are left homeless. Artist Jason deCaires Taylor's Urban Reef Project creates sculptures that house homeless marine life.

Via WebUrbanist

Happy 10th Anniversary Louis Ghost Chair!

Philippe Starck's iconic chair is ten years old.



More at DesignBoom

Machine That Can Create Anything

I'm feeling peckish. Create a scallop pasta and a bottle of Pinot Noir please.



Link

Spruce Girls

I'd rather swim naked than wear a wooden bathing suit.

Stop your anguished whining, I won't actually do it.

““Spruce Girls” on beach wearing spruce wood veneer bathing suits during “Wood Week”
to promote products of the Gray Harbor lumber industry, Hoquiam, Washington”

More at Retronaut

Oh honey, why so blue?

Bees at a cluster of bee hives in northeastern France have been producing honey in mysterious shades of blue and green, alarming their keepers who now believe residue from containers of M&M's candy processed at a nearby biogas plant is the cause.

 Link  Via MeFi

Neglected Ducks Take First Swim

And they took to it like ducks to water.



Via  MetaFilter

The Queen of Flavored Water

Brooklyn Bouillon: Treating Bones Like the Gold of an Animal from SkeeterNYC on Vimeo.

Rachael Mamane, the founder of Brooklyn Bouillon, i had the idea to help meat farmers generate extra income by creating a line of stocks from their unwanted “waste”, such as discarded bones. She approached a few small farms with the idea, tested out a number of stock recipes using their raw materials, and in 2010, Brooklyn Bouillon was born.

Link Via Blog on a Toothpick

Travel Through 2,000 Years of Paris' History

Dassault Systemes has created Paris 3D, an interactive model that transports the Internet user through two millennia of the city’s history.
Link Via Archaeology News

Decoding Secret Societies

A piece of what is known as a “Master’s Carpet,” a basic emblematical
chart for the instruction of Freemasonry.

Freemasons, Shriners, Odd Fellows, Knights Templar and more! Find out what makes fraternal organizations tick at Collectors Weekly.

The Noun Project

Building a global visual language.



Via The Curious Brain 

Scrap Surf

Experiment No. 3 - Scrap Surf from Shwood Eyewear on Vimeo.

Eric Singer of Portland-based wooden eyewear company, Shwood, teams up with friends to create a unique wooden surfboard. Watch how Singer and company process and shape this functional one-of-a-kind board using reclaimed wood found on the Oregon coast.

Via Huh 

Coffee Causes Glaucoma?

Medical journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science reports that heavy coffee consumption could be responsible for worsening eyesight among coffee drinkers, causing glaucoma in later years. But don't fret Coffee Hounds, I've been told that smoking weed can help reduce the increased intraocular pressure of glaucoma. So drink, smoke and make merry and tomorrow we'll be blind but too stoned to notice.

Via Geekosystem

Destination Design

I love Double Takes travel themed design posts. Here are just a few of the fabulous designs I'd love to snap up:

Monde à l’endroit, Monde à l’envers
Globe Chandelier by Benoit Vieubled

 Suitcase Chair from ReCreate

The Age of Discovery World Map Travel Journal
by CanvasAndInk

The Kingdom Of Fairies

 ‘Extract from silent movie by Georges Méliès (1903) Le Royaume De Fées (The Kingdom of Fairies). Music by Cortet (2010).’
Via  A London Salmagundi

Toy Soldier Costume

What a great Halloween costume. I almost (but not quite) wish my sons were kids again.

More pics and instructions at Wild Ink Press

6 Fake Bacons for the Impending Baconpocalypse

I stopped eating bacon awhile ago. I need a substitute to put in my chestnut, pancetta and apple ravioli and I may have found something here.


Via CHOW

The Happiness Machine

Designed by UK based digital artist, Brendan Dawes, The Happiness Machine is an Internet connected printer that prints random happy thoughts by random people from across the web; press the big black button and the Happiness Machine prints a thought from someone who mentioned the word happy.

Via Notcot

MY KNITTED BOYFRIEND

No boyfriend? No problem! Provided you have some knitting needles and a ball of wool.

 
MY KNITTED BOYFRIEND from Noortje de Keijzer on Vimeo.

Via MeFi

Demand Humanely Produced Food

 This week, Dunkin’ Brands Group became the latest big restaurant chain to commit to pork produced without the use of gestation crates, a growing movement that has won commitments from a slew of other restaurant chains and foodservice providers, from McDonald’s and Burger King to Sodexo and ARAMARK, and even supermarket chains such as Kroger and Safeway have promised to make the shift.

This makes me happy. I stopped eating pork when I first read about gestation crates. They are inhumane and their use should be prohibited.

Link via  Holy Kaw!

Ban This Book, A Comic Celebrating Banned Books Week

Ban This Book on Incidental Comics, drawn by Grant Snider

Horrifying Cake Pops

Lou Lou P's Delights has baked up awesomely creepy cake pops featuring women from horror films.
Via BoingBoing

Perfect Tarte Tatin in 10 Easy Steps

So here's how to whip one out casually. It's extremely easy and fast and satisfying and you feel like a pretty, full-hipped French lady in a chic blouse in some wonderful country farmhouse while you make it.

Recipe at The Awl

The Beer Archaeologist

Have you ever wondered what the tipple of choice was for  Egyptians of yore? Archaeologist Patrick McGovern gives a taste of history by resurrecting ancient fermented beverages .

“Dr. Pat,” as he’s known at Dogfish Head, is the world’s foremost expert on ancient fermented beverages, and he cracks long-forgotten recipes with chemistry, scouring ancient kegs and bottles for residue samples to scrutinize in the lab. He has identified the world’s oldest known barley beer (from Iran’s Zagros Mountains, dating to 3400 B.C.), the oldest grape wine (also from the Zagros, circa 5400 B.C.) and the earliest known booze of any kind, a Neolithic grog from China’s Yellow River Valley brewed some 9,000 years ago.

More at Smithsonian Magazine
Via

Could Waterloo International Become A Greenhouse?

Plans are afoot to turn the former Eurostar platforms at London's Waterloo station into “an English country garden in the city all year round.”

The plans require no changes to the existing building fabric: visitors can enjoy the space along the existing platforms and 99 converted railway carriages which will be transformed into allotments, kitchens and dining cars, as well as farmers' markets, incubator units, design studios, cinemas, lecture halls and small retail spaces.

Link Via Londonist

Barbara Ann Scott: 1928-2012

I grew up in Montreal and skated at the outdoor rink every day of the long Quebec winter. Even though I was not yet born when Barbara Ann Scott was winning medals I, and most other budding figure skaters, idolized her.

Sun file photo

In 1940, at age 11, she became the youngest junior national champion in history. Four years later, she won her first senior title.
After winning the Olympics in 1948, she was greeted by a crowd of 70,000 people in Ottawa to celebrate the Olympic gold.
Scott won the Lou Marsh Award as Canada’s top athlete in 1945, 1947 and 1948. She was named Canada’s top female athlete in 1946, 1947 and 1948.

More here

DIY Vintage Salt and Pepper Shakers

Rachael of Penelope and Pip made these gorgeously retro salt and pepper shakers.

You can do it too! Instructions at Say Yes to Hoboken
Via