Nag on the Lake: February 2013

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Every Voicemail From My Agent in 2012

My cousin's son Tommy Beardmore is an actor (a good one). Here is every voicemail left by his agent, Marisa Paonessa, in 2012. Seems like she's doing a good job.

Bark Up Or Down?

One thing that really divides Norway is bark. Norwegians take their firewood very seriously and apparently cannot agree whether bark should face up or down. If a country must be divided a bark battle seems less embittering than arguments about gun control or gay marriage. Cute even.

Read more at NYTimes.com

Thanks Bruce!

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

China's Tiny New 'Tricycle House'

Beijing’s People’s Architecture Office (PAO) and People’s Industrial Design Office (PIDO) have designed and built a mobile home so small that it can be folded up, accordion-style, and carted around on the back of a tricycle.

See photos and read more

Thanks Bruce!

What Kind of Dog Was Pavlov’s Dog?

Every undergraduate psychology student is familiar with the classical conditioning experiments performed by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. But most don't know what type of dog he used in his research. Judging from the photos below he was not too particular.

Icy Dog Rescue

A Russian fisherman rescues a dog that floated out into Siberia’s Sea of Okhotsk on a tiny ice floe.

Via The Awesomer

Floating Graffiti Gallery

The hull of the Duke Of Lancaster, an abandoned ship off the Welsh coast, has been used as a blank canvas by the DuDug collective, a group of international graffiti artists.

More of the DuDug floating art project here
Thanks Bruce!

Oscar Gift Bags Cost $48,000

What could one buy for the $48,000 spent on one Oscar Swag Bag? The Hairpin has a few ideas:

- 943 XL cases of Pampers Swaddlers
- 192 weeks of daycare
- 872 three-packs of Costco brand baby formula
- 1,622 months of Netflix
- 817 pet insurance payments
- 960 gas tank fill-ups
- 112 car payments
- 248 months of cable
- 600 CTA card charge-ups
- 23 mortgage payments
- 600 visits from the cleaning lady
- 1,920 haircuts for my husband including tip
- 4,166 falafel salads + Diet Pepsis at Food4Thought, my office building’s cafeteria

Vintage Anatomical Illustrations

These medical illustrations were done during the Edo period (1603-1868) in Japan.

The pregnancy illustration above is from a copy of Ishinhō, the oldest existing medical book in Japan.

The trepanning tools pictured above are from a book on European medicine introduced to Japan via the Dutch trading post at Nagasaki. They were used to bore holes in the skull as a form of medical treatment.

This female dissection was conducted on the body of a 34-year-old female executed criminal. The document, entitled Gyokusai Zōzu, was published in 1774.
See more at art carousel

James Brown Teaches a Dance Lesson

I guarantee that if you master these groovy moves from the Godfather Of Soul you'll be the hit of your next party.

Via Laughing Squid

Thanks Bruce!

Monday, February 25, 2013

IMAGO

IMAGO is a 1996 art film about Swiss artist Meret Oppenheim (1913-85) whose fame rests on one Surrealist piece, “The Fur-lined Teacup”. This excerpt covers Oppenheim's Paris years.

More about Oppenheim at ikono

13 Edward Hopper Paintings Recreated As Sets For Indie Film

Director Gustav Deutsch painstakingly recreates 13 paintings by iconic American artist, Edward Hopper, in the film, Shirley - Visions of Reality.

above left: original paintings by Edward Hopper, above right, the set designs for Shirley-Visions of Reality.

From the director's statement:

I selected Edward Hopper’s picturesque oeuvre, which was not only influenced by film noir – in his choice of lighting, subject and framing as seen in paintings such as Night Windows (1938), Office at Night (1940), Room in New York (1932) and his direct references to cinema such as in New York Movie (1939) and Intermission (1963) – but which also in turn influenced filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock, Jim Jarmusch, Martin Scorsese and Wim Wenders.

See much more at I f It's Hip, It's Here

Vintage Treasure Trove at Notting Hill Tube Station

During renovations in the 1950s passageways at the Notting Hill tube station were sealed off and everything within them was subsequently frozen in time.
50 years later in 2010 routine work revealed a mini museum of well-preserved vintage posters.

Read more at Messy Nessy Chic
Via

Landscaping The Senate

Appropriate topiary for outside Canadian Senate Chamber?

photo via clusterflock

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Ennui

A little Sunday night amusement.

Via

Serene Chinese Landscapes Are Photographs of Landfills

Yao Lu's photographs of Chinese landfills look like classic Chinese landscape watercolours. The sites are covered in green protective netting and then digitally manipulated. This is the prettiest trash I've ever seen and a powerful statement on the effects of urbanization on the natural world.
Via io9

The Edible Art of Risa Hirai

I love this bonsai cookie!

Risa Hirai is a senior at Tama Art University who makes miniature models of food and bonsai gardens using sugar, flour, butter and oil.

Via

Early 1900′s Autochromes from Paris, France

‘Autochrome‘ was an early colour photography technique invented by the Lumiere brothers, using a glass plate coated with dyed potato starch and silver halide.

See more at The Phoblographer
Via

1 Kitty, 2 Empires, 2,000 Years: World History Told Through a Brick

At some moment a few years after Jesus Christ died but before the second century began, someone made a brick on the island that would become the cornerstone of Great Britain. The area was controlled by Rome then, and known as Britannia and as the brick lay green, awaiting the kiln, a cat walked across the wet clay and left its footprints before wandering off to do something else.

How did this kitten-trodden brick end up in a Washington State museum more than 2000 years later?

Find out more at The Atlantic

Via

Border collie Zoe does dog tricks!

What an amazing dog! They must put something special in those Agility Snacks :)

Border collie Zoe performing incredible dog tricks, movie made using Canon 7D by Alicja Zmysłowska.

Thanks Bruce!

Bubble bursting at 18,000fps

Using the Phantom v1610 camera which shoots at 18,000fps at 720p Gav and Dan (aka The Slow Mo Guys) slow down the moment a bubble pops by over 700 times.

Thanks Bruce!

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Oreogami Oreo Animation

By Kelly Cheatle at Crafty B

Via MAKE

Iconic City Silhouettes

London-based designer and art director Yoni Alter developed this colorful series of posters entitled Shapes of Cities. Each unique creation features a particular city's key buildings and landmarks.

More at My Modern Metropolis
Thanks Bruce!

What You Won’t See In Argo

Mark Lijek, a retired U.S. diplomat rescued from Iran, writes about the real heroes of 1979.

As I wrote at the beginning, Argo is a wonderful film. Not because it is historically accurate, but because, aside from its technical brilliance, it reminds us of a time when ordinary people performed great deeds, and two neighbours that feud over many small and not so small things came together and did something magnificent. Maybe it didn’t change history, but for we six house guests it was truly life changing. And it was, and should always remain, the Canadian Caper.

More at Macleans.ca

Julie Delpy and Bela B. Karaoke in a Chinese Restaurant in Paris

Into the Night with... is a series that matches artists from different fields to spend an evening together in a city of their choice.

Via MetaFilter

The Sand Castle by Co Hoedeman - NFB

The Sand Castle by Co Hoedeman, National Film Board of Canada

Co Hoedeman's short animated film about the sandman and the creatures he sculpts out of sand. They build a castle and celebrate the completion of their new home only to be interrupted by an uninvited guest.

In which direction is the wheel turning?

Via Frogsmoke

How To Fix A Cake Wreck

Did half your cake remain in the pan when you tried to lift it out? No problem. Here are some quick disguises for a baking disaster:

See more at this Link via The Homestead Survival

Dear Literary Magazine

A writer rejects a rejection letter:

Dear Literary Magazine,
Thank you for sending us your rejection letter. Despite its evident merit, we’re sorry to say we cannot accept it at this time. And by “evident merit,” we mean its merit must be evident to someone, and perhaps that someone is you, because we just couldn’t find it. We mean “evident merit” like this: “evident (?) merit (?).”

The Mao Mango Cult of 1968 and the Rise of China’s Working Class

Did you ever wonder how the mango become a propaganda symbol in China during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966–1976)? Me either but it's an interesting story.

For 2,000 years, the peach was the iconic fruit of China, an auspicious symbol of good health and a long life. But from August of 1968 until roughly the fall of the following year, the mango was China’s most revered produce item, whose meaning was unwittingly bestowed upon it by none other than Mao Zedong.

Read more at Collectors Weekly

The Exhibition at the Museum Reitberg

Unlocking The Inner Savant

The Genius Within Paul Lachine and Graham Murdoch

Brain damage has unleashed extraordinary talents in a small group of otherwise ordinary individuals. Will science find a way for everyone to tap their inner virtuoso?

This Popular Science article explores the neurological causes of acquired savant syndrome. I've always wanted to play the piano or speak another language fluently. Maybe I should hit myself on the head with a hammer.

Via

Friday, February 22, 2013

She wishes she had more time to read

1st Prize Contemporary Issues Single - Micah Albert/USA/Redux Images
World Press photo competition

Pausing in the rain, a woman working as a trash picker at the 30-acre dump wishes she had more time to look at the books she comes across. She even likes the industrial parts catalogs. “It gives me something else to do in the day besides picking [trash],” she said.
Via TYWKIWDBI

Urban Vertical Garden Built From Hundreds of Recycled Plastic Bottles

Home Sweet Home went through Brazilian homes doing dramatic makeovers of interior and exterior spaces, including this amazing garden made from recycled pop bottles.
Via Colossal

On Spaaich

What language are they speaking? It's called Broad Yorkshire, a dialect used in the Northern England county of Yorkshire.

From the BBC's "The Story of English."
Via Grit in the Gears

Insects Making Pupae Casing From Jewels

Caddis flies spin a web of silk and attach whatever materials are available around them for protection before climbing inside to pupate. Instead of the sand and twigs that they would use French artist Hubert Duprat and naturalist provided the moth-like insects with gold and jewels to work with. These are the resulting protective cases they made.

Link Via Geekologie

1949 Mercury Dwarf Car

I love the color and it's just the right size for me.

1949 Mercury Dwarf Car by Ernie Adams from KDawgFilmz on Vimeo.

Thanks Bruce!

Thursday, February 21, 2013

10 places that may disappear in 50 years or less

From New York City to Venice, Italy, these beautiful tourist destinations are in danger of being wiped out. So see them while you can.

Slideshow at MSN ca

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

3Doodler: The World's First 3D Printing Pen

Have you ever just wished you could lift your pen off the paper and see your drawing become a real three dimensional object? Well now you can with 3Doodler, the world’s first and only 3D Printing Pen.

More at the 3Doodler Kickstarter site
Via

Monday, February 18, 2013

1960's Scotch Plaid Dual Thermos Picnic Set

When I saw this vintage picnic set by RetrofitCulture I knew I had to have it to add to my Skotch Cooler collection. Alas it was not to be because they do not ship to Canada. Perhaps one of my American readers would like to own it? Or better still buy it and ship it to me.

Vintage Passport Photos of the Rich and Famous

Albert Einstein

Ernest Hemingway

Marilyn Monroe

Loads more at vintage everyday
Via TMN

Sweden's Homeless Experience Hotel

The Swedish city of Gothenburg has about 3,400 homeless people. Faktum, a street newspaper that helps the homeless, allows you to book a spot in a parking garage, under a bridge or other places the homeless might sleep. The money raised through these "bookings" goes to help Faktum with their work.

Via Oddity Central

Dominic Boudreault's Civilization

Take a quick trip around Europe's architectural icons.

Via Double Takes

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Alex Goddard's "The Future"

Via everlasting blort

The Black Power Mixtape 1967 - 1975

The Black Power Mixtape 1967 - 1975
Via Schmutzie

Avoid These Fast Food Items

Fast food employees tell you which fast food items you should stay away from. I seldom eat at fast food joints but on one of those rare occasions that I did I won a family ski trip to Vermont which turned into many years of ski vacations with my kids. I guess that neutralizes the negative effects of those Happy Meals. That said I advise you to steer clear of Wendy's Chile and Anything That Ends In Nugget.

Via Wise Bread

We Were Only Children!

This documentary tells the stories of young Irish children who were placed in the church-run Magdalen Laundries. Between 1922 and 1996 some 10,000 women and girls were made to work unpaid in laundries run by Roman Catholic nuns and were terribly abused there. The congregations which ran them were the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy, the Religious Sisters of Charity and the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. The first one opened in 1809; the last laundry closed in 1996. This is Ireland's equivalent of Canada's vile residential schools.