Snap Your Fingers Off The Beat

Duke Ellington demonstrates how to snap your fingers to swing music.



Via everlasting blort 

How To Launch A Trendy Restaurant

The Poke

Gail Albert Halaban: Paris Views

New York-based fine art photographer Gail Albert Halaban is a voyeur who is intrigued by the public versus the private in urban life. Her book, Out My Window, captured what went on behind windows in her NYC neighbourhood.  Cathy Remy, photo editor for Le Monde's M magazine,  invited Halaban to do a similar project in Paris. Remy and Halaban found participants through Facebook, friends of friends, and word of mouth, and all gave permission in advance. The results are stunning.

Images: Gail Albert Halaban, courtesy of Edwynn Houk Gallery

View the slideshow and read more: The Cut

*Bonus:

In this interview Halaban explains how she began peering into people's windows:

Proof That Cats Are Better Than Dogs

This video erases all doubt about which species rules the domestic animal kingdom.



3quarksdaily

How To Eat A Hamburger Without Wearing It

Is there a way to eat a delicious juicy burger without having to take a shower afterwards? Three researchers spent four months finding the best way to hold a large hamburger.



You're welcome.

Via The Presurfer

Bill and Coo

Dean Rieser's   Bill and Coo(1948) features an all-bird cast trained by George Burton. It tells the story of taxi driver Bill Singer who woos his beloved Coo while fighting off a parakeet-devouring crow! The film won a special Academy award that year.



You can see the entire film here

Via

Harry Potter by Ayn Rand

If Ayn Rand had written Harry Potter:

“You’re a wizard, Harry,” Hagrid said. “And you’re coming to Hogwarts.”
“What’s Hogwarts?” Harry asked.
“It’s wizard school.”
“It’s not a public school, is it?”
“No, it’s privately run.”
“Good. Then I accept. Children are not the property of the state; everyone who wishes to do so has the right to offer educational goods or services at a fair market rate. Let us leave at once.”

More at this Link

Via Kottke

The Great Toronto Stork Derby

Image credit

In 1926 Charles Vance Millar left the bulk of his considerable estate to the woman who would give birth to the most babies over the next 10 years. The contest was dubbed the Great Toronto Stork Derby and ended on May 30, 1938 with four mothers (Annie Smith, Alice Timleck, Kathleen Nagle and Isobel MacLean) with nine kids each receiving approximately $125,000 - a fortune during the Depression.

The money was, according to later accounts, invested wisely in businesses and in securities and in homes and in cars.

Via: The Globe and Mail

Science of Twerking

Science of People explains the 3 scientific principles behind the twerk.



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Streamlined Car and Trailer

" He may call it streamlining but it looks like a turtle to us."



Built by Angelo R. Noble.

Via

What a Difference 13 Days Makes in the Garden!

Your Life in Weeks

Each row of weeks makes up one year. That’s how many weeks it takes to turn a newborn into a 90-year-old.

This is how a typical American spends their weeks:

More: Wait But Why



Thanks Bruce!

How To Make Magic Mud From Potatoes

Do you know any budding scientists?  They might like this experiment that makes a glowing "magical mud" from ordinary potatoes.



Thanks Bruce!

1958 ‘Beautiful Eyes’ Contest

This “Beautiful Eyes” contest was held at a British holiday camp in 1958.
The women’s faces are covered below the eyes and their bodies are hidden below the neck, apparently to ensure the judges will properly isolate the single body part they’re supposed to be evaluating.



Via Dangerous Minds

Jenga Cat

I love this video of Moe, the Jenga playing cat.



Via Geekologie

Earthquake Proof Desk Could Save Your Life

People who live in earthquake prone areas might want to invest in one of these.

Desks designed by LifeGuard Structures can handle up to one million pounds of pressure. The company put two school desks and two full-size desks in the 10 storey Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland, CA. when it was being demolished. All four desks performed perfectly .
The desks also contain an emergency supply pack outfitted with food, water, HEPA quality mask, emergency lighting, signaling devices, medical supplies, blankets, provisions for sanitary waste and other items, to sustain you while you wait for help.

(Until the big one hits you might want to nap in it. Just don't let the boss catch you!)

Via The UberReview

Can You Read People's Emotions?

Can you accurately assess what a person is thinking or feeling by looking into their eyes?

To find out how well you read the emotions of others, take this quiz, which is based on an assessment tool developed by University of Cambridge professor Simon Baron-Cohen.



 NYTimes.com

Via

The World 50 Years Ago

1964 was very newsworthy. This collection of 50 photos shows just how eventful that year was.

Afghan boys, men, and women, some in bare feet, wearing long outer garments called an abaya or chador, shop at a marketplace in Kabul, Afghanistan, in May of 1964. (AP Photo)

Ernesto "Che" Guevara, 1964. A Marxist revolutionary, was instrumental in developing the Soviet-Cuban relationship in the early 1960s, and by 1964 was acting as the head of the Cuban delegation to speak at the United Nations.(United Press International/Library of Congress)

Bill Olsen of Brooklyn, a New York elevator inspector, on the job inspecting rides at Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York, 1964, before the start of the summer season. (AP Photo)

Children in a Hong Kong refugee resettlement area watch as former Vice President Richard Nixon shows them his badminton service. Nixon visited Hong Kong, April 4, 1964, during a tour of countries in the Far East. (AP Photo)

More: The Atlantic



Thanks Bruce!

Staircases to Nowhere: Making Stanley Kubrick's 'The Shining'

Staircases to Nowhere is an in-depth (55min) exploration into the making of "The Shining" on film, from the perspective of those who actually worked on the production.

Staircases to Nowhere: Making Stanley Kubrick's 'The Shining' from Howard Berry on Vimeo.

Interviewees are:

• Brian Cook - 1st AD
• Jan Harlan - Producer
• Christiane Kubrick - Wife of Stanley Kubrick
• Mick Mason - Camera Technician
• Ray Merrin - Post-Production Sound
• Doug Milsome - 1st AC and Second Unit Camera
• Kelvin Pike - Camera Operator
• Ron Punter - Scenic Artist
• June Randall - Continuity
• Julian Senior - Warner Bros. Publicity

Via

A Novel Folding-Umbrella - Explained By Miss Heather Thatcher (1922)

 Heather Thatcher, a popular stage actress of the 1920s, demonstrates a folding umbrella. I hope she never got caught in a torrential downpour. She would have been drenched before she got the umbrella open.



  Via

Elephant Playtime with Tires

Have you ever wondered what elephants do in their spare time? Wonder no more. Thanks Bruce!

Bifurcated Girls

 A 1903 incarnation of Vanity Fair (not to be mistaken for the current magazine of the same name)  posted risqué  photos of bifurcated girls as a regular feature. The term refers to women wearing men's trousers. By today's standards this fetish seems downright quaint.

More:The Public Domain Review

Thanks Bruce!

This Book Described Every Colour Imaginable 271 Years Before Pantone

In 1692 an artist named “A. Boogert” wrote a book about  the use of color in painting and how to create hues and change the tone by adding one, two, or three parts of water. The 800 pages are all handwritten and painted.  Trait des couleurs servant a la peinture a l’eau was the most comprehensive guide to paint and color of its time.

Its contemporary equivalent, the Pantone Color Guide, was published in 1963.
You can view the entire book in high resolution here

Link

Via

Monk Leaves Footprints Ingrained in Wooden Floor

HuaChi, a 70 year old Chinese monk, has knelt to pray in the same spot for nearly 20 years . He’s performed the ritual so many times that his footprints have left their mark in the wooden floor of his temple, in the monastery town of Tongren, in Qinghai Province.



When he was younger HuaChi would prostrate 2,000 to 3,000 times a day but in his older years has reduced the ritual to 1000 a day.
Oddity Central 

Lava Engulfing a Village

The villagers look very calm. Have they not heard of Pompei?

Melvin C. Shaffer /Lava Flow Engulfing a Village to the West of Vesuvius,1944

Link

Via

The Valley Of Dolls

Dolls are replacing people in Nagoro, Japan. 64-year-old Ayano Tsukimi makes life-sized dolls to replace people who died or moved away. She's made more than 350 of them. Only 37 people still live in Nagoro.

The Atlantic

Magical Northern India

Jacob and Katie Schwartz filmed their voyage through northern India.They visited Agra, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Khichan, Jaipur, and Dehli and it all looks wonderful.



Via 

Detroit Agate

These beautifully patterned "stones" are Fordite/Detroit Agate , a byproduct of the automotive industry in the Motor City. Workers who removed chunks of paint buildup from car painting racks saw potential in the substance and brought out their beauty by tumbling the layered paint chunks like precious stones.

Older Fordite specimens contain colors that are no longer popular today, like pastel yellow or sea-foam green and have greater value. You can buy Fordite items here. 

Via Neatorama

Bars at the End of the World

In this Essential Guide, Atlas Obscura raises a glass to some of the oldest, most remote, and simply unlikely "Bars at the End of the World" in which to have a drink. Cheers!

Forbes Island (below) is permanently docked in the San Francisco bay and they are currently taking reservations. But should the need arise this floating marvel has the potential to set out to sea and become the most remote tavern on this list. Drinkers can peer out at the bay as they sip a glass of fine wine from the barge’s underwater cellar, or order a nice summer cocktail and watch the birds that have made their home in the towering palms which were successfully transplanted to the boat. Below the waterline the island houses an upscale restaurant with portholes that look out under the sea.

Here is a list of the featured watering holes:

• THE BAR AT VERNADSKY RESEARCH BASE,Galindez Island, Antarctica 
• CHRISTIAN'S CAFE, Adamstown, Pitcairn Island 
• THE BIRDSVILLE HOTEL, Birdsville, Australia 
• ALBATROSS BAR,Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, Tristan da Cunha Island 
• THE OLD FORGE,Knoydart, Scotland 
• IRISH PUB AT THE NAMCHE BAZAAR,Namche Bazaar, Nepal 
• YE OLDE TRIP TO JERUSALEM INN,Nottingham, England 
• LAFITTE'S BLACKSMITH SHOP,New Orleans, Louisiana 
• FORBES ISLAND,San Fransisco, California

Via 

What To Do This Weekend

Let Troubled Morrissey help you plan your weekend.

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Get Some Scars | Lux Lisbon

Free download!

Beautiful Berlin Brasserie

The owner of Katz Orange (orange cat in German) was inspired by a trip he took to Peru where he met a spiritual priest who owned an orange cat. It is located inside the bottom floor of a decommissioned church, which stands within a beautiful courtyard. The interior is eclectic and stunning. The menu is a mix of vegan and organic meat dishes that sounds yummy.

I've never visited Berlin. Maybe it's time I did.



More: Messy Nessy Chic

Link

The Cabinets Of Curiosity

A Frozen Tale from Sinclair & Hill on Vimeo.

The Cabinets of Curiosity by Australian artist and photographer Alexia Sinclair shows the complicated post-production workflow required to put the series A Frozen Tale together.

Music by Steve Gibbs: soundcloud.com/stevegibbs
Model: Fallon Duroy

Tiny Cabin Kit

Are you longing for a getaway space of your own? Here is an inexpensive ($3475) cabin kit that can be assembled by two people in one or two days.

More: Thehomesteadingboards.com and BZB Cabins

Sugru Magic Rubber Stuff

Moldable Sugru rubber thingies cut annoying everyday noise.



Tip the balance towards the sound of rain on the roof and the leaves rustling in the trees... ahhh much better.
Via

How Much Would You Pay To Book A Band?

Are you looking for a band to perform at your summer bbq, your kid's kindergarten graduation or some other awesome event?  Your decision is now a little easier thanks to a list of the asking prices of hundreds of musical acts provided by 22 Words.

Bieber, Madonna or Springsteen will cost you a cool $1mil but you might be able to snag 1st Klass, Chinua Hawk or Nelly's Echo, none of which I've heard of, for as little as $1500. Alternatively you could opt for your friend's cousin's basement band for gas money and a case of beer.

Thanks Bruce!

Shoot and Tell

StoneCrop Gallery's third cell phone photography show is on! Two of my photos are included:

Orvieto

Washington D.C.

This Is Why You Get To Celebrate Your Birthday Every Year

It just happens to be my birthday so I'm sharing seven of the major developments throughout history that have led to me being able to celebrate my special day with parties, candles, cake and the happy birthday song.



Link

Via

Manhattan Dish Rack

Designer Luca Nichetto's silicone Inception Dish Rack uses Manhattan's streets and avenues to dry your dishes.

Via Foodiggity.com

The Last Hotel

Jack Kerouac’s poems read by Patti Smith, John Cale and other cultural icons (with music by Joe Strummer)

Via Follow Me Here...

Complex Ballet Moves

Six Washington Ballet dancers demonstrate the most difficult moves in their repertoire.

Via Curiosites de Titam

What We Talk About When We Talk About Raymond Carver

The late Raymond Carver’s birthday is this weekend, but you might think twice before cracking open a cold one to celebrate. The great short story writer known to many as America’s Chekhov was a master of the genre, but according to Carol Sklenicka’s biography of Carver, he said that his proudest accomplishment was going sober.



More: Biographile

The Architectural History of Toronto

If you were to stand in one spot in downtown Toronto for the past one hundred years, what would you experience? Journey through the architectural history of Toronto.

Time from Kwan on Vimeo.

Carme Light Switch Plate

Love these hand tooled leather light switch plates featuring a herringbone pattern at top and bottom. I need to replace a bunch of rusty fake brass ones and wish I could afford to buy these beauties.

Buy:Canoe 

Via

Found in Translation — 100 Days Project

Anjana Iyer, a New Zealand media designer is designing  a poster illustrating one word each day for 100 words that cannot be translated to English word for word.

More: Found in Translation — 100 Days Project

Via

Famous Paintings Photoshopped to Look Like Fashion Models

"Throughout art history, painters from Titian to Rubens to Gauguin found beauty in the bodies of women who would never fit into a size 0. But what would these famous works of art look like were they to conform to today’s Photoshopped standards of beauty?"

More: TakePart

Via: Blort

Gardening Paramedics

Hamilton, Ontario paramedics have turned the unused space behind their work place into a large garden. They  donate the fruits of their labour to a local food bank and allow senior citizens who live next door to pick freely.

The 28 bed garden is all organic, last year they donated 1,300lbs to a local food bank and this year their goal is 2,000 lbs.

More at CHCH

1958 Jeep FC-150 Hippie Van

I love this Brooks Stevens designed 1958 Jeep FC-150 passenger van prototype by Reutter, of which only three were built. If you see one on eBay cheap let me know.

Link

Via

Counter // Culture

For a photography class Annalisa Hartlaub did a series of self-portraits portraying culture and counterculture for the past 10 decades. Below is the 60s with culture on the left, counterculture on the right. I like the drawn in Twiggy eyelashes on the culture gal.

More on  Flickr
Via

The Waiting Game

The Waiting Game, a collection by Barcelona photographer Txema Salvans shows prostitution in urban and rural roadside locations in Spain.

Because prostitutes don't like being photographed Salvans posed as a surveyor, working with an assistant holding a surveyor’s pole, and wearing the all important hi vis jacket, he slowly encroached on the prostitutes’ territory. The models were almost entirely oblivious to the fact that they were an essential part of the photographs.

Via

Dalek Relaxation Tape

Are you feeling stressed? This will leave you feeling calm and relaxed.

 

  Via

The Human Zoo

Senegalese at the original 1914 Congo Village. via Anne Sophie Ofrim on Wikimedia Commons

European Attraction Limited, a project by Norwegian-Sudanese artist Mohamed Ali Fadlabi and Swedish artist Lars Cuznor, is creating a lot of controversy in Norway. The installation is a re-creation of the Congo Village, an exhibit at the 1914 Jubilee Exhibition in Oslo that put 80 Senegalese people on public view in a simulated African village. 

The artists hope their "Congo Village" display will help erase what they say is Norwegians' collective amnesia about racism but many say that it perpetuates the racism it seeks to end.

Read More Here 

Via TMN

The Art Of Scrimshaw

American Hand Ep.5 from Jon Walley on Vimeo.

18th-century sailors on whaling ships were sometimes at sea for years at a time. The whalers whiled away their idle hours by fashioning jewelry and articles from whale bone and whale teeth. This craft, known as scrimshaw, is still practiced by masters like Brian Kiracofe, featured in this video by the filmmakers at American Hand.
See more here 

Waxy Jerry

Does this look like Jerry to you?

Keelin Garcia stands with a wax figure of her late father Jerry Garcia at the corner of Haight and Ashbury Streets in San Francisco, CA. (Beck Diefenbach / Madame Tussauds)



Via Business Wire