On a small island, off the coast of Okinawa in Japan, the world’s most precious kimonos are crafted using a very unusual element.
Via Doobybrain.com
Friday, November 30, 2018
The Dogs Of Old London
A lovely post at Spitalfields Life on the dogs of old London - the guard dogs, the lap dogs, the stray dogs, the police dogs, the performing dogs, the dogs of the blind, the dogs of the ratcatchers, the dogs of the watermen, the cadaver dogs, the mutts, the mongrels, the curs, the hounds and the puppies. It draws from Libby Hall's enormous collection of dog photography.
Photographs copyright © The Libby Hall Collection at the Bishopsgate Institute
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| The first dog to be buried here was run over outside the gatekeeper’s lodge, setting a fashionable precedent, and within twenty-five years the gatekeeper’s garden was filled with over three hundred upper class pets. |
Photographs copyright © The Libby Hall Collection at the Bishopsgate Institute
Pocket Closet
The Ori Pocket Closet is a collapsible walk-in closet that expands on demand to provide more storage in less space. I could use a few of these.
Ori Pocket Closet from Ori on Vimeo.
Via
Ori Pocket Closet from Ori on Vimeo.
Via
Underwater Ecosystems Fashioned From Yarn
Portuguese textile artist Vanessa Barragão uses recycled yarns to create intricate tapestries of ecosystems by hand, depicting the diverse world that exists underwater.
More: iGNANT.com:
More: iGNANT.com:
Thursday, November 29, 2018
The Challenge of True Solitude
Alexandra De Steiguer has spent the past 19 winters tending to the 43-acre grounds of the Oceanic Hotel on Star Island. In the off-season, she is the island’s sole inhabitant.
Via
Via
Christmas Trees For Households With Cats
UK retailer Argos is selling top-half only "parasol trees" to stop cats from ruining Christmas.
My cat would laugh in the face of this feeble attempt to deter her. This morning I heard a sound coming from a pantry cupboard. I thought it was a mouse until Carmen burst out with a stream of liquid in her wake. She'd manoeuvred her way into the cupboard where she chewed through a cardboard crate that held 6 plasticized cartons of chicken broth and managed to tear into 3 of the cartons and drink her fill of broth. How could she smell the broth through a door, a cardboard crate and sealed cartons? All I know is this kitty gets what she wants. Carmen would climb that tree, branches or no branches or she'd sashay along the mantel and hop onto it.
Geekologie
My cat would laugh in the face of this feeble attempt to deter her. This morning I heard a sound coming from a pantry cupboard. I thought it was a mouse until Carmen burst out with a stream of liquid in her wake. She'd manoeuvred her way into the cupboard where she chewed through a cardboard crate that held 6 plasticized cartons of chicken broth and managed to tear into 3 of the cartons and drink her fill of broth. How could she smell the broth through a door, a cardboard crate and sealed cartons? All I know is this kitty gets what she wants. Carmen would climb that tree, branches or no branches or she'd sashay along the mantel and hop onto it.
Geekologie
The Dress For Respect
Toronto 2033
Toronto 2033 is a project by Spacing to help celebrate the magazine’s 15th anniversary. Authors were invited to imagine Toronto 15 years from now through short stories, podcasts, and films.
Toronto 2033 from Spacing Magazine on Vimeo.
Toronto 2033 from Spacing Magazine on Vimeo.
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Rocket Launch as Seen from the Space Station
Video Credit: ISAA, NASA, Expedition 57 Crew (ISS);
Processing: Riccardo Rossi (ISAA, AstronautiCAST); Music: Inspiring Adventure Cinematic Background by Maryna
More here
Last Night I Saw Elvis At The Waffle House
Did you know that there is a record label built around breakfast? I've never had the pleasure but apparently you might be treated to a sweet sweet serenade all about waffles, eggs or even raisin toast while chowing down at The Waffle House. (Click No Thanks to see the video).
The Secret Record Label Within Waffle House from Great Big Story on Vimeo.
The Secret Record Label Within Waffle House from Great Big Story on Vimeo.
Intricately-Knotted Cords Tell A Story
Khipu, an abacus-like means of bookkeeping, was the Incan system of record-keeping that used intricately knotted rope.
More: Open Culture
More: Open Culture
Harry's Last Stand
Social justice activist Harry Leslie Smith died today at the age of 95. Dubbed the world's oldest rebel, he spent the last years of his life visiting refugee camps around the world to find a solution to this crisis. He grew up in abject poverty in a British coal mining town and did not want his past to become our future. He remembered a time before universal health care in Britain and his eulogy to the declining state of the NHS is one of the most moving pieces of journalism I have read. He acted as a moral compass for many of us and tributes have been pouring in from all over the world as people who had been following his recent health crisis on Twitter woke up to find their hero was gone. Harry's life had true meaning and he will not be forgotten. My condolences go out to his devoted son John and family.
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Store Your Liquor In A Mansion
Want to go hang gliding? Sure, why not?
This guy went hang gliding for the first time but it turned ugly as his safety harness wasn't hooked to the glider. It's horrifying to watch.
Via
Via
Polychrome Woodblocks of Birds
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| Golden Pheasant in the Snow |
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| The Paroquet |
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| Swallow and Camellia |
More: The Public Domain Review
Monday, November 26, 2018
Wildflowers for Buffalo
Louise Jones’s mural for The Sinclair Building brings a bright splash of color and floral designs to downtown Buffalo. Jones has incorporated aspects of period design, hatpins, and flora native to Western New York into her composition.
Tweet of the Day
If Planets were as close as the Moon pic.twitter.com/bBwIPtRQ1J— Physics & Astronomy Zone (@ZonePhysics) November 25, 2018
Nightingale Floors
Some 17th century Japanese castles have extremely creaky wooden floors but it isn't because of sloppy craftsmanship. The sounds weren’t just tolerated, but desired, as the floors functioned as a security system warning of approaching intruders and assassins.
Read More: Open Culture
Read More: Open Culture
Sunday, November 25, 2018
3D Picassos
Pakistani artist Omar Aqil takes inspiration from Picasso for his own artworks. He transforms the 2D paintings of this great artist into 3D versions using ordinary home-garden-and-kitchen products.
Via Pasa Bon!
Via Pasa Bon!
Sunday Links
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| Image credit: Jacobia Dahm for NPR |
300-year-old note found inside butt of Jesus statue (No, it did not say "Get me out of here")
The Internet has a Cat! Meet Purrli, the Online Cat Purr Generator.
Photos Of Johnny Cash And June Carter At Folsom Prison
Super recognisers: the people who never forget a face
3 Days, 150 Paintings: A Whirlwind Tintoretto Tour
Here It Is! Alice B. Toklas's Recipe for Hash Brownies
30 Ways to Die of Electrocution
This made me chuckle: Mother Lish’s Bologna Sandwich, a recipe from Gordon Lish
The Impossibly Cool Album Covers of Blue Note Records
A Meal of 50 Courses Over 6 Hours. Is This the Future of Dining?
Cat tongue research could change the way we brush our hair and clean rugs — big news for allergy sufferers.
Art Bra
For centuries fishermen in Nazaré Portugal taught their children to avoid the huge waves that crashed against the nearby cliffs. Then the extreme surfers showed up
The Story of an Iconic Statue: Behind Degas's Little Dancer
Creating a Century of Portraits in My Living Room
Grina - a word with two contradictory definitions. Via PfRC
Saving the Abandoned Home of Frederick Law Olmsted, Central Park Designer
Your meals aren't Pinterest perfect? Neither are mine and this is why. How Food Stylists Trick Us Into Thinking Food Looks Better Than It Really Does
His dad found a box at a boot sale. There was some good stuff inside. Via Blort
Shigeru Ban designs pyramidal bourbon distillery for Kentucky Owl Park
Saturday, November 24, 2018
X-Ray of a Spacesuit
X-ray of the suit Alan B. Shepard wore on the Moon during the Apollo 14 mission in 1971.
See a cutaway and more here
Via
Tweet of the Day
ViaI replaced the Amazon can you feel it commercial music with the theme from Winter Soldier pic.twitter.com/rXMcDGoWcJ— Omar Najam (@OmarNajam) November 24, 2018
Lenny is designed to make telemarketing unprofitable
Lenny is a lonely old man who is up for a chat (in an Australian accent) and is every telemarketer’s worst nightmare. He is a chatbot designed to fight telemarketing spam with automated trolling.
Read more about Lenny here.
Via Boing Boing
Read more about Lenny here.
Via Boing Boing
Charles Michèle de l'Epée Google Doodle ド・レペ
Today Google honors Charles Michèle de l'Epée on his 306th birthday. The doodle shows “Google” in sign language based on ideas of Abbé de l'Épée. He developed a visual method that became the blueprint for the teaching of the deaf.
Friday, November 23, 2018
Handmade Electric Bicycles
The Solar System Quilt
In 1876 Sarah Ellen Harding Baker, a teacher and astronomer in Cedar County, Iowa, spent 7 years embroidering an appliqued quilt to use as a visual aid in lectures. The work is now housed at The Smithsonian National Museum of American History,
More: Open Culture
Tweet of the Day
Some of the comments are hilarious.
This drawing from a Heimlich Manoeuvre how-to contains more complex emotion than nearly every novel pic.twitter.com/jHWWjLpvE0— Chris Currie (@furioushorses) November 23, 2018
The Gift of Colour
Jeff Dishmon, a correctional deputy and SWAP farm manager with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, spent his whole life colourblind until he received a pair enchroma glasses.
Via TYWKIWDBI
Via TYWKIWDBI
Star Wars R2-D2 VW bus
mimaki cg60 transformed this 1992 Volkswagen camper bus into the R2-D2 droid from Star Wars. The measurements and computer work took about 50 hours, plus vinyl wrapping.
Here's how it was done
Here's how it was done
Time-lapse Film of Storms and Clouds
This time lapse video by photographer Ron Risman pays tribute to the beauty above us.
Sky: A Motion Film Celebrating the Awe-Inspiring Beauty of the World Above Us from Ron Risman on Vimeo.
Sky: A Motion Film Celebrating the Awe-Inspiring Beauty of the World Above Us from Ron Risman on Vimeo.
Thursday, November 22, 2018
Tweet of the Day
We are all this little girl on Thanksgiving.— Randi Mayem Singer (@rmayemsinger) November 22, 2018
pic.twitter.com/uDVZisH65n
A Very Thermite Thanksgiving To All!
This video from 2010 is one of my most popular posts ever. I'm reposting it for those who haven't seen it:
Oh no, the family is arriving in five minutes and I forgot to put the turkey in the oven! Whatever shall I do? Cooking a twenty-five pound turkey in under thirty seconds with ten pounds of thermite. (Best done outdoors).
Via
The Party Bus
The Party Bus was directed by Show Yanagisawa for Shiseido cosmetics. It's a beautiful film that blends live action and stop motion animation.
See how the film was made
See how the film was made
Ikea Dogs
An Ikea store in Catania, Italy is doing its part to help its stray dog population keep warm in the fall and winter months by allowing them to sleep in the store.
The dogs receive daily food and pampering from Ikea’s employees and customers. Some dogs have even found a family, going home with customers.
More: GOOD
The dogs receive daily food and pampering from Ikea’s employees and customers. Some dogs have even found a family, going home with customers.
More: GOOD
Jean-Luc Godard
A repost:
Bande à part (Band of Outsiders) is a 1964 film by Jean-Luc Godard about two grifters with a fondness for Hollywood B movies. This scene is priceless.Wednesday, November 21, 2018
What are you waiting for, Sandra?
"FUCKING DINNER TIME, SANDRA" pic.twitter.com/eKyeCuRP0h— Paul Bronks (@BoringEnormous) November 20, 2018
The Psychedelic Animations of Keiichi Tanaami
Japanese creator Keiichi Tanaami has produced a body of work whose earliest pieces go back to the 1950s. His vision is a mixture of pop culture and and symbolic iconography drawn from America, Japan, and his own psyche. I like this cheerful 1973 animation of John Lennon's "Oh, Yoko!" :
Read more about Tanaami and see more of his work at Open Culture
Read more about Tanaami and see more of his work at Open Culture
A pre-Jonestown album by Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple
In November, 1978 charismatic cult leader, Rev. Jim Jones, directed his followers to kill themselves in the jungles of Guyana where he had set up a religious community. In a story that shocked the world more than nine hundred members of the Peoples Temple followed his directive. Five years earlier Jones and the Peoples Temple released He's Able, a gospel album featuring the congregation's choir and their leader.
Survivors of the Jonestown tragedy talk about the making of the album here
The Story Behind That IKEA Photo of Amsterdam
Who made this photo, why was it made, and how did it end up as a best selling photograph at IKEA? Tom Roes decided to find out.
More here
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
The breathtaking courage of Harriet Tubman
"Escaping slavery; risking everything to save her family; leading a military raid; championing the cause of women’s suffrage; these are just a handful of the accomplishments of one of America’s most courageous heroes."
2012
This hand-painted cel animation by New York-born freelance animator Ingo Raschka plays out the storyline of two characters on a Tinder date.
2012 from Ingo Raschka on Vimeo.
More: It's Nice That
2012 from Ingo Raschka on Vimeo.
More: It's Nice That
Want more people to vote? Make it easier for them.
As Secretary of State, I asked McDonald's to print a million voter registration forms on their tray liners.— Sherrod Brown (@SherrodBrown) November 20, 2018
To this day, if you go to the Board of Elections, you’ll find registration forms with ketchup and mustard stains.
We should be making it easier—not harder—to vote. pic.twitter.com/aINjsBsSX0
Monday, November 19, 2018
Flowers Blooming
Flowers Blooming 2 is a time-lapse short film by Slovakian photographer Majo Chudý that shows 929 hours of flowers blooming. It took nine months to capture a total of more than 40,000 shots.
Flowers blooming 2 from Majo Chudý on Vimeo.
More here
Flowers blooming 2 from Majo Chudý on Vimeo.
More here
One Town,Infinite Borders
The town of Baarle straddles an international border, with half of it belonging to the Dutch and the other half to the Belgians. With dozens of border crossings throughout town, many houses, shops and even roads are split in two. And with two countries comes two sets everything—two mayors, two flags, two council and even two sets of laws.
The Town That Straddles Two Countries from Great Big Story on Vimeo.
The Town That Straddles Two Countries from Great Big Story on Vimeo.
‘The Perils of Masturbation’—a cautionary tale
Le livre sans titre (“The Book With No Title”) was published in in 1830 as warning to young French men about the consequences of masturbation, a malady which lead to early death. It tells the story of a young man who was his mother's pride and joy until he discovered masturbation. He died bald and covered in pustules at just 17 years of age.
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| His chest is buckling. He vomits blood. |
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| His entire body is covered in pustules. He is a horrible sight. |
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| At the age of 17 he dies in horrible torments. |
More: Dangerous Minds
Sunday, November 18, 2018
100 Years, Age Of Beauty
Quebec photographer Arianne Clement is interested in the “invisible” people living in her community and now devotes a big part of her art to the elderly. In her series of portraits of 10 centenarians, Arianne questions society’s obsession with youth and beauty standards.
Link
Link
Sunday Links
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| Photo: Londonist |
Where To Find a Prickle of Hedgehogs In Central London
A Debaculous Fiasco : The most expensive, bizarre, and obscure work ever created by Dr. Seuss. Thanks Bruce!
A Selection of the 30 Most Disappointing Under 30
Michael Jantzen's Interactive Octagonal Garden Pavilion
Why Do People Steal Their Co-workers’ Lunch?
A short twitter story about a girl and her demon
Three Feet From God: An Oral History of Nirvana ‘Unplugged’ Via
Common Sayings Updated for American Culture Via
The Epic Rise and Fall Of The Name Heather
Canada remapped: In 2013 journalist Patrick Cain remapped Canada creating 14 provinces with equal populations. Thanks Bruce!
Coltrane's Giants Steps solo played by a robot!
Chop Suey sells For $91.9 Million at Christie’s
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum : Some Were Neighbors
Nineteenth-Century Textspeak
This Cactus Is So Hot It Destroys Nerve Fibers Could it be an alternative to opioids?
20,000 Dear Abby letters analyzed in study of "American" anxieties
This is Our Lane : An Open Letter to the NRA from American Healthcare Professionals
Build Your Own Copper Still Make purified water, essential oils such as rose water and lavender oil, and even ethanol (alcohol)
For Sale: 24 Steps From the Eiffel Tower's Spiral Staircases
Free Vintage Design Guide to Japanese Waves
Still Bend/Schwartz House is Frank Lloyd Wright's built version of his Life Magazine "Dream House" design from 1938. And you can rent it! Via
What If the International Space Station Were Empty? Thanks Bruce!
Saturday, November 17, 2018
Surgeons With Chainsaws
Once every four years, skilled loggers travel to the area around Lake Ägeri in Switzerland to collect mature trees in a sustainable harvesting tradition.
INS HOLZ (IN THE WOODS) from Thomas Horat on Vimeo.
Link
Via Blort
INS HOLZ (IN THE WOODS) from Thomas Horat on Vimeo.
Link
Via Blort
The Ghastlygun Tinies
Some satires speak for themselves. The Ghastlygun Tinies for Mad Magazine by writer Matt Cohen and artist Marc Palm is one of them.
See the whole Album on Imgur. It is truly poignant.
See the whole Album on Imgur. It is truly poignant.
Vintage Coke Pop Can Designs
I don't remember these Coke cans - do you? The retro styling still has a lot of appeal.
More: Inspiredology
Thanks Bruce!
More: Inspiredology
Thanks Bruce!
Friday, November 16, 2018
A Japanese History of America Shows George Washington Punching Tigers and Other Scenes You Won't See In American History Books
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| George Washington (with bow and arrow) alongside the Goddess of America |
Osanaetoki Bankokubanashi (童絵解万国噺), an 1861 book by writer Kanagaki Robun and artist Utagawa Yoshitora, shows a view of America that is fantastical rather than historically correct.
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| George Washington punching a tiger |
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| John Adams and an eagle kill the snake that ate his Mom. |
More: Open Culture
Forget the ugly sweater! Do you have your 3 Piece Christmas Suit yet?
The Bay, Canada's iconic retailer, is selling godawful Christmas suits that include a jacket, pants and a tie in tons of holiday-inspired patterns for just $129.00. Apparently you can dress the whole family up like gaudily wrapped Christmas gifts.
More: Narcity
Nuns are saving a sacred species from extinction
Conservationists from Chester Zoo have formed a partnership with an order of nuns to save an endangered Mexican salamander from extinction. According to scientists, the nuns hold the key to bringing the axolotl back from the brink.
BBC News
BBC News
New Paintings by Lindsay Chambers
Lindsay Chambers is a contemporary Canadian artist who currently lives and works in Toronto.
See her work on Instagram
Thanks Bruce!
See her work on Instagram
Thanks Bruce!
Thursday, November 15, 2018
Tea Towels That Do More Than Dry The Dishes
Radical Tea Towel inspires a change in the way we do politics, one tea towel at a time. I enjoy their Tweets.
"No society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical aid because of lack of means"
Need a break from useless cabinet ministers? Nye Bevan was born today in 1897. #nyebevan #wales #NHS #labour #socialism #healthcare #rttc #radicalteatowel https://t.co/5ZvRWneDEc— Radical Tea Towel Co (@radicalteatowel) November 15, 2018
What Vivian Maier Saw in Colour
Vivian Maier worked as a nanny in Chicago but she also had a secret passion. From the nineteen-fifties until 2009 Maier took at least a hundred and fifty thousand photographs which were discovered by accident after her death. I've seen many of her black and white photographs online but was surprised - and pleased - to come across this article on her colour work in the The New Yorker.
I'm reminded that there is a Vivian Maier exhibition at the AGH that I've been meaning to see.
Previously here and here
I'm reminded that there is a Vivian Maier exhibition at the AGH that I've been meaning to see.
Previously here and here
New Dumbo Trailer
"From Disney and visionary director Tim Burton, “Dumbo” expands on the beloved classic story where differences are celebrated, family is cherished and dreams take flight."
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Rescued Scottish Wildcat Kittens Among Last of Their Kind
I was unfamiliar with this species until I watched a documentary last night. It is the only wild feline left on the island of Great Britain.
Mind Your Own F**king Business
Actor/puppeteer/comedian Cat O'Dell offers help for those who are having a sad because that family is enjoying a picnic together while being black.
Via Blort
Via Blort
In case you've been wondering, this is how Du Bois is pronounced
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was an American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author, writer and editor
Check out this little gem of an artefact. It’s a letter to W. E. B. Du Bois that he has annotated with handwritten instructions on how to pronounce his name. Thanks to our friends at the Du Bois Center in Great Barrington for showing us this! #dubois150 #dewboys #livinghistory pic.twitter.com/B20ZndnyKd— W.E.B. DuBois Center (@DuBoisUMass) November 12, 2018
Paper Cut Artwork of Peter Callesen
Danish artist Peter Callesen transforms single flat sheets of white paper into intricate objects and installations.
More: Puppies and Flowers
Thanks Bruce!
A Leaf A Day
A Leaf A Day is a short film by Casey Cavanaugh. Mr. Zhou 's wife is on an international mission to the Gulf of Aden to help fight pirates and he doesn't know when she'll return. To express his love and longing for her he carves a leaf a day.
A leaf a day 一日一叶 from Xiaoxing Han on Vimeo.
A leaf a day 一日一叶 from Xiaoxing Han on Vimeo.
How to Use the World's Largest Polaroid Camera
Thirty years ago Polaroid’s founder Edwin Land made seven 20×24-inch instant cameras, and only six of them are known to exist today. This camera at Supersense in Vienna weighs over 235 pounds (107kg).
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Man Drove His Truck Into Flames To Aid California Wildfire Victims And There's A Happy Ending!
Allyn Pierce, a nurse at the hospital in Paradise, CA drove his beloved Toyota Tundra into the raging wildfires to help people, severely damaging his truck in the process. Toyota recognized his bravery by giving him a brand new truck.
More here
Film Shot Through the Viewfinder of a Hasselblad
Peripheral is a short film by cinematographer Casey Cavanaugh that is shot entirely through the ground glass viewfinder of a Hasselblad 500C/M.
More here
More here
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