Saturday, February 29, 2020
When The Beatles Came to Montreal
The Museum Of Nothing
NO SHOW MUSEUM, established in Zurich, Switzerland in 2013 by Swiss conceptual artist and curator Andreas Heusser, is dedicated to artworks which depict nothing in all its forms. Its collection includes around 400 works and documents from 150 internationally renowned artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, among them, Marina Abramovic, Joseph Beuys, Maurizio Cattelan, Marcel Duchamp, Ceal Floyer, Hans Haacke, Yves Klein, Piero Manzoni, Gianni Motti, Robert Rauschenberg, Man Ray, Robert Ryman, Richard Serra, Santiago Sierra, Andy Warhol, and Rémy Zaugg.
Via MeFi
Via MeFi
The Typewriter, by Leroy Anderson
"The typewriter was modified so that only two keys work to prevent the keys from jamming. According to the composer himself, as well as other musicians, the typewriter part is difficult because of how fast the typing speed is: even professional stenographers cannot do it, and only professional drummers have the necessary wrist flexibility."
Via Boing Boing
Friday, February 28, 2020
People Wearing Masks During The 1918 Influenza Pandemic
After WWI, the Spanish flu pandemic swept across the world killing an estimated 50 million people. Masks were the uninfected’s main line of defense.
More here
More here
A Brief 2000-Year History of Vending Machines
"Throughout the 20th century, entrepreneurs put everything conceivable inside vending contraptions, including but not limited to: coal, eggs, potatoes (both solid and mashed), books, tableware, fishing worms, pints of draft beer, cat hats and dog wigs (alongside more conventional product like newspapers and magazines, of course)."
The BIBLIO-MAT from Craig Small on Vimeo.
Read more: 99% Invisible
The story of Klepetan & Malena
15 years ago, on a red roof top in a small village in Croatia, Klepetan met Malena!
And they’ve been together since.
And they’ve been together since.
Thursday, February 27, 2020
The Revolution's Here
Like every kid in the olden days I had an Etch A Sketch and created lineographic stick figures until I became bored with the limitations of the toy. Finally, after sixty years, Etch A Sketch has come up with a sweet little version called The Revolution that lets you draw curves and circles.
Boing Boing
Boing Boing
Developing 120-Year-Old Cat Photos Found in a Family Time Capsule
YouTuber Mathieu Stern used a very old photographic printing method, called Cyanotype, to develop some glass plate negatives he found in the basement of his old family home.
Read more: PetaPixel
Read more: PetaPixel
Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery
"Information Wanted" notices were placed by African-Americans separated from family members by war, slavery and emancipation.
More than 900 of these have been digitized in a project called Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery, a collaboration between Villanova University's graduate history program and Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia.
More NPR
More than 900 of these have been digitized in a project called Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery, a collaboration between Villanova University's graduate history program and Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia.
More NPR
Leopard Pulls Food Out Of Crocodile's Mouth
In a bold move a leopard in Kruger National Park in Africa comes across a crocodile eating its dinner and decides he fancies a piece of it.
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
The Lockmakers Of Dindigul
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| The mango button lock opens only when you turn the key after pressing a hidden button. KAMALA THIAGARAJAN |
"Until the 1980s, perhaps 1,800 locksmiths lived and worked in Dindigul. Today, only about 200 practitioners know how to craft a typical Dindigul door lock, also called a bullet lock. It’s a complicated metal contraption, with nine inner levers that operate five cylindrical steel rods simultaneously; the rods latch into place with every twist of the key."Today four elderly locksmiths work at the government-run Dindigul Lock, Hardware and Steel Furniture Workers’ Industrial Cooperative Society (DICO). Each of these master craftsmen makes three to five locks a day, for which they earn about 350 rupees (or $5).
More about this dwindling industry: Atlas Obscura
Fantasia by Teemu Nikki
A country boy doesn’t want to eat potatoes. He wants something more exotic.
Fantasia by Teemu Nikki from It's Alive on Vimeo.
Fantasia by Teemu Nikki from It's Alive on Vimeo.
Props given: the graphic artworks of Annie Atkins
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| A tailor’s toolkit. |
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Various rubber stamps. Photograph: Flora Fricker/Annie Atkins |
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| Olivetti Valentine (1968 (nicknamed ‘The Portable Red’), photograph by Bruce Atkins, collection of John Gloyne. Photograph: Bruce Atkins/Annie Atkins. |
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London Zoo, signage, for Penny Dreadful, Showtime Networks, graphic designer: Annie Atkins, sign painter: Laurence O Toole. Photograph: Flora Fricker/Annie Atkins |
More: The Guardian
And she's written a book!
Here's a 2016 video of her work:
The Cat Piano
The Cat Piano is a video narrated by Nick Cave in which a city of singing cats is preyed upon by a shadowy figure intent on performing a twisted feline symphony.
You'll be relieved to know that the Katzenklavier or cat piano experiment probably never took place. But it was supposedly invented by German polymath and Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680), a serious scholar and a man of science. Maybe the Katzenklavier was intended as a sick joke that others took seriously.
More: Open Culture
You'll be relieved to know that the Katzenklavier or cat piano experiment probably never took place. But it was supposedly invented by German polymath and Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680), a serious scholar and a man of science. Maybe the Katzenklavier was intended as a sick joke that others took seriously.
More: Open Culture
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Behavioral Economics for Dogs
B.E. for Dogs is a bi-weekly comic series created by Matt Trower, Catherine Berman, and Jamie Foehl that looks at concepts in behavioral economics from a canine perspective.
Via TMN
Via TMN
I Choose You
Decatur Public Schools asked its teachers to choose a student who inspired them to come to work every day, and to tell that student. The video will warm your cold dark heart.
Via Miss Cellania
Via Miss Cellania
Flower-doll Plant
The Calceolária (flower-doll) is a mountain plant, native to South America, that grows only 10 cm tall. It reminds me of a nursery rhyme:
Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow?Link
With silver bells, and cockle shells, And pretty maids all in a row.
What's Inside
Monday, February 24, 2020
Tweet Of The Day
This cat’s first time seeing a memory foam mattress pic.twitter.com/QIHdaU5Zoq— Naturism.Com💎💎 (@NaturismC) February 15, 2020
Via Everlasting Blort
Chunyun
The world's largest annual human migration takes place every Chinese New Year with over three billion passenger-journeys.
Chunyun from Jonathan Bregel on Vimeo.
Chunyun from Jonathan Bregel on Vimeo.
The Short Films And Commercials Of Wes Anderson
"It seems that every time Wes Anderson makes a commercial, he really does make a short film. Sometimes he makes both: after he directed a 44-second ad for Prada, he went on with the fashion house's sponsorship to direct the seven-minute Castello Cavalcanti":
Open Culture brings us a YouTube playlist of eight of Anderson's commercials and short films.
Related
Tilt Shift Russia
These photographs make the urban landscapes of Russia look like cute toy cities
The images above are from BigPicture.RU
See more: English Russia
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| Vladikavkaz |
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| Moscow |
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| Vyborg |
The images above are from BigPicture.RU
See more: English Russia
Best Year in Music
The Pudding takes us on an interactive trip through every Billboard top 5 hit from 1958-2019 to find the Best Year in Music.
Did You Know?
In #Devonshire, it was thought lucky to have a stillborn child put (unofficially) into any open grave, as it was considered a sure passport to heaven for the next person buried there.#folklore #deathlore— Old Weird Britain (@oldweirdbritain) February 15, 2020
Image: John Everett Millais pic.twitter.com/dleWJlibct
An Unusual View Of Niagara Falls
Frequent contributor Bruce sent me this photo of the Falls from above via Earth View. I drive by there at least once a week.
Sunday, February 23, 2020
Never Do A Backflip In High Heels
Thanks Bruce!Sick flip bruh pic.twitter.com/gADC0Qs213— Human Beeing | 🐐 (@human_not_bees) February 19, 2020
Sunday Links
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| PHOTO BY JACK MOEBES FOR THE GREENSBORO NEWS and RECORD. (CORBIS) |
In 2015, Signed, Sealed and Undelivered began to research a 17th-century trunk of letters that once belonged to a pair of Dutch postmasters. Via The Morning News
A stream of AI generated Art from an AI artist that was trained on a carefully selected set of cubist art pieces. Via PfRC
Mercury In Transit Mercury orbits the Sun once every 88 Earth days but the three bodies align only about 13 times a century. See the ‘Mercury transit’ that occurred on 11 November 2019.
Celestial observatory in an extinct volcano in the American desert is set to open after 45 years
I'm a fan of documentaries and have seen 18 of these: 21 Documentaries That Redefined the Genre
This week commemorates FDR’s internment of Japanese-Americans: Front pages from a Japanese-English newspaper at the time
You Can Hear Pearl Jam’s New Song By Pointing Your Phone At The Moon
A list of open access image libraries
Perfect for blogging? A beautiful cantilevered poet's writing studio over forested hillside
“A Very Speedy Way to Be Besotted”: How the English Found Cannabis
A Guide to Midwestern Conversation Cute.
Artist Reimagines Animals as Big Friendly Giants The thought of my wildcat, Carmen, being larger that I am casts terror into my heart.
One-room schoolhouse, 1921
In the World Of a Snail Lovely macro images by Ukrainian photographer Vyacheslav Mischenko
The Upside of Upside-Down Jellyfish: The unexpected engineer of mangrove ecosystems is a jellyfish that swims the wrong way.
Toronto's Winter Stations structures built on Toronto's lakefront encourage visitors to play outside in the freezing winter. Via PfRC
Patient plays violin during brain surgery
The Construction of the Forth Railway Bridge It remains an incredible feat of 19th century engineering.
17th Century Death Roulette ☠️: see what you might’ve died from in 1665. Via Memo Of The Air
Was Jeanne Calment the Oldest Person Who Ever Lived—or a Fraud?
Jeannette Montgomery Barron's black and white portraits of artists in New York in the 1980s
And finally: Mardi Gras Recipes for Fat Tuesday
Tweet Of The Day
Powerful report on LAFD station in skid row - I'd say pay these people double whatever they're being paid. fyi @NagOnTheLake https://t.co/aJ6z0Qcwxd— madamjujujive (@madamjujujive) February 23, 2020
Saturday, February 22, 2020
Strike Your Fancy
These matchboxes and prints of cats and dogs by Ravi Zupa and Arna Miller are absolutely adorable. I'm partial to the drunken cats.
Here's one for those of you who prefer doggos:
Link
Via Everlasting Blort
Here's one for those of you who prefer doggos:
Link
Via Everlasting Blort
Songs That Sound the Same
I just discovered that some songs I am very familiar with have similar melodies, riffs, or chord progressions and am wondering why I never noticed this before.
Via MetaFilter
Via MetaFilter
Firebird III: The Car Of My Dreams
GM's fancy finned Firebird III debuted at Motorama in 1959. It had seven (count 'em) fins and tiny wings! I want one just so I can holler "To the Nagmobile!" at my trusty sidekick, Harold, every time we go to the grocery store.
More here
Friday, February 21, 2020
‘Parasite’ house recreated in the Sims 4
Simkoong Architect meticulously crafted a digital Sims version of the Park house, and it’s an impressively faithful recreation of the fictional location.
Via Curbed
Via Curbed
Whisky Is A Clever Girl
Scientists have trained Whisky, a 6 year old border collie, to learn the names of 90 different toys and fetch them on request.
Source: NYT
Source: NYT
Maesteg
A cabbie’s tour of his Welsh hometown where the jobs are gone but the stories remain.
MAESTEG from Theodore Tennant on Vimeo.
My mother was born in Wales and her mother had the most charming accent. Hearing these Welsh voices reminds me of her.
Aeon Videos
MAESTEG from Theodore Tennant on Vimeo.
My mother was born in Wales and her mother had the most charming accent. Hearing these Welsh voices reminds me of her.
Aeon Videos
The Old-School Contraption That Simulated the Sun Passing Over a House
Prior to modeling software, architects needed a way to determine how the passing of the sun would affect houses they were working on. The solution was the heliodon, a sun emulator that accurately demonstrated the motion of the sun relative to a building for designing solar aware architecture.
Source: Core77
Via @KufferPit
Source: Core77
Via @KufferPit
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes
Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes, the short documentary that resulted from Jon Ronson visiting Kubrick’s house shortly after the director’s death.
Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes from Ryan Pumroy on Vimeo.
Via
Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes from Ryan Pumroy on Vimeo.
Via
Nigel
A short film based on the true story of Nigel, the lonely gannet of Mana Island who fell hopelessly in love with a concrete statue.
Nigel from Natasza Cetner on Vimeo.
Previously
Nigel from Natasza Cetner on Vimeo.
Previously
Bosch Parade
The Bosch Parade is an annual celebration in the Netherlands in honour of the 15th century Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch. Floats are designed by professional artists and designers who collaborate with choreographers and composers and directors.
More Here
Salvador Dali On The Dick Cavett Show
So Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali walks onto the Dick Cavett Show in March 1970 with an anteater he has borrowed from the Bronx Zoo and tosses it into the lap of another of the evening's guests, silent-film star Lillian Gish.
More here: Open Culture
More here: Open Culture
Tweet Of The Day
Indonesia’s Spider-Man is helping clean up garbage in Parepare, because with great trash comes great recyclability pic.twitter.com/5ZTF8LW6K8— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 19, 2020
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
The day Superman saved a London Underground train
Back in the day Superman could usually be found in Metropolis but in Superman 4, the absolute worst Superman movie, he visited the London Underground. Watch him doing his stuff at Aldwych station which was mocked up to look like a New York subway.
In his autobiography, Still Me, Christopher Reeve only refers to Superman IV in this one sentence: "The less said about Superman IV the better."
See more: ianVisits
In his autobiography, Still Me, Christopher Reeve only refers to Superman IV in this one sentence: "The less said about Superman IV the better."
See more: ianVisits
Ram-Don from Parasite
In award winning movie Parasite, boujee beef sits atop bargain noodles in the Park family's version of Ram-Don, the way they sit atop others.
Via
Via
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Jetpacker hits 150MPH at 6000 feet!
On February 14th jetman Vince Reffet took to the skies of Dubai. In 8 seconds he had reached 100 meters height, in 12 seconds 200m, 19 seconds 500m, and reached 1000m in 30 seconds at an average speed of 130 knots. At the end of a 3-minute flight he opened his parachute at 1500m before landing back at Skydive Dubai.
Via
Via
The lexicon of break-ups.
Breadcrumbing, submarining, caspering, pocketing, benching, curving? I could never break up with Mr. Nag, I don't have the right words.
Via
Via
Japanese Firemen’s Coats (19th century)
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| Commoner's firefighting jacket decorated with a spider hovering over an abandoned Go board. Link |
Fires were a common threat in Edo period Japan (1615–1868). Traditional Japanese houses were made of wood and paper and built with little or no space in between. The fire brigades were socially segregated into samurais (buke hikeshi) or commoners (machi hikeshi) who would destroy the buildings surrounding the fire in an effort to contain it. Firefighters wore reversible multi-layered coats (hikeshi banten) with the name of their brigade on one side and elaborate imagery on the other. The coats would be worn plain-side out and thoroughly soaked in water before the firefighters entered the scene of the blaze.
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| Fireman's coat (19th century) depicting the hero Musashibo Benkei's fight with an evil carp (Link) |
See more: The Public Domain Review
The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser Was the Way To Travel in 1947
Debating whether to recline one's seat an inch or two was not an issue, neither was air rage. Roomy seats, berths and dressing rooms were standard, as were china and silverware. There was a lower deck lounge and a private luxury compartment.
Those were the days. Sigh.
More here
Tweet Of The Day
I think, she just made him turn in his man card 🤣 pic.twitter.com/lSYmGX7vOi— Kevin W. (@Brink_Thinker) February 18, 2020
Monday, February 17, 2020
Heritage on the Edge
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| Historic Mosque City of Bagerhat in 2010. (Photograph by Amos Chapple) |
Heritage on the Edge is a collaboration between UNESCO and Google that highlights the problems posed by climate change to five UNESCO World Heritage sites and the efforts being made to preserve aspects of cultural importance. Great site!
Rapa Nui
Chan Chan
Kilwa Kisiwani
Bagerhat
Edinburgh
Via
Carpenter Gothic
Sculptor Ted Lott builds miniature architecture with found furniture as a base. He uses a bandsaw as a scaled sawmill to make tiny pieces of wood and other proportioned raw materials. Below are examples from his Carpenter Gothic collection:
Link to artist's site
Via Colossal
Link to artist's site
Via Colossal
Who Are The People On This 60-Year-Old Film Roll?
French photographer Mathieu Stern found an undeveloped roll of film in an old Russian camera he bought at a flea market. He developed the film, did a bit of detective work and would like to track down the people in the vintage images.
Link
Via Memo Of The Air
Link
Via Memo Of The Air
Wibmer's Law
Fabio Wibmer is an Austrian mountain bike rider and web video producer. This is amazing.
Sunday, February 16, 2020
Is seat reclining on an airplane ever okay?
There's been a brouhaha about airplane seat etiquette this week. To recline or not to recline? The Washington Post weighs in. I blame the airlines. Could they make economy flights more uncomfortable? Seat comfort, legroom and customer service have diminished drastically over the years making passengers cranky as hell. I am just 5 feet tall and don't have enough legroom and I always feel slightly claustrophobic. I fly often (mostly transatlantic) and use travel points to upgrade to business class if my flight is more than 8 hours. It's not the passengers, it's the airlines that are creating the perfect storm for air rage.
Bracelet of Silence
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| Image: Petra Ford for The New York Times |
More: The New York Times
Rhubarb, The Noisy Vegetable
Forced rhubarb, which grows up to an inch a day, makes a lot of noise for a vegetable. As the stalks burst up out of their initial buds, they create a distinct popping sound, and as they get larger, the stalks rub together and create squeaks and creaks.
Via Gastro Obscura
Via Gastro Obscura
Sunday Links
Miami's Midcentury Modern Lifeguard Stations (photo above)
A wooden Iron Lung Via Everlasting Blort
Curly Hair On Dial-Up Her modem led her to the natural hair underground.
The Cat Trial of the Century Who stole Marmaduke Gingerbits?
This Horrific “Yarn” Is Made From Human Flesh
The Etymology of an Earworm : Whomst Among Us Let the Dogs Out
After his mother passed away because she couldn’t get to a hospital in time, Karimul Haque turned grief into action and started his free ambulance service in a remote area of India. Link to video
Lovely conversion of CFA Voysey's Arts and Crafts hospital. This video shows the challenges that faced this conservation project at the outset.
Just what you'd expect: Every grunt from Michael Jackson isolated and then replayed at half-speed.
U.S. and German intelligence agencies partnered on a scheme to dupe dozens of nations into buying rigged encryption systems — taking their money and stealing their secrets. How the CIA used encryption devices to spy on countries for decades Quite the story!
In case your were wondering. I know I was: Here’s What It’s Like to Survive the Coronavirus in Wuhan
A puzzle game for those of you who like this sort of thing: WIZ
For 13 years, this photographer has been building an incredible 3D digital model of Athens
The Artists Illustrating New York's Growing Protest Culture
Everyone sees eye-to-eye at a Same Height Party
The playlist of 27 songs Lou Reed created before his death Via
Bagpipes Knowledge Everything you need to know about this annoying instrument.
How the Met and MCA Chicago Describe Artworks Online for Blind People
Iran Tries to Pass Off $20 Walmart Costume as Space Suit
Would you come to my house for dinner if Pigeon Steak was on the menu?
Why Chateau Marmont Valets Are "Unsung Heroes" of Hollywood Thanks Bruce!
Do you enjoy making people look foolish? Then you'll enjoy these Prank Stickers
Inside the chimney
Saturday, February 15, 2020
Take A Moon Selfie Through A Toilet Roll Tube
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The Sequino!
It's sparkle time! The Sequino by architect, industrial designer and tinkerer, ekaggrat singh kalsi, is a cylindrical robotic clock that displays the time in sequins.
Read more here
Read more here
Don't Ride With Your Feet on the Dash!
Do you like to ride with your feet on the dashboard? You might not after you see this.
Thanks Bruce!
Thanks Bruce!
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