Nag on the Lake: May 2020

Sunday, May 31, 2020

Watercolor floor plans of houses from movies and television

Boryana Ilieva is a Bulgarian architect. Floor Plan Croissant (@fplancroissant) is her poetic survey of cinematic architecture.

View this post on Instagram

Imagine a world where architects design houses based on a scenario and thus direct the life of the future inhabitants. Nowadays it is mostly cinema that preserves this dream and it is director Bong Joon-Ho who built such a house for his latest film Parasite. He designed it based on the script he wrote. Read below for yourselves what formed the shapes of Bong Joon-ho's house: 1. People should be able to spy on each other, easily listening to conversations without being seen 2. The coffee table and bed need to be big enough and high enough to fit lying people under 3. There has to be a manifested shining entrance leading to the biggest secret in the house 4. The second-floor hallway needs to offer hiding niches Please, do add to that list! The film is absolute fun, but the greatest part is thinking about why Bong Joon-ho had to create this and that shape. In comments below! @parasitemovie #parasite #bongjoonho #productiondesign #interiorsketch @sodam_park_0908 @lightyears81 @neonrated @dntlrdl @cjent_usa @archdigest @posteraholic

A post shared by Floor Plan Croissant (@fplancroissant) on Oct 4, 2019 at 9:31am PDT

Via

Sunday Links

Corals from The Great Barrier Reef of Australia, 1893.
(Available as a print.)

The Great Barrier Reef: Stunning 19th-Century Illustrations from the World’s First Encyclopedia of One of Earth’s Most Vibrant and Delicate Ecosystems

If you own even one computer you cannot sing the blues. Everything you need to know about the blues.

JazzKeys, by Plan8 Listen to yourself type. It's fun. Via Imperica

Philip Roth doesn’t live here anymore - A good story about the author's friendship with his stonemason.

Handsome like a Japanese woodblock print Link Via everlasting blort

Ferry Cross the Mersey rusting away on the Thames

The coronavirus cruise: on board the Diamond Princess  They came for indulgence, relaxation and bottomless buffets. Then they found themselves trapped on a ship infected with a deadly virus.

This week's house envy is the historic 1872 gatehouse on the childhood estate of Eleanor Roosevelt in Germantown, NY. It is absolutely gorgeous!

Which are you more afraid of, guard tarantulas or Guard Pig?

Traveling Cats: For more than 15 years Vanessa Morgan has been taking pictures of every cat she meets during her travels around the world. (I also do this). Via Everlasting Blort

She thought it would be a lark  With just a shower curtain and a couple of pairs of Keds Grandma Gatewood was the first woman to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. She completed the 2,050 mile trail three times!

From licks to kicks:  Ben & Jerry Chunky Dunky shoes from Nike

The Home Stayer: These covers for a nonexistent magazine suit the COVID times and pay homage to The New Yorker.

Buried at the golf course Perfect for Trump who places golf ahead of human life.

After the Black Death, brewing became commercialized, with taverns and alehouses for drinking and playing games and the British Pub was born. Via FB friend Dave.

The Long, Painful History of Police Brutality in the U.S.
Science Fiction Timeline of Inventions (Listed by Publication Date) Via TMN

Bye Bye Buffet? The all-you-can-eat buffet model is unlikely to survive the pandemic in its current form. (I, for one, won't be sorry to bid adieu to this icon of gluttony. )Via PfRC

Giant Military Cats: Just giant cats with military hardware. Via MeFi

The Resilience of Marga Griesbach She’s 92, made it through the Holocaust, and set off for a cruise around the world in February.

An ode to the frittata, a most versatile dish where anything goes.

How Pripyat Would Look If The Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster Had Never Happened

Bits Of London That Are Now In The USA Over the years, some important bits of London have found their way to America.

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Cat Sprinting and Pouncing in Slow Motion

Happy Caturday!

Via 3 Quarks Daily

Radio Recliner

Radio Recliner is a pirate radio station run by Resident DJs at senior living communities across the country, so they can stay connected while confined to their rooms. It's a charming idea, great for people in Seniors' facilities but hey, Mr. Nag and I like it too!

Via Imperica

Tweet Of The Day

The Koch’s woke up to a full grown moose in their pool. Ministry of natural resources is on their way. It’s been about 2 hours. #ottnews @ctvottawa pic.twitter.com/1OXCFSgtNh
— Saron Fanel CTV (@saronfanel) May 29, 2020

Crochet Sea Urchin Sculptures

Choi Shine Architects designed and created The Urchins, a series of 3 installations that promote sustainability through interactive art. Hand-crafting the pieces required a team of 50 and took nearly 3 months to complete. The Urchins interact with natural light during the day, and glow when illuminated at night.

More here

Plastered bullet holes from the Warsaw Uprising.

This series by Ukrainian photographer Valentyn Odnoviun was made in Warsaw, Poland, and presents the walls of the Church of the Holy Saviour, of the Church of the Minor Capuchins of Warsaw, and buildings with plastered bullet holes, which remain as traces of events that occurred during the Warsaw Uprising from August 1st until October 2nd of 1944 against Nazi German occupation.

Read more

Via TMN

Friday, May 29, 2020

Look Ma, No Wheels!

Following World War II, the United States military invested in the development of new hardware offering tactical advantages on future battlefields. One of the concepts was the 1960 Curtiss-Wright Model 2500 Air Car, a 21-foot-long, 8-foot-wide, 5-foot-tall behemoth.

Source

Adam Dant’s Map Of Viral London

Artist and cartographer Adam Dant’s Viral London is a cartographic representation of how the capital has been assaulted by epidemics throughout history. From the plague of 664AD which struck monastic communities, destabilised the church, to the AIDS crisis and ‘The London Patient’ who was the second case to be cured.

Read more at Spitalfields Life, a wonderful East London blog

Adam Dant’s limited edition prints including the VIRAL LONDON MAP are available to purchase through TAG Fine Arts

Thursday, May 28, 2020

Unique 62 acre 18th Century Swedish Village For Sale

I'm in. Who's coming with me?
An entire village of 70 buildings is on offer in Sala, a rural town in Sweden’s Vastmanland County, about 90 minutes north of Stockholm. Some of its structures date to 1700. It was operated continuously for 300 years, first as a wellness retreat and then as a holistic research and treatment center by Uppsala University from 1747 to 1999, the 62-acre village was built around a natural underground spring heralded for its therapeutic waters.

See more here and here

Tweet Of The Day

here's a dinosaur reading a bedtime story to puppies and I don't know who needs to see this but I sure as hell did pic.twitter.com/RYmymYjOOC
— shauna (@goldengateblond) May 28, 2020

Locked Down London April 2020

This film by photographer Mike Goldwater shows the eerie effect of Covid-19 on London.

London, April 2020 from Mike Goldwater on Vimeo.

More: Creative Boom

Why didn't I think of this?

Via Everlasting Blort

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Bolivian Orchestra Trapped in a German Castle Surrounded By Wolves

(Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

This is a weird story: A Bolivian pan flute orchestra has been stranded for 73 days in Frederick the Great's castle in Germany, unable to return to Bolivia due to the pandemic. And it gets worse: there are 23 confirmed wolf packs that make their home on the sprawling estate!
They have no idea how much longer they'll be confined to the castle grounds. Germany is now allowing international flights, but Bolivia's borders remain closed.
More: CBC News

Adorable Mid-century Modern Birdhouses

Sourgrassbuilt's mid-century modern birdhouses appeal to me. I'd live in one if it were large enough.

See more of Doug Barnard's work on Insta

Via Rusty's Electric Dreams

Tweet Of The Day

This 70-step trick shot just keeps getting better 🤯

(via creezy/YouTube) pic.twitter.com/2kBqQ04C0U
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 26, 2020

3D Printing Coral Reefs

Two architects use 3D printing to build new coral reefs and address California’s housing crisis.

Via Aeon

We Love NY

Bunny Lake Films' PSA is positive, inclusive, and very "New York." It won the Wear a Mask New York Ad Contest.

Via Boing Boing

What Did Ancient Rome Look Like?

This cinematic animation gives us a glimpse into the architecture, art and landscapes of ancient Rome.

Via

Previously

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

The Batmobile Through The Ages

A documentary history of the Dark Knight's automobile.

Via Boing Boing

‘The Monsters of Maps’

Documentary photographer and filmmaker Richard Tilney-Bassett looks at late-19th- and early-20th-century “serio-comic” or caricature maps.

The Map Room

Catspeak by Brooks Riley

Source: 3 Quarks Daily

The Union Glacier Camp in Antarctica

The Union Glacier Camp in Antarctica operates during the Antarctic summer (November through January) and is dismantled at the end of each season. It is located in the southern Ellsworth Mountains, on the vast Union Glacier and is only accessible by air via a naturally occurring blue-ice runway.

A very short guide to Union Glacier Camp from Studiocanoe on Vimeo.

Via TwistedSifter

Home-Grown Biodegradable Mask Made From Bacteria

Petroleum plastic masks don’t degrade in our environment for many years but these cellulose masks designed by Sum Studio would decompose as easily as vegetables or fruit. The designers hope this project will draw attention to the possible use of biodesign to provide sustainable solutions to many modern problems. And you can grow it in your own kitchen using readily available ingredients!

Xylinum Mask from Garrett Benisch on Vimeo.

More here

Monday, May 25, 2020

The Never-Ending Marathon of Mr. Dharam Singh

Dharampal Singh, according to himself and four hastily arranged forms of ID, is 119 years old. He likes to run.

The Never-Ending Marathon of Mr. Dharam Singh from MEL Films on Vimeo.

Via

Beer Catapult

Social distancing? No problem when you have a Beer Catapult

Collectively Counting, a poem for lockdown

Stephen James Smith is a Dublin poet and playwright central to the rise of the vibrant spoken word scene in Ireland today.

Collectively Counting is brought to you by First Fortnight, Ireland's Mental Health Festival.

Via

A Bedtime Story From Iggy Pop

As part of its series of new digital initiatives, NewMuseum announces “Bedtime Stories,” a project initiated by Maurizio Cattelan. In the first installment Iggy Pop tells a story about his adopted Mexican street dog.

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As part of its series of new digital initiatives, we're excited to announce “Bedtime Stories,” a project initiated by Maurizio Cattelan. Inviting friends and other artists and performers he admires to keep us company, Cattelan imagined “Bedtime Stories” as a way of staying together during these days of isolation. Each participant has been asked to read a selection from their favorite book – a sentence, passage, chapter, or more – to be shared with the New Museum’s online audiences. Some chose to read existing works, others to read their own writings, still others to create impromptu performances. Whether drawn from memory, imagination, or cherished volumes kept close at hand, the recordings by artists were captured quickly in an unfiltered fashion on phones or laptops in their homes or studios around the world. A new installment of “Bedtime Stories” will be made available each day through the end of June on our IGTV channel and at the link in our bio. First up, we have a bedtime story from Iggy Pop. @iggypopofficial @lomavistarecordings

A post shared by New Museum (@newmuseum) on May 14, 2020 at 10:10am PDT

Via Open Culture

The American Influenza Epidemic of 1918: A Digital Encyclopedia

This site contains the stories of the places, the people, and the organizations that battled the American influenza epidemic of 1918-1919.

Niagara Square, with the old Central High School on the left,
used as an emergency hospital during the epidemic.

The section on Buffalo, New York , not far from where I live, includes an essay, a timeline and images. It also mentions my town (Niagara-on-the-Lake) which was hit first.

On September 20, with reports of an influenza epidemic raging at the nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake military facility and news of the disease’s spread throughout the Northeast, Buffalo’s Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Franklin C. Gram (appointed in April when Health Commissioner Dr. Francis Fronczak was commissioned in the Army) asked city physicians to report to the Health Department any and all cases of influenza they encountered. Health Commissioner Gram’s goal was not only to get accurate statistics on the disease in his city, but also to isolate and quarantine all cases and contacts. Thus far, there were no official reports of influenza in Buffalo, but the Health Commissioner expected that to change shortly. He told the public that influenza was a serious disease, and that symptoms should not be dismissed even if mild. To drive the point home, he called influenza a disease as contagious as measles, a malady with which most families had more familiarity.1 Ten days later, Buffalo physicians had reported fifty cases in the city.2 Gram braced himself for the onslaught he knew was coming. More

Via Everlasting Blort

Iron Sky

In this comic-science-fiction action film Nazis escape to the moon, build a base on the dark side and plan to return in 2018 and conquer Earth.. (full length film)

Iron Sky - Dictator's Cut from Iron Sky on Vimeo.

More about the Iron Sky Project

Thanks Bruce!

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Happy Birthday Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan celebrates 79 years of living on this earth today. How about celebrating by flipping through the archives of his satellite radio show, Theme Time Radio Hour (2003-2006). Each show was based on a theme, from coffee to presidents, with Bob serving as curator, educator, philosopher and comedian.

Listen to episodes here.

Wind-up Monkey Chef

I may be sick of cooking but not sick enough to have this chef cook for me.
This c1880 wind-up monkey was made by the famous French toy manufacturer Roullet & Decamps. The toy is based on a macabre French children's song, La Mère Michel, in which a chef prepares and serves his neighbor's cat.

Via Pasa Bon!

Tweet Of The Day

Quite something... pic.twitter.com/XOwOogg04p
— Lord Ashcroft (@LordAshcroft) May 14, 2020

Via FB pal Hal

Device Captures Microplastic Particles From Car Tires

Tire wear pollution is calculated to be 1000 times more harmful than car exhaust fumes and is the second-largest microplastic pollutant in oceans after single-use plastic. The Tyre Collective aims to capture the problem at the source, safeguarding health and environment.

from designboom on Vimeo.

More here

Via PfRc

Sunday Links

Getty Images

FaceTime, With Lipstick there is something oddly soothing about reverting to purely cosmetic anxieties at a time when the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

Civilization Tables. Bring a taste of The Hegra, The Kailasa Temple or The Petra to your home.

Frances Goldin, longtime East Village/Lower East Side housing activist, has died at 95. Here's a great New York story about her.

Cocktails From Around the World That You Can Make at Home : You can’t travel, but you could probably use a drink. How about a Mexican tepache? Just don't cover it - it will explode!

Attention all Deadheads: Massive collection of Grateful Dead recordings available online free! Via MeFi

T Magazine’s annual Travel issue retraces the land routes of ancient explorers along the Silk Road.

Inside King Arthur Flour, the Company Supplying America's Sudden Baking Obsession  How King Arthur Flour found itself in the unlikely crosshairs of a pandemic.

These are not mechanical parts you see but ... butterfly eggs!

Fun to daydream: Modern-day castles to buy, from medieval and baroque estates to contemporary gems. Via Things

Graduate Student Solves Decades-Old Conway Knot Problem It took Lisa Piccirillo less than a week to answer a long-standing question about a strange knot discovered over half a century ago by the legendary John Conway.

Let's go for a Sunday drive! The Drive and Listen app lets you experience a virtual drive in dozens of cities around the world.

Pillow Girl (Ronnie Cramer) Psychedelic! Via Memo Of The Air

'Iso', 'boomer remover' and 'quarantini': how coronavirus is changing our language  Thanks Bruce!

Sure, the Velociraptors Are Still On the Loose, But That’s No Reason Not to Reopen Jurassic Park

Brooklyn, Before It Was a Global Brand: A virtual historical walk with some very nice photos.

You might be partying alone right now but that's all the more reason to make this late-night drunken party pasta recipe

There was a time when Londoners would rent pineapples instead of eating them

Feeling nostalgic for the old Mac startup chime? Here's how to bring it back

Measuring Mount Everest, the Rooftop of the World: Chinese surveyors are en route to the peak to assess the mountain’s height, which may have shrunk after the 2015 Nepal earthquake.

Thatcher Wine, guy with a funny name and book curator to the rich and famous, ranks celebrity bookshelves on Video Chat.

US Font Map: The United Fonts of America

The Cork City Dump is a haunted graveyard of your childhood  As charities stopped accepting toys they arrived in droves at the dump. Workers have placed them artfully around the entrance to Cork’s Civic Amenity Site.

Visit Places You Will Never Go: "We then inventoried our 21 bags of flour and wondered whose job it was to pick up the yeast. In reality we are off the grid as we have been for 43 years. I realized I have been predicting the apocalypse for decades and thank god I’m finally right." This is hilarious. Via PfRC

His Grandmother Never Let Him See Her Photo Album It was only after she died that Johnny Quan found out about her illustrious career. Via Miss Cellania

Hear David Bowie, Bob Marley, Elvis Costello and Others Play in the Studio of BBC DJ John Peel

Ladies of the Good Dead: In her column “Detroit Archives,” Aisha Sabatini Sloan explores her family history through iconic landmarks in Detroit.

Music For Sunday Morning

Via COOL HUNTING

Saturday, May 23, 2020

First space- earth flute duet

In 2011 NASA Astronaut Cady Coleman, on the International Space Station, and musician Ian Anderson, founder of the rock band Jethro Tull, found a unique way to celebrate 50 years of human spaceflight and the anniversary of the first launch of a human to space. They joined together for the first space-Earth flute duet.

Read more here

Via Everlasting Blort

Tweet Of the Day

When the little one lags behind, everyone in the family rushes to help... 🐈 pic.twitter.com/XLuzNVShBN
— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) May 22, 2020

Uncertain Times New Roman

A masked, socially distanced decorative serif for the Coronavirus Age by the Cornett Design Agency

Download font here

Via Imperica

Stainless Steel Trifecta Goes On The Block

Image credit: Worldwide Auctioneers

Three stainless steel Fords built for Allegheny Ludlum Inc. will go to auction this September: a 1936 Ford Deluxe Sedan, 1960 Ford Thunderbird, and 1967 Lincoln Continental Convertible.

“Just eleven of these iconic stainless steel cars were ever produced and this trio has amazingly been retained by the original corporate owner from new."

Read more: Worldwide Auctioneers

Via Things

Color Is A Beautiful Thing

A gorgeous animation of Nina Simone's song.

Nina Simone - Color Is A Beautiful Thing from Sharon Liu on Vimeo.

Friday, May 22, 2020

The silence of suburban Tokyo bus stop seats

"Settings that are arguably much more mundane than merely ordinary, and yet for some inexplicable reason I find them appealing." An evocative photo collection by Lee Chapman, a photographer and long-term resident of Tokyo

More:Tokyo Times

Via PfRC

Covid Lego Beehive

Ruairi O Leocháin of Athlone Wildlife Apiaries decided to make a lego beehive "just for a bit of craic". It's home to 30,000 bees.

Read more: Boing Boing

Zoom Block Tango

A terrific and timely COVID-19 riff on Chicago's “Cell Block Tango” by Socia(lites) Comedy.

Via Facebook friend Ted.

Las Pozas

A visit to British poet Edward James’s subtropical mountainside Mexican Eden

Read more: NOWNESS

Via Weird Universe

Thursday, May 21, 2020

Training Barbers

In 1950 barbers in training on Old Compton Street in London practiced their technique on balloons covered with shaving cream.

Via

Story of Flowers 2

This is a beautiful and exceptionally calming animation.

Source

Nature By Numbers

Cristóbal Vila shows how the simple Fibonacci sequence manifests itself in nature.

Via Kottke

What will happen to Europe’s largest roof garden?

The unique and listed roof gardens in Kensington have been closed since the beginning of January. The gardener has left and the flamingos have been rehomed. After 37 years, in a changing London market and unpredictable market conditions, the decision was taken to close their doors.

I spend a lot of time in London and I don't know why I never heard of this fantastic place.

Read more: The Kensington Society

Via Things

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

"Tear Gas" Ice Cream

This image shows a scoop of tear gas flavor ice cream,
in Hong Kong on May 4, 2020.
AP

This Hong Kong shop offers tear gas flavoured ice cream in solidarity with the pro-democracy protesters who were gassed at the demonstrations last year. The main ingredient is black peppercorns, a reminder of the peppery rounds fired by police on the streets of the semi-autonomous Chinese city during the months-long protests. According to the shop owner "It just feels like breathing in tear gas.” This strikes me as an ice cream flavour most people might prefer to avoid.

More here

Via

Tweet of The Day

"I found this falcon is nesting in my plant box so I started feeding her 😮😮" pic.twitter.com/I28dmIK7HE
— I’m Tayyaba Waqas💞 (@TayyabaWaqas94) May 18, 2020

Corona Diary 2020

Vic Lee's Corona Diary 2020 is mighty good.

View this post on Instagram

An update on the Corona Diary 2020. Through end of April into May at last! A wee speech from Obama in 2014, PPE, Zoom melt downs, baby booms, 150k flamingos and female super powers! . Coronadiary2020.com

A post shared by Vic Lee (@vicleelondon) on May 12, 2020 at 11:40am PDT