Friday, June 30, 2023
Paul Simon Interview
I listened to this on CBC when I was running errands last week. It's a good one. Bravo Tom Power. Support public broadcasting.
Panther Chameleon
You come and go, you come and go
Loving would be easy if your colors were like my dreams
Red, gold, and green, red, gold, and green (modified lyrics courtesy of Culture Club)
Loving would be easy if your colors were like my dreams
Red, gold, and green, red, gold, and green (modified lyrics courtesy of Culture Club)
Furcifer pardalis, commonly known as the panther chameleon, is primarily found in the eastern and northern regions of Madagascar.pic.twitter.com/FsRiJV2OEp
— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) June 24, 2023
If at first you don’t succeed,,,
In 1961 a 14 year old aspiring author submitted a short story to Spacemen Magazine with the letter above attached. It was not accepted but Stephen King was undeterred and continued writing. He has sold hundreds of thousands of books since then and is recognized as the king of the horror genre.
150 Legendary Restaurants
These restaurants have stood the test of time and are known for their iconic signature dishes. I have eaten at three on this list (Schwartz’s Deli in Montreal and Bouillion Chartier and Au Pied De Cochon in Paris) and can vouch for their quality.
It’s Fireworks Season. Play safe.
Outstanding. pic.twitter.com/0sBG802brF
— jamie (@gnuman1979) June 28, 2023
Thursday, June 29, 2023
Let’s Get This Party Started
The Luc Belaire Zeus holds an 45 litres of bubbly, equivalent to 60 regular bottles. How many glasses can it pour? 1000! This ridiculously oversized 160 pound bottle requires three people to carry and pour. The team created a custom powder coated steel that is pressure tested to withstand the weight and power of 60 bottles of champagne in one form. Cheers m’dears!
via Moss and Fog
Barbie-Oppenheimer Double Feature Memes
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| Adam Perocchi’s Oppenheimer-inspired reimagining of the Barbie Dreamhouse (image courtesy Adam Perocchi) |
So Oppenheimer, a film about the making of the atomic bomb, is opening on the same day as Barbie. And yes, there are crossover memes. Here are a few:
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| Come on, Barbie! Let’s go party! With weapons of mass destruction! (screenshot Maya Pontone/Hyperallergic via Twitter) |
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| As they say, art imitates life. Or in this case, life imitates art? I don’t know anymore. (screenshot Maya Pontone/Hyperallergic via Twitter) |
The Ultimate American Road Trip Maze
It's summer. Who's taking a road trip?
Michelle Boggess-Nunley, a Michigan-based artist who holds the Guinness World Record for the biggest hand-drawn maze, created this puzzle for Atlas Obscura
Michelle Boggess-Nunley, a Michigan-based artist who holds the Guinness World Record for the biggest hand-drawn maze, created this puzzle for Atlas Obscura
Each illustration in this maze is carefully considered, and the path was designed to maximize discoveries of the Altas Wonders planted along the way.
The Mystery of Pinanga Subterranea
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| The exposed roots and fruits of Pinanga subterranea. Photograph: Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew |
How Pinanga subterranea, a plant that flowers and fruits underground, has survived is a mystery, as most plants have evolved to develop their flowers and fruit above ground to facilitate pollination and the dispersal of seeds.
Read more: The Guardian
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
A Size Comparison Between the Titanic and a Modern Cruise Ship
A 300-Foot Path to Reconciliation
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| An aerial view of "The Path to Reconciliation" (2023) (photo by Dan Plaster/CBC News, image courtesy Creative City Centre) |
Indigenous artists Geanna Dunbar and Brandy Jones have created a beautiful pavement mural in the style of traditional First Nations beadwork in Regina, Saskatchewan.
How Miniatures Are Used In The Films Of Wes Anderson
A Flying Whippet named Sounders fly 36 feet through the air | Boing Boing
Via Boing Boing
Living Seawalls
“It’s as much about human beings as it is wildlife.”
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| An intertidal habitat for marine life constructed by the Australian company Living Seawalls. Photograph: Living Seawalls |
The hard seawalls that are built in response to climate change and rising waters are devastating to marine wildlife. This vertical rockpool is an artificial environment that provides safe shelter for sea life in intertidal habitats, the spaces between land and sea all around the world that are alternately exposed and then swamped by tides.
Via TYWKIWDBI
Artwork of the Day
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"Melancholy Promenade", 1904.
Oil on Canvas Painting.
Tuesday, June 27, 2023
Monday, June 26, 2023
Least Religious Cities in the US
The percentage of Americans without religious affiliation, often labeled as "Nones", is around 20-29%. In Canada the figure is 34.6%.
Here are Canada’s most non-religious metropolitan areas according to 2021 census data: Nanaimo at No. 1 at 62.9%, Kamloops is next at 60.8 per cent, then Victoria (60.5), Kelowna (54.4), Chilliwack (49.4), and Vancouver (47.1). Rounding out the top 10 are Red Deer, Alta., Belleville, Ont., Peterborough, Ont., and Kingston, Ont. (the top six are all in British Columbia)
(Via FB pal Hal)
Clotheslines - The Art Of Hanging Clothes On A Line
Women get judgy in this trailer for a 1981 documentary that shows the love/hate relationship women have with the task of cleaning the family's clothes.
Read more: Boing Boing
TIMELAPSE OF SPACE COLONIZATION (2052 - 2301+)
See how modern science fiction becomes reality.
via Memo Of The Air
How to make a salad from possessed vegetables
Sunday, June 25, 2023
Mock Mar-a-Lago Bathroom Crime Scene
Sunday Links
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| Log Cabin Quilt, Courthouse Steps variation/Nine Patch Double Sided Quilt |
Quilts by Holley Junker (photo above)
Wonder and Pleasure For almost 250 years, a mysterious pleasure park sat on the banks of Amsterdam's canals. Angela Vanhaelen leads us on a tour of the bawdy fountains, disorienting maze, and mechanical androids in the Oude Doolhof.
Headline of the day: Duck Wearing Bow-Tie Walks Into Pub, Drinks Pint, Fights Dog, Loses
This should be a fun campaign: Randy Rainbow announces his run for President with a song.
Quality of Life Index by City 2023 I post these rankings annually and always end up wondering how robust the results are.
Feeling crafty? Make a 3D cardboard model of a human eyeball
Severe airline turbulence has more than doubled over 40 years. Hang on it's gonna be a bumpy ride! (Turn volume on)
Can you guess what product this advertising video trying to sell you? (via WebCurios)
Frog Frog Frog Ramen is garnished with a large frog. It looks as disgusting as it sounds. I don't want to imagine what it tastes like.
House Envy Of The Week: Torriano Cottages is a bucolic oasis close to the heart of Kentish Town, London.
Facebook and Instagram Pull the Plug on News in Canada following the passage of the Online News Act.
Breathing new life into an old community hall in Brigus, a small fishing community in Newfoundland that has many examples of vernacular NL architecture. (A few years ago when we were walking around the town a local stopped his car to point out the roller doorstep on the Fowler House.)
For my fellow Wes Anderson fans: Asteroid City exhibition immerses visitors in Wes Anderson's film sets
Sweet story: Disabled Ducks Find a Lifelong Friend in Each Other
Everything is Alive is a podcast in which inanimate objects (a pillow, a lamppost, a bar of soap, etc) are interviewed as though they are human beings. (via WebCurios)
Music For Sunday Morning
It's been years since I've thought of this song but it's been circling my brain the past few days.
Saturday, June 24, 2023
Happy Caturday!
Showdog Fringed 3 D Dog Crossbody
Freedom Swimmer
Australian director Olivia Martin-McGuire collected the stories of many ‘freedom swimmers’ escaping the fallout of China's Cultural Revolution and weaved them into a single narrative about one man's perilous journey from China to Hong Kong, across 5 miles of freezing cold water.
(Aeon Video)
Friday, June 23, 2023
Shared Bicycle Graveyards
In May 2015, the first dockless shared bicycles were introduced on the campus of Peking University. Around 27 million shared bicycles were deployed to major cities. Soon, shared bicycles began to overwhelm public spaces in cities.
(YouTube Link)
James Cameron Explains What Happened Aboard The Titan Submersible
James Cameron, deep sea explorer and director of the iconic movie "Titanic," speaks with CNN’s Anderson Cooper about the catastrophic implosion that killed five aboard OceanGate’s Titan submersible.
Thursday, June 22, 2023
12,000-Year-Old Flute That Mimics the Sound of Raptor Calls
OutHorse Your Work Emails
Disconnect from work and let the horses of Iceland reply to your emails while you are on vacation. (I missed this the first time around)
Wednesday, June 21, 2023
It Must Be Summer
That summer solstice twenty four years ago when I had a Fountains of Wayne earworm.
Watercolour Of The Day
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| “natsu no prelude” (prelude of the summer) by Yoko Tada |
Now 100 years old, Japanese artist Yoko Tada rekindled her love of painting in her 80s after a 60-year gap. Her work “natsu no prelude” (prelude of the summer) won honorable mention last year from the Japan Watercolor Association.
Read More: Spoon&Tamago
Tuesday, June 20, 2023
Carnivàle: Opening Credits
Marco, my blogger buddy from Memo Of The Air, sent me this link because the cards in the opening credits of this HBO series reminded him of my blog's masthead. Created by Daniel Knauf, it portrays a travelling carnival wending its way through the Dust Bowl during the unsettled period of the Great Depression. The opening is so good I want to watch the series.
Earliest Surviving Anime
The Dull Sword, a two minute silent short released in 1917, is the earliest animated film produced in Japan to have survived until the present day. It is a comedy that tells the story of a samurai who, thanks to his dull instrument, loses every time he attacks a weak opponent.
The Baker and the Chimneysweep 1982
This is a classic puppet comedy about what happens when a baker and chimneysweep swap their roles.
Monday, June 19, 2023
Girls Beware -1961
As I watched this I could almost hear my mother's voice warning me of the dangers that lie in wait for a young girl in the larger world.
(And there's one for the boys, too)
via Memo Of The Air
The masters of a 5,000-year-old craft
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| Kayabuki no Sato, one of Miyama's 57 villages, has the highest concentrations of thatched roof houses in Japan (Credit: Kyoto Miyama Tourism Association) |
For at least five millennia, Japanese communities have constructed roofs from grass, reeds or straw. However, only a few clusters of this architectural style remain. Some are rural dwellings, while others are places of worship.
Read more: BBC Travel
Stick Shed Memories
Veteran local farmers recollect the construction of the Murtoa Stick Shed in Australia and the experience of delivering grain during the early years of its operation.
(Thanks Bruce!)
Photograph Of The Day
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| Margaret Bourke-White - 'Vanitie', International Yacht Race, Newport, Rhode Island 1934 |
Sunday, June 18, 2023
First Nations Merman Challenge
 Kenneth Desjarlais, an Ebb and Flow merman. (Kenneth Desjarlais) |
Mermen from First Nations across Manitoba have been washing up on social media timelines in recent weeks. It is part of a Facebook challenge to strike a fabulous merman pose. Julian Baptiste, of the Ebb and Flow First Nation in southwestern Manitoba, started it to get some laughs.
Sunday Links
 Cover of Nippon magazine issue #1, Oct 1934 |
I love this collection of Japanese Graphic Design From the 1920s and 1930s
From the military to M&M’s, New York prep schools to NASCAR, social media to mall Santas: 200+ things that Fox News has labeled 'woke'
Photos of siblings in the mid-19th century (via Memo Of The Air)
A centre in Port Revel, France has been training pilots and captains around the world for more than 55 years, with a fleet of 12 1/25 scale models on a 5-hectare lake reserved for training. (Via Messy Nessy)
Meoweler, because kitties get bit by the travel bug too. (via everlasting blort)
Who knew? If you have astronaut breath you can make space yeast.
We are stuck waiting to die: Secret conversations with three North Koreans.
We should try to be more like otters.
How to tip around the world (I'm not a fan of the tipping culture. I'd rather pay more for my meal and see a fairer pay scale for servers.)
Puss and Mew Shops:When cats sold gin in the streets of London (via everlasting blort)
The History of Googie Architecture, the futuristic architectural style influenced by the Space Age.
An evocative image of a pair of 2000 Year-Old Roman children's shoes found in the ruins of Palmyra, Syria.
How to core a head of iceberg lettuce in 3 seconds — WITHOUT A KNIFE! You're welcome.
The Cardrona Bra Fence in New Zealand.
Saturday, June 17, 2023
AI Does Donald Trump
Hand-stitched recreations of classic composition notebooks
The Sworn Virgins of Albania
In patriarchal northern Albania women had a prescribed role, so some gave up their sexual and social identities in order to have more freedom. They are called burrnesha and only an estimated 12 are left. This video tells the story of three of these women.
Friday, June 16, 2023
The Return of Thalidomide
In the mid-1960s the use of thalidomide by pregnant women to treat nausea resulted in severe congenital birth defects in the children they were carrying. It is now being repurposed as an effective treatment for a range of different conditions.
Royal Portraits Up For Auction
These portraits of Queen Elizabeth 2 and Prince Philip were drawn by their son King Charles when he was a small child.
The two drawings are expected to fetch between £5,000 and £10,000 ($6,500 to $12,700) when they go up for auction in Britain on Friday along with eight other drawings by the young Prince Charles, as he was at the time.
The final word in bag miniaturization
Art collective MSCHF designed this tiny Louis Vuitton handbag as a critique on luxury fashion. At just 657 micrometres high and 700 micrometres long it is "smaller than a grain of salt".
Nakagin Capsule Tower pod
A module from the Nakagin Capsule Tower, which was recently disassembled in Tokyo, has been acquired by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in the USA. Capsule A1302 was once owned by the tower's architect Kisho Kurokawa. It is one of 23 modules saved from demolition.
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| Image: Nakagin Capsule Tower Preservation and Restoration Project |
Thursday, June 15, 2023
Everybody Goes To The Hospital
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