Susan Boyle, eat your heart out
Music theater and science…. what more could you want? Here’s everything you need to know about Nano technology.
The Nano Song
Barbie Swimming Champion
Ok, not much to say here. Just thought this pic was a hoot.
Nothing better than a giant swimming Barbie for an after-holiday pseudo-Monday.
Happy Tuesday!
Finally, I’m a Man
Do those noisy-ass Harleys always drive me nuts. Every time I hear one, I wonder what those guys are trying to prove… Maybe the same thing those balding middle-aged guys driving V12 Mercedes convertibles are trying to prove…
Well I bought a Harley. A V-Rod to be more specific. It’s a new generation of Harley designed with Porsche, and I fell in love with it the first time I saw it. And as far as noise, this bike has a smoother, low rumble instead of the typical Harley ear-piercing “scream”. I guess my manhood is a little more subtle…
45 Minutes of Genius
Got 45 minutes? It’s the approximate length of this video, but it’s also about the amount of time it takes Daniel Tammet to recite Pi to the 3300th decimal. And that’s just a fraction of the 22,000 decimals of Pi he can recite. And he doesn’t recall it from memory, but actually sees numbers as objects with shape and form in his mind.
You Can’t Have It All
If you haven’t heard of Jay Brannan, he starred in the film Short Bus and is a song writer who’s easy on the eyes. He fits the independent artist genre, so support him if you like him. (Warning: there are four-letter words in the video; shocking!)
New Pet Shop Boys – Love Etc
I’ve always like the Pet Shop Boys, but after seeing them in concert in Oct 2006, I’ve been a fan. The latest release from their soon-to-be-released album “Yes” is entitled “Love, Etc”. The video is a romp through the video game world of love. You can find a limited edition version of the album at Amazon.co.uk, which includes a second CD of remixes. I’ve ordered mine.
If You Haven’t Seen Star Wars…
Here’s a summary of the original 3 movies. From someone who hasn’t seen it (with visuals added for entertainment). Thanks, io9
Halloween on Cedar Springs
Halloween is one of the biggest parties of the year on Cedar Springs in Dallas. We’ve been the last thee years, but haven’t dressed up. The last two years, I kept thinking I should bring my camera and get some shots of all the amazing costumes.
So this year I decided to take my “good camera”, and even decided to dress up like a 40′s journalist to help complete the package. Rich wasn’t sure what to be, and we saw this shower cap with wolf’s ears and the idea of the Big Bad Wolf dressed as Granny grew from that. We ended up at Wal-Mart shopping for a night gown and fuzzy pink slippers. He was pretty comfortable all night, since he got to wear a nightgown and house coat out.
The weather was perfect, though and we met some friends out and had a great time. We even ran into our long lost friends, Bob & Gabe, who we haven’t seen in months.
You can view the entire set here.
Haunting Castles
Dark Roasted Blend has posted a series of beautiful and haunting castles, just in time for Halloween. I’ve been following Dark Roasted Blend for awhile, and while the posts are photo-intensive, they have some really great and often funny posts.
7 Deleted Battlestar Galactica Scenes
For all my fellow Battlestar Galactica fans, io9 has posted 7 deleted scenes from Battlestar’s 4th season that help clarify some loose ends. Whether you’re seeking enlightenment from the church of BSG, or just looking for some geek trivia to share with your friends when the show (finally) returns next year, these are a must see.
And if your a scifi dork like me and don’t already know about io9, take a look around while you’re there. There’s plenty of geeky-goodness amongst their pages.
Thanks to io9 and Michael.
The Sultan’s Elephant
The only thing more mesmerizing than this giant puppet is the music. This little girl was created by by the Royal de Luxe theater company for a show called The Sultan’s Elephant. The show has come and gone, but check out the video and the talent that went into creating the show.
Thanks to the Make: blog.
Little Girl Giant Plays in the Park from XINERGY on Vimeo.
Red Nose Curiosity
Thanks to Cory Doctorow over at Boing Boing, I’ve been enjoying some great photography at Red Nose Studio. I just love the odd little worlds they’ve created in these images. Of course, I love anything odd. I often wish I could just escape into these little worlds.
Oh, and check out “The Look Book”; I’ve added it to my reading list.
Teach the Controversy!
I’m all about teaching alternative theories to evolution, so I bought a T-shirt to prove it. (Hey, if you buy the T-shirt, it makes it so). Wearscience.com has some great designs promoting “Teach the Controversy”, including the aliens-built-the-pyramids, the-devil-planted-fossils-to-trick-us, and the earth-as-center-of-the-universe. They even have a design of the Great A’Tuin for you Discworld fans out there. You can read more about the Teach The Controversy “Intelligent Design” campaign to discredit the crackpot theory of evolution here.
Personally, I believe that if we teach “Intelligent Design” in schools alongside evolution, then we must include theories that aliens created us. See The Flying Spaghetti Monster.
And for you crazies who believe in science, Wearscience also has a series of designs right out of 50′s B-movies. You can also customize your designs; I added “I Believe in Science” to the back of my shirt with a scientist blowing up the moon on the front. Link
The History of Spaceflight
I’ve started collecting a few books on “futurism” from the 50′s, 60′s, and 70′s. I love the illustrations and ideas about the future from a time when mankind was just going to the moon. It seems there was no limit to where they thought we’d be 100 years from now (then). Matt over at Paleo-Future has posted a clip from the DVD History of Spaceflight featuring Wernher von Braun‘s ideas of the future of spaceflight. Check out the post for more retro-futurist images.
A Better Way to Browse Amazon
Our friends over at Lifehacker have shared a great new way to browse Amazon.com just like browsing shelves at a bookstore. Zoomii displays books on “shelves” grouped by Bestsellers, New Arrivals, Science Fiction, etc. You can drag around the bookstore or even create your own shelves by using the search feature. And when you find something you like, you can order right from Zoomii.
It’s a great way for someone like me who can spend hours browsing “brick and mortar” bookstores. I often purchase a book because the cover caught my eye.
The Norwegian Meets the “Reverend”
One of my favorite flickr-ites, “The Norwegian” has posted a great story (along with photo, left) about his experience of a recent visit to the Church of Scientology.
I agree with his opinion of “The Church”, but read it for yourself. He also makes a great suggestion for those seeking enlightenment: Venganza.org. Of course, there are other paths; I’m just saying…
Oh, and check out his photo stream… he’s a great photographer.
Flickr Video: A Good Thing?
In case you haven’t heard, flickr has added video capabilites. Of course there are plenty of nay-sayers, and being a fan of great photography, I can understand how adding video could dilute what makes flickr great. Of course, there are lots of talented artists out there on flickr who can make motion an asset for flickr. I know I’m looking forward to seeing more like “The Blue Samurai”, a collaboration of flickrite ArtWerk and Manel Ortega. I’ve been following ArtWerk’s flickr feed for awhile now, and it’s nice to see another aspect of his talent. Not to mention some groovy sounds by Substatic.
Ecards That Are a Bit More…. Heartfelt
I remember a series of cards at Jungle Red in OKC that all had small illustrations of bugs on the front, and contained such witty messages as “I want my stuff” and “You’re old, Happy Birthday”. I can’t say I ever actually gave one to any of my friends, but I secretly wanted to.
Well, for those of us who “care enough to hit send”, there’s a site full of cards with just such messages like “Now that you’re 18, you can legally not bother voting” and “I hope you’ll always consider me someone who reluctantly pays for part of your birthday dinner”. Complete with vintage public-domain illustrations on every card, it really says “I’m too
So check out someecards.com… and please send me one for my birthday. At least I’ll know how much you care. Exactly.
A Science Fiction Legend Dies
Arthur C Clarke, the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, died yesterday at the age of 90. Though he wasn’t my favorite author, anyone who loves science fiction should at least have read some of his work. I’ve read the entire 2001 series (2010, 2061, 3001), as well as the Rama series.
Another lesser-known work was The Songs of Distant Earth, which was also an album by Mike Oldfield released in 1994. I stumbled across this album during the Enigma era, while looking for more of the same style. I bought the Enhanced CD, which included some pretty cool CGI video that accompanied the ethnic chants and trippy ambient rhythms of the album.
I think I need to dig up the CD and remember a sci fi genius.
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
- Arthur C Clarke
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
I loved the Muppets when I was a kid, so how better to say Happy St. Patrick’s Day…
Thanks, Cory Doctorow at Boing Boing
Nathan Ota – Another Fine Artist
I’ve started following “Right Some Good”, the art blog of Kirsten Anderson . She writes about artists she likes, and I’ve found I agree on many of them. One recent recommendation is Nathan Ota, who illustrates curious creatures like robots, eyeless birds and monster tree trunks. His art often has a greenish-golden glow that reminds me of tarot cards. Kinda spooky in a fairy-tale kind of way.
Be sure to check out his site to see more of his great work.
Curious World of Toys
I’ve recently stumbled across a wonderful photographer and storyteller on flickr. Michael (aka “frogmuseum2″) has kindly given me permission to share one of his photos. As you can see here, his characters come to life with their own little oddworld personas. Since quirky is my favorite kind of art, this is right up my ally.
Check out more of his work at flickr .
Frozen in Grand Central
I want to be a part of something like this. I’ve followed their exploits after I first heard about them on “This American Life”. Ira Glass interviewed the organizer of a “stunt” where they picked a guy out at random at a bar and threw him a birthday party . They brought gifts, bought drinks, and called him Ted all night. He at first protested and eventually gave in.
After watching the video, check out some of their other uber-cool improv at their site .
Mathematical Chaos
I’ve been playing around with a very cool 3D rendering software called Chaoscope. It has some pretty mathematically intensive settings, but also a “search” function that randomly creates “viable” combinations. You can then tweak away at the criteria until you get the perfect imaginary universe. Here’s a few of my creations; (click to view large)…
And this series are of the same “universe” rotated in the 3D space.
