February 20, 2006

UNphotographable.

This is a picture I did not take of a woman on the subway, beating a man with a large cardboard picket sign (with wooden strut) which advertised (of all things) cancer research and a Wellness Center -- repeatedly slapping him in the face and shoulder with it, while he yelled defense, "you are Satan and you're going to burn in mother*ucking Hell, woman!" as nearly a hundred people (and I) looked on passively, not photographing or doing much of anything to stop either one of them in their public, hate-filled lunacy.

Beat You With the Wellness Center
Beautiful vintage posters and prints.

I particularly like these.

Chicago, The Windy City

Vogue Cover - August 1957

February 19, 2006

Chicken lovers unite.

Loving this cute, inexpensive little chicken pitcher.

And check out this b'day card.
Possibly the ugliest couch I've ever seen.

Modern Furniture :: Morpheo Sofa Bed

But they also have a nice repro of one of my favorite chairs - the Mies van der Rohe Barcelona chair.

February 17, 2006

Bad Ads.

"5 Advantages" comb ad

The rest are here.

(via growabrain)

posted by BB @ 11:24 AM
I wish I'd seen these before Xmas.

I could've decorated it with the tiniest lights imaginable.

Branch :: Christmas Tree in a Can

And I think even I of the black thumb could keep
one of these alive. Cute.
Peculiar and expensive, but I like it.

Branch :: Sleeping Light
FYI - disappearing blog postings

For some reason, my posts are disappearing. Blogger's got a bug. (Must be that 'flu going around.) Hopefully they'll fix it pretty soon. It's very annoying.
Hidden Art :: Silent cuckoo clock

The minute hand has the letters ‘CUC’ printed on it and when it strikes the hour it lines up with the letters ‘KOO’ on the face, so in it's own discreet way it says CUCKOO.
Tootsie Roll Pop Lick-O-Meter Keychain

We're not sure how it works, but every time you lick the Tootsie Pop (included), the counter increases by one number. It's a technological marvel and a piece of sheer idiocy all wrapped into one.
How bizarre.

Be an artist in the Antarctic.

For selected artists and writers, the Foundation provides polar clothing on loan, round-trip economy air travel between a U.S. airport and a port of embarkation for the Antarctic (typically in New Zealand or southern South America), travel between there and the Antarctic, and room, board, and travel in the Antarctic and/or the Southern Ocean as required by the approved project.

Antarctic Artists and Writers Program (nsf04558)
Ah, l'amour.

Overheard conversations. My faves:

"She always marries the wrong man, but she does divorce so well.''
(Man to woman over dinner at Insalata's in San Anselmo, overheard by Sally Shepard.)

"I was looking for someone for just a really good time, but then I peeked at his iTunes playlist. He'd be serious baggage.''
(One woman to another overheard in Marin County by Capt. Steve Stevens.)

"Remember, girls love eye patches and scars.''
(High school freshman boy giving advice to 11-year-old, overhead on the 38L Geary by Marcus Loy.)

SF Gate :: The many splendors of that crazy little thing
Headline of the day.

Forget Cheney. My brother in Pensacola sent this to me, saying that it's always good to see news from home.

Man obsessed with doorknobs faces prison
Big to little, little to big.

These have been around for awhile, but, in case anyone hasn't seen them, I'm posting them. They're so fun.

Food photos

(via yesbutnobutyes)

February 16, 2006

Project Gutenberg :: 17,000 free eBooks
Big whoops.

Adrants �:: Adidas Goofs, Gives Sponsored German Team Belgian Colors

And a tip on a fun hardware store advertising campaign.
Timmy: Pajamas needs one of these.
Qubus Design :: Fake Cake

(Many fab finds on this site. Be sure to click around.)
It made me laugh.

Fig. 9: A lobster

FYI - John Hodgman, the author of "Areas of My Expertise," will be in Milwaukee tonight. From his blog:

MILWAUKEE, WI: We shall discuss either hoboes or lobsters in Milwaukee's notorious "BAY VIEW" district on...

THURSDAY, FEB 16 at
HARRY W. SCHWARTZ BOOKSHOP (BAY VIEW)
2262 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53207
(KK at Lincoln) (nb: SOME KIND OF CODE?!)
414-481-3401
7PM
FREE OF CHARGE
Mmmmm. Cupcakes.

Damn. This woman knows her cupcakes. These are particularly lovely.

Cupcake Bakeshop by Chockylit :: Melt in Your Mouth Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Cream
Benjamin Moore paint - try before you buy.

I was just talking to the monk about these this weekend. I'd seen them in England, but never on this side of the pond. 2 oz sample "paint pots" - they cover a 2' x 2' area so you can try a paint color before you commit to a gallon.

Lovely colors, too.

Benjamin Moore & Co. :: Samples

February 15, 2006

AJAX geekiness.

AJAX Translator

(via Red Ferret)
I'm fascinated by these Full Motion Stamps

To achieve the impression of movement on the stamps, TPG Post had to print the stamps onto plastic for the first time. Lenticular technology makes it possible to have Ard and Yvonne skating around the stamps. There is a sequence of twelve film stills taken from the winning races at Sapporo and Calgary, to portray Ard and Yvonne skating in full flight over four square centimetres. The snowy images of Ard in 1972 and those of Yvonne come from the early years of colour TV, presenting the designers with a major challenge. Lenticular technology has existed for a long time past, but up till now it has not been possible to reproduce the level of detail needed, which is essential on postage stamps. A firm in New Zealand was able to provide the level of detail required for lenticular technology and the stamps were printed at a specialist printing-press in Australia. As these stamps printed onto plastic were new for TPG Post, they were tested thoroughly at sorting offices.

WebWire� | TPG Post and Atos Origin issue unique moving images of Olympic winners on their own postage stamp
Excuse me, Officer -- aren't you The Incredible Hulk?

The star of 70s TV show "The Incredible Hulk" has a new role - as a part-time police officer in Los Angeles.

BBC NEWS :: Hulk star fights real-life crime
Lovely products from Ona Home.

black soldier | tea cup
folke | tea cup
ami | tea set
personal library | stamp
three blooms | photograph
I agree with YesButNoButYes on this one.

It IS the coolest graffiti project I've ever seen.

Graffiti Research Lab :: LED Throwies
Plum Party :: Fortune Cookie Magnets
Beautiful anatomy books published by Taschen

Jean Baptiste Marc Bourgery :: Atlas of Anatomy

Florence's Museo La Specola :: Encyclopaedia Anatomica
Table or art?

ona :: mild bub

February 14, 2006

Happy Valentine's Day!

Enjoy your friends, your family and your significant others, kids. I'm outta here.



Rock Paper Saddam Presents: "The Painting"
The funniest valentine I've seen.

youyesyou.net :: thanks

p.s. No offense, T.. ;)
Look out, Martini.

Someday your magnetic poetry might start talking back to you.

As you compose a poem, placing words in grammatical order, the magnets communicate with each other to learn the grammar rules you are using.

Once they are 'trained', the magnets can change the words they are displaying to substitute words that don't fit the established grammar rules, like an autocorrect function.


News in Science :: Fridge magnets tinker with poetry
Love this.

lateteaucube.co.uk :: soliflore tank u

Mini (actual size) versions here.

February 13, 2006

If you ever need to know the lyrics...

This widget displays the lyric for iTunes current track along with its artwork. The lyrics are saved in “Documents/Sing that iTune!” folder and you can also add your self-made lyrics in there. Sync the folder with iPod’s Notes folder to bring it. Option to save lyrics in music files is also available.

Apple Dashboard Widgets :: Sing that iTune!

p.s. Bradley, you'll appreciate the example on the landing screen.
Do-Ho Suh :: Plateau of Humankind

Floor, 1997-2000
Plastic figures, glass plates, phenolic boards, polyurethane resin,
40 modules, 100 x 100 cm each
McSweeney's :: Last Night's Top Five Alphabet-Soup Spoonfuls.
A bit OFN, but quite horrifying and sad.

A woman goes into the hospital to give birth. She has the baby and is transferred to another hospital where her arms and legs are amputated. And no one will tell her exactly why.

WFTV.com :: Woman Becomes Quadruple Amputee After Giving Birth
Just a little something to work into the travel budget.

(A little inspiration for the monk on a Monday morning...)

Tablet Hotels :: Faena Hotel and Universe - Buenos Aires, Argentina
Fun art for your cell phone.

START MOBILE | NEW ART FOR MOBILE DEVICES

February 10, 2006

That's as many as four tens. And that's terrible.

Thanks for the laugh, Buddha.

Buddha's Bellyaching :: And that is terrible.
Tip: David Byrne's February playlist is fab.

This month’s playlist could be considered eclectic pop music. It contains stuff ranging from the 60s to recordings that are not available yet. The overarching theme might be hooks and melody. There’re a few songs that survive mainly on groove, but not many in this batch. I love the segue from Beck to Baris Manço, the 70s Turkish psychedelic artist — you can hardly tell the difference until the voice comes in. Likewise Snoop Dog and Geggy Tah. Pop music sure can do some wonderful jump cuts. – David Byrne

Radio DavidByrne.com
Studio 54 pillow.

I like. But, good heavens, $165 for a pillow??? Not in this lifetime...

Jonathan Adler :: Fifty Four
Prob'ly a fake

...but I love the idea of this.

Google Maps - Local
Eeek!

Mickey Rooney: actor, survivor, inventor and Hollywood living legend -- LIVE at The Pabst!
Steelbuddha rules, man.

First time in, and my delightful co-worker wins the MKE's Blog of the Week contest. As a three-time loser, I can only look on in wonder and awe. Congrats, Buddha - yer fab. I'm glad Milwaukee knows it.

mkeonline.com ::Round 35 - Buddha's Bellyaching
Deeply disturbing.

New Australian ads for Pepsi.

What is seen cannot be unseen. You've been warned.

Pepsi Samba
Sweet!

Exopolis' agency's Valentine's card.

XOXO, Exo.

(via Adrants Daily)
Great teaser for a new Time magazine venture.

Officepirates.com :: Prepare to be boarded
The darker side of Valentine's Day.

As Cheaters Juggle Valentines, Private Eyes Work Overtime; The Feb. 14 'Business Trip'

"It's a good holiday for business," Mr. League says. The Greensboro, N.C., gumshoe has already scheduled five infidelity investigations for Tuesday, and plans to add two part-time sleuths to his staff of four to handle the demand.

WSJ.com ::One Tough Day for Two-Timers
A sad replacement for a QRIO.

This little guy's been getting a lot of press lately. Me, I want a robot that looks like a robot, not like Yoda or a Furby.

Uncrate :: Pleo

p.s. Sony sucks. [whimper]
Another lamp for my wishlist of beautiful lighting.

Better Living Through Design :: Pablo Lighthouse Lamp
Yes. Pies ARE nice.

Mr. Scruff :: Shopping

February 09, 2006

Will someone please slap this man upside the head?

When Mr Alleyne failed to sell the original version of his Starship Enterprise home for £700,000, 18 months ago, he gutted it.

He is now refitting the flat as the spaceship from the later Star Trek series, Voyager, using income support payments.


BBC NEWS :: Trek builder boldly goes bankrupt

Oh, and here's his (now defunct) company:
24th Century Interior Design

(Thanks to Bryan for the tip.)
David Lynch's daily eyewitness weather.

Worth viewing even if it's a day behind.

DAVIDLYNCH.COM
A proper 404 error message.

As my coworker and fellow IA, Kathy, said, "Why shouldn't errors be fun?"

The Sect of Homokaasu
Win a 3-day trip for 10 to the Bahamas.

If you win, take me.

American Airlines :: Ultimate Family Reunion Sweepstakes

February 08, 2006

For Lorraine. Cuz you do.

I Like Monkeys (mp3)

(It's a bit Jazz Butcher "Partytime"-ish. Awww... 'member?)

(via CG's excellent tip: The Daily Monkey)
Interesting art exhibit without actual art.

How do you do a show if you don't have art? Use copies. How do you get copies? Find photographs of the original art. So that's what Ms. Bancroft and Mr. Nesbett did. They photocopied illustrations of existing, or once existing, Hammons pieces from books and magazines, and downloaded other images from the Internet. They then taped the 8-by-11-inch prints to the gallery walls.

A Street Seer's Vision, or Photocopies of It at Least
A nice reference tool.

Timeline of Art History :: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
I love Ingo Maurer lighting.

Unica Home :: Ingo Maurer - Light au Lait

(Sorry about the broken link before - I'm linking to a different site now.)
Two stores you probably never knew existed.

Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company

826 Valencia :: The Pirate Store

(Be sure to check out the The Gallery of Signs.)

p.s. Both are actual stores affiliated with non-profit children's groups. But they're not just for kids.
Eggvertising.

EggFusion :: Promoting Freshness with Every Impression

February 07, 2006

I came across this account of the Tribute in Light, those blazing towers of floodlit clouds and sky used by Manhattan to memorialize the fallen World Trade Center: "The beams were visibly filled with birds for their entire height, looking like clouds of bugs. Their twittering was audible. There were so many birds, it was impossible to track any one individual for any length of time. I did see one bird that circled in and out of the uptown beam six times before I lost track."

The birds, in other words, had been fatally mesmerized, often spiraling thereafter to the ground – or into the windows of nearby buildings. A kind of bird-tornado.


BLDGBLOG: The birds
Awww.

Threadless T-Shirts :: She Doesnt Even Realize, by lonesquid

February 06, 2006

Showtime greenlights "This American Life" TV series.

Showtime has picked up my favorite radio show for a six-show trial on TV.

I Love Radio :: This American Life to hit the TV airwaves

Chicago Reader :: Can you take This American Life out of the midwest and keep the midwest in This American Life?
Hey, kids! It's "Fight Club" ... Bollywood-style.

Twitch :: Bollywood's Riding the Remake Train Again ... This Time It's Fight Club ...
Apparently, this guy never intends to be employed. Anywhere. Ever.

The Smoking Gun :: Eyebrow-Raising Tattoos
I'm thinking this would look great in my kitchen.

Large format vintage advertising.

Plan59 :: Vintage Ads - American Meat Institute, 1946

Loads more here.
Plan59 :: Gallery of Demonic Tots and Deeply Disturbing Cuisine
Wow.

The French woman who received the world's first partial face transplant has appeared before the cameras of the world's media for the first time.

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Face op woman braves media glare
Another one for CG – Hockey Domo-Kun.

Ningyoushi.com :: Domo-Kun Winter Sports Plush - Hockey
Sumo Smash!

(Available in the U.S. for about 10 bucks. Love it.)
subversive cross stitch :: wtf?
A.G. Rizzoli – AMTE: "Architecture Made to Entertain"

From 1935 to 1944, Rizzoli produced a body of spectacular architectural renderings, in grand Beaux Arts style. Done in colored ink on rag paper, many of the drawings were intended as symbolic portraits of friends and family, depicting them as buildings. Five birthday tributes to his mother done during this period, (the Kathedrals), are among his most elaborate architectural portraits.

[...] After an unproductive hiatus, a new project was begun in 1958. Large sheets of architectural vellum, some divided into eight sections, were filled with poetry, prose, architectural drawings, quotations, a commemoration of an event (the burning of a church, for instance, or the death of JFK), or some combination of these. These 350 sheets comprise the A.C.E. (Amte’s Celestial Extravaganza). Rizzoli made up his own language, replete with many symbolically loaded puns, anagrams and solecisms (“earchitecturally”, for example, or “Architecture Made To Entertain” — AMTE).
CoolBusinessIdeas.com :: Astronaut Miles

Frequent flyer miles will for the first time be good beyond this planet, based on a new offering from Virgin Atlantic airways and its space-related sister company Virgin Galactic.

Flying Club members will be able to convert their regular miles into space miles. To get to space, members will need to log 2 million miles down here.

February 04, 2006

Oh. My.

'They are very evil little animals, which is why they are so fascinating to work with,' Dr Johnston said. 'They squirm around these communities [of creatures which live on hard surfaces and cannot move] and attack the barnacles. They squirt digestive juices into them and suck their flesh out.'

At less than two centimetres long the new flatworm has proven extremely hard to study and categorise.

'They're very difficult to describe because if you try and pick them up with anything other than a very fine paintbrush they break in half,' Dr Johnston said.

The new flatworms are all hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female parts. To reproduce they try to stab each other with their genitals. The first to penetrate inserts sperm and then goes on to spar with another flatworm, while the 'loser' lays and broods the eggs.

Sydney Morning Herald :: What lurks beneath - flesh-sucking sex fiends
For Lorraine.

Can you tell I've got a sunny backyard on the brain today?

Florida-Friendly Yards :: Grow Smart
Love these designs.

If I didn't have a black thumb, I'd be all over this. (Lorraine, maybe Cor could build you something like this for your backyard paradise...)

Edition Compagnie :: Cloison végétale Etcetera

And, in a perfect world, I'd own this entire plate set:
Edition Compagnie :: Gamme Ombres
Chris Glass.

For those of you who haven't checked it out, Chris Glass' blog is a constant source of entertainment. And the boy's a midwesterner. You gotta love that. (Kudos to swissmiss for finding this gem.)

His blog is here.

This is one of his projects. (I'm inspired!)
My decoupage experiment

February 03, 2006

Abacus Watches :: Time Without Hands

(I don't even wear a watch, and I'd like one of the Series I...)

More info & better pix here:
LACO Markenuhren - Made in Germany
CG, this one's for you.

It'll make you laugh. (She even has a Mac and your haircut!)

Yahoo! :: Non Sequitur

(If it's not a permalink, it's the 1/21/06 cartoon.)
Fun t-shirts & hoodies by Everything & Nothing.

Some are so-so. Some are brilliant. But I always enjoy checking out what she's come up with recently.

Everything And Nothing :: My T-shirt of the Day
Surreal aerial pix of a Mexican suburb.

BLDGBLOG :: In the suburbs of self-similarity
The single best thing I read all day.

From this morning's toothpaste for dinner newsletter.
_____________________________________________________

i grew up in the shadow of an arby's, so maybe that is why i have a
small arby's fixation. i don't even eat there, i haven't eaten there in
maybe three years, but i used to stare out the window in childhood and see: ROAST. BEEF. ROAST BEEF. ... ROAST. BEEF. ROAST BEEF.
that is how the neon on the sign would flash. it was hypnotic.

then yesterday a friend told me that at arby's, the meat comes
liquified in a bag, and they boil the bag to make it solidify before
they slice it. i did not know this and it horrified me a little bit. "i
always liked arby's roast beef sandwiches because they are juicy," i
said. "that is because they are just liquid," she told me.

liquid. roast. beef. liquid roast beef. liquid roast beef in a bag!
(that's how the sign's gotta flash now.)

if you want a picture of my childhood, imagine the arby's sign
flashing, and the sound of cars driving through the rain, and the way
schools smell. they always smell kind of... i don't know... schooly.
they always have a smell though, and it is gross.

_____________________________________________________

Here's the corresponding cartoon:
toothpastefordinner.com :: it is a hat

Sadly, the liquid beef statement is an urban myth. I kinda hoped it was true.
snopes :: quell gel
The name sez it all.

The puppies didn't do it for me, so much as the penguins and wombats did.

things that make you go aahh

(via b3ta.com)
The end of an era.

Business Week :: Western Union -STOP- ends telegram service

(Question: Shouldn't "STOP" be at the end of the headline? CG? Monk?)
Nam June Paik died last Sunday.

I had no idea.

Nam June Paik Studios
What's a sense of humor?

As presented at a lecture for Dr. Sigal Balshine's sociobiology course at McMcaster, Bressler's survey showed that "Even though being around funny people and having them appreciate your own humor are both rewarding experiences, women will ultimately prefer humor producers as relationship partners, while men will prefer appreciators of their own humor." In other words, while both sexes value a "sense of humor" in their dates, women tend to define this as a partner's ability to make them laugh, while men define it as a partner's capacity to laugh at their jokes.

The Journal Times Online :: What's laughter got to do with it?
I think I want a Chimp Chum.

Cute!

modernseed :: Chimp Chums

February 02, 2006

Baby bonsai.

I got one of these for Bradley for Christmas, but I wasn't sure what it would look like when it sprouted. Cute!

productdose.com :: Zen in a Can
Martina - it's just for you...

Nixon :: The Kinky
EBAY SHUT MY AUCTION DOWN IN ONE DAY. WITH NO REAL REASON??? SO TO MAKE SURE THAT IT IS CLEAR WHAT I AM SELLING IS,�JUST WATER� IN JARS, BUT I BELIVE IT TO BE KOBE BRYANTS 81 POINTS THAT HE SCORED ON JAN 22nd 2006.�I BELIVE ALL THE POINTS IN THE NBA FLOW INTO MY BASEMENT.�YOU CANT SHUT ME DOWN FOR BELIVING IN CRAZY THINGS.� I STATED�THIS AUCTION�TO BE�JUST WATER! IT IS JUST WATER WITH A STORY OF WHAT I BELIVE IT TO BE. YOU DONT HAVE TO BELIVE! THE WINNER GETS BOTH JARS.

eBay: Kobe Bryants 81 points (in a jar, in liquid form) (item 8756451206 end time Feb-03-06 15:22:52 PST)

(via Found on the Web)
It's James Joyce' b'day today.

A year before his death, Nora told him, "Well, Jim, I haven't read any of your books but I'll have to someday because they must be good considering how well they sell."

Good info on The Writer's Almanac from American Public Media. Just scroll down.

February 01, 2006

The following is the note I left on my neighbor�s front door this morning on my way to work after they woke me at 4am up with a wonderful symphony of screams, laughter and bloodhound wailings. Unable to fall back asleep, I scribed the below �[...]

Metroblogging NYC :: The Drunk Couple I Affectionately Refer To As My Next Door Neighbors Strike Again!

(BB note/warning: Horrific spelling, but, having lived next to people like this, I admire the effort all the same.)

My current project.


My current project.
Original here: Dilbert.com

Oh, the pathos... Sea-Monkey art.

The Seven Deadly Sinners :: monkey SEA, MONKEY do: erin norlin
I'm impressed. There are some promising law students out there.

Alberto Gonzales spoke before law students at Georgetown today, justifying illegal, unauthorized surveilance of US citizens, but during the course of his speech the students in class did something pretty ballsy and brave. They got up from their seats and turned their backs to him.

insomnia :: Future American lawyers to be proud of.

(also via chris glass)
DevilDucky :: Conan O'Brien: James Lipton reads Federline

James Lipton reads lyrics from the Kevin Federline song, 'PopoZow', on Conan O'Brien.

(via chris glass)
Brandon Bird does it again.

This time he's created Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Valentines. The man is brilliant. (Sadly, they're all sold out.)

BrandonBird.com :: Valentines