Spinning vinyl ipod app - link here
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Terranium - Interactive Installation
link hereTerrarium is an interactive, sonic ecosystem whose source of energy comes from the sounds people make interacting with the work. The sounds of the participants voices come into the world via the sound vents. These sounds are too raw for the environment so they are sucked in by the Seed Spitters who process the sounds to more manageable particles which are then expelled into the environment. These processed sound particles help spawn and sustain life within the ecosystem, providing food for the fish in the water and creating frequency sensitive plants on the land. The voice also triggers changes to the Pattern Bush who adapts the shapes of its leaves to the sounds it hears.
Takes a while to load up
Michael Jackson Tribute - you tube link here
The dancing inmates of Cebu prison in the Philippines (featured previously at Neatorama) presented a choreographed tribute to Michael Jackson yesterday. 1,500 inmates participated. The best is the middle part, where you’ll see dancing nuns and prisoners doing the Thriller dance to “I’ll Be There”.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Smash up things!
http://www.awards.goodbysilverstein.com/2009/wario_youtube/
The first place kids look to research a new video game is YouTube, which is loaded with hundreds of videos from all kinds of games. In order to make Wario stand out, we created a video that perfectly reflects Wario’s love for destroying everything in his path. It starts out like any other game footage montage, but takes an unexpected turn when Wario’s smashing begins to affect the entire YouTube page, eventually reducing it to rubble. An interactive first for YouTube. Over four million views in one month and praise all over the gaming blogs.
10 Unexpected Merit Badges
There are certain Boy Scout/Girl Scout Merit badges you expect - Archery, Cooking, Camping, Safety, that sort of thing. But the Scouts have a more well-rounded nucleus of merit badge opportunities than you could ever imagine (well, unless you were a Scout). Here are 10 you may not have expected to find on a merit badge sash.
1. Dentistry. The dentistry badge first entered the scene in 1971. To earn the badge, Scouts have to study the tooth structure, write about what causes dental decay, arrange an educational visit to a dentist’s office to help make teeth casts and get experience with some of the instruments, and finally, assist a dentist in performing a root canal. OK, I made that last one up. No root canal required - just an essay on fluoride (or something similar).
2. Cinematography. As you might suspect, this is a fairly modern badge and was introduced to the system for budding filmmakers. To earn this patch for their sash, Boy Scouts have to learn to use a tripod, pan a camera, frame a shot, select an angle and proper lighting, and learn how to shoot a handheld. And, with your parent’s permission, of course, you should try to visit a film set to see how production work is done. Pretty cool!
3. Fingerprinting. Not surprisingly, this one originated in the ’30s, just as Eliot Ness and the Untouchables were making detective work cool. This one, of course, involves taking prints and identifying all of the unique characteristics of each one - loops and whorls and all of that fun stuff. But they also require Scouts to get into the science of fingerprints and why they form the way the form.
4. Nuclear Science. Yep - horsemanship, firebuilding, canoeing and Nuclear Science. The Scouts are seriously sophisticated - and socially responsible (which is a duh statement, I suppose). Scouts dig deep into the effects and dangers of radiation, report on people who have contributed to the field of atomic energy, use a radiation meter, build an electroscope or a build a model of a reactor. That’s some pretty heavy-duty stuff!
5. Railroading. I love this one because my dad’s a railroader and I love that railroads are still relevant to the Scouts when they could be earning badges in aerospace engineering and space exploration. The railroading badge requires being able to differentiate between different types of railroad cars, understand railroad safety, and then complete a project that can include taking a trip on the rails and reporting on what was seen, building a model railroad or visiting a railroad museum and checking out the history. Doesn’t that sound like fun? Or am I just a total geek? OK, maybe don’t answer that.
6. B Extreme! Girl Scout group 24 observed that if a girl was into an extreme sport such as snowboarding or spelunking, she was kind of out of luck when it came to earning a merit badge in that area of interest. So they suggested “B Extreme,” which allows girls to become accomplished in the extreme sports arena, even if they live in the desert and want to learn about white water rafting. Simply researching and reporting on the sport is enough to earn a merit badge. A skateboarding suggestion includes learning the physics behind some of the tricks: “Consider Newton’s First Law of Motion, which states that an object in motion will stay in motion and an object at rest will stay at rest unless the object is acted upon by an outside force. What outside forces are at play while doing an “ollie”?”
7. Couch Potato. This Girl Scout badge might sound like it’s all about watching Gilmore Girls reruns and snacking on Doritos, but it actually can end up being an in-depth analysis of gender portrayals in the media, or a careful consideration of the nutritional value of some of the snacks we mindlessly consume while wondering exactly why we continue to watch The Hills.
8. CyberGirl Scout Badge. OK, minds out of the gutters, this one is actually about Internet safety, among other things. To earn this one, kids can research why they might need to use the Internet with a parent or guardian and an Internet scavenger hunt for the answers to Girl Scout-related trivia. This one is for Girl Scout Juniors - grades four and five.
9. Hi-Tech Hide and Seek. Geocaching - hiding some sort of a treasure in a public place and then giving clues to people over the Internet as to where the goodies can be found - and it has become so popular that it now has its own merit badge. “Letterboxing” is the same thing, except Geocaching makes use of a GPS and the finder usually gets to keep the geocached treasure. The prize in a letterbox is usually just a logbook that people sign when they discover it.
10. Sew Glam. This goes far beyond the simple sewing buttons and darning socks our moms might have earned sewing badges for back in the day. “Sew Glam” introduces girls to the world of creative solutions when it comes to a needle and thread (and glue gun and pinking shears and bleach pens and sequins…). The Required Activity asks Scouts to take a pair of jeans - Target, thrift-store finds, or already-owned ones - and make them their own. No iron-ons are allowed, but basically anything else goes.
Did you get any merit badges that are kind of out of the ordinary? Share in the comments!
Sash photo from Babble.com.
Boy Scout Merit Badge photos from Girl Scout Merit Badges photos fromGirlScoutShop.com.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Obama is old news... but this is pretty cool. Won a Webby for it (the Oscars of Online)
Pepsi Dear Mr. President Video Banner video
Pepsi Dear Mr. President Video Banner video
Sunday, June 21, 2009
What’s Wrong With This Photo?
The photo above, taken by Vernon Bryant for Dallas Morning News, depicts the bravery of Dallas Fire-Rescue officials warning residents of West Dallas of flooding (and if necessary, rescuing them) when a pump station failed (Source).
It’s the staple stuff of newspapers - local news and such - so if you’re wondering why it’s on this blog, take a closer look at the photo. Go ahead. Don’t see it yet? Take another look. We’ll wait - you’ll get it …
Thursday, June 18, 2009
A little ultraviolence improves any coffee ad
Boing Boing linked to a series of old, excessively violent Wilkins Coffee commercials created by Jim Henson way back in 1957. The spots depict two characters, Wilkins and Wontkins. Wontkins doesn't drink Wilkins coffee, so Wilkins offs him in various violent ways. The spots are short and sweet (the local station only had 10-second slots), and were so successful that they were reshot for five other local coffee companies, the only difference being the product shot. Steve Whitmire, the voice of Kermit since 1990, recently visited the Savannah College of Art and Design and shared with us an interesting story about one of the Wilkins commercials. Apparently, in one of those local markets, the spot where Wontkins gets shot in the head from a mysterious arm that appears to his left aired for the first time on the day JFK was assassinated. Of course, it was pulled after complaints, even though no one could have seen that coming, not by a long shot. |
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Happy Y&R Anniversary Keleigh and Matt!!!
Woop Woop!!!!
I guess you're married to the office - Jase looks like you're Elvis!
Comfort Wipe: Extension Arm to Wipe Your Behind
The wait is over: Wipe your butt with a stick
go to Link
The wait is over: Wipe your butt with a stick
go to Link
I don't care what YouTube says, this infomercial for the "Comfort Wipe" can't be real. My mind won't allow it to be. For God's sake, it starts off by asking how much we're all sick of folding toilet paper, as if we would all nod our heads and agree that, yes, the whole process is a savage antiquity. We're then expected to accept that wiping with a fancy stick is a bold step forward in our personal sanitary habits. No. This is not right. A fat guy cannot cite "advantages" to being fat and in the same breath acknowledge that he needs help sanitizing his crevasse, at which point the voiceover says the product helps people retain their dignity. I keep looking for The Onion's logo in the corner, and it's not there. And I weep.
—Posted by David Kiefaber
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
We've seen this technique before... but still think this is great. Prob cos students did it.
College Dorm Light Show
[YouTube - Link]
Students at Politechnika Wroc?awska or the Wroclawska University of Technology in Poland had themselves a grand ol’ time rigging their dorm with a light show that played the theme from Knight Rider.
After this clip, check out their website P.I.W.O.3 (Google Translate) for many more video clips.
Defying Developers: Buildings of the Resistance
Buildings are creatively converted or utterly demolished all the time to make room for highways and other large-scale civic problems, but the laws vary on what can be done when a single hold-out structure stands alone against a sea of fat-cat developers, builders and architects who all want nothing more but for them to move.
Sometimes they successfully force out residents or bribe them with offers that range up to 20 times the value of the home and real estate - but in many cases they simplyhave to give up and build around them, creating so-called ‘nail houses’ that stand apart from their surroundings.
In some cases, these incredible stand-alone structures have huge fan bases of individuals who applaud their willingness to stand up for their property.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Mean Cards
Sometimes Hallmark just doesn’t have the card that expressed exactly how you’re feeling (case in point, the Prizon Greeting cards).
When Julianna Holowka lost her job, her apartment and her studio all in the span of a week, she was devastated. With her last $13.25, she bought art supplies to draw her gloom away. She gave them to friends (who loved the humor) and started selling them as uh, shall we say, anti-Hallmark greeting cards, and thus "Mean Cards" was born.
If dark humor is your cup of tea, definitely check out her work and blog: Link
Sympathy cards...
To friendship...
Feel good...
and congratulations.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
For sale - pretty girls' saliva
China's equivalent of eBay has banned an online trader from selling the saliva of pretty teenage girls.
The seller claimed the saliva was a 'tonic' and was asking the equivalent of £2 a small bottle, reports Hunan Online.
Listings for the bottles included pictures of the 18-year-old girls the saliva was supposedly taken from.
However, auction house Taobao.com deleted the listings after receiving dozens of complaints from web surfers.
The retailer, whose name was given as Zhou, said he had only been interested in testing the popularity of his ideas.
He now wants to market girls' drool instead - but admits that so far he has failed to sell one bottle of either product.
"The drool was all collected from 18-year-old pretty girls when they were sleeping. And buyers can pay later after they certified the authenticity of this product," he said.
Fallen Princesses
Photographer Dina Goldstein gives a preview of a series featuring Disney princesses portrayed in their later lives, or what happened after “happily ever after”. The complete series will go on exhibit in October. Link
The site takes ages to load so go have a coffee and come back.
Laugh with Your Fingers
Laugh with Your Fingers is a soundboard of laughs; all different, but all apparently from the same guy.
Press them all as fast as you can and create your own laugh track! Link
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Art or Vandalism?
A deviant artist nicknamed ULiveandYouBurn turned roadside traffic safety barrels into monsters and alligators, but is it art or vandalism?
Sometimes there’s a fine line between art and vandalism. Blurring that line is Raleigh, North Carolina-based ULiveandYouBurn (nickname used to protect his identity). Part Urban Explorer, part fine-art photographer and social critic, ULiveandYouBurn is constantly pushing the boundaries of acceptable art.
As an Urban Explorer, he’s traveled into many closed-off areas including construction sites, abandoned buildings, and mine shafts, and he’s climbed his share of dizzying construction cranes.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Colgate kids toothpaste needs to own this!
Toof Cleaning
Time for a bath, my little Milk Teef!
"Hey, where's Lardee?"
"No, I don't think you're allergic to water, Lardee"
"Here, take my rubber duckie. It will make you brave."
"Don't wanna!"
"hey, it kinda tickles."
"We be bubble monsters! Rawrrr!"
Okay guys, try to stay clean from now on."Don't wanna."
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
People axing themselves for a bit of cheese - priceless.
Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling - 2009
Every year, scores of people fling themselves down Cooper’s Hill in Gloucestershire, England, risking their necks and even lives … all in hope of catching (and winning) a block of cheese.
Behold the sports of cheese rolling:
[YouTube - Link]
Monday, June 8, 2009
For the person who has everything
Customized Squirrels
Admit that you’ve always wanted a dead squirrel mounted to your exact specifications, such as the special forces squirrel in the picture above. Rick Nadeau decorates his taxidermy projects with items from G.I. Joe figures.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
New Book Smell in a Can
Do you love your Kindle, but feel like it’s lacking a certainje ne sais quoi? Spray it with "New Book Smell" and get that satisfaction you’ve been missing.
Smell of Books comes in four additional aromas: Classic Musty, Crunchy Bacon, Eau You Have Cats, and Scents of Sensibility, for Jane Austen fans.
“Now you can finally enjoy reading e-books without giving up the smell you love so much. With Smell of Books you can hve the best of both worlds, the convenience of an e-book and the smell of your favoirte paper book.”
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The World’s Weirdest Vending Machines
People buy the craziest things, especially when they come from a machine. Pictured is the Dog-o-matic, which will wash your dog while you wait.
Vending machines have been around since the first century AD. By today’s accounts, even the first vending machine, which dispensed holy water to temple visitors, was weird.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Espresso Book Machine can print any of 500,000 titles while you wait
LINK HERE
the Espresso Book Machine is being billed as the biggest change for the literary world since Gutenberg invented the printing press more than 500 years ago and made the mass production of books possible. Launching today at Blackwell's Charing Cross Road branch in London, the machine prints and binds books on demand in five minutes, while customers wait.
15 Off-the-Wall Theme Parks
I’m a huge fan of theme parks. I love roller coasters and costumed characters and all that jazz, but there are some parks that are boring and some that are just plain weird. Personally, I think I could pass on quite a few of these bad parks…others I want to visit just to see that the deal is.
Image Via km33068 [Flickr]
1. Hershey Park, PA -Mmmmm….chocolate! Hooray, kisses! The company that combined the two truly is brilliant, but a theme park in their name? There’s roller coasters, water slides, and, of course, cute little Reese’s and Hershey’s characters wandering. If you were worried about getting your chocolate fix on, don’t worry, there’s plenty of sweet treats at the restaurants throughout the park.
Image Via Andrewds14 [Flickr]
2. Dollywood, TN –Maybe you’re a Dolly fan. Maybe you like the ironic humor of visiting a theme park dedicated to the blonde county bombshell Maybe you just love farms. Whatever your reason for visiting Dollywood, you’re sure to get an earful –of Dolly Parton songs. Enjoy the sights and smells of the Smoky Mountains while speeding through exciting roller coasters.
3. Diggerland, UK –Ever wish you could be a construction worker, but hate sweat and hard work? Finally, you can relax by going to work on backhoes and other digging devices. They even have rides where you get to be inside the digging bucket. Apparently the United Kingdom has a crucial shortage of construction jobs available.
Image Via Hazelisles [Flickr]
4. Limestone Heritage, Malta –What could be more fun than limestone? Why anything of course! This exotic destination located on the island of Malta teaches kids about the fundamentals of limestone. I’ve never seen anyone work so hard to remove the “fun” from “fundamentals.”
Image Via llamnudds [Flickr]
5. Dickens World, UK –Do you have great expectations when it comes to your amusement parks? Sorry, I couldn’t resist. You can finally chill out in downtrodden 19th century England like the characters of Charles Dickens.
Image Via Mukluk Land website
6. Mukluk Land, AK –Alaska isn’t exactly known for being a crazy fun place for children and their amusement park is no exception. Their biggest attraction is the World’s Largest mukluk (a traditional soft boot worn in the Arctic). Aside from that, there is skee ball, mini-golf and big cabbage.
Image Via blatantgizmo [Flickr]
7. Pedro Land, SC –Why is there a Mexican theme park in the middle of South Carolina? Because who better to build a stereotypical amusement park based on the South of the Border than people who know nothing about Mexicans? Pink flamingos, hot tamales and really bad puns, like a mini golf course called the “Golf of Mexico,” run abound in this cheesy park.
Image Via the website Gallery
8. Harry Potter Themepark, FL –This is park may be unfinished, but it is sure to be completed and opened sometime in 2010. It’s going to be part of Universal Studios Florida. Finally you can put away your muggle wears and “let out your inner wizard.”
9. The Ocean Dome, Japan –Ever go to the beach and think, “I sure wish I could be having a simulated beach experience right now?” Here’s your chance. With real sand, manufactured waves, a private rain forest and a simulated volcanic eruption every hour, the Ocean Dome would be a great attraction for landlocked people in Utah. Unfortunately, its actual location lies within 1000 feet of a real beach in Miyazaki, Japan.
Image Via azkid2lt [Flickr]
10. Grutas Park, Lithuania –Hooray communism. Go USSR. Grutas Park is nicknamed “Stalin’s Word” -and for good reason. This Lithuanian theme park is dedicated to the area’s soviet-occupation. There’s not only a great statue garden of the communist heroes and a zoo, but also a fun gulag experience for all you history lovers out there.
Image Via Theme Park Review
11. BonBon Land, Denmark –Yes the colors and statues look crazy, but the madness doesn’t stop there. One roller coaster peaks with farting sounds being played just as you pass behind Henry Hound’s butt. Vomiting, pooping and breasts are in full force throughout this tasteless park, making it any 13 year old boy’s fantasy land.
Image Via Angie Torres [Flickr]
12. Suoi Tien Park, Vietnam –Sure Buddhism is all about sacrificing material goods and obtaining enlightenment, but roller coasters and water slides are fun too. You know what else is fun? A pond full of 1,500 live crocodiles that you can feed with meat attached to fishing poles. And just in case you really don’t get the message of Buddhism through the tons of golden statues, there is also a fun animatronics ride featuring the 12 torments of fell.
13. Shijingshan Amusement Park, China –If you thought the Chinese bootleg DVDs were a huge source of copyright infringement, just wait until you see the Shijingshan Amusement Park. Despite numerous copyright lawsuits from Disney, blatant knock offs of Minnie Mouse, Cinderella and Donald Duck still roam the park grounds, along with their friend Hello Kitty.
Image Via Semisvetik [Flickr]
14. Love Land, Korea –A lot of the attractions at this park are too adult for the general Neatorama audience. Even so, you’re certain to enjoy this sculpture of dogs making love with while flashing the peace sign. The owner hopes that the park will not only be fun, but be a good-source of education for newly weds.
Image Via San Sharma [Flickr]
15. Neverland Ranch, CA –Lock up your daughters –I mean sons. This park is an American classic, filled with tacky artwork, a zoo and rides. Unfortunately, this is one park that is long gone and will likely never rise again as the attractions have been moved out in the last year. Jackson said he no longer considers this park home since he claims the police officers “violated it.”
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