Octopi Fond of Coconut Shells

I love how this octopus carries the coconut shells with him/her. Awkward, yet graceful. Strangely intelligent spineless creatures. I heart cephalopods. I bet they're quite philosophical.

Glasslock is snappy

Profound Truths.

From Jessica Hagy's brilliant commentary blog, thisisindexed.com - she's a very funny lady.

Space Invaders

Yes, the classic arcade game. Yes, the graffiti/installation art in New York. Yes, it's elsewhere in the world. Yes, I get excited every time I find one. Here's the website: SPACE INVADERS!

No invaders in Boston yet. Too bad.

Who Needs Looney Tunes Now?

This guy is gonna put Wile E. Coyote out of business. Anvils? Gunpowder? Men going "whooooaa...that's pretty cool, man." Hijinks. Yeah, I watched it. I'm a lady and I might watch it again.

Vitamin D

Aside from watching speedy students on Glee dance their pants off on "Vitamin D", what else about vitamin D? Well, there's this really interesting snippet from Neatorama about how people in Northern Latitudes don't get enough sunlight to make their D quota. They needed to get more of it from food sources. Which is why people in Northern latitudes evolved the ability to drink milk at some point. Voila, more vitamin D available = fewer rickets? Always a good time. But those lactose intolerant people of the world did not inherit that milk-drinking-in-adulthood gene. It's innerestin'.

Hey, you know what I want right now? Some Rick Rolls. HAH. From Neatorama.

A Plushie Mood

Blame Neatorama, they had such adorable stuff up. I particularly enjoyed the Haminal and the Stache Labbit by Frank Kozik. Seriously, how can I go on living without a Stache Labbit on my pillow next to me?

So then I had to go looking around for more plushies. Website myplasticheart has some delightful things, as well kidrobot. Here's some strangely adorable plushie pork products on the former.

Okay, now I'm thinking about Domo Kun, that loveable mascot of Japanese tv. Watch the best of Domo Kun on youtube, and then try - just try - not to buy a Domo Kun plushie. Yes, I'm reposting this. Seriously. Today I'll have to be happy with watching Domo, since I just spent actual money on an ebay Haminal. Dammit. I just love that it comes in a little can.

Snufflesnufflesniffsniff

Museum of Animal Perspectives, people. Via Cute Overload. Powerful stuff.

Also, tumbleweed perspective! Brilliant and dizzying. Good sound effects.

A Post About Food Because I'm Hungry

Gourmet Magazine has a clever online slideshow of Oscar-inspired cocktails. For instance, he Meryl Streep (Persecco, Benedictine, and Goldschlager - for all those Oscar statuettes), and the Angelina Jolie (single malt scotch, elderflower liqueur). Hot stuff. I also like the Kate Winslet, the Sean Penn, and the Mickey Rourke cocktails.


Next, do you know about the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck in NYC? A guy bought an ice cream truck, and decided to let it all hang out with a giant rainbow ice cream cone on top of the truck. Lots of exotic ice cream toppings, like sea salt, balsamic vinegar, cardamom, and cayenne. And tshirts, of course, that are selling out almost faster than the ice cream. Check out the blog, don't forget to check twitter for location updates. I haven't gotten Big Gay ice cream yet, but I plan on it.

I had another link about pasta and eggplant puree, but you know what? I closed the page already. Tough.

Bats and Blowing Teapots

Sounds a bit dirty, doesn't it? Well, thankfully the bats and teapot abuse are not related. British photographer Kim Taylor (a man named Kim) used a complex setup of flash bulbs and motion sensors to snap crystal-clear pictures of bats sipping water on the fly. Just lovely.


Then of course we have people blowing into teapots full of water. Pour me a cup! From Neatorama and Geeks Are Sexy.

Iphone Case, Recession Edition

Okay, an iPhone case made of cardboard is pretty good. This is not a time for snooty polycarbonate and grippy rubber, or even time for bamboo cases. Go for cardboard, and maybe even spring for the "Bail-out Bundle" of ten cardboard cases. Found on Geekologie. Much chuckling, and I don't even have a damn iPhone.

Scotch, cheese, and pears (don't really go together?)

Been a while since I posted! Poverty has a way of drawing one's attention elsewhere. Silly little moneybags. Browsing the internets today, I found this cunning cheese board and cheese slicer on Neatorama; together they look like an oversize mousetrap. My question is, Why didn't someone think of this arrangment before? Very humorous.


And here we have Buddha-pears, on a page I've google-translated from the original Portuguese. Again, Neatorama led me here. Delightful! Square watermelons, heart-shaped cucumbers, "Macintosh" apples, and now Buddha-pears. BUT DOES IT TASTE GOOD.

And finally, the world's largest bottle of single-malt Scotch. Featured by Neatorama and The Scottish Sun. Honestly, who else would write about it. Um, but if anyone wants to buy that bottle of 14 y/o single-malt for my birthday, well then. It's coming up in November.

Neatorama, Neatorama, again. I found this link to an architect in Texas who designs and builds low-income housing out of found objects and salvage. And the houses are gorgeous. Really. I would happily live in one. Here's the NY Times slide show of houses built by Dan Phillips and his Phoenix Commotion construction company. It's pretty fantastical.

Smorgasbord!

Colorado's Denver Water utility company is cracking down on wasteful water usage. For instance, running sinks and running toilets. The utility's new mascot is obviously a jogging man in a toilet costume: A RUNNING TOILET. Here's the article on BoingBoing, with reports of a the Running Toilet frightening children playing in a (wasteful!) spray fountain.


Next, we have Cheetos lip balm, discovered on Geekologie. Amazing. I desperately want to smell that stick of lip balm; I must know if it really, truly smells like Cheetos.


Then, a classic new gadget: the cell-phone cigarette lighter. Promoting at least two different kinds of cancer at the same time! Fire hazard, as well.

Finally, order a GhettoBasket of convenience store goodies for that special person in your life. After all, this is a recession. And they might really need some lighter fluid, a grape drink, or a pregnancy test. Choose from a regular Ghetto Basket or the Ghetto-fabulous Basket. I know I want one.

Jam and Daniel Craig

If I had more brain power right now, I'd make some kind of clever connection between several British points-of-interest, including tea-time with jam and James Bond. But it's still raining, and I'm still drinking my tea. So.

Neatorama posted this great article about an artist named Lindi Kirsin commissioned to paint a landscape for a British jam and condiments company. The painting of the Manchester library is, of course, painted only using jam, marmalade, mint sauce, tartar sauce, and a few other eatable spreads manufactured by the company. In the subsequent charity Ebay auction, the lucky winner will receive the painting ("Manchester Preserved", hyuck), as well as a color print of the painting (in case the jam doesn't hold up very long - who paints in jam?). Ant insurance, anyone?



Speaking of ants at the picnic, a British popsicle - or shall I say lolly - company took a vote: Who is the coolest British celebrity (whose image you'd like to lick on a stick?) Women overwhelmingly voted for...Daniel Craig's James Bond. The company obliged by sculpting their new fruity popsicle effigies in the likeness of Daniel Craig emerging from the ocean, bare-torsoed, in Casino Royale.

I mean.I think Craig's a good choice - I kind of want to lick Daniel Craig, and I don't even like boys. Thanks again, Neatorama! It's always a kick.

Scanwiches

Reading this month's Wired Magazine Playlist, I found many cool things.

1. Scanwiches are sandwich halves that have been scanned at high resolution, so you can torture yourself while still at work. With images of tasty-looking food. Food porn! Safe for work, not safe for your famished afternoon brain. Beautiful sandwiches looking o-so-biteable in the blackness.

2. Hive - another strategy game with attractive tiles (that remind me of fancy painted candies). Protect the queen bee, use your beetles.

3. The Star Wars AT-AT model pretending that it's a household pet (walking on the beach, playing with the cat) in this super Flickr stream.

Fore-Edge Painting, Moss Mats

A bath mat that never needs to be vacuumed or washed? A bath mat that enjoys moisture and high-humidity conditions? Where is this marvel of science!

"Nguyen La Chanh's ingenious design is made from a decay-free foam called plastazote, and populated with three varieties of moss: ball, island, and forest. Maintenance required for this little patch of green is limited, as the moss thrives off of the humidity released from daily bathroom rituals."

More pictures of the mossy mat on Geekologie. I'm glad this isn't a euphemism for anything.

Also, does anyone know about fore-edge painting on old books? The painting is done on the edges of the flared pages; the image is invisible when the book is closed, but when one staggers the pages, the image is magically visible. See the video below! The Boston Public Library currently has an online exhibit of fore-edge painting right here.





AGAIN, I'm so glad this isn't a euphemism for anything! Also, this is awesome.

Animals on Web Cams

You know what's a great way to waste time? Watching live-streaming animal cams piped to you straight from techno-friendly zoos. Like the Smithsonian National Zoo. Which, I just discovered, has 12 animal web-cams. Including the PandaCam, the NakedMoleRatCam, the FisherCatCam, the OctopusCam, the KiwiCam, The TigerCam...so far, FisherCats and MoleRats are the most enjoyable at this hour. But honestly, I am having a party in my monitor right now. Squirm, naked mole rats, squirm! It's a dogpile of wrinkles in that burrow. Plus a random foot sticking up. I love it.

Go, go waste some time looking at critters on camera, at the Smithsonian National Zoo's Webcams. I dare you.

Oh my god, the rat is cleaning its little pink toes. Peeeenk toooooes. Zah!

Ninja Moves, Eggshell Speakers, Rooks

First of all, a rook is Britain's equivalent of the American raven. Rooks given a piece of straight wire and some meal worm motivation easily passed the make-a-hook-out-of-wire-get-the-worms test. Like they weren't even trying, they were all, "Oo, snacks. Grand! If you give me the bottle opener, I'll pop some brews, too." Let's recall that ravens (and rooks) are generally thought to be the smartest birds around. Read up on it, "wolf-birds" are awesome. I found it at my local library, btw. Found this raven posting on Geekologie: Hmm: Birds as Smart as Monkeys, Toddlers

Again from Geekologie, this crazy video of gymnastic ninja moves - who needs an action film when you can have it all on YouTube? Damien Walter, apparently a gymnast or perhaps a martial artist, does some impressive stunts. My favorite is when he's flipping through the air while taking off shirt and sweatpants(!!!).



Finally, why bother slopping creme fraiche and caviar into a sterilized egg shell when you simply make cute speakers out of those shells? The brown eggs look so...hip. Actually, it looks pretty good to me: Eggshell speakers on Geekologie.

Imaginary Gastric Bands and Glee

Do you have a hole in your soul where Arrested Development used to live? Me, too. Christopher Guest's movies are helpful, but nothing will ever fill the void of Arrested Development. (Unless there's a movie that comes out, and it's FANTASTIC.) I have good feelings about this new show, though. It's called Glee. It stars - among other fine actors - the blond woman from the Christopher Guest movies, also known as Joyce the predatory lawyer on The L Word. Yeah, her! Plus there's a musical element to the series - as in, singing. AWESOME! Hulu has the pilot episode of Glee for free:



And in other news. For the purposes of weight loss, a woman's hypnotist convinced her that she had gastric bypass surgery. Piped in hospital smells and everything. And she totally lost weight, believing that her stomach had been stapled smaller in the surgery. She can even "remember" being wheeled into the operating room, the smell of anesthesia, etc. Fake memories! The Matrix or Total Recall, anyone? From Neatorama.

The Nano Song

A gem I found while reading Facebook updates. Thanks to Margy! This is the third time I'm watching it. And I don't even care that the video is the wrong size for my blog. I'd like all my science factoids to come in musical form, from now on.