chocolate fashion shows and giant salmon

this picture is a Chinook salmon found dead post-spawn by a park ranger in Battle Creek, California. from Neatorama, read the original post here. see, this is why untouched nature - the kind of nature that gets large in the absence of humans eating up their habitat and resources - is a little scary. it's the world of 800 lb bears, 300 foot trees, 150 lb wolves, giant sea creatures of all kinds...including giant salmon. (yes, salmon spend their lives at sea before swimming up their freshwater birth streams and spawning. this makes salmon anadramous fish.)


here we have a swiss chocolate swiss army knife. filled with hazelnut praline! 'nuff said. what a great consolation stocking stuffer! and so shiny... from neatorama, right here.


here's that chocolate fashion show i mentioned. seems it's the 11th annual new york chocolate show, and this is the fashion segment. warm chocolate is adhered and molded to models, who then strut around wearing chocolate corsets and things. one model does faint - perhaps the combination of heat and weight? from the amazing boingboing.


last but certainly not least, a sort-of-new species of simulation video game. "after shock" is a 3-week real-time california earthquake disaster simulation - you can jump in and participate at any time! simulated disaster recovery think-tank, anyone? what a great idea. gaming for the greater good. no seriously, AWESOME. next, a simulated zombie/vampire attack. here's an excerpt, followed by a link to play:

"Aftershock, run by the Institute for the Future and Art Center College of Design, is based on a 300-page U.S. Geological Survey scenario report that details the extensive damage that Southern California could experience in the aftermath of a 7.8-magnitude quake on the San Andreas Fault. The game began on Thursday and will run for three weeks, prompting users to complete real-world missions — and submit content based on them to the gaming community."

play After Shock!