Michæl.Paukner's "The ancient Hebrew Conception of the Universe to illustrate the account of creation and the flood." Flickr link, but you really have to see it at the largest possible size.

This is surely one of the most adorable animal YouTubes in the history of all internets. (via @maggiekb1 via this blog).

A woman who appears to have been inebriated fell onto the tracks in a Boston subway as a train was rushing towards her. People on the platform frantically waved at the train, which stopped in the nick of time.

A Russian actor's group called "Big Difference" (Bolshaya Raznitsa / Большая Разница) remade The Matrix as a Charlie Chaplin silent film. (Via Neatorama)

YouTube Link with HD

William Hoffman is a New York filmmaker who put this video together and uploaded it last August. It’s finally getting some viral activity, and rightfully so. It’s “a celebration of life that was inspired by David Eagleman’s book, Sum.”

I do enjoy a perfectly realized edit, and this one’s full of them. William’s website.

(CC-licensed photo on Flickr by 911conspiracy)

Forty-five years ago, Harpers magazine published Richard Hofstadter's essay "The Paranoid Style in American Politics." The occasion for the piece was the revenant conservatism that had driven Barry Goldwater's presidential campaign (the magazine hit the newsstands the month of the Johnson/Goldwater election), but it remains astonishingly apt. I cannot recommend it enough for anyone who wants to understand the mentalités of fringe political movements in the United States--from the Anti-Masons and Know Nothings in the first half of the 1800s, to McCarthyism, the Nation of Islam, and the Weathermen in the last century, to the Birthers and Truthers today.

I hesitate to bring up 9/11 Truth again after the firestorm of commentary I unleashed last week, but read Hofstadter on the pedantry of paranoid literature and tell me that he doesn't nail some of the most contentious of the posters (most of whom were probably not even born when the piece was written) with a psychoanalyst's precision and a novelist's sympathy:

One of the impressive things about paranoid literature is the contrast between its fantasied conclusions and the almost touching concern with factuality it invariably shows. It produces heroic strivings for evidence to prove that the unbelievable is the only thing that can be believed.....Respectable paranoid literature not only starts from certain moral commitments that can indeed be justified but also carefully and all but obsessively accumulates "evidence." The difference between this "evidence" and that commonly employed by others is that it seems less a means of entering into normal political controversy than a means of warding off the profane intrusion of the secular political world. The paranoid seems to have little expectation of actually convincing a hostile world, but he can accumulate evidence in order to protect his cherished convictions from it....

One of last week's more strident posters shared his frustration with members of his on-line forum (yes, I Googled myself, and of course I read all the nasty things they said about me), listing the seminal books I hadn't referenced ("Nafeez Ahmed's "War on Truth," Peter Dale Scott's "Road to 9/11," Michael Ruppert's "Crossing the Rubicon," Michel Chossudovsky's "War on Terrorism"), pointing out The Complete 9/11 Timeline at historycommons.org that I ignored, and exposing my transparently propagandistic mendacity in allowing one perfervid e-mailer to stand "as an avatar for the supposed pathologies of the 9/11 Truth movement."

Of course he's furious! He's educated, articulate, and politically committed. He's not some disreputable, anti-social obsessive--he's a veritable exegete of 9/11 anomalies, as fluent in the jargon of physics as he is in political dialectics. It's bad enough that he has to endure the studied neutrality or outright hostility of the really big guns of the left--Amy Goodman, Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein--but then an arrant nobody like me comes along with, as one of his fellow posters put it, "a metric tonne of standard issue boilerplate" and presumes that he can conjure away the whole edifice of 9/11 Truth with a couple of wisecracks. Not only am I smug and ignorant and intellectually dishonest --- it's as if I don't even care about the subtle distinctions between one brand of Truthery and another, as if I can't be bothered to acknowledge the museum's-worth of evidence that he and his colleagues have so assiduously curated.

Imagine that you were a Maria Callas fan. You own every recording she ever made -- 78s, LPs, remastered CDs, even reel-to-reel tapes recorded off of radio broadcasts. You've not only read every book and magazine article about her that was ever committed to print, you've written a few yourself. And then some fly-by-night music journalist casually dismisses her in the pages of a mass circulation magazine as a cracked-voiced diva whose sole claim to fame was that she and Jackie O were rivals for Aristotle Onassis's affections.

Reading through all that commentary, I thought of how misguided missionaries sometimes try to evangelize Jews by calling their attention to passages from the New Testament--a scripture that by definition carries no weight with Jews at all. From my outsider's perspective, most of the Truther's exhibits (the iron spherules, the 2.5 seconds of video-taped free fall, the anecdotes about the dancing Israelis, the housing official trapped in the stairwell of WTC7) aren't evidence at all but rather artifacts of confirmation bias--factoids (many of dubious provenance, some long past their sell-by date) that are plucked out of context and marshaled not to build or close a positive case for one thesis or another, but only to cast doubt on the default position. I can't engage the 9/11 issue on the same terms that a Truther does, because I'd have to be a Truther myself.

Religious fanatics, political radicals, obsessive fans -- the worlds they live in are closed systems, governed by dogmas and articles of faith. Discipline is strictly enforced; members are punished or purged for their lapses in ideological or doctrinal purity. Outsiders are regarded with suspicion and hostility -- milquetoast accommodationists who are presumptuous enough to suppose they can make common cause on one issue or another even more so than overt enemies. It's a pressure cooker -- turn up the temperature and you get sectarianism and schisms, higher still and you get witch hunts, show trials, Cultural Revolutions, and Nuremberg laws.

With its congeries of black sheep constituencies (Alex Jones Libertarian populists, movement leftists, anarchists, white supremacists, New World Order reactionaries, Protocols of the Elders of Zion anti-Semites, crusading architects and theologians) and its lack of a dominant leader or organization, the 9/11 Movement will likely never become unified enough to tear itself apart. But it has not been altogether innocuous either. "One of the major consequences of the 9/11 movement," Noam Chomsky said, "Has been to draw enormous amounts of energy and effort away from activism directed to real and ongoing crimes of state...crimes that are far more serious than blowing up the WTC would be, if there were any credibility to that thesis. That is, I suspect, why the 9/11 movement is treated far more tolerantly by centers of power than is the norm for serious critical and activist work."

Just as the missionary can't understand how the Jew can contemplate the prospect of his eternal damnation with such unnatural equanimity, the Truther can't fathom why the rest of us would rather look at the forest than the trees. There's a certain poignancy in their predicament. As Hofstadter wrote, "We are all sufferers from history, but the paranoid is a double sufferer, since he is afflicted not only by the real world, with the rest of us, but by his fantasies as well."

Image: Sean McNally

Sean McNally, a 15th-level artist and 7th-level animator, created a resume that looks like a character sheet from Dungeons & Dragons. He claims to have a Base Art Bonus of +11, of which I am skeptical. But maybe a little exaggeration is expected on a resume. Click on the link for a larger image.

Link via Geekologie

Carl Sagan with a model of the Viking Lander. Photo via Wikipedia

I miss Carl Sagan. Sagan's enthusiasm for science and his knack for translating difficult scientific concepts into simple explanations that many can understand, made him a popular figure. He was an ambassador for science, if you will, as he had inspired many people to study science (yours truly included).

Today would've been his 75th birthday, so in honor of the great astronomer, scientist and author, Neatorama presents 10 Neat Facts About Carl Sagan:

1. Carl Sagan's First Book About Stars

When Carl was five years old, he wondered about the stars: what were they? Unsatisfied with the answers he got from his friends and from adults he knew, Carl went to the library and asked for a book about stars. The librarian handed him ... a book on celebrities! In Keay Davidson's Carl Sagan: A Life, Carl explained how his fascination with the cosmos began:

I gave it back to her and said, "This wasn't the kind of stars I had in mind." She thought this was hilarious, which humiliated me further. She then went and got the right kind of book. I took it—a simple kid's book. I sat down on a little chair—a pint-sized chair—and turned the pages until I came to the answer.

And the answer was stunning. It was that the Sun was a star but really close. The stars were suns, but so far away they were just little points of light.... And while I didn't know the [inverse] square law of light propagation or anything like that, still, it was clear to me that you would have to move that Sun enormously far away, further away than Brooklyn [for the stars to appears as dots of light]....

The scale of the universe suddenly opened up to me. [It was] kind of a religious experience. [There] was a magnificence to it, a grandeur, a scale which has never left me. Never ever left me.

2. Sagan vs. Apple

In 1994, Apple chose the internal codename "Carl Sagan" for its PowerMac 7100. Though it was meant as an homage to Carl (and an in-joke that the computer would make Apple "billions and billions" of dollars), they also used the codenames "Piltdown Man" and "Cold Fusion" for the Power Mac 6100 and 8100, respectively. When Carl found out that he was being put alongside scientific hoaxes, he sued Apple. Though Apple won the suit, the codename was changed to BHA (Butt Head Astronomer) ... which prompted yet another lawsuit from the p.o.'d astronomer! Apple won again, but their lawyers demanded the engineers change the codename one more time, which they did. The PowerMac 7100 was known by its final codename LAW, which stood for "Lawyers Are Wimps."

3. Spaced Out ... On Pot!

In 1969, Carl Sagan wrote under the Pseudonym "Mr. X" about the virtues of cannabis. Harvard Medical School Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry Lester Grinspoon has the article in his website Marijuana Uses:

It all began about ten years ago. I had reached a considerably more relaxed period in my life - a time when I had come to feel that there was more to living than science, a time of awakening of my social consciousness and amiability, a time when I was open to new experiences. I had become friendly with a group of people who occasionally smoked cannabis, irregularly, but with evident pleasure. Initially I was unwilling to partake, but the apparent euphoria that cannabis produced and the fact that there was no physiological addiction to the plant eventually persuaded me to try. My initial experiences were entirely disappointing; there was no effect at all, and I began to entertain a variety of hypotheses about cannabis being a placebo which worked by expectation and hyperventilation rather than by chemistry. After about five or six unsuccessful attempts, however, it happened. I was lying on my back in a friend's living room idly examining the pattern of shadows on the ceiling cast by a potted plant (not cannabis!). I suddenly realized that I was examining an intricately detailed miniature Volkswagen, distinctly outlined by the shadows. I was very skeptical at this perception, and tried to find inconsistencies between Volkswagens and what I viewed on the ceiling. But it was all there, down to hubcaps, license plate, chrome, and even the small handle used for opening the trunk. When I closed my eyes, I was stunned to find that there was a movie going on the inside of my eyelids. Flash . . . a simple country scene with red farmhouse, a blue sky, white clouds, yellow path meandering over green hills to the horizon. . . Flash . . .

4. The Politics of Science

Anyone who has ever worked in a university or an academic institution would know this, but most people assume that because science relies on logic and careful reasoning, scientists would behave in a clinical and dispassionate way. Nothing is farther from the truth.

Carl's popularity had backfired on him not once but twice. In 1967, he was denied tenure at Harvard because his colleagues bristled at "what they perceived as self-aggrandizement and pandering to the public."

In 1992, Carl was again disappointed when his application for membership at the prestigious National Academy of Sciences was denied. Ironically, he received the Public Welfare Medal, the highest award of the Academy for "distinguished contributions in the application of science to the public welfare."

In both instances, Carl persevered and succeeded to overcome setbacks resulting from the politics of science.

5. Billions and Billions

Carl Sagan actually never used the term "billions and billions." His exact words on the series Cosmos were "billions upon billions" (which, for all practical purpose, is pretty much the same thing).

So how did "billions and billions" came to be? We can blame Johnny Carson:

[YouTube Clip]

Carl was a good sport - his final book, titled Billions & Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium, opened with a tongue-in-cheek discussion of the catch phrase and noted that Johnny Carson himself was an amateur astronomer.

6. The Sagan Unit

A sagan is defined as at least 4 billion (the smallest amount in "billions" is two billion, so "billions and billions" equal 4 billion). It is estimated that the Milky Way galaxy has 100 sagan (400,000,000,000) stars.

Previously on Neatorama: Fun and Unusual Units of Measurements

7. Pioneer Plaques

Many people know that Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 spacecrafts carry metal plaques that carry a message from mankind. But not many know that it was Carl Sagan, together with Frank Drake (yes, the man who came up with the Drake Equation that attempts to estimate the number of alien civilization in our galaxy), that designed the plaque. The controversial artwork, which featured a nude man and woman, was drawn by Sagan's then-wife Linda Salzman Sagan.

After the Pioneer Program, NASA put a Golden Record aboard the two Voyager spacecrafts, which included a greeting "Hello from the children of planet Earth." That was recorded by then six-year-old Nick Sagan, Carl's son.

8. Carl Sagan Memorial Station ... on Mars!

Nick Sagan grew up to become a novelist and screenwriter. He wrote an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise titled "Terra Prime," which included a CGI of Carl Sagan Memorial Station plaque on Mars.

Image via Memory Alpha, the Star Trek Wiki

The plaque above is fictional - but the Carl Sagan Memorial Station is real. It's the formal name of the NASA Mars Pathfinder lander, which delivered the Sojourner rover that explored the Red Planet.

9. Sagan Asteroid

Just in case a unit of measurement and a memorial station on Mars aren't enough, Carl had another thing named after him: a small asteroid in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter was named the 2709 Sagan.

10. Sagan's Last Interview

In 1996, not long before his death, Carl Sagan was interviewed by Charlie Rose, in which he discussed the rise of pseudoscience in the United States. He looked gaunt in the interview, but as you can see, he remained as sharp as ever:

[Google Video]

Bonus: Carl Sagan A Glorious Dawn Auto-Tune

This has been on Neatorama before, but it's so good that we just have to feature it again for those of you who might've missed it. Behold, Carl Sagan's A Glorious Dawn auto-tuned:

[YouTube Clip]

__________

I'll be the first to acknowledge that this is a woefully inadequate post about one of the most brilliant scientists who ever lived. We didn't talk about Cosmos (because it's so popular, I opted for the more obscure Sagan trivia), his books and Pulitzer Prize, Carl Sagan Day and so on. If you have a Sagan story, please share it in the comments.

This early (1927) color film shows 10 minutes of remarkable vintage London -- especially the Petticoat Lane market scenes around 6:00, which are a rare glimpse into the life of everyday people (it's even cooler if you were actually down on Petticoat Lane yesterday, as I was!).

The Open Road London (1927) (via Making Light)

You know what? He's lying. But I think it'd be entertaining if every reporter who interviewed him, for the rest of his life, said, "Hey, Rupert, when are you going to take all your company's websites out of Google?" It'd also be hilarious to get the CEOs of the various pieces of Rupert's empire to comment on whether they want all their company's materials invisible to search engines.

Rupert also thinks that fair use is illegal and that the right court case would result in it being "barred altogether." Again, another hilarious interview question for the rest of his career: "Hey, Rupert, when are you going to abolish fair use? How's that plan coming, pal?"

The revelation came early in the interview, after Murdoch claimed that Google and others are stealing News Corp content in response to a question about who he was talking about when he talked about plagiarists. "The people who simply pick up everything to run with, and steal our stories...they just take them..without payment. That's Google, Microsoft, Ask.com..a whole lot of people."

Murodch claimed that readers who visit News Corp sites via search offer little value to advertisers, and that News Corp would rather have fewer people coming to their websites, but paying. Asked why News hasn't made its sites invisible to Google, Murdoch replied: "I think we will....but that's when we start charging."

Murdoch also claims that News Corp believes that the doctrine of Fair Use can be challenged in court and "barred altogether."

34-year-old Teane Harris of Bensenville, Illinois had planned a big wedding, but it was called off when the groom backed out only a week before the big event. Harris and her mother were told it was too late to get their deposit back for the reception. What to do? Harris decided to use the facilities and all the wedding supplies to throw a party for the Asbury Court Retirement Community.

Just like that, the Halloween party planned for the 340 residents at Asbury Court turned into a lavish banquet, with a sumptuous meal, elegant flowers, sparkling masks right out of a masquerade ball, and a disc jockey who kept the mood lively.

“We knew we weren’t going to be getting our money back,” says Harris, during a phone interview from Hawaii, where she followed through with her honeymoon trip. “So after doing damage control and not wanting anything to go to waste, we looked for somebody who would benefit from it, and we saw the retirement center.”

Asbury officials still marvel over the turn of events, and of the selfless act by Harris. On Friday, they mounted a marquis sign thank you to Harris to show their appreciation.

“It was out of the blue; she knows no one here,” says Eric Haugan, resident services director. “And yet when she came to the party herself, she had all these grandmas wanting to give her a hug. She just broke down.”

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Geekazoid.

Image: De Urbanisten and Studio Marco Vermeulen

Two Dutch architects want to alter the storm drainage system of the city of Rotterdam to redirect water into playgrounds. The water will be used to fill fanciful ponds and moats for children to play in/around:

In Florian Boer and Marco Vermeulen’s proposal, rainwater runoff isn’t funneled into a complex system of underground pipes, a system that is rather expensive to build and maintain, but is managed instead through a network of surface reservoirs, the Waterpleinen, or Watersquares. These storage spaces will be dry for most of the year, but during storm events, they will collect water from the surrounding neighborhood. If one reaches capacity, excess water will overflow into another basin. After the rain, the collected water will slowly recede into nearby bodies of water or seep into the soil.

So instead of being buried in concrete, excised from the daily life of the city and only experienced by municipal workers, urban hydrology is visibly, even prominently, incorporated into the surface fabric of the city. Programmed with recreational opportunities when its dry and even while inundated, its infrastructure provides active public spaces for the local area, not dark playgrounds for a handful of urban explorers. It even becomes an event, its frolicking rivulets and interior lakes staged for the young and old.

Link via Fast Company

Photo: Dalia Birske

Martynas Birskys of the Vilnius-based design studio DaDaDa sells slippers made out of bread. For your comfort, you can select from various sizes and grains. It’s hard to argue with his sales pitch “eatable…dries itself… made from bread…first in fashion…needs no pressing…feels good in dry climate …won’t sag.”

Link via GearFuse

Image: GeekStir

Luis Diaz Santis and Magaly Guerrero Ramierz sent out invitations to their wedding depicting themselves as 8-bit characters in a two-player combat video game. Chris Jacob of Gizmodo suggests that this is a subtle social commentary on modern marriage. Either way, it’s cool, and you can view a picture of the groom proposing in binary at the link.

Link via Gizmodo

This is very funny stuff, but having looked at the markup, I have to say that I would ask for a different copyeditor in future. A lot of these edits ("avoid simplistic qualifiers" for "very") fall under the heading of "creative disagreement" not "helpful suggestion" or "correction." I've generally benefitted from copyeditors who know the difference, but on the rare occasion where I've had to deal with a couple hundred pages of redlines by a copyeditor who thought that he was my co-author, it's been quite a struggle.

Disgruntled Star Editor Takes Constructive Revenge (Thanks, Fipi Lele!)

That’s why veterinarian and computer scientist Sarah Baillie has created the “Haptic Cow,” a virtual, touch-feedback device that mimics the feeling of real bovine anatomy, placed inside a fiberglass model of a cow’s rear end.

“With this technology, students can feel something that feels like the inside of a real cow, but I or another instructor can be following their movements on a monitor,” said Baillie, who teaches at the Royal Veterinary College in London. “This means we can say, ‘Come back a bit or go left a bit.’ It actually means you can direct them.”

Not only can professors follow a student’s exact movements and critique the technique, but they can also keep track of how much force is being applied. If a fledgling vet gets too rough and exceeds the number of Newtons considered safe by experienced vets, virtual Bessie will belt out a cautionary “Moo-oo!”

Link

(image credit: Sarah Baillie/Royal Veterinary College)

Computer security expert Jacob Appelbaum and renowned computer scientist Donald Knuth demonstrate the recursive homeboys principle.

current iteration:

“We’re recursive homeboys this year, Don.”
“Nested and recursive parens. … We can square it every year.”

previous iteration:

“Oh wait, let me stand behind you. Nested Parens”
“Don, do you mind if I put this on my home page?”
“Gosh no, you’re my homeboy after all!”
“Nested Parens”

The shirt Jacob is wearing in the photo is “Knuth Is My Homeboy” by Geekz Shop. Part of the proceeds from the sale of the shirt go to support the EFF and the FSF.

Has Donald Knuth got your back? Computer scientists need groupies too.

Bold two colour screen print featuring the father of the analysis of algorithms. Is this the Art in the Art of Computer Programming? No

The image on the t-shirt is based on a 2005 photo Jacob shot of Donald.

photos by Jacob Appelbaum

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

After all these years of eating chicken wings, it turns out that I’ve been doing it all wrong! Chef John of Food Wishes reveals the secret of eating a flat wing: Hit play or go to Link [YouTube clip]

• * small (Nano-sized or smaller),

• * low-capacity (8GB is fine, all I use it for is podcasts),

• * chargeable and connectable with a standard USB cable,

• * reasonably rugged,

• * with an LCD,

• * capable of marking some files as podcasts or audiobooks and remembering where you stopped playing them, and,

• * most importantly, I'm looking for something that can be connected to a set of lanyard headphones like these

Suggestions? Feed the comments, below (don't send email, I'm taking a break from it for the weekend).

An overview of Danish trials shows an extremely small possibility of getting sentenced - unless the the accused confesses. Four principal state court trials last year lead to three acquittals and only a single sentence for illegal file sharing. And this sentence only came into place because

"Out of the four cases we can establish, that the courts do not sentence owners of Internet connections simply because of technical identification of IP-adresses and technical recognition of files," they say. Danish anti-piracy agency throw in the towel (Thanks, Christian!)

Videogum has created a really great montage featuring scenes from movies where the actors are saying the title of film they are in.

via Waxy

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

Forget about fixies, Grand Rapids, MI design company Jruiter has created a really cool prototype for a minimalistic inner city bike. The design is so simplified to the point that it doesn’t even have a chain, instead the pedals directly drive the back wheel. Of course the next logical step would be to remove the brakes.

Our project, simplicity in inner city bicycling, was at first glance a fun aesthetic opportunity in new trends, color, and materials. Our target lived / worked in an inner city environment with minimal space. Bicycling at this level can be more about fashion and culture than speed and performance.

After the first few brainstorm sessions we knew there where bigger opportunities. The project ended up rethinking what a “frame” meant, getting ride of basic key components, and creating a new type of compact bicycling. Inspired by the first the “hobby horse” from it’s simplicity and secondly the cafe race scene. Each is an exercise in stripping something down to its core.

via Core77

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

Madrid based illustrator and comic artist Carla Berrocal created an awesome 8-Bit Wedding Invitation for one of her clients that was inspired by 1980’s Atari games.

via The Daily What

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

Remember going to birthday parties or the carnival as a child and getting your face painted? Face painting is fun and magical, and it lets us temporarily transform ourselves. You can be just about anything, from a fierce animal to a dainty fairy to a weird celebrity look-alike. Unfortunately, most of us stop getting our faces painting when we become adults. James Kuhn, however, picked up the habit as an adult – and ran with it.

James Kuhn has considered him an artist for his whole life, but it wasn’t until he grew up that he began painting his own face with a new theme every single day. He decided to do one new face painting a day for a year, in the vein of the other “365 days of self portraits” projects. He didn’t enjoy other 365 projects, saying they were self-indulgent or silly. So he decided to take another (arguably also silly) route by creating a masterpiece every day.

All of James’ paintings are done on himself, and he usually takes his own pictures as well. These are some of the most unique self-portraits ever, since he looks quite different in every one of them. If additional pieces are needed, he usually cuts them out of cardboard, paints them, and sticks them to his face as needed.

James is always looking for new inspiration for his creations. He has used everything from cartoon characters to his favorite foods to famous duos and groups, and everything in between. Some of the most amazing face portraits are those featuring two or more people. It’s fun to decipher how he divides up his existing facial features to create features for the characters.

His particular form of artistic body painting is just for fun, though his other artwork has been displayed in galleries. He believes that, overall, making money from art shouldn’t be an artist’s top priority; their goal should be to push through their fear and their conventional thinking to create something new and thought-provoking. His incredible face painting has gained him international attention, and he’s been featured on TV shows and in newspapers around the world.

The artist, who lives in Michigan, describes himself as a face paint illusionist, drag queen, performance artist, and full-time Christian. He’s recently been featured in a Ripley’s Believe It or Not! picture book, and although the 365 days of self-portraits are over, he continues to create masterpieces on his own face. You can see many of his face paintings come to life on his YouTube channel.

16 3D Graffiti Artists and Street Painters

These amazing artists produce three-dimensional works that trick our sense of perspective and seem 3D despite being painted, drawn or chalked onto flat 2D surfaces.

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“I Love Lunch! The Musical” is the latest mission by Improv Everywhere, where they staged a spontaneous musical during lunch in The Atrium at Trump Tower in NYC.

The mission was filmed as part of a segment for The Today Show, which gives a behind-the-scenes look at how it was was planned.

If you look closely, you’ll see that Improv Everywhere founder Charlie Todd is wearing a Laughing Squid t-shirt during the rehearsals.

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

photo by unknown

Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia with her stunt double in slave girl outfits sunbathing on Tatooine during filming of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

via Nerdcore

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

Steampunk is the mating of technology and romance, breeding some of the most wickedly cool gadget’s and art you’ve ever seen. It’s cool and brass-clad sexy. With a post apocalyptic type of rebellion, Steampunk enthusiast mod almost everything you can imagine and then some. This amazing urban art movement was birthed on the Internet, so it’s no wonder hi-tech hardware hackers are romancing technology with a Victorian passion, yearning for the aesthetic realm of The Time That Never Happened; Steampunk – where the future meets the past. Here are some of the slickest mods, 26 sexy Steampunk art and hi-tech hacks.

Mouse, USB, RSS Feed

(image credits:ilovecandid,forum modding,geeky gadgets,Steampunk Workshop)

The top two are fully functional modded mice, each is a one of a kind shiny handcrafted brass wonder. The USB drive holds 2GB of storage, but if you take this slick stick to work and someone tries to walk off with it, the vintage look with copper and brass gears, pipes, and bolts will make whoever uses it stand out in a crowd. RSS feeds, are you addicted to them? At one historic time, people were addicted to news coming hot off the telegraph. The shiny yet vintage telegraph machine is reborn as an RSS feed gadget.

Monitor & Keyboard

(image credit:DataMancer)

The Datamancer is an expert in steampunk-style technology. He is a Master of Mod. The 22″ widescreen LCD frame is solid 1/4-inch brass that was sanded and polished to a high shine. The base is a modernized remake of brass and black marble. The keyboard is a mixture of Neo-Victorianism and brass hi-tech.

Steampunk Flat Panel

(image credits:Steampunk Workshop)

Jake von Slatt is another computer mod icon on the steampunk stage. This Steampunk Desktop has a base made to look like marble. His hardware hacks to this flat panel LCD include knobs, gold painted pieces and plenty of brass. For more retro-tech goodness, he added a brass keyboard and kerosene lamp. Jake von Slatt operates the Steampunk Workshop where you can find step-by-step directions to turn your computer into Victorian style and the Age of Scientific Wonders.

Victorian All-in-One PC

(image credits:steampunk workshop)

In this mod, Jake von Slatt researched Victorian era stages and discovered they were approximately 4:3 aspect ratio – the 16:9 wide-screen ratio from the cinema. He coated the 24″ wide screen monitor base with black spray lacquer and topped the supports off with some pieces of a brass chandelier. Then he fashioned monitor curtains for the stage on the frame. Finally, he completed the Victorian All-in-One PC which has Kubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) installed and is fit for the office of Queen Victoria.

DataMancer’s Steampunk Laptop

The Datamancer reached out to millions over the Internet with this Victorian laptop mod. With this hack, he converted unknown masses to the aesthetic realm of Steampunk. This mod is so cool, yet it’s steamy hot. Who knows? The Datamancer’s next mod might be so hot that the heat wave will hit and crack your hard drive.

More Steampunk Computers

(image credits:portal23,Boston Globe,DataMancer)

More and more people crank out fabulous Steampunk fabrications. At top left, that computer was named Windows Vista 1907. Yet the top right computer is a blend of science fiction and industry in a piece called The ElectriClerk, fashioned from a 1988 Macintosh SE computer, a c.1923 Underwood typewriter, and a fresnel lens by Andrew H. Leman. The Victorian looking jewelry box is another laptop mod by Datamancer.

Cell Phone

(image credits:Slash Gear,Slash Gear,don pezzano,savas place)

Even cell phones have not escaped the aesthetic realm of Steampunk. These are made from recycled materials, vintage gears, old iron and other metals. The top two cells phones are from Russia with love. The workmanship on all four mobile phones make these modded gadgets a hot item. The bottom right phone was created from a Nokia, back when it was boring and not yet a symbol of grandiose invention.

Masks

(image credits:Tom Banwell)

The incredibly talented Tom Banwell dabbled in a variety of media, before his one of kind talents and interests combined the arts of history, costuming, mechanics, and fantasy. He admits to being wildly creative with his leatherwork. On the top left is Banwell’s Pachydermos mask, followed by Sentinel, Underground Explorer on the bottom left, and the Fire Master mask.

Electric Skull

(image credit:Donovan Design 2009)

Known for many Steampunk designs, Art Donovon created The Electric Skull for The Museum of Oxford Steampunk Art Exhibition. Donovan made this 27″ tall, comprised of solid brass, light, glass, and acrylic. The fact he is also handy with the craft of electric skills no doubt helped make this glowing skull gadget an extremely slick mod.

Gadgets & Robots

(image credits:brute force leather,Stephanie Halleux,Molly Friedrich)

The trio above were fashioned for The Museum of Oxford Steampunk Art Exhibition. The large leather robot was created by Stephanie Halleus, only one of her leather robot masterpieces. If you visit the exhibition, going on now at Oxford University, you can view Amanda Scrivener’s Lord Featherstone’s Clockwork Arm up close and personal. The bottom right is a creation from Molly “Porkshanks” Friedrich. She states, “I also lavish attention to detail and try to imbue each item with a narrative of some sort so that it feels more like an artifact from another place and time.”

Steampunk Art

(image credit: Kris Kuksi)

Kris Kuksi’s art speaks of a timelessness, of potentiality and motion attempting to reach on forever, and “yet pessimistically delayed; forced into the stillness of death and eternal sleep.” He themes his art to teach us “that although death may pursue us arbitrarily, we should never neglect to mourn the tremendous loss of individual potential.” This art is entitled, Caravan Assault Appearatus.

Steampunk Motorcycle

This is Tom Sepe’s Steampunk Motorcycle on BRINK TV. This electric motorcycle gives off steam like a piece of the past mixing with a moment of time from the future.

1896 Steam Motorcycle

Pete’s Garage presents “1896 Steam Motorcycle.”

If all this retro-futurism has left you yearning for more from the realm of Steampunk, check back next week for sexy as sin Steampunk artistic designs.

Even More Steampunk Art, Design & Fashion

Steampunk gadgets please geeks and non-geeks alike. So polish up that monocle, bring on the brass and banish cookie-cutter clutter as Steampunk hijacks hi-tech back to the future!

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If you ever find yourself on the street with a bottle of wine and you don’t have a corkscrew, this simple instructional video will help show you how to remove the cork using just your shoe and the wall of a building.

via The Daily What

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed.

For Halloween Sarah McPherson pixelated herself and went as “Low Resolution”.

via Make

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“We Are Douchebags”, part of the emerging Douchebag Solidarity movement.

From Wikipedia: A reclaimed word is a word in a language that was at one time a pejorative but has been brought back into acceptable usage—usually starting within the communities that experienced oppression under that word, but often also among the general populace as well.

via Ed Hunsinger

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After 13 years of near continuous broadcasting, San Francisco micro radio station Pirate Cat Radio (87.9 FM), operating out of Pirate Cat Café, has been ordered off the air and fined $10,000 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

In a notice dated August 31, 2009 the FCC asserted that Monkey, the founder of Pirate Cat Radio, “willfully and repeatedly violated Section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934” and proposed to fine him $10,000 for the infraction.

By bringing to bear the full weight of the Federal government against continued broadcast operations, the FCC’s order effectively ends Pirate Cat Radio’s thirteen-year run as one of the Bay Area’s most consistent voices of protest against corporate-run media monopolies and monocultural programming.

Here’s the full statement from Pirate Cat Radio founder Monkey.

SF Gate’s “Off The Record” and SFAppeal have more on the story.

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When old billboards, fire towers and grain silos outlive their old purposes, there’s no need to tear them down – especially since they can be transformed into surprisingly modern, livable homes with views to die for. These 15 innovative conversion projects turn the unlikeliest of abandoned structures into dazzling contemporary residences while still preserving their historic features.

Modern Home Made from a Barn & Farm Buildings

Old barns and farm buildings often fall into unsightly disuse, but this project by Bjarne Mastenbroek and his Amsterdam-based architecture firm SeARCH proves that such buildings can be not only rescued from ruin, but transformed into stunning hybrids of traditional and modern architecture. The this farmhouse and its outbuildings in Zutphen, Netherlands were given a sleek makeover with vast expanses of glass and an airy, bright interior.

From Decaying Warehouse to Dazzling Design Office

A rusting hulk of an old warehouse in an industrial district doesn’t exactly strike one as likely digs for a design and architecture team. As the top photo depicts, this warehouse in Atlanta, Georgia didn’t look like much before bldgs got a hold of it and turned it into a combined residence and office space, leaving the old rusted beams and paint-chipped bricks in place to preserve a sense of age and history.

Fire Towers Turned Modern Mountain Homes

Raise the alarm: these homes transformed from old fire towers are ablaze with beauty and eco-conscious creativity. The height gives them a treehouse feel, not to mention the amazing views afforded by their lofty locations. They’re already built to withstand the elements, so it doesn’t take much to make them ready for habitation.

Religious Conversions: Old Train Cars are Now Churches

With the addition of steeples and, in some cases, facades, train cars can be turned into places of worship with surprising ease. Many of these unusual conversions can be found in Russia, where abandoned railway cars are a common sight. It may be a long way from the grandeur of other Russian Orthodox churches, but it’s certainly an innovative way to upcycle these old structures.

Grain Silos Upcycled into Homes and Hotels

Grain silos dot the countryside, a symbol of simple rural living with their simple shapes and metal-clad exteriors. But they aren’t just for storing grain – they can be marvelous homes and hotels as well. The Silo at the Gruene Homestead Inn has been transformed into a 1 bedroom loft apartment, while the Abbey Road Farm Bed & Breakfast has three grain silos incorporated into one large structure.

Factory Turned Modern Condo Complex

All too often, old factories are allowed to sit and rot for years after they’re abandoned, but as this conversion shows, these locations can provide the perfect skeleton for modern housing. Located in Philadelphia, this condominium complex not only takes advantage of the bones of the factory buildings, but incorporates new eco-friendly features like rainwater harvesting and solar power.

Romantic Countryside Church Makes a Luxurious Home

You might have a graveyard instead of a front lawn, but that’s a small price to pay for the vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows that come with living in an old church. This restructured church in the English countryside still looks like an aging place of worship on the outside, but the inside is now a luxurious residence.

Classic School House to Contemporary Home

Another stunning blend of old and new architecture is this classic-schoolhouse-turned-home in Denver. The original stone structure dates back to the late 1800s, but an ultra-contemporary addition and modern interior make this home anything but quaint.

Compact Modern Living – In Recycled Billboards

While billboards aren’t likely to be on most people’s radar as potential dwellings, they do have the advantage of being in prime locations, especially in urban environments. One proposal by Front Architects transforms these structures from advertisements to tiny modern homes made of wood, concrete and steel. Exchanging extra space for dazzling views and incredibly convenient locations isn’t such a big sacrifice, is it?

Trailerwrap: Turning Old Trailers into Attractive Homes

Single-wide trailers aren’t exactly the height of modern residential architecture. But, that doesn’t mean they don’t have potential. Architect Michael Hughes is the brains behind Trailerwrap, a project that reinvents old trailers by preserving their portability but making them far more aesthetically pleasing.

Home Made from Salvaged Highway Sections

“It’s kind of like Junkyard Wars meets Habitat for Humanity,” says homeowner Paul Pedini of his one-of-a-kind upcycled residence, which incorporates 600,000 pounds of recycled materials – including an entire section of an old highway. The highway panels were used to form the core structural center of the home, creating an interior that’s industrial, yet warm and welcoming.

Water Tower Creatively Converted into Sky House

This water-tower-turned-house didn’t start out as an ordinary water tower. It was made to look like a house in the sky, just for kicks – but once it was no longer needed to store water, the new owners turned it into an actual house, albeit a very tall one.

Once a Pig Barn, Now a Modern House

Few people would want to live in an old pig sty that’s falling apart at the seams, but the owners of this building saw potential in its historic shell. However, most conventional attempts to transform this pig barn into a home would have spoiled its architectural state. Amazingly enough, their solution was to drop an entire prefabricated home into the shell through the roof, with openings that correspond to those in the existing structure.

Standard Car Garage Becomes Small Home

It’s a quirky and charming A-frame home from the outside, but the origins of this cute little residence are pretty unexpected: it was once a standard car garage. The owners fought with the city to get a permit and were finally allowed to transform the garage into a tiny but adorable home with lots of natural light, a space-saving alternating staircase and warm wood accents.

Abandoned Oil Rigs Could be Luxury Homes and Hotels

There are thousands of abandoned oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, just waiting for some new purpose to save them from being scrapped or merely decaying into the sea. One architecture firm, Morris Architects, believes that these remote structures could be the perfect locations for upcycled luxury hotels and condos on the water. Combined, they could provide an astonishing 80,000 square feet of space, reachable only by boat or aircraft.

Historic Abandoned Boats, Ships and Docks

These abandoned and forgotten ships, boats and docks stand as proof of a bygone era where water transportation was used in every industry.

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The Pencil Chair: Get The Point?

(images via: Design Boom and Techeblog)

You could say German artist Kerstin Schulz might not be the sharpest pencil in the box, but that’s understandable as she’s worn out every sharpener within reach to create a suite of furniture only a lovesick porcupine could love. Just looking at her graphic graphite Pencil Chair is giving me lead poisoning… and don’t even ask what she did with all the shavings. Schulz was commissioned to craft something special for Faber Castell’s 100th anniversary exhibition in 2005; we can bet she’s looking forward to doing something similar for Bic.

The Concrete Chair: Heavyset Seat

(images via: Crunch22 and Dornob)

Here’s the perfect chair to have when you need a friend to help you move… and you happen to really hate your friend. Stefan Zwicky’s 1980 homage to the classic 1929 Le Corbusier Petite Chair has little to recommend it besides rock-solid durability – and one ton of mass. Comfort zone? More like Twilight Zone. Plunk this concrete chair in the middle of the Sahara Desert at high noon and it’ll STILL be cold & clammy.

The Panda Chair: For Your Bear Bum

(images via: Geekologie and Moss Online)

The Banquete Chair with Pandas by Fernando and Humberto Campana is said to be a limited edition – no surprise, there aren’t that many pandas left after all. Especially after the Brothers Campana cobbled together 25 of these somewhat disturbing chairs. OK, they’re not made of REAL pandas but they’re still uncomfortable, at least to look at. Actually sitting on the Banquette Chair is probably extremely soothing for your body, just not for your soul.

The Stick Chair: It’s The Wood That Makes It Bad

(images via: Core77 and Scandinavian Design Online)

The Stick Chair comes to us courtesy of Carlo Volf of Danish design firm Volfdesign, though from the looks of it “courtesy” isn’t one of Volf’s better qualities. It’s doubtful he has a soft spot for comfort either, since YOUR soft spot will never forgive you for sitting in this chair. Designed for the 2005 Carpenter’s Autumn Exhibition, “Stick”, as Volf calls it, will definitely stick it to you… where the sun don’t shine.

The Cheese Chair: What’s That Smell?

(images via: InventorSpot and Cosimo Cavallaro)

Like a little Limburger with your La-Z-Boy? Maybe a lot? Step right up and sit right down. Cosimo Cavallaro’s Cheese Chair is either cool, or it stinks. Literally. When you design a chair covered in cheese there just isn’t any room for compromise. Compro-mice, maybe, but I digress. The 1999 curvaceous curd-aceous cheesy chair is just one example of Cavallaro’s specialty, food art. Looking to visit the artist’s studio? Book a flight to Montreal, Quebec, and follow your nose.

Anti-Homeless Benches: Sit, Now Git!

(image via: Oh My News)

Cities around the world have begun to make public seating uncomfortable – by design! The intent is not to annoy visitors to parks, trains stations and so on, but to discourage those who habitually use such seating for much longer than the usual few minutes. Take the fiendishly artistic bench above, located in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro West Park. Built from stainless steel, the bench gets hot in summer and cold in winter. Its rounded, smooth surface is slippery and anti-ergonomic. According to the local parks office, the benches are intended for short-term use and “people should take the utmost care when sitting on them.”

The Radiator Chair: Steam Heat Seat

(images via: Design Lines and Stylenorth)

“Made from 80 year old radiators, this chair is surprisingly comfortable.” That just may be the case, since the Radiator Chair looks unsurprisingly UNcomfortable. It also looks somewhat out of place among the traditionally styled offerings at the Barrymore Furniture Galleries in Toronto… until you glance at the $1,430 written on the price tag. The Radiator Chair comes with an optional companion piece: a $1,200 end table that sports a red valve handle on one front leg. Don’t turn it, whatever you do!

Cactus Couch: Me So Thorny!

(images via: Dark Roasted Blend and China Chair Project)

Not just merely uncomfortable, it’s Sofa King uncomfortable! Looking like a gag gift for Wile E. Coyote, the “Ouch Couch” is (thankfully) not real, but a processed graphic image. The diabolic divan starred in a series of ads for Sony’s AXN pay television, cable and satellite television channel in conjunction with the tag line “Relax. If you can”. Just below the ultimate tough-love seat is a hand-molded silicone chair & footstool combo modeled after a prickly pear – and what a prickly pair they are! It was featured at the China Chair Project art exhibit and is the work of artist (and sadist, obviously) Xiang Yun.

The Clutch Chair: Sip Right Down

(images via: Scott Jarvie)

The Clutch Chair by Scott Jarvie was made out of 10,000 plastic drinking straws as a commentary on our throwaway disposable culture and was selected by Zaha Hadid as for the Curators Choice award at Noise Festival 2008. A winning design, thus, but a loser when it comes to practical, comfortable seating. On a positive note, at least The Clutch Chair is well-ventilated though if comfort was a concern, the designers should have used 10,000 bendy straws

The Steel Bean Bag Chair: Heavy Metal Wonder

(images via: Bedzine and The Design Blog)

Rick Ivey’s “1825″ steel beanbag chair displays the rough-edged, riveted look of an Industrial Revolution boilerplate steam engine – just the thing you DON’T want to sink into at the end of a hard day’s night. The $4,500 price tag, however, WILL make you weak at the knees.

The Venus Chair: Sitting On The Edge

(images via: Oh Gizmo! and Core77)

Going green, getting back to nature, growing your own… it all sounds comfy & cozy, doesn’t it? Well, not always – as the Venus Chair by Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka illustrates. Grown in a tank filled with a supersaturated solution, the Venus Chair slowly takes shape as tiny crystals precipitate out of the solution and onto a prepared chair form. Tiny SHARP-EDGED crystals, growing bigger, sharper, pointier by the minute. Just the thing you’d like to plop down on – which is perhaps the reason the Venus Chair is in the running for this year’s Brit Insurance Furniture Award. No dummies, those guys.

The Skeleton Chair: Bad To The Bone

(images via: Michael Aram and Neiman Marcus)

Commenting on his polished aluminum and steel Skeleton Chair, designer Michael Aram states “The shape of the human body is a great source of inspiration. Stripped of its skin, it becomes an arresting and unexpected natural form.” Sure Mikey, but this arresting and unexpected chair is the last thing most people would look to when they need to take a load off their feet. If “adding drama to your living space” is your thing, however, prepare to bone up $650 for the privilege.

The Electric Chair: The Original Hot Seat

(images via: Roadside America and Biogant)

To close this baker’s dozen of deceitful seats, we present the most infernal piece of furniture ever created, built for speed and not for comfort: the Electric Chair. Though many replicas of Ol’ Sparky and others of its ilk now cool their heels in various state prison museums scattered across the US of A, there doesn’t seem to be a “home version” available for horror freaks & geeks to set up in their rec rooms. Yet…

Bookshelves: Best Bookcases, Bookshelf & Bookcase Designs

If you or a book-lover you know are stuck on how to redecorate your urban dwelling and store your favorite volumes here are twenty unusually clever shelving solutions.

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Dubai’s World Islands

(images via: Homes Dubai and Ursi Paltenstein)

Following on the successful completion of other offshore artificial island communities like the Palm Islands, Dubai’s World Islands was intended to be even more ambitious, not to mention larger. Imagine owning a private island in the shape of a country or continent, surrounded by the warm waters of the Persian Gulf – and your equally “worldly” neighbors?

(images via: ESA and Amazing Dubai Islands)

While Dubai’s vision of a 300-island floating world may someday come to fruition, things aren’t so rosy at the moment thanks to the ongoing world economic crisis. As of late summer 2009 only a single island has been developed and it belongs to Dubai’s ruling Sheik; “the rest looks like a pile of muck” according to a local realtor. With property prices crashing by 50 to 75 percent, many of Dubai’s spectacular construction projects have been put on indefinite hold if not canceled outright.

Bering Strait Bridge

(images via: Mr. James and William Bacon)

A bridge across the Bering Strait connecting Russia and Alaska? No, this is not a repeat from 11,000BC. OFF Architecture won the 2nd Prize in the Professional Category at the 2009 Bering Strait Project competition (yes, there is such a thing) with their grandiose and green bridge-tunnel combo. The design would greatly reduce circulation between the Arctic and North Pacific Oceans, thus cooling the former and mitigating the effects of global warming. Or so they say.

(image via: Inhabitat)

The 53-mile wide Bering Strait is surprisingly shallow – it was a natural land bridge back in Ice Age times – so OFF Architecture’s design would reach from just above the water’s surface down to the ocean floor 100 to 150 feet below. Such a design would necessitate circular “pass throughs” for migrating marine mammals and whales. The thought of a whale having a panic attack inside one of the tunnels gives a whole new meaning to “Thar she blows!!”

Large Hadron Collider

(images via: BBC, Discover Magazine and Device Daily)

The Large Hadron Collider, or LHC being built by CERN is without question the largest and most complex machine ever constructed by Man. It has to be – the universe doesn’t give up its deepest secrets very easily. The LHC is the world’s largest refrigerator, requiring 10,080 tons of liquid nitrogen and nearly 60 tons of liquid helium to bring the temperature of the collider’s huge electromagnets down to -271.3°C (1.9 Kelvin). Want more? The interior of the LHC’s ring tunnel is the emptiest place in the entire solar system – the machine’s particle beams will travel through an ultra-high vacuum with ten times less pressure than you’ll find on the Moon.

(images via: Sun HPC)

Huge as it is, the LHC doesn’t look too impressive from the air since the actual 17-mile (27 km) tunnel lies buried an average 330 feet (100 meters) underground. It IS big however – part of the ring is in France; part is in Switzerland. Since this short blurb gives only a hint of the LHC’s workings, check out this Schoolhouse Rock style rap on the LHC from TeacherTube:

LHC Rap, via TeacherTube

Gotthard Base Tunnel

(images via: WTC 2013 and Popular Science)

The 95.3-mile (153.5 km) long Gotthard Base Tunnel network now being drilled out beneath the Alps, when finally completed in about ten years, will be the longest underground tunnel ever constructed. High-speed trains traveling at 155 mph (250 kph) will significantly reduce travel times between Zurich, Switzerland and Milan, Italy while at the same time relieving the bottleneck of commercial and passenger traffic now clogging existing mountain highways and train lines. Hannibal would most definitely approve.

(image via: Railway Technology)

The most difficult portion of the tunnel is the 57 km (35.4 mi) stretch that will run nearly 2,000 feet (600 meters) under the Gotthard massif below the existing Gotthardbahn track. It’s estimated that 459 million cubic feet (13 million cubic meters) of crumbly, porous rock will have to be removed during the course of tunnel construction – that’s enough to fill the Great Pyramid of Giza five times over. In the above image, one of the huge tunnel-boring machines is shown just as it breaks through to one of the completed sections of the tunnel.

Japan-Korea Undersea Tunnel

(images via: InventorSpot)

Though the shovels have yet to shift any dirt, the blueprints are ready for construction to begin on one of Asia’s most momentous megaprojects: the Japan-Korea Friendship Tunnel. Or the Korea-Japan Friendship Tunnel – the fine details are still being discussed. Should the project get the nod from the politicos, work will begin on joining the southwestern Japanese city of Karatsu with the South Korean port of Busan with a 79-mile (128-km) train tunnel. The distance is more than three times that of the Anglo-French “Chunnel” but the technology is proven. As for North Korea’s take on the project, either Kim Jong Il hasn’t been told or everyone’s scared to bring up the subject.

The wags at Asiadog have put together a nifty video of what they refer to as the Korea < -> Japan Undersea Tunnel, backed by a bouncy beat:

Korea <-> Japan Undersea Tunnel, via Asiadog

Space Solar Power Station

(images via: Inhabitat, Treehugger and Pink Tentacle)

The challenges and difficulties involved in large-scale orbital construction projects are immense… yet someday they will be tackled as the demand for interplanetary spacecraft, space elevators and orbiting power stations becomes irresistible. The latter – a solar power station in geostationary orbit – is now on the drawing board and has been given a sky-high price tag of 2 trillion yen ($21 billion).

(image via: Bloomberg)

The project, conceived by the Japanese government and industry researchers, will see a space-based solar power station built in orbit 22,360 miles (36,000 km) above the earth. The station will generate 1 gigawatt of power from sunlight and beam the energy down to a receiving station where it can be used to power almost 300,000 homes.

Terraforming Mars

(images via: All These Worlds, Daily Galaxy and Electro-plankton)

The most extreme engineering project in the history of the world will be performed OFF the world… on Mars. A variety of schemes have been floated over the past few decades with the intent of making Earth’s nearest neighbor more amenable to life of the earthly variety – in other words, Terraforming. Naturally the scale is huge – comets may be redirected to impact the Red Planet to provide water for oceans, which would be seeded with algae in order to boost the oxygen content in the Martian atmosphere. Other schemes entail the placement of giant orbiting mirrors to focus sunlight upon Mars’ polar icecaps, thus releasing liquid water and gaseous carbon dioxide to kick-start a greenhouse effect.

(images via: LA 2101 and WonderlandJACK)

Terraforming Mars is no pie-in-the-sky scheme; it could be the salvation of our species should our actions on Earth continue to reduce our home planet’s livability. It would be most fitting if someday, as predicted/depicted in The Million-Year Picnic, a short story from Ray Bradbury’s book The Martian Chronicles, this scene should take place: A father answers his children’s desire to see Martians by suggesting they look into the canal their boat is floating on… in which they view their own reflections.

Damascus, Syria

(images via: Frederick Highland, Man In Demand and Historic Cities)

Damascus, the current capital of Syria, has a long and colorful history that stretches back nearly 12,000 years. Located in a fertile region well-watered by the Barada river, Damascus was a prime target of numerous kings and conquerors - and often wound up on the losing side.

(image via: EuroMesco)

Over 4 million people live in metropolitan Damascus today and, partly due to a skilfully constructed network of canals built nearly 3,500 years ago, boasts a multitude of parks and green spaces. Since 1979 Damascus has been UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Jericho, West Bank

(images via: Wikipedia and Bible Archaeology)

The ancient city of Jericho is the world’s oldest walled city, with evidence of stone fortifications dating back nearly 9,000 years; long before the “walls came tumblin’ down” events depicted in the Bible. Archaeological digs have turned up traces of habitation that are even older: up to 11,000 years ago!

(image via: SBF)

Not only has Jericho been continually inhabited for over one hundred centuries, scientists have uncovered a virtual layer cake of settlements - 20 in fact, built one on top of the other down to the present day. Now that’s something worth blowing your horn about… oh, wait.

Susa, Iran

(images via: Iran Facts)

Dating back to approximately 8000 BCE, the ancient Iranian city of Susa rose to prominence again and again under Elamite, Babylonian, Achaemenian, Greek, Parthian, Sasanian and Persian civilizations.

(image via: CAIS News)

Today Susa is known as “Shush” though things have rarely been quiet there over its very long life. Susa is where the sole representation of the Code of Hammurabi was found. The 7-foot tall basalt stele was taken back to Susa in the 12th century BC and rediscovered in 1901. It now resides in Paris’ Louvre Museum.

Plovdiv, Bulgaria

(images via: Cultural Tourism and Virtual Tourist)

One way of measuring a city’s age is to note the number of names it has had. In the case of Plovdiv, the list begins with Eumolpias, changing to Philippoupolis when it was conquered by Philip II of Macedon (Alexander the Great’s father) in 342 BCE. Centuries passed and Philippoupolis became Trimontium, then Philippoupolis again, then Paldin, Filibe and finally Plovdiv.

(image via: Discover Bulgaria)

Presently home to around 380,000 (580,000 in the metro area), Plovdiv is Bulgaria’s second-largest city and one of Europe’s oldest - signs of urban activity there go back nearly 9,000 years.

Jerusalem, Israel

Holy to a number of the world’s leading religions, 5,000-year-old Jerusalem was already settled centuries before any of them had their tenets put to paper, papyrus or pre-fired clay. According to the entry on Jerusalem in Wikipedia, “In the course of its history, Jerusalem has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times.”

(image via: Trip Advisor)

Sadly, those numbers are likely not the final score for this exceptional city 747,600 people call Jerusalem, Yerushalayim, Al-Quds and… home.

Tyre, Lebanon

(image via: Skyscraper City)

Source of prized Tyrian Purple dye and home base of those legendary master traders, the Phoenicians, Tyre was truly a wonder of the ancient world. The city was located on a walled island just off the coast of Lebanon and managed to thwart every siege until Alexander the Great built a causeway so his soldiers could march up to the city walls.

(image via: Sophismata)

(images via: Hezbollah Connect and El Baluarte De La Utopia)

The causeway changed the flow of the sea currents and caused the island to become permanently joined to the mainland. Today Tyre is Lebanon’s fourth-largest city and can proudly trace its history back nearly 6,000 years.

Athens, Greece

(images via: Erasmus Student Network, Destination 360 and BiblePlaces)

The capital of Greece is home to over 4 million today and is the 5th-most populous capital city in the EU. With its soaring Acropolis and majestic Parthenon symbolizing the golden age of Classical Greece and the foundation of Western civilization, Athens has been lived in for approximately 3,400 years.

(image via: Theodora)

The city has not always enjoyed prominence, however - by the early 19th century it had deteriorated to a backwater town with only a few thousand citizens. That all changed when Athens was named capital of Greece in 1834, with the city truly coming of age due to the many infrastructure improvements completed in time for the 2004 Olympic Games.

Lisbon, Portugal

(images via: Galen Fry Singer and Lgougo)

Due to its exceptional harbor situated where the Tagus river empties into the Atlantic Ocean, Lisbon has always been an ideal military and commercial location - incidentally attracting settlers to serve the soldiers and traders. Archaeologists have uncovered Phoenician objects at Lisbon dating back to 1200 BCE; remnants of what was likely a Phoenician supply base for ships voyaging to and from the British Isles, an ancient source of tin.

(images via: Wall Street Meeting and John P Pratt)

Disaster struck Lisbon in 1755 when one of the most destructive earthquakes ever to strike Europe, accompanied by a massive tsunami and wildfires, leveled much of Lisbon and killed tens of thousands of residents.

(images via: Book Depository and Links On Waves)

Lisbon quickly bounced back from the disaster to regain her rank as one of Europe’s leading cities, a distinction she still holds today.

Varanasi, India

(image via: Sacred Destinations)

The city of Varanasi, formerly known to English-speakers as Benares, has been a religious and cultural center for at least 3,000 years. Over one million pilgrims from across the Hindu world visit Varanasi each year to participate in ceremonies and swim in the sacred Ganges river.

(image via: Without Borders)

Varanasi is as close to being a true “living city” as one could imagine. Every bit of space is utilized, every disused building is re-worked into a new purpose and over centuries of conflict and conquest, the city heals itself through the power of human conviction and devotion to a greater glory.

Cholula, Mexico

(images via: Webshots Travel and Cultura)

Arguably the oldest continually inhabited city in the western hemisphere, Choloula was a contemporary of more famous Teotihuacan yet never suffered the crisis that saw it’s neighbor abandoned in the 6th century CE. By the late Aztec period more than 100,000 people lived in Cholula, and the city near Puebla is home to over 90,000 today.

(image via: Rahuno)

Cholula rose to prominence in the 2nd century BCE but settlement on a more modest scale goes back a further thousand years. The partially excavated monumental buildings at Cholula are among the largest in the world, with the Great Pyramid of Cholula being the largest man-made monument ever made! Its base covers approximately 25 acres and the pyramid’s total volume is estimated at 4.3 million cubic yards.

What’s it take to make a long-lived city? The same thing any realtor will tell you: location, location, location! Prime real estate does tend to attract the wrong crowd - conquerors have a way of ruining anyone’s backyard barbeque - but once all the fuss has died down people do what they’ve always done; keep on coming back for more.

Teflon, Yesterday’s Material of Tomorrow

(images via: Whitetrout and Crooks and Liars)

DuPont’s miracle coating, Teflon, burst onto the post-war scene accompanied by a media campaign that extolled its futuristic non-stick properties and hinted at so much more. Teflon: is there anything it can’t do? The buzz on Teflon may have worn off but it holds its place as one of the first futuristic materials, as well as becoming a new descriptive term for running backs, politicians and the odd mafiosi.

Ultrathin Superconductors: Resistance is Futile

(images via: Next Big Future, UCL and RSC)

Thin is in when it comes to superconductors, no apologies to Toscanini. The thinner an electrical conductor is, the more readily it can shed heat - a crucial factor for materials that lose their superconductive state if heated above a certain temperature. Thinness also enhances flexibility making thin, superconducting films essential components of dozens of advanced tech products. Once considered the material of the future, practical ultrathin superconductors are just beginning to arrive on the high-tech scene.

Neat, Clean and Shingle

(images via: Inhabitat)

I’ve always wondered why people didn’t shingle their roofs with solar panels; wonder no longer, solar shingles are here! Well, just about here - they’re in the testing stage. Even so, it’s about time. As a spokesman for the DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory puts it, “Flexible solar panels could easily become integrated into the architecture of commercial buildings and homes.” Cool dude, now wipe the slate clean and let’s get shinglin’!

Now We’re REALLY Gellin’

(images via: Daily Telegraph and Wired)

A revolutionary new energy-absorbing gel called d3O is already making its way into clothing, shoes and military equipment. The orange, putty-like gel is soft and malleable when kneaded by hand, but a sharp strike will cause it’s molecules to lock up in mere thousandths of a second. The U.S. ski team uses d3O pads in its ski suits - hitting a gate at 60mph+ is no pleasure but d3O takes the sting out of the slap.

Here are a couple of videos explaining the how & why of d3O. The first is from the Discovery Channel Australia and the second is in Japanese, but well worth watching if you like seeing professors being slammed on the elbow repeatedly with a shovel. And really, who DOESN’T like that?

All About d3O, via Ruthyd3O

D3O Rocks, via Bazookajapan

Graphene is the New Black

(images via: Physorg and CFP)

Carbon - is there anything it can’t do? Diamonds, buckyballs, nanotubes and carbon fiber have demonstrated the power and glory of The Sixth Element. Now graphene, a new variation of the sooty base of organic chemistry is extending the power of carbon in yet another useful and unique direction. Graphene is elemental carbon with a twist: sheets of it are just a single atom thick, making them virtually transparent. Graphene may one day supplant both silicon chips and copper connectors in most computer applications but its true potential lies in quantum-based electronic devices that will someday make our computers look like primitive, steam-powered hulks.

The Buckyball Stops Here

(images via: Lifeboat)

Stronger than diamonds, so-called “buckyballs” are molecules made up of from 60 to 100 carbon atoms arranged in a hollow, circular format similar to a geodesic dome. hence their name, which is a tribute to the late architectural visionary Buckminster Fuller. Scientists have been able to insert other atoms into buckyballs, in effect using them as carriers. With further research it may be possible to deliver nano-scale doses of powerful drugs directly to tumors within the body.

Invisibility Ability Inevitability

(images via: Gizmowatch)

Even before Harry Potter tantalized us with his cloak of invisibility, we were, well, tantalized by the prospect. Evidently so were scientists, since a lot of work has been expended on the concept. What we have today are some hints of the invisible shapes of things to come. One group has achieved invisibility but only in the microwave spectrum - that’s your reheated soup you can’t see in front of you. Others have succeeded in making certain parts of the visible spectrum invisible. Carry on guys, come back when you can show us something. Oh, wait…

Cone of Silence for Subs

(images via: Discovery and What Yamazaki Reads)

Well, more like a cloak of silence than the troublesome Cone of Silence used by Maxwell Smart and The Chief. Remember when a bee got into it? Good times! Anyway, submarines need to be as quiet as possible - it’s the “silent” part of Run Silent, Run Deep. A new sound-insulating material developed by a Nicholas Fang, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign with a seriously scary sci-fi name, can bend acoustic waves around a sub thus making it invisible to enemy sonar. Nice work, Doctor Fang (cue evil “bwa-ha-ha” laugh here).

Never heard of the Cone of Silence? Here’s a short video from the original Get Smart sixties TV series to refresh and amuse:

Get Smart, The Cone of Silence, via R3mold

Can You See This Can?

(images via: Dornob)

Drinking cola from a see-through can? Wrapping your pot roast in clear tinfoil? It’s more likely than you think… well, it will be when the current $10 per square inch price of transparent aluminum comes down a little. Aluminum oxide is the main component of rubies and sapphires, and engineers have found a way to combine the great hardness of these gemstones - along with their semi-transparency - into a material with the light weight and convenient ductility of metallic aluminum.

As Clear as Concrete

(images via: Crave and Toolmonger)

LiTraCon, based in Aachen, Germany, has developed an unusual light-transmitting concrete. It’s not transparent by any means but it does transmit light from one side of the block to the other through hundreds of embedded glass optical fibers. The use of the fibers means that even a wall 60 feet thick allow the same luminescence as one just 1 foot thick. Now that’s thinking outside the block!

Aerogel: Not Just For Archers Anymore

(images via: Astrophys-Assist and United Nuclear)

It may sound like something Robin Hood might have applied to his bow before a run-in with the Sheriff but aerogel couldn’t be more futuristic. Known mostly for its use in gently catching particles ejected from Comet Wild 2, aerogel is a sort of foamy glass. Both are silicon-based solids yet aerogel is only 0.02 percent solid by volume - the rest is empty space! Weighing just 3 times as much as air, aerogel has earned itself the nickname “frozen smoke” and among its many claims to fame are 15 entries in the Guinness Book of World Records.

All in all, these futuristic materials are making our world more and more like a sci-fi flick - not a bad thing, most might say. Odds are though, these fantastic substances won’t hold a candle to what’s on the drawing board, and when materialism meets futurism, cool things happen!

Photoshop has revolutionized design, photography and illustration to the point where any image that manages to capture something really amazing is quickly dismissed as fake. But, it is still possible to create jaw-dropping images without the help of a computer. Each of these 15 images may have you screaming “Photoshopped!” yet in fact, no digital tricks were used to create the amazing effects of seemingly impossible proportions, floating human heads, trippy Dali-esque melting buildings and more.

Action Art by Li Wei

(images via: Environmental Graffiti)

Li Wei’s action photos depict subjects seemingly unbound by silly things like gravity or the limitations of human strength. Li stages stunts that capture what appear to be moments of serious danger, like a man being kicked off a high rooftop or dangling from a steel beam at a seemingly impossible angle. Li’s methods involve a mix of props, wires, cleverly positioned cameras and acrobatics.

Wire Frame Toyota Corolla by Benedict Radcliffe

(image via: RideLust)

This isn’t a photograph of a street with a computer generated drawing superimposed on top. It’s an actual full-scale three-dimensional wireframe model created by artist Benedict Radcliffe. It was comissioned by Japan’s Dentsu Inc. for an ad campaign in the Middle East. Each of Radcliffe’s models, which also include a Lambourghini, is painstakingly crafted from welded 10mm steel tubes.

Infinite Possibilities by Philip Perold

(image via: 1x.com)

As far as we know, no living person has yet been able to actually walk on water. Yet, this photo seems to tell a different story. It’s all too easy to Photoshop a person onto a body of water, but ‘Infinite Possibilities’ by Philip Perold actually depicts an interesting reflection on the beach in Strand, Western Cape South Africa.

The Writer by Giancarlo Neri

(image via: artnet)

Okay, this one has got to be Photoshopped, right? Wrong. Though it may seem as if someone simply cut-and-pasted a tiny bicyclist onto a photo of a desk and chair, it’s the furniture that’s extraordinary. ‘The Writer’ is a monumental sculpture by artist Giancarlo Neri that was installed on Parliament Hill Fields in Hampstead Heath, England during the summer of 2005.

Double Vision Portrait by emilychughes

(image via: emilychughes)

What looks like two photographs put together is actually a single, untouched shot taken by Emily, the blonde on the left. The left side shows a mirror, reflecting Emily’s image back to the camera, and at right is her friend Alisha, seen through clear glass. The ghostly hand and arm in the photo are part of Emily’s barely visible reflection on the glass.

A Cloud of Tea by Gilles Pinault

(image via: 1x.com)

Sometimes, you just get the perfect shot by chance. In this case, a cloud in the background happened to be the perfect shape to act as ‘steam’ coming from a tea kettle.

Madagascar, Smallest Chameleon Ever

(image via: Kirill:NeverwinterAlps)

Many people seem unable to grasp the idea that a chameleon could really be this small, insisting that the photo has got to be a fake. In fact, this photo depicts the Brookesia minima, the smallest chameleon known to man. It measures just under an inch long.

Falling Up by nikki.jane

(image via: nikki.jane)

Some photographs just seem to beautiful to be real. Nikki Jane, a 14-year-old budding photographer, captured an intense reflection of the sky in a puddle in this self-portrait that makes it seem as if she’s floating in the clouds.

Final Encounter by *werol

(image via: Deviant Art)

This macro image of a caterpillar gathering tiny dew drops as it travels across a leaf makes it seem as if the little creature is preparing for battle. It balances on a large dew drop and holds smaller drops with its feet as if about to hurtle them like weapons.

Dali-esque Building Façade by Drewje

(image via: Drewje)

Walking past this building in Paris, you might rub your eyes and wonder if somebody slipped hallucinatory drugs into your drink. It’s not an illusion, it’s a trippy canvas façade placed over a building to hide ongoing construction.

Maho Beach by Justin Cederholm

(image via: airliners.net)

The airport runway on the island of St. Maartens is remarkably short, ending just feet away from Maho Beach. Since the runway is just barely long enough for jets to land, pilots have to fly extremely low, nearly clipping the fence as they descend. Tourists ‘relaxing’ on the beach often have planes pass a mere 30 feet over their heads.

The World’s Most Muscular Dog

(image via: Canada.com)

It seems like the result of a Worth 1000 Photoshop competition, or perhaps a sadistic dog owner who put their poor pup on steroids. But Wendy, a whippet from Central Saanich, British Columbia is rippling with muscle due to mutated genes. Breeders often try for one mutated gene because it makes whippets run even faster than usual, but Wendy here got two, hence the double muscle on her average-sized frame.

Arizona’s Wave Rock Formation

(image via: Travel.LATimes.com)

This incredible photo is a testament not to the capabilities of computer photo editing software, but the mind-blowing beauty of what exists naturally in our world. The ‘Wave’ formation in the Paria Canyon-Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness is made of Jurassic-era sandstone created when dunes calcified into rock.

Rubber Duck by Florentijn Hofman

(image via: Wooster Collective)

This gigantic rubber duck made a surreal sight as it floated along the Loire River in France in 2007. Made by artist Florentijn Hofman of inflatable, rubber-coated PVC, this giant ducky measured 85’ x 65’ x 105’.

Mask II by Ron Mueck

(image via: The Washington Post)

The realism that some artists are able to achieve is truly astounding. Ron Mueck creates sculptures that mimic human features down to the tiniest veins and skin imperfections, but each of his sculptures is made in an abnormally large or small scale. This seemingly detached human head is actually a self-portrait of the artist.

To be competitive in business, you’ve got to stand out – and there’s no better representation of your visual identity than your business card. While most are tucked into a wallet or desk drawer and quickly forgotten, others make people look twice, with designs that are funny, shocking or just incredibly unique. Here are 15 examples of amazing business cards that definitely leave a memorable impression.

Debt Recovery X-Ray Business Cards

(image via: Ads of the World)

“If you don’t give me the money, I’m gonna break your finger.” That’s the message that this effective business card by a debt recovery agent sends with its x-ray image of a broken thumb tip. Of course, that doesn’t mean that Mr. Rahesh Ranjan, who commissioned the card, is really going to break your finger – but it might make you a little more likely to pay up quickly.

Dept. of Energy Business ‘Cords’

(image via: Mike Industries)

You can’t slip it into your wallet, but this business ‘cord’ will probably make an impression on your mind anyway. Designed by and for design firm The Dept of Energy, these palm-size electrical cords are printed with the firm’s logo and business information.

Sprouting Garden Business Cards

(image via: bldgblog)

There are quite a few business card designs that have seeds embedded in them, but this one is unique: the seeds sprout in a pattern according to the layout printed on the card. Naturally, this business card is for Tur & Partner, a landscape architecture company.

Yuka Suzuki Hair Pins Business Cards

(image via: daily poetics)

There’s no question what services Yuka Suzuki offers when you see these brilliant business cards. Hair pins are attached to the card in a way that makes them look like the hair of a woman. Once you use up the pins, the card is easy to slip into your wallet. Since it’s providing a useful function, you’ll be more likely to keep it around for a bit longer than most.

Razor Blade Business Cards

(image via: BusinessCards24)

If you know what’s good for you, you won’t put this unusual business card in your wallet. It’s an actual razor blade, imprinted with the information of a graphic design firm called ‘Cutting Edge’. Memorable and clever.

Headhunter Business Cards

(image via: Ads of the World)

Headhunter Aert van Seggelen wants you to be discreet about being contacted by him. So, in addition to his contact information, he has thoughtfully provided instructions for disposing of the card – by eating it. Hope you have a good memory.

Lock Picking Kit Business Cards

(image via: ?? ???? ????????)

This business card has a set of fully functioning lock picking tools that you can immediately pop out and start using. Kevin Melvin, who describes himself as a “hacker, entrepreneur and all around mischief maker” reportedly wanted a card that would speak of his nature.

Stretch Rubber Personal Trainer Business Cards

(image via: deadmetrix)

Personal trainer Poul Nielson’s business card can only be read when you stretch the rubber it’s printed on. Too bad you need more than two hands to stretch it, read the phone number and then write it down.

Actual Size Pop-Up Business Cards

(image via: thisisactualsize.com)

Design firm ‘Actual Size’ created this card with a little pop-up of the person it belongs to, which isn’t technically ‘actual size’. Not only is this card creative and memorable itself, but the photograph will help you remember who handed it to you when you pick it up again months later.

Structural Graphics Fax Machine Pop-Up Business Cards

(image via: dailypoetics)

Structural Graphics designs and produces marketing materials, and what better way to advertise their services than to create an impressive pop-up business card? When you open the card, a pop-up of a fax machine offers up a fax with a message that says in part, “Welcome! You are looking at a revolutionary concept from Structural Graphics.”

Fashion Stylist Transparent Business Cards

(image via: Ads of the World)

Fashion stylists could give clients an idea of their personal style with a look book, but that’s kind of boring. CK Koo decided he’d like to provide a graphical representation of his eclectic tastes with a business card that consists of transparencies that allow you to ‘dress’ a silhouette of a woman. Each transparency depicts fashion apparel from boots to hair accessories.

Building Block Architecture Business Cards

(image via: Ads of the World)

La Cambre Architecture School in Belgium has a business card that defines what the school does: it’s a Lego brick printed with the school’s information.

We Love You(r Money) Business Cards

(image via: BusinessCards24.com)

At first, when you see this business card and read the message ‘We love you’, you might think it’s a bit corny and sycophantic, but then you see that the gray bar beside it is a scratch-off. Take a quarter to it and you’ll soon see that it really says “We love your money”. Hey, at least they’re being up front about it.

USB Business Cards

(image via: New Launches)

This paper business card doesn’t look like anything special, until you turn it over. On the back is a laminated memory card, which actually works when you insert the card into a USB adapter. That allows the business owner to fit a whole lot more information onto that little card – entire portfolios or catalogs, even.

Brand Doctor Business Cards

(image via: dailypoetics)

Branding and marketing company Brand Doctor uses little boxes of ‘medicine’ as business cards, each one personalized using their names and adding a medical suffix which provides a specific solution according to that person’s role in the company (ex. Davor Rukovanjski is a designer, his “medicine” is Ruxiten, for improving visual identity). So, what’s really in the box? Mints.

If you are part of the huge PacMan-shaped slice of the population that indulge in the multi-million-dollar video-gaming industry - and especially if you grew up alongside it - there is an entire branch of furniture design that will push your buttons (and maybe even waggle your joystick). From sleek game-pods to tables that will hold every peripheral, from chess on the walls to PacMan on the floor, here’s 19 household items that would make any obsessive gamer backflip.

CLICK for the Ultimate Offbeat Furniture Archive

(Image via: PlayPod)

Every self-respecting gamer has a fondness for TRON. The perfect marriage of cutting-edge CGI (for its time), geek-turned-hero plotline and vehicles that should exist, even if they never could. And if TRON sums up the 1980s for many people, the lightcycle sums up TRON. The makers of the PlayPod seem to be trying to channel Syd Mead’s iconic design, and with a surrounding dynamic sound system and built-in screen, the occupant will truly feel that life is but a game.

(Images via: Oculas)

Edge-on, the Ovei looks like it could sprout a facehugger - but this carbon-fibre gaming pod (designed by McClaren Applied Technologies, no less) is a different kind of creature. Hardcore gamers tend to avoid light, fresh air and social contact as a rule, but this design might be taking it too far - especially with the door closed. However, the sophisticated LED lighting and cooling systems might make this a more pleasant alternative to the Great Outdoors. And is it affordable? Don’t ask silly questions. ($100,000, to you and me).

(Image via: Live Science)

Gamers (the stereotype goes) are an unhealthy lot. When you’re climbing the rankings in World of Warcraft, food and sleep become annoying distractions. The Gravitonus Ergonomic Workstation seeks to address this imbalance, by employing a dizzying range of techniques including ergonomic body support, Matrox Triplehead capability - banishing neck-ache and eyestrain being the idea - and, rather exotically, gravity-field alignment (don’t laugh - it could be the difference between pwning and getting pwned).

(Images via: designboom)

The Wave Chaise, despite looking like a hi-tech flying carpet, is a teenager-oriented multimedia seat with everything built in, including a table for PC use. That padded seat looks perfect for lounging, napping and (dare I say it) drunkenly crashing out. It’s also ideal for reclining with the console controller of your choice (if that screen allows), although there’s the dreadful inconvenience of getting up to change discs every now and again.

(Images via: Digital Edge and )

But the cream of the gaming crop, the l33t of the l33t, don’t want to relax - they want to be in the zone, a few cans of their favorite high-energy drink coursing through the body and setting their senses jangling - and all the tools of their trade (joysticks, mice, headsets) accessible without thinking. They need a table that understands this. And that’s where the Digital Edge MSY Gaming Table and the V1 Chair come in - not cheaply, but professionals will see them as an investment.

(Images via: Upwell Design and YourFurniture and Ultimate Game Chair)

For the more casual gamer, a lifetime of slouching stretches ahead of them. Grab a few beers, turn on the ‘360, grab the controller and sit down, and then over the next ten minutes slump like a mudslide until you have achieved the perfect equilibrium point between chair and floor - the kind of posture that would infuriate a parent (any parent). The DownLow seat and the SlouchPod are designed to slump for you - in the former case by being at ground level already, and in the latter by having a low padded body to sink into. For the less inclined, the Raptor and Ultimate Game Chair go for luxurious comfort embedded with game-augmenting features like vibrating motors and remote control holders.

(Images via: Yanko Design)

It may look a little too grand for the average bedroom, but this near-horizontal chair has no pretentions - it’s called the Slacker Chair, and it’s decorated with scrollwork that reads “Game Over”, just to remind you what’s at stake. Slouch thyself in luxury, gamer.

(Image via: Microsoft and CNET)

Remembering the amazing haptics terminal used by Tom Cruise in the film Minority Report? In the future, that is how you will play your favorite RTS. In the meantime, a halfway-house is on the horizon in the form of a touch-sensitive table display (an upright screen would be too tiring on the arms, especially for those long stretches between tank-rushes). Microsoft Surface is the current leader in this field, but HP Labs’s Misto is also an appealing prospect. Bye bye, faithful mouse.

(Image via: Moma and Mostly This and Liberty Games)

Retrogamers hanker for the simpler, purer gaming delights of yesteryear, before movie franchises and EA Sports made the whole thing a little too mercenary for their own liking. And what could be purer than Pong? The Pong table creates that sociable glow of Atari nostalgia with LEDs and trackpads (and also doubles as a table). The Asteroid table sadly isn’t functioning (how cool would that be?) but its vector-style legs are sure to bring a lump to the throat of those of a certain generation. For the more contemporarily-minded, the Novotable is a multimedia center with a built-in next-gen console (either an Xbox-360 or a PS3 - you decide).

(Image via: Qayot)

Everyone recognizes the wacka-wacka sound of Pacman on the munch. If you have the Poufman as one of your items of geek-chic home furniture, it will always be in your head, like a tune you can’t shake off. That’s not a bad thing, of course.

(Image via: Freshome)

But why stick with digital? If you’re the other kind of gamer with a penchant for the click of tiles and nary a pixel in sight, you’ll find this Scrabble furniture a lot of fun. We instinctively know that someone, somewhere has collected together enough of these cushions and chairs to make an actual working Scrabble set - and they definitely need to get out more often.

(Image via: Straight Up Chess)

And how about hallway gaming? You hang this Straight Up Chess board in the hall like a picture or mirror, and every time you or your opponent pass, you make your move. If you regularly have appointments that you can’t afford to miss, maybe this piece of furniture isn’t such a good idea to have around (unless you’re an adept speed chess player).

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