The Invisible Beard of Contemplation II

This is a wonderful, and quite difficult, puzzle. A series of riddles whose answers must be gleaned from the limited, and obscure, information given. Everything is a possible clue. Plan on lots of research on Wikipedia and Google.

The Beijing National Stadium

Here is a wonderful set of design renderings for the "Bird's Nest" stadium being built for the Beijing Olympics. I absolutely love Herzog & de Meuron and everything they design. It might be done now, but I could only find the completed image above.

Bracelets Made From Old Cameral Lens Rings

Re-Vision sells hand made bracelets made from camera lens rings that are lovingly cut and ground to perfection. These are really clever and beautiful, and I want one. HINT! I suppose I could make my own.

Reverse Graffiti in San Francisco

This is a Flickr set of images of the work of artist Paul "Moose" Curtis. Working with San Francisco's Office of Public Works, Curtis was given access to a wall at the entrance of the Broadway Tunnel, where he proceeded to artistically clean areas of the grimy surface. This is know as "Clean Tagging".

Re-Imagining Asia Exhibition

We Make Money Not Art has some wonderful images from and exhibition of modern asian art at the House of World Cultures in Berlin. Song Dong's ordered collection of refuse is fascinating, as well as Michael Joo's "Space Baby" shown above.

Three Fun Things Invented by Accident

Here is a posting on Inventor's Spot which describes the accidental way in which Silly Putty, the Slinky, and popsicles were invented. I like the popsicle story.

Artist Photographs our Everyday World with X-Rays

Nick Veasey believes that beauty comes from within. His photographic work would support that idea as he uses x-rays to peer into household objects, revealing a subtle beauty heretofore unseen.

Preview of 2008 Milan Design Week

Here are a few designs to preview the upcoming Milan Design Week. As usual there are exquisite designs mixed with some iffy ones. I especially like this clock that uses multiple movements and hands to spell out the time.

Guy Fiddling with Radio Waves, Pie Tins, and Hot Dogs May Have Invented New Cancer Cure

This is a 60 Minutes segment about a retiree who may have invented a new method for battling cancer. It sounds crazy, but is being taken seriously by cancer researchers.

A Wonderful Talk by Bruce Sterling

Bruce Sterling from Innovationsforum on Vimeo. This is an incredibly interesting, albeit esoteric, presentation given by science fiction writer Bruce Sterling at the 'Innovationsforum Interaktionsdesign' in Potsdam, Germany. Worth watching.

Galaxy Song - Monty Python's The Meaning of Life

A wonderful song for the physicist/nihilist in all of us. Beautifully constructed lyrics. Stephen Hawking would approve.

Join the Apathy Party!

Here's a tongue in cheek website representing Americans with apathetic political views. Great fun! It's something The Onion would come up with. You can even take a test to measure your level of apathy. I didn't score high enough to be apathetic; I was informed I'm just lazy. Check out their online store too.

10mg Bunny Interactive

10mg  Interactive, a web design company, made this strange little game where you must perform emergency surgery on a stuffed rabbit. It's timed, so you probably won't save him on the first try.

Completely Spoiled Rotten Horse is Adorable

A couple of good 'ol boys treat their horse Patches like a household pet. Patches loves to ride in the car and go through the MacDonald's drive through. Some people think I spoil my cat, but if a loved animal clearly enjoys the attention, then why shouldn't they deserve it?

Another Zaha Hadid Design I Like

Over at The Design Blog, there are some images of Zaha Hadid's design concept for the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum. I've said, for some time, that I don't like her work, but perhaps she's maturing; or perhaps I am. This design certainly trips the Star Trek alarms, but that's not a problem for me.

Carved Crayola Crayons

Artist Diem Chau creates lovely folk art carvings from Crayola crayons. They're beautifully rendered and the colors and waxy sheen give them a preciousness all their own.

Hello Kitty Power Sander

Hello Kitty Hell is a great site revealing one man's obsession with Hello Kitty products. Some of you may know that I too have a fondness for the stuff, and this power sander intrigues both the Hello Kitty fan and the craftsman in me. I hope that plastic jewel is the on/off switch.

Creature Comforts "Self Image"

We've been watching Creature Comforts lately, so I thought I'd post one. Always good for a laugh, and to be awed by the amazing claymation.

Sneak Peek of the Museum of Arts and Design New Show

The Museum of Arts and Design, in New York City, has posted a couple of pieces to be shown at the opening of their new location. Very nice! One is a gown made from latex dishwashing gloves, and the other is a pyramid made of plastic spoons and rubber bands.

The Rapid Development of Dubai

Here is a short photo essay on the development of Dubai. From desert to mega-city in just eighteen years. Some incredible architecture and developments that could classify as "wonders of the world".

The Simpsons go Couture Shopping in Paris

Here is a great spread from Harper's Bazaar last fall depicting the Simpson family shopping at various couture houses in Paris. They are accompanied by Linda Evangelista. Illustrations are by Julius Preite.

The Royal Mint has Redesigned it's Coins

These are the new coin designs for the Royal Mint of Britain. They're really nice and a unique departure from tradition. 26 year old designer Matthew Dent broke up the shield design of the one Pound coin and used elements of that for all the other coins. The lesser coins can be arranged like a puzzle to reveal the shield.

Moov is a New Toy System Coming Soon

Dutch company Berg, is releasing this new toy concept that is a cross between Mechano and go carts. Pieces can be rearranged to form various types of fun vehicles. I could have spent hours, as a kid, playing with this.

Rabbit

AtomFilms.com: Funny Videos | Funny Cartoons | Comedy Central

As long as I'm at Atom Films, I thought I'd share one of my favorites. A disturbing yet beautiful story of greed and it's consequences. I love the use of primer style graphics, and the animation is sweeping. Not for the faint of heart. If you don't like seeing animal killing and creepy bug scenes, then don't watch it.

The Shine

AtomFilms.com: Funny Videos | Funny Cartoons | Comedy Central

This is a cute two minute film for those of you obsessed with a clean bathroom. Sort of The Shining meets Mommy Dearest. 

Art Installation With Mechanical "Bridge"

Artist Michael Cross has installed a site specific piece he calls Bridge. One crosses the flooded room via a mechanism that, activated by the user's weight, causes the next tread to emerge from the water and the previous one to recede. I'd like to see how the mechanism works.

Women In Art

Some of you have seen this before. I ran across it again, today, and thought I'd post it for those who haven't seen it. It's nicely done, though I wish there was an interactive version you could control the speed of.

Penguins Can Fly!

This is a promotional piece for BBC online video, and a timely April Fools gag. With filmmaker and writer Terry Jones doing the narration, it almost seems real. In any case, it's funny and well done.