Images of Barack Obama's Inauguration

Boston.com's The Big Picture, features a large collection of great images surrounding the inauguration of our 44th president; Barack Obama. The large format images really give a sense of the vastness of the crowds and details of intimate moments.

Speaking of Beautiful Crochet Work...

Track 16 has a slideshow of the work of The Institute for Figuring and Companions in which several artists created the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef. All in all, the realism works and some of the techniques and yarn choices are amazing.

The Museum of Scientifically Accurate Fabric Brain Art

The Museum of Scientifically Accurate Fabric Brain Art is the world's largest collection of such work. "Though artists make every effort to insure accuracy, we cannot accept responsibility for the consequences of using fabric brain art as a guide for functional magnetic resonance imaging, trans-cranial magnetic stimulation, neurosurgery, or single neuron recording."

Spiral Wine Cellars

Here's a nifty idea. Dig a hole under your kitchen floor and line it's walls with concrete shelving. Drop a spiral stair down the center and install a trap door for access. Voilla! An unobtrusive, easily accessed, temperature controlled environment for your wine collection.

A Walk on New Zealand's Wet Side

The New York Times has a slideshow of the Milford Track in New Zeland's Fiordland National Park. This 33 mile hike is a stunning mix of lush rain forests and alpine vistas. Beautiful imagery and a truly remarkable place on earth.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Photography Served has an interesting set of images from the cold war era. A retrospective of doomsday equipment all presented, somehow, as fine art. As objects and images they are spectacular though chilling.

Civil Disobedience At It's Finest

Tim DeChristopher simply walked into a private auction selling the drilling rights to public land near Moab and Southern Utah.  Not only did he drive up the prices to a fair value, but he also ended up "winning" 22,500 acres of beautiful wilderness near Moab. Of course he hasn't got a dime. You can donate to his legal defense and land protection fund on his website.

Google Earth Now Has Masterpieces of the Prado Collection

Google has added a new feature to its' Google Earth browser that lets viewers examine master paintings in the Prado Museum with astonishing detail and navigation. Books, prints, even a visit to the museum itself will never let you see these paintings so close. Follow the simple instructions at the link.

The History of the Internet

For those of you who want to know, this is how it happened.

Nick and Nora and Alcohol

A collection of some great scenes from the Thin Man movies all related to Nick and Nora (William Powell and Myrna Loy) are imbibing as only they can. Great fun!

Top Ten Inventions of 2008

Inventor's Spot has posted its' list of the top ten inventions for 2008. Some are codes and processes, like the Internet Bundle Protocol and Hulu.com, while others are objects or tools, like the Camera For the Blind shown above.

Life of a Star: 12 Billion Years in 6 Minutes

Set to an ambient synth and whispy vocal soundtrack, is some great computer generated imagery and Hubble images of stars, astroids, nebulae and junk. Mesmerizing.

Far Side Cartoon Reenactments

Here's a group Flickr set of people who have staged reenactments of Gary Larson's Far Side Cartoons. These are all done by individual people who, for some reason or another, decided to pay tribute to Larson's great comics. Some are really good, and most are still funny.

One Dollar Diet Project

The One Dollar Diet Project is the blog diary of Christopher and Kerri, two Social Justice teachers who decided to research the possibility of eating for only $1 a day. Establishing strict rules while maintaining a healthy diet is a daunting challenge, yet they discovered it's possible, though not for everyone. Follow their daily posts as they describe what they're eating and what they're thinking. Really interesting.

The Art of Michael Oliveri

Totonko has images by photographer Michael Oliveri who uses scanning electron microscopes to photograph the oxidizing surfaces of zinc and other surfaces. Though seen at the nano scale, the similarity to landscape photography is amazing.

The Art of James Corbett

The John Davies Gallery sells the work of James Corbett who's sculptures made of recycled car parts are very nice. The dogs and the sheep are especially good.

Top Ten Astronomy Pictures of 2008

Discover Magazine has posted a slideshow of their top ten astronomy photos for 2008. Some are included for the sheer beauty of the image, while others represent an astounding and important discovery. Worth the read.

Hubble Space Telescope Advent Calendar 2008

Boston.com put together a collection of 25 amazing photos taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. That's it.

Water Figures by Fotoopa

Here's a Flickr set by Fotoopa of high speed photographs of colored water. The photographer uses a combination of audio waves, falling droplets, and soap bubbles to create these incredible images. The camera uses homemade hardware that controls the flash with laser detection. Wow wow wow!

Japanese Robotic Serving Table

For some reason the Japanese are ready to fully embrace robots in their lives, forgetting that they will one day crush humanity. For now they can serve restaurant patrons. I'm mostly impressed with the gyro-controlled two wheel design. Lovely to watch.

Monarchs of the World and Their Royal Residences

Hottnez.com has a list of existing monarchs of the world (there's more than you think) and their official residences. Short descriptions of each monarch and the extent of their wealth accompanies portraits and exterior shots of their "homes". Interesting.

The Shell House

Design Boom has details of the Shell House by architect Kotari Ide. The fluid and sculptural shape is very nice; as though there are no roofs and walls, but a continuous loop that you inhabit. Beautiful spaces are created and the connection with the gorgeous location is tangible.

6 Amazing Viewing Platforms

Deputy Dog's post about vertigo-inducing viewing platforms has some wonderful images. I think these structures are going to become the new ferris wheels, as each design tries to be more "over the edge" than the others. The Grand Canyon Skywalk looks pretty impresive, but I hear it's expensive to see.

Jetdaisuke Conducts the Gadget Orchestra

This electronic "orchestra" is made up of a couple of Nintendo DS game consoles, an Apple iPhone and iPod Touch, and a Korg Kaossilator (I love mine). They're all linked together with a Belkin Rock Star. Jetsaisuke mixes samples and ambient sounds with care. Very nice.

Catch of the Day

Shape + Colour has some details on a guerilla campaign by Surfrider Foundation meant to draw attention to the pollution of our beaches. They collected various types of beach trash, packaged them like food, and left them on display at local farmer's markets. Really disgusting, which is the point.

Cat Fights With Photo of Other Cat

Just a short video of a cat who simply cannot tolerate the two dimensional image of another cat. I especially like when he smashes it into bits. Awwwwww.

Selina Rose Cut Felt Textiles

Selina Rose is a UK company that creates floor coverings, window fabrics, table runners, room dividers, etc. from intricately cut felt panels. At first I thought these were laser cut, but there don't seem to be any burn marks. They sell online and do bespoke work as well.

Gluttony: A Lamp

This is one of those ideas I wish I thought of first. A beautiful and simple design of a lamp shade made of platic utensils. This would be great for a diner or cafe. If it's built well, it would even be dishwasher safe! Not really into the name though. I would have called it "Dixie".

Sharklet Surface Technology

Med Gadget has an amazing example of excellent biomimetic design. Designers have discovered that the naturally antibiotic nature of shark skin is due merely to the shape and pattern on its' scales. By creating surfaces that have this pattern, microorganisms and bacteria have no chance to grow. Imagine a hospital where every surface is like this material....

The World's Most Dangerous Roads

Dark Roasted Blend has another great image collection; this time about dangerous roads. It's fun to see, unless you're squeamish about such things. I doubt many who read this blog will ever encounter these roads, unless there are plans to visit Machu Picchu.

Dancing at Liverpool Street Station

I really love these guerilla performance pieces. It's like the work of Improve Everywhere that I've posted before. This time it's an ad for T Mobile in which unsuspecting commuters, in a London rail station, are treated to a "spontaneous" fully choreographed dance spectacle.