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Etsy, an online marketplace for buying & selling all things handmade, has held a Halloween costume contest.
The winners, in categories such as General Awesomeness, Kid & Baby and Pet, have now been announced.
Seen in the photo to the left is the Sci-fi winner.
There’s still time to make your own. Besides a working computer and a little technical know-how (very little), all you need is three cans of spray paint and a bit of epoxy. And here’s the best part…no slimy guts to clean out!
Intructions are at Bad Banana Blog. Link -Thanks, Bill!
A Halloween classic from 1982 by Tim Burton, narrated by Vincent Price. -via The Daily Martini
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He’d look like this. Lots more “Beautifully Big” art over at Florence Studios. Via.
In a nutshell, One Hundred Young Americans is a portrait of the youth culture in America today. Michael traveled to all fifty states (30,462 miles!) to find out what it means to live as a teenager today. He photographed and interviewed mainstream kids like the preps, popular kids, and athletes, as well as the fringe kids like the goths, skater punks, and emos. Before I got the book, it was already clear that his task of assembling 100 teenagers that represented American was a difficult one, but exactly how difficult was only apparent once I delved into the book. The project started with an analysis of the census data for gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation. Their goal was to have a balance of city/suburban/rural and rich/middle-class/poor, as well as mainstream/fringe kids. The team approached teens in malls, on the streets, and in schools to ask them to participate. Thousands sent in forms and for nearly half a year, Michael and his team reviewed hundreds of teens that potentially filled their needs. The real work started when he started traveling to meet these young people: first, Michael had to convince the gatekeepers (i.e. the parents) that his project was real. This wasn’t an easy task since over 90% of them thought that he was either a scammer or a predator. One father was so fearful that during their first meeting he had a claw hammer in his hands, just in case there was some clobberin’ required. The end product, however, was worth all the trouble: Michael and his team were able to put together not only a beautifully designed photo book, but also one filled with some shocking, some sad, and some heartwarming but all interesting narratives about the lives of today’s young Americans. If you have a teenager at home, this book will give you an insight into what their real lives are like. If you are interested in the youths of America today, or if you like to read amazing stories – check out these six excerpts from the book: Lexi, 15, California The teacher cleared out half the classroom and made Lexi sit by herself so she wouldn’t infect the other children. The teacher would follow her into the bathroom and once sent her home for spitting. Her only friends were the lunch ladies in the cafeteria. Later that year, her mother died of AIDS. Read more about Lexi’s story. Ben, 18, South Dakota The Read more about Ben’s story. Katy, 17, Virginia Katy spends hours each day playing Gears of War. She’d love to be the number-one pro gamer in the world, but she says she’s not nearly good enough. "If I could just make the top 100, I’ll be the happiest person alive." Read more about Katy’s story. Josh, 17, Michigan In spite of the abuse, Josh and his band mates decided to go to school in full Kiss regalia one day. "All the preps and jocks made fun of us, but we didn’t care, because we weren’t who we were before." Read more about Josh’s story. Blessing, 18, Massachusetts "Coming from the third world, I can see all the opportunity surrounding me," she says. "I can make something of myself here." Read more about Blessing’s story. Bentzy, 19, New York "We are not here for enjoyment. God created us to do something. And the something isn’t to play basketball all day or to eat pizza. If teenagers in America knew this, it would be good." Read more about Bentzy’s story. For more, check out Michael Franzini’s website: One Hundred Young Americans, or get his book here. Note: This review is sponsored by Michael Franzini’s One Hundred Young Americans book. Although I am compensated for this review, the words and opinion (with the exception of the quoted text) are all mine. There was no editorial pressure to write only positive reviews.
This is the second review I’ve done for photographer Michael Franzini’s book One Hundred Young Americans (the first one was for his website) – and I’m still in awe over what he and his team have accomplished.
When Lexi was in the first grade, her mom told the teacher than Lexi was HIV-positive.
… Suddenly Ben sees his animal and takes aim. He waited for her to get to the perfect spot, and he launched the bowarrow. In the instant he shot, a much bigger elk ran between Ben and his target animal.bow arrow plunged into the left hind quarter of a 750-pound male elk, far from any vital organ. Ben was paralyzed. For minutes, he couldn’t speak. He sat and stared at the ground, and his prey ran off.
Nothing makes Katy angrier than when people blame video games for violence in the real world. "I don’t have a violent bone in my body," she says. "I brake for butterflies. I’d rather wreck my car than hit a squirrel. I don’t even like walking on grass because I might hurt it."
The other kids, especially the jocks, look down on the music kids. This one football jock named Rubio always messes with Josh. Like when Josh is sprinting down the hallway late to class, Rubio will stick his foot out, slamming Josh face first into the floor, sending his books flying everywhere.
Blessing is grateful to her parents for giving up so much to bring her to America, which she says really is the land of opportunity – although most teenagers here don’t recognize that.
Bentzy has never heard of MySpace. He’s lived in New York since he was 11, but he lives in a different world from most American teenagers. "We are here for a purpose."
Zero gravity has some strange effects. You grow taller, your nose feels stuffy, and you become constipated. The upside is that you snore less! Discover Magazine has more surprising facts about living in space. Link -via Reddit
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Need an inspiration for a costume this Halloween? All you need is Bob Dylan! Here are some costume ideas from the lyrics of Bob Dylan’s songs:
Gallery at Seattle Weekly by Brian J. Barr, illustrated by Michael Dougan – Thanks Chris Kornelis!
John Liddell got an idea: some people are going to pretend they’re sick and play hooky from work, so why not profit from their malingering?
So John created Excused Absence Network, a website that sells excuse notes that are basically fake doctor’s note, fake jury sumons or even funeral-service programs:
For about $25, students and employees can buy excuse notes that appear to come from doctors or hospitals. Other options include a fake jury summons or an authentic-looking funeral service program complete with comforting poems and a list of pallbearers.
Some question whether the products are legal or ethical — or even work — but the company’s owners say they’re just helping people do something they would have done anyway.
Unethical? Sure! Effective? At times, but it can backfire:
Actually, for one New Jersey woman it wasn’t so easy. She was arrested this year after using one of the company’s notes to support her claim she was too injured to appear in traffic court for a speeding ticket. She was caught after court officials called the chiropractor listed and he told them he never heard of the woman.
Links: Article at CNN | John’s website [warning: automatic audio, you'll also be subjected to audio ads for ... erhm, breast enlargements ... ] (but if you tell your boss you found it at Neatorama after you get caught playing hooky, it’s not my fault, okay?) – Thanks Tiffany!
Universcale is a neat interactive Flash website by Nikon (unveiled last year, if I’m not mistaken), which allows you to play around with the idea of "scales." With a simple click of the mouse, you can see objects of varying sizes, from femtometers (10-15) to lightyears.
Link – Thanks wade7!
The Watchismo Times has a post about a series of rare clocks that were built by Oswald of Germany between 1926 and 1944.
The dials are represented as the eyes separating the hours on the left and minutes to the right. Most of their collection feature cross-eyed genies, monkeys, gnomes, owls, and dogs (LOTS of dogs).
Suzan Woodruff makes paintings that seem both large and small scale: like satellite photos of coastlines or weather patterns, like macro photography of ink, oil and water, or slides of microscopic organic phenomena. You could lose yourself in the depths of these images.
H.G. Well’s classic The War of the Worlds has been continuously in print for over 100 years – here is an image collection of 318 book covers from 1898 to the present: Link – via Fazed
Christopher Locke of Heartless Machine took scissors confiscated from travelers at the airport and turned them into this spider sculpture!
Try to get that past airport security! Link – via Boing Boing
The 10-feet long, 2-in barreled weapon, called the Punt Gun, is the longest shotgun in the world.
In the late 1800s, a hunter could use this gun to sneak up on a raft of sleeping ducks, fire a single shot (which consists of 2 lb of BB pellets) and kill nearly 100 ducks with a single round!
TechEBlog has the larger pic and video: Link
Darth Vader … in love?!
Here’s a very well done comedy sketch from The Peter Serafinowicz Show, where Darth Vader fell in love with Commander Ada Larkin, a female co-worker wearing a pink cape and helmet.
Link [embedded YouTube clip]
Get Elastic Blog commissioned a caricature of what Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin should dress as this Halloween: a ‘Ghoul’gle!
Larger pic (and caption contest) here: Link – Thanks Linda Bustos!
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Japanese game show Hey! Spring of Trivia played this funny prank on racewalking champion Jefferson Perez:
They wanted to see what would happen if Perez was attacked by a gang of sword-wielding samurai: would he rely on his expert racewalking skills to get away, or would he simply run away?
Watch the clip at Japan Probe to find out: Link [embedded YouTube clip] – via Okfuture, thanks Dan!
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The motto of Norfolk Island is "Inasmuch"
Norfolk Island, a small inhabited island and Australian territory in the Pacific island, took its motto from Matthew 25:40 "Inasmuch Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me"
as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Inasmuch is defined as "In like degree; in like manner; seeing that; considering that; since; – followed by as".
Did you know the first Frankenstein movie came out in 1910? That David Prowse of Star Wars fame played the monster in three movies? What year Frankenstein 1970 was released (it’s not what you think)? Find out everything you never thought to ask about Frankenstein at mental_floss! Link
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