A brand new animated short by Simon Tofield.
More videos of Simon’s Cat featured here on Neatorama: Fly Guy, TV Dinner, Let Me In!, and Wake Up!
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Sacrebleu! French politicians are campaigning for a new law that will result in government health warnings on pictures that have been enhanced by photoshop:
Campaigning MP Valerie Boyer, of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP party, said the wording should read:"Retouched photograph aimed at changing a person’s physical appearance".
Mrs Boyer, who has also written a government report on anorexia and obesity, added: "We want to combat the stereotypical image that all women are young and slim.
"These photos can lead people to believe in a reality that does not actually exist, and have a detrimental effect on adolescents. "Many young people, particularly girls, do not know the difference between the virtual and reality, and can develop complexes from a very young age.
"In some cases this leads to anorexia or bulimia and very serious health problems.
"It’s not just a question of public health, but also a way of protecting the consumer."
– Thanks Tiffany!
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(Photo: Takashi Itoh)
Here comes October, which means it’s close to pumpkin carving time. But if you’re reluctant to let go of summer, head on over to Takashi Itoh’s and check out some wonderful watermelon carvings. Takashi says it only took him three weeks to become skilled at it.
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Allee Willis is a fantastic and accomplished songwriter by day (she wrote the Friends theme song I’ll Be There For You, for example) and a kitsch collector by night.
Thanks to the Interweb, we can now marvel at her extensive collection of kitsch. As a bacon afficionado, it’s my sworn duty to bring you these Bacon Shoes:
Nothin’ tastier in the morning then to slip on a nice pair of bacon shoes and go about your day. As someone who loves the meaty stuff, this is the perfect way to avoid all that grease and and keep your feet looking crisp and scrumptious all day. I have bacon bandages, bacon scarves, designer bacon everything, but the printing is so cheap on most of it it just looks like pink and red wavy stripes. But on these Keds it actually looks like the real thing.
Link | More at Kitsch O’The Day and her new website, The Allee Willis Museum of Kitsch
Related – from the Neatorama Shop: Bacon Store
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I don’t have time to watch one TV, much less several all at once! HBO Imagine is a new website that aims to tell a story through interconnecting short clips as opposed to the linear format of today’s TV show as well as different angles. And I mean that literally – you can change the camera angle of the clip and see "hidden" parts of the story. The more clips you watch, the more you unlock clips and clues.
It’s a new way of watching a show – kind of edgy, I suppose. Maybe too edgy for old fuddy duddy like me, and therefore perfect for today’s teens with short attention span, but very entertaining nonetheless: Link – Thanks Nathalie!
*Be sure to "spin" the first clip, titled The Affair, to see what’s hiding behind the door…
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If you think about it, an elephant’s tusk is a big tooth. And like any tooth, a tusk can break or otherwise get damaged and the elephant would then need to see a dentist (shudder!). That’s exactly what happened in the North Carolina Zoo.
But how exactly does one operate on an elephant’s tusk? Dainty dental equipments surely aren’t enough… Enter Dr. Gary Spodnick and his power tools!
Disclaimer: This version of the video, although no blood is spilled, may be disturbing to some viewers, since the power tools are shown in use on the animal.
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The next time you break a bone, your doctor may just reach for the sandcastle worm. Actually, not the actual worm itself but a bone glue made by the animal:
The worm creates a complex water-based mortar to create a home from grains of sand and bits of shell. The adhesive can stick to wet surfaces and doesn’t dissolve at certain pH levels, making it ideal for medical applications. Once it has done its job, it can become water-soluble and dissolve.
The traditional method of healing broken bones by using metal nails, pins and screws is difficult with smaller bones, says Russel Stewart, one of the creators of the synthetic sandcastle worm glue, and scientists have been looking for a suitable adhesive substitute for decades.
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The beautiful Casio Databank 2888JA over at Tokyoflash – pre-order at $112.28; (R) The cheaper yet still geeky chic Cal-Q-Tek 2000 Calculator Watch at the Neatorama Shop – $14.95
I have a soft spot in my heart for geeky wristwatches. Maybe it’s all those childhood conditioning (Dick Tracy’s wrist phone, anyone?) but when Tokyoflash came out with their limited time offer of the Casio Databank 2888JA, I’m all over it. It’s a bit pricey, so for the budget-conscious geek, may I suggest our retro-fun Cal-Q-Tek 2000 wrist watch over at the Neatorama Shop?
Links: Casio Databank 2888JA – Thanks Paul! | Cal-Q-Tek 2000 Calculator Watch
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Does your bathroom scale flinch whenever you walk by? Maybe you need a replacement that is a bit more accepting of your body image issues. These handmade scales by Marilyn Wann offer compliments such as ’sexy’, ‘ravishing’, and ‘perfect’ instead of numerical weight measurements.
Product Page | Link via Foolish Gadgets
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Remember Muto, the "animated" or time-lapse graffiti by Blu that took the InterWeb by storm? Well, here’s the sequel: a collaboration by Blu and David Ellis called COMBO (with music by Roberto Lange)
It was produced by Studio Cromie and released at the Fame Festival 2009
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What would He-Man and the rest of the Masters of the Universe look like if they were into fashion? No need to imagine, as artist Adrian Riemann had re-drawn them as if they were Hipsters of the Universe:
What would He-Man look like if he was really into fashion and indie rock? What if Skeletor was an American Apparel model living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn? What if She-Ra was an art school dropout that spent her time bar-hopping in the Lower East Side?
For the past few months artists Adrian Riemann has been creating a master work that answers these questions. Essentially, Riemann has remixed the characters of the popular 1980s "Masters of the Universe" cartoon series as highfalutin, Justice and Kid Cudi listening, circa 2009 hipsters. On top of that, he styled the characters in designer clothing as if this was a fashion spread in a magazine.
By the way, He-Man wears Dior Homme Jacket, April 77 Jeans, and Pierre Hardy shoes; Skeletor was no slouch himself with Loopwheeler Hoody, Cheap Monday Jeans, and YSL Shoes. I can safely say I’ve never even heard of such brands …
Link | More at Adrian’s portfolio on Behance
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What do you get when you combine "honesty is the best policy" with "Do as I say, not as I do"? Here’s an interesting study showing that parents lie to children surprisingly often:
"We are surprised by how often parenting by lying takes place," said study researcher Kang Lee of the University of Toronto, Canada. "Our findings showed that even the parents who most strongly promoted the importance of honesty with their children engaged in parenting by lying."
Lee and colleagues acknowledge that their work is preliminary, bringing to the forefront an issue that is rarely studied. They are not sure the implications of parental lying, but suggest such tall tales could give kids mixed messages at a time when they are trying to figure out how to navigate the social world.
Lies could also harm parent-child bonds, said study researcher Gail Heyman of the University of California, San Diego.
It could even keep children from learning certain rules. "If I am always lying to the child in order to get the child to do X, Y, or Z, then they have never learned why they should do X, Y, or Z," said Victoria Talwar of McGill University in Montreal, who was not involved in the current study. "If it’s constantly being used, [lying] may be preventing learning opportunities for the child."
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The argument of Mac vs PC (or more accurately, Mac vs Windows) is as old as time itself – that is, if time started in 1984, the year that the Mac was introduced.
Sure Windows is bad. Awfully bad (I’m looking at you, Vista) but according to Charlie Brooker of The Guardian, there is something worse than Microsoft’s operating system: the cult of Mac worshippers!
Consequently, nothing pleases them more than watching a PC owner struggle with a slab of non-Mac machinery. It validates their spiritual choice. Recently I sat in a room trying to write something on a Sony Vaio PC laptop which seemed to be running a special slow-motion edition of Windows Vista specifically designed to infuriate human beings as much as possible. Trying to get it to do anything was like issuing instructions to a depressed employee over a sluggish satellite feed. When I clicked on an application it spent a small eternity contemplating the philosophical implications of opening it, begrudgingly complying with my request several months later. It drove me up the wall. I called it a bastard and worse. At one point I punched a table.
This drew the attention of two nearby Mac owners. They hovered over and stood beside me, like placid monks.
"Ah: the delights of Vista," said one.
"It really is time you got a Mac," said the other.
"They’re just better," sang monk number one.
"You won’t regret it," whispered the second.
But never fear, dear Mac lovers, Microsoft is trying to brew its own cult by using Windows 7 Launch Parties propaganda: Link
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Researchers have taken another look at the famous Whitehall study of over 18,000 middle-aged London men and found that a single measurement of three factors predicted mortality better than any other measures. Those with the three risk factors, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking, had three times the risk of death from cardiovascular problems and a life expectancy that was ten years shorter than those without the three risk factors. The men were examined in 1967-1970 and followed for 38 years. The 4811 surviving subjects were reexamined in 1997.
Dr Robert Clarke (University of Oxford, UK) and colleagues report their findings online September 17, 2009 in BMJ. And when they used more extreme categorization of risk factors, including body-mass index (BMI), diabetes mellitus/glucose intolerance, and employment grade, life expectancy differed by up to 15 years.
Clarke says there has been uncertainty about the limits of life expectancy and the relevance of cardiovascular risk factors for its prediction. “What is unique about this study is the prolonged follow-up; it enables us to put a figure on the life-limiting effects of these risk factors,” he told heartwire.
(image credit: Flickr user Thomas Hawk)
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Amazing 1900’s green creativity from John Krubsack who decided to grow chairs! It took him eleven years to bend and graft stems and brances of elder trees into the shape of a
chair before it was ready for ‘harvesting’. Krubsack is said to have said the chair was ‘cemented by nature’.
Link – via cakeheadlovesevil
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Marine biologist and blogger "WhySharksMatter" has created a list of four things everyone needs to know about sharks. Full of thought-provoking facts and cool pictures of sharks, this post will be interesting to the ocean lover in all of us.
“Human beings are better off with sharks than we are without sharks, and we are in danger of losing them forever… but you can help!”
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Hmmm, this t-shirt outlet might not be the place to buy gifts for loved ones, but if you are a fat guy and proud of it, you’ll find a shirt to love. There are also shirts for big women and for women who love fat guys. Link -via Buzzfeed
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This ad for Freebord skateboards has skateboarders flying down the streets of San Francisco in the dark to connect glowing Tetris shapes. I have to wonder where the awesome outtakes are!-via Digg
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Most of us think of sweet produce as fruit and not-sweet garden foods as vegetables, with the exception of the tomato because that’s been argued over so much. But which plant foods are scientifically fruits, and which are vegetables?
A fruit — a ‘true fruit’ — is one where all tissues are derived from the plant ovary and this alone. This includes peas. Whereas strawberries, for example, also include some of the flesh from the peg that holds the ovary, disqualifying them from fruit status. The apple gets its carpels involved as well as the ovary, leading to a kinky pome. ‘True berries’ are also ‘true fruits’, but not the other way round. Grapes, currants (red and black), elder- and gooseberries are all proper upstanding berries which will not deceive you or smuggle themselves into your house in pies before stealing your silver while you sleep.
Whatever you call them, you should have five servings a day, and eat a variety of different whatever-they-ares. Link -via Scribal Terror
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The Mainichi Daily News (Japan) reports that a college student has developed a robot that can be partially controlled through a neural interface. Taku Ichikawa of the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo hooks up electrodes to his head and then concentrates on certain images that serve as command prompts:
The control of the robot through reading neural signals — technology Ichikawa helped to develop for a hands-free wheelchair project — requires the operator to imagine a set of movements many times a day. During research into the wheelchair, the developers tied particular movements with particularly clear mental images, allowing users to command the chair without any previous training. For example, if a user could imagine badminton very clearly, that could become the command for forward.
Link via Popular Science | Image: Mainichi Daily News
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Wrap you your baby, safe and secure, in the tentacles of Cthulhu with this crocheted baby blanket. It was created by Craftster user Fickle Pegasus for her husband’s co-worker’s son. Velcro tabs at the end of the tentacles help secure baby toys or, I suppose, the child itself.
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The Madagascar Institute is a Brooklyn-based art collective that “that specializes in large-scale sculptures and rides, live performances, and guerilla art events.” The artists are especially fond of attaching jet engines to large sculptures and improbable vehicles. Most recently, they made a two-person carousel powered by small jet engines. The action in the above video starts at the 1:23 mark.
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Andy Woodruff noticed that Ohio has 88 counties, the same number as keys on a piano. So he went to work on a map application that assigns a note to each county. You can play a song on the map (a couple of songs are plotted out for you) or reassign the notes based on census data such as population, number of rental houses, or median age. You can even hear what a route from one place to another sounds like! Link to map. Link to the story behind it. -via the Presurfer
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A 13-year-old macaw flew fifty feet up into a tree and was too scared to fly down. Emma Hooper of Botley, England believes that Cleo flew away because she was distressed at moving to a new home. When the RSPCA refused to come, Hooper called to rent a hydraulic lift, but was told it wouldn’t be available until the next day. Hooper stayed by the tree all night long.
“I felt so helpless. It was awful, the worst feeling in the world.
“I took out a chair and blanket but I was getting strange looks from people driving by.
“They looked very confused when I said my bird was stuck up in the tree.
“I ended up driving my car around the corner and parked next to the tree. It was warmer and I felt safer but I still got no sleep.
The cherry picker arrived at 7:30 AM, and Cleo was finally brought down. She had spent 16 hours on the same branch. Link -via Arbroath
(image credit: SOLENT)
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Growing up singing together has its advantages! This post looks at thirteen different sibling acts that made it big, with videos of each.
Often our brothers and sisters are the first people we sing and play music with, so if it works well, it’s only natural to continue to sing and play with them. The tonal similarity of siblings’ voices allows for the building of beautiful harmonies, which can explain the success of the music made by siblings.
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A sheet of paper may be nothing more than a medium upon which you scribble notes and doodle the occasional design, but to a paper artist it represents something that can be folded, twisted and turned into anything. Check out the work of ten talented paper artists, each with their own unique style.
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So many podcasts out there, but so little time. Here are fifteen in particular that are worth your time and will make you a better informed citizen of the world. Links include TED Talks, the Naked Scientists, a couple frm NPR and the BBC, and the greatest thing on radio, This American Life:
The show’s incredible value was recently on display when it tackled the housing crisis and economic collapse with two episodes entitled “The Giant Pool of Money” and “The Giant Pool of Money Part 2?. TAL excels at taking the esoteric and making them understandable – relatable even – to the average Joe.
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This completely hilarious montage of circa 1987 video dater men was featured on Boing Boing yesterday, and as one commenter mentioned, the guy at 3:34 was a dead ringer for Seth Green. Upon second viewing, I noticed that the guy at 2:27 looks and sounds like Seth Rogen.
That got me thinking. Is the Seth Green guy really Seth Green, filmed recently? Slipped into a montage of real 87 vid-daters? And if that is Seth Rogen, is it also current footage with makeup, because if it was really him he’d be about 5 years old in 1987. It seems odd that two Seths appear in one seemingly random new (old) funny video.
Anyway, aside from that, there’s lots of funny to be found in this new viral gem. Hard to pick a favorite, but the Goddess guy/ Bon Jovi afficionado is impressive.
Photo credit: Seth Rogen by Philkon; Seth Green by David Shankbone.
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