(Image credit: Ches)

Russian graffiti artist Evgeny Ches discovered other artists doing a new urban art form called "cellograffiti," in which the subject is painted on industrial-strength cellophane stretched between two poles or columns. Part of the art is transparent, and the finished product doesn't affect anyone's walls. Ches took the idea a step further -into the woods!

I started to do Cellograffiti in the nature. First I did fonts compositions and then I began to do experiments with animals. The mix of natural colors with its pure beauty and graffiti works looks amazing! (And of course I remove cellophane after few days into the trash) Creating art on cellophane is a very interesting innovation which allows you to paint in the most unique places and generate picturesque photos. (Ches)

@cellograffiti

A post shared by Evgeny Ches (@ches_ches) on Feb 6, 2015 at 12:07am PST

These paintings are of creatures who would be at home in the setting, but aren't normally seen in a Russian forest, like 6-foot squirrels, chimpanzees, and dinosaurs.

Squrell

A post shared by Evgeny Ches (@ches_ches) on Aug 7, 2014 at 10:50am PDT

See more of Ches' work at Facebook and Instagram.  -via Buzzfeed

New Year's Eve is the one occasion where you might feel an obligation to party. Everyone else is celebrating, and it may be the only opportunity to let your hair down for a long time. It doesn't always turn out how you expect it to. That's the point of this video from College Humor.   

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In fact, New Year's Eve rarely turns out to be the happy celebration it's portrayed to be in movies, your friends' stories, or even in your fuzzy memories. There's nothing more traditional than starting out a new year with profound disappointment, loneliness, and regret. Look at it this way: if you spend New Year's Eve watching TV or even going to bed early, it won't make a bit of difference in what's going to happen in 2018. -via Tastefully Offensive

A few years ago, a group of 12 Star Wars fans held a serious discussion on Twitter about the socioeconomic conditions on Tattooine. It is the home planet of both Anakin and Luke Skywalker, full of sand and sentient species of all manner. Obi-Wan Kenobi was an outsider who was presented to the audience as a wise sage who knew all about the planet, but maybe his opinions were colored by his experiences.

TIM CARMODY
Obi-Wan only goes to Mos Eisley once every three months to get drunk and he basically becomes like Byron.

JACOB HARRIS
so he clings to things like lightsabers and ancient Jedi religion…

“I’m just saying you can’t trust a man what plays in a cantina band. Not you, Figrin D’ith. You’re one of the good ones!”

I also imagine Tosche Station as some sort of affluent suburban mall where Luke just goes to loiter when bored.

TIM CARMODY
That’s totally true about dudes in cantina bands though

JACOB HARRIS
you don’t get to be Max Rebo overnight. Playing in the cantina is like their version of the Beatles in Hamburg, Tim.

A wretched hive of scum and vaillainy, indeed. Much of the discussion is about prejudicial treatment of the sand people, excuse me, Tusken people, by the dominant human species.

JACOB HARRIS
all I’m saying is that I don’t blame the Tusken People for steering clear of the racist, violent and armed old man

DAN SINKER
“he’s making those noises again, honey bring the kids inside.”

The original Twitter thread played out over time, and has since deteriorated from a readable form. Tim Carmody extricated the conversation and has archived The People’s History of Tattooine at Kottke for your reading pleasure.

All animals sleep, although we really don't know why. We have several theories, but there is no consensus on the matter. Animals don't all sleep the same way. Elephants sleep only a few minutes at a time, while cats sleep most other lives. And dolphins only sleep with half their brains at a time!

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Ed Yong tells us about research into how different animals sleep. One thing we're sure about -you have to get the right amount of sleep to function properly. I've been reading Yong's science articles for years, and this is the first time I've ever heard him speak. Up until now, I've read those articles in an American accent, but will read them in a British accent from now on. -via The Atlantic

The Pet Collective has issued their retrospective of the best pet videos of 2017. These aren't just dogs and cats, either (although there are dogs and cats). Enjoy watching raccoons, foxes, geckos, hamsters, ferrets, birds, dragons, lions, and insects! There's even a wild animal or two thrown in for good measure

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Yes, there are some that you've seen here on Neatorama this past year, but they are worth seeing again. You have not seen all of them, though! -via Tastefully Offensive 

In 1986, Waldemar Anguita acquired a patent for a helmet with cactuses inside. The idea behind the greenhouse helmet is quite reasonable, but the execution leaves much to be desired. From the description:

A principle object of the present invention is to provide a greenhouse helmet designed to contain plants secured within and the helmet worn completely over the head of a person so that the person can breathe in the oxygen given off by the plants.

Another object is to provide a greenhouse helmet that has air filters so that ambient air containing carbon dioxide will be filtered therethrough and mixed with the carbon dioxide breathed out by the person to be used by the plants.

An additional object is to provide a greenhouse helmet that will contain hearing and speaking devices so that the person can hear within and speak out through the helmet.  

This is literally a terrarium you live in. Exactly how many cactuses would you need to provide the correct amount of oxygen for a human to breathe? I don't even want to imagine the reasons why anyone would want to use such a helmet. If the air around you is so polluted that you need something like this, taking it off to eat or drink or water the plants would be dangerous. But wearing it would be dangerous, too. I prefer to keep my cactus on a windowsill, away from my face. -via Weird Universe

You may start watching this thinking that they are lip-synching to a record, but no, this woman's voice is just that good. And at the end of an all-night wedding reception.   

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She is Clodagh McCarthy, singing an old Irish folk song at the wedding of her sister Patrice O’Connor and Donagh Davern in Tipperary. The video has become quite popular.

Patrice comes from a family embedded in music and it was therefore no surprise that a sing-song started after the wedding.

However, what has happened since has been phenomenal, as the video of Patrice’s sister Clodagh McCarthy singing, with Patrice harmonizing, has gone viral.

You can learn the lyrics to "The Rattlin' Bog" for your own wedding if you like.  -via reddit

Are you starting to make your New Year resolutions? Remember, the secret to success is to keep your standards and expectations very low. After all, you can't fail if you don't try! Also, it helps to go with what's always worked for you in the past. That will ensure that 2018 will be the same as most every year for you, at least in those areas that you control. Don't apply for a better job. Don't travel anywhere you haven't been before. Don't talk to that person you've loved from afar. Then nothing unexpected will happen. Stay safe. This is the latest comic from Alex Culang and Raynato Castro at Buttersafe. 

Cats are strictly individual in their eating habits. One cat will gobble everything in a hurry while another nibbles slowly. Still another turns his nose up to salmon because it's not tuna, then eats a spider just for the fun of it. And then there's the one in every crowd that gets food all over the floor and himself. See them display their personal styles in this Simon's Cat video.

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The video from Simon Tofield is actually an ad for his new (free) video game called Crunch Time, in which Simon's Cat and the cats from the video hunt for treats to eat. -via Laughing Squid

On stage and in silent films, appearance was everything. Costumes became bigger and bolder to be seen from the back row, and in the 1920s they were influenced by early science fiction. A gallery of outrageous stage and screen costumes from the period make today's science fiction cosplay look casual and comfy.  

Many of the costumes in this gallery were designed by the French artist Erté, known for his Art Deco work. Others are early work from Hollywood costume designer Adrien. See 20 stage and screen costumes from the 1920s and '30s at Messy Nessy Chic.  -via Metafilter

Redditor jorgeadguez is a special events photographer. He let us in on some of the magic that goes on behind a spectacular portrait. He's the one on the ground, making the magic work through effort and experience. The time of day, the reflection of the water, and the angle produced the effects he wanted, but the raw photo tells us there is a little bit of Photoshoppery involved as well.

Too bad we don't bury all our utility lines; it would make landscape photography so much easier. See more of jorgeadguez's work at Instagram.

It's been two weeks since the newest Star Wars movie hit theaters -is it too soon to post a LEGO scene from The Last Jedi? If you are trying to avoid spoilers, don't watch this video. But if you haven't seen The Last Jedi by now, you probably don't care all that much. Then again, if you are in China, you still have another week to wait for the film to open.   

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This must be record time for turning a new film into a LEGO short, but that's exactly what Huxley Berg Studios did in this LEGO recreation of a scene from The Last Jedi. Many fans, even those who didn't like the movie overall, thought this was the best scene in it.

Like any kid reading comic books, you've probably wondered at one time or another where your favorite superheroes go when they have to go. Kerry Callen (previously at Neatorama) gives us a short tour of the urinals used by Superman, Batman, the Flash, and other DC comic book heroes. Notice Batman has a target, an ingenious feature that should be used in all public urinals. -via Geeks Are Sexy  

He goes by Dobby Cat on Facebook because he looks so much like the Harry Potter character, but his real name is Teddy. Teddy is an oriental shorthair who lives in a household with three other cats of the same breed (Bindi, Stache, and Dexter), but Teddy has the biggest ears, the longest nose, and legs that go on for days. Those slightly crossed but soulful eyes are full of love and contentment. He's got a meow that they describe as a "honk," but it sounds more like a "beep."  

See more of Teddy the Dobby Cat at Instagram and Facebook. -via reddit

(Image credit: hobbikats)

When American Colonists threw boxes of tea into Boston Harbor in 1773, they were protesting taxation without representation. But you might be surprised to learn that the tea they dumped would have been worth about $2 million in 2017 dollars! It's hard to believe how expensive tea once was, considering a teabag now costs about a penny, if you aren't too picky about the flavor. But because tea was so expensive in the 18th and 19th centuries, people kept special boxes to store it, many of them with locks. These tea caddies, made of porcelain, silver, or wood, were ornately designed to signify the value of the tea they held. Marnie Bramble collected more than 400 tea caddies, and her son Mark Bramble inherited the collection and wrote a book called A Tea Caddy Collection. He talked with Ben Marks about tea caddies.

Now, in addition porcelain from China, glazed in blue and iron-red floral and figurative designs, tea caddies were made out of German porcelain, stoneware, Jasperware, creamware, and cauliflower ware, which was a type of creamware that was molded and glazed to resemble the vegetable. Tea caddies were made of Japanned papier-mâché and also wood, from chests to fanciful fruit forms—pears, apples, pineapples, and pumpkins were popular shapes. “They are my favorites,” Mark says. “I think the fruit forms are just the best. They’re totally charming, and when you hold them, they have a warmth that porcelain does not.”

The fruit forms also lack the provenance that most ceramic tea caddies enjoy. “There’s a real mystery to those pieces,” he says. “There’s no evidence of a manufacturer’s mark on them, which gives credence to the notion that they were homemade.” Less charming is the lead-lining inside the fruit form. “Using lead seems astonishing to us, but lead protected the tea from moisture.”

Read more about tea caddies and the global tea trade that made them necessary at Collectors Weekly.

(Image credit: Benny Cuppini)