Does anyone else remember The Poky Little Puppy? Designer Ryan Novelline has constructed a beautiful gown out of Golden Books, including the one featuring my canine friend. The artist's site shows us the process step-by-step.
The skirt is comprised entirely of the illustrations from the books sewn together with metallic gold thread, and the bodice is made from the books' foil spines. Both the bodice and top of the skirt have tape backing for reinforcement.
Should there be a sequel to The Big Lewboski? The production costs might be kept low if Tara Reid plays every single role. There appear to be some continuity problems, though.
Do you want to track the growth of your children in a culturally appropriate manner? Then check out this growth chart by Tumblr blogger geeky dad. You can download it at the link, though he asks for a donation to his daughter's college fund.
Ottawa artist Dan Austin makes awesome robots out of old appliances and other recycled bits of this and that. On the left is Kenmore, who is built from a floor polisher and a flower pot, among other things. On the right is Hunter, who is a 6-foot tall floor lamp! His "tentacles" are actually adjustable lights. You can also meet Betsy, Norm-Al, Bell, Bolivar, the Kaiser-Bots, and more in Austin's Flickr set. Link-Thanks, Vivian!
The level of detail in the engraving on this VO Vagen rifle by Viggo Olsson and Ulf Olsso is simply amazing. The picture above doesn't really do it justice, so be sure to go to the link to see larger images. Shaping and coloring the claws on the bolt lug was an especially nice touch. Nonetheless, seeing these pictures reminded me of a line by Jeff Cooper:
[...] I once saw a weapon featured on a magazine cover that was extolled by its maker as the finest rifle in the world. In was far from that, though it was indeed pretty. Among its failures was the fact that it was not fitted with sights.
YouTube user JoergSprave makes fancy slingshots. He was challenged by fans to create one that could fire a machete, and the result is something like a crossbow. "What is it good for? Nothing except attracting people's attention on YouTube." That's a perfectly fine reason.
Penguin, the publishing house, asked crafter Jillian Tamaki to reproduce three covers from their classic novels in embroidery. After two months of work, she completed wrap-around covers for Emma, Black Beauty, and The Secret Garden.
Are you bored with traditional Easter candy? Why not fill your Easter basket up with Pet Tarantula Gummi Candy from the NeatoShop! It's sweet, kind of creepy, and definitely not boring. It kind of reminds me of my college physics professor.
In 1984, author Georgelle Hirliman got a bad case of writer's block and decided that she needed to shake things up, so she set up shop with her typewriter in a storefront so passer-bys can come and interact. Georgelle died in 2010, but a new writer named Lauren DeRosa has stepped up to take her place as Writer in the Window: http://savannahnow.com/accent/2011-03-10/savannahs-writer-window-breaks-out-or-routine - via Everything And Nothing
Researchers from the Northwestern University noticed there's something strange about religion: it's making people fatter.
We don't recall any of the commandments saying "thou shall eat chocolate cake," but an unusual new study has found that people who regularly attend religious activities are 50 percent more likely to battle obesity by middle age.
God only knows why. The scientists sure don't.
"We don't know why frequent religious participation is associated with development of obesity," said Matthew Feinstein, the study's lead investigator and a fourth-year student at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "It's possible that getting together once a week and associating good works and happiness with eating unhealthy foods could lead to the development of habits that are associated with greater body weight and obesity."
The study tracked nearly 2,500 men and women over 18 years. They filtered for age, race, sex, education, income and baseline body mass index. The last one's important, because it shows that the religious were getting fatter, not that fat people were getting religious.
This whimsical design by footwear designer Kobi Levi is a "shoe-in" for fun! Check out his blog for many more wonderfully unusual shoe designs: Link (my favorite is the Olive Oyl) - via Book of Joe
Hurrah! Oral biologist Israel Kleinberg have finally answered the prayers from all dentist-hatin' kids: cavity-fighting candy, made from chemicals in saliva.
The candy is fluoride-free and protects teeth in two ways. First, it raises pH levels to neutralize more acid than saliva alone. Second, it protects the minerals in tooth enamel. Arginine, an amino acid, combines with calcium in Cavistat, the candy's main ingredient, and sticks to teeth -- leaving behind a layer of protection.
Kids who ate two mints twice a day for one year had 68 percent fewer cavities in their molars than children who didn't chew the mints.
"The number of cavities, we think that ultimately is going to get to almost zero," Dr. Kleinberg said.
That would bring a smile to just about everyone's face.
While reindeer racing is fun, hipsters crave something edgier ... something like skateboarding with dogs. Behold, the new sport of Dogboarding by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert: Hit play or go to Link [Vimeo] - via Laughing Squid (No animals were harmed in the making of the video)
Mere dieting is for the poor. The rich, my friends, don't just diet - they book a $5,600 week stay at a luxurious weight loss retreat.
Christina Binkley of the Wall Street Journal recounts the horror - oh the horror - of a rich man's fat camp, The Ranch at Live Oak, Malibu:
The six-month-old Ranch isn't one of the drug-rehab centers that dot the Malibu hills. But it is rehab of sorts—a luxury boot camp that aims to detoxify up to 14 (mostly middle-age) guests a week from the daily routine of cellphones, email, Diet Cokes and steak dinners washed down with Cabernet. Located on a 120-acre ranch tucked into the Santa Monica Mountains, it caters to wealthy A-listers with Spartan but perfectly appointed private cottages, and niceties such as laundry service and a daily aphorism placed on pillows ("Lack of money is no obstacle. Lack of an idea is an obstacle"). Yet the Ranch doesn't kowtow to its heavy-hitting clientele: The exercise is mandatory—with a vengeance.
