Alice Finch (previously at Neatorama) and David Frank have created a replica of Rivendell, the Elvish realm ruled by Elrond in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth. The work contains over 200,000 LEGO bricks!
Their research involved watching the movies frame by frame and examining a Rivendell model that was made by Weta Workshop in New Zealand. Then came experimental builds for each of the components, from horses to windows to water. The finished work is 10 feet by 5 feet. Read about how they did it (even though the two artists live an hour apart) and see plenty of pictures at The Brothers Brick. -via Gamma Squad
Lori Koch and her husband went to see their 5-year-old daughter Claire perform in the kindergarten Christmas program. She had no idea that Claire was going to sign all the songs, so that her deaf parents could follow along! They recorded her animated performance on video. The internet noticed.
Koch told Yahoo News in an email that she wasn't expecting her daughter to sign during the performance. "The regular kids used generic hand motions while my daughter chose to use sign language, to our surprise," she said.
Koch told Yahoo News that she can read lips, speak and sign, while her husband, who is also deaf, uses only sign language. "ASL is the first language in our home, so our daughter has been exposed to it since birth," she said.
Apparently the school did not know what Claire was planning, either, or they would have put her in the front row. She did a wonderful job! -via Daily Picks and Flicks
We all know that YouTube comments are the cesspool of the Interweb. Google decided to try to clean it up by requiring Google+ accounts in order to comment on the world's largest video clip site, a move that proven to be quite unpopular with the unwashed masses, but think what would happened if Google succeeded in taming its comment problems.
We would all miss out on something like this: a dramatic reconstruction by comedy group Dead Parrot of an argument between two YouTubers, "Sophie Danze" and "Jilianlovesthebeibs" on One Direction's music video What Makes You Beautiful.
Watch British actors Grahame Edwards and Eryl Lloyd Parry spar with each other in this clip produced by Adrian Bliss. Warning: NSFW language.
Watch that awkward moment when you run into your ex-boyfriend and you don't know what to say. Such is the case for USA and Britain. Nations are personified in a grocery store in this offering from Studio C. You'll recognize each of them by their stereotypical behavior, if not the flags they are wearing or their introductions. The second time through, I noticed what USA has in her cart: chips, soda, and a gun. Yep, everyone in the store gets skewered in this skit. -via Viral Viral Videos
In case you haven't found time to watch all the cat videos coming out of Russia, Ignoramusky has compiled the best into one for you. He titled it That's Why I Love Cats (volume 2). You can find volume one here. It's just the best parts of videos showing cats doing funny, confounding, and adorable things. -via Tastefully Offensive
The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan were devastated by atomic bombs in the summer of 1945. As soon as the war was over, both cities began rebuilding. Chernobyl was the site of a nuclear meltdown in 1986. Twenty-seven years later, Chernobyl is still an exclusion zone, with radiation levels registering as dangerous. What makes the difference between these places? There are several factors, the biggest of which has to do with the amount of fissionable nuclear material. That question is answered in a post at Today I Learned, but it also tells us the short version of what happened at Chernobyl to cause such a reaction, and why. -via Digg
What pearls of wisdom or profundity have you heard very young children say? Redditor keeril asks this question. Here are some of the best responses:
Pinkpickuptruck learned that the feeling of being a child lasts forever:
My little sister handed me a juice box as I was packing to move out and said "No one is really a grown up. They just act old because they have to"
Altruitis writes about a 4-year old's encounter with death:
At a funeral and overheard my aunt explaining to my four-year-old cousin "Grandma is sleeping now." My cousin looks in the casket and back at her and says, "I don't know mom, she looks pretty dead to me."
When my uncle was dying, my nephew said something that totally blew me away. His parents had just told him that my uncle only had a little time left to live and he looked up from playing with a toy and asked, "does everyone die?" "Eventually, yes," his parents responded. He looked down and said nonchalantly, "well if we're all going to die why are we so afraid of it?"
After learning the difference between living things and non-living things, my daughter was following me around asking whether things were alive or not, and telling me her opinion on them. Cars arent alive cause they can move but they dont grow, stuff like that.
Then she asked "What about words? Words change and grow when we use them. Words are alive."
No dad you don't get it, shes not my imaginary friend i'm her imaginary friend
The son of Loveisourpurpose is a budding theologian ready to read Anselm and Aquinas:
When my youngest son was 3 years old he looked up from playing with a toy and asked me "Mommy how did God make himself ?"
I have no idea how to answer this question by SmaSteg's daughter:
My half sister at the ripe age of 4: "What if the colors I see aren't the same as the colors you see? And how would you know"
It's an interesting thought that I remember having at some point during childhood as well. Obviously there are some cases where it would be easy (someone who's color-blind is fairly easy to spot), but what if the green I see is slightly different from the green you see but is still "green" enough for us to both assume we're seeing the same color?
Artist Nickolay Lamm (previously at Neatoarma) took the information we have about cats' vision and reproduced it through photography to give us a glimpse of what they see, compared with how we see the world. Some of the differences are related to a cat's ability to see in low light (they cannot see in total darkness) and their ability to detect the quick movement of prey. When the eye specializes in these things, other visual gifts are sacrificed. For example, great night vision means the bright colors of daylight are muted. Read more about a cat's vision and see many more pictures at Lamm's site. -via Popular Science
At some point, this deer’s layup drill went terribly wrong. Andy Kovac spotted this wild deer in his backyard in a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Deer frequent his yard and Mr. Kovac has seen as many as twenty-five at a time. He suspects that this one was nudging the ball with his head when it got stuck.
Don’t worry about our cervine basketball player! Mr. Kovac says that the ball looks like it is deflating, so it should fall out soon. Also, it doesn’t appear to interfere with his feeding ability.
Ella and Pitr, two French street artists, created optical illusions in at a site in the city of Saint-Étienne. They selected worn-out or abandoned buildings in their city to promote awareness of and interest in blighted parts of Saint-Étienne.
People of that city volunteered to pose in these photographs which show color and vibrant energy in the midst of dust and decay. When viewed from the right angles, the models appear to be inside framed pictures.
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie
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The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
We are utterly impressed with this: Shanghai-based artist Jian Guo (breathing2004 on deviantART) masterfully illustrates passages from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series of books in the style of stained glass.
You Cannot Pass
"I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass." - The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
Welcome From Lothorien
On two chairs beneath the bole of the tree and canopied by a living bough there sat, side by side, Celeborn and Galadriel. Very tall they were, and the Lady no less tall than the Lord; and they were grave and beautiful. They were clad wholly in white; and the hair of the Lady was of deep gold, and the hair of the Lord Celeborn was of silver long and bright; but no sign of age was upon them, unless it were in the depths of their eyes; for these were keen as lances in the starlight, and yet profound, the wells of deep memory. - The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
Chris Lincé directed and produced this YouTube video clip, titled "A Complete History of The Soviet Union Through The Eyes Of A Humble Worker, Arranged To The Melody of Tetris." (The music is by Donald Newholm and Dan Woods of Pig With The Face Of A Boy)
It sums up the rise and fall of communism to a catchy tune. Well done! Via Kuriositas
Some three-year-olds don't talk much at all, while others talk all the time, regardless of whether anyone is listening or not. This little boy is of the latter variety. He's going to the potty by himself, but he keeps up a running commentary, scolding himself for eating so much yesterday. He even goes over in his mind all the things he ate!
Meanwhile, his parents are outside the door, recording the monologue -and trying their best not to roll in the floor laughing. This one not only made me laugh, but I had to drag my husband in to hear it. -via Viral Viral Videos
Emily Helck was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, and started a blog, The Real Tumors of New Jersey, to chronicle her story. She also took pictures every week, which she combined into one video to show how her appearance changed over that time.
I'm still not completely sure why I took these photos. At first it had to do with documenting the hair saga. But it wound up becoming about something else, too. The photos became hash marks scratched on the wall, marking time spent inhabiting the world of this disease. Every time I set up the tripod was another week down. Or was it another week lost?
Becoming aware of what one patient goes through, even just a little bit, seems an appropriate way to enter Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. -via Buzzfeed
On Saturday, I wrote about Cristina Vanko's project to send text messages via handwritten notes composed with a calligraphy pen. She observed that some of her friends felt touched by the process, as though Vanko's notes made them feel special to her:
11) It was indicated multiple times that people feel more "special" when they received handwritten messages.
I understand that. In my early twenties, I used to send out written letters instead of email to friends. They were typed, rather than handwritten. Almost always I received verbal or emailed rather than written responses. But one friend mentioned once that every letter was like getting a wrapped present. My practice wasn't reciprocated, but it was appreciated.
In Verily Mag, Julia Hogan writes that we all should occasionally write and send letters by hand:
But now that communication is exponentially faster—thanks in great part to email and smartphones—the handwritten note isn’t just rarer, it has taken on a new kind of meaning. Receiving a handwritten note is that much more significant today precisely because the writer chose to take the time to pen a note, rather than an abbreviated message. [...]
You don’t have to be Shakespeare. No need to compose poetry or write pages upon pages. Just say what’s on your heart. Tell your reader how much you value their friendship, or simply thank them for a gift you’ve received.
Dress up your note. Stationery can make any note seem extra special. You can easily find unique stationery to fit your budget no matter how large or small. Check out handcrafted cards on Etsy. Paper Source, Papyrus, and Target also have a good selection.
Be creative. If you’re feeling crafty, make your own stationery! Take a trip to your local craft store and pick up a package of blank cards and envelopes, a rubber stamp, and colored ink.
And remember, you don’t need the finest stationery, the most eloquent language, or even a special occasion to send a note! A simple, “thinking of you” is enough to make someone’s week.
