DeviantART member CatsFeltFeelings creates highly realistic dolls and figures using needle felting, such as this large head of actor Benedict Cumberbatch in the titular role from the TV show Sherlock. She plans to build a body with it, including Holmes's trademark coat, scarf, and hat.
Her whole gallery is filled with impressive works. You'll want to check it out, especially if you're a fan of Adventure Time.
What does the cow say? Yes, it says, "moo." But cows, Star Trek actor Patrick Stewart explains, moo with different accents. For the National Public Radio show How to Do Everything, the Captain gave his impressions of Oxfordshire, Yorkshire, Nevada and Cockney cows. The Nevada cow, he explains, reflects American speech patterns:
Yeah, a much higher pitch and much more nasal because of course that's how you people talk and of course the cows are influenced by how you talk as you are influenced by the cows.
Bovine readers, share with us your pronunciation of the word "moo."
-via The Mary Sue
In the early '90s, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had an opportunity to bust Victor Bernal, a Mexican zookeeper, on wildlife trafficking charges. But Bernal wanted to buy a gorilla, and using an actual gorilla for the operation was out of the question. What to do? Put a man in a gorilla suit and hope for the best!
Wildlife officer Terry English was chosen to get into the suit, on the basis that "the agent was fairly proficient at ape-like sound effects." The cage was then wheeled down to the airport and loaded on board Bernal's plane. They even scattered a few lumps of actual gorilla dung around the cage, partly for verisimilitude but mostly in the hope that the stench would keep the Mexicans from looking too closely at their purchase. And it worked -- totally fooled by the store-bought disguise, the smugglers transferred 95 grand to the suppliers, who immediately revealed themselves as undercover agents and placed Bernal under arrest.
The best part of the story was how Bernal was so fooled that he thought he was being attacked by a gorilla during the arrest! That's just one of six stories of outrageous capers that used ridiculous disguises, at Cracked. Link
Taun Taun, the mama panda, gave birth to this little lady on July 7th. The little tyke isn't ready to meet the world, but the zoo released photos of her:
The cub has been kept away from the public's gaze with the zoo saying visitors will need to wait three months to see her.
The zoo said the cub has grown to 1,140 grams (2.5 pounds), more than six times her original weight when she was delivered.
Zookeepers have also kicked off a naming campaign for the cub, with the public voting on what to name her and the final result expected to be announced on October 26.
Link -via Babble | Photos: Taipei Zoo
Matthew Inman of the webcomic The Oatmeal runs. But he doesn't just jog around the park. He runs marathons and ultramarathons. He once ran a 50 miler that lasted 11 hours and caused him to lose 7 pounds and his toenails. Why does he do it? Inman explains in his latest comic. You can read it all at the link.
James and Colleen Pinegar of Orem, Utah have been married for 66 years. They love each other dearly. This past February, when Mr. Pinegar was in the hospital with a blood infection, he wanted to express how much he loved his wife. So he sang their theme song, "You are My Sunshine." Daughter Laura Whitaker writes:
“I was visiting my dad in the hospital, and my son and his wife were there, and he wanted to film his grandpa, who he is very close to,’’ Whitaker told TODAY.com in an email. “My dad is very sentimental and having gotten this blood infection felt his life was short, and that song is their theme song. I had my son put it on (YouTube) so family and friends could see his great love for my mom.”
The good news is that James Pinegar has regained his health after three months of recovery during which Colleen was by his side every day. He initially was hospitalized when he fell on the ice while helping a 90-year-old neighbor who had also slipped and fallen. After undergoing hip replacement surgery, Pinegar developed a blood infection while in the hospital.
“He and my mom are getting along pretty well,’’ Whitaker told TODAY.com. “He has been humbled by how much people have liked the video.”
There's nothing quite like seeing elderly people in love.
Link -via Daily Telegraph
Redditor Aboiement writes that his neighbor "paid an artist to sculpt a dragon into a tree that had to be cut down." Wonderful! And it's better than a guard dog. No one will dare try to rob a house protected by a dragon.
Link -via Nerd Approved
Atop the 95-storey skyscraper known as The Shard, Will Pearson captured an amazing photo of all of London at dusk. At the link, you can manipulate the image by zooming and panning. Pearson writes:
Technically this was a very difficult shoot, I was on the crane at the top of the Shard, and I had to wave at Andy the crane driver so he knew when he could rotate 45 degrees between the exposures. The temperatures were well below freezing and if you look in the distance behind Canary Wharf you will see the snow on the hills.
Link -via David Thompson
Ancient mariners aren't the only ones that used the stars to navigate. It turns out that the lowly dung beetle does as well when it rolls its ball of muck in a Moonless night:
Dung beetles like to run in straight lines. When they find a pile of droppings, they shape a small ball and start pushing it away to a safe distance where they can eat it, usually underground.
Getting a good bearing is important because unless the insect rolls a direct course, it risks turning back towards the dung pile where another beetle will almost certainly try to steal its prized ball.
Dr Dacke had previously shown that dung beetles were able to keep a straight line by taking cues from the Sun, the Moon, and even the pattern of polarised light formed around these light sources.
But it was the animals' capacity to maintain course even on clear Moonless nights that intrigued the researcher.
Jonathan Amos of the BBC explains how beetles navigate using the stars: Link
If Santa's belly shakes like a bowl full of jelly, then spread some of it on this loaf made by Arpana Balasubramanian. Her Santa Claus bread consists of layers arranged to look like the jolly old elf. You can find her recipe at the link.
Link -via Tasteologie
If you've been around Neatorama for some time, you probably know knitters can be hardcore. Some wear their pride on their skin, with tattoos that speak of their passion. The Knitting Needle and the Damage Done has ten examples of yarncraft tattoos. Link -via Everlasting Blort
There's little information available in English, but it appears that Stéphanie Cailleau believes in taking embroidery out into the world. A capital idea! She's marked this bale of hay with the prudent advice "Don't let me on the straw!"
Artist's Website (Translation) -via Lustik
