I'm fascinated by the way technology is changing and intertwining us as humans - a lot of my work explores the juxtaposition of organic, natural forms and mechanized technology. We're literally wired and connected to each other in so many ways... I also am very intrigued by the way we weave computing into our daily lives. I find myself bound to machines more than I ever would have imagined possible. I'm interested in conveying that connectivity and dependence. I work with a variety of media and love working with metal and re-purposing objects. There's something really exciting about taking something out of context and making it beautiful.

1. Connected // Global Brain Series // 2010 (Photo by Kevin Rolly)

'Connected' is a life-size self portrait made of steel, CAT5 and other data cables. It is the first piece in a new series called 'The Global Brain'. I've been exploring how interconnected we're becoming as technology is more entwined in our lives - both the positive and negative effects. This piece is the product of a variety of experiments in different mediums trying to express the power of information in a human context - to visualize how technology and information are shaping our collective human experience.

By Joe Alterio: My work is primarily concerned with narrative structure, whether the piece is a single spot illustration or a graphic novel; I find that my life's work is the constant battle to tell complex stories in as elegant, simple, and beautiful a way as possible, and I love every step of the process. As a result, my influences are as much literary, as they are graphic. I have spoken on the subject at SXSW, the San Diego Comic-Con, and the Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival, amongst others. I draw all of my line work by hand, and depending on the project, either use watercolors, pen and ink washes, or digital coloring to finish it. I can't imagine doing anything else other than this with my life, and I'm very glad that I'm fortunate enough to make a living at it.

Page 3 of the 8-piece project "Pages 179 -187", pen and ink, watercolors, gold leaf, 2010.: Opened at the Storefront for Art & Architecture, this 8-page set combines comics and 14th century illuminated manuscripts to tell the tell of a quarantine machine gone horribly awry.

By Alexa Meade: My work features painted portraits of people and objects, with a twist. Rather than painting on a canvas, I paint directly onto the subjects themselves. This creates the effect of making 3D installations appear to be flat paintings. From my background in politics, I’ve learned that what you encounter always has some kind of spin on it, and that we can’t always believe what we see.

My model Timmy and I loved watching how people reacted to the living art wandering about on the metro.

Hi, I'm Adam Koford, otherwise known as Ape Lad. I chose the name Ape Lad because that's what my telephone number in Orlando used to spell.

I've since moved on from Florida, but the name seems to have stuck. I'm a cartoonist and have been freelancing for a long time. All sorts of projects: coloring books, greeting cards, gag cartoons, t-shirts, and lots of other things to write home to mom about. I also have a webcomic called the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats, which you can read six days a week at HOBOTOPIA.com.

I also have a day job; I work for Avalanche Software in Salt Lake City. We're a Disney Interactive video game studio. I'm on the story team, and have been privileged to work on some amazing projects, which I'll tell you about someday. Meanwhile, here's a selection of some of my favorite recent and not so recent work:

This is Dr. Morvund, created for the Avalanche Software studio blog. They tend to post a new topic every month or so, and I'm constantly blown away by my talented coworkers.

If you've ever wanted to be in The Amazing Race, here's your chance: Steve Belkin's tour company called Competitours will make a "game" out of your European vacation by arranging a daily series of offbeat tasks:

Picture Amazing Race without the frenzy. Challenges are set up for maximum exposure to the culture, not as a test of speed or prowess. One challenge might be to make a 45-second commercial at a Viking museum in Oslo. Another might be to try a dead man's finger in Copenhagen (which turns out to be a hotdog). Points are accrued by completing tasks and videos are judged for creativity, not cinematography. "This isn't about using an expensive camcorder, but being creative and original," notes Belkin.

Participants won't know what city they're starting from until a couple of days before departure, and will only know a half-day in advance the next stop on their adventure, but they can count on visiting five or six countries in Western and Central Europe during the two-week trip. "The game is more of an arc, not a leash; it's meant to complement, not overwhelm your trip," says Belkin. Teams don't necessarily travel together, though they may encounter each other as they complete their challenges.

Link | Competitours website [Flash] - Thanks Marilyn!

Kelsey Timmerman, author of Where Am I Wearing? - a book about the countries, factories and people that make our clothes and a similarly named blog, was in Dhaka, Bangladesh, when he discovered a local amusement park named Fantasy Kingdom.

There Kelsey got a crazy idea: get as many kids, many of whom live just outside of the park but couldn't afford the ticket price, into the Fantasy Kingdom for a day of fun!

Sixty Dollars admits one child for one day to Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

Sixty dollars admits 20 people for one day to Fantasy Kingdom, near Dhaka, Bangladesh.

I discovered this not long ago when I was in Dhaka. Now all we have to do is find those 20 Bangladeshi children to take to Fantasy Kingdom, I thought.

Behind us were the gates of Fantasy Kingdom, the brightest, cleanest, and most out-of-place sight in all of Bangladesh. The walls are plastic but look like sandstone. Standing atop them are two very happy cartoon kids – sentinels looking out to the crowded streets and the surrounding garment factories.

"One girl and one boy would be best," Ruma said. She is a 20-something Bangladeshi sportswriter who had taken the day off to help me with my crazy idea: Take as many kids as we can – who live in the park's shadow but haven't been inside – into the amusement park. Riding a roller coaster is a luxury they'll probably never know otherwise and, as a lifetime roller-coaster enthusiast, something I hoped to change.

"I want 20," I replied.

Ruma approached three boys. As she talked, they stared at me before running off to find more kids. It wasn't long before we had a crowd.

Read more of Kelsey's fascinating account of the day trip at The Christian Science Monitor: Was it a frivolous gift or a lifelong memory?

Loneliness and tough economic times are hurting everyone, including the elderly Japanese, who are now turning to petty crime in increasing numbers:

One hour later, officers stopped a second suspect, an 80-year-old man. He had enough money to pay for all of his groceries, but security officers said he tried to leave the store without paying for medicine for an upset stomach.

"I'm so sorry," he told officers. "I live alone. My wife is in the hospital." [...]

Petty crimes by the elderly are a worse problem than thievin' teens:

On Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, more elderly than teenagers -- by a 3 to 2 ratio -- were arrested in 2006, police said.

Despite the arrest numbers, prosecutions of the elderly in a culture that holds them in high regard are rare. Stores often don't even report the crime to police, according to security experts.

The 80-year-old man who stole the stomach medicine was eventually led to his bicycle by store security. The security officer helped the man with his groceries and bowed in respect, hoping the elderly man had learned his lesson and would return as a good customer.

CNN has the story: Link - Thanks Tiffany!

Chinese artist Li Xiaofeng created these "porcelain clothings" out of pieces of bowls and dinner plates. What's even more remarkable is that you can actually wear them!

He sews ancient fragments of porcelain onto leather undergarments to create full-length dresses and men's jackets -- complete with neckties. The 'clothes' open on the sides or back, just like any other garment and can be worn!

Link | Exhibition at Virginia Miller Galleries | More at Hong Art - via Popgloss, thanks Justine!

Pedigree dog food has a trio of funny ads - I'm partial to this one: "Beware of The Dog, He Has Abominable Breath" because as a dog owner, I can attest that it's true! The only thing worse that my dog's breath are her farts.

Check out the rest at Frederik Samuel's adgooness blog: Link - via Cribcandy, Thanks Justine!

Jeremy Wood of GPS Drawing has a large canvas: the world. He uses Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to record and render his movement into a drawing on a map.

I'm particularly fond of this 11.2 km (about 7 mi.) long GPS elephant in the streets of Brighton and Hove, UK: Link - via Forum, original post by lilrawker

This could very well be the most dangerous breakfast food you'll ever want to try. Behold the Bacon Cheese Roll, made with a "weave" of
about a dozen bacon strips and cheese.

My arteries are clogging just looking at it!

http://foodproof.com/photos/view/bacon-cheese-roll-1290 - via The Worley Gig

The Explainer is a neat feature of Slate Magazine, where its editors try to answer life's most perplexing questions (like How do you become a Santa Claus for the holidays? Sign up with a Santa distributor).

But every year, there are questions people sent that stump even the most able Explainers. Here are the questions that stumped Slate's Explainer in 2008:

Why don't humans have a mating season?

Is it just me, or do all national anthems the world over, no matter how rich and exotic the culture, seem to sound like European marching-band music? Wouldn't one expect China's national anthem be more "plinky"? Shouldn't Iraq's national anthem sound a little more "Arab-y"?

Why do cockroaches flip over on their backsides when they die? I sprayed RAID into a hole in my wall the other day, and by the next morning I found six cockroaches laid out on my floor, all flipped over and all very dead!

Why do the women gymnasts walk around between events with that goofy arm-swing gait?

Link - via Favorite Office Time Wasters

Rob Spence of Eyeborg blog is a filmmaker that lost an eye, so naturally he decided to get an eye-cam!

Priya Ganapati of Wired Blog has the story:

Rob Spence looks you straight in the eye when he talks. So it's a little unnerving to imagine that soon one of his hazel-green eyes will have a tiny wireless video camera in it that records your every move.

The eye he's considering replacing is not a working one -- it's a prosthetic eye he's worn for several years. Spence, a 36-year-old Canadian filmmaker, is not content with having one blind eye. He wants a wireless video camera inside his prosthetic, giving him the ability to make movies wherever he is, all the time, just by looking around.

"If you lose your eye and have a hole in your head, then why not stick a camera in there?" he asks.

Spence, who calls himself the "eyeborg guy," will not be restoring his vision. The camera won't connect to his brain. What it will do is allow him to be a bionic man where technology fuses with
the human body to become inseparable. In effect, he will become a "little brother," someone who's watching and recording every move of those in his field of vision.

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/12/eye-spy-filmmak.html | More on Rob's blog: Eyeborg | Not squeamish? Check out the surgery video: Link [Dailymotion] - via ligress

(Photos: Steve Mann)

To counter Stacy's Christmas Special posts, here's a (funny) little Christmas downer for you, from Tarquin Britten and the City Boyz. Have a Merry Credit Crunch Christmas, everyone!

Hit play or go to Link [YouTube], spotted at the Neatorama Forum, original post by mci209.