James Brown makes amazing things, such as a ring you can play Doom on and LEGO bricks with visual displays. His most recent project is a doll head that lip-syncs audio. The foundation of the animatronic is an electric typewriter ball. In this video, the doll recites the famous BBC Shipping Forecast--a century-old broadcast which has a surprisingly strong fanbase.

Kevin Lee of DIY Garage Bars, Man Caves & More produced this amazing 1/6 scale replica of Doc Brown's DMC DeLorean from Back to the Future II. It's based around a Hot Toys brand realistic model. 

The renowned Katz's Delicatessen in New York City is famous for its perfect pastrami that has delighted the people of the city since 1888. I've never been there, but I'm salivating over the Reuben sandwich on the menu.

Michael Palan of The Takeout ventured to Kith Treats, an ice cream shop, there upon hearing reports that it's offering a sundae flavored with the tastes of Katz's.

The Dilluxe has pickled, chocolate, rye croutons, and vanilla ice cream mixed with pastrami rub and mustard. Palan shies away from definitive approval of the mixture, but does affirm that the treat is reminiscent of Katz's.

It took redditor /u/Barbi0za 22 hours and countless sprinkles to compose this cherry and almond cake. They used tweezers to carefully arrange each of the sprinkles into a remarkably accurate depiction of Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night. The solid forms of the sprinkles work well to convey the brush strokes of the original work.

When asked if it was difficult to cut into this masterpiece, /u/Barbi0za responded that they appreciate a temporary art form, so that experience was actually enjoyable.

Ellis Rosen is my favorite New Yorker cartoonist. Every one of his posts on Instagram is worth browsing through completely.

One of the stories that he is gradually developing is the struggle between Mr. Ruffles, a dog who is implied to be a secret agent similar to James Bond, and an evil squirrel who is his archnemesis. The squirrel usually has the upper hand. You can find a collection of cartoons developing this storyline here.

Ronobir Lahiri is a sitar player in Los Angeles who has accompanied musicians as famous as Katy Perry and Lil Nas X.

On his YouTube channel, Lahiri provides recordings of covers that he has created of pop and rock songs, such as the above "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. You can also find his covers of "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon, "Just Like Heaven" by The Cure, and "Take on Me" by A-ha.

-via Born in Space

Aiden Wilkins is only nine years old, but he is already a college student. He demonstrated remarkable intelligence while still a toddler, began high school at the age of seven, and is now enrolled in a neuroscience course at Ursinus College in eastern Pennsylvania.

The CBS News affiliate in Philadelphia reports that Aiden is taking this class as part of his long-term goal to become a pediatric neurosurgeon. Although he enjoys typical childhood interests like soccer and video games, Aiden's sights are already set on the very adult challenge of medical school. So far, he's aiming at Johns Hopkins and Princeton.

Weird Universe tells us that Joseph Pilates (1883-1967), the developer of the popular exercise program that bears his name, invented numerous pieces of exercise equipment. He had a holistic approach to fitness, which prudently included sleep.

In 1930, after immigrating from Germany to the United States, Pilates invented and patented a spring-less bed that has a v-shaped inner frame and mattress. Pilates argued that the human spine tends to curve inward when posture is not deliberately maintained. It is necessary to discipline the spine into proper alignment with a flat, hard bed. The V-shape permits the arms and legs to provide some support and therefore allow the sleeper to relax fully into this cradle.

Gabriel Bonnin is a YouTuber who developed the "Singer Sound System." This is an electric hurdy-gurdy that he powers by treading on a Singer manual sewing machine. He says that it's integrated with four microphones that allow him to manipulate the sound quality while using it.

Here he is peforming the Guns 'n' Roses classic "Sweet Child o' Mine." His channel also includes the Doctor Who theme, "Gangsta's Paradise," and "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

-via Kottke

Happy Star Trek Day!

Yes, Star Trek aired for the first time 59 years ago today.

To mark the occasion, YouTube Rowan J. Coleman continued his expositions on science fiction (including Patrick Stewart and Babylon 5) with a vigorous defense of William Shatner as he appeared in the original Star Trek. I agree with Coleman that Shatner has been unfairly maligned as a bad actor.

He plays his role quite well, especially the physicality of his characterization. Kirk has a young, vigorous personality. I'd like to see Coleman continue this series with a comparison of an actor of the same area depicting a similar role: Jeffrey Hunter.

The Guardian reports that Warsaw, Poland recently opened a new light rail station in the Targówek district. This new station includes amenities intended to increase use of the metro system, including a small branch of the public library system. The 150 square meter library has 16,000 books available for browsing and checkout, a comfortable seating area, and a hydroponic garden.

Recreational reading is not a widespread practice in Poland, partially due to the legacy of the destruction of most of the country's libraries during World War II. The National Library of Poland hopes that this new public library location will encourage commuters to read full-length books instead of browsing on their phones while commuting.

-via reddit | Photo: Warsaw Public Library

The Snake Pit in northern Idaho dates back to either 1879 or 1880. It's a bit unclear because the wild frontier in those days was, well, wild. The menu includes specialties of the West, including Rocky Mountain Oysters. That means deep fried bull testicles served "as long as the bulls cooperate." An order of them comes with blue cheese or spicy ranch for dipping.

The Snake Pit is the oldest restaurant in Idaho still in operation. The Takeout has researched such eateries in all fifty states. For my own Texas, that's Scholz Garten in downtown Austin. This classic German Texan eatery dates back to 1866.

Photo: The Snake Pit

Black Geeks of Dragon Con shared this photo of a cosplayer at the most recent Dragon Con in Atlanta. Stevie Wonder Woman is as beautiful as Aphrodite, wiser than Athena, swifter than Mercury, and as smooth as Marvin Gaye.

The Takeout shares photos, descriptions, and stories behind twelve foods that are commonly served at funerals and wakes or given to grieving people. These include corpse cakes, which actually rose on the bodies of the dead before burial, a Pennsylvania Dutch pie made of raisins, and kollyva, which is a Greek cake decorated symbolically.

Pictured above is a Texas funeral cake, which is a type of Texas sheet cake. It's made with buttermilk and covered with crumbled pecans. The icing is typically but not always baked on to present a glossy top. It's a straightforward recipe for people who cannot dedicate a lot of headspace to cooking.

Photo: Taste of the South

The Bard said:

In peace, there's nothing so becomes a man

As modest stillness and humility;

But when the blast of war blows in our ears,

Then imitate the action of the tiger

When hard times are upon us, we may rely upon the stiffened sinews of The Vulgar Chef, a man whom we know only by his title, his manful deeds, in the kitchen. Lo! He has crafted chocolate cups filled with the richest mayonnaise. Let us rejoice.