Through uncertain methods, San Francisco-based artist Jason Mecier convinces celebrities to donate personal trash to them. He turns the individual contributions into portraits of each celebrity:

He uses junk and discarded items donated by top stars, so yes…that Trojan condom box in the top left corner of Tina Fey‘s portrait actually came from Tina herself. Mecier has spent over 10 years creating outrageous portraits and is now so popular that stars contact him directly and pay $1,500 for a portrait, which he gladly makes from a bag of their junk that they provide.

Celebs who have asked for the portraits include Chris Rock, Pink, Tori Spelling, and Chelsea Handler, whose portrait includes empty vodka bottles, a Snuggie box, Martini glasses, bottle opener, buttons, batteries, chapstick, dice, pens, badges and movie tickets.

Link via Crackajack | Artist's Website

Previously: Jason Mecier's Food Art

After his sister died of brain cancer, Japanese artist Motoi Yamamoto began constructing enormous, detailed labyrinths. They're temporary installations made out of ground salt and reflect a special significance that his culture places on that mineral:

In Japanese culture salt is not only a necessary element to sustain human life, but it is also a symbol of purification. He uses salt in loose form to create intricate labyrinth patterns on the gallery floor or in baked brick form to construct large interior structures. As with the labyrinths and innavigable passageways, Motoi views his installations as exercises which are at once futile yet necessary to his healing.

http://halsey.cofc.edu/exhibitions/2006/05_fon/09_yamamoto01.html via Dude Craft | Artist's Website

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Elizabeth Joy Roe and Greg Anderson are two master pianists who composed and performed a concert series called "Star Wars Fantasy". It remixes and overlays the scores from classic Star Wars in a particularly lovely fashion. The above video is one sample that emphasizes the Cantina Band theme, but weaves in others.

via Great White Snark | Official Website

Photographer Tom Falconer creates and captures images of frozen bubbles. Goli Mohammed of Make interviewed Falconer and asked him how he does it:

For frozen bubbles I usually wait until it is (at the warmest) 10 below freezing (22 F) and even at that temp they will take a few minutes to freeze. Again it needs to be extremely calm, because you'll need to blow the bubble then catch it on the wand or some kind of wet surface and wait for it to freeze. As it freezes the thick swirls in the bubble will stop moving, and little fingers of ice crystals will creep across the surface. They don't freeze into something that will shatter, they tend to be somewhat rubbery and will eventually collapse on itself.

Link via Make

Zoe D. Katze, Ph.D., C.Ht., DAPA, is a fully credentialed psychotherapist. Her owner, Dr. Steve K. D. Eichel -- who has a real Ph.D. -- was tired of finding fakes passing themselves as psychotherapists thanks to diploma mills. So he decided to get his cat credentialed:

A reporter from a major magazine wrote to "Dr. Zoe D. Katze" for input on an article she was writing on hypnosis for childbirthing. She had stumbled across Dr. Zoe's name on the American Association of Professional Hypnotherapists' website. I had to tell her the truth.

Dr. Zoe D. Katze, Ph.D., C.Ht., DAPA, is a cat. In fact, she is my cat.[...]

Dr. Katze's credentials look impressive. She is certified by three major hypnotherapy associations, having met their "strict training requirements" and having had her background thoroughly reviewed. She holds a Diplomate in psychotherapy from an association that claims to promote the highest standards among psychotherapists.

Link via io9 | Photo (unrelated) by Flickr user Edward Townend Photography

The firefighters in Luoyang, Henan Province, China, have an awesome new tool to use against fires. It's a water cannon that can shoot 3 tons of water 120 meters away. One source says that it's powered by a fighter jet engine. The total cost was about $456,000. You can watch a video of the machine at the link.

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-01/video-chinas-new-jet-propelled-water-cannon | Photo: GizChina

Well, no. Although it does look like NASA is improvising in the light of a thriftier budget. What's actually happening is that engineers put a model lander on modified skateboards to move it around during testing:

The lander prototype was placed on modified skateboards and a customized track system as a low-cost solution to control movement during final testing of the prototype’s sensors, onboard computer, and thrusters. The functional test focused on ensuring that all system components work seamlessly to sense, communicate, and command the lander's movements.[...]

The lander prototype will aid NASA’s development of a new generation of small, smart, versatile landers for airless bodies such as the moon and asteroids. The lander's design is based on cutting-edge technology, which allows precision landing in high-risk, but high-priority areas, enabling NASA to achieve scientific and exploration goals in previously unexplored locations.

Link via DVICE | Photo: NASA

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The rabbit goes over log, then under the log, then through the log, and then back over the log. Or something like that. You could also just use Seth Goldstein's "Why Knot?", a kinetic sculpture that ties ties.

Link via CrunchGear

Well, this is what happens. A diesel locomotive with a 4400 hp V16 engine passed through Independence, Louisiana. It lost a piston and threw it straight through a house. You can see more photos of the damage at the link.

Link via Jalopnik | Photo: AgTalk

I've having trouble verifying any information about this painting, but I'm posting it anyway. It's a hilarious take on the Madonna and Child motif in Western art. Madonna Ciccone is the pop singer who goes by just her first name "Madonna".

This oil on canvas painting was allegedly made by A. Palmer.

via Ace of Spades HQ

Mary-Lu Zahalan-Kennedy is the first recipient of a new graduate studies program at Liverpool Hope University that focuses on the work of The Beatles:

The launch of the unique MA in Beatles, Popular Music and Society was a world first when it took its first class. Zahalan-Kennedy was the first to accept her degree in person from the university.

The course looks at the studio sound and composition of the Beatles and how Liverpool helped to shape their music. The MA examines the significance of their music and how it helped to define identities, culture and society.

Mike Brocken, founder and leader of the Beatles MA at Liverpool Hope University, said the postgraduate degree makes Zahalan-Kennedy a member of a select group of popular music experts.

"Mary-Lu now joins an internationally recognized group of scholars of Popular Music Studies who are able to offer fresh and thought-provoking insights into the discipline of musicology."

I'll just leave this here. (via)

Link | University Website | Photo: AP

UPS saved a lot of money by eliminating left turns from its delivery routes. Would this practice be effective on a larger scale? At Smithsonian, Sarah Zielinski writes:

UPS minimizes left turns for its delivery trucks to save on fuel. (And it works, as the Mythbusters demonstrated last year.) In the 1960s, the state of Michigan designed an intersection known as the “Michigan left” that prevents people driving on side streets from making left turns onto a multi-laned divided road; if they wish to go left, they’ll first have to go right and then make a U-turn. And superstreets, or restricted crossing U-turns, which are found in some other parts of the country, such as North Carolina, work in a similar way, preventing left turns. It’s never really caught on, though, since it seems to be a big inconvenience.

However, a new study from North Carolina State University says that superstreets are actually more efficient than traditional intersections. The researchers collected data from three superstreets in North Carolina that had traffic lights and looked at travel time for both right and left turns as well as passing straight through. They also examined collision data from 13 superstreet intersections in that state that didn’t have traffic lights.

Link via Marginal Revolution | Photo by Flickr user taberandrew used under Creative Commons license

Your cat doesn't have a helmet? Why not? deviantART user Diarment made one for his cat Hugo. It's reminiscent of Princess Leia's slave girl costume, if Leia had been a cat.

Link via Super Punch

In a series that he calls Kim Jong Phil, artist Phillip Toledano depicted himself as a heroic leader, much as North Korea's propaganda art shows dictator Kim Jong-il. He explained that this is a natural thing for an artist to do:

It occurred to me that being an artist is a great deal like being a dictator.

Just like a dictator, I must live in a closed loop of self-delusion. A place where my words and ideas always ring true. A gilded daydream of grandiosity. There can be no room for doubt. I must be convinced that I have something vital to say. I must believe that the world is waiting in keen anticipation to hear my message.

Link via Crackajack

Previously on Phillip Toledano:
Bankrupt Offices Photography
Mr. Toledano
The Reluctant Father

In Redditch, UK, there's a recreation center next to a large crematorium. The latter generates a lot of heat, which is currently going to waste. So why not make use of it?

Redditch council in Worcestershire says it can save £14,500 a year by warming its new Abbey Stadium sports centre with heat from the crematorium's incinerators that would otherwise be lost.

The council, which says it is the first project of its kind in the UK, is holding briefings later this week with faith groups, funeral directors and members of the public to discuss the scheme.

But some local people are concerned. Simon Thomas, of Thomas Brothers funeral directors, said: "I don't know how comfortable people would feel about the swimming pool being heated due to the death of a loved one, I think it's a bit strange and eerie."

Link via DVICE | Photo (unrelated) via Flickr user Qfamily used under Creative Commons license