Retro Bumper Car…Cars

Posted in retro, technology, vintage with tags , , on February 9, 2010 by shewalkssoftly

I’ve never been a fan of bumper cars, and I’m skeptical about the safety of Smart Cars (or anything that small, having to contend with monstrous SUVs on the road)…yet I think these retro style bumper car vehicles are pretty neat.

I found these images here, but decided to search a little further for info. I found the origins in this article (along with some “action shots”).

Created by California-based builder Tom Wright, the original set of modified bumper cars came from the Long Beach Pike amusement park’s discards. Instead of watching them join the trash heap, he took out the Harley motors, replaced it with 750cc Honda and Kawasaki boxes, and redesigned them to pass city driving standards. His fleet now consists of eight crazy-looking street bumper cars (culled from different amusement parks), all licensed to give your hottest ride a run for its money.

These cars are actually legal to drive.

There is also a Flickr page with more photos.

Mia Makila

Posted in art, photography with tags , on February 8, 2010 by shewalkssoftly

Mia Makila describes her work as horror pop surrealism. But after browsing through her paintings, mixed media projects and photography, it’s quite apparent that this description doesn’t do justice.

Some of these disquieting images give the feeling of staring straight into a nightmare. I’m going to be quiet and let you observe…

There is a twisted intensity in certain faces that makes me shiver.

Some pieces remind me of a modern day Hieronymus Bosch or Pieter Bruegel, rich in apocalyptic chaos.

So many places for the eyes to go…

See more of her work here.

Jimmie Martin: Crow Chair

Posted in craft, design, furniture, home with tags , , , on February 7, 2010 by shewalkssoftly

One of my awesome readers sent this to me:

This chair is a collaboration between furniture designer Jimmie Martin and jewelry designer Hannah Martin.

Don’t you just want to take a seat and read some Edgar Allen Poe by candle light?

You can see more rogue furniture designs on Martin’s website.

Thanks, Kate!

Image Odyssey: Steampunk Teapot

Posted in craft, image odyssey, steampunk with tags , , on February 7, 2010 by shewalkssoftly

This Robotic Teapot on Etsy inspired me to do an image search for steampunk teapots:

There were surprisingly few of them. I thought it would be a more popular choice for mod projects in the steampunk community. But here are some favorites:


Source


Source

For some reason, my remaining source links seem to have vanished. I wonder if I erased them by accident…

Hannes Bok and Edd Cartier

Posted in art, illustration, vintage with tags , , on February 6, 2010 by shewalkssoftly

A post over at Golden Age Comic Book Stories has a collection of Hannes Bok and Edd Cartier drawings from 1949 and 1950. These were featured on Gnome Press calendars.

So this is where babies come from!

I’m intrigued by the inclusion of the space helmet:

I…I don’t even know! I wish my brain could conceive of drawings like this.

Mysteries of the universe, solved.

See more here.

Macbook Decals

Posted in art, geek, products, technology with tags , , , on February 5, 2010 by shewalkssoftly

Although I’m not a Mac fangirl, I have to hand it to the designers of these decals…BRILLIANT!

There are a bunch of others that incorporate the logo nicely in this post.

Kinekt Design

Posted in geek, jewelry, products with tags , , on February 5, 2010 by shewalkssoftly

I’m not big on man jewelry (save for wedding rings on married men, of course). But this gear ring by Kinekt is pretty darn cool:

Girls looking for a regular (or wedding) ring for your favorite gear geek…don’t miss this one.

Click the video link on the Product page to see how the gears move. It’s awesome!

The Journal of Serendipitous and Unexpected Results

Posted in geek, science with tags , on February 4, 2010 by shewalkssoftly

Just the name stirred my excitement: The Journal of Serendipitous and Unexpected Results. I’m eagerly awaiting the inaugural issue.

The Journal of Serendipitous and Unexpected Results (JSUR) is an open-access forum for researchers seeking to further scientific discovery by sharing surprising or unexpected results. These results should provide guidance toward the verification (or negation) of extant hypotheses. JSUR has two branches, one focusing on computational sciences and the other on the life sciences.

In a society where drug companies often have more say over publicized research than scientists, it’s nice to see a forum that will showcase anomalies. All too often we fall victim to confirmation bias; a convenient, comfortable killer of creativity.

Shake it up, boys and girls! Thinking outside of the box makes fantastic new boxes.

Crewest Gallery Valentine Charity

Posted in art, charity, valentine's day with tags , , on February 4, 2010 by shewalkssoftly

In addition to Robots and Monsters, I also came across the Crewest Gallery Valentine’s Day Card project, designed to provide a handmade card for every child in the Childrens’ Hospital, LA.

I’d really like to organize something like this for one of my local hospitals. Maybe not even for a holiday. Just because.

Original call for artists
Source (with participating artist list)

I Wonder…

Posted in creatures, photography with tags , on February 3, 2010 by shewalkssoftly

…if he really wishes he could fly.

Bodies can be so cumbersome.