My Circadian Squirrel post definitely widened some eyes, but clearly the art of incorporating woodland creatures into common household objects is not new. Take this 1933 advertisement for home taxidermy projects:
Vlad, sorry it’s 76 years too late for me to order this for your birthday.
These socks (especially the notebook paper design) appeal to the old school geek in me.
They make me a bit nostalgic for the days when people still used paper and pencils all the time…even though I’m addicted to the computer.
I was surprised that I didn’t hear about this Alice in Wonderland exhibit in all the Comic Con buzz. I’m a little late.
Those who followed the instructions were invited to the Mad Hatter’s tea party, a trip to visit Wonderland. Disney constructed an incredibly detailed prop, wardrobe, concept art and art installation in an empty warehouse close to the San Diego convention center.
This is my favorite part of the installation. It’s amazing to see a journey “down the rabbit hole” in tactile materials:
I would have liked to see these props and set design pieces in person. Granted, the Tim Burton film is inspiring a whole range of hopes, fears and feelings for potential viewers who have a connection to the story. But as an installation itself, I think this works wonderfully.
Did anyone see it?
I get extremely nostalgic whenever I see anything related to Disney’s Haunted Mansion. When I went to the park as a child, I would spend half the day riding it repeatedly. It was always “just one more time, please!”
I had the entire ride memorized. I drank in every nuance with my eyes and ears. Although it’s been many years since I’ve gone on this ride, I still remember every word, sight, sound, even smell perfectly.
Here is a short 40th anniversary behind the scenes video, which doesn’t quite do justice to the attraction.
I like how they point out the pristine exterior of the mansion. This was always something I appreciated because it steered clear of the standard dilapidated junk heap of a house that most local theme parks espoused.
Has anyone seen the “Haunted Mansion Holiday” where The Nightmare Before Christmas is added?
Despite the fact that I adore the aesthetics of that movie, I’m still resistant to even the smallest Haunted Mansion changes. I’m always afraid the ride will fall prey to the modern desire to make everything bigger, better and more technological (in which case it would entirely lose its charm).
I suppose the decorations are nicely done, but sometimes I prefer to enjoy even my very favorite things separately.
Thoughts?
I’ve been meaning to post about Red Nose Studio for ages.
What a marvelous collection of carved sculptures they have, all brilliantly photographed. Some characters evoke genuine pathos.
A favorite, of course:
Each piece has such a unique “atmosphere” to it (I love the machinery and contraptions).
I was thinking to myself that these 3D sculptural illustrations would make dynamite stop motion animation. Sure enough, a video search turned up some results.
See more on the website
You may remember the cassette tape lamps I posted. Now here is one made of speakers, by Georgiosi. Who knew discarded musical paraphernalia would aid in the creation of fantastic lighting?
This one isn’t the most practical lamp, but it’s pretty neat anyway.
Under the picture’s on the creator’s site is this little rhyme:
Twinkle twinkle little speakers
Shedding shadows from their tweeters
Lost and found
I’ll bound them round
Shining a light that makes a sound
I got linked to a great collection of work from Imaginism Studios recently.
Their work is so much fun. Awesome cartoonish monster hybrids…
Creepy bastardizations of iconic characters…
For some reason I really love the inclusion of the third eye:
Creatures that just POP with personality…
See more here.
(Thanks, Brian!)
Boy, do I wish I had wall space! Ideapaint is an absolutely ingenious way to coat the walls. This high performance paint creates a dry erase surface.
I would have LOVED this in my room as a child. I had a mischievous habit of trying to draw on regular walls whenever possible. Lucky for my parents, it was mostly while in stores, hiding behind shelves and racks while my mom was shopping. Belated apologies to those who found my little masterpieces…I was just trying to help.
I’m an avid list maker, so I could definitely use this by my desk instead of my tried-and-true paper scraps (I’m old school like that, though I’ve been enjoying some of google’s tools lately for shared organizational purposes).
My one reservations about Ideapaint is that my place may begin to look like some dizzying cross between a mad scientist laboratory and a design studio, peppered with ludicrous comedic sketches. It may frighten the guests.
Whenever my friend Damon shares a link, I know it’s going to be well worth checking out. I thank him for this twisted clip of straight-jacketed meat, ambling through the grocery store late at night…
The title alone excited me: Neuro Drinks. I have mixed feelings about this product, but my curiosity has been piqued.
Each blend appears to contain herbs and amino acids. They’ve done their homework, since all additives have proven effective (at least to some extent) in clinical trials. But I’m curious about the concentration of active ingredients. The “proprietary blend” is listed in milligrams, which may as well be an arbitrary number. I wonder if Neuro Drinks pack a real punch or a pricey placebo effect.
This is a very interesting topic to me as I currently study the ways in which the brain chemically reproduces or creates what it expects to experience. Is the IDEA of “Neurogasm” enough to create the purported effect of the beverage itself? Do chemistry and expectation work together?
The product page is dreadfully/delightfully full of shameless gimmicks. Chief among them: a roster of flashy celebrity endorsements. The marketing campaign is, in a word, “Hollywood”…right down to the spokesmodel (who conjures up images in my head of a mail order bride, painfully rebuilt by prominent LA surgeons and placed in front of a teleprompter).
I hope I never live to see the day when cleavage takes over as the main marketing device for legitimate biochemical advancements. It’s certainly not how I’m going to sell my own practice or discoveries.
Has anyone tried these beverages? Reviews?
(This one’s for you, t3db0t!)
SheWalksSoftly 