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Hellishly complex, gorgeous assemblage about endless work

Cory Doctorow — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:56:51 +0000

"Quaestus" is the latest assemblage from sculptor Jud Turner. He sez,

“Quaestus” is a latin word meaning “gain or profit extracted from work”, a concept darkly represented in my latest sculpture: 5 tiny employees are trapped in an endless task inside a gigantic machine, toiling to keep up with the conveyor belts they are walking on. Each work station has a 2 digit counter which seems to be keeping some kind of score. If the employees don't keep up with the machine, they will fall off the ends of their conveyor belts and be fed to the machine.. The employees actually power this machine, but are unaware and unable to stop moving forward for fear of falling behind.

It's an amazing piece. Click through for hi-rez and details.

"Quaestus"

Odd Duck: great picture book about eccentricity and ducks

Cory Doctorow — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:00:59 +0000

Cecil Castellucci and Sara Varon have a new picture-book/kids' comic out from FirstSecond today called Odd Duck, and it's a delight (no surprise there, I never met a Cecil Castellucci project I didn't like).

Odd Duck is the story of Theodora, "a perfectly normal duck" who likes her routine -- swimming, stretching, taking books out of the library, buying duck kibble, doing craft projects (with duck burlap, naturally) and star-gazing. When Chad moves in next door, Theodora can tell she's not going to get along with him. He makes weird abstract sculptures, dyes his feathers funny colors, and talks a mile a minute.

When both of them are stuck together overwinter (Theodora never manages to migrate, and Chad breaks his wing making abstract sculpture) they discover a shared love of the stars, and become best friends. But when they overhear a mean duck in town say, "Look at that odd duck!" they both assume she's talking about the other one, and that kicks off a rotten fight, and a lot of soul-searching.

This is a beautiful parable about eccentricity, friendship, self-awareness, the majesty of the night sky, and the benefits of balancing a cup of tea on your head (for posture!). The artwork is gorgeous (thanks to FirstSecond for supplying the first chapter excerpt below), and the writing is absolutely charming. When I got my advance copy, my five-year old demanded nightly readings of this one for a solid week.

Odd Duck

Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction

Cory Doctorow — Tue, 14 May 2013 12:34:32 +0000

Annalee Newitz, founding editor of IO9 and former EFF staffer, has a new book out today called Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction, and it's terrific.

Scatter's premise is that the human race will face extinction-grade crises in the future, and that we can learn how to survive them by examining the strategies of species that successfully weathered previous extinction events, and cultures and tribes of humans that have managed to survive their own near-annihilation.

What follows from this is a whirlwind tour of geology, evolutionary biology, cultural anthropology and human history, as Newitz catalogs the terrifying disasters, catastrophes and genocides of geology and antiquity. From there, the book transitions into a sprightly whistle-stop tour of sustainable cities, synthetic biology, computer science, geoengineering, climate science, new materials science, urban theory, genomics, geopolitics, everything up to and including the Singularity, as Newitz lays out the technologies in our arsenal for adapting ourselves to upcoming disasters, and adapting our planet (and ultimately our solar system) to our long-term survival.

This has both the grand sweep and the fast pace of a classic OMNI theme issue, but one that's far more thoroughly grounded in real science, caveated where necessary. It's a refreshingly grand sweep for a popular science book, and if it only skims over some of its subjects, that's OK, because in the age of the Net, one need only signpost the subjects the reader might dive into on her own once she realizes their awesome potential.

This is a delight of a book, balanced on the knife-edge of disaster and delirious hope. It neither predicts our species' apotheosis nor its doom, but suggests paths to reach the former while avoiding the latter.

Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction

Punk Rock Jesus: media-savvy second coming/reality TV comic

Cory Doctorow — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:53:37 +0000

Sean Murphy's Punk Rock Jesus is a rockin' comic about the Second Coming. It opens with a psychotically ruthless show-runner arranging to clone Jesus from DNA salvaged from the Shroud of Turin, implanting a foetus in the womb of a teenaged virgin, all for a reality TV show that starts with auditions for the part of Christ's mother. Gwen, the desperate teen who gets the part, is only one of the many memorable characters who make up the resulting set piece: there's Dr Sarah Epstein, a brilliant geneticist who's been promised funding for a carbon-fixing superalgae if she helps create the clonal Christ; there's Thomas McKael, an IRA soldier turned supergrass turned super-security director, and several others who come to prominence as the story unfolds (including Cola, a genetically engineered tame polar bear).

The story perks along for the first third, as the dismal life of Chris -- as the clone is called -- is run out on the screens of America, and in the high-security compound on an offshore island under constant siege from militant Christian fundamentalists who are torn on the question of whether Chris is the second coming or a mocker. Then there's a turning point where Chris becomes and adolescent and discovers some of the seedier truths about his life and the miserable existence his mother has been forced into all through it.

That's when Punk Rock Jesus is born. To a thudding soundtrack of vintage punk smuggled in on vinyl (CDs would set off the metal detector) Chris gives himself a mohawk, tears his clothes to rags, and surprises his minders by stepping out on stage and declaring himself to be an atheist. In the ensuing chaos, Chris escapes from the network and its evil representatives and makes his way to the drowned TAZ of lower Manhattan where he becomes the front-man for a "the last punk band in the world," the Flak Jackets.

And that's when the story really roars to life, becoming at once sillier and more serious, but avoiding some of the ponderousness of the setup. Serious questions of religion's role in society are raised; rock is bepunkéd; dressing rooms are trashed; the media is expertly dissected. It's a near-perfect rocket-ship ride through some of the best material from comics like DMZ and Transmetropolitan, with a healthy dose of radical atheism and geopolitics thrown in.

It's got pathos, laughs, rage and comeuppances, and awesome punk rock not-giving-a-fuck. What more could you ask for?

Punk Rock Jesus

Skull wedding cake

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 03:18:50 +0000

Baker Anna at Eat Your Heart Out Bakers made this astounding skull wedding-cake.

Food artist Annabel de Vetten, also known as Conjurer’s Kitchen, created this incredible skull wedding cake for the Eclectic Wedding Extravaganza in Birmingham this weekend. Her theme being ” ‘Til Death Do Us Part”.
It features solid chocolate skulls of 16 carrion crows, 12 domestic kittens, 3 Vervet monkeys, and 4 barn owls, all of which the artist sculpted by hand. Made from White Chocolate Mudcake, the cake took her over 100 hours to complete in total. There are two options of toppers: a chocolate conjoined kitten skull, or dried flowers from an actual wedding bouquet (ones shown here from her own).

The Ultimate Skull Wedding Cake (Thanks, Emma!)

Science fictional, sculptural mask/helmets

Cory Doctorow — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:21:05 +0000

Bruce D. Mitchell is an amazing sculptor who works in the film industry; his "Conceptual Executioner" site showcases a series of gorgeous masks and helmets from 2010. He implies that they have been offered for sale at some point, though no prices are given, leading me to believe that it's one of those, "If you have you ask, you probably can't afford," deals. At least we get to look.

I Have been working in the FX industry since 1992. I have contributed to the creation of various creatures, costumes, miniatures, set pieces and props. I have met and worked with some awesome talent and learned something from each of them. I will be showing my own work on this page. These are the pieces I have been making and showing in Gallery's and special venues. The Masks and Helmets are all wearable and incorporate some function. All pieces were created in my home studio. One thing I would like to say to any producers. Please do not look at this as a menu but rather what I have conceptually achieved so far. . . Thanks for viewing.

Bruce D. Mitchell Conceptual Executioner

Just look at this human-sized banana.

Cory Doctorow — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:00:48 +0000

Just look at it.

Ella's Deli and Ice Cream Parlor (Thanks, Viktor!)

Just look at this banana sculpture.

Cory Doctorow — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 20:26:50 +0000

Just look at it.

fruit - Matt James Stone (Thanks, Marie!)

Sheet music for the Mario "coin" sound

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 16:14:42 +0000

From the Mario Piano site, where you'll find "authentic, high-fidelity Mario sheet music that was entirely faithful to the original Mario themes and sound effects, and which could be trusted to be 100% accurate," the sheet music for the Mario "coin" sound.

Mario Piano Sheet Music - Coin Sound (via Hacker News)

Derp: Mark blogged this one back in October!

Glitched out blankets and tapestries

Cory Doctorow — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 13:20:57 +0000

Phillip Stearns is an artist who commissions blankets and tapestries woven in the USA with glitch-art patterns he generates with broken digital cameras. They're for sale! $200+

Tapestries

Blankets

(via Kottke)

Best of Etsy Star Wars posters

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 20:33:08 +0000

On Wonderland, Alice has had a deep trawl through the world of Etsy Star Wars posters and rounded up a collection of top choices, including the Space Cowboy by CONCEPCIONSTUDIOS (top) and Vintage Pop Art set from Posterinspired (right).

Beautiful Etsy Star Wars posters

Remarkable face-painting from NZ's Daizy Design

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:29:19 +0000

Wellington, NZ's Daizy Design is a face-painting studio that does astounding work, as the images here can attest. They also paint pregnant bellies, do custom work for photo shoots, and so on. The rates look pretty reasonable, considering the standard of work on display.

Gallery - Daizy Design (via Geeks Are Sexy)

Bay Area Anarchist Book Fair this weekend

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:18:27 +0000

Hugh D'Andrade sez, "The Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair takes place this weekend in San Francisco! I'll will be one of the speakers -- I am giving a slideshow all about the series of posters I have created for the Anarchist Bookfair over the last 10 years, called 'Anarchist Bookfair Artist: How I Tried and Failed to Solve the Anarchist Image Problem' on Sunday at 1pm. Here's my Flickr set of these 10 posters, each available for high-res download on a CC Attribution-Noncommercial license! And if you like, my Etsy shop, where I have these for sale."

Bay Area Anarchist Book Fair

Book of maps by storytellers and artists

Cory Doctorow — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:21:08 +0000

A Map of the World: The World According to Illustrators and Storytellers is a beautiful art-book of spectacular illustrated maps:

From the publisher's site (where you'll find lots more images):

Drawing a map means understanding our world a bit better. For centuries, we have used the tools of cartography to represent both our immediate surroundings and the world at large—and to convey them to others. On the one hand, maps are used to illustrate areal relationships, including distances, dimensions, and topographies. On the other, maps can also serve as projection screens for a variety of display formats, such as illustration, data visualization, and visual storytelling. In our age of satellite navigation systems and Google Maps, personal interpretations of the world around us are becoming more relevant. Publications, the tourism industry, and other commercial parties are using these contemporary, personal maps to showcase specific regions, to characterize local scenes, to generate moods, and to tell stories beyond sheer navigation. A new generation of designers, illustrators, and mapmakers are currently discovering their passion for various forms of illustrative cartography. A Map of the World is a compelling collection of their work—from accurate and surprisingly detailed representations to personal, naïve, and modernistic interpretations. The featured projects from around the world range from maps and atlases inspired by classic forms to cartographic experiments and editorial illustrations.

A Map of the World: The World According to Illustrators and Storytellers (via Kottke)

Albania is riddled with decaying Soviet-era bunkers

Cory Doctorow — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:55:42 +0000

Wired's Pete Brook talks with Dutch photographer David Galjaard, author of the 2012 Aperture Foundation/Paris Photo First Photobook Award-winning book Concreso, a photo-essay on the insane "bunkerization" practiced by the paranoid Soviet Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha. Hoxha built a one bunker for every four Albanians, 24 per square kilometer, and now the country has no idea what to do with all these decaying, apocalyptic concrete blobs.

“I’m telling a story about a country and I’m using bunkers as metaphors,” says Galjaard. “Albania is an Eastern country but it wants to be part of the West. It has one foot in each, and the split is sort of unnatural. Albanians still have not found their identity so they struggle with the past, but also struggle with the future. And future for them is being part of Western Europe.”
The Communist leader Hoxha rose to power in 1944 as leader of the Party of Labour of Albania and ruled until his death in 1985. Hoxha was on constant alert for political threats and maintained his position with routine immobilization, imprisonment and eviction of his people and political opponents. Hoxha’s suspicions also extended beyond Albanian borders and the bunkers, which number 24 to every square kilometer, and were built in preparation for a multi-front war Hoxha expected from invading countries, East and West. Every citizen in Hoxha’s plan was a reservist. Twelve-year-olds were trained to fire rifles. The bunkers never saw action.
Today, Albanian authorities are at a loss for what to do. The reinforced concrete domes are as difficult to repurpose as they are to destroy. Tourists are fascinated by the bunkers strewn like confetti across scenery, but for locals they’re a largely uninteresting, if obstructive, part of the landscape.”

Paranoid Dictator’s Communist-Era Bunkers Now a National Nuisance [Pete Brook/Wired]

Things, organized neatly: a kentucky site for knollers

Cory Doctorow — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 00:42:17 +0000

Things Organized Neatly is a Tumblr devoted to excellent knolling photos in which things are, well, organized neatly. Zomg, but this tickles something vulnerable in my hindbrain. Show here: a RepRap (in bits), and Cannoli in Buenos Aires.

Things Organized Neatly (Thanks, Fipi Lele!)

Puritanical ice-cream clothes

Cory Doctorow — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 18:49:46 +0000

My goodness, but the Ice Cream Colors in this 1949 Puritan Sportswear ad look sytlishly delicious. Not entirely puritanical, either.

Dairy Contest

Caturday

Xeni Jardin — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 16:14:18 +0000

Two cat portraits shared in the BB Flickr Pool by reader __AK__.

Have yourself 3D-scanned and turned into a human gummi

Cory Doctorow — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 03:59:43 +0000

FabCafe, a 3D printed confectioner in Shibuya, Tokyo, is offering nine lucky blokes the chance to have their bodies 3D scanned and rendered in gummi, the most wondrously magical of all the edible substances. It's in honor of White Day, the Japanese give-your-female-lover-a-present holiday on March 14 (they also did custom chocolate-lollies of one's 3D scanned head for V-Day). These are so amazingly amazing and they point the way to a future where cheap scanners will render entire rooms as voxels to be output in gummi, wherein you can pay to be encased while you slowly, deliciously eat your way out. Coming soon to a Shibuya Love Hotel near you (maybe).

Chew on this: FabCafe lets you create a gummy replica of yourself for White Day (via OhGizmo)

Houses carved out of blocks of books

Cory Doctorow — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 01:02:06 +0000

"Built of Books" is a series of sculptures from Dutch artist Frank Halmans -- houses carved out of blocks of stuck-together books.

dutch artist frank halmans explores themes of domesticity and memory through his sculptural installations. his series 'built of books' employs vintage publications - the selected titles have no particular meaning and are not exceptional literary works - which he arranges into stacks. lining them up along shelves, he carving windows and doors through each, creating sets of imaginary buildings and interiors in each section of volumes. in a way these spaces which he slices through the books, stand as a metaphor and the idea of moving through something, whether it be a literary passage, or a physical expanse.

built of books [Andrea/Designboom]

(via Neatorama)

Hooves

Cory Doctorow — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:21:21 +0000

Etsy seller Oonacat makes custom fetish boots with hooves -- demon hooves, unicorn hooves -- that go for $900 a pair. Great for playing naughty podiatrist and agonized fetishist. There are also horns.

These are my newest creations, and I adore these little monsters. These Hooves are created with durability, quality, and artistic kickass beauty in their design. High attention to detail is what I love most about my Hooves, be it in the intensive process and creation, to the construction process, to the high quality of the materials I use, to the professional construction of the Hooves themselves, to the hoof tracks you will leave for those to follow... And follow they will...

Oonacat ~ Heelless Hooves and Horns (via Geeks Are Sexy)

Wunda Weave carpets: 1963's must-have area rugs

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 19:42:59 +0000

The world got a little less beautiful after 1963's Wunda Weave carpets went out of vogue.

1963 Wunda Weve Carpets

New Haunted Mansion merch

Cory Doctorow — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 12:37:31 +0000

Uh-oh, Disney is releasing a rather nice line of Haunted Mansion memoribilia. There goes my bank-balance. Some highlights:

The Hourglass: “I’ve wanted to make an hourglass for years,” said Cody, who is an 18-year Disney cast member. “This 7 ½-inch-tall hourglass has gargoyles from the stretching room and the famous wallpaper design on the top. White sand is more commonly used in hourglasses, yet we chose purple sand to match the overall color palette. The hourglass keeps track of about an hour.”
Candelabra: My favorite item is the candelabra, which also features a gargoyle. Cody said the base was inspired by the paneling found in the queue just after the stretching room.
Music Box: “We needed a music box because music is an important part to the attraction,” explained Cody. “This music box plays ‘Grim Grinning Ghosts,’ and draws inspiration from Madame Leota’s tombstone outside the attraction. Her epitaph is included on the inside lid.”
Pillow and Throw: “For the pillow, we considered using the chair design from the endless hallway scene,” continued Cody. “Yet we selected a simple black pillow with the phrase ‘Rest in Peace.’ The back of the pillow and the throw include the famous wallpaper design.”

Nine New Chilling, Thrilling Haunted Mansion Merchandise Items from Disney Parks « Disney Parks Blog (Thanks, Michael!)

Custom felted Star Wars spaceship mobile

Cory Doctorow — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 20:05:14 +0000

Etsy seller sheepcreeknc makes major deluxe-o custom Star Wars felted mobiles to order. At $380, they're not cheap, but if you owe someone a major baby gift, this might be just the thing.

The pictured mobile is a piece I recently made as a custom order. It features a Naboo Starfighter, Tie Fighter, X-Wing, Millenium Falcon, Star Destroyer, Republic Attack Gunship, 8 orange and white planets and 1 Death Star.
This listing is for a Star Wars mobile with the same basic structure as the mobile pictured (choose up to 6 Star Wars figures or ships and 9 planets/balls). For additional figures/ships/planets please contact me for a price quote.

STAR WARS 6 Ships Baby Mobile, Customizable Star Wars Mobile, Made to Order (via Neatorama)

Marriage proposal in the form of a physics paper

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 19:52:41 +0000

Redditor bogus_wheel is a physicist in Sydney, Australia. Her boyfriend of seven years submitted a marriage proposal in the form of a physics paper that tracks their relationship (with a graph!). It is a beautiful piece of physics romance!

My boyfriend of 7 years and I are both physicists. Here's how he proposed to me. (imgur.com) (Thanks, Mark M!)

Handmade lockpicks from old bandsaw blades

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 04:24:52 +0000

The wonderful folks at the Port City Makerspace had me over to their enormous, beautiful spot this evening, and gifted me with "the keys to the city," in the form of a set of handmade lockpicks from their own Tinker Woodworks. The picks are gorgeous. Seriously.

This is a handmade set of lockpicks with a leather case. The picks are shaped out of old bandsaw blades. I chose the pick shapes based on which picks have been most useful to me in my lock picking exploits. The case is made by soaking the leather and stitching it around a form to fit the picks. The case is about five inches long and fits nicely into a jacket pocket. I can do some simple embroidery on the case similar to the key embroidery in the pictures on one of the cases, or a persons initials, etc. Contact me if you want embroidery on the case. Otherwise the case will be the plain ones depicted. The kit comes with the three picks and two different size tension wrenches.

Lockpick tool set with leather case

Amp made out of old brass instruments

Cory Doctorow — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 16:51:34 +0000

The Analog Tele-Phonographer is Christopher Locke's fantastic smartphone amplifier made from salvaged, chimeraed brass instruments. Each one is different, and each one is awesome in its own way.

These devices are made from salvaged trumpets and other brass instruments, with assorted machine parts.

Analog Tele-Phonographer

Star Wars jewelry

Cory Doctorow — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 02:10:35 +0000

Etsy seller Rockets and Rainbows makes clever jewelry out of Star Wars and My Little Pony toys, including the Snow Speeder ring shown here. But you can't buy that one, because I just bought it as a surprise for my wife. Don't tell her, OK?

RocketsandRainbows (via The Mary Sue)

Secure documents

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 22:45:43 +0000

More scenes from a book tour: SECURE DOCUMENTS!

Secure documents do not enter sign, Pasadena High, Houston, TX, USA

Spider Duck

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 17:57:22 +0000

Scenes from a book-tour, part sqrt(-1): the SPIDER DUCK, at Austin's magnificent Toy Joy.

Spider Duck, Toy Joy, Austin, TX, USA