James Gurney (previously at Boing Boing) is the fantastic illustrator and painter of the "Dinotopia" series of books. He's done many fine demo videos of plein air painting techniques on… Read the rest of the article: Sign up for illustrator James Gurney's new newsletter
After 86 years in business, Jeffery's Toys—the real life toy shop in San Francisco that inspired "Toy Story"—is closing. The co-owner of Jeffery's Toys, Matthew Lunn, worked at Pixar as… Read the rest of the article: Jeffery's Toys, the real life "Toy Story" toy shop, to close after 86 years
If you're in Seattle, check out the the Connections Museum, nee "The Museum of Communications." It's well worth the trouble. Filled to the ceiling with every kind of telephone and… Read the rest of the article: Visit the charming Connections Museum in Seattle
View Master Travels is a terrific website that uses vintage View-Master reels to "embark on a time-traveling adventure to discover the past." They travel around to the sights seen in… Read the rest of the article: View Master Travels finds the exact spots old 3D photos were taken. Here's how it's done.
It's always fun to peruse the wonderful selection of fine art, illustration, and comic book offerings at Stuart Ng Books. Their shelves are bulging with rare and out-of-print books, limited… Read the rest of the article: Come for Syd Mead's Xmas card, stay for the great art books at Stuart Ng's store
Even if you don't know his name, you already know his music from the classic Warner Brothers cartoons and "The Ren and Stimpy Show." Powerhouse was his mechanical motif, which… Read the rest of the article: Hear Raymond Scott's amazing musical inventions
They say you can't judge a book by its cover, well, here's a fun book with nothing but covers—musical covers, that is—and the stories behind them. It's "Cover Me" by… Read the rest of the article: Learn the stories behind the best cover songs of all time
People from the east Coast always have very high standards for their favorite foods, whether pizza, Italian beef sandwiches, and, of course, bagels. Transplants in Seattle often bemoan the city's… Read the rest of the article: Have you tried the "best" bagel in Seattle?
If you missed seeing the fantastic show "Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence" in Boston or Seattle, you can still catch "the Wave" on YouTube. "Under the Wave Off Kanagawa" is one… Read the rest of the article: Catch Hokusai's "Great Wave" in Lego bricks
Paul Giamatti is probably best known for his beetle-browed, troubled characters, from loner Harvey Pekar in "American Splendor," to middle-age wine connoisseur Miles in "Sideways," right up to beleaguered prosecutor… Read the rest of the article: Hear Paul Giamatti's funny side in this freewheeling podcast
Living in Seattle, you get to enjoy the amazing art created by Tlingit artist Preston Singletary in many forms. His glass sculpture of "Weaver's Welcome" greets you at the Burke… Read the rest of the article: Discover Tlingit glass artist Preston Singletary in this great new book
Dave Machin created a wonderful YouTube channel that combines travel and history in a unique format: finding and recreating the views and locations of the seven images from a vintage… Read the rest of the article: Travel videos visiting locations from classic View-Master reels
Sure, fans of Albert Brooks will enjoy the new documentary "Defending My Life" on HBO. It's a fun look back at all your favorite Albert Brooks comedy LPs, TV appearances,… Read the rest of the article: Albert Brooks, comedy God
Looking for a nice gift for your gardener/art-lover, or yourself? Check out this beautiful new offering from Hudson Valley Seed Co. These artist-designed Art Packs packages of organic seeds are… Read the rest of the article: Art that looks good enough to eat
British hacker Rob Miles guts an old rotary phone to make a networked assistant by adding a Raspberry Pi single-board computer. There's lots of nerdy details for interested hobbyists. I… Read the rest of the article: Rotary phone repurposed with a Raspberry Pi
Our long national nightmare and comedy desert is finally over. A sequel to "Spinal Tap" is announced. Rob Reiner will direct. Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer return. Paul… Read the rest of the article: Spinal Tap returns!
The latest essay from the Eames Institute is a fun look at how mid-century designers were inspired by "simple" playthings. In 1961 designer Charles Eames said, "toys are really not… Read the rest of the article: More mid-century modern designers at play
Lucky Seattleites have until December 3 to see the nice show Renegade Edo and Paris; Japanese Prints and Toulouse-Lautrec at the Seattle Asian Art Museum. No, not that Seattle Art… Read the rest of the article: Compare Edo prints with Art Nouveau posters in person
Serious Play is terrific coffee table book full of exciting examples of the pioneers of midcentury design—Charles & Ray Eames, Alexander Girard, Paul Rand and more—at play, creating whimsical and… Read the rest of the article: Midcentury modern designers playing around
Dana Gould loves everything about Halloween so he really goes all out with a special nearly-FOUR-hour episode of his podcast, titled 'The Bloody Hand of Halloweenery." It's a giant barrel… Read the rest of the article: Dig Dana Gould's monstrously long Halloween podcast
