This thing looks so clunky and brutal and fantastic. Read the rest

• Ruairi O Leocháin of Athlone Wildlife Apiaries decided to make a lego beehive "just for a bit of craic"

A beekeeper in Ireland put their coronavirus quarantine time to good use by crafting an elaborate, fully functioning beehive out of LEGOs. Read the rest

Some people take their libations and isolations very seriously. Read the rest

I have a new podcast recommendation for all you creative types — one that I think you're really going to dig. All-around great guy Jason Gots' latest listening venture is called Clever Creature and it's a bit different than your average podcast. It's more like a variety show, or maybe a zine for your ears. It's more loosely structured and spontaneous than I'm used to hearing, which gives it a refreshing edge. Each episode is focused on one random word. That word inspires a story, a song, and a conversation, conversations with peeps like David Sedaris, Mary Louise Parker, and even his own 12-year-old son, Emre. At the end of the first episode (and maybe future ones?), there's a seven-minute mediation.

His name may be familiar, as he spent the last five years hosting the Big Think podcast, Think Again. At that desk, he interviewed good folks like Neil Gaiman, Roz Chast, Terry Gilliam, Margaret Atwood, and over 200 more.

The first episode, "Desert," dropped Tuesday:

art by Nathan Gelgud Read the rest

An ingenious and practical invention shared by IMGURian @GuzziGuy. Read the rest

Samsung has announced that its TV boxes can be converted into small tables, magazine racks, and -- yes-- homes for cats!

Samsung’s new ‘eco-packaging’ made from eco-friendly corrugated cardboard will be applied to The Serif, The Frame and The Sero, allowing customers easier recycling as well as upcycling of the cardboard boxes for creative reuse.

Samsung has applied a dot matrix design on each side of its eco-friendly corrugated cardboard boxes, allowing customers to cut the boxes more easily and assemble them into various other uses, such as small end tables or houses for pets.

Included within the packaging is a manual to guide customers on how to make household items out of the cardboard boxes, which can be accessed by scanning the QR code on the box.

And now, with Dezeen, they're holding a contest to find innovative designs for the home using ordinary cardboard packaging. The "Samsung Out of the Box Competition" is open until May 29, 2020.

(Gizmodo) images via Samsung Read the rest

“I made this huge leather bound "spellbook" with traditional bookbinding techniques,” says Nerdforge7 of NERDFORGE, on IMGUR. What an amazing project. Read the rest

I'm loving these 'my favorite tools' videos from the all-new ADAM SAVAGE's TESTED. Read the rest

Wow. Read the rest

Now *that* takes some real ducking talent. Read the rest

What would you say to someone if you were randomly connected to them by phone and had the opportunity to roleplay as their boss? A fun new app allows you to play the Michael Scott, Bill Lumbergh, or whatever boss of your dreams, and help them get stuff done too.

Yesterday I sat down for lunch in San Francisco with Danielle Baskin, the app's co-founder. A mutual friend had recently introduced us in an email, using the subject line, "Rusty / Danielle - I can't believe you two DON'T know each other."

Our conversation was lively and ended up being nearly three hours long. As I sat there chatting with her, I totally got why our mutual friend wanted us to meet. Danielle is a rabid creator of many weird and wonderful things, a true Happy Mutant. (You may remember her Drone Sweaters, for instance, or from her interview last month on the Cool Tools podcast.)

She's got all kinds of neat irons in the fire and many of them seem to teeter on that line between art and something that is actually useful. Her latest project rides that line. It's a collaboration with programmer Max Hawkins and it started blowing up on Product Hunt this week. It's called Your Boss and she describes it as "an app that connects people working on solo projects in a call-based accountability buddy system."

She writes:

My co-founder and I are entrepreneurs and freelancers with many projects. We made an app to automate phone calls between us to keep ourselves on track, because we often work alone (without a boss).

When Brooklyn-based artist Iris Scott begins a new piece, she doesn't get out paintbrushes. Instead, she simply puts on gloves when she starts on an oil painting. Scott is a fine art finger painter.

This 10-minute long mini documentary on her from a couple of years ago shares how she got started and what she thinks of her "gift." She's quick to point out that it's not a natural talent, that it's the result of a lot of time and practice:

I do not think I was just gifted by any means. I think that I just practiced a lot. The only gift you might say I have is a tremendous interest and willingness to put tons of hours at it. I definitely don't believe people are born with the gift to paint. I know I wasn't. I just practiced a lot starting at a very early age. And anyone can pick up painting at any time of their life and as long as you throw a ton of hours at it, you will improve in ways you just never thought you possibly could. Just watch what happens, go throw 10,000 hours at one subject or one art form and just watch what happens, suddenly everyone will start telling you you are gifted.

Here's a how-to video she made that shows her process a little closer:

Do go check out her site. I was blown away by her work.

(The Awesomer) Read the rest