Neatorama

You Can Own Your Own Hoverchair Posted: 31 Oct 2008 05:49 AM CDT British inventor Keith Dixon has invented a lounge chair that uses repelling magnets between the seat and the base to allow users to float a few inches off the ground. It’s one of the items that will be featured at this weekend’s Stuff Live gadget fair in London. Company site and Reuters article via Geekologie

Japanese Man Petitions to Legally Marry Manga Character Posted: 31 Oct 2008 05:35 AM CDT Well, shoot, I always found Ichi-Kun Ichihonei pretty hot, but I’m already married. Taichi Takashita launched an online petition aiming for one million signatures to present to the government to establish a law on marriages with cartoon characters. Within a week he has gathered more than 1,000 signatures through the Internet. “I am no longer interested in three dimensions. I would even like to become a resident of the two-dimensional world,” he wrote. “However, that seems impossible with present-day technology. Therefore, at the very least, would it be possible to legally authorise marriage with a two-dimensional character?” Link via Geekologie. Geekery blog Topless Robot links to a translation of a Japanese story that purports that the character in question is Mikuru Asahina from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Major problem with Takashita’s plan: Japan doesn’t allow polygamy, so only one person can marry an anime character at a time.

A Cat and His Box Posted: 30 Oct 2008 10:06 PM CDT (YouTube link) Something tells me it’s not the cat who consumes the diet drinks that came in these boxes. -via Cynical-C

The Kids Halloween Candy Code Posted: 30 Oct 2008 10:05 PM CDT Kids helping each other out on Halloween can put a chalk mark at the bottom of the driveway to let later trick-or-treaters know what to expect. The pictured symbols mean “Dentist”, “Werther’s Originals”, and “Reeces Pieces”! I’m afraid I’ll go from “miserly portions” to “out of candy, now giving out sauce packets from Taco Bell.” Link -via a comment at YesButNoButYes

Ghosts in the Library! Posted: 30 Oct 2008 10:04 PM CDT The American Library Association has compiled stories of haunted libraries across the country -plus an international post coming Friday. Who knew the dead love to go back to their favorite library? Link -via the Presurfer

Home is Where the Controller Is Posted: 30 Oct 2008 07:50 PM CDT The Domestic Scientist has the plan for all you crafty video game lovers: free cross-stich patterns for "Home is Where The Controller Is," complete various video game controllers. Link - via Craftzine

Drawing with Water Posted: 30 Oct 2008 07:49 PM CDT This is pretty cool: artist Emmanuel Guibert draws … with water! Check out the technique on this short YouTube clip (wait for it … wait for it …) Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] - via Boing Boing | Interview with the artist at Newsarama

Hey! Who Put Neatorama on Twitter? Posted: 30 Oct 2008 07:49 PM CDT Hey! I just noticed that someone put Neatorama on Twitter. But who? (Certainly not me, I don’t use Twitter) Does Twitter automatically create accounts for blogs?

Skippy the Bush Kangaroo Posted: 30 Oct 2008 07:48 PM CDT Move over, Lassie - here’s Skippy The Bush Kangaroo (from a popular Australian TV series back in the late 60s). Is there anything Skippy can’t do? Link [Embedded YouTube Link] Yes, Skippy was parodied by British comedy show Goodness Gracous Me as Skipinder the Punjabi Kangaroo [YouTube Link, a little NSFW language].

100 Vintage Horror Movie Posters Posted: 30 Oct 2008 07:48 PM CDT For Halloween, Andrew Lindstrom of Well Medicated Blog has something special for all of us. He’s posting his collection of 100 vintage horror posters. The first 50 is up on his blog: Link - via IZ Reloaded

Brilliant Kung Fu Panda Ad … Or Vandalism? Posted: 30 Oct 2008 06:08 PM CDT I’m pretty sure this is a case of vandalism … either that or a really clever guerrilla ad for Kung Fu Panda! Thanks Boots!

Escalator Wire Frame Sculpture Posted: 30 Oct 2008 06:06 PM CDT Photo: W. Woessner That’s a wire sculpture of an escalator by Fritz Panzer, as seen at the Krobath Wimmer gallery: Link

Neatorama Store: Oldie But Goodie T-Shirt Designs Posted: 30 Oct 2008 04:31 PM CDT Beer Will Change the World $9.95 Something, Somewhere Went Terribly Wrong $9.95 Warning: Retiree, Knows Everything and Has Plenty of Time to Tell You About It $9.95 Warning: High Maintenance $9.95 We’ve added a few oldie but goodies designs to Neatorama’s Online Store. Stock up before Christmas (at $9.95, they make excellent gifts!): Link

It Came From The Deep! Posted: 30 Oct 2008 03:44 PM CDT [YouTube - Link] The oceans and seas to me are fascinating and scary all at once. Why? When you see these things just swimming right below you…just waiting to grab you! Caught on video is a bizarre, creepy, and alien like creature that looks like it was gene-spliced - in the bowels of a mad sea faring scientists evil lair - with the body of a squid and the legs of daddy long legs spider! This is Aaron Gregory, singer/guitarist of the band Giant Squid. I also work at the AQUARIUM OF THE BAY in San Francisco as a profe[s]sional diver. Today (6-27-08) a man who has been installing video equipment at the aquarium for the last several days, popped into our husbandry office and asked if we could possibly identify a “creature” that his friend, who works on an oil rig, caught on tape from an ROV. He described a manta ray like thing with 30ft tentacles!! He wasn’t far off as you can see for your self. It doesn’t get much more alien than this. I just identified it as belonging to the species Magnapinna, or Big Fin squid, though this one is more commonly known as the Long Arm Squid. They get as big as 5 meters! Take special note of the depth! 7828ft. Enjoy everyone!! All I take note from this is to never work at an oil rig and to fear the deep so much more! Imagine the surprise or horror when the operator of the ROV saw that thing looking back at him. O_O More info here! - Link

The Pedestrian Project by Yvette Helin Posted: 30 Oct 2008 01:38 PM CDT For her art project "The Pedestrian Project," costume designer Yvette Helin decided that she’s going to bring to life the "lady" from the ubiquitous street sign. She’s done this since 1989, but stopped after 9/11 - now, she’s restarting the project for Art in Odd Places in Manhattan: Link

Eunoia, a Novel by Christian Bok Uses Only One Vowel a Chapter Posted: 30 Oct 2008 01:32 PM CDT It took Christian Bok 7 years to write Eunoia - the word is the shortest word in the English language containing all five vowels. Eunoia means "beautiful thinking" and it’s a very fitting title to Christian’s book, in which each chapter uses only one vowel! From CHAPTER A - FOR HANS ARP: Hassan Abd al-Hassad, an Agha Khan, basks at an ashram - a Taj Mahal that has grand parks and grass lawns, all as vast as parklands at Alhambra and Valhalla. Hassan can, at a handclap, call a vassal at hand and ask that all staff plan a bacchanal - a gala ball that has what pagan charm small galas lack. Hassan claps, and (tah-dah) an Arab lass at a swank spa can draw a man’s bath and wash a man’s back, as Arab lads fawn and hang, athwart an altar, amaranth garlands as fragrant as attar - a balm that calms all angst. A dwarf can flap a palm branch that fans a fat maharajah. A naphtha lamp can cast a calm warmth. Link - Thanks Ali S.!

The Moustache is Tiny Squid Roasts Posted: 30 Oct 2008 12:49 PM CDT Psst! The Moustache is Tiny Squid Roasts. And whatever you do, DO NOT get the Demon Moustache - found at Ectomoplasmosis

Disaster Girl Posted: 30 Oct 2008 12:48 PM CDT Photo: Firestarter by Dave Roth In a long list of photos that went viral on the Net, here is: Disaster Girl. In a mere few weeks, the photo has been endlessly photoshopped into the newest Internet meme (why, there’s even a YouTube video clip). Link

Moe the Robotic Mowing Sheep Posted: 30 Oct 2008 12:47 PM CDT This is what every lawn needs: Moe the robotic lawn mowing sheep, made by Osman Khan at the Carnegie Mellon University. Geeks are Sexy blog has the video clip: The sheep, named Mower, has been designed by Osman Khan, a visiting assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon’s, with Philip K. Dick’s “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” in mind. The robot features GPS navigation, obstacle avoidance sensors and lawn mowing teeth. It will move around your backyard on 6 little articulated legs, cutting grass wherever it steps. Link

Ferrari Formula One Race Car in LEGO Posted: 30 Oct 2008 12:46 PM CDT This slow economy has everyone cutting back … even Ferrari is making their new Formula One race car out of cheaper materials like … LEGOs! Actually, it’s just a driveable 1:1 scale model for the annual LEGO World convention: Link

5 Things About Halloween You Didn’t Know Posted: 30 Oct 2008 12:46 PM CDT Halloween is just a day away, and AskMen has a really neat article about the 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Halloween. For example: 2- Halloween trick-or-treating originated from begging The only real difference between begging and trick-or-treating is in perspective: The former is lowly, the latter is sanctioned. In fact, some U.S. states don’t hide it, calling Halloween “Beggars’ Night,” while some groups have campaigned against the practice, labeling it extortion. Although no documentary evidence exists, trick-or-treating resembles a practice known as "souling," once performed in the British Isles by poor people around November 1. They would go door to door begging for food; in exchange, they would offer to pray for the souls of the dead. Link

Melting Economy Ice Sculpture Posted: 30 Oct 2008 12:45 PM CDT Artists Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese made an ice sculpture of the word "ECONOMY" and set set it outside in downtown Manhattan. The duo said that the melting 1,500 lb ice symbolize today’s economic meltdown. Link Previously on Neatorama: Ice Sculptures of Melting Men by Nele Azevedo | 10 American Financial Meltdowns in the Past Century | T-Shirts About the Economy

Things You Probably Don’t Need, #2 Posted: 30 Oct 2008 10:28 AM CDT I mean, maybe you need a replica of King Tut’s throne to mark your alpha-dog spot at the dining room table. It’s only $895. And if you order two (the holiday season is just around the corner, people!), they are only $875 each. Brittany, the Neatorama reader who suggested Design Toscano for our new Things You Probably Don’t Need feature, was dead on: you probably don’t need anything from Design Toscano. But it’s definitely entertaining!

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