Neatorama

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• Traffic Mimes
• The Brooklyn Bus Where Women Sit in the Back
• Halloween Dilemma: Should Parents Let Boy Dress as a Princess?
• Batman and The Thing on an AT-AT
• Angry Birds in Real Life
• Steampunk Xbox 360 Controller
• Prehistoric Product Development Focus Group Examines the "Wheel" Concept
• Zombie Nativity Set
• "Heroin for Sale" Sign Raises Suspicions
• Bruce Lee 5" Figure Enter The Dragon

Traffic Mimes Posted: 23 Oct 2011 08:58 PM PDT Forget traffic cops! The traffic situation in Caracas, Venezuela is so bad that the mayor called in the heavy guns: traffic mimes. You read that right: A sort of silent shame has cropped up in South American cities, as officials plead with both drivers and pedestrians to obey traffic laws by using the antics of hired mimes. And why not? Nearly everyone looks at a mime, especially when dressed in a brightly colored getup while eagerly making fun of people on the side of a busy street. The latest effort has about 120 mimes on the downtown streets of Venezuela's capital, Caracas, making a (silent) scene any time a driver or pedestrian disobeys a traffic rule. Link (Photo: Ariana Cubillos)

The Brooklyn Bus Where Women Sit in the Back Posted: 23 Oct 2011 06:53 PM PDT Wait, let me check my calendar. Yup, 2011. So it's surprising to read about a New York public bus line that still forces women to sit in the back. Here's what happened when Melissa Franchy boarded the B110 bus in Brooklyn and sat down near the front: For a few minutes she was left in silence, although the other passengers gave her a noticeably wide berth. But as the bus began to fill up, the men told her that she had to get up. Move to the back, they insisted. They were Orthodox Jews with full beards, sidecurls and long black coats, who told her that she was riding a “private bus” and a “Jewish bus.” When she asked why she had to move, a man scolded her. “If God makes a rule, you don’t ask ‘Why make the rule?’” he told Franchy, who rode the bus at the invitation of a New York World reporter. She then moved to the back where the other women were sitting. The driver did not intervene in the incident. The B110 bus travels between Williamsburg and Borough Park in Brooklyn. It is open to the public, and has a route number and tall blue bus stop signs like any other city bus. But the B110 operates according to its own distinct rules. The bus line is run by a private company and serves the Hasidic communities of the two neighborhoods. To avoid physical contact between members of opposite sexes that is prohibited by Hasidic tradition, men sit in the front of the bus and women sit in the back. Is it gender discrimination or a reasonable approach to accomodate religious rights? Sasha Chavkin of The New York World reports: Link | Follow up at The New York World and The New York Times

Halloween Dilemma: Should Parents Let Boy Dress as a Princess? Posted: 23 Oct 2011 04:51 PM PDT If a girl wants to dress like a boy this Halloween, that seems like a good lesson in busting gender stereotypes learned. But what if your boy wants to dress up as a princess? That's the dilemma facing one family in Glendora, California, this Halloween: "My first reaction was 'He wants to be a princess? We're there!' " said mama Anna. But almost everybody she talked with about Luc's intention told her, "Whoa; that's a bad, bad, bad idea." For a girl who grew up wanting to dress like a boy, Luc's choice felt like a blow against stereotyping. "But I'm trying to leave my inner activist at home," she said, "and just do what's best for my son. "It's one thing to say 'Son, you can be anything you want. Our society needs to be less uptight.' " It's another thing entirely to consider how a boy in a princess dress will be treated when all the other boys are trick-or-treating in Superman or Power Rangers costumes. "I want to encourage him to stand up and be himself," she said. "But my 4-year-old is too little and too fragile to know where the social boundaries are. And I don't want his feelings hurt on what should be one of his happiest nights." Oh, did I mention that the parents are two gay moms? Anna and Louisa remember the sea of "Yes on 8" signs that sprouted around them in 2008, when the measure banning gay marriage was on the ballot. Gay marriage was rejected that year by voters, just months after the couple officially wed on June 17, the first day gay marriage was legal in California. Now, Anna envisions those folks snubbing her trick-or-treating princess-boy. "I imagine that when those Glendorans shut their doors, they're going to say 'See, that's why lesbians shouldn't raise children.' " Sandy Banks of The Los Angeles Times has the story: Link (Photo: Gina Ferazzi/LA Times)

Batman and The Thing on an AT-AT Posted: 23 Oct 2011 04:33 PM PDT These action figures are dismounting an AT-AT, having ridden it into battle. Conan’s there, too. The Barbarian, not the comedian, although Conan O’Brien would be a good addition to this lamp by Etsy seller Zygmunt Jarzembowski. Link -via @itscolossal

Angry Birds in Real Life Posted: 23 Oct 2011 02:49 PM PDT There's something strangely familiar with Mohamed Raoof's "realistic" painted birds. Where might have you seen one before? Perhaps in a popular game involving slingshots and destruction of evil green pig structures? Toxel has the pics: Link

Steampunk Xbox 360 Controller Posted: 23 Oct 2011 12:48 PM PDT This custom steampunk Xbox 360 controller by MorbidStix will surely warm the heart of any neo-Victorian gamer. The lock and key is an especially nice touch! Link

Prehistoric Product Development Focus Group Examines the "Wheel" Concept Posted: 23 Oct 2011 11:26 AM PDT (Video Link) Yes, it’s round, which doesn’t sell well with male customers, but we can make it work! We just have to pitch it the right way. Click on the link to submit your own design idea, and then watch it be brutally rejected. Link (warning: auto-sound) -via Miss Cellania Previously: The Stop Sign, If It Were Designed by Committee

Zombie Nativity Set Posted: 23 Oct 2011 10:16 AM PDT Strictly speaking, the three zombies from the East didn’t arrive until much later, but it’s traditional to place them at Bethlehem on Christmas. Etsy sellers Robin and Zered follow in this tradition with this nativity set made from Sculpey clay. Link -via Boing Boing | Previously: Top Ten Worst Nativity Sets

"Heroin for Sale" Sign Raises Suspicions Posted: 23 Oct 2011 07:28 AM PDT You know there’s a problem in your neighborhood when drug dealers are brazen enough to post signs saying “heroin for sale” -with an address! That’s just what happened in north Portland, Oregon, last week. Portland police served a warrant on the address on Tuesday. Officers who raided the home found a small meth lab, 19 grams of marijuana, 10 grams of heroin, 190 pills and $4,143 in cash, police say. They also seized a shotgun. Police began looking into the home more than a year ago because of numerous neighborhood complaints. At one point, an unidentified neighbor gave police the “Heroin for sale” flier, which also had the address and names of the suspected drug dealers. In addition, there were a number of public safety meetings where neighbors complained about the drug problem in their neighborhood, and they asked for something to be done, police say. Six adults were arrested. There was also a teenager in the home at the time of the raid. Link -via Arbroath

Bruce Lee 5" Figure Enter The Dragon Posted: 23 Oct 2011 07:06 AM PDT Bruce Lee 5″ Figure Enter The Dragon – $13.95 How do you tell the men from the boys? No, it’s not by the size of their toys. It’s by how cool their toys are! Check out the super cool Bruce Lee 5″ Figure from the NeatoShop. This collectible action figure proves that size doesn’t matter. At 5″ tall the this little figure packs a serious punch. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fantastic Bruce Lee items. Link

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