Sponsor

2012/07/08

Neatorama

Neatorama

Refurbishing Luke’s Home

Posted: 08 Jul 2012 05:06 AM PDT

The structure that was used as Luke Skywalker’s boyhood home on the planet Tattooine in Star Wars is actually in Tunisia. Over 35 years after the filming, it had fallen into pretty rough shape. Belgian Star Wars fan Mark Dermul organized a project to save and restore the prop home. With funds raised from fans and the blessing of Lucasfilm, Dermul and a group of fans went to work in May. Their eight-day restoration project will be the subject of a book, from which proceeds will go to the ongoing preservation of “The Igloo.” You can follow the entire project at the Save The Lars Homestead site, or read the shorter article at GeekDad. Link

Drum Kit Chandelier

Posted: 08 Jul 2012 04:38 AM PDT

This light fixture made of drums was built by Matt Ludwig for the restaurant JJ’s Red Hots. The name of the former restaurant at the location was The Drum, so the chandelier was conceived to honor the building’s heritage. You can see pictures of the building process at the restaurant’s blog. Link -via reddit

More drum lights from the reddit thread here and here and here.

Basketball Tree

Posted: 08 Jul 2012 03:00 AM PDT


Photo: Stephane Chalmeau/a/LTA

Architectural firm a/LTA created the "Tree Basketball" that caters to people and children with differing B-ball skill levels. I call dibs on the lowest one, because sadly "dribbling" to me has less to do with ball than with drool.

Link - via Notcot

X-Wing Beard

Posted: 08 Jul 2012 02:00 AM PDT

I copy, Beard Leader. Move into position.

Next up: Millennium Falcon chest hair.

-via io9 | Photo: unknown

The Cutest Pie Chart Ever

Posted: 08 Jul 2012 01:05 AM PDT

Mathematical visualizations have never looked so darn cuddly before. Want to bring this little cutie pie home? You can, just head over to ButterflyLove1′s Etsy shop.

Link Via Laughing Squid

Mini Masters Board Book Set

Posted: 08 Jul 2012 12:08 AM PDT

Mini Masters – $19.95

Are you looking for the perfect gift for your favorite geeky baby? You need the Mini Masters board book set from the NeatoShop. This fantastic set includes 4 art board books featuring masterpieces by Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, and Edgar Degas.

Marie La Petite Danseuse Doll modeled after Degas’ Little Ballerina from the Paris Opera also available.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more delightful Children’s Books!

Link

20 Pugs Dressed As Yoda or Darth Vader

Posted: 08 Jul 2012 12:02 AM PDT

Why? Because it’s Sundog, that’s why. Oh yeah, and because they’re precious and delightfully nerdy. Happy end of the weekend everyone!

Link

The Clutter Culture

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 11:59 PM PDT

Does your garage look like the photo above? You're not alone. According to research by anthropologists published in a new book Life at Home in the Twenty-first Century, 75% of garages in the United States are no longer used to keep cars. They're used to store stuff.

Walk into any dual-income, middle-class home in the U.S. and you will come face to face with an awesome array of stuff—toys, trinkets, family photos, furniture, games, DVDs, TVs, digital devices of all kinds, souvenirs, flags, food and more. We put our stuff anywhere in the house, everywhere there's room, or even if there's no room. Park the car on the street so we can store our stuff in the garage. Pile the dirty laundry in the shower because there's nowhere else to store it and no time to wash it.

George Carlin famously observed that "a house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it."

We are a clutter culture ...

The book details the life inside 32 dual-income, middle-class household with school-age children. That last bit turns out to be quite important, as they turned out to be one of the major sources of stuff:

Life at Home notes that "our data suggest that each new child in a household leads to a 30-percent increase in a family’s inventory of possessions during the preschool years alone."

A focus on children exists in every culture, of course, but Americans have, inevitably, taken the impulse to a whole other level. Indeed, the study found kids' stuff everywhere, crowding out their parents' possessions to such an extent that even home offices and studies (more than half of the 32 households had rooms dedicated to work or schoolwork) were crammed with toys and other childrelated objects. "Every good girl should have a whole ton of Barbies," one Life at Home mom helpfully explains.

Graesch surmises that "Dual-income parents get to spend so very little time with their children on the average weekday, usually four or fewer waking hours. This becomes a source of guilt for many parents, and buying their children toys, clothes and other possessions is a way to achieve temporary happiness during this limited timespan."

Jack Feuer of UCLA Magazine has more details: Link - Thanks Tiffany!

Meet the Maker of a Twitter Bot That Fools Humans

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 11:00 PM PDT

Do you think that all of your Twitter followers are human? Well, it used to be easy to spot "Bimbots," fake online accounts used in spamming or phishing attacks, but some Twitter bots are so difficult to spot that they've fooled a lot of people into thinking that they're talking to a real human being.

Meet Greg Marra, who built one such Twitter bot:

@Trackgirl was set up to infiltrate a group of runners. She would scour Twitter for messages with running-themed keywords and post them as if they were her own. Three times a day, she’d pick five people to follow, and she’d always follow back anybody who followed her. Because she seemed connected to the right people, @Trackgirl started to gain followers, who thought her cut-and-paste messages about the agony and the ecstasy of long-distance running were coming from a real person. One day, however, the Twitter bot posted a message saying that she’d hurt her ankle.

Soon after, her followers wanted to know if @trackgirl was on the mend. “People were sympathizing with a Python script,” says Marra, a Google+ product manager who spoke about his work at the MIT-Knight Civic Media Conference in Boston last week.

In a way, these Twitter bots have passed the Turing Test: Link (Photo: Robert McMillan/Wired)

May Your Banana Always Be True

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 10:57 PM PDT

How do you make any action movie instantly more entertaining? Turn all of the swords into bananas, of course! Something Awful’s newest meme is simply delightful -and full of potassium.

Link Via io9

Puppet Neil Gaiman And Alan Moore Talk About Before Watchmen

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 10:18 PM PDT

(YouTube Link)

Alan Moore doesn’t appear to be very cuddly in real life, despite the ursine beard.

Neil Gaiman seems a bit cuddlier, but his Jesus and Mary Chain style and dark wit cast him in a mysterious light.

But both guys look adorable, and quite cuddly, as puppets!

Let’s play pretend time and imagine that their discussion about Before Watchmen is as nice as the one taking place in this video.

(Barely NSFW due to one word)

–via Comics Alliance

Vietnam Minorities Convert to Christianity Because Jesus Is Cheaper

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 10:00 PM PDT



Photo: David Boyle/Phnom Penh Post

The Jarai minority of Vietnam is converting to Christianity, but they’re
not motivated by eternal salvation? No, they’re choosing Jesus because,
well, he’s cheaper:

In the village in O’Yadav district’s Som Thom commune,
about 80 per cent of the community have given up on spirits and ghosts
in favour of Sunday sermons and modern medicine.

Sev Chel, 38, said she made the switch because when she used to
get sick, it could cost her hundreds of dollars to appease the gods
with a sacrificial package that might include a cow or buffalo, a chicken,
bananas, incense and rice wine.

“So if I sold that buffalo and took the money to pay for
medicine, it is about 30,000 riel to 40,000 riel [for them to] get better,
so we are strong believers in Jesus,” she said. “If I did
not believe in Jesus, maybe at this time I would still be poor and not
know anything besides my community.

May Titthara and David Boyle of the Phnom Penh Post has the story: Link
– via News
of the Weird

Amazingly Intricate Tiny Motorcycles Made From Watches

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 09:46 PM PDT

Ever feel like your life just keeps ticking away? Well, maybe it would help if you broke your watch and turned it into a mini motorcycle. Sure, it sounds like a tiny midlife crisis, but if your results are anything like Toronto-based sculptor Dan Tanenbaum’s watch part bikes, then at least you’ve done something more productive than just buying an overpriced sports car.

Link Via Laughing Squid

The Man Who Made $50,000 a Year Playing Video Golf in a Bar

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 09:00 PM PDT

Graig Kinzler has what many people probably would call a dream job, he makes a living a golf video game in a bar. And you'd be surprised to know that he made quite a bit of money and that he's not the only one doing it:

Mr. Kinzler goes to a bar to play golf every day. That's his job. He is one of about two dozen men around the country, mostly in their 30s and 40s, who make their living playing Golden Tee, the most popular cash videogame in the U.S. In a typical month, he plays about 600 games, competing against 49 other players at a time for a top prize of $10. He says he earned more than $50,000 last year.

Link

Do Tiny Ponies Have Tiny Dreams?

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 08:26 PM PDT

(Video Link)

If this little guy’s reaction to his dream is any indication, I think we can safely say that tiny ponies still dream big.

Via Cute Overload

What Playing Cricket Looks Like To Americans

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 07:00 PM PDT

As an American, I can safely say that this video clip nailed it. Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] - via Robert Popper

Internet Pranksters Campaign to Send the Rapper Pitbull to Alaska

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 06:00 PM PDT

Someone at Walmart had the brilliant idea of trying to popularize the company's social media site by holding a contest: whichever Walmart store has the most likes will get a visit from rapper Pitbull.

The thing is, they didn't count on the Interweb weighing in:

Walmart's Facebook campaign for Energy Sheets, a caffeinated equivalent to Listerine strips, promises to send rapper Pitbull to the Walmart store with the most likes on Facebook. But what happens if the Walmart store with the most likes is on a tiny Alaskan island, accessible only by plane or ferry?

The campaign to send American rapper Pitbull to the Alaskan island Kodiak was hatched by David Thorpe and Jon Hendren, two writers of the comedic Internet culture website Something Awful, on June 29.

The campaign to send Pitbull to Kodiak, Alaska, needless to say, is winning: Link

Man Paid Off House With Pennies Saved Over 35 Years

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 05:00 PM PDT

A penny saved is a penny earned. And if you multiply that by 62,000, you'd have enough to pay the final payment of your mortgage!

Thomas Daigle delivered a pair of boxes to the steps of Milford Federal Savings and Loan Association this April that contained more than 62,000 pennies, which he had collected for the past 35 years. [...]

After he purchased the home with a mortgage from Milford Federal, Daigle made it his mission to make the final payment in pennies.

He said that he just wanted to make his last payment “memorable.”

Link

Augmented Reality Girlfriend

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 04:30 PM PDT


(Video Link)

I weep that I went through my teenage years with nothing remotely like this technological marvel:

The character chosen to show off this augmented reality girlfriend tech is [Hatsune Miku], a voice synthesizer personified as a doll-eyed anime avatar. [Miku] is an immensely popular character in Japan, with thousands of people going to her concerts, so choosing her for this augmented reality girlfriend project was an obvious choice.

The build details for this hack are a little sparse, confounded by the horrible Google Translate results of the blog linked in the YouTube description. From what we can gather from the video and this twitter account, the build is based on an ASUS Xtion Kinect clone and a nice pair of video goggles.

Of course, from the way this guy treats Miku, it’s no wonder that he lacks a human girlfriend.

Link -via Nerdcore

Farming in Detroit

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 04:00 PM PDT

Could Detroit, which has the unenviable title of one of America's Most Miserable Cities, get back its mojo by becoming ... a farm?!

Not such a crazy idea, according to some:

Detroit has more than 200,000 vacant parcels—almost half of them residential plots—that generate no significant tax revenue and would cost more to maintain than the city can afford. Finding new uses for this land has become one of the most pressing challenges for a city that lost a quarter of its population in the past decade.

[Entrepreneur John Hantz] proposes to ease that burden by buying about 2,300 parcels and planting oak trees, then maybe fruit orchards and hydroponic vegetables. The hardwoods could be harvested and sold within a decade to customers looking for young trees, according to Hantz Farms.

Detroit "cannot create value until we create scarcity," Mr. Hantz says. "Large-scale farming could begin to take land out of circulation in a positive way."

Matthew Dolan of the Wall Street Journal has the story: Link (Photo: Brian Widdis/The Wall Street Journal)

“The art project that got me sent to the counselor in middle school.”

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 03:30 PM PDT

Unfortunately, redditor winstonotsniw does not elaborate on the experience. But it’s safe to assume that the counselor wanted to suggest scholarships for art school.

Link

Vacation Tweet

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 03:00 PM PDT

It's common sense not to advertise to the world that you're not going to be home, lest you be robbed, but what to do when you've already Tweeted that fact?

Joy of Tech comic has the solution! Link

Lampshades Made from Recycled Corrugated Cardboard

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 02:30 PM PDT


Graypants’s lampshades are pretty enough in the daylight. But in the dark, they’re stunning as light peeks through the corrugations in the cardboard.

Link -via Dornob

S’more Martini

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 02:00 PM PDT

This martini contains chocolate vodka, marshmallow vodka, marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate chips! Oh yes, you’ll need a small blow torch for the finishing touch. Find the complete recipe at Instructables. Link -via Laughing Squid

Things I Learned From Doctor Who

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 01:22 PM PDT

Things I Learned From Doctor Who – $5.95

Attention Doctor Who fans! Celebrate the vast knowledge you have gained from the great Doctor with the marvelous Things I Learned From Doctor Who poster from the NeatoShop.  Examples of things you should have learned from Doctor Who include:

  • When all else fails use your sonic screwdriver
  • The smallest change in time can have major repercussions
  • Psychic paper is an excellent way to get in anywhere
  • When faced with a Sleetheen, vinegar is handy

People who say you can’t learn anything useful on television are obviously not Doctor Who fans.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Doctor Who items!

Link

 

The Amusement Park Being Swallowed by the Sea

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 01:00 PM PDT

Blackgang Chine amusement park opened on the Isle of Wight in 1843, which makes it Britain’s oldest amusement park. But it’s been relocated several times due to collapsing cliffs, and the sea is still eroding the land underneath it! Read the story of Blackgang Chine, and see plenty of pictures, at Environmenal Graffiti. Link

Canadian Graffiti

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 12:00 PM PDT

This was spotted in Hamilton, Ontario, and on Neatorama’s Facebook page. It sparked quite a discussion! Link

The Feather Book

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 11:30 AM PDT

In 1618, the chief Gardener of the state of Milan, Dionisio Minaggio, make a book in which the illustrations were made of feathers! Most of the illustrations are of birds; other pictures depict people in different occupations of the day. The book now belongs to the McGill University Library collection, but you can see every page online. Link -via Carl Zimmer

Fantasy Style Marvel Superheroes

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 11:18 AM PDT

The superheroes, and villains, from the Marvel Comics universe look extra super in fantasy garb.

They were digitally re-designed by DeviantARTist theDURRRRIAN, who’s clearly pushing for his own line of action figures!

Hit the link and check out these fantastic character designs for yourself.

Wouldn’t a fantasy-superhero hybrid make a great roleplaying game?!

Link  –via GeekTyrant

Choreography for Plastic Army Men

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 11:00 AM PDT


(vimeo link)

David Fain made his green army men dance with the magic of stop-motion photography. Music by Pink Martini. Awesome! -via Boing Boing

Artificial Conversation

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 10:00 AM PDT


(YouTube link)

Conversational ‘bots programmed to respond to whatever a person says, but that gets a little weird when they talk to each other. Cleverbot has a collection of odd conversations between chatbots, avatars, and artificial intelligence programs. Link  -via b3ta

Custom Made Mermaid Tails

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 09:00 AM PDT

Etsy seller Monika Naumann makes mermaid tails that you can wear while swimming!

These stunningly realistic looking Mermaid Tails were inspired by my 3 daughters and their love of all things Mermaid! They are created to fit your unique size and include a comfortable, durable and sturdy custom made mono-fin. They are made to SWIM IN as the material used is top of the line swim fabric. Colour currently available are; green, red, blue, orange and fushia-pink. All colours are all very sparkly and reflective, and look beautiful, when worn in and out of the water. Make a girls Mermaid dreams a reality with a gorgeous custom made tail. A special and unique gift that will bring happiness and fun times to all who wear it!

Link -via Laughing Squid

15 Funny Celebrity Photobombs

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 08:30 AM PDT

Since celebrities get their pictures taken all the time, it only stands to reason that people will take the opportunity to join in the fun as often as they can …and the resulting pictures are going to be shared, you betcha! Unreality has a collection of 15 of the funniest. Shown here are Dick Van Dyke, Anthony Hopkins, and a guy who took his chances in front of the camera. Link

All 135 Space Shuttle Launches Simultaneously

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 08:00 AM PDT


(Video Link)

McLean Fahnestock’s Grand Finale was a finalist in this year’s Vimeo Awards. I’d say that it deserves that honor. His video shows all 135 space shuttle launches at the same time. He provided a particularly tasteful and moving treatment of the Challenger‘s final mission.

-via Kottke | Director’s Website

My Little Flesh Wound

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 07:30 AM PDT

I’ve had worse.

The Black Knight always triumphs! That’s why Beckie Forcier made this My Little Pony figure as a Father’s Day gift.

Link

Wolverine Wig & Dog Tag

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 07:06 AM PDT

Wolverine Wig & Dog Tag – $23.95

Attention Wolverine fans! Slash away your pretty boy image and toughen up your look with the Wolverine Wig & Dog Tag set from the NeatoShop. This fantastic 2-piece set is perfect for quickly transforming yourself into hunky mutant. Chicks really dig the mutton chop sideburns.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Wolverine items!

Link

I’m Farming and I Grow It

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 06:50 AM PDT


(YouTube link)

The Peterson Farm Brothers sing about where your dinner comes from. The lyrics are at the YouTube page. -via Metafilter

Cartoon Network Celebrates 20th Anniversary At Jett Gallery

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 06:38 AM PDT

Cartoon Network has decided to celebrate its 20th anniversary with an exhibition at Jett Gallery during San Diego Comic Con 2012.

Paint brush pushers such as John Hendrix, Jack Teagle and Brecht Vandenbroucke will be showing their love for the animated side of life with bright, colorful works starring cartoon stars of the small screen.

If you’re heading to Comic Con be sure to stop by and say hi to these tooned out works of art!

Link  –via Laughing Squid

This Week at Neatorama

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 05:59 AM PDT

This past week. Neatorama published a bonanza of videos, links, and contests. So much so that we feel the need to remind you that we do have exclusive articles that sometimes get buried in the rush of new material (we just find a lot of neat stuff to share, you know). So if there’s one that passed you by this week, here’s a handy list to keep you in the loop:

Jill Harness had some off-the-wall vacation suggestions in 7 Weird Tourist Destinations.

Eddie Deezen told us about The Only Actor Who was in a Beatles Movie and an Elvis Movie.

Body Parts: Who Prefers What was a review of actual research from the Annals of Improbable Research.

Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader had a look at The Golden Age of Quackery.

And Great Christian Art by Really Lousy Christians came from mental_floss magazine.

All of these features will eventually be archived at the Best of Neatorama, where you can find exclusive Neatorama articles from the past six seven years. There’s a lot of great reading material in there!

This week, we had three, count ‘em, three giveaways! First, Alex had you Guess What's Inside The Amazing Spider-Man Mystery Box. The winners are listed here.

Then we saw the return of the Caption Contest, with the first photo being the Crazy Cute Cuscus. Congratulations to winners brandy, primustor, and yupitsme1234! You can see their winning captions here.

In this week’s What Is It? game, the mystery item is a salt kettle, in which salty water was boiled away to leave salt. This particular kettle has a historic background, which you can read at the What Is It? blog. The first commenter with the correct answer was Adam Johns, who did not select a t-shirt. The funniest answer came from Galen, who said this was a memorial to Lonesome George. That's good for a t-shirt! Thanks to everyone who played, and thanks to the What Is It? Blog.

Meanwhile, at the NeatoShop, if you buy one of our selected funny t-shirt this weekend, you get a mystery bonus gift on top! You can’t beat a deal like that -especially since you were going to buy one of those shirts sooner or later anyway…

The non-contest post with the most comments this week was by far What Makes America the Greatest Country in the World? Nothing else came close enough to even bother jotting down. Now remember, we love to get comments and you don’t even have to be upset to leave one! Neatoramanauts also have discussions about various items at our social networking sites, Facebook, Twitter, Google+,  and Pinterest as well. In fact, if you have any kudos, criticisms, suggestions, additions, or you just want to say hi, you can comment right here! And thanks.

Video Game Themed LEGO Pixel Art By Meufer

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 05:42 AM PDT

There is something so right about pixel art being brought to life with LEGO bricks. Maybe it’s the pleasant bumpiness of the bricks, or the bold colors that make the works really pop.

LEGO artist Meufer creates some bricktastic renditions of classic pixelated video game characters, and whether you see them as pieces for your wall or inspiration for your own diy project Meufer’s LEGO works are undeniably cool.

Link  –via Kotaku
@

No comments:

Post a Comment

Keep a civil tongue.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Label Cloud

Technology (1464) News (793) Military (646) Microsoft (542) Business (487) Software (394) Developer (382) Music (360) Books (357) Audio (316) Government (308) Security (300) Love (262) Apple (242) Storage (236) Dungeons and Dragons (228) Funny (209) Google (194) Cooking (187) Yahoo (186) Mobile (179) Adobe (177) Wishlist (159) AMD (155) Education (151) Drugs (145) Astrology (139) Local (137) Art (134) Investing (127) Shopping (124) Hardware (120) Movies (119) Sports (109) Neatorama (94) Blogger (93) Christian (67) Mozilla (61) Dictionary (59) Science (59) Entertainment (50) Jewelry (50) Pharmacy (50) Weather (48) Video Games (44) Television (36) VoIP (25) meta (23) Holidays (14)

Popular Posts (Last 7 Days)