Jean Aw of Notcot spotted these donut impostors at Japanese marketplace Mitsuwa in Torrance, California, and we are intrigued. It's not every day that a confectionery managed to impersonate the toroidal granddaddy of sweet dessert, and pulled it off so magnificently, too.
Behold, the Mochidos by Mochicream. Get it? Mochi donuts. These are made of mochi, a Japanese rice cake made from glutinous rice, filled with flavored cream or sauce.
Notcot has more pics: Link
Yeah, well, I'm gonna build my own wood stove. With blackjack. And hookers! That's what Halftroll did, welding together a model of Bender B. Rodriguez from Futurama. You can read a complete description and view photos of the building process at the link.
Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website.
It was February of 1974, and Mel Brooks' new Western satire comedy was about to hit movie screens across America. Probably no one could have possibly imagined the stir, the controversy, the raised eyebrows -and the laughter- it would create, and does to the very day. Filmed on a skimpy budget of just $2.6 million, Mel Brooks was taking on one of American film's most revered staples- the classic American Western.
Satires of cowboys and the Old West was standard for the great comedians, much like being in the army or dressing in drag. Western satires had already been done by the Three Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers, and Martin and Lewis. But Mel Brooks, an indisputable comedic genius, was determined to really pull out all the stops with this one.
The film's original working title was Tex X, in honor of Civil Rights leader Malcolm X. It was changed to Black Bart, after the film's African-American character. Neither title sounded quite right. According to Mel, the title Blazing Saddles came to him as he was taking a shower one day. He immediately told his wife, Anne Bancroft, the title and she liked it. Blazing Saddles it was.
Photographer Marko Popadic took this marvelous photo of a butterfly inside the eye socket of a human skull. Titled Oko ("eye" in Croatian), the butterfly's wing looks eerily like an eye staring out of the lifeless void. Link - via Mighty Optical Illusions
Disney has officially announced the expected sequel to the 2003 hit Finding Nemo, and it makes so much sense because it's called Finding Dory. Ellen DeGeneres will star as the voice of Dory, the character you'd expect to be lost in the first place because she has a short-term memory problem.
DeGeneres offered a quip to accompany the news. “I have waited for this day for a long, long, long, long, long, long time,” she said. “I’m not mad it took this long. I know the people at Pixar were busy creating ‘Toy Story 16.' "
Finding Dory is scheduled to be released in November of 2015. Link
In Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, lies a 45-acre temple complex dedicated to the Hindu Goddess Parvati and her husband consort, Shiva. The Meenakshi Amman Temple is surrounded by ten towers, which are each covered with thousands of stone statues depicting Hindu figures. The picture shown here is but a small detail of one tower. Kuriositas has photographs of the towers up close and far away, the temple complex itself, and interior shots, all with breathtakingly intricate details. Link -via the Presurfer
(Image credit: Flickr user muvare)
Manhattan jeweler William Barthman and employee Frank Homm embedded a clock in the sidewalk in front of the jewelry store in 1899. The original clock was a proto-digital clock that displayed the hour and minutes without a dial -and when Homm died, it didn't want to work correctly anymore. It's been replaced with a dial clock, and has changed over time, but there is still a clock in the sidewalk at the corner of Broadway And Maiden Lane. Read about the history of the famous clock and see a video at Hodinkee. Link -via the Presurfer
Four years ago, nine-year old Daisy Morris found a strange object on the beach on the Isle of Wight off the southern coast of Britain. It was the fossilized pelvic girdle of a previously unknown species of flying reptiles. Scientists recently named it Vectidraco daisymorrisae after its discoverer:
The Morris family, from Whitwell, approached Southampton University's 'Fossil Man' Mr Simpson with Daisy's finds in 2009.
"I knew I was looking at something very special. And I was right," said Mr Simpson.
The fossil turned out to be a new genus and species of small pterosaur; a flying reptile from the Lower Cretaceous period.
Link -via Samuel West | Image: BBC
LEGO artist Bruce Lowell grew up with Eric Carle's children books, so he found it a fitting tribute to make a LEGO version. Fantastic! Link - via brick [something]
This is the most amazing thing I've seen all day! Stop and watch this video right now. Brusspup, maker of astounding optical illusions, let water flow past a speaker set to a particular frequency:
Run the rubber hose down past the speaker so that the hose touches the speaker. Leave about 1 or 2 inches of the hose hanging past the bottom of the speaker. Secure the hose to the speaker with tape or whatever works best for you. The goal is to make sure the hose is touching the actual speaker so that when the speaker produces sound (vibrates) it will vibrate the hose.
Set up your camera and switch it to 24 fps. The higher the shutter speed the better the results. But also keep in the mind that the higher your shutter speed, the more light you need. Run an audio cable from your computer to the speaker. Set your tone generating software to 24hz and hit play.Turn on the water. Now look through the camera and watch the magic begin. If you want the water to look like it's moving backward set the frequency to 23hz. If you want to look like it's moving forward in slow motion set it to 25hz.
-via Colossal
Photo: Kyodo News/AP
Two years ago, the 2011 tsunami killed over 19,000 people and devastated many more lives. In the city of Rikuzentakata, the tsunami ripped apart over 70,000 pine trees along the coast ... but one survived.
The Miracle Pine, before the tsunami - via Rikuzentakata
City FB page
Photo: Kyodo News/AP - via NBC
News Photoblog
A lone tree, since named the Miracle Pine, rose from the rubbles, symbolizing the hope of the nation. But the seawater had irreversibly damaged the tree's roots and it was dying.
At the end of the day, the city decided to cut the tree down and dissected its branches in order to preserve it against decay. The tree is being reassembled on a carbon spine and will be reborn as a monument to commemorate the victims of the disaster.
For centuries, the pine trees of Rikuzentakata has protected the city from harsh winds. The city has finally returned the favor by preserving the last, defiant tree.
(Photo: Warren
Antiola/Flickr)
Via designboom
The Skytree broadcast tower in Tokyo is the world's tallest tower. It was carefully designed to withstand Japan's earthquakes and other natural disasters, and it gives a whole new look to the city's skyline.
It towers above the surrounding buildings, more than double the height of its neighbors. In fact, there’s only one structure on Earth taller: Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. Completed on February 29, 2012 and opened to the public in May that year, the Tokyo Skytree broadcasting tower soars 2,080 feet (634 meters) into the sky, with the top sometimes obscured by clouds. Although it misses out on being the tallest structure in the world, the Tokyo Skytree can take comfort in the fact that it is the world’s tallest tower.
Get a closeup look at this wonder of the modern world at Tech Graffiti. Link
(Image credit: Flickr user Roger Jolly)
Although Chelsea Bloxsom crafts in many different media, I'm especially taken with her Adventure Time embroidery. I drifted away from the series after Season 2, but I may go back if Jake frequently utters such wisdom.
Don't wait until preschool. If you take the right approach, you can get a young Dalek to begin exterminating before she can walk. Allison Bitter knitted this adorable Dalek shell. You can download her pattern at the link.
Link -via Play with Your Yarn
If you were standing 20 feet away, would you even be able to tell that they aren't real? LEGO artists Sean and Steph Mayo recreated several instects in LEGO form, labeled them and placed them in presevation boxes for the 2013 MocAthalon, a LEGO art competition. You can view the rest at the link.
Link -via Ian Brooks
