Jill Harness's Blog Posts

Periodic Table Sweater



All you science-lovers on Neatorama should appreciate this great sweater featuring the Periodic Table of Elements. The sleeves feature fungi and bacteria names. The creator made it for her husband, a microbiologist working in the pharmaceutical industry.

Link Via Craftzine

Musical Tea Pot Plays Your Tune



This musical kettle is designed by Naoki Kawamoto in an effort to "redesign soundscape." It will play your favorite tune when things get heated up and begin boiling.

Link Via BoingBoing

Dwarf Mini Pony



This pony is an American miniature horse born with a dwarfism gene. For reference, there's another picture of little Koda compared to a normal horse on the website. He goes to about the knees of the stallion. I couldn't resist posing this image with the huge eyes though.
Koda is so small that he is often mistaken for a battery-operated soft toy.

Standing at 59cm tall, if Koda the horse wants an equal he has to turn to the vetinary cat for company.

Link Via Cute Overload

Cat Circus In Russia


This mini documentary has a great bit of info about the Moscow Cat Theater. Apparently shows like this are fairly common in Russia although we certainly have nothing in the states like this, at least not with cats. It's easy to think the cats are unhappy if you saw them outside of the film, but seeing them with their owners, you can see there's a lot of love there.

Link Via Laughing Squid

Update: For those of you who can't watch Hulu, coconutnut has found the video on YouTube. Thanks Coconutnut!


Dog With Heart Mark Has Matching Brother



Heart-Kun is an adorable dog with a heart marking on his side. He's a minor internet celebrity and was even featured on the post we recently linked to featuring animals with heart markings. His parents recently gave birth to a new litter, including little Love-Kun who also has a heart marking. Now that is one special family.

Link

Embroidery Tattoo



Flickr user Glitch Vixen got a tattoo of an embroidery her grandmother had made in high school. The result is undeniably beautiful and well-executed.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/glitch/2744652516/in/photostream/ Via Trend Hunter

Send Ray Bradbury A Birthday Card



Legendary author Ray Bradbury is turning 89 this year on August 22nd. He will be celebrating the event at a bookstore in Glendale, California. For the those of you into Bradbury, but can't make it to the party, just send him a card. The store has assured they will pass on any cards sent to:

Ray Bradbury C/O
Mystery and Imagination
237 North Brand Blvd.
Glendale, CA 91203

http://www.cthreepo.com/blog/2009/08/ray-bradbury-89th-birthday-party.html Via BoingBoing

Kooky Themed Weddings



Lemondrop has a collection of 20 weddings with a unique themes. The one above is one of the most unique, a scuba diving wedding. I wonder if all the bridesmaids or groomsmen already had scuba certification or if they had to get it just for the ceremony.

Link

3 Songs About Drugs and 3 Songs That Aren’t

Yes, we all know music largely revolves around sex, drugs and rock and roll, but sometimes it’s hard to actually tell which one the band is talking about. Here are six songs with meanings you may not have originally guessed.

Songs About Drugs:

“Got To Get You Into My Life” by The Beatles This track really sounds like a love song written for a love interest with lyrics like, "Ooh, I suddenly see you/Ooh, did I need you/Every single day of my life." Despite how it sounds though, this one is about the first time Paul tried marijuana and his instant love affair with the drug. What more would you expect from soneone who also named a romantic love song (Martha My Dear) after his dog? Source Image Via Gonzalo Barrientos [Flickr]

“Motorhead” by Hawkwind and Motorhead Even a lot of Motorhead fans don’t actually know that the name is a slang for a speedfreak. Lemmy wrote the song for the group Hawkwind first and then took it to be the title song for his post-Hawkwind group. Here’s some of the song’s lyrics that really give it away, “Motorhead, you can call me Motorhead, alright/ Brain dead, total amnesia/ Get some mental anesthesia.” Source “Hey Mr. Tambourine Man” by Bob Dylan This one’s a little less certain. You see, although it is widely accepted that this song is about a man looking to score from his dealer, Bob claims none of his songs are about drug use. While I’m usually inclined to accept the artist’s word on his own songs, Mr. Dylan also claims that “Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35” A.K.A. “Everybody Gets Stoned” is especially not about drugs. I may be able to concede that he may have meant the song to be more about stonings and social outcasting, I have a hard time accepting a poet as prolific and intelligent as Bob Dylan didn’t realize and fully intend the double meaning of the chorus. Source Image Via MarkyBon [Flickr]

Songs Not About Drugs:

“Hotel California” by The Eagles With lyrics like “you can check out anytime, but you can never leave,” it’s easy to see why so many people associated the song with drug use. The reality is that the song is more about the hedonism of the Southern California lifestyle the group was exposed to in the seventies, which, to be fair, did include heavy drug use. Still, the drugs would be no more than a minor part of the song’s deeper meaning. Eagles drummer and writer Don Henley, said it was “basically a song about the dark underbelly of the American dream and about excess in America, which is something we knew a lot about." Source Image Via Saguayo [Flickr]

“Mirror in the Bathroom” by The English Beat While many people assume any songs involving mirrors, particularly when the mirror is in a bathroom, must be references to cocaine, this one is actually about narcissism. The writer, Dave Wakeling, said he was inspired to write the song while he was looking in the mirror at himself debating whether or not he could skip work that day. He then started thinking about the self-involvement and narcissism. The line about “a restaurant that’s got glass tables” was actually a direct reference to a fancy restaurant that opened near him that, would you guess it, had glass tables. Funny enough, the success of the song may have helped lead the band into cocaine addictions; Dave later remarked about it that, “songs can become sort of strangely prophetic.” Source “Puff the Magic Dragon” by Peter, Paul and Mary

This song really is about a growing up and abandoning an imaginary friend who happens to be a dragon. Although it’s merely a tale of lost childhood innocence, the release of the song in the drug-fueled sixties led to many people assuming that anything with the word “puff” was actually a reference to marijuana. Co-writer Leonard Lipton once said, “I can tell you that at Cornell in 1959 [when the song was written], no one smoked grass.” So, if you were hoping for the song to actually have been about drugs, you almost certainly have already lost that childhood innocence referenced in the song. Source Image Via CelestialSpirit13 [Flickr]


Lollipop Pies For On The Go Pie Snacking



Speaking of strange cross-over desserts, I'm loving these lollipop pies featured on Luxirare. They combine the portability and mess-free eating of a lollipop with the delicious richness of a pie. Plus, you can switch between all sorts of flavors at will.
I want a couple of bites, and I want to be done with it. I want to pop open my bag when I'm hungry and taste a little sweetness. I don't want commitment. I want to be promiscuous with my food. I want to eat pie, but I don't want a whole slice- I want to try other flavors too, but for just a little, and move onto another.

My only concern is how do you keep the stick from burning up while you bake them?

Link Via Laughing Squid

Cupcake Cones



Love iced cream cones but hate the iced cream? Then you'll love these Cupcake cones on Instructables with plenty of instructions (naturally) to make your own sweettreats at home.
Delicious, clever, and surprising, these cupcakes impersonating ice cream cones are sure to delight!

Now that's a quote that I can't begin to dispute.

Link

You Don't Know Jack

Being born a Jill, I always have had an involuntary relationship with the name “Jack.” For a few months in high school, I even dated a Jack. I was thrilled when we broke up because I no longer had to hear the nursery rhyme every day. But what is it about the name that has made it so dominant in our society? Why is it such a popular name?

All this and more can be revealed when you just admit that “you don’t know Jack.”


Image Via Computationally.Irrational [Flickr]

About the Name:


The name Jack came from a Middle English word, “jakke,” used to refer to any male, particularly those of the lower classes. Many people mistakenly believe the name comes from “Jacques,” which came from the names Jacob and James. English speakers associated the name Jack with John much more often than these other names, so the similar sounds are purely coincidental.

In the UK, the name is the most popular name for male babies between 2003 and 2007. In England, it has been the top name since 1994. The name is much less common in America, ranking in the top 30-40 names of male babies, but it is still much more popular than it was around 20 years ago, when it was closer to the 175th ranking.

Source

Phrases:


"Jack of all trades" has been used for centuries and refers to a person who could do a variety of tasks. The use of the word “Jack” was only included because it was still being used as a generic term for ‘man’ at the time. It was not originally a negative expression, but at some point, people started adding on the phrase “master of none,” which made for a whole new meaning. It can now refer to either phrase and, as a result, can be bad or good depending on the context.

Source


Image Via Joel Mark Witt [Flickr]

Because Jack was so often used to refer to social underlings, it was eventually used to refer to useless objects. Eventually, it began being used as a term for very little. The phrase “you don’t know jack” (with or without the expletive) has been used for decades to say someone knows very little. Yes, it seems to be a bit of a double negative, but expressions are commonly created and spread without any consideration for proper grammar.

Source

A Few Facts About A Few Famous Jacks:


Jack Black is the son of two rocket scientists and a college friend of Tim Robbins. He often jokingly refers to Philip Seymour Hoffman as his “nemesis” because the two frequently audition for the same roles.

Source

Jack Nicholson worked as a gofer at Hannah Barbara animation studios when he was young; when they offered him an animation job, he turned them down, saying he wanted to be an actor. Aside from being a good artist, he is also a great singer, as documented by his performance in Tommy. Fortunately, he stuck with acting and is tied with Walter Brennan for the title of male actor with the most Oscar wins.

Source Image ViaMharrsch [Flickr]

Jack Lemmon was not only a great actor, but also a great, self-taught pianist; he wrote the theme for the 1980 movie Tribute. When he first started acting, studio head Jack Warner wanted him to change his name to “Jack Lennon” so critics wouldn’t have the chance to say that his performance in a given film was a lemon. Jack convinced him the name would be compared to Lenin, which was even worse.

Source

Jack Kerouac was born to French-Canadian parents and did not learn English until he was six. He originally started writing On the Road in French and actually has two unpublished novels in the language as well. He was enrolled in the US Merchant Marines during WWII, but was honorably discharged on the grounds of psychiatric issues. At one point, he was arrested for helping a friend, Lucien Carr, hide the evidence after murdering a stalker.

Source Image Via Tompalumbo [Flickr]

Jack products:


The Jack in card decks was originally a knave card. The name wasn’t changed until the mid-nineteenth century, when card manufacturing became a big business and the companies realized having “Kn, Q, K, A” abbreviations were too confusing. They opted for the use of “J” instead. In the UK, they still commonly refer to the “Jack” card as a “Knave.”

Source Image Via Tadson [Flickr]

Jack Daniels opened his distillery in Moore County, Tennessee in 1866. When the state enacted prohibition in 1910, the factory reopened in St. Louis, Missouri and Birmingham, Alabama, but none of the alcohol made in these factories was ever sold due to quality control issues. The Tennessee ban on alcohol wasn’t repealed until 1938, but even today, the county the alcohol is produced is still a dry county.

Source

Jack In The Box started out as a burger joint in San Diego named Topsy’s. The locations all had a circus theme, which is where the Jack In The Box name came from. When the company started losing major market shares in the early 80’s they killed off “Jack” and moved to create more upscale fast food for yuppies. After their e coli scare in the early 90’s though, the company almost went bankrupt, but was saved, largely due to the resurrection of their famed Jack character.

Source Image Via Thomas Hawk [Flickr]

A Few Famous Fictional Jacks:


Jack Skellington, most widely remembered for his lead character in Nightmare Before Christmas, is a reoccurring character in Tim Burton films, appearing in Sleepy Hollow, James and the Giant Peach and Beetlejuice. Although his talking voice is done by Susan Sarandon’s ex-husband, Chris, his singing voice is done by Danny Elfman.

Source Image Via Veronica Bautista [Flickr]

Captain Jack Sparrow was originally supposed to be a much more minor character, who was merely intended to guide Will Turner through the movie. Johnny Depp’s performance was so well received though that the character’s entire role was reprised and he became one of the most adored characters of the movie. In fact, a back story was later created for him and turned into a children’s book series, Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow.

Source

Storybook Jacks:


Jack and The Beanstalk is based on an old oral story of Jack the Giant Killer. While many of the tales try to moralize Jack’s behavior, the most popular version leaves Jack as kind of a jerk who robs someone, manipulates his wife and then kills him…all on the grounds that the man is a giant.

Source

Jack Be Nimble was a nursery rhyme that never made sense to me as a child. Interestingly, it seems to be one of the few with a very clear meaning, as jumping over candlesticks was a game and fortune telling method in the mid-nineteenth century. If one could clear the candlestick without putting out the flame, they were said to have good luck coming their way.

Source Image Via ABakedCreation [Flickr]

The famed Jack and Jill rhyme originally was Jack and Gill and there are a variety of stories involving the origins of the song. Also, although we normally only hear the first verse of the song, there are actually four commonly accepted verses. The full rhyme goes:
Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.

Up Jack got and home did trot
As fast as he could caper;
And went to bed to mend his head
With vinegar and brown paper.

Jill came in and she did grin
To see his paper plaster;
Mother vexed did whip her next
For causing Jack's disaster.

Now Jack did laugh and Jill did cry
But her tears did soon abate;
Then Jill did say that they should play
At see-saw across the gate.

Source Image Via gfpeck [Flickr]

Toilet Paper Tube Faces



Artist Junior Fritz Jacquet crumples and folds toilet paper rolls until they make faces displaying anguish, happiness, disgust and more. Once they're folded right, he adds just a bit of color to help bring out their color and then they're ready to go.

Link

12 Fantastic Architectural Art Installations



Web Urbanist just put up a nice collection of art installations on buildings. They're all great designs, particularly the tentacle piece above:
An artist calling himself ‘FilthyLuker’ installed inflatable octopus tentacles in the windows of an unnamed building in June of 2009, making it appear as if the building is being devoured by a bright green kraken that somehow emerged from the sea and got stuck inside.

Does anyone know where this building is?

Link

10 Types of Comic Con Fans

If you missed Comic Con, you missed more than just the costumes of course. You also missed the array of personality types that seem to pop up at these large-scale geekfests.You may think you know about the attendees, based on the stereotypes, but really, there's a lot more too it than you thought.

The Stereo-typical Geek




These are the kids that smell like they haven’t bathed in a week and still get giddy over the concept of seeing a girl “IRL.” While revolting to everyone around them, they still think they’re total studs and try to chat up the illustrious booth girls somehow hoping their Jedi mind tricks will actually help convince the girl they are cool. Even if you don't see many of these geeks, you most certainly will smell them, as this sign helps demonstrate.

The Twilight Fans




These are the newest breed at the convention and their presence actually worried organizers. There was even talk of organizing things so the panels and booths these tweens were expected to visit would be super far away from the things the geeks were expected to be interested in. Fortunately, these fans actually blended in just fine and were largely the same as the Harry Potter fans that have become a fixture at the convention. While it's impossible to say how long these fans will stay in the scene, it will most certainly not be a problem having the around.

The Booth Babe




These are professional hotties who actually have no interest in anything geekish, particularly comic books, video games and even shows like "Heroes" or "Chuck." While they would normally never be willing to be seen with the average people visiting these conventions, they’re happy to chat with them and pose for photos as long as there is a nice check of at least $200 a day in it for them. In more recent years, the standard booth babes have been reduced, thanks in part to Suicide Girls, who tend to have far more of an interest in these type of activities. In fact Suicide Girls even had a pre-Comic Con collection of Cosplay shots just to emphasize the girls' natural geekiness.

The Cross-Over Costumer




Like Star Wars and Sherlock Holmes? Why not be Jedi Sherlock? What about cooking and Star Wars? Chef Darth Vader of course. One of the most famous crossover fans is Elvis Storm Trooper (to the left), who not only has his own website, but also travels to as many conventions as possible every year. Of course, he always makes it to the San Diego Comic Con every year.

The Star Wars Fans




Comic Con has always been a huge supporter of Star Wars, and not only because it’s a scifi classic. You see, George Lucas actually gave a preview of the movie to fans in 1977 before the movie was released and before the convention was even a big deal. The cult following was inevitable.
Of course, modern day Star Wars fans at the convention tend to be extreme. There are fans who make up their own characters as part of their own fan fiction and there are people dressed as characters who were only shown for a matter of seconds in the film.

The Trekkies



Image Via Stately English Manor


Despite the stereotypes of comic conventions loaded with Klingons, the Trekkies were actually a dying breed for the last ten or so years. But not this year. Since the newest movies are always a major inspiration for costumes (last year The Dark Knight was huge), Star Trek fans were everywhere this year. Interestingly, it was easy to spot the old-school Trekkies, who had only put their gear on the shelf for a few years, and the new-school Trekkies.

The Guy Way Too Into His Character




These guys can be more than a little scary. While a lot of people get into character and enjoy acting their roles, there always seems to be at least a few costumed villains that seem to be living out their character's lives. Unfortunately, there's no psychological test given to people dressed up as villains prior to entry.

So far no one's been severely injured, but it's only a matter of time.

The Weirdo Hippie Guy




This guy's a rare breed, but there always seems to be at least one of them at the Convention. They all seem to have taken a few too many acid hits. No one, particularly these guys themselves, actually understands why they are so interested in showing up at the convention every year, but the overall accepting attitude of the attendees makes it a welcome place for these "unique" individuals.

The Steampunks




Steampunk inventions and costumes have been featured many times on Neatorama, but the number of posts is nowhere near the number of steampunks at Comic Con. These guys have always been at the convention, but this last year they've really stepped up their numbers. If you're interested in learning more about the steampunks at Comic Con this year, there is a great article over at KPBS.

The Lolitas




I have to admit, these are some of my favorite Comic Con fans because I just can't get enough of the outfits. Just like the steampunks, lolitas have always been around at Comic Con, but their numbers really shot up this year. While many people associate the lolitas with gothic culture, the ones at the convention are more of the Japanophile sort and frequently flock to Giant Robot and other Japanese toy booths to see the newest and hottest imports from their country of choice.

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Profile for Jill Harness

  • Member Since 2012/08/04


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