Better art through explosives

There's something provocative about creating something by blowing something up. The novelty of the technique might put Pollock et al. to shame. [Gizmodo]

And check out some of what goes on during the Minnesota winter... for instance this guy builds humongous (like 85' X 65') ice castles in his backyard. [Gizmodo]


"By cultivating the beautiful we scatter the seeds of heavenly flowers, as by doing good we cultivate those that belong to humanity." - Robert A. Heinlein

 

Tour de fence

Insane lunatic riding a bike through -- or down, actually -- an urban (in Chile) race course, naturally with helmet-cam. As close to Strange Days as I'll probably get for awhile. You can see another good one from last year's race here. [Gizmodo]

And a quite well-done John Lennon vs. Van-Halen mash-up, "Imagine a Jump", with the offspring possibly ending up better than the parents.


"Be like a duck, calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath." - Michael Caine

 

Beatles juice

Amazing that they uncovered this rare recording of "Smack My Bitch Up" performed by The Beatles.

And music by the actual artists... a historic sampling of hits, Five Seconds Of Every #1 Pop Single ever, Part 1 and Part 2. [Boing Boing]


"It's like obituaries; when you die they finally give you good reviews." - Roger Maris

 

Taking a bite of Apple

Conan O'Brien spoofs the recently-debuted iPad 2, claiming that Apple is getting just a little bit cocky. In good fiction lies a measure of truth. [Mashable]


And an all-too-true commentary on trends in society and electronics, Then & Now. [Tastefully Offensive]

"Computers are like Old Testament gods; lots of rules and no mercy." - Joseph Campbell


 

Winning

Because too much is not enough... Jimmy Fallon does a masterful impersonation, spoofing Charlie Sheen in a fake commercial for a cologne called "Winning", clipped from his late night show. [Mashable]

And other creatures running amok, Streetview Zombie Apocalypse lets you enter a location and run from zombies inside Google Street View, courtesy of [Wonder Tonic].


"The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken." - Samuel Johnson

 

Pilot episode

Airline pilots amusingly fight cockpit boredom in this "How to Irritate People" sketch from an erstwhile John Cleese show.

And from worldwide beer imports to happiest countries to insomnia cases, FedEx delivers...interactive cartograms.


"Few people even scratch the surface, much less exhaust the contemplation of their own experience." - Randolph Bourne

 

Riverdale

Check out the live-action but fake yet still amusing trailer for the Archie movie, Riverdale.

And likewise related to real-but-not really environs, what if U.S. cities had kept their original names?

"A man that doesn't believe in destiny doesn't need to know what his destiny is." - Laura Moncur

 

Leggo my eggo

Nice public display of civility at Denny's, captured in this pancake cat-fight over maple syrup.

Atlas networked: And in case you want to meet fellow egoists, the Atlasphere is a social network for Ayn Rand devotees.


"Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly." - M.F.K. Fisher

 

Ridiculous Speed Sign

A concerned citizen's video message to his county commissioners claiming that speed signs are an apparent waste of taxpayers money. (Thanks Bomser)

And a good way to get a grip on the U.S. federal government budget, "What We Pay For" skips the "-illions" and shows you where your tax dollars go.


"Governments never learn. Only people learn." - Milton Friedman

 

Giant snowman slide

This insanely elaborate slide, apparently the result of 80 hours of shovel-work, has enough icy twists and turns that the video probably doesn't do it justice. [Boing Boing]

And the Ninja-Zombie times tables is just the thing for those times you find yourself wondering what a cross between Abraham Lincoln and a platypus would look like.


"That which is striking and beautiful is not always good; but that which is good is always beautiful." - Nitin Nohria

 

Ski run fail

A little lesson on how not to start your ski run down a steep rocky mountainside captured via helmet-cam. (Full-screen viewing recommended.)

And other things ill-advised... a trove of amusing SMS exchanges at Parents Shouldn't Text.


"Old age is no place for sissies." - Bette Davis

 

Cat Laser Bowling

An innocent game featuring an innocent and unwitting victim: Cat laser bowling. [Gizmodo]

And a few minutes of enjoyment can be had from this little interactive game of choice.


"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." - Anatole France

 

Going out with a bang

As this "memorial to a family member" proves, 320,000 exploding firecrackers sure can perk up a funeral. Worth watching for the sheer enormity of it. [Gizmodo]

And check out this interactive graph, which plots the change in average body mass index since 1980 in all countries in the world. (I'm taking the over.) Worth watching for the sheer enormity of it.


"Age is not a particularly interesting subject. Anyone can get old. All you have to do is live long enough." - Don Marquis

 

The natural evolution of fashion

Moral of the story in this College Humor original about what kids are wearing these days: It can always get worse. (Especially when it comes to fashion trends.)

And these old spousal irritation checklists were used as part of a 1930s project to enable husbands and wives to give one another constructive feedback and end seething resentments by identifying and tabulating frequent sources of marital friction. [via Boing Boing]

 


"At 18 our convictions are hills from which we look; At 45 they are caves in which we hide." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

Oh The Places You'll Actually Go

A little something whipped up by College Humor, Oh The Places You'll Actually Go is a reality-packed, spirit-crushing dose of pseudo-Seuss.

And also a heavy dose of reality, Heavy Stuff on Top of People.


"I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're going and hook up with them later." - Mitch Hedberg

 

Shooting over par

Can any of these top golfers knock a clay pigeon out of the sky with a golf shot?

For a different type of shooting, try Z-Type, a game from Phobos Lab in which your keyboard meets the arcade game Galaga.


"There is no way to penetrate the surface of life but by attacking it earnestly at a particular point." - Charles Horton Cooley

 

If you knew sushi like I knew sushi

A bit of creative advertising...

..and a pile of creative photography culled from DeviantArt.


"The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret to freedom is courage." - Thucydides

 

Iron Chef Dragon alfredo

Catch the masterful Bruce Lee in a light mood showing off his frying pan comedy skills.

And these Soviet groceries look to be pretty fair fare from a place where people have been known to wait in line for bread.


"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." - Buddha