techyum

The Kargoyle

2008-07-10T03:00:35Z

I just got an email from a friend in LA who is part of the ongoing photo show Automolove, depicting cars and babes at Antebellum (weird popup warning). On a whim I looked up a show participant, the auto-obsessed Brett Barris (sound alert). In his gallery there are several dozen gems, especially the incredible Kargoyle. It's a hearse that's been chopped, lowered, painted purple, and most appropriately, it was given suicide doors. So very cool. If you cruise around Barris' site check out some of the weirder cars, and if you're like me, you'll enjoy the old models as much as the -- models. Like the one below.

Mystery Meat (Eaters' Molecule)

2008-07-09T00:40:15Z

I sincerely hope that the bacon bra does not cause cancer, no matter how much nibbling one does. Mystery of the meat-eaters' molecule explores the recent revelation that humans, unlike all other primates, do not produce the molecule Neu5Gc and that when we eat certain animal products, our bodies attack the introduction of the molecule (in the meat) like it's an invader. Not good. Check it out:

The story began in 1984, when Prof Varki was working at the University of California, San Diego. When treating a woman with bone-marrow failure, he injected her with horse serum. The treatment carried the risk of a side effect called "serum sickness", in which the patient's immune system launches an attack on a molecule present in the serum called Neu5Gc. Sure enough, her skin erupted with an itchy red rash. Investigating further, Prof Varki found that Neu5Gc was foreign to humans, even though we carry a very similar version of the same molecule - which may be one reason why animal-to-human organ and tissue transplants do not work well. But in recent years, he has come to believe that the implications of this molecular difference are much wider. He has built up a range of evidence that potentially links Neu5Gc, a so-called sialic acid, to chronic disease. This is because the animal version is absorbed by humans as a result of eating red meat and milk products, and there is evidence that the body views it as an invader. Eating these foods could trigger inflammation and, over the long term, heart disease, certain cancers and auto-immune illnesses. Prof Varki stresses, however, that "we have not proven any link to disease, just suggested that it is something to explore". This sialic acid plays a number of roles: it helps us recognise cells and helps cells stick together (this stickiness is also exploited by microbes, which latch on to the sugary molecule to invade our cells). It also helps regulate our immune response, which may influence the progression of diseases and even play a part in human evolution. (...read more. Thanks, Eve!)

Sharp, Shiny, Gorgeous, Brilliant: The Robotic Art of Choe U Ram

2008-07-04T06:43:16Z

I insist that you click right over to the exclusive Engadget gallery and video that's up right now, featuring the steel robotic sculptures of machine art mastermind Choe U Ram. The pieces are from the now-closed show Anima Machines -- and are like Arthur Ganson's larger works after a forced infusion of H. R. Geiger's thick blackened alien blood and midwifed from a screaming CNC mill into the hands of a very evil horticulturalist. Just sayin'. I'm in love. * Video: Choe U Ram's creepy robotic art (engadget.com)

Missing Scenes From Fritz Lang's Metropolis, Discovered

2008-07-03T22:36:11Z

This is so exciting! Few films have been as important to me as Metropolis, and now it looks like some missing scenes have been recovered, changing the narrative. Guardian UK writes,

The cinematic world was today celebrating the rediscovery of missing scenes from German director Fritz Lang's legendary silent film Metropolis - thought lost for 80 years, until they were found in the archive of a museum in Argentina. Key scenes cut from the science fiction picture - either because they were considered to be too brutal or too long - will now be available for the first time since May 1927, when the original version was last shown in Berlin, where it flopped badly. The head of the Berlin film museum Deutsche Kinematik, Dr Rainer Rother, called the find a "sensational discovery", adding that one of the most famous films of all time "can now be seen through new eyes". Metropolis, which is set in a futuristic city state and explores the clash between workers and their capitalist exploiters, was at the time one of the most expensive films ever made. Produced in the Babelsberg studios on the outskirts of Berlin, it cost around 7m Reichsmarks, but was hated by critics and the public alike. It was shortened by the American company Paramount Pictures, who considered it impenetrable for the US market, leading to an oversimplification of the plot, the disappearance of key scenes and the sidelining of significant characters. But the restored version, which has so far been seen by only a handful of film experts and critics in Berlin, is said to throw light on key questions that have puzzled and tantalised generations of film buffs.Link.

tongue steering device breakthrough for disabled peeps

2008-06-30T22:32:08Z

I am so glad I did not call this post "lick your way around town" because that sounds really yucky, and with the incredible tongue steering device being reported at Reuters, you can actually lick your way around the Internet as well -- it's for more than just wheelchairs. The thing is a revolution and a half, signifying a serious change in quality of life for people with the most serious mobility problems of all. I even know someone I'd like to give one to. Watch the video (autoplay and sound warning) and be amazed, like me! (thanks, Eve!)

nasa's top ten views of earth

2008-06-29T04:51:56Z

NASA's top ten views of Earth is rather stunning, especially if you add today's satellite views of our smelly California wildfires from Firefighter Blog on top. Views from space = neat!

oh, the irony

2008-06-26T21:01:00Z

A truck hauling coffins has caused a fatal accident, and yes, the driver was killed. Snip:

Two lanes are now open on southbound Interstate 880 in San Leandro in the wake of a crash involving several vehicles that killed two people, the California Highway Patrol said. All northbound lanes are still closed. Motorists are urged to use different routes, such as Highway 238 and Interstate 580, as crews work to clear the debris. The crash happened about 9:15 a.m. when the driver of a small pickup truck stopped in a southbound lane of I-880 near Marina Boulevard. A big rig traveling south swerved to avoid the pickup truck and crossed over the median into the northbound lanes, the CHP said. The big rig then collided with a garbage truck, and both vehicles caught on fire. The driver of the pickup truck, which had been carrying coffins, was killed, the CHP said. It was not immediately known who the second victim was.Link.

City of Shadows

2008-06-13T20:20:10Z

This series of long exposure photos taken in St. Petersburg (Russia) are incredibly creepy (and this very cool), but when I first looked at them, I thought the people were some kind of paranormal dirt cloud. I think the most unnerving parts of these photos are the hands and faces. You'll see more of them and read more about "City of Shadows" by Alexey Titarenko and how he created these images in the article Pandemonium at BLDBLG (via).

No Pilot Please, I'm Vegan

2008-06-13T04:01:15Z

Why do people always want to eat the pilot? Makes me not want to learn how to fly. Survivors of a plane crash in southern Chile spent five days in sub-zero temperatures awaiting rescue, and upon rescue they're talking about how they almost ate Commander Long Pig. Snip:

The survivors and pilot huddled inside the felage, eating crackers and trying to maintain a fire in sub zero temperatures. Pilot Nelson Bahamondes survived the initial impact but slowly bled to death inside the cockpit, finally dying two days after the crash. Bahamondes, an experienced pilot with an estimated 16,000 hours of flying time, provided leadership and guidance throughout the first two days of the ordeal, explaining to the passengers that a radio transmitter would help rescuers locate the craft. As the food ran out, Bahmondes died. "He had a cut on his head, a big wound and he lost lots of blood," said Victor Suazo, a Chilean police officer who was aboard the flight. "We couldn't do anything for him and he died around noon on Monday." Soon after, the survivors' hunger began to deplete their strength and they debated whether to eat the pilot. "We thought about the pilot, I don't know how to say it ... to feed ourselves from him. Link.

The Video Game Controller Family Tree

2008-05-21T21:45:12Z

I'm investigating the history of the phallic video game controller and its clitoral cousins, the trackpad and mouse, and I stumbled across this fun Video Game Controller Family Tree. Neat!

UK Teen Faces Prosecution for Calling Scientology 'Cult'

2008-05-21T20:05:10Z

No, you read that right. I'm so speechless that the only thing I can add is, "It's not a cult. It's a ranch and it's our home." Snip:

A teenager is facing prosecution for using the word "cult" to describe the Church of Scientology. The unnamed 15-year-old was served the summons by City of London police when he took part in a peaceful demonstration opposite the London headquarters of the controversial religion. Officers confiscated a placard with the word "cult" on it from the youth, who is under 18, and a case file has been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service. A date has not yet been set for him to appear in court. The decision to issue the summons has angered human rights activists and support groups for the victims of cults. The incident happened during a protest against the Church of Scientology on May 10. Demonstrators from the anti-Scientology group, Anonymous, who were outside the church's £23m headquarters near St Paul's cathedral, were banned by police from describing Scientology as a cult by police because it was "abusive and insulting". (...) Link.

Update 05.23: The courts decided that boy will avoid prosecution! Turns out, the high courts had already called the Church of Scientology a cult on the record, and they think -- unlike the CoS -- that the boy was expressing his opinion, prompting his mother to proclaim it a "victory for free speech." Two salient bits from the piece include "Police said they had "strongly advised" him to stop displaying the sign but he refused, citing a high court judgment from 1984 in which the organisation was described as a cult." Why would London police be, er, policing public speech about the CoS? The article goes on to reveal, "Two years ago, the City of London police attracted criticism when it emerged more than 20 officers, ranging from constable to chief superintendent, had accepted gifts worth thousands of pounds from the Church of Scientology. The City of London chief superintendent, Kevin Hurley, praised Scientology for "raising the spiritual wealth of society" during the opening of its headquarters in 2006."

Liquid Death, Anyone?

2008-05-19T04:39:32Z

Wasn't there a scene in "The Professional" where a body was disposed of with lye? Well, it looks like you can now opt to have your corpse disposed of in just the way a serial killer or a psychotic hit man in a pinch for time might. You can now have your body turned into a "brown, syrupy residue". Um, yay? Here's a snip from Slate's wonderful Human Nature blog post, Human Liquid:

(...) "It uses lye, 300-degree heat and 60 pounds of pressure per square inch to destroy bodies in big stainless-steel cylinders that are similar to pressure cookers. ... In addition to the liquid, the process leaves a dry bone residue similar in appearance and volume to cremated remains. It could be returned to the family in an urn or buried in a cemetery. The coffee-colored liquid has the consistency of motor oil and a strong ammonia smell. But proponents say it is sterile and can, in most cases, be safely poured down the drain, provided the operation has the necessary permits." I know it sounds bad. Lye is what we use to dissolve dead animals, and, over the years, mass-murdering dictators have given it a bad name, using it to torture people and get rid of bodies. But think of the benefits: "Alkaline hydrolysis doesn't take up as much space in cemeteries as burial. And the process could ease concerns about crematorium emissions, including carbon dioxide as well as mercury from silver dental fillings." Link.

Your Fillings Are Obsolete

2008-04-01T03:28:15Z

This innocuous looking device, discovered on Gizmodo, is a new bluetooth microphone designed to be a dental implant. Installed in a tooth, it insures that you always look like you've come from lunch without checking your teeth. After the dentist appointment this morning, I think I'll wait until there is some sort of implant involving invasive surgery. Wonder how it reacts to tinfoil?

Lest We Forget: Remembering 1/31/07

2008-01-31T22:00:19Z

Image at Boston University last night, via pt. It was exactly a year ago today when the Aqua Teen Hunger Force marketing team from Catroon Network's Adult Swim caused a panic in the streets of Boston (and later, a few other US cities) with their infamous LED "Mooninite Marauders". The lit, bird-flipping signs were placed all over in high -- yet viewable -- spots, and were of course mistaken by police to be bombs or terrorist devices, causing panic and shutdown in many parts of the city (that link has complete coverage, plus video). Today is the year anniversary, and as you can see by the above image from Flickr, people in Boston are re-creating the event in a wonderful pranky memorial. Early in the month, kits to make your own were being sold by Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories so this isn't a total surprise, but it'll be fun to see how tonight plays out. Make Blog has this great post about how the "memorial" is unfolding today, and a terrific commemorative post that -- you guessed it -- has a lot of DIY in it. Three Mooninite Marauders were found here last year in San Francisco; images of the now ultra-collectibles (and their adorable rescuers) are here, I've got video here, and we've got this great GETV episode, Holy Blinky Devices of Terror!

A Gun and A Girl: A Girl and Her Gun (The Film)

2008-01-30T23:28:49Z

Director Cathryne Czubek is making a full-length feature documentary about girls and guns, specifically the significantly growing number of teen girls who love guns (and are damn good at using them). Embedded above is the short version of the doc from Current, which is still in progress -- and OMG they have the prettiest guns! Rainbow grain rifles, shot wearing turquoise nail polish. I especially like the parts where they talk about how boys at school don't take them seriously -- and then they do. These young women clearly have no issues with equality or empowerment. See also: A Girl and Her Gun (official site)