Aune.emily

The Roots' Questlove has some powerful thoughts on the Trayvon Martin verdict:

I'm in scenarios all the time in which primitive, exotic-looking me -- six-foot-two, 300 pounds, uncivilized Afro, for starters -- finds himself in places where people who look like me aren't normally found. I mean, what can I do? I have to be somewhere on Earth, correct? In the beginning -- let's say 2002, when the gates of "Hey, Ahmir, would you like to come to [swanky elitist place]?" opened -- I'd say "no," mostly because it's been hammered in my DNA to not "rock the boat," which means not making "certain people" feel uncomfortable.

I mean, that is a crazy way to live. Seriously, imagine a life in which you think of other people's safety and comfort first, before your own. You're programmed and taught that from the gate. It's like the opposite of entitlement.

Reading about this case and the reaction to it has been a series of gut punches this week.

Tags: legal   Questlove   racism   Trayvon Martin

A nice video from Wired that shows how Tesla's sedan is made.

Tesla got the factory for a song from Toyota in 2010, spent about a year or so setting up tooling and started producing the Model S sedan in mid-2012. The automaker brings in raw materials by the truckload, including the massive rolls of aluminum that are bent, pressed, and formed to create the car. Those lightweight components are assembled by swarm of red robots in an intricate ballet that is mesmerizing to behold.

(via ★interesting)

Tags: cars   how to   Tesla   video

teardrop trailer

via: lecontainer

Ear-deep in watermelon, a boy eats a juicy slice at a festival in Florida, December 1963.
Photograph by James P. Blair, National Geographic

The use of abandoned boats as sheds is an East Coast of England tradition. These upturned boatsheds are found at the harbour on Lindisfarne, Northumberland, are still used by local fishermen.

The boat sheds at the castle first appeared when Edwin Lutyens restored Lindisfarne castle for Edward Hudson at the turn of the last century.
The Spanish architect Enric Miralles used Lutyens’ upturned herring busses as an inspiration for his design of the Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh.

Contributed by Nina Maley.

Why drinking three cups a day may be good for us.

A balloon vendor runs across a road with a trailing mass of balloons in Buenos Aires, November 1921.
Photograph by Newton W. Gulick, National Geographic

Alexander Graham Bell’s tetrahedral tower is unveiled in 1907 in Nova Scotia.
Photograph courtesy the Bell Collection

Photography by Camille Seaman Title: Malcolm Muggeridge More clouds Atley

Designed and constructed during the winter of 2012-13 for the UW furniture studio, this chair was inspired by the vintage telephone chair and the chaise lounge. I wanted a chair that fit me perfectly and in which I could sit comfortably with my laptop or read a book, but I did not want to be so specific with the function as to invite obsolescence. The chair is constructed out of Eastern White Maple (the wraparound desk and edge banding are solid wood, the seat and seatbacks are stable panel construction) and the frame is powder coated steel.
The chair was written about on theMAG.it, and was chosen for inclusion in the UW architecture department End of Year Show. Studio photos are by John Stamets; photos of me using the chair were taken by Bernie Rihn.

“I am going to tell you a secret. Everything is about wanting. Everything. Things happen because of people wanting. Watch closely, and you’ll see what I mean.” 
― David Mitchell, Ghostwritten

 

This is amazing: Alan Taylor rounds up some homemade inventions from China, including DIY submarines, giant motorcycles, home-built robots, and can't-possibly-fly airplanes. I can't pick a favorite, but this homemade welding mask is outstanding:

Ok, and this giant motorcycle:

Oh, and this rickshaw-pulling robot:

And, and, and... (via @faketv)

Tags: Alan Taylor   China   photography

Victoria amazonica water lilies can reach 20 feet in circumference and support up to 300 pounds each. Perching children atop the massive leaves was all the rage in water gardens of the time. Salem, North Carolina, c. 1892.
Photograph by Frank Hege, National Geographic

“Decide your own life, don't let another person run or rule you.“ This is the first rule of the Hobo ethical code. 

In most people's mind hoboes are a thing of the past, frozen in time since the Depression. The hobo’s picturesque image, walking along rails with a light bindle stick, hopping steam trains from state to state to avert his fate, solidifies him as an iconic American figure.

However, one might be surprised that "hoboes" don’t just belong to the past of the US. Small but dynamic communities mindful of perserving their history, their ethics, and their legacy, exist today.

Since 1974, three different generations composing the hobo community converge once a year in the city of Britt, Iowa to celebrate and exchange thoughts, tips, and stories about a penniless lifestyle. They gather to share tales of wandering around the country avoiding troubles and danger, and to preserve their self-taught train engineering and coded languages generated by decades of hoboes.

With the goal of archiving and keeping alive their culture, the Hobo Foundation bought the Britt movie theater and installed a permanent display of artifacts donated by the itinerant workers: extensive memorabilia of such famous hoboes as Frisco Jack, Connecticut Slim, Hard Rock Kid and Pennsylvania Kid, just to name a few.

On display are original hobo crafts, photographs, videos and documentaries depicting the hobo lifestyle, paintings, a historic postcard collection, and a hobo doll collection. Visiting the Hobo Museum is a deep dive into the most americana branch of vernacular archeology.

“Little Red Treehouse” in Lapland, Sweden.

Contributed by Joan Childs.

Structure built from trees taken down by the local beaver in the woods outside of Oslo, Norway.

Contributed by Steffen Oftedal.

Turkey farm in Idaho, June 1944.
Photograph by Maynard Owen Williams, National Geographic

A seaplane docked at Keuka Lake near Hammondsport, New York.
Photograph courtesy Alexander Graham Bell Collection

Light Drawings — photographs of Pablo Picasso by Gjon Mili, 1949 Title: Picasso Folkert

Paul Newman, 1963.

Richard Nixon and Robocop

Measuring just 4 x 4 x 8 meters this small, windowless room might normally be considered a claustrophobic nightmare if it were’t lined from floor to ceiling with dozens of mirrors creating a reflective universe that seems to stretch into infinity. Titled “The Phoenix is closer than it appears,” the room was constructed by artist Thilo Frank at the Museum of Modern Art in Aalborg, Denmark. The Matrix-like space also features a swing that allows visitors an opportunity to view hundreds of cloned reflections swinging at all possible angles. I can think of quite a few illicit substances that should probably not be consumed before entering this room. (via designboom, myedol)

Royal College of Art student Gabriele Meldaikyte has designed a set of interactive exhibits for a museum of iPhone gestures (+ slideshow). (more...)

This is one of the more impressive full moon time-lapses films you’ll ever see. Adventure filmmaker Bryan Smith shot this remarkable clip of American free climber Dean Potter as he traverses a highline tied to Cathedral Peak in Yosemite National Park. To get the wild perspective Potter used a camera equipped with a Canon 800mm super telephoto lens positioned over a mile away. Beautiful.

Update: Several people have written to clarify that this is technically not a “time-lapse” film, as both the climber and moon are actually moving in real time, it’s only the magnification of the moon that seems to mimic similar films that capture it in motion. Fair enough.

This is the third single off Starfucker’s upcoming LP, and while “While I’m Still Alive” and “Leave It All Behind” happily embraced the YOLO/endtimes vibe that were so in vogue last year, “Say To You” seems to have moved on from the party. This is the melancholic trance/hangover that follows such indulgences. It’s a laid back, quiet song, and a good one put on if you’re trying to float away from everything. “I am born / apathetic, finally.” Stream some detachment below.

Miracle Mile is out February 19.

Read more articles like "New: Starfucker – “Say To You”" on Pretty Much Amazing.

Tags: Starfucker, STRFKR

Glowing walls, windows and furniture will replace light bulbs and LEDs in homes as OLED (organic light-emitting diode) technology improves, according to Dietmar Thomas of Philips Lumiblade (+ movie). (more…)