Jesse

"We can't all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by."

"If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur."

"Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else."

A hilariously named photo finishing business called "True You Retouching" edited photos of average women, as seen on the left, in the industry standard for people on the covers of magazines. Realistically, these models would not be on the cover of a fashion magazine unless they were public figures known for other reasons. This is ostensibly how their photos would be altered if they were famous authors or political figures featured as cover models, for instance (although something tells me these edits might be the tip of the proverbial iceberg).

See the rest of the series here.What are your thoughts, readers?

Artist Julien “Seth” Malland aka Seth Globepainter has become known around the world for his vibrant murals of people, most frequently children, who appear to be sucked into colorful rainbow-like voids. The figures are usually facing away from the viewer, their attention completely swallowed by pools of dripping color revealed behind drab, urban facades. Seth has been active in the Parisian graffiti scene since the 1990s and has written or participated in several books over the last few years. Seen here is a collection of recent murals from Italy, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Paris. Seth also just opened a new exhibition of work at Itinerrance Gallery in Paris this weekend through April 25th. (via StreetArtNews, Spraymium Magazine)

Photo via Spraymium

Photo via Spraymium

WOW Architects/Warner Wong Design have completed the Chiltern House in Singapore.

continue reading

"The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity."

Apparently, this is what it looks like when a lion is getting a CAT scan.

(via Amanda Macias)

Tags: animals   lions   science

Haptic Architects have transformed two spaces in a 19th century apartment building in Oslo, Norway, into one multiple level loft apartment.

The architect’s description

Background: The apartment is in the top floor of a 19th century apartment building in central Oslo in Norway. Purchasing the loft space above the apartment enabled the client to do a full scale refurbishment of the loft, bringing the two floors into one, unified space.

The design: Through a thorough three-dimensional survey of the apartment and careful assessment of the means of escape, we were able to incorporate every nook and cranny and even part of the stairwell into the design. By fully utilising the level changes and opportunities we could introduce spatial drama with substantial vertical sight lines. The en-suite bathroom to the master bedroom is organised over three levels by incorporating found spaces.

 A sunny terrace has a large glass wall that brings evening light deep into the apartment. Some loft space has been sacrificed to create a double height space over the living room.

Kitchen: The original kitchen was tight, inefficient and north facing. By moving it into the common areas we could create a light, airy and spacious space that becomes the social heart and integrates with the rest of the apartment. A small fireplace is integrated into the kitchen worktop and the kitchen fronts are painted to match the colour of the fireplace.

Staircase: The centrepiece of the apartment is the feature staircase connecting the two levels. A modular, powder coated, white steel stair is suspended between the joists and connects to a low storage/sofa unit that runs along the front facade.

Bathroom: The bathroom incorporated several level changes, and by using large scale 100x300cm tiles, the impression is of one that is carved out of a single block of stone.

Architect: Haptic Architects
Team: Nikki Butenschøn, Aleksandra Danielak, Peder Skavlan
Photography by Simon Kennedy and Inger Marie Grini

The students that toured the Seven-Up should have known there would be a pop quiz.

Einstein developed a theory about space, and it was about time, too.

Would you like this dead battery? It’s free of charge.

The soldier who survived attacks of mustard gas and pepper spray is now well-seasoned.

I was up all night looking for the sun. Then it dawned on me.

I wondered why the rock was getting larger. Then it hit me.

I changed the name of my MP3 player to Titanic, because it was always synching.

Despite all our hard work, we couldn’t get the tent up. Too many missed stakes.

How does Moses make his tea? Hebrews it.

Kim said she knew me from the vegetarian restaurant, but I’ve never met herbivore.

Did you hear about the indecisive plastic surgeon? He couldn’t pick his own nose.

Jon’s addicted to brake fluid, but he says he can stop any time.

Haunted French pancakes give me the crepes.

Velcro is such a rip off!

I used to be a banker, but then I lost interest.

Studying fungus is a cultured way to mold young minds.

The kitchen remodelers were very counterproductive.

The cross-eyed teacher was fired because she couldn’t control her pupils.

German sausage is the wurst.

Don’t you limp in here late with a lame excuse!

(Image source: Bad Newspaper)

_________________________

This article is reprinted with permission from Uncle John's Fully Loaded 25th Anniversary Bathroom Reader.

Get ready to be thoroughly entertained while occupied on the throne. Uncle John has ruled the world of information and humor for 25 years, and the anniversary edition is the Fully Loaded Bathroom Reader.

Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute had published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts. If you like Neatorama, you'll love the Bathroom Reader Institute's books - go ahead and check 'em out!

The inevitable slide toward outdated technology is continuing for CDs, with the revenue generated from streaming music topping CD sales for the first time ever.

A lot has changed in the American music market since the heyday of CDs in 1999, a year that saw recorded music rake in $14.6 billion, notes the New York Times.

In a new report released this week by the Recording Industry Association of America, the association says recorded music brought in about $6.97 billion, which is only a little bit less than the year before.

But how the different categories of music is changing within those relatively flat overall sales, with CDs finally getting surpassed by streaming music.

Last year, 144 million CDs were sold, generating $1.85 billion, a 12% drop from the year before. Paid subscription services like Spotify, Rdio, Pandora and Rhapsody brought in $1.87 billion, which is a 29% increase from 2013.

While CD sales are flagging, it’s been quite the comeback story for vinyl LPs, which brought in $321 million — a whopping 50% uptick from the previous year. Not so portable, but so cool.

Sales of Streaming Music Top CDs in Flat Year for Industry [New York Times]

In the latest episode of Outrageous Acts of Science, The Science Channel asked a team at Syracuse University to recreate a popular experiment in which molten lava is poured over a block of ice, causing the rapid formation of a mess of lava bubbles. The bubbles are formed when the extreme heat turns the ice into steam, which attempts to dissipate through the lava.

As the lava cools, we start to get a thick, black layer forming on top. That starts to trap those bubbles of super heated steam inside the rock. It’s kind of like a natural form of glass blowing.

Magician Rahat Hussein (previously) recently blew people’s minds when he walked through a freestanding door, which was placed in the middle of a park, and disappeared. As Hussein was still walking through the door, he would quickly run to the side and hop over a short wall to hide. Someone closed the door for him using a remote control. A few of the shocked people just walked away from the scene and acted like the wild stunt didn’t even take place.

Onion rings are a fine accompaniment to a good burger, but you know what's better? Having a burger stuffed inside an oversized onion ring. As if wrapping your burger in an onion before battering it and deep frying it wasn't fattening enough, the creator, Tym Bussanich, even wrapped the burger patty in bacon before adding the onion ring. The mad food scientist even has other creations like a burger using an onion ring bun and chili-stuffed onion rings on his Instagram so fatty food addicts will want to start following him ASAP.

Via That's Nerdalicious

(Video Link)

In 2011, the Gut Aiderbichl animal rescue organization in Austria rescued several chimpanzees which had been caged in an indoor laboratory for up to 30 years. Some, having been born there, had never seen the outside world.

Gut Aiderbichl prepared an open air environment for the chimpanzees, then moved them to a cage adjoining it. When it was ready, they opened a door between the two. The curious chimpanzees began to explore a bright new world. It’s not the wilderness to which they can never return, but it is a better life. You can follow their progress here.

-via Lost at E Minor

YouTube Link

Piranhas in a Brazilian river are frenzied as they voraciously devour food being tossed to them by the locals. These people had better be careful not to lose their footing! Yikes! -Via i09

Clumsy smartphone lovers of America, rejoice! The HTC One M9, which will hit pockets here in the United States in April, will have an intriguing new form of warranty protection: users will be able to replace their phone with no deductible or replacement fee once if it is damaged.

There’s one reason for this new policy that you might not expect: an HTC executive explained to the Associated Press that what the company really wants is for customers with the new phone to show it off. Without a case. They just need to call up HTC to receive a replacement phone in the mail, then mail the old one back when the replacement arrives.

It must be frustrating for smartphone designers that they keep coming up with beautiful and ever-thinner phone designs, and we insist on coddling our phones in thick, shatter-proof cases to protect them from accidental damage. They push themselves to create beautiful and thin phones, but we don’t even look at them. Will offering one free accidental damage replacement to every customer encourage people to walk around with naked smartphones?

The program doesn’t cover loss or theft, so if that’s coverage that you want, you’ll need to buy additional insurance coverage in addition to HTC’s new program.

Smashed your HTC One? No problem, they’ll replace [Associated Press]

The one who doesn’t tell you what you want to hear, but tells you what you need to hear. Keep that.

The post The one who doesn’t tell you what you want to… appeared first on Lifehack.

Although there are millions of photographs on Flickr, the photography giants have somehow managed to collect a list of the 25 most inspiring, exquisite photographs of 2014. Their final list was determined by community engagement—how many times each photo had been viewed and favorited—and it features some really incredible pieces.

1. *** by Elina Shumilova

With a portfolio of almost 300 unique and beautiful photographs, Elena Shumilova is without a doubt one of the most talented photographers and Flickr members on the Internet.

2. Nightly shower 130812 F4332 by Pete Huu

This striking photograph was taken near Helsinki, whilst Pete Huu was hunting for Perseids.

3. Persist | Lofoten, Norway by Lorenzo Montezemolo

This bright green streak of aurora lasted for quite a while in Lofted, Norway. According to Lorenzo Montezemolo, he had four hours to take a great photo of the strange green lights.

4. Wherever You Lay Your Head by Rosie Hardy

Accompanied by an inspiring Lana Del Rey quote, this photograph by Rosie Hardy was taken last February and has received over 800,000 views.

5. John. by LJ

The identity of John is limited to his name, but according to LJ’s photograph information this was taken in Overtown, Miami.

5. Lightbulb by Alexandr Tikki

The lightbulb is the comic indicator of bright ideas, but few of those thoughts could become reality without the work of human hands.

6. Ixspreparation2 by Mark Rademaker

This is the Eaglework’s IXS Enterprise First Generation FTL Starship concept, one of Mark Rademaker’s many fantastic works of art and engineering.

7. Night Reading by Laura Williams

“Sometimes when I can’t sleep I sit on my ceiling and read.” – Laura Williams. Don’t we all!

8. Besides my dad, she was the only one in my family who was like this… by Brandon Stanton

“Do you remember the saddest moment of your life? When my grandmother died. I was nine. Besides my dad, she was the only one in my family who was like this. And she was the only other person who could give me any perspective on what it was going to be like, and how to handle it.”

9. Loopy sky by SoulRiser

SoulRiser seems a little surprised that his photograph is featuring on these ‘Top of 2014′ lists, but with beautiful shots like this I’m surprised there aren’t more of his on making the cut!

10. Bear Lake – Pentax 67 + Portra 400 by Trent Davis

Taken near Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Forest, this photograph is one of Trent Davis’ impressive, 1000-strong Flickr collection.

11. NAVCAM top 10 at 10 km – 10 by European Space Agency

Although this may look a bit like a ink blot test, it’s actually Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko and the shot was taken my the European Space Agency’s Rosetta. “Some light contrast enhancements have been made to emphasise certain features and to bring out features in the shadowed areas” the ESA says, but this is only because in reality the comet is almost pitch black.

12. Oil Pastels by Jon Smith

The first step to creating this fantastic photograph was to fill a standard lightbulb with oil paints, the second step was a lot simpler: shooting it with a pellet gun.

13. Here, Once Again by Alex Benetel

Despite the worrying amount of leeches that can be found on her Aunt’s property, Alex Benetel was determined to get this photograph. A brave, brave photographer if ever there was one.

14. Chinatown by Masashi Wakui

Yokohama Chinatown (35°26’39.2″N 139°38’53.2″E) is a beautiful little part of the world, and thanks to Masashi Wakui we all get to see it.

15. Such Is The Price Of Leaving by Whitney Justesen

Whitney Justesen’s photostream is perhaps one of the most beautiful so far, featuring more photographs from her trip to Alaska it’s certainly worth seeing.

16. I Will Learn To Love The Skies I’m Under. by David Uzochukwu

This photograph was taken alongside 23 others by different photographers. Each of these talented artists was asked to interpret one line of Mumford & Sons’ Hopeless Wanderer. David Uzochukwu did a fantastic job with the equally beautiful lyrics “I will learn to love the skies I’m under”.

17. On The Neighbour’s Grounds by Rosie Anne Prosser

After fog and mist rolled onto the lands that Rosie Anne Prosser new so well, she found herself wandering like a stranger.

18. The Dreamy Coast by Rob Macklin

Rob Maclin often drives for miles to get a good photograph, and when clouds finally rolled into the California skies back in January he was quick to travel with his son to the coast and await this majestic sunset.

19. Bagel & Lox by Davide Luciano

Davide Luciano’s gourmet mouse trap: delicious but deadly!

20. Little Sherlock by Adrian Sommeling

Using clever lighting and Adobe Photoshop, Adrian Sommeling has creating a mind-blowing portfolio filled with these unique, surreal photographs.

21. Pyramid Barn by Steve Arnold

Named Pyramid Barn because in some spots it looked like a miniature pyramid, Steve Arnolds says this illustrious farmland reminded him of many trips the UK’s Glastonbury Festival.

22. HIPA by Ian Webb

HIPA is a non-profit photography show that will take place in England later this year. Ian Webb aims to raise HIPA’s profile so everyone can join in.

23. Fim de tarde by Johnson Barros

Choosing to be a pilot is choosing to live a hectic, stressful life: but I bet few among them would change their paths.

24. 320/365 by Alex Currie

As far as selfies go, Alex Curie has to be the master of them right?

25. Red Anemone by Jacob Edmiston

Jacob Edmiston’s photography portfolio includes some of the most detailed, exquisite of flowers that can be viewed by human eyes, there’s no wonder at all his inspired work was included in the Top 2014 lists.

Featured photo credit: Box Brownie | Little Visuals via littlevisuals.co

The post 25 Most Beautiful Photos On Flickr In 2014 appeared first on Lifehack.

So get in now while you can, while the rent is merely "too expensive" before it becomes "prohibitively expensive." [ more › ]

La Mise en Abîme (2013, used oil, metal) / All photos courtesy We Find Wildness

Created by Swiss artist Romain Crelier, La Mise en Abîme (an idiom that communicates the same thing as “a curveball,” but means, roughly, “to have put into an abyss”) was a visually arresting artwork installed on the floor of the Bellelay Abbey in Switzerland back in 2013. The piece is comprised of two shallow pools of used motor oil that function as mirrors, reflecting the architectural details of the surrounding interior. The crude juxtaposition of recycled oil and the impeccably preserved aesthetic of a 12th century church wasn’t lost on the artist who referred to the piece as “monochrome paintings using a despised substance.” You can see more photos on We Find Wildness. (via We Find Wildness, This Isn’t Happiness, thnx Kathy!)

New York-based photographer David Williams potrays men with their cats to break the 'crazy cat lady' stereotype. "I wanted to show that regardless of gender, many people have found the joy that cat companionship can bring," he said in an interview. Williams photographed a bunch of guys hanging out with their pet cats – proving that feline companionship isn’t based on gender. Williams himself lives with his cat in Brooklyn, NY.

All images © David Williams | Via: Juxtapoz

These are the top reasons why bike and car crashes happen, and who's to blame. [ more › ]

Although we're rather hoping for an early summer return, we are still drawn to Paul Johnson's series 'Winter Return' for which he photographed the Devil’s Lake in North Dakota, a closed basin with no outlet that has slowly been rising for two decades due to recent climate shifts. Over 300 farms and two towns have completely or partially gone under water in a slowly rising sea on the prairie. The first part of the series shows the lake during fall. You can find an interesting Q&A with the photographer here.

All images © Paul Johnson | Via: Passion Passport

Sorry for ruining your day because after watching one of Zach King's amazing videos you'll do nothing today but browsing through his jaw-dropping Vine feed. Probably many of you know this talent from Los Angeles already since he has collaborated with various brands such as Lacoste, Pringles, Chrysler, Microsoft, etc. and recently he even mastered the step onto the red carpet of the Oscars and into our good old TV commercials.

We are following him with excitement for quite a while now and for everyone who doesn't have him on their radar yet, make sure to also follow him via Instagram and You Tube.

Photo by Bart van Overbeeke

3D-printed nylon prototype

Edible Growth is an ongoing project by Eindhoven-based food designer Chloé Rutzerveld that blends food, gardening, and 3d printing. The concept involves a specially printed outer casing made from dough that contains “edible soil” and various seeds. Once printed, it takes a few days for the seeds and mushrooms to germinate after which they start to poke out of the small holes on top. All that’s left to do is pop it in your mouth. Rutzerveld’s design is currently just a concept and would involve several years of research, namely around 3d printing technology and issues of food safety. Regardless, it seems like the rest of the project would be fun just to try at home for the sake of novelty. You can read more about Edible Growth on Rutzerveld’s website. (via Dezeen)

Photographer Brandon Kidwell created a series of double exposure portraits that he called 'Wisdom for my Children'. He created the images with his iPhone and post-processed using some photo apps to impart some wisdom based on real experiences that Brandon went through with his children and symbolic of some piece of advice he gave them.

He states: "Raising children is the most important thing I'll ever do with my life. A year ago I started to use double exposures to portray life lessons and wisdom inspired by issues that came about in my children's lives. I hope that these portraits and the messages they contain are received and will resonate with my children and the decisions they make."

To find truth, sometimes you have to reach into the darkness.

Sometimes what we fear the most is only something we haven't grasped an understanding of.

In order to follow your heart, you must first find your mind.

Being free means having the courage to let go.

Lost time is never found again.

To find your courage, you must first find your fears.

Failure and Regret are reserved for those who are afraid to reach with their heart

All images © Brandon Kidwell | Via: Huffingtonpost

"If I were to say, 'Fill in the blank: Cheese and ______', most people would say 'crackers' right away. Well, beer is made from the same ingredients as crackers (plus a few extras), so to me it just makes sense to put them together," says Jesse Vallins. But of course, when it comes to beer and cheese, some matches turn out tastier than others. We asked beer pros for their general tips and a few must-try pairings. Read More

This Burbank pub will be offering $2 brunch items in March. [ more › ]