Bridget

Imagine that you're 5 years old and it's Princess Week at your dance class. Obviously, this is a momentous occasion, so you have to consider your options carefully. You could go classic and dress as Belle or Jasmine, or go the more obscure route and dress as Thumbelina or the Swan Princess. But what if you decide that frilly dresses and musical numbers aren't your thing?

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Writer and filmmaker Peter Salomone has cleverly created the Walk of Life Project, a cinematic endeavor in which he seeks to prove that the 1985 Dire Straits song ‘Walk of Life‘ provides the perfect ending to any film. In order to prove his hypothesis, he attached the song to the final scene of 50 different movies of varying genres – classic, science fiction, horror, drama, adventure and even the finale of a television show. Some examples include The Matrix, Star Wars: A New Hope, Drive, 2001: A Space Odyssey, There Will Be Blood, The Shining, Casablanca and quite a few more

Hypothesis: “Walk of Life” by Dire Straits is the perfect song to end any movie.

via Nerdcore

It wasn’t all that long ago that ice cream was sold in actual half gallons, instead of containers of 1.5 to 1.75 gallons… or even smaller. Blue Bunny, a brand that has generally stayed at the higher end of the range, used a recent package redesign to mask shrinkage down to 46 ounces, or 1.44 quarts.

Here’s what the previous version of Blue Bunny’s standard ice cream flavors looked like:

Note how they brag that their products can still legally be called ice cream, unlike some of their competitors. That’s nice and all, but they’ve still taken the package size below one and a half quarts with this redesign.

We learned about the change from Mouse Print, and they contacted Blue Bunny about it. In a statement, the company took the long way around to essentially say, “all of the other ice cream makers are doing it, too.”

While our packaging size has changed with our makeover, the quality of our ice cream has not been ignored, in fact our ice cream is better than ever! Most importantly, consumers can be confident Blue Bunny is committed to delivering an incredible ice cream experience with the best quality in all aspects – from the first opening to digging out the last scoop in the container!

Fine, but we’re going to have to find something to call this size of ice cream container other than “half gallon,” since that cow has certainly fled the barn.

Blue Bunny Ice Cream Downsizes [Mouse Print]

Microsoft has always been pushing for some form of Cross-Platform play between their own line of consoles and the PC (Killer Instinct will have it with Windows 10 and Xbox One, for example), but this new development is something else entirely. The publisher noted this morning that it is expanding this notion to "other console and PC networks."

Microsoft says that it is "up to game developers to support this feature," and if you want, Xbox Live players can still filter to just play with those on Live. Rocket League will be the first game to support this initiative. Microsoft's Mike Ybarra notes: "On cross network play: gamers want more people to play with. We're enabling that and giving devs bigger MP pools."

So uh, yeah. This is huge, if people decide to support it. The ball is in Sony and Nintendo's court it seems (especially Nintendo's), as many PC developers would be stupid to not get in on this and expand and unite their userbase.

A Letter from Chris Charla: ID@Xbox Updates and GDC [Xbox]

Paraguay photographer Jorge Saenz uses classic perspective tricks to bring dinosaurs to life in his epic travel series #Dinodinaseries. His photos document the dinosaur tourists’ travels around South America, a journey that began with Dino the green Brachiosaurus in Bolivia.

Saenz bought Dino at a flee market in La Paz, Bolivia, and then posted a silly picture of him online. The photo was a surprise hit, so Saenz decided to give Dino some friends: “Dina the Stegosaurus, Spiny the Spinosaurus, and Brachy, a brown Brachiosaurus who also happens to be Dino’s girlfriend.”

Check out some photos of their adventures below!

More info: Instagram (h/t: lostateminor)

Reading outdoors is a divine experience. Birds are chirping, the neighbor’s cat is lurking around…and the wind keeps flipping your pages. But fear no more, fellow bookworm, the Japanese are here to save the day with their transparent book weight called Book on Book.

Coming from Tokyo design studio TENT, the acrylic book weight is shaped like an open book (210mm × 185mm), 5 mm thick and weighs 220g. It would totally come in handy when outdoors. Or when you want to munch on those cookies with both hands without a care in the world. Or when you need to have your cookbook open (the book weight would also protect it from spills!).

Place the book weight on your book and voilà! Free your hands just for $34.99 on Amazon.

More info: tent1000.com | Amazon

The book weight is available on Amazon

A family in north Houston, Texas, found a raccoon lounging in their bathroom early on Wednesday morning. Trisha Wilhelm says her family woke up to dogs barking at around 4am.

When she and her husband went to investigate, they found the raccoon lying on the bathroom sink. Trisha says the raccoon must have got in through the doggie door and gone for the dog food, which is in the room next to the bathroom.



Trisha says they made several calls for help to get him out, but that at that time of the morning, no one was available to help. That's when Trisha says she and her husband tried to get the raccoon out of the house themselves.

Trisha opened the bathroom door, but the raccoon wouldn't move. She figured it was scared, so she moved away, and as soon as she did, the raccoon jumped down, walked across the house and out the back door.

With news video.

The worst thing about eating breakfast is that your eggs don’t come in a fun animal shape, but Egg Addiction has finally solved this terrible problem by designing the Cat Egg Mold, an egg corral that allows you to make cat-shaped sunny-side eggs on demand.

It’s a strange product, but there’s clearly a demand for it, as their Kickstarter is doing incredibly well. If you want to make cat-shaped eggs of your own, then check them out!

More info: eggaddiction.com | Kickstarter (h/t: designtaxi)

Here’s their Kickstarter video:

Firebox has released a fantastic wax dinosaur egg candle that melts away to reveal an adorable baby raptor inside.

You’re likely under the impression that bringing dinosaurs back to life is a fiddly affair. You didn’t get your GCSE in cloning using paleo-DNA from either bones or the guts of mosquitoes in amber and John Hammon never text you back. Please don’t cry. It’s easier than you think. All you need is a flame and this Hatching Dinosaur Candle.

As the wax egg melts away it slowly reveals the world’s favorite prehistoric carnivore – a darling baby velociraptor. Not your average ornament, this triassic treasure is sure to add a little life to your gaff.

The best part? You have the opportunity to have this little fella imprint you as the pack alpha, ready to follow your every command.

images via Firebox

via Mental Floss, My Modern Met

Council officials have removed a series of comedy plaques put on a street benches - aimed at bringing a smile to shopper's faces. Pranksters made up the plaques to screw onto the shopping benches to liven up a city centre. But council officials removed the plaques after saying some people could be "offended" by them. The plaques were rigged up in Chester city centre by the mystery artists "in good grace and with no malice or thought of financial gain." But the seemingly random and light-hearted messages do have a serious undertone.



The pranksters aim to raise awareness about a proposed Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) which the council want to use to ban homeless people from hanging around in the city centre. One plaque says: "If you shut your eyes for more than 10 seconds whilst on this bench you may be deemed asleep, and risk facing an ASBO. By Order of Public Space Protection Orders under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014." And another says: "This bench is reserved for the young, beautiful and affluent. If you are old, ugly or poor please sit elsewhere."



Chester City Council say the plans would tackle anti-social behaviour in the city, but critics argue its an attempt to hide vulnerable people out of sight from shoppers and tourists. The pranksters called the plans "draconian" and said they would even prevent buskers from playing around the city. One of them, who did not want to be identified, said: "The PSPO aims to tackle anti-social behaviour in the City, but so far over 10,000 people have signed various online petitions against the proposals. "There are fears that such draconian plans would be used to target the homeless and socially vulnerable. For example the PSPO would make it a criminal offence to lie down in a public place or feed the swans on the canal.



"The plaque attack was all done in good grace and with no malice or thought of financial gain. We just hope the residents and visitors of Chester enjoy them while they can." But the council have not found the plaques as amusing as locals have, and have already taken them down. Maria Byrne, head of place operations for Chester Council, said removing the "offensive" pranks have put pressure on vital funds. Mrs Byrne said: "We have removed the plaques from the benches and although they may appear humorous, some people may find them offensive and it has cost the Council taxpayer money for officers to locate and remove them. If anyone knows who is responsible we would like to hear from them."

This is the Moon Glass, a ceramic cup that displays different phases of the moon as you drink from it (available in sets of two small or large cups for $24 or $30). That way you can daydream you're out laying in a field stargazing and not stuck behind a computer desk sending redundant emails to the idiots you have to work with. I am going to punch Tony in the face by the end of the day, I can already feel it. Dave's not far behind him. He's at least getting an unnecessarily hard pat on the back. Keep going for a couple more shots of the glass, which is actually made to be filled with rice wine, hence the nice moon-y color.

These are a couple shots of Redditor teddy-bear-the1st's cat after he stuck his head in a bag of flour. Cats are weird. They will stick their heads in just about anything. I like that about them. They are CURIOUS. Plus they love playing in boxes. Honestly, I probably have more in common with cats than I do with any of my friends. "Stop licking your hand." Meow? "You're not a cat." You can't prove that. Keep going for closeups of the shots.

This is a video of a Hickory Horned Devil (Citheronia regalis) crawling around on a woman's hands. The Hickory Horned Devil is North America's largest caterpillar and metamorphoses into a regal moth. The moth has a six-inch wingspan but is significantly smaller than its caterpillar form. The caterpillar is harmless and only looks terrifying to scare away predators. I'm guessing it works too because I'm not even a predator and I want nothing to do with that monster. Could you imagine if this is what the children's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar was based on? It would have eaten the whole f***ing planet and started chewing its way towards the sun. Keep going for the video.

A cracker (biscuit) salvaged from a survival kit aboard one of the Titanic's lifeboats is going up for auction later this month and expected to fetch up to $15,000. Apparently because there are people out there who can predict what a cracker from a 100 year old shipwreck is actually worth.

The Spillers and Bakers "Pilot" biscuit was recovered from a survival kit stored within one of the ill-fated ocean liner's lifeboats. James Fenwick, a voyager onboard the SS Carpathia - which went to the aid of survivors from the ship - preserved the edible. He put the sweet snack in a Kodak photographic envelope complete with the original note, which stated "Pilot biscuit from Titanic lifeboat April 1912″.

I mean, I understand the historical significance of anything Titanic related, but a cracker from a lifeboat? I'll tell you what -- I will pay zero dollars but TRADE YOU a whole box of perfectly good Ritz. Expiration date isn't even for another year. *waving auction paddle* Excuse me, sir? You're talking too fast, I couldn't tell if that was a yes or a no. Fine, you drive a hard bargain, but I'll throw in a can of spray cheese. Thanks to vishal, who agrees that cracker isn't worth a cent over $14,000.

Because some people don't like their metal heavy, Boeing has created the lightest metal structure known to date. It's 99.99% air and consists of a lattice of hollow metal polymer tubes. No word how much it costs to manufacture, buy my guess is way too much to make it practical for anything but bragging about until they can get the cost down. Hit the jump for a video about it.

This is a video of a horned lizard (aka horny toad -- the species of lizard that can shoot blood out of its eye when threatened) riding a combat robot into battle. It is pretty much exactly how I imagine the future. Well, minus the fancy blinds and decorative window treatments. In the future everything will be rubble. Hit the jump for the video, then prepare for battle.

This is Lobster Roll, a motorcycle customized by leather artist Timothee "Timo" Richard to look like a lobster. It cost $6,000 for Timothee's leather work alone, not including the bike itself. That makes for a pretty expensive lobster. Surprisingly, the bike was commissioned by the owner of a seafood market and not Aquaman like you might have suspected. "I never suspected that." Hey -- no need to lie, your secret's safe with me. "I wasn't lying!" Shhhhhhh, it's okay, now put your head on my chest and listen to my heart beat. "I don't hear anything." Shit, so that was a heart attack. Call an ambulance. Or let me die, it's really your call. Keep going for a couple more shots, you can watch a video HERE.

These are the handmade cat bags designed and crafted by Pico, a Japanese artist. She only makes one at a time and sells them exclusively on Yahoo Auction Japan, where they go for about $700 apiece. That is not as expensive as I was imagining for such a high quality product. Now, I know what you're thinking, and no, you shouldn't make your own out of a real dead cat. Trust me, that's a bad idea. I can recognize a bad idea when I hear one because they're all I come up with. If I ever give you advice do the exact opposite if you don't want to accidentally hurt yourself/get fired/get arrested/ruin your relationship/die. Keep going for a bunch more shots.

Luna is an artistic lamp design inspired by the Moon. The lamp is available in a range of seven sizes from the XXS 3.2 inch model to the XXL 23.6 version.

The Taipei-based designers behind Luna are currently funding the project with an Indiegogo campaign that has already well exceeded its goal.

images via Luna

via Werd, The Awesomer

And it looks like someone is ready for some Noo Yawk style pizza, to go. He is REALLY getting it to go. Can you bring pizza on the subway? Guess not.

(Sports Illustrated.)

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Rats It's Monday

This is a video of the Magic Candy Factory 3D gummi printer. It can print 15 - 20 gram gummi candies in 3 - 10 minutes using 10 different colors and flavors. I am going to print so many schnazzleberry penises, it's going to be ridiculous. I am going to be like Scrooge McDuck swimming in his money, except gummi peens. Take a dip with me? "No thank you." You can't swim, can you? "Oh, I can swim." Then don't act like you've never swam in dongs before. "I was in college!" Hey -- I'm not here to judge, I'm just here to get somebody to play Marco Polo with me. Keep going for a video of the gummi printer in action.

These are a bunch of charts and graphs created by the hairy-palmed folks at YouP0rn, breaking down how different video console owners use their systems to look at naughty content on YouP0rn's website. I learned a lot. Unsurprisingly, Wii owners use their systems the least to view p0rn, presumably because you never know when your kids are going to wake up and come downstairs in the middle of the night. Also, people search for some pretty freaky shit. When I search for p0rn I usually search for 'good boobies' or 'woman with butt'. Still, perhaps most mind-blowing about all these charts is the fact that anybody uses their console to look at p0rn in the first place. Keep going for a ton more, and for the record, no, Playstation p0rn viewership in California isn't so high because of me (I used a hacked Sega Dreamcast).

In an effort to cut through the confusion surrounding the Chinese delegation visit we have assembled answers to the most common questions posed to us. We will also have officers canvasing around the affected area handing out fliers explaining what to expect.

Question: How exactly will Secret Service/SPD be enforcing a security zone for workers and people heading to meetings? Can someone simply give the address of where they’re heading, or will official verification required?

Answer: No official verification is required. Vehicles can access the security zone either at 5th Avenue between Lenora and Virginia (open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m.) or at Stewart between 6th and 7th Avenue (open 24 hours). Pedestrians can enter at any point. Both vehicles and pedestrians are subject to search under Title 18, United States Code, Section 1752.

Question: We load our trucks with equipment/supplies along either side of our building, both of which are in the security zone. Do we need any special permit or permission?

Answer: Vehicles can load and unload within the security zone. General street parking will not be available.

Question: Will I be able to get into a parking garage that is inside the security zone?

Answer: Yes, but plan for and expect delays.

Question: Will I be able to get to a business within the security zone?

Answer: Yes, but if you are going in a vehicle, plan for and expect delays.

Question: Will I be able to go to the Pacific Place Mall? Westlake Mall? The Federal Courthouse?

Answer: If you are planning on travelling to a destination outside of, but adjacent to, the security zone, plan for and expect delays due to traffic congestion.

 Question: Will people on bikes be allowed in the security zone?

Answer: Yes. The same rules that apply to pedestrians apply to bicyclists.

Question: I have a disabled placard for my car. Will I be able to park on 7^th near Olive?

Answer: Yes, 7th Avenue is open to traffic, as is 4th Avenue, Virginia Street, and Lenora Street. Because this is on the edge of the security zone, there will be traffic congestion. Plan for and expect delays.

Question: Will the Wednesday night Sounders game be affected?

Answer: The game will not be affected. Plan for and expect delays due to traffic congestion.

Safety_and_security_advisory(.PDF)

SEATTLE (Sept. 21, 2015) – Today, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) awarded the Seattle Police Department (SPD) a $600,000 grant to implement an expanded body-worn camera program.

“Today’s announcement by the Justice Department is a huge boost to the Seattle Police Department’s efforts to improve community policing and strengthen accountability,” said Mayor Ed Murray. “We know body cameras reduce the number of complaints against officers and reduce the use of force by police. I am proud of Seattle’s continued leadership as a national model for police reform.”

Earlier this year, SPD conducted its own six-month pilot of body-worn camera equipment and made some of the recorded footage available to the public on a YouTube channel. Seattle police also participated in the White House Police Data Initiative as part of an overall effort to enhance transparency and accountability in law enforcement.

In the coming months, the department will further develop the policies and protocols for the cameras with a broad range of community stakeholders, including Seattle Police Officers Guild, the Department of Justice, the federal monitor, the Community Police Commission and others.

“Body-worn video technology is incredibly important to our communities and our officers,” said Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole. “We are grateful for this assistance from the Department of Justice, and are excited to continue our work enhancing transparency, accountability, and community trust.”

“I have said this from day one that body cameras are a game changer for police accountability, public safety, and as a training tool to improve policing performance,” said Seattle Councilmember Bruce Harrell, chair of the Public Safety, Civil Rights and Technology Committee.  “Police accountability advocates such as Campaign Zero, Seattle legislative districts and community leaders have asked for body cameras and this is great news.  On behalf of the Council, I thank President Obama and his administration for allocating this funding.  We will work towards complete funding in the upcoming budget process. Without question, our work continues building stronger community ties but it starts with clear impartial video evidence of police and civilian interactions. Body camera data from other police departments have seen use of force reduced by 60 percent.”

In today’s round of grant announcements, DOJ awarded $23.2 million to 73 local and tribal agencies in 32 states to expand the use of body-worn cameras and explore their impact. The grants, which require a 50/50 in-kind or cash match, can be used to purchase equipment and require that applicants establish a strong implementation plan and a robust training policy before purchasing cameras. The long term costs associated with storing this information will be the financial responsibility of each local agency.

For additional information from the Department of Justice, visit: http://www.bja.gov/bwc/pdfs/BWCPIP-Award-Fact-Sheet.pdf.

Okay, some creative license. Larian Studios founder Swen Vincke actually asked a much more proper, "Where are the women?" in his blog post yesterday, trying to explain the discrepancy in how many women seem to be playing Divinity: Original Sin and how many women are represented in places like the studio's Kickstarter efforts.

"One of the blind assumptions I’ve always made about Divinity: Original Sin is that many women play it," Vincke wrote. "My feeling that many women play D:OS is further reinforced by the people I meet at trade-shows. For every two or three male fans, there’s always at least one woman. Based on that, my lazy mind concluded that at least 25% to 33% of our audience is female, if not more (given that trade-shows are not exactly gender balanced)."

This did not jive with the 4.20% women visitors (not backers, just webpage visitors) to the series' second Kickstarter or the 9% to 91% female to male Facebook fan results.

Read more...

Image: Wikimedia

According to the Seattle Department of Transportation there have been over 140 collisions between turning cars and pedestrians at intersections in the past three years. As part of Seattle's Vision Zero plan, which aims to eliminate the number of such accidents altogether by 2030, the city is eliminating right turns on red lights at ten critical downtown Seattle intersections by the end of the year. All of the chosen intersections are along Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Avenue and all are potential hotspots for accidents. Drivers who violate the law will be facing a $136 fine, with those who are involved in collisions looking at a much higher fine. We've mapped out the ten intersections below. If you know you drive them often, start making a mental note now before it costs you in the near future. Meanwhile, both drivers and pedestrians can expect to see walk sign changes and the elimination of dual turn lanes around Seattle soon as well.

· No More Right Turns On Red In Downtown Seattle? [KUOW]
· Some intersections in Downtown will no longer permit right turns at red lights [ish]

image via Companion

Companion is a safety app that was designed to let contacts virtually escort each other home. Users can send contacts a request, and if they accept they are taken to a page with a map with live location tracking to “follow” their friend home.

The app uses the phone’s sensors as a series of triggers that could indicate possible distress. If the user starts running, drops their phone, or disconnects their headphones the app will prompt them to make sure everything is okay. If the user does not respond within 15 seconds, their contacts are alerted to the possible danger.

Users can also quickly contact the nearest 911 dispatcher from within the app.

The app is available now in the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store.

images via Companion

via Business Insider, The Mary Sue

Did you know that Donald Trump is a rare genetic condition that affects approximately one in 7 billion people? To help people better understand this unusual health concern, I replicated the design of real health brochures and placed this fake one about Donald Trump alongside them.

This is just the latest in my ongoing project that I call Obvious Plant. You can see my other projects here and here.

More info: Tumblr | Facebook | Twitter

uBreakiFix did a full teardown of the new BB-8 Droid Toy by Sphero from Star Wars: The Force Awakens to see how it works.

image via uBreakiFix

via Geeks are Sexy

Ballantine and Open Space Agency (OSA) designed a 3D printed zero gravity 'space glass' for whisky! The videos and ideas are so fun - maybe i'll have a dram in space in my lifetime.

(Want more? See NOTCOT.org and NOTCOT.com)