Prcog1

There's plenty about Scandinavian design that's so appealing and lends itself to a masculine aesthetic: the clean shapes, and classic color combos, etc. And (but?) this book shelf idea though can fit almost any place, modern or not, and that's kinda what I love about … read more

I’m blown away. These Japanese Samurai versions of the Thundercats are fantastic. They are the work of Phil Postma a Canadian character designer with 20 years experience. His blog is going straight into my Feedly RSS reader. Postma has worked on Flash Gordon, The Mask, World of Quest, The Ripping Friends, Freaky Stories and many more.

I love the mashup. You’ve the very real sense of traditional Japanese illustration here with the iconic Thundercat style. It just works.

Via XombieDirge.

The post Thundercats – oh! these Samurai versions are fanastic! appeared first on Geek Native.

A sour is one of the original families of cocktails, and, done properly, is pretty straight forward: base spirit, an acid to create complexity and brightness, and a little sweetener to tame the sourness and round things out. Which means: a whiskey sour is a perfect cocktail to make at home, without any need to buy an overly sweet commercial sour … read more

The Bay Ridge Community Eco Dock is set to open this Thursday (October 17, 2013) at a ceremony at 11am, according to a notice from the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance (MWA).

As a Parks Department program, the central mission of the dock at the end of the 69th Street pier is to provide recreational access to the water for residents. A public meeting last year was attended by representatives from vessels interested in making use of the Eco Dock, such as the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, a sailing ship that offers educational sailing trips to school-age children, and the John J. Harvey, a retired FDNY fireboat that provides occasional Hudson River tours.

It is expected that a boating club will be established at the Eco Dock, though it was acknowledged that the maritime conditions at the pier are challenging, and would be a location for experienced boaters rather than beginners. At the time, MWA President Roland Lewis said it could take 1-3 years to find a responsible organization that would manage human-powered boating at the dock.

Lewis will be joined at Thursday’s ceremony by NYC Parks Commissioner Veronica White will be joined by City Councilmember Vincent Gentile, whose office – along with Borough President Marty Markowitz – secured funding for the dock.

Courtesy of a few stories I’d written earlier all getting published in in the same 30-hour period, Monday and Tuesday had me looking vastly more productive than I normally am.

9/30/2013: LG Optimus F3 (T-Mobile), PCMag.com

This compact Android phone had some terrific battery life, but LG’s questionable additions to the stock interface were an especially poor fit on its smaller screen.

9/30/2013: Samsung Ativ S Neo (Sprint), PCMag.com

A phone vendor can’t alter the Windows Phone interface, so this Samsung phone did not suffer from the UI alterations I grumble about when reviewing this manufacturer’s Android phones.

10/1/2013: Galaxy Gear Watch’s Time Has Not Yet Come, Discovery News

The first of two reviews of Samsung’s connected Android watch took a higher-level assessment of the thing and suggested ways that upcoming smart watches could do better.

10/1/2013: Samsung Galaxy Gear is a timepiece with an agenda, Boing Boing

In this review, I could get a little more into the weeds. I also had fun coming up with that photo–the corrugated tube those watches rest on is a bendable flashlight you can wear around your neck for hands-free illumination.

10/1/2013: NetNames Piracy Study Follow-Up: Even Incorrigible Infringers Can Still Be Good Customers, Disruptive Competition Project

The author of the study I questioned at DisCo two weeks ago wanted to chat further; our conversation led to me reading a different piracy study that found that habitual infringers are also great paying customers.

10/1/2013: Turn the Page, USA Today Best Years

I wrote an introduction to e-books for USAT’s quarterly magazine for 50-and-over women. I made sure to spell out the usage limits created by e-book DRM early in the story (on sale in print, not available online), but I could not stop Amazon from shipping an improved Kindle Paperwhite a few days after the story went to print.

10/6/2013: How to help iOS 7 run faster on an older iPhone, USA Today

A reader query about sluggish typing on an iPhone 4 led to me to offer some general suggestions about improving iOS 7′s performance on older models–but then a reader pointed me to the unlikely fix of disabling iCloud’s “Documents & Data” sync, which he swore fixed the exact problem the first reader had reported. I left a comment passing on that tip, and a third reader said it worked for him as well.

On Sulia, I chronicled my so-far-unsuccessful attempts to set up an account at HealthCare.gov, reported that the clunky USB 3.0 connector on the Galaxy Note 3 doesn’t charge the phone all that much faster from an outlet, noted a case of my agreeing with one of the RIAA’s tech-policy positions, and called out Samung and Sprint for including an unnecessary second browser on the Note 3 and then tarting it up with an adware toolbar.

Even though summer is gone, you will continue to host awesome dinner parties and you'll definitely need to make some of these cutting … read more

"In 1904, the Cooper Underwear Company ran a magazine ad announcing a new product for bachelors. In the “before” photo, a man averts his eyes from the camera as if embarrassed; he has lost all the buttons on his undershirt and has safety-pinned its flaps together. In the “after” photo, a virile gentleman sports a handlebar mustache, smokes a cigar and wears a “bachelor undershirt” stretchy enough to be pulled over the head. 'No safety pins — no buttons — no needle — no thread,' ran the slogan aimed at men with no wives and no sewing … read more

A few months ago, in the midst of a day full of projects, I had a bit of an a-ha moment. I was in my workshop, using the table saw to slice up some Baltic birch plywood, when a timer on my phone went off, reminding me to take a break and go chop a bunch of vegetables to add to the slow cooked stock I was simmering in the … read more

I shared last week that during October 2013, my house won't be buying anything other than food and utilities.  And while the month is certainly focused on what we're not gonna do, it's equally about what we are going to do... and what I'm going do is watch a whole buncha movies.   … read more

The tradition of barrel or cask aging distilled spirits, wine, and beer goes back thousands of years. Letting the liquid mature within wood is what gives them their distinct flavors, aromas, and colors...when spirits are distilled, they're as … read more

Mr. Lentz - the "modern cowboy of the creative revolution" - has created a very cool DIY project with very detailed steps to make a customized leather … read more

A recent scientific study suggests that petting your cat may actually be stressing it out. This research was conducted by a group of animal behavior experts at the University of Lincoln, University of Sao Paulo and the University of Veterinary Medicine. This data focuses specifically on the stress levels of cats who are petted more in comparison to those who are not.

Kittens that live in groups and can avoid being petted if they don’t want to are less stressed than those who live in solitary captivity. Professor Daniel Mills Professor concludes:

I think very intriguingly, our data suggests that cats who tolerate, rather than enjoy or dislike being petted, seem to be the most stressed.

It seems that those cats on whom the owner imposes him or herself are the ones we need to be most concerned about. The results also reinforce the importance of ensuring that you give all individuals control over their environment…

You selfish cat-petting bastards.

(Image: West Vet) 

The post Petting Your Cat May Be Stressing It Out, Says Science appeared first on ANIMAL.

In graphic design and visual arts, artists use negative space to emphasize their subject. The same could be said of words, in particular stories where you leave enough to the reader’s imagination so they can enjoy the novel, essay, short story, or whatever it might be.

I received this nugget of knowledge at WorldCon last August. Stina Leicht mentioned applying the negative space principle to words during a panel on how to write yourself out of a corner.

Some writers will be quick to say negative space represents the show, don’t tell meme that is driven into every writer’s head who ever attends any sort of workshop. I’m not so sure I agree, though.

While no one wants to read a ton of drivel and boring details from the writer’s perspective, I’ve seen enough authors tell and get away with it. Great writers, in fact, like Philip Roth, J.R.R. Tolkein, and Kim Stanley Robinson. Some go as far as to say the show, don’t tell rule is the great lie of writing workshops.

In reality, “show, don’t tell” seeks to eliminate weak writing. Telling often fails to captivate, and leaves nothing to the imagination. “She was pretty,” for example.

Instead, we show. “Johnna’s brown eyes held my gaze gently. Her full lips curled into a small smile as auburn locks moved slowly backward toward her ears. I tried, but could not stop looking at her.”

However, note the absence of detail there. I did not show you what color or style her clothes were, what her body looked like, what her hands were doing, etc., etc. No, that is the reader’s purview. You assume she is pretty because of the narrator’s reaction, but she may not be.

Over-showing, in my opinion, does as much damage as flat-out telling. Like the straight forward tell, it robs the reader of negative space to imagine.

In considering tellers, the celebrated ones unveiled their stories in straight forward terms. I am stuck by their uncanny ability to do so in an interesting manner. For example, Kim Stanley Robinson gives us whole chapters dictating the scientific laws of the 2312 world through how-to manuals. It’s insane, but delicious, tickling your mind! When you finally understand who is narrating those chapters, your mouth drops open.

Robinson succeeds because he fuels the imagination with negative space instead of robbing the reader of an imaginary journey. It’s the art of grabbing enough to draw, while hiding details so the reader can fill them in with their own opinions, hopes, views and beliefs. A story that grabs the reader engages them in a form of mental interaction, even if they are observing through straight-forward telling.

That is the power of negative space in conjunction with a well-delivered written image.

Personally, I can develop my own expository style further, continuing to move away from tell to show. However, I don’t think a complete yield is the full answer, rather a commitment to tickle the reader’s imagination.

What do you think?

One has to wonder whether humanity is capable of making a better world with technology. This is a central theme in many arenas, from government policy and online conversations to Hollywood movies (even kids movies like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 take this on) and science fiction books.

Some voices are very optimistic, beliveing we can change everything for the better with technology. Others feel it’s the devil’s work, arming bad people with tools for destruction. And others argue it’s not the tools, rather what people do with them.

I tend to lean more towards the middle with a slightly negative view.

Kim Stanley Robinson makes a powerful argument in his ecothriller/space opera 2312 that we generally build tools that we are incapable of handling, make a mess of it, then respond appropriately. This makes sense to me, as generally I think human beings don’t consider consequence until after the fact.

Just consider the mounting climate crisis and our unwillingness to address the matter. In the United States, we are simply unwilling to address this issue on a national policy level. We are gridlocked with partisan politics and a generally unempathizing public. This apathy exists is in spite of technological developments that can dramatically transform energy creation and carbon emissions.

Frankly, I don’t think we will do anything about the increasing environmental crisis until we experience a man-made ecothreat to humanity that causes significant death counts in the hundreds of thousands or worse.

But once humanity sees the true danger, I am sure we will use technology to help amend the situation. This seems to be our approach to the world.

The Social Media Example

Social media provides another example. Many of us hoped conversations would elevate society. Though we have seen great societal good happen through conversational media, we have also witnessed a marked drop in civility, polarization of views, and the rise of a Grumpy Cat culture where pet pics rule supreme.

The truth? Social has just provided a very public mirror of where we are as a species. We hate, we posture, we seek attention, we love, we heal, we grow.

I believe that when the ugly side of social gets to be too much, society as a whole will evolve. Social norms will change, and what is commonly accepted will change for the better. Progress will occur.

You Can’t Run from Technology

What doesn’t work is running from technology.

This is actually a story ark in The Fundamentalists. Exodus (Book One) shows the absence of technology, a direct result of fear resulting from the ecological disaster that created this world. The absence of technology creates a societal power vaccuum. In the next book, the people of Harpers Ferry will have to embrace technology if they hope to have any chance to survive.

My intended point in this story arc is that even if you choose to avoid technology, others will use it to your disadvantage. Like it or not, avoidance creates consequence, usually for the negative. The impact is usually a deterioration of economic, personal and/or societal freedoms.

Those consequences can be subtle for those who fail to adapt, such as computer literacy’s impact on the graphic design and writing professionas. Graphic design has become an increasingly important skill as data visualization takes hold and people seek easier ways to understand information. Meanwhile, the newspaper industry is still evolving and diminishing as result of computing and Internet technologies. Could any talented writer or designer survive in the current environment without understanding how to use modern computing tools?

Good or bad, using technology is necessary for economic survival.

What do you think? Is humanity capable of using technology successfully?

Featured image by Scott McLeod.

How our phones are threatening a grand, old American retail tradition: the impulse buy.

Read The Blog Post Here »

Arthur Morgan doesn’t have time for my shit. He has to pick up 27,000 pounds of watermelons, his phone is ringing off the hook, and those fucking pallets of radishes and green beans aren’t gonna give themselves away, you read? Morgan jumps into the back of his refrigerated truck, shooing me and my reporter’s notebook in the direction of his “articulation guy,” Joe Hamilton.

Hamilton and Morgan belong to a new food recovery organization called Gather Baltimore. Every week — under the direction of the energetic, foul-mouthed Morgan — volunteers collect some 15 tons of fresh produce that would otherwise end up in the compost, or more likely, the landfill. Then they give it away to people who need it. Hamilton, a development director who volunteers with the organization, articulates it thus: “The thing I love is it’s such a simple idea. It’s one of those ideas that when you see it, you think, How is this not happening already? How did we miss it?”

In the United States, around 40 percent of the food we produce goes to waste, while nearly 15 percent of American families experience food insecurity in a given year. It wouldn’t take much of an arm to kill those two birds with one stone. In fact, organizations like City Harvest in New York City, Food Runners in San Francisco, and Philabundance in Philadelphia have bridged the gap between wasteful food operations and the hungry for decades. But as awareness about our very leaky food system increases, even on the part of the government, new organizations with different takes on the problem are spreading like, uh, apple rot. Some focus on gleaning, others on farmers markets or restaurants. One even targets college dining halls. (Because it sure would be a shame to toss those pasteurized liquid eggs.)

In Gather Baltimore’s case, the food currently comes from several sources, including farmers markets and one of the largest produce distributors in the mid-Atlantic. It started small, as these things do. Morgan is an urban farmer; he noticed that he wasn’t able to sell, or easily give away, all of the food he grew. And manning his stall at the local farmers market, he witnessed the waste produced by large-scale operations. “You talk to most farmers and they’re like, ‘You think you have excess?’” he says.

Morgan started distributing bins for food donations once the market ended each week. He took what was donated to food pantries. Before long, he had to call friends to bring their vehicles to help haul away the donations. Then farmers began inviting him out to glean all the produce that remained in the fields after harvest. Finally, in 2012, Morgan received funding through Open Society Institute-Baltimore and Gather Baltimore was officially born. The organization now has two refrigerated trucks and feeds 200 to 500 families a week.

A visit to a produce distributor that shall remain unnamed indicates the potential of organizations like Gather. We back up to one of the facility’s 26 truck bays and enter a massive refrigerated staging area. The walls are lined with shelving piled some four stories high with mesh bags of onions. Workers on beeping pallet trucks careen to and fro, carrying boxes of tomatoes, arugula, oranges, prickly pears. One helps us load up about 3,000 pounds of unsightly, out-of-date, or overstocked cantaloupes, apples, lettuce, and radishes, a relatively small load. (One weekend, Morgan hauled away 34,000 pounds of acorn squash.) The haul likely represents a fraction of a day’s waste for the facility. But because Gather Baltimore doesn’t yet have a refrigerated storage space, once the two trucks are full, all of the food must be given away before Morgan can return.

In a typical week, Gather Baltimore collects food from facilities like this at least once a week, hosts a volunteer-fueled gleaning day on one of several local farms, and collects numerous bins of leftover produce from the farmers market. Gather gives much of the food away at a weekly farm stand in the struggling East Baltimore neighborhood of Oliver. The farmers and distributors get a tax write-off, Morgan says, and don’t have to deal with disposing of their waste. And needy city residents get healthy food. “It’s a win-win-win for frickin’ everybody,” he says.

On a recent Sunday, the farm stand looked like any other farmers market, with long tables spread with an astonishing variety of produce, from leeks to pineapples to mint. Volunteers worked in the background; a local college basketball team unpacked a truck full of watermelons, tossing them assembly-line style. Hundreds of customers, many in their Sunday best, arrived long before the market opened, armed with cloth bags and wheeled carts. Several brought lawn chairs.

It was Joan Thomas’ third visit. She collects donated food for several elderly neighbors on a fixed income. “Before I found this farm stand, it was a lot of canned goods, processed foods,” she said. “Now one of the ladies says, ‘Joanie, this is like when I was little. I haven’t seen food like this for years.’”

At the end of the day, Gather delivers excess food and some they’ve set aside to local charitable organizations. And then the cycle begins all over again. It’s a staggering amount of work, but Morgan hopes this is just the (slightly blemished) tip of the iceberg lettuce. He says that, with funding for a refrigerated storage space, he could collect and distribute at least two to three times his current average, set up more farm stands, and open a distribution center to supply residents and local charities. “There’s no limit to where this thing can go,” he says.

Unfortunately, the bounty isn’t paying the bills at present. The labor is intensive, the trucks and their refrigeration units guzzle as much as $500 a week in gas, and the services of insurance companies and mechanics can’t be bought with cucumbers. Gather is currently seeking funding through numerous channels — including crowd-sourcing.

But, as a matter of survival, the organization has already settled on one change: Soon, the food they give out won’t be free. The details haven’t been settled, but Morgan says customers will likely pay $5 or $6 for a bag of produce worth $50. He’s gotten some grief about this, he says, but he’s unapologetic. “The whole thing is not to give away free stuff,” he says, “but to make healthy food affordable and accessible.”

Filed under: Business & Technology, Cities, Food

Americans have weird eating habits. While we’re eating less beef and less sugar, according to a new report card from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Americans LOVE cheese, and in the past four decades, we’ve grown increasingly obsessed with it. Just look at this graph:

In 1970, a person in American ate, on average, eight pounds of cheese per person in a year. Now it’s 23. Twenty-three pounds of cheese a year! That’s like … a cheese corgi.

The government probably had something to do with this, as Michael Moss told TIME earlier this year:

The USDA has become a partner with the dairy industry and the beef industry in promoting increased consumption of cheese and red meat at a time when its own nutritionists are encouraging people to cut back because both are heavily laden with saturated fat, which is linked to heart disease.

This largely explains why cheese consumption has tripled in this country since the 70s to as much as 33 pounds per person per year.

But it probably also has something to do fast food. Fast and processed food companies have figured out that putting cheese on everything makes it more delicious — and that there’s no limit to how much cheese we will eat. You can make a food too salty or too greasy, but apparently not too cheesy: “The main thing our customers tell us they want is more cheese,” a Pizza Hut manager told the WSJ. And they’re obviously getting it.

Filed under: Food, Living

Mick Hussin was on vacation, sitting by the bank of a creek. A group of dogs ran by, and he noticed that they were chasing a tiny baby wallaby. They chased the wallaby right into the creek, where he started drowning.

So Hussin went to rescue him.

He pulled the wallaby out of the water, and started giving the tiny animal CPR, a skill he’d acquired only weeks before. “I used my hand as a funnel and blowing into its mouth, put it on its side,” he told a local news station.

He did that for 10 whole minutes.

And then, finally, “it started to move its paw a tiny bit and then vomited and started to come back to life,” Hussin said.

He dried the little animal off, made a pouch for it, and kept it warm. And then he did the smart thing and called a local wildlife group.

The wallaby, the group says, is “recovering well.”

Filed under: Living

We know Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston love to goof around at red carpet events.

So with "Breaking Bad" ending, it's no surprise that the two are getting in as much face time as possible at the 65th Primetime Emmys.

While Cranston was busy with a photo-op, Paul sneakily popped in behind him ...

... to make probably the best photobomb of the night. 

Even if the two didn't win Emmys, they know how to keep it light.

SEE ALSO: The Internet is fuming Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston didn't win Emmys

Join the conversation about this story »

There's a new trailer out for Scarlett Johansson's alien movie "Under the Skin." 

Earlier this month, Film4 debuted the first trailer for the movie in which Johansson plays a seductive alien sent to Earth to pick up unsuspecting hitchhikers. 

"Under the Skin" comes from Jonathan Glazer ("Birth") who filmed the movie using actual unsuspecting people. In a dark wig, Johansson was sent to wander Glasgow city and people's reactions to her were filmed. 

The film has received positive reviews after premiering at the Venice film festival.

There's currently no release date for the film.

Check out the trailer below. 

SEE ALSO: The teaser trailer for the film

Join the conversation about this story »

Twitter enabled any person to reach anyone in the world directly with 140 characters of text. And, of course, you know it’s now being used as a news source for millions of people throughout the world. News always breaks on Twitter before it breaks on television.

But WHY is the ability to reach the world directly in real time limited to text?

Why can’t anyone in the world open an app on their smart phone, click one button – and INSTANTLY be streaming live to the world?

Why can’t anyone open their phone, see a quick summary of all the people/brands they’re following streaming right now — and tune into the one they want to consume in real time?

The massive opportunity I see is the ability to stream live to the world, direct from your mobile phone with the click of a button. Imagine a Twitter like platform, for live video.

Imagine a real time video feed of Syria with analysis from a local witnessing the events. Or Tahrir Square, Super Bowl, Mardi Gras, or any other major event of interest. A whole new breed of reporters would emerge — the people AT the location when something is happening in real time. Traditional media could even tap into these sources so as not to have to send video equipment to the location.

It’s not a technology issue. Major media brands such as CNN, ESPN, and NBC already stream news and content live online. There is Ustream and Google Hangouts On Air, which indeed can do the trick. But only uber geeks use those platforms (from my experience).

The reason such a real time peer-to-peer video platform doesn’t already exist is largely due to ease of use, along with the demand side of the equation. People aren’t going to broadcast live, if no one is watching. The classic chicken and egg problem.

That said, I’m convinced a few influential people could kickstart such a platform. Someone such as Gary Vaynerchuk would draw quite an audience if he streamed 15 or 30 minutes every day or two. Or niche online media outlets such as GeekWire, for that matter. How about it Todd and John? Why not broadcast a 30 minute daily show, or weekly recap?

What’s needed is a drop dead simple way for anyone to record live to the world from a smart phone with one click. It needs to JUST WORK – without any hassle or crashing. To start, you’d just enable people to share their broadcast link on Facebook or Twitter – but over time, a way to follow the people, or eventually brands, you were interested in – and have a quick and easy way to figure out when the people you care about are broadcasting.

In every single vertical, we are seeing a shift to P2P. I’m not sure when it will happen, but I’m convinced live streaming from your phone is the next phase of news.

Drew Meyers is the co-founder of Oh Hey World. Global nomad originating in Seattle. Ex-Zillow community builder. Social Entrepreneur. Microfinance advocate. Travel addict. Fan of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Kiva. Find him on Twitter @drewmeyers.

Last week was a strange one for the Nintendo faithful. Hiroshi Yamauchi, the former Nintendo president credited with transforming a simple hanafuda card company into a contemporary video game powerhouse, passed away at age 85. The game industry in general responded with kind words and fond memories, while Nintendo itself honored Yamauchi with a simple gesture — the company refrained from its usual flurry of fun promotional posts via its social media channels for a full day in the digital equivalent of a moment of reserved silence.

But last week also saw the big N looking forward to a number of upcoming releases for its Wii U console. A dedicated Wii Fit U edition of Nintendo Direct revealed that the title will be made freely available for three months to Wii U owners that also have the requisite Balance Board accessory, and it also showcased the title’s Fit Meter. This pedometer-plus tracks not only movement, but also things like workout intensity and even changes in elevation.

Check out the embed below for information about Wii Fit U, as well as Nintendo’s plans to re-release previous generation stand-out Wii Sports with online multiplayer support and in glorious HD!

Thanks for reading GeekDad. Please consider clicking through to our site, we'd love to have you become more involved in our community!

Love it or hate it, LOST was a game-changer in the world of television. Expensive to shoot, filmed in Hawaii, incredibly serialized, and often completely nonsensical, it’s amazing that in the current TV landscape, a network looked at the premise for the show and said, “That’s a great idea! Let’s do it!”

Well, as it turns out: that never happened.

A LOST series bible, created four months before the pilot aired, was recently leaked – and bears almost no resemblance to the actual show we know and (maybe) love. You can click here to read the whole 20-page document, but the folks over at SlashFilm have compiled a helpful list of all the insane lies contained within:

• The document claims the show will be self-contained and not have a serialized structure. “We promise.”
• It says the show won’t fit into one specific “franchise,” but instead can be many genres, such as a doctor show, lawyer show, cop show or character drama.
• Everything in Lost was supposed to have a scientific explanation.
• Claims the show will have no “ultimate mystery.”
• The mystery of “the monster” would be solved in “the first few episodes.”
• Most of the plane’s passengers were never supposed to show up again.
• The characters would live in a “primitive Melrose Place” that could be built on a soundstage.
• Guest stars would be a part of the show.

Obviously if you’ve ever watched LOST, or heard anything about it, or just exist on this planet, really, you’ll know the actual show ended up nothing like this. Speaking with SlashFilm, LOST creator Damon Lindelof explained that ABC was “very concerned” with the total craziness of the series, and that this document was created to appease the network, convincing them of the show’s viability.

It worked; ABC greenlit the show, and within moments, the Lindelof and the other writers chucked the bible in the garbage and promptly began to shape one of the most confusing, intriguing and polarizing shows of all time. Nice job stickin’ it to the man, guys.

But seriously though, I still wish that the smoke monster had been mechanical.

(via SlashFilm, photo via Ewen Roberts)

Meanwhile in related links

• This unofficial LOST playset of Swan Station is amazing
• We love these Ben Linus GIFS
• People won the lottery by actually playing the LOST numbers

I LOVE these optical illusion lunch box notes from Mr. Printables!

We decided to name this one awesome flier because once we tweaked it a bit we got it to fly far and fast!

Click through for the step by step instructions!

Sometimes the simple moments in your day deserve to be celebrated. Today I made it out to the grocery store with all three kids without a major meltdown. I say that warrants a little celebration! I like to indulge in a little cheesecake now and then, so I tried Yopa Greek yogurt in "Ooh-la-la! Strawberry Cheesecake" flavour.

Oh my. It was divine. 

I've tried a lot of different brands and varieties of Greek yogurt, because I prefer the thick and creamy texture of it over regular yogurt, but I've noticed that it can be difficult to find a good fat-free Greek yogurt. The Greek yogurts with 0% fat don't often have the same silky, creamy consistency of their full-fat counterparts. I'm very satisfied with Yopa! It's thick, smooth and creamy, with just the right amount of sweetness. It's hard to believe it's fat-free and has only 80 calories per serving. Plus, with double the protein than regular yogurt, it sticks with you longer. There's also no gelatin or artificial colours/flavours.

I went a step further with this cheesecake yogurt and turned it into crustless mini cheesecakes (or I guess that should that be "yogurt cakes"?).



They're such a great guilt-free treat if you're craving cheesecake but could do without the calories.  My kids liked them too! I think they could be good with vanilla wafers at the bottom, if you were wanting a crust.

Baked Strawberry Cheesecake Greek Yogurt Cups

Ingredients:
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups Yopa! "Ooh-la-la Strawberry Cheesecake" Greek Yogurt
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp granulated sugar

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350F and line muffin tin with 12 liners (I used silicone liners).
• Combine ingredients in a bowl. Pour mixture evenly into muffin cups.
• Bake for 26-28 minutes, until yogurt has set.
• Allow to cool completely, then chill in refrigerator for several hours.

We also tried Yopa! yogurt in "Very Berry Lush!" flavour and my little whine critics enjoyed it, especially topped with granola and berries. There are so many fun flavours to choose from (like Lotta Pina Colada and Va-Va-Vanilla Bean) that I'm sure we'll be heading back to the grocery store for more...which will require another celebration! Lucky me.

Yopa! Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway


 
Disclosure – I am participating in the YOPA Blogger Campaign by Mom Central Canada on behalf of General Mills, and received compensation as a thank you for participating and for sharing my honest opinion. The opinions on this blog are my own.

For almost every holiday gathering in my home, I make a pot of mashed potatoes. It’s an easy, no-fail kind of side dish that is loved by both kids and adults alike. So often, pareve potatoes rely on lots of margarine to achieve a buttery flavor. In this dairy-free version, I challenged myself to create a flavorful mash while using as little margarine as possible. The resulting potatoes were rich and creamy with a hint of exotic saffron flavor. Nobody missed the butter!

If you’re not worried about making these potatoes dairy-free, feel free to substitute butter for the margarine, milk for the non-dairy milk, and heavy cream for the coconut milk. These subs will take this recipe from amazing to “holy cow these might be the best mashed potatoes I’ve ever tasted.” For reals!

Saffron can be expensive; I tend to reserve it for holidays and special occasions. These potatoes would make an elegant side dish for Rosh Hashanah, or any holiday. They have a lovely golden color, creamy flavor and fluffy texture. I hope you love them as much as we do.

Courtesy of artist and Art Projects International, New York

Korean artist Seokmin Ko’s photographs look like normal landscapes, until you look closer. Hidden in each picture is a person standing in a random spot, hiding himself behind a large mirror.

Ko is concerned about the ways human beings lose their individualism in a judgmental society. He feels that people often hide their true natures to cater to the cultures and customs of their specific societies.

In this photo series titled ‘The Square’, Ko’s camouflaged subjects hide behind the mirrors as a “survival technique”, using them as “shelter” to escape from “controls by numerous views”. In the end, there is only a distorted image in place of the individual.


Courtesy of artist and Art Projects International, New York


Courtesy of artist and Art Projects International, New York


Courtesy of artist and Art Projects International, New York


Courtesy of artist and Art Projects International, New York


Courtesy of artist and Art Projects International, New York


Courtesy of artist and Art Projects International, New York


Courtesy of artist and Art Projects International, New York


Courtesy of artist and Art Projects International, New York


Courtesy of artist and Art Projects International, New York


Courtesy of artist and Art Projects International, New York

[via Detail Daily, images via Seokmin Ko]

Measuring less than 3 inches x 2 inches and at only half-an-inch thick, the newly released “Bonzart Lit” digital toy camera certainly punches above its weight in terms of functions.

Packing a surprisingly full menu of options into its tiny body, this cute photography toy can snap pictures with a resolution up to 2,048 x 1,536-pixels, just like an Apple iPad 3 retina screen.

In addition to a simple filter menu and an exposure adjustment function, the Bonzart Lit also comes with light metering to measure the center of its photographs and allows users to set white balance for different lighting conditions.

Producing soft-toned, artistic images with a natural vignette effect, this fun but capable camera is now available for US$40 in red, black, blue, pink and white over here—a micro SD card would have to be purchased separately.







[via New York Times]