dollar dollar dot dot

about half-way through 2011, bitcoin was making (small) ripples in online media...and since then, well...have you heard of it? WIRED have a great article on "The Rise and Fall of Bitcoin".

Where are all the plus-sized male models?

It's a very good question, posed by NYMag.

How to Respect a Finnish Door

The Guide To Appropriate Drinking Ages

New York Magazine'sGuide to Appropriate Drinking Ages is wryly amusing - though I was a bit surprised to see that getting a drink "from a fake volcano" is acceptable up to age 50. really? i would put the cut off at 23....

Too Old...? Babies Can't Count

In a brilliant longer article in NYMagazine, the prejudice against older mothers is examined- by older they mean women who are pregnant in their late 40s and into their 50s. Is it really so bad or are social norms correct? Available here.

oooh aarr me hearties

i know it's a little late for "talk like a pirate day" but nevertheless, Wired has provided a guide on "how to talk pirate"...from a real-life Somali scourge of the seas. Available here.

Cinderella Ate my Daughter

it's the title of a book which came out earlier this year, and one i will be putting on my "to do" list. for a taste, there's a review here.

a blonde goes to the library...

(though i'm really not sure what this has to do with a mercedes apart from a tangentially...)

Melonistan

Who knew that Turkmenistan celebrated National Melon Day? not like they have much else to celebrate...

Who knew that you could frame temping in the UK Coalition government-era as reminiscent of Mad Men?

Who knew a viral video could help a revolution? Zenga Zenga!

World Peace Could be Closer than You Think

Finally, some great news, courtesy of Joshua Goldstein at Foreign Policy.

and...CUT! it's a (w)rap

Radioactive Music

recession in the land of the tooth fairy

it wasn't just mere mortals who have been affected by the economic downturn... the tooth fairy has also been hit. and this is a real news story...

marcel the shell with shoes on

streetart urban beautification strategizing

What the Fuck is my Street Art Strategy?

"Don't for a moment think that you're giving street art a bad name"
(I've already fuckin done that)
NEXT

music video + jonestown massacre

not exactly the first combination that springs to mind - however the footage mixed with cult's "go outside" soundtrack is haunting and intriguing
it's hosted here over at boingboing

typonerd genius

sesame street are beastlie

stories, endings....and facebook

in an article over at nymag (available here), paul ford discusses how facebook is messing around with the stories of our lives - the chapters don't close; they just keep on going.

silent lightning disco

1.30am, july 13th 2011: an almighty storm hits zurich. 45 litres of water per square metre fall overnight at the airport. but once the hailstones stopped, this is what was left...

say no to .ppt

July 2011 marked the founding of the Anti-PowerPoint Party in Switzerland, who claim that each year, CHF2.1 billion is lost in Switzerland alone through bored employees having to watch dull uninspiring powerpoint presentations. read the rest of their manifesto here.

tribute to shuttle

2011 marks the final flight for NASA's shuttle program after 30 years. In this (yes, it's long) video, watch shuttles take off in gorgeous slow-motion, with explanatory commentary that's actually interesting.

oreo cameo

yep...a nice american lady who carves cameos (like the brooches)...into oreos. god bless ya, Judith Klausner.

"ode to a four letter word"

guess what it is.

toot? lamp? fool? luck...now you're getting close

more cuteness from iceland

this time, it's Icelandic Bands That Are Not Sigur Ros. I'm really liking this campaign!

chicks on decks

steve buscemeyes

tumblr has cornered the market in hosting photoblogs of random sh#t. this one's just the latest...what's the plural of "steve buscemi"? yep, "chicks with steve buscemeyes" apparently. unsettling to say the least....

gucci gucci louis louis

90 for 90

prince philip is soon turning 90, and in grand british tradition, a list of 90 of his gaffes, faux-pas and general rudeness has of course been compiled. i do not think this is exhaustive.

medicine and humanity and possibility

HIV and AIDS are diseases that no-one thought possible to cure. so when a doctor in a hospital came up with a solution, tried it, and it worked, he was scoffed at. "who was this guy and who did he think he was?!" that man was gero hüttner and his patient was timothy brown, aka The Man Who Had HIV, and Now Does Not.

urdu we do

Gawker has a 10-minute video on the world's last remaining hand-written newspaper. bless them, the scribes leave a blank space in case of "breaking news" by the time they finish.

pylon eyesore?

the UK is running a competition to find new designs for electricity pylons. can boring be beautiful?

how to sell ad space

if you're dutch, it involves getting naked.
but not in the way you think...
[scroll right]

bedtime storybook

but this one is NOT for reading aloud to your children. it's for reading in your head as they don't go the f~#k to sleep.

iceland wants to be your friend

and what do friends do when they come from different cultures and countries? they teach each other words! ok, usually of the rude variety - i can swear in hungarian, german and fijian - but also some usefulness creeps in along the way. and remember, each icelandic word "has been hand-made for you by actual humans".

Every Single Word in Icelandic - as explained to you by your friend, Iceland.

letters of note

there is a sad echo you may have heard, whispering how (handwritten) letters are dying out. never fear, the internet is here! over on 'letters of note, you will find 'correspondence worthy of a wider audience', such as a letter Iggy Pop wrote to a fan, or a memo on the casting of Star Trek:TNG.

mind the gap

commuting every day to work on public transport can become tiresome and dull. you don't get a seat. the person next to you apparently hasn't showered in maybe six days. you go three stops before realising you left something important at home. which is why when people get creative and cheeky, tweaking little details you notice because you've got nowhere else to look, it makes your day.

example one: Stickers on the Central Line

the reluctant role model

cher, gay-icon supreme, had a daughter and she named her chastity. one day, chastity realized something just wasn't right. now she is a he named chaz, subject of a documentary about the demanding process. and no...it wasn't because his mom was cher.

flowchartness of helpful

it is a difficult question to answer sometimes, so now there is a very useful flow-chart to help you resolve the issue.

SKI ballet

gangsta ballet with yoyo ma

hold 'em up

florida is very, very close to passing a law that would ban saggy trousers - you know, the ones (mostly) boys wear when they want everyone to appreciate their choice of underwear that day? click here to read more!

signs

oh those motivational manifestos that pop up every now and again. they sound great. they usually come with a great graphic. are you actually going to take much notice of them? well, if it's important, you'll find a way

Thai Little Difference

the 80's ragtime remix

supremely talented: Scott Bradlee

who knew Cee Lo could be educational too?

the digbys

i'm not going to try explain, just go and read it. the story of The Digbys, via the Daily.

oakoak

OakoAk is french, and takes street furniture, cracks in walls and other physical objects as challenging canvases for pop-culture street art. his website is here.

pole dancing for jesus

yup...only in america. the video and slightly snarky article are available here.

art in a toilet roll

no really. these teenytiny creations are the work of french artist anastassia elias. and they're beautiful.

girl walk//all day

a monkey could do better

what happens when you compare paintings done by monkeys (or 4 year olds) against those done by famous expressionist artists?

well,Psychology Today discovered that 1 in 3 art students...


...well, they should probably be doing a different degree

big screen things

that boot it's....oh wait, i know that hat, it's from...just a moment...uh...
nope.

think you can do better?

famous objects from classic movies

everything is ok

the museum of fat love

now, is this cute or mean??
"An incomplete collection of evidence proving the existence of those not-so-rare creatures: fat people in love."
it's the Museum of Fat Love

marching band go all Rage on your ass

lala the penguin. i want one.

puppets and drunken babies

it's a trailer for Swedish film "Las Palmas"...

why kids don't like wearing coats

NPR says it's ok, kids don't need coats as much as parents think they do. if they don't wear a coat, it doesn't automatically mean they're going to catch a cold.

groundbreaking.

food for thought

tajikistan: bad for beards

if you're a man with a beard in tajikistan, beware. the government authorities are attempting to crack down on "extremism" and are harrassing men with facial hair. no, it's not suddenly april 1 and no, you're not in the twilight zone. read this article over at Eurasianet to see it's the truth!

eklips

ads from yesteryear

"Laboratory tests over the last few years have proven that babies who start drinking soda during their early formative period have a much higher chance of gaining acceptance and 'fitting in' during those awkward pre-teen and teen years."

back to the caxton

it MAKES books. in under four minutes! but just one question...for a machine that costs around $100,000 why is the commercial so crappy?!

canstruction

Canstruction is an american non-profit which makes art out of cans. which become a giant art display. and then the cans of food which comprise the art get distributed to those who need them. art does have a purpose after all.