14 posts tagged “fun stuff”

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Robots and Monsters

Feb 25, 2009
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Robots and Monsters is exactly the sort of charity I like to donate to. From their website:

RobotsAndMonsters.org is a charitable art project that matches goodwill and charitable giving with custom-made commissioned cartoon and pop art.

Although they don't seem to have anyone special on their Supported Cause list right now, last quarter, proceeds from sales / donations went to the EFF, one of my favorite causes. They have supported several other worthy organizations in the past, but orders made in between support sessions go directly towards RobotsandMonsters.org, which is worthwhile in and of itself.

They have also recently added a storefront and generally cleaned up the website a bit. If you're of a giving frame of mind and have been looking for that perfect recipient for your hard won cash, let me suggest this group. You'll get some quirky, quality art, and you'll be supporting something very worthwhile.

Flip Camera

Feb 19, 2009
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Somehow, these slipped totally under my radar. Maybe because I don't actually shoot much video. I always mean to, and I even bought a fairly high quality digital video camera a couple of years ago but it just never happens. But if I had one of these, well, then I'd have too. Because these cameras are just too cool not to be used.

Flip Camera

My Life Story

Feb 18, 2009
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I don't have kids yet. But if and when I ever do, I want to get one of these for them. Essentially, "My Life Story" is a journal, but it's big and heavy and has all the fill-in-the-blanks that one is supposed to be aware of when you have kids. Part scrapbook, part diary, part info log, all awesome. I found the thing at Suck UK.

My Life Story

The Coolest Thing I've Ever Seen

Feb 17, 2009
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Now, courtesy of FAO Schwartz, you can build your own muppet. And, while you won't be making a replica of Kermit, or Piggy, or Grover, you can still make some really cool Whatnots. Here's mine:

Whatnot

Buddha Machine

Feb 10, 2009
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FM3 Buddha Machine

Last month, Sasha Frere-Jones wrote a piece in the New Yorker called "Instant Karma," which introduced us to the Buddha Machine.

Designed by musicians collectively known as FM3, the Buddha Machine is a small, plastic box, which houses a speaker and other components that will play loops of nine different sounds in combinations decided on by the user. Basically, it's a music box. Only there's no dancing ballerina or fishing frog or anything.

The sounds are somewhat odd featuring chanting, pianos, and everything in between.

The Buddha Machine is not something I would normally be interested in but due to a severe ear infection last year, I have been having persistent tinnitus in my left ear. The doctor prescribed listening therapy, or white noise to reduce the effects of tinnitus. The trouble is, I hate white noise. I watched some horror movie back in the day that was all about how dead people can be heard in the static of a t.v. station and I can never get past the idea that ghosts may be speaking to me through a white noise machine. (Yeah, I know, I know.)

I have been listening to a lot of classical music in lieu of white noise, which is great, only, have you ever tried going to bed with a classical music CD playing? Right when things have gotten nice and peaceful there's a fanfare or timpani solo or something.

So, I'm curious about the Buddha Machine. And at only $20 it seems one of those curiosities that can be indulged without damaging my wallet too much. Before I order though, I'm going to spend some time playing the with wall of sound at Zendesk (a wall of several virtual Buddha Machines.)

Spide, Iron Man, and Hulk

Jun 20, 2008
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I don't know any details about this, but it is carved out of pure awesome:

Spider Man, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk

Apropos of Nothing

Jun 18, 2008
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I spent the morning at the doctor's office being poked and prodded (I'm fine) but I'm a little worn out. So I'm just going to post a round-up off all the things I've been finding on the web to distract myself last night and this morning.

* Amazing and sobering photos of the flood in Iowa

* An excellent TV Squad post about 12 unexpected celebrity deaths

* Cory Doctorow writes in the Guardian about the singularity and an over abundance of surveillance information

* Firefox 3 is out, download it now

* Fray is an interesting new magazine; now accepting contributions

* Magcloud takes the stress out of magazine publishing

* Kottke sums up the current Garfield memes

Go forth and surf y'all.

Pork & Beans

Jun 16, 2008
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Tired and not feeling well, so here's a video that I am currently enjoying.

Weezer - Pork & Beans

Bragging Rights: Schmap

May 31, 2008
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View of Avinguda Diagonal

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a representative from Schmap dot com, asking if I would consider submitting this photo to their Spain, Barcelona guide.

(Scroll to Avinguda Diaganol and my photo is the fourth or fifth to load.)

I did, and then, this morning, I received a message letting me know that my photo has been used in the updated, current version of their guide.

Schmap is an interesting take on map and guidebooks. Their guides are based on Yahoo Maps, but, the content is more or less user generated. Users of the software client or website can post stories, information, links, and photos of favorite places alongside the maps themselves.

Guides can be downloaded for free to the desktop client, which works as publishing software as well.

All in all, Schmap is a very Web 2.0 approach to tourist guides for cities and countries, and I'm happy to be a (small) part.

Props: Mattias Inks

May 30, 2008
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Nerdbots

'Skine Art, a blog that posts random drawing, sketches, and doodles from artists' Moleskine notebooks, is one of my favorite daily reads.

Recently, there have been several fun posts featuring the work of Mattias Adolfsson. On his blog, Mattias describes himself as a freelance illustrator; his blog seems to function as his online resume for potential employers.

The image above comes from Adolfsson's Flickr account and I am re-posting it here under the terms provided by the Creative Commons license.

If you're interested in art, illustration, watercolor, or Moleskines, you may want to check out his work.