JONNY QUEST (IN STOP ANIMATION)

PYROGASM

91 ROMAN CANDLES (the action starts at 1:10):



20,000 BOTTLE ROCKETS (the fun begins at 1:15):



 10.5 MILLION FIRECRACKERS:

MELVIN THE (MINI) MACHINE

"Melvin the (Mini)Machine" - a wonderful Rube Goldberg machine that fits into two suitcases. Video by Heyheyhey design studios.

  (via Notcot)

LICORICE PIPES

Like candy cigarettes, licorice pipes and cigars may be slowly drifting into extinction in the United States - perhaps because many American parents are understandably uncomfortable with candies which emulate smoking. For the record: I never started smoking because of these "gateway candies" - I started smoking because smoking is awesome. But cancer isn't awesome and maybe I should quit while I'm ahead.

Anyway. . . I recently bought a box of licorice pipes and licorice cigars with the expectation that they could soon vanish from stores before I have the chance to say goodbye. So I bought a couple boxes to say goodbye - like when you say goodbye to an elderly family member or friend, who you see on rare occasions, and you always suspect that this is the last time you may ever see them, because they are old.

To licorice pipes and cigars: Goodbye, in advance. If you two happen to die in the next few years, I want to say goodbye before you do. And thank you for being delicious.

To buy licorice pipes: LINK, LINK, and LINK.
To buy licorice cigars: LINK and LINK.

LEGO SPACE SHUTTLE: 21 MILES UP

(via Notcot)

MAKING A TINY ROBOT BEE

How the Harvard Microrobotics Lab makes tiny robotic bees:

(via Notcot)

MINIMALIST GRAMOPHONE

(via DesignMadeinGermany, via Notcot)

MOONRISE KINGDOM

Coming May 2012, a film by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola:

TREASURE OF THE FOUR CROWNS

This fine piece of work was released in 1983, in hopes to resurrect interest in 3D films. Written by and starring Tony Anthony, it could easily be seen as a "lost" Indiana Jones film . . . except for the lack of Harrison Ford, realistic props, character depth, a budget, acting . . .

Because it was in 3D, everything in this film IS SHOVED IN YOUR FACE.

A fine piece of action cinema.
Enjoy.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4 (Final)

COFFEE, TEA, OR BLOOD

W00T!
It arrived in the mail a few days ago - my limited-edition (only 250) Frank Kozik Evil Tea Time tea cup: Satanic pentagram on the saucer, magic pentagram inside the cup, skulls and "13" and "69" in the pattern on the outside, and around the rim the phrase "every night in my dreams I burn your cities to the ground."
So. Awesomely. Evil.

MERINGUE MUSHROOM

Stopped by the Moonside Bakery in Half Moon Bay, California yesterday - had to buy this huge meringue mushroom just because it looks so much like the real thing. The top is dusted with powdered chocolate and powdered sugar to give it that tan and dirty look. Awesome.

ALPINE COASTER

In Mieders, Austria - this may be the single greatest thing that human beings have ever invented:

CHEWED: A GALLERY OF DESTROYED DOG TOYS

Chewed - by Arne Svenson and Ron Warren - a fine gallery/book of 140 dog toys that "have seen better days."
(via FeatureShoot)

THE ART OF SYD MEAD

Prof. Michael Stoll has an epic image gallery of vehicle concept art for a U.S. Steel International promotional portfolio, done sometime in the 1980's by the renowned futurist and concept artist Syd Mead - you probably know his work from Blade Runner, Tron, and Alien.

INVISIBLE INK

I bought a bottle of this high-quality (cobalt chloride) invisible ink from J. Herbin, a "maker of fine specialty inks." For the maiden voyage, I tried my best at Edgar Allen Poe's "Gold Bug" - in the story, an illustration of a species of scarab has an invisible ink skull drawn beneath it, the ink activated by heat.

THE KING OF LEGOLAND

A beautiful video by Micaël Raynaud showing the toys of his childhood, set to the song "King of Legoland" by Hunting Charlie's Band & Samuel Vielliard.

(via Notcot)

PROFESSIONAL DISPLAY OF NO-HANDED BIKE MOVES

"Golden Tree" by Martin Brooks

(via Notcot)

REEBOK ALIEN STOMPERS

In the epic 1986 science fiction film "Aliens," Sigourney Weaver can be seen wearing futuristic-looking red, grey, and white Reeboks; as a product tie-in following the film, Reebok sold "Alien Stompers" for a brief time. And now, every few years, a new line of Alien Stompers will come out on the market - they often sell out through online pre-orders, and you will likely never, ever see these on the shelves of shopping mall sneaker stores. Although they have serious fanboy geek appeal, they have an even greater selling point: they are some of the most comfortable sneakers you will ever wear.

And earlier this year, two cool new styles have hit the (online) market:

INDIANA JONES ALIEN STOMPERS
As of the date of this post, a small number of online stores still have "Indiana Jones Alien Stompers" in stock - dark denim and dark polished leather, with Pre-Columbian gods on the tongues.

BLADE RUNNER ALIEN STOMPERS
You can still find the awesome "Blade Runner Alien Stompers" in several online stores (here, here, and here) - futuristic metal-grey color, Japanese on the back, and the nice origami unicorn detail on the side.

DON'T PLAY NO GAME THAT I CAN'T WIN

The full-length version of "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win" from the new Beastie Boys album, "Hot Sauce Committee, part II."


And for a mere $750.00, you can actually BUY the set of Beastie Boys action figures (proceeds go to charity).

FAKE CRITERIONS: ENCINO MAN

So in love with Fake Criterions, I've been inspired and started making some. I hope they show up on their site.
First installment: Encino Man.

FOOD AND AUTOMATION

Takoyaki are fried balls of batter with octopus meat, onions, ginger, and crunchy tempura scraps inside. Watching them cook in an automated fryer is something between hypnotic and meditative.


Watch robotic arms pick up and stack pancakes on the assembly line at Honeytop Foods:

(via Tasteologie/Notcot)

ROBOT JOX

The 1990 film "Robot Jox" is the perfect paradox - incredibly lame and incredibly awesome at the same time. It cost around $10 million to make, and earned only $1.2 million gross. It is totally the epitome of late 80's/early 90's science fiction B-movies, and truly the opus magnus of actor Gary Graham.
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8
LINK

MOVIE ART UPGRADE

The perfect upgrade to movie art for iTunes, iPods, and AppleTVs - replacing the stock film "cover art" with awesome artistic remakes.

• (Often comical) "Fake Criterion" versions of film posters (including movies that would never, ever be in the Criterion Collection).
• A number of movie posters remade by poster artist Olly Moss.
• Star Wars episodes 4-6 beautifully revisioned by Olly Moss.
• Remakes of the posters for Star Wars episodes 1-3 by Zenithuk, inspired by the Olly Moss series.

XENOPHOBE

It was such a totally epic arcade game in the late 80's, Bally Midway's "Xenophobe." On a big nostalgia trip, I've been playing the arcade version of Xenophobe on a free MAME emulator on my laptop (and here's the game ROM you will need). The gameplay is something of a comical version of the film "Aliens" - your mission is to clear Moon bases and starships of aliens, before the self-destruct time ends.

And how much do I love this game?
Click on the epic Xenophobe wallpaper I made [above] to download the full size. And click on the image [below] to get the full sized map of the first 5 levels of the game.
You're welcome!

GREEN LANTERN RING

As another Summer superhero dorkfest is about to begin with the release of "Green Lantern" in almost a week, the question arises:
"What's the coolest product tie-in for this movie?"
As for me, I'm totally getting this sweet Neca Green Lantern light-up ring - it will be perfectly irritating to fire this beauty up during the movie premiere. And here's the epic part: it's only $4.99 at ToughNerdToys.

UPDATE: It arrived in the mail a few days ago (shipping cost almost as much as the ring itself), and it is pretty cool - lights up for a matter of seconds after pushing the button. Though it didn't give me any awesome alien powers, it does help me see when going to the bathroom late at night.

MEN'S GROOMING - PORTLAND GENERAL STORE

Portland General Store carries a nice line of toiletries for men, including a selection of their own fragrances: Tobacco no.001, Professor no.009, Whiskey no.006, and Moss no.017. I got their eau de toilette sampler set - the fragrances are totally my style, but several are a bit heavy on the cedar oil. They also offer a cool Cigar Box Sampler Set [only $40.00], and this epic men's limited-edition Shaving Kit.

(via Notcot)

THE GREATEST KUNG FU FILM COLLECTION EVER

Behold! After several months of hunting, the collection is complete: the collection of the greatest Kung Fu films. The perfect housing for such a collection: a custom-made Buddha USB drive. Although there are scads of new Kung Fu films being made each year, this collection sums-up the greatest of the original "Old School" Kung Fu films, with only a few recent films that are truly worthy.
• "The 5 Deadly Venoms" ("The Five Venoms") [1978].
• "Clan of the White Lotus" ("Fists of the White Lotus") [1980].
• "Drunken Master" ("Drunken Monkey in the Tiger's Eye") [1978].
• "Encounters of the Spooky Kind" ("Spooky Encounters") [1980].
• "Five Fingers of Death" ("King Boxer") [1972].
• "Game of Death" [1978/2000].
• "Kung Fu Hustle" [2004].
• "Legendary Weapons of China" ("Legendary Weapons of Kung Fu") [1982].
• "Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky ("Story of Ricky") [1991].
• "Shaolin Soccer" ("Kung Fu Soccer") [2001].
• "Eight-Diagram Pole Fighter" ("Invincible Pole Fighter") [1983].
• "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin" ("Shaolin Master Killer") [1978].
• "The Crippled Masters" [1979].
• "The Flying Guillotine" [1978].

CONVERSE x ACE HOTEL = CHUCK TAYLOR BOSEY

Converse and Ace Hotel have joined forces to create an epic limited-edition sneaker: The Chuck Taylor Bosey. Inspired by wading boots and 1940's military boots.
(via The Awesomer)

NINJA TANTO BATTLE PACKAGE

You couldn't name something with 4 cooler words: the Ninja Tanto Battle Package. For only $19.99, it comes with a hidden dagger, throwing spikes, and caltrops. A must-have for any stealthy assassin.

CHAP-HOP

Professor Elemental - "Fighting Trousers"


Mr. B: the Gentleman Rhymer - "Chap-Hop History"


AmberGambler - a beautiful Mr. B + Professor Elemental Megamix.