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.

MINIMALIST GRAMOPHONE

(via DesignMadeinGermany, via Notcot)

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.

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)

CHAP-HOP

Professor Elemental - "Fighting Trousers"


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


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

SECRET HOBO SIGNS

The Internet has needed a good directory of old railyard hobo signs - the signs that hoboes used to chalk onto walls and trains to communicate with each other. Behold the Super Secret Clubhouse index of "Secret Hobo Signs". . .
[click to enlarge]

CONEY ISLAND 1905

A look at the spectacular rides of Coney Island in 1905, as the young ladies of Miss Knapp's Select School pay a visit:

DINOSAUR ART

Copyright Expired has this great collection of early illustrations and paintings of dinosaurs and ancient mammals. They make great wallpapers.

COWBOYS AND ALIENS

OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD - Two of my favorite things together in the same movie (like snakes and planes):

MEXICAN JUMPING BEANS

Something you don't hear much about anymore: Mexican Jumping Beans. They aren't actually beans, but seeds from the Northern Mexican shrub Sebastiania palmeri that are infested with the tiny larva of the Jumping Bean Moth (Cydia deshaisiana) - when the larva get too hot, they "jump" inside the seed to move to a cooler location.

You can buy bulk sets of Jumping Beans from Jumping Beans-R-Us for as low as $15.00+S&H.

MIXTAPE GENERATOR

The Mixtape Generator - a warm reminder of the lost art of the cassette mixtape.

STRANGE CUSTOMS OF THE WORLD

I recently bought this set of cigarette cards: "Strange Customs of the World." It's a sensationalist anthropological series on the interesting customs around the world, though some of these (like a bar mitzvah) would seem strange only if you lived in a cave. [click to biggify]

OLDEST MONOPOLY SET

On sale at Sotheby's: Lot no 232 - from the Malcolm Forbes Toy Collection - a 1933 handmade Monopoly game set.

It is the oldest of its kind in existence, hand penned and painted by Charles B. Darrow (the guy who developed the Atlantic City version of the game).
The gameboard is circular.
Expected to fetch US$60,000-$80,000.

(via Dinosaurs and Robots)

A TRIP TO THE MOON

Georges and Gaston Méliès' 1902 film "Le Voyage Dans la Lune" ("A Trip to the Moon") is the first science fiction movie, ever. This version has narration with a charming French accent:

SHOOTIN' GALLERY

There is a certain beauty in the simplicity of many of the old 8-bit games of the Atari 2600. Yesterday, I was playing the classic game "Shootin' Gallery" with the Stella Atari 2600 emulator on my laptop (free game ROMs from Atari Age). The gameplay is a little like Space Invaders, but the monkeys and traincars don't shoot back. This kind of game won't keep you enraptured for hours, but it is perhaps the perfect way to squander 20 minutes of life.

ROCK'EM SOCK'EM ROBOTS OLDSCHOOL

Rock'em Sock'em Robots is now available in an oldschool box design.

Related awesomeness: the always epic artworks of Eric Joyner:

JONI STERNBACH PHOTOGRAPHY

Joni Sternbach uses antique tintype photography - it adds a certain romantic vibe to her series on surfers.

(via Notcot)

OLD TIMEY CARTOONS

New cartoons with that Old Timey look:

"Daddy's Little Doll" by Birdo with music by Pequeno Cidadão.


"Black Thin King" by Birdo with music by Combustion


"Wood" by McBess & Simon with music by The Dead Pirates

PREMAKES

Ivan Gurerro makes "premakes" - what modern films would have looked like in the past.

Ghostbusters


Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back