Frivolity

No, it's not how evolution really works, but it's awfully cool anyway. The Experiment from Colin Trenter on Vimeo. I love Photoshop, but am I the only one who thinks this resembles a cross between a Rorschach test and a SyFy Channel commercial?
NightPeeps Melissa Harvey (after Edward Hopper) It's that time of year again! As I roasted blue Easter Peeps over the gas stove yesterday, I eagerly awaited this year's collection of Peep dioramas from the Washington Post - and here they are! View the complete Peeps Show here. Be sure to check out "Double Peep Strike" (Miracle on the Hudson), Bernard Peepoff, and the Trek Peeps of Stardate 2351.6. Many dioramas play on DC themes: "Peep to the Right" refers to clueless tourists who stand on the left side of Metro escalators, blocking those of us who use public transit to get to work; "…
Zombie Stomper by Iron Fist, via Haute Macabre Yup - Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter is the project the author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is doing next. While my review of P&P&Z was pretty positive, I'm not sure I can in good conscience encourage this trend. Also, note that while P&P&Z has surged to the top of the bestseller list, the New Yorker was not as charitable in its review as I was. Perhaps these shoes by Iron Fist might serve as a litmus test for whether you are likely to enjoy P&P&Z. Tongue-in-cheek fun or thoroughly foul? You be the judge!
Say you end up transported back in time, you can read English, and you're still on Earth: this T-shirt is your crib sheet for a successful career as visionary, inventor, and entrepreneur! Either that, or it will get you burned as a witch. View larger here. Wear/read/implement at your own risk. . .
Last night, I dreamed that I had a closet full of seriously amazing shoes, from strappy stilettos to lace-up boots. When I awoke and remembered that my closet is actually full of uncomfortable work pumps and trail runners, I was disappointed. But I knew who to blame for my dream: Isis! Ever since Isis arrived at Scienceblogs, I've been meaning to post something about shoes. When our resident domestic and laboratory goddess saved me a couple hours of driving to and from the office on Saturday by emailing me a journal article I'd forgotten, I promised to write her a thank-you post all about…
What's that you say? You still haven't joined Twitter? You don't see the point of constant 140-character status updates? Well, that's suddenly okay! You can emulate the many developing third-world nations who leaped directly over landline telephones to cell networks, and bypass Twitter entirely for the next big thing: Flutter. Now what we really need to do is figure out ways to harness Flutter to replace the mainstream media and transform science. Imagine lab goggles with your friends' "flaps" scrolling across them: you'll never need to leave the bench to "have a life!" w00t! Via…
New anatomical DIY project: get a CT scan, remix it to music, and post it on the web! That's what Jaymis did: Inside The Jaymis: Skeleton Animation - Wide Time from Jaymis on Vimeo. I got an MRI recently, but they didn't give me the results on a CD, so I can't do this. Now I feel all left out. Nevertheless, it's kind of odd looking at someone else's innards on a Sunday morning over tea. . . is this DIY TMI? Via Andrew Sullivan.
Lately, I've been seeing a lot of dinnerware that's just too fascinating to cover with food. Like Hiroshi Tsunoda's Bodylicious plates, available at DesignCode. According to Street Anatomy, Tsunoda was inspired by Nyotaimori, a tradition where food is presented on a naked woman's body and used as a tray. Nyotaimori is also referred to as body sushi, and requires the person to practice laying for hours without moving. Wow, I'm not sure what to say. But at least the plates are equal opportunity: there's a Bodylicious Y set too! Moving from Homo sapiens to marine invertebrates, these…
I've been as eager as a brain-starved zombie to get my hands on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the Jane Austen mash-up concocted by Seth Grahame-Smith for Quirk Books. It sounded a like Regency Buffy: zombie-slaying Lizzy Bennet indulges in arch quips while skewering zombies and ninjas with her Katana, all in time for the Netherfield ball. The obvious question was, could this conceit actually work for the length of a novel? The answer: yes - sort of. P&P&Z is no Buffy. But it will be entertaining for a particular type of reader: those who are familiar with the original novel, yet…
From Failblog. (I dedicate this to Hungry Hyaena, who holds extremely nuanced views on the ethics of hunting, and would no doubt have an easier time if he embraced complete denial, like this poor person).
This revealing anatomical card by Oregon designer Nathan Chrislip can be had for only $9 plus shipping on etsy. (Chrislip calls it a "valentine," but unless your beloved is also an avowed anatomophile, be sure to enclose a message making your nonviolent romantic intent clear.) Via Rag and Bone Blog
This is pretty darn good for Stanford students! ;) Ready for the final?
Via Bora's blog, a delightfully cheesy1955 filmstrip about why science education is more important than anything else - even fishing. It starts out slow, but this Sputnik-era treasure turns into a veritable propagandafest about how science literacy is a civic duty. Plus, it raises vital questions like "Why do these kids have weird pseudo-Southern accents even though their parents don't?" and "How can science help Betty 'hook some guy'?" Remember, women need to know as much about science as some men do! Are you going to be ready? (Look how bored Betty looks by the end.) Provenance:…
I know I've typed out some howlers in my day, so I say this with all due humility. But this post over at iO9 had me rolling on the floor last night: Paul Murtaugh, a statistician at Corvallis' Oregon State University, claims that our carbon legacy isn't just limited to our own emissions, but 50% of our children's (The other parent gets the other 50%). And 25% of their children's, and so on, and so on. He arrived at this estimate using math: Murtaugh used UN population projections, which say that after 2050, birth rates in all countries will be 1.85 children per woman, on average. Then he took…
I don't know how in hell I missed this one, but thank heavens A Repository for Bottled Monsters alerted me to the "Uterine Plush Recall" over at I Heart Guts! Apparently the uterus "failed a pull test" and "the ovaries may be pulled off and become a choking hazard"! I do not think I am alone in saying eeeuuuuww! I Heart Guts assures us that rest of their smiling fuzzy internal organs are perfectly safe for all ages, but if you are in possession of a smug, Thriller video-dancing, pink plush uterus with hazardous trachea-sized violet ovaries, please contact appropriate support personnel…
The Pi Day bill went up for a vote today and passed 391-10. Now Congressman Jason Chaffetz explains (via Twitter, natch) why he dared vote against the hallowed number: Fie, fie! No Yes PeCan Pi for you, Representative Chaffetz (R-Utah)! But kudos for a creative excuse.
Here in DC, creative individuals appear to have revised Chevron ads in at least one Metro station to reflect a more, er, politically overt sentiment. The poster hack changes the promise "I will use less energy" in this ad (pdf) to "I will stop lobbying against climate legislation." The digitally executed revision (which looks pretty convincing in person) follows in the footsteps of Berlin graffiti artists and others who use graphic hacks to subtly shift, reverse, or critique advertising in public places. The question is, how many people have noticed? (Keep your eyes open, DC residents!)
So I observed Pi day by baking a pie. But Representative Bart Gordon of Tennessee, Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology, has a much grander idea: let's pass a resolution! Witness H.Res.224, introduced yesterday: Supporting the designation of Pi Day, and for other purposes. Whereas the Greek letter (Pi) is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter;Whereas the ratio Pi is an irrational number, which will continue infinitely without repeating, and has been calculated to over one trillion digits;Whereas Pi is a recurring constant that has…
Rumor has it there's going to be a no-holds-barred culinary throwdown here at Scienceblogs in honor of Pi Day. Personally, I need little excuse to make a pie. And the staffer needs little excuse to eat pie - particularly pecan pie. So here is my entry. . . .the "Yes, PeCan" Pi. As pies go, this is a simple one that can handle some imprecision. It's a little different every time I do it. And in the spirit of 3.141592-oh-whatever-who-cares, I embrace freely rounding off quantities whenever I feel like it.* In fact, I used my ubercool but uberimprecise Equal Measure to make this Pi: "Yes,…
Juliet Lapidos at Slate tells you. Now that you know, please don't send it to me. Image: International Air Transport Association guidance document on infectious substances (pdf)