Thanks to Mark, David, Xeni, and Cory for the opportunity to place my posts on the world's best blog for the past two weeks. Having an online presence on such… Read the rest of the article: The Long Goodbye

My friend Gareth Branwyn, chief blogster at Makezine.com, had a picture of himself drawn as a robot that I thought was pretty cool. Investigating that idea led me to the… Read the rest of the article: BeFunky's Way Cool Portraits

One favorite quote from Hunter S. Thompson, who died exactly five years ago (give or take a few days) ago, is this one, the opening lines from Fear and Loathing… Read the rest of the article: A flat-out high speed burn through Baker and Barstow and Berdoo, into frantic oblivion

Avant-garde artist Reid Peppard has a line of bold fashion accessories for men and women. Actually, bold is putting it mildly. The fashion accessories are pieces of fashioned taxidermy crafted… Read the rest of the article: The Fashion of Taxidermied Vermin

Minneapolis/St.Paul based artist Dana Maltby uses a open shutter and a slew of colored lights to create some fascinating images that he calls "light art performance photography." All images are… Read the rest of the article: Light Art Performance Photography

I propose to bring before you, in the course of these lectures, the Chemical History of a Candle. There is no better, there is no more open door by which… Read the rest of the article: Happy Sesquicentennial: The Chemical History of a Candle

As may be apparent from my earlier posts, I'm interested in "dangerous" foods and drink and playing with fire. This week, I've come across this flaming cocktail idea called "The… Read the rest of the article: Crowdsourcing the Physics of the Backdraft Cocktail

Assert dominion over your desktop. Between the instructions provided in John Austin's book and the key to your company's office supplies cabinet, you need tolerate no threat to the security… Read the rest of the article: In the Cubicle Trenches – Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction

I've been reading the oldest joke book in existence, the Philogelos, a Byzantine book written in about 400 AD. It's full of knee slappers. The book is mostly quips from… Read the rest of the article: And You Thought Byzantines Weren't Funny?

I posted earlier this week about foods people eat even though they are dangerous if improperly prepared. Here's a food people eat that seems dangerous no matter how it's prepared… Read the rest of the article: Weaponized Chili Peppers

What I find frustrating about domino toppling is its ephemeral nature. If only the dominoes could stand themselves up again, you could topple them over and over. Los Angeles artist… Read the rest of the article: Self Righting Domino Sculpture

I've been in some pretty terrible public bathrooms, some of which made me want to do various things, but I can't say they really affected my politics. But back in… Read the rest of the article: Is your bathroom a cause of political radicalism?

When I guest blogged last June, I posted about tautonymically named people (e.g. Billy Dee Williams, Ford Madox Ford, Humbert Humbert.) It made me want to research other people with… Read the rest of the article: Madoff Made Off with my Money

Last year, David Pescovitz gave me a copy of Mr. Wilson's Cabinet Of Wonder: Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Technology. An interesting book,… Read the rest of the article: Giant Spiked Cave Spider as a Wall Accent

Recently in the London Daily Telegraph: "An aquaculture company based in the southern prefecture of Ehime (Japan) said it had raised 50,000 non-poisonous fugu at a fish farm." In my… Read the rest of the article: Fugu Without Tetrodotoxin is like Nascar Racing without the Possibility of Crashes

The original EASY-BAKE used a 100 watt bulb as its heat source. (I always loved the fact that you could bake brownies with a lightbulb.) In its first year, over… Read the rest of the article: The 100 Watt Lightbulb Goes Out: Ronald Howes, Easy Bake Oven Inventor, Dies at 83

Thanks to the tireless efforts of a legion of Chinese engineers/joke-fabricators, it's now possible to a own a Dwight Schrute-like office cubicle where every single item in sight, from the… Read the rest of the article: I Warned You to Stay Away From My Stuff

As a contributing editor at Make Magazine, I know how important a good magazine cover is for single copy sales. A pretty girl is good for sales, and a guy… Read the rest of the article: Could This Really Happen to You?

2010 marks the centenary of a number of great events, including the first air to ground radio message. Exactly 100 years ago, a gray tabby named Kiddo became the first… Read the rest of the article: Centenary of First Ever Air to Ground Radio Message: "Come and Get this Goddam Cat"

Beyond domino toppling lies the next big thing in kinetic art: xyloexplosive devices. I met kinetic artist Tim Fort when he put on a workshop at the wonderful Leonardo's Basement… Read the rest of the article: Xyloexplosive Devices