Taming Light

What happens when a beam of light travels through transparent textured materials? If you are Alan Jaras (or Reciprocity on Flickr), you can make it refract into a gorgeous array of colors. Bridging the gap between art and science, Jaras bends, twists and turns light...like you've never seen.

These are analogue images of the refraction patterns of a beam of light passing through various transparent objects (in this case a piece of textured glass). The image is captured directly on to 35mm film, no camera lens is used ( this is a photogram using film instead of photographic paper), the transparent object replaces the lens. Colour is introduced by placing specially prepared coloured filters directly in the light beam. This is an analogue image and has not been computer generated or colour treated. The colours you see are a faithful reproduction of those captured on film.

There are several webpages with more pics:
• flickr.com
• mymodernmet.com
• neublack.com

Measure for Measure

This is a clever one by Carl Mitsch of Fred Studio: a set of measuring cups shaped like matryoshka (babushka or Russian nesting dolls). They’re cute and functional! And perhaps best of all, they nest inside of one another so they don’t take up much cabinet space. At $11.95 each, they’re the perfect gift for those who love to cook … and who knows, maybe you’ll get dinner out of it, too.

Look Ma, No Hands!!!

Bicycle maker Gyrobike has invented the “Gyrowheel” — a wheel with a motor-driven gyroscope inside that helps keep it upright. The manufacturer hopes to market it as a replacement for traditional training wheels on kids’ bicycles. Nathan Barry of GeekDad writes:

It aims to replace traditional training wheels or stabilizers and to eradicate the bad habits that they teach kids when learning to ride a bike – leaning away from a turn and constantly putting a foot down at the first sign of a wobble when they’re eventually taken off. The Gyrowheel uses the “gyroscopic precession” of the independently spinning disk inside it to stabilize the bike. The force created when the disk is turned – via a rechargeable battery – is powerful enough to hold a wheel upright at very low speeds (i.e. virtually stopped), and can actually make a bike look like it has a “Ghost Rider” as the videos below show (and there are plenty more on the Gyrobike site).

Upside-down pyramids offer a jungle eco-retreat

Sitting among the canopy of a jungle forest near Yelapa, Mexico, these V-Houses by Heinz Legler are quite possibly an eco-adventurer’s paradise.

The treehouse-like structures are lofted 16 feet above the ground and open on all sides to offer panoramic views of the tropical surroundings. Although the rooms measure only 16 feet by 16 feet, a slanted ceiling and open walls make the treehouse seem larger — blurring the lines between indoors and outdoors.

And to top off this eco-dream of a jungle retreat, the V-Houses were designed with modular components, made with sustainable materials, and have incorporated solar panels, composting toilets, and a greywater system.

The Java Jive

This "Everything You Wanted to Know About Coffee, but Were Afraid to Ask" website combines two of the author's great passions: learning about the world (geography) and enjoying a hot, bitter beverage (coffee)!

Not only does it taste good, but coffee is an excellent jumping-off point for understanding natural resource conservation and exploitation, equity in international trade, the geographic displacement of environmental problems, and global patterns of colonization and post-colonial economic relationships.

A moment in time

Dutch artist Peter Jansen creates polyamide and bronze sculptures that look like a split second in time. They don’t actually move, but they look like they are in motion.

Perhaps appropriately, he started out as a physics student rather than as an artist.

Click on LINK at the end of the Neatorama article to see more of his sculptures.

A building with only one side?

BIG Architects have unveiled an incredible new library that will serve as a multifunctional cultural center for Astana, Kazakhstan.

Named Nursultan Nazarbayev after the first President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the new library will encompass not just books, but space and time as well.

The design comprises 4 archetypes - the circle, the rotunda, the arch and the yurt - which all merge into the form of a Möbius strip.

In designing the structure BIG also used high-tech modeling to calculate the thermal exposure of the building envelope and maximize shading.

Light up your life... with your next drink

Brighten up your next Star Trek After Hours Party with the ElectraPour.

It lights up the stream of liquor by activating an interior red LED light when the liquid passes through the spout.

When you follow the link, have a look at the video to see it in action.

Laughing 'til it hurts

I can't believe that "Dad at The Comedy Barn" - one of the funniest videos of all time, and one of my favourites - only ranked #2 on this list of 10 of the Weirdest Laughs Ever Caught on Camera.

So, for your consideration, I have included that video here once again, but be sure to follow the link to see the other 9 candidates.