Monday, September 17, 2012

The Confectionery - 17

These are the things that I think are great.




NERDY PINCUSHIONS
I need to have one of these in my life.  The fact that I am useless with a needle & thread is not the real issue here - choosing which one I want the most is.  So what if I never actually use it?  

Boba Fett Fat Cat

Indiana Jones Fat Cat
Check out Fat Cat Crafts' Etsy page for more designs featuring Dr. Who, Star Trek, Super Mario, & more.






TESLA VS EDISON
General Electric recently began a marketing campaign using Thomas Edison, based on the Ryan Gosling Hey Girl meme.


Brilliant, you say.  Sure, if you aren't aware of Thomas Edison's jerktastic history of stealing other people's ideas.  Edison was a founder of GE, so it's obvious why they are using him in their ads, but for an internet campaign (when the internet kind of hates him), it seems ill-advised.   Anywhere these memes are posted, you will find comments that amount to "Edison was a douche.  Nicola Tesla FTW!" 

I didn't know anything about Tesla until I saw The Prestige, which made me want to find out more (because if David Bowie plays you in a movie, you must to be a special kind of awesome).


My favourite explanation of Tesla's awesomeness is this comic from The Oatmeal.  Please, please, please read it.  Then read about this campaign to build the first Tesla Museum on the New York property where Tesla tried to, you know, provide free wireless energy for the entire planet.  Just another day for Nicola.  The project's goal was $850,000 - just enough to buy the land.  To date, $1,250,925 has been raised (more is still needed to build the actual museum).  I told you the internet loved Tesla, right?  Donate here.






THE WIRE: RPG & LEGO VERSIONS
College Humor has created another imagined RPG, as they did with Game of Thrones & several other series.  This time The Wire gets spoofed, & you can watch it here with a bowl of Honey-Nut Cheerios & whiskey...but if you haven't seen all 5 seasons of this incredible show, stay away until you have!   There are as many spoilers as there are bodies in the vacants.

Also watch this LEGO version of The Wire.  Shiiiiiiiiiiit, it is awesome.







CLOCKWORK - K'NEX BALL MACHINE
When I showed this to my son, he said "It's amazing how talented some people in this world are."  Creator & YouTube user Austron says this project "took 8 months to build, has over 40,000 pieces, over 450 feet of track, 21 different paths, 8 motors, 5 lifts, and a one-of-a-kind computer-controlled crane, as well as two computer-controlled illuminated K'nex balls."


Love it.





BUDDY GUY & JONNY LANG
This past week, my husband & I saw blues legend Buddy Guy in concert with Jonny Lang.  Buddy Guy is 76 & it was a treat to see him play & interact with the crowd.  Here's a video that someone uploaded from the concert - Hoochie Coochie Man, including Buddy scolding the audience at the 2:20 mark:


Jonny Lang blew us away.  If you're not familiar with his later work, you probably remember the teenager with the skill & voice of a blues veteran in 1997, when Lie To Me came out.  Now he's in his 30s, & the passion he sings with makes me wonder if he's this intense in his every day life.  No videos from our show have been uploaded yet (although enough people were recording with their phones, so come on, people!), but here's a song he played that's been stuck in my head since:


So great.  If you have a chance to see them live, GO!



Those were my favourite sweets of the past week.  Come back next week for more goodies!


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