Divers Nearly Swallowed By Humpback Whales

A couple of ocean divers near California’s Avila Beach experienced a super close encounter with some humpback whales who were feeding nearby. The whales opened their mouths to capture some small fish and almost accidentally grabbed the divers too. Humpbacks are baleen whales and do not eat humans.

Classic Works of Art Recreated with Deli Meats

Deli meat rendition of “The Scream” by Edvard Munch

Classic works of art are recreated with smoked and cured meats in the delicious photo series, “Sausage in Art.” The series is a collaboration by photographer Karsten Wegener, designer Silke Baltruschat, and food stylist Raik Holst. Check out Wegener’s photo gallery for more.

Deli meat rendition of “Balloon Dog” by Jeff Koons

Deli meat rendition of “Sunflowers” series by Vincent Van Gogh

Photos of ‘Art of the Brick,’ Nathan Sawaya’s Solo Show of LEGO Art in New York City

photo by Maddie Potter/Redesign Revolution

“Art of the Brick” is an ongoing solo exhibition of the LEGO art of artist Nathan Sawaya at Discovery Time Square in New York City. The exhibition includes recreations of famous paintings and sculptures, as well as original works by Sawaya, including a massive 80,020-brick T-Rex. We previously posted about the exhibition back in June. “Art of the Brick” runs until January 5, 2014.

photo via My Modern Metropolis

photo by Maddie Potter/Redesign Revolution

photo via My Modern Metropolis

The Far Side’s Gary Larson Interviewed on 20/20 (1986)

By Rusty Blazenhoff on July 11, 2013

Cartoonist Gary Larson of The Far Side is interviewed about his success (which he is perplexed by) on this 20/20 segment from

George R. R. Martin Reveals What the Real ‘Game of Thrones’ Iron Throne Actually Looks Like

By Kimber Streams on July 10, 2013

In a recent blog post, A Song of Ice and Fire author George R. R. Martin describes what the “real” Iron Throne — the one he imagines when he’s writing the books, not the one from HBO’s Game of Thrones — looks like. He points readers to this illustration by Marc Simonetti, which depicts the Iron Throne more as the author intended.

This Iron Throne is massive. Ugly. Assymetric. It’s a throne made by blacksmiths hammering together half-melted, broken, twisted swords, wrenched from the hands of dead men or yielded up by defeated foes… a symbol of conquest… it has the steps I describe, and the height. From on top, the king dominates the throne room. And there are thousands of swords in it, not just a few.
This Iron Throne is scary. And not at all a comfortable seat, just as Aegon intended.

In the blog post, Martin goes on to highlight the differences between the show’s Iron Throne and the novel version of his own creation:

The HBO throne has become iconic. And well it might. It’s a terrific design, and it has served the show very well. There are replicas and paperweights of it in three different sizes. Everyone knows it. I love it. I have all those replicas right here, sitting on my shelves.
And yet, and yet… it’s still not right. It’s not the Iron Throne I see when I’m working on THE WINDS OF WINTER. It’s not the Iron Throne I want my readers to see. The way the throne is described in the books… HUGE, hulking, black and twisted, with the steep iron stairs in front, the high seat from which the king looks DOWN on everyone in the court… my throne is a hunched beast looming over the throne room, ugly and assymetric…
The HBO throne is none of those things. It’s big, yes, but not nearly as big as the one described in the novels. And for good reason. We have a huge throne room set in Belfast, but not nearly huge enough to hold the Iron Throne as I painted it. For that we’d need something much bigger, more like the interior of St. Paul’s Cathedral or Westminster Abbey, and no set has that much room. The Book Version of the Iron Throne would not even fit through the doors of the Paint Hall.

images via

An Amazing Waterspout Vortex Pops Up Over Tampa Bay

 

Jeremy Kappell, a meteorologist for WDRB in Louisville, Kentucky, has shared a photo of an incredible waterspout that occurred recently over Florida’s Old Tampa Bay (Oldsmar). A waterspout is a weather phenomenon that happens when a combo of air and mist form a potentially dangerous vortex. This particular one actually came ashore which is unusual as they usually stay over water. No one was injured but it did cause a lot of property damage. ABC Action News has posted a video of the waterspout in action, along with viewer’s photos.

image via

The Science of Fire Breathing

By EDW Lynch on July 9, 2013

Fire eater and scientist Dr. Tim Cockerill explains the science of fire breathing in this video by The Royal Institution of Great Britain. The video includes some impressive first-person footage of the classic fire eater’s trick, the Human Volcano (aka fire breathing).

Fearsome Chrome T-Rex Sculpture on the Banks of the Seine in Paris

By EDW Lynch on July 8, 2013

photo by Anthony Gelot

A fearsome chromed skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex was recently installed on the banks of the Seine in Paris. Created by artist Philippe Pasqua, the aluminum and chrome sculpture is nearly 23 feet long and consists of 350 bones.

photo

Reconnected’ Sculptures Turn Felled Trees Into Outdoor Art

Artist Philippe Handford turned trees that had been illegally cut down in a forest in Northwest England into a pair of beautiful sculpture installations for the 2012 Pendle Sculpture Trail. In the sculpture “Reconnected 1,” Handford connected a tree back to its stump with a spine-like armature of cross-sectioned logs. In “Reconnected 2,” Handford connected a cluster of four tree stumps with two cross-sectioned log arches. The Pendle Sculpture Trail marked the 400th anniversary of the trials and executions of the Pendle witches.

photos by

Kirk fu

In October 2012, artist Rabittooth created “An Introduction to Kirk-Fu,” a funny chart visualizing the “extraordinary fighting style” created and used by Captain James T. Kirk on Star Trek: The Original Series. Prints are available to purchase online at Society6.

Supercut of Johnny Depp Making Weird Faces in Movies

For Screen Junkies, Toronto-based film enthusiast Louis Plamondon (aka “The Sleepy Skunk“) conceived and edited this supercut video of actor Johnny Depp making weird faces in movies.

Vessel, A Carbon Fiber Bathtub Shaped Like a Hammock

 

Vessel is a limited edition carbon fiber bathtub with a swoopy design based on a hammock. Designed by Splinter Works in the U.K., the nine-foot-long bathtub is suspended above the floor by wall brackets. It is available in a variety of colors including classic carbon fiber black, pink, and silver. Your bath is ready, Mr. Bond.

The BoxTrolls, Upcoming Animated Feature Film by the Makers of ‘Coraline’ and ‘ParaNorman’

Portland, Oregon-based Laika, the animation studio behind Coraline and ParaNorman, have announced their third animated feature film titled The BoxTrolls. The film opens in theaters on September 26, 2014 and its trailer is available to view at iTunes Movie Trailers. It will be directed by Anthony Stacchi and Graham Annable.

Incredible Photos of the National Pyrotechnic Festival in Tultepec, Mexico

The jaw-dropping photo series “Tultepec” by Thomas Prior documents the fireworks-fueled chaos of the 2013 National Pyrotechnic Festival in Tultepec, Mexico. The nine-day festival celebrates the main industry of Tultepec—handmade fireworks—through firework competitions, a parade of pyrotechnic bulls, and apparently, loads of fireworks in the streets.

via

_____ as _____, Food Idioms Visualized in Lettering Made out of Food

“Warm as toast”

In her photo series “_____ as _____,” designer Christine Kawasaki-Chan visualizes food idioms like “cool as a cucumber” using lettering made out of actual food items. Check out her Dribbble page for more of her photography.

“Cool as a cucumber”

“Easy as pie”

“Keen as mustard

Paula Deen admits to using the n-word, but only for "bad" black people

I grew up in the South, and I know all about "not racist" white people who use that racist slur against black people, but "only the bad ones." Guess what. Those white people are racists. Some pretty great Twitter jokes coming out of this one, though. And American shitrag National Enquirer says they have video. Here's the court transcript. And HuffPo picked out the awful bits and served them up on top of an SEO-optimized plate of warm grits and butter. Enjoy, y'all!

Actor James Gandolfini of Sopranos fame dies suddenly, in Italy

Actor James Gandolfini, 51, has died of what early reports say was a massive heart attack.
He was in Italy at the time.
HBO

How to Make Toy Animal Corn on the Cob Holders

Using cheap plastic animal toys, Instructables’ play editor and community manager Mike Warren created super cute corn on the cob holders. He even cleverly designed the holders to reconnect when not poking corn (tutorial).

via

Hairy Stockings For Young Chinese Girls To Fend Off Perverts

ChinaSMACK is reporting that a user on China’s microblogging site Sina Weibo has invented “hairy stockings” as a way for young girls to fend off perverts. It’s hard to tell if these are real or imagined but given that some people in China have been putting dogs in pantyhose, these might just be the former.

Blunders of Genius: interesting errors by Darwin, Pauling, and Einstein

Charles Darwin, Linus Pauling, and Albert Einstein made great contributions to science. They also made large blunders. In this original essay Mario Livio, astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, and author of the new book Brilliant Blunders: From Darwin to Einstein - Colossal Mistakes by Great Scientists That Changed Our Understanding of Life and the Universe,