Artist David C. Roy has always been fascinated by mechanics and motion. He graduated with a degree in physics that led him to the creation of these unique kinetic sculptures. He has handcrafted over 90 limited-edition and one-of-a-kind scupltures that require no battieries or electricity; they just need winding, then the spring-driven mechanism takes over, providing 3 - 20 hours of beautiful and mesmerising movement.

His designs are plotted out with the help of a computer using a number of different applications like Adobe Illustrator and Macromedia's Extreme 3D. Then he spends several days cutting the pieces with a bandsaw and assembling the sculptures. A gallery of his fantastic wood sculptures includes Flash animated examples you really have to see to understand.

This one rocks my socks!

Wal-Mart is the favorite store of the middle-class trash-crowd because they are easily mislead by its bait-and-switch business practices. For example, Wal-Mart has been known to set very low prices on a cheap import item predominately located at each section of the store then jack up the rest of the prices in the department to compensate. Being ignorant, the trash that shop there do not care about the long term impact of the employee's low wages, rotten health care and the amazing imbalance of foreign goods versus American. The great unwashed masses of the ignorant never seem to notice that all their local shops eventually close down, then Wal-Mart prices do not have to stay so low.    more »

This one goes out to my sister who has the largest collection of smiley face memorabilia in the world. I had fun making my little smiley dude. Hope you do too, Amy!

eLouai's Smiley Creator

Recently, I was asked for an interview by fractal-enthusiast, Nik Meijer. Nik and I have co-administrated 2 important fractal communities together and he has become a good friend of mine. So it is with pleasure that I share the interview that follows, which was intended for publication at the deviantArt community.   more »

Johns Hopkins researchers have announced the development of a web based program that helps to simplify the steps in designing artificial DNA. GeneDesign automates the process of determining which building blocks of DNA should be linked together in a particular order to make a gene.

“GeneDesign not only guides the user in designing the gene, but also automatically diagnoses design flaws in the sequence of bases making up the gene,” said Jef Boeke, Ph.D., professor of molecular biology and genetics and director of the High Throughput Biology Center at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Simplifying creation of artificial genes is important because slight changes in the choice of base pairs making up specific parts of the gene have significant effects on how the gene works and how efficiently it can be inserted into cells. “In the past,” said Boeke, “researchers had to use many different programs to address all the requirements of the separate steps of synthetic gene design.”

Read the full articles at John Hopkins Medicine and NewScientist.com

At the Undictionary, you'll find definitions for words and phrases that you have always wanted to know but couldn't trust anyone to tell you the straight up truth about.

Examples:

• Auntie Christ: The younger sister of Mary mother of Jesus.


• Book suppository: A book suppository is like a bookmark but, instead of marking one's place by letting it hang out of the top of the book, you poke it up into the bottom of the book.


• Clown: Dumb, painted scumbag.


• Dismayed: To be dismayed is to be forcably removed from the month of may. Being dismayed is similar to being knocked into the middle of next week, only with the obviously more drastic consequences. Unless it's the last week of may, in which case, it's the same thing.

(I think you get the point.)

Also see:
The Uncyclopedia

I have an exhibit at the end of the month and at the last minute, I decided I wanted to make up some CDs with screensavers on them. This is a story about my visit to FedEx/Kinko's in the search for printing prices that ended in frustration.   more »

Let's admit it. Some art is good, some art is fair, and some art... well, it's bad... very very bad. So bad that it should not be forgotten, but memorialised forever in it's own little corner of the intarweb.

The Museum Of Bad Art (MOBA) is the world's only museum dedicated to the collection, preservation, exhibition and celebration of bad art in all its forms. You must go see, and don't forget to read the commentaries. They'll have you in stitches!

At the age of 81, Benoit Mandelbrot, recognized for originating the field of fractal geometry and applying it in mathematics, science and engineering, has joined the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is a DOE Office of Science laboratory that solves complex problems in energy, national security, the environment and life sciences by advancing the understanding of physics, chemistry, biology and computation.

Hailed as one of the world's most influential mathematicians, he will hold the title of Battelle Fellow, the laboratory's highest technical position. He'll lead a project to further advance multi-fractal mathematics, one aspect of which will be the development of a new mathematics curriculum for high schools.

"The laboratory is a very good match for both our interests in research and my interest in teachers of mathematics," Mandelbrot said. "Math instruction has become very standardized in a manner that most people find dull and boring. I think there is a better way."

Introduced to the art of cardstacking by his grandfather at the age of 8, Bryan Berg broke the Guinness World Record for the World's Tallest House of Cards at the age of 17 with a tower that was 14 feet, 6 inches tall. Since then, he's broken that record with a structure that was over 25 feet tall. His work has been featured in nearly every newspaper nationwide. He's done work for Disney, Post Cereal, Fuji and science museums. His website includes a gallery of some of his impressive card towers and structures... you really shouldn't miss the opportunity to take a look.

In his book, Stacking the Deck, Bryan reveals the secret to successful cardstacking and covers a wide range of architectural styles from pyramids to stadiums, churches and even the Empire State Building!


Just too cool!

This place is a bloody freaking joke, miscast, poorly directed, poorly selected plays, dirty conditions, run down appearance, etc. Basically they are frustrated wannabe thespians who were denied real parts in high school. Now they are desperately seeking their second chance at any pathetic local fame they can achieve as they ruin the nights of theatergoers who would like to have a chance to see a production.   more »

February the 15th is very special to me, because three years ago I saw the lovely Sya for the first time after a long 15 years away. Finding her has changed everything in my life and given me the greatest sense of completeness and wholeness I have ever experienced. So for that day we usually plan something special, and time and day the 15th falls on help us pick what we do.   more »

Okay I will not deny being a Garfield (TM of some kind) fan and I always get a chuckle out of some of the strips, but I admit that over the years it has aged significantly, and not always for the best. A few weeks ago a observant fellow named MackJ posted his theory at the Truth and Beauty Bombs Forum that he believed that removing all Garfield thought bubbles would significantly improve the humor value, and increase the pathos of Jon. IMHO he was entirely correct. I would recommend a read of this fine thread for a laugh and a smile. You can see it at the Truth and Beauty Bombs Forum

Earlier this month, co-CEO of the Jim Henson Company, Lisa Henson, announced that Genndy Tartakovsky will be directing Power ofthe Dark Crystal, the long -awaited sequel to the 1982 film The Dark Crystal.

While I'm excited about the film and will anxiously await it's debut, I'm a little dissapointed to hear that there will be portions of the film that contain CG animation and I'm hoping those parts don't completely ruin the movie for the fans who adored the classic live-action. The first movie was awe-inspiring, creative and magical. I truly hope they can recapture the essence of Jim Henson's magic in the sequel.

Interesting links of similar interest:
World of Froud
www.Henson.com
Wiki Henson

I'm not too proud to admit it. Clowns scare me. As a matter of fact, so do those funny mirrors. My fear of clowns dates back to when I was a child and my pediatrician had those god-awful paintings of crying clowns on the walls. Heck, even happy clowns scare me.

But today I learned there's hope for people like me who suffer from, say it with me, "Coulrophobia". Now there's Trusted, Effective Treatment for Clown Phobia. According to CTRN (Change That's Right Now) "Clown phobia will likely cost you tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of your lifetime, let alone the cost to your health and quality of life." I'm convinced. I need to get rid of this horrible fear that's costing me so much money and wreaking havoc on my quality of life.

After all, "Consider the true cost of living with Clown Phobia."

What is the real cost to my health?! My career!? School!? And what about my family life?! Avoiding the fear of clowns indefinitely would mean resigning myself to living in fear, missing out on priceless life experiences like going to the circus, or taking my kids to a parade. Why, I'd be living a life that is just a shadow of what it would be when my clown phobia is gone.

Working one-on-one with a member of their team, with guaranteed lifetime elimination of Clown Phobia will start at $1497 and up.


um... all sarcasm aside, is this a joke or do people really suffer severely with this affliction?

At least I know I'm not alone:
www.cantsleepclownswilleatme.com
www.ihateclowns.com