Dancreek

fastcompany: We think of 3-D printers as desktop machines,...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:13:14 -0400

We think of 3-D printers as desktop machines, stagnant workhorses used to generate piecemeal shapes for humans to relocate in the real world. But a new, stunning piece of architecture by the Mediated Matter Group at MIT Media Lab brings all of those assumptions into question.

It’s called the Silk Pavilion, and it is what researchers call a “biological swarm approach to 3-D printing.” It is a beautiful structure constructed by 6,500 live silkworms, and may be the most epicly named piece of fabrication technology since the blowtorch.

Read more here: How MIT Is Hacking Thousands Of Worms To Print Buildings

You may not realize it right away, but but once you purchase a home you have embarked on an epic...

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 16:40:29 -0400

You may not realize it right away, but but once you purchase a home you have embarked on an epic battle against nature that you will never actually win. Lawns, weeds, trees, bugs, termites, water, wind, dirt. The best your constant striving can accomplish is to keep it at bay for just a little while longer.

Shells

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 22:32:12 -0400

So I’ve been thinking a lot about how we see our selves. How we judge what is attractive and what is not. We (I) have this strong inclination to link what has value with what looks good. And while Apple product sales thrive with those sorts of standards, people don’t fair so well. With people there is no connection between value and appearance. This concept is as old as time. Beauty and the Beast, The Hunchback are classics on this theme. But no matter how elequoent the story we cannot learn the lesson.

This flawed system makes me value people less and ironically makes me value myself less too, since ultimately I dont even measure up to my own standard. It warps everything.

Kind of makes me wish I lived in a time before photography, where your only point of reference was the people you saw on the street around you. 1 in a thousand would be model worthy. Instead, I see hundreds of models a day. Talk about skewing your perception of normal.

Real people are amazing intricate creations. I want to better at loving people for that and not these silly shells.

Photo

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 22:05:50 -0400

Tommy Nelson

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 11:48:24 -0400

Just sat through a Tommy Nelson sermon. He’s a powerful speaker and has written some fantastic books. But…

I was really struck by the intensity of the “Us vs. Them” theme in his sermon. I see this all the time as pastors try to address how Christians should relate to the world around us.

I wonder about the consequences of teaching us to see others as adversaries to be fought. After all, we were all “Them” at one point.

Photo

Fri, 10 May 2013 17:39:24 -0400

littledallilasbookshelf: Glass Walled Library, Germany

Fri, 10 May 2013 17:38:24 -0400

littledallilasbookshelf:

Glass Walled Library, Germany

fastcompany: “It fascinates me that older objects were so...

Mon, 06 May 2013 21:17:57 -0400

fastcompany:

“It fascinates me that older objects were so well-built, and were most likely put together by hand. These items were repaired when broken, not discarded like our devices of today.” —Photographer Todd McLellan tears apart objects to expose their hidden complexity.

The Smith-Corona typewriter from 1964 has 621 parts. The Swiss Army Knife? 38.

More awesome examples here.

fastcompany: There are a lot of roads just sitting there in the...

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:10:22 -0400

fastcompany:

There are a lot of roads just sitting there in the sun, doing nothing with all that energy. Why not use them to collect it? Introducing the Solar Roadway, a road built out of solar panels.

The road is made of three parts: a hard-wearing translucent top-layer with the solar cells, LED lights (for road markings) and a heating element (to keep off snow and ice); an electronics layer to control lighting and communications; and a base plate layer that distributes power to nearby homes and businesses (and perhaps electric vehicle charging stations). Plus, there’s a channel at the edge to collect and filter run-off water (including anti-freeze and other chemicals that normally leeches into the ground).

More…

designboom: ‘18.36.54 home’ by daniel libeskind, connecticut,...

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:09:12 -0400

designboom:

‘18.36.54 home’ by daniel libeskind, connecticut, united states
all images © nikolas koenig, more info/photos here

designboom: ‘exploded flowers’ series by fong qi wei

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 09:06:28 -0400

designboom:

‘exploded flowers’ series by fong qi wei

How We Americans See North Korea

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 15:56:44 -0400

xxthewriterxx:

dolly-chic: Little Rebel

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 10:26:47 -0400

dolly-chic:

Little Rebel

"Having perfected our disguise, we spend our lives searching for someone we don’t fool."

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 15:48:28 -0400

““Having perfected our disguise, we spend our lives searching for someone we don’t fool.””

- Robert Brault (via creatingaquietmind)

Ira Glass on creating

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 22:04:19 -0400

Ira Glass on creating:

The audio version of the awesome typography I re-posted earlier today.

bhagatkapil: Science Day in India, posting whole series of...

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 09:00:08 -0400

bhagatkapil:

Science Day in India, posting whole series of Scientists, their inventions or discoveries.

Shop: http://society6.com/KapilBhagat

betype: Ira Glass Quote

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 08:54:12 -0400

betype:

Ira Glass Quote

designboom: ‘darkened cities’ by thierry cohenusing 19th...

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 22:53:59 -0400

san francisco 37° 48’ 30’’ n 2010-10-09 lst 20:58

tokyo 35° 41’ 36’’ n 2011-11-16 lst 23:16

paris 48° 50’ 55’’ n 2012-08-13 lst 22:15

shanghai 31° 13’ 22’’ n 2012-03-17

new york 40° 42’ 16’’ n 2010-10-09 lst 3:40

rio de janeiro 22° 56’ 42’’ s 2011-06-04 lst 12:34

designboom:

‘darkened cities’ by thierry cohen

using 19th century photography tricks and layerings, artist thierry cohen documents scientifically accurate images of what the world’s major cities would look like by night without any light pollution. more photos: http://bit.ly/125oXO2

"Sooner or later, we all experience a moment in our lives when everything changes. When we realize..."

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 09:29:34 -0400

“

Sooner or later, we all experience a moment in our lives when everything changes. When we realize life doesn’t look the way we expected it to. Or what we dreamed it would be. Suddenly we are faced with a moment of crisis. When our painful season becomes indefinite, we lament, questioning how long we must wait for rescue to come. Everything in us wants to run, to escape the pain we are experiencing, to look for ways to numb when it becomes too much to bear.

We wonder if God has forsaken us.

But God responds differently, “Turn your face to Me, focus on Me, because I have exceeding and abundant plans above all you could ever ask or think.”

Dare we believe it?

”

- Rebekah Lyons (via heyodavo)

Let facts determine ideology. Not the other way around.

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 13:17:55 -0400

Let facts determine ideology. Not the other way around.