These animals have way more restraint than I do. You put a bunch of bacon strips on MY face, see how long they last!

Via Killoggs

Here’s Nick Kristof:

Here’s a forecast for a particularly bizarre consequence of climate change: more executions of witches.

As we pump out greenhouse gases, most of the discussion focuses on direct consequences like rising seas or aggravated hurricanes. But the indirect social and political impact in poor countries may be even more far-reaching, including upheavals and civil wars — and even more witches hacked to death with machetes.

A longer discussion at Freakonomics.

Via WonderCabinet.

I’ve wondered forever. The Times has a story up about his fabrication company:

Is it possible to make a full-scale 70-foot model of the locomotive so that it is hyper-realistic and semifunctional — with wheels spinning as fast as 100 miles per hour and steam belching three times a day — and also make it lightweight enough to be safe? How much would the whole thing — which could easily top $25 million — actually cost to build? How long would it take? And what would happen in the event of an earthquake?

For answers they turned straight to one source: Carlson & Company in San Fernando, Calif. One of the art world’s leading fabricators, it specializes in making artworks that are too large, industrial, labor-intensive, time-consuming or otherwise complex for the artists to make in their own studios. Its clients over the years have included artists as diverse as Isamu Noguchi, Ellsworth Kelly, the duo Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen and, perhaps most prominent, Mr. Koons.

I’ve always been a little lukewarm about Koons, though his standards are impeccable. I do hope that locomotive gets built—it should be wonderful and frightening, and a shot right across the bow of Charles Ray’s Firetruck, which was parked out in front of various museums.

Image: Librado Romero/The New York Times.

He’s making great digital drawings and posting them at Loshadka, an excellent image blog that AFC just hipped me to. More:

Continue Reading »

Website. Terrifying and congenial, in equal measure. Also check out these animations. Via New Shelton. More images:

Continue Reading »

Man, what is it with the Germanic countries. Probably the most horrifying story ever:

Austrian police have arrested a 73-year-old man who they say kept his daughter locked in a cellar for 24 years and fathered seven children with her, three of whom never emerged into daylight from their prison until now.

Remember that story of the German penis-eating cannibal?

Image: Todd Hido, from his ongoing houses at night series.

UPDATE: The Times has a longer report up now.

Tyra brings you the news you can use.

A pretty entrancing series of web animations—six-teeted minotaurs, rotting bunnies, all the stuff you love.

Via Andrew Sullivan.

Clive breaks it down:

Vampires can’t exist. Why? Because they’d quickly depopulate the earth. To prove it, the scientists do some calculations by picking a random year in history — 1600, specifically — and imagining what would happen if one person suddenly appeared on earth.

Continue Reading »

Brendan Donnelly pointed out that we’ve been remiss in crediting him—a DG audit reveal that a few of the pics of the week came from his site. (McCheese shark-mobile, cholos in the tub, centaur archer.) We’re sorry! You should go check out his site, double quick. He’s an A+ web surfer/photoshopist/video maker, in the dirt-webz tradition.