Mass Observer http://www.massobserver.com Eyes wide open Wed, 23 Jun 2010 22:55:16 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Wearable data? Apple patents the ‘smart garment’ http://www.massobserver.com/2010/04/wearable-data-apple-patents-the-smart-garment/ IP.com Patent Search Service http://www.massobserver.com/2010/04/ip-com-patent-search-service/ More incredible Station fire images Watching the Station Fire burn]]> http://www.massobserver.com/2009/09/more-incredible-station-fire-images/ Los Angeles county in flames View of the Station fire from Marina del Rey.]]> http://www.massobserver.com/2009/08/los-angeles-county-in-flames/ God’s central control office? control-office-1]]> http://www.massobserver.com/2009/07/gods-central-control-office/ Recent photos from the ISS http://www.massobserver.com/2009/06/recent-photos-from-the-iss/ Virginia Using Zig-Zag Road Lines to Slow Motorists http://www.massobserver.com/2009/04/virginia-using-zig-zag-road-lines-to-slow-motorists/ Shokotan in a hazmat suit Japanese superstar Shokotan in a hazmat suit. Terror chic?]]> http://www.massobserver.com/2009/04/shokotan-in-a-hazmat-suit/ Hand dryers from around the world Hand dryers from around the world. Photos: Douglas Wilson.]]> http://www.massobserver.com/2009/03/hand-dryers-from-around-the-world/ Video of FedEx plane crashing in Japan http://www.massobserver.com/2009/03/video-of-fedex-plane-crashing-in-japan/ Undersea volcano erupts off the coast of Tonga An undersea volcano erupts off the coast of Tonga, Tuesday, March 17, 2009.]]> http://www.massobserver.com/2009/03/undersea-volcano-erupts-off-the-coast-of-tonga/ Weird wind-driven ice invasion in Saginaw Bay Saginaw Bay, Michigan -- ice from Lake Huron is on the move.]]> http://www.massobserver.com/2009/03/weird-wind-driven-ice-invasion-in-saginaw-bay/ Cold War era rocket ship playgrounds Cold War era playground rockets. Photos by Lauren Orchowski. Click to enlarge.]]> http://www.massobserver.com/2009/03/cold-war-era-rocket-ship-playgrounds/ Roadside Church signs Mash-up Stefan Hester photos of Tom Fuller's Roadside Church. Click to enlarge.]]> http://www.massobserver.com/2009/03/roadside-church-signs/ Saramago on the kipple that is chaos All The Names comes this passage that echoes very closely Philip K. Dick's formulation of kipple mentioned before: "There are people like Senhor Jose everywhere, who fill their time, or what they believe to be their spare time, by collecting stamps, coins, medals, vases, postcards, matchboxes, books, clocks, sport shirts, autographs...]]> http://www.massobserver.com/2009/03/saramago-on-the-kipple-that-is-chaos/ Satellites and computers visualizing human activity satellite-visualizationsThese stunning images are computer visualizations, made by mashing data like air traffic GPS signals from satellites, taxi cab activity, Internet activity, highway use and Internet activity with Google maps' Mapplet technology...]]> http://www.massobserver.com/2009/03/satellites-and-computers-visualizing-human-activity/ Giallo pudding Giallo is the Italian equivalent of pulp fiction + film noir, though, being Italian, sexier. And more lurid. Here's how Wikipedia defines it:
Giallo (plural gialli) is an Italian 20th century genre of literature and film, which in Italian indicates crime fiction and mystery. In the English language, however, it is used in a broader meaning that is closer to the French fantastique genre, including elements of horror fiction and eroticism. The word giallo is Italian for "yellow" (see Wiktionary: giallo) and stems from the origin of the genre as a series of cheap paperback novels with trademark yellow covers.
Giallo Fever, written by Edinburgh-based "PhD student and self-employed computer guy" Keith Brown, is a great blog devoted to all things Giallo. I especially appreciate Mr. Brown's in-depth analysis, accompanied by a fantastic assortment of screen shots, of many very obscure films that I and probably most people in the United States have never heard of. As an example, check out Mr. Brown's post...]]> http://www.massobserver.com/2009/03/giallo-pudding/ WWI technology special sound-ranging-wwiWith our economy racing back to the 1930s, pretty soon these gadgets might be new again. So let's reconsider a few of these bygone technologies and see how they might be re-purposed for life in the 21st Century. In the days before radar existed, this was the only way to detect incoming aircraft. These days it could be adopted by the NSA to listen in on Al Qaeda chatter...]]> http://www.massobserver.com/2009/03/wwi-technology-special/ All aboard the Hentai train hentai-train-japanNah, on second thought, better take the bus. C'mon Japan, WTF? Hentai as a form of city planning, or just trying to "cute up" old Godzilla's image? For those of you who are (even more) confused, Wikipedia can bring you up to speed: "Hentai is a Japanese word that, in the West, is used when referring to...]]> http://www.massobserver.com/2009/03/all-aboard-the-hentai-train/ Masahisa Fukase’s The Solitude of Ravens ravens-book-pageThe Art of Memory has a beautiful post, Weaving the feathers of a blackbird with breath and strings, featuring images from Japanese photographer Masahisa Fukase's (b. 1934) 1970s book, The Solitude of Ravens. I've put together a small composite of the photos that TAoM has posted -- click on it to see them individually and larger...]]> http://www.massobserver.com/2009/03/masahisa-fukases-the-solitude-of-ravens/