This & That, Ceci et Cela

Forehead Tittaes

Geekette — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:57:35 +0000

Marion Cotillard introduces a revolutionary attention enhancement product.

Apple launches iRock

Geekette — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:32:02 +0000

Retro Modern, Digital Classic

Geekette — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:45:51 +0000

The DCC Rolleiflex AF 5.0 from German manufacturer Minox is a digital camera in retro housing that is a 1:2 scale replica of the vintage Rolleiflex model. Minox makes a range of compact cameras including a line of miniature cameras of oldtimer brands like Hasselblad, Contax, and Leica. Alongside the in-house “Digital Classic Camera” series, this camera combines features like autofocus and 5 megapixel resolution with manual shutter release. That’s right, you gotta crank that handle to get the next shot, just like old times.

Santa undergoes retail therapy

Geekette — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 01:30:18 +0000

Moschino’s Xmas window display in Rome (from laRepublica via eCool).

The Powersuit

Geekette — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:55:01 +0000

I say any candidate who shows up to an interview in this suit deserves to be hired! Artist Ivano Vitali twists newspaper pages into yarn, then knits or weaves it into fabric, with which he creates such lovely garments.

Works counterclockwise: Newpaper stack not part of the artist’s works, used for illustration only. Zoom-in (2005), Die Zeit (2002), Italia Oggi (2006), Red paper ball (2007), the pink suit Rosa bomb-on (2006) was made from the La Gazzetta dllo Sport newspaper, and the Yellow Boa Boa (2005) was made from the yellow pages. The Collage assembled here features only a few of Vitali’s works; hit his site for more.

Ho Ho Ho

Geekette — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 04:27:47 +0000

By Steve Kelley at Times Picayune

Thurs Funny: HP cameras don’t see Black faces

Geekette — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:56:28 +0000

“Black Desi” and his colleague “White Wanda” uploaded a video on youtube showing how cameras installed in HP laptops cannot detect black faces. See video below.

Via BBC:
When Wanda, a white woman, is in front of the screen, the camera zooms to her face and moves as she moves. But when Desi, a black man, does the same, the camera does not respond by tracking him.

The clip is light-hearted in tone but is titled “HP computers are racist”. “HP has been informed of a potential issue with the facial-tracking software included on some of its systems, which appears to occur when insufficient foreground lighting is available,” an HP spokesman told BBC News. “We take this seriously and are looking into it with our partners.”

Desi notes he just bought a HP computer for himself partly to use its webcam to chat with his family.

On public health hysteria

Geekette — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:14:06 +0000

‘The Cow-Pock—or—the Wonderful Effects of the New Inoculation!’ By James Gillray, 1802 Via Wikipedia:
“In this cartoon, the British satirist James Gillray caricatured a vaccination scene at the Smallpox and Inoculation Hospital at St. Pancras. … The cartoon was inspired by the controversy over inoculating against the dreaded disease, smallpox. The inoculation agent, cowpox vaccine, was rumored to have the ability to sprout cow-like appendages”.

…Not so far from the hysteria/doubts surrounding the H1N1 vaccine today. Click picture for a bigger version.

On irreverent wit

Geekette — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:15:23 +0000

A little subscription love note from the Economist magazine.

True origin of grills: Prehistoric evidence

Geekette — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:53:25 +0000

As attested by the prehistoric blinged out skull above: From ancient peeps to medieval clergy, to latterday pimps and rappers, Bling has been from the beginning of time. Word.

Via National Geographic: “Sophisticated dentistry allowed Native Americans to add bling to their teeth as far back as 2,500 years ago, a new study says. Ancient peoples of southern North America went to “dentists”—among the earliest known—to beautify their chompers with notches, grooves, and semiprecious gems, according to a recent analysis of thousands of teeth examined from collections in Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (such as the skull above, found in Chiapas, Mexico)”.