Urban plant tags:

I’m amused and charmed by this theoretical public art project proposed by Minneapolis’ Carmichael Lynch Creative. Urban Plant Tags explain the care, placement, and proper feeding of inanimate objects like benches, streetlights, and fire hydrants.

You can go to the website to read those plant tags more clearly. But I love the care instructions for this bench: “Apply Real Estate Ads Annually — Occasionally Wipe Clean — Keep Warm With Butt.”

Side note: Perhaps you are confused by the fact that this fire hydrant appears to be on a stilt. That’s because it snows so much up here in Minnesota that they have to build the fire hydrants tall enough to clear the winter snow cover. An amusing regionalism.

See the whole set of urban plant tags

Via Andrew Balfour

[Noice. -egg]

Rocking Horses of the Apocalypse:

Artist Carrin Welch’s first foray into sculpture is a marvellous set of “Four Rocking Horses of the Apocalypse,” made from wood. They’re nearly finished, and eminently ridable.

My interpretation of these horsemen from Revelations in the Bible is very loose, it’s an artistic idea based mostly on how I want them to look, and less on the many academic and theological interpretations. I want them to appear ominous and imposing, but the catch is that they are giant toys. They are meant to be fantastic and absurd, but also beautiful and magical. You cannot ride one of the mammoths without feeling a little joy. With this world feeling so unstable, and all the theories of its end, the rocking horses bring light to a dark time.

All four horses are expected to be completed by end of May 2012, when they will travel to Burning Flipside for their collective debut. After that I will be collaborating with fellow artists to produce some fun, fantasy images of the rocking horses, and seeking opportunities to show them and let people interact with them.

Welch completed the horses during a period of unemployment, thanks to funding provided by her fans on Kickstarter.

The Four Rocking Horses of the Apocalypse

(via Neatorama)

Old cig ad: What to smoke when you’re expecting:

One more M-Day Vintage Ad: a Philip Morris piece from a 1956 Saturday Evening Post celebrating its new packaging by inviting an association between cuddling a newborn and smoking.

There’s a good case to be made for tobacco companies as the original sinners of corporatism, with their development of this kind of advertising, not to mention their key contributions to self-serving junk science. There’s a (dotted, convoluted) line joining up the MMR scare, climate denialism, and this industry’s Mad Men, sentimental illustrators, and tame scientists.

In earlier days…

100,000 LED Spheres Flowing Down a Japanese River:





As part of the recent Tokyo Hotaru Festival, 100,000 illuminated blue LEDs were released in the Sumida River. The massive installation of solar-powered spheres was meant to mimic a swarm of fireflies that twisted and bobbed along the river by moonlight. For those of you worried about pollution or safety, the lights were later caught downstream by giant nets. See much more over at Spoon & Tamago. (photos by jeremy v, makure, and ajpscs)

Just look at this banana peel trucker hat (for a banana):

Just look at it. Contributed to the Boing Boing Flickr Pool by BB reader Laser Bread, who explains:.

My kids were grumpy at breakfast this morning, so I had this idea to make a quick banana peel trucker hat for the banana to wear using the peel of the banana. This cheered them up and it made the banana look relatively hip.

How to make:
1 or 2 bananas. One to make the hat, one to model the hat. This could also be made using one banana. Carve the shape of the hat using an x-acto knife. Leave one of the banana peel sides longer, to make the rim of the hat. Most bananas come with a little sticker. Use this sticker to serve as the logo on the hat, if you want your hat to have a logo.

Simple project, takes about 5 minutes yet the memories will last a lifetime.

Beautiful 1919 Poe illustrations by Harry Clarke:

Harry Clarke’s 1919 illustrations for Poe’s “Tales of Mystery and Imagination” are absolutely wonderful, some of the best Poe interpretations this diehard Poefan has seen. 50Watts has them at super-hi-rez, too. Looks like you can buy a 2008 facsimile edition for about $26.

Harry Clarke, Illustrations for E. A. Poe

(via How to Be a Retronaut)