Shadow crossover

I'm not even sure whether this is a proper optical illusion, but I find the overall effect, with the shadow duplicating the two figures, quite interesting. First seen here.

Hat of cards

This could have gone under Mixed nuts as well, I guess... A model presented a creation by On Aura Tout Vu at the first-ever Georgian Fashion Week in Tbilisi last week. Flabbergasting. First seen here.

Neill Cameron's A to Z of Awesomeness

A wonderful find by regular contributor Jenny Downing: British freelance illustrator Neill Cameron, who specialises in manga and comic-book influenced artwork, created an alphabet in that style, which he called the A-Z of Awesomeness. Love his take on Q, with Star Trek and James Bond characters in a recurring drawing. First seen here.

Planning

One of those priceless WTF moments captured on film (or memory card). First seen here.

Enron

No visual innuendo's in this one, but a really hideous logo that you would not associate with (at that time) a major company. Even more baffling as it was designed by Paul Rand, the creator of the successful IBM and UPS logos. First seen here.

S(alt) and P(epper)

Simple, yet stunning. A salt and pepper set created in the shape of keyboard keys. First seen here.

Volga River Delta

Another magnificent satellite shot. Where the Volga River flows into the Caspian Sea, it creates an extensive delta. The Volga Delta is comprised of more than 500 channels, and sustains the most productive fishing grounds in Eurasia. Another satellite shot that resembles an abstract painting. First seen here.

Stop deceiving me

A variation on the better known chessboard illusion, but perhaps even more stunning due to the lack of reference shapes around them: these two cubes are actually the same colour. First seen here.

Ten years .....

Today marks our 10th wedding anniversary, amazing how time flies (to use an overused expression). Anyway, here's to the two of us laopo! I sourced this image with some personalification from here.

Animated inanimate objects

A link sent to me some time ago by Jenny Downing, and a subject that I have long hesitated about: Art for Art's sake or Potpourri. In the end, it fell on the Potpourri side of the fence. Amazing photography by Norwegian photographer Rune Guneriussen who strives to mimic animals in nature through the use of inanimate subjects. Worth clicking, as there are a lot of stunning ideas there. First seen here.

Peek-a-boo....

One of those weird coincidences in life. The left part of this shot is an actual photograph I took in Shanghai. When I opened that on my laptop for editing, there was an astonishing interaction with my wallpaper, an earlier shot of my wife (on the right hand side). So I just had to take a screenshot and create this new image. First seen here.

Eating Marilyn

Another contribution by Jenny Downing: a link with artistic food items. I like this one of La Monroe, made of smarties. First seen here.

No birds

An image that I have seen on various places on the internet in the past few months. Maybe photoshopped, maybe real, but certainly effective. Picked up here.

The most complex and dangerous roads in the world

A fascinating overview of 19 of the most stunning challenging roads in the world, such as Norway's Trollstigen shown here. I have actually been on 3 of these myself... First seen here.

AmbiPur

I loved watching Jasper Carrot's commercial breakdown shows on the BBC 20 odd years ago - hilarious TV commercials from all over the world. Glad I found this particular one back on YouTube. Especially since the dog looks like ours. Recently seen again here.

Camera calendar

Now isn't that a fun gift for an amateur photographer? First seen here.

Provocative chair

Put this in your living room, and you sure will have a conversation piece, but that's all the positive things that can be said of this lunatic chair designed by Dutchman Mario Philippona. First seen here.

Shades of Schroedinger

An interesting scientific variation on the lolcat phenomenon. If you don't get it, check here. I am not linking directly to the original file, as that is on Fukung, a site that is very unsafe for work.

Bathroom set from hell

In January I blogged about psycho-style shower curtains.... well, Jenny Downing sent me a link after reading that post to a complete bathroom set that is destined to give you nightmares. First seen here.

Floppy disk art

Another link sent to me by Jenny Downing - another subject that could go either way, the art blog or here. In the end, I find this just a bit more gimmicky than artistic, although the results are certainly worthwhile. UK artist Nick Gentry uses those ancient 3.5" PC memory disks of the late eighties as the medium/background for his paintings. First seen here.

Ehrenstein illusion

Another way to deceive your eye/brain combination. The Ehrenstein illusion shows that the sides of a square with perfectly straight sides, when placed inside a pattern of concentric circles, take an apparent curved shape. First seen here.

Worst. Portrait. Ever.

Worst, or most hilarious? Anyway, in the link you will find 25 of the worst of all time on various topics. First seen here.

Hothead

I smiled when I encountered this one - with the appropriate title. Switzerland’s Didier Cuche after he finished training for the alpine ski men’s World Cup downhill in Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany, Tuesday last week. First seen here.

Alive objects: music

Another link sent in by Jenny Downing. Vicente Garcia Morillo designed this beautiful poster. First seen here.

Oohlala

Today we go to Paris for a 2 weeks break, but the blog will continue with pre-published posts. For the occasion, a fun shot I took during last year's autumn stay in Paris: a shopping window decoration. Taken from here.

Sparebots

Another link sent to me by Jenny Downing. Creative shots of make-up robots constructed from spare parts such as batteries and wires. This one made me smile. First seen here.

Zygo Teapot

As my main blog shows, I am a big fan of modern designs, but this one looks like it was put together by someone who had a hangover. First seen here.

House of cards

American card-stacking master Brian Berg constructed this model of the Venetian Macau hotel and casino out of 218,792 playing cards - without using glue or tape.... First seen here.

Pet wash

Isn't this amazing? A bathroom curtain with built-in gloves to wash your pet whilst you stay dry. I want one of those! First seen here.

Brazilian Institute for Oriental Studies

You have probably seen this one, but to kick off the new subject of corporate logos from hell, it is a fitting start. It's a Japanese house with a rising sun in the background. What else could it be? Recently seen here.

Black Noise

Hendrick Weber, better known as Pantha du Prince, Panthel and Gluehen 4 is a German electronic music producer and DJ. His third album as Pantha du Prince, Black Noise, released earlier this year, has been very well received. But what's with the Bob Ross imitation painting that was chosen as a cover? Image sourced from here.

Plane house

Alright, I admit: I am insanely jealous. My dream house. It actually exists. In Costa Rica. First seen here.

Paper clip fun

Interesting images with paperclips - fascinating how quickly our mind translates these into real people's situations. Thanks to Jenny Downing for sending this one in. First seen here.

Fruit of the future

A creative piece of photoshopping, suggesting what tomorrow's genetically modified fruit could look like. Encountered in Jenny Downing's Google Reader stream. First seen here.

Spunk in your dunk

Oh my - this 1989 ad for Miracle Whip is an example of American English not traveling well to places where UK English is spoken. I'm pretty sure they were not going for semen-enriched dips here. First seen here.

Apple flower

Creative food shots like this one are widely circulating without acknowledgement of the creator on the internet, and more often than not they are actually made by Hungarian artist Balla Tamas. This one is a very creative conversion of an eaten apple to a flower. First seen here.

Take it to the limit... one more time

Words are superfluous. No idea where I got this, I retrieved it from my hard disk.

What's in a name?

Very clever indeed, this design by Eric Ku: the components spell out what it becomes once you put it together. Thanks to Jenny Downing for pointing this one out to me. First seen here.

Global warming

Like with many of such shots, the suspicion of photoshopping is always lurking around the corner, but it is still a compelling image. First seen here.

Kamasutra at the Olympics

A slightly provocative overview of photographs taken at the Olympic Games - suggesting sexual positions rather than sporting highlights. All just for fun. First seen here.

Lego your own way

Shanghai's Jin Mao tower in Lego building blocks, just one of the examples of the brilliant ways adults can play with these toys in what the Lego company calls My Own Creation style (used to denote Lego sculptures not built from kits). First seen here.

Why there are mountains

The indie band Cymbals Eat Guitars (random word generator much?) released their highly acclaimed debut CD Why there are mountains last year - but why did they have the cover designed by someone in kindergarten? First seen here.

Lamp dog

For crying out loud.. WTF? And still the designer was sufficiently happy with the creation to attach her name to it. Fiona Jean Thomson, why? First seen here.