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POPSUNESCO World Heritage Site in LEGO Kazuyoshi Naoe, Japanese LEGO Master Builder, has recreated the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in LEGO. The work is phenomenal, and is on display in a shopping mall near Tokyo.
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POPSRecycled magazine bowl A Little Hut has instructions for making a bowl out of recycled magazines. It looks like an easy DIY and worth trying at least once. Link via TipNut
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POPSAnd I left my wallet at home Seriously, I wish I'd had a seat at this auction. From the staff parading around in key auction items (Mel Gibson's kilt from Braveheart!) to the dented metal bucket used by Terry Jones as a knight's helmet in Monty Python and the Holy Grail... this show had it all. If only I'd had $104,000.
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POPSFractal art: Nicholas Rougeux I found this at a http://www.fractalartcontests.com/2007/entries.php]fractal art contest site . It looks like it could be a spider plant, with its long, ribbony leaves, invaded by snowflakes. Or perhaps it's ribbon winding around ivy. Either way, I like the juxtaposition of the smooth, sweeping, curving ribbons against the jagged, static pieces. There's a great use of light and shadow here. I'd love to get a print for my wall. Link
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POPSSigning the Mayflower Compact The first Thanksgiving was a year away when the Pilgrims, moored off Cape Cod, put pen to paper, agreeing to create laws for the governing of the new colony, and to abide by them: "Having undertaken, for the Glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the First Colony in the Northern Parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, Covenant and Combine ourselves together into a Civil Body Politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience."
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POPSDollhouse from recycled cardboard boxes at A Little Hut Patricia of A Little Hut has some great ideas for recycling/repurposing things into new, useable items. I love this idea of building a dollhouse out of cardboard boxes. It's a great parent/child project, and can be modified to meet a child's specific interests. Why not a castle, a fire house, a car? Once the project is complete, it's easy to continue the theme by using recycled carpet remnants for the floors, wallpaper for the walls, even magazine cut-outs for art, or to make paper doll people. I'll be interested in the follow-up photos to see where she goes with it. Link
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POPSPriests come to blows in the Church of the Nativity CNN reports that priests from rival Christian sects have broken out in violence over who gets to clean the Church of the Nativity. Yes, two days after the celebration of the birth of the Holy Infant so tender and mild, in the church that is built over the site of His holy birth, dedicated men of God were beating each other bloody over who gets to clean out the manger. The rivalry is so intense that Palestinian troops had to form a human shield to separate the three groups of priests who traditionally clean the church: Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic. What the hell. Link photo by Darko Tepert Donatus
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POPSGood Friday Today is Good Friday, the day marking the execution of Jesus Christ. Catholic tradition holds that the faithful should remember the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus on this day. St. Francis of Assisi created a list of 14 "Stations of the Cross," to help his students remember the chronology of events. I wasn't raised in a Catholic household, but a good many of my friends in school were Catholic. I knew of the stations of the cross, and I've seen the pictures, statues and carvings in various churches, but I didn't really know the stations themselves. List Universe has thoughtfully listed the stations, fully illustrated. Timely and helpful. Link
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POPSHelloooo handsome Have you been watching New Amsterdam? It's a terrific new series starring the uberyummy Nicholaj Coster-Waldau as a Dutch soldier who was nearly killed in 1621, protecting a Lenape woman. It turns out that she's a shaman, who repays him by making him immortal, until he finds his one-and-only. He's been looking for that one-and-only for over 350 years, and reinventing himself every 10 years or so, so he doesn't have to explain his non-aging deal. We get 300+ years of historical flashbacks, plus an enigmatic disarming protagonist. We've seen six of the eight episodes thus far, and I like it more each time. I sincerely hope it comes back. Broadcast on FOX , and already with a fan site: New Amsterdam Forever
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POPSComfort food: homemade bread It's been a year since Mark Bittman published his recipe for no-knead bread (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/08mini.html?_r=1&oref=slogin) that took the blogoverse by storm. I still haven't tried it, but now's the time. Fall and winter are the perfect times of year to make homemade bread. Bread baking is one of the most wonderful, comforting smells in the world, isn't it?
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POPSPeriodic Tarot of Elements Calyxa has developed a divination deck based on the periodic table of elements. As she explains below: "he Elemental Hexagons deck is based on the Periodic Table of the Elements. The modern periodic table as of the end of 2006 lists 117 known elements, and hypothesizes the existence of an unknown total of others. The Elemental Hexagons deck consists of 60 cards; the first 30 from the table, and 30 others of significance. Every element in the deck was discovered previous to 1900, and each can be found outside of a laboratory environment." It's an interesting concept. Might have to order a deck for myself. via Boing Boing
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POPSLord of the Rings origami I'm not a big LOTR fan, but I still think these are awesome. Eric Joisel creates these figures, each made of one sheet of uncut paper. The craftsmanship is extraordinary. Link via Boing Boing
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POPS50 Frugal holiday ideas Lynnae at beingfrugal.net has posted her 50 frugal Christmas ideas. Some of these are ones my family already does together. Others are ones I want to try. A few favorites: 5. Have a family slumber party in the living room. Pull out the sleeping bags and turn on the Christmas lights. Just enjoy being together as a family. 7. See the Christmas lights. Drive around your town and look at the decked out houses. Vote on which neighborhood has the best display. 23. Attend your community tree-lighting ceremony. Many communities have them, and they are festive occasions. If you don’t mind the crowds, tree-lighting ceremonies can be a lot of fun. 26. Track Santa on NORAD. 33. Watch the Christmas specials on TV. 43. Make an Advent Calendar. You could make a simple paper calendar. Or if you’re more crafty, you could make something more complicated. There are many options. Of course, there are plenty more. Or you may come up with ideas of your own.
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POPSAgain with the recycled jewelry Bits of broken pottery fit the charms of this necklace and watch (seriously want that watch). Shopregeneration also has gift items, clothing accessories (shoes!) and toys. Link
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POPSNo-kill frog dissection Revisit high school bio with this hand-knitted and felted frog dissection toy from etsy artist Crafty Hedgehog . To truly appreciate this hysterically gruesome find, you have to see all the images. Link via
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POPSTake action on the 2007 Energy Bill SaveOurEnvironment.org has posted a call to action, supporting the Senate's energy bill. The bill requires 35 MPG fuel economy standards by 2020 and a 15% renewable electricity standard. The measures could save 1.2 million barrels of oil, calculated to about US$25 Billion dollars saved in energy costs. The auto alliance is counter-lobbying for standards of 32 MPG by 2022. This doesn't seem like much of a difference, however using the Senate's proposal saves twice the amount of oil as that of the auto industry and more than twice the total savings. You can log onto the site to sign the petition or contact your state representative directly .
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POPSJust don't look up Robert Hardman of the UK's Daily Mail shares the tale of his ride aboard the Flying Scotsman, a 156-foot hot air balloon. The Scotsman and dozens of other balloons flew in the International Balloon Festival in Chateau d'Oex, Switzerland. This marks the 60th anniversary of the festival. Link via Neatorama
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POPSThe Holy Grail of Pop-up Books Neiman Marcus pop-up book! Judging by the few pictures available on their Web site, this will be the pop-up book to beat. I'd love to have a copy of this to really review. The images make the pop-ups appear very detailed and realistic.
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POPSGerman advent calendar includes image of serial killer Reuters reports that an advent calendar being sold by the city of Hanover, Germany contain an image of Fritz Haarman. Haarman was executed in 1925 for murdering 24 young men and boys. The cartoon advent calendar features other Hanover celebrities, including The Scorpions. Haarman is pictured near Santa Claus, holding a meat cleaver while watching the townspeople enjoy the winter day. Interestingly, now that the calendar has gained media attention, people are lining up to buy the calendar, which is expected to sell out of all 2,000 copies. via Super Punch
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POPSTime photoessay: "Class Pictures" Photoessay of the book by photographer Dawoud Bay. Bay traveled the U.S. photographing and interviewing high school students. The written self-portraits by the teens say so much more than the pictures alone. They may surprise you. Link
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POPSIkea offers free recycling of CFL bulbs By now most of us have heard about CFL bulbs and their energy savings. I saw them on sale for just 67 cents at Wal-Mart today. They last for years, and are a frugalite's dream come true. The problem comes when they finally do burn out. Most contain mercury, which we don't want in our landfills. Now Ikea offers free recycling of CFL bulbs in their stores. From their site: "Bring your used mercury containing lightbulbs to the IKEA store for free disposal. Since our CFL bulbs contain a small amount of mercury, they should not be simply tossed out. IKEA offers the perfect solution: a ‘Free Take Back’ program offering recycle bins in all IKEA stores. Or for lamp disposal information for your state, please go to www.lamprecycle.org to obtain more information." Link
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POPSHodgepodge lamp on Apartment Therapy Apartment Therapy shares a find from their Europe blog, these one-of-a-kind lamps by Hervé Matejewski, made of various pieces of porcelain cookware and tableware. This looks like it could be an interesting, if challenging, DIY.
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POPSCurious candy Unique flavors are the specialty of the new San Francisco-based candy operation, Lollyphile. New flavors are in the works. Link
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