> jim rossignol

DAT500 links me to a Boards Of Canada video. A good ‘un.

Guardian:

Dark tourism – the tourism of sites of tragedy – may be a recent growth area for the travel industry but it’s not a new phenomenon. As far back as the Dark Ages, pilgrims were travelling to tombs and sites of religious martyrdom. The Battle of Waterloo in 1815 was observed by nobility from a safe distance and one of the earliest battlefields of the American Civil War (Manassas) was sold the next day as a visitor attraction site. More recently, Ground Zero in New York has become an essential part of the tourist itinerary for many visitors.

But why are these sites so popular? Our motivations are murky and difficult to unravel: a mix of reverence, voyeurism and maybe even the thrill of coming into close proximity with death.

The difference between what is acceptable and unacceptable as a tourist attraction is often only a matter of chronological distance. Walking tours of Jack the Ripper’s London are enduringly popular. The world he inhabited is distant enough from our own for his exploits to be deemed entertaining. A Yorkshire Ripper trail would be seen as highly inappropriate by most people.

Further Dark Tourism links.

And now, the pinnacle of creation – steam-powered robots.

http://www.crabfu.com/steamtoys/

Offered without comment: http://www.devilducky.com/media/44860/

Major General Horatio Gordon Robley with his collection of tattooed heads. (Maoris traditionally preserved and kept the tattooed heads of their ancestors, so I guess these ones were going spare).

Via The Proceedings of The Athanasius Kircher Society.

A character from the database of Mojizu, the ‘contemporary character design community’, by Simon Clark.

Moji is character and Mojizu.com is the online community for artists and their characters.

Mojizu is for the people who create characters and people who just love them, from experienced artists to casual doodlers. If you draw characters for a living – it’s a place to showcase them and expose your talent to a wide audience around the world. If you draw characters as a hobby, it’s a place to improve your skills and get feedback from a large community of character lovers.

The latest Worth1000 photoshopping competition:

The architecture of Lebbeus Woods:

“Architecture and war are not incompatible. Architecture is war. War is architecture. I am at war with my time， with history， with all authority that resides in fixed and frightened forms. I am one of millions who do not fit in， who have no home， no family， no doctrine， no firm place to call my own， no known beginning or end， no “sacred and primordial site.” I declare war on all icons and finalities， on all histories that would chain me with my own falseness， my own pitiful fears. I know only moments， and lifetimes that are as moments， and forms that appear with infinite strength， then “melt into air.” I am an architect， a constructor of worlds， a sensualist who worships the flesh， the melody， a silhoutte against the darkening sky. I cannot know your name. Nor you can know mine. Tomorrow， we begin together the construction of a city.”

The Wikipedia Entry.

I come to this via the reborn Die Puny Humans, which is now a forum for futurism.

Ellis, he says: “Die Puny Humans: a community I’ve created to track outbreaks of the future. In news and developments in science and the arts, the new machinery of the internet, magic and philosophy, we get hints of our possible futures. Some of this mess of novelty will coalesce into a world we end up living in. I like the idea of getting previews; of tracking these storms as they come up over the horizon towards us.

Set up an account and you’re automatically admitted to the futurismic bowels of the Monkey.”

Serial has released an album based on material from the Big Robot project.

Have a listen to a sample track.

Via ????????.