Comic books are tremendous, classic comic books even more so.  Comics still hold a soft spot in the hearts of many with films featuring comic book characters released seemingly every month, the recent conclusion of another Comic-Con, and new methods for sparking comic cravings.  The books themselves (the good ones) are works of art, with one artist, Brandon Michael Barker, taking iconic comic book covers, envisioning them as art, using stained glass.

Barker’s pop art using stained glass and comic books as inspiration are truly splendid.

The colors are superb and are no doubt even more so when hung in a window so sunlight can illuminate them.

Action Comics #1 (above), looks incredible, but there are others equally as great (see below).

Many of the pieces are available on Barker’s site for $300.  Would you purchase one of the pieces?  If so, which one(s) most appeal to you?

]]> http://www.forevergeek.com/2011/07/classic-comic-books-look-stunning-as-stained-glass/feed/ 2 http://www.forevergeek.com/2011/07/a-lego-lord-of-the-rings%e2%80%99-the-dark-tower-larger-than-frodo-baggins/ http://www.forevergeek.com/2011/07/a-lego-lord-of-the-rings%e2%80%99-the-dark-tower-larger-than-frodo-baggins/#comments Thu, 07 Jul 2011 23:44:50 +0000 Jeff Cormier http://www.forevergeek.com/?p=34616

Adult fascination with LEGOs never seems to die.  We’ve profiled the creation of a massive LEGO “Garrison of Moriah” by a Star Wars fan and the construction of an equally large LEGO replica of the “Love Boat” by a fan of the television show with the same name.  Now a fan of The Lord of the Rings has unveiled his own LEGO creation, The Dark Tower (Barad-Dûr), built for Brick World 2011.

For those unfamiliar with the story, Barad-dûr, also known as the Dark Tower, was the Dark Lord Sauron’s main stronghold in Middle-earth. Built during the Second Age, it was destroyed at the end of the War of the Ring.

Kevin Walter, LEGO and LOTR lover, built the tower pictured below out of the tiny bricks.  Unfortunately there isn’t an exact count of how many bricks Walter used in his masterpiece, but from his Flickr account  one learns that the tower measures 175 cm, or almost 6 feet tall!

He looks more tired than pleased with the finished product, no?

For more pictures of Walter’s “Dark Tower” click here.

Which LEGO creation, the LEGO “Garrison of Moriah,” the LEGO replica of the “Love Boat” or the LEGO “Dark Tower,” do you find most impressive?

Neatorama

People are infatuated with Legos.  After recently profiling a man’s 250,000-brick Lego “Garrison of Moriah,” another man, Ryan McNaught, The Brickman, has created his own 250,000 brick behemoth, a replica of The Love Boat.

“The Love Boat,” for those unfamiliar,  was a television program set on a cruise ship, airing from September 24,1977 until May 24, 1986.

The Lego Love Boat creation, currently on display at Chicago’s Brickworld Lego convention, features more than 250,000 bricks and measures in at over 10 feet long.  For metric users, the Lego boat is over 3 meters long and over 1 meter high!

According to The Brickman:

• “It has 450 minifigs enjoying a fabulous cruise and the best holiday they have ever had!”

• “Its full of power functions, The anchor, bow thrusters, the lifeboat raise/lower, the propeller, and the rudder at the rear.”

• “The ship of course has all the Love Boat crew onboard as well as a whole series of 80’s washed up TV stars including none other than the Hoff!”

Were you a fan of The Love Boat?  What’s the most intricate thing you’ve created using Legos?

Craft

Legos, provided you can find the little bricks needed to complete a project, provide hours of fun. Whether it’s building a pirate ship, a national landmark, or simply free-form design, Legos are simply a joy, for children.

Gerry Burrows dispels the notion (perhaps a personal one of yours truly) that Legos are for children with his “Garrison of Moriah,” housed in a 540-square-foot room, the “Lego room.”

A fan of Legos since childhood, his dream of building something massive using Legos finally became a reality. In an interview with Wired UK Burrows states:

“I entered what Lego fans call ‘The Dark Ages’ — where I didn’t do anything with Lego — but when I graduated college and bought my first house, I unpacked a box of my old Lego bricks. I started thinking how I now have the money and space to actually build the things I wanted to build — without a little sister to rampage through my Lego creations.”

And Burrows, despite the massive size of the project, indicates the creation isn’t complete:

“It’s still growing. The bridge isn’t complete, nor is the other end of the bridge. And I’m building a fleet of custom ships.”

How large is the project? The Garrison of Moriah is 28 feet long, between 24 inches and 59 inches deep and measures between 6.5 to 12 feet tall.

How did Burrows create the Garrison of Moriah?

“Nothing ever touched paper or computer. But as I would start to build and focus on individual structures, I would spend time thinking of the specific structures’ design. As I built I would get inspiration on cool directions to take.”

Is Burrows creation one of the more amazing Lego creations you’ve seen? What other Lego structures have you encountered which merit profiling?

Then again, iPhone cases can be found and bought practically anywhere, and it is not surprising at all to see someone else using the same design. That’s why the newest iPhone cases at Society6 caught my eye. These cases are not only sturdy but they are not your run-of-the-mill designs.

Hell Tale Pink iPhone Case

The main thing going for this case is the presence of those ghosts that look as if they came straight from Pac-Man. My main issue is that it’s so pink! Then again, tough men “wear” pink, so why not?

Rubber Duckies iPhone Case

Rubber duckies have always fascinated me – I guess it’s Ernie’s fault. Then there’s Sheldon who uses rubber duckies as slip guards in the bathroom. Who can’t help but like rubber duckies?

Where the Hip Things Are iPhone Case

Where the Wild Things Are is a classic that every child should read/hear (and also watch, with it having been made into a movie). With this iPhone case, the chances that you’ll bump into someone with the same design are slim.

Angry Birdsky iPhone Case

Angry Birds meets Banksy. Enough said.

Air Safari iPhone Case

This design reminds me of Jules Verne and the movie Up. How can I resist including it in this post?

Donut Gas Mask

It’s not Steampunk and a donut gas mask is useless, but it does catch one’s eye.

All of these cases are priced at $35 and are made of “a one-piece, impact resistant, flexible plastic hard case featuring an extremely slim profile”.

The Jarre Double Action Harmonica Pistol is, as the title suggests, a pistol featuring a method to reload the gun which looks like a harmonica.

Between 1859 and 1862, several patents were filed for harmonica pistols by a French inventor, Jarre. The idea behind the weapon was to offer users a swift method of firing and reloading one’s pistol.

After a round was fired the gun-toting individual would simply push the magazine from right to left and fire the pistol again until all rounds were spent.

From the Firearm Blog concerning the pistol pictured above:

“The bullet chamber houses nine pinfire 38 cartridges. The action functions in both single and double action. There is lower trigger attached to the rear of the primary trigger which fits through a slot in the bottom of the trigger guard that when pulled back advances the chamber and cocks the hammer. To fire double action one simply uses the primary trigger in the traditional manner.”

One of the more bizarre-looking handguns I’ve ever seen and a huge let down in that there isn’t an actual harmonica on the gun.  Great harmonica players with an affinity for weaponry everywhere must be in tears.

If the lack of a real harmonica doesn’t keep you from wanting to own the Jarre Double Action Harmonica Pistol, perhaps you can locate one and acquire one for yourself.  The question is, would you actually want to own one of these pistols and if so, how much would you be willing to pay?

Neatorama

Transformers toys and the cartoon were some of my favorite things.  I was infatuated with Optimus Prime and other “good” Transformers, along with the “evil” Decepticons.

In conjunction with my Transformer adoration, so too I now adore the creations of a Chinese gentlemen, Yang Junlin of Huizhou, referring to himself as the ‘steel legend’.

Prior to creating a super awesome army of Transformers from scrap metal, ‘steel legend’ fashioned an equally excellent scrap metal Megatron tank.

Created at his “Legend of Iron” factory, opened in 2006 after retiring from the army, Yang became inspired to create his metal masterpieces after attending an exhibition featuring displays of steel sculptures.

The sculptures he saw, mostly simple human figures created from twisted metal wire, impressed him to the point that he began crafting his very own steel creations.

Fast forward a year and Yang Junlin opened his own factory, Legend of Iron, hiring more than10 workers to help him realize his dream of building cool robot sculptures.

Yang Junlin’s team uses all sorts of scrap metal, ranging from old car parts to sheets of steel to manufacture pieces like those in his Transformers collection.

Admitting that the work is time-consuming, Yang, to date, has constructed over 1,000 iron sculptures since his shop opened.

Want to see more?  Check out the other Transformers created by Yang here.

Are you a fan of Transformers?  Would one of Yang’s gigantic metal Transformers be something you’d like to purchase?

Obvious Winner

Who doesn’t love inflatable characters?  They’re odd looking, artistic, and just plain fun.  What’s better?  Creating your very own, custom-designed one!

Blimpus, a new project by Core 77 artist and designer, Mike Serafin, are blank, vinyl, canvas’ with two feet to keep them upright.

According to the creator, the inspiration for the Kickstarter project is:

“As designers we pretty much want to put graphics on EVERYTHING. We’ve done t-shirts, posters, skateboards, and anything flat and easy to print on. But now we want to explore beyond flatland and into the round, bulbous world of inflatable characters as custom, collectible art. What we’ve created is a blank, inflatable canvas with a big silly head to paint on and feet to stand on. They’re a bit over two feet tall, with stubby legs and they’re made of an ink-receptive PVC vinyl.”

So grand.

There are three options for those that desire a Blimpus of their very own,

There are three options for Blimpus:

1. Blank Blimpus Character for complete customization
2. Solid Color Blimpus with Sticker Kit: A cyan, magenta or yellow solid color vinyl character and a vinyl sticker kit which includes facial features and whatnot to get you going. Peel, stick, cut, chop, blend, bleach, mix and match, go to town. Like the DIY version this material also accepts paint, markers, etc. for additional tomfoolery.
3. Designer Edition Character Blimpus A fully printed character entirely designed by us and printed by our vendor in CA via digital transfer. Please express your preference from our four Kickstarter Edition characters: Cyclops, Yeti, Owl, Ninja.

With an initial launch of 500 if the project’s $7,500 goal is reached, additional Blimpus’ will be available for purchase provided the demand is there.

There are 5 options if you want to back the project and receive a BLIMPUS of your own.  For a mere $20, one will get their very own, blank, Blimpus, with the ability to customize it however you wish.  Not too much to ask for something so excellent.

Currently, with 28 days to go, the project has $785 pledged with 20 backers.  You can contribute here.

Will you contribute to the project to get a Blimpus?  If so, which option would you choose and why?

Literature is art, but discarded works of literature as art?  Pictured above is evidence of just that and there’s a great deal more from an artist creating tremendous pieces in his spare time.

Isaac Salazar, an accountant in New Mexico, spends his free time away from the “exciting” world of accounting creating the “Book of Art.”

How does he do it?  Salazar accomplishes all of his pieces without cutting a single page, relying instead on careful folding of the pages in books to arrive at a finished product.

His bio sheds light on his inspiration for undertaking such a venture and the exact methods used to craft his work:

“I am someone who has never taken an art class in my life but have stumbled upon making Book Art / Book Origami. I didn’t think I had an artistic bone in my body and never thought of myself as creative. I had seen the Readers Digest Christmas trees and wondered if it was possible to create a different design or use words.”

“I first started off doing simple letters, alternating pages for each fold but now I am doing more complex and intricate fonts. I use simple arithmetic and an exacto knife as my supplies along with lots of time. It takes me anywhere from a day for the simpler styles to 2 weeks for the more complex styles. I have recently ventured into logos and symbols and would like to pursue this area more:

“My inspiration comes from multiple things and places. I can browse the used book section for titles that stand out to me.”

The piece pictured above is my favorite of the lot for it’s color and to me, represents the anarchistic nature of his work as a whole.

View more of Salazar’s work on his Flickr gallery, or if you’re like yours truly, you can find some of his pieces for sale on Etsy.

After taking a look at some of his offerings, which piece is your favorite and why?

(source / Core77)

Then there’s the coolness factor. Sometimes, you totally forget about comfort – even for just a minute – when you are faced with something like this.

That’s the Octopus Chair designed by Maximo Riera, painter and sculptor based in Cadiz. The chair is the first in a collection called The Animal Chair collection. The collection is going to feature a host of other pieces of furniture based on mammals, reptiles, and even insects. If this first piece is anything to go by, I say that we are in for eye-popping treats from Riera.  Here’s a closer look at the back of the chair.  You’d think that that was a real octopus!

And here’s an image of the chair from the side.

If you are thinking about whether or not the chair is comfy – as I initially thought myself – this image might give you more insight.  The padding seems good enough, don’t you think? ;)

I am not a big octopus fan – although it is quite tasty, I have to admit – but this chair would look awesome in a decent library with hardwood shelves. Then again, it would be awesome just about anywhere. I can’t wait to see the rest of The Animal Chair collection!

“…we want something simpler but spiffier”

Some days ago I already posted a teaser about the new design. We had finally decided to change and brought the awesomely talented Ia Lucero in to redesign our site. The brief was not simple but we are proud of the result:

• Keep the legacy of the brand
• Make things simpler, get rid of all the different categories
• Let the content breathe more
• Make it better looking

We wanted the content to be highlighted more, all while having a spiffy and wide design. If you haven’t already, you should really check out the ForeverGeek Homepage. Remember this? Have a good look at it because it ain’t anymore!

We will release the former ForeverGeek design as a free WordPress theme over the next weeks, over at BusinessLogs.

Like with every redesign, there still are some minor tweaks needed left and right but we are happy with the results. We love the homepage and also the tag cloud and media wall in the footer. Especially how some of our preferred tags such as The Dept. of Awesomeness and the Dept. of Want It! are highlighted now.

Have a look round and let us know in the comments what you think.

Complete with teaser imagine of the on-going work for the ForeverGeek design realignment by Business Logs.

Also Michael Lopp’s, AKA Rands, Being Geek book.

Yes, that was a big mean affiliate link!

Now on to some girly stuff – shoes! United Nude has plans of using the design process to create shoes, and they’ve actually done it. This is one of the first pairs that have been designed using lo res techniques.

It’s obviously very pink – feminine – but it’s got something else that you rarely see in women’s footwear. Those angles add a certain kick to the pair, don’t they?

They have all sorts of objects in their web site: cars, shoes, chairs, motorbikes, buildings, and even all sorts of drinking glasses! I think it’s a pretty cool technique that just might be picked up by designers and manufacturers in the near future.

I bet I need to find some more Spongebob references for this post but to be honest, sometimes it’s just better when I shut up and let you enjoy the beauty of this Nautilius Shell house.

The house was built in 2006 by Arquitectura Orgánica for a couple from Mexico City, with two kids. Apparently they wanted to feel one with nature and live more in harmony, integrated in nature.
Whatever they were on, I want double!

I know this is old stuff, but hey give boy a whiskey break and go admire some more pictures of this house. And yes, I categorise this as Sci-fi. How’s that.

A couple of days ago someone sent me a link to an article about gadget discounts. When I visited the site, not only was the link to the manufacturer not hyperlinked, but the left mouse button had been disabled when the pointer was over text in order to stop copy and pasting.

I had to type in the URL because I could neither click through nor C&P.

Huh?

When I examined the code I noticed some other “niceties” such as a ‘ban’ on right-clicking over images.

The code looked for anyone using Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator (seriously, what decade are we living in?) and, if they dared to right click on an image, a pop-up box spewed out a copyright message.

They hadn’t bothered to do a complete job on the code, mind, because using Safari I was quite able to copy the image.

That said, I would have been able to copy the images and text anyway. Automated scrapers would’ve managed it. Anyone intent on ‘stealing’ content would have done so regardless.

The only people this tactic hurts are regular surfers who just want to use their PC and the web in the way it was designed.

Hyperlinks. Full mouse functionality. Copy and paste.

It really shouldn’t be too much to ask.

Web designers: if your client asks you to ‘protect’ their web pages, please politely decline, inform them that there’s no way to stop people determined to copy content, and then design to standards and principles that don’t crap all over your visitors.

Thank you.

Inspired by ski lifts, the system involves a half-pipe that supports the bike’s wheels, and support cables for balance on either side. The cables are supposed to connect to the bike’s handles through a hook. For safety, the cable has provisions for carabiners and harnesses.

Biking has its advantages, indeed: you can weave through traffic, you keep fit, and you’re traveling green. But biking through busy streets isn’t exactly safe, especially with the danger of cars sideswiping you. Some countries and cities have bike lanes, but these often eat up a big portion of road that can otherwise be used by automobiles. And in some areas, the bike lanes aren’t even enforced. In my place, even big buses use the bike lane to overtake!

Does it make sense to take biking to a higher level (literally), then? There are disadvantages, yes. How about traffic jams in the air? You’ll have nowhere to go but forward, but what if a bike in front of you is stuck somehow. And then there’s always the possibility of falling. However, if you’re concerned for the Earth and for your health, alternative means of traveling are always welcome ideas. Yes, bicycles on high-wires, included!

While this Three Dee Power Socket design concept can’t do anything to help about the tangle of wires that emanate from peripherals and turn into plastic spaghetti, it could at least save some space and make the power strip or extension cord redundant.

It’s especially useful when you have things that need to be plugged in and out on a regular basis, such as cellphone chargers, as it expands and contracts as required.

When you’ve only got one thing to plug in, it sits flush on the wall and accepts a single plug, just like a normal power outlet. However, when you want two or more plugs from a single socket, it pulls out.

Generally, I’m not a fan of the traditional “cube” power block, partly because the old-fashioned ones can actually be a bit of a hazard if they’re not used properly. However, this one looks much more sturdy because it’s built in to the wall rather than being a separate unit.

It doesn’t exist yet, but you never know: someone might try to construct it.

Via

Ignacio’s announcement post.

Here we have origami-styled logos for Firefox, Twitter, Apple, Digg, Basecamp, Flickr, GMail, IE (broken, love it), iTunes, Mint, RSS, Opera and Skype, designed by Paddy Donnelly.

They can be downloaded in a variety of formats. Jump on to see them all:

I wonder how many more kids would have come to chess club at school if they’d been able to eat the pieces at the end of the game?

Actually, scratch that — they’d probably just eat the pieces mid-game.

Here are some chocolate chess pieces which come in a tube that transforms into the board itself. Apparently inspired by folklore, when a Croatian and Italian king play chess with prizes of islands off the Croatian coast, this is a set you can only play one game with before having to buy another one. Best not to play it at the height of summer either.

Designed by Key Design, I’m not sure whether this is just a concept or whether you can get hold of sets. Might be too much of a temptation anyway.

A Boeing 727 has been converted in to a 2 bedroom hotel and completely furnished with wooden furniture, dining room and living area.

If these were still available they would be on the shelves among the Pockies, Wispas and Pot Noodles in the indie coffeeshop I _also_ manage.

Via Jason Liebig who does an awesome job archiving pictures 80s packages on his Flickr.

More images at coroflot.

More turntables can be found at Audiowood.

Discover more awesomeness in our forums.

I already had my rant about the LG wrist wratch phone, but this concept design of a wrist wratch Bluetooth phone (Try saying that 10 times without stuttering!), I must admit looks cool.

Designer Pedro Gomez calls it _technically_ a bracelet with watch and phone. When someone calls, the bracelet rings and/or vibrates. The entire face pops out as a wireless headset without sacrificing a screen since there’s a secondary LCD. Both LCDs are touch enabled.