Author Archives: Chompsky

A constantly morphing abstract short by Dalena Tran. To wit:

Composed of a single take, “Incomplete” invites us to traverse an endless choreography of bodies in perpetual free-fall and updating images that reflect a world in constant change. This work is an ode to what artist and media theorist Hito Steyerl coins the “poor image.” The image which is collected, copied, and processed to the point of disorientation and anonymity. The image which is not one but consists of many while presenting a different perception of coherency.

Fair enough.

curiousbrain

Behold: the 1974 Land Rover Series III – or rather, a one-off restomod by Munich-based Falcon Design Germany dubbed the ‘Miami Edition’.

Powered by a 2.25 litre inline four engine, the donor vehicle’s white steel body (with aqua green trim and matching aqua green custom-upholstered interior) sits on a galvanised frame, hand painted by several artists with tropical fowl, ice-cream cones, palm trees, and pineapples, thereby evoking the ‘spirit of the Dade county’ using a vintage British off-road vehicle modified by Germans.

It’s pretty. Just go with it.

hiconsumption

Behold: a recent image of the young star system HD 163296 from which jets of hydrogen are emerging, though no one really knows why. To wit:

The central star in the featured image is still forming but seen already surrounded by a rotating disk and an outward moving jet. The disk is shown in radio waves taken by the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA) in Chile, and show gaps likely created by the gravity of very-young planets. The jet, shown in visible light taken by the Very Large Telescope (VLT, also in Chile), expels fast-moving gas — mostly hydrogen — from the disk centre. The system spans hundreds of times the Earth-Sun distance (au). Details of these new observations are being interpreted to bolster conjectures that the jets are generated and shaped, at least in part, by magnetic fields in the rotating disk. Future observations of HD 163296 and other similar star-forming systems may help fill in details.

(Image: Visible: VLT/MUSE (ESO); Radio: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)

apod

Behold: the 2004 Shelby Cobra – Code-named Project Daisy, this one-off, fully functioning prototype was the last Shelby Cobra ever made (production was subsequently cancelled during an economic downturn).

Powered by an experimental 6.5-litre, 605bhp V10 with a rear-mounted six-speed transaxle, it had an aluminium space frame chassis with front and rear suspension components from the Ford GT. The vehicle was tested by Carroll Shelby himself at Irwindale Speedway and went on to star in the otherwise garbage movie XXX: State of the Union, driven by Ice Cube.

Up for auction next month for an as yet undisclosed but probably somewhat hefty starting price.

uncrate

VFX/3D tutor Clinton Jones challenged his community of 3D artists to interpret a simple animation of a person walking with a heavy load. 2,400 entries were received and this reel – which almost seems to have its own strange narrative – contains the best 100. 

You can watch the entire two and a half hour roll of all 2,400 entries here, should you wish.

kottke

Behold: the Earth 300 Research Superyacht – a concept for now, but scheduled to begin construction soon.

The vessel has a cantilevered observation deck near the bow and a flat aft deck with a helipad dominated by a 13 story sphere containing 23 state of the art labs where 130 scientists will ponder the secrets of the world’s oceans.

304 metres long, 61 metres tall and powered by an emissions-free, molten salt nuclear reactor, the vessel will embark on its maiden voyage in 2025.

uncrate