Just Worked Out I Have Over 150 Books In My Bookshelves That I Haven’t Read Yet…crap.

a word from you would suffice

The Performance of a Male Coastal Peacock Spider hoping to appeal to a Female mate.

Although other species of spider are known to perform mating rituals similar to this one, the legwork used as well as symmetry and colours of the clown faced abdomen is very unique.

A cannibalistic nature of the female; which is common in certain spider species, is also observed in this type. 

A female may witness the dance, but could already be carrying eggs or is uninterested. The perturbed female usually attacks the male; and although the male has superior jumping ability helping its escape, if it is not quick enough it is killed and devoured. 

It is also common that even if the female is interested, she can still devour the male after mating. 

(Via Peacockspiderman)

DIY Shape-Shifting Lamp

Mike Warren created this amazing DIY shape-shifting lamp after being inspired by a stunning expensive lamp he found online. To create the lamp, he designed his own free software, which is free to download below and a handy tutorial. Read the tutorial written by Warren below, which has useful images.

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Renwick Gallery Is Overtaken With 60 Miles Of Rainbow Hand Weaved by Gabriel Dawe

Contemporary artist Gabriel Dawe is delighting visitors at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery with his masterpiece “Plexus A1” - rainbows woven with 60 miles of thread that create a magical visual experience. It’s part of a major exhibition titled “Wonder” where several artists transform their location specific installations into a larger than life installation.

The Mexican artist combines the architecture of the historical museum and fashions a hand-threaded spectrum of rainbow yarn individually from floor to ceiling; replicating an enchanting experience for spectators as they walk through the corridors and hallways to be confronted by monumental rainbows sweeping from the ceiling to the floor.  Dawe has meticulously worked with 60 miles of thread for 10 days, composed of 15 colors of the spectrum, and single handedly blanketed the Renwick’s 19-foot tall ceilings with thousands of strands of polyester string. Mistaken for fleeting rays of light, the piece is an iridescent exhibition. Each layer is carefully constructed, to assure that the hues shift with light in a specific gradient mimicking a true rainbow.

Gabriel Dawe’s Plexus A1 is a resurrection of his memories from his childhood in Mexico city.

when i was 12 i babysat this girl for a few years and she would come to me and show me her art, drag me by my wrists and point at the pieces she’d made during the week. and she’d be like “do the voice” and i’d put on a sports-announcer olympics-style voice and be like “such form! this level of coloring! why i haven’t seen such perfection in crayola in a long time. and what is this? why jeff, now this is a true risk… it seems she’s made … a monochrome pink canvas…. i haven’t seen this attempted since winter 1932… and i gotta say, jeff, it’s absolutely splendid”  and she’d fall back giggling. at the end of every night she’d check with me: “did you really like it?” and i’d say yes and talk about something i noticed and tucked her in.

she was just accepted into 3 major art schools. she wrote me a letter. inside was a picture from when she was younger. monochrome pink. 

“thank you,” it said, “to somebody who saw the best in me.”

So, if you put your URL in here, you can listen to all the music you’ve ever blogged.

Fun fact: According to Greek legend there was a famous prostitute who managed to avoid a death sentence by showing the judges her boobs and arguing that it would be a crime against the Gods to destroy something so beautiful. 

Before you ask, yes there are paintings of this. And yes, they’re amazing.

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My mac is dying a slow death but it’s gonna take me like 10 years to save up for a new one :-/

Johari Osayi Idusuyi: the hero who read through a Trump rally. 

A writer and student at Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield, Illinois, Idusuyi found herself not only in the right place at the right time, but with the right book in hand: Citizen: An American Lyric is a critically acclaimed, award-winning work by Claudia Rankine that explores the pervasiveness of racism and micro-aggressions in America.   

“I think we were chosen for obvious reasons. We were minorities and there weren’t a lot of minorities there,” Idusuyi told Jezebel. “He also instructed us to sit in the middle, so we kind of already knew what this was.”

The 20-year-old student stressed that she went to the rally not as a plant, or with ill intent. She genuinely wanted to see Trump speak. Idusuyi said she had no interest in Trump. “But if you have the chance to see a presidential candidate, why not?” But when a few protesters interrupted the speech and the crowd collectively turned on them, Idusuyi got angry. “The way the supporters treated the protesters was really unbelievable and that’s what made me mad,” she said. “There was a man who snatched a lady’s [Barack Obama] hat. She was one of the protesters and was leaving and her hair just went with the hat. Then the man threw it into crowd and everybody cheered. I thought, ‘That’s bullying. That’s aggressive.’ I don’t think Trump handled it with grace.”

So she pulled out her copy of Claudia Rankine‘s award-winning book of poetry, Citizen and ignored the rest of the speech. That’s when an older couple, visibly irritated by Idusuyi’s action, poked her on the shoulder and said, “If you don’t wanna be here then leave.” A brief argument ensued, after which the older woman said she was glad Idusuyi wasn’t her daughter. 

(read the Jezebel post »here. watch the video »here, interview »here)