Food Variety

As we've come to depend on a handful of commercial varieties of fruits and vegetables, thousands of heirloom varieties have disappeared. It's hard to know exactly how many have been lost over the past century, but a study conducted in 1983 by the Rural Advancement Foundation International gave a clue to the scope of the problem. It compared USDA listings of seed varieties sold by commercial U.S. seed houses in 1903 with those in the U.S. National Seed Storage Laboratory in 1983. The survey, which included 66 crops, found that about 93 percent of the varieties had gone extinct. More up-to-date studies are needed.

Recycling: Flash Mob Style!

Quebec flash mob and a plastic bottle. I did not see this with audio, so results could be a bit different than I saw, just as a warning.

..via Re-nest

Stereotypes

Hunch has released an infographic that shows some basic stereotypes based on data input by the site's users. Interesting stuff.

Sasha Prood Drawings

Someday I can hope to draw this well.

Passive-Aggressive Thought of the Day

National Running Day Infographic

Bit of a follow-up to National Running Day. Go me for bringing down the averages on the top three statistics.

Super Creepy Animatronic Heads

"Very nice. And everything you're doing is very interesting."

he parenthetical 'ourhouse' in the title refers to a video work by mellors, a surrealist sitcom about an eccentric family featuring two central figures,
‘daddy’ and ‘the object.’ 'hippy dialectics' features two versions of the 'daddy' character - one blue, one yellow - connected by a ribbon of hair.
cast from the face of the actor in the film, the latex heads are brought to life by means of electronics and software.
they deliver a looped kind of pep talk, including a range of compliments ('god, you're looking buff. no seriously, you look great!' and 'cool, you are cool!')
before reaching an absurdist conclusion of rebutting 'yes' with 'no'.

..via designboom

Levi Van Veluw

in his solo exhibition 'origin of the beginning', dutch artist levi van veluw makes use of 30,000 wooden blocks, balls, and slats
to blanket three rooms that recall his childhood bedroom. the life-size installations are accompanied by photographs and videos
that not only bring literally to life the current installation, but also draw up the artist's often-sombre memories of youth.

known for his self-portraits which involve the layering of diverse materials onto his head, van veluw creates in this exhibition
an entire narrative framework, without neglecting his emphasis on materiality, texture, and aesthetic.

Upcycled Blow Up Dolls

The question of what to do with your used blow up sex dolls has been answered, rather creatively, by Dutch designer Sander Reijgers. The innovative designer has upcycled the discarded sex aids into rather cool eco-friendly hoodies and other gym-wear fashion

..via GreenMuze

National Running Day

....Except when you have suspected trochanteric bursitis. Orthopedist appointment on Friday to confirm my doctor's diagnosis and figure out how to fix my stupid hip. So I will celebrate National Running Day by a whole bunch of not-running, some stretching, and a drink in hand.