Joe Ban

Yesterday, Steve Agee posted this clip of Zach's network television debut. It's an appearance on Letterman's show, but Janeane Garofalo was guest hosting because Dave was having heart surgery.

Terrific inaugural performance and the subtitles only heighten the fun.

Photographer Paul McGee snapped a shot of this awesome VM Beetle encased in moss at the Belladrum music festival in Scotland last week.

tweet this   |   share on facebook   |   stumble it   |   see more items on colossal tagged with cars, photography, plants.

landerurquijo:

burgundy tie & light blue shirt / corbata burdeos y camisa azul claro

Photographer Jocelyn Catterson captured this shot of naturally occurring tree furniture in a forest near Morrison, Colorado. (via hard feelings)

tweet this   |   share on facebook   |   stumble it   |   see more items on colossal tagged with Colorado, nature, photography, trees.

Welcome to Tumblr, Jason.

jailers key guns (via Neatorama)

(Image: Horst Held = Antique Handguns)

Charlie Stross has found one of the most distant ancestors of transhumanism and Singularity-style thinking, a heretical 19th century Russian orthodox teacher called Nikolai Fyodorov (or Federov).

Federov believed in a teleological explanation for evolution, that mankind was on the path to perfectibility: and that human mortality was the biggest sign of our imperfection. He argued that the struggle against death would give all humanity a common enemy -- and a victory condition that could be established, in the shape of (a) achieving immortality for all, and (b) resurrecting the dead to share in that immortality. Quite obviously immortality and resurrection for all would lead to an overcrowded world, so Federov also advocated colonisation of the oceans and space: indeed, part of the holy mission would inevitably be to bring life (and immortal human life at that) to the entire cosmos...

So. Transhumanism: rationalist progressive secular theory, or bizarre off-shoot of Russian Orthodox Christianity? And should this affect our evaluation of its validity? You decide!

(Image: Pasternak_fedorov.jpg, Wikimedia Commons/public domain)

These photos have apparently been around for a while, but this is totally new to me. An enterprising group of robotic vacuum cleaner owners have used LEDs affixed to the top of their Roombas to create these amazing long exposure photographs. Check out Roomba art group for more. Photos via IBR Roomba, Mike Bala, and Steve Doll. (via laughing squid)

tweet this   |   share on facebook   |   stumble it   |   see more items on colossal tagged with lighting, photography, robots.

What happens in the brain when we experience a panic attack? --Davide Razzoli, Italy

Angel dusting is the misleading marketing practice of including a minuscule amount of an active ingredient in a cosmetic, cosmeceutical, dietary supplement, food product, or nutraceutical, insufficient to cause any measurable benefit. However, no claim is made that the product contains enough of the active ingredient to have an effect—this is just assumed by the purchaser. Thus, while misleading, angel dusting is typically legal. (via sleevia)