Author Archives: cicada

Was the Black Death > Spanish flu?

Posted on February 4, 2012 by cicada

Pop quiz: which plague took more lives – the Black Death, measles, or Spanish flu? Find out in a surprisingly eye-pleasing way with this infographic from Column Five Media and GOOD (snippet below): I’m a little creeped out that an … Continue reading →

Posted in Data Visualization, Design, Medical Illustration and History | Comments Off

Remarkable Lego street art illusion

Posted on February 4, 2012 by cicada

Legophemera FTW. If you have not yet seen this street art illusion of a Lego terra cotta army, watch now – before your techie-artsy-hipster cred is permanently diminished! Video: “Lego Army,” by Leon Keer at the Sarasota Chalk Festival 2011. … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Ephemera, Events, Film, Video & Music, Frivolity | Comments Off

“Jesus is God’s Atomic Bomb,” and other lyrical classics

Posted on February 3, 2012 by cicada

Conelrad’s fascinating cold war culture jukebox, Atomic Platters, offers lyrics and historical context spanning several decades of popular atomic-themed music. Many of the songs unsurprisingly convey a sense of unprecedented, un-romanticized astonishment and awe. Consider the following gem:

Posted in Education, Ephemera, Film, Video & Music, History of Science, Science in culture & policy, Yikes! | Comments Off

“Where I live, everything is so small!”

Posted on January 28, 2012 by cicada

APOD’s photo of the day is, in the words of my boyfriend, “very The Little Prince.” How wonderfully whimsical.

Posted in Littademia, Photography | Comments Off

Russian water computers + garden design = underused steampunk plot

Posted on January 27, 2012 by cicada

If you’ve been secretly hankering to read an Umberto Eco novel about the Illuminati building a giant proto-computer underneath Versailles, do I have the blog post for you!

Posted in Blogs and Blogging, Ephemera, Frivolity, Retrotechnology | Comments Off

taking choices back from technology: David Imus’ old-fashioned new map

Posted on January 21, 2012 by cicada

Slate recently had a story by Seth Stevenson on Oregon mapmaker David Imus, who spent thousands of hours painstakingly crafting a two-dimensional wall map of the US. While yet another schoolroom wall map might sound like a complete nonstory, Imus’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Design, Education, Maps, Retrotechnology, Web 2.0, New Media, and Gadgets | Comments Off

Sciart Links

Posted on January 17, 2012 by cicada

I’ve been too busy to write a real post lately, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some amazing sciart/ephemera-art links going around. Here are some: Origami human torso with organs (via David Ng) In situ pencil lead carvings – the … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Blogs and Blogging, Ephemera, History of Science, Medical Illustration and History | Comments Off

Art on the Moon?

Posted on January 7, 2012 by cicada

Lunation, a group-curated show, opens today at Brooklyn’s Observatory: Artists and scientists have always been attracted to the moon. . . Our closest celestial neighbor, the earth’s little sister, the moon creates the tides and illuminates the woods at night. … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Events, History of Science | Comments Off

Chipotle saves spherical pigs from Science

Posted on January 1, 2012 by cicada

If one of your New Years’ resolutions is to eat healthier, more sustainable food, contemplating the evils of industrial food production and re-reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma might help you reach that goal — and you might want to post this … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Conspicuous consumption, Ephemera, Film, Video & Music, Science in culture & policy | Comments Off

Carnival of the Animals: holiday window wonder cabinets

Posted on December 27, 2011 by cicada

Bergdorf Goodman’s elaborate animal-themed holiday window displays rock my world: See more windows (huge images) at their blog. The last window in particular is Snow Queen-esque (think Narnia); the metal bird themed window seems very Yeatsian. Truly, upscale holiday window … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Conspicuous consumption, Design, Ephemera, Frivolity, Wonder Cabinets | Comments Off