Category Archives: Yikes!

More Awe, Please

Posted on December 27, 2013 by cicada

Last year I posted this essay on the awe-inducing power of murmurations, in which I mused on the relationship between awe and fear: When I’m lucky enough to witness dramatic natural phenomena (or even something as quotidian as an undiluted, … Continue reading →

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Kate Lacour: challenging the Codex Seraphinianus in the category of surreal, faux-anatomical weirdness

Posted on October 10, 2013 by cicada

When Kate Lacour sent me a link to her tumblr, sharkbrains (subtitle: “Body horror beauty – art and comics”), I didn’t know quite what to expect. What I found was delightful – a modern successor to the Codex Seriphinianus.

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Blogs and Blogging, Ephemera, Medical Illustration and History, Uncategorized, Wonder Cabinets, Yikes! | Comments Off on Kate Lacour: challenging the Codex Seraphinianus in the category of surreal, faux-anatomical weirdness

“Meat the Future”: The In Vitro Meat Cookbook

Posted on September 22, 2013 by cicada

It’s a book of recipes that you can’t cook . . . yet! Those diehard dietary techno-optimists over at NextNature are preparing a speculative “In Vitro Meat Cookbook” to explore the outer bounds of what one might make from in … Continue reading →

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A Murmuration of Cheese Balls: when nature enters the Uncanny Valley

Posted on August 19, 2012 by cicada

Murmuration, in addition to being a perfectly lovely word, also captures one of the most wonderful phenomena one can encounter in nature. Behold, one of the loveliest viral videos of recent years: Did you get goosebumps? Thomas Jackson’s series “Emergent … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Ephemera, Film, Video & Music, Neuroscience, Science, Web 2.0, New Media, and Gadgets, Wonder Cabinets, Yikes! | Comments Off on A Murmuration of Cheese Balls: when nature enters the Uncanny Valley

Coin-operated morticians are not easy to find

Posted on May 16, 2012 by cicada

Just in case you’ve always wanted a vintage coin-operated morgue diorama with clockwork morticians and mourners, you are totally in luck! Thanks, Morbid Anatomy!

Posted in Medical Illustration and History, Retrotechnology, Yikes! | Comments Off on Coin-operated morticians are not easy to find

“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:

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