The Friday Links

Welcome, I hope, to Friday. And to Spring of 2020!

This is quite the year. That’s a phrase I’ve been saying since the new year, but especially now, nearly daily.

It is impossible NOT to talk about, mention, or think about COVID-19. I don’t want to further depress people, and this email list and website are here to act as a distraction from such depressing, overwhelming topics. But it definitely is challenging.

Keep your head up. Keep doing what you’re doing. We can do this.

Unfortunately I only have three links for you today. It’s my day off and I need to be offline after this. My apologies. Hopefully bonus links in the next few.

Here we go.

Netflix Party

This is a browser extension you can install so that you can create a “party” and invite people to it.

Create the party, open a video in Netflix, and invite people to chat / video chat with you while you all watch.

Perfect for our current lockdown situation.

Sent along by Amy Z.

Quarantine Chat

“Talk on the phone with someone else stuck at home.”

That “someone else” is randomly selected. It’s an interesting idea. I have not (yet) tried it, and we’re in an era where actually having phone calls has become really rare. But I love the notion of it.

Sent in by Tara P., who loves it.

Loop Tap

A super minimal game. Tap when the ball is on the coloured segment.

Definitely challenging, and very addictive.

Recommended by Ashy T.

There you go.

Stay safe everybody. I mean it. We need you.

Happy Friday.

ad

Friday… The thirteenth! [orchestra]

The first one of 2019. The next (and final) one for this year will be in November.

And also Fridaaaaaaay!

Here we go…

The Chef Who Carves Traditional Patterns Into Fruits and Vegetables

That chef being Takehiro Kishimoto.

Beautiful work! His knife skills are incredibly impressive.

His Instagram is worth a follow as well.

Sent along by Tianna S.

Cut / Fold Templates: Templates for Paper Mechanisms

Anyone who’s been following my site for any length of time you know I’m a big fan of origami and other paper folding techniques to create sculptures, artwork, and other things.

This site iamazing. Some of the builds are extremely complex but look extremely satisfying.

Sent by several subscribers. Thanks!

Wash Your Lyrics

Choose a song title and artist and click “generate”, and you end up with an instructional hand-washing poster with the song’s lyrics.

Making the rounds in light of COVID-19. Crazy.

Just Flip

Pull back, release, flip your little guy over obstacles. Click the left mouse button to increase spin.

Repeat!

Super fun little time-waster. And the sound effects are hilarious.

Have an excellent weekend! And please stay safe.

ad

Well hello Friday!

This week has been busy. I hope everybody is doing okay.

Here we go…

Yoshihiro Suda’s Intimate, Wood-Carved Flowers

“Japanese artist Yoshihiro Suda creates hyper-realistic sculptures of plants and flowers in the tradition of Japanese woodcarving.”

Yes. These are all made from wood.

Incredible work!

h/t: Swiss Miss.

Harold Feinstein: Photographer & Photography Trust

“Harold Feinstein was born in Coney Island in 1931. When he passed away in 2015 the New York Times declared him: ‘One of the most accomplished recorders of the American experience.'”

The images here are fantastic. He wasn’t really “discovered” as a photographer of any note until his much later years.

The site also features a trailer for the documentary “Last Stop Coney Island“.

Is It Canceled Yet?

Created in light of the COVID-19 virus, but also featuring some zingers like “Google Reader” (r.i.p.)

See also: “Who’s staying home because of COVID-19?”

Double Dodgers

You control a character who is walking down a sidewalk full of obstacles, while simultaneously playing a game on their mobile phone.

I suck at this game, and I consider that to be a good thing.

So happy Friday!

Enjoy your weekend folks. See you in seven days.

ad

Say hello to Friday!

And, I guess, say farewell to February. That was one crazy month!

And look! Links!!

Here we go…

Miniature Art – A Group Exhibition of Miniaturists

Now on at the Beinart Gallery in Brunswick, Victoria, Australia.

Some excellent work here.

h/t: Colossal.

17th Century DEATH ROULETTE

“Using real mortality records from London’s Dreadful Visitation, see what you might’ve died from in 1665. SPIN THAT WHEEL (features mild strobing & grim deaths)”

My first try said “In the week of February 14th, 1665 you died from Suddenly”

Jokes I’ve Told That My Male Colleagues Didn’t Like

“My co-worker asked me why I seem so tense. I asked him why he was massaging my shoulders.”

In response to Mike Bloomberg’s assessment that only his jokes were a problem for women.

Blockets

Sort of a reverse-Tetris.

Tap blocks to rotate, then place them where you want.

Weird. But somehow still fun!

Enjoy your Friday.

Stay warm, stay safe, and have a fabulous weekend everybody.

ad

We have made it back to Friday everybody!

Good for you!

Let’s begin…

Ted Lott

“Ted Lott is a Craftsperson, Designer and Artist whose work revolves around the history of wood in Material Culture and Architecture.”

He repurposes “found” furniture into intricate gothic-style structures that resemble tiny houses.

Some incredible work here.

h/t: Nag On The Lake.

NASA Worldview

You can add or remove numerous views of severe weather, smoke, aerosol, and many other events collected from a huge variety of satellites orbiting the earth.

Neal.fun: Life Stats

A neat little then vs now statistics thing for your birthday.

Hue Jumper

Drive, and avoid objects to earn points and get the longest time score.

The entire game exists in a 2kb file. Crazy!

Have a happy Friday, and an amazing weekend.

ad

Happy Friday!

And where I live, it’s colllllld! And also a long weekend.

But hey guess what!! Link time!

Here we go…

Justine Haupt: Rotary Cellphone

“Why a rotary cellphone? Because in a finicky, annoying, touchscreen world of hyperconnected people using phones they have no control over or understanding of, I wanted something that would be entirely mine, personal, and absolutely tactile,while also giving me an excuse for not texting. “

This is a real thing that she made, and that she uses regularly.

Full plans included. You could make your own.

This ended up blowing up in the past few days so Wired did an interview with her, which is also very insightful.

Based on a True True Story?

“Scene-by-scene Breakdown of Hollywood Films”

This is making the rounds but it represents some pretty incredible research and detail.

Most egregious film as of this writing: “The Imitation Game”, even in the most forgiving light.

Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by Johns Hopkins CSSE

A constantly updated map indicating the rate of infection around the world.

The Giraffe who wants to collect every cute tiny hat

[self… explanatory…?]

It’s like a step-by-step version of Snake. What a weird little game! Delightful… Also more challenging than it first appears.

There we go. Alllll Friday-linked-up!

Enjoy your (long?) weekend.

ad

Happy Friday!

February. Already. Okay!

I hope your week has been… positive. And calm.

Let’s get to the links…

Russian Cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin’s Images of Earth from the Space Station

“Russian Cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin has some of the most time spent aboard the space station, with over 672 days spent in space.

“Over that time he has captured some incredible photos of Earth.”

The title is so benign. It should really read “Gorgeous Earth Photography from Cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin”

Lumos Matrix Helmet

“What if you could count on your bike helmet to signal everyone around you when you’re turning, stopping and slowing down? The Lumos Matrix Helmet does just that.”

A pretty ingenious idea.

Sent in by a few subscribers.

DownLink

“Every 20 minutes (or every hour, you pick), Downlink updates your desktop background with the freshest images of Earth.”

MacOS only.

I’m a meteorology nerd. I would use this. (But run Windows.)

Bubble Blaster

Move your constantly-shooting character to shoot each balloon the number of times needed to destroy it.

A challenging little game. I suck at it, but you might not.

Sent by Jennifer W.

Enjoy your weekend everybody. Thanks for playing along at home.

ad

Welcome back!

It’s the last Friday of January 2020. We did it!!

Let’s take a look…

Metallica Frontman’s Built-From-Scratch Vintage Car Collection

“Hetfield, a lifelong car enthusiast, views his collection as a form of expression to convey his artistic energy and distinctive personality.”

The cars were all customized by Rick Dore Kustoms.

On display now at the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles.

However, it’s completely sold out, sorry.

There are some frankly gorgeous designs here. Just amazing.

If you like this kind of thing, I also recommend Chip Foose.

Apple Archive

A carefully curated archive of all things Apple Computer, from 1977 through to today.

Beautifully designed.

Etsy: moleculartstore

“UK based store selling handmade embroidered creations”

Buries the lede: these are detailed embroideries of internal medical anatomy.

Created by Firdusi Khan from Cardiff, Wales.

These are great!

Tomolo

Tomolo runs. Your only task is to make sure he jumps at key moments.

Surprisingly challenging!

There ya go! There ya have it! There it is!

Enjoy your fabulous Friday.

See you in seven days.

ad

We’re back!

And it’s Friday.

And we’re back.

And there are links!

And let’s go!

Bond Suits

“Matt Spaiser is a graphic designer located in New York. After years of research, he founded The Suits of James Bond in 2010, creating the ultimate resource for James Bond style and the first catalogue of all of 007’s outfits.”

He does mean: all of the suits. Not just the Bond character: any male character. Nearly every outfit, from every scene, of every James Bond film. Crazy.

Lego Ideas: International Space Station

864 pieces!

$99

“Coming Soon on February 1, 2020”

Yes please.

Royalty Now

“I wasn’t aware when I started this one that Alexander the Great would look like a modern day member Harvard Crew team, yet here we are. 😂”

“What royalty from the past would look like today”

Created by Becca Saladin. I couldn’t find any other details about her. This is some great work.

Guess My Word

Start with any word you can think of and the game will merely say whether that word is before or after their word.

One new word per day. Or you can try a hard word for more variety.

It’s tricky but you can narrow it down.

I found this very enjoyable.

And there we go! Allll linked up.

Enjoy the rest of your Friday, and have a fantastic weekend!

ad

Happy Friday!

Busy month so far on my end. Crazy. FYI.

Letttt’s begin!

Celebreedy

“This new bot on twitter, tumblr and (shortly) Instagram, posts blended celebrity pictures. The proportions are chosen at random, though never more than 60% of either, to ensure that the resulting image sits right in the uncanny valley.”

They really just turn out looking (to me) like “normal, ordinary people”.

Lei Xue

A Chinese artist who creates crushed aluminum cans in Ming Dynasty porcelain.

h/t: Colossal.

His other works are pretty amazing too.

Tom Whitwell: 52 things I learned in 2019

“#8: Drunk shopping could be a $45bn /year industry, and only 6% of people regret their drunk purchases.”

A very wide range of discoveries. I found this interesting.

Dungeon Basket

A pretty simple platformer with some clever features.

Sent along by Ashy T

There you have it! Links! On a Friday! Friday Links!

Have a great weekend everybody.

ad