Tinselman

Hugely Great Small

As devoted tinsel-readers already know, tinselman is a ginormous fan of the miniature. That's why his brain practically exploded at the tinselmagically amazing Musée des Plans–Relief! Why, he asks, are there no tourists at this remarkable collection of historic diminutives?... especially when they're housed in such a central location: in the heart of Paris' 7th arrondissement, at the Musée de l'Armée.

click images to enlarge or click here for flickr set

• official website

• previous tinsel-miniatures
 

Cool Brains

Without a doubt, one of my favorite museums in all of Paris is the Galeries de Paléontologie et Anatomie comparée. I've really never seen anything like it... though I know it can't be true, there's a sensation it hasn't changed for 100 years, since it's inauguration for the Worlds Expo, in 1898.

Click on any of the photos to see them enlarged (via flickr), or, for more photos of the museum, go to this Flickr set.

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Old Tech

This bizarre (and grossly oversized) alarm telephone looks like it's about 100 years old. It never fails to catch my attention when in the Paris Musee d'Orsay RER stop: I always wonder if it even works. And why it has to be so big!

Click on the above photo for a wallpaper-sized version (though I apologize for the graininess of the photo: it was dark).

This photo (to left) may give some context.

Dead in Paris

I recently took this photo at the Le Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. The skull's surface texture is especially fascinating: a texture which you can now study from the comfort of your cubicle! Just click on the above photo and it will enlarge to almost life-size proportions (though not quite that big).

Load time is fast. Firefox is preferred (for zooming in and out).

 

Return of the Pink

Pink Victory, 2007, by Maurycy Gomulicki

More Pink Tanks (and other pink weapons)
• War + Pink = Peace
• The Story of Tank 51 (Little Golden Book?)

20 Feet Below Paris

Just beneath the shimmering glamor of the Parisian streets is a tunneling web of mayhem that boggles our little brains. This is the secret underworld of Paris.... miles and miles of limestone quarries, which were used to construct the French capital.

According to explorers, dangers abound in the some-185 miles of tunnels: falling into wells, cave-ins, loss of light, lack of oxygen, or just getting lost. But, if you're willing to risk it, you may be lucky enough to encounter intrigue and wonder beyond your wildest imagination! (or something to that effect)

• Paris Underground Flickr Pool

photos copyright© 2007 boreally

Child in the Sky

My dad's photograph of that unforgettable Air Haiti flight.

True, it's already pretty bad that the plane itself is practically falling apart. What makes it worse is that there's a foot high drop right in the middle of the Port-au-Prince runway. Will you take your chances?

Wait. Before you jump aboard, let me tell you more. Rules and regulations are a bit play-it-by-ear in Haiti. For example, during your flight, something like the following might just happen (let's picture it)...

Halfway from Port-au-Prince to the Dominican Republican, the oh-so-friendly pilot calls an 11 year old kid and his father up to the cockpit and asks the boy if he'd like to sit down in the co-pilot's chair. This 11 year old, being an airplane fanatic (and having logged countless hours on an early Macintosh edition of Microsoft's Flight Simulator) can hardly believe his shit blind luck! Oh, to gaze out at the oncoming landscape; to stare at the buttons, the knobs, the countless gauges! This is paradise! And so, our sensitive pilot, suddenly acting on impulse (and perhaps recognizing the love for the sky in this young lad) leans over and turns off automatic pilot.

In a gesture, he flips it off and asks the boy if he'd like to fly.

If it's not already obvious, this is a true story. The 11 year old boy was my younger brother, Ryan, who, without hesitation, took hold of that small wheely-thingy (or whatever the hell you call it in a plane) and piloted a plane full of Air Haiti passengers over the brown wastelands of Haiti for well over five minutes (even single-handedly piloting the turn past an oncoming cloud).

So... would you still like to take a ride on Air Haiti? Keep in mind, you may end up with an 11 year old pilot! But also remember, the passengers on that Air Haiti flight experienced nothing out of the ordinary that day. My brother, Ryan, was a more than adequate pilot and, at 11 years old, it's quite possible he'd logged more hours (via Microsoft simulator) than the pilot himself!

A New Eye

A few years back, I discovered a box of false glass eyes in an antique store. Their detail – down to the smallest capillary – was near perfect. I bought one of the eyes for only a few bucks.

For a long time, I kept it sitting around on my desk: it's craftsmanship was somehow inspiring. But the best part of my glass eye: it was perfect for playing pranks on unsuspecting friends and relatives, many of which were horrified as one of my eyes seemed to inadvertently pop forth from its socket (a favorite of my kids)!

Then, one day, the eye smashed to pieces. Shattered. I don't remember how. A sad day indeed. (I probably punched a hole through the nearest wall or something).

How would I ever get another false eye? It was impossible. I was bereft. I was lost. My inspiration was gone. My pranks... shattered (sort of like my glass eye).

And just today, I discovered the answer! Occularist, Kim Erickson: he labors with the same level of dedication and craft as those occularists of old. Take a look at this amazing video journal describing his work.

House on a Wire

Precarious Home by Giancarlo Norese, 2007

(via core77)

More About Paris

click photos to enlarge

Okay. Back to Paris! So... here's some photos from our totally amazingly great trip.

Here at the Louvre, soldiers armed with semi-automatic weapons, make one feel cozy and safe!

We walked by this sign about seven or eight times. None of us could figure out what it means. Is it bad interface or is it art?

Note: Republic of Tinselman Citizen Foo has directed us to a similar sign on flickr, where, in a user comment, the symbol is define. They represent "muster points": a place to go, and be accounted for, in case of an emergency.

The Metro is great: each stop is unique, and the majority of it isn't as modern as this.

This is a view from the lowest level of the Eiffel Tower. The highest level is unbelievably high, especially considering it was built around 1900 between 1888 and 1889 for the 1889 World's Fair.

Parisians tend to leave trash in places where a trash can seems to belong. I saw this type of thing in one or two places.

There's no end to beauty in Paris. It's practically overwhelming.

photos by Robyn Miller (cc) 2007, some rights reserved

Blue Dragon

photo copyright ©2007 the doubtful guest

Dragons really do live! Of course, all you long horse disbelievers will probably deny the existence of this little beauty (without a second's thought), but I assure you, it is oh-so-very real. And strange. And blue.

It's real name? The pelagic sea slug. For more info, and to look at larger versions of the above great photo, visit the doubtful guest on flickr.

(via: spy's spice)

Hole in the River

There's a hole in the river! Whew... it's a good thing he's standing on that manhole cover.

(via: English Russia)

Sex Shop Grace

Suitcase sex shop, Xiamen street market. Below: wax museum figure, Xiamen

Design researcher, Jan Chipchase, travels the furthest corner of the globe for work and pleasure. From Campeche to Hukeng to Kyotera....

As a skilled photographer, Chipchase seems to enjoy focusing on the odd and often forgotten details of the world. You can see the world through his eyes on his Future Perfect blog.

Another backpack-around-the-world-with-camera source I continue to enjoy is a photo-book called Asia Grace, by Kevin Kelly. This unbelievable resource (with its accompanying website) is simply packed, from end to end, with the most amazing people and places on earth. One would almost swear that Kelly traveled back through ancient history to take some of these shots.

Attack of the Blog Monsters!

Geozilla (or George Davis) has been posting his extraordinary vinyl monster photos on flickr for some time. Now he has a blog called "Omni-Monster!!! – Kaijutopia" and he's already been posting some amazing stuff! Vinyl monsters never looked so good!

Don't be frightened... these monsters can't hurt you. They are as harmless as kittens (though some are gigantically humongous). Do yourself a favor and drop by!

• Blue Godzilla photos (beautiful)

Grandpop's Shop—Part 2

Outdoor entrance to basement shop (below my Grandmom's house).

Back in April, I posted a few photos of my Grandpop's old machine shop (and the best photo was just published in the current issue of Make magazine) but, as you can imagine, there's a number of photos left over.

And though the photos may not be pretty, I thought the readers of Tinselman might be interested in seeing a little more of the shop. Please enjoy! (and click photos to enlarge)...

Walking down toward the inner door of the shop.

View upon entering shop.

View of closed door. For close-up, see previous post.

From as far back as I can remember, the back end of the shop was so full of junk that it was unusable. 

This is not the lathe that I wrote about in the short Make article.

Grandpop's old drill press. Is this not the coolest thing you've ever seen?

 

Make Myst!

I had the opportunity of writing two articles for the "Toys and Games" issue of Make Magazine. I love toys. And I love games. So I guess it's the perfect fit...

The first of the two articles is about Myst. In short... I give anyone the directions for making their own Myst. Sort of. (You can read a short excerpt of this article in this previous post).

The other very short article, based on a previous post, is about my Grandpop's workshop.

There's some serious fun going on in this issue... some hardcore toys and games! Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Note: On newsstands November 20th.

Milky Yum!

Milky by artist, photographer, author, screenwriter and playwright Douglas Coupland.

• More visual fun on Coupland's site
• A short film on Coupland's site (play music and watch)
• God Hates Japan – Coupland's Japan release
• Coupland's dead blog – New York Times

Original Milky candy box.

Living Record Keeping

On a recent trip to Hilo, I was fascinated by this tree, almost every leaf of which was scratched with names and memories. (click photos to enlarge)

There was something profound about seeing all these memories (and people) brought together on a living, growing thing. So much so that I lost all interest in the nearby waterfall... obviously, so did many others!

And as can be seen in this third photo, the record keeping spread to some other large-leafed plants.

Staring at the Sun

My colorized version of Lagault's photo.

So you say astronomy is no fun? Then take a look at this blow-your-mind shot of the space shuttle and space station, silhouetted by a gigantic yellow sphere (the sun).

Thierry Lagault, the amateur photographer who took the photo yesterday (in Normandy), definetely deserves a round of applause... what a photo!

(via: Wohba!)

Godzilla Crime Photos

Last night, I did a Flickr search for "blue giant Marusan" and I happened upon the stunning photos of this godzilla! Along with them, I discovered a treasure trove of vinyl monsters (and vinyl toys), lovingly photographed by Geozilla (or, as he's known in the real world, George Davis).

I spent far too much time flipping through photo after photo. I swear... he makes them look like candy (and I was getting hungrier and hungrier for some candy).

Unfortunately, I have the displeasure to announce, the Marusan website has run clean out of giant blue Godzillas (he, he... because I just bought the last one)!

George has collected a few of the giant Marusan godzillas. Some mouthwatering photos of his these monsters can be seen here and here.

And for an extra treat, take a look at Tim Biskup's custom painted Gamagon. It's extraordinary!

• Vintage Marusan godzillas
• Super7Store – blue Marusan for sale

All photos, George B. Davis (cc) some rights reserved.

Essentially Improved

Military flight helmets from WWII through Vietnam

I'm fascinated by the stylings of the military. The guise is pure functionality but underneath that surface is a complex military aesthetic. I'm fascinated by the continued evolution of this design aesthetic, from as far back as the greeks all the way to modern day.

For a quick glimpse of it all, just take a quick browse through ebay (like I just did). The above helmets are from one seller "who has been asked by a widow to sell her husband's huge military collection." Wow! They're stunning.

As military technology does evolve, so do blogs. With this post, I am evolving (and hopefully improving) the Tinselman blog by enlarging the standard size for images. I'm getting tired of looking at these tiny pictures! So here it is... the first of many larger images to come. Enjoy! (And click image to enlarge)

Taiwanese Resort of the Future

Is it a house? Is it a spaceship? Is it a crumbling Taiwanese retro-fantasy-space-apartment-thing?

As best as I've been able to uncover, this abandoned structure was built as a hotel-spa... a place for vacationing Taiwanese to escape from the rat race of Taipei! One could relax in one of its two delightfully large pools or simply lay back in plush comfort, gazing out a picture window at an endless sea!

Our cute retro resort is located along the north coast of Taiwan, where there's also a healthy fiberglass yacht construction industry. And if one is already making fiberglass yachts, one might as well make fiberglass homes! Diversification! It's not a very big jump for any forward looking entrepreneur. Unfortunately, our eager entrepreneur is blind to the catastrophe that will befall his investment.

What was that catastrophe? It's a mystery. But a dizzying number of explanations have been offered. According to visitors to the ruins, it may have been something as simple as bad fung shui. Others say that the fiberglass may have been downright uncomfortable in which to live. Still others point to a Taiwanese real estate "bubble" that forced the investors into bankruptcy.

Or who knows... it could have been a combination of all these things. Whatever the case, the ruins recall an earlier similar dwelling of the future... Disneyland's Monsato House.

• More Taiwan Resort photos

Reader comment: Rollmops has kindly pointed out a few more more photos (including a Google Earth aerial view) on his Rollmops Blog.

Primeval Metro

I'm back. I've escaped my imprisonment (and believe me, it was a harrowing experience for all of us). But until I get around to explaining all that (probably in my next post) I'll entertain you with these amazing photos. Where is it? What is it? I don't really know except that it's somewhere deep under the ground in Russia, it looks very old and battered and I'm very sure we're all dying to explore it!

In the meantime, here's some more photos (click to enlarge)...

Thanks Road Runner!

Broken Machine

As a fan of Osamu Tezuka's  Astroboy, I couldn't help but love these photos by Hiroshi Araki. It's not Tezuka's artwork or even Astroboy's personality that makes the manga so fascinating. It's the fact that Tezuka managed to create an empathy for entire society of self-aware robotic beings... beings enslaved by humans.

Though Tezuka's inspiration was Disney, his children's stories were usually more forcefully provoking than his American counterpart. Though it was Walt Disney who said "don't ever talk down to a child," it was Osamu Tezuka who lived up to this statement by never shying away from topics like war, death, loss and then even some of the greater questions. What are we? Who are we? What is consciousness?

A few years back a film adaptation was made of Tezuka's Metropolis manga. It actually share very little in common with the manga but it is great looking. And it does display Tezuka's enslaved society of robots. I recommend it, especially as an introduction to Astroboy.

Tree Cozy

Please don't be confused: this is not a painted tree. No no no... we're not interested in something as boring as that (and neither is the tree). This is a tree sweater! Or, as Carol Hummel, its creator calls it... a Tree Cozy. The tree will be enjoying its new hand crocheted outfit for a period of two years at Cleveland Heights City Hall in Severance Town Center. Meanwhile I can't help but wonder... how? How did she slip this tree into its fancy new clothing?

We are all impressed. You, me and the tree.

top photo ©2005, dabbler

Me and Deja Vu

I saw this photograph and I was at first taken aback. For an instant it seemed eerily familiar, like I'd been there in another life or I'd scraped out that lava tube with my own hands (or at least watched someone else do it). And then I realized why...

Riven. This was one of the first scenes we did in the game.

The lava tube photograph was taken by the intrepid Bryan William Jones (two posts in a row). Amoung other things, he's also a photographer. I absolutely loved his Volcano National Park photos (Hawaii) – I'm completely there – I can just smell the plants clawing their way out between layers of lava. You should definitely take a look; with his heroics in the face of 600 bison and all... well, I think you owe it to him.

Grandpop's Shop

I just returned from Philadelphia, the city where most of my family was born and raised. Many of them still live there, including my grandmom who's still sharp as a tack.

My grandfather died a number of years ago. He was very well loved and his machine shop under the house has been kept almost a shrine in his memory. Though my uncle uses the shop for small projects, for over ten years not much has substantially changed; my grandfather's toolbox rests opened, his scrawled notes and plans are scattered all around, even his smell – machine oil – is everywhere.

It's strange to say that the shop was always a magical place for us kids. Grandpop would invite us in, show us a strange mechanism (usually his lathe) and begin to create a trinket right before our eyes. A miniature baseball bat. A plexiglas lightsaber! Then he'd invite us to try our hand at it. I'd watch him shape metal as if it was puddy. Turn square blocks into curved cyclinders. Nothing seemed impossible.

Now, whenever I visit I always go down and poke around, but not too much. It almost feels like he's still there. This time I finally took photographs. I love them! (click to enlarge)

• Workbench, high-res (slower loading)
• Shop overview, high-res
• Side bench, high-res

Note: If you have a browser that resizes images to fit the window, don't forget to zoom-in to see the detail. Also, the high-res images are slower loading.

(cc) Robyn Miller, Some rights reserved.

Micro Disney

I've been hard at work on my scale model of early Disneyland and I'm now finally ready to reveal it. You will most definetely be impressed!... until you learn that my scale model is only a quick photoshop cheat. But it sure is fun!

(click photos to enlarge)

• Unretouched lagoon
• Unretouched aerial

(via: boingboing)

Mastermimics

Chinese copy artists, posing with their copied work.

Lunch Break, in Pink

Manufacturing #11, by Edward Burtynksy

Nature Mutated

"These images are meant as metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence... we are consciously or unconsciously aware that the world is suffering for our success..."

– Edward Burtynsky, Photographer
 

Pele Beckons

 

This is where I've been. Hawaii. Too beautiful for words. I'll try to get some posts up, but I may be busy daydreaming about waves and sand and eternal sunshine for awhile.

All Hail the Cow

You don't have to be a fan of farm animals to love photos like this one. Taken by Yann Arthus-Betrand, this gallery of prize winning cattle (and their pet people) proves that cows and bulls can be more majestic then you could have ever imagined. But pigs are still pigs.

You may have heard of Arthus-Betrand, who is most well known for his Earth From Above photography. But I personally prefer his portraits of animals and people.

       

Brothers in Taos

My brother Rand is a photo junkie. He saw my post on Taos Pueblo and somehow managed to dig up this photo of me and my brothers exploring Taos. From left to right: Rand, Rod and myself.

Gallery of Junk

The junkyard photo-gallery of Richard Vander Wende.

Endangered Machinery

The photography of Haiko Hebig.