Pop Culture

Japanese latte artist Nowtoo Sugi uses syrup to add vibrant colors to his lattes pictures. I'm especially impressed by the detail in his depiction of Iron Man.At the link, you can see more photos of his lattes as well as two videos showing Mr. Sugi at work.Link

BARNEY photographed by Daddy JeffDo you and/or your doggies want to be READER OF THE WEEK? Email me your pics and stories.

From Open Culture: "Here are a few basic truths: life is essentially meaningless; your hard work won't dictate where your life goes; you will be struck down by death; and your loved ones and your achievements will whither and turn to dust. A grim way to look at things perhaps. But a long line of philosophers, starting with the Stoics, have seen wisdom in taking a dim view. As Alain de Botton points out, a pessimistic outlook reduces our expectations, our envy, our disappointment, and it creates room for emotional upside and healthier life decisions."

SupermanFrench animation designer Andry imagined comic book superheroes in the act of walking their sidekicks to school. Aren't they adorable? Link -via The Mary Sue

Anne Marie Chaker's May 15 "Just One Thing" Wall Street Journal feature focused on Jonathan Wright — a professional gardener at the Chanticleer Public Garden in Wayne, Pennsylvania — and his indispensable Lesche Digging Tool (above). Excerpts follow. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Jonathan Wright is a self-identified "plant geek" with a soft spot for summer-flowering dahlias. His Lesche Digging Tool, which he says he never gardens without… [is a] 12-inch knifelike tool [with] a serrated edge, which makes it useful for cutting and dividing perennials or even twine. Mr. Wright says the Lesche knife is a good substitute for a trowel when tucking bulbs or small plants into the ground. The action is slightly different from a more labor-intensive digging motion: "I stab it into the ground and pull toward me," he says, creating a cavity in the soil that makes planting "three times as fast" — significant when there are, say, hundreds of bulbs on the to-do list.The knife's tip makes a handy wedge for lifting weeds or even pavers, which sometimes require resetting or weeding between. In the vegetable garden, the flat edge of the knife makes it easy to draw a straight line in the soil for seeding.The steel tool's maker is W.W. Manufacturing Co. Inc., a Bridgeton, N.J., supplier of rakes, spades and other gardening and landscaping equipment. A plate just below the handle "guards your hand from sliding down" onto the blade, says Ingrid Hawk, co-owner of the company, which was founded by her father, Walter Lesche, in the mid-1950s and known as Walt's Welding. Mr. Wright says he was given the tool when he started gardening at Chanticleer as a student fellow in 2001. "One of the gardeners said, 'Here, take this, it will be your new best friend,' " he recalls. Today, he is in charge of designing and planting terraces surrounding the mansion on the 47-acre property. "It did replace any other trowel or weeding tool I had," he says. Another benefit: The red handle makes it easy to find if he leaves it in the garden. But even if that doesn't work, "I've bought a backup," he says. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• $36.95.

©Michael AbrahamsonMichael Abrahamson makes amazing balloon sculptures. Browse his gallery to see startlingly realistic motorcycles, cartoon characters and even a full-sized couch that can support the weight of three adults. My favorite, though, is this xenomorph chilling at a pub.Link

(YouTube link)The annual Dance Off with the Star Wars Stars is back as Disney's Hollywood Studios launch their Star Wars Weekends. This year's dances include "Bad," "Fight for Your Right to Party," "Hey Ya," and since this is the first Dance-off since Disney bought Lucasfilm, a special appearance by Jedi Mickey. You can see all the numbers on video at Inside the Magic. Link

If you’re familiar with jailbroken iDevices, you probably might have heard of Jay Freeman, a developer known as Saurik, credited with the development of Cydia, an alternative application store platform for iPhones that are jailbroken. Recently, Saurik made headlines yet again with the release of the Cydia Substrate for Android platforms. Capable of working with Android 2.3 and higher versions of the operating software, the Cydia Substrate platform will enable easier customization of software, particularly at times when the source code isn’t easily available. Cydia Substrate also enables easy installation and removal of features, without having to resort to custom ROMS. The platform has been tested on several Android versions already as well as on a bunch of devices. Still under development, Cydia Substrate comes with a safety feature that disables modifications. The developer of this platform advises users to take utmost caution while using it to its best and as always, taking timely backups is crucial. That apart, Saurik has also brought the Winterboard theme engine to Android devices though this one requires root permissions and Cydia Substrate. [Via - Xda-Developers]