Lego of course is predestined for constructing ↑Rube Goldberg machines, and there are quite some fine specimen in existence, but ↑Akiyuky‘s beautiful creation ↑featured at gizmodo is as fantastic as it is gigantic. [There are bigger ones, but they are built by teams, like ↑the world record one.] via PH @ fb—tnx! … Continue reading
I especially like this Google Science Fair 2012 video, because it shows how much makeshift and creative improvisation takes place in laboratory work—quite to the contrary of the usual renditions of hight-tech labs in movies. And I of course do like it, because Lego is used. Another instance of Lego serving science is a recent publicity stunt: The personnel of the German research-station ↑Neumayer III in antarctica are ↑recreating their station out of 7000 Lego pieces [in German]. Seemingly as a kind of group therapy to overcome the boredom during the antarctic winter :-) … Continue reading
↑Think tank is a slang term used to describe a robotic weapons platform that makes use of artificial intelligence to enhance its abilities. Most of the think tanks portrayed in ↑Ghost in the Shell (manga, films, and series), along with other machinery, (e.g. attack helicopters such as the Jigabachi AV) are developed and manufactured by a fictional company named Kenbishi Industries. The above is ↑Cole Blaq‘s rendition of such a machine. In the foreground is a custom ↵lego friends minidoll by ↑Mike the Maker depicting the cyborg Major ↑Motoko Kusanagi. Here are two more lego renditions: ↑by gambort, and ↑by … Continue reading
↑Legohaulic has recreated the cast of ‘↑Blade Runner‘ (Scott 1982) ↑as lego minifigs. From left to right: Leon (Brion James), Pris (Daryl Hannah), Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer), Zhora (Joanna Cassidy), Dr. Eldon Tyrell (Joe Turkel), Gaff (Edward James Olmos), Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), and Rachael (Sean Young). And here are two different renditions of Gaff, with an origami unicorn in hand, and Deckard, carrying his ↑LAPD 2019 blaster, the ↵police spinner in the background: SCOTT, RIDLEY. 1982. Blade runner [motion picture]. Burbank: Warner Brothers. via ↑entry at ↑kueperpunk … Continue reading
Two 17-year-olds from Canada attached a LEGO minifigure to a helium-filled weather ballon and had it soar up 24 km, which is right in the middle of the stratosphere. During the journey upwards the helium inside a balloon expands until the balloon bursts. The legonaut was found 122 km away from the two teenagers’ home—it had safely landed on its homemade parachute. A time lapse camera documented the journey. from PK via e-mail—tnx! … Continue reading
↑The Next Web links to the ↑Study: Robots inspire new learning & creativity possibilities for kids (the LEGO Group is involved). Here are The Next Web’s closing paragraphs: Taking a deeper look at the stories the children created, the survey found that unlike many adults who see technology as separate from humanness, it seems that “kids tend to think of technology as fundamentally human: as a social companion that can entertain, motivate, and empower them in various contexts.” While this dreamy perspective is partially the result of childhood imagination (something kids from any generation can have), it is … Continue reading
This is a moc [my own creation] ↑version of the Space Battleship Yamato by afol [adult fan of LEGO] ↑Mark Rodrigues. The original stems from the ↑franchise of the same name and is itself based on the Imperial Japanese Navy’s ↑Yamato class battleships which were in service during World War II. It’s neither steam- nor dieselpunk, of course, but retrofitted futurism for sure. … Continue reading
When students or other interested parties ask me what anthropologists could do outside academia, in the industry in particular, I maintain a threefold answer. In the industry anthropologists 1) do research on organizations—amounting to something like consultancy, 2) do market research, and 3) are participating in product design—especially user-centered design comes to mind. Well, as it seems anthropologists had a hand in the ↑meanwhile available new series LEGO friends, which triggered some ↑discussion on gendered toys. Businessweek has a ↑longer story on LEGO friends, and ↑Andrew wrote at ↑the brothers brick: ‘For those of you out there who’ve made statements … Continue reading
A common trait of technoludic online scenes and communities are the efforts undertaken to document, preserve and redistribute specific knowledge. The afols [adult fans of lego] have developed many building techniques beyond those found in official instructions. Back in 2007 Didier Enjary collected a lot of those in his ‘↓The Unofficial LEGO Advanced Building Techniques Guide‘ [.pdf | 1.7 MB]. Didier’s guide explains the geometry of LEGO bricks from scratch, then proceeds to particular techniques. All in all his guide is a testament to the afols’ intellectual and practical appropriation of the LEGO building system. via ↑entry at ↑the brothers … Continue reading