Brand Recognition

This sounds mediocre, but is in fact just excellent. Adam Ladd showed his daughter some well-known logos (Pepsi, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Nike) and recorded her description of them. Any kindergartner would probably give similar responses, and that’s precisely what’s interesting here.

Some she can name on sight (“that is the Disney”), some she recognizes but can’t name (“that is the coffee logo”), and others just get cute descriptions (“outside space — it looks like a shooting star with a planet”).

As much as adults protest that advertising must be a waste of money because nobody wants to read it, this sure suggests branding works.

(via Kottke)

Haunting

Ballet Jörgen of Canada is responsible for perhaps the most hauntingly beautiful performance I have seen, and unfortunately I know it only through a brief clip on Google Video. The clip includes several scenes from Romeo and Juliet, each wonderfully choreographed and danced, showcasing the best and worst of human emotion. But the last minute or so, in which we see Romeo grieving over Juliet’s apparent death, is at once emotionally moving, athletically impressive, artistically insightful, and compellingly wonderful.

I stumbled upon this promotional snippet several years ago, and I’ve come back to it several times since. I may need to take a trip to Canada just to see this company perform. (They’re dancing Anastasia at the moment; if you’re in or near Canada, find out if they’re performing anywhere near your area.)

Healthy Relationship

At the grocery store:

Dude, you should go out with her. You’re the only person I know who doesn’t want to punch her in the face.

Boy Scouts in the News

Best… related topics… ever:

Boy Scouts in the News

Fashion Princesses

Disney princesses are depicted almost exclusively in their elegant ball attire, but artist Victoria Ridzel has imagined them as modern-looking teenagers in appropriately casual dress. With twelve princesses in all, only Princess Aurora seems happy to be pictured. Belle is fantastically bookish, Mulan deliciously tomboyish, and Ariel as rebellious as they come.

As with the “realistic princesses” from Jirka Vinse Jonatan Väätäinen, the splash of attitude and deviation from how these characters are normally seen adds some delightful believability to them.

Fashion Princesses

High-resolution copies are available at Ms. viria13’s deviantART page.

Power Your Own Hubble

Vehicle Power Interface with the Doors Open

If you have an extra $75,000 saved up and you’re looking for a good Valentine’s Day present, you could buy the “Vehicle Power Interface” for the Hubble Space Telescope on eBay!

According to the auction’s description, the console weighs 2,750 pounds and was used to provide power to the telescope and test its on-board power systems while the telescope was still on the ground. An accompanying log book includes details of the equipment’s usage.

On the other hand, the eBay seller has no obvious affiliation with NASA and has only four reviews (all positive), so I’ll probably save my $75,000 for other completely impractical pieces of NASA equipment that may become available in the future. Ideally I’d like to hold out for a Canadarm.

(via Boing Boing)

Homeworkagon

From an online discussion pertaining to today’s middle school geometry homework:

I can’t seem to draw anything that ends in “agon”

I assume that means the assorted “angle” and “ircle” shapes proved easier.

The Simpsonzu

Apparently this is already wildly famous, but I’d never seen it. The official title is The Simpsonzu, but it’s been described as “realistic Simpsons” and “anime Simpsons” in posts I’ve seen. Nina Matsumoto, known as spacecoyote on deviantart, created the piece in 2007 and has since won an Eisner award for it.