Rosey Morris

These sweet little paintings my Rosey Morris on Etsy made my die just a little inside. The gold and silver edged landscape, portraits and nature scenes have a child-like unfinished quality as if they were details stolen from a mural. The moon and clouds round is just like looking up through an open observatory dome. Also, rooster.

Who said good art can't be affordable?

(I didn't. I did not say that)

via Bijou and Boheme

Fab dot com

Let me start by apologizing, to you and your bank account.  Because you're going to go to Fab.com and be powerless to resist their daily collections of art, fashion, jewelry, furniture, and home goods.  It's an electronic orgasm of what Eddie would lovingly call gorgeous, tasteful, little stylish little gorgeous things.

YOU'RE GOING TO BUY ALL OF THE THINGS.  

Like this, for example.  

Space Jam by Chase Kunz.  Currently hanging in my bathroom

Items tend to arrive when they arrive, but if you don't mind waiting, it's a minor thing.  It's like Christmas!  One day something you forgot you ordered just magically shows up at your door.  So far I've only had one real hiccup with an order when I received the wrong item.  The customer service reps I dealt with via email were very communicative and downright earnest in their desire to make right the mistake.  When they weren't able to replace the item, I got a full refund plus a $10 shopping credit.  Earnest like a fox.  A stylish gorgeous little fox. 

TARDIS and Browncoat Jerseys - Last Day to Order

It's hard to think about hockey when it's 4,000 degrees outside, and inside you haven't moved from the couch since Friday.  Also, you can suddenly speak with great authority about the nuances of a full twisting layout Tsukahara.  But!  Today is the last day to order one of these cunning jerseys from designer Dave Delisle.

You can customize the number.  9 is my Doctor

To me this is a form of cosplay, as many people opt to put a character’s name on their back. In my opinion this is sort of a fandom, where every design I post is usually for something I really love. I don’t see these as products but large personal billboards for things we like, be itGame of Thrones or Voltron or Zelda or what have you. I hope large companies see these as fan expressions, not infringing. 

I don’t have big aspirations of turning this into a mega-business, I rather like the small scale we are currently at. I do hope geeky hockey jerseys become more commonplace eventually. 

If anyone had jerseys like these available I wouldn’t be going through all this effort. Maybe Reebok will take notice.

Check out Dave's site for more great designs.  Fandom jerseys from Dave's Geeky Hockey.  Tip o'the hat to Bruce!

Free Universal Toy Construction Kit

This Universal Construction Kit created by F.A.T. Lab and Sy-Lab, makes all brick toys (and not so brick toys) compatible. We're talking Lego, Duplo, Fischertechnik, Gears! Gears! Gears!, K’Nex, Krinkles (Bristle Blocks), Lincoln Logs, Tinkertoys, Zome, and Zoob and the ability to connect each brand to any other brand.

And its free. Of course there's a catch. You need a 3D printer to produce the collection of 80 parts. Even so. Holy shnikees.

Happiness bomb.

Wordless Diagrams

There is something appealing about diagrams without language. You've entered a realm of mystical symbology. Like when Ikea got rid of all the words in their instructions.

That's why I'm lusting over Wordless Diagrams by award-winning illustrator and graphic designer Nigel Holmes. The universalness of the messages are like big language-transcending hugs to humanity. Inside this whimsical picture-book are practical guides to complex tasks such as how to program your VCR, or how to kiss hello in different countries. These graphic explanations are uncomplicated and easy to understand (though I wouldn't recommend attempting the diagram for performing a facelift, unless of course there was some sort of zombie apocalypse spy ring scenario.  In that case, please, save the world).

Listen to an interview with the author on NPR and don't forget to visit Holmes' website which is wordless too.

DC Comic Mimomicro Card Readers

Mimoco began making drool-worthy 'mimomicro' portable data drives in 2005. My hands still shake when I realise I never got these paws on the Princess Lei USB drive.

The Boston-based geniuses have now opened a line of superhero based gadgets after collaberating with DC Comics. Each device has a built-in keychain, a flip out USB port, an LED light so you know its working.

If you can hear me God, forgive me for Princess Lei mishap only if I get my hands on Wonder Woman.

You. want. this. don't you.

No Globes

Yeah, so I've blogged about Dorothy, the UK-based art collective before. That's because they are totally awesome. This time, I want to show you their "No Globes", a kind of reverse snow globe art with a cutting environmental statement.

From the Dorothy website: "The single greatest threat to the climate comes from burning coal but despite this a whole new fleet of dirty coal-fired power stations are on the verge of being built in the UK (the first for 30 years)."

The globes are a limited edition of two, so its pretty much a fat chance that you'll be able to own one of these babies.

How's about you head to your own hearth (or demolish some black tissue paper) and make one, yourself. I'd recommend adding black glitter to your mix.

Essential Geography of the United States of America

My appreciation of geography outside of studying the covers of the classic Belgariad series and the indices of Middle Earth are, to say the least, latent. But the underdog story of David Imus's creation, "The Essential Geography of the United States of America", an enchanting, edifying and information infused map of the United States, is as compelling as it is educational.

Winner of the prestigious “Best of Show” award at the annual competition of the Cartography and Geographic Information Society, the highest honor that only the geekiest of cartogrophiles would remember (that's right, I just made up a word), Imus's map is the equivalent of an information-rich, geography-is-delicious layer cake. Check out the masterful shading of the sub-oceanic architecture of the Hawaii islands, something I have been wondering about for seven years. I kid you not.

Bob Welch's lovely article, "A labor of love finally validated" describes Imus's torturous climb up the cartographic ranks. A masterful review of the map itself can be found at the Slate article, "The Greatest Paper Map of the United States You’ll Ever See: Made by one guy in Oregon" by Seth Stevenson.

Buy one of these darn things to educate your self, your classroom, your kids and America, who could use a reminder that the artistry and labors of one guy in Eugene, Oregeon can be greater than all the corporate buying power of every big name cartography institution in all the States.

Nerd Girlfriend

I told you about the spectacle-slinging, sigh-inducing, effortlessly cool clothes magician who brought you Nerd Boyfriend. Well, they have now introduced a website for ladies, Nerd Girlfriend.

There are only a few female-focused images, but I expect that to change. Oh, please, please change. Let there be more. Let the flood gates of female nerdgeist be opened that we may conquor the earth. (Is this what that whole biblical meek prophecy was about? Had they just not invented the word for geek back then?).

Anyhow, I could say more about their dorky but sexy folios from Twin Peaks. I could stand around applauding their choice of dark-horse heroines like Gilda Radnor, Debbie Allen and Jodie Foster, but I am busy. I am very, very busy flicking through those sweet, heart-palpitation inducing images and dreaming of salary increases.

Casualties of War

Green army men are a ubiquitos, classic toy that never seems to go out of style. I know of a particular forty-something-year-old (who shall not be named) that I suspect still plays with 'em. In my youth, I for one, once stole about five of the aforementioned nameless person's stash, sawed of their guns and grenades, painted them with white nail polish and used the re-vamped figures in the frieze of my scale-model of a Roman temple. But that's another post.

The green army men, "Casualties of War," produced by the the Manchester, England-based Dorothy collective were inspired by the unspoken "personal hell soldiers live through after returning home". From the Dorothy website:

"In July 2009 Colorado Springs Gazettea published a two-part series entitled “Casualties of War”. The articles focused on a single battalion based at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, who since returning from duty in Iraq had been involved in brawls, beatings, rapes, drunk driving, drug deals, domestic violence, shootings, stabbings, kidnapping and suicides...A seperate investiagtion into the high suicide rate among veterans published in the New York Times in October 2010 revealed that three times as many California veterans and active service members were dying soon after returning home than those being killed in Iraq and Afghanistan combined."

Unfortunately these bad boys are not for sale.

Nerd Boyfriend

I've had a fashion intervention with a male friend or two. And I must admit, a lot of time and consideration is needed to develop one's personal style. But Nerd Boyfriend's stripped down site with clean lines and extraordinarily timeless portraits is like an effortlessly cool Tim Gunn just gave you the 411 on fashion know-how over coffee cups.

Taking delectably fashionable iconclasts from across the decades, this self proclaimed shopping guide and style blog is filled with yummy professor types like Carl Sagan and Albert Einstein, incorrigible artists such as Peter O'toole and Miles Davis, and ne'er do well forget-me-nots like James Dean and Ford Prefect (so what if he's fictional? It's poetic license and Mos Def).

Then he tells you where to buy their clothes in mainstream retail stores. Perhaps that last part was not loud enough. He tells you where to buy their CLOTHES. 'Nough said.

Go my nerdy brothers and take your naughty librarians with you.

Architecture in Dinnerware

On my wish list are the architecturally inspired "Palace Collection," designed by Alessandro Zambelli for Italian dinnerware geniuses Seletti. Each set of six cereal bowls, soup dishes, dinners plates and desert saucers stack to create a Renaissance era Florentine building when not in use. Serving dishes are inverted to make the roofs. When unstacked you literally eat off the floor, err, floorplan. These dishes will make it perfectly normal for adults to own dollhouses. As long as you can eat off them. The Palace Collection is available in April from A-R and the Conran Shop. New York Times article, "Architecture in Dinnerware," also has a nice review. Delicious.

Questionable Content

For some absurd readson, its seems I have never given Questionable Content its own post. Not, its not commentary on CandyBuffet. Questionable Content is the brilliantly funny, indie music oriented, slice-of-life web comic by Jeph Jacques. The main characters are sardonic roommates Martin and Fey, their anthropomorphized personal computers and slew of friends with deep and abiding personality dysfunctions. The strip also routinely carries such modern truisms as gay parents, loser jobs, fuck buddies, and alcoholic hallucinations (Keep an eye out for the purple tequila monster).

Also he sells shirts. Enter the "Robot Family Tree" Note the Zentradi/walker pod thingy on bottom left. Buy.

Washington National Opera Costume Sale

All right. I admit wax|wendy, aka Whit had this up on her Facebook page and I could not resist. Run, don't walk, to this weekends Costume Sale by the Washington National Opera. Everything from accessories to fully formed costumes from the WHO's productions of the Mikado, La Boheme, Madame Butterfly and more will be up for sale in time for Halloween. They've also mentioned historic military and Knights of the Holy Grail costumes. That means (as evidenced by their web-site) pre-distressed vintage party dresses, uniforms, and period garments with accessories starting as low as $2.

To stress the importance of such an undertaking, I have printed out a costume closet necessities list below. Stick all your goodies in a Ikea box under your bed, and you'll be set for holidays to come. (sorry if its a bit female oriented, but I have thought about the lads a little as well).


CandyBuffet's Costume Box Essentials

• Boots white or black. fits villains and super heroes alike
• Spectacles antique spectacles of all kinds will turn you into Harry Potter, Doctor Who, or the Baroness
• Vests westerns, fantasy, Renaissance, Victorians and Edwardians all seem to love this staple. not to mention Dr. Simon Tam
  
• Top Hat do I really have to explain? deliciously sexy on women, there is no substitute on men
  
• Crinoline hey you can use it when you go square dancing, too
• Corset
• Trench Coat film noir and detectives of the Pink and Poirot persuasion, my friends. or is that fiends?
• Floor length skirt for the gypsy/wench/princess in you
• Billowy pants for the pirate/ninja/shah in you
• Puffy Shirt see latter two entries above
  
• Cape/cloak
• Evening gloves elbows for the ladies
  
• Hair-piece or Wig boys, you really need one to pull off a respectable pirate
• Jesus sandals you Greek god/dess, you
• And don't forget props. Think whips, swords, pistols, feather boas, necklaces, scarves and the like. Go with what speaks to you.

Cash, check and credit cards are being taken (so they say) and full and complete costumes are going from about $50 to $200. And I can tell you, that's just the cost of mid-quality corset on-line or at the Renaissance Fair (so I hear). So, scurry your little legs to the below address, October 17 – 18, 2009, 10:00 AM – to 5:00 PM:

Rehearsal Room C (3rd floor)
WNO Studio
6925 Willow St, N.W.,
Washington, D.C.
(Takoma Park)

Street parking is available or take Metro’s Red Line to Takoma station – turn left onto Carroll St., take a slight right at Eastern Ave, then a right onto Willow St. WNO Studio is on the left.

So go, my children, and remember, I wish I was there.

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Step away from the department store eau de toilet. Put down the celebrity branded smellum water. In their place, let the heady aroma of a Black Phoenix hand crafted elixir envelop your senses.

Inspired by a vast range of influences, from the passion and decadence of the Fin de Siecle movement to the ghastliest of Lovecraftian monstrosities, we specialize in eliciting emotional responses through perfume and creating unique, masterfully molded scent environments that capture legends and folklore, poetry, and the stuff of dreams and nightmares.

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab has recently introduced a line inspired by the world of the Old Ones - A Picnic in Arkham. Why smell like JLo or Paris when you can answer the call of Cthulhu? "A creeping, wet, slithering scent, dripping with seaweed, oceanic plants and dark, unfathomable waters."

Ah, the smell of it ...

via

XKCD: Volume 0

XKCD has produced their first book featuring selections from the first 600 comics including artist and fan favorites. (Gee, I seem to have developed tremors in my fingers, directly related to overt anticipation). Assembled from high-resolution scans of the original (some of them confessed to be on the back of school assignments) with the often hilarious and insightful mouseover text is included, volume 0 has the extra bonus of additional doodles, notes, and puzzles by Randall Munroe included in the margins. You can read more about the production of Volume 0 at the xkcd Blag.

Published by BreadPig, a portion of the sales will go to the charity Room to Read, which will help build a school in Laos. And, hey, we're all into reading.

Run, don't walk, and buy xkcd: volume 0 direct from the source, available in the xkcd store.

Who says nerds can't be chic?

The musical touch of Leonard Nimoy

Nerd Boyfriend is an austerely simple but endlessly entertaining site.  It starts with a distinctive fashion point of reference, and then offers suggestions for recreating the look.  With a few clicks and a credit card you too can be as impossibly cool as Lee "Scratch" Perry, Alain Delon, or Sir Alec Guinness.  

Well, at the very least you can dress like them.

Lollyphile

There's a good reason why lollipops permeate our society on all levels from wall-leaning cool kids to tootsie center chomping lawyers and even (or especially) sexual inuendo. Also, lollies taste good. Enter the queen of internet lolly fantasies, Lollyphile, a San Fransisco company with a huge sweet tooth who professes their hand-made lollipops are bigger, better, ship faster and have a longer shelf life then other candy competitors. It's hard to argue with them when you can buy flavors like absinthe, wasabi-giner, or maple and bacon from their website. And even though Lollyphile only offers five flavors (get excited, because they're working on a queue of other cool flavors!), they offer a service called Candyphile, a monthly club which sends delicious underground candies from miracle making confectioners all over the world, straight to your door and ready for you own gastronomical adventure.

So come on, admit it, candy IS all you think about.

The heady scent of childhood

Release both your inner artist and inner fashionista with these fantastic Crayon rings by Timothy Liles.  Available for sale at The Future Perfect, they're a little spendy at $50 a set, even if they do come in a cool wooden box.   I might have to get in touch with my inner DIY, and try my hand at casting a set of my own.  Imagine the possibilities. 

via 

Good day to you sir. I said good day!

One of my favorite t-shirt purveyors is back in the game after a brief hiatus.  Glarkware designs are smart and snarky and let people know you take your pop culture seriously.  

If you're planning a trip to the cinema (I understand there's a new Star Trek movie out), may I suggest Expendable or KHAAAAAAAN!

New and classic designs will be added in the next few weeks, and keep an eye out for now or never specials.