VFD Displays
One of the best vintage display technologies.
I’ve been obsessed with vacuum fluorescent display technology lately. Otherwise known as VFD, these displays were popular on Japanese electronics and stereo systems.
Look at these guys ring a 34,000-pound bell
BIG BELL!
I don’t really have anything to add here. Just a cool video.
In The Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
Incredible good read that parallels our time in the US today.
Wow. I just finished In The Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson and it at times felt like a parallel world of what is currently happening in the United States. I’ve never read Larson’s other books before but I have heard great things about how he manages to weave true stories of history with great storytelling.
In The Garden of Beasts is a slow-boil recollection of one American family’s journey as ambassadors in Germany during the rise of the Hitler regime. It recounts the horror of realizing that the general public did not really see Hitler as that bad of a guy, but rather just a sorta-crazy person who can’t possibly ever take control. Hitler’s rise to power was not immediate and in fact was often dismissed by people as sensational news (sounds like what the US is doing now). As a reader, I couldn’t help but see the events of history mirroring what is happening today in the US.
How they make the Oscar statuette
The making of the Oscar’s statuette.
Hmm, I had no idea the Oscar statuette is covered in actual gold.
Dora, Yerkwood, Walker County, Alabama
The incredible book Dora, Yerkwood, Walker County, Alabama by Fumi Nagasaka is currently on sale at Amazon for $44. The book follows some incredible characters down in rural Alabama during the 2016 US Presidential election and shortly after. It’s a road-trip sort of book with amazing portraits of the people in that community. Pick it up today!
Carson-Dellosa: The creators of the classic ‘90s classroom illustration
Who remembers these elementary school illustrations in classrooms?
I definitely grew up on this style of artwork. As an adult, it’s kind of neat to learn about its history and the original teaching background that inspired its creators to make this art for the entire US public education system.
Semi-retired now, one of the founders Janet Dellosa is still making art to this day and you can buy it on Etsy!
How does Disney create the Beast transformation on stage?
A great explanation of the Tokyo Disneyland illusion for Beauty and the Beast on stage.
The explanation of how this is done is great, but the homemade re-creation of this actual illusion is really where the gold is!
UPDATE: Sorry, you gotta click through to watch this video since embedding is disabled.
Making a CRT tv wall
If I had the space for this I’d want one of these.
This is pretty cool. This Atlanta-based filmmaker created a CRT tv wall in his studio.