Why have UFOs changed speed over the years?

UFO sightings used to concern ships moving at astonishing rates. But nowadays reports tend to describe hovering vehicles. Why the change?

Lego Robot (link roundup)

Lego robot with jetpack and gun arm by Dan Rubin. Check out his Lego Alien Fleet Lictor's Ship. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Invasion of paper mache pandas. Via these sites.

2. Magnus Larsson wants to build a 6,000km-long wall of artificially solidified sandstone across the Sahara Desert. The wall would be created by injecting bacillus pasteurii, a "microorganism, readily available in marshes and wetlands, [that] solidifies loose sand into sandstone." Concept art here.

3. Barkevious Mingo beat out Iris Macadangdang in the name of the year contest.

4. Floating city sculpture.

*Previously: The Most Pretentious Baby Name Consultant Contest 2007.

*Buy Lego minifigs at eBay.

Ancient Egyptian Anti-Missile System?

This is a photo of the Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard complex in Nekoma, North Dakota. It was designed to launch missiles to shoot down Soviet nukes, but was only operational for four months in the 70's. You'll find more information and photos here. Who needs science fiction when the American military actually built an anti-ballistic missile complex that looked like an ancient Egyptian pyramid? Via.

*Previously: Illuminati Pyramid paper toy.

*Buy nuke-related memorabilia at eBay.

Biological sample from Neon Genesis Evangelion (link roundup)

I'm not familiar enough with the anime to understand the reference but this is a biological sample from Neon Genesis Evangelion. Made by Brian Chan.

And a few more links:

1. New sex terms I learned today were "having a treesome" and "retrosexuals."

2. Ted Kennedy and David Patterson's staffs are apparently telling every reporter they can how much Caroline Kennedy sucks.

3. Eating (non-alcoholic) ice cream caused a false positive breathalyzer result.

4. Fun week for CNN reporter Soledad O'Brien. Fox News airs a report that she's heartless for trying to get a dog evicted from her building. And Quincy Jones hits on her during a report.

*Previously: Wolverine/Neon Genesis Evangelion mashup.

*Buy Neon Genesis Evangelion toys at eBay.

Tennis player blasts ballboy in face (link roundup)

Tennis player Juan Martin Del Potro nailed a little kid right in the face at the Australian Open. Still photo of the player consoling the boy here. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Visit Executive Bomb if you need contact information to send a product/service complaint. Via.

2. Real life Portal gun. Via.

3. Bizarre tale of civil war between 4Chan members. Via these sites.

4. Flash mashup of Galaga and Tempest. Via these sites.

*Previously: Portal/Escher mashup.

*Buy companion cubes at eBay.

Alien Trespass

Alien Trespass movie poster:



Here's the trailer:



And here's the official site.

*Previously: The D.N.Alien.

*Buy "Attack of the 'B' Movie Posters" at Amazon.

Flying Lego Car

Flying Lego car by Gorazd Vahen.

*Previously: Ultraman goes for a ride in the big red car.

*Buy Lego minifigs at eBay.

More Christmas links

Christmas desktop icons.




Scientist explains Santa can manage to visit every child in one night by exploiting the space-time continuum. Via.



Christmas Card Making Machine.


Holiday village papercraft. Via.




Christmas tree/Star Destroyer.



Holiday-themed desktop wallpaper roundup at Lifehacker.


Robochristmas. Vote for it at the KFC Christmas decoration contest.


Snow-covered house and Christmas tree papercraft.



How to make a shrinky Santa ornament.


Krampus cards. More designs here. Via.

*See more Christmas links here.

*Buy snowglobes at eBay.

Found metal chicken sculpture

Found metal chicken sculpture by Scottoons.

Here's a few more random links:

1. Mario Puzo wrote the Godfather because he was "tired of being an artist." And he had an ugly encounter with Frank Sinatra due to the Johnny Fontane character. More interesting anecdotes here. Via.


2. Go figure, scientists think space elevators might not be realistic after all. Relatedly, I just learned that AMC is turning Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars into a tv series.


3. Forum thread filled with accusations against Shocker Toys and responses by a Shocker Toys rep. Via.


4. Andre Agassi's former manager (and former close friend) has filed a lawsuit against Steffi Graf, alleging she owes him $50k.


*Previously: Organization against space elevators.

*Buy Marvel Legends toys at eBay.

Starship Troopers miniatures

I guess it's been so long since I saw Starship Troopers that loathing has faded to (very) faint fondness. The Starship Trooper miniatures actually look pretty appealing. There's a surprisingly varied selection on sale at eBay. Via.

*Previously: Mechanical grasshopper.

Hokusai's Great Wave enters The Matrix

This homage to Hokusai's "Great Wave" is apparently called "Wave of the Future." I couldn't find any information on who created it, but there's a very high res version here. Via.

*Previously: Great Wave diorama.

*Buy samurai toys at eBay.

Many-Eyed Space Rhino

This many-eyed space rhino is officially called "Captain Curieyes," and was created by Márcio Luiz de Castro for a design contest at Mojizu. Go here to see his creepy raven.

*Previously: Impressive Spider-Man/Rhino toy photo.

*Buy toy spaceships at eBay.

Space Invaders attend a mission briefing

The Space Invaders attend a mission briefing in this Threadless t-shirt submission by Neil Gregory. You can vote for the design by clicking on the voting widget:



*Previously: Plush Space Invaders.

*Buy toy spaceships at eBay.

Axiom Starliner t-shirt (from Wall-E)

This Axiom Starliner t-shirt (from Wall-E) is only $13 at Disney. Via.

*See more great t-shirts here.

*Buy Pixar books at Amazon.

Poster Roundup

The Spirit



Shatner's Raw Nerve. (Is there any doubt this will be a most watch trainwreck?)


Moon



Poster and trailer for OSS-117, which is billed as a French Get Smart.

*See more posters here.

*Buy "Attack of the 'B' Movie Posters" at Amazon.

Colorful space fairy figure

This colorful little space fairy is officially a Steel Fairies "Sweet rum" by Kaijin. You can preorder it for $70 here.

*Previously: When a bike is stolen a fairy dies.

*Buy Kaijin toys at eBay.

New stuff to buy

Lady astronaut attacked by tentacled monster in "Pulp Print" on sale for $35 at Threadless. (By Aaron Hogg.)




Glow in the dark limited edition poster for The Shining on sale for $55. (By Jeff Kleinsmith.)



And finally, a big sale at Fugitive Toys:



(Pictured: Little Uglys - Bop N' Beep [$8]; Spooky Cute Series 1 - Dog [$5.50]; Heroes and Heartbreakers - Blind Box [$7.95].)

Until November 30th, everything is 20% off at Fugitive toys with the code FTNEWS02.

*See the latest toys by Doktor A at Tenacious Toys.

Welcome to Mars

I'm not familiar with Ken Hollings, but I liked the cover to his new book "Welcome to Mars," and it sounds interesting:

‘Welcome to Mars is a map of the post-war Zone, a non-fiction Gravity’s Rainbow that follows the arc of Germany’s V2 rocket to the end of the rainbow – to America.’ Erik Davis

Welcome to Mars is an iconoclastic, penetrating and darkly humorous history of America from 1947-1959, the decade in which the nation defined its image and created the blueprint for the world we live in today.

Welcome To Mars draws upon newspaper accounts, advertising campaigns, declassified government archives, old movies and newsreels from this unique period when the future first took on a tangible presence. Ken Hollings depicts an unsettled time in which the layout of Suburbia reflected atomic bombing strategies, bankers and movie stars experimented with hallucinogens, brainwashing was just another form of interior decoration and strange lights in the sky were taken very seriously indeed.

Seamlessly interweaving developments in technology, popular culture, politics, changes in home life, the development of the self, collective fantasy and overwhelming paranoia, Hollings has produced an alarming and often hysterically funny vision of the past that would ultimately govern all of our futures.

“Ken Hollings shows brilliantly how the extraordinary web of technologies that drove the Cold War have shaped not just our culture but the very way we think of ourselves as human beings. Welcome to Mars offers a rare and fascinating glimpse of the roots of the strange humanoid culture we live in today.” Adam Curtis

‘Ken Hollings has placed his critical focus at the precise point where the high technologies of information control and social manipulation intersect the passionate search for scientific ways to probe the human mind. Welcome to Mars is a searingly accurate and deeply disturbing exposé of the fantasies of American modernism that have inspired the many nightmares and the few hopeful visions of our new Millennium.’ Dr Jacques Vallée

The first 250 orders of the book will receive a free hour-long CD of classy analogue Outer Space exotica by Simon James.

A small run of postcards have also been produced using images from the book and these are being sent out with any orders from Strange Attractor Shoppe.

You can buy it from Strange Attractor Shoppe. Via.

Update: Here's a series of mp3s featuring Hollings talking about science fiction.

*Previously: Jack Kerouac's "On The Road" as a sci fi epic.

*Buy "Front Cover: Great Book Jackets and Cover Design" at Amazon.

Best album cover ever?

This is Akiko Yano and a dolphin on the cover of her album from 1977 called "Iroha Ni Konpeitou." You can see the track listing here or buy a copy from Amazon Japan. There's lots of Akiko Yano videos at YouTube, but I didn't spot any that involved dolphin wrestling. Via this Cheesy Vinyl Flickr gallery.

And this isn't the only bizarre cover featuring a dolphin that I saw today. I present Robert Merle's "Day of the Dolphin"



The book is apparently a satire about a dolphin trained to sabotage a ship transporting the president of the US. Even better, it was a movie:



I couldn't find a video clip, but here's a Simpsons parody inspired by the film's name:



I found one copy of the book with this cover at eBay. There's several original Day of the Dolphin posters on sale for under $30 at Movieposters.com. And the dvd is $6.50 at Amazon.

*Previously: Whale in an iceberg.