Nathaniel Kassel rides his bike around New York City giving high fives to people who are hailing cabs. The people’s reactions are priceless.

via The Presurfer

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In order to prove The Fun Theory, Volkswagen wanted to see if they could get people to use the stairs instead an escalator at the Odenplan subway station in Stockholm, Sweden, by turning the stairs into a giant piano. 66% more commuters than normal ended up choosing the stairs over the escalator.

We believe that the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better is by making it fun to do. We call it The fun theory.

As part of this series, Volkswagen also created The World’s Deepest Trash Can.

via TreeHugger

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photo by unknown

10 years ago my friend Skipper Kim started global skipping movement which she has been documenting and organizing through iSkip.com. To celebrate their anniversary she is organizing a mass group skipping event this Sunday, July 12th in San Francisco’s Union Square starting at 1pm.

On Sunday July 12th, in celebration of the 10th anniversary of iSkip.com, our unusual action of choice will be skipping.

Wanna play? Plan on arriving at Union Square by 1 pm PST at the latest. Enjoy the scenery. Read a book. Hang out. Chill. At exactly 1:11, we will begin skipping around the 90 foot Goddess of Victory statue that is in the middle of the square. That is your cue to get your skip on! Start skipping and invite standers by to join you. Dos Si Do one of your fellow operatives. Create a skipping circle. Hoot and holler! Spread the joy! Cause a JOYFUL skipping ruckus.

We’ll collectively improvise from there. Skip for as long or as short as you feel inspired to skip. Whenever you feel ready to disperse, skip or walk your way to the Irish Bank at 10 Mark Ln (which is an alley off Bush Street between Grant & Kearny) where we’ll gather to celebrate iSkip.com’s 10th anniversary!

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guest post by mikl-em

photo by Petula Yeyé

Dispatchwork is a project by German artist Jan Vormann that puts toy bricks into holes in real world buildings. His first installations were in Bocchignano in Italy and Tel Aviv, Israel. His latest is in Berlin where he is specifically targeting damage from World War 2.

From an interview with the artist in Wired:

“The idea for the Dispatchwork project came about while I was strolling through the medieval village of Bocchignano. I found that the buildings there are put together using all kinds of materials. It’s a case of necessity and design is secondary.

“If you have a hole in a wall, and a variety of different kinds of stones, it doesn’t matter to the builders there what kind of shape, colour or composition these stones are as long as they fill the hole and assure the wall’s stability. The stones leftover from one house will not be thrown away and wasted, but be used for fixing another building or adding to the original one.

Vormann has several other projects up on his site, a solo show coming up in Berlin, and he will be participating in a group show at Platform 21 in Amsterdam called “Repair Project”.

See the Repair Project manifesto below. It’s a nice corollary to The Maker’s Bill of Rights from Make: Magazine.

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Architeuthis Libation Appreciation Society

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guest post by Burstein!

First off, “CryptoZoo” is an awesome name for anything (with the possible exception of an accountant). Second, it is an interesting idea that helps invent “the future of physical activity, about making play and gaming a bigger part of how we take care of ourselves.” In other words, it is an effort to get you off your butt and play.

CryptoZoo was created by game designer and researcher Jane McGonigal for the American Heart Association in collaboration with The Institute for the Future. They are bringing the game to San Francisco June 5th (a night-time romp) and June 7th (a day adventure).

First, you’ll follow mysterious tracks through the city on 1-mile chase through city streets and gardens. You can chase alone, with friends, or join a team when you arrive. (If you’re doing a night chase, bring a flashlight.) Be prepared to duck under rails, swing around poles, leap up steps, run along low ledges, and slalom through urban obstacles.

Thanks to Laura Gluhanich for the tip!

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guest post by AreWeReally?

The Bus Further tripped around San Francisco Monday afternoon… did you see it?

Can you, did you, or would you even consider passing the Acid Test? It is a question posed over 45 years ago by the Intrepid Traveler and his Band of Merry Pranksters. Ken Kesey, Ken Babbs and their audaciously creative friends embarked on a mission to find the “Cool Place” in 1964. They loaded up a 1938 International Harvester school bus with audio and film gear. They painted the Bus in psychedelic swirls and wrote FURTHER on the front and WEIRD LOAD on the back. The Merry Pranksters riffed and raffed around the United States documented by Tom Wolfe’s book “The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test“.

photo by AreWeReally?

After that first long, strange trip, the Pranksters moved the fun to the great state of Oregon which has since been home base. The Merry Pranksters spawned dozens of kids and grand kids who grew up in the most creative, enthusiastic and positive environment imaginable. Neal Cassady, Jerry Garcia, and Ken Kesey may be gone… but we’re not! Ken Babbs is still in Oregon writing a new novel and cavorting online at the SkyPilotClub. Kesey’s son Zane manages the Bus Further Two and the original Bus Further that reside on the family farm. His son is a world class chess champion. The Kesey and Babbs families’ Merry Prankster offspring along with a bevy of other Prankster offspring are in San Francisco for The Dead Shows at Shoreline. The Offspring are conducting an “Acid Test” at the Mission Rock Cafe Tuesday, May 12 with The Everyone Orchestra, Steve Kimock and Melvin Seals and the Jerry Garcia Band. Are you a Merry Prankster? It’s Coming Around!

Further videos about the Bus from Oregon by Simon Babbs.

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guest post by Jackson West

The Rental Car Rally is a race that pits costumed teams in rental cars against each other on a point-to-point race. The last course took teams from New York City to Montreal.  This time the race starts in San Francisco at midnight on May 15th and ends in Yuma 650 miles and 18 hours later.  Originally the destination was Tijuana, but nervous nellies probably cited that whole “Mexican drug war” thing (though considering recent requests by the Governor of Arizona for national guard troops, not sure the dusty border town will be that much safer).  If any team is looking for a navigator, holler at me — I’ve seen Cannonball Run I-III, both versions of Death Race, and all the Smokey and the Bandits.  And I have an EVDO modem.

via Fimoculous

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guest post by Mike Monteiro

If you enjoy your comic book buying experience replete with an angry, curmudgeonly, yet somehow charming store owner in a space that’s floor to ceiling newsprint in several states of ‘vintage’ than you’ll love Al’s Comics. You’re almost guaranteed to be yelled at for touching a comic the wrong way. Or bringing a drink in the store. Or asking him how Superman cuts his hair. In other words; it’s perfect.

Unfortunately, Al’s has run into some hard times as have many book store owners. With bills piled higher than this week’s comic stack he’s finding it hard to stay afloat. Being that he’s a community fixture, the community has come together to give him a leg up.

This Sunday, March 22nd there will be a Benefit for Al’s Comics at Cellspace located at 2050 Bryant Street in San Francisco.

5pm to midnight. Kids can hang out until 7pm, when the liquor starts flowing.

Pay what you can.

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guest post by Simone Davalos

The National Museum of Health and Medicine (otherwise known as the Army Medical Museum) has a gorgeous Flickr stream filled with enough medical curiosities, technologies, and well-documented photographs to keep the most prurient of medical anomaly junkies awake at their keyboards late into the night.

Says Mike Rhode, comics researcher and contributor to the Museum’s blog, the delightfully named “A Repository for Bottled Monsters“:

I think I come off as a bit strident there, but we are creating a massive new resource and need to make it available in new ways. Most of these photographs were never described in any database (although there is a set of index cards that fills a wall) and we’re discovering and seeing them for the first time too.

Such is the beauty of wide open informational networks. Unfortunately the Army seems to disagree, as they have blocked the museum’s Flickr access. The maintainers of the archive are not to be thwarted, however; they are uploading pics from home!

Thanks to Nina Eleanor Alter for the link!

image via Museum of Health & Medicine

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In these times of economic hardship, it’s important that we gather together our nearest and dearest and make a concerted effort to support the things that really matter.

This of course means robots that serve cocktails.

Austria’s RoboExotica made its maiden foray into US territory last spring, with their first annual RoboExotic-US, a screamingly successful conference and meditation on the human-machine interface in the form of the cocktail robot.

A good time was had by all, at least according to those who actually remember the event.

The plan is to bring the whole shebang back this year for a West Coast tour (Maker Faire, RoboGames, and of course another RoboExoticUS).

For this mission of mercy and philosophical understanding to come to fruition, RoboexoticUS needs YOUR HELP! They have set up a pledge page on Pledgie to gently entreat you to send in your pennies to aid the robots’ journey across the ocean.

Donate a buck or two, and reap the rewards when they arrive triumphant through the gates of SFO, slinging rum, insults, fire, beer and the satisfaction in knowing that if it’s done right, science can really hurt the next day.

See Previously: Roboexotica USA Photos & Video

Thanks Scott Beale for the photo of El Espanol Borracho!

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guest post by Violet Blue

David is a 7-year-old who had an extra tooth removed; lucky for us, his dad had a camera handy to film David’s reaction to the experience — of being high on drugs for the first time. Anyone who’s ever done psychedelics will cringe, LOL and generally empathize at David’s stages of drug-induced self-realizations and reactions. But mostly we look at what is typically experienced over a 4-6 hour trip — boiled down into a two-minute summary, point by point. It is all too familiar. Unintentionally hilarious, if anyone asks you what it’s like to try psychedelics, you can pretty much just show them this video.

UPDATE: The Wall Street Journal interviewed David’s father about the controversial video. [update by Scott]

Thanks, Ed Hunsinger!

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guest post by Violet Blue

We imagine that being a sandwich collector is much like being a film critic; you don’t have a curio shelf to display your finest works of breaded art (ew), you simply consume the medium and savor — or decry — the merits of the work. Doctor Popular, nerdcore rapper, yo-yo genius and Laughing Squid Guest Blogger has taken the notion of sandwichery, art and cultural sophistication and joined forces with local cult sandwich shop Ike’s Place to create… The World’s Most Collectible Sandwich, “The Doctor Popular.”

Now you too can consume a tasty, hot and delicious Doctor Popular — and who wouldn’t want to? But don’t think you can take your time wrapping your lips around Doc Pop: like the handsome evil genius behind his namesake’s sandwich mastery supplies are limited. When I could squeeze through the swooning Mission girls on fixies begging to have their buns autographed, he told me.

After months of testing, the Doctor Popular Sandwich has now officially gone live! The sandwich, a collaboration between myself and Ike from Ike’s Place, appeared on Ike’s menu yesterday and it’s absolutely divine. Only 500 Doctor Populars will be made and each sandwich will come with a signed & numbered certificate of authenticity (silkscreened by me). Ike’s Place is located at 3506 16th St (@ Sanchez) in San Francisco. The DP has ham, fake bacon, swiss, wasabi, and a special garlic dutch crunch bread.

Thus creating the world’s first, most collectible sandwich.

Taste the glory. Touch the sandwich that few others will experience. Appreciate the art that goes into a food item made with two slices of bread. Marvel at the artist’s… iPhone.

Related posts:

- Testing Out The Canon 5D Mark II With Doctor Popular & His Yo-Yo

- The Nerdcord Tour In Oakland + Nerdcore Rising In San Francisco

- 24 Hour Comics Book Day San Francisco

- Failephant 404 Error

photos by Doctor Popular & Scott Beale

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guest post by Violet Blue

As we all know too well, getting that perfect “MySpace angle” for our social network icons and alleged candid iPhone pics on the go isn’t easy. It’s an art form. And no one understands that more than the Mickey Rourke of Craigslist dick pics, Paul Jacoby, Penis Photographer.

Or rather, it’s Bob Odenkirk, best known as the comedian and co-creator of cult comedy hit, Mr. Show (with David Cross). Comparing himself to the greatest painters and his subjects to Grandma Moses, he takes us on a “day in the life” of a hired-hand photographic visionary, whose purpose is to lead a huge team of eager, worshipful interns. Telling us it’s for Casual Encounters but that “there’s nothing casual about what I do” to create that perfect fake self-portrait of Craigslist notoriety — the, er, seminal, “dick pic” — he screams at said assistants, then praises them for making “Horny In Burbank” look *just amateur enough* stroking himself on the toilet to get the winning responses to Horny’s Casual Encounters ad. And indeed, depending on the lighting and the angle, whether you find it dreaded or click-worthy, Jacoby speaks to a universal truth when he calls the dick pic, “modern Americana folk art.”

Something tells me that Mr. Jacoby is a very busy man. Unlike Casual Encounters, the video contains no nudity but still may not be work-safe.

via The Sex Carnival

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Jake Bronstein has created The Fun-O-Meter, a toy vending machine that dispenses fun ideas that he has been placing at various locations around New York.

Just think about it. Fifty cents gets you:

-1 fun idea. If you’re been reading the site, you know the type of stuff, Zoomdoggle is loaded with them. #318 reads: Write “B” and “R” on opposite ends the back side of a One Dollar Bill. Stick your boner anywhere you like. But the fun doesn’t stop there.

-A map, in case fun idea requires travel.

-You also get 1 toy. You know the type. Standard vending machine stuff.

-And 1 quarter back… I kind of got ripped off on the toys, and only wanted to charge 25 cents anyway, but the machine is configured for 50 cents, so I put a quarter in each egg. Free money. That’s fun!

-Plus a lucky penny you can leave heads up for someone else to find. How cool is that?

via Urban Prankster

photo via Jake Bronstein

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