I wonder if having a new hat, helmet is still a valid reason for marketers to introduce a new toy, which had little impact on directing decisions—assuredly it is and always was but times seemed simplier back then. Nonetheless, the merchandising possibilities (though that might well be the unknown power of the Dark Side) seem really enthralling.
The ever-inspired Nag on the Lake shares a nice travelogue that profiles just a hint of some of the nicest small towns around the world to visit, including her own Niagara-on-the-Lake.
All the destinations look inviting and it is certainly a noble effort in keeping within small-town criteria (rather hard to define, especially considering international variance and considering how small towns grow into big cities) that may be a little of the tourist-trodden path and it invites greater inclusion. I can think of a lot of additions. The only place that H and I know from that list is the magical Rothenburg ob der Tauber here in Middle-Franconia. The immaculately preserved medieval centre of the town is quite a draw for tourists, however, and despite the vociferous authenticity, there’s somewhat of a theme-park, Truman Show atmosphere about it—not that it is not worth seeing and experiencing, quite the opposite. What small towns would you recommend?
mandelbrot: elegant, shuffled fractals of gears
Via the go-to web-presence for all things weird and wonderful, Dangerous Minds, comes builder Mihai Marius Mihu’s rendering in LEGO the Nine Levels of Hell of Dante Alighieri’s epic poem Inferno. It is with interest that the Romanian artist denies any scholarly insight into Dante’s work, having eschewed reading it and rather sought out only abstracts found on-line as his guide for this allegorical descent, for his interpretation—not wanting to be textually-biased. These panels make clever use of the medium and strike me as inspired ways of visualising each of the circles and their associated mortal sins.
