Cool Google Street View – Pompeii Ruins

So budget woes have kept you from taking a holiday vacation this year.

Same here for the Squirrel Queen.

For those of us who spend hours watching the Discovery and History channels, this will be a perfect alternative to that whirlwind trip around the world.

Instead of forking over wads of cash to fly your extra bag across the globe, just click on Google Street View’s tour of the ruins of Pompeii.

The tour of the city that Vesuvius stopped in time is cool stuff that can entertain you for hours.

It doesn’t come with a tour guide and you can’t buy tacky souvenirs, but it’s a great trip none-the-less.

Now if I can just  find the baths with all the naughty frescoes they always allude to during shows about those randy Italians.

Here’s more Google fun.

More Cool Jack-o-lanterns

In case you hadn’t noticed from some of my recent posts, the falling leaves have put me in a Halloween sort of mood. Here’s another one for you.

The Pumpkin Gutter is one fun artist.

His creations cover everything from movie characters

such as The Dude

or

the Terminator

to just creepy stuff like

an eyeball

Here it is lit up.

He even creates your not-so-basic creepy faces.

There are tons more cool jackolanterns of animals, historical and political figures and just the unusual weirdness in the galleries on his site.

For more creepy pumpkin links, here’s a pumpkin carving post from last year.

Art on the Plinth

I love projects that involve a ton of people expressing themselves with no censor.

One & Other, along with sky ARTS is giving citizens in the UK a chance to do just that.

For 100 days starting yesterday, every hour on the hour, a different person will stand atop a plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square and create their version of art. All citizens of the UK are welcome to sign up for a chance to create on the spot.

The One & Other site has a livestreaming video to show everyone who’s on top of a spot usually reserved for statues  and what they’re doing.

In the first two hours I popped in, I’ve seen a man inflating balloons and releasing them and the latest is a woman sketching.

Express yourself UK!

Updated: Hello to all my visitors from the One & Other site. Thanks for stopping by.

Bizarre Vinyl

Thanks to @missbethd on Twitter, I ran across some captivating, disturbing and laughable album covers at Bizarre Vinyl.

Remember back in the day before mp3s – and even CDs and cassettes – when you bought albums and the artwork on the sleeve was usually poster worthy. These albums don’t really fit that bill, unless you’re talking about some nightmare-inducing photos.

Here is just a small sample of the odd musical history available over there.

Praise be to independent labels.

Cheesy Poof Velvet Elvis

How many times have you heard the phrase “Don’t play with your food” blasted out into the atmosphere when dining in such luxurious eating establishments as McDonalds and Taco Bell?

If those unruly kids can create art with their fries and guacamole, I say let them play … that is as long as I’m seated far away from them.

Here’s some food art to tempt your palate and your creative eye …

A rendering of Elvis made from cheesy poofs and velvet.

For more from the Picasso of the french-fried potato, check out EclecticAsylumArt.

He paints with everything from chocolate sauce to mascara to ketchup and plastic army men.

Amazing stuff.

Cooties – Perry Bible Fellowship

I spent an entire afternoon back in the fall at CWage’s abode perusing the Perry Bible Fellowship Almanack by Nicholas Gurewitch while he and Newscoma worked on her blog.

One word – hysterical.

I recently bumped into the link above to PBFA which has all the comic strips from the book.

Go spend some time there.

Exploding Bananas

While others on the web bring you insightful views about the world around them or the daily trials and joys of their own lives, I present to you a man igniting fireworks loaded into bananas attached to his head.

I can only ask “Why?”

Macabre Plush Toys

This is no Princess Unicorn we’re dealing with here.

Although PU did come with a warning on her box that stated: “The spike on Princess Unicorn is incredibly sharp, so Princess Unicorn can pierce the sky. It can also pierce your skin. Handle with care.”

No this unicorn is from a group of gory macabre plush toys on designboom that also includes a reenactment of what happens when you run with scissors or encounter a shark or alligator.

I think the knitted dissected frog fits right in with this group.

H/T to Yes, but no, but yes

Feel Good Friday – Knights of Cydonia

I’ve got a little sci-fi, spaghetti western combo for you on this Friday morning.

It’s Muse with Knights of Cydonia paying homage to everything from the Lone Ranger to Star Wars. Yes, it’s that song from Guitar Hero.

For more tunage and FGF vibes, visit Newscoma, Ginger, Ron, Jane Q., Monster Mash 40, Lady Jaye, LeBlanc, Sharon Cobb has two tunes and lots of others around the web.

Also, Sista Smiff and Holly, and Aunt B.

Flipping My Lid For The Pez Song

It’s a catchy little tune and I’m a sucker for stop motion animation and Pez so how could I not love this one.