Will it be “the last great suspension bridge built in America?” The Tacoma-Narrows Bridge is nearing completion after five years. With 19,000 miles of cable holding up one mile of asphalt, concrete, and steel the bridge is scheduled to open in July, weather permitting. Cable-stayed designs are the current trend, but the suspension bridge is a classic with the Golden Gate as the icon. Workers have held barbecues on the top of the towers.
When my family went to Montreal on vacation in the 1970s I spent an uncomfortable few days with an itchy piece of paper stuffed inside my sock. My mom, worried that I would not be able to communicate with the French-speaking population if I got lost, had written down the contact information for our hotel on a piece of paper and stuck it in a safe, though annoying location. This memory came back to me when we took our toddler up to Vancouver B.C. (his vocabulary and grasp of English astonishes me but it’d be useless for a stranger). I didn’t stick anything on him but I thought it’d be neat if you could order a custom temporary tattoo with your cell phone #. Of course I’m not the first to think of it. DaddyTypes linked to a temporary tattoo for kids that has a space to write in a number (it comes with a pen). You could also buy custom tattoo printer paper, assuming you trust that your printer ink is safe for this purpose.
Stephen Ho dreams of building a Shaolin Temple in San Francisco and bringing the ancient practice to the U.S. as a religion. But he is at odds with the Shaolin monk, Shi GuoSong, sent from the Chinese temple to help with his cause. Ho is a longtime student of Buddhism and in GouSong he sees plenty of martial arts discipline but little of the practice of silent meditation and spiritual customs that he expected from those following Shaolin as a faith. It’s a classic rift over what constitutes a religion and its practice, but in this case Ho holds GouSong’s visa sponsorship and will make his own vision hold true. He intends to sever his sponsorship and carefully interview the future Shaolin he brings to the U.S.
Friday Flashback: Astounding 80’s YouTube find: the Square Pegs episode with Devo (part 1, part 2, part 3). Muffy’s having a New Wave Bat Mitzvah!
If the show Babylon 5 used to be on your radar but fell firmly off (it is over a decade old after all), you’ll want to know that 15 volumes containing the scripts for all 92 Babylon 5 episodes (plus two movies) are being made available by J. Michael Straczynski. 11 have been released already. The 15th will be available (free) only to those who buy all 14 volumes. In more exciting news, Babylon 5 – The Lost Tales
Nifty A4 paper art from Peter Callesen. (via Medley)
The NY Times has a blurb on The Smart Cycle from Fisher-Price. It’s a stationary bicycle for toddlers that hooks up to the TV so they can play pedaling games. It’s got a joystick also. The bike was rolled out at the Toy Fair in February and I missed the mention on Engadget. It will be out this summer for $100 with additional games (Dora, Hot Wheels) at $20.
The retired ferries of Washington state. Steve Pickens’ eight-year old EvergreenFleet.com website has details on over 70 retired ferries in the Pacific Northwest and San Diego, plus information on the current Washington fleet. Each boat has its own unique history.
No one knows the intricate details of a museum piece as well as the artisan who affixes it to the display case. Two mount-makers created a custom bracket for each of the 1,008 pieces in the Seattle Art Museum’s display of European and Asian teapots, saucers and statuettes. Every earthquake-safe bracket is its own invisible work of art composed of Plexiglas and wax. The mount-maker has the rare privilege of touching and examining these ancient ceramics up close as they determine the best way to display it. The renovated SAM opens to the public on May 5th with a 35-hour opening marathon.
We’ve launched CatInABox.com. Because cats like to sit inside of things and their owners like to take photos. And because tumblr is great for people who should know better than to add another blog to their busy lives.