Another Helping of Food Related Weirdness – 7

Scientists have a history of accomplishing what was once thought impossible, be it walking on the moon, splitting the atom or alleviating pain and disease. But now they may have discovered something that will eclipse all that has come before; scientists are on the verge of making chocolate better! A team lead by Dr. Siela Maximova from Pennsylvania State University has pieced together the genetic code of the cacao tree, and not just any cacao tree but the Criollo variety that is widely recognised to produce the very best chocolate. Because of its poor disease resistance, Criollo is almost entirely ignored in favour of hybrid varieties that yield more – if inferior – beans, but Maximova et al hope their work will enable the development of new, elite strains of cacao (News.com.AU).

Meanwhile, here is someone who is taking the chocolate maker’s art way too literally. Jean Zaun of Fredericksburg in Pennsylvania uses a mixture of dark and white chocolate, food colouring and confectioner’s glaze to recreate famous works of art, including the frames, in a deliciously edible form. Her subjects have included the works of Van Gogh, Munch and Da Vinci, as well as a portrait of Ozzy Osborne commissioned by his wife. While the chocolate artworks are edible, Zaun believes they should be souvenirs rather than snacks. “They are meant to be consumed by the eye, not the stomach.” Zaun Explained (Daily Mail).

And the misuse of materials won’t stop there, at least not if Dr. Peter Eisner of the Fraunhofer Institute gets his way. Concerned that meat consumption is both unhealthy and bad for the environment, Dr. Eisner has started looking for ways to supplement or replace animal products with vegetable equivalents. His first success is a milk substitute derived from lupins that can even be used to make cheese, meanwhile co-worker Daniela Sussmann has extracted a protein from the seeds gives low-fat sausages more of the sensation of their unadulterated competition. Eisner reckons that our ever growing appetite for meat could one day be disastrous, arguing that the resources needed to produce 1 kilo of meat could instead yield 80 to 100 kilos of fruit or vegetables (Softpedia).



More in extended >>

Posted By: Dumbfounded - Mon Jan 10, 2011 - Comments (7)
Category: Agriculture, Animals, Farming, Art, Food, Bacon, Candy, Junk Food, Nutrition, Vegetables

The Holy Chicken of Life and Music

The Holy Chicken of Life & Music from NOMINT on Vimeo.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Dec 23, 2010 - Comments (5)
Category: Animals, Art, Surrealism, Video

Creepy Centipede

Doesn't this supposedly whimsical and charming kids' fantasy illustration show undertones of weird horror? An obscene alien monster keeps a human female slave..... Shades of Jabba the Hutt and Slavegirl Leia!

See more of Robert Hogfeldt's work here.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Dec 13, 2010 - Comments (2)
Category: Art, Horror, Children, 1940s, Europe, Feet

Martha Friedman’s Tongue

Please share your thoughts about a piece of artwork consisting of two of these giants tongues supporting an olive between their tips, and whether or not you would care to have such a piece 24/7/365 in your living room.

More on the artist here.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 30, 2010 - Comments (6)
Category: Art, Body

RISD Signage

Sign mounted on a lamp post in the middle of Rhode Island School of Design art school territory. Click the image for a better view.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Nov 18, 2010 - Comments (4)
Category: Art, Education, Humor, Pranks, Signage

Snakes

Snakes from Cristóbal Vila on Vimeo.

Time to get trippy....

Posted By: Paul - Mon Oct 18, 2010 - Comments (3)
Category: Art, Computers

Quis Fabricariet Ipsos Fabricares?

Dresden art dealer Petra Kujau was found guilty of forgery this week, after passing off three hundred paintings she had come into possession of as the work of her "great-uncle", Konrad Kujau. The 51 year-old singer turned dealer would add a facsimile of Kujau senior's signature to the paintings, then sell them on at a greatly inflated price.

So far, so mundane. What makes this story particularly WU worthy is that Konrad Kujau was himself a forger, and his self-proclaimed niece was selling her forgeries as "genuine forgeries" created by her famous uncle Konrad. It all begins to make sense once you learn that Mr. Kujau did not limit himself to forging paintings, but was also known to forge the odd diary or two, specifically those of one Adolf Hitler. Although ultimately unsuccessful, his forgeries of the Hitler Diaries were good enough to fool not just many newspapers and magazines, but also at least two historians, and the unmasking of the hoax caused many a journalist and editor a red face. But the notoriety afforded Konrad Kujau as the man "behind" the Hitler diaries meant that he could command considerable sums for something a small as Hitler's signature on a card, and original "Kujau forgeries" soon became enough of a collector's item that he could make a comfortable living from them after his release from prison in 1987.

After his death in September 2000 his business was carried on by Petra Kujau, who evidently decided that one forgery was as good as another, and began importing cheap copies of famous works from Asian suppliers and passing them off as eminently more desirable "Kujau forgeries", which in one sense they were. But soon the sheer volume of Kujau forgeries on the market aroused the suspicions of at least one collector, who tipped off the police to the double forgery.

Which just leaves the question, just where can I get hold of a genuine Petra Kujau double forgery? Now that's something I'd like to own!

Posted By: Dumbfounded - Sun Sep 12, 2010 - Comments (6)
Category: Art, Business, Crime, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators

Have Sharpie, Will Draw

Need thousands of dollars worth of renovations in your home, but only have a handful of magic markers? Not a problem, if you're Charlie Kratzer. Mr. Kratzer, of Lexington, Kentucky, wanted something unique to cover the sea of endless cream-colored paint on his basement walls. He started the project mid-wall, by drawing a copy of the "Salon" by Picasso, and the idea took off. Through most of the spacious basement there is black line-drawing — around the pinball machine and the pool table and over the bathtub and toilet. You can view the entire basement artwork here, and see if you can spot Sherlock Holmes, Winston Churchill, The Walrus and the Carpenter from Alice, the Marx Brothers, and R2D2.

Posted By: Nethie - Fri Jul 02, 2010 - Comments (4)
Category: Art, Crafts, Design and Designers, Graffiti

Sunshine Makers Cartoon by Borden

I love this cartoon!! Not only does Borden endorse injesting glowing liquid sunshine (radium?), but it encourages fighting a war with the evil sunshine haters -- even making them swallow the glowing liquid so they, too, glow!!




Watch the war start about 4:30.
Don't miss the "We're Happy When We're Sad" song, and the "Hail His Majesty the Sun" song at the beginning.
This was made in 1935, just a few years before the Seven Dwarves, and yet it reminds me of the Smurfs for some reason. Why are there no women?

Posted By: gdanea - Thu Jun 17, 2010 - Comments (4)
Category: Art

New Chris Mars Film

Give yourself a big treat.

1) Go to the home page of artist Chris Mars. (Note that site plays pleasant but loud music automatically.)

2) Click on the choice of FILM.

3) Click on the icon that looks like the image you see here to the right.

4) Sit back and be amazed.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Jun 03, 2010 - Comments (11)
Category: Art, Surrealism, Body, Body Modifications, Horror, Cartoons