Recently, retail clothing chain H&M has caught a great deal of flack for using computer generated bodies in their online catalog. And while there is something to be said for looking critically at the introduction of computer-generated “perfection” into an industry already psychotically obsessed with unattainable standards of physical beauty, Coilhouse’s Nadya Lev has some relevant re-contextualization to share:

Also, this foray into the uncanny valley brings us one step closer to the age of the idoru. With teenage pop idol Aimi Eguchi, whose face is a composite of six different singers, and vocaloids (singing synthesizers) such as pigtailed holographic superstar, we’re almost there — in The Future.  And even though H&M’s online catalogue conforms to the same beauty standard as any other big fashion retailer, this technology actually has potential to subvert the paradigm altogether.

See the rest over at Coilhouse.

[See also: Building a Better Pop Star, and Building a Better Pop Star II]

via BoingBoing

A NASA spacecraft watching the sun has caught a dazzling view of a solar eruption that launched a vast tendril of magnetic plasma into space.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the sun tentacle, which scientists call a solar prominence, on March 19 as it erupted into space with a rounded, twisting motion.

From Space.com, click through for a video of the tentacle flare.

via Alan Baxter

Via OM2 Photography’s photostream.

Via suspiciousminds’ photostream.

Intricately designed by Motoi Yamamoto:

Yamamoto has constructed close to 30 of these mazes since he started working with salt in 2001. His began working with salt a decade ago after his sister passed away from brain cancer. In Japan, salt is a symbol for purification and mourning, so his drawings and sketches were a way of honoring her and expressing a sense of eternity. Yamamoto starts his work in the back of the installation and works his way forward so as not to touch or cross over his previous work.

Via Inhabitat.

Photos taken by Ricardo Hurtubia, from inside CERN’s visitors center, via io9.

Photo by Chris Kotsiopoulos, using many single shots layered into one. Via geekologie.

Via suspiciousminds’ photostream.

A gorgeous chandelier created using transparent acrylic and florescent lightening, designed to pay homage to the chandeliers of the past.

Via mocoloco.

From ~EvidencE~’s photostream.

An airplane is silhouetted against the first solar eclipse of the decade, seen over Bangkok, Thailand, in January. The annular eclipse blotted out 57 to 80 percent of the sun over Thailand, depending on the province, Sakshin Bunthawin of Songkla University told the Phuket Gazette

Photo and words via NationalGeographic.

From ~EvidencE~’s photostream.

Via 9GAG. Hat-tip to Simone, thanks!

Via ~EvidencE~’s photostream.

The famous NASA doped spider webs, created by French designer Guillaume Lehoux for his SOD Project :

Link and photo via treehugger.com.

A “frame from an upcoming timelapse journey”, from J.Morganized’s photostream.

The fantastical becomes real:

Imagine objects three-dimensionally printed from a bed of nylon powder; shapes appearing to seamlessly morph and merge with each other; and new forms randomly self-generated by computer software. Lab Craft, a new Crafts Council touring exhibition, presents the imagined as real objects.

Curated by design commentator Max Fraser, the exhibition features 26 of the most experimental names in craft and design, each of them combining traditional craft skills with the use of cutting-edge digital technologies.

One of my favorite pieces shown:

In this vessel, Eden likens the symbolic surface decoration on an ancient Chinese ceremonial wine vessel to the encoded information of a QR code. The vessel’s unique QR code forms the footprint of the piece, which is created by a 3D printing process, and so runs throughout the form

Words, pictures and links via guardian.co.uk. See the exhibit in person at Turnpike Gallery, Leigh until December 18th.

Via ~EvidencE~’s photostream.

Via suspiciousminds’ photo stream.