September 2012 | OhGizmo!

Meet the Junk King and Check Out His Massive Cathedral of Junk

By Hazel Chua on 09/21/12 • Leave a comment!

Kingdom of Junk

One man’s trash can be another one’s treasure, but I’m not really sure what to make of this Austin man’s self-proclaimed Cathedral of Junk. Sure, I’d love to build my own cathedral one day and maybe a throne for myself, if I reach that level of vanity. But if they’re going to be made out of junk, I’d rather not.

However, this is what Vince Hannemann, aka the Junk King, has managed to build and more. Hannemann’s work is all about the junk and the cathedral represents much of his life’s work. It’s not my cup of tea but I guess you could say it’s artistic and creative in its own right. His cathedral suffered a blow in 2010 though, when the city of Austin asked him for a building permit and he was forced to tear half of the structure down in half.

Check out a video of the Junk King and his cathedral in all its glory after the break! You’ll be amazed at the amount of junk he managed to cram into the space he had to work with.

This French Designer Thinks that the T-Shirts of the Future are Going to be Made Out of Wood

By Hazel Chua on 09/21/12 • 4 Comments

Future T-Shirts

When you think of fashion from the future, flashy, ultra-modern stuff that’ll probably glow bright with LED lights or something when worn might probably come to mind. But not for French designer Pauline Marcombe, who thinks that everything’s going back to the basics and to the all-natural–starting with these futuristic T-shirts. Or should I say tops? From the looks of things, it probably isn’t very fair or sensible to call her design a ‘T-shirt.’

It follows the trend of fashion getting more complicated and uncomfortable to wear. Have you seen those sky-high heelless shoes that some ‘fashionable’ women are wearing nowadays? They can call it whatever they like, but I call it a broken ankle just waiting to happen. Pauline’s design is called the Prototype Triangle Numéro 1, which is crafted out of laser-cut wooden triangles all linked together with wire.

Hit the break for more images of Pauline’s futuristic designs.

iMpulse Lets You Get Your Game On–And Finds Your Keys, to Boot!

By Hazel Chua on 09/21/12 • Leave a comment!

iMpulse

The popularity of mobile devices like the iPad and iPhone has made mobile gaming even more popular. Capitalizing on that is the iMpulse Bluetooth controller, which functions as both a game controller and key finder. It’s not just for the iOS devices either, because it’s also perfectly compatible with the Android.

The iMpulse’s compact size makes it easy to attach to your keychain, so you can take it with you anywhere and whip it out when you’re ready to play, anytime you want to. It also functions as a key finder in cases when you happen to misplace your keys. Just fire up the iMpulse key finder app on your phone, hit ‘Locate’, and the iMpulse will sound an alarm so you can locate it (and your keys.)

Hit the jump for a video showing off the iMpulse in action!

Fat Pincushion Cats Dressed Up as Your Favorite Characters are Purrrfect!

By Hazel Chua on 09/21/12 • Leave a comment!

Fat Pincushion Cats

Cats purr, meow, and cough up hairballs that are as big as their heads sometimes, but we love them anyway. The true testament to that statement stems from the fact that there are a gazillion memes and YouTube videos that are all dedicated to the smartness and prowess of the feline species.

Aside from this, there’s also a ton of cat-related products that feature cats in all sorts of costumes and positions, like these Fat Pincushion Cats. I think you’ll have a hard time sticking any pins and needles into them because they just look too darned adorable. They’re dressed up in all sorts of funky garb too, and if you’re as geeky as I think you are, then you’ll most likely recognize what they’re wearing and who they’re supposed to be.

Check out more cat pincushions in cushion after the break.

Five-Foot Tall Deep Sea Angler Fish Lamp Looks Freakishly Awesome

By Hazel Chua on 09/20/12 • Leave a comment!

Giant Junkyard Fish Lamp

You’ve seen this fish before. Probably not live, but when it was featured pretty prominently in Finding Nemo. It looked scary in the movie and probably looks even scarier in actual. But the deep sea angler fish doesn’t get any scarier than how it appears in its lamp form.

The fact that it stands at five feet tall doesn’t help matters either. This lamp was created using an assortment of recycled materials, from forks and knives to old bike parts and shovels. And when you flick the switch, you’ll be treated to the scariest sight of your life. I think it’s probably demeaning to just call it a lamp, because it looks more like a piece of art, if you ask me. Its creator Justin La Doux seems to think so, too, because he actually entered the lamp (which was part of a grander installation) into the 2010 ArtPrize contest, where it was judged as one of the top 100 among the 1,700 or so entries.

Owning a piece of art isn’t cheap, so you shouldn’t expect this lamp to be, either, because it’s priced at $8,000.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Gizmodo ]

Fall Is Here, Time To Take Some Pictures

By David Ponce on 09/20/12 • 1 Comment

This post is sponsored by eBay. From the new to the hard to find, when it’s on your mind, it’s on eBay.

The summer came and went in the blink of an eye, and now we’re all getting ready for the winter months ahead. But in the meantime, let’s not forget that autumn can bring with it some pretty spectacular photographic opportunities. With that in mind, you would do well to arm yourself with a few essentials before you head out into the the great outdoors. Let’s look at three.

The Nikon D800

Really, if you want to be taking professional looking photographs, dSLR cameras are probably the way to go. The D800 is not Nikon’s flagship camera, but has garnered a “better quality to price ratio than the D4″ from DxO labs, which is high praise. Its most notable feature is the megapixel count: 36 million. That’s three times the amount of the camera it replaces, the D700. It’s a full-frame camera, which means its sensor is the same size as a 35mm film frame.

The Sony NEX-5N

If you really want to avoid dSLR cameras altogether, there’s a new type on the market that might bridge the gap between boring point-and-shoots, and their bigger cousins. The Sony NEX-5N is a mirrorless device with interchangeable lenses, which gives it the best of both worlds. Much of the quality of dSLR pictures come from the top notch optics in the lenses, and this particular camera can be had with an adapter that opens the door to an entire world of lenses. Its sensor is of 14.1MP, which is plenty enough for most uses, especially in this price range.

The Think Tank Streetwalker

Once you start taking pictures, you realize that you need something to carry all this gear in. You buy one lens, an extra flash, and next thing you know, a dedicated solution is a must. As long as your collection is still relatively small, the Think Tank Streetwalker is perfect for you. It’s compartmentalized and can hold a couple of lenses aside from the main camera and related gear. There’s even a removable seam-sealed rain cover if your timing is off and get caught outdoors during a downpour.

This Recycled Cardboard Bicycle Only Costs $9 to Make

By Hazel Chua on 09/19/12 • 1 Comment

Recycled Cardboard Bike

The hole in the ozone layer is getting bigger as we speak. Yet people still continue to burn and release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere like there’s no tomorrow. (Well, if they continue acting this way, then there really won’t be a tomorrow.) A big contributor is the exhaust gas emitted by cars and motorcycles.

Now we might not be able to eliminate all sorts of emissions, but we can do our part by carpooling and taking the old bike out for a ride every now and then. If you don’t own a bike yet then no worries, because now you can get one for less than a hundred bucks. That’s if the Recycled Cardboard Bicycle created by Izhar Gafni ever gets made on a large scale. His bike is put together using recycled card board and will only cost $9 to $12 to produce. By the time it hits stores, these bikes would probably be priced somewhere around $60 to $90, so really, there’s no excuse why you shouldn’t get one of these. I think the coolest part is that you’ll be helping the environment by riding something that was made with the environment in mind.

Hit the jump to check out a video about the Recycled Cardboard Bicycle!

Light-Up Arcade Coin-Slot Belt Buckle Begs For Dirty Jokes

By David Ponce on 09/19/12 • Leave a comment!

“Something about joysticks.” “Insert coin for… ” We could go on with sexual innuendos, but we won’t because we’re all grown up and serious and stuff. But we really think the above Recycled Video Arcade Twenty-Five Cent Coin-Drop Belt Buckle is pretty awesome. It’s made from, well, recycled coin acceptors and does indeed light up. It’s nostalgic, geeky, gaming related, and almost kinky all at the same time. We don’t know how much they are, but they’re made to order by some dude on Etsy, so you have to contact him to find out.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ BoingBoing ]