Month: November 2009

How Twilight Works

The Oatmeal is brilliant. Here’s the best review of the Twilight phenomena I’ve read yet…

First off, the author creates a main character which is an empty shell. Her appearance isn’t described in detail; that way, any female can slip into it and easily fantasize about being this person. I read 400 pages of that book and barely had any idea of what the main character looked like; as far as I was concerned she was a giant Lego brick. Appearance aside, her personality is portrayed as insecure, fumbling, and awkward – a combination anyone who ever went through puberty can relate to. By creating this “empty shell,” the character becomes less of a person and more of something a female reader can put on and wear. Because I forgot her name (I think it was Barbara or Brando or something like that), I’m going to refer to her as “Pants” from here on out.

Pants

November 26, 2009

Coffee infographic

The same group that brought us the awesome apostrophe flow chart has produced arguably the best infographic ever made.

It’s so good I’m posting the whole thing.

November 26, 2009

Spice up your life

If you live in a cluttered kitchen you could choose to organise your spices with one of these expensive Magnetic Spice racks ($44USD).

Or you could make your own.

For more money.

Sometimes DIY isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

November 26, 2009

Find Jesus in your pancakes

You know how people are always “finding” Jesus in their burnt toast, or odd patterns of mildew on walls… well here’s a guaranteed way to find Jesus in your breakfast…

November 26, 2009

Eight bit embroidery

This is a terrific Flickr set of eight bit cushions, quilt covers and miscellaneous manchester.

Here are some favourites.

This lot flips over and becomes this lot…

November 26, 2009

Retreating into a bottle

I’d like to live in a beer bottle one day. I think this is probably someone’s pet. The site I found it on wasn’t too sure. But they were hippies – and we can’t expect too much from hippies. I have a new goal in life… not to live in a beer bottle – but to have a crab living inside a broken beer bottle.

November 26, 2009

To those stuck in the past…

Hey you. Yes you. The 50 people a week who still come here via the old nathanintownsville.com domain – stop it. No seriously. It’s going to stop working in about a week. I’m not renewing it.

Update your bookmarks. Seriously.

November 26, 2009

On indoctrinating children

There’s a great opinion piece in the Times alongside the article about the Christian children being used in atheist advertising. It takes apart the atheist argument that parents should not indoctrinate their children. The writer makes good points.

I commend the article to you…

If you believe something important to be true, then you shouldn’t pretend it is an open question. This goes for secular humanists as much as for religious believers. If, for example, you are a convinced atheist, and you think that belief in God is false at an intellectual level and damaging through its distorting effects on morality, then of course you would want to share this conviction with your children. It would be unjust to keep it from them. Similarly, if you believe in God, and you believe that this faith is not just a lifestyle choice or a cultural imperative but an objective truth with profound implications for human existence, how could you not share this conviction with your children? Yes, you want to nurture their freedom and you hope they will discover things for themselves. But if it is a question of truth – whether scientific or moral or spiritual – then you will inevitably want to guide your children along a certain path, knowing full well that they may one day choose to veer off in another direction.

November 26, 2009

Atheist ad fail

Whoops.

See those cute un-indoctrinated kids…

Turns out they’re Christians. And worse. Evangelicals…

November 26, 2009

Mix it up

This seems slightly pointless – but it’s a nice little piece of design.

Mix tapes were cool. If you’re feeling a pang of nostalgia you can buy one of these tape like cases for a USB drive and put your favourite MP3s on the stick.

Hooray.

November 26, 2009

Nothing says “we’re pregnant” like fetus cookies*

Got some news to share with family and friends? Say it with cookies.

* We are not pregnant.

November 26, 2009

Typekit try out

I’m using this blog as a bit of a typography sandbox today because we’re doing a long awaited redesign to our work websites.

I’m currently trialling TypeKit – a webapp that lets you dynamically use non-standard fonts.

Here are three handy articles I’ve read today.

November 26, 2009

Jesus: All about life in Sydney

Interesting survey stats about the state of Christian belief in Sydney verses the rest of the country.

Note – this is not the Christians – this is all people in Sydney surveyed as part of the market research for the Jesus All About Life campaign.

Compared with all Australians, Sydneysiders are more likely to believe:

  • Jesus was born of a virgin (56% SYD and 44% AUS)
  • Jesus healed a blind man (60% SYD and 51% AUS)
  • Jesus turned water into wine (56% SYD and 44% AUS)
  • Jesus walked on water (53% SYD and 44% AUS)
  • Jesus was crucified and died on a cross (80% SYD and 76% AUS)
  • Jesus rose from the dead (58% SYD and 47% AUS)
  • Jesus ascended bodily into heaven (55% SYD and 44% AUS)
  • Jesus will return to Earth one day (46% SYD and 37% AUS)

Now tell me again why such a disproportionate rate of reformed evangelical workers are required for the harvest in Sydney?

My friend Mike is always keen to talk to people about ministry in regional Queensland – you can find his church website here.

November 26, 2009

Neo-Lego stop motion

This is cool.

And a comparison.

Via Geekdad.

November 26, 2009

Bottomless cups of coffee

We’ve been enjoying time with Zack and Sarah this week.

But I’ve been particularly enjoying the present they brought with them…

Mmm. Delicious.

And, in related coffee news… I received my new toy in the mail yesterday. Via the Espresso Workshop – they will take your unused portafiller (the handle thing you put your coffee in to use in your machine) and lop the bottom off for $40 – the cheapest naked portafiller I could find online (short of cutting the bottom of myself, which I didn’t want to risk).

Here’s what my coffee will look like when I take a photo of it… (picture from the espresso workshop product page)…

November 26, 2009