Artist Gerrel Saunders created these Daft Punk Helmet GIFs to commemorate the new album, Random Access Memories. The GIF series is titled “Give Life Back to Music” after the first track on the record.  I suggest listening to a few of the songs while watching the animations.  And, if you want to build your own helmet, check out the RobotSpaceBrain Official Tutorial.

-RSB

[via Laughing Squid]

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This new LEGO X-Wing Masterpiece is being unveiled in Times Square today.  It was made from 5,335,200 individual bricks and weighs an astounding 45,980 pounds (20856.2 kg)!  You may be asking yourself how such a creation came to be… Well, 32 “Master Builders” spent 17,336 man-hours in Kladno, Czech Republic constructing the rebel fighter jet — that’s the equivalent of one man spending about 2 years of his life.

The X-Wing breaks the World Record for the largest LEGO model ever built by about 2 million bricks (LEGO robot will not be happy).  The folks at Wired caught up with a team leader, Erik Varszegi:  “My fellow Master Builders and I are always looking for a challenge — and for projects that push our skills to the next level.”  The team chose the X-Wing because it “is one of the most iconic vehicles in the Star Wars universe and the sheer size and scope of the building and engineering challenges was one we couldn’t resist.”

I’m not sure who funded the work, but I’m glad this happened.  Someone should build a giant LEGO Brain to complete the RobotSpaceBrain series!

-RSB

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Billy Bragg is an English musician with a musical history steeped in political activism.  From the artist: “My theory is this; I’m not a political songwriter. I’m an honest songwriter. I try and write honestly about what I see around me now.”

In other words, he writes songs with meaning.  ”No One Knows Nothing Anymore” speaks to the barrage of scientific advancement which doesn’t necessarily bring serenity to our lives. Sometimes it’s better to take a step away from all of life’s worries, and enjoy the time we have.

The Lyrics to “No One Knows Nothing Anymore”

“Deep down in the underground, atoms spinning round and round
Scientists monitor readings
Searching for the Holy Grail, the particle or at least the tale
Of the one who gives the universe its meaning.

But what if there’s nothing, no big answer to find?
What if we’re just passing through time?

No one knows nothing anymore
Nobody really knows the score
Nobody knows anything
Let’s break it down and start again

What happens when the markets drop,
If the numbers really don’t add up?
Everyone seeks the safe haven.
And as they contemplate their ruin,
The self-proclaimed smartest people in the room
Are trying very hard not to sound craven

But what if there’s nothing, no pot of gold to find?
Only the blind leading the blind.

No one knows nothing anymore
Nobody really knows the score
Seems nobody knows anything
Let’s break it down and start again

Let’s stop pretending
We can manage our way out of here.
Let’s stop defending the indefensible.
Let’s stop relying on
The lecturing of the experts
Whose spin just makes our plight incomprehensible.

High up on a mountain top, somebody with a skinhead crop
Is thinking deep thoughts for us all.
Serenity is all around, but if you listen you can hear the sound
Of one head being banged against the wall.

But what if our ancestors had stayed up in the trees
Who’d be sleeping weighed down by these worries?

No one knows nothing anymore
Nobody really knows the score
Since nobody knows anything
Let’s break it down and start again”

-RSB

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Tom Beddard created these illustrations using his custom WebGL 3D fractal creator.  This form of algorithmic art is created from fractal objects, which are “various extremely irregular curves or shapes for which any suitably chosen part is similar in shape to a given larger or smaller part when magnified or reduced to the same size.”

It seems logical that Tom Beddard would enter this form of art, considering he completed a PhD in laser physics before moving into web development and design. From the artist: “I’m interested in how equations and formulas can be used to create interesting, unpredictable imagery.”

From Fast Company: “Beddard doesn’t write the actual mathematical equations himself — for that he goes to the geniuses on FractalForums.com. Instead, he just… explores, using his custom software. ‘You get an intuition about what equations lead to interesting results,’ he says. ‘Everything in ‘Surface Area’ comes from slowly changing just one parameter. And when it moves in and out of phase with some of the other parameters, certain structures pop out: some organic, some geometric, some classical and tree-like.’”

I think this is about as scientific as art can get…

For more from the artist, go here.

-RSB

[via But Does It Float]

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The “Fox River Derivatives” project from Peter Hoffman is a collection of photos addressing mankind’s relationship with natural resources.  The Fox River is a 202-mile-long tributary of the Illinois River.  Hoffman shot photos as he biked up and down the river. Then, the abstract images were created by pouring gasoline on the negatives and setting them on fire.

From the artist:

“Fox River Derivatives is a series that questions our relationship with our natural resources. Using the theme “Water and Oil”, with consideration to the large BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, the images are part of a larger experiment that utilizes water and fossil fuels in the actual image-making process, letting these substances become an important variable in the visual representation. Photographs are made along the Fox River which passes through both untouched rural areas and consumer-oriented suburban sprawl.”

For more from Peter, head to his site.

-RSB

[via PetaPixel]

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Can you Solve the Puzzle?

The two figures shown in the attachment are divided into four parts. The upper figure has two triangles, A and B, and two L-shaped areas, C and D. The lower figure has the same four parts arranged in a different order. Both figures have a width of 13 boxes and a height of 8 boxes. However there is also a 1-by-1 hole in the lower figure. Where did the extra space come from?

Put your answer in the comments section.

Good luck!

-RSB

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