Shoe Polish, Japanese Style (A New Art Form?)

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Shoe Polish, Japanese Version (A New Art Form?)

Enter the Maestro! Very relaxing, even sublime... there is magic in the air (listen to the sounds, preferably in headphones):

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In the comments for this video you can find some description of the magic: "He was using first cream to nourish the leather (like beeswax enriched with mink oil). Then a colored shoe polish (also based on beeswax)... then he was spraying little drops of water to give it the gloss finish.". So now you know how to do it properly, if you have some time - via

Today's pictures & links:

Banana Slug is Hungry

Cute little Cthulhu-like creature (see more banana slugs here) is eating:

(image credit: Jeff Olshan)

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1955 Ghia Gilda Coupe Concept

See more oddities displayed at 2010 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance on this page. Here is 1955 Ghia Gilda Coupe Concept:

(images via)

Bottom row: 1969 Fascination Prototype Two-Door Sedan (read more about it here) and 1936 Stout Scarab. This site also has some eye-catching galleries of collectible automobile detailing and parts photography: Part 1 and Part 2.

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Cosmic Cataclysms

We wrote about cosmic and apocalyptic collisions before. This time National Georgaphic Channel presents a few more CGI images of cosmic cataclysms, as part of their "Known Universe: Cosmic Collisions" and "Stellar Storms" episodes, the first of which is to be aired on Thursday, April 1, at 10 PM ET/PT - more info. Here is an exclusive preview for DRB:

Impactor strikes proto-Earth at a shallow angle resulting in the formation of the Moon:

Blackhole approaches our solar system:

Depiction of a major solar flare's effect on Earth:

Gravitational forces between asteroid and gravity tractor divert asteriod away from impacting Earth:

Impacor strikes north pole of Mars tearing off the surface and creating Planum Boreum or Northern Plain:

(images credit: BASE Productions/ Sauce, National Geographic)

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Mixed fresh links for today:

Top Secret Signs Inside CERN - [Large Hadron Collider]
The World's Most Ingenious Thief - [and how to catch him]
Periodic Table of Periodic Tables - [wow project]
10 Weird & Wonderful Museum - [insteresting]
AWesome Architecture Project: Sky Waterfall - [wow design]
The Craziest Medical Inventions - [pretty wild]
The Evolution of Piggy Banks - [weird design]
Great Collection of April Fool Pranks - [and gadgets]
How to Survive a Nuclear Attack - [useful?]
Very Stylish Vintage Matchbox Music Video - [cool art]
Catzilla! The King of Monsters - [wow video]
Validation: Everybody Wants to Hear This! - [sweetest short film ever]

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Stuck in the Hot Tub?

"Mickey's Hot Tub" requires some negotiating to get out... It's a part of Hell's Revenge Trail in the Sand Flats Recreation Area, Moab, Utah - a hub for a variety of off-road sports, such as rock racing, rock crawling, hill climbing, desert racing and endurance desert racing.

"Mickey's Hot Tub" and "The Escalator", Hell's Revenge, Sand Flats Recreation Area, Moab, Utah - photos by Jud Leslie:

(photos by Jud Leslie)

Brad & Roger Lovell, of Lovell Rock Racing, have some great imagery on their website (they have been named by two various sport sources "arguably the best rock crawlers ever"):

(images credit: Brad & Roger Lovell, Lovell Rock Racing)

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Luminous Inspirations, indeed

Kent Davis is a full-time artist that creates one of a kind unique illuminated sculptures - see Luminous Inspirations for more:

(image credit: Luminous Inspirations)

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This is Cold War

Somewhat spooky image of nuclear missiles watch in US during the height of Cold War in 1957 (especially with that ghastly dark hand in the corner... and a red telephone)

(image courtesy LIFE magazine, 1957)

We made it so far, without a single launch... knock on wood...

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Frozen Glass

This is simply mind-boggling glass sculpture (3D artwork by Yulia Karpenko, Belarus):

(image credit: Yulia Karpenko)

If there is a glass sculptor among readers of DRB, we'd like to hear if this could be made in real life.

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Streamlined Steam Locomotive "Josef Stalin", 1939

More precise name of this model is ISO 20-0016, these locomotives were manufactured from 1932 to 1942 - the streamlined model was capable of reaching impressive speed of 180 km/hr.