Berlin Tower Lift-Off

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Berlin Tower Lift-Off!

This countdown took place in Berlin recently - they decided to further rid themselves of architectural reminders of the communist past, and thus blasted Berlin’s TV tower into space on a clandestine mission: watch it in higher-res here (made by Fabian Tischer).

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Today's pictures & links:

The Reconstructed Glory of the "Amber Room"

Created by German and Russian craftsmen in the period 1701-1709, this incredible room in the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoye Selo near Saint Petersburg is often called the "Eighth Wonder of the World" - more info

"Shortly after the beginning of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II, the curators responsible for removing the art treasures in Leningrad tried to disassemble and remove the Amber Room. Over the years the amber had dried out and become brittle, so that when they tried to remove it, the fragile amber started to crumble. The Amber Room was therefore hidden behind mundane wallpaper, in an attempt to keep Nazi forces from seizing it."

However, their ruse came unstuck and German soldiers disassembled the room, packing it in 27 crates for transportation to Königsberg in East Prussia, for storage and display in the town's castle. Then it mysteriously disappeared again (read the whole fascinating story here)

"In 1979 a reconstruction effort began at Tsarskoye Selo, based largely on black and white photographs of the original Amber Room. Financial difficulties to the project were solved with USD $3.5 million donated by the German company Ruhrgas AG. By 2003 the titanic work of the Russian craftsmen was mostly completed".

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"I Have a Secret..."

(image via)

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Another "Minority Report"-Inspired Concept Car

Peugeot Metromorph, designed by Roman Mistiuk, "has dual modes: one as a battery-powered electric vehicle and the other as... a balcony." - more info and images here

(images via)

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Incredible Uninhabited Island

We dare you to carve a miniature house in its walls and, well, inhabit it. Ball's Pyramid is the peak of an undersea volcano (you can tell by the circular, jagged shape) and is located 13 miles south-East of Lord Howe Island, off Australia’s east coast. It is almost twice as high as the Empire State Building...

See more images here. Read our articles about other incredible islands: Birth of an Island, Most Alien-Looking Place on Earth.

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Mixed fresh links for today:

Strange Jellyfish in the Icy Depths - [weird nature]
Innocent Man Executed in Texas - [incredible piece of reporting]
Last Meals: some depressing art - [flickr set]
Cheer Up: you can have 500 soda flavors! - [happy little store]
Very cool compilation of concept motorcycles - [design]
Kurt Vonnegut charts some examples of DRAMA - [fascinating]
Super-Futuristic Prefab Home Designs - [architecture]
Time does not exist, and the Universe does not expand? - [science]
Silly Accidents... lots! - [fun video]
10 things you shouldn't do while in a car... hilarious - [fun video]
Electricity Untamed! Runaway Lawnmower - [fun video]
Make stunning Flash websites for free! - [promotion]

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DRB is happy to note that...

John Malkovich, one of the most talented actors of our time and a conneisseur of great taste, starts his day with Dark Roasted Blend. This is what he had to say in the August issue of the TIME Magazine:

"Dark Roasted Blend is a perfect morning wake-up - a site filled with images of Earth's strange dreamers, oddballs, visionaries, travelers and destinations"
-- Time Magazine, August 31, 2009, p. 55, John Malkovich's Short List.

We are humbled and delighted by this recommendation.

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Ugly "Ducklings" from Jurong Bird Park, Singapore

These pitiful little ones -

… will transform into gorgeous birds one day.

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New Concept Art From the Massive Black Studio

See a lot more at their site, and also at this forum thread.

(images credit: Massive Black)

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Nostalgia Jet Scooter

This wonderful (and very curvaceous) concept model evokes all sorts of vintage retro-future daydreams... and simply demands some French beauty (like Brigitte Bardot) take it out for a spin.

(images credit: Peanuts23)

Another incredible futuristic vehicle design is "Audi Shark" by Kazim Doku:

(image credit: Kazim Doku)

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Show Them What You're Made Of.

We continue our series of the coolest t-shirts (we want). Here are some "Human Ingredients"... (just add a living, breathing spirit) - more info.

(image credit: Spiraltwist)

Order this t-shirt here.

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Lara Croft in Cosplay

... at Japan Expo 10th Anniversary:

(image credit: Fabrice Noléo)

and another character from Neon Genesis:

(original unknown)

This is pure steampunk bliss:

(original unknown)

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Psychedelic Rice Paddies

This is Japanese "Rice Field Art" and we are duly impressed. It almost needs a San-Francisco "Summer of Love" soundtrack:

(images via Nona Schnell)

"In 2006 organizers in the town of Yonezawa, Japan, used computers to precisely plot planting of the four differently colored rice varieties that bring the images to life. (The murals in Inakadate, Japan, cover 15,000 square meters of paddy fields.)" (more info)

Also read our article "Vertical Grass Art" for all you ever wanted to know about grass-covered buildings - and even churches - as a form of art.

Another mad field creation, this time in normal grass:

via

This is a corn labyrinth in Berlin to teach children how a cow produces milk out of corn - more info

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Simply Magical: White Elk

Seen in Logan Canyon, Utah -

(images via)

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Cover your TV commercials with a blind, and be done with it

If you can't afford a digital TV (pre-programmed to skip commercials), then this cheap-and-easy solution from an old mail-in catalog is for you:

(image credit: Bob Bobster, via)

The Armpit Dryer (on the right) is another nifty device...
Update: Actually, this is a National Lampoon Parody, drawings by Bruce McCall.

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What sort of crazy tampering with history is this?

This mad creation is possibly a movie poster for a new Russian film by Nikita Mikhalkov "Burnt by the Sun, Part 2" (read about original one here), but we are not entirely sure.