Friday Smackdown: Compendium of Boom

The books lined the walls and hallway, some stacked, some shelved, volumes and volumes of pages oiled with time and fingers. We were not supposed to find it there, the vibrating velvet orange volume of verses. Saying it glowed, would be an understatement. Looking at it too long would start you shaking. It wasn’t the color, but what resided inside–a mix of nitrous, enriched uranium, and these links.

Raphael Lacoste – The worlds of Raphael Lacoste, indeed. from icy northern lands to floating cities, and those exploring them that make you want to take their place.

Open Mind – The surreal porcelain sculptures of Johnson Tsang will likely stretch your mind or give you an idea of how that would happen.

Data Selfie – A Chrome extension that reveals the amount of data that Facebook has about you and perhaps answers that question of why.

World Record Paper Plane – How do you fold the paper airplane with the world record for long distance flight? John Collins, who designed it, goes through the folds.

Google Maps Around the World – Matteo Archondis put together this hyperlapse of famous places around the world to celebrate the birthday of Google Maps. Every frame taken on Google Maps.

Sword Keys – Ingenious! The Sword Armory creates amazing sword-shaped keys blanks you can use for all those bland, normal keys on your keyring. Swords from He-man, Game of Thrones and more.

Kaffee Maschine – These motorcycles. A gallery of the 17 classic style cafe racer beauties made to date.

Control Panels – Control Panels can be the most esoteric and convuluted mess of buttons or the most simple of dials. Either way, they’re sublime, and this Flickr group knows it.

Punchin’ Air – The Meanies are still at it, with a album and a new video out on Poison City Records.