Beautiful Shot Of The Pinwheel Galaxy.

The Pinwheel Galaxy (higher res version HERE) got its name because it looks like a pinwheel. Geez, it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure that one out. Or maybe it's cause it loves Little Debbie Pecan Spinwheels so much. Well guess what -- so do I! And Starcrunches? Don't even get me started!!

This new three-color composite image was captured by the Isaac Newton Telescope in La Palma, Spain.

Known more officially as Messier 101 or NGC 5457, this classic spiral galaxy is 27 million light years from Earth in the Ursa Major constellation, also known as the Big Dipper. Its slight asymmetry is thought to be the result of an encounter with another galaxy in the recent (astronomically speaking) past. This event also left many huge clouds of glowing gas and plasma known as H II regions.

Though the galaxy, which measures 170,000 light-years across, is visible with the naked eye as a fuzzy spot, large telescopes are needed to see any detail.

You know what I love most about outerspace? I heard it's super quiet. What do you mean, "space is vacuum"? Those things are loud as shit!

Source: Geekologie.com

Holy: Farmer Grows Buddah Shaped Pears.

In this week's "growing things that look like other things" news, a Chinese farmer has learned how to grow Buddah shaped pears. But are they sacrilegious to eat?

Hao Xianzhang, a local famer, spent six years to perfect the process by growing the pears inside moulds, local media reported. The pears cost around 50 yuan (7.32 USD) each.

Pfft, that's nothing. One time I grew an apple that looked like I cut a hole in it and smoked weed out of it. BECAUSE I DID. Who has the green thumb now, bitches?!

Thanks to jessica, who once grew a Jesus shaped orange.

Source: Geekologie.com

I Want All Three!: Do It Yourself Dino Lamps.

If any of you are looking for any last minute gift ideas, these dinosaur lamps from ThinkGeek are the perfect present for your Geekologie Writer.

All three (triceratops, diplodocus and t-rex) of these dinosaur lamps are constructed from precision cut sheets of flexible plastic which you slot together to create the finished glowing sculpture. Construction time is about 30-40 minutes, but the directions are very clear with detailed photographs of each step.

Each lamp will set you back a cool $20, and, obviously, I want all three. Now I'm not saying I've never made love to a lamp shade before, because I totally have. But I actually like these ones enough to call them the morning after. You hear that, banker's lamp shade? Your green ass meant nothing to me!

Thanks to ryco, virus and Watch-303, who know what I like. I like pizza!

Source: Geekologie.com

I NEED One: Gas Powered Vortex Cannon.

We've allegedly seen the world's largest vortex cannon before, but that thing doesn't hold a match to the power of this sucker, featured on the BBC's Bang Goes The Theory. The goal was to use this cannon to recreate the big bad wolf's huffing and puffing from Three Little Pigs. Now I don't want to ruin it for you, so just watch. Then, you and I are building one and robbing a bank. I've always wanted to wear a ski mask!

Thanks to Ross and James, who'll huff and puff and then use dynamite.

Source: Geekologie.com

Blew Out My Flip Flop, Stepped On A Pop Top, Decided To Make A Dragon.

This is a dragon made entirely out of pop-tops. NOT POP-TARTS. Soda can pull tabs or whatever you want to call them. Pretty impressive, no? It think it would look great in the curio cabinet next to my novelty shot glass and improvised bong collections.

Banzaaaai!! Another little crazy stuff! I finally finished this dragon sculpture. It took me forever. I used pop tabs all the way from the tip of nose to the tip of tail except for whisker. I wanted to count it but again it'll take me forever to count lol. I glued them together with ordinary epoxy or cold-weld compound type of epoxy. this guy's about 14 inches long and 8 inches tall. By the way i want this to be called 神魂龍　(shinkonryuu) which inhabits the spirit of a person, where they obtain the necessary energy to live. When a person dies they move to a new spirit.
Now I hate to get all metaphysical on you, but is there any way to re-up on shinkonryuu life energy? I'm feeling pretty drained and the tiger penis tea did not work. HELP, NEED MORE DRAGON JUICE PRONTO.

Thanks to shameema, who once made a dragon out of bottle tops but I pulled its tail off to play caps. I SAID I WAS SORRY.

Source: Geekologie.com

Do Want: Functional Vacuum Tube Chess Set.

This is a chess set made with functional vacuum tubes that actually glow while you play, making it sweeter than sticky buns. And almost as fun to stare at. But not yours. No, not yours.

This wonderful vacuum tube chess set, by maker Paul Fryer, actually has electricity running inside the board so that the tubes can draw power and glow as you move them from square to square. It is called, somewhat appropriately, Chess Set for Tesla, and Paul actually made seven sets last year.
Nice, Paul, how about you send a set in this direction? I'll make it worth your while. Provided an all-you-can-eat wings buffet and mediocre conversation is "worth your while". ;) You sleep on it.

Thanks to lucci, who can make a make a lightbulb glow in his mouth like Uncle Fester.

Source: Geekologie.com

The Red Band Trailer for Jennifer's Body.

ShockTillYouDrop has revealed the red band trailer for 20th Century Fox's comedy horror Jennifer's Body starring Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, Adam Brody and J.K. Simmons, and written by Juno's Diablo Cody.Arriving in theaters September 18th, the film centers on a gorgeous cheerleader who is possessed by a demon and starts feeding off the boys in a small Minnesota farming town, her "plain Jane" best friend must kill her, then escape from a correctional facility to go after the Satan-worshipping rock band responsible for the horrible transformation.

Source: Movieweb.com

Mmmm, Chocolatey: The S Mores Keyboard.

This is probably the most delicious keyboard I've ever seen because I haven't seen a bacon one yet. Unfortunately, like a harmless robot, it doesn't actually exist. BUT IF IT DID. Oh, the things I would do to you. Oh yeah, you like that? You like those Doritos crumbs? You like those Doritos crumbs between your marshmallows?

Thanks to GreenBoss, who kicked FuchsiaBoss's ass and ate his keyboard.
Source: Geekologie.com

First Image Of A New Memory Being Formed.

Allegedly, this is the first image captured of a new memory being formed on the cellular level. If your brain were dinner, new memories would be the glowing noodle appetizer.

The image shows that proteins are created at connections between brain cells when a long-term memory is formed. Neuroscientists had suspected as much, but hadn't been able to see it happening until now.

Scientists still want to understand more about how our brains translate memories made on the go into long-term storage. Since synapses are connections between cells, experts think that fortifying these connections, or perhaps even making new ones, helps our minds associate different ideas and form memories of connected events.

Speaking of memories, you remember the time we snuck off and made out in that house that was being built? Yeah, that was really, um -- that wasn't you, was it? Oh synapse!
Source: Geekologie.com

Sweet!: Plant Some Trees, Grow A Chair.

The Growing Chair is a clear plastic frame in which you grow trees to form a seat shape so that, in your old age, you can sit around drinking moonshine and reminiscing on the days when you had to use power tools to make a chair (or were Amish). Personally, I love the idea BECAUSE I AM ONE WITH GAIA. And by one with Gaia I mean a nudist. Except I wear jean shorts.
Source: Geekologie.com

Retro Gaming Refrigerator Magnet Sets.

Looking for some retro-gaming flair you can stick to the fridge? Enter MagnetGames' Etsy shop. Seen here is a small sampling of a 22-piece, $30 Super Mario magnet set. Mario not doing it for you? Hit the jump for some Zelda, Pac-Man and Tetris action. Shit, there might even be an $8 cheeseburger coaster set. And no, I didn't just post this because I threatened the maker with future defamation of character unless I got a complimentary Zelda set. Susan, I hope you're reading this.

Source: Geekologie.com

More Than Meets The Eye: Transformer USB Drive Is Awesomest I've Seen In A While.

What do you buy for the man who has nothing? While you ponder that nugget of vast intellectuality, I'll tell you about this 2GB Transformer memory stick (which is way better than these ones). Probably the awesomest USB drive I've seen in forever, the unit transforms from a normal looking USB ding-dongle into Ravage, a fierce jungle cat Decepticon (which some believe to be a dog, WHICH HE IS NOT YOU WILL NOT RUIN MY CHILDHOOD). Available fro pre-order from the BigBadToyStore, this piece of badassery will set you back $43 and ships in September. But the question remains: shouldn't you avoid trusting a Decepticon with your porno?*

*Does Optimus Prime piss transmission fluid and wipe his ass with corrugated steel?**

**Bumblebee says so!
Thanks to Tank and Julian, who once convinced a Decepticon it was human and then broke its heart with a backhoe.

Source: Geekologie.com

Wuv, Tru Wuv: Heart-Shaped Watermelons.

What? I CAN QUOTE The Princess Bride IF I WANT. There's no shame in my game. Or extra lives. Anyway, just in time for not Valentine's Day, Japanese jolly ranchers Kiroichi Kimura and his wife have perfected a way of growing heart-shaped watermelons, which sell for up to $160. It took three years to develop the process, which involves implanting a watermelon seed in a giant's heart and then slaying it and removing the melon afterward. Nice, guys, but I think I still stick to regular-shaped melons. *ahem* I'm looking at you, female Geekologie reader.

Thanks to Ashnod, ffffffffffffffffffffff and NESbeast, who are holding out for spleen shaped watermelons.
Source: Geekologie.com

Sculptures by Bruce Metcalf.

Striking sculptures on display in Bruce Metcalf's gallery. His work is apparently currently on display at the Mint Museum in North Carolina.

His blog is also interesting reading. Here he responds to a critic. And here he describes a visit to an art show with an irresistible first line:

I recently saw the Louise Bourgeois exhibit at the Guggenheim in New York. While they couldn’t stuff her largest spiders into the confines of the Guggenheim, it was still a great show.

You want to know more about those spiders, don't you?
Source: Superpunch

What's Under The Zipper?: Sackboy Anatomy.

This is another anatomical rendering by Jason Freeney of Sackboy's innards. As you can see, there are guts under that zipper. Of course, I already knew that because I got all stabby on him once when he wouldn't give me his wallet. Yeah, and all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't stitch Sackboy together again. So, let that be a lesson to the rest of you.

Jason Freeney's Website
and
The Anatomy Of A Sackboy [kotaku]

Thanks to Julian, who took one for the team and pointed out Sackboy's genitalia was modeled after his own so I wouldn't have to.

Source: Geekologie.com

WALL-E/Watchmen Trailer Mashup.

This is a mashup of the WALL-E trailer set to the audio of the Watchmen trailer, because, well, I don't know why. Shit, people get bored.

«I decided to take a crack at what many have done for other films; and set the audio from Watchmen's epic IMAX teaser to scenes from one of my favourite films of all time. So sit back, and enoy WALL•E redone in Watchmen's style!»

Not bad. Not super dooper either, but hey, what did you expect? And speaking of expectations -- I have a blind date tonight. Boy, I sure hope she's sporting dual eye patches!

Source: Geekologie

Watch the world spin in your grasp!

The thing is, if you ever want to be a brutal super-villain, you've got to have three things: 1 - a giant death-ray, time-machine, or doomsday device. 2 - Toadies. Lots of them. They absorb bullets well. 3 - Some kind of representation of the Earth that you can lord over like the evil genius you are. At ThinkGeek HQ, we've got an entire legion of robotic zombie monkeys ready to do our bidding, so that's got #2 covered, and the death ray currently makes everything smell like curry. It's a work in progress.

What we've also got is this super-awesome globe. It's 4.5 inches in diameter, and is somehow magical. Or solar. Holding it in your hands, the continents magically stay upright - oriented North as up. The coolest part, though, is holding it up to the light makes it slowly rotate from west to east. Everyone who holds it often express a feeling of power not unlike commanding cyborg space squid mercenaries as they decimate world capitals at your command.

We know you've got a mean streak in you. The world is a messy place, and you just have to rule it. Grab your Magic Spinning Globe and hold it up to the light. The world is in your hands! Muahahahahaha!

Features:

* Heavy desktop globe
* Spins in your hand when exposed to light
* Magically stays upright at any angle
* No batteries needed
* Stand included
* Only $99.99
Source: ThinkGeek

It's On eeeeeeBay: Pac-Man Neon Light Set .

Looking for a set of Pac-Man neon lights for your rumpus room? No? How about the game room? Well you're in luck, because eBay seller JNN2728 is selling them joints! There' a five-piece set available with all the characters you see here, or you can buy them individually. Current bidding for the set is at $151. Bidding on the individual characters is around $10-$30.

Joker and Harley Quinn - cool fan art.

JoshWMC did the artwork for this Heath Ledger, Kristen Bell Dark Knight fan art. Very cool piece of work.

Source: Live for film