Awesome Etc

ISO50 is the brainchild of San Francisco-based artist Scott Hansen; his retro-themed artwork demonstrates a mastery of nostalgic colorways, yet remains quite contemporary.

This beautifully rendered “Crisis in Burma” video by creative agency Shilo is so haunting and thought-provoking that we just had to share it; echoes of Love Plane tee, anyone?

We have to say this Shanghai map is even better than Onion Maps; it’s a heavily detailed map of the booming metropolis, with graphics that are on par with something you’d see in SimCity.

Nicolas Bouvier, aka Sparth, is a consummate sci-fi illustrator with best of breed skills. Check out his vast gallery–there are over 450 sketches and illustrations for you to pore over.

Thank God for crazy French bastards: Yves Rossy, aka “Fusionman”, crossed the English Channel yesterday with a jet-propelled wing in 10 minutes. He’s the first to do it solo.

Ever wondered why Brits call flashlights “torches?” Wicked Lasers’ Torch Flashlight uses a 100W halogen that actually sets things on fire; scope the video above for proof!

With all the talk about bricked iPhones, this Mac Pro made out of Lego bricks is the real deal: it was built in 14 hours for MacMod Challenge 2008, and actually houses a working Mac Mini.

Simon Dominic Brewer’s art is a gorgeous mix of sci-fi and fantasy with a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor throw in. He’s created an impressive portfolio given his four years of experience.

Forget the iPhone–if you really wanna turn heads, this heavily modded Motorola ROKR E6 transforms into a robot, yet still works! Check out the Taiwanese ad above to see it in action.

Robert Hodgin’s Solar video has already made several rounds on the interwebs, but it’s so amazing we’ll share it again. It’s cued to Goldfrapp’s “Lovely Head” and made with Processing.

Via Neatorama: These amazing war dioramas are mostly WW2 based but a few are from modern eras. One even seems to be a scene from the 80s time travel flick, The Final Countdown.

Sebastian’s Voodoo is made by the highly talented Joaquin Baldwin, who studies at the UCLA Animation Workshop. Beautiful composition and plot make this a must see; watch hi-res here.

We’re really digging Shin Tanaka’s super-fly papercraft models. From multiple versions of T-Boy to shoes, mecha and other vinyls, Sensei Tanaka’s origami-fu is most awesome.

Adobe Creative Suite 4 has launched, and will finally utilize your video card’s GPU. It will also include Flash SWF support, a cleaner, common interface and 64-bit for Windows users.

Jacob Charles Dietz’s dystopic artwork is a pastiche of dreary skies and soggy, neon-lit streets. It’s a bit of Blade Runner mixed in with real-world Seattle, where he spent much of his life.

Made by artist Michel de Broin, Dead Star is an amazing sculpture made with real batteries, urethane and polystyrene. Also: check out Black Whole, Revolutions and Entrelacement.

Want to create trendy word clouds like the one above? Wordle.net automatically creates a cloud for you from either your website or your own words, with your choice of colors and fonts.

The amazing Metamorphosis is the work of Glenn Marshall, who used Processing.org, an open source animation and interaction language. It’s set to music by Scottish group Boards of Canada.

Microsoft’s Zune may let you share songs, but this BRIX concept by Seokwon Hong proposes sharing multiple BRIXs to form an impromptu viewscreen; family plan, anyone?

We’re having a hard time digesting just how awesome Tim G.’s hectic Lego Rebel Attack diorama is, from a damaged X-Wing trailing smoke to a cameo by Boba Fett; the full gallery is here.

Like Ruben’s Tube, these musical Tesla coils by Steve Ward and Jeff Larson are designed to be seen and heard. Above: listen to them play the Zelda theme song. Even crazier: Lightsabers.

This Transformers papercraft model of Bumblebee makes our paper football look like such weak sauce: it’s made with food cartons and KFC bucket lids and actually articulates.

Keith Thompson is one of our favorite sci-fi/fantasy artists; not only is his work awesome, but he takes the time to write background stories. Spend an hour here; we sure did.