New Land Rover Defender X-Tech Edition

Easily as tough as any Hummer or Jeep, the X-Tech is based on the Land Rover Defender – one of the most rock-solid rock-crawlers ever devised. It’s available in either silver, three-door Defender 90 form or in five-door Defender 110 long wheelbase in olive green, both offset by black roof, wheel arches, interior and new “saw-tooth” alloys. Not a major upgrade on the standard model, but just enough to give it the attitude it deserves.

Unveiled at the Brussels Motorshow, the Defender X-Tech is unfortunately unavailable in the North American market, but you can dream by checking out the gallery HERE.

Should I work for Free?

For all those freelancers wondering if they should work for free - here's a fantastic flow chart to educate and amuse. Pretty accurate, too.

:: Link Via jhische ::

Underground NYC

They don't build cities like they used to — which is, by simply backfilling and constructing on top of older architecture, leaving behind a layered time machine just ripe for adventure. The idea that some very old cities, like Rome, are three stories taller than they originally were, that the ground you walk on today is not really the ground at all..that's amazing.

That's what's awesome about stories like this one from NPR, where professional explorer Erling Kagge accompanies amateur adventurer Steve Duncan on a 25-mile journey through the sewers of New York City. It's no Golden Palace of Nero, but there are some little historical thrills. The photo above, for instance, taken by Duncan, which shows THE canal for which Canal Street was named. Bricked over in 1812—you can see the line between the different stages of brickwork—it's now a sewer. And a clogged one, at that.

:: Link Via BoingBoing ::

Lovely montage of East Coast blizzard

Here's a high-quality copy of the short that's been circulating. It's also known as "Man in a Blizzard," as it's been called by Roger Ebert.

:: Link Via ::

the Man-Made Rainbow Machine!

College professor and artist Michael Jones McKean made a machine that generates two-story rainbows with the flip of a switch. His rainbow machine is comprised of commercial jet pumps and custom-designed nozzles that spray a dense wall of water into the sky—it’s the same as how you can get a rainbow from the sprinkler in your backyard, just on a much more impressive scale.

:: Link Via ::

Happy New Year!

To all of our friends, fans, and supporters - we hope you've had a wonderful holiday season, and we raise a glass to a safe, happy, and prosperous 2011!

Alternate Universe Movie Posters

These are so fantastic. The Bill Finger credit on the Joker movie (in 1979!) almost brought a tear to my eye. I'd like to live in the alternate reality where Bill Finger didn't die an unacknowledged alcoholic in '74.

[Link Via]