The 240th anniversary of the death of Giovanni Antonio Canal was earlier this month, on April 19th. Canaletto, as he was known, was a well-known, well-paid, and prolific 18th century Venetian painter who specialized in view paintings (vedute). “View of the Entrance to the Arsenal,” painted in 1732, is one of Canaletto’s many paintings focused on the Venetian canals.

1. Giovanni Antonio Canal got his start as an apprentice with his brother and his father, a theatrical scene painter. During a stay in Rome, though, Canaletto became “irritated by the immodesty of the playwrights” and “formally foreswore the theatre.” He then studied under Luca Carlevaris, an urban cityscapes painter, and is said by many to have surpassed his teacher’s skills.

2. Unlike many artists of the time, Canaletto painted his early works from nature, out at the sites themselves, instead of in a studio. He also used a camera obscura to help with his highly detailed topographical paintings. The impact of the camera obscura is seen in the distant objects in Canaletto’s paintings, which just appear as out-of-focus blobs of color. (more…)

We’ve read their comics, watched their movies, TV shows and cartoons, and dressed like them for Halloween. But where did our favorite superheroes come from?

1. Superman

Arguably America’s first superhero, the Son of Krypton made his debut in June of 1938 in Action Comics. Being, as he was: faster than a speeding bullet, stronger than a locomotive (we’re confused by that metaphor, too) and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, Superman represented an entirely new kind of American hero. No longer satisfied with idolizing self-made men, pioneers, and various and sundry presidents, American kids suddenly seemed to need a hero who was incredibly powerful and, with his easy sense of right and wrong, deeply not human.

2. Lex Luthor

Every hero needs a nemesis and that role in Superman’s life was soon filled by mad scientist, wealthy businessman, and occasional presidential hopeful Lex Luthor. Of course, the Lex of the 1930s looked nothing like the slick tycoon you’re accustomed to, largely because, at the time, he sported a clown-esque shock of red hair. It wasn’t until 1941 that Lex acquired the smooth pate we’ve all come to know and love. However, later editors would revise what was originally a simple fashion decision into something much deeper.
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You may know about Bob Ross’ soothing voice or curly hair, but how much do you really know about the famous 1980s public television painter?

Take the Happy Little Quiz now to find out! Then, come back here and let us know how you did!

There is a town on the South Island of New Zealand where jumping out of an airplane is considered normal behavior, and doing so will raise nary an eyebrow. While my wife and I were in country last week, we spent three days in the adrenaline-fueled hamlet of Queenstown, where if skydiving doesn’t tickle your fancy you can bike down a mountain from a helicopter, rappel down a waterfall, climb any number of steep rock faces, take the controls of a small aircraft for twenty minutes (”absolutely no experience necessary!”) or participate any other number of “x-treme” activities which all claim to let you feel the icy hand of death on your shoulder without actually shuffling you off this mortal coil.

In retrospect, I probably never would’ve skydived anywhere else; the fact that travelers in New Zealand (well, not all of them) skydive before tea and a nap on Sunday and seem otherwise sane and slip the fact that they jump out of planes so casually into their conversations (girl in a backpackers’ hostel: “how was your skydive today?” other girl: “fine, not as good as yesterday though”) slowly lulls you into thinking that this is a relatively safe, everyday activity.

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No celebration of the 1980s would be complete without discussing the Back to the Future franchise—the trilogy that made a generation of kids crave hoverboards, roof-hinged car doors and Huey Lewis cassette tapes. Turn the time circuits on and see how well you remember Hill Valley, circa 1985. (And 1955. And 2015. And 1885.)

Back to the Future: The Quiz

Advances in macro photography and the development of the electron microscope have shown us a world nature never intended for us to see. Over the years, they’ve shown us how very ugly insects can be if you take a close look!

Mosquitos are considered ugly even when we don’t get a closeup view. Our model seems to have lost one antenna before posing for a portrait. This picture is from Lehigh University, where you can get a short course on electron microscopy.

A wolf spider looks much more menacing when you stare him in the face. This image by photographer Steven Flanagan gets up close and personal. I wonder if he can see us with those eight eyes as well as the camera sees him!

Continue reading for bugs that take prizes for ugliness.

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The always wonderful Boingboing has a great bit here on artist Nina Katchadouria who spent part of one summer repairing broken spiderwebs with bits of thread. Unfortunately, the spiders weren’t impressed with her handiwork, and often either dismantled or abandoned the webs she weaved. And while I can see how traditional-thinking arachnids might not embrace Nina’s aesthetic, I happen to like it. Take a look at the great photo below, and be sure to view more of her uninvited collaborations at her site, here.

Dog Thong to iPaw: 15 Pet Products We Can’t Believe Exist. The political dog chews are kid of tempting.
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Real-life Superman’s survival confounds the experts. A fireman is trapped in a burning building, falls 3 stories, lifts an impossibly heavy beam, and lives to tell the tale.
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Five People Killed By Their Own Inventions. I believe we have found the origin of the phrase, “You’re doing it wrong.”
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It’s a pity that marvelous old architecture is left to rot, often due to lack of funds. But there’s beauty to be found in the ruins, as you’ll see in this collection of abandoned hotels from all over.
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Posing as a ten-year-old, Bill Geerhart began corresponding with famous people, including several serial killers. Now you can read and enjoy their letters of advice.
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I want a Neo Cube. This simple toy has the ability to suck up all the free time around it.
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The healthiest chain restaurants and what you should order from them. Just in case you absolutely cannot find any other place to eat besides a chain restaurant.
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Living History. Historical reenactment organizations take their anachronisms seriously, whatever era they are in.

As any self-respecting geek would know, there have been some pretty wild ideas for science fiction TV shows. It must have taken a certain warped genius to come up with Doctor Who, Quantum Leap, Lost or The 4400. Of course, those were hits. But some weird ideas didn’t catch on so well. Take K-9000 (1990), about a cop who is telepathically linked to a talking, bionic police dog. Or L.A.X. 2194 (1994), a sitcom starring the not-yet-famous Matthew Perry and Ryan Stiles as baggage handlers at Los Angeles Airport, 200 years into the future. Strangely, neither of those made it beyond a pilot episode. The following shows didn’t last so long, either. But when you read about them, you can’t help thinking “What a wild idea!” (or perhaps “How did they expect anyone to watch that one?”)

1. My Living Doll (1964-1965)

How’s this for an idea? Build a shapely female robot and give her to a lady-killing military psychiatrist so he can teach her how to be (ahem) a perfect woman. Despite that foolproof concept, this sitcom about Rhoda (played by Julie Newmar, TVs first Catwoman), who lives with Bob McDonald (Robert Cummings) and avoids the lecherous advances of their neighbour, Peter Robinson (Jack Mullaney), only lasted one season. It was long enough for Bob to leave the series, so that Rhoda was placed in the care of… Peter! Naturally, the best man for the job is the guy who spent all his time leering at her. Of course, the joke was on him. How could you have a relationship with a machine? (Of course, as this was a sixties sitcom, they never really covered that…)
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On Mondays, we travel into the archives of The New York Times to find the first time the paper covered various topics. If you have a suggestion for next week, leave us a comment.

Atari

September 15, 1974

The Space Age Pinball Machine
Atari president Bushnell sees the video games as, by definition, a fickle business catering to constantly changing leisure tastes. Each game “has a built-in obsolescence factor,” says Bushnell, “not in the machine itself, but in the player’s mind. It’s a lot like the movie industry: Cleopatra was great, but nobody goes to see it 10 years later. You’ve got to have something new every year.” Mindful of the boredom factor, Bushnell projects a game change almost every year. Though he won’t reveal the detail, he says, “Our 1978 games are already on the boards.”

The video games are maddeningly appealing and addiction is not uncommon. Like golf and tennis, they have created a whole new generation of 5 o’clock widows whose husbands, according to industry estimates, spend an average of $1.25 per try (or 10 games split between two players).
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Among singles, the games are also a fine way to start up a dialogue. “Ya wanna play Pong?” is about as harmless an opener as there is today on the togetherness market.

Keep reading for Roe v. Wade, Steve Wozniak, Miley Cyrus and more.
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