Sent to you by knoemoore via Google Reader:
Aside from being consistently ranked as one of the best countries to live in on Earth, file this as reason #4,123 to stop by the Netherlands: Bloemencorso, the annual parade of flowers in Zundert. That's right, every float here is made from natural flowers, specifically dahlias. From twisting architectural structures the size of houses to bizarre animatronic birds and puppets, and even animals made from swooping gestures reminiscent of graffiti, Bloemencorso seems to have a little bit of everything. Despite the relatively small nature of Zundert (a small town north east of Belgium with a population of about 20,000) the variety of and ingenuity of these sculptures seems to know no bounds. I've embedded an hour-long video of the entire parade from 2012 above, it's worth skipping around a bit to see everything, and you can see more videos on the event website and in this gallery. Want to see it in person? You'll need to wait until next year, the next event happens September 1 and 2 of 2013. (thnx, kjeld!)
Things you can do from here:
- Subscribe to Colossal using Google Reader
- Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites
Tableware as Sensorial Stimuli by Jinhyun Jeon- Cutlery design focuses on getting food in bite-sized morsels from the plate to the mouth, but it could do so much more. The project aims to reveal just how much more, stretching the limits of what tableware can do. Focusing on ways of making eating a much richer experience, a series of dozens of different designs has been created, inspired by the phenomenon of synesthesia. This is a neurological condition where stimulus to one sense can affect one or more of the other senses. An everyday event, 'taste' is created as a combination of more than five senses. Tasty formulas with the 5 elements – temperature, colour, texture, volume/weight, and form – are applied to design proposal. Via exploring synesthesia if we can stretch the borders of what tableware can do, the eating experience can be enri-ched in multi-cross-wiring ways. The tableware we use for eating should not just be a tool for placing food in our mouth, but it should become extensions of our body, challenging our senses even in the moment when the food is still on its way to being consumed. Each of designs have been created to stimulate or train different senses – allowing more than just our taste buds to be engaged in the act and enjoyment of eating as sensorial stimuli, therefore it would lead the way of mindful eating which guides to rediscovering a healthy and joyful relationship with food. How can we eat slowly down the moment of one bite and taste enhanced sweetness consuming less amount of sugar? The tasty formulas have been answered. - 'Sensorial Stimuli' Cutlery Set 1. 2.5 x 12.5cm, Ceramic 2. 2 x 11.5cm, Plastic 3. 4 x 20 cm, Steel 4. 4 x 19 cm, Steel 5. 4 x 16 cm, Ceramic 6. 2 x 12 cm, Silver Words and photos: Courtesy of Jinhyun Jeon