Once we move from childhood to adulthood, playfulness seems to take a back seat to responsibility. Many of us lose that sense of wonder and fun that makes all of our daily activities seem wondrous. Two recent UK public art projects have used absurdity to inject a sense of wonder and fun back into the daily lives of people who pass by the Big Screens in Liverpool and Edinburgh.

Hand From Above was the name of the project that appeared in Liverpool. The BBC Big Screen was the setting for Chris O’Shea’s work that featured a live feed of pedestrians walking by in the square. As they went about their daily routines, a giant hand on the screen reached out to poke, prod, tickle and toss their likenesses.

Hand from Above from Chris O’Shea on Vimeo.

With a distinct Monty Python flavor, the project encouraged passers-by to slow down, have fun, and maybe even pay attention to the world around them rather than drifting through their day without a thought. After spending four days in Liverpool in 2009, the Hand From Above moved to Cardiff for another few days.

Hand From Above used a CCTV camera along with specialized software that chose “victims” based on a number of factors. Once the software identified who it wanted to pick on, it then used a complex series of motions to make the giant hand interact with the images of pedestrians on the giant screen. Just about everyone who saw the display laughed and stopped to watch, proving that even commuters on their way to work or shoppers in the middle of their tasks can spare a few moments for fun.

Another Big Screen project used a new technique to replace viewers’ heads with the heads of cartoon monsters and animals. Created by Hudson-Powell, Joel Gethin Lewis and Bren O’Callaghan, Hungry Hungry Eat Head occupied the Big Screen in Edinburgh.

Hungry Hungry Eat Head from Bren O’Callaghan on Vimeo.

As in the Hand From Above, a live camera streamed images of pedestrians from the square in front of the Big Screen, but this time the viewers were willing and knowledgeable participants. They were given cardboard markers to hold up when they were in view of the camera, and the software then took over to replace their human heads with fun cartoon visages and abstract monstrous faces.

Because there was no clear goal in the activity, participants simply focused on having fun. They adopted fun personalities to go along with their new heads, lumbering around like monsters or dancing in place. The Big Screen, then, became a sort of magic mirror, with participants interacting with their own suddenly goofy reflections.

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Model cities aren’t just the stuff of kids’ toys. They’re used all over the world for urban planning, architectural proposals and research. But while miniature cities are useful, they’re also a unique kind of art. Older models give us a very real glimpse into what cities looked like in past generations, while new models can help us to visualize what our surroundings will look like in the future. And as an added bonus, tiny cities manage to turn even the most jaded grown-up into a kid again, at least temporarily. Their diminutive size lets us pretend and imagine again, just like we did when we were kids.

(image via: Stuck in Customs)

You’re looking at one of the largest complete miniature cities in the world. At over 1,000 square feet, this massive scale model of Shanghai covers more ground than many apartments. It’s a projection of what the city will look like in the year 2020, with current buildings and planned buildings standing in this dazzling display. The model is currently in the Shanghai Urban Planning Museum.

(images via: mrceri.co.uk)

The story behind this incredible model of Manhattan is almost as amazing as the model itself. It was built over the course of about 2,000 working hours by software engineer Michael Chesko. He wasn’t building the model in a professional capacity; he was simply having fun. He hand-carved each tiny piece from balsa wood using nothing more than an X-Acto knife, a nail file, and a Dremel. The impressive 1:3200 model now rests in New York’s Skyscraper Museum after being hand-delivered by Chesko and his wife; amazingly, neither had ever set foot in the city before that day.

(images via: Queens Museum)

Built as an exhibit for the 1964 World’s Fair, the Panorama of the City of New York remains to this day a revered part of New York history. The huge 9,335 square foot architectural model contains over 895,000 individual structures and required a team of more than 100 workers to bring it to life. The incredible model is a point of pride for the Queens Museum of Art, where it is on permanent display. To provide for the care of the model, the museum has recently started “selling” real estate on it.

(images via: Wired)

The Bay Model is one of America’s most well-known models. It doesn’t depict an entire city; rather, it is a scale reproduction of the San Francisco Bay. It was built in 1957 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to give a better understanding of the water flow patterns in the Bay. The model was used in countless scientific experiments until it was decommissioned as a research tool in 2000. It still remains a popular tourist attraction, and it was even used as a tool on the television show Mythbusters.

(images via: Dornob)

It takes a special kind of dedication to spend more than three decades constructing a painstaking recreation of downtown San Francisco out of more than a million toothpicks. Scott Weaver created this amazing masterpiece over the course of nearly 35 years. It’s a fantastical San Francisco not quite true to the original, but the ping pong ball tracks running through the landscape are a notable improvement over the full-size city.

(images via: Dornob)

This miniature origami city may not have taken half a lifetime to complete, but it’s just as impressive as if it had. Using simply paper, glue, and basic tools, Japanese artist Wataru Itou spent four years on this unique palace. The finished piece includes lights, moving parts, and even cranes and other construction equipment, implying that the city was built by a civilization of tiny people with a mind to keep growing and improving their impressive home.

(images via: English Russia)

This Soviet-era model of Moscow is the largest miniature recreation of the city. Covering more than 400 square feet, the model opened in 1977 and is an incredibly detailed representation of the city at that time. Unfortunately, the museum it was in since the 1970s didn’t think it was worth the considerable electricity costs it generated, and in 2006 it offered the entire model for sale, for a modest price of just $3 million.

(images via: PlanetOddity)

This version of mini Moscow, however, is still very much in use. It’s a city planning model that is meticulously updated whenever a building is built, demolished or significantly altered. The massive model spans over 1540 square feet and was originally built in 1988. The tiny homes and other buildings are surprisingly detailed  – so detailed, in fact, that it would probably be almost impossible to resist wanting to stomp through the itty-bitty city like a human Godzilla.

(images via: USC)

From 1938 to 1940, a team of architects and model makers built a huge, detailed model of downtown Los Angeles. The U.S. Works Progress Administration contracted the project; today, the landscape of the area is dramatically different, but a few familiar buildings can still be spotted in the large model.

(images via: Build Your Own Chicago)

Chicago has always been at the forefront of city planning. In 1909, Daniel Burnham’s “The Plan of Chicago” was the first truly organized effort to plan the controlled growth of a city. To celebrate the centennial of the groundbreaking urban plan, the Chicago Architecture Foundation developed this scale model of the city’s downtown area. But this isn’t just any model – all of the buildings were created via stereolithography (3D printing), making it a truly 21st century production.

(image via: MKC Partners)

This wonderfully tiny (1:1000) scale model of Minato-ku, Tokyo was meant to give a better view of potential sites for the 2012 Olympics. Unfortunately, Tokyo lost the bid for the games to London, but this incredible model – which took over 14 months to complete – is an impressive achievement of its own.

(images via: City of Sound and Pipers)

These pictures show two different models of London from the same architectural model-making firm, Pipers. The top model is on permanent display at the New London Architecture building; the bottom was a model commissioned by the City of London Corporation. Both show the City in incredible detail; the top was made with a finely-tuned laser cutter, while the buildings on the bottom are made of hand-carved wood.

(image via: Parks Canada)

Constructed in 1806 by two members of the Corps of Royal Military Surveyors Draftsmen, this model of Quebec City was sent to England in 1810 to make a point: the city’s defensive system needed to be updated. The model was returned to Canada as a gift in 1908, to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Quebec City. Today, the model is a permanent display at the city’s Artillery Park.

(images via: Ahoodie)

This scale model of an unnamed futuristic city looks pretty run-of-the-mill at first, until it becomes clear that the model was built from found objects and various leftover model parts. Josh Spooner was inspired by the great dystopian movies, like Blade Runner and The Fifth Element, to create a landscape that was technology-based but clearly indicated humankind’s negative effect on the environment. Spooner considers the model to be a work in progress.

(image via: Kieran Huggins)

While it isn’t a complete scale reproduction of Toronto, this miniature city on display in City Hall does point out some recognizable landmarks. According to City Hall, it also displays some planned future developments, giving visitors a glimpse of what Toronto may look like in the coming months and years.

(image via: mrceri.co.uk)

Renowned kooky architect Buckminster Fuller designed this model of a futuristic floating city in the 1960s. Despite its age, it resembles many of the “futuristic” designs still being produced today. The city was supposed to contain space for residents to live, work and play – all without leaving their own floating paradise.

(image via: Peter Root)

This anonymous city, constructed by artist Peter Root entirely of staples, proves that you don’t have to have an architectural goal in mind to built your own city. The fun little model, says Root, is vulnerable to even the slightest breath or vibration; one false move by a normal-scale human and the whole city comes tumbling down.

(images via: Dinosaurs and Robots)

Like a tiny, cavity-inducing Las Vegas, this model city features landmarks and famous buildings from all over the world. There’s the Sydney Opera House, the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower, the London Eye and many other recognizable elements in this made-up landscape composed entirely of white sugar. Artist Meshac Gaba calls his masterpiece “Port City.”

(images via: Brendan Jamison)

Gaba isn’t the only one to take a cue from childhood art projects and make something spectacular out of sugar. Artist Brendan Jamison also builds detailed structures from the sweet stuff, though it looks like he hasn’t yet constructed an entire city.

(images via: Spiceship Studio)

If he or any other artist ever gets the inclination to build model cities out of sugar, though, may we suggest using these fabulous sugar cube cinder blocks from Spiceship Studio?

The Sandpit from Sam O’Hare on Vimeo.

And finally, we have the miniature city that’s not at all what it seems. This delightful short film by director Sam O’Hare seems to give us a look into an incredibly detailed mini New York, complete with pedestrians, construction sites and tourists. But the film is actually a series of 35,000 still photographs using tilt shift to make them look miniaturized. The result is a precious film that lets us see the city in a whole new light.

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(image via: English Russia)

A new video and set of photographs is circulating from St. Petersburg, Russia, where the Parkour movement is gaining a strong foothold among the city’s youth. The video shows a young man jumping from one rooftop to another, with 35 feet of height difference and about 20 feet of space between the buildings.

It’s inspiring mixed feelings from the public and from Parkour enthusiasts. While the stunt was impressive and the stuntman seemed to know what  he was doing, it was incredibly dangerous. But the group featured in the video say that they were trying to raise awareness of the sport and point out the problem of a lack of safe, sanctioned places to practice it.

This Russian news story shows another side of the stunt. The man doing the first jump pulled it off perfectly without any problems, but when a friend tried the same jump he injured his leg. We don’t speak Russian so we’re not sure what the newscaster is saying, but judging from his tone it’s not entirely positive.

Parkour is generally seen as a physically challenging sport that’s somewhat dangerous, but not overly so. This video of Austrian traceur Sacha Hauser shows that Parkour isn’t just about taking the biggest risks and evoking the biggest reactions – it’s also a beautiful, artistic use of the human body’s strength.

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Black Friday . . . are you preparing to battle the holiday shopping crowds? With the economy in a slouch, you had better be ready to fight for the best sales. You have to be fast and first into the store. You need amazing skills to navigate parked cars, blocked aisles, any obstacle that comes between you and that steal of a deal. Can you run faster, climb higher? Perhaps you should brush up on your ninjas skills before you go into the battle of the urban ninjas?

(image credits: morznet)

These skills have been around for a long time, but not always associated with shopping. It’s an extreme sport called Parkour. This is what might happen if you get between a free running, monkey-style shopper and his or her sale. Maybe you should take a few tips from this unique style. You can’t argue that these are some of the most awesome urban ninjas you might ever encounter, sale or no sale.

Will you meet this guy in the crowd or are you this guy?

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQRoBRToeY4 468 310]

Will you meet this guy in the crowded mall or are you this guy? Granted, he is not your average holiday shopper. However, he makes quick work of any urban obstacles and continues to travel smoothly on his set course. He is an urban ninja. His sport is parkour, free running, an extreme combination of martial arts, gymnastics, climbing and precision jumping.

What might happen with females, cell phones, and sales?

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-Mqq0Z7eg0 468 310]

What might happen with females all calling each other on their cell phones and on the hunt for the best sales? What if you saw all those parked cars in the swollen parking lots full of shoppers as less of a pain, more like play? What if walls were not a barrier, but a mere challenge to vault or wall run? Could be your shopping excursion is an excuse to practice cat leaps, tic tacs, or precision jumping to navigate the urban jungle.

1st Person Battle Route for Beating the Shopping Crowds

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_waubJ03_DA 468 310]

The sidewalks will be crowded; you know the madhouse it will be on this shopping scene. It’s important to have a plan, a route that is faster than everyone else’s. So you have walls in the way or fences between buildings? Think out of the box to beat the crowds. Need help formulating that plan? If you strapped a camera on your chest, here is what it could look like free running your way to battle the bulge of people and the crowds for the Black Friday shopping steals.

Plan to swing on the clothes racks!

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLcFnAI-2-w 468 310]

The advertisements show some great deals, but the department stores only stock 50 items at that price. The weekend after Thanksgiving is usually a big boom and those stores put out extra clothing racks in the aisles. That doesn’t really help clear the way for you to get to the racks with the great prices on clothes. It’s important to practice your urban ninja skills moving in and out of the racks. No clothes racks handy? How about honing your moves through bars like these guys? This is their video response to BARbarian.

Female hard work, you never know what you might do

(image credits: Parkour Generations)

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vunXTluDupI 468 310]

That tree, the playground, there are plenty of places for you to practice your balance, your speed, your urban ninja skills in the urban jungle. Jump that wall. You might want to start practicing your Black Friday skills today as opposed to right after you’ve stuffed yourself with a Thanksgiving feast. Go over those people; take a shortcut up the tree and over them. Ladies, you know you work hard. Play hard. You never know what you might need to do in your quest for the best deals. Go forth and conquer!

Females can do it better…Shopping? Oh no!

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goTa_LI_bEo 468 310]

How very different you might be able to plan the fastest shopping route if you cut through a playground or cut through abandoned buildings. Or perhaps jumping from pole to pole might get you the advantage? It wouldn’t hurt any of us to take a few shortcuts or to take some single-minded determination pointers from some of the greatest women free runners around. No offense, gentlemen, but females can do it better. Just shopping? Oh no!

Dude Spinning

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op6ONzR2pec 468 310]

Walls, playgrounds, tires . . . reoccurring themes that you might not encounter on your way to shop. However, if you did, you could learn some wickedly sharp moves like this dude. Most of us would give this guy some space. Or he might just spin over the top of you. He has some seriously crazy-slick spinning moves. How great of a shopping excursion could you have if you had freedom from obstacles via airborne inspiration?

You couldn’t stop this dude in a simple store aisle

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqEyzRxRQMs 468 310]

Sascha ‘Cionn‘ Hauser of Austria looks like a normal guy in a suit. But if this dude wanted through or past you in a simple store aisle, you couldn’t stop him. He is also known as BARbarian, a free runner known for his amazingly creative and inventive smooth moves. If you could copy a page from him, no other shopper in the world would be able to stop you or dare to get between you and that steal of a deal.

Ladies…and you thought they were watching football?

(image credits: parkour rosario, King Fisher World, Parkour Generations)

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBngOAj9Gio 468 310]

Ladies, if you consider yourself the shopping queen not to be topped by a mere mortal man, then consider this for a moment. You thought they were watching football or out playing poker, but what if the man in your life is practicing up, ready to give you a run for your money? Not possible? Don’t be so sure. Take a look at these dudes. A crossbreed of skills makes them capable of being thieves who would not get caught or stunt men, all courageous and determined to beat you this year in the holiday shopping crowds.

Ninja Skills and Determination from Belgium

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtY0978oni8 468 310]

It’s fairly safe to assume everyone loves a great deal, so in that Black Friday crowd you can expect a few fellow shoppers in a less-than-jolly holiday mood. In fact, some might be near a foamy-mouthed frenzy the day after Thanksgiving. It’s time to break out your urban ninja skills, but remember they can be dangerous. Gaëtan Bouillet offers a few tips on what determination to win as the best can get you. Be thankful for your health. Be thankful the worst you have to endure is shopping in the crowds from hell. Perhaps try to inject a little holiday cheer?

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We geeks love our gadgets. We get bored with simple office instant messaging to co-workers. We get creative. But of course our creativity ties back into our computers and a USB port. It started with ninja-geeks and weapon-shaped USB flash drives. However, that was not enough to spice things up around the office. The USB arms race began and sneaky office warfare has never been the same. Some USB weapons are fun to shoot at your office buddy, but some are used to strike fear in your cubicle neighbor’s heart. Guard your office, guard your room, guard your computer. Here are 17 USB “weapons” made by geeks for geeks, from FAIL to fantastic.

USB Ninja

(image credits: geekstuff4ugeekstuff4u)

Awaken ninja-geek with these weaponized USBs. First there is a USB knife, a Kunai shaped USB thumb drive with 2GB of storage capacity, a great solution for the Ninja spy. Or how about a Shuriken shaped USB which also holds 2GB of storage capacity that you can sneak out of the building or can throw the star to kill your opponent?  These are perfect for the ninja-geek.

USB Bullets, Grenades, Chainsaws, Bombs

(image credits: walyou,gadget4all,i.Saw,ubergizmo)

These are a few more USB weapon wannabes. The flash drive shaped like a large caliber bullet offers geeks both fashion and 1GB of function, plus it might put a bit of a scare into those people who see it. As in don’t anger that geek!  More on the fail side are these brightly colored Grenade USB drives, but they do offer 4GB of memory. These next two should frighten your co-workers at the very least. The i-Saw is USB 2.0 compatible and offers a vicious five-volt trickle of destructive chainsaw power. The Bomb USB is one flash drive that we don’t think people would want to carry around in airports as they might actually get held up by airport security.

USB Tank Missile Launcher Steps Up Office Warfare

(image credits: OhGizmo)

There is no better way to annoy a co-worker than with a barrage of tiny foam missiles with a RC tank that can deliver a payload at a distance from up to 12 feet. It can also be remotely controlled via the included ‘USB Tank’ PC software that allows you to steer the tank and raise of lower the missile launcher. This might offer you some level of deniability since you’ll never be caught holding a remote. There’s no camera on board so you’ll need to have a line of sight in order to properly steer it into position, but it does have a wireless range of about 25 feet to give you a tiny head start when the inevitable and immediate retaliation begins.

USB Powered Gun

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV1yWB5u7wc 468 310]

Here we begin a tour of USB-powered guns. Get ready to launch your flying foam missile attack on annoying co-workers. These do take some creative thinking, made by geeks to be appreciated by geeks. Those are some things all the USB weapons have in common. We’ll leave it up to you if a USB weapon is fantastic or fail.

DIY USB-Controlled Servo Squirter Water Pump

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1pai3vhnsY 468 310]

Straight from a nerd-kit, here is a DIY USB-controlled water squirter weapon. The steps are laid out in great details when you watch the video. The main plus factor to this USB gun is that it does more than fire foam darts or missiles. For example, your co-worker would be surprised to be blasted with water. Or if you have a cat that won’t stay away from your computer, pow-squirt! Kitty should then run away.

Missile Laucher (Lanciamissili) USB

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwKzqa9MobQ 468 310]

This is a Lanciamissili USB weapon. The USB missile launcher is remotely controlled by a PC with a web cam.That’s right, a barrage of foam missiles and then retribution will be forthcoming from your geeky co-workers. Basically, these USB weapons are all the same, point, fire and shoot. You are free to decide FAIL or fantastic.

Laser-Guided USB Missile Launcher

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngqZrrx9wgE 468 310]

This USB weapon uses a laser pointer and a web cam. The software tweaked with some custom Visual Basic lines of code equal a laser-guided USB missile launcher.  When a laser pointer is moved into the field of the web camera, the gun turret will move to point and fire its missiles. A person might wonder why you are pointing your laser at them, but they won’t wonder for long  before your missiles attack them.

Wiimote USB Rocket Launcher

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ussw9KvjwMw 468 310]

This USB weapon is a rocket launcher that uses the Wii remote tilt function to control the launching missiles. Whether or not that pushes this USB rocket launcher from FAIL to fantastic is not clear, but if you are a Wii gamer and would like a USB weapon, then this one might be for you.

Battery of USB Missile Launchers

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmZ-QKglyrc 468 310]

Clearly this was devised by some ticked co-worker intending to exact a little vengeance. Not a mere USB weapon that launches deadly foam missiles, but instead an entire battery of USB weapons. This is moving closer to fantastic if for no other reason than the chaos it would clearly create in the office.

USB Machine Gun and Rocket Launcher

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXG2upLToOU 468 310]

This modified USB rocket launcher shoots infrared machine gun rounds and foam missiles. One other major difference with this USB weapon is that it was created to do more than wreak office destruction or family chaos. The machine gun can be calibrated to shoot down any remotely controlled toy plane or helicopter.

USB Missile Launcher Pimped to be a Weapon

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Vv_JqXwq0o 468 310]

So we’ve tried to be nice and tried to be polite up until now. This one might have more potential to launch sharp pointy weapons. Put it near to guard your computer privacy and it might work as a deterrent. Yes it gets points for being a USB weapon. Otherwise, FAIL.

USB BB Gun Turret Demo

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu0OX7MQL5I 468 310]

Straight out of the Virtual Crib is an active defense system. It’s close to deadly and USB-controlled. The creators of this USB weapon suggest that if someone is breaking into your house, you don’t wait for the police to arrive. Instead you drive the thieves out of your house with this USB BB gun. This is much closer to fantastic, shooting BBs and not mere foam projectiles, but the next one is a clear winner.

Auto Targeting Turret Sentry

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxBa5bQfTGc 468 310]

Now this USB gun is awesome! This one is fantastic! Watch the video and then you too will be wanting one. Lucky you, there is still time before Christmas.

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