How to Build a Bookshelf from used Chopsticks

How many chopsticks get wasted every day in your city? That was the question Barcelona-based designers Loida and Hernâni of Timtimxtimtim were trying to answer when they asked one Chinese restaurant to give them all their used chopsticks at the end of a weekend. So what to do with all 640 chopsticks?

In this video, they show us the shelving they created for their books and cds, using just the chopsticks and some old doors (found on the street).We also have videos with Timtimxtimtim and how they make furniture from used cardboard and a mirror from discarded cds.

Awards: 2011 Ditmar Finalists

The finalists for the 2011 Ditmar Awards, the Australian equivalent of the Hugos have been announced.  The awards recognize excellence in Fantasy, Horror, and Science Fiction written by Australians.

Best Novel

• Death Most Definite, Trent Jamieson (Hachette)
• Madigan Mine, Kirstyn McDermott (Pan Macmillan)
• Power and Majesty, Tansy Rayner Roberts (Voyager)
• Stormlord Rising, Glenda Larke (Voyager)
• Walking the Tree, Kaaron Warren (Angry Robot Books)

Awards: 2010 Aurealis Finalists

The list of finalists for the 2010 Aurealis Awards, given to works of SF, fantasy, and horror written by Australians, have been announced.

CHILDREN'S FICTION (told primarily through words)

• Grimsdon, Deborah Abela, Random House
• Ranger's Apprentice #9: Halt's Peril, John Flanagan, Random House
• The Vulture of Sommerset, Stephen M Giles, Pan Macmillan
• The Keepers, Lian Tanner, Allen & Unwin
• Haggis MacGregor and the Night of the Skull, Jen Storer & Gug Gordon, Aussie Nibbles (Penguin)

CHILDREN'S FICTION (told primarily through pictures)

• Night School, Isobelle Carmody (writer) & Anne Spudvilas (illustrator), Penguin Viking
• Magpie, Luke Davies (writer) & Inari Kiuru (illustrator), ABC Books (HarperCollins)
• The Boy and the Toy, Sonya Hartnett (writer) & Lucia Masciullo (illustrator), Penguin Viking
• Precious Little, Julie Hunt & Sue Moss (writers) & Gaye Chapman (illustrator), Allen & Unwin
• The Cloudchasers, David Richardson (writer) & Steven Hunt (illustrator), ABC Books (HarperCollins)

Cover Art: Darkfall

Janice Hardy unveiled the cover art for her her upcoming book, The Healing Wars: Book III: Darkfall.  She writes:

I think this goes so well with the rest of the series. The artist in me likes the blue + red = purple way the trilogy covers work (blue Shifter, red Blue Fire, purple Darkfall) and the pouring hand captures a key moment in the story. I'm delighted with it and can't wait to see it on the shelves.

For those wondering, that'll be October 4, 2011.

Source: The Other Side of the Story

Community: Genre for Japan

I received this press release yesterday, and I thought that it was worth passing on:

We’ve all heard the news and seen the horrific pictures coming from Japan in the aftermath of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami – and no doubt we’ve all wondered how to help.

Following the example of Authors for Japan, where bids are now closed, we’d like to introduce Genre for Japan, a chance for the comics, science fiction, fantasy and horror communities to unite and show our generosity to those who need it right now.

Interview: Joe Hill

Joe Hill, author of "Horns", "Locke & Key", "Heart Shaped Box" and "20th Century Ghosts" speaks with Suvudu's Matt Staggs about the nature of evil, Satan, writing for comic books and the state of the Locke & Key television program.

Tech: Augmented-Realty Poetry

Between Page And Screen is an augmented-reality book of poems (written by Amaranth Borsuk) developed by Brad Bouse. Like a digital pop-up book, you hold the words in your hands. Print a marker and try it with your own webcam.

Movie Trailer: Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2

As Harry Potter fans wait until the July 15th release of Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2, Warner Brothers has delivered a behind-the-scenes look at the final film of the movie franchise.  In it, director David Yates promises "a much more spectacular action picture." To date, the first installment of the final film has grossed more than $950 million at the box office.

Over the course of the last seven books, the storyline of the movie series has grown further and further from that of the book series, at least in the small details.  This last film looks to be no exception, but for once, I think the differences may be an improvement.  I think that most readers would tell you that they would have liked to have seen something more in The Deathly Hallows.  What varies from fan to fan, but I have yet to meet the person who was perfectly satisfied with the book. 

I think that the differences in the storyline introduced by the movie will go a long way towards scratching that itch.

Infographic: The History Of Science Fiction

The History Of Science Fiction by Ward Shelley
A submission for the Places & Spaces: Mapping Science Exhibition

See more of the exhibits under the Browse Maps section of Places & Spaces.  Look for it at the bottom of Winning Entries for the 7th Iteration on “Science Maps as Visual Interfaces to Digital Libraries” (2011).

"History of Science Fiction" is a graphic chronology that maps the literary genre from its nascent roots in mythology and fantastic stories to the somewhat calcified post-Star Wars space opera epics of today. The movement of years is from left to right, tracing the figure of a tentacled beast, derived from H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds Martians. Science Fiction is seen as the offspring of the collision of the Enlightenment (providing science) and Romanticism, which birthed gothic fiction, source of not only SciFi, but crime novels, horror, westerns, and fantasy (all of which can be seen exiting through wormholes to their own diagrams, elsewhere). Science fiction progressed through a number of distinct periods, which are charted, citing hundreds of the most important works and authors. Film and television are covered as well.

The original is hand drawn and painted on Mylar. It has been exhibited at Teapot Gallery in Cologne and is part of an ongoing series. Other examples may be seen at: http://www.wardshelley.com This piece has not been published or reviewed but others in the series have been reviewed (links available on website) and have been placed in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum, among others.

Art: The Book Surgeon

Using knives, tweezers and surgical tools, Brian Dettmer carves one page at a time. Nothing inside the out-of-date encyclopedias, medical journals, illustration books, or dictionaries is relocated or implanted, only removed. ”My work is a collaboration with the existing material and its past creators and the completed pieces expose new relationships of the book’s internal elements exactly where they have been since their original conception,” he says.

See more of the gallery and read an interview with the Book Surgeon at My Modern Metropolis.

Infographic: Harry Potter Series

Digital designer & illustrator Wayne Dorrington compiled the amazing numbers surrounding the success of the Harry Potter series into this lovely infographic in a style imitating the movie version of the "Daily Prophet." 

It's worth a read even if you aren't a fan of the series, because some of these numbers are just mind-blowing.  just click to enlarge.

For instance, If all the published copies, hardback and paperbacl,in all translations, of the Harry Potter Books were laid flat, edge to edge,they would entirely cover Brazil!  Wow.

Source: I Should Really Get Out More

Excerpt: The Wise Man’s Fear

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss hits stores shelves today. Most of fantasy fandom has been waiting on this novel since about three days after Rothfuss' extraordinarily well-reviewed debut novel, The Name of the Wind, was released. I know I'll be in line when the local Barnes & Nobles opens this morning.

The real challenge will be restraining myself from reading pages at every stop light on the way home.