Super-Precise Automatic Musical Instrument

Link Scroll down for today's pictures & links. Super-Precise Automatic Musical Instrument You may have seen this fake (3D animated) automated instrument before, made by Animusic way back in 2001 - click here. Now you can see the actual "Pipe Dream" real instrument in action! It's been brought to life by Intel, and plays real music with real bouncing balls. (It's a pity this video contains too much advertisement, I wish there was a cleaner video version). Link Check out other real-life automated instruments in our previous article. Today's pictures & links (keep strolling down for incredible images): "Once Upon a Time in Hobbiton" by Dale Comte One of the best paintings depicting Hobbiton and that momentous day in Frodo's life... when the Shire would be left behind and the new adventures begin (make sure to click for larger version): (fragment; click for full painting - art by Dale Comte) This beautiful image is by Dale Comte, who hails from People's Republic of China. ------------ Leopard Moth: Blue Spots This is a GIANT leopard moth with the wingspan of almost 8 cm. The blue spots are iridescent, too - more info: (image via) ------------ "I'm not impressed" (image credit: Michelle Dupont) ------------ Spectacular, Smooth Rocks at Vermilion Cliffs Here is a gorgeous nature photography to bring you inspiration. Vermilion Cliffs by Richard Barnes is full of fantastic, flowing rock shapes and outrageous colors (click to enlarge): (photo credit: Richard Barnes, National Geographic) "Miniature lakes reflect the sky in White Pocket, one of the geological spectacles on the Paria Plateau. Over the eons, groundwater has leached the color out of the Navajo sandstone here, and the weather has broken its surface into irregular polygons." See more White Pocket formations here. ------------ Mixed fresh links for today: Minoan Analog Computer from 4,000 BC - [incredible] Moon Dust and Sand Gallery - [micro-photography] Asphalt Archeology - [unexpected art] Impossible Colors Do Exist - [I knew it!] The Secret Life of Bees - [swarm's decision making] Wow: Transistor from a Single Atom - [science] National Geographic Adventurers of the Year - [extreme] Largest Satellite Dishes on Earth - [tech] How's your New Year resolution doing? - [infographic] Flowering Plant Revived After 30,000 Years - [interesting] Terrifying Heavy Seas - [wow video] You need to know this: hydraulic fracturing - [wow video] Tornado trashing a car wash - [wow video] Dog Having an Epic Piano Time - [wow video] Narwhal Ring Holder? Narwhal Ring Holder! - [fun item] Photoshop Disaster: Racial Mix-up - [check his skin color] Absolutely Cheerful, Colorful "Feathered Fish Fibers"! - [crafts] ------------ An Orchid Pretending to be a Bumblebee This Ophrys bombyliflora (native to Greece) needs to attract insects for pollination. So it pretends to be a bumble bee. See a lot more images of such orchids here. (image via) ------------ Vintage Stewardesses and Space Girls: Painted in, with Sound We featured photos of beautiful vintage stewardesses before. But now you can actually enjoy paintings (and even sculptures) of them, plus a couple of futuristic visions - all made by "Clayed" at Deri Air (who also has some lounge album mixes to go along with the paintings): (images via) ------------ Eric Standley "Stained Glass" Fine Cut Paper Art Eric Standley makes staggeringly intricate, baroque and even byzantine paper-cut creations, perhaps even more glorious than famous church art masterpieces of stained glass and gothic architecture: (images credit: Eric Standley, via) ------------ The following is a short round-up of the best from our Facebook stream (which update every day with unique material, not available on DRB otherwise): This is not Starbucks paper cup. This is Mesopotamian pottery from 4,000 BC - more than six thousand years ago! Looks like some designs come full circle: "Forbidden Planet" (1956) great poster art: Green, green grass of home.... Icelandic Turf Houses - more info: (image via) ------------ Say Hello to Builgamo One of the classic Japanese B-movie monsters, featuring a destructive energy ray in "The Ultraman Who Returned: Revenge of Baltan Seijin Junior" (1971): (image via) ------------ Bosnian Pyramids: One of the Biggest Hoaxes in History Hungry for some Indiana Jones-style investigations? Then check out this documentary about the so-called Bosnian Pyramids: the background story and some pictures can be found on their site. (images via) Watch highlights of this video here. ------------ Living it up in Turkey Seen in Sanliurfa, Turkey: (sent in by Dorukhan Oren) ------------ Rare and interesting Vehicle, spotted in Lucerne This is apparently Ford C700, "a kind of passenger road train, consisting of tractor unit and semi-trailer for passengers. This vehicle was used in Zurich airport to bring passenger from terminal to the planes. Picture taken in the Swiss transportation museum in Lucerne". See another angle here. (image credit: Vitaly Volkov) (image credit: Michiel) ------------ Perhaps the best Art Deco futuristic urban vision ever created Simply glorious: this is a concept painting for BioShock: Rapture - which can be equally at home framed in some high-end gallery. Click to enlarge. (image via) ------------ [Sponsored] If you are in a lighthearted mood, check out this tongue-in-cheek (and yet entirely serious) pitch of Quality Schnallity! (these guys will set you up with funny and memorable animations to promote your project) - Click Here ------------ Some absolutely incredible ancient Iranian pottery From Mesopotamia (Sumerian civilization), around 1,000 to 4,000 BC: (images via) See more at this exhibition, provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, New York. Chinese Neolithic Pottery (also very ancient: around 2,000 to 4,000 BC, Bronze Age) is fantastic, as well - see more here: (images via) ------------ Total Confusion (original unknown) ------------ Meanwhile, in Japan Robina and Robocon! (image via) ------------ Look me in the eye! Obey the Star-nosed Mole: ------------ Good thing to remember (original unknown, via) READ THE PREVIOUS ISSUE -> READ ALL BISCOTTI ISSUES HERE -> Make sure to check our daily updates on Facebook!