Unusual Life

Incredible little house that is part-organic, part-pop culture. A miniature Flintstones House of delight.

Interior Seattle Public Library, originally uploaded by michael_troeger2001.

Here are a few cool photos of the Rem Koolhas designed Seattle Public Library. Following the photos of this library is a tour of other amazing libraries around the world, from Huffington Post.

Most Amazing Libraries in the World Part 1

Most Amazing Libraries in the World Part 2

Szymbark, Pomorze, Poland, originally uploaded by LeszekZadlo.

The Upside Down House is a project created by a Polish businessman and philanthropist named Daniel Czapiewski, and is located in Poland in the tiny village of Szymbark, and here are a few pics with this house. Rather than simply being a bizarre tourist attraction this house, managed to attract thousands of tourists. The house is also meant to be a profound statement about the Communist era and the state of the world. Czapiewski’s company would normally take three weeks to construct a house, but this one took 114 days because the workers were disorientated by the strange angles of the walls. Many tourists who visit complain of mild seasickness and dizziness after just a few minutes of being in the structure.

Amazing Polish Upside Down House

A “Love Hotel” has a very special place in Japanese life. It’s a short-stay hotel, not for sleeping, but for making love. They also have these hotels in Singapore, Hong Kong and other places in Asia. They’re usually for rent from 1-3 hours and you forfeit your room when you leave.

A good book about these places is “Love Hotels” by Ed Jacob.

Although cheaper hotels are often quite utilitarian, higher-end hotels may feature fanciful rooms decorated with anime characters, equipped with rotating beds, ceiling mirrors, or karaoke machines, strange lighting or styled similarly to dungeons, sometimes including S&M gear.

Love hotels can usually be identified using symbols such as hearts and the offer of a room rate for a “rest” as well as for an overnight stay. The period of a “rest” varies, typically ranging from one to three hours. Cheaper daytime off-peak rates are common.

These hotels are typically either concentrated in city districts close to stations, near highways on the city outskirts, or in industrial districts. Love hotel architecture is sometimes garish, with buildings shaped like castles, boats or UFOs and lit with neon lighting. However, some more recent love hotels are very ordinary looking buildings, distinguished mainly by having small, covered, or even no windows

It is estimated that more than 500 million visits to love hotels take place each year, which means around 1.4 million couples, or 2 percent of Japan’s population, visit a love hotel each day.

Alternative names include “romance hotel”, “fashion hotel”, “leisure hotel”, “amusement hotel”, “couples hotel”, and “boutique hotel”.

Instead of Gideon Bibles, many Love Hotels instead have menus where guests can order lube and sex toys.

No-tell love hotels cash in catering to the carnal (Japan Times)

Guide to Japan’s Love Hotels

Love Hotel Information Site

DOME House, originally uploaded by micamica.

An experimental home in the line of Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome home.

Here’s an interior shot:

Those windows would be awesome.

Painted Lady, originally uploaded by derickcarss.

Here’s an architectural detail of a beautiful Painted Lady on a San Francisco Victorian home. Beautiful!

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, just became home to the world’s largest LED project. The Yas Hotel looks like something out of a science fiction movie or, in the words of the hotel, “a giant fishing net tossed over the sea.” The eye-catching hotel is wrapped in 5,000 LED lights that can change colors and even display video. The hotel has several restaurants, a spa, two rooftop swimming pools and access to an 18-hole golf course on Yas Island.

World’s Biggest Stuff slideshow

Related: World’s Largest Collection of the World’s Smallest Versions of the World’s Largest Things by Erika Nelson.

World’s Fair, originally uploaded by compact collection.

This photo is from the Seattle 1962 World’s Fair, located in an area called “Show Street”.

Show Street was the “adult entertainment” section of the fair, tucked into the northeastern part of the fairgrounds. Here, cultural aficionados could take in Gracie Hansen’s Paradise International, a Las Vegas-style floor show, or Sid and Marty Krofft’s “Les Poupees de Paris,” an adults-only puppet show. For the less cultured, there was “Girls of the Galaxy,” where young women posed naked for visitors with cameras. One had to be fast to catch this show — fair officials shut it down almost immediately.

Century 21 World’s Fair on History Link

Redwood Carwash - Googie Architecture, originally uploaded by western light.

Redwood Carwash on El Camino Real in Redwood City - its upswept towers an example of googie architecture that was popularized during the 50’s & 60’s.

Seattle Googie

Space Age City (California)

My brother Den David sent me a link to the new 7-8-9 from n2a. No 2 Alike. He recalls correctly that my first car was a 1959 Chevy, saphire blue and white like the tail end of this hybrid with the Chevy styling of a ‘57 front, ‘58 sides, and ‘59 tail comprising the body, all on a C6 Corvette 440 - 1000 hp powerhouse, touting a top speed of 180 mph. Yes please!!!

Well folks, Jana has done it again and in honor of Elvis’ 75th birthday may I share with you “The Elvis Aaron Presley Cake”!

See more of Jana’s Fun Cakes here.

Meet at Noon, at the Kiddy Pool at the North end of Greenlake in Seattle, Washington on Friday, January 1st, 2010

What a great way to get the New Year off on the right foot.

Luckily, wigs do offer some insulation from hangovers and there’s no need to fret about bad bed-head.

Rain-or-shine, umbrella’s & kids ok. Meet at the Kiddy Pool on the North end of the Lake at noon. I’m pretty sure we’ll all be pretty easy to spot.

More details on Seattle Twist.

• Here’s a link to the Set on Flickr if you prefer to see the photos LARGE or for high resolution printing from the originals…

If you don’t care if your neighbors hate you:

More frightening images:

Bruce and Melanie Rosenbaum of Sharon, Massachusetts have  remodeled their 1901 Craftsman style Victorian home with an unusual steampunk design aesthetic, and actually have a business where they will give your home it’s own Steampunk Home Design. 

Read the Steampunk Workshop’s wonderful account of their visit to Bruce and Melanie’s home for the detailed description of the artistic and functional updates to this makeover, plus many more detail photos. It looks so intriguing and comfortable that I’m all ready thinking of ways to seriously employ this aesthetic into parts of our 1914 home.

And a Tip-o-th-hat to Cory Doctorow at boingboing.net for the heads-up on this gem!