Hasta La Gadget!

The modern LEGO brick was patented in 1958 – 54 years ago. I’ve only been around for 28 of those 54 years, and in my lifetime what creative minds and sheer ingenuity can do with LEGOs continues to amaze me. In the past few weeks alone, we’ve seen LEGO bricks join forces with iPods, our favorite Street Fighter II combatants LEGO-fied, a LEGO induction lamp, and much, much more. But astounding as all these are, they pale in comparison to the scope of the auditorium-sized reconstruction of Japan made entirely out of LEGOs.

Constructed during the “Build Up Japan” celebration in March and April, LEGO Japan was first started in six different regions of the country by over 5,000 children, their parents, and LEGO employees. The disparate sections were then moved to Tokyo, where the entire nation was constructed—skyscrapers, pagodas, docks, boats, the whole shabang. Children were even encouraged to construct their vision of a future Japan’s architecture. And as you can see in the photo above, the completed LEGO Japan is of such scale that the human builders look like Evangelions comparatively. The whole thing is just the very definition of breathtaking awe.

Do yourself a solid and check out the whole nest of pictures at the “Build Up Japan” Facebook page.

[via io9 via Spoon & Tamago via My Modern Met]

If Jim Gordon had a thing for crafts, this is the Bat-signal that we would get. The upside is that it can still be dramatically killed by an axe, but Batman has to be really close to see it.

All you need is some thread, nails, a ton of patience and a desire to summon Batman and you too can make one. It actually does light up from behind as well, so maybe Batman can see it from a slight distance after all.

Why hasn’t anyone tried calling Spider-Man with this sort of thing? It’s basically a spider web right? Then you don’t waste this on Batman. The right tool for the right job and all that. Spider-Man would love this. And Peter Parker needs some gimmick where Police can call him anyhow, right? It’s a cool piece of art, I just really want Spidey to have his own signal.

[via Obvious Winner]

These Space Invaders reusable sandwich bags are not only awesomely geeky, they are also environmentally friendly. It’s a great way to indoctrinate your kids into classic arcade stuff – and PB and J sandwiches just taste better in a classic arcade packaging anyway.

While most of the aliens represented aren’t the original Invaders, at least one of them is, and the rest get the point across just fine. These bags have a washable, BPA free and food grade compliant lining on the inside which makes the bag more durable, while the white hook and loop velcro-like seal keeps your food fresh and safe.

The Space Invaders bags come from Etsy shop Random Sacks of Kindness who has a bunch of cool handmade sandwich bags in their shop as well. Much to my dissapointment, it looks like this one was sold, but you can bet they will list more and then you can wrap your sandwich up in a cool 8-bit design soon enough.

[via Geeks Are Sexy]

As retro video games go, Q*bert wins the award for the strangest protagonist and sound effects in my book. If Q*bert was one of your favorite arcade games of the 1980s, then you’ll probably dig these pillows too.

These pillows are based on the familiar isometric patchwork game board from Q*bert. You’ll notice that Q himself is nowhere to be found, nor are his antagonists – Coily, Ugg and Wrong-Way (yes, I know how to use Wikipedia) though a single square is lit up as if it had already been jumped on. Maybe they already got Q*bert and he fell off the grid, cursing in gibberish all the way.

The 13″ square felt pillows were made by Regan Saunders of Regan’s Brain, and are available in either orange or blue and purple for $55(USD) a piece. So you’ll have to Qollect a whole lot of quarters to pay for a qouple of these for your qouch.

I’ve seen lots of Cthulhu-inspired merch over the years, but I can say with 100% certainty that this is the first Cthulhu evening bag that I’ve come across.

The winged, tentacled demon beast with beady yellow eyes is the perfect fashion accessory for an evening out with friends. It’s funny that its creator, Razorblade Cupcake refers to the plush evening bag as “adorable.” That’s the first time I’ve heard that word used to describe Cthulhu.

So if you’re looking for an accessory to go with your evening wear that you’re sure nobody else will be carrying, head on over to Etsy and grab the Cthulhu evening bag now for $50(USD).