The dwindling bee population is an issue that concerns us greatly. Not only do we enjoy the sweet fruits of bee labor, but the glorious gardens through which we wheel Ross on his day trips from “the home” would cease to exist were it not for the hard work of our striped mascot’s forebears.

Adam Makarenko is a photographer that grieves the tragic loss of the bee with us, producing stunning photographs of the world of Langstroth Range, a bee paradise in which they drift lazily among fields populated with only the most rare, delectable plants and take on a monstrous size more in keeping with the pants-shitting terror they inspire in the uninformed.

There remains no explanation for the mysterious disappearance of the bees, but if there is indeed a just and loving Creator in this universe it has transported them to this wonderland free from cell phone death rays and douchebag frat boys with a freezer and some string. Now if only I could find a saddle and a way in.

Adam Makarenko [Cool Hunting : Artist’s Site]

The transformation of mankind’s idealized future over the last century is a fascinating thing. Our tendency to speculate wildly is our greatest trait, resulting in a rich history of lofty, unrealistic goals and incredible literature that only serves to drive us to speculate further; to hope for a future like nothing we’ve ever seen.

From a sky full of hot-air balloons, from which dapper gents doff their hats to ladies on pedal powered flying machines, to pill-food and brushed chrome flying cars, to now, where our idealized future includes skull-mounted USB jacks and HUD’s. However, our visions of the future have a distinct difference from those of our forebears. Namely in that we envision the possibility of a dystopian future, a blasted, rusted heath on which we eke out our misery filled days; which we dream of alongside the optimistic fantasy of a future of soft, off-white plastics, bio-integrated technology, and utopian ideals.

It’s almost as if in the last 50 years or so we’ve finally started to realize that the future might not be coming to save us, but that it might just be one more boot to humanity’s collective chin.

Hydro Net [Flickr] : Dezeen : Drawn!

Cory Doctorow’s nailed the metallophagic quality of this xenomorph-like junk sculpture far better than I can:

I’m quite taken by Ukrainian artist Andrew Severynko’s “Gourmand” junk-sculpture. I think it’s the glass beaker combined with the kitsch souvenir suit-of-armor head, and the overall quality of predation in this thing, as though it spent its nights squirming through fantastic junk shops, eating their best pieces

Man, he’s such a great writer when he’s not just cut-and-pasting tips. Then again, looking at this post, I should talk.

That said, I can somehow easily imagine David Cronenberg making a movie in which this is breach birthed from a shrieking morphine addict’s urethra.

Gourmand: Severynko’s handsome junk sculpture [Boing Boing] : Severynko : Owen

Update: Ross indignantly whinges, “Florian, I beat both you AND Cory Fucking Doctorow!” Except you didn’t post this sculpture. Suck it up, New Scum.