gallery
 Irish photographer David Creedon has put together an online photographic gallery called Ghosts of the Faithful Departed. Creedon writes:
It has been estimated that between 1949 and 1989 well over 800,000 people were forced to leave Ireland. Something in the order of half of this outflow occurred during the 1950s. The peak was reached in 1955 when 55,000 young people left our shores. In a census taken in 1956 the population of the country fell to 2.8 million the lowest ever recorded and led one author to question "Are we becoming the Vanishing Irish and would we survive as a race if something wasn't done to stem the outflow"?
Those who stayed had to suffer continued hardships, isolation & social exclusion. The rural communities were decimated by the impact of emigration. Many of those who stayed in this decade did so in silence as they watched family members and friend's leave. Now in a new millennium these people have passed on and their homes stand as a monument to a bygone age.
Creedon's photos are currently on display at Photofusion in London from January 23 through March 6, 2009. Link (via MeFi)
 Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, William Gibson and Philip K. Dick, Jeremy Mayer builds sci-fi inspired sculptures by using antique typewriters. Gallery [via]
 Mike Cash is an American working as a truck driver in Japan. While on the road and at the wheel he takes beautiful photos of Japanese culture and environments. Link to his gallery, Japan from the Driver's Seat.
[Pictured: cropped photo of "Modern Monk" by Mike Cash. View full image here.]
 Kevin Fanning and Kean Soo put together hilarious rhymes and illustrations called Baby's First Internet.
Not sure how to explain the internet to your young ones? Presenting a series of nursery rhymes to teach children how to comport themselves on the online.
LinkRelated links:Kean Soo's personal website - linkKevin Fanning's personal website - link
 Here is a pictorial history of how the Joker evolved from campy, annoying prankster to murderous, dark villain. Link.
Any reviews on The Dark Knight? Share it in the comments.
 Land of the Free by Steven Schofield:
Steven Schofield takes photos of british sci-fi fans, dressed in character in their homes. He treats it as 'found' photography, which seems to illustrate the subjects vulnerability. The title of the work is Land of the Free - and illustrates how American culture infiltrates, with the ironic edge of questioning the idea of the freedom of choosing to copy the look of these fictional characters. [via MeFi]
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 Hyper is a photograph collection of breakdancers (well, I'm not positive if they are breakdancers) floating in common places like convenient stores done by French photographer Denis Darzacq. Link to gallery. La Chute is another one of his collections. It's worth the look.
 I'm going to have nightmares tonight after viewing agentparanoia's "Childhood Fears" photoset. These photos are down-right scary. View the set if you dare. Link.
Phillip Toledano is coming out with a new book in July about phone-sex operators.
So much of commerce now is blind: online shopping, tech-support in Bangalore. We hope there is a person at the other end of the transaction, but it could be a machine; often the machine doesn’t seem very well programmed. The phone-sex industry, though, thrives on being faceless and intensely personal at the same time. Phillip Toledano’s new book Phone Sex (July 2008, Twin Palms) takes us into the boudoirs of nearly 30 phone-sex operators so we see their faces and also hear their stories—each operator gives his or her take on the business.
The Morning News posted a few portraits from the book as well as an interview with Toledano on their website. Be sure to read the captions underneath each portrait. My favorite caption?
“Gary was watching a ‘World’s Strongest Women’ show and saw a woman pick up a motorcycle.
‘Oh I could do that,’ I offered.
‘Could you?’ he responded, breathless.
‘Yes. How much do you weigh?’
‘160.’
‘Oh. I could bench-press two of you.’
‘Oh my god… I’d like to see you lift up my girlfriend’s car.’
‘What kind of car does she have?’
‘A Mazda Miata.’
‘Oh yes, I could pick up a Miata. In fact, I would love to.’
‘Really?!?!??! Oh my god! What if my girlfriend was inside?’
‘I would just pick it up, lift it to my shoulder level, and then hoist it up over my head, with your girlfriend inside. I’d slowly turn around in a circle with it held up in the air, with your girlfriend screaming in the front seat.’”
A part of me may miss getting paid for this when I move on.
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Cake Wrecks is a blog where cake disasters are found throughout the internet and posted for our amusement. Most are funny and some are ugly, but there are a few that are just plain creepy. 
