Retro gadgets: Motocompo madness
I was thinking the other day that it would be so practical to have a folding motorcycle that fits in the trunk of my Honda City. Just then, I stumbled upon the Motocompo, a folding motorcycle that fits in the trunk of a Honda City. It’s fate. This little single-speed machine came out in 1981 and Honda sold 53,369 of them in Japan. It features an AB12E 49 cc air-cooled two-stroke engine with 2.5 hp at 5,000 rpm. I was a bit disappointed to see that it only has 0.38 kg-m of torque at 4,500rpm, but you know, you can’t have everything! It’s also worth noting that it weighs 42 kg dry and 45 kg wet. It’s a bench. It’s a fruit holder. It’s man’s best friend.
Also by THE UNCOOL HUNTER
Rinkya survival gear for cats and dogs
It is known that the Japanese are very passionate about robotic pets, but now they’re also orried about their real pets in case of an earthquake. The new Rinkya survival gear for cats and dogs is not only a shiny vest for Lassie, but is also flame resistant. It includes small bags with water and cookies for your beloved pet to have something to chew while you run away from the disaster area. But that’s not all. The survival gear also includes a set of aromatherapy oils to help your pet to relax during a disaster. It costs 38,000 yen (approximately 375 dollars) via Rinkya Stores.
Clocky is an alarm clock that notices if you don’t wake up and starts moving all over your bedroom so you won’t be able to catch it and turn the alarm off. Its main intention is to hide and keep ringing untl you wake up. This tinny alarm clock has two all-terrain wheels that can endure all surfaces.
Only in Japan? Perhaps. The Japanese Bug Fights website promotes real bug fights, with combatants such as scorpions, spiders, mantis and giant beetles. The rules are simple: only two bugs must be engaged in the fight. External weapons are not allowed and the fight lasts till one of opponents dies. Hmmm. Read more
YOU'RE SAYING (1)
HAVE YOUR SAY
Build your next bike at Bamboo Bikes Studio, who help cyclists build their own custom, bamboo-framed bicycles. The organization, in partnership with the Earth Institute at Columbia University and the Millennium Cities Initiative, uses revenue to subsidize sustainable bamboo bike factories in Africa and South America.
The work of artist Matt Leines is a perfect mash up of folk, ethnic and outsider art. It’s smart, colorful, graphic eye candy. In fact, there’s not one piece on his site I wouldn’t sell my hypothetical soul for.
Oh boy, this is fun. Omaha’s Tilly and the Wall are kitsch-cool-camp-vauderville meets pop-folk-flamenco, with a tap dancer for a drummer and some serious, serious charisma for a calling card.
Lookie here! A bike path in Seoul that plays music as people ride over it. The path is made of planks of wood of varying lengths that trigger little hammers when people ride over them, creating little percussive notes. Happy fun place yay!
Those of you who are based in Australia and are into sports might like to check out the other website the Lost At E Minor team runs, The Roar. Read more
Castevet are a promising new experimental black metal band out of New York. They have a much more complex and technical approach than other bands of this ilk, revealing post-hardcore and death metal influences as evidenced by guitarist Andrew Hock’s work in deathgrind outfit Biolich and Boston jazz/death/doom band Ehnahre.
Shoes, art, shoes, art. Which will win in the ever-stimulating battle of wills in Kobi Levi’s creations. Though, as a Brooklyn resident, this one with gum as the heal is a just little too close to the truth. Read more
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
How ’bout this Jose Manuel Hortelano-Pi guy, huh? Quite the illustrator, yessiree Bob. From Spain, too. Spain is great! Read more
Communication prosthesis by Sascha Nordmeyer
This ‘communication prosthesis’ by designer Sascha Nordmeyer is hilarious and awesome. I want to wear one to a job interview.
Pencils made from recycled newspaper
The problem with awesome things like these pencils made out of recycled newspaper is that you almost don’t want to use them.
Benjamin Edminston’s psychedelic heads seem to have some fearful wisdom behind their blissed-out eyes. Read more
Here are a couple awesome pieces by Matt Leines that were recently on display in the Doubting Thomases exhibit at Nudashank gallery in Baltimore. Gives me ideas for Halloween. Read more
Each one of these Bracelaces by Itunube is turned into an elegant drawing on the skin using different kinds of lace combined with leather, metal components and glass beads. They are just US$25 in the Lost At E Minor store. Read more
If you have a Twitter feed that focuses on cool pop cultural things and you’d like to swap Tweets with Lost At E Minor and other like-minded Twitterers, drop us a note (with Tweet Swap in the title). We have a system in place and we’d like to have you in on it! [illustration by Brad Fitzpatrick]
FOLLOW US
DISCOVER MORE
SO...
SEARCH: Can't find what you're looking for? Do a search..
IS IT GOOD FOR YOU TOO?
We hope you're enjoying your time on Lost At E Minor, but it's not over yet. Got something to share? Tell us about it and we'll look to publish it. If you want to have your work featured on the site, we'd love to hear from you. Pssst, we also have an online store stocking some of the goodies we feature on the site.
If you're a media agency and want to use this platform to connect with our readership, then drop us a line and tell us about it. Oh yeah, and we do digital consulting for cool brands that want to reach the sort of demographic that visits this site.
john stortz said | 7 November, 2009
damn damn damn have been trying to get my paws on one of these for some time and now every other brooklynite will be hot after one