Space station toilet malfunction. 

“It failed late yesterday,” NASA spokesperson John Ira Petty said of the Russian-built space commode in televised commentary from Mission Control in Houston. “Russian specialists are troubleshooting. The problem appears to be a [gas] separator issue. In the meantime, the crew has been instructed to use the toilet in the Soyuz [TMA-12] spacecraft.” NASA has paid $19 million for a second Russian-built space toilet, which will be delivered alongside other life support, exercise equipment and sleeping quarters during a November shuttle mission. Having two working main toilets is vital for the space station, which is expected to double its crew size to six astronauts next year.

I know, I know. I must resist the urge to post distasteful bathroom items.

Body parts and musical genres. Hip hop is big on the ass. // Kittens that glow. // Fungus and opera. Spores fly, passions soar. (h/t, AC1) // Death ray inches closer. Planes, mirrors, megawatt laser. (h/t, Ace) // Making Dr Manhattan. // Rules of refrigeration. // The ultimate chocolate indulgence. £147.89 // Bacon-flavoured cigarette papers. // Vintage poison bottles. (h/t, Quipsologies) // The comedy of flip charts. (h/t, 1+1=3) // The population of China. // The complete sayings of Charlie Chan. // A-ha’s Take On Me (Literal Version) “Band mon-tage!” // The Tale of How. Run, dodos, run. // This table will self-destruct. (h/t, Coudal) // ICA gives platform to Hamas. It’s art, you see. // Pissoirs of note. // “The urine of the male is less impure than the urine of the female.” It’s Qur’anic science. // The Medieval imagination. // Earth from on high. // V-2, 1950. // And, via The Thin Man, it’s the Isley Brothers.

Jason Hackenwerth’s balloon sculptures are playful, dramatic and slightly indecent. Some of them can be worn; some of them fire unspeakable things. Ideal for adding a whiff of trauma to a child’s birthday party.

There are films of the sculptures too. (h/t, Coudal.)

Burn your guitars, the Optron has arrived. // All hail Mothra! Incomprehensible happenings in Japan. // Dr Manhattan’s penis is discussed at length. Oh, and the rest of the film too. // They come in peace, in puffer jackets. // Your very own Sarah Palin. // In unrelated news… // The Spirit. Ghostly cop, unruly dames. // The boombox backpack. // Styrobot. // The 2” cube PC. // Radar consoles we have known and loved. // Defunct spacecraft versus atmosphere. (h/t, Dr Westerhaus) // Space, as seen on TV. // Colours of the Moon. // Procrastination flowchart. (h/t, Coudal) // Moscow Zoo, 1920. // The photography of Josef Hoflehner. // And, via The Thin Man, it’s Mr Shawn Lee and his Ping Pong Orchestra. 

Snapshots of car journeys across America, from the 50s to the 70s, by Martin C Johnson and his wife.

(h/t, Coudal.)