Offbeat

Is it play? Turf-defending aggression? Or the dysfunctional behavior of captive animals?

Artist Jude Buffum has created a series of portraits of beloved Nintendo characters (like Gesso, above) in the form of butcher�s diagrams�bringing together his love of gaming and meat.

It's getting pretty plush up there. Yesterday, NASA released this image of Expedition 25 commander Doug Wheelock in the "cupola," a bay window installed on the Earth-facing side of the International Space Station in February 2010.

It's sumptuous and elegant. But what is it�a puzzle or game? A clockwork cribbage player? A static electricity generator? Answer after the jump.

Hotshoe, or hot shoes? Brandon Bloch stretches the product comparison to the breaking point, with predictably funny results. Video after the jump.

An explanation for the spectacular missile contrail that appeared in the Los Angeles sky last night continues to prove elusive. Amidst the speculation, a benign possibility suggests itself: could it be that someone got carried away while trying to earn Scouting's space exploration merit badge?

An ancient precursor to the Swiss Army Knife, this Roman folding implement dates from the third century of the common era. Victorinox should rush a model into production today.

You think your mornings are hard? Try waking up after be trapped under a glacier for five thousand years.

We're fascinated by all kinds of technology. Apple's remix of letterpress and desktop publishing may be more mainstream than steampunk, but it reminds us what a tremendous technology the press in all its manifestations can be. Follow the jump for a short film profiling Manhattan printer Robert Warner, master of printing technology from the turn of the last century.

In the excitement around the new MacBook Airs, another Apple product rollout has received less attention: the addition of a letterpress-printing option in iPhoto. But Apple's foray into craft printing should come as no surprise; Steve Jobs has always been an aficionado of classic typography.