Nixie Concrete

The vintage Z560M Nixie tubes, used in former East-Germany in the mid 20th century as numeric displays, were the inspiration for the design of Daniel Kurth's Nixie Concrete.

The Luxembourgish designer enclosed the shiny orange Nixie tubes in a reinforced rough concrete body which can optionally be wall mounted. The strength of this design lies in the application of 'retro technology' and its interesting combination of components and materials, where one is easily fooled as to what is old and what is new. All electronic components in this fully functioning prototype are assembled by hand.

Unlike other clocks that make use of Nixie tubes, this one does not read like a traditional display. Kurth experienced that clocks - regardless of their esthetic value - sometimes form a disturbing factor in one's house, since being constantly reminded of the time can be stressful. By rearranging the display, one can enjoy the playful interaction between the 6 different tubes without realising straight away what time it is. A short focus will however allow you to use it as a 'normal' clock. The time in the picture reads 10:23:54.

More on Daniel Kurth and his awesome Nixie Concrete Clock.

That's Right,

HMK

The 100 Greatest Bands You've (Probably) Never Heard

SPIN Magazine has a sweet little list of The 100 Greatest Bands You've (Probably) Never Heard and they totally nailed it with the closest thing Taco Land ever had to a house band with San Antonio's answer to the cement city Beach Boys, the mighty Big Drag!

Directly from SPIN:

BAND NAME: Big Drag
A trio from San Antonio who embodied neighboring Austin’s slacker ethos to a fault, the band melded the Jesus and Mary Chain’s fuzz and the Ramones’ three chords to sunny surf pop to create three-minute koans in the early 90s. Making believers of Yo La Tengo when they rolled through town, YLT appropriated Big Drag’s cover of the Beach Boys’ “Little Honda” (right down to the one-note guitar solo) for their own I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One.

To be continued...

For the complete list of 100 artists, check out the August 2009 issue of SPIN.

That's Right,

HMK