Japan's Dark Spring

Lovely Japan-themed New Yorker cover this week by Christoph Niemann.

(via stellar)

In the beginning, there was dough

In another of a series of wonderfully fanciful posts for the NY Times, Christoph Niemann has some fun with creation and cookie dough.

The physics of everyday life

Christoph Niemann hits another one out of the park with an illustrated look at the how physics governs everything we do in life.

I loved his idea for calorie-neutral foods:

All you need is to freeze a pint of ice cream to -3706 F. The energy it will take your system to bring the ice cream up to a digestible temperature is roughly 1,000 calories, neatly burning away all those carbohydrates from the fat and sugar. The only snag is the Third Law of Thermodynamics, which says it's impossible to go below -459 F. Bummer.

Transatlantic

For his excellent NY Times blog, Christoph Niemann visually documents his flight from New York to Berlin.

I am ashamed to admit just how many hours of my life I have spent "contemplating the little hole in [the] airplane window". And that's not even a euphemism! Seriously, what is that thing for?!

Maps as metaphor

What a great way to start off this morning: a new series of map-based illustrations by Christoph Niemann. Reserve Battery Park is a favorite. So is this omelet recipe:

I Lego N.Y. book

Remember Christoph Niemann's excellent I Lego N.Y.? He's coming out with a book based on that post:

There's a short trailer for the book on YouTube. (via @h_fj)

All kinds of leaves

In his excellent NY Times blog, Christoph Niemann uses leaves to illustrate a forest of ideas.

I Lego N.Y.

Christoph Niemann makes New York things out of Legos. Fresh pepper and Greenpoint are my faves.

Quirky maps and charts for NYC wayfinding

Christoph Niemann shares a series of his New York City cheatsheets, including tips for getting on and off the subway at the proper points, muffin poking (you know, for checking freshness), and a door opening maneuver called "The Northside Eagle".

Whenever I rode the subway with my two older boys, I tried to hold on to their hands at all times. In the process, I developed a special move. I think anyone who saw it must have been impressed.

I would hold the boys' hands as we briskly made our way out of the station, then, just as we reached the turnstiles, I would let go. We would pass through the turnstiles simultaneously, and so smoothly that the boys' hands would still be up in the air when we got to the other side, where I would grab their little fingers again in one fluid motion. (Requires practice.)

These are great fun.

Arty bathroom tiles

Christoph Niemann has used some unusual image sources to tile his bathrooms. For the shower, an appropriation of Warhol's Brillo box. For the kids bathroom, a NYC subway map.