May 26, 2008
History is a Weapon
History is a Weapon -- Featuring Propaganda by the inventor of modern PR, Edward Bernays, essays by Bill Clinton, Eugene Debs, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Mark Twain, the entirety of A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn, and much, much more.
Zombie-Like Doo-Doo Heads
Jen Wang draws
If you like the art styles of Dresden Codak, Questionable Content, or Tony DeTerlizzi, you'll probably like the style of Jen Wang. She has recently started a new art blog. She also has a pretty nice gallery. Several of my favorites. (Several of the gallery pieces are NSFW.) [more inside]
Angola, it's not like they said
Fascinating account (w/ pix) of a motorcycle journey through Angola. Stumbled onto this from the Black Flag forums and have not been able to stop reading it.
RIP Sydney Pollack
Sydney Pollack has died of cancer, at age 73. While best known as the director of Out of Africa and Tootsie, he also made documentaries (Sketches of Frank Gehry) and was an actor with notable roles in Eyes Wide Shut, Michael Clayton, and even an appearance in The Sopranos.
"... there is no appeal but mutual love and trust."
RelationshipFilter, 1873. An online archive of letters from a wife to her husband, which include an intimate look at their relationship crisis. [more inside]
Brutal New York
I've only ever seen 70 & 80's era New York in movies and I've never really thought about their source of inspiration. Until I saw this.(a few graphic photos on that last link)
the Prince "Come Together" bootleg
the Prince "Come Together" bootleg... from Coachella 2008 that's popping up suddenly on many indie mp3 blogs now .
..Incidentally.. the Beatles wrote this as an unofficial Presidential campaign song for Timothy Leary (incarcerated at the time) .
A progressively intense audience engagning performance ... if they ever do a career spanning Prince box set they'll put this on.
Surf's Up
Clips & trailers from vintage & modern surf films: "Big Wednesday" from Blue Surf-ari (1965); opening sequence from Blue Surf-ari; clip from The Endless Summer (1966); Endless Summer trailer; Pipeline (1st Ride) from Surfing Hollow Days (1961); Fantastic Plastic Machine (1969) trailer; Follow Me (1969) trailer; The Sunshine Sea (1972) trailer; Pipeline sequence, Five Summer Stories (1972); Morning of the Earth (1973) clip; Storm Riders (1981) long trailer; wipe-out scene from Momentum (1992); Thicker Than Water (1997) trailer, Step Into Liquid (2003) trailer; famous clip from Riding Giants (2004).
Inner City Snail
Inner City Snail is the sister site of the (previously Mefi'd) Little People ongoing outdoor art installation. Like the Little People project, it takes place in London & features tiny figures, only these ones are alive & vandalized.
God loves my country more than he loves yours.
Wonderfully artistic video for the song "God Loves My Country", by Balthrop, Alabama, a small-town band.
Stop messing up the music.
The most important essay about music I've ever read. (And part 2.) Make sure to listen to the examples. [more inside]
...oh look everybody, a black lady voter....
"'Hello pig farmers!'... oh look everybody, a black lady voter... I am going left with the political thumb pointed down... I am now the center of attention...." Rosemary Watson's impersonation of Hillary Clinton in That Hillary Show is dead-on perfect. Listening to the clips with your eyes closed, it's nearly impossible to distinguish the actor from the politician. Right down to the trademark Hillary chuckle. Except that Rosemary Watson's Hillary is far funnier.
Well, they're great big brown pills, and they look like M&Ms. They don't melt in your mouth, and they won't melt in your hand.
The Bonkers Institute presents The Nearly Genuine and Truly Marvelous
Psychoneuropharmacological Mental Medicine Show, a gallery of modern and vintage psychiatric drug advertising. [more inside]
We are weird. And somewhat echoey.
KnowHow2Go wants you to take on the tough classes - such as Biology, Foreign Languages, and Algebra II - to prepare yourself for college.
All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl.
More idiocy from the British Home Office
Article in UK newspaper The Independent about two members of Nottingham University, U.K., Rizwaan Sabir and Hicham Yezza, who were arrested last week on terrorism charges and held for six days before being released without charge. The reason was that they had downloaded a terrorist manual from a US government website, which MA student Sabir needed for his research into terrorism, and which was approved by his supervisor. His friend Hicham Yezza, former student and current administrator at the university was arrested for helping to print out the 1500 page document. On release Yezza was then immediately rearrested on immigration charges and now faces imminent deportation, despite being a resident of the UK for 13 years and currently in the process of applying for citizenship. A campaign is currently underway to prevent this. [more inside]
Twisters, masticators and more...
Endangered Giant Panda suffers another setback after earthquake
Efforts to save China's endangered giant pandas suffered another setback after the Sichuan earthquake. Less than 1600 pandas are thought to remain in the wild, with 249 pandas in breeding programs around the country. The Wolong Nature Reserve, subject of National Geographic's adorable Panda Nursery documentary and just 19 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake, was badly damaged. Five staffers were killed, and several pandas are still missing. Search teams have been sent out to locate the missing pandas, and several injured pandas have been evacuated to the nearby Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding as well as to zoos around the country. Though they now have enough water to give the pandas, local officials have said that they are short on food. "We are in urgent need of bamboos and apples." Pandas International is collecting donations for relief efforts at Wolong. [more inside]
International Efforts Still Failing Child Soldiers
Child Soldiers Global Report 2008. "Despite progress, efforts to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers are too little and too late for many children, according to the 2008 Child Soldiers Global Report, launched today by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers."
Do It Yourself Ghost
Robert Hodgin -- musical visualization and more.
Robert Hodgin does wonderful stuff with visualization [recently discussed in this excellent FPP]. To get you started, here's a Radiohead video that's been making the rounds. [more inside]
To Have Her Please Just One Day Wake
Bear McCreary's essay, with sheet music, on composing Gaeta's Lament for Battlestar Galactica. Spoilers if you haven't seen the most recent episode, Guess What's Coming To Dinner. Via.
Brand, James Brand.
Sebastian Faulks' Devil May Care sees the return of the literary James Bond to the 1960s. Published on May 28th in celebration of creator Ian Fleming's Centenary, the 007 brand name will also be back on the big screen in November - with Daniel Craig's second outing as the British Secret Service Agent in Quantum of Solace. [more inside]
Pop, Lock and Drop It
Remember the awesomeness that is Hilti & Bosch and Co-Thkoo?
Well Robert Muraine is right up there with them.
Who knew you could pop and lock rubber?
« Previous day | Next day »