HIGH LINE STORIES – Putting it together…
Robert Hammond and Joshua David with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (then New York Senator) on the High Line in 2006
Sundancechannel.com recently caught up with the very busy co-founders of Friends of the High Line, Robert Hammond and Joshua David, whose vision is captured in the Sundance Channel Original Series HIGH LINE STORIES.
In Part 2 of our conversation (click here to read Part 1 if you missed it!) Robert and Josh recount their crash course in preservation, legal action and grass roots organization during their efforts to follow through on re-purposing the High Line.
Read More »The musical stylings of Robyn Hitchcock
Known for his offbeat humor, absurdist lyrics and stream-of-consciousness riffs, singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock returns to Sundance Channel in this original concert film shot in New York in late 2008. Here the cult favorite — dressed in a polka-dotted shirt and matching guitar — is joined by Terry Edwards on keyboards, horns, bass and piano and Captain Tim Keegan on guitar to perform songs from his 1984 album I OFTEN DREAM OF TRAINS, including “Cathedral” and “I Used to Say I Love You.” John Edginton directs.
Read more about Robyn Hitchcock…
Read More »Threatened Fish Get a Boost in California Water Struggle
SACRAMENTO, California, June 5, 2009 (ENS) – Water pumping operations in California’s Central Valley by the federal Bureau of Reclamation jeopardize the survival of several threatened and endangered species of fish and whales, finds a formal biological opinion issued Thursday by the National Marine Fisheries Service, an agency within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, [...]
Read More »10 things a grown woman should never have
A poster of Robert Doisneau’s “Le baiser de l’hôtel de ville” from Art.com
The Men’s Health article 18 Things a Grown Man Should Never Have made us think we should have dated more Men’s Health readers back in our single days. (“10. A name for his penis. Even if it’s a really clever name. … 13. A futon. Sure, beds are for sleeping. But such a meager, slouchy spread has never, in the history of sex, inspired a woman to say, ‘Take me on your futon.’ … 14. Code words for ugly women. Actually, code words for anything.”) It also got us thinking about the sort of things a grown woman should never have…
Read More »SUNfiltered music videos
Is it Friday already? If so, then it’s time for another round up of music videos that pleased my eye balls.
1. Major Lazar, “Hold the Line” recalls Saturday morning sessions of back to back cartoon screenings fueled by sugary cereal.
Check out more of Matt’s music video picks…
Read More »Celebrate the Earth with HOME, a film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand
HOME is a travel notebook, showing landscapes captured from a bird’s eye view above. This film calls for a new awareness, inviting the viewer to stop for a moment in order to look at our planet and realize how we treat her treasures and her beauty.
Directed by internationally renowned French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand, produced by world famous director Luc Besson and narrated by five-time Academy Award® nominee Glenn Close, HOME aims to change the way people see the planet and their impact on it. Shot in high definition in 54 countries and 120 locations over 217 days, the unique and first-time ever all-aerial filming style highlights the Earth’s wonders as well as its wounds and provides a necessary perspective to approach the changing environment.
Read More »20th anniversary of “Tank Man”
Today, June 5 marks the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests which is largely symbolized by this photograph of an anonymous Chinese man standing firm against a line of advancing tanks. Four other photographers managed to capture this moment–photographs which had be smuggled out of China past the state security.
NPR sits down with one of the photographers, Jeff Widener (whose version seen above is one of the most widely reproduced photographs of that moment) to discuss how his life was changed by that image.
Read More »Character’s-eye view: Classic follow shots
For the website of the Brooklyn-based publication The L Magazine, the film critic Matt Zoller Seitz assembled a montage of clips illustrating one of my favorite types of shots: one where the camera physically follows a character through his or her environment,” as he writes in his introductory essay. “I love this shot,” he explains, [...]
Read More »Green tech finds (6/5/09)
It’s Friday… time for your round-up of interesting and innovative green tech stories.
- Sony Ericsson announces the release of two new “Greenheart” mobile phones. The company claims both models have a 15% lower carbon footprint than comparable models, and feature a minimum of 50% recycled plastic. (via eWeek)
- Ever had your hat blown off in an urban “wind tunnel?” Ohio-based start-up Green Energy Technologies is trying to replicate the effect of wind tunnels, and harness the energy, with its WindCube wind speed amplifier. (via earth2tech)
Check out more green tech finds and see if you can greenify your life!
Read More »Rebranding General Motors
Brand strategist Jon Schneider offers two new logo concepts for General Motors as the company looks ahead to a post-bankruptcy future. In addition to communicating to the public that they are a changed company, the logo should also reflect the fact that “the US government now owns 60% of the auto manufacturer.” Concept 1. Concept [...]
Read More »Bird Flu Viruses Can Live for Five Months in Water
ATHENS, Georgia, June 4, 2009 (ENS) – There are avian influenza viruses that can persist for up to 150 days in water, a research team at the University of Georgia has shown, advancing understanding of how outbreaks of bird flu begin in wild bird populations. This discovery has allowed scientists to create the first model [...]
Read More »David de Rothschild’s Adventure Ecology hosts SMART Art competition
What’s David de Rothschild doing when he’s not building plastic boats, or tracking down the lifecycles of everyday products? Well, in one case, he’s judging artwork. de Rothschild’s Adventure Ecology, its Sculpt the Future Foundation, and the Lincart Gallery in San Francisco are hosting the SMART Art — Trash into Treasure exhibit through June 27th.
Learn more about the exhibits at SMART Art…
Read More »Design within reach (for a dollar)
The economic downturn has altered the zeitgeist and design students from Pratt Institute have responded. They recently showed off their unique creations at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair where they gained press attention with their “Design for a dollar” exhibit. As the name suggests, each student only had a single dollar to spend, but their [...]
Read More »Larger than life: Hockney and 100 Homos
If you’re lucky enough to summer on Long Island this year be sure to visit boltax.gallery on Shelter Island. From June 20 to July 6 the gallery is home to a 3rd solo show by the artist Don Florence titled “Them,” a group of paintings dealing with themes of celebrity and worship.
Read More »These business cards are cooler than yours
Did you know that there’s an entire blog devoted to business-card design? Of course there is. What isn’t there a blog for? But Card Observer is particularly great: It’s a repository for tiny graphic-design masterpieces in a wide range of styles and materials. Business cards have little room for extraneous information, so they’re a perfect [...]
Read More »Nofound(secret): A sexy email surprise
Is there anyone among us who doesn’t enjoy getting a surprise in the mail? Better yet: what if you could receive an unexpected, sexy surprise in your email–sometimes as often as twice a week, or as rarely as twice a year, depending on the whims of the sender? That’s the promise of Nofound(secret), a mailing [...]
Read More »Suckers they are not
The half-filled room at Brooklyn’s Bell House Tuesday night was good testing ground for Suckers (no The, just Suckers) who will soon go from playing to a handful of their friend’s friends to hundreds of people this summer. With their pop/rock/electronic sound and a propinquity for the keyboard (they play with four), Suckers are an appropriate pairing for MGMT who they’ll open for at an already sold out show at the Prospect Park Bandshell July 1st, followed by a month long residency at Piano’s where you can see them every Thursday night.
Read More »Creative typefaces
I’ve noticed a trend lately of creatives, designers, and photographers creating imaginative typeface using unique and often surprising objects ranging from beards to food. Oddee compiled twelve of them for your wonderment.
Read More »Dr. George Tiller in doc “What’s the Matter with Kansas?”
Salon.com has an extended scene from forthcoming documentary “What’s the Matter With Kansas?“, based on Thomas Frank’s bestselling book of the same title about the Right Wing’s rise in the once-liberal state. It features Dr. George Tiller, the Wichita-based abortion provider who was gunned down last Sunday while attending church. The clip touches on the years of threats and abuse Tiller experienced — law suits, arson, death threats, failed assassination attempts — for his commitment to providing women with safe and legal reproductive care. When Tiller speaks, he seems exhausted yet resigned to defending women’s rights against these radicals. It’s tragic.
After the jump, a round-up of interesting articles and info on Dr. Tiller and reproductive rights in the wake of his murder…
Read More »Hard bodies and a hello
Hello there. I am Bradford Shellhammer and I am new around these parts. While my fellow SUNfiltered bloggers have done a bang up job finding unique culture, film and music stories across the globe I intend to shake things up differently around here. I’m here to gay it up. Bedazzle the blog. Bring a disco beat. So [...]
Read More »The Film Experiments of Jennifer and Kevin McCoy
Last weekend I saw the delicious DRAG ME TO HELL, Sam Raimi’s celebrated return to his roots in fundamental gore. The great thing about the film is that along with Hollywood-powered special effects, such as protagonist Christine Brown being whipped around a room like a paper doll in a tornado, Raimi uses extraordinarily simple elements, such as, er, big shadows, to scare the living daylights out of us.
As I watched, I was reminded of an art project inspired by Raimi’s EVIL DEAD 2 by New York artists Jennifer and Kevin McCoy.
Read more about the experimental works of Jennifer and Kevin McCoy
Read More »National fist bump day
Today marks the one year anniversary of Barack Obama greeting his wife Michelle with a gesture that rocked the traditional political establishment and the mainstream media. The Washington Post called it “the fist bump heard ’round the world” and to commemorate that occasion, today has been designated National Fist Bump Day. Oh yeah, then-Senator Barack [...]
Read More »Natalie Imbruglia on water conservation
If our H2.0 shorts inspired you to take action to reduce your water use, check out green.tv‘s new video featuring singer Natalie Imbruglia discussing water-saving tips, and the impact of wasteful water consumption on the developing world.
Read More »Quest of the lettermen
Chris Gavin‘s experimental stop-motion film, TXT ISLAND. Painstakingly hand-crafted using hundreds of plastic peg-board letters over several months, this little gem follows the endeavors of a squad of letters, as they delve deep into the jungle of a mysterious island. Gavin is one of the several extremely talented award-winning directors from TANDEM, an innovative animation [...]
Read More »Why bad design often wins out over good design
Fast Company‘s Cliff Kuang has a great post about Dustin Curtis, a web designer who was so appalled by his experiences with the American
Airlines website that he redesigned it and posted it online as an open letter to the company.
Check out Curtis’s take on the American Airlines site…
Read More »