sundance

The Queen of prison

Those same talented dancers/inmates at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in the Philippines are at it again. This time, however, the tribute is not for Michael Jackson. Another effeminate and over-the-top singer gets their start treatment. Mr. Freddie Mercury would no doubt be proud that these prisoners, who learn to dance during their rehabilitation [...]

Green tech finds (11/5/09)

Bricks, robot fish, and eco-warriors… this week’s green tech finds!

• Find a green business… and a coupon: GenGreen Digital Media has just added a new feature to its Find Green iPhone app: coupons. Find a business that has what you want (and shares your values), and save some money in the process.
  
  
• Online carbon reduction for builders: the Rocky Mountain Institute has just released Green Footstep, an online tool that allows builders to assess (and reduce) that carbon emissions of building and retrofitting projects.
  
  

Directed by Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis is not everyone’s favorite comedian. His abrasive laugh, nasally voice and loud, hammy impressions either rub you the wrong way or send you to the floor laughing. But love him or hate him, Jerry Lewis was a pioneer of physical comedy and also directed his most famous films. During an eight year streak he directed and starred in THE BELLBOY (1960), THE LADIES MAN (1961), THE ERRAND BOY (1961), THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1963), THE PATSY (1964), THE FAMILY JEWELS (1965), THREE ON A COUCH (1966) AND THE BIG MOUTH (1967).

Starting November 12th, The Anthology Film Archives “addresses one of the questions that has challenged thinkers throughout the ages: could the French have gotten Jerry Lewis right?”

Carrie Prejean: former Miss California, latest sex tape scandal.

We live in hope that one day–one blessed day–we will all get over the “shock” that we all supposedly feel upon the discovery that some vaguely notable person has a sex tape…and just admit to ourselves, once and for all, that pretty much everyone has a sex tape. Or wants to have a sex tape. [...]

Designing Obama

Designing Obama from mas / menos on Vimeo. Barack Obama’s campaign, which led to his election last year, was groundbreaking for many of the obvious reasons. One element that is sometimes overlooked is the visual imagery crafted by the campaign. Obama created a movement among many designers and artists inspired by his message of hope. [...]

Sesame Street raps

The video of Sesame Street’s Bert and Ernie spliced to look as though they were rapping M.O.P’s popular hit “Ante Up” became a global viral hit with over 4 million views on YouTube. I mean, you really haven’t lived until you’ve seen this puppet (are they or aren’t they) couple boast: Things that we need, [...]

SpatSolver, the ultimate argument resolution device

Infomercial parodies are a fine art that only a few have mastered. But we think YourTango has just joined the ranks of elite spoofers with their “SpatSolver.” We guarantee you’ll be wishing this thing was real in seconds! Yeah, the commercial goes on a little too long, and the free “Apologizer” is pretty unfunny, but [...]

Water Bills Pass California Legislature Ending Years of Wrangling

The California state Legislature today approved a far-reaching water package featuring an $11-billion bond as the Sun rose over the Capitol building after an all night legislative session.

A New Book Offers Common Sense for the Climate Debate

Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, has penned a modern classic in revolutionary thought. Titled Clean Energy, Common Sense, this book calls on us, as a nation, to rise to the challenge of climate change while there’s still time to act.

Gymnastics furniture

No, my headline and this entry isn’t a euphemism for those tastefully shaped furniture advertised in the back of lifestyle magazines to aid limber couplings. These actual benches and end tables spotted on a German blog (translation help anyone?) are created from recycled pommel horses typically used in men’s gymnastics. The distressed brown leather quality [...]

Longing for magnificent hideousness

In a world of manufactured pop stars and even politicians getting better looking it is hard to believe that sometime not too long ago there were actors, singers, and celebrities, who, how should I say this, were a bit on the ugly side. Simon Doonan is someone who knows both beauty and ugly. As the creative director of Barneys he is day in and day out surrounded by beauty: models, fashion folks, fabulous people. Yet his personal style is quirky and at times, dare I say, ugly. His decorating tastes, prints, color, garish items, could also be described by the U.

Weather stripping our way to economic empowerment

Did you know that last Friday (October 30) was National Weatherization Day? Me neither, but the US Department of Energy marked the occasion with the launch of a new website: Energy Empowers. The site is chock full of media telling stories about how simple home upgrades to insulation, windows, and heating systems are saving consumers money on their energy bills, and providing jobs in local communities hard hit by the economic downturn.

World Faith Leaders Join Forces to Battle Global Warming

The world’s religions have a crucial role to play in the fight against global climate change, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday, characterizing the battle with global warming as a “moral” issue.

Artissima 16

Artissima 16 is going to be huge. Held in Turin, the event may not be “as glamorous as Frieze or as edgy as Art Forum Berlin, but nevertheless, Artissima scores points in the ‘emerging artists’ categories.” It’s important to note that Artissima is not an expensive event, nor is it packed full of big names to lure people in ( and then maybe stumble upon some new talent along the way). It really is about young, up-and-coming artists, and an international network of curators is set up every year to find the best of the unknown from all over the world.

Americans Using Less Water than 35 Years Ago

The United States is using less water than during the peak years of 1975 and 1980, according to water use estimates for 2005. Despite a 30 percent population increase during the past 25 years, overall water use has remained fairly stable, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey report.

Answering the Proust Questionnaire

There were two things that forced me to subscribe for years now to Vanity Fair: Dominick Dunne’s column and the Proust Questionnaire. Now that Dunne has died the first thing I do is flip to the last page of Graydon Carter’s magazine to see who answered those questions. I am never let down. To celebrate [...]

Don’t judge my hair

These user submitted photos of various unique, bold, and non-conformist hair styles are the “mane attraction” of the website “Don’t Judge My Hair.” Sis, if you submit photos of me from my elementary through junior high school days, I will cut you. Seriously. [Via]

Susie Essman Works all the Right Nerves

Long before Chelsea Handler was cutting down celebrities and Lisa Lampanelli was cutting down audience members, Susie Essman was at the front lines of female standup, being catty, neurotic, and totally funny.
She’s earned her reward with the plum role of Susie Greene on the HBO kvetchfest Curb Your Enthusiasm, where she gets to use her instinctive comedy skills and her talent at loud-mouthed improv. And she’s now got a best-selling book out called What Would Susie Say? which leaves the delightful impression that there’s nothing she wouldn’t say. (Check out the part about the boyfriend who’d make her applaud every time he went to the bathroom. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry.)

Having seen Susie around at various benefits and promotional events, I know exactly what’s on her percolating New York Jewish mind these days. After doing her trademark line from the show (“You fat f—”), which has become a sort of nouveau version of Carol Burnett’s Tarzan yell, Susie will tell you all about the male New York Jewish standup-turned-TV-star in her life–Larry David. Is he like his character? “Larry thinks those things,” she swears, “but he would never actually do them.” That’s reassuring somehow. Would Larry ever submit to a Friars roast? “Never!” says Susie. “He’s thin skinned!” Well, how about a Seinfeld reunion? “No way,” she screeches, even louder. “What are they, The Brady Bunch?” No, The Brady Bunch was about something.

Harvard inks wind power deal

If you’ve gone as far as pricing a renewable energy system for your home, you may have suffered a bit of sticker shock: solar and wind systems can easily run $20,000 — $40,000 before any incentives. Now, imagine the prices on systems for large businesses and institutions. It’s no wonder that these big players have sought out alternatives to buying systems outright, and often entered into power purchase agreements (or PPAs) for energy produced by technology owned by others.

Harvard University went this route yesterday when it signed a contract with Boston-based wind energy developer First Wind.

Beautiful Agony, the o-face video website, turns 5!

BeautifulAgony.com launched in 2004 as a response to what the founders saw as a vacuum of real erotica on the Internet. It features videos of contributors’ o-faces, i.e. orgasms from the neck up. Hundreds and hundreds of videos later — they update each weekday — the site is still going strong. It’s heavy-breathing sexy without being obscene in the slightest — quite an accomplishment. You have to pay to join ($14.95 a month) but there are plenty of free samples in case your sex life is on a recession-induced budget. We chatted with c0-founder Lauren Olney about the site:

Do you post every video you receive?
Unfortunately not all the videos we receive make the cut. Mostly it’s technical problems that prevent us from using a contribution: poor lighting, framing, or flashing a little too much flesh. Anything that’s obviously faked or exaggerated will also get politely declined we’re looking for authenticity, genuine emotion — and believe me, after five years, we know how to spot a fake! We also require a Confessions interview with each Beautiful Agony submission, so if a contributor is not willing to speak openly and honestly about themselves and/or their experiences on camera, then we can’t really use their “o-face” video, no matter how sensational it might be.

Veilhan at Versailles

Versailles is perhaps one of the last places you would expect to open its palace doors to contemporary artists, and certainly last year’s Jeff Koons show met with its fair share of controversy. Stuffy patrons protested at the gates and said silly things like “contemporary art fosters distraction and destruction of the perfect whole.” Luckily, a few noses stuck up in the air isn’t enough to deter the annual project, which features Xavier Veilhan this year.

The last days of Gourmet

When Condé Nast decided to cease publication of Gourmet Magazine my heart sunk a little bit. Though I rarely used a recipe from the book I often times found myself perusing the pages for inspiration. It was a quality magazine. As the publishing world changes at a drastic pace it is interesting to watch what [...]

MoMA’s rejection letter to Warhol

From the archives, check out this letter dated October 19, 1956 by the first director of New York’s Museum of Modern Art to Andy Warhol informing the pop artist that the museum was regretfully rejecting his generously free gift of his drawing entitled “Shoe.” The letter is currently part of the Andy Warhol Museum’s archives [...]

Bank robbery notes

Bank Notes is a collection of various actual demand notes handed over by successful and unsuccessful bank robbers. Each posted note is accompanied by data related to that robbery such as gender, age, bank and location, and the amount stolen or requested, as well as the grainy security camera photograph of the suspect. Based on the notes, verbose these robbers are not and will most likely never be adapted into a movie featuring two bold and charming cons running around on horseback and jumping into rivers to escape lawmen.

What to do with leftover Halloween candy?

What’s one to do with all that leftover candy from Halloween trick or treating? Turn them into a delicious treat with this non-serious baking trick suggested over at Serious Eats. Dump all the extra candy you couldn’t finish into a pie and let it all melt together (recipe here). Feel free to then submit a [...]