sundance

The 347th reason why it was good to be an eighties child

At least once a week we’re reminded how glad we are that we were teens in the eighties and not today. Take clothes, for example — when we were in high school, it was actually cool to wear men’s XL Champion sweatshirts and baggy boxer-style shorts. Sure, we all regret pegging our jeans, but it [...]

Online gonzo documentary SOUTHERN TIER explores environmental attitudes… on bikes

Project: Southern Tier PROMO from Jeff Hyland on Vimeo.

Traveling cross-continent by human power isn’t new: Peter Jenkins walked across the US in the seventies, and Terry Fox attempted a run across Canada in 1980. Producer Jeff Hyland, along with long-time friend Mike Tryon set out on January 1, 2008 to do something similar: cross the continent by bike along the Southern Tier of the United States. And just as Jenkins and Fox set out on their journeys to answer questions and support causes, Hyland and Tryon’s nearly four month bike ride was dedicated to exploring the question “In a world of environmental change, where are we at?”

La Isla Alejandro

I appreciate Lady Gaga. Really I do. The pop culture/art/downtown performers/drag references in her work often make me giggle, sometime make me wince, but also make me think that’s she’s pretty bright for someone her age. What I don’t like about Gaga, and what I think Madonna did effortlessly, is that she seems incapable of [...]

I, a Jew, will miss Helen Thomas

Helen Thomas — You will be missed… If only by me. OOooof… what a week! I got my ass chewed out on Facebook for saying I would miss Helen Thomas… Okay. Half of what she said was pretty indefensible (I am of the mind that Israelis should, indeed, stop building on settlements. However, I do [...]

Bang! Bap! Biff! Batman onomatopoeias!

Scene from classic Batman episode Take a nostalgic trip back to Gotham City with this batty online collection of all the onomatopoeias from the old classic 1960s Batman TV series (including episodes of when each one was used) starring Adam West and Burt Ward. Also, check out this video of the evolution of the Batman [...]

Jane Lynch’s Apple spoof

Jane Lynch is funnier than pretty much everyone on TV. Actually, she is far and away funnier than just about every working actor today. This is a fact in the gay world, where Ms. Lynch, a married lesbian, is becoming a camp icon. Move over Gaga, Sue Sylvester is in town. She’s perfectly terrifying on [...]

Extreme makeover: fancy fast food edition

Fancy Food is a website where users submit before and after photos and recipes of their classy culinary creations and dishes using only their limitless imagination and ingredients from fast food chains. Devon Knight and Jason Isch of Cornerstore Restaurateur submitted this delicious looking “Seared Pollock Cake with Southwest Ramalan Sauce” made with just the following items from the McDonald’s menu: Filet-O-Fish, Southwest Salad, 1 soft drink, and packets of salt and pepper.

The silent treatment

A scene from Ernst Lubitsch’s “So This is Paris,” of which only 10 minutes of films remains.

MoMA has been running a phenomenal program of silent films for the last two years, giving audiences a comprehensive look at the birth of cinema. But in case you missed out on two years of investigating the careers of the era’s most innovative directors, MoMA has put together a ‘best of’ before they switch over to talkies.

Peter Roots’ Ephemicropolis

The making of Ephemicropolis from Peter Root on Vimeo. The artist Peter Root created a city from 100,000 staples. It took 40 hours to lay out the detailed stacks. What is left shows a cityscape, miniature in size, yet big, really big, in impact. The above film shows how it all came together.

Kids of lesbian parents may fare better than their peers

A new study analyzing long-term data on kids from birth to adulthood just came out that suggests children of lesbian parents do better than their peers.

Darth Vader pre-James Earl Jones

Before James Earl Jones famously provided his formidable voice as Darth Vader and became a figure of worship for geeks everywhere, a 6′ 7” tall and physically imposing Welsh actor and former bodybuilder David Prowse suited up in Darth Vader’s black suit. What was lacking, however, was a certain tone to his voice. Though no [...]

World Naked Bike Ride starts this Saturday

Combine the issues of sustainable transportation and body image, and what do you get? For many around the world, the answer is the World Naked Bike Ride, an annual global event dedicated to promoting cycling, community-building, peace of mind, and “…the indecent exposure of people and the planet to cars and the pollution they create.”

Leon Levinstein takes New York

One of Levinstein’s sunbathers. More photos after the text.

How is it that a photographer like Leon Levinstein – a West Virginia boy who moved to New York in 1946 and took some of the most iconic photographs of the city and its inhabitants, a man whose work is compared to and was shown with Edward Steichen, Richard Avedon, Robert Frank, Diane Arbus and the like – how is it that a talented guy like that worked a day job his whole life and remained relatively obscure while his contemporaries are still known today around the world?

Do houses dream?

Inspired by the thought “How it would be, if a house was dreaming,” this video projection installation at the Kunsthalle in Hamburg by Daniel Rossa is absolutely mind blowing. Watch as it conveys the illusion of a building facade that is infinitely transmogrifying. 555 KUBIK | facade projection | from urbanscreen on Vimeo.

20 reasons why we cheat

The website CheatConfession is exactly what it sounds like — and, as you might expect from an online confessional, some of the anonymous posts are true and heartbreaking, and some are clearly fake (and therefore either hilarious or terrifying). People post if they’ve cheated, have been cheated on, or are just considering cheating. Each cheater who posts is encouraged to fill out a “Reason” box along with their story; for some reason, when they are forced to be so succinct, the truth seems to reign. Here are twenty recent Reasons — it’s a pretty enlightening (or, perhaps, depressing) snap-shot of why people cheat…

Neil Young’s GREENDALE comes to print

Iconic rocker Neil Young wasted no time in crafting a response to the launch of the war in Iraq, and the larger political and cultural forces he saw motivating it: the concept album Greendale came out in August, 2003, a mere six months after the first attacks were launched. Since then, Young has recrafted the story of Sun Green and her family into a live rock opera, a film (which he directed under the pseudonym Bernard Shakey), and, of course, a website (though, as you might expect, not the usual promotional site).

Shin Murayama’s “Valhalla” masks

This item is slightly older, but I thought it’d be a good fit for my recent theme of mask-related entries. Japanese artist Shin Murayama (now residing in the US) created a series of “Valhalla” masks, stitching together everyday fabrics and materials to evoke an unsettling and slightly creepy feeling for the viewer (or maybe just [...]

Bespoke – the Handbuilt Bike

One of co-curator Sacha White’s custom built touring bikes.

While bespoke usually refers to clothing, back in the 1880s, when the bicycle was first invented, the two-wheeled wonder was handcrafted to suit the size and style of its rider. Now that bikes have made their way back into popular culture, not only for recreation but as practical transportation, the bespoke bike is no longer a thing of the past. The latest exhibition at the Museum of Art and Design, “Bespoke: The Handbuilt Bicycle,” salutes the bike builders of today and shows off their snazziest wares.

iPad magic show

Japanese magician Uchida Shinya posted this YouTube (subtitled) video where he uses an iPad with some magic tricks to briefly describe and explain the past, present, and future of human communication. The slight of hand tricks are pretty cool, but if you want to ruin the fun, just read the spoiler comments or watch it [...]

Gay Pride: Lizzy the Lezzy

As SUNfiltered’s gay voice I have to tell you how pleased I am that LIZZY THE LEZZY can now be seen on Sundance Channel. Yes, Sundance Channel is celebrating Gay Pride this June by rolling out a series of animated shorts about a sex-craved lesbian. She’s dirty. And crass. No wonder I’m a fan! How [...]

A personal letter from Steve Martin

In addition to Steve Martin’s delightful business calling card (who else but Steve Martin would have such an antiquated thing?), this wild and crazy guy similarly also has a hilarious form response letter (printed on his production company’s letter head) to fan mail. Steve, we’ll always have Rio.

Thomas Kinkade is bankrupt

After duping gallery owners into buying his artwork as part of a scheme to lower the value of his company for a corporate buyout, Thomas Kinkade, the painter of light, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection just one day before the company was due to pay back their next $1 million installment. Here’s how it went down: In the early 2000s Kinkade sold his paintings without telling the gallery owners that “they would have to sell [his] works at minimum retail prices while the artist undercut them with discount sales, some of which he made himself on cable television. It was all part of a plan, they claimed, to lower the value of the publicly traded company before Kinkade bought it in 2004 at steep losses to many investors.”

FULL FRONTAL FASHION highlights

Oscar de la Renta resort wear 2010 Catch a glimpse of what’s to come with a behind-the-scenes video from the Oscar de la Renta sample room, and don’t miss the unveiling of the Oscar de la Renta 2011 resort collection, streaming LIVE Monday, June 7 at 1pm EST. Catch some rays and turn some heads [...]

Frontline’s “The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan”

We just got around to watching Frontline’s late April report called “The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan” — it’s a horrific and mind-blowing look into the world of “bacha bazi,” or “boy play”: …Afghan journalist Najibullah Quraishi (Behind Taliban Lines) returns to his native land to expose an ancient practice that has been brought back by [...]

Joe Berlinger vs. Chevron: Why We Must All Defend Independent Filmmaking

I have devoted a significant part of my life’s work in support of the independent artist — independent referring not to the size of a project, its funding or subject matter; rather, to the singular vision and voice of that artist. I founded Sundance Institute 30 years ago out of the belief that it is [...]