Swimming pool filled with cola
Earlier this summer artist Mike Bouchet had a unique way of celebrating Independence Day. On July 4, he filled up an abandoned swimming pool located in the small California town of Twentynine Palms with 100,000 liters of homemade diet cola soda.
Read More »FULL FRONTAL FASHION highlights
Abraxas Rex jewlery Step into the amazing world of Abraxas Rex – filled with crystal rings the size of your palm, prehistoric-shark-tooth necklaces, and cuffs with geodes like enormous craggy graphite-colored apples! Betsey Johnson turns 68 – and she’s still turning cartwheels! Check out her fabulous birthday celebration, complete with pink cupcakes and a pink [...]
Read More »The Impossible Project
When Polaroid stopped production on their traditional line of cameras and film a few years back, die hard fans of the brand scrambled to get their hands on the last remaining packs of film from eBay and the like. But once those packs were used up or worse, expired, thousands of perfectly fine Polaroid cameras became obsolete, doomed to a dust-collecting fate on some out-of-reach shelf. (You can still buy expired film on Ebay, but for exorbitant prices, and no one can vouch for the quality of photos you’ll get.) In the meantime, the folks behind The Impossible Project were busy working to develop their own brand of instant film.
Read More »Virgin dating site leaves us speechless… almost
Browsing the dating site YouandMeArePure.com left us temporarily speechless, and then clutching for the right words to express our… awe? The top five things that boggled our minds:
- For grammar nerds who are bothered by the site’s name, the very first sentence at the top of the entire site helpfully explains, “YouAndMeArePure is NOT a sentence just in case you are checking for grammar. It is rather the name of our website. The name was carefully crafted from the beginning to express that we value both, people entering in relationships and virginity.” Okay then, that totally clears things up for us. Thanks!
Baltimore Love Project
Baltimore artist Michael Owen created the above design of four silhouette hands spelling out “love.” It has since been painted on 20 different walls all through Baltimore as the “Baltimore Love Project.” The artist explains: This project is not intended to change the world. However, we know that these murals have the power to inspire [...]
Read More »How to drag a pregnant woman across the West
Well, make that ‘pregnant.’ As in, strap on that belly and hop in the van, let’s shoot! Lisa and I just wrapped our micro-budget feature, SMALL, BEAUTIFULLY MOVING PARTS, starring Anna Margaret Hollyman (above), and it was an adventure to boot. We wrote an entry about our tech approach, and one about our micro micro approach (see Beauty; Beast and Movie in a Van) — to make it three we thought we’d share a few photos from the road. And also urge you to take a peek at the new Sundance Channel online series that spawned the feature — SPARKS, now up HERE, starring Sarah Hudnut as well as other actors who appear in our feature, Jackie of “The Good Wife” Mary Beth Peil and soon-to-appear on “Friends with Benefits” Andre Holland.
Read More »Making of “I’m not in love”
One of my all time favorite pop ballads is 10cc’s “I’m not in love”. So I was stunned with amazement at this wonderful 2009 BBC Radio 6 audio documentary on the making of this 1975 hit song, “a milestone in recording” which also utilized one of the Very first Moog synthesizers to create the soft [...]
Read More »“Tomb-Bot” to Explore Secret Chambers in the Great Pyramid at Giza
Add this article to the “nerdy but cool” category: Two unexplored shafts originally discovered in the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza in 1872 will finally be accessed thanks to a small camera-equipped robot. Dubbed “The Djedi Project,” a robotics team at Leeds University is designing a “Tomb-bot” to drill through two limestone doors in [...]
Read More »Wild Beasts nab Mercury Prize
Last September the Leeds-based band Wild Beasts released their sophomore album “Two Dancers,” and a year later they’re still riding high on the record’s success, nabbing a Mercury Prize for Album of Year alongside exciting young acts like I Am Kloot and The XX. The album itself is highly cerebral, highly original and widely acclaimed, [...]
Read More »Green tech finds (8/12/10)
The greenest cell phone companies, solar Marines, and DIY LED Facebook notification… your green tech finds for the week.
- Smart energy cities: The NRDC’s Smarter Cities project has published a list of 22 US cities taking the lead on more sustainable energy use and production. (via GreenTech Pastures)
- LED Facebook notification: OK, this is only marginally green, but Instructables has a project up for a DIY Facebook notification device that uses LED lights.
A (for lack of a better word) refreshing anti-rape campaign
The Tumblr blog Bitter Buffalo said it best: “What’s this? An anti-rape campaign that focuses on preventing rape instead of preventing women leaving the house? Holy crap it’s Christmas.” This campaign is from Men Can Stop Rape, an international organization founded in 1997 to mobilize male youth to prevent men’s violence against women by providing [...]
Read More »What happens when a washing machine eats a brick? Internet finds out.
The Internet was enthralled recently with a YouTube video of a self-destructing washing machine, whose spasmic shaking increasingly gave it anthropomorphic attributes. The payoff starts at the 0:55 second mark when it encounters a brick and then ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE. Predictably the video has been remixed that results in some LOLs.
Read More »Joe Zee coming to Sundance Channel with ALL ON THE LINE
ELLE Magazine creative director, Joe Zee You’ve seen him in THE CITY. And now our favorite ELLE Magazine creative director, Joe Zee, has been given the green light for his own series right here on SUNDANCE CHANNEL. ALL ON THE LINE debuts in 2011. Read more over on FULL FRONTAL FASHION. PHOTO CREDIT: Joe Schildhorn/PatrickMcMullan.com
Read More »The Ballad of Steven Slater (the JetBlue guy)
When I first heard about the JetBlue flight attendant story, I presciently tweeted that this will be the “Must Read NYC Story of the Day.” In case you’ve been living in a cave the past couple days and don’t know what I’m referring to, here’s a short summary. The Jet Blue flight attendant in the center of the storm Steven Slater dealt with an abusive passenger by cursing over the plane intercom (it went something like this: “F— you! F— all of you! I’m f—— through with this! I’VE HAD IT! I’ve been doing this for 28 f—— years and I can’t take it anymore. And for the f—– a—–who told me to f— off: f— you! That’s it! I’m done! F— you all!”), then dramatically deplaning via the emergency exit slide – but not before grabbing a couple beers for the road.
What’s been remarkable about the story is generally how united the public has been in supporting Steven and saying the passenger is the one who should’ve been arrested. Many are paying tribute and calling him a folk hero. A Washington Post poll asked “Were flight attendant Steven Slater’s alleged actions justifiable?” 43 percent selected “Legendary. He stole a beer AND activated the slide” and 29% said it was “Completely justified. Travelers are so impatient these days.” Slater has tapped into a national frustration.
Over at Metafilter, one MeFite Astro Zombie penned “The Ballad of Steven Slater” which Josh Millard aka Cortex (a MeFi moderator) then put to song. It’s fantastic. I know pilot Captain Sully was the hero for 2009, but I don’t remember anyone writing a song about him. Steven Slater is the new Sully of 2010. Full lyrics after the jump.
Read More »Want to fight global warming? Start eating insects
Animal agriculture has been on the climate change radar since (at least) 2006, when a report by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization claimed that “the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent – 18 percent – than transport. It is also a major source of land and water degradation.” The common response to this news: eat lower on the food chain.
You probably understand “lower on the food chain” as “plants,” but Belgian entomologist Arnold van Huis has a different take on this phrase: he thinks more people should eat insects.
Read More »Rediscovering Kelis
Kelis – 4th Of July (Official Music Video) from house selections on Vimeo.
At last week’s several sold out Robyn/Kelis shows here in NYC, admittedly, I was more excited about the Swedish pop princess than I was about Nas’ baby mama. However, when Kelis took to the stage in glitter disco wig and purple latex body suit I knew I’d be pleasantly surprised.
Read More »Check into London’s new Insect Hotel
You know the old adage: if you want stag beetles, you need rotting logs. Ok, that may not have made it’s way into our vernacular yet, but it’s still true. It’s also harder than you might think. If the logs are too wet or too dry, stag beetle larvae just won’t grow. Stag beetle larvae are very picky about the wetness of their rotting logs, but luckily Arup Associates have a solution. Their Insect Hotel design recently won the City of London’s Beyond the Hive Competition, which coincides with the London Festival of Architecture and celebrates 2010 at the International Year of Biodiversity.
Read More »“I’ve done something with my life. I’ve made kids happy around the world.”
On the heels of the sad news about the death on July 27th of Morrie Yohai, 90, and inventor of Cheez Doodle, is this New York Times round up of the geniuses, some accidental, behind some of our favorite junk foods today. The next time you are enjoying a refreshing popsicle this summer, thank Frank [...]
Read More »Best rejection letter ever
Al Feldstein’s MAD Magazine sent the best rejection letters to people. Evidence? See above gem unearthed by Letters of Note.
Read More »ALL ABOUT EVIL Brings Back the Midnight Movie
“This is a midnight movie before it’s released,” ALL ABOUT EVIL star Natasha Lyonne chuckled to me at the film’s premiere at downtown’s Landmark Sunshine Cinema, commenting on how quickly things happen nowadays.
See, once upon a time in the ‘70s, many films found themselves showing up at midnight only after the 9 PM crowds proved to be a little stymied by their in-your-face extremism. But ALL ABOUT EVIL—San Francisco auteur Josh Grannell’s blood-soaked grindhouse tribute—has come out of the gate touring the country at the stroke of 12, complete with a pre-show that references and gently mocks the movie before you even it. This movie knows its place!
Read More »Mississippi universities eye energy savings to close budget gap
State university systems are trying just about everything possible to make ends meet these days… from raising tuition and fees to selling bottled water. Mississippi’s College Board would like to avoid socking it to students, so in order to make up for a 20% drop in state appropriations, the board is taking a look at energy savings.
Read More »Naked News: Black market dildos, early puberty, and fertile rockers
- Vibrators, dildos, sex dolls et al are illegal in Vietnam, but there is a thriving trade for sex toys on the black market there.
- A recent study of more than 2000 women showed that implanting a copper inter-uterine device (IUD) up to five days after unprotected sex was 100% effective in preventing pregnancy.
The XX sexes up Central Park’s Summer Stage
Exactly one year ago The XX was just one of many acts making their way through the revolving door of hopeful young bands at The Mercury Lounge, the LES launching pad for names like Joan Jett, Lou Reed, Interpol, Radiohead, Broken Social Scene, and more recently, Lady Gaga. The XX can now officially add their name to the list of success stories; The 3-piece British electro-pop group has become something of a sensation in the last year, and this past Sunday’s concert at Central Park’s Summer Stage was a one-year anniversary worth celebrating.
Read More »Top 10 Artist Websites
Your source for procrastination today: ARTINFO’s top ten favorite artist websites. The navigation of many of those sites are kind of terrible, but I really like Olaf Breuning’s site a lot, especially the intro page. 4. Olaf Breuning, olafbreuning.com This site is about ten times more fun than it needs to be: it includes a [...]
Read More »The longest photographic exposure
In 2001 New York City’s Museum of Modern Art invited Michael Wesely, renowned for “inventing and refining techniques for making photographs with unusually long exposures,” to photographically document the comprehensive renovation to the museum’s Midtown building. From the summer of 2001 to the building’s completion in 2004, Wesely’s cameras captured the construction site with their [...]
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