sundance

No, these aren’t photographs

Gregory Thielker paints some remarkable hyper-realistic paintings of rainy days from the viewpoint of inside a car. The artist explains: These paintings became a way to explore how driving in weather shifts and changes the views outside the car as well how the driving experience informs our basic interpretation of environment. We easily understand how [...]

Vancouver entrepreneur set to launch “green Groupon”

“Deal-a-day” service Groupon has grown dramatically since it’s launch, so it’s no surprise that other entrepreneurs are figuring out ways to replicate this model. Today’s Vancouver Sun tells the story of one BC-based entrepreneur looking to ride the group buying wave… but with a decidedly green tint.

Closer to God

It almost makes too much sense that some of the most awe-inspiring architecture around the world today just so happens to be religious spaces. Whether that means a church, a synagogue or meditation center, the structures in Gestalten’s latest release, Closer to God, are anything but traditional. Gone are the high, vaulted ceilings and ornately embellished altars and alcoves that staunch Roman Catholics hold so dear. These spaces are clean and modern, with hardly a stained-glass window in sight.

Katharine, Jesse and Screwball Comedy in THE SOCIAL NETWORK

I have a friend and colleague here at Ohio University who stopped me in the hall last week: “THE SOCIAL NETWORK…?” — I had just seen it — “a Screwball Comedy without the comedy.” That makes it just screwball, right? I’d agree. I cannot wrap my mind around what the freaking bubble-dy blitz is all about. According to my colleague, Professor Louis-Georges Schwartz, Film Studies, Jesse Eisenberg stands in nicely for Katherine Hepburn, who is typically read as male in classic Screwball construction, only to be rightly feminized by such a film’s conclusion. Jesse as Katharine? Feminized from the start, Justin Timberlake’s bitch by the middle, his own version of the lonely and heart broken pimp by the end (read business card, “I’m CEO … bitch!”), Jessie certainly has the same Hepburn-esque wise-cracking snaps firing from his mouth, rat-tat-tat-tat-tat.

A Fresh Princess

I have seen the future of pop music and it is no longer Lady Gaga’s throne as Queen of Pop! Meet Willow Smith, the daughter of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, Hollywood royalty, and the next great pop star. Mark my words. The above video for Willow’s super-catchy single “Whip My Hair” will undoubtedly put [...]

Quentin Tarantino doesn’t know what he’s in for

On December 1, Quentin Tarantino will get roasted by a bunch of inglourious so-and-sos at New York’s Hilton hotel, and I’m betting big bucks he’ll be a totally broken man, ready for the human trash heap, by the end of it. After all, Friars roasts are those splashy affairs where costars, comics, and “friends” take the podium to decimate you with personally attained humor and hilarious potshots gleefully derived at your superstar expense.

Five phrases to memorize if you want to fight less

We’re the first people to say that avoiding fights completely in a relationship is not a realistic — nor a particularly healthy — goal. In fact, studies have found that couples who can fight passionately but civilly tend to have stronger romantic connections, i.e. their relationships don’t turn platonic as quickly. In other words, it’s not necessarily how often you fight, but how you fight.

Sou Fujimoto’s Tokyo House

Iwan Baan snapped these photos of this apartment complex in Tokyo. It was designed by Sou Fujimoto and it consists of five housing units with each having two or three rooms shaped like a traditional house. In theory it looks cool how the rooms are connected by external stairs, but in practice getting from one [...]

Rolex presents THE YOUNG LAUREATES: Piyush Tewari

Piyush Tewari

When Piyush Tewari was still in his twenties, he was appointed India manager of a private equity firm with hundreds of employees and millions of dollars in investments. It was a dream come true for the young man from Delhi. But when his 17-year-old cousin was hit by a car and left unattended more than 40 minutes before he died, Tewari learned that this death, like countless road fatalities in India, could have been prevented if the cousin had received rapid medical care. As Tewari investigated, he uncovered systemic deficiencies in India’s first response to accidents which have pushed the nation’s road death toll to the highest in the world. In 2008, in his free time, Tewari founded the SaveLife Foundation, whose mission is to train police officers and bystanders to give emergency care to road victims, including trauma management, CPR, and bleeding control. SaveLife has already trained 2,000 police officers, as well as hundreds of volunteers. In the coming year, the SaveLife Foundation will be strengthened by the establishment of a call center with full-time staff to locate trained emergency responders near road accidents and arrange for immediate assistance for victims.

James Franco is a drag

Check out these photos of (dilettante?) actor James Franco taken by Terry Richardson.

Hyperbolic crochet coral reef comes to the Smithsonian

According to the Smithsonian Institution, coral reefs have been called “the rainforests of the sea” for the incredible biodiversity they support. Also like their terrestrial counterparts, reefs are under constant attack from a variety of human impacts: from commercial fishing and diving to higher, more acidic oceans caused by climate change.

Ai Weiwei’s ‘Sunflower Seeds’

Artist Ai WeiWei amongst his “Sunflower Seeds” (More photos below)

Lately, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has made more headlines for his outspoken socio-political activism in his homeland than he has for his art, but that changed last week when his latest installation was unveiled at the Tate Modern in London. Upon first glance, Sunflower Seeds is nothing more than a vast grey expanse in the Modern’s large Turbine Hall, but get closer and you’ll see that the grey floor is actually comprised of millions of individual sunflower seeds – hand-painted porcelain sunflower seeds, made in China.

New season of Craigslist TV

A few weeks ago, Craigslist TV (on YouTube) launched their second season of mini-documentaries based on real Craigslist ads. (Watch the trailer for the series here.) If you think reading the ads is great entertainment for inducing second-hand embarrassment, try watching them. There’s “Charity’s Casting Call for a Husband” and “Hollywood Superheroes Unite” and “Michael [...]

Superheroes wedding

Wedding photographer Tony Hoffer snapped this fun group picture of the party at Erin and Tim’s wedding. As a (spoiler alert) comic book geek I love that the guys dressed like superheroes.

Longboarding short film

Longboarding: Slide from Benjamin Dowie on Vimeo. Benjamin Dowie created this short film “SLIDE.” It focuses on longboarding, which is a mixture of skateboarding with surfing. I have a longboard myself but I can only do about 1 percent of what these guys can. The idea behind it was to marry some slow motion longboard [...]

The Gross Clinic

It might seem odd to a modern audience for anyone to make a fuss about the restoration of a centuries-old American oil painting, but when Thomas Eakins’ masterpiece The Gross Clinic was brought back to life and exhibited at the Philadelphia Museum of Art late this summer, it really was kind of a big deal. First, because patrons and donors and succeeded in keeping the piece in its original home town, but mostly because the painting hadn’t been cleaned or restored in over fifty years. But there are lots of paintings from the late 19th-century that are probably equally in need of a touch up, so why all the commotion over Eakins?

Madonna pens a letter

Popnography found the above gem of a letter written by Madonna to Steven Miesel when she was filming A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN in Chicago. It’s shocking for a few reasons. The first being how old it made me feel because, OMG, I remember the olden days of handwritten notes! Now, she texts I am [...]

Sexy Sesame Street Halloween costumes?

First the Katy Perry debacle, and now this! Okay, so they are not actually marketed as “sexy” Sesame Street costumes; they’re called “sassy.” We guess there’s a difference. But still, is there nothing sacred? It’s hard enough to find little girl costumes that aren’t all tarted up, but now we have to tart-up the most [...]

Amazing photo of Darth and Luke

I love this photo, which I’ve never seen before, from a coffee table book “The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” of behind the scenes photos from the set of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. View some of the photos at Vanity Fair. The impact of the famous scene of Darth Vader revealing to [...]

BEGINNINGS premiere party with Chiara Clemente

Last night Sundance Channel, Full Frontal Fashion and Frappuccino hosted a premiere event to celebrate the launch of the upcoming short film series, BEGINNINGS, with series creator, Chiara Clemente.  Take a peek inside the festivities in our exclusive photo gallery and see the Clemente family, Mario Sorrenti, Cynthia Rowley, Lynn Yaeger and many more!

JK Rowling letterhead

I kinda love JK Rowling’s whimsical letterhead.

Green tech finds (10/14/10)

A solar-powered motorcycle, a geothermal motherlode in West Virginia, and Abraham Lincoln meets clean energy… your green tech finds for the week.

• The solar-powered Suzuki: Purdue University physics major Tony Danger Coiro has received a provisional patent for the ’78 Suzuki motorcycle he converted into a solar-powered vehicle. Check it out in the video above… (via Cleantechies)
  
  
• More Google renewable investments: The Internet giant has announced a $5 billion investment in a mid-Atlantic offshore wind “grid.”

Robert Redford Receives “Legion d’Honneur” from France’s President Sarkozy

Robert Redford (R) with President Sarkozy (L). (Photo by FRANCOIS MORI/AFP/Getty Images) OCTOBER 14, 2010-(Paris, France)- Robert Redford received one of France’s most highly esteemed recognitions today in Paris, the emblem of the “Légion d’Honneur” established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802.   Redford was acknowledged for his work as actor and director, his decades long involvement [...]

Autumn By The Lake

autumn by the lake from Bart van der Gaag on Vimeo. I could spend hours out of my day cruising Vimeo. I find the most unique films and videos there. After seeing Swan Lake last night, I’m kinda on this water fowl kick, you know? And so happy I was to have stumbled upon Bart [...]

College gals finally close the marriage gap

As recently as the ’90s, Em was horrified to hear her college roommate say that she was at school to get three letters: MRS. It was said kind of tongue-in-cheek… but not completely. The ironic thing was that back then, having a college degree actually meant that a woman was less likely to get married…and [...]