sundance

George Michael covers New Order

The above video is George Michael‘s odd yet infectious new single. It is a cover of the classic New Order techno-pop gem “True Faith,” a song released in 1987. “True Faith’s” always been my favorite New Order song. It’s aged well and it’s lyrics are dark and moody. The song in my eyes always summed up what it was like being gay as a kid. New Order’s video for the song was modern and Bauhaus inspired. It fused primary colored cartoon characters with ballet. The characters fought one another too.

I Love You But…

Girlfriend & boyfriend Alex Holder and Ross Neil are both artists and creatives in advertising. Last year, they launched their online picture book about relationships, LoveYouBut.com. It focuses on “the moment in a relationship when you realise you don’t love someone completely, because there is one little thing that keeps bothering you. When it bothers you so much it actually makes you cringe, you know it’s time to say ‘I love you but…’” There are 59 portraits (drawn by Neil) of people who are the targets of various “I love you but” lines, like “I love you but you can’t say I love you back” or “I love you but you put ketchup on everything.” On her calling card site, Holder says LoveYouBut.com has been read all over the world and is inexplicably big in Brazil. We wanted to know more, so we asked:

Kibera slums community turns trash into cooking fuel

Extreme poverty, opens sewers, and lots and lots of trash: all are a part of normal conditions in Kenya’s Kibera. One of the largest slums in Africa, Kibera’s lack of sanitation services (or almost any government services) makes it a hotbed for disease. But an organization based within the community, Ushiriki Wa Safi, has implemented a concept that can help with at least one aspect of the unhealthy environment: using the massive piles of trash as fuel for community cookers for residents.

SOUND OF MY VOICE at SXSW

One of the best films I saw at SXSW this year was SOUND OF MY VOICE, a lean, disturbing micro-thrill of a film that features strong relationships as well as a strong genre bend. The film debuted at Sundance 2011’s NEXT series and the director, Zal Batmanglij, co-wrote the screenplay with his enigmatic star Brit Marling. An actress with no formal training, Marling dominates the screen in this small vehicle, which makes the other performances less compelling (this is due mostly to a brief bout of clichéd writing).

Top 10 Fashion Shows from Fall 2011

See FFF Editor-in-chief Kelley Culp’s Top 10 favorite shows from the Fall 2011 runways. Get a bit of fashion inspiration in our latest style diary on a beautiful bug collecting designer. See what the boys are wearing to carnival in Rio. Be in the know on the latest in fashion news and gossip with FULL FRONTAL [...]

Photographer to watch: Jimmy Kets

From Kets’ “USA” series. Click through for more images.

Belgium-based photographer Jimmy Kets actually started out studying graphic design, but turned to photography immediately after finishing school, traveling first to Kathmandu and then all over the world. In his 10-year-long career, Kets has won the Nikon Promising Young Photographer Award in 2006 and 2008, the SABAM (Belgian Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers) Award for the Best Humoristic Press Photo in 2006 and 2007, as well as a host of others. It’s easy to see why. Kets tends to gravitate towards artificial environments like zoos, theme parks and resorts – places that lend themselves very easily to humorous outtakes and practically beg for outsider commentary.

Conan O’Brien Kinetic Typography

Conan O’Brien Kinetic Typography from Jacob Gilbreath on Vimeo. For his Digital Design course at Oklahoma State University, Jacob Gilbreath created this impressive “kinetic typographic” video of Conan O’Brien’s farewell speech on his final episode hosting The Tonight Show. In the same way that the Internet provided a means for various fans to coalesce and [...]

Vimeo of the Week: Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks The World

Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks The World from Joey Tosi on Vimeo.

Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks The World is well worth the hour it takes to finish this short film. The movie, directed by Joey Tosi, is all about the “wah wah” effect Cry Baby pedal used in popular music. From its debut in 1966 until modern day, the movie interviews industry professionals, from famous musicians to music engineers, showing how it’s been used to great effect in many of the songs you know.

The History of Title Design

A Brief History of Title Design from Ian Albinson on Vimeo.

Ian Albinson’s A Brief History of Title Design was created for the SXSW “Excellence in Title Design” competition screening. In it the title designs of television shows and movies are woven into a study of font and style. For font and movie nerds alike, it’s a fun film to watch. So many are instantly recognizable. My fave: DR. NO.

Included are:

Fiction in the face of crisis: Japan and “The Airborne Toxic Event”

When Don Delillo’s seminal masterpiece White Noise came out in 1985, it not only won The National Book Award and landed a spot on TIME‘s “100 Best Novels” list, but it hit readers like a sonic boom, a tidal wave, a nuclear explosion – all apt comparisons given the ongoing events in Japan as well as the novel’s treatment of the “Airborne Toxic Event” that strikes midway through.

Even though White Noise was written over 25 years ago and is filled with references to pop culture and contemporary consumerism (DeLillo even wanted to name the book “Panasonic,” but they objected), it manages to escape the ties that bind it to a specific time period, avoiding obscurity or becoming dated over time. Instead, it not only remains relevant, but the book’s implications about modern life seem to intensify with age. It’s a supremely humanistic novel: while our world changes and trends come and go, people stay the same.

Photo series of reality TV hopefuls

“Reality Wanted” is an ongoing project by former Star Magazine art director and now photographer David Kimelman, who is photo-documenting “a series of portraits of individuals who hope to be cast on a reality television show.” He provides minimal direction to each subject and none with regards to pose or their clothing. As a result, [...]

Supermoon this Saturday

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore! So brace yourself for love this Saturday night (March 19th) when, according to Space.com, “the moon will swing around Earth more closely than it has in the past 18 years, lighting up the night sky from just 221,567 miles (356,577 kilometers) away.” [...]

Bruce Lee’s bucket list of goals

Here’s a note Bruce Lee penned in 1969 listing his goals: My Definite Chief Aim I, Bruce Lee, will be the first highest paid Oriental super star in the United States. In return I will give the most exciting performances and render the best of quality in the capacity of an actor. Starting 1970 I [...]

Behind the scenes with Matthew Dear

Matthew Dear – Black City Live from Ghostly International on Vimeo.

DJ/electro-pop sensation Matthew Dear kicks off his tour today for “Black City,” his fourth album and follow-up to his overwhelmingly popular 2007 “Asa Breed.” “Asa Breed” marked his debut as both a DJ and singer/songwriter as well as his partnership with the venerable independent electronic label Ghostly International. But where “Asa Breed” was an immediate dance-floor hit, “Black City” is decidedly darker, denser, more complex and yet more cohesive. Pitchfork called it “the best of his career.”

Green tech finds (3/17/11)

Raise a glass of Guinness to St. Paddy… and to a couple of Irish green tech finds this week.

• Social gaming app for saving energy: JouleBug, a social gaming iPhone app for saving energy, was released this week at SXSW.
  
  
• ENERGY STAR certified buildings increase by nearly 60%: That’s just one finding from this week’s release of its third annual report on the top 25 cities for ENERGY STAR certified buildings.
  
  

Beto Janz’ skateboard skulls

For a guerrilla marketing campaign for a skateboard shop in Curitiba, Brazil, designer Beto Janz merged two popular motifs and cultural symbols by shaping used and broken skateboard decks into skulls and leaving them on the streets surrounding popular skateboard parks in the city. [Via]

Why sex hurts…and we don’t mean heartbreak

Last week we talked about when sex hurts, and why so many women still don’t admit to having this problem. It’s something that we, as sex writers, hear about constantly — it’s a sad but true fact that many women are more open with sex advice columnists than their own gynecologists — so we thought that focusing on this topic for a few weeks would, at the very least, prove that there’s a certain comfort to knowing you’re not alone. And knowing you’re not alone may give you the courage to speak up — to your partner and to your doctor. This week, the authors of the new book When Sex Hurts: A Woman’s Guide to Banishing Sexual Pain, give a basic overview of the causes of painful sex. For more information about any of the below, you can check out their book or talk to your doctor. Actually, whether you buy the book or not, please, for the love of sex, do talk to your gynecologist if sex hurts. It’s their freakin’ job to fix it, okay? No matter what you may have been taught.

120 film titles, 30 friends, one-shot music video

Rapper T.Shirt weaves 120 film titles into one cohesive song while wandering through the two-floors of the Angelika, my favorite theater in the City. And this video was also done in one-shot. As his t-shirt says, I think this video is MAD ILL. You can view a list of all the films name dropped in [...]

Study claims Florida high-speed rail would be a money-maker

As the battles over collective bargaining in Wisconsin, and now the disasters in Japan, have dominated the news over the last month, you may have missed Florida Governor Rick Scott’s rejection of federal funds to build a high-speed rail line between Tampa and Orlando. Scott turned away the $2.4 billion for the project because he was concerned about cost overruns that Florida taxpayers may have had to cover. According to a new study by the Florida Department of Transportation, though, the governor’s fears are not only unfounded, but represent a missed opportunity to create some economic growth in the Sunshine State.

Yarn subway art in Philadelphia

Philadelphia blogger Conrad Benner got the call to join an artist as she “yarn bombed” SEPTA trains (three seats on three lines in all). And even while we started on a near empty train by the end it was the beginning of rush hour and the train was packed, all the people on each train [...]

Scrabble gets a makeover

Click through for more photos.

Word addicts and font junkies unite and rejoice in Andrew Capener‘s beautiful redesign of Scrabble. While some classics are best left untouched, Hasbro, the makers of Scrabble, aren’t exactly known for their keen visual sensibility or their commitment to craftsmanship. Case in point: my super deluxe anniversary Scrabble edition is a hulking, plastic, maroon monstrosity that resides in a box reinforced by duct tape on all four corners.

Capener’s much improved version is made form birch and solid walnut lined with cork to prevent any chips or dings. The set comes in a cube-shaped box with six board pieces that slide out like drawers. The board pieces are magnetized and snap together to form a minimal, two-color game board. The most exciting part is the typeface, which is entirely customizable. Choose your own font or opt for a grab bag of fonts old and new, serif and sans, plain and bold – and let the games begin.

Joe Zee with Paul Rudd and Zooey Deschanel

Joe Zee interviews Paul Rudd and Zooey Deschanel during the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

Hipster trap

A redditor came across a culture hacker setting up this “hipster trap” in New York City (presumably LES or Williamsburg?) bearing the irresistible lure of PBR, American Spirit cigarettes, bike chain, and lastly Wayfarer sunglasses. It appears the trap has been successful in the past by the looks of the blood. Spoiler alert: The “trap” [...]

Steve Davis’ “As American Falls”

From Steve Davis’ series “As American Falls.” Click through for more images.

The New York Times recently interviewed photographer Steve Davis, whose latest project “As American Falls” took him back to his roots in American Falls, Idaho, a town that “seems to be dying a death that is as slow as it is unspectacular.” To hear Davis describe the 4,000-person former small farm-based economy (it’s steadily succumbed to “agribusiness and big-box retailers”), American Falls, with its cheerleaders, high school sports teams and fading hardware stores sounds like a stand-in for the town in LAST PICTURE SHOW. “The movie theatre burned down. The bowling alley burned down. A future coal gasification plant for fertilizer production is seen by many as the town’s best hope,” Davis said. “I felt like I was the only one noticing its collapse.”

San Francisco bail bondsman makes art from trash

You may not think of a bail bonds office as a place associated with either environmental consciousness or artistic talent, but Barrish Bail Bonds on San Francisco’s Bryant Street breaks that mold. The 50-year-old business serves as a day job for artist Jerry Ross Barrish; his passion, according to KGO-TV, is making sculpture from plastic trash he finds washed up on the beach.