sundance

Alan Kitching plays with type

As someone who spent countless hours of her childhood in her mother’s letterpress studio – doing odd jobs, scoring paper, organizing boxes of envelopes and playing with the ancient-looking wood and metal type in the old, wooden pull-out drawers, I totally get the overwhelming sensation Alan Kitching felt when he first stepped foot into the commercial typesetter where he apprenticed when he was fifteen. Kitching is now a much older man with a long gray beard and a long-established graphic design and letterpress career, but it was at that moment as a teenager when he walked into the letterpress office that he knew he had found his home.

THE HAPPY FILM, support the new doc by Stefan Sagmeister

Watch the smile-inducing trailer.

What does it mean to be happy? How do we measure it? Is happiness like a muscle we can flex at will, and if so, “is it possible to train our mind in the same way we train our bodies?”

A short while ago, artist and designer Stefan Sagmeister decided to put these questions to the test with a three-part practice involving meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy and prescription drugs – and make a documentary about his experience called THE HAPPY FILM. Through experiments and explorations (“from the sublime to the ridiculous”) loosely based on his pivotal book “Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far,” Stefan will test “once and for all if it’s possible for a person to have a meaningful impact on their own happiness.”

Wedding photos from New York’s first day of legal gay marriage

Our photographer friend David Jacobs (he took our deceptively flattering bio pic) was hired by Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization, to document New York’s first day of legal gay marriage this past Monday at Manhattan’s City Hall. HRC will soon have more on their site, but for now here’s a round-up of the day’s events by their National Field Director, Marty Rouse. And below is our friend Dave’s take on events (he’s not gay, but he’s married and does rock the occasional pink shirt with flare), followed by more of his cool photos of the happy couples.

LUDO BITES AMERICA – Grouper Po’boy Sandwich

Watch LUDO BITES AMERICA Tuesdays at 9P

More masterful cooking from our guest blogger Justin, who, along with his wife, Lori, writes the food blog The Gastronomic Duo, a blog dedicated to couples cooking together in the kitchen and enjoying food with one another in their home.

One might not think we Minnesotans know much about the po’ boy and I’m gonna have to tell you, you’re wrong. If the po’ boy sandwich is about the fish, Minnesota has just as much knowledge as all of those Southerners, probably more considering the 20,000 lakes our state boasts.

It’s a bold statement. I am aware. It’s bold because unfortunately the po’ boy is not about the fish. For Lance it wasn’t about the bike and for the po’ boy sammy it’s not about the fish. That said, the same rules always apply when purchasing fish – source the highest quality and the freshest available.

Poetry bombing

For O, Miami, a poetry festival held in April, Agustina Woodgate visited various thrift stores and stitched small labels with various verses of poems printed on them, such as this one by Li Po: “Life is a huge dream why work so hard?” And that is your deep thought for the upcoming weekend.

Redesigning Venice works in theory only

The 2011 Venice CityVision Competition is like lots of other city-based urban redesign contests in that it challenges architects, engineers and designers to come up with innovative ideas that make use of new and sustainable materials and building methods in a way that’s visually arresting and ultra modern while also making reference to the city’s history. It’s a lot to ask, especially when you consider that the winning proposals are hardly ever implemented.

Green tech finds – 7/28/11

(Fe) Catalytic Clothing from Protein® on Vimeo.

We get a little more fashionable than usual in this week’s green tech finds: from Linda Loudermilk’s compostable bikini, to a cutting-edge design for an RV (really!), to air-purifying clothing.

The film set trailer goes green: King Kong Production claims its Helios Solar Hybrid Production Trailer can run a full day on the built-in solar and biodiesel generators. So, no fossil emissions from a pampered celeb who’s late to set.

The sleek, all-electric RV: Okay, you likely never associate words like “sleek” or “cutting edge” with recreational vehicles, but NAU’s Ecco Camper may just change that. (via Crisp Green)

Guess the final image

Think you know your movies? Test yourself at The Final Image, a blog that asks its readers to name the film of the latest screenshot they post. “A shrine for screenshots of the final thought, le mise-en-scene finale, or the final shot of films,” The Final Image is kind of like a visual film version of Jeopardy.

Zach Braff Scrubs off a new script

When he wrote, directed, and starred in the quirkily engaging 2004 film GARDEN STATE, Zach Braff established himself as a triple threat clearly bent on helping hyphens make a big comeback. But apparently what the Scrubs guy really wanted to do was write a play—just write it—and he’s done just that with “All New People,” his new comedy opening at New York’s Second Stage Theatre.

How to close the orgasm gap

It’s not exactly rocket science to say that men orgasm more often than women when they have sex with each other. Now, if you had to guess, what do you think happens to this orgasm gap as a relationship progresses from casual hookup to repeated hookup to serious commitment? Yep, the orgasm gap closes. According to new research by Elizabeth Armstrong, a sociology professor at the University of Michigan, women orgasm about 80% as often as men do in close relationships — but only 32% as often in first hookups. This research is based on feedback from 12,000 college students across the country. In other words, yes, the undergraduate female orgasm is a rare and special beast.

Riverdale gets gay

The fictional town of Riverdale, where Archie and his friends have been attending high school since 1939, just got its first openly gay resident, Kevin Keller. Okay, that happened a little while ago but now Kevin has his own series, which, if you’re unfamiliar with Archie Comics, is kind of a big deal. Some characters who’ve been around forever never get their own spinoff.

Caption this photo of a whale shark

Photographer Mauricio Handler snapped this remarkable photograph of a whale shark feeding near Isla Mujeres, Mexico for National Geographic piece on one of the largest swarms of whale sharks ever spotted in 2009. Lucky for the diver in this picture that they only feast on plankton and tiny fish eggs.

Gulf Cuisine – Battered Up and Fried

Watch LUDO BITES AMERICA every Tuesday at 9P

More savory wit from our featured food blogger Diana Hossfeld, who writes the food blog Diana Takes a Bite.

“Anyway, like I was sayin’, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sauté it. Dey’s uh, shrimp kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That’s – that’s about it.”

According to these wise words from Bubba in FORREST GUMP, there are many different ways to enjoy shrimp. The possibilities are almost endless, the flavors and preparations as varied as the heart desires, limited only by the imagination of one fictional character. Or, in the case of one nonfictional character (me), taste.

Paul Rand on design

Want more design? Stay tuned for QUIRKY, premiering in August on Sundance Channel

If you don’t know the eminent graphic designer Paul Rand by name you definitely know his work. He created the logos for IBM, UPS, ABC and Enron, to name just a few. He’s also one of the originators of the International Typographic Style, also known as the Swiss Style (though he’s a Brooklyn native), which was created in the 1950s to emphasize minimalism, sans-serif typefaces and gridded, asymmetrical layouts.

Certify it: the Clean Green Certified standard for organic marijuana

If you’re a good treehugger, you always look for USDA Organic certification on food and personal care products, the FSC label on paper and wood products, and the Green Seal on cleaning products. But if you happen to enjoy recreational medicinal horticultural products, caveat emptor dictates your purchases. There’s no way to know the growing practices that produced that dimebag, right?

Ji Lee lecture

2011/03 Ji Lee from CreativeMornings on Vimeo.

One of my first posts here on SUNfiltered back in the spring of 2009 (insert aphorism here about how time flies and holy father I’m getting old) was a spotlight on my design crush Ji Lee, then creative director at Google Labs until his recent move to Facebook as their first creative director. Ever since I first learned of him and his work years ago, his ability to channel his creativity into both personal projects and his soaring career has long been a source of inspiration for me. In the video above, Ji Lee gave a recent talk at Creative Mornings (a monthly series of short lectures) discussing how the pursuit of personal passions and interests can have a positive, unintentional consequence on one’s career. If you’re in a rut this is a must-watch video.

ZAZIE DANS LE METRO, out now on Criterion

Louis Malle’s riotous, wildly experimental ZAZIE DANS LE METRO (1960) is based on the novel of the same name by Raymond Queneau, a co-founder of Oulipo, the experimental writer’s group based on linguistic constraint. Zazie Dans le Metro has been called the funniest book ever written in, and about, the French language. It was enormously popular in France, but given the liberties it takes with language – inventing words, defying syntax and spelling – it was considered a risk for Malle to adapt, and its subsequent release was met with far less success than his two previous narrative films, ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS and THE LOVERS, both released in 1958.

Quilts made from heavy metal t-shirts

Artist Ben Venom makes these huge quilts stitched together from t-shirts of various heavy metal bands. Titled “See you on the other side,” the 13′ x 15′ quilt pictured above is currently on display at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Over 125 t-shirts sacrificed themselves in order for the artist to make that quilt. Although my ears are not the biggest fan of this musical genre, I have a huge fascination with its culture: the style, the fans, the hair, and obviously the devil worship (calm down people, joking here…sort of). Some of my favorite documentaries (as well as the mockumentary SPINAL TAP) focused on heavy metal music such as ANVIL, which I thought was rather brilliant. And our very own editor here Perrin recommended the short doc HEAVY METAL JUNIOR to me (watch in its entirety on YouTube) which I found quite hilarious.

Beyond cows: community gardens in Omaha

Watch LUDO BITES AMERICA, Tuesdays at 9P, only on Sundance Channel.

When Ludo and Krissy hit Omaha tonight, they’ll be focused on soul food, rather than the beef for which the city is so famous. That means lots of vegetables… and while I don’t know for certain where Patricia “Big Mama” Barron gets her produce, it turns out she has lots of small-scale, local options available to her.

Beastie Boys and Sesame Street mash-up

Sesame Street breaks it down from Wonderful Creative on Vimeo. Branding agency Wonderful Creative put together this “wonderful” mash-up of clips from Sesame Street so it appears as if the puppets are performing the funkadelic song, “Sure Shot,” by the Beastie Boys. My favorite part is the flute at the beginning. G is for Gangsta! [...]

Naked News: Oooh, Baby, I love your objectively-measured facial masculinity

A study published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior claims that a woman is more likely to orgasm during intercourse with a man if he rates highly in the categories of “objectively-measured facial masculinity, observer-rated facial masculinity, partner-rated masculinity, and partner-rated dominance.” Just try fitting that on a Valentine’s card to your lover. Why [...]

Billboard swing set

This billboard converted into a swing has been circulating around the blogosphere but I think its particular blend of imaginative urban design, architecture, and playfulness would appeal and resonate with our classy readers here. Conceptualized and created by Didier Faustino for Bureau des Mésarchitectures, “Double Happiness” was presented at the 2008 Shenzhen & Hong Kong [...]

Potato chip, meet chocolate

Watch some sweet chocolate on potato chip action.

The salty-sweet thing is officially as ubiquitous as the time-honored PB & J sandwich, and everyone has their own favorite combo, be it the humble street cart kettle corn, sea salt caramels, chocolately-nutty granola bars or, my personal indulgence, dipping pretzels into buttery, rich Nutella. One time I even saw a guy pour one of those movie theatre concession-sized boxes of M&M’s into a big ol’ bag of popcorn. “Ooh,” his date cooed, “you do that salty-sweet thing, too?” The pairings can get downright bizarre. I won’t even go into the retch-inducing chocolate-covered pickle-on-a-stick I once saw a street fair, but it’s safe to say that the combinations are seemingly endless.

“Measure for Measure” at Shakespeare in the Park

Although the oppressive heat during Friday night’s performance of “Measure for Measure” was downright hellish, issuing from the very bowels of Satan himself (it’s okay to say bowels, Shakespeare used it all the time), the title of the play actually comes from Jesus, from his Sermon on the Mount, in which he outlined his moral code as being distinctly different from the “eye for an eye” routine of the Old Testament days. The basic plot and characters of the play are borrowed, too. Not from Jesus, but from George Whetstone, a minor writer whose work Shakespeare also dipped into for “Much Ado About Nothing.” Whetstone’s “History of Promos and Cassandra” includes a hypocritical minister of the law who asks a virtuous young nun to give him her virginity in exchange for her brother’s life, and the righteous duke who returns in the end to sort everything out. But Shakespeare complicates the easy moral vision of the original story in a great many ways, most famously when the Duke saves the virginity of Isabella, the nun, with one of those nifty little bed tricks Shakespeare so loved and then follows that up by asking her to marry him when all she really wants to do is get back to the nunnery and complete her vows.

Bike-touring musician inspired by “the trembling music of water”

As a musician who tours by bike and train with the Pleasant Revolution, and also powers performances by pedaling, Heather Normandale already has a lot of green cred. But her environmentalism doesn’t stop with her methods of traveling or amplification; She also finds the inspiration for her music in the natural world. Her current project looks to the source of all life on the planet: water.