sundance

Redford urges Obama to stop the Keystone XL pipeline

Robert Redford delivers a powerful message to President Obama, asking him to say no to the Keystone XL pipeline that threatens to destroy “the bread basket of America” so big oil can turn a profit.

The UK’s Liver Building as digital canvas

Luminous Flux from the macula on Vimeo.

“Video projection mapping” is a relatively new technique that has been gaining momentum in the art and advertising worlds for the past five years (did anyone else catch Ralph Lauren’s crazy “4D” demonstration on Madison Ave last year?). In essence, the method uses specialized software to turn any possible surface into a video display, warping and masking the images to fit perfectly on anything you can think of. One of the main advantages of the technique is scale: with minimal resources, video mappers can turn anything into a giant, digital canvas.

One spectacular recent example is “Luminous Flux,” projected last week on England’s Liver Building for the opening of the New Museum of Liverpool.

The %#*! hits the fan with the Climate Reality Project

Notice any unusual weather patterns lately? Any hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, drought or flood come your way? If you’ve lived on this Earth in the last year or two then the answer is, undoubtedly, yes. But if you’re someone who refuses to believe that these dramatic changes in our weather are a sign that maybe humans haven’t had the best impact on our environment, get ready to wake the %#*! up. This Wednesday, climate change deniers get an extra dose of reality with the Climate Reality Project, a 24-hour, global, livestream event that reveals, once and for all, the very real scope of the climate crisis.

The Climate Reality Project asks you to make time for reality on Wednesday, September 14 at 7PM, in your time zone. “Pick a faraway place or a city near you. Make it yours for one day. We’re hitting every time zone, but only once…Choose a location and get involved.” If your hometown isn’t represented, pick some place you’ve never been to (French Polynesia, Tonga, New Delhi or Seoul) or maybe never even heard of. Personally, I’m choosing Ilulissat. But prepare yourself for some serious talk on climate change, and stand ready to take action. This isn’t a fluffy, pictures of dolphins in net, tear-jerking talk-the-talk but no walk kinda thing. Did you watch the videos m ss ng p eces made? Would they create poop and hurl it at a fan if this wasn’t for real? Just watch the behind-the-scenes: Al Gore is pissed, and really, why aren’t more people? As the man says, if you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention.

Best of Kickstarter, 9/12: THE HAPPY FILM

We’re starting off the week with a new Kickstarter projects so good we’re not including any others. What am I talking about, you ask? What’s this Best of Kickstarter thing we’ve been blogging about every Monday? Well, it seems like everyone is pitching their idea to Kickstarter. We think that’s great, but with great power comes great responsibility, and while the 23-person Kickstarter team does their best to filter out the winning projects from the thousands and thousands of proposals they receive, there are still hundreds of thousands of new projects that launch each week. That’s a lot of ways to spend your hard-earned five bucks. Too many ways, actually. How can one person sort through it all? Relax, we’ll do it all for you.

Okay, so remember when I told you about Stefan Sagmeister’s latest project, THE HAPPY FILM? Of course you do (just nod politely to validate me)! And remember when I said you should contribute, so you went to the website and looked around all confused because you couldn’t find the ‘donate now’ button? Well, live in confusion no longer, my friend. The happy dudes behind THE HAPPY FILM have now made it really easy for us to help them fund their movie by making it an official Kickstarter project.

Worst of Kickstarter

The whole point of these Picks is to keep you up to date about new Kickstarter projects that truly deserve your donations, but this last week the good stuff was hard to come by. I don’t know if the Kickstarter crew is on vacay or what, but some major duds definitely slipped through the cracks. Take the $5 minimum donation for these and treat your landlord to a beer, or, hell, just drop the money on the street. Whoever picks it up is more likely to put it to good use. And with that, I give you this week’s worst.

When public proposals go wrong

Food Court Proposal Gone Wrong – Watch more Funny Videos

As we’ve said here many times, we’re massive FAILblog fans. We think it’s hilarious when people fall down (so long as they don’t get seriously hurt), especially if it happens at a wedding or when they’re trying to act sorta cool. When shit goes wrong and someone happens to capture it on video, the Internet gets a little happier. But there is a sub-genre of shit-going-wrong videos that makes us clench our buttholes, and not in a good way: When a dude gets down on one knee and proposes in public and his girlfriend says no (just Google “proposal gone wrong” if you’re not familiar with the genre).

What can you do in 15 minutes?

Michael Cirino, co-founder of the culinary events company A Razor, A Shiny Knife (think pop-up restaurant on a NYC subway car), whips up a batch of homemade ice cream with fresh ingredients and a dash of chemistry while fearless Streb acrobat Fabio Tavares teaches you how to defy gravity: all in 15 minutes.

Watch the mad scientist and the daring thrill seeker at work below!

The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic

This past weekend marked the end of the Manchester International Festival, a biennial, artist-led event that has, in the past, played host to artists like Matthew Barney and Olafur Eliasson, among others. This year performance artist extraordinaire, Marina Abramović, took to the stage for a run of six theatrical performances of “The Life and Death of Marina Abramović.”

Robyn’s Indestructible

Robyn, the Swedish pop star I obsess over, is set to release her third and final album of 2010, Body Talk Volume 3, in November. To gear up for the release and yet another American tour she’s just released the video for lead-off single “Indestructible.” It’s a sexy affair featuring couples making out while she [...]

Wanderlust

Wanderlust from Thinklab on Vimeo. I’m mesmerized by the video Wanderlust. Since stumbling upon it via Vimeo I’ve repeatedly gone back to the little gem to sneak peeks of the world these filmmakers captured. It’s directed by Thinklab who “inspired by a TED talk by Stefan Sagmeister, packed up a Canon 5D and travelled through South [...]

Amanda Lepore channels Monroe

AMANDA LEPORE “Marilyn” featuring CAZWELL directed by LEO HERRERA from Leo Herrera on Vimeo.

Amanda Lepore is the world’s most famous transsexual. And she’s proud of it. When you call Mandy’s cell phone and get her voicemail she coos that she has a “fully functioning vagina.” No. Seriously. She does.

Half Hour of Kanye

I hope you have some time on your lunch break today because Kanye West’s “Runaway” single is live on Vivo. In typical Hollywood fashion, he emerges from being the most hated musician in the world to the most inventive. We love a comeback.

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 [...]

Hurts so good

Hurts is the band that is taking Europe by storm and you’ve probably never heard of them. In traditional music industry fashion, we here in the US are kept out of the loop of emerging bands. Don’t worry, Hurts will eventually get here, since the conquer the rest of the world. The album Happiness is this year’s best.

Cazwell’s Ice Cream Truck

If you’re like me, with a hankering for ice cream, primary colors, and Latino go-go boys, then you’re going to love, love, love the above video. It is almost safe for work. I said almost. Cazwell is a gay white rapper and a NYC-nightlife fixture. Typically he’s seen running around town with Amanda Lepore. But [...]

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 [...]

Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own”

Robyn ‘Dancing On My Own’ (Official Video) from Robyn on Vimeo. Swedish pop sensation Robyn released her new video for the single “Dancing on My Own” today and it’s pretty brilliant. The song is seriously becoming a contender for my song of the summer. Gone are her girlish looks and edge, replaced with an older [...]

Glee Vogues

Gays across the country freaked out over two of the gayest pop culture icons, Madonna and Glee, coming together. Yes, Glee did Madonna. The folks over at Defamer ran this hilarious side-by-side of Glee’s Vogue and the original. Glee’s is spot-on. And Jane Lynch does Madge better than Madge has in recent years. A real [...]

RIP Malcolm McLaren

Malcolm McLaren has died and with him goes a remarkable piece of counter-culture history. McLaren discovered the Sex Pistols. He managed the New York Dolls. He dated and helped create the empire of Vivienne Westwood. He made some great albums. And way before Madonna caught on he discovered the voguing houses. See above. A piece [...]

An art lesson in a music video

70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L'Ogre on Vimeo. “70 Million”, is a song by the Franco-American band Hold Your Horses! It takes viewers on a journey through art history reconstructing famous paintings. The look and feel is similar to our own Green Porno. It will make you smile. Mark my words.

Billie Ray Martin returns

Billie Ray Martin should be a household name. Her voice is epic. It recalls Aretha and soul singers of another era. Ms. Martin is German. And white. And loves the Pet Shop Boys and electronic music. And disco. She’s always been a bit before her time. And those are the reasons why she’s not a bigger star. She may be too talented.

Peter Gabriel returns.

I am in Costa Rica this week traveling with a group of 13 gays. While this could sound like a recipe for disaster (13 queens fighting over one iPod dock!) we’ve been having a relaxing, and fun, week. There was a moment on Saturday that got me combing the internet this morning. As we traveled [...]

Who is iamamiwhoami?

The internet is abuzz over the videos posted to the YouTube channel “iamamiwhoami.” Released, many think, as a marketing campaign to build buzz about an upcoming music release, the three videos debuted so far are dark and creepy. The music is electronic and pulsing. And the guesses included the obvious, Goldfrapp and Marilyn Manson. However, [...]

God hates GaGa

Via Andy Towle I found this frightening video put out by the Westboro Baptist Cult. You know the “God Hates Fags” people. Those crazy freaks. Well, in the days of YouTube, the church, er, cult is getting more creative. Adding to their funeral protests, they’ve now gone all Weird Al on us making a parody [...]

The Divine 80s

The venerable NYC nightclub 1984 has been celebrating the 80s long before they became chic again. And it still offers a remarkable treat to those of us who spent our formative years in day-glo listening to Duran Duran. Resident DJ Chip Duckett, who also happens to be NYC’s biggest drag queen booker, curates a video show each week worthy of price of admission alone.

Last week he played 6 plus hours of all Kate Bush’s videos. Yes, Kate Bush is an acquired taste. And this week’s videos are even more so: Divine.