So You Think You Can Dubstep?

Garo Sparo, couture fashion designer.

We know what you’re thinking: “How can I possibly celebrate my love for club culture in between the all new episodes of UNLEASHED BY GARO?!”

Here it is, ladies, gents and gender benders — The Gossamer Swatch Session Mix Tape. Coming to you once a week as tribute to couture fashion designer Garo Sparo. Watch as Garo, part-time psychiatrist and full-time dream weaver, helps his clients battle their inhibitions and unleash their true selves in our all new original series UNLEASHED BY GARO. Fridays 9p.

Check out this week’s mix tape below.

5 reasons why WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? still matters

If you’ve taken a look at the schedule for The Green programming this month (and the rest of what’s on Sundance Channel this week), this Sunday’s showing of WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? may have caught your attention – and even had you scratching your head a bit. After all, aren’t electrified vehicles now alive and well? The Nissan LEAF (a fully electric car) and the Chevy Volt (a plug-in hybrid with a 40 mile all-electric range) are getting lots of attention, and boutique automakers like Tesla are still plugging away (so to speak). Gearheads are converting their own cars to electricity and even offering the service to others. And director Chris Paine’s next film is called REVENGE OF THE ELECTRIC CAR. Doesn’t all of this prove that this five-year-old documentary is already dated?

Q&A with Core77 design winner: Solar Puff

Ben Kaufman’s company, Quirky, is all about finding great ideas from regular people and turning them into real, marketable products, and Core77 is all about covering the best and latest in design and technology. Throughout the Quirky series, we’ll be bringing you stories from designers, inventors and entrepreneurs who’ve either already brought their product from concept to completion or are right in the middle of that process – and all without the help of a company like Ben’s.

Today we bring you the story of the Solar Puff, runner up for the Core77 Design Award for DIY/Hack/Mod. Designed by Alice Minsoo Chun of Studio Unite.

Kick your un-creative butt into high gear

Based solely on the fact that Stefan Sagmeister dropped his name in a sentence to this effect: he helps me get ideas – I picked up “Creativity Workout: 62 Exercises to Unlock Your Most Creative Ideas,” by Edward “master of creative thinking” De Bono. It’s basically a book of exercises to help you generate ideas, whether you’re looking for business solutions or a little kick in the pants in a creative project. All the exercises are based on tables of random words that you select randomly, the idea being that in order to think outside the box you need to approach your problem from the outside as well. De Bono posits that totally unrelated words will shed new light and lead to active ways of thinking and creative solutions.

When I read through his introduction and discovered that this was the concept for the entire book, I was pretty let down. It seemed so hokey, like problem solving tricks your fourth grade teacher might use in class. But no matter how much I cringed at De Bono’s self help speak, I just kept thinking: Sagmeister. Sagmeister does this stuff, so who was I to turn my nose up at it without even trying it out?

What’s playing this week on Sundance Channel

If you missed the block of films we screened on the Sundance Channel this past weekend, don’t worry – you’ve got the rest of the month to get with the program. In fact, you can start tonight with PVC-1, a festival favorite (it swept up a boat load of awards, including one at Cannes and the Bangkok International Film Festival), shot in real time and based on the true story of a woman who was turned into a human bomb. Then stay tuned for our Hollwouldn’t double-feature: LE DIVORCE and HADEWIJCH.

Q&A with Core77 design winner: Project Aura, bike safety lights

Ben Kaufman’s company, Quirky, is all about finding great ideas from regular people and turning them into real, marketable products, and Core77 is all about covering the best and latest in design and technology. Throughout the Quirky series, we’ll be bringing you stories from designers, inventors and entrepreneurs who’ve either already brought their product from concept to completion or are right in the middle of that process – and all without the help of a company like Ben’s.

Today we bring you the story of Project Aura, winner of the Core77 Design Award for Transportation. Designed by Ethan Frier, Jonathan Ota.

Q&A with Core77 design winner: Euphemia, cradle-to-cradle fashion footwear

Ben Kaufman’s company, Quirky, is all about finding great ideas from regular people and turning them into real, marketable products, and Core77 is all about covering the best and latest in design and technology. Throughout the Quirky series, we’ll be bringing you stories from designers, inventors and entrepreneurs who’ve either already brought their product from concept to completion or are right in the middle of that process – and all without the help of a company like Ben’s.

Today we bring you the story of Euphemia, winner of the Core77 Design Award for Soft Goods/Apparel. Designed by Helen Furber.

Q&A with Core77 design winner: Bamboo Load Carrier

Ben Kaufman’s company, Quirky, is all about finding great ideas from regular people and turning them into real, marketable products, and Core77 is all about covering the best and latest in design and technology. Throughout the Quirky series, we’ll be bringing you stories from designers, inventors and entrepreneurs who’ve either already brought their product from concept to completion or are right in the middle of that process – and all without the help of a company like Ben’s.

Today we bring you the story of the Bamboo Load Carrier, winner of the Core77 Design Award for Products/Equipment. Designed by Vikram Dinubhai and Panchal-Nid.

Introducing Garo, the next big thing on Sundance Channel

If you don’t already know Garo, then you’re in for a real treat next Friday night when we premiere our new series UNLEASHED BY GARO. A fashion designer and skilled artisan (think complicated corsetry and lace work), Garo creates outfits for everything from runway to one-of-kind, personal transformation, occasion pieces. And let’s not forget his delightfully outlandish costume pieces for drag; Watching Hedda Lettuce’s cameo in episode one is the most fun I’ve had watching TV in a long time.

What’s on Sundance Channel next?

The last day of August means two things: the official end of Summer (boo) and the beginning of Fall (yay) – and with it, a whole month chockfull of specially chosen films on Sundance Channel (double yay!). We’ve got blocks of sexy films, environmental films, foreign films, independent films and festival premiers. You’re bound to see some old favorites, some big screen hits and plenty of new classics just waiting to make their way onto your Best Films of All Time list.

Sundance in the news: everyone’s talking ’bout Quirky

The first episode of Quirky hasn’t even aired yet (that all changes tonight at 9P), and already the Tweeters and bloggers of the Inter-webs have united, and for once it seems like everyone online has only good things to say – about Quirky, at least. Though really, I’m not surprised. I’ve already seen the first two episodes (yeah, I gotta hook-up) and not only is it about one of my dearest loves – design – but it’s one of those shows that you aren’t going to mess around on during the commercial break lest you miss any of the excitement Ben Kaufman and his team of pros is cooking up at the Quirky lab. Seriously, in the first five minutes we see someone send in an idea they had for a product they probably thought up while they were just hanging out on their couch at home and Bam! It gets selected by the Quirky kids and at the end of the episode it’s a real, live and extremely good-looking product you can actually go into a store and buy. And yeah, I’m willing to risk sound like a dork here, but that’s pretty cool, right? The Associated Press thought so, too. Check it:

Designer Q&A: Laptop Sticks by Dice Yamaguchi

Ben Kaufman’s company Quirky is all about finding great ideas from regular people and turning them into real, marketable products. Throughout the Quirky series, we’ll be bringing you stories from designers, inventors and entrepreneurs who’ve either already brought their product from concept to completion or are right in the middle of that process – and all without the help of a company like Ben’s, like Diceke Yamaguchi and his Laptop Sticks.

Q&A with Core77 design winner: Bespoke Fairing for below-knee amputees

Ben Kaufman’s company, Quirky, is all about finding great ideas from regular people and turning them into real, marketable products, and Core77 is all about covering the best and latest in design and technology. Throughout the Quirky series, we’ll be bringing you stories from designers, inventors and entrepreneurs who’ve either already brought their product from concept to completion or are right in the middle of that process – and all without the help of a company like Ben’s.

Today we bring you the story of the Bespoke Fairing, winner of the Core77 Design Award for Soft Goods/Apparel. Designed by Scott Summit of Bespoke Innovations.

Get ready for Quirky, our next original series

Though we’re sad to see Ludo go (the series finale of Ludo Bites America airs tonight at 9P), we’re very excited to announce the premiere of the upcoming Sundance original series Quirky, as well as our series-long partnership with Core77. Ben Kaufman’s company, Quirky, is all about finding great ideas from regular people and turning them into real, marketable products, and Core77 is all about covering the best and latest in design and technology. Throughout the series, we’ll be bringing you stories from designers, inventors and entrepreneurs who’ve either already brought their product from concept to completion or are right in the middle of that process – and all without the help of a company like Ben’s.

Today we bring you the story of Skatecycle, winner of the Core77 Design Award for Transportation. Designed by Alon Karpman of Brooklyn Workshop.

LUDO BITES AMERICA – Ceviche

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.

I’m going to be straightforward here. I think ceviche is best served as the rustic and simple dish that it historically is: a poor man’s meal conceived as a way to get rid of fish and reduce waste on its last palatable day via light pickling. I’m also going to say that when done right, it’s a total delight. That’s why this SUNfiltered post is so exciting to me. When I read the recipe, I wanted to transport myself immediately to my Minneapolis kitchen and try it. I thought, “Wow, this is ceviche taken to the next level.” Milk granita, cucumber water and blackberries. I was delighted to give this recipe a shot. Maybe it would change my viewpoint on ceviche forever.

Ludo Bites a buffalo

Watch LUDO BITES AMERICA Tuesdays at 9P

More mouthwatering bon mots from guest blogger Zach Golden, the creator of the incredibly popular website, What the Fuck Should I Make For Dinner?

If you have an aversion to things getting shot, things getting skinned, hearts being eaten or French chefs, you may not want to continue. Or you may want to, we really don’t know each other that well, but consider this your formal warning.

Buffaloes and Bison and Ludo, Oh My!

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.

“There’s buffalo by my house!” I piped up in the middle of Mrs. Johnson’s fifth grade U.S. History lesson about Native Americans. Heads whipped around to stare, Mrs. Johnson swallowed what I immediately identified as a skeptical snort and guffaw, and my confident declaration rapidly disintegrated into a physical declaration of embarrassment. My cheeks burned as I tried to explain how it was conceivably possible for there to be buffalo roaming around near my house in Newport Beach, California. I did not do well in pleading my case.

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.

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.

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.

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.

ALL ON THE LINE casting call