Watched The September Issue last night... and loved every minute of it. The general consensus is that Grace Coddington steals the show. Her interview with Vogue unintentionally backs that up.
Welcome To The Future
I'm a sucker for country songs, and Brad Paisley's new album is hootin' and tootin' its way around my iPod right now. Here's a clip (at nine-odd minutes it's more like a full-length feature, but there ya go...) of his performance at the White House a while back.
Great intro, great song, great moment.
Great intro, great song, great moment.
Similar
Looking to mix up your regular list of websites? Try SimilarSites.com – its smart engine takes your favourite URL and suggests similar ones that you may (or may not) like.
(If that all sounded like an advertisement, it's probably because I've been writing below-the-line ad copy at work. That's how the rot starts...)
(If that all sounded like an advertisement, it's probably because I've been writing below-the-line ad copy at work. That's how the rot starts...)
Fall Out
I've had this song stuck in my head all week.
And I'll always love that they're named after Radioactive Man's faithful sidekick.
And I'll always love that they're named after Radioactive Man's faithful sidekick.
Girls
I picked up a book on American art at a sale last week, and there - hidden away near the back - I found a wonderful triptych by Lisa Yuskavage. She's bold, brave and ballsy... and I love her comic book cover approach to the female form.
Sit, Boy!
The great part about being an art fan (as opposed to an art student, which doesn't sound like much fun at all) is that I get to discover new things every day. Like this one by Roy Lichtenstein.
You're Next
Here's a sobering post from Photoshelter: it's a list of the 10 Things All Staff Photographers Must Do Right Now... and what's really scary about it is that it works for anybody in my industry.
Or, quite possibly, in yours.
Or, quite possibly, in yours.
What It's Worth
Remember the Zero Dollar Bill? India's doing something similar... but for an even better reason. Petty corruption has become such a problem in India that people are expected to pay a "gratuity" (i.e. a bribe) for basic government services which they should receive for free. (Actually, they're paying for it through their taxes, but that's a separate point.) To combat this, a group of annoyed locals are printing out Zero Rupee Bills. If a civil servant asks for a bribe, they're going to get what their services are worth: zero.
Of course it probably won't work.
But it's worth trying.
Walls Could Talk
Another amazing gallery from Pictory: it's called Coming Home, and it's a collection of pictures of the houses photographers grew up in.
There's no place like home...
National Anthem
Ladies and Gentlemen, please stand for the National Anthem... as performed by Marvin Gaye, using the backing track from Sexual Healing.
Life Story
Athlete autobiographies are usually so dull that it didn't surprise me to hear that Herschelle Gibbs hadn't even read his own one. (That's right: he didn't read his own autobiography.) But French soccer player Steve Savidan isn't your run-of-the-mill sportsman, and his story – summed up nicely at Soccernet – is well worth reading.
Background
Looking for a new desktop wallpaper? Look no further than National Geographic's Photo of the Day. Their archives are, as you'd expect, very impressive - and the pics are brilliantly quirky and offbeat.
Holmes
The Smithsonian magazine has a feature this month on Sherlock Holmes's London. And that's all I really need to say about that.
Conan The Destroyer
So there's been some excitement at NBC, where Jay Leno's new show isn't working, so they're pushing Leno's show back, meaning that Conan O'Brien's show would have to be moved back to later-than-late at night, making it The Tomorrow Show instead of The Today Show, and plunging the whole network into a PR mess. (Somebody ought to write an encyclopedia entry to explain it all.) (Oh, wait. Someone did.)
Bottom line is this: Conan is going down. But Sugar, he's going down swinging. Knowing that he's being fired, and that his show is being taken off the air, he's doing what everybody else on Earth wishes they could do to their idiot boss.
When he's not outright insulting his employers, he's wasting their money (on a pointless $1,5-million prop, for starters) and getting his old buddies to join him in insulting his employers. Man, I hope I have the same bridge-burning bravado when I get my inevitable marching orders from my job.
Check out the videos here.
Bottom line is this: Conan is going down. But Sugar, he's going down swinging. Knowing that he's being fired, and that his show is being taken off the air, he's doing what everybody else on Earth wishes they could do to their idiot boss.
When he's not outright insulting his employers, he's wasting their money (on a pointless $1,5-million prop, for starters) and getting his old buddies to join him in insulting his employers. Man, I hope I have the same bridge-burning bravado when I get my inevitable marching orders from my job.
Check out the videos here.
Metered
So the New York Times - undaunted by Apple's new tablet, are going for a metered online payment model. Way it'll work is this: you register as a user on the site, and you get X amount of free content every month. Use more than your allowance, and you have to start paying to read their content.
Maybe I'm crazy, but it sounds like a fair deal to me.
Maybe I'm crazy, but it sounds like a fair deal to me.
Unclaimed
The stuff you find on the Internet... The good folks at mental_floss have a fun story up, listing 10 weirdest pieces of unclaimed airline luggage. I'll take the rare 18th century violin if nobody wants it.
Craft
Now this looks like fun: Lifehacker has a link up to a page at DIY/craft HQ Instructables, where they're redecorating spiral notepads using old VHS movie covers.
Man, I wish I hadn't gotten rid of my old library of tapes...
Man, I wish I hadn't gotten rid of my old library of tapes...
Haiti
Dictatorships, coups, floods, riots, hurricanes... and now a killer earthquake. No wonder Foreign Policy is calling Haiti the "unluckiest country" on Earth.
Even Better Than The Real Thing
As a nostalgic old geezer, I love me a bit of... y'know... nostalgia. And YouTube, with its never-ending supply of copyright-flouting movie clips, TV recordings and old music videos, never fails to please. Here, for your viewing pleasure and mine, is a clip from the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards show, when Dana Carvey (as Garth from Wayne's World) played drums with U2.
Those were different times.
Those were different times.
Home
If you're looking for a new home page for your browser, look no further than a photo a day. It won't give you the news headlines (though you have RSS feeds for that), and it won't give you a Google search box (though your browser should have one built in)... but it will give you a whimsical, caption-free photograph to start your day.
And that's what you really need.
Dakar
The infamous Dakar Rally (which, in a move that's bound to crop up at one of my Pub Quiz evenings, is now raced nowhere near Dakar) is in full swing again, and The Big Picture has a gallery up of the highlights so far.
I fancy racing it on a quad bike. (Though I probably wouldn't last five minutes...)
Milk?
I used to love playing Spot The Celebrity in the old Got Milk ads they used to (and possibly still do) run in American magazines. There's a huge collection of those ads (along with bajillions of others, which I'll link to later) at Vintage Ad Browser. Go snoop around the site. You'll love the retro 1960s and 1970s stuff.
(Honestly, though, this post is just an excuse to post a pic of the lovely Yasmine Bleeth...)
(Honestly, though, this post is just an excuse to post a pic of the lovely Yasmine Bleeth...)
24
I was reading New York magazine's list of Obsolete Movie Clichés That Technology Will Never Kill (seriously, when last did you hear an actual record scratch?), and I go redirected to this brilliant skit from CollegeHumor.
It's 24: the never-aired 1994 pilot episode.
It's 24: the never-aired 1994 pilot episode.
4-4
There's nothing in soccer that's quite as much fun as a high-scoring draw... and the troubled African Nations Cup produced one in its opening game, where Mali, 0-4 down against the tournament hosts with just 15 minutes left and 2-4 down at the end of regulation time, managed to salvage a point.
You have to feel sorry for the Angolans.
You have to feel sorry for the Angolans.
Subscribers Only
Ever wondered why that dot-bomb bubble burst? Ask Calamities of Nature and they'll tell you it was all those paid lunches...
Bad News
I know this is supposed to be a fun site and not a news site, but (especially seeing as I have a special interest in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in my South African backyard), I’m shocked to hear this news: the BBC is reporting that the bus carrying the Togo soccer team to their opening African Nations Cup match in Angola has been attacked by gunmen near the Congolese border. Apparently (and the reports are still very sketchy) superstar Emmanuel Adebayor is not among the wounded… but there are definitely wounded players and staff. We’ll see how this story pans out. Man, I hope everybody’s OK…
Of course, you’re going to have idiots wondering how this affects the World Cup in SA. Allow me to remind y’all that northern Angola is further, distance-wise, from South Africa than Bosnia/Kosovo/Yugoslavia were from all those “safe” European countries (like Italy, Germany, Austria, etc) when war was waging in the early 1990s. So let’s focus on the Togolese team for now…
Of course, you’re going to have idiots wondering how this affects the World Cup in SA. Allow me to remind y’all that northern Angola is further, distance-wise, from South Africa than Bosnia/Kosovo/Yugoslavia were from all those “safe” European countries (like Italy, Germany, Austria, etc) when war was waging in the early 1990s. So let’s focus on the Togolese team for now…
Pictory
You'll have to travel very, very far into the jungles of the Interwebs before you find a site as powerful (visually, emotionally) as Pictory. They run a series of photo showcases, taking single-shot contributions from people across the world... and the results are astounding.
Here's a taste of their collection called Overseas and Overwhelmed. Go check out the rest.
Here's a taste of their collection called Overseas and Overwhelmed. Go check out the rest.
Words
Michael Kinsley has a great piece in The Atlantic about one of the many problems with newspaper journalism.
Here's the first paragraph:
"One reason seekers of news are abandoning print newspapers for the Internet has nothing directly to do with technology. It’s that newspaper articles are too long. On the Internet, news articles get to the point. Newspaper writing, by contrast, is encrusted with conventions that don’t add to your understanding of the news. Newspaper writers are not to blame. These conventions are traditional, even mandatory."
The rest (and it's really worth reading) is over here.
Here's the first paragraph:
"One reason seekers of news are abandoning print newspapers for the Internet has nothing directly to do with technology. It’s that newspaper articles are too long. On the Internet, news articles get to the point. Newspaper writing, by contrast, is encrusted with conventions that don’t add to your understanding of the news. Newspaper writers are not to blame. These conventions are traditional, even mandatory."
The rest (and it's really worth reading) is over here.
Carlos
So word has it that former All Blacks skillmeister (in my world, that's an official rugby term) Carlos Spencer has signed for the incredibly rubbish Lions. I haven't been this excited about a rugby signing since Luke Watson left WP!
Now most folks will remember King Carlos for this little number:
But I like to remember him for this slice of rugby genius:
Now most folks will remember King Carlos for this little number:
But I like to remember him for this slice of rugby genius:
More Comic Covers
I'm still loving those great comic book covers – and I found another stash over at Complex.com.
Psychedelics, metaphysics, film noir, Saint Sebastian... it's all there.
Maps
I like strange maps. So much so, that I have StrangeMaps as one of my bookmarks. So you can imagine my joy when Slate ran a gallery of... well... strange maps – including one where California is an island!
Comic Covers
IGN has rolled out its gallery of the Top 100 Comic Book Covers of 2009.
There's some amazing stuff in there – and they've left loads of good stuff off their list too. Ever since magazine covers turned into glorified contents pages, and ever since movie poster designers stopped putting any effort in, comic books have become – to my mind, at least – the last outpost of great poster art.
This, of course, is just a tiny sampling of their top 100. I'm loving the Thor cover...
There's some amazing stuff in there – and they've left loads of good stuff off their list too. Ever since magazine covers turned into glorified contents pages, and ever since movie poster designers stopped putting any effort in, comic books have become – to my mind, at least – the last outpost of great poster art.
This, of course, is just a tiny sampling of their top 100. I'm loving the Thor cover...
1994
There's a very good piece up at a very good site called AWL, which asks: "Why Did We Not Appreciate 2007?". The very good point the writer makes is that 2007 was... erm... a very good year for moviegoers.
It's hard to argue. But my favourite movie year is still 1994 - the year that gave us
Forrest Gump
which, in spite of myself, I really liked.
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
which was, at the time, very funny.
True Lies
which is the best James Bond film that isn't a James Bond film.
Dumb and Dumber
which was, you must admit, very funny indeed.
Speed
which was so fast-paced that you staggered out of the movie to go for a lie-down.
Pulp Fiction
which would be my favourite movie ever if it weren't for
Leon
which gave us Natalie Portman.
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
which had more wisdom than you'd expect from such a well-dressed movie.
Airheads
which you had to be a heavy metal fan to fully appreciate.
Clean Slate
which almost everybody missed, but which everybody who saw it loved.
Clerks
which gave us Kevin Smith.
The Client
which proved that John Grisham movies could be better than The Firm.
The Crow
which wasn't as good as I remember, but which is far better than I think.
Ed Wood
which you had to be there to appreciate.
Four Weddings and a Funeral
which speaks for itself.
The Hudsucker Proxy
which I bet you didn't know was a Coen Brothers movie.
Interview with the Vampire
which opened the door for Twilight (which isn't necessarily a bad thing)
Legends of the Fall
which would have won all the Oscars in any other year.
The Lion King
which won the Golden Globe for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy).
Major League II
which somehow slipped into this list.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
which had John Cleese in an unrecognisable cameo.
Maverick
which was that comedy Western with Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster.
Muriel's Wedding
which slipped in on Priscilla's coattails, but which was excellent in its own right.
Natural Born Killers
which blew your mind.
Quiz Show
which would have won the Oscar in any other year.
Reality Bites
which was smarter than you think.
The Shawshank Redemption
which should have won the Oscar, regardless of the year.
Three Colors: White
which it's a pity you missed.
Three Colors: Red
which you had to have seen Three Colors: White to fully appreciate.
It's hard to argue. But my favourite movie year is still 1994 - the year that gave us
Forrest Gump
which, in spite of myself, I really liked.
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
which was, at the time, very funny.
True Lies
which is the best James Bond film that isn't a James Bond film.
Dumb and Dumber
which was, you must admit, very funny indeed.
Speed
which was so fast-paced that you staggered out of the movie to go for a lie-down.
Pulp Fiction
which would be my favourite movie ever if it weren't for
Leon
which gave us Natalie Portman.
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
which had more wisdom than you'd expect from such a well-dressed movie.
Airheads
which you had to be a heavy metal fan to fully appreciate.
Clean Slate
which almost everybody missed, but which everybody who saw it loved.
Clerks
which gave us Kevin Smith.
The Client
which proved that John Grisham movies could be better than The Firm.
The Crow
which wasn't as good as I remember, but which is far better than I think.
Ed Wood
which you had to be there to appreciate.
Four Weddings and a Funeral
which speaks for itself.
The Hudsucker Proxy
which I bet you didn't know was a Coen Brothers movie.
Interview with the Vampire
which opened the door for Twilight (which isn't necessarily a bad thing)
Legends of the Fall
which would have won all the Oscars in any other year.
The Lion King
which won the Golden Globe for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy).
Major League II
which somehow slipped into this list.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
which had John Cleese in an unrecognisable cameo.
Maverick
which was that comedy Western with Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster.
Muriel's Wedding
which slipped in on Priscilla's coattails, but which was excellent in its own right.
Natural Born Killers
which blew your mind.
Quiz Show
which would have won the Oscar in any other year.
Reality Bites
which was smarter than you think.
The Shawshank Redemption
which should have won the Oscar, regardless of the year.
Three Colors: White
which it's a pity you missed.
Three Colors: Red
which you had to have seen Three Colors: White to fully appreciate.
Window
There's a great slideshow up at New York magazine of work by W Eugene Smith. Here's an intro:
"Smith was mid-century America’s greatest photojournalist. His work in Life magazine, during and after World War II, made him rich and famous. Then he went to Pittsburgh on a three-week assignment to produce 100 prints for a book celebrating the city. The three weeks turned into a year, and in the end Smith wound up snapping 22,000 pictures, envisioning a work as epic as Beethoven’s late string quartets.
Smith never finished the book, and from then on, nobody wanted to hire him, fearing he’d spin out on another quixotic odyssey. And so he went a little crazy."
Smith spent eight years cooped up in his Manhattan apartment, taking photos out of his window.
The results are maddeningly good.
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