naked

A few days ago, Slate had a cool photo essay on Spenser Tunick. Tunick is the art photographer who specializes in arranging naked people into the popular landscape. I was first exposed to him via the marvelous HBO documentary Naked States.

The essential question here is, "How much does authorial intent matter in determining if something is art?"

the A/V Club strikes again!

Two very cool interviews from The Onion A/V Club...whom I'm increasingly becoming convinced might be one of the finest web publications out there.

First off is an interview with Nina Hartley. For those of you who don't know Ms. Hartley, she is an adult film performer and feminist activist. No, that's not a contradiction in terms. This is a fabulous interview, a must-read for anyone interested in the sex industry, but also for anyone interested in the politics of gender.

Secondly, it's more on Anthony Bourdain, talking about the new season of No Reservations, one of the top ten shows on television.

honestly, officer, I thought she was hitch-hiking

A very cool paper about the economics of prostitution for you.

you can"t look away!

From the "this is important and I should pay more attention to this, but I spend more time thinking about conservative weirdos than I want to already" file, apparently media blowhard Rush Limbaugh is taking exception to Newt Gingrich's assertion that the era of Reagan is over.

It's both interesting and convoluted, which is why I'm trying to rebrand myself as a media studies scholar rather than an eighties guy.

free fiction!

Here's a page with links to 17 complete free online comics, including issue one of Sandman, issue one of Fell, and much more. If you are one of those poor unfortunates who only thinks of comics as "kid's stuff," please read here to see serious, adult material (and I don't mean "adult" as "boom chaka lacka").

the worst consumer product in the world

The geniuses at Anheiser Bush have decided--no lie--to combine Bud and Clamato. I am utterly incapable of making this up or adding to the conversation in any way.

new fave artist

One of the things I love about the internet is the ability to discover neat, interesting, wonderful things that you wouldn't even hear about otherwise. A prime example is the painter Zdzisław Beksiński, whom I discovered via a brief Coilhouse profile. They also link to a cool gallery of his work.

If only I could see some in the flesh. It's gorgeous, creepy, nerve-wracking, and seductive all at the same time.

identity politics parodied

Another cool parody, this time in the form of a "I Think I Might Be Straight" pamphlet. This one does a particularly good job of covering the uneducated/"this might happen to you" vibe of the original.

Journalism 2.0

A while back, Warren Ellis posted a link to Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive (as a pdf). Ellis calls it “digital literacy guide for the information age”...and who are we to argue with him?

offensitivity perfection

Those wacky folks at The Onion are at it again, with a great headline: "Man Finally Put In Charge Of Struggling Feminist Movement." Like all great Onion headlines, this plays on pervasive stereotypes yet ultimately skewers the stereotypee...kind of like Zappa.

Tom's unknown advantage over Jerry

Korean scientists have developed (is this the right word?) glow in the dark cats. The video is very creepy, although it's not as scary as glow pigs....hey, isn't that a Black Sabbath song?

The Original Human TETRIS Performance by Guillaume Reymond

It's even more addictive than the original!

thinking visually

One of the coolest things to happen online this year was the New York Times finally getting all free and non-registered on us. Witness the glory of 2007: The Year in Pictures...with commentary!

best Christmas story ever

According to The Sun (and how reliable are they, anyway?), A New Zealand shopping mall was attacked by a hoard of rampaging drunks in Santa costumes. Check it out...they have video goodness!

Peter Sellers rocked!

pops and groans

The Telegraph has a cool article on bad Christmas cracker jokes, which, with my love of awful humor, is a perfect fit for this page. My fave? On which side do chickens have the most feathers? The outside.

why I hate Christmas music

Some wonderful person has assembled an...interesting...version of "Walking in a Winter Wonderland by splicing clips together from different performers, including Stryper, Tony Bennett, Jewell, and Barney the Dinosaur. None of them would be good on their own, but together? Whoooooboy.

everyone has more civil rights than us

Apparently, Uruguay now offers civil unions. Great. As we get more fascist in the name of democracy, the rest of the world gets civil rights.

more Bourdain

Yes, you should know by now I have a "thing" for Tony Bourdain. Here's a cool piece on Bourdain, Hawaii, and Spam.

my new fave blog

Pulp of the Day does exactly what you'd expect: it has a different pulp cover every day. Better yet, they offer subscriptions. If you love retro, kitsch, or any combination thereof, you should check this out.

lists

Entertainment Weekly has a great list of the top 25 sci-fi movies of the last 25 years. There's a lot to disagree with here (is Lost better sci fi than V?), but that's half the fun!

A/V Club love for the Coens

I love The Onion. They get sarcastic much better than anyone in America should. Their writings show an amazing amount of relation to true-to-life experiences (right now I have Grad Student Deconstructs Takeout Menu on my office door...and what could be more fitting for a culture studies guy?) or an ability to do tasteless without being too cheap (witness the brilliance of Anna Nicole Smith Finally Reaches Target Weight, put out shortly after her death).

For my money, though, their non-fiction offshoot The Onion A.V. Club is often better. Today, for instance, they had proof of their brilliance with this wonderful Primer to The Coen Brothers. I must find some way to see their new film immediately...I am now jonesing.

karate movies in real life

Ever wondered if life in a secret Asian monastery comes close to any of those weird martial arts films? Well, wonder no more! Enjoy these photos from an actual Chinese Shaolin temple.

designing Mario

Here's a cool interview with veteran Nintendo game developer Yoshiaki Koizumi on the perils of designing three dimensional video games. I find it all very fascinating...but then again, my last video game system was an Atari 2600, so I'm very out of date.

this is adult?

Nerve, of all people, has an article on the Land's End catalog. Their take is 100% Nerve. A quote: " The Lands' End fall catalog is porn for the heartsick man." Sure it is...

Sorry for the infrequent updates. I'm back, baby!