Monthly Archives: July 2010
Thank You For Your Call
In the opening of Shawn Nee‘s short film, Thank You For Your Call, the following text fades in: “As of July 2010, the United States Social Security Administration does not recognize same-sex marriages or domestic partnerships as valid relationships.” What we discover in the film is that many LGBT seniors — like Bill Bowersock — are often forced to…
Goodbye Melvin Bliss, Creator of ‘Synthetic Substitution’
“Melvin Bliss, singer of one the most sampled songs of all time, 1973‚Äôs ‚ÄúSynthetic Substitution,‚Äù has died. The list of artists who‚Äôve borrowed from the track is long and overwhelming: Ultramagnetic MC‚Äôs, Public Enemy, De La Soul, Naughty By Nature, Gang Starr, Wu-Tang Clan; it goes on, pretty much forever.” (via Village Voice)
The United States of Basil Marceaux Dot Com
In an age where political upstarts use every tool available to gain exposure, Basil Marceaux is decidedly lo-fi — despite the Web 1.0 “Dot Com” in his name. As one of the Republican candidates for governor in Tennessee’s upcoming mid-term elections, Mr. Marceaux is a curious case. In a recent televised address aired on WSMV-TV, it’s hard to tell…
Altered States: Times Square Billboard Crowdsources Content, Disrupts Reality
In the halcyon days of advertising, digital billboards would have been viewed as grotesque and intrusive, an affront to the delicate sensibilities of American consumers ‚Äî an audience that once held great sway in the minds of corporate leadership. Madison Avenue‚Äôs elite creative minds were, for a fleeting moment, above such shenanigans. Today, however, eyeballs ‚Äî and more so…
Dogtown Redux: ‘Cannonball’ Examines the Ills and Opportunities of The Great Recession
Cannonball is a short film focused on a very specific side effect of The Great Recession: A glut of foreclosed homes in Fresno, California, and tons of empty swimming pools that have attracted legions of the city‚Äôs skateboarders. Armed with sump pumps and skate decks, the subjects in Cannonball provide a unique look at the nationwide fallout of the…
Axl Rose Lets His Hair Down With a Kangaroo
One explanation for this photo might be that Guns N’ Roses had a day off during the Australian leg of their global tour in support of Appetite for Destruction, and decided to visit a wildlife preserve. Another explanation might be that, as sleazoid groupies and eight balls of coke began to lose favor within the group, they turned to…
Hills Department Store
Hills Department Stores always smelled like mustard and overcooked hot dogs. The snack bar at the front of each location was instant customer repellent, a concession stand teeming with health code violations. But as a kid, that store was like drugs. So many toys, so many toys. Pictured above: Al Leko and Jim McCollough, managers…
Ghetto Ass Ice Cream Truck
Lil Dawgg is delirious over the arrival of the “ghetto ass ice cream truck.” His interest in the truck appears to be purely voyeuristic. He’s not running out of his house to grab a Nutty Buddy, or lining up with his neighbors to patronize the mobile treats unit. But he does occasionally break into unhinged laughter as he attempts…
M.I.A. Talks BP Oil Spill, Arizona Immigration Law, Other Stuff
Last week M.I.A. was interviewed by DJ Skeet on the KIIS FM morning show out of Los Angeles. They talked about stuff, important stuff. And when he wasn’t fawning over her, Skeet even managed to eek out a question or two, mainly focusing on how she’s known for being controversial and political and outspoken, and other stuff like that.…
The United States of Psychedelia
In 1976 Vincent Collins was contracted by the United States Information Agency, the government’s propaganda agency, to create a film celebrating the country’s bicentennial. The end result is included above. In its own tweaked-out way, it reminds of the time the Bush Administration asked Stephen Colbert to speak at the White House Correpondent’s Dinner.
Turning Sarah Palin, Tiger Woods Into Cold Hard Cash
For the better part of the last year, bloggers have frantically attempted to wring every possible cent from keyword-rich stories covering Sarah Palin, Tiger woods (see above headline for proof), and a dozen other celebrity names coveted like gold in The Often Trifling Age of Pageview Journalism. It’s become a weekly, if not daily, ritual. It’s shameless, like so much…
Alternate Reality Public Service Announcement
In this footage shot for a PSA from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the voiceover actor hijacks the original spot and produces an alternate, more honest version. It’s not exactly a director’s cut, but close.
Going Catatonic in the Ben Rose Home
It’s not everyday that I stumble across a fragment of Internet junk that makes me innately happy. Today, however, I did. What I found is a set of panoramic and interactive photographs by Robert Harshman (view here) that document the Ben Rose Home in Highland Park, Illinois — better known as the house where Cameron lived, Ferris Bueller’s overmedicated best…
Bored to Death at the G20, Part II
Last summer, when the G20 was held in Pittsburgh, Pa, protests never escalated to the point of widespread violence. In fact, the whole affair came and went with more of a whimper than a bang. It wasn’t for lack of trying on the part of anarchists and other protesters. Our G20 was quaint, though it had its moments (this might…
[Made You Look] The Underwater Project
“I’ve always been intrigued by what happens below the surface, like what’s happening where we can’t see,” says Mark Tipple, photographer behind The Underwater Project. “Coming from a surfing background, I used to wonder what happens when we’re duck-diving, like, what it looks like from a different angle than what we can see. Kinda hard to explain but it…
The Tragedy of William Allen Kruse
Last week I read in the L.A. Times that a man named William Allen Kruse, a charter boat captain hired by BP to help with clean up efforts in the Gulf, shot himself. Kruse’s deckhands said their captain’s death was not surprising because the oil spill had weighed heavily on his mind. Kruse, like so many other Gulf fishermen, was…
Views From the Road: Land Rover Series I (1948-1958)
Yesterday I spotted a Land Rover Series I hard top while motoring down the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Luckily I was already heading for the next exit. So I hopped on a side road and followed it out until I found the LR sitting in a weirdly quiet lot. There was a sun-bleached ‘For Sale’ sign in the window, and a hefty…
No More Dirty Looks
In her poem “Eli Came Back From Iraq,” poet and activist Andrea Gibson includes a verse that really struck me: “One third of the homeless men in this country are veterans and we have the nerve to ‘Support Our Troops’ with pretty yellow ribbons while giving nothing but dirty looks to their outstretched hands.” After I read…
