Swanpants

Photo

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 03:38:46 +0100

Shaun Tan

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 03:09:59 +0100

readtogether:

So can we talk about how Shaun Tan is like the greatest person ever?

Speaking up.

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 01:03:29 +0000

Speaking up.:

programmersbeingdicks:

Sarah Parmenter:

It’s with great sadness I have to speak up about something. I’m not sad myself, nor am I particularly hurt – but being scared into silence is not an option. The reason I’m sad is that the person involved with what I’m about to speak up about, could be a member of our community. Infact at the moment, everything is pointing to the fact they are. They are currently feeding off the suppression of this topic, so I’m writing publicly about it.

Photo

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:42:00 +0000

unhappyhipsters: The escape from post-modernism had begun....

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 13:50:45 +0000

unhappyhipsters:

The escape from post-modernism had begun. First stop: the last train to nowhere.

(Photo: João Canziani; Dwell)

Art and Convenience: Reflections on The Cultural Cold War

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 01:15:39 +0000

dianakimball:

Cultural freedom did not come cheap. [Between 1952 and 1969], the CIA was to pump tens of millions of dollars into the Congress for Cultural Freedom and related projects. With this kind of commitment, the CIA was in effect acting as America’s Ministry of Culture. – Frances Stonor Saunders

In July 2012, I wrote:

Did you know the 1950s CIA patronized Abstract Expressionism indirectly? Neither did I! But according to [Lewis] Hyde, the whole story is detailed in a book titled The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters, by Frances Stonor Saunders.

I need to read this book.

Thanks to a mysterious sender, the book appeared on my desk a week later. I started reading it right away, finished a few months later, and let it sink in for a few months more. The Cultural Cold War is a dense, difficult, painstakingly-researched book, and it blew my mind.

Because the book was so dense and difficult—Biblical in its litanies of names, dizzying in its quick cuts between poorly-illuminated scenes—I can’t recommend it without reservation. To get a flavor of the weirdness, I’d suggest this (much) shorter news piece by the book’s author, instead: “Modern art was CIA ‘weapon’”. But if you’re looking to thoroughly upend your understanding of art, prestige, and the role of government, and you’re tireless in your search for truth, this is the book for you.

Read More

new-aesthetic: Australia adds new colour to temperature maps as...

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 14:17:29 +0000

new-aesthetic:

Australia adds new colour to temperature maps as heat soars | Environment | The Guardian

(As Dan W points out, the high of 50.7° C is well beyond the operating temperature of most consumer electronics, such as the iPhone, quoted at 0° to 35° C.)

alwayspureblood: Allie always understands. (hyperboleandahalf,...

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 18:09:17 +0100

alwayspureblood:

Allie always understands. (hyperboleandahalf, from Adventures in Depression <3)

new-aesthetic: “Press play, go fullscreen and lie down. 2SLEEP1...

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 03:12:34 +0000

new-aesthetic:

“Press play, go fullscreen and lie down. 2SLEEP1 is a 66-minute playlist of audiovisual performances in text mode, designed to make you fall asleep. Made by Raquel Meyers and Goto80.”

chipflip.org, via Mike M.

"You have to question a cinematic culture which preaches artistic expression, and yet would support a..."

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:50:46 +0000

“You have to question a cinematic culture which preaches artistic expression, and yet would support a decision that is clearly a product of a patriarchy-dominant society, which tries to control how women are depicted on screen. The MPAA is okay supporting scenes that portray women in scenarios of sexual torture and violence for entertainment purposes, but they are trying to force us to look away from a scene that shows a woman in a sexual scenario, which is both complicit and complex. It’s misogynistic in nature to try and control a woman’s sexual presentation of self. I consider this an issue that is bigger than this film. … There is something very distorted about this reality that they’ve created, which is that it is OK to torture women on screen. Any kind of violence towards women in a sexual scenario is fine. But give a woman pleasure? No way. Not a chance. That’s pornography.”

- Ryan Gosling, in a letter protesting the NC-17 rating of ‘Blue Balentine’. The rating was based on one consensual sex scene, in which he goes down on Michelle Williams. (via feminishblog)

REBLOG FOR LIFE.

(via clementineford)

Video

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:17:58 +0000

the good and the cute

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 15:35:21 +0000

the good and the cute

Photo

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:20:03 +0000

"The social role fulfilled by the belief in genius exerts a number of contradictory pressures on the..."

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:43:49 +0000

“The social role fulfilled by the belief in genius exerts a number of contradictory pressures on the narratives of geniuses: transcendent of the body, yet masculine and even manly; effortlessly visionary, yet perseverant and hard-working; born that way, yet distinctly self-made men; off the scales of achievement, yet rankable; and young and vital, even while a white-haired Einstein is their patron saint.”

- “The Sexual Politics of Genius,” by Moon Duchin, December 2004

This paper felt like a slow-burning epiphany. Once encoded in words, our ideas about the world take on a life of their own; Duchin’s argument helped me unravel some received wisdom about the life of the mind that I’ve never been satisfied by. If you haven’t read academic writing in a while, I recommend this piece for its clarity of thought and careful research. Thanks to Tim Sell for the recommendation.

(via dianakimball)

I don’t know why I like this so much

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 22:30:23 +0000

I don’t know why I like this so much

Photo

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 15:29:42 +0100

clementineford: “Its hard to be a diamond in a rhinestone...

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 23:45:58 +0100

clementineford:

“Its hard to be a diamond in a rhinestone world.”

Photo

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 01:23:32 +0100

Awwww.. Thanks Dad.

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 09:59:14 +0100

Awwww.. Thanks Dad.

clementineford: Batman does wear a lot of latex. :) See also...

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:10:00 +0100

clementineford:

Batman *does* wear a lot of latex.

See also this tshirt (in a better colour)

Swanpants

Photo

Shaun Tan

Speaking up.

Photo

unhappyhipsters: The escape from post-modernism had begun....

Art and Convenience: Reflections on The Cultural Cold War

new-aesthetic: Australia adds new colour to temperature maps as...

alwayspureblood: Allie always understands. (hyperboleandahalf,...

new-aesthetic: “Press play, go fullscreen and lie down. 2SLEEP1...

"You have to question a cinematic culture which preaches artistic expression, and yet would support a..."

Video

the good and the cute

Photo

"The social role fulfilled by the belief in genius exerts a number of contradictory pressures on the..."

I don’t know why I like this so much

Photo

clementineford: “Its hard to be a diamond in a rhinestone...

Photo

Awwww.. Thanks Dad.

clementineford: Batman *does* wear a lot of latex. :) See also...

clementineford: Batman does wear a lot of latex. :) See also...