Around the same time that Ustream pulled the plug on Amber Hawk Swanson’s live performance of disemboweling her fuck doll clone, California-based web artist Petra Cortright had her much more demure video art piece yanked off YouTube for “tits.” Not tits, but “tits,” get it? Read more »
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly’s feelings were really hurt when the playground bullies at the FBI kept picking on the NYPD (in the press) for arresting Jose Pimentel, an alleged al-Qaeda sympathizer, on terrorism charges. So, he called FBI Director Robert Mueller and asked him to tell his people to stop giving their honest negative opinions about the case, that agents refused twice because they thought it was bullshit, to the media. (Photo: the-empress/flickr)
There is something special about this fantastic Nefelejcs Project painted by the Budapest-based group Merge Invisible. They are righteous retaliations against the symptomatic destruction of Hungary’s historical houses and their replacement with ugly, new, cheap, badly built buildings: They paint orphaned brick firewalls once anchored to the razed building with “x-ray” images of its past life — floors, rooms, people. Bravo, really! But the other special thing is a style similarity any Chris Ware fan would notice: the particular minimal outline design, the rounded stick-figuresque characters, the very concept architectural X-rays… Coincidence? Perchance, but a credit would have been nice.
According to a new survey by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, alcohol and cigarette use amongst teens has dipped to its lowest levels since 1975. Which is great! However, researchers also say they found pot smoking by young people on the rise, reaching its highest levels since 1981. Which is also great, comparatively. Weed is a lot less addictive and dangerous than tobacco or booze, and doesn’t cause teenagers to do nearly as much dumb shit as they do when they’re drunk.
Time magazine’s pick of the “The Protestor” for its annual “Person of the Year” is replete with problems, but none are as glaring as the Shepard Fairey created cover art. See, a part of this “Person of the Year” is Occupy Wall Street (leg? fist?). OWS has been resisting figure-head leadership since its conception — something Shepard Fairey just didn’t get. OWS is still resisting Shepard Fairey, specifically. Yet, Shepard Fairey is still trying and it’s his very recognizable, marketable aesthetic which peers from the cover. OWS: Meet your fictive leader Obey Giant™? Read more »
A few weeks ago, the New York Times published an illustration showing the evolution (and increased militarization) of riot police in America over the past few decades. Based on those, and the rapid adoption of wartime technologies for civilian uses, here’s what protesters can expect in the near future: the Occubot. (Image: Nate Cepis/ANIMALNewYork)
Recently, I entered the magnificent James A. Farley building around lunchtime with a package and a feeling of dread. Three hours later I left New York City’s main post office with a renewed sense of humanity. Read more »
Just when we appeared to have been making progress as a country, here’s the freshly released trailer for Sacha Baron Cohen’s feature film The Dictator. Watch as the promised Saddam Hussein/Muammar Gaddafi/awkward stereotype mutant takes New York. Read more »
Did you hear? The illegal, nine-year war the U.S. subjected Iraq to because President Bush needed to symbolically kill Muslims as revenge for the 9/11 attacks they didn’t commit, is FINALLY over. Hooray? (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
It’s only a test of the Wireless Emergency Alerts system by Big Brother, specifically NYC’s Office of Emergency Management, the FCC, and the Department of Homeland Security. Between 10AM and 3PM, text messages that read “Severe Alert” or “Extreme Alert,” will be sent to random AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon customers. There’s no opting out, thanks Congress, so think of it as the mobile version of those piercing emergency messages that unapologetically bombard your TV.
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