The Strange History of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
Apocalyptic Porn Bunker
LA Porn Studio Begins Construction On ‘Post-Apocalyptic’ Underground Bunker
San Fernando Valley-based porn studio Pink Visual said the bunker is envisioned as “far more than a mere bomb shelter or subterranean survivalist enclave”, complete with a digital studio, gun racks and a rotating hydraulic stage.
(courtesy Pink Visual)
“Our goal is nothing less than to survive the apocalypse to come in comfort and luxury,” said Pink Visual spokesman Quentin Boyer, “whether that catastrophe takes the form of fireballs flung earthward by an all-seeing deity, extended torrential rainfall, Biblical rapture, an earthquake-driven mega-tsunami, radioactive flesh-eating zombies, or some combination of the above.”
New Fees Catch Pussies By Surprise
Lorien Rising – NUMBER SIX #1 – NUMBER FOUR #4
Today Is The End – Borders Gone
Heartbreaking Borders Photograph
Reddit user Jessers25 took the photo embedded above at a Borders going out of business sale. In the photo, a Thomas Jefferson quote sat on a bare wall with a pile of dismantled bookshelves: “I cannot live without books.”
The photo has spawned hundreds of comments and a raging debate about the future of bookstores.
No matter what you think about mega-bookstores or Borders management, this is a sad year for everyone who loves books.
An amazing soiree at Phillips de Pury & Company
Haute Event: Serena Williams, Sting, Brad Goreski last Night at the Made in Polaroid 50|50|50 Art Auction with Belvedere and Clos du Bois
Last night on Wednesday September 14th, 2011 I had the pleasure of attending an amazing soiree at Phillips de Pury & Company. The art and entertainment community came together for the launch of Polaroid’s new instant mobile printer and a charity auction of the works created by these artists using the mobile printer.
The Made in Polaroid 50|50|50 Art Auction with Clos du Bois and Belvedere benefited Free Arts and original pieces by Tory Burch, Patrick Demarchelier, Will Cotton, Steven Klein, Norman Jean Roy, James Frey and more were sold. Notable attendees and artists included Serena Williams, Sting, Brad Goreski, Patrick Demarchelier, Todd Tourso from Haus of Gaga, Norman Jean Roy, Stefano Tonchi, Sante d’Orazio, Alexa Winner, Maripol, Anita Kunz, Steven Taylor, Chase Jarvis, Jennifer Juniper Stratford, Va$htie, Stella Im Hultberg, Michael Bernard and more. Guests sipped Clos du Bois North Coast Chardonnay, Belvedere cocktails, dined on sushi and mingled throughout the auction house while viewing the works. As the live auction began, guests eagerly bid on the extraordinary works, with proceeds benefiting Free Arts.
“Help me establish La Casa Azul Bookstore in East Harlem…” – Aurora Anaya-Cerda
La Casa Azul Goes for the Green
Aurora Anaya-Cerda, who founded La Casa Azul Bookstore online in 2008, has launched a campaign to raise $40,000 in 40 days to open a bricks-and-mortar store in East Harlem in New York City. A donor will match the money raised.
The 40K in 40 Days campaign is intended to finance inventory, fixtures and café equipment and, most important, provide the deposit for the retail space, all of which would allow La Casa Azul Bookstore to open its doors next year. Incentives for the campaign, which is being conducted on indiegogo.com, include gifts such as autographed books, T-shirts and naming a bookshelf. All donors will automatically become Founders’ Circle members and their names will be added to the store’s donor wall.
For 10 years, Anaya-Cerda has worked and volunteered in six bookstores, taken many business classes, attended two booksellers schools and traveled around the country studying bookstores and meeting with authors and publishers. The bricks-and-mortar store, she said, will offer author signings, book clubs, story times for children and a community meeting space. The store will sell new and used books, coffee, pastries, art, clothing and locally made cards and gifts.
Since the online store was established, La Casa Azul Bookstores has hosted more than 60 events in local cultural institutions, schools and cafes. The bookstore also established the annual East Harlem Children’s Book Festival and works with schools and non-profit organizations to promote literacy.
On her website, Anaya-Cerda wrote, “I need your help to get this project off the ground. Help me establish La Casa Azul Bookstore in East Harlem to continue connecting people, books, and the ideas they bring together. I can’t do this work without you.”
Richard Hamilton Gone
British pop artist Richard Hamilton dies at 89
JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — British Pop Art pioneer Richard Hamilton, who depicted Tony Blair as a cowboy and designed a Beatles album cover, has died. He was 89.
The Gagosian Gallery, which represents Hamilton, said the artist died early Tuesday at an undisclosed location in Britain. It did not give the cause of death.
The gallery said that with his death, “the art world has lost one of its leading figures.” It said Hamilton’s influence on younger artists was “immeasurable.”
Hamilton was often called the “Father of Pop Art” – Britain’s answer to Andy Warhol – and was credited with coining the name for a movement marked by its ironic and iconic use of commercial and pop-culture imagery.
Born in London in 1922, Hamilton studied at the Royal Academy Schools and the Slade School of Fine Art, and made his name in the 50s with “Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing?” A collage showing a physically idealized naked couple – the man holding a red lollipop marked “Pop” – in a product-strewn home, it was a seminal work of Pop Art.
Fie! Send him packing then lie low!
Things We Say Today And Owe To Shakespeare
by EYDER PERALTA
A 20-year-old girl named Becky from London posted a picture of one of the pages of her Moleskine notebook on Tumblr. It has, as they say, gone viral and less than a week later is making waves across the Internet.
It’s a simple thing: Becky wrote down, the “things we say today which we owe to Shakespeare.” It’s phrases like “send him packing,” “makes your hair stand on end,” and “lie low.”
Snoop Vs. Frey
Rapper 50 Cent loses to author Chinua Achebe
I love this story. Super tough rapper 50 Cent has just had his candy ass handed to him by 80-year-old Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe. It appears 50 Cent had not read Things Fall Apart, Achebe’s ground-breaking novel from 1958, or even knew of its existence, and he spent much of 2010 making a movie with the same title.
Achebe had a word in his shell-like (that means ear) and now the movie, about a football player diagnosed with cancer, has been renamed. This Guardian story says 50 Cent offered the author $1 million in order to use the title, Things Fall Apart, but Achebe said no.
Chinua Achebe is my hero for today. Imagine turning down $1 million?
I’d love to see more rapper versus author fights. Next up…Eminem versus Jonathan Franzen with an undercard of Ol’ Dirty Bastard from the Wu-Tang Clan versus Margaret Atwood. I’d pay to see James Frey against Snoop Dog because Snoop would blow him up although Frey would do a lot of trash talking.
Shrimp Stuffed Avocado
A Liter Of Light – IsangLitrongLiwanag.org
TONIGHT: SUMO @ HALF GALLERY
10 Years
NUMBER SIX #1 – NUMBER FOUR #5 / Thank You Thank You
The Compromise Position Is To Split The Difference And Let The Queen Wear Crotchless Panties
Miss Universe Hopeful Told to Wear Panties
Miss Colombia has been making appearances without unmentionables
by Greg Wilson
Miss Universe officials have a message for Catalina Robayo, Colombia’s entry into Monday’s contest: Don’t forget to wear underwear.
Robayo, one of 89 beauties from around the world competing to win the Donald Trump-owned contest, has been reprimanded for making appearance in tiny skirts – with no panties.
“Colombia had to be spoken to and told she needed to wear underpants as what she was doing was totally inappropriate,” a source told Fox News. “People have been pretty upset by it; there have been photos and media appearances where she has completely had her crotch out.”
The contest, being held in Sao paulo, Brazil, might benefit from controversy, but going commando goes too far.
Inventor Of The E-book, Michael Stern Hart, Gone
Obituary Note: Michael Stern Hart
Michael Stern Hart, founder and head of Project Gutenberg and considered by many to have invented the e-book, died on Tuesday. He was 64.
According to Dr. Gregory B. Newby, Hart told this story of how he had the idea for e-books. “He had been granted access to significant computing power at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. On July 4, 1971, after being inspired by a free printed copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, he decided to type the text into a computer, and to transmit it to other users on the computer network.” E voila!
Newby added: “Hart was an ardent technologist and futurist. A lifetime tinkerer, he acquired hands-on expertise with the technologies of the day: radio, hi-fi stereo, video equipment, and of course computers. He constantly looked into the future, to anticipate technological advances. One of his favorite speculations was that someday, everyone would be able to have their own copy of the Project Gutenberg collection or whatever subset desired. This vision came true, thanks to the advent of large inexpensive computer disk drives, and to the ubiquity of portable mobile devices, such as cell phones.”
Too Much Twilight
Female ‘vampire’ busted for trying to eat elderly man
Thursday, September 8th, 2011 — 3:53 pm
Tags: female vampire, gun st, shell gas station
An elderly Florida man needed stitches Wednesday after a 22-year-old woman announced she was a vampire and began biting his face and neck.
Milton Ellis, 69, said that he had fallen asleep in his electric wheelchair on the porch of a vacant Hooters in St. Petersburg. He awoke to find Josephine Smith on top of him.
“I’m a vampire, I am going to eat you,” Smith told Ellis, according to an affidavit obtained by The Smoking Gun.
St. Petersburg police said that Smith had bitten chunks off of Ellis’ face and part of his lip.
Ellis called police after escaping to a nearby Shell gas station where he had first met Smith earlier in the evening. When police finally located Smith — covered in blood — at the Hooters, she could not recall the location of her pants or why her panties were around her ankles. Ellis maintains that she was fully clothed when he left her.
Carnal Knowledge by Malerie Mauder
Carnal Knowledge by Malerie Marder
‘Untitled’, 2005, by Malerie Marder
Simplicity is often regarded as the ultimate sophistication, and by this definition alone Malerie Marder‘s beautiful compositions are unbelievably compelling. Often set within stark, anonymous motel rooms, her photographic compositions feature her similarly bare sitters. Accessorised only with impassive expressions, they allow the viewer to play voyeur, but with a distinct feeling of having pre-arranged permission.
Carnal Knowledge is her first monograph, a milestone in the career of any artist, and it has been gorgeously produced by Violette Editions with a preface by Gregory Crewdson, texts by Charlotte Cotton and novelist James Ellroy, and short stories inspired by Marder’s works by A. M. Homes, James Frey and Bruce Wagner. There is also a written and photographic correspondence between Marder and Philip-Lorca diCorcia.
REVIEW: The Final Testament Of The Holy Bible
Long Island Books: The Rising
By Robert Stuart
In a Bible class I taught, a woman who was annoyed with an image of a vengeful God said, “Well, why don’t we just write a new Bible?” James Frey has written, not a new Bible, but a testament to the end times with the appearance of the Messiah, a man born of Orthodox Jewish parents in Brooklyn. His name is variously Ben Zion Avrohom, Ben Jones, or Ben. ___ “The Final Testament of the Holy Bible” James Frey Gagosian Gallery, $50 ___ The story is in the present time, written from the perspectives and in the voices of men and women who in the immediate past have known Ben. It is a compelling story and well written, holding plot, characters, and religious theme together. I hasten to add that the characters would not consider their insight, newly gained after contact with Ben, to be religious, conventionally considered. Quite the opposite, the point of view is decidedly against religion, and indeed against government. It is not, however, anarchist. [ click to continue reading at The East Hampton Star ]
The Full Fathom Five Crew
Polaroid For Charity
Viggo Mortensen Takes Part In Charity Polaroid Auction
Polaroid is honoring its founder Dr. Edwin Land’s passion for the arts with the launch of the Made in Polaroid exhibit.
An art show featuring more than 60 pieces created by a mix of artists, designers, photographers, actors and musicians who are united in their passion for creativity, all pieces will be auctioned with proceeds benefiting Free Arts NYC, a non-profit that provides arts and mentoring programs to under-served children. Participating artists include fashion photographers Patrick Demarchelier and Steven Klein, designers Cynthia Rowley and Phillip Lim and actors James Franco and Viggo Mortensen, among many others.
“It’s very interesting to me that at this moment in time the new Polaroid G10 printer arrives and re-objectifies the photograph, literally making an object, a paper photograph,” said participating photographer Matthew Rolston. “We seem to be headed toward a paperless world of visual communication and yet here we have an exciting new product that re-invigorates the thought of trading imagery – actual photographs that we hold in our hands – with each other.”
Also taking part are Brett Ratner, James Frey, Tyra Banks and many more.
The exhibit explores the infinite number of ways technology can enable creative expression. Featuring pieces that range from single mounted images to multi-print mosaics, each artist taps a different approach to tell a story with photos. All works were created exclusively using the Polaroid GL10 Instant Mobile Printer, the first product from Lady Gaga’s Grey Label line.
Sea Bass In Pesto Fish Broth
THE POWER OF SIX Number One
“What a weird, hysterically funny man.”
Roald Dahl’s Weird And Hilarious Letter To A Class Of Children
CULTURE BUZZ: When a group of students sent a letter to Roald Dahl asking him questions about his short story collection “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More,” this was the author’s response. What a weird, hysterically funny man.
A Million Little Flipbacks
Going Forward with the Flipbacks
August 30, 2011
Hodder & Stoughton, a UK publisher, recently introduced a paperback book format that’s the size of an iPhone. Called Flipbacks, the books are one-third the size of traditional books.
They’re lightweight, feel nice in the palm of your hand and fit conveniently in a back pocket or purse. Some booksellers are already thinking of them as a great alternative to the e-reader … Flipbacks are always fully charged.
Only a few titles have been published in the format so far: The Other Hand by Chris Cleave; The Adventures of English by Melvyn Bragg; Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carré; Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde; A Million Little Pieces by James Frey; Misery by Stephen King; Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis; Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell; One Day by David Nicholls; My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult; Piece of My Heart by Peter Robinson and Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier.
Flipbacks have been launched in Spain, France and Australia to date with deals pending in Germany and Scandinavia.
Boardin’ Bulldog
from M-C the Greek
Madonna And Terry Richardson’s SEX Still Hot
Madonna’s ‘Sex’ Book Still The Most Sought-After Out-Of-Print Title
Long before Lady Gaga crafted her book of 350 black-and-white photos with Terry Richardson, Madonna unleashed her scandalous watercooler tome Sex. And even though it was released nearly 19 years ago (and coincided with Madge’s aptly-titled 1992 albumErotica), it turns out the Material Girl’s naughty coffee table offering has toppedBookfinder.com’s annual fall list of the 100 most sought-after out-of-print titles in the United States.
“The list differs from year to year as trends change and books get republished,” Bookfinder.com notes in the ninth annual installment of its Fall Report. The site also refers toSex as “Madonna’s nearly perennial number one” on the list.
Yo, boys – let’s stop throwing rocks, okay.
San Diego boy throwing rocks hit by crossbow
SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego police say a 16-year-old boy throwing rocks at a sport utility vehicle was struck by a crossbow arrow fired by a passenger.
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Police say the shirtless boy and a friend were throwing rocks at a black Toyota RAV4 in the Linda Vista neighborhood Monday afternoon when a passenger fired a crossbow out the window.
The boy was shot in the right side and was taken to a hospital. The San Diego Union-Tribune says his injuries are not life-threatening.
The Princess said, “No!!!”
Once upon a time, a Prince asked a beautiful Princess, “Will you marry me?”
The Princess said, “No!!!”
And the Prince lived happily ever after and rode motorcycles and dated skinny long-legged full-breasted women and hunted and fished and raced cars and went to naked bars and dated ladies half his age and drank whiskey, beer and Captain Morgan and never heard bitching and never paid child support or alimony and banged cheerleaders and kept his house and guns and ate Spam and potato chips and beans and blew enormous farts and never got cheated on while he was at work and all his friends and family thought he was frickin’ cool as hell and he had tons of money in the bank and left the toilet seat up.
The end.