Sweet Lookin' Treats!

Yeah I stole the title from the Food Network, but that’s okay, some of the best things in life are recycled. Kind of like the experiment that food blog Chow has taken on. With the sad demise of Kodachrome recently, those lovely colors we remember from our childhood have officially been replaced by whatever filter your phone app happens to have. Well, as all good planners do, Chow bought up a whole slew and then did what they do best: Cooked up a big feast (or two, or three). Using vintage menus and vintage film Chow paid direct homage to the cookbooks and recipes of the 50s and 60s. ‘Tis the season for good food and nostalgia, and this brings it all home in one yummy looking package!

“You Harajuku girls, damn you’ve got some wicked style.” – Gwen Stefani

No doubt: Gwen knew what she was talking about when she penned these lyrics about her favorite Japanese fashionistas. The Japan Fashion Now exhibit at FIT in New York is proof. Around every corner you’ll find otherworldly creations on the bleeding edge of fashion.

Considering a visit? Good fortune awaits you. Well, good fashion anyway.

Cab fares have really been going up these days – thanks to street artist The Tailor. The New York-based artist has added some flair to the fare stickers seen on taxi exteriors by adorning their plain stick-figure decals with iconic, easily recognizable clothes and accoutrements. Everyone from Moses to Mister T are now onboard.

Legendary artist (and my good friend) Kenny Scharf has been a fixture in the art world since sharing an apartment—called the Cosmic Closet—with the late Keith Haring in the 1980’s. Now, Kenny is painting the very same wall that Keith tagged so long ago at the corner of Bowery and Houston in New York City. And in true Kenny form, it’s Groovenian.

The mural coincides with Kenny’s new exhibit, Hot Glue Hullabaloo, at the Hole gallery just a few blocks away. Who needs LSD when you’ve got a glue gun? Trust me, it’s worth the trip.

Now, here’s a superhero people can relate to…at least 9.6% of people anyway. It’s Unemployed Man!

With the unemployment rate holding steady, who couldn’t use a little comic relief? Unemployed Man is a true hero of our times, fighting the “Just Us League” made up of supervillains like “The Man” and the pay-to-play “Superlotto.”

The new comic book is the perfect stocking stuffer for the unemployed in your life, or for yourself. Just don’t spend that unemployment check all in one place.

Seeking an anonymous hookup for hot, public, file swapping? Score! German artist and architect Adam Bartholl has ‘injected’ 5 USB ports into walls throughout New York City.

According to his blog, “Dead Drops’ is an anonymous, offline, peer to peer file-sharing network in public space. I am ‘injecting’ USB flash drives into walls, buildings and curbs accessible to anybody in public space. You are invited to go to these places (so far 5 in NYC) to drop or find files on a dead drop. Plug your laptop to a wall, house or pole to share your favorite files and data.”

Check out his blog for a map of locations.

Now my only question is if I want to practice safe swapping, where can I buy a USB condom?

The BLG Friday Feature is the QCK3 (QUICK THREE). This is where BLG engages in a verbal romp with a friendly MKTG INC employee. Rules of engagement? The introduction is the back of your business card and the corresponding photo is randomly selected from your Facebook page. Hide the womens and childrens!

This week’s subject: Mary Anne

Mary Anne’s designer eyes see thing differently from the rest of us. She sees the same things we do, but with an additional dimension. Are we saying 4D? Yes, we are. She can dimensionalize (not a word) a given product or service and translate it via her vision and skill into something more than the sum of itself  - a something that inspires imagination, grabs peoples’ interest, their loyalty and, finally, their wallets. Is this a complicated way of saying she can really bring a concept to life? Yes, it is.

BLG: I like the warrior photo. You look like you’re ready for battle.

MRYNN: Oh I am. My friend hurt his head and had to wear a wrap around it. So we all wore headbands in solidarity.

BLG: And it’s red! Like the bows on Mary Anne from Gilligan’s Island pigtails! So who’s your Professor?

MRYNN: Gillian’s Island reference. So original.  *PUNCHES BLG*

BLG: Ouch! Sorry! You’re fiesty. No wonder they keep you in the Creative Cage. What do you do besides make pretty pictures and dole out sweet karate chops to people making Gilligan’s Island references?

MRYNN: I ride my bike, play kickball, take mini road trips, go to concerts, you know.

BLG: Biking! Do you know how to change a bike tire? That is always impressive. Or change a car tire? That’s more impressive.

MRYNN: No, I don’t know how to change and if I did I wouldn’t tell you – I’m afraid of change.

BLG: You sound like you live in Brooklyn. What’s a typical evening in BK like?

MRYNN: Usually hanging with friends, drinking with strangers, cutting my jeans into shorts and talking about feelings.

BLG: Friends! Strangers! Cocktails! Jorts! A girl after our own heart.

Unfolding Beauty

There was a time that people paid attention to things like manuals, pamphlets—paper ephemera. Sure their shelf-life is short, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be well made… Just looking back at Citroën’s manuals from the 1960’s illustrates the design invested into something that was purely meant to explain the vehicles selling points. What better way to get people to buy what your selling than to make it look good! (via Grain Edit)

An all ’round great commercial (great concept, great images, great soundtrack, great script, great delivery…) is this Nike Air spot featuring William Burroughs as electronic UberShaman.  Striding past his avant-garde disciples — and still possessing the energy and insight of Kerouac’s Bull Lee — Burroughs ascends a video pulpit to address the world — and through the ether-amber of the Internet — for all time.

In a 1965 Paris Review Interview William Burroughs said, “And I see no reason why the artistic world can’t absolutely merge with Madison Avenue. Pop art is a move in that direction. Why can’t we have advertisements with beautiful words and beautiful images?”  Thirty years later, he self-fulfilled this prophesy.

Tortured Interiors of Dexter's Bedroom

For the third year in a row Showtime has commandeered a space in NYC and turned it into a peep-show of sorts for it’s original programing. Partnering with HP as well as a roster of creatives, the Showtime House spans three penthouse apartments at the Cassa Hotel & Residences in Midtown, cleverly combining high-design and high-technology. The attraction is open to the public Saturdays starting Sept 11 and continuing until Oct 23 (a $15 entry fee goes to the Harlem Children’s Zone). A truly immersive experience—and a dream for pop-culturaholics and design junkies alike.

via Curbed NY