i love anna dello russo.

bc she's awesome.

r.i.p. john

8 december, 1980

the tea maker

the history of the beatles in hair:

hello, kitty.

art! todd james

"bloody cape" 2010
gouache and graphite on paper

http://www.galeriajavierlopez.com/users/imagenes.aspx?i=i&id= 

music! alphabeat "heat wave"

OMGGGGG!!!!!!!! WHEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNN will this group be available in the states?
itunes? hello? they're amazing... get with it!

talkin' 'bout my generation...

brilliant post from rebekah monson.

There’s been a lot of press about my generation lately. A lot of it questions our values, work and goals. So, here is my admittedly unsolicited opinion of my generation and, more specifically, our work life.

You must understand that we are not starting out with a positive attitude. In our short careers, we already have been laid off or at least afraid that we would be laid off. We have seen our parents downsized and left high and dry by companies that they helped to build. We have been unable to get work after doing “the right things” that we were told would make us successful — school, internships, volunteer work, mentorship, etc. We have gone into high-demand fields like IT only to see those jobs outsourced overseas for pennies on the dollar. We have joined the military, served our country, come home broken and with no opportunity for honest work in the private sector.

The corporate leadership in this country has made it clear to us that no one in our generation is getting a gold watch. We don’t have any delusions about that. Hell, many of us can’t even get insurance or make a living wage now, and no one sees it getting any better. Why would we make a job anything close to a top priority in our lives, when we can have no realistic expectation of having a long-term career to begin with? No one I know in Gen Y (or Gen X for that matter), has any faith whatsoever that any employer will ever give a crap about them as human beings. We accept that we are numbers on a spreadsheet in the current corporate landscape, but we don’t have to like it. We check off your boxes, and we accomplish the goals you lay out. We play nice. But, if there is no benefit to going the extra mile, then why bother?

That said, we are largely financially conservative. Our debt is daunting. We try to save more, we try to live more sustainably. We do not trust Social Security or that our 401Ks will see us through retirement. We are waiting to buy, and avoiding rent by living with our parents. We rely on your help because you offer it. If you didn’t, we’d scrape by somehow.  Many of us live at home to help our parents as they struggle with their own low wages and financial trauma. We have no idea how we will ever afford a family or a house or anything on our own when we cannot attain jobs with basic benefits and full-time wages.

We have a lot to be excited about, but less and less of that exists within the current corporate structure. We communicate constantly. We love to collaborate. We are data junkies. Many of us are imbued with entrepreneurial spirit. We strike out. We tinker. We play. None of this is particularly valued in the current corporate environment. But, we value it in ourselves and in each other. We have interesting side projects. (And, we keep them from you so that you won’t fire us.)

We also have a conscience, and we expect it to show up in the workplace. We were raised to be aware of the plights of others and to understand environmental issues. It is important to us to be involved in our communities. Our friendships run deep. Really deep. We view our core friend groups as family, and family is supremely important to us. We give our time and our energy to causes we believe in. We share. We expect our peers and the companies we work for to do the same.

So, we work, and we wait. We are working and waiting for our side projects to become our main projects. We are working and waiting for  the right kinds of relationships to solidify in our personal and professional lives. We are working and waiting for you to retire so that there are funds and jobs available into which we can “grow up.” We are working and waiting for a chance to change the establishment to reflect our values. No, we don’t want what you have, just as you didn’t want what your parents had. We don’t want to spend our lives as perpetually burned-out slaves to a company that does not value us. We don’t want to be in bad marriages and isolate ourselves in McMansions.  Neither did you when you were our age. Of course those things will happen to some of us, or perhaps most of us. But, right now, we’d rather hope they won’t.

Every generation goes through its turn in the news cycle. And, every generation thinks they’ll do it better. Time will tell. But, there’s one really great thing about coming of age in America in an era when things are generally thought to be pretty bad: It forces an early decision about what’s important in life. No matter how it appears while looking down from 25 years up the corporate ladder, we are decidedly chasing our own ideals, even when things seem hopeless. I’m proud of that. Maybe, if we’re lucky, this experience will pay off when we get the chance to examine our kids in the harsh light of our own age, experience and privilege.

in a galaxy far, far away...

About trillion miles away from earth, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope photographed a spectacular and stunning image of a spiral galaxy named NGC 4911 which lies over 320 million ligh-years away from the "Coma Cluster" of about 1,000 galaxies and islands of stars which is likely similar to the Milky Way. Looking at this stunning image forces one to ask: what mysteries and life forms exist there?


One light year is equivalent to 5.9 trillion miles.The galaxy consists of "rich lanes of dusts and gases near its center. NASA Scientists reported that the cluster is one of the densest collections of galaxies in a nearby universe. It was entitled "Island Universe" that shows the "majestic face-on spiral galaxy" in the Northern Constellation Coma Bernices amid a sea of stars.The image combines data from 2006, 2007 and 2009, which is a high resolution copy of the image.The formations seen along the arms of the main galaxy are the result of the nearby galaxy which is passing "perilously close to each other". The galaxy and other spiral near the center of the cluster are being transformed by gravitational tug of their neighbors.


Via NASA/Hubble

shit.

we're coming up on day EIGHTY-FREAKING-FIVE of the BP oil leak in the gulf of mexico... shit.

my dream car...

watch this awesome vid about pakistan's truck art.

really neat!

also, i really do want a vintage beetle... the paintings would be a bonus. ;)

hakuna matata!

disney's "the lion king" captured a beautiful swahili phrase in a terribly catchy song.

hakuna matata.

it means no worries for the rest of your days.

so chill out man! 

swing in some liana vines with your jungle friends.

relax!

i think we forget this too often, so i am reminding you.

read this article if the song doesn't cut it for you, as far as explaining hakuna matata. :)


also, take 4 minutes to watch the clip. you-will-smile.
also, i know everysingleword. just sayin.

RIP lee alexander mcqueen

devastating news in the fashion world... alexander mcqueen committed suicide only days after his beloved mother's death. his fashion show that was scheduled for today was cancelled and i'm wondering what will become of his line for target. 

Alexandra Shulman, editor of [British] Vogue, said: 'Lee McQueen influenced a whole generation of designers. His brilliant imagination knew no bounds as he conjured up collection after collection of extraordinary designs.

'At one level, he was a master of the fantastic, creating astounding fashion shows that mixed design, technology and performance and on another he was a modern-day genius whose gothic aesthetic was adopted by women the world over. His death is the hugest loss to anyone who knew him and for very many who didn't.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1250249/Alexander-McQueen-commits-suicide.html

i think brazil is breeding a supermodel army...

Brazilian fashion website Finissimo held its fourth annual National Underwear Day on Tuesday, sending scantily clad models to bus stations, malls and parading down the street in a celebration of...well, underwear. Style consultant and curator Maria Thereza Laudares explained, "The aim of the National Underwear Day is to make people recognize the importance of these garments left unseen, but which are the first to be put on and the last to be taken off." 







http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/10/brazil-underwear-day-mode_n_456882.html

very important!!!

LADIES AND GENTS, PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE GLOBAL AIDS CRISIS IS STILL IN EFFECT AND IF YOU THINK THE WORD "GLOBAL" DOESN'T INCLUDE YOU, YOU CAN CALL IT THE LOCAL AIDS CRISIS.

i'll admit, AIDS is not something i think about on a regular basis... however, thanks to mac's viva glam campaign, i've become re-aware.

the newest statistics show that AIDS is not a "gay" disease. in fact, the ppl most at risk are straight women ages 17-24 and 39-60. (just fyi, that's you.)

so, i suggest you listen to the mac viva glam spokespeople, who happen to be the amazing cyndi lauper and lady gaga, take a hint, support the cause, but the lipstick, spread the word.

check it out on the mac viva glam site

uhhhhh this is scary

especially if you're a dude...

Exposed: Naked Body Scanner Images Of Film Star Printed, Circulated By Airport Staff

Authorities’ claim that virtual strip search pictures immediately destroyed proven fraudulent – use of devices needs to be halted now.

Claims on behalf of authorities that naked body scanner images are immediately destroyed after passengers pass through new x-ray backscatter devices have been proven fraudulent after it was revealed that naked images of Indian film star Shahrukh Khan were printed out and circulated by airport staff at Heathrow in London.

UK Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said last week that the images produced by the scanners were deleted “immediately” and airport staff carrying out the procedure are fully trained and supervised.

“It is very important to stress that the images which are captured by body scanners are immediately deleted after the passenger has gone through the body scanner,” Adonis told the London Evening Standard.

Adonis was forced to address privacy concerns following reports that the images produced by the scanners broke child pornography laws in the UK. When the scanners were first introduced, it was also speculated that images of famous people would be ripe for abuse as the pictures produced by the devices make genitals “eerily visible” according to journalists who have investigated trials of the technology.

However, the Transport Secretary’s assurances were demolished after it was revealed on the BBC’s Jonathan Ross show Friday that Indian actor Shahrukh Khan had passed through a body scan and later had the image of his naked body printed out and circulated by Heathrow security staff.

“I was in London recently going through the airport and these new machines have come up, the body scans. You’ve got to see them. It makes you embarrassed – if you’re not well endowed,” said Khan, referring to how the scans produce clear images of a person’s genitals.

“You walk into the machine and everything – the whole outline of your body – comes out,” he said.

“I was a little scared. Something happens [inside the scans], and I came out. Then I saw these girls – they had these printouts. I looked at them. I thought they were some forms you had to fill. I said ‘give them to me’ – and you could see everything inside. So I autographed them for them,” stated Khan.

The story was carried by Yahoo News under the headline “Shah Rukh signs off sexy body-scan printouts at Heathrow”.

Khan’s reference to “girls” with printouts of his naked body scan can only refer to female airport security staff responsible for processing the images produced by the scanners, “professionals” who are supposed to instantly delete the images, according to Lord Adonis.

The revelation that airport security staff are completely abusing any notion of the professionalism promised by authorities by printing out and circulating images of naked body scans should set alarm bells ringing, especially in light of the fact that such images of minors break child pornography laws. British authorities have made it mandatory for travelers to submit to the naked body scanners when asked and have overturned previous rules that prevented under 18’s from passing through the devices.

Within days of the devices being introduced at Heathrow, staff have abused their professionalism and printed out naked scans of a famous actor for their own titillation.

We were promised all along that the body scanners “increased privacy” because they were only accessible to a single staff member who had no personal contact with the passenger taking the scan, in addition to the assurance that the images could not be saved and were instantly deleted. It in fact turns out that airport staff have been saving, printing and circulating naked body scans in complete violation of these supposed guarantees.

Furthermore, we were told that the identity of the person undergoing the virtual strip search would also be kept private. The fact that Heathrow employees must have known that the actor was about to take the body scan in order to print out copies of the image also proves this claim to be a total fallacy.

The abuse of the naked body scan images in this instance is a total violation of every data protection law in the UK. Far from treating the story in a comical manner, Khan should be filing a very expensive lawsuit and preparing for a successful and lucrative outcome.

In the meantime, the revelation that the naked body scanner images are being freely printed out and circulated by airport security staff should prove to be the death knell for plans on behalf of governments worldwide to institute the scanners on a widespread basis.

Courts have consistently found that strip searches are only legal when performed on a person who has already been found guilty of a crime or on arrestees pending trial where a reasonable suspicion has to exist that they are carrying a weapon. Subjecting masses of people to blanket strip searches in airports reverses the very notion of innocent until proven guilty.

Barring people from flying and essentially treating them like terrorists for refusing to be humiliated by the virtual strip search is a clear breach of the basic human right of freedom of movement. Security experts agree that such scanners would not even have stopped the incident that has been exploited to justify their widespread introduction – the Christmas Day underwear bomber.

Not only have the scanners proven to be a total violation of privacy, but major international radiation safety groups are now warning of the health risks they pose.

Despite governments claiming that backscatter x-ray systems produce radiation too low to pose a threat, the Inter-Agency Committee on Radiation Safety concluded in their report that governments must justify the use of the scanners and that a more accurate assessment of the health risks is needed.

Pregnant women and children should not be subject to scanning, according to the report, adding that governments should consider “other techniques to achieve the same end without the use of ionizing radiation.”

“The Committee cited the IAEA’s 1996 Basic Safety Standards agreement, drafted over three decades, that protects people from radiation. Frequent exposure to low doses of radiation can lead to cancer and birth defects, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,”reported Bloomberg.

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com

peaches christ superstar

peaches + jesus christ superstar. yep. oh to be in berlin for this show!

Peaches Christ Superstar
featuring Chilly Gonzales

Premiere March 25th. Also running on the 26th and 27th March 2010.

Peaches, the bad girl of electro punk, and Chilly Gonzales, piano virtuoso and rap entertainer, will bring their unique, completely stripped version of “Jesus Christ Superstar” the rock opera,  to the stage of HAU 1.

They'll narrate the story of the last week in the life of Jesus Christ – from entering Jerusalem until the crucifixion, using songs from the musical. Peaches will sing all roles including: Jesus, Maria Magdalena, the disciples and the Pharisees, alongside Gonzales' piano accompaniment. Don't miss this concert version of Jesus Christ Superstar by two extra-ordinary performers!

Peaches: “To perform Jesus Christ Superstar as a one-woman-song is a crazy enterprise. Very demanding and very difficult. When I was sixteen I often sang the whole musical to myself all alone in my room. It tells an entire story without spoken text, only with vocals, in the style of a rock opera. I’m a performer, my concerts are extravagant and play with exaggerations. This project allows me to do without all this. I want to confront this task totally exposed, because it is a possibility. It's a question of stamina.

When I told Gonzales about this crazy idea he replied: ‘I want to accompany you on piano.’ Until then, we didn’t know that we shared an obsession for this musical, and that secretly both of us already knew it by heart.”

A production by HAU
Ticket: 11 und 18 €, reduced for (Children, Students, etc.) 7 €
Box Office: 030-259004 27 
HAU 2, Hallesches Ufer 32 (12 – 19 Uhr)www.hebbel-am-ufer.de


http://peaches.fanbridge.com/campaigns/show.php?id=592234&src=myspace

music! amanda jenssen: "happyland"

so, apparently amanda was the runner-up on swedish idol in 2007. i watched some of her performance vids on youtube and wasn't overwhelmingly impressed, but clearly she has improved since then.

this song is cool and i like her vintage style in this vid.

music! amanda jenssen: "do you love me?"

i am obsessed with this song and this swedish singer's voice. this song is not her newest, but i love it! of course, it's not available on the US itunes and amazon's price is hiiiiiiigh cuz it's an import. i WILL find a place from which to download this!!!

who i am jealous of today: victoria beckham

that bitch gets everything!!! (yeah, i want to be her...)


the sheik of dubai offered vicki £25 million to design a hotel!!! £25 MILLION!!!

The former Spice Girls singer was personally approached by the ruler of Dubai, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who asked her to lend her talents to the project after meeting Victoria, 35, and her 34-year-old husband David when they holidayed in the Gulf last summer.

The hotel will be located on a fashion-themed island called Isla Moda off the Dubai coast, which is part of The World development - a man-made archipelago of 300 islands constructed in the shape of a map of the landmasses of the Earth.

A source revealed: "Even in these credit-crunched times, the fee offered to Victoria was astronomical. She was absolutely stunned."

Victoria not yet decided whether to sign up, but if she accepts the offer she will work with Karl Lagerfeld on the creation for Dubai, which is part of the United Arab Emirates.

Last night (25.01.10) a spokeswoman for Victoria said: "Victoria is always keen to look at ways of growing her business, but for now her focus is New York fashion week next month."

http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/hotel-designer-victoria-beckham_1129867

moscow mayor calls gay pride march "satanic"

<<< MEGA-JERK

The mayor of Moscow, known for his overtly homophobic statements, said Monday that he would never allow a gay pride parade in the city, calling it "Satanic" and saying marchers should be punished.

"A gay parade... cannot be called anything but a Satanic act," Yury Luzhkov told an education conference, quoted by Interfax news agency. "We haven't permitted such a parade and we won't permit it in the future."

Luzhkov called for gay marchers to be punished. "It's high time that we stop propagating nonsense discussions about human rights, and bring to bear on them the full force and justice of the law," he said.

Gay rights campaigner Nikolai Alexeyev reaffirmed that plans for this year's gay pride parade will go ahead despite the ban.

"We don't plan to make any changes. We still plan to hold a gay parade on May 29," Alexeyev told AFP.

Luzhkov first called the gay pride parade "Satanic" in 2007, prompting gay rights campaigners to sue him for libel -- unsuccessfully.

Organisers have never been granted permission to hold gay pride parades by the city authorities, leading to violent clashes with police and anti-gay protestors.

Last year's parade took place on the day of the Eurovision Song Contest final held in Moscow.

In a public relations disaster for the city, Alexeyev and other campaigners were brutally dragged into police vans by riot police in front of a crowd of international journalists.

They were later fined.

article via AFP

charitable: SOLES4SOULS

Soles4Souls
http://www.50000shoes.com/

head over here RIGHT NOW PPL!!! and donate $5 to buy 2 pairs of shoes for ppl in need.

5 dollars =
2 pairs of shoes!!!

you spend more on your morning latte at starbucks.

think about putting that money to better use.

they're bringing shoes to the people of haiti now, so please, take a moment.

donate.

help.

thanks.

***p.s. the zach braff/donald faison vid is pretty funny. def worth a look-see. :)