Titles return

Changing all sorts of stuff around here and now it looks like titles shall be making a return to the blog. It looked clean with the last template, but I feel this one holds up nicely with titles.

So there you have it.

Other new items of note is that I have a nice Profoto rig now which should make my life easier. But as of now I need to finish the band shoot from last Sunday and get that posted before I have pissed off Grindcore people beating on my door.

Skull master - Pay your respects to Mr Vernon Courtlandt Johnson - Lifelounge - Daily Goodness

There are very few artists that can claim that their artwork has helped to define an entire subculture and era. Vernan Courtlandt Johnson (VCJ) can easliy stand by that claim as his iconic illustrations shaped and represented one the of the most influential skateboard brands of the 80s, Powell Peralta. Still to this day, his illustrations are out of this world and in terms of illustrative skulls, he's still number one in my book. Mad respect for you VCJ.

The Godfather Wars | vanityfair.com

“There’s a story there,” says Beatty. “I was offered The Godfather before Marlon was in it. I was offered The Godfather when Danny Thomas was the leading candidate for the Godfather. And I passed. Jack [Nicholson] passed, also. And I remember something else. I was offered The Godfather to produce and direct. Charlie Bluhdorn was a fan of Bonnie and Clyde and sent me the book.… I read it. Sort of. And I said, ‘Charlie, not another gangster movie!’”

Digital Acid | MetaFilter

It's called datamoshing, as experimented by paperrad, explored by Takeshi Murata, and theorised by Sven König. (Yeah, teraflop and Pronoiac, it's basically about key- and delta-frames.)

Japanese Bladesmiths

Japanese kitchen knives cost more than a camera, they can't be washed in a machine, are subject to rusting and boy, they are so sharp that if you slip you'll lose a finger or two before you can say banzai. There is no doubt that these are the best knives in the world. Nothing comes close to them in terms of sharpness. With one of these knives, you could slice fish so thin you could read a whole chapter of La Physiologie du Goût through the slices. Earlier this month, I had the chance to see how knives are made in Japan like they have been for the last 200 years, following Mr Bjorn Heiberg from Chroma, a company that sells these legendary knives.

Mindfuck Movies by Matthew Baldwin - The Morning News

Here are the makings of a fun evening. Step one: Take your parents to see Mulholland Dr. Step 2: Endure the hottest girl-on-girl sex scene in the history of mainstream cinema while sitting a foot and a half from your mom. Step 3: Take your parents out for dinner afterwards, but instead of making chit-chat spend your entire meal staring into the middle-distance while attempting to make sense of the previous two hours.

It’s amazing that this film isn’t a mess. David Lynch originally filmed the story as a pilot of a television series, then re-shot some scenes and cobbled together a feature-length film after the studio executives took a pass. And yet somehow this rejected half-breed wound up as Lynch’s finest work to date. (“Better than Dune!” raves Matthew Baldwin of The Morning News.)

Wooster Collective

On January 2nd, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino proposed a one-year wage freeze for city workers, including the Boston Police Department. The Boston Police Superior Officers Federation agreed to a contract on January 23, but not until after the city dismissed its residency case against West Roxbury Police Sergeant Michael Hanson. In the mix of the deal was an alleged list of more than 25 superior police officers who are living outside the city in violation of their contracts' residency requirements. Through the use of strong-arm tactics, the Mayor got his wage freeze and at least 25 of Boston's Finest got to keep their jobs. The following day, two warrants were issued for Shepard Fairey's arrest.

On Wednesday, February 4th, Mayor Menino met with Shepard and was photographed shaking his hand following the unveiling of Fairey's 'Peace Goddess' banner on the North wall of City Hall at a public event to promote his show, Supply and Demand, at the Institute of Contemporary Art / Boston. Thursday night Shepard sat for a Q-and-A talk at the ICA which was publicized by the museum after which he signed autographs for more than an hour. Shepard was not arrested until two full weeks after the warrants had been issued and after numerous public appearances in Boston.

Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart Interview & Video. The creators of the world's most amazing pop-up books share their secrets. On Babble.com.

Meet Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart, the two artists who have single-handedly (well, with four hands) revived the pop-up book for a new millennium. Chances are your child owns one of their awe-inspiring creations, be it The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with its spinning paper cyclone, or Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Dinosaurs with its jaw-gnashing T-Rex. Maybe you've received one as a gift yourself, from a friend who appreciates your inner child.

Bought the star wars one for a friends kid. It was very impressive.

WALLRIDE(S) - A LOOK BACK WITH ANDY JENKINS — Club Mumble

Twice a year the Girl Skateboard Company Inc releases a catalog containing new products from most of the brands under their roof in Torrance, California. Girl, Chocolate, Royal, Fourstar, Ruby, Skate Mental and Lakai are all represented within it’s pages along with skate photos and other editorial. More than a catalog, Wallride is a perfect bound collectible book to be put on the shelf.

Pixelrust is now on Flickr. If I got that link to work right. Otherwise just search for pixelrust. Wheee!

U B U W E B - Film & Video: Francis Bacon

Part of The South Bank Show series, David Hinton directs this BBC documentary about British painter Francis Bacon, known for his horrifying portraits of humanity. The program consists of a series of conversations between Bacon and interviewer Melvyn Bragg, starting with commentary during a side-show presentation at the Tate Gallery in London. Later in the evening, Bacon is followed through various bars hanging out, drinking, and gambling. In another segment, Bacon provides a tour of his painting studio and a glimpse at his reference photographs of distorted humans. The artist discusses his theories, influences, and obsessions. This title won an International Emmy Award in 1985. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

How they spend their days.

Daily Routines

CAPOTE I am a completely horizontal author. I can't think unless I'm lying down, either in bed or stretched on a couch and with a cigarette and coffee handy. I've got to be puffing and sipping. As the afternoon wears on, I shift from coffee to mint tea to sherry to martinis. No, I don't use a typewriter. Not in the beginning. I write my first version in longhand (pencil). Then I do a complete revision, also in longhand. Essentially I think of myself as a stylist, and stylists can become notoriously obsessed with the placing of a comma, the weight of a semicolon. Obsessions of this sort, and the time I take over them, irritate me beyond endurance.

The Frontal Cortex : The Cognitive Benefits of Nature

Thoreau would have liked this study: interacting with nature (at least when compared to a hectic urban landscape) dramatically improves improve cognitive function. In particular, being in natural settings restores our ability to exercise directed attention and working memory, which are crucial mental talents. The basic idea is that nature, unlike a city, is filled with inherently interesting stimuli (like a sunset, or an unusual bird) that trigger our involuntary attention, but in a modest fashion. Because you can't help but stop and notice the reddish orange twilight sky - paying attention to the sunset doesn't take any extra work or cognitive control - our attentional circuits are able to refresh themselves. A walk in the woods is like a vacation for the prefrontal cortex.