January 31, 2014
Worshipper of Larsa
"For the god Martu, his god, for the life of Hammurabi, king of Babylon, Lu-Nanna, […], son of Sin-le’i, fashioned for him, for his life, a suppliant statue of copper, [its] face [plat]ed with gold. He dedicated it to him as his servant."
January 30, 2014
The Film (Long) - Burberry Body
"Introducing the Burberry Body Campaign directed by Christopher Bailey, featuring British actress Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, and shot by Mario Testino in London."
Flagship: Christopher Bailey Introduces Burberry 121 Regent Street, London.
"Christopher Bailey, Burberry Chief Creative Officer, introduces 121 Regent Street, London, the new Burberry World Live Flagship. The innovative space seamlessly merges the physical and digital, bringing Burberry.com to life. 121 Regent Street is a celebration of British design and craftsmanship."
Introducing Burberry Travel Tailoring
"Burberry Travel Tailoring - innovation through cut, construction and fabric. Redefining traditional tailoring design, the collection features innovative fabric and engineered canvassing to allow unparalleled movement and comfort."
January 29, 2014
Judge Minty (2013)
"Judge Minty was actually in development long before the Karl Urban film, a labour of love by director Steven Sterlacchini – along with co-writer Michael Carroll and DP Stephen Green – that took nearly five years to produce and release. It's based on a one-off short story of the same name from a 1980 issue of 2000 AD – prog 147, to be precise – in which writer John Wagner and artist Mike McMahon introduced the concept of 'The Long Walk', the harsh and yet strangely noble retirement option offered to outgoing judges."
Googie architecture
"Googie architecture is a form of modern architecture, a subdivision of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, jets, the Space Age, and the Atomic Age. Originating in Southern California during the late 1940s and continuing approximately into the mid-1960s, Googie-themed architecture was popular among motels, coffee houses and gas stations."
Vin Diesel announces Riddick sequel development
While dancing to Beyonce.
January 27, 2014
The end of pilot season
"This cycle, which seems absurd when set against how people actually consume television, not to mention its attendant costs – estimated at $300m-$400m a year – is now coming to an end."
The re-up
"The chances of another season of The Wire are now exactly the same as America having a rational dialogue about drug law reform."
January 26, 2014
Chanel Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2014 Paris
Featuring Cara Delevingne in show-stopping bridal.
Spinning Frame of Thrones
Smatterist considers attention to detail in wardrobe for HBO's Game of Thrones.
(Hat tip to Mr. Percifield.)
Hogan Spring/Summer 2014
Jamie Dornan and Constance Jablonski enjoy a Venetian escapade for Hogan.
January 25, 2014
Robert Anton Wilson ~ The Map Is Not The Territory: The Future Is Not The Past
The Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture Series - Robert Anton Wilson, November 7th, 1997
Last Alan Moore interview?
"To my mind, this embracing of what were unambiguously children's characters at their mid-20th century inception seems to indicate a retreat from the admittedly overwhelming complexities of modern existence. It looks to me very much like a significant section of the public, having given up on attempting to understand the reality they are actually living in, have instead reasoned that they might at least be able to comprehend the sprawling, meaningless, but at-least-still-finite 'universes' presented by DC or Marvel Comics. I would also observe that it is, potentially, culturally catastrophic to have the ephemera of a previous century squatting possessively on the cultural stage and refusing to allow this surely unprecedented era to develop a culture of its own, relevant and sufficient to its times."
Dos-à-dos
Printed in the late 16th century this small book from the National Library of Sweden is an example of sixfold dos-à-dos binding, where six books are conjoined into a single publication but can be read individually with the help of six perfectly placed clasps.
January 24, 2014
Vogue Voices: Tom Ford
"The designer and director talks about his teen acting days, being typecast in fashion, and what it was like to return to womenswear."
Close to the mark
"Let me say this," Gary Shteyngart said. "I was the judge of a Canadian prize, and it's subsidised, they all get grants. Out of a million entries, we found four or five really good ones, but people just don't take the same damn risks! Maybe they want to please the Ontario Arts Council, or whatever it is."
Statistical stylometry
"Scientists have developed an algorithm which they claim can predict the commercial success of a book with 84 per cent accuracy."
January 23, 2014
We Are Winter - Team Canada Sochi 2014
The Winter Spirit (The Origin of the Ice Palace)
- Helen Fairbairn.
The winter night was full of wind and storm. The Christian's festal season close at hand. With frosty, glistening, snow-besprinkled form, The Winter Spirit roamed throughout the land.
Beneath, his flying footsteps froze the ground; And with his garments' rustling fell the snow ; His lightest touch made icicles abound; His breath, as when the keenest north winds blow.
He paused above the river, dull and gray, Turbid and chafing with a restless pain.
And soon in icy quietness it lay, Bound, bank to bank, within his Arctic chain.
He roamed along the leafless mountain side, And wheresoeer he found a solemn spruce. Or stately fir, or hemlock rich and wide, He paused, and shook his gleaming garments loose.
There's a great future in plastics
"For bees at least, plastic could potentially have advantages over natural materials, and not just because it’s more easily available in urban environments. The study authors explained that plastic might physically impede parasites form infecting those in the nest; in this case, all the bees emerged parasite-free."
Kung Fu 1x01 King of the Mountain (1972)
"Kung Fu is an American action-adventure western drama television series starring David Carradine. The series aired on ABC from October 1972, to April 1975 for a total of 63 episodes."
Master Po: Close your eyes. What do you hear?
Young Caine: I hear the water, I hear the birds.
Po: Do you hear your own heartbeat?
Caine: No.
Po: Do you hear the grasshopper which is at your feet?
Caine: Old man, how is it that you hear these things?
Po: Young man, how is it that you do not?
January 22, 2014
Bog grog
"‘Far from being the barbarians so vividly described by ancient Greeks and Romans, the early Scandinavians, northern inhabitants of so-called Proxima Thule, emerge with this new evidence as a people with an innovative flair for using available natural products’, said Dr Patrick McGovern, lead author of the paper.
"‘They were not averse to adopting the accoutrements of southern or central Europeans, drinking their preferred beverages out of imported and often ostentatiously grand vessels,' he added."
Smell the roses
"The Scent Rhythm Watch by Aisen Caro Chacin could mean that you never have to look at your watch again when you want to tell the time."
January 20, 2014
David Cronenberg - The Beetle and the Fly
"I woke up one morning recently to discover that I was a seventy-year-old man. Is this different from what happens to Gregor Samsa in The Metamorphosis? He wakes up to find that he’s become a near-human-sized beetle (probably of the scarab family, if his household’s charwoman is to be believed), and not a particularly robust specimen at that. Our reactions, mine and Gregor’s, are very similar."
January 19, 2014
Arctic Circle or Bust in a Mercedes-Benz G65 AMG
"On this episode of Epic Drives, Jonny Lieberman and Justin Bell take the Twin-Turbo V12 G65 AMG on a mischievous trip through the lands of Sweden as they make their way to AMG's Winter Driving Academy and the Arctic Circle! Along the way they stumble across a fashion show in Stockholm, visit the 40 foot tall Gavle Goat and drift an SLK on a frozen lake. Will the G65 prove to be a capable vessel or will it leave them buried and stranded in sub-zero temperatures?"
January 18, 2014
January 17, 2014
Piotr Dumala - Crime & Punishment (2000)
"Dumala completed his half-hour film of Crime and Punishment (Zbrodnia i Kara) in 2000, after three years of work. He has a unique method: He takes a white plaster panel and coats the surface with glue. He then paints over it with a dark color and lets it dry. He uses a knife and sandpaper to engrave his image, creating a hatching effect that gives it a feeling of texture. To add darkness to a light area, he adds more paint with a brush.
"It’s a form of 'destructive animation.' Each image exists only long enough to be photographed and then painted over to create a sense of movement."
Kateryna Tarnovska
The Ukrainian radical pagan feminist on myths, girl gangs and being Gareth Pugh's muse.
January 16, 2014
Fermentation sciences
"Students in the fermentation sciences department at Appalachian State leave equipped with skills beyond their fermentation degrees, blurring the lines between craftspeople and biologists, chemists and connoisseurs."
Nuestra Señora del Pilar
"For more than 50 years, an eccentric former monk has been piecing together a grand cathedral brick by brick, completely alone and by hand."
January 15, 2014
First World Fantasy Convention 1975 Panel Recordings
"When I got out of high school, by expulsion, I was faced with a terrible choice everybody had during the Depression. It was a dilemma: To either work or starve. I decided to combine the two by becoming a writer."
- Robert Bloch
The second panel discussion is about fantasy and supernatural horror publishing. It is again moderated by artist & cartoonist Gahan Wilson, the speakers include publisher Donald A. Wollheim and author Robert Bloch.
The audio was recorded in October 1975 by and for Myrddin Press, which published the fanzine Myrddin. The recordings were made with a Sony monophonic cassette recorder, and parts of it appeared on a paper-thin flexible vinyl disc that came with the third issue of Myrddin. The three files uploaded here contain the clearest and most interesting portions from the tapes. Much of the rest is inaudible.
Quit & Travel
"For Zhang Xinyu, a 36-year-old entrepreneur from Beijing, the capital of war-ravaged Somalia was just another tourist destination."
January 14, 2014
It is a truth universally acknowledged
A single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
Paloma Faith - Can't Rely on You
Hat tip to Mr. Percifield.
Cooking With Paloma Faith: The Perfect Tarte Tatin.
January 13, 2014
January 12, 2014
Mary Story - Lowlands Away
The interactive version: Assassin's Creed: Black Flag - Lowlands Away gameplay.
January 11, 2014
Alexander McQueen Men's Fall/Winter 2014-2015
I hope Bauhaus got paid.
Winds of Winter’ release date update
George R.R. Martin is threatening to use the Red Comet to wipe out all life in Westeros and Essos if people don't stop hassling him about it.
Hat tip to Mr. Percifield.
January 10, 2014
Walk this way for the Diesel show in Florence
"This season, despite attempted negotiations between Pitti Uomo’s chief executive Raffaello Napoleone and the British Fashion Council, London Collections: Men started on January 6th, just one day before the four day Florence-based trade show was scheduled to begin, meaning the two events would overlap for two days. As a result of the clash, Napoleone made a bold move, chartering a private plane to fly media and buyers to Florence the moment the Burberry show had concluded on January 8th, at a total cost of €29,000 (about $39,000)."
January 09, 2014
Burberry Prorsum Menswear Autumn/Winter 2014
"A Painterly Journey - the Burberry Prorsum Menswear Autumn/Winter 2014 show
"Inspired by the British decorative arts, the collection features hand-painted florals and abstract designs on showerproof silk and textured leather. Relaxed outerwear, open shirts and scarves are printed with iconic landmarks, while wool blankets and knitwear are made in Britain
"Filmed on 8 January 2014 in London"
Songs For The Philologists (1936)
"Songs for the Philologists is a collection of poems by E. V. Gordon and J. R. R. Tolkien as well as traditional songs."
Since Smith had not asked permission of either Gordon or Tolkien, the printed booklets were not distributed. Most copies were destroyed in a fire, and only a few, perhaps around 14, survived.
Appendix I: A table of contents.
Appendix II: A snip at US$ 29,700.00 (plus US$ 14.00 for shipping to Canada)..
Appendix III: Rare Tolkien books seen on eBay.
January 08, 2014
Harlan Ellison Goes to Hollywood
"In his first public appearance in years, the famed author and raconteur stops by Sweeney Todd's for a haircut, then fields questions at La Luz Gallery."
Also: Harlan Ellison on his upcoming books.
Teaching The Odyssey at San Quentin
"The theme of the course was life as a story, and at the first class, I asked them to tell a story from their own lives. A few declined; most spoke. One recalled his boyhood in Cambodia, the day he saw a river filled with floating corpses, victims of the Khmer Rouge. One had been unable to say goodbye to his terminally ill mother because he was in prison. A black man from Arkansas had seen his cousin murdered by white supremacists. One shot a man in a drug dispute. Another had grown up as a neighborhood protector and admired the way Odysseus 'took care of business,' saving his crew from the Cyclopes and killing the suitors."
David Ogilvy - How to Write (September 7th, 1982)
"The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy & Mather. People who think well, write well."
A word from our sponsors: Writing That Works; How to Communicate Effectively In Business
January 07, 2014
NE Tiger Couture Spring/Summer 2014
"FashionTV heads to Beijing, China to check out the NE Tiger Couture Fashion Show 2014 at Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2014. Fashion week kicked off with NE.TIGER 2014 "Great Yuan" Haute Couture Fashion Show, which is the show's 14th year to open fashion week. This collection combines elements of Yuan Dynasty's classic clothing with modern trends. To create this look, Nanjing brocade and Kesi silk are used and combined with velour, fur and lace. Ribbon embroidery, and colorful stitches (used for the first time) is combined with exquisite knotting and Suzhou gold embroidery."
The Age of the Wizard of Oz
"But in our situation we're all powerless. I mean, we pretend we're run by people. We're not run by anybody. The secret of modern Britain is there is no power anywhere." Some commentators, he says, think we're run by an oligarchy. "But we're not. I mean, nobody can see power in Britain. The politicians think journalists have power. The journalists know they don't have any. Then they think the bankers have power. The bankers know they don't have any. None of them have any power."
Hat tip to Mr. Tarantino.
Printed chocolate
"I made the Digital Chocolatier, a machine that builds chocolates layer by layer, from the bottom up."
January 06, 2014
Michael Crichton - States of Fear: Science or Politics?
"The late Michael Crichton, author of 'State of Fear,' along with a panel of distinguished scientists, examine the increasing politicization of science at an event sponsored by the Independent Institute from 2005."
Afterword: Charlie Rose - An appreciation of Michael Crichton.
"Originally aired in November 2008, shortly after the surprising & neglected death of Michael Crichton. Charlie Rose, the great interviewer, and Michael Crichton, the great thinker. Please support public television and great shows like Charlie Rose."
The Fall of France
"As they say, the problem with the French is they have no word for entrepreneur."
January 05, 2014
Mike Rowe - Learning from dirty jobs
"Follow your passion. Probably the worst advice I ever got."
Other Memory
"While it’s true that about half of all the people who ever lived were men, the typical male was much more likely than the typical woman to die without reproducing. Citing recent DNA research, Dr. Baumeister explained that today’s human population is descended from twice as many women as men. Maybe 80 percent of women reproduced, whereas only 40 percent of men did."
Via Mangan.
The language of flowers
"A 100-million-year old piece of amber has been discovered which reveals the oldest evidence of sexual reproduction in a flowering plant – a cluster of 18 tiny flowers from the Cretaceous Period – with one of them in the process of making some new seeds for the next generation."
The legacy of Yakub
"All instances of a gene mutation that contributes to light skin color in Europeans came from the same chromosome of one person who most likely lived at least 10,000 years ago."
January 04, 2014
All Flowers in Time (2010)
All Flowers in Time from Centre Phi | Phi Centre on Vimeo.
"Director Jonathan Caouette took the red-eye effect to a new level in his 2010 short film All Flowers in Time, which was just released online for the first time. The film relies heavily on dream logic, a la David Lynch—its 'plot' concerns a young American family watching a French cowboy host a surreal Dutch TV show that broadcasts sinister waves that deeply affect viewers, giving them red glowing eyes and making them believe they can transform into monsters. This visually and sonically arresting film gets under your skin quickly, pushing the boundaries of the short horror film to the limit.
"The characters who inhabit the TV are disconnected and even disembodied as they rattle eccentric sayings from their mouths. The uneasiness is lapped up by the viewers, played by Chloë Sevigny and Chandler Frantz."
A Foreigner's Guide to Polish Literature
"Select your literary profile:
a) I do not intend to actually read a book, I simply want to seem knowledgeable at faculty parties
b) It strongly prefer all things odd and kafkaesque."
With options through to: "j) I want solid entertainment: sci-fi, comedic fiction" which suggests that, to Poland, sci-fi and comedy belong in the same category.
January 03, 2014
I Like Killing Flies (2004)
This is brilliant.
"I Like Killing Flies is a 2004 documentary film produced, directed, filmed, and edited by Matt Mahurin. It documents Shopsins restaurant in New York City's Greenwich Village and its owner and head cook, Kenny Shopsin. In 2002 and 2003, Mahurin followed Shopsin in his final year at the location he ran for over 30 years. Throughout the film, Shopsin offers what he calls "half-baked" philosophy, peppered with profanities."
NSFW (language, analogies)
Talking perfume
What Men Should Smell Lke interviews Bertrand Duchaufour about his career, his current and forthcoming work, and the state of perfumery.
Bonaparte Candygram
My latest nom de guerre courtesy of the Benedict Cumberbatch Name Generator.
January 02, 2014
Mimesis
"Luna, a wild orca boy, tries to communicate with humans by imitating their boat's motor."
Congress Shrugged
"Current US law extends copyright for 70 years after the date of the author’s death, and corporate 'works-for-hire' are copyrighted for 95 years after publication. But prior to the 1976 Copyright Act (which became effective in 1978), the maximum copyright term was 56 years – an initial term of 28 years, renewable for another 28 years. Under those laws, works published in 1957 would enter the public domain on January 1, 2014, where they would be 'free as the air to common use.'”
The Console Living Room
"The Internet Archive Console Living Room harkens back to the revolution of the change in the hearth of the home, when the fireplace and later television were transformed by gaming consoles into a center of videogame entertainment. Connected via strange adapters and relying on the television's speaker to put out beeps and boops, these games were resplendent with simple graphics and simpler rules."
January 01, 2014
About the author
Nicholas Packwood's career in Canada’s entertainment industries began twenty years ago, working for Moses Znaimer’s Olympus Management on a project including CityTV, Bravo!, Space, MuchMusic and MZTV. As the owner of an independent film production company and partner in a digital media production company, he has since had the opportunity to work on film, television, and video game projects with a variety of Canadian and international industry players including CBC, BBC, HBO, Paramount Pictures, Nelvana, Corus Entertainment, White Wolf Entertainment, Ellis Entertainment, Microsoft/Xbox Live, Epic Games and Unreal Technology. Since 2008, Nick has been a member of faculty in George Brown College's post-graduate Game Design program mentoring applied thesis projects and teaching Storytelling and Character Development, specializing in world building, dialogue, performance theory, character development, pitch development, and narrative design.
Publications include the Montreal Gazette, the Independent, the Manchester Evening News, the National Post and the Canadian Literary Review. Nick has appeared as a guest on CBC Radio, Talk!TV, BookTV and WTN's Modern Manners. Nick is the author of several peer reviewed articles; his work has appeared in a number of scholarly journals including Space & Culture, Santé/Culture/Health, Reviews in Anthropology, Nebula & the University of Minnesota. His writing has been anthologized alongside Margaret Atwood and Lillian Allen.
Nick is also a musician, game audio engineer and sound designer, having earned a Recording Arts Certificate from Toronto's Centennial College. Nick has performed as "Ghost of a flea" and "British Iron Age" at The Drake Underground, White Orchid and taken top billing at Savage Garden, North America's longest running gothic nightclub. More recently, he has taken up artisan perfumery.