Martin Scorsese presents Sesame Streets
This is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. If only they still made films with dialogue like this …
[That quirky] Dutch Design Week
Last week I had the opportunity to see some brilliant, some entertaining and some very questionable design in the Dutch city of Eindhoven during Dutch Design Week (October 21-29).
There was a lot of interesting stuff, but the first headturner I checked out was this fascinating walking table …
THEN, there was the girl that designed the lamp that crochets or knits its own lamp shade. The light (when switched on) charges the motor in the knitting machine, so the longer the lamp is on, the longer the knitted shade will be. What you see in the picture below is apparently “almost one week” of the lamp being switched on. The girl in the photo is the designer of this fascinating item.
And of course no design expo is complete without the guy that thinks of bachelor convenience …
Pictured above is the the “Bachelor Board” — an ironing board that converts into a chair. And if you’re wondering … you store the iron in the headrest. Now the funny thing is, I’m not sure I know any guys that even own an iron.
Perhaps that warrants its own blog entry.
Cyanide-free Cult of MaHKU
I’ve been swamped since I moved to Amsterdam. Swamped with my Masters degree, with my new job, with my new apartment, with my new life. I love it all … and my new apartment is just dreamy.
Anyways, for my digital concepts class, all of us editorial design students have had to create a blog, directly or indirectly relevant to our masters projects. I created Cult of MaHKU on Blogger (It’s always good to switch things up … and by the way, stick to WordPress as Blogger is horrendous in comparison).
And so I was thinking to myself earlier, “What should I blog about on Café Solo?” … and it occurred to me: “I could blog about my other blog.”
So here it is … Enter the Cult of MaHKU
Total visual enlightenment. At least that’s the point x
Period film posters (meet popular culture)
THE OTHER DAY, I selected a handful of film posters, on the premise they accurately captured an essence of the popular culture (and/or popular factions) in Western cinema at the time.
On a totally separate note, I found a really interesting site that hyper-analyses themes, issues and ideas in cinema. Images: A journal of film and popular culture is an interesting site for a film buff of any degree, purely on the basis of the random information available on the site and also the analysis of relatively obscure ideas and subject matter. The information isn’t organised as thematically or methodically as it could be, but there is some cool stuff on the site. The “In Focus” feature this week is sure to bring tears to the eyes of any warm-blooded North American that grew up in the 60s, 70 or 80s watching old Westerns after school or late at night: “30 Great Westerns.” Ummm, can somebody say John Wayne?
The features on the site more academically written than journalism, but the benefit of that is that its well-researched and methodically analysed or deconstructed. I’ve found a number of must-read articles on the site that I must recommend to anyone that considers themself a cinema enthusiast of any degree …
• “Monster at the Soda Shop: Teenagers and Fifties Horror Films”
• “Cleopatra Jones: 007(Blaxploitation, James bond and Reciprocal Co-optation)**
• “Billy Wilder: About Film Noir” and “Samuel Fuller: About Film Noir” (These are both interviews)
**This article about “Blaxploitation” (The exploitation of black people) in the cinema is a really interesting read.
On a separate note, for anyone studying or interested in the study of popular culture in cinema, this page from the English Department at Berkeley University in California, lists some good resources and links. It’s a starting point. I’m working on a project encompassing this sort of stuff. If anyone knows of any good resources in the realm of iconogaphy, cinema and popular culture — please get in touch. –Saba
1955
1963
1966
1972
1986
2001
Brilliant, brilliant!!
This is AMAZING. Another YouTube treasure. I think the animation, cinematography and script are just wonderful. I was so impressed I looked up the guy that made it — It’s a 649 Films production — an independent New York-based film company that is the work of Mike Santoro, who seemed very humble when I sang his praise. Santoro said he had been going through some rough times, explaining: “This is something that helps me to keep going.” Wow — when I go through rough times I write longhand in my journal, or cry, or listen to Black Sabbath or The Smiths really loud … and this guy .. he makes totally amazing cartoons. I’m so impressed. Doubly impressed because I’m learning animation and flash right now and it’s not exactly an easy ride.
Anyway, you’ll love it x
Peroni’s La Dolce Vita
Based on Fellini’s classic La Dolce Vita from the 1960s, Peroni’s La Dolce Vita video is stunningly beautiful. I fall in love and have my heartbroken every time I watch it. If my Romeo is out there — please take notes.
Watch, and smile. x
Beautiful Barcelona
This is one of my favourite pics I’ve ever taken in Barcelona. Its from a trip there in March/April. The marina is one of my favourite places to write.
Peter Friedl at Macba
My holiday has ended. The reality is sinking in. I’m sorting through photos now and it’s all coming together…
That said, I went to a couple of great exhibits in my last couple of days in Barcelona. I checked out the Warhol exhibit at the Museu Diocesà. That was incredible. 110 original works on display. And can I just say how much I love the Liza Minelli pieces? And yes, the technicolour Marilyn’s were there. They look just like the posters at Target and Tesco, but better. The highlights were most definitely Liza Minelli and AND the original Campbells Soup dresses. So cool.
At Macba, there’s a particularly interesting retrospective Peter Friedl exhibit (1964-2006). I’m simply not a fan at all, but some of his stuff is fun.
I shot some pictures. I particularly like the neon-lit messages. The balloon is absolutely massive. If King-Kong chewed Hubba Bubba and blew a bubble, Friedl is bang on with how big it would have been…
Café solo 