Let us start with Banksy, seeing as he was first. To start: to be a Banksy-know-it-all it is best to check out his website to see a good sampling of his art and/or creep on his story on wikipedia.
Then you can look at a bizarre film where Banksy joins socialites and other characters for dinner which you can watch on hulu.
Now where they meet....
Banksy clearly sees Mr. Brainwash as a fraud and shows it in the film Exit Through the Gift Shop which starts with the crazy Mr. Brainwash, before he gives himself that name, simply filming street artists for a nonexistent documentary (which is how they meet). Then he decides to create his own work and Banksy shows us how Mr. Brainwash goes about it all wrong.
NOW (the reason I'm writing this post) you can watch A Day in the Life of Mr. Brainwash (and see his crazy in all of its glory). Morgan Spurlock's (think Supersize Me) new show on Hulu focuses on one day of interesting people's lives such as Misty Copeland, will.i.am, Girl Talk, and now Mr. Brainwash, check it out here!
And finally to see Mr. Brainwash's "work" (he hires people to do it for him) go see his website here.
Life imitates art far more than art imitates life. - Oscar Wilde
I was tempted to call this post: Miss Universe Pageant Costumes that are OUT OF THIS WORLD...but refrained from being too cheesy...anyways...
In case you weren't one of the 5 people in the US watching the Miss Universe Pageant last week (or the 25 more that caught it on Hulu..) you should check out "Miss Universe 20011's Most Bizarre National Costumes" as deemed by TIME NewsFeed. (to check out pictures of all the contestants and in all the categories look here)
Although I ussually prefer looking at the pretty gowns, these bizarre costumes would even make Gaga proud.
Here are a few of the best, or worst, depending on how you look at it:
Miss Bolivia Olivia Pinheiro
Miss Panama Sheldry Saez
Miss Curacao Eva Van Putten
Miss Dominican Republic Dalia Fernandez
Well this one actually resembles Cher a la:
Now just waiting to see the Emmy fashion, hopefully there'll be something ridiculous.
I have fun with my clothes onstage; it's not a concert you're seeing, it's a fashion show. - Freddie Mercury
Qrio (Quest for cuRIOsity)
-by Sony, stands at about 2 ft tall
-Slogan: "Makes life fun, makes you happy!"
It can: walk(on uneven surfaces), talk, run, dance, recognize voices & faces, play ball games, surf the web, stands back up after falling down & checks itself for damage
Qrio robots dancing
HRP (Human Robotics Project, meant to develop domestic helper robots)
-by Kawada Industries, vary from around 151 to 160 cm tall
It can walk(on uneven surfaces), get up after fallen, grasp objects, can work alongside humans in a number of industrial and domestic settings,may be strongest and most agile of human like robots
Here is the HRP-4 displaying many of the different movements it(he?/she?) is capable of
ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility & from robotic visionary Isaac Asimov)
-by Honda, stands at 4ft 3 in
It can walk, run, turn corners, recognize hand gestures, carry objects, dance, climb up and down stairs, can even switch on a light switch
Asimo dancing with a strange man...
...and an Asimo demo showing off what it can do
Now get on with your geeky self!
I never think of the future - it comes soon enough. - Albert Einstein
Although this is nothing like my usual favorite tv shows (Bones, Criminal Minds, NCIS, CSI...and Glee), Pawn Stars has become one of my new obsessions.
How could this be, you may wonder. There are no crime scenes and no musical numbers aaaand it is even on the History Channel (or sometimes on Lifetime), but it is still way too good to not watch it.
Here are some reasons why:
-Comedy: the family dynamic is hilarious with 3 generations of large(/round) men (the old man, his son Rick, and his son Big Hoss) and the youngest's best friend (Chumlee), or as he has been called on the show "the village idiot." They bet against one another, make fun of each other, deal with Chumlee making horrible buys, etc.
-Suspense: Most of the customers bring in items that are very old and could have insane value. When they bring in their items we don't always know if they are authentic and "experts" will visit the shop to determine if that is a real civil war sword or if that really is John Hancock's John Hancock. The experts will uncover if it is real or fake and more importantly how much it is actually worth.
-Excitement: Finding out whether or not a medieval helmet is actually medieval makes for edge of your seat worthy entertainment and it is also great watching the Pawn Stars haggle with the customers for the lowest price.
Apparently Rick has written a book about his life and pawning experiences called "License to Pawn," I obviously have not read it so no recommendations there.
What I do recommend is that you check out an episode of Pawn Stars, because without fail you will be hooked.
Vegas is everything that's right with America. You can do whatever you want, 24 hours a day. They've effectively legalized everything there. -Drew Carey
This week is National Suicide Prevention Week which culminates on World Suicide Prevention Day this Saturday.
It is important to know that there are many resources if you are someone you know may be contemplating suicide.
For example: http://www.suicidology.org and http://www.thetrevorproject.org/ both of which have hotlines at 1-800-273-TALK and 1-866-488-7376 respectively.
The Trevor Project is currently running a Talk To Me campaign and here is the video with Kevin McHale of Glee:
You can even add a Talk to Me bubble to your facebook or twitter picture here to pledge your support.
To send the message to "start the conversation" they even had a flash mob on Universal CityWalk in LA to start off the week:
You can also check out amazing "It Gets Better" videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/TrevorProjectMedia under favorites. Everyone from the president to White House staff to Pixar and Gap employees to Broadway stars and fashion designers have made super inspiring videos to remind us that it does get better.
There are many other great campaigns such as the NOH8 campaign which is a "photographic silent protest created by celebrity photographer Adam Bouska (http://www.bouska.net) and partner Jeff Parshley in direct response to the passage of Proposition 8. "
Miss Bolivia Olivia Pinheiro
Miss Panama Sheldry Saez
Miss Curacao Eva Van Putten
Miss Dominican Republic Dalia Fernandez
