Kitteh vs Camreh

Buzz Aldrin's Rocket Experience

Buzz Aldrin's Rocket Experience from Buzz Aldrin

Oh wow - talk about taking a prank too far...

Not sure the free hat and t-shirt would *quite* cut it by way of recompense...

Gentle reminder that clothes do not make the man

Last month Black Watch, one of my favourite manly blog sites, dusted off some vintage copies of Esquire and transcribed the following gems. It's interesting how, while cut and pattern have come full circle, fabric has changed completely, and we now think nothing (gulp) of luxurious cashmere blends; also the way hats are discussed simply as part of an outfit rather than as a particular highlight. As well as the Black Watch blog, it's well worth reading another of theirs, The Selvedge Yard.

“Fashion is treated too much as news rather than what it is, what it does and how it performs.” –Geoffrey Beene

Gentle reminder that clothes do not make the man.
Esquire magazine

One of our pet peeves has always been the type of fashion copy that endeavoured to implant the sweet notion that “dressing the part” would put you over to tumultuous applause, regardless of your natural qualifications. We become slightly ill every time we read about dandy underwear that will automatically take so many strokes off your golf score. Of course, come to think of it, nobody has tried to sell the undergraduate on a good appearance as a magical aid to success in the classroom– perhaps because that’s the last brand of success that he’ll worry about, or perhaps because he doesn’t need selling on the value of good appearance anyway. By and large, and with particular reference to any eastern universities, he’s as clothes conscious as the sex can present. Current manifestations of this tendency are found in the popularity of the Glen Urquhart suit in a saxony fabric which resembles flannel in its softness and ease of drape but outdistances it in wearing qualities. This example, in a soft red two button model, carries a bold red overplaid. The white oxford button down collar attached shirt, always a favourite shirt of the college man is the round collar attached model, in oxford, Scotch cheviot, chambrays and broadcloths-the collar fastened with a gold safety pin. Wool socks are a year round standby of the undergraduate and although the colors and patterns will vary from season to season, the weight remains pretty much the same, being on the light side rather than the heavy. The bold Argyle plaids, on white grounds, are especially popular.

What? Garters on a page of college fashions? Yes, sir!
Esquire magazine

Our scouts have been infesting fraternity houses, dorms and locker rooms for months and now they arise, to a man, and declare that undergraduates do wear garters. Perhaps, after all that has been said and written on the subject, that’s an item for Ripley. Anyway, we just know they wear ‘em– the solid color elastic web kind, sketched here. As for other things they’re wearing, the trend at the moment seems to be toward an elaborately casual English countryside manner. The balmaccan topcoat is a case in point. So, for that matter, is the extent to which they are wearing short sleeveless sweaters. This is a direct follow-up on the lead of young Englishmen, a recent report from London saying that there the bright young men are turning up at smart cocktail parties wearing these short sleeveless sweaters with light weight tweed suits. As for color combinations, since men have definitely thrown off the feminine-fostered taboo against the use of grey and brown in combination, many odd color schemes have won acceptance. The big surprise, of course, is how quickly the black banded brown hat has caught on as a college and prep school fashion, to say nothing of the extent to which it has won acceptance among men of the sportsman type. Brown brogue shoes are getting a big play on the campus from those very undergraduates who, for a long time, stuck to the white buckskin shoe for year around wear. Knitted ties are the dominant note as far as neckwear is concerned, although the batwing bow, as shown on the next page, is gaining ground fast. The hat in the panel is the Tyrollean type for sportswear, an item that is getting acceptance at the Eastern colleges.

Safely out of town your colour choices can run very wild.
Esquire magazine

At the best hunt race meetings you will see the boldest colours and patterns. Keep your eyes off the picture for a minute, and see if this doesn’t sound godawful: green suit, blue and white striped shirt, plaid tie that is predominately red, reddish brown shoes and tannish brown hat, and gray topcoat. Put them all together and they spell hash, but put them on a man who has any flair at all for wearing clothes, and they add up to make a strikingly effective outfit that is beyond reproach from a fashion standpoint. The suit is a single breasted easy fitting Harris tweed, the shirt is of heavy cheviot with a rounded soft collar attached, the tie is woolen, of deep maroon with a gray overplaid, the shoes are buckskin ankle high and closely akin to jodhpur shoes in cut. The allover stitched tweed hat is a sportsman’s favourite at the moment. The other outfit, a bit more seemly if the schedule should include a return to town for cocktails, is comprised of a rough finish bowler, a three button notched lapel suit of gray cheviot with a pronounced blue overplaid, a solid coloured shirt of light weight flannel, a black tie with bold blue stripe, black brogues, and a tan covert topcoat, The umbrella handle, though you can’t see it, is leather and has a gold pencil inserted at the crook. The latter is one of the fearfully swank British touches, but it seems to be catching on and is therefore worthy of mention. The dark vertical streak in the southwest corner of the jacket shown on the left is not to be interpreted as an overemphasised shadow. It represents one of a pair of side vents-much better in coats intended for town wear, than the usual single centre vent. Note the four buttons at the cuff.

The black Homberg– the hero swipes the villain's hat.
Esquire magazine

In the gallery of stock types, the black hat has always indicated one of three characters– the clergyman, the politician, or the villain in the play. The latter connotation will have to be repealed now, however, as the black Homburg hat has now settled down as an established fashion in this country, on the heads of the smartest young-men-about-town and juniors of Wall Street, after having enjoyed a run of about a year in London before gaining acceptance on this side. With it, as demonstrated by the figure in the foreground, you would wear about the same kind of outfit that would normally go with this hat model in any other color. The coat, for example, is a gray double breasted Shetland– a cloth that is highly prized by the knowing for its softness and fine draping quality. This topcoat is noteworthy for its comparative shortness and for its tendency to flare. The suit is of a fine blue-gray worsted and with it go black straight tipped shoes and a blue and white striped soft shirt worn with a round starched collar, The tie is black foulard– another fashion by Wall Street out of London– with purple polka dots. Also of traceable English origin is the custom, now being taken up rapidly in this country, of wearing a deep red carnation with business clothes as well as when dressed for evening. In keeping with this outfit’s general tendency to swank is the use, as a final fitting note, of yellow chamois gloves. Another good outfit, by the way, is that combination shown in the background– a fly front covert topcoat with ticket pocket at the waist line, worn with a lightweight bowler hat. This can be worn with rough tweedy suitings. This mixing up of town and country fashions is currently sanctioned.

Horsehair

http://www.julianwolkenstein.com/

Iran Election Crisis: 10 Significant Web Videos

Over at Mashable, Ben Parr has compiled a post with 10 of the most-viewed, and most significant, "citizen videos" to have emerged from the ongoing turmoil in Iran. A snip from his postscript, appended to the post today:

As I built this post, I saw a progression of events through the video. Unfortunately, it wasn't a good one. It puts on display escalating violence, mayhem, and turmoil. Iran is a nation in chaos, and as we monitor the situation, we must realize that social tools provide us with unfettered access to the situation. Sometimes, that access can be disturbing. The flip side though is that we can truly know what's going on in Iran.

Video above: Militia firing into crowds of protesters yesterday in Tehran.
Iran Election Crisis: 10 Incredible YouTube Videos (Mashable, via Raymond Leon Roker)
This link via Xeni Jarden at boingboing.net

Cab Calloway - Reefer Man

Rock it.

The Architecture of War: A Look at Saddam Hussein’s Palaces

Adda Birnir on FlavorWire has a fascinating interview and slideshow with photographer Richard Mosse, who has been in Iraq producing a photo essay of Saddam's palaces as they are now:

CLICK HERE FOR A SLIDESHOW OF HIS WORK>>

Photographer Richard Mosse has recently returned from a month-long trip to Iraq to photograph what remains of Saddam Hussein’s dozens of palaces, now used by American soldiers as make-shift combat headquarters. This month, the American army is set to handover the last of the palaces back to the Iraqi army. Mosse, who has previously photographed war-torn areas of Eastern Europe and the Middle East, sat down with us to discuss his latest project and the deeply disturbing, though darkly humorous, aspects of the ongoing war in Iraq.

Richard Mosse: I used to read out-of-date New Yorkers at the gym while I was a graduate student at Yale. I would sweat over the periodicals and carry some four year old magazine back to the Stairmaster. I chanced upon Jon Lee Anderson writing fresh from the US invasion of Baghdad way back in 2003. Anderson describes the US invasion in superb detail. I think his correspondence from around the time of the invasion is some of the best war literature I’ve encountered. Anderson described wandering through one of Saddam’s palaces and recounted a grand vision:

Children’s scooters lay on the floor in some of the downstairs reception rooms. In one bedroom, there was a brand-new McCulloch chain saw on a sofa next to the bed, its yellow box on the floor. There were four more chain saws, still in their boxes, in a walk-in closet.

[from ‘The Collapse’ by Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, April 21, 2003]

I thought to myself, for fuck’s sake, take a picture!

(read the rest of the interview here)

Break your face

WAHHA GO GO nonsense machine (w/ video)

WAHHA GO GO, the latest nonsense machine by Tokyo-based multimedia art “company” Maywa Denki, is a manually operated device designed just for giggles. To activate the machine — which looks like a skeletal humanoid with accordion-like lungs and a big toothy grin that takes up half its head — simply spin the heavy metal disk mounted on its torso. WAHHA GO GO rears back its head, takes a deep breath, and exhales through artificial vocal cords to emit an uncanny laugh that invites you to laugh along with it (or at it).

+ Video

(From the Pink Tentacle gang...)

Finding your inner Friday feeling

Tired? Stressed? Maybe just a little grumpy that the aircon isn't working and that you're still at work? Here's the answer: sex, tickles and happiness, in three delightful slices.

First up, sex, in the form of 13 Piger (5 mands version), which, Adam says, is "like throwing vinegar in your eyes".


To be followed by tickles, courtesy of this Slow Loris.


And finally, Bobby McFerrin being happy on Sesame Street.


I actually feel a bit sick now.

Space Stunts

Astronaut Koichi Wakata, who has been living aboard the International Space Station since mid-March, has carried out a series of offbeat space experiments proposed by the Japanese public.

Here’s a condensed version of the footage that the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has posted online.

+ Video

In addition to attempting various physical exercises and gymnastics (including calisthenics, push-ups, flips, twirls, cartwheels, overhead soccer kicks, and swimming), Koichi folds clothes, rides a “magic carpet,” squirts water from a syringe, puts eyedrops in his eye, and attempts to propel himself through the room by flapping a fan. He also enlists the help of a fellow astronaut for some arm wrestling, hand-shaking, slap sumo, and tug of war.

[Soundtrack: "Seashell" by Skylab (from the "Skylab#1" CD) - picked up from a post on the fascinating Pink Tentacle]

Some amazing origami in this collection...

Collated by Village of Joy. Full set is here (lots of Star Wars folding though).

1. Yoda(Image PhillipWest) Designed by Fumiaki Kawahata. Folded by Phillip West from Lokta sandpaper paper back coated to tissue paper.

2. The Emperor with Force Lightning(Image PhillipWest) Modified from Satoshi Kamiya’s Wizard. Folded by Phillip West.

3. Lion(Image Joseph Wu Origami) One sheet design. Based on “Babe the Blue Ox”.

4. The White Bull of Heaven(Image Joseph Wu Origami) Folded from brand new supply of high white elephant hide, the gold horns are colour changed from the underside which was coloured with gold ink.

5. Unicorn(Image kekremsi) Designed by Satoshi Kamiya. Folded from 35*35 cm handmade paper, back-coated with golden tissue at only colour changing part.

6. Medusa(Image origamiwolf) Folded from one uncut square of Thai Saa.

7. Unnamed warrior(Image J0nB0n)

8. Octopus(Image Joseph Wu Origami)

9. Horse(Image kekremsi) Designed by Roman Diaz. Folded from 40*40 cm mc treated handmade paper.

10. Gryphon(Image Joseph Wu Origami) Two-piece design. Body based on “Babe the Blue Ox” with added wings.

11. Twelve-Headed Hydra(Image origamiwolf) One square, no cuts, MC-folded Saa.

12. Raiden(Image J0nB0n) Designed by J0nB0n. Folded from a 17″ square of tissue foil.

13. Phoenix(Image J0nB0n) Designed by J0nB0n. Folded from a 17″ square of tissue foil.

14. Gorgon Bull(Image Joseph Wu Origami)

Could this be the end of the line?

There's a fascinating article about dwindling fish stocks and their unlikely saviours by Frank Pope in today's copy of The Times. Not too much tub thumping either. His conclusion includes the fact/statement that it would be cheaper to create highly-protected marine reserves than enforce the £8bn to £16bn spent on fishing subsidies every year. There's a link to The End of the Line, the film he mentions, here.

"Could this be the end of the line?

Supermarkets may make unlikely environmental heroes, but they are leading changes in public behaviour, fishery practices and government policy in the fight against overfishing. Threatened by a future with no fish to sell, they are doing something about it.

When Waitrose did a survey last month it found that more than three quarters of us do not make any attempt to buy sustainable seafood, mostly thanks to a widespread ignorance about crashing fish stocks around the world. Talk to the guys behind the fish counter, and they will tell you the same thing - no one asks where the fish comes from or how it is caught.

Customer pressure is usually the main driver of supermarket behaviour. Cynics may say that in a world where environmental credentials are valuable, there is incentive to promote the next Fair Trade or organic standard. But the leading supermarkets - not just Waitrose, but Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, the Co-op, Asda and Tesco's among others - are pushing for change because doing nothing would soon mean they have no fish to sell.

The facts are often repeated. Only eight of the forty-seven fish stocks around the UK are in a healthy state. Some 80 per cent of EU fisheries are either fully or over-exploited. And if current practices continue, worldwide fishery collapse is predicted by 2048.

Between 80 and 90 per cent of all fish caught in the UK goes through supermarkets, making them the major player in fisheries behaviour. (This is a fairly recent role - in 1982 independent fishmongers ruled, and only 10 per cent went through the supermarkets.) Shifting such volumes allows them a perspective denied to the average omega-3-hunter at the fish counter. It is hard to tell when a cod from Newfoundland is replaced by a cod from Iceland, but the supermarkets notice when they have to change supplier because a stock has crashed.

That they have chosen to act is an indication of how serious things are...(read the rest of the article here)"

Here's a trailer of the film:

Too cool for school

I have no idea if this is fake or not.

Do dogs smile?

Another set by the same guy that Adam found. Really very funny.

Dogs see in B&W

Really pretty Flickr set spotted by Adam.

Remember when... Cassette tapes

Brings me back to the days of stickers and home made tape covers, sitting by the radio, or working out exactly how many songs I could find into the 46 and-a-bit minutes per side.

Hit up TAPEDECK for its full collection of analog cassette tape nostalgia.

Cassetteboy vs The Apprentice

Pretty sweet shirt

The shirt is awesome enough, but now hit it up on Amazon and read the reviews. Apparently since these started going in, sales have rocketed over 2,300%. That's people power for you.

Some samples:

So I'm looking for threads that say, "Hey baby...I'm real boss!" when I stumble upon this epic creation. The wolves spoke to me in a language all their own; it was like German, Mongol, and Bitchin all mixed together. I mean, one wolf howlin at the moon is major...but three???

I ordered next-day air (if only there was same day!), and, of course, a size smaller than usual to ensure the closeness of the wolves to my chest hair. When the package arrived, I tore it open, and I SWEAR angels sang. I think it was Freebird. I immediately removed my "No Fat Chicks" shirt, and replaced it with this finery. Lemme tell you: AW YEAH.

I'll spare the details of my conquests since I started wearing this shrit; suffice to say, I'm swimming in a sea of babes the likes of which are usually found on those K-Tel infomercials. I'm also more confident at work, and expect to be promoted to cashier soon. I owe everything to this shirt (I should say "shirts", since I now own 23 of them).

For you left brain types out there, who are still unsure on whether or not this shirt would make a wise purchase, allow me to break it down for you.

Most shirts like this only contain one wolf. This shirt has three wolves, plus a moon. You are basically getting three wolves and a moon for the price on one wolf. You won't find that deal anywhere else.

Make it happen. Add your review.

Caption of the Week

Cartoon of the Week

From The First Post:

Crumbs of Comfort
Famed for his barely-contained lust for trunk-thighed, large-assed, muscular women, underground cartooning legend Robert Crumb's singular obsession receives a lavish showcase with this hugely expensive tome, signed and strictly limited to 1,000 copies. The result is a prime piece of highly-collectable 'Crumbiana' that will enthral deep-pocketed fans (feminists need not apply) with it's collection of 14 full-length strips and 60-odd sketches from 1980-2006 that lay bare the man's entertainingly tortured sexual psyche. Thanks to an all-new colouring job, Crumb's famously frenetic line-work receives an added lush vibrancy. Even in black-and-white, however, Crumb's etchings have a dynamism that's gleefully filthy.
Danny Graydon

Click the pic to see the slide show on The First Post's site. Well worth it. Though some of it is more than a little cheeky.

The TASCHEN website has further details, including how to buy it.

LEGO architecture

Adam sent me a link to the Brickstructures website. They make architectural models out of Lego. Nothing special there, perhaps, but their ones are AWESOME, and they have a re-seller agreement with the Danish brick firm, so when it arrives it all looks wicked. I mean, look at the box!

In a similar vein, Dunechaser is still doing his amazing Lego characters and putting the pics up on Flickr. Here are two new ones:

Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday (is that Gregory Peck running beside her?)

(link)

and the inimitable Errol Flynn

(link)

Obama: from professor to warmonger

How long does it take a mild-mannered, anti-war, black professor of constitutional law, trained as a community organiser on the South Side of Chicago, to become an enthusiastic sponsor of targeted assassinations, 'decapitation' strategies and remote-control bombing of mud houses at the far end of the globe?

There's nothing surprising here. As far back as President Woodrow Wilson, in the early 20th century, American liberalism has been swift to flex its imperial muscle and whistle up the Marines. High-explosive has always been in the hormone shot.

The nearest parallel to Obama in eager deference to the bloodthirsty counsels of his counter-insurgency advisors is John F. Kennedy. It is not surprising that bright young presidents relish quick-fix, 'outside the box' scenarios for victory.

Obama’s course is set and his presidency is already stained the familiar blood-red

Whether in Vietnam or Afghanistan the counsel of regular Army generals tends to be drear and unappetising: vast, costly deployments of troops by the hundreds of thousands, mounting casualties, uncertain prospects for any long-term success ­ all adding up to dismaying political costs on the home front.

Amid Camelot's dawn in 1961, Kennedy swiftly bent an ear to the advice of men like Ed Lansdale, a special ops man who wore rakishly the halo of victory over the Communist guerillas in the Philippines and who promised results in Vietnam.

By the time he himself had become the victim of Lee Harvey Oswald's 'decapitation' strategy, brought to successful conclusion in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, on November 22, 1963, Kennedy had set in motion the secret counter-insurgency operations, complete with programs of assassination and torture, that turned South-East Asia and Latin America into charnel houses for the next 20 years.

Another Democrat who strode into the White House with the word 'peace' springing from his lips was Jimmy Carter. It was he who first decreed that 'freedom' and the war on terror required a $3.5bn investment in a secret CIA-led war in Afghanistan, plus the deployment of Argentinian... [more here]
From The First Post, by Alexander Cockburn.

Graph of how #topics get played out on Twitter

From The Guardian's Meg Pickard, a graph that "compares 'people talking about #topic' and 'people talking about talking about #topic'. Outside of Twitter, this applies to pretty much any popular newsworthy topic...the news quickly moves from 'we're telling you about Topic X' to media coverage of the media coverage of Topic X. See: Twitter's own coverage in the media currently." (Pithy description from Kottke)

Twitter trending topics
Via Cory Doctorow on BoingBoing.