The above Banksy quote has been around since, roughly, 2004 when he published Cut It Out via Weapons of Mass Distraction. The "Brandalism" piece fits right into the Banksy ethos of empowerment and raging against corporate blinding. However, it appears that chunks of the text were lifted from Sean Tejaratchi and his Craphound magazine. The comparison between the two pieces can be seen here or, even better yet, here. Tejaratchi's take on the whole ordeal is actually amazingly level-headed:
My goal is to set the record straight online. There will be no lawyers or threats of legal action. I've tried not to jump to conclusions, or angrily denounce Banksy, or the Internet, or the terrible unfairness of the universe. Maybe a ghostwriter was responsible for lifting it. Maybe an attribution was lost in layout. (On the other hand, my words were rearranged and tweaked. How does that happen accidentally?)
I've little doubt that the passages were lifted but it's a bummer that attribution wasn't properly given. What's most interesting about the whole thing to me is the idea of what deserves attribution and what doesn't. Bigger name artists like Banksy or Shepard Fairey are obviously pulling content from various sources all the time (and sometimes getting in trouble) but why is some work Okay to be stolen and some Unacceptable?
I don't have the answer but I find the whole thing fascinating and hope Sean Tejaratchi & Craphound get their proper credit.. they've obviously got good ideas.
Tinycon - a small library for updating the favicon of a site in real time - particularly handy for a subtle display of "new messages." It seems to be the most visible in Chrome and Firefox but not entirely outside the realm of usefulness in other browsers (particularly for inactive tabs).
Noty - a jQuery notification plugin. Fixed messaging with a bit of animation isn't really all that difficult but it can always be made easier, right?
Watch this great compilation of clips from astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson regarding the space program, NASA's underfunding and the potential human bond that can, and has, occur from the exploration of space called We Stopped Dreaming. His points regarding the common cause of technological betterment during the Space Race are unflappable but I can't imagine a new journey to Mars causing the same reaction. It's actually tough to imagine anything causing such a bond but it's probably worth a try. I look forward to further episodes that may shed light on this subject.
You gotta give it to Adderall Canyonly for the overwhelming nature of their site; you certainly remember them for it. I suggest firing up the Soundcloud player embedded on the page while browsing through the onslaught of visuals - it's an excellent match. If you're feeling extra adventurous, check out the source of the site for a delicious treat.
There's a great bit of excellent vintage looking items for sale over at the freshly launched Sideshow Sign Co. A French Periodic Table? Or Weird Twin Brothers print? Sign me up! The reproductions look to be of some serious quality, from the print quality down to the wood used to display them. And they're operating out of Nashville. Bonus!
Webkit subpixel aliasing and icon fonts - Nice writeup on the type of webkit font-smoothing to use for your icon fonts. For my money, subpixel-antialiased is the best option to go with (and the most fun to say) but you can judge for yourself based on the tests shown.
Apple Touch Icons - I was working on a friends site last night getting it a little more responsive and it struck me how much I love the Apple Touch Icon option that can be configured for any given site. If you haven't done this, please do so!
I'll admit it; this week has been crazy busy and I haven't had as much time to lazily browse the web and find a ton of amusing videos. That being said, this weeks playlist should still provide some quality distraction for you. Please enjoy.
PES - "Fresh Guacamole" - it's probably been awhile since you've watched a quality PES animation. Fix that. Oh, and there's a new Cyriak and Bill Plympton short from the same series. Get to those as well.
Hospitality - Friends of Friends - quality music video featuring Alia Shawkat for an album that keeps getting heavier and heavier rotation for me. Get it.
Community - Season 3 'Prometheus' Trailer - I'm excited for the return of Community but I couldn't bring myself to watch the full trailer for the new episodes because, frankly, it seems to give away a lot of jokes. No thank you! I will stick with a clever re-editing of existing footage to get me excited for broadcast television.
Big Cats + Mirrors = Funny - showing big wild cats themselves in a mirror has the reaction you'd expect but it's no less entertaining.
Starburns El Starprince - speaking of Community, here's some bonus footage I somehow managed to never see. via Paul.
Ninja Terminator - Messenger Robot - I'd love to say that I have an extreme tolerance for bad movies but, really, I can sit through a ridiculous short clip like this one and have had my fill. However, if you feel differently - I believe you can watch the whole film.
It's been far too long since I've just browsed through some quality collections of street art. Luna Park, aka The Street Spot, is doing a great job of filling that void. Always good to see old classics like Faile, D*Face or new marks like this one that I've actually seen all over Nashville. Sometimes it's just nice to see some quality signage. Overall, a good reminder that there's something inspiring and worthwhile all around you - as cheesy as that sounds, it's true!
The Cryoscope Haptic Weathervane is a cube that gathers weather data and then changes its physical temperature to reflect those findings. If it's cold outside, the cube is equally as cold. If it's a scorcher, the cube wil be too (up to 100 degress). From an Art Project standpoint, it's pretty phenomenal. From a Something I Want In My Home standpoint, I'd pass - especially since it's based on Internet weather data and not just hooked up to some external source reading the legit weather outside. All that being said, it is super clever, really neat looking and worth a peek of your time. The intro video does a great job of explaining how it actually works to give off "Perceived Temperature" rather than the real temp.
Maddie the Coonhound is "a super serious project about dogs and physics." More specifically, it's a hysterically absurd repository of images of one particular dog being very well behaved and incredibly well balanced. So, the content is entertaining (albeit fleeting) and the images are well composed and pleasant. Someone's got themselves a good life.
It's incredibly silly but this Tumblog repository extolling Dad's as the Original Hipster. It's ridiculous to browse through the site and see how many trends from the time of our parents are still active now. Here's to hoping this makes its way into the pop culture zeitgeist.
PBS Off Book posted this great mini-documentary about the Animated GIF. They talk to Patrick Davison of Meme Factory, TopherChris of Tumblr, Reed + Radar and Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg of Cinemagraphs. It probably doesn't tell you anything you don't already know but it's nice to see how the format is growing into a respectable artistic entity (in many variations). They even tackle the pronunciation debacle of GIF vs JIF.
These Mirrored Statues from Rob Mulholland are pretty much phenomenal. They both blend in and distort the environment they're placed in. I would love to run up on this sort of thing in real life.
Remember when I told you about the portfolio platform / blog creator / any kind of website you want to build tool NuBook? Well, it's out of private beta and into the world of Ready To Use. Turns out it costs $10/month (or $100/year) but there's a Free 7 Day Trial that I highly suggest everyone try out just to see the great interface that they've built. And, frankly, if you're in the market for an easy-to-maintain-with-beautiful-results website you can't really beat $10 a month as an investment.
The Texatron is a network of free-to-play arcade machines installed in Austin, TX with a selection of multiplayer games created by the world's leading independent designers.
In other words, it's an arcade cabinet armed with fresh games for multiple people. Add to that the fact that it's adorned with art from Cory Schmitz and a site from Attract Mode... well, you've got yourself a winner. I better encounter this thing when I hit up SXSW next week.
What is it that Jon Continocan't do? He has his own clothing line, is a serious master of type and recently relaunched his site. Based on what I see on his blog, the work he is showcasing is but the tiniest percentage of he produces. I'd say my levels of awe for his undertakings are, obviously, sky high.
The fine folks at Killscreen recently underwent a clean redesign; showcasing their content in the most pleasant of ways. Part of that redesign was the launch of Killscreen TV - an onslaught of curated content focused on videogames, all things 8-bit and loads in between. You can watch the goods here or via their VHX stream.
I'm hoping your familiar with the work of Chris Ware; either through some of his personal creations or his commissioned work. In that familiarity you will find a greater appreciation for this photo collection that shows the world which he surrounds himself - a surprisingly perfect fit of fine crafted furniture, vintage toys, relics and muted palettes. Even if you don't know his work; it's great.. but if you don't, take some time to correct that.
Kiersten Essenpreis has a lot of art on her site - much of which deals with silly, humorous or pop culture topics (in a truly amusing way) drawn in a delightfully skillful way. Her recent submission to the Is This Thing On? exhibit at Gallery 1988 is a pleasant send up to the work of the late Mitch Hedburg. Eight simple illustrations from Essenpreis paired with eight perfectly spot on observations from the man himself. Enjoyed!
I can't tell if it's the clever rebranding or a bit of intelligent reorganization but the recently launched Google Play seems like the search giants best foot forward. They now sell movies, music, Android apps and books all in one central location. It's even all hooked up into the massive Google Cloud so you can access that content from anywhere. It sounds a helluva lot like iTunes but that's not meant as a slight - competition is good and I welcome more choices. Time to start looking for some deals.
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