Merrill Garbus

From YouTube:

TUnE-yArDs is the lo-fi experimental folk project of Merrill Garbus, also of the noisy indie pop band Sister Suvi. A truly solo project, Garbus began writing and performing under the tUnE-yArDs moniker in 2006. She assembled songs with a digital voice recorder and shareware mixing software, making a homespun patchwork of found sounds, field recordings, ukulele, unusual percussion, and her surprisingly soulful vocals.

Simply brilliant.

Scott Weaver

Have you ever wondered what 100,000 toothpicks looks like?

35 years ago, Scott Weaver had a vision of San Francisco in the form of the tiny pieces of wood. It is comprised of the different neighborhoods and iconic landmarks of the city. It is a complex kinetic structure that can be "toured" through by ping pong balls. The structure was made only using toothpicks, Elmer's glue and amazing precision.

This is Rolling Through the Bay:

You must watch the video for the full experience of every tour!

[Images from The Tinkering Studio on flickr]

Adele Enersen

Adele Enersen envisions her baby's dreams while she naps.

This is Mila's Daydreams:

Her book When My Baby Dreams will release January 2012 

Visit Bensen's blog here for the full experience. 

Radiohead

The "House of Cards" video from 2008. The song itself is a work of art and this video is so unique. Some of the 3D imaging reminds me of those spoke toys I used to play with back in the day.

In Radiohead's new video for "House of Cards", no cameras or lights were used. Instead, 3D plotting technologies collected information about the shapes and relative distances of objects. The video was created entirely with visualizations of that data. 

 Directed by James Frost. From the album IN RAINBOWS

Relax & enjoy.

Mike Cockrill

Cockrill is an 80s graphic novelist turned controversial painter. His paintings have a vintage feel. They seem so pleasant at first glance, however, but his themes can make the viewer uneasy. 

His paintings depict youth and innocence while foreshadowing future deviance and even sexualizing the little girls. 

From MikeCockrill.com:

"...Absurd and tongue-in-cheek on the surface, the works are underneath, dark and psychologically loaded with scenes of humiliation and trauma.”Borrowing from the magazines and Little Golden Books of his early childhood, he began weaving together coming-of-age narratives that included overtones of his own Catholic upbringing in suburban Northern Virginia"

Cockrill’s paintings closely detail the rich transition from the world of childhood fantasy to adult awareness in a manner that is both playfully innocent and sexually charged. Characterized by an interest in nostalgic figuration, Cockrill’s paintings balance the sacred and profane as well as issues of sex, politics and the suburban family.

I find it interesting that these works of art are the product of a Northern Virginian artist. As a Centreville native, it makes me wonder-- what do these paintings say about the society and culture of the region? 

Comedy Awards

Comedy Central celebrates the "Serious Art of Being Funny", honoring actors, comedians and writers throughout the industry.

With presenters such as Jon Stewart, Will Ferrell, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, John Oliver, Ty Burrell and many more.

And the Winners are:

Best Comedy Film-- The Other Guys

Best Sketch Comedy-- Children's Hospital

Best Actor, TV-- Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)

Best Animated Comedy Series-- South Park

Best Viral Original-- "Bed Intruder Song," Autotune the News

Best Writing, TV-- 30 Rock

Best Comedy Directing, Film-- Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Comedy Icon Award-- Eddie Murphy

Best Comedy Series-- Modern Family

Comedy Breakthrough Performer-- Daniel Tosh 

Best Standup Special-- Louis CK

Best Late Night Comedy Series-- The Daily Show

Best Comedy Actress, TV-- Kristin Wiig, SNL

Best Comedy Actor, Film-- Zach Galifinakis 

Best Comedy Screenplay-- Hot Tub Time Machine 

Best Comedy Actress, Film-- Tina Fey

The Johnny Carson Award for Comedic Excellence-- David Letterman

 My favorite part of the evening: Jon Stewart being "Kanye'd" by Stephen Colbert accepting(stealing) the award for Best Late Night Comedy Series...

Check out some highlights of the evening (A new clip will play after the first is finished. I believe the Colbert highjacking is the second video, as of now).

The Comedy Awards

Checkout The Comedy Awards website for more highlights and insider information from the ceremony.

What are your thoughts on the winners? Would you like to have seen the other nominees pull through?

Nevertheless, congratulations to everyone and thanks Comedy Central for producing such an amazing award show!

Join the conversation on Twitter: #ComedyAwards

(Images from The Comedy Awards homepage)

Katy Perry

Katy Perry's new video came out recently and it is just spectacular.

Katy Perry - Kanye West - Free Music Videos - Top Songs

It's really crazy to watch, especially when thinking about all the details that went into making the video-- from the director, to the makeup artists, to the stylists, graphics design & editing, choreography, video editing, etc.

I really love the different colors and how her draping dresses mimic something from out of this world. The video is so hypnotizing it's hard not to watch it a second time around.

From the LA Times blog, Pop & Hiss:

The video, created by "The Runaways" director Floria Sigismondi, who has crafted several notable music videos for the likes of Dead Weather, the Cure, Christina Aguilera, Sigur Rós and many others, is getting so much attention because it marks a departure in style for Perry, who's usually frolicking with bananas or rolling her eyes like a screwball comedy actress or otherwise engaging in something raunchily campy. At first glance, Sigismondi's video might seem a step away from all of that, but it still aligns with Perry's style. The difference is that the campiness is to be found in many of the visuals and not in Perry's facial expressions or her acting. She even seems, gasp, kind of serious. 

I agree that it is not her usual direction, but I applaud Perry for trying something new and ultimately creative.
Plus, I totally have a girl crush on her.

Journalism Week at WVU

Well, J-Week 2011 is wrapping up. The theme this year was "Game Changers Under 40." We were lucky to have some really amazing guest speakers including:

• Wendy Harman- Director of Social Media, American Red Cross
• Talia Mark- Manager of Diversity Affairs, NASCAR (A black female..in NASCAR- impressive!)
• David "DigiDave" Cohn- Online Journalist and blogger
• Daniel Gilbert- Pulitzer Prize for Public Service 2010 (Investigative Reporting in Rural Areas)
• Andrew Scritchfield- Cameraman, NBC News

I was able to make it to all of them except Mr. Scritchfield's presentation. Everyone else, however, were very compelling and had great stories of their experiences in the industry.

One presenter that really stuck out was David Cohn's presentation, "Spot.Us: An Experiment in Citizen-Funded Journalism."

From Spot.Us  

We are an open source project to pioneer “community powered reporting.” Through Spot.Us the public can commission and participate with journalists to do reporting on important and perhaps overlooked topics. Contributions are tax deductible and we partner with news organizations to distribute content under appropriate licenses. Donors can also take a survey from our one our sponsors, when available, to support the story of their choice at no cost to them.

Spot.Us - Community Funded Reporting Intro from Digidave on Vimeo.

Cohn's main goal is to keep the information he provides, as well as the allocation of funds, transparent and participatory. He wanted to 'evangelize' the idea that information and money is power, and he wants to keep that within the power of the public. (PS- I think evangelize is his favorite word.)

I am inspired by David Cohn. He stated in his presentation, "Journalism is a process, not a product." I feel right like now there uncertainty on where Journalism is going because of the role of the internet and changing views of the media. But his drive and success encourages me, and I think everyone that saw his presentation, that we can take what we have and use it to our advantage.

Thanks DigiDave!

Who was your favorite speaker? 

Spotted: Human Wrong Campaign

SIGN: "These 'stop signs' represent the 2.7 million slaves in the world today"

This display was spotted on the lawn in front of the Life Science building on WVU's downtown campus today. 

The Human Wrong Campaign has been going on all week with events such as parades, real life trafficking demonstrations. 

The 'stop signs' in the image above was set up after the "Stop the Traffic" parade and symbolized a "victim graveyard" as a reminder of the 2.7 million who need to be freed from slavery.

Jason Gaboury will be speaking in the Blue & Gold room in Towers tonight at 7 p.m. 

To learn more about the Human Wrong Campaign visit their website here 

Felix Mas

Felix Mas' subjects are his ideal model of femininity. The women are soft and charming, portrayed in Mas' traditional painting style. Dressed in elegant gowns and staring off into the distance, "they seem to be unaware of their allure."

Amore Mio

Plumas

Exotica

Caballito de Mar

Jewel Egypt II

Dama de Corazones

Felix Mas is from Barcelona, Spain. He considers himself a traditional painter, using emotion and inspiration from the Far East.

"Mas finds inspiration in women amidst the opulent settings of the Asian world, especially Japan and India with their beautiful costumes and landscape, Egypt, ripe with its enigmatic symbols, and ancient Greece and Rome, saturated with their unique elegance and sensuality."  -- martinlawrence.com

 His work is exhibited throughout the world, especially in Spain, the US, Russia and Venezuela.

Monongalia Arts Center: k-12 Exhibit

Children of all ages and parents and teachers alike filled the galleries of the Monongalia Arts Center this past Friday evening. The MAC opened it's K-12 exhibit, celebrating arts in school, featuring artwork from children across the county.

I went with my roommate, Maria, for the opening reception. I had never seen the lobby so crowded! There were so many children there excited to see their artwork on the walls of the MAC.

It is surprising to see how talented kids are from this area. Maria and I would try and guess what grade each artist was in and stood corrected more than half the time.

There were so many colors and creativity in each gallery and in the halls. Plus, it was really fun to see how enthusiastic the children were.

The K-12 Exhibit runs all month. I would definitely recommend checking it out and seeing the work from some young artists.

Here's a taste....

The Monongalia Arts Center is located at the bottom of High St. downtown Morgantown-- next to Hotel Morgan. Admission to the gallery is always free. 
Hours: 
Monday-Friday 11:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M 
Saturday-11:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.