Lightly Seared On The Reality Grill

Random expat geekery from The Low Countries

Browsing Posts in Art, culture and entertainment

I found this by way of Damien G. Walter and I think it’s superb.

Stop.
You are not a machine.

Your natural design does not tolerate 2-4 hours of travel per day, 8-12 hours of slave-labor 5-6 days per week for whatever monetary compensation on 5-6 hours of sleep in a system built on penalistic principle and a life under judgmental surveillance.

Like it or not, you are human.

Stress, harassment, constant financial worries, fear and sense of inadequacy destroys the health of any human.

This is a scientific fact.

So why is it that we accept and tolerate a system that in actual reality demands that you erase your needs, and in effect commit a slow joyless suicide for someone elses profit?

You have a choice.

Stop pretending that you don’t.

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And to finish up this short Bettie-inspired splurge, I turn to Bettie-inspired artist Jim Silke who’s book, Bettie Page Queen of Hearts is a very readable exploration of Bettie Page’s influence on everything from pulp novels to fine art.

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Gunderson’s

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Short film, short review.

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Familiar

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poster When I saw Familiar, I knew very little about the film and I do think this is the best way to see it initially. Writer/director Richard Powell does an impressive job of revealing just enough to keep you hooked throughout, and holding back just enough to keep you uncertain as to exactly where this is going. This makes for a shockingly brutal final reveal.

In fact, I’m tempted to say don’t check out the full review on Pulpmovies. Just go and see this film – however you can.

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Continuing my temporary theme of Bettie Page inspired pin-ups, one person I really can’t ignore is Olivia De Berardinis, a Californian artist with a stunning portfolio spanning 30 years.

If memory serves me correctly (but I couldn’t find a link to confirm this), Olivia produced a number of paintings clearly inspired by Bettie Page early in her career. She subsequently obtained a licence to use Bettie’s image in her work, which led to a book in which this painting, among many others, was included.

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Because… why not

Via Boing Boing

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Album art Marian Call is an Alaskan musician who can often be found touring North America.

According to her Bandcamp page:

Her songs are quirky geeky eclectic acoustic confections that taste like vanilla cinnamon chipotle something. She sounds a little like Joni Mitchell meets Jason Mraz meets Regina Spektor — or perhaps like the lead church choir soprano went all Ani DiFranco.

That’s certainly true of this one. I think.

With thanks to Mad Art Lab, where you can find a live recording (with a superb introduction) and the full lyrics for the song.

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It was last month that I mentioned the awesomely titled album, This May Be The Reason Why The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing Cannot Be Killed By Conventional Weapons.

Of course I preordered it and the CD turned up yesterday. It’s superb.

According to their Last.fm page:

The Men That Will Not be Blamed for Nothing is a steampunk band from London. Their name is a reference to the chalked graffiti discovered above a section of blood-stained apron thought to have been discarded by Jack the Ripper as he fled the scene of Catherine Eddowes’ murder. They describe themselves as “Crusty punk meets cockney sing-songs meets grindcore in the 1880s.”

This is all true enough but what did surprise me is the remarkably impressive variety of tone across the album.

The album opens with Victoria’s Secret (chorus: Zombie Albert!) and Margate FHTAGN (which should need no explanation) which are both fun and funny, as is Brunel, the song that convinceme to order the album.

Taking a slightly more serious tone, lyrically if not musically, is Doing it for the Whigs, a Sex Pistols inspired rant against the squalour of Victorian politics and The Great Stink, a similarly angry response to the squalour of Victorian society.

And then there is the genuinely moving Mutiny In The Common Soldiery, which is embedded below.

Mutiny In The Common Soldiery

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Sticking with the Bettie Page theme for a bit, Inkwell Studios is…

An eclectic graphic arts studio specializing in editorial illustration, poster design, concept art, character development, logos & typography and, well, just about everything else.

Their portfolio includes both a Fun and a Retro section, and the Retro section is a lot of fun indeed.

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If, Zen

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Go and take a look at Gavin Aung Than’s interpretation of Rudyard Kipling’s If on Zen Pencils. Go now. You won’t regret it.

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