Laughing Squid (via Mowser)

The 2012 Edwardian Ball Los Angeles

By Rusty Blazenhoff on February 16, 2012

The Edwardian Ball is a “festival of art, music, dance, theatre, technology, fashion, libations, vending, oddities, and, of course, the art & stories of Edward Gorey.” The 2012 Edwardian Ball Los Angeles, themed “The Iron Tonic”, takes place at The Belasco Theater on Sunday February 19, 2012 from 7 PM to 2 AM. Tickets are now available. The event is co-hosted by Rosin Coven and the Vau de Vire Society.

Back by popular demand, we happily travel south for the winter once again for our third installation of The Edwardian Ball Los Angeles! We have found a new home, against many an odd, at the beautiful, historic Belasco Theater in Downtown LA. This jaw-droppingly beautiful venue has a myriad of rooms and environments, including a plush cabaret ballroom, two outdoor patios, and plenty of room to install artifacts from our Museum of Wonders and of course, our famous Vendor Bazaar and Gaming Parlour.

Mark Day made this short film about the 2012 Edwardian Ball in San Francisco:

[ http://www.youtube.com/embed/Z1u1hNqGVws?fs=1

2011 Edwardian Ball photos by Curious Josh

Filed Under: Art, Events, Los Angeles, Performance

Disappearing Car Door

By Rusty Blazenhoff on February 16, 2012

John Townsend of California-based company Jatech has engineered an amazing retractable car door modification called the Disappearing Car Door.

One thing is for sure, you will definitely grab everyone’s attention when you drive a car with Disappearing Doors! No matter where you are, whether driving to the club, grocery store, gas station, or restaurant, your drivable work of art will be appreciated and admired. When you pull up next to other high end cars, yours will render them boring by comparison!

via Daniel Ely Rankin

photos and images via Jatech

Filed Under: Design, Vehicles

Pong Beer, Beer Made for Playing Beer Pong

By Rusty Blazenhoff on February 16, 2012

Pong Beer is a beer marketed for playing the drinking game (sorry, sport) of beer pong. Sold in “Rack Packs” of 30 cans (each comes with 2 pong-playing balls), this new light beer makes it easy to play beer pong. It is brewed by LaTrobe Brewing Company and currently has limited distribution.

The Phenomenon: The sport of beer pong has grown from an obsessive game played by college students into a mainstream industry.

via Time NewsFeed

image via Pong Beer

Filed Under: Alcohol, Games, Sports

Evolution of Louis C.K., Compilation of Comedian’s Standup Career

By Rusty Blazenhoff on February 16, 2012

[ http://www.youtube.com/embed/LhDbpkKnUns?fs=1

Apropos of our recent post about the early professional years of standup comedian Louis C.K., Canada-based Jay Yoo has created Evolution of Louis C.K., a film tribute that compiles interesting and powerful video footage from Louis C.K.’s career in comedy.

via Vulture and Hyper Vocal

Filed Under: Humor, People

The Polka Dots: Learn To Polka!, A Book Project for Kids by Attaboy

By Rusty Blazenhoff on February 16, 2012

The Polka Dots: Learn To Polka! is a cute new book project by artist and toy designer Attaboy, author of You Might Be a Monster (& Other Stories I Made Up). The book is 90% done and Attaboy has launched a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter to help defray printing and shipping costs.

IT’s ABOUT: a little green Polka Dot who learns how to do the Polka, with the help of his friends! THE POLKA DOTS: LEARN TO POLKA! is a full color 26 page board (thick and friendly) book and it’s fittingly SHAPED LIKE A POLKA DOT! People will love the optimistic-ly off beat happy story about how it can be difficult to do new things. People (who happen to be children) who are 2-4 years old, will especially love the story’s bright contrasting colors and interactivity, as they, too, learn how to do a silly dance which we will call The Polka!

images via Attaboy

Filed Under: Art, Books, Kids

Song Map, A Road Map of Song Titles

By EDW Lynch on February 16, 2012

“Song Map” is an imaginary road map in which all road and location names are taken from song titles (e. g. “Highway to Hell” and “Heartbreak Hotel”). The map is by UK-based Dorothy Collective and is available for purchase on their website.

Filed Under: Art, Maps, Music

Animal Sculptures Made of CD Fragments

By EDW Lynch on February 16, 2012

Australian artist Sean Avery creates beautiful animal sculptures out of recycled CD fragments.

via Colossal & Keep your mind wide open

Filed Under: Animals, Art

The Films of Skifcha, The Russian Cat Who Wears Paper Eyeglasses

By Rusty Blazenhoff on February 16, 2012

[ http://player.vimeo.com/video/36820781?title=0

Skifcha is a Russian cat who wears paper eyeglasses and stars in several entertaining videos including stereo skifcha (where he also dons a paper mustache). His first film role was Dramatic Skifcha which shows his serious side. In a later film, skifcha/sky, he gains a siamese cat sidekick. Filmmaker Denis Borisovich is the man behind all of Skifcha’s awesome film shorts.

[ http://player.vimeo.com/video/32409435?title=0

via Christopher Jobson

images via Denis Borisovich

Filed Under: Cats, Film

Classical Cover of “I Will Survive”

By EDW Lynch on February 16, 2012

This hilarious classical cover of “I Will Survive” is by music comedy duo Igudesman and Joo. The performance was recorded at NPR’s studio. For more music comedy performances by Igudesman and Joo, see their YouTube channel.

Thanks to Graeme Wagoner-Lynch for the tip.

Filed Under: Humor, Music

Kraftwerk Retrospective Performances at MoMA

By EDW Lynch on February 16, 2012

“Kraftwerk â€“ Retrospective 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8″ is an 8-part series of live Kraftwerk performances at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The series will run April 10 through 17, and tickets go on sale February 22.

Over eight consecutive nights, MoMA presents a chronological exploration of the sonic and visual experiments of Kraftwerk with a live presentation of their complete repertoire in the Museum’s Marron Atrium. Each evening consists of a live performance and 3-D visualization of one of Kraftwerk’s studio albumsâ€”Autobahn (1974), Radio-Activity (1975), Trans-Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978), Computer World (1981), Techno Pop (1986), The Mix (1991), and Tour de France (2003)â€”in the order of their release.

via Dangerous Minds

photo via SprÃ¼th Magers