It was 1999 the last we saw hide or hair of The Lilith Fair—that estrogen-heavy touring festival created by Canadian balladress and hacky sack champ, Sarah McLaughlin. Back then, a solid day of heartfelt, acoustic, overly literal tunes was still a marketable concept—Ani DiFranco was still huge, “Ally McBeal” was one of the top shows on television, and popular ... Read More »
God bless the juvenile minds over at Cracked for going on a rather tawdry “Easter Egg hunt” in the European classics. They find a gigantic brain in Michaelangelo’s “Sistine Chapel” fresco (1475-83), porn in the same artist’s “Last Judgement” (1534-1541), and, yes, bared backsides in Bruegel the Elder’s “Netherlandish Proverbs” (1559, left). It’s a touch “The Da Vinci Code”, but ... Read More »
The West Coast isn’t the only place where high-tech bleeps and bloops meet with paranormal possibilities. Scouting New York, our favorite New-York-based film locations blog, has divined that Barcade, a go-to spot for beer and vintage video games was built atop the Old Methodist Burying Ground, last used in the 1850s. There are no reports of any eerie apparitions as ... Read More »
Even though the area has only recently been populated in the scheme of human history, the sprawling mansions of Southern California have whipped up quite a tradition of hauntings in a relatively short amount of time. There’s the famous Winchester Mystery house (filled with trap doors, false stairways, and Native American spirits) in San Jose, the home of ’50s ... Read More »
Stumbling, bumbling, a guest at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Museum of Art fell into an early Picasso work on Friday, tearing a six-inch scar into one of its lower corners. It was nothing personal—the woman simply lost her footing during an adult education course at the museum—and, of course, museum staff quickly took the work, “The Actor” (1904, left), over to the ... Read More »
As we learned from Gadling, TripAdvisor, San Francisco’s Hertiage Marina Hotel has beat out the competition to land at the top of the “Dirtiest Hotel In America” list for 2010. A user-generated honor, TripAdvisor offers the review of one former guest: “This hotel is like in a horrible horror movie! The bed was a nightmare. It smelled like urine ... Read More »
Just the other day, a newly discovered painting (above left) by reclusive English modern master, Lucian Freud, was unveiled before heading to auction. Like so much of Freud’s work, the piece exalts in the rheumy yellows, reds, and purples of human flesh that most painters avoid. Unlike other Freud examples, though, this one gives a peek into the secretive ... Read More »
Ah, Sundance — that wonderful time of year when indie movie producers scuttle around in parkas trying to sell their latest products and third of Los Angeles descends on the comparatively innocent town of Park City, Utah, for 10 days of screenings, swag, and snow. Festivities kicked off last night, but for those there and those soon to arrive, there ... Read More »
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