Posts by Whitney
An Ode to Coffee Lovers
By Whitney, written on Dec. 4, 2008
Christoph Niemann of the New York Times blog recently published a post on his love life with coffee. The post itself consists of a series of comics lovingly doodled on white napkins smudged with coffee rings. The result is a brilliant slice-of-life cartoon straight out of the cafe. Among the things he writes about, Niemann reminisces about the “auto-hazing” he endured to turn into a coffee-lover from a coffee-hater, and discusses the strangeness of his mother’s specialty milk foam that’s so thick he has to “gnaw [his] way through it.”
Click here for the blog post.
After elections, grow a beard for the common good
By Whitney, written on Nov. 6, 2008
I assume that most of you went out to the polls on November 4th to vote. And now, post-poll November 6th, I encourage you, my dear friends, to grow a beard.
Well, not a real beard. Because that would be difficult for a good 50% or so of the population of the United States based on … you know, having two X chromosomes.
But if you go to The Build a Beard Workshop, every time you stick a (fake) beard on a picture of yourself, the workshop will put $1 into helping people in developing countries. The site even boasts a fine selection of 16 beards to choose from, which includes styles ranging from the “Poseidon” (complete with marine animals stuck in it) to the “Che” (facial hair of the Guevara sort).
You really have nothing to lose. Go grow a beard for humanity.
Do You Know How to Nap?
By Whitney, written on Nov. 4, 2008
Adults need naps too, and the press has caught on to this revelation. Naps are presented as an activity of choice for chic thirty-somethings in Newsweek’s June 2008 article, “Take a Three-Martini Nap” (click here), and naps are even encouraged in the workplace in the New York Times’ coverage of special “nap rooms” at Yarde Metals in Southington, Connecticut (click here).
The Boston Globe has decided to focus on the currently-hyped topic and made a visual spread on the fine art of napping. In order to get a good nap, the spread asks assessment questions like, “Are You a Lark or an Owl?” and gives suggestions on how to get “The Perfect Siesta” in terms of limiting the amount of sleep you get to certain increments of time (20, 45, 90-120 minutes seem to be the best lengths). While the information is pretty useful, the layout is engaging, accessible, and as chic as the naps are.
A Story ATiE: All Told in Emoticons
By Whitney, written on Oct. 30, 2008
The use of emoticons and internet-age abbreviations (LOL, TTYL) have become so widely-used that they’ve developed their own culture and language. Rives of Bravo’s “Ironic Iconic America” decides to tell a “3-minute story of mixed emoticons,” drawing the entire script from a wall of what looks like a jumble of words and keyboard symbols.
Watch here
He Can Out-Etch A Sketch You
By Whitney, written on Oct. 23, 2008
Not many people would consider the Etch A Sketch an artistic medium — mainly our associations with the tiny red knobby board are preschool, our inability to draw anything more than horizontal and vertical lines and yarn blobs, and ultimately, frustration.
But for Rick Nuanez, the Etch A Sketch seems to be his medium of choice. Armed with no previous drawing experience at all (except for “finger painting as a kid” he says in a Seattle Post-Intelligencer interview) he’s managed to create some startlingly detailed images including but not limited to classics like the Mona Lisa and Etch A Sketh drawings of current VP-candidates Sarah Palin and Joe Biden.
Click the link for his blog, which is updated regularly, and contains videos of him Etch-a-Sketchin’ it:
http://etchasketchist.blogspot.com/
Wal-Mart Owns Rights to New AC/DC Rock Band Game; Next: Owns Your Soul
By Whitney, written on Oct. 2, 2008
Wal-Mart has everything in its stores. Fruits and veggies, clothes, cookies, mouth wash, sofas. If you’ve been keeping up with the commercials, then you’ll know that not only can you “Save Money… Live Better” at Wal-Mart (next to homey montages of nuclear families watering their lawns and playing with the doggie), you can also buy exclusive copies of AC/DC paraphernalia at this corporate giant.
Wal-Mart not only bought out the exclusive rights to the next AC/DC album, “Black Ice,” but according to the New York Times, now they own rights to the new AC/DC-themed Rock Band video game, “AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack.”
Do you really want to know more? Read Here.
Bacardi: A History “as smooth and refreshing as a well-made daquiri”
By Whitney, written on Sep. 25, 2008
The average college student has most likely been acquainted with Bacardi: The Rum, but how many people have been acquainted with Bacardi: The History?
“Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba,” written by Tom Gjelten, is a book that details a deep, violent history subtly alluded to in the rum’s packaging - although the bottles may say “Made in Puerto Rico,” they never make any mention of Cuba at all, even though the history of the Bacardi family is deeply rooted there.
The book chronicles the Bacardi family’s fight for “the Cuban cause,” (according to the New York Times) and how this cause also helped in the overthrow of Fidel Castro. As Gjelten said in an interview with the NYT, “the history of Cuba can be narrated around tales of rum.”
Interested?
“College Cuisine”: REDUX Q&A
By Whitney, written on Sep. 11, 2008
When I interviewed Max and Eli Sussman for the B-Side article, “College Cuisine” (published today), I did a Q&A with them at the end of our talk to ask obvious questions about some simple ingredients, like herbs, spices, oil and vinegar.
Their answers contained a lot of interesting quick and easy recipes that I think you’ll be interested in, as well as some chef-informed answers to questions like, “What’s the difference between balsamic, white, and rice vinegar?” (no, it’s not that simple).
Interview Q&A with the Sussmans under the cut. Click click click.
Led Zeppelin, modern dance, and foam tubing
By Whitney, written on Mar. 31, 2008
Oh art. Oh (post?) modernism. In what other universe would you be able to catch a glimpse of modern dancers swaying to Led Zeppelin amidst thick webs of foam tubing?
According to the New York Times, a new work titled “Elextrolux” performed at Dance New Amsterdam in New York City combines the elements of design, dance and unexpectedly, rock‘n’roll to bring an intriguing twist to contemporary performance art.
Laura Peterson, this year’s artist in residence, is the mastermind behind many of the odd structural elements that can be found on the stage space of the theater, including covering the space in “wall-to-wall” white carpet, and “enclosing the space with white walls.”
As for the foam tubing, it turns out that the dancers are in charge of tying it to the stage during the performance as well as unraveling it and putting it away after the performance. Imagine this all to the music of Zeppelin’s “Kashmir.” What a world.
The Manga of Christ: Extreme
By Whitney, written on Feb. 18, 2008
The New York Times wrote about a certain Ajinbayo Akinsiku, who has recently published a version of the Bible in manga format.
This is just not just any Bible, however — the cover reeks of heavy-metal Metallica fonts, and displays Moses intensely parting the Red Sea on the cover of the Manga Bible’s Old Testament and Jesus rocking it samurai-style, complete with a posse of 12 disciples and a back-lit sunset, on the cover of the Manga Bible’s New Testament.
Best of all, the Manga Bible comes in two flavors: Raw and Extreme.
In addition to this,the New York Times reports that the books take some twists on our favorite Biblical characters, who “look and sound like skateboarders in Beduin gear”:
“Son of God is ‘a samurai stranger who’s come to town, in silhouette,’ here to shake things up in a new, much-abridged version of the Bible … [where] ‘Christ is a hard guy, seeking revolution and revolt, a tough guy.’ “
And
“Noah gets tripped up counting the animals in the Ark: ‘That’s 11,344 animals? Arggh! I’ve lost count again. I’m going to have to start from scratch!’ “
Purchase your Manga Bible here: http://www.themangabible.com/