Laughing Squid

Pokey LaFarge & The South City Three: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

By Rusty Blazenhoff on May 16, 2012

In 2011, St. Louis musicians Pokey LaFarge and The South City Three performed an NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert, a delightful three song old-timey set at the NPR Music offices. Pokey and the band are currently on tour and are featured on Jack White’s debut album Blunderbuss.

LaFarge writes and performs original, sometimes traditional music steeped in American blues, country and Western swing from the days when 78s ruled the record player. Watch him perform a short set at the NPR Music offices, with the help of his band The South City Three.

Filed Under: Music

A Brief History of John Baldessari, Narrated by Tom Waits

By Hugh D'Andrade on May 15, 2012

Many people know conceptual artist John Baldessari as “the guy who puts dots on people’s faces.” But did you know that he is 6’7″ and that his wifi password is 123456789B? This short documentary tells you all you need to know about Baldessari, crammed into 6 minutes, with gravelly narration by Tom Waits. The film was commissioned by LACMA in 2011 for their “Art + Film Gala” honoring Baldessari and Clint Eastwood, and was directed by Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman.

Filed Under: Art, Film & Video, Humor

Mapping Guimarães, A Video Projection About the 2012 European Capital of Culture

By EDW Lynch on May 15, 2012

“Mapping Guimarães” is an impressive video projection that was mapped on to a building facade in Guimarães, Portugal back in January. The project celebrates the culture and history of Guimarães—the city is the 2012 European Capital of Culture. “Mapping Guimarães” was directed by Judy Lomas and Aleix Fernandez and produced by Onionlab.

Filed Under: Film & Video

Make Your Own Scratcher Tickets

By Rusty Blazenhoff on May 15, 2012

San Francisco-based Twinkie Chan made her own scratcher tickets based on a tutorial by Kaylah of The Dainty Squid. Twinkie calls her scratch-off tickets: Twinkie Chan’s $cratch-alicio$. You may remember Twinkie’s cute fingerless cheeseburger mitts that we posted about recently.

images via Twinkie Chan

Filed Under: Art, Crafts, Design

Harvey and Eddie, Octogenerian Friends Give Their Take on Modern Life

By Rusty Blazenhoff on May 15, 2012

NBC reporter Ben Aaron recently spent an afternoon chatting with Harvey and Eddie, two delightful octogenarian best friends from New Jersey’s Fair Lawn Senior Center that give their humorous take on modern life.

via Tastefully Offensive

Filed Under: Film & Video, Humor, New Jersey, People

Made in NY Digital Jobs Map

By Rusty Blazenhoff on May 15, 2012

Today at Internet Week New York, New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Chief Digital Officer Rachel Sterne and Internet Week New York Chairman David-Michel Davies announced the “Made in NY” Digital Jobs Map, which is “an interactive guide to the City’s startups, investors, incubators, and coworking spaces, including over 325 digital companies that are currently hiring for thousands of jobs.”

Created by Internet Week New York in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the Made in NY Digital Map already plots more than 500 digital companies across the five boroughs. The map offers direct links to the companies’ jobs listings pages and pinpoints the city’s hottest tech hubs, from the Flatiron District to DUMBO. The Mayor made the announcement at Internet Week headquarters and was also joined by Economic Development Corporation President Seth Pinsky and Branch CEO Josh Miller.

…The Made in NY Map draws its data from sources including NYC Digital, New York City Economic Development Corporation, Internet Week New York, New York Tech Meetup, and user-generated submissions.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Internet Week New York Chairman David-Michel Davies unveil the Made in NY Digital Jobs Map at Internet Week New York Headquarters on May 15, 2012

photo by Patrick Kowalczyk of PKPR

Filed Under: Business, Maps, New York City

Skull Bookshelf Sculptures

By EDW Lynch on May 15, 2012

British artist James Hopkins created these wonderful skull sculptures out of bookshelves and household items.

via in the shadow of your heart

Filed Under: Anatomy, Art, Future, Sculpture

Patton Oswalt Goes in Search of the First ‘First’ Internet Commenter

By Rusty Blazenhoff on May 15, 2012

In this Funny or Die video, comedian Patton Oswalt plays Walluks Bashley, host of parody show In Search Of…, who investigates the first “first” Internet commenter (also played by Oswalt). Funny or Die’s Charles Ingram is the director, editor and writer of this humorous piece. Oswalt will host the 16th Annual Webby Awards on Monday May 21, 2012. The Webby Awards will be live streamed in HD.

via The Webby Awards

Filed Under: Comedy, Humor, Internet

Concrete Business Cards

By EDW Lynch on May 15, 2012

To capture the attention of prospective clients, French creative agency Murmure designed these very clever concrete business cards.

via Freshome

Filed Under: Advertising, Design

Zuckerberg: The Musical! by cdza

By Rusty Blazenhoff on May 15, 2012

Zuckerberg: The Musical! is a short musical created by the talented folks at New York City-based cdza. The musical chronicles the life and times of Facebook’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg starting in 2004 when he left Harvard and started Facebook.