Archive for the ‘Why’ Category
Buckyballs. Are. Everywhere. It’s inexplicable really, but somehow Zoomdoggle, the company behind Buckyballs, has managed to convince the entire gift industry (and some design stores, too) that selling a package of 216 “Powerful Rare Earth Magnets” for 30 bucks a pop is a shrewd business move. And maybe rightly so, because customers have agreed! However bizarre and unexpected the product’s success has been, these things are damned addictive: once you get started it’s literally impossible to put them down.
In a fascinating move, the Yale Law Library in New Haven, Connecticut, has begun collecting and archiving bobbleheads depicting Supreme Court Justices such as Rehnquist (shown, credit Christopher Capozziello) and Souter. The reason being that, according to “Fred R. Shapiro, an associate librarian, “a hundred years from now, if someone wants to study the bobbleheads, where will they go? There needs to be an archive.”" Not only does this legitimize the worth of items normally regarded as “just toys,” but it shows that even when art isn’t a painting or a sculpture it can still have purpose and be historically relevant. The Bobblehead Justices are made by The Green Bag, an organization calling itself “an entertaining journal of law,” and currently include versions of Scalia, O’Connor, Stevens, Kennedy, Curtis, Brandeis, Blackmun, and the aforementioned two. Others are being planned for later this year. What’s more, the actual figures portray the famous cases and eccentric characteristics of each justice. For instance:
Product Art is making waves; from D.C. to New Haven and beyond. Yale: Holler at us for an Obama Action Figure to add to your collection! [The New York Times] Thanks, Marc! In a brief yet revealing interview at the Marijuana Policy Project’s 15th Anniversary Gala, Politico learned that the godfathers of weed, Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, would love nothing more than to light up a nice big joint with former vice presidential candidate and current Fox talking head, Sarah Palin. Why? Because she answers a lot of questions like a stoner and lives in Alaska so ergo grows an abundance of fantastic weed. If you could smoke pot with any politician dead or alive, who would it be and why? [Courtesy of HuffPo]
This mosquito catcher by Berlin-based artist, Johannes Vogl, seems a bit dangerous and unnecessary. It’s also probably a misnomer, because catching them is the opposite of what would happen. Overlooking personal safety and an apt handle, I think it would be a fully enjoyable experience to massacre as many bugs as possible with a massive, DIY torch. Just make sure the gas is off and that nobody comes popping out from the bathroom mid-blast. [Courtesy of Today and Tomorrow]
It’s a frivolous activity that rarely amounts to anything resembling what actually plays out. So with that being said, my New Year’s resolution is to make a New Year’s resolution. And, according to this handy generator, I will also resolve to carry a purse in twenty-ten. I can dig it. If you’ve made one, what’s your resolution this year? [Courtesy of TWBE]
New York City couple, Christine and Justine, have an ongoing project called Needs For Sale, which finds the duo selling paintings so they can donate to charities they like, but can’t afford to help on their own. For instance, the phone above is an 11″ x 14″ painting that costs $250.00. Whoever buys it will essentially be donating their money to, in this case, phone calls for the troops. Sometime after 5 o’clock this afternoon, four new painting will go up for sale, with the profits going to charities like New York Cares, The American Red Cross and Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (the microscope shown above). Every selfless act comes tandem with a self-serving one, as they also have a Wants For Sale program. They paint pictures of things they covet (from cooking lessons to Barack Obama), and charge the exact amount of the real item. Once it sells, they go out and spend the money on whatever the item was. Cool ideas. |
