The Horrors of a 12-Day Internet Detox

At holiday parties and family gatherings I feigned sanity. But under my breath, and between gulps of alcohol, I chanted a subliminal mantra: Without the Internet, I’m nothing. Living without that incandescent glow on my face was not living at all.

Eulogy For A Pair of Chuck Taylors (2003-2011)

As a teenager, I never even considered purchasing a pair of Chuck Taylors. To me, they were the footwear equivalent of a Green Day album — overrated and embarrassing, part of a hastily fashioned anti-establishment uniform I had no interest in wearing.

Helping Johnny Remember

Teaching children to play in harmony is not simple. Parents know the challenge, and as evidenced in Ashleigh Nankivell’s “Helping Johnny Remember,” mothers and fathers raising children in the 1960s knew this as well. But what transpires in Nankivell’s remix of this once harmless public service announcement, originally…

Confessions of a Tokyo Hooters Girl

After three days of training, we were deemed ready for uniforms. No one asked for sizing information; shorts and tanks in size XXS were distributed to all. We retreated to the bathrooms to wrestle ourselves into suntan-colored pantyhose and elastic tanks—assuring one another the look was cute, or kawaii—and lined up in front of the trainers. They inspected us for uncovered tattoos, forbidden nail jewelry, and proper shorts length.

‘The Graffomat’ Graffiti Vending Machine Hoax (Or Not)

Of course it would make no sense for any borough or township to allow the placement of a vending machine stocked with tools designed for the defacement of public/private property. But in the world of local commerce, stranger things have happened. Real or not, the latest video for The Graffomat, which is in the format of a nine-minute long infomercial, makes an entertaining case for the machine.

The War Over Christmas: American Atheists vs. The Catholic League

It wouldn’t be Christmas without a war between true believers and nonbelievers. This year, the American Atheists fired the first shot, dropping $20,000 to rent a 14-by-48-foot billboard on I-495 in New Jersey, en route to the Lincoln Tunnel, with the following message: “You KNOW it’s a myth. This season, celebrate reason!”

‘Living My Life Faster’ Revisited: 8 Years in Under Two Minutes

Keller’s timelapse video comp of his photo project, Living My Life Faster (above), spread like fire across the Internet before viral became a marketing objective — when idle fascination was less engineered. There’s something genuine about Keller’s project that keeps my attention. Maybe it’s the fact that he executed it with no implicit payoff in mind, just the idea that it might be interesting to pursue.

GOP Not a Fan of ‘The Arts,’ Especially When it’s Gay

If you have a fondness for the phrase “Jesus is the reason for the season,” then you’ll no doubt be interested to hear about the latest exploits of two guys named John Boehner and Eric Cantor. These men are politicians, fairly high-ranking from what I’m told. And, if you’re keeping score, these gentlemen hail from the Republican party (the one that’s less docile, more reactionary).

Last Exit Detroit: Christian Burkert’s View of Motor City

In German photographer Christian Burkert‘s series of photos titled “Last Exit Detroit,” the theme is familiar: Detroit is an abysmal no man’s land on the brink of extinction. Most everyone claiming to be a photographer or journalist these days seems intent on that opinion, and it’s become woefully redundant.