a collection of interesting links

So I've seen some cool stuff lately and thought I'd share some of it with you all. A few of them are not safe for work and if you're in a tight-laced environment, I wouldn't open them there. I'd leave, actually, because I'm not so good with tight-laced environments, but that's just me.

First off, we have the dove campaign for real beauty. (Totally safe for work) My cousin Brian sent this to me, and I'm fascinated. I think that Dove's marketing ideas are both good and bad -- they're trying to get us to be beautiful just by being us... and using their products. Luckily, their products rock, and I'm all for their pro-women message. But I do see how they're pulling one over on us at the same time.

Brian also sent me this, which is shocking and appalling, and yet, not at all surprising (and also safe for work). It's apparently the page of an artist who modifies photos for album covers. (Ashlee Simpson needs all the help she can get, I think) We all know photos are retouched. It's kind of amazing, though, what this guy can do, and still make it look "believeable." After all, they're training us to believe this, aren't they? Interesting...

Up next, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, my favorite show on NPR. It's their weekly news quiz show, with celebrities and regular folks phoning in. Great cast, really entertaining, and they come up with some bizarro tidbits of news. If you enjoy it, you might want to swing by WNYC.org and give them some money. They're in the middle of a fundraising drive.

This one, Monster Cheesecake, is really cool, but totally not safe for work. It's a series of photos by Caleb Oglesby (a.k.a. Klung 1) of women he met while filming porn. He got them all the pose for him wearing monster masks. It's pretty awesome.

I found another blog that I love, Mimi Smartypants. Her writing is really funny, friendly and accessible, and she adds some really entertaining links. It's mostly about life and her kid, Nora, but it's familiar and worth checking out every now and then.

My college ex-boyfriend (David) has finally edited the film he shot right after we broke up (a million years ago). It stars, oddly enough, his wife (Nicole) and my prior ex-boyfriend (Patrick). So watching it, for me, is a series of odd and uncomfortable college flashbacks... especially since I cheated on Patrick with David, and David cheated on me with Nicole. Great music, interesting dialogue... I can't say much more than that. It's not easy for me to watch. But give it a once-over. Or a six-over. Unless you're at work. I think there's some nudity.
Blue Plate Trailer
Blue Plate, Episode 1
Blue Plate, Episode Two
Blue Plate, Episode 3
Blue Plate, Episode 4
Blue Plate, Episode 5
Blue Plate, Episode 6

My New Fighting Technique Is Unstoppable, while completely odd, had me chuckling all the way into work one day (it's in printed form, too). It's a comic, with really basic drawings (clip art, maybe?) repeated over and over again, with simplistic dialogue that, for some reason, works. You might not like it. That's OK.

Equally odd are Weebl & Bob. They like pie. A lot. I like them. A lot.

And that's it for now. Back to your regularly scheduled boredom.