Speaking of David Byrne, there's news concerning his buddy Gilberto Gil today. Gil, one of the father's of Brazil's revolutionary Tropicalia movement, will be stepping down from his current post as the country's Minister of Culture to refocus his energies on his recording career. Gil, like Byrne, is a most vocal supporter of the Creative Commons movement to restructure the current copyright regime. (Here's some video of Gil talking about CC and the digital divide, among other things, on Democracy Now. Watch, learn and love.)

I'm a huge fan of his music, so this comes as welcome news--although it's not as if he ever stopped recording, so I wonder if there's something else going on there. Anyway. Watch him playing live with Os Mutantes back in the day in this incredible clip:

Hey! David Byrne just announced that he and Brian Eno have finished their first collaboration in 30 years. (That last collabo would be 1981's pioneering "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts," which was about 15 years ahead of its time for innovative use of sampling, electronics, indigenous Third World music and David Byrne).

Anyway, here's what Byrne had to say about the new rekkid, which will apparently be called "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today" on his site: "For the most part, Brian did the music and I wrote some tunes, words and sang. It's familiar but completely new as well. We're pretty excited. In August the music will be available via this Web site, free for streaming and available for purchase in a variety of options that allow you to download immediately and receive physical formats when they become available later in the Fall. One of the songs will be available free of charge."

Exciting! (Although we're guessing no "poo-poo jokes" for the kids.)

Subaru's Website has this cool/clever ad gimmick going for its 2009 Forester--a "sexy photo shoot challenge" in which you get to art direct a shoot with a particularly curvacious model. Check out my entry, then go make your own.  

(thx, Telstar Logistics)

 

It's a fun time-waster, but I personally prefer the Converse All-Star site which actually lets you design your own pair of shoes. I'd like to see Subaru try that.

This is stunning.

(via Fimoculous) 

Dear Internet,

Would you like to know why I love you today? Today, I love you for e-MANcipate, "a project to accelerate the acceptance of male pantyhose as a regular clothing item."

I love you for the "illustrated male pantyhose wearing page," devoted to the amazing versatility of male pantyhose (not so versatile: the catalogue of male models willing to wear male pantyhose: I counted only one).

I love you for the true confession of the "32 year old, happily married father of two who is quite confident in my male gender identity, that has been wearing hose for the last couple months."

But what I don't understand, people of e-MANcipate, is this: for the love of all that is holy, how could you not call them mantyhose?

 

 

 

(via BuzzFeed)

Aw, isn't this sweet? This is, apparently, "a time capsule film made for use at the Apple International Sales Meeting held in Hawaii during October '84," according to the YouTuber who posted it. Deliciously retro. But, man this makes me feel old.

(hat tip: Coudal Partners)

... Or so the BBC reports! Now, tell me that isn't in the running for the headline of the year award. When I first saw it, I thought someone from the BBC had taken it upon themselves to write an investigative profile of my step-mother. But then I remembered that I don't have a step-mother.

No, even better: it turns out the story is about the Malaysian pen-tail tree shrew. This shrew, like my imaginary step-mother, likes its hooch. Apparently the flowers that these little dudes eat produce a foamy beer-like substance with up to 3.8 percent alcohol content!  Score. Guess who's going to do a little gardening this weekend. No, seriously: guess. GUESS ALREADY! That's right me: I'm going to plant me some bertram palm. And drink its flowers. Every day.

Scientists took hair samples from the wee mammals and found that “on any given night, a tree-shrew had a 36 percent chance of being drunk by human standards.” That's funny because there's a 36 percent chance that I'm drunk right now. And it keeps getting better: check out the caption under the video: "Slow loris fancies a tipple." That, as one colleague points out, is "like the best band name ever." (Said colleague is in Seattle, if that explains anything). Not much to add to all this, really. So. Now I'm off to Malaysia to adopt a shrew and pick some beer flowers. Toodles!


(hat-tip: Guy Kawasaki)

Well hello there.

I'm not sure how you found this, but welcome. You are reading this because I pitched a blog to my visionary editors and they, being visionaries, agreed to let me have one. Hopefully you will keep reading because it will grow into something thought-provoking, funny, curious and worthy of your pity. Or, think of it this way: I have two small daughters to support and if you don't come back here often--and click on all the ads--they will be sent to toil in the Peruvian mercury mines to support me. So please, think of my children.

Meanwhile, I'll be curating things on a daily basis around here, trying to put goodies in front of your eyeballs. What exactly that will entail remains to be seen. But here's a little guide to get started with: I am a general editor here at Newsweek, covering technology, popular culture and, my favorite, unpopular culture. Mostly, I freaking love the internets. Every single last one of them. So I spend a lot of time looking at said internets--and as such, I see mountains of mind-blowingly life-changing awesomeness every day. And, you know, funny videos of piano-playing cats. Either way, I come across so much good stuff that may not merit a full-blown Newsweek-style story, but is certainly worthy of a mention. I'm talking about stuff that can only happen online (or, to give myself some wiggle room, anywhere else on earth). Stuff that inhabits that middle ground between high-brow arts, low-brow trash and mono-brow geekery. Stuff I would love to share with you, gentle reader, like the selfless lover that I am. 

Here, for example, are a few things I'd link to RIGHT NOW if I were blogging. Which, uh, I guess I am. So. Let's get started: the webby (in more ways than one) Italian Spiderman, which wrapped its 10th episode this week and is quite possibly the funniest spoof of bad '60s Italian James Bond knockoffs you'll ever see. Or I'd hip you to new rumors of a forthcoming Mac book pro and then drool all over my keyboard so that the spacebarstopsworking. Or maybe you'd find this as interesting as I did: Wil Wheaton crumbling some Webcake at Comic Con this week. Or check out this current debate over the Los Angeles Times' policy regarding blogging about rumors surrounding a certain (probably erstwhile) potential Obama running mate--the comments raise a lot of interesting issues surrounding the role of blogs at a, ahem, mainstream media outlet.

Of course, for each of those, I'd take the time to cook up some deliciously brilliant thoughts and conclusions. Maybe take the initiative to do a little reporting. I'd dazzle you with my unique voice, my counterintuitive take. This will be a two-way street--I encourage your feedback, tips, debate, lunch money. But not right now, OK? It's Saturday. It's nice outside. And you and I will get to know each other as this experiment continues. It is a work in progress. It is an evolution, an exploration of the tubes.

And also there will be haiku.