The Graffiti

in Barcelona is colorful, artful, so expressive and anything but:

The Irony of Beauty

This is an astounding metaphor for our culture and the gravity of our situation as lifeforms on a planet we know next-to-nothing about: enveloped by the inelegance of our current technology, with wires and all kinds of ugly schwack running up and down the walls surrounding and protecting him, Ed Lu is aboard the International…

Sycamore Review: Zach Falcon

ZACH FALCON was born and raised in Alaska. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, his stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Quiddity, the 2009 Bridport Prize Anthology, and the Bear Deluxe Magazine. He lives in Iowa City where he is working on a novel.

Walls of Time

I just love Ricky Skagg’s version of this tune but, before performing it himself, Peter Rowan tells the story in the clip below of how he and Bill Monroe wrote this tune after having driven all night on their bus traveling north from the Grand Ole Opry:

The Perfect City

David Byrne is spot on with his thoughts for a perfect city: A Talking Head Dreams of a Perfect City The Wall Street Journal, September 11, 2009 By David Byrne There’s an old joke that you know you’re in heaven if the cooks are Italian and the engineering is German. If it’s the other way…

Trent Harris

Trent Harris is great for having made Rubin and Ed, which has been one of my favorite movies ever since my pal, Alec, turned me onto it prolly more than 11 years ago. Trent’s made other stuff, too, and continues to make stuff, such as random video posts @ Fling A Ding: Thanks, Trent

Michael Pollan and The Botany of Desire

Author Michael Pollan says: The tulip, by gratifying our desire for a certain kind of beauty, has gotten us to take it from its origins in Central Asia and disperse it around the world. Marijuana, by gratifying our desire to change consciousness, has gotten people to risk their lives, their freedom, in order to grow…

The Pines : Tremolo

The Pines‘ latest album, Tremolo, has earned some great reviews fresh out of the chute, including Penguin Eggs, which reviewed it in this month’s issue: Potent, poignant, minimalist country from Iowans David Huckfelt and Benson Ramsey (son of Greg Brown sideman Bo, who produced this record). The duo spin spare, haunting melodies and imagistic words…

Humans Swimming

Are you a human? Do you like to swim? How about free-diving? How about static free diving?

Maurice Sendak : Where The Wild Things Are

Spike Jonze worked with Lance Bangs on this new documentary about Maurice Sendak, who wrote and illustrated Where The Wild Things Are, which is in post-production having been directed by Jonze. Click on the image to see the trailer for the documentary.

Rags to Riches : Jay DeMerit

Our pal’s brother, Jay DeMerit, has overcome seemingly impossible odds, triumphantly making it to the big time: JOHANNESBURG — On an unlikely United States national soccer team, there is no more unlikely player than defender Jay DeMerit, whose nickname is Rags to Riches and whose adventurous career path to the Confederations Cup involved van rides…