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Television

The Strange Original Pilots of 10 Popular TV Shows

By Caroline Stanley on

Unearthed by Pop Focal, the unaired pilot of 30 Rock is basically the same as the version that we’ve all seen before, but with one major exception — Jenna was played by Tina Fey’s longtime pal Rachel Dratch. “The internet, magazines and news stories all gingerly speculated that I had been replaced by a more attractive actor and that this was the only reason I had been replaced,” Dratch wrote of NBC’s recasting decision in her recent memoir, Girls Walks Into a Bar. “Well, the newspapers and magazines did so gingerly. There is nothing ‘gingerly’ about the internet.”

Poor Dratch. But as much as we adore her, we do have to admit that it’s bizarre watching her play Jenna — a character that Jane Krakowski so clearly owns. Frankly, the whole thing made us curious about what other weird pilots we could find floating around the Internet. Here’s what we found. … Read More

History

The Worst Dictators You’ve (Probably!) Never Heard Of

By Caroline Stanley on

Herod. Hitler. Hussein. History is full of notorious baddies — and those are just the H’s we can think of off the top of our heads. We asked Gilbert Alter-Gilbert, author of the newly-published The Desktop Digest of Despots & Dictators: An A-Z of Tyranny, to compile a list of the worst of the worst for us, focusing on the names that the average person wouldn’t have heard of before now. We think you’ll be amazed and/or horrified by what he came up with. Enjoy! … Read More

Art

Strikingly Realistic Anatomical Art

By Caroline Stanley on

Danny Quirk makes the kind of art that we could imagine finding in a serial killer’s basement. Or maybe hanging on some very intense pre-med student’s walls. With the goal of “painting what the camera can’t capture,” the Pratt Institute illustration major creates anatomical works that, as he explains, “combine classic poses, in dramatic chiaroscuro lighting, with a very contemporary twist.” If you’re in the mood for a quick anatomy lesson over lunch, click through to check out some of the work in his portfolio, including recent pieces which feature human canvases — but don’t blame us when you start to get a bit queasy! … Read More

Fashion

The Fug Report: Highs and Lows from the Week in Fashion

By Caroline Stanley on

Editor’s note: Welcome to The Fug Report! Each week our fashion blogger friends Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, the sartorial geniuses behind Go Fug Yourself, will feature some of the most memorable looks of the week in this space. We hope you enjoy it! … Read More

Art

Mesmerizing Hand-Drawn Animations Made With White-Out

By Caroline Stanley on

Jake Fried is kind of a wizard. Using basic white-out (and in the case of his most recent work, coffee), the Boston-based artist and animator creates layered “moving paintings” that are actually made up of one drawing scanned consecutively and played back at a high frame rate. The resulting effect is magical, and guaranteed to blow your mind. Don’t believe us? Click through to check out a selection of his psychedelic shorts, which we spotted thanks to a post on Boing Boing. … Read More

Photography

Intimate Portraits of Sexual Fetishists [NSFW]

By Caroline Stanley on

You need look no further than recent debate over women’s reproductive rights for proof that America remains a pretty puritanical society. But you could also argue that in spite of what the “grey-faced men” with “$2 haircuts” might prefer, sexuality has never been as publicly discussed as it is today. With his series The Fetlife, which we spotted on Feature Shoot, Brooklyn-based photographer Danny Ghitis is hoping to broaden the conversation beyond the traditional male/female roles that we typically see represented in the media. … Read More

Art

Crazy Pen and Ink Illustrations by Sagaki Keita

By Caroline Stanley on

Spotted by Colossal, the latest pen and ink illustrations by Japanese artist Sagaki Keita are sure to make your eyes cross if you stare at them too long. Thousands of tiny, intricate doodles make up each of his complex pieces, so it’s hard to know exactly where to look — or what it is that you’re really looking at. Click through to see a few of his most recent drawings, several of which feature famous landmarks and were commissioned by Expedia as travel posters, as well as some of his previous work. … Read More

Partner Buzz

Exclusive Supercut: Portlandia’s Portlandiest Moments So Far

By Caroline Stanley on

We probably don’t need to tell you guys that Season 3 of Portlandia debuts on IFC on January 4 at 10/9c with back-to-back episodes. If you’re like us, then you’ve been counting the days and passing the time by revisiting some of Fred and Carrie’s most hilarious (not to mention spot-on) send-ups of life in Portland, OR — from the strange preoccupation with pickling to the proliferation of crafty Etsy types who’ll put a bird on anything. In anticipation of the big night, we compiled a supercut of Portlandia’s “Portlandiest” moments from the first two seasons of this brilliant sketch comedy series. Let us know in the comments if your favorite sketches made the cut! … Read More

Design

Gorgeous, George R. R. Martin-Approved ‘Game of Thrones’ Maps

By Caroline Stanley on

The Internet is crawling with fan-made maps inspired by the world of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series — in fact, we previously posted about an incredible zoomable one that we called “the only Game of Thrones map you’ll ever need.” Is it too late to take that back now? Because these detailed maps of the lands of Westeros and Essos illustrated by Jonathan Roberts for The Lands of Ice and Fire are too good not to share with you guys. … Read More

Photography

Breathtaking Cityscapes from Building Rooftops

By Caroline Stanley on

To work with Aurelie Curie, you’d have to be quite brave — and you definitely wouldn’t want to have a fear of heights. Why? The urban and industrial photographer’s subjects pose precariously atop some of the city’s most impressive rooftops. “I wander the hidden places and find beauty in infrastructure,” she explains. The dramatic views will leave you dizzy — and perhaps inspired to play Batman from an incredible perch of your own. Click through for a slideshow of shots from Curie’s Above series, and visit her website for even more of her work. … Read More