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Web

Leonardo Dicaprio Pops and Locks, Marilyn Monroe Seems to Live Forever: Links You Need to See

By Lillian Ruiz on

Few things are as entertaining as a bootleg version of something great; as such, these early versions of iconic film and TV characters are fascinating. Vulture dug up an insanely entertaining archival interview with Orson Welles. Completed several months before his death, the insanely entertaining archival interview with Orson Welles that Vulture dug… Read More

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Books

Read a 14th-Century Rhyming Poem Featuring the C-Word

By Emily Temple on

Kids today act like they invented vulgarity, but oh mon dieu, did they not. Last week saw the release of The Fabliaux, a collection of the bawdiest, most shocking medieval poems ever written, translated by Nathaniel E. Dubin in a gorgeous and filthy new volume. The poems, composed between the 12th and 14th centuries by wandering minstrels, are parodic social commentaries, ribald, rollicking tales, and literature worth our examination. After the jump, read just one of these epic poems — but be aware, the language is not for the faint of heart! … Read More

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Television

Why Do We Keep Coming Back to ‘True Blood’?

By Alison Herman on

It’s indisputable at this point that True Blood, HBO’s supernatural drama chock-full of skin, sex, and camp, is Not a Good Show. Though it’s inherited Game of Thrones’ all-important Sunday night time slot and ostensibly shares a genre with the fantasy series, it is far from a worthy successor to the smart writing and subtle characterization of its more critically acclaimed counterpart. In fact, True Blood has been on something of a downward spiral since its second season, when the Godric story line gave the show its last attempt at a character whose inner life couldn’t be summed up in a single paragraph. But here’s the thing about True Blood: even though it’s awful and most of its viewers know it, those same viewers just keep coming back, by the millions, season after season. … Read More

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Art

Glow-in-the-Dark Art Created in the Lab With Bioluminescent Bacteria

By Reid Singer on

While most artists paint to imitate nature, others have found a way to make their work with the natural world. The artist-engineers who worked on BIOGLYPHS, a collaborative gallery at Montana State University — Bozeman, fit in the latter camp. Taking note of the glowing potential of bioluminescent bacteria, a team led by researcher Betsey Pitts decided to make full-scale works of art. The night before a recent exhibition (most of the bacteria ran out of fuel after about a day), Pitts and her comrades “painted” a solution containing bacteria harvested from marine environments onto petri dishes, then filled the dishes with agar, glued them closed, and allowed the colonies to form. Check out a few of the resulting canvases after the jump. … Read More

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Film

Actors and Directors Who Trashed the Remakes of Their Classic Movies

By Jason Bailey on

Last week, the great (and tragically absent from the screen) Gene Wilder made a rare public appearance at New York’s 92nd Street Y, discussing his retirement from the movies, his distaste for modern “dirty” movies (an odd comment, coming from the co-star of Blazing Saddles), and what Tim Burton and Johnny Depp had done to his most famous role. “I think it’s an insult,” he said of Burton’s 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. “Johnny Depp, I think, is a good actor, but I don’t care for that director. He’s a talented man, but I don’t care for him doing stuff like he did.” Wilder isn’t the only actor or director to speak out against remakes of their work; more on that story, and a few more examples, after the jump. … Read More

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Music

The 50 Greatest Summer Albums, 1963-2013

By Tom Hawking on

Summer officially arrives this week, bringing with it afternoons in the park and rooftop parties and beaches. The thing is, though, every summer needs a soundtrack, and while every year there seems to be a rush to anoint a certain tune The Song of the Summer™, Flavorwire decided to go one better and choose a quintessential summer album for every one of the past 50 years, as something of a sequel to last month’s list of the 50 albums you need to own, 1963-2013. Click through and get… Read More

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Television

What’s Wrong With the Dirty, Old Betty White?

By Tyler Coates on

Betty White has become a national treasure in the last few years, possibly because, despite her age (she’s currently 91), she seems to have the presence of mind to deliver lines and, you know, stand upright on her own. It’s a rarity for an elderly performer to achieve such hero status (especially a female entertainer), which is what makes White such a refreshing actress: she appeals more to female and gay audiences then your typical white, straight American males. Moreover, her most frequent bits as of late — the ones that are written for her, of course — are heavily sexualized, featuring tongue-in-cheek innuendos and double entendres. But is the sexualization of the nonagenarian evidence of our culture’s exploitative obsession with turning sex into a big joke? … Read More

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Film

Flavorwire’s Guide to Movies You Need to Stream This Week

By Jason Bailey on

Welcome to Flavorwire’s streaming movie guide, in which we help you sift through the scores of movies streaming on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and other services to find the best of the recently available, freshly relevant, or soon to expire. This week, there’s good stuff from Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Charlize Theron, Bill Murray, Christopher Walken, Harvey Keitel, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Paré, Wong Kar-wai, Sofia Coppola, and more. Check them out after the jump, and follow the title links to watch them right now. … Read More

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Books

The Collected Wisdom of Judy Blume

By Emily Temple on

Today is a holiday you may not have heard of yet — but if you grew up reading, you’ll probably want to celebrate it. It’s Blumesday, a riff on yesterday’s longstanding tribute to James Joyce and Ulysses, but meant to celebrate everyone’s favorite writer of books for young readers, Judy Blume. As holiday creators (what a title) Joanna Miller and Heather Larimer explain, “We realized that there is a whole community around this writer that feels just as impassioned about her work as people feel about the work of James Joyce,” and thus Judy Blumesday was born. To mark the date, and to provide for the Judy Blume toast you should definitely be giving tonight, Flavorwire has collected some of Blume’s essential wisdom on reading, writing, and living. … Read More

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Design

Gorgeous Illustrations of Iconic Eyewear

By Tyler Coates on

Italian designer Federico Mauro seems obsessed with celebrity eyewear, and rightly so. His series Famous Eyeglasses includes illustrations of some iconic glasses, including styles popularized by John Lennon, Sophia Loren, and Elvis Presley. There are some fictional characters, too, who have sparked trends in sunglasses and, in one famous case, a magnifying glass. After the jump, check out Mauro’s collection (via DesignTAXI) and see which pair suits you best. … Read More

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