Chuck D, Flavor Flav, and the rest of the Public Enemy gang want your money. Earlier today their profile appeared on SellaBand.com looking for funding to record their 13th album. For just $25.00, you can help make their $250,000 goal a reality. According to the web site the money will be used to a) fund the complete recording costs and expenses for its next album and b) fund a strategic marketing plan for the worldwide release of the SellaBand album in 2010. [via TwentyFourBit]

So, whadya think?

The Telegraph reports that a McDonald’s restaurant and a “quality” McCafé are set to open in the Louvre museum next month in the underground approach known as the Carrousel du Louvre. Many museum staffers, already disgruntled because of the Abu Dhabi spin-off, aren’t very happy about the impending attack of le Big Mac. In fact, according to one art historian: “This is the last straw. This is the pinnacle of exhausting consumerism, deficient gastronomy and very unpleasant odors in the context of a museum… Starbucks was bad enough but McDonald’s is worse… Once this happens, the first thing visitors will likely see when they arrive are big golden arches.”

There are currently 1,142 McDonald’s in France, making it their biggest market in the world outside of the US.

The censorship battle rages on, this time in the arena where contemporary art faces off against animal rights activists. Should artists be allowed to show graphic depictions of animal abuse as a form of commentary, or do such images offend public decency and desensitize viewers? Closing arguments after the jump, then we let you be the judge. Read More »

According to the Telegraph, your days of saving your hard-earned bones by reading the New York Times online are coming to a close: “The publisher of the New York Times will decide by next month how to charge readers for access to its website, reversing an earlier decision not to, and becoming the first major non-financial newspaper group to take the step.” Read More »

Arts Beat has a post up that examines the way late night comedians dealt with the handful of celebrity deaths last week. Jimmy Kimmel chose to turn the attention on Jeff Goldblum, who was erroneously reported as dead; Jimmy Fallon had The Roots rock Jackson-inspired costumes and perform his songs; Conan used the Sanford scandal to deflect the tension in an otherwise sober intro. We didn’t catch Letterman on Thursday or Friday night; we can only imagine how awkward it would have been for Leno if he was currently on the air — the King of Pop was one of his favorite targets.

It brings up an interesting issue of what’s funny and what crosses the line.

The new cover of Opium magazine’s “Infinity” issue features a nine word story that will take approximately 1,000 years to read. Why? Each word is covered with a specific amount of ink that will slowly deteriorate with exposure to ultraviolet light.

One century per word. It’s like the opposite of a blog.

Jonathan Keats, the conceptual artist behind the story, says that he’s “interested in exploring deep time… Like most people, I live my life in a rush, consuming media on the run.” We’re wondering what you think. Read More »

Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland hits theaters March 5, 2010. [More photos via Slashfilm]

According to this article in the Telegraph, “Jamie Foxx, the African-American actor, singer and comedian, has been named as a potential contender for the role of Frank Sinatra in Martin Scorcese’s biopic of the entertainer.” Their source: this Daily Express piece which cites an anonymous “well-placed industry insider” (maybe one of Foxx’s agents?) chatting up a storm at Cannes. Read More »

Disclosure: we’re not big Miley Cyrus fans around here. That said, when stumbled on this story about Jamie Foxx’s anti-Miley tirade on his Sirius radio show, we felt sorry for the little pop tart. Yet again. While Foxx’s take on the Radiohead drama was spot on (“She’s going to ruin Radiohead’s career? The same Radiohead that gets paid a million dollars just to sample their song? That Radiohead?”), MTV reports that he referred to 16-year-old Cyrus as the girl “with all the gums,” and suggested that she grow up, become a lesbian, make a sex tape, and “catch Chlamydia on a bicycle seat.” Read More »

The Boston Globe reports that America’s favorite street artist, Shepard Fairey, faces 10 felony charges in Boston Municipal court today. “Fairey, 39, of Los Angeles, appeared in court expecting to face 10 misdemeanor complaints, but Judge Eleanor Coe Sinnott ruled that the original intent of the police and the court clerk was to issue felony complaints… Read More »