In an alternate universe, Barack Obama and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez don’t just get along — they make out, as do Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Although Pope Benedict XVI is about as anti-gay as it gets, here he is, locking lips with Ahmed Mohamed el-Tayed, one of Sunni Islam’s most important leaders. Hell, even Kim Jong-Il and his South Korean sworn enemy are getting in on the action. These are the bold and potentially controversial photo manipulations that make up the UNHATE Campaign, a Benetton-sponsored project that kicks off today and seeks to replace the “culture of hatred” with a vision of love between the world’s nations, cultures, and religions. Read more about UNHATE at its website, and check out its first, arresting images after the jump. Read More »
In the wake of the recent prank call to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and the ensuing drama, we realized that prank calls are not just for 12-year-old boys and Bart Simpson worshipers (wait, are those the same thing?). They can have real — or just amusing — bearing on our culture, and they just might be worth examining as a reflection of our cultural proclivities. (Because what are Charlie Sheen’s unending outbursts if not one continuous prank call on American society?) If you’ve ever asked someone if their refrigerator was running, click through to see our list of five culturally relevant prank calls, and let us know which of your favorites we’ve missed!
Mystery Parisians copy Obama poster: Paris has suddenly become plastered with mystery posters of Nicolas Sarkozy modeled after Shepard Fairey’s iconic Obama posters. The French versions have progressive policy goals (“Making polluters pay?” “Saving each household 1,000 Euros a year?”) above Obama’s “Yes we can!” slogan and pop-art prints of Sarkozy’s face. And no one knows who’s behind the stunt though the hunt for the “SarkObama” campaigners is on. [AFP]
Twilight star to do Jett biopic: If lusting after vampires wasn’t enough to gain Twilight star Kristen Stewart a teen following, now she’s set to play rocker Joan Jett in Runaways, a biopic of the 1970s band directed by Floria Sigismondi. The film will follow the band members’ rise to fame as teenagers and their subsequent disillusionment. While she’s obviously got the drugs part down fine, wonder how Stewart’s reprise of “I Love Rock N’ Roll” will compare to Britney Spears’ in Crossroads (not that we’ve seen that or anything). [THR]
