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Books

Conspiracy Theories About Classic Literary Characters

By Emily Temple on

This week, we read a pretty fascinating article over at Salon, in which Greg Olear argues that Nick Carraway, the narrator of Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, was gay and in love with the novel’s eponymous character. Though a Google search indicates that Olear’s not exactly the first person to think of this, we have to admit that we’d never considered the idea before, and his arguments are pretty persuasive. The article got us to thinking about the other theories and alternate interpretations that are floating around about some of our favorite classic literary characters. An investigation, and perhaps a few sides of characters you’ve never seen before, after the jump. … Read More

Web

What’s On at Flavorpill: Links that Made the Rounds in Our Office

By Alison Nastasi on

Today at Flavorpill, we dug our heels into the history of platform shoes. We quoted eight seasons of Desperate Housewives. We read BuzzFeed editor Gavon Laessig’s pejazzled experience. We thought this video of an eight-year-old autistic boy — who is also blind — with a blues guitarist… Read More

Pop Culture

The Peculiar Inspirations Behind 10 Cartoon Character Names

By Jennifer Lewis on

There are pretty much no rules when it comes to cartoon character names. So, if you had the exciting opportunity to name one, where would you look for inspiration? Your favorite weird friends? Your favorite politicians? Your favorite songs? Every now and then, we’ll come across a well-known cartoon’s truly peculiar background story. Really, who would’ve thought that Scooby-Doo would be the direct result of a Frank Sinatra song? Check out the fun inspirations behind ten cartoon character names after the jump, and hit the comments to let us know about the others that you’ve discovered over the years. … Read More

Web

What’s On at Flavorpill: The Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office

By Alison Nastasi on

Today at Flavorpill, we found out what American Idol’s William Hung has been up to. We watched the MS Paint version of the “Party Rock Anthem.” We noted how quickly hacktivist collective Anonymous responded to the Megaupload shutdown. We coveted these lamps made from recycled books.… Read More

Art

Intervention Art: Paintings Altered with Pop-Culture Influences

By Emily Temple on

Robert Brandenburg’s “Pop Surrealist Intervention Art,” which we first spotted over at Metafilter, transforms found paintings into dark re-imaginings of pop-culture figures. As the artist explains, “These pictures began as a family tradition of giving each other ‘gag gifts’ for Christmas; I took cheap oils from a local flea market and embellished them with absurdities.” Absurd indeed — the paintings range from silly to scary, and might have you looking at your favorite characters in a whole new light. Click through to see some of Brandeburg’s work, and then head over to his website for even more. … Read More

Books

Literary Mixtape: Eeyore

By Emily Temple on

If you’ve ever wondered what your favorite literary characters might be listening to while they save the world/contemplate existence/get into trouble, or hallucinated a soundtrack to go along with your favorite novels, well, us too. But wonder no more! Here, we sneak a look at the hypothetical iPods of some of literature’s most interesting characters. What would be on the personal playlists of Holden Caulfield or Elizabeth Bennett, Huck Finn or Harry Potter, Tintin or Humbert Humbert? Something revealing, we bet. Or at least something danceable. Read on for a cozy reading soundtrack, character study, or yet another way to emulate your favorite literary hero. This week: Winnie the Pooh’s most mournful pal, Eeyore. … Read More

Pop Culture

A Comprehensive Rule Book to Pop Culture’s Fictional Games

By Jennifer Lewis on

It’s getting colder, folks, which means we’ll be spending more and more time indoors. How do you like to spend the winter months? Watching TV? Playing games? Reading Flavorpill? Well, let’s combine all of three, shall we? Every now and then, our favorite fictional characters will use their fictional brilliance to invent some awesomely fictional games, and we’ve been itching to play ‘em. The rules of these fake games, however, are often left somewhat unexplained, so why not piece together what we do know and add a few guidelines to create real, playable games? Gather some pals, order a pizza, and read on for the real life rules to 10 of pop culture’s most competitive creations. It’s game night! … Read More

Pop Culture

The Flavorpill Guide to Fictional Places You Can Visit In Real Life

By Emily Temple on

Who hasn’t wished they could disappear into the novel they’re reading, or visit the world of their favorite film? People, it’s possible — at least sometimes. When we first heard that we were going to be able to visit a complete Hobbiton next year, we admit that the nerds in us got pretty excited. Not only that, but we started daydreaming about all our favorite fictional locales that we desperately wish we could visit. We’ve already given you a guide to mythical vacations, but now for something slightly more attainable: a list of fictional places you can actually visit in real life, whether because they’ve been created for the purpose or because they’ve actually existed all along. Click through to get a few ideas for your next vacation, and let us know which of these you’d most like to visit in the comments. … Read More

Art

Bizarre Sculptures of Childhood Characters Armed for the Apocalypse

By Nicole Rallis on

With all of the insane natural disasters that have happened recently and the ominous year 2012 creeping ever closer, it seems like end-of-the-world chatter is the norm lately. So why not soothe our fears by transferring those apocalyptic visions into the comforting world of children’s cartoons and fairy tales? This appears to be the idea behind Korea-based installation artist So Hyun Woo‘s collection of stainless steel mosaic Disney and fairy tale sculptures that are adorned with an action hero evoking twist. The eccentric series, Cruel Fairy Tales 3, features adored storybook characters like Winnie the Pooh, Donald Duck, and Tinker Bell as they prepare to fight the unknown with bazookas, machine guns, machetes, and more. Check out the unsettling collection below, and let us know what you think about the combat-ready character art. … Read More

Books

Literary Mixtape: Tigger

By Emily Temple on

If you’ve ever wondered what your favorite literary characters might be listening to while they save the world/contemplate existence/get into trouble, or hallucinated a soundtrack to go along with your favorite novels, well, us too. But wonder no more! Here, we sneak a look at the hypothetical iPods of some of literature’s most interesting characters. What would be on the personal playlists of Holden Caulfield or Elizabeth Bennett, Huck Finn or Harry Potter, Tintin or Humbert Humbert? Something revealing, we bet. Or at least something danceable. Read on for a cozy reading soundtrack, character study, or yet another way to emulate your favorite literary hero. This week: A.A. Milne’s most bounciest character, Tigger. … Read More