Flavorwire

Are Board Games Based on Movies Ever a Good Idea?

Lauren Hubbard — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:28:38 +0000

It's a widely acknowledged fact that most games that created as a promotional tie-in to movies inherently suck. Case in point: behold the Twilight Board Game*. The fact that such things exist is infuriating enough, but worse, they manipulate poor fans who are tricked by their love of a movie into buying a really crappy game. After the jump our list of the worst offenders in this particular category, along with the few, proud games who don't shame their source material.

5 Pop Culture Moments That Only Sound Made Up

Caroline Stanley — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:55:34 +0000

1. Natalie Portman has been tapped to play Jane Foster in Marvel’s upcoming Thor movie, directed by Kenneth Branagh. 2. Megan Fox was once a lowly extra in Bad Boys 2. And there’s a video to prove it. 3. What would it sound like if The Postal Service went postal? A scary “Christian scream-core” band called [...]

On Flavorpill: Events Today in NYC, SF, LA, and CHI

Caroline Stanley — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:34:17 +0000

Dear Busy Reader: This is your daily reminder of cool events happening tonight in your city. If you’d rather have this information delivered straight to your in-box each Tuesday, sign up for our handy Flavorpill City Guides. • If you’re in New York: Come hang out with us at the Wilco/Yo La Tengo show at Keyspan [...]

Video of the Day: Weezer Covers MGMT/Lady Gaga

Caroline Stanley — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:52:22 +0000

Does this make anyone else feel kind of sorry for Weezer? Sure, the crowd seems happy, but we can't imagine Rivers enjoyed singing the tired hits of artists who are nearly half his age. Maybe he was being ironic (this is the same man who invented the "Wuggie") and we just don't get it. [via Stereogum]

Design Porn: Dumpster Pools, 3D Digicams, & the Eames’ Home

Caroline Stanley — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:33:36 +0000

A step-by-step guide to increasing your odds of getting snapped by The Sartorialist [via Refinery29] A bomb-proof bike messenger bag [via PSFK] A guerrilla dumpster pool [via Inhabitat] The famous Pacific Palisades residence of Charles and Ray Eames [via Designboom] Fujifilm’s new 3D Digicam [via Wired] A space-saving staircase [via Core77] Eco-friendly textile coffins [via Boing Boing]

Exclusive: An Interview with Tattoo Machine’s Jeff Johnson

Lauren Hubbard — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:01:54 +0000

The world behind the counter of a tattoo shop is one that most of us are only passingly familiar with — whether from sitting in the chair or watching it on TLC. It's the kind of place we suspect is full of strange, sometimes wonderful, sometimes frightening characters and events, but it remains cloaked in mystery. Until now. Jeff Johnson's debut Tattoo Machine: Tall Tales, True Stories, and My Life in Ink offers a "peek under the skirt" of the life of a tattoo artist. (Johnson is co-owner and manager of the famed Sea Tramp Tattoo shop in Portland, Oregon.) But be warned; this book may make you want to get inked. From tips on getting a tattoo, the clinical cleanliness, encounters with killers, the evolution of the art and the resident crazy guy, Jeff Johnson's debut book, Tattoo Machine (out July 14) offers a "peek under the skirt" of the life of a tattoo artist. But be warned; this book may make you want to get inked.

Pic of the Day: Before There Was MTV, There Was Avedon

Caroline Stanley — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:16:39 +0000

San Francisco Chronicle art critic Kenneth Baker on the new Richard Avedon show that opened at SFMOMA over the weekend: Why do I think of MTV when I see the work of Richard Avedon? Because in his early fashion photographs, Avedon invented pictorial-style-as-branding. It envisions all demeanor as performance and uses movement that meets the camera more than halfway. These qualities reached an unanticipated apex in music videos but made their appearance first in Avedon's innovative magazine pictures of the late 1940s. Those feeling inspired by the exhibition should DIY their own Marilyn photograph like Flavorpill's Adda Birnir did back in December.

The Weekend Box Office: Bruno’s on Top

Lauren Hubbard — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:57:11 +0000

To absolutely no one's surprise, Bruno opened at number one this weekend, but signs may not be so good for it's future. Transformers:RotF fell to third place under the consistent Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. The only other new offering of the week, I Love You, Beth Cooper, came in a weak seventh place (we didn't even know it had come out).

The Kindle 2 Has Just Gone Bootleg

Stelios Phili — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:22:31 +0000

Who knew bookworms could be so badass? The Kindle 2 has just received the bootleg treatment. Made by one of Peking University's founders, this six-inch screen book reader will use "cellular connection" (i.e. a SIM card) to download books from its own bootleg ebook software, "Apabi." The device itself is called "WEFOUND," which is short for, "We found out how to bootleg your precious Kindle, silly Americans! Mwahaha." And wouldn't you know it, the faux-Kindle is a whopping $80 cheaper!

Win Full Passes to the Pitchfork Music Festival ‘09

Suzanne Niemoth — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:57:53 +0000

Regardless of how you feel about their reviews, since launching in 2006 Chicago's Pitchfork Music Festival has played host to some of the most exciting moments in indie rock-related summer goodness: from an exceedingly rare performance by Brazilian tropicalia masters Os Mutantes at the first fest to Sonic Youth's blissed-out performance of Daydream Nation in 2007 to Cut Copy's rave-inducing set (which managed to turn the garbage-strewn Union Park into a throbbing mass of unabashed, sweat-soaked dancers) just last year. Currently, only very limited quantities of tickets remain for Friday's night show — all other tickets for the three-day music blowout are sold out. But don't fret: Flavorpill has three full-festival P4K passes to give away for the nearly-sold out music blowout.