The Cultural Gutter

gifsploitation: Thanks, Ray.

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:47:54 -0400

Thanks, Ray.

Gutter-A-Go-Go Raids Again!

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:01:03 -0400

Banner designed for The Cultural Gutter’s indiegogo Campaign representing the groovy party that is The Cultural Gutter. It’s also available in poster form as one of perks.

Last summer we lost our operations grant from the Canada Council for the Arts and we’re raising funds to stay online and keep our commitment to paying writers for their work for one year. Check out our campaign here and thanks to Brian from Shelf Life CC for the excellent banner design.

explore-blog: Ten Things I Wish I Knew Sooner Rather Than Later...

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:49:06 -0400

explore-blog:

Ten Things I Wish I Knew Sooner Rather Than Later — timeless life-wisdom from the brilliant Debbie Millman, who is wise.

Summer Fun Time Reading ‘13It’s hot and the air already...

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:23:38 -0400

Summer Fun Time Reading ‘13

It’s hot and the air already feels like unset Jell-O, but you still have some time to prepare for…

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At The Gutter: Ray Harryhausen and Me: A Life of High Adventure and Escapism

Wed, 22 May 2013 23:41:00 -0400

Guest Star Miguel Rodriguez shares his love of Clash of the Titans and Ray Harryhausen:

When I was too young to really remember, I was taken to this film in the theater. Because I have no real memory of that experience, I am amazed by my true first memory of Clash of the Titans (1981). It all happened because of a wonderful non-profit program called Reading is Fundamental, or Reading is Fun as we called it when I was in elementary school. Many of you know about this: kids are given a colorful little RIF catalog on toilet-paper-thin newsprint paper with a wealth of covers and titles to choose from. Their parents help to make an order, and then, weeks later, the classroom desk is stacked high with the books that kids have ordered. It was like Christmas. And one of the books I had chosen was an oversized hardcover children’s book version of Ray Harryhausen’s Clash of the Titans movie.

You can find Miguel at Monster Island Resort Podcast and Horrible Imaginings Film Festival.

(Photography taken by Miguel Rodriguez)

Bad Kids Jokes

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:30:51 -0400

This tumblr collects many bad jokes kids have invented.

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Happy Birthday to Chow Yun-Fat! Sally Yeh sings.

Sat, 18 May 2013 21:54:40 -0400

Happy Birthday to Chow Yun-Fat! Sally Yeh sings.

Interview with Takashi Miike

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:58:10 -0400

The Hollywood Reporter interviews director Takashi Miike about his new film, Shield of Straw: ” In Japan now, films are very safe. When I was young and went to old cinemas, they had a distinctive feel, an adult smell about them. As you got in your seat…

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In need of a new narrative

Thu, 16 May 2013 17:53:38 -0400

In need of a new narrative:

gibsoncurrie:

Thanks to @ThePurplePagefor pointing this article out.

Natasha C. Brooks skillfully argues that the current narratives around minorities in the sciences are heavily burdened with backward looking themes that can prevent the self- actualization of individuals, with the disturbing potential of stagnating the sciences as a whole.

In this week’s #BlerdChat, we’ll delve into the issue of narrative as it relates to the themes outlined by Natasha C. Brooks.

Does the current focus on past minority disempowerment in the sciences reinforce this problem?

Does the intense attention paid to disparities prevent us viewing the full spectrum of participation? Brooks points to the focus on minority health disparities to the detriment of health successes to make this point.

Does the highlighting of minority science prodigies who have “beaten the odds” reinforce the toxic assumption that minority participation in the sciences is abnormal or freakish?

To be clear, neither Natasha C. Brooks or I contend that the actual fact that barriers have and continued to exist should be ignored. The real bone of contention is how we tell these stories and to what effect.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

scificovers: Magnus, Robot Fighter #4. “Menace from the Depths”...

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:03:59 -0400

scificovers:

Magnus, Robot Fighter #4. “Menace from the Depths” Cover art by Russ Manning. Underwater food-processing facilities are sabotaged by a robot that wants to destroy all mankind.

Two great things about this cover. First, check out the head on that robot! It’s a “think-rob” so of course its head is huge. Second, Magnus proves to be the exception to the rule by being a male wearing a cellophane suit.

"DiCaprio and Mulligan, meanwhile, don’t seem like star-crossed lovers so much as a delusional man in..."

Tue, 14 May 2013 20:51:52 -0400

“DiCaprio and Mulligan, meanwhile, don’t seem like star-crossed lovers so much as a delusional man in love with a bauble of a woman. Maybe that’s intentional?”

-
People Magazine’s review on ‘The Great Gatsby’

(via brucewaynes)

READ A BOOK

(via lexcanroar)

Ohmyfuckinggod

HE’LL TAKE HIS OSCAR NOW

(via lyndez)

Things That Change You Forever

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:56:29 -0400

This week Romance Editor Chris talks about ghosts and Simone St. James’ An Inquiry Into Love And Death.

War, loss, ghosts: these are things that change you forever. But love is also on that list, and it leads to better places. Simone St. James knows that, and writes it beautifully.

Photo via Over The Front.

Photo

Sun, 12 May 2013 13:43:57 -0400

Happy Mother’s Day! Here’s one of our favorite movie...

Sun, 12 May 2013 13:31:26 -0400

Happy Mother’s Day! Here’s one of our favorite movie moms—The Queen of Blood!

Chromatophores + "Insane In The Membrane"

Thu, 09 May 2013 17:30:23 -0400

Scientists hooked a squid up to an iPod. This is what happened.

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At The Gutter: Secret Agent, Detective, Genius, Jerk: Modernizing Sherlock Holmes

Wed, 08 May 2013 12:21:00 -0400

Screen Editor alex takes a look at two new iterations of Sherlock Holmes:

There’s something about the way Benedict Cumberbatch plays the lead role in the BBC series Sherlock that seems like it could be Holmes’ fantasy version of how a brilliant detective behaves. In the episodes I’ve seen he’s twitchy and neurotic, but also cool and proficient with a performative quality that left me thinking the series could turn out to be a dream sequence where the last episode ends with young Holmes waking up in his bedroom, or an older version playing it all out in a psychiatric ward. Or for another twist on that cliche, the audience is seeing the whole series of events through Holmes’ own distorted self-image, a sort of Jekyll and Hyde split where Watson is his alter-ego, penning his own narrative.

image via the Denver Public Library.

RIP, Ray Harryhausen. We have a collection of interviews,...

Tue, 07 May 2013 18:14:01 -0400

RIP, Ray Harryhausen. We have a collection of interviews, tributes and obituaries here.

citizenscreen: In memory of Rudolph Valentino… “Women are not...

Mon, 06 May 2013 19:24:48 -0400

citizenscreen:

In memory of Rudolph Valentino…

“Women are not in love with me but with the picture of me on the screen. I am merely the canvas on which women paint their dreams.”

deadcades: Metropolis Theatre Programme (1927)

Sun, 05 May 2013 13:35:18 -0400

deadcades:

Metropolis Theatre Programme (1927)

teleportcity: Even still more More Master of the Flying...

Sun, 05 May 2013 13:22:53 -0400

teleportcity:

Even still more More Master of the Flying Guillotine