April 2012
48 posts
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In honor of The Band’s Levon Helm, who died Thursday at the age of 71, here’s the song Elton John and Bernie Taupin named after him. “What I’m most proud of is he called me his partner,” said Larry Campbell, Helm’s longtime musical partner. “For me to arrive at a place in my career like that with a great man like him is the ultimate.”
OK, this is unexpected. I replied to this post by The Atlantic, which wondered if anybody was asking “Who is Levon Helm?” with what I thought was a nice, silly answer: Obviously, he’s the guy Elton John wrote that song about all those years ago.
I was kidding, but now you tell me I was right? Huh.
“People are now willing to discuss changes to the spelling of the name. But first all Fuckingers have to agree on whether want to change it or not.”
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FRANZ MEINDL, mayor of Fucking, Austria, confirming what we thought the locals called themselves.
» I mentioned this to some co-workers just now, and one of them mentioned the town of Intercourse, Pa. And another one said, “I wonder if they’re sister cities. They should be.”
“Facebook and Instagram are two distinct companies with two distinct personalities. Instagram has what Facebook craves – passionate community. People like Facebook. People use Facebook. People love Instagram. It is my single most-used app. I spend an hour a day on Instagram. I have made friends based on photos they share. I know how they feel, and how they see the world. Facebook lacks soul. Instagram is all soul and emotion.”
—Here is why Facebook bought Instagram — Tech News and Analysis (via photographsonthebrain)
10 Photographers You Should Ignore
Ansel Adams, Nan Goldin, Ryan McGinley… What do you think of this list of 10 photographers you should ignore?
They’re not so much saying you should ignore Adams, Cartier-Bresson, Winogrand and the rest. They’re saying don’t bother trying to emulate them, kid, because you’ll look pretentious, derivative and, by comparison, untalented. Instead, follow your own vision and passion. I can get behind that advice.
Also, I learned something from the article. It’s common knowledge that Adams had spawned legions of mediocre landscape photographers. But apparently, imitators of Ryan McGinley are responsible for the gigabytes on Tumblr and Flickr devoted to boring photos of wan-looking, skinny young people sitting around naked. So he’s to blame? Good to know.
“Hammeruser: I’ve saved up for months and just got my Stiletto TB15SS titanium hammer. At $220 they’re pricey but with the replaceable stainless steel face, ultra light weight handle, and excellent balance I can see myself using this for many years. I’ve had it 3 days now and it’s just wonderful. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good framing nail to use with this hammer?”
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If Carpenters Talked Like Camera Geeks (via photographsonthebrain)
When the only tool you have is a Canon EOS 5D, every problem looks like a nail.
