The ultimate marriage of high and low

One of my favorite authors, Bret Easton Ellis (king of disillusioned decadence, desolation and depravity) on The Hills:

I’m holding off on Season 4 right now. I started watching a bit of it, but I’m waiting until the DVD comes out because I want to see it all so beautifully mastered. Even if you download the show there is that irritating MTV logo in the corner. It doesn’t work for me that way. It has to be on a big screen with the sound right up. It blows me away…I’m sorry, but whoever invented HEIDI MONTAG and SPENCER PRATT are just…nothing matches it. I’ve never see L.A. look more beautiful in a work of art. There are no movies that are as beautiful as that.

Who says American culture is rapidly decaying, anyway?

A more exotic liger

Since the birth of a female panda cub at a zoo in Bangkok, Thailand has entered a state of panda-monium. Some creative zookeepers, desperate to circumvent the attention back to the elephants (Thailand's national symbol), created a whole new breed of zoo creature: the pandaphant. Slathered in black and white watercolor paint to resemble the more popular pandas, these dressed-up beasts are paraded before schoolchildren to entertain (or, more likely, confuse) them.

So esoteric

Why do I feel like this promo-spoof, by the people who brought us Hipster Olympics, actually encapsulates my life at the Columbia Publishing Course, where I spent all night (I'm talking 2am) coming up with fake book ideas for a fake publishing house? Thank you, 'Llectuals, for making me laugh a little.

Cheap and chic

The first New York City American Apparel Factory Flea Market starts tomorrow and goes 'til Sunday (June 28th), from 12-8pm at 185 Orchard St, between Houston and Stanton. Prices start at $2, with nothing priced above $25. Thanks to Dana for the heads-up!

Girl Talk's hot cousin

Earlier this year, my friend wised me up to Super Mash Bros, an underage duo of L.A. boys who mix tunes from the 90's and today to create an energetic, electro sound that is indeed reminiscent of the great Girl Talk (née Gregg Gillis). Two-step to their new album, All About the Scrillions, available FO FREE here.

What's more American than this deal?

In celebration of S'mac's 3rd birthday today, they are offering the All-American mac 'n' cheese for $1 at their 12th street location. Elisabeth Hasselbeck can get the gluten-free version for $2.

Tim Burton's wonderland

Official photos have been released from king of creep Tim Burton's re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland, set to hit theaters March 5, 2010. Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen ... it's gonna be hard to wait 'til March.

Easy Star All-Stars

This Wednesday at the Stuyvesant Town Oval, go see the Easy Star All-Stars, a reggae dub band whose covers of such greats as Radiohead, Pink Floyd and the Beatles are sure to make you shake your groove thang. Nothing like free outdoor music in a muggy Manhattan summer.

Towards a better future

An anonymous post from Iran:

"I will participate in the demonstrations tomorrow. Maybe they will turn violent. Maybe I will be one of the people who is going to get killed. I'm listening to all my favorite music. I even want to dance to a few songs. I always wanted to have very narrow eyebrows. Yes, maybe I will go to the salon before I go tomorrow! There are a few great movie scenes that I also have to see. I should drop by the library, too. It's worth to read the poems of Forough and Shamloo again. All family pictures have to be reviewed, too. I have to call my friends as well to say goodbye. All I have are two bookshelves which I told my family who should receive them. I'm two units away from getting my bachelors degree but who cares about that. My mind is very chaotic. I wrote these random sentences for the next generation so they know we were not just emotional and under peer pressure. So they know that we did everything we could to create a better future for them. So they know that our ancestors surrendered to Arabs and Mongols but did not surrender to despotism. This note is dedicated to tomorrow's children."

We're praying for you.

Popsicles for the people

Hopefully this rain will soon give way to the sweltering heat that defines New York City summers, and give business to the pop-up popsicle shop in Battery Park City starting this Monday. People's Pops will only be open for a month, each weekday 'til 12:30 p.m. Stop by during your lunch break for some frozen refreshment in one of the following incarnations: fresh strawberry with rhubarb, fresh strawberry and organic cream, and sweet upstate rhubarb (flavors change weekly depending on what's available at markets). Or D.I.Y. the grown-up version: margarita popsicles. Requisite rooftop not included.