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theatlantic: Gangnam Style, Dissected: The Subversive Message Within South Korea’s Music Video Sensation The American rapper T-Pain was retweeted 2,400 times when he wrote ”Words cannot even describe how amazing this video is.” Pop stars expressed admiration. Billboard is extolling his commercial viability; Justin Bieber’s manager is allegedly interested. The Wall Street Journal posted ”5 Must-See” response videos. On Monday, a worker at L.A.’s Dodger stadium noticed Park in the stands and played “Gangnam Style” over the stadium P.A. system as excited baseball fans spontaneously reproduced Park’s distinct dance in the video. “I have to admit I’ve watched it about 15 times,” said a CNN anchor. “Of course, no one here in the U.S. has any idea what Psy is rapping about.” Read more. [Image: Reddit] Could we just live inside that GIF please? 

theatlantic:

Gangnam Style, Dissected: The Subversive Message Within South Korea’s Music Video Sensation

The American rapper T-Pain was retweeted 2,400 times when he wrote ”Words cannot even describe how amazing this video is.” Pop stars expressed admiration. Billboard is extolling his commercial viability; Justin Bieber’s manager is allegedly interested. The Wall Street Journal posted ”5 Must-See” response videos. On Monday, a worker at L.A.’s Dodger stadium noticed Park in the stands and played “Gangnam Style” over the stadium P.A. system as excited baseball fans spontaneously reproduced Park’s distinct dance in the video. “I have to admit I’ve watched it about 15 times,” said a CNN anchor. “Of course, no one here in the U.S. has any idea what Psy is rapping about.”

Read more. [Image: Reddit]

Could we just live inside that GIF please? 

theatlantic:

In Focus: Winners of the National Geographic Photo Contest 2012

These eleven images were chosen from more than 12,000 entries submitted by 6,615 photographers from 152 countries. National Geographic was kind enough to allow me to share the winning photographs with you here, from four categories: Travel Portraits, Outdoor Scenes, Sense of Place, and Spontaneous Moments.

See more. [Images: Michelle Schantz, Vo Anh Kiet, Lucia Griggi, Camila Massu]

theatlantic:

Portraits of Albinism

Known for an absence of pigment in their skin, hair, and eyes, people with albinism are often subjected to ridicule, and in parts of Africa, are kidnapped, killed, and dismembered by those who believe their bodies possess magical properties. In a series that we spotted on Design Taxi, Brazilian photographer Gustavo Lacerda celebrates the grace of people suffering from this congenital disorder in poignant and thought-provoking poses.

See more. [via Flavorpill]

Anyone who grew up in the last 3 decades knows Lisa Frank. Well, at least her art: psychedelic school supplies covered with rainbow unicorns and ballerina bunnies. But the real Lisa Frank was a mystery — until now. Our Michelle Ruiz scored an exclusive interview with the legend herself.  “In my own little way, I understood Michael Jackson,” Frank told The Daily in a rare interview, conducted by phone from her company’s sprawling heart-and-star-plastered headquarters in Tucson, Ariz. “I feel really bad for people who’ve had to live under so much paparazzi. We think about it a lot, how well known the name is, but I’m very, very low-key.” A fifty-something divorcee and mother of two teenage sons, Frank has largely shut out the media since launching her eponymous line of stickers in 1979. Those stickers eventually became an empire of unnaturally hued, surreally adorable school supplies, novelties and crafts. In 2005, Lisa Frank Inc., a private company, declared revenues topping $1 billion over 15 years. “If I use my credit card… and they go, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s Lisa Frank who makes the stickers! I go, ‘Isn’t that the craziest thing that I have the same name?’”

Anyone who grew up in the last 3 decades knows Lisa Frank. Well, at least her art: psychedelic school supplies covered with rainbow unicorns and ballerina bunnies. But the real Lisa Frank was a mystery — until now. Our Michelle Ruiz scored an exclusive interview with the legend herself. 

“In my own little way, I understood Michael Jackson,” Frank told The Daily in a rare interview, conducted by phone from her company’s sprawling heart-and-star-plastered headquarters in Tucson, Ariz. “I feel really bad for people who’ve had to live under so much paparazzi. We think about it a lot, how well known the name is, but I’m very, very low-key.”

A fifty-something divorcee and mother of two teenage sons, Frank has largely shut out the media since launching her eponymous line of stickers in 1979. Those stickers eventually became an empire of unnaturally hued, surreally adorable school supplies, novelties and crafts. In 2005, Lisa Frank Inc., a private company, declared revenues topping $1 billion over 15 years.

“If I use my credit card… and they go, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s Lisa Frank who makes the stickers! I go, ‘Isn’t that the craziest thing that I have the same name?’”

Banksy does the Olympics

Scottish street artist Robert Montgomery splatters his poetry all over advertising in London, and the result is too amazing not to share. 

(Thanks to kateoplis for piquing our curiosity with this post.) 

moviefone: Buzz Lightyear and Woody in “Magic Mike” “We found love in a hopeless place…” If Pixar Characters Took Over All the Summer Movies Art by Dennis Culver Oh my goodness yes. 

moviefone:

Buzz Lightyear and Woody in “Magic Mike”

“We found love in a hopeless place…”

If Pixar Characters Took Over All the Summer Movies

Art by Dennis Culver

Oh my goodness yes. 

New trend alert: Pregnant moms-to-be are Photoshopping sonograms onto their bulging bellies.

The sonogram shots first surfaced on Flickr as early as 2009, but the artistic-to-some, creepy-to-others pregnancy pics have become increasingly popular in recent weeks, said “B,” who runs the Tumblr STFUParents, a blog that makes fun of parents who overshare on social media.

The site has been deluged with emails from readers belittling the photo trend that has been popping up on Facebook timelines. “It’s become the new painted belly,” B told the Daily. “They’re doing it because they’re a little obsessive. There’s something inherently narcissistic about taking the time to create this ‘art.’ ”

Photos by Missa Cherie Photography

These are NOT the Barbie and Ken we all know.

The whimsical pink world of the popular Mattel doll is given a dark twist in the photo series “In the Doll House,” by Vancouver photographer Dina Goldstein.

Behind the doors of this Dream House, Ken struggles with his sexuality and Barbie feels trapped in a loveless marriage. While the cryptic storyline ends in a way we might not want to share with our children, the photos create a world beyond pink convertibles, dream houses and fancy clothing.

Clint Eastwood’s 19-year-old daughter Francesca has been the target of death threats after she destroyed a $100,000 crocodile handbag in these images shot by her boyfriend Tyler Shields.