Dolphin Tale 2 is kind of infuriating, mostly because it tries to so hard to be innocuous. Kids like animals, what’s wrong with that? Nothing. A dolphin beat the odds and now inspires veterans and disabled children with her story of hope? That’s great. And when that same very special dolphin loses her best friend and…
With over 4 million articles, Wikipedia is an invaluable resource, whether you're throwing a term paper together at the last minute, or deciding which 19th-century President had the most bitchin' facial hair (it's Chester A. Arthur). But follow enough links, and you get sucked into some seriously strange places. We…
The Internet's new favorite foodie blog is ThugKitchen, a handy source of delicious, simple-to-prepare recipes that reads like an issue of Martha Stewart Living guest-edited by Zodiac Motherfucker. "What the fuck did you have for lunch?" asks one headline. "If it wasn't a summer tempeh sammie, take the afternoon off…
Bestcasts asks podcasters to discuss the three most memorable episodes of their podcast.
God knows what goes on in the heads of the marketing wizards responsible for naming our automobiles. Impreza? Cruze? Elantra? But where others see gibberish words and vague allusions, art director Jimm Lasser and photographer Ray Gordon saw a situation ripe for parody! Their Tumblr project, Namesake Motors, produces…
Back in May, This American Life did a live show, appropriately titled “The Invisible Made Visible,” on the heels of the scandal surrounding Mike Daisey’s FoxConn segment. The show, which featured David Rakoff, David Sedaris in clown makeup, Tig Notaro, and OK Go (complete with an app allowing the audience to play…
There’s a trend piece to be written about the impulse contemporary writers have to live their lives to one extreme or another for the purpose of a high-concept hook: Following all the rules laid out in the Bible for a year (A.J. Jacobs’ The Year Of Living Biblically) or contrasting a day watching everything on cable…
This American Life's Ira Glass is a man of many talents. Not only is he the host and producer of an immensely popular radio program, he is also an expert at making balloon animals and giving teenagers dating advice. No, really.
It's hard to remember, but back in the mid-'90s, people still had to be convinced to get online. The Internet was a strange, mysterious beast back then (though, to be fair, it still is today). Besides the awesome old Netscape browser and flashing GIFs, these kids were pretty prophetic in telling viewers what the…
Every day, more and more creative types are turning to crowdsourcing to fund their projects. Get Involved, Internet aims to help them. If you know of a worthwhile project needing attention, let us know.
Millions of fans of automotive advice tempered with fart and divorce jokes are in mourning today, as Tom and Ray Magliozzi have announced the imminent demise of their radio show Car Talk. The brothers Click and Clack say that, after 35 years on the air—25 of which were on NPR—it’s time to hang up their coveralls.…
Jonathan Meiburg writes songs about birds the way some people write songs about love. As the frontman of Shearwater, Meiburg alternates between golden baritone and soaring falsetto, writing songs that celebrate the splendor and the perils of the natural world. (The band’s Twitter page describes Shearwater as a…
Michael Gaughan is a 32-year-old artist who does paintings, drawings, performance art, and some music. But the show he’s been putting on lately has him under the guise of a 22-year-old dorm room rapper named Ice Rod. Onstage, he constructs fake walls bedecked with stereotypical dorm room decor—Bob Marley smoking weed,…
Amanda Palmer is planning to release a new album in September. She's also planning an art book, public art exhibit, and a tour. The problem is, all of that stuff costs money, and Palmer, who is no longer on a major label, doesn’t have any. So she’s launched a Kickstarter: The fundraising drive reached Palmer’s goal of…
Whether he’s leading his legion of fans on a romantic tour of an art museum, staring stoically at a pond of ducks, or just wanting to cuddle, Ryan Gosling has been popping up everywhere online. Danielle Henderson helped start the frenzy when she created the Feminist Ryan Gosling site out of academic frustration with…
As one of two Chicago-based artist on the current season of Bravo’s Work of Art: The Next Great Artist, Young Sun Han has been kicking ass (in the nicest way possible) all season long. The 29 year-old photographer, sculptor, performance and installation artist has won half of the challenges to date, and heads into…
After the project’s haunting debut at the Guggenheim last year, Andrew Bird brings his Sonic Arboretum project to the MCA Dec. 6-30 in what’s sure to be remembered as a mind-blowing experience in immersive sound environment, even as Bird and his collaborator, Ian Schneller, deny any explicit interest in theories of…
By day, she’s sewing plush carrots, and by night, well, she’s probably still sewing plush carrots, because a little over two years ago, Steff Bomb (born Stephanie Baum) managed to make a living in the much-sensationalized handmade industry. Of course, it took sleepless nights, “$20 in my bank account” financial risks,…
The title of Audra Lord’s second full-length play, Fugue, holds a clever double meaning. Primarily, it’s a reference to the “fugue state,” the rare phenomenon where a person has temporary amnesia brought on by psychological or physical trauma. In the play, the central characters have all forgotten a traumatic event…
