Liberated Negative Space o’ the Day: Yuppie hogs

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Fair trade tea and organic crumpets, how ungentrific.

But, wait — does this not constitute a RECLAIMED sign? How now, yuppie hipsters?

Daily Batman: Batman begins

This advertisement for Detective Comics No. 27, the debut of Batman, was featured in Action Comics No. 12 in 1939. The character grew so popular that one year later he got his own title.

Batman begins. April 1939. Action comics.

Girls like a boy in a cape.

I just find it interesting that Action sold DC ad space. I mean, I guess, thinking about it, like, why not? They probably weren’t worried about competition, and comics likely still felt like a who-knows-where-this-is-going gambit. Action ruled the roost with Superman, basically starting it all. Originally just to move toy catalogs, novelty companies would include little gimicky “Adventures Of ___” strips to entice boys to pick up the next catalog and beg their Depression era single mothers to buy them all the lovely needful things inside.

Aw. Boys’ own title. Advertisement for Batman No. 1. April 25, 1940. DC.

For an actual factual account of all this, try something like The Power of Comics: History, Form and Culture. But my heart belongs to the historically accurate (mainly) work of fiction, Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, by Michael Chabon. Oh, and Steranko’s History of Comics (foreword by Fellini). I’ll try to schedule something for later today to prove how rad Steranko is. Let them blow ya mind.

Holly Jolly Christmas Day: Keep it clean

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Spend Christmas shaking hands with a baby from 1945, not in a hospital. I am All For It actually. Had enough of hospitals in 2010 to hold me over for a very long while. So keep it clean out there!

Liberated Negative Space o’ the Day: The rest of your lie

by Arvid Wretman.

Breaking News — This time it’s personal: Looks not important edition

Also, not that it matters, but if you have freckles, fingernails longer than 1/4″, or had any type of orthodontia done between 1993 and 1996, GTFO. (Winter of 1996 “okay” if just retainer at bedtime.) Anyway. Open-minded dude over here, simply lookin’ for any ol’ gal.

Talk nerdy to me: Star Wars propaganda edition

“Truth is always the first casualty of war.” — Aeschylus.

“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.”

— Edward Bernays, Propaganda (1928).

“It is the absolute right of the State to supervise the formation of public opinion.” –Joseph Goebbels.

“[In] Democratic societies … the state can’t control behavior by force. It can to some extent, but it’s much more limited in its capacity to control by force. Therefore, it has to control what you think.” — Noam Chomsky, Chronicles of Dissent, 1992.

“Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made to see paradise as hell, and also the other way round, to consider the most wretched sort of life as paradise.” — Adolf Hitler.

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. ” — Joseph Goebbels.

“Propaganda must confine itself to very few points, and repeat them endlessly.” — Adolf Hitler.

“See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.” — George W. Bush.

“The intelligent, like the unintelligent, are responsive to propaganda.” — H.L. Mencken.

“Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state.” — Chomsky.

“Intellectual activity is a danger to the building of character … Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the state can play.” — Goebbels.

“[The propaganda system] recognizes that the public will not support the actual policies. Therefore it is important to prevent any knowledge or understanding of them.” — Chomsky.

“The truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” — Goebbels.

“Propaganda must never serve the truth, especially not insofar as it might bring out something favorable for the opponent.” — Hitler.

“One cannot wage war under present conditions without the support of public opinion, which is tremendously molded by the press and other forms of propaganda.” — Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

“We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.” — John F. Kennedy.

Is that so? I think I disagree, but I’ve debated this before, during Sam Haskins month, when I went off on Leni Riefenstahl. It is a damned tangled web, and the propaganda flows from all sides.

Some of those posters are by Cliff Chiang and some by Joe Carroney, and some by unknown others; see, the sources from which I gathered all these images were kind of slipshod in their own sourcing so if you know specifics please do shoot them my way because I am dissatisfied with the low-class credit attribution job I’m turning in on this one so far.

Liberated Negative Space o’ the Day: “Life is beautiful” edition

Los Angeles, CA, by Mr. Brainwash.

I was bummed to learn this art on an abandoned building featuring Billie Holliday was actually an advertisement for Mr. Brainwash‘s solo show in LA, artshow2008. But I am willing to lay aside my conflict with the source and enjoy the beauty of the painting and the message. Life is beautiful, and what a great spot to prove it.

Monocle Monday: Monocle application by Idea Machine edition

Monocle is a simple search tool that puts a universal search field at your disposal. When you want search, you can choose from a number of engines to perform the search in different places. Monocle comes preloaded with engines for Google, Wikipedia, Windows Live Search and Yahoo! Search. You can easily add your own engines by performing an example search inside a web browser window in Monocle. (source)

This is in no way an endorsement of that Mac App. I have never used it and likely never will, as I have had the same phone since 2005 and will probably continue to have it until it literally falls apart in my hands because I have grown to believe that I, myself, am built-in obsolescence personified, and everything I learn to use and grow accustomed to must immediately fall out of human use and knowledge, so that I remain freakishly anachronistic in my understanding of technology.

Et tu, Bender, my metal and small and doesn’t judge me at all robot friend? Then you can all keep your fancy-dancy iPhones and droids, and be sure to bite our shiny metal asses.

I believe there is always a person like this in every group that is behind the crest of the trend by deliberate choice, a lone cowboy on an uneasy horse at the edge of the horizon, never quite part of the pack of trailblazers, always slightly at a remove from the rest of society just in case this next invention is that society’s downfall, and in this generation among those I am close to, I apparently have taken on that mantle. Mmm, Apocalypse Bean Soup — with hamhock, even? Wow, thanks, cowpoke! Just like I like it!

So, yes, I know nothing about this newfangled Monocle app folderol. I just like the ads, don’t you?

Super-breaking news: Kate Beckinsale and Zooey Deschanel in Absolut Vodka ads shot by Ellen Von Unwerth

There is nothing about putting this post together that I don’t like. Ellen Von Unwerth photographed Kate Beckinsale and Zooey Deschanel for the new Absolut Vodka campaign. Pics debuted yesterday. First look at what I can find of the ads so far, three photos of Kate Beckinsale have been released with drink recipes so far and one of Zooey D, will keep you updated if I find more as this story unfolds! Quotes below the ads are overwrought blurbs from the press release.

Kate Beckinsale photographed by Ellen Von Unwerth for Absolut vodka.

• Beckinsale channels the 1980s as she is inspired by the lime garnish that can work in many lightly-mixed drinks in the ABSOLUT Tonic Twist ad. A second look at the ad reveals details that the swirls initially hide and the turn table and records give a musical theme to the ambience.

Kate Beckinsale photographed by Ellen Von Unwerth for Absolut vodka.

• In the ABSOLUT Crush ad, Beckinsale is larger than life, walking through a Miami-like city, home of sunshine and oranges. “Crush” is another way of saying “squeeze,” for fresh-squeezed juice.

By the way, once I saved these for myself from various official channels, I edited and scaled them to be extra-large for you, so click through to save the big versions.

Zooey Deschanel photographed by Ellen Von Unwerth for Absolut vodka.

• In the ABSOLUT Cosmo ad, Deschanel adds a science-fiction flair to the traditional ABSOLUT® CITRON cocktail in a retro-hip yet modern lounge as she plays the role of a “cosmo”-naut.

Kate Beckinsale photographed by Ellen Von Unwerth for Absolut vodka.

• There are many versions of the Bloody Mary legend with all of them involving calling Mary’s ghost while chanting into a mirror. In the ABSOLUT Bloody ad, Beckinsale brings the character to life as a stylish and mischievous temptress – one who won’t be contained.

Man. Two of my favorite actresses, shot by my favorite photographer, advertising a beverage which gets you one of my favorite things (*whisper*: d-r-u-n-k).

This is truly a red letter day!