Stranger Than Paradise

guardiancomment:

Jonathan Jones’ musings on the red algae which invaded an Australian beach this week:

Ancient oceanic life forms called dinoflagellates have swarmed the waters of Sydney, as seen here at Clovelly beach. The beaches were closed because, although non-toxic, these algae can cause skin irritation. But as this mother and child contemplate the red sea, what images float to mind?

It is hard not to imagine portentous meanings in what is really a natural occurrence. As an uneasy peace was declared in Gaza, as the streets of Egypt shook again, as the fiscal cliff got closer, this gory blossoming of the sea confronted beachgoers with a vivid warning. What new horror is coming? Is it the End?

Photographs: Newspix/Rex Features

cayya:

For the role of the nameless narrator, the studio desired a “sexier marquee name” like Matt Damon to increase the film’s commercial prospects; it also considered Sean Penn. Fincher instead considered Edward Norton a candidate for the role, based on the actor’s performance in the 1996 film The People vs. Larry Flynt.

(via chuckpalahniuk)

guardiancomment:

A Swedish toy retailer is arming children with the ability to question outdated gender role, says Sarah Ditum.

She says their catalogue “is full of advertising designed to confound every gender prejudice. Behold: a girl … with a Nerf gun! A boy … holding a doll! A girl … in a blue T-shirt! Eat it, patriarchy.”

Photographs: viewer.zmags.com