Bhutan by National Geographic

Wood Church, Greenland

The Hill of the Crosses

Although I myself am quite the atheist, I have to admit that I am sometimes fascinated by religious imagery. This really struck me though, as a testament to mass human reliance on a thing like religion. A flood, almost.

The cross used as a symbol of someone's personal belief, this structure represents an almost over-saturated view of Christianity. It almost gives a lost, desperate sense to what it is supposed to represent, and reminds me in a way of something post-apocalyptic - when there is nothing left, what else is there to do but put thousands of crosses on an ordinary mound and hope for the best.

Golden Girl

Justin Timberlake, Marc Jacobs & Kate Moss

Vogue, April 2009

Shot by Annie Leibovitz

Lindsay Lohan in 'Machete'

Nelly Furtado - Baja Otra Luz

This album is probably her most underrated, and that is probably why I have barely listened to it at all yet. But this video is so charming, and like 'Manos Al Aire' before it, totally captivates what a carefree spirit Furtado is.

As much as I did enjoy her stay at the top during the 'Loose' campaign, you can tell she is far more comfortable in this territory. That smile will always ensure I listen to whatever she does.

Hungry Man by Joselyn Shipley

Tina Fey for Esquire

A Wedding

'I'm Joan Collins in the Algarve'

Favela Painting

After an assignment filming a hip-hop documentary in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn (better known as Haas & Hahn) decided to add their own flair to the neighborhood and help the community at the same time.

That's when their rainbow hued Favela Painting project started, turning the once drab shanty town into something that is like Dorothy's Technicolor Oz fantasy world. And they employ the youth who live in the homes to do the painting, which brings extra jobs to the area.

There is rarely anything sexy about charity work, but Haas & Haan have succeeded in "bringing art to unexpected places" and creating some hope in an otherwise drab atmosphere. And you thought no good could ever possibly come out of an MTV hip-hop documentary.

Natalia Kills

This is what the Rated R campaign should have been.

Far more focused. Kills has taken elements from gothic horror, burlesque, and 60's exploitation films and merged them into a melting point from which to launch her album. Music is at yet pretty minimal and under wraps, but I'm interested from the graphics and media that the campaign has provided already. Watch this space,  I guess.

Oh Hey

Saul Bass

Fringe

This is a really intelligent series that I definitely want to see more of.

It has the bizarre scripted shocks of Lost, but with a more settled reality like other long-running American serials.

I think it definitely takes a lot of cues from The X Files, but that is in no way a bad thing if the output is of this quality.

Health - We Are Water

'Exploding the narrative' as Shaun would say.

Every Day The Same Dream

I love the subtlety of this little flash game.

The man, struggling to find his place in a monotonous society, is led by you through a typical day.

Subtle changes to his environment and his actions are key to 'success' in this game, although in my various attempts through it I have no found a positive outcome. Most days end in being fired, suicide, your wife leaving you, or running through a field of cows in your pants.

A really interesting comment on the monotony of modern life... ironically probably played by people sat in office cubicles at work, due to the 'flash game' nature of it's marketing.

How To Marry A Millionaire

I totally fell in love with this charming film.

I had an inkling that I wanted to watch a Monroe film, any Monroe film after I bought Russell's Valentine's presents, but I held off watching anything I bought him because I stupidly wanted it to be sacred, or something as equally pathetic.

However, after waiting a while I am so glad I watched this. The characterisation in this film is so spot on, it has made me doubt anything I have watched since. Films just aren't written with such flawless quality nowadays - I was totally taken in by Baccal's business-like approach to marriage, Grable's 'blonde ambition' to bag a man, and Monroe's reliance on beauty which eventually forces her to find love in a totally juxtaposed way.

In a way, I think I was naive in my own thinking about women in the film industry in Monroe's period; I thought it was all about beauty, selling a sexualised (but not too sexualised) idea to the movie-going public. This is partly due to her memory presented by the media in her death - one of a gorgeous, but ditzy startlet too invovled in her own success to notice her own downfall. In actual fact, Hollywood was indeed creating strong roles for actresses, roles that would shape how movies were written in the future and roles that would change how women were perceived in general. In a way, strong roles for women were more readily available then than they are now; you would be hard pressed to start your career in anything other than a screamo (first to die), a porno, or reality TV in today's celebrity climate.

While this film does present a lot of stereotpyed ideals about marriage and finding love (Grable's scenario especially), the strong and brilliantly acted leads more than balance this out. In fact, the 3 lead females completely outshine any performances from men in the picture. Perhaps this was a conscious move by the directors, as the film is after all a showcase for the biggest female stars at the time.

This was the cultural equivalent to Sex and the City, however, Baccal, Grable and Monroe bait and catch their men with far more class, style and polite flirtation (or in Baccal's case, complete defiance in acceptance of love) that there really is no comparison. I would much rather have women like this represented on screen nowadays than the shallow, over-sexed consumer-led crones from New York we are forced to embrace in today's cinema.

Steven Klein

No Caption Required

K-Kinda Busy