Spandau Ballet On Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
Spandau Ballet has reformed and they made their first TV appearance in something like 20 years on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross. The interview is quite good, Parts One and Two. (Great footage of The A2A trailer, seriously fun flashback) the guys don’t look too bad really and the lead singer’s voice sounds amazing. Oh, I have to admit they give a pretty fantastic rendition of two of my personal retro favorites Chant No.1 and Gold; and I think they appear with their original brass backing band, Beggar and Co, very tight, slightly funky, mighty soulful.

Tom of Finland Video (Taschen Books)
A short but altogether enjoyable video of writer Dian Hanson talking about the Ultimate Tom of Finland and it’s influence on late twentieth century gay pop culture. April 2009. Loads of vintage beefcake images and rare video, accompanied by a quick narrative of the homoerotic artist and originator, Touko Laaksonen. Hmmm…I didn’t know that the Museum of Modern Art owns several examples of Laaksonen’s artwork in its permanent collection?

Wolverine 1: Prodigal Son
Hot on the heels of the new X-Men Origins Wolverine movie, Anthony Johnston and Wilson Tortosa have written/illustrated the mutant superhero reimagined and remixed as an angst filled teenager at a Canadian martial-arts school. As you can well imagine, Logan’s animal like reflexes and retractable claws make him one of the best fighters at the Academy. Yet, no amount of discipline or natural ability can save him from the deep hurt and longing that haunts him endlessly, chained to a past he can’t recall and a future he can’t escape. Make no mistake, this isn’t a product tie in for the film, this is meaty stuff with a traditional manga-type trajectory that actually works, is funny, compelling, exciting and addicting. Highly recommended if you have an interest at all in this genre. Some of the other things I’ve read in the past two weeks, BATMAN: R.I.P., by Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel. (DC Comics), and Marvel Zombies 3 by Fred Van Lente and Kev Walker. (Marvel Entertainment), Zombie-versions of the Marvel heroes encounter their non-flesh-eating counterparts. Yea, I’m a sucker for anything with zombies, who isn’t?!

Scrabble’s Cool New Commercials
We know Scrabble is cool, right (okay I’ve been addicted to playing online and off for a few years now), check out these amazing animated commercials for the board game by Ogilvy & Mather, Paris. My favorite featured above is animated by Wizz and the song is by C4 (who is not English but sings with the accent to great affect), the video perfectly illustrates a world of words. Other animations in the series include Scrabble Yoga, and Scrabble Sumo.

World Wide Gay/Not So Gay Advert Trends Both Good and Bad
Viagra Holes Campaign, in Kora direct to consumer advertising of prescription drugs on TV is not allowed. So Pfizer Korea wanted to find a fresh way to reach prospective customers and raise brand awareness. Urology doctors were mailed gift fans printed with images of an old man and an overweight man who are very happy to reclaim their manhood.

World Wide Gay/Not So Gay Advert Trends Both Good and Bad 2
Gay Hotel Black Tulip Amsterdam: Floormap, low brow humor or just plain offensive? Up the ass, oh ho hummmm….

Back In Palookaville
Cartoonist and designer Seth emerges as comics’ premier historian. Great look into the artist/designer/cartoonist mind on Walrus. From ersatz Canadiana embellishing national and artistic narratives to serving as a curator on projects that involve artistic heroes, Walrus explores the omnivorous and surprising approach to cartooning and illustration.

Bad News for Authors: Readers Aren’t Going To Read Your Book
Steven Johnson writing in the wall street journal predicts that readers will probably check out your book, but they sure as hell aren’t going to finish them, perhaps they will remix them? From the Wall Street Journal; “Because they have been largely walled off from the world of hypertext, print books have remained a kind of game preserve for the endangered species of linear, deep-focus reading,” Johnson writes. But thanks to digitization, books will soon become just another part of the enormous universe of online information, available when and where and how you want it.”