:: GussetBLOG ::

:: Sunday, October 04, 2009 ::

Link Dump

What sort of man wears mantyhose?
"Skinny trousers for men are everywhere. But how many will take the trend for figure-hugging legwear one step beyond, and wear tights? We road-test the look."
The video is well worth a watch for the reactions. And this is nothing like as eye-catching at the man tights from We Love Colors

Audio slideshow: Art and politics in China
"As China marks the 60th anniversary of Communist rule, Katie Hill, Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Chinese Art at the University of Westminster in London, looks at how art has moved from the realm of propaganda to the international marketplace."

Dark Nostalgia
"A new tome by design correspondent Eva Hagberg, Dark Nostalgia coins a nickname for the cozy vintage trend in interiors."
Click through for some great interior images.


Fisheye gives new route to perfect images
"A fisheye lens proposed over a century ago can produce perfectly focused images without using any exotic "negative refractive index" materials, a physicist in the UK has calculated."

Pop Life at Tate Modern: the glorification of greed?
"The new Tate Modern show puts a post-Warholian generation of artists, adept at self-promotion and at ease in the world of mass media and commerce, into an art-historical context"

Labels: Art, China, Design, Fashion, Physics

:: Dan 4.10.09 [Arc] [1 comments] ::
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China feels heat as activists take their cue from Spielberg. 'Focus on Darfur as human rights campaigners salute film director and vow to target main sponsors of the games'

"The director stepped down from his role as artistic adviser to Beijing late on Tuesday, citing his opposition to China's support for the Sudanese regime responsible for the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. He accused China of not doing enough to press Sudan to end the "continuing human suffering" in the troubled region. China imports two-thirds of Sudan's oil and in return is said to be the African country's biggest arms supplier."

Well, it's been a long time coming. It's a shame that it took the Darfur situation to prompt it rather than an objection to China's human rights record in general and the crack down on free-speech and peaceful protest that is directly related to the games themselves. However, it's a step in the right direction and he should be applauded for that. [2006 Amnesty report: China: The Olympics Countdown - Failing to keep human rights promises. There are plenty more up to date sources on specific issues if you search.]

Athletes too are raising awareness

"For the last 20 years team members have been obliged to sign a contract as a condition of taking part in the Games. But for the first time a clause had been inserted into the Team Members Agreement stating athletes must not comment on politically-sensitive issues during the event in Beijing." [BBC news]

The IOA deny this is a problem, as the events should be "about sport" and nothing else. But shouldn't sport be about something? Isn't it about bringing people together? Former British Olymipic swimmer Duncan Goodhew made a good point about how pivotal the Moscow Olympics was in bringing about change in Russia [I think the comment has been edited out of the above article since] but that doesn't mean we should take a back seat and just wait for things to change. Putting on more pressure will speed up the process and now is the perfect opportunity.

Labels: Amnesty, China, News, Politics, Sport

:: Dan 14.2.08 [Arc] [0 comments] ::
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