Banksy in New Orleans

via BoingBoing

Plutonium G paint

New paint available in the US, UK, NL, AU, NZ. Have not seen it, but it's meant for art. If you try some, let us know how it works with your caps and projects, please.

GRL's Powderly and other 5 American detainees released in Beijing

China apparently relented before the 10 days' sentence was up. They'll be in L.A. today.

30 tutorials that will teach you Photoshop

Plus, they have Illustrator tutorials and soon Fireworks, InDesign, Dreamweaver, After Effects and Flash. And the tutorials are from other sites ... that also have tutorials! Best of all, it's all free and at your own pace. (Actually, the best part is that if you take the time to sharpen your digital design skills, you'll have very well-paid work in your future if you want it.)

Tip: Students and teachers get amazing educational discounts on software.

Diaroogle - Search for bathrooms in New York City

The mobile-ready NYC toilet search engine with the unfortunate name. No really. And you can add your own favorite water closets as you go.

Political protests get Americans arrested in China

BoingBoing broke the bad news this morning:

Beijing: Five US activists detained after lighting up "Free Tibet" LED Throwies banner near Olympics site and
[Graffiti Research Lab's] James Powderly detained in Beijing for planning pro-Tibet "L.A.S.E.R. Stencil" art protest

Internationally known artist, technologist and co-founder of the Graffiti Research Lab, James Powderly, was detained in Beijing early this morning while preparing to debut a new work and technology of protest, the L.A.S.E.R. Stencil. According to a ?twitter? message received today by Students for a Free Tibet at approximately 5 pm Beijing Standard Time, Powderly had been detained by Chinese authorities at 3 am. His current whereabouts remain unknown.

[...]

Students for a Free Tibet has staged six protests in Beijing over the last two weeks, placing the issue of Tibet?s occupation front and centre as China hosts the Olympic Games. The protests have included a dramatic banner hang near the Bird?s Nest Stadium; a display of Tibetan flags near the Bird?s Nest just before the opening ceremony began; a symbolic die-in at Tiananmen Square; a protest by a Tibetan woman with flags outside Tiananmen Square; a blockade of the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park; and ?Free Tibet? banner hang outside the CCTV headquarters. Thirty-seven members and supporters have been detained and deported, not including those detained today.

James and the other protesters who have been arrested deserve our support and respect. Let's hope they all get to come home soon as some other protesters have.

Wikipedia vs Gilligan's Island: A sea change in human activity

... television watching? Two hundred billion hours, in the U.S. alone, every year. Put another way ... that's 2,000 Wikipedia projects a year spent watching television. Or put still another way, in the U.S., we spend 100 million hours every weekend, just watching the ads. This is a pretty big surplus. People asking, "Where do they find the time?" when they're looking at things like Wikipedia don't understand how tiny that entire project is ....

We live in a disruptive time. As humans turn away from TV and begin to participate in making media, community, tools and meaning, we have a surplus of brainpower and time to apply to making a better world together. Viva la difference!

Ron English: Take America back, Obama

Writers in Republic of Georgia protest Russian invasion

The scene in Georgia is very young still, and these Tbilisi writers are only 50 miles or so away from the Russian occupied area.

Rough videos

Rough at Tate Modern - UK history


Stormie and Rough brighten up Perth Australia

FotoFlexer

Edit photos online and save them to your favorite locations. If you don't have your own photo editor this is for you.

The Mac has a blog

And new prints!

Satanic Plumber Archive

400+ news articles from over two decades on underground New York City subjects..... City Hall Station, graffiti writers busted, Hickey + Ski interview, the Ket saga, the High Line story, WTC diagrams, subway blacksmith, TATs profile, Freedom Tunnel, Caine RIP....... it's all there and more.

via SaneSmith

Street Art and Aesthetics: The Renaissance of Cute

Nick Mount has just published a great article in Walrus, a Canadian magazine. It discusses the relationship between fine art, lowbrow, graffiti, street art, merchandise and collectibles, among other things. Nick does a good job explaining what's going on by taking the long view.

TATS Cru sues over mural removal in NYC

Another shameful moment for Rev. Al Sharpton.

Only unpopular speech needs free-speech protections. This legally done mural on private property was censored by people who didn't agree with it. And that's just not the way we do things in the USA.

The "Stop Snitchin'" mural, painted on the side of an East Harlem bodega with the permission of the building's owner in 2006, featured a rat with a noose around its neck and the phrase that police say has left many of the city's crimes unsolved.

In July, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the Rev. Al Sharpton and others painted over the mural and invited the media to watch, charging that the mural hampers the justice system and promotes violence.

The Hunts Point-based Tats Cru, which has turned its street graffiti into a worldwide commercial enterprise, says the city's action has violated its right to free speech.

Stacey Richman, the group's lawyer, says city officials violated federal defamation and slander laws by painting over the mural.
"If you or I or anyone else did this, we would be arrested for criminal mischief," Richman said. "It was not about endorsing a negative connotation. It was about getting discussion going."

The mural destruction mob claimed the owner said they could erase it. TATS representatives say the owner was threatened with fines if he did not agree. Perhaps they will get another demonstration of the Streisand Effect for their trouble.

Jobs on farms, various countries

Working farm jobs can be an interesting way to travel or to survive in the more rural areas, and it's good clean work (and good muddy work). Organic farms sometimes trade work for a place to stay too. It's harvest season, so there's plenty to do right now.

Good, cheap, software classes online

Here's a good place to get some training on lots of software and online topics. For $25 you can have a month of access to the entire 30,000+ library of online tutorials, or you can buy them one at a time on CD, and so on. For less money than one college course costs, you can have a full year of access to their courses. Become the Flash expert you want to be, learn 3d software, get some solid HTML training, and get yourself a better, more fun job. Education costs a little but pays back a lot more.

Houston writer who was wrongfully arrested wins lawsuit!

"Article" was arrested for allegedly resisting arrest (WTF?) while painting during a legal workshop he was giving at an arts festival, in 2006. He stood up for his rights and finally won the case against the city of Houston, Texas. He and his lawyer will get nearly $20,000 in the settlement.

Sex Education online by Planned Parenthood

Good info by a trustworthy organization. Too bad that so many idiots will try to prevent you from seeing it. Sex education helps tremendously in preventing pregnancy and diseases. Fight for your right and your teen's right to know the truth. Support Planned Parenthood. Science over fear.