Beautiful drain artwork, somewhere, anywhere

WE'RE SUPPORTING

Artist James Benjamin Franklin has been brightening up every Saturday for me over the past month or so, accompanying an ongoing story by Laura Lippman in the New York Times Magazine. I really dig his simple, slightly surreal, minimal style, emphasizing folksy figures with clean spare detail and beautiful Milton Avery-esque palettes. Read more

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

Anything goes in New York, even a white peacock in the middle of Manhattan. Yes, a white peacock! Who says the Upper West side is ‘upstate?’ Come visit one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in New York, which host the famous Cathedral of St. John The Divine (112th St. and Amsterdam Avenue). Read more

WE'RE WEARING

Ed Janssen is famed in Melbourne for his jewellery designs, sold through cult Morrissey-friendly label This Charming Man. ‘The Knuckle Sandwich’ charm necklace (two pieces of bread on either side of a tiny set of brass knuckles, as pictured above) exudes an oddly amusing menace. More recently ‘The Bear Trap’ has been dangling from every second neck, wiping out hope for Melbourne’s unsuspecting tiny forest animals. Janssen is about to launch a new range inspired by the iconography of various secret societies. Melburnians can check out their old and new favourites at the first This Charming Man exhibition launching this week at Alice Euphemia’s new store. Flex those tiny knuckles and watch those tiny feet. Read more

WE'RE THINKING

Marianne Goldin creates lush illustrations that convey a wonderful sense of drama amidst its classical romantacisim. Read more

WE'RE READING

In the lead-up to one of the most anticipated and controversial Olympic Games in Beijing, Boston.com cobbled together a bunch of surreal photos from the wires that depicts the hyper-sanitized, white-washed, and quasi-futuristic city Beijing has become. Read more

Artist David Shrigley’s animated music video for Blur is so simple, so sweet, so perfect. I don’t know how many times I’ve watched it, yet it still makes me cry every time.

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Days Off is an incredibly catchy but smart punk band from Chicago. While they’re the best of what pop music through the ages has to offer, they’re by no means pop-punk. As infectious as their hooks and choruses are, there are enough off-kilter rhythms and complex guitar work to give their music a layered feel, putting them into a category all their own.