bookofjoe

'Dark Matter' at White Cube

This show opened Friday, July 7 at the London [England] gallery and features 14 black works from as many artists, who include Art & Language, Katharina Fritsch, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Mark Grotjahn, Damien Hirst, Gary Hume, Ellsworth Kelly, Damián Ortega, Ad Reinhardt, Richard Serra, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Gavin Turk, Andy Warhol and Cerith Wyn Evans.

Above

and

below,

works from the show.

Jackie Wullschlager's superb review appeared in yesterday's Financial Times.

White Cube is located at 48 Hoxton Square, Shoreditch, London N1 6PB; Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Until: September 9, 2006; tel: +44 (0) 20 7930 5373.

'The dog ate my homework' — Proof

Finally.

From the website:

Dog Ate My Homework Proof

The dog ate my homework — and here's the proof!

Disgusting mess proves just how creative you really are.

Dog Ate My Homework Proof is a realistic combination of scraps of paper and fake dog doo.

You’ll certainly get an A for effort!

....................

About time, is all I can say.

$2.98.

BehindTheMedspeak: Botox Treatment For Prostate Gland Enlargement

Dr. Michael B. Chancellor, professor of urology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, presented the results of his research group's study at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) in Atlanta in May of this year.

Long story short: 31 of 41 men with an enlarged prostate (formally called benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH), whose BPH had not responded to standard medical treatment, experienced an improvement in urinary tract function after receiving Botox injections directy into their prostate.

In some cases the improvements lasted up to a year after injection.

You can read the published abstract as presented at the AUA meeting here.

[via sdsed]

2-Second Tent

From England comes this remarkable piece of kit.

Sets up in two seconds flat.

Videre est credere.

Equally impressive is the nice price: $69.

Flutist-approved.

[via Ben Willmore and whereisben.com]

Christie's Live — 'Watch the auction, hear the auctioneer and bid live from your own computer'

Just launched this past Wednesday, July 12, Christie's Live is a "real-time multimedia auction experience."

Long story short: you register here at least two business days before the sale and they give you a virtual paddle with its very own number to [virtually] hold up should you decide to bid.

What fun: everyone will think you're beavering away at your desk while you're furiously going mano a mano with Charles Saatchi.

w00t!

Flying Superman

From the website:

Flying Superman

Recently returned from his adventures with the Justice League™, Superman circles Metropolis searching for evil-doers.

Flying Superman™ hangs from the ceiling powered by his super strength (plus a little help from a built-in propeller).

Just turn him on, give him a push and watch him fly.

Superman includes a display stand and 36" line with mounting hardware.

Uses 2 AA batteries (not included).

9" tall.

....................

$16.98.

Mr. Mxyztplk v Joe Btfsplk — Vowel-Deprived Throwdown: Who came first?

From the indescribably deli.cio.us Shawn Lea, my head crackpot researcher, comes a characteristically delightful investigation of the little-known origin of two great vowel-deprived characters of the 20th century, Mr. Mxyztplk (above) and Joe Btfsplk (below).

Her report follows — and you can bet your bottom dollar that not one word has been.

Mr. Mxyztplk vs. Joe Btfsplk

Who came first... Mr. Mxyztplk vs. Joe Btfsplk?

Hi, Mr. Miller. I am the bookofjoe staff person who has been assigned to your interesting question.

Joe preceded Mr. Mxyztplk. Joe Btfsplk's first appearance was June 11, 1942. Mxyztplk's ((roughly pronounced Mix-yez-pit-lick, also nicknamed Mxy) first appeared in September of 1944. Joe's creator, Al Capp, pronounced Btfsplk with a "raspberries" sound, also known as a "Bronx cheer."

Mxyzptlk appeared originally as a small bald man in a purple suit, green bow tie and purple derby hat. This was changed to a futuristic looking orange outfit with purple trim in the mid-1950s, although the hat remained. At around this time the spelling of Mxyzptlk's name changed (by mistake) to "Mxyz ptlk".

From Wikipedia:
After the establishment of DC Comics' multiverse in the 1960s, it was later explained that the purple-suited Mxyztplk lived in the fifth dimension connected to Earth-Two and the orange-costumed Mxyzptlk in the fifth dimension connected to Earth-One. The Earth-One version was also retconned into Superboy stories as Master Mxyzptlk.

From www.supermanhomepage.com:
The imp known as Mr. Mxyztplk first appeared in our dimension in Superman #30 (1st series, 1944) in a story by Jerry Siegel with art by John Sikela. For those who haven't seen the original story, you can find it in The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told trade paperback. The bald little fellow in the purple suit and green bowtie creates all kind of havoc -- including animating a naked statue he calls McGurk. Mxy describes himself as a "court-jester" from another dimension. The not very bright imp laughingly tells Superman that there is no way he can be tricked into saying the magic word "Klptzyxm" that will return him to his own dimension. Oops. Saying the word, Mxy vanishes (my nickname - don't expect me to keep spelling the full name!!)

A note at the end of the tale says, "If you enjoyed the antics of Mr. Mxyztplk and would like to read of his further encounters with Superman, let us know on a penny postcard." Obviously, Mxy was a big hit and returned many times.

The imp's name was later changed to Mxyzptlk (and for the consonant-challenged among you - the letters "t" and "p" are reversed). He had a long history of antagonizing Superman, supposedly every 90 days, until Superman inevitably tricked him into saying his name backwards. This restored everything back to normal and banished Mxy back to the Fifth Dimension for another 90 days. Until the Crisis On Infinite Earths series rewrote DC history.

..................

Shawn Lea — NO 1 compares 2U.

Airport Runway Beach Towel

From the website:

Runway Beach Towel

Our 100% cotton Runway Beach Towel features authentic runway numbers and markings and is extremely plush.

The design is woven into the towel, not screen-printed onto its surface; the colors won’t run and will last for years.

Measures a substantial 36" x 72" — perfect for the beach or pool.

$39.95.