A never ending celebration of monstersWhat a wonderful world. There’s always something new to become completely obsessed with. I give you my latest: Mexican pulp art which is on display at Monster Brains.
But wait! Monster Brains has even more cool stuff for your perusal. Like: grotesque animals, creepy vintage ads, D&D books, sci-fi covers and other generally disturbing, wild or scary pieces of art.
It’s way excellent!
dedicated to 80’s horror on film and on the almighty nesI’m sure there’s an scathing essay to be written about how what I am about to say could be a symbol of the decline of civilization, but an animated gif of Johnny Depp being sucked into a bed followed by a fountain of blood is a very nostalgic image of my childhood.
What can I say, I was a horror buff pretty much right from the beginning. I couldn’t wait to watch movies I spied in the blood splattered section in the video store. (I also vividly remember seeing a curtained off area with rated X movies, and thought to myself “How scary can a movie be to be X rated??”)
I feel like horror geek kids don’t quite exist in the same way anymore. Remember the kid in Salem’s Lot who’s obsessed with monsters? He and all like him have grown up, and instead of nerdy rooms packed with Fangorias, we have tumblrs like F— Yeah 8 Bit Horror to view, share and remember our favorite gorey moments in cinema.
The site focuses on the golden age of horror, the 1980’s. There’s lot of stuff from the Nightmare on Elm Street series (which is fine with me, since making Elm St. movies was what I wanted to do when I grew up for years). There are also a few I haven’t seen (Trick or Treat looks like a must see).
A great example of a good tumblr.
Excellent Photo BlogI have been completely captivated by the photo gallery blog Vintage Everyday.
From creepy old Halloween pics to portraits of Circus performers in the 1940’s, from heartbreaking images of London after a bombing to scary NYC subways in the 80’s, there’s so many fascinating images to behold in this neat, clean, well curated site.
It is indeed updated everyday, so be sure to bookmark this one and don’t be surprised if time simply disappears as you go through the archives.
Curating eclectic interestingness from culture’s collective brainAnd look! Already my first great discovery via Twitter, the fascinating Brain Pickings blog, brain child of writer Maria Popova.
Within the eclectic collection of interesting articles you’ll find lovely design, must read books, interesting thoughts, provocative photography and lots of lovely maps. It’s an amazing hodgepodge of all sorts of things I love.
Most lovable about the site though, is that in a sea of snark, it retains a real sense of wonder at the world. Nothing’s worse than someone who is bored by things, and Popova and her team find inspiration everywhere. I dare you to scroll one page without joining in their enthusiasm and stopping to read more.
BP also distinguishes itself from many sites by offering unique finds and information that hasn’t been re-linked from a million other places.
I’ve only browsed a portion of the archives, because doing too much more would be ignoring the life I have to lead today. Definitely be prepared to be sucked in to the awesomeness.
Have You Twatted?Yes. It’s true I tweet now. I didn’t get it before but now I do. Follow me if you’d like @brixpicks (and it’s not just photos of my baby or links to this site, promise).
on TumblrWhile I like the ease and casual nature of tumblr I usually find them to be little more than gatherings from other tumblrs and therefore often repetitive but Stephano Gabanna of Dolce and Gabanna has taken the medium and ran with it giving personal glimpses into his life as an extremely successful fashion designer.
Such a life, (believe it or not) is quite enviable. He is surrounded by beautiful male models, eats lunch overlooking incredible sea views, and wakes up to fresh cut flowers every morning.
And if none of that interests you, his photos will at least convince you that the Italian Riviera is a little bit if heaven on earth. I want to be there now.
I know, I know, it sounds like it could be navel gazing and obnoxious (like all those articles about what the rich people can’t live without this season in Vogue) but surprisingly, this chipper diary is not in the least bit obnoxious, but rather happy and heartfelt.
I’d love it if more designers, artists, and people with otherwise interesting lives had personal photo diaries as nice to look at and constantly updated like this one.
Scoops, Storefronts, History and Local Deals from Brooklyn’s Hidden GemIn New York people tend to get fanatical about their neighborhoods. We want to know every move, change and history. For us Greenpointers now there’s one stop for all of that.
Here’s Greenpoint has breaking news about openings and closings, restaurant guides, historical photographs and tips on the latest happenings. Since Mike introduced me to the site I’ve been checking in daily. It’s visually clean, easy to navigate, and works great on an iPhone which is a rare found plus.
They also have Park Slope and Williamsburg editions and updates are easy to keep abreast of if you “like” then on Facebook (something I rarely see the point of but here makes sense).
Modern Graphic Design Inspiration BlogGreat graphic inspiration blogs are aplenty, but you’ll find fewer as well maintained, interesting, and informed as Grain Edit.
From children’s books, to bottle labels, from calendars to maps the Grain Edit team tracks down the greatest stuff to inflame the creative mind.
The site is constantly updated with newness and the archives could take days to explore – but it is worth the time, so start digging and enjoy!
Amazing Collection of Children’s BooksOh my goodness I am in LOVE with the blog Atelier Pour Enfants, in love. I can’t read a word of it, but who needs to with all the adorable, interesting, beautiful artwork.
I’ve spent hours looking through the entire archive getting all kinds of inspired. In fact, I’ve started a whole new project with all the new ideas these wonderful books have inflamed in my brain.
An absolute must for lovers of illustration or really anybody that enjoys looking at cute, great design. I would love to find some of the books for Mr. Van – will have to keep an eye out.
Found this site through another great site (and previous Brix Pick) called Vintage Kids’ Books My Kid Loves.
The average color of the New York City sky, updated every 5 minutes.NSkyC is a lovely site that shows that technology can be used to make something beautiful and simple. Can’t wait to see lots and lots more bright blue.