The Viennese police will go to any lengths.  To…end corruption? No…stop human and drug trafficking? No…rescue furry house pets? Yes.

According to Jalopnik:

The Vienna Police spent all night chasing a cute kitten that eventually crawled into the chassis of their van. Undaunted, they called the fire department and slowly dismantled their vehicle until they were able to retrieve the still-adorable kitty.

And – oh look, there’s a video!

Next on their list – help Arlette Laguiller with her groceries as she crosses the street.

-B.C.Bodnar

Image from David La Spina/The New York Times

No sooner had we posted word that female farmers were a rising trend in the agriculture world that the web seems to explode with news about that industry.  And perhaps best of all – much of it concerns innovations brought to the field from young people (just like you!).

Girl power continues with this story from The New York Times about Alexandra Reau, a Michigan teenager who started farming a portion of her backyard and now sells the produce to eager subscribers.

Not that farming has to be a rural pastime, so proves the Brooklyn Grange in Queens, New York. With one acre of growing space on an industrial rooftop, the usefulness of growing vegetables in these spaces seems much greater than that of the much celebrated “green roofs“.

Once the celebrities do it, it’s a trend. Case and point, Scarlett Johansson and her recent purchase of  a Louisiana farm with husband, Ryan Reynolds.  Not enough? How about Mark Ruffalo, who lives with his family on a dairy farm in the Catskills (check out this interview he did recently with NPR where he details the allure of country life).

Besides the actual growing part of farming comes the selling part.  From a University of Michigan graduate now based in this state after a stint with Google comes RealTimeFarms.com, a website designed to help users find and navigate farmers markets in their areas. In an interview with ConcentrateMedia.com, the website was described as:

Part social media tool for the local foodie set…part nationwide directory of markets and available products, the site allows nationwide searches for farmer’s markets based on city or zip code. Users can share pictures of local markets and farm stands by posting them to the site, along with information about what’s there and handy tips for other patrons.

And the trend continues…

-B.C.Bodnar

Chris Cain & Keith Murray - We Are Scientists

Our expert Photography Editor, Chelsea Brown, had a few more photos from the Tuesday night We Are Scientists concert at The Blind Pig that we wanted to share with you. Enjoy!

Keith Murray works the merch table. Chris Cain has the aesthetic of another era.

Chris Cain plays bass while Keith Murray is lead guitar and the vocals of We Are Scientists (formerly drummer).

These guys are mellow offstage but become star performers when they begin to play.

A little bit of opener. Rewards, with some back up from Lightspeed Champion.

Lightspeed Champion and yes, he was amazing.

]]> http://www.sheimagazine.com/blog/2010/we-are-scientists-the-coffee-table-photo-album/feed/ 0 http://www.sheimagazine.com/blog/2010/the-morning-after-we-are-scientists-the-blind-pig/ http://www.sheimagazine.com/blog/2010/the-morning-after-we-are-scientists-the-blind-pig/#comments Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:15:26 +0000 B.C. Bodnar http://www.sheimagazine.com/blog/?p=9641

L-R: Keith Murray, vocals & guitar; Chris Cain, bass

We Are Scientists gave an excellent performance at The Blind Pig last night in Ann Arbor.  The crowd was enthusiastic while band members, Chris Cain and Keith Murray, exchanged witty and humorous remarks in between songs.  Current fans of the band were reminded why they love these guys while future fans now know why We Are Scientists is going to be huge.

As is the way, the openers kicked off the night at promptly 9:30pm.  Aaron Pfenning of Rewards blew us away with his gorgeous voice – it’s throaty and mellow and combined with the liberal use of synthesizers, is reminiscent of The Cure.  He was accompanied on stage by Devonté Hynes, the man behind Lightspeed Champion, who followed up with his own set. After spending most of that set trying to figure out words to describe Hynes’s style, I’ve come up with “eclectic”. Sometimes a mix of Seals & Crofts and Lenny Kravitz but smoother, his music was at times soulful, then indie, then ’90s and there is no doubt he knew how to work the room.  Both of these guys are good – really good. They deserve a post unto themselves.

L-R: Rewards; Lightspeed Champion

Top: Chris Cain; Bottom: Keith Murray

By 11:15pm, We Are Scientists took the stage.  In a distinctive switch from their demeanor off stage (based on this interview with SHEI before the show), Keith Murray became extremely outgoing with no hint of timidity.  After a bit of banter, the band opened with “Nice Guys” off of their newest album, Barbara (released June 14).  After hearing a few more songs from their past albums, it was obvious that The Blind Pig is the perfect venue in which to see these guys. The intimacy of the space superbly showcased the repartee between Cain and Murray while thoroughly entertaining their audience.

There were several songs which were clear crowd pleasures, including “Great Escape” and “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt,” as well as new material from Barbara.  But none quite compare to the closing song, “After Hours,” performed just before 12:30am.  Joined onstage by Lightspeed Champion and Rewards, this performance was the best example of why We Are Scientists should be superstars.  They have honest, unmistakable  talent and play with such eager conviction, it’s difficult to remain disconnected to their music.  Murray especially appeared in his element and the crowd clearly enjoyed the high energy the four brought to the stage for the final set.

After an encore of “Cash Cow,” the concert finished.  Well worth the $12 for admission.  While I’d like to complement the guys in saying that they should be playing The Michigan Theater the next time they’re in Ann Arbor, their ability to master the venue that is The Blind Pig has me convinced that more people should get the chance to see them under such circumstances.

Definitely worth a listen so check out their new album and I’ll be looking for their next Ann Arbor/South Eastern Michigan tour date.

Words: B.C.Bodnar, SHEI Literary Editor

Photos: Chelsea Brown, SHEI Photography Editor

After a stint in Europe where they played various venues including clubs and festivals, the two faces of We Are Scientists, Chris Cain and Keith Murray were in Ann Arbor only briefly during their American tour for a Tuesday night show at The Blind Pig.  Despite having little time to enjoy our fair city, they were kind enough to sit down with us for an interview (okay, Chris was – Keith had to deal with “the merch”).

L-R: Chris Cain, Keith Murray

Known for their sense of humor outside of their music, we think that most of this interview was ironic.  Yes, there were Ray-bans and tight white jeans (two pairs) but one can never be too sure.

SHEI: This tour is to promote your latest album (released June 14th) – Barbara. Who is Barbara?

CC: “Barbara” is Barbara Bush. We think it’s important to be political and while we are democrats and we certainly don’t agree with the legacies of either of the Bush presidents, we recognize that Barbara is a political force unto herself and this record pays homage to her. Her contribution is frequently overlooked.

SHEI: You’ve enjoyed a lot of success in the UK and Europe, but what are your plans for conquering the United States?

CC: We pray a lot at night.  And we wait. That’s actually really important to us – the praying.

SHEI: And you’ve maintained a social media presence as well, is that part of the master plan?

CC: Well as I said, we pray a lot. There’s this theory that you should pray just in case there is a God because if there isn’t, it wouldn’t hurt but if there is, you certainly don’t want to go to end up in hell. That would be bad. So that’s what we’re doing with the social media. It couldn’t hurt.

SHEI: You even released an online video asking people to retweet you.

CC: Yes, that helped a little bit. We are basically down on our knees begging for it.

[At this point, we switched gears]

SHEI: Are you channeling Buddy Holly with your glasses? Is this part of your musical style?

CC: You know, we have a very special relationship with Ray-ban…this style is called “The Club Master” and I just like them.  They’re the type of glasses you could see in a photo of your grandfather and I like that aesthetic.

SHEI: Well, your music career is coming along and you and Keith are already video stars with your MTV series, Steve Wants His Money, as well as various forays into online videos. What’s next? Perhaps a fragrance?

CC: It is true that we are already established video stars, that is for sure.  We’re still working on cracking the nut that is the music industry.  But I think our next venture will be into fashion.

SHEI: Ah, is that why Keith is setting up the merch? Phase one of the plan complete?

CC: No, that’s just merch for our fans who like that kind of shit [ironically does not change facial expressions]. I’m hoping to branch out into high fashion and capture a new market altogether.  Something our current fans wouldn’t necessarily “get”. We’re talking couture  here.

SHEI: And do you have time to see the sights of Ann Arbor?

CC: No.

[After taking a break to get a few photos, Chris and Keith got back to the subject of Ann Arbor. Guys, all you need to know is right HERE]

SHEI: So which of you gets more girls at your shows?

CC: We both get zero.

KM: We’re a team. One picks them out, the other takes them home.  It’s based on whoever has the whiter pants. [Both of them are wearing tight white pans].

[Getting serious now]

SHEI: Okay guys, have you managed to avoid the drugs with music problem?

CC: Nope. Five years ago we went and stood in the middle of the street and we’ve been waiting for the ambulance ever since.

SHEI-Photo: So it’s all hookers and blow?

CC: Oh yeah, our priorities are hookers, blow, and family.

KM: And ghost-hunting. [you're going to have to look that up on Urban Dictionary yourself]

[Wrapping up]

SHEI: Which song from your new album most represents the direction you’d like to take We Are Scientists musically?

CC: Ambition.

Though Keith Murray wasn’t available for the interview, there are still some things we’re dying to know! If he gets the chance, maybe he’d be interested in telling us:

1. If you had patented velcro first (obviously you invented it first but have been scammed by a time machine), what would you have called it?

2. How are you able to fold that many shirts with such precision?

3. Would you answer the question “What question have you never been asked but have always wanted to have asked of you?”

Words: B.C.Bodnar, SHEI Literary Editor

Photos: Chelsea Brown, SHEI Photography Editor

Read our review of the concert HERE

Women in farming is a red-hot trend. Gap fashion aside, women’s growing interest in sustainable, small-scale farming is leading to farmer’s markets full of healthier food for communities. And while the ActionAid report looked at women in agriculture in other parts of the world, rest assured, it’s a phenomenon that’s bringing food that’s healthier food for people and the planet here in the United States, too. The last United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) most recent U.S. Ag Census showed that women small-scale farm owners are the fastest-growing demographic surveyed.

So once again, women save the world.

While some organizations that support women in agricultural industries are quick to point out the feminist symbolism, it should be noted that gardening and horticultural clubs are as 1950′s American housewife as an apple pie cooling in the kitchen window.

And it starts early.  If you’re on the University of Michigan campus, you can join groups like Cultivating Community, a student group for those interested in small-scale organic gardening and sustainable food systems. But of course, it’s open to men and women.

So get growing!

-B.C.Bodnar

Don’t make plans this Tuesday night, July 20th.  You’re going to The Blind Pig to watch these two guys play.

photo from the artists

Check out their music at MySpace, their website, and YouTube.  Stalk the guys on Twitter and Facebook. Your call.

Doors open at 9pm and you can get more details at the venue website.

See you there,

-B.C.Bodnar, SHEI Literary Editor

If you’re like most people – breathing, media-watching, and humor-loving – you’ve seen the new Old Spice Bodywash commercials.  Featuring the manly man charm of Isaiah Mustafa, these ads are sensationally funny.  Even more brilliant?  The use of social media to create nearly 200 interactive videos, themselves a viral sensation.

It all began earlier in 2010.  Early promotions of this new, hip Old Spice are borderline obnoxious but like the hilarious commercials we enjoy today, feature rapid scene changes as our hero assures us of his manliness.  Somehow – not that funny, even when Isaiah Mustafa rides a horse backwards. Then – brilliance:

Mustafa manages to be charming, naive, arrogant, hilarious, and gorgeous, all at once.  Now – this could stop here and we’d chuckle over the commercials for the next couple of days, then go on our merry little way.  But Old Spice got smart. They put Mustafa to work churning out dozens of responses to the Old Spice twitter account (@OldSpice) via YouTube clips.

Check out, for example, this one from a four part series to actress, Alyssa Milano:

While bigthink suggests this has all been a clever marketing ploy to attract women by combining Chuck Norris with the Dos Equis’s “Most Interesting Man,” I’m a little saddened to think this might all be coming to an end.  No matter – Isaiah Mustafa has been memorialized online at the Los Angeles Times, Forbes Magazine, Newsweek, and Jezebel.com.

Silver Fish Hand Catch!

-B.C.Bodnar

see these images at bonluxant.com

Google’s Josef Frank inspired logo for today has created quite a bit of frenzy in the web-world.  Sure, we’re all talking about Josef Frank, but how much do you actually know? Keep reading for a crash-course on the designer who would have been 125 years old today.

The Man: a little bit of history

Born in 1885 in Vienna, Josef Frank was of Jewish-Hungarian descent.  Though frequently cited as a Swedish designer (he lived in Stockholm from 1933 until his death in 1967), Frank made important contributions to the design circles in both of the countries he called home.

The Myth: design style

Josef Frank was a designer in every sense of the word whose work was not limited to a single medium. ScandanavianDesign.com says succinctly:

Josef Frank’s life could be wonderfully characterized as one always in motion. Moving with ease from architecture and furniture design to glassware, lighting and metalwork–his was an eclecticism fueled by curiosity. [A]nd nothing captures this roaming imagination better than his textiles…celebratory and vibrant, they redefined Swedish modernism.

The Legend: a never-ending design legacy

Big claims indeed.  But in an interview with Meuplepeint.com, Professor of Architecture at University Texas-Austin, Christopher Long, said Josef Frank’s most enduring legacy was his influence on the Swedish design school.  More specifically, that on IKEA founder, Ingvar Kamprad.

So – go and impress your friends.

-B.C.Bodnar

check it out