Klaus Nomi (singer/performer)

A chilling operatic voice of the underground electronic new wave during the late 1970s and early 1980s in New York. Klaus Nomi is unforgettable in his performances, often dressed in his signature plastic tux and black tights, lips masked with black lipstick and hair jelled into three imposing peaks. Posing in robotic gestures, Nomi would sometimes sing made-up words, altering his voice from rock and pop to a sudden operatic escalation.

Born Klaus Sperber in Germany, Nomi moved to New York and supported himself as a pastry chef. After his unfortunate death from AIDS, he still lives on as the haunting “opera singing pastry chef.”

Checkout his many extraordinary, even bizarre performances on YouTube:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=yuSrsGzhD9U&feature=related & http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gma5IUNMTn0&feature=related

Storm Riders - Clash of the Titans (2008) (movie)

A typical Kung Fu drama with an overwhelming visual production, Storm Riders-Clash of the Evils, I suppose is the first Chinese full-length animated feature film that combines the traditional 2-D animation techniques with the 3-D CG animation effects.

Based on the popular comic series “Fung Wan” by Hong Kong artist Ma Wing Shing, it is a sequel to the moive “The Storm Riders,” played by Hong Kong pop stars, Aaron Kwok and Ekin Cheng. This animated film borrowed heavily on the aesthetic and practice of Japanese animation; nevertheless, visually, with its detailed scenery and decent motion rendering, it is a big step forward for the Chinese animation industry.

Checkout the power-filled introduction on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcYm2BNsR6Q&NR=1

Rhizome (website)

Emerging artists engaged in new media art, expanding the horizon of art and technology, are often presented through a wide array of projects by Rhizome.

Mainly a web-based venture with on-line happenings, Rhizome’s programs include commissions, exhibitions, discussions, portfolios and an archive. Its constantly expanding ArtBase archive now contains more than 2000 art works directed by their curatorial staff which focuses their collection on net art, software art, computer games, and documentation of new media performance and installation. It’s a fun site to surf through.

See the Rhizome website:
http://rhizome.org/

October Contemporary 2008 - Attr/action (October art event)

October Contemporary is an annual contemporary art event in Hong Kong with exhibitions, lectures, screenings, workshops, performances pack the 31 days of October. This year’s theme streams from the worldwide phenomenon of tourism culture defining the appointed destination’s marketing identity.

Particularly in Asia with this year’s Beijing Olympics and the seemingly infinite agenda of art biennials and triennials in almost every major East Asian city. This is an excellent occasion to visit Hong Kong’s leading contemporary spaces and institutions promoting local visual arts and artists. So don’t miss it!

October Contemporary website:
http://www.oc.org.hk/

Nick Kanas: 'Star Maps: History, Artistry, and Cartography' (book)

This is quite a fascinating book I am still slowly digging through. It presents well-illustrated concepts and relationships between time and movements in space with detailed studies of celestial maps, starting with the four main cultures (Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Chinese and Indian) that basically formed our modern way of living ritualistically by time.

It continues to provide careful description into the varying cultural interpretations and uses of astronomical discoveries and developments, as well as comparing the different research by astronomers throughout the ages.

A well written book on the history of astronomy I would recommend.

Haxan (1922) (movie)

With Halloween just around the corner, it maybe a nice occasion to get acquainted with our limited yet imaginative knowledge of the underworld; the magic and spirits that may occupy our minds once in a while.

A silent film with elaborate stop-motion animation and, sometimes, humorous story sequences, Haxan, directed by Benjamin Christensen, brings you into the world of western witchcraft through medieval superstition and folklore. It’s a must see for those who are into the occult and the mysteries of the craft.

Warning: There are sequences of offensive vilifying acts against Christianity.

You can checkout a short clip of Haxan on YouTube:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eq2_jVmJ6wA

Warren Motte: 'OULIPO: A Primer of Potential Literature' (book)

OULIPO, Ouvroir de Litterature Experimentale, founded in Paris in 1960, was a gathering of writers, mathematicians, professors, and pataphysicians in search of new forms and structures of writing. This book provides an excellent introduction to the group as well as an impressive collection of their experiments and investigations into the systems of writing with “constraints”.

Heavily influenced by Raymond Queneau, a French poet and a co-founder of the group, the Oulipians could be viewed as anti-chance, where all imagination follows a changing set of rules and restrictions, residing “more in the ordering of the means than the intuition of the ends".

Sukiyaki Western Django (2007) (movie)

This 2007 Takashi Miike film, in which you actually experience Japanese actors speaking in English, is quite an exciting attempt to film a Spaghetti Western with contemporary Japanese coolness.

A bizarre, yet simplistic story of the rivalry between the red Heike and the white Genji vying over mythical gold treasure. Sukiyaki Western Django is where cowboy guns and samurai swords meet - of course, with Miike’s famous & extensive blood splashing.

A colorful and entertaining film, some compare it to trendy “fusion cuisine,” where East meets West!

See the film trailer:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x32y50_sukiyaki-western-django-trailer

Hands Soap Handsoap (product)

All handmade hand soap in hand-shapes!

Foliage is a charming little on-line shop, launched by Marie Gardeski, selling homemade buttons, jewelry, clothing and other great little objects. The shop also carries a wide variety of creepy yet delightful hand soap moulded from discarded doll hands. Just imagine scrubbing and cleansing with a tiny hand between your palms. And even better … it’s all natural!

See the website:
http://foliage.myshopify.com/

Farewell to Post-Colonialism: The Third Guangzhou Triennial (exhibition)

Farewell to Post-Colonialism: The Third Guangzhou Triennial is the must-see art event for Hong Kong art viewers over the next two months. The Triennial curators have a convoluted viewpoint about the Triennial's intentions - forget about their academic notions, there is much excellent art to be seen. Spend a weekend in Guangzhou and spend a minimum full-day visiting the Guangdong Museum of Art on Er Sha Island, the Triennial's main venue.

http://www.gdmoa.org/zhanlan/threeyear/4/24/1/