He’s an 83-year-old queer experimental filmmaker, they’re the sprawling Italian family responsible for making the world’s greatest knitwear. This is the fantastic video that brings them together. Kenneth Anger shot the Missoni family frolicking in a series of Italian courtyards in this ad for their Fall/Winter 2010 collection, and it’s kind of beautiful. I’m amazed how similar in its aesthetics and visual conventions this is to Anger’s work from the late 1940s and 50s, and yet how effectively mesmerizing the magic of Kenneth Anger remains. Once you find that sweet spot in your work, sometimes it’s a good idea to just linger there forever.

How can we make it so that men look like this all the time? I’m serious, is there a petition I can sign? Dave Mead took these photos of fantastically flocculent fellas donning dapper olde thyme frocks at the 2009 World Beard and Mustache Championship in Anchorage, Alaska (where else?), but I wish I could tell you that this was just a page ripped out of a standard college yearbook in the year 2010. Why can’t we live in a world like that?

Via Share Some Candy.

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Graphic designer and illustrator Luke Elliott hails from Nottingham, England and packages products so perfectly, you might even find yourself with a hankering for some adorable Quaker Oats.

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When Wu Tsang and Ashland Mines started Wildness– surely the most glorious of all L.A. club nights in recent memory– at The Silver Platter, they placed a huge spotlight on that small and obscure gay bar tucked away in MacArthur Park. The Silver Platter has for decades catered to a split clientele of discretely dressed macho Latino men and fabulous transgendered women, two factions once at odds that have slowly coalesced into an organic community. Wildness, through its unique mixture of contemporary art, drag, performance and hip DJs, attracted a brand new audience of artsy young queers spanning class and race boundaries to The Silver Platter.

Damelo Todo (Give Me Everything) is Wu’s bracingly intelligent and beautifully shot film that delves deep into the world of The Silver Platter, the hard social realities of transgender life, and the politics of partying. This innovative documentary/narrative hybrid has been in production for nearly two years, fueled by hard-won grants, small donations, and the tireless efforts of a devoted crew. Now Wu needs your help to finish the film. The Kickstarter finish line is less than $500 away, so every dollar invested in these final 4 days will make an enormous difference! Does the world need Damelo Todo in it? Yes, it does. And it’s up to you to make it happen.

+ Don’t miss Wu’s blog, Class.

I love Rafter, I love Asthmatic Kitty, I love this video and I love director Matt Wells! He was last seen directing Tim Heidecker in a video for Clues’ “You Have My Eyes Now,” a slow-motion feast for the eyes ruminating on the crushing social barriers standing in the way of human-mannequin love.

Stop by our opening at Mastodon Mesa tonight and say hello! Then check out our performance art bonanza The Human Groom-In at Show Cave, later in the evening. It’s going to be insane. Social grooming interactions will be rewarded by tasty treats.

Also: I’m headed down to San Diego for Comic Con late tonight. You’ll be able to find me working at the Giant Robot booth Friday-Sunday– so don’t be a stranger, fellow nerds and geeks!

Being an all-around rad dude primarily, and a master of children’s literature on the side, it’s only natural that An Awesome Book author Dallas Clayton finds himself frequently pulled into fantastic situations. Like how on his last book tour, he ended up reading to both pre-schoolers on a sheep ranch in Bodega and college students at a crusty punk house in Eugene.

Or how he was recently invited to paint a mural on the walls of Silver Lake children’s boutique Tomboy. I accompanied him on a midnight mural-painting mission and shot a little video (with my beloved new GH1) about the opportunities that keep popping up as a result of being Dallas Clayton.

Images by New York photographer Robert S. Johnson III. Don’t miss the series of eerie and intimate found photos of WWII (taken by his grandfather) that Johnson recently shared with HUH. Magazine.

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Visual artist Eric Lindley records gorgeous, sorrowful music under the moniker Careful. Shades of Arthur Russell, Chris Garneau, and Xiu Xiu lurk in the corners of his sonic palette, as Lindley balances subtle sonic experimentation with acoustic tranquility. His new album, Oh, Light, was recorded in the refuge of his partner’s darkened closet over the period of a month, and feels at once intimate and layered, beckoning the listener for frequent returns to its chest of aural wonders.

In the afterglow of a coveted shout-out by the New York Times, the record will get its physical release in stores tomorrow. To celebrate, we’re giving a copy away on Future Shipwreck! Just comment on this post to qualify! A lucky winner will be chosen by random selection tomorrow night.

Listen to the album in full, below. I’d have to say my favorite tracks are “Scrappy” and “Oi, etc.” Also, watch Nicholas Girder‘s experimental videos for “Fox and His Friends” and “Laid, or Lain” after the jump.

UPDATE: The winner, chosen via random number generator, is Ben Prisbylla! Thanks everyone for playing!

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Synergy: when the raddest bookstore in Texas hosts an art show with one of the raddest cartoonists in the world. Domy Books‘ Austin location is currently home to Cartoon Utopia, a show by veritable visionary Ron Rege Jr. It comes down on July 29th, so if you’re lucky enough to be within a 500 mile radius of Austin, I strongly urge you to get your butt down to Domy. For the rest of you, fear not! Domy is selling the entire show online at bargain basement prices. Some pieces are as cheap as $20! Madness. Oh, and don’t forget to pick up your bottle of Ron Rege’s beer/zine combo, Yeast Hoist!

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