His likes include short ruffled skirts (not on him) and Barack Obama. His dislikes include hangovers and people who don’t answer emails…. I suppose it doesn’t matter what his likes and dislikes are as long as Ben Thomas still pumps out the awesome digital photography.

You can purchase his designs on prints and shirts if you fancy ordering from the UK but I likey just staring at his photos on my computer screen for now.

Cake – (noun) a sweet, baked, breadlike food, made with or without shortening, and usually containing flour, sugar, baking powder or soda, eggs, and liquid flavoring.

A Michelle Wibowo Cake – the most amazingly crafted and elegantly designed edible thing you have ever laid eyes on.As you’ll see in the pictures, these creations of wonder by the the London based cake decorator/ sugar artist Michelle Wibowo, are a stunning example of how one can blend the two most thrilling and enjoyable entities  this universe has to offer: Food and Art. Her amazing work has won he countless of awards and tons of praise from other artists, and several celebrities in the UK have commissioned her work.   Her experience and knowledge ( she worked in and around London and various cake shops and bakeries) are her natural talent (see Mario) have put her above and beyond the competition as no other artist drops jaws and makes mouths water the way she does.  Did I mention that almost all of her creations (almost everything on them) are edible. Hell Yes!!

Check out the vid of the Mario creation below the gallery

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Russ Mills counts Van Gogh, Picasso, Pollock, and Basquiat among his influences, but he is clearly his own man. Based in Brighton, UK, Mills calls his approach byroglyphics—a process that involves ink sketches being scanned into his “ageing Mac” and then “abused in photoshop (you may have heard of it)…because of the joy of multiple undo’s.”

The results are gorgeous—elegant, raw and imbued with an energy and texture that computers aren’t supposed to be able to provide. Without the right person assembling all of the elements just so, they wouldn’t. That’s what makes Mills’ work all the more remarkable. Anyone who thinks that computers have no place in fine art should start here for their re-education.

via Loudreams

Eckhart Tolle wrote, “Love is recognizing the duality in all.”  This maxim is demonstrated brilliantly by UK-based photographer and illustrator Spiral, whose images enchant and ensare the viewer in the conflict between the innocent and the depraved, the virtuous and the fallen, the sacred and the profane.

While the dichotomy might come across as old hat in less profound work, Spiral delves recklessly into the alchemy of moment and narrative.   His triumph lies in the resulting commonality between subject and setting, neither enjoying any moral predominance over the other.  As the trenchcoated and bare-thighed girl forecasts sorcery, a porcelain paw emerges from the rubbish pile behind her; wisps of a golden girl’s hair ignite her mother’s tungsten wire heart; with scissors, Lewis Carroll prunes his forearm for a gnome.  The conflict dissolves into an embrace, and, in total surrender, each image realizes itself as the passionate bruise of this sordid and living affair.

Nominated by Our Kitchen Sink for Erotic Photographer of the Year, Spiral abandons his women into a liberated and vulnerable agency.  Their gritty, unleashed sex evokes Bukowski’s long-legged sirens, or Fante’s Camilla Lopez, the hop-head muse of her own stained sheets.  If the starving world Spiral captures, ejaculated and empty, is where these women find themselves, where else might new rapture spring if not from their terrible ravenousness for friction?  Is their perverse turmoil not rich enough to be called love?

Whatever your response, one is already implicated in Spiral’s p0st-incendiary scheme.  The corsetted girl will lead you to this wisdom, and the tired minotaur under the moon knows that all roads must pass through this place.

Via TrendLand.

Horror seems to be the go-to film genre: it’s where you take a date, it’s where you go with friends. It seems that every time you go to the theatre, there is more than one horror flic showing.

Zombie films are no exception to this trend…How many films have you seen about the undead?

Now ask yourself this, “How many films have I seen starring the undead?”

“Colin” offers audiences a new take on horror films. We see a world coming undone, from the point of view of Colin, a newly-turned zombie. This film by British director, Marc Price, is sure to revolutionize the future of horror film.

If I didn’t share these tidbits with you, you would never know that “Colin” was entirely filmed using a camcorder, volunteer actors, extra unused make-up, and Price’s self-taught special effects editing techniques. This economic way of filming merely cost Price the equivalent of $70USD to film and is raising eyebrows all over the cinema world.

Not only is it a gem to produce in today’s economic downturn, “Colin” is the first film to show the undead in a positive light.

Colin becomes the protagonist in this film, as we follow his encounters in the constant struggles faced by the undead; being destroyed by the last surviving humans. As the story progresses, we also learn more about Colin’s life pre-death-and-rebirth.

Although zombies and love are rarely paired, “Colin” truly shows strength amongst people in the hardest of times.

The Verdict:
Although it has not been released yet, hold your horses a little bit and take this advice anyway -
If you like horror: watch it.
If you don’t: watch it anyway…Weren’t we always told, as children, to “take a step in another’s shoes”? Well this is the time! There aren’t many opportunities to see the other point of view.

The Quibbler

Click here to view the embedded video.

What’s happening here?  Are these tacky accessories in space?   And why’s the snake so interested in the handbag?  I mean, what the fuck would a snake have to do with a handbag?  And what about these other shots?  What’s that frog doing in there?  The little fella certainly appears to be uncomfortable.  And you would be too, if you were in one of UK-based Paulo Sutch’s photographs.

But thank goodness you aren’t.  Thank GOD.  Thank your parents’ genetic makeup that you aren’t attractive enough to be seen in one of his photos.  Who’s that chick anyways, covered in charcoal from the jaw down, floating in an ethereal sea of handbags?  Looking like she’s had one too many cups of kool-aid?  Looking for her tits, most likely.  Yes, that’s probably it.  She’s probably thinking to herself, “Whoa……….where am I?………..what’s that snake doing with a handbag?………..where are my TITS???  I have no tits!!!  Fuck you Paolo, I’m serious!  This is NOT COOL!!!”

via Loudreams.

Julian Knight’s sexy color-rich photos pop. The freelancing fashion photographer’s portfolio is overflowing with vibrance, hot pin-upy babes, and a glossy glamour that only an advertising and art direction majoring genius could assemble. I enjoyed looking at these. You might need sunglasses. Grab ‘em. It’s worth it.

via Mdolla

It’s sad to see a peaceful demonstration turn to a violent one because of a few idiots in the crowd getting too excited, but unfortunately with the pressures we face in today’s society sometimes such things are simply unavoidable. For example, take the most recent G20 summit demonstration in London, things turned to shit real quick. The demonstartion was largely against an array of issues, mostly anti-capitalist or pro-environmental in nature. A large underlying theme was anger with the effects of the economic downturn and a call for accountability and responsibility. While the majority of protesters were peaceful, a number of them took to smashing windows and throwing debris at police lines. London police responded with baton charges and arrests. 

It only takes one person to throw something at a cop before they all get excited and start swinging their bats, it’s one of the best examples of the domino effect. Unfortunately lots of people got hurt and some even died. Not surprisingly misuse of force by police has been captured on video and one specific incident is under intense scrutiny by the public, that is the case of Ian Tomlinson who has been pushed by a police officer. Ian collapsed 10 minutes later and died. Here is the footage:

Click here to view the embedded video.

via Boston.com

Over at his website, U.K.-based photographer Andrew Schneider displays a wide variety of styles in several collections, but the one which most caught my eye was that titled Cruel Beauty. The collection – which draws its title from a quote by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu – is simply an up-close look at a series of flowers. But don’t let the simplicity mislead you: Cruel Beauty is a dark, spellbinding work.

The macro nature morte photography against a jet black background is engrossing enough on its own, but Schneider’s close eye for detail and unique stylistic slant bring something entirely new to an old medium.

Special highlights for me are a group of pictures of flowers tied up or sewn through with black thread. With titles such as Gagging Order and Bound Yellow, these photos leave their viewer with a disquieting feeling of regret that will be familiar to anyone struggling to cope in a world where nature is often defiled by man’s domineering presence.