Hate 'em all you want -- and as the misogynists, frequently bigoted pompous punks that they can be, it's pretty easy -- but the kids at Vice consistently put out a fascinating magazine, and now blog and online video channel. Here's a piece on Little England in Sri Lanka, orphans in Afghanistan, and L.A.'s own MS-13. All the information you need on a subculture you'll likely never see for yourself, and none of the thousands upon thousands of arty writing in a publication you'll never get because it's not free like Vice is. Brilliant!
Since we've been on an Africa kick lately, I'd like to emphasize this link to a Vice photo essay on wrestling in the Congo, mimed with a magic twist. The image above is from the story, by Benedicte Curzen. Hail synchronicity: Earlier today my friend Rebecca pointed me to this satirical and quite damning piece in Granta, on "how to write" about Africa:
Make sure you show how Africans have music and rhythm deep in their souls, and eat things no other humans eat. Do not mention rice and beef and wheat; monkey-brain is an African's cuisine of choice, along with goat, snake, worms and grubs and all manner of game meat. Make sure you show that you are able to eat such food without flinching, and describe how you learn to enjoy it—because you care.
If you're like me and sort of suspect Africa has interesting urbanisms, any and all scraps of visual learning on life there are very welcome. For example, a few years ago the Craft and Folk Art Museum in L.A. had a great exhibit on sign-painting in Ghana, showing how a craftsman tradition has been built around the practice of painting signs for home businesses of all kinds: from barbers to movie theaters.
* Interesting: This blogger notes how the Kinshasa power company always shines brightly, even when the rest of the city lies in darkness. Reminds me of the DWP building downtown.