These pictures were taken in the New Bedford Massachusetts Whaling Museum, which has a very bizarre film from early last century on American Whaling. Also in the collection are these two artifacts (top) a woven "Whaler's Hat", 19th century, probably Nootka, made from spruce root and pigment. "Documented during the voyages of James Cook in the mid 18th century, these hats held special status significance to both the men and women of this whaling culture."

This is a swift (yarn winder) made from whale bone. The museum wall text says "From Pursuit to Preservation" but it's mostly bones, artifacts and amazing paintings from the history of Whaling.

Playfair 2012 is co-ordinated by the TUC and Labour Behind the Label (the UK Clean Clothes Campaign) and involves unions and various campaigning organisations.

The coalition wants the organisers of the London Olympics to ensure that workers making sportswear for the 2012 Games won't be working in appalling and degrading conditions, and that all Olympic-branded goods will be ethically produced.

The campaign website http://www.playfair2012.org.uk/ sets out the standards the coalition expects from the London 2012 Games organisers, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and sportswear brands, and explains how individuals can get involved in the campaign. There is also a resources section with reports and video clips.

Millions of people are employed in the global supply chains that produce kits for Olympic teams, and the sportswear and souvenirs available on our high streets. Evidence shows that the sportswear industry and Olympic movement have a poor track record on workers' rights, says the campaign. Playfair 2008 research published before the Beijing Games found workers employed by Adidas suppliers in China were making sports shoes that retail for upwards of £50 a pair for just £20 per month, and others working 80 hours a week stitching footballs. In another factory producing stationery, children as young as 12 years old were being forced to work 15 hours a day.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "Delivering a legacy for London was at the heart of the Government's successful Olympic bid. And what better legacy than a commitment to end the exploitation and abuse involved in the sportswear and athletic footwear industries? We want London 2012 to raise the bar on workers' rights throughout Olympic supply chains."

Two years ago, Colleen Morgan of Middle Savagery pointed out these amazing tactile maps of the Inuit, "3D wood carvings of the East Greenland coastline, with the details of inlets and islands in sculptural relief. These could be employed by [travelers] at night in conjunction with the stars, feeling your way along the coastline, navigating at an intimate scale." via BLDGBLOG Thanks MB

But in fact a whole generation of young adults is likely to see its life chances permanently diminished by this recession. Lisa Kahn, an economist at Yale, has studied the impact of recessions on the lifetime earnings of young workers. In one recent study, she followed the career paths of white men who graduated from college between 1979 and 1989. She found that, all else equal, for every one-percentage-point increase in the national unemployment rate, the starting income of new graduates fell by as much as 7 percent; the unluckiest graduates of the decade, who emerged into the teeth of the 1981–82 recession, made roughly 25 percent less in their first year than graduates who stepped into boom times.

At Francis M. Naumann Fine Art and David Nolan Gallery through March 20th ... See previous posting of Allyson's later work here.

Monday, February 1, 2010, 7:00 p.m.
Theater 2 (The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2), T2

A brilliant and wickedly satirical mash-up of documentary, fictionalized restaging, and agitprop, Jim Finn’s The Juche Idea (2008) takes as its inspiration and its target the film theories and principles of self-reliance espoused by North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il. Absolutist in the extreme, the Dear Leader’s moviemaking edicts were designed to uphold the “monolithic ideology of the Party.” Finn subjects them to withering parody through genre-defying experimental conceits, incorporating scenes from North Korean melodramas and propaganda films dating back to the 1950s, allusions to the 1978 kidnapping of the late South Korean filmmaker Shin Sang-ok, and absurdist reenactments of English-language lessons from official textbooks. Robert Koehler in Variety writes, “The evidence that current film-making is brimming with original, standard-breaking creations has to include the work of Jim Finn…. To say that [his] films open up new possibilities for satire, ideas, and language isn’t an overstatement.” Finn also presents two recent short films, Dick Cheney in a Cold, Dark Cell (2009) and la loteria (2004–05).

I'm going to this. An interview in Korean here. More here and here.

Work by Artist Runa Carlsen is on the cover. Here's a link to other works by the artist. link

Hello.

Jens Werner Andersen

Hi Jens,
Thanks for emailing. I just got a copy yesterday in the mail and was excited. I don't have any idea what it says of course. Your project sounds interesting, what year did you get sued and how much did they sue you for? The Nike Blanket project started almost 7 years ago and Nike has never been in touch. I stopped expecting to hear anything years ago. Thanks for letting me know about the project, I'll post about it on the microRevolt blog.
/cat

Hi.

I was sued in 2005, we settled, I had to pay their expenses (about 7000$) and had to write a statement saying I would never use their logo again. Adidas is now my prefered brand. I can sign anything with the logo (anything but art). It's my signature on my drivers license and my passport.
Merry Christmas
Jens

Jens I think also painted this house in the Burberry pattern. link

For more information on Clean Clothes Polska, please visit link