Plan59's 1950s space-art gallery has some real gems! Space Art (via Neatorama)...

Todd sez, "A new group of activists in Toronto, the Public Squares, coordinated the temporary conversion of the intersection of Bloor and Spadina into a piazza with trees, fountain and dozens of revellers. From the group:" Blackout Anniversary Five years ago the lights went out on some 100 million people. We spilled out of our home-box, work-box, shopping and car boxes. We stepped away from computers, microwaves and TV's. The streets became our living rooms as we shared the good company of friends and strangers alike. We rediscovered the power and vitality of the commons. Last night's temporary reclamation of Bloor & Spadina is a festive demonstration of how our city could evolve. The streets and avenues are the veins and arteries of the city. Great intersections like this one are vital organs where people are drawn to work, eat, play and commune. This connection of citizens creates a livable city in a way that an easy left turn never will. See for yourself how this thousand square feet of pavement can better serve us all. "Get out of your box and into the square." - the Public Squares Blackout Anniversary Parade (Thanks, Todd!)...

Peter Thaler says Away from its usual home in Berlin, the Pictoplasma Conference is about to touch down in the heart of Manhattan. On September 5 and 6 the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at NYU will serve as the gathering place for a diverse crowd of artists, designers, animators, producers and fans who will freely exchange ideas about anything and everything related to character design. The diverse lineup of speakers hails from around the globe, covering a wide range of media, artistic ideas and inspirational sources, with lectures by Tim Biskup (US), Akinori Oishi (JP), Friends With You (USA), Motomichi Nakamura (JP/US), Fons Schiedon (NL), David OReilly (IRL), Gangpol & Mit (FR), Aaron Stewart (US), Studio AKA (UK) and Tokyoplastic (UK). Besides a back-to-back program of presentations, parties and panels, this year's animation screenings promise to further explore how graphical characters previously not associated with the industry are now taking the medium by storm, including work by Marc Craste, Yves Geleyn, Daniel Garcia, Passion Pictures, Rex Crowl, Wieden + Kennedy, Buck, Nathan Jurevicius and more... Pictoplasma: 5-6 September, New York...

A short film by monochrom about a man who dies, is reborn, and sprouts gills. Link to Boing Boing tv blog post with discussion, downloadable video, and podcast subscribe instructions. Created by Harald Homolka List, Johannes Grenzfurthner, Evelyn Fürlinger (link to monochrom site for this film, here are other short films from them in German) Previous work from monochrom on Boing Boing tv: * Monochrom: Economic Recession Wisdom from Sock Puppets. * Monochrom's "Kiki, Bubu, and the Self" * Nazi Petting Zoo * Fisch Interview * Orwell's 1984 deconstructed by puppets * Monochrom's Marxist sock puppets * Monochrom: MyFaceSpace, the musical * Monochrom: Campfire at Will * Monochrom: Falco Stairs * Monochrom: Bar code artist Scott Blake / Falco stencil memorial * Human USB Hack / Very Simple Motor * Mark's Curie Engine / Monochrom's love song for Lessig...

W. Kelley Lucas was my first friend who made it as a "professional" artist. When I lived in Miami, Florida in the early 1990s, Kelley and I hung out all the time and he turned me on to many lowbrow/pop surrealist artists that I've come to love. Eventually, Kelley's huge paintings hung in galleries beside work by the very artists he admired, like Mark Ryden, Glenn Barr, and Todd Schorr. Then, around 2002, Kelley stopped painting entirely. He was struggling with some very difficult personal issues and we lost touch. When I received the new issue of Hi-Fructose, I was completely surprised to see a small ad announcing Kelly's Web site. He is back in the studio, and I, for one, am thrilled. Kelley's posted his first five pieces in six years. Seen here, "Vespa Consonum," a portrait of the artist by Grady Clark, and "Filling Up The Hollow." If this work is a good hint of what's to come, don't take your eyes off this man. Kelley Lucas...

Today on Boing Boing tv, we are proud to share the sneak-preview of a television pilot, the AQUABATS! SUPERSHOW!, a live-action and animation program featuring the popular superhero ska band, The Aquabats (MySpace). Jon Berrett of Yo Gabba Gabba explains: This spring the Aquabats completed a pilot for a new television show based on the misadventures of rock and roll's greatest super dude men. The Aquabats have been a band for over a decade, have toured the world, and put out 5 full length studio albums. The AQUABATS! SUPERSHOW! TELEVISION PILOT will have a special screening at the San Diego House of Blues show on July 25th, 2008 [during Comic-Con]. If you already have tickets, you are STOKED! The excerpt we are world-premiering on BBtv today is an animated portion of the show's first episode, and includes angry mushrooms, vengeful unicorn princesses, and a subterranean paradise with lakes of hot pink lava. The AQUABATS! SUPERSHOW! also includes live performance and real-world hijinks. We think it's pretty awesome. Link to Boing Boing tv post with discussion, downloadable video, and how to subscribe to the BBtv video podcast. (Huge thanks from all of us at Boing Boing to Jon Berrett and the crew at Yo Gabba Gabba, and to The Aquabats for allowing Boing Boing to share this first with the non-subterranean world!)...