Phone Sex by Phil Toledano

by Tim Yu

by Gabriel Bell

From Homer to Henry James, storytelling has been the one constant art that has sewn us together as a society and a species. Today, some of the finest practitioners of the bard's tradition are just a pay phone call away. In photographer Phil Toledano's newest book, "Phone Sex," readers are treated to an inside look at the women and men who answer the call when some lonely (or horny) soul dials a 900 number.

Paired with sensitive, often probing portraits taken in their "home offices," Toledano collects the phone-sex workers musings on their art and industry. One rather demure-looking pro-talker recalls the customer who was turned on by the rather questionable conceit that she could raise a motorcycle over her head. Another's account of a scatologically inclined caller appears alongside an innocent snap of her with her adorable toddler. Toledano, who's past subjects have included the haunting work spaces abandoned by the crash of the dot-com boom ("Bankrupt"), says "so many of these operators are fantastic storytellers and have incredible imaginations, creating elaborate hyper-specific fantasies that genuinely turn their callers on."

Have a glance at the book at Phone Sex and purchase it for $50 at Twin Palms Publishers, although at the time of writing the book was on backorder. See Toledano's other works on his site.

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Girl Effect

by Mike Giles

Grow Interactive, a Norfolk-based interactive advertising and design studio, teamed up with leading independent advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, to create Girl Effect. The website, created on behalf of The Nike Foundation, coincides with last week's announcement that the "Nike Foundation and Buffets join to Invest $100 million in Girls."

Visitors to the website learn about "the girl effect," the ability of adolescent girls in developing countries to bring unprecedented social and economic change to their families, communities and countries. For example, studies show that woman reinvest 90% of their income into her family but a man will reinvest 30-40%. The well designed website provides the tools for girls and women to learn and spread the word.

Madeline Valentine Illustrations

by Lost At E Minor

Madeline Valentine creates the most haunting illustrations. What makes the Brooklyn artist's work so amazing is the juxtaposition of her soft, dreamlike aesthetic with the thoroughly intense subject matter that she employs—a contrast that could easily come off as contrived if not executed so beautifully.

Bottom Half Nude Blog

by Fiona Killackey

It seems everyone's a part-time blogger these days and finding out exactly where to waste your office work time can be a difficult task. We thought we'd help you take out the frustration out of the guessing game by letting you in on the arrival of the hilarious Bottom Half Nude. Much like the beloved Craplinks, the founders, three Melbourne-based designers (Mary Pearls, Marty George and Benjita the Creaker), figured the rest of the world should share in their workplace banter. Whether it's a naked Japanese man peeling a banana with his butt cheeks, hilarious rants about particular body parts complete with illustrations or just an overtly weird newspaper snippet, Bottom Half Nude is set for cult status among the world's elite procrastinators. CH caught up with the obviously hard-working trio to find out why they succumbed to the world of blogging.

What was the motivation behind adding another blog to the WWW?
We wanted some kind of refuse dump for our brains. We are all employees of a particularly forgiving design studio, who are gracious enough to allow us to do this, and it is basically a depository for all the thoughts and ideas that don't have any immediate practical use. Kinda like the excess cream that spills out the sides when you're making triple-layer sponge cake.

What's with the name?
It captures in essence what we're trying to do, just letting it all hang out.

Why should people check it out? If you're anything like us, then you might like us, so to speak. People need things to do when they're at work and not working, the Internet needs a filtration unit; hopefully Bottom Half Nude can perform both those roles.

Can a blogger take over the world?
Obviously not individually. I can't see Perez Hilton storming across the border into Poland on a tank any time soon, but I think that, collectively, blogging does offer a democratization of information that is unheard of in history. There have been some amazing, passionately written blogs coming out of Iraq and other stride-torn parts of the world, information that the mainstream media just doesn't report on. But that's not really what Bottom Half Nude is about. We'll leave the freedom fighting, world-changing stuff to the other guys. We'd rather concentrate the big issues like YouTube clips of Japanese game shows.

Reserva Pop-Up Shop at São Paulo Eastpak

by Phuong-Cac Nguyen

The beach is at least an hour and a half away, but Rio de Janeiro men's brand, Reserva, is bringing the easy-breezy life of being close to the ocean to São Paulo with their pop-up store in the back of the Eastpak store. The clothing mix is surfwear-inspired with a bit of Ivy League thrown in, much akin to Hollister. The designers picked up found objects, like a bike to help decorate the space and supporting with an overall bicycle theme to match the owners' philosophy that the two-wheeler is the best method of transportation. The aesthetic also strengthens their idea of the chill, conscious lifestyle they clearly promote in their designs. The pop-up store will be up until 4 July 2008.

Reserva at Eastpak
Through 4 July 2008
Rua Augusta, 2685
Jardins, São Paulo
Brazil map
Tel. +55 (11) 3081 1979

Circle

by Lost At E Minor

Sydney band Circle have just released their debut album Just Keep Swimming and boy does it make me smile. It's an album that works hard to take your mind elsewhere—and succeeds. Driven by piano, the album is a layered sing-a-long pop fiesta with a good dose of guitar stroking, hand clapping shout-out-loud anthems. It will remind you of Ben Folds, Ben Lee and the Beatles, all in one song, and then in the next, Tim Freedman and your family gatherings. It's definitely an album for those lazy Saturday afternoons. Look out for their song "The Chicken and the Troll."