Zeon Santos's Blog Posts

Photographer Documents The Secret Side Of China's Underground Club Life

The underground vice club scene in China is darker and seedier than one would imagine despite the official ban on sex workers and strip clubs, as Ukranian artist Sergey Melnitchenko discovered when he moved to Hong Kong in 2015.

Working as a model and dancer Sergey soon took up a camera to capture all the strange and interesting moments seen while working in the sleazy nightclub scene:

“Transvestites, girls bathing in tubs of beer, drunk actors and even more drunk visitors. All of this [is the] club, the club where I’m working,” that’s the introduction Sergey gives to his photo series ‘Behind The Scenes,’ which he made during a four-month employment in an unnamed Chinese underground club.

“[It] is more like a huge bar with a stage, because no one of the visitors is dancing here,” explains Sergey, who’s photo series is all about “the invisible side of the club, the atmosphere,” and the look into the backstage, where “there is more burlesque than on the stage.”

See more from Photographer Documents The Secret Side Of China's Underground Clubs here (NSFW-ish)


Meet The King Of The Workers In This Animated Propaganda Short From 1949

In the wake of World War II America became embroiled in a new conflict- the Cold War, aka the War against Communism which gave us McCarthyism and the Red Scare.

The rise of the Commies scared the crap out of the American government, so various propaganda films were created to bolster American pride and remind Americans how good they have it here.

(YouTube Link)

Meet King Joe is a prime example of the sort of propaganda being created to appeal to the American people so they wouldn't "turn red":

This 1949 Technicolor cartoon is a Cold War-era propaganda film aimed at American workers with the objective of convincing them of their good fortune. It shows us the life of a common working man in America, and how he is able to achieve financial success for himself thanks to investment, competition, research, and technology.

Joe, an average American working man who, wears overalls and talks with a pseudo-Brooklyn accent, is "king of the workers of the world" not because he is worthy, but because the machinery in his factory "multiplies strength and efficiency." We also learn that Joe is "king" not because he can exert power over anything, but because "he can buy more with his wages than any other worker on the globe."

We gets a nicely illustrated introduction to then-standard basic economic theories of production and investment that "make the United States the industrial master of the world”. As proof that the American capitalist system is the most wonderful on earth, the narrator informs us that Americans own 72% of the cars in the world, 92% of the bathtubs, and "practically all the refrigerators in existence." The narrator sums up the attitude industrial America was pushing: "Labor and management must continue to increase the production of better goods at lower prices so that more people will be able to buy the things that make life easier and happier for all of us."

The cartoon is a John Sutherland production. It is one of the "fun and facts about America" series, made "to create a deeper understanding of what has made America the finest place in the world to live."


Gummy Gas Crisis Is A Real Blast To Watch

Old school 2D platformers are fun to play but not all that fun to watch being played, because the flat graphics don't do the action-packed scenes justice.

But if you could see a 3D view of the action, which would make you feel like you're watching the game play out in person, then platform games would feel a lot like Gummy Gas Crisis directed by Rodrigo Diaz of Blirp Studio.

The characters are cartoony and colorful, the action is frenetic and platform-y, and the animation is top notch, so if you're ready strap in and enjoy the ride!

GUMMY GAS CRISIS from Blirp Studio on Vimeo.

-Via Cartoon Brew


An Aladdin-Inspired Piescraper Palace

Piescrapers are a dessert creation we've all dreamt about but never dared hope we'd actually get to see, much less eat, in real life, but just like the Piecaken and the Pizza Pot Pie this dessert dreams has come true.

And if your piescraper dream involved Aladdin as well then you're going to find this Palace Piescraper creation made by Pies Are Awesome doubly delicious- even though it's almost too good looking to eat!

(YouTube Link)

-Via Geeks Are Sexy


Kind Human Repeatedly Rescues Dumb Raccoon From Trash Bin

Rescue a wild animal once and you're an animal lovin' hero, but when you have to rescue the same wild animal over and over again it's time to wonder whether natural selection is trying to take its course.

Because there must be something wrong with a wild critter who keeps landing in a heap of trouble only a human can rescue them from, right?

Well, maybe the raccoon Dmitry Tkachenko keeps rescuing, the one he calls Sneaky Pete, is like one of those hapless characters you see in the cartoons- a well-meaning goofball who can't seem to take ten steps without falling flat on their face.

(YouTube Link)

Dmitry says he has been rescuing Sneaky Pete from the trash bin approximately 5 times a week since July 2016, when Pete was but a wee trash panda:

This silly trash panda needs rescuing approximately 5 times a week. Hopefully he’ll remember my kindness and take care of me when I get old.

-Via Laughing Squid


Elmo Vs. Sulfuric Acid

Even though I'm a big fan of the Muppets and everything Jim Henson ever created that saccharin cute little guy Elmo has always bothered me, and his "Elmo think glass is always full!" version of optimism makes me gag.

So for me it's delightful to see bad things happen to Elmo toys, and ever since those annoying Tickle Me Elmo dolls came out many people have come to feel the same way about Elmo as I do.

And the folks behind Will It Last? were happy to show their dislike by destroying a plush Elmo in a horrific way- by dumping sulfuric acid on him so they can have the last laugh while Elmo's whole body melts into a pile of goo.

(YouTube Link)


Doctor Takes A Break From Giving Birth To Deliver Another Patient's Baby

It can be hard for women to find an OB-GYN they feel comfortable with and even harder to find a doctor who makes you feel like they're just as concerned about the safety of your baby as you are.

But the truth is there aren't many obstetricians out there like Dr. Amanda Hess- because she's so dedicated to her profession she took a break from delivering her own baby to help deliver someone else's child.

Dr. Hess was in labor at her hospidal in Frankfort, Kentucky when she heard a woman screaim down the hall.

The woman was fully dilated and ready to deliver, but the on-call doctor was on break and wouldn't make it back in time, so

“I just put on a gown to cover my backside and put on some boots over my shoes, to keep from getting any fluid and all that stuff on me, and went down to her room," Hess told WKYT.

As it turned out, Dr. Hess knew the woman about to give birth, Leah Halliday Johnson. Dr. Hess, in fact, had even given Johnson her last checkup a few days earlier.

Dr. Hess, despite being in labor herself, immediately went to work. This was a relief to Johnson, who "was just glad to be able to get to push and have the baby out and not have to wait any longer," Hess told WKYT.

After delivering Leah's baby Dr. Hess went back in and gave birth to her own bundle of joy, and it seems little Ellen Joyce didn't mind waiting one bit.

-Via BuzzFeed


Adam Savage Builds A Really Sharp Looking Replica Of Excalibur

For generations fantasy nerds have dreamed of the moment when they are able to pull Excalibur out of the stone and become a mythic hero like King Arthur, but it ain't every day that you come across a magic sword in a stone.

However, Adam Savage was able to make a pretty sharp looking replica of Excalibur from the movie Excalibur out of aluminum as part of his One Day Builds series for Tested, and he found making a replica is nearly as hard as forging a real sword!

(YouTube Link)

All Adam has to do now is stick that sword into a prop stone in his front yard so he can start each day by pulling the sword from the stone and holding it aloft, exclaiming "I have the power!" Oh wait, that was He-Man...

-Via Sploid


Vivid Portraits Of People Surrounded By Their Belongings

We dwell inside homes surrounded by all of our stuff, and whether it's visible or stashed away all the stuff we own is always around us, just hanging out waiting for us to put it to good use.

This stuff says a lot about us, revealing our interests, habits, economic class and more, so if people we don't know could see us with our stuff they could learn a lot about us in an instant.

Japanese-born, Paris-based photographer Mami Kiyoshi has spent the last 15 years shooting portraits of people with their stuff, the scenes in her "New Reading Portraits" series set up to resemble ancient woodcut prints or religious art:

“I am interested in history”, says Kiyoshi, “and how it is always told by someone. Sometimes it’s a myth, sometimes an anecdote”.

“I try to make my models look like Buddhas, primitive gods or heroes”, says Kiyoshi.

-Via design you trust


We Feed Our Spider Bro At Work

Despite the pro-arachnid message in stories like Charlotte's Web and Legend of the Christmas Spider people still prefer to kill spiders on sight rather than trying to co-exist with their eight legged guest.

And while it's understandable to feel that way after hearing stories about people being bit by spiders people oughta know that some spiders don't want to bite us- because bros never bite bros.

(YouTube Link)

The guys who shot this video have been feeding their spider bro for over a year- the spider gets free room and board and the guys get to watch their tiny bro battle his meal to the death.

-Via Boing Boing


The Illustrated Truth About Dating Someone Younger

Age difference shouldn't, and often doesn't, make much of a difference in a relationship, and aside from generational differences such as how we were raised and our interests we're all more alike than we care to admit.

But the older you get the harder it is to date younger people without feeling like you're with someone who just got their learner's permit while you're about to qualify for an AARP discount.

These cute and totally relatable comic strips by Cassandra Calin reveal the truth about dating someone younger- age is nothing but a number when your partner makes life feel fun again!

-Via CollegeHumor


Sparkle Moore: The Mysterious Rockabilly Pioneer You've Never Heard Of

During the 1950s rockabilly artists were coming out of the woodwork to record singles, hoping the disc jockeys would play their 45s on the radio and make them famous like that good ol' boy Elvis.

Fame would never come for most of them, but rockabilly pioneer Barbara Morgan, aka Sparkle Moore, had the chance to become the "female Elvis" back in 1957 and gave it all up just when things were starting to get good:

Moore's career lasted less than two years—just long enough for her to tour with pill-popping rockabilly wildman Gene Vincent; hobnob with celebs like Sammy Davis Jr., who compared her to James Dean; and get booked at the Grand Ole Opry, a gig she had to cancel due to laryngitis. The bio on Sparkle’s official website also claims that she “takes credit for being the first hippie to hit California several years later with a guitar strapped on the side of a Harley,” but since she’s done virtually no press, it’s unknown what adventures she got into in Hollywood.

(YouTube Link)

Even though Sparkle only ever recorded four songs she was a trailblazer for female rockers because she refused to give up her individual sense of style to conform to gender norms:

She certainly dressed the part. At a time when female singers only wore dresses, Sparkle sported men’s slacks and suit jackets. She was butch on the bottom and bombshell up top, with a platinum blonde pompadour that made her look like Sparkle Plenty, the Dick Tracy character for whom she was named. In a rare 1986 interview with the magazine Kicks, Sparkle remembered how she used to freak people out with her masculine stage wear.

“People would see me when I went to play somewhere, and they’d say, ‘Can’t you wear something more sexy, like a gown?’” Moore said. “And I never would. I always wore a playing suit, and I’d say, ‘This is as sexy as I get.’”

(YouTube Link)

Read more about Sparkle Moore: The Mysterious Rockabilly Pioneer You've Never Heard Of at Mental Floss


Animal Lover Documents The Slow But Rewarding Process Of Befriending A Feral Cat

You don't have to be a die-hard cat lover to adopt a shelter cat and give them a new home, but you have to be a mega-fan of felines to put in the time and effort necessary to befriend a feral cat.

This is especially true if you're an avid bird watcher like Backyard Birder and the feral cat you're befriending has been killing the fine feathered friends in your area:

A beautiful feral cat starts hunting backyard wildlife – a dilemma for animal lovers! I decide to watch, film and try to get to know this wild creature and see if a win-win solution is possible.

Stopping a feral cat's killing spree by befriending it is truly compassionate, and as you can see in this video by Backyard Birder he is a very compassionate man, and his efforts helped save the lives of cat and birds and squirrels alike.

(YouTube Link)

Backyard Birder's first feral cat encounter took place in 2014, and the feral cat in the video was later caught by the city and adopted.

A year later another feral cat came strolling into his backyard but this smooth operator only worked at night, so Backyard Birder simply observed and documented the night prowler's actions.

(YouTube Link)

-Via Laughing Squid


The Nigerian Remake Of "Purple Rain" Is Cinematic Magic

It's doubtful whether anyone has ever referred to Prince's movie Purple Rain as "cinematic magic", especially considering Prince was way more enjoyable to watch in concert than in that schlocky 80s flick.

But Nigerian director Christopher Kirkley and cinematographer Jeremy Fino clearly saw merit in the story of a guitar wielding rebel who rides a purple motorcycle and dresses like a bit of a fop- because they remade Purple Rain for a West African audience.

Their version is called "Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai", translation- "Rain the color of blue with a little red in it", which is why they released it as simply "Akounak".

And even though it's inspired by Purple Rain this first ever Tuareg language fictional film has a main character who makes Prince's "The Kid" look like a spoiled brat:

Like the lone, nameless gunslinger in a Sergio Leone western, the central character in Kirkley’s film, musician Mdou Moctar, travels through the desert with a guitar instead of a rifle or Colt 45. And instead of a horse, he rides a motorcycle… a purple one. The gunslinger analogy is apt because guitar players in Agadez and surrounding areas battle among themselves to gain status as the fastest gun in the west, with six strings replacing six bullets.

The combination of Moctar’s live performances, the otherworldly beauty of the Sahara, Jeremy Fino’s luminous cinematography and Kirkley’s intimate and supple style of direction make Anounak one of those rare fictional films about music that has the pulse of real life and the resonance of great art.

akounak from J. Sprig on Vimeo.

-Via Dangerous Minds


What Harajuku Girls Really Look Like

The Harajuku shopping district in Tokyo gained international notoriety after it became the hip place for fashion forward Japanese youths to hang out, the most famous group being the so-called "Harajuku Girls".

But what most people don't realize is these "Harajuku Girls" are from different subculture groups with totally different styles and attitudes, from the romantic and fancy Lolitas to the rough and tumble Bosozoku biker gangs.

And one of the most adorable Harajuku styles is called Decora, characterized by wearing as many cute accessories as possible to in order to decorate your hair and your wardrobe.

(YouTube Link)

This Refinery29 video from a few years back takes us on a trip to Tokyo to hang out with a super kawaii Decora girl and see how she and her friends do their thang in the Harajuku.


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Profile for Zeon Santos

  • Member Since 2012/08/04


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