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Mysteries
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Urban living
ad remixes
"Poster Boy": Artist, Vandal, Maker Of Funny Things
The New York subway poster art vandal, despite receiving widespread acclaim from the cognoscenti who determine who's hot these days, continues to work just as hard as when he was not yet being compared to Banksy (who, let's face it, is totally over now that we know who he is, maybe). He's retained his "ironic sloganeering" theme, and is moving strongly into "messing with faces," as well. Here are five of the anonymous subway vandal's latest ad remixes; steal them immediately, as investments: More »
evidence
As a commenter points out, Robin Gunningham, the man the Daily Mail says is in fact supersecret street artist Banksy, has a Facebook page! And among his friends: Peter Dean Rickards—the photographer who took the only known picture of Banksy, in Jamaica. Well that's not how you leave no clues about your identity, dude. [More about Rickards and the famous photo at Animal NY]
Banksy's Incriminating Facebook Friends
As a commenter points out, Robin Gunningham, the man the Daily Mail says is in fact supersecret street artist Banksy, has a Facebook page! And among his friends: Peter Dean Rickards—the photographer who took the only known picture of Banksy, in Jamaica. Well that's not how you leave no clues about your identity, dude. [More about Rickards and the famous photo at Animal NY]
mysteries
Banksy Revealed?! (Not By Us)
Could this be the end of the anonymous life of Banksy—British street artist -to-the-stars, darling of the underground and Angelina Jolie, and the most famous unidentified figure since Batman? We took a shot at solving the mystery ourselves a couple of months ago; but now the Daily Mail has done their own investigation, and we must say: it looks like they have him nailed. All the evidence is below—decide for yourself: More »
mysteries
Identity of Mysterious Hedgie Remains Unknown
Hard to believe, but we still haven't conclusively figured out the identity of the self-styled hedge funder in this photo. He ID'd himself as Prescott Hahn from his own Kensington Square Capital Management fund at the now-infamous Fashion Meets Finance dating event. Since a Prescott Hahn doesn't exist, it led us to believe he was a one Philip Hahn, of the same hedge. (When we contacted 27-year-old Philip, he said that while he did, "regrettably," run his own hedge fund, it couldn't have been him at the party because he was currently on his family's ranch in Kenya.) Then the same gentleman was ID's by several other people as a young man named Tom, a Columbia student and financial intern. It's a mystery! More »
mysteries
Entertainment Weekly's Q&A with Angelina Jolie is unremarkable—except for the remarkably unflattering photograph the magazine uses for its cover. Now it could be that EW wanted an image that matched in spirit the "candid interview" touted in the coverline. But I thought the Hollywood publicists demanded photo approval when negotiating interviews—even when they're pushing a movie such as Jolie's forthcoming Wanted (watch a chase from the movie, here). On the EW cover, the screen beauty's chin juts forward; lighting from above has left a shadow under her nose; the pores haven't been smoothed out in retouching; and there's a mole on her forehead. Well, there was one the issue itself (scan at left) under the letter "r"—in the same photo from the magazine's website (right), however, the spot isn't visible. Did EW bring out the photoshop only after the issue had gone to the printers? (After the jump, the cover and Angelina Jolie's blemishes in higher definition.)
More »
Angelina Jolie's Disappearing Mole
Entertainment Weekly's Q&A with Angelina Jolie is unremarkable—except for the remarkably unflattering photograph the magazine uses for its cover. Now it could be that EW wanted an image that matched in spirit the "candid interview" touted in the coverline. But I thought the Hollywood publicists demanded photo approval when negotiating interviews—even when they're pushing a movie such as Jolie's forthcoming Wanted (watch a chase from the movie, here). On the EW cover, the screen beauty's chin juts forward; lighting from above has left a shadow under her nose; the pores haven't been smoothed out in retouching; and there's a mole on her forehead. Well, there was one the issue itself (scan at left) under the letter "r"—in the same photo from the magazine's website (right), however, the spot isn't visible. Did EW bring out the photoshop only after the issue had gone to the printers? (After the jump, the cover and Angelina Jolie's blemishes in higher definition.)
More »
from the mailbag
"Enough with dancing mushrooms and asparagus parfaits."
I received this mysterious message yesterday (subject line: "Critical Condition") from someone who must have thought it very important, because it was sent via Blackberry at almost midnight. The sender's identity is unknown. The only clues are a strong animosity towards exclusive noodle bar Momofuku, a disdain for Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni, and an intimate knowledge of cancer doctors, all rolled up in a jet-set lifestyle and finished with (I'm guessing) about a fifth of Jim Beam. What does it all mean? Please reveal yourself, imperious drunken stranger! The full message for you to analyze, after the jump. More »
explanations
Find Where Facebook Ranks Your Friends
This morning we posted the "Nefarious O Value" theory of the mystery Facebook Stalker feature. Now, a second tech-savvy tipster writes in with step-by-step instructions for how to find Facebook's unexplained "O" ranking for every single one of your friends on the site. In other words—from what we can gather, at least—there's a file on your computer that tells you exactly how the site's algorithms rank each and every person in your social circle. The instructions are after the jump. Please write in and let us know what your results are. The code may soon be cracked! More »
energy
Starbucks Shovels More Stimulants Into Caffeine-Addled Masses
It's about time that Starbucks offered weary consumers a little energy with their oversized caffeinated beverages. The coffee chain and infectious disease spreader is now providing the option of a "+Energy" addition to any drink. The new energy formula contains B-vitamins, guarana, and ginseng, which is the same mixture that they toss in most canned energy drinks these days, along with eye-popping amounts of caffeine. What I would like to know is this: what one flavor could possibly taste palatable mixed with every single thing that Starbucks sells, from coffee to tea to fruit-flavored goop? More »
mysteries
The "Nefarious O Value" Facebook Stalker Theory
Yesterday we posted five theories about the mysterious Facebook Stalker feature—the one some people think is an undercover way to identify those ex-lovers who are still pining for you, although that is totally unconfirmed and probably false. But we have to admit, none of those theories involved any weird computer language or technical terms. But an astute reader has sent us a theory that, based on the fact that I can't really understand its technical talk, sounds very insightful. We'll call it the "Nefarious O Value" theory. The full email is after the jump. More »
mysteries
Incompetent Facebook Leaves Open Back Door To Stalker Feature
Aha—Facebook has issued a statement on the mysterious stalker feature that we spent all day covering: "Facebook tries to surface the people we think are most important to users to make it easier and faster for them to navigate the site and find what they are looking for...The search drop down is not a list of those that have searched for the user. It is also not a list of people whose profile the user has viewed the most or who have viewed the user's profile the most. To avoid any confusion, this will no longer appear." See, you were too stupid to handle it! But wait: as our commenters figured out in about one minute flat, typing a period (".") in the search box brings up the same five-person list. And are they really your "most important users?" Random. We urge continued experimentation.
mysteries
Gawker Kills Facebook Stalker Feature?
And it's gone! It appears that the mysterious Facebook stalker feature—that allowed you to call up the names of five people who (we think) were searching for you most, just by pressing the down arrow in the search field—has been disabled. Our post on the feature went up shortly after 1:00; by 4:30 (or possibly earlier, based on our comments), it was no longer working. They're quick! We have an email in to Facebook to find out exactly what happened. How could they take it down without even explaining what it was? They mystery is eating us up inside. We will find the truth. [UPDATE: As noted in the comments, it looks like simply typing a period (".") in the search box will still bring up the same list of five people. Hope is not lost!]
mysteries
Who's Stalking You On Facebook?
A tipster notes that if you go to your Facebook page, click on the search box, and then hit the down arrow, up pops a list of the five people who search for your name most often. It seems to work! Although maybe it's just five random people. And maybe you all know this already? In any case, it's something to talk about with nerds. UPDATE: Well, this post has generated quite a bit of disagreement! Below, five thoughtful theories attempting to solve this pressing mystery: More »
nick walker
Banksy Doppelganger Strikes Hipster Tea House
British stencil artist Nick Walker—whose name was recently floated by a leading website as a plausible answer to the question "Who is anonymous international superstar street artist Banksy, really?"—has been a busy man. Not only was he spotted painting a piece on the side of Thunder Jacksons in the West Village—which sparked all this Banksy speculation in the first place—he also did quite a nice giraffe-themed work on the side of Roebling Tea Room in Williamsburg. We're still trying to pin down the true nature of the Banksy-Walker connection, so if you happen to have spotted Walker at work, email us. After the jump, two larger pictures [via Williamsburg is Dead] of the towering ruminant. More »
theories
Banksy Unmasked?
Banksy: millionaire street artist, fierce cultural critic, celebrity darling of the art world. The man's prestige has been immeasurably enhanced by his anonymity. He insists on it, and it gives him an air of mystery that only increases his allure to the media, fans, and collectors alike. An alleged photo of him was widely circulated last year, but it certainly didn't result in his real name being printed in his omnipresent media coverage. Those in his inner circle insist on strict concealment of his identity. Theories, of course, abound. But today, Bucky Turco at Animal NY believes he's stumbled upon Banksy's true identity. Combined with some corroborating evidence we got ourselves, the case is plausible—though far from proven. Now this would be big news: More »
previews
More Closeted Athlete Details From The Gay Hip Hop Author
Terrance Dean, the former MTV producer who's about to release his hotly-anticipated-by-us book on the gay secrets of hip hop, has provided a few more details on "Preston," the mystery pro athlete who Dean says he had a fling with at an island resort. So all of you who guessed football players, baseball players, or Mike Tyson: wrong!: More »
The Hulu Mystery
Just yesterday, the single most popular episode of any of the fantastical tv shows available for on-demand viewing at Hulu was some utterly random selection from a forgotten '80s detective show called Simon and Simon. And today, it's gone. Just like that. WE DEMAND ANSWERS, NBC/UNIVERSAL (AND FOX). [Hulu, Previously]
Just yesterday, the single most popular episode of any of the fantastical tv shows available for on-demand viewing at Hulu was some utterly random selection from a forgotten '80s detective show called Simon and Simon. And today, it's gone. Just like that. WE DEMAND ANSWERS, NBC/UNIVERSAL (AND FOX). [Hulu, Previously]
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