The late, greatAmy Winehousehas received an unusual tribute in the form of a portrait made from pills. San Francisco-based artistJason Mecierused 5,000 multicoloured tablets to create the intricate work, in honour of theBack to Blacksinger's short but remarkable life.
Mecier is well-known for his wacky celebrity collages, which he builds from beer tops, sweets, trash and other unusual materials. Stars including Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson and Shirley Bassey have been lovingly re-created in this way - and some are apparently so enamoured by the idea they contribute items for Mecier to feature in their portraits. See examples of some of Mecier's best celebrity pieces, below, and immerse yourself in a world of junk.
It’s not normally like us to jump on the bandwagon and make fun of celebrities who are on the front pages every single day for a week straight. However, this entire Charlie Sheen is one of those once in a lifetime things that the press is really stretching to its outer limits.
And rather than blast the guy any further I thought we could focus on some of the lighter things in the life of Sheen. Let us reflect on some quotes he’s made over the years.
Here are ten you’ll surely enjoy
*And don’t forget to check out the video at the end of this. It’s amazing…..
On Probation
“I knew if I got loaded I was going away for a while. People would say, Oh, you’re just sober because you’re on probation.”
On Rehab
“I saw 28 Days. I don’t remember rehab being like a day camp or being that funny. Rehab is a dumping ground. It’s a big landfill.”
On Sex
“I was with one at a time with the other four watching. It was a little uncomfortable, actually. I wouldn’t recommend five at once. There’s just not enough guy to go around.”
On Rehab part 2
“Slash sat me down at his house and said, You’ve got to clean up your act. You know you’ve gone too far when Slash is saying, Look, you’ve got to get into rehab.”
On Life
“Sure, I did a lot of things in excess. But if you look at the core, the foundation of what I pursued, what red-blooded young American male in my position wouldn’t”
On Reflection
“When friends asked me, Can we help? I’d say, Not unless you can alter time, speed up the harvest or teleport me off this rock. I used that line from Star Wars.”
On Two and a Half Men
“I’m gonna sue em all!!
On Crack most likely
I’m tired of pretending I’m not a total bitchin’ rock star from Mars
On Himself
“I am on a drug. It’s called Charlie Sheen. It’s not available because if you try it once your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body.
On Drugs
“The last time I took drugs I probably took more that anyone could survive. I was banging seven gram rocks because that’s how I roll, I have one speed, go. I have a different constitution, a different brain, a different heart. I got tiger blood man.”
On his Sexual Exploits
“What’s not to love? Especially when you see how I party, it was epic. The run I was on made Sinatra, Flynn, Jagger, Richards and all of them look like droopy-eyed armless children”
In honor of the coolest guitarist of all time’s upcoming autobiography, Life, The Guardian UK has collected a series of 20 staggering revelations from Keith Richards’ long and ludicrously storied life. From getting caught dropping acid and mistaking his arresting police officers for dwarves, setting fire to the Playboy Mansion, injecting heroin in his “bum,” and swapping wives and lovers with Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, Life is a cavalcade of ridiculous and extreme living. It’s also pretty hilarious. Check out a collection of the top five revelations after the jump.
1. On the night of the infamous 1967 Redlands drug bust, Keef was so far gone on LSD that when the police arrived at his Sussex country mansion, he mistook them for uniformed dwarves, welcoming them in with open arms.
2. He has tight veins. So tight, in fact, that he and his doctors struggle to find them; when he took heroin he had to inject it into his muscles, and sometimes the flesh of his bum. He describes this practice in the book as “interesting” but “not politically correct”.
3. He once nearly burned down the Playboy Mansion (in his words: “basically it’s a whorehouse”). At a party in the 1970s, he and sax player Bobby Keys accidentally set fire to a bathroom while playing “smörgåsbord” with their doctor’s drugs. When staff finally broke down the door to put out the fire, a drugged-up Keef, oblivious to the flames, asked: “How dare you burst in on our private affair?”
4. He’s a fan of the corny James Bond pun. Take this corker, for example, describing the night Brian Jones was taken to hospital after throwing a punch at then-girlfriend Anita Pallenberg and smashing his fist into a metal window frame: “He was never good at connecting with Anita.” Genius.
5. He used to live in a Nazi mansion. In 1971, Keith moved with Pallenberg and their first son Marlon to a French villa named Nellcôte. During the German occupation of France in the second world war, Nellcôte was the local Gestapo headquarters, and there were still swastikas on the radiators when Keef arrived. It was there that the Stones recorded their 10th studio album, Exile on Main Street.
Mike Tyson sat down with Pablo S. Torre for a feature in Sports Illustrated's 'Where Are They Now' issue, on newsstands this week.
Howard Schatz/SI
This spring, over the course of two days and two different cities (New York and Las Vegas), I spent approximately eight hours hanging out with Mike Tyson. The final product is a feature in Sports Illustrated's annual "Where Are They Now?" issue, on newsstands this week. Here, below, is a portion of our conversation.
SI: I imagine you have a few stories from your days as a junkie.
Mike Tyson: Listen: I was in St. Tropez, in the South of France. In Ibiza, Spain. I was in Monte Carlo. I was in the Ukraine, Russia, all those places, for three months. From Russia I went to Lisbon, Portgual, from Portugal I went to Amsterdam. In Amsterdam I met this drug dealer, right? And he sees that I like getting high, and he wants to be my buddy, right? This guy goes and gets me a big rock of cocaine. So pretty soon I got a party going on. I got everything: I got these rugby players. I got these naked girls, I got all these ... everything's going on in the room. Plus I also had this girl with me that I picked up in Romania. But then [the dealer he met in Amsterdam] saw how much of a mess I was. He came in and kicked everybody out of my room! All the nude people, all the people having sex. He said, "I feel so bad I ever gave him that stuff."
SI: How about in Las Vegas? What would your typical day in Vegas be like?
Tyson: This is how the day would start: I would go to a club, at say, 2 o'clock [a.m.]. Hang out there for what, two hours, and then I'd go to the after-hours [clubs], that start at 6 o'clock [a.m.]. So I'd stay there from 6 in the morning to 7:30 at night. I'd be sitting down and drinking and doing cocaine, talking to girls ... doing anything. Everything. Then I make it home and I'm tripping out at home. I'm calling people, I'm tired, but I've got people coming in and we're making plans to go out a few hours later. We're getting high, staying up, [doing] cocaine. Somebody would be calling me: "Come hang out with me." So we would go out and get high, till 11 o'clock [p.m.] or something, then go somewhere, to a bar or somewhere. We might go to a club, then get high all day long.
SI: You got involved with prostitutes.
Tyson: Listen, I was living a crazy life. A [prostitute] would go, "There's that guy who hit me the other day, who took money from me the other day, who intimidated me." And [that guy] had to give some money up. [I'd say,] "This is my girl, man. She works for me now. This is my girl now." That's how it was. I wanted to show loyalty to these people. I was so stupid. I'd say, "If you have a problem, just let me know." And all these guys would say, "What's Mike Tyson going to do [to me]?" It was always like that until I got in their f-----' ass. I'm a nice man, but back then, I wasn't. I'm not proud of it.
SI: So your home looks pretty different now, it's safe to say...
Tyson: I'm very fortunate that I have my wife and my children. I don't know how it happened, but, man, I'm living such a different life. Listen: If I allowed my will to run riot, this house would be full, you'd hear people screaming from sex upstairs. If I allowed my mind to run riot, that's what this place would be like.
SI: How many times did you end up going to rehab?
Tyson: I was addicted to rehab. I was like the poster boy, because I would go to like five meetings a day. You were only required to go to one. I would go to five, because I'm an addictive freak. I love hanging out, the camaraderie. It's just awesome! But you know what people want, too? [Tyson leans in closer, his voice suddenly quieter.] This is what I realized, bro: It gives people family. A way of starting over. [In rehab] we start a new life with new family members. And all they gotta do to stay in this family is not get high, and you gotta try really hard. And then if you do get high? "We got your back." That's what I like.
SI: What do you see when you look back at your infamous press conferences?
Tyson: I always wanted to be that guy who said, "F--- you." When I see people doing that, trying to imitate me, these tough guys trying to emulate me, I'm sitting there thinking, like, This guy's an idiot, so I know I'm an idiot. Floyd Mayweather doesn't stand a chance as far as that idiocy. He's not even in my league as an a--hole. He's a good kid. Everyone's hard on him, but this is a great kid. He's just a kid having fun, living in a fantasy world.
Behind the Tyson photo shoot
Source:SI
SI.com takes you behind the lens during the Mike Tyson photo shoot while reporter Pablo Torre discusses what it's like to spend a day with Iron Mike.
SI: When did your wife, Kiki, really get to know you?
Tyson: She really got to know who I am, the real core, maybe two years ago, three years ago. She got to know the barometer of an individual. She never gave up on me; I gave up on me. But she would never give up. I have a great deal of respect for her as a human being for that. Me and her, we're too far gone as just human beings to try and butter each other up.
SI: What was it like to lose over 100 pounds of weight?
Tyson: I don't want to be grotesque, but when you're 330 pounds, it's hard to wipe your a--. You know? I didn't like living like that. I felt like an animal. I'm more active than I have been in years.
SI: You're a big fan of ancient history, I've heard.
Tyson: I like classical biographies. Hannibal was an awesome person. Clovis was pretty awesome, the Franks and stuff. The Khans: Genghis and his grandsons. Listen, this is pretty interesting, with this Clovis guy. Clovis was king at 15. He gets to be king at 15 with some of his father's ragtag army. Still, he would conquer people and take all their lands. He was still an evil guy. His bloodline became kings of different countries.
SI: How did you learn about all of that stuff? Do you go online now?
Tyson: Before I got involved with the Internet, I used audio books. I used to listen to them while working out, or lying down and falling asleep. [Kiki, his wife, then interjects: "He'll randomly, out of the blue, say, 'Google for me, Who is Clovis' father's first monkey's pet?' It's the craziest things."]
SI: What did you make of your time in jail?
Tyson: In a weird way, prison was the best thing that happened to me. Imagine if I was out here from '92 to '95 -- I probably would have caught AIDS, I would've got shot, I would've got into all kinds of s---. You have no idea what kind of person I was on the street, when I was in Mike Tyson megalomaniac mode.
SI: You famously converted to Islam. Are you still very religious?
Tyson: You know, people say, "My god is better than your god." But how do we prove whose god is better? And this is when it gets really interesting. This is how we prove whose god is better than whose: [by saying,] "I'm going to kill you, or you're going to kill me first." And that's real godly. That's real godly. Yeah. I bet you people think, I wonder who would win a fight with the Prophet Mohammad and Jesus? These are sick people. This is crazy, you know what I mean?
Bernie Carbo was out of major league baseball by the age of 33, but now stays connected with the game by running a fantasy camp each year in Mobile, Ala. (Stan Grossfeld/ Globe Staff)
boston.com —Bernie Carbo launched the greatest pinch-hit home run in Red Sox history. He admitted he was high on drugs during the 1975 World Series. Now he has cleaned up his act.
Maybe they really were high at the time, or maybe they simply held too high an opinion of themselves: the sort of arrogance that leads people to believe they’re above messing up the lives of their children – that the little celebrity mini-me’s couldn’t possibly have their school years ruined by an unrelenting barrage of insults and bullying. And all because of a name. A stupid, goddamn name. Mom? Dad? I don’t care how many lousy films you made or embarrassing albums
you recorded. How could you have done this to me?
10. Apple born of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin
No, this name didn’t come to fruition due to a love affair – or marketing deal – with iphones or Macs. Apparently, Gwyneth Paltrow and shoe gazing lead singer of Coldplay, Chris Martin named their daughter Apple purely by chance or because apples are whole, sweet and crisp. Yeah, when they’re not bad, rotten to the core, basically well past their sell-by-date. A bit like daddy’s albums.
Fifi Trixibelle born of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates
Any couple that names their other kids Peaches Honeyblossom and Little Pixie are unlikely to have blessed their firstborn with a less freakish moniker. Fifi Trixibelle is said to have been named after celebrity activist onetime pop star dad Bob Geldof’s beloved aunt Fifi, with the Trixibelle bit coming about due to mom Paula Yates’ fascination with southern belles. That’s no excuse though. It still comes out sounding like the podium call at a dog show. They should have tried Fido Snoopy
Lassie. Pedigree naming.
Moon Unit born of Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa was a legend, no doubt about it, but those same liberally consumed substances that one would assume oiled the wheels of his experimental musical output may have also helped him dream up some damn strange names for his kids. The father of Dweezil and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen first procreated a girl he named Moon Unit. Yep, barely visible through the herbal haze of the 70s, Zappa was the daddy of the crazy celebrity naming brigade, and Moon Unit set the tone for doped out generations to come.
Jermajesty born of Jermaine Jackson
This is our personal favorite. Whatever white powder it is that feeds the ego and takes it to new and unheard of levels of self-glorifying idiocy, Jermaine Jackson and partner Alejandra Genevieve Oaziaza (previously married to Jermaine’s brother Randy) must’ve been on it in copious quantities. Seriously, though, the ex-Jackson Five star is a guy who has said he ’sees people’ from the 1800s if he sleeps with the lights off, so he’s obviously one sandwich short of a picnic. Yes Jermajesty. Hilarious.
Memphis Eve born of Bono
Perhaps it’s small wonder that a self-absorbed rock star who named himself after a hearing aid retailer, Bono Vox, should give his daughter a similarly stupid name like Memphis Eve. As if in competition with his band mate The Edge – who named his own progeny Blue Angel – Bono went all weird with the naming of his own child. Was the baby conceived of an evening in Memphis? We hope so, otherwise someone should tell the U2
front man there’s no such thing as Memphis Day.
Prince Michael II born of Michael Jackson
We know it’s not really the done thing to speak ill of the dead, but someone – even a dead someone – who names their miraculously conceived offspring after themselves while adding the cheesiest of royal titles must have been a bit nuts in the head. Oh wait, that’s exactly what the King of Pop was. Freaking nuts. Prince Michael II was also given the nickname Blanket, a word that in this context somehow seems a little too cuddly.
Rocket born of Robert Rodriguez
Father to children who go by the names of Racer, Rebel, Rogue and, best of all, Rocket, Robert Rodriguez is evidently a film maker keen to preserve the really quite relentlessly repetitious alliterative qualities of his own name in his bloodline. And to do so while conjuring a host of boyishly action-packed images – much like the Sin City director’s films.
Sage Moonblood born of Sylvester Stallone
This here’s a classic from Sylvester ‘don’t push me’ Stallone and his first wife Sasha Czack from the Rambo star’s pre-puffed up plastic surgery face days in the 80s. Also parent to one Seargeoh, Sly, who went on to write the script for Rocky, appears to have named his second son (an actor who appeared with his father in Rocky V and Daylight) after one of his early pen names, Q. Moonblood. Who knows where the Sage part came from? More herbal influence of a kind though.
Kal-El Coppola born of Nicholas Cage
Receding Hollywood actor Nicholas Cage showed himself to be the ultimate comic book geek when he named his son Kal-El, which is Superman’s original birth name. We’re not sure whether the other kids in kindergarten would see the cool side of this before giving young Kal-El a few punches in the stomach, just to see if he could retaliate with his legendary superpowers. ‘He’ll be OK as long as they don’t break out the kryptonite,’ Cage is reported to have said. Yeah thanks dad.
Bluebell Madonna born of Geri Halliwell
Last but by no means least (certainly in voluptuousness stakes), Geri Halliwell, formerly known as Ginger Spice, who decided to name her own bouncing baby Bluebell Madonna. We’re presuming the second part of the name is an ode to our Madge, a real Queen of Pop
. Who knows where Bluebell blossomed from? Frankly, who cares? It’s a dumb name. That’s all you need to know.
Have you ever thought that Goofy was just a little bit too goofy? Wonder where Woody Woodpecker gets all that energy? Keep reading to take a look at 10 children’s characters who were obviously on drugs:
1 Scooby Doo and Shaggy Marijuana
Scooby and Shaggy were clearly the two slackers of Mystery, Inc. Add in the fact that they always had the munchies, were way too paranoid about everything and drove around in the back of a van, and it’s pretty safe to say that these two were ripping bong hits every chance they got. Of course, there’s also the infamous recurring scene in which the Mystery Machine drives away and smoke curiously billows out the back. Scoobie DOOBIE Doo!
2 Woody Woodpecker Cocaine
The hyper-speed energy of Woody Woodpecker is just too boundless and frenetic to be the mannerisms of a completely sober cartoon character. I mean, you can’t watch an episode of this classic cartoon – what with Woody bouncing off the walls, eyes all big and dilated – and not start to catch onto the fact that he was snorting something up that beak of his.
3 The Caterpillar From Alice in Wonderland Opium
The Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland smokes out of a hookah – case closed. Further ammo – at one point he exhales and a cloud of smoke in the shape of a Chinese dragon comes out of his mouth. Oh, and he also informs Alice that she can grow and shrink through the use of mushrooms. Sounds like the guy knows his way around a drug party.
Note: The Caterpillar is probably just the clearest example of someone getting stoned in Wonderland. The Mad Hatter and Cheshire Cat were clearly on something as well, and Tweedledum and Tweedledee were probably huffing paint out in those woods.
4 Goofy Glue
Speaking of huffing, Goofy was just a little too loopy to suffer from low IQ alone. With his patented awkward walk and remarkable ability to fall flat on his ass, those motor skills of his were obviously impaired in some way. My bet is on rubber cement, but I could also see this dopey Mickey sidekick sniffing on a Sharpie or sucking nitrous from a red balloon.
5 Chester Cheetah Marijuana
Forget the old cats vs. dog feud – Chester Cheetah would be great friends with Scooby Doo. If this cartoon feline ever took off those patented sunglasses of his, it’s probably fair to say we’d see a couple of dry, bloodshot eyes. And of course, anyone who loves Cheetos as much as that Cheetah has got to have a pretty healthy level of THC circulating through the body.
6 Popeye Steroids
Spinach makes you strong? Yeah, right – not that fast at least. Symptoms of steroid use include sudden growth in muscles, increased aggression and feelings of invincibility. Sound familiar? Oh yeah, another symptom is poor decision making – which would explain why ol’ Popeye was dating that whiny string bean with the wobbly arms – Olive Oyl.
7 Pepe Le Pew Ecstasy
How do you spell love. Well, when you love everything as intensely as Pepe Le Pew, the answer is probably M-D-M-A. Combine his overt affection with the fact that he couldn’t stop rubbing his hands all over the ladies, and it makes a pretty strong case that Pepe Le Pew was hitting up the underground rave scene in his off time.
8 Animal PCP
Symptoms of PCP include erratic behavior, poor speech, mania and a blank stare facial expression. Animal possesses all of these traits. Angel dust also grants the user extreme strength. If you recall, the enthusiastic drummer of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem actually had to be CHAINED to his drum set because he became so violent. Oh, and he’s a musician – a profession that virtually requires you to be a drug addict.
9 Yakko, Wakko and Dot LSD
The odd behavior of the three main characters from Animaniacs might be the result of many different types of drugs. However, when you take into account clues such as Wakko attempting to eat scene backgrounds and Yakko believing he’s the king of a made-up country named Anvilania, the use of hallucinogenics becomes more apparent. Clearly, only such grand illusions could be caused by LSD.
10 Pippi Longstocking Marijuana
Here’s one more pothead for the books. If that picture doesn’t sell you, Pippi’s love for all things fun, along with her disdain for authority figures and public schooling should serve to further bolster her hippie tendencies. She also loves telling long stories that consist of nothing but pure nonsense or ridiculousness. Pippi’s curious super strength (she can lift a horse over her head with one hand) also suggests that she may be lacing those joints with PCP.
.
All you art collectors out there. Here is a chance to get a Giclee copy of some of Ian M Sherwin work. Ian is planning on doing a whole series of Marblehead, Massachusetts paintings. His work is amazing.
.
Posts
