The whole meaning and principle of art may be threatened by a little exhibition opening this weekend in Silver Lake.  Aptly titled “Trashed,” the show posits the question of what makes something art, displaying the refuse of nine artists from around the country and even Canada. It's literally a collection of their discarded material, studio trash presented by Bystander, a home in Silver Lake that will double as a the gallery space.  But rather than dressing this thing up as some pretentious try-hard exhibition concept that's supposed to make you feel dense for not understanding, the show presents its mission frankly in its press release:

“We are not trying to change the world, nor do we believe wholeheartedly with sound mind that the art we are hanging is the best or most important art ever to adorn a wall here in Silver Lake, California. In fact, we're sure we saw a Ruscha and an Irwin in a window along the reservoir, a Hockney on our drives to day jobs and there is assuredly a Warhol out there somewhere too, probably up in the hill where people have medium sized houses with large listing prices and zero yard space. Make no mistake, what we're selling is, literally, trash.”

So, yeah, they're just putting it out there, no smoke and mirrors.  Trashed may include anything from studio scraps to failed pieces, the ones that didn't sell, so it's really a display of the artist's varying definitions of garbage, and an exposition of personal failures.  But can those be art? We've all been offended by pieces in museums that and made us question why the hell they're there and who was the asshole who deemed them art. With Trashed, it's your turn to decide.

Trashed's Opening Reception will be held at on Saturday, June 12 from 6 – 10 pm at the Bystander Gallery, 2255 India Street, LA, CA 90039.

Article courtesy of Los Angeles | Guest of a Guest – Los Angeles People, Places, Parties & Nightlife

Personally I never gave it much thought, though having been confronted by the question and taking the last five minutes to scrutinize TG’s mane, I’d have to say no, I don’t think he does. It’s not bad hair but if we’re being forced to judge, here goes: thickness (one of the most important factors) seems to be average and it looks kind of dry and damaged. Certainly nothing that screams “run your fingers through me.” Admittedly, though, we haven’t examined it up close and one person who has claims it’s something to write home about, and even a source of envy.

When Luyu showed Hillary and Geithner a photo of the two of them together, we found out that Hillary is driven insane by the Treasury Secretary’s apparently amazing yet effortless hair.

QUESTION: What were you talking about?

SECRETARY CLINTON: I think I was complimenting him on his hair.

(Laughter.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: He always looks so good, you know? It’s maddening. It takes me so much longer, and it doesn’t even look as good.

Is this ringing true for anyone else? Is he getting points just by virtue of being less follicly-challenged than his predecessor?

Hillary Clinton Is Jealous Of Tim Geithner’s Hair [Daily Intel]

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

I’d like a show of hands– who among us is looking to throw her/her office the best holiday party ever? I know what you’re thinking– we’re quite a long ways away from the holiday party season. Which is a good thing, because what I’m about to tell you needs to be dealt with months in advance. In fact, I’m slightly worried that it’s too late but if you get on the horn now it might be salvageable. To those of you who answered my question in the affirmative, nod along with me as we all agree that while food is important, as are celebrity waiters on the catering staff, music is essential to a successful soiree. You can’t just have any old shit DJ or band. You need the finest talent money can buy, and for those of you on your ways to an extremely profitable year, I’m advising you now– stop what you’re doing and book this guy today.

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

When it comes down to it, there are two types of people in this world. Those who, when asked the question, what is Angelo Mozilo’s race, answer “African American,” and those who answer “Tanning bed-Orange.” Thanks to today’s hearing on the hill, and the the Senate’s 600+ page report on Wamu’s death, we now know that former CEO Kerry Killinger was proud to count himself among the latter.

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Uh oh. Carl Levin is getting feisty at the WaMu hearing.

He’s bashing former WaMu CEO Kerry Kiilinger for not answering a question about whether he would have been troubled had he seen some emails between other WaMu execs about high delinquencies of mortgages that were making their way into the bank’s securitized products.

Killinger repeatedly refused to answer the question saying he didn’t want to deal with hypotheticals in hindsight. Carl wasn’t having any of that. “I would hope you would have said it would have troubled you,” Levin said. “It’s hard for me to accept that you wouldn’t have been disturbed by what you read this morning, Levin said referring to emails he read at the morning panel.

“Would that have troubled you,” he asked again. Killigner’s response: “Again, I did not see the emails and did not know what ended up happening.” Levin jumps in: “If you HAD seen those emails at the time.”

Kerry finally answers: “I would have inquired more, I would have wanted more information.”

Levin: “Ok, I guess we’re making progress.”

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Those evil geniuses over at College Humor have pulled a classic prank on New Yorkers. In honor of today being the official day for pranksters, the College Humor kids created a whole campaign all over the Big Apple advertising the summer opening of In-N-Out Burger fast-food restaurants. Only denizens of Southern California and Nevada have had the privilege of In-N-Out's being just a short car ride away but anyone who ever travels to these parts inevitably tries it at the insistence of locals and falls in love.  Their burgers and fries are famously delicious and have gained national attention, begging the question of when they would finally expand out east.

Well, College Humor capitalized and this intrigue, going so far as to create signs, pass out flyers, and hire actors dressed in the burger joints' uniforms in NYC.  The effect was quite impressive – so much so that a representative from the corporate offices of In-N-Out had to release a statement today to extinguish the rumors. Not only did he say they are untrue, but that there is no future for In-N-Out ever coming to NYC.  Props to College Humor as they certainly accomplished what they set our to do and left a lot of  New Yorkers pretty disappointed. It was kind of a cruel joke and I do genuinely feel for those who were tricked into thinking they would soon get to enjoy those lovely little burgers at their leisure. Suckers!! HAPPY APRIL FOOLS.

Go HERE to see who else was in on the prank.

[Photo via CoreyTess]

Article courtesy of Los Angeles | Guest of a Guest – Los Angeles People, Places, Parties & Nightlife

Hunch.com, the startup co-founded by Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake, has raised $10 million in a second round of funding, according to AllThingsDigital. Citing unidentified sources, the report says the funding was led by Khosla Ventures, with Khosla’s Gideon Yu (who was formerly chief financial officer at Facebook and YouTube) handling the deal.

A company spokeswoman declined to comment, except to say that she’ll let us know “if/when we do have a funding-related announcement.”

Hunch, based in New York City, helps users make decisions, often decisions involving products. After you hone in on the question you want answered, the site asks you a number of multiple choice questions, then makes a recommendation based on what people with similar answers were happy with. For example, one topic focuses on whether you should hack your phone, then asks a number of questions about how you use your phone and why you want to hack it. Another helps you choose the right DVD recorder based on your budget and interests.

Hunch previously raised $2 million. AllThingsD says past backers General Catalyst partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Ron Conway also participated int he funding.

Companies: Bessememer Venture Partners, General Catalyst Ventures, Hunch, Khosla Ventures

People: Caterina Fake, Ron Conway

Article courtesy of VentureBeat » Deals & More