Foursquare

I found something else to waste my time on... not that I need anything else... but anyway, this is Foursquare. You check in at places around the city and share tips and secret locations in the city with your friends. I only have one friend right now, so you should join!

It's Finally Happened....

Instant film's back, baby! It's been 2 years but it's finally time to break out the old Polaroid's! :) Photos were found here.

Former Polaroid employees bring instant film back to life
By Tim Bradshaw in London
Published: March 23 2010 02:00 | Last updated: March 23 2010 02:00

A group of former Polaroid employees in Holland has brought the instant film back to life - nearly two years after the camera maker ceased production.

Owners of Polaroid's SX-70 and 600 format cameras will be able to buy packs of new black and white film this week, with colour format film available later in the year through retailers including John Lewis in the UK and FNAC in France and Spain.

The iconic white-framed prints, which take three minutes to develop, have been produced by the Impossible Project - so named because their venture was declared impossible by Polaroid - in partnership with Ilford Photo of the UK.

Impossible acquired the last Polaroid production plant in Enschede, Netherlands, in October 2008 after the US corporation closed the factory in June 2008.

The small band of engineers, most of whom are in their 50s, have been working since then to create a new version of the "instant integral" film.

Many of the components and chemicals required for each picture were no longer available, so the new film is made up of 29 new layers and 13 new chemicals.

Producing the new film has taken slightly longer than Impossible expected, with investment totalling €2.3m ($3.1m).

Impossible plans to produce 1m packs of the film this year - each of which contains eight photos - ramping up to 3m in 2011.

With an estimated 300m functioning Polaroid cameras still in existence - gathering dust in attics or selling on Ebay - Impossible believes it could sell up to 10m films a year.

The two initial releases of film - PX 100 and PX 600 Silver Shade - will be available at the Impossible Project's website from Thursday for $21 a pack, with other retailers to follow shortly.

Limited-edition "First Flush" packs - named after the year's first crop of tea, which is typically picked in March - were unveiled at a launch event in New York yesterday.

"It will taste different every time you brew it," said Florian Kaps, an Austrian co-founder of Impossible. "It's not like a can of soda that tastes the same every time you drink it."

The popularity of digital photography has reduced film to a niche product.

Last summer, Kodak ceased production of its famous Kodachrome film after more than 70 years.

Polaroid Corporation, which was founded by Edwin Land in the 1930s, filed for bankruptcy in 2008 .

Cuteness Overload!!

Most adorable AND appetizing jewelry EVER. And the artist is from France. Awesome. See HUNDREDS of other designs on her full Etsy shop- Petit Plat.

formspring.me

I'm on formspring! Visit my page and ask me questions! http://www.formspring.me/jsskmp

Spring Break

I'll be in PA in less than 24 hrs.

2010 March for the Animals!!

A few months ago I began volunteering at the Maryland SPCA. The MD SPCA is a phenomenal place. In their own words, "The Maryland SPCA is a private, nonprofit, independent organization dedicated to helping animals and people. Our mission is to improve the lives of pets and people in the community by fostering healthy animal-human relationships." The MD SPCA adopts out over 3,000 pets every year. The average time a dog spends in the program from entrance to adoption is 3-5 days. They never euthanize animals for space or because of a length of time the animal has been in the facility. The good that they do for the animals in the Baltimore area cannot be measured. Every year they host an event called March for the Animals. This event is the MD SPCA's largest annual fundraiser, raising over $360,000 for the animals. ALL money donated goes directly to the MD SPCA. It's a 1.5 mile walkathon in local Druid Hill Park. The day also includes pet contests, training classes, pet demonstrations and entertainment.

As a volunteer for the MD SPCA, I have joined the Dog Deputy Pack for the March for the Animals. This means that at the event, I will walk with the other members from my pack and the money we raise separately will be donated together from the group. I'm inviting you to help me support this great cause by making a donation to the March for the Animals. You can do this by visiting my personal donation page at http://www.marchfortheanimals.kintera.org/jesskemp.

This cause is very important to me. My boyfriend, Greg, has been working at the MD SPCA for some time and he adopted his dog, Kaylee, from there about two years ago. I also have a cat, Stella, that I got through friends in Pennsylvania about 3 years ago. We love our pets and we're both driven to help animals. The 2010 March for the Animals is just one small way we can do this. Please be a part of it!

See my full Facebook event page here!

Etsy

I've been spending way too much time on Etsy lately. Here's some of the stuff I've found in my travels.

I love adorable pendants. I've got some found pieces of plate that I'm planning on doing this with for myself. Check out the awesome work at The Broken Plate.

I want a hat like this. Made locally- Magpyi.

These beautiful earrings are made from the ebony keys of an old piano! Love that. They're from inbloomdesigns.

How awesome are these?! They're so beautiful and so engaging. Go to spinthread to see more of these wonderful little pendants.

IMPORTANT

Go to their Facebook to get more information about great events and other opportunities for you to help support this awesome cause! I just started volunteering with the MD SPCA so expect to hear more from me about this awesome place.

Greenberg

Jill Greenberg should be a household name. In one form or another, her photography has appeared in your home. She's had an uncanny amount of her work published because she has a style that magazines, advertisements, and the entertainment and music industry alike, all ask for. And, somehow, on top of meeting and working with celebrity after celebrity and dealing with multiple companies, she still has time to produce her own work. Most recently has been her New Bears show. I saw this show at the Clamp Art Gallery a few months ago while I was visiting New York City. The show was small and the space was a little cramped, however that did not take away from the magnificence of these images. They're huge in person and this only lent itself to prove that these were real bears that she worked with. Yes, real bears. Greenberg had a great deal of success with a previous series- Monkeys and Apes- and therefore she wanted to continue to use live animals. In both of these cases, the artist was able to capture personality and expressions in the animals that isn't seen otherwise. A few examples from both series are below.

Another series done by Greenberg- this one a little more controversial- is End Times. End Times is a series of portraits of hysterical children. These are gorgeous. Greenberg puts it best- "Pictures of children crying capture raw emotion: sputtering rage and profound loss." We as adults cannot understand the raw emotion that these children are experiencing because we've suppressed it for so long. These images are violent and extremely uncomfortable to view because in our subconscious we understand them, and I find that beautiful.

P.S.- I mentioned that she's done a lot of magazine and advertisement work. You cannot begin to comprehend how much stuff she's had published. Go to her website, The Manipulator. Please, do it. I provided a lot of images here, but this isn't even the tip of the iceberg. Annnnd... she photographed Dexter. Who doesn't love Dexter?

Work by Kent Rogowski. Expect more about him later.