Latest news with #kitsch
National Post
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- National Post
Amy Hamm: No MAGA beliefs allowed at Parks Canada historic sites
That's it. I'm calling it: the only thing kitschier than a MAGA hat inspired by U.S. President Donald Trump is the fanatical anti-MAGA sentiment that has some Canadians behaving like the jealous stepchild sibling to our southern neighbour. Article content That is certainly how several residents of Nova Scotia are acting after discovering that a so-called 'MAGA influencer' and musician, Sean Feucht, had booked a show at the York Redoubt National Historic Site for Wednesday night. Their outburst about Feucht led Parks Canada to revoke his permit late Tuesday over 'evolving safety and security considerations.' The musician has since secured a new location in rural Nova Scotia. Article content On his website, Feucht describes himself as a 'speaker, author, missionary, artist, activist, and the founder of multiple global movements.…' As per Rolling Stone magazine, he's a 'far-right Jesus rocker' who praises Trump. Feucht unsuccessfully ran as a Republican candidate in 2020. In 2023, he wrote about how Canada 'desperately' needs awakening and revival. Article content Article content Let him try. Article content Nevertheless, several Nova Scotian residents garnered media attention after decrying the planned event. Not content to merely express their intolerance of Feucht's views, they want the whole show cancelled. Shut 'er down. They damn near succeeded. Their level of perturbation is hokier than a bright red 'MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN' cap. At least with the cap, one is merely expressing oneself — and not also trying to control what others can see, hear, think or do. Article content Article content More outrageous, still, is that Shannon Miedema, Liberal member of Parliament for Halifax, attempted to do the bidding of her censorious, anti-freedom constituents. According to CBC News, the outlet was shown a message that Miedema emailed a resident, which reads: 'I have the utmost respect for the value of free speech, I do not believe this event aligns with Parks Canada's core values of respect for people, equity, diversity and inclusion, or integrity.' Article content A bit like a vegan preaching the 'utmost respect' for the value of not consuming animal flesh while munching on a medium-rare steak, no? Miedema, Miedema. Allow me to give you a lesson on free speech: it necessitates allowing others to speak, even when you dislike (or think you will dislike) what they have to say. This is basic, 101-level stuff. Article content Listing off 'diversity, equity and inclusion' within a vague statement on harm or 'integrity' to suppress others' speech has become a predictable — and equally pathetic — trope of the far left. These characters, Miedema included, have yet to realize that to the average Canadian, being cancelled is now widely considered a badge of honour. We've grown tired of wokescolds.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Enough with the popcorn buckets
I woke up one day and suddenly the world was 'on' popcorn buckets. I have a limit. This is it. It is no secret that J.R. Fickle enjoys kitsch as much as the next guy. But my kitsch has a purpose (e.g. historical significance or support of an artist). But $60 popcorn buckets? This all feels too…corporate. And far be it from me to knock someone else's hobby. If you are into popcorn buckets, I cannot and will not hold that against you. But I'm not jumping on board. Why? They're not super limited. We aren't even sure how many are made. They're everywhere. The fun in a Disney Figment bucket is you had to go to Disney and to one specific spot to find it. Finding the Trader Joe's mascot? You need to look for it! Mardi Gras Doubloons? You have to be not only in New Orleans, and not only at a parade, but you have to be at the right parade and be in the right place as they're thrown. Popcorn buckets? Just show up at the theater and be willing to pay $50 for a food holder that will forever remind you of a movie that got a 61 on the Tomatometer. Are these cool? Yes. The Superman newsstand one, especially. But I'm not sure they're collectible. You become 'the popcorn bucket guy' and you run out of room QUICKLY. Remember Funkos? They were fun and awesome…until everyone realized that they take up a lot of space. Cards are nice and flat. Pennants can fit on walls. But popcorn buckets? Start buying your big plastic storage tubs now. There are a lot of details we still need filled in on the Mister Mancave memorabilia scandal. So for now we are left to wildly speculate! As is tradition! In one of my group chats someone called Lemieux a scumbag, but… well… sure. He was probably/assuredly not a good guy, but when I hear scumbag, I think of a low-level huckster with bad intentions. This was sophisticated stuff, getting an auto-pen to recreate signatures is not something you do on a whim. Getting an auto-pen period is not something you do on a whim. Then to have the authenticators' holograms recreated — to the point where Fanatics changed theirs to combat this one guy — is pretty effective/elevated scamming. J.R. Fickle, believe it or not, is a studier of hoaxes and scams (and urban legends). I cannot recommend this graphic novel enough. And there is one scam that is brilliantly put together — the white van scam. It reminds me of this, a little bit. Both are bad. Both infuriate you. But the effort is above the usual low-level scam. In its essence, the white van scam is a sophisticated ruse where two guys who supposedly work at an electronics store pull up and offer to sell you speakers they stole from their racist boss (or some play on that trope). The next few details are where they get you, though. They show you an ad for the speakers. They usually have a manifest with orders. They will open the box and show you the front of the speakers, which usually look awesome. You say no thanks, they pressure and cajole, and before you know it you have spent $200 on speakers worth…$40? You'll see when you check out the back of the speakers. They are scummy, to be sure. But the sophistication at least commands some respect on an objective level. Lemieux also went down swinging and revealed everything he could before exiting. AGAIN, never nice to scam people. They are garbage. But at least Lemieux showed us, in his final salvo, how high-level collectible fraud can get. Have your guard up AT ALL TIMES. Check seller ratings. If a price is too good to be true, it likely is. I have seen a hilarious (NSFW) surprise in a video, and it is courtesy of JunkWaxSal on Instagram. This is a Sixth Sense-level twist. But with bilkinis. If I say anything else, I will spoil it. You don't need the sound on to get the full effect. A friend in Italy sent me a pack of Italian Brainrot cards. I don't know what's happening here (and the cards are in English), but it feels very much like a quick capitalization on a trend done on poor card stock with a very hard to follow set of game rules. Pokemon, but super confusing. Still, Europe is usually ahead of us, and these may be worth something…so I opened one pack and held onto the other. That's it for me this week, as I continue my quest to find the Lil' McDonald's Boo Bucket (which is trending down, as the store – predicted here TWO WEEKS AGO – rises in value. Good luck to my fellow Happy Meal hunters! Your collection deserves a community. Download Mantel today.
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
How to wear five of this summer's hottest Gen Z fashion trends - when you're over 50: DINAH VAN TULLEKEN
From jelly shoes to Bermuda shorts, you may remember wearing many of this summer's trends the first time they were cool. But being older and wiser doesn't mean you have to let the 20-somethings, with their ironic attachments to kitsch from the 80s and 90s, have all the fun. With the right styling you can embrace these pieces, give your wardrobe a modern edge and prove that fashion doesn't have an age lim14802753it. Here's how to wear five of summer's boldest looks with elegance and ease...
News24
29-05-2025
- Business
- News24
Tretchikoff triumph: SA's ‘king of kitsch' breaks world record with R31.9 million sale
Vladimir Tretchikoff's painting 'Lady from the Orient' has sold for over $1.7m (R31.9m), setting a new world record. The 1955 portrait is one of Tretchikoff's most recognisable works, widely reproduced and celebrated for its global popularity. Known as 'the king of kitsch,' Tretchikoff made history by introducing his art to the masses through affordable reproductions sold worldwide. A Johannesburg auction house said Wednesday that Vladimir Tretchikoff's iconic painting 'Lady from the Orient' has sold for more than $1.7m, a new world record for the Russia-born South African painter. The 1955 portrait of a glamorous woman in a green and gold silk gown is among Tretchikoff's most recognisable pieces, reproduced the world over on items such as tablecloths and handbags. The Strauss & Co auction house said it sold to an anonymous telephone bidder late Tuesday for R31 892 000 (US$1 776 017). The company said in a statement that the final price, inclusive of commission and taxes, 'comfortably eclipses' the previous world record for a Tretchikoff work, which was £982 050 for 'Chinese Girl' (1952) sold in London in 2013. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Strauss & Co Auctioneers (@strauss_and_co) The painting of the daughter of a Cape Town grocer was a particular sensation in 1960s Britain and is among the most famous images produced by Tretchikoff, who moved to Cape Town in 1946 and died there in 2006. 'It was sold as a reproduction in London from 1962, and it was the second-highest selling print in Britain in 1962 and a massive seller in 1963, '64, '65,' senior art specialist at Strauss & Co, Alastair Meredith, told AFP ahead of the auction. Tretchikoff, whose stylised work - including the famous 'The Dying Swan' (1949) - led some to call him 'the king of kitsch', became wealthy through the reproductions and prints of his pieces. 'Tretchikoff essentially authorised huge numbers of prints of his paintings to be sold at very cheap prices in department stores and stationery shops all around the world,' Meredith said. 'Lady from the Orient' is 'part of South Africa's cultural and visual makeup, part of our country's aesthetic history. But it's also a global icon,' he said. Tretchikoff was born in what is now Kazakhstan and was then Russia in 1913. He fled with his family to China during the 1917 Russian Revolution and grew up in Shanghai before moving to Singapore and then South Africa.
Vogue Arabia
17-05-2025
- Business
- Vogue Arabia
Get Mushy: The Online Platform Elevating Design and Eccentricity
What does Mushy mean? 'Excessively sentimental', according to creative consultant Dina Adlouni and architect Tarlan Vaziri Farahani. The duo's e-commerce platform stocks everything from creatively-shaped candleholders to elaborately designed furniture, fashioned to form a geometric playground. Headquartered in Dubai, Mushy is a haven of head-turning trinkets, tableware and head-turning home furnishings. Lighting is moulded into sculptural, swirly shapes, while abstract mirrors are bordered by colourful appendages. A gold-rimmed ashtray is stamped with a Rolex logo, while the bulb of a periwinkle-coloured lamp is nestled between two ears with hoop earrings. A yellow ceramic art piece meanwhile, in the shape of a squished-up tube labelled 'Special glue for broken hearts', belongs on the coffee tables and bookshelves of self-assured connoisseurs of kitsch. Photo: Dina Adlouni and Tarlan Vaziri Farahani Such conversation-starting items target a specific type of clientele, says Adlouni, who previously worked in PR for Gucci, and then Louis Vuitton. 'They're tastemakers, rule-breakers and people who curate their spaces like they curate their wardrobes. They don't just follow trends – they set them. They appreciate design that has wit, charm and a little bit of weirdness. Whether they're collectors or just starting their interior journey, they want their space to tell a story,' she explains. Home decor in the Middle East often falls into one of two categories: pristine and minimalist, or utterly ostentatious. Between these two extremes, within its own realm of whimsy, lies Mushy, and its founders are making a strong case for enhancing your home with items that reflect uniqueness, personality and offbeat charm. 'The region has long leaned into opulence – grand, gilded and glamorous. Mushy takes a different route: playful, experimental and a little bit rebellious. We love pieces that spark conversation. It's less about 'lavish' and more about 'let's have fun with this,'' says Farahani. Design and eccentricity converge within these homeware essentials imbued with a coveted cool factor. Pieces by Persian designers, including statement furniture from Kouros Maghsoudi, stone-like resin vases by Soheil Rad and sculptural papier-mâché creations by Ali Honarvar are available through Mushy. The site also stocks quirky glassware by Polish brand Szklo, Turkish label Deya and Palestinian designer Lameice Abu Aker, while mirrors bordered by colourful glass contorted in exaggerated and almost avant-garde shapes by Jordanian designer Raghad Al Ali appear to defy gravity. Whoever the designer, their unique point of view is pivotal. 'Some lean into surrealism, some into craftsmanship and some are just wildly unexpected, in the best way. Many of them are stocked exclusively in the Middle East through Mushy, making us the go-to spot for design lovers who want something they won't see in every other home,' emphasises Adlouni. One popular piece sold by the duo is the melting clock from Danish brand Silje Lindrup, which is made from glass and painted silver, appearing like a liquid form situated on the wall. It's a mesmerising marriage of modern design with traditional functionality, and has reached cult status among design aficionados across the globe. 'People love it for its surrealist aesthetic – it's a bold statement piece that feels like a dream, or a Salvador Dali painting come to life,' she shares.
