Humping — the new sit-in?
Modern malcontents get personal with hated Hummers
Anthony Augustine

I Humped Your Hummer— www.ihumpedyourhummer.com — With gas prices hovering around $1 per litre with no sign of going down, it’s still surprising that people are pumping huge amounts of money into gas-guzzling, road-hogging vehicles such as the Hummer. The massive vehicles were initially designed for military use, but GM began selling commercial versions of the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or Hum-Vee) in 1991. Although the SUV’s fuel efficiency has improved over the past 14 years, it’s still one of the worst on the road when it comes to fuel-economy ratings. Part participatory art project, part political statement, I Humped Your Hummer may not get the SUVs off the road, but it is a pretty hilarious way to tackle irresponsible overconsumption.

The 100 Best Skate Photos on Flickr— thehotcrew.com/2006/09/19/the-100-best-skate-photos-on-flickr — After a brief slump in skateboard culture in the ’80s — remember the banana board? — the underground sport was launched into prime time thanks to crossover marketing, the X-games and Tony Hawk’s video-game series. While skateboarding may never get the recognition it deserves as a difficult and sometimes dangerous pastime, it’s hard to argue with the skill needed to execute some of the tricks found in this brilliant collection of skate photos gleaned from the photo-sharing site Flickr. Beautifully captured by amateur photographers, these images don’t feature familiar icons such as Danny Way, Bam Margera, Tony Hawk, Eric Koston or Rodney Mullen, but they still represent the cream of the skating crop from the Internet.

Shepard Fairey— supertouchblog.com/?p=318#more-318 — Known for launching his Obey clothing line through a highly successful street-level viral-marketing campaign, Shepard Fairey has recently turned his attention back to his art career. In his new show, Rise Above, Fairey uses his work to continue to examine anti-war/pro-peace imagery, remaining fresh and provocative while retaining some of the elements that made him such a successful street artist. Although Fairey’s shifted his attention in the last few years to accepting more commercial work through his design company, it’s difficult to discount his contribution to contemporary American art.

Jay Leno and videos he found on YouTube— www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLS_sP9_ceM — According to Krusty the Clown, Jay Leno’s funniest gag on his boring late-night program is when he’s reading out spelling mistakes from the ‘Palookaville Post.’ Now the comedian has stumbled upon YouTube and has started to show clips on his show. Here’s the first instalment of relatively tame videos plucked from the video-sharing site.

Anthony Augustine is a freelance music and pop culture writer who spends way too much time in front of the computer. He also hosts a weekly two-hour electronic music program on CKUW 95.9 FM Got a site you think he should see? E-mail him at anthony.alloneword@gmail.com.