Banksy's Latest Depicts Spying, Right Outside the UK Intelligence HQ

New Banksy? Mural near GCHQ depicts agents listening in on phone box

The guerrilla graffiti artist Banksy is believed to be behind an artwork which has appeared on the side of a house in Cheltenham. The Gloucestershire Echo reported that the owner of the house, Karren Smith, 48, said she saw men packing a white tarpaulin into a van at about 7.30am on Sunday. She said: 'They were taking it down and putting it into the back of the van. I thought it might be something to do with the police, like when a crime happens. I saw these people looking and then saw the graffiti. It's pretty good. It livens up the street.' The work, on the corner of Fairview Road and Hewlett Road, surrounds a BT telephone box and is already drawing fans. The new artwork comes in the wake of the storm over surveillance by GCHQ and the NSA revealed by the whistleblower Edward Snowden

Photos from Japan’s 2014 Cherry Blossom Season

This year’s cherry blossom season – thanks to some heavy rains over the weekend – is just about wrapping up in Japan. 2014 was made all the more poetic as “5% parties” bid farewell to the old tax rate and welcomed in the new 8% rate under short-lived, fleeting cherry blossoms.

For one reason or another, this time of year is particularly difficult for me to travel to Japan and, once again, I am here in NY watching Instagram photos appear in my feed and then quickly disappear; transient as the cherry blossoms themselves. Here is a small selection of some of my favorites that I’ve come across recently. And you can see more over on visual aggregation site Bored Panda.

Last year was also special when a seasonally-rare snow made for some pretty amazing pictures too.

VIA spoon-tamago

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Is Naked on the New Cover of Rolling Stone

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is wearing absolutely nothing but the immortal words of America's founding fathers on the cover of the next issue of Rolling Stone, which hits newsstands this Friday.

Contributing editor Vanessa Grigoriadis scored an equally revealing story from the 53-year-old star of the HBO political satire Veep, who has anchored two other shows since her smash success in Seinfeld – Watching Ellie and The New Adventures of Old Christine – and recently appeared opposite James Gandolfini in his final film, Enough Said. Throughout her career, which began on Saturday Night Live in the Eighties, she has persevered, much like her foul-mouthed Veep character, Selina Meyer. "There is sexism – I'm not denying its existence," she says. "But I'm saying that I will deny its effort against me. I just pay it no nevermind and say, 'Get out of my way.'"

Here are five revelations from the cover story:

She is genuinely thrilled about cursing as much as she does on the show.
"Once, when we were trying to come up with the particular perfect, horrible, swear-y thing to say in Veep, I said, 'You do realize that if we were 12, we would get in big trouble for this conversation,'" she said. "That was not part of the curriculum in high school, and the fact that it is now a part of the curriculum of my life is a pleasure, which is the understatement of the universe." Incidentally, a Senate aide told Rolling Stone that Veep is "way more realistic than House of Cards. . . It works because it's revealing truths."

She got the part because the show's creators loved her sense of humor.
"Julia's not just a natural comedic performer – she's a natural comedic brain," Veep creator Armando Iannucci said. "Once we have a script, she likes to go away and have a real think on what her character would do to react to the reality of every situation, if it would be funny to have her twitch, or to be thirsty, or if her mind was on something else."

Similarly she got the part of Elaine Benes on Seinfeld because of her "disposition."
Seinfeld creator Larry David met Louis-Dreyfus when he was a writer on Saturday Night Live. When NBC brass wanted a female foil for Jerry on the series, he turned to his SNL friend. Looking back, he told Rolling Stone she was "bright, charming – striking, actually – and she had a great disposition, which, considering the bunker mentality that was SNL at the time, wasn't easy."

She has had a good rapport with actual veeps.
In addition to meeting Al Gore – "who did win, by the way," she said, raising a finger – she recently shared a memorable dinner with Joe Biden. "He loves to tell stories, and I'm a good listener," she said. "I loved that dinner. There was no cynicism, just a very earnest jubilation about being there."

Contrary to what the Internet may say, she is not a billionaire.
When Rolling Stone asked about her father's firm, the Louis Dreyfus corporation, which had holdings in energy, soybean-crushing plants and real estate – and recently donated $1 million to help eradicate voter suppression – she clarified that it's her father's business that's valued in billions. "I've been attached to that," she said. "It's unbelievable, because whatever I do, people just assume it's true. Welcome to the fuckin' Internet."


VIA Rolling Stones

Peet’s Coffee & Tea Opens the First of 23 Washington Locations

Move over, Starbucks, the Peet’s Coffee & Teas are coming! The California-based coffee chain plans to open 23 locations in the Washington area this year, with the first debuting today at 1701 Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest. The launch marks the biggest expansion yet for the company, which opened its first store in Berkeley 48 years ago, and the beginning of the largest presence for Peet’s outside its native state.

Many branches, including the inaugural one by the White House, will move into former Caribou Coffee spaces—but don’t expect the lodge-like decor to carry over. Each location will have different design elements to reflect the neighborhood, and many will have spaces dedicated to tutoring and writing workshops due to a partnership with the local education nonprofit 826DC. Peet’s also partnered with various companies for the menu, with baked goods provided by Sterling’s Baguette Republic and Hawthorne Fine Breakfast Pastry in Severna Park. Rounding out the selection will be daily-made items such as salads and sandwiches, as well as the extensive lineup of coffees, lattes, teas, and more.

In a “go big or go home” approach, Peet’s is also now the official coffee of the Washington Nationals. Look for the coffees to be served at several locations within Nationals Park, joining the many new dining and drinking options in and around the stadium.

Read on for the full list of planned Peet’s locations and potential opening dates for those debuting this month.

1701 Pennsylvania Ave., NW (April 7)

601 13th St., NW (April 14)

1101 17th St., NW (April 21)

435 11th St., NW (April 28)

1156 15th St., NW (April 28)

7629 Old Georgetown Rd., Bethesda

1316 East West Hwy., Silver Spring

110 Shawan Rd., Hunt Valley, MD

1 N. Charles St., Baltimore

332 E. Maple Ave., Vienna

7516A Leesburg Pike, Falls Church

4115 S. 28th St., Arlington

3985 Pickett Rd., Fairfax

7707 Fordson Rd., #102, Alexandria

8938 Burke Lake Rd., Springfield

11947 Grand Commons Ave., Fairfax

42385 Ryan Rd., Ashburn, VA

12713 Braemar Village Plaza, Bristow, VA

8150 Leesburg Pike, Vienna

Telegraph Rd. and Beulah St., Alexandria

1400 14th St., NW

7101 Democracy Blvd., #9012, Bethesda

1800 M St., NW

VIA Washingtonian

Kayne says He wants to be "hated". So he's winning

Poorly Written Puff Piece VIA Vanity Fair

Kanye West teamed up with fellow rapper Future for “I Won,” a curiously romantic ode to attractive women—or, in Kanye’s case, one attractive woman in particular.

“You the number one trophy wife, so it's only right to live the trophy life,” he raps about fiancé Kim Kardashian. “You grew up on J. Lo, Timberlands by Manolo now / Till one day I put an angel in your ultrasound.”

“I Won” will appear on Future’s forthcoming LP Honest, and just happened to hit the Internet the day after a racy new Kardashian photoshoot. There are certainly thematic similarities between Kim’s rear-focused bikini shoot and Kanye’s verse, which includes the lines “I want to dip that ass in gold, I want to dip that ass in gold.”

It’s endearing to see West continue to challenge the conventional wisdom concerning Kim’s path to fame. On last year’s “Clique,” West bragged, “My girl’s a superstar all from a home movie,” a reference to her sex tape with Ray J. Here, West recasts the term “trophy wife” as something desirable. He even betrays a hint of sexual insecurity: “I made it over N.B.A., N.F.L. players, so every time I score it's like the Super Bowl.”

As ever, West appears fully aware of the reaction he’s bound to receive. “If people don’t hate then it won’t be right,” he says.

West even expands his appreciation to include all the women of the Kardashian-Jenner family: “You could look at Kylie, Kendall, Kourtney, and Khloe, all your mama ever made was trophies, right?” No word yet on whether Rob Kardashian feels left out.

Diplo & Skrillex At Ultra Festival 2014 [Video]

Skrillex and Diplo play to a massive crowd for their Jack U slot on the 2014 Ultra Main Stage. Despite the series of bangers and amount of energy they both exude, I cant help but think the two of them on stage together remind me of a young Corey Haim and Corey Feldman.  :)

Corey Haim and Corey Feldman

Corey Haim and Corey Feldman

Jack U is Skrillex & Diplo. Live set from Ultra Music Festival on March 30, 2014. http://skrillex.com http://diplo.com http://owsla.com http://maddecent.com

Tracklist:

Skrillex feat. Diplo, G-Dragon & CL – Dirty Vibe

DJ Fresh & Diplo feat. Dominique Young Unique – Earthquake
DJ Fresh & Diplo feat. Dominique Young Unique – Earthquake (Astronomar Careless Earthquake Edit)
Elliphant – Revolusion
Bingo Players – Cry (Just A Little)
Wiwek & Gregor Salto – On Your Mark
Skrillex & Wolfgang Gartner – The Devil’s Den (VIP)
Duck Sauce – NRG (Skrillex & Kill The Noise & Milo & Otis Remix)
Botnek & 3lau – Vikings
Skrillex feat. KillaGrahm – Stranger
DJ Snake feat. Lil Jon – Turn Down For What?! (TWRK Remix)
Skrillex feat. Kill The Noise & Fatman Scoop – Recess
DJ Kool – Let Me Clear My Throat (Party Favor Re-twerk)
Diplo feat. Nicky Da B – Express Yourself
Skrillex feat. Sirah – Bangarang
Boys Noize – Push Em Up (Salva Remix)
Skrillex – Rock ‘n Roll (Will Take You To The Mountain)
12th Planet & Protohype feat. KillaGraham – Brick
TrollPhace & JuJu – Vengeance Like a B0:55
Steve Aoki & Diplo & Deorro feat. Steve Bays – Freak (Rickyxsan Turnt Bootleg)
Diplo feat. Faustix & ImanoS & Kai – Revolution
Flux Pavilion – I Can’t Stop
Skrillex feat. Ragga Twins – All Is Fair In Love And Brostep
Aero Chord – BLVDE
Azealia Banks feat. Lazy Jay – 212 (D-Bass Trap Remx)
M.I.A. – Y.A.L.A (Bro Safari & Valentino Khan Remix)
YG feat. Rich Homie Quan & Young Jeezy – My Nigga (INGWELL Remix)
Skrillex feat. Ragga Twins – Ragga Bomb
Major Lazer feat. Amber Of Dirty Projectors – Get Free 
Skrillex feat. Niki & The Dove – Ease My Mind
Skrillex feat. Niki & The Dove – Ease My Mind (GTA Bootleg)
Toto – Africa [SONY]

John Hamm: Woman Who Rejected Him Would Do It Again (Because she is a fool)

The woman who passed over Jon Hamm on a dating show back in 1996 would do it all again ... telling TMZ Live she wouldn't trade her husband for "one thousand Jon Hamms!"

As TMZ first reported, the man who would be Don Draper appeared on a show called "The Big Date" long before appearing on "Mad Men" ... and got passed over by TWO different women on the show.

TMZ Live managed to track down Mary, one of the women from the show, who says she is aware Hamm went on to become famous ... but says she's never seen an episode of "Mad Men." 

What she was not aware of ... was Hamm's reputation in the man region. Of course ... we told her.

Via TMZ

Sticky Rice: One of DC's Top 10 Sushi Restaurants - DCist

Taken from DCist article, "The 10 Best Sushi Restaurants In The D.C. Area."

STICKY RICE: The kind of sushi Sticky Rice serves cannot be described as traditional. In fact, if there was an apt description for the kind of bizarre rolls they serve it would be "what happens when a sushi chef gets too stoned and goes into the kitchen." You've got things like the "Godzirra" roll, which contains large crunchy shrimp, avocado, cream cheese, spicy sauce, and cucumbers with tempura crunchies and tobiko. And then there's the G.I. Joe, which somehow packs yellowtail, cream cheese, and scallions in crunchy wasabi peas-coated roll. Basically, their sushi is really good. But that's just, like, my opinion, man. — Matt Cohen

See the rest of the article HERE.