Kool Ade

"Drawing is still basically the same as it has been since prehistoric times," said Keith Haring (1958-1990). "It brings together man and the world. It lives through magic." The artist and activist's own drawing lives on in "Art Intelligence: Keith Haring." The new app ($5.99 on iTunes) allows users to immerse themselves in Haring's graffitied world. High-resolution images of his poptastic work are contextualized through a series of timelines studded with remember-the-'80s moments, from MTV and the New York club scene to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the AIDS crisis.

Film and photography, past and present, reality and movie magic collide in FILMography, an ongoing art project by Christopher Moloney. The fun-to-browse Tumblr matches scenes from films (and the odd TV show) with their real-life, present-day locations. Searchable by movie, location, actor or year, the site uses still-frame snapshots to check in with the spaces and places familiar from classics such as Rebel Without a Cause and Rosemary's Baby as well as recent releases, including The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises. Fancy one of the images? Moloney makes each one available in an edition of ten signed and numbered prints.

On Sunday, April 28th, take a break from your digital devices to spread the unusual beauty of a historical photographic process as the world celebrates Pinhole Photography Day. Now in its thirteenth year, the event celebrates and promotes the lenless method that dates from the 10th century. Join thousands of people (pinheads?) from around the globe in the simple act of making a pinhole photograph by adapting an existing camera or making your own out of a light-tight container, such as a box or a can, with a tiny hole in one side. Leave your perfectionist tendencies at home with your digital camera, because, according to Pinhole Photography Day organizers, "This is the photography of patience, of meditation, no more anguish for a 'badly turned out' photo."

Polaroid was the Apple of its day, promising "instant photography at the push of a button." In the wake of its bankruptcy and the sale of its brand to licensers, Christopher Bonanos brings into focus the company’s storied history -- and recent demise -- in Instant: The Story of Polaroid, recently published by the Princeton Architectural Press. Believe it or not, this is the first book-length history of Polaroid, which grew from garage-startup mode (in 1937) to a billion-dollar business and along the way attracted artist-fans such as Ansel Adams, Andy Warhol, and Outkast, whose lyrical enticement to "shake it like a Polaroid picture" lives on as a kind of cultural snapshot.

Ready to "make the world a better place with thoughtful communications"? Check out Lettrs, a New York-based startup that is bringing together modern technology with the art of slower communication in a new digital platform that caters to users who think before they write. "People don’t write letters anymore and we think that is sad -- and a problem," note the founders. "We have forgotten how to really write, see the personality in someone’s written word, and how to slow down the creation of deeper and better communication." Register now to gain free access to the beta version, which allows you to write letters using a variety of themes and fonts, and send them in digital or physical form (hand-addressed and mailed from Collinsville, Connecticut). Choose the "open letter" option to deliver your message to the world.

Give 2013 a retro twist with Poladarium, a tear-off calendar that offers a new Polaroid-snapped image every day. Flip over each page for the backstory: how the photo came about, what inspired it, and who the photographer is. The 365 Polaroids, printed with a glossy finish on special paper, were lovingly selected by the Karlsruhe, Germany-based Poladarium team from images submitted by photographers and friends of instant photography from around their world. Got Polaroids? They'll begin accepting entries for the 2014 calendar in February.