New Brandi Carlile Valentine’s Day EP Available Today

Brandi Carlile’s new Valentine’s Day EP, XOBC, is available now exclusively through iTunes for only $3.99! The EP features three new original songs, “Us Again,” “Way To You,” and “Love Songs” as well as two amazing covers, including “All You Need Is Love” (The Beatles) and “Heaven” (Bryan Adams). The EP is only available digitally through iTunes and you can download your copy here.

The Atlantic Records Time Capsule

Founded in 1947 by Ahmet Ertegün and Herb Abramson, Atlantic Records has come a long way in the last sixty-plus years, and the Atlantic Records Time Capsule ($200) chronicles the whole crazy ride. Compiled by a small group of Atlantic employees, the collection — housed in a custom metallic capsule box — includes The House That Ahmet Built on DVD, a 140-page full color book on the label, including exclusive quotes and stories from the artists and characters that make up Atlantic’s past, over 200 images, vintage memorabilia and swag, and, of course, music: 165 tracks spread across nine CDs, covering artists as varied as John Coltrane, Death Cab For Cutie, Iron Butterfly, The Velvet Underground, INXS, and tons of other notable musicians.

Christopher Nolan to Mentor New Superman Movie?

“The Dark Knight” director Christopher Nolan is making room for another superhero franchise — none other than the Man of Steel himself, Superman.

A report from Deadline Hollywood states that Warner Bros. has tasked Nolan with a “godfather” role in shepherding a “Superman” relaunch following the poorly received “Superman Returns.” The site also reiterated its report from yesterday that Nolan is currently working on the third “Batman” screenplay with David Goyer and brother Jonah Nolan.

According to the report, Nolan isn’t likely to direct the new “Superman” film, which won’t be a followup to “Superman Returns.” Curiously, the report mentions that “Returns” collaborators Brandon Routh and Bryan Singer aren’t officially off the relaunch yet.

“We know what we don’t want to do. But we don’t know what we want to do,” an insider reportedly told the site. “We learned a lot from the last movie, and we want to get it right this time.”

The report also indicates that there are still legal troubles plaguing “Superman,” as the character’s rights revert back to creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster in 2013. If production does not begin by 2011, “the Siegels could sue to recover their damages on the grounds that the deal should have contained a clause in which the rights returned to the owners after a given time if no film was in development.”

Exactly what Christopher Nolan plans to bring to the “Superman” table remains unclear at this point, though an insider reinterpreted previous reports of a “darker” reboot to mean a “more sophisticated” relaunch. Interestingly enough, Nolan coming on board the “Superman” franchise echoes Warner Bros’ previous attempt in the 1990s to bring “Batman” filmmaker Tim Burton in on the Man of Steel’s big screen voyage. That attempt never took flight.

Who Is The 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Cover Model?

Model Brooklyn Decker landed the coveted Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover this year. The 22-year-old wife of tennis star Andy Roddick said being chosen for the front is “the news of a lifetime.” The cover photo of Decker smiling in a yellow bikini is a departure from the more sultry look that SI had gone for the past few years, she said. She compared it to covers from the 1980s or ’90s, when Elle Macpherson won her covers with a friendly, sun-loving look.

SI keeps the cover photo a secret — even from the models — until less than 24 hours before it’s revealed.

Art of McSweeney’s Book Due On April 15th, 2010

Art of McSweeney’s — A novel with each cover hand-illustrated by the author. Literary journals bound by magnets, or designed to look like junk mail. The sharp wit, gorgeous design, and playful why not invention of independent literary publisher McSweeney’s have earned it a large and loyal following and made its journals, books, The Believer magazine, and Wholphin DVDs collectible favorites of readers and graphic designers alike. Created by the McSweeney’s staff to commemorate their 11th anniversary, this book showcases their award-winning art and design across all the company’s activities. It features hundreds of images, interviews with collaborators such as Chris Ware and Michael Chabon, and dozens of insights into McSweeney’s quirky creative process and the visual experience of reading.

The book measures 9 x 11 inches and is 264 pages long.  It will be released on April 15th and retail for $45.  You can pre-order the book HERE.

zoomIt Finally Brings SD Card Access To The iPhone And iPod touch

ZoomMediaPlus has announced its new zoomIt application-enabled accessory for the iPhone and iPod touch. Working in conjunction with the company’s free zoomIt app, the Works With iPhone- and Made For iPod-certified Dock-connecting accessory enables users to access a variety of content stored on any SD card mounted in the zoomIt’s SD card slot. Features include support for all iPhone OS 3.0 file types, including photos, videos, music, and documents, including PowerPoint, Excel, Word, PDF and others. The app lets users view, listen and share the files via e-mail, Facebook, and Flickr, and supports the transfer of files from the card to the iPhone or iPod touch for unconnected access. In addition, the app will enable users to save photos and videos from the card to their Camera Rolls, or move media from the Camera Roll onto the SD card. The company also plans future updates to support protected content types enabling the streaming of licensed music, videos, and other forms of protected content. The zoomIT SD Card accessory for iPhone and iPod touch is expected to ship in April for $59.95, and is available for pre-order now. ZoomMediaPlus is offering pre-order customers a $10 discount, and will bundle a free 4GB Kingston SD card with the first 250 orders.

Jon Favreau’s Cowboys & Aliens Coming On July 29th, 2011

Universal Pictures announced on Friday that the Jon Favreau-directed Cowboys & Aliens will be coming to theaters on July 29th, 2011.

The DreamWorks project, based on the Platinum Studios Comics graphic novel written by Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley, will star Daniel Craig and Olivia Wilde. Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof wrote the script.

The sci-fi Western explores what would happen if the traditional Old West enemies — cowboys and Native Americans — found the prairie attacked by aliens in mid-1800s Arizona.

20th Century Fox Developing Daredevil Reboot

In order to keep the movie rights to Marvel Comics’ “Daredevil” under their belt, 20th Century Fox and Regency are looking to develop a reboot of the sightless superhero with News Corp VP Peter Chernin producing and David Scarpa (The Day the Earth Stood Still) writing a script, according to Mike Fleming at Deadline Hollywood.

The original movie directed by Mark Steven Johnson and starring Ben Affleck in the title role (and his current wife Jennifer Garner as Elektra) was released almost exactly seven years ago and grossed $179.2 million worldwide.

This probably shouldn’t come as too big a surprise as there has been talk of some sort of reboot ever since Disney bought Marvel last year, but this is the first confirmation that one is being actively developed.

Red Skull Confirmed As The Villain In The First Avenger: Captain America

Joe Johnson, director of the forthcoming The First Avenger: Captain America, has been doing press all day out in Los Angeles for his new movie The Wolfman and ShockTillYouDrop.com Managing Editor Ryan Rotten had a chance to talk with Johnston about the movie and what to expect.

Johnston confirmed at the press conference that the Red Skull will indeed be the villain of the first movie and told Ryan later a bit more about why they decided to set the majority of the movie during WWII:

“Virtually the entire story except the bookends are in World War II because we all recognize we have one chance to tell the origin story of how he became Captain America, you can’t tell a modern story and then go back and tell the origin story. If you’re going to do it, let’s do it. Let’s do it first. Everyone wanted to tell an origin story. There was a version where it was a modern story and it didn’t work.”

Hopefully, we’ll have more word on Johnston’s plans for the movie and answers to some of the many questions that have been on your minds, including the all-important casting of Steve Rogers and what other characters may be appearing in the movie. Johnston did say at the press conference that they definitely are going for an American actor, preferably an unknown, and they hope to have that person by the end of February.

Brand Makeovers

Nothing lasts forever–but some treasured brands make it pretty far. Still, the day comes when even they just don’t fit in anymore: Maybe they’re looking a little gray, perhaps people no longer look on them as favorably as they once did, or possibly there’s an extra dollar to be made by doing an extreme–or not so extreme–makeover. In any case, it’s nothing that a little update can’t fix. Click HERE for a look at how some of America’s most famous logos and pitchmen and -women have adapted to changing times. (From Newsweek)

Ford’s MyKey

Ford Motor Company introduced an innovative new technology – called MyKey – designed to help parents encourage their teen-agers to drive safer and more fuel efficiently, and increase safety-belt usage.

Ford’s MyKey feature – which is standard equipment on the 2010 Ford Focus and will quickly become standard on many other Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models – allows owners to program a key that can limit the vehicle’s top speed and audio volume. MyKey also encourages safety-belt usage, provides earlier low-fuel warnings and can be programmed to sound chimes at 45, 55 and 65 miles per hour.

The MyKey system allows the parent to program any key through the vehicle message center, which updates the SecuriLock passive anti-theft system. When the MyKey is inserted into the ignition, the system reads the transponder chip in the key and immediately identifies the MyKey code, which enables certain default driving modes, including:

- Persistent Ford Beltminder with audio mute. Ford’s Beltminder system typically provides a six-second reminder chime every minute for five minutes. With MyKey, the Beltminder chime continues at the regular interval and the audio system is muted until the safety belt is buckled. A message center display “Buckle Up to Unmute Radio” also appears on the instrument cluster.

- Earlier low-fuel warning. Rather than a warning at 50 miles to empty, MyKey provides a warning at 75 miles to empty.

- If MyKey is in the ignition, features such as Park Aid and BLISTM (Blind Spot Information System) with Cross Traffic Alert cannot be deactivated.

Additional MyKey features that can be programmed through the vehicle’s message center setup menu:

- Limited top speed of 80 mph

- Traction control system, that limits tire spin, cannot be deactivated

- Limited audio volume to 44 percent of total volume

- A speed alert chime at 45, 55 or 65 mph

The Gerber Strata Multitool

The Gerber Strata ($104) is an amazing compact 7.4oz stainless steel finished multi-tool that includes 13 different components that any outdoorsman or craftsman would require. This handy multi-plier’s features include needle-nose pliers equipped with a wire cutter, carbide pinch cutters, saw, 1/2-inch fine edge and serrated blade, can and bottle opener, scissors, large flathead driver, large cross driver and small tipped file.

When opened to full length it measures 6 inches and when closed it’s 4 inches. The tool incorporates Gerber’s “Saf.T.Plus” locking system which keeps all the tools secure whether in use or stowed. The Strata also comes with a nylon sheath to protect and carry this tool that you will use everyday!

Hubert de Lartigue’s Origami Star Wars Ships

Hubert de Lartigue is a French artist who makes Origami Star Wars ships out of Parisian subway tickets. You can find the step by step tutorial on how to create the X-Wing Fighter and the Millenium Falcon HERE.

Food Wars Is Coming To The Travel Channel On March 9th, 2010

All over the US, locals argue over who makes the best version of the iconic dishes that define their towns. Host Camille Ford is going to settle the matter once and for all. In each city, she’ll pit 2 food rivals against each other in a head-to-head competition. Food Wars premieres on the travel Channel on Tuesday, March 9th at 9pm E/P.

Pop Culture Icons in Lego by Cube Dude

Angus Maclane also known as The Cube Dude created these fun LEGO mini-figs of pop culture icons ranging from Superman to Jack Skellington. Check them out HERE.

Stephen King’s Bag of Bones Headed to TV

ShockTillYouDrop.com reports that Stephen King’s 1998 novel “Bag of Bones” is no longer headed to the big screen, but instead will be adapted for television by Mick Garris, director of TV adaptations of King’s “The Shining,” “The Stand” and “Desperation,” and screenwriter Matt Venne.

“We’re finalizing our deal,” Garris told the site, “and will hopefully be shooting late-spring, early-summer.”

Where “Bag of Bones” TV mini-series will reside on the small screen is to be announced shortly.

In the book, novelist Mike Noonan still suffers writers block several years after his wife’s death. A dream inspires him to return to the couple’s summer retreat in western Maine, a lakeside house called Sara Laughs. Shortly after arriving, Noonan is caught in the middle of a custody battle involving the daughter of an attractive young widow and the child’s enormously wealthy grandfather. He also discovers that Sara Laughs is haunted and that his late wife, Joanna, still has something to tell him.

Tub-Marine

The porthole bath (£3250)is an original French double ended bath with two portholes cut into the side. It makes a wonderful piece for children’s bathrooms, or it can be used to create a bathroom with a nautical theme. The bath can also be supplied without portholes, and has a variety of different feet available.

Author Joe Hill Has 3 Movie Adaptations In The Works

Author Joe Hill is following in the steps of his father Stephen King, and making the transition to Hollywood. His book, Heart-Shaped Box is being developed into a big screen thriller by director Neil Jordan at Warner Bros.

Mandalay Pictures optioned Hill’s upcoming novel Horns, and his graphic novel, Locke & Key will be brought to life by DreamWorks, where Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are developing a big screen adaptation. No word on if they will lend a hand in the screenplay adaptation.

Sarah Silverman’s First Book: ‘The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee’ Due On April 20th, 2010

From comedienne Sarah Silverman — famous for her audacious, irreverent, surprisingly sweet, and gleefully outrageous sensibility — comes her first book The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee, an explosively entertaining memoir where, as the title promises, nothing is off-limits.

Of course, would readers expect anything less than full disclosure from the woman who created massive pop culture buzz and unleashed a viral video sensation by singing about “F***ing Matt Damon” on national television in front of millions of viewers?

A collection of witty autobiographical essays that are intimate, moving, and wildly hilarious, The Bedwetter features Silverman’s anecdotes about growing up Jewish in New Hampshire, proudly mimicking her father’s incessant swearing at age three, fighting a nightly war with her bladder almost until high school graduation, losing her virginity (twice, sort of), and inciting a media firestorm with a bit skewering political correctness. She also opens up about the accidental death of her infant brother and her teenage bout with depression, for which she was treated with megadoses of Xanax. Yet even as she bares her most emotionally vulnerable moments, somehow, she never fails to get a laugh.

In fact, ever since she was a kid, it has been Silverman’s dream to make people laugh. And it wasn’t long after dropping out of NYU to pursue her career that she landed a writing gig at Saturday Night Live, every hungry young comic’s holy grail — only to be fired for a) never having a sketch air the whole time she was working there or b) stabbing Al Franken in the forehead with a pencil, an impulsive act she reconstructs in The Bedwetter in loving detail.

The 288 page hardcover is due in stores on April 20th, 2010.

Wheaties Fuel

Is your normal breakfast leaving you short on energy before lunchtime rolls around? Give Wheaties Fuel ($5) a shot in your cereal bowl. Developed with the help of world-class athletes including Peyton Manning, Kevin Garnett, and Albert Pujols, Fuel packs 200 calories in each serving, with whole grains for long-lasting energy, five grams of fiber to curb hunger, calcium and Vitamin D to help with bone growth, and 100 percent of the recommended daily value of five B vitamins to help your body release the energy stored in food, giving you a strong base on which to start your day.

Click on the image below to become a Facebook fan and receive a one dollar off coupon.

Frank Miller GelaSkins

Frank Miller began his career in comics in the late 1970s on Marvel Comics Daredevil. It was there that Miller gained notoriety, honed his storytelling abilities, and took his first steps toward becoming a giant in the comics medium.

After Daredevil came Ronin , a science-fiction samurai drama that melded Japanese and French comics traditions into the American mainstream, and after that, the groundbreaking and acclaimed Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, and Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again.

Miller introduced Sin City in 1991, fulfilling his dream of doing all-out, straight-ahead crime comics. Readers responded enthusiastically to his tough-as-leather noir drama, which Miller continued to develop in subsequent years. His multiple award-winning 300 series from Dark Horse, a telling of history’s most glorious and underreported battle, was brought to full-blooded life in 1998.

Today Miller continues to push the comics medium into new territories, exploring subject matter previously untouched. With the 2005 release of Frank Miller’s Sin City, and the 2008 release of Will Eisner’s The Spirit, the artist added director’s credits to his long list of accomplishments.

These striking new Gelaskins designs are pulled directly from the pages of Frank Miller’s Sin City and 300. The prices are set at $14.95 for an iPod Touch or iPhone case, or $29.95 for a laptop skin—which are available for both MacBooks and PC laptops ranging in size from 13-inches to 15.4-inches.

The Best Pizzas in America

Yesterday food experts Ed Levine and Adam Kuban appeared on ‘Every Day With Rachael Ray’ and named the best pizzas in America. Four regional winners were picked: Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles, Great Lake in Chicago, Motorino in Brooklyn, New York and Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix.

Rachel Ray’s magazine, which hits newstands on February 15th, features all four of the regional pizza finalists. One overall winner will also be chosen and named the best slice in the country.

LINK

A Brief Conversation With Patton Oswalt

Stand-up comedian, actor and renaissance man Patton Oswalt discusses with Dan Fierman from GQ Magazine the current state of comedy. The topics up for debate: Are there too many stand-ups? Are we currently in a golden age? And how the hell did that happen?  Read the interview HERE.

Universal Pictures Offers $10,000 to Contestants Who Can Disappear For a Month

Lone Shark Games, in conjunction with Wired Magazine and Universal Pictures, is looking for a few creative, honest, adventurous people to go on the run starting in late February. You need to be available through late March to leave your regular life behind. Starting later this month, a few select individuals will get that chance.

You will be provided with vital technology and seed money to get you through your month on the run. Your creativity and wits will have to get you whatever else you need for life on the run. If you’re chosen, you will get $2,500 over the course of the run, and an additional $7,500 if you make it to the end without being caught. But people will be trying to find you, and they’ll use any means allowed to try to figure out where you are.

Read the rules and submit your application HERE.

M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘The Last Airbender’ Superbowl Trailer