Linerider.com

 

Boy grabs sled. Boy rides sled. A simple concept yields endless fun and the latest Internet Phenomenon is born! In Line Rider the player draws their own landscape with a simple pencil tool creating as many ramps, hills, and jumps as they can imagine. Then they send a virtual sledder careening down the course until he wipes out. The possibilities in Line Rider are only limited by the player’s imagination.  Try it here.

 

 

J.J. Abrams’ Fringe Gets Comic Book Prequel

USA Today reports that DC Comics will offer a prequel comic to J.J. Abrams’ (upcoming Star Trek, “M:i:III,” “Lost,” “Alias”) fall TV series “Fringe,” a thriller that will premiere on Fox on September 9. According to the newspaper, they are currently looking at writers and artists for the prequel, which will hit the stands on August 27.Joshua Jackson (“Dawson’s Creek”), John Noble (“The Lord of the Rings”) and newcomer Anna Torv star as an unlikely trio who uncover a deadly mystery involving a series of unbelievable events and realize they may be a part of a larger, more disturbing pattern that blurs the line between science fiction and technology.

 

 

Punisher: War Zone Teaser Trailer

This is the new teaser trailer for Lionsgate’s Punisher: War Zone, directed by Lexi Alexander (Green Street Hooligans) and starring Ray Stevenson, Dominic West, Doug Hutchinson, Colin Salmon, Wayne Knight, Dash Mihok and Julie Benz.

In the December 5 comic book adaptation, ruthless vigilante-hero Frank Castle (Stevenson) wages his one-man war on the world of organized crime and sets his sights on overeager mob boss Billy Russoti. After Russoti is left horribly disfigured by Castle, he sets out for vengeance under his new alias: Jigsaw. With the “Punisher Task Force” hot on his trail and the FBI unable to take Jigsaw in, Frank must stand up to the formidable army that Jigsaw has recruited before more of his evil deeds go unpunished.

 

New BMW Concept Car Has a Cloth Skin

 

Concept cars give automotive designers a chance to let their imaginations run wild, often with outlandish results. But even by that measure, BMW has come up with something as strange as it is innovative — a shape-shifting car covered with fabric.

Instead of steel, aluminum or even carbon fiber, the GINA Light Visionary Model has a body of seamless fabric stretched over a movable metal frame that allows the driver to change its shape at will. The car — which actually runs and drives — is a styling design headed straight for the BMW Museum in Munich and so it will never see production, but building a practical car wasn’t the point.

Chris Bangle, head of design for BMW, says GINA allowed his team to “challenge existing principles and conventional processes.”

“It is in the nature of such visions that they do not necessarily claim to be suitable for series production,” company officials said in unveiling the car Tuesday. “Rather, they are intended to steer creativity and research into new directions.”

Giving Bangle and his team that latitude to design so radical a car “helps to tap into formerly inconceivable, innovative potential” to push the boundaries of appearance and materials as well as functions and the manufacturing process, BMW says.

Bangle and is team actually built GINA — which stands for “Geometry and functions In ‘N’ Adaptions” — six years ago, but BMW kept it under, er, wraps until Tuesday. It’s built on the Z8 chassis and has a 4.4-liter V8 and six-speed automatic transmission. BMW says the fabric skin – polyurethane-coated Lycra – is resilient, durable and water resistant. It’s stretched over an aluminum frame controlled by electric and hydraulic actuators that allow the owner to change the body shape. Want a big spoiler on the back? Wider fenders?  No problem. “The drastic reinterpretation of familiar functionality and structure means that drivers have a completely new experience when they handle their car,” BMW says.

GINA has just four panels – the front hood, two sides and the rear deck. The doors open in jack-knife fashion and are completely smooth when closed; access to the engine is through a slit in the hood. BMW says the shape of the body can be changed without slackening or damaging the fabric. The fabric is  translucent so the taillights shine through, and small motors pull the fabric back to reveal the headlights.

The interior is equally innovative. The steering wheel and gauges swing into place and the headrest rises from the seat once the driver is seated, making it easier to get in and out of the car.

BMW says GINA is built on a space frame that provides all the safety of a conventional car, but we suspect people – not to mention BMW’s lawyers and government regulators – wouldn’t embrace fabric bodies. Still, the company says GINA could influence the design of future Beemers. (From Wired.com)

 

 

Fun Facts About Star Wars

Did you know that Star Wars almost didn’t happen because Universal Studios turned it down? Or that Harrison Ford was an unknown actor working as a carpenter when George Lucas chose him to play Han Solo? Or that Luke Skywalker’s original name was Luke Starkiller? Here are some fascinating facts about Star Wars, one of the highest grossing sci-fi film series in history:

 

“There’s a whole generation growing up without any kind of fairy tales. And kids need fairy tales- it’s an important thing for society to have for kids.” – George Lucas

 

BACKGROUND   

 

In July 1973, George Lucas was an unknown director working on a low-budget 1950s nostalgia film called American Graffiti. He approached Universal Studios to see if they were interested in a film idea he called Star Wars. Universal turned him down. It was the biggest mistake the studio ever made. Six months later, Lucas was the hottest director in Hollywood. American Graffiti, which cost $750,000 to make, was a smash. It went on to earn more than $117 million, making it the most profitable film in Hollywood history – even today. While Universal was stonewalling Lucas, an executive at 20th Century Fox, Alan Ladd, Jr., watched a smuggled print of American Graffiti before it premiered and loved it. He was so determined to work with Lucas that he agreed to finance the director’s new science fiction film. Star Wars opened on May 25, 1977, and by the end of August it had grossed $100 million – faster than any other film in history. By 1983 the film had made over $524 million in ticket sales worldwide – making it one of the top 25 highest grossing films in history.

 

MAKING THE FILM

 

- It took Lucas over two years to write the script. He spent 40 hours week writing and devoted much of his free time to reading comic books and watching old “Buck Rogers” episodes and other serials looking for film ideas.

 

- Lucas insisted on casting unknown actors and actresses in all the important parts of the film – which made the studio uneasy. Mark Hamill had more than 100 TV appearances, and Carrie Fisher had studied acting, but neither had had much experience in films. Harrison Ford’s biggest role had been as the drag racer in American Graffiti, and when he read for the part of Han Solo he was working as a carpenter.

 

THE CHARACTERS

 

Luke Skywalker. At first Lucas planned to portray him as an elderly general, but decided that making him a teenager gave him more potential for character development. Lucas originally named the character Luke Starkiller, but on the first day of shooting he changed it to the less violent Skywalker.

 

Obi-Wan Kenobi. Lucas got his idea for Obi-Wan Kenobi and “the Force” after reading Carlos Castaneda’sTales of Power, an account of Don Juan, a Mexican-Indian sorcerer and his experiences with what he called “the life force.”

 

Darth Vader. David Prowse, a six-foot, seven-inch Welsh weightlifter, played the part of Darth Vader. But Lucas didn’t want his villain to have a Welsh accent, so he dubbed James Earl Jones’s voice over Prowse’s. Still, Prowse loved the part. “He took the whole thing very seriously,” Lucas remembers. “He began to believe he really was Darth Vader.”

 

Han Solo. In the early stages of development, Han Solo was a green-skinned, gilled monster with a girlfriend named Boma who was a cross between a guinea pig and a brown bear. Solo was supposed to make only a few appearances in the film, but Lucas later made him into a swashbuckling, reckless human (allegedly modeled after the film director Francis Ford Coppola).

 

Chewbacca. Lucas got the idea for Chewbacca one morning in the early 1970s while watching his wife Marcia drive off in her car. She had their Alaskan malamute, Indiana (the namesake for Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark), and Lucas liked the way the large, shaggy dog looked in the passenger seat. So he decided to create a character in the film that was a cross between Indiana, a bear, and a monkey.

 

Princess Leia. Carrie Fisher was a beautiful 19-year-old actress when she was cast to play Princess Leia, but Lucas did everything he could to tone down her femininity. At one point, he even ordered that her breasts be strapped to her chest with electrical tape. “There’s no jiggling in the Empire,” Fisher later joked.

 

R2-D2. Lucas got the name R2-D2 while filming American Graffiti. During a sound-mixing session for the film, editor Walter Murch asked him for R2, D2 (Reel 2, Dialogue 2) of the film. Lucas liked the name so much that he made a note of it, and eventually found the right character for it.

 

C-3PO. Inspired by a robot character in Alex Raymond’s science fiction novel, Iron Men of Mongo. Raymond’s robot was a copper-colored, polite robot that was shaped like a man who worked as a servant. Lucas intended that C-3PO and R2-D2 be a space-age Laurel and Hardy team.

 

SPECIAL EFFECTS

 

- The spaceship battles were inspired by World War II films. Before filming the special effect began, Lucas watched dozens of war movies like Battle of Britain and The Bridges of Toko-Ri, taping his favorite air battle scenes as he went along. Later he edited them down to a 10-minute black-and-white film, and gave it to the special effects team – which reshot the scenes using X-wing and T.I.E. fighter models.

 

- None of the spaceship models ever moved an inch during the filming of the flight sequences. The motion was an optical illusion created by moving the cameras around motionless models. The models were so detailed that one of them even had Playboy pinups in the cockpit.

 

MISCELLANEOUS FACTS

 

- The executives at 20th Century Fox hated the film the first time they saw it. Some of the company’s board of directors fell asleep during the first screening; others didn’t understand the film at all. One executive’s wife even suggested that C-3PO be given a moving mouth, because no one would understand how he could talk without moving his lips.

 

- The underwater monster in the trash compactor was one of Lucas’s biggest disappointments in the film. He had planned to have an elaborate “alien jellyfish” in the scene, but the monster created by the special effects department was so poorly constructed that it reminded him of “a big, wide, brown turd.” Result: The monster was filmed underwater during most of the scene – so that moviegoers wouldn’t see it.

 

Great Moments in Procrastination

StartProcrastinating.com is devoted to procrastinators, especially the most creative ones out there. It encourages users to submit videos of themselves procrastinating at work, then everyone can procrastinate even further by voting for and sharing their favorites. (From Pop Candy)

Was This What the Microsoft Surface Was Designed For?

This gives a new meaning to multi touch interface…

The Top 10 Rube Goldberg Machines Featured On Film

Who doesn’t love the intricacy of Rube Goldberg machines, a celebration of the most mechanical, complex and absurd way of performing an everyday task?  And combined with the over-the-top designs of Hollywood movies, these gadgets of pure imagination find their most welcome (and plausible) home.

Here are the top 10 Rube Goldberg machines featured in movies, listed in handy clips for your viewing pleasure.

Amazing Origami V-12 Four-Stroke Engine

There are some DIY projects that are cool, some that are useful, and then there are others — like the full-running Origami V-12 four-stroke engine — that are simply awesome. 

 

Built by a self-employed Montreal man named Yee, the Origami V-12 is a paper engine that pumps just like real engines (with the help of electrical wires, a resistor, a motor and a battery holder). It looks complicated because it is: One V-12 engine consists of 195 sheets of fine-printed patterns. From those sets, 1,978 pieces are used in total. And it only weighs 3.2 lbs when finished. This makes your 1,000-piece puzzle look like a piece of cake.

But if you have the intestinal fortitude to go through with it, the build comes together rather beautifully: The engine representations include a compound crankshaft (running at 13.5 rpm), cooling fan, 12 rods, 12 pistons and 12 spark plugs (which “ignite” on each cycle pump).

 

You can buy your own Origami V-12 engine online for about $110. The package includes, along with the paper, a PDF with 575 pages of detailed, picture-filled instructions. You will also need white glue and a sharp knife with a comfortable handle, for precise maneuvering. 

According its creator, all the patterns are printed on acid-free heavy paper, which means that it won’t fade away after a few years.

 

All About The Hulk

The Incredible Hulk starring Edward Norton opens Friday. If you’re confused about what this movie has to do with the 2003 film starring Eric Bana, and what either of them has to do with the old Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno TV show, then you know what it’s like to read the Incredible Hulk comic book. The title character has been through a lot of changes since the series debuted 46 years ago.

The default status is that whenever articulate scientist Bruce Banner becomes angry, he turns into the Hulk, a green monster who refers to himself in the third person and uses the word “smash” a lot. But there have been some variations.

STATE OF MIND

•When the character debuted, and for a while in the late ’80s, Banner became the Hulk every night at sundown, just like a werewolf.

•There have been periods when Banner was able to become the Hulk at will and retain his intelligence and personality while transformed.

•For a short time in the ’90s, Banner’s mind was in the Hulk’s body, but whenever he got angry, he’d turn into Banner’s body with the Hulk’s mind.  

•Banner and the Hulk have been split into two separate beings. The Hulk’s communication style at those times was limited to grunting and growling.

LOOKIN’ GOOD

•The Hulk’s skin was gray when he debuted in 1962. The green we all know and love was established only one issue later, but the gray skin returned for a while in the ’80s.  

•In a new series titled Hulk (no “Incredible”), the title character has red skin. Three issues in, there’s been no explanation of his relationship to Banner, who’s been locked up since last year’s World War Hulk miniseries.

WORKING FOR A LIVING

•In the mid-’80s, when Banner and the Hulk were separated, Banner led a team of Hulkbusters that tried to hunt down his former alter ego.

•Something went haywire when Banner and the Hulk reunited. The newly gray Hulk assumed the name Joe Fixit and got a job as a mob enforcer in Las Vegas.

•In the early ’90s, while Banner’s brain was in control, the Hulk led a team of super powered secret agents known as the Pantheon.

•Hulk once settled in a small town under the name Bob Danner and got a job at a garage.  

•A few years ago, after a bunch of other superheroes exiled him in outer space, the Hulk became a gladiator known as the Green Scar.123456.

Lucky Announces the Power to Control Time with New Marshmallow Charm in Lucky Charms Cereal

For the first time in more than 10 years, Lucky the Leprechaun is adding a new permanent charm to his delicious Lucky Charms cereal, a magical hourglass. The hourglass charm will join seven other signature charms and be just as powerful, giving Lucky the power to control time.

Lucky Charms combines scrumptious taste with whole grain oats to create a magically delicious cereal kids and adults alike have continued to enjoy over the past 43 years. The cereal contains Lucky’s magical charms, each of which bestow upon Lucky their own special powers: hearts (power to bring things to life), shooting stars (power to fly), horseshoes (power to speed things up), clovers (luck, but you never know what kind of luck you’ll get), blue moons (power of invisibility), rainbows (instantaneous travel from place to place) and balloons (power to make things float).

“Lucky Charms has been a family favorite at the breakfast table for decades and we are excited to add a new marshmallow charm to the cereal,” said Catherine Cox Draper, marketing manager for Lucky Charms. “The colorful fun of Lucky’s magical charms is a delicious way to start each day.”

The new hourglass charm in Lucky Charms will be available in stores across the U.S. For more information on Lucky Charms and Lucky the Leprechaun, visit www.luckycharmsfun.com.