The $1.8 Million Corpus Clock

Most clocks just tell time, simply and reliably. Not the $1.8 million “time eater” formally unveiled Friday at Corpus Christi College in Cambridge.

The masterpiece, introduced by famed cosmologist Stephen Hawking, challenges all preconceptions about telling time. It has no hands or digital numbers and it is specially designed to run in erratic fashion, slowing down and speeding up from time to time.

Inventor John Taylor used his own money to build the clock as a tribute to John Harrison, the Englishman who in 1725 invented the grasshopper escapement, a mechanical device that helps regulate a clock’s movement.

Making a visual pun on the grasshopper image, Taylor created a demonic version of the insect to top the gold-plated clock where it devours time.

The beast — with its long needle teeth and barbed tail_ rocks back and forth, ultimately inserting its talons in notches at the top of the clock to move it forward. Halfway through the minute the grasshopper’s jaws begin to open, snapping shut at 59 seconds.

“Time is gone, he’s eaten it,” said Taylor, who calls the oversize grasshopper “Chronophage,” which translates to “time eater.”

“My object was simply to turn a clock inside out so that the grasshopper became a reality,” Taylor said.

Read more HERE.

Two New Spirit Posters

Here are 2 new posters for Frank Miller’s The Spirit due in theaters on Christmas 2008.

Apple Recalls All iPhone 3G Adapters Sold in 14 Countries

Due to a defect identified in the “Ultracompact” USB Power Adapters included with all iPhone 3G units sold in the U.S., Japan, Canada, Mexico, and six Latin American countries, and sold separately in these and four others, Apple has launched an exchange program in which customers can return their adapters for a new, redesigned version. The program’s site states: “under certain conditions the new ultracompact Apple USB power adapter’s metal prongs can break off and remain in a power outlet, creating a risk of electric shock. We have received reports of detached blades involving a very small percentage of the adapters sold, but no injuries have been reported…. Users with ultracompact power adapters should immediately stop using them until they exchange them for a new, redesigned ultracompact adapter.” The page also states that if the user’s adapter has a single green dot near the prongs, they already have the redesigned adapter and will not need a replacement. According to the program page, replacement adapters will be available starting October 10, and the company will offer replacements via the web, or through its retail stores.

50 Strange Buildings of the World

HERE are some of the most unusual examples of bizarre architecture throughout the world today.

 

 

 

This Is Still One Of My Favorite Commercials, The Honda Cog

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TV Jingle Quiz

Test your knowledge of commercials HERE with 16 snippets from TV’s most memorable jingles.

 

We Might Still See M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable II

Love his work or hate it, there’s no denying that M. Night Shyamalan always seems to be one step ahead of the curve with his films — from the twist no one saw coming in “The Sixth Sense,” to finding new ways to scare the crap outta moviegoers with “Signs” and “The Village.” And he was even years ahead of the current comic book movie boom (for better and for worse) when “Unbreakable” hit theaters in 2000.

So that being said, is it time for Shyamalan to take a step back for a change and revisit his superhero/supervillain film with a sequel, given the rampant popularity of the superhero genre?

“I tell you I get asked about it all the time, so it’s not [an idea] I ever forget,” Shyamalan told MTV News. “I genuinely just asked this question the other day — should I make ‘Unbreakable 2’?”

If Shyamalan does indeed decide to revisit “Unbreakable,” he’ll have at least one of the original film’s stars ready and willing to join up — Samuel L. Jackson, who played the very-breakable villain, Elijah Price, in the movie.

“Every time I see [Shyamalan], he says, ‘I’ve written this thing for you,’ so I say, ‘why are you always doing these movies I’m not in?’” said Jackson.

According to both Shyamalan and Jackson, “Unbreakable” was originally intended to be a trilogy, but a series of bad reviews as well as fan and film critic misconception of Shyamalan’s work quickly tabled the idea of a possible franchise. As Jackson put it, “He was a victim of what Quentin [Tarrantino] was a victim of. ‘Jackie Brown’ is a great movie, but it’s not ‘Pulp Fiction 2.’ ‘Unbreakable’ is a great movie, but it’s not ‘I see f**king dead people.’”

Likewise, Shyamalan has his own take on the lack of a sequel. “I made the mistake of getting caught up in the hype of the immediate reaction of the movie, which, experience has shown me, is not accurate to any of my movies,” he explained. “And If I had been more confident and said ‘I believe in that movie, I love that movie, and I should just go start writing the second one,” that would’ve been the right move. I’ve still been thinking about it a lot and wonder if it’s too late.”

Shyamalan even sat down with Jackson during the film’s production to discuss where his character could and would go had the film spawned a sequel.

“Back then we talked about what the rest would entail,” recalled Jackson. “I broke out of the mental institution. I’m out there doing stuff and ["Unbreakable" co-star Bruce Willis' "David Dunn" is] after me. It’s very cool. He still wears that rain thing, that windbreaker.”

So the idea seems to be there, and Jackson’s ready to break out the funky hair-do and purple suit, so — bottom line — will we see an “Unbreakable 2,” Mr. Shyamalan?

“I do love the [comic book movie] genre, I just wanna make sure that I’m able to express who I am,” explained Shyamalan. “I don’t want to get so lost in the subject that I have to neuter everything that’s me in it, so maybe ‘Unbreakable’ is the comic book thing I should do — I keep coming back to that.”

We’ll take that as a solid “maybe.” (From the MTV Splash Page)

“I’m a PC” New Microsoft Ads

It looks like Microsoft is going another direction this week with their advertising campaign and no longer using the Jerry Seinfeld spots. 

David Wroblewski’s Novel Gets The Nod From Oprah Winfrey

Thanks to Oprah Winfrey, one of the summer’s hottest reads is sure to sizzle in the fall.

Publishing’s biggest hitmaker has chosen David Wroblewski’s “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle,” a 500-page debut novel, as her latest book club pick, two booksellers told The Associated Press. “Edgar Sawtelle” was released in June and became a smash thanks to strong reviews, word of mouth and a blurb from Stephen King.

Winfrey was to make the announcement later Friday on her Chicago-based TV talk show. The Associated Press purchased a copy of the novel, which has a Winfrey book club sticker on the cover, from a bookseller that placed “Edgar Sawtelle” on sale early. The two booksellers, speaking on condition of anonymity because of a confidentiality agreement, had previously told the AP that Wroblewski’s work was Winfrey’s choice.

“Edgar Sawtelle,” which Wroblewski worked on for more than a decade, is the story of a mute boy who communicates best with his dogs. Wroblewski grew up in rural Wisconsin, the setting for his book, and now lives near Denver with his partner, writer Kimberly McClintock. (From the Associated Press)

360 Degree View From the Empire State Building

This 360 view from the Empire State Building is for my nephew Ben who loves the skyline of New York City.