KOZO3 Desk Lamp

If you love industrial-inspired furniture and fixtures, you’ll find the Etsy KOZO3 Designer Desk Lamp ($230) doesn’t disappoint. With raw, galvanized iron tubing and a little rust at the joints, this handmade lamp provides illumination with an efficient 20-watt halogen bulb. Just tap the custom-designed on/off switch to provide light at home or in the office, adding a distinctive touch to any room.

 

 

Gibson Dark Fire Guitar

Sporting the beautiful Les Paul profile and made from a mahogany body and carved maple top, the Gibson Dark Fire ($4,400) is the fusion of geek and guitar, combining a classic design with some of the most advanced technology available. Using Chameleon Tone Technology, the Dark Fire owns the iconic Les Paul sound, but allows you to reach infinite tonal possibilities, recreating any guitar sound you can imagine. Second generation Robot Guitar Technology keeps you on key as you play. The new P-90h neck and Burstbucker III bridge pickups go from blues to shred with the flip of a switch, and the included Robot Interface Pack — a small box the size of a deck of cards — operates as a preamp, firewire interface, breakout box, and more. Be sure to watch the demo video.

 

Gahan Wilson’s “It Was A Dark And Silly Night”

Gahan Wilson does some of the weirdest, most odd cartoons for publications like the New Yorker, and in honor of the upcoming documentary, Gahan Wilson: Born Dead, Still Weird, directed by Steven-Charles Jaffe, the New Yorker website has posted a short cartoon drawn by Gahan, directed by Jaffe and written by Coraline writer and Newberry Award winner Neil Gaiman.

Check out “It Was A Dark And Silly Night” below.

LOST Timeline

ABC.com has just posted this handy LOST timeline to help explain the flash backs and flash forwards between the decades.

 

American Sign Language Matchbooks

Check out JK Keller’s American Sign Language matchbooks HERE.

Report: Apple Orders 4 Million New iPhones, 3 Different Models

Apple has placed orders for four million units of new iPhone models, with delivery expected by the end of this quarter, according to a China Times report. The report goes on to state that Apple may introduce three distinct iPhone models, including a new 2.75G (EDGE) model, a new 3G model, and a third model created especially for the Chinese market. All three models are said to be similar in design to the current iPhone, and the report states that the introduction of a third, smaller model—often referred to as the iPhone nano—is unlikely. Prior reports have indicated that a future iPhone model would include an improved, 3.2 megapixel camera, 802.11n wireless network support, and video recording features; Apple is expected to reveal at least one new iPhone model at this year’s WWDC event, scheduled for June 8-12 in San Francisco. (via Mac Rumors)

Pearl Jam Album, Film, Tour In The Works

Pearl Jam will play live dates in the U.S. later this year, including the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco Aug. 28-30, Billboard has confirmed. The band has also completed 14 songs for a new album and is working on a film with director Cameron Crowe, guitarist Mike McCready said in a radio interview late last month.

McCready told Seattle’s “Ron & Don Show” that the band is about halfway finished with its next album, which is being recorded in California with producer Brendan O’Brien.  McCready said the band is expecting to have the album out before the end of this year. As previously reported, the band will self-release the album, its ninth.

As for touring, the band is doing a “little thing in the States,” and is looking to play South America in 2010, McCready said.

Pearl Jam is widely expected to be one of the headliners of this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin, Texas. The promoters, C3 Presents, declined to comment to Billboard about the lineup, but the Austin Chronicle is calling it “the worst-kept secret since Metallica’s SXSW showcase.” Dave Matthews Band, Beastie Boys and Kings of Leon are also expected to be announced as headliners on April 28. Early bird passes for Austin City Limits are on sale at aclfestival.com.

Pearl Jam is also planning to tape an appearance on the Austin City Limits television show, producer Terry Lickona told a pbs.org questioner in March.

Pearl Jam have long been courted by C3 Presents for the Austin festival, especially after the promoters convinced the band to play Lollapalooza in 2007, its first large festival show in the U.S. since the mid-1990s. Pearl Jam played Bonnaroo in 2008.

“We’re building up to our big 20th anniversary,” McCready said. “We’re trying to have a little campaign of building rereleases with new mixes and new outtakes up until that time. We’re trying to do a movie with Cameron Crowe with all of our existing footage.”

 

Easter Eggs Give Clues to Next-Gen iPhone

Very little is known about Apple’s next iPhone, but screens and files hidden in the handset’s latest beta software are providing some major clues.

 

iPhone 3.0 beta testers are stumbling upon menus, system preferences and text strings that Apple tried to keep secret — presumably because they give away features that will appear in the next upgrade to the iPhone hardware, which will probably be released this summer. Highlights include a video recorder, an auto-focus camera and a digital compass. Beta-testing sleuths have also found tantalizing suggestions about the operating system, including an unannounced tethering capability, voice control and a “find my iPhone” feature.

 

Apple has not released any information on the new iPhone hardware. You can read the list of possibilities HERE.

 

Happy Easter From The Fire Wire To All My Peeps

Getting The Inside Scoop On The Cadbury Creme Egg

It nests temptingly near cash registers, fits neatly in the palm of your hand, and incubates a satisfying embryo of goo. The Cadbury Creme Egg: Like clockwork, the ubiquitous Easter confection reappears each spring. But, despite its dependability, there is still a shroud of mystery surrounding the Creme Egg: Just what is that filling? Why does it vanish after Easter?  Read more HERE.

Hang This Up In Your Time Machine

Click image to make larger.

 

For the First Time on Blu-ray Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez’s Sin City

If ever a movie was meant to be experienced in high definition, Sin City is guilty on all counts! Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez’s visually stunning crime thriller debuts on Blu-ray this April 21, 2009, from Miramax Films. Featuring the ultimate in high definition picture and sound, this 2-Disc set comes fully loaded with two cuts of the film plus eight hours of bonus material.

Sin City is based on Frank Miller’s popular series of graphic novels and features an all-star crew both behind and in front of the camera.  Acclaimed director Robert Rodriguez (Grindhouse, Spy Kids) teamed with Mr. Miller to co-direct an all-star cast that includes Bruce Willis, Oscar-nominee Mickey Rourke (Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for: The Wrestler, 2008), Clive Owen, Jessica Alba and Rosario Dawson, in this riveting tale of killers, cops, hookers and hit men, all inhabiting one very dangerous, very sexy city. Sin City debuted in theatres in 2005 to critical acclaim and box office success and, like Mr. Miller’s graphic novels, continues to grow in its fan base. Now these fans, and anyone who loves explosive, groundbreaking filmmaking, can see and hear the movie like never before with the ultimate in high definition picture and sound. Available at an SRP of $35.99, crime never looked or sounded so good…

Disc One (Theatrical Cut) Features:

• All new Cine-Explore – Innovative Blu-ray technology allows viewers to experience a uniquely interactive visual commentary that pushes the envelope. When selected, see picture-in-picture green screen footage and original art synced with the filmmakers’ commentary.
• 2.0 Commentary with Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller
• 2.0 Commentary with Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino
• 5.1 Audio Track Featuring a Recording of the Austin Audience Reaction
 
Disc Two (Unrated, Recut Extended Version) Features:

• All new “Kill ‘em Good” Interactive Comic Book – Dive into a visually stunning interactive game that puts you in the driver’s seat. Exploiting the Blu-ray format in ways never before seen, you finish the story – with guns blazing!
• Four Chapters:
o Chapter One- That Yellow Bastard
o Chapter Two- The Customer Is Always Right
o Chapter Three- The Hard Goodbye
o Chapter Four-  The Big Fat Kill
• Rodriguez Special Features:  
o 15-Minute Film School
o All Green Screen Version
o The Long Take
o Sin City: Live in Concert
o 10-Minute Cooking School
• How It Went Down: Convincing Frank Miller To Make The Film

• Special Guest Director: Quentin Tarantino
• A Hard Top With A Decent Engine: The Cars of Sin City
• Booze, Broads, and Guns: The Props of Sin City
• Making the Monsters: Special Effects Make-up
• Trench Coats & Fishnets: The Costumes of Sin City
• Teaser & Theatrical Trailer

 

 

The New Simpsons Stamps

Check out the new Simpsons stamps.

 

Clever Wildlife Donation Campaign

The Brazilian branch of the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) came out with a cool visual idea to see who you’re really helping with your donation.

Apple Launches Billion App Countdown

Apple has launched a new Billion App Countdown promotion to celebrate the one-billionth app downloaded from the App Store, with a single combined prize of a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card, a 32GB iPod touch, a Time Capsule, and a 17-inch MacBook Pro. The prize will be awarded for the entry (either through an app download or through a non-purchase online entry) sent immediately following the download of the 999,999,999th app. The winners will be listed online within 10 days following the one-billionth download. Regardless of which method of entry is used to enter the Promotion, only 25 entries per person and/or iTunes account and/or email address, per day will be granted; an entrant must be 13 years of age or older at the time of entry, and must also be a legal resident of the United States, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada (excluding the Province of Quebec), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom. Apple held a similar promotion during the time leading up to the one billionth song sold via the iTunes Store in 2006.

At the current estimated rate of App Store downloads, roughly 5 million per day, the countdown would last for roughly 15 days before someone wins. However, the pace of downloads will likely continue to accelerate as it has throughout the Store’s growth, meaning that a winner should be picked in less than two weeks’ time.

Comic Book Speech Bubble Bookshelves

HERE is a cool way to display your Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen graphic novels.

 

Drawminos

Drawminos are digital dominos that you can set-up and play with just like the real thing.

 

American Idol Theme On 4-14-09

Next week’s theme on American Idol (April 14, 2009) will be “Songs From The Movies“. The Top 7 American Idol finalists (Kris Allen, Anoop Desai, Matt Giraud, Danny Gokey, Allison Iraheta, Adam Lambert and Lil Rounds) will perform songs of the cinema under the guidance of director Quentin Tarantino in an “Idols at the Movies” theme next week.

Tune in on Wednesday, April 15 to find out if the judges use their save or if America sends another finalist home. Also, Season Three finalist Jennifer Hudson returns to the IDOL stage to perform her new single, “If This Isn’t Love,” and Miley Cyrus will sing “The Climb” from “Hannah Montana: The Movie.”

Yahoo! Launches Messenger App For iPhone

Yahoo! has released its new Yahoo! Messenger application for the iPhone and iPod touch. The application allows users to login to Yahoo’s messaging service, set their status with custom status messages, view recent conversations, and share photos. In addition, it offers an automatic idle mode that changes users’ statuses to idle upon leaving the application, giving them ten minutes to return to the app without missing any messages. Yahoo! Messenger is available now as a free download from the App Store.

Go Trek Yourself

Click HERE to Trek Yourself!

 

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Leaked Footage

Wheeee…Powersliding

Introducing Powersliding, the sport of the future or just a LEVI’s viral ad?  You decide. 

If you dig this video, powerslide your way down to the Santa Monica Pier on Wednesday April 15^th from 3-5pm where Levi’s will be hosting the 3rd Annual Powersliding Competition. There’s gonna be some intense sliding, live music and other fun stuff.

The Puma

 

Introducing the PUMA (Personal Urban Mobility & Accessibility) a sort of giant, two-person Segway that is designed for commuters, with a 35-mile range from its lithium-ion batteries. It has a top speed of 35 MPH, which is plenty for city cruising.

Both GM and Segway hope to have the PUMA on the road by 2012.

According to Segway, the prototype represents the shift that’s needed for the future of transportation. It values less over more; taking up less space, using less energy, produced more efficiently with fewer parts, creating fewer emissions during production and operation, all while offering more enjoyment, productivity, and connectivity.

You’re Fired And You’re On TV

Fox has hit an all time low: real-life layoffs as reality TV. Each week of the exciting series “Someone’s Gotta Go” will feature a struggling small business that needs to fire an employee. The entire staff will be told how much everybody makes, what their performance reviews have been like, etc. Then they will discuss and vote on who should be let go. It’s being described as The Apprentice meets Survivor meets The Office, but really it is like “so depressing” meets “makes me uncomfortable.”

 

Worst Opening Pitches: Ceremonial Pitches Gone Bad

What does every president since William Howard Taft, Verne “Mini-Me” Troyer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and a nude female skydiver have in common?

All have thrown out the ceremonial pitch at a major league baseball game. And yes, a female skydiver in her birthday suit landed at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Arizona, to throw out the opening pitch in a 1978 minor league game.

Some of those ceremonial pitches were strikes and others were…well, not even close. In honor of Opening Day, HERE are the five worst opening pitches of all-time.