Rick Riordan Announces New Percy Jackson Spin-Off Series, The Heroes of Olympus

After saving Olympus from the evil Titan lord, Kronos, Percy and friends have rebuilt their beloved Camp Half-Blood, where the next generation of demigods must now prepare for a chilling prophecy of their own.

Now, in a brand-new series from blockbuster best-selling author Rick Riordan, fans return to the world of Camp Half-Blood. Here, a new group of heroes will inherit a quest. But to survive the journey, they’ll need the help of some familiar demigods.

The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus Series #1) ($10.25 at Barnes & Noble) will be a 576 page hardcover.  The book will be in stores on October 12th, 2010.

Marvel Developing Short Films

Latino Review is reporting a rumor that Marvel is developing a series of 10-minute short films to introduce secondary characters like Black Panther, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Dr. Strange, etc. No other information is known at this time, but this would definitely be a much less costly way to introduce perspective new franchise characters without investing tens of millions on a feature film. Through these short films, it would be easy to see what is connecting with audience.

Nothing is confirmed yet, consider this a rumor for now.

We are unsure if these short films will be released online or be attached to future Marvel big screen releases. Pixar seems to have brought back the concept of short films before theatrical releases. Disney has even picked up the practice. Recently it was announced that Warner Bros would be producing a series of new 3D Looney Tunes shorts to be attached to future releases. (Thanks for the tip Don!)

Apple Releases iOS 4 For iPhone & iPod touch

Apple has released iOS 4 for the second- and third-generation iPod touch, iPhone 3G, and iPhone 3GS. The fourth major release of Apple’s mobile device operating system—previously called iPhone OS—the new software provides over 100 new features or enhancements, according to Apple. Among these are multitasking, folders, customizable backgrounds for the Home screen, a unified inbox for the Mail application, more fine-grained control over Location Services, support for Apple’s new iAd mobile advertising platform, and support for iBooks 1.1 on the iPhone and iPod touch. Several of the features—most notably multitasking—require more advanced hardware and are therefore only available on the iPhone 3GS and third-generation iPod touch, as well as future devices such as the iPhone 4. Interestingly, iLounge editors have seen a dialog box experienced when updating a second-generation iPod touch, warning not to “interrupt the update, which may take an hour or longer to complete” that was not seen when upgrading an iPhone 3GS. The iOS 4 update for the second-generation iPod touch weighs in at 315.0MB, the iPhone 3G update is 292.1MB, the third-generation iPod touch download is 366.4MB, and the iPhone 3GS version is 378.0MB. iOS 4 for the iPhone and iPod touch is available for download now via the update feature in iTunes, and will be coming to the iPad this fall.

McSweeney’s Summer Sale – The Best Week of The Year!

What have they got? They’ve got Zeitoun and The Wild Things at half price; Chabon at 75 percent off; quarterlies for under $5 and Wholphins for even less—they’ve got all three subscriptions at pinchpenny-friendly prices. You can save $17 on the normally splurge-worthy Marcel Dzama, and $14 on three volumes of Art Spiegelman; then you can take that $31 you just saved and buy something like the brand-new Spike Jonze book-film-CD threefer! And the truly thrifty would do well to walk around the side of the metaphorical parking lot to their garage sale, where many, many barely used books are going for even less.

So check out store.mcsweeneys.net and pick up some great books for you and your friends!

Britax Boulevard CS Car Seat

The Britax Boulevard CS car seat ($329.99) introduces the new Click & Safe snug harness indicator, the latest advancement in child safety, which addresses the leading misuse with safety child seats. The Click & Safe feature is an audible aide to help determine when the harness is secure by clicking when the harness straps are snug.

Other features include True Side Impact Protection with deep side walls and head support to provide advanced protection in side impact collisions. The easy-turn knob quickly adjusts the headrest and harness height without having to uninstall the seat. Higher forward-facing weight capacity allows children to remain harnessed up to 65 pounds.

The tangle-free, five-point harness ensures a snug and secure fit. Premium push-button LATCH connectors provide a quick, simple and tight installation. Unique features include the patented Versa-Tether for energy management, and rear- and forward-facing recline for child comfort and a body pillow for positioning.

This easy to install well designed car seat takes into account comfort for your child and peace of mind for the parent with audible and visual safeguards built in.

Making of The Pixar Short, Day & Night

Here is a behind the scenes look at Pixar’s Day & Night, the short that plays before Toy Story 3.

Should You Get The New (Insert Gadget Name Here)?

Click on the image to make larger

Happy Father’s Day

Happy Father’s Day Dad.  I wish we could be there to spend the day with you. Please know that we are thinking of you and we will see you soon!

Eliana, I am so proud to be your father. You fill my heart with love each and every day!

When Will We See Woody & Buzz Again?

Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich revealed on MSN and Twitter that Toy Story 3 is not the last time we’ll see Buzz and Woody. Don’t worry Pixar fans, Disney is not pushing out another sequel; Toy Story 3 ends with a perfect conclusion to the trilogy, and here is not another feature film planned any time soon. But that doesn’t mean that Disney won’t release more adventures of Andy’s toys on the big screen in short film form…

Here is what Unrich told James Rocchi:

“Well, I really tried my best to end the story of Andy and his toys and bring that story to a close in a really nice way at the end of this film. That being said, we know that people love the characters, love Woody and Buzz, and would hate to say good-bye to them completely. I don’t know that there would ever be a ‘[Toy Story] 4.’ We don’t have any plans for one — but we are trying to find ways to keep the characters alive. We have announced we’re going to do a short film in front of ‘Cars 2′ that uses the ‘Toy Story’ characters. We’re going to keep them alive; they’re not going away forever.”

So there you have it, we will see the toys again on the big screen on June 24th 2011, in a short film which will play in front of Cars 2. (Thanks for the tip Don)

Stephen King Novella Finds Haven At Syfy

Syfy will air the first episode of the supernatural drama series Haven on July 9th at 10/9c, based on the novella “The Colorado Kid,” from renowned author Stephen King.

“Haven is the quintessential Stephen King town, full of complex, yet identifiable, characters and compelling supernatural situations.

Deep in the heart of Maine, Haven is a town where people with supernatural abilities have migrated for generations because it mutes their powers, allowing them to lead normal lives. At least, until recently. When hot-shot FBI agent Audrey Parker is called to Haven to solve the murder of a local ex-con, she catches the killer but uncovers a much deeper mystery about this town. Each week, as the town- peoples’ dormant powers begin to express themselves, Audrey will try to keep these supernatural forces at bay while unraveling the many mysteries of Haven – including one surrounding her own surprising past in this extraordinary place.

The impressive creative team behind Haven includes Scott Shepherd Tru Calling, The Dead Zone) serving as showrunner and the pilot is written by Sam Ernst (Shrek the Third, The Dead Zone) and Jim Dunn (Shrek the Third, The Dead Zone) who will also serve as executive producers on the series.

Disney Parks Star Tours 2 Grand Opening Dates Announced

The Disney Parks are planning to relaunch the Star Tours ride with a brand new 3D versionin 2011.  The Star Wars 2 attractions will launch on:

- May 10th 2011 in Disneyland in Anaheim (current ride closes on July 27th 2010)

and

- May 17th 2011 in Disney World in Orlando (current ride closes on September 8th 2010)

So if you’re planning a trip to one of the Disney theme parks in 2011, you now know when to plan the tip. And for those of you who want to tour Endor one last time before the ride becomes the new 3D version, LucasFilm is holing a special event to celebrate the end of the original Star Tours ride: “an out of-this-world, first-of-its-kind decommissioning party before Star Tours launches its final flights.”

Recently it was revealed that the new attraction “will take voyagers — for the first time ever — to Coruscant, as well as other destinations in the Star Wars galaxy” including the skies of Coruscant. (Thanks for the tip D.T.)

It’s A Small World After All

The magic of a Disney fairy tale always begins with a “Once upon a time” moment that leads to a “Happily ever after” ending…even when it’s least expected!

Days before their marriage, a couple finds an old family vacation photo from Disney World with both of them in it.

Toy Story 3 Easter Egg Guide

Toy Story 3 is now in theaters and, like any Pixar film, it’s filled to the brim with inside jokes. Slashfilm has listed as many as they could find and will be updating the link on an ongoing basis. Read more HERE.

The Geography of LOST

After four long years of intense research, The Geography of LOST ($15-$160), an actual map of the castaways’ island, was born. Available as a Fine Art Print, Framed Print, or Canvas Print, it shows the locations of important buildings and events like The Pearl, The Orchid, the radio tower, the barracks, and the spot where we first met Jack, Kate and Sawyer.

New Dark Knight Bonus Content Released

Many people complained about The Dark Knight’s lack of extras when the DVD/Blu-Ray was released. For those of you who want to see some more never-before-released featurettes and bonus content, DC Comics is celebrating their 75th Anniversary, and as part of that they have included 31 additional minutes of bonus content when you purchase The Dark Knight on iTunes, Amazon OnDemand or Cable OnDemand . (Thanks for the tip Don)

YouTube Introduces Video Editing

Google has added a basic video-editing system to YouTube, giving a new creative aspect to the video-sharing site.

The YouTube editor isn’t going to put Apple’s Final Cut Pro or Adobe Systems’ Premiere Pro out of business anytime soon, but the tool is useful. With it, you can trim videos and combine multiple videos into a single composite.

To use the video editor, drag the thumbnail views of your videos to the filmstrip at the bottom. Hovering your mouse pointer over a thumbnail at the bottom will produce a scissors icon; clicking on it will let you trim the beginning and end of a video.

You can preview a low-resolution version of the video, and once you’re done, save it to your collection. Saving is fast, because the videos are already uploaded, but it can take some time for YouTube to process the result.

The new videos are added to your collection, with the usual options for titles, tags, sharing permission, and such.

Toy Story Collection Buzz Lightyear

This highly detailed movie replica ($59.50) is 12″ tall and is the most accurate Buzz Lightyear ever produced! Created from Disney-Pixar’s digital data, the fully poseable figure has over 32 points of articulation including fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders, waist, ankles, knees and legs!

Push the red oval chest button for classic “Buzz Toy” phrases. Press the blue oval chest button and he responds as “Space Ranger” Buzz with moving head action! He even knows if you’re talking loudly. Talk to Buzz and he’ll respond to your voice in Talk Back Mode by using the green oval button for ON/OFF Talk Back feature. Press the red round chest button for flying mode with pop-out wing action and light-up wing tips. The level sensor knows when Buzz is in a horizontal flying position or standing vertically and responds with flying/landing sound effects. You can also press his arm button for laser light-up and sound effects. Open or close his helmet or arm communicator and he reacts with related phrases and sound effects. He has 65 sayings in the original film voice.

The Toy Story Collection Buzz Lightyear Talking Action Figure has a soft rubber waist and glow-in-the-dark green trim. He also includes a Toy Story Collection Certificate of Authenticity.

Fringe Season 2 DVD Announced

Warner Home Video has announced DVD and Blu-ray releases of Fringe: The Complete Second Season for the 14th September. Extras will include commentary on 4 Episodes by Series Stars and Creative Team, featurettes (“The Mythology of Fringe”, “Fringe: Analyzing the Scene Sidebars on 6 Key Episodes”, “In the Lab with John Noble and Prop Master Rob Smith”), unaired scenes, a gag reel, and The Unearthed Episode starring Kirk Acevedo as Charlie.

iTunes 9.2 Now Available In Software Update

It’s arrived; either via Software Update or from Apple’s iTunes page, the new version 9.2 of iTunes is now available for download. Both the Mac and Windows versions are live and ready.

Features and improvements include:

- Sync and read books with iPhone or iPod touch with iOS 4 and iBooks 1.1

- Organize and sync PDF documents as books. Read PDFs with iBooks 1.1 on iPad and any iPhone or iPod touch with iOS 4

- Organize your apps on your iOS 4 home screens into folders using iTunes

- Faster back-ups while syncing an iPhone or iPod touch with iOS 4

- Album artwork improvements make artwork appear more quickly when exploring your library

Character Designs Revealed For The Upcoming Looney Tunes Show

Warner Bros. is planning on reinventing the classic Looney Tunes stable of characters as a series of new 3D theatrical short films and a new 26-episode half-hour Cartoon Network television series called The Looney Tunes Show.

The pitch for the new series is that Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck will be “odd-couple roommates in a contemporary cul-de-sac” with neighbors Yosemite Sam, Tweety Bird, Sylvester, Marvin the Martian and Porky Pig.

Here are the character designs for the new program. (Thanks for the tip D.T.)

Apple Aluminum Mac Mini

Apple unveiled a completely redesigned Mac mini, featuring up to twice the graphics performance, a new HDMI port and a new SD card slot, all in an amazingly compact aluminum enclosure. Mac mini is the world’s most energy efficient desktop and starting at $699, is the most affordable way to

Created with the unibody construction process pioneered by Apple, the new Mac mini features a compact aluminum enclosure just 7.7 inches square and 1.4 inches thin. A new integrated power supply eliminates the need for an external power adapter, reducing overall system volume by 20 percent and keeping cable clutter to a minimum. A removable panel underneath provides quick access for memory expansion. Mac mini is incredibly versatile, effortlessly connecting to existing peripherals such as mice, keyboards and digital displays, while the new HDMI output connects Mac mini to an HDTV and the new SD card slot enables easy transfer of photos and videos from a digital camera.

Inside its sleek, compact enclosure, the new Mac mini includes the fastest integrated graphics processor on the market today. With 48 processing cores, the NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor delivers up to twice the graphics performance of its predecessor, making Mac mini ideal for graphics intensive applications or visually rich games. Mac mini comes standard with a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 320GB hard and 2GB of RAM for $699.

Mac mini comes with Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife, Apple’s innovative suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music.

Watch the First Episode of AMC’s Rubicon

Last week we published the first trailer for AMC Television’s new conspiracy theory series Rubicon. And while the series won’t begin airing until August, AMC has released the entire pilot for you to watch for free online below. (Thanks for the tip Don)

RealD is Introducing Kid-Sized 3D Glasses

RealD announced today that kid-sized RealD 3D Glasses will be available nationwide in the USA and Canada beginning June 18th at theaters showing Disney•Pixar’s Toy Story 3. Sealed in individual packaging to ensure they are sanitary and quality assured, kid-sized RealD 3D glasses are smaller versions of standard RealD 3D cinema glasses and designed to fit children 8 years of age and under. Kid-sized RealD 3D glasses are already available in select international markets.

“The little ones will be able to comfortably enjoy the great summer movies coming out in RealD 3D wearing glasses designed just for them,” said Joseph Peixoto, President of Worldwide Cinema at RealD. “Kid-sized RealD 3D glasses are made to the same high-quality standards as adult size RealD glasses with each individually packaged in sealed bags ensuring they are clean and fresh for every moviegoer.”

You can visit RealD.com/TheatreLocator to find a RealD 3D-equipped theater playing Toy Story 3 and other family-friendly movies. You can help keep 3D green by dropping RealD 3D glasses into the collection bins located outside the theatre after the movie.

Nintendo 3DS

The Nintendo 3DS ($TBA) is the company’s latest attempt at expanding its DS lineup, with a 3D-capable, 3.5-inch top screen and a 3-inch bottom screen, a motion sensor, gyro, an analog nub, three cameras – two on the back for taking 3D pictures, and a lineup of upcoming games including Kid Icarus, Mario Kart, Ridge Racer, and Kingdom Hearts. The immersive portable gaming experience lets people view games in 3D, without the need for special glasses.

Apple Store App Arrives

Tap the Apple Store app on your iPhone or iPod touch, and you can do all things Apple. Buy Apple products and accessories, read customer reviews, find an Apple Retail Store, stay up to date with in-store events, and make Personal Shopping, Genius Bar, or One to One appointments.

The app is the easiest way to buy or reserve your new iPhone right from your current iPhone. You can do it in just a few taps, without entering your AT&T account information. Order your new iPhone from the Apple Online Store and it’s shipped to you free and ready to use. Or reserve your new iPhone, pick it up at an Apple Retail Store, and Apple will set it up for you in minutes.

With the Apple Store app, you can:

- See new and featured products from Apple.
- Shop the full selection of products available from the Apple Online Store.
- Find the latest accessories and software.
-  Read customer reviews and get answers to product questions.
- Buy or reserve a new iPhone with just a few taps.
- Locate any Apple Retail Store in the world, instantly.
- Make Personal Shopping, Genius Bar, and One to One appointments.
- Sign up for workshops and events at your favorite Apple Retail Store.

Click HERE to download the app for free.