Stretching over the River Thames since 1894, the famous Tower Bridge of London ($TBD, Available October), England is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world. Now you can add this timeless classic to your LEGO world buildings collection!
Designed with advanced building techniques and rare colors and elements, the Tower Bridge is complete with its iconic paired towers and a drawbridge that really opens.
Fun to build and display, it locks together solidly but can be taken apart in sections for easy transport. Includes 4 miniature vehicles; a black London taxi, a traditional red double-decker bus, a yellow truck and a green automobile.
Completed model measures 40″ (102 cm) long, 17″ (45 cm) high and 10″ (26 cm) wide.
Currently up for a much deserved James Dyson Award, David Graham’s Move-it concept consists of a set of self-adhesive cardboard parts that turns any box, up to 45 pounds in weight, into an easy to transport rolling trolley.
The cardboard parts include a set of wheels and two different types of handles depending on the box’s shape and size, and when you’re finished moving whatever’s in the box the parts can be re-used elsewhere, or just recycled, including the glue which is a specially designed repulpable contact adhesive that disperses harmlessly in water.
The Glow and Throw UFO combines the fun of a flying disc and the mystery of a U.F.O. Throwing and catching the Glow and Throw disc is the ultimate night-time game / sport experience.
With Glow and Throw UFO the bright and colorful UFO flying shapes you can create are unlimited. Designing your own shapes not only challenges the imagination but provides total fun and adventure.
The Glow And Throw kit comes with a 9.25 inch flying plastic disc that features a set of symmetrically drilled holes. It also comes with 14 green, red, blue, orange and yellow glow tubes that you can thread and connect through these holes so that when the disc is thrown, persistence of vision creates some unusual looking 3D shapes.
You can get the starter kit HERE which includes the flying disc, the glow tubes and a set of connectors for $9.99, while a set of 14 additional glow tubes and connectors is $3.99.
The Glow and Throw UFO is great for evening recreation. Whether your going camping, to a beach party, or playing disc golf, this flying disc is a novelty toy you don’t want to leave at home!
First up, Andrew Stanton’s ambitious “John Carter Of Mars” will hold down the summer with a June 8, 2012 slot. The film, which boasts a pretty stellar cast including Taylor Kitsch, Samantha Morton, Dominic West, Polly Walker, Willem Dafoe, Lynn Collins, Bryan Cranston, Ciaran Hinds, James Purefoy, Thomas Haden Church, Mark Strong and Daryl Sabara, is a live-action adaptation of Edgar Rice Burrough’s “John Carter of Mars” series, about a Civil War soldier who is transported to Mars and embarks on alien adventures. The film, which used motion-capture technology extensively, wrapped shooting back in July and the two-year wait is thanks to the extensive post-production work the film will require. The other project getting a date is a full-length version of Tim Burton’s “Frankenweenie.” Hitting on March 9, 2012, and written by John August, the film will remake Burton’s 1984 short into a 3D stop-motion animated version. This one has been knocking around for a while now and Burton is currently confirmed as the producer on the project, but no director has yet been announced. (Thanks for the tip Don Thompson)
After time travels and dark challenges, Bruce Wayne is back in Gotham City and writer Grant Morrison has big plans for the hero. The LA Times Hero Complex interviewed Morrison about “Batman, Inc.,” a new series that launches in October and will present the “franchising” of the caped crusader — essentially the dark knight of Gotham City drafts, trains and commands a team of heroes who will wear their leader’s colors. ”It’s all about branding,” says Morrison.
The team will include Dick Grayson, Knight and Squire, El Gaucho and eight others. Their leader, meanwhile, gets that little yellow circle back on his costume. Read all about it HERE.
As a breakfast food, these pastries have neither the nutritional cachet of cereal nor the tuck-in-a-pocket ease of a breakfast bar. As a snack, they’re not quite sweet like a cookie, nor savory like a cracker. In a world on the go, Pop-Tarts can require a toaster. Now the Pop-Tarts brand is demanding some attention for itself, and it is doing so with a store on one of the world’s most attention-grabbing stages, Times Square.
Its promoters are calling it Pop-Tarts World. Inside, one can find a cafe selling Pop-Tarts “sushi,” an hourly light show that simulates the look of frosting, a create-your-own-variety-pack vending machine.
“People say, ‘Well, what can you really do with a Pop-Tart?’ ” said Scott Schoessel, chief operating officer of the Gigunda Group, a firm working on the project that specializes in so-called experiential marketing, or in-person events and activities. “Our chef was has come up with amazing concoctions.”
Pop-Tarts is joining other food brands, like M&M’s and Hershey, with stores near Times Square, where the focus is often less about sales than marketing and visibility.
The lease on the 3,200-square-foot shop, on the south side of 42nd Street between Sixth Avenue and Broadway, runs through January, at which point executives will decide whether a store all about toaster pastries makes long-term sense.
The focal point of the store, which opens today, is the cafe. It will serve about 30 snacks and desserts.
The menu includes the Fluffer Butter, marshmallow spread sandwiched between two Pop-Tarts frosted fudge pastries; the Sticky Cinna Munchies, cinnamon rolls topped with cream-cheese icing and chunks of Pop-Tarts cinnamon-roll variety; and Ants on a Log?, which is celery, peanut butter and chunks of the Wild Grape version.
And then there’s the Pop-Tarts Sushi, three kinds of Pop-Tarts minced and then wrapped in a fruit roll-up. “We did an internal tasting here at the building, and it was the winner,” said Etienne Patout, senior director at the Pop-Tarts brand, part of the Kellogg Company.
Visitors can also build their own Pop-Tarts, starting with a basic pastry and asking servers to add frosting, toppings (coconut, sprinkles) and drizzle (caramel, raspberry). They can take their pastries frozen, toasted, microwaved or uncooked, but there will be no self-serve.
“The D.I.Y. thing, just because of handling food, is not something we’re going to offer,” Mr. Patout said.
There is also a Varietizer, a custom-built vending machine that carries about 23 of the regular Pop-Tart flavors (seasonal offerings, like pumpkin and gingerbread, are excluded for now). Customers use a touch screen to select six two-packs of the tarts for $12, assembling their own variety packs.
The store will put on a brief light show every hour. First, visitors will “get frosted,” Mr. Schoessel said, with a red light and a white light. That will be followed by brief pulses of light, “all different colors to mimic the sprinkles,” he said, “then another really bright light” to evoke wrapping the tarts in foil.
Computer screens in a row at the side of the store provide access to PopTartsWorld.com, social media sites and Pop-Tarts video games, similar to Memory but with pastry icons. Consumers can also buy merchandise, and design their own shirt.
Pop-Tarts were introduced by Kellogg’s in 1964 to compete with a similar product from Post called Country Squares. The Kellogg’s version took off, in part because of its name, which reflected the growing Pop Art movement.
The Music of DC Comics: 75th Anniversary Collection celebrates highlights of DC Comics’ rich musical history, including many rare theme songs that have never before been released. The compilation begins in 1941 with the theme from Max Fleischer’s Academy Award-nominated Superman cartoons, then moves through the decades.
Theme songs include the Filmation cartoons of the 1960s, including Justice League and Green Lantern, plus the most recent Justice League themes from the 2000s. The 1970s are represented by Super Friends as well as the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman. Other highlights include music from John Williams, Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, and, of course, Neil Hefti’s unforgettable theme to the 1966 Batman television series. The CD will be available on October 12th, 2010.
1. March of Superman (1941)
2. Theme From Superman (Main Title) – John Williams
3. Lois and Clark TV Theme
4. Save Me – Remy Zero
5. Batman Theme (60’s TV Show) – Neal Hefti
6. The New Adventures of Batman Theme (1970′s) – Jeff Michael
7. The Batman Theme – Danny Elfman
8. Molossus (From Batman Begins) – Hans Zimmer
9. The Batman – The Edge
10. Batman Beyond Cartoon Theme
11. Batman, The Brave and the Bold Theme Song
12. Justice League Unlimited Theme (2000)
13. Justice League Animated Theme (2001) – Kristopher Carter
14. Super Friends Animated Theme (1970’s) – Hoyt S. Curtin
15. The All New Superfriends Hour Theme (1977)
16. Teen Titans Filmation Cartoon Intro (1967)
17. Teen Titans Animated Theme (2000) – Andy Sturmer/Puffy AmiYumi
18. Green Lantern Filmation Cartoon Theme (1970′s)
19. Green Lantern First Flight Theme (2009) – Robert J. Kral
20. Wonder Woman TV Theme (1970′s) – Charles Fox
21. Wonder Woman Animated Theme (2009) – Christopher Drake
22. Aquaman Filmation Cartoon Intro (1970′s)
23. The Flash Filmation Cartoon Intro (1970′s)
24. The Atom Filmation Cartoon (1974)
25. Hawkman Filmation Cartoon (1974)
26. Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show Theme – Dean Elliot
Twelve South has introduced its new Compass mobile stand ($40) for the iPad.
Compass is a stylish, compact folding stand that works as an easel and a typing stand. As an easel, Compass beautifully displays iPad in both portrait and landscape modes. To transform Compass into a typing stand, simply flip down the secondary leg and this super portable stand sits at a perfect angle for comfortable typing on iPad’s cool onscreen keyboard.
Forged from heavy gauge steel, this slim, travel friendly stand lets you enjoy both hands-free and hands-on use of your iPad anywhere your iPad goes. iPhoto slideshows to Keynote presentations, Compass lets you see and do more with iPad. Folded up, Compass is about the size of candy bar, requiring very little space in your backpack, computer bag or purse. Store it in the included soft travel sleeve, which matches the Apple iPad case, and you’re ready to roll.
Back in 1979, the Papermate Erasermate was introduced to the world. It was a pen with “erasable” ink, and existed mainly to scare people who wrote a lot of checks.
Sharpie has just reinvented the genre. Instead of making an erasable pen, it has made a non-erasable pencil. The Sharpie Liquid Pencil contains an “ink” made from liquid graphite and lays it down just like a pen. Once written, you have three days to think on the validity of your words. During this period you can erase it just like pencil-marks. After the three days is up, the pencil lines will turn to ink and remain inscribed forever.
After rocketing to internet stardom thanks to his audition video for Oprah Winfrey’s Your OWN Show reality TV series the irrepressibly charming Zach Anner has taken his idea for “a travel show for people who never thought they could travel” to YouTube.
Anner, who has cerebral palsy (which he calls “the sexiest of the palsies”), most recently posted his tour of Niagara Falls as the series premiere of his new travel show, Zach in the Buff.
Wise Foods took out this full page ad in today’s New York Post to honor the deceased Cheez Doodles creator Morrie Yohai.
Yohai developed the snack in the 1950s for Old London Foods, based in New York City. The company founded by his father already was selling Dipsy Doodles rippled corn chips, which were made with a machine that spit them out under pressure.
His son Robbie Yohai said his father applied a similar concept for Cheez Doodles, adapting the machine to extrude liquefied cornmeal into a tubular shape. The shapes were then coated with seasoning and cheese.
Decca Records is pleased to announce the release of the highly anticipated collaboration between two musical legends, Elton John and Leon Russell with The Union available October 19th in the U.S. (To be released October 25 in the U.K. on Mercury Records.) This album marks the first time these iconic artists have worked together since 1970.
Produced by Oscar and multiple-Grammy winning producer T Bone Burnett, who took home numerous awards in 2009 for his production work on Raising Sand with Robert Plant and Alison Krause, The Union features songs written by John and his lifelong lyricist Bernie Taupin, as well as in combination with the extraordinary talents of Russell and Burnett.
Recorded live in the studio with John and Russell on dueling pianos, the album features a variety of musical genres from R&B, soul, gospel, country, pop and rock. Icons Neil Young and Brian Wilson provide guest vocals on the 16-track record along with legendary R&B organist Booker T. Jones, steel guitarist Robert Randolph and a 10-piece gospel choir.
Russell first met John in 1970 when he attended John’s first ever U.S. show at the famous Troubadour in Los Angeles. The meeting heralded the beginning of a long friendship and a mutual appreciation between the two artists. ”In the late ’60s and early ’70s, the one piano player and vocalist who influenced me more than anybody else was Leon Russell,” John said. ”He was my idol.” The pair went on to tour together shortly thereafter at New York’s Fillmore East and to this day have held such high admiration for each other’s work.
After years of being out of touch, John listened to Russell’s music while on safari in Africa last summer and was inspired to reconnect with his idol. ”Elton called to ask if I would do a duet album with him,” Russell said. ”I’m very happy that he chose me to do this.”
The Union is a unique collaboration of two of the most talented artists in the music business. Combining forces and fusing diverse talents, John and Russell along with Burnett have produced an extraordinary album.
Eric Clapton’s new 14-track studio album, “Clapton,” will be released on September 28th. It is made up of a mix of new material and covers. Several songs, like “Rocking Chair” and “When Somebody Thinks You’re Wonderful,” will be familiar to concert-goers as Eric and his band have been performing them on stage.
The third storyline in the Eisner-nominated series by Joe Hill (Horns) and Gabriel Rodriguez. Sam Lesser may be dead and gone, but Dodge still has uses for him, and in the first chill days of October, will make contact with him again. The dead know things the living may not, and Sam’s restless spirit has had time to discover the thing Dodge wants to know most of all… where to find the key to the black door.
The hardcover ($24.99) collects the incredible 3rd chapter to this imaginative IDW series and is due in stores on August 10th.
Being a fan of FX’s Sons of Anarchy can have a huge payoff — especially if you’re a literary titan. Knowing that Stephen King loved the biker series, creator and executive producer Kurt Sutter reached out to the horror-meister giving him carte blanche to write, direct, or act in an episode.
King pictured with stars Kim Coates and Katey Sagal, whose characters he helps in the September 21st episode — obviously chose the guest role. And he had at least one demand. ”He wanted to ride a Harley,” says Sutter, so they hooked the author up with a big red hog. ”His character’s last name is an homage to King’s (real-life) alias, Richard Bachman.”
iOS 4.1 Beta 3, the latest beta version of Apple’s upcoming software update, has a new feature that allows for FaceTime calls to be associated with an email address instead of a phone number.
Mac Rumors reports that in the beta’s version of the Contacts application, the software gives you the option of connecting the call via a cell phone number or an email address. Notably, this addition suggests that iOS 4.1 will be expected to support some non-iPhone FaceTime-capable devices, such as the iPod touch or iPad.
A supposed fourth-generation iPod touch front panel with a hole for a front-facing camera appeared online earlier this week.
With Bono’s back injury apparently behind him, U2’s huge 360° Tour roared back to life in Turin, Italy, this week, with the band treating fans to a fresh intro and two new songs — “North Star” and “Glastonbury” — as well as resurrected ’90s cuts “Miss Sarajevo” and “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me.”
The first show of U2’s second European leg opened with a lengthy, guitar-heavy instrumental jam called “Return of the Stingray Guitar,” and also included the two new songs the band rehearsed in Turin this week. (Thanks for the tip Don)
For over a decade now, Lilja has been one of the leading voices on the Internet when it comes to covering and reporting on Stephen King’s books and movies. His website, Lilja’s Library, is the die-hard fan’s source for information about new King projects and breaking news, but Lilja has also featured his own in-depth reviews and interviews with many of the most important people in King’s world, including Stephen King himself.
Lilja’s Library: The World of Stephen King is a brand new massive collection of over 150 of those reviews, over 40 of those interviews, and other special features of interest to King readers everywhere. If you’ve never been to the website, you’re in for a real treat as you catch-up with over 500 pages of articles and features that are sure to please any kind of Stephen King fan, from the general reader to the die-hard collector. And for Lilja’s constant readers, there’s original material in this special volume that has never appeared anywhere on his website before, and every article and review has been updated and revised for this release.
You have to see the table of contents to understand just how much great material is in this massive book, but just a few of the interviews include: Stephen King (twice!), Frank Darabont, Marsha DeFilippo, Mick Garris, Peter Straub, and many other people who have been involved in King’s prolific career. The reviews include detailed commentary on well-known works by and about Stephen King, along with details about the rare works you might not have heard of, including the original scripts for Hearts in Atlantis, Stud City, and dozens of others; the original pilot for The Dead Zone that never aired on TV; Walking The Mile: The Making of (a book that has never been released); the Pet Sematary and Secret Window, Secret Garden UK dramatizations; the dozens of Dollar Babies, and more!
There are also dozens of brand new features written exclusively for this volume, including interviews with Lilja himself and Glenn Chadbourne; reviews of short films such as “Here There Be Tygers,” “Boogeyman,” “Walking Ghost,” “The Secret Transit Codes of America’s Highways,” “Night Surf,” “Stephen King’s Gotham Café,” “Sorry, Right Number,” “Night of the Living Dead,” and others; reviews of the script for “The Mist” and scripts that are currently in development (including Black House and From a Buick 8); reviews of books such as Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography, Stephen King: The Non-Fiction, and others; and much, much more!
If you’re new to the world of Lilja’s Library or already a constant reader, this special volume is a must-have for your collection! An exclusive Cemetery Dance Publications release, there are no other editions planned anywhere in the world for this incredible book.
Published in two states
- Trade Hardcover Edition ($40)
- Traycased Lettered Edition of 52 signed and lettered copies bound in leather with a satin ribbon page marker, each copy featuring an original Glenn Chadbourne drawing on the signature sheet ($250)
Many artists have used pencils to create works of art – but Dalton Ghetti creates miniature masterpieces on the tips of pencils
Dalton, who works as a carpenter, has been making his tiny graphite works for about 25 years.
The 49 year old said: “At school I would carve a friend’s name into the wood of a pencil and then give it to them as a present. Later, when I got into sculpture, I would make these huge pieces from things like wood, but decided I wanted to challenge myself by trying to make things as small as possible. I experimented sculpting with different materials, such as chalk, but one day I had an eureka moment and decided to carve into the graphite of a pencil”
Dalton uses three basic tools to make his incredible creations – a razor blade, sewing needle and sculpting knife. He even refuses to use a magnifying glass and has never sold any of his work, only given it away to friends. He said: “I use the sewing needle to make holes or dig into the graphite. I scratch and create lines and turn the graphite around slowly in my hand”
The longest Dalton has spent on one piece was two and half years on a pencil with interlinking chains. A standard figure will take several months.
When Dalton first started he would become frustrated when a piece would break before being finished after he had spent months working on it. He said: “It would drive me mad when I would be just a bit too heavy handed and the pencil’s tip would break. I would get very nervous sometimes, particularly when the piece was almost finished, and then I would make a mistake. I decided to change the way I thought about the work – when I started a new piece my attitude would be ‘well this will break eventually but let’s see how far I get. It helped me break fewer pencils, and although I still do break them, it’s not as often”
Dalton, who is originally from Brazil, has a box full of more than 100 sculptures that have broken while working on them that he affectionately calls ‘the cemetery collection’. He said: “I have quite a few broken pieces so I decided to glue them on pins and into styrofoam for a display case. People might think it’s weird I keep them but they’re still interesting. I worked on them for months so they might be dead now but at one point I gave them life”
“I don’t make any money from it but that’s not what it’s about for me. However, I would love for a gallery owner in England to fly me over to put on a show,” he said.
New Zealand’s Fourth Most Popular Folk Parody Duo is back with the August 24, 2010 release of Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Collection, exclusively from HBO Home Entertainment. This special DVD collection includes Flight of the Conchords: The Complete First Season and Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Second Season along with Flight of the Conchords: One Night Stand, a live, 30-minute special which takes viewers back to the group’s HBO debut in 2005. A must-have for every Conchords fan, the DVD collection will be available for the suggested retail price of $49.99.
Flight of the Conchords sparked critical raves and garnered ten Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. The show follows the desperate lives of New Zealand natives Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie as they struggle to jump-start their music career in New York City. Watch as Bret and Jemaine contend with unrequited love, inept criminals, prostitution, and epileptic dogs, breaking into song as they clumsily try to break into the New York scene.
In addition to the stand-up special, Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Collection includes all of the bonus materials from season two including:
- “Flight of the Conchords: On Air” – a mini-documentary featuring Bret and Jemaine at their droll best.
- “Dave’s Pawn Shop” commercials – Bret and Jemaine’s friend Dave keeps the prices low and the energy high in his mock TV ads for Mohumbhai and Sons.
- “New Zealand Consulate Meetings with Murray and Greg” – hilarious snippets from meetings with Murray, Bret and Jemaine’s inept manager, and his associate Greg.
At last year’s SpikeTV Video Game Awards, gaming fans, critics and journalists were wowed by a teaser trailer for a sequel to the popular “Batman: Arkham Asylum” game that itself wowed the industry after its 2009 release.
Beginning at the infamous Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, a psych-hospital/lockup popularized in DC Comics’ “Batman” line of books, the trailer eventually panned out to reveal Batman’s Gotham City homebase all but overrun by the Asylum’s inmates – all of the Dark Knight’s greatest foes.
Today, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE) and DC Entertainment announced the title of the game, “Batman: Arkham City,” due out for major consoles and PC in Fall 2011.
WBIE and developer Rocksteady Studios won fans and critics alike over with “Arkham Asylum” by faithfully adapting the most popular elements of Batman’s current comic book series, and by leaning on a fan-favorite creative team, including writer Paul Dini (Detective Comics, Batman: Streets of Gotham, Batman: The Animated Series) and voice actors Kevin Conroy (Batman) and Mark Hamill (The Joker).
Dini is confirmed to return as writer on “Arkham City” but little else is known about the game. Game Informer, a popular video game magazine owned by retailer Gamestop, features the game on their September issue cover. The image reveals that Catwoman, a sometimes friend and sometimes foe of Batman, is likely to factor heavily in the new game.
Posted by Larry Fire 
