Super 8 Easter Eggs

J.J. Abrams is obsessed with mystery and often hides a lot of easter eggs in his films and television programs. Slashfilm has uncovered some hidden bits found in Abrams’ latest thriller Super 8 and you can see the list HERE.

Labyrinth Aquarium

The Labyrinth Aquarium ($5,500-$6,500) is a gorgeous six globe aquarium made from lucite that is designed for tropical fish. This aquatic maze includes silk plants, three lights, filters, air pumps, and cleaning equipment, as well as an optional dedicated table in cherry, black, or carbon fiber.

Ferris Bueller’s Last Day Off

In Ferris Bueller’s Last Day Off, we find out what would happen if a grown-up Ferris took a little vacation from his job. Please note that the clip contains some NSFW language.

Good Will Hunting Blu-ray Due On August 30th

Lionsgate Films will release Miramax’s Academy Award-winning Good Will Hunting on Blu-ray this summer. Directed by Gus Van Sant, Good Will Hunting tells the story of Will Hunting (Matt Damon), a blue-collar janitor whose hidden mathematical brilliance forces him to choose between the rough South Boston community he grew up in and a new path of intellectual discovery. Nominated for nine Oscars at the 1998 Academy Awards Ceremony (including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor), the film netted two – one for Ben Affleck and Damon’s original screenplay, and one for Robin Williams as Will’s psychologist and mentor.

The Lionsgate Blu-ray, which presents the film in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with 1080p video and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, will have a digital copy and almost all of the same special features as the Miramax Collector’s Edition DVD. These include:

- Behind-the-scenes footage

- Production featurette

- Deleted scenes

- “Miss Misery” music video by Elliott Smith

- Theatrical Trailer

- Audio commentary with director Gus Van Sant and writers/stars Ben Affleck & Matt Damon

Good Will Hunting will street on August 30th, 2011.

Watch The First 8 Minutes of True Blood Season Four

HBO has released the first eight minutes of the fourth season of “True Blood” premiering on June 26 at 9pm.

“True Blood” takes place in the not-too-distant future, when vampires have come out of the coffin, thanks to the invention of mass-produced synthetic blood that means they no longer need humans as a nutritional source. Alan Ball created and executive produces the show, based on the best-selling Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris.

Look Out Wonder Woman, Airbus Unveils The Transparent Plane of The Future

With its see-through aircraft cabin, passengers of the future will get a get a window on the world as they fly through the sky. For this plane with it’s ‘intelligent’ cabin wall membrane and interactive games, may be everyday air transport in 2050. The futuristic concept for travel was unveiled yesterday in London by Airbus

Business and economy cabins would be replaced by zones for relaxation in the front, work in the back, and a fully-stocked bar for socializing.

Passengers will be able to see everything to the sides and in front of them. The aircraft’s walls change according to light conditions. There are holographic pop-up gaming displays and in-flight entertainment powered by the heat of passengers’ bodies. The technology could mean that travelers might even be able to read bedtime stories to their children back home. Most of the basic technology such as moulding seats and ‘head-up displays’ already exist, but how Airbus plans to make the plant-based, transparent ‘skin’ of the plane remains a mystery.

The cabin would be a bionic structure that ‘mimics’ the efficiency of bird bone, claim Airbus. It would provide strength where needed, and also allows for an ‘intelligent’ cabin wall membrane which controls air temperature and can become transparent to give passengers open, panoramic views.

Airbus believes that passengers might be able to enjoy a game of virtual golf or take part in interactive conferences, while the cabin ‘identifies and responds’ to travelers’ needs.

In the cabin concept, the ‘vitalizing zone’ helps passengers relax, with vitamin and antioxidant-enriched air, mood lighting, aromatherapy and acupressure treatments. In the ‘interactive zone’ there are virtual pop-up projections taking passengers to whichever social scene they want to be in, from holographic gaming to virtual changing rooms for active shoppers.

The ‘smart tech zone’ is tailored towards the more functional-orientated passenger with what Airbus describes as ‘a chameleon-style offering.’

It aims to meet individual needs ranging from a simple to a complete luxury service, but all allowing you to continue life as if on the ground’.

Airbus engineering executive vice-president Charles Champion said: ‘Our research shows that passengers of 2050 will expect a seamless travel experience while also caring for the environment. (Reprinted from The Daily Mail)

 

Window on the world: Gone are the small aircraft windows in the ‘vitalizing zone’ which provides a panoramic view for passengers

 

Artists impression of an x-ray of an ‘intelligent’ concept cabin of an aircraft of the future

 

The cabin wall membrane controls air temperature and can become transparent to give passengers views throughout the day and night

 

Artist’s impression of how the aircraft of 2050 will look on the outside at night

 

Passengers will be able to play virtual golf in the interaction zone on the plane

TiVo Unveils The Premiere Q & Preview

TiVo announced the next generation of its whole home solution with the addition of robust HD video streaming and two new set-tops to its service provider product family. TiVo Premiere Q, the company’s first-ever quad-tuner gateway set-top box, and TiVo Preview, its first non-DVR HD set-top box, will join TiVo’s existing advanced television solutions offered to cable operators.

With its four tuners and support for broad range of video on demand content over IP, the TiVo Premiere Q serves as an advanced video gateway, while TiVo Preview provides the full TiVo user experience for non-DVR households and also functions as a thin client complement to those using a TiVo DVR, creating a fantastic multi-room viewing experience. Both set-top boxes support the full integration of operator services such as Video on Demand, PPV, CallerID on the TV and linear programming, plus access to broadband applications and services.

Beyond its quad tuners and industry leading DVR features, TiVo Premiere Q brings a number of benefits to operators deploying whole home solutions. TiVo Premiere Q is unique in that it supports 4 simultaneous recordings and the ability to view streaming broadband content, while at the same time supporting up to 3 HD streams over a MoCA or Ethernet home network. It is also the only STB of its kind that integrates a bridge between the MoCA and Ethernet networks to simplify and reduce the cost of installation, allowing the Premiere Q to easily connect to existing home networks.

TiVo Preview completes the whole home solution for operators that can now deploy the TiVo user experience in every room of the home. It provides the same HD user experience as the TiVo Premiere and Premiere Q and fully integrates an operator’s linear and VOD content with broadband content and application choices, and immediate streaming access to DVR content from a TiVo Premiere or Premiere Q. Similar to Premiere Q, Preview includes integrated MoCA and Ethernet for home networking and multi-room applications.

These products will initially be available through select cable operators. RCN will be the first domestic cable operator to offer subscribers the Premiere Q and Preview, in addition to its current TiVo Premiere offering. Suddenlink expects to extend its current TiVo offering through these and other TiVo products. Operators who embrace any of TiVo’s three products will now be able to realize expanded whole-home capabilities and the same user experience on every TV. TiVo plans to make both new products available to its cable operator partners later this year. No word on consumer versions as of yet.

25 Essential iPhone Apps for Travelers

Techland’s Doug Aamoth selects the iPhone apps you’ll rely on to make that dinner, day trip, road trip cruise, or month-long vacation even better. See the list HERE.

San Diego Comic-Con 2011: Predictions & Previews

San Diego Comic-Con has a little something for everyone. Superheroes, video games, summer blockbusters, costumes, hit TV shows and of course, comic books. HERE is a rundown of what to expect from the legendary convention which runs from July 21-24.

Cricut Expression 2: Anniversary Edition by Provo Craft Review

This new limited-edition 5th Anniversary Cricut Expression has all the features of the classic Cricut Expression plus innovations that will make crafting easier and more fun.

The all new full-color LCD touch screen makes it easy to navigate and make selections using 4 main screens. The new look has a smaller size and more streamlined profile. It’s new bright green and white design is eye-catching along with the new touch screen.

The new features are fantastic! Mat preview provides an overall view of your current project and also allows you to make changes before you cut. Material settings let you choose default settings for specific materials and also allows you to customize settings. The all new cutting area light enables you to see where you’re cutting on the mat. Independent image sizing lets you cut different size images all on the same mat without having to swap the mats out. Multiple mat cutting lets you cut as many images as you want. You can cut up to 6 mats in one project.

Four preloaded cartridges are included: Cricut American Alphabet, Just A Note, Cricut Decals, Cricut Essentials. No keypad overlays are required and you can access via easy-to-use touch screen.

It’s compatible with Cricut cartridges and Gypsy. Accepts original Cricut cartridges and Cricut Imagine cartridges. It has 2 cartridge slots (1 for Cricut Expression & 1 for Cricut Imagine). Connects your Gypsy via the USB port and print directly from that device.

You can cut a wide range of materials quite easily such as vellum, cardstock, posterboard and vinyl. The multi-cut function makes it possible to also cut chipboard by repeating cuts. The ability to cut on 2 different mat sizes makes it easy to switch between 12×12 and 12×24 inch projects.

The Cricut Expression 2 is definitely a must for all of those who are interested in a superior machine and beautiful paper-crafted projects. It’s also a bonus that the customer service provided by Provo Craft is superior. Keep the new products coming, they just keep getting better!

The Cricut Expression 2 can purchased at Cricut.com for $349. (Reviewed by Patricia Fire)

Logo Swaps

Creative Logo Designer Graham Smith describes his Brand Re-Versioning series as brand identities with a split personality.

Captain America: The First Avenger Cast & Crew Poster

At the end of filming for Thor, all of the cast and crew were provided an amazing, minimalist poster from Olly Moss. The trend is continuing with Marvel’s next film, Captain America: The First Avenger.

The studio printed up only 100 copies of a special poster just for the cast and crew. Painted by Paolo Rivera, the poster is a fantastic throwback to both the original Captain America cover and to movie posters of the era. 

Captain America: The First Avenger hits theaters on July 22nd.

Awesome People Hanging Out Together

This blog is brilliant! It’s called Awesome People Hanging Out Together and it’s basically just photos of famous folks having a good time with each other.

Here you’ll find William Burroughs having dinner with Andy Warhol and Mick Jagger; Grace Slick and Janis Joplin playing-up for the camera; and the usual suspects backstage at concerts. There are also a couple of fun video clips, including a chat-show meeting between Alfred Hitchcock and James Brown.

It’s a visual walk down memory lane with some peculiar pairings of pop-culture icons.

Bob Dylan & Muhammad Ali

Colonel Sanders & Alice Cooper

Salvador Dali & Walt Disney

Richard Nixon & Elvis Presley

 

Michael Jackson, Francis Ford Coppola & George Lucas

Daredevil Film Reboot To Possibly Contain Frank Miller’s Born Again Storyline

20th Century Fox is moving steadily forward with a reboot of Daredevil, set to be directed by David Slade (Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse). Now, The Hollywood Reporter has word that the studio has brought aboard a scribe in the form of Brad Caleb Kane.

Kane, a relative newcomer, has served as a writer on the television series “Crash” and “Fringe,” but is, bizarrely, also known for being the singing voice of the title character in Disney’s 1992 animated film, Aladdin.

The article suggests that Kane will adapt Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s “Born Again” storyline, which ran in Daredevil #227-233 in 1986. The storyline involves an intense personal attack on Matt Murdock’s friends and family following Wilson Fisk (aka The Kingpin) learning his true identity.

Crazy 4 Cult: Cult Movie Art Book

Your favourite cult movies, as you’ve never seen them before! The annual Crazy 4 Cult art show in Los Angeles has quickly become a phenomenon, with thousands of visitors, a million hits on its website, and high profile buyers including Joss Whedon, Guillermo del Toro, JJ Abrams, Kevin Smith and Edgar Wright. Why? Because the cream of the pop culture-influenced art scene – including Shepard Fairey, who created the now legendary Obama ‘Hope’ poster – come together to celebrate cult movies with art that is surprising, beautiful, and very, very cool. This lavishly produced book presents the best of the first 4 years of the show, with art inspired by such movies as The Big Lebowski, Edward Scissorhands, Blade Runner, Donnie Darko, Clockwork Orange, Pulp Fiction and many more.

The 176 page hardcover includes an introduction from Kevin Smith and is due to be released on June 21st. You can order the book HERE.

McSweeney’s Issue 38

McSweeney’s began in 1998 as a literary journal that published only works rejected by other magazines. But after the first issue, the journal began to publish pieces primarily written with McSweeney’s in mind. Since then, McSweeney’s has attracted works from some of the finest writers in the country. Today, McSweeney’s has grown to be one of the country’s best-read and widely circulated literary journals, with an expanding, loyal subscriber base and strong independent bookstore following. McSweeney’s is committed to finding new voices — Gabe Hudson, Paul Collins, Neal Pollack, J. T. Leroy, John Hodgman, Amy Fusselman, Salvador Plascencia, Wells Tower, and Sean Wilsey are among those whose early work appeared in McSweeney’s — and promoting the work of gifted but underappreciated writers, such as Lydia Davis and Stephen Dixon.

McSweeney’s Issue 38 ($18) contains stories pulled in from all over the world—a grand tour, in prose, of a dozen places you have perhaps neglected to visit, up to now! There is Ariel Dorfman in Paris, with one eye on Chile, Bisi Adjapon in Ghana, Chanan Tigay with the Israeli Arabs of the Desert Scouts Brigade, Nathaniel Rich exploring the Northeast Kingdom, and Steven Millhauser somewhere far away, deep, deep in the woods—and more stories, a comic and color photography.

The 300 page paperback will be available in early July.

Cuisinart EasyPop Popcorn Maker

The Cuisinart EasyPop Popcorn Maker puts the crunch back into homemade popcorn! Special vents in the popping bowl let moisture escape to keep popcorn crisp. The sleek device pops up to 10 cups in under 5 minutes, and keeps it healthier by letting you decide the type and amount of oil and salt you want. The brushed stainless steel base contains a motorized stirring mechanism for better popping. Operation is simple and cleanup is dishwasher easy.

With the Cuisinart EasyPop Popcorn Maker your entire family can enjoy fresh hot homemade popcorn – plain, buttered, tangy cheese or caramel – any time you want it!

Cowboys & Aliens Extended Sneak Peek

Universal Pictures debuted this new extended sneak peek of director Jon Favreau’s Cowboys & Aliens.

Opening in theaters on July 29th, the action thriller stars Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Adam Beach, Paul Dano, Noah Ringer, Keith Carradine, Clancy Brown, Ana de la Reguera and Abigail Spencer.

Kevin Smith Bringing Comic Book Store Reality Show to AMC

Kevin Smith is bringing the world of a comic book store to TV and he’s teaming up with the network behind Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead and The Killing to do it.

Smith is producing a new reality series for AMC, which will be filmed in his New Jersey comic book store, The Secret Stash. A casting call for the show was recently posted on Facebook, saying Smith was, “not looking for actors, he’s looking for real people who live and breath the comic book lifestyle. Must be funny outgoing and have a knowledge and passion for comics, superheroes, movie memorabilia and everything that goes with it not looking for actors, he’s looking for real people who live and breath the comic book lifestyle. Must be funny outgoing and have a knowledge and passion for comics, superheroes, movie memorabilia and everything that goes with it.”

Meet The Eatensil

The British online food delivery service, Just-eat is currently approaching manufacturers with their concept for a culinary Swiss Army knife. Known as the Eatensil, the handheld multi-tool is designed to be an all-in-one gourmet gadget for fast food fans.

The handy utensil is comprised of a pizza cutter, wooden chip fork, chopsticks, bottle opener, fork, knife and spoon. Just-eat constructed the Eatensil after discovering that most of their customers felt that take-out food tastes better if consumed with the correct cutlery. 74 per cent said they preferred fish and chips when it was eaten using a proper wooden chip fork.

Life-Size Game of Angry Birds Played Using a Smartphone

This T-Mobile promo from Spain shows people using a smartphone to play a life-size version of Angry Birds complete with real shooting birds and exploding pigs!

Get A Peek At The Super 8 Monster Here

Paramount has just released a clip from Super 8 which shows a government employee named Col. Martin L. Abraham talking about the movie’s mysterious monster. Near the end of the clip, viewers get a brief image of a monster, which attacks an employee. Also seen in the clip are mysterious cubes which I’m sure will play a major role in the film. This is the movie that I have been eagerly waiting for since it was announced; I can’t wait to watch it in its IMAX glory today!!!

A Look at Sacha Baron Cohen as The Dictator

Sacha Baron Cohen experiences another transformation for The Dictator, and Paramount Pictures has just released the first image of the talent in full-costume.

Written by Cohen and directed by Larry Charles, the Paramount Pictures production is on track for a May 12, 2012 release and co-stars Anna Faris and Ben Kingsley.

The Dictator tells the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed. It is inspired by the best selling novel “Zabibah and The King” by Saddam Hussein.

iSteve: The Book of Jobs

From bestselling author Walter Isaacson comes the landmark biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. In iSteve: The Book of Jobs, Isaacson provides an extraordinary account of Jobs’ professional and personal life. Drawn from three years of exclusive and unprecedented interviews Isaacson has conducted with Jobs as well as extensive interviews with Jobs’ family members, key colleagues from Apple and its competitors, iSteve is the definitive portrait of the greatest innovator of his generation.

The 448 page hardcover is due in stores on March 6, 2012.

Shepard Fairey’s ‘They Live’ Mondo Print To Go On Sale Friday June 10

The Alamo Drafthouse and their art boutique Mondo screened ‘They Live’, the 1988 science fiction/horror film directed by John Carpenter, tonight.

To commemorate the event, their latest poster was created by Shepard Fairey the American contemporary artist, graphic designer, and illustrator widely known for his Barack Obama “Hope” poster.

The below image went on sale to the attendees of Thursday’s screening. The remaining prints go on sale Friday June 10 at a random time by following @MondoNews. The 18 x 24 inch print with an edition of 500 will cost $50. Good luck picking up one of these bad boys.