OK Go’s latest music video stars 2,430 pieces of toast

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By now you should know that when it comes to making music videos, rock band OK Go never holds back.  From datamashing to Rube Goldberg-ing to training 12 dogs and a goat, OK Go knows how to wildly impress its fans by representing their music with imaginative and awe-inspiring visuals.  For their next experiment video, the band used–drum roll, please–toast.  But it’s not that simple!  Using a Samsung NX100 micro four-thirds camera they took pictures of 2,430 pieces of toast (or 215 loaves of bread) and effectively used the process of laser-etching and stop motion to tell a story.  They took 15 still shots for every second of video.  The animation stages must’ve been painstakingly difficult to produce, and yet there’s something quite beautiful about all of it and this helps direct your mind to the final aesthetic instead of towards the blood and sweat put into it.  As always, a nod of gratitude is due here.  These guys can do it all.

[Via OK Go website, Twitter, YouTube]

Music video: Rihanna – “What’s My Name” (Featuring Drake)

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You won’t find anything too extraordinary about this Philip Andelman-directed music video, but I gotta take a time-out to support my girl Rihanna.  Her third studio album Loud releases physically and digitally November 16.  See the tracklist here, and watch the music video for the lead single “Only Girl (In the World)” here.  Good to see RiRi back in full form; not that Rated R was a let down (in fact it was quite good)–I’m just happy she’s found a way out of the depressing times that dominated her music post-Chris Brown incident.

G.O.O.D. Friday: Kanye West – “Chain Heavy” (Featuring Talib Kweli & Consequence)

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Mr. West is back with another G.O.O.D. Friday cut.  And this one is special because we’ve been anticipating it for quite some time now.  Kanye first performed a verse from it way back in July at the Facebook headquarters.  With verses including lines like “I am the day Ice Cube met Michael Jackson / Keep him away, huh? Something might happen / This is the making of a masterpiece / So we broke out the chains and told ‘em master, peace!” and a heavy beat (pun intended) backed by a piercing theremin and Q-Tip on the keys, this has got to be one of the best Friday tracks yet.  And it doesn’t hurt that fellow rappers Talib Kweli & Consequence (Tip’s cousin) round out the solid number with their very own verses.  Preview and download “Chain Heavy” below.  Hopefully “Mama’s Boyfriend”, the other track ‘Ye previewed at Facebook, is not too far off from release.

Download: Kanye West – “Chain Heavy” (Featuring Talib Kweli & Consequence)

[audio: Kanye West – Chain Heavy (Featuring Talib Kweli & Consequence).mp3]

Look after the break to find last week’s G.O.O.D. Friday track “Looking for Trouble” (Featuring Pusha T, Cyhi the Prynce, Big Sean & J. Cole).

[Via KWBlog]

Continue reading G.O.O.D. Friday: Kanye West – “Chain Heavy” (Featuring Talib Kweli & Consequence) →

PlayStation Move is for man-babies

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In collaboration with ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi, Sony has developed a peculiar new advertising campaign for the Latin American market.  In the two commercials Sony is hoping build awareness of the PlayStation, along with the recently released PlayStation Move motion accessory.  All I see are freakishly giant MAN-BABIES.  But here’s how Sony explains it:

“The first commercial…features a baby as a depiction of the emotions that are often associated with the purest form of entertainment. It reminds us of a time when even the smallest actions, sights and sounds can provoke unhinged and constant entertainment.”

Riiight.  Look after the break to watch another commercial starring MAN-BABIES!  Oh Sony, you never fail to awkwardly impress.

[Via PlayStationBlog; Joystiq] Continue reading PlayStation Move is for man-babies →

Windows 7 plays nice with Mac whilst engaging in Avatar Blu-ray session

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Microsoft has finally got it right with their latest Windows 7 ad.  The cutesy animation paired with an Avatar cameo captures an appropriate (albeit bizarre) aesthetic that informs viewers about Windows 7’s Blu-ray playback support in a fun, creative way.  Apple, the ball’s in your court.

[Via Gizmodo]

Apple-1 computer about to be auctioned away

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Calling this particular auction item a rarity is a bit of an understatement.  This here Apple-1 computer is 1 of 200 made by original Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.  You’ve heard the tales of Jobs and Woz tinkering inside the walls of Jobs’ garage; this fascinating piece of machinery imagined, designed, and eventually sold in 1976 during those primitive days of early personal computing.  The sale will include all the original contents of the Apple-1: an Apple-1 motherboard (number 82), printed circuit board, three capacitors, a heatsink, cassette board connector, 8kb of RAM, and a keyboard interface.  In addition to the bits and pieces, the item will ship in its original packaging, along with printed manuals and a letter from Jobs himself!  Said letter was a typed response to the original owner of the computer answering some questions.  The item goes on the auction block at Christie’s in London on November 23, with a starting bid set at £100,000 – £150,000 (or $160,300 – $240,450).  Curious to see where it ends up; dontcha think an item as exceptional and rare as this should find a home at a museum?

[Via Christie’s; Engadget]

Trailer: ‘Winnie the Pooh’

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That’s right, people.  Winnie the Pooh and company are making their way back to the silver screen for the first time in over 35 years.  Disney brought back original animator Burny Mattinson (who will serve as senior story artist) to capture the classic essence that made everything so perfect about the original incarnation of Pooh and all the inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood.  The film is co-directed by Stephen Anderson (Meet the Robinsons) and Don Hall (The Princess and the Frog).  Craig Ferguson, Tom Kenny, and Bud Luckey lend their voices to the 2D animated film.  Zooey Deschanel is set to sing the new version of the “Winnie the Pooh” theme song.  You want a synopsis?  You got it:

Walt Disney Animation Studios returns to the Hundred Acre Wood with “Winnie the Pooh,” the first big-screen Pooh adventure from Disney animation in more than 35 years. With the charm, wit and whimsy of the original featurettes, this all-new movie reunites audiences with the philosophical “bear of very little brain” and friends Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Kanga, Roo—and last, but certainly not least, Eeyore, who has lost his tail.

Inspired by five stories from A.A. Milne’s books in Disney’s classic, hand-drawn art style, the film reunites audiences with the [honey]-loving, philosophical bear and friends Eeyore, Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet and Owl in a wild quest to save [their friend] Christopher Robin from an imaginary culprit. It turns out to be a very busy day for a bear who simply set out to find some hunny.

If the first trailer sitting above does not make you immediately tingle all over and feel so warm and fuzzy inside, there’s something clearly wrong with you.  Because Disney made the right decision of holding onto the original 2D animation (instead of opting for today’s 3D in-your-face pseudo-standard), this movie will undoubtedly hit all the right notes and shoot a wave of nostalgia goodness across our minds.  I highly anticipate the return of Pooh-bear; do you?

Winnie the Pooh hits theatres July 15, 2011.  Check out some beautifully crafted stills in the gallery below.

[Via CNET; JoBlo; @brianrudlof]

The Muppets are coming back to the big screen in a big way

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Here’s your very first glimpse into the first Muppets movie made for the big screen in eleven long years.  Take it all in…

Now let’s talk deets.  James Bobin (of Flight of the Conchords fame) is set to direct and Jason Segel (I Love You, Man, How I Met Your Mother) will executive produce, write (with Nicholas Stoller), and star in the film.  Segel happens to be a big fan of Jim Henson and his furry creations.  “We’ve worked really hard to stay true to the original spirit of the Muppets,” said Segel.  “We’ve missed the same thing everyone else has been missing.”  Here’s a leaked synopsis:

The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time is about Gary, Mary, and Walter (a man, his girlfriend, and the man’s life-long nondescript, brown puppet best friend) getting the old Muppet gang — now retired entertainers known for the same Muppet show we know them from — together to save the TV studio that the original show was shot in. A villain, Tex Richman (nice name, on par with Doc Hopper), bent on drilling for oil underneath the studio, is due to take over the studio in weeks and the only way to stop him? Putting on a show that draws ten million viewers.

Segel will star as the human lead Gary, Amy Adams is Mary, and Walter–who happens to be a brand new Muppet addition–will be voiced by Paul Rudd.  (FYI, Walter is the iPhone-wielding Muppet in the image above.)  Tex the antagonist will be voiced by Chris Cooper.  Rashida Jones is locked in, too.  Beyond that almost all the other information surrounding this movie is pure speculation.  But let’s add to that conversation!  Other potential guest voices include: Kristen Schaal, Jack Black, Donald Glover, Jane Lynch, Danny Trejo, Zach Galifianakis, and Lady Gaga.  And guess who’s rumored to play Gaga’s entourage?  John Krasinski (The Office), Ed Helms (The Hangover), and Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family).  Yeah.  This might just turn out to be the greatest Muppet movie of all time after all.

Production started in September, and Disney plans to release it wide Christmas 2011.

[Via EW; CinemaBlend; TheFilmStage]

FOX renews ‘The Simpsons’ for Season 23

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Shocker, right?  Next September FOX will air the 23rd season of The Simpsons, the longest running comedy in TV history.  During the next season the animated show will hit a major milestone–500 episodes aired.  In fact, the series will reach episode 515 when it closes out its next season in May 2012.  But its still got a ways to go if it wants to become the record holder for most episodes aired; it’ll have to surpass Gunsmoke‘s 635 episodes!

“Like many 22-year-olds, The Simpsons is extremely happy remaining at home, on Fox, and hopes it doesn’t have to go out into the real world for many years to come,” said executive producer Al Jean.

[Via Deadline; IGN]

CoD Black Ops tops Modern Warfare 2 in day one sales to become biggest entertainment launch in history

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The video games industry has done it again.  More specifically, Activition has pushed out another Call of Duty game that has managed to break launch day records and become the biggest entertainment launch in history.  Call of Duty: Black Ops garnered $360 million during its first day on sale in the United States and United Kingdom, according to internal Activision estimates.  This sales figure beats out MW2 which generated $310 million almost exactly one year ago.  5.6 million copes of Black Ops were sold on day one, topping MW2‘s 4.2 million copies sold.

Says Activision CEO Bobby Kotick: “There has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records for two consecutive years and we are on track to outperform last year’s five-day global sales record of $550 million.  The game’s success underscores the pop culture appeal of the brand. Call of Duty: Black Ops is the finest game that Treyarch has ever made and raises the bar for online gameplay by delivering the deepest and most intense Call of Duty experience yet.  The Call of Duty franchise has over 25 million players around the world that are engaged in billions of hours of online gameplay, and we are committed to supporting them with new content and features on a more frequent and regular basis.”

Yes, that feeling of speechlessness is normal.  Wowzers.

[Via Activision; Joystiq]

Oh, it’s on. “It’s on like Donkey Kong.” (trademark pending)

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In honor of the upcoming Nov. 21 launch of Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii console, Nintendo has filed a request with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark the pop-culture phrase “It’s on like Donkey Kong.” For those unfamiliar with the term, “It’s on like Donkey Kong” is an old, popular Nintendo phrase that has a number of possible interpretations depending on how it’s used. In addition to Nintendo’s use, it has been used in popular music, television and film over the years, pointing to Donkey Kong’s status as an enduring pop-culture icon and video game superstar.

I just had to copy that snippet from Ninty’s official press release regarding this hilarious bit of news.  Can you believe it?  In just a matter of time the house that built Mario will own the famous phrase “It’s on like Donkey Kong.” Ridiculous or not so much? Sound off in the comments below.

Update (11/15): Colbert got wind of the news.

[Via Engadget]