Rob Lowe (Brothers & Sisters) and Adam Scott (Step Brothers, Party Down) will join the cast of Parks & Recreation on May 13 in the episode titled “Master Plan.” They will become series regulars in season three. And Mark Brendanawicz (Paul Schneider) will bite the dust.
Parks & Rec airs Thursdays at 8:30PM on NBC.
With the Glee tour set to begin May 15 in Phoenix, AZ it’s no surprise that tour details are starting to trickle out. Executive producer and tour director Ryan Murphy shared the scoop with EW. “We’re gonna do between 15 and 18 numbers. We made a decision to do our biggest hits because that’s what fans want to see. It’s a concert tour but it also has a story in it.” According to EW, the story involves the rivalry between Shue’s New Directions and Vocal Adrenaline. Murphy is super excited about the tour, maybe because the set is designed by Lady Gaga’s designer. “It’s a huge stage. We’ve got multimedia. It’s really big. Fox believes in it so much that they’ve hired the best people. It’s not about going out and selling out a lot of dates and making a lot of money. In fact, we won’t make any money with this first tour because we’ve put so much money into the set design. It’s really just a great thank you to our fans.” Aw, how thoughtful. Too bad all the venues sold out in under a minute!
[Via EW-MusicMix]
On Wednesday officials unveiled a new design for the $100 bill. Mr. Franklin joins pals Lincoln, Hamilton, Jackson, and Grant in the fight against counterfeiters. The new $100 note includes the following security enhancements: A 3D Security Ribbon that nearly cuts the bill in half at the center contains images of bells and 100s that move and change from one to the other as you tilt the note. The ribbon is woven into the paper, not printed on it. The Bell in the Inkwell, located on the front of the bill to the right of Franklin, changes color from copper to green when the note is tilted, an effect that makes it seem to appear and disappear within the copper inkwell. On the back there’s a new vignette of Independence Hall featuring the rear, rather than the front, of the building. The Franklin portrait and the vignette have been enlarged and the oval around them has been removed. Also on the back you’ll find a large gold 100; it helps those with visual impairments to distinguish the denomination. The bill retains several enhancements from the last update including the portrait watermark, the security thread, and the color-shifting 100. The new $100 notes will begin circulating on February 10, 2011. Look in the gallery below to learn more about the visual security enhancements; after the break there’s a short animation that highlights the bill. Welcome to the club, Franklin. Washington, where you at?
[Via NewMoney]
Bottleformball, designed by Heath Nash.
The colorful ball of chaos you see above is actually a chandelier made entirely of recycled PET bottles. They are bundled together by a supportive wire structre. South African designer Heath Nash is one of many that came together at the Misael Gallery in Milan to construct and exhibit “modern ecological designs” made from recyclable material. The designers “redream paradise by reusing industrial materials to recreate natural or organic objects.” Take a closer look at the “Bottleformball” in the gallery below.
Danish architect Christian Bay-Jorgensen wants to make it happen. Here’s the scoop: About two years ago the land that the famous Hollywood sign sits on went up for sale about two years ago. The non-profit Trust for Public Land is trying to save up enough money to buy the land and save it from being sold to real estate developers. I understand where the sign supporters are coming from; as Bay-Jorgensen puts it, “I know people are scared. I know they are afraid this idea will turn it into Disneyland.” However, it’s no secret that the Hollywood sign isn’t at all what it’s cracked up to be. It’s old, tiny, and has simply lost its shine since it was introduced in the 1920s. It’s time for a change, and turning the sign into a bigger and more expansive hotel is an intriguing possibility. If given the opportunity, Bay-Jorgensen would turn it into a boutique hotel, doubling the size of the sign. He explains: “…when tourists from other countries come to see the sign, they imagine a majestic structure. Instead, they see plywood and white paint. This area should be more public. I think this could be something that could improve the experience of the LA resident, to let them see the sign in a new way.” I couldn’t agree more.
The sign supporters have been given a 16 day extension to come up with $12.5 million to preserve the land. If the deadline comes around and they can’t cough up the money, it’s likely we might see Hollywood Sign 2.0, hotel edition sometime in the near future. Check out some conceptual images of the hotel in the gallery below.
Update: The Hollywood Sign has been “saved” according to the latest reports. Playboy founder Hugh Hefner donated $900,000 to the non-profit trust that just tried their darndest to keep the sign as it is. And with that huge chunk o’ money, the $12.5 million total was reached. And any dreams of a hotel have been crushed. [Via Stuff.co.nz]
[Via DailyNews; Slashfilm; LATimesBlog; Gizmodo]
The Page, designed by Jae Kim.
With all the buzz surrounding iPad this and iPad that, it’s nice to see someone else thinking outide the box when it comes to reinventing the way we read newspapers and other print media. Designer Jae Kim has conceptualized The Page, a foldable display that features a semi-transparent E-Ink screen that displays text and images. Screens that can bend into various shapes and sizes have been conceptually implemented in the past, so this certainly isn’t the first player to the game. However, it does feature a number of interesting UI enhancements, including automatic column formatting depending on its shape and interactive page navigation on a flat surface. Check it out in all its concept-y glory in the video above. There’s some stills waiting below, too.
[Via Designboom; Gizmodo]
Industrial designers Rahul Mahtani & Yofred Moik have imagined a new way to go about emailing. This is all conceptual thinking, mind you, but take a knee and listen here. Google Mail Envelopes is designed to be built into the Gmail service. When you’re ready to send off an email, you’ll be given two options: send email (as usual) or “send envelope.” When you click the new button, Google representatives are notified and they print out your email, package it into a Google Maps decorated envelope, and send it off to its destination via the United States Postal Service for a small fee. The envelope design is neat; the return address and destination labels are placed inside Maps bubbles and they each point to their respective locations on the map. The two locations are connected by a line, the same line that’s formed when you look for directions online at Google Maps. In other words, the mail’s exact route is labled on the map on the envelope. Although this concept is one that will likely never make it into reality (privacy concerns, Google employing letter senders), the idea is quite fascinating. Turning electronic mail into a physical letter is an option some people might find useful. It’d be a faster, more efficient way to send a letter–it would eliminate the need to shop for stamps, for one thing.
[Via YankoDesign]
Using a Korg R3 and Kaoss Pad, YouTuber skandrewskandrew has composed an alternate “electro” cover of the theme song from NBC’s The Office. Pretty neat, enjoy.
[Via @kpereira]
Bill Hader & company do a fantastic job at poking fun at the world’s most incredulous commercial for “weights.” SNL is a little late to the game with this one, but at least they got it right. Oh, it’s real.
Sunday, May 23 is the day Lost ends. But thanks to a recent change in plans, the show is looking forward to going out with a bang. Before the 2 hour finale episode airs, an upgraded two hour retrospective (clip show) starting at 7PM ET will journey us back in time and make us relive how it all started and how we got to the events leading up to “The End.” Following the finale (and local news) is a one hour special edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live called “Aloha to Lost”; it promises to include an analysis of the finale and interviews with a number of casts members. Previously it was mentioned that executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carton Cuse would join in on the discussion. However, they announced on this week’s Lost podcast that they will not attend the live special. In fact, they plan on going “radio silent” post-finale. The episode “will be speaking for itself,” says Lindelof. (Note that Darlton will appear as regular guests on JKL on Friday, May 21; they plan to tape a special video for Lost fans that will air on the special just two days later.) In sum, ABC is dedicating 5 hours of Lost on May 23. Lost finale night just got bigger, didn’t it?
Oh, but there’s more. On Twitter Cuse announced there will be a special event called “Lost Live: The Final Celebration” at UCLA’s Royce Hall on May 13. It will feature a live orchestra conducted by Lost composer Michael Giacchino and several cast members, plus Darlton, will be in there. A private screening of the second-to-last episode will air for the fans in attendance. Tickets are not on sale yet. In addition, comedy troupe the Upright Citizens Brigade plans to host two Lost events on May 22, the night before the finale, in Los Angeles and New York. Special guests like cast members and celebrity fans plan to be in attendance. UCB member and well-known Lost fan Paul Scheer is working on making it all happen.
Update: Tickets for “Lost Live: The Final Celebration” go on sale Friday, April 23 at 10AM PT at at uclalive.org and ticketmaster.com. It had been confirmed that composer Michael Giacchino will conduct a live orchestra and play songs from the show and that the following cast members will make an appearence: Nestor Carbonell (Richard), Michael Emerson (Ben), and Jorge Garcia (Hurley). All ticket proceeds will go to the Colburn School of Performing Arts. After the concert, a screening of the penultimate episode will air for the attendees to experience together. Note that if you’re there, you will be part of a select group of Lost fans to watch this episode a full five days before the rest of the world. Think about it. Tickmaster states in big bold letters “NO CELLPHONES ALLOWED.” So you can forget about sharing the juicy details of the episode on Twitter and Facebook during the screening. [Via IGN]
The image above is called “Final Flight.” It is the final cast photo. *tear*
YES! Now that the excitement is out there let me tell you what it’s about: HBO has renewed How To Make It In America for a second season! HTMIIA, produced by Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, and Rob Weiss (Entourage), follows 20-somethings who are trying to make it big in the fashion industry in New York City.
Although it attracted an average of less than 1 million viewers at its Sunday night spot, HBO obviously still believes in its potential, and so do I. Though the plotlines are nothing to rave about, it’s the character developments and relationships that get you invested in the show. Main protangonists Ben (Bryan Greenburg) and Cam (Victor Russek) play believable characters set in a real world environment and situation. The show uses the streets of NYC to its advantage by injecting a big shot of realism into everything that goes down around the characters. By the end of the 8-epsiode run I was really pulling for Ben & Cam and I’m excited to see what the writers have in store for them (the same goes for Cam’s cousin Rene, played by Luis Guzman). I’m glad we haven’t seen the last of Rasta Monsta! The rest of the ensemble, including Rachel (Lake Bell), Kaplan (Eddie Kaye Thomas), and Domingo (Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi), make for a great supporting cast.
How To Make It In America is expected to return to HBO sometime during summer 2011 with another 8-episode run.
[Via EW-HollywoodInsider; LATimesBlog]
Jon Stewart of The Daily Show and Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report aren’t going anywhere for the foreseeable future. Both political satirists have extended their contracts with Comedy Central, making the network their home for at least the next few years. Stewart, who became the host of The Daily Show in 1999, will stick with it at least until June 2013 and Cobert will man his position through 2012. Staying with cable instead of jumping to the big networks makes sense for the dynamic duo; the cable environment allows for more creative freedom and less restriction on lambasting politicians and celebrities alike. Something Conan is fervently looking forward to, I’m sure of it.
[Via IGN]