“Glee Live! In Concert!” hitting four cities this spring

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That’s right, fellow Gleeks.  The main ensemble of FOX’s hit show Glee are going on tour this spring.  They will perform seven shows total in four cities.  The cast includes Lea Michele (Rachel), Cory Monteith (Finn), Amber Riley (Mercedes), Chris Colfer (Kurt), Kevin McHale (Artie), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina), Mark Salling (Puck), Dianna Agron (Quinn), Naya Rivera (Santana), Heather Morris (Brittany), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike), and Dijon Talton (Matt).  Matthew Morrison (Will Schuster) and Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester) are noticibly absent from this list; bummer, I know!  Part of the setlist was leaked to the press (I wonder who did that…): “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Somebody To Love,” “Jump,” “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” and “Sweet Caroline.”  And here’s the schedule:

May 18 – Phoenix, AZ Dodge Theatre
May 20 – Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amphitheatre
May 21 – Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amphitheatre
May 25 – Chicago, IL Rosemont Theatre
May 26 – Chicago, IL Rosemont Theatre
May 28 – New York City, NY Radio City Music Hall
May 29 – New York City, NY Radio City Music Hall

Tickets go on sale at Ticketmaster on March 12 (for Phoenix dates) and March 13 (for New York, Chicago and LA dates).  And if you can’t make it don’t fret; Glee returns Tuesday, April 13 at 9PM on FOX.

[Via EW-MusicMix]

PlayStation Network error is corrupting ‘fat’ PS3s everywhere [UPDATE: FIXED]

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Late last night Error: 8001050F hit PlayStation 3’s ’round the world.  At first it simply did not allow PS3 users to log into their PlayStation Network accounts and play games online.  Since then things have taken a turn for the worse.  Apparently this error is turning back the console’s clock to January 1, 2000 causing major problems like data loss.  Sony has figured out that the error is only affecting ‘fat’ PS3 models; all PS3 Slim models should be in the clear.  In the meantime, if you own a ‘fat’ PS3, Sony is recommending its customers: DO NOT TURN IT ON until the error is fixed.  Sony “hope[s] to resolve this problem within the next 24 hours.”  Look after the break for official details on the matter straight from PlayStation Blog.

Check back for updates; I’ll be sure to let you know when Sony tells us it’s safe to start gaming and Blu-ray-ing again.  What a disaster.

UPDATE: According to the official PlayStation Blog the PSN bug has been squashed.  They say it’s safe to turn on “phat PS3s” now.  Joystiq spoke to a Sony rep; check out the short Q&A if you are concerned with lost trophy data and the like.  Cue sigh of relief.

[Via PlayStationBlog]

Continue reading PlayStation Network error is corrupting ‘fat’ PS3s everywhere [UPDATE: FIXED] →

‘The Guild’ enters the comic book world

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Felicia Day is all over the place these days.  We watched her shine as Penny in Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, she was featured in an episode of House last season, and now she’s bringing her award-winning web series The Guild to the comics!

In this origin tale of the Knights of Good, we learn about Cyd’s life before joining the guild, how she became Codex, and how she began to meet the other players who would eventually become her teammates. This storyline fills in details never before revealed on the web show, making it a delightful new chapter for existing fans as well as a perfect jumping-on point for new fans!

If you haven’t heard of The Guild, you can watch seasons 1-3 online.  It follows the on- and off-line lives of a group of gamers.  It’s a very character-driven show, it’s smart, funny, and definitely worth a viewing (or two).  You can preview issue #1 below and preorder the first part of the three-issue miniseries at Dark Horse Comics.  It comes out March 24.  Mark your calenders, Guildies.

[Via DarkHorseComics]

Trailer: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

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GORDON GEKKO IS BACK.

Wall Street 2 takes place 26 years after the conclusion of the 1987 Academy Award-winning Wall Street; both are directed by Oliver Stone.  It stars Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, and Carey Mulligan.  SPOILER: Charlie Sheen is rumored to make a cameo.  The sequel hits theatres April 21.  Watch the trailer below.  Do it.

[Via TrailerAddict]

Joss Whedon & Eliza Dushku aren’t done yet

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Sure, due to low ratings FOX’s Dollhouse didn’t last long for creator Joss Whedon and star Eliza Dushku.  But that doesn’t mean they are parting ways so quickly.  From Dushku’s mouth to our ears, she and Whedon will be working together again, this time on a feature film:  “I would say that we would [be working on something new very soon]! I think we’re going to work on a kickass feature together that we’ve been thinking about for a few years.”

The dudes over at Slashfilm have geniusly tied this comment to a future Whedon project, a horror movie called Goners that features a female lead.  In 2005 Whedon described it:

It is a fantasy thriller, it is pretty dark and it’s all me. So people will pretty much know what that means if they look at my body of work. But it’s a new universe set in the present day with a new concept for me and a new bunch of characters. It’s been a long time since I got to do that, so that’s really fun.

It’s the story of a young woman’s journey that involves a great deal of horror and some heroics.

Though we can’t be certain that such a connection exists, news that Whedon and Dushku have something in the works is more than exciting.  You can be sure I’ll be keeping my ear to the ground on this one and will report back with new details as they surface.

[Via Geektyrant; Slashfilm; HollywoodLife; Wiki]

Locke & Ben team up for new series post-Lost?

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That post title already has you salivating, doesn’t it?  So let’s get right to it, hm?  Though Darlton (the exec producers of Lost) made it clear that there will not be any spin-off series, it is quite possible we will see Terry O’Quinn (John Locke) and Michael Emerson (Ben Linus) star in a new show together!  According to TVGuide, O’Quinn has been “shopping around a bible for a TNT-type show that would pair him back up with…Michael Emerson as suburban hit men juggling family issues.”  O’Quinn has spoken to Lost creator J.J. Abrams about his ideas and says, “I really hope this works out because Michael would be in his prime in this. We’d play kind of awkward partners.”  Emerson’s response?  “It’s very sweet of him. I’m all in favor of it. Any reason to work with Terry again.”  Locke and Ben together again as hitmen?  BOO YAH, I’M IN!

[Via TVGuideMag.com; IGN]

Colleges now accepting YouTube videos in applications

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A number of colleges, including Tufts University and the University of Chicago, are now accepting YouTube videos from prospective students as part of their application.  At these select schools students have the option to include a YouTube video displaying their talent(s) along with the standard required essays.  Tufts asks for a one-minute video that “says something about you.”

Lee Coffin, the dean of undergraduate admissions, said the idea came to him last spring as he watched a YouTube video someone had sent him. “I thought, ‘If this kid applied to Tufts, I’d admit him in a minute, without anything else,’ ” Mr. Coffin said.

In the latest applicant pool for Tufts 1,000 of the 15,000 prospectives submitted a video.  And many of these videos are garnering a big following.  Amelia Downs’ video that combines “two of [her] favorite things: being a nerd and dancing” has over 77,000 views!  Though it’s something that might get her into college, it’s also an artifact I would not want others to see.  In the end, this is a surprising and exciting decision made by colleges; it gives students a visually creative way to express who they are outside the realm of those boring essays.

Though he may already forgotten his trip to the dentist, David is shoe-in for NYU Tisch, wouldn’t you say?

[Via NY Times; Gizmodo]

NASA’s “Project M” can send robots to the Moon in 1,000 days

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This video of NASA Johnson Space Center’s “Project M” depicts a Robonaut-based, tele-operated mission to the Moon – one that JSC claims could be accomplished in 1,000 days once the go-ahead was given.

The background music alone has me pumped for sending exploratory robots into space.  1,000 days, eh?  If we can’t agree on sending more humans to the moon, why not send robots controlled by humans on Earth in motion-capture suits?  Let’s do it!

[Via YouTube; Gizmodo]

HUMAVIPS project to give robots key to our destruction

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A team of robotics researchers led by Radu Horaud began a project this year called the “Humanoids with auditory and visual abilities in populated spaces” (HUMAVIPS) project.  The goal?  To give robots the ability to possess “social skills” and mimic the “cocktail party effect,” which is “the human ability to focus attention on just one person in the midst of other people, voices and background noise.”  Natural interaction between humans and robots, huh?  If you were ever on the fence about Judgement Day being upon us…now what say you?

[Via Wired; Engadget]

Concept: Curious Displays

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Curious Displays, designed by Julia Yu Tsao, is a way-off-into-the-future conceptual idea.  Like way into the future.  Basically, hundreds of tiny blocks scatter your surroundings and bunch together to form various things.  For example, the blocks can come together to form a screen of sorts to watch a movie, or they can collectively shape into an arrow and point to the location of your missing keys.  Tsao describes the project as such:

The project explores our relationship with devices and technology by examining the multi-dimensionality of communication and the complexity of social behavior and interaction. In its essence, the project functions as a piece of design fiction, considering the fluctuating nature of our present engagement with media technology and providing futurist imaginings of other ways of being.  ..

Curious Displays is a product proposal for a new platform for display technology. Instead of a fixed form factor screen, the display surface is instead broken up into hundreds of ½ inch display blocks. Each block operates independently as a self-contained unit, and has full mobility, allowing movement across any physical surface. The blocks operate independently of one another, but are aware of the position and role relative to the rest of the system. With this awareness, the blocks are able to coordinate with the other blocks to reconfigure their positioning to form larger display surfaces and forms depending on purpose and function. In this way, the blocks become a physical embodiment of digital media, and act as a vehicle for the physical manifestation of what typically exists only in the virtual space of the screen.

It’s all a little too far out there for my tastes, but an interesting topic to undertake nonetheless.

[Via CuriousDisplays; Vimeo; BoingBoing; Gizmodo]