Anything and Everything that is cool, hot, fresh and classic.
A stock Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI “lightly modified” with an additional 15,498 lbs. of ballast weight, a 4.56 axle from a V8 Touareg, and a special tow adapter (the engine, transmission, suspension, tires and brakes were all left stock), successfully towed a Boeing 747 (155 tons) in low ratio, second gear. Up next: Volkswagen successfully tows the Earth into reverse orbit.
[Via: Autoblog]
This year, the Pirelli Calendar, an annual marketing publication distributed by the Pirelli Company, made famous by its limited availability (it’s not sold, instead, it’s given as a corporate gift to a limited number of celebrity and Pirelli VIPs), features Sophia Loren as the cover girl. Though Sophia is 71 (an unlikely age for a calendar cover model), the shots still manage to maintain their usual classic and glamorous (and sometimes sexual) beauty. Also featured: Hillary Swank, Naomi Watts, Penelope Cruz and Lou Doillon. The part porn pics of this year’s calendar are shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vindooh Matadin, and though I’m not exactly sure how they are tire related, I’m sure they still manage to sell quite a few.
[Via: Gizmodo]
These kicks, made for the SneakerPimps “sneaker and street based art show” not only look cool, they really play NES games. Fashionable gaming, who knew?
[Via: Starkman]
Drop Spots is like Geocaching, but without the technology. It “a kind of alternative mailbox”, “a hiding place in a public space, where people can leave things for exchange”. Whatever it is, it looks like a load of fun. You start by looking at the Drop Spots map to find a Drop Spot in your area. Nothing near you? Start your own. It’s easy to do and is sure to open your eyes to the hidden features of your usual surroundings. Once you locate someone else’s spot, you take a mystery gift from that location and leave something it its place. The fun part is that each spot is only marked with a general location and a visual description, so it’s like an urban treasure hunt (sadly, without the pirates). What kind of treasures are we talking about? Though probably not anything of substantial financial value (poem, photograph, mix CD, old toy, etc.), the hunt is the real treasure. You’ll see your world in a whole new way, and everyone loves a little treasure hunt. Plus, it’s free, so you’ve got nothing to loose. Weird and wonderful.
[Via: The Red Ferret Journal]
Warning: A few spoilers follow. So I just got back from Babel, and I must say I was quite underwhelmed. Yes, it was dark, edgy and visually appealing. No, I would not recommend Babel to others. Yes, three separate stories were eventually intertwined in a somewhat meaningful way. No, I do not think Babel was one of the best movies of the year. Yes, everything (Brad Pitt included) was highly emotional. No, I do not think Babel is an award-winning movie. Yes, everyone speaking different languages does make communication a little difficult. No, difficult communication does not automatically make for a compelling movie.
There was something about Babel that just didn’t click with me. The three stories that intertwined to form the main story felt too separate, barely tied together in the end and missing the commonality that made Crash such a great movie. It was interesting to see how different countries handle difficult situations differently, but I really don’t think any new ground was broken there. I would hope that everyone knows if you’re going to be traveling around Morocco and happen to get shot in the middle of the desert, you probably aren’t going to receive the same medical treatment you’d be privileged to in the states. Each story was interesting, but not anything you wouldn’t expect. If you don’t have papers and you try and cross the border, it’s not going to work. If you’re deaf, life is going to be different and difficult. If you get shot in Morocco, medical help is going to be difficult to find. With a name like Babel, I expected language barriers to play a larger roll in the movie, but it was culture barriers that caused most of the difficulties. Everyone seemed to communicate pretty well actually, albeit a little slower than normal, but still, messages were exchanged and meaning was understood. What I don’t understand is why everyone seems to be raving about this movie. I give it a C-.
[Babel]
Suburban Plight is a pretty entertaining short film, but what makes it really unique is that it was made by a teenager. Watch, and prepare to be amazed.
[Via: Digg]
As beer continues its upscale climb with more and more micro-brewers entering the scene, restaurants are yielding to the growing demand by employing beer sommeliers to manage the beer selection, work with the kitchen and help diners pair the proper beer style to their chosen food style. Don Russell, writer for Joe Sixpack, disagrees with the term beer sommelier, preferring cellarman (or woman) instead. Whatever they want to call them though, I welcome any restaurant that wants to have good knowledge of good beer, and I hope it’s a growing trend.
[Via: Slashfood]
The Tokyoflash 1000100101 Numeri-color watch definitely stands out. Featuring a “flat metal panel, cryptic flashing lights, carbon fibre style strap and display that looks like it’s gauging your oxygen level”, it’s all of the strange features that have made Tokyoflash watches so popular recently rolled into one pretty good (unique) looking design.
Telling the time uses the colored LED’s to represent hours & minutes.
By looking at the 4 rows of lights, the Green & Red LED’s at the top indicate the hour simply by counting them. 3 red = 3 o’clock.
The Bottom rows of green & yellow LED’s indicate the minutes. 2 Green + 7 yellow = 27 minutes past.
It’s the same for the date mode to indicate month & date. The day is shown on the very top row of holes where the markings M, T, W show the day (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday etc).
If you’re a fan of the binary side of life, then this is your kind of 0111011101100001011101000110001101101000.
Since we’re on the topic of remixes, how about a McDonald’s fast food order given as a rap?
Still confused? Here you go:
Crispy.
[Via: Digg]
This remix featuring Kanye West’s Gold Digger and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony gives a pretty good idea of what it would be like for modern day music stars to combine talents with some of classical music’s greatest. Call it Classical Hip-Hop, give it an exclusive MTV channel, and you’ve got yourself a revolution.
[Via: Digg]
