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Double Bluff
Be careful if you're looking for a leak of the new Ben Folds album Way To Normal, it might be a fake. Ben Folds himself has leaked a fake copy - under the same name. Not sure what recording some sub-standard songs and releasing them under the same name as a real upcoming album will do for his PR, but it's certainly a novel approach.
24th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Unleash The Android
Google's first Android mobile debuted today. Looks pretty good so far, and will hopefully drive down prices and drive up uptake on smart phones.
23rd Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
You talkin' to me?
Sopranos henchmen Bobby Bacala and Paulie Walnuts in new Muppet Movie. Badabing!
23rd Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Dirty Hank
Hank's back for a new series of the excellent Californication. More lifestyle disgust/envy starting Sunday 28th on Showtime in the US, but I'm sure Channel 5 will turn that around pretty quickly over here.
23rd Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Skypedya
Following in the footsteps of advertising wet-dream Sleeveface, website Skypedya provides the creative basis for next year's Christmas cards.
23rd Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
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The Last Wordle
Tired of working out what they're saying for yourself? Wired have a wordle friendly summing up of political speeches. Barack Obama and John McCain above.
22nd Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Had that Brian Wilson in the back of my cab the other day...
"Dear Black Cabs, would you please consider filming a session with Brian Wilson (of the Beach Boys)?"
22nd Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Broaderband
In case the recent introduction of airplane WIFI wasn't enough for you, you'll soon be able to keep in touch with your Facebook buddies from outer space, thanks to the development of delay-tolerant networking protocols. You wouldn't want to miss out on that Chinese Democracy leak, now would you?
22nd Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Re-set your beeper
The Count and Sinden have a new EP in the works, following their killer single Beeper. The Hardcore Girls EP is out on Oct 13th.
Secret gig lined up in Shoreditch on Saturday October 11th if you're capable of staying up until 5.30am.
22nd Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Who You Gonna Call?
There's all sorts of talk going on about a possible third Ghostbusters movie, seemingly stoked by the cast re-uniting for an upcoming video game and a possible return to form for Harold Ramis with his upcoming movie Year One.
Ramis' involvement in the US version of The Office, plus his connections with Judd Apatow through Year One seem to be shaping things, with Office writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky allegedly writing a script - and a possible franchise re-boot on the cards with talk of Seth Rogan and other Apatow regulars assuming the main roles after some kind of handover from Ramis, Ackroyd and Bill Murray. Only problem is, Ghostbusters II was pretty weak and the first one was hardly flawless...
22nd Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Skate or die: Jason Jessee
"Who's in there?!" Jason Jessee was a pretty high flying star in the old days of hand-plants and big air - and down but not out, he was still around for a pretty tough cameo in the finale of Consolidated #1 in 1995.
Musical legacy: The Minutemen with Streets of Fire, not to mention the Tears For Fears revival way before Donnie Darko.
Bonus fact: Jessee was a semi-pro boxer for a while, and even had a film made about his various erratic exploits. Check out the trailer here.
19th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
D.U.D. (Dumb Up Dudes!): Globalize!
Following on from Puskas and Tim Berners-Lee's thoughts on trivia-chatter (tritter, if you will...) here's something on globalisation from Chris Patten.
19th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
How Green Is Your Label?
First Eurostar are financing movies, now Mountain Dew are releasing hip hop. As the record industry continues to re-shape and evolve, some major brands are starting to see music as a business that they can get in on - and perhaps rightly, some musicians are seeing the partnership as a way of getting their music out there.
Pepsi-owned Mountain Dew is the big brand behind Green Label Sound, a new label putting out singles from a range of artists. While Jack Black might not be happy about Coke appropriating his new James Bond theme tune (wait, what about that ad he did), the likes of The Cool Kids are happy to be getting the internet airplay that free single Delivery Man is getting them.
19th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: Synecdoche New York
Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut Synecdoche New York has a trailer up and running.
Kaufman's put together a pretty stellar cast for the film (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Emily Watson, Diane Wiest, Michelle WIlliams, Tom Noonan), which looks more Malkovich than Carrey.
19th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Little Britain USA
Little Britain USA Sep 28 in the USA; 3 Oct in Little Britain
19th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Perez Hilton
Wired have an extensive article on the rise of celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, charting his rise from struggling actor to coffee shop-based uber-blogger. Not exactly the template chimpomatic has been aiming for, but an interesting read.
19th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Fact Checker
Internet inventor Tim Berners-Lee has stepped in to back up Puskas' stance that sites (including us) are doing an irresponsible job of covering some news and promoting a fair amount of gossip, unchecked fact and idle speculation.
After last week's powering-up of the L.H.C., it is being reported that the world has not been sucked into a black hole and life goes on. While I was genuinely interested in the story, it may be argued that the semi-serious tone of much of the reporting on the matter could be over-looked and many people were expecting trouble. With Berners-Lee suggesting some sort of ratings guide to gauge how reliable sites might be, I would suggest that anything written on chimpomatic should be rated 'pinch of salt'.
18th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Propaganda!
Great collection of North Korean propoganda posters from North Korean Posters: The Daid Heather Collection.
The nurse with the syringe might look like the Re-animator poster, but it actually says “Prevention and more prevention. Let’s fully establish a veterinary system for the prevention of epidemics!” while the right-hook says “Let’s drive the US imperialists out and reunite the fatherland!”.
More details at calitreview.com
18th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Google Phone Details
more on the Google Phone- on sale next month in the UK apparently
18th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Re-labelled
Nice run-down on the re-emergence of the indie record label over at The Guardian.
18th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Digital Cinema
Digital cinema has really been picking up steam recently, with major movies (Star Wars, Collateral, Miami Vice) now being shot and distributed in digital formats, rather than on film. Oakley Sunglasses founder Jim Jannard's set up Red Digital Cinema is 2005 and their camera has now developed into a fully-fledged product. Taking much of the thinking behind the top-end digital cameras, the relatively cheap ($17,500 for the main camera) records RAW data on a Super 35mm sized censor, at up to 4096x2304 pixels (4 x the res of current HD).
The company also have a 3k handycam sized model "Scarlet" forthcoming for $3000, and a 5k camera "Epic".
As well as all that, the camera can shoot up to 120fps for slow-motion, which overcomes a huge advantage that film always mainstained over video. Check out the Red Users group on Vimeo for some examples.
Peter Jackson filmed a short (Chasing The Line) to test the system, and more recently Steven Soderbergh shot his Che Guervara project (Guerilla / The Argentine) using the system.
If none of that floats your boat, you could try Letus, which cleverly allows you to use lenses from your 35mm camera on a standard video camera. Cheap(er) and cheerful.
17th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Manhunt!
David Simon, creator of The Wire, is teaming up with Oz creator Tom Fontana for HBO's Manhunt, the story of the hunt for Abraham Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth.
David Simon and Dominic West were also on BBC Breakfast this morning discussing The Wire's slow-burning cult following. Secret English posho Dominic West recounted how it was only a couple of years ago that baffled Londoners started to recognise McNulty in their local corner-shop.
17th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Unsung Heroes
Maxim has a nice round-up of Unsung Heroes from the Star Wars movies - featuring the likes of "Fake Mace Windu" and "Cliff From Cheers".
17th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
IMDB Mobile
There's no official mobile version of IMDB, but Nolan Brown's iPhone optimised site is a pretty good option. It's stripped down and fast, so sometimes worth using even on a desktop browser.
Meanwhile IMDB's main site continues it's WEb 2.0 update, centering the content. Boom!
15th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
RIP David Foster Wallace
RIP David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest author
15th Sep 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Skate or die: Tom Knox
Another one from the 1989 Santa Cruz video Speed Freaks this week, as nervous teenager Tom Knox shows us round his So-Cal home turf.
The best thing about this clip is the absolute barrage of non-stop tricks this guy pulls in quick succession. All the time. No-complies, judo ollies, shove-its, ollie blunts, airwalk-ollies, as well as a ton of gnarly pool skating action. Fast and furious, with an awesome fluid style on a board the size of an aircraft carrier.
BONUS FACT: He'd just turned pro on that video and still skates every day. Check out this Thrasher interview for more info.
MUSICAL LEGACY: I was already investigating fIREHOSE after the Natas clip, but this introduced me to the album fROMOHIO, which featured this killer track - In My Mind.
12th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
How the Soviets Drilled the Deepest Hole in the World
The title says it all.
12th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Wi-Fly
Another barrier smashed! You can now check your email every two minutes when you are flying, thanks to onboard WIFI installation on 15 transcontinental American Airlines routes. AirCell is providing the tech for AA, beaming up signals from the ground which can apparently lead to a sometimes slow connection. The alternative system uses satellite transmission and an onboard dish for a more weather-independent system.
I'm flying AA pretty soon, I'll drop you a line mid-air and let you know that it's working.
12th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
The Periodic Table of Videos
Nutty Professor Martyn Poliakov (brother of film director Stephen Poliakov) and his team at Nottingham university have made YouTube videos for all the elements in the periodic table. The videos were made the videos over a period of 5 weeks and it's worth noting his haircut about halfway through (still nutty-professor bushy).
The videos have had an amazing response - 1.9 million hits so far.
The team seem to have a great time doing the experiments - particularly the guy in the green overalls - but you also learn some quite interesting things, such as how Victorians were poisoned by having arsenic as the green dye in their wallpaper.
Have a look at www.periodicvideos.com, but start with the introduction below.
11th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Song Of The Day: Volume V
White Denim are well-overdue a place in our current playlist, staying on pretty solid rotation since we got wind of them. The soaring mini-extended jam of Heart From Us All makes the cut. Check it out on their Myspace, or Last FM.
11th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Get Yourself On TV
An no, I'm not talking about that recent viral that was going around (above). Saysme.tv is a new service aimed at getting content distributed across cable access TV in the US, for as little as $6 for a 25 second spot. New York Times has the details.
11th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Genius 8.0
Blah blah blah. Not much to note in yesterday's Apple launch. New Nano iPods, 120GB across the board for the 'Classic' and an update to the iPod Touch - which is clearly the direction Apple wants to be taking the pocket-sized player.
The big news for me is iTunes 8, with it's new 'Genius' playlist feature. Once the program has indexed your music, you can highlight a track in your library and automatically create a playlist of similar music. Boom, instant mix-tape without the hours of agony.
So far it's been working pretty well - as noted in the attached playlist, based on Pavement's Gold Sounds.
10th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Eat Like Vince
Unmissable lifestyle-envy extravaganza Entourage is back for season 5 - which kicked off on Sunday in the US and will be debuting a mere 4 days later in the UK. On ITV2 at 11pm this Thursday.
Highlights include:
- Vince hiding out in Mexico afetr the Medillian disaster.
- Vince's awesome beard while he hides out in Mexico
- Ari's Indiana Jones Lear Jet
In a shameless bit of promotion, check out www.eatlikethem.com, which mashes the restaurants featured in the show into a Google map. It's LA/Entourage only for now, but will expand to include brazillions of films/TV shows/cities and restaurants/bars/hotels. Hug it out here.
10th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: A Quantum More S007ace
New trailer up for Quantum of Solace. Daniel Craig's second outing as James Blond, which looks to add even more credibility back to the character after the doldrums of the 70's, 80's and 90's.
10th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
ConC.E.R.N.ed?
As noted previously, C.E.R.N.'s Large Hallidron Collider is being powered up for the first time today. It's already running as of 08:43, but the real danger is expected later this morning - when the actual collisions start happening.
The best-case scenario involves the discovery of some major scientific data. Worst case sees an apocalyptic beam of light appear out of the Indian ocean, before the climate of the planet nose-dives and we are sucked into a black-hole - presumably not likely to emerge at the other end.
10th Sep 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: Frost/Nixon
Not quite sure what to make of Richie Cunningham's new Frost/Nixon movie, but it's certainly a pretty ambitious project for such a major director. Trailers up at Yahoo.
10th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Secret Nuclear Bunker
No, seriously. Check out this Secret Nuclear Bunker under a forest outside Berlin, which was surrounded by a village populated by Stasi agents. It was built to house East German leader Erich Honecker and 400 staff in the event of war, and frighteningly it was completed in 1983 - a time when I was sure that during my lifetime the world would end in total Armageddon.
9th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
SQPUSHER
Noise merchant Squarepusher is back with a new album - Just A Souvenir - his 11th following 2006's Hello Everything. Check out track Delta V on the Warp Records Myspace page - and keep your eyes on his Myspace and official site for more news.
9th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Tune Up
Got a sloppy, mis-labled, shabby iTunes collection? Put your feet up and let Tune-Up clean things up for you, finding missing artwork and adding missing titles. It's Windows-only at the moment and it isn't free either - for more than 500 songs it's $11.95 a year.
In fact, head over to Doug Apple's Scripts and you can probably cover a lot of these bases yourself, lazy bones.
9th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Hong Kong World Tour 2008
Headed up to the Big Buddha on Lantau Island today - instead of a marathon bus ride, these days there's a cable car taking you up the mountain straight from the MTR train station. Pretty hairy for any vertigo-challenged passengers, but amazing view all the same, floating up higher than the enormous mega-cities that have all sprung up on Lantau; over the airport; over the harbour etc... Of course there's now a Starbucks up at the Chinese-style tourist village complex they've built with the cable car.
8th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
RocknRollOver
The Guardian don't think much of Guy Ritchie's new movie. Ouch.
They must not have a graphic for zero stars. I know the feeling, we had to make this one up specially.
8th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Re-animated
The less-than-legit folks from Demonoid are backing a new project to literally re-animate classic zombie movie The Night Of The Living Dead. The collaborative effort invites people to contribute animated scenes from different parts of the film, which will then be editing together into a whole - and the final movie will be distributed under a Creative Commons license.
8th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Minifigs
I remember the moment Lego evolved from being a chunky bunch of blocks (that a family friends kid had grown out of) and became a world of it's own. 1978 ties in nicely with that moment and now I see why, as the first smiling yellow face was introduced and would remain unchanged until the Pirates invaded in 1989 and I had moved on.
From Wired: "Some quick facts: Over four billion minifigs have been manufactured, or nearly four figures are sold every second, for an average of 122 million per year. The very first minifig was a police officer, and he has appeared in 41 different versions in 104 sets"
Check out gominimango.com for some more stuff, and don't miss the Flickr photo contest. The featured picture is titled "Mid-nineties: The Rise of Indie Rock" by Profound Whatever.
8th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Skate or die: Matt Hensley
Matt Hensley in Hokus Pokus - one of the first skate movies to eschew the finesse of 16mm and get grungey with video on a low budget. This video pretty much summed up H-Street as a brand, as skating got way more street orientated. The label was one of the first rivals to the dominance of Santa Cruz and Powell - and introduced a ton of legendary skaters including Eric Koston and Danny Way.
Bonus fact: Matt Hensley is in the band Flogging Molly.
5th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Revolutionary Road
Looking forward to Sam Mendes Revoultionary Road (and not just for the Titanic casting reunion of Winslet and DiCaprio). Aint-it-cool has some positive reviews up from advance screenings.
No trailers yet, but it's a great book - which as noted previously was written by occasional blogger Larry David's former girlfriend's dad - Richard Yates.
5th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Simplify Media
Simplify Media is a little program to let you access your music from a remote location. Once authorised, the program can load up your iTunes/Winamp/Rythmbox files on a distant computer or phone and let you stream away. There's a few hurdles (bandwidth, drm, connection availablity) but overall it works surprisingly well.
5th Sep 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet