Category Archives: Image cache

Cudder roundup: Short film “Maniac” short film, LNWJF perfomance, ‘Wizard’ collab w/ Dot Da Genius, Bape t-shirt

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Bunch of Kid Cudi news, so it’s roundup time.  First up is news that actor Shia LaBeouf (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Transformers) is set to direct a short film based on Cudi’s Man on the Moon II track “Maniac.”  Cage and St. Vincent are featured on the joint, and according to Rap-Up.com Cage is friends with LaBeouf and asked for his assistence to helm the video.  LaBeouf had previously directed Cage’s music video “I Never Knew You” back in 2008.  While you’re waiting for this video to drop, jump after the break to watch Cudi perform “Maniac” with The Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.  There you’ll also find photographic proof that the Cudi/LaBeuf collab is actually going down.

Speaking of collabs, Cudi has publically announced that he is forming a rock band with close friend and producer Dot Da Genius.  They are calling themselves ‘Wizard.’  When Cudi picked up the guitar for the very first time he became fascinated with the instrument and surprised himself by how quickly he picked up on playing chords.  He says that three songs for the album have been completed, and he’ll continue to record more songs on the tour bus as he and Dot make “college runs.”

Last, but certainly not least.. To celebrate the release of his sophomore album Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, Cudi has teamed up with Bape again to sell a BAPE x Kid Cudi Rager t-shirt.  The tee will sell in black and white variants and like always will be limited in quantity.  If you want one plan on camping outside the Soho Bape store in NYC on November 9, the same day the album hits stores.  And who knows, maybe Cudi will swing by and make an appearence.

[Via Rap-Up, here & here; DatNewCudi] Continue reading Cudder roundup: Short film “Maniac” short film, LNWJF perfomance, ‘Wizard’ collab w/ Dot Da Genius, Bape t-shirt →

TRON NIGHT summary & impressions

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On October 28 Tron fans were treated to an early glimpse into the upcoming Disney movie Tron: Legacy.  Across the world select IMAX 3D theatres hosted TRON NIGHT, “a free exclusive 20+ minute sneak peek” of the movie.  I attended the special screening tonight, and here is a summary interjected with my impressions.

When I got to the theatre about an hour before the 7PM screening, there was already a small line forming.  While movie-goers waited on line we were handed Tron swag including promotional material about the size of a postcard; one is an image of Daft Punk in costume promoting the upcoming Tron soundtrack and the other is an image of a Tron program character and on the other side a promotion for an Asus laptop (they sponsored the event).  We were also required to check-in and wear a bracelet with the TRON NIGHT logo on it.  Don’t think I’ll be taking that off any time soon.  Before entering the IMAX 3D theatre, we were forced to leave our cell phones behind (for obvious reasons) and a security officer quickly scanned our bodies with a wand to make sure we weren’t harboring any electronic devices.  Crazy, right?  After receiving a pair of 3D glasses, we entered the theatre and took our (perfect!) seats.

A minute before showtime the event coordinator welcomed everyone to the screening and implored us to share our excitement for Tron: Legacy with friends and on the Internet (what do you think I’m doing right now?).  The lights went dim and we were presented with a brief message from the movie’s director Joseph Kosinski.  In a typed note, he told us that the scenes we were about to see take place in the first half of the movie and that it is OK to wear the 3D glasses during the 2D scenes.  Just in case you are not aware of this, the “real world” scenes were shot in 2D and the “Tron universe” scenes are in 3D.  After this brief introduction the sneak preview started right away (that’s right–no trailers).  The 23 minutes of (not entirely) never-before-seen footage was split into five scenes.  I will detail them as best I can below.

Scene 20: Sam’s Garage– This first scene was set in the “real world”, so it was shot in 2D but still looked brilliant with 3D glasses on (as the director promised it would).  The scene takes place in Sam Flynn’s (Garrett Hedlund) garage.  You’d recognize this scene from the trailer.  In it Sam and Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) engage in conversation and Alan tells Sam that he received a page from Flynn’s arcade.  Alan: “These are the keys to the arcade.  I haven’t gone over there yet.  I thought you should be the one.”  Sam: “Alan, you’re acting like I’m gonna find him sitting there working.  Just, ‘hey kiddo, lost track of time.'”  These lines are in the trailer, you’re starting to remember now.

This next part is included in Scene 20, but it sure felt like an entirely new setting as it took place elsewhere.  It cuts from Sam’s garage to the vacant and dusty Flynn’s Arcade.  Sam decided to take Alan’s advice and check out where the mysterious page could have come from.  Sam finds the circuit breaker and turns on the building’s power.  All of the arcade games light up and make so much noise.  On top of this Jouney’s “Separate Ways” plays loudly from the arcade’s sound system.  Sam looks at the dusty old Tron arcade machine and decides to play a round.  He inserts a quarter but it falls to the ground.  He is curious about a precise crack in the floor and manages to move the Tron machine to reveal a hidden passageway behind it.  Inside he finds a door with a key occupied in its hole and he enters a room.  It appears to be his father’s secret office where he stored a certain computer.  Sam looks around the room and we are shown images of a young Sam with his now-missing father and a blueprint labeled “Grid.”  Sam sits down at the touchscreen computer desk, wipes a thick layer of dust off it, and it turns on from standby mode.  He begins to type away but has no luck accessing the system since he doesn’t know the login information.  “Let’s try the back door,” he whispers to himself.  All of a sudden, a large laser projector-like machine turns on behind him.  It emits this whirring sound and suddenly a bright white light flashes and the scene ends. Continue reading TRON NIGHT summary & impressions →

Rihanna is ready to get LOUD

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After dropping the single Only Girl (In the World) back in September, Rihanna is nearly ready to release her fifth studio album.  Album cover: check (see above).  Tracklist: check (see below).

  1. S&M
  2. What’s My Name (Featuring Drake)
  3. Cheers (Drink To That)
  4. Fading
  5. Only Girl In The World
  6. California King Bed
  7. Mad Down
  8. Raining Men (Featuring Nicki Minaj)
  9. Complicated
  10. Skin
  11. Love The Way You Lie Part II (Featuring Eminem)

That’s right–RiRi is hooking up with Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Eminem in her latest effort to deliver the pop sound that made her so successful.  After watching her new music video for Only Girl, it’s plain to see Rihanna is ready to walk away from the darkness and back to her fun, cut loose dance anthems.  Get Loud November 12.

[Via Rap-Up]

Kid Cudi selects MOTM2 album cover [Update: deluxe edition]

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And here it is!  Definitely not as racy and bizarre as Kanye West’s George Condo piece, but it doesn’t have to be.  There’s the signature dark overtone Cudder brings to the table with his music, and in the torn image he’s sitting on a stool in front of a picture of a colorful night sky looking at an empty shot glass.  Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager drops November 9.  Get psyched.

Update: Look after the break for the deluxe edition album cover.  It’s basically the same image except that the picture of the night sky is slightly tweaked.  The deluxe edition packs the CD and a DVD featuring a half-hour documentary by Jason Goldwatch/DECON and three music videos (Erase Me, Soundtrack 2 My Life, Cudderisback).

[Via DatNewCudi, here & here] Continue reading Kid Cudi selects MOTM2 album cover [Update: deluxe edition] →

Kanye West finalizing new album, complaining about “banned” album cover

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My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye West’s fifth studio album, drops in about one month’s time on November 22.  In anticipation of the album’s release, Kanye is giving fans a peek into his final plans.  He tweeted on Sunday, “Last day to wrap the album… I’m feeling so blessed on this day… finishing my 5th studio album in 6 years! Lining up piano sample replays.”  He then revealed, “Adding the voice samples from the VMA performance to the album version of Runaway also the whole song is 8 minutes long.”  So the single version of “Runaway” (now available on iTunes) is not the final version making it to the album.  Good to hear, since those voice samples rock.  On Twitter he also spilled that the Runaway short film (which is 35 minutes in length) to accompany the new album will premiere simultaneously on MTV, MTV2, BET, MTV.com, BET.com, and VH1.com next Saturday, October 23 at 8PM ET.

So now let’s talk about that “banned” album cover you see sitting above.  It’s a George Condo piece featuring a cartoonish (and nude) Kanye West sprawled out on a bed with a nude, winged, and polka dotted tailed, armless woman-beast on top of him.  On Twitter Kanye screamed, “Yoooo they banned my album cover!!!!!” and continued, “Banned in the USA!!! They don’t want me chilling on the couch with my phoenix!”  He went on to share his excitement about the album cover and the reaction it was getting.  “I know that cover just blew yall minds … I wish yall could see how hard I’m smiling right now!!!”  Then he started to complain about the “ban”.  “In the 70s album covers had actual nudity… It’s so funny that people forget that… Everything has been so commercialized now.”  “In all honesty … I really don’t be thinking about Wal-Mart when I make my music or album covers #Kanyeshrug!”  “I wanna sell albums but not at the expense of my true creativity.”  “So Nirvana can have a naked human being on they cover but I can’t have a PAINTING of a monster with no arms and a polka dot tail and wings.”  But was the album cover acutally banned after all?  The answer, quite simply, is no.

According to the LA Times, the racy cover was not “banned” in the full sense of the word.  An anonomous source close to the matter says that Kanye’s label UMG Island Def Jam “strongly urged [Kanye] to use alternate art” but added that Kanye “was told if he wanted to do it, the label would stand behind him.”  The same source also said that the main issue at hand “was whether or not mass-market retailers such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart would carry an album featuring venomous nudes.”  But in a statement to EW, Wal-Mart denies rejecting the album art.  Said a Wal-Mart spokesperson: “We’re excited about Kanye West’s new album and we look forward to carrying it in our stores on November 22nd.  As always, it’s our standard practice to carry the edited parental advisory version.  We did not reject the cover artwork and it was never presented to us to view.”

So there you have it.  The label did not ban the album cover and giant retailers do not have the intention to boycott it.  This appears to be a classic case of Kanye West stirring up some controversy and igniting the hype for what promises to be a hot commodity come this November.

[Via @kanyewest; EW, here & here; LATimes]

Dell’s Inspiron Duo is a netbook/tablet hybrid with swivel design

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At this year’s Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco, Dell unveiled a brand new super cool laptop design with the Inspiron Duo.  The Duo doubles as a netbook and tablet thanks to a swiveling 10.1 inch capacitive multitouch display.  What looks like a standard netbook at first glance can instantly be transformed into a tablet device by swiveling the screen from within the frame.  It’s powered by a dual-core Intel Atom N550 chip and runs Windows 7.  Additional specs and pricing have yet to be disclosed.  Dell says the unconventionally designed hybrid will be released into the wilds later this year.  Look after the break for a brief video showing off the swivel action and signs of capacitive touch in Microsoft Surface Globe software.

Update: A new video sufaced today featuring Dell Product Marketer Dave Zavelson handling the Inspiron Duo and showing off photo and video touch-based applications.  It’s sitting after the break for your viewing pleasure.

[Via Engadget, here, here & here] Continue reading Dell’s Inspiron Duo is a netbook/tablet hybrid with swivel design →

Twitter homepage redesign on the way

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Earlier this week Twitter announced that a homepage redesign is coming to a browser near you.  The new design is built around a two column style, a look that is reminiscent of many Twitter apps for mobile devices.  On the left side resides your timeline of tweets.  The timeline features infinite scrolling, meaning you won’t have to click a “more” button to view older tweets.  @mentions, retweets, searches, and lists are housed directly above the timeline “creating a single, streamlined view on the left of the screen.”  And above all that sits the “what’s happening now” status bar.  On the right side you can view personal account information such as tweet count, your most recent tweet, your list of followers and who you are following, favorite tweets, the lists you are on, suggestions for who to follow, and the trending topics.  Along the very top of the site is the search bar and links for home, profile, messages, compose a new tweet, and account settings.

Other than showing your personal information, the right column is also used to present contextual info and embedded media from tweets.  When you click a tweet from your timeline, additional information related to the author and subject of the tweet shows up in the right column.  Twitter has teamed up with a bunch of social media sites (including DailyBooth, DeviantART, Etsy, Flickr, Justin.TV, Kickstarter, Kiva, Photozou, Plixi, Twitgoo, TwitPic, TwitVid, USTREAM, Vimeo, yfrog, and YouTube) so that when you click a person’s tweet in your timeline, an attached image or video will instantly appear in-line in the right column; no more clicking links and being forced to view media content in a separate portal.  And if a tweet is geotagged with a location, a miniturized map will show up in the column too.

Now don’t go too crazy.  The 140 character limit and all integral aspects of Twitter are staying the same.  This is purely a relaunch of the site design to make things more streamlined and accessable.  The new Twitter is currently being rolled out as a preview to limited number of users.  The redesign will be pushed out to all users “eventually.”  It shant be too long I presume.  Look after the break to watch an introductory video.

[Via TwitterBlog; NewTwitter] Continue reading Twitter homepage redesign on the way →

Paranormal Activity 2 poster (+ new creepy trailer w/ easter eggs galore)

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Ready to be freaked out again?  Paranormal Activity 2 is almost here.  The image that’s depicted in the poster above should be familiar to you.  It’s a still frame from the original trailer featuring a dog and a mysterious baby whose reflection is not visible in the mirror.  Jump after the break to find a breakdown of the hidden footage embedded inside the new trailer. Continue reading Paranormal Activity 2 poster (+ new creepy trailer w/ easter eggs galore) →

Organize and display your print media with a minimalist magazine holder and cloud shelf

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These are two wall accessories I wouldn’t mind displaying in my dream home.  The minimalist magazine holder is called “Guidelines” and it’s designed by Amsterdam-based agency Fredrik Roijé.  It’s made from two powder-coated metal strips that meet at a maze of right angles.  “The resulting form places [magazines] at a pleasant, relational distance from one another, achieving aesthetics from legibility and functionality.”  And as for the cloud shelf?  Well, how cool would it be to say that you store your physical media on the cloud!?

[Via DesignBoom; DesignTorget; Gizmodo, here & here]

M-Dress intuitively packs a cell phone in its seams

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“Simplicity is elegance” is the theme of the forward-thinking M-Dress (or Mobile Phone Dress) from CuteCircuit.  It is a silk jersey dress that doubles as a cell phone.

The M-Dress was designed after our research showed that very often phone calls are missed because mobile phones are quite awkward to carry, especially for women, that have garments with small or no pockets.To allow women to stay connected while remaining stylish, CuteCircuit designed the M- Dress. A mobile phone in its own right but built out of soft circuitry.

A SIM card is inserted into a tiny slot located behind the dress’ label.  The antenna resides in the dress hem.  The dress uses “special gesture recognition” to answer a phone call; simply raise your hand to your ear and the call picks up and drop your hand to your side to tell the built-in sensor to end the call.  It’s that simple, really.  “It doesn’t make you look completely crazy like the Bluetooth-earpiece people,” says designer Francesca Rosella.  “You don’t have anything in your hand, but you at least look like you might be holding a phone.”  True dat.  Since there is no user interface or dial pad, the dress can only be programmed to call one number.  It can, however, receive calls from anyone.  “It’s not meant to wear every day, Rosella explains.  “It’s for a special evening when you don’t want to be bothered carrying all of your plastic boxes.”

The M-Dress is coming “soon” and a price point has yet to be disclosed.

[Via Gizmodo; CuteCircuit; TheStar]