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23 Sep 2009 09:33

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World: Sydney Dust Storm: So, this is what it’s like to live on Mars

  • This photo comes from Flicker user Shishberg, who’s one of many great photogs to take on what make the the craziest #(^@()! storm to hit a major metropolitan area in years.source

17 Sep 2009 20:15

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Tech: Fun fact: The tyrannosaurus rex used to be human-sized

So, does this mean that over time, humans will eventually grow up to be the size of houses? If so, that’d be awesome. source

14 Sep 2009 10:29

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24 Aug 2009 11:18

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Offbeat: Lego + 8-bit pixels: This poor guy’s getting eaten by his childhood

  • The guys who made this spent 1500 hours (!) putting it together. And, oh my freaking god, it shows. Michel Gondry, hire these guys. Stat.source

23 Aug 2009 21:26

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Offbeat: Smug bastard turns McDonald’s bags into a work of art. Show off.

This reminds me of that old adage. You know, that one: Just because it can be done doesn’t mean it should be. source

19 Aug 2009 20:49

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Tech: We have an invite to Typekit. Here’s a sneak peek.

Here it is in action. It's not cheap. But it sure looks neat, doesn't it, guys?
Here's a lineup of costs:

Trial: Free (but you only get to use two fonts out of a mediocre collection, lame icon in the bottom corner – see below)
Personal: $7/month, $24.99 launch special (bigger collection, up to five fonts)
Professional: $17/month, $49.99/year launch special (bigger collection, unlimited fonts)
Corporate: $49.99/month (pretty much the whole kit and kaboodle)

Did they pull it off?:

They did their homework. The prices are fairly reasonable for web developers. The interface doesn't suck. The rendering, while good, isn't perfect (but that's more a Web browser problem than anything). And the DRM doesn't seem so overwhelming that you can't enjoy the technology for what it is. Good for them. Source

17 Aug 2009 23:13

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Music: ShortFormBand: SUNBEARS! makes us feel cheery and excited

Sunbears
  • Whoa, what is this?

    In our continuing effort to try new things, here’s our latest: Band coverage! This time, SUNBEARS! completely ignores our rules on brevity, but because we like their pop-laden music so much, we learn not to be such sticklers. Want to see your band here? E-mail us or bug us on Twitter!

    Listen to them

    Q1: In 15 words or less, describe your sound: Interesting music with a bit of pop-sensibility.

    Q2: Name three influences that inspire you, with three words each on why they’re awesome:
    Scriptures/texts (any religious/philosophical scripture/text will do): To get inside the heads of thinkers/spiritualists long past no matter how bonkers or completely boring they may be.
    The outdoors: Because there’s always something more to look at.
    Real smiles: Because it’s always inspiring to witness someone being truly happy.

    Q3: What’s a recent song you’ve been digging? Write ten words explaining why:
    Animal Collective – “My Girls”: I love the beginning with the triplet synth part, how swimmy it all is, until the beat drops on brings it all together.

    Q4: In 140 characters or less, how do you use social networking to get the word out: Just using things like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter to communicate with people in an everyday sort of way. “What’s up? What’s happening!? These are my thoughts…”

    Q5: In 15 words or less, what’s next for you? To keep pushing forward. Writing more tunes, Playing more shows. source

 

17 Aug 2009 11:25

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Music: Radiohead: Screw it, we’re gonna upload our songs to torrent sites

  • The new song had a twisted journey online. “These Are My Twisted Words” leaked a few days ago on a torrent site with zero information to go with it, but with a sound that was VERY close to Radiohead. However, the band only confirmed they uploaded the track this morning. While they’re not the first band to use BitTorrent as a distribution mechanism (Harvey Danger comes to mind), they’re definitely the biggest. Kudos to Radiohead for being game for reaching audiences in new, interesting ways. source

15 Aug 2009 19:53

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Tech: Hah! Yahoo thinks Twitter users have mojo. LOL.

Know Your Mojo!
  • We admit that this Tweet analyzer amused us because it’s so novel, but it serves no useful purpose other than telling us we please crowds because we use a lot of hashtags. Either way, it’s a fun diversion to prevent you from doing actual work.source

14 Aug 2009 00:26

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Music: More on the coolest guitar hack ever, Les Paul’s “The Log”

When Paul introduced this guitar to guitar manufacturers, they laughed at him, calling it a “broomstick with pickups.” They’re not laughing anymore, kids. source