Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on TwitterBe a Facebook FanTumble us!

10 Aug 2010 10:27

tags

World: City of the future: San Juan, Puerto Rico plans a no-car reboot

  • It’s not often you see a city totally try to reboot itself. But in the case of San Juan, Puerto Rico (technically in the U.S.), they have an ambitious $1.5 billion plan in the works. Most interesting part? The city of 400,000 (with a 2.5-million strong metro area) won’t allow any cars within the city limits. They plan to make it walkable, with heavy mass transit. Intriguing. source

22 Jul 2010 10:53

tags

Culture: Disney: We need good ideas, so let borrow some from Pixar

  • If you want to get good ideas, why not talk to the Brain Trust?
  • Disney President of Production Sean Bailey • Regarding the company’s increasing desire to work with Pixar on their own projects. Most recently, Disney brought Jason Segel and the rest of the cast of the upcoming Muppet movie reboot to Pixar headquarters for a table read. Disney also did something similar with “Tron: Legacy” a few months ago. Our question: Why didn’t they do this like twelve years ago, when it was already blindingly clear that Pixar had better ideas than Disney? (On a side note: A live-action Muppets reboot starring Jason Segel sounds like the smartest idea Disney has had in years.) source

13 Jun 2010 21:19

tags

Culture: Jaden Smith’s “Karate Kid” rendition on track to top the original

  • 6.2x bigger box office than “The Next Karate Kid” already
  • $56M the amount the new “Karate Kid” movie made this weekend
  • 140% the amount of the film’s budget it made back in its first weekend
  • 61% the amount of film’s total take compared to the first “Karate Kid” source

15 Feb 2010 10:17

tags

Tech: Windows Phone 7 Series a complete reboot from the top down

  • Former Nike designers gave Windows Phone 7 Series (that’s a mouthful) a visual reboot that focuses on simplicity over noise (as well as a consistent experience), and the result looks a lot like the Zune HD. Early reviews are super-positive; Engadget says that the OS “looks nothing like anything else on the market, and we think that’s to its advantage.” source

12 Jan 2010 09:43

tags

Culture: Is “The X-Factor” about to become the new “American Idol”?

  • old Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and a bunch of other people we don’t care about judging on “American Idol.”
  • new Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and a bunch of other people we don’t know about judging on “The X-Factor”? It might happen. source

29 Aug 2009 10:42

tags

Biz: It looks like a hip, independent coffee shop, but it’s really Starbucks

15th Avenue Coffee & Tea, Inspired by Starbucks
  • This new petri dish, the 15th Avenue Coffee & Tea (which is “inspired by Starbucks”), is Starbucks’ attempt to learn some lessons about flair, quality and comfort that are currently missing from their own cold and cool and uncomfortable stores. The shop, based in Seattle, does most of the things that independent coffee shops do – brewing using low-tech methods, bringing in food from local bakeries, making their espresso arty. Will it actually end up making Starbucks cool again? No. But it’s a great start. source

08 May 2009 16:06

tags

Culture: Trekkies push “Star Trek” to huge midnight showings

  • $7 million from a bunch of smelly, fat die-hard nerds source
 

15 Feb 2009 19:56

tags

Culture: Forget Valentine’s Day. “Friday the 13th” was bigger.

  • $42.2 million for the horror flick at the box office source