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Cinema
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| Zombieland |
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 n the tradition of the Office, Zombieland is an American take on a British classic (Shaun of the Dead). Although not an explicit copy, the overall idea is there - a likable rag tag cast of misfits band together to fight Zombies with a darkly comic twist.
Zombie Comedy? Zomcomedy? Zombody?
Whatever.
The film stars an ultra badass Woody Harrelson, the ever awkward Jesse Eisenberg, the little miss of Sunshine Abigail Breslin, and the lovely Emma Stone. The team ends up in an abandoned amusement park and must band together to fight off the undead masses.
And the kicker: Bill Murray has a guest spot as a vicious brain eater.
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| posted by Alex Wernquest - 02|Jul|2009 |
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Objects
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| Xeros Waterless Washing System |
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 ow does saving 1.2 billion tons of water per year sound to you? The Xeros Washing System is a prototype washer that utilizes small nylon beads to remove dirt and stains from clothing, effectively reducing the need for water in the machine by 90%. Nylon polymer is particularly absorbent in humid conditions and is inherently polarized to attract stains. When the nylon beads tumble with your clothing in the damp washing machine, they absorb and contain stains and dirt, leaving your clothes clean and the environment happy. The beads are then removed in a second spin cycle and any excess beads (although they claim to be minimal) can be easily shaken out. The washer still requires detergent, but the reduction of water is astonishing. It almost sounds too good to be true, and it leads me to believe there's some sort of Soylent Green underpinning to the whole project.
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| posted by Alex Wernquest - 02|Jul|2009 |
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Architecture
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| Hollywood Hybrid |
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ome designer firm Marmol Radziner Prefab want you to know how easy it is to have an eco friendly prefab house built wherever you want it, whenever you want it. The Hollywood Hybrid is a half on-site-built, half prefab home with sustainability in mind. The bottom floor was built into the foundation of the house while the top two floors were built off site as prefab modules which are fully finished and wired for electricity. The only step that remains is putting the pieces together. The house incorporates sustainable materials such as insulated glass and denim jean as a substitute for standard wall insulation. The family is able to move in in less than two months from the start date of construction.
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| posted by Alex Wernquest - 02|Jul|2009 |
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Objects
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| Bare Conductive Ink |
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 he folks over at Bare Conductive are taking body paint to a whole new level. Bare Conductive Ink can be safely applied onto your skin and is capable of transmitting data and completing circuits. In the video, we see a dancer manipulating an audio track based on the circuits she touches with her body. Sure, the dance is a bit crude at the moment, but the implications of this technology are far-reaching: music, dance, communications, even medicine. As you can see, the ink is non toxic and washes off safely with water.
I wonder what would happen if you went routing around in your circuit breaker with this stuff on your fingers?
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| posted by Alex Wernquest - 02|Jul|2009 |
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Music
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| Electric Dirt |
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 merican music legend Levon Helm follows up the critically acclaimed Dirt Farmer with the next logical step, Electric Dirt. The album is predictably steeped in the sounds of the American south: gospel, blues, soul and R&B permeate the whole package. For those of you familiar, Electric Dirt sounds a lot like being at one of Helm's Midnight Rambles - small concerts Levon hosts at his converted studio barn in Woodstock, NY where the music is fantastic and the feeling in the air is electric.
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| posted by Alex Wernquest - 01|Jul|2009 |
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Video Clip
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| Amadou and Mariam's Masiteladi |
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 inally, a music video that manages to match the fun and excitement of Amadou and Mariam's music. Directed by Laurent Gillot, the video for Masiteladi is a gorgeously designed 3D animation that follows a poor stick figure through a tough day. A perfectly rendered Amadou and Mariam arrive to brighten up the mood - the same effect their music seems to achieve upon every listen.
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| posted by Alex Wernquest - 01|Jul|2009 |
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DVD
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| Performing This Week: Live at Ronnie Scott's |
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 idn't get a chance to see Jeff Beck at London's famous jazz haven Ronnie Scott's? Well my friend, you're in luck. Jeff Beck's 2007 concert series at Ronnie Scott's which included guest appearances by Imogen Heap, Eric Clapton and Joss Stone was captured on film and is presented here in a 2 1/2 hour concert dvd. Beck's manipulation of his Stratocaster is as astonishing as ever and the best part is, you get to see it all up close in extreme detail.
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| posted by Alex Wernquest - 01|Jul|2009 |
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People
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| Pina Bausch |
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n 1982 I knew nothing about Pina Bausch. I went to see a performance of Kontacthof. I wondered if I could last it's three hour duration. I shouldn't have worried. I had never seen anything like Kontacthof, I haven't seen anything like it since.
Pina Bausch had the ability to take minute, closely observed, everyday gestures and through repetition and tempo expose their deeper meaning.
Kontacthof, set in a dance hall, eschewed contemporary dance moves and replaced them with clothing adjustments, languid backward glances, promenades performed at glacial speed. It was a riveting performance. It changed the way I saw the world, what makes a performance and needless to say, human relationships.
Pina Bausch was a unique talent. We will not see anything like her again.
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| posted by Geoffrey Gifford - 30|Jun|2009 |
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| Be the First on Your Block! |
| by Tucker Viemeister ~ 30|Jun|2009 |
 e the first to read my first blog!
Big Ideas
Trying to define the importance of “design.”
Read the notes on writing a book about my designer Dad, Read Viemeister.
(Anyway, check it out so you can tell your grandkids where you were!)
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People
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| Pina Bausch |
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| I have vivid memories of the astonishing performances she staged at the Adelaide Festival. The boldness and beauty of her work completely upended my ideas about ballet/performance art. |
| ~ Simon Britton |
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People
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| Pina Bausch |
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| That is very sad news. I don't think we can underestimate the impact Bausch had on a whole generation of Australians who saw her on her visits to Adelaide SA. |
| ~ James Waites |
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People
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| Pina Bausch |
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| Im so sad to hear she died she was amazing & saw her every time she came to BAM so original & provocative Robin |
| ~ Robin Bowden |
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Objects
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| Venice Biennale |
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| Fantastic Andrei!!!!... your article and images brought me back to moment... wonderfuly discriptive with beautiful photographs. Would love to see more. |
| ~ Danelle |
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Objects
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| Energy Generating Revolving Door |
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| Perhaps something similar should be installed in the doors to every teenager's bedroom. I suspect the velocity of a well slammed door could generate enough power to service the entire family. |
| ~ emma Walker |
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Culture Blog
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| Anatomy of a Scoop: The Music Media and Michael Jackson |
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| MJ's death in relation to the internet is a phenomenon not yet seen on this scale - a global icon dies young and under mysterious circumstances. His is the first death I can remember in recent history that had such a gigantic impact on the internet. It makes me wonder about lots more famous musical icon deaths - what would the news of John Lennon, Elvis, and Hendrix's death have been like if the internet were around? |
| ~ Alex Wernquest |
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Cinema
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| District 9 |
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| I've had 'Alive in Joburg' on my hard drive since it appeared on the Web. Watch it from time to time to remind me how much you can achieve with so little. I'm now looking forward to 'District 9' with some excitement. |
| ~ Adam Dennis |
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