Story of a Peanut
Gizmodo met with Paul Newbie, Tivo’s Senior Director of Consumer Engineering, for a quick historical overview of their remote control design process. Interesting stuff. As anyone who has handled a Tivo remote can attest, it does indeed address many of the ridiculous usability issues that plague lesser remotes.
Ong Bak 2: Electric Bakaloo
Muay Thai boxing ninja Tony Jaa (Phanom Yeerum to his fellow Thailanders) has just released a blistering "promotional reel" for Ong Bak 2. Scope it out.
The original Ong Bak, wherein the wiry Jaa calls down a "ferocious blizzard of elbows and knees to bear on subtitled thugs", stands mighty tall in the pantheon of kung-fu cinema - due in no small part to Jaa's unique fighting style, a refreshing disregard for stunt wires or CGI, and sincere attempt to bring neck-kerchiefs back into fashion.
For Round Two, Tony steps behind the camera to direct his own bad self in what appears to be a worthy successor to the original. From Twitch.com: "The film has no story connection to the first Ong Bak, instead moving the narrative back in time and casting Jaa as a young man saved from execution by a group of global martial artists as a boy who has since trained in every one of their arts in an attempt to fuse them all into one master martial art." With elephants.
No sign of Ong Bak (and The Protector) co-star Petchtai Wongkamlao in the promo reel.
Indiana Jones and the Fonts on the Maps
Check out this short article on the consistently anachronistic typography appearing on all the animated travel maps in the Indiana Jones movies. It's a pleasant blend of graphic designer pretentiousness and outright movie geekdom.
Shape-Shifting BMW
BMW recently unveiled their GINA (Geometry and Functions in 'N' Adaptations) "Light Visionary Model" concept, and it's quite the stylish hunk of industrial design. The body is a seamless polyurethane-coated Lycra fabric stretched over a moveable aluminum frame. Not only can the car's overall shape be altered, but things like the headlights and sections of the instrument cluster "blink" open when required - neatly striking the cosmic balance between form and function. James Bond cool.
American Ninja
Last night was the Levi Meeuwenberg event at the AADL (see Total Victory below). Fun stuff. They taped the whole deal and will eventually post it up on the library website.
Meeuwenberg told a few anecdotes and showed photos/movies from his recent trip to Ninja Warrior's Mt. Midoriyama in Japan. Highlight of the evening was his G4TV American Ninja submission tape, which contained some truly incredible feats of strength and agility (a video that was once on the G4TV website somewhere, right?).
Total Victory
If you reside within 400 miles of Ann Arbor MI, you will not want to miss Levi Meeuwenberg’s appearance at the Ann Arbor District Library on Monday June 9 (7pm). Meeuwenberg's triumphant effort at the 20th Sasuke competition (known around these parts as "Ninja Warrior") has made the man a true American hero. From the AAD Library:
"100 competitors take on a brutal 4-stage obstacle course. In the 20 times the contest has been held, the course has only been completed twice. Sasuke now airs in the US as Ninja Warrior on G4, and for the past two Sasuke competitions, G4 has selected American contenders (via the American Ninja Challenge) to travel to Japan to appear on the show alongside the Japanese competitors. Both times, Ann Arbor has been represented in Japan; last fall, Ann Arbor native and Michigan State student Colin Bell appeared on the show, but failed on the Spider Jump of the first stage. This spring, Traverse City native and current Ann Arbor Resident Levi Meeuwenberg traveled to Japan and outlasted all the Japanese competitors to be the last man standing!"
Who woulda figured Ann Arbor to be such a hotbed of ninja activity?
Meeuwenberg's kung-fu grip (understandably) gave out on the brutal Cliff Hanger portion of the Third stage. Besides going further than any American, he's the first US citizen to best Ninja Warrior All-Star legend Makoto Nagano, who uncharacteristically lost his balance on the Second stage's Downhill Jump. I assume the Franklin Mint will be commemorating the accomplishment with a set of plates. Possibly a series of collectible coins.
Shadowman 9: In the Cradle of Destiny
After nearly two years, The Venture Bros. make their triumphant return Sunday night. Each new episode this (third) season will coincide with a swanky t-shirt from the Astro Base Go "Shirt of the Week Club". The initial offering comes from The Guild of Calamitous Intent:
"Fire up the Murdermobile and call your arch nemesis--because you're about to become a fully licensed member of The Guild of Calamitous Intent the moment you slide one of these 100% cotton American Apparel fine jersey short sleeve black beauties over your cybernetic exoskeleton or henchman's tunic! Emblazoned in gold with the official logo of the recognized leader in organized havoc, this shirt says to the world: "I come in separate cuts and sizes for Men and Women!"
Bart Beats Marty
The Simpsons Ride had it's grand opening at Universal Studios Hollywood over the weekend. I'm a big fan of the AP photo, which is like something straight outta the show:
Considering Krusty's history, it's rather apt that the whole deal is actually a cheap re-fit of the Back to the Future ride.
From the Universal Orlando site: "The Simpsons are visiting Krustyland, the low-budget theme park created by famed TV personality and shameless product huckster Krusty the Clown!"
State-of-the-art digital projectors cover an 80 ft. diameter dome surface with an image four times the standard High Definition found in most home theaters, and twice what you'd experience in a normal digital theater.
All the character voices in the attraction were performed by the original stars of the long-running The Simpsons show.
Hilarious new The Simpsons animation was created not just for the ride, but for the pre-show and queue areas as well.
When Captain American throws his mighty shield!
io9 has posted up a couple screenshots of what might be Captain America's shield on Tony Stark's workbench in Iron Man. The "shield" is actually pretty difficult to discern, but I fully support this kind of optimistic nerd speculation.
Iron Man is indeed a winner, easily picking up Full Chains on the Chain Scale. The best comic book-to-screen transmogrification since Flash Gordon back in 1980.
Update: Caught Iron Man again over the weekend and can confirm it's without question the Cap's shield there on the workbench. Or a really patriotic hubcap. Either way, fun stuff.
NES Coffee Table
Couldn't be more impressed with this ridiculously monstrous NES Controller that doubles as a coffee table and storage locker. More photos and a video of the controller in action over here.
