#MoreFeminism

Black Widow spinoff a possibility!

This goes along with my other post. More woman superheroes. I'm tired of just seeing my gender represented as a damsel in distress. I'm also hoping that Anne Hathaway kicks ass as Catwoman, to show that woman superheroes can rock audiences socks.

#Feminism

Portman upset about the firing of woman director of Thor

I was upset about hearing that Patty Jenkins had left Thor, because I want to see more woman directors film things other than romantic comedies/independent films/animation. I want to see them do action. I want them to show studios they can handle a franchise. Woman power!

New Footage!

First footage of the Alien prequel (even though it's not really a prequel)

Personally, I love the movie Alien over the sequel by Cameron. Alien, to me, was absolutely frightening. So horror. I'm stoked to see Scott do another Alien film, even though this isn't really supposed to be a prequel.

One of the Greatest Villains is Dead!

On Saturday, the infamous leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-Il died from a heart attack. Doctors were surprised that he even had a heart! Anyways, the oppressive, nuclear weapons driven lunatic is now out of power and the world has one less villain.



And an article from the NYTimes.

The New "Spiderman"

There is a lot of discussion about the relaunching of the Spiderman franchise. I personally feel that it is a little early to be telling a story that we just saw at the beginning of the 00's but there will always be a demand for more Spiderman. Recently, Marc Webb talked to Empire about his take on the series. He said that this is definitely not a remake of the Sam Raimi movies. It will be a different tone and different characters to give everyone a different experience. He said that he tried to create a universe that was believable and felt much like what a normal city would feel like. It starts off on a light note but going off what Marc said, "one of the reasons I wanted to do it was to fucking blow shit up, swing through the air and kick some ass," so I think we can at least expect to see some action.

Here is a link to the article if you are interested: Click Here!

Superhero PSAs and Questionable Legality

So, we all know cancer awareness is important, right? And we also know that more and more women read comics and follow superheroes right? So clearly it follows that we can combine the two:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114782-Heres-a-Picture-of-Catwoman-Fondling-Her-Own-Boobs-For-a-Good-Cause

I find it interesting that the whole thing appears to be of questionable legal standing: there seems to be a theory that the creators of the PSA didn't actually get permission from Marvel and DC to use the characters' likeness. Though I also doubt that there will be too much of a problem with this, seeing as how attacking a positive PSA might look a little, oh what's the word? Tacky?

2045: The Year Man Becomes Immortal

Ray Kurzweil, a successful inventor and highly progressive thinker, believes that we are nearing a point where computers will be much more intelligent than humans. During this shift, Kurzweil also says that machines will be so smart, they will be able to learn on their own and fix their own problems. He calls this: Singularity.

Does anyone remember at the football game against Nebraska when the brand new big screens weren't working? Well, it took the athletic department well into the second half of the game to get them working like they're supposed to. Kurzweil thinks that in the near future, these monitors will know that there is a problem and fix it on its own. It will be like a doctor, diagnosing the issue, and a repairman, replacing it to normal functionality.

His ideas are pretty amazing and surely revolutionary, but I can definitely imagine a day when the things he says are true.

Click here to read more about singularity: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2048299,00.html

And here to watch a video: http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,784887564001_2048332,00.html

Superhero Pop Culture

I saw this online and just thought, man superheroes are everywhere. It also is the most gender specific representation of superheroes I have seen in a long time. Enjoy gender norms!

Unusual jetpack enables pilots to swim and leap like a dolphin

French jet-ski racer Franky Zapata has invented a water-jet propulsion device that enables pilots to zoom through the water in a manner similar, in appearance, to the way dolphins swim and leap. Zapata says the "Flyboards" are easy to use, but it looks as though the learning curve might be painful. (They're definitely cool to watch with an expert at the helm: see the ITN News video report below.) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=h-7RlL3YtiQ

Zapata, who has been referred to as "Dolphinman," "Aquaman" and "Jetman," recently posted on the Zapata Racing website a French-language promotional video of the Flyboards, which sell for about $6,500. They are connected via a long hose to a personal watercraft with an engine of 100 horsepower or greater, and controlled with hand-held throttles.

Meanwhile, video footage has been very popular on the Internet and bloggers have been having fun with the story. Reads the caption beneath an image of an airborne Zapata, on a CNET report: "Bonus points if you can catch a fish with your mouth."

The future of instruments?

This may cause you to laugh, cry, or both. It may also serve as a cruel form of torture for nervous pets.

Happy Holidays everyone.

Dark Knight Rises & Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Starting today, certain IMAX theaters that are showing Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol will also be showing the prologue of Dark Knight Rises during the previews. Moviegoers will get a glimpse of Bane, who is shaping up to be a daunting and exciting villain in this newest installment.

For those of you who are looking to see this in theaters, the closest one is the Henry Ford IMAX in Detroit.

Click here for additional information.

Doctor's and Technology

After hearing one of the presentations on Tuesday talk about society becoming more like cyborgs with the development of prosthetics, pacemakers, and other technology in humans, I came across an interesting article from the New York Times. It talks about the how the medical field invested in computers, tablets, and other devices to provide instant access to information and monitoring to provide better care for patients. Now, some say that the overwhelming amount of gadgets pose a threat of being a big distraction for doctor's and preventing them from paying proper attention to their patients. It's pretty interesting and relates to society becoming more and more reliant on technology. Here's the link if you'd like to read more about it.

The Avengers

I just watched the trailer for the upcoming film The Avengers, and I could not be more excited.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zatgnqdIefs

They even have Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, in which this is an All-Star cast with amazing superheroes and cyborgs.  My favorite part is Tony Stark saying "Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist" in response to what he is without his suit, which shows how well Robert Downey Jr. IS Iron Man.  He fits the characteristics and personality so well, I could not see anyone else as an actor portraying Iron Man other than Robert Downey Jr.

Insect cyborgs may become first responders, search and monitor hazardous environs

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Research conducted at the University of Michigan College of Engineering may lead to the use of insects to monitor hazardous situations before sending in humans.
Professor Khalil Najafi, the chair of electrical and computer engineering, and doctoral student Erkan Aktakka are finding ways to harvest energy from insects, and take the utility of the miniature cyborgs to the next level.
"Through energy scavenging, we could potentially power cameras, microphones and other sensors and communications equipment that an insect could carry aboard a tiny backpack," Najafi said. "We could then send these 'bugged' bugs into dangerous or enclosed environments where we would not want humans to go."
The principal idea is to harvest the insect's biological energy from either its body heat or movements. The device converts the kinetic energy from wing movements of the insect into electricity, thus prolonging the battery life. The battery can be used to power small sensors implanted on the insect (such as a small camera, a microphone or a gas sensor) in order to gather vital information from hazardous environments.
Through a device invented at the University of Michigan, an insect's wing movements can generate enough electricity to power small sensors such as a tiny camera, microphone or gas sensor. Image courtesy of Erkan Aktakka
A spiral piezoelectric generator was designed to maximize the power output by employing a compliant structure in a limited area. The technology developed to fabricate this prototype includes a process to machine high-aspect ratio devices from bulk piezoelectric substrates with minimum damage to the material using a femtosecond laser.
In a paper called "Energy scavenging from insect flight" (recently published in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering), the team describes several techniques to scavenge energy from wing motion and presents data on measured power from beetles.
This research was funded by the Hybrid Insect Micro Electromechanical Systems program of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency under grant No. N66001-07-1-2006. The facilities used for this research include U-M's Lurie Nanofabrication Facility.
The university is pursuing patent protection for the intellectual property, and is seeking commercialization partners to help bring the technology to market.

Link: http://www.ns.umich.edu/new/releases/20087-insect-cyborgs-may-become-first-responders-search-and-monitor-hazardous-environs

Zordon is racist

I noticed that today during the Power Rangers Cyborg/Superhero presentation, and it reminded of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJgC9LEBTuQ

In the presentation, I noticed that the yellow one is Asian, and the black one is also Black.  I wonder if the producers noticed this as well.  At the very least this video shows they have a cyborg-y side to them.

Pink Power Ranger.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/power-rangers-costume-lawsuit-272887

I was going to talk about the pink power ranger and its cultural impact on woman by showing the felicity episode from season one where ben hits on the pink power ranger instead of felicity and also felicity's bff played the pink power ranger in MMPR. Crazy.

The gutters

I've been reading The Gutters for a while now online. It's a comic that discusses the ongoing activities of the comic industry. Read discusses as mockes. If you're interested you can find it here.

Barbara Gordon rebooted

Today I talked about Barbara Gordon and her role as both the first Batgirl and Oracle. Barbara has consistently been one of the best examples of a strong positive female and disabled person in comics. However with the reboot Barbara has been restored to her walking self and her position as Batgirl. This has created a lot of controversy regarding the decision as an attempt to rob comic readers of this positive portrayal of women and the disabled. Also this comic by The Gutters goes along with it.

Different Examples of Heros in Rising Stars

If anybody is interested in reading the story, Rising Stars has a lot of examples of different types of superheroes. There is a religious hero, a cop hero, a hero-for-hire, and a hero based in entertainment. All in all a great story that puts people with powers in different areas of expertise.

Stop SOPA!

I know this isn't quite related to our class, though you could argue that these show hosts are cyborgs, but...

I recommend we all do everything we can to stop this bullshit. Don't let the assholes neuter the internet damn it!

http://www.blisteredthumbs.net/2011/12/angry-joe-psa-stop-sopa/

Back In Black

MIB III is coming out soon and they just released the first teaser trailer. You can watch it below.

Returning to the talk we had in class about who actually is considered a superhero, Men in Black fall under the James Bond category. They don't have superpowers but have access to technology that is beyond anything that normal people have seen and fight evil; in this case it is aliens. Even though this has a comedic undertone to it, I think that I would consider Men in Black more of superheros than James Bond or Jason Borne. They use weapons and tools that are more advanced than anything either of these other characters have seen and use it to fight crime throughout the Earth. They might not have that deep desire for justice like the others but I base my decision on superhero classification on a persons extraordinary abilities rather than a personality characteristic. I'm sure some disagree so let me know what your thoughts are!

The Relationship of Superheroes to American Opinions of Government

I think the class decided parody of the superhero genre is having two tired genres become one fully embodied genre. However I also think that "invincible" superheroes make better parodies because they emphasize flaw in superhero identity. Batman is a great example of how the flawed superhero becomes favorable in specific moments in history.

Look at this in relation to Batman vs. Superman.

For example: Today we are a skeptical America, but we don’t need to hope for a better America because American government is popular (Obama Administration): This leads to Batman (the vigilante) being the preferred superhero.

1978: Superman the Movie was made, popular because its moment in history (after Vietnam skepticism)-America needed something to believe in. This is talked about in relation to the Six Million Dollar Man which was televised after Watergate (epic government fail!): ‘‘In this era of public scandal and cynicism,’’ said executive producer Harve Bennett, ‘‘I felt the time was right for the old-fashioned idealistic hero—like the Lone Ranger or Gary Cooper—who comes along to fight evil’’ (qtd. in Cohen 26) (98).

Because we all love a good superhero parody...

If you haven't already seen the most recent SNL Batman parody, I am posting it here for your viewing enjoyment.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/306771/saturday-night-live-snl-digital-short-batman

I think that superhero films, particularly Christopher Nolan's Batman films, take themselves so seriously that parodies are necessary.  Also the use of Aquaman in this skit further proves my point that he is on a comeback as the lamest superhero of all time.

Reasons for Becoming a Real-Life Cyborg

We have talked about what makes someone a cyborg and what cyborgs look like but have you thought about why people become cyborg?  There are, of course, medical reasons for people to have technology implanted in them (like Robocop).  And there are those people like the main character is Neuromancer who want to be completely bonded with or "jacked into" technology.  Then there's this guy:

He has become a walking boombox.  Awesome.  

If you want to read more:

http://www.geekologie.com/2011/12/oh-shishi-you-got-that-boom-boom-pow-ves.php

First Official "The Amazing Spider-Man" Poster

The first of many official Spiderman posters has arrived. I think this is a very cool poster and will definitely raise some hype for the movie. Another site compared it to the Star Wars: Episode I poster that had Anakin Skywalker's shaddow on a wall that was in the form of Darth Vader and said that this was just a ripoff of that. Either way I think that this is a great start for the movie posters. People may be skeptical of Marc Webb's version of the Spiderman series but I am nothing but excited to see what he creates.

Zoom Zoom

I could have posted this on many comments, but I decided to make my own post about it.  It is a clip of Sheldon from Big Bang Theory in which he is jacked up on coffee and dressed in his Flash costume.  He runs around pretending he is Flash, also he does not possess Flash's superpowers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o__2xLwkH08

I thought this was interesting especially based on what we were talking about last lecture.  We were talking about superhero satire and what comedies about superheroes can tell us.  Although this may not exactly be satire or a comedy directly towards superheroes, it does tell us that jokes can me made based on the audience knowing what the superhero is capable of, but having an actor fail at attempting to duplicate that superhero.  In the case of Sheldon, it is funny to watch his attempt of warp speed by beating the banana to the ground.

The 99 - Challenging the Status Quo

   Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa was the speaker at the lecture series that I attended, and he created a superhero group based on Islamic concepts, which were called The 99.  The 99 is a group of 99 superheroes, both boys and girls, each with diversity and different characteristics that set them apart from each other.

   What I took away from his lecture was he created and used The 99 to battle the status quo, particularly the negative stereotypes of muslims in the world.  Dr. Al-Mutawa noticed that media conveys certain views and plays to the accepted stereotypes.  Take the Cosby Show for example.  The show was meant for a the dad to be a limo driver and the mom to be a stay at home mom, instead of what the show actually is, which is a lawyer and doctor.  This was considered unrealistic expectations for a black family, but it really challenged the status quo of what the expectations are and what they should or shouldn't be.  In addition, the show also added a child who was in college to show success.

   Another interesting thing to note in a different show is one in which they purposely had two bad black Presidents, one which was like Nixon.  They then had two black Presidents who were good, and coincidentally Obama later came into office.  It is not to say this was the only reason, but Dr. Al-Mutawa believes it had an impact, which is why he created The 99.  He wanted to portray islam and muslims in a positive light, much like the latter two Presidents of that show did for black people.  I found it very interesting and was glad I got to listen to Dr. Al-Mutawa speak.

Mechanical representations of Humans

A friend made me aware of this really cool trailer made by a company specializing in robotic identities in film and media. I highly recommend you watch it. http://www.k3loid.com/

Superheroes Track 7

I was listening to Discovery this morning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRt5z880CFY&ob=av2e

The clip is from Interstella 5555

Snooping

Ok, this doesn't have much to do with cyborgs or superheroes but it is about new media.

Have you ever watched someone use their computer?  One of my favorite in class activities, particularly in lectures, is to snoop on the people around me.  Here are some of my observations:

I was in a class once where a girl was playing WoW while sitting in the front row.

There is a kid in one of my classes who obsessively switches between webpages and applications.  It's like a strobe light of digital imagery.

On Monday there were at least two people in my lecture who were video chatting during class.

I personally am very conscious of what I'm looking at on my computer during class but apparently, I'm the only one with that hang up.

Real Life Superheroes

We talked a lot about what makes someone a "real-life" cyborg but what about superheroes?  I was just looking at pictures of people who consider themselves superheroes.  A lot of these people have weird, thrown together costumes like the Crimson Bolt.  This guy, though, actually has a whole look going:

Mr. Silent
I think he looks like a mime.

The 99: Out Of Thin Air

The 99 is a comic series created by clinical psychologist Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa in attempts to bridge the gap and de-stigmatize the Western World's perception of Islam and Islamic culture as a whole. The series has had mixed reviews as a result of the subtle religious undertones presented within the series. The 99 is centered around 99 superheroes, each of which have a stone that chose them and gave them super powers. Each of these 99 superheroes are from 99 different countries and are almost evenly split between boys and girls. All of these 99 superheroes work together to save the world, without regard to what country each other is from or what their religious views are. Through this cohesive system, Dr. Al-Mutawa was able to fuse many different cultures into one. The idea was for the superheroes to learn to navigate differences through problems and who is best suited to solve which specific problem based on what super power they have and the subsequent strengths and weaknesses each superhero has.

Dr. Al-Mutawa came from a conservative Islamic family from Kuwait and saw a problem in the way that the only art they had was based on religion and came from the Koran because art is where expression and opinion begin and when art is religion then there is not much room for expression and opinion. He felt it was unfair that some one should decide what his kids could or could not be exposed to (Pokemon was banned in Kuwait) so he created these comics to teach tolerance and acceptance of differences as well as to disassociate terrorism and extreme evils with Islam as a whole.

Newsweek has come a long way from having the twin towers on the cover to dedicating a cover to The 99, a positive representation of Muslims.

The 99

The presentation today by Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa was pretty interesting. He is getting all kinds of attention for creating what is essentially the first comic series featuring Muslim superheroes. It's called "The 99." From the clip he showed, I was able to gather there are 99 special stones that each member has that gives them special superpowers. There's also some incredibly cheesed out super villain bent on dominating the world. From a superhero persepctive, I find it odd that he chose such a large number. It's hard enough caring about every single member of the Avengers, I can't imagine having to provide enough dynamic and relationship bonds between 99 different heroes.

With regards to the social aspect, his series has gotten mixed reviews. President Obama singled him out specifically at a speech and praised him for his work. Naif's goal is to change the way the world views Islam and the way that Muslims themselves view Islam, thereby making it less of a stigmatized threat to Western thought. However, many reviews have been extremely critical, and believe the comics do the exact opposite, sparking radicalism into the Islamic youth. I'd be interested to read or watch the series in order to gather my own interpretation. All in all, very intereseting presentation.

The Origins of the Supervillian

I was bored on the internet and was listening to Glee Clubs online and then I remembered about this little gem. Truly an amazing job from the best singer in the Screen Arts department: Brandon Verdi.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anyTTJzNY9M

As I was watching this I started to realize the story of Jekyll and Hyde is the original mutation story of an evil villain. I mean, look at the Green Goblin in Spiderman 1.

Like most villain's, Jekyll wants to do good and ends up creating a monster (Hyde).

Not to mention this is one of the best high school musical performances in the history of University of Michigan Undergrads who did theater in high school.

Don't razz Brandon too much because he is super talented.

Battleship...the film

Here is the trailer for the film Battleship that is coming out in May 18, 2012.  It is very interesting as it is based off the board game "Battleship", but has a Transformers/cyborg feel to them.  It is unclear in the short trailer whether they are cyborgs or just machines, but I felt like there were enough similarities between these and Transformers, where the machines are cyborgs.  I would personally come back next year to watch this film if we watch it in class.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDMXkPfxjOc

Sheldon Terminators Theory

Regardless of whether you love or hate Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory, he brings up a valid argument.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUpC6Io8EEQ

I personally like Sheldon's theory about SkyNet sending back terminators who pose as actors that have played terminators in the movies or tv series.  Before you realized who they were, it would be too late.  Hasta la vista, baby.

Heisman Finalists as Superheroes

A very interesting articles for sports enthusiasts tied to the topics of this class, in which they compare the College Football Heisman Trophy contenders with superheroes, and matching their attributes with superhero abilities.

http://www.lostlettermen.com/2011-heisman-finalists-as-superheroes/

I personally like the Trent Richardson comparison the most, as the trainers won't let him try bench pressing more than 475 lbs. out of safety concerns.  But since when did the Hulk have weight lifting weight restrictions??

Screening Suggestion

After trying to think of a superhero or zombie movie that someone had not already named in class, I finally came up with the following three episodes of South Park to view during screening:

The Coon - Season 13 Episode 2

The Coon 2: Hindsight - Season 13 Episode Episode 11

Mysterion Rises - Season 13 Episode 12

In these episodes, various characters of the South Park community transform into their superhero alter egos and fight crime. You can expect the usual absurdities and classic humor of South Park with a superhero plot twist. I thought this would be a nice break from the traditional superhero films such as Superman, The Dark Knight, Watchmen, etc. and give us all a taste of comical iterations of what is believed to be a superhero.

Tomorrow's screening: my last suggestion (for real)

while I did look for zombie musicals for us, none seemed particularly compelling. I can go with Super but I have one last idea...from the director of OLDBOY (one of those movies the film geeks geek out over)...I'm a cyborg but that's ok.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_a_Cyborg,_But_That%27s_OK
C'mon, who wants cyborg mental patients for the last screening?

ParaNorman Official Teaser Trailer [HD]

With the recent talks about zombies it only seemed necessary. Here is an animated movie coming to theaters soon about zombies! This is the first 3D animated film about zombies I have heard so this is something to get excited about! It's brought to us by the same people that produced "Coraline." Check it out! I love the trailer.

Nerd or Superhero?

Total Win Courtesy of Cleverbot

Flying Human... Err Cyborg*

Jetlev Flyer combines jetski with a jetpack

When I was a kid I figured by now I would be flying to the grocery store and back using my jetpack. I’m pretty bummed I still have to drive, but if you are rich, into water sports, and live near a lake your jetpack dreams can still come true with the Jetlev Flyer.

The Jetlev looks like the jetpacks that most of us have seen in the movies before with twin nozzles that fire behind the pilot. Rather than shooting streams of air or compressed gas out the rear, the Jetlev shoots high-pressure water to life the pilot.
The water is fed to the Jetlev via the giant yellow dryer duct you see in thepicture above from a boat that follows along holding the motor for the Jetlev. Abasic version of the Jetlev will set you back $135,000, but you are sure to be the most popular person on the lake when summer comes around. Presumably, the harness floats so you and the Jetlev don’t turn into an anchor if/when you crash. You can pick yours up in late June. Is it just me, or is that a full-size version of Minime flying in the picture above?

3D Becomes A Reality

NVIDIA's 3DTV Play finally solves the HDMI 1.4 gap for 3D Vision

In case you hadn't noticed, there was some trouble brewing in the NVIDIA camp. After ages of reigning atop the land of stereoscopic 3D playback on the PC, NVIDIA is finally being confronted with a real, bona fide standard for 3D, with zero GPUs capable of meeting it. The current NVIDIA 3D Vision-compatible cards pump out the necessary pixels over DisplayPort or dual DVI plugs, while the official spec for 3D TVs is an HDMI 1.4 plug that accepts data from both frames at once. We were in doubt there for a moment, but it turns out NVIDIA's cards upgrade to 1.4 just fine, and all 3D Vision customers will be getting this as a free upgrade later this spring. NVIDIA will also be offering this 3DTV Play software in a standalone version for $40 to folks who don't want to bother with NVIDIA's 3D Vision stuff at all (with HDMI 1.4 you can just use the stereoscopic glasses that come with your fancy new 3D TV, no need for NVIDIA's setup). NVIDIA is naturally hitting all the high points of the 1.4 spec, with 1080p24, 720p60 (the officialgaming spec), and 720p50. The cards will also support 3D Blu-ray. So, just about time to splurge big on that home theater PC? We don't know... is it just us, or does that guy and his couch look a little lonely?

Not-So-Friendly Robot

Military looking to build autonomous, bunker-busting killbot

We remember hearing something in the 1990s about SDI (or "Star Wars") actually being a tool to fight UFOs, and that places like Area 51 contained vast underground bases positively teeming with ETs. We didn't think much of it then, and neither do we now -- although this request for information posted over on the FBO website has given us pause. The query is officially for info regarding "robotic underground munition technology," meaning that Defense Threat Reduction Agency would really, really like to get its hands on an autonomous bunker-busting robot capable of being dropped on a target and digging into (and then blowin' up) whatever it is that lies beneath the ground. Features specified include: a survivable underground communication system, capabilities to efficiently overcome natural and man-made obstacles, viable passive and active defensive and offensive systems, vehicle control logic to avoid, traverse, neutralize or defeat natural and man-made obstacles, and more. One one hand, this does sound like a bit of "war on terror" overkill, but again we don't reallyexpect the federal government to throw tons of money at a grandiose and over-expense project that will never come to fruition. We'll be keeping a close eye on this one.

Light Touch

Light Touch

There have been touchscreens around for long enough to not get excited about, same goes for projectors, but this product aims to fuse these two together. Light Touch is only a concept product at this time but it features many up-and-coming technologies like holographic laser projection technology that allows the product to create a bright, high-quality, always in focus WVGA resolution image - up to 10 inches - on nearly any surface. It works together with an IR touchsensing system which allows the projected image to become a sort of touchscreen. In addition, it runs Flash Lite, allowing for a whole host of different applications, and boasts Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for connectivity, 2GB of onboard memory, and a microSD slot for expansion.

Into the Future...

Futuristic 'Heart of the Home' kitchen is a table, cooking surface and a bar

So, say goodbye to all the pots and the pans that invade your homes and senses. I so love it. From Electrolux, the Heart of the Home Kitchen Concept is a visionfor the future and the future is not that far. The Heart of the Home is an intelligent, amorphous and interchangeable cooking surface that adapts to the needs of the user. When you use this kitchen, all you have to do is place the ingredients on the surface and you will not have to worry about the pans or the recipes. The appliance will analyze the ingredients and present a list of suitable recipes. When you have decided on the recipe to be used, you will mark the extent of the cooking area with the help of your hand. Once you have decided the area, you can even determine the depth of the surface by simply pressingyour hand against the malleable material. When you have achieved the area and the depth of the surface, all that is left is setting the time and the temperature with the touch of your finger.

See more after the break...

This exciting new kitchen concept was unveiled on Friday by the senior vice president of design at Electrolux at the Swedish Museum of Architecture in Stockholm. 

I'd say this is pretty robot like considering it can tell what ingredients you put on it and then automatically generates a list of recipes and then physically adapts to create the cooking surface you would require.

From the Spousal Unit

File under "stuff my husband emailed me with the heading "for your students"":
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/3968203

South Park RPG

For the Win! Wow, and one of my favorite companies too. And our cyborg heroes: Trey Parker and Matt Stone, are writing and voicing it. Gamegasm!

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114473-Obsidian-Unveils-South-Park-RPG

Our last screening: DISCUSS

After checking to be certain that the end of the semester is indeed approaching like that freight train Denzel and Captain Kirk were on...I thought I'd start an online discussion about showing something more undead on Wednesday night and make it a fun last screening. Also, I do really think everybody should read that Chuck Klosterman piece I gave you the info for during our last class. It's damn smart.
So, here's my list so far. What movie were you thinking of (if I can get or stream it)? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Zombies on SCMY's list:
-Dead Snow (zombies! Nazis! Zombie Nazis!)
-Dawn of the Dead (1978)
-Versus (martial arts + zombies, could be good?)
-Shaun of the Dead--I love this but we've all seen it, right?


Not Zombie but good and I've seen and can recommend more readily: is Beetlejuice a zombie or a ghost? more ghost. I think the film American Movie is Brilliant and All Should See It.
Um, Gattaca is pretty and all about the technology. Brazil runs long. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou inverts many of the same structures and tableaus from epic "superhero" films. 2046? Too many options? A Mystery Science Theater episode perhaps?
So...thoughts?

Sherlock the Superhero?

The Sherlock Holmes movie with Downey Jr. was immensely successful, and the new film is getting a ton of hype. I think it's interesting that these movies seem to transform the idea of the traditional Sherlock Holmes and make him more of a "superhero", combining his quick wit and incredible intellect with his physical prowess, making him more of an "Indiana Jones" type. Do you like this new superhero type Holmes, or would you rather of seen a more traditional version of Holmes portrayed?

Here's an article, pulled from superherohype.com, that talks about some of the filming of the new movie.

Which Superhero are you?

http://www.thesuperheroquiz.com/

Take the quiz to find out which superhero you are most like!

My results were:

You are Superman

You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.

Superman 90% Supergirl 90% Green Lantern 85% The Flash 80% Batman 70% Catwoman 70% Spider-Man 65% Wonder Woman 60% Iron Man 60% Robin 55% Hulk 25%

To go along with the inPulse Smartwatch idea...

Universal Wrist Charger juices up your gadgets on the go

Ever been in the middle of a very important phone call only for your phone to run out of battery? Or been in the middle of an intense game that just suddenly shuts off? Well there is a gadget here to solve all of these problems. The Wrist Charger provides some extra juice for your portable devices on the go without the need to plug into the wall. This little device is worn comfortably around your wrist and provides a 1500 mAh lithium-ion battery that is compatible with a wide variety of devices from cell phones, to Ipod, to Nintendo DS and Sony's PSP. 

Integrating a mini USB port and connectors, the portable charger shows the remaining power with four LED indicators. Weighing about 82g, the Universal Gadget Wrist Charger is available for $35 only.

Great gadget for those who always need power on the go....or those who travel all the time and cant do without their PDA, or  gaming toys for more than a few hours.

http://www.trendologies.com/2010/03/universal-wrist-charger-juices-up-your.html

There are just so many new devices that help to always keep you tethered into the digital world... Pretty soon there won't even be a need to leave your bed because you will be able to do absolutely everything from there.