Showing posts with label Video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Video. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
iPad 2 Accessories You Need Right Now
1:10 AM
Alex
Thanks to the Vogel Flex Mount, however, I can turn my tablet into a wall-mounted candid photo of Justin Bieber getting an allergy shot.
Vogel Flex Mount, $70 |
Now that the written word is completely obsolete, the days of taping up mini-posters of J.C. Chasez and Devon Sawa from my Tiger Beat subscription are gone (this may have contributed to everyone being gay all of a sudden). The button can attached to most surfaces, and the mounted iPad rotated in any which way or direction. Pretty slick.
Miniot Wooden Cover, $70
Miniot’s ultra-suede lined wooden smart cover turns the iPad on and off when opened and closed, respectively, but it’s way better than the smart covers Apple’s putting out. The rolling wooden cover can be turned into an upright stand, folded over to give that book-readin’ feel, or put in a keyboard position. If you buy now, they’ll even engrave your cover with any image for free. Not too shabby. The whole thing costs 50 Holland dollars, which is equivalent to most likely $70 American or five tulip bushels.
DODOcase, $60
Don’t you love the smell of a new book, that feel of a well-wrought binding between your thumb and forefinger? Enjoy it, nerd, because that ship is sailing fast. If you really must prolong the inevitable digitization of things to look at, you can get yourself the DODOcase, which just came out in an iPad 2 version. It’s built from Moroccan cloth using actual book-binding techniques and feels like an honest-to-goodness hardcover. And for only sixty bucks, natch!
Apparently there is quite the market for iPad 2 accessories, as it can sustain at least two items that make your thing that cost hundreds of dollars look like a rummage sale, booger-covered copy of Lady Chatterly’s Lover. Also also a case that is a stand, the BookBook has a vintage leather look that will cost you $10 more than the new-appearing DODOcase, but this is the price you must pay to appear like you are too ethical to take your businessman father’s trust fund money. |
ZAGGmate, $99.99 |
You could just buy a laptop, but that’s for poor people. Instead, please spend one hundred dollars on the ZAGGmate, which now comes in an iPad 2 version. Perfect for turning your iPad 2 into a holder for the embedded Bluetooth keyboard, the ZAGGmate case will also offer some protection against your stale PBR spills.
Nomad Brush, $24
Fancy yourself an artiste? Of course you do. Now you just have to prove to your parents that your Ivy League art major wasn’t a poor decision. The Nomad Brush isn’t going to do that, but it will be a helpful distraction when your parents are on the phone talking about your brother’s investment banking job. It is a magical paintbrush whose synthetic and natural fibers can tickle your iPad 2 into art submission.
Griffin Technology x Col. Littelton No. 42 Courier Bag, $695 |
Handmade by Lynnville, Tennesee’s finest whiskey-swilling leather workers, the No. 42 Courier Bag has a special pocket up inside of it just for your gentleman’s electricity reader. Gorgeous detailed include a lock and chain and a serial-numbered brass ID plate on the inside.
HP Photosmart e-All-in-One, $99.99 |
You don’t have to nab this HP Photosmart directly from Apple, but it may be just the extra influx of cash they need to save Steve Jobs’s life. Just saying. Also, it’s got AirPlay, which lets you print directly from your iPad 2 without a filthy norm computer getting involved.
SmartFit2 Smoke, $29.95 |
If I’m going to spend nearly a grand on a new iPad 2, I am going to take absolutely every opportunity to make sure each and every person I encounter knows it. That’s why I am all about this smoky-clear case from the Joy Factory, a thin and durable protector that will ensure nobody mistakes your tablet for a Xoom.
Belkin FlipBlade, $29.99 |
The FlipBlade, coming soon in a model specifically for the iPad 2, is a hard-working, durable, and super-slim convertible stand. It’s got four different positions, which let you view and type on your tablet from all kinds of crazy angles, like straight up or straight up and a little backwards.
Digital AV Adapter, $39.99
The official Apple AV adapter hooks your iPad 2 up to your TV (provided it’s got an HDMI in-hole) so you can look at things on a small screen and a big one at the same time. Your iPad 2 will also charge up while it’s plugged into your television, so don’t let that be the excuse your girlfriend gives you for not wanting to join your marathon of the entire series of Soap.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Are You Ready for St. Stupid's Day Parade?
2:51 AM
Alex
What's Happening This Weekend
It's no joke: Spring brings fun both in the usual and surprising ways. The annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C., is under way, the NCAA Final Four happens this weekend and the Sony Ericsson Open comes to a close in Miami. But there is also a very controversial hip-hop troupe of teens performing in Ponoma, Calif., bake sales happening across the country to aid Japan, a Mormon musical and a St. Stupid parade in San Francisco.
Clearly the only way to combat bad news is with sweet treats. To help raise money for the victims of Japan’s recent earthquake and tsunami, Bakesale for Japan will be held Saturday at locations across the country, with proceeds going to Peace Winds Japan.
This year’s buzziest museum reopening in New York was the Museum of the Moving Image, which received a dazzling $67 million makeover. The Astoria museum features excellent movie exhibits plus a swank new theater that showcases restored film classics and one of New York City’s most creative lineups of indie flicks, old and new. This weekend is a good example: The series "Adrift in America" (April 1–3) features the thought-provoking films of indie director Kelly Reichardt, who will be in attendance on Friday night to discuss her films. Also starting this weekend is the series, "Spring Training," of great sports documentaries.
Come early to wander the museum and fully appreciate its sleek new look, which the New York Times aptly summed up as a “...face-lift that might even put Hollywood cosmeticians to shame.”
What’s that sound? Americans of a certain age will know it when they hear it: It’s the sound of Buffalo Springfield reuniting and hitting the road. Together with the Byrds, the short-lived ‘60s band helped create the California folk-rock sound. It also launched the careers of Neil Young and Stephen Stills. Young, Stills and fellow surviving bandmate Richie Furay reformed for a charity gig last year, and now they will tour for the first time in 43 years. Tickets go on sale today for June shows in Oakland and Los Angeles. They’ll also play Santa Barbara before heading to Bonnaroo. And there are hints of a wider tour to come in the fall.
Have a blooming good time at one of the nation's most storied celebrations. D.C. is certainly at its loveliest in the spring: The weather is temperate, the green grass on the Capitol's lawn reemerges and of course the cherry trees unfurl their buds.
Although this spring is chillier than most, the florets will be out (the festival planners promise) and the parades, lantern walks, fireworks, music, baseball games and more will proceed as planned through April 9.
Mormonism… funny? Sweet Jesus, yes. If you think South Park is hilarious, you’ll collapse with laughter (and be totally offended at least a half-dozen times) at The Book of Mormon, the wicked new musical from Trey Parker and Matt Stone, co-creators of South Park, and Tony Award-winner Robert Lopez of Avenue Q.
On paper, the premise seems straightforward: Two young Mormon missionaries are sent to Uganda to save the souls of the locals. In execution, it’s anything but. There’s the dance number featuring cameos by Jeffrey Dahmer and Genghis Khan. The tribal general whose name is so naughty it can’t be printed here without blacking out most of the letters. And, the ribald skewering of the Lion King, so that you’ll never, ever be able think of “Hakuna Matata” the same way again. In short, it’s so good you may almost want to convert to Mormonism. Almost.
If you're in the mood to cut out of work early this April Fool's Day, why not slip into San Fran's 33rd Annual St. Stupid's Day Parade as it passes by your office? Put on a ridiculous hat and blend in with the fools as they make their pilgrimages to various sites throughout the Financial District, including the venerable Leap of Faith at the Plaza of the Holy Lug Nuts.
No musical act has seen more of a meteoric rise in press recently than Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (often shortened to Odd Future or OFWGKTA), a Los Angeles-based hip-hop collective whose recent string of high-profile live performances -- from a much heralded appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to packed sets at South by Southwest -- have launched the group into mainstream consciousness.
Adored by critics and legions of fans for their subversive lyrics and showmanship, derided by others for the often obscene and offensive content of their songs, few acts in recent years have been as compelling and game-changing as these young (most are in their teens), ultra-talented, self-aware rappers. The group takes the stage April 1 at The Glass House in Pomona, Calif., and will be one of the most sought-after tickets at the Coachella
Just like "Two and a Half Men," Charlie Sheen has become fine art. Starting this Friday night, Hyaena Gallery in Burbank will make that the literal truth with "Winning," a group art exhibit dedicated to the man who has given the world a brand new lexicon for losing it.
Start with "Afro-Sheen," the Charlie portrait that re-imagines him as with 70s style and a massive Afro, then move on to "Hot Shots," a faithful drawing of the Warlock's pose from the film of the same name. But make sure to take your time with "Aladdin Insane," which replaces David Bowie with Sheen on the former's Aladdin Sane album cover.
The final weekend of the college basketball calendar features the sport's centerpiece event. Houston is the host for Final Four, and the teams that take the court at Reliant Stadium April 2 form one of the most unlikely Final Four fields in the history of the NCAA Tournament. Connecticut and Kentucky -- two of the sport's blue bloods -- meet in one semifinal, upstarts Virginia Commonwealth and Butler in the other. The winners advance to the national championship game April 4.
Connecticut and Kentucky have rosters filled with high school All-Americans and future NBA players (Connecticut guard Kemba Walker was selected as an All-American this week), while the other half of the bracket showcases two of the game's young, rising coaching stars -- VCU's Shaka Smart and Butler's Brad Stevens.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Hidden Cameras You’ll Never Spot
11:35 AM
Alex
By the time you spot them, you have already become a Law & Order: SVU victim.
No one’s going to take another look at a smoke detector if you want to go ahead and nab this one with the wirelesss CCTV camera hidden inside. You may, however, have some 'splaining to do if the fire department catches you telling your neighborhood Starbucks that due to new government regulations you have been authorized to put a smoke detector in every stall in the women’s bathroom.
People still use alarm clocks, right? Like, that’s still a normal thing? Chances are whoever you’re secretly taping in your bedroom won’t be noticing the Sony Dream Machine perched on your dresser. Surprise, it costs $420 and has a hidden camera in it that records directly to an SD card. Before I’m willing to drop this kind of money, I need to know: does the alarm clock actually work?
A video seer in a pen? What will science achieve next? As I am not a scientist, I cannot give you an answer. My best guess is that it is space-related. This pen is pretty good, though. If you don’t mind shaky video due to the fact that to be truly inspired you must compose your amateur romance novels on lilac-scented stationary with cursive longhand. To reiterate, it is a pen with a wireless camera inside.
Hopefully you have a shitty old car that was made before power locks were invented, as two of these dongles on one pair of keys would look pretty stupid. One of the cheapest spy cams on our list appears to be a simple wireless car-unlocking dangler, but can secretly take pictures and video (with sound!). This is exciting for me, as one time I went to Jiffy Lube and one of the workers stole the bagel I just bought from Panera. What I wouldn’t do to catch the asiago thieving grease monkey on mini-tape.
Though I would not hesitate to disagree with Amazon’s claim that these video sunglasses have “stylish elegant design,” I can’t deny the awesome power of shades with a built-in camera. You can already stare at somebody for hours without them being the wiser if you are wearing sunglasses, and this takes things to the next logical step. According to today’s fashion, you can also wear them up in the club. Who knows what goes on there! Now you do, and you can re-watch it every day for hours.
This lighter is secretly a video camera that records directly to a USB drive. If you are afraid of being perceived as a smoker or an otherwise undesirable character, there is nothing to fear: simply lay the lighter in direct sight, where friends can see the word “Health” clearly stamped on the lighter.
You don’t need to be a hospital to mount those big round mirrors on your walls. They’re actually quite helpful for seeing who’s coming around the corner. The McDonald’s in my neighborhood actually had these puppies, butI haven’t seen them at a McDonald’s since. And I have seen the inside of many McDonald’s. The mirrors were presumably erected after the Excitable Fatty Slip 'n Slide Ketchup Krash of 1987, a condiment counter disaster which resulted in several innocent Fry Kid casualties and twelve wasted McNuggets.
I can recommend this hidden cam on the basis of it being an actual working flashlight, but you’re going to have a hard time secretly filming someone if you’re shining 8 LEDs in their face to do it.
This chrome watch has 720p video recording capability, stored on the internal 4 gig memory. Though I appreciate the fact that it is on sale for 75% off, I suspect it is because the watch looks like it was welded by a sober, mustache-less Salvador Dali.
If I ever wore clothing that required buttons, I would be all up on the Mini Spy Button from Cuarta Dimension. Provided nobody would notice the lipstick-sized bulge kicking it behind that one button that doesn’t seem to match the others, you could get some decent footage of unsuspecting navels.
If you have children, chances are they are being beaten when you aren’t home, or even when you are, but not paying attention. This is just the reality of life. Why not treat your little scamps with this happy pup-pup whose little black nose doubles as a camera lens? Unfortunately, most child-beaters probably research nanny cams and casually throw a diaper on them or something while they are biting your baby’s delicious, milky feet. Still, pup-pu
Monday, March 14, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
World of Cheap Thrills
10:00 AM
Alex
What's scarier than a haunted house? TWO HAUNTED HOUSES!
Rose Byrne, Patrick Wilson and their three young children have just moved into a big, old home. He's a teacher and she doesn't work, so immediately I assumed there was some deal with the devil to make the down payment, but this was just my mind playing tricks. The young baby does nothing but cry and one night the eldest sees something, makes a spooky face, then goes to sleep and NEVER WAKES UP.
He's not in a coma, he's just. . .in limbo. Rather than making the cover of the New England Journal of Medicine with this indescribable condition, they just send the kid home. And then the craziness starts.
I can't lie, the first few scares got my heart rate up. There are demonic sounds on the baby monitor and, even though I was thinking "here comes the scary part, here comes the scary part" when something finally jumped out, I yelped like a frightened puppy.
I can't recall seeing a movie that relied as heavily on loud, dissonant piano notes on the sound track as much as Insidious. Director James Wan (the first Saw movie and follow-up garbage he'd rather you not remember) either doesn't trust us or doesn't have the chops to allow creative framing or tense perspective shots to deliver the scares. Either way, I found I did most of my crying-out not because anything truly frightening was happening on screen, but because something REALLY LOUD JUST CRASHED IN MY EAR.
I certainly wasn't involved in the plot in any way, which is a shame, because I think a comotose, house-bound child is fertile soil from which a genuine horror film can grow. After Byrne sees enough weird visions she gets the family to relocate. The scares keep coming in house two, making us all wonder what the hell kind of realtor they're using.
There's a twist, of course, and a too-late attempt at humor in the form of some goofy ghost hunters. Once the "truth" is revealed, however, only the audience members willing to suspend their disbelief to the point they could wrap it around the circumference of Jupiter will keep from checking out.
So this is what's in store for you in Insidious: a real moronic supernatural horror film that exploitatively uses startling tactics to get in four or five decent jump scares. If you are a high school kid on a date, go see Insidious. If not, go take a run or finish that Dostoyevsky novel you keep putting off.
Friday, March 11, 2011
