Hak.5 – Hacker TV
Hak.5 is an Internet TV show all about hacking and modifying software and hardware. It's presented in a humorous and laidback way and is a great way to find out how the gadgets and apps that you use work, and then subvert them – Hak.5 in 60 seconds
Star Fleet X-Bomber
Way back I used to watch Star Fleet on Saturday mornings. A mix of Anime style and Gerry Anderson puppetry, it blew my mind. However it disappeared from tv in the early eighties and hasn't been broadcast since. For years I was trying to recall the show's name, then last week MPJ sent me on four youtube links and the mystery was solved. vid 1 – vid 2 – vid 3 – vid 4
The characters were fantastically imagined and many had a dark edge. Commander Makara had a symbiotic cyborg eyepatch (?!) that would take over and speak through her now and then, wierd and scary for a kids show.
The most memorable moment of the show was probably all the characters flew their crafts into formation and combined to form the giant robot Dai-X. They would then fight off whatever threat the Imperial Alliance had sent, leaving the galaxy safe for another week. Genius stuff – link1 – link 2 – link 3
Flat-Pack Cardboard Speakers
These Muji fold-up speakers are really innovative. You can pack them flat in your laptop bag or whatever and then unfold them when needed. Of course cardboard speakers are not that durable and they might or might not be audiophile quality… but still, a neat concept – link
Mephist Fiesta: Beast-666
This is a submission I've sent into a character design / repaint contest for the 'Mephist Fiesta' series of designer toys by Touma and Play Imaginative. Beast-666 has a fondness for barcodes, microchip implants and death metal 🙂 – link
MadVillain / MF Doom Vinyl Figure
It was inevitable, sooner or later prolific underground rapper MF Doom, who's persona is heavily based on comic book character Dr Doom, would make the transition from vinyl record to urban vinyl in the form of his own action figure. Now it's going to happen in January through a collaboration between Stones Throw records and KidRobot – link
The figure will be MF in his Madvillain guise, all masked up with trenchcoat and hat. Check out the classic All Caps video to see the animated Madvillain.
Second Life Dublin
RTÉ News had a report on tv yesterday about a virtual Dublin built in the 3d multiplayer experience 'Second Life'.
The reporter created an avatar for himself and interviewed the owners of two businesses (a pub and a promotions agency) first in cyberspace (where they have built 3d representations of their premises) and then in the real world (meatspace).
It was interesting to see how they represented themselves online. The interviewer looked like fairly like himself, same haircut, suit and even had his microphone. The lady from the promotions agency wasn't wearing her glasses online, but the pub guy looked nothing like his avatar (no offence btw if you're reading this!).
There's a video link to the report here (about halfway down the page).
The Lost Experience
The Lost encylopedia Lostpedia features an overview of alternate reality game The Lost Experience. A true multimedia treasure-hunt, spanning tv, telephone, newsprint, a novel, the web and even confectionary. All of which lead to fresh information on the Hanso Foundation and the DHARMA initiative, adding more layers to the Lost mythos.
Season 3 begins on RTÉ 2 this week, though thanks to Bittorrent it's been possible to download the new episodes hours after their airing in the States. Maybe it's time tv series are released simultaneously worldwide the same way major cinema releases are (an upside of the fight against illegal digital distribution). Though in fairness RTÉ seem to be first station in Europe to show Lost s.3 (Sky won't have it for another 2 weeks).
Anyhows I'll still watch the episodes on RTÉ, pick up the boxset, play the video game etc… I'm eating my Apollo chocolate bar as I type this (didn't post it on whereisalvar.com though). Namaste.
Anatomy of a Kugg
Plastic and Plush has a really interesting two part feature on the development of a series of Urban Vinyl figures called 'Kuggs', right from concept design through to the prototyping and final production.
The Story of Kuggs – Part 1
The Story of Kuggs – Part 2
PLAY.orchestra
Was back in London again last week and found 'PLAY.orchestra', a sound installation outside the Royal Festival Hall on the South Bank of the Thames. It's an interactive public space where you can take part in a collaborative music performance of sorts. The interface is made up of 56 perspex cube seats representing the musicians in an orchestra and 3 'hotspots'. When you take a seat, the instrument illustrated on it plays. More people = more instruments and layers of sound, resulting in up to 60 or so people collaborating on a preformance for the public (with some random inebriated bloke playing conducter, lol). It's also possible to upload your own sounds and arrangements via mobile phone to the project's server, thus shaping the orchestra's performance one step further. Great fun, has people smiling all round. Definatly worth a visit if you're near it. link
Shoot To Kill
Been looking at cine cameras on ebay, spotted this 8mm Nizo camera from the 1950's… looks like a hand crafted antique from the future… and it's clockwork, unreal… link
