Forget the Future - Looking Into the Past

Jason E. Powell, a cameraist from the US, is being praised online and is influencing a global network of photographers with his 'Looking Into the Past' project, which superimposes old, historical photographs over their original scenes:

Source: Flickr

Jason Powell claims to have been inspired by a project called 'souvenirs' by Michael Hughes, which using the same method combines souvenirs with landscapes.

See more at Wired.

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The Crazies

I just returned from seeing The Crazies at the cinema and I must say that it was fairly impressive. The 2010 remake of the original 1973 George A. Romero film was reminiscent of similar disaster movies of Earth-ending plagues and military takeovers (with a few 'Deliverance-esque' inbreds thrown in for good measure), although The Crazies moves in unexpected directions that make this story both original and enticing. I felt for the characters and believed in their actions during such a perilous time and above all I was entertained throughout; and there are a few shocking moments. Best of all there are some amazing images conjured up in this film, particularly one particular 'scene' at the end following the climactic stage of the heroes' plight, which was thrilling to say the least.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

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Beautiful Stars Captured at 'NGC 346'

NGC 346 is the brightest star-forming region in The Milky Way's neighbouring galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud, which is 210,000 light-years away. A vast nebula has been formed as a result of the light, wind and heat emitted by the huge stars within NGC 346:

This impessive image was taken at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. 'Astronomers classify NGC 346 as an open cluster of stars, indicating that this stellar brood all originated from the same collapsed cloud of matter. The associated nebula containing this clutch of bright stars is known as an emission nebula, meaning that gas within it has been heated up by stars until the gas emits its own light, just like the neon gas used in electric store signs'.


Source: European Southern Observatory


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HYP!HYP!HYP! 12TH MARCH at PLAN B - CLAUDE VONSTROKE

Claude VonStroke is to play Plan B in Brixton on March 12th 2010:

 

HYP!HYP!HYP! - FRIDAY 12TH MARCH

PLAN B, 418 BRIXTON ROAD, SW9 7AY

Room 1: H!H!H!

CLAUDE VON STROKE

MUMDANCE

SCRATCHA DVA

JULIO BASHMORE

P45

HYPONIK DJ SQUAD

Room 2: Hemlock Recordings

UNTOLD

JAMES BLAKE

LV

FANTASTIC MR. FOX B2B RICH REASON

22.00pm–05.00am

Buy tickets here.

See you there!

Check out these Julio Bashmore tracks - all out bass driven techy house mixed with skipping beats and that ever needed jungle vibe:

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Ikonika Feature at Knowledge Magazine - Debut Album Tracklisting

There is a great feature about dubstep / electronic music producer Ikonika at Knowledge Magazine, which boasts this heavy video mix by Ikonika and Optimum:

The video is exemplary of how far out and amazing modern electronic music, garage beats and 'dubstep' really are. Go with it. BO!

The tracklisting for her debut album - Contact, Want, Love, Have - is as follows:

1. Ikonklast (Insert Coin)
2. Idiot
3. Yoshimitsu
4. Fish
5. R.e.s.o.l
6. They Are All Losing The War
7. Millie
8. Sahara Michael
9. Continue?
10. Heston
11. Psoriasis
12. Video Delays
13. Look (final boss stage)
14. Red Marker Pens (Good Ending)

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A Nightmare On Elm Street Stills & Poster

Brand new images / stills have emerged for the forthcoming remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street, including a new poster. I am all over this - I love the original Wes Craven movie and the trailer makes the remake look very promising. The UK release date is May 7th 2010. Sweet dreams ...

 

 

 

  

  

  

A Nightmare on Elm Street in HD

Trailer Park Movies | MySpace Video

Source: MySpace, Shock Till You Drop via Empire

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The Death Star Moon

Check out these very bizarre images of the Death Star Moon ... I wonder why this hasn't been made public knowledge on a greater scale. Maybe one day it might go War of the Worlds on us via alien remote control.

  

 

Suspicious ...

While we're on Star Wars, this is great - Darth Taxi via B3ta:

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Sony Unveils New BRAVIA HDTV Range Including 3D LX903

Sony has recently unveiled it's new BRAVIA range of HD TV displays - the LX903, NX803 and HX903. The LX903 (as below) will have built in Full HD 3D capabilities, will work with Active Shutter glasses and will be available June/July 2010.

 

  

 

  

TFTS reports that the LX903 'are meant to deliver amazing imagery when it comes to sport and action movies. It significantly reduces noise, enhances overall image detail and delivers sharp, vibrant, life-like images, as it comes with the Motionflow PRO 240Hz motion compensation technology that reduces the mixing of images of 3D content assigned to the left and right eyes. It should be available as 40-, 46-, 52- and 60-inch models'.

This is also fascinating - a prototype, 360° autostereoscopic 3D display:

Source: Sony

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Panasonic Viera VT20 3D TV Explained

The Product Manager for Plasma TV, Panasonic explains the new Panasonic Viera VT20 3D TV and the Shutter 3D glasses that will come with it:

• Panasonic Viera VT20 3D TV
• |
• CNET UK videos

Source: CNET UK

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Future 3D Printers & Scanners - Welcome to the World of Tomorrow

As a natural follow up to the last post, I am keen to present more futuristic technology at the forefront of '3D' printing and scanning.

First up, Hewlett-Packard has partnered with Stratasy (manufacturer of 3D printers and production systems) to develop the uPrint® Personal 3D Printer, which is 'the world's first personal 3D printer', small enough to sit on your desk by your computer and is priced at $14,900:

Invetech and Organovo have developed the 'first commercial 3D Bio-Printer for manufacturing human tissue and organs' - the implications of this range from simple medical care to growing limbs and saving lives in ways never before imagined. Scary.

Two MIT students have created the concept for Cornucopia: Digital Gastronomy - food printers that mix liquid and ingredients to suit the user's preference:

 

 

Finally, Ortery is responsible for Photosimile 5000, a 3D scanner that can 'automatically create professional still photos, 360-degree, hemispherical and full spherical product animations':

Source: PC World

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3D Printing - DIY Manufacturing With MakerBot

This is cool -- MakerBot Industries are producing affordable 3D printers - Robots That Make Things - enabling consumers to create ("print") a variety of plastic objects, such as kitchen lamps or toy cars. I understand that the 'devices' are sold as kits and are then assembled by the user and they can even make their own replacement parts - genius! Users can create or download their own designs using CAD software and abracadabra with the power of DIY manufacturing, print their own goods.

CupCake CNC

The main MakerBot product is the CupCake CNC and is being sold for US$750. The term 'personal manufacturing' could be the future - see it in action:

Source: Springwise

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Microsoft Bing Maps Integrates Augmented Reality

Microsoft has developed Bing Maps technology, which integrates augmented reality as well as completely fluid 3D rendering of global locations down to street level -- not only that, but it will also incorporate various applications and Flickr geo-registered imagery that connects Flickr users' imagery (a.k.a. crowd sourced imagery) to the imagery of Bing Maps.

That's not all, the new Bing Maps will also allow live - real-time - video broadcasts, on location, as well as the integration of WorldWide Telescope, which maps the sky (with zoom) ... hold on to your hats.

Source: TED
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Acid - Terror Danjah

I simply can't get enough of this new Hyperdub track, called 'Acid' by Terror Danjah, fully rinsing The Prodigy's signature Charlie sound. This track was released yesterday and can be downloaded via iTunes or Beatport.

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Silhouette Photo of Space Shuttle Endeavour

NASA's International Space Station (ISS) has captured a silhouette photo of Space Shuttle Endeavour against Earth's horizon line as it descended in "low-Earth orbit". The following images were taken by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station before Endeavour landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida around midnight on February 10th 2010 during the STS-130 mission. They are pretty jaw-dropping:

Similarly an astronaut aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour took the following photo of the International Space Station just before it's descent:

Source: Space

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'Shutter Island' - New Featurette With Leonardo DiCaprio

'Shutter Island' - New Featurette With Leonardo DiCaprio:

Source: HitFIX

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Exit Through the Gift Shop - Banksy Film Documents Street Art

The directorial debut of the infamous, anonymous London graffiti artist Banksy is called "Exit Through the Gift Shop" and is due to hit cinemas on March 5th 2010. According to Times Online the film "is a portrait of Thierry Guetta (a.k.a. Mr Brainwash), the French shopowner turned film-maker" who documented "the explosion of work from the new wave of street artists — including Banksy himself " and the film includes "archive footage of artists such as Shepard Fairey, Space Invader and Neckface".

Here is the trailer for the film that has been tagged as 'the world's first street art disaster movie':

Watch on iPhone

A great clip is available exclusively at The Guardian.

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M. Night. Shyamalan's 'The Last Airbender' Full Trailer

M. Night. Shyamalan's 'The Last Airbender' Full Trailer has hit the web. I know nothing about the original cartoon,  all I do know and believe is that epic kung fu fantasy plus M. Night. Shyamalan can only equal brilliance.

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Foreign Beggars & Noisia - Contact (Noisia Remix)

Foreign Beggars & Noisia - Contact (Noisia Remix)

Too good ... break heavy ...

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Noisia Split The Atom - Debut Album Finally Emerges

The world class music producers NOISIA - pioneers, first and foremost, of drum and bass, as well as breakbeat, electro and assorted flavors of electronic dance music - are finally set to release their first album on April 5th 2010.

 

Noisia's earliest press shot

The long player will be titled Split The Atom, will certainly reflect their eclectic range of productions over the years and apparently will feature the following tracklist:

For Vision Recordings:

A. Shellshock ft. Foreign Beggars
B. Sunhammer ft. Amon Tobin
C. Thursday
D. Hand Gestures ft. Joe Seven

For Division Recordings:

A. Split the Atom
B. Alpha Centauri
C. Machine Gun
D. Red Heat

I have loved Noisia since their emergence years ago, having since released on the biggest UK drum and bass record labels including Renegade Hardware and Ram Records; and also their own imprints. They have also entirely produced the second album for Hadouken. I say no more. Listen:

The original Noisia Mini Mix for Annie Mac's Radio One show rounds them up to a treat:

This has also recently dropped, as a collaboration with UK Hip-Hop originals Foreign Beggars; a track called 'Contact' -- just listen to the sounds of this track, the bass is unbelievable; Noisia's production is truly phenomenal:

 

Split The Album is destined to be extraordinary. The album with be released on Noisia's new imprint, Invisible Recordings, which is being established in 2010 to "cater for deeper and more experimental drum&bass releases, produced by themselves and other artists" including Icicle and Phace.

Noisia Facebook

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Get to the Future Receives Its First Hate Mail

I am chuffed to have received pure hate from a random Californian, who has contacted me directly on Facebook to inform me that I should 'learn how to spell', and that he's going to 'make me bleed' and 'go cry' to my mum...

I think I do a pretty good job of checking my grammar. I'm not too sure what he's going on about, but it is likely to be a misspelt post on Facebook somewhere. Maybe something lost in translation?

I apologise for any spelling errors that I may have made.

It's all a matter of opinion and I'm glad that they can be expressed. I love social media, what a great method of communication.

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Panasonic Unveils 3D Blu-Ray Player & 3D Blu-Ray Recorder

Read all about the unveiling of Panasonic's DMP-BDT900-K 3D Blu-Ray Player and DMBWT Blu-Ray Recorder:

Akihabara
Endgadget

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Rambus Mobile XDR - Next Generation Mobile Devices With 3D

The single most inconvenient obstacle facing users of current 'smart phones' is battery life. If one were to use their, let's say iPhone, to full potential - utilizing myriad applications, the built in iPod function (I still say 'Walkman' when referring to my 'portable music device'), email, internet browsing with 3G, text messaging and of course standard phone calls - the battery life of said iPhone won't last very long, barely half a day. It is good news then that California based technology licensing company Rambus has introduced a "ground breaking technology development effort to develop a high-bandwidth, low-power memory architecture for next generation mobile applications".

The  Mobile XDR should increase both performance speed and battery life, "operating at a data rate of up to 4.3Gbps" allowing 17Gb/s of bandwidth. This technology provides scope for all mobile devices including tablets and netbooks whilst also providing developers with the opportunity to create cutting edge applications and mobile content that can employ stereoscopic 3D HD video and gaming. Sweet.

For your eyes - it gets deep:



Source: Mobile Magazine

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New 'Shutter Island' Clip

This new Shutter Island clip is Spookie like Fox Mulder ...

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Ikonika

Ikonika is an artist I am paying close attention to this year. 

As a creator of dubstep, experimental garage beats, and as she proclaims - 130-140bpm mutations; Ikonika has got me itching to hear her debut album released on UK label Hyperdub 6th April 2010. The only taster is a cheeky, amazingly sublime track called The Idiot:

I'll leave it to the critics to big her up and paint word pictures:

DJ Mag:
"If Bjork made dubstep instrumentals, this is what might come out" 

The Guardian:
"Ikonika melds the genre's juddering bass with Aphex Twin-style melodic mischief" 

NME: 
"Another extraordinary Hyperdub artist is Ikonika" 

Pitchfork: 
"A production style that seems to be approaching synth melodies in an original way" 

Ikonika live in the mix says it all:

Ikonika @ Unsound Festival, Krakow, 24/10/09 from n0ir on Vimeo.

Ikonika Facebook
Ikonika Twitter
Ikkonika Fenchurch Exclusive Mix Download

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