Moon (2009)

Moon premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and is the first film directed by Duncan Jones. I recently got an opportunity to watch the movie and was blown away by its top-notch visual effects and plot. Actor Sam Rockwell is phenomenal as the seemingly insane lone astronaut (Sam Bell) aboard a lunar energy-harvesting station of sorts. As Rockwell's character's three-year-contract aboard the Moon comes to an end, he begins to experience strange events and begins seeing things that are definitely out of place.

Moon is a fantastic movie with a sensational and haunting story. Rockwell resonates emotion and I was hooked by the art direction and amazing atmosphere. If you get the opportunity I highly encourage a watch; it will leave you breathless and shaking.

Director Duncan Jones is not yet finished with his newly created future universe; he plans on revisiting the same timeline in his upcoming movie Mute; in which a woman's disappearance is investigated by her husband, a mute bartender. Sam Bell apparently will make a reappearance.

Check out Moon on RottenTomatoes.com

Download on iTunes

Purchase the Blu-Ray on Amazon.com

Watch Trailer for Moon

Promotional Image for Mute

Balti - The Album Before The Bomb

The "Tunisian 2-Pac" has just released a mixtape titled The Album Before The Bomb. Balti (Sidi Hasseen) is from one of the roughest towns in Tunisia, and has achieved international recognition due to his intelligent and meaningful rap and hip-hop. In addition to providing vocals, Hasseen also produces and composes for a multitude of other artists.

The mixtape and following album will both be released through Raw Phoenix Records. Balti raps in English, Arabic and French. Artists from appearing on the mixtape include Chace Infinite of Self-Scientific, and Infamous Mobb.

Download/Listen to the mixtape on iTunes

iShield Mirror

The iShield Mirror is the coolest iPhone case in stores. For under $30, you can buy this ultra-protective case. What differentiates this case from the rest is the mirror. When your iPhone is asleep or off, your iPhones screen is a mirror, however when you are using your phone, the screen is as clear and protected as it could be without any reflection at all.

Get the iShield Mirror here.

iDaft Console

Quite possibly the coolest the on the internet; the iDaft Console by Najile.com allows you to make your own remixes of Daft Punk's "Harder Better Faster Stronger" and "Technologic." The applet plays the background beats while you are in complete control of the synthesized voices.

It's very easy to use and ridiculously addictive. iDaft also allows you to link with Facebook, Digg, YouTube and Twitter. In addition, an identical app is available on the iTunes store.

Try out iDaft here

Download on the iTunes App Store (Free)

K'Naan, Wale & John Forte @ Boston House of Blues

Somalian rapper K'Naan is coming to the Boston House of Blues on April 1st with special guests Wale and John Forte. K'Naan released an album titled Troubadour in 2009 and has since toured very differently than his former small-acoustics style live performances. After his most recent album, K'Naan's live shows have had a greater focus on lighting effects and electrical instruments. He has also begun performing with big names in an effort to get his name out there. This show is expected to be no different.

D.C. rapper Wale is on-the-rise and quickly become a very popular mainstream artist. He has recorded songs with artists such as Kid Cudi and The Roots. Brooklyn native John Forte was commuted from a drug-possession jail sentence by former president George W. Bush in 2008; he has since worked on re-entering the music industry, and even recorded a cover of Kanye West's Homecoming with Talib Kweli.

Tickets are only available at the door, but for more info click here.

Download/Listen to Troubador on iTunes

Nintendo 3DS

Just weeks before Nintendo's next handheld is released (The Nintendo DSiXL) Nintendo has made an announcement regarding its 2011 plans to release the Nintendo 3DS. The handheld is able to conjure three-dimensional images without the need of color-glasses.

It was not officially announced how the system will be able to achieve this goal, but speculation points to the handheld's use of a front-camera for face-tracking. If this is true, forget about playing in the dark; unless of course the camera is equipped with night-vision.

The announcement is a strange one, coming just a week before the company's newest handheld; an enormous carbon-copy of the DSi. The last time Nintendo foraged into the world of 3-D gameplay was back in 1995 with the Virtual Boy. The release was one of Nintendo's few failures.

The video shows a game tentatively called 3-D Hidden Picture (creative). The system does not yet have an official release date, but expect it before March 2011.

Marvell Moby

The Marvell Moby is a tablet PC being produced by Marvell. The main difference between this tablet and other tablets being sold today, is the Marvell Moby is predicted to retail for only $100. The price alone will make this tablet incredibly popular. Even at this price, the tablet is still capable of nearly everything that the expensive tablets selling today are capable of doing. This tablet will surf the web, connect to WiFi, open eBooks, and do everything else that should be expected. The Marvell Moby should be available by the end of 2010.

Read more here.

Infinite USB

This picture pretty much says it all. The Infinite USB solves any USB port issues by making every USB head have a male and female connector. This means that you will never have to deal with the problem of plugging and unplugging USB chords again!

Read more about the Infinite USB here.

Moral Choices T-Shirt

Stemming from the 2007 game Bioshock, this shirt refers to the act of either "Harvesting" or "Rescuing" Little Sisters from the clutches of Big Daddies. The former resulting in murder and the latter resulting in the little girl being alive.

It's iconic, simple, and unmistakable by fans of the game; although your not-so-gaming-savvy friends might give you some strange looks. Either way, the shirt is being sold for $18.95 at SplitReason.com

Buy the shirt here.

Cardboard Record Player

This is a picture of a fully functioning cardboard record player. When the record is spun with the pencil, the vibrations of the record go through the metal needle and are amplified by the material of the corrugated cardboard. When the cardboard is folded, it is small enough to fit into an envelope. This project was a result of GGRP's proving its sound engineering capabilities.

Read more about this project here.

Dilated Peoples - You Can't Hide, You Can't Run

20/20 was not a typical album for Dilated Peoples. It was not assembled like a traditional album, but more like a mix-tape. A "greatest hits," if you will, of new recordings and tracks. Among them is You Can't Hide, You Can't Run; a phenomenal song with good rhymes and a better beat produced by member Evidence.

The album was somewhat of a flop and is a sour note among fans of DP, however many casual underground listeners loved the album. I highly encourage a listen, but do not take it as a good example of what DP can do. The album features guests such as Talib Kweli and Krondon.

Listen/Download on iTunes

Invisibility Cloak

It seems that "bending light waves" is the way to go about making something invisible in a 3-dimensional plane. Earlier this month German scientists were able to successfully hide a bump on a piece of gold. They did it by stacking "photonic crystals" in a wood-pile-like manner, and bent light around the surface's blemish.

The study of using "metamaterials" to bend and control light is referred to as Transformation Optics. It is a relatively new field that has many speculating that cloaking large-scale objects will be a possibility in the years to come.

For now, this small achievement with the gold is a very promising step in the future of Transformation Optics. This is an up-and-coming technology that has endless uses. Imagine being able to hide unsightly off-shore windmills, or being able to cloak special operations forces.

Lupe Fiasco - I'm Beaming

Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco is currently working on his third and apparently final studio album titled Lasers. The album is scheduled to be released sometime in 2010. I'm Beaming is the second single that Lupe has released, the first being Shining Down. That track has been removed from Lasers due to the not-so-hot response from fans.

Fiasco has been on tour with B.o.B. since early March. The "Steppin Lasers Tour" hits the Boston House of Blues on April 7th 2010. Buy tickets here.

Download/Listen to I'm Beaming on iTunes

Lupe Fiasco Lasers Art By ~Hella-Sick on DeviantArt

Antigravity Platform

Have a trinket (3 ounces or under) that you want to display? Want to display it in the coolest way possible? Have an extra 90 euros? Live outside the United States? If you answered all of those questions with a yes, then keep reading. If not, well, keep reading anyways. Internationally designed and tested, IWantOneOfThose.com presents the Antigravity Display Platform. The gadget uses electromagnets to levitate a metal disk.

Simply plug the platform in, place something on the levitating metal stand, and give the object a light push. Not only will it stay suspended, but the object will revolve indefinitely. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the future of display cases. Unfortunately, its only available in Europe right now. No doubt they will make their way to U.S. shores in due time.

The 90 Euro package comes with the large electromagnet (with built-in blue illumination lights), a levitating metal stand, and a globe for default display.

Antigravity Platform on IWantOneOfThose.com

Abbreviations.com

Aside from being a great time waster, Abbreviation.com is an extremely helpful tool. The site is simple, well designed, and allows for quick searches or in-depth exploration into the wide world of acronyms.

Simply type in the acronym that you do not know the meaning of, and the site will take you to a list of all common abbreviations using those letters. Alternatively, you can also type in random letters and amuse yourself with the often bizarre results. Here are some of my recent favorites:

DADS - Department of Aging and Disability Services

POOP - Pure Object Oriented Programming

GOAT - Geographic Ozone Assessment Technology

HAIR - Hardcore Alternative Indie Rap

Visit the site here

Xbox 360 USB Storage Support

According to Joystiq.com, Microsoft's Xbox 360 is finally scheduled to receive a firmware update that allows for USB mass storage. At the moment, Xbox owners are required to buy pricey proprietary hard drives to store their DLC, music, movies, and downloaded files. The update is scheduled for Spring 2010, and may pave the way for the rumored "slimming" of the 360 console. With the update, users will be able to download DLC, and full disk-based-games directly to the USB drive; however, the system will require the disk to be in the console for authentication.

Look for more on this at Joystiq.com

The Roots, Malik B & Dice Raw - Here I Come

This song, featured on the soundtrack to the movie Superbad, is from The Roots' seventh studio album Game Theory. MC Black Thought's quick rhymes and the song's rock-inspired beat earned it a place as the opening theme for Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. You can currently find The Roots working on their 9th studio album, How I Got Over as well as playing as the house band for Fallon.

Listen/Download on iTunes

Modern Warfare 2 Map Pack Confirmed

Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling confirmed on a podcast that a new map pack would be releasing on March 30th, 2010. The pack will be comprised of 3 new maps, and two slightly tweaked maps from the original Modern Warfare title. There was no mention of new weapons or perks. The DLC will be priced at 1200 MS Points, or $14.99. The price has many fans angry, since the original game had downloads for 4 maps priced at $7. Not only that, but many feel as though this download is simply 3 new maps and 2 "recycled" ones.

Look for Bailout, Storm, Overgrown, Crash, and Salvage on March 30th.

Tetris Furniture

26 years later, the world is still being influenced by the mind-numbing simplicity and fun of Tetris. These stackable and rearrangeable shelves were the idea of Brazillian designer Diego Silvério. When you think about it, the concept of Tetris-block furniture is actually quite brilliant; much like in the game, you can utilize virtually any space to your advantage.

I have not been able to find anywhere to purchase the pieces, but they would make an excellent project in wood-shop.

Another picture

Talib Kweli & Mos Def - Joy

Joy is my favorite track off of Talib Kweli's 2002 album Quality. Any time the Black Star duo are on a song together, you know it will be a good one. The samples used are light, jumpy and fun; reflecting the song's title. Kweli's rhymes are smart and Mos Def grounds the chorus nicely.

Look for Kweli's return on Reflection Eternal's upcoming CD, Revolutions Per Minute

Listen/Download Joy on iTunes