We've seen plenty products both real and imagined that promise to improve on the standard power strip, but few as elegantly designed as this so-called "Multi-Tab" concept from designer Soon Mo Kang. Not only is it modular to accommodate as many plugs as you need, but each module also has its own release mechanism to eject the plug without pulling on it, and it would come with a set of stickers to let you label each plug for minimal confusion. About the only drawback is that it might not be able to handle larger plugs, but that's nothing a little fine-tuning can't fix -- optional brick modules, perhaps? Either way, you likely haven't seen a better video of a power strip than the one after the break.
Neonode has been keeping busy over the past few years, getting into the GPS game, smartphones, and even an e-reader touchscreen. Today it's a touchscreen of a different type, or rather a range of them, multitouch LCDs spanning from 5- to 13-inches. The suite is being demonstrated in a concept reference design called the zForce Pad, highlighting its relative thinness compared to competing products. The company is also highlighting the screen's lack of a touch-sensitive layer, meaning there's less sitting between you and your pixels -- except glass, of course. Neonode is also happy to point out that this non-resistive, non-capacitive touchscreen is being adopted by "Asian companies" but won't tell us which or when they'll be releasing product based on it. Cheeky.
When international audiences think of films set in Kenya, they think of scenes of poverty, unpaved roads, corruption and revolution. You don’t think sci-fi. Which is why female director Wanuri Kahiu’s latest film, a short that premiered at Sundance last month, made such a splash. It’s the country’s first sci-fi film ever to hit the festival, which sounds like a ridiculously slim record to win — but it’s one that’s culturally so important.
While often, Western film crews dash over to Kenya to make those films that look like the ones you expect, there’s not really a system for local filmmakers to make and distribute to an international audience. The success (read: $$$) of the South Africa-originated District 9might have changed all of that. Focus Features launched an Africa First short film program and foreign audiences may be warming up to the fact that the vast continent has more than one story to tell.
That’s certainly what Kahiu and her backers hope. Pumzi (which means 'breath' in Kiswahili) is a film that could have been made nowhere other than Kenya, yet which tells a universal story. It takes place 35 years after World War III, which we’re told took place as a fight over fresh water, in a community of Kenyans who have hunkered down to live below Earth’s dead surface. The story is told through the eyes of the protagonist, Asha [South African actor Kudzani Moswela], who is living in an enclosed underground community. The camera follows the Wall-E-inspired tale of an East African government employee who, when she finds a living soil sample, is determined to go up to the surface to find more.
Of course, having this type of tale set in Kenya is not only revolutionary for the image of Kenyan cinema abroad, it’s a revolutionary statement about race. Who says that the future is a country of stolid white males, with only the occasional black man serving as “magical” advisor (think The Matrix) or foppish showman (think The Fifth Element). Why can’t black women be kick-ass future explorers? Why can’t they be the government employees that control the world? And who says the world won’t be entirely black?
While it might seem like Pumzi is a departure from Kahiu’s last film, the feature length From a Whisper — a thriller based on the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam (which snagged five African Academy Movie Awards) — it’s also political. As Wirednoted, “Like recent standouts District 9 and Sleep Dealer, the short film taps into Third World realities and spins them forward for dramatic effect.”
In this case — a lack of water and fresh air, very real threats that could devolve into something like what Pumzi captures.
Film director Wanuri Kahiu is indeed visionary, as well as consciousness-raising, adding to her growing track record of her use of the power of film as a tool to express important topical issues in a manner that ignites reflection and hopefully spurs action.
Kahiu on Moswela
"She breathed into the film unimaginable softness and courage. She became the heart of my heart. Her interpretation of Asha and the story was painfully tender and through it new, undiscovered layers of the film came alive." Source
One thing I really love about Nairobi is that it is a place of possibilities. The excitement that this generation is creating and defining concepts, spaces and moments in our young history is palpable. A moment like this, a first, where a dream becomes a reality, paves the way for other dreamers, in that it feeds them the courage to continue dreaming. For we would be stagnant and stale without our dreamers.
(original article: sci-culturist)
Directed: Oxide Pang Chun, Danny Pang
Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy
Runtime: 110 Min
Country: Hong Kong
Language: Cantonese
Subtitles: English
Cast: Aaron Kwok, Ekin Cheng, Kenny Ho, Nicholas Tse, Charlene Choi
Imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1186371/
Japanese evil warlord Lord Godless desired to conquer China. He imprisoned a large number of martial artists and tried to make them subjugate. Among the prisoners were Cloud and the martial arts elder statesman Nameless. Wind came to the rescue. The trio was badly wounded by Lord Godless’s evil martial arts attack. Chu Chu was also knocked out when she blocked Cloud from Lord Godless’s strike. The remaining martial artists sacrificed their lives to save the trio, in the hope that the trio would beat Lord Godless one day and save the country.
Chu Chu was badly wounded and stayed unconscious. Cloud was filled with remorse and vowed to take revenge. Wind chose to take the evil way to quickly boost up his martial arts skills, so that he could protect the people. During his training, he met the girl who changed his life, Dream. Meanwhile, the troop of Lord Godless came to attack. Wind’s training was interrupted when he tried to save Dream from Lord Godless’s assault. After some killings, Wind ran away and disappeared....
Lord Godless took The Emperor in captivity and stationed his troops in Heaven Cave. Cloud arrived alone and started a combat with Lord Godless. Lord Godless had the upper hand. In the meantime, the half-evil Wind appeared and joined the battle. During the fight, they inadvertently discovered the secret of the sovereign. The real intention of Lord Godless’s invasion was related to an ancient tomb, a forbidden ground buried with the Royal family’s secret. The truth was finally revealed. At last, how would the battle end? Who would eventually rule over the country?
Review
A tempest of CGI clouds the vision of "Storm Warriors II" but is not enough to smoke screen the action-fantasy's lame plot and appropriation of Hollywood style, especially the grainy texture and buff males of "300" and the production design of the third "Mummy" film. Its December release recorded a moderate take of about $1.8 million in Hong Kong and about $6.6 million in China over a three-week period. Followers of the careers of directors Oxide and Danny Pang ("Bangkok Dangerous") may be tempted to catch this, but there is not enough authentic physical combat to satisfy the typical Asian genre film audience.
"Storm Warriors II" is a sequel to the 1998 Hong Kong mega-hit "Storm Riders," which made memorable screen renditions of the original comic's heroes -- free-spirited but righteous Wind (Ekin Cheng) and cool but competitive Cloud (Aaron Kwok). Each action set piece in the first edition derived its own flavor from being choreographed to mirror the characters' personalities and dramatize their rivalry.
While in the state of Washington he became one of the "photographers of record" of the then nascent grunge music scene. His personal friendships with Kurt Cobain and other members of the group Nirvana gave him unparalleled access to create a visual record of that iconic group. He also photographed other grunge era bands such as White Zombie, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Sonic Youth and the The Flaming Lips. All these photographs were compiled in a 1996 Simon and Schuster book, Noise From the Underground. One of Lavine's most known photographs is the cover for the CD Life After Death by The Notorious B.I.G., which was released fifteen days after Biggie's murder. The black and white photograph features Wallace standing alongside a black funeral hearse. In hindsight many saw this as portending his death. In another black and white photograph from the same shoot, Wallace is standing in front of row after row of headstones in a graveyard. Since 1988, Lavine has been photographing music and entertainment performers, landscapes, politicians and artists, as well as daily American life and everyday people. His style of bold saturated colors, dynamic and extreme use of lighting, and his awareness of what works graphically and what doesn’t, have made him a sought after photographer. He has also received awards from Communication Arts' Photography and Advertising Annual each year since 1992, as well as from American Photography, the Art Director's Club and Photo District News.
This year’s contest winners are drawn from nearly 70,000 entries—the largest pool in contest history—in seven categories: Mammals, Birds, Other Wildlife, Landscapes and Plant Life, Backyard Habitats, Connecting People and Nature and, for the first time, Global Warming. This new category features species whose habitats or behaviors have been affected by climate change. Along with selecting the two $5,000 grand prize winners—one each for the professional and amateur divisions—judges awarded cash and other prizes for the first- and second-place winners in every category in each of the two divisions. One winner was also chosen in the youth division.
Wesley Eggebrecht has a very unique style. A very obvious and heavy influence on graffiti and graphic novels- with intricate references to recent pop culture. Its no surprise he does graphic design for numerous companies on boards, t-shirts, etc.... the cusp of graphic design is in the hands of artists like Eggebrecht.
In a world of hipster poseurs that you too often want to punch in the face, Junya Watanabe is the real deal, a guy who knows it's not about swagger, it's about the glide. In this case, it's a bit Mingus meets the Mods. Un-vented, vintage-y looking suits in three buttons or double-breasted are cut tight and paired with wingtip shoes (and wingtip sneakers). There's a confident mix of fabrics and textures, all built for layering: denim with moleskin patching, waxed coats, corduroy topcoats in camel, andQuadrophenia-ish parkas in olive drab. In short, classics for the guy who appreciates classics, but digs seeing them reinterpreted.
Love this Flickr set from night photographer Troy Pavia. Shot at the Byron Hot Springs Hotel in California. Unsurprisingly legend has it that it’s haunted. The forboding use of reds, greens andbles dn’t exactly allay this feel. Good stuff, more highlights after the jump.
V Magazine have this month dedicated to exploring, in beautiful fashion of course the Plus Size model. Photographer’s such as the indomitable Terry Richardson and the beautifully high concept Solve Sundsbø have shot some great editorial.
Solve Sundsbø, also tackling the subject, goes for something a bit more sexy and lustrous, check it.
ONE SIZE FITS ALL BY TERRY RICHARDSON
Richardson’s uses the reigning Queen of Plus size modelling Crystal Renn (or so they say...), pitting her against a size zero opponent in a witty and provocative spread called “One Size Fits All” It reminded me a bit of the Zoolander walk off with the full on poses, and pokes a bit of fun at the pomposity of the Size zero/Plus size debate.
