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Uber’s self-driving cars in SF How long before they make it to Chicago
(from techcrunch.com)
Uber’s self-driving cars are making the move to San Francisco, in a new expansion of its pilot project with autonomous vehicles that will see Volvo SUVs outfitted with sensors and supercomputers begin picking up passengers in the city. (MORE HERE)
Lots of trust issues at play here and considering most modern GPS is unable to navigate Lower Wacker I doubt we need to worry about these self-driving cars coming to Chicago anytime soon.
New Chicago-Based App Could Help Soothe Winter Parking Woes
(from chicagoist.com)
Winter is in full, frigid swing, which means that parking—even more than usual—is squarely on the brain. Remnants of the weekend blizzard have been more or less shoveled out of the way, but the dibs vs. no-dibs debate has nevertheless re-raged, especially among those poor souls without off-street parking (i.e. most of us).
But a relatively new Chicago-based startup, ParqEx, has been working on a workaround. The app, which is headquartered in the West Loop and launched last year, allows users who have an unused parking space to it rent it out to those who need one, thereby sparing us all the indignity of so many patio-set-strewn streets. (MORE HERE)
This app looks cool and might be really great, but I have to say I’m a bit disappointed that it’s not just a kid and his little brother willing to save your spot for an hour for $5. Also “ParqEX” sounds so sophisticated, THE DIBS APP would’ve been everything!!
R.I.P Alan Thicke
2016 claimed another one. Alan Thicke passed away at 69. Apparently he had a heart attack while playing hockey with his son. The Hollywood Reporter has more HERE.
Od course you know him best from “Growing Pains” but Alan Thicke had quite the music career going as well. He wrot the themes for “Different Strokes,” “The Facts of Life and more.
And who can forget his 80’s hit “Sweaty and Hot.” (I had no idea this existed either.)
RIP to North America’s dad.
@TheLouLombardo
Snapchat introduces Groups with up to 16 people, plus new creative tools
(from techcrunch.com)
Snapchat has added some new features, including Groups, a new group chat that lets up to 16 friends share conversation and media. Group chats self-delete after 24 hours by default, and Snaps sent within a group can be opened only once, and replayed only once, by each member of the group, just like a regular Snap. (MORE HERE)
As long as I’m not forced to wear the Snapchat goggles I’m happy!!
My prediction for the future: INSTAGRAM WILL BE THE ONLY APP. Think about it. IG adapts (steals) every feature of other apps. Video, Stories, now you can go LIVE. All ideas taken from Vine, Snapchat and Facebook. It’s only a matter of time. YouTube, you’re next!!
‘Star Wars Holiday Special’ is the worst Christmas special ever
Youtube movie guru Chris Stuckman reviews it all with original footage in his his ‘Hilarocity’ series. Beware some NSFW language in the video above.
It’s almost Christmas and most of humanity is also pumped about the release this week of a new Star Wars film, ‘Rogue One’ so that’s good right? This reminds me that we should never forget the pop culture disasterpiece that is the ‘Star Wars Holiday Special’. Yes, you may have heard about it and feared how it insults that galaxy far, far away so you avoided but yet you clicked here.
It is without a shadow of a doubt, the worst thing to ever have the ‘Star Wars’ name attached to it. No matter what your opinion may be on the sci-fi blockbuster film series which has spawned billions in merchandise and spin-off content but among those faithful to the Force, they all know this thing is the worst. Most SW fans would rather be thrown into the Sarlacc pit if it meant they could avoid a repeat viewing of this ‘show’. George Lucas himself, has said publicly that he wished this special was never made or released to the public.
The ‘Star Wars Holiday Special’ aired only once on CBS in November 1978 on the wave of popularity after the first film, and it featured the major stars of the original trilogy including Harrison Ford, Mark Hammil, and Carrie Fisher. It doesn’t appear like these actors are excited to be there, based on their on-screen performances. Fisher sings a song that is dreadfully awkward. Ford performs like he’s waiting in a dentist office. And Hammil has a scene where he speaks directly into the camera with his face looking like a Ken doll for some reason.
Milwaukee’s favorite movie maniacs Red Letter Media roasted the SW Holiday Special in this Best of the Worst episode. NSFW language!
And then a parade of C-listers from late 70’s like Art Carney, Bea Arthur, Jefferson Starship, and Harvey Corman. The real meat of this dumpster fire on television is performed by Wookies. Yep, Chewbaca’s family is the focus of this special while they just speak to each other in unintelligible language without subtitles. They then pitched to various segments that all involve someone looking at a screen, so a lot of people basically Skype with each other in costumes.
The overall story is pretty thin as Chewbacca is trying to make it back to his home planet for outer-space Chrismtas which is called “Life Day” with the Empire chasing after Han Solo and him in the Millennium Falcon. Then from there it’s just this all-over-the-place mash-up of weird cameo scenes, spliced-in footage from the actual movie, cringe-worthy comedy, and songs that sound like they were not good enough for an way-off-Broadway musical. The only worthwhile piece from this might be the first appearance of Boba Fett, the bounty hunter who helped bring in Han Solo in the films and has grown to have his own dedicated fan base within the SW universe. He appears in a brief animated segment.
If you want to punish yourself with this special, beware.
Worst Christmas Song Ever?
I was fighting my way through a toy store yesterday. It felt like it was 100 degrees. The store was packed and they had nothing but Christmas music blasting. I was putting up with it until this come on. I honestly believe this is the worst Christmas song I’ve come across. So, please enjoy Cindy Lauper’s “It Feels Like Christmas.”
…I’m sorry.
@TheLouLombardo
New Taco Place In Old Town
(from chicago.eater.com)
OLD TOWN— The second iteration of Broken English Taco Pub has opened. It’s a collaboration between Phil Stefani, Adolfo Garcia and Carmen Rossi. Carmen Rossi owned the former concept, Pomp & Circumstance, and partnered with Stefani and Garcia so they could manage the space. The upstairs and patio area aren’t ready, but check out the cool mural. Status: Opening tonight, 1400 N. Wells St. (MORE HERE)
I love their location in downtown off of Michigan Ave. 75 E Lake St, Chicago, IL 60601 They use local muralist JC Rivera aka BEAR CHAMP for some of their pieces. Their downtown location could use a better selection of music…ahem… Other than that I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve experienced so far. – Marconi
Holidays Gift Items That Make It Look Like You Tried
(from chicagoist.com)
The holidays are here, meaning your arsenal of emergency gifts needs to be handy. You know, for unplanned visitors, like your Aunt Martha and that coworker that you didn’t actually expect to give you a gift (“Thanks! Who are you again?”).
Not that you should browse this list just to prepare for those awkward situations. These are all items worth snagging to present as thoughtful gifts to friends…or yourself, because you’d actually want these babies too. Check them out below:
Dripo 2-in-1 Cold Brew Coffee Maker
Who doesn’t love a great cup of cold brew? The Dripo 2-in-1 Cold Brew Coffee Maker not only makes the perfect mug, it’s portable too. Perfect for those days when you might be rushing to the office, or if you need an easy pick-me-up on the trails. Just add coffee, a filter, and water — and two hours later, you’ll be happily caffeinated.
Buy now: Get the Dripo 2-in-1 Cold Brew Coffee Maker for $28.95, marked down from the usual $39.95.
Bring the party to the party with this portable Mini Flip Cup Set. Relive your college glory days without (as much) of the mess with controlled flippers, which will let you go easy on that trigger finger. Line up eight mini cups for a 4×4 game, and watch things start to get interesting.
Buy now: Get the Mini Flip Cup Set for $49.99, marked down from the regular $59.99.
Cat Wine Is A Thing That Exists
Have you ever wanted to buy your cat wine so you can be silly bbs together? I did and this happened. pic.twitter.com/EvjnC4ZBIz
— Anna Akana (@AnnaAkana) December 12, 2016
Anna is one of my favorite YouTubers!! Check out her internet films at YouTube.com/AnnaAkana
Queued Up #206
1. Highly Suspect – My Name Is Human
2. Joseph – White Flag
3. Artificial Pleasure – I’ll Make It Worth Your While
4. Phantogram – Same Old Blues
5. Glass Animals – Pork Soda
6. Mondo Cozmo – Shine
7. Japandroids – Near To The Wild Heart Of Life
8. Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam – In A Black Out
9. Twenty One Pilots – Heavydirtysoul
10. Love Thy Brother – Love Me Better feat. Ariel Beesley
11. Cage The Elephant – Cold Cold Cold
12. A Tribe Called Quest – We The People
13. Mainland – Empty Promises
14. Strand of Oaks – Radio Kids
1. Bleeker – Highway
2. Silversun Pickups – Latchkey Kids
3. The Jesus and Mary Chain – Amputation
4. Kongos – The World Would Run Better
5. American Authors – I’m Born To Run
6. The Orwells – They Put a Body In The Bayou (Local)
7. Blaenavon – My Bark Is Your Bite
8. Rag\’n\’Bone Man – Human
9. Panic! At The Disco – Death Of A Bachelor
10. Sundara Karma – She Said
11. Missio – Twisted
12. Imagine Dragons – Levitate
13. Cemetery Sun – Fake Love
14. Kaleo – All The Pretty Girls
15. Night Riots – Nothing Personal
12.11.16 – Alt_Backspace
1. Radiohead – Paranoid Android
2. The Police – Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
3. Rancid – Ruby Soho
4. Third Eye Blind – Graduate
5. The Jam – A Town Called Malice
6. Beastie Boys – Hey Ladies
7. Lemonheads – It’s a Shame About Ray
8. The Cure – Pictures Of You
9. The Vapors – Turning Japanese
10. Liz Phair – Supernova
11. Pearl Jam – Dissident
12. Translator – Everywhere That I’m Not
13. The Clash – I Fought The Law
1. Blink 182 – Adam’s Song
2. The Smiths – Panic
3. Hole – Malibu
4. Live – Selling The Drama
5. Depeche Mode – World In My Eyes
6. R.E.M. – (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville
7. Catherine Wheel – Crank
8. Psychedelic Furs – Pretty In Pink
9. Weezer – Surf Wax America
10. Nine Inch Nails – Down In It
11. Candlebox – Far Behind
12. Peter Murphy – Cuts You Up
13. Elastica – Connection
Taking Back Sundays – 12.12.16
1. Blink 182 – I Miss You
2. Blink 182 – Up All Night
3. Blink 182 – She’s Out Of Her Mind
4. Alkalline Trio – Stupid Kid
5. We The Kings – Say You Like Me
6. Dashboard Confessional – Hands Down
7. Twenty One Pilots – Holding On To You
8. Twenty One Pilots – Fairly Local
9. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens
10. Metro Station – Shake It
11. 3OH!3 – Don’t Trust Me
12. Fountains Of Wayne – Stacy’s Mom
13. Jimmy Eat World – The Middle
14. Jimmy Eat World – Sweetness
15. Jimmy Eat World – Sure and Certain
16. Plain White T’s – Hey There Delilah
17. Coheed and Camria – A Favor House Atlantic
Ryan Reynolds wants to do a Wolverine/Deadpool movie
Ryan Reynolds warmed the hearts of many movie goers in 2016 with his foul-mouthed mutated anti-hero ‘Deadpool’ in one of the best superhero films in recent memory. The movie features some nods to another Marvel bad-ass, Wolverine who has long been played by Hugh Jackman who is set to release his final flick as the metal-clawed conflicted X-Man with ‘Logan’ in March 2017. Reynolds though stirred the pot recently, when he made it clear in a recent chat with Entertainment Weekly that he wants to do a Deadpool/Wolverine movie and hopes to get Jackman to stick around for the hypothetical all-star team-up film.
“I want Deapdool and Wolverine in a movie together. What we’re gonna have to do is convince Hugh. If anything, I’m going to need to do what I can to get my internet friends back on board to help rally another cause down the line.” said Reynolds. Yeah, I know it’s makes my inner-nerd salivate like a dog waiting for a steak come off the grill. I believe us the fans out here, reading this are Ryan’s “internet friends” so hopefully we can answer his call. Reynold previously got test-footage of Deadpool buzzing online so well a while back, it forced the film into production.
Wolvie and Deadpool have tangled on the big screen before, in the lackluster ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ which depicted ‘the Merc with a Mouth’ as more of a super-weapon creature and not a super-weapon smart-ass with a lot of fun wisecracks and charisma. It didn’t feel nearly as special this potential super-buddy adventure could be. Still if Jackman wants to hang up his claws after playing the character for so long, who can blame him right?
Reynolds and Jackman get a long pretty well in this fun video where Reynolds fumbles an interview with Jackman and it’s just delightful. Can we get this movie please?!
Bank glitch allows man to spend $1.3 million
You know how sometimes you are at a vending machine buying a bag of chips, you put your money in, and for whatever reason, two bags of chips fall into your hungry grasp? Yeah, you don’t say anything. You just double down on those Cheetos for fate has graced you with something extra, right? There was a similar situation that occurred a couple of years ago in Australia with a man named Luke Moore, who reportedly took out $1.3 million after already over drafting thousands of dollars on his bank account while broke in law school. There was a glitch with his bank, and he simply never reported the issue because the bank never notice or reached out to him.
Moore went on for several years as an international playboy, taking trips around the world, buying sports cars, art work by the artist Banksy and paying some of those bills that we all have. Eventually it came to an end, Moore served 5 months in jail but in a surprising appeals court ruling on December 1st, he was released from prison on what was expected to be a 6 year sentence. Yes, he got out. The court ruled that Moore was “had not been deceptive” because the bank had made no effort to stop him on his spending spree.
Read the whole million dollar tall tale at Gizmodo.
The obvious question is what would you do with a random drop of a million dollars into your bank account on a glitch like this? Would you spend a bit before saying something to your bank?
Early reactions to ‘Rogue One’ are really good (NO SPOILERS)
So the most anticipated movie of the season ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ is days from taking over the pop culture landscape, so is it going to deliver the nerd-joy that we are expecting from the new series of Disney-produced George Lucas-less SW films? Apparently if you are a fan, you are going to love this spin-off prequel to the very first ‘Star Wars’ movie because early reactions (Note: these are NOT full reviews) are said to be very good coming out of it’s first public screening during it’s American premiere yesterday at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. I
“It was excellent.The new characters and story lines really engaged me. It reminded me of ‘The Dirty Dozen.’” said fan Chris Canole to Variety.
Comedy star Dane Cook is someone you are likely jealous of right now, because he was lucky enough to see ‘Rogue One’, tweeted his NON-SPOILER thoughts.
I just saw Rouge One. I’m gonna say it.. this might be the BEST Star Wars movie!! I can’t wait… https://t.co/CDs0CgmsnQ
— Dane Cook (@DaneCook) December 11, 2016
‘Rogue One’ is already predicted to be as successful at the box office as last year’s ‘Force Awakens’, Disney’s first Star Wars produced film.
Here is the latest trailer for Rogue One
The ‘Rogue One’ cast gets geeky on the Star Wars Show.
Chicago and surrounding area under Winter Storm Warning this weekend
The National Weather Service posted a Winter Storm Warning at 3 p.m Saturday for Winnebago, Boone, McHenry, Ogle, Lee, DeKalb, Kane, La Salle, Kendall and Grundy counties lasting until midnight Monday. According to ABC 7, a Winter Storm Warning went into effect at 6 p.m. for Cook, Will, DuPage and Lake counties in Illinois and Lake and Porter counties in Indiana at 6 p.m. lasting until midnight Monday. The snowfall expected is believed to be 6-8 inches. This will effect the Chicago city area mostly into late Saturday night, with snowfalls dropping on and off into Sunday afternoon. WLSAM.com has more weather coverage including updated radar maps.
So be advised when driving and travelling over the course of the weekend, with slushy roads expected and reports of cancelled flights at Midway and O’Hare already coming in.
Be safe out there.
The Lumineers Give “Blue Christmas” A Go
There are certain Christmas songs that just….(insert nails on chalkboard SFX).
I’ve never been a big fan of Elvis and his “Blue Christmas” song. But The Lumineers make it…better. Imagine, if you will, roasting chestnuts on an open fire while this tickles your ears. To me, this is a more than tolerable entry into acceptable Christmas music.
(P.S. — Roasting chestnuts over an open fire is a recipe for…exploded chestnuts and a ruined evening. Don’t go doing it and thinking you going to be all suave…because you won’t be. It will be tragic.)
Most Instagramed Cities In The World!
Believe it or not Instagram can put together a list of what cities have the most pictures taken of it. You’d think without a doubt that Chicago would be on that list, but surprisingly, we aren’t!
You can read the full story Here!
Where do you think Chicago should be on this list?
Spider-Man Homecoming Trailer!
Finally the latest reboot to one of America’s favorite comic books has its first official trailer! Check it out below and let us know what how you think the rest of the movie will turn out!
