The video science wizards of VSauce3 put the bone-crunching booby traps to the test in a viral hit video this week in an actual replica house from the classic 1992 movie ‘Home Alone’ that featured a smart-ass 8 year old fending off burglars on Christmas Eve. The movie had those memorable cartoon violence moments of a paint bucket swinging into Marv’s head, a torch burning Harry’s head, and of course crowbar cracking ribs when they were really aiming for tarantula.
While we are on the topic of ‘Home Alone’ here is our tribute video that we shot at our old studio in the Merch Mart last year. Note: the hat…yes, we got the hat.
Christmas is a time of getting together and giving gifts, so maybe it’s unavoidable that some you feel the season in full swing through TV commercials. The always-reliable Yotuber Channel Awesome delivered a delightful yet demented look at 12 christmas commercials that stood the test of time when we’re scrolling through the net look for those ‘member berries.
Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor tweeted last December about new music coming in 2016, and fans have been clamoring to see if he’ll actually deliver some fresh stuff before the year ends in two weeks. Well today, Reznor came through on his promise. The new NIN EP titled “NOT ACTUAL EVENTS” will come out direct from the band’s website on December 23rd via a digital download and “physical component” according to the band’s official website.
Here is the post detailing ‘NOT ACTUAL EVENTS’ release from NIN.com THE INTENTION OF THIS RECORD IS FOR IT TO EXIST IN THE PHYSICAL WORLD, JUST LIKE YOU. CHOOSING THIS PACKAGE GETS YOU THE DIGITAL FILES AND WE WILL SHIP THE PROPER PHYSICAL COMPONENT TO YOUR HOUSE FOR YOU TO DEAL WITH, WHILE VERY LIMITED SUPPLIES LAST.
TRACKLIST
01. BRANCHES/BONES 02. DEAR WORLD, 03. SHE’S GONE AWAY 04. THE IDEA OF YOU 05. BURNING BRIGHT (FIELD ON FIRE)
Joining Reznor on this album is his recent collaborator on several film scores, Atticus Ross. The two have been quite complimentary of each other’s dark perspectives on making thought-provoking art, so this should provide some exciting results on the first NIN release since 2013. Ross is now an official member of the band. It’s worth noting the website also notes this new EP will be “unrecognizable” in comparison to Reznor and Ross’s film score work.
And if this news didn’t energize you, NIN is also releasing “definitive editions” of their classic albums on vinyl.
The 3D Runners aren’t going to change the sneaker world. Not yet, at least. For now, the technology isn’t affordable or scalable enough for the mainstream shoe-buying public. The $333 price tag is simultaneously a nod to the technology that gave the shoes life and a reminder of its still prohibitive nature. But unlike the $700+ self-lacing Nike HyperAdapts that launched earlier this year in limited quantity, the underlying tech on Adidas’ new sneakers feel truly inevitable. (MORE HERE)
These shoes look amazing and everything but seriously WHEN CAN WE MAKE 3D PRINTER PIZZA??? Then I’d have a real reason to need these shoes to run off all the pizza dough.
New Year’s Eve was to mark the finale for Saved By The Max, the charming Chicago pop-culture pop-up that debuted in June based on the 1990s NBC show, Saved By The Bell. But here’s a morning announcement: They’re extending the pop-up through May and adding new menu items from chef Brian Fisher, who’s also killing it over at Entente in Lakeview. But the biggest news is that the pop-up will embark on a national tour after Chicago’s run is done. The dates and locations aren’t finalized, but Los Angeles should be an obvious stop.
Organizers Zack Eastman, Derek Berry and Steve Harris have now extended their run twice. Reservations for the Max have been booked solid for most of entire year, and it would seem the last six months have been stuffed with more than enough nostalgic ‘member berries to sate fans of Zack Morris, Mr. Belding and Kelly Kapowski. They’ve had celebrities, like Mario Lopez, stop by. (MORE HERE)
I still haven’t been. I really want to but Lauren told me when she was invited to the media opening night they asked her to check her phone at the door?? IS THAT STILL A THING?? Because…NOPE!! I’m sure it’s awesome though!! Love that it’s been so successful.
It’s a him, Mario ….on your iPhone! Nintendo released their first official mobile game exclusively today through Apple mobile devices, featuring the plumber like no other, Super Mario.The game is available now on iPhone, iTouch, and iPad. Nintendo will have the game available on Android phones at some point in 2017.
‘Super Mario RUN!’ is a vertical runner game that for a one-time fee of $9.99 has a revamp of all the classic Mario feels of jumping on Koopas and more on your smartphone. The gameplay looks pretty neat, but reviews are not saying it’s the be-all-end-all mobile game some might have expected. The reliable geeks of the Verge have a full review here . They say ‘RUN’ is not just “another automatic runner with a Mushroom Kingdom-themed coat of paint. Part of that is the look — a 2.5D visual style pulled from New Super Mario Bros. — and characters, items, and locations plucked from the NES and SNES era. But just as familiar is the specific sense of movement, the cleverly designed levels, the overall playful nature.Super Mario Run is a small but promising start, which is to say Nintendo, for all its innovations and creativity on its own hardware, is following the mobile gaming playbook to a T.”
IGN plays through it all in this detailed review covering the game play, graphics, and how the game delivers on it’s potential.
The biggest hangup about ‘Super Mario Run’ seems to be that the game is only available when you have an internet connection. IGN News has the info here, wher they explain why this is happening. This may hurt those of you who are careful of their data consumption or those not consistently tethered to a WI-FI network.
In the late ’70s, The Walkman made music truly portable. After the slightly wobbly CD equivalent, the Discman, we got Apple’s iPod and ultimate music-on-the-go goodness. Despite attempts with devices like the Sound Burger (watch it in action and want one forever), vinyl has never really been able to nail that freedom and mobility. Until now, that is. (MORE HERE)
Now I wish they would make a CTA train car version of this so I could combine my love of local Chicago trains and vinyl together.
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.
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!!
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.)
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!!
