"DreamTime" Alarm Clock.

From Austrian design studio Vera Wiedermann comes the “Dreamtime” Alarm Clock which adds a certain whimsy to one’s sleep ritual and waking routine. Crafted out of copper and glass, and filled with water, the clock sees the passage of time occur silently. As the drops of water fall, the glass bowl becomes lighter and finally lets the hammer fall.

Dreamtime - alarm clock from Vera Wiedermann on Vimeo.

Cassette:

A few months ago, the term “cassette tape” was taken out of the Oxford English Dictionary. As recorded sound continues its love affair with the downloadable, ethereal digital file, the tangible artifact is quickly becoming a thing of the past. CASSETTE: A Documentary Film about the Cassette Tape from filmmakers Zack Taylor and Seth Smoot aims to shed a much needed light on a medium that brought so much joy to music purveyors over the years. After receiving kind words about the project from some notable folks at Sundance, Taylor and Smoot are currently raising funds via Kickstarter where they hope to reach their $25,000 goal.

NOWNESS: Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst: On the Spotfrom Matt Black on Nowness.com.

Upon recently sitting down with world-renowned artist Damien Hirst, filmmaker Matt Black and NOWNESS were fortunate enough to delve inside the mind of the British painter regarding his infamous spot paintings. Just as any individual, and more specifically creative people in general, Hirst has undergone many transitions regarding his beliefs, thoughts and motivations surrounding his artwork. Bred upon a mentality to break away from the accustomed rules and regulations built by previous artists, the esteemed phenom has cultivated quite an impressive body of work, building an army of artists to produce his masterful pieces of art, albeit warranting direct criticism at times.

Apple iPad 3 in March.

New rumors around the next generation iPad by Apple have surfaced. The release date is apparently set for March 2012. Bloomberg reports that manufacturers of the device want to reach full capacity for the iPad 3 in February.

“The tablet will use a quad-core chip, an enhancement that lets users jump more quickly between applications, two of the people said.
The Cupertino, California-based company has been working on making the iPad compatible with a wireless standard called long- term evolution, or LTE, said one of the people. Carriers such as Verizon Wireless (VZ) and ATT Inc. (T) are rolling out LTE networks to give users faster access to data. Apple is bringing LTE to the iPad before the iPhone because the tablet has a bigger battery and can better support the power requirements of the newer technology, said one of the people.
The new display is capable of greater resolution than the current iPad, with more pixels on its screen than some high- definition televisions, the person said. The pixels are small enough to make the images look like printed material, according to the person. Videos begin playing almost instantly because of the additional graphics processing, the person said.”

This all sounds pretty promising, so a little more wait and we will know more. We will of course keep you posted.

Moonrise Kingdom!

One of my most anticipated films of the year now has a trailer and I’m over the moon about it. The film is Moonrise Kingdom, the latest from the great Wes Anderson. It stars Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Jason Schwartzman in the story of two twelve year olds (Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward) who fall in love and run away into the woods leaving an entire community on the lookout.

Upon welcoming his newborn baby girl into the world over the weekend, proud father Jay-Z lets loose a new track titled “Glory,” seemingly dedicated to B.I.C., Blu Ivy Carter. The single highlights Pharrell Williams on the hook, as Hov spits several bars directed at he and Beyoncé’s prized little one.

Samsung 7 & 9 Monitors

Samsung is set to release two brand new high-end monitors later this spring. Featuring the 24″ and 27″ Series 7 and the 27″ Series 9, the monitors boast vastly improved color calibration alongside networked streaming via new Mobile High-definition Link technology. The Series 7 will house two USB 3.0 ports, VGA and HDMI connectivity, 7W stereo speakers, a built-in TV tuner, Intel WiDi and 1080p resolution, while the Series 9 couples Samsung’s “Natural Color Expert” technology with PLS panels for a 2560 x 1440 resolution offering over one billion colors. The monitors are set to debut at CES 2012 from January 10-13 and go on sale to the public beginning in March for $550, $600, and $1,200 USD, respectively.

You Can Do It Too.

In the fall semester of 2006, Student Hip-Hop Organization was founded at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. Since then, it has branched to surrounding universities and has played an integral part in Virginia’s hip-hop scene while cultivating the minds of their campuses and communities.

The organization is known for its quality, independent spirit, and most importantly, authenticity. It has become an institution and creative platform for students and artists to gain experience and find opportunity in their individual passions. SHHO strives to promote higher learning through hip-hop.

The organization has selectively worked with the best up-and-coming artists, hip-hop legends, like-minded companies, and passionate student – talents all who have established SHHO as an organic uncompromising brand.

Punk'd is Returning.

When MTV mutated from a music tv channel to a reality soap channel we were certainly not very excited. One of the very few shows that we did check out every once in a while was Punk’d. During its New Year’s Eve program, MTV revealed that a new season of the celebrity hidden-camera series will premiere on March 19, 2012.

Ashton Kutcher will no longer be the host of the show, instead there will be a series of guest hosts, including Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Kellan Lutz, Bam Margera and Dax Shepard.

“Unlike the original series, the new Punk’d will also offer a behind-the-scenes look at how the elaborate pranks were put together. Punk’d is executive produced by the show’s co-creators, Katalyst’s Jason Goldberg and Kutcher.” (Via Deadline)

If the new show will be worth watching, we cannot tell you yet. We will all have to wait and see in March.

Liberty Walk: Amusement Park

In a city that has birthed innovation for decades, we see car culture being led by Liberty Walk in a whole new appreciation for design with their compulsion of customization. Owner and car fanatic Wataru Kato started the autoshop in 1993, based off the simple proposition of bringing this massive culture to the younger generation through personalized means. With big brands such as Lamborghini, Chysler and Suzuki under his belt, Liberty Walk offers a video showing a preview of their work they’ve done over these 18 years. In addition, we get a glimpse of a self-produced car based off the classic Lamborghini aesthetic called the LamborMini. Stay tuned to see part two featuring Wataru’s own personal favorites.