Geek Chic

I like this.  Like a first-person-shooter but without the violence:

The Unfinished Swan – Tech Demo 9/2008 from Ian Dallas on Vimeo.

Thanks FormFiftyFive

Submitted for your approval: yet another rockin’ Brooklyn band: Dirty Projectors.

I first learned about these guys (or this guy, I guess — it’s primarily the brainchild of musician Dave Longstreth) when they performed one of the most kick-ass Bjork covers on Stereogum’s ‘Enjoyed‘ (which you should definitely download now! if you haven’t already — they cover Hyperballad)

Their new single ‘Stillness is the Move‘ which they played at SXSW (to deafening applause, apparently) is really, really good.  If it’s any indication of how their upcoming release, Bitte Orca (5/5), is going to sound I think we’re in for some good stuff.

Download your own copy of Stillness is the Move from Stereogom
Read about Dirty Projectors on NPR
Stream Dirty Projectors’ full SXSW concert from NPR
Buy a ticket to their concert/collaboration with Bjork to benefit Housing Works
Read Stereogum’s rave review of Bitte Orca

and thanks Stereogum for the low down, and for tons of free tunes

A few months ago a friend and I ventured up to Beacon on a whim (sort of).  She’d been traveling back from Seattle and had met an interesting guy on the plane — who told her about a store he’d opened up in Beacon, NY, and invited her to come visit.

Naturally, since my friend Liz is the adventuresome type (and the proud owner of a car), the two of us took a little road trip the next weekend up to this gentleman’s little shop.

(more…)

Kacie Kinzer, a student at Tisch in NYC, is working on a cool project called Tweenbots — little unmanned robots that can only move forward, but which have a destination that’s not in a straight line, and therefore depend on human interaction to get where they’re going (in this case, from the northwest corner to the southeast corner of Washington Square Park ).

Watch what happens:

Check out her site to get the full story.

And thanks, It’s Nice That.

Check this:

A team of eight surgeons at Brigham and Women’s Hospital performed a partial face transplant yesterday, which is only the second time such a procedure has been done in the United States, according to the hospital.

What?  I’m sorry?  Partial Face Transplant?

You learn the weirdest things on that ‘Captivate Network’ in the elevator…

Read the full story on Boston.com

I’m sure this has been floating around the interwebs for awhile now, but I just found it this morning and I think a) it’s hilarious and b) whoever did the editing has both a ridiculous amount of skill and an unbelievably large amount of time on his or her hands.

Without further ado Geek Chic is proud to  present the Bert and Ernie / M.O.P mash up:

What’s funny about the whole thing, I think, is that their voices line up better in this edited fake ‘music video’ than they do on Sesame Street (from what I can recall…).

For more kids show/Rap mash ups, see Unreality

I’m not quite sure what to say about this, but I think it actually looks pretty good:

In the same vein as Being John Malcovich, Van Damme plays himself — a past-his-prime action star, returning to his home in Brussels, and playing out his remaining career shooting more and more questionable B movies.  Until one day he runs out of money.  And finds himself in the middle of a real-life bank robbery.  Comedy and drama ensues.

I know what you’re thinking — Jean-Claude Van Damme? From Universal Soldier?

I know.  I had the same reaction.

The amazing part is — at least in the trailer — Van Damme’s acting is actually pretty good.  He’s actually funny and compelling — and overall the film – JCVD – looks really good.  It comes out on DVD on 4/28, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

Thanks for the tip VSL!