Fanmade Tron video

Impressive fanmade Tron video featuring the return of Sark/Dillinger. Just like the real Tron: Legacy, the dialog is painfully clunky and goes on for way to long. Via.

*At Toycutter: Custom Tron toys.

The reaction video for that Borderlands proposal

OK, if you missed it when I posted it this morning, here's a very funny wedding proposal video Gearbox created for two fans of Borderlands:



And here's the actual proposal video:




*Buy Claptrap toys at eBay.

DC created a super hero costume tailor shop in the real world

As the video explains, Mr. Lee's Tailor shop was opened in Madrid to create costumes for super heroes and villains. It was a promotion dreamed up by Leo Burnett to advertise DC Universe Online.

*Buy DC Direct action figures at eBay.

DON-8r the fundraising robot

DON-8r the fundraising robot:

DON-8r (pronounced “donator“) is a small, fund-raising robot that travels through public spaces relying upon coin donations from passers-by to keep it moving. Each donation not only helps to power DON-8r but also goes directly towards supporting a chosen charity.

Inspired by the increasingly negative attitude that many people have towards on-the-street charity workers, DON-8r raises money through encouraging playful and empathetic support from strangers and passers-by.

DON-8r has recently been wowing shoppers in Dundee, Scotland raising both money and awareness for Dundee Science Centre.

Designed to be re-branded to suit different charities, DON-8r provides a unique platform for charities to engage with members of the public in a fun and memorable manner.

The only problem is that people carry coins less and less... Via.

Wedding proposal by video game character

Kotaku:

Ben reached out to Gearbox a while back, mentioning that when he and Tora first started dating, he had to give her "the gamer talk," in which he explained his hobby and the fact it might make him incommunicative and emotionally unavailable for hours at a time. Tora's response: "I love Borderlands! Let's play!"

The video's very funny.

*Buy Claptrap toys at eBay.

Funny Portal 2 moment, Portal 2 in third person

If you go back after escaping Wheatley's first trap, he tries very hard to convince you to jump into the pit. Sounds like there's some great stuff down there.

Also, here's two videos showing Portal 2 in third-person (fyi, there's a childish, leering moment late in the second video, but it's otherwise very cool):








And while I'm at it, here's the every end of Portal 1 in third person:



*Buy Companion Cubes at eBay.

Old Spice Jungle Wilderness commercial

Take a tour through an extremely dangerous jungle in the Jungle Wilderness ad for Old Spice:

Wieden + Kennedy Portland’s new Old Spice campaign, ‘Danger Zone’, treks determinedly into the action-adventure genre with ‘Jungle’. The spot features a new Old Spice guy who will stop at nothing to meet his lovely lady. Shot on location in Auckland, NZ, Biscuit’s Tim Godsall directed and, in another winning collaboration with W+K on Old Spice, The Mill LA produced VFX.

“The big challenge was getting all that action into one spot,” says Robert Sethi, our VFX Supervisor/Lead 3D Artist on ‘Jungle’. The shoot included over a week of prep during which rehearsals meticulously choreographed encounters with a crocodile, jungle snakes, piranhas and a speeding truck . . . .

‘Jungle’s’ last scene features our hero emerging from a lake of flesh-eating piranhas, but nonetheless as cool and debonair as ever. Giles Cheetham, our Lead 2D Artist, explains he was filmed in his chic white suit with blue leggings against blue screen; they were removed then a CG skeleton was matched to his legs.

Via.

Link roundup

1. Someone uploaded Tron: Legacy to Youtube - - the full movie as one, two-hour video. This has to be by Disney, right? It was mentioned on Reddit hours ago, and yet Disney hasn't taken it down. Or does it take much longer than I think for infringing videos to be removed?

2. Recipe for Horseradish Cream Sauce (so good with prime rib).

3. Noxzema now has two fewer ounces than it used to, but comes in the same size container - - which features a false bottom to disguise the smaller amount of product.

How to make YouTube videos fill up the browser (also, my last Portal-centric post) (I think)

1. I've been trying to figure out how to do this for an embarrassingly long time - - to make a Youtube video fill up your browser window (but NOT go fullscreen), modify the URL to include the modified url "watch_popup". So, instead of this typical url:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43CL70JT4bY&p=74F4EBC14E0CABEA

Type in this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=43CL70JT4bY&p=74F4EBC14E0CABEA

Read no further if you're suffering Portal fatigue and/or want to avoid Portal spoilers.

2. I used this newfound tool to make a few widescreen wallpaper-sized screengrabs of GLaDOS, Wheatley, and the turrets:







3. Speaking of Portal, go here to download a simple companion cube paper toy.

4. And if you think the puzzles are just too tough, you can watch a full playthrough of the single and multiplayer campaigns in HD here.

5. Finally, here's a wiki devoted to Portal 2 easter eggs.

Citizen Eco Drive Satellite Wave + Appleseed

Start saving now for Citizen's Eco-Drive SATELLITE WAVE:

Debuting in Autumn 2011

Time from Outer Space
For 2011, CITIZEN introduces “Eco-Drive SATELLITE WAVE,” a limited edition watch with a totally new timekeeping system. This next-generation timepiece searches for the closest of the 24 navigation satellites that orbit the earth. It captures the day, date and time signals the satellite emits from space, 20,000 kilometers above the earth. Since the satellite signals are controlled by atomic clocks, this watch’s timekeeping is ultra precise. Each of the 24 navigation satellites orbits the earth once every twelve hours, so that this watch receives the signals from any open space, even in the boundless Western Pacific or atop the world’s highest peak.

The metal ring embedded in the glass bezel seems to float in outer space, like a satellite in planetary orbit. The round case, which appears to be independent of the lugs, suggests the image of the earth. These design elements resonate with the technological combination of light power and time/calendar data received from outer space to keep this watch on time, always. The spiral parts visible from the sides of the glass bezel are both a design motif, suggesting the radio waves that link this watch with outer space, and visible symbols of the light waves that provide Eco-Drive an inexhaustible source of energy. The three-dimensional forms on the watch face evoke the futuristic image of spaceship engines.

2011 will, thus, be the year in which time signals link wrist and outer space in an unprecedented experience. Eco-Drive SATELLITE WAVE will bring ultra-precise timekeeping to whatever human beings do, wherever they are on the face of the earth. It is purely powered by light.
Specifications
-Calibre H990
-Satellite Timekeeping System (Reception Area: Worldwide)
-Perpetual Calendar
-World Time in 26 Cities
-Ceramic + Stainless Steel Case
* The final design and specifications are subject to change without notice.
* Pricing and production volumes to be determined.

And check out the promotional video:

CITIZEN X APPLESEED XIII

This film is the result of collaboration between CITIZEN and the animated series APPLESEED XIII. Eco-Drive SATELLITE WAVE draws its energy from light and receives signals from navigation satellites to display accurate time. Through the medium of animation, one of Japan’s leading cultural exports, the film encapsulates the world view that inspired this watch.
Dawn breaks over Olympus, a solar-powered city of the future.
Time signals stream down from space.
The leading characters of APPLESEED XIII, Deunan and Briareos, sprint through the city. The hands of Eco-Drive SATELLITE WAVE on their arms move in unison as they receive accurate time signals from navigation satellites. Time signals stream down from space to every corner of the earth.

*Buy Appleseed toys at eBay.

Martial arts mishap

Pek Pongpaet did the motion capture for Mortal Kombat and is currently participating in an interview at Reddit. Above is a staff demonstration that went awry (5:06).

Here he is pulling off a "720 tornado kick":



And here's the Mortal Kombat 9 trailer:



*Buy Mortal Kombat toys at eBay..

This drummer is really into it

Passionate drummer - - he really shows his stuff at 1:26 2:57 & 4:29. Via.

Sleeping Beauty trailer

Trailer for Sleeping Beauty, which reminded me of Eyes Wide Shut in that it makes nudity tremendously unappealing:

Death-haunted, quietly reckless, Lucy is a young university student who takes a job as a Sleeping Beauty. In the Sleeping Beauty Chamber old men seek an erotic experience that requires Lucy’s absolute submission. This unsettling task starts to bleed into Lucy’s daily life and she develops an increasing need to know what happens to her when she is asleep.

Watch it only if you're in the mood for something creepy.

Julia Sweeney recounts telling her daughter about sex

Finally got around to watching this, absolutely hilarious - - Julia Sweeney recounts telling her eight-year-old daughter about sex.

*Buy books and CDs by Julia Sweeney at Amazon.

Nike's women's surf film

Leave A Message trailer for Nike's female surfers. I'm posting mostly because I liked the song - - Cassette Culture - We once had an empire (jungle fiction remix).

Red Bull kite-skiing

I've never seen kite-skiing and kite-snowboarding before:

Red Bull Ragnarok in Hardangervidda, Norway, is an endurance snow kite competition at Europe's biggest mountain plateau.

This isn't your average day in the park, the challenging 63 mile (100 km) long track has tough natural obstacles with huge mountain climbs and descents.

*Buy Red Bull at Amazon.

This hologram of a magnifying glass is awesome

Check out these holograms of a telescope and magnifying glass - - they seem to actually function/magnify. Via.

*Buy comics with hologram covers at eBay.

New Red Bull cliff diving videos

New Red Bull cliff diving videos:

Imagine free falling at 53 MPH down the sacred well on the Yucatán Peninsula in the dark. These divers really get tested in the depths of Mexico as they go from the bright sunlight into an incrediably deep well over 88 feet down.

Dramatic reading of a poorly written negative video game review

Hilarious dramatic reading of a childishly written negative video game review. Via.

New Humble Indie Bundle

Quite possibly my best purchase in 2010 was Humble Indie Bundles 1 and 2. And now, Humble Indie Bundle #3 (The Humble Frozenbyte Bundle), featuring Trine, Shadowgrounds, and Jack Claw, apparently goes on sale later today. It's a really clever ad, too.

If you have the option of spending a certain amount to also obtain bundle 1 and 2, you should jump at the chance. World of Goo alone is worth the purchase.