There’s art, and then there’s ART!

Now, in Nanjing China, you can buy a full size Transformer for $8,000. It’s not in “working shape” and doesn’t switch back into a car that you can drift race around downtown Beijing…but it still looks pristine, and in the collectible world, that’s all that matters.

Now, this wouldn’t exactly be a “lawn gnome”, but for anyone who is a fan of the sci-tech genre…this would look very nice in your garage next to that restored VW Gremlin, the Predator recreation, and the original life size Bionic Woman made of bubble gum.

The three fans, who grew up watching the Transformers cartoons and comics, started with parts from a Citroen C2, and sculpted, built, welded, and screwed together by hand someone they call “X2″ who is based on the Bumblebee and Jazz characters from the popular movie. It’s got a Chinese flavor, according to the makers, which can be seen in its more square head, based on ancient Chinese headgear designs. During the 3 months that they were building X2, the makers say: “Every time we saw X2 we felt like he was full of life, you could talk to him, and you felt that at any moment he’d start moving.” The three spent 50-60,000 RMB (~ US $8,000) to build him. X2 weighs more than 600 kg and uses original Citreon C2 lights and tires; the rest is hand-sculpted synthetic resin, glass, and metal.

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These aren’t autonomous robots, of course (so begone, you Terminator nightmares, at least for now). They’re standard-issue remote-controlled machines like Foster-Miller’s low-to-the-ground Talon, which has been put to good use in dangerous places for less-aggressive duties such as finding and neutralizing roadside bombs. That means a human operator well versed in the rules of engagement would make the actual decision on whether to shoot.

…”begone, you Terminator nightmares“, says you! Where’s the microchip hidden…when do they do away with the first law, why are we showing them how to pull the trigger!

I get worried when my first person shooter adversary in my consoles games learns the virtue of patience. No more waiting for them to calm down and walk causually around the corner as if they didn’t hear the explosion. If they can do it in Half Life 2, we’re only a half-skip away from bleeding out while hearing Flight of the Conchords play the exit music.

This allows me to segue into the new Bionic Woman, which premiers on Wednesday, September 26th. While certainly more high budget than something you might see on Sci-Fi, they’ve done an effective job of at least convincing me to watch the pilot, as they’ve marketed heavily to my demographic. They were at the comic-con, they’re all over the internet, they’re on the pre-previews at the theater. I get it. Bionic Woman is coming out…chill out with the marketing dollars.

Kidding aside…hug your children. It’s all over.

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Apple is dominating the market. As of today, they’ve realeased their most recent iTunes feature, ringtones.

According to Apple:

You can create iPhone ringtones from over 500,000 songs on the iTunes Store. You can even pick the section of the song you want. Just choose a track with a ringtone symbol, then get creative. You can edit, loop, fade in and out, preview, and play around until your ringtone is just the way you want it. And each ringtone is only 99¢ plus the cost of the song.

This, of course, is a kick to the jaw for the overpriced ringtones you can purchase from the service providers themselves, or one of the many independent websites out there. $1.98 gets you not only the song you want, but the section of the song that you want.

Amazing, however, that a ringtone costs more than the actual song itself….hmmmm…consumerism is an interesting beast. Dragonforce ringtones to the rescue!

According to ZDnet, there is an even less expensive alternative if you really are into the customized ring-a-linging:

Personally, I’d rather spend the equivalent of eight ringtone/song combinations on Ambrosia Software’s US$15 iToner and get unlimited custom ringtones. But hey, that’s me.

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I have read way to many articles on cow fart lately.  In Popular Science this week they had an article stating we should put garlic in the grass to stop the polluting bovines.

Here is at least something positive coming from out of cows stomachs. 

From Unknown Country:  

No, we won’t be propelling our cars of the future on gases derived from the rear ends of cows. Cows have 4 compartments in their stomachs. that the fluid in the largest compartment, the one that breaks down cellulose, may be used to break down the cellulose in corn and turn it into ethanol.

Researcher Rismani-Yazdi has designed a 2-compartment fuel cell that mimics a cow’s stomach. One compartment contains cellulose and rumen fluid from a cow’s stomach—which contains bacteria. As the bacteria attack the cellulose, it produces electrons which flow into the 2nd compartment as electric current. In LiveScience.com, Andrea Thompson quotes him as saying, “Energy is produced as the bacteria break down cellulose, which is one of the most abundant resources on our planet.”

He and his team started working on their battery design 4 years ago and have now reduced it to a quarter of its original size, although it produces 3 times the power of the original model. It creates enough electricity to recharge an AA battery, which is infinitely rechargeable, according to Yazi, “as long as we keep feeding the bacteria with cellulose.”

No where on here does it state how bad the batteries are going to smell…..

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SEPTEMBER 13 - 16, 2007 LOS ANGELES CONVENTION CENTER South Hall (J and K) LOS ANGELES

This fall, WIRED Magazine is bringing its vision of a new world’s fair to Los Angeles. Experience more than 160 exciting exhibits from scientists, researchers, and inventors around the globe. WIRED NextFest features innovations in communication, design, entertainment, exploration, health, play, robots, transportation, security, and green living.

Miss Disaster has been bugging me about this for months and I have never took the time to look at what she has been talking about. Next Fest seems like the coolest con/fest out there. It’s only 20.00 bucks, so count me in.

Also if you happen to be a Spoon fan….

If you buy a ticket for the Spoon concert on 9/10/07 at the Fonda for $20.00 you get a free ticket for the Next Fest, which is $20.00.  So if you like Spoon you get a free concert.

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While I’m sure it’s not a new story, it’s new to me.

One of my favorite local artists that I’m try to collect when finances allow is Aaron Kraten.

Art is infusing with technology more and more. What used to be a green flicker and a box, has now become the modernized Mac. The block cell phone…to the Razr and the iPhone. Style follows function, and we’ve got function down. The look and feel is quickly becoming as large of a sales point as the practicality. It’s gotta look good ladies and gent to tickle our little consumer brain. Why else do people spend one hour in front of a mirror to make sure they look like they don’t care about how they look? Aaron Kraten knows what looks good sells, and he truly provides a unique product, whether it be original works, shoes, clothing, or now, iPod skins.

A full time artist, Aaron currently works out of Huntington Beach, where he has produced numerous original works, many of which have been featured on the cover of Skratch, and inside Razor magazine. His original pieces can range anywhere from $100 to several thousand, depending on the size, subject, and material used. The iPod skins retail at GelaSkins for $14.95, and 5 of his designs are featured. In addition there’s a gaggle of different featured artists, and skins for not just your iPod, but any other computer device you might seem fit to decorate.

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People have long stated that the combination was over due. With such a “yin and yang” concept that is visible to not just us locals here in the Americas…but I venture to say the entire world knows this pair compliments each other much like toast and butter, marmalade and biscuits, criminal activity and the Australians…

I speak of course about none other than the thriving market of Nerds and sex…(*cough cough*)…thriving…

In an “interesting” attempt to tap into the “ripe for pickin” Geek market, Angel Kitty has released the $130 keyboard bra.

“Employing a new “bust touch” technology (according to machine translation), Angel Kitty’s kitty cat keyboard outfit mounts a silicon 85-key USB keyboard across the chest of the wearer. Though we can suppose some people might find a keyboard mounted on their person useful, this design appears to be more for the benefit of a second person than the one wearing it.”

I’m not a lady, but I don’t see it as exciting laying on a desk while a dude taps on my chest browsing the web for spoilers about the next season of Heroes…so dig into those overflowing pockets and fork out the money. Hell you can put it on your original signed Kristy Swanson doll from the movie Mannequin: On the Move, and have yourself a spectacular weekend worth of life affirming WoW (that’s World of Warcraft for the noobs).

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