Tag: Batman

Five things on Friday #86

Things of note for the week ending August 22nd, 2014.

Things of note for the week ending August 22nd, 2014.

THE THINGS. THERE ARE FIVE OF THEM.

1. Annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year Finalists
There isn’t much I can add to this. The photos are, of course, amazing. These are just a couple of my favourites but the whole set really is worth ten minutes of your time.

 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 1

STRETCH.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2

TWEETING.

via Distractify.

2. Cap and Hulk = SCIENCE
Here is a three minute video explaining how the science behind Captain America and the HULK [if they actually existed in the real world].

Super interesting. Super fun. Super SCIENCE.

Speaking of superheroes…

3. The Phantom of Papua New Guinea
Have you ever heard of The Phantom? No, not that scary fella from the Opera. The purple one, from the jungle. The ghost who walks. The man who cannot die. Him. Once played by Billy Zane in a [terrible] film of the same name.

This guy:

Phantom

Yeah, you remember him.

He was in [the frankly awesome] Defenders of the Earth Saturday morning cartoon show, remember?

Right.

Anyway.

Apparently – and this is so random – back in the 1960s and 1980s, Mr Purple Pants started appearing on the war shields of the people of New Guinea.

The Wahgi people of Papua New Guinea have long made enormous shields from tree trunks, and have continued to make these shields as a form of ritual artwork. In the late 20th century, many of these Papua New Guinea highlanders began incorporating “new ideas” into their traditional works, so that shields bore emblems of football teams, beer brands, and, yes, the Phantom. Western comic books became widely available in the region after World War II, and the Phantom became a particularly popular character.

I picked this story up from iO9 and they’ve got a huge bank of various images of The Phantom depicted in multiple ways on said shields.

THE PHANTOM

It’s really awesome; I just love the idea that there were these badass warriors walking around with THE PHANTOM on their shields. ‘COME ON THEN! WE’VE GOT THE GHOST THAT WALKS!’ – or something like that.

4. Cyborgs

I know a cyborg. His name is Dan Lane (and it’s his birthday today – happy birthday Dan). His level of human/robot integration is probably higher than others but then again, if you know someone who wears contact lenses; they’re a cyborg too.

Do you know who else is a cyborg? Neil Harbisson. He has an antenna that comes out of his head specifically for turning colours into sounds.

Not kidding.

Go read.

5. Batman photo album
A bit of a superhero-fest this week (sorry not sorry) but I couldn’t not share this.

EItHIlD

Last week, someone posted this rather fantastic, 32-image photo set from The Dark Knight.

Specifically focusing on the interrogation scene between The Joker and Batman, the set is interspersed with quotes from an interview with Christopher Nolan discussing the work and effort that went into the scene, both from the actors therein and also the director of photography, Wally Pfister.

Great reading.

Great photos.

Great link.

_________________

Bonuses this week:

See you next week.

 

 

Five things on Friday #64

Things of note for the week ending March 21st, 2014.

Jaws

1. Retro Film Posters
I’m such a sucker for this kind of stuff. The Jaws one above is super-subtle but there’s a Die Hard one which rocks my face off and an Iron Giant one that makes my heart leap. Go look, and enjoy.

2. The Circle of Life
This National Geographic video of a jaguar taking out a crocodile has done the rounds a lot (so much so that by the time I saw it it was already an animated gif) but still, it’s so badass you just have to watch it again.

3. Eat Sleep Social

Eat Sleep Social

There aren’t that many social media blogs that I read regularly, let alone recommend. However Eat Sleep Social is one of the better ones I’ve come across. I do read it regularly and look at that, here I am recommending you do the same. Amazing.

Hop to it.

4. Batman vs Terminator
This is cool.

5. Life Improvement: Five Simple Emails
Every now and then, one of these ‘Improve your life in five easy steps!’ things actually makes sense. This is one of those times. Read it, and then do the hard part – make it happen.

And we’re done.

Well, nearly. Here’s three bonus things  –

Now we’re done.

 

Five things on Friday #55

Things of note for the week ending January 17th, 2014.

monster club

These guys could be the five things on their own, bless ’em. But they’re not. They’re just here because I think they’re darn cool. Right, let’s do this –

1. Lessons from a dog

Lessons from Dog

There are a bunch of these over on My Modern Met, but this one above is by far and away my favourite. I guess we can all learn lessons from a dog.

2. How Broadway has changed 
Alec Baldwin has a semi-regular column over on the Huffington Post and he is, in my opinion, one of the smartest and sharpest writers I’ve read in a long time, and a huge advocate for the arts. Yes he can be an offensive loose cannon but, from time to time, I enjoy him. You might too. This piece from last year, on why and how Broadway has changed so much is a great case in point:

A critic’s job is to evaluate two things: what you are attempting to do and how close do you come to pulling it off. Highbrow, lowbrow, Shakespeare, Williams, movies like The Hangover, movies like Lincoln, they all deserve the same fate. If it’s trash, then call it. But is it good trash or is the bar too low? Then call it. Is the piece ambitious and groundbreaking? Factor that in. But never say “why bother?’

3. The man who hugs LIONS
This video, from those epic makers and takers, GoPro, was published in November last year but for some reason only started to go viral get popular over the past week or so. If you’ve not seen it, it features Kevin Richardson – aka ‘The Lion Whisperer’ and… y’know what? Just hit play and see if you don’t end up watching the whole thing. It’s incredible viewing.

If you want to find out more about this work, or make a donation to help preserve the habitat for the animals in this video, you can at Kevin’s Lion Whisperer website. Give a little, it helps a lot.

4. Awesome Street Art is Awesome

sex

Found via ‘10 street art images you need to see‘ – to me, the above is just so pure; the colour, the stance, the casuality of it all. It’s just perfect. Weirdly, it reminds of this punk girl I used to date back in college. I wonder where she is now.

5. DOOMED
The story behind the it-was-so-bad-it-was-never-released(-but-wait-that-was-the-plan-all-along) 1994 version of THE FANTASTIC FOUR, is looking for support to help tell get the documentary put together.

It looks like a doozy –

Background // Support

Amazing. Fantastic.

Have a great weekend.

Five things on Friday #43

Things of note for the week ending October 26th, 2012

1. Worlds above the clouds
The above image is taken from a gorgeous photoset entitled ‘Magical Worlds Exist Just Above the Clouds’. And the whole set made me smile. So I hope you like it.

2. Batman 16
I’m behind a bit on Batman at the moment, but it has to be said – this latest cover is CREEPY AS HELL, and hella awesome for it.

via

3. Piano
Bonus friend action this week with a surprise visit by two buddies from overseas, Rob Keyes from Screenrant and Ryan Penagos from Marvel. They were over doing some TOP SECRET reporting on [REDACTED] and I went and met them (and Ryan’s awesome colleague Marc) for a good few beers at the end of their day.

Our destination? Piano.

Man I forgot how good that place is. You should go.

4. The Lumia 920 on AT&T
I really really like this ad. Not because it’s AT&T and not really because it’s the first TVC for the Nokia 920 either. I just think, for a 30 second spot, it tells a story of our time in an excellent fashion. So, yeah –

5. The London Transmedia Fest 2012
Anyone following me on Twitter on Friday would’ve seen a whole bunch of tweets using the #LTF2012 hashtag. Well, the London Transmedia Fest 2012 was the reason why. Some highlights –

And finally, my favourite speaker of the day was Pat Cadigan. Pat told a wonderful story about how the times in her life when she had nearly died. It was brilliant, captivating and just… delightful.

Favourite quote?

“Children are magical… Where do all the mediocre adults come from?”

—

Bonuses this week comes in the form of just a bunch of other stuff I’m reading –

– I really enjoyed this Louis CK / SNL article

– The wrong election date is on some Spanish-language voting forms

– Ghostbusters 3 has finally been given the green light, here’s the timeline

– Italy’s most famous drowned town (is there a top ten?)

– What is Drop 7?

– a breathtaking poem, ‘Sheep‘

—

Whatley out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Tailor of Gotham City

Ever wondered where Batman’s villains get their outfits?

Spotted this yesterday and it’s just awesome. A chap over on deviantart *drew this on his holiday* after asking himself that very same question.

It’s a fantastic premise and a brilliant execution.

I’ve snapped a few of the images, but you must must must read the whole thing.

Amazing work.

 

 

19 Batman things of AWESOME

So I’ve been hoarding a metric ton of Bat-related stuff for some time now…

And it’s about time I posted it all really.

Let’s do this –

1. Awesome Bat Converse (for me)

New shoes for moi

As spotted at the Converse store on Carnaby St.

2. Bat-leotard-tastic

For my Olympic gymnastics routine

3. Retro-Bat Dress FTW

For the girl

Both spotted at Lazy Oaf, Carnaby St.

4. A Red Carpet Giant Cowl of EPIC proportions

Red Carpet! :D

5. Holy Flaming Bat Symbols Batman!

6. Yeah, this is my Tumbler

New car

Yeah, I know. OK, so that last batch was from The Dark Knight Rises premiere… and yeah, it was pretty damn cool.

7. Nokia Maps 3D Gotham City

January 19th 2011. That was the day I first wrote the words ‘Nokia Maps: 3D Gotham City’ in my Moleskine —

Found it

July 5th 2012, this video dropped –

Then on July 6th, it went live. 18mths of hard work from a multitude of super-smart people and the dream became real. It still makes me smile.

8. Hanging out on the Batman set

Well, kinda.

The above image is taken form Batman Begins. It was shot on the grand staircase at the GORGEOUS St Pancras Renaissance Hotel… and here’s the GF hanging out on said staircase.

The Grand Staircase at the St. Pancras

Winner.

Ps. You HAVE to stay at this hotel. It’s one of the best, if not THE BEST that London has to offer.

9. Behind the scenes of Batman, 1966

Big up to Michael for putting me onto this. The photo above is great, but the rest of the set is awesome.

10. Amazing Dark Knight Rises Wallpapers

This is just one of many amazing TDKR wallpapers that are available to download. iO9 has the set.
Go, get!

11. Dark Knight Rises Reactions
I wrote a spoiler-free review of TDKR straight after seeing the premiere, but the film itself sparked a whole ton of various reactions, eclipsing even those inspired by PROMETHEUS.

To my mind, Comics Alliance posted the best collection of TDKR reactions to date. Seriously. My note on this one said — ‘Best post ever (may save back for a bat-post of some kind)’

12. Batman Maybe
A Batman-inspired version of Call Me Maybe? SIGN. ME. UP.

CONTAINS MASSIVE DARK KNIGHT RISES SPOILERS 

There are no words. No Batman-stache. 

13. Batman: Dark Knightfall
This super high quality six minute STOP MOTION ANIMATED Batman film has to be seen to be believed..

14. A Lego Tumbler? OH GO ON THEN

H/T Rodakk

15. David Cronenberg ain’t a Bat-fan

“I don’t think they are making them an elevated art form. I think it’s still Batman running around in a stupid cape… [A] superhero movie, by definition, you know, it’s comic book. It’s for kids. It’s adolescent in its core. That has always been its appeal, and I think people who are saying, you know, “Dark Knight Rises” is, you know, supreme cinema art,” I don’t think they know what the f**k they’re talking about.”

Fact.

16. History through Batmobiles

A quite frankly beautiful photograph, used to help tee up the Batmobile Documentary.. Amaze.

17. Super cool Batman Spray Can Art is super cool

I love this so hard

18. New Mondo Batcave poster

The mood (and detail) of this is fantastic. Good job.

19. Shanghai Batman

Shang. Hai. Bat. Man.

…and Bane.

…and Catwoman.

HIT. PLAY. NOW.

 

…and I’m spent.

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Five things on Friday #29

Things of note for the week ending July 20th, 2012

Breakfast @ F&G

1. Foxcroft & Ginger
…is one of my favourite places in London, the girl reviewed it recently (with input from me) and in doing so, reminded me that I need to create my own Soho post (in fact, I think I might have one drafted somewhere already). In the meantime, check out this Foursquare list that might be of use to you if you ever find yourself that way.

But yeah, be you at Boxpark or Berwick St, @foxanginger is for you.

2. The Nexus 7
I don’t have one (I’m an iPad 2 owner), however everything I’m reading says that it’s actually really bloody good. Not bad for £150 either. Even though it doesn’t have room for a SIM card (deal breaker for me), getting this kind of write-up for a long-famed Apple fan is a BIG deal.

For me, the key is the size. Again, I was skeptical at first, but for many situations, I’ve come to love the 7-inch frame. The iPad is brilliant when you’re sitting on a couch or camped out in a coffee shop. In my view, the 9.7-inch iPad is slowly but surely becoming a laptop replacement. I expect this to continue. But a 7-inch tablet is different. The iPad is clunky to read in bed, for example. The Nexus 7 is perfect for that.

Go read.

3. Item 47
I’ve written before about expanding the universe and while this isn’t exactly trans-media, this (unique?) kind of approach to film-making gets me very excited about Marvel indeed.

Item 47 is a ten minute short that takes place right after Avengers; it’s not exactly a spoiler to say that the aftermath of the end battle leaves New York in a bit of a mess and, well, some stuff gets left behind. Namely, item 47 (seen above). There’s a one minute short over on Screenrant, but the full feature will come with the Avengers home release later this year.

Outside of this general awesomeness, I really like what Marvel are doing here. They’ve already mentioned their intention to release similar shorts, or ‘one shots’, that connect their different films (Item 47 isn’t their first), and this cross-pollination is just cool. More please. Like Pixar, in fact.

Thanks.

4. Blog Topics
This could be a whole blog post in itself (and we’ll come back to why – and it still may yet) however, for those that are looking for things to write about, then you might want to sign up for Chris Brogan’s blog topic kick-starter project.

I’m lucky enough to have met Chris a couple of times now and he’s always been engaging and generous with his expertise. The titles of each of these email ‘modules’ has got me interested enough, take a look –

  • BTMC00 – Welcome letter
  • BTMCB0 – Bonuses – and the Tech / Reading List
  • BTMC01 – Your Promise to Readers
  • BTMC02 – Building Strong Habits
  • BTMC03 – The Magazine Building Crash Course
  • BTMCB1 – Interview with XXXX (it’s a secret!)
  • BTMC04 – Procrastination and Discipline
  • BTMC05 – Breaking Down What Works
  • BTMC06 – Topic Hunting
  • BTMC07 – How to Conduct an Interview
  • BTMCB2 – Interview with XXXX (it’s a secret!)
  • BTMC08 – The Conversational Tone
  • BTMC09 – Make Your Own Editorial Calendar
  • BTMC10 – Sprinting, Marathons, and the Awkwards
  • BTMC11 – Video, Audio, Photos, and more
  • BTMC12 – Money and the Blog
  • BTMC13 – A Blogger’s Media Plan
  • BTMCB3 – Interview with XXXX (it’s a secret!)
  • BTMC14 – Fastblogging
  • BTMC15 – Secrets I Have Learned
  • BTMC16 – Blogging Versus Book Writing
  • BTMCB4 – XXXX (it’s a secret, but really really fun!)

As I said, even if you’re just starting out and don’t have the £/$/€ to invest, those titles are a good thought starter for anyone. Nice work Chris!

5. Batman
This section was going to be about a whole host of Bat-related stuff that I’ve been up to this past week, but with the recent sad events in Colorado, it seems somewhat crass to be all excited about Batman right now.

I’ll save it all up for another day and instead, hand over to the The Dark Knight Rises director to take a moment to remember the innocent lives that were lost in this horrible, horrible way.

——————

“Speaking on behalf of the cast and crew of The Dark Knight Rises, I would like to express our profound sorrow at the senseless tragedy that has befallen the entire Aurora community.

I would not presume to know anything about the victims of the shooting but that they were there last night to watch a movie. I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime.

The movie theatre is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me.

Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families.”

– Christopher Nolan, July 2012

 

 

Review: Dark Knight Rises

No spoilers…

Dark Knight Rises Mondo Wallpaper

It’s here.

It’s finally effing here.

And it is EPIC.

There have been nay-sayers, there have been fanboys – cough – but throughout there has always been Nolan. Enduring Nolan. Amazing Nolan. Nolan and his unflinching commitment to delivering the best telling of the Batman story he could could possibly tell.

I am here to tell you that he delivers against that commitment.

Deftly wrapping up all the threads that were laid in Begins and TDK, Rises is a film of EPIC proportions. It’s Nolan and Bale, obviously, but there’s newcomers like Tom Hardy, Marion Cotilliard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt too, each splashing the film with their own shades of Inception…  but ultimately, this is Bane’s film.



Tom Hardy is excellent in DKR; knowing, knowledgable, physical – he owns the screen whenever he appears. Another great addition to the cast, somewhat surprisingly, is Anne Hathaway. I don’t know why, but I had my doubts about her role as Selina Kyle’s cat burglar from the moment her casting was first announced but, honestly? She’s ace. Returning to Hardy briefly before moving on, I’m happy to report that the issues with his voice (that were first reported after the 7min preview back in December), have been fixed and the character of Bane oozes through Hardy with animalistic strength and menacing determination.

Remember, for the Dark Knight to rise, first he must fall. And fall he does – in spectacular fashion. In Bane, Batman truly has met his match.

This isn’t the Batman that you’ve got to know through the previous two films, mind. First in story: time has passed [eight years in fact] and a lot has happened. Before Bale dons the cowl in this final chapter, we’re made all too aware of the damage that leading the kind of life Bruce Wayne leads can have. Second, in tone: the 160+ mins are of a completely different breed than what’s come before. Nolan has grown both as a director and storyteller and we, the audience, get a much more mature and visceral cinema experience because of it.

But let’s be clear, Dark Knight Rises is a film of endings. Not in a LOTR: Return of the King ‘lets-end-the-film-five-times-over-the-course-of-an-hour’ kind of way, but in a closing of chapters, tying up of loose ends and the release of deep, set tension and pain way. Whatever Warner Bros do with the Batman licence next, it won’t be a part of this universe, that’s for certain.

There are niggles, few, but most can be plastered over by the sheer courage of the director’s vision to create such an epic conclusion to this trilogy.

When the credits rolled, I cheered and applauded as the final pay off comes together, perfectlty.

See it.

Immediately.

You’re gonna love it…

 

 

Five things on Friday #27

Things of note for the week ending July 6th, 2012

1. Stunning Ocean Waves
These are gorgeous and I could honestly sit and stare at them for hours. Dreams are made of this. Click through, gaze, hear the waves crash around you and… breathe.

2. The 3 White Lies Behind Instagram’s Lightning Speed
Instagram is a great service (I’ve blogged about it before) but this post, from Fast Company Design is a bloody fantastic read, a must-read in fact for anyone looking at mobile code and/or best-in-class some good examples of smart UX programming.

There’s some great insights here (three, to be precise) and, for someone who has spent some time in mobile app start-ups, it’s excellent to see/read about some of the lateral thinking behind one of my favourite social networks.

3. Conversations with my 12yr old self
Best bit of UGC I’ve seen on the internet this week. Bar none.

Yes, it’s gone an annoying ad on the front. But hey, that’s what happens when stuff goes big. Just watch it, and be amazed.

 4. Vodafone + BT Openzone access
If you have an iPad with Vodafone, apparently you get free access to a wealth BT Openzone WiFi hotspots all over the country.

The funny things, not many seem to be able to get it to work. Including me. This is a guest post over for Mobile Industry Review, go check it out.

5. Batman on a Pizza Hut
Exactly what it says on the tin. And I love it.

Exactly what it says on the tin

Via

Bonuses this week; Five things on Friday is on a Thursday in Qatar, thanks to my friend Tarek; additionally, this digital hipster has inspired others too; and – when things move to the next stage – this poster is going on every single wall I can find.

 

Until next time…