No, that’s not Max and Ben in the above picture as you may have believed.  It’s first shots of the new Pegg/Frost film, Paul. Or is it Max and Ben?  I’m confused.  (slashfilm)

Here’s a trailer for the new Ben Affleck-directed film, The Town.  For a crime drama it sure sounds like a Stephen King book.  I mean, who robs a bank dressed as the Grim Reaper, seriously?  I wouldn’t be surprised if this film is set in Castle Rock.  (youtube)

Here’s a comicbook prequel to Inception, in case you wanna ruin every surprise in the movie.  (gammasquad)

First look at the Sucker Punch girls.  I’d let ‘em sucker punch me.  Only if I can donkey pun–okay, I’ll stop, sorry.  (iwatchstuff)

Someone finally invented eyeglasses that people can correct to fit their own vision.  It only took 726 years.  Seems like we could have solved that problem a little sooner.  But I’ll admit, I’m going to miss the test where they blast you in the eye with a shot of air.  (dvice)

A “teaser” (that’s being generous) for Tommy Wiseau’s new…film?  I’m not even sure if this is supposed to be real.  That dude is such a weirdo, who knows.  All I know is the title: The House That Drips Blood On Alex.  Way to be specific.  (atom)

Have fun exploring this little time waster.  It’s entertaining enough, but is this seriously what graphic designers and web designers are spending $50,000 on school for?  (nails)

Street Fighter-inspired Nike’s, eh?  I fail to see how a basic white or blue sneaker has any connection to the video game, but whatevs.  So what, purple sneakers are inspired by Grimace?  (albotas)

From the “I Learned It From Watching You, Dad” Dept.: digital drugs.  As in ’sounds that make you high’.  I’m coining the term “ear candy” right here, right now.  But of course, Nerd City provides.  Here’s a sample for you.  Come back tomorrow for more if you like it.  And don’t tell your parents where you got it, either.  (newson6)

America may be the land of giant, unnecessary foods, but China is definitely the land of giant, unnecessary what-the-fucks (and of course Japan is the land of giant, unnecessary gameshows).  Example: China’s life-sized Optimus Prime.  (slashfilm)

You know how sometimes you’ll come up with a clever/funny idea with your buddies, but then stop talking about it the next day when you’ve sobered up and realize how impractical it is?  The bottle-opener shirt is exactly like that, only the dudes didn’t chalk it up to “drunken brainstorming”.  Which they should have.  Because I implore you — nay, I triple-dog implore you — to try safely and easily opening a bottle of beer with the front of some drunk dickhead’s shirt.  Just sayin’.  (uberreview)

10 best movie swordfights.  I once knew a chick who loved swordfights.  In her mou–okay, I’ll stop, sorry.  (onlyknives)

Inspired by the release of Inception, here are a list of “WTF??” movies.  I think Speed 2: Cruise Control needs to be added to the list.  I’ve still yet to wrap my head around that bruiser.  (insidemovies)

5 Minutes to Kill Yourself.  I loved this game when it first came out, but now apparently it’s bigger and better.  You won’t find a better timewaster, I guarantee.  (adultswim)

I take it back: is THIS what graphic design students are spending $50,000 at school on?  The ABCs of video games.  (capinaremos)

And lastly, animals say the darndest things.  Like woof.  And meow.  And moo.  Shit like that.  Anyway, here are some pictures of animals doing what they do best: be haplessly cute.  (thechive)

It seems that Mattel needs to take a few pages out of French artist Nils Guadagnin’s book because he has created the closest thing to a real Hoverboard so far.  The fabled device debuted in “Back to the Future II”, along with flying cars, auto-lace Nike’s, inside out jeans, and “Jaws 19″.  This video shows just how awesome a job Nils has done reproducing what Mattel hasn’t (come on Mattel…this is a French guy we’re talking about!).

Direct Link to Vimeo Video

Unfortunately it’s more of an illusion of a Hoverboard than the real deal since it can’t support any weight and is tethered to it’s magnet base.  But look at the precision and craftsmanship when Nils pushes on it at the end of the video!  That’s how a Hoverboard should bounce.  With BTTF:II set in 2015 there is still time left to make this happen and not make the movie a liar about the future (sadly, it seems that “Jaws 19″ won’t make that 2015 cut…something to do with the shark not looking real).  Just remember that these boards don’t work on water.  Unless you have power of course.

Starting later this month, Nike will make available three new shoe designs based off of G1 Transformers Megatron, Bumblebee and Soundwave. These shoes will obviously be a limited release in the U.S. (available at Nike’s House of Hoops in NY) and Asia. Shoes will range from $100-$120 but of course once they sell out in a matter of minutes they will be much more on eBay. For more information and pics of the shoes, check out the original article at kixandthecity.com I think the coolest part of the shoes is that the box they come in represents the classic toy box that you would have seen in stores as a kid, which works well as you probably wouldn’t wear these shoes if you buy them.

Fresh from the newly released film, Back to the Future 2, you can now fashion yourself after Marty McFly from the year 2015 by owning your own styleish rainbow hat. Luckily one size fits all on this so everyone can own one. After this you just need the drying coat and fancy Nike shoes…oh and a hoverboard (which by the way, hoverboards don’t work on water….unless you got the power). Anyway you can pre-order your hat at amazon.com for only $25 bucks.

I can’t wait to see what adventures Doc and Marty have in the wild west when part 3 comes out.

This year’s 2009 Apple WWDC (World-Wide Developer’s Conference) kicked off with a bang this morning at 10am(PT) sharp with Apple’s customary keynote presentation.  The rumors of the new “god-like” devices that had been in serious overdrive for the last week were finally revealed to the public.  I was following the event from Gizmodo’s live blog which was just about the quickest to refresh I have ever seen.  Way to go on that end.  As for the juicy details to emerge from 1 Infinite Loop-some were good and some were pretty “blah”.  And there was one GREAT bit of news.  Let’s start off there and work our way down.

For me, the most shocking announcement regarded OS X 10.6.  Otherwise known as “Snow Leopard.”  It’s Apple’s newest update to their already slick operating system.  It’ll be packed with plenty of new features:  64-bit OS, about twice as fast at routine things like launching programs or files, a brand new design for Quicktime, and it’s actually a smaller install package than 10.5.  You actually get back 6GB of storage when upgrading.  Oh, and when is it available you ask?  September.  And the best part?  To upgrade your Mac to Snow Leopard will cost you $29.  Yes, under THIRTY DOLLARS for an operating system.  Take notes Microsoft…you owe us for Vista.  Available in September (Windows 7 launches in October btw).

The other large announcement is the new iPhone.  We all knew it was coming, we just needed it confirmed.  Apple added a letter to the name as well.  The iPhone 3GS.  The “S” is for speed.  Same price points ($199/$299) as we know, but double the storage (16/32GB).  They also support the newer 7.2Mbps HSDPA standard…well, at least they will whenever AT&T gets their network ready for that.  Until then we’re stuck with regular old 3G.  Same outside design but new internal guts.  They’re sporting a 3MP camera finally with auto-focus (tap on the screen to focus wherever you want), video recording (30 fps/VGA quality), supports Open GL (for better gaming), has a new digital compass (linking into Google Maps), have finally added full voice control support (including music playback!), and like all Apple progression-better battery life.  The other things we knew before hand: cut, copy, and paste; MMS support (more on that in a bit);and built in Nike+ support for the athletic crowd.  What isn’t to like you ask?  Three letters…AT&T.  Watching the pictures come in from the live blog I couldn’t help but laugh when Apple was talking about all of these features.  All of the carriers from the world were on the background of the presentation.  EXCEPT the only carrier in America.  Why?  Because they are dragging their feet with their FLAGSHIP device.  They already limited the abilities to view streaming video with their ban of the Sling Player app last month due to “bandwidth” issues.  Now, that the “took way to long to implement MMS” feature is ready for the iPhone their network won’t be able to support it at launch.  REALLY??  How can all of their other phones fire off MMS with no issues, but the iPhone somehow will crash their network.  I somehow think Apple (or Jobs) will have more than a couple heated discussions before this phone hits shelves.  It launches June 19th and yes I will probably be in line for one.  The original iPhone 3G will still be available for $99, which puts an iPhone in the reach of A LOT more people.  That $100 threshold will probably mean HUGE sales.  Look at the market…there isn’t much close to the current iPhone right now at $199 (the new Palm Pre for Sprint is $199 w/rebate and has been cost out in parts at around $160…the current iPhone is around $100 at cost).  The competition at that price level might as well just go piss on a fence.

The other news is that Apple is pretty much discontinuing the Macbook line.  Now, their standard white (plastic) unit is still available but the newer uni-body (aluminum) ones have been re-branded as Macbook Pros.  They’ve upped the specs across the board (7-8 hour battery life, but not replaceable) and actually discounted them.  The entry level 13″ MBP is now $1199 and the 15″ is $1699.   My guess is that they will get into the netbook fight very soon and will use the original “Macbook” name for that new product line.  No mention of that today though.  The new Macbook Pros are available now.

That pretty much covers the details.  No “One more thing…” and no Steve Jobs appearance.  I’m thinking that there will be another media event in a few weeks for the “Holy One’s” return.  And probably some new drool worthy gadget as well.  Sitting at home for 3 months getting well should have given him plenty of time to think up the next “big” thing.

Gizmodo’s links to iPhone 3GS here….Snow Leopard here….Macbook Pros here and here.

Giz’s full live blog of the event here.

Congrats to our friend Le Merde on his collabo with Nike, this amazing “Cloudman Windbreaker”.  Spread some cheer and buy one for everyone who’s been “nice” on your holiday shopping list here.

I will say I don’t think these are as cool as the limited Back to the Future II shoes that Nike released a while back, but I still find em interesting.  I especially like the start button nod and the design of the D-Pads everywhere.  These have been released already so they are probably sold out or will be expensive (I can’t find a pricing point for these anywhere).  But if you really want em, check your area for collectible sneaker shops or eBay.

Images courtesy of Gizmodo.