From the looks of the trailer, this Black Dynamite flick is gonna be official! A couple times I actually thought I was watching a genuine Blaxploitation piece from the 70’s. Peep the color, the costumes, the over top fight scenes and all the essential Blaxpo character types…they’ve got all the elements down to a tee! [H/T: LTL]

I’m not quite sure which artist or album release set the wheels in motion on this–maybe it was the blogosphere that set the stage and created the initial demand–but whatever the case, unveiling (or in some cases, leaking) album cover art online has become a standard routine for many artists in the months leading up to their album’s official release. It’s expected. And much like leaking an album to the web, minus the negative consequences involved, the intentions here are pretty much the same: to generate a buzz and to pique the curiosity of fans. Enter this special edition cover/packaging for Kanye’s 808s & Heartbreaks:

The most interesting thing about it, to me, isn’t the artwork itself, but the fact that it’s designed by KAWS–the renowned graff artist and designer. This is a guy whose art sells out just as fast as it goes up on his website. And whose toys and clothing are hugely popular amongst the HypeBeast-reading, Complex-subscribing “hypester” crowd–which just so happens to make up a hefty portion of Kanye’s base. So of course I’m curious to see if his involvement here will have a profound impact on sales. Are folks going to buy the album twice? Once when it’s first released, and again when the KAWS packaging goes on sale December 16th? It should be interesting to see.

Nonetheless, Kanye deserves tremendous props for never neglecting or ignoring the importance of the visuals that are attached to his albums.

After holding me down strong over these last four years, it looks like my iBook G4 has finally reached its end. Right now it’s in this weird, unexpected error and crash-filled state situated somewhere between having the proverbial bucket in sight and setting up for the kick and proverbial bucket kicked and now spiraling towards the iAfterlife.

The great: I now have a genuine reason, one beyond the factors of design and cool, to upgrade to a Macbook Pro.

The good: I don’t stand to lose much if this joint flat lines in the next few hours (or days) since, luckily, I backed-up my critical data to an external drive a few months ago–you tend to foresee these situations, especially if you’re constantly testing the limits of your computer in unspeakable ways.

The bad: Well, there is no bad news, actually. However, I do have a question for the Mac massive among us:

glossy or matte?

Just for kicks:

Space Tourism
Video Teleconferencing
Holographic Teleportation
Robot Companions
WWW
Flying Cars
Hoverboards

Does that about sum it up? Let me know if I missed anything.

Just as I was beginning to think we’d seen all there was to see in this golden age of technology, a glimpse of the mountaintop:

Unbelievable! My jaw literally dropped to the floor in disbelief when I caught this during last night’s broadcast. I mean, I know we’ve made tremendous leaps on the technology front in recent years but, holograms, like this, never saw it coming.

Will.I.Am speaking to Anderson Cooper via hologram:

Although today may not be an official national holiday, and many of us are at the j-o handling business as usual, the feeling in the air right now is nothing short of electric. Head nods, daps, moments of shared laughter and tears. Everyone just seems to be a bit happier, prouder at the moment. And rightfully so. For we, the people of the United States, have just chosen our first African-American President: Barack Hussein Obama. Just reflecting on that point right now hits me pretty hard in the chest. No doubt, this is the greatest moment in our nation’s history and, to be a witness to it all is truly a blessing.

Photo via NYT

And here you have it:

[H/T: Allan Cole]

Taking it all in. Still can’t believe what I’m seeing right now. Simply put, WOW!!!

On the lighter side….

Imagine this scenario: You walk into your local polling place and discover that, as a result of some twisted turn of events, Barack Obama, John McCain, Cynthia McKinney and Ralph Nadar are no longer running as candidates for PoTUS. Instead, they’ve been replaced on the ballots by Murs, Mos Def and Wyclef–all members of a newly formed, leftist political party known as the Sedgwickrats.

Now, considering you don’t go totally berserker (c)(John McCain) on a poll worker at this point and, you stick around to catch a glimpse of the following videos that
have been supplied by the respective candidates to aide you in this 11th hour decision. Which candidate would win your vote in the end:

Murs:

Mos:

Wyclef:

After months of anticipation we made it here–finally! Just got back in from my polling place here in DC and, man, it feels like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. Without a doubt, this will go down as my most memorable voting experience ever!

Surprisingly, the wait in line wasn’t as bad as I expected. About an hour tops but, honestly, I wouldn’t have been mad if it were longer. It was just so great to stand in line watching, listening and talking with so many people who, at 6:45 a.m., were wide awake and genuinely excited to get inside to cast their vote. Even the kids who were waiting alongside their parents didn’t seem to mind being out so early. Such a beautiful sight to see.

I have a feeling today will be a great day!