Super Bowl Update

Aëdle is a Paris-based audio startup specializing in the manufacturing of high-end headphones. To launch the company they are offering limited quantities of their VK-1(Valkyrie) Headphones Classic Edition (400 units) & Carbon Edition (100 units) available for pre-order to be shipped in February. Introduced to the public at this year's CES Las Vegas, they must have received great feedback because these are already sold out!  But they do plan on having more for future availability around April of this year.



Combining latest audio technologies with traditional craftmanship, the VK-1 embed high-performance titanium-neodymium transducers in a minimalistic designed body entirely made of noble materials. Each of the VK-1 aluminum parts are sculpted one by one in a virgin aluminium ingot. Handsewn genuine lambskin leather for headband and cushions.

Designed in Paris. Assembled in Brittany, France.

VK-1 CLASSIC EDITION:

ABOUT:
VK-1 Classic Edition combine minimalistic and refined design with high-definition custom made titanium transducers. 400 units available for first batch. Shipping in February 2013.

PRICE:
EU Customers: 300 EUR tax included
Non EU Customers: 250 EUR / 325 USD tax excluded

IN THE BOX:
•3.5 mm Aramid fiber coated detachable cable + Microphone
•Additional 3.5 mm Audio Cable
•Aedle Serial Number Metal Card
•Travel Pouch
•Airline adapter + 6.5 mm adapter
•Booklet

VK-1 CARBON LIMITED EDITION

ABOUT:
Black lambskin leather and pure black matte anodization make up the VK-1 Carbon Limited Edition. 100 units only will be made for the first batch. Shipping in February 2013.

PRICE :
EU Customers: 330 EUR tax included
Non EU Customers: 275 EUR / 360 USD tax excluded
More information about Shipping & Taxes in our FAQ Section.

IN THE BOX:
•3.5 mm Aramid fiber coated detachable cable + Microphone
•Additional 3.5 mm Audio Cable
•Aedle Serial Number Metal Card
•Travel Pouch
•Airline adapter + 6.5 mm adapter
•Booklet

Discover the story behind Aëdle in this video below which highlights and introduces their first model, the Aëdle VK-1:


More details and info can be found at their site.

BEST PICTURE
•Amour (TBD, Producer)
•Argo (Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck and George Clooney, Producers)
•Beasts of the Southern Wild (Dan Janvey, Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald, Producers)
•Django Unchained (Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin and Pilar Savone, Producers)
•Les Misérables (Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward and Cameron Mackintosh, Producers)
•Life of Pi (Gil Netter, Ang Lee and David Womark, Producers)
•Lincoln (Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers)
•Silver Linings Playbook (Donna Gigliotti, Bruce Cohen and Jonathan Gordon, Producers)
•Zero Dark Thirty (Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow and Megan Ellison, Producers)

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
•Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook)
•Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
•Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables)
•Joaquin Phoenix (The Master)
•Denzel Washington (Flight)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
•Alan Arkin (Argo)
•Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook)
•Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master)
•Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln)
•Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
•Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
•Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
•Emmanuelle Riva (Amour)
•Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild)
•Naomi Watts (The Impossible)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
•Amy Adams (The Master)
•Sally Field (Lincoln)
•Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables)
•Helen Hunt (The Sessions)
•Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook)

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
•Brave (Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman)
•Frankenweenie (Tim Burton)
•ParaNorman (Sam Fell and Chris Butler)
•The Pirates! Band of Misfits (Peter Lord)
•Wreck-It Ralph (Rich Moore)

CINEMATOGRAPHY
•Anna Karenina (Seamus McGarvey)
•Django Unchained (Robert Richardson)
•Life of Pi (Claudio Miranda)
•Lincoln (Janusz Kaminski)
•Skyfall (Roger Deakins)

COSTUME DESIGN
•Anna Karenina (Jacqueline Durran)
•Les Misérables (Paco Delgado)
•Lincoln (Joanna Johnston)
•Mirror Mirror (Eiko Ishioka)
•Snow White and the Huntsman (Colleen Atwood)

DIRECTING
•Amour (Michael Haneke)
•Beasts of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin)
•Life of Pi (Ang Lee)
•Lincoln (Steven Spielberg)
•Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell)

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
•5 Broken Cameras (Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi)
•The Gatekeepers (TBD)
•How to Survive a Plague (TBD)
•The Invisible War (TBD)
•Searching for Sugar Man (TBD)

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
•Inocente (Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine)
•Kings Point (Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider)
•Mondays at Racine (Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan)
•Open Heart (Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern)
•Redemption (Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill)

FILM EDITING
•Argo (William Goldenberg)
•Life of Pi (Tim Squyres)
•Lincoln (Michael Kahn)
•Silver Linings Playbook (Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers)
•Zero Dark Thirty (Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
•Amour (Austria)
•Kon-Tiki (Norway)
•No (Chile)
•A Royal Affair (Denmark)
•War Witch (Canada)

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
•Hitchcock (Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel)
•The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane)
•Les Misérables (Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell)

MUSIC (Original Score)
•Anna Karenina (Dario Marianelli)
•Argo (Alexandre Desplat)
•Life of Pi (Mychael Danna)
•Lincoln (John Williams)
•Skyfall (Thomas Newman)

MUSIC (Original Song)
•Before My Time - Chasing Ice (Music and Lyric by J. Ralph)
•Everybody Needs A Best Friend - Ted (Music by Walter Murphy, Lyric by Seth MacFarlane)
•Pi’s Lullaby - Life of Pi (Music by Mychael Danna, )Lyric by Bombay Jayashri
•Skyfall - Skyfall (Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth)
•Suddenly - Les Misérables (Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil)

PRODUCTION DESIGN
•Anna Karenina (Production Design: Sarah Greenwood,Set Decoration: Katie Spencer)
•The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Production Design: Dan Hennah, Set Decoration: Ra Vincent and Simon Bright)
•Les Misérables (Production Design: Eve Stewart, Set Decoration: Anna Lynch-Robinson)
•Life of Pi (Production Design: David Gropman, Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock)
•Lincoln (Production Design: Rick Carter, Set Decoration: Jim Erickson)

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
•Adam and Dog (Minkyu Lee)
•Fresh Guacamole (PES) See this here!
•Head over Heels (Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly)
•Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare” (David Silverman)
•Paperman (John Kahrs)

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
•Asad (Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura)
•Buzkashi Boys (Sam French and Ariel Nasr)
•Curfew (Shawn Christensen)
•Death of a Shadow/Dood van een Schaduw (Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele)
•Henry (Yan England)

SOUND EDITING
•Argo (Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn)
•Django Unchained (Wylie Stateman)
•Life of Pi (Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton)
•Skyfall (Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers)
•Zero Dark Thirty (Paul N.J. Ottosson)

SOUND MIXING
•Argo (John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia)
•Les Misérables (Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes)
•Life of Pi (Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin)
•Lincoln (Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins)
•Skyfall (Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson)

VISUAL EFFECTS
•The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White)
•Life of Pi (Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott)
•Marvel’s The Avengers (Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick)
•Prometheus (Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill)
•Snow White and the Huntsman (Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson)

WRITING (Adapted Screenplay)
•Argo (Screenplay by Chris Terrio)
•Beasts of the Southern Wild (Screenplay by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin)
•Life of Pi (Screenplay by David Magee)
•Lincoln (Screenplay by Tony Kushner)
•Silver Linings Playbook (Screenplay by David O. Russell)

WRITING (Original Screnplay )
•Amour (Written by Michael Haneke)
•Django Unchained (Written by Quentin Tarantino)
•Flight (Written by John Gatins)
•Moonrise Kingdom (Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola)
•Zero Dark Thirty (Written by Mark Boal)

The Oscars air on ABC, Sunday, February 4th. For More info, visit Oscars.org

For the end of the 2012, instead of sharing with you my own top ten list of this blogs' most popular posts, I've rounded up interesting and informative Top 10 lists in various categories from reputable sites and journalists. Ranging from Pop Culture and Scientific Discoveries to Luxury cars and iPhone Apps, here are some great compilations.


Ten Great Top Ten Of 2012 Lists


1. The Top 10 Books of 2012 (New York Times Editors)


2. Top 10 Albums of 2012 (Rolling Stone)


3. Top 10 Art Auction Sales in 2012 (Bloomberg)


4. Top 10 Weirdest Stories of 2012 (National Geographic)


5. Top 10 TV Moments of 2012 (Art Info)


6. The Top 10 Science Stories of 2012 (CNN)


7.  Top 10 Best Cars Over 80k of 2012 (Car and Driver)


8. The Top 10 Crowd-Funded Projects of 2012 (Engadget)


9. Apple's Top 10 Free and Paid For iPhone apps of 2012


10. The Top 10 Google searches in 12 categories in 2012

To ring in the New Year, I bring you this unusual selection of cover versions of the New Years' Eve song to which that no one really knows the words. (thank you Mashable)

1. Beer Bottles

2. Drum

3. Ukulele

4. Punk Rock

5. Metal

6. Guitar

7. Piano

8. Saxophone

9. Bass

10. Julie Andrews

BONUS: Cats

Award-winning fashion designer John Varvatos teamed up with design agency Mode Design Group (MDG) to create a custom, limited edition bottle for tequila brand Patrón this holiday season.



Varvatos designed a Guitar headstock and tuning pegs along with Patron's Bee symbol to function as the stopper on a bottle of for Patrón Añejo for the 2012 holiday season, alluding to the rock n' roll vibe of both the fashion designer and the tequila brand.



MDG facilitated the collaboration between the brands and helped realize the branding, logo and package design. The Patrón Añejo bottle comes in a customized box, created to fit the guitar-shaped stopper, and embodies the rock n’ roll vibe that John Varvatos is known for.



This was the first designer collaboration for Patrón and the first spirits collaboration for John Varvatos. “This guitar stopper is a perfect blend of the two brands. John Varvatos put his trademark rock n’ roll edge on the iconic Patrón bottle. It’s an exciting blend of fashion, music and spirits, and with the custom box to complete the package, it really makes a perfect holiday gift”. Says MDG Creative Director Gabrielle Rein.

The bottles hit shelves in December, and will be available for purchase through the 2012 holiday season.

Here's a sneak peek at the upcoming collection of modern luxury analog turntables from Phonotikal. Using materials such as steel, wood, aluminum, and introducing new, more streamlined silhouettes, the 2013 collection has finishes such as gold, and new colors like neon green and bright orange.

Phonitkal is a small family company that builds high end turntables. The hobby of an audiophile father, former drummer and sound designer who has teamed up with the designer's son. They design and create their own unique turntables. The result is a collection of hand-mounted turntables assembled with components of the highest quality. The chassis is manufactured with the latest technology in the Czech Republic.

Their present models of turntables are stunning, as you can see over at Homecrux. But what's coming in 2013 is even more beautiful.





















Phonotikal

To promote the new Old Spice scent Danger Zone, Wieden + Kennedy Portland teamed up with MJZ's Tom Kuntz, The Mill and Vimeo to present an interactive video starring former NFL star Terry Crews, that allows you to make your own music mix at the end of it. (Crews has starred in other Old Spice spots including one to launch Old Spice's new Danger Zone product line back in January called Blown Minds)



This time around Old Spice Muscleman Terry Crews does what no man has ever done before—play a drum set using nothing but his flexing muscles. In addition to watching his historically important muscle-powered performance, users also have the ability to use their keyboards to control Terry's muscles and create and share their own muscle-powered musical creations.



here's a keyboard cheat sheet (courtesy of Creativity-Online):


The interactive site runs in conjunction with the introduction of the indestructible Danger Zone Guy campaign, another series of ads starring -what is fast becoming overly prevalent in the ad world- mustachioed deboniar worldy men.



Both the interactive site and the Danger Zone campaign come on the heels of yet another brilliant campaign for the brand called Believe in Your Smellf, a series of commercials in which our skinny hero gains the confidence to break up with the likes of Heather Graham.





W+K has been on fire. If you haven't seen their New York office's new campaign for Southern Comfort, it's another homerun.

now, go mix some music:



Just watch the spot all the way through, then hit record and start pressing your keyboard :)

Old Spice official Site
W+K

In March of this year, the Cimino-Hurt brothers decided to launch A Case Of Bass, combining two greats: vintage electronics and vintage luggage, to make super sweet boomboxes. While not the first to do this (I blogged about a similar company named BoomCases years ago), these are significantly more affordable.


above: The Cimino-Hurt brothers combine 'tude and talent

The Portland-based company, A Case of Bass, creates portable sound systems hand-built to ensure quality and craftsmanship. Each "Case of Bass" is created after scouring the world for the finest unique vintage suitcases (train cases, brief cases and make-up cases, too) and then pairing them with a selection of speakers that guarantee the best combination of sound and aesthetic.

The Burlap Banger:

The Champ:

The Starflight:

Bunny:

Nicky29:


The cases incorporate - to your specifications - the types of accessories that will make your case unique to you. These include input types, amplifier sizes, power supplies and batteries, and finally any personal detailing you might desire.

Cecille:

Sam:

Marcelle:


In partnership with local Portland businesses, artists, and craftsmen they create these one of a kind portable parties.

Up-cycled and Sustainable
Sustainability, for those at A Case of Bass, means taking materials and designs, into which great amounts of energy have already been committed, and re-purposing them to extend that investment. It’s not recycling, where objects are stripped into the basic materials and then smelted back into something else. It’s up-cycling, where things are given new life and expected to be passed on or designed to be completely usable for something else without the need of deteriorating initial energy investment.

Staxx:

Candy:

Scooter:


Because the brothers want to give universal access, they do things like sell their products at an affordable price and make an eighth inch input standard on all of the cases. They use some new electronics, but only when they can’t find a reliable substitute from their rescued electronics. When providing things that have great environmental and economic impact implicit in their construction, like batteries, they strive for low impact, long life, and of course, rechargeable systems. At present they offer lithium ion rechargeable packs that are lightweight, high capacity, and high efficiency.

Midas:

Ruby the Riveter:


Finally, to demonstrate the overall sustainability of each case, they give a percent by mass of up-cycled material for each case. This is a process and they don’t profess to have all the answers but are working to continuously improve the quality of each case as an environmentally and socially responsible piece of electronics.

A Case of Bass
Online store
Local Portland retailers:
Hellion Gallery
Tender Loving Empire
Hollywood Babylon