Hip hop heads can be nerds too.
China seems to be kicking everyone’s ass these days. On the same day it’s being reported that the People’s Republic has taken over Japan as the , a Chinese company has revealed a vehicle that promises to revolutionize public transit: a giant bus that straddles traffic! Called a “three-dimensional fast bus”, the outlandish vehicle is being described as a “mobile tunnel.” According to :
Commuters board from a station one story above the ground, and when the straddling bus parks to pick up riders—as many as 1200 per vehicle—it doesn’t disrupt the flow of traffic. …
The innovating company, , claims that building the infrastructure for straddling buses is three times faster and much cheaper than a comparable distance of new subways. The wheel-rail-hybrid buses are powered by municipal electricity and solar energy, thus reducing the cost of their operation as well as fuel consumption. They will purportedly reduce traffic jams by 25 percent. There’s even motion-sensing alarm system built into the bus to prevent oversize vehicles from passing through the bus and to warn cars if they swerve too close to the bus’ wheels.
And this ain’t no pipe dream/TED talk fantasy: construction on a 115-mile long line in Beijing’s Mentougou District is scheduled to begin by the end of the year.
Assuming the company’s impressive claims are true, consider me a fan. Innovations that use existing infrastructure (i.e. roads) seem to have the best shot at succeeding, and of course any new technology that reduces traffic and fuel consumption is cool beans. Hopefully they’ll introduce this on the West Coast before long (this would be perfect for the ).
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Granted this is not a question most people would think about. And I guess it also must be acknowledged that since you’re reading this post on the internet, you’ve got a little bit of geek in you. Gizmodo (the gadget blog with a lack of hip hop credentials) has posted .
RZA, the techno-guru of the Wu-Tang Clan, is a hell of a talented producer. He did a whole electronic concept album as that was a definite departure from his previous work. In fact, back in May of 2008 we wrote about his intent to resurrect Bobby Digital for a new album.
The interview is in support of his new book, . It’s interesting that RZA so easily admits to being a geek, and claims to be one of the first hip hop geeks willing to admit it. I mean, looking at the tough and macho attitude the Wu exudes, you wouldn’t guess. But looking deeper, you have a bunch of dudes messing with old Kung Fu movies and RZA playing with tech to build beats for some of the most fundamental hip hop tracks of all time.
Check out the interview below.
[Source: via ] via ]
Amazing and nerdy parody of Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind.
For some reason or another, in the last couple of weeks, has had a lot of posts dealing with vinyl and the gadgets that work with it. I thought I’d do one big post with all of this stuff to help condense it all, and hopefully you find it a little interesting.
If you’re looking for the chance to make some low-fi records at home, then this may be the product for you. It’s cheap, too. Only $170 + vinyl. Giz says that “To record your own records, sing into the horn and the bamboo needle cuts the grooves into a new piece of vinyl.” Not exactly rocket science, but something that’s not really in the reach of most bedroom emcees.
The product, by a company called , seems somewhat legit. Obviously I haven’t tried it yet but it may be worth exploring if you’ve got some money burning a hole in your pocket.
This, while just a concept, is extremely badass. Once you’ve used the Gakken press to make a couple of albums, say you want to bring them along to your buddy’s house to show them off. Only your buddy doesn’t have a turntable. Have no fear! has your back. The player, as you can see above, is not huge and folds up quite nicely. Plugs into your USB for power and for audio playback.
Just the type of thing, strapped to a netbook, that you could probably use to test some albums while you’re out digging.
This is a nifty idea for those who want to keep the romance of vinyl but whose records have slowly gotten unplayable, or for those who simply want to create the illusion of being a vinyl lover. Now, it’s not something I endorse by any means. If you’re a digital music person, there’s no shame in admitting that and in setting up your system to reflect that.
Gizmodo explains it:
Inside the fake player he placed an RFID reader, which gets the information from the RFID-tagged record. Once it detects it—and the user moves the tonearm into position—the record player starts reproducing a playlists.
It’s quite the idea, and would probably be fun for a minute or two. Regardless, I just think it’s an interesting way to blend old and new technology in an unexpected way.
Not much to this post beyond some pretty fun and easy Flash games by the Bell Brothers.
It’s a strange mashup of deejaying, Alice in Wonderland, and puzzles. But it’s a good way to spend 5 or 10 minutes of your day. It’s hard to explain what actually goes on, beyond the fact that your mouse (a scroll wheel is required to play) allows you to scratch what sounds like an audio recording of Through the Looking Glass or something
I honestly wouldn’t even think about shilling for a company normally, but somehow this commercial hits the exact right spot for me. It gets my need to be organized, and it makes Biz Markie do something ridiculous.
So yes, in return for creating something funny like this and having it go viral, I guess they get a free plug here on 4080. (Note that I have NO idea if this product works, and I’m not actually recommending them).
[Via ]
It’s not often that we publish posts on humour-related topics (unless you count Twice’s recent musings on Vanilla Ice and Shaq), but from Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish reminded me of my favourite Youtube video of all time, “Gabe and Max’s Internet Thing.” Check it out:
Fax us your email address now! Priceless. Anyways, turns out Gabe and Max are launching their own online talkshow. Check out episode 1, which features them in similar, but also slightly altered roles:
This is shaping up to be some sort of oddly riveting film about record collectors. It really doesn’t glamorize the habit, but really gives you a good idea of the people behind this.
Not every record collector is some dope ass DJ in fly gear, digging through crates to find a decent sample. In fact, the vast majority are amateurs. But there’s also the forgotten class of perfectionists, bordering on OCD, who search forever for mint condition albums. There are also those who search for the rare albums just because they’re rare. The one-time pressings, the original album for some obscure promotion.
These Vinyl Junkies can’t help themselves. It’s a compulsion that they can’t ignore.
After a little googling, I found this. Not sure if it’s legit or not, so if it’s not please let me know and I will remove the embed.
We’ve covered Jon Lajoie and his antics before, but this amused me. It’s not exactly an accurate stereotype of all hip hoppers, but the first emcee is particularly good.
And if you’re feeling like you want some more, check this one out.
