Bozo the Clown

The man who fully marketed the character of Bozo the Clown died today at age 83.  Here is the full story from CNN.  I got to see a number of shows produced live at WGN-TV, and that character in the hands of talented performers really got the kids going.  It was a beautiful thing.  Thanks Larry Harmon.

Here’s a video of Willard Scott from the Today Show talking about his Bozo performance days.

This is a very cool video from BMW showing of their GINA concept car which asks the question, why do cars have to have an outer skin made of rigid metal?  A great question that leads into all kind of other wonderful ideas which are briefly explored in this video.

And as a follow-up, here is a video showing some of the still images of this car.  Great lines in any shape!

A robot developed at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, however, is able to learn to use objects that it has never encountered before. The robot pushes objects around on a table to see how they move. Once it identifies an object’s moving parts, it begins to experiment with it, manipulating it to perform tasks. Next up, a robot that teaches itself how to entertain the relatives at Thanksgiving.

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Yesterday, AT&T announced the iPhone 3G pricing plans. New customers/upgraders will get their shiny gadget for $199 - $299 (depending on whether you choose the 8 GB or 16 GB model). Early upgraders will have to pay $399 or $499, all with a two year contract and $18 upgrade fee although this doesn’t seem to apply to to upgraders of existing iPhones (this is the confusing part.) Plus, a no-commitment iPhone will be available for $599 & $699 after the launch. And you have to activate at the store (a change from last time) so not as many home unboxing videos are likely to appear this time around. I wonder if they’ll let me unbox by own phone?

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I hadn’t heard much about this band from Fort Collins Colorado until recently and then again when this news hit today.  But these guys are good and this is a pretty tight song, worth a listen especially since Johnny Shou, their bass player died today.  Not sure of the details, but this post is more about appreciating a performance.  Here is Tickle Me Pink’s song “Typical” in a user-generated video.  Hopefully the band can keep things moving forward inspite of this tragedy.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has just helped Tesla Motors make an announcement that’s probably sending chills through traditional automaker’s boardrooms. The company has just introduced a fully-electric, five passenger sports sedan dubbed the Model S, which will be selling for an affordable $60K. No release date or other pesky details have been announced, but this is a very cool development. (225 miles/charge!)

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This BMW needs to be seen to be believed. A full-body made entirely of chrome. Get your sunglasses out!

I wonder how this handles the winter in Quebec?

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A great spot from the BBC showing how they never miss anything exciting and now thanks to their internet player, you don’t have to either.  It’s well done and it happens to have Monty Python’s Terry Jones in it, which is a nice bonus.

I am only now just learning about HDR imaging (High Dynamic Range.)  It’s a method of digital photo processing that allows a photographer to create an image with a greater dynamic range than would normall be possible.  Essentially it uses multiple versions of the same scene to create an improved or enhanced version of the image.  In some cases it can be used to make something closer to illustration out of an image.  In the right hands, this stuff can be pretty cool and pretty creative.  And so for Foto Friday, here are some amazing images using HDR.

This is a clever bit of set design.  All of the press junket interviews for Verne Troyer’s new Mike Meyers movie were shot on a mini set built just for him.  It’s kind of poetic to see people forced to make themselves comfortable in a space designed for others.  He must have enjoyed this… maybe not as much as his “other” video, but still.