French car designer Venturi, strong on the success of their Fetish electric sportscar, has added two new models to the brand. The Venturi Eclectic, and the Venturi Astrolab, both launched at the 2006 Paris Auto Show.

Venturi Eclectic

The Eclectic is a commuter electric vehicle, designed to be self-charging, with on board solar panels and a small wind generator. The look of the 3 seater is pretty bold, and according to designer Sasha Lakic was inspired by such iconic vehicles as the Mini-moke, the Mehari and even the Lunar Rover. The top speed is electronically limited to 50km and the range is the same, with the added bonus that the vehicle is constantly recharging whenever there is a bit of wind or sunshine.

Eclectic, the first autonomous vehicle in the history of the automobile, opens up a new era in the field of mobility : reserved for daily driving in urban areas, its low energy consumption make it the most economical environmental vehicle ever built. Innovative and astonishing, Eclectic is much more than a simple vehicle ; it is a production and storage plant for renewable energies, either solar or wind based. Charging of these energies, which is intermittent in certain regions, can also be complemented by electrical recharging.

A limited production run of 200 vehicles will be available in June 2007, priced at 24,000 € with full production in 2008. I wonder if they will have an importer for California.

Venturi Astrolab

The Venturi Astrolab is a Solar Sportscar or to be exact it's categorized as a 4 wheel motorcycle, capable of reaching speeds of  120 km/h and a range of 100 km. The Astrolab was described by designer Sacha Lakic as a flying wing set on four wheels.

Astrolab also opens up a new era as regards automobile architecture : light and high-profiled, it offers the rays of the sun 3.6 m2 of today’s most sophisticated photovoltaic cells (for an overall vehicle length under 4 m).

The Venturi Astrolab is still at the concept stage, but I hope it will make it into production.

Eric Lerner created Mr. CityMen a series of animated short integrated against live action background of the city. The 5 clips were created as part of Eric's final project at the Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. The characters are loosely based on the children books Little Men and Little Miss by Roger Hargreaves.

I liked how the characters in that series of books were really simple and straight-forward. The difficult part was writing the stories. There were alot of ideas that never made it off the paper, and many ideas that I had to give up due to lack of time and resources. The techincal process was rather easy thanks to 3D tracking software. Those are pure magic.

My favorite is Mr Fortune, the sandal wearing, guitar-playing orange dude (see video after the break) but there is also Mr. DejaVu, Mr. Dreamer, Mr Sunken and Mr Afraid-Of-Anything-But-Heights.

[via notcot.org]

Since I've just moved in my new loft last week, I've been looking out for furniture and accessories with that industrial edge, to complement the exposed brick and cement floor, without making the entire space feel too cold. Steelogic is a small design company out of Los Angeles that specializes in brushed steel and simple curving shapes.

If you can close your eyes and see the beauty in the darkness. If you can stare at the ceiling and see a picture in the texture. If clouds are more than clouds to you, but a play on a big blue screen. If art is your inspiration, and forms open your imagination, then we offer these products to you.

Personally, I'm thinking about buying the Wave Dish pictured here, but with the intention to subvert its intended use as a fruit dish, and set it next to the fireplace to hold a few logs. Thankfully it's one of the few items in their collection that is reasonably priced.

And, just like American Apparel, Steelogic is proud to say that all of their products are made in downtown Los Angeles, probably in the shrinking semi-industrial area caught between skid row and all these lofts and condo developers.

Their products are available locally at DAVINCI or online via 2Modern.

More pictures after the break

[via Tendance High-tech]

I usually listen to a CD before buying, but because I Ioved their first album Brazilian Girls so much, I ordered the second Talk To La Bomb as part of another order on Amazon. For some reason, their new sound is completely different and seems to be stuck in a undefined musical space somewhere between Zero 7 and Goldfrapp. Unfortunately, front girl Sabina Schiubba and her band of merry men, managed to make a sonic mess that's too hard to be chilled properly, but isn't terribly danceable either. You have big synth bassline that don't seem to go anywhere, and none of the songs really took off.

Having Rik Ocasek as a producer probably didn't help. I've tried listening to the album a few times, hoping it will grow on me, but so far, nothing sticks.

I guess I'll just keep listening to their first album instead.

I used the Abbot Kinney Festival yesterday as an excuse to visit Tortoise, my favorite store on that street. There is always something new and interesting, like the Chikuno Cube.

あまりまだ知られていない竹炭のすばらしい性能。 それを最大限に引き出し、できるかぎり場所も時間も選ばない炭にしたい。 そんな思いをこめて、大きな力を持つ、小さな炭のキューブをつくりました。 炭のまったく新しい形。それが CHIKUNO CUBE です。

Remainder the efficiency where the bamboo charcoal which is not known yet is splendid. You pull out that to the maximum, as much as possible you would like to make the charcoal which the place or time do not choose. Including such thinking, it has big power, the cube of the small charcoal was made. The shape where the charcoal is new completely. That is CHIKUNO CUBE.

The Chikuno Cube is made from compressed bamboo charcoal, and is meant to be used as an air purifier. I just love the cube as a mysterious object, which I will keep in the fridge as a conversation piece, as much as for its odor absorbing powers. The hexagonal honeycomb pattern not only looks good, but increases the surface area, which allows the 41x41x41mm cube to absorb more odors.

The Chikuno Cube costs $18 at Tortoise, but it will last for a year, and looks a lot better than the yellow box of baking soda it's replacing.

A bit of a crazy week again, with the move and everything. Still found the time to post a few interesting items on notcot.org. My favorites this week are:

#1426. iRiver just announced its Apple shuffle killer. Who needs brushed metal when you can get a tiny OLED screen around your neck for just 1.7g more?

#1383. This cool little flash application shows what songs are playing on US radio stations.

#1378. Found little HelloKittyTrooper at Lemur Patrol. Cute.

#1376. I love the folded metal look of this toaster, designed by Olivier Gregoire.

The Italian scooter company, famous for the Vespa is not trying to out iPod Apple, but is releasing a pretty amazing three-wheeled scooter named Piaggio MP3. With the rather unusual configuration of 2 front wheels and a single powered wheel in the back, the revolutionary front suspension allows the scooter to lean into curves like a standard motorcycle, yet be completely stable when stopped.

Piaggio launched the first Vespa model - and with it the scooter phenomenon - in the spring of 1946. The scooter revolutionised personal transport, giving Europeans a sense of utter freedom. Sixty years on, Piaggio has come up with another revolutionary product: the Piaggio MP3, a totally innovative three-wheeler with two front wheels. The MP3 provides safety, road grip and stability levels that no two-wheeler can match. Power, performance and ease of use make for a very entertaining ride.

The MP3 was announced in Italy a few months ago, but a friend told me about the MP3 yesterday, and apparently Piaggio will be releasing it in the US. I'm not sure about the styling, being more of a fan of the retro look of the Classic Vespa or even the Aprilia Mojito but I guess the three wheels might look strange on those.

[via ItaliaSpeed]

I don't know if we'll be able to go because we are moving into a new home this weekend, but Sunday is the 22nd annual Abbot Kinney Festival in Venice, California.

VENICE will take to the streets to celebrate its 101 years of community at the 22nd annual Abbot Kinney Festival. Running through the heart of Venice, Abbot Kinney Blvd will be closed to traffic from Main St. to Venice Blvd to accommodate 2 stages of live music, dancers and performance artists, a spectacular children's court, 3 food areas, a Spirit Garden, Art Pavilion and over 300 vendors featuring original, handcrafted goods.

With so many of my gadgets eating batteries for breakfast, I've switched to using rechargeable whenever I can, but that means that I need to add a battery charger to the growing list of items I carry with me when I travel anywhere.

This revolutionary rechargeable battery can charge from any USB port without the need for any recharging devices, cradles or cables. Simply pop the lid to reveal a built in connector and charger, plug into any powered USB port on your desktop, laptop, keyboard or games console, to charge the battery.

Since I wouldn't caught without a laptop, I tend to favor devices that can charge via a USB port, and these USBCELL AA batteries from  would be a perfect addition to my travel kit. Moixa is also planning to release other battery format, including cellphone batteries.

[via notcot.org]

While my dad has always been a Nikon photographer, he also had a vintage Leica that I loved, both for its ease of use, and the look feel of the camera. To this day, I have a fondness for their cameras, and even though all of their digital consumer cameras are just re-branded Panasonic cameras, I would still pay the premium just for the look and feel of a Leica.

The dream of many Leica photographers has come true: the Leica M system is now open for professional digital photography. Breaking completely new ground, the LEICA M8 doesn't only look like an M - it utilizes all the benefits of the analog Leica M system for sophisticated and creative digital photography.

The Leica M8 is their first digital body that can accept the M series lenses. With a Kodak designed 10.3 Megapixel CCD married with all of the classic leica controls, and a 2.5" LCD display, this is the digital camera that all the Leica fans have been waiting for, and if there was any way I could justify spending almost $5000 USD on a camera body, and then spend almost as much to buy the almost mythical M lenses, I would order one right away.

As it is I might settle for their Digilux 3 which also has interchangeable lenses. The M8 will ship November 2006, and the Digilux 3 at the end of October.

[via Retro Thing]

Of course I can't really talk about that project, except for the fact that I've been working with Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead 2004), who's currently directing his second feature film, based on Frank Miller's 300. Zack is one of those directors that are both intensely driven and completely casual and relax, and I'm really enjoying working with him and his team.

Based on the epic graphic novel by Frank Miller, 300 is a ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Facing insurmountable odds, their valor and sacrifice inspire all of Greece to unite against their Persian enemy, drawing a line in the sand for democracy. The film brings Miller’s acclaimed graphic novel to life by combining live action with virtual backgrounds that capture his distinct vision of this ancient historic tale.

While I was working on my own little epic with the crazy tap dancing penguins, another part of Animal Logic has been creating some amazing visual effects for 300, which is scheduled to release in March 2007.

I think that 300 is another of these projects that are helping define the next generation of visual effects based feature film, where the VFX is not used as a spectacle in itself, with bigger bolder explosions, incredible creatures or actions scenes, but as one of the basic component in the storytelling, to help define the look and the tone of the movie's framework of reality, and allows the director to define the story's visual style, and help communicate that story to the audience.