Sundance Channel

5 better ways to express your intimacy

Em and Lo — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:00:36 +0000

A recent survey by Pew Internet and the American Life Project found that one in three teens had shared a password (email, Facebook, etc.) with a friend or boyfriend or girlfriend. Apparently sharing your password is the new way to express intimacy, to prove to your partner that you have nothing to hide. Um, hello Facebook hacking! (Aside: Did you know that if you work at Facebook HQ and accidentally leave your FB account logged in when you leave your desk, some jokester colleague will update your status to say that you are pooping? Apparently it's a company tradition.) Anyway. Maybe teens don't have any credit card digits to lose just yet, but identify theft (or even just unauthorized identity borrowing) can suck in junior high too. We hope we don't need to explain what a terrible idea this is.

Green tech finds: Wildlife goes virtual, Farmville gets real

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:09:28 +0000

Assembly lines rolling out the Focus Electric: Think Nissan's the only game in town for a true electric vehicle? Not anymore: Ford's started production of its 2012 Focus Electric in Michigan. (via @edbegleyjr) Ranger Rick comes to the iPhone: Your kids bug you to play games on your smartphone? The National Wildlife Federation has created a way to make sure they're learning something. The new Ranger Rick mobile apps provide games for kids as young as 2 (yes, 2!) to sharpen their knowledge about wild animals.

You can pry the steering wheel out of Chevy Volt owners cold, dead hands (despite fiery rumors)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:00:32 +0000

Heard about the Chevy Volt fires? Seems like you're most likely to answer "yes" to that question if a) you're a true car geek, or b) you get your news from right-leaning media. Conservative commentators have latched onto news about fires in two of the vehicles after test crashes as proof of everything from the immaturity of the battery technology to logical outcome of government investment in the auto industry. In response, General Motors has not only worked closely with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on its preliminary investigation, but also offered Volt owners loaner cars and even buy-backs to address potential concerns.

Super sketchy but awesome condom campaign of the week

Em and Lo — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:00:22 +0000

We've all had our share of dubious Facebook friend requests - that regrettable one night stand you'd almost succeeding in forgetting, your former therapist, your ex, your mom. But what about a Facebook request from your unborn child? A bunch of guys in Brazil were recently friend-requested by babies with their own name, plus the "Jr." suffix. It turns out that these friend requests were actually from a condom company.

Take This Lollipop: personalized scary movie generated by your Facebook account

Matthew Rodriguez — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:21:27 +0000

Take This Lollipop is an entertaining, interactive viral marketing site for a brilliantly "executed" upcoming horror film that also smartly addresses issues of privacy, or the lack thereof in our modern, digital era where pretty much every new website or app tries to gain access to our personal information stored in Facebook...

A GOP glossary

Em and Lo — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:00:45 +0000

Our friend Geoff Rice, a nimble Facebook poster and hilarious bleeding-heart liberal, recently began a GOP/Tea Party glossary in public "Note" form, defining such terms as "freedom", "immigrant" and "socialism", and calling for additional entries from readers. Here was our contribution:

Pro-Life

A belief in and dedication to the sanctity of life, except in the cases of women who might die from childbirth, prisoners on death row (even those with new evidence that may exonerate them), animals who are hunted for sport or tortured on factory farms, poor people who can't afford healthcare, and doctors who legally perform abortions (see "George Tiller").

The ability to believe that God creates all life at conception while simultaneously ignoring the fact that (when you consider the number of miscarriages women go through) God is the biggest abortionist of them all.

Green tech finds, 9/8/11

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:21:05 +0000

Harvesting runner power, turning plastic back into oil and becoming a (virtual) upcycling magnate: your green tech finds for the week. Charge your phone with your shoes: If you run or walk regularly, you're creating mechanical energy that's going to waste. The Instep Nanopower concept offers a way to capture that power and transfer it to electronic devices via wi-fi. (via Inhabitat and @EcoverUS) Become a Trash Tycoon on Facebook: Tired of Farmville? Guerillaapps new Facebook-based social game Trash Tycoon (which is sponsored by upcycling company Terracycle) gives you the opportunity to build a virtual recycling empire. (via Crisp Green)

Warm Up all summer long at MoMA/P.S.1

Perrin Drumm — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:00:43 +0000

It's been four months since we announced the winner of P.S.1/MoMA's Young Architects Program. Now that summer is officially upon us, the museum has opened up its courtyard and unveiled Interboro Partner's winning design, "Holding Pattern," which will play host to the annual Warm Up party series. One of the first things you notice when you enter the space, aside from the fact that it seems to be undergoing some last minute construction, are the bright yellow tags on nearly every item in the courtyard (pictured below). They read "Hold For" and are stuck to the chairs, benches, planters, trees, chess boards and ping pong tables. The tags are marked with the names of local businesses and organizations who will receive the tagged item after Warm Up closes in September. When Interboro Partners was conducting their initial research they went out into the neighborhood and asked people, "Is there something you need that we could design and use in the courtyard and then donate in the Fall?" The community seems to have answered eclectically. In addition to seating, there's a sandbox, foosball table, lifeguard chair and even a self-misting modular stage for breakdancing performances.

What’s on the back of a website?

Matthew Rodriguez — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 19:06:03 +0000

For your today’s procrastination, check out Back of a Webpage: an independent project from the creative minds of Jeff Lam and Josephine Yatar, it’s an amusing and clever look some popular websites such as Facebook, Google, and Flickr (above). Lets get one for SUNfiltered up there! [Via]

A Facebook missed love connection

Matthew Rodriguez — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 17:49:06 +0000

An amusing story of a missed love connection told via Facebook chat. I think it’s safe to say we’ve all been there where you censor and retype over the smallest words because you have a crush on the person on the other side of the digital wall…except for me of course. It’s funny how all [...]

Sundance Institute Connects With Kickstarter, Facebook

Amy Reiter — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:57:46 +0000

Looks like it just got easier for new filmmakers to raise money and promote their projects. The Sundance Institute has announced plans to team up with online crowdfunding company Kickstarter to help the Institute’s artists and alumni – including lab participants, grant recipients and festival filmmakers – place their projects on Kickstarter.com with Sundance branding [...]

Sundance Film Festival follow up: CATFISH

Perrin Drumm — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 20:26:35 +0000

In the last year since its debut at the Sundance Film Festival’s Spotlight section, filmmakers Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman have spent some of their time basking in the overwhelmingly positive reaction to CATFISH, but most of their time defending its veracity. CATFISH documents the relationship between Schulman’s brother Nev and Megan, a girl he [...]

Green tech finds (11/18/10)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 18:52:01 +0000

Gardening apps, high-speed rail, and electric vehicles made from electronic waste... this week's green tech finds.

Finnish culture meets green building: Traditional Finnish building involves a lot of wood, and the Luukku House design combines this tradition with solar energy, high-efficiency windows, and other "green" features. The design has won awards from both the Finnish Timber Council and Solar Decathlon Europe. (via Good News from Finland)
Onsite composting for restaurants: GaiaRecycle's new G-30H provides onsite composting for restaurants and schools... no need to have those food scraps hauled away (or -- shudders -- throw them in the trash).

A Life on Facebook

Bradford Shellhammer — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:15:20 +0000

A LIFE ON FACEBOOK from maxluere on Vimeo. This video is awesome. Clocking in at under 3 minutes, and directed by Maxime Luère, the film shows a guy’s life via Facebook. Everything is there: love, break-ups, old age, and finally death. It’s your future condensed into a fun film. How much of your life unfolds [...]

Green tech finds (11/4/10)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:29:47 +0000

Lots of electric vehicle news this week, plus mushroom plastics and watching watersheds with your iPhone... this week's green tech finds.

Sun-powered transportation... in the Sunshine State: Sarasota-area beachside community Pelican Bay will be using solar-powered trams to move people around the development. (via Cleantechnica)
GE making massive EV purchase: General Electric will not only make components for electric vehicles, but plans to become the largest single purchaser of them.

Was Facebook created just to help a geek get a girl?

Em and Lo — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:00:21 +0000

According to the movie THE SOCIAL NETWORK (in theaters October 1st; we got a sneak preview last week), Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg --portrayed brilliantly by Jesse Eisenberg -- was just trying to prove himself cool when he created the site while he was still a student at Harvard. He was a geek who couldn't get the girl and couldn't get into Harvard's most exclusive social clubs and parties, and so he sought out to accumulate friends -- or "friends" -- the new-fangled way. Oh, and also, he might have kinda sorta "appropriated" the idea from some rich jock guys at Harvard. Though the best line in the movie, in Zuckerberg's defense, spoken by Eisenberg (and possibly invented by script writer Aaron Sorkin), is this: "If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you'd have invented Facebook."

Facebook Server Down…Now What?

Kultur Kritik — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 20:57:38 +0000

Apparently the Facebook server is down. Millions of users are now freaking out over having to communicate with their friends “old school” (i.e. phone, in person, e-mail). Read about it here.

Fincher, Eastwood Headline The New York Film Festival

Michael Musto — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 14:17:25 +0000

The 48^th annual New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center opens with a bang this Friday with David Fincher’s The Social Network, so make sure to Facebook all your friends about it, lol. The auteur-heavy fest also offers creative visions by Julie Taymor, Mike Leigh, Jean-Luc Godard, and some people even I’ve never heard of. (Certified Copy is “a French production with a European cast speaking in a mixture of English, French, and Italian.” By an Iranian director!) Then the festival goes back to the big names and aptly closes with Hereafter, Clint Eastwood’s foray into the afterlife, with Matt Damon forging yet another chapter in his illustrious career. Before picking from this refined plate of high–toned cinema, I tracked down freelance critic Dennis Lim, who’s on the selection committee, for some insight into the process:

CATFISH and “The Facebook Generation”

Perrin Drumm — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:45:38 +0000

Some members of an older, disapproving generation have dubbed the young, tech-savvy, internet-reliant, social network-loving population 'The Facebook Generation'. But if CATFISH teaches us anything it's that the phenomenon of virtual relationships can't be isolated to any one age group; it's a multi-generation sensation. In fact, Facebook's fastest growing demographic is the 65+ club, with waves of grandmas, grandpas and retirees joining up to stay in touch.

Green tech finds (9/2/10)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:59:06 +0000

Lots of energy news and ideas this week, as well as another big green crowdsourcing project, and reviving wetlands with sewage... your green tech finds.

Another cell phone sustainability study: Market research firm IDC came up with quite different results on cell phone sustainability from O2... but focused on companies vs. phones themselves. Apple comes out on top in this one, followed by LG and Nokia. (via The Boston Globe)
Harnessing gravity power: Gravitational Energy Corporation claims its Feltenberger Pendulum works through hand-power and gravity. The company's first product, a water pump, could prove indispensable for areas of the developing world, as well as post-disaster relief. See how it's working in Haiti in the video above...

Facebook is watching you

Perrin Drumm — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 18:08:27 +0000

Comparable to Foursquare and Gowalla, Facebook's latest feature Places let's you check into a location and alerts you if any of your Facebook friends as well as any other Facebook users have checked into the same place, upping the creep factor and creating the potential for more awkward social situations than ever. Say you check into a bar. No one you know is around, but Places tells you that Melissa, a 32-year-old Art History major who watches "True Blood" and is a fan of Obama and a member of the group "I love chips and salsa" is within a 10-foot radius. Now you have an in. Once you casually stalk her out you can pepper the conversation with your take on last week's episode or that article you read in Newsweek about Freud, right before you ask her if she feels like splitting some chips and salsa.

Green tech finds (8/12/10)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:06:49 +0000

The greenest cell phone companies, solar Marines, and DIY LED Facebook notification... your green tech finds for the week.

Smart energy cities: The NRDC's Smarter Cities project has published a list of 22 US cities taking the lead on more sustainable energy use and production. (via GreenTech Pastures)
LED Facebook notification: OK, this is only marginally green, but Instructables has a project up for a DIY Facebook notification device that uses LED lights.

Skinbook, the Facebook for nudists

Em and Lo — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:00:24 +0000

According to their homepage, Skinbook is the world's no.1 nudist social network (with over 9000 members), offering personal profiles, forums, blogs, groups, galleries, videos, event listings, live chat, commenting, and instant messaging. Skinbook organizers, based in Manchester (UK), told Time Magazine that what sets them apart from other nudist groups is their demographic: younger people (35-40 instead of over 55) and more women and couples (instead of single men). They get about 200 sign ups a day but only accept 10% of applicants due, unsurprisingly, to lame or X-rated attempts at sign up. And those who break the rules get booted:

I, a Jew, will miss Helen Thomas

Paula Froelich — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:00:05 +0000

Helen Thomas — You will be missed… If only by me. OOooof… what a week! I got my ass chewed out on Facebook for saying I would miss Helen Thomas… Okay. Half of what she said was pretty indefensible (I am of the mind that Israelis should, indeed, stop building on settlements. However, I do [...]

Mark Zuckerberg is a Wiener and the BP Oil Spill Sucks

Paula Froelich — Fri, 28 May 2010 16:48:01 +0000

A sign warns the public away from the beach on May 23, 2010 on Grand Isle, Louisiana. With oil covering many of the beaches, officials closed them to the public indefinitely on Saturday. Officials now say that it may be impossible to clean the coastal wetlands affected by the massive oil spill that continues gushing [...]

More White Noise from the Narcissist Generation

Paula Froelich — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:15:11 +0000

Lady Bunny — Photo by Charles Eshelman/Getty Images I spent much of last week in three inches of make-up doing my best Lady Bunny impersonation. No, really. I ended up doing LXTV, Joy Behar, Fox Business, etc. and it’s amazing how much make-up they put on a person just so they are “TV ready.” It’s [...]

Need help with food resolutions? Go to Facebook…

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:39:56 +0000

With the new year quickly approaching, you may be thinking about changes you'll want to make in 2010... and food issues may be high on your resolution priority list. Eat more fruits and vegetables... stay away from junk food... cook more... the list goes on and on...

A post-coital Tweet is the new cigarette

Em and Lo — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:00:10 +0000

photo by giant_mice_kill_rabbits A new study has found that 36% of people under the age of 35 Tweet, text, or check Facebook right after sex. For the over-35 group, that figure drops to only 8%. Are we totally giving away which side of the 35 dividing line we are located on when we say, Seriously, people? That's really what you want to waste your post-coital warm fuzzy glow on?

Project Gaydar

Bradford Shellhammer — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:46:00 +0000

I know many queens who for whatever reason feel the need to hide their sexuality from their boss or their mother. Before the days of Facebook this was an easy thing. But now as we are connected via social networking sites, our bosses and our mothers are often times linked to our lovers. This could [...]

Facebook breakup: Throw’d TV’s hilarious send up

Bradford Shellhammer — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:29:39 +0000

Yes, I am a sucker for stupid YouTube videos and blogs that take me away from real work. You must be too. Why else are you reading this? This video, done by Throw’d TV, had me LOLing. Or better yet, LMAOing. It is a send up of an all too familiar story these days: the Facebook [...]

Green tech finds (5/28/09)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:13:16 +0000

Here's your weekly run-down of breaking green tech stories...

Need a reason to spend more time on Facebook? Timberland and changents.org have you covered with their new game Earthkeeper Heroes: Mission Possible. (via sustainablog)

Social TV: Watch online with your Facebook and MySpace pals

Andrew Hearst — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:44:52 +0000

Mashable, the site devoted to coverage of the social-media industry, posted a cool report about SplashCast, a widget that adds revolutionary commenting capabilities to offerings from Hulu and other online video providers. It's easy to add a comment to the discussion thread on, say, a YouTube page, but SplashCast, or "Social TV," as they call it, is different.

Life as an Open Story

Annie and Lisa — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:13:39 +0000

This is a weekly column written by Annie Howell and Lisa Robinson, two filmmakers and film professors who are wondering where modern storytelling is heading. I’ve been thinking about the number of people who are streaming their lives as open stories over the web. All these personal narratives are unfolding by short sentences or photos [...]

Robert Redford: the importance of Earth Day

Robert Redford — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:48:10 +0000

Image: NASA On its 39th anniversary, Earth Day still feels vital to me, but I know that some of you out there think that its time has passed. Every day should be Earth Day, you say. Choosing just one, single day to say you care about the planet we call home — what good is [...]

In the Age of Cynicism

Sundance Channel — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 21:00:00 +0000

At 9:45pm Tuesday night, an old friend from my hometown called me from London, where he has been living for the past several years. Since he expatriated himself our communication has been confined to annual visits in Berkeley during the holidays, occasional emails and every-now-and-then spontaneous chats on Facebook. But I made him promise to [...]