bacon

This week, we take a look at a concept that's movie-worthy, but perhaps not entirely realistic for actual life use. Also on the menu: a crazy stunt involving a personal flying machine, a freaky-looking flying robot probe that inspires countless minutes of Star Wars prattling (much to Jasmine's chagrin), and a super sweet-looking speaker with a jaw-dropping price tag. Plus, the Nano gets turned into a watch, and a computer gets turned into a bitchin' Camaro. Finally, we satisfy some fattening cravings with bacon soda, cupcake burgers, and adult chocolate milk (or, "This is why you're drunk").

Subscribe in iTunes SD Video | Subscribe in RSS SD Video… Read more

Justin is sick today, so Demetrius Wren and Christina Ghubril join the show to talk about their new film "Streetball." It's the story of a group of homeless South African kids who try to break out of the cycle of poverty by competing in the Homeless World Cup. After some calls about "1984" and convergence, we talk a bit about some unusual uses of bacon flavor.

The most amazing part of "Streetball" was that it was entirely written, shot, edited, directed, and produced by two people! It's a full-length transcontinental movie made possible with only a couple of laptops and some prosumer cameras that have really leaped toward professional film cameras. Demetrius points out that it would not have been possible to shoot their film with a huge camera crew and big pieces of equipment.

The movie is a really fascinating look at how South Africa has changed and not changed since the end of apartheid. The pair says the film is on track for a June-July 2010 release, so be sure to check it out. (Side note: "Streetball" is sponsored by the From Us with Love charity. Be sure to donate!)

After the break, we get to some voice mails about how George Orwell's dystopian future may already be here. That means it may be a normal thing this time next year for Big Brother to know exactly what you purchased at Wal-Mart and that you spend way too much time at the bar down the street.

Last story of the day is about bacon--oh, that delicious food of the gods! Jeff the Hypochondriac thinks bacon-flavored envelopes just might be enough to get him to lick his envelopes closed again. Meanwhile, an intrepid live listener of the show shows us some bacon-flavored chapstick along with some bacon-flavored...personal...lubricant. Yeah, the show ends on that note today.

Side note: We changed the way we're naming our shows in the blog. This is probably going to result in some confusion and backlash. It was done to please the Internet gods.

I honestly can't remember the last time I sent something using conventional mail, but it may have been more than three years ago. I hate licking stamps and envelopes and risking a paper cut in one of the worst places I can imagine. But after spotting these Mmmvelope bacon-flavored envelopes from "bacontrepreneurs" J&D's, I might start looking for reasons to send random stuff out. And for as little as three packs of 25 for $14.99, I can send a lot.

The No. 10 envelopes themselves are regular paper but the glue has a … Read more

Ace reporter Caroline McCarthy from CNET News joins the show today to bring us bacon chocolate from Foodzie. It's kind of like, Etsy but for food. Wilson doesn't partake in the bacon, but he munches down on the bourbon chocolate. Jeff's not a fan of swine cocoa, but Justin can't get enough of it.

However, Justin's not a fan of Apple's iPhone warranty policies. Apparently, he dropped his iPhone into a puddle of something. We're not exactly sure what, but we're pretty sure you can't drink it. Anyway, because of this whole ordeal, he's decided to become Justine.

Additionally, ESPN.com tries to be cool when it briefly enables the "Contra code" for its Web site. The hack lasted for about 45 minutes before it got shut down, but we give the site props for making unicorns and rainbows cool again.

It's Tuna Tuesday again, and we get a phone call from Tina. Finally, Twitter has become popular enough to ban at work. We get around it with this new Web app that fakes an Excel document with all your Twitters.

Be sure to check out Jeff Bakalar's appearance on Dan Levy's podcast "On the DL." He talks about tech and hockey. Lastly, a show about supercute kittens and puppies uses The 404 music loop. Didn't know the music could go both ways.

Let me guess what you're thinking: "What the heckbeans is this doing on Crave? Where are the diodes, LCD screens, or batteries? Not even one Swarovski crystal?" Well, we realize this isn't tech-related, but considering the amount of bacon-related blog posts popping up on here, we doubt anyone will care.

Now I know I said before that men who wear jewelry should be stoned to death or something to that degree, but I think we can all agree that bacon is the crunchy, greasy, artery-clogging tie that binds us all together, so I'll make an exception for this bacon bracelet, courtesy of Diffraction's store on online crafts marketplace Etsy.com.

Anyway, the bracelet is a shiny silver and closes with a lobster clasp; it's also fully adjustable up to eight inches, but the seller can also make it larger if necessary. The "bacon" itself is professionally shot in a studio, printed on thick plastic, and then sealed with three coats of polyurethane for added durability. The result is a little slice of bacon that looks so similar to the real thing that you're likely to get a few strange looks in line at the bank, and maybe even one "Uhh, you gonna eat that?"

And now, for some bad news: unfortunately, the bracelet is sold out online right now, but check out the maker's Etsy store for future updates and other food-themed accoutrements. EDIT: The store has been updated, additional bacon bracelets available here!

More pictures of the bacon bracelet after the jump.… Read more

Some kitchen appliances are hard to emulate. Just try making a waffle without a waffle iron. It's not very easy to do. You may end up with something that goes great with bacon and eggs, but that doesn't mean you got yourself a waffle. In fact, I'm not even quite sure how one would go about trying to make a waffle without a waffle maker. Most likely, one would just settle for pancakes. Delicious maybe, but waffles they are not.

Valuable counter space need not be sacrificed to have a waffle maker. The Kalorik Stainless Steel Nonstick Grill/Sandwich/Waffle Maker … Read more

Jeff, Wilson, and Justin recover from their hangovers with ace reporter Caroline McCarthy. We chat about Wilson's drunken debauchery and Caroline's bacon tattoo.

Some days on The 404, there isn't much news to report, so we do something we like to call "milking," and boy are we good at it! It's not for lacking of trying. We spend as much as 10 minutes every day looking for stuff on the Interwebs to riff on, and while we could talk about hackers taking apart Safari in seconds, it's really not that funny. And it's not 404-esque material. See how much text I've written, and really I haven't said anything!

In actual stories today, Caroline McCarthy tells us that there are bacon tattoos at SXSW. We think someone spammed our poll. President Obama makes a terrible, terrible 404-style joke about bowling and the Special Olympics. (We wish he would come on our show.) Google gives you an "Undo Send" feature in Gmail. We think it would be more effective if it had a five-hour, post-hangover undo-send feature. And we're really, really tired of Jason Seigel & Co. movies like "I Love You, Man." But it does bring up fond memories of Jennifer Love Hewitt in that teen classic "Can't Hardly Wait."

I'm going to make a bold prediction: bacon may well have been the favorite food obsession of the Internet during 2008, but beer can chicken is going to wrestle the mantle away this year. Of course, we won't know the results of this delicious statement well until mid-summer, but all the signs are there. We have seen a recent explosion of interest in the cooking method, and now we are seeing more products designed to deliver the classic meal. From ceramic cookers looking to mimic the process to simple devices resembling colanders or mesh steamers, the fact is … Read more