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The art of the guitar honored in three NYC shows

I went to the "Guitar Heroes" opening party last week at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. While the exhibit's name might lead some to think the Met's show honors the Guitar Hero video game, Guitar Heroes instead examines the work of three craftsmen--John D'Angelico, James D'Aquisto, John Monteleone--and their place in the extended context of Italian and Italian-American instrument making.

Instruments by the three master builders have been used by some of the most influential guitarists of the 20th century, including Chet Atkins, Les Paul, George Benson, Paul Simon, Steve Miller, Mark … Read more

'The Simpsons' avatar creator: A marketing site done right

Up until this weekend I hadn't really been too excited about seeing the upcoming Simpsons feature-length movie. That was until I laid my eyes on the film's Web site.

Like most other movie marketing sites out there, it's full of a lot of Flash with bouncy navigation and a nearly unbearable amount of sound effects. There are the usual mini-games (both of which I might add are quite enjoyable), and links to the movie's MySpace profile (it is Fox, after all). The real gem however, is the Simpsons avatar builder--a piece-by-piece character maker that lets people … Read more

Some peace of mind for art lovers

If you've seen one too many reruns of the Thomas Crown Affair (the original version with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway was far superior), and you're of the paranoid ilk like us, you may very well be tempted to try out something like this to protect your precious oils and water colors. The "Guard Alarm" aims to provide security for hanging artwork directly at the source, rather than wiring the room they're in.

It screws into the wall, serving essentially as a "smart" hook--if a painting is removed, it sounds a "piercing, … Read more

Presto, it's the amazing Cubisto

There's really not much reason to get a MobiBLU "Cubisto" unless you just want to carry around an oddly shaped music player as a conversation starter. But hey, that could describe a good number of gadgets we write about anyway.

Dapreview says the Cubisto is basically a stripped-down MP3 player with average storage and features, for $90. But we like the cut of its jib anyway, because it at least tries to be different without going over the top. We're also strangely fond of its name, which sounds like a cross between a magician and a … Read more