MCFGHT! Karaoke Showdown

by Josh Rubin

LVHRD Foundation, the semi-secret NYC members club recognized for its elusive events, will host another party in its saga of creative competitions. This time, on Tuesday 30 May 2006 you can expect a karaoke battle of epic proportions. MCFGHT: Karaoke Showdown will take place in an undisclosed Chinatown venue. Competitors consist of publicists, publishers and producers – not your average vocalists, and not your average showdown. Isn’t that what karaoke is all about?

You might have heard about LVHRD through some of their past competitive undertakings: an architect duel between Grzywinski Pons Architects (of Hotel on Rivington fame) and global giant Arquitectonica, a vending machine eating competition between J. Walter Thompson and the NYC Ballet (the ballet lost), and an underpants-only video game tournament.

Sapporo Beer and Pravda Vodka are on board to keep the showdown hydrated, which should make for some karaoke pretty interesting.

LVHRD never promotes the venue location in advance. On the day of the event, members receive a text message with the address. For non-members who want to attend, LVHRD typically charges an admission fee. You can find all the details at their site, lvhrd.com (sort of). Be sure mention Cool Hunting.

Open Your Eyes

by Josh Rubin

To demonstrate the significant leap in Nokia NSeries' video phone quality, Nokia commissioned 16 independent directors to film and compose shorts using nothing but their new phone. All featured on the NSeries website, the series, titled Open Your Eyes, pays homage to the beauty of mundane places. Jason Nichols takes a romantic ride over New York’s East River on the Roosevelt Island tram, Prashant Bhargava makes improvisational water percussion with an adorable two-year-old (pictured center), and Daniel Josefsohn takes us to an avant garde rock nightclub Berlin (pictured left). In another challenge on the same site, director Oren Jacoby (Sister Rose’s Passion) made five traditional web documentaries, each about a fellow New York film maker with a feature in the 2006 TriBeca Film Fest.

The Attention Trust

by Josh Rubin

Attention Trust. They've developed their own software (or you can use an approved online service called Root) that allows you to track your own internet usage. It's a bit like spying on yourself, except it's all above board. Later on, you can review on your habits, which may provide some insights, and you can share your information with whoever you wish (and only with those you wish). Privacy is key. Our attention is ours and we have a right to this proprietary information.

Subeo Aquarius

by Josh Rubin

Almost as exciting (and useless in everyday life) as the personal flying machine is the personal submarine. Engineered with all the components of a large submarine, the Aquarius from Subeo is now available for $1.5M from Latest Buy. The submersible craft holds 3 people, can dive down up to 50 meters, holds 3 hours of Oxygen and can move along at up to 7 knots. Want to see one in person? I'd expect someone in the Hamptons or Malibu to be among the first with a Subeo.

via BornRich

Tango Clear Commercial

by SummerSeventySix

It was bound to happen sooner or later: Sony's much noticed bouncy ball advert for their Bravia liine of T.V.s has been parodied to perfection by soft drink firm Tango, who have a long history of great commercials.

The haunting music by José Gonzalez remains, but a shoestring budget meant the ad wasn't shot in San Francisco, but the steep streets of Swansea in South Wales. The balls have been replaced with 43 crates of fresh fruit, to show off the drink's various flavors. Little touches like a watermelon smashing a window and a frog emerging from a drainpipe mean it works brilliantly.

You can see the ad here, as part of a spoof site pretending to represent the outraged members of the Swansea North Residents Association.

Also on CH: Zero 7.