The King Kong Trailer. And Space Sauron!

Yesterday, the NBC Universal Media Colossus celebrated my birthday by unveiling the (Volkswagen-sponsored) teaser trailer for King Kong to over 100 million people via the internet and ten broadcast and cable networks. Peter Jackson's much-anticipated $150 million follow-up to The Lord of the Rings looks pretty damn cool, lovingly evoking the period of the original in a much grander scope - which should come as no surprise, as this project is Jackson's boyhood dream come true. "I'm wanting the film to be deliberately old-fashioned," he tells USA Today. "An old-fashioned adventure, a mysterious escapist film like the ones I used to love as a kid." I can't wait to see it. (For lots more Kong goodness, check out KongIsKing.net - especially for their fascinating and funny behind-the-scenes video production diaries.)

Meanwhile, as Jackson sues the pants off New Line Cinema for stiffing him on his share of Lord of the Rings profits, scientists using the Hubble Space Telescope have discovered a newly formed solar system around the star Fomalhaut (located some 25 light years from Earth in the constellation Pisces Austalis) that bears an uncanny similarity to the Great Eye of Sauron. How freaky is that?

The Glow Brick and Tempo Time Tag

I recently treated myself to a few early birthday presents, and thought I'd tell you about two particularly neat ones...

The Glow Brick (designed and manufactured by Suck UK) isn't just the most irresistibly cool (and environmentally friendly) nightlight I've ever seen, it's also a whimsical work of art. Basically, it's a hefty 3.3" x 3.3" x 5.5" block of lucite with a lightbulb inside - which in turn has a glow-in-the-dark element inside of it. You "charge" it with ambient light during the day (or a quick blast of a lamp), and it glows soothingly for hours. It's available in North America from Generate (a very cool Canadian online design store) for $45, shipping included. I absolutely love it.

The Tempo Time Tag is simply a tiny (.45" x 1.1" x .3") stainless steel clip-on watch you can wear just about anywhere. Pretty much all it does is tell time and look cool. However, I must admit that I wish they were thinner by about half, and they also seem to run a little fast, but then again you can get a pair (left and right) for a mere $18 direct from vessel, so it's kinda hard to complain. (It'd sure be cool if they had a "glow" button, though.)

Gervais. Merchant. Extras. (Obviously.)

The very brilliant and very funny Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant - who created, wrote, directed and produced The Office together - are back at work on a new six-part comedy series called Extras that's about, well, extras. It premieres sometime this summer on BBC Two, and God only knows when we'll get to see it here in the States, but you can get an amusing sneak peek here. And another one here. And yet another one here. Cheers.

P.S.: And in case you missed it (three months ago like I did), BBC Movies has an interesting interview with Gervais about his role in the animated film Valiant (which opens August 19 in the U.S.), along with wee tidbits about his forthcoming Simpsons episode and how he landed a role in Mission: Impossible III.

Hello Kitty = half a billion bucks a year.

CNET News.com.com has a fairly disturbing report on the business of Hello Kitty, which generates about half of Sanrio's $1 billion annual revenue.

At any given time, the silent cat can be found on 22,000 different products worldwide. Every month, 600 new Hello Kitty products come out and 600 others are extinguished. Sanrio makes approximately 6,000 of these itself, but the rest come from licensed manufacturers. (A winery, for instance, has sold a Hello Kitty beaujolais.) Eighty-five percent of Hello Kitty revenue comes from Japan, but Japan's population growth is almost at zero.

So do your part for Hello Kitty world domination and buy the Hello Kitty Toaster (and a dizzying array of other goodies) at Amazon.com.

Rescue Me returns

Along with 24, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, and House, I think FX's Rescue Me is one of the five best dramas on television. Created by star Denis Leary and screenwriter Peter Tolan (who previously collaborated on the short-lived but brilliant The Job), this darkly comedic drama about New York City firefighters premiered last summer to broad critical acclaim and returns tonight at 10pm (9pm Central) for its second season. Highly recommended.

And... we're back. (Again.)

Apologies for the unannounced two-week hiatus, but between all those free doughnuts and Parallel closing and Apple switching to Intel and the Michael Jackson trial and the Tom Cruise / Katie Holmes Apocalypse, I've been curled up in a corner hugging my new bowling ball for dear life, rocking back and forth in a semi-catatonic state while mumbling random Japanese words I've subconsciously picked up from watching too much anime.

Okay, not really, but you gotta admit that Tom Cruise has officially become creepy - especially given revelations that he'd been shopping all over Hollywood for ingénues like Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Alba before poor Katie had her life hijacked and landed her own New Operating Thetan IV (and maybe $5 million). I mean, holy crap.

Anyway, in happier news I got to see Batman Begins and Howl's Moving Castle, which are probably my favorite films of the year so far after Serenity. (I also currently recommend Layer Cake and Cinderella Man.)

P.S.: "Bakuretsu muteki" means "explosion invincible". Just so you know.

Parallel Closes Today

In just the last couple of weeks or so, a handful of friends have been telling me about a cool modernist oasis on Burnet called Parallel, which is a combination coffee shop / wine bar / gourmet market / gift store. Sadly, Austinist reported yesterday that Parallel is closing its doors at 5pm today. I really wish I'd heard about this place sooner, but I suppose that was the problem (they opened four months ago and I've seen no advertising or press). Anyway, I plan to drop by today to pay my respects, browse the half-price clearance sale, and have a bite.

Free Doughnuts at Krispy Kreme today!

Today is National Doughnut Day, and Krispy Kreme is celebrating by offering customers a free doughnut of their choice. According to Krispy Kreme, "Doughnut Day was established in 1938 by the Chicago Salvation Army to raise much-needed funds during the Great Depression and to honor the work of World War I Salvation Army volunteers who prepared doughnuts for thousands of soldiers." It is celebrated the first Friday in June. (FYI, Krispy Kreme's current featured doughnut is Strawberry Shortcake.)