Not Drugs – Art, Graffiti, Music and Culture for the Almost Grown-Up

I met DEVO today, which got me thinking: gogurt’s alright, but just go for the tub of plain and get some fresh fruit or something. Moshy moshy moshy, squishy squashy, here are some baaad moshes straight from thze internetz. I’m talkin’ terrorism-level bad with all the best intentions:

So Chatroulette is clearly the next big thing in the world of all things webby.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not facebook or twitter, but it’s big and it’ll be around for a little while.  Why?  Because of people who find awesome things to do with it like using it to perform, be funny, make movies or play games with people (or just fuck around).  Obviously not everyone has a webcam and most people don’t have the patience for penises and weirdos to go back to Chatroulette more than once or twice.  But as long as people are doing brilliant stuff like Ben Fold’s did when he took a cue from this guy and improvised songs on chatroulette in front of a crowd of 2,000 in North Carolina, it’ll stick around for a while.

As for what’s next in the world of new media…well if I knew that for sure I’d be a millionaire.  One thing I do know is that everything’s getting more and more mobile.  I just got on foursquare the other day.  It’s essentially a game you play with your friends in which you check into the places you go to and earn points and badges.  Sounds kinda lame and a little big-brother-freaky, I know BUT it’s still new.  Imagine if you add advertising to that.  You’re trying to decide which bar to hop to next with your friends when you get an alert on your phone saying something like, “Hey, you’re just a block away from Bar X, head in now and show them this message and you’ll get a free shot.  You lucky dog you.”  Now that’s a big brother I can buddy up to.  I’m not saying that foursquare is the next twitter (far from it) but keep an eye out for that sort of technology to become a part of your everyday life.

NBA Jam is Back!  Yeah, you heard me right, you’re favorite video game ever and the greatest, dunkingest two-on-two basketball game of all time is back.  Or at least it will be next Christmas when EA sports unveils NBA Jam 2010 for the Nintendo Wii.  That and a handful of screenshots are as much as I can share for certain right now, but knowing NBA Jam’s history of hidden characters like Bill Clinton and Will Smith speculations have already begun about a possible Obama hidden character.  Personally I’d love to see a Lady Gaga character, I couldn’t imagine a more fearsome opponent charging up the court, flaming b-ball in hand, jumping 10 feet off the ground and throwing it down with a “BOOM-SHAKA-LACKA”

Dwight Howard looks to be the coverboy for this glorious remake.

Looks cool, but there's way to many men on the court. This is supposed to be a two-on-two slamfest, not a basketball game.

Nice dunk, but I'm confused about that whole Supersonics thing since they don't exist anymore.

BOOM-SHAKA-LACKA!!!

UPDATE

Here’s the trailer for this piece of magic:

As number of systems owned increases, average yearly salary at age 34 increases.
As number of systems owned increases, number of times laid per sophomore year of high school decreases.
As number of systems owned increases, number of times laid per life increases.
As number of systems owned increases, likelihood of finding gold stuck to the bottom of your shoe increases .0097% per 8/11ths of game console.

I’ve had 15, how about you?

Here at NotDrugs we love technology, and we love philanthropy. As our country embraces the tragedy in Haiti, I lamentably love how as a society we have married our emerging mediums to support humans in need.

I donated to the Red Cross via text message (send “Haiti” to 90999). One of my coworkers has a enabled donating through her Facebook page. Celebrities are utilizing their massive Twitter followings to create specific funds–check Wyclef’s Twitter.

Here at NotDrugs I see no need to put up pictures of a decimated country, blood covered orphans or bodies buried in cement. It’s all over the televisions and newspapers. I’ll just use the old fashioned rally call in the ol’ U.S. of A: an entertaining man doing something to ooh and ahh the crowds, and open up our wallets–or in the futuristic world we live in, tweet to promote the text we just sent to pay for mass-water cleaning packets.

Get out the popcorn and enjoy…while texting to save the world.

Philanthrapy,

NotDrugs.

Put your feet up, read Not Drugs, and admire your toes:

The people I talk to, which are by no means an accurate cross-section of the population, seem to vary on their expectations of James Camron’s Avatar. They either love the idea or think it “sounds fucking stupid.”

Whatever you’re feelings are about it, the fact is this movie is a revolutionary addition to the realm of cinema–one that will positively change the industry forever–and I’m not talking about the blue dudes, the camera technology, or the special effects. Actually, I’m talking about all three, but not in the way you’re thinking. Sure the FX will be stunning, the fantastical world–fantastic, but in the combination of these elements (plus the 3D factor) is hwood’s first built-in anti-piracy technique, making it nearly impossible for pirates to reproduce and distribute the film in a marketable fashion. With current movie-viewing technology, the only way to view this movie will be in specially designated 3D theaters, with 3D glasses, and a DD girl to your right.

The girl part’s not true. But the rest is. Reads about it.

ref:
NPR

This site is all about NotDrugs–coffee, ambien, and ritalin are all drugs.  So how can this be reconciled?–Even we here at ND get tired, can’t fall asleep, or need a blast of focus juice.  The answer: Binaural Beats.  Calculated noise that can actually program your brain to think it has just received a cup of coffee, a sleeping pill, focus medicine, and a wide array of other traditionally drug-related effects.

This technology has been around since the late 1800s, but with the advent of the internet, ProTools, and sick headphones what can now be done with Binaurals is mind boggling.
This crazy sound might sound crazy. It is.  It works.

This site’s got what you need (click the little play buttons):

There are also an array of binaural iPhone apps.  I like the free BinauralBeat.  You can customize your own beats to meet specific specs.  iBrainWave SE is also free.  The better ones cost between $2.99 and $3.99–cheaper than a 5-hour energy shot…

Be weird.

Ref:
i-dose

This is whatsup: Youtube is debuting a separate site for music videos, called VEVO.

What does this mean? When you search to see the music video “Hey Ma” you won’t have to filter through endless screen shots of the album cover, a capella teenage girl versions, or fat guy dances. They are compiling the real videos and listing them first.

Cool new features: Synchronized and integrated lyrics, for all you closet karaokers.

Sucks: HD isn’t coming out for a year.

Sounds like the future: AOL & CBS, as well as searches derived within YouTube, will be redirected to VEVO.

Expected: AT&T, McDonalds, Mastercard and Axe are notable introductory sponsors.

So let’s lay this out. Google owns YouTube which owns VEVO, which is now the internet center for music videos.

Apple owns LaLa…and iTunes, which is whatsup for streaming, buying and organizing music.

Even LastFm is owned by CBS, which claims they will redirect to VEVO.

Things that I know of that are musically inclined that have not yet been bought up: Pandora, Songza–which powers the Hype Machine.

The online music frontier needs to be busted open again.

Follow the developing story (and a whole lot of noise) on the #VEVO Twitter Stream: #vevo, or periodically check Ben Parr’s coverage over at Mashable.

There was this musical enhancement, birthed in Spain, called the Reactable.

What the Hell?

It consisted of a round table that, when only black lights were on, showed various shapes and images. Then, you would place these block-like pieces, called Tangibles, on these shapes and images that the table projected, and it would create a sort of synthesizer. Depending on the placement, and the connection between the Tangibles, it could make different sounds.

This seems kind of complicated. There’s a lot involved, a lot of movement. I’m all ready tired.

But wait. It’s 2009. Obviously, there’s something better.

Doesn't look much better. But it is.

They are just called audio cubes. Very simple. No need for a blacklit table, or certain placements for the Tangibles…because all there is are cubes, that could be placed on any surface, and they make music. Watch it below.

They hook up to a USB port, and there are numerous programs that work with these cubes. A French designer worked with the creators of the Reactable in order to improve the technology. It’s still in the works right now, but it’s suppose to be commercially available soon.

Sick.

DWB.