PhantomOfTheOpera
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Dracula, The Mummy and six other horror classics coming in a Blu-ray set October 2nd (video)
Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection will arrive on shelves October 2nd, and pack eight classic horror movies, all restored so they can be seen in the highest quality possible. Among the releases is Creature from the Black Lagoon restored for Blu-ray 3D (yes, like Dial M for Murder it was originally shot and released in 3D back in 1954), as well as Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man and Phantom of the Opera. This is all a part of the ongoing Universal centennial celebration that's seeing its vaults unleash many of our favorites for the first time in high definition. After the break you can check out a featurette detailing the process undertaken to prep Dracula for Blu-ray release, as well as a press release with details on all of the flicks and which extras are included for each movie. Of course, the downside of a pack like this is that it's pricey -- the MSRP is $160, but it's available for preorder on Amazon currently priced at $112.
Phantom of the Floppera (video)
This is what happens when you connect a few floppy drives to a PIC18f14k50 microcontroller operated by a MIDI-wielding madman. Be sure to watch until at least the 2 minute 30 second mark for a 5 1/4 inch surprise. Look closely, and you might just notice that Box 5 was left empty. [Thanks, Jussi J.]
Taiwan casts robots in Phantom of the Opera, Lloyd Webber seen kicking himself repeatedly
The University of Science and Technology in Taiwan's announced that they're putting on a very special performance of The Phantom of the Opera on December 27th, in which the two leads will be played by robots. The lead bots (named Thomas and Janet) can both walk, and have silicon facial "muscles" that help them mimic human expressions and mouth movements. There will be two additional robotic thespians, Ringo, a jazz drummer, and Pica, a painter, that move on wheels. The Center for Intelligent Robots at the University says that while they've developed the robots for entertainment purposes, they plan to move toward applying them in service fields. As if upstaging Sarah Brightman with a robot isn't service enough already.[Thanks, Tim]
HD-DVD buying tips from Penny Arcade
Read Ben's HD-DVD review and decided you can't wait another minute for your optical discs of high definition goodness but you know there is no way your better half is ever going to let you buy one?Good news, Gabe and Tycho have a plan. Check out yesterday's webcomic Treachery in 1080i to find out the secret to buying an HD-DVD player without having to actually finish that around the house work you've been promising to get done. For the uninitiated, Penny Arcade is a mostly gaming centered webcomic that has been around for a few years, if you play games check out the archives, they are hilarious.[Thanks for the tip Adam!]
