It's a water bottle. That tracks how much you drink, and glows when you need to drink more. As well as telling your smartphone.
The very earnest start-up, the new-agey feel of the intro, and the over-the-top testimonials all seem like some kind of sophisticated social commentary on the times we live in. But it's apparently a real thing, and people have put up over $80,000 to back it on Kickstarter.
If you look closely at the "rewards" section, it's clear that Kickstarter is being used to pre-sell the bottles. For about $45 a pop.
It's sickly amusing to me that so many people would be willing to pay almost fifty bucks for a bottle that reminds you to drink it. (And it's not even full of single-malt Scotch.)
I guess there is, literally, a sucker born every minute.
I've written before about the "Lammily" doll. It's a Barbie-type doll that was computer modelled using more realistic proportions of a 19-year-old woman. In March of this year its creator, Nickolay Lamm, announced a Kickstarter to bring the doll to market. After raising more than five times his $95,000 crowdfunding goal, Lammily is ready to hit the Christmas market.
But what would a Barbie-like doll be without accessories to buy? So Mr. Lamm is planning to release an accessory pack in the new year. But instead of swimsuits or dream houses, Lammily gets cellulite, scars, stretch marks and zits.
The creator told Time, “I wanted to show that reality is cool. And a lot of toys make kids go into fantasy, but why don’t they show real life is cool? It’s not perfect, but it’s really all we have. And that’s awesome.”
Lamm decided to take matters into his own hands after being bombarded with questions about where to buy a Barbie of normal size. The entrepreneur is offering prototypes of his toy to the first people to donate to his Kickstarter campaign, but his plan is to eventually be able to distribute the doll widely online and in retail. The longer term vision also includes embracing diversity by creating dolls with different ethnic backgrounds and body types.
Here's his video:
The final Lamily is brunette, not blonde, and she also fully-articulated, allowing "her" to do a lot more than standing around stiffly:
Would you prefer this doll for your kids? Or will she end up being a real world "Lisa Lionheart"?
Remember last Christmas, when Acart Communications did that Paranormal Activity spoof? We weren't the first to parody the horror franchise, and we won't be the last.
But I don't think anyone will ever make a weirder one than this:
This trailer was made to attract attention to Christian "Comedian*" Rich Praytor's campaign to make his big idea — of combining borrowed interest from Paranormal Activity, Poltergeist and other pop memes, bad jokes, and a morality play about pornography — into a feature film.
Why are we doing a project like this? Because films are not only entertaining but they're also a way to teach people. Society learns their morals and values through music, film and television. Pornography is such a huge problem that simply telling someone how dangerous it is usually doesn't work. You have to tell a compelling story to catch someone's attention and then educate them while they're being entertained.
Praytor promises to let big donors actually take part in the making of the film: For $250, you can "be apart [sic] of a creative brainstorming session with the cast and crew via Skype or in person (transportation not included)"; for $500, they'll name a character after you; for $3500, they'll fly you to Colorado Springs to direct one of four scenes created from your ideas; $5000 gets you the Executive Producer credit.
But the best deal is the $7500 option:
"The director and two actors will travel to your location (continental United States only) for the day and shoot a scene you created. You will also direct the scene and spend the day with the team." The subversive potential of being able to write and direct a scene in a low-budget Christian comedo-horror almost seems worth the money.
*And why did I put "comedian" in quotes?
Here is some of Praytor's earlier Christian comedy gold:
"We have all fallen victim to the pocketless dresses and even the dress pants with fake pockets. However, Kyle and Mariah, two students at the University of Washington, decided to create a way to give women options, free their hands, and let them party without worrying about a purse getting stolen."
I kind of get it, as a secret stash for mad money. But how practical is this thing when the bouncer asks the woman for ID and she starts unbuttoning her shirt? (Although it would probably get her on the guest list along with a backstage pass.)
And how exactly is she supposed to answer each one of the 20 texts per hour that the average young woman receives*?
As of this posting, they have raised $3,235 of their $4,000 goal, with 19 days to go. So I guess this thing may make it to market. In which case, we may have to rebrand the "booty call" to an entirely different set of anatomy.
