Nike Rockstar Workout

Have you always wanted to be able to dance to the latest songs while they play in the club, on the radio or your iPod? Want to incorporate the real moves and add your flair to them? Want no more! Today I discovered the Nike Rockstar Workout.

The current style at the Nike Rockstar Workout is Hip Hop and they've chosen to use Rihanna's new hit, SOS. If you haven't heard it before, SOS is a catchy tune, primarily because it samples Soft Cell's "Tainted Love". I love it and currently can't get enough, which is one of the reasons that I was so excited when I discovered the Nike Rockstar Workout. Not only can you watch the video for SOS, you can step inside with choreographer Jamie King and learn the moves that both Rihanna and Jamie (the male character in the video) use, as well as their combination moves. You can start, stop and replay the flash video as often as you like; until you've perfected your new dance groove!

And if learning the moves wasn't enough, you can get gear (online from Nike, of course) so you can look and dance the hip hop part. There's also a dance personality quiz to take.

I hope that Nike finds other artists to collaborate with and expands their Nike Rockstar Workout. I think it's a great idea and while I won't be buying any clothing because of this promotion, I could learn a few cool new moves for the dance floor. :)

Christie's New York - Magnificent Jewels Sale

Are you in the market for pricey, one-of-a-kind jewelry? Got several hundred thousand to a couple million dollars to invest? Then you're in luck, my friend! Christie's New York will be holding their next Magnificent Jewels sale on April 11 in New York's Rockerfeller Plaza.

Included in the April 11th sale will be the collection of Joan Kroc, the wife of McDonald's founder, Ray Kroc.

The above Harry Winston diamond necklace (lot 335) is the most expensive piece in the Kroc collection, estimated between $1 million - $1.5 million US. Set with a detachable pear-shaped fancy intense yellow diamond it weighs approximately 42.13 carets. It hangs from a pear and circular-cut diamond two-row necklace mounted in platinum and 18K gold.

Also included in the sale is a magnificent 50.67 carets unmounted pear-shaped diamond (lot 336) estimated to sell for anywhere between $2.25 - $2.5 million U.S.

(Via Luxist)

Heineken Commercial

I'm not a huge Heineken fan, but I found this commercial to be amusing. The changing of the cityscape from current to "old" is really neat.

Interesting fact: According to the Heineken website, Heineken is Europe's largest brewery. Heineken beer is sold in over 170 countries.

Riya - Blending facial recognition with your photos

Founded by a group of facial recognition Ph.D.s from Stanford University, Riya brings facial recognition technology, long used by the FBI and law enforcement, to the average Joe. Through "contextual recognition", Riya will search through digital photo albums to find matches for people that you've identified.

According to co-founder Munjal Shah, contextual recognition is an amplified version of facial recognition. The software looks at a person's face, but will also look at the shirt they are wearing and other cues to find a match. Additionally, it will search for text in the images, so if people want to find a photo where they posed by a "Welcome to Florida" sign, they can search on the word "Florida" and the Riya search engine will find it.

Roughly 70 percent accurate, Riya is a fascinating look into facial recognition. With time, user input (increasing data available to Riya), and further investments in contextual recognition will hopefully improve the accuracy of Riya. I have not personally tried the site, but am looking forward to uploading pictures and discovering Riya myself.

(Via CNET)

We Smirch

A new celebrity gossip and news portal has been launched. Powered by Memorandum, We Smirch will find and display the most popular stories from blog posts or news sites. In a single-page view, you'll find the current hot gossip, showing the stories as clusters of links from sources. Also included in the results are thumbnail pictures, making your gossip experience that much more exciting.

We Smirch picks up on stories relatively quickly, making it a good site to get your gossip fix without visiting a large number of separate sites. Yes, it may become your primary site for celebrity news and gossip. It will also find stories that are potentially popular from much smaller sources and display them on the site.

(Via TechCrunch)

VW, Google and nVidia partner for car navigation system

German automaker Volkswagen (VW) has partnered with Google and nVidia (a graphics card manufacturer) to create an in-car navigation system. The central element of the navigation system is the interactive touch-screen display. The interface is linked to Google Earth for 3D maps and real-time data, such as traffic and weather. I'll be excited to see this if/when it is released.

More pictures here.

(Via Boing Boing)

Scary Movie 4 Trailer

I don't know about you all, but I just love the "Scary Movie" series. Yes, it can be crude and go over the line, but I love the parodies in them and I'm excited that another installment of the "Scary Movie" series is coming out. I wouldn't pay close to 10 dollars to see it in the theaters, but it'll make a good rental.

US issues RFID Passports

The US has began issuing passports with RFID chips. They are initially being rolled out on a pilot program to a select group of US diplomats. Due to be launched nationwide in October, the RFID chips contain all the personal information printed inside the passport, as well as a photograph of the passport holder. Scanners at ports of entry will access the data on the RFID chips and compare them with a national database for identity verification.

The government and supporters of the new passports say they will be a minimal burden to travelers, while enhancing border security and reducing the possibility of identity fraud. Privacy groups insist that the new passports will make it easier for identities to be stolen and the information contained on the chips to be compromised. As a validation of these concerns, a Dutch security lab broke the encryption planned for use in Dutch RFID passports.

(Via MSNBC)