Category Archives: Arts and Culture

At Abercrombie & Fitch, Sex No Longer Sells

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By Sapna Maheshwari

Abercrombie & Fitch’s (ANF) skin-filled ads and nightclub vibe once delighted American teenagers and infuriated parents. Today, many aren’t even paying attention. The once-edgy retailer has lost a third of its market value in the past year as it grapples with falling sales in Europe and the U.S. While Abercrombie blames the economy for its woes, brand consultants say it also has failed to change with the times.

Today’s teens are underwhelmed by the half-naked models and blaring, dimly lit stores. They’re also less inclined to wear Abercrombie’s longtime uniform of pricey denim and graphic T-shirts. “The trick for fashion brands is how to keep the core edgy and hot,” says Allen Adamson, a managing director at brand consulting firm Landor Associates.

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‘Hunger Games’: Target to Sell $999 Mockingjay Pin, Replica of Katniss’ Leather Jacket

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The retailer moves towards upscale collectors items to coincide with the Lionsgate film’s DVD and Blu-ray release.

by Sophie A. Schillaci

Target is going high-end for The Hunger Games DVD and Blu-ray release.

In addition to offering pre-orders of the discs, the retailer has announced that it will be selling a solid 14-K gold Mockingjay pin, like the one Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss wears in the film, for an astonishing $999.

But the high-end merchandise doesn’t stop there. Target, which is known for offering a variety of items at inexpensive prices, will also be selling a replica of Katniss’ leather hunting jacket for $349 and a lithograph autographed by 10 Hunger Games actors, including Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth, for $699. The catch: Only 100 of each item will be available for purchase.

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12 Most Colorful Towns in the World

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Some cities don’t need neon to brighten up the landscape. From pastel towers on the Italian coast to a crayon-colored artist colony in Argentina, these 12 towns make color the primary focus.

By Ryan Murphy

Ever notice how many of the world’s great cities and monuments are, well, a bit bland? The pharaohs obviously skimped on the paint budget for the pyramids. And today, the Parthenon looks regally monochrome from its perch on the Athenian Acropolis. But there are some bright spots. Thankfully there are the candy-colored towns of Italy’s Cinque Terre and vibrant neighborhoods from Buenos Aires to Cape Town to keep your vacation photos from looking a little beige. Or take a trip north of the Artic circle to a Norwegian town that brightens up the lunar landscape with charming orange, blue, and red dwellings (be sure to say hi to Santa Claus while you are there). Join us on a tour to five continents as we explore a dozen of the world’s most vibrantly colorful towns, and we’ll let you know exactly where to go to get the best view.

MANAROLA, ITALY
JODHPUR, INDIA
LA BOCA, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
ITTOQQORTOORMIIT, GREENLAND
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
WILLEMSTAD, CURAÇAO
LONGYEARBYEN, SVALBARD, NORWAY
BO-KAAP, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
BERLIN, GERMANY
TENBY, WALES
GDAŃSK, POLAND
QUIAPO, MANILA, PHILIPPINES

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10 Video Game Firsts

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By Gordon Cameron

First job, first kiss, first pet — firsts are a big part of life, and so it is with games.

From MMOs to Madden, from sophisticated CG cinematics to gritty shooters, gaming’s biggest franchises, genres, and techniques all had to get started somewhere. Journey back in time with us as we excavate the obscure origins of the gaming world we take for granted today.

First 3D shooter: Wolfenstein 3D

Conventional wisdom holds that the first true first-person shooter — combining texture-mapped 3D graphics, a first-person perspective, and arcade-quick shooter action — was id Software’s seminal hit, Wolfenstein 3D. And, as it happens, conventional wisdom is mostly correct. Sort of.

Shortly before the release of Wolfenstein 3D (which is itself based on the classic 8-bit adventure Castle Wolfenstein), id took a dry run at the same technology with 1992’s Catacomb 3D, a fantasy shooter in which gamers battled enemy goblins with an arsenal of fireballs. All the pieces of the genre were already more or less in place, but Catacomb lacks the visible firearm and ammunition counter that make Wolfenstein seem so familiar to today’s Call of Duty devotees.
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Why Google’s Nexus 7 Tablet Is Hotter Than Apple’s iPad

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By Robert Hof

For once, an Apple product isn’t the hottest piece of hardware on the scene. This week, at least, that highly enviable status goes to Google‘s new Nexus 7 tablet. According to reports, several retailers are sold out of the 7-inch tablet, and even Google’s own online store only has the cheaper 8-GB version.

Of course, you have to remember that selling out doesn’t mean much without knowing how many sold out. This is a classic Apple ploy, though to give Apple credit, it usually turns out later that it sold a ton of whatever sold out. No matter, selling out a product shortly after its release still works great as a marketing tool, as you can see from the coverage gushing about “incredible demand.”
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Facebook stock has highest close since May 21

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NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook closes at one of its highest prices since its initial public offering.

The stock rose $1.21, or 3.8 percent, to finish Friday at $33.05. It hasn’t closed above that price since May 21, the second day of trading.

The stock finished the week up 10 percent, the second straight week of increase.

Facebook is still 14 percent below its IPO price of $38 a share.

Facebook’s IPO has had a rocky ride. Its debut was delayed by trading glitches on the Nasdaq.

Investors have been concerned about its ability to increase revenue and make money from its growing mobile audience, though many analysts hold positive long-term opinions.

Facebook, along with investment banks that led the IPO, is the subject of dozens of shareholder lawsuits.

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‘Dark Knight Rises’ Producer: Nolan Will Never Direct Batman Again

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by Ethan Anderton

It’s pretty bold to say that something will never happen whether you’re talking about something as simple as eating meat or making a movie. But in the case of The Dark Knight Rises producer Emma Thomas, who is also the wife of Christopher Nolan, we’re inclined to believe her statement that the filmmaker will never be in the director’s chair of another Batman film following the conclusion of his trilogy. In an interview with SFX Magzine (via Movies.com), Thomas was asked of the possibility of Nolan returning to the universe of the Caped Crusader and she definitively said, “No, never. No, that’s truly a never.”

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Macbook Pro with Retina Display review

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Apple ports Retina Display technology from iOS to the Mac, and the results are nothing short of spectacular

by J.R. Bookwalter

Apple again cemented its reputation as manufacturer of lust-worthy electronics with the introduction of a new 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display before 5,000 jubilant developers at this year’s WWDC keynote. But is the latest model worth the extra dough, especially with several key features missing in action that pro users depend upon?

The answer depends on how deep your pockets are, with the sleek new model starting at $2199 and topping out at $3749 (before tax) including build-to-order options (faster processor, more memory, higher capacity storage). However, if you rely on CD or DVD media, Gigabit Ethernet or FireWire 800, you’ll want to budget $137 on top of that to replace features lost as a result of slimming down the notebook by 25 percent.
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