Month: January 2019

Triumph just dropped a bomb on the motorbike world by sharing prototype pix of the limited edition new TFC (Triumph Factory Custom) Rocket 3, an “ultra-rare, ultra-premium” bespoke beast that’s expected to come equipped with one of the world’s largest production motorcycle engines. 

That could mean up to 2,500 cc and an output of 180 hp-plus. That’s massive superbike-worthy power for a cruiser like this.

Triumph promises the TFC Rocket 3 will be “nothing short of the ultimate motorcycle, with world-beating performance, cutting-edge technology, muscular presence, and unique engineering innovations.” Production will be limited to just 750 examples at an as-yet unnamed price. 

The pix show plenty of carbon fiber, Brembo brakes, massive exhausts (just imagine the sound it will make), a custom rear fender, and titanium-coated inverted forks, part of what Triumph calls “an incredible array of custom details, premium finishes and beautiful practical touches,” Car and Bike reports. 

So only 93 days to go before you can claim one for yourself. That’s if you can wait that long. 

Back in September, Warner Bros. and DC officially announced Margot Robbie’s Suicide Squad spinoff Birds of Prey, where she reprises her role as Harley Quinn.

Prey is set to open in theaters next year, and we’ve finally got a first look at the much-anticipated flick with a short teaser that’s a little like a demented Hot Topic commercial. 

In the clip, titled “See You Soon,” we catch ultra-brief glimpses of the main characters: Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco), Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina), and Black Mask (Ewan McGregor). 

Something noteworthy, however, is that the characters aren’t superheroes, but they aren’t presented as villains, either. Instead, director Catchy Yan presents them as rock stars, and the clip ends with Harley Quinn dancing around with a cocktail in her hand and a lollipop in her mouth.

The teaser comes after Robbie shared a behind-the-scenes look at Harley Quinn on Instagram, which she captioned “Miss me? HQ” with a kissy emoji for good measure.

While there’s no confirmed synopsis yet, Hollywood Reporter says:

Birds of Prey follows the events of Suicide Squad and finds Gotham City in a very different place following an apparent disappearance of Batman, and Quinn’s separation from the Joker. Harley finds herself on a continued path of redemption when she seeks to help a young girl, Cassandra Cain, escape the wrath of Black Mask by recruiting a force of Gotham heroines.

Despite criticism of David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, it’s probably safe to assume everyone is excited to see Harley Quinn on the silver screen once again. 

Birds of Prey is set to premiere on February 7, 2020.

Thanks to the brilliant minds at McIntosh Labs, there’s a new way to listen to your old school records: the ultra-modern MTI100 Integrated Turntable.

The MTI100 includes a turntable for playing 33-1/3 and 45 rpm vinyl records, a vacuum tube preamplifier, shielded phono preamplifier, and an amplifier, plus an unbalanced auxiliary input. It also sports subwoofer and stereo speaker outputs, a headphone jack,  and arrives in the 21st century with a Bluetooth 4.2 receiver—all of this in in one sleek machine. 

McIntosh didn’t stint on anything. A machined aluminum platter and matching aluminum tonearm with anti-skate sits atop the turntable, and they are stacked on top of 3/8″ thick glass and a 1/4″ thick metal plate to better absorb noise from external vibrations.

The MTI100’s belt drive platter has an industrial grade permanent magnet AC synchronous motor that’s been geared to sync to the AC power’s frequency, promoting playback accuracy. 

For a truly jacked audio system, the turntable comes with speakers bearing “a Class D amplifier that’s rated for 80 Watts per channel into 4 Ohms or 50 Watts per channel into 8 Ohms,” the description on the website explains.

If you’re still puzzling over terms like preamplifiers, this should help. McIntosh explains that those plus “a separate dedicated phono preamplifier” are custom shielded, preventing “interference or noise from seeping into the vinyl signal.” According to the manufacturer, that means that the “the vacuum tube preamplifier and shielded phono preamplifier are a perfect choice to help make your vinyl albums sound their best.”

Long story short, all that stuff makes your old Journey albums sound young again.

If your inner audiophile is already pulling out the credit card, get the MTI100 from McIntosh Labs by finding a dealer near you.

The Big Lebowski purists, Sex and the City fans, and Stella Artois drinkers have reason to rejoice today. Jeff Bridges isn’t returning in an egregious movie sequel to cynically capitalize on his rep as The Dude, Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw is still into the finer things, and they both are willing to drink Stella for a cause.

That’s right—that mysterious teaser Jeff Bridges tweeted of himself as El Duderino less than a week ago was for a Super Bowl ad, just as we guessed.

If anyone feels disappointed they won’t get to see Bridges play his most iconic character as a super-chill senior citizen in a full-length movie or annoyed that this was all for a product, they should know that it’s for a good cause.

In the ad, “Change up the Usual,” his Dudeness (wearing his original cardigan and jellies from the movie) and Carrie Bradshaw show up at a fancy eatery and decide it’s time to jettison their signature drinks—the White Russian for him, and the Cosmo for her. Instead they grab a Stella. 

Not just for a pleasant buzz, but to help fight the global water crisis.

The ad is directly connected to Stella Artois’ longtime partnership with Water.org. Every Stella you buy through March 31st will help provide access to clean water for communities currently living without it—and up to 844 million people around the world do face life each day with contaminated water unfit for consumption or even cleaning. 

Stella wants to “Pour it Forward,” basically, and you have to admit that phrase is damn easy to remember, as it should be.

Jeff Bridges took the idea of bringing Lebowski back pretty seriously. “At his core, El Duderino would want to do the right thing,” he said, “Especially when it’s as easy as ordering a Stella.” 

He continued: “What better time to bring him back than to help change the lives of people living without access to water, simply by switching up your order? Together with Stella, we can help make a big impact—and that’s something The Dude would abide, man.”

Oh, Jeff. 

Here’s how each Stella sold will trigger a donation to Water.org:

● Every six-pack sold gives access to 6 months of clean water for one person in the developing world.

● Every twelve-pack sold gives access to 12 months of clean water for one person in the developing world.

● Every pour (or bottle) sold at bars and restaurants gives access to 1 month of clean water for one person in the developing world.

There you have it. No Big Lebowski 2 to come, no Lebowski—Sex and the City crossover (ew), just drinking beer for a truly good cause.

As if anyone even needs an excuse to drink more beer in the first place.

In other Super Bowl-related news, don’t forget to check out the Maxim Big Game Experience headlined by Future, Diplo and Jamie Foxx should you be in Atlanta the night before the big game. 

The first trailer for Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men gives viewers a taste of a new four-part doc on one of most influential hip-hop groups of all time.

Packed with interviews from surviving members and archival footage captured over the Wu Tang Clan’s nearly three-decade career, the Showtime series promises to transcend “the music documentary genre by creating a new lane that merges music, socio-cultural commentary and intimate family portrait.” 

That mission is exemplified by a quote from RZA on the rap troupe’s racially diverse audience. 

“The black, red, yellow, brown and white were all rocking with us,” RZA says. 

Showtime executive Vinnie Malhotra described the Wu-Tang Clan’s cultural impact in a statement published in part by Rolling Stone. 

“The Wu-Tang Clan is a seminal group that deserves a seminal documentary. [Director] Sacha Jenkins delivers just that, not only reminding us of their powerful history through vintage footage, but also placing their impact in modern-day perspective that will be meaningful both to their diehard fans and music fans in general.”

The first two episodes of Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men premiere Monday, January 28 at the Sundance Film Festival before the full series airs on Showtime this spring.