No stone unturned: Hamann does the Ferrari 612, too
May 16, 2007
The Hamann people have been busy the last week or so, showing off packages for the Murcielago LP640 and BMW X5. Well, here’s a third for you: The Ferrari 612 Scaglietti by Hamann features a new exhaust system that provides added bellow to the V12’s already-sonorous tailpipe music. It would not be a Hamann deal, of course, without an aero package, either. In this case, it looks quite tacked-on if you ask us. We’re not crazy about how the company’s “Edition Race” wheels look in this application, either. New springs and full interior customization are also available. Oh, and that Hamann decal on the front bumper? Ridiculous. Make it go away…now. We generally like a lot of the stuff Hamann does, but in this case, maybe they should have left well enough alone. We’ll take the exhaust and leave it at that. Well…if someone gives us a Scaglietti first, that is.
Beyonce is Armani’s newest face
May 16, 2007
Beyoncé Knowles already wears a lot of Armani and now she’ll be wearing his scent too. Beyoncé, who was once the inspiration for Tommy Hilfiger’s True Star fragrance will now be the face and voice of Giorgio Armani’s next women’s fragrance, Emporio Armani Diamonds. The scent will come out this fall and Beyoncé will sing a song for the perfume in addition to appearing in print and TV ads. No word yet on what the scent will smell like.
In yet another example of things that take a while to speed up, there is finally some movement on the adaptation of Paulo Coelho’s sexy novel, Eleven Minutes. Way back in 2005, Cinematical posted that New Line and Hollywood Gang Productions were nabbing the adaptation. Now almost two years later, The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Marcos Bernstein has been hired to adapt the novel. He was one of the pens behind Central Station, a Brazilian film that was nominated for Best Actress and Best Foreign Language Film at the 1999 Academy Awards.
A skyscraper in Dubai is being designed so that it generates all of its energy through renewable means such as wind turbines and solar panels. On top of the tower will be a 200 foot turbine that harnesses the power of the wind, and an array of solar panels on the roof and a series of islands that stretches over 161,459 square feet. The tower will also feature a massive solar shield to protect it from the sun, and vacuum glazed glass that will reduce the amount of heat absorbed from the extreme temperatures (up to 50 degrees C / 122 degrees F), presumably meaning less reliance on traditional air conditioning. Talking of air conditioning, the main system for cooling the air inside the tower uses a convection system which pulls in cold air at the ground level, and sucks it up out of the top of the tower. The air conditioning will use seawater, and underground cooling units lower the temperature inside to 18 degrees C / 64.4 degrees F. This building may be a technological beacon for environmentally friendly skyscrapers, but as a commenter on metaefficient points out, new building designs don’t do much to solve the inefficiency of older buildings in cities. Although that doesn’t mean we can’t imagine what it’d be like to work and live in a sea of glass and metal without feeling slightly bad about it.
If you travel at least a little bit for work, you’ll be interested in this RollerTop tray for your carry-on bag. It’s a stand that hooks to the top of the handle on your roller bag, which folds out to give you a “stable” platform to put your laptop on. This way you can be checking email or surfing the net even when you’re waiting in line to board. Of course, you could do that with a smartphone, but what smartphone has a 13-inch screen? Best of all, when your bag tips over and your laptop gets smashed to bits, you’ll still have a nice platform to put your elbows on while you’re sobbing.
