As sports arenas rise up around them and neighbors houses are demolished, around 50 families remain in Vila Autodromo, a favela bordering the Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro. About half of those refuse to leave the favela, which they describe as “paradise” because of a lack of violence compared with poor areas elsewhere in the city. With a year until the Games come to Brazil, over 90 percent of residents have already left after accepting compensation. The holdouts, despite violent run-ins with police, vow to fight eviction whatever the cost. Living in a ghost town with sporadic access to water and electricity, the families have become a symbol against the use of the Olympic Games to modernize Rio, a move critics say is only benefiting the rich. -- By Reuters

Children play near demolished houses in the Vila Autodromo slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 28. As sports arenas rise up around them and neighbors houses are demolished, around 50 families remain in Vila Autodromo, a favela bordering the Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro. About half of those refuse to leave the favela, which they describe as "paradise" because of a lack of violence compared with poor areas elsewhere in the city. (Ricardo Moraes/Reuters)

For all the Goldilockses out there who are too hot in their cars in the summer, and then too cold in the winter, Viotek has a solution for you. For all the couples who can't drive anywhere together without fighting over and swatting hands away from the temperature controls, Viotek has a solution for you. And for all the drivers of new cars and posh cars that came standard with seat heaters, but nothing to cool your sweaty ass (and back and neck and pits) down when it hits the scorching leather of a seat parked in 95-degree sun, Viotek has a solution for your too.

the Viotek Tru-Comfort seat cushion slips into most any vehicle to provide your choice of a few more or a few less degrees Fahrenheit. Intelligent heat controls warm up instantly when needed to provide a 5-stage, 85- to 122-degree toasting of your backside. For seats that get sticky and contribute to wet-marked shirts in hot weather, Viotek's cover also has a 5-state cooling and dehumidification system that directs air and wicks moisture along its surface area in all directions.

Viotek seat covers' heating and cooling properties are controlled by their own micro-processing system, and won't affect the performance and efficiency of your car.

Google’s rumored September 29 event could be even bigger than originally anticipated.

In addition to the new Nexus phones, it’s said that Google could show a new Chromecast at its event later this month. Internal documents leaked by 9to5Google show that the new-look Chromecast now has an oval-shaped body with a black stick jutting out of it, looking sort of like a balloon or headphone. The new Chromecast is tipped to feature faster Wi-Fi inside of its new shell.

In terms of new features, we’re told to expect a “feeds” feature that could show social media or images feeds as a backdrop, as well as a “Fast Play” feature that could enable the Chromecast to get a connection must faster than the current model. Finally, a “Chromecast Audio” feature could enable the Chromecast to connect to a speaker or other audio device using an auxiliary jack and enable Chromecast support for those devices. Chrome cast Audio may also include multi-room support, Chrome or Android audio mirroring, and high-quality audio.

The Chromecast is now well over two years old, and while a two-year-old streaming stick may not be the same as a two-year-old smartphone, it’s still probably about time for Google to update the dongle. Thankfully, it looks like that’s finally going to happen later this month, and improvements like better Wi-Fi ought to make this a worthwhile upgrade from the OG Chromecast.

"Things are more like they are now than they ever were before."

Don't worry, F*ck Feelings: One Shrink's Practical Advice for Managing All Life's Impossible Problems isn't a bait-and-switch. You know, one of those self-help books that claims it won't go all emo about how your mom / dad / boss / wife / husband / kid wounded you and how you need to manage and reconcile and get in touch with all the feelings you feel as a result, only to turn into that very kind of self-help book by the end of Chapter 1. No, Dr. Michael Bennett really believes people living in emotional distress or on a cloud of discontent should stop wasting their time figuring out how they feel about their problems and get to figuring out how to solve them. The Harvard-educated psychiatrist communicates these sentiments with the help of his daughter, Sarah Bennett. She's a comedy writer.

F*ck Feelings focuses on what the Bennetts consider life's true F words: "feelings" and "fairness". They say life isn't about fulfilling impossible dreams, changing situations out of your control, or getting what you (think you) deserve. It's about, uh, getting your head out of your ass, and living in reality.

Problems you will learn how to solve--or suck up and accept--through rational thinking and pragmatism include:

• I need to stop screwing up.
• My boss is an a-hole.
• My dad is an a-hole.
• Bullies are a-holes.
• I think I might be ruining my kid.
• I'M. SO. ANGRY!

Want some quality time with your kid that doesn't involve a screen and a controller? Infento is a series of DIY kits and one tool (yep, just one) that allows parents and kids to build 11 or more different, real-life rides. Think Meccano and LEGO scaled to 0- to 13-year-old kid size. Yeah, 0 to 13. That's the one downside of Infento: all of the finished bikes, trikes, wagons, and swings are just for Junior.

In addition to promoting family bonding, Infento kits help instill a solid work ethic in lazy children. Well...they do. They also equip kids with a foundation of technical skills for future use and give the whole family a sweet way to spend time together working towards a shared goal. Since each Infento comes with multiple possibilities for construction, you can also take apart and rebuild new rides as kids grow out of, or grow bored of, old ones.

Infento has 3 kits that combine to create 11 standard ride options. They're sure others are out there for you to dream up and bring to life too. The Junior Kit has a 6-ride base and is intended to help teach kids 0 to 5 years old how to walk, bike, and move. Instructions for the following rides are included: walker; scooter; balance bike; balance trike; balance carrier; and tricycle. Once your child hits 4, s/he'll be better equipped to handle (and pitch in on) the Creator Kit, which comes with parts for all Junior Kit rides, plus a more advanced B-Trike, Arrow, and Runner. For Master Creators, parents and kids interested in using Infento from birth through about age 13, your kit will build 11 standard rides, all 9 from Junior and Creator, plus the Bulldog and the Swing.

Check out all the Infento constructible rides kits and pledge for one of your own on Kickstarter through October 5, 2015.

Muchas danke to The Awesomer.

The Jungle Book is Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of the 1967 animated film of the same name. This, of course, is not a surprise due to the successes of Alice in Wonderland and Maleficent. And with 2015’s live-action Cinderella being such a big hit, remaking the last film Walt Disney ever produced was inevitable.

You may not remember this (I certainly didn’t), but Disney already did a live-action remake for this movie in 1994. It borrowed stories from both The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, and it was actually well-received by both audiences and critics. Yet many people still scolded the film for veering so far away from Kipling’s original stories, not that the animated film did a good job of this.

There was also an animated Jungle Book sequel made by DisneyToon (they make the majority of Disney’s direct-to-video movies) in 2003. I’ve never seen it, and I honestly don’t intend to anytime soon. For context, this is the studio that brought us Planes and Planes: Fire and Rescue.

Oh, and I guess I have to mention that the first Jungle Book movie ever came out in the 1940s, decades before Disney got to work on it. Also, an unrelated movie called Jungle Book: Origins will be coming out in 2017, and it’s being made by Andy Serkis and Warner Bros. We honestly don’t have time to get into that, but I will mention that it has a stellar cast.

Now, we have the first teaser trailer for Disney’s next retelling of The Jungle Book, and it provides a lot of information that will intrigue longtime fans of the story. Even if you’re not very interested in the Jungle Book franchise, I think you’ll still find something unique to latch onto as we learn more about this movie. It’s the first Disney remake I’ve come across that seems like it could bring something new to the original story.

Sure, Maleficent and Alice and Wonderland already tried this by extending their stories and putting more emphasis on the villains. And they’re not terrible movies or anything. My only issue with them, honestly, is that they feel like unnecessary accessories to an animated movie that’s already great.

But with The Jungle Book, we have a source material that has so much potential as a live-action movie with updated special effects. It will be a visual spectacle just to see these complex animal characters coming to life on the big screen. And since The Jungle Book hasn’t been retold thousands of times over the years (ahem, Cinderella), this new movie will hopefully feel fresh for many people who see it.

Here’s the trailer below, and I encourage you to watch it at least twice. Afterward, we’ll discuss. 

OK, so to start things off, let’s talk about the cast.

Jon Favreau, the director of Iron Man, is helming the film and will probably make a cameo at some point. Mowgli is being played by a newcomer named Neel Sethi, and like the original animated film, he’ll be raised by a family of wolves.

Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) will voice the alpha male, Akela. Lupita Nyong’o (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) will voice of the mother wolf, Raksha. And the panther, Bagheera, will be voiced by Ben Kingsley (pretty much every movie you’ve ever seen).

Bill Murray is voicing Baloo in this film (yes, that’s the song he’s whistling at the end), and Idris Elba is voicing Shere Khan. When I first heard that Scarlett Johansson would voice the seductively dangerous snake, Kaa, I was less than excited, but she kills it in this trailer as the narrator. And of course, Christopher Walken will be handling the voice of King Louie.

I was hoping that this new movie would borrow more from Kipling’s work, and I think this might be the case in some ways. Naturally, Disney is maintaining a lot of what made the original animated film so well-liked, but they seem to be adding some of the darker material that got cut from the original. Pirates of the Caribbean proved that Disney has room for darker and more epic movies, and I hope they apply that here.

So, how is this new film like the old one?

Kaa the snake will apparently be more of a villain who wants to eat Mowgli, at least at first. In the book, she actually saves Mowgli from the Bandar-log after he gets kidnapped, which could also happen here. Pretty much everything related to the Bandar-log and King Louie in this trailer looks more like the animated movie, instead of the book.

Baby Mowgli is found by Bagheera instead of the wolves, just like in the animated movie. And that last scene with Mowgli and Baloo floating down the river is clearly an homage to the 1967 film.

But something from the book that appears to be happening in this trailer is Mowgli stealing the “red flower” from the village. He runs across the bridge holding fire, as instructed by King Louie. This could mean that he’s going to fight Shere Khan with the red flower, which is straight out of Compton-er-the book. Toward the end of the trailer, you can see a glimpse of this fight.

It also looks like the film is adding something that neither the book or movie did, which is a fight between Bagheera, Shere Khan, and Baloo. I have absolutely no idea where this is going, so I’m excited to see it go down in the film. It’s the natural progression of the story when you think about it, at least before Mowgli gets his chance to face Shere Khan on his own. Or it could mean that he’s not fighting the tiger alone.

Finally, I want to point out that the look of many of these characters is coming from the book, which is a great thing. This includes Baloo, who is now a brown bear instead of the bluish grey bear from the movie. And Hathi, the old elephant, appears more like the domineering and wise character that the Kipling story portrays. He’s not supposed to be comic relief, like we see in the 1967 film, which I think they added because they already had so many know-it-all animals running around in the script.

Like I said before, the movie is so far coming off as darker and more epic than the animated film. That said, some people who’ve seen footage of the movie at D23 claim that it’s actually light-hearted, so this trailer might be a little misleading. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is up to you.

I don’t know how I feel about this film yet. On the one hand, it’s cool to see that they’re breaking away from the music numbers and treating the source material more seriously. But I’m worried this will take away what people loved about the classic film in the first place. I guess we’ll have to trust that Disney can surprise us once again with something that fits comfortably in the middle.

The Jungle Book opens in theaters, April 2016.

I’m Jon and thanks for reading this. You can subscribe to my posts by clicking “Follow” in the right sidebar. Or just say hey on Twitter! @JonNegroni

This metallic black light box features the question block from Super Mario Bros. on all four sides. Please don’t hit it though – money won’t fall out!

Mmmmm, I could go for a good non-pavement ice cream right about now and always.

–COFFEE–

This mug is back on sale, but not for long! $20 shipped! US only.

DETAILS HERE!

Take a deep breath. It’s real.

Following in the footsteps of its predecessor The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Pemberley Digital’s modern adaptation of Emma by Jane Austen, Emma Approved, has won the Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Creative Achievement In Interactive Media – Original Interactive Program!

We here at PD are SO EXCITED for the Emma Approved cast and team, and can’t wait to share pics from the event on September 12. Congratulations all!

If you haven’t seen Emma Approved yet, what are you waiting for? Check out this Emmy award-winning web series right here, including all of the blogs, music, advice, and more that earned Emma Approved its interactive Emmy in the first place!

And if you’re already a fan? Send some love to the cast and crew of Emma Approved over on Twitter, and share the news with friends. Maybe it’ll be just what they need to jump on the bandwagon.

Batband is a headband that transmits sound through your skull bones. Think that sounds weird? And that the earless headphones look even weirder? Agreed, but...a few points:

1. Bone conduction technology isn't new, not even to the world of personal listening devices. They've been using it for a while--at least since July 19, 2014 when I wrote about it--to support underwater MP3 players.
2. Everyone was weirded out by Bluetooth headsets, and especially their talking-to-the-air wearers, when they first came out too. Now the devices are as commonplace as the smartphones they connect to. Some are even slick, fashionable accessories.
3. Batband is a Studio Banana Things invention. Studio Banana Things also makes the Ostrich Pillow. "Weird" is kind of their thing.

In addition to getting their jollies out of designing a product that vibrates your bones with sound and looks like something we'd see on Star Trek, Studio Banana Things created Batband to enable people to listen to a "private soundscape" without blocking out the rest of the world. Seems counterintuitive, given that most people wear headphones to escape the rest of the world, but for cyclists, runners, even walking commuters who want to listen to music/audiobooks or take calls, keeping their ears free to hear horns, sirens, or people yelling that they dropped their granola bar could be pretty useful, and a good safety precaution.

To transmit sound, Batband incorporates three transducers, two that touch the temporal bones on the sides of your head, and one on the occipital bone at the back. Content you receive while wearing the device comes in clear but is virtually inaudible to others. The device itself is made of a spring steel outer frame for grip with an inner padded lining for comfort and sound insulation. Batband includes a microphone for taking calls and basic Play/Pause, Forward/Back controls on the side. It is USB-rechargeable.

The Batband earless headphones seek Kickstarter funding through October 27, 2015.

Artist's Note:

...yeah, this has to be one of my most favorite comics at the moment. That last panel makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Writer's Note:

Ok, so this wasn't the best structured comic we've done. I sacrificed a lot of economy in order to just cram it full of things we wanted Sarah to draw, which I think is a permissible sin once in a while.

The original "core" of this comic was the joke about Grimer and how finding Poison-type Pokemon in the real world might require you to visit less-than-attractive locations. Our world is not just lush forests and clean urban centers, after all. I thought it might be a bit irresponsible for Nintendo to encourage children to wander out into the world looking for Pokemon, but Sarah pointed out how the trailer featured mostly adults using the game, which led us to the current draft of the comic.

Would grown-ass adults be willing to look like weirdos roaming the wilderness looking for invisible made-up creatures? Our answer is probably yes, especially if they've spent the last decade or two of their lives playing Pokemon.  

And yes, I couldn't help myself with the Trump joke at the end. It was just too tempting.