Tucked away behind a small storefront in the centre of Portland, Oregon, is a vast collection of pop-culture memorabilia spanning decades. Best of all, it's all for sale - much of it at very affordable prices.

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 30 April 2012  |  View Comments

About 50 metres east of Powell's City Of Books in Portland, on W Burnside Street, you will find Billy Galaxy, a treasure trove of trinkets and memorabilia for anyone who grew up in the 80s (and a little bit into the 90s). Read on...

Moleskine + LEGO. It was inevitable that the two would be combined. Today the new range of notebooks is officially being launched worldwide with the release of an endearing stop-motion video to advertise the range. We've got that, and more, in this roundup of the new editions.

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 1 March 2012  |  View Comments

Category: Books > Features

Moleskine has added a LEGO theme to its range of Limited Edition Notebooks, which already includes editions celebrating Star Wars, the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man, and the 40th anniversary of The Woodstock Festival, among other pop-culture phenomenons. Read on...

Once the zombies start attacking will you be in the middle of the action with weapons at the ready, documenting the proceedings... or organising the survivors? This short parody looks at the rock-star social-media organisers who keep hope alive as the living dead rise.

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 23 February 2012  |  View Comments

Category: Screen > Shorts > Reviews

Last year we highlighted CSI: Legoland, an amusing short by director Joe Nicolosi that parodies the CSI series of TV shows by placing familiar characters and scenarios in the usually sanitised world of LEGO. Many people don't know that this was not his first work of parody. There are others, including #Zombies: Followers Of The Dead, a mockumentary that interviews survivors of an ongoing zombie apocalypse to discover how they've used ubiquitous 21st-century tools, Twitter and the iPhone, to organise and survive for six months. Read on...

From pillows that connect long-distance lovers to remote-controlled waterproof pleasure objects, advances in intimate technologies mean that lovers both near and far can remain connected - sometimes in very surprising (and occasionally disturbing) ways.

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 14 February 2012  |  View Comments

Category: Tech > Features

It's Valentine's Day. If your loved one is far, far away (we mean physically, not mentally), take heart! There are technologies for that. Some are rather pleasurable while others are, well... it's best that you decide for yourself. Read on...

In this, the long-awaited second part of Rich Mulholland's tattoo experience, we visit tattoo artist Derek Baker's studio in Cape Town to watch the action and learn more about what goes on behind the scenes. Once again there's blood, colourful language, and art... which pretty much describes a day in the life of most South Africans....
Please Note: Some of the images and the video may not be suitable for sensitive people.

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 9 February 2012  |  View Comments

Category: Culture > Features

Last year I ran into Rich Mulholland at the Southern Ink Xposure tattoo convention as he was about to sit down with tattoo artist Derek Baker from Metal Machine Tattoo & Body Piercing in Cape Town, South Africa, to have an elaborate tattoo done on his right arm. I documented the entire process, which became Rich Mulholland Gets A Tattoo: Part 1. (If you haven't read it yet, head on over there before continuing here with Part 2.) Read on...

What do you get when you combine tattoo-inspired art with tattoo artists? Putt-putt, of course. (Also, art.) The 4th annual Cape Town International Tattoo Convention is about to begin, and festivities kicked off earlier this week with the exhibition Body Of Work.

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 26 January 2012  |  View Comments

Category: Culture > Features

On Tuesday the exhibition Body Of Work, a selection of artworks inspired by tattoo art, opened in Cape Town as part of the extended events surrounding the 4th annual Cape Town International Tattoo Convention (Souther Ink Xposure), which is being held at The Pavilion at the V&A Waterfront over the weekend. Read on...

You're trapped in a shaft and the only way out is up in this one-button fast-paced wall-jumping game - but how high can you go? Will you escape?

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 19 January 2012  |  View Comments

Category: Games > Casual > Reviews

Escape was a jam entry, and multiple-category winner, in Ludum Dare 21, a 48-hour game-development contest that ran over a weekend in August last year (the "jam" version offers a 72-hour deadline). The result is a fast-paced, addictive retro-style game that's simple to jump in to but impossible to master. Read on...

Let's start 2012 with some tasteful, entertaining jabs at the beauty industry. Do you want "full lips, sparkling eyes, and lashes that never end"? They can be yours with the aid of Adobé's new range of beauty-regime products.

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 16 January 2012  |  View Comments

Category: Screen > Shorts > Reviews

Fotoshop By Adobé is a parody advertisement that was written and directed by US filmmaker and commercial director Jesse Rosen. It's for a fictional range of products for "you, perfected" courtesy of the kind of digital magic that only Adobe Photoshop can produce. Read on...

Happy holidays to all our friends and visitors. It's been a good year for brainwavez.org and we'd like to thank you all for your support, participation, friendship, and encouragement.

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 23 December 2011  |  View Comments

Category: News

Although we didn't post as many articles as we had hoped we would, we've still had a good year this year on the site and are very happy with the new content we've created, especially some of the long-form journalism and photo essays. (And we finally got some LEGO content on the site, one of which garnered lots of page views!) Read on...

It's December already? That means it must be time for our 2011 roundup of stuff we have or stuff we want or (occasionally) stuff we might give to other people if they've been nice (or very, very naughty).

By: The brainwavez.org Team  |  Posted: 12 December 2011  |  View Comments

Category: Shopping

Last year we finally debuted our gift guide after years of not debuting our gift guide. This year we've got a whole new collection of wonderful things to amaze and astound. Most you'll probably want to get for yourself but if you're feeling generous there are options to consider for friends, too. Read on...

Zap the audio from your phone, tablet, or computer to the Verbatim Bluetooth Audio Cube for instant amplification of your favourite tracks (and the odd system alert sound but that just adds to the excitement).

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 24 November 2011  |  View Comments

Category: Tech > Hardware > Reviews

The Verbatim Bluetooth Audio Cube is a portable, battery operated, wireless speaker system that allows you to amplify the audio from devices such as phones, tablets, computers, and MP3 players. It also supports wired connections should you wish to conserve battery power but still want an amplification device. Read on...

What does an average zombie horde look like? What would you encounter if random members of the public suddenly amassed outside your house, looking for braaaaiiinnns? We asked for your best ZombieBooth shots and here's what we received. Combined, the collection is slightly frightening. Therefore, don't forget: when confronted, aim for the head. (Then run like hell!)

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 17 November 2011  |  View Comments

Category: Tech > Software > Features

Recently we featured a review of ZombieBooth on the site but there's only so much you can do with a limited pool of test subjects so we threw it open as a challenge to the world: submit your best ZombieBooth-generated picture. Read on...

Turn your favourite (male) superhero or super villain on (or off) with a one-of-a-kind light switch. That's about all we're going to say as an introduction. (This post is not suitable for people with taste. Don't say we didn't warn you.)

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 14 November 2011  |  View Comments

Category: Culture > Features

Here's a little bit of silly for a Monday morning that will delight the reduce/reuse/recycle evangelists and horrify most geeks. Matt Knannlein, an illustrator and graphic designer from Seattle in the US, creates light-switch plates featuring comic-book characters posed in such a way that the light switch is rather strategically placed for maximum on/off juvenile amusement. Read on...

Another year, another festival celebrating whisky. How time flies! We attended the opening night in Cape Town, where the festival ran for three days. Here's a rundown of what you missed, or what to expect if you will be attending in Johannesburg, where the festival will be running until the end of the week.

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 10 November 2011  |  View Comments

Category: Culture > Features

This year I once again attended the opening night of the Whisky Live Festival, which is sponsored by FNB, as a member of the media. It's my third year covering the event (2009's coverage is here and 2010's coverage is here), and it has become one of my favourite annual exhibitions, so I was keen to find out what was new and to see how I could expand my knowledge of whisky further. Read on...

Forget zombies - the South African Blog Awards are our worst nightmare. This year it's all gone to hell (again, but worse) so we need your help. All it requires is one email address, one vote, and you're done. At least that's no longer complicated....

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 7 November 2011  |  View Comments

Category: News

Last year, due to the amazing efforts of the friends and fans of brainwavez.org, we won two South African Blog Awards. Thank you! This year we need your help once again. Read on...

Somewhere, deep in a lab that's probably in Japan, some clever real-time-processing technology has been utilised for the advancement of zombies. The result? With one click of a camera button and this free zombification app you can be your own worst nightmare!

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 3 November 2011  |  View Comments

Category: Tech > Software > Reviews

I will admit that I got a fright the first time I tried out this app because I didn't realise that it automatically animates the photo, in 3D, complete with gruesome sound effects, once it's finished processing the picture. The animation isn't perfect but that's only something you notice once you've been playing with the app for a while and become immune to the undead growling entity trapped on the other side of your screen. Read on...

Passersby screamed in terror (well, some of them; most looked bewildered and a handful looked delighted) as the Capetonian zombie horde continued on its path of mayhem towards the V&A Waterfront. Here, in pictures, is part 2 of this now annual HorrorFest event.

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 31 October 2011  |  View Comments

Category: Culture > Features

The zombie walk's destination was the V&A Waterfront. While much of the city centre was deserted due to it being late on a Sunday afternoon, the Waterfront was a hub of activity and events, and filled with bewildered tourists. The horde made its way along the pedestrian walkways and through the heart of the complex, occasionally pretending to attack passersby, scaring many of them in the process. Read on...

The thirst for blood and braaaaiiiinnnnnsss led a shambling group of undead Capetonians across the city in a nightmarish zombie walk. Here, in pictures, is part 1 of this now annual HorrorFest event.

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 31 October 2011  |  View Comments

Category: Culture > Features

As part of this year's HorrorFest, an annual film festival and week-long horror event that is held in Cape Town to celebrate mayhem and the macabre, a zombie walk was once again arranged with a route through the city centre to the V&A Waterfront. Read on...