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...

Murder most foul has be committed in Legoland. The suspects? Three dodgy minifigs. CSI is on the case. After all, to find the culprit it's imperative that you follow the evidence.

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 27 October 2011  |  View Comments

Category: Screen > Shorts > Reviews

CSI: Legoland is a slick animated short by Joe Nicolosi that parodies a number of generic CSI idiosyncracies, particularly emulating the most amusing stylistic devices from CSI: Miami, such as the garishly oversaturated colour palette, characters' penchant for stating the obvious, and Horatio Caine's dramatic sunglasses fetish. Read on...

The beauty of skateboarding is celebrated in a short piece that's expertly shot in urban and rural settings to allow colour, light, and architecture to complement the freestyle techniques.

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 30 September 2011  |  View Comments

Category: Screen > Shorts > Reviews

Kilian Martin: A Skate illustration is a combination of stylish skateboarding, a director who really knows how to move the camera to complement the freestyle flow, and clever use of slow motion interspersed with real time to emphasise key moments, all of which is well matched to the soundtrack "Rescue Radio" by Soft Bullets (UK musician Christopher Wall). Read on...

The Zombie Apocalypse is nigh and your mission is to protect human survivors fleeing for the safety of an isolated bunker. What better way to annihilate the ranks of the undead than with ridiculously powerful weapons mounted on the angriest bird of them all?

By: Paul Pregnolato  |  Posted: 26 August 2011  |  View Comments

Category: Games > iOS > Reviews

Zombie Gunship is a not-so-subtle variation of the tower-defence genre but its creators have eschewed the tanks and laser turrets usually encountered in such games in favour of the real-life US Air Force Lockheed AC-130U "Spooky" gunship. Armed with a pair of 25mm GAU-12 Gatling guns, a 40mm Bofors cannon and even a 105mm howitzer it is (literally) a flying artillery park. Zombie Gunship places you in the Fire Control Officer's seat as you pour an increasingly destructive maelstrom of high explosive and lead onto the zombie horde below. Read on...

Red alien circles (and the occasional meteor) are trying to destroy your space base. What are you going to do about it? Shoot at 'em, of course! You can't destroy them but you can use physics to your advantage in this oddly Zen action game.

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 29 July 2011  |  View Comments

Category: Games > Casual > Reviews

The rather surprising aspect of Red is the almost Zen quality of the gameplay, in which you need to shoot alien asteroids disguised as circles (who knows? don't ask), and the occasional meteor, that are (usually) lazily drifting towards your base, which may, or may not, be on Mars. The objective of the game is not to die (or, more accurately, to survive as long as possible). If these enemies touch your base the game is over so you don't have much room for error. The bullets don't penetrate the enemies, however; instead they ricochet with the result that the energy of the impact causes a subtle course correction of an enemy's movement. Meanwhile, the ricocheting bullets bounce around the gameplay area (and eventually out of it), which can have unintended consequences should they come into contact with other enemies (or pickups) that are nearby. Read on...

Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia, a Buddhist kingdom in South-East Asia with a tumultuous history. Here are 24 hours spent on a recent trip, captured in pictures. Please note that some of the images and text many not be suitable for sensitive people.

By: Mandy J Watson  |  Posted: 8 July 2011  |  View Comments

Category: Travel > Cambodia

As an introduction, Cambodia is a small country in South East Asia bordered by Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. It is home to just under 15 million people, 70% of whom are under the age of 30 and 80% of whom are farmers. The country is very poor and has an unemployment rate of 45%. Along with that comes the problem of kids not attending school and drug abuse. A number of religions are practiced in the country, including Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism, but the majority of people are Buddhist. Read on...