To celebrate, a French fast food chain named Quick is offering two versions of themed burgers. You can get the Darth Vader burger on a black bun, (I don’t even wanna know how they made it black) and the Jedi burger, which is your typical brown bun that matches Jedi robes. They’ll also be offering a Darth Maul inspired “Dark Burger”, but that really should have a red bun, shouldn’t it?

So if you find yourself in Paris, forget their fancy shmancy gourmet food. Eat like an American and get yourself the usual grub, just Star Wars themed. If anyone eats that Vader burger, let us know about any unusual symptoms you might experience. I’m not trusting the dying process. Could be worse though, the Yoda burger might be moldy as to mimic Dagobah.

[Mintinbox(FR) via Golem13(FR) via Buzzfeed]

The game is called Urban Flipper and it was designed by Carol Martin and Thibaut Berbezier of CT Light. They can project the game onto any surface, in this case, the Celestins theater in Lyon. Using 3D projection mapping technology, they to turned the details of the building’s facade into bumpers and obstacles, and allowed visitors to actually play a game using a few buttons located near the projection booth. It even has the appropriate accompanying pinball sounds.

Let the giant pinball wars begin. He who controls the high score on the Empire State building is king.

[UFUNK (FR) via Ubergizmo]

Apparently, NAO can also walk and learn to handle different surfaces via its built-in algorithms. The new model has a 1.6 GHz Intel processor (located in its head) and a secondary CPU in its torso. It has four microphones to track sounds and runs speech recognition software as well. Its two 30fps HD cameras will scan its environment for obstacles and also recognize faces and shapes. In addition, the robot’s movements have also been optimized so that it can avoid collisions. There are also capacitive sensors on the top of the robot’s head, allowing users to provide stimuli for Nao to react to.

NAO has prehensile hands, allowing it to grasp objects. It can walk on a variety of different surfaces and it has a ‘fall manager’, which protects the bot when it does fall to the ground. It supports Wi-Fi and is completely programmable. NAO’s built in 27.6 watt-hour battery should keep it running for as much as 90 minutes on a charge.

There’s no word on how much the latest NAO will sell for, but the last-gen model sold for a whopping $15,999 (USD) over at RobotShop. This isn’t surprising given the amount of technology in this little robot – it’s clearly not a toy. At this point NAO is only available for educational and research customers, but there are plans to make it available to (very wealthy) consumers in 2012.

[via PlasticPals]

Each of the boxes has little plastic people inside of it – they’re about ¾ of an inch high – and a whole lot of different settings, from retro video games to other more esoteric vistas. I like how intricate each of the worlds is. You need to look closely to see all of the details, but I think that’s a mailman making deliveries in the Mushroom Kingdom.

Each box is unique and they sell for €100 to €250 ($142 to $356 USD) each. Gatz hails from Paris, France and if you’re interested, you should contact Gatz at boxstories(at)gmail(dot)com for pricing.

[via Olybop]

Also it was encased in neon lights and given a lightsaber. Why? Why the hell not?

This honorable and geeky gesture of remembrance was the idea of French designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, aka JC/DC. I’m pretty sure there are implications in here that only someone who’s familiar with the legacy of Henry IV and/or French culture will understand, but it doesn’t take much to appreciate a statue of a King riding a horse with a lightsaber.

Any ideas on which other statues should get what geeky accessories?

[via High Snobiety via CrunchGear]

Remember those logos pirates! For they will be the last thing you – nah. Here’s le kicker in all of this serious law and order shit: turns out the font used in the logo was unlicensed. The font, called “Bienvenue”, is an “exclusive corporate typeface” meant only to be used for France Telecom-Orange products.  In other words, the anti-piracy agency just committed piracy.

Hadopi has already apologized, and France Telecom-Orange said that they won’t sue, but the creator of the font, Jean-François Porchez, is considering pressing charges. Also, Hadopi, that’s strike one.

[via TorrentFreak via Boing Boing]

Definitely not because it blinds the hell out of you every time you turn it on. It’s a funny concept nonetheless, something to look at when you’re feeling dumb or uninspired.

[via gearfuse]

Yep, there’s just something about those tiny, efficient vehicles that–no, you know what? There’s no reason to associate this Smart car with Sonic the Hedgehog other than the fact that the car has a Sonic wrap.

But maybe that’s the genius of Sega of France at work. Pair two seemingly unrelated things until we’re all talking about Sonic Unleashed. Damn! It’s working.

[Sonic City via Joystiq]

The theater group La Machine terrorized performed at the Yokohama Bayside Area, bringing with them their 40 ft tall, 37-ton giant robot spiders. Finally, something weird and robotic that’s not from Japan.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

As you saw from the video, the spiders can move their legs but are really anchored to a crane. They also spout water from their mouth and butt. Yech. The robots are operated by 13 of the luckiest people in the world, people who get to control and ride on giant robot spiders. But La Machine’s performance isn’t limited to the robots alone; the production includes live music as well as fireworks. You can check out La Machine’s gallery for more pics; The Boston Globe also has some amazing pictures from La Machine’s performance in Liverpool, England last year courtesy of photographer Peter Carr.

[via hacknmod]

Perfect for lighting up your drab living space, these Léon and Max chairs from French designer Philippe Boulet light up using color-changing RGB LEDs inside the seats, backs, and armrests. And best of all, they’re not tacky in the least.

Spotted on the streets of Lyon, France, where artists Benoit Deseille and Benedetto Bufalino transformed an old phone booth into an aquarium – complete with fish. Unfortunately, all of the calls just sound like blurble-blurble-blurble.

[via DesignZen]

Created by La Tête Au Cube (the same guys who make the excellent Space Invaders door mat), these colorful aliens are perfect hung from a bookbag, keychain, zipper or anywhere you want to show that you’re a member of theInvaders’ cult.

I’m actually thinking about covering my Christmas tree with a crapload of these guys in lieu of my regular ornaments this year.

French design retailer Collette has cornered the exclusive to sell these through November 15h, then after that, you should be able to buy them direct from La Tête Au Cube for €5 (appx. $9 USD) per Invader.

Created by French furniture designers Beau & Bien, the Smoon Ombrella lamp gets its sculptural potato chip-like shape from custom cut Plexiglas. Towering overhead at 81″ tall, the canopy measures in a substantial 39.4″ x 59″.

The Ombrella uses modern LED lighting to cast its out-of-this-world glow. Thanks to its low power consumption, the lamp runs on a rechargeable battery pack that lets you place it anywhere in your home without wires. It’s even suitable for outdoor use. A single 10 hour charge gives you 6 days of run time before it runs out of juice.

The lamp is available in a several cool colors, including red, green, and my personal favorite, clear – which lets the surrounding colors show through.

The Smoon Ombrella lamp is available from Coliseum Shop for about $2200 USD. Now that might seem expensive to some of you, but think of it this way… you could buy 10 of these before you could get just one of those Freewheeler outdoor speakers.

French designer Philippe Boulet decided it was finally time to bring the old tabletop relic into the new Millennium. His modern spin on the candelabra replaces the old wax-dripping candles with cylindrical LED shafts which radiate colored light.

No more messy wax or fire hazards here. Just pure low-voltage modern technology. They’re available in two designs: a color-changing jeweltone (€200/$317 US), or a hand-embellished lace pattern (€300/$475 US). Both can be found over at Lux et Déco (L.E.D., get it?).

Other objects in the studio’s “Cloning” collection include vases, mirrors and other home accessories, all derived from your own personal body attributes. The series even goes as far as to produce wallpaper based on scans of your own skin, and carpets based on your body hair. Yuck. And what could be more lovely than a pillow based on the shape of your own beer belly?

How about a clothing valet that’s actually structured from the dimensions of your skeleton? It’s perfect for keeping your clothes ready and wrinkle-free for the next day at the office.

Why not have a mirror made from your own personal silhouette? It’s not like anyone else will ever need to look at themselves, right?

I suppose if you’re particularly self-absorbed, you might want to furnish your pad with this stuff. For the rest of us, just chock this up to the annals of the Hall of Bizarre Interior Design.

[via Generate Pipeline]

From the wonderfully whimsical folding Nintendo DS Lite (complete with stuffed stylus and a game of New Super Mario Bros. on the dual screens), to her squishy iPhone clone, I can’t decide which one I like the best. (I’m not sure what that plush Sushi roll is doing there, but it looks tasty alongside the iPhone).

Feeling retro? Kmila has also created this beautiful Nintendo Gameboy, playing a game of Tetris on its faux “LCD” screen. (There’s even a little Tetris “cartridge” sticking out of the back when you flip it over).

Want to get your grubby little hands on these wondrous plush playthings? You’d better head on over to Kmila’s Etsy shop before they’re all gone.

This pair of battery-powered gloves have a set of bright LEDs built into the fingertips. In addition to a brilliant blue always-on mode, the gloves can also be set to epileptic flashing or disco chase-light mode — just in case your illuminated fingertips don’t draw enough attention on their own.

Thankfully, they haven’t yet caught on, but you better not let Kanye West know about these, lest he wear them to his next (oh so humble) award acceptance speech and start some kind of trend.

If you’re really ready to wear these out in public, you can find them from France’s Lux et Deco (get it, L.E.D.?) for €29 (about $45 USD) a pair.

Created by EmmanuelMFr of France’s Total Immersion, the illusions in the video really are reminiscent of those in the game. Using his company’s D’FUSION software, he was able to swap the images on each virtual screen surface in real time, including full 3-dimensional transformations.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I had to watch the video several times before I really understood what was going on, but once you do, you’ll be scratching your head asking how the heck exactly they did that.

In addition to telling time, day and date, the Jet wall clock also features a temperature display and an alarm. If you really dig his style, Williams has also designed a Jet clock radio and a smaller travel alarm clock too. All three models will come in either brushed anodized aluminum or shiny gold finishes.

The first model to be released — the Jet wall clock — is available now from French design boutique Singulier for €45 (appx. $69 USD). Pricing and a release date haven’t been announced for the travel clock and clock radio yet.

Each number on the dial corresponds to a 7-year period of your life. By taking a standard clock mechanism and slowing it to 1/61320th of the speed of a standard timepiece, artist Betrand Planes’ Life Clock is able to tell time over an 84 year period before it makes one full rotation around the dial.

If you manage to live through a full 360-degree sweep of the year hand, you’re doing pretty darned well.

[via VVORK via Inspire me, now!]