Now you can join the ranks of Grandmaster Flash and spin records on your own set of (virtual) turntables, courtesy of developer Scott Schiller. Schiller recently launched wheelsofsteel.net, which is just what it sounds like: a set of virtual Technics SL-1200s that allow you to mix and scratch to your heart’s content. What’s truly awesome about this—besides, you know, the basic concept of web-based turntables—is that Schiller built the site using HTML/CSS/JavaScript for the bulk of it.

I have been interested in the idea of building a turntable-based UI in HTML for years; however, the past presented a number of technical hurdles. Setting dreams of browser-based remixing aside, simply recreating the core design elements of a turntable was practically infeasible until the advent of CSS3. The features most notably missing from browsers involved drawing circles, rotation of elements and low-level control of audio. As of 2011, it’s a pleasure to say that these features can be implemented almost entirely using HTML, CSS and JavaScript alone.

Schiller has written a very extensive article that provides all sorts of background and technical info on the site’s development (e.g., development of the site began on January 31, 2011 and has taken approximately four months). It’s clearly not intended for “real” DJs—as Schiller notes, “what DJ really wants to scratch records with a mouse, anyway”—and using it comes with all kinds of caveats, but it’s still an awesome idea and the execution is incredibly impressive (watch a video of it in action).

While Flash was used for portions of the site—primarily to provide audio support—a site like this just continues to prove that “native” web technologies, though still in the early stages in some cases, are more than capable of creating truly immersive and engaging web experiences. (Another example would be The Man in Blue’s HTML5/CSS3-based “Definitive Daft Punk” visualization.)

Part three in my ongoing series of articles regarding Andy Crouch’s Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling is now available on Christ and Pop Culture.

About two weeks ago, I had a bit of a movie marathon. One of the movies that I watched was Takashi Miike’s acclaimed samurai epic 13 Assassins, starring Kōji Yakusho. Put simply, I was less than impressed, and I explain why in my Filmwell review of 13 Assassins.

To this day, I still consider Cars to be one of the lesser works in the Pixar canon. Granted, a lesser Pixar work is still better than the finest output of most studios, but when compared to the likes of the Toy Story movies or The Incredibles (my favorite Pixar movie), I find Cars lacking. When it was announced that Pixar would be making a Cars sequel, I was intrigued because of the Pixar name but my skepticism ran high. And the subsequent teasers, trailers, and other press materials did little to change that.

But Variety’s Justin Chang recently posted his Cars 2 review and it’s a pretty glowing one, calling it “the rare sequel that improves on its predecessor”:

Super-fast cars, cosmopolitan settings, sustainable energy—what’s not to love? Critics and columnists should have fun parsing the deeper political messages of “Cars 2,” which never allows its gas-guzzlers-vs.-hybrids topicality to overpower its exhilarating sense of play. As the film zips from Tokyo to Paris to the Italian Riviera to London, Lasseter, co-director Brad Lewis (taking over for the late Joe Ranft) and their crack team of animators unleash the sort of wizardly action sequences most live-action directors would envy, powered by the brassy James Bond-style riffs of Michael Giacchino’s score. Pic allows the viewer to relax into a pleasurable groove even as its abundant in-jokes and peripheral details encourage the mind to stay actively engaged.

Set in a world where cars are outfitted with machine guns, rockets, parachutes, holographic displays and, in perhaps one innovation too far, insta-disguise mechanisms, “Cars 2” is as close to a pure boys’ movie as the toon studio has yet made—though all boys’ movies should be so universal in appeal. More so than the Pixar norm, pic possesses a certain lowbrow streak entirely consistent with its vroom-vroom milieu, handily demonstrating that the often-aggravating staples of so much kid-friendly animation—nonstop banter, ethnic accents, goofy wordplay (mileage may vary), even bathroom humor—can be executed with wit and class.

I had initially planned on skipping Cars 2 and instead, sending my oldest—who, not surprisingly, digs the first Cars movie—off to see it with his grandparents. But now I’m truly intrigued, and might just have to tag along for the ride.