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Me & My Goldfish Were Going to the Pub
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 11, 2008 in Animation
I love this little animated film which was written and read by Rik Mayall, the comic genius behind the Young Ones. How often do you see bathroom humor mixed with a Shakespeare reference? By the way this film was done for Mastercard, there are several other animated films in the series here. Retro Sci-Fi Games: Asteroids
Posted by Guest Author on Mar 10, 2008 in Videogames
It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here’s one glimpse of the future from the past: Asteroids Asteroids, released in 1979, plays upon our fears of doom raining down from the skies. Death from outer space is one of the cornerstones of sci-fi, as is the daring solo hero/star-fighter. Asteroids distills these themes down to the quantum level. It’s simply you versus the rocks. Like the ur sci-fi game Spacewar! (later Computer Space) you have to use your thrust to avoid a deadly collision, but that will also send you careening around the board, possibly making things worse. If all else fails you can jump into hyperspace for a moment, blinking out of existence for a moment, but possibly reappearing back into hostile territory. Even blasting the asteroids into dust can get you into trouble, as they break up into smaller and faster balls of evil. Added into the mix is the occasional flying saucer, which must have had some sort of special interest in mining the asteroid field. It wants nothing more than to blow you to smithereens. The Rod Serling Conference
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 10, 2008 in Fandom
Rod Serling taught at the Ithaca College from 1967 to 1975, and the school is honoring the Twilight Zone creator with a conference from March 28th through the 29th. The college also hosts the Rod Serling Archives which are worth checking out. Disney Goes Anime
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 10, 2008 in Animation
What I’d love to see would be for Disney to allow the Japanese studios to reinterpret all of the traditional Disney characters: Disney to team with Japanese companies to produce animation in Japan “Entertainment giant Walt Disney Co. will team up with several Japanese companies to produce animation for television in Japan, a leading market, a Disney official said Thursday. Disney will work with Toei Animation Co., Madhouse Co. and Jinni’s Animation Studios, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity to comply with company rules. The move was aimed at localizing contents of Disney products for a wider audience, she said. “We need to make contents which fit the Japanese market to further boost the popularity of Disney in Japan,” she said. With Madhouse, Disney will produce a 30-minute TV program “Stitch!,” an offspring of the Lilo & Stitch series, to be aired in Japan, the official said, adding that the company has not decided when the show will go on air.” Speed Racer International Trailers
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 10, 2008 in Animation
Above and below are the latest international trailers for the upcoming Speed Racer film. I have no idea if the movie will be any good, but the art direction sure looks great! The film feels like a live action video game. The New Indiana Jones Poster
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 10, 2008 in Cinema
Seen below is the latest theatrical movie poster for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull by famed film illustrator Drew Struzan: Miao the Lucky Cat
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 10, 2008 in Hobbies and Collections
Shown above is the new design for the vinyl figure Miao the Lucky Cat by Zakka. Only 500 limited edition cats will be produced Zakkamono and will be released in April. Found via toysrevil.blogspot.com and toysblog.it. Birth of a Blythe
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 10, 2008 in Hobbies and Collections
Shown above is a video that shows the construction of a Blythe Doll — the amount of craftsmanship is pretty amazing. I was blown away by all of the work that went into creating the hair, in fact I’ve had haircuts which were much less complex. Light Novels: Shinigami no Ballad (Ballad of a Death God)
Posted by Guest Author on Mar 9, 2008 in Comic Books
Most people know about anime and manga, but a new wave of Japanese popular culture is just starting to hit the United States: the light novel. The light novel (literally “raito noberu” or “ranobe” for short) is similar to a young adult novel in the United States, but it also has a little twist: manga-style illustrations are littered throughout the books. So now that you know what light novels are, here’s one of our Ten Light Novels That You Need To Know: Shinigami no Ballad (Ballad of a Death God) Japan has a long tradition of beings known as Shinigami, literally Death Gods, whose job is to lead the deceased to the world of the dead. In Shinigami no Ballad, one such death god is a young girl with white hair named Momo, who performs her task with her companion, a cat named Daniel. Momo is a rather unusual Shinigami: unlike her compatriots, she feels sorrow for humans and will actively intervene when possible to ease the suffering she sees around her. Each chapter of Shinigami no Ballad is a self-contained story in which Momo and Daniel attempt to help a human with a problem. Japanese Spiderman Busts a Move
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 9, 2008 in Comic Books
Shown above is a fan music video based on the 1978 Toei Spiderman TV series from Japan — unlike the dull American Spiderman the Japanese web slinging hero got to tangle with nasty space aliens. And you can also tell that he was a better dancer too… Light Novels: Kino no Tabi (Kino’s Journey)
Posted by Guest Author on Mar 8, 2008 in Comic Books
Most people know about anime and manga, but a new wave of Japanese popular culture is just starting to hit the United States: the light novel. The light novel (literally “raito noberu” or “ranobe” for short) is similar to a young adult novel in the United States, but it also has a little twist: manga-style illustrations are littered throughout the books. So now that you know what light novels are, here’s one of our Ten Light Novels That You Need To Know: Kino is a young, ambiguously female traveler accompanied by a talking motorcycle named Hermes. They travel to different countries and learn about the cultures, never staying in any location for more than 2 nights and 3 days before moving on somewhere else. This is a tradition that the protagonist has stolen from another person named Kino: a man who sacrificed his life to save her. Kino continues the man’s tradition, then, and wanders. The series is a slice-of-life, lacking an overarching plot in favor of vignettes that express the commonly repeated phrase that “the world is not beautiful, therefore it is.” Might Alpha Centauri Have an Earthlike Planet?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 8, 2008 in Science
This is right out of the plot to Lost in Space (the “Jupiter 2” to Alpha Centauri to search for a habitable planet for mankind to colonize): Nearest Star System Might Harbor Earth Twin “Earth may have a twin orbiting one of our nearest stellar neighbors, a new study suggests. University of California, Santa Cruz graduate student Javiera Guedes used computer simulations of planet formation to show that terrestrial planets are likely to have formed around one of the stars in the Alpha Centauri star system, our closest stellar neighbors. Guedes’ model showed planets forming around the star Alpha Centauri B (its sister star, Proxima Centauri, is actually our nearest neighbor) in what is called the “habitable zone,” or the region around a star where liquid water can exist on a planet’s surface. The model also showed that if such planets do in fact exist, we should be able to see them with a dedicated telescope. “If they exist, we can observe them,” Guedes said.” Kap10kurt Music Video
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 8, 2008 in Animation
I love the look of this animated music video which features Kap10kurt, it sort of reminds me of a cross between a video game and the look of a Jamie Hewlett comic book. The video was animated by mathematic, who are based in Paris, France. Found via Nerdcore.de. Penelope Pitstop Papermobile
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 8, 2008 in Hobbies and Collections
I was blown away when I saw the above paper model kit for Penelope Pitstop’s car from the vintage Wacky Races series from Hanna-Barbera. You can download the acrobat file here, but be warned it looks like quite a bit of work! Found via toysblog.it. Light Novels: R.O.D. Read Or Die
Posted by Guest Author on Mar 7, 2008 in Comic Books
Most people know about anime and manga, but a new wave of Japanese popular culture is just starting to hit the United States: the light novel. The light novel (literally “raito noberu” or “ranobe” for short) is similar to a young adult novel in the United States, but it also has a little twist: manga-style illustrations are littered throughout the books. So now that you know what light novels are, here’s one of our Ten Light Novels That You Need To Know: Forget the FBI, CIA, Interpol, or any other organization you can think of: the real power in R.O.D. is the British Library. Set in an alternate world where England is still the world’s primary superpower and its external intelligence agency works out of its library, and each agent is a superhuman with a unique ability. Kermit Goes Trendy
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 7, 2008 in Hobbies and Collections
It isn’t easy be trendy! Supreme is releasing it’s Spring/Summer collection headlined by the Supreme x Terry Richardson x Kermit pieces including two t-shirts and three skate decks (shown above). In addition they also have t-shirts that feature the work of famed animator Ralph Bakshi:
Light Novels: Slayers
Posted by Guest Author on Mar 6, 2008 in Comic Books
Most people know about anime and manga, but a new wave of Japanese popular culture is just starting to hit the United States: the light novel. The light novel (literally “raito noberu” or “ranobe” for short) is similar to a young adult novel in the United States, but it also has a little twist: manga-style illustrations are littered throughout the books. So now that you know what light novels are, here’s one of our Ten Light Novels That You Need To Know: If there’s any series that can hold a candle to Haruhi in popularity, the lengthy popularity of the Slayers franchise might be it. The series is a parody of Dungeons and Dragons-style fantasy, featuring a diminutive and incredibly powerful sorceress named Lina Inverse. Lina is an adventurer and treasure hunter who travels with the very strong but rather stupid swordsman Gourry. Other occasional partners-in-crime are the quixotic Amelia, a Princess of Seyruun who will do anything in the name of justice, even if it isn’t very just, and Zelgadis, a chimera— part rock golem, drow demon, and human —who is traveling to find a way to restore his normal human self. He also likes to think of himself as a mysterious stoic, but his flairs for drama are usually destroyed by his companions’ wry observations. Finally, a trickster demon-priest named Xellos occasionally helps or hinders Lina and her team. Mighty Muggs
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 6, 2008 in Hobbies and Collections
Hasbro has just launched a mass market series of urban designer flavored 6″ tall toys based on characters from Star Wars and Marvel — the product line is called Mighty Muggs and you can find them here. Fund via GeekAlerts. Light Novels: Kyou Kara Maou! (Demon King From Now On!)
Posted by Guest Author on Mar 5, 2008 in Comic Books
Most people know about anime and manga, but a new wave of Japanese popular culture is just starting to hit the United States: the light novel. The light novel (literally “raito noberu” or “ranobe” for short) is similar to a young adult novel in the United States, but it also has a little twist: manga-style illustrations are littered throughout the books. So now that you know what light novels are, here’s one of our Ten Light Novels That You Need To Know: Kyou Kara Maou! (Demon King From Now On!) Many light novels are geared towards guys, featuring an average guy surrounded by cute, fun girls. But Kyou Kara Maou! is a title for the ladies, with a host of attractive men in a fantasy setting. On top of that, the series is largely a comedy and pokes fun at any number of boys love clichés, leading the series to widespread popularity. Yuuri Shibuya is an average high school guy who, when trying to help an old friend deal with some bullies, gets flushed down a toilet. The weird thing here, though, is that he actually DOES get flushed down the toilet— and into another world. In this new world he is declared king, to his surprise, and is immediately taken to a castle. It turns out that the world he’s appeared in is called Shin Makoku, and its residents are beings called Mazoku— demons, but humanoid ones, and they have some PR problems with the humans that reside outside of the kingdom. Yuuri himself is half-human, half-mazoku, so as king he has to figure out how to get everyone to get along. Haruhi Suzumiya Cosplay from Japan
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 5, 2008 in Fandom
The above footage is from the 2006 Keio University Mita festival in Tokyo, the cosplay team are performing the Hare Hare Yukai (the Haruhi Dance) of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Haruhi Suzumiya Bunny Figure
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 4, 2008 in Hobbies and Collections
Anime fanboys (and fangurls) should take note that National Console Support is now shipping the Haruhi Suzumiya Bunny Figure v1.5 which is shown above. Here’s the description: Gary Gygax: Gaming Genius
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 4, 2008 in Videogames
Sadly Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax passed away today. In a world of slick video games it’s easy to forget a time when every fanboy didn’t have a computer, back in those days Gygax created a revolution in games by bringing in the genre of fantasy. Reading his bio on Wikipedia you can tell that he was a real fanboy at heart: “In 1967, a 20-person gaming meet was organized by Gary Gygax. It was held in the basement of his home and later became known as “Gen Con 0″ as this meet birthed the annual Gen Con gaming convention in 1968. Gen Con is now the world’s largest annual hobby-game gathering. Gen Con is also where Gary Gygax would meet Brian Blume and Dave Arneson. Brian Blume would later enter into TSR as partner with Don Kaye and Gary.” Light Novels: Ghost Hunt/Akuryou Series
Posted by Guest Author on Mar 4, 2008 in Comic Books
Most people know about anime and manga, but a new wave of Japanese popular culture is just starting to hit the United States: the light novel. The light novel (literally “raito noberu” or “ranobe” for short) is similar to a young adult novel in the United States, but it also has a little twist: manga-style illustrations are littered throughout the books. So now that you know what light novels are, here’s one of our Ten Light Novels That You Need To Know: Mai Taniyama is a normal high school student who likes telling ghost stories with her friends. One day she stays late with friends at school to do just that, only to have a stranger appear: he introduces himself as Kazuya Shibuya, and claims to be an upperclassman transfer to their school. He is, in fact, no such thing. It turns out that in spite of being so young, he is actually the president of the Shibuya Psychic Research company— a paranormal investigator. Mai finds this out the hard way, though. Apparently he and his assistant Lin have been hired to investigate some odd occurrences at an old school building on her campus, and she manages to stumble upon them…and stumble onto (and break) their camera. Lego Batman: The Videogame Trailer
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 4, 2008 in Videogames
A choice between good and evil! Shown above is the latest trailer for the Lego Batman game which will be out in September — it looks like fun… |
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