The other week, we posted some photos of this amazing Star Wars-themed car mod known as the H-Wing. Shortly after that, I was contacted via Facebook by the man who built it, Shawn “ObiShawn” Crosby, who provided some additional info about the vehicle and his work. ObiShawn works as a toy, prop and game designer, and had constructed the car’s modifications himself — an effort he attributes as the culmination of these interests. So what was it that really impressed me?
This has to be the ultimate Japanese in-joke peripheral: A mini-speaker for your computer or iPod that looks exactly like a miniature version of a Thanko Rice Cooker! Of your course your non-Japanophile friends will be left wondering what’s hooked up to your computer, but then again that’s what makes clever conversation piece. Read more…
In Japan there’s an amazing charity exhibition of Blythe dolls which take their inspiration from well known manga characters. Included in the exhibit are Blythe dolls dressed up as Tezuka’s Black Jack (shown above), Cardcaptor Sakura, Cyborg 009, Felix the Cat and Minky Momo: Read more…
Some of you might recognize the man above as Guan Yu, the 3rd century General of Shu, who was later deitized as the god of war, and brotherhood. However, I’m sure most of you noticed that he looks an awful lot like a certain Autobot — and not just any Autobot, but the big man himself, Optimus Prime. Recently, some students at China’s Central Academy Of Fine Arts claim to have created this 9.7 meter monster out parts from an an old truck, costing them roughly $4,500 USD. Supposedly, the only original parts are the face and blade. While I have my doubts, you have to admit that it still looks pretty cool. Now if only someone made a toy out of this, I’d buy it in a heartbeat. Read more…
Awhile back, Del Rey published the novel Star Wars: Death Troopers, and ever since I’ve been wanting to sit down and read it. The concept sounds absolutely fantastic, take Star Wars and mix in a bit of good old fashion horror — how could you go wrong? I’ll be honest, I’ve been holding out for the paperback which is due out in October, but after seeing this fantastic bust, I’m about ready to just give in and by a copy of the hardcover. The bust is actually a 1/6th scale model of the zombie Stormtrooper as depicted in the upcoming graphic novel, based on the book. If you’re looking to obtain one of these bad boys, Entertainment Earth has them for about $75 and is currently taking preorders and will ship in November. Read more…
Olivia Munn is many things: a Chinese-German-Irish American who speaks Vietnamese, a host for G4’s Attack of the Show, a bikini model, a sports reporter, and a film actress. But a comedienne? …I dunno about that. Read more…
I don’t want to brag but back in the day before all the new kids (who are no longer kids) discovered Ranma ½ I already knew who Rumiko Takahashi was because I had already fallen in love with Urusei Yatsura — which by the way I always felt was a much more humorous series. So when I set my eyes on this amazing sculpture of Lum needless to say I was quite smitten. I’m also impressed with the fact that this model comes in one version with green hair and another with magenta hair. This collectable figurine of Lum is designed by the ever so talented Bome who is a Japanese sculptor whose primary focus is the ladies of anime. Read more…
It took me a bit of hunting to find the mysterious origins of this Animal Town Panda Speaker and it seems that he’s a character from a series of ultra cute stationery goodies from a company called Q-LiA. Although the flat graphic representations I’ve seen of him don’t quite have the same surrealistic magic of this speaker which has a sort of air balloon quality to him. And making him stranger yet when you plug your device (either an iPod, iPhone or CD/MP3 player) his red nose actually shines just like Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. Read more…
This is a sneak preview of the new series The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! which is coming to PBS Kids in September. The show isn’t based on the original Dr. Seuss books but an education series of books that feature the cat explaining life, the universe and everything to kids. What I like about this show is that the animation studio did a nice job of staying true to the designs of the cat in the books.
This nice clip shows a few minutes of an interesting panel discussion on Is Civil Discussion Possible on the Anonymous Internet? The panel featured Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, although I found the commentary by Andrew Keen, author of The Cult of the Amateur to be the most insightful. Keen feels that there’s a feeling of entitlement with the net and no sense of responsibility and what’s needed is a social contract of sorts.
Standing at ten inches tall this crafted doll of David Tennant is perhaps the first Time Lord that you’d want to adopt and take home! Although it should be pointed out that this is a collectable art toy and sadly not for the kids. The crafty Time Lord was created by GirlCalledRic who has a nice geeky shop on Etsy. Read more…
Both the Disney and Apple fanboy in me fell in love with this Snow White MacBook laptop skin decal that I spotted on Etsy. To me an appreciation of old school Disney is what sets the casual fans apart from the real connoisseurs, and if you love the medium you’ve got to worship Snow White for the landmark film that it was.
I just love the amazing amount of detail that has been put into this Star Trek The Wrath of Khan Communicator Replica. In addition to detailing the communicator features three play modules: voice clip mode, hail/call-back function and our all time favorite — Screaming Kirk Mode! This goodie will be out in November, but you can pre-order it here.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 5, 2010 in Star Wars
This Star Wars themed Adidas spot was created to celebrate the World Cup and while I’m not a soccer fanboy I have been a fan of the Adidas since Run DMC celebrated them in song many moons ago. This ad features quite a few sports and music stars: David Beckham, Daft Punk, Snoop Dogg, Franz Beckenbauer, Noel Gallagher, Ian Brown, Ciara, Jay Baruchel, DJ Neil Armstrong. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 4, 2010 in Comic Books
I can just see the meeting where the demography folks break out their PowerPoint and announce that “if we want to gain a female readership we gotta have vampires!” And to be fair women love vampires — so how can you go wrong? Well looking at the above cover of the Marvel one shot Death of Dracula you can drive a stake through its heart. Clearly what the art director didn’t get is that vampires are really all about romance, yet what you’ve got here looks like a bad parody of a 50s pulp magazine. But wait it gets worse, here are the character designs by the talented Marko Djurdjevic who seems to be channeling the worse elements of Elfquest and DEVO: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 4, 2010 in Comic Books
Advertorials are those sponsored sections in magazines which are usually trying to give you the soft sell — so I was somewhat surprised to see that not only has this approach been adopted to manga, but used to sell beer in Japan! From my crude translation this is a special publication sponsored by Suntory premium malts and is a “celebration of father’s day” which is June 20th. Read more…
It’s hard for me to believe that Lilo & Stitch came out eight years ago! What’s also interesting is that the film and related goodies like videogames are still quite popular in Japan. Show above is the Stitch HQ 3-Way Furisu Blanket which is quite kawaii! And at under $30 makes for a cheap cosplay outfit — although the catch is that since the blanket is on the small size it may only benefit young and somewhat short con goers. Read more…
Well, Tony Stark and anyone else who happens to have at least $400 to spend on designer shoes. That’s right, these incredible custom sneakers are currently being auctioned on ebay by Diversitile, a company that just so happens to specialize in, you guessed it, designer footware. The shoes apparently come with built-in arc reactor lights that mimic the designs of the Iron Man and War Machine armor featured in Iron Man 2. Don’t get me wrong, this shoes look absolutely stunning but considering the price, I think I probably buy a pair of Bapes, and have some cash left over and at least I know those would be comfortable. If you’re interested, check out the ebay listings here, or head over to their official blog for more information. Read more…
Every once in awhile someone does something awesome with legos that makes me wish I still had my box of spare parts. I always end up regretting the fact that I sold the majority on eBay so many years ago, with the exception of a few sets that I’ve managed to keep sealed away in their original box. Still, it really amazes me when someone creates something that’s actually somewhat useful. Sure, it’s neat to see someone construct a robot or a Valkyrie, but creating something a bit more original always manages to impress, and that’s exactly what B3ta user, Squirrelfantasy, did with his felt-tip lego printer. It might be a bit crude, but it looks pretty neat and gets the job done. Read more…
Apparently biologists are split as to if humans or climate change killed off prehistoric creatures like like mammoths, giant sloths and saber-toothed cats. These creatures known as megafauna all died out at about the same time early in human history. In this interesting clip professor Elizabeth Hadly gives an overview of the debate which can be seen in full here.Read more…
I suppose this should still be labeled a rumor, but at least it’s a plausible one that I feel I can weigh in on. Gear Live is currently reporting that a reputable source has informed them that Microsoft is set to announce the lauch of Hulu’s subscription-based service via Xbox Live at E3 later this month. The plan for a subscription based service has actually been common knowledge, though most people expected it to launch with the upcoming iPad app that has been in development for months already. Read more…
Here’s the first full trailer for the latest addition to the Resident Evil film franchise, Resident Evil: Afterlife. I’m sure some of you might be cringing after reading that headline, after all, Resident Evil: Extinction — the last entry in the series — failed on so many levels. After its predecessor ended with so much promise — at least, as much promise as a Hollywood video game adaption could — Extinction simply delivered more of the same, and as a result, many people, myself included, weren’t exactly looking forward to a fourth. Read more…
David Blaine, eat your heart out. Today I stumbled across this awesome video, complete with subtitles, of a Japanese street magician playing with Apple’s iPad. Sure, he’s no Lance Burton, and it’s a pretty neat little presentation in terms of viral marketing. I also hate to say it, but aside from using it as a glorified ebook reader, this video has probably demonstrated the most practical use of an iPad I’ve seen to date. Kind of sad, huh? Read more…
A few months back, the guys over at Woa2 stumbled across this insane Star Wars themed Honda while attending the Anime L.A. convention. According their post, the car is modeled after an X-wing, though I’m pretty sure the paint job alone looks closer to that of an A-wing — aside from the R2 unit in the back, of course. The interior of the car is just as impressive, featuring a custom wheel, dashboard, leather interior, a passenger-side computer console, and more. It’s obvious a lot of work went into this. Read more…
