Posted by Michael Sacco on Sep 9, 2010 in
Animation,
Cinema 
Only children are supposed to be able to see Totoro, Miyazaki’s friendly furry forest spirit, but it looks like exceptions are made when he’s crafted of fondant. Carolyn Lengel made these adorable cupcakes with her daughter Harriet to celebrate Harriet’s 11th birthday. Seeing all eleven together will likely make you use the word “cute” several hundred times, and you might even want one for yourself, but alas — you can’t have your Totoros and eat them too. Read more…
Tags: Anime, Food, Hayao Miyazaki, Totoro
Posted by Michael Sacco on Sep 9, 2010 in
Cinema 
Disney’s making a long-term investment in Tron Legacy, and fans of the original film (or of the actually-decent Tron 2.0 game) should be pretty pleased with that effort — the studio even secured electronica greats Daft Punk to score the film, and the genius of that is difficult to overstate. When I saw the Legacy trailer for the first time, the gritty, thumping soundtrack immediately stood out to me, and I wanted more. Thankfully, it looks like Disney is ready to help in that regard. TronSoundtrack.com just opened its doors, and though there’s not much there right now (a looping theme from the film and a mailing list sign-up), it should be populated with a lot more great tracks like the sneak peeks we’ve heard so far. If you’re a Tron fan and you haven’t already bookmarked the site by the time this article is over, I’d go ahead and sign up for voluntary de-rezzing. Read more…
Tags: Tron, Tron Legacy
Posted by Michael Sacco on Sep 8, 2010 in
Hobbies and Collections 
Do you ever look down and think “Golly, my shoes just aren’t cute enough”? If so, you may be one of the millions of people worldwide suffering from Sanrio Shoe Deficiency (SSD). Thankfully, there’s a cure: Sanrio and Doctor Martens have teamed up for their respective 50th anniversaries to bring you these overwhelmingly adorable shoes themed around Hello Kitty. Available in both the classic white/blue/red and a punkier pink/black palette, these limited-edition Doc Martens with Hello Kitty bow details are available as boots or Mary Janes. At over a hundred dollars, they’re not cheap, but they’re certainly unique. Perfect for stomping around after your roller derby match or going to the malt shop with your steady. Now where are my Chococat Converse All-Stars, Sanrio? Read more…
Tags: Hello Kitty, Sanrio
Posted by Michael Sacco on Sep 8, 2010 in
Star Trek 
From a modern sci-fi enthusiast’s perspective, the original Star Trek TV series is a pretty campy experience. In fact, let’s just extend that to “everybody.” But you can’t deny its unique brand of futurism, which continues to influence science fiction (and regular science) in the decades since it first aired. The newly-released hardcover Star Trek 365 features a treasure trove of over three hundred pieces of art from the series’ 71-episode run, from set photos to concept art to beautiful newly-remastered stills. There’s even rarely-seen licensed art, like the box art for the first plastic Spock model shown above. The only way the book could be more compelling for fans of the series (or retro futurism) is if it was bound in corbomite. Read more…
Tags: Star Trek
Posted by Michael Sacco on Sep 7, 2010 in
Cinema 
Visionary director Terry Gilliam recently visited the Deauville American Film Festival in France, speaking about the collapse of financing for his long-beleaguered project The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. He says he still wants to do the film, and Robert Duvall and Ewan McGregor are still attached to the project, but the film has been beset with so many slings and arrows for so many years that I wouldn’t hold my breath to see it released. That wasn’t the only interesting bit of news that came from the panel, though — it turns out that the director is in talks to produce a 3-D conversion of his beloved film Time Bandits! I’m not sure I really think a 3-D conversion of a film like Time Bandits is strictly necessary, but when has Terry Gilliam ever stopped at “necessary”? Read more…
Tags: Terry Gilliam, Time Bandits
Posted by Michael Sacco on Sep 7, 2010 in
Cinema 
Okay, so maybe Dune’s original theatrical release was just a little bit before my time, but I’m still plenty familiar with the series, largely thanks to the copy of Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials I received at a ripe young age. These pieces of concept art from Jock, the artist behind 2000 A.D., were intended for use in Paramount’s planned Dune remake. While the concepts may have been shelved due to a change in directors, it doesn’t make the art any less compelling, and they really reinforce my belief that no matter what planet you’re on (or netherworld you’re in, in Beetlejuice’s case), you just don’t mess with sandworms. Not that you were probably planning on it, of course, but I like to help a Fremen out.
Read more…
Tags: concept art, Dune
Posted by Michael Sacco on Sep 6, 2010 in
Tech 
The world of personal electronics is currently in an arms race to see who can come up with the smallest, coolest-looking entertainment devices, but there was a time when the mere concept of a “home computer” was almost unbelievable. Atari may not have had decades of staying power in the PC market, but the Atari name will always be synonymous with early efforts in home computing and video gaming, and these amazing technical drawings and pieces of concept art drawn up by Atari industrial designer Regan Cheng in 1981 show why. Read more…
Tags: Atari, Computers, concept art, Retro Computing
Posted by Michael Sacco on Sep 6, 2010 in
Cinema,
Star Wars,
Television 
You know, a lot of our favorite movies and TV shows deal with some sort of fictional company, from the independent business (Paper Street Soap Co.) to the megacorp (Massive Dynamic). We always see the men and women who run the show, but we rarely see the men on the ground, the salt-of-the-earth types who keep keep these fictional businesses going by performing mundane tasks in low-paying positions. Does Jack Tesler, part of Umbrella Corporation’s maintenance personnel, even know that he’s technically a henchman? Probably not, but at least he’s been provided with a cool business card, courtesy of Fro Design Co. Fro’s latest collection, titled “Day Jobs,” features mockups of business cards belonging to normal people who just happen to work at twenty-one made-up companies covering the entire geek spectrum, from Cyberdyne Systems all the way down to Duff Beer. Read more…
Tags: Star Wars, Watchmen
