2 weeks ago
"1/1" Chinese Gundam
Just look at it in all of its yellow glory -- LOOK!!!!H/T Japan Probe.
P.S. When all is said and done, this seems almost fitting, since 99% of Japanese pramo and toys are made in China these days...
Restricting harmful Manga
I never thought I'd see something quite like this happen.
I wonder whether it had anything to do with the discussions over same at United Nations?
See also.
I wonder whether it had anything to do with the discussions over same at United Nations?
See also.
My Christmas Wish
I haven’t exactly been a good boy this year, but I’ve been better than average. Bearing this in mind: if any of you can point me to an English-subbed version of 好き!すき!!魔女先生 (Suki! Suki!! Majōhime Sensei, “Love! Love! Magical Princess Teacher”, 1971), whether legit or fansub, you'll be making my Christmas wish come true.
"Hippy Clowns"
If you can make it through the entire video you have a sturdier constitution than I -- must've been all the caffeine I had this morning . . .
Hat tip Japan Probe
なぜあなたは5午前時に家に来ている？
Pourquoi avez-vous rentrer à la maison cinq dans le «mon'»
Quelque chose se passe. Puis-je sentir votre bite?
Ne me jouer comme un fou cause qui n'est pas cool
Donc ce que vous devez faire est de me laisser l'odeur de votre bite.
NSFW
Original
My Spidey's On Broadway
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, the Broadway musical starring Marvel's web-slinging superhero, debuts January 11. The show, which at $60M is the most expensive play ever staged in New York, features a score composed by Bono and the Edge of U2.
What I really want to see is a Star Wars Broadway show. Finally, a real space opera...
What I really want to see is a Star Wars Broadway show. Finally, a real space opera...
Ultraman Zero
Is it me or does this feel like bits of Ultra 7 and Message From Space got mixed in?
Tip of the hat to Mike Dent!
Remake-itis: It can happen to you
Shadyac is on the short list to direct the remake of “The Incredible Mr. Limpet,” a Warner Bros. comedy that has Zach Galifianakis attached as its star.Hollywood, I am *SO* over you . . .
Hit with the dumbass stick
This.
FFS, can't anyone come up with new material? Remake Akira in Live Action 3D! And then re-make that remake in Holographic CGI! I can't wait!!!!!111111
Kopfschmerzen . . .
FFS, can't anyone come up with new material? Remake Akira in Live Action 3D! And then re-make that remake in Holographic CGI! I can't wait!!!!!111111
Kopfschmerzen . . .
Toy Story 3 as Midterm Allegory
"If indications hold true, voters Tuesday will deliver a powerful rebuke to the Obama administration and its plans to transform America. Also, "Toy Story 3" will come out on DVD. These two events are not unrelated."More
The Death of Cinema Part 5
Disney and Warner Brothers plan to offer direct-download of films currently playing in the theater.
Say goodbye to $20 buckets of popcorn and long lines at the bathroom, and hello to warmed-up leftovers and cheap soda-pop from Aldi...
RIP James MacArthur
The original 'Danno' and also a Disney kid.I'm not a fan of the new Hawaii Five-O, personally, but hey, I'm a grump!
EDIT: RIP "Mister C" Tom Bosley and "June Cleaver", Barbara Billingsly.
Tough week for TV junkies...
Remember A Day
"Remember a Day"-A Star Blazers Retrospective from Corn Pone Flicks on Vimeo.
CPF looks back at one of the greatest animated programs ever made-see? We are capable of liking things! Honest!
Tetsujin 28 -- GO!!!
Metric ton of "Gigantor" cover art over at Pink Tentacle.
Holy crap, I want one of these posterized and on my wall!
Boxed sets of Classics
I went to Suncoast today to pick up the Speed Racer "Mach 5" boxed-set that's been moldering away on the shelf for the past five years, only to find it gone (bummer). This of course means that I'll need to get it online, which is probably do-able.But what about all the other classic Japanese cartoon series of yore? I see that there's a Kimba set and some dodgy-looking 8th Man, but I'm wondering if I'm missing any -- did Marine Boy ever see a proper DVD release?
Hot Old Cars
I'm pretty sure that some of these concepts saw the light of day as "Hot Wheels" cars.
H/T Pink Tentacle
Truth in Advertising
"Cheap and Ugly"
We could all go for a little more truth in our ads, and 66 MPG ain't bad -- take that SMART Car!
I need a shower . . .
After all this sofubi and delicately hand-painted plastic, that is.
P.S. The most exotic Japanese toy stuff I recall from the late 1970s/early 1980s was Godzilla monsters in local gumball machines!
Commerical Beer - Fine Art
These folks in Oregon are even more nuts about their spendy beer hobby than I am! They're much better artists than me, though, so maybe they can afford to buy all of that beer with all of the paintings that they do on commission?I wonder how much it would cost to commission a can of Black Label . . .
Just because . . .
The Yellow Fever is runnin' wild in the comments section here, but I found this one somewhat interesting nonetheless.
I like the .33 cent kind . . .
cool noodle
Uploaded by togo555togo. - Have a look at more lifestyle videos.This article and video on ramen is making me drool . . .
China Wins
In the battle over nautical excursions, ramming procedures and saving face, China will win. They are too damned-big not to.
I hit the Schellabration . . .
and all I got was this lousy graphic!But seriously, it was a good time. Free tours and sampling at the brewery, along with oompah bands and the Concord Singers, cheap brats and beers, and wandering Narren. This is probably the first time I've visited the place and left without even a buzz!
Here's to the next 150 years!
-DVC
Full-Length Yamato Trailer
71 days to go. Yamato... hasshin!
Old Japan in Neo Tokyo
My significant other is always complaining about the Japan she sees whilst glancing over my shoulder at in-opportune times, and yet there's something to be said for the parts of Japan --and even Tokyo-- that have preserved the very best of the country's base culture*.
Here's a glimpse into Old Japan, and it's conveniently located in Tokyo:
yanesen tokyo
Uploaded by togo555togo. - Explore exotic destinations and travel videos.
H/T Japan Probe
*To be fair, she hates American Pop Culture, too ; )
Here's a glimpse into Old Japan, and it's conveniently located in Tokyo:
yanesen tokyo
Uploaded by togo555togo. - Explore exotic destinations and travel videos.
H/T Japan Probe
*To be fair, she hates American Pop Culture, too ; )
"Retro" Super 7 Jumbo Stormtrooper CM
Gotta love it.....total Popyesque funk. Haven't gotten one of these yet (retail is about $300) but I have handled one....very cool. The S7 crew did this right. Rumor has it that they are planning a Boba Fett and Darth Vader.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8PQrHXniE0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8PQrHXniE0
Yebisu Beer, 1930
Yep, I have a one-track mind : )
H/T Pink Tentacle
P.S. Danno, the August Schell 150th anniversary party is this weekend!
And I'll form the....USB plug?!
The folks over at Incubot have gotten the rights to make Voltron USB flash drives....it's the 21st Century version of the Trapper Keeper! I have a "Nekobot" USB drive and it's just as much "fun rubbery toy" as it is "utilitarian data storage".
http://www.incubot.com/voltron.html
Panty & Stocking est arrivé
I have to admit I like what I'm seeing here so far: PuffyAmiYumi + Lucky Star + FLCL. Could this be the bracing dose of new and refreshing that anime has desperately needed for so long? Or will Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt be Suck in its purest form? We shall see.
COLLECT 'em ALL: Takatoku 1/3000 SDF-1
'I suck at Facebook', but thought I'd share this link anyway : PCOLLECT 'em ALL: Takatoku 1/3000 SDF-1
Holy Flaming Ferraris!
This article from the Christian Science Monitor caught my eye. I still can't believe I saw* one of these in Nowhereland, MN, earlier this summer.*Note: It wasn't on fire, but it was still a hot car :)
Boozing Hausfrau style
10 different Izakaya appetizers and all-you-can drink booze, only Y2480~!
Only in Japan . . .
izakaya
Uploaded by iluvdolphinburgers. - Discover more webcam videos and video blogs.
Hattip JapanProbe
Only in Japan . . .
izakaya
Uploaded by iluvdolphinburgers. - Discover more webcam videos and video blogs.
Hattip JapanProbe
Neil's selling his toys on ebay
Neil Nadelman has decided to let go of his Gundam Gattai DX diecast playset by Clover. Who'll be the lucky bidder?
LULZ at Cat Smurfs
Leigh Scott rants some more about Avatar:
Power up your TARDIS, turn on your lightsaber, and set your phasers to stun because we are about to geek out kids.
Not content with making over $2 billion worldwide, James Cameron is re-releasing “Avatar” in theaters. Supposedly, a lot of people couldn’t see it in 3D because there were other films in theaters at that time hogging up half the screens. How dare they? Who do those people think they are?
In the same L.A. Times interview where Mr. Cameron explains his re-release rationale, he opines that he is making a franchise with “Avatar” that will compete with the works of Tolkien. He thinks the story of the Cat Smurfs will have the same staying power as “Star Wars.”
Moar
Power up your TARDIS, turn on your lightsaber, and set your phasers to stun because we are about to geek out kids.
Not content with making over $2 billion worldwide, James Cameron is re-releasing “Avatar” in theaters. Supposedly, a lot of people couldn’t see it in 3D because there were other films in theaters at that time hogging up half the screens. How dare they? Who do those people think they are?
In the same L.A. Times interview where Mr. Cameron explains his re-release rationale, he opines that he is making a franchise with “Avatar” that will compete with the works of Tolkien. He thinks the story of the Cat Smurfs will have the same staying power as “Star Wars.”
Moar
PG on Facebook? Yep!
Uncle Fran threw this idea at me a while back and we have pretty much zoned-it-out since we were both un/underemployed and hating life.Now that we both have jobs again, we took the Nike slogan to heart and just did it.
Any thoughts?
For what it's worth, all we really plan on doing is load a bunch of low-rez iPhone pics and scans of pages from dusty old Xeroxed zines up into the Photo Album! Nothing very high-tech at all or involved, just another way to keep the name out there. See also: http://twitter.com/pgaijin
Meanwhile, back in Bizarro World...
Sea Prince and The Fire Child (aka Sanrio's Shiriusu no Densetsu) has a DVD release after years of dwelling on YouTube.
Early 1980s Cheeseball-anime rental vets represent!
FYE link. Also at Amazon.
FYE: All Movie Box Sets - Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: Movie Complete Collection [3 Discs] 13Up
FYE: All Movie Box Sets - Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: Movie Complete Collection [3 Discs] 13Up
I stand corrected -- sort-of . . .
I stand corrected -- sort-of . . .
Zeta Gundam Movies -- in English . . .
AH! At last! Legit copies of the Zeta Gundam movies compiled for the twentieth anniversary of Zeta Gundam, and in English!
Now, if it was $60 for a deluxe, boxed set of all three I can maybe see spending that, but at $29.99 a crack?
There's been no promotion, no push for these . . . Bandai is so freaking stooopid it makes my brain hurt . . .
RIP Satoshi Kon
Satoshi Kon, director of "Perfect Blue", "Tokyo Godfathers", "Paranoia Agent" and many others has died at 47
Worth repeating but not worth paying a living wage
L.A. Times picks up the story about the Anime Industry implosion.
We've heard it before, here it is again. To recap, Anime Industry in a nose dive, nobody seems to be doing anything to stop it, and they'll do it for less in China.
We've heard it before, here it is again. To recap, Anime Industry in a nose dive, nobody seems to be doing anything to stop it, and they'll do it for less in China.
I weep for the next generation . . .
How the heck could I have missed this? Oh yeah, I'm like forty, have no kids, and don't *want* to raise 'em in a world where crap like this pretends to be entertainment. Do I just have a case of "the Mondays" on a Friday?
I LOLed
. . . and then I hurled. Seriously, when you need Cat Power* to sell a car that gets the same mileage as a SMARTcar you are doomed.
H/T Greg Gutfeld
Photos of The Volt (etc).
ALSO: This
*No, it's not Chan Marshall, but I am far out of touch with Indie-rock, so sue me.
2ch Responds to Scanslation Crackdown
Daniel Lau has posted translations of 2ch comments and opinions on the news of the recent shutdown of popular scanslation sites, including One Manga. It makes for some interesting reading. Recommended.
Underdog... or Überhund?
Adolf Hitler was infamous for many things, but among the late Führer‘s most well-remembered obsessions was eugenics — the practice of breeding human beings in order to improve the race. In his rantings, he alluded to Nietzsche’s concept of the Übermensch, or “overman”, as the hoped-for end result of the Nazi eugenics effort. (It is important to note that Hitler’s concept of the Übermensch was different from Nietzsche’s in many ways.) This superbeing, the product of “pure Aryan blood”, was, in Hitler’s view, the only hope for mankind — a being of great power and will, capable of destroying the Jews and other “mud races” and rescuing the German nation from their evil aspirations.Underdog is the key...
Complete Text
New Stuff on Flickr
I just finished a hueg update to my Flickr site. It's chockful of downloadable fun -- new stuff in B-CHAN SKETCHBOOK and THE COOL EYE sets. Drop by!
Coming Soon: Hong Kong Phooey
A live action+CGI Smurfs movie can only mean that Hollywood is mining deep for ideas.Courtesy of Yahoo
'Airbender' and Misperceptions
A lot of ink has been spilled over this, and I'm still scratching my head.
In recent weeks, M. Knight Shylaman has done a sound (if p-o'd, frenetic) job in explaining his casting decisions, and yet the True Believers aren't satisfied.
I really wish the show's original creators would chime in on this just to stir the already troubled waters some more...
Your Weekly Dose of Stupid
"As much as I would love to hail Miyazaki as being pure and untouched; as someone who was as excited as you seem to be introduced to his work, some facts are in order.
Early work shows him very much aware of the world's power structures with overt references to Intelligence, the UN, occult ritualistic leadership etc." - J.H.
Since late last year The Website Formerly Known As "Save the Males.com" has become a repository for articles and missives from a variety of weekly guests, with occasional encore articles from the site's founder, Dr. Henry Makow.
Any of Dr. Makow's long time readers* would tell you that some truly ridiculous claptrap has been posted at said site in the past 8 months or so, but this article really tickled my fancy.
P.S. Here is Dr. Makow's take on 'My Neighbor Totoro'
H/T Jeff Rense
*I include myself among this number @_@
No Humor at BB
NSFW (Language)
Apparently this was done by a Best Buy employee on his own time. BB corporate found out somehow and might be trying to fire him because they were afraid what apple/at&t would think. If they would have shut up and looked the other way they wouldn't be getting all this attention. Way to go.
And to be fair to the iPhone fans, the "rebuttal" (again, NSFW).
via Tech Crunch
Apparently this was done by a Best Buy employee on his own time. BB corporate found out somehow and might be trying to fire him because they were afraid what apple/at&t would think. If they would have shut up and looked the other way they wouldn't be getting all this attention. Way to go.
And to be fair to the iPhone fans, the "rebuttal" (again, NSFW).
via Tech Crunch
Iron Sky Trailer 2 - Kickin' Nazi Arse
Looks like the Finnish filmmakers have raised 90% of the $8.5 million they had budgeted and will begin shooting this fall.
Here's the second trailer:
Here's the first one again if you missed it.
Iron Sky Official Site.
via Wired
Here's the second trailer:
Here's the first one again if you missed it.
Iron Sky Official Site.
via Wired
AT-AT Day Afternoon
Not a cat or dog person? How about an AT-AT person? You still have the clean up after the things though.
Comics - News - Live-action 'Akira' gets fast-tracked - Digital Spy
Comics - News - Live-action 'Akira' gets fast-tracked - Digital Spy
Proof positive that Warner Brothers Management has their collective heads still too far up their own asses.
Seriously. AKIRA is over 20 years old. The boat on this has sailed long ago. Nobody cares or wants a live action AKIRA movie. It's over and done. Move on to something new.
“Akira happens to be something that Warner Brothers management loves. They see value in the franchise,” Lanzar told Collider.
Proof positive that Warner Brothers Management has their collective heads still too far up their own asses.
Seriously. AKIRA is over 20 years old. The boat on this has sailed long ago. Nobody cares or wants a live action AKIRA movie. It's over and done. Move on to something new.
VD Gaijin -- 15 years later
This is what Shogo (one of PG's original contributors) has been up to. There may no longer be a pgaijin.com, but he is making some fine ambient music - Enjoy! : )
P.S. Shogo's debut, Extended Play release "Canticles for Seraphim" is available as a digital-download here
This Is Very Scary
Apparently to mark the 18th celebration of burger month (???) White Castle sold a candle in the shape of the box their "burgers" come in. It was also scented like the burgers. Why does the thought of striking a match near this thing scare me?
via Gizmodo
via Gizmodo
Mario, Up Against The Wall
Stop motion animation done by Japanese high school students. They didn't let us do anything like this in art class. Very cool.
Via Gizmodo
Via Gizmodo
"The Gift"
This short was directed by Carl Erik Rinsch, a fellow who's being called Ridley Scott's protege. Rinsch is currently linked to remakes of Logan's Run, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and other remakes of now-classic SF and world cinema.
Did I just see the 47 Ronin in there? Yep . . .
"Simple Anime" in Japan
I ganked this from Japan Probe, and no, I don't really *get* it, but it seems to me that someone's been watching a lot of Adult Swim . . .
The beer for Ottakings
Just because I'm a cunning linguist like that, and I'm thirsty for an Austrian Helles bier ; )
"Ewoks marked a turning point from which we’ve never recovered"
With all the excitement surrounding the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back – a true masterpiece by any definition of the word — it got me thinking about the iconic films of my childhood that left such a permanent impression that I can still vividly recall the experience of seeing them for very first time in a theatre. Not the look of the multiplex or the color of the seats, but how these movies made me feel. How they transported me into their world to the point that when the lights came up it felt like an unwelcome alarm clock on a school day.
More
P.S. I figured that this piece might resonate with a couple of you ; )
