“Shinichi Chiaki is the top piano student at his university and an excellent violinist, but Chiaki doesn’t care about playing these instruments as much as he dreams of someday being a conductor. Chiaki, however, has several deeply rooted fears about traveling, and so finds himself “trapped” in Japan. Because he’s trapped, Chiaki starts to question exactly how far he can possibly go in music, especially when he’s passed over again and again for others he thinks are less worthy of musical scholarship and fame.”
Here in the states Del Rey has also come out with the manga version which inspired the tv show:
“University of Central Florida physics professor Costas Efthimiou’s work debunks pseudoscientific ideas, such as vampires and zombies, in an attempt to enhance public literacy. Not only does the public believe in such topics, but the percentages are at dangerously high level, Efthimiou told LiveScience. Legend has it that vampires feed on human blood and once bitten a person turns into a vampire and starts feasting on the blood of others.
Efthimiou’s debunking logic: On Jan 1, 1600, the human population was 536,870,911. If the first vampire came into existence that day and bit one person a month, there would have been two vampires by Feb. 1, 1600. A month later there would have been four, and so on. In just two-and-a-half years the original human population would all have become vampires with nobody left to feed on.”
“Fate/stay night (フェイト／ステイナイト?) is a Japanese visual novel game created by TYPE-MOON in 2004 that has been adapted into an anime television series by Studio Deen. There is also a manga series, currently serialized in the monthly Shōnen Ace magazine. It has enjoyed immense popularity, especially in Japan, spawning numerous adaptations, merchandise, memorabilia and amassing an extensive fanbase around the world.”
“This year marks the 33rd Annual New York’s Village Halloween Parade. Started by a Greenwich Village mask maker and puppeteer in 1973, the Parade began as a walk from house to house in his neighborhood for his children and their friends.”
“SSPL represents over a million images from the Science Museum, the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television and the National Railway Museum. With over 50,000 images digitised, and dedicated staff available to help you research others, you are sure to find the right image. Our collections include 4000 personalities, the Daily Herald and Manchester Daily Express archives, and the work of Julia Margaret Cameron, William Henry Fox Talbot and Tony Ray-Jones.”
“The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies (sometimes “!!?” is appended to the title) is a 1964 monster film written and directed by Ray Dennis Steckler. Steckler also starred in the film, billed under the pseudonym “Cash Flagg”. In this film, three friends visit a carnival and stumble into a cult of occultists and disfigured monsters. Produced on a $38,000 budget, much of it takes place at The Pike amusement park in Long Beach, California, which resembles Brooklyn’s Coney Island. The film was billed as the first “monster musical” (beating The Horror of Party Beach by a mere month in release date).”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 26, 2006 in Star Wars
There’s a move to celebrate May 25th next year as “The Universal Day of the Jedi” to celebrate the 30th birthday of Star Wars. What’s even cooler yet is there is a big Star Wars convention being planned to mark the day:
“To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Gen Con LLC will throw the largest party ever for fans of the saga, taking over the entire Los Angeles Convention Center in May 2007 for five days filled with live entertainment, celebrities from all six movies, special film and video presentations, an exhibit of movie props and costumes, exclusive merchandise sold at a 24-hour-a-day store, pop culture tributes, immersive events, costume contests, and scores of additional activities.
Star Wars Celebration IV will fill the L.A. Convention Center from Thursday, May 24 to Monday, May 28, 2007. Admission to the first day of the event will be for worldwide members of the Official Star Wars Fan Club, many of whom will help plan and run special programming themselves. The convention will be open to the general public from Friday through Monday, Memorial Day.”
This film is Akira Kurosawa’s adaptation of Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s short story dealing with the subjectivy of eyewitness evidence in the solving of a crime. In July 2006, a Japanese court euled that all Japanese films produced before 1953, including this one, are part of the Public Domain.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 25, 2006 in Videogames
Straight from the second season of South Park, someone has lit a giant snake firework and now it’s wrecking havoc. It’s up to YOU to save the town… or, alternatively, to take out townspeople yourself… or both:
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 24, 2006 in Videogames
If you’ve always dreamed about getting into real game design, here’s your chance! Enterbrain has created a program that allow you to roll your own RPG game, and it’s pretty low cost (only $65 or so):
“Introducing RPG MAKER XP, the latest Windows entry in the RPG MAKER series that gives you the power to create your own original role-playing games. Its popular and highly user-friendly editor interface has been carried over from RPG MAKER 2000, and its graphic capabilities, battle screen layout, and data packaging features are better than ever. By popular demand, this latest installment also boasts a brand-new Scripting function. RPG MAKER XP is bound to satisfy beginners and experts alike.”
“I thought this would be a great idea for Halloween (I love Halloween!) so in my usual over the top fashion I went, well – over the top. A buddy of mine wanted to do it as well. We tried to get his roommate into it too so we could have a third Ghostbuster but he didn’t think we’d be able to do it. He was wrong. 🙂
I made two complete packs, suits, belts and goggles in just over two weeks working mostly nights and weekends. I also made a ghost trap and pedal- it clips onto the belt just like in the movie. The guns come off the packs and the packs light up, as does the trap. I made two lighting circuits for each pack using a simple homemade 555 timer circuit, a few LED’s and 9v batteries. The trap weighs around six or seven pounds and the packs weigh about twenty- five pounds.”
