“A new moon has been discovered orbiting Saturn – bringing the planet’s latest moon tally up to 60. The body was spotted in a series of images taken by cameras onboard the Cassini spacecraft. Initial calculations suggest the moon is about 2km-wide (1.2 miles) and its orbit sits between those of two other Saturnian moons, Methone and Pallene. The Cassini Imaging Team, who found the object, said Saturn’s moon count could rise further still.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 21, 2007 in Videogames
In most cases I advise against sporting a fanboy oriented tie in a work setting, however the Space Invader tie shown above is an exception to that rule as the pattern is very subtle and thus in good taste:
“For men who used to be the boys at the local arcade, this Space Invaders tie is the perfect balance of 80s adolescence and grown up charm. Inspired by the popular arcade video game, this tie looks just like the game screen full of rows and rows of attacking aliens.”
Shown above is a poster for the 1962 film the Bride Napping which I found at shaolinchamber.com, an amazing where they have a great Chinese poster collection online (with a special focus on the Shaw Brothers).
“Are you part of the Dark Side? Pick up the interactive light sabre and choose a learning path with Darth Vader. Darth Vader laptop is the ultimate learning toy for your children. Enter Sith’s realm and let Darth Vader challenge young children’s skills in mind-blowing games in logic, music, and other breathtaking activities.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 19, 2007 in Animation
Shown above is a clip from episode 2 of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (さよなら 絶望 先生) which translates into English is Goodbye, Despair Teacher. The teather in question (doing the cake math above) is Nozomu Itoshiki a high school teacher who takes all aspects of life, language and culture in the most negative light possible. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei just went on the air at he start of July, and there will be 12 episodes of the show. Not only do I like the dark comedy, but I also like how they use photographic images in combination with the traditional animation look. Here are some images from episode one:
And here are some covers from the manga which the anime series is based upon:
Shown above is a 1:18 1966 Flocked Batmobile limited edition made by Hot Wheels, if you’re lucky enough to be at Comic Con at the end of July. They’ll be selling about 100 a day for $300 each for a few lucky fanboys.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 18, 2007 in Science
Shown above is the trailer for ‘In the Shadow of the Moon’ and it’s well worth checking out. I guess it’s no secret that I’m a space exploration fanboy at heart (and I got my L5 Society membership card from the late 70s to prove it too), so when I read about this upcoming British documentary I got very excited. The film is about the Apollo missions from 1968 and 1972, when nine American spacecraft voyaged to the Moon, and 12 men walked upon its surface. This era feels like a lost golden age to me, so my hope is that this film might spark some interest in getting humans back to the moon and maybe visiting Mars too. The film should be hitting theaters in early September, so tell your fellow fanboys (and fangurls) about it.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 17, 2007 in Star Wars
You have to admire a Star Wars fanboy that takes his hobby seriously! The above home Star Wars theater system and collection is located in Seattle, Washington. To see the full slideshow go to modernhometheater.com.
“The biggest announcement was that FARSCAPE would be returning care of SCI FI Channel and Jim Henson Productions via a new 10-episode webisdoe series, but there were some other questions we needed answered about projects on one of our favorite networks.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 16, 2007 in Animation
The above clip is rather funny, although the manga in question is more cheesecake than hentai. Dōjin Work (ドージンワーク) is a new anime series in Japan that just went on the air this July 4th, the show is based on a four panel comic strip (by the same name) about a young girl named Najimi Osana who is about to make her debut as a dōjin artist (dōjin are fan made comics). Of course being a fanboy I’m already somewhat partial to the show as it seems to be filled with references to the world of fandom.
It’s funny on the Six Million Dollar Man I never recall Oscar Goldman sporting a tacky leasure suit, although the saving grace in this 70s attired action figure is that at lest he’s allowed to have an exploding briefcase! I guess there are advantages in being the Six Million Dollar Man’s Boss…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 16, 2007 in Animation
The above animation is so upbeat with all of those cute little cartoon pizza toppings, and then takes a quick turn to the dark side! By the way of you live in Japan they deliver. By the way if you’d like to get some cute pizza wallpapers you should check out their Flash website.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 15, 2007 in Videogames
I love the vintage look of the above hardware, it’s a wonderful example of Tron inspited 80s futurism. MB Vectrex was a home videogame system and Scramble was created in 1982 by Konami which featured a plane going through a mysterious terrain loaded with UFOs and tanks.
This is how I’ve been keeping cool through the last week! Shown above is the packaging of White RoseVanilla Crunch, which is pretty much ice cream on a stick with bits of chocolate. They’re smaller than American ice cream treats, but if you’re counting calories that’s a good thing. The inside contents don’t look quite as good as the packaging, but they do taste great on a hot Summer night.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 14, 2007 in Animation
In honor of Bastille Day today I thought that I’d show off some classic French animation. Shown above is one of the first animated films ever made, it’s called Fantasmagorie and was animated by Émile Cohl in 1908. It’s sort of amazing for me to think that in just a year this film will be acentury old, it sounds like a long time but in the scheme of art history that makes animation a rather new medium.
To make this film, Cohl placed each drawing on an illuminated glass plate and then traced the next drawing-with variations-on top of it until he had some 700 drawings. In 1908, chalkboard caricaturists were common vaudeville attractions and the characters in the film look as though they’ve been drawn on a chalkboard, but it’s an illusion. By filming black lines on paper and then printing in negative Cohl makes his animations appear to be chalk drawings.
The above illustrations were rediscovered by digial archivistPaula Wirth, they’re from a card game called “Space Race”. The set was published in 1969 but I wonder if the art work isn’t from an earlier time as it does have a late 50s feeling to it. The illustrations shown above are ‘Lost in Space’, ‘Lost on the Moon’, ‘Repairs in Space’, and ‘Danger – Comets!’
I love the look the look the above Blade Runner umbrella from ThinkGeek, it’s just the perfect thing for wandering around late Los Angeles in 2019:
“Early in the 21st Century, the Tyrell Corporation advanced robot evolution into the Nexus phase – a being virtually identical to a human – known as a Replicant. They’re all around you, even now. That guy next to you? He’s a Replicant. How do we know? He’s walking the streets in the rain with no umbrella. That, and he failed the Voight-Kampff. In the pre-apocalyptic future, the air will be so thick, it will be dark in the middle of the day. Coupled with the almost constant rain, you’ll need to find a way to stay dry, and light your way to the noodle shop down the street.”
“Think life on Earth is weird? It might be even weirder on distant planets and moons, according to a new report. Instead of thriving on water, extraterrestrial organisms might live in a sea of liquid methane. Or instead of getting energy from the sun, they might thrive on hydrochloric acid. These possibilities could revolutionize future space missions in search of life elsewhere in the solar system, says the report, issued today by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).
The report concludes that scientists need to consider an expanded list of characteristics that define life, including so-called “weird” life-forms that may thrive where Earth organisms couldn’t. Instead of dispatching spacecraft to dig into the subsurface of Mars, considered a prime candidate for primitive life because of its watery past, the report says the probes may have better luck on Saturn’s moon Titan, which has seas of liquid methane and ethane.”
“Some of the classes build displays for Culture Festival, a once-a-year school event with shows, food, decorations, etc. This class filled cups with paint and made a sort of water mosaic in a hallway.”
By the way Flickr has a Totoro Art group worth checking out too…
