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K-On! Flip-flops!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 17, 2009 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
Summer is just about over but for a hardcore fanboy it’s never too late for anime themed flip-flops! These new flip-flops feature the characters from K-On! (けいおん!) and man are they too cute: Read more… Final Fantasy Tarutaru are Moe Moe
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 17, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections, Videogames
I think Star wars jumped the shark the minute Lucas came up with the Ewoks concept, and I guess it’s to the credit of Final Fantasy that it took them all that time to introduce the ever so cute Tarutaru race. Shown above and below are the Final Fantasy XI Taru Taru Trading Arts Figures which feature Ajido-Marujido, Star Sibyl, Robel-Akbel and Shantotto who “looks to the heavens when she laughs”: Read more… How To Build an Ares IX Rocket
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 16, 2009 in Science
I don’t think that most folks have any idea what kind of bang for our buck we get out of NASA. Every day folks at that agency kill themselves to do a wide range of tasks in an underfunded program that’s doing so much with so little money. Shown here is just one example: This is time lapse video showing the building of the Ares I-X flight test rocket. Vintage Computer Festival East 6.0: Retro Computing Heaven
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 16, 2009 in Tech
I was lucky that my good friend Christian Liendo got quite a few photos of the Vintage Computer Festival East 6.0 which took place this past weekend. Shown above is a young lady trying out Guitar Hero on a Commodore 64! Below is a collection of just a few of the vintage computers and related paraphernalia that was on display: Read more… Google’s Amazing Stop Motion Anime
Where the Wild Things Are: TV Spots
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 15, 2009 in Cinema
Shown above are the latest TV spots for Where the Wild Things Are, the only different between the two spots are the quotes from the critics. In an age of bad Pixar copies it’s so refreshing to see a lack of technology on the screen for a project like this: Yet even in these shot clips there’s a sense of wonder that so many bad computer animated films never seem to capture. I guess I know I’m going to be standing on line for this one… Read more… Japanese Xbox 360 Commercial for Tekken 6
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 14, 2009 in Videogames
Tekken 6 will appear on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Japan, however Microsoft would rather you buy it on the Xbox 360 of course! This latest version of Tekken includes a “rage” system which kicks in when the energy on characters is low (I wish I had that in the real world). Read more… Fame Hasn’t Gone to Coco’s Head
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 14, 2009 in Japanese TV
I have a total fascination with the pets section of the Japanese version of YouTube. And one viral video pet is a golden retriever named Coco who, umm — doesn’t do much of anything except maybe eat watermelon. In fact what makes Coco so cool is that Coco is a cool character, nonplussed by the world about. So what I love about the above is that how in an age of narcissistic reality TV stars how mellow Coco was after being discovered by NHK TV in Japan: Read more… And Another Thing: I Really Miss Douglas Adams
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 14, 2009 in Pulp Fiction
I missed the announcement last year that there would be an authorized sixth book in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series: However recently I came across a link in the sci fi section of reddit simple titled Fucking Blasphemy… which got my attention. This new book is coming out in october this year and is by Eoin Colfer, and of course pretty much every serious fanboy has already condemned the series. Although I find myself with mixed feelings which are just a bit more complex than condemnation. For starters this book was authorized by Adams’s widow Jane Belson so you get the feeling that his family isn’t against it. Next I don’t think anyone is trying to hide the fact that book isn’t by Douglas Adams; in fact I suspect that the readers will be his hard core fans more so than the general public. Read more… Kim Kardashian as Frankenstein?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 14, 2009 in Horror
I just came across the YouTube video below which mentions casting reality TV star Kim Kardashian as Frankenstein in a cult horror film which hasn’t started shooting yet. Now normally I’d dismiss this as a hoax, but the video is by Glenn Andreiev who actually has a decent body of professional work out there. Although frankly I can see more easily see Kardashian as a vampire, but not so much a Frankenstein: Read more… Ten Years Ago Today: The Moon Broke Out of Earth’s Orbit
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 13, 2009 in Television
After years of storing radioactive waste on the the moon massive nuclear explosions tore the moon out of Earth’s orbit on September 13th, 1999 — on this very day ten years ago. Earlier in 1994 previous concerns resulted in the closing Nuclear Disposal Area One on the moon, however with the boom economy that followed after the global war of 1987 all the now obvious warning signs were overlooked. As of today 3,648 days have passed since this event, and numerous attempts have been made to contact the 311 crew members of Moonbase Alpha — whose fate is still unknown at this time. Read more… Kirk’s Chair: To Boldly Sit Where No Fan Has Sat Before…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 12, 2009 in Star Trek
The minute I came across this Classic Captain’s Chair Replica Is Rambo Under Rated?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 12, 2009 in Cinema
I never quite respected the film Rambo, but that said Brian Dennehy is a brilliant actor so I have to give his opinion some consideration. In this interview he talks a bit about the first Rambo film and how he feels that it was a good film, but what ruined it was the fact that Hollywood (i.e. the producers) had Rambo live instead of killing him off in the first film as shown here in the alternate ending: Read more… The Princess and The Frog: Second Official Trailer
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 11, 2009 in Animation
I’ll sidestep all of the politically correct (or not) arguments about this film until I see a bit more. On the positive side I really like the animation I see here, it’s classic Disney and that’s nice to see good old fashioned cartooning in a world filled with too many 3D animated films. However the one thing that I dislike in this second trailer is the soundtrack by Randy Newman. To me Newman has always been overrated and his previous work on Pixar films hasn’t changed my mind at all. Given the focus of the film on New Orleans I wish they did a bit more with the music, it feels like they’ve ignored all of those wonderful musical traditions associated with the venue. Miss Japan in Full SCA Cosplay Regalia
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 11, 2009 in Japanese TV
How to Decapitate a GundamSadly all good things come to an end sooner or later: And thus I’m afraid for yours truly it’s a bit too soon as the giant Gundam on display in Tokyo is being taken apart! Part of me always assumed that the Gundam would be on display forever, but sadly I was wrong. And what makes it worse is that the damn robot just sits there and does nothing to defend itself against a wimpy looking crane… Read more… Comic Books are Officially Dead
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 10, 2009 in Comic Books
Ten Doctors: However Some Are Better Than Others
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 9, 2009 in Dr. Who
This wonderful fan made video features a scenario which calls all ten incarnations of Dr. Who into action. The funny thing is that for me this video has the unintended consequence of making you compare all the actors who have played the good doctor since the 60s. I hadn’t realized how much I really appreciated Tom Baker or hated Colin Baker until you see them all side-by-side. And of course with Dr. Who the acting and the script are everything because if you hide behind a high special effects budget the show just lacks its unique flavor. Read more… Contra: The Rebirth of a Ramboesque Retro Game
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 9, 2009 in Videogames
 The 1988 NES game Contra Contra Rebirth is a WiiWare title that’s based on the 1987 Konami arcade game Contra ((魂斗羅) where you get to play an mutant killing commando (as a game the plot owed a great deal to the popular films of that era like Predator). The original game did so well that it was ported to NES in 1988 and has a well deserved rep of being the toughest game to beat. I’m really glad that we’re starting to see the market for retro games move out of the hobbyist era and into something more mainstream. Here are some screenshots: Read more… Elephantmen #21: These Pachyderms Pack a Punch
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 8, 2009 in Comic Books
With the story by Richard Starkings and the art by Boo Cook I’ve got to say that I’m impressed with the contestant high quality I’ve seen in the Elephantmen series from day one. Firstly the challenge of making cartoon elephants get past their Dumbo heritage and into ass kicking mode is an amazing challenge on its own. And here Boo Cook passes the test with flying colors as elephants are turned into action heroes. Cook does this with a combination of stellar draftsmanship, dramatic layouts and packing the page with loving detail. Issue #21 of Elephantmen is out this Wednesday and looks like it’s worth the price of admission: Read more… All Hail Sid Caesar: Conquering Hero Comedy of Television Comedy
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 8, 2009 in Television
I come not to bury Caesar but to praise him, because he’s still very much alive! Today legendary comedian, actor and all about television genius Sid Caesar will celebrate his 87th birthday today. Isaac Sidney “Sid” Caesar started life intent on a musical career and audited classes at the famous Juilliard School in New York City. His early music gig were in the Catskills where on the side he tried his hand at comedy before joining the Coast Guard in 1939. During the war that followed he was assigned to play in military revues, where in between sets he would do comedy numbers that started to outshine his musical skills. Read more… Tokyo Disneyland’s Halloween is Very Venetian Indeed
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 7, 2009 in Animation, Japanese TV
I was trying to figure out why this recent commercial for Tokyo Disneyland Disney Halloween looks so damn cool. I’m an anime fanboy so my thought was that anything with a Japanese voiceover would just seem cooler, but that’s not the case. Then it struck me: Mickey and Mini and decked out in Venetian costumes instead of the typical goth look associated with Halloween. The result is that our mouse suddenly takes on a magical European quality that I just doesn’t associate with Mickey who’s as American as you can get. Read more… Olympus: Christian Ward’s Polytheism is Bloody Fun
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 7, 2009 in Comic Books
Published by Image Comics Olympus #4 comes out this Wednesday and once again I find myself surprised that I’ve overlooked a really good book. Illustrated by Christian Ward Olympus is a boldly modern take on ancient Greek mythology. The art direction of the book vaguely reminds me of Bill Sienkiewicz in terms of layout and color, although his illustrational technique is much more sketchy. And of course the story by Nathan Edmonson is very very violent, which means that this is not a book for the little tykes — although for us adults it’s an intense trip: Read more… How the Scobleizer Ruined My Weekend But Saved My Blog (For Now)
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 6, 2009 in Tech
Robert Scoble was in a perfect storm: He’s one of the most high profile tech bloggers who is using WordPress which is pretty much the most popular blogging platform right now. And what Robert recently discovered was the combo of these two pinnacles of popularity made him a target for hackers who infected his website, and destroyed some his content in the process. Sadly the first two things that Scoble didn’t pay attention to are common in the blogging world: He was using a previous install of WordPress (2.7x) and hadn’t backed up his blog. Now notice that I didn’t use the phrase “what Robert did wrong” because the fact of the matter was that I was guilty of the very same behavior, and I suspect many other bloggers are too. Read more… |
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The stop motion animated spots above and below are for Google Japan and I’m just blown away by the quality of craftsmanship and creativity shown here. The spots are explaining how Google street maps will 
In 1992 
It’s been unofficial for a while, but as of this week I’d say that as of this week the comic book biz is no longer about actually publishing comic books, but in fact about making films that star comic book characters. The take over of Marvel Entertainment by Disney and the reorganization of DC Comics into DC Entertainment is part of a larger picture which includes the death of print as a viable commercial medium. Although to be fair this story has been a long time in the making: In fact the first chapter in this story can be traced to Disney. 
