I ♥ Secret Base

I was cruising around the Span of Sunset website before my holiday hiatus and I realized I don't have any Secret Base toys in my collection. What a blasphemy against one of the greatest lines of toys ever. I have known about them for a long time, but I kind of like keeping them a secret. I really love their cute/creepy designs. Translucent plastic is the coolest. And there are enough colorways to keep a collector busy for the rest of their lives. Check out Honey Bee, Pumpkin Head (silver) and Amoeba Mask Ranger (supersweet!) [pictured above, left to right]. They even make cool t-shirts [pictured below]. It matches my blog!

Smile

Colette's online store "Sold Out" has the Limited Ed. Cheshire Cat x Colette figure [pictured above] created exclusively for Colette by Span of Sunset. There are only 100 in the world, so get yours quick. Eight inches tall and comes in an amazing box. Only €120.00! I am sick, so that's all for right now.

Join The Dark Side

Check out this extra-super-cool, carded, Limited Ed. Star Wars Shadow Stormtrooper Kubrick available at Ningyoushi! The Dark Side is definitely the new black. Only $85 and only 1000 available.

Martians!

Prepare for invasion! The Aliens are coming! Luckily, the Biohazard Watch from Tokyoflash can detect the presence of Alien DNA, making it much easier to eliminate them with extreme prejudice! Just like those Ray Bans from They Live!

With the threat of Alien Invasion growing ever closer & the distinct possibility that "they" are already here, it's about time we had a device to detect the humans from the human-oids.

The Biohazard wrist scanner probes the immediate vicinity for Alien DNA & displays the results so that you may assess the threat level.

Pretty sweet looking watch, but nearly impossible to read the time on. Just check out the screen shot from the manual [below]. Definitely a conversation starter, and for a mere $138.26, not a wallet buster, either. With the holidays coming up, this might even just make a great stocking stuffer.

Poop Is The New Black*

    

This holiday season, it seems that the common theme among underground toy creators is something very near and dear to my heart: poop. That's right, poop. For example, one of my favorite online toy retailers, My Plastic Heart, has poop-themed toys by two different designers. First off, the French streetwear brand Superdeux has created these Shikito toys. Available in Brown [pictured above, left] and The Real Bad Black [pictured above, right], Shikito is based on Superdeux's humorous B*Shit line of clothing. Each toy is emblazened with the B*Shit motto, "Lauda Shikito Salvatorem - all praise Shikito the savior!" Also on the poop-tip and available at My Plastic Heart, Frank Kozik has created the Sho-Po Plops. Keeping with Kozik's smorkin' theme, these piles of poop feature cigarettes protruding from them (all except for the Skull chase figure [pictured below, left]). My favorites are the Black, Glow and Bloody Sho-Po Plops [pictured below, right]. I mean, who doesn't love a bloody white poop? Ouch!

    

*If they give an award for the most scatological blog, I should definitely be in the running!

Mad Mutha' F**gin' Doom!

I can't believe I missed this! Luckily, there are good people like Mr. G at Socialpest to pick up the slack for me. According to the 'pest, Kidrobot and Stones Throw Records have collaborated on this brilliant looking Limited Ed. Madlib & MF Doom Madvillain figure [pictured right]. I love me some Madlib and MF Doom! The Danger Doom album The Mouse and the Mask is still the shit. And Madlib's Shades of Blue is on constant rotation in my iPod. The new Madvillain figure will be dropping January 4th to coincide with the release of the compilation album Chrome Children Pt. 2 featuring Madvillain (a.k.a. Madlib & MF Doom). You can watch the video for the first single, ALL CAPS, here.

Geiger, Hopper, Small, & Hochbaum

     

     

It could be the name of a law firm or an eclectic psychedelic-rock band from the 70's. But it is actually an exhibit opening this evening at Chapel Hill Town Hall and sponsored by the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission. The opening will be from 5:30 to 7:00pm this evening, is free to the public and features paintings, ceramics and mixed-media works by L. Michelle Geiger, Tama Hochbaum, Janette Hopper and Amanda Small. Music will be provided by Mark Simonsen of The Old Ceremony. The exhibit will run through January 19th, 2007. For more information visit chapelhillarts.org.

I Pooped My Pants

Sticking to the gastrointestinal disfunktitude theme, I think I just crapped myself. I thought it was going to be a fart, but it wasn't. And I am stuck at the front desk today because Crystal the Kooky Cracker is out at a conference. I don't know how much longer I can sit here like this, stewing in my own filth. I guess long enough to mention the new Limited Ed. X LED Watch by Ximax available at Tokyoflash [pictured left]. It appears to be one of the easiest to read LED watches on Tokyoflash. It actually shows the time, not just some random grouping of LED's that you would need a master's degree in computer engineering to interpret. It also displays the date and plays a neat little animation with the button push. It features a stainless steel caseback and either a black or white leather-esque band. Also, with each order from Tokyoflash from now until 9:00am Japan Time on December 22nd, you will be entered into the Tokyoflash Christmas Giveaway! One grand prize winner will walk away with a brand new Playstation 3 and two games (Resistance: Fall of Man & Ridgeracer7). Ten second prize winners will each receive a Tokyoflash watch of their choice. What could be better than that? Buy one watch, possibly get one free. Or even better... a Playstation 3! Now I am going to go scoop out my drawers (dirty). Wish me luck!

Bad Gas!

Man, I sure have some bad gas today! I wonder if it has anything to do with all the food I ate over the Thanksgiving holiday and the fact that I haven't had a decent meal since then. Maybe it is the microwave burritos I ate for dinner last night. Whatever it is, I hope nobody is offended when they enter my office. You know, I think they should just make Thanksgiving a four-day gorge-fest instead of just a one-day holiday. I mean, that's what it has pretty much become already anyway. One day of fresh meat and then three days of leftovers. I'm sure there are still Turducken leftovers in my parents' fridge. And I know they have a leftover pumpkin pie in the freezer.
Well, now that I have gotten that out of the way, I'm sure you all sit with baited breath waiting for a new post from your favorite Limited Ed. blog, so here it is. Ningyoushi, my favorite online toy store, has redesigned their website recently. Along with the redesign, they have added some new toys. In particular, they have a pre-order for the new Limited Ed. Medicom Real Action Hero Jin-Roh Kerberos 01 12" figure [pictured above]. Jin-Roh is one of my favorite anime movies and I already have an action figure from the movie, but it is cheap plastic, only six inches tall and doesn't stand up very well. I know from experience that the Medicom Real Action Hero figures are well constructed, very poseable, and easily stand on their own. Unfortunately, they do cost $180 a piece, and that is what will keep me from adding this figure to my collection. I do recommend it for anyone with a phat wallet and a penchant for anime collectibles.

Update: My gas was so bad, I left my office for about an hour and when I came back it still smelled like burnt ass.

My First "Overheard in the Office"

I missed this on Friday when it went live, so here it is, bright and early Monday morning (and who doesn't love Mondays?): The Politically-Correct Term Now is "Biscuits". I love the people I work with!

Also, I have added a new link to the "Cool" section of my blog. I got an e-mail from the administrator of the Billionaire Boys Club Blog asking for a little link exchange, so I have obliged. I have always appreciated the work of the Billionaire Boys Club, so I figured linking to a blog about them would be apropos. Anyway, that's all for now.

Omni-Monster!!!

I got an e-mail yesterday from George over at Omni-Monster!!! (Kaiju Utopia) letting me know about their new blog. It is dedicated to sharing pictures and information about Japanese vinyl Kaiju toys, figures and collectibles, whether vintage or Neo-Kaiju. I definitely have a place in my heart for the wierdness that is Kaiju. It's just such a silly style of movie monsters. Anyway, check out the blog for some great pictures of silly monsters, like the one above of a couple of Marusan Hedorahs. The one on the right is custom painted in a "molten" or "fire" style by H. Lee Porter, a Kaiju toy customizer.

Also, on the new website kick, check out my new art website at www.alecgrossmanart.com. I am still working on it, but it is mostly finished. If you see a painting or drawing that you like, you can contact me from the site to find out price and availability information.

My Plastic Heart Store

My Plastic Heart announces it's new store and gallery in NYC!

Join them for the grand opening of their new Store/Gallery on November 18, 2006 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. They will be featuring new works by Parskid as well as releasing an exclusive Parskid plush figure "myblackheart" at the reception. Limited to 21 figures they will be offered at the event and online (if any remain). They will also have new skate deck designs by MAD, Sket-One and UPSO available for purchase for the first time, and their last batch of Twilight and Wedding MAD*Ls will also be available.

Someone I know up there in NYC better stop by and take some pictures for me, dammit! I'm looking at you Seth or Scott. And if you feel like picking up one of the Parskid plushes for me, that would be cool, too. The address is below.

myplasticheartnyc
210 Forsyth St
New York, NY 10002
646.290.6866

Democracy Works!

Well, the people wanted a change and a change has been made. The bums have been thrown out. The Democrats have taken back the House of Representatives and the Senate race is currently too close to call with Virginia still undecided (but the Democratic candidate, James Webb, currently leading by less than 7,000 votes). As backlash to all of this wonderful hoopla, something else wonderful has happened, Donald "Rummy" Rumsfeld is stepping down as Secretary of Defense. Of course, Bush, Jr. just wants to replace him with one of Bush, Sr.'s cronies and former CIA chief, Robert Gates. Gates is a little more warm and fuzzy than Rummy, but still a lackey. So I guess we will just have to wait and see if all of this seat-shifting causes some actual change. Let's hope that alternative fuel sources, conservation, ending the war in Iraq, and stem cell research get the attention they deserve now.

Afro Samurai

When I first started collecting Limited Ed. Asian action figures several years ago, one of the first ones I got was Afro Samurai, a character from a popular Manga series created by Takashi Okazaki. Now, the Afro Samurai mini-series is coming to TV. Produced by and starring Samuel L. Jackson, it will be featured this season on Spike TV. From what I've read on the IMDb message-board, it looks like the show has been postponed until January, but you can still watch a trailer for it and get all excited. I'm going to have to find someone with cable to tape it for me. Then I can bust out my action figure and recreate scenes from the show. Yippee!

P.S. Today is my girlfriend Anne's 21st birthday! Happy birthday babe! Let the drinking begin!

Return Of The Knuckle Bear!

Touma is back for his sophomore appearance at mixi-bang! in Pasadena, CA on November 4, 2006. This time, he's brought back an old friend. That's right, the Knuckle Bear has been reborn and is back with a vengeance! The Skuttle is back as well, this time in Alpha form [pictured above, bottom] and the newest member of the family, MaoCat [pictured above, right] makes his appearance.

To complement the mixi-bang! exclusive Glow-in-the-dark Bone Knuckle Bear [pictured above, left] are Limited Ed. Bone Knuckle Bear Giclee print sets as well as Limited Ed. Touma X mixi-bang! GID Bone T-shirts. The first 50 people at the show will win a chance to win some free Touma goodies.

Exclusives are limited to one per customer. An extremely limited amount of the exclusives will be set aside for online orders for Touma's overseas fans. Details about online ordering will be released before the show opening.

UrbanRetro Christmas T-shirt Offer

Alife 2nd Annual Courtyard Sale

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2ND 9AM-7PM
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3RD 9AM-7PM
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4TH 11AM-7PM
LOCATED AT 158 RIVINGTON ST.
LOWER EAST SIDE, NEW YORK CITY
CLICK HERE FOR DIRECTIONS
OR CALL FOR INFO: 212.375.8128
WWW.RIVINGTONCLUB.COM
ALIFE RIVINGTON CLUB
SECOND ANNUAL COURTYARD
CLEARANCE SALE

Spooky!

Just in time for Halloween, all of my favorite sneaker companies are releasing special Halloween editions of their kicks. And Pick Your Shoes has several varieties to choose from. For example, they have the new Limited Ed. Adidas Halloween Superstar 2's [pictured above, left]. These are pretty sweet, featuring a clear sole with a view of a scary, Scream-like ghost face (killah). They also feature Halloween-orange stripes and heel tabs and black and orange laces with ghosts on them. Great for the kids. Next up, Nike has got a pair of Limited Ed. Glow-in-the-dark Dunk Hi-tops available to keep yourself or your kids safely visible this halloween [pictured above, middle]. And finally, Nike has a pair of Limited Ed. Halloween Blazer Hi-tops that are just plain sick [pictured above, right]. These black leather Blazers feature laser-engraved Halloween imagery, an embroidered skull on the tongue tag, an embossed rubber skull on the heel tab, and a silver skull lace stay. These are probably the coolest pair of Nike Blazers that I have ever seen, so they probably won't last long. Hey Pick Your Shoes, how about sending me a pair in size 12 for all of the free advertising that I am providing you? Come on, be a pal. (Not pictured are the ultra-ugly Limited Ed. Nike Air Force 1 Low Premium Halloween kicks.)

Success

After several failed attempts, I have finally succeeded in getting a new t-shirt design up on Threadless.com! The design is entitled Stalin Bunny and is from my C.C.C.P. series (Costumed Communist Collection of Paraphenalia). The first version was rejected, but this revised version was graciously accepted, and I thank Threadless for that. Now I must implore all of my readers to show their appreciation and vote highly for my design.

Vote Early And Often!

bloodshot!

301 Films is back, baby! Our Commander in Chief, Mike Lucas, is participating in a 48 hour horror filmmaking competition entitled Bloodshots and sponsored by filmmaking legend Robert Rodriguez. You can view the movie above, then go to the Bloodshots website to register and vote for the movie. It's the first one on the list.

New Kidrobot Hoodie

I got e-mail last evening from Kidrobot letting me know that they have a new Limited Ed. Dunny hoodie [pictured above] in their clothing collection. This one is purple with an all-over Dunny print. Cute, but not something I would ever wear. I'm not a huge fan of the all-over print. I prefer just one image on my hoodies: large and in the middle of the front, small over the front pocket, or extra-large on the back. The all-over print just looks too childish. Maybe this is appropriate for clothes from a toy store, but apparently these are made for adult men, whom I don't foresee rockin' them on the block. The new Dunny hoodie goes on sale this evening at 6pm and I'm sure, even at a $165 price (hey, their hoodies used to be $140! Wahappen?), these will sell out quickly. The Dunny hoodies are limited to just 228 pieces, each one has the number and edition embroidered on the inside, and they feature an interior iPod pocket with a cord loop and button hole for your headphones. So head on over to Kidrobot NY or SF and pick yours up tonight.

Also, Kidrobot just announced the release of a new set of Gorillaz figures [pictured below]. The Kidrobot Gorillaz site is up and running, and their brand new edition of the Gorillaz figures will be available on October 26th. Fresh off their multi-platinum selling album Demon Days, Gorillaz and Kidrobot teamed up again, this time with a multi-set toy collaboration. The set features all-new designs of Gorillaz band members 2D, Murdoc, Noodle, and Russel. Each figure comes in a unique box with exclusive accessories! Figure heights range from 6 to 8 inches, and each one is available for $19.95. Check the site for more information on the upcoming toys, downloads, and more!

Neckface Vans

I apologize for keeping all of my readers in suspense for the last few days, but I have been very busy at work, and I figured the longer I keep the post about the Potluck Show at Wootini at the top of my blog, the more people will actually go see it. Anyway, I was clicking around the blogosphere and I noticed that Josh Spear had an article on his blog about some new Limited Ed. Neckface Vans. Neckface is one of my favorite grafitti artists and Vans are one of my favorite sneaker companies, so I had to write a post about this momentous collaboration. Josh has a lot of pictures of the new kicks on his blog, but no information on price or availability. Unfortunately, there is no information on the Vans website about the Neckface kicks either. There is a little more information about Neckface and some more pictures of his work on Sneaker Freaker, but again, no price or availability on his Vans collaboration. I guess we're just going to have to wait this one out to find out when they will be available.

Potluck Show!

I just wanted to let all of my readers know that there will be a special Potluck Show beginning tomorrow, Friday, October 13th (Spooky! Friday the 13th!) at Wootini at Carr Mill Mall in Carrboro. The show will feature the work of such artistic luminaries as Jim Koch, Laird & Kevin Dixon, Plaseebo [featured above, top painting], Casey Robertson, "Hello, Brute", Jason Hankins, Phoneticontrol, Marialana Albani, Tiffany O'Brien [featured above, bottom painting], Forest Steel, Lany Devening, Brandon Reese, Maria Britton, Alec Grossman, Lorna Wang, Increase Maready, Alyssa Stepien, and more. If you look closely, you will see my name amongst the list. Sweet! Anyway, the show opens this Friday beginning at 7 pm and running until midnight. Music will be provided by Family, who have been on hiatus from Wootini exhibits for the last two months. Potluck-style food will be provided for the show by friend-of-Wootini Eliza. The show will run until November 8th in anticipation of David Huyck's solo exhibit, "Playground Rules".

Spikey Watch

I was checking out the Tokidoki website and noticed that they have recently added some really cool watches to their repertoire. To go along with the spikey cuteness of their Cactus Friends, they have a pink Sandy watch. I really appreciate the way Tokidoki has combined cuteness with some hard-core punk aesthetics in their designs. Tough but cute with the heart and crossbones above Sandy's head.

Moo Tokidoki!

My Plastic Heart has got the new Limited Ed. Tokidoki x STRANGEco Mozzarella figure in stock. Well, maybe not in stock, but on their website and shipping in mid October. Mozzarella is the leader of the Moofia, a gang assembled to extort milk from the lunchboxes of schoolyard bullies. Mozzarella comes with a Tommy gun and a 2.5 inch tall smiling bullet companion. This toy is adorably cute, but vicious. Mozzarella will not hesitate to bust a cap in some punk-ass snitch.

Best... Collaboration... Ever!

I got an e-mail from Alife yesterday letting me know about their collaboration with the Wu-Tang Clan on a pair of Limited Ed. Everybody High Premium Classic sneakers and matching t-shirt. They are SOOOOOOOO DOPE!!! These will be flying off of the shelves in no time flat! They will be available starting this Saturday, October 14th, I guess when the store opens at 11am. Not only will the sneakers and t-shirt be available at Alife in New York and Vancouver, but they will also be available at Wish in Atlanta, Grey One in Pasadena, Within in Philadelphia, Huf in San Francisco, and Commonwealth in Virginia Beach. Expect long lines in each location. No word on price or how many pairs will be available, but I expect it will be expensive and there will be very few of them.

Alife Beanies

I got an e-mail on Friday, that I just checked today, from Alife letting me know about the new knit caps that they have created in collaboration with Kangol, my favorite cap creator, for the Winter season. Running sixty bucks a piece, these woolies are not cheap, but then again, nothing from Alife is. I like the Bugged version [pictured above, middle] the best, but the 3D version [pictured above, top] is also pretty sweet. Maybe if I trip up to NYC in December I'll stop by Alife and see if they still have any in stock. Probably not, but you never know until you try!

Ooooo Oobase!

I got an e-mail today from the online toy store Oobase letting me know that they are having a SALE! At least 15% off all of their toys in stock! That's a hell of a sale. Now I just have to rob a bank so that I can actually afford to buy something.