Punk Ass

This was supposed to be my fourth post yesterday, but I never got around to it. I got an e-mail from Turntable Lab letting me know that they have the Linited Ed. Daft Punk: Interstella 5555 Action Figure Set from the epic Daft Punk anime are in stock. Only 5555 of these were made and each is individually numbered. It will run ya' $99, but that is less than $20 a figure for this set. Here's what Snackmaster at TTL has to say about this set:

This bad ass box set contains all the band members complete with their instruments - Stella and Arpegius both with guitars, Octave and his spaced out double keyboard, Baryl and his drumset, PLUS Shep, the alien star pilot that helps save the band from peril here on Earth. The detailing on each piece is top notch, with clean painted details that truly accentuate Leiji Matsumoto's classic character design. Plus, the figures feature movable heads and limbs, similar to those old Robotech figures from the 80s, so you can pose 'em however you please (that is if you actually open the box).

Get Mortified

OMG! My third post today! I might break a record or leg or get a hernia or something. Sheesh. My fingers are all sore and fidgety from all the furious typing. Anyway, if you live in New York and you are in the mood to laugh, go see Mortified tonight at 7:00pm at Mo Pitkin's House of Satisfaction at 34 Avenue A between 2nd and 3rd Street. You won't be disappointed... for long. There's a Grossman involved. And yes, I was mortified when she read aloud what she will be reading for the performance. Mortified with laughter!

Charlie Don't Surf

I am trying to make up for the few days that I was absent in NYC for Seth's birthday with tons of posts today. This is my second and I already have two more planned. I got e-mail from Span of Sunset early last week letting me know that they have some new Bounty x Hunter shirts in stock. Several of them are based on one of my favorite movies, Apocalypse Now. My favorite is the BxH "Charlie Don't Surf" Apocalypse polo [pictured above]. It is a little expensive at $91, but Bounty x Hunter stuff is extremely hard to come by, so some people might consider it worth the money. Personally, I would prefer a nice meal at Momofuku Ssäm Bar on 2nd Ave. and 13th St. in NYC. Delicious!

I Prefer Luxury

Punishment or Luxury?
New Design Objects by Abe Lincoln Jr.
Opening Reception
October 5th, 2007 6-9PM
Show runs through 11/04/07
646.290.6866
http://www.myplasticheartnyc.com
http://www.girlsbike.com

myplasticheartnyc
210 Forsyth St.
New York NY 10002
(between Houston St. and Stanton St.)

Shiitake Sighting

I just got back to work from my trip to New York for my bro's birthday celebration. It was a wild and crazy New York City apartment party with way too many people (all of whom were wealthy and beautiful) squeezed into a way too small apartment with crappy air-conditioning. Everyone tried to hang out on the balcony because that was literally the coolest place to be. The cops showed up at around 11:30pm to tell us to be quiet, which we did for about five minutes. Then we were kicked out at 1:30am after too many of the neighbors complained about the noise. So we went to a bar around the corner which we took over until 3:00am. The balcony of my brother's apartment faces the back of the Chelsea Hotel, and it was Saturday night, so I figured the noise wouldn't be a problem, but apparently not everyone appreciates a good NYC apartment party. Oh well, it was fun anyway.

Alright, now on to the Shiitake Sighting contest 1^st prize: the World Champ Boxer Shroom [pictured above]. "Boxer Shroom doesn't speak too much with his mouth but says a lot with his gloves. He always gives the competition a fat lip!" This toy is not available in stores. The only way you can get him is through the Shiitakes Sightings contest! The deadline is October 1^st, so get your entries in quick.

Seth's Birthday!

Well, it's Seth's birthday again! Another year older and another year sleazier! Make sure you check out his hilarious fantasy football webisodes of The Fantastic Two in honor of his birth... and for McDonald's. I have scoured the internets in search of the perfect presents for Seth for his birthday. I have already gotten him something, but in case any of his other friends read this blog and don't know what to get for him, here are some suggestions. First, we gotta' find Seth a dope pair of kicks. I would suggest the Nike Air Force 1 '07 Low Premium "SoCal Edition" sneakers [pictured above] available at Pick Your Shoes, 'cause Seth is living bi-coastal in New York and LA (SoCal), but I don't think he would rock the pink floral shoes. Instead, for Seth, I am feeling the Puma x Yo! MTV Raps Suede V kicks [pictured below, left]. Seth worked for MTV for a little while, so these are appropriate. And I dig the light blue and heather gray color scheme. Very NC collegiate. To go along with Seth's new kicks, he is going to need a phat cap. The Top of the World NC Tar Heels Gray Elite 1-Fit Hat [pictured above, right] would do the trick, if the trick you are looking for is matching those kicks. Seth isn't really that big of a UNC fan though, or even a sports fan for that matter, so maybe something less sportsy would be more appropriate for him. I will keep these in mind when Scott's birthday rolls around again, though. Well, there's always a cool t-shirt, toy or watch for Seth. Except that I've already gotten him each of those things for his previous birthdays. I guess it is a good thing I have already gotten him a present this year.

Is Winter Here Already?

I woke up this morning freezin' my balls off. It wasn't really that cold, 68 degrees in my apartment, but I had left my windows open last night because it was so nice out and so Kallie could come in and out, and there was a chilly wind that gave me a little bit of a sniffle this morning.

It seems that Alife has decided it is cold enough to announce some winter weather gear already. They have collaborated with Timberland on some new Limited Ed. Wheat Work Boots [pictured above]. I have never really been a big fan of Timberland or their work boots. Personally, I prefer a nice pair of Vasque Sundowners. They are better constructed and last longer. Of course, they don't have the Alife stamp of approval to make them so much more valuable. The Tims will be available starting this Saturday, September 22nd at 11am exclusively at Alife stores for $200.

Alife also has some puffy Penfield Walkabout jackets [pictured below, left] with matching stuff sacks [pictured below, right] that will be available exclusively at the Rivington Club starting on Saturday. If I didn't already have a puffy winter jacket I might be tempted to get the black one when I am up in NYC this weekend, but I'm not really feeling the red or purple version. The ladies may feel different about the purple version, but you gotta' be a special kind of freak to rock that shiny red puffy jacket. Also, I can't really afford $250 for a new winter coat right now. Maybe in a few months when it really starts getting cold. Of course, by then these will be gone.

Rrraaaaarrrr!!!

First off, I would just like to say that unfortunately I have been away for the last few days for my Grandmother's funeral. She was 92-years-old, lived a wonderful, full life of both happiness and sorrow. She survived the concentration camps of Romania during the Holocaust. She survived the first few, shaky years of the state of Israel. She survived the long, arduous journey across the Atlantic to the United States in the closing years of the 1950's. And she survived 34 years living in Brooklyn, New York. She spent the last fifteen years of her life among her family in North Carolina. She was as loved and supported as much as she supported everyone around her. She was strength and she never complained. Everyone who knew her called her 'Ema' which is Hebrew for 'mother' because she was the matriarch. She was everyone's 'Ema'. She held the family together, and one of the last things she told us was to always stay together and make time for each other. And she told me that I clean up very nice. She passed away on her own terms; never living in a nursing home, having to be helped getting in and out of bed and dressing. She had just had a manicure and pedicure a few days before. She spoke with angels just before her passing and that is who she is with now, smiling down upon us.

Alright, now that I have taken care of that, I'm sure anyone reading this who doesn't know me personally would probably prefer to just hear about some new toys, so here ya' go you Rumble Monster x Erostika fans:If you haven't noticed, I'm a big fan of translucent vinyl toys, so I like this Rumble Monsters x Erostika "Sea Clear" Summer Vacation colorway figure [pictured above]. It'll run ya' $85 at Span of Sunset so I won't be getting one anytime soon, but if you dig the RM x Eros, get over there quick, 'cause you can only get one per person 'cause quantities are Limited Ed.

Marsh Mellow Clouds

Chapel Hill Art Events presents an Opening Reception this Sunday, September 9th at The Chapel Hill Public Library from 2:30 pm to 4 pm for the paintings and prints of Laura Azar and Liz Wolf. Refreshments will be provided. This exhibition runs through November 8th. The Chapel Hill Public Library is located at 100 Library Drive (just off of Estes) and is open 10 am to 9 pm M-Th, 10 am to 6 pm Friday, 9 am to 6 pm Saturday, and 1 pm to 8 pm Sunday.

I particularly like the untitled Laura Azar painting pictured above. The fluffy clouds remind me of marshmellows.

Old Skool Kaiju

If you know anything about me, you know I am a big fan of Kaiju (Japanese for "strange beast" or "monster"), whether it is neo-Kaiju or of the old skool variety. If you read my blog on a regular basis, you may have noticed all of the Secret Base neo-Kaiju I have been into recently. Well, I got e-mail this morning from good ol' Erick Scarecrow letting me know that he will be releasing his Old Skool Kaiju collection starting in 2008. I can't wait to see some finished product. Until then, I can stare at the flyer above and dream.

New iPods Today?

Well, the rumors have been flying hard and fast for the last couple of weeks about what today's keynote by Apple CEO Steve Jobs will reveal. The consensus seems to be that there will be at least a new touch-screen enabled iPod if not a new iPod Nano to go along with it. I was at Best Buy yesterday killing some time before dinner, so I decided to check out the iPod section to see if I could confirm any of these rumors. The first thing I noticed was that they had taken all of the display model iPods down. There were still a couple of Nanos and Shuffles, but the regular iPods were gone. I asked the guy behind the counter if they still had any iPods in stock and he said that they had a couple of 30GB iPods left, but that there was going to be a "big announcement" today and that I should wait. I told him I had already heard about the touch-screen iPod and he smiled and gave me a nervous laugh, which seemed to confirm my suspicions. So, look out today at 10:00am PST or 1:00pm EST for the big announcement. I am hoping for and predicting a new iPod almost identical to the iPhone but without the phone part; probably a little thinner, with up to a 120GB hard drive (maybe smaller versions will contain a flash drive), music, video, pictures (of course), Wi-fi, internet browser, e-mail, possibly Youtube, looking just like the picture above. It will probably keep the $350 price point, but you never know. They may jack it up to $450 with the 120GB hard drive. And I'm not sure about the new Nano rumors. They still had the old Nano display models out at Best Buy, which seems like a no-go, but they may just be biding their time. I guess we will know later today.

Update: The Apple Store is temporarily down, it is only a matter of time now.

Update 2: I was almost completely right in my predictions. I wasn't sure about the iPod Nano, but yes, there is a new one, and it looks like all of the mock-ups everyone was posting. It features video now along with music and pictures on its chubby, 2-inch screen. The 4GB version will run ya' $150 and the 8GB version goes for a reasonable $200. Of course, for $250 you can get an 80GB iPod Classic, which is the new name of the former iPod. The iPod Classic also now comes with a 160GB hard drive for just $350! The new iPod Touch, which is what I want, looks just like the iPhone, and just like all of the previews. It comes in 8 and 16GB versions for $299 and $399 respectively. Other than that, all of the rumors about it were true. It ships from the Apple store by September 28th. Also, the price has dropped on the iPhone from $599 for the 8GB to just $399! And no more 4GB iPhone. In-fuckin-sane! Well, now I just need to save me some money!

Son Of A...

BITCH!!! Alright, I know I don't ask for much, but if any of my readers are out in San Francisco this weekend, please, please, please stop by the Super 7 Store this Saturday, September 1st at 11:00am and pick me up a Limited Ed. Super 7 x Secret Base Inner Demons Frankenghost [pictured above]. I will reimburse you for the figure, shipping and anything else your heart desires (within certain financial limitations). The figure will run ya' $65 and will probably sell out within a few minutes. I'd say 15 at the most. It is not often that a toy like this one comes around, so I'm sure there won't be any leftovers to go on the online store, unfortunately. Well, there's always ebay, suckas.

Update: Inner Demons Frankenghost is now available for purchase from Super7 here.

Monster In A Wheelchair

KWIK Totem T-Shirt

Here is my latest Limited Ed. t-shirt design for Threadless. It has now been approved for voting. It is also available for purchase through my Cafe Press shop here.