Taipei Toy Fest 2008

Taipei Toy Fest 2008 is coming up soon, July 10-13 to be exact, so I have already started receiving e-mails about new releases. Like this one from the Galaxy Bunch: the Ultimate Alpha 8-inch vinyl figure [pictured above]! This is the special DIY edition that was made just for the toy fest and is limited to 100 pieces. The metallic and full color versions will be available later this year at San Diego Comic Con. Maybe I will be in LA then and will be able to travel down to San Diego for the con. That would be super sweet! Anyway, if you would like to see more pictures of the Galaxy Bunch, check out their flickr feed here.

Reissues

Turntable Lab has got some sick reissue skateboard decks in stock from the likes of Gonz, Mike V, Cab, and my personal favorite Ray Barbee [pictured above, left to right]. Man, I want that Barbee board so bad! I wanted it so bad when I was a kid, but my local skate shop didn't carry it, so I just saw it in copies of Thrasher and Transworld Skateboarding Magazine. It's summer time and I feel like shredding. Damn I wish there was an empty pool near my apartment complex or a concrete park in the vicinity. Maybe, when we move out to LA, Anne will let me go skateboarding in one of the parks out there. I will wear my pads and helmet so's I don't hurt myself (more). I just hope the young kids don't laugh too hard at this old fogy out there carving it up 80's style. Radical!

R.I.P. ELF

In memory of Carlucci Bencivenga (April 14, 1969 - September 3, 2007), the graffiti artist known as ELF MPC from the MPC Crew straight outta' Da Bronx, Alife has produced a freakin' sick tribute t-shirt [pictured above]. ELF was an interesting looking cat. Reminds me of my friend Paul from back in the day, also an artist known for his crazy gear and bright colors. According to Alife,

Carl was an endless stream of ideas and inspirations. He has been an inspiration to us and to the entire neighborhood of the Lower East Side ever since he touched down here, years ago.

All proceeds from the sale of the shirt will go to the Bencivenga family. Check out the man and his work, below.

Don't Go Chasing Butterflies

A Paper Tiger has got a new Limited Ed. print available from artist Josh Petker entitled Chasing Butterflies [pictured left] in stock. Only five of these sensuous prints are available, in a large, 18" x 24" format, hand-embellished with paint, ink and glitter from the artist. So you will have to get to them quick if you are willing to plop down a little more than half a grand for these lovely ladies. According to the folks over at A Paper Tiger,

Joshua Petker is a self taught artist who has been stunning fans at his recent sold out shows. Influenced by everything from classical impressionists to old school graffiti artists - Petker is truly a contemporary painter interested in historical themes.

Sounds good to me. I need someone to write something like that about my paintings so I can start selling prints of 'em for half a grand a piece. Geez.

Hearts & Souls For Sale

One of my favorite online toy retailers and New York gallery spaces, Myplasticheart, has artwork from their recent exhibit Broken Hearts & Stolen Souls by Brent Nolasco available for sale here. My favorite piece, Brent's take on Kaws and Pushead's classic Companion, entitled Dead Beat [pictured above], has already sold, unfortunately. Well, that's the case with their work, it always goes quick. And it is usually way too pricey for someone like me to afford anyway. I would definitely be willing to trade a piece of my artwork for one of his, though. My favorites (that haven't been sold yet) are No End in Sight and Love Me or Love Me Not [pictured below, left to right]. They are both brightly colored and morbidly aesthetic, qualities which I enjoy. A little out of my price range at $400 and $800 respectively, though.

Blu Book

Blu's new Limited Ed. book is available now from Studio Cromie for 24 € (or 40 € signed). It is a 160 page hardcover book with 80 pages of drawings and 80 pages of murals from 2004 to 2007. I am a huge fan of Blu's murals, but especially love his animated work, most of which incorporate murals into it. Anyway, go buy his book. Buy one copy for yourself and send me a copy. I will love you forever if you do.

Merde!

I just got word from the man Ashley Wood himself that Nom de Plume is available now over at Bambaland. I went to check it out, and it actually goes on sale tomorrow, June 25th, but then I checked Ashley's blog and it is June 25th Hong Kong time, which is RIGHT NOW!!! Alright, not yet, but I'm sure soon. I just wanted to give the heads-up because only 50 will be available, and I'm sure they will sell out quick, even at $150. There's a picture of the box over at Bambaland, but I have no idea what the figure will actually look like (other than the hints over at Ashley's blog). I'm sure if it is from Mr. Wood it will be sweet.

Early Birthday Present For Mac?

I know how big a fan Mac is of Rob Zombie's two horror classics, House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects, so I figured he would like this new Limited Ed. Captain Spaulding Living Dead Doll by Mezco Toyz available for pre-order from Big Bad Toy Store. You can also pre-order it directly from Mezco here, but it is a little more expensive that way. Either way, it won't ship until September or October, so it will be a little late for Mac's birthday. That doesn't mean he wouldn't like it, though. He could cuddle with it. Now wouldn't that be cute?
I'm not afraid of clowns. I'm not afraid of clowns. I'm not afraid of clowns!

I'm Crushing Your Head

A Paper Tiger has got a new Limited Ed. print available from artist Deth P. Sun entitled I Will Crush You. It is a 12" x 12" giclee print on Sommerset velvet archival paper. The imagery in the print and the texture of the background remind me of the old Tootsie Pop® commercials from way back in the 70's with the owl and the tortoise trying to figure out how many licks it takes to get to the center. Apparently Deth is a big cat lover, so maybe this image could be seen as a response to this video of a tortoise chasing a cat. Apparently, Deth rarely does prints and is concentrating his efforts on doing only two shows a year, so this is a rare opportunity to own a piece of his artwork. And only $100 a piece is a good value for one of only twenty-five prints produced.

Have You Gone All City?

The first time I heard the term "All City" was the first time I saw the movie Style Wars back in the day. If you are not in the know, going all city means that you have bombed all of the train lines in NYC. For those of you who have gone all city, there is now a t-shirt from Alife to let everybody know. Alife's new Limited Ed. All City All Stars t-shirt [pictured above] was designed in collaboration with Tuff City graffiti legend MED. The usual bubbles in the Alife logo have been replaced by MED's iconic stars. The shirt will be dropping this Saturday, June 21st, only at Alife flagship stores and Tuff City in Da Bronx!

Damn Dirty Apes

Ningyoushi has got their dirty little paws on the Limited Ed. Hot Toys x Tough x Winson Ma Apexplorer Adam figure [pictured above]. This thing is sweet as dark meat, but at $220 is out of the price range of your average civilian. Only 400 of them were made in this colorway (there is also an all black version somewhere out there), so they will sell out pretty quickly. So many toys, so little time.

Green In Bean Town

The Boston Celtics have done it! They have won the NBA Championship against the LA Lakers! The question is, can I root for the Boston Celtics? I am a New York fan, but the Knicks have sucked for so long, they are impossible to root for. Because I am a New York fan, of course I hate everything from Boston. But I also can't stand the LA Lakers, even though I am getting ready to move to Los Angeles in August. So I would probably get killed in LA if I was wearing a Green 17 or Beat LA t-shirt. But what I really find interesting are these Limited Ed. Custom Kevin Garnett Team Signature Adidas Commander kicks [pictured above]. From the article on Black Voices it looks like they were supposed to make 8 pairs per game of the championships, which would mean 48 pairs were produced, which were supposed to be selling on Celtics.com for $1,017 a pair, but I can't find them anywhere on the website or on ebay. I think they have sold out already. Either way, I couldn't afford to rock these even if I did want to support Boston and blast LA.

It's Full Of Stars

I was surfing over at Hypebeast for some reason today and noticed that Michael Lau has an upcoming exhibit, cleverly titled CSBOOTH15 coming up. Included in the previews for the release are vinyl versions of Lau's 049 Jordan figure [pictured above], a 2001: a Space Odyssey-inspired figure entitled 2bb1 [below] and another Kubrick-inspired figure, this one from A Clockwork Orange, entitled Black White Orange [bottom].
These are some pretty sweet new figures. I was wondering when Lau would get back on track and present some figures worth adding to the ol' collection. I especially like the two Kubrick-inspired figures, because he is one of my favorite directors and A Clockwork Orange and 2001: a Space Odyssey are two of my favorite movies. I hope these find their way to our shores soon, and there are enough of them to go around. More on prices and availability when i find that shit out. Anyway, the show will go on July 5th and 6th at Michael Gallery in Hong Kong. The address is below.
CSBOOTH15
July 5th - July 6th
Michael Gallery
11/F., Lok's Industrial Building
204 Tsat Tsz Mui Road, Quarry Bay
Hong Kong
p: 852.2811.3111

Nanoo Nanoo

Unlike Mork or the iPod nano, this nanoSERIES of MIDI controllers from Korg can be used to produce your own music (with the help of a computer)! Although some of the noises coming out of Robin Williams in the late 70's, early 80's could be considered crude music. Or something, I don't know. Anyway, the nanoSERIES comes in three distinct "Flavors to Satisfy Your Creative Palette". A keyboard controller, a pad controller and a knob and slider controller. There's no information about whether they can be daisy-chained together or if you would need or could use three USB ports to use all three at the same time, but I see this and a fast laptop as quite possibly the ultimate portable recording studio. They will be available in October and will be available for pre-order sometime at Digital Village. Pretty sweet!

A Face Only A Mother Could Love

Wootini has a new exhibit opening tonight featuring the work of Brendan Danielsson [pictured above], Jason Murphy, Katie Ridley, and Meagan Ridley of the Art Dorks Collective. The show will begin at 7 pm this evening and will run through August 5th. There will be snacks and drinks at the opening reception and "Family" is expected to bring the music. Here's what Michael had to say about the show:

So who are the Art Dorks? Brendan Danielsson originally started it as a web community which grew into the young artist collective it is today. If they fit into a genre, it would be something between Pop Surrealism, Low Brow, and a 1980's hightop sneaker. Being young artists, they've been collectively bombarded with media since the day they were born and it's bound to influence their work.

Let's talk a little about the contributing artists for this show. The Ridley sisters, Jason Murphy and Brendan Danielsson all attended the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. Like one big giant artist family, Brendan and Meagan have been married for 2 years, and Jason and Katie will wed later this year making them all 'kin'. They all currently live in Atlanta and work (or have worked) for CNN. Katie is a part time designer for CNN and a freelance illustrator while Meagan is a designer for CNN Headline News. Brendan works as a compositor for CNN. Jason is a designer for Mind's Eye, but at one time worked for CNN. But don't judge them with media bias, or confuse them with the "fair and balanced" fox news people. It's just that they need to pay the bills somehow.

If I get out of work early enough, maybe I will head over for the opening. If Anne lets me out of the apartment. She likes to keep me tied up in the laundry room. We'll see!

Doo Doo Bramaged Vain

Super7 has got the new Secret Base Voodoo Damaged Brain coming this Friday, June 13th! Friday the 13th for a Voodoo doll. That makes sense. This is the third in a set of six Voodoo versions of Secret Base's popular figures that will be released this year. A secret seventh version will be available to those who purchased the other six. That's $65 times six or $390 to get the secret seventh Voodoo figure! Ridiculous! This is why I am not buying toys anymore. Well, that and $4 a gallon gas and that I am moving to Los Angeles in August.

Three iPhone 3G's To Give Away

I have three iPhone 3G's to give away to the first three people who are willing to sell me their souls! Just kidding, the iPhone 3G doesn't come out until July 11th. But you never know, I do need souls. You see, I sold mine already, and the devil will make a trade, but he's not a very fair guy, so I have to trade three for mine. That's what I get for wanting to be able to play the blues. Why did I go down to that damn crossroads?!

Anyway, yes, the 3G iPhone was announced yesterday. I was out of town, so I didn't blog about it yesterday like everyone else. But I do want to get one in December when my current service agreement runs out. I just hope that it will be as easy to customize the new operating system as the current version. I like having different options for how my user interface looks using Summerboard. I like to be able to control my home computer remotely using TouchPad Pro and I like to be able to share music wirelessly with my "friends" using iSlsk. Hopefully, this great usability will not change. Other than that, I look forward to using a 3G network and having built-in GPS on my phone. Hooray for Apple!

OMG! That's Huge!

Is what she said... last night... just kidding (not really). It's what I said about the 4-foot-tall Kaws One Companion produced in association with Medicom [pictured above], that will be available, along with some other new merchandise, from Kaws and Original Fake today at noon. As is the case with all of Kaws' goodies, these will surely sell out within fifteen minutes. Except maybe the 4-foot-tall Companion. I'm not sure how many thousands of dollars it will go for, but it might take a while to sell out, depending on how many were made, which I'm guessing was not a lot. Anyway, happy hunting, those of you who attempt to enter the purchasing frenzy today.

Update: The 4-foot-tall Companion is $3,000!!! And is available right now! Along with a few t-shirts, a couple of polo shirts and board shorts. Hurry, I'm sure they will be gone soon.


Update 2: Well, the 4-foot Companion is gone already, along with most everything else. There is still one t-shirt and the polo shirts available, but I figure they probably won't last the night.

Death To The Humans!

Our robot overlords are here to oppress us, finally. Well, just in vinyl form, that is. Anyway, M.Heisler has a new Slobot to gawk at and a whole list of upcoming shows. Here's more info about the Slobot Farmer [pictured above]:

Name: SLOMUNNYV4

Type: Custom 7" Kidrobot Munny

Story: Created for the TOY BOX APATHY show in Las Vegas, NV in the upstairs gallery at THE ATTIC LAS VEGAS. Custom 7" munny (approx 12" with new legs) with positionable arms, lucite arms and legs, found objects, recyclable materials, positionable "glider" wings, and traditional artist materials.

"SlomunnyV4 is a Martian Agriculture Robot deployed to Mars before the first settlers arrived. His task was to begin growing desert plant species in an effort to increase the oxygen content of Mars. Even though Mars has been settled for many years now, SlomunnyV4 continues to go about his job with genuine happiness and good will towards Earthlings, Martians, and their respective animals. He happily spends his days bouncing and gliding over the Martian countryside using his wings for added stability in the low gravitational field of Mars."

You can see more pictures on the Slobots website here. The show at The Attic opens this Saturday, June 6 at 7pm. Future Slobot show involvement includes "Monster Mayhem" at Gallery at East Atlanta Tattoo from June 13 through July 28, "16 Inch Qee Show" at APW Gallery in July, "Nonpareil" at NOWhere Limited from July 4 to July 28, and "Summer Munny Show" at Lift Detroit in August. Check them out if they are in your town. Maybe you let me know how they went?

Late To The Party

I know I am a little late with this post, seeing as how everyone and their mother have already gushed about these new watches from Tokyoflash, but I figured what the hell, better late than never. Anyway, these new Nekura Scramble and Progression watches [pictured above] look pretty sweet and futuristic. Futuristic in the way that Blade Runner still looks futuristic. They feature a combination of LED and LCD technology, meaning that the LCD screen is illuminated by six different colored LEDs! Multi-color disco magic! Learn to tell time all over again. What could be more fun? Simon knows! Yours now for the low, low price of ¥12,900 or $123.29!

I Prefer Hope

Limited Ed. is pleased to announce that Paper Tiger is excited to announce another in a series of exclusive print releases. This week at Paper Tiger - Yoskay Yamamoto.

This print, titled "Hope and Despair" is a small edition of 25, and from his recent sold out show: www.aPaperTiger.com

About the Artist:
Born and raised in Toba, Japan, Yoskay Yamamoto moved to the United States at the age of 15. Yamamoto discovered a way to fuse the two different cultural backgrounds together into his work. Yamamoto nostalgically blends pop iconic characters from his adopted western home with traditional and mythical Japanese elements, balancing his Asian heritage with urban pop art.

The emotion that Yamamoto pours into his work has turned him into one of the most buzz-worthy emerging artists working today. With shows booked into 2010 from New York to Los Angeles and Miami, and appearances coming at Art Basel, in Scion’s Installation Tour and even a designer vinyl toy releasing in the summer of 2008, Yamamoto is undoubtedly on a fast track to being a must own for any collector.

This is an excellent print at an excellent price, only $100! Cheap! I really appreciate the merging of the two cultures, but I especially like the influence of the old Japanese style. It is one of my favorite styles of art along with Impressionism, which in a lot of ways tries to mimic nineteenth-century Japanese art.