Bloggin' In Austin

Anne and I are in Austin visiting the infamous Michael Lucas. We arrived last evening and will be leaving for El Paso in the morning. Damn it is hot in Texas! I can't wait to get to LA where it is a pleasant, constant temperature all year round. Anyway, Anne and I haven't killed each other yet, but I think Anne is planning on doing Kallie the Kat in before the trip is through. Kallie has been a little annoying, crying in her luxurious cage in the back seat of the car for five to six hours of the trip each day. She does like it when Anne and I read to each other, though. She will actually go to sleep. And she likes putting her paws up in the window sill and looking out the window when we pass 18-wheelers. Alright, so that's the trip so far, now for some Limited Ed. business.

Tokyoflash is having a special Summer 2008 Festival in which they are presenting four Limited Ed. watches [pictured above]. They are also having a sale on selected watches. Also, when you purchase a watch between July 30th and August 6th, you will be entered for a chance to win one of three excellent prizes, a JVC Everio Camcorder, a Tokyoflash watch of your choice for you and a friend, or a selection of funky keychain games and a Nekura brand watch of your choice. Sounds pretty sweet to me.

Well, that's all for now. Anne and I will be on the road for the next three days, so the next time I will blog will probably be from LA! See y'all there!

The Wrath Of Con

Comic Con 2008 is upon us, and with it comes a shitstorm of e-mail, e-mail, e-mail about all the wonderful things going on and toys being released and artist signings, etc. etc. etc. It is like the earwig from the Wrath of Kahn, burrowing into my brain making me even more crazy that I already am with Anne and I moving to Los Angeles on Sunday! WTF!!!!!!!!! I still have three boxes of shiites to pack up. Don't tell the moving company, I think they are Sunni. Anyway, here is a mini-roundup of my highlights.

First off, A Paper Tiger will be representin' with a beautiful new Limited Ed. print from Tessar Lo entitled Kirin [pictured above]. A Paper Tiger's prints are just beautiful, great ink quality, exquisite paper. This print is limited to just 50 pieces, 25 available at the con and 25 available online for those of us who won't be out there by then. Tessar Lo was born in Indonesia and is a recent graduate of Toronto's Sheridan Institue of Art. He received his BAA in illustration and plans to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career as an artist. Sounds familiar. Lo his influenced by artists Takeshi Murakami and Yoshitomo Nara and by japanese ukiyo-e printers and other traditional Asian techniques. He is at the Munky King booth RIGHT NOW (Thursday, July 24th, 2:30-4:00pm PST) signing prints and more!

Next up, project:gallery's very own Yoskay Yamamoto will be releasing his first vinyl figure in collaboration with Munky King. The Koibito [pictured above] has been much anticipated and can expected to sell out quickly this weekend. Yamamoto will also be signing a print and autographs at the Munky King booth all weekend and will be painting live with Scott Belcastro at the vinylpulse.com party tonight.

Also, Super7 will be unveiling their Shogun Warrior-esque Stormtrooper vinyl figure, which they produced in association with Lucasfilm, Ltd. and Kotobukiya [pictured above in the background with Brian Flynn of Super7 and a real live Stormtrooper]. This thing is giant and sweet as Texas barbecue beef brisket. When I was a kid, I had a Shogun Warrior Godzilla figure. That was one of my favorite toys ever. It had wheels in the feet and a flame tongue that would stick out when a lever in the back of its head was pressed. Its claws were sharp enough to cut my younger brother. You don't see toys like that anymore, I guess until now.

Well, that's all for now. I'm tired and I need to get back to work.

KAWS JPP

We are just two minutes away from the drop of Kaws latest creation, JPP [pictured above], in association with Medicom Toy. Get ready to hit refresh over and over until you can actually get this to pop up for you and then try to get it before it sells out in ten seconds. No price or availability info, of course.

Everyone We Know

I got e-mail from Yifat over at Urbanix Gallery in Tel-Aviv in Israel letting me know about what's going on at their gallery. Urbanix is the first gallery and shop in Israel dedicated to urban art and vinyl toys. That's pretty freakin' awesome! I am very glad that urban art and vinyl has caught on somewhere like Israel. It gives me hope for the future. Anyway, they have an exhibit opening this Thursday, July 24th, entitled Me, You and all the Others featuring works in different media by five young Israeli illustrators and graphic designers: Gabby Nathan [painting pictured above], Gal Shkedi [sculpture pictured below], Nura Porat, Tamar Moshkovitz and Shlomi Schillinger (the last two are the creators of Plushhood). According to Yifat:

"The exhibition deals with the dialog between the urban (the city) and human texture (the society).

The difficulty of coping with a demanding and competitive urban life, the subjugation to consumerism, money and social status, beside social manifestations like violence and indifference, can be found either openly or concealed in the works presented."

Pretty heady stuff. If you are in Tel-Aviv this weekend, stop by and give them a big Shalom for me!

Kicks Hiiiiiiiiiiiigh

Finally, a t-shirt from Kicks/Hi that I actually like. It has been a while. This one really says it all, though. Aloha Friday!

Also, check out the funky bright, bright yellow and red Nike Blazers China BMX editions [pictured, below] that will be available at Kicks/Hi this Saturday at 11am until they sell out. Damn, my eyes are burning!

Q-Tip What Ya' Want The Mike For

Alife has got a bangin' new Limited Ed. Q-Tip lyrics-inspired t-shirt [pictured below] dropping in either black or white (no shades of gray here) featuring lyrics from the Tribe Called Quest song Lyrics to Go in honor of the Rock the Bells tour that Tribe is headlining that started this past Saturday in Chitown. The tee will be available at each of the concert venues and in limited numbers at the various Alife stores starting tomorrow, July 22nd. Q-Tip's new album, The Renaissance, will be in stores soon.

Kiss, Kiss

Got e-mail from ESC lettin' me know 'bout a Limited Ed. SDCC 'sclusive Kissaki Sandstorm Edition. It is limited to only 300 pieces, available Friday or Saturday, the 26th or 27th to be signed at the Toy Tokyo booth. It'll run ya' $69.99, but you can get it signed, which makes it priceless. Also, it looks pretty sweet and I really like the brown and blue colorway. Reminds me of something.

Rom, Spaceknight

Rom, Spaceknight was one of my favorite action figure/comic book combinations as a kid. I remember the ad [pictured above] in the back of other comics for the toy (from Parker Brothers®, one of my favorite board game producers). There were only 75 issues of the comic, but the toy was what really attracted me. It made beeping noises and had light up accessories, and I love sparkling lights, especially red LED ones, and electronic beeps, so I loved this toy. I'm like a big, dumb dog. In the UK, Rom was licensed by Palitoy as part of the Action Man series, which was the British version of G.I. Joe, the Japanese version of which was Combat Joe, which spawned Henshin Cyborg, the inspiration for a lot of modern Kaiju toys including those of Bounty Hunter and Secret Base. Anyway, I am apparently not the only person in the world who was a big Rom fan. I'm thinking a toy update might be in order. A Neo-Kaiju Rom-inspired fight figure. If no one has started working on one already, I'm calling it. If anyone has started working on one, let me know so I don't waste my time prototyping.

Wow! Those Are Cool Watches!

Tokyoflash has got their grubby mitts on some extremely cool new watches from Nekura to brighten up your summer dayz. Featuring a variety of fairly easy to read analog faces, these bright funky watches are sure to cheer up any old sour puss. Each is inspired by a different source, like Cabriolet [pictured above, middle], with it's speedometer inspired dial and contrasting green and black finish, or Tranceiver [above, second from right], with it's radio tuning dial look and black and gray checkerboard background. Each features a stainless steel, custom engraved, self-adjustable wristband finished with a neatly designed clasp and available with a black or clear strap. My personal favorite is Tumbler [above, right], which has a stationary hand and rotating hour and minute rings to tell the time and a simple, clean, black, white and gray color scheme. These watches are actually relatively cheap, at only ¥8,900 or $85.06! Not bad at all.

Punk As Hell

Radio Silence is a book. Fucking punk rock! Hardcore as hell! Oi! Oi! Oi! Bang your head! Reminds me of the good ol' days of the Celibate Commandos. The record covers above even remind me of their album covers. I definitely remember those 7 Seconds album covers.

[Via Cool Hunting]

Turning The Tides

project:gallery in LA has got a new exhibit opening this weekend featuring the artwork of Edwin Ushiro. The exhibit, entitled while tides guide you back home opens Saturday nightz, July 12th from 7-10pm. Apparently, the "Green Truck" will be on-site with organic food and wholesome goodness. Here is what project:gallery has to say about the show:

The concept for while tides guide you back home is inspired by Edwin Ushiro's feelings of regret and remorse for leaving his native Hawaii. Often wondering how life would have been different had he remained on Maui, Ushiro creates a body of work evoking childhood memories real and imagined. He portrays these moments through dreamlike sequences where he re-writes and re-interprets his own childhood memories.

The works in this solo exhibition are a cohesive series of multimedia paintings that confront both memories of childhood and stories of Hawaiian folklore. Ushiro utilizes some truly unique artistic techniques, a fusion of traditional and digital. Ushiro incorporates paint, ink, iron transfers, fabric and other materials into his work in order to achieve the desired moods and emotions.

The unique emotion and techniques that make up Ushiro's work have turned him into one of the most buzz-worthy emerging artists working today. With several recent magazine interviews and shows booked into 2009 from New York to Los Angeles and appearances coming at Art Basel, Ushiro has become one of the most talked about artists in the new contemporary movement.

The gallery is located at 8545 Washington Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232. Y'all folks out there in LA can contact them at info@projectgalleryLA.com for more info. I'll be in LA starting in August, so I will be heading to as much of this sort of thing as I can when I get out there, so maybe I'll see y'all there.

What Will It Be?

I guess we will just have to wait for San Diego Comic Con for ESC to reveal the mystery.

**Drool**

There are no words. Only Cobra Venom.

For The Birds

A Paper Tiger has got a new Limited Ed. print available from artist Nate Frizzell entitled Nest [pictured above]. The Giclee print is limited to 25 pieces printed on Sommerset velvet archival paper at 12" x 20". It will cost ya' a hundred bucks, but for a print this size of this quality limited to this few, that is definitely a bargain. Here's what A Paper Tiger has to say about Nate Frizzell:

"A recent graduate of Otis College of Art and Design, Nate Frizzell has spent his time since graduation dedicated to painting and honing his style. Using bold and colorful images of children at play - and in turmoil - Frizzell creates intimate stories that mask his own feelings of immaturity. Using both highly rendered images and softer graphic design elements, Frizzell weaves stories into his paintings that we all can see ourselves being a part of."

I'm not sure if I could see myself being a part of the story in this painting, but I definitely understand trying to mask my feelings of immaturity. I'm not that good at it.

Update: There is also a special artist's edition of this print available here for $350 that is 12" x 24", is limited to just five prints and has been hand-embellished with paint, ink and pencil by the artist. It also includes a secret bonus.

Action Slug... Away!

Uh, maybe not? Anyway, Kidrobot has just announced the latest creation from the twisted mind of Frank Kozik, Big Bob Slug [pictured above]. Mounted on Bob's back is Kozik's smorkin' Labbit, smoking away. As is Bob, the slug. No wonder he is so slow. Big Bob will be released next Thursday, July 17th, for just $50. It is Limited Ed. and will probably sell out pretty quickly online, so make sure you kids hurry up and GET YOUR SLUG ON!

Not Kosher!

But adorably cute. Myplasticheart has just received a new shipment of Radioactive Pork Dumplings [pictured above, treif]! These new Limited Ed. vinyl creations, the second from plush designer Shawnimals, glow in the dark and are limited to just 200 pieces, only available at MPH! Just $30, or you could try your luck to win one that MPH is giving away here.

Orion's Prints

Orion, The Hunter, the constellation, the Brazilian street artist and photographer? Alexandre Orion, that is. Now his work from the series Metabiotica is available online from 20ltd.

"Orion began as a teenage graffiti artist on the streets of Sao Paolo. Now in his late 20s, Orion experiments with combining his street art and his fascination with photography...a process he calls 'Metabiotica'. He expresses his stencil-style art on the walls of the city and then incorporates unstaged interaction with live subjects to create a new photographic image - a process that not only gves the image humour and spontaneity but requires gargantuan patience to achieve. His urban inventions not only create something visually arresting but deftly capture moments of suspense, terror, joy & plain surreality."

Sounds good to me. Looks good, too. And at only £2,300 for a 32" x 32" print or £4,550 for a 50" x 50" print, they are cheap, too. Yeah, right!

I didn't use the word galaxy in this post, but I did use the word constellation. Pretty close.

Chiba Chibo

Alright, so apparently I am going to use the word "Galaxy" in all of my posts this week. Today I have some info about another new toy release from the Galaxy Bunch. This one is a series of toys designed by Michael Kwong's younger brother Chi-Kit Kwong entitled Chi-Bo [pictured above]. Here is what Chi-Kit has to say about the series, "I believe in the significance of individuality. The individual is ultimately the most valuable and main ingredient of humanity. The characters of Chi-Bo celebrate and reflect the beauty of humor." This is another Taipei Toy Fest, Tokyo Wonder Fest, SDCC 2008 release. The Galaxy Bunch plans on releasing 60 different characters in total, releasing five characters and a secret bonus figure every two months. The first five are pictured below. Each package will come with a small comic book, featuring different stories about the Chi-Bo characters. No word on pricing, but they will be available starting in August.

Galaxy Quest

Tokyoflash has just released a new Limited Ed. watch, called the Galaxy, that reminds me of the LCARS displays from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Which, by my calculations, means that I am a huge nerd. The watch features Digital Tube LEDs, creating a "powerful formation of multi-colored light bars." According to Tokyoflash, it is deceptively simple to tell time on this watch. It is very similar to reading an analog watch, with the twelve yellow bars representing the hours, the eleven red bars representing five minute groups, and the four green bars representing individual minutes. Easy, right? Anyway, this watch will run ya' ¥13,900 or approximately $129. Not too bad for a really shiny watch that is sure to impress the ladies. Am I right? Ladies like shiny, multi-colored light displays, right?