Squirm!

New Limited Ed. Super7 Glow-in-the-dark Anger Squirm [pictured above] release this Saturday, April 5th (I can't believe it is April already) for only $50! This twitchy-tentacled little fellow is evilicious with its orange eyes, black boots, silver spray and glow-in-the-dark vinyl. The second figure in Super7's “Snakes of Infinity” series of original fight figures. Awesome!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE LUCAS!!!

And not this Mike Lucas the gay porn star, but this Michael Lucas the short film auteur who directed such classic masterpieces as South Fork and Sustenance and has worked with David Gordon Green, the well-known and acclaimed director of Pineapple Express and All the Real Girls. Mike is a huge vinyl junkie (his vinyl weighs a ton, I know, it is being stored at my apartment right now) and Puma aficionado, so in honor of his b-day, here are some prime cuts from Madlib - Blunted In The Bomb Shelter. According to Turntable Lab:

Before there was Greensleeves or Virgin, Trojan held a firm lock on the British [Reggae] scene, releasing nearly all the important titles from the mid-60's through mid-70's. Madlib takes full run of their catalogue straight through the 80's, with a particular hankerin' for tunes in the following order: drums, stoner deluxe dubs, comedy and songs which in any way make mention of herb. Dunno if he had previous knowledge of reggae or if he just jumped into a couple stacks, but Madlib's ear lead him to a balanced attack of well-loved stuff (but nothing really saccharine), rarities, tough dubs and a lot of interesting tracks that regular reggae heads might pass over. The mixing is close to official reggae style, every song given about a minute playtime without much traditional mixing going on- most times he just effects his way between tunes dropping and dubbing vocal intros.

And I have designed a pair of sick Puma Baskets [pictured above] in Mike's honor. I picked the camo pattern because I remember Mike in the summer, always wearing his cut off camo pants, Puma t-shirt and his blue and yellow Pumas. You still rockin' that outfit, Mike? Anyway, happy birthday, buddy. Keep making those crazy films!

Nice

My cousin Scotty G., a well-known ladies man and one of the biggest UNC basketball fans I know (what that has to do with anything is anybody's guess, but he does organize our annual Battle of the Biscuits NCAA Basketball Tournament pool, which I still have not sent him a check for this year), was captured with his dog Disco today on Celebrity Dog Watcher hamming it up with Blake Lively on the set of the CW abomination Gossip Girl. Hey Scott, where's Magnolia? Does she know you're scamming on celebrities? And using Disco as your tool, no less. Shameless! (I would have done the same thing!) Go Scoot!

Nice kicks, Scott. Are those hemp Nike Dunks?

Duke Sucks?

So says Under Crown with their new (ish) t-shirt [pictured above] available now at Pick Your Shoes. As someone who was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina, had to decide in kindergarten whether I was a Duke or a Carolina fan (I picked Duke because all of the smart kids were Duke fans and this extremely annoying kid who lived in my neighborhood was a huge Carolina fan), has worked at Duke, had Duke pay my college tuition because my mother worked there for 20-some years and that's what they do for valued employees; I think this t-shirt and the whole sentiment of hating Duke is hilarious.

What, people hate Duke because they are good at basketball? Because they win games (and the occasional tournament)? Or do people hate Duke because they are an extremely competitive school with a great academic reputation? Maybe they hate Duke because they have one of the best medical centers in the country and they are jealous? That's a good reason to hate them, right? I know Duke didn't do too well this year in the NCAA tournament, which everyone here in Chapel Hill is loving, but why so much hatred for them outside of North Carolina? I guess people just hate them because Coach K looks like a constipated rat. And that's a great, extremely shallow reason to hate a university. Good job, folks! Now how do I mark this post so people realize I am being sarcastic?

Bring on the comment backlash, bitches!

Little Bears In The Big City

Slo(bodan Milose)Bots

I got e-mail over the weekend from Mike Slobot that he has a couple of new robots [pictured above] finished up for a show in Detroit called Multiple Personalities. It opens this weekend, and runs through April at Lift Detroit. He also has shows coming up in April at A Perfect World Gallery in NYC , Pink Ghost in South Florida, and East Altanta Tattoo in Atlanta. You can also read what Mike has to say on his blog at http://blog.slobots.com/. Now get back to watching March Madness, dammit.

Early Cuyler, Is That You?

With yer buuuutiful sister? You son-uva-bitch! Hell yeah, boy. "Don't touch the trim." and shit. Well look at Mr. Fancy-pants Cuyler his-self all decked out in plastic. Just like grannies sofa. Speakin' of which, where is Granny? She's available too (along with perennial Adult Swim favorites Robot Chicken and Mad Scientist, Assy McGee, and Carl and the Mooninites), in blind-box, 3-inch mini-figure form from Adult Swim and Kidrobot available April 17th for $7.95 a piece. Well alright, y'all, looks like the South's got something to say. Redneck octopus style.

Moped Or Scooter?

Who cares, it's a Vespa! The new 150cc Vespa S to be precise, which means whatever you call it, it gets ridiculous gas mileage at a time when gas prices are at an all-time high and not expected to drop anytime soon. Sure it will cost ya' four grand, which is about the same as a used Honda Civic (about the same cc's as well), but just think of how much you will be saving on gas! These things are perfect for short, small town or big city commutes (maybe not as good for long, suburban commutes) and are a ton of fun to tool around on. Not to mention the history associated with Vespa. Load yours up with all kinds of funky lights and mirrors, dress in a skinny suit, and be Mod!

Habedejabede-whah?!

The other night I was talking to Mac about people I used to know that I hadn't stayed in touch with, and I decided to Google a couple of my old friends and roommates from college, and guess what I found? I found out that my old roommate from Carnegie Mellon University, Josh Schachter, is the creator of del.icio.us, creator of geoURL and co-creator of Memepool and his share of the buyout of del.icio.us by Yahoo! was apparently $15 million*! Whah?! Why didn't I stay in touch with him?! What kind of idiot am I?! Well, I'm the idiot who said, "I'll have the plate of vomit." Now I think I am going to go curl up in a little ball in the corner and shoot myself. Awlsome.

*When I was going to school with Josh, I always knew he would end up striking it rich.

Sharkman!

New Sharkman figure and Henshin Cyborg costume available now from Secret Base for e-mail ordering for ¥5040 or about $50. Sweet.

Update: It is only the Sharkman figure that is available, not the costume for the Henshin Cyborg. Apparently, that was sold last year by Medicom.

Coolest... Toy... Ever!

Ahhhh... my head is about to explode after seeing this on Gizmodo, probably the coolest toy I have ever seen in my entire life. I am a HUGE giant robot fan: Transformers, Voltron, Mazinger Z (Tranzor Z for us Americans), and of course the granddaddy of them all, Tetsujin 28 (or, again, Gigantor for us). Anyway, Vstone, a Japanese (imagine that) robotics company has produced a 17-inch tall working version of Tetsujin 28's enemy, BlackOx. Check out the video above (and more info at Impress Robot Watch), this thing is freakin' sweet! It appears to even have real working laser eyes! I think I might have to go change my pants! No information on release date or price is available yet, but as soon as it is, this thing is going on my Hanukkah wish list.

Miss You

I got e-mail from Michael over at Wootini yesterday about a new exhibit entitled "I Will Miss You While I'm Gone" featuring the artist Dustin Hostetler, a.k.a. UPSO, opening tomorrow night, March 14th at 7pm. The exhibit will run from March 14 - April 8. Here's how Wootini describes UPSO's work:

UPSO's work is self-reflective, and pauses often to explore deep personal sentiment and emotion. In his latest collection, entitled "I Will Miss You When I'm Gone," he takes a moment to reflect upon and pay homage to the aspects of his life that he appreciates most. From people to possessions, his imagery is presented boldly and poignantly. It should serve to remind us that life is short indeed, but perhaps we could all benefit from drawing greater appreciation from the things in our lives that we tend to take for granted.

There will be food and refreshments and as usual, Family will be providing the stellar sounds.

More Soopa News

The Soopa vinyl is now available for $29.99 at the Esc-Toy Shop. Included with it are Soopa Stickers that can be used to design a screen, marquee, and wrapping cabinet art. You can also now visit the Soopa mini-site here for more Soopa related news. Dedicated to the game heads worldwide!!!

Soopa Doopa!

The Soopa Show, April 19th (New York Comic Con night) at Concrete Jungle in Forest Hills, NYC. 30+ Soopa customs, one of which by a name you might recognize (teaser). If you are in New York on the 19th, you gotsta' check out this show.

My Paintings

My paintings will be on display at Beth El Synagogue located at 1004 Watts Street Durham, NC 27701 from now until April 21st. There will be an opening reception on Sunday, April 6th from 2-4pm. Snacks and booze will be provided.

Toys, Toys, Toys!

Well, tomorrow is my birthday, and of course I am sick. Isn't that just always the way it works? I take two days off for my birthday and I get sick. At least getting presents will make me feel a little better. And I am going to Thai Cafe for dinner tomorrow night, so I will have some nice Tom Kha Goong (coconut milk soup with shrimp) to soothe my throat. Until then, I will dream about toys, toys, toys from My Plastic Heart.

They have some new ones in stock that are pretty sweet! I especially like the new Limited Ed. Fulcraim: Apple Red version [pictured above, top, $99.99], Touma's Layered Glow-in-the-Dark Magman [pictured above, middle, $79.99] and Itokin Park's Himalan Glacier [pictured above, bottom, $79.99]. These are some of the coolest figures to be released recently, and they are all currently available, until they sell out, of course. Now I am going to go take some more vitamin C, Echinacea, Zinc, and Advil. Uggghhhhh...