Category: Arts & Culture

VIZ Media’s Haikasoru Imprint Releases New Novel “Mirror Sword and Shadow Prince”

from VIZ Media:

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the release of author Noriko Ogiwara’s fantasy adventure novel, Mirror Sword and Shadow Prince, on May 17th. The hardcover book will be published by the company’s Haikasoru literary imprint and will carry an MSRP of $21.99 U.S. / $25.99 CAN.

Haikasoru publishes some of the most compelling contemporary Japanese science fiction and fantasy stories for English-speaking audiences and is the first imprint based in the U.S. dedicated to Japanese science fiction and fantasy in translation.

When the heir to the empire comes to Mino, the lives of young Oguna and Toko are changed forever. Oguna is drafted to become a shadow prince, a double trained to take the place of the hunted royal. But soon Oguna is given the Mirror Sword, and his power to wield it threatens the entire nation. Only Toko can stop him, but to do so she needs to gather four Magatama, beads with magical powers that can be strung together to form the Misumaru of Death. Toko’s journey is one of both adventure and self-discovery, and also brings her face to face with the tragic truth behind Oguna’s transformation.

“Author Noriko Ogiwara garnered well-deserved praise from North American readers for Dragon Sword and Wind Child, the first book in her award-winning Magatama Trilogy,” says Nick Mamatas, Haikasoru’s Editor. “Mirror Sword and Shadow Prince continues the saga — centuries after the events of Dragon Sword and Wind Child the magical magatama have to be found once again by a young girl named Toko. Only she can stop her best friend, the orphan prince Oguna, from destroying their nation, and himself. It’s a wonderful retelling of one of Japan’s foundational myths, and I’m excited to present a new flavor of epic fantasy to English-speaking audiences.”

Noriko Ogiwara was inspired to write by the classic Western children’s books she read while growing up. Dragon Sword and Wind Child (also published in North America by Haikasoru) was her first book and launched the award-winning Magatama Trilogy. Her other books include The Good Witch of the West and Fuujin Hisho.

For more information on Mirror Sword and Shadow Prince and the Haikasoru imprint, please visit the dedicated website at haikasoru.com.

ThinkGeek <3s Geek Moms!

from ThinkGeek:

We <3 geek moms!

Whether they’re researching in the lab, crunching numbers, creating infographics, penning a sci-fi novel, or wrangling geek kids, geek moms are awesome. And since you’re so geeky, we’re gonna assume your maternal DNA has some geek markers in it.

We’re stocked full of gizmos, gadgets, and doo-dads that the moms, grandmas, wives, and baby mommas in your life will love. The question is, are you a Good Kid or a Bad Kid this Mother’s Day?

Are you a Good Kid or a Bad Kid?
A bad kid bursts out of its host’s chest and causes instant death, chews out of mother’s womb and causes instant death, or marries its mother and kills father (which also causes instant death). Using the code BADKID gets you $5 off a $30 order. Compare this to the GOODKID, which gets $10 off a $60 order of goodies for Mom and does not cause any death, instantaneous or otherwise. Both coupon codes are good through 4/29/11 at 11:59 pm EDT.

Mother’s Day is May 8th — Celebrate your spawn point!
We have gifts for geek moms of all flavors and gifts you can give to non-geek moms. Our musical friends Paul & Storm remind us that Mom gave us life, love, a home, food, and clothing and in return, we gave her stretch marks and extra weight. It’s time to rectify this imbalance. (And while the WiFi scale is listed as an idea, we recommend something a little less confrontational.)

Find more What’s New items at ThinkGeek!

J!NX: Surviving the Undead since ’99 & $10 off orders $30+

from J!NX:

-Select Designs now $5 off for 1 week

–Recently Restocked Designs

-Vote on Design Arcade Submissions for J!NX EXP

$10 off your order of $30+
Use Promotion Code: BOOMSTICK
This offer expires Monday, May 02, 2011 at 11:59PM PST, so don’t wait!
*can’t be combined with any other offers, sale prices, or discounts

Crazy AJ’s Boomsticks T-Shirt
The beloved Teddy Roosevelt once said, “Speak softly, but carry a big stick.” Sticks are nice, but if a malevolent force escapes the bowels of hell and eats your friend for second breakfast, then you might want to upgrade to the ‘boom’ variety. Or maybe a chainsaw. And also start talking in cheesy one-liners. Come to Crazy AJ’s Boomsticks Emporium to find the walnut stock, hair trigger, and cobalt blue steel that are right for you.

The “Star Wars” Fan Movie Challenge Deadline Approaches

from Atom.com:

2011 Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge
Deadline is 6/6/11
Submit to Win a Brush with George Lucas Greatness

Move quickly, young Jedi — time is quickly dwindling in the 2011 Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge!

You have until 12 noon PST on 6/6/11 to submit to the Challenge. Just upload your fan movie with “Star Wars” in the title, and add it to the Star Wars category to be considered for a number of awards. One entry will be picked to air on Spike TV and one lucky submission will be crowned the “George Lucas Selects” recipient by Mr. Lucas himself!

For all the official details check out the Star Wars info page, and for more up-to-the-minute details, keep up with the blog.

Factory Entertainment: The Green Hornet Sale

from Factory Entertainment:

The Green Hornet Blu-Ray / DVD Release Sale!
The Green Hornet Movie Blu-Ray / DVD is officially being released on May 3rd. What better way to celebrate than by adding a set of Green Hornet and Kato Movie Action Figures to your collection? Until May 31, you can do that for the special Factory-direct price of $25 for both. In addition, until May 31, if you buy 2 any two of our Green Hornet Fashion Accessories, you can choose another one absolutely free!*

*Free item must be of equal or lesser value from the Green Hornet Fashion Accessory range. When you add these items to your cart, you will see the total price for all 3 items in the summary of your order. However, you will not be charged for the 3rd item (of equal or lesser value) and you will receive an updated receipt via e-mail once the transaction has been processed.

The Green Hornet Movie Blu-Ray & DVD Contest
Want to win a copy of the Green Hornet Movie on Blu-Ray or DVD?! Our good friends at Sony Pictures were kind enough to provide us with some copies of the Green Hornet Movie on Blu-Ray and DVD (available to purchase May 3rd in the US) and now they can be yours! All you need to do is send an e-mail to salesus@factoryent.com with an answer to the following question:

Question: “In the Green Hornet Movie, what color does the Black Beauty turn into to disguise itself?”

All correct answers will be entered into a poll and winners will be selected at random. One entry per e-mail address, deadline to submit an entry is May 9th, 2011. Winners will receive one (1x) copy of the Green Hornet movie on either DVD or Blu-Ray. Prizes will be shipped the week of May 10th, 2011 we will contact you for your shipping address and preferred disc format. This competition is only open to residents of the mainland USA only. Prize discs are Region: 1 for DVD and Region: A for Blu-Ray only.

P.S. If you know the answer, keep an eye out for a special and very limited product coming soon!

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VIZ Media Delivers Summer Reading Fun with New 3-in-1 Manga Editions

from VIZ Media:

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, kicks off the summer reading season with the release of new 3-in-1 omnibus editions for several best-loved manga (graphic novels) series. Naruto and Kekkaishi both launch on May 3rd, and Bleach and Fullmetal Alchemist go on sale June 7th. Each of the new omnibus releases bundles 3 complete manga volumes into a handy summertime reading companion.

Naruto 3-in-1 Edition Vol. 1
Rated ‘T’ for Teens
MSRP: $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN
Available May 3rd
Naruto is a young shinobi with an incorrigible knack for mischief. He’s got a wild sense of humor, but Naruto is completely serious about his mission to be the world’s greatest ninja! It’s training day and no one takes Naruto seriously at Ninja Academy. Especially not the other students, who all are competing to be the best ninja ever and some day lead Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Naruto and his classmates are about to embark on an adventure that takes them far beyond Ninja Academy, beyond Konoha, beyond anything they ever imagined. What is Naruto’s true destiny? The epic story that has sold millions worldwide begins now! For more information, please visit the official Naruto website at Naruto.com.

Kekkaishi 3-in-1 Edition Vol. 1
Rated ‘T’ for Teens
MSRP: $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN
Available May 3rd
By night, teenager Yoshimori Sumimura is a “kekkaishi” — a demon-hunter who specializes in creating magical barriers around his prey. By day, Yoshimori’s got other demons to battle: an addiction to sweets and a seriously crotchety grandfather! Yoshimori’s pretty neighbor and childhood friend, Tokine Yukimura, is also a kekkaishi, but their families are feuding over who is the true practitioner of the art. Now the two rival kekkaishi must do battle with amphibious demons, the ghost of a pastry chef, charming demon-charmer Yomi and her pet demon Yoki, embittered demon-dog Koya — and more! More information on Kekkaishi is available at: viz.com/kekkaishi.

Bleach 3-in-1 Edition Vol. 1
Rated ‘T’ for Teens
MSRP: $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN
Available June 7th
Ichigo Kurosaki has always been able to see ghosts, but this ability doesn’t change his life nearly as much as his close encounter with Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper and member of the mysterious Soul Society. While fighting a Hollow, an evil spirit that preys on humans who display psychic energy, Rukia attempts to lend Ichigo some of her powers so that he can save his family; but much to her surprise, Ichigo absorbs every last drop of her energy. Now a full-fledged Soul Reaper himself, Ichigo quickly learns that the world he inhabits is one full of dangerous spirits, and along with Rukia — who is slowly regaining her powers — it’s Ichigo’s job to protect the innocent from Hollows and help the spirits themselves find peace. The paranormal action-adventure begins now! More information on Bleach is available at Bleach.viz.com.

Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 Edition Vol. 1
Rated ‘T’ for Teens
MSRP: $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN
Available June 7th
Alchemy: the mystical power to alter the natural world, somewhere between magic, art and science. When two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, dabbled in these powers to grant their dearest wish, one of them lost an arm and a leg… and the other became nothing but a soul locked into a body of living iron. Now they are agents of the government, slaves of the military-alchemical complex, using their unique powers to obey their orders… even to kill. But their powers aren’t unique. The world crawls with evil alchemists. And in pursuit of the ultimate alchemical treasure, the Philosopher’s Stone, their enemies are even more ruthless than they are! More information on Fullmetal Alchemist is available at: viz.com/fullmetal-alchemist.

VIZ Media Announces the Release of the Latest “Naruto: Shippuden” Anime DVD Box Set

from VIZ Media:

VIZ Media continues to expand its bestselling Naruto anime franchise with the release of the latest Naruto: Shippuden Uncut DVD Set Volume 6 on April 26th. The 3-disc set contains episodes 66-77 of the original anime series in both subtitled and English dubbed options. Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens, this box set will be available for the suggested retail price of $49.95 U.S./$71.99 Canada.

In the latest Naruto adventures, the rogue ninja Furido attempts to use the Lightning Style jutsu of the Guardian Shinobi to rain destruction on the Leaf village. The ninja are running out of chakra. Does Naruto have enough power to save the village? Then, the Akatsuki are working their way from one tailed beast host to another, and it’s only a matter of time until they get to Naruto!

Created by Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto was first introduced in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in Japan in 1999 and quickly became that country’s most popular ninja manga targeting tweens and teens with more than 100 million copies in circulation to-date. The manga series (rated ‘T’ for Teens) and animated counterpart (Naruto rated ‘T’ for Teens, and Naruto: Shippuden rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens) are among VIZ Media’s most successful properties and have captivated millions of fans across North America, Europe and South America.

For more information on Naruto please visit the official website at Naruto.com.

Celebrate Earth Day with MIMOBOT! Plus Free MIMOBOT Mondays!

from Mimoco:

GURP for MIMOBOT! Earn GURP MIMOBOT Credits!
GURP is Mimoco’s GreenBot USB Recycling Program, where we pay you in MIMOBOT credits to buy back your old, unwanted, or otherwise worn out USB flash drives! Learn More!

Video premiere:
GURP Will Save the Pandas!
Check out our latest series of videos dedicated to saving the planet with our GURP, Greenbot USB Recycling Program!

tokidoki X MIMOBOT
Sandy and Sabochan are here! And while you’re at it, you can pick up some tokidoki cactus pups too! Shop Now!

Stuff We Like
MIMOBOT BLOTz

FREE MIMOBOT Monday!
Learn More!

J!NX: A New Design Arcade Winner

from J!NX:

Dangerous Races T-Shirt
Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! Witness the heart-stopping, eye-popping, slime-dropping extravaganza! Watch in horror as two snails with shells of steel clash in a slow-motion dance of death! Gasp in astonishment as the winner waves his eye stalks in the air like he just don’t care, and the loser goes to the giant salt-shaker in the sky! Minion Graja saw it, and he liked it, and now he made it for you all!

J!NX: Minecraft Quest – Win an iPad 2

from J!NX:

J!NX Quest: Epic Minecraft Structure
Got an awesome building you created in Minecraft? Show it off for a chance to win an iPad 2.

Creeper Inside Now Available in Black
Due to your overwhelming demand, we’ve made this design available on black tees. Also available in Premium and Women’s.