Celebrate Your Geekdom
from Mimoco:
Infectious X MIMOBOT Design Challenge: 2 more weeks left for voting!
Thanks for all the awesome submissions!
There are two more weeks left open for voting so don’t forget to give your two cents as to which design will be the next community-designed MIMOBOT USB flash drive to be produced!
from Weta:
It’s time to take a stand!
Cast from 100% pure Tremontium (tastes and smells a bit like metal in our atmosphere), Grordbort Industries’ Universal Gun Stand is an absolute necessity in polite society.
We regret to admit that its conception was prompted by popular demand — something we normally address with loathing and contempt and generally treat with a fair measure of ignore.
Firstly — it seems not all armed gentry has sufficient mantle-piece acreage to house a growing collection of raygun transportation cases. We’ve been gently nudged with the business end of a thrusk tusk by several esteemed customers until we contrived something size-wise more suburbanesque.
Secondly — many a gentleman has been openly frowned-at (the nerve!) for resting still-smoldering wave oscillation contraputronica on the Louis XV, leaving the charred remains beyond restorability to intended form and purpose.
And as the saying goes — “three steps behind every successful sportsman trots a reasonably contented consort.” Dr. Grordbort therefore sees it as his personal quest to remove any obstacles to a harmonious co-existence with these individuals of the unmistakably fairer, but ironically also completely unfair sex.
Pre-order your Universal Gun Stands now, and we will ship them with an assortment of fitment rods to ensure its compatibility with the entire catalogue of Dr. Grordbort’s full-size ray handguns, including:
The F.M.O.M. Industries Wave Disrupter Gun — The F.M.O.M takes tedious steps like “aiming” out of the equation. Which may help explain why there are: Less than 50 left in the Universe!
The Goliathon 83 Infinity Beam Projector — Dissolves 7/9ths of an African Elephant in 10 Earth seconds. It’s a beauty! Less than 100 left this side of Uranus!
The Manmelter 3600zx Sub-Atomic Disintegrator Pistol — You may commence atomising Moon Soldiers or neighbourhood dogs at your earliest convenience. One for the Boys!
The Victorious Mongoose 1902a Concealable Ray Pistol — Icklest of the full-size rayguns, the Victorious Mongoose can be stealthily carried upon your person, be it tucked in your garter or stuffed in your armpit. You’ll never find a less uncomfortable raygun for such endeavours. Wee!
Righteous Bison Indivisible Particle Smasher — Light-weight and super-wieldable, the Righteous Bison is deceptively powerful. And an absolute steal at not very much money at all! Real Imitation Metal!
And PLEASE don’t forget not to miss the opportunity to make your views heard (or at least read): Dr. Grordbort’s Infallible Forum.
This is how you find us online!
http://fans.wetaNZ.com/Magnus/ | Twitter: @wetaworkshop | Facebook: Weta Workshop
from RiffTrax:
When we heard that Korean studio Younggu-Art Movies was making a picture called Dragon Wars, we were both excited and disgusted at the same time. Excited because we have had many conversations about which Korean movie studio would direct our “dream” dragon movie, and the name Younggu-Art Movies just kept coming up. But we were also disgusted, because the movie title failed to provide its own abbreviation as part of the title.
This is a major gripe that we have with just about every single movie that has ever come out: Abbreviations of a movie’s title should always be included as part of the title. In today’s busy web 2.0 world, who has time to refer to anything by its whole name? However, we run into trouble when movies don’t specify how we should abbreviate their titles, and competing, non-standard abbreviations are adopted. Fortunately, our disgust was misguided, as Dragon Wars bucks the trend and includes its own abbreviation in the title: D-War. A true abbreviation, where Dragon becomes D and Wars becomes War, Dragon Wars: D-War provides the consumer with something so sorely missing from movie titles today: Choice.
So whether you choose to experience the fantastical creatures and hi-octane action sequences of Dragon Wars, or prefer the ancient story of a love that knows no bounds of D-War, you must know one thing: this D-movie D-bites D-hard.
Mike, Kevin and Bill decided to D-riff Dragon Wars: D-War, because a fan in attendance at our 2009 Comic-Con panel suggested it. The moral of the story? Don’t do that.
Get it here.
And don’t forget! This week is the RiffTrax Live Encore of Plan 9! Get tickets and showtimes here.
Uncle Milton’s Toys gives its Back2Nature Live Habitats an interstellar twist with the “Fish in Space” Cosmic Desktop Aquarium.
A deep space probe on a mission to the far corners of the galaxy has discovered something completely unexpected… Fish in Space! Watch popular Bettas, Goldfish and Guppies live amongst the stars and planets in space. Retro space styling features a domed space city, 3-D planets and a rocket bursting out of the aquarium. The compact size (half gallon) makes it perfect to place on a desk or counter top. The fun U.F.O. aquarium cap beams alien light into the aquarium. Stars, planets and the space city glow-in-the-dark for an exciting lights out scene. Measures 10.8″ x 6″ x 7.8″. Fish are not included and can be purchased at your local pet store. Requires two button cell batteries (included). Adult assistance recommended.
A “toy telescope for cosmic fish viewing” is also included.
Order directly through the Uncle Milton’s Toys website, or buy at Amazon.com.
The “Fish in Space” Cosmic Desktop Aquarium is distributed by Uncle Milton’s Toys and its associated Online Stores.
from Tor.com:
It’s goggle-wearing, lace-gloved, dirigible-driving, sepia-toned, steam-powered, retro-futuristic party time.
In other words, October is Steampunk Month on Tor.com! All month, we’ll be hosting special content, including giveaways, wallpapers, reviews, and posts by guest bloggers from the steampunk community.
Check out the Steampunk Month index page to see what’s going on; Tor.com being a well-oiled machine, we’ll naturally update it as each post goes up.
To start you off, we have an interview with Diana Vick, vice-chair of the upcoming Steamcon, on what steampunk means to her and the dubious joys of running a con. You can also check out this review of George Mann’s The Affinity Bridge — a cracking good yarn, and just the thing to get you in the mood.
from The Jim Henson Company:
The Jim Henson Company announced that it is launching a new merchandise collection, Fraggle Rock Forever, based on the global fan-favorite brand that is as popular today as it was when it premiered more than 25 years ago. The collection slated for both the specialty and department store market will have a tiered rollout with a selection of product due in store for holiday 2009 with much more to come in spring 2010.
“We have found Fraggle Rock to be an extremely desirable franchise among the hip fashion industry around the world. The property’s appeal is especially strong to many of the young men and women who loved Fraggle Rock as kids and who are now working in the apparel, accessories and retail business,” said Melissa Segal, Senior Vice President of Global Consumer Products for The Jim Henson Company.
The Fraggle Rock Forever collection, which celebrates the whimsy and celebratory spirit of the classic series, will feature product in categories including apparel, tote bags, belt buckles, jewelry and classic plush. In addition, adult Halloween costumes aimed to appeal to Fraggle fanatic men and women will be available in 2010. Deals have been completed in the U.S. with Bioworld Merchandising, Manhattan Toy, and Rasta Impasta and in the UK with Fashion UK as well as with the popular fashion driven chain Zara which will have Fraggle Rock tees available in their stores around the world.
Also bringing the collection to a new level are hot trend driven designers such as Dr. Romanelli based in Los Angeles and Carri Munden of London based Cassette Playa who appeal to fashion influencers. They are collaborating on the creation of a range of high end clothing which will be featured in upscale boutiques this holiday season. Dr. Romanelli will also be interpreting the brand via a micro-site at drdoozer.com which will host not only the collection of tees, hoodies, jackets, and posters but will also house Fraggle Rock music remixes by hot artists plus clips from the series. (An “under construction” teaser page is online now with the full site to go live in November.) Also, part of this boutique designer collection will feature a high end costume jewelry line designed exclusively by Anita Ko in collaboration with jeweler Pascal Mouawad.
Lionsgate is rounding out the Fraggle Rock assortment with the release of Fraggle Rock: The Complete Series Collection. In addition a new DVD special, A Merry Fraggle Holiday, and the much requested Fraggle Rock: The Complete Final Season (Season 4) will be debuting on DVD in time for the holiday 2009 shopping season.
The Jim Henson Company is also launching virtual merchandise including video ring tones and mobile wall paper. The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for over 50 years and is recognized worldwide as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics and digital animation.
Best known as creators of the world famous Muppets, Henson has received over 50 Emmy Awards and nine Grammy Awards. Recent credits include Sid the Science Kid, and Pajanimals. Features include The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, MirrorMask, and Unstable Fables. Television productions include Fraggle Rock and the sci-fi cult series Farscape. With additional locations in New York and London, The Jim Henson Company is headquartered in Los Angeles on the historic Charlie Chaplin lot, complete with soundstage and postproduction facilities. Independently owned and operated by the five adult children of founder Jim Henson, the Company is also home to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, a pre-eminent character-building and visual effects group with international film, television and advertising clients, as well as Henson Recording Studios, one of the music industry’s top recording facilities known for its world-class blend of state of the art and vintage equipment.
The Company is currently in production on 40 episodes of Dinosaur Train, an animated preschool series teaching concepts of natural science and history, set to debut on PBS KIDS in fall 2009. The Company’s Henson Alternative brand continues to produce Puppet Up! — Uncensored, a live puppet improvisational show that runs monthly at the Avalon Hollywood. The Company has also announced the creation of Jim Henson Designs, a merchandise collection inspired by Jim Henson’s earliest sketches, and The Jim Henson Company: Discoveries, an acquisitions banner that celebrates outstanding third party produced independent film, television and video productions from around the globe embodying the Company’s enduring legacy.
from Shogakukan:
Shogakukan, Inc., one of the largest publishing houses in Japan, today announced The Sushi Catalogue App is now available on the App Store. The Sushi Catalogue App is a unique culinary companion for the Japanese cuisine and sushi lover, which depicts 80 different kinds of traditional Japanese sushi that are fully explained, cross-referenced and illustrated.
Whether going on an overseas trip to Japan or just down the street to the local sushi bar, The Sushi Catalogue is a useful companion for iPhone and iPod touch users,” says Mr. Yamamoto, Producer of The Sushi Catalogue, Shogakukan. “The Sushi Catalogue has it all and presents information in an easy-to-reference way giving people informative and fun ways to understand and interact with these unique traditions.”
The fun app makes it easy for iPhone and iPod touch users to access a variety of sushi dishes and sub-categories like different types of toppings and seasonal availabilities, as well as variations on traditional preparation and presentations. Viewing a particular sushi dish in landscape mode enlarges the image; sliding the screen to the left or right switches the view to other entries.
For two weeks only, beginning today through October 15th, Shogakukan will give iPhone and iPod touch users a special 50% discount for this fun sushi guide application. The Sushi Catalogue complements other handy Shogakukan apps for the iPhone and iPod touch, including the Daijisen Japanese-Japanese Dictionary, which contains 230,000 entries, derived terms, phrases and The Pocket Progressive English-Japanese Japanese-English Dictionary. The Daijisen Dictionary App is a useful tool for studying the Japanese language and makes it possible to search for many terms, including the latest buzzwords and recently added vernacular, quickly and effortlessly. The app also has an entertaining 8×8 crossword puzzle game with hints given in Japanese.
The Sushi Catalogue App is available for $4.99 from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at itunes.com/appstore/.
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 that it has acquired the domestic TV, Home Entertainment, Streaming, DTO, and Merchandising rights to the hit Vampire Knight animated series.
With this license VIZ Media will hold the rights to Vampire Knight for TV (including IPTV and VOD) and Home Video (all platforms including Blu-ray), Streaming, DTO and Merchandising (including digital Merchandise and mobile).
Vampire Knight is based on the best-selling gothic-romance manga series created by Matsuri Hino. Cross Academy is attended by two groups of students: the Day Class and the Night Class. At twilight, when the students of the Day Class return to their dorm, they cross paths with the Night Class on their way to school. Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu are the Guardians of the school, protecting the Day Class from the Academy’s dark secret: the Night Class is full of vampires!
Matsuri Hino burst onto the manga scene with her title Kono Yume ga Sametara (When This Dream Is Over), which was published in LaLa DX magazine. Hino was a manga artist a mere nine months after she decided to become one. With the success of her popular series Captive Hearts and Meru Puri, Hino has established herself as a major player in the world of shojo manga. Vampire Knight is currently serialized in LaLa magazine in Japan and was also serialized in Shojo Beat magazine in North America. The Vampire Knight manga series is currently published in the US by VIZ Media and continues to keep its place in the Top Ten on The New York Times Best Selling Manga List.
For more information on Vampire Knight please visit shojobeat.com/manga/vk.
from Mimoco:
Hello Kitty Apple MIMOBOT, Hello Kitty Fun in Fields MIMOBOT, AND Hello Kitty x MIMOBOT, oh my!!!
Get psyched! You’ve been waiting patiently for Hello Kitty Apple MIMOBOT to drop and now check out the newest Hello Kitty x MIMOBOT! Equal parts Hello Kitty and MIMOBOT, she’s adorable rockin’ the MIMOBOT suit! And don’t forget Hello Kitty Fun in Fields MIMOBOT too!
What could be better?!
Hello Kitty x MIMOBOT
Hello Kitty x MIMOBOT USB is here, just how you like her! She’s got her play clothes on and wants to celebrate her 35th anniversary with you!
* Preloaded Digital Content Includes: desktop wallpapers, icons, avatars, and screensavers.
Hello Kitty Apple MIMOBOT
You’ve seen her around, and now she’s ready to be yours! Hello Kitty Apple MIMOBOT is ripe and ready for the picking!
* Preloaded Digital Content Includes: desktop wallpapers, icons, avatars, and screensavers.
Infectious X MIMOBOT Design Challenge
One More Week Left!
There’s only one more week left before the design challenge comes to a close — deadline is October 6! So, get your designs in while there’s still time!
from The Guild:
Today marks the release of the new Season 1 and Season 2 DVD release. While the individual seasons have been available from us at conventions or on Amazon.com, this release is exciting because it means The Guild is now in retail stores!
The content on the discs is exactly the same as the previous DVD releases, the only difference is this release packages both DVDs in one case, there’s new packaging artwork and there’s a bonus “Note from Felicia” inside. As of this post, the confirmed retail outlets that will be carrying this are FYE, Suncoast and Coconuts. Check your local retailer, too, as they may be stocking it — and if they aren’t, ask them to! Oh, and Netflix users, you can help us by posting a review of the DVD and adding it to your queue — this will help encourage Netflix to add the discs to their inventory. Here’s the Netflix link.
We’re celebrating the release of this DVD with a contest — please post a photo of yourself purchasing this DVD in a retail store today (9/29) and we’ll pick 10 winning pictures to receive an autographed DVD. You can either post your picture to our Facebook page as a Fan Photo (here’s the link) or post to Twitter with the hashtag #myguilddvd. (Note: we reserve the right to pick the winners at random if there are too many entries!). Contest ends at midnight Pacific Time.
from Emily the Strange:
Well, well. What do we have here?…
Welcome to Emily the Strange‘s new Strange Days Blog, the newest feature of EmilyStrange.com.
Share comments, get instant updates and keep an eye on what’s up in Emily’s world — a whole new way to share the strange!
from RiffTrax:
The encore screening of RiffTrax: Plan 9 From Outer Space is almost here! The original evening of live riffing captured on August 20th will be rebroadcast Thursday, October 8th in movie theaters nationwide!
And now there are EVEN MORE FREE DIGITAL GOODIES! In addition to receiving the Flying Stewardess downloadable short, autographed digital photo of the guys, and RiffTones song, all event attendees will also get two more RiffTones songs and an animated short of the failed Plans 1-8! More goodies! More fun! All FREE!!!
Tickets are only $10 each and are on sale now! Simply go to the RiffTrax Encore page on Fathom, where you can enter your zip code to find the closest theatre and purchase tickets.
Don’t wait! Get your tickets today!