Celebrate Your Geekdom
from The Legend of Neil:
Neil lovers, the fun continues as Neil enters the store and finds much more danger than he bargained for! Check out the second episode here! Catch up on the first episode if you haven’t caught it yet (is that even possible?!) For up-to-the-second reports, contests and other goodies be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or RSS. Oh and buy an official Legend of Neil t-shirt. It goes a long way to helping us get you more of what you love, more Neil!
from VIZ Pictures:
NEW PEOPLE, a dynamic entertainment destination bringing the latest examples of Japanese popular culture to North American shores, announces its Grand Opening next Saturday, August 15th.
Thousands will gather in the heart of San Francisco’s Japantown for a day-long celebration that begins at 11:00am with a ribbon cutting ceremony and a traditional Kagami-wari (breaking of a sake barrel for good luck) at the building’s entrance located at 1746 Post Street.
A variety of fun Japanese pop-inspired events including fashion shows, a film premiere, live art performances, and mini-concerts by some of Japan’s hottest punk and alternative bands are scheduled throughout the day both inside NEW PEOPLE, and also at the adjacent Peace Plaza and areas in between. Innovative companies from the Bay area and Japan will exhibit an array of products for sale in open air displays on both sides of Post Street. A food court will further complement the celebration with delicious Japanese cuisine. The event is free to the public.
“There has never been a venue of this type before outside Japan and we will become a unique cultural and entertainment outlet unlike any other in the country,” says Seiji Horibuchi, the founder/CEO of VIZ Pictures as well as the J-pop Center Project. “Our Grand Opening celebration will give visitors a sample of pure Japanese pop culture in a variety of forms and we invite San Francisco and the world to join in the fun, celebrate our launch, and explore all NEW PEOPLE has to offer!”
Yoshitaka Amano Exclusive Exhibition Opening
Famed artist Yoshitaka Amano makes a rare U.S. appearance to personally open NEW PEOPLE’s SUPERFROG Gallery with his newest exhibit, DEVA LOKA USA. Amano is renowned for designing the characters for the hit video game, Final Fantasy, as well as for anime films including Vampire Hunter D, Guin Saga, Final Fantasy, and Front Mission. His new exhibit was created especially for the gallery as an ode to his childhood love for American comics, culture and automobiles. For more information, visit superfroggallery.com. Yoshitaka Amano hosts an insightful panel discussion at 12:00pm on the Main Stage in front of NEW PEOPLE with a rare autograph opportunity scheduled from 4:00-5:00pm.
Special Movie Premiere Event
VIZ Cinema, which is located in the basement of NEW PEOPLE, invites visitors to the country’s first movie theatre with a dedicated Japanese film program and will cap off the day’s celebrations with the San Francisco premiere of 20th Century Boys, a stirring action film based on the smash hit manga comic by Naoki Urasawa. The 143-seat subterranean theatre features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX-certified sound system.
Gothic And Lolita Extravaganza
The influence of Japanese Harajuku fashion is undeniable and NEW PEOPLE welcomes four edgy labels from Tokyo’s hippest fashion district — Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, Black Peace Now, 6%DOKIDOKI and SOU • SOU; each opens its own brand boutique on the building’s second floor. Visitors are invited to explore all of the designs and accessories from four of Japan’s hottest labels and catch a special Gothic & Lolita Fashion Show presented by Baby, the Stars Shine Bright and Black Peace Now on the Main Stage in front of NEW PEOPLE at 1:30pm.
Harajuku Kawaii Makeover
Other couture fun continues at the Harajuku Kawaii Experience at Peace Plaza, located just adjacent to NEW PEOPLE. A Harajuku fashion makeover contest is scheduled for 12:00pm and will award a free trip to Tokyo, Japan to the lucky winner who will be transformed into the most convincing Harajuku girl. Finalists’ fashion show and announcement of the award will take place at 3:00-4:00pm. Appearing at 4:15 will be OMODAKA, a duo that offers an ambient and ethereal sound-mixing Minyo (Japanese traditional-flavored folk music) and electronic music, and a special performance art dance piece by fashion label 6%DOKIDOKI. A Harajuku Kawaii-themed dance party will continue in the plaza from 5:00-6:00pm.
Japan Nite Special: Girls Rock Explosion
NEW PEOPLE, in co-sponsorship with MTV Iggy and Japan Airlines, also presents the Japan Nite Special: Girls Rock Explosion! as part of the first annual 2009 J-Pop Summit Festival, also in Peace Plaza. A special mini-concert begins at 12:45pm and features the punk and alternative rock sounds of TsuShiMaMiRe, Red Bacteria Vacuum, and Noodles.
A second full-set show is scheduled at Yoshi’s S.F., the U.S.’s largest Jazz club / Japanese Restaurant, located near Japantown, on August 16th at 8:00 p.m. Tickets: $10 at the door. Tickets are now available at http://yoshis.com/sanfrancisco/.
Yuichi Yokoyama’s Art performance and Autograph Session
Yuichi Yokoyama, the Eisner Award-nominated creator of New Engineering and Travel, illustrated the abstract faces that adorn the manga balloon inspired interior walls of NEW PEOPLE: The Store, which is located on the mezzanine level and was designed to be not only a retail space, but also a giant art installation. NEW PEOPLE: The Store offers a fantastic selection of carefully selected Japanese products that include apparel, accessories, books, toys, DVDs, music, and design items for the home and office. Yuichi Yokoyama will have a live painting performance at 12:00 pm at the corner of Post and Buchanan Streets, within the same block as the NEW PEOPLE building. Also he appears for the special autograph session at NEW PEOPLE: The Store at 3:00-4:00pm.
NEW PEOPLE offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan and is the creative vision of the J-Pop Center Project and VIZ Pictures, a distributor and producer of Japanese live action film. Located at 1746 Post Street, the 20,000 square foot structure features a striking 3-floor transparent glass facade that frames a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination into the 21st Century. A dedicated web site is also now available at: NewPeopleWorld.com.
Made in Switzerland of Aluminum and containing our special SIGG liner, this bottle is 100% BPA free — even the cap, and every piece of plastic that goes into making the cap is BPA free (as will all SIGG bottles and tops). This fun bottle features our Space Robot design, is .4 Liters and is one of our best sellers in the kids department.
Our SIGG SHARKY GLOW .6L size reusable water bottle! This bottle is BLACK with white Shark design and features a glow in the dark cap. As with all of our Aluminum bottles, this .6 liter reusable water bottle is made with love in Switzerland and features SIGG’s exclusive liner that will not leach any harmful metals or chemicals into your beverage. You drink pure when you drink from SIGG. Why are SIGGs SUPERIOR to any other bottle on the market today? Check out our SIGG FAQ page and find out! See the FAQ for care and use instructions too!
Order directly through the SIGG website, or buy at Amazon.com and select retailers.
It’s finally here!
Now available for pre-order on Amazon: Farscape: The Complete Series on DVD.
List Price: $149.95
Amazon’s Price: $104.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.
You Save: $44.96 (30%)
Order now!
You’ll be ready to protect the world from evil in this sexy superhero ensemble. It starts off with an underwired bra top made of the sparkliest red fabric trimmed with gold faux leather. An adjustable halter strap keeps everything in place. The box pleated star-spangled hipster wrap skirt attaches with Velcro at the golden waistband. Gold-colored garter straps end in red satin bows. The matching red cape with suspender grips attaches to the bra straps and can be removed when you are not flying. Impressive gold star buttons add the perfect touch throughout this costume. A “Wonderful” matching headband adds just the right POW! to this fantasy outfit.
Order directly through the LoveFifi.com website.
Violet
Official Nabaztag Website
Adopt a Rabbit
This gifted robot moves his ears, speaks 36 languages, reads, listens, his body lights up and he even detects the presence of other objects (by sniffing them). As he is permanently connected to the Internet, he can act, react, transmit or broadcast many types of content available over his network, news, messages, music, text, alerts, radio, etc.
He can hear you, obey your commands and even recognize things you give him to sniff.
Reading out books, or interacting with objects thus ushering in the pioneering of the RFID revolution are new skills Nabaztag:tag has acquired, adding to his multiple existing talents.
When connected to the Internet this marvellous Rabbit has infinite potential.
The first Nabaztag was born in 2005. He has since become an Icon for the new era of the Internet of Things.
from StarWars.com:
There is one week left to go in the Empire Muggs Back charity auction — a chance for you to score a fanastic one-of-a-kind piece of Star Wars art, while also helping out The Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Artists, comic book creators, toy designers, and celebrity fans have used their markers, paint brushes and glue guns to transform blank versions of Hasbro’s distinctive Mighty Muggs toys into unique pieces of Star Wars art.
These highly-collectible urban vinyl toys have been available in a variety of characters from Star Wars and Indiana Jones, among other comic book and film franchises. For this special project, called The Empire Muggs Back, Lucasfilm asked popular artists, comics book creators, toy designers and celebrity fans to take blank Mighty Muggs (donated by Hasbro) and transform them into their favorite Star Wars characters, scenes, ships and more.
“StarWars.com wanted to show off the talents of artists and fans, who represent a wide-range of artistic disciplines, in an unique way while raising money for a good cause we have long supported,” said Bill Gannon, Director of Online Operations at Lucasfilm Ltd.
Among the artists contributing to the project is Supervising Director of The Clone Wars animated series, Dave Filoni. “I have met several Make-A-Wish families due to my involvement in The Clone Wars and I have seen first-hand what a difference a little kindness can make for people,” he said. “It is a great privilege to get to be involved in a project like this, which combines my love of Star Wars with helping others. It’s the Jedi way after all.”
Over 60 one-of-a-kind customized Mighty Muggs toys are up for auction through August 14. To find out more about this project as well as see all the pieces and enter the auction, visit StarWars.com’s page dedicated to The Empire Muggs Back here.
Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. The Foundation is now the largest wish-granting charity in the world, with 65 chapters in the United States and its territories. With the help of generous donors and nearly 25,000 volunteers, the Make-A-Wish Foundation grants a wish every 40 minutes and has granted more than 180,000 wishes in the United States since inception. For more information about the Make-A-Wish Foundation, visit http://wish.org. To give to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and help courageous children experience their most heartfelt wishes, please visit our Giving Section.
from Weta:
Hey Weta fans,
This time I would like to draw your attention to a beautiful trailer for Peter Jackson’s upcoming movie The Lovely Bones. Weta helped out with design and specialty props as well as digital visual effects for the movie. We’re really looking forward to the release of the movie in December. See the trailer here! Enjoy!
In the News:
We are incredibly proud and pleased to finally be “back in Middle-earth” again and we’re full of anticipation of exciting times ahead. So, without further ado, we declare our range of Miniature Shields from The Lord of the Rings open for Pre-order!
New Products:
Running Out:
The Dragon’s Gold has been found!
The Hunt for Dragon’s Gold at Comic-Con was a race down to the wire. In fact, it was so close, it was a dead heat. The two winners were Jared Sarajian and Jeff Cox. The hunt was announced by Richard Taylor at the panel organized by our good friends at TORn (theonering.net). It took them just 45 minutes to decipher the series of clues placed around the Convention Hall. Read more!
This is how you find us online!
http://fans.wetaNZ.com/Magnus/ | Twitter: @wetaworkshop | Facebook: Weta Workshop
I logged into MySpace today (something I avoid as much as possible) and had a friend request from Requiem for Delinquency. I followed the link for the obligatory “check it out before denying it” glance and was wowed by what I heard. What I had expected to be my usual 5-minute check of my messages before going on to other more important things that demanded my time and attention has now turned into over five hours of listening to streaming music on requiemfordelinquency.com while trying to find things to keep me busy at my computer so I can keep listening.
I’m the kind of person who listens to things on repeat for days, and sometimes weeks or months, on end. I get something under my skin and it just stays there. Unlike many people whose favorite things are constantly changing, once I become passionate about something, it becomes a permanent fixture in my life. My very first CDs were Enya‘s Watermark and Kitaro‘s Kojiki. Twenty years later, I’m still listening to those CDs on a weekly basis. I can see Requiem for Delinquency becoming another permanent fixture in my musical rotation.
Hobs End is the first album from composer Chance Morrison, who self-produced the project rather then trying to get the big labels to back him, and his grassroots approach seems to be working for him. It’s hard to put a genre label on the music as it is primarily electronica but is not as high octane as techno and trance or low octane as new age or chill. Each song has a unique hook to it (sound samples or effects), but the beat remains fairly consistent. While there are some faster tracks on the album it is balanced overall in mood (somewhat somber and sensual), making it the perfect dance selection for when the night is winding down but you aren’t ready to quit moving yet.
Some elements of Hobs End remind me of Bill Leeb projects such as Delerium and Fauxliage, but laced with Morrison’s own vocals rather than the sultry sirens who play guest vocalists in Leeb’s music. Requiem for Delinquency is the kind of electronica music you might find on a Six Degrees or Nettwerk label. (I’ll buy anything they release.) In other words, it may be self-produced but it sounds like a studio-backed production. Some tracks are similar to, but have more synth than, Robert Miles and Enigma compositions, but are not as heavily reliant on synth as Tangerine Dream or Vangelis tend to be.
I’m really searching for a way to describe Morrison’s voice but the only word I can think of is breathy. He almost whispers in a laid-back or mournful way that reminds me of Depeche Mode or Duran Duran. I say mournful because, listening to the lyrics, Morrison seems to be questioning the reality and depth of daily interactions, the life, love and experiences that we share with others. Sound bites from films and television shows call to mind images and ideas and then explore them. For example, in the track “The Work of Science” a sound bite from the classic science fiction film The Brain That Wouldn’t Die declares, “My eyes are deceiving me” and “What you see is real. What’s done is done and what I’ve done is right. It’s the work of science.” Then Morrison sings the refrain, “Will we remember what was real?”
Overall, the album is layered with rich sounds from a variety of instruments, both traditional and electronic. While his selection of instruments may be contemporary, the arrangement and use of them is similar to a classical composition and takes you on a journey of the mind. While Hobs End doesn’t have a signature sound to it that screams “Chance Morrison made me!”, it certainly stands out from the monotonous droning of most new electronica music. If you are a fan of Six Degrees or Nettwerk artists, do yourself a favor and check out Requiem for Delinquency.
You can purchase Hobs End at your local Barnes & Noble and Best Buy. If you prefer to shop online, you can buy the compact disc or download Hobs End at Amazon.com.
Requiem for Delinquency Links:
Official Website
MySpace Page
Facebook Page
YouTube Channel
from Mimoco:
Call for entries! Mid-August through September!
Mimoco teams up with the fine crew at Infectious, makers of adhesive art (ie, skins) for laptops, iPhones, iPods, walls, and cars to bring you the Infectious X MIMOBOT Design Challenge, the next contest in our community-designed series of MIMOBOT flash drives!
Prizes:
from A&E Home Entertainment and The Jim Henson Company:
When a freak accident during an experimental space mission catapulted Astronaut John Crichton (Ben Browder) across a thousand galaxies to an alien battlefield, a groundbreaking cult classic was born with the epic, adventure-filled TV series Farscape. On November 17, the award-winning fan favorite show, which ran from 1999-2003 on Sci Fi and was named by TV Guide as one of television’s best cult shows ever, will commemorate its 10th Anniversary with the very first complete packaging of the series. Featuring all 88 episodes on 25 discs, with original aspect ratios (4×3 for Seasons 1-3, anamorphic 16×9 widescreen for Season 4) and 5.1 surround sound, Farscape: The Complete Series Megaset delivers the venerated program to its legions of loyal fans and a new generation for the collectible price of $149.95srp.
An imaginative fusion of live action, state-of-the-art puppetry, prosthetics and CGI, Farscape, produced by The Jim Henson Company in association with RHI Entertainment, featured mind-boggling alien life forms, dazzling special effects, edge-of-your-seat thrills, irreverent humor and unforgettable characters — all brought to rich life by the creative minds at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. Strap in and hold on tight for the extraordinary adventures of John Crichton, as he finds himself surrounded by hostile aliens and soaring through the cosmos aboard Moya, a glorious living space ship. Hunted by the relentless Peacekeepers, he allies himself with Moya’s crew — Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black), Luxan warrior Ka D’Argo (Anthony Simcoe), azure priestess Zhaan (Virginia Hey), spritely Nebari thief Chiana (Gigi Edgley), Dominar Rygel, the deposed royal ruler of the Hynerian Empire and Pilot — to search for a way out of this inconceivably alien world and return home.
Farscape: The Complete Series Megaset contains amazing surprises, including over 15 hours of bonus programming:
In addition to the complete Megaset, on November 17, Farscape will also be available in single season sets. Each re-packaged DVD release in Farscape: The Complete Seasons 1-4 will feature over 18 hours of interstellar entertainment — 22 episodes on six jam-packed discs filled with hours of revealing bonus materials — for $44.95srp.
Prepare for Starburst!
from VIZ Pictures:
VIZ Pictures, an affiliate of VIZ Media, LLC that focuses on Japanese live-action film distribution, has announced the DVD release of Death Note: L, change the WorLd live-action film. The DVD will be distributed by VIZ Media, available on August 18th and will carry a MSRP of $24.92 US/$35.99 Canada.
To celebrate this release, VIZ Pictures will have a special event at their brand-new VIZ Cinema in San Francisco. Enjoy the L movie screening and an exclusive L gift-box including the newly released DVD, poster and more. Visit vizcinema.com for ticket info and more details.
Death Note: L, change the WorLd is inspired by the immensely popular Death Note feature films, which are based on the best-selling supernatural action manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. This spin-off follows a new original storyline. Death Note: L, change the WorLd was directed by Hideo Nakata, who also directed the U.S. #1 hit horror movie The Ring 2, which was remade from his own smash hit Japanese horror trilogy, Ringu.
Inspired by the best-selling manga Death Note, Death Note: L, change the WorLd reveals how L spends the last 23 days of his life. For his final case he takes on a bio-terrorist group and must also save the lives of two children who have no one else to turn to.
“Death Note: L, change the WorLd stars Kenichi Matsuyama, an up-and-coming Japanese actor who has also appeared in acclaimed films such as Death Note, Linda Linda Linda, Nana and Detroit Metal City,” says Seiji Horibuchi, president and CEO of VIZ Pictures. “He reprises his role as the ace detective L and audiences will be riveted to their seats as his character once again works to save society from a monstrous new threat.”
The Death Note manga (rated “T+” for older teens) and animated series (rated “T+” for older teens) have become extremely popular domestically. The 37-episode animated series is seen by millions each week on cable broadcast and the series is also distributed on DVD by VIZ Media. On the print side, the Death Note manga series and Death Note 13: How to Read, a companion volume to the successful manga series, is published domestically by VIZ Media and has been ranked in USA Today’s Top 150 list of America’s best-selling books.
For more information on the Death Note: L, change the WorLd live action films and other VIZ Pictures films, please visit viz-pictures.com or deathnotefilms.com. For more information on the Death Note manga and animation, please visit deathnote.viz.com.
Order now at Amazon.com:
Death Note Box Set (Vol. 1-13, Complete Manga Set)
Death Note: Another Note (Novel)
Death Note (Live Action)
Death Note II: The Last Name (Live Action)
Death Note Box Set 1 (Animated)
Death Note Box Set 2 (Animated)
Death Note: Re-Light, Vol. 1 — Visions of a God (Animated)
Pre-order at Amazon.com:
Death Note 3: L, change the WorLd (Live Action)
Death Note: Re-Light, Vol. 2 — L’s Successors (Animated)