Eight absolutely ONE OF A KIND CHIBI MILKY WAY DOLLS will be made available at 12 noon on Saturday, September 5th on our Etsy Shop.
Each chibi Milky Way is entirely HAND-MADE by MWGG creator, Lauren Faust, and is less than 3” tall — so tiny, all stitches had to be sewn by hand! All eight feature a unique facial expression, a stitched signature and date, and will come with its own teeny weeny certificate of authenticity. Plus, you get to decide if you want your little Milky Way to be a magnet, a pin, or have a simple loop for hanging wherever you want her.
Make sure you arrive at the shop promptly to secure your favorite!
First of all, big thanks to everybody that bought (or still intends to buy) Internet Leaks — I’ve had a terrific time reading everybody’s reactions to the new songs and videos.
Next up… Sony Legacy will be releasing The Essential “Weird Al” Yankovic on October 27. This will be a jam-packed 2-CD collection featuring the best of my first 12 studio albums.
Long-time fans know that I’m extremely leery about releasing any kind of hits compilations, but this one is exciting to me for a number of reasons. First of all, my record label hasn’t released a new hits package since 1994, so, well, it’s about time. Also, frankly, it’s a pretty great deal. The good folks at Sony Legacy managed to remove the 12-songs-per-disc ceiling that I usually have, and they’ve allowed me to cram each disc to near capacity. And they’re telling me the MSRP is $15.98 — which I think is a darn good value for over two and a half hours of music! Of course it will be available at all the usual retailers like Amazon, and naturally we’ll have it for sale at weirdal.com too.
As per usual, the track listing was left entirely up to me, and it was an extremely difficult process. I wanted to include all the hits, all the fan favorites, and all the historically important songs — but in making my list, I found that I painfully had to omit tunes in all three of those categories. I wanted this collection to feel like a true “best of” instead of just another generic Greatest Hits package.
Hardcore fans will probably be a little disappointed, because this collection is not specifically geared toward them. There are no basement tapes, hidden tracks or hard-to-find rarities (unless you count the alternate mixes of “UHF” and “The Night Santa Went Crazy”). If you already have most or all of my albums, this collection will probably hold little interest for you, unless you’re a completist who just compulsively buys anything with my name on it (bless you, whoever you are). I should also point out that this collection doesn’t include any tracks from Internet Leaks — it didn’t seem right to include songs on a hits compilation before they had a chance to be on an actual studio album.
The Essential collection is more geared toward the cost-conscious consumer who wants a great “instant Al collection” without having to purchase an armload of my back catalogue. And of course, The Essential “Weird Al” Yankovic makes a fantastic holiday gift for any and all of your sadly Al-deprived friends and family members!
As I mentioned, it was very tough narrowing down the tracks. At one point I asked my Twitter followers to help me decide between “Polkas On 45” and “Polka Your Eyes Out.” The tally was very close… I believe that “Eyes Out” actually got a few more votes, but the fans of “45” in general seemed more passionate about their choice, so I went with that. Hey, it’s not a democracy, it’s art.
I apologize if I’ve left off any of your favorite songs. I know that I had to leave off some of mine. But in the end, I felt like the list below would please the most people… including me.
Thanks,
Al
THE ESSENTIAL “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC (Release Date: October 27, 2009)
DISC 1
1. Another One Rides The Bus
2. Polkas On 45
3. Eat It
4. I Lost On Jeopardy
5. Yoda
6. One More Minute
7. Like A Surgeon
8. Dare To Be Stupid
9. Dog Eat Dog
10. Lasagna
11. Melanie
12. Fat
13. UHF (single version)
14. The Biggest Ball Of Twine In Minnesota
15. Trigger Happy
16. Smells Like Nirvana
17. You Don’t Love Me Anymore
18. Bedrock Anthem
19. Frank’s 2000″ TV
20. Jurassic Park
DISC 2
1. Since You’ve Been Gone
2. Amish Paradise
3. Gump
4. Everything You Know Is Wrong
5. The Night Santa Went Crazy (extra gory version)
6. Your Horoscope For Today
7. It’s All About The Pentiums
8. The Saga Begins
9. Albuquerque
10. eBay
11. Bob
12. Hardware Store
13. I’ll Sue Ya
14. Canadian Idiot
15. Pancreas
16. Don’t Download This Song
17. White & Nerdy
18. Trapped In The Drive-Thru
Can somebody please enlighten us as to how it got to be September already? One minute we’re making April Fools jokes like Squeez Bacon and the Tauntaun Sleeping bag (which is no longer a joke, yay!) and the next it’s back to school time. Seriously, we need a timeturner or an anomaly in the space-time continuum up in here folks, because we’re not getting any younger and we have lots of of geektastic stuff to do before the year is up. And in case you’ve been wondering what we’ve been doing to lead us to this point, we’ve been trying to figure out how folks back in the 60’s used these things to get us to the moon!
Appreciate the technology you have today by experiencing the calculators of yesteryear. They may be analog computers, but with a little practice, you can ramp up your geek cred and count yourself amongst the great scientists, astronauts and smarty-pants of the analog era.
VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the upcoming DVD release of Bleach the Movie 2: The DiamondDust Rebellion on September 8th; it will carry an MSRP of $29.92 US / $49.99 CAN, and is rated “T” for Teens.
Adapted from the wildly popular animated series and best-selling Bleach manga series by acclaimed Japanese creator Tite Kubo (both distributed and published in North America by VIZ Media), the animated feature film Bleach the Movie 2: The DiamondDust Rebellion continues the action-packed adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki. After the treasured Ouin is stolen, Toshiro Hitsugaya disappears and becomes suspected of treason. When the Soul Society calls for his capture and execution, Substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki vows to prove Hitsugaya’s innocence. Will the secret of the Ouin and Captain Hitsugaya’s motives be revealed before his honor, his life, and the Soul Society are destroyed?
“Bleach the Movie 2: The DiamondDust Rebellion is the next exciting feature film in the ongoing Bleach saga and the new DVD release also includes lots of great extras such as the original Japanese production extras and trailers, a production art gallery, a Japanese movie booklet and both English and Japanese audio,” says Brian Ige, VIZ Media Director of Sales, Home Entertainment. “We know many fans have eagerly awaited this release and the action and drama reach new heights as Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki risks his life to uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of Toshiro Hitsugaya. For fans of the popular Bleach manga and anime series, this is definitely an adventure not to be missed.”
Bleach is a tremendously successful multimedia property internationally. The manga series has been licensed to more than a dozen countries, and has sold over 52 million copies in Japan alone. In North America the manga has been a sales hit and the popular animated series is viewed weekly by millions in the United States and Canada. This success has further spawned an array of related video games, apparel, action figures and other merchandise. For more information on Bleach and Bleach the Movie 2: The DiamondDust Rebellion, please visit the official Bleach website at bleach.viz.com or viz.com. Bleach episodes can also be viewed on the Sony PlayStation VIZ Media channel, Amazon Unbox, XBOX Live, iTunes, and online at hulu.com.
If the movies have taught us nothing else — and plainly, they haven’t — then they’ve at least shown us that astronauts and evil supercomputers are similarly cursed with a stunning lack of imagination. Just as Skynet can’t seem to come up with a better plan than to repeatedly send a Terminator back in time to eliminate John Connor before he gets fat, starts wearing a checkered shirt and marries Roseanne, so, with all the planets in an infinite Universe to choose from, NASA’s best and brightest only seem capable of crash-landing on the Planet of the Apes (which turns out to be Earth all along, by the way). Chuck Heston began this trend in 1968, demonstrating his right to bear arms as effectively as his right to bare chest.
So, if you’ve ever felt the need to rail against unnamed maniacs who blow “it” up, this is your big chance to do it alongside the guy who played Jason Colby. Also Moses.
We’re excited to announce that “Expansion Time” is now streaming on MSN!
Episode 2 will be up across all platforms; Xbox, MSN and Zune, starting next week for the 12 week season run.
Please go to our community site, Facebook page or Tweet @theguild if you have feedback, we love to hear from you! Zune downloads will be available today as well, and Xbox silver members can download in HD as well. Enjoy!
Creating worlds is a passion, and one that writer and director Jennifer Thym enjoys. When she entered the film world in July 2008, the investment banker turned filmmaker decided to take a novel approach to reaching her audience. “With LUMINA we wanted to go beyond the conventional format of short film,” says Jennifer Thym, “and create an online fantasy series with wonderful potential for interactivity with its viewers.” As theatrical and DVD sales fall around the world, viewers are increasingly turning to the web for entertainment. “The online audience is already there. To me, it’s about connecting to them with an engaging and beautifully told story.”
“LUMINA will open your minds cinematically, and the story will open your hearts to the impossible,” says producer Sommer Nguyen.
LUMINA stars actress and model JuJu Chan, who also stars in the new RTHK reality show on poverty and is the winner of Miss United Nation International Ambassador 2009, Miss United Nation China, Miss Congeniality and Miss TVB People’s Choice for Miss Chinatown USA Pageant 2009. Michael Chan, star of the viral hit Wall Street Fighter IV, and Vince Matthew Chung, winner of The Amazing Race Asia 3, co-star.
The series features music from around the world, including songs from groundbreaking music collective The Enigmatic Army, American college circuit favorite Tim Be Told, and China Global Battle of the Bands winner Killer Soap. “Good music is integral to drawing viewers into the story, and I’m honored to have collaborated with such talented musicians,” says Jennifer Thym.
LUMINA the Web Series premieres with a double webisode release on Tuesday, September 8, 2009. The accompanying press conference will include a screening of the first two webisodes and an exclusive Q&A session with the cast and director.
WHEN: 5:00 pm, Tuesday, September 8, 2009
WHERE: Scirocco, 1/F, 10-12 Staunton’s Street, SoHo, Central Hong Kong
For all inquiries, please contact:
Jennifer Thym, Director
RockGinger Limited
Mobile: +852 9546 9489
e-mail: jen@rockginger.com
FORMAT:
Original English language web series filmed on the RED ONE, 2:1 aspect ratio, shot at 4K resolution and mastered at 2K+.
DURATION:
63 minutes total running time.
SCHEDULE:
The first season consists of nine webisodes, four to eight minutes each, and will be available free to view starting Tuesday, September 8, 2009, on the website luminaseries.com. A new webisode will be released every Tuesday.
GENRE:
Fantasy thriller/suspense.
SYNOPSIS:
Lumina Wong (JuJu Chan) is beautiful and works far too much; although she lives in a city of millions, she still feels lonely and isolated. Late one night, Lumina has a chance encounter with Ryder Lee (Michael Chan), a handsome young man from another world that she can only see in mirrors and darkened window reflections. She revels in the fantasy relationship until mirrorspy Eben Sanchez (Jacob Ziacan) comes into her life, warning her of the treacheries of the people of the Dark Realm. Soon Lumina must choose between the safety of the world she knows and the deadly allure of the unknown.
CAST:
LUMINA WONG — JuJu Chan
RYDER LEE — Michael Chan
TEDDY WAITS — Vince Matthew Chung
EBEN SANCHEZ — Jacob Ziacan
LAETITIA RICOU — Emilie Guillot
ELIZA CHAN — Shell Z. Zhu
JAMES WESTON — Lawrence Jacob Milman
SERENA FONG — Kate Sullivan
DITA SAUNDERS — Aisling Kinsella
DAMIEN WU — Simon Yin
LADY SIUHUA HAN — Lorea Sola
LORD AMAURY DE LING — Spencer Douglass
YURI THE THIEF MASTER — Jaime Cham
TRAM MIRRORSPY — Lucas Griego
SECURITY GUARD — Jayson Li
Talk to the Dead with the Emily The Strange Talking Board — a classic magical, mystical parlor game! Comes with limited edition special comic book — The Odd.I.See — 48 full color pages of classic stories plus one all new exclusive tale. Also includes planchette (but no candles).
Emma, Cleo and Rikki are sixteen year old girls growing up on the sun-drenched beaches of the Gold Coast. Emma’s confident and athletic, Cleo is slightly insecure and awkward while Rikki is the aloof and smart new girl.
Because of Rikki, the girls find themselves stranded at sea one day, floating towards the mysterious Mako Island. The three urban girls find themselves exploring the eerie jungle-covered island before becoming trapped in an ancient cavern under a volcano. Discovering an underwater channel, they decide to swim to safety. As they enter the pool, the light from a full moon illuminates the water, creating a mysterious glow.
Emma, Cleo and Rikki get off the island as fast as they can and back to “normal” life. One by one, however, the girls discover life is never going to be normal again: ten seconds after they touch water, they turn into mermaids. After further experimentation, they find they have supernatural powers: Emma can freeze water, Rikki can boil water and Cleo can turn a drop of water into a bucketful and mould it into any shape.
The girls enlist the help of their friend Lewis, who considers himself a scientist, and he attempts to discover the secret behind their transformations.
Everyday situations turn tricky as the girls struggle to cope with their newfound powers, which have numerous advantages and disadvantages, while also trying to keep them a secret from everyone else.
Geeks oftentimes lead a rather sedentary lifestyle, sitting in front of the computer all day, but, as the Wii Fit has proved, entertaining gadgetry and technology is all that’s needed to lure them into the world of physical activity. FINIS, “The Worldwide Leader in Technical Swimming Development”, goes a step further, enticing the computer generation away from the simulated activity that video games offer for some real life sport using swim gear that looks like it was designed in Atlantis.
Recreation Monofins
Monofins turn exercise into a cosplay or role-playing experience beneath the waves. Fusing traditional flippers into one large fin with joined foot pockets, the Monofin is designed to enhance the dolphin kick, a technique in competitive swimming that resembles the undulating tail motion of a mermaid. It allows users to “swim fast and fun like a dolphin”, while channeling their inner Ariel or Neptune. There are three recreation level Monofins, the Wave Monofin (shoe size 1-7; all FINIS products are universally sized using standard male sizing), Tempo Monofin (shoe sizes 4-7), and Rapid Monofin (shoe size 1-7). The flexibility of the fin blade decreases with each size, providing a more challenging workout to the muscles of your lower back, abdomen, buttocks and quadriceps. If you find yourself in water that’s a bit deeper than you are tall, the Monofin’s blade is rigid enough that you can use it to stand on tip-toe rather than expend energy treading water. The foot pockets are soft and comfortable, with release-clip straps to adjust them to your exact foot size, and a safety mechanism for quick foot release. For those used to regular flippers, the Monofin feels quite strange at first, since your legs are locked together, but adaptation is remarkably quick. It’s easy to imagine, once you’ve gotten the hang of skimming along in a Monofin, that your legs really have transformed into a tail, especially when you dive sharply downwards and the fin briefly clears the water in iconic mermaid fashion, coming down with a satisfying slap on the water’s surface.
Watch the FINIS Monofins instructional video to see the Monofin in action. It’ll reassure any guys afraid of looking silly that mertails aren’t just for girls!
Mermaid Tail Girls
The Mermaid & Shark Tail Swim Fins (male shoe size 1-7, female shoe size 1 – 8-1/2) are for little swimmers not yet ready to transition to the full-sized Wave Monofin. This play fin will “make fantasy a reality” while it “builds confidence in the water during playtime”. The fin blade is quite a bit smaller than the Wave Monofin’s, making it easier for children to maneuver. It’s made from soft plastic and TPR (Thermo Plastic Rubber), so the foot pocket, which has a simpler slip-on design than the more fitted style of the adult Monofins, is very comfortable, as is the padded band of fabric that holds the feet in place with an adjustable velcro strap. Intended for ages 6-12, with a year or more of swimming experience, the fin should only be used with adult supervision. Despite the kid-friendly foot strap, children will still need help in and out of the pool. Unless the child is lowered into the water, the fin needs to be put on after entering the water since it hampers walking movement, and if the pool doesn’t have a set of wide stairs in the shallow end to sit on while slipping out of the tail, then someone will need to haul fledgling mermaids and sharks onto the deck. The entire fin weighs less than two pounds and also floats, so if kids become separated from their fin in the lake or ocean, you won’t have to worry about it sinking straight down to Davy Jones’ locker, never to be seen again.
If you have sensitive feet, add a layer of protection by wearing Skin Socks with the Monofin to keep the plastic from rubbing directly on skin and causing chafing or blisters. Skin Socks, available in either royal blue or black, are made from a thin nylon/lycra material but are great protection when you’re at the beach and need to cross a scorching expanse of sand to reach the water. They’re also good for avoiding the germs inherent in public pool showers, decks, or while doing aqua aerobics. A pair of goggles is also a recommended accessory when speeding through the water with a Monofin. The Revolution goggles have anti-fog and UV protection built into each polycarbonate lens, and are streamlined and micro-adjustable, which means that you can change both the strap length and nose bridge width for a perfect fit. The iridescent lenses of the Clear/Multi-Mirror style give a striking, alien look to eyes, and will protect your eyes while still being extremely comfortable and fashionable. Alternatively, the larger Energy, FINIS’s “most comfortable soft-frame adult goggle”, is ideal for any face shape, has curved lenses that reduce the distortion of looking through water, and is so light and inobtrusive that you won’t even remember you’re wearing goggles.
SwiMP3
Video games aren’t complete without an epic soundtrack, and FINIS allows you to transfer this gaming element to the live-action arena with the SwiMP3, a unique waterproof MP3 player that uses bone conduction, a technology that is explained in the SwiMP3 instructional video. “Because the SwiMP3 uses bone conduction,” FINIS says, “the sound vibrations are able to be directly transferred from the cheek bone to the inner ear, giving the swimmer the ultimate sensory experience.” Just load up the SwiMP3 with music that’s evocative of underwater fantasy and clip it onto your goggles before diving into your next aquatic adventure. The player’s two halves, where the on/off, volume, next/previous track, pause, and shuffle buttons are located, rest against your cheekbones. It’s best to memorize the configuration of the buttons before going swimming, so you don’t have to fiddle around and learn them by trial and error. For the most impressive introduction to the SwiMP3, turn the player on while your head is still above water, then slowly submerge. The sound quality, quite good in the air when compared to a regular MP3 player with earbuds, suddenly becomes crystal clear the moment your ears dip below the water. It’s a thrilling shock to hear stereo-quality sound in an aquatic environment. Coldplay’s song “Clocks” is pure magic underwater, and Enya’s “Orinoco Flow” and the bubbly songs from The Little Mermaid would make great SwiMP3 tracks, as well. Listening to music underwater without the muffled playback of waterproof players that rely on air or water sound transmission is a truly amazing experience, and because earphones are unnecessary with bone conduction it’s possible to carry on normal conversations with fellow swimmers while listening to your tunes. If the volume is turned high enough, anyone within several feet of you will be able to share in the fun, as the sound carries quite a distance. The SwiMP3 is compatible with Windows and Mac, and at 256 MB you can drag-and-drop about 60 MP3 or WMA files into its playlist. A rechargeable lithium-ion battery charges directly from your computer’s USB port and provides up to eight hours of play. FINIS’s SwiMP3 will keep swimming enthusiasts in the water until they develop webbed fingers and gills.
Track your vitals with FINIS’s new Aqua Pulse, a bone-conduction heart rate monitor. It works in and out of the water, so in addition to listening to your heartbeats while swimming, you can wear the Aqua Pulse while doing step-ups on the Wii Balance Board, or to determine just how fast your heart races during a World of Warcraft raid. The Aqua Pulse will be available the first week of September.
Monofins, Mermaid Swim Fins, Shark Swim Fins, Skin Socks, Revolution Goggles, Energy Goggles, SwiMP3, and Aqua Pulse are distributed by FINIS and its associated Dealers.
