Friday, February 27, 2009

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li Trailer and Movie Posters

Can someone, anyone, explain to me how Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li got made!?! Has no one seen the monstrosity that was 1994’s Street Fighter: The Movie starring Jean-Claude Van Damme? The Blot is as big a fan of Street Fighter II as anyone, and I practically played it and Mortal Kombat nonstop back in the 90’s. But the truth is the franchise is just not as mainstream as it once was and I can’t believe someone sunk their hard earned money into making another live action Street Fighter film (although I do have to admit I loved 1995’s Mortal Kombat and 1997’s Mortal Kombat: Annihilation).

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li Final Theatrical One Sheet Movie Poster
I am sure it is no small coincidence that The Legend of Chun-Li is being released in conjunction with the release of Capcom’s latest Street Fighter video game, Street Fighter IV. Although, I can’t imagine the millions spent filming this newest live action Street Fighter movie will translate into higher video game sales.

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li Official Trailer


I guess there is a chance the movie is actually worth seeing, but I’d imagine most people who end up seeing it in theaters are either huge fans of the Street Fighter franchise or huge fans of Smallville’s Kristin Kreuk. I for one am much more excited about finally playing Street Fighter IV on Playstation 3 than I am watching the Black Eyed Peas’ Taboo as the masked “Spanish Ninja” Vega.

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li Teaser Movie Poster
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li stars Kristin Kreuk as Chun-Li, Chris Klein as Nash, Neal McDonough as Bison, Robin Shou as Gen, Moon Bloodgood as Maya, Josie Ho as Cantana, Taboo as Vega and Michael Clark Duncan as Balrog.

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li hits theaters today, Friday, February 27, 2009.
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X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth

Even after watching Hugh Jackman completely bomb as the host of the 81st Annual Academy Awards last Sunday, I’m still anxious to see how X-Men Origins: Wolverine turns out. Will it be another comic book themed movie disappointment, or it will it be the start of an all new movie franchise like 20th Century Fox is banking it will be? I hoping it turns out to be a huge success, but who knows. Wolverine definitely has one thing going for it: Liev Schreiber as Victor Creed a.k.a. Sabretooth.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth
Just check out these latest movie stills of Schreiber as Sabretooth released last week! How much better does Schreiber’s Sabretooth look than the Tyler Mane version we got in 2000’s X-Men? Yes, there were aspects of Mane’s Sabretooth that more closely resembled the Sabretooth we’ve all come to know and love, but at the end of the day he was nothing more than one of Magneto’s low level henchman who looked more like a WWE wrestler than one of the most feared mutants on the planet.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine
What’s really great about Liev taking on the role of Victor Creed is that he can actually act! I never imagined a movie studio casting a real thespian in the role of the muscle-bound killer. This brings a new dynamic to Sabretooth’s adaptation to the silver screen because while we all know ‘tooth is a cold blooded killer, he is also a master manipulator who is much smarter than he looks. I expect great things from Schreiber and hope he is given the opportunity to explore on screen what makes this feral assassin tick.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine opens in theaters across the US on Friday, May 1, 2009.
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Thursday, February 26, 2009

The Winner of The Blot’s Jigsaw Mighty Mugg Giveaway Is…

We have a winner of The Blot Says…’ Mighty Muggs giveaway! Congrats to Dan for winning The Blot’s very first contest. Dan, I will be shipping out your brand new Jigsaw Mighty Mugg next week after I return from a little family vacation (The Blot's heading to Denver on Friday).

I’d like to welcome all the new readers who found their way to The Blot Says… because of this drawing, and give a big thank you to all of my faithful readers who helped spread the word about the Jigsaw contest. This was actually pretty fun to run, and I am already planning an all new giveaway for next month!

The Blot Says... Jigsaw Mighty Mugg Giveaway
Thanks again to everyone who entered the Jigsaw giveaway and for continuing to support The Blot Says… Make sure to be on the lookout for The Blot’s second giveaway scheduled for sometime in March.
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Disney’s Vinylmation Park Series 1

For Valentine’s Day this year Aly got me an unexpected present, an It’s A Small World 9” Vinylmation Mickey Mouse vinyl figure designed by Disney designer Monty Maldovan. The Blot had been wanting one of these limited edition figures for a while, but they are being sold exclusively at Disney Theme Parks and there isn’t one of those anywhere near the state of Texas. So even though Aly doesn’t always approve of my vinyl addiction, she made a little detour during her to trip LA a few weeks ago and surprised me on V-Day with my very first Vinylmation figure.

Disney’s Vinylmation Park Series 1 - It's A Small World 9 Inch Mickey Mouse Vinyl Figure by Monty Maldovan
For some reason, Disney’s new line of original collectible vinyl figures hasn’t gotten much press. The Blot first learned about Disney’s Vinylmation figures a month or two ago, but couldn’t find any information about them besides the fact that they were being sold exclusively at Disney Theme Parks. So, The Blot put in a call in to my source at Disney and I’ve since learned that the first release was entitled Vinylmation Park Series 1 and includes a blind boxed series of 3” figures and a corresponding series of limited edition 9” figures.

Disney’s Vinylmation Park Series 1 3 Inch Mickey Mouse Figures - Teacup, Haunted Mansion & the Sorcerer's Hat (from Fantasia)
The Blot's huge fan of old school Disney rides and their retro feel, so I really love the Small World 9” figure and the Teacup 3” figure’s designs. Plus, Mickey Mouse really does make a great vinyl platform for artwork of all kinds!

Park Series 1 features art and designs inspired by the Disney Theme Parks and were designed by members of the Disney Design Group and Walt Disney Imagineers. There were 12 different designs in the 3” Parks Series 1 (including one mystery chase figure), but from what I’ve read all of the figures have the same ratio. I haven’t been able to find out exactly how many different designs were produced in Vinylmation’s 9” Mickey form, but each design is limited to between 200-600 figures.

Disney’s Vinylmation Park Series 1 3 Inch Mickey Mouse Figures - Kermit, Monorail & Figment
The 3 inch Vinylmation Blind Box series sell for $9.99 while the 9 inch Vinylmation figures sell for around $40. Since Park Series 1 did so well (the 3” figures have long since sold out), Disney is already working on production for their next Vinylmation release, Urban Series 1. Expect more a future blog post on the upcoming series as details become available.
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Star Wars Mighty Muggs Internet Exclusive Wave 9

It looks like we now have confirmation that the long rumored Internet Exclusive Star Wars Mighty Muggs Wave 9 line-up is official. Unfortunately, it does not consist of four characters never before see in Mighty Muggs form like was first advertised. Instead it has the four figures we were expecting: Episode IV Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Biker Scout Trooper, a Gamorrean Guard and Luke Skywalker in Hoth Gear. It’s still a pretty cool set, and thankfully we’re getting four all new designs with no re-released figures. In fact, this might be one of the few Star Wars waves where The Blot actually wants all four figures included in the set.

Star Wars Mighty Muggs Internet Exclusive Wave 9 - Episode IV Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Biker Scout Trooper, a Gamorrean Guard and Luke Skywalker in Hoth Gear
It looks like most online retailers will be selling Star Wars Mighty Muggs Internet Exclusive Wave 9 for around $50 per set, and we can expect the four figures in Wave 9 to ship out to customers sometime in April of 2009.
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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Lost - 316

Lost - 316 - Jeff Fahey as Frank Lapidus and Matthew Fox as Jack ShephardI think last week’s episode “316” is my hands down favorite episode that has focused on the Oceanic 6, mainly because it really felt like an episode from Season 1. If you noticed, it moved the storyline along without answering a single lingering question. In fact, it left us with a slew of all new questions that I assume will be answered over the course of the season’s remaining episodes. It is my understanding that now that the Oceanic 6 have returned to the island the show will return to having flashbacks/flashforwards featuring one of the show’s many characters. I would imagine this is how they are going to show us what has taken place off the island the past three years and the reasons each of the Oceanic 6 agreed to go back.

Lost - 316 - Zuleikha Robinson as Ilana, Naveen Andrews as Sayid Jarrah and Said Taghmaoui as CaesarWhile the episode was great, especially the return of Frank Lapidus, I now have a ridiculous amount of questions that need answering immediately! In no particular order: Where is Aaron; What loose end was Ben tying up; Who convinced Kate, Hurley and Sun to get on the plane; Why was Sayid in handcuffs and why would a federal agent be taking him to Guam of all places; What is the real back story of the two new characters introduced this episode: Caesar (the guy who gave his condolences to Jack and just happened to be sitting in first class with the rest of the Oceanic 6) and Sayid’s captor Ilana; Why was Walt not needed to return to the island; Where is Desmond, Penny and Charlie; Why did Ms. Hawking not seem too concerned about Daniel Faraday’s predicament; and lastly, just what is the connection between Ms. Hawking, Ben and Charles Widmore?

Lost - 316 - Jorge Garcia as Hurley Reyes, Michael Emerson as Ben Linus & Matthew Fox as Jack ShephardOk, now it's time for The Blot's final thoughts: First off, it sure seems like the show wanted us to think Ben had gone to the marina to kill Penny, just as he had threatened Charles Widmore he would, didn't it? Is there a chance this major development would have already occurred this early into the season and off camera!?! If not, what else could he have been doing that left him in such bad shape?

Lost - 316 - Michael Emerson as Ben Linus and Matthew Fox as Jack ShephardAs you may remember, Jack was told that the Oceanic 6 had to recreate the original Oceanic flight 815 as closely as possible in order to have a chance at finding the island. While everyone wasn’t sitting in their original seats (they were all sitting first class this time around), here are a few of the things I noticed that were similar to the original flight: it was transporting a recently deceased person to be buried (John Locke in Christian Shephard’s shoes), someone was in handcuffs being taken to trial (Sayid taking Kate’s place this go round), someone brought a guitar (Hurley did so in honor of Charlie) and Lapidus was piloting the plane (he was supposed to be the pilot for Oceanic Flight 815). Did I miss anything?

Lost - 316 - Matthew Fox as Jack Shephard and Evangeline Lilly as Kate AustenThis final thought actually is an off shoot the last topic: is there a chance Kate is now pregnant with Jack’s child? Earlier in the episode she randomly slept with Jack before telling him she had changed her mind and will return with him to the island. This was definitely out of character considering the fallout they had just had over Aaron’s safety, and makes me think someone convinced her she needed to sleep with Jack before agreeing to go back to the island. Is it possible someone told her she had to get pregnant before getting on that plane? If so she would then be taking the place of Claire as the airline passenger who is pregnant with a grandchild of Christian Shepard.

Oh yeah, did anyone else catch that Hurley was reading a copy of Y: The Last Man in Spanish? There has been some talk on the internet discussing what connection Y's epic journey has to Lost’s overall storyline, but my guess is it is just a shout out to Y: The Last Man’s creator/writer Brian K. Vaughan, who is also a writer on Lost. That’s it for this week, only a few hours until tonight’s all new episode of Lost. Here’s hoping Frank Lapidus is back for more than just one cameo! I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
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Threadless - Two New Pop Culture Themed T-Shirts

The Blot hasn’t spotlighted any new Threadless t-shirts in what feels like forever, but I couldn’t stay silent on these awesome pop culture themed designs. The first tee, “A Simple Plan,” came out this week and pays tribute to one of the greatest arcade games of all time, Space Invaders! The Blot is a sucker for all things related to classic arcade games, so you can be sure this shirt will be added to my closet sometime soon.

A Simple Plan by Neil Gregory
Threadless - A Simple Plan by Neil Gregory
The second pop culture themed Threadless t-shirt I am excited to order is “Extra Pulp,” a hilarious tribute to Quentin Tarantino’s classic film Pulp Fiction. What’s not to love about a shirt that features John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson’s Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield re-imagined as oranges striking their signature pose from the movie. “Extra Pulp” actually came out a few weeks ago, but I just hadn’t found the time to blog about it.

Extra Pulp by Chris Sharron
Threadless - Extra Pulp by Chris Sharron
Both shirts are $18 and come in both guys and girls styled shirts, sizes S-XXL.
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Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Kaws Dissected Companion Be@rbricks

When The Blot first heard Medicom would be releasing a series of 1000%, 400% and 100% Be@rbricks based on Kaws’ Dissected Companions I was beyond excited. But now that the first pictures of the Kaws x Medicom Dissected Companion Be@rbricks have hit the web, I am more than a little underwhelmed. These could have been amazing figures, but I was hoping for a little more than printed on organs. This isn’t to say the figures won’t a) sell out instantly and b) fetch a ridiculously high price on the secondary market, they just aren’t blowing me away like I expected them to. Regardless, I’d still love to add one to my collection!

Kaws x Medicom Dissected Companion 100% Be@rbrick
The details on this figure’s release are a little hard to decipher. From what I can tell the Kaws Dissected Companion Be@rbricks is definitely being released in Japan at the Original Fake store on February 28th. What I can’t tell is if this is a Japan exclusive release or if some figures will be released on a later date in the US. I have read conflicting reports.

Kaws x Medicom Dissected Companion 400% and 1000% Be@rbricks
Either way, the figure will be released in all three Be@rbrick sizes, which is very cool. 1000% Kaws Dissected Companion Be@rbricks will retail for $291, the 400% Be@rbricks will retail for $88 and the 100% Be@rbricks will retail for $17.
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Organ Donors by FOOX Blind Box Vinyl Series

Organ Donors by FOOX Blind Box Vinyl Series
The minute The Blot found out about Organ Donors, an all new series of extremely unique blind boxed vinyl figures by FOOX, I knew you guys would want check them out. I especially love this series because of one figure in particular, care to make a guess which one it is? Let’s just say its colorway is based on a certain armored Avenger who also starred in one of the biggest movies of 2008.

Organ Donors by FOOX Vinyl Figures - Lungs: The Lungs, Smoker's Lungs, Iron Lungs & The Invincible Lungs
The idea for Organ Donors came to artist David Foox when a member of his wife's family had to have a double lung transplant. He had had Cystic Fibrosis since the day he was born and he was lucky enough to get a set of lungs from an Iron Man athlete. Someone's lungs helped this family member to live longer than ever expected, and it was this miracle that was the seed for the Organ Donors by FOOX vinyl toy series.

Organ Donors by FOOX Vinyl Figures - Lechter Liver, Smoker's Lungs and Lion Heart of Gold
Each 3.25 inch Organ Donor vinyl figure has 5 points of articulation and comes individually packaged in a blind box with foil wrap on the inside. There are 9 different organs represented in the Organ Donors series (Lungs, Stem Cells, Brains, Eyeball/Cornea, Blood Cells, Kidneys, Livers, Plasma & Heart) with 24 different colorways in all.

Organ Donors by FOOX Vinyl Figures Blind Box Packaging
Each colorway has it’s own ratio, so some Organ vinyl figures are rarer than others. But no matter which figure you get they all come wearing a typical hospital gown, and you know what that means…the Organ’s butt cheeks are always showing!

Organ Donors by FOOX Vinyl Figures - Black Market Kidneys and The Lungs
The entire series of Organ Donors is limited to just 12,000 figures produced and will retail for $15 per figure. They are scheduled to be hitting store shelves worldwide the second week of March 2009, but if you can't wait another day you can also order Organ Donors immediately directly from FOOX at his website FOOX-U here (they even come autographed by special request!).
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Monday, February 23, 2009

Kill Audio Vinyl Figure by Claudio Sanchez Signing at Houston’s Domy Books

This Thursday, February 26th Houston’s own Domy Books is holding a signing with Claudio Sanchez, the lead singer of Coheed and Cambria, for his new vinyl figure the Kill Audio Bloody Edition. Coheed and Cambria is a very unique band in that their albums chronicle the storyline of the band’s comic books series The Amory Wars written by Sanchez and published by Evil Ink Comics. It’s pretty cool to see artists care passionately about two different mediums and tie them together so effortlessly.

Kill Audio Vinyl Figures Claudio Sanchez - Bloody, Black and White & Gold Editions
Kill Audio, a vinyl figure and comic book series, is Sanchez’ latest project. It is the tale of an immortal little man, seeking out his purpose in life by traipsing across a hip musical landscape with his wildly eccentric sarcastic posse. The story is written by Claudio Sanchez with art by Sheldon Vella. The Kill Audio vinyl figure is very cool, although maybe a little too bloody for my tastes. I love the fact that the knives embedded in his body are removable, now those are some killer accessories!

Kill Audio and The Amory Wars - Coheed and Cambria’s Claudio Sanchez’s In-Store Appearance at Domy Books Announcement
It looks like Sanchez is scheduling signings to coincide with his band’s tour dates, so if Coheed and Cambria is coming to your town there is a better than good chance there will be a Sanchez signing somewhere in your city (click here to check). Sadly, it looks like this is another exciting event in Houston that The Blot won’t be able to attend since it is taking place from 3-4:30 pm on a work day. We’ll see though, stranger things have happened. I'll try to work my magic and sneak over to Domy Books for some pics.

The Kill Audio Bloody Edition is currently available in stores worldwide, while the Black and White (non-bloody) Online Exclusive vinyl figure is limited to 1200 pieces and is available directly from Kill-Audio.com here for $40. There is also a long sold out 2008 SDCC Gold Exclusive Kill Audio figure limited to 60 pieces and a Gunmetal Edition Kill Audio figure limited to 100 pieces that was only available at Coheed and Cambria concerts.
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Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations - Manhattan

In tonight’s episode of No Reservations, “Disappearing Manhattan,” Tony and a number of very special guests visit some of the oldest, most classic, and undoubtedly NY restaurants. These cherished landmarks, such as Katz's Deli, Russ & Daughters, Hop Kee, and Sammy's Romanian, have become the heart and soul of the big apple and its proud and honorable culinary history rich with cultural and ethnic diversity.

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on the Travel Channel
Unfortunately, due to the changing times, these establishments are in danger of disappearing off the NYC cultural map. In an effort to remember 'his' Manhattan, Tony visits some of his favorites while he still can. Bourdain refers to this beautiful episode as his love song to the great city of New York and it definitely shows! Check out this video clip from tonight’s episode which features No Reservation’s visit to Hop Kee, a New York City institution:



Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations airs every Monday night at 10/9c on the Travel Channel.
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Friday, February 20, 2009

Fanboys Unite! Movie Expands To 10 New Markets Today

The Blot knew The Weinstein Company couldn’t keep a good movie down! Aint It Cool News reports that Fanboys “per screen business, with basically no AD support at all, has been strong enough that the powers that be at The Weinstein Company are doing a further roll out into other college markets.” (link) How great is that!?! While it’s not the full blown release many Star Wars fans were hoping for, at least now a greater audience will have the opportunity to see this movie on the big screen.

Fanboys Final Theatrical One Sheet Movie Poster
Today, Friday, February 20th, Fanboys will be officially released in the following 10 cities/regions: Boston, Washington, D.C., Detroit, Atlanta, Phoenix, Orlando, Daytona Beach, FL, Hartford, CT, New Haven, CT, Raleigh-Durham, NC, and Columbus, OH. While Fanboys will continue to play in Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle-Tacoma, Houston, and Austin, as of yesterday the movie’s run in the theaters has ended in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.

If you live in one of those four regions and missed out on seeing Fanboys don’t blame The Blot, I told you to go out and see it immediately two weeks ago! If Fanboys is still not playing in an area where you live, fear not. The movie should be released on DVD and Blu-Ray soon enough.
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G.I. Joe and Transformers Mighty Muggs News

Today The Blot has some good news and some bad news. The good news is that I finally found Destro and the Baroness Mighty Muggs in Houston! Destro is hands down my new favorite Mighty Mugg and I just can’t get enough of his metallic shiny head! I am so glad they decided to make it metallic and not just a silver color.

G.I. Joe Mighty Muggs Wave 2 Destro and the Baroness Mighty Muggs

G.I. Joe Mighty Muggs Wave 2 - Destro and The Baroness Mighty Muggs The bad news is something I’ve been sitting on for a few weeks while I’ve been trying to gather more information. Sadly everything I’ve found points to the same conclusion, that both the G.I. Joe and Transformers Mighty Muggs toy lines have been canceled. This is really surprising on a few fronts. I know the economy is bad and everyone is taking a hit, but with G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen coming out in less than six months I can't believe Hasbro jumped the gun and canceled these fledgling toy lines.

The Canceled Transformers Mighty Muggs Wave 3 Shockwave and Jazz

Transformers Mighty Muggs Wave 3 - Shockwave & Jazz I would guess that based on how the live action G.I. Joe movie does will dictate if the G.I. Joe Mighty Muggs line is given a second chance. Transformers, on the other hand, is more perplexing. The first Transformers movie did amazing business, so there is no reason to think the second won’t do equally as well. This combined with the popularity of Transformers Animated and its many toy lines would make you think a Transformers Mighty Muggs line could also be successful. I guess pre-orders on the first two waves were underwhelming, but don’t give up all hope on eventually seeing the Mighty Muggs Wave 3 figures above. While Wave 3 (which was to include Shockwave, Jazz, Megatron and Starscream) has been canceled, I still think there is a chance it is re-solicited closer to Transformers 2’s release this summer. Here's hoping we also eventually see the rumored Serpentor Mighty Mugg figure as well! Maybe we'll at least get one of these three figures as a San Diego Comic Con Exclusive this summer (along with the long rumored SDCC exclusive X-Men Origins: Wolverine Mighty Muggs). The Blot will be sure to post any updates on this somewhat frustrating development as they become available.
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2009’s First Batch of New Johnny Cupcakes T-Shirts

The Blot’s a little late on posting about these, but I couldn’t pass up sharing the cool new designs coming from Johnny Cupcakes. I love the retro feel of a couple of these shirts and I’m always down for more colorways of JC’s trademark Cupcake and Crossbones t-shirts. Plus, we get an all new Boston Shamrock tee for 2009! Even though the Boston Celtics are the hated rivals of my beloved LA Lakers, I still enjoy seeing unofficial tie-ins with the Johnny Cupcakes brand.

Johnny Cupcakes - A-OK Hand and Clover '09 T-Shirts
Johnny Cupcakes - Fuchsia, Yellow & White on Red Cupcake & Crossbones T-Shirts
Johnny Cupcakes - Everyone Loves Cupcakes and Panda '09 T-Shirts and Bakery Dept Crew Sweatshirt
Also included in 2009’s first set of new releases are a limited edition Totem Pole t-shirt and a special Valentine’s Day themed Cupcake and Crossbones t-shirt.

Johnny Cupcakes - Limited Edition Totem Pole and Valentines T-Shirts
Johnny Cupcakes - Linked Grey and Pink T-Shirts
As always, all Johnny Cupcakes shirts come in both guys and girls styles and most retail for $35.99. The limited edition Totem Pole shirt sells for $50.99 and the Bakery Dept Crew sweatshirts sell for $75.99. If you live in Boston or LA you can purchase the above shirts and more at one of three Johnny Cupcakes locations, or if you’re like The Blot and live no where near a JC store you can always make a purchase at the official Johnny Cupcakes online store.
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Thursday, February 19, 2009

OBEY Giant x J Dilla Print by Shepard Fairey

James Dewitt Yancey a.k.a. J Dilla a.k.a. Jay DeeIt has been just over three years since the late great Midwestern hip-hop producer J Dilla passed away at the tender age of 32 due to cardiac arrest. While he is unfortunately not as well known outside of the hip-hop community as many of his contemporaries, Dilla’s impact on hip-hop music is unquestionable. His final album, Donuts, was an instant classic and a must have for any true fan of hip-hop music. Dilla suffered from lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease, and it is this disease that ultimately lead to his cardiac arrest on February 10, 2006.

The Blot was shocked to find out yesterday, almost three years to the day of J Dilla’s death, that his mother Maureen Yancey, fondly known as Ma Dukes, now also suffers from lupus. Ms. Yancey’s health has declined steadily over the past few years and to raise funds to help with her medical bills a benefit concert in Los Angeles has been planned for Sunday, February 22nd.

Additionally, a limited edition poster by Shepard Fairey and B+ (Brian Cross) will be released to coincide with the benefit concert. The OBEY Giant x J Dilla print is based on a photo of J Dilla taken by B+ in 2003 at Dilla’s home studio in Detroit, Michigan. Sadly, even back then the effects of lupus had started to take their toll on this very talented artist.

OBEY Giant x J Dilla Print by Shepard Fairey
The OBEY Giant x J Dilla print is limited to only 400 pieces and will measure 18” x 24”. This limited edition print will go on sale at the OBEY Giant online store this Friday, February 20, 2009 at noon PST and will retail for $55. Fifty of these amazing prints will be sold at the benefit event on Sunday, February 22nd.

To find out more about the benefit concert in LA entitled “A Suite for Ma Dukes” click here or contact The Luckman Arts Complex box office at (323) 343-6600. All ticket and print proceeds will go directly to Ms. Yancey.
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Green Lantern Uni-Formz Vinyl Figures

Last weekend at Toy Fair 2009, DC Direct unveiled the third figure in their fledgling limited edition Uni-Formz designer toy line. As previously announced, they have chosen the next Uni-Formz release to be the DC Comics super-hero Green Lantern. Like the Batman and Superman Uni-Formz vinyl figures, Green Lantern will be released with three different colorways: Modern, Power Glow and Guardian.

DC Direct Uni-Formz – Modern Green Lantern Vinyl Figure
While I think Hal Jordan looks great in Uni-Formz’ urban inspired chunky vinyl form, I question why they chose to release two colorways, Modern and Guardian, that look almost identical. To be honest I can barely tell them apart, with the only difference between the two figures being one Green Lantern's costume is more of a metallic green. Jordan has been patrolling Sector 2814 as Earth’s Green Lantern since the 1950’s, with all that history you'd think there would be a better third colorway option than Guardian.

DC Direct Uni-Formz – Guardian Green Lantern Vinyl Figure
The coolest of the three colorways has to be Power Glow Green Lantern, which depicts Hal Jordan encapsulated by his Green Lantern Power Ring. If I hadn’t already decided that I wanted to collect each figure’s classic look I might have changed my mind and picked this figure instead.

DC Direct Uni-Formz – Power Glow Green Lantern Vinyl Figure
The limited edition Green Lantern Uni-Formz vinyl figures feature 12 points of articulation, stand approximately 8 inches tall, are packaged in a deluxe 4-color window box and will retail for around $60 each. The Green Lantern Uni-Formz figures are scheduled for release sometime during December of 2009.

Thanks to Toy News International and Action-Figure.com for the photos above!
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Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Lost Wednesdays - Duff Goldman and Charm City Cakes Invade The Island

Jorge Garcia (Lost’s Hurly) revealed on his blog Dispatches from the Island that Duff Goldman and the Charm City Cakes crew were in Hawaii recently to make an amazing cake in honor of Lost’s 100th episode. (link) The cake, seen below, will be featured in an upcoming episode of Ace of Cakes on the Food Network.

Lost & Ace of Cakes - A Lost Themed Cake in Honor of Lost's 100th Episode Created by Charm City Cakes
The Blot has been a huge fan of Ace of Cakes for years, and needless to say I can’t wait for this episode to air in May! It looks like Charm City Cakes' team of cake designers went all out on this one because the details on this Lost themed cake are amazing! To see more photos of the Charm City Cakes designed Lost cake celebrating the show’s 100th episode click here.

Lost & Ace of Cakes - A Close Up of the Lost Themed Cake made in Honor of Lost's 100th Episode by Charm City Cakes (A Polar Bear Comic Book Page, Hurley, & Jacob's Luggage Tag)
Lost airs every Wednesday night on ABC at 9/8c, while Ace of Cakes airs every Thursday night on the Food Network at 10/9c.
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Lost - This Place Is Death

You know what is amazing about Lost? Every time I think an episode is sub-par, the show comes right back the very next week with an amazing episode like “This Place Is Death.” Last week’s episode was such a treat for long time Lost fans as it touched upon so many previous storylines like the smoke monster, the temple, Danielle Rousseau, the mysterious sickness that over comes her friends and the radio tower.

Lost - Melissa Farman as a young Danielle RousseauI thought it was very interesting to learn that not only did the smoke monster kill some of her shipmates, but it was what turned the French survivors against one another. To see Danielle actually kill her baby’s father was really quite shocking, even though we all knew it was coming. These scenes are classic Lost, giving us a few answers while leaving us with even bigger questions about the smoke monster and its purpose on the island. I thought it was interesting to see smokey try to pull Rousseau’s companions down that hole. It was eerily reminiscent of the time smokey tried to pull John Locke down a similar hole. Now I wonder if there is a connection between the two or if that is just how the smoke monster operates.

I was surprised to find out that it was not Rousseau’s group who originally started the radio broadcast coming from the island’s large radio tower. Weren’t we led to believe they started the transmission as an SOS to help get off the island? Now we know there is more to the radio broadcast than we first believed, as we have come to learn it the radio broadcast was already counting towards something well before Rousseau and her French companions ever landed on to the island.

Lost - Elizabeth Mitchell as Juliet Burke, Rebecca Mader as Charlotte Lewis & Jeremy Davies as Daniel FaradayAs for Charlotte Lewis, I don’t really have much to say about her death for a number of reasons. The main reason is because I knew it was coming. They had been alluding to her death for weeks now and then there was the news that unlike Jeremy Davies and Ken Leung (who play Daniel Faraday and Miles Straume respectively), Rebecca Mader had not been bumped up to a series regular for this season. I always thought there would be so much more to Charlotte’s back story, so I was a little disappointed that her entire history with the island boiled down to a one or two sentence story told right before her death. Obviously we’ll be seeing Charlotte as a child again one day soon, but it seems like her story is really just a part of Faraday’s over all story.

Lost - Fionnula Flanagan as Ms. HawkingNow on to some minor observations…it was great seeing Desmond reunite with other members of the Oceanic 6. I thought the look on Ben’s face when Desmond showed up was classic. It became very apparent that Ben did not know Desmond had gotten off the island, and I always find it pretty amusing when the know-it-all Benjamin Linus finds out something he wasn't aware of. This scene also confirmed what we were all assuming, that Eloise Hawking is in fact Daniel Faraday’s mother.

Lost - Daniel Dae Kim as Jin Kwon
The one thing I am thankful for this episode is that Jin was reunited with the remaining Losties relatively quickly. I was worried Lost was going to drag this storyline on forever, but I guess with time running out until the series finale all storylines will be moving at light speed. I am hoping this applies to the Oceanic 6 returning to the island as well!

Lost - Terry O'Quinn as John Locke
And lastly, how great is every scene that involves Christian Shephard (John Terry)!?! That scene between Christian and Locke at the end was just plain awesome. My only question now is did Locke turning the wheel move the island or did it just knock it out of the time loop? Since Christian told John he had to be the one to move the island I am assuming that is exactly what happened. I guess we now know how Locke finally gets off the island, all that is left to find out is how he dies!
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Minosu Ushi-Oni Custom Munny by Huck Gee

This Friday Huck Gee is releasing the latest figure in his Gold Life series. The bull headed, golden armored, hammer wielding, skull crushing beastie seen below is known worldwide as the legendary Minosu Ushi-Oni. The Blot has to say, I think this is my new all time favorite custom! How cool is this figure!?!

Minosu Ushi-Oni Custom Munny by Huck Gee
Minosu Ushi-Oni is the sole guardian of the secret mountain retreat of the Glorious Soaring Munks, patrolling the labyrinth-like grounds on his massive golden bull. Few have dared to trespass, and none have walked away with their heads intact. Although, if you listen to what some say, Raku has seen the inside of those grounds and lived to tell the tale.

The Back of the Minosu Ushi-Oni Custom Munny by Huck Gee
Minosu Ushi-Oni goes on sale this Friday, February 20, 2009 at Noon PDT. Each hand painted custom Munny is numbered, signed, and comes with all of the accessories shown above. Minosu Ushi-Oni is limited to just 10 figures and will sell for $800 each exclusively at Huck’s eBay Store.
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Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Custom Mighty Muggs From MuggLab.com

MuggLab.com logoSince The Blot is always talking about custom Mighty Muggs, I thought it was about time to show you some of the great customizing work being done by artists from around the world. The best place to check out the latest in custom Mighty Muggs is MuggLab.com, which showcases some of the greatest hand painted custom Mighty Muggs I’ve ever seen. MuggLab has an awesome, easy to navigate database of the work of almost 50 different artists and it’s growing every day.

This first custom Mighty Mugg is probably one of my all time favorites and it comes from the creator of MuggLab, Dr. Mugg. Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo is one of The Blot’s all time favorite comic books (which I’ve been reading faithfully for over 15 years), so of course I was really excited to see the long-eared ronin in Mighty Muggs form!

Usagi Yojimbo Custom Mighty Mugg by Dr. Mugg

Custom Usagi Yojimbo Mighty Mugg by Dr. Mugg
He-Man Custom Mighty Mugg by yabemc

Custom He-Man Mighty Mugg by yabemc
Watchmen Rorschach Custom Mighty Mugg by KSC

Custom Rorschach Mighty Mugg by KSC
Stan Lee Custom Mighty Mugg by Jodi Moisan

Custom Stan Lee Mighty Mugg by Jodi Moisan
If you like what you see above, check out each individual artist’s website and MuggLab for the latest custom Mighty Muggs creations.
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G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra - First Look at Cobra Commander

This post may mark the beginning of the end of The Blot’s love affair with G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra. Let me preface things by stating this post does not include any actual photos of Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Cobra Commander. Instead, The Blot is posting the next best thing, the first leaked photos of an official movie tie-in Cobra Commander action figure. How Hasbro let these photos get out is beyond me!

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra Combat Heroes Action Figures - Duke and Cobra Commander in Package
Since the character’s look in the upcoming live action G.I. Joe movie is still in lockdown, this is really all we have to go by. And sadly, I am thoroughly disappointed! While I have loved everything I have seen about this movie to date, this bizarre alien looking Cobra Commander wannabe looks horrible. This is not the Cobra Commander I grew up, and after seeing this I’m now extremely worried about what Destro’s mask will look like in the film. Hopefully Hasbro and Paramount will give us an official look at the live action Cobra Commander soon.

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra Combat Heroes Action Figures - Duke and Cobra Commander Back of Package
G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra debuts in theaters August 7, 2009.
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Monday, February 16, 2009

Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant Win The 2009 NBA All Star Game MVP Award

Never in a million years did The Blot expect the 2009 NBA All Star Game to end the way it did last night. I was particularly excited for this year’s exhibition game because it would be the first time Shaq and Kobe have played together on the same team since O’Neal’s departure from the LA Lakers almost five years ago.

2009 NBA All Star Game - NBA All Star Game Co-MVPs Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant
As many of you know Shaq is my all time favorite player and the Lakers are my all time favorite team, so it was pretty awesome for The Blot to watch Shaq and Kobe playing happily together under the tutelage of Lakers head coach Phil Jackson again, if only for one night. I honestly didn’t expect Shaq to play significant minutes in what could be his final All Star Game appearance, but when he came out during player introductions and did that sick dance with The Jabbawockeez, a hip-hop dance group, I knew he had one last great performance in him. And boy did he!

2009 NBA All Star Game - Shaquille O'Neal Dancing With The Jabbawockeez During Player Introductions
2009 NBA All Star Game - Kobe Bryant Dunking on Dwight HowardAfter the West went down 20-10 early in the game, Shaq and Kobe helped spark their team to a 19-0 run, which unknowingly put the West up for the remainder of the night. O’Neal finished the game with more points (17) than minutes played (11) and put on an amazing show that was capped with a pass between Dwight Howards legs to Chris Paul, who then passed the ball back to a cutting Shaq who finished the play with an emphatic dunk. Shaq’s output was also a new All Star Game record for most points scored in under 15 minutes of play. Kobe on the other hand finished with a game high 27 points to lead the Western Conference All Stars in a commanding victory over the Eastern Conference 146-119.

2009 NBA All Star Game - Shaq Backing Down Dwight HowardWhat’s really amazing about last night was how friendly Kobe and Shaq were to each other before and during the game. Shaq even went so far as to call Bryant the hands down best player in the league. Shaq seems to be making a concerted effort to finally let go of the animosity between he and Bryant, and is making some really crazy overtones about a possible return to the Lakers to finish out his career once his contract with the Phoenix Suns expires. This is music to The Blot’s ears, but whether or not Lakers owner Jerry Buss or Bryant would ever let this happen is another question entirely.

2009 NBA All Star Game - Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant Speaking to the Media after Winning the 2009 NBA All Star Game MVP Award
As co-MVPs, Kobe and Shaq have now each won the award three times. This ties them with Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson for the second most All Star MVP Awards received behind Bob Pettit’s four.
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