Baroness’ 30 Customs x 30 Friends Charity Auction

The Blot’s a sucker for a good cause, so I wanted to pass along the details of this charity auction put together by Kidrobot’s Toy Baroness. The following press release is from the Baroness herself:


30 Customs by 30 Artists: An Auction to Benefit the Children of Cambodia is the first step in trying to help the children that have impacted my life. After traveling to Cambodia last year I fell in love with the people of that country. Every day I think about the amazing children I met and how I could help them. Most of these children lack the necessities of food, clothing, shoes, and transportation. Many can't even afford the pencils and notebooks they need to attend school. So instead of attending class they sell trinkets at the temples in order to survive.


I have reached out to 30 of my friends and asked them to create a custom toy specifically for this auction. Every cent from the sale of these customs will go directly to help the children I have met in Cambodia. With the help of people that I have met in Cambodia, I will be delivering clothing, shoes, books, paper, pens, and bicycles to children of Siem Reap villages. It has been a passion and a dream of mine to use art as a way of helping children and communities all over the World, and I am excited about this first step.


Available now on eBay are one-of-a-kind custom works from: 123KLAN, Alex Pardee, Andrew Bell, Beast Brothers, Brian Morris, DEPH, DEVILROBOTS, FILTH, Gary Baseman, ILoveDust, Jime Litwalk, Joe Capobianco, Joe Ledbetter, Jon Burgerman, MAD, Maze23 Brooklyn, Mori Chack, Nathan Jurevicius, Pon, SEEN, Shawnimals, Sket One, SourBones, TADO, Tara McPherson, TILT, Tim Biskup, Triclops Studios, Urban Medium, and Christian Jacobs of YoGabbaGabba!

Bid Now 30 Customs by 30 Artists Auctions on eBay

I am very excited about this opportunity to help people that have impacted me so much. I hope that you find a custom you love and bid! If you are interested in helping in any way I am not only looking for monetary donations- If you can provide clothing, notebooks, papers, or pens that would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to email me at toybaroness@gmail.com. Also, if you are interested in directly donating to a non-profit for Cambodian Children, please check out The Cambodian Children’s Fund.

OBEY Giant - Obey Eye Print by Shepard Fairey

The Blot’s been waiting for a print like this from Mr. Fairey for a while now. “Obey Eye” harkens back to some of the classic Obey Giant propaganda prints/posters/pasters that made Andre the Giant Has A Posse, Fairey and Obey so popular in the first place. I can never get enough of Fairey’s faux propaganda artwork.


The “Obey Eye” screen print is 18 x 24 inches, comes signed and numbered by Shepard, and has an Edition Size of 450. “Obey Eye” will be $45 each and go on sale Tuesday, April 21st at random time at the OBEY Giant online store.

JLU Super Friends Action Figure 3 Pack - Apache Chief, Black Vulcan & Samurai

The Blot’s post last week about the upcoming DC Universe Classics Wonder Twins 2 Pack sparked a good discussion in the post’s comments section of the greatness that is the Hanna-Barbera produced Super Friends cartoon. All that talk led me to surfing the web and I stumbled upon a Wikipedia rumor of an upcoming JLU Super Friends 3 pack. And well, after a little bit of Googling look what I found!


According to Apache Chief’s Wikipedia page the figures above were revealed at the 2009 New York Comic Con and will be released at some point this year. How I missed this vital information I have no idea! As with all of Mattel’s Justice League Unlimited toy line, the Super Friends 3 pack, which will include Apache Chief, Black Vulcan and Samurai, will be sold exclusively at Target.

In Plain Sight Season 2 Begins This Sunday, April 19th

The Blot originally wrote this blog entry for Friday, but I evidently forgot to post it. Oh well, better late than never. One of The Blot’s favorite new shows from last year was the USA Network’s In Plain Sight and after a long break it is finally returning for its second season this Sunday, April 19, 2009.


I’ve been a huge fan of Mary McCormack ever since she first showed up as a reoccurring character on NBC’s ER during their many Africa episodes and then joined the cast of NBC’s other hit drama The West Wing for Seasons 5-7. McCormack’s Mary Shannon is one of the great female leads on television right now and In Plain Sight is just the latest in a long line of great quirky, slightly comedic dramas on the USA Network. If you’re looking for quality television these days and aren’t watching the original programming on USA then you’re really missing out!


In Plain Sight Season 2 airs Sunday nights at 10/9c on the USA Network.

Artist Jermaine Rogers Set To Appear In Houston, Texas Tonight

The Blot got really excited yesterday when I found out that Jermaine Rogers, one of the truly greats in modern rock poster art, will be in Houston, Texas tonight for the grand opening of a new Vans Store in Friendswood. Some might say Friendswood is a suburb of Houston, but I’m not so sure. Google Maps predicts it’s going to take me 30 minutes to an hour to drive there, that doesn't sound like a suburb to me. Oh well, it’s bound to be worth it as Jermaine will be making live art on site and both he and Vans will be giving lots of swag away to attendees.


I’ve been a huge fan of Jermaine Rogers awesome work ever since I first saw his vinyl figure Veil: Specimen 129, which comes in a variety of colorways. Since then he’s also dropped the awesome Squire vinyl figure and more artwork than I could possibly mention here (he's done concert posters for artists like Radiohead, Neil Young, Tool, Weezer, David Bowie, Willie Nelson and Morrissey). If you’re interested in seeing more of his artwork then I highly recommend checking out his art archive here, and if you live in Houston I suggest heading down to Friendswood tonight for a meet and greet with famed artist Jermaine Rogers.


What’s really cool about Rogers’ appearance tonight at the new Vans store is that he evidently likes to exchange gifts with fans. Jermaine even says on his website that “whenever I do events like this...whether it's at San Diego Comicon or whatever, I like to exchange gifts with folks. Bring me something cool and I'll give you something cool back. One girl at an appearance I did for VANS in Salt Lake City made me a pretty complex little wallet out of felt, leather and thread and I gave her a 2004 Bowie poster. The wallet rules: it's got a rainbow lightning bolt on it.” (link) Any suggestions on what I should bring to trade!?!


Jermaine Rogers will be at the Vans Store at Baybrook Mall tonight, Friday, April 17, 2009, for its grand opening from 5:30-9:00pm. The store is located at 19400 Gulf Freeway; Friendswood, Texas 77546.

SDCC Exclusive Optimus Prime Special Edition Transformers Mighty Mugg

This exciting announcement popped up on Hasbro.com earlier today! In honor of the 25th Anniversary of the Transformers brand, Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots and one of the most well known characters from the Transformers brand lore, is getting the popular Mighty Muggs line treatment for San Diego Comic-Con 2009. This special edition Optimus Prime Mighty Mugg figure, which comes with a detachable cannon, shines with a metallic finish and comes in commemorative foil packaging. (link)


I am guessing the only difference between this figure and the original Optimus Prime Mighty Mugg is its metallic finish, but it is cool to learn Hasbro is still producing new Transformers Mighty Muggs. The only part of the annoucement I didn't understand is when Hasbro referred to the San Diego Comic Con 2009 Exclusive Optimus Prime Mighty Mugg seen above as the “second Transformers figure available at San Diego Comic-Con,” yet there is no mention anywhere on Hasbro.com of the first TF figure available at this summer’s Con. (link) Anyone know if another figure has been announced as a SDCC exclusive or might they be referencing a previous Comic Con exclusive Transformers figure?

The Special Edition Optimus Prime Transformers Mighty Mugg is a San Diego Comic Con 2009 exclusive and will only be available through Hasbro at the Con in San Diego. This figure is set to retail for $14.99.

Threadless - The Gaming Revolution T-Shirt

This week Threadless released a cool new video game themed t-shirt entitled “The Gaming Revolution.” The shirt combines the classic raised clenched fist solute that so many people associate with revolution with the controller of every video game console created since the original NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). It even includes everyone’s favorite handheld game consoles like the classic Game Boy, Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable.

The Gaming Revolution T-Shirt by Sean Mort

I think “The Gaming Revolution” was designed really well and I love the fact that the fist takes up the entire front of the t-shirt. Plus, the yellow graphic on a red shirt really stands out. It will definitely make a great addition to the gamer in your life’s closet. “The Gaming Revolution” retails for $18 and can be purchased here in both guys and girls style tees.

Lost - Dead Is Dead

The Blot’s been a little under the weather the last few days and my blogging has definitely taken a hit because of it. With that being said, I didn’t want last week’s amazing Lost episode “Dead Is Dead” to go totally unmentioned considering how amazing of an episode it was. “Dead Is Dead” tied up so many loose ends I couldn’t believe it. We never get this many answers in a season, much less one episode. It’s these kinds of small payoffs that keep us Lost fans coming back week after week even when we think the writers have no clue where this story is going.

Every flashback touched upon a different Lost mystery and I just giddier and giddier as the episode went along. We finally saw how Ben ended up “adopting” Alex, how Charles Widmore came to be exiled from the island and what exactly happened between Ben, Desmond and Penny on the pier before Ben boarded the plane to return to the island. I was a little shocked to find out the real reason Widmore was kicked off the island. Of all the reasons they could have come up with, no way did I think it would be something as simple and random as his having a daughter with a non-Other off island. I wonder if his resentment of Penny for being part of the reason he was cast out from the island's Others is the reason for their strained relationship. There goes my theory that Ms. Hawking is also Penny's mother (now we just need to find out how Eloise came to leave the island).

But, I thought the most interesting part of the flashbacks was learning about the taking of Alex and the rift that formed between Ben and Widmore because of it. It looks like the two of them have never gotten along, and I assume that probably has something to do with the fact that Richard chose not to consult with Widmore before taking Ben down into the island’s temple to save his life. And just how creepy was that scene between Ben and Alex/the Smoke Monster down in the Temple?

In my heart of hearts I knew there was no way Lost would be killing off such a key and integral character at this point in the show's story, but you just never know. This newly formed partnership between Ben and Locke should be an interesting one to watch in the weeks to come. I just hope Locke continues to not trust Ben because nothing, even the Smoke Monster’s warnings of impending death, will keep him on the straight and narrow.


Of course with every answer comes more questions…like how did Ethan become an Other (that is if we can assume the Ethan we saw with a young Benjamin Linus is the same Ethan born to Amy (Reiko Aylesworth) in "LaFleur") and I don’t think I can wait much longer to find out why all of The Others are aging except for Richard Alpert. I thought for sure it had something to do with time travel, and wrongly assumed the rest of The Others were not aging as well. But as we can clearly see in “Dead Is Dead,” everyone, including Ben and Widmore, are aging except for Richard. I know one of these days this mystery is going to be explained, but sooner than later would be much appreciated!

I have no idea what to except in tonight’s Miles-centric episode “Some Like It Hoth,” but it looks freaking awesome. The description for tonight’s episode says, “Suspicions about a possible breach intensify after Ben is taken from the infirmary, and a reluctant Miles is forced to work with Hurley.” Thankfully we have less than three hours to wait until an all new episode of Lost. I'm not so sure I could have waited much longer.

Luke Chueh - BAD IDEAS Print Set

Today, Wednesday, April 15th at 1 pm PST Luke Chueh’s BAD IDEAS print set will go on sale at Silent Stage Gallery. This release features two of Silent Stage Gallery’s favorite images of Luke Chueh’s entitled: “Bear with a Gun Hand-Bad Idea” & “Bear with a Knife Hand-Bad Idea”. These prints will be limited to just 100 sets, but they will be sold separately to avoid forcing customers to purchase both.

“Bear With A Gun Hand” (BAD IDEA)


“Bear With A Knife Hand” (BAD IDEA)

The 11″x14″ Giclee’ prints come signed and numbered, and printed on 315gsm archival museum paper. Retail for each individual print will be $135 and can be purchased directly from Silent Stage Gallery at their online store.

Kidrobot - Mictlantecuhtli & Xólotl 8 & 3 Inch Dunny Set by Saner

Wow, the exciting Kidrobot releases just keep coming one after the other. The designer toy company announced yesterday this very exciting two figure Dunny set by Aztec-influenced street artist Saner (Saner’s Myspace page).


Not only do these figures feature some seriously sick afterworld designs, they will also be extremely hard to get. The Mictlantecuhtli & Xólotl Dunny set is going to be limited to just 300 pairs! Mictlantecuhtli & Xólotl are the first Dunnys released by Saner since his inclusion in the 3” Aztec series a few years ago and he is definitely proving why his artwork deserved the 8” treatment!

The Mictlantecuhtli & Xólotl Dunnys will only be sold together as a set for $75 each and will go on sale May 7, 2009.