Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations - Vietnam Central Highlands

In tonight’s episode of No Reservations, Tony returns to his favorite place in the world: Vietnam. This trip Tony explores the Central Highlands and the buzzing city of Hanoi. He first reunites with friend and former sidekick Linh in Da Lat for the regional specialty of Duck. The menu includes a crispy rice cake topped with a spicy cole-slaw type salad and boiled duck, and rice porridge made with duck liver and blood.


Tony then visits the Linh Phong Monastery Pagoda where over 30 women live and worship together. They practice both Buddhism and vegetarianism, and they don't eat meat because they don’t believe in killing anything, including animals. Bourdain is surprised to find that the vegetarian dishes prepared at the monastery are flavorful and spicy. Next, Tony visits Thu Khoi, a popular spot for motorbike taxi drivers in the Central Highlands. Tony and Linh arrive at 8:30 in the morning for the house specialties, which include wild boar and Java-Mouse deer. At first Tony refuses to eat the Java-Mouse deer because he has a thing with rodents, but Linh quickly figures out a way to trick him into it.



After spending time in the mountains, Tony heads to Hanoi where the streets are bustling with motorbikes and young adults. Their first stop in Hanoi is a no name restaurant that specializes in birds and insects. They try minced turtle dove, deep fried sparrow, and sticky rice with ant larvae. I don’t know about you, but I’m not feeling that meal at all! The episode ends just the way you’d expect, with lots of heavy drinking. Tony and friends visit a themed restaurant near the banks of the Red River, which patrons often visit to drink rice wine and watch the cock fighting out back. As Tony points out, the rice wine is really more of a liquor, especially since its alcohol content is 48%.

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations airs Monday nights at 10/9c only on the Travel Channel.

Gold Coin Stick Up! v2.0 T-Shirts

Following the release of the hugely popular Gold Coin x Argonaut Resin Stick Up! resin figures comes a brand new t-shirt from Gold Coin Clothing featuring Ray "Three" Robinson III’s 8” bendable figure in two distinct colorways, pink and green.


The Stick Up! v2.0 t-shirt comes in two colors (pink and green), and only 500 of each tee will ever be produced. You can purchase these awesome shirts directly from Gold Coin at their online store.

Strangekiss x Iconfactory Ollie the Twitterrific Bird Mono Vintage Version

Today (Friday, March 26th) at noon PST, Stragekiss and Iconfactory will be releasing the third colorway of their Ollie the Twitterrific Bird vinyl figure designed by David Lanham. This latest colorway of Ollie the Twitterrific mascot is the rarest version released to date, and The Blot’s got a feeling this cute little grey figure will go fast.


Ollie, the Twitterrific mascot (who is also often recognized as the Twitter mascot), is an adorable little bluebird that loves to chat about what’s going on. He makes the perfect gift for any fan of designer toys and those who love to tweet, tweet, tweet.

The Mono Vintage Version of Ollie the Twitterrific Bird is 4” tall, limited to just 100 figures and can be purchased directly from Strangekiss here.

Strangekiss x Iconfactory Ollie the Twitterrific Bird Vinyl Figure

As readers of The Blot Says… know, I’m obsessed with Twitter. And when I’m on the go, I use the Iconfactory’s Twitterrific to keep the world up to date on my comings and goings. So, when I heard Stragekiss was teaming up with Iconfactory to produce a limited edition vinyl figure of Ollie, the Twitterrrific mascot, I was floored! Two of my favorite things, designer vinyl and Twitterrific, coming together in one cute 4” figure…what more could I ask for!?!


Ollie, the Twitterrific bird (who is also often recognized as the Twitter mascot), is an adorable little bluebird that loves to chat about what’s going on. He’s available now directly from Strangekiss.com or Iconfactory.com for $19.95, and makes the perfect gift for any fan of designer toys and those who love to tweet, tweet, tweet. Designed by David Lanham, the StrangeKiss x Iconfactory Ollie the Twitterrific Bird vinyl figure is 4 inches tall and rotocast in high quality vinyl for a soft, yet sturdy feel.


And that’s not all! I was excited to find out Strangekiss and Iconfactory also produced an Iconfactory.com exclusive Ollie the Twitterrific mascot flocked vinyl figure. How cool is that!?! It’s exactly the same as the OG Ollie, but flocked, and can be yours for just $26.95 from the Iconfactory online store. The Blot’s a big fan of flocked figures, so I might have to splurge for this cute little furry guy.

Blank Mickey Mouse 9 Inch Vinylmation Figure

While The Blot loves Disney’s Vinylmation platform, I’m not a huge fan of many of the designs produced so far. With that being said, I thought the release of a blank 9” Mickey Mouse figure was a very cool idea, and could be a great platform for all the customizers out there. As Disney says, “now you can be the artist and decorate your own Vinylmation masterpiece.”


Created especially for Walt Disney World and Disneyland, the blank 9” Mickey Mouse Vinylmation figure can be purchased here for $39.95.

Tic Toc Apocalypse Mini Figure Series Ratios

Even though Kidrobot’s new mini figure series Tic Toc Apocalypse by Amanda Visell isn’t scheduled to go on sale until April 1st, it sounds like cases of the toys are already popping up in select locations. While this is a tad puzzling, it also means we get an early look at the series’ ratios! The Blot’s also learned (from the picture below) that there are two different colorways of Visell’s Pegaphunt and Poopicorn figures. The only bad news in all of this is that the Bat Fighter Gnome figure’s ratio is 1/54, I guess it won’t be as ease to pull as I had once hoped.


Amanda Visell’s new blind boxed mini figure series retails for $9.95 each and can be found at Kidrobot stores, kidrobot.com and select retailers on April 1.

Blue Apple Screen Print by David Flores

David Flores has adapted his stunning portrait of John Lennon into a killer looking screen print entitled “Blue Apple.” Incorporating the logo of The Beatles’ record label, Apple Records, into the print was an interesting take, especially when you consider the placement of Lennon’s profile, but I think it turned out great.


“Blue Apple” by David Flores is a 4 color screen print that has an edition size of only 30 prints. Each 16”x20” print comes signed and numbered by the artist and retails for $50. You can purchase “Blue Apple” from the Someothing.Ill online store here.

Fully Visual x Huck Gee Life Size Skullhead Bronze Sculpture

The Blot’s pretty sure this is one of the most amazing releases I’ve ever seen. The Fully Visual x Huck Gee Skullhead bronze sculpture isn’t just a collectible metal figure, it’s a true piece of art. Tipping the scales at 40 lbs with a marble base, it's practically life size! I would kill just to see this amazing piece in person.


Only 10 of these massive 9 ½”x9” Skullheads were created, each hand cast in pure bronze. The Fully Visual x Huck Gee Skullhead bronze sculpture will retail for $1700 each and go on sale tomorrow, Thursday, March 25th at 10am PST exclusively at the Fully Visual online store.

Kidrobot Black Skull by Russ Karabalan / SSUR

The second Kidrobot Black figure has been announced, and it’s an all black vinyl skull with gold teeth designed by Russ Karabalan a.k.a. SSUR. (link) The skull is adorned with SSUR’s trademark design and that’s really all we currently know about KR’s next Kidrobot Black release.


I’ve got to say, when Kidrobot first announced its new line of Kidrobot Black figures, The Blot was really excited. It sounded like a real attempt by the designer toy company to go back to its roots, but we’re now two figures in and I’m feeling extremely underwhelmed. After the line’s first release, the Midnight Magi by Gary Baseman, I was really hoping to be blown away by KR’s second Black figure. Oh well, I guess third time’s a charm!?!

Kick-Ass Propaganda Movie Poster Set

A set of retro looking, propaganda-esque Kick-Ass movie posters were released last week at SXSW, and they look awesome! The marketing behind this movie has been top notch, and The Blot has yet to hear a negative review of the film. From all reports coming out of SXSW, Kick-Ass is as good as it looks, and I can’t wait to see it.



The Kick-Ass propaganda poster is a spoof of the classic "I Want You For U.S. Army" posters featuring Uncle Sam, while the Hit Girl poster is based on the World War II era “We Can Do It” poster featuring Rosie the Riveter. Anyone know what piece of propaganda the Red Mist’s poster is based on?



Kick-Ass is scheduled to premiere in theaters on April 16, 2010.