free all picture: February 2009

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Painted prototype of Foo Dog (and more)

Melita Curphy has posted photos of the painted prototype of her Foo Dog toy, currently in production at Patch Together.

And speaking of toy prototypes, if you'd like to see Metin Seven's glowing sheep produced for sale,

tell Crazy Label.

*Previously: Tracy McGrady tries sheep tossing.

*Buy foo dogs at eBay.

Buzz Lightyear Statues

A few days ago, Pixar employees who had been with the company for 10 years or more received a bronze Buzz Lightyear sculpted by Jerome Ranft, and employees with more than 20 years also received a Woody. Via.

*Previously: The Art of Pixar's Short Films.

*Buy Buzz Lightyear toys at eBay.

Watch Sita Sings the Blues (review roundup)

You can now watch Nina Paley's wonderful Sita Sings the Blues online right here (free downloadable versions are coming soon). The animated movie tells the parallel story of two breakups, one in modern New York, and one in ancient India, set to the circa 1920's jazz singing of Annette Hanshaw. You can purchase a few of the tracks not sung by Hanshaw here, and purchase t-shirts and other merchandise here. Via.

And a review roundup:

1. Thumbs way down for Philip Pullman's Once Upon A Time In The North. Man what a disappointment. The first two volumes of the His Dark Materials series were fantastic. It's been downhill since. The third volume was just decent, and the Golden Compass movie was apparently so bad that the sequels won't be made. Once Upon A Time is a prequel to The Golden Compass. The book's design gets an A+ - - it's a tiny hardcover and just feels special. It's filled with small illustrations and includes a board game in an envelope attached to the back cover. But the story itself is a stunning bore. It's less than 100 pages long, but took me weeks to finish. If you're still interested, it's $9 at Amazon.

2. Thumbs up for Jess Nevins' Impossible Territories, the unofficial companion to Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neil's The Black Dossier. When I read the third volume of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, I "got" almost none of the references aside from James Bond. Impossible Territories explains all those references, and I learned that I've never even heard of almost any of the original characters. One exception - - the woman who teams up with Bond is Emma Peel. That certainly hadn't occurred to me. $12 at Amazon.

3. Thumbs way up for The Amazing Joy Buzzards. The world's greatest rockstars are also racecar driving-ninjas, and their best friend is a mystical luchador/genie. Fun to read, and I've already professed my love for Dan Hipp's art. $15 at Amazon.

4. Thumbs down for 30 Postcards by James Jean. The book design is fine, but I don't care for the vast majority of the images included in the collection. "XOXO: Hugs and Kisses" is $10 at Amazon.

5. Thumbs way, way up for Stephen King's Dark Tower series. I recently reread books five through seven for the first time since they came out. When I originally read them, I was mostly disappointed, possibly because they deviated so drastically from how I'd envisioned the series progressing. But I loved them the second time through. If you've never tried the series, you're in for a treat - - it's King's attempt to write the Lord of the Rings as a post-apocalyptic western. Various editions available at Amazon.

*Previously: Alan Moore gives V for Vendetta a standing ovation.

*Buy Dark Tower art at eBay.

The full Quest for G movie

I've mentioned the Monty Python parody called Quest for G before, but here's the full 10-minute film. It features "King" Kevin Garnett and a several other famous athletes on a quest for game 7 (and hydration). No, they don't face a demonic rabbit at the end.

The ad is by TBWA/Chiat/Day and was directed by Tarsem. I just don't understand these campaigns. Forget Gatorade, I'd rather have a set of toys based on the characters, or at least t-shirts. Especially a pagan Kareem toy and his goat herald. And why not make a dvd or mp4 easily available?

*Previously: Darth Vader inserted into Monty Python and the Holy Grail; How to save Youtube videos as mp4s.

*Buy NBA bobbleheads at eBay.

Two Watchmen parodies

Lil' Watchmen by Glen Brogan. Via.

Alan Moore proves to be the mastermind as he derails the Watchmen movie opening in this parody of Ozymandia's triumphant moment in Watchmen. Via (source unknown).

*Previously: Adorable portly Nite-Owl.

*Buy Watchmen posters at eBay.

Tiny Icon Factory

I'm not talented or patient enough to take advantage of it, but you can quickly create tiny icons at the Tiny Icon Factory. Via.

*Previously: Nightmare Before Christmas icons.

*Buy the Logo Design Workbook at Amazon.

Harbor siege chess set

Beautiful chess set by Mellington Cartwright on sale at Etsy. As far as I can tell, it pits a small village against a fleet of ships.

*At Toycutter: Chess set based on Aliens.

*Buy Chess sets at eBay.

Adorable Probe Droid (link roundup)

An adorable Probe Droid by Adam "Ape Lad" Koford.

And a few more links:

1. Huge law firm Latham & Watkins is laying off 190 lawyers and 250 support staff.

2. Everything you learned in school is wrong. Sugar doesn't make people hyper. Via.

3. How to report a feed scraper to Google.

4. Supposedly, "at least half the concession stands have been closed for every Clippers home game this season -- except when the Lakers or Celtics were the opponents."

*Previously: Galactus by Koford.

*Buy probe droids at eBay.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Personalized Lego Minifig Business Card

Some Lego executives and public relations people get personalized Lego minifigs to use as business cards. Very clever, and it probably wouldn't be too tough to create some decals to make your own. Via these sites.

*Previously: Elastic business card.

*Order custom business cards at eBay.

Cartoon Network vinyl toys

You can see lots of closeups of these Ben 10 and other Cartoon Network character vinyl toys, called "Noods," here. Much better shape than the Mighty Muggs.

*Previously: Ben 10 poster.

*Buy Ben 10 toys at eBay.

Steampunk pocket watch and more by Don Pezzano

Don Pezzano's blog and Etsy shop are full of steampunk creations and other found item sculptures including the pocket watch you see above and the time machine and cannon-launching dog you see below:

Via.

*Previously: Steampunk zeppelin over old San Francisco.

*Buy pocket watches at eBay.

Papercraft Justice League

Matt Hawkins created papercraft versions of Hawkwoman, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Lantern, and the Flash. Superman is reversible, and can also be Bizarro. The paper toys will be available at Arby's this summer. Relatedly, Matt's book "Urban Paper: 25 Designer Toys to Cut Out and Build" is 32% off at Amazon.

*Previously: Martian Manhunter riding a unicorn.

*Buy Bizarro toys at eBay.

Lego Freddy Kreuger

Lego Freddy Kreuger by Matt "Monsterbrick" Armstrong. He also created a Lego Jason Voorhees.

*Previously: Plush Freddy Krueger.

*Buy Freddy Krueger toys at eBay.

Professional bowler who uses both hands (link roundup)

Professional bowler Jason Belmonte uses both hands to bowl. "The ball can top 600 revolutions per minute, up to 17% more rotation than the nearest elite one-armed competitor and twice what some other top pros generate." Established bowlers apparently don't like him, opining that he hasn't properly earned his spots in tournaments and will likely burn out out due to injury.

And a few more links:

1. Seth Godin offers enough genius ideas for an improved version of the Kindle that I'd consider buying one.

2. Professors of the Humanities are freaking out that people are finally realizing a bachelor of arts degree is worthless. Please let the college system be transformed in the next decade before I have to waste an absurd amount of money so my boys can sleep in for four years.

3. St. Patrick's Day Bear desktop wallpaper and embroidery pattern.

4. Justin Parpan's excellent contribution to Kevin Dart's Yuki 7 book.

*Previously: More art from the Yuki 7 book.

*Forget what I've said, support the economy and buy a Kindle.

Scott Campbell rocket giveaway

Scott Campbell will have an art show at Gallery Nucleus in Los Angeles starting March 7. As I understand it, the paper rocket you see above is actually a raffle ticket that's being given away at various locations in LA right now. Click here to read the details and see what you can win. But really, the rocket is awesome enough.

*Previously: Lego rocket.

*Buy tin rockets at eBay.

Endless Summer parody poster

Dodgeball is a site I heard of, but never really knew what it did. Well, too late now. Here's an Endless Summer parody used as a farewell party invitation. Via.

*Previously: Video of a kite-surfer getting tossed like a rag doll.

*Buy Endless Summer posters at eBay.

Video of the fish with the see-through head (link roundup)

This is the Pacific barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma), and as you can see, it has a see-through head. Read about it here.

And a few more links:

1. Recipe for Grilled Banana Fluffernutter.

2. Video of a new castle discovered in Shadows of the Colossus?

3. Dirk Nowitzki says Shawn Bradley was his worst teammate: "But, sure it’s bitter sometimes when a teammate doesn’t invest the necessary time. The best example was Shawn Bradley. He would some times come to training camp and not had a ball in his hands for four months."

4. There's a blog dedicated to "women of color, who are breastfeeding their babies." It's called "Blacktating."

*Previously: The fish known as a "Fathead."

*Buy toy submarines at eBay.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Barbarian wearing a teddy bear pelt (link roundup)

Teddy Bear Slayer t-shirt by Marcelo Braga on sale here.

And a few more links:

1. Best school essay ever, about Walt Whitman, no less. It starts, "Walt Whitman was an awful child molester who was born in ancient Hong Kong. He is over 3,000 years old and remembers the names of all of the forgotten Gods." You must read the whole thing. Via.

2. Christopher Hitchens decided to deface a sign bearing a swastika in Beirut. He and his companions were lucky to escape with their lives. Read this, it's more exciting than any action movie I've seen in ages.

3. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom hopes to be governor some day. His new wife has a movie coming out this week. In it, she participates in a threesome.

4. Tenacious Toys has the new vinyl UglyDolls figures available for preorder (by the set).

*Previously: Female barbarian wearing a Cookie Monster Pelt.

*Buy Conan toys at eBay.

Own Rasputin's severed hand

Alex CF's latest creation is Rasputin's severed hand:

The case contains the severed tattooed hand of Grigori Rasputin, and the second tattooed symbol of a star that sat over his heart. these fleshy totems are the catalyst for their work. The marking painted on the glass can be moved to suit the acquired code of the weaving. The vials above this contain the many poisons inflicted upon Rasputin. The two blue green glass vials contain the liquid esheridadae compound; injected into the heart and brain tissue. The aged illustrations of “esher chakra” - the gelling of Ernesto’s work and the ancient lore of words. This is research that made Rasputin not only legend, but more god than man...

Contact Alex CF to purchase or place a commission.

*Previously: There once was a thriving market for used lightbulbs in Russia.

*Buy Rasputin toys at eBay.

The Ancient Book of Sex and Science available for preorder

I've mentioned the The Ancient Book of Sex and Science before. It's 80 pages long and here's the official description:

In this second volume in the critically acclaimed Ancient Book series, indulge yourself as you explore the strange frontiers of sex and science. From instruments of innovation and the Atomic Age to analysis of the mind, body, and seduction of the human form. Featuring broad color, shapely design, supple lines, and evocative commentary, The Ancient Book of Sex and Science is a fine art hardcover collection of images produced by some of the most highly sophisticated animation designers and low-brow artists in the industry.

The Ancient Book of Sex and Science is written by Scott Morse and can be preordered at Amazon for $20.

*Previously: Reporter's live report interrupted by pigs having sex.

*Buy Russ Meyer movie posters at eBay.

Concept art from the JJ Abrams Superman movie that never was

Apparently the JJ Abrams-scripted, Brett Ratner-directed Superman movie that never was got far enough in development to merit concept art. Phil Saunders posted an image of Superman fighting a Kryptonian Battle Pod called a "Rouser." See the high-res image here. And here's a description of the script.

*Previously: Desktop wallpapers for JJ Abrams' Fringe.

*Buy Dharma Initiative stickers and other Lost collectibles at eBay.

Free Abe Lincolnstein poster

I've previously mentioned the Vote for Abe Lincolnstein campaign, and now you can download a poster for free. While you're examining the other free stuff at Daniel Davis' store, take the time to tell him how much you like his Monster Commute characters so he'll get to work turning them into toys.

*Previously: Steampunk Lincoln.

*Buy Frankenstein toys at eBay.

Plush robots for sale (link roundup)

Plush robot by Alexander Shen on sale for $22.

And a few more links:

1. Man vs. Mecha-Godzilla.

2. Download a labyrinth. I wish my yard was big enough for a labyrinth - - not the kind with walls, the kind you just walk round to clear your head.

3. Incredibly positive review for House of the Dead Overkill. Lots of desktop wallpapers at the official site.

4. Funny Dilbert comic strip about the hypocrites in Congress. Via.

*Previously: Plush robot with opening chest.

*Buy plush robots at eBay.