Bricking it in the Dr Martin sale Queue

Dr Martin Warehouse Sale 2012


I’ve been super unsociable these last few months and well I made myself go out today and to a Dr Martin shoe sale to boot (pun totally intended)!

Never done this kind of designer madness before and trust me standing in a 3 block queue for 3 hours is absolute madness indeed. Not only did I have belly ache, I needed to go pee and refuel. My mate who invited me to the event persevered and kept feeding me fantasies of the shexay shoes every time my determination weigned.

Cool Brick Lane Graffitti

A blood orange ice cream later and fever away we found ourselves entering the building and I ran to the shoe carnage. Boxes flying everywhere as men and women rummaged for a pair of shoes in their size.  £25 ain’t cheap but considering they are usually £95-150 I made sure I got at least one pair to make this day worthwhile. great way to catch up with friends - or catch more Pokemon...

Got to my tumblr to see more of the indie graffitti I saw including a cat chilling in a shop counter ^^

Mortal Kombat: the origins of TOASTY

The first ever 'toasty' encounter I saw was Dan's purple shhirt from MK3 on the Sega Saturn. To this day I always remember it as 'Gutted'

So this morning I used facebook after a while and I was looking through the news feed, after various photos of cute kittens i wanted to squish in my palm, came across the simple status of:

 'Streetfighter is crap'


Lol not a big thing to most people but to a gamer that's deep! Lol if I'd made such a bold statement I'd be cussed down in seconds. This guy was lucky, 1 like and no comments, I went ahead to post:

'lol your friends must really love not to beat you down for that statement ;)'

'Lol they can bring it I'll show them the way in tekken an mortal komat.'

XD I couldn't have agreed anymore!  This made me search for the famous MK trash talk of 'Gutted' which i realised didn't exsist and it actually called 'Toasty' say whhhhattt? My childhood was a lie? A mish mash of screams, grunts and punches? A LIE! (Lol I'll explain why it's called 'toasty' later.)

Comparing fighting games: Tekken uses more skill;  and well Mortal Kombat IS JOKES. I'm not a fan of the 2D fighting style BUT MK 'S FATALITIES IS ENOUGH and the added bonus of Toasty always brightened up a crappy for me. Ps. I always thought back from when i buttoned bashed on my Sega Saturn that the dude said 'Gutted' another legend of Aisha.

Enjoy the original trash talk of Dan Forden and the new revamped HD version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HH3QdNAY_E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkZoTcw6p54

To get Dan to say toasty in the original games you had to preform a dirty vicious uper cut, in The origin of Toasty is pure trash talk between Dan and Ed and well Dan would say 'I predict Toat' as in 'your toast' (God bless Americans!) and this eventually turned in 'TOASTY!' Listen to the G's story here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=fvwp&v=pRFMgHBNA5Y

'Toasty' has been featured inj MK 2, MK3, MK 4 (Dan Forden would say "Toasty 3D!"), Deadly Alliance(failing a minigame gained the taunt of"Toasty!"), Shaolin Monks, Deception, Chess Kombat and Mortal Kombat (2011) whereForden sports a gray tshirt with a slice of toast with butter superimposed on it.

Also here's some easter eggs I found via http://mortalkombat.wikia.com/wiki/Toasty!

Pop Culture

The Toasty entered into the internet realm in 2011 by the website Toasty It in which you can pay homage to your favorite website in true Mortal Kombat II style. Simply by entering in the URL of the desired website, Dan Forden will grace the bottom corner of the chosen website singing that everlasting tune! This timely Easter egg has an Easter egg of it's own in which clicking on Dan Forden's image will start Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy" with randomized MK characters breaking out in a flash dance. Reloading the page and clicking on Dan Forden's image will release a new MK character.

John Carter: dos mundos un heroe (why is this in French?)

Taylor Kitsch as John Carter 

(Ps. No spoilers ahead)

Saw John Carter at the Greenwich Odeon and let me tell you it ain't about mummies ! My bros had in depth snor-a-thon discussion with my cousin in the car about it being a series of 11 books called 'Barsoom' series of  (1912–43), originally where the idea Star Wars came from and even Avatar. So literally walked in with a blank mind, which is probably the best frame of mind, so you don't get too dissapointed or over excited.

Lol I love the French tagline seems so unsuspectingly corny.

I liked the intro about the planet Mars, John Carter himself was a bit too awesome if you ask me but he was likable I can't hold it against him, I love a grumpy protagonist with a chip on his shoulder! Taylor Kitsch not to be confused with Ben Barnes did     a great job as being a pissed off soldier.

Lots of action, blowing stuff up, intresting story, spider men and a token cute dog/rock thing. This film was entertaining and well worth the money spent - good of done with a few ore laughs to have been perfect but I loved my special edition 3D glasses, they're red XD



inquire on my journey to cousins flat (behind Odeon cinema) we parked near a car which had the back seat door open with an empty baby seat inside...

About 3 hours later, came back to our and this vehicle was still open and deserted as far as we could see and after discussing the order of who'd died first if a serial killer attacked us I didn't even want to loiter around and inquire about the car.

Safe area or good dumping ground?

DIY: old mismatched necklace

I was a bit bored today, so I went out to my local shopping center bought a random mis-matched necklace from the Salvation Army charity shop and decided to fix it.

This necklace has a mix of gold findings with copper chain and even silver. I would have to take the thing apart.

After racking my brain i came up with the idea to take some bits off to make a completely new necklace.

I removed a cameo pendant off it and also removed a similar filigree circle which I used a round tip plyer to add some rings to attach the cameo to the filigree base. After a bit of fiddling I took an old chain and bob's your uncle. A completely new necklace that I'd ACTUALLY wear :D

When you get bored with your jewelry pool them together and recycle. If not donate them to your local charity shop so someone else can enjoy their charm.

Distant Worlds: Final Fantasy tickets sold out & hacked into?!

What is going on here, first I was moseying along to the website to check ticket sales and possibly buying some and it's hacked...by someone in Azerbaijan? (Lol I only know this place exists cause of the regular entries for the Eurovision Song contest :o)

Distant Worlds: Celebrating 25 years of Final Fantasy music

This morning a mad rush occured after midnight.

Final Fantasy fans around the world went on a button bashing frenzy to procure one of the golden Distant World tickets. Distant Worlds had only made itself known to me last year when a friend offered me an extra ticket. Back then I was like, yeah why not I like the intro song from FF 10.

Little did i know my mind was to be shaken and bounced ala Blitz ball style, they preformed my FF 10 intro song with an array of songs over all the FF games including 2 and different remixes of the Chocobo theme. The Aerith ensemble made me nostalgic and slightly queasy with all the cheesy sequences and images. Yes folks there were screens with old pix-elated favourite scenes playing throughout.

Distant Worlds, Friday - 2 November, 2012 - 7:30pm November is celebrating 25 years of FINAL FANTASY London, England Royal Albert Hall with the The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra plus choir. Tickets were sold out within minutes ranging from from £25 to £65 plus a special VIP meet & greet ticket at £135 see details below Arnie Roth, Conductor Nobuo Uematsu in attendance (original composer). After the FINAL FANTASY concert meet them in an exclusive signing event! Special meet and greet tickets (£135 per person) include:

• Premium seating for the performance in the Stalls, Section K

• Post-show standing reception in a Royal Albert Hall room

• Beer, wine and soft drinks served with nibbles

• Meet with composer Nobuo Uematsu and conductor Arnie Roth

• Tour booklet including images from Yoshitaka Amano

• Autograph session and photo opportunity

If anyone is lucky enough to stumble upon some tickets, buy buy buy!

Monthly Anime Meetup

So I'm on a roll at the moment, I managed to make time to go to this monthly Anime meetup held every 2nd Tuesday of the month, problem is when these emails are sent out automatically you forget they could be out of date.

Even though it had 3 people confirmed as attending I couldn't find anyone ^^; Doh!

The event coincided with the month Japanese meetup so my friends said I may have got the venue wrong...doesn't help when the Venue is the Crooked Surgeon and all Google finds is The Slug & Lettuce definitely right building, just wrong sign. Luckily between the five of us we still had a good time and whilst occasionally socialising and one particular member on the group hitting it off with the ladies we had a an enjoyable time. i do recommend though: if you are unfortunate enough to be the only guy/girl in the group do NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES play 'I Never'. DX I was ravaged but I took on the chin and more importantly saw some peeps I don't usually meet up with so it was good reconnecting.

Don't you agree?

The Crooked Surgeon is now The Slug & Lettuce

The Woman in Black

Rights reserved of Illustration to Anty Quinn

I hate going into a cinema with pre-fixed expectations but after seeing the stage production a few years ago and seeing all the adverts hyping up the fact that the famous Hammer House team produced this movie I did go thinking I'd get a thrill.

The biggest shock I received was when a crow unexpectedly flew to a nest of dead babies. I was gagging. Nothing else remotely scared me in the movie well apart from Potter's acting. i refer to him as Potter because even with stubble the dude did not make a convincing adult let alone father !!!!

The only amusing moment was the introduction of the twins, I expected dolls we get dressed up Chiuauas and trust me they did not look amused. Someone call the RSPCA already... That's a few hours I will never get back and trust me I could of enjoyed spending that money on a big mac meal.

clothing through the pages: fashion in manga

Fashion, whether we admit it or not is applied in everything we wear and use. Be it a pair of jeans, the cut, the colour and how high the waist band is. As manga emerged in Great Britain I decided I would look for a monthly magazine which had series of manga, Animerica extra had unfortunately ended so I tried out Smile. This is where I came across a manga now iconic for fashion.

From the first page of artwork I loved Ai Yazawa’s Paradise Kiss. Japanese manga writer/illustrator Yazawa started her career in 1985 resulting in over 10 series published in

Ribon to date. While most of her manga still circulates in Japan, this particular manga featured as a serial in the Japanese fashion magazine Zipper from 1999 to 2003.

Yazawa’s manga appeals to the female audience as her plots revolve around female angst and responsibility. Her characters are not only beautifully drawn but are very stylish too due to her own interest in fashion as shows even in her male protagonists.

There are a few fashion students in Paradise Kiss who are already comfortable in their own fashion bubble:

Arashi dripping in leather and pins covering his bruised heart and hot temper.

His girlfriend, a complete polar opposite: cute and petite often dresses as a sweet Lolita, complete with wigs and platforms.

George sticks to his tailored suits with kooky accessories such as a flamboyant hat or cravat.

Isabella a cross-dresser so dedicated to his art and is seen as the mother figure in his almost Little Britain parody wearing classic Lolita garments complete with parasols and a warm attitude.

Yukari is drawn into the group and is quickly re-styled from raw to edgy. It’s amazing how cutting her bangs and shoving her in a dress can make her outlook on life change drastically.

However intentional or accidental the clothing designs, people from around the world now cosplay and even follow the style of these characters and now fashion is becoming quite apparent in MaPart of the story is that they are fashion students building their own labels to finance and make themselves own in the fashion world. Happy Berry is Miwako’s older sisters brand which she is building upon, this made up brand has inspired fans to create their own versions to cosplay in.

Gokinjo Monogatari follows its characters Mikako, Tsutomu and their friends attend a high art school in Tokyo and follows their friendship to help them overcome the trials and pressures of achieving their dreams.

Nana, released in 2000 is Yazawa’s biggest manga with 21 volume and background chapters about some characters’ lives. An anime spawned from the success 47 series and 2 successful movies in total. Its heroine, Nana “Hachi” Komatsu, moves to Tokyo to start anew and leave her boyfriend behind whereas Nana Osaki arrivies and plans to become a rock ‘n’ roll star. Despite different backgrounds, with only the name in common, these two lifestyles collide.

You see a lot of reference to Vivienne Westwood and Vivienne Westwood designs are even used on Nana merchandise. In her manga, Yazawa may not have the characters talking but their personality comes out in the detailed illustrations of their clothing, no one else comes close to highlighting their characters’ clothes design.

Another stylised manga is Princess Ai. There is a heavy reference to the metal movement as Jennifer Love Hewitt gave input on the manga, however it revolves more around the music factor. Ai is the daughter of a human father, King Sei, and a Dougen (Angel). Due to her mixed birthright, Ai has wings and has the ability to control people’s emotions with her singing. Her clothes and demeanour make her stick out from the other characters.

However intentional or accidental the clothing designs, people from around the world now cosplay and even follow the style of these characters and now fashion is becoming quite apparent in Manga/anime.