Wednesday 29 August 2012

Ted: A feature length Family guy ep with a a bear

Lovely She-Hulk posing in front of the Ted Poster at LFCC
Anyone who knows me can you tell you I'm not a huge fan of Family guy. The jokes are stretched far too long and the toilet humor makes me more uncomfortable that a hamster being shoved up Mr Slave's arse in South Park.

I mostly heard good press about the movie but apparently it got bad press woo which encouraged me to watch it, if fans DIDN'T like it maybe it was detached from Family guy aesthetics. My bro said it's mostly a 'man' film but all the women were laughin gin the cinema when he watched it so I should give it a try.


The beginning was beautiful, narrated by a British favourite Patrick Stewart, he set's the scene of a child wanting to have a best friend to be by his side forever which well brings Ted to life and you can figure out what comes in the future from all the TV ad's. The usual tug of war between gf and best friend ensues of course with the added bonus of him being a slobbish bear. 

Lots of random side plots and Family guy references yaddah yaddah yah but it was all about the Flash Gordon  and then old man Flash walking into one of Ted's parties. Then the fight between the Chinese neighbor Ming & Flash. Lol not a very PC film and I wouldn't recommend to the kids. it's a 15 as there is no blood (just flying fluff) or sex...practically. Enjoy for a night with the lads or ladies.

Some creepy dancing tho, that was  just...eww.

Monday 27 August 2012

Guest writing for Alafista !

On 20th August I found out I was chosen to be guest writer for the J-culture website Alafista :)

After a friend showed me a link to the post 'Looking for Guest writers' I thought why not and persisted to apply, even though the contact box was not working, I even added the founder on Linked In (he had his details on his website). And a good month and a half later I Heard from him briefly and then my intro page casually came up on my twitter feed.

I'm going to be focusing on the Otaku Lingo, so I'll be explaining terms you often hear gamers/anime fans using, my first article on Maid Moe is up, please check it out -

http://www.alafista.com/2012/08/18/otaku-lingo-meido-moe/



Also if you collect figures and appreciate cosplay follow Alafista on twitter for little gems to brighten up your day -

http://www.alafista.com

My second article is on 'Creepy Woody and His Troll Expression' looking at the Disney's Toy story star in erm compromising positions ;)

http://www.alafista.com/2012/08/26/creepy-woody-and-his-troll-expression/

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Mayamada Cosplay Dodgeball 2012



Mayamada holding one of their newest quirky events, their first ever Cosplay Dodgeball Tournament on Saturday 10th of November 2012



       When: Saturday, November 10, 2012
       What time: 3:00pm until 7:00pm in UTC
       Where: The venue will be confirmed in September.
       Show me the money:  Cosplayers pay £3 to play. £5 for non cosplayers. Spectators free.

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A £100 CASH PRIZE is on offer plus the chance to win FREE mayamada t-shirts throughout 2013.

This event is being supported by Anime Picks and Anime League who will be providing tickets to London Anime Con 2013 (
http://www.londonanimecon.com/).

If you are a cosplayer from the world of anime and gaming register stay tuned for more details.

Non cosplayers can take part too and anyone that just wants to watch it all go down is also welcome.

Details:

* Max 16 teams of 6 players each.
* Cosplayers pay £3 to play. £5 for non cosplayers. Spectators free.
* £100 Cash prize and Anime Con tickets for the winning team.
* Winning team plays team mayamada for chance to win FREE t-shirts in 2013.

For more info check out their facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/Mayamada

Support the love for manga and buy a piece of the action: http://www.indiegogo.com/samurai-chef

Monday 13 August 2012

Blog to Japan: my 12 reasons for going


It's InsideJapan Tours' 12th birthday, so to celebrate all things great and good about the number 12,  InsideJapan Tours and Virgin Atlantic have teamed up to invite you to "blog to Japan"!

Here are my 12 good reasons as to why I should be sent to Japan to blog:

1. I would love to attend a real tea ceremony and learn how to put on a kimono and do the whole tradition properly. Also showing a tutorial of how to wear a Kimono would be very helpful to the readers, as there are reasons behind it not just beauty and etiquette.

2. I'm a big  gamer and mythology fan and my love for rural mysterious villages as seen in Project Zero and Okami have fueled my interest to see the town of Takachiho. A town in northern Miyazaki Prefecture that is shrouded in Japanese mythology. It is there at the Amano Iwato Shrine supposedly the site of where the legend of Amaterasu is set. The Shinto Sun Goddess, disturbed by her brother's cruel pranks, hid herself in a cave, prompting the other gods and goddesses to try and lure her out.

3. Dress up Harajuku style and take photos of all the different tribes around the area and talk to them about their styles and why it's important to them. Japan is where most of the Western trends are adapted from!

4. To see Himeji Castle, it was never destroyed in wars, earthquakes or fires and survives in its original form. It is both a national treasure and a UNESCO world heritage site. Now this I have to see, makes me reminiscent of the strong fighting casting in Robo-Geisha!

5. Take a trip to the Pokemon center to challenge the Poke masters of Japan, will I be a match for their high level Trubbishes? Who knows, a great video opportunity and chance t see exclusive merchandise not available in the UK.



 6. To hear some live Japanese music, whether it be Suga Shikao or some traditional instrumental music - Koto especially since I hear so much in anime/game background, a mix of traditional vs contemporary would be an electric blast much needed for my ears, which fancy a change from pop music.

 7. I love anime but the best by far is produced by Ghibli and would be an amazing chance to go to Hayao Miyazaki's Ghibli Museum. I've been a fan since Spirited Away and have gone watched every Ghibli movie to date. Since I have a soft spot for cats I wonder I wonder if they will let me sit in the cat bus ? :o

8. Ever since the mention of 'chisa' in Azumanga Daioh anime, I've been curious about the wildcats of Japan and found out it's one of the world's rarest wildcats. They inhabit Iriomote, one of Japan's most far-flung islands. Almost indistinguishable from a house cat, the Iriomote wildcat is believed to be related to a leopard cat found on the Asian continent, to which this island was once linked.

9. A trip to Osaka: to Sumiyoshi-taisha Shrine, built prior to the influx of Buddhist architecture, this shrine - one of the oldest in Japan - exemplifies a purely Japanese style design, then relax in an authentic hot spring hopefully I'll recharge my HP like in Monster hunter :D

10. Ever since the article in the Metro about the monkey butlers, I've wanted to see them! The Kayabukiya tavern, a sake house just north of Tokyo, employs the two macaques to help out their more traditional human waiters. The macaques, called Yat-chan and Fuku-chan, are tipped by the customers with boiled soya beans.The funny thing is they do it of their own free will!

11. Shibuya Station, you may be suprised but outside here resides the Hachiko Statue. You may remember the American movie adaptation 'Hatchi', based on the life of Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor in the agriculture at the University of Tokyo and his dog, a golden brown Akita, named Hachikō.  as a During Ueno's life, Hachikō greeted him at the end of each day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine for a year, when Professor Ueno did not return. The professor died, never returning to the train station where Hachikō was waiting, and he waited every day for the next nine years at Shibuya station.

12. Now no trip to Japan would be complete without visiting Kyoto's most famous Geisha district in Gion. This district is filled with shops, restaurants and ochaya (teahouses), where Geiko (Kyoto dialect for geisha) and Maiko (geiko apprentices) entertain. The houses around here tend to be traditional wooden machiya merchant houses.

It was hard only picking 12 great thing to do and see in Japan as there is so much to see. Hopefully all of this will give a great mix of culture, fun and colour to represent Japan at it's finest.

Tuesday 7 August 2012

Okami; Ameratsu live dog cosplay



UPDATE - 26/01/15

It was pleased to write about the pros and cons for Cos-pets vs Cos-props in MYM magazine.

I decided to study one of the finest examples of dog cosplay - Volkadav and Dante Kogan (the Samoyed Dog) as Ameratsu from the game Okami.

This was against Jenivere who cosplayed as Sniperwolf from  MGS with her prop dog she wheeled around with herself.

Issue33, Jan 22nd 2015 MYM.

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Originally I saw this photo come up on my facebook news feed via animepicks.co.uk and I really wanted to know if it were real or a photoshop job as I loved the Okami game on PS2 and I went as far as tracking the original source which was a deviant art page and well I contacted the guy and here's what he told me. See my interview with Volkadav cosplay here:





Japan Centre’s third Japan Food Festival 27th July – 12th August


What: Cultural Event/free food tasting

Where: Regent street (nearest station -  Piccadilly circus)

Show me the money: Free

Japan Centre is proud to announce our third Japan Food Festival (JAFF), 27th July – 12th August at our Regent Street Store (Piccadilly circus) in collaboration with the Fukuoka Chamber of Commerce and Industry!

Sample local produce from this fertile southern island, never before sold in the UK! Get your hands on exclusive regional specialities and experience the culinary diversity and beauty of Kyushu right here in London. Featuring free tastings every day from 3 – 6pm the event features limited edition Kyushu products for 2 weeks only, make sure you don’t miss out!

What’s On:

This year’s JAFF is dedicated to Kyushu, Japan’s third largest island. At the event, selected regional culinary and cultural products from Kyushu will be showcased. Delicacies that can be sampled include soups, different kinds of sweet and savoury snacks, and a range of dressings and sauces.
In addition to this, guests will be offered a variety of teas, as well as a selection of alcoholic beverages, including Yuzu No Osake (citrus liqueur made with shochu spirits and yuzu citrus) and Kuni No Kotobuki Tokubetsu Junmai Yume Ikkon (Sake from Fukuoka with a rich rice flavour). Apart from having an experience of Kyushu’s culinary heritage, this will also be an opportunity for visitors to sample cosmetics and learn about how Japanese women ensure to keep their gorgeous skin healthy and radiant. If you’re not able to make it to Regent Street, some of these exclusive products will be available to buy online during the event period too.
Yokaromon Kyushu!

Kyushu has been selected as JAFF’s special region for a number of reasons: it is home to breath-taking and very diverse scenery, which includes ancient forests, sandy beaches, sweeping mountains and active volcanoes. These volcanoes are the reason why Kyushu is often referred to as the hot spring capital of Japan. Thanks to its moderate climate and fertile soil, the island is also rich in fresh produce. All this, together with the island’s long history as a centre for international trade has made Kyushu a true culinary melting pot.

Different food, drinks, items will be on offer to sample everyday from 3-6pm, feel free to talk to the lovely staff for more details of the all natural ingredients used from the Fukuoka region. They will be holding another Food festival in October for another region incase you miss this one.

Come and join us at JAFF this summer, and sample the beauty of Kyushu right here in London!

Thursday 2 August 2012

Personality test (the one you pay for)

I took this in the past as part of a special course which led onto a paid intership to help the community. Back then I got the 'female Batman' and was told "...you have a lot of hardship to suffer because of others but you will for the good of humanity." T_T  she said  I had an odd combination she'd never seen before and didn't go into the interesting specifics. Someone on fb had the same test and gave me a link to a similar test for free and this is what I got:


Extroverted (E) 52.78% Introverted (I) 47.22%
Intuitive (N) 52.38% Sensing (S) 47.62%
Thinking (T) 50% Feeling (F) 50%
Perceiving (P) 51.61% Judging (J) 48.39%

Your type is: ENFP

ENFP - "Journalist". Uncanny sense of the motivations of others. Life is an exciting drama. 8.1% of total population.
 
*If you tied on any of the scales, the current algorithm just breaks the tie randomly so refresh the page to see alternate results
 
Well that was SPOT on, yes I am a journalist and I make my decisions on a whim...