WonderCon: Day 1

Not much to report, folks. More to come in the following days . . . 

tokidoki: LA & NY signings

[photo courtesy of Tokidoki]

tokidoki x Medicom are at it again, teaming up for another fresh Be@rbrick release - this time with an LA theme. The official release party is going down this Saturday, February 28th in Culver City's Royal/T from 2-5pm. The Goob Tube crew won't be able to make it since we'll be here in SF for WonderCon, but Simone Legno will most likely be there. Don't quote me on that, but the tokidoki blog says: "get your very own blinged out tokidoki LA Robber signed by Simone" and I haven't known him to do the whole pre-signed thing.

And for those of you in the New York area, tokidoki's opening a new capsule store in SoHo. Store opening is set for next weekend, March 7th. Simone Legno will be on hand for a signing from 1-4pm. If you're able to make it out, definitely go. Simone is probably one of the nicest artist that I've come across.

Special sneak peek of UP

[photo courtesy of Disney/Pixar]

Director Pete Docter will be on hand to give fans a peek into Pixar's 10th Disney film "UP" at this year's WonderCon on Saturday, Feb. 28. 

And at 7:30 over at the Metreon (which is near WonderCon's Moscone Center South location), a special screening of the first 45 minutes of "UP" will be shown. Sorry to the public, but this is for WonderCon attendees only. Seating is limited to 250, so be there early if you want in! And make sure you have your badge. Otherwise, you're S.O.L.

For more info, be sure to check out WonderCon's official site.

WonderCon screening of Watchmen

Three-Day and Friday only members for WonderCon have a chance to score a free pass to attend an IMAX screening of "Watchmen" on Feb. 27 at 11:55 p.m. For those that are going (and eligible), head on over to the WonderCon Boutique Booth (#242) for chance to win from 5-7 p.m.

Holy sh!t, right? AH!

And to add the the excitement, director Zack Snyder and the cast will be at the convention on Saturday for a special "Watchmen" panel. 

Mickey gone Tron

[photo courtesy of Medicom]

While watching "Chuck" on DVR a few nights ago, Chuck's sister bashed him for having posters from the 8th grade still up on his wall. The questionable poster was that of Disney's 1982 sci-fi flick "Tron." Upon the reference, it sparked this bit of dialog amongst some of the Goob Tube team . . .

Me: Hmm. I don't think I've ever seen "Tron." 

Carmel: It's stupid.

Ryan: (in the kitchen getting corndogs) WHAT?!

Apparently it's a guy thing. However, I do recall the lightbike scene. 

Regardless on whether you've never seen the movie (like me), don't care for it (like Carmel), or love it (like Ryan), there is no denying how awesome Medicom's Mickey Mouse/Kevin Flynn vinyl figure looks.

Since Medicom's site isn't in English, I can't make out when the toy will be released. But I'm pretty sure some booth at Comic Con will have it on display. And so we wait until July . . .

Until then, here's that aforementioned lightbike scene:

Chuck's first time @ WonderCon

[photo courtesy of NBC]

NBC's action/comedy show "Chuck" will be making it's first appearance at San Francisco's WonderCon on Sunday, March 1. 

Co-Creators/Executive Producers Josh Schwartz ("Gossip Girl," "The OC") and Chris Fedak will be there for a special presentations and Q&A. Chuck himself, Zachary Levi, has recently been added to join in on the festivities along with co-stars Yvonne Strahovski and Joshua Gomez. 

Goob Tube loves us some "Chuck," so we (or at least I) will make sure to get in on the panel! If you haven't seen "Chuck" you can easily catch up. Season 1 is out on DVD and Blu-Ray and this season's episodes can be seen online. Or you can catch it on Mondays at 8 on the peacock channel. So many options!

PS: At last year's Comic Con, Zachary Levi looked into my camera and smiled. It was magical. See it here.

Yeti Sighting in SF

[photo courtesy of Gama-Go]

The good folks over at Gama-Go have been hard at work putting together the pieces that will eventually form the retail store that I know many of us have been waiting for. Not wanting to leave their beloved SOMA district behind, the gang will be situating themselves at 355 8th St @ Folsom in San Francisco. They are shooting for a mid-March soft opening which isn't too far away, so check back for more details as we'll be sure to be keeping you in the know. In the meantime check out their blog for pics of the new spot in-the-works. If you can't wait to do some shopping or aren't in the area, some of their new spring collection is for sale at their online store.

Twilighter Weekend

This past weekend proved to be a pretty big one for Twilighters [including myself] with several movie announcements and Robert Pattinson's appearance at the Oscar's the other night. Since Nina's post last week about "The Twilight Saga's New Moon" title and movie art release, the MTV Movie Blog has also given word that Summit Entertainment has confirmed that "The Twilight Saga's Eclipse" is scheduled to premeire June 30, 2010! As excited as I am to hear this news, I'm still pretty anxious about the casting decisions for New Moon since we haven't heard anything concrete since Taylor Lautner was confirmed to reprise his role as Jacob Black. With filming scheduled to begin sometime next month, they're either pushing this to the last minute or keeping a SUPER tight lid on leaking out any casting info.

And for those who missed Rob hit the red carpet and present at the Oscar's, you can find videos of his interviews on MTV as well as searching YouTube. Many of you will be happy to note that the hair is indeed back. Check the video & pic below if you need proof.


[photo courtesy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science]

Best Friends Forever!

[photo courtesy of Kid Robot]

Some relationships can be fatal, but like Paula Abdul once sang, opposites attract. Kid Robot's new blind box mini series by Travis Cain, BFFs, demonstrates the saying quite well. Some of the unlikely duos in this 9 figure series are a heart and arrow, balloon with needles, and a tooth with a lollipop. Accessories are detachable, but why would you want to separate them?

Feel the love on March 5 at Kid Robot stores and specialty retailers.

The World of Skaffs

If you're in the area, check out Luke Feldman's "The World of Skaffs" art show at Rivet Gallery in Columbus, Oh which will showcase his digital and multimedia art. It all starts on March 7 and ends on the 31st. 

Here's a peek at some the art that'll be on display:

[all photos courtesy of Luke Feldman/Skaffs]

New Moon, new toys

[photo courtesy of Summit Entertainment]

Twilighters had something to look forward to a few days ago. On Feb. 19 MTV Movie Blog revealed the logo for the much anticipated sequel to "Twilight." Yep, just the logo. And note how it's not just called "New Moon," but "The Twilight Saga New Moon." That's a bit of a mouthful. O,o 

As always, with movies there's merchandise. And that usually means TOYS. With the release of "Twilight," Neca came out with an Edward Cullen action figure (that looks nothing like Robert Pattinson). Now folks can recreate the meadow scene with this Edward & Bella set. Sorry ladies, he doesn't sparkle in the sun. There'll also be an Alice Cullen figure (not pictured).

[photo courtesy of Neca]

Tonner will start shipping out their renditions of the modern star crossed lovers by spring. These 15" dolls are sold separately for $139.99.

[photo courtesy of Tonner]

One last thing, the DVD comes out in exactly one month, March 21st. Pre-order your copy today. Or wait. Whichever one pleases you.

Where's Simba?

I did a bit more snooping about the It's a Small World renovations and came across this video that includes all the Disney characters inside the ride. I'm still not cool with it, but I suppose Disney had a slight clue as to what they were doing.

Like I said in the last post, people either really love or really hate this ride. By adding characters from Disney films, it creates a Where's Waldo kind of experience --  like how many characters can you find? It might even have people wanting to go back on the ride to see if they missed anything. 

Can you stand to watch the video and see who you can find?

[video courtesy of ThemeParkInsider.com]

If ya can't hack the 10 minutes and 50 seconds of saccharine goodness, you can take a look here.

PS: I managed to get through it (I like this ride though) and noticed that no other Disney songs were woven into the ride like I had originally heard. ::phew:: 

Superman Returns sequel info unleashed

[photo courtesy of WB/DC Comics]

Information about the next Superman film has been leaked due to some being able to log into a password protected page from Legendary Pictures' official site.

"Superman Unleashed"  is the working title as of late and there isn't a set date on when exactly the sequel will start production. But it's on Legendary Pictures' roster, and to that I say, "It's about f*cking time." It's been 3 years since "Superman Returns" came out. And Brandon Routh better be reprising his role as the Man of Steel. ::swoon:: Who else could replace him? Don't even say Tom Welling.

Here's the synopsis for the next Man of Steel flick:

"Ramping up the action of its esteemed predecessor, the sequel to 'Superman Returns' promises to raise the stakes and take the audience to heights of action that no other superhero movie can achieve."

* UPDATE: Apparently, Legendary Pictures took down information about "Superman Unleashed" along with other movies they had listed. What the hell?!

It's a Small World gets a (unneeded) facelift

When it comes to Disneyland's It's a Small World attraction, there are no inbetweens . . . you either love it or you hate it. I am not the latter. Sure the song is repetitive, but everything about the attraction is so "feel good." Plus you can never go wrong with anything Mary Blair has input in -- she designed the ride and has done concept art for many Disney films and shorts such as "Alice in Wonderland," "Peter Pan," and "Cinderella" to name a few.

Next Saturday, Feb. 28, Disneyland will be celebrating the re-opening of It's a Small World, which has been renovated to include characters and music from other Disney films like "Aladdin," "Mulan," and "The Little Mermaid." I am sooo not okay with the latest additions. The ride was fine the way it was, but I digress. 

Artist Dave Avanzino and Small World costume designer Alice Davis will be at the Disneyena shop on Main Street USA inside of Disneyland from 10 a.m. - 12 noon for a special signing of the new product releases that coincide with the re-opening.

Here's a peek at some of the items . . .

Mixed media paper structure by Dave Avanzino, edition of 10 ($800)

India costume based on sketches by Alice Davis ($4,800)

painting by Jimmy Pickering, edition of 50 ($475) or deluxe print ($35)

And of course there's also pins. 

[All photos courtesy of Disney]

Each one is an edition of 1000 and features how the latest additions will be featured in the ride. 

They're cute, but it's just not the same!!! ::sigh::

Q: Who watches the Watchmen?

A: Entertainment Weekly (and Goob Tube, apparently).

For next week's issue there will be six collectible covers featuring characters from Watchmen -- see, we said there'd be more Watchmen stuff to come did we not?

Collect 'em all or just whichever one you fancy. I personally like the first three covers (Rorschach, Comedian, and Dr. Manhattan). They could've picked a better photo for Nite Owl, right? That's just my opinion.

[photo courtesy of Entertainment Weekly]

One last note: Is anyone else baffled as to why Matthew Goode was casted as Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias? He's supposed to be like Adonis, but he's so . . . not. He's a good actor, but I'm still scratching my head. :P

You're Toast, Nite Owl

Pamela was right. Y'all are gonna be seeing lots of Watchmen posts here!

While roaming around Flickr, I saw that Dan Goodsell, artist/creator of Mr Toast, posted some paintings he did of Mr Toast and his pals as characters from Watchmen on his account.

Take a looksie:

Lemonhead as the Comedian

Shaky Bacon as Silk Spectre

Clem Lemon as Doctor Manhattan

Mr Toast as Nite Owl

[all photos courtesy of Dan Goodsell]

Joe the Egg as Rorschach

If you like what you see and happen to be going to WonderCon next week in San Francisco, stop by Dan's booth and say hi! He'll be somewhere in the exhibit hall . . . I can't seem to find him on the lists of exhibitors though. I know, I'm supposed to be here to inform you! Well, just go find a booth with a dude and plush toys shaped like breakfast food. Mmm . . . breakfast.

Meet Dave Gibbons

We here at Goob Tube love comics, which is why this is our second post about the upcoming Watchmen movie (and it may not be the last).

If you live in Southern California and you're a Watchmen fan, you'll flip over this.

Watchmen illustrator Dave Gibbons is having a signing at Border's Century City.

He will be signing "Watching the Watchmen," on March 1st at 2pm.

Borders.com describes the book; "Enjoy the ultimate companion to a comics masterpiece, as award-winning artist Dave Gibbons gives his own account of the genesis of WATCHMEN in WATCHING THE WATCHMEN, opening his vast personal archives to reveal never-published pages, original character designs, page thumbnails, sketches and much more, including posters, covers and rare portfolio art."

Dang, I wish I lived in So-Cal sometimes.

Ya' Dig?

[Photo Courtesy of Diggnation.com]

I've been the happy owner of a Zune 30GB for quite some time (aside from the whole Y2K fiasco), only recently did I take advantage of their Podcast Download section (usable for Zune owners only, sorry!) I've been discovering some awesome podcasts.

My recent Favorite? Diggnation. Which is a show all about their website, Digg.com. Have you ever been on the web, bored as hell and thought, “I wish there was a website where I can check out what everyone else is checking out on the net,” well your dream has come true, that's what Digg.com is all about. Digg is a user based site that lets anyone post up articles, pictures or video's that they “Dig,” and then everyone votes weather they Dig it too. The Diggnation podcast counts down all of the top “Diggs.” for the week. Kevin Rose (A San Francisco resident) and Alex Albrecht host this witty countdown of diggable pieces of information.

The current top Dig? There's a new title sequence for the Simpson's. Doh! Dug by over 5,700 people, here's the clip that everyone's voting for:

I think it's worth checking out, you'll definitely have something to talk about around the office watering hole.

Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter & Under the Hood

[photo courtesy of WB/DC Comics]

The "Watchmen" movie doesn't come out until March 6, but fans have further reason to rejoice. To complete the experience, a straight to DVD/Blu Ray animated movie of "Tales of the Black Freighter & Under the Hood" will be released on March 24. Gerard Butler ("300," "Closer") lends his voice as the Mariner.

Both "Tales of the Black Freighter" and "Under the Hood" were featured in the original "Watchmen" graphic novel to aid in telling the story -- one being a comic about a stranded mariner whose experiences mirrored those within the Watchmen's world, and the other a tell-all autobiography by Hollis Mason, the original Nite Owl.

Neither of these were stories will be seen in the movie version of "Watchmen," so this should satisfy long-time fans and newcomers.

Lily Allen: It's Not Me, It's You

[AP Photo/EMI]

After undergoing much public scrutiny for her drunken soirees, filthy vernacular, unfortunate miscarriage, and rivalries with Amy Winehouse and Cheryl Tweedy, Lily Allen managed to write and record new music to grace us all with in the form of her sophomore effort "It's Not You, It's Me," which came out this past Tuesday, the 10th.

This time around Lily's ditched her reggae pop sound and traded it in for songs driven by toned down electro beats and pianos, but her cheekiness and wit are still present in her lyrics. 

Love in all its forms, like on her last album "Alright, Still," is a constant theme. The western tinged "Not Fair" laments about an almost perfect guy. His flaw? He can't make her scream in the sack. But she also touches on iffy subjects like God in "Him." Lily goes so far as to mention 9/11. "Ever since he can remember people have died in his good name/ Long before that September/ Long before hijacking planes/ He's lost the will he can't decide/ He doesn't know who's right or wrong." 

Another track worth mentioning is the oxymoronic "Fuck You" -- it's piano arrangement is super perky and Lily's vocals sound so adorable as she coos, "So you say/ It's not okay to be gay/ Well I think you're just evil/ You're just some racist/ Who can't tie my laces/ You're point of view is medieval." 

Lily's dodged the sophomore slump with "It's Not You, It's Me." It's worth a listen, plus right now it's only $3.99 on Amazon. Need more convincing? Check out the video to her first single "The Fear."

NYC is about to get UGLY

[photo courtesy of Uglydolls]

Good news for Ugly fans in the New York area! Uglydoll creator, David Horvath, is having a signing at FAO Schwarz (the one "right next to the APPLE store" according to UGLYBLOG). So if you're reading this before noon on Valentine's Day and are looking for something to do with your special someone - or just looking for something to do - stop on by and check it out.

Given the origins of the Uglyverse, I find this quite the appropriate way to spend Valentine's Day. After all, drawings of David's ugly little creatures first appeared in letters he sent to Sun-Min during their post-Parsons School of Design, long-distance romance. She later turned one of his drawings into a plush doll, and the rest is history! So even if you miss the signing, maybe you can pick up a doll or two as a last minute Valentine's Day gift. I know I wouldn't mind one!

Burn Long and Prosper

During a visit to the French shop Colette, self-proclaimed Trekkie and musical renaissance man Pharrell Williams had his hand molded, with his fingers stretched in the Vulcan salute position, by Atelier WM to turn into one of their candles. 

Take a peep at Pharrell walking around (and acting looney) at Colette with his mold on . . .



And the finished product . . .

[video and photo courtesy of Colette]

The candles are available in a limited run of 200 and will be sold exclusively at Colette and BBC/Ice Cream stores. For € 75.00 (that's $97.56 US), you can take a bitty piece of Pharrell with you.

PS: Is it just me, or does this look like it could be Dr. Manhattan's hand?

Strange things are coming to Double Punch

[Photo courtesy of Double Punch]

If you happen to be in the Bay Area tonight, Double Punch (a toy store/art gallery in North Beach) will be holding an opening reception for their latest group show, "Strange Ways," that includes art from Matt Furie, Maxwell Loren Holyoke-Hirsch, Mark Todd, and Matthew Lock.

The shindig starts at 7 p.m. 

Can't make it? That's okay, I can't either. 

"Strange Ways" will be up and runnin' till March 8 so there's plenty of time to catch the . . uh, strangeness.

Chaff n' Skaffs: Mai and the lost Moskivvy

[photo courtesy of Luke Feldman/SKAFFS]

It isn't necessary to be a child in order to enjoy a kid's book. I still give 'em a gander and I'm 23. What possesses me to flip through the pages of a book intended for younglings is the artwork.

There's a good bevy of artists (and art duos), like David Horvath and Meomi, who have put their writing skills to the test to create characters and worlds that readers can temporarily get lost in.

By way of Australia, but based in the Frisco bay, Luke Feldman, whose whimsical (and sometimes provocative) work has appeared on vinyl adhesives, skateboards, sneakers, toys, and art prints, illustrated and co-wrote "Chaff n' Skaffs: Mai and the lost Moskivvy" along with Amanda Chin.

In "Chaff n' Skaffs," a little mosquito finds it's way into Mai's bedroom. Though she's never ventured anywhere way beyond her own front door, she's encouraged by her friend Chaff to help Moskivvy the mosquito find his way back  home. From there the unlikely trio goes on the ultimate journey, traveling by land, sea and air.

"Chaff n' Skaffs" shall be released on March 1, but you can pre-order a copy here.

Goob what?

Those who are knowledgeable in the chocolate department consider a Goober to be a chocolate covered peanut treat that's munched on in the darkness of a cineplex. To others, it's a term of endearment or another varied term for the word "nerd." We here at Goob Tube go with the latter. 

What we're here for is to spread the word and geek out on the latest in all things pop culture: movies, television, music, art, fashion, books, video games -- you name it, we [might] cover. Sometimes we might even write about things that are old, but still worthwhile. Kickin' it old school is awesome and apparently major toy companies have taken that to heart (hello My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, Ninja Turtles and Transformers). 

So . . . tune in and geek out with us, won'tcha?