Gizmodo's insult Kim Jong Il Photoshop contest

Lots of funny entries in Gizmodo's provoke Kim Jong Il Photoshop contest. I think the one you see above is by this Dave Corrasa.

*Previously: North Korean defector lives in South Korea and sends anti-Kim Jong Il pamphlets to North Korea using helium-filled balloons and special timers.

*Learn how to use Photoshop with these books at Amazon.

Custom Kokeshi Dolls

Recent posts at Toycutter, my custom toy blog, include:

1. Gallery of custom kokeshi dolls by David Horvath, Tara McPherson, Camilla d'Errico, Yoskay Yamammoto, and more.

2. Lady Gaga My Little Pony.

3. Paratroopa Labbit with Luigi Dunny.

4. Wolverine Munny.

5. Zombie Michael Jackson custom action figure.

*Buy custom action figures at eBay.

A cave appears in London (link roundup)

Mysterious Cave appears in London

Scientists have been baffled by the appearance of a mysterious cave at West India Quay (London). It is believed that a light earthquake unearthed the cave which is estimated to be over 10 million years old. Initial investigations have releaved that its lake is likely to be fed by the waters of the River Thames but cannot explain the intense glow of green lights emitting from its depths. Scientists now hope to uncover some of its secrets.

On the occasion of West India Quay's Festival in London Edgar Mueller created a new 3D Street Art peace. A huge cave appears where only pavement has been before.

See more photos here.

And a few more links:

1. Les McClaine is drawing commissions for $10 a piece.

2. And John Gholson is drawing commissions for $5 a piece. Via these sites.

3. Monstrous Adidas sneakers.

4. Photos from the new The Creature From the Black Lagoon — A Raging Rockin’ Show at Universal Studios. Via.

*Previously: Creature from the Black Lagoon's motorcycle helmet.

*Buy Creature from the Black Lagoon collectibles at eBay.

Octoballon airship and more

Airship with octopus balloon and lawn-mowing vampires - - concert posters by John "Spike Press" Solimine. Those posters are sold out, but there's a few on sale in his webstore. And you can download this desktop wallpaper:



here.

*Previously: A bloodier concert poster for Vampire Weekend.

*Buy concert posters at eBay.

Thriller print (link roundup)

Michael Jackson/Thriller tribute by Cesar Moreno available as a print. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Fantomah, Mystery Woman of the Jungle.

2. Disturbing animated gifs consisting of Three Frames from movies, such as Jaws. Via.

3. Adventure Time cosplay, complete with plush Rainacorn.

4. I have no interest in Alice Hoffman's books, but her Twitter feed sounded awesome - - she used it to trash a critic, even posting her phone number, before deleting the account.

*Previously: Adventure Time fan art.

*Buy Michael Jackson toys at eBay.

Papercraft TNT (link roundup)

Download this cheerful fireworks paper toy here.

And a few more links:

1. "M is for... M.O.D.O.K.'s Melancholy Mouseketeer Memories." Via these sites.

2. Undercover investigation of 17 vegan restaurants in Los Angeles found that 7 used non-vegan ingredients. Via.

3. This would be the best tombstone ever, right?

4. Hellboy-themed XBox case mod. Lots more great art on display at the artist's MySpace page.

*Previously: Art Deco Computer Case Mods.

*Find Hellboy toys at eBay.

Atomic Energy Lab

Hard to believe, but apparently true, the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab was sold in 1951 and came with uranium ore, a geiger counter and other items as shown here. I didn't see any for sale at eBay, but I did find this book on sale at Amazon:



The Man Who Changed How Boys and Toys Were Made: The Life and Times of A. C. Gilbert, the Man Who Saved Christmas

Via.

*Previously: The atomic future.

*Buy Vault Boy bobbleheads at eBay.

Darkseid Minus the New Gods (link roundup)

Darkseid's pretty sad when everything else is removed from his panels. More strips here. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Nature is freaky. The Blue Butterfly starts life as a caterpillar, which impersonate immature red ants, secreting chemicals and making noises that convince the ants that it's a wayward grub. The ants carry the caterpillar to their underground homes and "keep looking after them even though the adopted intruders gobble ant grubs for 10 months before forming a chrysalis and flying away as adult butterflies."

2. How the NY Times and Wikipedia teamed up to keep the David Rohde's kidnapping a secret. Via.

3. Tips for how a indie video game developers can promote their games (much of the advice applies just as well to artists). Via.

4. So, what kind of kaiju will be revealed when NASA triggers "a six-mile-high explosion that scientists hope will confirm the presence of water?" Via.

*Previously: Suge Knight as Darkseid.

*Buy Darkseid toys at eBay.

Obama endorses the Blockberry (link roundup)

Obama endorses the Blockberry, a device available in China. Via.

And a few more links:

1. "During the Cold War, civil servants used to rehearse the end of the world." They were made as realistic as possible to show the Soviets how prepared Britain was for nuclear war. But ministers were discouraged from participating because they yapped so much the rehearsals took forever. Via.

2. Armored pig car.

3. Creepy Santa photo.

4. Harold Ramis interviewed. His answer as to why he didn't work on Saturday Night Live:

Lorne [Michaels] offered me a job, but at that point I was the head writer on SCTV. SNL was completely fueled by cocaine; the show was being written literally overnight. I didn’t want to stay up all night writing. And the show had a veneer of New York sophistication—very snide and superior. I thought, It’s just not me. Besides, we were already working on Animal House.

*Previously: Obama and the Statue of Liberty are O-Force.

*Buy Obama toys at eBay.

Monsters and Dames art for sale

Art by various artists with the theme Monsters and Dames is currently on sale at eBay to benefit the Seattle Children’s Hospital. Pictured, art by Mike Huddleston and Kieron Dwyer. Cool Dr. Doom print on sale at Huddleston's site. Via.

*Previously: Dr. Doom is so metal.

*Buy Dr. Doom toys at eBay.

Three Little Pigs: Mechanized Assault (link roundup)

Three Little Pigs: Mechanized Assault - - a Threadless t-shirt by Ian Leino that's currently out of stock. (I don't remember seeing it when it was posted.)

And a few more links:

1. Sam's Club promoted its pharmacy by giving kids candy in prescription pill bottles. Via.

2. Financial Times is my new favorite comedy site, asserting that Nikki Finke got $15 million for her website. Via.

3. Relatedly, the Daily Beast apparently does have a business plan, pressuring freelancers to sign ridiculously restrictive contracts for peanuts. Via.

4. This Dorothy takes no prisoners.

*Previously: Papercraft Three Little Pigs.

*Buy mecha at eBay.

Paul Bunyan centaur (link roundup)

Paul Bunyan/Babe the Blue Ox Centaur by Scrappers and Arne that either was or will be on sale here. Via.

And a few more links:

1. This can't possibly be real. Willie Brown (a longtime California politician) says of a recent party:

I went to an unbelievable dinner party at Charlotte and George Shultz's penthouse Monday night for retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki, the new secretary of veterans affairs.

The party was a Stanlee Gatti tour de force, complete with fatigue-wearing servers, camouflage table cloths, extras dressed up as snipers and a full Marine color guard and band.

It was like being in Afghanistan.

All this for about a dozen guests. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was there with his wife, Maria Shriver. Gavin Newsom was there with Jennifer, and boy is she showing.

At what point does the Red Death show up and eliminate all of them? Via.

2. Design for the tentacle tiger vinyl toy - - Melita Curphy's second toy made by Patch Together. Would you be interested in a vinyl toy based on the mascots of either of my sites?

3. Nice gallery of photos of a rainbow over Brooklyn.

4. Popeye/Spongebob mashup.

*Previously: Paul Bunyan sculpture.

*Buy Paul Bunyan toys at eBay.

Those poor, frightened journalists

It's a scary world we live in, as we watch the internet render one profession after another outdated. (I'm personally looking down the barrel of a 15% "temporary" pay cut.) And as professional journalists too late realize their jobs can be eliminated at any moment, they're all using their soapboxes, while they still have them, to desperately try to convince us that they're still valuable. (Apparently, complaining about blogs is easier work than investigating and reporting valuable news).

Today's loudest bleating came from Malcolm Gladwell, who decided to criticize Google's investment in Youtube and Chris Anderson's new book Free. Silly. Last time I checked, Google was raking it in. If they're willing to take a loss, for the time being on Youtube, then so be it. And Anderson's book simply states the obvious. We don't want to pay for things we can get for free, and thanks to the internet, we no longer have to pay for a bunch of the stuff we used to. So, if you want to make money selling something, whether it's information, music, or anything else, you're going to have to make sure it's valuable.

Professional reporters like Gladwell want to convince everyone that news gathering is somehow unique and should be protected. But there's nothing special about news gathering. There will be more news in the future. Not less. Every one of us will report on the news and share it with our smartphones and blogging platform of the day. The truly talented writers, or cleverest investigators, or most connected reporters will be able to support themselves as "professional" journalists, while the vast majority of English majors will find that their skill at rewriting canned stories from lobbyists is simply not very valuable.

Gladwell himself makes this point in his article, although he professes at least to not understand it. He writes:

And there’s plenty of other information out there that has chosen to run in the opposite direction from Free. Broadcast television—the original practitioner of Free—is struggling. But premium cable, with its stiff monthly charges for specialty content, is doing just fine.

Exactly. But HBO doesn't have subscribers because it charges. HBO has subscribers because it provides content that is so special people will pay for it.

People worried about protecting the "news" should focus their efforts on providing defamation protection for citizen journalists, whether through new laws or the creation of legal defense funds. After all, it's news reporting that needs protection, not newspapers.

Friends With You ad for Target

Over at the PepperMelon site, there's a great animated ad for Target utilizing characters designed by Friends With You.

*Previously: Friends With You desktop icons.

*Buy Friends With You toys at eBay.

Plush glow-in-the-dark Space Kook

Plush glow-in-the-dark Space Kook by Carlos Melgares for the Villains of Scooby-Doo art contest. Lots of odd plush creations on display at his site.

*Previously: Captain Cutler.

*Buy glow in the dark items at eBay.

Charlie Brown as The Watcher

Charlie Brown as The Watcher by Jeremy Eaton. You can see more odd mashups here, and here's Jeremy's webshop.

*Previously: Mothra/Peanuts mashup.

*Buy Peanuts toys at eBay.

War of the Worlds Goliath: An Animated Steampunk Epic

Currently in the works, War of the Worlds Goliath is a sequel to War of the Worlds, pitting giant, steam-powered Tripod battle machines against the Martians.




You can see more concept art here. Via these sites.

*Previously: War of the Worlds book cover collection.

*Buy War of the Worlds toys at eBay.

A flock of plague doctors

A flock of plague doctors descend on a town in the short film La Peste (The Plague) by Supinfocom students, Olivier Dubocage, Michal Firkowski, Benoît Galland and Gildas Le Franc:

La Peste from La Peste on Vimeo.

I took the liberty of whipping up a desktop wallpaper:



Via.

*Previously: Plague doctor mask.

*Buy plague masks at eBay.

Video of the world's first zero-g wedding

Noah Fulmor and Erin Finnegan got married on G-Force One. You can watch video of the nuptials here:



*Previously: Alter-G, the $75000 anti-gravity treadmill.

*Choose from thousands of cake toppers at eBay.

Intact, collapsed building (link roundup)

Go here for a gallery of photos of a building that fell over in Shanghai, but stayed more or less in one piece. Via.

And a few more links:

1. By Jason Chalker, Feral guinea pigs and Dia de los Hotrods.

2. Nice gallery of photos of the Mickey Mouse/Optimus Prime Transformer.

3. Star Trek rebooted desktop wallpaper featuring Scotty and his little alien buddy.

4. Three Northern California attorneys and two interpreters convicted of filing hundreds of fraudulent asylum applications.

*Previously: Exposing the truth about that collapsed San Francisco bridge.

*Buy Day of the Dead art at eBay.

Plankton as Galactus, Lego Plankton, and more

Paul Conrad channels Jack Kirby to draw the Spongebob Squarepants crew. Desktop wallpaper-sized image at the link.





Lego Plankton from Spongebob Squarepants by "Big Daddy" Nelson.


And finally, some bizarre Spongebob Squarepants-filled commercials by Thinkmake and PepperMelon for MTV. I like Spongebob as Shiva.

spongebob hypnosis from thinkmake on Vimeo.

spongebob guru from thinkmake on Vimeo.

Via.

*Previously: Luke Cage, if he'd been one of Kirby's New Gods.

*Buy Jack Kirby artwork at eBay.

Giant Ikea storage boxes (link roundup)

Ogilvy turned a bunch of balconies in Frankfurt into storage boxes to promote Ikea. More photos here.

And a few more links:

1. A woman went to the police station to speak to police and while talking to them, a squirrel poked his head up from her cleavage. "The woman was not fazed and gently pushed the squirrel back inside her shirt." Photo link.

2. Apparently 100 people were fired from Fox 11 news (in Los Angeles) last week.

3. Heavy metal demon.

4. Shazam, Betty Boop, and a giant robot.

*Previously: The Today Show asks "Cleavage at the office: Inappropriate?"

*Buy Betty Boop toys at eBay.

Captain Cutler

Captain Cutler by Shane "Das Chupa" Parker for the Villains of Scooby-Doo contest. Over at Shane's site, Darth Vader gets a hug.

*Previously: Space Kook by Rich Page.

*Buy Scooby Doo toys at eBay.