Vintage Olympic t-shirts

Vintage Olympic t-shirts periodically on sale at Frank James.

*Previously: Vancouver Winter Olympics Mascots vinyl toy set.

*Buy Olympics posters at eBay.

Free Space Invaders-themed iPhone utilities (link roundup)

Free Space Invaders-themed iPhone utilities available for download. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Genius - - for father's day, send a father's day video some random person made. For example, here are the results for happy father's day john. Via.

2. Many of the venues built for the Greek Olympics have been abandoned. (I'm quite proud that Los Angeles hasn't been dumb enough to pay for new sports stadiums.) Via.

3. I Dream in Retro: a clever mashup of classic 8Bit games (it sstarts when the man goes to sleep). Via.

*Previously: Space Invaders 2: Earth Strikes Back.

*Buy Olympics posters at eBay.

Vancouver Winter Olympics Mascots Vinyl Toy Set

Courtesy of Jeff Pidgeon's excellent toy collection, a photo of a Vancouver Winter Olympics Mascots vinyl toy set. There are various Vancouver Olympics Mascots toys on sale at eBay and Amazon.

Sad plush elephant (link roundup)

Cramped elephant via these sites.

And a few more links:

1. Some indication that the Canadian and international luge governing bodies shuld have known how dangerous the luge track was.

2. Blog dedicated to introverts. Via.

3. How to blur faces in videos. Via.

*Previously: Batman on an elephant.

*Buy Olympics posters at eBay.

Skeleton Graphics for Great Britain's Olympic Team

Definitely the best aspect of the Olympics - - graphic design. Below are skeleton graphics for Team Britain by Robin Howie:

3D portraits of athletes. These will be on the top of the boards:




And this weather graphic will be on the bottom:


This rejected design features weatherman Michael Fish:

He became a subject of infamy in the wake of the Great Storm of 1987; a few hours before the storm broke, on 15 October 1987, he said during a forecast: "Earlier on today, apparently, a woman rang the BBC and said she heard there was a hurricane on the way... well, if you're watching, don't worry, there isn't!". That evening, the worst storm to hit South East England since 1703 caused record damages and killed 18 people.

Via.

*Previously: The Burton uniform for Team USA's snowboarders.

*Buy Olympics posters at eBay.

The Burton uniform for the U.S. Olympic Snowboarding Team?

Above is the Burton-designed uniform for the U.S. Olympic Snowboarding Team. Sure, it looks like a pair of beat up jeans and flannel shirt, but it's actually cutting edge Gore-Tex. Via these sites.

*Previously: Meet the Jamaican ski team.

*Buy Olympics posters at eBay.

Meet the Jamaican Ski Team (which is headed to the Winter Olympics)

Meet Errol Kerr. He's lived in Tahoe since he was 10, but he has dual Jamaican citizenship and will ski for Jamaica in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Via.

*Previously: Vancouver 2010 t-shirts.

*Buy Olympics posters at eBay.

K9 Storm (link roundup)

Coming soon from K9 Storm:

The K9 Storm Intruder, a bulletproof dog vest with a wireless camera, speakers and a microphone built in. The handler can see what the dog sees and issue commands through the audio system.

The vest is estimated to cost $20,000.

And a few more links:

1. Icons for the sports in the Olympics of the future.

2. "The craze for toy-driven feature films has given rise to a new term in the Hollywood lexicon. In production meetings, studio executives have begun asking if a particular project is 'toyetic' -- meaning whether its concept can lend itself to a toy, and whether the project will be able to sell tickets and merchandise." Via.

3. Consumerist is giving away free anti-gift cards.

*Previously: Dog wearing a gas mask.

*Buy pet costumes at Amazon.

Castle Crashers cosplay gallery (link roundup)

Castle Crashers Beatles homage found in this cosplay gallery.

And a few more links:

1. Follow up to that video of Ginobli smacking a bat: He got rabies shots, and the bat was fine.

2. The Bird's Nest arena created for China's Olympics is a financial albatross. ("Financial albatross" would be a good phrase for a Googlebomb.)

3. Mongolian hip hop video.

*Previously: Remember how ugly the London 2012 logo is?

*Buy Castle Crashers toys at eBay.

Quatchi cupcakes (link roundup)

Cupcakes by Coco Cake Cupcakes featuring Vancouver 2010 Olympics mascot Quatchi.

And a few more links:

1. Off to see the (evil) wizard.

2. How Fake Steve Jobs celebrates Halloween.

3. How to make Stormtrooper costumes for kids. Via.

*Previously: Octonauts cupcakes.

*Buy Quatchi collectibles at eBay.

Logo for Green Genius (link roundup)

Logo for Green Genius biodegradable trash bag. The logo is by Hub Strategy & Communication, which has the typical lousy flash website favored by designers. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Zazzle is holding a recipe binder design contest with a $2,000 grand prize.

2. Play-Asia has Professor Layton plush toys from $11 to $20.

3. The Vancouver 2010 Olympics graphics are pretty lackluster. Via.

*Previously: These people belong in the Real Men of Genius Hall of Fame.

*Buy Olympic posters at eBay.

Iron Man covers (link roundup)

Iron Man covers by Rian Hughes. Of course, it seems like only yesterday that Stark was disassembled by Tony Harris. Via.

And a few more links:

1. $12 t-shirt sale at Threadless.

2. Where the Wild Things Are design a fort contest. I was going to put together a fort photo gallery for inspiration, but found almost nothing worth posting.

3. Interesting analysis of the 2016 Summer Olympics vote. It was probably a lot closer than you think.

*Previously: The original Chicago 2016 Olympics logo.

*Buy Iron Man toys at eBay.

Win an autographed copy of Eisner-nominated series "Sentences"

UPDATE: The contest is now closed. The randomly chosen winner was Eric Sonnakolb.

To advertise it's new cherry-flavored version, Dr. Pepper is hosting a "Dr. Pepper-inspired art" art contest, where the winners get three-day apprenticeships with an artist in New York. One winner will get to work with comic book artist Ronald Wimberly.

Here's a sample of his work:





He has a huge amount of work on display at his personal site and DeviantArt, where there are some desktop wallpapers. He has original art on sale here, including the Street Fighter image you see above.

He also has skateboard decks like this one:



on sale here.

Courtesy of Dr. Pepper, I have a copy of Sentences: The Life of M.F. Grimm to give away. Sentences is illustrated by Wimberly and written by Percy "M.F. Grimm" Carey, and was nominated for two Eisners in 2008 (Best Reality-Based Work and Best Lettering). Here's the official description:

In SENTENCES, Carey chronicles his life in the sometimes glamorous, and often violent, hip-hop industry; from the first time he picked up a microphone at a block party as a youngster, to the day he lost the use of his legs to gang violence, to his incarceration, and eventually, to his self-reinvention and rise back to the top of his game, becoming a Hip-Hop Grand Master and being placed among the pantheon of the culture. No questions are left unanswered and no apologies are made, resulting in what's sure to be a groundbreaking graphic novel.

Joining Carey is up-and-coming artist Ronald Wimberly (LUCIFER, HELLBLAZER: PAPA MIDNITE covers), who breathtakingly illustrates this gritty tale of righteous redemption. If what you know about hip-hop is the flashy cars and voluptuous women that music videos try to sell, be prepared to experience the real side of the industry that only someone who has survived the rise, fall, and rise again, can tell.

Here's a live interview of Wimberly and Carey (well, mostly Carey):



Wimberly gets more of a chance to talk in this interview, which includes footage of him painting (and a cleverly placed Dr. Pepper can).

So, for a chance to win a copy of Sentences signed by Wimberly, simply comment on this post and make sure your comment includes your email. One comment per person, and unfortunately this contest is limited to USA residents. The contest closes Friday, April 24, 2008, at 8:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, and I'll announce the winner shortly thereafter.

*Previously: Desktop Wallpaper - - Puma's homage to Tommie Smith.

*Buy Street Fighter action figures at eBay.

Vancouver 2010 t-shirts

Some great t-shirts on sale in the Vancouver 2010 Olympics store.

*Previously: Adorable Vancouver 2010 Olympics mascots.

*Buy Olympics posters at eBay.

If the Beijing Olympics mascots were Animated Transformers

Beijing Olympics mascots as Animated Transformers by Tugen Wang. More designs at Flickr. Via.

*Previously: China had the most golds and most last place finishes at the Beijing Olympics.

*Buy custom action figures at eBay.

Fabian Espindola earns publicity for Major League Soccer the hard way

Looks like the video at Youtube is down for the moment at least, but Fabian Espindola plays soccer for Real Salt Lake. He scored a goal and celebrated by doing a backflip. Two problems. He was offside and the goal didn't count. And he broke his leg. A bit more information here.

Here's some more recent news:

1. 100 goats hired to clear Downtown Los Angeles lot of weeds. Link.


2. Police officers, including a SWAT team, surround house for eight hours before realizing it's empty. Link.


3. FactCheck.org analyzes various claims about Sarah Palin. Link.


4. Slovakia beat Bulgaria 82-0 in a women's ice hockey qualifier for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The previous two games for Bulgaria weren't much better. Link.

*See previously posted news stories here.

*Buy Our Dumb Century: The Onion Presents 100 Years of Headlines from America's Finest News Source for 32% off at Amazon.

Teenager sells website created with free tools for $60,000 (and other news)

1. Using free software, Hansup Yoon, age 15, created a forum called ZuneBoards, devoted to Microsoft's Zune. In two years it grew to 60,000 members and pulled in about $1,000 a month thanks to AdSense and Tribal Fusion. He just sold it for $62,000, which is presumably far more than Microsoft has made by selling the Zune. Details here.

2. Buffalo Bills rookie offensive tackle Demetrius Bell is the lowest rated player in Madden 2008. Link.

3. See the differences between an article that appeared in the New York Times, and the heavily altered version that appeared in a Beijing newspaper.

4. NASA space shuttle mission had a secret emblem which signified that the shuttle mission had the secret task of deploying a satellite inspection spacecraft.



*Previously: Awesome U.S. military patches part 6.

*Emblems from the Pentagon's Black World is 32% off at Amazon.

Author of “100 Things to Do Before You Die” dies at age 47 after a fall at home

1. Dave Freeman, co-author of "100 Things to Do Before You Die," died last week after a fall at his home in the Venice section of Los Angeles. He was 47. Link.

2. Man finds lost camera loaded with digital photos, uploads them to Flickr, and community teams up to find camera's owner. Link.

3. Philosopher John Rawls lost two brothers in childhood after infecting them with deadly diseases:

In 1928, the 7-year-old Rawls contracted diphtheria. His brother Bobby, younger by 20 months, visited him in his room and was fatally infected. The next winter, Rawls contracted pneumonia. Another younger brother, Tommy, caught the illness from him and died.

Link.

4. China had the most gold medals at the Beijing Olympics and also had the most last place finishes. Link.

*Find more news stories here.

*Buy 100 Things to Do Before You Die for 32% off at Amazon.

More clumsy fakery by the Chinese

The children representing the 56 different ethnic groups in the opening ceremonies were actually all from the Han Chinese majority. Link.

And why are the stadiums only half-filled? Because the Chinese government won't let people buy tickets out of fear of demonstrations by large groups. Link.

*Previous posts on China and the Olympics here.

*Buy merchandise for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Broadsword fencing and other excellent ideas for Olympic events

Broadsword fencing, underwater blogging, and other excellent ideas for Olympic events illustrated by Matthias Adolfsson here.

*Previously: Baroque Boba Fett by Matthias Adolfsson.

*Buy merchandise for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.