Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Monster Truck (link roundup)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Monster Truck. Available as a desktop wallpaper here.

And a few more links:

1. Don't miss your chance to win an autographed copy of the Eisner nominated serious Sentences. Your chances of winning are currently tremendous. Seriously, no one wants a free signed comic book?

2. Monstrous Care Bear.

3. One of my favorite artists, Alex CF is currently accepting commissions.

4. Some indications Russia is about to seize Georgia's capital.

*Previously: Jesus, the monster truck.

*Buy TMNT toys at eBay.

Soviet Giant Robot (link roundup)

A "Big Red" soviet version of the Large Martin robot from Ashley Wood and Babmabaland Toys that's going on sale April 21. No mention of whether this version will go on sale or for how much.

And a few more links:

1. A tsunami of awesome animated gif.

2. Photo of Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station. Via.

3. Beautiful Batwoman Detective Comics cover by J.H. Williams III.

4. Apparently a tradition in Otago, New Zealand is the "Great Easter Bunny Hunt." This year, 14,799 rabbits were killed in 24 hours. Photo link.

*Previously: Harry Potter-themed mystery box.

*Buy Harry Potter posters at eBay.

Weird animal costumes (link roundup)

Weird animal costumes spotted at Kid Acne's blog. which I was exploring because there's a set of blind box toys designed by Kid Acne going on sale at Kidrobot next month.

And a few more links:

1. Chinese citizen Shu Chun Teng studied fungus at Cornell in New York in 1923. He spent the next several years traveling through China collecting fungus specimens. When the Japanese invaded China in 1937, he arranged for the specimens to be smuggled to Cornell, where they've been kept ever since. Cornell is now giving them back. Via.

2. If you'd like someone to boo during the baseball season, you won't do much better than Gary Sheffield.

3. Japanese navy used a super powerful "bullhorn" to scare off Somali pirates.

4. During the 70's, America learned that the Soviets were using an underwater cable to send communications. The cable was in an area that was full of listening devices and that was frequently patrolled by Soviet ships. Nevertheless, the US sent a submarine into the area, which deposited a diver. The diver planted a device that wrapped around the cable and recorded the transmissions. It was even designed to fall off if the cable was raised. But the device could not transmit. So every so often, a diver had to return to retrieve it. The mission went great. And then the Soviets found about it... Via.

*Previously: Submarine, airship, and a giant tentacled monster.

*Buy submarine toys at eBay.

There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor's Baby

Sam Weber posted some terrific new books covers. First,



There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor's Baby: Fairy Tales by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya, available for preorder for $10 at Amazon.

Second,



A cover to a new Cirque Du Freak novel by Darren Shan (which I'm not familiar with). You can see two more Cirque Du Freak covers here.

*Previously: News anchors freak out when costumed prankster runs through studio.

*Buy nesting dolls at eBay.

A young Vladimir Putin pretends to be a tourist (link roundup)

File this under too good to verify (or maybe, "fake but accurate"), but does this photograph show KGB agent Vladimir Putin posing as a tourist during one of Reagan's visits to Moscow? Apparently a common Soviet technique was to plant KGB agents as tourists and then have the tourists ask Western leaders provocative/obnoxious questions. More here and here.

And a few more links:

1. Illustrator David Cousens is currently accepting commissions. You can see some of his recent artwork here.

2. Now this is how you start an article:

The corner of Hollywood and Western is the epicenter of an underground world: a community outside the collective vision of club-hoppers and restaurant-goers rushing by, and one forgotten by public policy. Homeless youth, many cast off at 18 by the foster-care system, root out lives in a dim, moldy labyrinth of “abandos” — abandoned buildings hidden behind storefronts and the busy boulevard.

You can continue reading Daniel Heimpel's article for the LA Weekly here.

3. Obese police officer wins lawsuit requiring that he be reinstated to the police force.

4. At least one of the dvds Obama gave to the British prime minister can't be viewed in England due to DRM. Via.

*Previously: Russia's patent agency just awarded some guy the patent on the ;-) emoticon.

*Buy KGB collectibles at eBay.

Aretha Franklin's hat, immortalized (link roundup)

Go here for a roundup of photoshopped images featuring Aretha Franklin's inauguration day hat.

And a few more links:

1. Octo-mom costume.

2. I get a lot of my world news from Thomas Barnett. For example, strains in the relationship between Medvedev and Putin. And a place that desperately needs the help of a real life Magnificent Seven.

3. The name Boba Fett isn't mentioned in The Empire Strikes Back. Just another indication that he's one of the alltime best designed characters, ever. More surprising Star Wars trivia here.

4. Tenacious Toys now has an affiliate program and is giving away a Dunny with purchases over $50.

*Previously: Crocheted octopus hat.

*Buy Boba Fett toys at eBay.

Homemade Coraline Doll (link roundup)

Mammazakka made a tiny Coraline doll. More photos, including a few in progress shots, in her Flickr gallery. Relatedly, recent posts at Evil Buttons, my Coraline site, have included more giveaways and Coraline concept art.

And a few more links:

1. LeBron James weighs is 6'8", but supposedly weighs more than the center on his team - - 7'3", 260-pound Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

2. There was a thriving market for used light bulbs in the Soviet Union. Go here and scroll 2/3 of the way down to find out why. Via.

3. General Motors, which accepted $9.4 billion in bailout money from US taxpayers gave Super Bowl MVP and multi-millionaire Santonio Holmes an $85,000 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid Platinum. They did it with as little publicity as possible to avoid uproar. Via.

4. If you're interested in what sort of traffic "big" websites get, Atlantic.com is crowing that their new "Business Channel" gets 20,000 page views a day.

*Previously: Video of LeBron James losing at HORSE.

*Buy Coraline toys at eBay and Amazon.

Lego Muno (link roundup)

Lego Muno from Yo Gabba Gabba by Peter Aoun.

And a few more links:

1. Michael Dell clumsily tries to solicit business from Vladimir Putin. Putin respond with anger.

2. Read about Kurt Warner's life story and you'll care who wins the Super Bowl.

3. Factory safety-themed screensaver by Art Lebedev.

4. Long Beach City College in Los Angeles is overrun by rabbits.

*Previously: Photo of a four-foot-long rabbit.

*Buy KGB collectibles at eBay.

Found item bug sculpture (link roundup)

Found item bug sculpture by Lockwasher. Much more ominous than the bug sculptures I posted earlier.

And a few more links:

1. Michael Lewis jokes about his role as editor of a collection for McSweeney's:

Well it had really impure beginnings. Dave is a friend, and he has this philanthropy that is forever in need of dollars. And he came over here in early 2007 and we were having lunch. And he asked me if I would edit one of these anthologies for McSweeney's. And they've had some very distinguished people do them -- you know, David Sedaris and Michael Chabon and so on. But they never sell. But there's an advance -- you know, ten grand or twenty grand or whatever -- and so we schemed. What could we throw out there that we could fool people into buying that would actually generate real dollars?

Amazon link.

2. Roger Ebert makes an interesting observation about Paul Blart: Mall Cop:

Kevin James illustrates how lighting and camera angles can affect our perception of an actor. In the early scenes, he's a fat schlub, but after he goes into action, the camera lowers subtly, the lighting changes, and suddenly he's a good-looking action hero, ready for business.

3. You can see lots of photos of the special edition Coraline Nike Dunks here. Actually, special, special edition because the models on display include props from the movie.

4. Russia claims this is the last year it will be allowing tourists to go to the space station. I imagine there's a pretty interesting story about their reasons, although it's not really explored in the article. Via.

*Previously: Michael Chabon's script for Spider-Man 2.

*Buy "Kosmos: A Portrait of the Russian Space Age" at Amazon.

Gallery of abandoned, nuclear-powered Soviet lighthouses

English Russia:

[T]he Communist Party of the Soviet Union decided to build a chain of lighthouses to guide ships finding their way in the dark polar night across uninhabited shores of the Soviet Russian Empire. So it has been done and a series of such lighthouses has been erected. They had to be fully autonomous, because they were situated hundreds and hundreds miles aways from any populated areas. After reviewing different ideas on how to make them work for a years without service and any external power supply, Soviet engineers decided to implement atomic energy to power up those structures. So, special lightweight small atomic reactors were produced in limited series to be delivered to the Polar Circle lands and to be installed on the lighthouses.

The lighthouses have been abandoned and looted. See a gallery of images here. Via.

*Previously: Lighthouse desktop wallpaper.

*Buy "Lighthouses Around The World A Pictorial History" at Amazon.

Beastie Boys poster by Eric Tan (link roundup)

Poster by Eric Tan for the Beastie Boys show that will open January 8 at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles.

And a few more links:

1. Russian man who worked for nuclear company in Iran was found dead (and frozen) in a mountainous area. Russian and Iranian press say he died in an accidental rockfall. But no one wants to reveal his name. Via.

2. Fox settled Judith Regan's defamation lawsuit for $10.75 million. Via.

3. Did the American Idol producers knowingly put the woman who had been stalking Paula Abdul for 17 years on the show?

4. Michael Vick spent $201,840 on the day he went to prison. About half of that was for a Mercedes.

*Previously: Tan's X-Men poster.

*Buy Beastie Boys posters at eBay.

Saruman, Guitar Hero (link roundup)

Saruman with guitar found here.

And a few links:

1. Man with name tattooed on neck tries to give fake name to police. Via.

2. This February new safety regulations take effect that will be disastrously burdensome to smalltime toy makers.

3. Russia's patent agency just awarded some guy the patent on the ;-) emoticon. Via.

4. Tonight's full moon will be the closest to the Earth in the last 15 years.

*Previously: Iron Giant, rock god.

*Buy Saruman toys at eBay.

Robot t-shirt, Yakuza flash drive, and more!

Monster Hunter Pooggy blind box toys.




A pensive little robot stars in today's Tee Fury t-shirt.




Yakuza Mimobot by Scott "eetteekers" Lee.



Cosmobot by Roxie Vizcarra.



Kung Fu Panda Plus Secrets of the Furious Five DVD Two-Pack giveaway.

*Previously: Bob the Builder received an extra finger in Japan so people wouldn't think he was Yakuza.

*Buy Japanese Tattoo Collections at Amazon.

But did you notice my client's third testicle?

The article's a little vague as to exactly who is on trial for what, but the main point is that a woman is alleging sexual misconduct, and during cross examination was asked whether she noticed her assailant's unusual growth, which resembled a third testicle. The witness answered that she had not. Link (don't worry, no photo). Via. (Photo link.)


Here's a few more stories:

1. Best Buy is considering substituting its old lousy logo for a new, possibly worse looking logo:

I wonder what logo would best capture its delightful blend of mediocre selection and high prices? Via.


2. After receiving much mockery, Vietnam suspended its plan to ban very short, thin and flat-chested people from driving. Link. Via.


3. Domino's finds out Pizza Hut is testing out the "Natural" and "Natural Rustica" pizzas in the USA, proceeds to trademark those names in the UK. Link. Via.


4. And who doesn't like a good Brezhnev joke:

When Brezhnev took over as Soviet chairman, he found two letters in his desk from his predecessor, along with a note to open them only in times of emergency when he didn't have an excuse.

Brezhnev got into trouble, and opened the first one. It said "Blame everything on me."

When Brezhnev got into trouble the second time, he opened the second letter, and it said "Sit down, and write two letters..."

Via.

Find more weird news here.

*Buy "Wacky Laws, Weird Decisions, & Strange Statutes" at Amazon.

Cthulhu, leader of the Soviets?

Cthulhu as a Soviet in this image by Xavier Marrero.

*Find previously posted Cthulhu creations here.

*Buy Cthulhu toys and collectibles at eBay.

Lady Cosmonaut

Lady Cosmonaut by Andrew Bawidamann found via these sites.

It's available, along with several other pin-up style illustrations by Bawidamann on prints and t-shirts.

*Previously: Why satellites stay in orbit.

*Buy vintage tin robots at eBay.

Palin, McCain, Bush Soviet Propaganda Style

I traced this Soviet propaganda-style image of Palin, McCain, and Bush to this link. Via.

Update: Looks like the image originated here and is available as a t-shirt.

And why not check out the Sarah Palin name generator.

*Previously: Ship-smashing Samurai poster.

*Buy propaganda poster collections at Amazon.

Mutated nesting doll by Jamie Pitarch

"Chernobyl" by Jamie Pitarch. Via these sites.

*Previously: Stripper nesting dolls.

*Find nesting dolls at eBay.

Interested in buying some inflatable Russian military equipment?

Inflatable tanks and other vehicles on sale here. Via.

*Previously: Tentacled Russian monster threatens the world.

*Buy Soviet propaganda collections at Amazon.

Abortion is more common than live births in Russia

I read that information today, did a little research and found out that Russian women had 4.6 million abortions in 1988. (Per Wikipedia, there were 854,122 abortions in the USA in 2003.)

*Previously: Stalin grew up in Georgia, when it was known for streetfighting.

Buy Soviet propaganda collections at Amazon.