Coming up on September 5th at Dragon Con is the Steampunk Exhibition, which looks like it will be a hoot with the best and the brightest of Steampunk engineers and artificers from around the world. On top of that, they are going for a Guinness world record for the largest Steampunk photograph (they better be using an authentic Steampunk photography system). And yes, Steampunk is what happens when Goths discover brown. Of course, there will be a gazillion other things going on at DragonCon, so you might want to consider attending next year (I am pretty sure this year, like most of the last decade, is completely sold out).
These two songs, Go Go Maniac and Listen are from the anime K-On!, all about a high school music club going for girl-band rock and roll fame. But there were these guys who liked the series and made their own instruments out of whatever came to hand… test tubes, rulers, plumbing supplies, pots and cans, you name it. And they are actually pretty amazing, as you can hear. Sadly, I don’t yet read squiggly, so I can’t tell you anything about the band except I like them and the horse they… something. Thanks to Japanator for the heads up on that one.
I don’t know if the video was taken down, or if it is just temporarily unavailable as I write this. So I will post a blip on Vocaloid, which is a software application that allows you to build your own singing idol, and hope the other video magically reappears.
Nothing really looks exciting for this weekend, although Make-Out with Violence could be an interesting change of pace. This is an undead coming-of-age story of the comedy romance horror genre that was made in 2008 and has been touring the film festival circuit ever since. It has picked up a few awards, so if you are near one of the theaters this limited release is playing in, it might be worth checking out. The other film that looks interesting this weekend is not sci-fi or strictly fantasy, but straight historic adventure: Centurion. This film is an excellent example about how film making works, for it is based on a true story. The true story is that in the year 117 the 9th Legion of the Roman Army marched across what would become the UK, and was never seen again. Since that march was the start of the movie, they made the rest of it up; looks like it could be a fun adventure film.
In the too silly to be avoided department, this weeks winner is Ninjas versus Zombies. While I personally won’t be adding this one to my collection, I will watch it when it comes to late night cable. You know with that title someone will be picking it up. It is kind of sad when this is the only movie worth mentioning for the week (unless something sneaked past me).
Live action TV series did much better, with Lost: The Complete Sixth and Final Season finally being available. Which also means that Lost: The Complete Collection will be on the shelves as well, for anyone who hasn’t been collecting the seasons one by one.
I am happy to be able to report that Red vs. Blue: Recreation, Season 7 is also being released this week. That only leaves one more season before all of them are available as well, and this series is my favorite Machinima program.
In Anime, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Part 2 completes season two of this excellent paratemporal Steampunk story. A series I have not run into before, Persona -trinity soul-2 is also being released. I missed the release of the first half of the series in July as well somehow. This one is Subbed, not Dubbed, and features a series of mysteries to be solved in a futuristic city. If you prefer your action on galactic scale battlegrounds, then Tytania: 1 may be just what you’re looking for. This box set is the first 13 episodes of the series, with the second half to release separately later.
Be warned, this one is NOT work friendly, but it is a whole lot of fun! The original lives at the Rachel Does Stuff directory on YouTube (owned and created by Rachel Bloom), and I was passed the link by Neil Himself. Just after that he posted the famous Kurt Vonnegut quote: What Science Fiction & Pornography had in common was their vision of an impossibly hospitable world. Only fitting, considering what the final T-Shirt of the video says. And for those who were wondering, this video is by the same woman who Tweeted: Promo line for the new season of Weeds: “The plot deepens.” How much deeper can it get? Nancy f*cks a Martian and invents the flying car? 10:40 PM Jun 5th via web.
When did you first start playing the game Metroid, and when did you last play? This one has been around for 25 years or so, and has been ported through a number of platforms (all Nintendo flavored). But if you are planning to go for the upcoming Metroid: Other M, you will probably need to refresh yourself on the back story. In the first video, Samus Aran (the heroine) brings you up to speed on the history, while in the second you get a trailer of the new game. Thanks to Kotaku for the heads up on this one.