...I have taken a liking to Sara Bareilles album, Little Voice. You know- she's in that commercial for the Rhapsody music service.
Frankly, I don't like Love Song all that much. She does, however, have some absolutely beautiful songs with piano and vocals. I highly recommend City and Between the Lines.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Olympia
Short weekend trip out to Washington as a family reunion of sorts...
All of the trees outside our hotel were in full bloom with some sort of flower. I thought they were plum blossoms at first, but now that I look at the photos, maybe not. What are these?
Dinner at Anthony's Hearthfire Grill. It was located at a particularly picturesque location along Budd Inlet (thank you, Google Maps) and we were seated along these amazing 20-foot tall bay windows as we ate. Very nice in the early evening.
View seaward from the shore next to the restaurant. Reminds me of The Mist.
Bunch of pebbles along the water's edge. I dunno, I thought this made a nice photograph opportunity. I like rocks.
And finally, dinner. I guess the rest of the food was tasty and pretty reasonably priced, but the beer that I drank with dinner really stood out. I think the name was Fish Tale IPA. It was delicious for a darker beer, and had some sweet, almost fruity, notes in its flavor. Anthony's also makes an excellent burnt creme dessert.
Although I missed out on some choice toys that went on sale this weekend (GID Gatchigon- boo!), the scenery and time spent with loved ones made it worthwhile. For really reals.
All of the trees outside our hotel were in full bloom with some sort of flower. I thought they were plum blossoms at first, but now that I look at the photos, maybe not. What are these?
Dinner at Anthony's Hearthfire Grill. It was located at a particularly picturesque location along Budd Inlet (thank you, Google Maps) and we were seated along these amazing 20-foot tall bay windows as we ate. Very nice in the early evening.
View seaward from the shore next to the restaurant. Reminds me of The Mist.
Bunch of pebbles along the water's edge. I dunno, I thought this made a nice photograph opportunity. I like rocks.
And finally, dinner. I guess the rest of the food was tasty and pretty reasonably priced, but the beer that I drank with dinner really stood out. I think the name was Fish Tale IPA. It was delicious for a darker beer, and had some sweet, almost fruity, notes in its flavor. Anthony's also makes an excellent burnt creme dessert.
Although I missed out on some choice toys that went on sale this weekend (GID Gatchigon- boo!), the scenery and time spent with loved ones made it worthwhile. For really reals.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Whippin' It Out.
Brace yourselves for some of the worst photos to ever tarnish the front page of this blog. Seriously, I really hate the way these came out and I'm almost ashamed to put them out there.
On the other hand, the lighting of my apartment and these old Japanese cabinets is not exactly conducive to crisp photography, so I have to make do with flash photography via my point-and-shoot.
Uh, ok, so here's the first display cabinet. This one is a large, three-level case with glass doors that open from the center- it looks a bit better closed, but that blocks the view of some of the items in the front. My idea in stocking this cabinet was to have a vintage-style shelf at the bottom, with modern patchi-kaiju at the center and top. Clearly I need more vintage pieces to make this work... ;)
I think this is the middle of the second shelf. I should move the Rotofugi Chaos to the back, since he's sort of hiding the Betadoron behind him.
These Dream Rocket Dogumas are pretty darn difficult to place on my shelves. It's sad, really, because they're among my favorite pieces. I have to plop them on the shelves and build the other toys around them. I think I did a pretty good job in this case, as it maximizes shelf space without hiding too many of the items in back. A little cluster of RealxHead in back with my favorite Chaoses and Mutant Heads. And I just scored my first Mutant Evil, so the family is complete (soon)!
Flock of Baltans on the bottom shelf, right corner. Extra space for the two brown Baltans (painted and unpainted lucky bag version!) that I have coming in from Japan. The lottery painted blue Baltan on the left is probably the hardest one to find, although I don't think it will be too easy to track down the unpainted GID and clear w/ tinsel versions. Astromons shields his face from the toy paparazzo.
My small, but growing, collection of Ark and Orange sofubi. Love these little Butanohana dinos, but I think I bought too many of them... Maybe I'll take some to work.
Top left corner of the cabinet. My favorite RealxHead sculpt front and center- Gatchigon! I just need someone to hook me up with the limited blue version. Pleeeeease?
Other side of the top shelf. How many Dream Rocket toys can I fit on one shelf?? Answer: it is never enough.
I LOVE the Kaiju-Taro exclusive Marnons (I restrained myself and only bought two). The Blueberry version is especially beautiful under a display light- the clear vinyl over aqua paint has a watery, oceanic look. Ah, so beautiful, and yet so ugly. Also digging the new Mohican Hone-borg by RealxHead- I can't wait to see new colorways and arm extension parts.
Here's cabinet number two. The separate compartments in this one make for a much more interesting display, but not a whole lot of display space. Notice a certain beer-swilling rabbit on top...
My big GREEN Blobpus collection. Below, the Nougakis and Doromes have a Thriller-style dance-off. I really did not like the Dorome when it was first shown, but the amazing colors and the fact that it looks like a fish from the top (try it and see!) are winning me over.
Kaji-san is very creative in his material selection, which I think always keeps Blobpus at the top of the game. A couple of years ago, we saw the metallic Blobpus, and more recently he rolled out the special paint type seen on the left, as well as a marbled GID-clear vinyl Blobpus that I've heard is very beautiful.
My small EXOHEAD collection below... the Skull Rex still remains one of the coolest sofubi that I own. Robots, dinosaurs and clear vinyl, oh my! That definitely sounded more manly in my head.
Ah yes, my collection of 14 Dream Rocket Merodome Gatchamon. I think I'm 3 colors short of a full set- unfortunately one is the first painted version, which was limited to 10 pieces. Doh.
Walder toys just freakin' rule- in all of their forms.
Bigger Cronic stuff up top. I like my Mavs. Spider-Mav, Spider-Mav...
And finally on the bottom shelf, I showcase my customs and one-offs. The two little cubes on the left are the hand-cast resin Gelatinous3 from glitchpop- pretty cool and I totally need to do a photo shoot of these. Purple Mutant Chaos from Killer J, and a red/black custom Gatchigon by S7's very own Hiro. And, yes, the prototype flesh Mutant Chaos... ;)
I really enjoy handling and arranging all of the toys that I have collected so far, and almost every one has its own story. It's therapeutic to place all of them in the cabinets- flower arranging for toy nerds?
Oh, and if you're wondering why I cut the photos of the cabinets so close, it's because my house is a total mess. Well, not really, but my furniture is, shall we say, utilitarian. Free couch takers can't be choosers, anyhow.
On the other hand, the lighting of my apartment and these old Japanese cabinets is not exactly conducive to crisp photography, so I have to make do with flash photography via my point-and-shoot.
Uh, ok, so here's the first display cabinet. This one is a large, three-level case with glass doors that open from the center- it looks a bit better closed, but that blocks the view of some of the items in the front. My idea in stocking this cabinet was to have a vintage-style shelf at the bottom, with modern patchi-kaiju at the center and top. Clearly I need more vintage pieces to make this work... ;)
I think this is the middle of the second shelf. I should move the Rotofugi Chaos to the back, since he's sort of hiding the Betadoron behind him.These Dream Rocket Dogumas are pretty darn difficult to place on my shelves. It's sad, really, because they're among my favorite pieces. I have to plop them on the shelves and build the other toys around them. I think I did a pretty good job in this case, as it maximizes shelf space without hiding too many of the items in back. A little cluster of RealxHead in back with my favorite Chaoses and Mutant Heads. And I just scored my first Mutant Evil, so the family is complete (soon)!Flock of Baltans on the bottom shelf, right corner. Extra space for the two brown Baltans (painted and unpainted lucky bag version!) that I have coming in from Japan. The lottery painted blue Baltan on the left is probably the hardest one to find, although I don't think it will be too easy to track down the unpainted GID and clear w/ tinsel versions. Astromons shields his face from the toy paparazzo.My small, but growing, collection of Ark and Orange sofubi. Love these little Butanohana dinos, but I think I bought too many of them... Maybe I'll take some to work.
Top left corner of the cabinet. My favorite RealxHead sculpt front and center- Gatchigon! I just need someone to hook me up with the limited blue version. Pleeeeease?Other side of the top shelf. How many Dream Rocket toys can I fit on one shelf?? Answer: it is never enough.I LOVE the Kaiju-Taro exclusive Marnons (I restrained myself and only bought two). The Blueberry version is especially beautiful under a display light- the clear vinyl over aqua paint has a watery, oceanic look. Ah, so beautiful, and yet so ugly. Also digging the new Mohican Hone-borg by RealxHead- I can't wait to see new colorways and arm extension parts.Here's cabinet number two. The separate compartments in this one make for a much more interesting display, but not a whole lot of display space. Notice a certain beer-swilling rabbit on top...My big GREEN Blobpus collection. Below, the Nougakis and Doromes have a Thriller-style dance-off. I really did not like the Dorome when it was first shown, but the amazing colors and the fact that it looks like a fish from the top (try it and see!) are winning me over.Kaji-san is very creative in his material selection, which I think always keeps Blobpus at the top of the game. A couple of years ago, we saw the metallic Blobpus, and more recently he rolled out the special paint type seen on the left, as well as a marbled GID-clear vinyl Blobpus that I've heard is very beautiful.My small EXOHEAD collection below... the Skull Rex still remains one of the coolest sofubi that I own. Robots, dinosaurs and clear vinyl, oh my! That definitely sounded more manly in my head.
Ah yes, my collection of 14 Dream Rocket Merodome Gatchamon. I think I'm 3 colors short of a full set- unfortunately one is the first painted version, which was limited to 10 pieces. Doh.Walder toys just freakin' rule- in all of their forms.
Bigger Cronic stuff up top. I like my Mavs. Spider-Mav, Spider-Mav...And finally on the bottom shelf, I showcase my customs and one-offs. The two little cubes on the left are the hand-cast resin Gelatinous3 from glitchpop- pretty cool and I totally need to do a photo shoot of these. Purple Mutant Chaos from Killer J, and a red/black custom Gatchigon by S7's very own Hiro. And, yes, the prototype flesh Mutant Chaos... ;)
I really enjoy handling and arranging all of the toys that I have collected so far, and almost every one has its own story. It's therapeutic to place all of them in the cabinets- flower arranging for toy nerds?
Oh, and if you're wondering why I cut the photos of the cabinets so close, it's because my house is a total mess. Well, not really, but my furniture is, shall we say, utilitarian. Free couch takers can't be choosers, anyhow.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Please Mr. Postman There Are Kaiju Sleeping!
Today was one of those magical days when the postal service decided to deliver everything at once- right along with a healthy serving of eyerolls from my co-workers. Yeah, that's right- go drink/snort your money away next weekend. Or whatever it is that male humans do with United States currency.
And there are a couple of rad little Cronic monsters in here. The Nougaki in front was a standard release from the "A" Type Lucky Bags from earlier this year. Pearl orange vinyl with mottled pinks, purples and golds- I can't decide if it reminds me of a tropical fish or a poisonous fruit. Next in line is the Dorome released last month at Rotofugi's booth at Wondercon 2008. This is the best Dorome yet- the subtle metallic paints and sage-green pearl base vinyl flow together beautifully.
To the left is the Rotofugi exclusive Marnon, also from Wondercon. Featuring a new forked tongue (following the normal tongue and rather penile 'eyeball' tongue), Marnon is made of clear candy apple green vinyl with chewy GID vinyl poured inside. Painted version here.
In back we have a big M1Go Baltan Seijin 2nd done up in crystal clear emerald green vinyl with a bit of silvery spray on top. I believe they were one of the larger prizes for M1Go's popular ring toss game from the last Wonderfestival.
I also finally bought one of those K-T Original tumblers. It's pretty sturdy and high-quality for only $10. And it's totally cool to drink from a plastic character cup.
And my quest to spend all of my money before tax time continues. If you don't have any money, they can't make you pay income tax, right? What? Jail? Crap.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
