Monday, November 19, 2007

Magnifying Glasses: The New Paintbrush

Magnifying glasses are sometimes misused by little boys who like to watch insects burn and squirm on a bright sunny day. Darren Robinson, of Phantom Planet, has found another use for the so the so-called insect torture device, but don't worry, folks. No living objects are harmed in his way either :)

Instead, what Darren does is burn hand drawn images onto pieces of wood with a magnifying glass along with the aid of the sun's rays. The process of creating one piece can take anywhere up to 7-25 hours -- it all depends on the size of the piece.

Here's a snippet of Darren at work:



[For other videos, go here]

The finished product:

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And here are other pieces he has done:

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(Phantom Planet Logo)

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For more information, pictures, and a better explanation, be sure to check out his MySpace page for his solar art. If you like what you see, add him! And if you haven't heard of the band he's in (where've you been, buddy?), go check them out because Phantom Planet is good for your ears like chicken soup is for your soul.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Ring in the Holiday with Gama Go

It's November now and holiday cheer is spread all over the place. Yes, I know Turkey Day hasn't stumbled upon us yet, but Christmas is just around the corner (and all over malls!). Why not start shopping now? Gama-Go will be holding their Fourth Annual Holiday Sale on Saturday, Nov. 10 from 12-5 p.m at Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco. This sale only happens once a year, folks!

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There's bound to be something there for everyone: men's & women's jackets and tees, accessories, jewelry, one-of-a-kind samples, wallets, bags, and even clothes for babies with prices going up to 75% off! The flyer pretty much says it all. If you want to get the goods, go early before someone else swipes it before you can.

The Rickshaw Stop is located at 155 Fell Street. For more information check out the sales' official page.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Halloween Blythe Meet

Last Sunday (the 28th) my friend, Ashley, and I went to Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco to attend the Halloween Blythe Meet. I actually found out about it on Flickr -- I swear, I'm obsessed with that site! Anyway, it was pretty overwhelming to see all these Blythe dolls grouped together. I dressed Tigerlily up as Minnie Mouse (I even made her mouse ears out of pipe cleaner), Ashley's Abigail was supposed to look like a masquerade girl, but Ashley forgot to put the mask she made in her purse. Whoops! And my friend Jean asked me to bring her doll Sylvie . . she was "Lady of the Night". HeHe . . .

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I'm not sure how many people came, but there were sOoOoOoO many dolls!!! I think we counted over 80. I even got to see some Kenners (they're the original Blythes made in the 70s) up close. I met a lot of nice people, including Cat who organized the whole meet, and talking to everyone there made me feel not so weird about my new found love for Blythe dolls.

Some people brought little goody-bags for everyone and Ion, a.k.a. Blythe Boy, had special ones for the first 24 people who showed up -- they had a Littlest Pet Shop toy inside along with some candy. I got an owl and I've already gone crazy taking pictures of it in trees at school!

There was also a contest for which dolls had the best costumes:



The winners, L-R: Joey (winner), Ion (2nd place), and Poohie (3rd place).

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Here's me showing some of the dolls:



The guy in the video is Henry. He was super nice and he also owns the "Bon Jovi" doll!

Here's some pictures that I took at the meet:

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[All photos and videos are courtesy of NiNa]

More of my pictures can be seen on where else? My Flickr page! And to see others, go here.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Our dawg, Cameron!

Our pal, Cameron Tiede, dropped us a line to tell you all what's been on his plate lately.



He's got a new line out --


Cameron busted his trademark style on Toby HK's Dumb Dummies Mini Trading Figures.


[cameron tiede's bad dogs. photo courtesy of camerontiede.com]

These Bad Dogs come individually via blind box.

But if you can't stand the surprise, buy the entire set, and he'll throw in the bad dog limited edition shirt for free!

[bad dogs t-shirt detail. photo courtesy of camerontiede.com]


Cameron will be making a stop to San Diego this Saturday, November 3rd, at Subtext.


Tons of artists will putting their twist on kokeshi dolls.


Meet us there!