Cherry Blossom Time

Spring is here and the Cherry Blossoms are in full bloom at Stoner Park in West L.A.

The publisher gave me Friday off, so I decided to go to Sawtelle Blvd. for some relaxing, shopping and eating. I had heard that the cherry blossoms had started to bloom in nearby Stoner Park. It's, more or less, ten blocks west of Sawtelle... so it's in walking distance. Luckily the weather was just right for a walk. Sunny, but mild with a slight breeze.

Cherry blossoms are definitely in bloom. I noticed one in front of the Buddist Church and by some nearby houses. But nothing can compare to seeing a whole bunch of the trees in bloom. These trees are all lined around Stoner Park. So all you see is pink when you stroll around the edges of the park. One of the coolest things is when a breeze blows through the line of trees and the pink petals float down.

Mr. Toast Party

Saturday night was the Mr. Toast Party at Japan L.A. This was Dan's first time having a show there. He's been working on this one since the Hello Kitty Three Apples Show last year. I've mostly gone to Cons or event where he has a booth. or a group show he is part of. Think this is my first time going to one of his solo shows/events.

Dan and Japan L.A. went all out with this Party. The Grilled Cheese Truck was outside serving a special in honor of the event: grilled cheese with egg and bacon bits coating the top (real, not the artificial kind of bacon either). YUMMY! Handpainted goodie bags for the first 100 people with the purchase of $5 or more of a Mr. Toast item. Then there is the Party next door with Mr. Toast himself, which I missed...

It was to start at 7pm and I got there around 6:30pm. A long line had already formed by then, which should be an indicator of how popular Mr. Toast has gotten. There had to be about 75 people in front of me with more people arriving and standing in line behind me. If I had gotten there a few minutes later I would have been standing in the alley. The line moved with a good pace to get people into the store. The inside of Japan L.A. isn't very big, so they had to limit the amount of people going inside. Just before I was going in I saw Buffmonster talking with Dan.

The usual Mr. Toast plush stuff was there, necklaces, t-shirts (some I remember seeing at SDCC), prints, original mini-watercolors and a new tote bag. I picked up one of the last watercolors from the Hello Kitty Three Apples Show. This one had Joe he Egg and Tuxedo Sam. He had another one with Tuxedo Sam at the show that I had seen online, but was too late to get it when I went that night. I also picked up the Dance Party print. Got number 2 of 250! Hung out with Dan for a little bit in between his signing/sketching. Even had him do a sketch in my book. He is just great. One of the nicest guys too.

Went next door to get my goodie bag and check out the Party. There were some Mr. Toast, Joe the Egg and Shakey Bacon decorations hanging from the ceiling. Since Mr. Toast seemed to be taking a break from the dancing, I decided to head out and get my grilled cheese. While I was waiting for my grilled cheese order, I bumped into Brandi (Serial Nerd) and Travis outside. They were waiting in line to get into the store, one of the last few people in the line. Would have hung out with them more, if I wasn't rushing myself to the opening of the Patchwork Show at GR2.

Here's a picture of the two items I purchased. Print and small, framed, original watercolor. The other pic is of the handpainted goodie bag. Forgot to take a pic of the contents, which included: a Clem Lemon plush, Joe the Egg plush, 3 Mr. Toast keychains, a Mr. Toast and Joe the Egg Picnic button, 5 Mr. Toast greeting cards, 2 folded books (Mr. Toast and Gags) and some Japan L.A. postcards.

2002 Ice-Bat

GR2 had their 2002 Ice-Bat release and signing event with Sun-Min Kim and David Horvath on Saturday (3:00pm-5:00pm). This Ice-Bat is modeled after the very first handmade ones that were first sold at Giant Robot back in 2002. These have 2 toes and 5 teeth. Limited edition of 300 and available through Giant Robot.

So glad the rain let up for this. The line for the event wasn't as too bad. I got there a little before 2:30pm, with only 6 or 7 people before me. Michelle started letting people into the store 6 at a time, just a little past 3:00pm. Everyone was limited to purchase 3 Ice-Bats per person. I had bought 3 post-it's from the GR2 Post-It 3 show last year and got them framed. The frame had two smaller areas that were perfectly sized for the smaller post-it's. So I put 2 blank ones there for them to sketch in to complete my frame. Was going to have them sketch something into my book, but I didn't want to hold up the line too much. I'm going to be going to SDCC this year, so I can get a sketch there. I bought my limit of 3, but needed to get 1 more for Justin. Figured I'd wait around outside until the end of the signing to purchase another one, if any were left.

While standing in line I got to catch up with Brandi (serial nerd) and Travis, who were just recently engaged. Finally met Hilda (hch05) and Corey as I was coming out from the store. We seem to always miss each other at these signings. Talked a bit with Eric while standing outside too. He and I were amazed at how many young kids were there.

The turn out was really great. Signing ended at just the right time too... it started to rain.

Street Food, Adventure and Tigers

Had a busy schedule planned for myself for the President's Weekend. Plus, no thanks to the economy and corporate office, a non-paid and forced day off on Monday (1 0f 5 this year). There was the L.A. Street Food Fest and GR2 Year of the Tiger Opening on Saturday, then the Travel and Adventure Show on Saturday and Sunday.

I originally planned on going to the Travel and Adventure Show on Saturday, after the L.A. Street Food Fest. But changed my mind when I got to the Convention Center around 1pm. Decided to head to the Food Fest instead. I had been hearing about this for the past few months and really wanted to try some of the food trucks that were going to be there. Parked my car and walked to the area where the Food fest was being held. Which was about a mile from where I parked. I didn't mind since I was getting myself back into a walking workout routine. Really did not expect what I saw when I got there... the line for this thing was super long. It went zig-zagging around the block and into the parking lot nearby. Stood in line around 1:30pm. By 3pm we were being told that the trucks were running out of food and the lines to get the food was an hour wait. Everyone started to leave and I bailed as well. That was a total bust...

On my way back to my car, I passed by the Nokia Plaza. Saw that they had set some stuff up and a small crowd was around there. Found out that Justin Bieber was going to be performing there around 7pm. I had to get something to eat, so I just kept on walking to my car. Needed to do a few things and changed my plans on going to the GR2 Year of the Tiger Opening in the evening.

Sunday I went to the Travel and Adventure Show. Was pretty surprised at how many people were there in attendance and what they had there. There was a rock climbing wall, cowboy roping, zip line and mini scuba pool. Seeing some of the scuba diving exhibitors there got me thinking about getting back into it again. Although I am a certified advanced open water diver, but I haven't gone in about 8 years. Plus I don't have a lot of dives under me. After talking to some of them, I would definitely need to take a refresher course. There was a lot of places I would love to check out... Easter, Cook and Galapagos Islands would be nice. Revisit Yosemite. Japan would be my ultimate trip right now. Always thought about going there. Well, now I have all the materials to research them all. Not sure if I'll ever get to any of these places anytime soon...












Just stopped in for a quick moment to take a look at the pieces at the Year of the Tiger exhibit at GR2. Took a few pics while I was there. Didn't stay too long, since I was a little tired from everything and need to relax a bit. There were a few that were really cool and amazing to see in person. Maybe I'll go back again this coming weekend if I don't head down to Long Beach Convention Center for the one-day Comic Event.

Moshi Monster MoPod

We got these things into the L.A. Parent office a couple of weeks ago. They were giveaway prizes at the booth for the California Baby and Kidz Expo. They are called MoPods. These were Series 1 of the Moshi Monsters edition.

I'm not too familiar with these Moshi Monsters MoPod things. There are 6 different characters to choose from: Luvli, Furi, Diavlo, Poppet, Katsuma and Zommer. They are little ring detectors that you attach to your bag or jacket and when your cell phone rings, the MoPod spins and lights up. It is supposed to alert you when your phone receives a call, text, email or voice message on your cell phone.

My editor gave me one to try out. When she saw the little characters on these, she knew I would get a kick out of them. I got the one called Furi. After opening the package, I removed the tab that blocks the battery power at the bottom. The MoPod did a little spin and flash, then stopped. I called my cell phone from the office phone, but nothing happened when my cell started to ring. Started to read the packaging and searching online. Found out that it does not work with CDMA networks or 3G enabled handsets. So it will not work with my iPhone... bummer. But there is a chance it could work with the 1st generation iPhones. Also it could activate due to the proximity of another person's cell phone.

Not a total loss though... each of these come with a secret code for a virtual accessory that you can use when you adopt a pet monster at moshimonsters.com. I went to the website site and it looks like one of those online communities for kids. Not sure if I will even use the code, but I might... Just to take a deeper look at the site.

2010 Plush Uglydolls Revealed

David Horvath revealed the 2010 plush Uglydolls line on his Facebook page this past Monday. Well before Toy Fair in February. They are: Pointy Max, Picksey, Mynus, Ket, Nandy Bear, Ninja Batty Shogun, Cozymonster and Wippy.

4 of the new Uglydolls have already been seen before at the Dehara and David Have Mono show, at Stitch in Japan, back in September of 2009: Pointy Max, Ket, Batty Shogun and Cozymonster. These were handmade versions in different colors than these regular production versions. But it was unknown at the time if any of them would be part of the 2010 line.

Ket was one of the first to be confirmed as a 2010 release. When the Kiston Ket exclusive was released in November, it was mentioned that the regular release of Ket would be in a different color in late 2010.

Pointy Max and Picksey, are out in stores now. These were up for pre-order on the website at the beginning of December 2009. Mynus is up for pre-order on the Uglydolls web store. Won't know the release schedule of the others until Toy Fair. Along with the unveiling of the series 2 action figures, tin toy line and Ugly Hangers.

Jetfire and Presto Magix Box

Needed to go through some old clothes in my closet. Since I had Martin Luther off and it was raining all day, I did just that. Think I had about a dozen chinos and slacks that didn't even fit me anymore and not too many shirts. Majority of my wardrobe consists of t-shirts and jeans. During my cleaning I came across a lot of old things, but I had to pull out these two out since they were right where I was cleaning... my G1 Jetfire (which I still call Skyfire at times) and this Presto Magix Transformers box.

Jetfire was sitting with a bunch of other stuff, on the highest shelf in my closet. Not in a box like all my other loose Transformers figures... not sure why... He looks in pretty good shape. Joints are all in good condition. Little bit of dust on him, but a wipe should clean him off. Some of the white parts are not as white. Seems to have dulled out from all these years unprotected in the closet. Think I am going to leave him out on my desk for a while.

Can't say the same for the Presto Magix box. The top of the box is a bit caved in from the pressure of other items being on top of it for so many years. Opened it up and the inside looks in good shape. All the peel and lift stickers are all there on the two sheets. For some odd reason, I thought I left all the stickers on the surface of the backboard. Must have put them back on their original sheets before I put it away.

Twitter and AIM

First Facebook and now I'm on Twitter and AIM too! Actually I've been on Twitter for the past few months now and just recently got on to AIM (thanks Justin). Now I really won't have any personal time for myself... ever (again, thanks Justin).

You can check the updates to my Facebook and Twitter on my AIM Lifestream. Also, if you want to add me to a buddy list, my AIM screen name is my email. Deanobot is already taken (too bad guys) and I'm too lazy to think of another screen name to use.

I think I am now doomed...

Vegas and Back

Four guys traveling to Vegas... I'm so glad that this trip did not turn into something out of The Hangover. Left for Vegas last week Wednesday for 6 days of fun at the CES and AEE. Came back this past Monday, and I still wish I was on vacation in Vegas. I think this is a message to myself...

So the drive out there was nice, even though I felt like I was on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disneyland at times. Left around noon and got into Vegas around 7pm, making a pit stop to eat in Barstow and to shop at the CA/NV border. Had to buy a much needed new pair of pants to go with my blazer. Tried to make it to the badge pickup areas before they closed, but missed the AEE one by an hour. So we just went to check into our rooms at The Cal in downtown and eat at the buffet in the Main Street Station. We left our main luggage in the car and took overnight bags to the rooms. Didn't want to lug all our luggage up, since we were only staying at the hotel for one night. The rest our stay in Vegas would be at the Palazzo.

On Thursday we couldn't check into our room at the Palazzo until 3pm, so we hit the AEE at the Sands Expo Center first. Distributors only on the first day. One member in our group is a distributor, so he got the passes ahead of time. Spent the entire day there until it closed and then checked into our room. Concierge Level package = complimentary breakfast, afternoon presentation, evening hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, dessert and open bar. Luckily the sofa in the sunken living room was an L-shape and two of us were the right height to sleep on that.

Friday was spent at CES. 3D really is the emerging technology at this year's show. Lots of that stuff being shown around. Try playing Rock Band and COD in 3D... Wow! Show was smaller than last year with a lot less swag being given out. Microsoft and Sony seem to have the bigger booth areas with huge crowds in them. Lego Universe is a nice idea, but I'd wait a year to see how it expands. Got to play a demo version of the new Star Trek MMO at Microsoft. The girl that was demonstrating the game didn't really know how to play the game, but I was able to figure it out pretty easily. Played for almost 2 hours and lost my friends in the hall. AT&T's phone network was horrible there. Got call failed message, text not going through and could not use the internet on my iPhone. Took almost the rest of the day until we were able to get in touch with each other.

Saturday some of us spent half the day at CES while the others went to AEE. Sunday was all fan day at AEE, so that's where we all went. Ate a lot of food, planned to go to some of the clubs and got invited to some of the parties happening around town, made some money on the slots at the Palazzo and bought 3 new Uglydolls from FAO at the Forum Shops. That's just some of the stuff we did in Vegas, but you know what they say about Vegas too... what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. I usually don't drink, but I did on this trip and it made me feel a bit more relaxed.

Drive back on Monday was really quick. Left Vegas at 11am and made it back to L.A. by 3pm. Although I did get car sick during the drive back, which is a bit unusual for me. Got some pics from the trip on my Facebook. I just wish the vacation was a bit longer... didn't really want to go back to work.

Facebook

After well over a year of avoiding and putting it off, I finally got onto Facebook. Now the question is, will I have time for anything else?

Ready For Vegas?

Getting my suitcase ready for my trip to Las Vegas. We leave on Wednesday and will be there until Monday for the Consumer Electronics Show. It's the first of a few other trips or events I go to every year. The others being AnimeExpo and SDCC. I want to try and make it to Star Wars Celebration V, in Florida, this year and I don't see it happening with my deadlines conflicting with the event.

I'm excited to see what new things will be at this year's CES. From what I've been hearing, 3D will be the big technology at this show. There will also be a Mac-centric area, but I highly doubt Apple will be there. They are always at Macworld (except they are not exhibiting this year), which is held at the same time in San Francisco.

Cool Ornament

A bit late getting this post up, but I got this really cool ornament from my co-worker, Terresa, for Xmas. A handmade felt Brobee from Yo Gabba Gabba! One of the cooler gifts I received this past year. She made one of Plex for her nephew, which turned out looking very awesome! Along with these felt creations there were 2 unicorns for her nieces. She's become a crafty mom.

Most of the other gifts I got were the usual gift cards, but I think people have finally figured me out. A lot of times I got gift cards from places that I would rarely shop and then it would sit in my wallet for most of the year. This time 90% of them were either from iTunes, Best Buy, Gamestop or food places (In N Out, Jamba Juice, Starbucks). The places I go to the most. Maybe I will buy Modern Warfare 2 now...

Janie XY

I am a huge collector of a lot of things. Plush creations being just one of them. Especially when they are really cute and handmade. So when I saw these items at Unique L.A. I had to get them. These are handmade plush by Janie XY.

Her booth was almost decked out like a fruit stand. Which matched a lot of her plush items. There were quite a few items to choose from: 2 types of bunnies, whales (small and large), 3 different color cats, eggplants, strawberries, oranges, pears and tomatos. All with names tags and a short bio on them. There was even stackable ice cream cones, which was really cool. The plush ice cream cone had different types of ice cream scoops that go on top of it (each piece sold separately). A magnet is under the material on the tops and bottoms, which helps them to hold together when they stack on each other. It wobbles a little when you have 2-3 ice cream scoops on the cone.

The item that really drew me to her booth was the round plush rabbit, Lars. The moment I saw it on the table I picked it up and gave it a squeeze, then a tiny shake. Thought there was a jingle bell inside, but I was wrong. The girl behind the booth looked at me and said, "It's really cute, huh." Then I said "This would be perfect if it had a bell inside it." She replied, "She can make it with a bell inside." But I was fine without one in it. Found out that the actual creator of these plush items had stepped away from the booth for the moment. So I didn't have a chance to meet the creator. I picked out Lars the bunny and wanted one of the cats, Ramses. There was a gray and pink cat too, but I liked the bright orange color of Ramses. As I was about to make my purchase I was told that if I got another item that totaled $40, I would get Ramses free. So I picked the orange, Nancy.

I may have to get one of the whales through her Etsy store. Thought about getting it when I was at Unique L.A., but I didn't have time to go back to her booth. I did notice some differences with the pics on her items in the Etsy store with the ones I purchased. The orange has a shape and face similar to the tomato. Might be that the pics have not been updated on the site yet. Even with that I think these are some really great plush items.