Matango!

Seems like Flickr has made sharing pictures to other social networks easier. So I am testing this out to see how it posts on our blog.

I like the M1Go version of this figure. Nate likes the Toygraph version more.

Alien Anthology Egg Package

I love Alien Anthology. It's one of the small number of movies that I can watch over and over again and never get tired of. I am huge fan of Alien and Aliens. Not so much of Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection though but it's part of the series and for continuity sake it must be included overall.

I've been resisting buying the regular set as I have been eying the egg packaging since I found out about it. But it was pricey so I waited and waited and finally it has paid off. You can only get the Egg Packaging at the Fox Connect Store. There's also a promotional code, ALIENEGG, that takes off $20.99. I also got free UPS Ground Shipping to boot! I was taxed though.

Nate and I enjoy the movie chachkies that come with special edition sets. We have the mask from V for Vendetta, Leonidas' Helmet from 300, Matrix Neo Bust etc etc...

We are working on our living movie theater set up and it would be nice if we can display our stuff around the area. Nate and I are already debating on what the first movie we see with the new TV. It's either Inception of Alien. He said we will decide with a coin toss. =P

Technically, this qualifies as a Purchase of the Week and will be tagged as such. Here's a youtube video of what comes with the set. I can't wait to watch this! Oh I forgot to add that the egg lights up! SWEET!

Purchases of the Week: March 20, 2011

This week's purchase of the week isn't going to be about us. Because on Friday, March 11, 2011, many people in Northern Japan lost so much more than we can imagine.

It puts things in perspective and makes you realize what's really important. Many of the things Nate and I love come from Japan. We've always talked about traveling there. Someday, we'd like to visit as that would be a dream vacation for us. But before we get there, Japan needs your help to get back on it's feet. Below you'll find links to where you can donate to help the people of Japan.

Google Crisis Response - The easiest way to donate directly to the hardest hit. You can choose from four charities including the Japanese Red Cross Society, International Medical Corps, Unicef and Save the Children.

Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support - The forgotten victims of this tragedy. This site combines three Animal Rescue Charities operating in Japan, HEART-Tokushima, Animal Garden Niigata and Japan Cat Network. Many animals have been abandoned or have been separated from their families. Many humans refuse to leave their homes without their animals. This hits Nate and I very hard in our hearts as our cats are like our children and we can't imagine not being able to take them with us to safety or being able to provide for them in an emergency.

We're very pleased to see the toy community donating their talent, time and toys to raise funds for the disaster. Below you'll find information on what we've been buying lately that ties to a donation for Japan.

Hope for Japan Uamou - Kaiju Chronicle posted information on where to get these awesome Uamous customized by the lovely Ayako Takagi. You can email her HERE to order. They are about 3000 yen plus shipping and handling. I ordered mine and I can't wait to see which one I get! 

Kaiju for Japan - So far has 60 contributing artists. Sale starts on April 22,2011. More information can be found at the site that's organizing this event. Please go to Gorilla Mouth for further updates.
Amy Sol - Ms. Sol is offering 10% of her print sales to disaster relief. One print is already sold out but Strings of Dew is still available and the one I purchased. 

LilJapan - Hiro is selling a print for disaster relief. You can see the print HERE. You can contact him on FLICKR and Twitter. His twitter name is liljapan. The print is only $15 each and all proceeds will be donated to Japan. Nate bought a print by contacting him on Twitter. 

UPDATE 05/04/2011: We can no longer endorse this charity contribution as it has been almost two months since Nate purchased a print and we still have not received it. We have followed up and the initial reason was it might have gotten lost and he indicated he will send another one. That was over two weeks ago. Still no sign of said print. We can only hope that the money we sent actually went to help Japan. 

UPDATE 06/12/2011: A week after I posted this update we got the print along with some goodies and an apology. Although this ended in the best case scenario we cannot help but feel letdown in general. We are disappointed in how this went down overall.

Let's not forget Christchurch, New Zealand. They also suffered a devastating earthquake that flattened the town. Not as big as the Japanese one but the devastation is widespread. Donations can be made to Red Cross New Zealand. You can donate HERE.

All this devastation worldwide has made us keenly aware that we live in Earthquake Country. Nate and I assessed our supplies and we purchased additional cases of water and food. We need to update our first aid kit and plan for our pets as well. That will be purchases we'll be making to keep us prepared.

Purchases of the Week: March 13, 2011

Grant TV Stand 

Project Take-Back-The-Living-Room-From-The-Nekos! begins in earnest. Actually, it began with the cat tree but I digress. We've been looking for a TV stand that can fit a center channel. We discovered that this was no easy task. Most of the designs we liked were for large plasma TVs that came with a large price tag. So that was out of the question. Then I remembered that the last time we visited Macy's they had these pricey stands for sale. I remembered this particular model because of the space in the middle and lo and behold this was on sale and I snatched it up quickly. Granted it cost more than I would normally spend but it has all the features we want. Doors to keep the cats out, space for a center channel, a modern design, dark colored java wood, openings on the back for the cords and a nice elevation. It's also heavy and will be able to support the TV size we want.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby - A small few remember our first SN in SB and it has something to do with this movie. One particular person likes to remind us occassionally to our chagrin. Nate and I love this movie. Our fondness for John C. Reilly also began here. So many lines that Nate and I quote to each other. My favorite is when Will Ferrell shouts for Tom Cruise to use his "witchcraft" to put the fire out. XD 

The Rock - Nicolas Cage at his finest. Actually, that would be Con Air. But nevertheless this whole movie is entertaining. Michael Biehn's brief appearance is a favorite of mine. I like action movies that make me laugh and this is one on the top of our list. 

Lost In Space - I'm not fond of remakes. Most of the time it fails miserably. As did this one as I felt it was a very shallow storyline and a special effects driven movie. Despite those shortcomings I still liked it. I am a sucker for science fiction especially space movies. 

Rush Hour - As a child, one of the movies I remembered watching was Drunken Master. Jackie Chan has had a presence in our family since the 70's. I think we've seen most of the badly dubbed HK movies he's been in. I enjoyed seeing him finally do an American movie. Chris Tucker and his badass impression of Michael Jackson is fun to watch. 

Eragon - A mish-mash of all the books I loved as a child and it shows. I think the reason why I picked this up is because it reminds me of my favorite books. 

 
Dragon Ball Z Kai - One of Nate's favorite shows as a kid. I liked it too but then the long-ass fights between characters that spanned episodes bored me to death. Kai is supposed to be truer to Akira Toriyama's manga storyline. I loved the manga. It flowed so much better than the anime. Nate and I are extremely curious to see how the DBZ storyline looks in Kai. 

Evangelion 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone - EVA EVA EVA....how many times must I have to buy you?! I am serious. This is the THIRD version I have had to purchase of this series. Like DBZ Kai, it is allegedly more faithful to Hideaki Anno's vision of how the series should have been. Considering how EVA ended, I hope I get a better perspective of how the series ends that's not Serial Experiments Lain-like, i,e, mind fuck.

All the items we feature in Purchases of the Week are all on sale. Bought with coupons and assorted savings if we can squeeze it. We love free shipping. No blu-ray I ever buy is over $13.99.

Nate and I strive to never purchase at full price. A good example is anime on blu-ray. They are ridiculously expensive and that's why I never buy it. But DBZ Kai dipped below $19 which rarely happens and that's a good time to buy it. We also re-sell our DVDs once we purchase the replacement. Any old furniture we are replacing we contact family first if they want it. We also donate heavily to our local charities which includes clothes, shoes, books etc etc. Nothing goes to waste.

Nate and I work hard to earn a living but we are also mindful that we need to enjoy the fruits of our labor. In moderation of course.

Purchases of the Week: March 11, 2011

It's been a while since I've blogged, but since this is my project, Maddie said I should be the one to discuss what was bought.

Ever since Streetfighter IV came out, I've been planning to pick up a fightstick for the Xbox 360. I know the MadCatz Tournament Edition fightsticks are some of the best on the market, but nowadays they've gotten really expensive. I settled for a SFIV fightpad because it was a lot cheaper.

The fightpad definitely made it a lot easier to play fighting games compared to playing on the regular 360 controller. After playing several times though, I've noticed the D-pad on the fightpad is not very responsive. Circular motions were okay but could be a lot better, and trying to pull off charge moves were extremely difficult. I got fed up with the fightpad and decided not to play anymore until I picked up a fightstick.

With the recent release Marvel vs. Capcom 3, this was the perfect time to finally pick one up. After lots of research, and waiting for my tax refund, here's what I picked up the beginning of this week:

Hori Real Arcade Pro (HRAP) EX for the Xbox 360

I decided to pick up the HRAP EX because I read it was one of the easiest stick to mod.

Sanwa OBSF-30: Black/Grey & Black & Sanwa OBSF-24: White

These are the buttons I'm going to use to replace the stock buttons on the fightstick. Sanwa is known for its quality and are the same exact buttons that are used in the MadCatz Tournament Edition Fightsticks.

Seimitsu LB-39 Smoke Bubble Top & Sanwa GT-C Round Restrictor Plate Insert

The HRAP EX already comes with a Sanwa JLF-TM-8T-SK, so there wasn't any need to replace the actual joystick itself. Just adding a bubble top to give it a sleeker look to match the buttons I picked up.

The Sanwa GT-C is an add-on to replace the stock square gate on the Sanwa joystick. I've read good reviews about this product, as it makes it much easier to make circular movements with the joystick. This is pretty much essential for all fighting games as many special moves are done with circular movements.

When the stick comes in, I'm going to actually play with it stock at the moment. I want to get a fell for the stick and buttons as they are, that way when I replace the buttons and add the circular gate, I will feel the improvements.

I'll also be blogging once I make the changes, just to show how easy it is and the reason why I chose the HRAP EX in the first place.

Purchases of the Week: March 3, 2011

I know it's not the weekend but today I had a little bit of extra cash and looking at my worn wardrobe I needed some new clothes. I am not a clothes horse. I also tend to buy clothes I can wear for work and casually. Finding an online coupon that cut the highest priced item 50% off also helped me save money.

I also needed a new purse. Found a cute one on Overstock.com. My type! Simple and a little girly but not gaudy.

      

Speed - Keanu at his cutest. A mindlessly fun movie. I thought Sandra Bullock's eyebrows were weird for her face. Little did I know it was worse in Demolition Man. I guess that was the style back then. 

There's Something About Mary - Old lady on crack! Zipper of indescribable pain.
Sin City - Love this movie. Still reeling every time I see Brittany Murphy. What a loss. Awesome performance by Mickey Rourke.

Since I was able to save quite a bit, I worked on our unofficial DVD to BLU-RAY conversation project. I am primarily powering through this because we love movies and I hope that our plans for the living room will be a reality before SDCC.

Today's Life Lesson

“If you lived in London, where the whole system is one of false good-fellowship, and you may know a man for twenty years without finding out that he hates you like poison, you would soon have your eyes opened. There we do unkind things in a kind way: we say bitter things in a sweet voice: we always give our friends chloroform when we tear them to pieces.” - George Bernard Shaw