I Play, You Play, Cosplay

So I spent the day in a geek-a-thon on Sunday, delving deep into the world of comics, anime, horror and sci-fi at the Fan Expo Canada in Toronto. I discovered a few pop culture gems that I will mine later in the week, but the rest of the time I went to gawk at the cosplay and they did not disappoint. Halloween has got nothing on them. These are my favourites, go here for the full gallery.


Anime costumes dominated the floor, and some of the people were into their characters. I mean really into them.


Not knowing a thing about anime (and a convention floor not being a great time to ask), I have no idea who their characters are. So a little help, if you know, would be appreciated.


Of course it wasn't all anime. This woman's super power allowed her to attract all the men in the building with a camera.


And Supergirl managed to convince some people to pretend they were actually interested in Smallville.


Meanwhile Leatherface here just managed to creep me the hell out.


There were of course movie tie-ins, like Cobra Commander here.


And TV tie-ins as well. Here we see Stewie campaigning for a Family Guy Emmy.


There was very little in the way of Star Wars represented. No Darth Vaders and just a handful of Stormtroopers — but there was Mark Hamill standing all lonesome in a corner, so I threw him a photo-op. Actually Billy Dee Williams was signing autographs, which was weird.


I met the Joker and he kindly handed me a playing card. In retrospect, it was probably unwise of me to have taken it, but being Canadian I didn't want to be rude.


Seems like the Master Chief really let himself go after settling down with Snow White. Halo will never be the same.


Again, anyone have any idea who or what these are? I can tell they are doing a good job, but I have no clue what it might be.


An impromptu lightsaber duel broke out on the floor. These things are bound to happen, especially with the number of weapons being carried around.


Again, I've got to hand it to the anime folks. They really do go all out.


After a long day, even superheroes get tuckered out. I didn't have the heart to tell his parents what lied in their near future. See the full 46-picture gallery here.

Previously on Popped Culture...
When Fans Attack
The Simpsonzu
Superheroes Come In All Shapes and Cliches

You Got Lion In My Eagle!

Finally, something to put my classical studies degree to work on! From illustrator and designer Jim Unwin, a venn diagram of mythical creatures. I've always been a fan of griffins myself. Click on the image for the full-sized version. (Link via Boy Reporter)

Previously on Popped Culture...
The Odyssey of Chuck Norris
The Birth Of Ginger
FMyLife: Greek Mythology

Calvin and Hobbes on Ritalin

Uggh. This just killed me. Found it over on Forces of Geek, but it's an oldie. Anyone know the where to find the original?

Previously on Popped Culture...
Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat
Eggsploitation
Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink'

Don't Tell Locke What He Can't Do

Lost fan art from designer Olly Moss, via Damon, Carlton and A Polar Bear. Sixteen designers and artists have been commissioned to create artwork celebrating Lost. The first was Tim Doyle's The Numbers.

Moss' design is a cross between the posters for Anatomy of a Murder and Vertigo and his own paperback recreations.

Previously on Popped Culture...
Lost's Labor's Lost
Who Observes The Observers?
I Still Spoil Your Movie

Awesomeness Times Infinity

Neill Cameron's A-Z of Awesomeness series is now a poster and he's selling signed copies! There is only a limited print-run of 250, so go now. I've already placed my order.

Previously on Popped Culture...
A-Z of Awesomeness
Elements of Awesome
Love It Or Loathe It

Twisted Sisters

Pop culture artist Jeffrey Thomas's Twisted Princesses series shows some not-so-fairytale damsels, exploring a world where there wasn't a happy ending at the end of the story.

Thanks to the fine eye of John at The Zeray Gazette.

Previously at Popped Culture...
Through The Remixed Looking Glass
Dwarfed Punk
Disney: Copy, Paste, Repeat

Too Much Pop Culture

I can totally relate to this. If I can make it through a conversation without referencing a movie or TV show, it's a miracle. I got it bad. (Comic via Least I Could Do)

Previously on Popped Culture...
If The Van's A-Rockin'...
Make Like A Tree And Get Outta Here
Yar, Pirates!

Juvenile BBQ

Who am I kidding? I would have loved to have these up at the cottage for a wienie and marshmallow roast. Hot beef injection anyone?
(Bits & Pieces via The Daily What)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Hot Chair-on-Chair Action
Sex, Latex and Videotape
Turbaconducken: A Wonderful, Magical Animal

Why Starbucks Won't Be Contacting Douglas Coupland Anymore...


Rainy day crafts with Douglas Coupland. "I know a lot of morning people and I know a lot of night people, but I have yet to meet a late afternoon person" (Link via @DougCoupland)

Previously on Popped Culture...
CBC in a Coma
Generation XBox
I'm Lovin' It

Purple Shades, Blurry Sides


It may just be me, but the Literal Video Version of Beck's Loser makes more sense than the original video.

Jump and exercise
It's a graveyard, baby
And now you should show me
(Purple shades, blurry sides)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Spin Around Ninjas
Nice Touch For A Goth Wedding
Everything's Drawn And Super 80s

If He Gets Up, We'll All Get Up. It'll Be Anarchy!


From the brilliant remixers Eclectic Method comes a fabulous mashup tribute to John Hughes. Yes, I know he died two weeks ago, but this is far too cool.

And, in coming across this mix at Clandestine I further discovered that Eclectic Method will be headlining the closing party for the Toronto International Film Festival, playing on massive LED screens in Yonge-Dundas Square on September 19. Sweet! No further details, but I assume the show will be free as it is a public square.

Alright, stating to get excited for the festival, even if I'll only get to see five films this year.

Previously on Popped Culture...
RIP John Hughes
Everybody Be Cool - The Tarantino Mixtape
TIFF: That's A (Belated) Wrap

Photobombing Squirrel Last Supper

The photobombing squirrel has invaded so many family photos and paparazzi photos that it wasn't inevitable that he would travel back in time and land in my favourite part of the web — pop culture parodies of the Last Supper.

Oh precocious (Canadian) squirrel, is there anywhere you won't go? (Link via BuzzFeed)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Suddenly Last Supper
Big Lebowski Last Supper Abides
Insipid Woodland Pleasantries

All Flash, No Dance

Once again t-shirt design is proving to have the best pop culture mashups around. A superhero, an '80s movie and a single iconic pop culture image makes designer Ian Summers design one for the ages.

This one is still in the voting stage, but Threadless is having a sale, practically giving away tees, including some great reprints. I love this stuff.

Previously on Popped Culture...
Superheroes Don't Die, They Just Fade Away
Spider-Man, You Blockhead!
Simpsons: Up And Atom!

Inglourious Plummers


"We will be cruel to the koopa and through out cruelty they will know who we are."
There are no extra lives.

Previously on Popped Culture...
The Killin' Nazis Bidness
First You Get The Money...
Super Mario Bros: Mario's Mass Grave

Dogs Sniffing Celebrities

Best gallery ever! Unreality show us what it’d look like if dogs were sniffing some of your favorite celebrities. And now you know.

Previously on Popped Culture...
Knitsections & Feltidermy
Do Shepherds Dream of LED Sheep?
Bridge Over Troubled Water Buffalo

Laugh It Up, Fuzzball


Han Solo and Chewbacca are The Odd Couple: Can two smugglers share a spaceship without driving each other crazy?

A mashup of a TV show off the air since 1975 with a film from 1977, made in 2009. A little late, but it works. (Link via Buzzfeed)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Han Solo P.I.
Star Trek: The Remixed Generation
I Love It When A Mashup Comes Together

LegoFellas

Clearly inspired by the Lego recreations of iconic movie posters (and not a desire to make buckets of cash out of childhood nostalgia), Warner Bros. announced that they are making a Lego film.

While no details have been announced, Variety reports that it will be a "family comedy that will mix live action and animation. Warners is keeping the plot tightly under wraps, but it's described as an action adventure set in a Lego world."

Most reaction has fallen into the "what the hell are they going to make out of that" camp, but why fight it? Hollywood will turn anything into a film — plot be damned. And there are already plans for a View-Master film so why not.

With that in mind, Vanity Fair is already suggesting directors and story lines:

Steven Spielberg: Troubled by her parents’ divorce, a little girl (Elle Fanning) builds her own fantasy world when she discovers she has the power to give life to Lego.

Wes Anderson: A precocious child spends four years locked in his bedroom in a fevered attempt to make Lego coruduroy.

Martin Scorsese: A regular Lego guy from the Lego neighborhood gets sucked into the Lego mob after shooting a Lego cop.

Thanks to @poppysmum for the tip.

Previously on Popped Culture...
David Croenenburg's Cabbage Patch Kids
If You Watch Jaws Backwards...
Madness? This... Is... Lego!
The Seven Jack Nicholsons & The Enchanted Mental Hospital

Don't Marry Harrison Ford


You'll be kidnapped over and over again and likely come to a bad end. At least think of your future children! Come on Harrison, you're just being careless! Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again. (Link via The Ampersand)

Previously on Popped Culture
Nuke The Fridge
Meet the New Boss, Same As the Old Boss
I'll Stop The World And Melt With You

Bond vs Bond vs Bond vs Bond vs Bond vs Bond


I don't know about you, but I'm putting my money on Bond.

Seeing them all together really makes me wonder what the hell they were thinking with Timothy Dalton. (Link via Funktards)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Bunny. James Bunny.
Me and the Boys

I Still Spoil Your Movie

Yay, Threadless has reprinted Olly Moss' spoiler t-shirt, the aptly named Spoilt. While I can't imagine it actually spoiling any movies for anybody now, it's still a cool piece of typography.

Previously on Popped Culture...
Pop Culture Target Practice
Words Can Kill
Spoiler Alert

Toon City


Walk down the right back alley in Toontown and you can find anything. Who Framed Roger Rabbit was violent, wasn't it? In any case, it matches very well with Sin City.

Previously on Popped Culture...
Schulz City: That Yellow Shirted Such-and-Such
The Dark American Psycho Knight
Do I F**king Amuse You?

Cobra Commander Wants You!

The Cobra forces march on. I suspect this poster will be better than the G.I. Joe film, but whatever. I just like pop culture propaganda posters. (Link via Super Punch)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Popaganda: The Pop Culture Revolution
Some Throws Are More Equal Than Others
Go, Cobra!

RIP John Hughes

I realize that just about every other blog's already posted this, but the news broke while I was at work and, well, lest I get canned for blogging on the company dime, I was forced to wait until I was home to sadly report that John Hughes, the Patron Saint of '80s Teen Flicks, passed away today at age 59. What a sad, sad day. Sure, that other '80s icon, Michael Jackson, broke records and was a trail blazer and all that jazz, but John Hughes defined teenage life in the '80s for anyone that graduated circa 1989 and captured the high drama of high school like no other director of the time. Who didn't run around yelling "Automobile? Lake! Big Lake! SCCHMBUMP!" And I totally remember joshin' "I'm thinking 'bout trying for a scholarship" to my friends in the stands after tossing a complete airball during a JV basketball game. Replete with the insolent moves, natch. This, of course, was followed by a long lecture on sportsman-like behaviour by the parentals on the ride home. I just sucked it up, though, cause I knew that John Hughes had my back. And if he'd seen my schtick, he certainly would've cast me in his next movie. I was literally joking about Ferris Bueller's Day Off just this afternoon, man. The important thing here, though, is that the teen-angst genre has lost one of its greats. Films like his can never be replicated, not only because we live in a far too politically correct environment today - another reason to love him more - but more importanly because nobody can distill a generation like he could. Rest in peace, John Hughes. There better damn well be dozens of retrospectives of your work cause I could use a little Vacation about now.



Pamela Westoby guesting and ghosting while Barker cottages. Still. If you like this, you might just like my book Hoyden and my flickr!

Finally! Suds Minus The Centre!

So I just spent the weekend in Chi Town at my 20 year high school reunion and, while there are many experiences that I can't elaborate on, I did discover this gem in my hotel room at The James that is PG rated enough to share:


Behold, the magical soap that "eliminates the unused center of traditional soap"! Thank the Lord! Finally someone found a way to eradicate that pesky centre! And, yes, I am conforming to Canadian spelling here. Cause I'm compulsively Canuck that way. Anyhoo, I have spent that past 37 years thinking "Damn. This centre sure is useless. I wonder how much waste we could reduce if we bounced it?" as I rubbed and sudsed that Ivory between my hands. I mean, all it does is get smaller...and smaller...and smaller...It's not like it just slowly disappears into a sliver that you eventually bond to a new bar, so I applaud these geniuses. I only have a few questions:

  • What happens when this beaut finally gives it all up and breaks into pieces harsher than Lohan and SamRo?

  • Doesn't everything have a centre?

  • And if everything has a centre, doesn't this configuration now have multiple centres?

Call me a Luddite, just pass me the Irish Spring!



Pamela Westoby guesting and ghosting while Barker cottages. Where he's hopefully still using soap. With centres. If you like this, you might just like my book Hoyden and my flickr!

If You Go Down In The Woods Today...

fail owned pwned pictures
see more Fail Blog

There is no way that I can show this photo to my son — it already makes me want to hide under the couch, but I'm pretty sure it's already there waiting for me. I'm no anti-dentite, but what was that dentist thinking? It's a kindertrauma styled horror. (Link via The Daily What)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Lessons From The Hundred Acre Wood
Anatomy Of A Gummi Bear
You Has No Doubt

Pulp Fiction Wonderland


There's something about Pulp Fiction, and Alice in Wonderland for that matter, that lend themselves to mashups. While this one misses a bit on the syncing, I like that everyone gets their own character and they follow it through. Some of the poorer examples can't seem to manage that.

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