Kirsten Dunst Is Turning Japanese

Kirsten Dunst dancing around Tokoyo's Akihabara shopping district in some sort of Sailor Moon cosplay for director McG, covering The Vapors' song Turning Japanese, makes me smile.

The WTF video screened last fall in London as part of the Tate Modern's "Pop Life: Art In A Material World," says Film Experience and while Topless Robot has his anime shorts in a knot over it, I think it's a blast, especially if the song really is about masturbation. It makes me want to go back to Tokyo. (Electronic Cerebrectomy via Culture Kills)



Kirsten Dunst Akihabara Majokko Princess

Previously on Popped Culture...
I Play, You Play, Cosplay
Princess Robot Bubblegum!
Konnichiwa, Dissected Domo

May The Futurama Be With You

Love, love, love this recreation of the cast of Futurama as Star Wars characters by storyboard artist David Au. Seeing them like this its hard not to think that Star Wars had an influence, especially the Han Solo/Zap Brannigan and Chewbacca/Kif Kroker comparison.

Previously on Popped Culture...
Bite My Starchy Tuberous Ass
Watcharama: Who watches the Futuramen?
Obsoletely Fabulous

Rock Beats Scissors

You'd think Edward Scissorhands would know better than to play The Thing in Rock, Paper, Scissors but I guess he's kind of slow. Perhaps he should challenge Flat Stanley. (Link via Luis Angel Oropeza)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Poor Predictable Edward, Always Chooses Scissors
Some Throws Are More Equal Than Others
Rock Paper Scissors - The Documentary

Jack & Kate Plus 8

Wow, those are some ugly, ugly kids. Maybe now all the Lost 'shippers will stop hoping to see Jack and Kate end up together. It leads nowhere good. (Dr. Monster via Super Punch)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Will You Be My Constant?
Lost: Explosions! Sex In Cages!
Meanwhile, In The Parallel Lost Universe...

One Giant Leap For Fakery

 

I don't understand why NASA says it can't return to the Moon, I mean how much can one of these sets really cost? (Lunar Studio via GlennzTees)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Goodnight Keith Moon
One Giant Leap For Parody...
Close Encounters of the Redneck Kind

Tim Burton's Weekend At Bernie's

Tim Burton reimagines another classic tale, Weekend At Bernie's, which was clearly ripe for his sense of dark whimsy. (Landline via FilmDrunk)



Previously on Popped Culture...
You Need To Be As Mad As A Hatter
Go To Sleep, TTC
Dancing With Scissors

Batman Is A Jerk

I knew that training alone couldn't be the only way Batman, a superhero with no superpowers, could survive for so long. (Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal via The Daily What)

Previously on Popped Culture...
The Dark American Psycho Knight
Penguin the Hutt
Batman Gets Pwned 

Cut The Red Wire

Retro-style poster for The Hurt Locker, by graphic designer Tavis Coburn for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards. He also has poster versions of Avatar, An Education, Precious (you can't make me use the whole name) and Up In The Air. (BAFTA posters via Joey DeVilla)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Retro Geek
Retro Lost
Don't Tell Locke What He Can't Do

Call 718-Its-A-Me

Actually, don't call them. Has anyone ever seen the Mario Bros. do any plumbing? Sure, they can get down human-sized pipes with no problem and if I had some sort of turtle dragon in my castle, I'd call them for sure. But plumbing? I don't think so. (GamerPrint via Super Punch)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Super Mario Bro: Jersey Shore
Inglourious Plummers
Let Your Video Game Freak Flag Fly

The Toy Rebellion

"Strawberry Shortcake's the humorless leader of the Rebellion against Brainy Smurf. Never far from her is Kit, a strange, cat-like child found near her dead twin brother after the war. She's emotionless and mute, but follows Shortcake everywhere she goes."

Tom Kyzivat, aka Murderous Automaton, tells the tall of a post-apocalyptic battle of '80s toys against Brainy Smurf, who "overthrew Papa Smurf because he wouldn't embrace science; he just hid behind his magic and superstitions. Afterward he used his science and industry to rule all the lands with a tiny iron fist!"

"Grumpy Bear is the only surviving Care Bear after his homeland was destroyed by Brainy Smurf, so he seeks revenge, along with the other rebels."

I can't wait to see the rest of the series. (Link via The Zeray Gazette)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Cartoon Girls Gone Wild
Rainbow Brite Bloodbath
David Croenenburg's Cabbage Patch Kids

John Mayer Smoking Sexual Crack

Oh I get it now, sexual crack wasn't a euphemism but actually what John Mayer calls crack. And he wasn't talking about Jessica Simpson, that's just what he named his crack pipe. Celebrities, they say the darnedest things! Thank to the Gallery of the Absurd for clearing that up.

Previously on Popped Culture...
Bowl Full of Delusion
It's Not Easy Being Green
Cyborg Sex Machine

Look Who's Talking Too

Nobody could ever love Bruce Willis as much as Bruce Willis loves Bruce Willis. I think he's giving himself a reach around. (From Worth1000 Attack of the Clones)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Throw Them At My Hoff Clone
Very Useful Celebrities
Yippee-ki-yay, Bunnies!

ROFLcoaster

All aboard for Meme: The Ride.  I think there is still hope for me yet as I can only easily identify 12 of 16 off the top of my head. I need help and I don't mean in identifying the other four. (spaceghetto
via Urlesque)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Keyboard Cat's Last Supper
The Internet Bible, FTW
The Lolfather

Dukes of Hoth

If you thought Bo and Luke Duke could jump bridges with the General Lee, you should see them in the Dodge Chargespeeder. Of course they still have to watch out for Darth Hogg. (red5standingby
via Heavy Critters)

Previously on Popped Culture...
KITT vs. the General Lee
If The Van's A-Rockin'...
Rudolph The Red-Nosed AT-AT

SpongeBob TitanicPants

At least now we know what Krabby Patties are made of. Mmm, mmm, that's good ham! (Tumblr find, via I Know A Ghost. No idea where it originates from.)

Previously on Popped Culture...
SpongeBob's Got Big Balls
SpongeBob RealLife
Titanic Wars

Sesame Beasts

 

It was years before anyone realized the Sesame Street Zoo was built upon a toxic waste dump, but by that time it was too late. Get Hillary White's Friendly Beasts at Threadless.

Previously on Popped Culture...
101 Sesame Street Muppets
Sesame Street Fighter
Furry Happy Monsters

We've Got To Get Back To The Bunnies!

Great Scott! When this baby hit 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious bunnies.



Back to the Future, in 30 Seconds (and re-enated by bunnies)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Back To The Ancient Future
Make Like A Tree And Get Out Of Here
The Future Is Terminated

Loose Lips Bring Down Starships

Artist Cliff Chiang’s Imperial Propaganda posters for the Star Wars Galaxy 5 trading card set. I like the idea that the Empire felt the need to rally the public and the inherent message that they are on the side of good. Who doesn't believe that? (Link via The Zeray Gazette)

  

Two more Soviet-style posters, from Entertainment Earth. Say what you will, but fascist sure had a sense of style. (Links via Super Punch)

Empire Before All

 Defend and Protect

Previously on Popped Culture...

Popaganda: The Pop Culture Revolution
The Zombie Revolution
Cobra Commander Wants You!

Alien Last Supper

Alien Last Supper, from artist Tim Kelly's Similar Alien series. "Have you ever looked at the people around you and wondered what planet they are from? Have you ever felt like you are not like everyone else? Are you unique?"

Well, I'm pretty sure I'm not.

Previously on Popped Culture...
Suddenly Last Supper
The Last Smurf
Team Avatar: Pandora Police

Scooby-Doo And The Prince of Denmark

 

I'm pretty sure I would have enjoyed (and understood) Shakespeare considerably more in high school if it involved Scooby-Doo and the gang — and was written on Post-It notes.  (Tragedy Averted
by Savage Chickens)

Previously on Popped Culture...
William Shakespeare's Pulp Fiction
Fear And Loathing In The Mystery Machine
Velma The Vampire Hunter

Apocalypse Pooh

I love the smell of hunny in the morning. The bear of very little brain does a fine version of Martin Sheen's Captain Willard and Eeyore's voice is a wonderful interpretation of Marlon Brando's Colonel Kurtz.

For anyone who thinks mashups are a YouTube phenomenon, Movie City News says the genre originates with Todd Graham's Apocalypse Pooh, done on VHS back in 1987. (Link via Nag on the Lake)



Apocalypse Pooh
Previously on Popped Culture...
Full Metal Rudolph, The Reinfather & A Pack of Gifts Now
Calvin and Hobbes and Pooh Bear, Oh My!
Ginocchio And Winnie the Pope

...And Then One Day, Peter Rabbit Just Snapped

Poor Farmer McGregor, how was he to know that Peter Rabbit would be driven insane by his desire for radishes and the incessant chatter of Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail? (In addition to your radishes, via shirt.woot)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Ruining Your Childhood Memories
Frank Miller's Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Cereal Mascot Reunion

Visible Domo

Cute meets disturbing, with Jason Freeny's Domo Qee Anatomy. This is what nightmares are made of.

Previously on Popped Culture...
Konnichiwa, Dissected Domo
Keyboard Cat's Last Supper
Anatomy Of A Gummi Bear

Super Mario Bro: Jersey Shore

1 Up, Dog! Ok, I don't get the appeal of Jersey Shore, but I recognize a pop culture phenomenon when I see one. Anyone seen a Jersey Shore Last Supper yet? (Link via Not Really... But Seriously)



Jersey Shore: Super Mario Bros.
Previously on Popped Culture...
First You Get The Money...
Two Girls, One-Up
Mario's Labyrinth

Death Of The Kool-Aid Man

The Kool-Aid Man can handle smashing through any number of brick walls, but is no match for a Hattori Hanzo sword.  (The Awesomer via FashionablyGeek)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Kool-Aid Pop Culture? Oh, Yeah!
Bite My Starchy Tuberous Ass
Extreme Movie Makeovers 

Wizard Of The Hellmouth

Buffy, meet Dorothy. Seems she is the new slayer, plucked out of the University of Kansas to fight demons in Oz, with a steampunk Tin Man, a wolfman-esque lion and a scarecrow that bears more than a passing resemblance to Batman's nemesis.

I don't know if that is actually the background, but it is the concept art for a movie pitch by ColtNoble. (Drawn With a Different Style via The Zeray Gazette)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Velma The Vampire Hunter
Cereal Killer, Qu'est-ce Que C'est?
And Now I Have A Heart 

You're Eating Like An Olympian

Mmm, Mmm, I'm lovin' it!

Ok, it is an odd disconnect, Olympians and fast food, but I was at the Nagano Olympics (trust me, not as an athlete) and there was a McDonald's in the athlete's village and they did eat there — carbing up before competing or letting loose afterwards. But it is still funny and now I'm hungry. (Link via lunchbreath) 

Previously on Popped Culture...
With Influences That Range From A To Zed
Attention Vancouver Iceholes: Stephen Colbert Is Coming!
Wanted, Dead Or Alive

Watch Out for Hop-Ons

The cast of Arrested Development by way of Peanuts, from Bill Mudron. (Hat tip to Matt "Now this is one cartoon I would watch" Hartly)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Creation of Homer
Mario's Mass Grave
Chickens Don't Clap!

Calvin and Hobbes and Pooh Bear, Oh My!

While Christopher Robin has clearly been feeding Winnie the Pooh steroid-laced honey, ultimately he is still a bear of very little brain and the pair won't be able to stand up against the ferocity and imagination of Calvin and Hobbes. (weremagnus' Schoolyard Takedown via The Daily What)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat
Lessons From The Hundred Acre Wood
Animation Domination 

Reservoir Droogs

Dim: Why can't we pick our own colors?
Alex: No way, no way. Tried it once, doesn't work. You got four guys all fighting over who's gonna be Mr. Black, but they don't know each other, so nobody wants to back down. No way. I pick. You're Mr. Pink. Be thankful you're not Mr. Yellow.

Someone is going to be beaten before that argument is over.  (Worth1000 via Super Punch)

Previously on Popped Culture...
A Clockwork Clownfish
Color-Coded Criminals
Muppets Tip When Somebody Deserves A Tip

The Ultimate Combo

The only way I'd manage that combo is by accident. Once a button masher, always a button masher.

The Ultimate Combo by David Soames is one of many Threadless reprints that are part of the $10 sale, which ends today.

Previously on Popped Culture...
Sesame Street Fighter
Pac-Man's Last Supper
Jimi Hendrix: Guitar Hero

I'm Going To Miseryland

Dave MacDowell's Another Perfect Day: "...the whole painting is about Miseryland, and how pop culure has mutated our mind's into fast-food."

Hmmm, I think he means that is a bad thing. But how can that be when this makes me so happy? MacDowell's work is so dense: Mickey is a rat, Donald Duck is a lech (hey, he's got no pants), Disney has his tentacles on everyone and Gollum loves Burger (Booger) King.

Previously on Popped Culture...
The Bambie Hunter & Taxi Rider
Dig If U Will The Picture...
Breakfast Hawks

Logorama

An entire universe from buildings to people made out of corporate logos, replete with car chases, shootouts wild animals and natural disasters, Logorama is a tour de force of graphic design.

The Oscar-nominated animated short used at least two thousand logos in its creation and is more than worth the 14-minute runtime, which is saying something coming from a short attention span web junkie like myself.  (Hat tip to Neatorama)




Previously on Popped Culture...
Viral Marketing
Bad Commercials Are Good For You
And I'll Whisper, "Would You Like Fries With That?"

Grimace McSection

You are what you eat, apparently, or at least where you work. And now I know where all my McNuggets are stored.

From shirt.woot and designer Glen Brogan: "Grimace weighs over 540 pounds. He is only 25, but suffers from hypertension, Type II Diabetes, elevated cholesterol, gallstones, Gout, sleep apnea, and has recently suffered a mild heart attack."

Previously on Popped Culture...
Fast Food Kills
Anatomy of a Gummi Bear
Suddenly Last Supper

It's a Marvel, Charlie Brown

Even superheros need to let loose sometimes. And I imagine Wolverine could really let it rip on guitar. From an image Chris Giarrusso (of Mini Marvels) drew for a Christmas card. (Image via zombiemothra).

Here is the original A Charlie Brown Christmas image for comparison:

Previously on Popped Culture... 
Epic Misney
You See Us As You Want To See Us...
Super Emo Friends

Youthful, Abnormal, Japanese Assassin Kitchen Appliances

Upside: They never have to order out for pizza.
Downside: As fighters they are amazingly ineffective.

Threadless is having a three-day, $10 t-shirt sale, with loads of past classics, like WanderingBert's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle homage.

Previously on Popped Culture...
Hatchling Mutant Ninja Turtles
It's Pizza Time, Picasso!
Cowabunga, Painter Dudes

GandALF

GandALF searched Middle Earth for eons, looking for the The One Cat to eat.

TeeFury is having giving people a chance to get this shirt, or one of a few dozen other popular tees for $5 in their Grab Bag sale.

Previously on Popped Culture...
Disney's Lord of the Rings
Peter Jackson's The Smurfs
Off to Mordor With You 

I Think I Can't, I Think I Can't

I was reading to Shel Silverstein to my son when I came across this uplifting tale:

The Little Blue Engine

The little blue engine looked up at the hill.
His light was weak, his whistle was shrill.
He was tired and small, and the hill was tall,
And his face blushed red as he softly said,
“I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.”

So he started up with a chug and a strain,
And he puffed and pulled with might and main.
And slowly he climbed, a foot at a time,
And his engine coughed as he whispered soft,
“I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.”

With a squeak and a creak and a toot and a sigh,
With an extra hope and an extra try,
He would not stop — now he neared the top —
And strong and proud he cried out loud,
“I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!”

He was almost there, when — CRASH! SMASH! BASH!
He slid down and mashed into engine hash
On the rocks below... which goes to show
If the track is tough and the hill is rough,
THINKING you can just ain’t enough!

Ah, Shel, thank you. (Image via Glennz Tees)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Shel Silverstein's American History X
Queen Of The Wild Things
Goodnight Keith Moon

Whorses Need Love Too

And now we know where unicorns, Pegasus (Pegasi?) and centaurs come from. Damn slutty horses. (via immejen)

Previously on Popped Culture...
You Got Lion In My Eagle!
Taxi Rider
The Odyssey of Chuck Norris

Will You Be My Constant?

Happy Valentine's Day! (More Lost V-Day cards from beavotron, via blueprint)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Love & Sockets
Sex, Chocolate & The Economist
Lost: If Found Call 4815162342

With Influences That Range From A To Zed

In terms of pop culture, the opening ceremonies for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics was a showcase of Canada's most mainstream entertainment — Nelly Furtado, Sarah McLachlan and Bryan Adams — but it was the performance of We Are More by slam poet Shane Koyczan that captured the energy in the room.
An excerpt:

we do more than sit around and say "eh?"
and yes
we are the home of the Rocket and the Great One
who inspired little number nines
and little number ninety-nines
but we're more than just hockey and fishing lines
off of the rocky coast of the Maritimes
and some say what defines us
is something as simple as please and thank you
and as for you're welcome
well we say that too
but we are more
than genteel or civilized
we are an idea in the process
of being realized
we are young
we are cultures strung together
then woven into a tapestry
and the design
is what makes us more
than the sum total of our history

I can't find the performance anywhere as the International Olympic Committee, in its wisdom, is clamping down on anyone doing something ridiculous like positively promoting the games (nor is it available on the official sites either) but there is an earlier version available.




We Are More - Shane Koyczan

Update: I still can't find the ceremony version, but I did come across an interview with Koyczan.

Previously on Popped Culture...
Attention Vancouver Iceholes: Stephen Colbert Is Coming!
This Book Decapitated Michael Ondaatje
Canadian History: The Video Game

How To Spot A Wolfman

National Post Monsterologist Andrew Barr presents a short guide to the horrible, furry monster know as The Wolfman, including a few facts to help you in the event you come face to furry face with the full-moon-loving friend.

Previously on Popped Culture...
Grandma, What Informative Graphics You Have!
Not By The Hair Of My Stop Motion Chin
Twilight: Three Wolf Moon

Attention Vancouver Iceholes: Stephen Colbert Is Coming!

In case you somehow missed it, the Quadrennial Seasonal Athletic Event is upon us! (I'm wary of using the world Olympics, lest the IOC try and sue us for whatever money we have left. They are kinda touchy about these things.)

Anyway, right-wing faux-blowhard Stephen Colbert is heading for Vancouver next week, as part of his support for the U.S. speedskating team, and he wants the world to know.

Nation! Join Stephen on his quest for Olympic glory LIVE at Creekside Park next to Science World at 1455 Quebec Street in Vancouver, BC on February 17th and 18th at 9:15am. To help spread the word about his historic visit to Canada, DOWNLOAD the exclusive commemorative poster and post it all over Vancouver!

The poster is from artist Shepard Fairey (of the Obama Hope poster) and even he fears the litigious hand of the IOC, making no reference to the vaunted rings. Perhaps his battle with The Associated Press has tempered him.

(This was originally posted as part of my day job. I like my job.)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Olympics: Faster, Higher, Brickier
Art Grand Slam
David Lynch's Super Bowl Head

I'm Going To Disneyland!

Oh Vincent Van Gogh, can't we take you anywhere? (Bob Buccella's Vincent Van Goghs to Disneyland via arturomob)

Previously on Popped Culture...
Come As You Are: Nevermind The Parodies
Would You Like Fries With That?
Pop Culture Masters

Forgiven

Before Unforgiven won an armload of Oscars, Clint Eastwood was forced by the studio to send his tale of a retired gunslinger to several focus groups who didn't like the films bleak ending and sent back this alternative. (Image via Unreality's 15 Anti Climactic Movie Posters)

Previously on Popped Culture...
World's Toughest T-Shirt
Not Coming To A Theatre Near You
LegoFellas