Alodia Panel Interview CUTS: Finally we get some answers!

Alodia Gosiengfiao’s image blew up with her sleek and sexy cosplay of the Cobra Baroness at 2010’s Comic-Con in San Diego and was recently featured as FHM magazine’s Cover Girl for the July 2013 issue, but she has been cosplaying for years in her home country, the Philippines, where she’s literally the Queen of Cosplay!Retrenders - Ramen and a Half - Johnny Moreno - Cobra Baroness - FHM Alodia Gosiengfiao
The Ramen crew was really hoping to get a one-on-one interview with Alodia, especially our host, The Eddie, but under the hierarchy of certain press privileges some things just didn’t work out. So instead The Eddie and Ame Garrucho caught up with a panel interview and made the best of what they could get!
During this interactive panel discussion, find out how Alodia got her start in cosplay and why? She even mentions wanting to work with Jessica Nigri! Which makes sense, because both of these girls are at the top of their Cosplay fame and continue to be creative and entertaining in their world of ubiquitous cosplay.

GETTING THE PANEL INTERVIEW: This interview panel CUT was shot on the fly with a Canon t3i DSLR and a Sony Bloggie respectively by our on the spot camera persons, Ame Garrucho and our Host- now in our credits as camera person, Eddie Ballar. Look forward for a STRICKLY FOR FANS Panel CUT of Alodia with our camera operator Johnny Moreno. I guess the Ramen Crew and The Eddie just couldn’t get enough of Alodia and would like to share whatever we could get for the FANS.
WEIRD TECH NOTE: The Sony Bloggie is far from being sharp compared to the to the Canon t3i DSLR, but The Eddie did give us the effect of being  inside his mind like the movie “Being John Malkovich”. Obviously from asking question directly from behind the camera, and it doesn’t help that he’s closer to the bloggie mic than Alodia, who is like 20 feet away… “still entertaining and informational though.”

Pixar Playing Cards

pixar playing cards 00College student and designer Chris Anderson is a big fan of Pixar films.  For his art project, he created a Pixar themed carry box containing two packs of playing cards.

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“The Paintings of Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo in Movement”

Dances of Mexico with the collaborative artistry of Ballet!

Some purist say traditional folkloric dances shouldn’t be changed because it changes the theme of originality. That’s fine, but as time moves on, dances take on new meaning in context to moments in one’s life and this is exactly what Ensambles Ballet Folklorico de San Francisco has done for their piece, “Las Pinturas de Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo en Movimiento”, that will be showcasing this Saturday! – July 27, 2013 2PM & 8PM at the Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater in San Jose, CA.

For tickets click here www.cityboxoffice.com

I attended last year’s performance and I’m thankful that I did! I was amazed by the elaborate and vibrant colors of costumes, traditional dances and the interjected dramatic collaboration of ballet pieces into the show to tell you the story of Diego y Frida through dance.

ensambles postcard

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Calvin and Hobbes Documentary

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As a kid I couldn’t wait for Sunday paper to be delivered in the morning.  Besides the Sports section, my other favorite section was the Sunday comics – the whole section devoted to comics!  I laughed and cried reading Calvin and Hobbes.  I just loved Calvin’s interaction with his parents, pet tiger Hobbes and friend Susie Derkins.  When the 11 books of collected adventures of the Calvin and Hobbes strips came out, my sister and me made sure we bought all of these at the bookstores.  And we still have these collected books to this day!

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Graffiti Legally in NYC with Walls Notebook

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It may be a great summer for many us out of school, but for those of you who have to take summer classes it might be insanely maddening.  Well, if you’re sitting in a boring lecture class and find yourself not listening to your professor at all and can’t get a Wi-Fi signal on your smartphone, then may I suggest doodling?

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Recycled Collage Art by Derek Gores

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I remember sitting in art class in middle school trying to figure out how to put my newspaper cut outs and magazine clippings into an work of art for the usual one-off collage art project.  Well, critically-acclaimed artist Derek Gores takes collages to a new level.

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Comic Artist Daniel Parada draws up a dynamic duo of Mayan heroes!

zotz headerDaniel Parada’s comic, ZOTZ: Serpent and Shield, is about the mystical world of Maya. The comic is cultural influenced from Parada’s research of Mayan ancient history where he has plotted themes without the impacts of the Spanish yet?

The tale of Zotz: Serpent and Shield awaits anyone willing to open the mysteries of the comic and walk into a past before Maya was discovered and unravel an adventure with two heroic characters, Pakal and Kaan, who lead us into a world much more phenomenal than we think.

Other than an adventurous story drawn up from historical elements, the comic is full of fantastic art!

Miniature Hand Soap

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These are not just cute little colorful hands, but miniature soap bars.  Now your kids can clean their hands with some fun.

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Street Art by OaKoAk

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French street artist OaKoAk turns street signs, walls, bus signs and just anything on a street into works of art.

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A Book on Sandwiches

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Graphic Designer Pawel Piotrowski has a cool concept idea for a book on Sandwiches.  3D cut and ingredients made to look real in book form.  The papers look tasty.

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Kidrobot Dunny 2013 Release with Julie West and Scott Tolleson

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Our Ramen team kicked it all day at the Kidrobot SF store in Haight-Ashbury as Kidrobot released their new 2013 Dunny series.  The day was long and the lines were super long as Dunny fans eagerly await to buy blind boxes and cases hoping to chase their favorite artist created Dunny and the “black” limited Andrew Bell Dunny.

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Indigo Mood – A film about life in motion even when there is tragedy.

Mood Indigo 01Michel Gondry’s latest film Indigo Mood is a romantic fantasy love story that takes place in the contemporary 1950s with a bit of Salvador Dali’s melting of time dilemma surrounding the protagonist character played by Audrey Tatou. If one’s life is slipping away, the only answer is the mystical aura of life itself! With hints of everyday artistic gadgetry to everyday defying signs of gravity in the film– how can we not find a way to make this relationship work?

Here are 5 stated details about the film that I have come across the web.

1. It’s a love fable in a dream.

2. It’s the next “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind“, a past film of Michel Gondry’s

3. There’s some Duke Ellington jazz

4. Contemporary Paris of the 1950s with a Retro vibe

5. This film was impossible to do until Michel Gondry came along.

The film is based on a 1947 French novel called L’écume des jours by Boris Vian. Yes,  a fantasy love story written over 60 years ago.Indigo Mood MONTAGE - Retrenders

The film has been released in France. A US release should be within this year.

The Fastest Comic Illustrator in the Country quick-draws the Green Lantern!

Bordin (Mark) Marsinkul, also known as Hyperbooster, astonishingly produces up to 50 commission drawings in a day at a comic or anime convention.Johnny Moreno - Retrenders - Bordin Marsinkul HyperboosterHis hybrid technique of calligraphy and Japanese style manga brush strokes creates his uniquely textured drawings with anything he can get his hands on from paint, pencil to marker! He works intensely fast and he’s amazing if you get a chance to watch him. His drawings begin with abstract scribbles, marks and accents, but then it begins to reveal itself before your eyes with every scribble, mark and accent of intention. The image becomes animated, three dimensional and before you know it – it magically appears! Watch the video and you’ll experience what I’m talking about as he quickly draws a fantastic image of the Green Lantern!

For more information about Bordin (Mark) Marsinkul and where to catch him at his next convention visit www.facebook.com/hyperboosterJohnny Moreno - Retrenders - Bordin Markinsul 2

Space Mountain Behind The Scenes

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There are many rides at Disneyland and one of the most iconic roller coaster rides is Space Mountain.  Disneyland fan blog – ImagineeringDisney.com was able to dig up some behind-the-scenes construction of the Space Mountain ride in 1974.

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The Art of the Film – World War Z

world war z art bookThis past weekend I was able to hit the multiplex and catch Brad Pitt facing off zombies in World War Z, based on the best selling novel by Max Brooks.  I’m not a huge fan of zombies or gory violent flicks and I heard of all the production troubles in the film that Pitt endured with the studio and director, but all in all, I was pleasantly surprised by this PG-13 fright-fest.  The first half of the movie was a relentless assault of fast-moving zombies taking over cities and the supporting cast was terrific in the film.  The movie-goers were rocking and cheering and a couple of girls were yelling “Go Brad!”  It’s a high brow Resident Evil zombie movie that makes you think.

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Big Appetites by Christopher Boffoli

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I really enjoy photographs that take you somewhere, imagination run wild and just plain put a smile on your face.  Artist/photographer Christopher Boffoli’s series Big Appetites has been published in over 95 countries.

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3D Printed Mini Eames Lounge Chair

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What can you do with a 3D printer?  Make and print up some really cool classic miniature Eames Lounge Chairs.  The mini Eames Lounge Chairs were designed by Kevin Spencer.

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The FLASH – Hardcover bounded comics from Herring and Robinson Bookbinders!

Johnny Moreno - Retrenders - Sheldon Cooper Big Bang Theory FLASH BookAs the Ramen crew weaved their way through Big Wow’s ComicFest, we found something that FLASH fan, Sheldon Cooper, from the popular television hit series The Big Bang Theory would wonderfully appreciate. And that’s having your collected comic books bounded into a single volume for that utmost presentation. I would also like to mention that the longevity of a professionally bound hardcover will also help preserve and protect your favorite comics for future readings and sharing. However, if you can’t bare the fact of having your comics punctured and sewn together, they also have other wonderful alternatives!

Johnny Moreno - Retrenders - Bound Comic Books

For information about Herring and Robinson Bookbinders, and how to get your comics bound, go to their website:

www.herringandrobinsonbookbinders.com

Viral Video Friday: Time Lapse Asia Videos

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More time-lapse videos this Friday.  “This is Shanghai” by Rob Whitworth and JT Singh shows the mega urban sprawl of Shanghai during the day and neon nights.

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SPAM Carry Bag

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Are you looking for a fashionably cool bag to carry all your nifty tech gadgets like tablets, headphones, USB cables and stuff?  If you’re in Asia, you can pick up this neat organizer bag – the SPAM from The Coop Idea LTD.

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The Youngest Spider-man Comic Artist – Ethan Castillo!

The Ramen crew may have not been the first to stumble upon the fascinating eight year old Spidey-artist, but we still stumbled!

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This kid was amazing and we felt this is one of the things that Big Wow Comicfest’s opens up to, and that’s passion and talent from everywhere under the umbrella of comics. On the floor at Big Wow Comicfest, you can’t help but feel inspired by all the people that are there introducing new stories, new artists, new genres, new characters, and it becomes an absolute gift when you run into someone as young as Ethan Castillo drawing Spider-man or Marvel Comic characters because he loves to! You actually start to feel the kid in yourself while watching him draw! “It’s just fun!” – He says.

We also recognized the extent of love and support that Ethan’s parents give him and we can’t help but strongly say, great talent can come from self-ambition, but it also comes from parents that nurture and encourage it!

Oreo Dunny Series by Shawn Wigs

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Attack of the Oreo Cookies!

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Artist Shawn Wigs has a cool custom Dunny series – the Oreo 3″ Dunnies.  You don’t have to love eating Oreos to appreciate this.  It’s super cute and fun to collect and have.  A case of the blind boxes will run about $65.00USD and there are 4 in the collection – Original Dunny (15/20), Vanilla Oreo Dunny (2/20), Mint Oreo Dunny (2/20) and Bitten Oreo Dunny (1/20).

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3Face Wolverine

Pic of the Day:

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It’s Wolverine … well, maybe it’s two Batman facing off.

Source:  Imgur – Wolverine – Batman.

Kidrobot Dunny 2013 Release Day Party

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Kidrobot’s biggest product release of the year is their Dunny series and for 2013 select artist from around the world helped in creating this collectible toy vinyl set.

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Viral Video Friday: This Is Africa

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I’m really a big fan of the Canon 5D DSLR and here’s why.  On a trip to Africa this March 2013, Benjamin Dowie took a video glimpse of Uganda and Tanzania.

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