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Like the top secret costume character in BBC’s Top Gear, the Stig, only a few men have stepped-in to be official Ronald McDonald clown mascot for the McDonald’s fast food chain. Only 8 men have officially been Ronald McDonald and Joe Maggard is one of them. He was Ronald from 1995-2007.
As a kid I loved going to the San Diego Zoo with my parents and looking at the various animals in cages. Now this petting zoo in Japan takes the cake for cuteness and that it only specializes in caring for about 200 foxes.
Greg Pak maybe known for his many comic book stories at Marvel and DC Comics over the years, but here’s one of his side projects, an alphabet book for kids. This children’s book ABC Disgusting is about a younger brother trying to gross out her older sister with alphabet words.
Wow. Just wow. Give this tattoo artist a raise or something. Jean-Pierre Saint-Tran wanted make a tribute to his favorite Studio Ghibli films and that’s what he did. He gave up his whole arm to be tattooed with Miyazaki art from Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro.
On this episode of Vinyl Pulp we visit Woot Bear SF where they join forces with Boundless Brooklyn and Outre for the Art on Guard: Lifeguard Tower Art Show. This show featured over 40 different artists and their custom lifeguard towers. Vinyl Pulp also interviews the man behind Outre apparel brand.
WESTWORLD 1973
There has been word that there will be a Westworld remake or a series adaptation for television for the past couple of years, and Jonathan Nolan and J.J. Abrams names are tied to the project.
Westworld was the first film that made me fear the dawn of the robot age – that computer embedded and wired life-like human operational machines can take over. Notice that I didn’t mention android or artificial intelligence? The reason being is because this film was released in theaters in 1973. It was very rare that anyone referred an intelligent robot as an android or artificial intelligence to some extent; the terms were far-fetched to the greater public at the time and not widely used.
Whenever I have business meetings or work in downtown SF, I always make sure I stop by Chinatown and hit one of those Mom & Pop pastry shops for some BBQ Pork Buns aka Char Siu Baos. Great for snacking or meal on the run while trying to catch the MUNI. Anyways, here’s a Munchies DIY episode on making Pork Buns with chef Hann Palcu-Chang of Hero in Paris restaurant.
Finally, another episode of Tuner Club! This show takes a look at tuning house Wacky Mate in Japan and their very own 1993 Nissan Skyline R32. The 800hp beast was built for grip driving and time attacks. The R32 has been heavily modified and tuned.
The Type R badge returns. The UK/Euro-Spec Honda Civic 4-door sedan that gets the special treatment. Wild and outrageous aero parts and rear spoiler looks to make a statement. Xcar Films takes a look and reviews this pocket rocket.
I’m a fan of Frank Cho’s, “Apes and Babes”, illustrations of women. And when I came across Nicole Brune’s art, I can definitely say if you love his work – you’ll undeniably love hers!
I especially love how Nicole Brune fashions some of her pin-up illustrations with pulp-fiction fantasy appeal that works from darkness to sweetness, or sweetness to darkness. I guess this would depend on what you notice first. See her artwork at www.nicolebrune.com
This time, Chef’s Night Out is in SF aka The City (Shot out to the Dubs!) Munchies hangs out with chef Jesse Koide from Pink Zebra. A Asian/Mediterranean fusion restaurant located in the Mission District.
It’s fast. It’s super fast. One of my favorite auto journalist Chris Harris reviews the 458 Italia replacement, the Ferrari 488 GTB.
This is one bad@$$ concept car by SRT. Fiat/SRT takes a jump into the future of what a SRT hyper-car would look like in 2035. And you’ll have to wear a G-suit to drive this car because of the 2,590 horses and top speed of 371. This is the SRT Tomahawk Vision for Gran Turismo 6.
Pokemon fans will enjoy this mini-capsule hat collab collection by BEAMS and New Era. Japanese retailer BEAMS teams up with New Era to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Pokemon with cute and geeky Pikachu Fitted Hat Collection.
The Flying Pig (Photo courtesy of Adrian Domingo)
Now we would like to introduce you to the newest show on Retrenders called “I Like to Eat”, where the Retrenders crew will go out to different food establishments and try some of their most popular dishes!
On this episode of “I Like to Eat”, we visit Grillaz Gone Wild food truck at Off The Grid and try out their signature The Flying Pig and Loaded Fries.
In a quick interview, Eddie Ballar asks Steve Wyatt what will happend to BigWow Comicfest with a new Comic-Con in town?
Steve Wyatt is the director and producer of many comic conventions in the Bay Area, and he explains how Steven Wozniak and Stan Lee are teaming up to create the Silicon Valley Comic Convention (SVCC).
Before I get down to reviewing Titan Book’s The Art of Mad Max: Fury Road, I’ve watched Mad Max: Fury Road twice already. I was a little cynical at first, when I heard the news that creator/director George Miller was going to re-make Mad Max, when his 1979 Mad Max film starring Mel Gibson was already a masterpiece. So, as I sat in the multiplex dreading it would not be a Kevin Costner “Waterworld”, the movie came on-screen and within a few minutes I was blown away by not just the action and acting, but Miller’s incredible cinematography, the colors and the amazing world-building. Now to the meat of this article, taking a look at Titan Book’s The Art of Mad Max: Fury Road by Abbie Bernstein with a Foreward by the man himself, the master George Miller.
Cute and iconic is the Hamburger Lamp. Undercover brings it back with a team-up with Medicom Toy. The item drops sometime June 2015.
The all-new 2016 Mazda MX-5 is here. Autoguide takes a look at the MX-5 with a new SkyActive 2.0L 4-cyclinder 155 horsepower engine.
Next travel destination: Fiji. Travel by boat to Cloud 9, the floating bar/restaurant in Fiji. Grab a sweet cocktail, a slice of pizza and some snorkeling in one place.
I admit, along with my fellow Retrenders blogger Stevie Jang, we haven’t found a good meat pie place in the SF area. Most of the time, Lahmadjun we’ve eaten have been a little oily, greasy and not fresh. Now Munchies is making me hungry with this piece, “Lebanon’s Lahmadjun” with reporter Aris Roussinos. In Beirut, Aris finds a Armenian/Syrian bakery, the Ichkhanian Bakery where they make the delicious Lahmadjun, which is a flatbread with spiced minced meat on top.
Like artist Adam Hughes, comic book artist Frank Cho also has a knack for drawing sexy female superheroes and villains. Ramen host Ramon Angel catches up with Frank at Big Wow! Comicfest 2015 talking about his latest projects and the “Spider-Gwen” internet buzz.
The Canadian comfort dish to eat is Poutine. What is Poutine? You got your fries, cheese curds and gravy sauce. What’s not to like? My fellow Retrenders blogger Stephen Jang says this is the YouTube fast food reviewer to watch Ken Domik. Ken shows us how to make Poutine.
If you’re an anime/manga fan or instant ramen noodle fan, you might find yourself enjoying this promo ad. The commercial drops a lot of anime/manga references. Now I’m hungry.
Johnny Moreno
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