I was incredibly jealous when I saw these on Tim Maughan’s blog. Not only because these Ponyo cupcakes look fantastic, but also because his girlfriend made these scrumptious delights for him.
I’ve tried hooking my long-time boyfriend onto anime by starting him with a couple of my favorites – the Cowboy Bebop movie, Millennium Actress, and I may have also tried a Ghibli movie with him too. None of these worked, so I’m resigned to being the open-closet otaku in this relationship. We’ll camp out on the couch to watch Bones or Australia’s Greatest Athlete, but any anime will have to be watched on my spare time (and usually when he’s not around). Certainly I won’t be getting any cool Ponyo cupcakes from HIM anytime soon, sigh…
I’m a bit of a sucker for Mario videos, despite the fact that I’ve never actually played Super Mario past the first two stages – being incredibly jumping-impaired probably had something to do with it. But there’s just something so comforting and nostalgic about the franchise, which is why this YouTube video put a big smile on my face. The video was also just incredibly well done!
“A post-it stop-motion of Super Mario running wild in a school building, created by a group of Japanese students, is fast becoming a YouTube hit!”
I was actually looking for more info on these awesome looking Cupmen (which hold down instant noodle lids and turn white once the noodles have finished cooking – cool right?!) when I stumbled onto Spoon & Tamago. And I promptly fell in love with the blog, because author Johnny Strategy has an impeccable eye for the quirky and charming in Japanese design. Browsing through the blog was a real treat for the eyes and feast for the mind!
I was also very taken with these little wooden magnets that look like delicious pebble-buttons. As Johnny said, “The smooth, rounded surface beckons you to touch and caress it. Looking at them lined up makes me want to put one in my mouth.”
But the tree page-markers were probably my favorite – such brilliant conceptual design by artist Megumi Takahashi!
Anyways, if any of the above caught your eye then I would highly recommend a browse through Spoon & Tamago – it’s sure to inspire!
I was actually pretty excited when I saw that the Minitokyo Knockout Round 3 theme was Art Nouveau, since I’ve never tried the style before. And with the non-human subject requirement I immediately thought “YEAH MOKONA!!!” Gotta give loves to my internet alter-ego The scan that I ended up using immediately struck a chord, not only because it puts Mokona up front and center, but also because of the heavy Japanese style which feeds directly into the Art Nouveau theme.
Momo partially extracted from this scan; then I slapped on a paper texture from Stock.XCHNG, a cloud texture from Mayang, and a pattern from Stuntkid. Thanks to Yina-chan for hosting this round!
Cast by a dude for an art (sculpture) class, this is possibly one of the best homework assignments ever made by a kindred nerd.
P.S. Am rather amused by all the “I WANTS THAT” comments resounding through the internets, mostly because the artist shared that the katamari ball is heavy enough to cause some serious damage to wood if it was to fall over (apparently the katamari is NOT welded to the Prince; a design decision that I applaud). Since the bronze for the sculpture alone costs $200, this is really out of my price range. But still, I DO wants. Maybe mass production would be the answer here…
EPIC SUMMER WALLING COMPETITION GOODNESS for the AnimePaper community, brought to you by Jay and myself. There’ll most likely be three elimination rounds that run from June to August, in additional to two concurrent (optional) immunity rounds. It’ll be lots of fun, plus there is an awesome prize. So what are you waiting for? SIGN UP NOW @ AP!
Oh Japan, why are you so oddly random yet creative and awesome?
“The star-shaped new eraser Milli-Keshi is designed for those who want millimetre-precision to erase exactly one letter or one row on their writing pad, with five “hands” of different width to accommodate the ruling.”
The site which hosted the CMIYC opening clip, The Art of the Title Sequence, is also quite interesting to browse through in its own right. I definitely recommend a visit if you like opening sequences and/or if you’re in need of some cinematic inspiration.
P.S. Happy 10th birthday to DA! May you have many more
I’ve been a fan of Jay‘s works for a while now. So this morning when she asked me if TJN could affiliate with pixel ellipsis, I was like… of course! (HUR HUR ) As I gleefully told Jay, I regularly stalk TJN for her awesome walls – so affiliating makes my stalking a lot easier.
By the way, Jay and I have been busy working on a big summer project for the AP community. It’s *almost* ready to go, so do keep your eyes peeled for more news on this! We’re both working madly (and excitedly) for the big reveal, so expect major pimpage from me once it officially kicks off
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