The Moomin Shop, London

Ah, Finland.... the land of.... well actually I don't really know much about Finland except that it's education is supposed to be really cutting edge. However one thing I DO know about Finland is that it was the country of birth of Tove Jannsen, creator of the wonderful Moomins. The Moomins are a family of white, roundish fairy tale characters with large snouts that make them resemble hippopotamuses.

I first came across the Moomins in the 80s in the creepy stop-motion felt animation on ITV. The animation style was very unsettling and the music was suitably atmospheric. As I grew older I could see the animation style resembled eastern blok animation like 'Hedgehog in the Fog,' Jan Svankmajer or even the music video 'There There' by Radiohead.

The 80s animation scared me but the 90s 104 episode cartoon series changed all that, the animation style was more traditional and cutesy and I was hooked. Since 2006 the Moomin books have been available in hardback by Drawn and Quarterly, who are to be congratulated for producing beautifully put together volumes. I have purchased the first two and am working my way to get the whole collection.

Whilst walking through Covent Garden, London with my wife I came across the delightful Moomin Shop. Upon entry into the shop you are faced with a huge mural of the Moomins which sets the mood. As you go up the stairs to where the shop is located you go into the forest and meet Little My, floating on her umbrella. The shop has everything a Moomin fan could want from dish cloths, cutlery, t-shirts, china to non-alcoholic wine! My wife and I bought a lot of stuff and loved the experience. I even had a chance to meet Moomintroll!

If you are a fan of the Moomins you have to go to this amazing shop!

OverClocked Remix

I love Overclocked Remix a website which was founded in 1999 which is dedicated to the appreciation and promotion of video game music as an art form.

In it's own words:

The ocremix.org website features thousands of free fan arrangements, information on game music and composers,  and resources for aspiring artists, and a thriving community of video game music fans.

Here are a few of my favourites:

rePLAY: Symphony of Heroes Concert

rePLAY: Symphony of Heroes is an orchestral concert series with the music of beloved video games including Journey, God of War, and Guild Wars among others. The concert will debut at concert halls worldwide this summer. I have booked tickets to see the show in London on Friday 26th September at the SSE Arena, Wembley and am looking forward to seeing the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra perform these pieces live. Check out the link below to order your own tickets.

8-Bit Matrix

The Matrix sequels were awful, plain and simple. However there were some standout moments and Philip Raupach has used a scene from The Matrix Reloaded and created an 8-bit sound mix... it has turned a pretentious overblown film into a action comedy movie. Check it out below!

Harry Potter (Scott Pilgrim Style)

There are many people who upload trailer mash-ups on YouTube, however most are instantly forgettable but there is a shining beacon who always edits amazing trailers and that person is The Unusual Suspect. He has used clips from the different Harry Potter films and given them an interesting twist, using fast paced comic timing and onomatopoeia to create a trailer more like the Edgar Wright Scott Pilgrim film. So here for your viewing pleasure is the trailer and I've also included the original Scott Pilgrim trailer. The battle to destroy the seven evil horcruxes is on!

Arcade Font Writer

Game developer Richard Davey has created Arcade Font Writer, the generator lets you pick classic game fonts of the 80's and 90's arcade scene. There are classic fonts from Sega, Konami and Capcom on franchises like Art of Fighting, Street Fighter II and Ghouls and Ghosts. The best part is that once you have written your message, you can save the image as a .PNG image file and save it or spam your friends with it!

Dora the Explorer and the Destiny Medallion

Dora the Explorer features the adventures of young Dora, her monkey Boots, Backpack and other animated friends. Now College Humour has done a spoof live-action version of the show which is definitely not for kids.

The shorts are in 3 parts and play with aspects of the TV show, including Dora addressing the camera, waiting for the audience to solve puzzles for her, and translating Spanish to English.

The sketches feature Ariel Winter, Alex in Modern Family and are hilarious. Check it out!

The Advantage Plays Rocking Moon Theme from Ducktales NES

Whilst listening to a podcast I heard about a band who play rocking covers of classic NES chiptunes. The Advantage is an American rock band from California, USA that formed in 1998 and specialises in doing covers of music from old NES games. The band is considered to be one of the original pioneers of the Nintendocore genre and widely praised for bringing video game music into the spotlight. This is a piece I particularly like, check out more videos on youtube!

Man At Arms Creates Cloud's Buster Sword

Tony Swatton, a master swordsmith who has created hundreds of real weapons for films and for pleasure, has created the ultimate nerdy sword.... specifically, Cloud Strife's iconic Buster Sword. Fans of Final Fantasy 7 will know the sword is unwieldy and in the words of Swatton himself, "Redonkulous."

Have a look at how the sword is made in the video below and prepare to be amazed.

Leo's Fortune Brilliant Rube Goldberg Trailer

Rube Goldberg was a cartoonist who, as well as creating political cartoons was best known for creating a series of popular cartoons depicting complicated gadgets that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. His drawings were so influential that they influenced many people and industries, including Wile E. Coyote in Warner Bros. cartoons, Wallace and Gromit and more recently in the phenomenal OK Go! music video. 

Most recently the game Leo's Fortune has used the idea of the Rube Goldberg machine to create a brilliant trailer.... don't take my word for it, have a look yourself!

Manga Video Intro

Back in the days before Blu-Ray, HD, DVDs and even the internet there existed one company which spread the word of Japanese animation in the UK and that company was Manga Videos. I remember seeing their logo and thinking it was cool, I'll never forget the first time I bought my first Manga, Guyver Episode 1. This intro preceded all the films and man it got me hyped to see the film. Obviously we had other companies come along and take the mantle of best purveyor of anime and manga but none had a kick-ass intro like this. Enjoy!

Before Mario

Nintendo was established in 1889 as a toy and playing cards company. For the majority of its existence Nintendo was producing Japanese-style hanafuda cards and Western-style playing cards as well as toys and games. However Nintendo's former history is often forgotten due to the success it achieved afterwards with the Game and Watch and various game consoles that followed. 

The Before Mario blog showcases the toys and games Nintendo created in the period from the mid 60's to the early 80's. Starting with the first board games up to the launch of the Family Computer in 1983. 

It really is an amazing website as it taught me so much more about Nintendo than I ever thought I knew. Take a look and educate yourself, I did!

The Ultra Hand, created by Gameboy creator Gunpei Yokoi.

The Ultra Hand, created by Gameboy creator Gunpei Yokoi.

Calvin and Hobbes Gritty Reboots Trailer

As a huge comic nerd I have massive love for Bill Wattersons amazing Calvin and Hobbes comic strips. The comic follows the humorous antics of Calvin, a precocious, mischievous, and adventurous six-year-old boy, and Hobbes, his sardonic stuffed tiger. The comic books have sold over 45 million copies worldwide and is one of the most syndicated comics in the world, published in over 250 newspapers.

This Gritty Reboots trailer puts a darker edge on the Calvin and Hobbes story but I like it, see what you think....

Arcades on the Beach

Like many seaside towns Whitley Bay, America is not what it used to be. Artist Danny Passarella has fond memories of the bars, pubs and arcades and has used this to inspire his art exhibition. He wanted to show how arcades changed the landscape of his hometown, "... like the monolith in 2001: Space Odyssey" and so has been placing classic arcade machines in fantasy Whitley Bay locales. The results are beautiful. His work will be exhibited at Forge and Co. on Shoreditch High Street, London, on 25th July... so if you can why not head down! If you can't make it click on the link below to go to his webpage and see more of his wonderful work.

Shaun the Sheep Game Academy in Scratch

Hey you! Yeah you! Do you like computer games? They're awesome aren't they? They let your explore strange worlds, become cool characters with mind blowing powers and take on quests you can only dream of. But wouldn't it be amazing to design your own quests, and create your own worlds?

Well the Nominet Trust and Aardman Animations have released a huge pile of characters, places and props from the Shaun the Sheep universe into the Scratch coding platform. They're looking for people to make an amazing computer game and there are prizes to be won.

I know it sounds intimidating making a whole game but on the website there are tutorials and help guides to assist you in making your game. Also there is a Resources page that will let you continue your coding skills.

This is a brilliant opportunity to get your pupils and children excited about coding and by including such a beloved character, it will make Scratch more appealing than ever. Click on the link below and make a game now!

Mysterious Cities of Gold Nostalgia

I've been watching the new Mysterious Cities of Gold Series, and whilst it is okay it had me yearning for the charm and style of the older series. The thing I liked about the old series was the mood created by the amazing soundtrack, and there is one piece of music which is burned into my soul... St. Elmo's Fire. This piece of music created by Shuki Levy and Haim Saban (of Power Rangers fame *sigh*) was used only 12 times in the whole 39 episodes, and only at key points of the series such as the discovery of a mysterious place or the observation of grand phenomena.

Well a Youtuber has kindly put these key moments into a complete video so you can relive those amazing moments from the series in one 15 minute video... sit back and enjoy my favourite cartoon!

Luigi Death Stare

I wanted to share a  compilation of the newest trend, the Luigi "Death Stare!" For those who don't know Luigi is the lovable but usually sidelined brother of Mario. Last year Nintendo attempted to rectify this with several Luigi based games. Well, this past couple of weeks Mario Kart 8 has been released and Luigi in particular stands out, his death stare taking the Twitter world by storm. Have a look below and see what the fuss is about!