November 2011

It happens sometimes that you watch a TV show and in once instant moment you find yourself on the edge of your seat, anticipating the next act. That act came with a deathly growl from within the doors of the barn.

Moments previously, we had just seen Shane go slightly unhinged and single-handedly rip the wooden doors from barn. Out poured the walking dead, which Glenn had discovered during a previous episode in the hunt for some place to get amorous with Maggie, the Walking Dead krew had no other choice but to open fire & put the living dead out of their misery – with Hershel, their host on the farm, watching on in horror & shock as his dead family all met their makers…again.

All the biters were soon laid out after an epic gun show, all that remained was one single death growl. A growl that is more than likely going to change the face of the Walking Dead as we know it. Out of the shadows staggered a little dead girl, a little dead girl that for the best part of the early season the WD krew had been searching high & low. Welcome back Sophia.

As the krew stood, mouth agape, and watched as Dead Sophia crept slowly her blubbering mother. There was only one man who stepped up, sure & steady placed his revolver up against the forehead of Sophia & pull the trigger. That man was Rick Grimes.

The fact Rick could stand up & complete this grim job is all the more surprising considering that Rick was at fault for losing Sophia in the first place. There ended the Walking Dead mid-season finale. We know we have to wait till February 12, 2012 to find out the consequences of Rick’s actions. How will Hershel respond?

if you can’t wait until early 2012 for your next dose of Walking Dead, you can watch a sneak peak of the next episode ‘Nebraska’ below:

When people speak of Gary Speed they talk about his intelligence of the game, the likeability of a ‘normal’ footballer, his professionalism on & off the pitch, his tactical awareness, he was, in the words of his friend and Wales No.2 Raymond Verheijen “a beautiful person”.

Which is why it is incredibly sad that, at the age of 42, his death was announced early this morning.

Gary Speed is a Leeds United legend, spending 8 years at Elland Road making over 300 appearances & finding the back of the net 57 times. He was a member of the last all British midfields to win the league title in 1992, standing alongside Gary McAllister, Gordon Strachan & David Batty. With his flowing black locks & youthful good looks, Speed was one of the first of the new-wave of footballers attracting the eyes of the media – as well as the ladies.

Speed, however, didn’t just have the looks – he also had the ability on the pitch to inspire. I remember growing up as a boy inspired by Speed – I was only 9 years old in ’92 but I knew that I was watching something special unfold on the pitch. I remember vividly the home tie against Stuggart in the European Cup (as it was known back then). Leeds United had lost 3-0 away to the German champions and needed now to out score Stuggart by four goals to advance. Speed opened the scoring in the second leg, which Leeds went on to win 4-1. Stuttgart would have won on away goals; however, it was realised that in the second leg between Leeds United and Stuttgart, Stuttgart had substituted a fourth foreign player. At the time, a maximum of three foreign players was allowed. The game was awarded to Leeds United with a score of 3–0, making it 3–3 on aggregate with no difference in away goals. A play-off match in Barcelona was ordered, which Leeds United won 2–1.

Speed went on to have a successful time at LUFC, before being sold to Everton in 1996. He also played for Newcastle, Bolton & Sheffield United. At each club, he was held in high regard.

Following his retirement, Speed went in to management. He started where he left off playing, with Sheffield United. It wasn’t long before his national club – Wales, whom he received 85 caps, came calling. His short reign with Wales was certainly heading in the right direction.

All this combined ensures that Speed will live long in heart of his supporters, he led an illustrious career cut short by this tragedy of his death.

RIP Gary Speed.

I am always looking out for great pieces of art amongst my many vinyl toy artists on my twitter timeline, every now & again something crops up that really grabs my attention. Something today grabbed me by the scruff of my neck, shook me up & gave me the feelin’ that I should spread the word…

This custom 8″ Dunny piece above was designed by the talented David Bishop (aka @rundmb). An added bonus is that @rundmb is a UK based artist! We all know the UK pushes out some good work.

@rundmb work has a definite graffiti feel to it, lines lead the way in his designs and this is captured very well in this particular Dunny. What’s more is that this Dunny is actually for sale, if interested, please email @rundmb – david@frontmedia.co.uk. I am fairly sure it won’t be on sale for much longer.

If you like the Tigerflux Dunny, you maybe interested in other @rundmb work, which you can find at the below links:
http://www.behance.net/rundmb
http://cargocollective.com/rundmb
http://www.flickr.com/photos/65410559@N04/with/6331858948/

@rundmb keep up the good work, soldier!

Oh.

Never before, Never again in our lifetime.

Much in the same way with the John Cena taggin’ up The Rock at next week’s WWE Survivor Series…

Recently, and when I say recently I mean 8 weeks ago, I attended the Kidrobot x Swatch launch party at the Swatch store on 5th Avenue, NYC. It was a rather cosy affair, launching the new Kidrobot inspired Swatch collection. I am a huge fan of Kidrobot, with a wide collection of their toys & apparel, so an opportunity to attend their launch, being on three blocks away from my office, was too good of an opportunity to turn down.

During the launch, several of the Kidrobot artists, who were involved in the Swatch designs, were on hand painting oversized Swatchs’ or an oversized Munny, in Jeremyville’s case. Frank Kozik was in attendance, happily signing autographs and chatting with his fans.

One of my current favorite Kidrobot artists, MAD, was there on the night, in the shop window, taking photos with fans & showing his skills as a talented artist. MAD has been designing toys, as well as a professional illustrator, for 13 years now, working with brands such as Kidrobot, YUM Brands, Pepsi, NFL, Mattel and Cartoon Network on a variety of todays hottest and largest brands.

During the evening, after purchasing my MAD Kidrobot x Swatch designed set – demonstrated awesomely in the header image of this blog, I entered a competition on the off chance that Rozanski would be pulled out of a hat later in the week – honestly I had forgotten about it once my entry hit the stack of other entries. However, a week later I receive a call from Swatch to congratulate me & let me know I’d won the Jeremyville designed set. See picture to the right >>>

Whilst spending time researching the Kidrobot x Swatch launch, I found a great stop motion video – designed by Kidrobot to launch the series. You can view the video below. It’s well worth spending a few moments to watch.

Enjoy…

Movember is now well underway, unfortunately that is not the case for my prepubescent upper lip.

As I mentioned on Movember Day One, I had forgotten how difficult it was to actually grow a Mo. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve grown a Mo but always part of a fully fledged beard & never counting the number of days it’s taken me to get from a 12 year old boy to a legend of a man.

I still have 23 days to hopefully inject some testosterone in to my upper lip & by end of Movember I’ll be proud of my effort. Even with my poor effort ‘growing’ beneath my nose, you can still offer your support…

Movember is much more than growing an awesome Mo, oh no, it’s much more than that…

The Movember Effect: Awareness & Education, Survivorship, Research
The funds raised in the US support prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men. The funds raised are directed to programs run directly by Movember and our men’s health partners, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG, the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Together, the three channels work together to ensure that Movember funds are supporting a broad range of innovative, world-class programs in line with our strategic goals in the areas of awareness and education, survivorship and research.

For more information on the programs we are funding please visit the following:
Prostate Cancer Foundation
LIVESTRONG, The Lance Armstrong Foundation
Awareness & Education
Global Action Plan

There are no words on how much I cannot wait for this film. This trailer excites me in only a way that super heroes can. Roll on 2012.

I should introduce you to my new toy that were delivered this week. They’re created by the masterful, Mike Graham (AKA Zombie Monkie).

Throughout the month of October 2011, Zombie Monkie had a personal crusade to launch a custom ‘zombified’ play mobile character a day. You can see the whole collection nicely captured in the image below:

There are still pieces available, if interested, check out Zombie Monkie’s store here

I decided that this year I would grow a moustache (Mo) for Movember – forgetting how rubbish I am at actually growing a Mo.

Movember, for those not cool, is a time when men around the globe decide to grow a Mo to raise awareness & support men’s health – mainly prostate cancer. Starting Movember 1st, men start clean shaven. For the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.

Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November. Through their actions and words they raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health.

At the end of the month, Mo Bros and Mo Sistas celebrate their gallantry and valor by either throwing their own Movember party or attending one of the infamous Gala Partés held around the world by Movember, for Movember.