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Flint Dille on Visionaries.
The wittiest toy-advertising toon of that era.

What to do if you think your child or friend may be collecting Transformers.
“If you suspect that your child is collecting Transformers, you should voice your suspicions openly — avoiding direct accusations — when he or she is sober or straight and you’re calm.”

BT Bot: torrent search engine. [via]

Off By One ver. 3.5. [via]
Updated with a tabbed browsing interface yet still very much a niche browser post-Firefox.

A 1,000-year-old lost city in Malaysia?
“If the city is what we suspect it to be, then the Malacca Sultanate can no longer be considered as the start of modern Malay history.”

K-1: “… from a strictly sporting point of view the best thing ever to come our way from Japan.” [via]
“… current world champion, Remy Bojanski of Holland, used to be a merchant banker.”

Posted in Web.

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By Gobi – Friday, February 4, 2005

Your moment of Zen


The Daily Show on the hapless action figure taken hostage by ruthless Iraqi insurgents:

My God, they took it out of the box. It’s no longer in mint condition. You maniacs!

Incidentally, the Cave Troll which appeared as an insurgent in the Stephen Colbert segment happens to be a key component in the Daily Show’s comedy creation process. From a New York Times article:

“I have the luxury of not being a real reporter, and in fact, I’m not even a pundit,” admits Mr. Colbert, whose actual dressing room/ office is a shrine to all things “Lord of the Rings,” including a Gandalf for President button and an animated cave troll that serves as arbiter of his writing sessions with fellow “Daily Show” parodists.

If an idea is funny, the troll raises a trident. If a gag falls flat, it lowers a mace and grunts. Mr. Colbert doesn’t trust his own judgment. “I always love all of the ideas,” he says, giving the troll a peck on its ugly cheek.

Posted in Toys, TV.

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By Gobi – Thursday, February 3, 2005

Gee Cee Zero One

Galaxy Convoy
Another photo of GC-01 Galaxy Convoy.

His crotch armour hinges up to reveal his large feet aren’t an accurate indicator of prodigious dimensions in other areas. Indeed, it’s readily apparent why he has a penchant for large guns.

Posted in Pix, Toys.

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By Gobi – Thursday, February 3, 2005

Elsewhere on the web

Takara’s Cyber Labryinth Megalith (review)
The mystery of this pyramid involves a pachinko ball.

“What sort of martial arts do pirates practice?”
Heh.

Baghdad blast wall art.

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By Gobi – Thursday, February 3, 2005

Takara tidbits

Mainichi’s web site has additional details about Takara’s situation. Some brief notes (based on a machine translation):

  • Domestic sales between October and December 2004 were 80 per cent lower than the corresponding period the previous year.
  • The company plans to restructure itself before the end of February and will trim its workforce by 580 employees through a voluntary retirement scheme.
  • There are some interesting notes about Konami’s role in this. Konami owns 22 per cent of Takara but awkwardly, the two companies compete in the videogame arena. (The article neglects to mention the fact Konami has also begun competing with Takara in the action figure field over the past few years.) Ominously, Mainichi also raises the prospect of Konami taking control of Takara if the Murakami fund (which acquired 11 per cent of Takara) sides with the videogame maker.

Toy-wise, Takara clearly needs to deliver some best-sellers. Products like the upcoming Microman Magneforce and Hybrid Style Galaxy Convoy sound amazing but shareholders are expecting the toy company to come up with major hits like Beyblade circa 2001. Time for Takara’s creative designers to step up and be counted.

Posted in Toys.

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By Gobi – Thursday, February 3, 2005