What I Wore Today!

Why hello there!

It's been a while since I've let you peek at what I'm wearing, so (to appease my own ego), here we go. Today was a very cruisy day - although I did accomplish watching Return of the King, and packing for Toowoomba, as well as cooking dinners for myself and The Boyfriend to freeze. This is way too much organisation in one day, let me tell you.

Outfit Rundown

Long-sleeved shirt: Hit N Run (Emily The Strange), $10
Scarf (worn as belt): Groove Accessories, $5
Pants: UQ Markets, $12

Ah, gotta love photography that doesn't show up the BBQ sauce stains that you managed to acquire on the only white portion of your shirt at breakfast time. Sweet, now I don't look completely ridiculous in this ridiculous pose. Haha, what are you wearing this weekend my dears?

Until next time, xo.

Best of the Interwebz

Hello there lovelies,

Long time no see! It's a funny story you see. I went to Toowoomba to help with the opening of a new Trade Secret store and assumed that the place I was staying would have wireless internet because I'm an idiot from Brisbane. So, long story short, I didn't prepare any posts before I left and then ended up being without internet for a whole week. This week I'm going to prepare some post before I leave. I'll probably also haunt the Toowoomba Macdonalds and abuse their free wi-fi. Anyway, onto the links!

How to Make Friends After College, from Jezebel is quite good advice.

I love this post from Style Bubble - when did personal opinion about what we're wearing go out the window?

I am a big, big fan of the new look for Wonder Woman. Much more practical, and awesome.

OMG, this post is completely true for me. Presenting This Is Why I'll Never Be An Adult from Hyperbole and a Half.

While I'm on the topic of never being an adult, this list of The 10 Most Important Things They Don't Teach You In School is so true. And so hilarious.

Marriage & Last Names or That Time I legally Changed Mine is another great post by Rabbit White.

Shut Up, Vita tells us about how Julia Gillard is a Bad Influence. Apparently. Loving this, mainly because I get sick of people telling me that The Boyfriend and I are immoral for living together whilst unmarried.

I'm including this What I Wore post from Gin in a Teacup purely because of how much I adore her dress.

How To Wear Skinny Jeans by Corrine of Frock & Roll - proving that you don't need to have the words "Kate" or "Moss" in your name to wear these babies. I know that Frock & Roll articles are becoming a permanent addition to this, but Corrine is just such an amazing and entertaining writer.

Learn how to refashion old bikini bottoms at Love Maegan. I'll have to give this a go once Summer rolls around here.

Heart cut-out tutorial by Addie Marie of Matey Couture. So cute!

Enjoy! Now, time for me to get back to my Lord of the Rings marathon & snuggling with The Boyfriend - one of my favourite ways to spend time.

Until next time, xo.

GODZILLA ON MY MIND Author Named Dean At SMU

Source: SMU (Press Release)

Historian and author William M. Tsutsui began work Thursday as the new dean of SMU's Dedman College, home to the humanities, social sciences, and natural and mathematical sciences – disciplines fundamental to the traditions of higher education.

A specialist in the business, environmental, and cultural history of 20th-century Japan, Tsutsui holds degrees from Harvard, Oxford, and Princeton Universities. He is the author or editor of seven books, including Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters (Palgrave, 2004). He co-edited (with Michiko Ito) In Godzilla’s Footsteps: Japanese Pop Culture Icons on the Global Stage (Palgrave, 2006) and has recently completed Japanese Popular Culture and Globalization.

“I am honored and thrilled to have been selected as dean of Dedman College,” Tsutsui said when his selection as dean was announced on March 26. “The College has a world-class faculty, talented students, dedicated staff and a broad base of support in the Dallas community. I look forward to working with all these constituencies, and with President Turner and Provost Ludden, to enhance Dedman College's achievements in teaching, research, and public engagement. This is a historic moment for SMU, with a major campaign underway and the university's centennial at hand, and a time of great opportunity for Dedman College.”

Tsutsui previously was associate dean for international studies and a professor of history at the University of Kansas. Tsutsui also was director of the Kansas Consortium for Teaching About Asia in KU’s Center for East Asian Studies.

Tsutsui received a Ph.D. in history at Princeton University in 1995, and a Master of Arts in history there in 1990. He received a Master of Letters in Modern Japanese History from Oxford University’s Corpus Christi College in 1988 and graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts in East Asian Studies in 1985.

Tsutsui also is the author of Banking Policy in Japan: American Efforts at Reform During the Occupation (Routledge, 1988) and Manufacturing Ideology: Scientific Management in Twentieth-Century Japan (Princeton University Press, 1998). In addition, he is the editor of Banking in Japan (Routledge, 1999) and A Companion to Japanese History (Blackwell, 2007).

He received the 1997 Newcomen Society Award for Excellence in Business History Research and Writing, the 2000 John Whitney Hall Prize awarded by the Association of Asian Studies for best book on Japan or Korea published in 1998, and the 2005 William Rockhill Nelson Award for non-fiction.

Before assuming his current duties at KU, Tsutsui was acting director of the university’s Center for East Asian Studies and executive director of its Confucius Institute. He has been named faculty fellow at KU’s Center for Teaching Excellence, received a William T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence in 2001 and won KU’s Steeples Service to Kansas Award in 2001. Tsutsui is married to Marjorie Swann, director of the Museum Studies Program and the Conger-Gabel Teaching Professor in the Department of English at the University of Kansas. She will be joining SMU as well.

Dedman College is home to the humanities, social sciences, and natural and mathematical sciences as well as the general education program that all students follow before declaring a major. Tsutsui will take the lead in implementing a new general education program passed by the SMU faculty March 19.

As dean of Dedman College, Tsutsui will head the largest of SMU’s seven colleges and schools, with its more than 250 full-time faculty members, including 23 endowed professorships. About 40 percent of SMU’s undergraduates pursue their majors in Dedman College through more than 50 baccalaureate degree programs and their minors in more than 50 areas. Eighteen graduate programs in Dedman College lead to a master’s degree and 12 programs lead to a doctor of philosophy degree.

The College was named in 1981 for the late Robert H. Dedman Sr. (’53) and his wife, Nancy McMillan Dedman (’50.)

A Little Kaiju Cinema Love From The USA Today

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Source: USA Today

News on the Godzilla movie front has been coming at a rather slow pace as of late, so it is good to see the folks over at the USA Today pitching in to help pick up the pace a little.

Today, a guest blogger for the online news site, James Leung of Giant Robot magazine fame, decided to write about his love of kaiju cinema and how it had a profound influence on him growing up. The title of Leung's article, "Japanese monster flicks make life better" is a sentiment that I think that we all can agree on.

Along with the article Leung included a list of his top five Japanese monster films for a do-it-yourself movie marathon. Though I myself would have chosen five different films for my list, a true kaiju fan should never argue with another fan's list in good conscience.

Here is an excerpt from "Japanese monster flicks make life better":

Before cable television, I was a huge devotee of the 4:30 Movie on the local New York City ABC affiliate (WABC-TV). They used to broadcast a wide variety of films and frequently programmed special "theme weeks." During a theme week, they would air a series of movies following a particular theme or actor. For instance, they'd schedule a "Vincent Price Week," which showed only Vincent Price movies.

My absolute favorite theme week was "Monster Week." I wasted many hours adjusting a set of rabbit ear antennas in order to watch it. Monster Week consisted mostly of movies from the daikaiju (big monster) genre of Japanese cinema which features stuntmen in latex rubber monster suits. The 4:30 Movie used to broadcast bizarre monster flicks like Frankenstein Conquers the World, Terror of Mechagodzilla and Mothra.

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I can really relate with Leung's fond memories of enjoying Japanese monster movies on afternoon television, back in the day when that was the only way to see these types of films.

I remember watching such classics as "Rodan", "Godzilla's Revenge", "Destroy All Monsters", "King Kong vs Godzilla" and "Godzilla vs The Cosmic Monster" as part of a yet different, "Monster Week" on the "Dialing for Dollars Movie" progran in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The marathon would generally happen in either June or July every year, and it was always one of the higlights of my summer vacation from school.

Ah, memories.

See Also: Godzilla Goes Prime-Time! - Godzilla vs Megalon On NBC In 1977

Japanese Superhero Cinema Invades San Francisco

Source: MediaLab

THE EXOTIC AND ACTION PACKED WORLD OF JAPANESE SUPERHEROES IS EXPLORED IN JULY’S INSTALLMENT OF TOKYOSCOPE TALK AT VIZ CINEMA

NEW PEOPLE and VIZ Cinema offer an intriguing exploration of the exotic world of Japanese superheroes in TokyoScope Talk Vol. 5, taking place at the theatre at 7:00pm on Friday July 9th. Host Patrick Macias, Editor of Otaku USA magazine, will be joined by August Ragone (author, Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters) for an in-depth discussion of Japanese superheroes ranging from Ultraman and Kamen Rider to the Power Rangers.

General admission tickets are $10.00. More details and advance tickets available at: www.newpeopleworld.com/films

These and many other colorful crusaders of justice are now recognized the world over as essential icons of Japanese pop culture. But where did they come from? Who created them? And what is it really like battling rubber monsters and the forces of evil on a regular basis?

“TokyoScope Talk Vol. 5: Japanese Superheroes will explore the fascinating history and origins of the action packed world of celluloid superheroes using rare film clips and images from numerous tokusatsu, sentai, and henshin hero productions including Ultra Seven, Kikaida, Space Sheriff Gavan, and many others,” says Macias. “This will be a fun event for anyone who grew up watching Ultraman and Power Rangers as well as for those who are brand new to this unique genre of Japanese filmmaking. We invite superhero fans of all stripes to check out this comprehensive presentation!”

VIZ Cinema is the nation’s first movie theatre devoted exclusively to Japanese film and anime. The 143-seat subterranean theatre is located in the basement of the NEW PEOPLE building and features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX®-certified sound system.

About NEW PEOPLE

NEW PEOPLE offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan and is the creative vision of the J-Pop Center Project and VIZ Pictures, a distributor and producer of Japanese live action film. Located at 1746 Post Street, the 20,000 square foot structure features a striking 3-floor transparent glass façade that frames a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination into the 21st Century. A dedicated web site is also now available at: www.NewPeopleWorld.com.

See Also: San Francisco Braces For A 'Kaiju Shakedown: Godzillathon!'

Plaza Atlanta Theatre's Silver Scream Spook Show to Present... GODZILLA VS. GIGAN!

By Evan Brehany

This July 31, the Plaza Atlanta Theatre in association with the Silver Scream Spook Show will be giving a special presentation of GODZILLA VS. GIGAN, under the name GODZILLA ON MONSTER ISLAND.

The theatre is Atlanta’s oldest cinematic venue. A uniscreened theatre, it was once a grindhouse theatre which is now run for non profit and has film showings of everything from THE ROOM to THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW to even film festivals hosted by Robert Osborne (who does things for the TCM Channel - including one time giving an into on TCM to "Space Monster Guilala"). The Plaza Atlanta theatre has a good history with kaiju fans, including having previously screened "Rodan" (1956), "Mothra" (1961), "Ebirah, Horror from the Deep" (1966), "Destroy All Monsters" (1968), and "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack" (2001).

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The Silver Scream Spook show is like Mr. Lobo or "Ms. Monster’s Hell On Ice" meets Vaudeville. A true theatrical rendition of the Horror Host tradition. Shane Morton and his group along with Blast Off Burlesque put on the "Silver Scream Spook How", a 30 minute show put on before each of their screenings with some Horror Host elements which helps integrate the show into the film to be shown (to some extent). The sketch they put on has something in relation to the film they will be hosting. It is great fun for whoever comes.

KIDS UNDER 12 FREE AT 1:00 MATINEE! EVERYONE ELSE ONLY $7. ALL TICKETS ARE $10 FOR THE 10:00 SHOW!

Do not forget to bring in some extra cash for pop corn, drinks, and any possible dealers at the event. It is sure to be great fun. And for those staying in the south eastern United States would be glad to know that from the theatre it is just another 10 hour drive to the Morikami Museum, who is having a kaiju vinyl exhibit all this summer (http://godzilla2012.blogspot.com/2010/06/over-100-vintage-kaiju-toys-invade.html). Hope to see you there!

KING KONG Comes Roaring Back In Style At Universal Studios

Source: PR Wire (Press Release)

"King Kong 360 3-D" Created by Peter Jackson, the world's largest most intense 3-D experience, celebrated its premiere on the famed Universal Studios Hollywood(SM) Studio Tour, combining a ground-breaking use of Surround Digital 3-D film and thrilling visceral effects to create a next-generation theme park experience. The new attraction will open to the public Thursday, July 1.

The world premiere of the attraction featured a star-studded guest list and an innovative "3D press briefing" by the attraction's creator, Peter Jackson. "King Kong 360 3-D" is the first theme park attraction to be directed by the three-time Oscar®-winning storyteller and filmmaker.

In the new attraction, guests aboard Studio Tour trams are given special 3-D glasses as they enter an enormous soundstage larger than a football field. Once inside, the trams are enveloped within enormous screens, their size equaling an area equivalent to 16 conventional movie screens and rest atop steel platens that provide a powerful motion base. Via the magic of Surround Digital 3D projection, guests are transported deep into a tangled jungle location. There, they survive a close encounter with a swarm of hungry raptors, only to be confronted by the terrifying presence of 35' tall dinosaurs. Suddenly, the 25' tall Kong gorilla appears. The trams roll and shudder as the guests find themselves caught in the middle of a titanic struggle between the great ape and carnivorous reptiles.

The enormous scale and the cutting edge technology employed by the designers elevate the powerful, iconic storyline to a new level. The vivid realism of the 3D immersion and the synchronized motion of the tram combine to produce a sense of immersion without precedent in a theme park attraction.

Peter Jackson, director of the Oscar®-winning 2005 Universal Pictures film upon which the attraction is based, said: "As a filmmaker, you're hoping to have the audience step inside your movie and become part of the experience...to create the illusion of reality in a way that is much more tactile and profound than can be done in the cinema environment of a normal theatre. The new `King Kong 360 3D' at Universal Studios Hollywood provided us with a unique opportunity to really push film and theme park technology to create that illusion. Our intention was to create a spectacular and immersive 3D experience and we're confident that we've achieved that. King Kong 360 3D is the largest most intense 3D experience on the planet."

Larry Kurzweil, President, Universal Studios Hollywood, said: "After a two-year absence, King Kong has returned with a vengeance never before seen. Guests from around the world will feel as if they are completely immersed in Peter Jackson's 3D storytelling. 'King Kong 360-3D' is the fight of the century and a highly repeatable breakthrough thrill ride, taking theme park and movie making experiences to an entirely new level."

King Kong, known as "the eighth wonder of the world," has been called "the experience for which movies were invented." Since first appearing on the screen in the 1933 original classic, "King Kong" has been re-made twice, each time on a tremendous scale, earning a total of seven Oscar® and three Golden Globe® nominations. Most recently, Peter Jackson's 2005 version took classic elements of the original "King Kong" story and adrenalized them with up-to-the-minute effects magic and the alchemic talents of a superlative group of filmmakers, cast and crew. Released to critical acclaim in late 2005, "King Kong" was a worldwide hit.

The arrival of the new "King Kong 360 3-D" experience coincides with major enhancements to the iconic Studio Tour. The most extensive backlot construction ever in the history of Universal Studios, which includes re-creations of legendary Hollywood sets and the introduction of brand-new shooting locations, was recently completed and the renowned studio will soon buzz with star-studded film and television production as never before.

See Also: KING KONG Done Wrong In Bangladesh / Godzilla In The News 06/04/10 - Godzilla & Kong Tag Team Vancouver, Big G On Pills?, Sci Fi From 1954 Shapes Modern Entertainment / King Kong Attacks Santa Monica Pier / The Original KING KONG Comes To Blu-ray September 28th! / Godzilla 2012 Facebook Group Update - 500 Members And The Thread Of The Week! / Godzilla (And Friends) In The News 05/11/10 - How Does King Kong vs Godzilla Rank Among Monster Battles? More Gamera And Kamen Rider DVD Stuff / Godzilla And Friends Stomp Their Way To Topeka / A Classic Godzilla Comic Strip - The Monsters That Devoured Canarsie / King Kong vs Godzilla (Kingukongu tai Gojira)(1962)(Toho)