Month: January 2004

  • We are really looking forward to watching La Leyenda de Una Mascara which has just arrived from Amazon.

    Following the death of popular wrestler El Angel Enmascarado (“The Masked Angel,” played by Hector Bonilla), a sports journalist, Olmo Robles (Damián Alcázar), investigates the hero’s true identity.

    Eddie remembers catching some of this on TV (three years ago when we were in a hotel room in Mexico city) and he remembered it looked interesting. I’ve also read a review somewhere that Leyenda de Una Mascara is like the ‘Citizen Kane’ of masked wrestler films. Thanks to Oscar for recommending this!

    Sensacional! Mexican Street Graphics Exhibition in Pasadena. If it’s anything like the book, it will be awesome. We’re going to check it out this weekend.

    Gene Deitch screenings next month at the Egyptian Theatre.

    Random Links:

    SubCultures: The Art of the Action Figure (Pity it’s in Florida)

    Wasstronics novelties – click on the “NEW” link for the World of Wasso animated landscape (above). Haven’t played any of the games yet.

    world66.com is described as an “open content travel guide” – anyone can register and contribute travel tips and photos. (Note: this is a very slow loading beta site)

    This quote from Rolf Potts’ vagablogging.net strikes a deep chord -

    “The paradox of nomadism. You keep moving because you’re searching for a place to stay. Once you realize you can live in other countries you can never quite settle anywhere again. You can never feel quite content.” –Sahra, in Geoff Dyer’s Paris Trance (1999)

    I don’t see this as a negative statement. “Home” has always been a slightly nebulous concept for Eddie and me, seeing that our legal home-countries are England and Malaysia respectively, yet we’ve lived most of our lives in Australia… If anything, we’re not ready to feel content anywhere yet. We have this urge to keep moving…

  • UPDATE: These toys are available at Toys R Us/Amazon.com.

    Our ¡Mucha Lucha! swag! Yes, it’s a HUGE thrill seeing our designs in glorious tactile form. It’s also still quite surreal knowing that in a couple of days or weeks, these figures are going to be out there in the stores and that people would be buying them and that kids will be playing with them. It’s like the characters are more real, now…

    Fat Rikochet from ep: “Weight Gaining” seems to be a crew favorite. Everyone can’t keep their hands off him or stop making strange noises when they squish his body  You can’t tell by the photo below, but there’s a truck and a donut floating inside his glutinous belly. He also has shapely man-boobs.

  • Light on the blogging this week….

    ML Season 3 production has kicked off but we’re still missing a Story Editor, which means that Eddie and I (and the crew) are temporarily filling that role. Last week was more social than usual, and this week we’re devoting our nights to other projects and the massive task of updating the Fwak! website. (I think it has been 2 years since the last update)

    In the meantime, some pieces of interesting trivia: Russian Roulette (for kids!), Siamese Crocs, and Bearded Babies.

  • The toys are coming.


    pic from Jakks Pacific

    Hitting the shelves any day/week now! A quick rundown:

    • There is a mix and match series - Rikochet, Buena Girl, Penny, Flea, Double Ninja Ninja, Megawatt etc – with swappable heads and body parts. They are about 8cm tall, feel like soft vinyl with really nice mask detail and hands. (Buena Girl example above)
    • Plush talking figures with big plastic heads. Rikochet, Headmistress, Masked Dog, Flea, Buena Girl,Megawatt… Press a button, (thus activating the ‘voice’ feature) then slam the character’s head on something and he/she speaks!
    • Ring playset. A build-it-yourself wrestling ring which comes with an awesome Headmistress figurine (above pic).
    • Another series… which includes Buena Bulldozer, Fat Rikochet, Flea inside trashcan etc.

    These toys will be available in Toys R Us stores and Walmarts and there will be more coming in the fall. We have held these figurines in our hands and played with them and they are MUY COOL. We can’t wait to receive samples! 

    (See previous post about ML toys)

  • Happy Chinese New Year!


    Wishing you all a happy, prosperous, exciting fun-filled Year of the Monkey. 

  • Random Links
     
    2004 Bloggies… very similar to last year’s nominations. And there are still too many more blogs to check out at the Asian Weblog Awards, and now – the Australian Weblog Awards! Meanwhile - AYank in Oz is a blog written by an American in Australia. There’s a post that sums up the current American political scene.
     
    Xangans.com -In my search for a new xanga skin, I was surprised to find these forums. Did all you xangans know about this?
     
    From the most recent Outre Gallery newsletter: SHAG will be in Sydney again at the end of this month. At the Sydney Opera House ‘opening’ party last year, I managed to shake his hand & make some small talk. He seemed a little uncomfortable being surrounded by so many women. Me too. I felt like a groupie. That exhibition was the first time we’d seen his real paintings up close (as opposed to in magazines, on the web or on merchandise). Everything was instantly sold out. Details:
    SHAG IN SYDNEY, 30 JANUARY – 24 FEBRUARY 2004
    The Studio at The Sydney Opera House, open 7 days for the duration.
    Hours: open daily from 11am – 6:30pm (except between 17-22 February, opens at 1pm).  Also open select evenings to coincide with performance times at The Studio (for evening times call 9250 7111)
    Meet Shag direct from the US at these appearances in Sydney:
    * Saturday 21 February at The Studio for Official Book signing, 2-4pm
    * Sunday 22 February at The Studio for Closing Celebration, 6:30-8:30pm, and then following for DJs and dancing at The Opera bar until late (free admission)

    Darque Dungeon - Goths & livejournal parody. (linked from Eye of The Goof).

    Why Do People Have to Fight? - by Herve Villaichaize aka Tattoo (video)

    Killer Shrimp

    … is a Californian experience. No, not a movie nor a theme park with animatronic shrimp (what we call “prawns” in Australia) but a restaurant famous for its very simple & memorable menu:

    1. Killer Shrimp with Bread
    2. Killer Shrimp with Rice
    3. Killer Shrimp with Pasta

    Lurking in these bowls of broth are the shrimp. What can we say about shrimp? They’re just shrimp – the kind you have to peel and pick at with your fingers. The piece de resistance is really, the spicy broth (Cajun, I think) which you dip the bread into.


    Note the bibs - they come with the meal.

    (Thanks to the Gutierrezes, Gibsons and Swarrs for an enjoyable lunch experience!)

    And here’s the Recipe.

    La Lucha Se Hace – a video documentary about mexican wrestling from Xalapa, Mexico. 

    Lucha libre (Mexican wrestling) is a performative art which, like popular theater, amuses and entertains while posing moral and political dilemmas. Critical as well as conservative allegories of life and Mexican society are performed every Sunday for a loyal crowd. In this video wrestlers and fans discuss the main tenets of lucha libre and how these are reflected in their own lives. Lucha libre is not a profitable business in the Arena Xalapa and this video depicts the lust for life within a popular aesthetic. As the title suggests, life is a struggle and you’d better make the effort to win.  (from the website)

  • misspato.com - Patricia Carvalho’s collection of links is categorised by aesthetic style. Anyone can submit sites for review.

    fontifier - Will try this out soon!

    tado - A cute Flash website from UK. (despite being a Flash-head with a Flash site, I’m not a big fan of Flash websites. Especially if there are long loading times and skip intros, even if they look gorgeous. It’s no fun when you’re using dial-up at home…)

    Stayed up till 3.30am last night… (jetlag-related, we’re sure) By the time we I got out of bed there was only enough ‘daytime’ left to have a quick bite to eat and wander around the neighborhood before doing some work…

    So we popped into Wacko/La Luz de Jesus Gallery. There’s a Kozik exhibition on… which is where we saw this massive Hitler “Tootles” figure…


    Kubrick inspired?

    Santitos Movie

    At last! We finally watched our Santitos DVD. (Which we actually bought a month ago. We still have a backlog of DVDs to watch)

    This movie is absolutely gorgeous and highly recommended. It’s pretty much faithful to the book by Maria Amparo Escandon, which I also loved. 

    A very religious woman, Esperanza, embarks on a journey to TJ and LA to find her ‘dead’ daughter. On her travels she becomes a hooker (sexually self-empowered) then falls in love with a masked wrestler -Angel de Justiciero… Need we say more.

     

    From her humble Mexican village she travels through the most unusual brothels in Tijuana and a rarely seen side of Los Angeles, meeting pimps like Cacomixtle (Demian Bichir) and wrestlers like Angel (Alberto Estrella), all with a suitcase full of hope and ceramic Saints. Phoning in confessions to Father Salvador, she remains as focused on her grief, as he is intrigued by this soap opera of biblical proportions.

    “Santitos” takes us into a fascinating world where the mystical and the mundane collide. Through her extraordinary ordeal, this young devout widow’s life will have her faith tested — transforming her from a pious innocent into an independent, sexual and passionate woman. – Cine Mexicano review

    It was refreshing and exciting to see a masked luchador in a romantic bedroom context. I loved it when Esperanza called out “Lucharaaaaaan!” and jumped on Angel. The two of them play-wrestle (with submission holds) on the bed. And then she unmasks him….. which was a pity. I think Angel does his own unmasking in the novel (doesn’t he?)… Plus we both thought Angel looked much better with his mask ON. But you see, we’re both just obsessed with masked wrestlers… 

    Related Links:

    La Vitrina: Review of Santitos
    Metacritic: more reviews

    Late Night Lucha

     

     
    (tv snaps)

    Can you believe it’s already 4am. There is a lucha libre match on Galavision (cable tv). Eddie tells me Pierroth has just entered the ring dressed in an army outfit accompanied by a woman called “La Nazi”. There are two other wrestlers dressed as Arabs calling themselves the “Taliban”. Appearing soon: “Sadam”. All good clean fun!

     
    Right:- Rey Bucanero spanks the monkey! (Que Monito – midget in blue ape outfit) while Tarzan Boy and UltimoGuerrero watch…

  • When we arrived at LAX on Tuesday morning they took our index finger prints (why not thumbs??) and photographed our heads with what looked like “webcams” attached to each Immigration officer’s desk. No surprise, really. We’re also getting used to the third degree from US Immigration/Customs officials (why are we here, where do we work, and why do we deserve O-1 visas), having made frequent international flights into LA since 9/11. We know the security drill: grab three plastic trays, take off shoes, take off jacket, take off belt, unpack laptop…

    Apparently with the heightened paranoia here, airport security is becoming more over the top. Read this great (scary yet amusing) story about Osama Fin Laden.

    Life is getting better 

    It’s a long weekend. (Martin Luther King Day on Monday). Couple of things we’re excited about at the moment:

    • Developing new projects in 2004!!
    • Seeing the Mucha Lucha toyline next week
    • Launching into our Endsville concept (development bible). We’re working on character & BG designs; and a story outline for a pilot episode afterhours.
    • Lucha Va Voom Valentine’s Day Special is coming soon.
    • Our Mini Cooper is getting fixed!(It will be ready in a month… Long wait but at least it’s repairable!)

    Memo to Self

    I am bookmarking this Flashkit: 3D Resource thread - which has lots of potentially useful links to tutorials and articles on the subject. No time to explore in depth at the moment, but maybe later. Swift 3D or Discreet Plasma? Which is preferable? A 3D standalone program or the plug-in? …Amazing, isn’t it, how far Software technology has come in the past two years. So much stuff to keep track of.

    Also bookmarking: Flashkit: Extensive Tutorial List

    P.S. Have just added more to the “archives” list at the bottom of this page.

  • *UPDATE – More pics here! (Flea & Buena Bulldozer)

    Sneak Peek

    It’s a Rikochet action figure! (Thanks to Tony for finding this!) And is that the Headmistress at the back? Click here for the link to larger picture. The ML toys are produced by Jakks Pacific… launching next month at the Toy Fair in New York City. We’re hoping to see some of these figures soon, before the launch.

    Kinnikuman kubricks! Image from the Kubrick World Database.

    Sydney - 2 FREE Events

    A couple of events are happening soon in Sydney which we won’t be able to attend. Below are copies of two messages that arrived in our mailbox today. We’re passing this info on, as some of you may be interested.

    • Toonboom Animation Workshop

    Toon Boom Technologies, the leaders in 2D animation software, has introduced a new technology to the Flash animation market – Animation Module.

    Animation Module, built from the custom-designed pipeline developed for Nelvana in Canada, combines the best of traditional animation and the best of Flash, delivering significant increases in productivity and quality. 
     
    Who Should Attend
    Animators or directors of animation from studios producing animated series or advertising work using Flash who wish to increase their level of productivity and raise the level of quality in their productions.

    Workshop Format
    The workshop will be one day, hands-on, where the animator, or director of animation, will be introduced to the basicconcepts of the pipeline and the Animation Module. The balance of the day will be working through the software to learning about the features and how best to use them. The workshop will be conducted by specialists from Toon Boom Technologies, giving the attendee a chance to get a world perspective
    on 2D animation techniques and markets.

    Dates: Thursday 29th January 2004 or Friday 30th January 2004
    Time: 9:30 am to 4:30 pm

    Where:
    Hewlett-Packard Australia
    3 Richardson Place
    North Ryde NSW 2113

    Cost: There is no charge for attendance, but places are STRICTLY LIMITED so please book early and ensure you are able to attend.

    For further information, contact
    Mark Richards, Managing Director
    Adimex Pty Ltd – “Professional systems for broadcast,animation, DVD & streaming”
    Suite 5 59 Buckingham Street Surry Hills NSW 2010 Australia
    Ph: 61 2 9699 1088 Fx: 61 2 9699 3935
    www.adimex.com.au

    • Red Carpet Queer Screen Tickets Giveaway

    WE’VE GOT 2 DOUBLE PASSES TO GIVE AWAY TO THE REDCARPET QUEER SCREEN NIGHT on Sunday, 18th January, 2003, 7.15pm, Valhalla Cinemas, Glebe, Sydney. More info about the event at: http://www.chaosgeneration.com/redcarpet0401.htm

    If you’d like a chance to win a double pass, send an email to     kirsten@chaosgeneration.com with your full name, contact phone number and email address. Entries close 16 Jan 2004 at 5pm. Names will be drawn and winners will be notified by phone and email and tickets will be held at the door for you under your name.

    Thanks, Kirsten! 

    More from our recent Hong Kong trip…

    You know how it is when you are so caught up in what’s happening around you that you forget to take photos? Well, on our final day in HK, we were taken to the legendary Chung King Mansions  for dinner (delicious Indian food at the Pakistani Mess on the 4th floor) but we forgot to take photos! It was a memorable experience, nonetheless. As one of CN Asia producers said: ”Welcome to a different ecosystem…”.


    Note: We didn’t take this great photo of the Chung King House
    (It was swiped from this website via Google Images)

    More photos from our recent trip to Hong Kong —->  View album

  • ¡MUCHA LUCHA! Newsflash


    Stamina & Rikochet (“Getting Ahead”)

    It’s official! Season 3 of ¡Mucha Lucha! (13 x half hours) has been picked up by Kids WB Network! Production will be running concurrent with Season 2 (26 x half hours) this year.

    Having spoken to Cartoon Network Asia-Pacific (responsible for broadcasting ML in Asia and Australia), we’ve learnt that the show has been doing well in Asia. Especially in the Philippines! Season 2 will premiere sometime mid-2004 in Asia and Oz.

    Other news - The first season of ¡Mucha Lucha! premieres in Japan, March 2004. After Mexico, Japan is the second largest fanbase for masked wrestlers. Can’t wait to see what the reaction is.

    This is our last post before getting on the plane back to Los Angeles. We will be arriving - 6pm Tuesday, LA time ( 1pm Wednesday in Syd.)  Looking forward to the increased security at LAX with thumbprints and mugshots….