Huge Robot Looms Menacingly Over Tokyo!

So, the 30th anniversary of the Gundam is upon us... (c'mon, you remember Mobile Suit Gundam from waaaay back, right? It ain't Voltron-old, but still...) and to commemorate the occasion, a 59-foot giant Gundam has been erected in a Tokyo park. And he lights up at night...

Say what you will about the awful state of the world's economic + political stability... I live in a world where a giant robot is standing over the city of Tokyo + I can only hope that any aliens scouting our planet are either scared space-shitless or convinced to bring on such powerful artillery that we get vaporized before we even know about it.

Check out my favorite comics-news website, icv2.com, for links to even more cool giant Gundam pics, as well as info on a similar upcoming tribute to Tetsujin!

Now, then... who's up for the giant Godzilla statue?! Or even a matching pair of huge, hungry-looking rodents arched and slavering over Anaheim + Orlando ...?

Circle of Iron... Loop of Nylon

We lost David Carradine today; he was found dead, hanged with a nylon rope, in a hotel room closet in Bangkok. According to the Bangkok Police (and I'm sure they're super-efficient...), the rope is believed to be from the room's curtains. Results of the official autopsy should be made public by the weekend... Investigators have found no sign of forced entry into Carradine's room.

Carradine is, of course, famous for his role as traveling Shaolin monk Kwai Chang Caine in the 1970's television series Kung Fu, and as Bill from Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films.

He was 72. And you owe it to his cold, dead body to watch the 1978 quasi-mystical quest flick Circle of Iron, in which he plays the role(s) originally intended for Bruce Lee. And a flute, sorta...

Go now! Hurry! I'll wait for you here 'til you get back...

Spike TV vs. The History Channel...

If you haven't yet, go check out Spike TV's Deadliest Warrior! New episodes are currently airing Tuesdays at 10p (EDT).

The series examines the abilities, weapons + technology and strengths/weaknesses of some of history's most notable warrior-castes, pitting them against each other. There's a great deal of the typical Spike TV vibe (I'm sure that a big heap of cheesy testosteroni will be the first dish on their upcoming cooking show...), but the weapons testing - often against ballistics gel dummy torsos - is intense + informative. And the final act of the show - a recreation of the battle as it would look if it were to ever have happened - is usually quite excellent!

Episodes that've aired thusfar:

• apache v. gladiator
• viking v. samurai
• spartan v. ninja
• pirate v. knight
• yakuza v. mafia
• green beret v. spetznaz
• shaolin monk v. maori warrior
  (while I don't want to give away the outcomes of these pairings, c'mon... anybody seen a pile o'moobies about maori warriors? Anybody... ? Anybody out there been able to avoid ever seeing any shaolin kungfu flicks? ...Exactly.)
  and airing the next coupla weeks:
• william wallace v. shaka zulu
• the i.r.a. v. the taliban (...I'd be stunnd if the I.R.A. didn't win; no 'Murrkin could watch otherwise...)

Good stuff, fun + somewhat educational... sorta. If you can't wait, hit Spike's website, where you can watch episodes, read expert analysis, blog about the show, etc... Kybot + I found the show independent of each other + I figured that made it worth a mention here, to other like-minded folks, many of whom might never bother to check it out, since it's on the same channel as the UFC (which I also enjoy)...

Oh, and go get the new Tortoise CD on 23 June. It fuckin' (post-)rocks!!!