Kicks: Iron Man/War Machine Nike Dunks

Custom Nikes by Diversitile. They light up and everything :D but personally, i think the iron man ones look horrible. The war machine Nikes are sweet but the tongue is just too bulky for my liking.

Games: Marvel Vs Capcom 3 - New Screens

Sorry but visually, it looks shit. Im not happy :(

X-Men First Class - James Mcavoy to play Professor X

He`s gonna look weird as a bald guy :p

Movies: Captain America - Tommy Lee Jones Confirmed

Hayley Atwell, playing Peggy Carter in the Captain America movie, spilled some beans in a tv interview which lead to the official reveal by news sites earlier today.
Nothing official on who he will be playing yet but he is now officially in the movie :D

John`s Art: "Coffee"

The Korean text means "Coffee" (^_^)b

Japanese Movie Review: "My Rainy Days" (2009)

"My Rainy Days" (2009)
Drama/Romance
7/10

So the english title for this movie is "My Rainy Days" it seems. Which makes no sense because the Japanese title (as seen above) is "Tenshi No Koi" or "Love of an angel". Weird eh? Anyway yeah, this was a pretty good movie. I was actually pleasantly surprised especially since i havent seen a decent Japanese movie in a long time. The story follows a young high school whose hobby appears to be compensation dating who falls for a history teacher and then some other stuff happens but i wont ruin that. The movie was fun and mildly romantic with a satisfactory job from all of the actors. Actually the young actors in this movie were pretty good and it was kinda interesting to see a movie which focused on one of the shadier aspects of Japan. I actually watched this movie with no subtitles which was pretty impressive! Obviously i couldnt translate everything but i got pretty much everything that was said or happened in this movie. Good shit!

TV: Lost finally ended.....

....bit of a crappy ending i thought. I hate how the last episode focused so much on all the couples and relationships thatoccured in lost because half of them were weird and not convincing at all. Im sure the creators of Lost dont have a clue which characters the audience like because i hated a lot of them! I know you might think "oh but thats the idea, if its a bad guy and you hate him then the writers/producers did their job right?". No fucking way! Here is a list of the characters that i hated in that show:

Kate
Hurley
Rose
Bernard
Sayyid (He became really boring and miserable)
Jack (sometimes, though towards the end of the show he became my favourite)
That woman with the glasses
The french woman
Shannon
The dog (yes even the fucking dog!)
The ginger woman that Faraday liked
Charlie
Claire
Claire`s baby

So the finale was 2.5 hours of unanswered bullshit. It left way too many questions unanswered and just shows how much they dropped the ball when they were writing Lost. Its a complete clusterfuck. The previous season actually saved Lost in my opinion. I thought that finally, they had brought it back to awesomeness but the final season was a complete mess and mostly un-entertaining

John`s Art/T Shirt Design: "Where are you going tomorrow?"

So i tried to submit one of my designs to Threadless and............yep, failed. Well, Threadless has some amazing designs and i mean, i cant even come close to what some of the people on there can do but seriously on the other hand they have some ugly stuff too that actually scored high enough to become a selling item. Anyway, here was my entry. Originally it had text saying "where do you want to go tomorrow?" but now that my entry was a failure, ill just post it up here with my sig/logo instead.


Its not the best design you`ve ever seen i know but seriously, i would wear something like that on a t shirt. And to think, after 151 votes i only scored 1.51 out of 5? :s

Drinks: Baobab Pepsi

I wonder whose bright idea it was to make a Baobab flavour Pepsi lol. Seriously wtf! But anyway so it doesnt taste entirely bad and if i had to describe the taste id say somewhere between Pepsi and ginger ale. But i seriously cant reccomend it :p

Re: Goal Setting

Kind of a response to Peter Hong`s post on setting some goals. I tried to think about my own situation and where im headed. Im still not quite sure on many things in life but i think he makes a good point that setting goals gets you motivated. So for now, here are 6 goals (in no particular order)

1. Improve my drawing/design skills to a point where i can start earning money. It would be nice to be able to turn this into a business

2. Have my mind set on where i want to live by the time i graduate. At the moment im seriously leaning towards Korea.

3. Settle down by 35. Thats kinda late right? Well, im gonna be finished with uni at the age of 27 so after graduation i think life is gonna be kinda hectic and uncertain so it could take a while until i find where i need to be and for everything to start falling into place.

4. Graduate. I dont even think graduating university is a certainty for me yet. Im really starting to struggle with my Japanese and studying in general. My Japanese has barely improved since being in Japan. In terms of my ability and competency in Japanese, i really havent made the most of my time in Yokohama. (lesson to be learnt here Pete)

5. Learn Korean. Seems kinda stupid huh? Im learning Japanese and yet im kinda planning to move to Korea after i graduate. I understand it does seem kinda stupid and yeah, it is. But ive found that right now, this is what i feel i want to do and so i think learning Korean will go hand in hand with that. While im a student, ill try to pick up some more basic stuff as i go along. At the moment im stuck with only things like "my name is john" and "what are you doing?". Plus all the other typical stuff that most foreigners know

6. Pass JLPT level 2 in July. Of the 6 goals, this is going to be the hardest and most likely to fail but i would really like to have a level 2 under my belt by the time i get back to Cardiff so that i at least "feel" prepared for the final year.

Tech: Audio - TAR x SASQUATCHfabrix - Pyramid Speakers

I love these :D

source - here

Watches - Stussy x G-Shock 30th Anniversary

Im not a fan of Stussy to be honest. I think many people share my opinion and where i stand on Stussy products/designs but i cant help but swoon over this collabo (well, its the colourway more than anything :p)

John`s Art: "The Avengers"

finished! I dont intend to add more characters to the drawing because for me, this is the essential members. Well, Hulk is a liability at times of course.
It did get me thinking though, i might try to create a massive character drawing like this

obviously it would take a LONG time but its something i could work at gradually. ill think about it........

John`s Art: "Thor"

Seeing as how im putting together the Avengers ( see previous post ;D), i decided to unveil the design for Thor. He wont look like this in the group pic. In fact he will look kinda boring but for the sake of giving him his own single image, i jazzed it up to look like Ultimates 2 #5.
Hope you guys like it. My workrate lately is quite possibly the best it has ever been

Music: Chris Brown & Tyga - "Fan of a fan"

Download Mixtape | Free Mixtapes Provided by DatPiff.com


Stand out tracks:

"Dueces"
"int Thinkin Bout You" feat. Bow Wow
"Number One"
"Holla At Me"

Decorating My Room

I should have done this at the start of my year in Japan. Leaving it until im about to leave is just stupid but i didnt do anything too extreme. I just set about making my walls a bit more interesting and inspiring. And what could be more inspiring than artwork of my favourite artist?.............

And so who is my favourite artist?........

.....Myself of course :p

My New Backpack

I have been wanting to buy a new backpack for ages. In fact even so that i didnt bring one to Japan so that i would eventually have to get one. The problem was, i hadnt quite seen any that i liked. Well some of the ones that i thought looked good just sat awkwardly on my back. Well today i went backpack shopping :D. I went to Vivre in Yokohama (Great place for shopping but kinda expensive :s) and found a reaaaallly nice backpack. 13200 yen? (about 90 quid) im not paying that. So i shopped around and found one for 6200 yen (about 40 quid) which was perfect. I tried to find some pictures of it online but failed so i thought id take some pictures myself :)


Im not very good at taking photos, i apologise. If you want expert photo taking, go visit Pete`s blog :p

John`s Art: Howard Stark`s greatest creation

I was going through my old folders and came across some unfinished Iron Man artwork. So i set about finishing it off and sometime hope to expand this piece to include all, or at least some, of the other Avengers.

Iron Man 2: Review

Iron Man 2 (2010)
8/10

So the moment finally came....and you know what? i think its not far off the original. Lets be honest, this movie had a lot to live up to. It was always gonna be hard to get anywhere near the first movie but i think they got pretty close. Ive heard a lot of people moaning about the interference of the whole avengers build up but i didnt think that really hurt the movie at all. If anything, it just got me really excited so every little tip of the hat made me :D like crazy. If anything sucked about this movie it would have to be the final fight scene. Its just way too short. Not only that but Cheadle doesnt seem right for the part of Rhodey. Dont get me wrong, i love Cheadle. He put an awesome performance in for "Brooklyn`s Finest" but his acting in this movie just seemed kinda flat. The banter between Rhodey and Tony s really dead in this movie.

To see all these things i admired for years coming to life feels kinda touching for me. I feel like something ive loved for years, that many of the people around me didnt care for is finally being appreciated and loved by everyone. Its about time that Marvel characters started getting the mass appreciation they deserve.

My favourite moment in the movie? (possible spoiler---->Howard Stark: My greatest creation......was you Tony<---possible spoiler) :D

Chinese Movie Review: "Ip Man 2" (2009)

"Ip Man 2" (2009)

Action/Martial Arts
7.5/10

Its basically.......(spoiler--->Rocky IV :p.<---spoiler) No im serious!

While not as emotional as the first movie, it provided pretty much the same thing. The only thing i can say which sucked in this movie was the British actors (and they REALLY sucked). I understand that they wanted the British to look like assholes (which im sure in those days they were) but to have them act so poorly. Honestly, i dont think its possible to act that badly unless its done on purpose. It was the equivalent of a Japanese anime, voiced over by americans. Cheesy as shit! I tried to ignore that and base my score on everything else. Its sad though, to think that Donnie Yen refuses to make more Ip man movies due to the incoming over-saturation of the ip-man legacy. Especially when (spoiler--> Bruce Lee, as a boy, shows up right at the end to start his training<---spoiler)

John's Art: "Mr. T"

A request from a friend:

Games: Marvel Vs Capcom 3 - Four New Characters Announced

• Felicia (Darkstalkers
• Deadpool (Marvel)
• Dante (Devil May Cry)
• Captain America (Marvel
  

Well these were all kinda hinted at with the first official trailer but an official confirmation about these sort of things is always nice. Word is that Deadpool will break the fourth wall in the game by beating his opponent with his own health bar. Sick! :D Deadpool was always a dead cert for the new MVC game but the oversaturation of the Deadpool character lately is far from amusing. He`s like the new Wolverine. SMH

Design: Homes - Kanye West (L.A.)

Im sure Peter already got the heads up on this one and went crazy over it! (でしょう？). Im loving the Jetsons pop art, the fish tank in the bathroom (full of black telescopic goldfish? my favourites!!!). The overall less-is-more attitude and scenic views makes everything so sweet. Id like a better look at his Kicks collection though :p

via Rap Radar

Fashion: Kicks - Ubiq Grace Spring/Summer Blue w/ Pink Laces

Love these!! That colourway is just perfect. I recently started to appreciate a nice mix of Blue and Pink these days so these immediately grabbed me. you can buy em now over at Mischief but at 12,000 yen? Im gonna have to sdaly pass on these :(

John's Art: "Karl Lagertron" *UPDATE*

A friend i met through my time in YNU, Saori, runs herself a fashion/culture blog over at The Trendy Kids. Im honoured that she dedicated a post to me after seeing my Karl Lagerfeld/Megatron drawing which i had put up on my facebook account. Thanks for the love Saori! Actually, it seems a lot of people enjoyed it and i received various praises throughout the day from people who saw it. Added a more high quality version of the image below:

Click the image for better quality

John's Art: "Karl Lagertron"

For some reason, i have often thought that Karl Lagerfeld looks like Megatron. I have no idea why this is and i understand maybe it does sound a bit bizzare. So anyway, set about creating such a hybrid and voila!.....

I seriously think this is one of the best things i have ever drawn and definitely one of the best concepts i have ever come up with. Im so proud!!! v(^_^)v
I also feel that Karl Lagerfeld has such an interesting appearance too. Id thought about drawing something to do with him for a long time and finally thought that hey, turning him into a transformer is not that difficult actually!

Also, my blog is so shit and boring that i felt i needed to draw something decent and get this thing back to its original purpose, promoting my skills!!!! (still in development)

Iron Man: Idea......

I was thinking, how cool would it be to see some top designers have a go at creating a new iron man armour. Just for fun of course! I dont think anyone wants to see Iron Gucci kicking ass and worrying about getting his suit fucked. Imagine some of the weird shit they would come up with!

Cicadas, Snakes & Heat (with no air con)... Oh My!!

Japan is heating up!! And its only the spring so god only knows how im going to cope in the summer without any air con. Not only that but cicadas have started coming out of the ground. If you dont know what they are then you can wiki them or read my brief description:

They are little shits that bury themselves in the ground in the winter only to come out in the warm weather to make noise all day and night and smack people in the head when they walk by because they are fucking big too.

On top of that, there are rumours that there was a snake downstairs somewhere and apparently some weird mythical beast has ripped the wings off of one of the crows. Holy fuck!

Korean Movie Review: A Million (2009)

Starting to realise i might be scraping the barrel a bit now. Dont get me wrong, i know i have some gems coming up soon (Oasis, 3 Iron etc.) that i have yet to see but i was always bound to run out of good movies eventually. So, about "A Million".....

"A Million" (2009)
Thriller
4/10

Simple enough story, 8 contestants compete in a survivor like contest in the australian outback for 1 million USD. Actually sounded like a good movie! But pretty average really. It wasnt completely unwatchable but the low score is merely just in comparison of the other movies in the list. For example, i gave Ghost House a 7. Well if Ghost House is a 7 then this is definitely a 4 at the most. However, i have been wondering if maybe i should have given Ghost House a higher score....

1. A Moment To Remember 9.5/10
2. Tae Guk Gi - Brotherhood 9/10
3. The Good, The Bad & The Weird 9/10
4. Friend 8.5/10
5. Il Mare 8.5/10
6. Oldboy 8.5/10
7. A Bittersweet Life 8.5/10
8. Humming 8.5/10
9. Sad Movie 8.5/10
10. Sensitive Couple 8.5/10
11. A Man Who Was Superman 8/10
12. Memories Of Murder 8/10
13. Antique 8/10
14. The Chaser 8/10
15. Private Eye 8/10
16. My Boyfriend Is Type B 8/10
17. Castaway On The Moon 8/10
18. Daisy 7.5/10
19. Lovers Concerto 7.5/10
20. Almost Love 7.5/10
21. Rainbow Eyes 7.5/10
22. My Sassy Girl 7.5/10
23. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter....and Spring 7.5/10
    
24. Mother 7.5/10
    
25. Romantic Island 7.5/10
    
26. My Tutor Friend 7.5/10
27. Once Upon A Time In High School 7.5/10
28. Ride Away 7.5/10
29. Summer Whispers 7.5/10
30. A Millionaire's First Love 7/10
31. Sympathy For Mr Vengeance 7/10
    
32. Thirst 7/10
33. Joint Security Area 7/10
34. All For Love 7/10
35. Breathless 7/10
36. Daddy Long Legs 7/10
37. Ghost House 7/10
    
38. Hansel & Gretel 7/10
    
39. He Was Cool 7/10
40. My Love 7/10
41. Lovers of 6 Years 7/10
    
42. Maundy Thursday 7/10
43. Once In A Summer 7/10
    
44. Someone Special 7/10
45. The Classic 7/10
46. Ditto 7/10
    
47. Hot For Teacher 7/10
48. A Dirty Carnival 6.5/10
    
49. Break Out 6.5/10
50. Guns & Talks 6.5/10
51. Holiday 6.5/10
52. Ing 6.5/10
53. More Than Blue 6.5/10
54. Speedy Scandal 6.5/10
    
55. Two Faces Of My Girlfriend 6.5/10
56. Secret 6.5/10
    
57. Daytime Drinking 6.5/10
58. Babo 6.5/10
59. Bad Guy 6/10
    
60. Beautiful 6/10
    
61. Big Bang 6/10
    
62. Bungee Jumping Of Their Own 6/10
63. The Host 6/10
64. My Wife Is A Gangster 6/10
    
65. My Little Bride 6/10
    
66. Oh My God 6/10
67. My Scary Girl 6/10
    
68. 200 Pounds Beauty 5/10
69. A Tale Of Two Sisters 5/10
70. April Snow 5/10
71. Death Bell 5/10
    
72. Venus & Mars 4.5/10
73. My Girl & I 4/10
74. A Million 4/10
75. Living Death 4/10
76. Gangster High 3/10
    

Fire @ The Dorm

Its no big deal, the fire was set off by somebody on my floor who left a pizza in the microwave for too long. The fire was no bigger than a match and yet they sent half of Japan to come put it out.

It was the poorest show of firemanship i have ever seen in my life. We were free to mess around, take photos of them, pose with the vehicles, walk up and down the stairs, go back to our rooms etc. Basically they are just s*** firemen. And they sent a total of 1 police car, 1 ambulance, 1 mini ambulance, some lawyers and about 5 or 6 fire trucks.

K-Drama: Athena (IRIS 2) Update

Pictures of some of the cast (Jeong Woo-Seong & Soo-Ae) as they will appear in the new drama:

the images on the right hand side are as they will appear in the drama

Some updates:

• The drama is scheduled to be released at the end of this year but the cast and production crew are hoping to push for an earlier release
• Plot: Korea is faced with a terrorist by the name of Athena. This drama will be on a higher scale of action you've ever seen on TV. The locations are in 6 different countries around the world.

Captain America: Casting Rumour

Tommy Lee Jones?

Thor - First look!