I’m not quite sure I’ve made it public, but for a little less than a year now, I’ve become a make-up nut. Last summer I bought dresses, I bought stockings, more shoes and more makeup then I could afford. I am an owner of a Sephora rewards card, which at the moment seems a little dangerous due to Tokidoki’s latest collaboration with the makeup super store. Keep reading to see more photos and close-ups of the collaboration. I’ve spent the better part of the day getting these screengrabs and close-ups so please, if you’re going to use the images, credit myself or IHCS. Thank you!

You know what I love about Flickr? I attend shows in NYC, take pictures to share on my stream and blog; and with the right tags, the artists find the pictures and suddenly you’re introduced to their world. You follow a link to their webpage where you discover all the awesome work they create. This happened very recently with Little Odd Forest (both artist name and site)… upon following the links, I ended up on her wonderful site where she sells forest inspired bags and other things. I posted my favorite ones after the jump, check ‘em out. Oh, and if you’ve got a tree loving friend, you’ll really want to check out their items.* =D

*Click on the images to purchase items.

Break Up

I came home after work thinking to myself, “I need to write about this artist, I need to write about this artist [referring to Pete Yorn].” Do you know why I needed to write about this artist? I needed to because he is singing with an actress that actually sounds pretty good singing. We get a lot of those actresses turned singer and it’s not always the best thing for them. You start thinking to yourself, “maybe she/he should have stayed acting.”  Well not this lady, she can act and apparently sing. Yes ladies and gentlemen, it’s Scarlett Johansson. Amazed? I am. She’s alongside Pete Yorn who plays all the instruments on the album Break Up, which was released May 12, 2009.

For those who know or may not know I was in Auckland, NZ since October 21 and returned back to the states just this past Friday. I enjoyed the beautiful landscapes, the countless bakeries/coffee spots, sheep, city life, insane town names (that can’t be pronouced without practice), wonderful people, and of course Armageddon.

Armageddon is one of New Zealand’s largest gaming/animation and pop culture expos, which took place at the ASB Showgrounds in Auckland.

So, we try to promote comments and conversation on the site, but we understand the realities of being unable to do so sometimes. I personally, am addicted to my RSS feeds, and sometimes don’t visit physical sites, and therefore don’t comment or participate as much as I should.

Well, we’ve added a star rating to the site. Mostly, we really want to know whether you like what we’re posting or now. Each post will have the stars at the bottom, and all you need to do is click how many stars you think the article deserves. If you really like it, give it 5 stars, if it sucked, give it 1. Give an idea of what you like. Can’t wait to see what you guys think.

p.s. I am about to go to bed, so I’m sorry if there were any typos. Nighty-night.

So, it seems a few friends (or the sites of friends) have joined this amazing fundraiser. Extra Life is yet another instance in which gamers have the wonderful opportunity of putting their gaming hours to work and raise funds for children in need. Extra Life in particular donates to the Texas Children’s Hospital:

Extra Life is a 24-hour charity gaming marathon that aims to raise money to fight pediatric cancer.  Extra Life is working in partnership with Texas Children’s Hospital and all funds are earmarked for the Texas Children’s Cancer Center.

To learn more about how ExtraLife started, feel free to continue reading after the jump. In the meantime, I want to really stress to you how important it is to me to extend a little help where I can. Although I don’t volunteer nearly as much as I used to when I was in high school, I’m constantly searching for ways to help. This is a self-less and incredibly amazing organization to support. Please help me reach the minimum goal of $200. If I do reach the goal, I’ll most likely push it up as I want to help as much as I can.

The way it works is as follows. Like any marathon, your donation will be an hourly donation. Therefore, if you donate $1, you’re donating $1 per hour I play– believe me when I say that I plan on playing all day! So please, as you’ve often heard, I’m asking for a single dollar per hour. $24 for the day. I am requesting a tiny sacrifice to make a difference in a child’s life. If these are tough times, I completely understand, but you can still help. HELP ME SPREAD THE WORD!! Share my team page link on your site, twitter, facebook, etc. Anything will be appreciated, really. If you want to donate more than $1 per hour, that’s also cool!!

On October 17th, 2009 at 8am EST, I will commence the 24hrs of gaming marathon. For every hour that I play, I’ll accumalate your donations. Click this link to DONATE!

Tomorrow, at 11:30am, Kidrobot will be holding a rally on Houston & Lafayette in NYC. I will be there to take pictures. I’m still not sure how I feel about the Taco Bell Bellheadz situation– or the fact that of all people it’s KR who’s protesting against them. The only reason I have my reservations about them holding the protest is because they’ve gone mainstream on some of their recent licensing stuff and people are accusing Taco Bell of diluting designer toys– which I fully agree, it’s just KR has pushed that line too.

Maybe I’m being too harsh– as of lately, I feel like KR the company is taking some steps in the right direction. Ultimately, I hate it when people steal other people’s art and ideas. It is a blatant rip-off, and whether or not I believe the company’s made the best choices in their career, I will indeed be supporting their rally. Actually, it seems all of us at IHCS will be there tomorrow. So, if you see us, pose, I’ll most likely be taking a picture. Maybe I should start a Free Hugs sign while I’m there. =D See you all tomorrow. [Via: Kronikle]

Although it is currently a HUGE rumor, I couldn’t help but share on the site. A while back, I’d posted some Batman fan art, and it seems that the image above is just that, however, I felt the need to say– SERIOUSLY?

I agree that Megan Fox is indeed beautiful, but it offends me how she’s been “accepted” in the geek circles for that sole purpose alone. So, although it seems the image above is fan art, the fact that a fan thought Megan Fox might make a good Catwoman is horrendous. What do you guys think? Am I being overly harsh? I shared the same thoughts about Olivia Munn, but I’ve kinda changed my mind about her (as long as we call her an entertainer). [Via.]

I’m sure many have spotted this awesome new website on many of the toyblogs. I spotted a Twitter with the link a while back and when I realized the purpose of the site, a great sense of calm suddenly came over me. I have OCD, therefore I’m into organization and lists and certain patterns– I like to keep order basically. With the arrival of this site, I get to share my toy collection with other people, and see my friends’ collections too. Woot-woot! Go join right now, and share your link so I can see your collection. You can look up “sakiwaki” to find mine. =)

I’ve said it over and over again– I really love this community. For me, last year’s NYCC really fortified my love for the designer toy world when I got the chance to meet an array of talented artists and they didn’t behave like douches. <– Those are some really kind words aren’t they? Either way, I knew that I loved these people and that I planned on sticking around for a while after that event.

We sometimes get into arguments within the community and sometimes it’s targeted towards the artists, sometimes we blame the companies– but it doesn’t matter! What we need to focus on are the positive things that many artists and members are doing. I’ve had my fair issues with KidRobot, but the Toy Baroness (who to me is the face of the company) along with the many talented friends she’s made along the way, has been working on an admirable project. I cannot put into words how much I respect her for her selfless act.

Many people get caught up living the good life and forget to give back to their community/world. The Baroness, on the other hand, is using her powers for good. Above you’ll find her flickr video containing photos of the 30 pieces that are being auctioned off now through April 24th to benefit the Children in Cambodia. I hope to someday accomplish something as important and life-impacting as what she is doing. I know times are tough, but please take a second to acknowledge the things we take for granted that these kids do not have. I love packaging kawaii packages and I might just get in contact with the 1st Lady of Kidrobot to see if she’ll accept a donation from me. Head on over to the auction site, and if you’ve got zero dollars in the wallet, spread the word!!

Peace.