Garrrrrrr - it be Talk Like a Pirate Day, matey and that's the extent of sea-faring shiz you'll get from me in this post.
Over at the Cardfish site where those happy-go-lucky folk have me in charge of commissioning I gave artist Sarah Hopson and grandmaster-flash Phil Bower the opportunity to celebrate this one-of-a-kind event with a Cardfish eCard that let's you paste your mug or a mate's onto a Peg-legged Pirate who jigs, dances and - surprise, surprise - talks just like a genuine flippin' pirate!
There's a little mutinous twist I added to the mix, plus some extra bits and bobs and the voice of the characters supplied by yours-truly. Pop over there and send someone you love (or conversely, can't stand) a Cardfish to celebrate this frankly ridiculous day! (Once it's gone you can send Birthday or Get Well Soon versions of the same card, so it's not all been a terrible waste!).
(While you're at it, this weekend is your last chance to vote for the E4 award nominated game I also let them get away with - the supremely satisfying Hamsters Vs Aliens!)
Like me you've no doubt pondered exactly what would happen if those lovable fur-baring, oft-caged critters we know as hamsters went toe to toe against mean green flying-machine equipped alien beings!Well you need ponder no longer as two of my Cardfish shipmates Phil Bower and Sarah Hopson have created a game which reveals the terrible out-come of such a mismatch in all it's grimy glory!
Very soon you'll be able to send each other a version of this game as a personalised greeting card, but for the time-being it's in the running to win a much-coverted prize at E4.
Please pop over there and give them your vote - their competition isn't much cop and frankly they could do with the cash....
Courtesy of Joshkazid, who confesses he "doesn't know why", but has clearly found the best use for mashed-up, spewn out Richard Harrison footage since the glory days of Godfrey Ho, Joesph Lai and IFD:
For the uninitiated Poptique presents a pocket-sized introduction to Richard Harrison - the nation-straddling mustachioed former beefcake who's fast becoming a YouTube favourite! Harrison knocked about in Utah in his formative years, making his merry way to Hollywood in the late 50s, appearing as a background artiste and hunk for hire until bagging a three picture deal with B-grade studio AIP. They swiftly which sent him packing to Europe, which is where Harrison set up shop for the rest of the decade after his debut star role in (and as) the Invincible Gladiator.
Stealthily slotting into the muscle-bound ex-pat positions held by the like of Steve Reeves, Harrison spent the 60s flitting between sweaty Sword & Sandal Peplum roles and sixgun-totting Spaghetti Westerns. It was in the latter category that he gained his first footnote in film history, turning down Sergio Leone's Fistful of Dollars andrecommending chum Clint Eastwood in his stead; sending him off to eventual super-stardom.
Harrison was never so lucky in terms of lead roles again, but continued to carve out a healthy niche nonetheless. If you like Spaghettis, Sandals or Spy movies you're in luck - he made an absolute shit-load.
The 70s ushered in the second phase of his career, as well as his now legendary face-fuzz. The newly 'tached Harrison began globe-trotting with a vengeance, popping up in Egyptian exploitation, Turkish rip-offs, and even Shaw Brothers epics, whilst maintaining his Italian leads in more war, westerns and crime movies. But by the end of the decade Harrison had begun to feel the pinch, as he seemingly became stuck as a bargain basement Chuck Norris in a spiral of micro-budgeted oriental movies.
Just witness the sort of sexy shiz he got up to below!
Whilst Harrison may have hit a high note in the late 70s as a low-rent, lady-draped Bond wannabe in the dubbylicious 007 meets Bruceploitation classic Challenge of the Tiger, a few short years later he somehow found his way to offices of Joseph Lai's IFD films, and eternal infamy followed...
Lai and his director-in-crime Godfrey Ho put the chop in chop-sockey, taking their ready-made Asian productions and splicing in barely related scenes featuring non-acting westerners to supposedly appeal to international audiences. Depending on what you read, or believe, Harrison signed to appear in a handful of productions but subsequently found the footage turning up in release after release.
Suddenly Harrison was the unwitting whiteman poster boy for cut and paste Hosploitation, and 20 years of hardworking film experience and leading roles evaporated in a cloud of ninja dust.
Despite a long and prolific career poor-old Harrison is almost universally recognised these days for a few weeks work stretched out over the space of nearly a dozen z-grade ninja knock-offs, with titles like Ninja Terminator, Ninja Commandments, Ninja Thunderbolt and Scorpion Thunderbolt.
It may not be far from the legacy he may have wanted, but bless him, it's the one he's ended up with. Hat's off to Harrison!
Whippywatch continues! Another scorcher in our nation's capital has brought even more woeful whippy artwork out into the streets, with fleets of flake-flinging ice-cream vans covered in craptastic cartooning caught lolly-gagging around London this weekend. "Super Soft Ice" offered up a disturbingly pencil-necked Mickey plus a wild-eyed one-legged Ludwig Van Drake, whilst the another "often licked, never beaten" Super Soft Ice offered a parade of depressing deformity, featuring a decidedly dead-eyed Goofy alongside an embarrased lumpen Mickey.
Summer has hit London with a vengeance in recent weeks, with record temperatures making commuters wilt and tube taking travel a last ditch option. Such luverly weather brings one welcome site to our nation's capital - that of Ice Cream Vans of the Mr Whippy variety, adorned in a slapdash manner with grotesque, copyright thumb-nosing images of famous animated stars! I can't get enough flipping 99 Flake dealing Whippies covered in ill-shaped illustrations - they take me back to a childhood free of corporate control, where even officially licensed annuals, comic books and food-products featured freakishly deformed versions of your favourite cartoon heroes.
Oddly out-of-proportion, sugar-crazed characters are the order of the day - Disney stars being a favourite, no doubt due to their ease of cack-handed copy-ability. Other studio's cartoon celebrities appear less often - but when they do it's a joy to behold.
A recent personal favourite was a spotted slopped aside a "Soft Whip" van - with a particularly jobby Jerry going serial-killer crazy over an ice-cream brandished by animated adversary Tom.
Rest assured Poptique will be keeping a beady eye out for more manky Mickeys and tatty Tweetys as the summer months march on!
There's a little mutinous twist I added to the mix, plus some extra bits and bobs and the voice of the characters supplied by yours-truly. Pop over there and send someone you love (or conversely, can't stand) a Cardfish to celebrate this frankly ridiculous day! (Once it's gone you can send Birthday or Get Well Soon versions of the same card, so it's not all been a terrible waste!).
There's a little mutinous twist I added to the mix, plus some extra bits and bobs and the voice of the characters supplied by yours-truly. Pop over there and send someone you love (or conversely, can't stand) a Cardfish to celebrate this frankly ridiculous day! (Once it's gone you can send Birthday or Get Well Soon versions of the same card, so it's not all been a terrible waste!).
