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“Bleak House” was first published as a 20- episode serial between March 1852 and September 1853. The novel has many characters and several sub-plots, and is told partly by the novel's heroine, Esther Summerson, and partly by an omniscient narrator. At the center of “Bleak House” is a long-running legal case in the Court of Chancery, “Jarndyce and Jarndyce,” which came about because a testator has written several conflicting wills. In a preface to the 1853 first hardcover edition, Dickens claimed there were many actual precedents for his fictional case. One such was probably the “Thellusson v. Woodford” case in which a will read in 1797 was contested and not determined until 1859. Though the legal profession criticized Dickens's satire as exaggerated, this novel helped support a judicial reform movement which culminated in the enactment of legal reform in the 1870s. [Source: Wikipedia]
From "The Rhinegold & The Valkyrie" by Richard Wagner. New York: Doubleday Page & Co., 1910. First American Edition
From the book "Peter and Wendy" by J. M. Barrie. London: Hodder & Stoughton, (1911). First edition. This is the first book that tells the story of Peter Pan, Wendy and their exploits in Neverland along with the now familiar cast of characters that includes Captain Hook, Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys and Tiger Lily.
This book presents the librettos of the first two operas in Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle accompanied by 34 color plates by Arthur Rackham. “The Rhinegold” is the first of the four operas that constitute Wagner’s “The Ring of the Nibelung.” “The Valkyrie” is the second opera in the Ring. They were first performed together as part of the complete Ring Cycle on August 14, 1876 at Wagner’s Bayreuth Festival. The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and The Song of the Nibelungs, an epic German poem that tells the story of dragon-slayer SiegfrIed at the court of the Burgundians, how he was murdered, and of his wife’s revenge.
The final two operas in Wagner’s Ring, “Siegfried” and “The Twilight of the Gods,” were published in a separate volume in 1911 and were also illustrated by Arthur Rackham.
www.flickr.com/photos/57440551@N03/15056838138/in/photost...
Gateway is a space station built into a hollow asteroid (or perhaps the dead heart of a comet) constructed by the Heechee, a long-vanished alien race. Humans have had limited success understanding Heechee technology found there and elsewhere in the solar system. The Gateway Corporation administers the asteroid on behalf of the governments of the United States, the Soviet Union, New People's Asia, the Venusian Confederation, and the United States of Brazil.
Nearly a thousand small, abandoned starships are at Gateway. By extremely dangerous trial and error, humans learn how to operate the ships. The controls for selecting a destination have been identified, but nobody knows where a particular setting will take the ship or how long the trip will last; starvation is a danger. Attempts at reverse engineering to find out how they work have ended only in disaster, as has changing the settings in mid-flight. Most settings lead to useless or lethal places. A few, however, result in the discovery of Heechee artifacts and habitable planets, making the passengers (and the Gateway Corporation) wealthy. The vessels come in three standard sizes, which can hold a maximum of one, three, or five people, filled with equipment and hopefully enough food for the trip. Some "threes" and many "fives" are armored. Each ship includes a lander to visit a planet or other object if one is found. [Source: Wikipedia]
Christine is the story of a vintage 1958 Plymouth Fury that is possessed by supernatural forces. John Carpenter directed the film adaptation of King’s book:
Karel van Mander, Het Schilder-Boeck (Haarlem: Paschier van Wesbusch, 1604), first edition in two volumes with added illustrations, 21 x 16.7 x 5.8 cm (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)
Karel van Mander, Het Schilder-Boeck (Haarlem: Paschier van Wesbusch, 1604), first edition in two volumes with added illustrations, 21 x 16.7 x 5.8 cm (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)
The time is far enough into the future so that man has long been established on the Moon. Conducted tours for vacationers have become entirely common, and one of the high points of each tour is a cruise around the Sea of Thirst – a body of fine volcanic dust – in a specially designed vessel called the Selene. It’s an eerie voyage but one that is considered perfectly safe.
And then the old, dead Moon plays an appalling trick on the Selene, and there follows a most complicated and perilous rescue operation. How do you locate a small vessel buried beneath fifteen meters of dust in one of the craters of the Moon? If you find it, how do you rescue the passengers and crew? If you are on board, how do you feel and what do you do while brave men and expert technicians join forces, on your behalf, in a desperate race against time?
Hosteen Storm, an Amerindian, whose home planet Terra had been destroyed in an interplanetary war by the ruthless and nonhuman Xiks, was forced to seek a new life elsewhere. His Navajo Indian ancestry had endowed him with the rare trait of communicating with animals so that, during the recent war, he had become a Beast Master, one of a handful of scouts who commanded a trained and loyal animal team.
Arzor, the planet to which Storm emigrated, was like Terra in some aspects, but that was not his only reason for choosing it. Unknown to anyone else, he had another purpose – a mission of revenge – to face at last the man who had killed his father.
"Day after day, day after
day,
We stuck, nor breath nor
motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean."
William Andrew Pogány (1882-1955) was born in Hungary, studied art in Budapest, and worked in Paris briefly before moving to London in 1905 where he worked as a book illustrator for ten years. He moved to New York in 1915 and had success as a book illustrator and designer of stage sets and hotel interiors. “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is one of Pogany’s best-known books. It is a bold artistic experiment in unifying text and images. Every page is elaborately decorated in Pogany’s distinctive style, which attempts to create a printed version of a medieval illuminated manuscript. He was responsible for the beautiful calligraphic text, green and mauve page decorations and borders, and the many black and white drawings and tipped-in plates in full color.
From "Siegfried & The Twilight of the Gods" by Richard Wagner. New York: Doubleday Page & Co., 1911. First American Edition
Bononcini, Giovanni [1670 AD -1747 AD], Astartus an Opera as it was Perform'd at the Kings Theatre for the Royal Accademy. London: J. Walsh and J. Hare, [1721], First Edition, 2 leaves, 81 pages, engraved throughout, table of songs and advertisement. Size: folio (34.2 x 22.8cm). Condition: early inscription ("Giv'n to ye Musick-Club by Mr. Professor Goodson Aug: 30 1722") and stamp of 'Musical Society Oxford' to title, Dolmetsch Library stamp and pencil shelfmark ("II C 45") to verso of title, manuscript Dolmetsch Library label affixed to head of spine with translucent adhesive tape, old manuscript labels to upper cover ("21"; "915 V"), contemporary marbled boards, red morocco label gilt to upper cover ("Astartus"), with later endpapers (watermarked "1804"), cracked at lower hinge, old ink stains to outer edges, covers worn. RARE. The last copy we have traced at auction was sold at Sotheby’s on 9 December 1999 (lot 42). LITERATURE: RISM B 3557 and BB 3557; Smith and Humphries, no.191. A revised version of Bononcini's original opera of 1715 was premiered at the King's Theatre in London in November 1720. It was one of only two London operas for which Bononcini, Handel's great London rival, published the overture and arias.
The Illustrated News of the World – First Edition 1858.
‘The Illustrated News of the World and National Portrait Gallery of Eminent Personages’ was a new publication with the strong visual emphasis of numerous large woodcuts to illustrate local and world events, and featuring a number of fine steel engravings of eminent persons. The publishers stated their hopes that the publication would match or supplement the existing illustrated magazines:- The Illustrated London News and Punch Magazine .
Published by Illustrated News of the World, The Strand, London. Annual bound collection, red cloth boards 338 pages 42cm x 29cm .
Ex-libris bookplate of Toxteth Park Library. ‘Toxteth Park’ is a historic home built in 1829 in The Glebe, Sydney, Australia designed by the Colonial Architect, John Verge for the Australian lawyer and businessman, George Allen ( 1800-1877).
A history of ‘Toxteth Park’ is here:
Leni Riefenstahl was a world-famous actress, artist, photographer and film director. One of her pre-war successes was the documentary film called “Triumph of the Will,” about the 1934 Reich Party Congress in Nuremberg. Her filming expertise not only impressed Hitler but it also impressed the International Olympic Committee who commissioned her to produce a documentary about the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. Her film, titled “Olympia,” was radically different from all sporting films made before it. She chose to highlight the aesthetics of the body by filming it from every angle. The film brought about new perspectives in cinematography and still remains without equal. It pioneered many of the techniques now common in the filming of sports.
Riefenstahl experimented with anything and everything available to her. Camera operators were placed into foxholes and trenches so they could film the Olympic athletes and minimize the disruptions to their levels of concentration. She used miniature cameras in situations where a human camera operator was not a practical solution. Camera units were placed on rails and they followed the athletes around the track as they ran. Additional camera operators were allowed to roam around in the audience to get good emotional and crowd reaction shots. During diving meets, a camera operator dove alongside the diver both above and below the water. No cameramen had ever been allowed to work so close to the athletes at any other Olympics. Sports imagery rose to new aesthetic heights.
“Although the film “Olympia” has become an acknowledged classic, her book of photographs, “Schönheit im Olympischen Kampf” (Beauty in the Olympic Games), is less known but no less spectacular. Sometimes Riefenstahl relied on poses modeled on the antique Greek ideal… But far more original were her depictions of superbly athletic bodies soaring gracefully through the air and knifing effortlessly through the water. Riefenstahl applied certain devices characteristic of the new German photography – strong diagonals, tight croppings, and bird's-eye and worm's-eye views. No longer was the camera an earthbound witness; it took to the air and the water with the athletes.” (Source: William A. Ewing, “The Body”).
Riefenstahl’s book is illustrated with 273 full-page, black & white photographs with picture captions in English, German, Spanish and French.
Riefenstahl’s film “Olympia” documenting the 1936 Summer Olympics may be viewed on youtube:
Olympia Part 1: Festival of Nations
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLnGqMoNXRI
Olympia Part 2: Festival of Beauty
The plot of the novel follows the life of Nell Trent and her grandfather, both residents of The Old Curiosity Shop in London.
The Old Curiosity Shop was one of two novels (the other being Barnaby Rudge) which Dickens published along with short stories in his weekly serial Master Humphrey's Clock, which lasted from 1840 to 1841. It was so popular that New York readers stormed the wharf when the ship bearing the final installment arrived in 1841. The Old Curiosity Shop was printed in book form in 1841. [Source: Wikipedia]
Electric Drive
IAA 2019
Internationale Automobil Ausstellung
Frankfurt
Duitsland - Germany
September 2019
This book was one of the first color editions and the last Brer Rabbit collection published during the lifetime of the author, Georgia native Joel Chandler Harris (1845-1908). Raised in poverty, Harris was an apprentice to a Southern newspaper as a teenager and he made friends with plantation slaves who passed along their stories. Harris hoped that the charming illustrations and his use of dialect in retelling these old black legends would “suggest a certain picturesque sensitiveness – a curious exaltation of mind and temperament (of the black man).”
The characters of Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit are best known from the classic 1946 Disney movie, “Song of the South.” Here is a memorable scene in that movie:
Welcome to the next episode of "Stuff I Bought in Vancouver". Tonight, I bring you something that is, as always exotic, but more importantly, something that again, I probably wouldn't have run into while in Toronto. The subject of tonights review is the S.H. Figuarts Sailor Moon figure, First Edition.
So, Sailor Moon. The Figuarts releases I've picked up two of them up to this point - Sailor Chibi Moon and Sailor Venus, so clearly they exist here in Toronto. I had gotten lucky so far with regards to pricing thus far, finding the right person at the right time who was willing to make a deal just to get rid of it. It was a similar situation for this particular figure, which I ended up paying $60 CAD for, making it the most expensive figure I purchased during my time out West. For those paying attention, that's pretty much MSRP - why did I do that??? Well, the answer lies in the second part of the title - First Edition. First Edition releases of Sailor Moon came with two additional face plates that were not available later on, and to be honest they're ones that should have been standard, but I digress. The point is, if one were to take into account the First Edition perks, and the fact the figure had never been opened, $60 CAD ends up being a pretty good buy.
Sailor Moon is, of course, the titular character from the Sailor Moon series. The superhero guise of Usagi Tsukino (Serena in the US dub), Sailor Moon starts off, like all many other anime heroes, kind of clumsy, childlike, but eventually matures into a competent leader of her fellow Sailor Senshi in their battle against the forces of evil and enemies of the Moon Kingdom, from whence she originated from. In superhero form, Usagi maintains her trademark twin pigtails, gets a few more pieces of jewelery, and is generally decked out in the now legendary ensemble of high school girl outfit combined with some bows and a kickass pair of boots. Being Sailor Moon, however, her outfit has a few extra bells and whistles not present on the other Sailor Senshi, like the moon on her choker, a jewel encrusted pendant on her chest ribbon, moons on her boots, and jewels in the buns of her hair.
Sailor Moon comes with the most accessories I've seen in a Sailor Moon Figuarts thus far (I admittedly haven't seen that many). There's the figure, of course, with five additional faces (winking and crying faces being the exclusives... FINALLY, a winking face), Moon Crescent Wand, Moon Crescent Wand with the Imperium Silver Crystal installed, seven additional hands with one dedicated for holding her wand, two for her trademark pose, and additional hand/effect piece for her Moon Tiara Action, a mini Luna, and a stand. To the surprise of nobody, it appears that Luna and Artemis are effectively repaints of one another, though I found that Luna stood very easily, whereas Artemis was required some futzing to get him to pose for photos. Points of articulation on Luna are her head and tail, both on ball joints.
The figure of course, looks very faithful to the the animation model. General silhouette is there, and compared to Sailor Venus, slightly more accurate body proportions, mostly with the legs, which seem to have a shorter lower leg as compared to the statuesque Sailor Venus. Otherwise, you have the same general slender high school girl physique. Sailor Moon, to me, has a more accurate facial structure as well.. in fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say they adapted Sailor Moons base face plates for use on Venus. Both are, IMO, a bit too narrow and could stand to be a bit wider at the temples. Sailor Moon fares much better at actually being able to use the included stand properly, as she does not have a giant mound of hair getting in the way of the dynamic arm of the stand. Speaking of hair, good recreation of the hair on the character, with the added "bonus" of being made from translucent plastic that is painted yellow so she has the shimmering effect on her head. The down side is tolerances, as evidences by the fact her right pigtail keeps popping out of the socket. Otherwise, you get some good sculpting in terms of detailing of the outfit and hair, both of which has been pretty consistent in terms of quality across the three characters that I have.
As mentioned above, this First Edition release comes with two additional face plates that are very much essential to Sailor Moon as a character. I can sort of get the crying face as an exclusive, as its usage is relatively limited (unless you're willing to be a bit creative, like me) but for magical girl figures to not come with winking faces ought to be made a crime punishable by public ridicule. The other faces are your typical smiling, neutral, attacking, and one face with no tiara painted on it with the intent of use with the Moon Tiara Action hand effect.
Articulation.. boy, is it nice coming back to something that is not maddening to make use. Points of articulation, again, are consistent with the other Sailor Senshi - ankles, single jointed knees, hips with pull down action to improve range of motion, waist, upper torso swivel, shoulders with some chest collapse, single jointed eblows, wirsts, and head. As stated above, there is one point of articulation on each of the pigtails to allow for some dynamic posing of the pigtails, though it mainly allows for side to side displays of hair rather than dashing forward displays. I found that perhaps due to a more pliable rubber (or maybe I just tried harder), Sailor Moon, while unable to kick high, was able to at least maintain a proper seated position. Hands come off the wrist pegs easily.. perhaps a bit TOO easily. I've read that subsequent releases of the figure (most notable being the anime coloured edition), the wrist pegs have been changed such that they have balls on the end of them to improve the grip.
Paintwork is again that lovely combination of good and meh that is present on Venus and Chibi moon. One again, the outfit itself is painted with pearl based paints on the whites, which makes for a lovely shimmering effect, if a bit thick in terms of application. Coloured sections of the outfit, along with various metal pieces are painted with metallic paints. These metallic paint apps can get a bit messy, especially on detailed areas like the small lines on her hair bun jewels, her pendant on the chest, the tiaras on her foreheads, and her earrings. The hair appears be partially solid plastic with some translucent plastics (bangs, pigtails), all of which is painted, which does make for an effective glowing effect at the cost of some less than stellar tolerances. Paint work on the hair itself is surprisingly smooth, with no splotches of colour that not only would look bad, but would also interfere with the translucent quality of the hair. Fleshy bits appear to be the base plastic colours, which are slightly different from Sailor Venus (more tan). In terms of paint masking, some weakness was observed at most transition points, with the most notable being between her outfit and her blue skirt.
Decals are applied well, with no bubbles observed, and no misalignment issues to report. In general, fit and tolerances are pretty good, with the only real issue I can mention is the one with that one pigtail that likes to fall out. Otherwise, there aren't any issues with tolerances or poorly mating parts to report. Some improvements on the parts finish side would have been nice, as mould lines and various seams were more prevalent on Sailor Moon than Venus or Chibi Moon. It's not like the latter two were perfect, and neither is Sailor Moon the worst figure ever made, it's just that by comparison to the other two, Sailor Moon does exhibit significantly weaker traits from this perspective, so I know a better product is technically possible. Build quality is the typical Figuarts level of excellence, with tight joints and a generally solid toy that can withstand some typical handling by a collector.
This is undeniably a great Sailor Moon figure, though one that is for... reasons, worse off from a parts finish perspective than her peers that I own. The base figure doesn't really offer anything that the other Sailor Senshi don't have (other than perhaps a slightly more appropriate face), but that's no surprise (or an issue) when they're all based off a pretty decent platform, though keep in mind I was able to get her seated when I couldn't get Sailor Venus or Chibi Moon to do so. While the base accessory set is pretty good (considering all the main Senshi cost the same), the First Edition faces truly make this figure shine. So while the figure is clearly a recommend for fans of the series, I'm going to do something I normally don't do, and recommend that you hunt down a First Edition version. While you may not benefit from the improved wrist pegs, the crying and winking expressions are a HUGE part of the character, and are worth going the extra mile for. If you're gonna hunt this figure down, I'd strongly recommend finding a First Edition and hassling the seller until a price that is agreeable to you can be reached.
The bloody death toll of WWI had left so many bereaved that people who had never been able to say goodbye to loved ones flocked to mediums in hopes of re-establishing contact. One of the key figures stirring the revival in Spiritualism was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who had himself lost a son, a brother and nine other relatives in the war. He became a proselytizer for Spiritualism, writing books about it, including two in 1918 alone, and became one of the public leaders of the movement.
Contemptuous of frauds and fakes, Houdini desperately wanted to believe in things undreamt of in his philosophy, but he was continually disappointed. His time at the carnivals had made him aware of many of the tricks used by unscrupulous mediums, and his experience as an illusionist made it easy for him to disprove them. He began to resent how he and bereaved people in general had been bamboozled by scam-artists who preyed on vulnerability, and he grew active in exposing them. He stepped up his exposure of dishonest mediums with his book “A Magician Among the Spirits,” which revealed the secrets behind floating handkerchiefs, “spirit hands,” and messages from the beyond. Following the deaths of Houdini and Doyle, Spiritualism fell into disrepute, once again the province of carnival fortune tellers and con men. [Source: www.biography.com/news/houdini-arthur-conan-doyle]
Illustrations of various Pneumatic apparatus.
Copperplate engraving from the First Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, or Dictionary of the Arts and Sciences, founded in 1768 and first printed in 1771. 3 Volumes, this is Volume 3.
The largest encyclopedia of general knowledge published to date, with contributions by leaders in their fields.
Printed for Bell and Macfarquhar, Edinburgh. Original half leather binding, 970 pages this volume. 26cm x 21cm.
Welcome to the next episode of "Stuff I Bought in Vancouver". Tonight, I bring you something that is, as always exotic, but more importantly, something that again, I probably wouldn't have run into while in Toronto. The subject of tonights review is the S.H. Figuarts Sailor Moon figure, First Edition.
So, Sailor Moon. The Figuarts releases I've picked up two of them up to this point - Sailor Chibi Moon and Sailor Venus, so clearly they exist here in Toronto. I had gotten lucky so far with regards to pricing thus far, finding the right person at the right time who was willing to make a deal just to get rid of it. It was a similar situation for this particular figure, which I ended up paying $60 CAD for, making it the most expensive figure I purchased during my time out West. For those paying attention, that's pretty much MSRP - why did I do that??? Well, the answer lies in the second part of the title - First Edition. First Edition releases of Sailor Moon came with two additional face plates that were not available later on, and to be honest they're ones that should have been standard, but I digress. The point is, if one were to take into account the First Edition perks, and the fact the figure had never been opened, $60 CAD ends up being a pretty good buy.
Sailor Moon is, of course, the titular character from the Sailor Moon series. The superhero guise of Usagi Tsukino (Serena in the US dub), Sailor Moon starts off, like all many other anime heroes, kind of clumsy, childlike, but eventually matures into a competent leader of her fellow Sailor Senshi in their battle against the forces of evil and enemies of the Moon Kingdom, from whence she originated from. In superhero form, Usagi maintains her trademark twin pigtails, gets a few more pieces of jewelery, and is generally decked out in the now legendary ensemble of high school girl outfit combined with some bows and a kickass pair of boots. Being Sailor Moon, however, her outfit has a few extra bells and whistles not present on the other Sailor Senshi, like the moon on her choker, a jewel encrusted pendant on her chest ribbon, moons on her boots, and jewels in the buns of her hair.
Sailor Moon comes with the most accessories I've seen in a Sailor Moon Figuarts thus far (I admittedly haven't seen that many). There's the figure, of course, with five additional faces (winking and crying faces being the exclusives... FINALLY, a winking face), Moon Crescent Wand, Moon Crescent Wand with the Imperium Silver Crystal installed, seven additional hands with one dedicated for holding her wand, two for her trademark pose, and additional hand/effect piece for her Moon Tiara Action, a mini Luna, and a stand. To the surprise of nobody, it appears that Luna and Artemis are effectively repaints of one another, though I found that Luna stood very easily, whereas Artemis was required some futzing to get him to pose for photos. Points of articulation on Luna are her head and tail, both on ball joints.
The figure of course, looks very faithful to the the animation model. General silhouette is there, and compared to Sailor Venus, slightly more accurate body proportions, mostly with the legs, which seem to have a shorter lower leg as compared to the statuesque Sailor Venus. Otherwise, you have the same general slender high school girl physique. Sailor Moon, to me, has a more accurate facial structure as well.. in fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say they adapted Sailor Moons base face plates for use on Venus. Both are, IMO, a bit too narrow and could stand to be a bit wider at the temples. Sailor Moon fares much better at actually being able to use the included stand properly, as she does not have a giant mound of hair getting in the way of the dynamic arm of the stand. Speaking of hair, good recreation of the hair on the character, with the added "bonus" of being made from translucent plastic that is painted yellow so she has the shimmering effect on her head. The down side is tolerances, as evidences by the fact her right pigtail keeps popping out of the socket. Otherwise, you get some good sculpting in terms of detailing of the outfit and hair, both of which has been pretty consistent in terms of quality across the three characters that I have.
As mentioned above, this First Edition release comes with two additional face plates that are very much essential to Sailor Moon as a character. I can sort of get the crying face as an exclusive, as its usage is relatively limited (unless you're willing to be a bit creative, like me) but for magical girl figures to not come with winking faces ought to be made a crime punishable by public ridicule. The other faces are your typical smiling, neutral, attacking, and one face with no tiara painted on it with the intent of use with the Moon Tiara Action hand effect.
Articulation.. boy, is it nice coming back to something that is not maddening to make use. Points of articulation, again, are consistent with the other Sailor Senshi - ankles, single jointed knees, hips with pull down action to improve range of motion, waist, upper torso swivel, shoulders with some chest collapse, single jointed eblows, wirsts, and head. As stated above, there is one point of articulation on each of the pigtails to allow for some dynamic posing of the pigtails, though it mainly allows for side to side displays of hair rather than dashing forward displays. I found that perhaps due to a more pliable rubber (or maybe I just tried harder), Sailor Moon, while unable to kick high, was able to at least maintain a proper seated position. Hands come off the wrist pegs easily.. perhaps a bit TOO easily. I've read that subsequent releases of the figure (most notable being the anime coloured edition), the wrist pegs have been changed such that they have balls on the end of them to improve the grip.
Paintwork is again that lovely combination of good and meh that is present on Venus and Chibi moon. One again, the outfit itself is painted with pearl based paints on the whites, which makes for a lovely shimmering effect, if a bit thick in terms of application. Coloured sections of the outfit, along with various metal pieces are painted with metallic paints. These metallic paint apps can get a bit messy, especially on detailed areas like the small lines on her hair bun jewels, her pendant on the chest, the tiaras on her foreheads, and her earrings. The hair appears be partially solid plastic with some translucent plastics (bangs, pigtails), all of which is painted, which does make for an effective glowing effect at the cost of some less than stellar tolerances. Paint work on the hair itself is surprisingly smooth, with no splotches of colour that not only would look bad, but would also interfere with the translucent quality of the hair. Fleshy bits appear to be the base plastic colours, which are slightly different from Sailor Venus (more tan). In terms of paint masking, some weakness was observed at most transition points, with the most notable being between her outfit and her blue skirt.
Decals are applied well, with no bubbles observed, and no misalignment issues to report. In general, fit and tolerances are pretty good, with the only real issue I can mention is the one with that one pigtail that likes to fall out. Otherwise, there aren't any issues with tolerances or poorly mating parts to report. Some improvements on the parts finish side would have been nice, as mould lines and various seams were more prevalent on Sailor Moon than Venus or Chibi Moon. It's not like the latter two were perfect, and neither is Sailor Moon the worst figure ever made, it's just that by comparison to the other two, Sailor Moon does exhibit significantly weaker traits from this perspective, so I know a better product is technically possible. Build quality is the typical Figuarts level of excellence, with tight joints and a generally solid toy that can withstand some typical handling by a collector.
This is undeniably a great Sailor Moon figure, though one that is for... reasons, worse off from a parts finish perspective than her peers that I own. The base figure doesn't really offer anything that the other Sailor Senshi don't have (other than perhaps a slightly more appropriate face), but that's no surprise (or an issue) when they're all based off a pretty decent platform, though keep in mind I was able to get her seated when I couldn't get Sailor Venus or Chibi Moon to do so. While the base accessory set is pretty good (considering all the main Senshi cost the same), the First Edition faces truly make this figure shine. So while the figure is clearly a recommend for fans of the series, I'm going to do something I normally don't do, and recommend that you hunt down a First Edition version. While you may not benefit from the improved wrist pegs, the crying and winking expressions are a HUGE part of the character, and are worth going the extra mile for. If you're gonna hunt this figure down, I'd strongly recommend finding a First Edition and hassling the seller until a price that is agreeable to you can be reached.
“Martians, Go Home” is a broad satire of the human race as seen through the eyes of a billion jeering, invulnerable Martians who arrive not to conquer the world but to drive it crazy.
The following is a brief biography of Fredric Brown from the Goodreads website (at www.goodreads.com/author/show/51503.Fredric_Brown):
"Fredric Brown was an American science fiction and mystery writer. He was one of the boldest early writers in genre fiction in his use of narrative experimentation. While never in the front rank of popularity in his lifetime, Brown has developed a considerable cult following in the almost half century since he last wrote. His works have been periodically reprinted and he has a worldwide fan base, most notably in the U.S. and Europe, and especially in France, where there have been several recent movie adaptations of his work. He also remains popular in Japan.
"Never financially secure, Brown - like many other pulp writers - often wrote at a furious pace in order to pay bills. This accounts, at least in part, for the uneven quality of his work. A newspaperman by profession, Brown was only able to devote 14 years of his life as a full-time fiction writer. Brown was also a heavy drinker, and this at times doubtless affected his productivity. A cultured man and omnivorous reader whose interests ranged far beyond those of most pulp writers, Brown had a lifelong interest in the flute, chess, poker, and the works of Lewis Carroll. Brown married twice and was the father of two sons."
With 40 illustrations by Phiz (Hablot Knight Browne).
Martin Chuzzlewit, Dickens’ sixth novel, was first published in installments from January, 1843 through July, 1844. The main theme of the novel is selfishness, all kinds of selfishness including greed and arrogance, portrayed satirically using members of the extended Chuzzlewit family. The elder Martin Chuzzlewit is a very rich man and, when he appears to be near death, the vultures around him scheme their way to his fortune, all of them hoping for an inheritance.
Dickens wrote the novel shortly after visiting America in 1842, which left him with a very bad impression. Using his experience in his work like any good author, he expressed his dissatisfaction by writing a scathing satire of America. It didn’t go over well on the other side of the Atlantic where the installments containing the offending chapters were greeted with a “frenzy of wrath.”
Residence of the Prince of Wales.
The Illustrated News of the World – First Edition 1858.
‘The Illustrated News of the World and National Portrait Gallery of Eminent Personages’ was a new publication with the strong visual emphasis of numerous large woodcuts to illustrate local and world events, and also featuring a number of fine steel engravings of eminent persons. The publishers stated their hopes that the publication would match or supplement the existing illustrated magazines:- The Illustrated London News and Punch Magazine .
Published by Illustrated News of the World, The Strand, London. Annual bound collection, red cloth boards 338 pages 42cm x 29cm.
Fred Freeman (1907-1988) was a graphic artist who designed and illustrated books on naval history, space exploration and other subjects. He was a successful commercial artist in New York City from the late 1920's through the 30's, doing many illustrations and magazine covers for publications including The Saturday Evening Post and Collier's.
After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, he turned mainly to book design and illustration. He illustrated books on submarines and destroyers from World War II, for the United States Naval Institute. In 1956, with Theodore Roscoe, he designed the ''Picture History of the U.S. Navy,'' published by Charles Scribner's Sons. In 1960, he illustrated a children's book, ''First Men to the Moon,'' written by the scientist, Werner von Braun.
Oh, Fortune!
velut luna statu variabilis
Like the moon you change:
semper crescis, aut decrescis
ever waxing, ever waning.
vita detestabilis
Our vexing life
nunc obdurat, et tunc curat
first injures, then nurtures
ludo mentis aciem
as it pleases.
egestatem, potestatem
Subordination, Power--
dissolvit ut glaciem.
both melt like ice.
--------
'Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi', Carmina Burana
11th century
Set to music by Carl Orff (1936)
Deck design by Robert M Place. All rights reserved.
2005.10.03
© Alton Thompson 唐博敦
Set in London of 632 A.F. (“After Ford”), the novel portrays a futuristic society in which the individual is sacrificed for the state, science is used to control and subjugate, and all forms of art and history are outlawed. The novel anticipates developments in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, classical conditioning and psychological manipulation that combine profoundly to change society. Modern Library ranked “Brave New World” fifth on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. [Source: Wikipedia]
“Captains Courageous” is a coming-of-age tale of fishing off the New England coast. It is the story of Harvey Cheyne, a spoiled rich kid, who stumbles overboard an ocean liner and is rescued by fisherman Manuel Fidello off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and brought aboard a small fishing boat. There he meets Disko Troop, captain of the fishing boat, who refuses to take the young man back to port but agrees to take him on as part of the crew against Harvey’s wishes. Over the course of the novel, Harvey befriends the captain’s son Dan and has some sense knocked into him. Dan helps the arrogant, overly pampered Harvey become a hard-working, self-reliant man at sea.
“Captains Courageous” is also an excellent portrayal of life in the Gloucester fishing fleet of Massachusetts, written while the newlywed Kipling lived in Vermont. Although Kipling lived in Vermont several years and was married to an American this is his only novel with entirely American settings, themes and major characters. The American edition of the book is dedicated to James Conland, M.D., of Brattleboro, Vermont. Dr. Conland had brought the Kiplings elder daughter into the world and had been a member of the Massachusetts fishing fleet. It is he who took Kipling to explore the wharves and quays of Boston and Gloucester.
Considered one of the great sea novels of the 19th century, “Captains Courageous” was made into an excellent Victor Fleming film in 1937 starring Freddie Bartholomew (Harvey Cheyne), Spencer Tracy (his rescuer Manuel Fidello),
Lionel Barrymore (Captain Disko Troop) and Mickey Rooney (Dan Troop).
TYPOGRAPHIE: MANUAL OF TYPOGRAPHICAL DESIGN
First Press
www.thenewgraphic.com/2011/01/typographie-manual-of-typog...
This is the story of a free black citizen of Saratoga, New York who was kidnapped in Washington in 1841, trapped in a system of brutal subjugation and rescued in 1853 from a cotton plantation near the Red River in Louisiana. Northup’s powerful and insightful memoir was published just three months after his liberation and it stunned the nation. It is among the most detailed and accurate firsthand accounts of slavery in America. Northup’s slave narrative was the basis for the film “Twelve Years a Slave” which won the 2014 Academy Award for Best Picture.
The seven wood engravings in Northup's book are by Nathaniel Orr, based on illustrations by Frederick M. Coffin.
Solomon Northup was a renowned fiddler so, at the end of “Twelve Years a Slave,” he included the tune to “Roaring River – A Refrain of the Red River Plantation.” It invited his nineteenth-century readers to engage with his story in some small way by performing the tune. Here is a link to that page in the book:
pastispresent.org/wp-content/uploads/199111_0007.jpg
A twenty-first-century movie-goer was inspired to read the book and perform that old-time plantation tune. Here is a link to his musical performance:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LApDW18pfO0
For more information, check out the American Antiquarian Society Blog at:
pastispresent.org/2014/good-sources/twelve-years-a-slave-...
Welcome to the next episode of "Stuff I Bought in Vancouver". Tonight, I bring you something that is, as always exotic, but more importantly, something that again, I probably wouldn't have run into while in Toronto. The subject of tonights review is the S.H. Figuarts Sailor Moon figure, First Edition.
So, Sailor Moon. The Figuarts releases I've picked up two of them up to this point - Sailor Chibi Moon and Sailor Venus, so clearly they exist here in Toronto. I had gotten lucky so far with regards to pricing thus far, finding the right person at the right time who was willing to make a deal just to get rid of it. It was a similar situation for this particular figure, which I ended up paying $60 CAD for, making it the most expensive figure I purchased during my time out West. For those paying attention, that's pretty much MSRP - why did I do that??? Well, the answer lies in the second part of the title - First Edition. First Edition releases of Sailor Moon came with two additional face plates that were not available later on, and to be honest they're ones that should have been standard, but I digress. The point is, if one were to take into account the First Edition perks, and the fact the figure had never been opened, $60 CAD ends up being a pretty good buy.
Sailor Moon is, of course, the titular character from the Sailor Moon series. The superhero guise of Usagi Tsukino (Serena in the US dub), Sailor Moon starts off, like all many other anime heroes, kind of clumsy, childlike, but eventually matures into a competent leader of her fellow Sailor Senshi in their battle against the forces of evil and enemies of the Moon Kingdom, from whence she originated from. In superhero form, Usagi maintains her trademark twin pigtails, gets a few more pieces of jewelery, and is generally decked out in the now legendary ensemble of high school girl outfit combined with some bows and a kickass pair of boots. Being Sailor Moon, however, her outfit has a few extra bells and whistles not present on the other Sailor Senshi, like the moon on her choker, a jewel encrusted pendant on her chest ribbon, moons on her boots, and jewels in the buns of her hair.
Sailor Moon comes with the most accessories I've seen in a Sailor Moon Figuarts thus far (I admittedly haven't seen that many). There's the figure, of course, with five additional faces (winking and crying faces being the exclusives... FINALLY, a winking face), Moon Crescent Wand, Moon Crescent Wand with the Imperium Silver Crystal installed, seven additional hands with one dedicated for holding her wand, two for her trademark pose, and additional hand/effect piece for her Moon Tiara Action, a mini Luna, and a stand. To the surprise of nobody, it appears that Luna and Artemis are effectively repaints of one another, though I found that Luna stood very easily, whereas Artemis was required some futzing to get him to pose for photos. Points of articulation on Luna are her head and tail, both on ball joints.
The figure of course, looks very faithful to the the animation model. General silhouette is there, and compared to Sailor Venus, slightly more accurate body proportions, mostly with the legs, which seem to have a shorter lower leg as compared to the statuesque Sailor Venus. Otherwise, you have the same general slender high school girl physique. Sailor Moon, to me, has a more accurate facial structure as well.. in fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say they adapted Sailor Moons base face plates for use on Venus. Both are, IMO, a bit too narrow and could stand to be a bit wider at the temples. Sailor Moon fares much better at actually being able to use the included stand properly, as she does not have a giant mound of hair getting in the way of the dynamic arm of the stand. Speaking of hair, good recreation of the hair on the character, with the added "bonus" of being made from translucent plastic that is painted yellow so she has the shimmering effect on her head. The down side is tolerances, as evidences by the fact her right pigtail keeps popping out of the socket. Otherwise, you get some good sculpting in terms of detailing of the outfit and hair, both of which has been pretty consistent in terms of quality across the three characters that I have.
As mentioned above, this First Edition release comes with two additional face plates that are very much essential to Sailor Moon as a character. I can sort of get the crying face as an exclusive, as its usage is relatively limited (unless you're willing to be a bit creative, like me) but for magical girl figures to not come with winking faces ought to be made a crime punishable by public ridicule. The other faces are your typical smiling, neutral, attacking, and one face with no tiara painted on it with the intent of use with the Moon Tiara Action hand effect.
Articulation.. boy, is it nice coming back to something that is not maddening to make use. Points of articulation, again, are consistent with the other Sailor Senshi - ankles, single jointed knees, hips with pull down action to improve range of motion, waist, upper torso swivel, shoulders with some chest collapse, single jointed eblows, wirsts, and head. As stated above, there is one point of articulation on each of the pigtails to allow for some dynamic posing of the pigtails, though it mainly allows for side to side displays of hair rather than dashing forward displays. I found that perhaps due to a more pliable rubber (or maybe I just tried harder), Sailor Moon, while unable to kick high, was able to at least maintain a proper seated position. Hands come off the wrist pegs easily.. perhaps a bit TOO easily. I've read that subsequent releases of the figure (most notable being the anime coloured edition), the wrist pegs have been changed such that they have balls on the end of them to improve the grip.
Paintwork is again that lovely combination of good and meh that is present on Venus and Chibi moon. One again, the outfit itself is painted with pearl based paints on the whites, which makes for a lovely shimmering effect, if a bit thick in terms of application. Coloured sections of the outfit, along with various metal pieces are painted with metallic paints. These metallic paint apps can get a bit messy, especially on detailed areas like the small lines on her hair bun jewels, her pendant on the chest, the tiaras on her foreheads, and her earrings. The hair appears be partially solid plastic with some translucent plastics (bangs, pigtails), all of which is painted, which does make for an effective glowing effect at the cost of some less than stellar tolerances. Paint work on the hair itself is surprisingly smooth, with no splotches of colour that not only would look bad, but would also interfere with the translucent quality of the hair. Fleshy bits appear to be the base plastic colours, which are slightly different from Sailor Venus (more tan). In terms of paint masking, some weakness was observed at most transition points, with the most notable being between her outfit and her blue skirt.
Decals are applied well, with no bubbles observed, and no misalignment issues to report. In general, fit and tolerances are pretty good, with the only real issue I can mention is the one with that one pigtail that likes to fall out. Otherwise, there aren't any issues with tolerances or poorly mating parts to report. Some improvements on the parts finish side would have been nice, as mould lines and various seams were more prevalent on Sailor Moon than Venus or Chibi Moon. It's not like the latter two were perfect, and neither is Sailor Moon the worst figure ever made, it's just that by comparison to the other two, Sailor Moon does exhibit significantly weaker traits from this perspective, so I know a better product is technically possible. Build quality is the typical Figuarts level of excellence, with tight joints and a generally solid toy that can withstand some typical handling by a collector.
This is undeniably a great Sailor Moon figure, though one that is for... reasons, worse off from a parts finish perspective than her peers that I own. The base figure doesn't really offer anything that the other Sailor Senshi don't have (other than perhaps a slightly more appropriate face), but that's no surprise (or an issue) when they're all based off a pretty decent platform, though keep in mind I was able to get her seated when I couldn't get Sailor Venus or Chibi Moon to do so. While the base accessory set is pretty good (considering all the main Senshi cost the same), the First Edition faces truly make this figure shine. So while the figure is clearly a recommend for fans of the series, I'm going to do something I normally don't do, and recommend that you hunt down a First Edition version. While you may not benefit from the improved wrist pegs, the crying and winking expressions are a HUGE part of the character, and are worth going the extra mile for. If you're gonna hunt this figure down, I'd strongly recommend finding a First Edition and hassling the seller until a price that is agreeable to you can be reached.
Quoting from the book (page 320):
Mr. Guppy takes the light. They go down, more dead than alive, and holding one another, push open the door of the back shop. The cat has retreated close to it, and stands snarling – not at them; at something on the ground, before the fire. There is very little fire left in the grate, but there is a smouldering suffocating vapor in the room, and a dark greasy coating on the walls and ceiling. The chairs and table, and the bottle so rarely absent from the table, all stand as usual. On one chair-back, hang the old man’s hairy cap and coat.
A scientist by the name of Griffin (we never learn his full name) finds a way to make himself invisible but doesn’t know how to reverse the process. He becomes consumed with power, resorts to crime for survival and, eventually, goes crazy. It paints an unflattering picture of a scientist as someone who is selfish and lacks a conscience and humanity. Bah humbug! Ripping good story, though.
A 1961 first edition photography book and memoir. It is billed as one of the very first environmental photobooks serving as a warning, and fashioning an eloquent plea." Author Peter Merom created a "prescient study of the conflict between Israel’s need for water and the environmental effects this caused."
Welcome to the next episode of "Stuff I Bought in Vancouver". Tonight, I bring you something that is, as always exotic, but more importantly, something that again, I probably wouldn't have run into while in Toronto. The subject of tonights review is the S.H. Figuarts Sailor Moon figure, First Edition.
So, Sailor Moon. The Figuarts releases I've picked up two of them up to this point - Sailor Chibi Moon and Sailor Venus, so clearly they exist here in Toronto. I had gotten lucky so far with regards to pricing thus far, finding the right person at the right time who was willing to make a deal just to get rid of it. It was a similar situation for this particular figure, which I ended up paying $60 CAD for, making it the most expensive figure I purchased during my time out West. For those paying attention, that's pretty much MSRP - why did I do that??? Well, the answer lies in the second part of the title - First Edition. First Edition releases of Sailor Moon came with two additional face plates that were not available later on, and to be honest they're ones that should have been standard, but I digress. The point is, if one were to take into account the First Edition perks, and the fact the figure had never been opened, $60 CAD ends up being a pretty good buy.
Sailor Moon is, of course, the titular character from the Sailor Moon series. The superhero guise of Usagi Tsukino (Serena in the US dub), Sailor Moon starts off, like all many other anime heroes, kind of clumsy, childlike, but eventually matures into a competent leader of her fellow Sailor Senshi in their battle against the forces of evil and enemies of the Moon Kingdom, from whence she originated from. In superhero form, Usagi maintains her trademark twin pigtails, gets a few more pieces of jewelery, and is generally decked out in the now legendary ensemble of high school girl outfit combined with some bows and a kickass pair of boots. Being Sailor Moon, however, her outfit has a few extra bells and whistles not present on the other Sailor Senshi, like the moon on her choker, a jewel encrusted pendant on her chest ribbon, moons on her boots, and jewels in the buns of her hair.
Sailor Moon comes with the most accessories I've seen in a Sailor Moon Figuarts thus far (I admittedly haven't seen that many). There's the figure, of course, with five additional faces (winking and crying faces being the exclusives... FINALLY, a winking face), Moon Crescent Wand, Moon Crescent Wand with the Imperium Silver Crystal installed, seven additional hands with one dedicated for holding her wand, two for her trademark pose, and additional hand/effect piece for her Moon Tiara Action, a mini Luna, and a stand. To the surprise of nobody, it appears that Luna and Artemis are effectively repaints of one another, though I found that Luna stood very easily, whereas Artemis was required some futzing to get him to pose for photos. Points of articulation on Luna are her head and tail, both on ball joints.
The figure of course, looks very faithful to the the animation model. General silhouette is there, and compared to Sailor Venus, slightly more accurate body proportions, mostly with the legs, which seem to have a shorter lower leg as compared to the statuesque Sailor Venus. Otherwise, you have the same general slender high school girl physique. Sailor Moon, to me, has a more accurate facial structure as well.. in fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say they adapted Sailor Moons base face plates for use on Venus. Both are, IMO, a bit too narrow and could stand to be a bit wider at the temples. Sailor Moon fares much better at actually being able to use the included stand properly, as she does not have a giant mound of hair getting in the way of the dynamic arm of the stand. Speaking of hair, good recreation of the hair on the character, with the added "bonus" of being made from translucent plastic that is painted yellow so she has the shimmering effect on her head. The down side is tolerances, as evidences by the fact her right pigtail keeps popping out of the socket. Otherwise, you get some good sculpting in terms of detailing of the outfit and hair, both of which has been pretty consistent in terms of quality across the three characters that I have.
As mentioned above, this First Edition release comes with two additional face plates that are very much essential to Sailor Moon as a character. I can sort of get the crying face as an exclusive, as its usage is relatively limited (unless you're willing to be a bit creative, like me) but for magical girl figures to not come with winking faces ought to be made a crime punishable by public ridicule. The other faces are your typical smiling, neutral, attacking, and one face with no tiara painted on it with the intent of use with the Moon Tiara Action hand effect.
Articulation.. boy, is it nice coming back to something that is not maddening to make use. Points of articulation, again, are consistent with the other Sailor Senshi - ankles, single jointed knees, hips with pull down action to improve range of motion, waist, upper torso swivel, shoulders with some chest collapse, single jointed eblows, wirsts, and head. As stated above, there is one point of articulation on each of the pigtails to allow for some dynamic posing of the pigtails, though it mainly allows for side to side displays of hair rather than dashing forward displays. I found that perhaps due to a more pliable rubber (or maybe I just tried harder), Sailor Moon, while unable to kick high, was able to at least maintain a proper seated position. Hands come off the wrist pegs easily.. perhaps a bit TOO easily. I've read that subsequent releases of the figure (most notable being the anime coloured edition), the wrist pegs have been changed such that they have balls on the end of them to improve the grip.
Paintwork is again that lovely combination of good and meh that is present on Venus and Chibi moon. One again, the outfit itself is painted with pearl based paints on the whites, which makes for a lovely shimmering effect, if a bit thick in terms of application. Coloured sections of the outfit, along with various metal pieces are painted with metallic paints. These metallic paint apps can get a bit messy, especially on detailed areas like the small lines on her hair bun jewels, her pendant on the chest, the tiaras on her foreheads, and her earrings. The hair appears be partially solid plastic with some translucent plastics (bangs, pigtails), all of which is painted, which does make for an effective glowing effect at the cost of some less than stellar tolerances. Paint work on the hair itself is surprisingly smooth, with no splotches of colour that not only would look bad, but would also interfere with the translucent quality of the hair. Fleshy bits appear to be the base plastic colours, which are slightly different from Sailor Venus (more tan). In terms of paint masking, some weakness was observed at most transition points, with the most notable being between her outfit and her blue skirt.
Decals are applied well, with no bubbles observed, and no misalignment issues to report. In general, fit and tolerances are pretty good, with the only real issue I can mention is the one with that one pigtail that likes to fall out. Otherwise, there aren't any issues with tolerances or poorly mating parts to report. Some improvements on the parts finish side would have been nice, as mould lines and various seams were more prevalent on Sailor Moon than Venus or Chibi Moon. It's not like the latter two were perfect, and neither is Sailor Moon the worst figure ever made, it's just that by comparison to the other two, Sailor Moon does exhibit significantly weaker traits from this perspective, so I know a better product is technically possible. Build quality is the typical Figuarts level of excellence, with tight joints and a generally solid toy that can withstand some typical handling by a collector.
This is undeniably a great Sailor Moon figure, though one that is for... reasons, worse off from a parts finish perspective than her peers that I own. The base figure doesn't really offer anything that the other Sailor Senshi don't have (other than perhaps a slightly more appropriate face), but that's no surprise (or an issue) when they're all based off a pretty decent platform, though keep in mind I was able to get her seated when I couldn't get Sailor Venus or Chibi Moon to do so. While the base accessory set is pretty good (considering all the main Senshi cost the same), the First Edition faces truly make this figure shine. So while the figure is clearly a recommend for fans of the series, I'm going to do something I normally don't do, and recommend that you hunt down a First Edition version. While you may not benefit from the improved wrist pegs, the crying and winking expressions are a HUGE part of the character, and are worth going the extra mile for. If you're gonna hunt this figure down, I'd strongly recommend finding a First Edition and hassling the seller until a price that is agreeable to you can be reached.
Babar! As they say: Anything without elephants is irrelephant. Christmas is saved.
Babar and Father Christmas.
by Jean De Brunhoff
Translated by Merle Haas
Published by Random House (1940)
This book was one of the first color editions and the last Brer Rabbit collection published during the lifetime of the author, Georgia native Joel Chandler Harris (1845-1908). Raised in poverty, Harris was an apprentice to a Southern newspaper as a teenager and he made friends with plantation slaves who passed along their stories. Harris hoped that the charming illustrations and his use of dialect in retelling these old black legends would “suggest a certain picturesque sensitiveness – a curious exaltation of mind and temperament (of the black man).”
The characters of Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit are best known from the classic 1946 Disney movie, “Song of the South.” Here is a memorable scene in that movie:
Welcome to the next episode of "Stuff I Bought in Vancouver". Tonight, I bring you something that is, as always exotic, but more importantly, something that again, I probably wouldn't have run into while in Toronto. The subject of tonights review is the S.H. Figuarts Sailor Moon figure, First Edition.
So, Sailor Moon. The Figuarts releases I've picked up two of them up to this point - Sailor Chibi Moon and Sailor Venus, so clearly they exist here in Toronto. I had gotten lucky so far with regards to pricing thus far, finding the right person at the right time who was willing to make a deal just to get rid of it. It was a similar situation for this particular figure, which I ended up paying $60 CAD for, making it the most expensive figure I purchased during my time out West. For those paying attention, that's pretty much MSRP - why did I do that??? Well, the answer lies in the second part of the title - First Edition. First Edition releases of Sailor Moon came with two additional face plates that were not available later on, and to be honest they're ones that should have been standard, but I digress. The point is, if one were to take into account the First Edition perks, and the fact the figure had never been opened, $60 CAD ends up being a pretty good buy.
Sailor Moon is, of course, the titular character from the Sailor Moon series. The superhero guise of Usagi Tsukino (Serena in the US dub), Sailor Moon starts off, like all many other anime heroes, kind of clumsy, childlike, but eventually matures into a competent leader of her fellow Sailor Senshi in their battle against the forces of evil and enemies of the Moon Kingdom, from whence she originated from. In superhero form, Usagi maintains her trademark twin pigtails, gets a few more pieces of jewelery, and is generally decked out in the now legendary ensemble of high school girl outfit combined with some bows and a kickass pair of boots. Being Sailor Moon, however, her outfit has a few extra bells and whistles not present on the other Sailor Senshi, like the moon on her choker, a jewel encrusted pendant on her chest ribbon, moons on her boots, and jewels in the buns of her hair.
Sailor Moon comes with the most accessories I've seen in a Sailor Moon Figuarts thus far (I admittedly haven't seen that many). There's the figure, of course, with five additional faces (winking and crying faces being the exclusives... FINALLY, a winking face), Moon Crescent Wand, Moon Crescent Wand with the Imperium Silver Crystal installed, seven additional hands with one dedicated for holding her wand, two for her trademark pose, and additional hand/effect piece for her Moon Tiara Action, a mini Luna, and a stand. To the surprise of nobody, it appears that Luna and Artemis are effectively repaints of one another, though I found that Luna stood very easily, whereas Artemis was required some futzing to get him to pose for photos. Points of articulation on Luna are her head and tail, both on ball joints.
The figure of course, looks very faithful to the the animation model. General silhouette is there, and compared to Sailor Venus, slightly more accurate body proportions, mostly with the legs, which seem to have a shorter lower leg as compared to the statuesque Sailor Venus. Otherwise, you have the same general slender high school girl physique. Sailor Moon, to me, has a more accurate facial structure as well.. in fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say they adapted Sailor Moons base face plates for use on Venus. Both are, IMO, a bit too narrow and could stand to be a bit wider at the temples. Sailor Moon fares much better at actually being able to use the included stand properly, as she does not have a giant mound of hair getting in the way of the dynamic arm of the stand. Speaking of hair, good recreation of the hair on the character, with the added "bonus" of being made from translucent plastic that is painted yellow so she has the shimmering effect on her head. The down side is tolerances, as evidences by the fact her right pigtail keeps popping out of the socket. Otherwise, you get some good sculpting in terms of detailing of the outfit and hair, both of which has been pretty consistent in terms of quality across the three characters that I have.
As mentioned above, this First Edition release comes with two additional face plates that are very much essential to Sailor Moon as a character. I can sort of get the crying face as an exclusive, as its usage is relatively limited (unless you're willing to be a bit creative, like me) but for magical girl figures to not come with winking faces ought to be made a crime punishable by public ridicule. The other faces are your typical smiling, neutral, attacking, and one face with no tiara painted on it with the intent of use with the Moon Tiara Action hand effect.
Articulation.. boy, is it nice coming back to something that is not maddening to make use. Points of articulation, again, are consistent with the other Sailor Senshi - ankles, single jointed knees, hips with pull down action to improve range of motion, waist, upper torso swivel, shoulders with some chest collapse, single jointed eblows, wirsts, and head. As stated above, there is one point of articulation on each of the pigtails to allow for some dynamic posing of the pigtails, though it mainly allows for side to side displays of hair rather than dashing forward displays. I found that perhaps due to a more pliable rubber (or maybe I just tried harder), Sailor Moon, while unable to kick high, was able to at least maintain a proper seated position. Hands come off the wrist pegs easily.. perhaps a bit TOO easily. I've read that subsequent releases of the figure (most notable being the anime coloured edition), the wrist pegs have been changed such that they have balls on the end of them to improve the grip.
Paintwork is again that lovely combination of good and meh that is present on Venus and Chibi moon. One again, the outfit itself is painted with pearl based paints on the whites, which makes for a lovely shimmering effect, if a bit thick in terms of application. Coloured sections of the outfit, along with various metal pieces are painted with metallic paints. These metallic paint apps can get a bit messy, especially on detailed areas like the small lines on her hair bun jewels, her pendant on the chest, the tiaras on her foreheads, and her earrings. The hair appears be partially solid plastic with some translucent plastics (bangs, pigtails), all of which is painted, which does make for an effective glowing effect at the cost of some less than stellar tolerances. Paint work on the hair itself is surprisingly smooth, with no splotches of colour that not only would look bad, but would also interfere with the translucent quality of the hair. Fleshy bits appear to be the base plastic colours, which are slightly different from Sailor Venus (more tan). In terms of paint masking, some weakness was observed at most transition points, with the most notable being between her outfit and her blue skirt.
Decals are applied well, with no bubbles observed, and no misalignment issues to report. In general, fit and tolerances are pretty good, with the only real issue I can mention is the one with that one pigtail that likes to fall out. Otherwise, there aren't any issues with tolerances or poorly mating parts to report. Some improvements on the parts finish side would have been nice, as mould lines and various seams were more prevalent on Sailor Moon than Venus or Chibi Moon. It's not like the latter two were perfect, and neither is Sailor Moon the worst figure ever made, it's just that by comparison to the other two, Sailor Moon does exhibit significantly weaker traits from this perspective, so I know a better product is technically possible. Build quality is the typical Figuarts level of excellence, with tight joints and a generally solid toy that can withstand some typical handling by a collector.
This is undeniably a great Sailor Moon figure, though one that is for... reasons, worse off from a parts finish perspective than her peers that I own. The base figure doesn't really offer anything that the other Sailor Senshi don't have (other than perhaps a slightly more appropriate face), but that's no surprise (or an issue) when they're all based off a pretty decent platform, though keep in mind I was able to get her seated when I couldn't get Sailor Venus or Chibi Moon to do so. While the base accessory set is pretty good (considering all the main Senshi cost the same), the First Edition faces truly make this figure shine. So while the figure is clearly a recommend for fans of the series, I'm going to do something I normally don't do, and recommend that you hunt down a First Edition version. While you may not benefit from the improved wrist pegs, the crying and winking expressions are a HUGE part of the character, and are worth going the extra mile for. If you're gonna hunt this figure down, I'd strongly recommend finding a First Edition and hassling the seller until a price that is agreeable to you can be reached.
Welcome to the next episode of "Stuff I Bought in Vancouver". Tonight, I bring you something that is, as always exotic, but more importantly, something that again, I probably wouldn't have run into while in Toronto. The subject of tonights review is the S.H. Figuarts Sailor Moon figure, First Edition.
So, Sailor Moon. The Figuarts releases I've picked up two of them up to this point - Sailor Chibi Moon and Sailor Venus, so clearly they exist here in Toronto. I had gotten lucky so far with regards to pricing thus far, finding the right person at the right time who was willing to make a deal just to get rid of it. It was a similar situation for this particular figure, which I ended up paying $60 CAD for, making it the most expensive figure I purchased during my time out West. For those paying attention, that's pretty much MSRP - why did I do that??? Well, the answer lies in the second part of the title - First Edition. First Edition releases of Sailor Moon came with two additional face plates that were not available later on, and to be honest they're ones that should have been standard, but I digress. The point is, if one were to take into account the First Edition perks, and the fact the figure had never been opened, $60 CAD ends up being a pretty good buy.
Sailor Moon is, of course, the titular character from the Sailor Moon series. The superhero guise of Usagi Tsukino (Serena in the US dub), Sailor Moon starts off, like all many other anime heroes, kind of clumsy, childlike, but eventually matures into a competent leader of her fellow Sailor Senshi in their battle against the forces of evil and enemies of the Moon Kingdom, from whence she originated from. In superhero form, Usagi maintains her trademark twin pigtails, gets a few more pieces of jewelery, and is generally decked out in the now legendary ensemble of high school girl outfit combined with some bows and a kickass pair of boots. Being Sailor Moon, however, her outfit has a few extra bells and whistles not present on the other Sailor Senshi, like the moon on her choker, a jewel encrusted pendant on her chest ribbon, moons on her boots, and jewels in the buns of her hair.
Sailor Moon comes with the most accessories I've seen in a Sailor Moon Figuarts thus far (I admittedly haven't seen that many). There's the figure, of course, with five additional faces (winking and crying faces being the exclusives... FINALLY, a winking face), Moon Crescent Wand, Moon Crescent Wand with the Imperium Silver Crystal installed, seven additional hands with one dedicated for holding her wand, two for her trademark pose, and additional hand/effect piece for her Moon Tiara Action, a mini Luna, and a stand. To the surprise of nobody, it appears that Luna and Artemis are effectively repaints of one another, though I found that Luna stood very easily, whereas Artemis was required some futzing to get him to pose for photos. Points of articulation on Luna are her head and tail, both on ball joints.
The figure of course, looks very faithful to the the animation model. General silhouette is there, and compared to Sailor Venus, slightly more accurate body proportions, mostly with the legs, which seem to have a shorter lower leg as compared to the statuesque Sailor Venus. Otherwise, you have the same general slender high school girl physique. Sailor Moon, to me, has a more accurate facial structure as well.. in fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say they adapted Sailor Moons base face plates for use on Venus. Both are, IMO, a bit too narrow and could stand to be a bit wider at the temples. Sailor Moon fares much better at actually being able to use the included stand properly, as she does not have a giant mound of hair getting in the way of the dynamic arm of the stand. Speaking of hair, good recreation of the hair on the character, with the added "bonus" of being made from translucent plastic that is painted yellow so she has the shimmering effect on her head. The down side is tolerances, as evidences by the fact her right pigtail keeps popping out of the socket. Otherwise, you get some good sculpting in terms of detailing of the outfit and hair, both of which has been pretty consistent in terms of quality across the three characters that I have.
As mentioned above, this First Edition release comes with two additional face plates that are very much essential to Sailor Moon as a character. I can sort of get the crying face as an exclusive, as its usage is relatively limited (unless you're willing to be a bit creative, like me) but for magical girl figures to not come with winking faces ought to be made a crime punishable by public ridicule. The other faces are your typical smiling, neutral, attacking, and one face with no tiara painted on it with the intent of use with the Moon Tiara Action hand effect.
Articulation.. boy, is it nice coming back to something that is not maddening to make use. Points of articulation, again, are consistent with the other Sailor Senshi - ankles, single jointed knees, hips with pull down action to improve range of motion, waist, upper torso swivel, shoulders with some chest collapse, single jointed eblows, wirsts, and head. As stated above, there is one point of articulation on each of the pigtails to allow for some dynamic posing of the pigtails, though it mainly allows for side to side displays of hair rather than dashing forward displays. I found that perhaps due to a more pliable rubber (or maybe I just tried harder), Sailor Moon, while unable to kick high, was able to at least maintain a proper seated position. Hands come off the wrist pegs easily.. perhaps a bit TOO easily. I've read that subsequent releases of the figure (most notable being the anime coloured edition), the wrist pegs have been changed such that they have balls on the end of them to improve the grip.
Paintwork is again that lovely combination of good and meh that is present on Venus and Chibi moon. One again, the outfit itself is painted with pearl based paints on the whites, which makes for a lovely shimmering effect, if a bit thick in terms of application. Coloured sections of the outfit, along with various metal pieces are painted with metallic paints. These metallic paint apps can get a bit messy, especially on detailed areas like the small lines on her hair bun jewels, her pendant on the chest, the tiaras on her foreheads, and her earrings. The hair appears be partially solid plastic with some translucent plastics (bangs, pigtails), all of which is painted, which does make for an effective glowing effect at the cost of some less than stellar tolerances. Paint work on the hair itself is surprisingly smooth, with no splotches of colour that not only would look bad, but would also interfere with the translucent quality of the hair. Fleshy bits appear to be the base plastic colours, which are slightly different from Sailor Venus (more tan). In terms of paint masking, some weakness was observed at most transition points, with the most notable being between her outfit and her blue skirt.
Decals are applied well, with no bubbles observed, and no misalignment issues to report. In general, fit and tolerances are pretty good, with the only real issue I can mention is the one with that one pigtail that likes to fall out. Otherwise, there aren't any issues with tolerances or poorly mating parts to report. Some improvements on the parts finish side would have been nice, as mould lines and various seams were more prevalent on Sailor Moon than Venus or Chibi Moon. It's not like the latter two were perfect, and neither is Sailor Moon the worst figure ever made, it's just that by comparison to the other two, Sailor Moon does exhibit significantly weaker traits from this perspective, so I know a better product is technically possible. Build quality is the typical Figuarts level of excellence, with tight joints and a generally solid toy that can withstand some typical handling by a collector.
This is undeniably a great Sailor Moon figure, though one that is for... reasons, worse off from a parts finish perspective than her peers that I own. The base figure doesn't really offer anything that the other Sailor Senshi don't have (other than perhaps a slightly more appropriate face), but that's no surprise (or an issue) when they're all based off a pretty decent platform, though keep in mind I was able to get her seated when I couldn't get Sailor Venus or Chibi Moon to do so. While the base accessory set is pretty good (considering all the main Senshi cost the same), the First Edition faces truly make this figure shine. So while the figure is clearly a recommend for fans of the series, I'm going to do something I normally don't do, and recommend that you hunt down a First Edition version. While you may not benefit from the improved wrist pegs, the crying and winking expressions are a HUGE part of the character, and are worth going the extra mile for. If you're gonna hunt this figure down, I'd strongly recommend finding a First Edition and hassling the seller until a price that is agreeable to you can be reached.
Welcome to the next episode of "Stuff I Bought in Vancouver". Tonight, I bring you something that is, as always exotic, but more importantly, something that again, I probably wouldn't have run into while in Toronto. The subject of tonights review is the S.H. Figuarts Sailor Moon figure, First Edition.
So, Sailor Moon. The Figuarts releases I've picked up two of them up to this point - Sailor Chibi Moon and Sailor Venus, so clearly they exist here in Toronto. I had gotten lucky so far with regards to pricing thus far, finding the right person at the right time who was willing to make a deal just to get rid of it. It was a similar situation for this particular figure, which I ended up paying $60 CAD for, making it the most expensive figure I purchased during my time out West. For those paying attention, that's pretty much MSRP - why did I do that??? Well, the answer lies in the second part of the title - First Edition. First Edition releases of Sailor Moon came with two additional face plates that were not available later on, and to be honest they're ones that should have been standard, but I digress. The point is, if one were to take into account the First Edition perks, and the fact the figure had never been opened, $60 CAD ends up being a pretty good buy.
Sailor Moon is, of course, the titular character from the Sailor Moon series. The superhero guise of Usagi Tsukino (Serena in the US dub), Sailor Moon starts off, like all many other anime heroes, kind of clumsy, childlike, but eventually matures into a competent leader of her fellow Sailor Senshi in their battle against the forces of evil and enemies of the Moon Kingdom, from whence she originated from. In superhero form, Usagi maintains her trademark twin pigtails, gets a few more pieces of jewelery, and is generally decked out in the now legendary ensemble of high school girl outfit combined with some bows and a kickass pair of boots. Being Sailor Moon, however, her outfit has a few extra bells and whistles not present on the other Sailor Senshi, like the moon on her choker, a jewel encrusted pendant on her chest ribbon, moons on her boots, and jewels in the buns of her hair.
Sailor Moon comes with the most accessories I've seen in a Sailor Moon Figuarts thus far (I admittedly haven't seen that many). There's the figure, of course, with five additional faces (winking and crying faces being the exclusives... FINALLY, a winking face), Moon Crescent Wand, Moon Crescent Wand with the Imperium Silver Crystal installed, seven additional hands with one dedicated for holding her wand, two for her trademark pose, and additional hand/effect piece for her Moon Tiara Action, a mini Luna, and a stand. To the surprise of nobody, it appears that Luna and Artemis are effectively repaints of one another, though I found that Luna stood very easily, whereas Artemis was required some futzing to get him to pose for photos. Points of articulation on Luna are her head and tail, both on ball joints.
The figure of course, looks very faithful to the the animation model. General silhouette is there, and compared to Sailor Venus, slightly more accurate body proportions, mostly with the legs, which seem to have a shorter lower leg as compared to the statuesque Sailor Venus. Otherwise, you have the same general slender high school girl physique. Sailor Moon, to me, has a more accurate facial structure as well.. in fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say they adapted Sailor Moons base face plates for use on Venus. Both are, IMO, a bit too narrow and could stand to be a bit wider at the temples. Sailor Moon fares much better at actually being able to use the included stand properly, as she does not have a giant mound of hair getting in the way of the dynamic arm of the stand. Speaking of hair, good recreation of the hair on the character, with the added "bonus" of being made from translucent plastic that is painted yellow so she has the shimmering effect on her head. The down side is tolerances, as evidences by the fact her right pigtail keeps popping out of the socket. Otherwise, you get some good sculpting in terms of detailing of the outfit and hair, both of which has been pretty consistent in terms of quality across the three characters that I have.
As mentioned above, this First Edition release comes with two additional face plates that are very much essential to Sailor Moon as a character. I can sort of get the crying face as an exclusive, as its usage is relatively limited (unless you're willing to be a bit creative, like me) but for magical girl figures to not come with winking faces ought to be made a crime punishable by public ridicule. The other faces are your typical smiling, neutral, attacking, and one face with no tiara painted on it with the intent of use with the Moon Tiara Action hand effect.
Articulation.. boy, is it nice coming back to something that is not maddening to make use. Points of articulation, again, are consistent with the other Sailor Senshi - ankles, single jointed knees, hips with pull down action to improve range of motion, waist, upper torso swivel, shoulders with some chest collapse, single jointed eblows, wirsts, and head. As stated above, there is one point of articulation on each of the pigtails to allow for some dynamic posing of the pigtails, though it mainly allows for side to side displays of hair rather than dashing forward displays. I found that perhaps due to a more pliable rubber (or maybe I just tried harder), Sailor Moon, while unable to kick high, was able to at least maintain a proper seated position. Hands come off the wrist pegs easily.. perhaps a bit TOO easily. I've read that subsequent releases of the figure (most notable being the anime coloured edition), the wrist pegs have been changed such that they have balls on the end of them to improve the grip.
Paintwork is again that lovely combination of good and meh that is present on Venus and Chibi moon. One again, the outfit itself is painted with pearl based paints on the whites, which makes for a lovely shimmering effect, if a bit thick in terms of application. Coloured sections of the outfit, along with various metal pieces are painted with metallic paints. These metallic paint apps can get a bit messy, especially on detailed areas like the small lines on her hair bun jewels, her pendant on the chest, the tiaras on her foreheads, and her earrings. The hair appears be partially solid plastic with some translucent plastics (bangs, pigtails), all of which is painted, which does make for an effective glowing effect at the cost of some less than stellar tolerances. Paint work on the hair itself is surprisingly smooth, with no splotches of colour that not only would look bad, but would also interfere with the translucent quality of the hair. Fleshy bits appear to be the base plastic colours, which are slightly different from Sailor Venus (more tan). In terms of paint masking, some weakness was observed at most transition points, with the most notable being between her outfit and her blue skirt.
Decals are applied well, with no bubbles observed, and no misalignment issues to report. In general, fit and tolerances are pretty good, with the only real issue I can mention is the one with that one pigtail that likes to fall out. Otherwise, there aren't any issues with tolerances or poorly mating parts to report. Some improvements on the parts finish side would have been nice, as mould lines and various seams were more prevalent on Sailor Moon than Venus or Chibi Moon. It's not like the latter two were perfect, and neither is Sailor Moon the worst figure ever made, it's just that by comparison to the other two, Sailor Moon does exhibit significantly weaker traits from this perspective, so I know a better product is technically possible. Build quality is the typical Figuarts level of excellence, with tight joints and a generally solid toy that can withstand some typical handling by a collector.
This is undeniably a great Sailor Moon figure, though one that is for... reasons, worse off from a parts finish perspective than her peers that I own. The base figure doesn't really offer anything that the other Sailor Senshi don't have (other than perhaps a slightly more appropriate face), but that's no surprise (or an issue) when they're all based off a pretty decent platform, though keep in mind I was able to get her seated when I couldn't get Sailor Venus or Chibi Moon to do so. While the base accessory set is pretty good (considering all the main Senshi cost the same), the First Edition faces truly make this figure shine. So while the figure is clearly a recommend for fans of the series, I'm going to do something I normally don't do, and recommend that you hunt down a First Edition version. While you may not benefit from the improved wrist pegs, the crying and winking expressions are a HUGE part of the character, and are worth going the extra mile for. If you're gonna hunt this figure down, I'd strongly recommend finding a First Edition and hassling the seller until a price that is agreeable to you can be reached.