Japanese Machine Gun Camera

A 35mm WW2 Japanese Type 89 “Rokuoh-Sha” (made by Konica) Air force Machine Gun Movie Camera that they used for Training Machine Gunners. This could be mounted on the wing and controlled remotely (by the wires in the case) or mounted in the Waist Gunner’s position for hands on target practice.

See that yellow plastic like dome ? That would hold a stop watch which would be activated when the Trigger was pulled and because of a prism mounted near the end , the face of the watch would also be shown in the “Movie” it was shooting. This way a Gunner could be shown how long his bursts were and taught how to better handle the weapon.

[VIA]

XM25 Smart Rifle To Be Game Changer

That blog headline is according to US Military spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Chris Lehner, program manager for the XM25. The Pentagon has rolled out prototypes of its first-ever programmable "smart" grenade launcher, a shoulder-fired weapon that uses microchipped ammunition to target and kill the enemy, even when the enemy is hidden behind walls or other cover.

The XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System, about the size of a regular rifle, has now been deployed to US units on the battlefields of Afghanistan, where the Army expects it to be a "game-changer" in its counterinsurgency operations.

It fires 25mm air-bursting shells up to (700 metres), well past the range of most rifles used by today's soldiers, and programs them to explode at a precise distance, allowing troops to neutralise insurgents hiding behind walls, rocks or trenches or inside buildings.

The revolutionary advance involves an array of sights, sensors and lasers that reads the distance to the target, assesses elements such as air pressure, temperature, and ballistics and then sends that data to the microchip embedded in the XM25 shell before it is launched.

The Pentagon plans to purchase at least 12,500 of the guns - at a price tag of $US25,000 to $US30,000 each - beginning next year, enough for one in each Infantry squad and Special Forces team....Gary Oldman could soon be selling the US Military his own weapons in the near future!
Words & Info [VIA]

Melbourne Art Events This Week

Secret Wars latest battle will be a cracker:

Ken Taylor is an illustrator that is famous all over the world for his amazing style in the close knit world of rock poster art. He has designed posters for Ben Harper, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, and the Arctic Monkeys to name but a few.

Deb is one of Australia's premier female artists, working on the street, commercially and in exhibitions. Deb has an iconic style that is instantly recognisable and is only the 2nd girl to participate in Secret Wars in Australia.

Wednesday 8 December 2010
Doors open 6:30pm
1000 £ Bend
361 Lt Lonsdale St
Melbourne
Tickets: $14.90 from Moshtix (inc b/f). $15 at the door (very limited!)

Keep an eye out for pics and hopefully some video by the end of the week!!



No Vacancy Gallery and QV Melbourne present FIT TO PRINT a one-off exhibition and weekend printmaking demonstrations to be held in QV Square that showcase Australia's finest emerged and emerging printmaking artists.
In total more than 40 artists' will present different print techniques and processes including - Screen-Printing, Linocut Printing and Gocco Printing - with featured works making for the perfect gift this Christmas.

Thursday December 9 - December 23, 2010
No Vacancy Gallery
Jane Bell Lane
Melbourne

Printmaking demonstrations will take place on

Saturday December 11 (screen printing)
Sunday December 12 (linocut printing)
Saturday December 18 (gocco printing)

2.00pm to 4.00pm in QV Square (next to No Vacancy Gallery)

Skateistan: Skateboarding In Afghanistan

Photographer Noah Abrams travelled to Afghanistan in the summer of 2009 to document the emerging skateboarding scene there. Check out these incredible photos!

[VIA]

Cat Johnston Show

One of the highlight shows of this year so far has to be Cat Johnston's debut solo show at the Concrete Hermit, East London. I loved how she took the figure/toy theme, made all the embroidery and uniforms for the various animal-figures and then created very simple but effective dioramas to go with them! It really gave the 'soldiers' alot more depth in their character, when you are able to see them fighting with psychedelic, neo-geo planes and tanks in the background, duking it out with each other....I definitely want to own/see more of Cat's diorama work. I think I'm in Love!





Originally from Somerset and now residing in London, Cat has produced commissioned work for Levi’s, Vice, Virgin Airways, The Financial Times, Fenchurch and Addict. Recent Group shows include “Silver and Black”, The Archipelago Works, Sheffield, 2010, “Urban Art”, Selfridges, London, 2009 “Bara Volante”, The Prescription Gallery, Brighton, 2009 and “Scrawl Collective” at No Borders Contemporary Art, Hong Kong, 2009. Her Concrete Hermit show will be her debut solo show.

An Open Letter To Kidrobot

This is a great letter that I just found on Spankystokes site written by Jeremy Brautman, a "Bay Area-based writer and PR guy with a passion for pop culture and art toys." It basically states alot of issues that I think many toyheads have been feeling over the past few years regarding Kidrobot's business dealings and strange merchandise choices....(I want to say a personal thank you to Jeremy for writing this and I hope that the Toy Baroness & her minions at the Kidrobot castle sit up and pay attention!)

Dear Kidrobot,

It's been a while since we've spoken. How've you been? Not so great? Yeah, I know. A lot of us have been wondering basically what the hell happened to you since we met.

In January 2004, Wired ran an article called "The New Cubicle Commandos" that really resonated with me. You were mentioned in the story, which led me to visit you on Haight Street in San Francisco. Six years ago, the tiny Kidrobot shop was a cool place to go. Back then, you sold Qees, and I'd pick them up regularly. You had these glass cases in the middle of the shop, and the contents were like a mini museum. I chatted with Frank Kozik as he signed his first range of Labbits that year. He was grouchy. It was cramped. But it felt like something was happening. Something interesting...

I went to Kidrobot just once in 2009 as a favor for a friend. As I stood in line, catching whiffs of piss and patchouli, I felt embarrassed and out of place. I found one adult among the queue of kids, and he turned out to be a cool guy named Nate. He cracked me up with a comment about how he'd given away an all-over print Kidrobot shirt to a newly stylin' homeless dude. We were processed through an assembly line to meet the artist. Afterward, I told my friend, "You owe me."

How did this happen to you, Kidrobot? When did you become a punchline and a punching bag? If toy collecting was punk rock, you were Good Charlotte. On one particular forum, "Dunny" became a filtered swear word.

I guess our paths diverged in 2007 with Sketbots, and by 2008's Zoomies, we had gone our separate ways. Your toys--and there were a ton of them--looked like kids' toys with designer toy price tags. It wasn't until later that I learned you had been making these toys for children. Happy Meal toys effectively replaced Cubicle Commandos. But you didn't communicate this new direction to your fans. We all just assumed you had gone soft and were making crappy, commercial "collectible" toys.

You had an interesting 2008. There were high-end handbags and questionable clothing and overpriced jewelry. Though I could never help you with Peecols or your terrible case ratios, I did my best to defend the other stuff. I even proposed to my girlfriend with one of your Kozik rings. At the start of 2009, you were riding high with a Cartoon Network makeover, endorsements from Rosie O'Donnell and Martha Stewart and rumors of new stores. But things were already slipping. A warehouse error (where a fan received an entire case of Huck Gee APs worth enough to buy a car) was mishandled into a nice-sized scandal. Fans were threatened and banned from your forums; entire threads were summarily deleted. There was a growing sense that insidious maneuvers were being made behind-the-scenes by people who didn't know what they were doing.

2009 was a rough year for you. You seemed to entirely forget about media relations and the niche who'd had your back. Instead, you showed off photos of celebrities in your shirts and namechecked hype blogs who'd given you cursory write-ups. You seemed to taunt us with the discrepancy between your "core contingency" and your new fame. Who were you, Kidrobot? We didn't know you anymore. There was that debacle with Taco Bell, but some folks thought maybe the "face off" was arranged. Afterall, Kidrobot is part of Wildbrain which is part of Disney which is partners with Yum Brands, the parent company of Taco Bell...

Next came a series of affronts to the retailers in our communities. As you evolved from local toy store to global brand, new neighborhood toy shops had entered the picture. You sold them your merchandise, but there were strings attached. There were different rules and varying stock for online and brick-and-mortar shops, and you made the selling of open boxes contractually forbidden. Rumors of acquisitions and monopolization began to circulate. Your own stores became distinctly unfriendly places, with inexperienced staff and apparently no ceiling on prices. Things had gone from bad to worse.

And yet, throughout all of this, you did occasionally release a good product. I've got all of the pieces you made with Jon Burgerman, and I was charmed when your #16 mascot picked up real punk records. When I spoke with artists, there was not so much as a single negative commentary about their working relationship with you. And that's more than I can say for many other toy companies. (I'm talking to you WheatyWheat and MINDstyle.)

Kidrobot, I know you're in a tough spot right now. Lots of people have lost their patience with you, and the scene is collectively waiting for you to do something, anything, to mitigate this public relations nightmare in which you appear to be firmly entrenched. Word around the watercooler says you're pushing the Return to Main Menu --> Restart Game button. Fingers are pointing to the mountains, with founder-turned-shareholder Paul Budnitz reassuming the reigns. Everybody deserves a second chance, even you Kidrobot. With all due empathy for the team you're leaving behind in New York, and full acknowledgment of past transgressions, I'm actually sort of rooting for you. This time, please remember the fans who buy your toys, the stores who sell them and the bloggers who write about them. And also: please bring the "art" back to art toys. Goodbye Kidrobot. Hope to see you rise again in 2010.

[Jeremy Brautman is a Bay Area-based writer and PR guy with a passion for pop culture and art toys. He has recently been called a "toy maven," a "truth talker," and a "bad ass." He lives with his wife, two cats and too many toys. You can find him on twitter. If you enjoyed this article, do him the favor of voting for him in the Shorty Awards as a Twitter Journalist. It would be a great honor, and if he happened to win, he wouldn't even have to wear elevator shoes to the Shorty ceremony.]

--
Jeremy Brautman
Toy Maven

http://www.twitter.com/jeremyriad
http://www.jeremyriad.com

Navy To Study On PSP

Fighter pilots train on PC flight simulators, so now the Royal Navy has just invested £50,000 in 230 PSPs to help marine engineers prepare for exams. As you'd expect, the PSPs come with custom software explaining aspects of the work under scrutiny, with both video and audio explanations for the hard of reading.

However, it has had at least one somewhat sniffy review from the Navy brass.
Commander Trevor Price said: "We are working on the premise that looking at a book is now seen as dull and boring. When I was at school you sat at your desk and you did your work and that was it." That's them told.

[VIA]

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Wow, never have I been wanting to play a game as much.

Smart Street Art

Really cool idea for the street. These particular ads are promoting the end of the Iraq war. "What Goes Around Comes Around"






[VIA]

Battlefield Extraction Assist Robot (BEAR)

The US military is developing a robot with a teddy bear-style head to help carry injured soldiers away from the battlefield.
The Battlefield Extraction Assist Robot (BEAR) can scoop up even the heaviest of casualties and transport them over long distances over rough terrain.
The 6ft tall Bear can cross bumpy ground without toppling thanks to a combination of gyroscopes and computer controlled motors to maintain balance.
It is also narrow enough to squeeze through doorways, but can lift 135kg with its hydraulic arms in a single smooth movement, to avoid causing pain to wounded soldiers.
While the existing prototype slides its arms under its burden like a forklift, future versions will be fitted with manoeuvrable hands to gently scoop up casualties.
The Bear is controlled remotely and has cameras and microphones through which an operator sees and hears. It can even tackle stairs while carrying a human-sized dummy.
It is expected to be ready for testing within five years.

1. Teddy bear face designed to be reassuring

2. Hydraulic upper body carries up to 227kgs (500lbs)
3. When kneeling tracked "legs" travel over rubble. Switches to wheels on smooth surfaces
4. Dynamic Balance Behaviour (DBB) technology allows the robot to stand and carry loads upright on its ankles, knees or hips for nearly an hour

[VIA]

Supersoldier Exoskeleton HULC

Lockheed is pleased to announce the unveiling of its newly-acquired powered exoskeleton intended to confer superhuman strength and endurance upon US soldiers, called HULC (Human Universal Load Carrier). Its almost like a budget version of the robot suit from Aliens.


4Lb of lithium polymer batteries will run the exoskeleton for an hour walking at 3mph, according to Lockheed. Speed marching at up to 7mph reduces this somewhat; a battery-draining "burst" at 10mph is the maximum speed.
The user can hump 200lb with relative ease while marching in a HULC, however, well in excess of even the heaviest combat loads normally carried by modern infantry. There'd be scope to carry a few spare batteries. Even if the machine runs out of juice, Lockheed claims that its reinforcement and shock absorption still helps with load carrying rather than hindering.
There are various optional extras, too. The HULC can be fitted with armour plating, heating or cooling systems, sensors and "other custom attachments".

AND.....remote-controlled gun mounts weighing as little as 55lb are available, able to handle various kinds of normally tripod- or bipod-mounted heavy weapons.

[VIA]

Interesting Helmets From The Ages

Two Varying Helmets from the 1400's

Armet of Henry VIII known as the Horned helmet. Innsbruck, Austria, 1511–14

Helmet from Augsburg, Germany 1515

Belgian Helmets 1500's

Brewster Body Armour 1917

Experimental Machine-Gunner Helmet 1918

[VIA]

Iraq: A New Kind Of Bombing

As a tourist I want to see grafitti and street art all over the world. I thought I'd try find some in one of the least likely places. Here's what I found!

Arofish has some balls, he went into the heart of it all, got shot at, was arrested by the US military, and still went back out and put these pieces up.







You can see more of his Iraq art here