geekosystem

The legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli rolled out their latest film, The Secret World of Arrietty last week, and it has already been given the LEGO treatment. The model, made by Iain Heath, shows the titular diminutive Arrietty in the palm of a LEGO hand, and is utterly stunning in its detail. The curve of the palm, the posing of Arrietty, even the leaf she's standing on is remarkably well done. Just a quick reminder that the LEGO community builds more than just Lord of the Rings models!

The history of beer is almost as old as human history, and it would be quite true to say that our love affair with the stuff has only grown with modern brewing practices. Given beer's pervasive place in human history, it's not surprising that the geeky pastimes of drinkers would eventually rub off on the beers themselves. The result is a veritable cornucopia of nerdy beers, from Star Trek, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and a few others that fit in quite nicely with your nerdy lifestyle. Like Pizza Beer -- it's more efficient than eating both separately! So sit back, crack open a cold one, and enjoy this astounding and some times mouthwatering collection.

As if the amazing filmography of Studio Ghibli, partly founded by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki, wasn't enough reason to visit the animation studio's museum, here's one more: They have their own beer. Named "Kaze no Tani," the brew's name references the film and manga series Nausicaä of The Valley of the Wind (Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä) produced by Miyazaki. And it looks delicious. There's scant information as to what kind of beer it is, but judging from the imagery on the label, I'm guessing it's a wheat beer. And such a label! Drawn in the studio's distinctive style, it features a harvest goddess (possibly Nausicaä herself?) huffing a great wind over Mt. Fuji. Each corner has a piece of heraldry, perhaps making references to early films like My Neighbor Totoro and Castle in the Sky. If you're hanging around Western Tokyo, be sure to stop in for a brew. It's always a bit forced to ask readers to leave comments, but if you've tried this beer, I want to know how it was.

Today is the 70th birthday of renowned Japanese animator, Hayao Miyazaki, known to some as "Japan's Walt Disney," known to all as the creator of some of the most successful animated features in recent memory. His 2001 release, Spirited Away, was the first Japanese movie to win an American Academy Award and was produced after a short retirement following his previous effort, Princess Mononoke in 1997. In other words, we probably haven't heard the last of him.

Cut Magazine has an interview with Hayao Miyazaki where the venerable animator confesses that if their upcoming Arietty the Borrower doesn't do well in the box office, plans are already in place to shut down Studio Ghibli.

Suzuki-san is making a dissolution program for Ghibli. No joke, we talked about it the other day. For example, Ghibli should be able to continue with about five staff members as a copyright management company even if we smash the studio. So, Ghibli can say ‘We stop film production. Goodbye’. I do not have to be there.

Presumably Miyazaki means the American box office, as the film has already been released in Japan.

Yes, Studio Ghibli's adaptation of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series is coming to the US.  Yes, there is a beautiful trailer.  Yes, you can watch it below.

Hayao Miyazaki, animator and director for films including Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and My Neighbor Totoro, is not just a wise old man. He's a crazy wise old man! Not in a super serious way or anything, just in that charming, old-fashioned "technology is ruining everything I remember back in the day mumble mumble mumble" adorable way.

In the July issue of Studio Ghibli's monthly pamphlet "Neppuu," Miyazaki had some choice words for the iPad. Now, of course nobody expected him to actually have an iPad. Those in the Miyazaki!know are already aware that he has no computer, fax, or DVD player and writes letters when he needs to communicate with someone, and he rarely watches television. So obviously he's not an iPad groupie, but boy did he go a step beyond.

Bouletcorp has winningly mashed up Futurama with the animation style of Studio Ghibli's Hayao Miyazaki.

The wide-eyed cat-bus from My Neighbor Totoro + the lush leafiness of Princess Mononoke + Bender Bending Rodríguez = some shiny metal grass.

The animation that comes out of Studio Ghibli, the powerhouse Japanese animation film studio, is always remarkably pretty. But it never stops there, as there's always a compelling narrative to go along with the stunning visuals. Works that have come out of Ghibli include Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, and My Neighbor Totoro, among many others. But soon something of a different nature will come out of the studio. It's name is Ni no Kuni, or The Another World, and it's a video game being released not just for the DS anymore, but also for the PS3. Level-5 takes on the game development side of the project.