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 "With a cut and a chop, I'll end up on top!"

First model from the Robot Wars kit: this lil' charmer's name is Buzzsaw.  This model took less than 5 minutes to put together, and he is one bad mofo!  Each robot has battle stats and a catchphrase:

Buzzsaw
Height: 4'9"
Weight: 527 lbs.
Fighting Style: Slicing and dicing
Strengths: 360 degrees of barbarous blades
Weaknesses: Tunnel visions; as dangerous to himself as he is to his foes.

Can't wait to send this guy into the Robodrome!

robot.wars!!!

A super-great friend got me this awesome robot papercraft kit for my birthday.  The models in this kit are engineered by Matt Hawkins of custompapertoys.com and author or Urban Paper (I'm a huge fan!).  Not only does this kit come with pre-cut, ready-to-assemble models, it comes with two motorized wheel bases which fit inside each robot, and a paper fighting ring to stage your robot battles.  I can't wait to start these!  Now only to carve out some free time...

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This is my first Piperoid, a Japanese papercraft toy made by rolling paper tubes.  They are sold pre-printed and ready to assemble:
http://piperoid.jp/en/concept.html

This guy's name is Muscle Jaw and here's what the Piperoid website says about this fun-lovin' guy:

"Muscle Jaw : Urban area use


A dashing robot with a giant’s strength.
He is not a pushy guy but has a tendency to overreact to things and be blind to his surroundings when he is working very hard. So he might be sometimes seen as an annoying guy. He does his best to do everything even though it may be unnecessary. He tends to act before thinking carefully. As a result what he has done often turns out to be a waste and pointless. This is just among us but he is secretly addicted to something which does not fit in with his macho-like character."

OMG!  Secretly addicted to something which does not fit in with his "macho-like" character?!?!  So scandalous!  

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This is "Desmond: The Nerfect Robot" designed by Mr. Walters of Nerfect.com.

I really like this robot's big feet, giant floppy mitts, and how sturdy he is.  I wish he came in different colors, I'd color one in Photoshop but I like to retain the integrity of the original design.  This design is really easy to put together, I'd recommend this to beginner level papercrafters.  You can find the template for download on Nerfect.com: http://www.nerfect.com/robotmodel.html

2010 James Beard Nominees announced!

Hey all foodie friends,

The 2010 James Beard Foundation awards nominees were just announced about an hour ago.  This just reminds me that I'm now living in a culinary paradise, and I need to get off my butt and eat at some of the world's best restaurants, located in the Bay Area.  Here's a list of just the Bay Area nominees:

• Best New Restaurant: Flour + Water, Frances and RN74, all of San Francisco.
• Outstanding Chef: Gary Danko of Restaurant Gary Danko and Charles Phan of The Slanted Door, both of San Francisco.
• Outstanding Pastry Chef: Nicole Plue of Redd in Yountville
• Outstanding Restaurant: Boulevard in San Francisco
• Best Chef, Pacific: Jeremy Fox, formerly of Ubuntu in Napa; Michael Tusk of Quince in San Francisco
• Outstanding Restaurateur: Pat Kuleto of Boulevard, Epic, Farallon, Jardiniere and Waterbar in San Francisco; Martini House in St. Helena and Nick’s Cove & Cottages in Marshall
• Outstanding Service: Michael Mina of San Francisco
• Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional: Merry Edwards of Merry Edwards Wines in Sebastopol; John Shafer and Doug Shafer of Shafer Vineyards in Napa
• Outstanding Wine Service: A16 and Restaurant Gary Danko, both of San Francisco
• Rising Star Chef of the Year: Timothy Hollingsworth of the French Laundry in Yountville

The full list of nominees: http://www.jbfawards.com/nominees.html

who needs pants?

I apologize in advance, for this post has nothing to do with papercraft or robots, but is just me ranting about something I've noticed on some online clothing retailers' websites that's been driving me CRAZY!  I've noticed that some online stores, such as Urban Outfitters and American Apparel, like to post pictures of their clothing on partially nude models.  For instance, American Apparel likes to post pictures of pants on models who are completely topless.  First of all, I find this very unhelpful as I normally wear tops with my pants (when I'm going outisde anyway), and it would really serve me better if I could see what the pants look like on a normal, fully-clothed person.  I get the whole young, sexy marketing thing, but really?  I have no problem with nudity on the internet, but does it have to be mixed in with my online shopping?

This is one of my favorites, a blouse from Urban Outfitters on a model wearing knee-high socks, Wellington boots, and guess what else....not pants!
blouse with no pants

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Shin Tanaka is one of my most favorite paper artists, and this "4-in-1" robot was really fun to make.  This design was created as part of the "Papershapers" art exhibit presented by Scion and curated by Giant Robot Magazine.  I got the templates for this paper robot from issues No. 56 & 57 of Giant Robot. 

If you look closely, you can see the 4 different sets of robot faces.  I found the template still available for download here: http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/make-your-own-paper-robot-shin

Definitely check out Shin Tanaka's other work here: http://shin.co.nr/

Food = love.

My second-most favorite thing in the world, and what I'll probably share most on this blog, is my LOVE OF FOOD!. I was a born foodie, having been trained from eating the most delicious food cooked by my mom. I love eating and cooking and eating and baking and eating! I will try my best to provide photos, recipes, and as many details that I can of the delicious food I eat and/or create.
My friend from work made the most delicious cupcakes today. One was a classic southern-style (authentic!) Red Velvet cupcake, and the other was an original recipe Cookies & Cream mini cupcake. Sorry I don't have a photo, but I inhaled the cupcakes before I thought to snap a pic. The cakes had a wonderful dense, moist texture and the frostings had delicious flavor without being super-sweet. My friend hopes to open a cupcake shop, and I wish her all the success in the world!!

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Of all the things I enjoy in life and plan to share on this blog, my favorite is PAPER ROBOTS!  I had been a fan of origami since childhood (especially Kusudama, a form of origami where you fold a bunch of paper flowers and sew the ends together to form a sphere).  I was introduced to papercraft toys about 5 years ago, and haven't stopped making them since.  Although I have yet to design my own, I love exploring the many talented artists out there designing their papertoys and sharing them for free with the online papercraft community. 

This is one of the last paperrobots I constructed.  It is courtesy of robo-t.com and the design can be downloaded for free here: http://mizio-s.hp.infoseek.co.jp/r-c.pdf.

I thought this day would never come (#1)

God, I thought this day would never come.  I've had this blog set up for over a year.  I'm finally writing my first post, and of course, I have nothing of interest to say.  Well, at least there are now some words to read with your eyes.  Enjoy.