The more you eat, the more you'll go to hell. I guess. Honestly, despite my wealth of anime knolwedge, I had never heard of Mameshiba, an anime apparently all about various beans who use their incredibly specific trivia knowledge in order to freak people out so badly they don't eat them. If you enjoyed -- or can even just stand it -- head over to Geek Pad Show for nine more equally odd clips.

Oh, and sorry for the delay in the TR contest. Things came up, but the winner will be announced earlier tomorrow. Sorry for the incredible anguish you contestants must be going through right now.

​​
The news that the unnecessary Predator sequel -- currently titled Predators -- will be filming in Hawaii is making the rounds today, and it's exactly the kind of news I don't give a shit about. The only rerason I mention it is because Fangoria slipped this tidbit about the movie, which you all probably knew and I didn't:

This new tale, dubbed PREDATORS is set on the creature's homeworld, where a group of humans find themselves stranded and hunted.

Really? It's set on the Predators' home world? Okay, color me intrigued. I would actually be interested in seeing where the Predators come from, especially what happens to a bunch of idiots who accidentally land there. But there better be a goddamn good reason this movie doesn't end in three minutes -- which is to say why a planet full of Predators can't take out these humans -- and I'm talking story-wise, of there will be hell to pay, Predators movie. By which I mean there will be a lot of whining on the internet.

​
More specifically, the house that James May built... with Legos. The clearly mad Brit used more than three million "bricks" -- by which I mean brick-sized bricks made up of 272 Lego bricks a piece -- for a total of well over 816,000,000 Lego pieces used in creating his home. That's... that's a lot of Legos. It's also one incredibly ugly house, but I guess trying to find 816,000,000 red pieces is too herculean a task for any man. (Via GeekSugar)

Especially if -- as posited in the new movie The Tournament, whose trailer is up above -- they have to all kill each other in a random small town every seven years. It just seems like it would be bad for the industry overall to lose that much talent periodically. Still, The Tournament looks like incredibly goofy shoot-'em-up fun, which I'm always down with, and I'm eager to find out what the deal is with Robert Carlyle's priest, because you know he's not just a regular man of the cloth (there's just no way). What do you guys think? (/Film)

This is how Ponyo rolls, motherfucker -- on a motherfucking boat. I tell you, I'm always in the mood for a mix of beloved anime filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki's works crossed with profanity-laden rap, but given the insanity of the morning so far, this video is especially welcome. I'm pretty firmly in the Miyazaki is a genius camp, but if Ponyo had actually used this song, it would have been an improvement. And it wouldn't have made Ponyo any more weird. Actually, it probably would have lessened the weirdness significantly, somehow. (Via Japanator)

​
So... remember that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles special that 4Kids was working on that was going to team-up the current Turtles with their late '80s counterparts? Here's the movie poster. Granted, it was a bit more exciting an hour ago before Disney mouseketeered the entire Marvel universe, but I have to admit seeing the goofy '80s TMNT cartoon designs along with the new guys, I'm kind of looking forward to how this wackiness plays out. My only problem is that apparently the Classic Turtles will have new voices -- soundalikes, that is -- because 4Kids "couldn't get the rights." Since 4Kids owned the original cartoon lock, stock and Krang, I'm certain this means only that the original contracts expired and 4Kids didn't want to pay what the original voice actors wanted to reprise their roles. That sucks, not just for the voice actors, but also because that could kill a lot of the nostalgia factor that makes this cool. Thanks to LBD "Nytetrayn" for the tip.

​
I am not joking. From the New York Times about a minute ago:

Walt Disney Company said Monday it has agreed to buy Marvel Entertainment, the storied comic book company that owns the rights to such popular characters as Spider-Man and and the Fantastic Four, in a cash and stock deal it valued at $4 billion. The deal comes more than 10 years after Marvel was at the center of a bruising and highly public takeover battle between two feisty financiers.

Shareholders at Marvel will need to approve the transaction, which boards of directors at both companies have already approved.

"We believe that adding Marvel to Disney's unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation," Robert Iger, Disney's chief executive, said in a statement announcing the deal.

"Disney is the perfect home for Marvel's fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses," said Ike Perlmutter, Marvel's chief executive officer. "This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney's tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world."

Holy fuck. I don't have any snark, any wiseass comments about this. Can this possibly be a good thing for Marvel fans? Surely Disney is business-savvy to let Marvel work as is, right? But doesn't this -- at the very least -- mean that all the corporate company bullshit that keeps DC/Warner Bros. tied-up from achieving anything with their characters is going to happen at Marvel? I don't know, guys. I just don't know.

​
...we appear to have a new grand champion. Holy shit. (Via Gizmodo)

​By Kevin J. Guhl

The Smurfs are loved by children the world over as wholesome, la-la-la, friendly little blue creatures who live in a magical land. But there's a not-so-Smurfy side of Smurf Village, where the typical defining traits of the Smurf denizens represent the shadier side of human nature. Now, TR has previously covered the disturbing Smurfs whose very natures raise questions about Smurf society, but now we're just thinking of the children -- and how they should never be allowed to get their hands on these figures, culled from 45 years of Smurf toys made by German company Schleich. Much thanks to Bluebuddies for the pictures.

​One quick note before I begin the contest: sorry if things have been a bit wonky this week. This secret TR mission has really cramped my normal writing mode, so if the posts have seemed lamer or even more typo-prone than usually, my apologies -- hopefully, I'll be back on my game next Monday. And if not, feel free to look through the brand-new SITE ARCHIVES (on the right, just below the Categories box) -- to read through earlier TR articles when I was even shittier. Should bring you some perspective.

And now to the contest, suggested by TR contributor Caleb Goellner. As a kid, you certainly busted your ass trying to get some kind of crappy prize, whether it was in a cereal box, maybe at Chuck E. Cheese, or some school crap-selling contest. And almost as certainly, that prize was pure crap, likely because it broke immediately, never worked, or because having an Indiana Jones-themed "Adventure Spoon" that lights up is not nearly as cool in real-life as it is in your imagination.

Simple enough, right? I'm genuinely looking forward to remembering some the crap foisted upon us in our youth. As usual, one entry per person, and the contest ends on Monday the 31st at 12:01am EST. Have a great weekend, and if anyone tries to pop a balloon on your genitals, give them a good, solid kick in the ass from me.