Another forgotten item from my older brother's toy design hoard, a circa 1975 G.I. Joe knockoff with an orange flight suit (though sadly without the kung fu grip). I love the idea of a generic action figure, but I especially love the inclusion of Gen. MacArthur on the packaging; does this mean that 'action figure' also has a bizarre penchant for kimonos, an ego the size of Asia, and a burning desire to nuke China before they cross the 38th parallel? And the fact that its part of the 'collectable all series' is intriguing; I suppose that includes the generic Barbie (with impossible body dimensions sure to depress preteen girls), and the generic sanrio/hello kitty knockoff with monstrous eyes and unsettling 'cute' coefficient...

Tags: disturbing mascots

Another panel from the anti-drug campaign murals in Kennedy Town. Looks like some of the kiddies may have taken their zeal for eradicating drug use a bit too far. Not to make light of a serious issue, but having pills etc to the tracks and running over them with the Devil Train is a bit unsettling. And the faceless/fingerless conductor is disturbing as well. Love the long-horned human skull on the stack though. Also judging by the defiant, sleep-deprived eyes of the 'syringe', maybe it takes being cut in half by tons of hurtling, demonic iron to finish him off. Looks like he's pretty strung out already; but then again he is filled with glowing heroin...

Tags: disturbing mascots, oddity

From the packaging of a set of kiddie stickers given to my youngest daughter. Unfortunately a bit hard to read here, but it says "we have hopes because we have love" under the big "Sticker" label. While dressing up products with nonsensical English phrasing is quite typical in Asia, few if any offer such stirring musings as this. Yes, sometimes its the little things that remind you of what's truly important in life, things like hopes, love, and stickers...

Makes for a great mantra too - we have hopes because we have love, and we have love because we have sticker, and we have sticker because we have hopes, and...

.

Tags: super english force, snide, chinglish

Another interesting prop from the Mickey street art exhibit. Seems he now fancies himself 'Mickey the Pirate King', and has created his very own pirate flag, which in its way is more disturbing than the skull and crossbones. Wonder if Mickey will be engaged in modern piracy along the East African coast, or stay local in Asia and terrorize the shipping lanes of Indonesia and the Philippines. Also if some of his old pals will take to their new career; Goofy becoming a sadistic goon with a chip on his shoulder about his intelligence and stutter - " yu-yu- ya callin' me stupid? well i'm gonna cut you a new tongue!" Or Donald Duck screaming Somali insults over a megaphone in his signature voice, then screaming 'waahhhgghhh!" as he empties his AK-47 across the party deck of an unlucky cruise ship...

Tags: disturbing mascots, funny, oddity

A billboard in Causeway Bay for an English tutoring service. Yes, her BBC accent is flawless, her knowledge of subtle class differences (and cricket scoring) impressive, even a newfound taste for bangers and mash. But at the cost of a hideously disfigured tongue...

Tags: super english force, oddity

More disturbing images from the Mickey street art extravaganza. It seems Mickey's finally had enough of some pushy paparazzi. I'm unsure what he's supposed to be standing in front of - a monstrous Rubik's cube(?). He's seems to have snapped and his now out for blood, screaming full-throated obscenities, eyes blazing, spittle flying.

He's joined by the newest member of his posse', 'Beedy', known for his namesake (disturbingly low set) eyes, and for wearing his mickey mouse pants at "old man armpit level". Sure hope security steps in before Mickey and Beedy give an old fashion Disney beat down, maybe with his gal Minnie stepping in to get a solid kick to the paparazzo's ribs with her signature red stilettos...

Tags: disturbing mascots, oddity, bizarre, snide

This is a street mural in deepest Kennedy Town, part of a wall section of student art dedicated to ant-drug messaging. While I applaud the idea and effort, a few were too extraordinary to pass up. This panel illustrates the truly awesome destructive power of math -specifically addition and multiplication; it's literally streaming out in waves from our studious hero - with help from his backpack and textbooks - painfully smiting the various drugs and drug paraphenalia around him. As our hero grows in expertise, he will no doubt add the disciplines of subtraction and division to his devastating arsenal...

Tags: disturbing mascots, oddity, snide

These are the titan-sized Mickey shoes to go with the Mickey god-gloves, just visible in the background. Not sure if these are to scale, but they're still more than large enough to crush unbelieving fans of rival franchises. Wouldn't want to be in a tricked-out Scion with Looneytunes stickers when Mickey does his signature 'Mickey Mouse Walk' through Mong Kok, arms akimbo and legs pumping. Unfortunately they didn't have a scaled-up pair of red mickey mouse pants on display (complete with signature yellow buttons); though if Mickey does come to claim his gloves and shoes, I'm sure he'll bring his own pair. He is still a Disney character after all, even if he's out stomping innocent bystanders into jelly...

Tags: disturbing mascots, oddity

This is from a rather unsettling Mickey Mouse 'edgy' art exhibition at Times Square in Causeway Bay. I managed to get a few pictures without all the people - more adults than children - posing with them, but honestly I had to wait for about 10 minutes for a clear shot.

Disney is insanely popular in China and HK; we even have our own themepark over at Hong Kong Disney. But I guess the folks over at marketing wanted to nail down the art gallery set as well. So we have the Mickey God Hands, which allow fans to pretend they are about to be scooped up by the Mouse himself. But beware, for he may suddenly lift you up to his bottomless black eyes and lay bare your disney product consumption. And woe to any who are held in those gloves and found wanting...

Tags: disturbing mascots, oddity, snide

Of the many mustachioed turtle jelly masters in HK, Master Ng is no doubt the most famous. It seems years ago he stumbled upon Chinese-medicinal stardom when he combined two powerful marketing concepts - quality fresh turtle collagen herbal jelly and iconic facial hair - into one winning formula. And having exquisite taste in clothes didn't hurt either; note the sharkskin jacket and white tie:





As you can see by this montage from his website, Master Ng uses only the finest tubs and refrigerators for his products, and truly industrial strength binders to hold his voluminous research. As for why the emphasis on 'freshly reproduced turtles', look no further than this handy FAQ:




I wonder if Master Ng ever sees his reflection in one of the Versailles-scale mirrors at his palatial estate, and curses his symbiotic mustache; it has given him great fame and fortune, yes... but at such terrible personal cost...

Tags: disturbing mascots, oddity, snide, cosmo