Event Gallery BioShock 2′s Official Launch Party

February 16, 2010 - 4:14 pm

The Bobby Darin song Somewhere Beyond the Sea paints a sweet lullaby for lovers, conjuring images of blue translucent shimmering reflections, slow dancing on white sand beaches and lazy afternoons staring at an endless horizon of clear water. That song and its predecessor, La Mer, have graced countless moments in entertainment history, but arguably none so sinister, none so glazed in irony then when it played underneath the chilling iron title graphics of  2k’s 2007 breakout game of the year Bioshock.

Bioshock 2 and Beer

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Event Fashion Mercedes Benz Fashion Week: Paid to Be Front Row?

February 11, 2010 - 11:13 am

front row

The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Show kicks off in New York City next week, and the stakes are high.While celebrities are awash with event invitations, fashion bloggers and lesser-known magazine editors are busy scrounging, begging and scraping the bottom of the barrel to secure just the tiniest piece of coverage. Some designers are known for their disdain of bloggers, but others have embraced the new wave of journalism, with key players such as Chanel, Dior and Rodarte inviting their biggest fans to sit front row.

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Comic Books Event Neil Gaiman Reveals More Evidence That He’s a Genius

February 10, 2010 - 12:10 pm

NeilGaimanlooksup2

Neil Gaiman has finally arrived in Hollywood. Not that he cares. But judging from the packed auditorium in UCLA’s hollowed Royce Hall, his rise to fame seems equally the result of cult status-turned-acclaim from even the most cold-hearted of critics, as well as the movie industry’s intermittent love affair with what many believe to be “the most accomplished storyteller in the English language today” (as his publicist introduced him).

After what might have seemed to hard-core fans as somewhat, er, inconsistent adaptations of his work for the silver screen, The Almighty Academy last week announced that the movie adaptation of Gaiman’s 2002 book Coraline had been nominated for Best Animated Picture. According to Gaiman, the process was a bit of a challenge when first presented to his literary agent: “Neil, I read the Coraline chapters and loved it! I think it’s the best thing you’ve ever written. But I have to warn you: it’s unpublishable.”

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Event SPLICERS UNITE!! Saturday, February 6th, 9 P.M. — Sugar Cafe, San Francisco, CA

February 2, 2010 - 12:52 pm

splicers, uniting

A Rapture Party, San Francisco-style! And what better place for Armageddon to take place than Sugar Cafe, located at 679 Sutter Street, this time at 9 P.M. And of course, the usual rabid Little Sisters and Big Daddies, and a Rapturian cocktail party afterward. BioShock 2, drinking, and you. What else do you need?

http://twitter.com/BioShock2

http://www.facebook.com/2KGames

www.cultofrapture.com

splicer logo

Event Gallery Mr. Black Goes to Bardot

February 1, 2010 - 1:29 pm

A few days ago, I dowsed myself in glitter and headed to Bardot, to scope out the Los Angeles incarnation of NYC’s infamous Mr. Black. Known for its bottomless waiters and outrageous theme nights, Mr. Black LA has been going strong ever since Luke Nero teamed up with glamorous producer Lenora Claire. Together with Gregory Alexander and Mr. Rusty Updegraff, they’ve been hosting what’s become one of LA’s hottest gay club nights since September. This week’s theme was dedicated to Tom of Finland – one of the most influential homoerotic and fetish artists of the twentieth century. His depictions of musclebound cops, sailors and leather daddies are iconic in and outside of the gay community. One of my beloved designers, Vivienne Westwood, even featured his art on some of her T-shirts, modeled by Sid Vicious, back in the SEX store days.

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Event Gallery Giant Robot Transforms L.A.’s Best Museum

January 26, 2010 - 11:00 am

Things got a little crazy with Giant Robot at The Japanese American National Museum last week. Between a raucous outburst by punk rockers The Binge, the usual array of bizarre surrealist paintings, transsexual action figures, homemade video games, and of course robots of all sizes, what began as a homemade magazine distributed to friends had officially exploded into a pop culture juggernaut. Eric Nakamura’s 15th GR anniversary featured some of the most inventive and original art by a variety of painters, plasterers, programmers, toymakers, and musicians.

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Event Splicers Unite! This Time in Waterfront Park, Seattle

January 25, 2010 - 1:47 pm

more splicers

Get out yer needles and plasmids, it’s time to join your fellow Splicers this Saturday and celebrate the upcoming Rapture. 2k Games is hosting its usual weekend Bioshock orgy, this time in Seattle at Waterfront Park, 12 o’clock noon. And of course the obligatory Rapturian cocktail party to celebrate.

http://twitter.com/BioShock2

http://www.facebook.com/2KGames

www.cultofrapture.com

splicerlogo

Event SPLICERS UNITE! Woodbridge Park, Austin TX

January 20, 2010 - 5:57 pm

BioShock2mob

Splicers unite again! This time, it’s Saturday January 23rd at 12 noon, Woodbirdge Park in Austin Texas. Stick around afterward for a 2K-hosted Rapturian cocktail party and feel more inclined to be a part of the Rapture Family. It’s growing every day.

http://twitter.com/BioShock2

http://www.facebook.com/2KGames

www.cultofrapture.com

splicerlogo

Event Los Angeles Elvis Presley Turns 75 (sort of)

January 14, 2010 - 12:11 pm

Swinging Elvis

Walking up to the Egyptian Theater on Sunday would make even those immune to Hollywood’s eccentricities question their current longitude and latidional coordinates. It’s not every day that you arrive to an event and are greeted by flocks of Elvis impersonators and handed an official “King-o” game card. This was beyond the bizarre of the usual chaos of Hollywood Boulevard.

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Event 2010: A look at Things to Come

January 12, 2010 - 10:43 am

LMFAO

Still nursing that hangover? Take another swig of recovery beer and dry your cryin’ eyes, my friends–2010 looks is already looking bloated as hell, with a laundry list of various music, events, shows, and assorted craziness. We’re going to be covering some new events here, going in a different direction there… from the kitsch to the kinky, though, we’ll have it all, or as much as you think you can handle. As for what else we’ve done…we figure, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. 2009 turned out awesome for ChinaShop, so we wanted to take some time to a)thank you guys for reading and b) let you know that we’re just getting started.

RevButter

We plan to keep covering up-and-coming bands (that rock), concerts, and just generally all the weird stuff we think you’d dig. We’re also gonna be looking more into comics, branching out into new kinds of music, and the latest in the gaming industry–only better. Coming up we’ll have our usual coverage on SXSW, Gala’s take on the latest in the world of fashion, Dustin Downing’s psychotic brand of photography, and some new stuff like The Black Dahlia Murder Tour, The Hollywood Erotic Museum, and it only gets weirder from there. Chances are, if it looks interesting enough, weird enough, perverse enough, funny enough– we’re gonna be there.

goldbug

A big hail for all your comments and feedback — don’t know about you guys, we’ve been turned on to a lot of great different music just by taking a chance, and judging from your it sounds like a lot of you have as well.