While configuring my Wii to play the Netflix disc it reminded me of this 'new' world that we live in. One in which we have immeasurable amounts of information at the click of a button. How does that impact our identities as individuals and participants in a larger culture? It's going to be fascinating to find out. Part of what connects us as people are our shared experiences and perspectives. But with so much access to information are we leading ourselves to a world in which we can no longer "connect" with each other? Are your hobbies and interests going to be so different from mine, that we have nothing in common? Or maybe, our ability to embrace disparate cultures forces us all to find more universal truths when interacting with friends and family. There's a new found freedom in this 'Infinite Access'... and I guess the community with which to we can share our quirky interests also exists in the same places we can download data. But I can't help but wonder how different our unique interests and perspectives can potentially become.

The other side of the coin is how much time are we actually spending with the things we enjoy? Of those 100 movies you want to watch on Netflix, how many are you actually watching? How many times are you listening to a music album after you've downloaded it? How many times are you reading that book or comic? Is obtaining information now becoming more important than interacting with it? If so, how does that ultimately affect the product that is being created for this new audience?

I'm not entirely sure if I'm effectively conveying these concepts. But we're living in a helluva interesting time!

As well all return to the familiar rhythms of a full work week, I hope you all are having a wonderful start to the new year: 2010. Wow. Twenty-ten! It's tough to believe that it's arrived. Has it really been over 10 years since the Y2K paranoia? Remember that? Everyone was freaking out that, with the dawn of the new millenium, our computers would go haywire because they couldn't compute having "00" in the date column? As we all can see, we came out of that just fine.

It's also pretty mind boggling that we're 8 years removed from the devastating events of 9-11. For me, that day still feels pretty fresh. I remember the crazy amounts of American flags hanging from cars seemingly moments after the horrific tragedy. Everybody, and it was very close to being everybody, had those funky car window American flags hanging from white pvc pipes for about a month after. In a country of people busily trying to prove their individuality, we collectively decided that we were, first and foremost American (or at least wanted everybody to feel that way).

2005 was the beginning of Muttpop. It's almost been 5 years since Jerry and I decided to take on this zany journey. In the beginning of 2005, Jerry and I (along with our buddy Francis) had begun exploring the possibilities of establishing a publishing company. That quickly evolved into a toy-making venture that we now know as Muttpop Inc. At the time, Jerry and I were just a couple of outsiders with a mission to make toys. We had no clue how or with whom... but we were so in love with the beautiful Luchador-inspired characters created by Gobi and Bill that we just HAD to find a way.

Now, in 2010, we're excited to see where this will all take us. To all of you that have joined us on this journey: we thank you. Let's continue to have a helluva time!

As 2009 comes to an end, everyone at Muttpop wishes you a Happy Holiday! We hope that 2009 was a wonderful year for you and that 2010 is even better! Thanks for the support and we hope to continue sharing with you our love of design, toys, comics and whatever else we feel is cool enough to share with you in the next year and the many more years to come!

Kobe hits the game winner. The crowd roars! It's impossible to capture the feeling of being at a stadium during a game winning shot; but it never hurts to try. Muttpop Nico and I were fortunate enough to be at the Staples Center when Kobe made a desperate, off-balanced game-winning 3 pointer over a stretched out Dwyane Wade. I had no clue that Nicolas had recorded the event from our seats. Kobe's too tiny to see from the camera's view... but the video does a wonderful job of capturing our joy and celebration after the shot. Good times! Pretty cool we were able to have it captured on video. :-)

Muttpop Nico is a helluva lucky basketball fan. Last year, his vacation in New York included a rare Knicks win versus the Boston Celtics. Last Friday, he saw Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade dueling in what may be argued to be one of the best games of the NBA's 2009-10 season. I'm grateful to have been along for the ride! In preparation for the game I dusted off my 'Lakers 24' shirt, picked up Nicolas from Jerry's house and ventured into Downtown LA. After a slightly stressful drive trying to figure out how to get the the Staples Center while avoiding the torturous Rush Hour traffic, I managed to find some parking and it was off to the Staples Center! By now, most casual NBA fans heard about Kobe's miraculous buzzer beating 3-pointer. What many people forget to mention are Dwyane Wade's ridiculously smooth dunks at the end of the 2nd quarter (which inspired Kobe's 1st half buzzer beater) and a brilliant 4th quarter performance from Wade and the rest of the Miami Heat that was a guaranteed Heat road win... until a miraculous series of 3s from Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant in the last 10 seconds of play led to the Lakers STEALING a home court victory from the scrappy Miami Heat. I would have been happy going home from a close defeat to a deserving Wade. Instead, I got to witness one of the craziest Kobe Bryant game-winning shots in recent memory. As awesome as the experience may have been on TV, it has nothing on being there to celebrate at the Staples Center. Muttpop Nico somehow managed to film our reaction the moment the shot was made. I'll be sure to upload that as soon as I get a link from Muttpop Nico. Good times, good friend. Our buddy Ohm will NOT be happy to discover you were at one of the most exciting games of the season! :-)

WADE'S SMOOOOTH 1ST HALF DUNKS (2ND HALF OF VIDEO):

GENERAL LAKER GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

KOBE BRYANT'S GAME WINNING SHOT:

Here's a little geek moment for you! I've been slowly but surely organizing my many shelves of comic trades. Here's my main bookcase with the majority of my favorite comic collections. It isn't nearly as impressive as Jerry's mammoth wall of comic book shelves (that thing is a monster!) but it's a humble and fairly complete collection of some of my favorite comics of the last 10 or so years. Lots of Jack Kirby, Paul Pope, Grant Morrison, Brian Bendis, a good number of manga staples, a healthy dose of superhero stuff, and a pretty extensive selection of American crime/noir comics. I LOVE me some comics!