Science Fact: Robot /Man - Exoskeleton

     FROM AMAZING SCIENCE FICTION TO SCIENCE FACT! 

The robot exoskeleton and giant mecha warriors, previously the exclusive domain of sci-fi pulp magazines, comics, ambitious Japanese animae and cinema, are now active development projects with functional prototypes. It's all here in this month's robotic feature.  From the serious and militant to a "big kid's" toy for those who can afford the price tag, from the deadly serious to the patently absurd, or artistically odd and even a dose of downright silly just for fun;)

If I didn't know better, I'd think we were preparing for some kind of Mech-War!





I think this guy he thinks he's Tony Stark;)



How do you get this damn thing on the tour bus?



Save up your pennies and platinum for this 300,000 dollar gem;)




Ok, Ok ...It's silly as all get out...But man what a lot of work and fun it must have been to put that costume together, he better just hope it doesn't rain...



Till next time, keep well oiled;)
See ya again, same robot time, same robot channel.

Retrobots of the Month - Robomercials 1

I have a ton of writing to do this weekend , so before I take off to one of my secret remote laboratories where I can work without distraction, I wanted to leave you with a new feature brought to you by the "Rise of the Retrobots" multi-media compilation project. Please enjoy these Retro Robot Flashbacks. Some of these may even be lurking in your closets! Remember kids, the Robots we make today could become the Overlords of tomorrow!
So be careful what you build! And be kind to your Robots:)

At the time of its making, this robot cost enough to feed an average family for a week, (which is probably why you don't see too many around today). That might be a good thing considering how much damage they could do in a Robot Uprising (Providing they could afford the batteries).



According to the commercial, "Ideal's Robot Commando is here to help you!", at least if you are a boy bent on World domination! Apparently 'Ideal' had the market cornered on creepy mesmerizing robots designed to train a legion of grade school children to find a gleeful pass time in conquering, crushing and destroying the defenses of Earth. Ideal for Robot propaganda preparing the youth for the next Robot Uprising coming to a town near you soon!



I discovered one of these 2xl Robots(sans power supply) with a Marvel comics cartridge...If I can batterize it it looks like a great candidate for circuit bending AND tape looping!
What could possibli go wrongggggg...bleet- do..beep kkkkchztrrrt*$$#@!Excelsior ...popsizzleburningmeltysmell.....;)



That's all for this week kids, see ya when I get back from the remote lab.
In the meantime go play at some of the ancillary laboratories:
Rise of the Retrobots on Myspace
Rise of the Retrobots Home
Monster Makers Lab
TAO X Productions
Kaijusonic

Rise of the Retrobots Update and blog notes

Rise of the Retrobots Update for 07/10/09

Greetings Robot, Monster, and Music Freaks & Connoisseurs,
This update is a personal note to inform everyone of the status of the Rise of the Retrobots project, The Monster Makers Lab and the Nightmare Sound Blog.
I have received several excellent contacts with interested Artists some of whom are busy working hard and some even having already submitted tracks which have proven qualified to be eligible for selection.
All three of these projects were launched simultaneously this June (2009) in a fit of ambition and artistic passion. There are still some communication and networking structures I need to establish to make this easier for me to communicate with all participants (and potential participants and sponsors) so that I don't have to spend all my time re-iterating the same ideas via different forums/formats and individual emails. So bear with me and please participate in the alignment as the infrastructure gets molded to make this all smooth and easy.
What is in place currently is as follows:

I have already established a decent FTP solution for submissions, important file exchanges, and
Artists who want to collaborate. The details of which will be provided as I get contact from the individual Artists.
To help centralize communications, please send all correspondence and inquiries to:
retrobots@nightmaresound.com

Postings of latest news and instructions on compilation project are available at:
RISE OF THE RETROBOTS OFFICIAL SITE UPDATES
http://nightmaresoundlab.blogspot.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/monstermakerslab/

In addition to some duplicate Blog info and updates, some sample excerpts of the types of tracks and other media that will be on this project is available at:
RISE OF THE RETROBOTS on MySpace
(Currently there is 1 sample available: "Kill Robots Rise")...More examples will be added as submissions are completed and accepted.

Because of the greater scope, the uniqueness, and complexity of this multi-media compilation project, I am still in the process of honing down the best system and guidelines to bring everything together smoothly and create an enormously cool project we can all be proud of. My sincerest wish is that all who choose to participate and can contribute a quality piece and/or some assistance promoting the project will be able to use this project as their own promotional tool and have an excellent creative experience.

Of course, all my regular work and pursuit of paying prospects must continue right alongside these projects that I foster out of love for the subject matter and the collaboration involved.
I am currently wrapped up in a critical phase of screenwriting with a partner where some deadlines are involved, so I may be a bit sparse with updates and communications over the next 2 weeks in July, but please sign on to publicly follow the Nightmare Sound Lab Blog to keep posted and informed, and to be eligible for contests.
NEW CONTEST WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON! SO KEEP YOUR EYES PEALED
I will do my best to keep things coming and keepin it fresh and exciting!
Keep those submission ideas coming!
Thanks!

T. Reed - TAO X Productions - Nightmare Sound Laboratory

They're Here! "The Outer Space Men" in the 21st Century.

Just received this blast from the past. These are probably some of the first really cool action figures ever! Created by Mel Birnkrant, they came and went just a couple years before I would have been old enough to appreciate them, but they are cool designs even to this day. The 2nd series (unfortunately left un-produced in the 1960's) is even better! Well it appears that new blood has infused "The Outer Space Men" with a second resurrection of the line as both a Graphic Novel and a new collectible toy series. Best of luck to everyone at OSM!

http://www.theouterspacemen.com/

You can check out their Blog at:

http://theouterspacemen.blogspot.com/

Rise of the Retrobots - History - Mission -Future

TAO X Productions
&
Nightmare Sound

Present:
'Rise of the Retrobots'

Greetings Fellow Electrobotic Freakazoids...
As owner of TAO X Productions, one aspect of my work is to connect with excellent Artists interested in similar genres and mediums as those generated in my Nightmare Sound Laboratories, as well as other new, innovative, or just plain high caliber creativity.
Outside of composing for commercial work and other projects (when in survival mode), I feel it is my duty to keep my own music alive and to share and collaborate and bring new and interesting projects and compilations into the world. For better or worse, I also tend to have a pension for making things slightly more complicated and full blown, and spend a good deal of energy and time making sure things are clear, legally clean, and sound overall.
Around 2003 I embarked upon bringing together the first TAO X Records compilation project,

Brotherhood of the Drone - Volume I

The result of those "complicated" methods and diligence apparently paid off with an enormously cool compilation of 13 International Drone Artists whose tracks, mastered by Thomas Dimuzio @ Gench in San Francisco) all flowed beautifully together in a mentally audio-cinematic experience of amazing variations in the possibilities of Drone Music. Unfortunately, my schedule and budget made it impossible to give that project the additional care, support and distribution a work of that caliber actually deserved (albeit the small niche of style specific fans that Drone Music holds;) I send my highest regards and thanks to all the contributors to the Brotherhood of the Drone Compilation. Since that project, I've put some thought on that problem and I intend to correct that disparity for the future of TAO X Records projects, and even possibly return to do Volume II of the Drone Compilation, at which time I will probably create a special offer putting Volume I & II together, so the original CD can get it's due presentation to the World. For the time being however, I am concentrating on the "Rise of the Retrobots" Compilation (and of course, 6 other projects I am trying to wrap up simultaneously;) It is my deep love for all things Monster and Robot, make this a project that is especially close to my heart.
This compilation is even more ambitious, as I am attempting to bring Artists, Animators, Videographers, and Musicians into the tent together to stew this into an eclectic, electric, fantastic audio-visual contraption of sheer retro-future magnificence with a general coolness factor of 10x;) To this end, I am being temporarily flexible about submission deadlines and structure, because a part of what I want to achieve is to create some cross-pollinated creative collaborations, mixes, etc. to make this a unique project in terms of a good percentage of special custom tracks being created exclusively for this comp, but also because of the effort to bring it to another level with video, art and new media to whatever extent and creative design the contributors can bring to the table. I want this project to have a unique and technologically forward scope while presenting an intriguing and aesthetically appealing retro-future vibe to it.
To achieve the desired level and scope of this project, I am going to attempt to alter the course and grand tradition of all Indie Labels (at least ones run by 8 brained producer's with more ideas than hands or time to do them all, who want to put out great works no matter what it takes and simply finance it themselves). Herein I will attempt to come up with some creative concepts to finance this project properly via private and corporate sponserships, from people or companies who would benefit by advertising their "Robotic" product, art, toy, service or or biz, or who just love robots! I am also contemplating the creation of a line of merchandise including T-Shirts and possibly some other goodies as well. A selection of BAD ASS Robot T-Shirts ranging from the cute to the menacing, would probably have a broad appeal and might help offset CD/DVD production and distribution costs. This combined with special offers and pre-orders might get us to a better place to be able to produce AND promote a project worthy of it's weight in circuits and bolts;)
One thing for sure, your support and interest, whether as a creative co-conspirator or a music/art loving fan is essential and greatly appreciated!
So spread the word and please keep following the progress here. I will be adding updates, T-Shirt designs, Contests and more, some of which may be exclusive to ROTR contributors, my followers on this blog, or friends at the

Rise of the Retrobots Official MySpace page.In fact I'm feeling another Blog coming on...Yes, Yes...T-Shirts, Contests, ...do them!...

T. Reed - TAO X Productions/Nightmare Sound

Rise of the Retrobots

RISE OF THE RETROBOTS

TAO X Productions
&
Nightmare Sound
Present:
'Rise of the Retrobots'.

Recently, I've been working on a number of tracks which could loosely be called 'Robot Oriented Music" (R.O.M. for short;), music one might consider, by, for, or about Robots. This has inspired me to embark upon a collaborative multi-media compilation of 'Robot Music', Images, and Video all reflecting a SciFi audio-visual venture into the realm of Electro, Experimental, Techno, Cinematic, and other such oddities that would best portray the future-retro vibe of 'Old School SciFi' meets 'New School Electronica' in an all out Robot Extravaganza !

For updates, contributors list, and additional info keep checking in at:

Robot Uprising
Kill Robots Rise (Excerpt) by T. Reed/TAO X Productions