Yahoo! posted a slideshow photo gallery of the “10 Most Biographically Inaccurate Movies.”  Follow the link and find out what movies they are referring to.  The slideshow also has interesting behind-the-scenes facts about these movies.  What caught my attention was the fact “According to the article in ‘The American Journal of Human Genetics,’ roughly 8% of all men in Asia are descendants from Khan.”  Woah…  Genghis Khan was a playa!

Read the original article, “The Genetic Legacy of the Mongols” estimating the lineage of 8% of all men in Asia.

This is outdated news, but I still find it fascinating.  Rumor has it that there’s an un-Disneylike hidden message in one of the scenes from “The Lion King.”  About three fourths into the movie, there is a scene where Simba rests on a cliff edge.  As he drops to the ground, he releases a cloud of dust.  This dust cloud then (supposedly) morphs into the word “sex.”  An Illusion?  You be the judge.

A detailed story of this rumor can be found at http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/lionking.asp

Sometimes I wonder how innocent the Disney movies are…and if it’s appropriate for the kids.  There have been many controversies with regards to the hidden, sexual messages embedded in their movies (”The Lion King” being one of them).  However, none is more explicit than the schocking scene in ”The Rescuers.”  This news is outdated, but nevertheless, I hope you find this interesting.

Star Wars gave birth to many iconic figures- Darth Vader, Yoda, and Boba Fett are just few names high on the list.  But who is the greatest “ace pilot” of all time?  He survived all three battles of the Rebellion against the Empire (Episodes IV-VI).  He played the lead role in the X-wing books and several Dark Horse Comics series, and is also a playable character in numerous Star Wars video games including Rebel Strike? All this without Jedi Mind trick or a lightsaber.  His name is…WEDGE ANTILLES!

Wedge Antilles is one of the most celebrated characters among Star Wars fans.  He is widely popular and known as the “survivor” – the only minor character who survived the entire original trilogy.  He was an orphan as a teenager, lived as a smuggler, recruited as a X-wing pilot, conquered numerous missions objectives including the destruction of the Death Star, founded the Rogue Squadron, and was eventually promoted to the rank of General.  He is a true war hero.

Denis Lawson played Wedge in all three original Star Wars films (Episode IV-VI).  Coincidentally, he is the uncle of Ewan McGregor, the actor who played the young Obi-Wan Kenobi.  Lawson’s name is misspelled “Dennis” in the credits for Episode IV.

Denis Lawson played Wedge in the classic trilogy except during one particular scene.  During briefing scene for the Battle of Yavin in Episode IV, Luke Skywalker briefly chats with Wedge, who was played by another actor (who looks nothing like Wedge) named Colin Higgins.  Fans refer to this character as “Fake Wedge“.  If Lucas thought he could sneak that one by the fans, I believe Wedge would respond by saying, “That’s impossible even for a computer!”

Sources: Wookieepedia, Wikipedia, StarWars.com

Batman’s greatest nemesis isn’t the Joker, but himself!  BATMAN…a real city in southeast Turkey.

Huseyin Kalkan, the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party mayor of Batman, is accusing director Christopher Nolan and the Warner Bros. studio of using the city’s name without permission.

“There is only one Batman in the world,” Kalkan said.  “The American producers used the name of our city without informing us.”

Kalkan claims he has evidence, which will show the city of Batman was founded before the 1939 debut of Bob Kane’s DC Comics superhero by the same name.

Furthermore, the mayor blames the film for several unsolved murders and a high female suicide rate, based on the psychological impact that the film’s success has had on the city’s inhabitants.

Poor Robin…  Once again he is left unmentioned and will forever exist only as a lowly sidekick.

Editor’s Note:  As AMERICAN OTAKU’s Editor in Chief and retained legal counsel, I wish to assert my contention that this case should be dismissed for the plaintiff’s failure to state a cause of action.

SOURCE: MSNBC

Supposedly, a special edition of the Nokia N96 has been made available to consumers.  The Bruce Lee edition comes with rare photos, a Bruce Lee doll, a special back cover, and a wrist strap adorned with nunchakus.  The phone sells for about $840 unlocked on the Web and in Nokia retail stores.

Here’s the Nokia Bruce Lee promotion video:

It is uncertain if the video is real or fake.  It could be digitally superimposed and/or played by an actor and not Bruce Lee himself.  Nevertheless, this is probably one of the most awesome video clips I’ve seen for the longest time.

SOURCE: informationweek.com

There are lots of horror movies out there, but none of them scared me like Child’s Play. Of course, I was just a kid and was easily startled by all horror movies (even Michael Jackon’s Thriller scared me). BUT, did you see how Chucky slaughtered those people in the movie? Wow, man… Anyways, aside from it being, in my opinion, one of the scariest movies ever made, it was also famous for the Chucky voodoo spell. …how did it go again?

According to the subtitles of the Child’s Play 2 DVD, the chant goes like:

Ade Due Damballa. Give me the power, I beg of you.
Leveau mercier du bois chaloitte.
Secoise entienne mais pois de morte.
Morteisma lieu de vocuier de mieu vochette.
Endelieu pour du boisette damballa (x3)

This is different from the original Chucky chant which comes in different verions:

Version 1:
Ade due damballa. Give me the power I beg of you.
Secoise entienne mais pois de morte.
Morteisma lieu de vocuier de mieu vochette.
Endonline pour de boisette damballa!
Secoise entienne mais pois de morte.
Endelieu pour de boisette damballa! (x4)

Version 2:
Ade due damballa. Valinchella santeria. Oya shungo yenya macumba.
Give me the power, I beg of you.
Leveau mercier du bois chio.
Secoise entienne mais pois de morte.
Morteisme lieu de vocuier de mieu vochette.
Endelieu pour de boisette damballa! (x3)

Devoted fans believe the chant roughly translates as;

To the almighty Damballa, give me the power I beg of you!
To the mercy of my soul.
To the point of my death.
Hear me out of from my condemned voice.

*no proper reference to confirm this translation

The chant may appear French at a glance, but it’s not proper French. It appears to be closer to Haitian Creole which is losely based off of French but has been subject to and modified by other languages. Further evidence that points to its Haitian origins is the use of “Damballa,” a reference to Haitian Voodoo religion. Damballa is a snake-god and lives in the trees near springs and hence is also known as the Draper of Wood. However, all of these claims are based on speculation. Nobody knows the true translation or the meaning of Chucky’s chant. It could just be gibberish.

Here’s the voodoo spell in action. Check out this video clip from the opening scene of the Child’s Play:

SOURCE: The Chucky Source, Official Halloween Message Board, Killer Doll Factory, Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Mythica, Rage Zone

A simple addition of a laugh track can convert one of the most iconic scene in Star Wars into… well, a comedy. Check it out.

http://american-otaku.com/2009/01/star-wars-with-laugh-track/

Source: Topless Robot

What if The Matrix ran on Windows?  Check it out!

I just finished watching the all-time classic, “Gremlins.”  The movie is about cute (sort of), furry creatures called Mogwai who transform into a vicious monsters and terrorize a local town.  This is a great movie, but one thing always mystified me…  What is a MOGWAI?

The term Mogwai has two transliterations. In Cantonese, mogwai is derived from the word 魔怪. The first character “魔(mo, ma)” means ‘devil.’  This term could possibly have itis origins in the Sanskrit word, “Mara,” which is the Buddhist personification of evil, and “magi” (plural of magus) an ancient word with many different meanings but one that has been most closely associated with users of magic.  The second character “怪(gwai, gui)” means “to blame” deriving its original meaning of deceased spirits or souls of the dead who take vengeance on living humans who caused them pain when they were alive.

The Mandarin transliteration of mogwai is mogui (魔鬼). The first character means the same as described previously.  The second character “鬼(gui)” means “ghost.”

Chinese-language biblical texts translate Satan in the Book of Job and the Greek term “diabolos” as mogui.

“According to Chinese tradition, mogwai are certain demons who often inflict harm on humans.  They are said to reproduce sexually during mating seasons triggered by the coming of rain.  Supposedly, they take care to breed at these times because rain signifies rich and full times ahead.”  However, these days the term mogwai is generally used to describe an evil ghost or creature of non-specific origin.  In today’s Daoist exorcism and Jiangshi rituals, peachwood swords are used to fight mogwai.

unrelated info:

In the novel Gremlins, it is stated that for some reason mogwai are now almost always born mischievous or just plain evil with a very rare (1 in a thousand) gentle one (such as Gizmo) viewed as an anomaly and hated by other mogwai.  The book also states that there are 3 other “minority” mogwai on this planet.

A British myth surfaced during the second world war where the Royal Air Force stationed in India reported planes sabotaged through Gremlin mischief.  Read the story here.

Read my comic strip “Please Do Not Feed” based on the movie “Gremlins.”

SOURCE: Wikipedia, Chinese-English Dictionary, BBMandarin, “Chinese Mythology in the Context of Hydraulic Society“

Oh snap!  Watch out! GRUDGE is after you!!!  Well…not quite.  Check out this home video of me imitating the famous GRUDGE scene.  I need a life.

Do you remember the young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode I?  Many devoted Star Wars fans blame this boy and Jar Jar Binks to the down fall of Star Wars series.  So, this boy has grown up and what’s he up to? Check out this interview with the fully grown boy actor, Jake Lloyd.  Yeah, he is bitter and he obviously stepped over to the dark side.

Did you know that my brother is the real Karate Kid?  Here’s my bro training for upcoming Karate tournament.  Mister Miyagi, whatcha gonna say?  “Wax on, Wax off…”

Finally… we can master the Chewbacca noise. Check out this video clip and learn how to make the famous noise… EERRRRRKKKKK!!!!

Join the dark side!… of Orchestra. Here’s Darth Vader conducting an orchestra. May the force be with you.

Reference: Buzzfeed