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Tomorrow, the Olympics kick off in Tokyo, Japan. This has the whole world turning their attention to Japan and possibly wanting to learn more about the culture of the country.

The Japanese Culture and Language by Stone Bridge Press (affiliate link) bundle is a new book bundle from Humble Bundle that will run July 22-August 12 and features $290 worth of ebooks for only $18. The books are all about Japanese culture and the Japanese language such as Crazy for Kanji: A Student’s Guide to the Wonderful World of Japanese Characters, Family Crests of Japan, Japaneseness: A Guide to Values and Virtues, and The Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution among many more.

In addition, each purchase of the bundle will support the Book Industry Charitable Foundation “which helps bookstore owners, booksellers, and comic store employees and owners with unforeseen emergency financial needs.” Here’s the full list of books available in the bundle:

Spend $3+

• Tractate of Japanese Aesthetics

• Milky Way Railroad

• Amy’s Guide to Best Behavior in Japan: Do It Right and Be Polite!

Spend $10+

• Oh, Tama!: A Mejiro Novel

• Speak and Read Japanese: Fun Mnemonic Devices for Remembering Japanese Words and Their Meanings

• Basho’s Narrow Road: Spring and Autumn Passages

• Japan from Anime to Zen: Quick Takes on Culture, Art, History, Food…and More

• Inland Sea

• Kanji Box: Japanese Character Collection

Spend $18+

• Crazy for Kanji: A Student’s Guide to the Wonderful World of Japanese Characters

• Kanji Pict-o-Graphix: Over 1,000 Japanese Kanji and Kana Mnemonics

• Family Crests of Japan

• Easy and Fun Hiragana: First Steps to Basic Japanese Writing

• Easy and Fun Katakana: Basic Japanese Writing for Loanwords and Emphasis

• Anime Explosion!: The What? Why? and Wow! of Japanese Animation, Revised and Updated Edition

• Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga

• Green Tea Living: A Japan Inspired Guide to Eco-friendly Habits, Health, and Happiness

• Japaneseness: A Guide to Values and Virtues

• The Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution

• Exploring Kyoto, Revised Edition: On Foot in the Ancient Capital

• A Lateral View: Essays on Culture and Style in Contemporary Japan

• Sake Confidential: A Beyond the-Basics Guide to Understanding, Tasting, Selection, and Enjoyment

• Shinto Meditation

• Viewed Sideways: Writings on Culture and Style in Contemporary Japan

• Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews

• A Shameful Life: (Ningen Shikkaku)

Hot Toys has a cool new 1/6th scale Batman action figure collectible coming out and it features the Dark Knight wearing his XE Suit from the hit video game Batman: Arkham Origins. I like this suit design, and as you’ll see it makes for a badass action figure. The detail that was put into bringing this version of Batman to life is impressive.

“I can’t give you peace, but I can give you justice” – Batman

Takes place shortly after the event of Arkham Origins on New Year Eve, where Bruce Wayne is hosting an award ceremony. A surprise attack by Mister Freeze has the hero showoffs another heavy duty suit giving him greater protection under extreme environments to bring back the justice!

Today, Hot Toys is excited to presents the 1/6th scale Batman (XE Suit) collectible figure based on the extended story Cold, Cold Heart from Batman: Arkham Origins.

The stunningly-accurate figure is skillfully crafted based on Batman in XE Suit’s appearance from the videogame, features a Batman masked head; muscular structured body which naturally portrays Batman’s muscular body with enhanced articulations; greatly detailed Batman XE Suit with silver grey armors and weathering effects; signature weapons including Cryodrill with alternate display modes, rope gun, and Batarangs; a themed figure stand with diorama accessories including an ice crystal, stair rail and staircase to recreate the scenes.

A Special Edition available in selected markets will include a Crytographic Sequencer as bonus item for collectors.

Defend Gotham City from Mister Freeze with Batman in the XE Suit!

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We’ve got a new video from Binging with Babish for you to watch today, and if the delicious-looking pasta dish in Pixar’s Luca made your mouth water, now you can learn how to make your own version of it thanks to this video!

The dish is called Trenette Al Pesto, and “toothsome pasta tossed in a bright, fresh basil pesto, dotted with creamy potatoes and crisp green beans.” This looks like a great and tasty dish and I’ll definitely attempt to make it in the near future.

We’ve got a new “Pitch Meeting” video to share with you that features series creator Ryan George as Screenwriter Guy offering an amusing pitch for Marvel’s Loki to Studio Executive Guy. As always with these videos, there are a good amount jokes made at the expense of Loki.

While Loki was a great series that Marvel fans enjoyed, there are plenty of things about it that can be poked fun of, and this Pitch Meeting pretty much covers all of them.

Since his first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe more than a decade ago in 2011’s Thor, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki has stood out as a super charismatic villain in a sea of less-than-charismatic Marvel villains. Subsequently appearing in several Marvel movies and surviving multiple on-screen deaths, Loki is now the star of his very own series on Disney Plus.

Loki definitely raises some questions though. Like why wasn’t Loki’s time travel allowed by the TVA if it’s exactly what caused the Avengers to time travel, which WAS allowed? How does watching a quick video montage completely change Loki, who was literally just slaughtering thousands of people in New York just a few moments ago? How do Loki’s actions in Pompeii not create a butterfly effect, when he causes people to perish in different positions than intended? Has nobody with enchantment powers ever been pruned before? When will we get to see Owen Wilson on a jet ski?

To answer all these questions and more, step inside the Pitch Meeting that led to Loki! It’ll be super easy, barely an inconvenience.

I remember when I first got an Atari 2600 when I was a kid. It was the first gaming console I ever played and it was given to me as a gift by a family friend. It was a used console and it came with a ton of games. I spent a lot of time playing those games!

For those of you who also have fond memories of playing Atari, I’ve got a video here for you to watch that features a few Atari games that have been recreated in 3D. Some of those games include Pitfall, River Raid, Frostbite, Keystone Kapers and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

I’ve got a new sci-fi short film here for you to watch from DUST. It’s titled 2 Bullet Solution and the story centers on a group of strangers who wake up locked in a room that is being filled with poisonous gas.

The short comes with the brief tagline, “3 Test Subjects, 2 Bullets, 1 Solution.” You see, when there is only one person left alive, the gas will stop being sprayed into the room and the last remaining person will live.

This sparks an action sequence as the victims fight to get the bullets so that they can kill each other. The fight sequence is actually pretty cool and there are some unique things done that you might appreciate.

The film comes from Matt Mullins and Chris Naylor and I enjoyed it! Check it out and tell us what you think!

I’ve got a fun video here that all of you Harry Potter movie fans are going to enjoy. It comes from Peacock and it features Tom Felton doing a live reaction as he watches his introduction scenes in Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone. It’s actually quite charming to watch, especially the expressions on his face. He also talks about filming this first scene in the franchise and offers some fun commentary.

The Thor: Love and Thunder director’s version of Flash Gordon was originally planned as an animated feature.

Actor Saginaw Grant who appeared in many TV series and movies passed away peacefully in his sleep.

A new report has The Marvels casting detailing a new role that will require prosthetics and a dry sense of humor.