Check out this video of robot band The Trons performing “live.” Guitar, keys, drums, and something vaguely resembling vocals are all covered by this ragtag group of modified appliances and unfinished robotic hands. They even have their very own Myspace page! I wonder if a spam bot created it for them…

Robot Rock Group Readies for Next Gig (via MAKE Magazine)

By Jesse Mann

For those of you who are not familiar with Sandy O, Sandra Day O’Connor is an American jurist and was also the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Since the average American apparently can’t even name the three branches of the United States government, many may not know her. But they will soon. You know why? Sandy is going to change the face of entertainment and politics; by creating the most politically and socially concentrated video game ever.

On June 4th 2008, Sandy had spoken at the Digital Games For Social Change summit regarding the opportunity to open up the average Americans to explore social / political issues through video games. Alongside video game education advocate James Paul Gee of the University of Wisconsin, Sandy is planning to release Our Court by next fall.

No real information has been released yet but you can imagine that it will be something along the lines of Final Fantasy meets Judge Judy – replacing the monsters and battles with laws and cases. But who knows, maybe Sandy will include some surprises here and there; like a First Amendment case in which a magical unicorn is being accused of promoting illegal elixir use. Seriously, that would rule. I love unicorns.

Sandra Day O’Connor: Game Designer (via Wired)

By Taeko Saito

Metal Gear Solid 4 hits this week and I honestly can’t remember the last time I was this unbelievably stoked for a video game. Metal Gear Solid is my favorite game of all time and this final entry in the MGS series looks to answer every question and tie every loose end that’s been brought up since the series first began. But if you’re like me, it’s also been a while since you’ve played the entire series through. And given how complex the series’ story has gotten by this point, a refresher would be most welcome and thanks to an incredibly comprehensive post over at the influential NeoGAF forum you can have just that. This sucker’s got everything you could want to help prepare you for MGS4 with story recaps, character bios, screenshots, trailers, control scheme rundowns, avatars and so very much more.

And if that wasn’t enough Metal Gear for ya, be sure to check out the exceptional retrospective that Gametrailers has put together. The first five parts can be found here with the sixth and final part airing today.

MGS4 Primer (via NeoGAF Forums)

MGS Retrospective (via Gametrailers)

By Stewart Smith

Japan Cuts, a festival focusing specifically on Japanese film, has announced their lineup and released a wicked promotional trailer by NYC based visual artist Motomichi to help spread the word. Click above to view it.

Japan Cuts will be taking place at the Japan Society from July 2nd to July 13th, and will be screening films in conjunction with Subway Cinema’s New York Asian Film Festival from July 3rd - 6th. July is certainly shaping up to be a great month for Japanese film in New York!

Japan Cuts (via Japan Society)

By Jesse Mann

Anyone who has seen Isao Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies, an anime produced in part by Studio Ghibli in 1988, surely remembers crying their eyes out at what is one of the most heart-wrenching movies ever made. Now, just a couple short years after the film was remade in live-action for Japanese TV comes word that a feature length live-action remake is hitting theaters in Japan.

This timeless story of two children facing ever increasing hardships while trying to survive constant air raids in World War II Japan has resonated with viewers for years and years, and will surely do so again with this live remake. The likelihood of the film being released stateside, however, is surely slim. It opens July 5th in Japan.

New live-action adaptation of “Grave” (via Nippon Cinema)

By Jesse Mann

Subway Cinema, home of the New York Asian Film Festival, has just announced the full lineup for this year’s festival. An eclectic, sometimes quirky, and always fun lineup of feature length and short films grace the 2008 program, Subway’s seventh in a successful run of annual events. Tons of great new Japanese cinema will be on hand this year, including the world premiere opening film Then Summer Came, the wild wild antics of Sukiyaki Western Django, and many many others.

All the juicy details are available on their site as of today, including links to buy advance tickets. The festival opens on Friday, June 20th, and goes until July 6th . More info and images after the jump.