did you get everything you want for christmas?

there might be a reason you didn't get what you want. or perhaps there is another explanation.

winter solstice lunar eclipse

yesterday was the solstice. there was also a lunar eclipse. it is a rare event--the last eclipse on the solstice was in 1545. you ain't likely to see one ever again. and last night, in minnesota, you didn't see it. dang.

here is what it woulda looked like, had it not been snowing *again*:

Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse from William Castleman on Vimeo.

Your Highness

No embedding because its a red band trailer.

Your Highness.

Black Death

g

Would make a good companion piece with The Navigator.

Unique Forms of Continuity in Space

Umberto Boccioni


Spectacular.

sumthin' 'bout thumbs - This Guy

'Found him via Tumblr. 'Recommend you follow and enjoy.

http://tanneralmon.com/

The '70's retro film stuff is somewhere between "reaching its prime" and "getting old" but this guy is still good.

a favorite

and a video

HER NAME IS SHARON from Tanner Almon on Vimeo.

autocomplete atlas of the united states

here is a map of the united states, filled in with google autocomplete.

psst...buddy can you spare $300 for a light sabre?

wicked lasers has a new product, the S3 Arctic. it is a 455 nm, 1 watt laser.

yeah, so what you say? 1 watt? what's the big deal?

your typical red HeNe cat toy laser is 5 milliwatts. this one is 1000 milliwatts.

here is what 1000 milliwatts will do:

as a pointer, it will melt the projector screen during your power point presentations. it will burn your carpet when you play with your cat. it will burn your cat. it will pop ballons at 10 meters. it will pop your eyeballs at 149 meters. (well, not really. it will only blind you with a 0.25 sec exposure at less than 149 meters.)

and they sell these on the internet. to anyone. for $300.

Minecraft Soundtracked By Deadmau5

The song is called, "Get in the Cart, Pig."

Metal Map

I thought I'd share this

http://mapofmetal.com/#/home

*now* maybe you'll go buy a Kinect

New Adventures in Puppetry

This trailer for Show Your Face! is for performances in Chicago, but the Betontanc/Umka.lv troupe will be at the Walker in January.

For Wolf

The Triumph of Intellect and Romance over Brute Force and Cynicism

Perhaps the greatest crime of American television is that this never went to air.

it's all lego geek to me

PAC MAN CE Deus eX?

(pictured is my favorite new maze)

How does one make a classic like Pac Man better? If it is 1981 you play copycat and make him a her and make the pink ghost run away even without the aid of a power pellet*. If it is 2007 you update the look and the sound and the speed and you cut the board in half*. (note that I did not include Jr., the cartoon or the 3D)

2007 was a great year for gamers. I remember wondering where the gaming industry could take us after such a year. 2010 continues to show us where with Pac Man CE DX.

So how do you make a 30 year old game that you made better three years ago better better? It turns out that the answer is quite simple: You add bombs*.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait. What? Did you say bombs?"
"Yes, bombs."
"But, but Pac Man has a stick and a 1P and a 2P button. How do you use these bombs and where do they come from anyway?"
"I don't know where they come from but now there is a bomb button too, for the bombs."
"Bombs and buttons from nowhere? This is sacrilege!"
"No, this is sacrelicious."

The Wiki would have you believe that such a device, plot or otherwise, used to get our hero out of a tight spot is a sub-par choice in story telling. That might be true but in terms of game and play the bomb addition is an optimal experience*.


*among other things

ducks in the wind

I close my eyes
only for a moment and the ducks are gone
as they seem
to pass before my eyes like tiny yellow leaves

ducks in the wind
all they are is ducks in the wind

same swan song
just a ball of down blowing endlessly
all we do
chuckle at the birds and think: glad its not me!

ducks in the wind
all they are is ducks in the wind

must stand up
nothing rolls forever but the tumbleweed
they roll on by
and all the ducklings think: mom wait for me!

ducks in the wind
all they are is ducks in the wind
ducks in the wind
all they are is ducks in the wind

Andy Movies

A few months ago Gus posted a trailer for "The Way Back" and tagged it as an 'Andy Movie'

He was right.

It will also probably come as no surprise that I am looking forward to the remake of True Grit. (I am also crossing my fingers)

However, these other movies are on my short list of upcoming films to check out, and most of them probably wouldn't make Gus's version of an Andy List.


The Illusionist



I could watch that style of animation all day. The soundtrack draws me in. The storyline attracts my whimsical side.


Get Low



Apparently it has had very limited release already. Most likely this is one will show up for a week at the uptown and then be gone and I'll end up seeing it online. I am a big Robert Duvall fan. I like the character's answer of 'I am.'


Four Lions



The trailer makes me smile.


The Debt



Okay, this one may not be all that big of a shocker to see on an Andy List. I think highly of Helen Mirren as an actress. (Although I sometimes question her rolls. I guess sometimes she just has to pay the bills. At least I HOPE that is why she was in Teaching Mrs Tingle and National Treasure 2)


Restless



Restless again appeals to my whimsical side. I like the ghost.


The Tempest



I always enjoy when we see Shakespeare's work on the big screen....with the real duologue. I also will repeat my like of Helen Mirren.

Give the wikileaks cables a read or two.

That is, if you haven't already of course.

In general I think these leaks are a good thing. In fact a great thing but that is not the point of this post. Currently I am enjoying reading the pieces in the context of themselves and not in the context of what wikileaks means/America/freedom of informaiton/THE END OF TEH WORLD.

My current favorite is the former US Ambassador to Harare - Zimbabwe; he is at another post now. His name is Christopher W. Dell and his cliche' heavy cables make them go down easy. I also get the sense that he believes in his mission and America's role in it. Whether you think we should 'be all up in e'bodies business' or not 'we be.' And arguing against stopping a mad man is hard for me to do. (even when people bring in the cost in dollars of doing so) But anyway . . .

Take a look around the leaks and let's explore all of the conversations they are sure to start.

I Lost a Little Bit of My Soul Tonight

The Human Centipede is now streaming on Netflix.

In what Bizarro World do I live that I thought that this might be a reasonable use of 90 minutes? I know, I know -- I'm the master of my own life, but goddammit, Gus, why did you ever put the kernel of this into my brain? I now have to live with these (NSFW) images in my head for the rest of my life.

So I watched it. I wish I hadn't. Without the main gimmick, it's a really boring serial killer flick that hits every major cliche in the genre.

It's not as explicit in terms of on-screen violence as an Antichrist or Hostel, but I still walked away with a unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach that has not been there for any other film in my recent memory.

To its credit, this film and everyone involved takes takes itself entirely seriously. There is not a hint of a wink. And don't get me wrong, I like a movie that pulls no punches, but this thing is relentless. It was a dank oubliette from which I thought I might emerge, clawing for some glimmer of light, only to have its final bricks mortared in place over my head at the last moment.

So to sum up:

• Trite
• Disturbing
• Will cause loss of all hope for humanity

Watch at your own peril.

lens flare? why'd it have to be lens flare?

Neil Gaiman made me tear up.

(And be a little jealous too.) This isn't the Neil Gaiman I have read. Or the Neil Gaiman in my head. Or the Neil Gaiman you guys have told me about. It's almost like, ~like he is a real person or something. Or something.

NPR Discovers Black Metal

My biggest beef with public radio's forays into pop music has been that their efforts simply create a new kind of easy listening -- music inoffensive to the ears of well-to-do thirty-somethings who like to donate money to lefty arts concerns. But the whole point of using public or donated money to fund the arts isn't to produce pablum, but to challenge, enrich and maybe even enrage.

So I'm very pleased that NPR has followed the lead of the New York Times (and a growing legion of hipsters) in exploring more challenging, noisy fare.

Hence this first listen of the new record from Agalloch, who aren't black metal in the truest sense -- some say only Norwegians hold claim to that label. No they're part of the new wave of American black metal (U.S.B.M, lol) that frequently melds elements of indie friendly post-rock (like Godspeed You! Black Emperor) and progressive with the traditional shrieked vocals and punishing rhythms of the genre.

For many Agalloch's latest, on the boutique label Profound Lore, is the metal album of the year.

Listen to the record in its entirety at NPR.

This is winter music.

"More like reading a book than watching a movie."

Yeah, yeah, more Minecraft.

That quote is Notch talking about the play of his game. I mean his gift to the world.
Here is the podcast. (Starts slow and then picks up steam.)

Jimmy Kimmel is a proud noob!

have you seen this? (probably)

i don't watch t.v. so i hadn't. apparently there is some uproar about it's appropriateness. screw that! it's a fun commercial. i'm gonna go buy the game.

monkey and pig, not dog and butterfly

what's not to love!

I hear you like computers in your computers.

Minecraft

Great News!

Rock Dust Light Star

Rock Band Radio

Every song from every Rock Band game streaming now.

Warner Herzog Reads Where's Waldo

110 year old short form sci-fi

Sooobad or sooogood?

Finis

Wiki

End of the world stuff published around the turn of a century with a dash of nerd-porn in the form of a red-headed super smart, yet still vulnerable, hottie.

Yes, indeed I am picking up New Vegas at midnight.

Limbo: Reach

The Way Back -- An Andy Movie

The Way Back - Trailer
Uploaded by ThePlaylist. - Full seasons and entire episodes online.

For some reasons I file flicks like this in my "Andy" pile. Not sure if its the historical setting or what. This flick is directed by Peter Weir the Australian new wave director behind Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Last Wave (both MUST WATCH).

He also directed Master and Commander, the movie all good people pray will get a sequel.

Minecraft: The Oldest Sin in The Book

The year of our Lord two thousand and ten began with the second half of a one two punch from BioWare. In the middle of winter Mass Effect 2 set the ‘Game of the Year’ bar high and early months after opening us up with a Dragon Age: Origins jab in the autumn of ’09. Rockstar Games continued the theme in the spring and gave us more choices in which to exercise our free will on the path to Red Dead Redemption. This summer a possible end game of all this choosing was brought home by going to and through LIMBO. It was in this context that Minecraft was graciously introduced.

Currently in Alpha and officially unreleased Minecraft is the Game of the Year or, if you’ll allow me, the Omega game of 2010. To understand why this is true think back with me, for a moment, to a time sometime after the beginning of time.

. . . And the serpent said unto the woman, “You shall not surely die. For God knows that the day you eat of it (the fruit of the tree) your eyes shall be opened and you shall be as God, knowing good and evil.” And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a desirable thing and a tree to be desired to make one wise she took of the fruit thereof . . .

Keep that age old consequence in the back of your mind but come back to the present. Start up a session of Minecraft with me and here is what we will experience.

The game begins with a pixelated brown screen and two small but significant lines of text: “Generating Level - Building Terrain” followed by “Generating Level - Stimulating World For A Bit.” To forsake subtlety and subtext allow me to call them Genesis chapters one and two respectively.

We are then placed into this garden –sorry, I mean, then our avatar spawns in to this level and we are surrounded by this beautifully crafted world. We can walk a distance eight times the size of Earth and not find the same place twice. Minecraft is full of oceans and continents, beaches and lagoons, mountain tops and valleys, waterfalls and lava flows, pastures and deserts. It goes on and on and on.

We soon realize this wonderfully generated world is inhabited. There are animals of all kinds, flowers and fauna, plants and pigs - and this one tree. Well, there are a ton of trees but they are all the same tree. Everywhere we go, look or turn there it is; the same tree.

In all actuality it is quite unfair. It is as if the game sets us up for failure/success *wink, wink* and literally begs us, “You see the tree and the fruit of it. Satisfy your desire for it. Take the wisdom within and recreate this world your way.” It doesn’t yell it at us, hit us over the head with it or coerce us. Minecraft simply and silently presents us with the opportunity and we take it – I mean, we hold down the left mouse button and collect the wood.

“Wait, wait, wait,” you might be thinking, “don’t you think you are stretching it a bit here? This is a video game not some lesson on morality, choice, free will – or, or creation you sneaky jerk. This is why we can’t have nice things . . .”

For now my response will have to be, “We will never know if starting the Tech-Tree of a game such as Minecraft with, in fact, a tree is divine providence or coincidental happenstance but in either case the irony of it is delicious.”

Antony and the Johnsons -- Swanlights

Your liberal media-approved album of the month is Swanlights (stream here) from Antony and the Johnsons. If you haven't yet been turned on to one of the most interesting voices in contemporary music do yourself a favor and explore his work. His guess spots on the nouveau disco record from Hercules and Love Affair are highlights. "Blind" is a particular favorite.

disgusting bacteria-ridden disks of suck

i have always hated pennies. so does this guy.

Speaking of geeky

This is not my first time pushing graphjam as the intersection of powerpoint humor and pop culture. Its has something for everyone and I will prove it. Today's Fallout episode is for cwolf. Other favorites for Gus, AVK, hose, windstorm, Andy, and Dock.

Is there such a thing as too geeky?

During this morning's session of my thrice weekly Penny-Arcade grind I came across something. I'm not sure exactly what it is yet or if it is good or bad. However, I do know that it has a little something for all of us - up ins.

That's right, Wil Wheaton, loved by all, is on the cover. Remember when we all said we hated him because we were immature and envied his luck at getting to man the helm of the Enterprise? Now that we are older we understand we should have cheered for him all along.

Look at the third guy on the list. Yeah, the "Name of the Wind" guy. Another person who's work we mocked openly with pride but read secretly with shame. Because, man, that book went down like a cold glass of milk chasing fresh, warm bread slathered in honey. Why oh why do we have to ruin good things with our vain ideals on complexity? Before we even give it a chance!

The second guy works with Stargate: Universe. I quit watching the show, I should say series of series, when they coped out after a whole season of reason vs. faith. You see, they spent the entire season debunking religion and doing it rather well too even if it was heavy-handed. But on the finale they tossed a bone out to the faith crowd in a manner that was antithetical to the previous 20 weeks. Cowards.

But! If I have learned anything from the first two paragraphs (after the pic) I should apply that lesson to the third and give the new show a chance.

Anyone else have any insights on the rest of the list? Oh, and BTW today's PA is about AVK/Qhorin.

Trollhunters

Watch the trailer here.

gog is Back Up.

Sorry for the scare in the comments of Wolf's MoM post. gog is alive, well, and back up. Why not do yourself a favor and pick up the best adventure game ever made, Wolf's aversion to point-and-click be damned.

would you recognize the signs of the clipocalypse?

via www.treelobsters.com

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Zucchini, shall not be infringed

you never know when you will need to zucchini a bear.

BioShock Thursday

BioShock Infinite is what AVK and I have been talking about every Thursday for the last two years. For realz and metaphorically.

Video Games BioShock Infinite Ten-Minute Demo Gameplay HD

XBox 360 Playstation 3 Nintendo Wii

I can't wait. And oh, it is a console game.

nintendo DS intrigues gorilla

a boy dropped his DS into a gorilla enclosure. the gorilla wasn't *too* impressed. the kid is lucky the gorilla didn't mistake it for luggage.

It's a Shame No One Told Them to Hold Out in the Barn

Left 4 Dead has spawned no end of fan comics, but Valve has finally put the task to a professional. Michael Avon Oeming, to be exact.

Read it here.

Represent.

A little tour of where I'm from.

i am glad Halo Reach just came out

MOM @ GOG

I just spent $6 at gog.com for one of the best games ever made.

They also just released the entire King's Quest, Space Quest, and Gabriel Knight series. I can only hope Police Quest is yet to come.

Fuck point and click. Long live the text parser.

Machete

No time for a real post only: I think we are all supposed to go see Machete together.

Game of Thrones First Look.

No time for pics. Go here.

Frodo Lives!

Wait for it.

I think this is the kind of song that is made better by Rock Band.

When meme meets art ...

meets gamers, meets anime ...





awesome stuff happens.

Buy The Way

Valkyria Chronicles II for rhe PSP comes out tomorrow!

"Don't worry, Anna. I'm sure they'll release it on UMD."

Tomorrow is day 1 and I will be there.

Marwencol

Marwencol is a documentary about Mark Hogancamp and the strange world he has created.

In 2000 Hogancamp was nearly beaten to death outside a bar in Kingston, New York. He suffered brain damage, losing most of his memories.

As personal therapy he began building a 1/6 scale WWII-era village called Marwencol, which he populated with characters inspired by the people he knew. He then photographed the dioramas, creating a dramatic visual narrative using the figurines.

The documentary opens in Minneapolis this December.

OMG

I might be way out of line here. Although I highly doubt it.
I followed a link from Penny-Arcade today and found this picture:

I'm going to try and say something nice. "Well, at least they were able to quit worshipping that organ for one Sunday." Or maybe, "Just think of all the scripture we could wrap up in a flag that size!" How about, "You know, I never fully understood all of those hundreds of verses about idolatry until I saw this."

It isn't working.

Swarmation

Swarmation may or may not give you insight into the nature of human relationships and cooperation. Additional discussion here.

Excerpts From H.P. Lovecraft's Yelp Page

"While plodding down the streets of madness I came upon The Cupcake Place, its wares laid out in the window as they were the eyes of a transdimensional fear-beast coated with the unblinking frosting of eternal torment."

Link

this too shall pass

It worked... but sadly, it all went tits up in the end.

Kagematsu-the RPG



You know I'm in; too bad it is sold out.

Game play reports here.
(IGOTY 2009)

A Tangential Right Turn from DockCon.

Interest in this specfic flavor of the subject 'hipster' may be minimal in our group but I just spent the afternoon laughing, feeling uncomfortable and/or thinking, "Oh, SNAP!" (BTW, none of it ironicly.)

Take the quiz and share your scores - yes, this time for the irony.

I'm going to buy the book (even though the guy has an unfortunate last name.)

if Gus can post that...

...then i can post this.

who's your favorite sci fi author? hers is Ray Bradbury:

in space, no one can hear you scream

even if your luke skywalker in cloud city, no one can hear you

Pop Song Of The Year

The back-up singers make it.

Happy Birthday, Don Schlitz!

Well, it is almost his birthday; it is coming up on August, 29th. Also, what a name! Schlitz - Jr. even.

"Wait wait wait," you're probably saying, "Don who? Don why?"

Hey, thanks for asking. Don Schlitz is the writer of one of the best songs to ever come out of the good ol' United States of America. Hmm, but it's not actually just a song. It is a lyrical masterpiece; probably the best metaphor offered since, well, since Jesus put some out there. And much like those parables a ton of people don't get 'The Gambler' either. Of they take it and run some terrible place with it. But anyway ...

Check out this part of the song's wiki, "Rogers' rendition on the Muppet Show (see below) indicates the Gambler actually dies." Really? You think? I've been around the block a few times now so I should know better but somewhere at sometime people weren't sure the gambler died? What the shit? Come on, people! They probably shouldn't have been watching The Muppet Show either because that was an awfully smart show. - Now I have to convince myself that I don't want to know what terrible things stupid people did with that American gem as well. Damn it ...

Maybe I will feel better if we take a look at the imagery of the intro and pretend the stupid people never happened: "on a train bound for nowhere" and "out the window at the darkness" What a way and place to start a story. These guys aren't just on a train they are already nowhere and lost and alone in this thing called life. ("Hang on a second. Aren't they playing Poker at a bar or something?") Ahhhhhh ...

It's not working. Excuse me while I go lock myself in my car and listen to Mike Doughty's cover.

Again.

Power

Let's pretend its the summer of '07 again. Here's some new Kanye. Watch in HD for best results.

when I grow up

I think I finally found what I want to be when I grow up. Ok ok, if. I wasn't looking so it must be fate.

MN Twins MLB Official photo site.

MLB Official photo site.

How cool of a job would that be? How much cool-er of a job could there be?

(no pics for post; all shots protected from DL)

Winter is Coming... sometime.

For those interested in the current state of casting on HBO's A Game of Thrones, this is a nice summary, broken down by House.

don't look into laser beam with your remaining eye

turns out those inexpensive green laser pointers can be a hazard.

however, one co-worker says it probably isn't as bad as they say it is. 1064 nm infrared light has quite a long absorption length in your flesh or braiiiiiin. he is doubtful that enough infrared light can be absorbed by your retina to cause permanent damage.

still, it could pay to remember the old maxim: cat toys are only fun 'til someone loses an eye.

souls worth £5

careful with those EULAs. you never know what you are signing away.

Two Headed Boy

The Swell Season covers Neutral Milk Hotel

As covered by The Swell Season -- part of the A.V. Club's "Uncover" series.

robots. why'd it have to be robots?

skynet is a kitten compared to our future overlords.

The Arcade Fire -- Suburbs

Listen to the new hotness at NPR.

Stuck on LIMBO

LIMBO

Traditionally Limbo is a spiritual state of being, born of bad religion, consisting of equal parts ‘fear of the unknown’ and, even more unfortunate, ‘fear of what was thought to be known.’ In the XBLA game this place called LIMBO is assumed, a given reality even. It is within this conundrum that you are asked what you would go through in order to rest assured on the eternal fate of your young sister and ultimately tasked with going through it. You shouldn't be caught unawares that a Platforming Puzzle set upon the edge of Hell would soon cease being clever and reveal itself as devilish.

The game LIMBO can appropriately be compared to and described as a ‘dark’ Portal (AKA GOTY 2007). Plunged into and immersed* with atmosphere you feel out the ways of LIMBO’s obstacles in slow motion. Immediately following you are forced through them again in fast forward; pressed on by and at the behest of even more atmosphere. This game, presented only in black and white, is the most beautiful to grace screens this year. As if time still exists.

. . .

To be continued. I actually have some work today.

* Baptist joke. Just for me.

The Most Recent of Many!

In just under four weeks, it's going to be back on.

10% discount on pre-orders.

On Wii Scarcity

Sorry for the sloppy post.

The Mike's were discussing the Wii's scarcity position last night. They both had their starting positions and went at it from there. Here are some links, from the launch and more recent, that might give them more facts, and some speculation too, to work with.

Supply problem 2007: http://news.cnet.com/Nintendo-Wii-have-a-supply-problem/2100-1043_3-6181842.html?tag=lia;rcol

Ars Technica from 2006: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2006/10/8000.ars

Some guy on the Internet that says he knows Econ 2008: http://lithcast.com/files/1a26c5c844fa58e8e457a3f7e52f77ee-77.html

I remember reading the first two at the time. For the record I am with Dock and don't believe that the shortage is manufactured as Waters asserts. I base that on crazy demand for the chipsets but I am still looking for that article ...

Any help Gus?

Alien Swarm: The Tensest Co-op Since Left 4 Dead

I played Alien Swarm for over three hours last night. It was a total blast (and, again, it's free). It delivers left and right. There are two different characters of each class, each with individual strengths and weaknesses and customizable load-outs. The co-op element is feels really natural- it emerges from the gameplay with a seeming inevitability. I played as Vegas, one of the technicians. I found myself yelling things like "cover me while I hack this terminal!" and "hold on, guys! I'm almost through!" Seriously, do yourself a favor and pull it down.



The tension, the claustrophobia- I haven't felt like this since, well, since Left 4 Dead. It took this game to make me realize why L4D2 never grabbed me quite the way the original did. I couldn't put my finger on it before. Everything seemed to be an improvement. It's the maps. It's all that open space. In the original, you were always hemmed in. When the maps did open up, there was always a momentary sense of disorientation while you sussed out which way you had to go. The sequel was too open- the maps are mostly open with occasional tight spots and the effect of stepping out of a hole into horrible, horrible freedom isn't present. Don't get me wrong, my favorite part in either L4D title is running through the sugar cane field in Hard Rain, but being able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, four across for most of the game doesn't evoke the same tension that having to always crouch out of the way of fire from behind while the horde bears down on you. It's a tension that's present in Alien Swarm, in buckets.

Because Banking is So Very Very Slow

No really. My job has never been so uneventful. I spend my days trying to occupy my brain with something to at least sustain my sanity. I consume photographer blogs so voraciously that when actual work happens to intrude it feels like death. A little. I assume.

AVK would tell you that 'lack of work' is just a cover. He would also go on and share that I want to get my sex changed to match that little girl inside of me and run off to be a fashion photographer in Paris. Lonely and anxious. But so alive!

Um, anyway, I should have a ready retort for that but I fear I "doth protest too much" already. So the, eventual, point of this post is a picture I came across. I was looking around here via some hyper link from somewhere. I can't remember. It is kind of a blur. She is a fashion photographer, for Vogue Paris or something, that takes pictures of pretty things wearing pretty things. (Or some other set of demeaning words that aren't meant that way.) But the trick is that these are candid shots. Really good candid shots. Not over done and over produced portraits or ads. Some would say taking pictures of beautiful ladies is cheating a little when it comes to photography but these are honest to goodness interesting shots that stand on their own as examples of great photography that I can learn from.




I swear she must live in a magical place where only pretty people can move in. Which brings us to the feared(?), inevitable(?) side of that world. And I think the point of the post as well but I can't remember anymore. With the losing of my mind and all.

I followed a link from her blog to another one and looked at this group of candids to see what I could learn from them. Needless to say all lessons learned were life's lessons.




Long ago I had hair like that for maybe about a week.

Once.

And I still have over an hour left to work. I mean to sit here.

We Gotta Play This.

Who's up for top-down co-op? You know, Gauntlet style adventure. Are you in yet?

What if I told you it takes place in a Sci-fi setting. Alien invasion, anyone?

No? If they reworked it in the Source engine, would that grab you? Nothing?

What if Valve's making it available for FREE?

Via Kotaku, more info in their write-up in the link.

Geoff Darrow + Fallout

That's the cover to the new Dark Horse comic "All Roads." The Fallout-inspired comic will be written by Chris Avellone and debuts at Comic-Con. Jean Diaz and Wellinton Alves handle the interior illustrations, because if you tried to get Geoff Darrow to do that the comic wouldn't come out until 2054.

Harvey Pekar Obit

Tom Spurgeon of The Comics Reporter has written the only Harvey Pekar obituary you need to read.

Though I highly recommend checking out some the personal memories of Pekar that his friends, fans and followers have shared (many, many more here). The guy lived the right kind of life.

Because Gus Can't Be Bothered

Harvey Pekar just died. I don't think I can eulogize him better than his friend and sometime collaborator, Robert Crumb:



Trivia: In my parents' day, the best blotter around had Mr. Natural on it.

Edit: I came by this information on Gawker

Not Necessarily the News

Some of this may be a few weeks old, but:

• GRMM is a bit closer on Book 5, having postponed some chapters: http://grrm.livejournal.com/
• HBO has a GoT site (as well as a sight of Ned wearing a lemur skin): http://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones/index.html
• Consensus seems to be March 2011 as episode 1.
• The Barn basement finishing will be complete and open to all who don't want to invest in HBO.

Activision deploys Hate Sink? - Real ID

(The blog has become my only avenue of communication to you guys while I'm at work. It is sub-par for stuff like this but I wanted to get this out before I stopped caring and moved on ... at about three this afternoon.)

I've shared my "Hate Sink Theory" with you before and I think Activision/Blizzard might be up to it right now with their Real ID maneuver. If you don't know what is going on read any game news site or ask Andy.

Anyway, I think they put this 'display real name on message boards' thing out there to distract us from something even worse - that they knew we wouldn't like. And by they I mean Activision; not Blizzard. Republicans and Democrats ... political types with something to sell and gain have done it. CCG's have done it. (cough, cough AGOT) So why would it be so hard to believe that Activision wouldn't? Especially since they are sleeping with good ol' FaceBook. Both companies being in a state of bumps and bruises in the press and public over services they are trying to lead us in to - I mean - over new ways for them to make money off of us.

/end cynicism
maybe

I do wonder what unforeseen or unknown surprise is lurking behind the dust clouds of the real name shit storm.

Ancient Trader

The PC game is now available as an Xbox Live Indie. Thank Tom Chick if you love it.

Part III: In Which the Cartoons Are Made to Interact with Real Things to Great Effect

To paraphrase the Dead Milkmen: if you don't like Gorillaz, then you sure could use some fixin'. These two videos strung together with some exposition and cleverly integrated tour promotion should go a fair way to getting you straight.

It Must Be E3 or Something

...because the internet is all dirty with new game trailers. Like this one, which may be of interest to some of you.

Super Hero or Super Villain?

Probably neither but I swear I have seen this guy in some of the more recent comic book action movies. If you haven' t already, read the short article over at WIRED. Even in a still photo he exudes a certain ... swagger.



EDIT: Ok, maybe a super villain.
http://sites.google.com/site/concernedanthropologists/u.s.armyspiesonnca

halo reach bug fix

they got to get the ball rolling to fix this bug

(scroll down to the "Crotch Bugs" heading)

i guess i will just beat people up

turns out that playing violent video games isn't cathartic

Taking out the Mosin

As I mentioned on gaming Thursday taking out the old relic, I figure I'd post some pictures of the second outing. After sitting untouched in some Russian Cave since the mid 1950's she needed to stretch her legs. This is her second outing. The first she kicked real hard, but after adding a modern recoil pad, she tamed down quite a lot.

If it looks familiar, you've probably seen it in CoD2 or from this movie

GalCiv2 Ultimate - $10

Seems like a deal. Saw Hose playing it once and it looks like it could scratch an itch until Civ 5 comes out.

$10 at Impulse.