Hawken

They're totally dumbing down video games AMIRITE?

who knew 4th-order runge-kutta simulators could be so fun?

be the envy of your office! own your own trebuchet

Agalloch Live

NPR has the set from the band's first ever shows in NYC.

baby ducks can't be potty trained?

George R.R. Martin vs Taiwanese News

A Dock Movie

So we've already determined what an "Andy movie" is. It's historical, most likely involves weapons and is about, by and large, men. But there's also, I believe, such thing as a "Dock movie" and its either a coming of age story or a movie about people talking to each other.

Let's see if Certified Copy (with the Denby seal of approval) fits the bill.

so. you're an out of work furry?

no problem

sorry, we're all out of phased plasmas rifles in the 40 watt range

but we do have an infra-red laser pistol in the 1 megawatt range.

She Don't Like Firefly

Ascension

I'd been exposed to Nethack by avk a decade ago, and like many, couldn't get my head around it. It's like looking at the Matrix from the outside -- you have to learn to read the code encrypted. But eventually you just see blonde, brunette, redhead...

I can't remember precisely when I dove in headfirst, but it was sometime n the last year. I've played other games in that time, but in the grand scheme, relatively few. And kept coming back to Nethack.

The turning point was my discovery of of the iPhone/iPad implementations. The ability to knock out a level or two waiting in line, on the toilet, or at a boring event (cough...ice dancing... cough) was critical to bending my learning curve. Another recommendation from avk was crucial: stop playing random characters until you know what the hell you're doing. Once I focused on my Lawful Valkyrie, it allowed me to learn the language from a single teacher, instead of from a cacophony of voices and accents shouting in my face. And of course, spoilers help...

The end result (or is it just the beginning?) was my first ascension approximately one hour ago, at 9:51 CST on March 9, 2011. No simple way to obtain proof outside a server-based game, so I had to resort to screen shots.

So, hearken all ye unto me! See below the final glory of Wolf the Swashbuckler, Level 19 Lawful Female Human Valkyrie, Slayer of Death, wielder of Excalibur, vanquisher of the Wizard of Yendor (and 2946 additional creatures).

There Be Dragons

If you haven't heard George is done~enough.

http://www.georgerrmartin.com/if-update.html

i know what you're thinking

"Did he drink six malt liquors or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a Magnum 40, the most powerful bottle in the world, and would surpass the minimum fracture-threshold of your neurocranium, you've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk?

is that a bat'leth in your pocket?

here is an article about ten fantasy swords you wish you could own. but the writer didn't include this one.

Leningrad Cowboys & Red Army Choir - SWEET HOME ALABAMA

The Russian Red Army must be really hard up for cash to be doing this, but at least they aren't selling nukes

shrimp or GTA?

see more at This is Indexed.