Was playing Canabalt again, realized how much I enjoy the bitpop stylings of dB.

What is easily the best Firefly fan comic ever. May have been previously posted.

If you can carry a tune, you can play the Gahoon! And look like a buffoon!

Anatomy of a tribble. More complicated then I would have guessed, and somehow, much less complicated than I would have guessed.

Last night's Adventure Time was very D&D oriented (well, the first half was. The second half was rock-solid nightmare oriented). Which makes sense, because apparently that's the logic Pen Ward's brain runs on (that Finn is a Paladin and Jake is Bill Murray from Meatballs is about as deep as that show gets).

SCIENCE WHAT HAVE YOU WROUGHT

While cleaning out my bookmarks, I came across a folder of sites that assist with getting statics and graphing data.

Social Explorer: Allows for the display and examination of various census data across the United States. Advanced features are pay only.

Worldmapper: Shows world maps with country size adjusted by statical data (population, income, toy imports and exports, etc).

Chartle (Beta): Create a variety of charts and graphs, useful for colorful data presentation.

Wordle: Creates re-sized word blocks, according to word frequency. Related: Tag Crowd (Beta), which lets you created embedded word clouds for websites.

Datamasher: Fun to play around with, lets you contrast and compare various sets of public data.

Lastly, Daytum: Which lets you collect and present personal data.

Io9 posted this. Understand, that to me, this is like watching the Iron Man 2 teaser trailer and then being told that I can never see it. They're even auctioning off production art.

Cleaning out my bookmarks, part one:

Here's a bit of Kentucky legislature encouraging "purchase of a submarine to patrol the waters of the Commonwealth and search and destroy all casino riverboats."

An essay on the planned Nazi orbital solar mirror, or "Sun Gun."

Building E, an evil artificial intelligence.

There were several attempts to create flying platforms and "flying jeeps" during the 50s and 60s. They didn't have much luck (although you can still see those flying platforms in MGS3).

QUARK was a short-lived sit-com sci-fi show from the 60s. Something of a Trek parody, I'd never heard of it before.

The Old Man of the Lake is a sun-bleached log that's been floating in Crater Lake for almost a century. I'd like to hang out there.

The Phantom time hypothesis states that the early middle ages never existed.

The medical histories of American Presidents

Principles of the American Cargo Cult, or why people are sheep.

Houdini starred in the first motion picture to feature a robot.

Two resources for would-be steampunk writers: a selection of 19th century vernacular and a dictionary of Victorian London.

A collection of several hypothetical planets, including Vulcan and Planet X.

Various maps of Mars.

What would happen to the people when their nation sinks into the sea? The might become a "ghost state", with an entire population in exile.

There is a massive underdark ocean under Asia. Ok, not really, but I like the concept.

The Aymara people of South America have a verbal and physical language that reverses the concept of time, i.e. the past is to their front, the future is to their back.

Derinkuyu is an underground city in Turkey. Built around 1400, it has space for at least 10,000 people and could be cut off completely from the outside world.

Nearly a hundred displaced villagers live the troglodyte lifestyle in a massive cave in China. They have a school, a hotel, and television. The buildings have no roofs.

The Door to Hell exists. Situated near Darvaz, Uzbekistan, it is a cavern filled with deadly gas that has been burning for 35 years. The constant fire keeps the poison from escaping.

An underground cave complex in Mexico may have inspired the Maya underworld.

The world's tallest log cabin was built by a Russian gangster. It looks like an 8-year old's creation. He built it because he was lonely.

Several sites let you print out pop-culture cube origami.

A young girl in Mintlaw is dying from Cystinosis, which is crystallizing her healthy cells. Her eyes are turning to crystal.

There's a handful of folks who push the extremes of human endurance. Swimming in arctic waters, breathing with a distinct lack of oxygen, these people are a genetic misstep away from eyebeams and retractable claws.

Speaking of weird human adaptations, human echolocaters are amazing. I mean, there are blind people who mountain bike and skateboard, using only sound for navigation. And of course, other blind people manage to become nefarious hackers, so there's that.

Astronomers find clouds of the Milky Way containing ethyl formate, i.e. the chemical that gives raspberries their flavor. So the galaxy might taste of raspberries, which is neat.

Time may have existed before the Big Bang. Notable for mentioning that a newly-created infant universe would not expand and overwrite our own, because it would create new space.

Constructing a new fictional language? Use the Language Construction Kit. Trying to envision how future people talk? Use Futurese (JBR Precoglang).

All of WhiteChapel's REMAKE/REMODEL threads are excellent, but I find "Click Rush, the Gadget Man" to be my favorite.

The alternate evolution exploration of alien world Snaiad and the Speculative Dinosaur Project.

The not-so-subtle spiritual themes of Jack Kirby's work.

The sacred books and traditions of the Yezidiz, a sect of semi-gnostic "devil-worshipers" from Iraq. Think King Peacock in Top Ten.

Agabe, Eros, Philia, and Storge: The Greek words for love.

Fighting Jack Churchill might be the most badass shoulder of WWII. Among other feats, he killed Nazis with a bow and arrows. Also a sword. Also bagpipes.

Antarctica dream dollars are currency from an antarctic utopia that never existed.

Hell money, featuring pictures of the Emperor of Hell, was invented by the Chinese to smooth economic transactions in their bureaucratic afterlife.

A collection of European anti-semitic legends.

The Code of the West.

Christ, what a punchline.

Tim Gunn on Superhero costumes (Mister Miracle's costume is awesome you shut your mouths).

"Among the far-flung, unrealized projects that Mr. Kirby helped create or contributed to were “Roxie’s Raiders,” an Indiana Jones-style serial about a female adventurer and her allies; “Golden Shield,” about an ancient Mayan hero seeking to save earth in the apocalyptic year 2012; and “The Gargoids,” about scientists who gain superpowers after being infected by an alien virus."

I knew Jack Kirby moved to animation after he soured on comics, and was was responsible for Thundarr the Barbarian. I did not know that he also created over 600 illustrated plates of concept art for never-animated cartoons and toy-lines. Wow. If you're confused about why this is awesome, read Chris Sims' take on some of the lost properties.

Sometimes I have dreams about being in a musty book shop (like the Book Peddler, EC dwellers), and finding stacks or spinners or comics with strange titles that I've never heard of, by artists and writers both familiar and unknown. This is kind of like that.

Also, CAVEMAN ROBOTS.

Too tired to play through retro-RPGs? Luckily, you have Synopsis
Quest! HOORAY FOR HERO BEEP

Tomb is a short silent comic that you should read immediately.

I just think NewspaperWood looks cool.

If you start playing the 8-bit cover of Dark Side of the Moon when you start playing Mario, it syncs up perfectly.

I want a LEGO chess set.

If you ever get a chance, go visit Dr. Evermor's Forevertron. It is that cool.

A handy guide to Jack Kirby Tech. Make your own!

There has been a severe lack of decent gelatinous cube minis, until now.

ALSO: Aggie has a blog now. It is pretty awesome. You should check it out.

If you love your alot a lot, you should read up on Alots.

Why would the internet tell me about upcoming game SpyParty when the release date is two-freaking-years away? It may be the most amazing multiplayer concept I've heard of.

Do you with that there was a hip-hop track that would recap Scott Pilgrim? Adam WarRock's got you covered: I Gotta Believe!.

Speaking of SP, the Scott Pilgrim video game is everything I ever wanted. Normally I dismiss all movie tie-in games, but pixel art by Paul Robertson and songs by Anamanguchi? Seriously? This is like an awesome fever dream. I hope the game design is up to par.

I don't understand anything anymore. What is gong on here? Why is Alan Moore Spanish? What is happening?

"Hundreds of children aged from four to 14, some of them armed with knives and sharpened sticks, were patrolling inside the historic graveyard...hunting a 7ft tall vampire with iron teeth who had already kidnapped and eaten two local boys." Comic books were, of course, to blame.

Shocking no one, science proves that high fructose corn syrup is bad for you. But does anyone else thing it's odd that the throwback sodas just came back a few months ago? Like someone knew? Like when they said running shoes were bad for you, and hey look, there's these new running foot gloves. Or when the plastic in your water bottle was toxic, but hey, we just happen to be selling metal bottles now, what a lucky happenstance.

I wish this was how I traveled to school.

Have not played YouDunnit yet, but the game concept is very cool.

London flashmob does Spaced shootout.

Ah, the splendor of natural soundscapes, especially those of early arcades...

NH Democratic State Representative makes note on facebook, "anime is a prime example of why two nukes just wasn't enough". Not so much racist as backwards (There's anime BECAUSE we dropped bombs. It would just be weirder if we dropped more. Yes, WEIRDER.)

The Secret of Kells looks so goshdurn pretty. Hope it stops nearby.

"bit and run" -- Mario's Ladder from Cory Godbey on Vimeo.

YES

Once upon a time, I had to mail-order The Journal of MODOK studies, just so I could get my greedy hands on the latest info of my big-headed hero. But now, they're going online.

Christopher Pierce is a teacher who draws comics, and has an amazing classroom reading shelf. Seriously, I want to be that guy. Oh, and go donate to this book thing. DO IT.

That is a pretty bad-ass looking Leo, I'm forced to admit.

James Lipton composed the theme to Thundercats. Your world will never be the same. My world is already completely different. I mean, we call cars "hyperwheels", and don't use forks.

Is Rob Cohen going to remake Monster Squad. Does the Wolfman have nards?

Blackwell presents The 25 Great Conflicts in Role-Playing Games. Now and only now do RPGs have literary value.

Fantastic Indie Game Alert: REDDER. But if you play it, you have to promise me you'll get all the diamonds. Promise. It'll be worth your while.

While playing that, I stumbled on The Scale of the Universe, which isn't really a game so much as it is a flash version of Powers of Ten.

And though I haven't played Digital: A Love Story yet, it looks impressive.

I heart Speculative Evolution!

What kind of a party is it? It's a webcomic pony party!

Making fun of the original D&D art. I mean, you could call it art.

Fantastic video game wallpapers and webcomics, part of bit and run.

PUG TEEN WOLF!

Beware, nerds! Popular Science has put their scanned archive online, free!

Another pointless, fun little indie game: Babies dream of dead worlds.

Saw Mystery Team. It was a hoot and a half.



Saw Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. It was hilarious. NPH's finest role. If anyone were to ever commit the sacrilege of a CG Muppet film, it should be these guys.


Can't wait for more adventure time? Then make your own!


Man in TB quarantine goes slowly insane, makes rap video about it.


Props to Jena for this:


Descendants from Goro Fujita on Vimeo.

Lastly, here's a clip from the American Spaced pilot. It's like...they stole all the funny (acting and looking) characters and replaced them with...sitcom characters. Weiiird.