Keep reading for the Green Lantern kid, Rad Anthem and the mighty Thor! 

Videogame Links

Interesting

Apparently when Kirby goes across the ocean to Japan, he gets really angry. Maybe the flights are bad. Maybe Japanese people like super angry video game characters.

No matter how outmoded something seems, it’s always going to come back sometime in the future. Color cycling is just one of those things.

The Mass Effect 2 cosplayers at Comic Con were unbelievably impressive. Especially Grunt. My god that costume is amazing.

Mental note: don’t piss off the lawyers from Rockstar. That’s right British newspapers – read this and beware. No more fake GTA stories or you’ll be forced to grovel as well.

The chip-o-phone. Very impressive.

Some videogame inspired shoes. I don’t know if I’d actually wear any of these, but they’re cool.

Van Gogh and Caravaggio paintings done on the DS. This is like those great etch-a-sketch pictures: nobody can really do them.

Funny

University of Central Florida has a great new anti-peer pressure videogame they’re working on to prevent unwanted pregnancies. It is stunningly lifelike. I can’t tell what’s reality and what’s the game anymore.

I feel like this is a far better use of realistic simulation than preventing unwanted flirting

I have brought great shame to my family

They’re making big changes to Dragon Age 2. I just put it in the shame section because Bioware will probably be ashamed if they screw it up. Here is a good Game Informer piece and fortunately it doesn’t look too bad yet.

They have once again raised the bar in terms of case mods – you can no longer impress anybody unless you’re a professional welder or sculptor or something.

See - this isn't even the greatest case mod. This thing probably lights up and still the internet is going to criticize it. You have no chance

Non-Videogame Links

Interesting

Here’s the 5  minute Comic Con trailer for the Thor movie. From all the publicity shots I thought this looked incredibly stupid but I have to say I’m convinced. This has Iron Man potential.

I’m not even the greatest superhero fan in the world but this trailer to the DC Universe game is incredible. If they made a feature length film out of this I’d totally be first in line.

If you don’t like any of the private islands on the market, make your own.

Lightning in super slow motion is pretty cool. This is a far better use for super slow motion cameras than those ridiculous water balloon videos or slow motion people getting slapped in the face. Not that there’s anything wrong with a good face slapping.

The beach was a very different place 100 years ago. A better place?

Presidents have dreamed of it for years, and now it’s finally here: the laser defense system. Suck it, Russia! LAZORS!!

LAZORS PEW PEW PEW

If they can actually get this old photo system to work it would be incredible. Sounds like some of the translation programs they’re developing though, or cold fusion: not real.

There is a real art to writing screenplays. I should know – I’ve written some bad ones. I should make a class on what not to do. I’m pretty sure I’ve covered it all.

This is one of five Q&A sessions that Sylvester Stallone is doing before the release of his film The Expendables. It’s a nice insight into his sense of humor and personality.

I don’t have the first clue what is going on in this trailer for Sucker Punch. I just know two things – I thought 300 was interesting visually, and there is some crazy shit going on in this one and I like it. (Also I almost published this while it said ‘Sucket punch.’ In retrospect, they should probably change the title to that)

I don’t know what it is about non-circular gears; they’re not useful for anything really but they’re mesmorizing.

In yet another blow to our collective childhoods, the triceratops apparently isn’t a dinosaur. Or something. I didn’t really read the article. I was too busy sobbing uncontrollably.

Turf dancing in the rain. Maybe a better soundtrack was needed.

I think ... yep, it's confirmed. You just got served

Funny

Oh my god the Between Two Ferns show has hit some funny notes in the past, but this one is absolute genius.

Let yourself be inspired for next weekend by Rad Anthem. Good times … potato salad.

There needs to be one of these in every music video. I don’t care what style of song you’re doing – just slot this into the middle.

Yet another reason why Ryan Reynolds is fantastic: his response to a kid at the Green Lantern press event at Comic Con.

Yet another reason why Ryan Reynolds is awesome: he can make things burn with his mind

I think Governor is aiming too low. Sometimes you just have to go straight for President, Basil.

Don’t let it be said that Conan never had any awkward interviews. We can conclude one thing from this one: Lara Flynn Boyle is a jerk.

There’s nothing like a fun night in and a little wine.

Here is the  next in the College Humor epic prank series. Although this skydiving prank isn’t the greatest in the world, their previous offering (the half court shot prank) was epic.

I have brought great shame to my family

I don’t think this thing really has a use but the video is in Russian, and this looks like the next extreme sport. I can’t wait for the next X-Games.

The official North Korean website has strong design. Your chi is strong, Great Leader.

Strong

That’s all for this week. Did I miss anything? Hit up the comments!

Videogame Links

Interesting

Blizzard should be in the filmmaking business, not the game design business. Actually, I take that back. They should be in every business. I’m sure if they made a breakfast cereal that would be delicious.

The ultimate showdown demonstrates once and for all that PC controls are better. I love the way the console apologizers say ‘too much control isn’t fun, headshots don’t count when you get to double click them.’ Yeah … a bit of a stretch?

What is Daigo’s day job? It’s not what you might think from the ultimate fighter.

Interviews with Warren Spector, especially when they’re done in The Escapist, are always worth a look.

This Friday Links seems to have a Starcraft II theme (not surprising, considering it’s released in a few days). Continuing on that track, then, is a Starcraft II Collector’s Edition unboxing.

The Starcraft II Collector's Edition has a heroic amount of crap. Just the game, thanks

Funny

Starcraft II’s Dominion has a great entrance exam. Don’t say Blizzard is without a sense of humor.

Sunday Night Starcraft – I would totally watch this film. Actually it must have been hilarious to film these scenes in some public locations given they’re all around my apartment – or at least embarrassing. Maybe not hilarious.

There are Pokemon in the long grass. If this was actually how you leveled up in Pokemon, I might play the game.

Kevin Butler tells New Zealand that they’re on thin ice. Rightfully so.

I have brought great shame to my family

Dutch gamers break the world record by playing for 50 hours straight. I don’t want to come off as racist or anything, but from all the articles I’ve read if this were South Koreans or Chinese they’d all be dead by hour 40. Dutch are made of some tough stuff.

There is still one gaming related record for the Dutch to break. Godspeed, gentlemen

I don’t really know what’s going on here. Some Japanese girl is dancing in a surgical mask (?) in perfect time with some anime character. All I know is this is the perfect summation of Japanese culture, and that this required a substantial amount of practice.

I knew there were some good things about Cambodia. For example – The Legend of Zelda took place there.

Non-Videogame Links

Interesting

Titanic’s alternate ending. My god it’s awful. Using the ‘original ending’ was a billion dollar decision for Mr. Cameron. I wish there was a third alternate ending where Bill Paxton goes berserk and bludgeons Rose to death.

Yet one more development for Holograms that suggests they’re going to be super awesome some time in the near future. I just want that Star Wars battle chess set.

I don’t know why everybody isn’t using this physics engine but its quality and breadth is absurd.

This web site has a small sampling of some of my hyperrealistic paintings. You’re good, Mr. Polaroid, but as long as I’m around you’ll always be second best.

Wired gives a lesson on how to walk through crowds. I’m going to go everywhere with the fin from now on.

Tarp surfing. I’ve been tarp surfing since 1965. You might call me the original tarp surfer.

Tarp surfing? The penguin is unimpressed

The melting glaciers of Mt. Everest are interesting, especially when you see the size comparison image. When I saw the first picture I have to admit I grossly midjudged the scale.

Great guide to improving your writing. This is a practical one. Unfortunately, I’m a robot and only have three phrases that I repeat over and over. Blame the programming.

I, for one, welcome our new robot pancake flipping overlords.

Ecstasy may help trauma victims recover. See, Doc, this is what I’ve been saying for years. Just take a few Mitsubishis and everything will be fine.

Mike Tyson continues to be a fascinating figure. I think he’s very self aware, or possibly crazy. Maybe both.

Mike Tyson, no longer a force in the ring, has to get his knockouts where he can

I’ve always wondered why Germany is crazy about board games. Fortunately the FT is there to help out.

Funny

New York State of Mind for the Welsh crowd. Well played.

The bee mascot dancing is hypnotic. And far harder than regular dancing considering he has to keep closing the eyes.

Bill Murray gives a rare interview. These are always worth a read. Especially the way he answers the last question – gold.

Possibly the best example of the Xzhibit meme. This marks the peak, and we will now get to watch the decline as increasingly boring forced attempts surface on the internet.

Sometimes random text messages are the best ones. How come I never get any of these?

The Fresh Prince of the Matrix. These two songs go incredibly well together. Will Smith clubbed to death.

They should have worn this in the Matrix instead of that ragged cotton crap they all wore. What's the point of survival if you lack style?

I have brought great shame to my family

This bear sighting news story could have really used a little more effort. That’s the best they could come up with?

A nation of imbeciles thinks an Onion story is the real deal. This is why we can’t have nice things.

It’s kind of sad that MIT professors are sitting around thinking about how you can travel back in time without paradoxes. Are there really more education dollars needed? Sounds to me like we’ve hit quota.

A couple of suitcase stickers you don’t really want to use. If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that airport employees have no sense of humor.

Epic fail boat.

That’s all for this week. Did I miss anything? Hit up the comments!

Starcraft II will be released in a few short days. Hopes run high among its fan base that Blizzard can recapture the magic that vaulted the original Starcraft to the top of the RTS heap. Blizzard has an impeccable track record, and many fans have received an extended free look at the multiplayer during beta testing. How did it stack up?

Balance

Real time strategy games usually only distinguish themselves through innovation. Balance is typically a prerequisite to being a passable RTS; without balance what does it matter what unique strategic decisions you allow? Rarely, however, is balance not just a building block but a distinguishing characteristic. By rarely, I mean only in one case: Starcraft. Include Starcraft II, and that makes two cases.

RTS games are complicated enough to make - designing tech trees, animating units, creating maps, scripting single player campaigns and recording sound effects is a tall order. Considering that poorly balancing a game can render all other work meaningless, developers usually just make factions symmetrical in function and slightly different in appearance.

Not Blizzard.

The iconic 3 factions from Starcraft: the Zerg, Terran and Protoss, return for Starcraft II. By some black magic Blizzard has managed to make each faction distinct yet perfectly balanced. Many baby seals must have been sacrificed to successfully perform this feat.

These guys might look hardcore, but they are slaughtered by the truckload in-game

Gameplay

A great game is easy to learn but impossible to master. While Starcraft II is slightly more complicated than chess, it is conceptually simple. You harvest resources with workers, and use those resources to build production facilities which in turn consume resources to build an army. You use that army to (hopefully) kill your opponent before they kill you.

There are of course many complicating factors. You don’t have perfect information as you can only see what your units can see. Imagine in chess if your pieces could only see the squares immediately surrounding them. You wouldn’t know how your opponent opened or how his pieces are positioned until you got close, so you would have to make decisions with less than complete information.

A good player in Starcraft II will try to counter what their opponent is doing, so initially you want to be able to scout out their strategy while preventing them from doing the same. You also need to be able to make educated guesses about what your opponent is doing from what you are able to see. At the highest levels, nearly as much can be gained through knowledge of what your opponent isn’t doing as from what he is doing.

The Immortal is one of the most powerful Protoss units that perfectly exemplifies how units are never obsolete even in longer games: it shrugs off powerful attacks but is susceptible to weaker tier 1 units

In addition, you can trick your opponent by allowing them to scout what looks like a certain strategy, destroying their scout, then changing your strategy to what will counter how he was planning to counter you. You can go around in circles trying to outmaneuver your enemy, but like in actual warfare many battles are won or lost before they even happen.

Decisions don’t end when a battle begins, however. There are many tactical and strategic decisions to be made that influence the outcome of a fight. You can take the same 2 armies and have them face each other with different positioning and on different terrain, and the outcomes will be drastically different.

Certain units and armies thrive by being in wide open space with the ability to maneuver around their enemies. Certain units do lots of damage to a small space and funneling an enemy army through a small choke point leads to total annihilation. Air units can outmaneuver their opponents in complicated terrain. Some units can tunnel underground and surprise their enemies from below, or circumvent static defenses.

Even within large battles, certain individual units can turn the tide. Some units can convert enemy units to your side for a small period of time. Stealing a key unit can make the difference between victory and defeat. Some units are good against clusters of enemies but become weak if their enemies are spread out; controlling your army is key. Having the correct parts of your army in the front, and in the back, and sometimes even flanking or surrounding your enemy is paramount. Even if you have a bad army composition because you misjudged your opponent’s strategy, you can still win with proper troop micromanagement.

In Starcraft II you are almost never out of the fight. The further behind in a game you are, the higher risk strategies you must implement, because conventional thinking won’t get you back into a losing game. Never give up. Never surrender!

The Corruptor is basically one of those squid things from the Matrix. Unfortunately, nobody can be told what the corruptor is. They have to see it for themselves

User Friendliness

Starcraft II will be the first game to utilize the full Battle.net 2.0 interface. While many fans of the original Starcraft criticize the system for being too ‘simplistic,’ that is because they’re living in the past. Battle.net 2.0 is a streamlined and comprehensive gaming system.

Games can be set up with the push of a button, and everything is taken care of automatically behind the scenes. Ladders ensure you’re going to be facing players of comparable skill level, and the wait to get into a balanced game is frequently a couple seconds for a 1v1 game, and a couple minutes for a 4v4 game. I’m sure those times will decrease in release as there will be orders of magnitude more players compared to the beta.

In addition, there is a great replay system where you can watch and analyze old games. There are achievements and custom user portraits and decals to individualize yourself in-game. Finally, there is a friend system where you can chat both in and out of games, and eventually across Blizzard games. Battle.net 2.0 might not yet be perfect, but it’s a great start, and over time players will wonder how they lived without it.

Interesting that the protagonist in Starcraft bases his operations from a Terran Battlecruiser. In game, however, Battlecruisers are powerful but still slaughtered by the truckload. Maybe it's a special battlecruiser? Otherwise this might be a short campaign

Custom Content

The award for the game with the most longevity has to go to either Counter-Strike or the original Starcraft. While the actual game of Starcraft II has the potential to be just as long-lasting, its lifespan will be prolonged by user-generated content. Even though the game hasn’t even been released, there are already hundreds of custom game mods created for the beta.

Some of the most popular include variations on tower defense and tug of war game modes. In the popular Battlecraft: Armageddon mod, players receive money every few seconds and have to choose which units they want to spawn to run at their opponent. They can’t control these units, which merely mindlessly run at the enemy. The skill comes in using your money to choose units which counter your opponent’s units for lower cost. The number of game types that will emerge during release when millions get their hands on the editing tools mean that people will be playing Starcraft II far into the future, even if the standard game modes have long been forgotten.

Starcraft II is going to be a massive success. Blizzard has created the RTS that will long be the gold standard considering its polish, balance and refined gameplay. It will storm the sales charts and more than return the $100 million spent on its development. Video gamers around the world are about to find out what we beta testers have known for the past few months: Blizzard has created something really special that we will be playing for a long time.

Undercover karaoke with Jewel

Videogame Links

Interesting

Dragon Age 2  may be following in the footsteps of Mass Effect 2 in terms of massive simplification. I can’t decide whether this will be a good thing or not, considering Mass Effect 2 was great but not as good as Dragon Age. Also, Dragon Age was the highest selling game in Bioware’s history. Odd choice.

Beyond Black Mesa: another Half-Life film fan trailer. Again, this one is fairly well done. I don’t know what the budget for any of these are, but they’re better than your average fan project.

Plants vs. Zombies 2. It comes. Repent, sinners!

Plants vs. Zombies 2: Hopefully not this puzzle shit

Killzone 3 adds cinematic deaths. This reminds me of the Drama Engine from about 18 months ago where everything would nearly hit you even if it was always going to miss. I think it’s a great innovation.

In honor of the closing of PC Zone, I give you the entire first issue in high res scans. Enjoy.

The Legend of Zelda goes very lo-fi. I think they should use this as their next art style. It will be like Kirby’s Epic Yarn.

Yet another reason why China is the worst place in the world (yes, even including Nigeria): they can’t sell video game equipment there by law.

Old Half-Life trailer from when it was still in development. Thank god they delayed it a year to keep working on it; this would have been the biggest bag of shit.

Super Mario overlay on real world objects. A little tough to explain, but definitely a cool digital effect.

Gnarcade has an interesting if slightly strange video game and extreme sports inspired music video. Portal seems awfully out of place compared to the other vintage games.

Funny

Oh man this trailer for a God of War movie is absolutely brilliant. We need one of these for Gears of War or something now too.

They should really get Zach Braff to direct one of the God of War games as well. Maybe a reboot of the franchise is in order

See Juri high kick someone in Street Fighter High: The Musical. I don’t have the first clue what is going on here … but I like it.

This is just like that meta-game of collecting all 8 red coins in Mario without letting the extra life get you. Play through Sonic 2 without collecting any rings. Only this time, it’s hard coded into the game in a genius way.

I have brought great shame to my family

Yet another indication that young people have too much money these days: an anime ferrari.

Non-Videogame Links

Interesting

The new unmanned stealth fighter for the British Empire will dominate all comers. Watch out India. We’re baaaaack!

Apple Inc. tops the list of most vulnerable software. This proves my notion that obviously the most successful program is the one that is broken into the most because hackers get the most bang for their buck. The sad fact is that Apple isn’t nearly the most popular yet. I guess hackers are fanboys, too.

Bullet proof custard armor. It’s not just slathering custard on yourself. Trust me.

Interesting story about potential fixing on The Price is Right. The price is wrong, bitch!

The greatest dance number ever filmed. For those of you that think dancing doesn’t require herculean strength … think again.

The best dance routine ever? First we served them, then they served us back. Now it's on.

50 My Little Pony mods for geeks. I think if you’re modding your My Little Pony collection, you’re already awesome enough that the term geek doesn’t necessarily apply.

Apparently nobody wanted to sell the Etch-a-sketch, assuming it would be a failure. Their loss, I suppose. Kind of reminds me of all those people who wouldn’t produce Avatar.

Super high tech parking garage. Not in the US, of course. We barely have serviceable internet here.

The new Porsche hybrid supercar looks incredible. Anybody have $630k to spare?

Plasma arc radio. This is incredible to the point that I had to verify that this is possible on Wikipedia before I believed it wasn’t a hoax.

Just imagine what kind of music you could make with *this* plasma arc. I guess you could also horribly kill yourself too. Compromise ...

Funny

Zach Anner is Pitch Perfect. He obviously should be doing a travel show at the very least, and hopefully much more,  to showcase his genius.

Old Spice has been responding to individual internet users in their ‘Responses’ campaign. Isiah Mustafa has really upped his game with this one.

Any idea when the next bus is scheduled to arrive?

Swedish Chef sings the electronica classic Popcorn. The coordination on this video must have taken some time.

Improv Anywhere had a great Star Wars skit on the subway. I wish I was occasionally there for one of these. Maybe no pants day.

Star Wars skit? Chewie, prepare the jump to light speed!

Penny Arcade has a great idea for how to make the Harry Potter universe a little more visceral. Extreme!

Gary Numan performs Cars with an orchestra of actual cars. The real star of the show is Gary Numan’s badass strut.

I have brought great shame to my family

The high speed robot hand is coming for us. When it arrives, I certainly don’t want to be at ground zero.

Drunk Ewoks try to sexually assault Al Roker. Was this a random description? Only a click through will reveal the awful truth!

Rupert Murdoch is a psychopath: confirmed.

That’s all for this week. Did I miss anything? Hit up the comments!

Ian McKellen sings the theme song to the Fresh Prince of Bel Air

Keep reading for double rainbow, the honey badger, and the boy your man could smell like. Pretty weak offerings this week, internet.

Videogame Links

Interesting

You really want to know what it takes to be great at an RTS game? APM: Actions Per Minute. Korea has it. You do not.

Project CR: 45 minute speed run of Half-Life using only the crowbar. Yes, I’m sure this was edited together from many attempts, but it’s still super hardcore.

Blizzard has incited another internet fanboy face-off with their new Real-ID system that requires you use your real name on their forums. Some people are worried they will be murdered by a crazy person if they say something offensive on the message boards. Some think it’s no big deal. Blizzard is insulating their employees. Jay and Silent Bob understand the full implications. Some believe the consequences can be learning experiences.

OnLive’s lag tested with science. Don’t be ridiculous – science once said the Earth was flat. Where is your science, now, heathens?!

Dragon Age 2 has been unveiled! We all knew this was coming, sure, but it’s the sequel to my favorite game of 2009 and the concept art looks incredible.

At the very least, the concept art for Dragon Age 2 is fantastic

Sure, this RPG might look just pretty good. When you find out it was developed by ONE MAN as a solo project, you will realize just how insane that is.

Epic Win iPhone game makes a game out of everyday tasks. Not sure if this is going to take off or not, but I wouldn’t be surprised. This isn’t that different from Farmville … at least it has some positive side effects.

Funny

NBA Jam tagline winners revealed. They didn’t choose any of the best ones. Fail.

He's heating up ... HE'S ON FIRE

I have brought great shame to my family

This is the reason it’s so difficult to be the #1 at a videogame. Look at Trackmania … seems simple enough, right? Well watch some of these record times … crazy.

Non-Videogame Links

Interesting

These realistic masks are incredible. Too bad the one guy who tried to rob a place with it screwed it up by getting dye pack ink all over himself, but still the future is now.

I know this was done for a commercial and therefore isn’t quite as impressive, but you have to admit it’s still a cool costume.

The Japanese make the best wave pools. Along with the best everything. Now if only there was some way to bring them to America without putting them in camps …

Crazy Japanese and their wave pools. They're very lifelike

When the assault breacher came for my neighbor, I said nothing. There was no one left to speak out when the assault breacher came for me.

Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cavs, defines the phrase ‘unconditional love.’ Nobody owes anybody else anything.

Funny

The boy your man could smell like. These derivative products rarely work, although this might be an exception. Possibly the exception that proves the rule? (What does that even mean?)

Double rainbow, man. DOUBLE RAINBOW! WHAT DOES IT MEAN?!

Double rainbow. What does it mean, man? WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

The women of the Daily Show make a pretty good argument for why it’s not a sexist environment.

TV Hat. Yes, I looked it up – apparently this is a real product. I just want the hat without the TV components so that I can look like that much of a douche without any of the upside.

I have brought great shame to my family

The Honey Badger: it will end you. Along with everybody else.

The joke black hole Large Hadron Collider webcam is pretty lame, sure, but also sort of creative.

Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers. Are you serious Wendy?

The lowest possible limbo? I’ve seen lower …

Transformer Owl. If you train for as many years as I do you could learn to do this as well.

They're always cutest right before they turn into vampires and tear out your soul

Where is the ball? Don’t worry – there’s nothing wrong with your computer. It’s just impending embolism again.

That’s all for this week. Did I miss anything good? Hit up the comments!

Conan the Barbarian musical

Videogame Links

Interesting

I never went to the Disney Adventurer’s Club building, but after looking at a couple pictures online, this HL2 engine recreation is staggeringly impressive.

The last hours of one of videogame’s finest developers: Looking Glass Studios. Of course – the last hours all seemed to take the form of some guy asking the staff ‘who would you want to play you in a film,’ and the actors they choose really dates this as a decade ago.

Making an incredible Halo Elite unit costume. Ridiculous workmanship.

Just for comparison, so you can see how incredible the workmanship on this costume is, here is what an Elite looks like

Funny

This guy is really excited about Gears of War 3. So excited, in fact, that he was mentioned on Cliffy B’s Twitter feed. Naturally he should get a complimentary copy of the game.

Mega Man has one natural enemy: spikes. Also, Cut Man. And Dr. Robotnik I suppose. Oh wait, that’s sonic. Dr. Wily is bad too.

I have brought great shame to my family

Cliffy B walks us through a level of Bulletstorm. I have to admit, this game looks really fun. But unfortunately Epic Games is still stuck in the fratboy over the top mode of video game designing. I can’t help but enjoy his commentary, though.

Roger Ebert admits he should not talk about games without having played them. Really? Don’t you think that’s kind of the job of a critic? I still love you though Roger.

Non-Videogame Links

Interesting

Motion tracking paintball turret. These guys should really be role playing Aliens instead of sword & shield. Either way … well played.

Motion tracking: not just for killing mutant aliens anymore. Now it's fun for the whole family!

Africa is witnessing the birth of a new ocean. Now, if any of you are planning to live for a billion years, you’ll be able to see this come to fruition.

Aww this is so cute – AT AT Day Afternoon. I love these little stop motion animations although this one is especially cute and well executed.

Pakistan potentially to sentence Mark Zuckerberg to the death penalty … for general douchery I believe. Now – step 2 for Pakistan is actually figuring out how to get Zuckerberg to their country.

This is a crazy phenomenon where ants lose the trail back to their hive and end up walking in circles indefinitely until they all die of exhaustion. Ant fail.  

Tooth regeneration gel could make cavities and fillings a thing of the past. Apparently it can be used to cure other things as well – I’m just going to fill my bathtub with this stuff and lie in there for 5 minutes a day. See you suckers in 2310!

This guy is training to free fall 23 miles. He does it all powered by Red Bull, as all great daredevils throughout history have been.

Amazing fully functioning tiny fighter jet. Coming to toystores near you (sidewinder missiles not included).

Lenny Kravitz crashes choir performance of Lenny Kravitz songs. Seems fairly staged to me, but still fun.

Funny

The 100 greatest movie insults. When you have time to think about them beforehand, you can really come up with some creative insults.

I don’t use Woot.com but the letter their CEO sent out to his employees after they were purchased by Amazon is clearly the greatest business letter of all time.

I guess I should have expected a good sense of humor from the company considering this is one of their products

Zach Anner visiting the Austin is Weird Festival is pretty funny. I think if this was a real travel show I would totally watch.

Iceland really knows how to do an election – this guy should be the President in 2012 clearly. His platform? Awesomeness.

4Chan tries to send Justin Bieber to North Korea. Not because they want to see him get injured or anything but because they don’t want Korea to miss out on the music style of the 21st century.

Following some sort of trend – the 160 greatest Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes. Greatest movie* quotes. There … fixed that for you Mr. Youtube.

Proceed

I have brought great shame to my family

As long as you have mad multi-tracking skills, you might as well use them to recreate the Pokemon theme, right? Right? Guys?

I put almost all Star Wars links in the shame section, just because the series sucks so hard, but these drawings of Star Wars characters wearing high fashion are actually quite clever.

How pandas are made. It’s fascinating what you can find on the internet.

Jesus this thing is massive – son of Mothra! Fear him, for he will be your undoing.

Fox News really knows how to make a straightforward chart. Am I right?

That’s all for this week. Did I miss anything? Hit up the comments!

Keep reading for micro Richard Simmons, Godzilla moose and the dread debris tornado o’ doom.

Videogame Links

Interesting

The super-zoom in the new Castlevania game is crazy. This is how you use technology to improve old concepts without just modernizing them entirely.

There’s been a lot of good cosplay on the old Friday Links of late, but this General Grievous costume might take the cake. I guess that’s not really ‘videogame related,’ but it feels like it belongs in this section.

What’s better than Mario? How about Mario violin? This is only good because he has the full outfit on.

The original Pac-Man sketches. Staggeringly true to life. Where does Pac Man end, and the world begin?

AION is consolidating N. American servers. Yet another ‘WoW killer’ that falls by the wayside. Blizzard will crush you.

The trailer for Studio Ghibli’s new game is fantastic. This is really bringing their cartoon style to life.

Ok Studio Ghibli ... now that you've perspected real time cartoons, there's only one possible next step. We both know what that is ...

Funny

Transformice is a fun little flash game. Multiplayer mayhem at its finest. It’s not so much funny intrinsically as funny because of the interactions that occur.

I have brought great shame to my family

Sony boss says ‘3D without glasses is not the next big thing.’ I don’t know what the fuck he’s talking about – that’s essentially the only thing keeping 3D from going full mainstream. Holograms, dude!

Korea goes all out for Starcraft 2, and even makes 2 SC2 planes. This is one of the only reasons for which I’m jealous of Korea. Mostly it sucks.

Non-Videogame Links

Interesting

I’m not going to say Oprah hates disabled people and is racist … but actually that’s exactly what I wanted to say. The poll is rigged against Zach Anner. He will become a star regardless of how many votes you take away or how you code your poll buttons! This guy is non-stop hilarious, even when hosts are trying to make fun of him.

Don't worry if Oprah screws you, Zach ... you don't want to be the next this guy anyway

The moocher index. Goddamn the northeast is lazy. You too, Mississippi.

Yes, it has some lag, but this real time London Tube map is pretty sweet.

The Niger Delta cares not for your foolish oil spills, Gulf of Mexico. It deals with an equivalent spill annually. Still – there are some on-the-ground details to the spill that are interesting.

Modern gadgets retro style. Eventually this is going to come back in style and I for one can’t wait.

Ridiculous beach art. This guy has too much free time. Or some sort of crippling OCD.

Many are curious why the third group stage matches in the World Cup are played simultaneously. This is why.

Ghostly infrared trees. Maybe it’s my paint huffing addiction but the world looks like this to me most of the time anyway.

Giant overpriced speedboat. This thing is huge though – just wait for the transition from the first to the second picture. Minds are blown.

IBM is building a computer to win at Jeopardy. Once they learn how to do that, what’s next? They must be stopped. I’m going one on one with the vile beast this weekend. My prediction for the fight? Pain.

Dubious Quality lays out a thesis I agree with: that Football (soccer) will overtake baseball as the nation’s third favorite sport within 20 years.

Whooping cough: it’s back and this time it takes no prisoners.

Whooping cough is back? O SHT!

Funny

This 15 year old on the Today Show doing a cooking segment is hilarious. He’s like a tiny turbocharged Richard Simmons.

There’s only one way to get to Tree Heaven. You really have to want it.

Winnebago Man movie: I loved this guy from my youth too. I think I’ll have to check this one out. You’ve all seen the clip.

Sure, this guy’s posts are almost certainly fake, but they’re still funny. Lost cat advertisement.

Chinese guy goes to a club and runs up a massive tab. They only take payment in cash, and won’t let him put it on his card. In spite, he pays in all 1RMB notes.

Paying in 1RMB notes is the equivalent of paying in bags of pennies. I guess their coin currency isn't quite so robust

Maybe these aren’t funny so much as they are painful. Reddit shares their embarrassing teenage stories about missing hookup signals.

I have brought great shame to my family

The dreaded debris tornado. We already are having earthquakes up here in New York. How far behind is this thing?

There is only one thing worse than the debris tornado ...

Spider crab changing its shell is fascinating in a creepy way. Just remember: these things steal babies in Japan.

Another engineering work of genius: the Lego and felt tip pen printer extraordinaire.

Have you ever wanted to own a tame Siberian fox? Well, now’s your chance.

Godzilla moose. None of us are safe from its unending wrath.

Russian President is finally on Twitter. I hope he starts making policy on Twitter. Or there is a ‘fake Medvedev’ account except the author is assassinated by the KGB … or the FSB whatever they’re called now.

That’s’ all for this week. Did I miss anything good? Hit up the comments!

Videogame Links

Interesting

Kirby’s Epic Yarn. This is the real power of the Wii and one of my most anticipated games. I think the style is very appealing.

Incredible real life TF2 cosplay. This is the best that I’ve ever seen. There must be some incredible photo lenses being used here as well.

I take it back – this video about designing Mass Effect 2 cosplay is the greatest. The process is really interesting, as well.

Jamie Lee Curtis loves her some World of Warcraft. Maybe that’s why her career has really dropped to the crapper.

Dustin Browder breaks down the SC2 beta. SC fans are universally outraged. Doesn’t matter what he says, that will be the outcome.

WAR, the new music video by Poets of the Fall (great band, by the way), is Alan Wake themed.

Mario montage of funk. Break it down.

Ilomilo: the cutest game of all time. I’m totally going to play this just for the cute factor.

Classroom paper mario. I’m glad I don’t have to do this, I just get to enjoy the results.

While Mario has long been regarded as slightly portly, this new paper version is quite slim. It's the slimmest Mario on the market and his white outline is actually the antenna

Funny

These guys have devised the greatest way to play Super Mario 64: collect all 8 red coins before the 1-up mushroom gets you. Epic.

Mega64 gets the lowdown on Rock Band 3’s new logo. Yet again, they come through in the clutch.

Bobby Kotick tells a pretty funny story. I imagine he’s actually a really cool guy.

I have brought great shame to my family

Androgynous Japanese guy beat boxes Super Mario music. This actually gets pretty impressive after the first 10 seconds.

The APB review embargo is set for a week *after* the launch of the game? Seriously? That’s how you know it’s the worst game ever made.

With all the incredible games being shown at E3, this one might fly under your radar, but don’t let that happen! THE WOODCUTTER SIMULATOR.

Can you feel the excitement? Can you see the animal inside?

Educational video game upsets parents. This is an outrage! New learning methods aren’t as good as rote memorization goddammit.

Non-Videogame Links

Interesting

Crazy Buddhist Monk sand Mandala. This looks like some kind of mythological torture. Sisyphus got to stop pushing that rock for a while, but he had to endlessly make Mandalas just before strong gusts of wind come through.

The ‘autonomous quadrocopter’ apparently has some real world applications. The most important, of which, is a sweet ass RC helicopter.

Sorry this guy, you've been replaced by the GYROCOPTER, the new greatest potential toy in the world

The pitch for a new Mortal Kombat film. I thought this was a nice change of pace from the campy originals. Although – Jeri Ryan, really? Jesus.

OK Go’s new video has some great time bending effects.

Just in case you had dozens of hours of free time and wanted to make a papercraft alphabet … here are the templates.

Man builds full size replicas of famous spaceships out of plywood. Do you hear that? This thing was used man … it was used.

Brain parasites are changing our behavior. Resistance is futile.

Ok so brain parasites are changing our behavior ... let's all just step back and put it in perspective. It could be worse.

HDR photos of Tokyo. I wish the real Tokyo looked like this.

David Foster Wallace on why video chat is going to fail. I think it’s going to be another option for people – I like video chat and not just as a gimmick, but I agree, it’s not for all the time.

Incredible plane recovery in one of those absurd Red Bull stunt races. I always thought this looked obscenely dangerous.

Genetic programming: evolution of Mona Lisa. I wonder if this can be done for any image or whether the programming is specific to that one.

This tattoo is pretty cool. I’ve seen many like it but not as well executed.

How to stick your hand into molten lead without injury via Mythbusters. (Note for the timid: there’s no way. He is horribly burned and they cut to black. OH GOD THE HUMANITY)

Mythbusters needs to issue a correction: you can put your hand safely into *almost* all molten metal

This guy bought the local police department domain when it expired, and replaced it with a campaign against speed traps. Nice.

New York magazine has a great profile of Bernie Madoff. I love the way he’s a superstar in prison. Except their photo illustrations are stupid.

Funny

Wax On, Fuck Off, starring Ralph Macchio. This is incredible, and I would totally watch this as a feature film.

I present to you Zach, the best of the Oprah TV show candidates. He proves again and again that he is awesome and not in a pity kind of way.

One of the finest World Cup pranks pulled off by the England team. Who else has that kind of rapier wit you ask? Nobody, that’s who!

Jon Lajoie lays it down with Pop Song. His best yet? Quite possibly.

4Chan board member says he’s going to Afghanistan with a sword to hunt down Osama. Nobody believes him. O ye of little faith.

Up There, a short film about the dying art of hand painted advertisements.  You just add this music to anything and it seems melancholy.

Jon Stewart demonstrates why we will never be free from the icy grip of foreign oil dependance. We are captured by a monster. I call him Gamblor, and we must free ourselves from his neon claws.

Sky Smith and E perform ‘Take Me Home.’ Thankfully this seems like a joke. Or potentially just incredible.

Pranking Christian TV channels is a great use of time. I can’t believe somebody that age could be so out of touch with popular culture.

Redneck Kung Fu. I was just going to ridicule him at first, but it totally works. He busted that shit in half no problem.

This crazy owl animated film called ‘Legends of the Guardians – the Owls of Ga’Hoole,‘ actually looks pretty sweet. I’m there.

Hunter S. Thompson leaves a great message for the AV company that worked on his setup.

Don't screw up Hunter S. Thompson's AV equipment. He will end you.

I have brought great shame to my family

This guy has almost every metal collectible lunch box ever made (except for a select few). I have to admit, of all the crappy things that can be collected and later seem stupid, this is one of the few that is exempt from that. Lunchboxes are awesome. Everybody loves lunch. It’s one of my 3 favorite meals of the day.

Robert Boyle is a time traveler. Or potentially omniscient.

The guitarist to the band Airborne is so hardcore that he defies death just to create the most awesome solo known to man.

As a furniture connoisseur (furnisseur), this is my white whale.

100 artists decorate 100 models of Darth Vader’s head.

Art? Darth Vader is not amused

Point 1: kittens have no understanding of mirrors. Point 2: ‘Cute’ kittens are just morons.

Mental note: don’t wear my CK Cologne when on Safari.

Hyper-realistic training for soldiers. I have to say even though it’s entirely Hollywood special effects, some of the ‘injury effects’ are pretty gruesome.

Talk about bad luck. This is yet another reminder why the outside is more dangerous than inside. To summarize: lightning, and cougars.

That’s all for this fortnight. Did I miss anything good? Hit up the comments!

Patrick Stewart has (finally) been knighted

Keep reading for Gabe Newell being awesome, insane drummers and the battle royale: polar bear vs. walrus.  I apologize for the abbreviated length of this one; the internet was a bag of crap this week.

Videogame Links

Interesting

Valve teases a surprise at E3, related to Portal 2. You know what that means? Valve is getting ready to MELT FACES. Watch the masters at work, and be awed.

The latest Harry Potter game is going to be a 3rd person shooter. Gears of Potter. I hope there’s a BFG unlock or something. Those muggles are going to pay.

Sure, Starcraft in Korea can bring you fame and fortune, but are the tradeoffs really worth it? For every successful player there are dozens or hundreds of overworked Koreans who probably die in these chicken coops. Anything for TV, am I right?

Don't be fooled by this picture; sweat shops aren't nearly as sexy as they're made out to be in the movies, even videogame ones

Guild Wars 2 voice casting, starring my favorite Felicia Day. Although I have to admit, Steve Blum is epic in this one.

Funny

What happens if you email the CEO of Valve Software more than once? Only one way to find out …

Mario knows how to celebrate Memorial Day in style. Mmmm … delicious powerups.

I have brought great shame to my family

I think the Mario Kart toys and peripherals have gotten a bit out of hand. You can have the Mario Kart RC cars, or even the giant inflatable Wii Peripheral if you wnat to drive a … blow up kart.

Got to catch 'em all!

Japanese pop idol immortalized in Xenoblade CG. The only thing I was thinking though when reading this article was ‘it must be an arduous task just to get dressed if you’re a Japanese pop idol.’ Hobo gloves and like 9 vests ftw.

Non-Videogame Links

Interesting

Gertie the Dinosaur was a breakthrough in FX technology. Little known fact: Jurassic Park used the exact same technology!

Who would win in a fight between a polar bear and a walrus? Fortunately, Animal Planet is using their budget for good use and answering these great unknowns for us. Remember kids: this is a well thought out Monte Carlo simulation between 10,000 pairs of polar bear and walruses.

Water and alka-selzer … IN SPACE!

An old but great link for those of you who haven’t seen it: raiding a Mexican Drug Lord mansion.

Ah the life of a drug lord ... we all went through that phase, didn't we?

I don’t know if this is real or not, but if so then golf balls are epic. More so than they already were, of course.

Have you heard? We’re quite small.

Funny

This drummer is really exploring the space. It’s videos like this that reassure me sometimes that I went with a DJ and not a band for my wedding. That being said, he’s actually quite good and has impressive stick handling if you remove the insanity.

Conan, Colbert and Stewart have a mad dance-off at some recent concert. It must be great when you graduate to the realm where you can just do whatever the shit you please and nobody will stop you given the assumption that it will be funny.

Spirit Dragon, this is my darkest hour! LEND ME YOUR STRENGTH!

SPIRIT DRAGON, LEND ME YOUR STRENGTH!

It’s not too late to get some of these before the World Cup.

The new Scott Pilgrim vs. the World trailer. I don’t know how I feel about this movie. My initial reaction was that it looks retarded. It’s probably like a multiple choice test but I’ll hold out hope.

I have brought great shame to my family

Kickin’ it old school. Good times … potato salad. I feel totally out of touch with reality if anybody would actually wear these.

Apparently Lady Gaga is ripping off some 80’s singer. As a fan, I am totally ok with this considering 1) the 80’s were awesome and 2) see 1.

Buddhist man seduces boys using a Nintendo Wii; the best is the creepy animation they create to demonstrate what was going on.

You didn’t think flight simulator X could get super extreme. You were wrong.

Flight Simulator X is EXTREME! Don't let anybody tell you otherwise. Is this image not proof enough?

That’s all for this week. Did I miss anything good? Hit up the comments.

Adam West provides heroic insight into the nature of video games

Keep reading for Design Outside the Box, Ozzie continuing to scare people even at his age, and Mayan Space Jam.

Videogame Links

Interesting

Design Outside the Box, a presentation from DICE 2010. This guy has some good points. I would like to subscribe to his newsletter. If you have 30 minutes, I recommend you spend it watching this.

The original pitch to Bioshock was nearly as incoherent as the game itself was. Goddamn this game was bad for having so much potential.

All videogames need an 80’s style movie poster version of themselves to really catch fan attention.

Why we play Mario. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I always wanted to be a plumber. It’s the closest I’m going to get.

Interesting development: the new Dragon Age machinima is canon. This is the first time I think a team has been sponsored by the developers to make something that is continuous with the story.

Suck it, CryEngine! The new 3DMark is the new hotness.

Stat simplification in WoW: Cataclysm, and why that’s a good thing for strategic decisions.

Left 4 Dead cake. I ordered one of these for my wedding. Shhh … don’t tell my fiancee, it’s a surprise!

Video game cakes have a long and storied tradition

Stop motion NES nostalgia video.

The horror of Half-Life zombies. I guess this sort of applies to all zombies though.

Funny

The Lion King + Guile’s Theme = Win. This is undeniable.

Guile ... I don't want to alarm you but there's something wrong with your face. Your theme is awesome, by the way

Valve always has some great commercials. I guess technically this one is an Apple commercial in some respect.

I have brought great shame to my family

The Navy is really going to start using Wii Fit to try to get people into shape for duty? Jesus, we’re all screwed. I hope nobody attacks by water.

Battle vs. Chess, a ripoff of Battle Chess from the 1990’s. I have to say, I don’t really think having a little fight minigame to decide whether your piece takes the other one is that bad. It could be a game ‘based on’ chess, not just animated chess, and that might be an interesting product for some people. If you’re really a chess purist, why are you playing a video game version anyway?

In the US they’re using Danica Patrick and her wafer thin knowledge of video games to sell Blur. In France? Check it out.

Non-Videogame Links

Interesting

Act from the new Cirque du Soleil show. This shit is off the hook. Just wait for it to get going – every time you think it has reached its crazy peak it steps it up another notch. I’m pretty sure these guys are in masks so that when they did once a week they can cover it up.

While this might be cool, your Cirque du Soleil act sucks because it doesn't have the CONSTANT RISK OF HORRIBLE DEATH

This might be an anti-nuclear power ad, but this video called Der Zonenplan is like a great prank combined with that shit film ‘The Happening.’ Respect.

Make any song swing with this Python code. Change the pace of the individual beats.

Cracklin’ Rosie played on a cell phone guitar. Good times … potato salad.

Skynet is upon us (again). Now even uneven rocks can’t stop the machines.

Rachel Maddow finds an interesting link between the current oil spill and one several decades ago. Although at the end it kind of devolves into bashing the oil industry. Also judging profitability on total income, not margins, is stupid. The oil exploration industry has 9.7% margins. We should be bashing breweries with 25% margins. They’re the ones really taking us to the cleaners.

Frazil Ice in Yosemite during the winter. It might look cool … but it will murder you as it does some 16,000 people per minute (back of the envelope).

Ice ice baby

Celebrating 35 years of ILM magic. I always forget that they’re responsible for some of my favorite films; they’ve been tainted in my mind by the new trilogy.

Funny

YES! Finally they are unveiled! The new potential taglines in NBA Jam. My favorites have to be ‘that man has some dunk in his trunk,’ ‘the third little piggie could have used that brick,’ ‘he cleaned him out with that stolenoscopy,’ and ‘uno, dos, calientres!’

He's heating up ... HE'S ON FIRE

Ozzy … he’s still got it.

The Big Caption; sister site to The Big Picture. I’m pretty sure this site isn’t actually that good but it had its moments.

Hypersonic flight: we’re up to 200 seconds from 10 seconds. At 3500mph they really only need a few more seconds to get me from London to New York conveniently.

The largest Kit-Kat bar in the world.

Chris Hardwick teaches us how to go about writing jokes. An underrated talent.

Space Jam’s links to ancient Mayan mythology. My god people … wasn’t this common knowledge? Especially after those rumors about Michael Jordan sacrificing humans to get his power.

Iron Baby. Fear it.

I have brought great shame to my family

I’m not deluded enough to believe this is a ‘typical’ day on Dubai highways. I want to believe it’s typical, however.

Rescue workers have finally met the most dangerous crash on earth: the bee truck crash. May we be spared from its terrible wrath.

Crazy Russian guy is building an underground metro with his own money, and has been since the 1980’s. I’m pretty sure insane hermits is Russia’s largest export. Most of them can do math.

Ok I take it back. Now that sharks can become invisible (sort of), they’ve taken back their title from the bee truck.

You think invisible sharks are bad?

Making cheetos. I always imagined the process was much more horrifying. Maybe that’s only after seeing how they make Chicken McNuggets.

Goddammit; kids these days don’t respect escalators to the degree that they should. That kid is back on the escalator!

That’s all for this week. Did I miss anything good? Hit up the comments!