You can't drink just six!

DIE



My guess? The secret ingredient to Slusho! is city-destroying-monster-eggs. I hope I'm wrong.

Four Days of Futurama

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE! Starting at 11:00 PM tonight Adult Swim will be airing nothing but Futurama until 11:30 PM on December 31st. That's something like 72 hours of Fry, Leela, Bender and the Zoidberg. Is this awesome? Meh.

Marathons are cool, but personally, I've seen Futurama so many times I can quote almost every episode upside down, backwards and sideways. But if watching Giant Amazonian snoo snoo, strange halucinagenic bagpipes, black matter pooping cats, and a beauracratic Rastafari, Futurama will be on for nearly four days straight. Enjoy! ... or don't. Whatever, I'm going back to playing Portal now. Hehe!

Rock Band (Drums) - Tom Sawyer - Expert - World Record

Title says it all. If you've played this song you know what this video contains. All I'll tell you is that he misses one note. In the whole song. 'Nuff said.

Steam is having an Incredible Blow Out Sale... RIGHT NOW!!

So I just was just looking at my Steam account ever so casually and my address drew up to the top banner, which read like this (Prepare yourself, for your pants my become soiled) "10-50% OFF EVERYTHING! Until January 1st. Yeah, so, that's insane. If there's ever been a time where you wanted something from Steam; Go get it. Like right now. I'd say do it before the rush but, oh wait, you just download it! And the cool part? The more people downloaded your game, the faster you get it because Steam uses Bit Torrent! Awesome! Now go spend money.

Pre-Launch Announcement

So, I've been thinking long and hard about this, and I've finally decided to do it. *Mainly because now I have the actual means to do it* I'm going to make a site/blog about making stuff; DIY, computer programs, how-to articles, videos, the works. The name is yet to be released, partially because I haven't decided and mostly because I like the sense of suspense it creates. I've also been tooling around with the idea of a little comic, but that's one of those "in the pipeline" kind of thing.

It will be a few weeks (months?) before the site is ready to unveil, but I promise it will be awesome. Will this be the next Life Hacker, Engadget, Gizmodo, Qwantz, Destructoid, Makezine? No. But it'll be mine and it'll be fun. That's the idea.

If anyone reading this is at all interested in writing for the site, feel free to ask me. Most of you know how to get a hold of me. If you don't shoot me an email here. Enjoy, and be excited, this is going to be cool.

I Am The Milkman, My Milk Is Delicious

Now those of you who got my text can somewhat understand. You can't watch this and not at least get a slight grin on your face as he says it the first time.

Blast From The Past

Obviously I don't celebrate the Harmonica or Kwanzhanamas or whatever, but I do get a kick out of watching some of the "holiday" videos. This one in particular I'm sure everyone remembers well. This was my first exposure to "viral videos", and I've never forgotten it. Enjoy this little piece of "holiday" nostalgia.

Wiimote Headtracking

Lately, I've been almost obsessive about the awesome things that Johnny Chung Lee has been churning out. First he pumped out the multitouch finger tracking. Then he introduced the Wiimote white board. (Which I tried my hand at) And now he's released VR head tracking. I have to say that I was pretty skeptical about this one, but after watching the video, I can't deny that I was REALLY impressed by the result. You really have to watch the video to understand what's really going on, but I'll tell you that the effect is shocking, to say the least.

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that we will start to see this technology used in games in the very near future. The ease in which this guy does this stuff is striking and the potential is, again, massive. Ducking and weaving while you dodge attacks and bullets could be a reality very soon. A new level of virtual reality is upon us, and it's available to you for free should you have Wii. Enjoy, because this is going to blow your mind.

Hulu

Welcome to Hulu! Hulu is a NBCs attempt at competing with YouTube and giving the finger to iTunes. To be completely, honest I really really love it. I got my private beta invites the other day and boy oh boy have I been enjoying it thus far. They have an HD page where you can play around with the new flash drivers to see videos in HD. Really all that translates to is that the video is bigger, but it does load remarkably fast. First thing I watched was the absolutely disgusting Alien VS Predator: Requiem trailer. Seriously, who allows these things to happen?

Anyway, aside from that, Hulu is great for catching up on your show you missed, or checking out other shows that you have yet to become interested in. I, personally, have found that the vast majority of shows that I actually like are from NBC. These include House, Battlestar Galactica and Heroes. I also like Lost, but that's on ABC.... darn it. Anyway, I got an extra beta invite and I figured I'd make it a "public" user so that pretty much anyone can at least check it out. Hulu is here.
User name: genericdude
Password: password

Enjoy. Please don't abuse it or give it out to anyone who isn't aware of Divertissementz. Just a personal request from me. Anyway, enjoy and have fun.

Bawls Energy Drink is in Cloverfield.!

i would just like to show everyone how much more awesome this movie just became.

Cloverfield - Extended Scene...

HOLY MOTHER OF PIZZA AND ALL THAT IS PEPPERONI, THIS MOVIE IS GOING TO BE ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!

Whiteboard Attempt 2: It Works!

Sorry for the crappy video quality, also my nearly unintelligible speech. I was really excited that my pen actually worked. I mean, really REALLY excited. ... It was also late...

Anyway, here's the video of my playing around with my completed IR pen. If anyone has any ideas on how to improve my shoddy pen, feel free to post suggestions. Enjoy!

Wiimote Whiteboard - My Turn!

So after my previous post about the Wiimote whiteboard, I figured that if something this cool has the possibility of being real, I need to try this out. So last night I pulled together as many of the components as I can could find in my stark apartment and here's what I came up with:

WiiMote Whiteboard

My house. Wednesday. 6:30 PM. We are doing this!

Dragonforce = DESTROYED!!!

That's right. I have beaten the slightly less than unbeatable Dragonforce - "Through the Fire and Flames".... on Hard. Granted, it's not Expert, but I'll tell you what, it's not easy. I've gotten to the solos on Expert and just fall flat on my face when they start. Believe me, it's not consistent though. The opening on Expert is easily one of the hardest things to pull off in Guitar Hero. Anyway, enjoy.

Rock Band Guitar Rev 1 vs. 2

Well here it is. I admit I was afraid to open the new guitar up, but when I did, here is what I found...

Lets start with the original rev that shipped with the set at launch. You see the triggers are an oddly designed micro switch system. When you would when hit them repeatedly hard, I.E. ANY fast song, it would rotate and quit working all together. In this view the up stroke is the bottom left trigger, and down stroke the top right trigger.

Here is the closeup of the micro switch. Notice the rubber pad that contacts the white strum bar. The fault here was the screw to the right not the top. It was a normal screw that when tightened would turn the whole assembly clockwise, and thus cause the dead down stroke syndrome. It should of been a reverse threaded screw with a star washer, and this defect would of never surfaced. The one in focus is the DOWN stroke the one that was defective. UP strokes however, still work even under heavy use.

AHHHH Fixed. This is the REV2 guitar, shipped out to the people who request it. I assume it will be in all the new shipments of the packs, and all the stand alone guitars in Feb. Notice something? The micro switches are GONE! They now use an ingenious magnetic system. I am pointing at the Magnet, its melted inside the housing on the strum bar. The cool thing is it NEVER touches the switch, instead, uses the magnet to pull an internal switch to the close position. Brilliant! If you put your ear up to the guitar and slowly strum you can barley hear the switch clicking on and off, sort of like a relay in a car.

Another view of the new assembly. I am pushing the strum bar in the full down stroke position, you can barely make out that it doesn't touch. I broke it in on Blitzkrieg Bop by The Ramones on expert. Its a stereotypical punk song that is 99.9% down strokes in super fast succession. It broke my 1st rev guitar every time... But with this rev, I got a 99.8% notes hit, the .2% is still my stupid fingers not used to the new fret buttons. Also had no problems beating And Justice for All, and got about half way through Ride the Lightning before the solo killed me. Impossible indeed... For now...

Star Trek XI Teasing Us

Before anyone says anything, no this is not real. But dang, this one of the better looking spoofs I've ever seen. Seriously, this guy's got some skills. Here's a few pictures and then a video. Enjoy!

Microsoft Researches the Future of Gaming... The Verdict? Pure, Refined Awesome

The first minute and a half of this video merits little more response then, "Meh." But when the camera pans over to this guy's "prototype camera"... My first thought was, "What are those 360 controllers for? What are those pieces of paper on the tab.... OH. MY. GOD!!" Seriously, I want this. I want to see this things' full potential at work on a 360. I want this to be combined with a hologram machine. I honestly believe that this sort of technology has the potential to be absolutely incredibly and change gaming as we know it completely. Granted this is far from complete and even further from being even remotely perfect, but this awesome thing has amazing potential. And now I'll spare the pain of reading anymore of my fanatical rantings, here's the video.

Nerds as Cats Gets Own Site

I decided to go ahead and give Nerds as Cats it's own site. I'll be posting new strips there from now on.

NAC: Brief Dissent

Enter Jim and panels.

The Golden Compass a good children's movie? NOT!

I got this email from my cousin in L.A. She did some research. Se was going to take her son to see it but she found this stuff out. We got some scary stuff being packaged as family friendly. Just shows you what the mentality of the world is these days...

Just wanted to inform you all of a children's movie that is coming out in December, during the Christmas season, which is entitled " The Golden Compass". The film stars Nicole Kidman and is based on the first of a trilogy of books for children called "His Dark Materials" written by Phillip Pullman of England. Phillip Pullman is a proud atheist who belongs to secular humanist societies. The movie is based on the least offensive of the three books, and they have dumbed down the worst el ments.

The concern is that unsuspecting parents will take their kids to this movie, and say "this wasn't troubling" and then buy his trilogy books where in the end the children kill God and everyone can do as they please. So basically the movie is bait for the books. In the movie God is at times called Yahweh, that was done on purpose so the movie would seem a little milder when viewed. Phillip Pullman is hoping that unsuspecting parents will take their children to see the movie, they will enjoy the movie, and then the children will want the books for Christmas. Writer Phillip Pullman says he wants the children to read his books and decide against God and the kingdom of heaven. Pullman also made the remark that he wants to kill God in the minds of children, and that's what his books are all about.

The movie is a watered down version of the first book, which is the least offensive of the three books. The second book of the trilogy is "The Subtle Knife", and the third book is "The Amber Spyglass". Each book gets worse and worse regarding Pullman 's hatred of God. In the trilogy, a young girl becomes enmeshed in an epic struggle against a nefarious church known as the Magisterium. Another character, an ex-nun, describes Christianity as "a very powerful and convincing mistake". In the last book, a boy and a girl are depicted representing Adam and Eve and they kill God.

Pullman left little doubt about his intentions when he said in a 2003 interview that " My books are about killing God ." Conservative British columnist Peter Hitchens labeled Pullman " The most dangerous Author in Britain " and described his as a the writer "the atheists would have been praying for, if atheist prayed".

You can google a synOpsis of the The Golden Compass, you will be surprised to find that in a children's book part of the story is about castration and female circumcision.

High Five Hollywood

Amazing Websites Most People Don't Even Know About, But Should

As I'm sure most have noticed, I've been slacking big-time when it comes to actually writing any articles with any amount of meat. So I'm going to try my best to do just that.

This particular entry is about, as I'm sure most have deduced by the gigantic bold, black title on the top of the screen, Websites most people don't even know about, but should. There is no particular rhyme or reason or commonality with these websites other than the fact that I, personally find them incredibly useful, or at least
mildly entertaining. Most would say that mildly entertaining is completely subjective. I would agree with such an argument, with the exception of the fact that most of the internet is, in fact, complete and utter garbage. The following websites however, defy that rule, and are, in fact, awesome incarnate. Enjoy.

JimmyR.com

A lot of you probably know about this site simply because I rave about it. It's great for finding all manner of things through the magic of google searching. If you don't know what I mean, it works like this: Google basically indexes thousands upon thousands of websites. Which means that all of the files accessed through those websites are all stored on Google servers. Given the right search code, one can actually search individual files and file types through Google, giving anyone who knows how, access to extremely fast downloads direct from the server. JimmyR.com uses this knowledge and simplifies it down to a simple search. Clearly it's not all inclusive, but it's pretty useful most of the time.

Aside from the modified Google Uber search, JimmyR has a slew of other amazing aspects. Among these are JimmyR Deals. On JimmyR Deals there are amazing deals for various online retailers such as Amazon, and NewEgg. He actually lists the deals per percentage off the price, some of which are even 90% off!


Digg

Some people may be laughing at this entry, but you would be surprised about how many people don't know about this gem. I will warn you that Digg is notorious for having lots and lots of spammers in the comments, so avoid them if you can bear.

Aside from the spammers, Digg is an amazing oasis on the desert that is the internet. Digg is what's called a "social news" site. Which basically means that whoever happens to be the most popular spammer gets his story "dugg" the most and gets it to the front page. Despite this somewhat biased form of voting, the articles and stories that rise to the front page are interesting to say the least. The range of topics varies widely from moment to moment. One article could be about a recent blunder with a certain politician, to an article about the top 8 most painful verbal putdowns. It's an interesting site to play around with and I strongly urge you to at least take a look and see what you can find.


WikiHow
Wikihow is a wiki that is based comprised completely of how-to manuals. Wikihow is getting larger by the minute and it's turning out to be a pretty amazing website. There are how to manuals on all manner of things ranging from how to carve a turkey to how to open a door with your credit card. I suggest giving it a good look see and see what's it about.


Video Jug

VideoJug, first of all, is not a YouTube clone. VideoJug is an website similar to Wikihow in that it consists of a bunch of how-tos. The difference, however, is that they are all done through video. The site is great example of a well done website that is laid out in an intelligent, clear, and consistent manner. Not only is it user friendly, but the videos are very professional, helpful, and easy to follow.

More fun and interesting sites


Ustream-Streaming Video

Technorati-Everything Technology

CNet-Reviews of techno stuff, minus the techno babble.

Mashable-Lists of everything Web 2.0

Google Maps-Find your house on the map of the world!

Google Labs-All the crazy crap Google is up to.

Flickr-Post pictures of you and your friends for everyone to laugh at for everyone to enjoy.

Stumble Upon-For those who want to find cool websites without having to actually do any digging of your own.
Orisinal-An awesome assortment of flash based games. All of which are very simple and loads of fun.

Last.fm-The best way to find new music in the genre of your choice.

The Return of Nerds as Cats

Well today's sugar high led to the creation of a new Nerds as Cats strip. I will try to keep making them. I hope you enjoy them. Oh yeah, Austen is the red bubble.

Scene Cut From Sicko Because It Was Too Good... Most People Wouldn't Believe This Actually Exists

To be honest, I have a really hard time believing this is real. I've always known that European countries are more awesome when it comes to taking care of their people than the US, but man... You just need to watch this.




Seriously, I think I'm moving to Norway. They buy you a freaking car if you can't "bear" the public transit. ( ! )

Jaw Dropping Crowd Exploding Come Back In Street Fighter Tournament

So yeah, that insane combo Chun Li uses on the nearly dead Ken: every single hit parried. EVERY SINGLE ONE. Each with a difficult and flawlessly timed tech. Then it's all followed up with a super extra hard to freaking get right combo. It's like watching the greatest shounen anime moment ever but it's real.

The D.V.V. (Daily Viral Vid)

Today, while I was at work, and bored out of my mind, I discovered a neat little video on YouTube that I just can't stop watching. I don't understand why, it's simple and a little goofy. To be honest, I don't even understand what's being said in this video. But it's super catchy and oddly engaging. The band is called Sonic 360 and the song is called Los Mono. (Translated 'The Monkey') Enjoy!

New Cloverfield Trailer... Also, it's actually called Cloverfield!

After so much waiting, J.J. Abrams has finally allowed us to see more of what was formerly code named Cloverfield. This video is chock full of stuff to drool over and wonder about. There's still lots of questions that need answering, but man this trailer is awesome. Enjoy!

Also, if you'd like to see it in all it's HD beauty, hop on over to Apple and watch it there.

Behind the Scenes of Super Mario Galaxy's Music

As soon as you get a chance to play Super Mario Galaxy you'll notice it has a great sound track. It all sounded like a real orchestra to me but I couldn't be completely certain because synthesizer programs are so good these days it's hard to tell. Kind of nice to see it was the real deal. Dang I need this sound track. Where is it Nintendo!?

Japanese Game Shows Destroy What Little Dignity You May Have

But man oh man are they fun to watch!

Pretty Much The Coolest Thing You've Ever Seen

...or at least the funniest.

8-Bit Marching Band

A Funny?

I made a stick figure comic strip last night.

Prepare to Witness the Impossible!

Through Fire and Flames ON FREAKING EXPERT!! ZOMG!!

Dojo Posts Love Letter to Fox Fans, Scares Children

Wow, can they make Fox look any cooler? Or Pokemon any more terrifying? If it's possible, I certainly couldn't conceive of it. Yeah, if you've ever played Fox for a while then you know how satisfying it is to reflect a fully charged blast like that. Mmm, good stuff.

Daft Punk Comes Back STRONG?

Looks like Daft Punk may be coming back in style. They've got a new "Alive" album for 2007 that so far looks as earth shattering as their live performances apparently are. Apparent from the video I found on their official Youtube channel I ran into this morning. The main video on display is pretty good when you consider it's cut from footage shot buy 250 audience members, but otherwise I prefer the one that cuts a bit less and shows more of their live show which I must repeat, is EARTH SHATTERING, (especially by minute 2:22, you'll see) even in weak Youtube form! Oh, and check out their whole web site for the new album, right in my post! Neat!

Warning! Challenger Approaching! It's.... King Dedede!!

The self-proclaimed king of Dream Land formally joins the brawl! Mechanizing his wooden mallet, he delivers a mighty, earth-shaking blow!

He joins as a member of the heavyweight class alongside Bowser and Donkey Kong. Can he defeat Kirby?!
Finally some more heavy weights! Oh man, I'm getting nervous about owning this game. There's a very good chance that if I touch this game I may never come out of the awesome induced coma that is sure to happen. I can see it now, my coworkers just looking around one day, "Hey, where's Austen? I haven't seen him in like a month."

Your Daily Dose of "Holy CRAP!"

Oh, and this guy is so good! Enjoy!

The Luckiest Barrel in The World

This video not only shows a really stinking funny kill in Halo, but it shows how amazing you can make the game look using the replay feature. The camera angles and pans are amazing! Enjoy!

So, I am very happy. Rooster Teeth announced today that they will soon be debuting a new RvB mini-series on their website and XBL marketplace. I cannot find any words to describe what I'm feeling other than: Booyah.

~Nephirij~

Verizon Introduces "Super Fast" 20/20 FiOs Internet Service... Grown Men Cry

Verizon announced today that they will soon be offering 20/20 FiOs service to the states of New York, New Jersey and Conneticut. Now, I must insist you sit down for this next part... okay prepare yourself. 20/20 means simultaneous 20 Mbps uploads and downloads. That means you could download a DVD in it's entirety with no quality loss in about a half hour! Holy snot that's freaking insane!

But the cost is going to also be insane, you say? Nope. Verizon has been quoted as saying the price will be as low as $65 a month. At the rate Verizon is going with increasing the bandwidth and potential speeds, we may finally be up to speed with the rest of the world. For example, the average internet user in Japan averages around 60 Mbps.

Like I said, while this news is awesome for the lucky fools who live in New York, New Jersey, and Conneticut, the rest of us are left in the dark as to when it'll come to the rest of us. Let the tears fall, it's okay.

Infinitely Variable Bike Transmission

"Still Alive" Performed In GMod

For some reason, completely stolen from Jonathan Coulton's website, and given no credit:

Stay with me here, I had to look a lot of this up myself:

Some crazy fool called FPtje on YouTube has used the Valve Source engine and GMod (yeah grandma, that’s like, a sort of sandbox add-on thingie built using the Source SDK…er…which is kind of like a, um, forget it, never mind) to create a playable piano within the Half-Life environment, on which he plays along to “Still Alive” in this here video, seemingly BY AIMING AND FIRING HIS GUN. In theory I understand what’s happening here, but I’m not sure I would be able to explain it without reading from the post I just wrote. [Gee willikers], when did I fall so far behind?

Anyway, it’s awesome. As Mr. tje (or perhaps Ptje?) points out in his YouTube post, “It’s hard to play a piano with a gun!” I couldn’t agree more.

New Smash Bros Brawl In Game Footage!

Game Videos released 3 new videos of the game this morning. The game looks pretty solid and, honestly, looks remarkably similar to Melee. If these videos are any indication, SSMB is definitely going to live up to everyone's expectations and more.

From the Creator of Haloid...

comes DEAD FANTASY 1! This is a mash up of Final Fantasy characters and DoA characters. This guy is getting good. The choreography is absolutely amazing and the camera work is genius. This guy is good. How he doesn't have a job working at some game or film company making epic scenes for epic games yet I'll never know. Enjoy!

Powerthirst 2: Re-Domination!

Not as good as the original, but pretty funny nonetheless.

Pretty Much The Best News Ever

SONIC IS IN FREAKING SMASH BROTHERS BRAWL! WHAT NOW?! HOLY CRAP MY HEAD JUST EXPLODED!...kinda messsy... ALSO, A VIDEO! NOW YOUR HEAD EXPLODED TOO! OH NOES!!1!11!!ONE!!11!

Real-life Super Mario Mushroom

I had no idea that those big red mushrooms with white spots actually existed in nature. :)
But I found one last week and took a picture of it.

Quite Possibly the Coolest Way Start A Bonfire Ever!!

A freaking JET ENGINE!! That's a real man's way to start a bonfire!

Phantom Hourglass Preview

Here's a little sneak peak at one of the boss fights in Phantom Hourglass. I believe this bosses name is Otocrock or something to that effect. Enjoy!

What's Austen Playing This Week?

So, if it's not obvious I'm a bit of a gamer by now then you probably haven't been reading my posts. (Or you haven't spent more than five minutes with me) Anyway, I've noticed that lately there have been a ton of awesome new games coming out for various systems (most of which I don't have). It's gotten to the point where I've got a new thing to play every week. Which is pretty much impossible considering my lack of income coming in. But, I've tried to keep up as best I can.

And, seeing as how I've done a fairly good job thus far, I'm going to see how long I can keep it up. So, as of this moment, I'm instituting a new weekly post that explores the game(s) I'm playing during that week. And with no further ado...

Here's the first post! Yippee!

This week I've been deeply engrossed in The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS). It's been absolutely freaking fantastic thus far. I'm sure I'm at least 3/4 through the game and it has taken a consider amount of time and has been filled with countless hours of fun and brain rattling puzzles.

Now I have to clarify something for those who have yet to enjoy this game; Phantom Hourglass is a puzzle game. And a fairly tough one too. Most of the time you just stumble across the solutions by accident, sometimes you can't figure them no matter what you do. Until you slam your DS shut in frustration and then come back in an hour after you've cooled down, only to soon realize that the simple act of closing and reopening the DS was the desired action in the first place. (I kid you not) CURSE YOU WISDOM SPIRIT!!!

Later this week, I will be investing a fairly large amount of time to The Orange Box. It doesn't come out until Wednesday and I probably won't even get my grubby hands on it until Thursday, but I have no doubt that it will be well worth the wait. For those who don't know what The Orange Box is, allow me to explain. The Orange Box is a actually 5 games all wrapped up in one. Three of which are brand new. The games are: Half Life 2, Half Life 2: Episode 1, Episode 2, Team Fortress 2, and the greatly anticipated Portal.

I, personally, have never actually played Half Life and, honestly, I'm not all that interested in it. I'm interested in Portal. The game revolves around a gun you get in Half Life known as the "Portal Gun". How it works: It's very simple actually. You simply aim it a wall right next to you and fire. Then you aim it at another wall (this latter presumably being out of reach). This creates a "portal" between the two you just created. You walk through one portal and come out the other.

The guys over at Valve have taken this seemingly simple mechanic and created an entire game around it. Chock full with insane 3d puzzles that are sure to destroy your mind in the process from the sheer amount of awesome.

So that's what I'll be doing this week. How about you?

Also, a montage!

Wii Bowling Is Serious Business! Also, Old People!

No doubt you're wondering what the heck the title of this article could possibly mean. I assure the video you're about to witness will have one of two effects. You will either laugh hysterically as you realize that they're actually trying to be completely serious. Or you'll just stare with your mouth half open wondering why the heck you're watching this. Either way, enjoy!

This Just In!

Well for me anyways. Some of you might remember one of my first posts on this blog, it was about a game called Pirates of the Burning Sea. well, after much waiting, they have finally given a release date. January 22, 2008. This game is going to be amazing. See you on the open ocean!

~Nephirij~

Bungie's New Ride

And I'm not talking about their recent separation from Microsoft. this is a few of Bungie's staff riding in a Warthog replica from the movie that might have been...



~Nephirij~

Ninjas are serious business!

Nissan Pivo 2

This is pretty impressive. Enjoy!

Halo DS Was a Reality at some Point

Stunning Original Zelda Artwork

I found this on Digg today. The guy who made this is amazing. He clearly took some artistic license on some of the pieces, but they turned out great. Linkage.

The Beginning of Real World Anime.

So, I was looking through the past few days of Kotaku posts, and, out of morbid curiosity, I clicked on a link about an HP portable gaming device that is in development and yet to be named. In that post I found this:



This is based off of HP's Mscape technology. At this point in time I am slightly skeptic as to whether or not this tech will actually work this well, but I will definitely be keeping my eye on it.

Now we just have to wait for them to put this in a pair of glasses and make it worldwide.

Dennou Coil FTW

~Nephirij~

DJ Skywatcher's Debut Mix Album, Set 00

01 - Trilogie, Pt. 2 - ATB
02 - Hold Your Colour - Pendulum
03 - Skyscraper - Matrix
04 - Intencity - ATB
05 - Hope - Above & Beyond
06 - Another Planet - Pendulum
07 - 1998 (Binarys Finality Mix) - Binary Finary
08 - In Love With the D.J. - ATB
09 - Wall of Sound - DJ Armin van Buuren & Justine Suissa
10 - Rewind (Makoto Remix) - London Elektricity
11 - Autumn Tactics (The Thrillseekers Remix) - Chicane

The Daily Fix... of Awesome Sephiroth Battles!

First Screen of Sonic in Brawl!!!

OMG!!!

The Daily Fix... of SPEED!

These guys took a regular ol' ATV, took out the motor, and put in a freaking Subaru STI motor in it! It looks, sounds, and acts just like the sti, except it's an ATV! Watch the video, and let the drooling begin!

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Announced at TGS

Remember that? Remember how you peed your pants from the sheer awesome that you witnessed? Remember scowering the internet for literally DAYS for any clue as to what the crap was going on and WHO the crap these three enigmatic warriors could possibly be? Well be happy, dear gamer, for 'Birth by Sleep' was announced today at the Tokyo Game Show.

Details about the title are few and far between but they have said that it is definitely a prequel to the series and that the three soldiers are definitely not who everyone originally thought they were. (Meaning no Roxas or Zak or Kairi or Sora)

And, if that weren't enough to make you giggle like a school girl, they actually announced 2 ADDITIONAL titles as well. 'Birth by Sleep' is for the PSP. The other two games are even more awesome, if you can believe it. The first one is called 'Kingdom Hearts: Coded'. From what I can gather, it's basically about playing through the worlds of the original Kingdom Hearts title.... in DEBUG MODE! Apparently Sora is given some crazy power that allows him to manipulate the world around him as if he were a programmer! For example one of the showcased moves is the ability to walk through solid objects.. and then make them explode!

The other title released is for the Nintendo DS and has four player cooperative mode. Need I say more? Okay, I will. The entire game is about Roxas and his kicking butt with the other Organization XIII members! Yeah, I cried too.

-via Joystiq

WIll It Blend Meets Chuck Norris

Keep watching for the surprise ending!

Anime Music Vocals Now Computer Generated

Anime production just got a lot cheaper now that Japan has gotten hyper-cute j-pop literally down to a science. Enjoy a couple samples with synthetic vocals generated by Vocaloid2. The first video isn't actually j-pop at all but rather surprisingly the theme from Princess Mononoke! The bottom one is pretty dang cool too if you recognize it.

Pendulum Has New Stuff

Containing two new tracks, the single "Blood Sugar" released by Pendulum, features stuff from their next album. The preview on iTunes is all I've heard, but if it's anything like their stellar album "Hold Your Colour", it'll be sufficiently mind-blowing.

Jumbotron DS

A fellow from who knows where has been working on a little side project to turn two extra tablet PCs he had lying around into a jumbrotron DS... and it worked! It's not exactly elegant or anything super beautiful but it's a neat concept and it really does look really cool. The DS is hooked up directly to the Tablets and he can even use a Wacom pen and use the tablet instead of the DS! It's not exactly practical for games that require the buttons, but it's a simple thing to pick up the DS and use the buttons when it calls for it. Check out some more pictures and what he used to make it at his website.

I've returned!

So, I was trying to find something really good to post for the return of Nephirij, and for the past few days I have been searching. Then I saw something amazing. Now, although at this point i have no plans to plat Team Fortress 2, i just thought this video was amazing. so, with that i bid you all a fine adieu until next time.

~Nephirij~

Enjoy



Edit: also, not an lolcat, but, Morf Boll Akqwird:

Guitar Hero III:Legends of Rock.... For PC and Mac!

Straight from Joystiq:

No longer content to be hooked up to your big screen HDTV and 7-channel surround sound system, Aspyr and Activision have announced that Guitar Hero III is rockin' on over to the more moderately sized screens of your Mac and/or PC this fall. We imagine legions of cubicle dwellers violating their company's IT policies, bringing their axe into work, and shredding the pain of office life away. More likely, we can imagine a portable rig on your laptop, just in case that whole Guitar Hero DS thing doesn't work out.

GameDaily spoke with Aspyr's Jay Gordon about the port, and got some burning questions answered: the game will ship simultaneously with its console counterparts; the guitar will be a USB model of the Gibson (sorry 486 gamers); and no word on how downloadable songs will be distributed but they'll share soon. And with this, the PSP remains alone, the only major gaming platform without Guitar Hero.

Color me excited! Guitar hero for the PC and actively supported by Activision. Does it get any better than this? Uh, no, I'm not sure it does. The sheer amount of user created songs destined to be released now is sure to be enormous. I look forward to this!

OverDrift! IT'S DINO-TASTIC!

Prepare to laugh your butt off!

Internet People!

A pretty hilarious compilation of all of the major Internet fads over the past few years.

Internet People - Watch more free videos

Beast of Marvel's X-Men

Meet my latest sock monkey Dr. Henry McCoy. :)


More pics here.

~Tamara

Apple Proves They Rock All Over Again

As I'm sure you've heard, Apple announced the release of a complete revamp of the iPod selection. The Shuffle got some new, earth tone colors, as well as the (PRODUCT)red version. The nanos are now the short, fat kid of the bunch. And the original style of iPods were renamed iPod classic and got a few changes including being slighter thinner, new colors, and a new 160 GB version for $350.

To everyone's delight they also announced the iPod Touch, which is very literally an iPhone minus the phone. (Not to mention certain very desirable applications.) Needless to say, everyone was extremely excited about the iPod touch.

Oh, but Steve wasn't done wooing the crowd just yet. Oh no, he also unveiled an incredible $200 price drop for the 8 GB iPhone, and the demise of the 4 GB iPhone. ($300 while supplies last) There was a huge applause at this last announcement. However, within minutes after the Jobs Worship was over, people quickly realized that there were millions of people who had waited days to get their iPhone on opening day and had dished out $600 to do so. And well all know Apples' strict return policy of only 10 days. So what about that poor sap who bought his 11 days ago? Well, Steve Jobs wants to please everyone. In a surprise move to everyone, Steve issued an open letter to all iPhone users earlier this morning. As it turns out, he's received thousands of angry letters about the drastic, and sudden price drop in the iPhone. He decided, after much deliberation, that the return policy will stand. However, all of the early adopters of the iPhone are now rewarded with a $100 Apple store credit to anything in the store!

Now, maybe it's just me, but I'm not really into adopting new technologies early in their life. I've seen things like this happen far too often than not. But for the CEO of a huge company like Apple to come out and say, 'Okay, I hear your cries. Here's what we're gonna do...' is absolutely unheard of in the tech business. I'm not a mac user currently, but after a move like this coupled with my growing hatred for everything Microsoft, I'm seriously considering completely changing over to Mac only. iMac, here I come!

Researchers Develop 360* Holographic Display

Researchers at USC have taken another step closer to making my dreams come true. Using a very quick spinning mirror and some Holographic paper, (don't expect me to understand how this actually works) the researchers actually create an image that is visible from 360 Degrees. The effect is impressive, to say the least. Now where can I buy one of these?

All We Wanna Do Is Eat Your Brains.....

Tycho Sings at PAX '07!

This was pretty funny and definitely an epic moment at PAX '07. Enjoy!

My Rubick's Solve

I know, I know. It's ridiculous, but I'm proud of it. So =P

Watch Frank Suddenly Become an Adjective!

PAX is Tomorrow!

Oh yeah, I'm excited. The NerdFest begins tomorrow and you can bet we're gonna be there drooling over every little morsel of game we can find. And that's a lot of drool! For those of you going, see you there! For those of you not going, man it sucks to be you. See you in the line!

Square Enix Opens US Online Store Opens, Finally!

After years of fan boys crying to the heavens for an official Merchandise store to open for the US, their prayers have been answered. As of yesterday the Square Enix Official Online Merchandise Store is officially open for business. After spending about 10 minutes riffling through various pages of keyblades and materia necklaces, I've pretty much realized that this store is nothing but a money sink. Which should seem fairly obvious to most, but you must remember that I am an avid Final Fantasy fan. I am ashamed to admit that I have played, in their entirety, every single Final Fantasy game to date. With the exception of Mystic Quest which I still do not believe is a true Final Fantasy.

Now excuse me as I go deposit $110 into my bank account so I can buy my Cloud Strife gear necklace thingy...

SSBB Character Screen Leaked!

Whether or not this is real or photoshopped or just alpha testing of the game is yet to be seen. But if this screen is real and actually represents how many character will actually be in game, holy cow! Who would you like to see in SSBB? Sonic? Tails? Master Chief? Bonk? A Tetrimino? Rev up your thinking caps, according to this picture there's 50 character slots to fill and we've only seem about a dozen or so of those spots filled.

Man Vs. Wild is Phony Bologna!

Uh yeah, this clip pretty much sums up the whole ridiculous nature of this show. I wouldn't mind it so much if they just let you know. But instead they choose to mislead everyone into thinking this one hardcore survivalist guy. Ugh, no he's not.

Heroes the Board Game

Patty o Furniture over on craftster shared one of her latest projects- and it is cool! It was made from an old thrift store game board... that is my kind of recycling. :)

More pictures and a list of the rules here.

The Daily Fix: Roleplaying Woes

If you've ever played through a roleplay scenario, you know exactly what it's like. No matter what, you almost always have the stereotypical group. There's the drunk, the action hero, the new guy who has no idea what's going on, and the game whore. This little video epitomizes that, EXACTLY! In fact, I think I've relived this exact moment.

The Daily Fix: DIY Burning Laser Pointer

Awesome!

Laser Flashlight Hack! - Celebrity bloopers here

Tom Hanks is... Bond, James Bond

The Daily Fix: Musical Prowess

Oh yes! It's definitely time to be excited. For it is the return of .... THE DAILY FIX!! Yes, yes. Thank you for your love and adoration. But anyways, today's Daily Fix is a guy who goes by the name Piano Squall. Those of you who recognize the name may be thinking "How corny, that game was the best worst game ever made!" And I would have to agree with you. But this guy makes up for his awesome lame name with his prowess on the piano. Check out his video here. And if you like what you see, buy his first album, aptly named GAME.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Oh yeah, you heard me right. The next Narnia movie is already in production and is slated to come out May 16, 2008. I know this is probably kind of weird, but I'm pretty excited about this. I was pleasantly surprised by the first movie and Prince Caspian looks equally awesome. According to the Narnia blog, they plan on releasing a new Narnia movie every May for the next 6 years until all of the books in the primary book series are out. Color me interested! Also, check out this clip!

**edit** I took out the clip since it was incredibly annoying as it started as soon as you loaded the page. If you would still like to watch the clip just click on the link above.

PAX Tourney Training

As most of us well know, PAX begins in a little over 24 days. After scowering the forums I have discovered the Tournament listings and the rules therein. There is, of course, the Smash Bros tourney. We must begin the training soon, for fear we meet swift destruction at the hands of some Japanese 5 years old playing Game 'N Watch. Also, I noticed there are two (yes, TWO) Guitar Hero 2 tournaments. The first of which is a team battle and the second of which is a single tournament. I recommend intense training sessions so that we may destroy all who oppose us! PWL veterans, let us unite and destroy all those who stand in our way! For we will be victorious should we practice and train appropriately!

Also, here are tourney details!

Guitar Hero 2 Teams
When: Friday, 9:00pm~12:00am
Format: 2 vs 2, single elimination
Player Cap: 128 teams (256 players)

Rules
Cooperative
Difficulty: Hard (both teams may select Expert if they wish to do so)

Song Selection
For each match, we will provide a list of three randomly selected songs. Each team will have the option of eliminating one song from the list, and must play whichever song is left. For any best-of-3 match, this list is extended to 5 songs (teams still get only one pick per match).

Format

* Teams will be divided into 16 pools, each containing up to 8 teams (16 players per pool)
* Each match will be best of 1 song
* Both teams will play the same song at the same time, using 2 seperate stations
* Semi-finals and/or finals will be best of 3 songs

Super Smash Brothers Melee
When: Friday, 4:00pm~8:00pm
Format: 1 vs 1, single elimination
Player Cap: 256 players

Rules
Singles (1v1)
Stocks: 4
Time Limit: 6 minutes
Damage Ratio: 1.0
Stage Selection: Random
Pause: Off
Self Destructs: -1
Items: Off

During a match, the winner of an individual game must keep same character. Loser may switch characters if they wish to do so. This rule ONLY applies to a single opponent. At the start of a new match, you may select any character.

Stalling tactics and the Ice Climbers' freeze and infinite throw glitches are banned.

Available Stages:*
Peach's Castle, Kongo Jungle, Jungle Japes, Yoshi's Story, Yoshi's Island, Fountain of Dreams, Green Greens, Corneria, Venom, Onett, Mute City, Pokemon Stadium, Fourside, Mushroom Kingdom 2, Kongo Jungle (Past), Yoshi's Island (Past), Dream Land (Past), Final Destination, Battlefield

*Subject to change.

Format: Qualifiers

* Players will be divided into 32 pools, each containing up to 8 players
* Each pool will be organized into an 8 player single elimination bracket
* Each match will be best of 1 game
* The winner of each pool advances to the semi-finals


Format: Semi-Finals and Finals

* The winning players from each pool will be re-seeded and placed into a new 32 player single elimination bracket
* If time allows, each match will be best of 3 games (stock and/or time limit subject to change)
* If we are short on time, each match will be best of 1 game (same settings as Qualifier round)
* If time allows, bracket semi-finals and grand finals will be best of 5 games