"Die-cast construction. It's a lost art."

Not to worry, I'm still around. And I am not ignoring anyone (on purpose!). I will respond and such, really! For you are awesome people. And awesome people should not be ignored. But I'm not ignoring you, see? So it'll work out. I just recently found out that it's definitely tree pollen that keeps hitting me like a freaking semi truck lately (and not a cool one like Darkside or Optimus Prime or do not invoke THE TRUCK), so I'd like to think that will be over soon. Like really soon, because antihistamines are not really worth the lingering side effects. Dammit, Nature, dammit.

Been re-watching Beast Wars. The only one of my favorite characters I never snagged in figure form is Rhinox. Maybe one of these days. I do so love being reminded of how much I adore Blackarachnia. And Silverbolt. And goddamn Dinobot and Rattrap are adorable together, aren't they? *grin* I suspect the writers were very intentional about giving Scott McNeil opportunities to have fights with himself. Hm, who does that remind me of... This is of course my favorite Megatron as well. Yes.

Oddly enough, it appears I may actually be taking a vacation in about a month. Like, a real one. Not a working one. I don't know how I'll cope, either, but I think I'll find a way. It'll still be full of geekiness, so that's the important thing.

But I do owe links, so here's a random handful. One of these days I really do need to get my hands on Red Dead Redemption. (Yes, of course I know the spoilers, hush.) Not just because it looks incredible, but specifically because of the ghost stories. Kotaku picks at them a bit here, but if you follow a link from there, you'll reach a very fun Kill Screen article about it. As a fan of urban legends, hearing about urban legends in video games is somewhat unique; particularly in the fact that I cannot for the life of me tell if any of this was meant to happen or not. That's what makes it so much fun to me, though. It looks so obviously set up, and yet... heh.

Frankly, it's something I've been wondering for a while now: When digital dies, where does that leave game preservation? There are already several once-online services that can no longer be accessed by official means. Some shut down very quickly after they were opened. I'm sort of an advocate for the preservation and history of video games like any other medium, however.

Related to the above link, at least ICHEG is trying to help.

Since I've turned my mother into a raging Metal Gear Solid fan (yes, really), I'm usually on the look-out for links like these. Hideo Kojima: video game drop-out – interview part 1 and part 2. Also remind me to stop peeking at his Twitter feed. We like way too many of the same things.

But Sony is not winning points with me lately. At all.

I implore all artists and creative types of all kinds to watch Neil Gaiman's commencement address to the graduating class at Philadelphia's University of the Arts. It is just glorious.

We're making leaps and bounds with mind-machine interaction, but obviously we still have a ways to go before easily replaceable limbs. Damn.

Which happens to remind me that there are still plenty of geeks over at NASA.

Though I sincerely hope the sense of wonder in pictures of another world is never lost. Breathtaking.

Future, Inc. is a 5 minute film made in two days and is probably worth your time.

Ghosts with Shit Jobs looks amazing.

There is a virus that creates electricity. This is both amazingly awesome and a little terrifying... but mostly awesome.

A brief history of four letter words. Because it is very helpful in making new ones.

Three words: cardboard mecha kitty.

Cthulhu Barbie. No, read that again. Cthulhu Barbie.

These are the creepiest, most wonderfully nightmarish cakes I have ever seen. I want them all.

And finally, The Nine Circles Of Hell, As Depicted In LEGO You're welcome.