Shining

This is so, so great. I don't even want to describe it; you've got to see it for yourself. It's so, so fantastic. (Warning: Quicktime)

Best Cake Ever

This is the sort of thing that makes me in love with the world.

THE EYES, OH JESUS

File under "OMGAH!": A Worth1000 photoshop contest involving an unholy meld of anime proportions with actual glamor photos.

Linkdump 004

The ORIGINAL Illustrated Catalog Of ACME Products - [Flickr] Girls Eating Sandwiches - Lumines: Coming Soon To Your 52" DLP HDTV - Tetris: Coming Soon To Your 36" GameBoy

Miyazaki Guardian interview

Hayao Miyazaki granted The Guardian a rare privilege a week or so ago: an interview! I especially like this part:

There is a rumour that when Harvey Weinstein was charged with handling the US release of Princess Mononoke, Miyazaki sent him a samurai sword in the post. Attached to the blade was a stark message: "No cuts."

The director chortles. "Actually, my producer did that. Although I did go to New York to meet this man, this Harvey Weinstein, and I was bombarded with this aggressive attack, all these demands for cuts." He smiles. "I defeated him."

Character Bento

OMG OMG OMG OMG:

[cute] character bento

NOLA Lola

So a blogger returns to his New Orleans home and finds his cat. If you don't like this story, you're probably a mean person.

Without Burnout, I CREATE

My Xbox has, like many aging Xboxes that still want to cling to their youth by following misguided trends, decided that it's way more into disc read errors than actually playing games now. Stupid trendy Xbox. Well, I decided to let it "cool down" (because all hardware problems can of course be solved through a "cooling down" period) and, deprived of Burnout Revenge, I went and made a new title graphic. Do you like it?

( ) yes
( ) no
( ) kinda
( ) those electronics are not properly connected jeez
( ) hey wait these aren't real radio buttons

Come Back Mini Pato

The depressing lack of original games at this year's Tokyo Game Show just proves that, even when facing an unignorable sales decline across the entire Japanese game industry that shows no signs of improving, it isn't just American firms like Electronic Arts that will chicken out and keep churning out uninspired sequels and ports. I wish more game developers would take risks with things that aren't already based on safe, licensed properties, but still, you have to respect this: Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor Come Back Mini Pato for the PSP. (Sorry about the overcooked website, but click through it to see all the screens in their manga-arts'n'craftsy glory.) It seems to be a mech shooting action(?) game based on the Patlabor series, with graphics rendered to look like paper cutouts affixed to popsicle sticks. It probably won't be great, and it certainly won't be released in the US, but I tend to cling desperately to any signs of life (as in vibrancy and brilliance) the game industry shows these days. I can't wait to try out whatever Nintendo's doing with their senso-remote thing, which is more than I can say for anything coming from Sony and Microsoft. I mean, I like "even prettier racing / sports / fighting games" (almost) as much as the next guy, but at this point I want something I haven't already played a thousand times. Even if it takes popsicle-stick graphics to get me to pick it up.

RING RING

I've always wanted to do this.

(Not with Fischerspooner, necessarily, but I wouldn't say no if they'd showed up.)

Stupidest / Sexiest

I don't know who Jeremy Adam Smith is, or if even he's anybody of note other than "a guy who titles his articles well," but I do know that I knew I'd be linking these articles here as soon as I saw their titles:

The Ten Stupidest Utopias!

and

The Ten Sexiest Dystopias!

Synergy

I'm putting this link here to remind myself of it, basically, whenever I want to come back to it: an open-source bit of software called Synergy that somehow allows you to share a keyboard and mouse between computers. I'd write some stuff about how awesome it is, but it would all be purely speculative, since I haven't quite decoded that web page yet. I see the open-source software community is still taking many steps to remain insular and cultlike so that stupid people don't try to use their software and then bother them about it. Unfortunately I'm collateral damage, because pages like that make me feel like I am perhaps one of those stupid people. I don't even understand most of the words on the "FAQ" page, ha! So I'm a little scared to try it out, but that doesn't mean I can't share it with you guys.

Scrambled Egg, Jumping Flash

I haven't been very interested in the video games on offer this year, really. I thought I was just getting old; there are a number of factors, really, but I think it boils down to this:

It's the surreality that I miss the most.

Andrew Lin's Comics

I absolutely love these.

Press "Triangle" To Become Hero

I'm sure you came here to escape from the nonstop Katrina coverage, but this had to be linked:

"GRAND THEFT AUTO" IS CORRUPTING OUR KIDS