Trekkies and We Know It Video

A Facebook Friend recently pointed me to a Trekkie video on YouTube spoofing a popular song.  Enjoy!

Illustrator Leo Dillon has Passed

Illustrator Leo Dillon has passed away on My 26th, 2012.  More on his career can be read here.

The Play Generated Map and Document Archive

There is a cool website called "The Play Generated Map and Document Archive" that is starting to pick up some steam and is well worth checking out.  In their own words -

PlaGMaDA's mission is to preserve, present, and interpret play generated cultural artifacts, namely manuscripts and drawings created to communicate a shared imaginative space.  The Archive will solicit, collect, describe, and publicly display these documents so as to demonstrate their relevance, presenting them as both a historical record of a revolutionary period of experimental play and as aesthetic objects in their own right.  By fostering discussion and educating the public, it is hoped that the folkways which generate these documents can be encouraged and preserved for future generations.

Check them out and add your own old maps and documents here!

38th Annual Origins Awards Nominees

The Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design has announced the nominees for the 38th Annual Origins Awards.  Read more here!

Harping on Game of Thrones

There's a cool video recently shared on the YouTube channel of Camille and Kennerly, the Harp Twins, where they play the theme from Game of Thrones on their electric harps.  Enjoy!

R2D2 Coffee Maker

zoelikesskor's YouTube channel recently showed off their R2D2 coffee maker.  Enjoy!

Disney's Touch Screen Solution

It looks like Disney has come up with a way for anything to be a touch screen.  Read more here!

Orders of Geek

BestCollegesOnline.org recently shared an Orders of Geek inforgraphic that has some interesting insights into various subcultures.  I can't find where, of even if, they actually posted this on their site properly but it's shown up a few other places so I'm also sharing it here.  Enjoy!

45 Years of Star Trek

Late last year, Space.com shared an infographic detailing some of the first 45 years of Star Trek.  Enjoy!

Pathfinder Online Technology Demo Kickstarter

I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the very cool Pathfinder Kickstarter project for thier new Online Technologies effort.  Read more here!

Recent Prometheus Trailer

There's a fairly new Prometheus trailer that I hadn't had the chance to share until now.  It's three minutes long and will definitely get you hyped up for the coming film.  It worked on me anyway.  Enjoy!

Game of Thrones Pizza Party

With Game of Thrones winding down the second season, I thought I'd share something geekologie.com posted in early April.  If you're thinking of how to feast during the final episodes you could do a lot worse then having a pizza party, Game of Thrones style.  Read more here!

The Age of Commercial Space Flight Begins Today

SpaceX, if all has gone well, will have launched thier first commercial space venture ealy this morning from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 4:55am EST.  Their five day mission (not including return) will be to take supplies up to the International Space Station.  Read more in this io9.com article here!

D&D Tee Design Contest

There is jsut two weeks left in the Dungeons & Dragons Tee Design Contest.  Put on your thinking caps, or thinking shirts, and come up with something to win yourself $2,500 as well as fame and glory.  Read more here!

Guy Builds A Star Trek Phaser (includes Video!)

Well, someone has finally built a very cool Star Trek phaser and it's pretty damned cool.  Read more here!

Tracker Tokens from Faster Monkey Games

The good folks at Faster Monkey Games have come up with a neat little solution to dealing with the many resources that players need to keep track of during tabletop roleplaying games and they've got the fun-loving Jim Wampler of Marvin the Mage fame doing the illustrations.  Check out their Tracker Tokens and see if it is something that can help during your own gaming!

George R. R. Martin Talks GURPS

Author and gamer, George R. R. Martin talks GURPS on MTV.  Enjoy!

Get More: Geek: Event Coverage, Full Episodes

Fnord for Thought

In a brilliant assessment by Eric D. Smith, "What a wonderful source of misinformation and paranoia!"  If you love the game, you'll love this two-part video series about "your topic this evening - Illuminati: Game or Blueprint for World Domination" with "Ex-Satanist High Priest for the Church of Satan" Stephen Dollins.

Knight Life Short Film

There is a neat little film that Peter Adkison has made for a film class he is taking and since it is Medieval-adjacent, I thought I would blog about it.  Enjoy!

R.I.P. Tony DeZuniga, Artist

There's a fitting tribute over on goodcomics.comicbookresources.com to artist Tony DeZuniga who died just this week at the age of 79.  Read more here.

Cthulhu Knitted Ski Mask

Here's a kickstarter that I just dare people not to find cool.  They've got a pattern for a Cthulhu Knitted Ski Mask and they're not afraid to use it.  Find out more here!

David Arneson Gaming Estate Auction

The late Dave Arneson's gaming collection was nearly lost to the void since his passing but has resurfaced and is now being auctioned.  Read more here!

Beware the Robopocalypse

"You want to know what a robot was designed for and if it is doing something that is outside the scope of what it was made to do then you shoud be very suspicious," prophesized Daniel H. Wilson, PhD (in Science!) in the video on EPIPHEO YouTube channel.  Enjoy!

Doctor Who Scarf

There is a very cool article on io9.com about a Doctor Who accessory for those with workplace restrictions you'd like to bypass without a sonic screwdriver.  Read more here!

Jabba the Blowhard

You'll need some lungs to wear the inflatable Jabba the Hutt costume.  Check it out here!

Frank Mentzer's DMing Style

There's some fun videos on fortune327's YouTube channel showing the DMing style of Frank Mentzer.  Enjoy!

May the Forth Be Osmonds

One of the more humorous things to resurface yesterday while everyone was Star Wars punning on May the Forth/Fourth was a video of Donny and Marie Osmond doing a sketch on their old variety show from the Seventies.  Some suggest it foreshadowed Luke and Leia being revealed as brother and sister.  Enjoy!

Very Cool Iron Man Costume

Seems only fitting to show off someone's Iron Man costume today, what with the Avengers movie coming out.  Enjoy!

A Father and Daughter Moment

EN Worlder Johnny3D3D shared a very touching story about a moment he had with his daughter that just needs to be shared.  He wrote -

Currently, one of the gaming groups I'm involved in plays on Wednesday nights. With the way things work out, I usually have my children with me at the place we play. I'm friends with the group, and most of them also have children, so it works out. The gaming group games, and the kids play.

More and more; as the kids have been around during sessions, they sometimes are drawn toward the table upon which they see the dice and various other pieces of gaming paraphernalia. Sometimes they'll watch for a moment or two and go back to playing. Sometimes my little boy will sit next to me and watch for more than just a moment or two. Naturally, with curiosity often accompanying youth, they ask questions. At this point, my little boy and my little girl both have what I'd say is a pretty good grasp on the concept of how rpgs work -considering their ages (4 and 5 respectively.)

Tonight, as I drove home, they both asked if I would show them how to play. I take a little bit of time out of each day to work on their numbers, letters, shapes, colors, etc. I make it a point to work with them for about an hour each day. Anyway, I told them both that I'd make them a deal. If they do well during a day's lesson, I'll start teaching them a little bit about "the games I play."

After getting home and going through the normal process of getting them ready for bed and whatnot, I sat down to read my little girl a story. Afterwards, she asked me, "what kind of people can you make in the game?" "Well, pretty much whatever you want," I said. I then listed off a few things; knowing some of her interests and toys she plays with, I mixed a few things like "princesses" and "fairies" into the things I said. Little did I know; her answer would not at all be what I expected.

"Well, what about a big sword," she asked with a concerned look on her face. "Can I use a big sword?" "Yes," I then responded, "you can use a big sword."

She thought for a minute, and then she said, "even a girl?" She paused and then continued. "Can I be a girl with a big sword who beats up the monsters? Because I want to have a big sword and beat up the monsters."

I told her yes; she smiled, and then I gave her a kiss on the head before tucking her in. I smiled to myself a little bit as I left her room. I thought it was interesting because most people (gamers in particular) would stereotype a girl -especially one of her age (5)- as wanting to be a fairie princess or cast spells or something like that. I myself -knowing that I at times curse Netflix for acquiring My Little Pony, and that I have to buy everything with princesses and/or fairies on it- thought so as well. However, that was not the case.

No, she did not want to be a fairie. No, she did not want to be a princess. She wants to be a girl with a big sword who beats up the monsters.

TEDX Video on Gaming

There's an interesting TEDX Phoenix talk called "TEDxPhoenix - Brenda Brathwaite - Games for a Change" that I thought is worth sharing.  Enjoy!

Dark Knight Rises Trailer #3

There's a new trailer for the upcoming movie, The Dark Knight Rises.  Enjoy!