Comic Book Resources - CBR News - The Comic Wire

"1602 is an 8-issue mini, set in a Marvel Universe in which, for reasons which will take a while to uncover, the whole Marvel Universe is starting to occur 500 years early: Sir Nicholas Fury is head of the Queen's Intelligence, Dr Stephen Strange is her court physician (and magician), the Inquisition is torturing 'witchbreed', many of whom have taken sanctuary in England under the wing of Carlos Javier, and now a mysterious treasure -- which may be a weapon of some kind -- is being sent from Jerusalem to England by the last of the Templars. Something that may save the world, or destroy it, which has already attracted the attention of such people as Count Otto Von Doom (known as 'The Handsome')... "

Neil Gaiman has a blog.

Roq la Rue Gallery, Seattle, WA

"The medium of glass can be used for good or evil - depending on its application. And quite frankly, if you really think about it, glass is one seriously bad ass art! Far from being a twee craft, glass making is actually one of the more macho arts around - from the giant furnaces, to the handling of molten hot materials, to the constant vigilance required to create a work out of glass."

The Harry Potter Lexicon

I normally avoid this sort of thing due to the sickening marketing of every salvagable detail from the HP books, but this site is clearly a labor of love and contains some really great bits, including an index of spells used in HP and the Black family tree.

SPOILER ALERT!

Axis & Allies / WWII Journal

Some A&A variants, including a cool variant using a hex-based map of europe instead of the standard A&A map.

The Leaky Cauldron is a Harry Potter news and info blog. BTW, if you haven't picked up HP and the Order of the Pheonix, do it now. It's the best one yet!

mojo games international

"Player goals are to hunt and kill monsters, while constantly building a powerful arsenal of weapons, armor, and magic. The pre-eminent goal of the game is the acquisition of high levels of experience and socialization with multitudes of other players. "

Hmmm... now THAT'S a new premise.

Years of the Great War is a strategy/RPG based around the 30 years war. The game is run through a set of forums. Each player takes the part of a monarch of the time and gets a forum to use as their court. They can then send diplomats to other courts, as well as build armies, develop commerce, and so on. It's quite ingenious, and looks like a lot of fun, if only I had time to try it out.

Ultimatum - The Race for Supremacy in Europe

"When we say that Ultimatum is a real-time game, we really mean it. Military units travel and fight at the same speed as they do in reality and a typical game can last several weeks or even months. You can log on and issue orders as often as you wish, then log off and let your country execute the orders that you have issued. A few casual visits over the span of a few days are sufficient to manage your game appropriately. "

I've been trying this one out, and it's pretty fun. For some reason I can't build zepplins and superguns though. I assume they're coming in a later version.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: AP - Movies

"The lights on Broadway will dim at 8 p.m. on Tuesday in honor of Katharine Hepburn, who died surrounded by friends and family Sunday at her childhood waterfront home in Old Saybrook. She was 96."

Draw a comic book in a day: Get the picture?

"Just steps away from the confetti-lined streets, rainbow streamers and cheers of yesterday's Gay Pride Parade, a group of very tired but very determined comic book designers sat spread throughout the Broadway Market, hunched over their drawing tables."

AVGravy sent me a link to SERGEI APARIN - Fantastic Painting. This stuff is really incredible. Check it!

Hi All! I just thought I'd take a moment and blog. I'm in the Goshen, Indiana Public Library right now, enjoying a little vacation. Cheers!

The Globe and Mail

HBS Working Knowledge: Innovation: Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos meet "Ginger"

"When the doors were locked, he opened the duffels and the boxes, removed a couple of chassis and control shafts, and assembled two D1 Gingers using a screwdriver and hex wrenches. He finished in ten minutes, turned one on, and began tearing around the ballroom, looking happier with every revolution. Jeff Bezos arrived. Dean zipped up to him, stopping sharply at his shoe tips. Bezos didn't flinch."

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | When humans faced extinction

"The study suggests that at one point there may have been only 2,000 individuals alive as our species teetered on the brink."

Treanna Ganger's Special Things

A friend's daughter interviews Steve Jackson:

"Last year at a gaming convention called Dragonflight, I got to meet SJ. (Here's his web page and picture). When I got email, I wanted to interview him for my web page for show and tell at school."

Link thanks to Denormalize

This weekend I saw THE ANIMATRIX, and it was good. All the animation was incredible. The writing varied. Some was merely good, some was amazing. Woot, Animatrix.

Beautiful, haunting, and rather disturbing.

New Scientist

"Pan Jiazhong, head of the dam's inspection group, said: 'If water enters these cracks there could be negative effects, so we are fixing them very carefully.' However, he denied that the cracks, up to 10 metres long, mean that the dam is seriously damaged."

...negative effects up to and including whole cities inundated, 10's of thousands homeless and dead, or worse.

GameSpy.com: the 25 stupidest moments in computer gaming

"Scrapping the previously proposed 'Saturnday' launch of September 2nd, Kalinske told his shocked E3 keynote audience that the Saturn was available across the country even as he spoke, for the suggested retail price of $399. The audience's response was tremendous; had Sega preemptively won the next generation wars?

...

In any case, the day was still young. During the next keynote, Sony Computer Entertainment America President, Steve Race, walked slowly to the podium and leaned carefully forward. He uttered a single phrase, but it was enough to make the crowd go wild: '$299.' From that point on, Sony's PlayStation was the system to beat in the United States. "

Rearview Mirror: The ghostly city beneath Detroit

"Like a Jules Verne fantasy, a ghostly city with its own network of four lane highways lies deep beneath the industrial heart of Detroit, its crystalline walls glittering and gleaming in the flickering light. It is a world of no night or day."

James Howard Kunstler: Eyesore of the Month

This Month: "The Tang Museum, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York. Architect, Antoine Pradock. This remarkable monstrosity has six backs and no front. The elevation above is what you see from the "street" -- or more precisely the ring road that runs around Skidmore's pod-like campus. Thus, the public 'face' of the Tang is its loading dock (with accessory dumpster). Notice the excellent opportunities for skateboard suicide."

Crank Dot Net | contents

Hundreds of crank web sites, organized into 100 categories.

Winner of the most assinine variation on the Nigerian bank scam email:

"I am MR, ABID AL-HAMID MAHMOOD the personal assistant to the former IRAQ LEADER{SADDAMHUSSEIN} ."

LOST CONTINENTS—EXPLORERS OF MYTH AND MYSTERY

Word on the street is that Lost Continents is no more. Note that the last post on the News board is October of last year. Requiescat in Pace.

On Architecture: Capitol Hill Library is firmly planted as an urban refuge

"The library matches the height and materials of the neighboring apartment buildings and the Broadway Market across the street, but its unique design signals its civic purpose. To underscore the simple geometry of the library and the monolithic qualities of the brick, the mortar was trowel struck to make it flush with the face of the brick. Instead of the typical metal cap on top of the wall, the brick forms a clean edge against the sky. The brick was tumbled to prematurely age it, helping it to blend with the Anhalt apartment building next door and giving the library a timeless quality."

flatscape

The INWARD VESSELS of The SPLEEN

tarot decks S =||= Aeclectic Tarot

w00t

"An interjection similar to 'Yay'."

Link thanks to Philos.

Center for Ludic Synergy

"It is a central tenet of Hindu thought that the Universe is a great illusion -- a gargantuan divine game of Hide-and-Seek in which pure consciousness eternally hides from itself. The Hindu term for this eternal game is Lila."

This is the page of another group a game designers and innovators who seem to operate in the Seattle area. Their approach and focus is quite different from ours, but fascinating all the more!

"Whois Server Version 1.3

Domain names in the .com and .net domains can now be registered
with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net
for detailed information.

No match for domain "NIPR.MIL".

>>> Last update of whois database: Sun, 1 Jun 2003 06:02:55 EDT <<<"

NIPR.MIL is...

• The DISA created NIPR so that NIPR is essentially a VERY secure, single point of contact for all DoD connections to the web. Imagine it as a super firewall for all of the DoD's various branches, partners, andeducational institutions that work with the DoD. - Chemtrails - Contrails
  
• "AS THE SITE COUNTER'S RECORD OF VISITS HERE FROM BEHIND THE PENTAGON FIREWALL, THE FIRST PART OF NIPR.MIL SOUNDS A LOT LIKE NIPPUR THE ANCIENT SUMERIAN CITY JUST SOUTH OF BAGHDAD, THAT WAS SACRED TO THE STORM GOD ENLIL." - Lear's Shadow
  
• "You know all you need to know" - Kevin Sanders