Last night I found out that my humble little geek blog is listed in the Top 100 Gaming Blogs on the internet according to Technorati.com.
If you’re not aware of the almighty and supreme majesty that is Technorati, here’s how they describe themselves:
The leading blog search engine, Technorati.com indexes millions of blog posts in real time and surfaces them in seconds. The site has become the definitive source for the top stories, opinions, photos and videos emerging across news, entertainment, technology, lifestyle, sports, politics and business. Technorati.com tracks not only the authority and influence of blogs, but also the most comprehensive and current index of who and what is most popular in the Blogosphere.
It’s really an honor to be listed among such great and influential sites (seriously, go check out the list, these sites are awesome!) and I’d always hoped — but never really thought — that my little site could make it this far.
So thanks to all the PR companies and artists for hooking me up with cool news to share and free stuff for reviews and contests, thanks to everyone who’s ever submitted a tip, thanks to all the other blogs for taking notice and linking me, and most of all, thank you crazy kids for reading this garbage every day!
New goal: make Technorati’s list of top 100 sites on the net.
This post is a collection of images from chiptune file sharing site 8bitcollective.com. They were designed by a lineup of talented artists and chiptuners using all kinds of different materials and techniques, but they all have something in common: they’re all totally badass and a little bit on the awesome side.
Hit the jump for some up-close shots of the limited edition Dark Void Trexi and the sexy box it comes packaged in. You’ll also see how different it is when compared to oldschool Trexis from back in the day!
Yes, you read that right: WE’RE GIVING AWAY FIVE COMPLETE SETS OF GUNMETAL EDITION LITTLE TRICKERS!!!!!!
See, Play Imaginative recently released Touma’s Little Trickers blindboxed series. They look like this:
To celebrate the release, Play Imaginative has whipped up a mere 450 complete sets of all the characters from the series in a sexy all-black Gunmetal Edition(pictured at the tippy top). They’ve been gracious enough to donate 5 of these sets to Albotas to be given out in a contest!
So, since there’s 5 different sets, there’s five different ways to win!
1. Leave a comment on this very post. That’s it! Just don’t forget to fill in your email so you can be contacted in case you win! Comment as many times as you want, but your name will only be counted once.
2. Go sign up for the new message boards (only takes a minute) and leave a comment in this thread right here. Again, don’t forget to put your email in your profile so you can be contacted if you win. Comment as many times as you want, but your name will only be counted once.
3. Follow Albotas on twitter (@albotas) and tweet the following message: RT for a chance to win a set of Gunmetal Edition Little Trickers! http://bit.ly/7GZSFV @albotas
4. Follow me on twitter (@brownkidd) and tweet the following message: RT for a chance to win a set of Gunmetal Edition Little Trickers! http://bit.ly/7GZSFV @brownkidd
One winner will be chosen randomly from each of the above entry options. Remember, if you enter each of the 5 different ways, that means you have a better chance of winning!
Deadline for this contest is next Friday, February 5th at 11:59pm EST and the winner will we announced the following week. GOOD LUCK!
This dude needs to stop producing such insanity. The universe can only handle so much awesomeness at a time and when the threshold is reached, existence will spontaneously implode. Or something.
More pics and a vid of this beast in chiptune action after the jump.
As a semi-professional blogger for one of the most amazing geek news sites on the internet, I tend to hand out a few business cards at conventions and press gatherings. One thing I’ve been on a seemingly never-ending quest for is a badass business card holder that says “Yes, I’m a giant nerd, but I mean business!”
After the jump, check out six awesome business card holders by Banpresto inspired by retro games. Three of these are currently available, the other three are pre-orders that won’t ship until March 2010. They’re all limited edition and the most expensive one is only $10.90!
H.G. Wells’s War of the Worlds is one of the most influential sci-fi stories of all time. Its impact can be seen in all forms of popular media, including the hit television series The X-Files and V, movies Mars Attacks, Independence Day, and even the popular video game franchise, Halo.
Matthew Petz’s War of the Woods is an imaginative spin on the classic tale, telling the story from the perspective of woodland creatures. As busy as he is both writing and drawing the comic, Petz was gracious enough to reach out to me and take the time to answer a few questions.
First off, why don’t you explain to us what War of the Woods is exactly?
Well, War of the Woods is my version of the classic ” Aliens invade Earth” story. Only instead of following humans we see it from the point of view of the animal kingdom. Specifically following a father and son otter and a turtle in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Along the way we’ll be meeting a whole host of animals and how they survive and fight back against the alien threat.
Re-telling War of the Worlds from the perspective of woodland creatures is definitely a unique and interesting spin on a classic sci-fi story, but why go with woodland creatures? Why not go with fish, or bugs, or something? Like sharks. People LOVE sharks.
I think woodland creatures are somehow more… relatable ( if thats possible ), and sure sharks are awesome…but…( see next answer )
Speaking of sharks, are you a fan of Shark Week?
I am a fan of Shark Week, but ever since that footage of a great white jumping OUT OF THE WATER surfaced, its just too scary. Next we’ll learn they have a written alphabet, and proficiency in small arms… and really we’re done at that point.
Tell us about each of the characters so far. You could have easily made them bears, wolves, or even beavers. Was there any particular reason that you chose the animals that you did? Is it a sort of metaphorical thing?
No metaphors really. We follow three main characters. Nathaniel whose an otter and his son, Phineas. They are joined by Isaac a turtle. Isaac is a grandfather figure to Phin. As to why I picked otters ? My girlfriend is obsessed with them. Plus the story started to make sense when I pictured a little boy otter running through the woods with a turtle strapped to his head like a helmet.
So right now you have War of the Woods up on Zuda Comics. For those who don’t know, what is Zuda?
Zuda is DC Comics’ online web comic imprint. Its really awesome. They have a bunch of amazing ongoing comics they are updated each month. Along with the ongoing comics, each month there is a competition between 10 new comics. The comic at the end of the month with the most votes goes onto become a regular feature on the site. Its all free too. Free to read the ongoing comics and vote in the competitions. All you have to do is sign up and start reading.
There’s currently 8 pages of War of the Woods right now. How far do you plan on taking this thing?
I actually have a really grand plan to the story. Right now I see it as 3 seasons or books broken up into 100 page installments. I have the first 100 pages pretty plotted out, and the major beats for the remaining story written.
Where can people find out more about you and your latest projects?
For War Of The Woods I’ve set up a blog. It has links to a sketchbook PDF, a theme song mp3 and some other fun stuff. That’s at http://monsterislandmedia.com/war.
My own website is monsterislandmedia.com. It has links to all kinds of projects and artwork.
Alright Matthew, thanks for your time. Any closing comments you’d like to end with?
Just to check out the comic at www.zudacomics.com/node/1661. Most importantly if you like it, take a few minutes to sign up and vote for it and then add it to your favorites. Thanks so much for giving me the opportunity to get the word out !
Saturday night, downtown club Bordello temporarily transformed itself into Mos Eisley Cantina for a night of Tatooine-styled shenanigans helmed by Devil’s Playground. Star Wars Burlesque reimagined a host of beloved characters from the film series — from the sexy to the androgynous to the grotesque — as scantily clad female performers, with locals On Blast assuming the role of cantina band.
Somewhere there’s a nerd with a really huge boner right now. It’s probably me, but I’m probably too sexually confused by the sexy Stormtrooper above to admit it.
Ulises Farinas is a brilliant cartoonist/illustrator living in Brooklyn, NY and his Lego drawings featuring characters from Marvel Comics, Star Trek, and DC’s crossover event Blackest Night are freaking fantastic.
Also check out Motro, a comic that Farinas draws for the ACT-I-VATE webcomix collective.
When the first images from the upcoming live action adaptation of Scott Pilgrim initially came out, I was a tad disappointed. After seeing this pic of Michael Cera looking like a pretty spot-on Scott while wielding a fiery katana, my nerd boner is raging beyond the point of control.
That’s Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Romona Flowers in the background along with Jason Schwartzman as Gideon Gordon Graves, one of Ramona’s seven evil exes. Not only am I pumped to see Schwartzman play an evil dude up against Michael Cera, but I’m resting a good deal of my faith in this flick on the shoulders of director Edgar Wright. Considering the fact that he made Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, I think it’s save to say Scott Pilgrim is in good hands.
The overall paint job on this is killer and the modding process doesn’t even seem all that hard. Thretris has an easy-to-follow tutorial which you can find right here.
If any of you out there are curious about making chiptunes of your own, I highly recommend bookmarking Thretris’s blog. There’s a heap of valuable resources totally worth checking out.
Adidias is set to drop a new line of Star Wars kicks later this year and it’s safe to say they look fresh as fuck. Those orange Rebel Alliance hi tops are so sick!
Adidas did a previous Star Wars line and they ran from about $80 – $90 in price. Hopefully these are the same or less.
Check out these awesome re-imaginings of classic 12″ vinyl covers featuring famous super heroes by illustrator Cliff Chiang.
“Dear Batman: We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in Bat-detention for whatever it is we did wrong, but we think you’re crazy for making us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us: in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is an archer, and a speedster, and a swimmer, a princess, and an acrobat. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, The Teen Titans.”
2009 was a great year for Albotas.com. We relaunched the site on a more secure server, we’ve gotten more traffic than ever before, and it finally seems like this humble little blog’s slowly carving out a respectable space on the internet. It’s all thanks to you guys for the tip submissions, diggs, stumbles, retweets, and word of mouth. Seriously, it really means it lot.
Now, let’s see what stories you sick bastards paid the most attention to in 2009.
Judging from this list, I think it’s safe to say that the typical Albotas.com reader is fond of beards, Nintendo, and attractive females with pointy ears and Starfleet uniforms… or maybe just attractive females in general.
