Without a doubt, my single greatest joy as a kid was spending hours upon hours alone in my room playing video games. Had I to do it over again, I might have gone a different route...you know, actually seeing the outdoors and other kids. But the past being what it was, it still had an enormous impact on me artistically. I used to sketch out complex designs for new games literally all night long. I dreamt of creating the sequel to Bionic Commando using advanced 16-bit parallax scrolling and mode-7 scaling. I imagined entire worlds that spawned from the images I sat and lovingly digested for hours. No images were more permanently seared into my cranium than that of the classic video game cover.

This is such a lost art. Now things are so...literal. But back then, it was the wild west. The cover didn't really have to bear any real resemblence to the game inside because the graphics were so low-fi, to render any artistic image to represent it was conjecture. It was FANTASTIC. And the crazy stuff that people put into the games back then. Insane man. I'm talking, if I'm in Ninja Gaiden, I'm fighting hunch-backs, crazy insects, birds, machine gunners, and robots all in the span of a single 2-D level. And these artists had to interpret that shit into something that would sell. There is truly no wonder why 8-bit game art is some of the most unintentionally hilarious cover art ever.

To that point, I've collected a small gallery from all over the interwebz. Please, take a stroll through memory lane to a time when men could be men, and tennis playing astronauts broke down rainbow walls with square balls.

>gallery

If you have never seen the majesty that is Sean Connery's Zardoz, you have truly missed out, my friend. Director John Boorman's self-indulgent parade through post-apocalyptia is pretty much the weirdest movie you'll ever see. In fact, the first time I watched it I actually couldn't believe what I was seeing. This would have been compounded had I not seen his trippy Arthurian legend Excalibur so many times...the experience giving me some context to place what was taking place stylistically. But apart from that small mercy, I remained stunned, horrified, and elated though the film's long runtime. It is truly Epic, in the strangest sense.

The film is on the surface a critique on the role of religion in our world, but I suspect that it is just as much a critique on the manipulable nature of man...that the suggestion of power or immortality would drive people to do unspeakable acts of cruelty with a righteous zeal. And it is brutal. But it is also hilarious in contrived and in the most unintentional of ways. So all is not bleak in this world. Connery brings his usual charisma to the his role of a barbarian hunter/killer, giving the character an equally humane and ruthless quality as his disillusionment takes hold and ultimately frees him. He is surrounded by an outstanding cast of actors, most of which are free to play as large as their imaginations allow. The result is an almost theatrical performance across the board, each part playing for the cheap seats.

All this adds to the surreal nature of the film, and you will no doubt find it surreal. Zardoz seems naturally suited to viewing while enjoying mind-altering consumables, but even stone sober, I found it quite a trip. This film is a cult classic for a reason. Highly recommended just to say that you've seen it...but you might actually enjoy the hell out of it along the way.

I've always loved this video...never realized that this one was created by the same artist who did the Scott Pilgrim game. Animator Paul Robertson has done some powerfully messed up work, this one being perhaps his most tame. Hit up his livejournal site to see the rest.

A nice little gem from Adult Swim...this is a bit from the books that didn't make it to the movies. But it features the movie's cast as voice talent. WIN.

This is a pretty cool little bit of geekery. You know how when people need to sell an idea, they sometimes get visual aids like slides and such? Well Ubisoft actually put together this animatic/prototype that shows the concept for the Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World game and its many scenes that reference classic games. And it features chiptune versions of Cherub Rock and Seven Nation Army. Rawk. The final game didn't end up too close to this (it is actually much better,) but this is a cool insight into how this stuff is done, nonetheless. Enjoy.

NOTE: The play button is hard to see...got clipped off. Just click the little blue part in the lower right corner.

This guy may be the most awesome drummer to ever grace the VFW circuit. He is pure energy and showmanship, routed through a feminine hygiene device, and thusly rendered inappropriately awesome at Bar Mitvas and Weddings.

Truly, we are not worthy.

Dude. I don't know about you, but if the world has to end, I want it be 8-bit style. Old school vibes meet new school tech as Patrick Jean delivers us to our Nintendo Overlords. And I, for one, welcome them.

Hello Rewind will take your old T-Shirts and turn them into laptop sleeves. Hipsters take note: This is an entirely new medium with which to be ironic. What are you waiting for?

> go there

I feel that perhaps "Awesome Sauce" is used, by me, too often in this blog. You could argue that to delve into hyperbole too often is to cheapen the effect of words like "awesome". Well, fuck that. Here is perhaps the most awesome thing I've ever posted in the category. An all-star send-off to Conan in the form of a wild rompus. Free bird, mofos. Recognize anyone in particular in this clip? Perhaps Ben Harper on the steel guitar? Is that ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons? That wouldn't be Beck, would it? Will Farrell on lead vocals doing his best Van Zandt? Cowbell? Yes, they're all there with the Max Weinberg Band, and a vicious solo by Coco himself. Do not delay. Watch it now.