Today, August 20th, marks the birthday of the sci-fi weirdo and Hewlett Packard-engenderer, H.P. Lovecraft.  So let’s all wish him a…Jesus, he’s 120-years-old?? Someone call Guinness!  (hplovecraft)

I guess I can’t mention H.P.’s birthday without also including Fred Durst, Dimebag Darrell, Al Roker, Robert Plant, Isaac Hayes, and (my personal fave) Connie Chung.  Will her husband ever find out who the father is?  Perhaps we’ll never know.  Oh, here’s an online game you can play where you pelt Tila Tequila with shit.  I forgot I was doing Mish Mash for a sec there.  Just such a sucker for birthdays!  (heavy)

Speaking of great authors (look, I think Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog-Flavored Water is one of the greatest albums of all time, okay?), you can now own J.D. Salinger’s toilet if you have a million bucks laying around.  He didn’t write any books on it, but I’m sure he read a couple.  (gammasquad)

Ah, the video game glitch/video game secret.  Being the first kid on the block to discover you is probably what it felt like being the first man on the moon.  Pure invincibility, looking down at that floating speck of a planet.  (dorkly)

I can’t tell you how psyched I am for Piranha 3D!  And in honor of that film and it’s genre-analogous predecessors, it’s attack of the underwater monsters!  (screenjunkies)

More than 10 Black Bears were found ‘guarding’ a marijuana farm.  In related news, Max wants to know where he can buy some Black Bears.  (vancouversun)

As much enmity as I feel for Star Wars and the odium I hold towards George Lucas, I will admit the Star Wars: Uncut uber-fan idea is, if nothing else, fun.  But couldn’t we do it with, I don’t know, Texas Chainsaw Massacre or something?  Y’know, something with some allure!  (starwarsuncut)

The evolution of the Batsuit.  Ah, I’ll never forget the inclusion of those tumescent nipples.  (unrealitymag)

Hack director Darren Lynn Bousman, who was obviously named so because his folks wanted a girl but didn’t want to give up the name, is teaming up with the producer of Dude, Where’s My Car? (one of only two movies I ever walked out of) to bring us a teeth-clenching, fist-forming movie entitled 11-11-11.  And I’ll give you one fucking guess when it’s being released.  Oh, Hollywood.  You’re so fucking asinine.  (heatvision)

Taking the pill makes women smarter?  Obviously, these scientists haven’t met my ex-girlfriends.  Unless by “smarter” they mean “crazier”.  (news)

Got this one from my BFF Devin: Nickelodeon game show hosts, where are they now?  Oh, Summer Sanders.  I loved you before I even knew what love was.  And by love, I mean ‘had a boner I didn’t know what to do with’.  (mtv)

Batman steals some cinnamon twists from the Taco Bell drive-thru.  I always thought of him as a Nachos Bel Grande type of dude.  Huh.  (gammasquad)

Stop what you’re doing right now; it might not be what you’re supposed to be doing with your life!  Click this link, and let this website help you choose your path: what the fuck you should do with your life.  (wtfsidwml)

15 greatest chosen ones, whatever the fuck that’s supposed to mean.  (geekosystem)

Ray Bradbury thinks we got too much internet and cellphones.  Can someone tell this dude he’s the reason this shit exists.  (gammasquad)

I’ve sang my praises for stuff like this before; call it nostalgia: 8 sexual innuendoes slipped into kid’s cartoons.  (asylum)

Believe it or not, this Krispy Kreme Cheeseburger was bred right here in the ol’ land of the free, home of the diabetic.  Shocking, I know.  (smokingsection)

I’ve always loved the term “Rust Belt” when referring to the industrious section of the Midwest.  I recently discovered a shitload more “-belts” exist.  Beef up your knowledge and wow some people when you drop stuff like “Stroke Belt” or “Jell-O Belt” around ‘em.  (wikipedia)

13 awesomely useless inventions.  They’re awesome.  But also useless.  Proceed with caution.  (urlesque)

7 technologies that are going to kill us all.  Well, except for the zombies and vampires.  They’ll be fine.  (uproxx)

Seth Rogen is lending his voice to another animated kids flick.  Look, unless he’s getting high and dropping f-bombs like shoes at a sidewalk sale, I’m just not interested.  Pixar, take note.  (heatvision)

HBO is making a show about the porn industry which sounds cool until you find out that Mark Wahlberg is producing it.  Wait, actually that makes perfect sense.  Really in shape dude with the acting ability of a cigar store Indian?  Couldn’t be a better match.  I take it all back.  (warmingglow)

And lastly, did you know your siblings can actually make you gay?  By the way, how is your sister, Ben?  (cracked)

If there is one movie that actually deserves to utilize the third dimension, it’s Jackass 3D.  I’m as giddy as a schoolgirl.  Seriously, feel these nipples!  (youtube)

Yet more marketing for Scott Pilgrim.  I bet they haven’t even filmed the movie yet.  They’re stalling!  Bet they’re just trying to buy some time.  (geekosystem)

Ah, the days when cartoons we’re subtly vulgar; their innuendoes flying over our immature brains but shocking and titillating our parents.  I miss those days, mostly because now I get the jokes and I wanna see more.  (cracked)

5 comic books you’re not too cool to love.  I don’t get it – one can be too cool to love a comic book?  (smokingsection)

It’s been 25 years since Weird Science and Real Genius came out, both landing in theaters August of ‘85.  So which one is better?  Who cares — can you believe it’s been a quarter of a century since they came out??!  Ho-lee shit.  (insidemovies)

Darth Schwarzenegger has been making it’s rounds on the intertubes, so I thought I’d share it here.  It’s like those Schwarzenegger prank calls that were so popular several years ago, only you’re able to watch it instead of just hear it.  Pretty funny stuff.  (youtube)

It’s Key West Ken Bowman’s birthday today, and in honor of our lost-at-sea correspondent I present you with: The all-time worst TV theme songs.  (pajiba)

This, too, has been making it’s rounds: Pulp Disney.  The concept is dumb, and it takes a second before you realize how funny it is.  But when you do…it’s funny.  (youtube)

Adult swim has just released the trailer for the upcoming season of The Venture Brothers. With this being one of the best cartoons on tv right now, you will be doing yourself a disservice if you don’t watch.

Mish Mash is back in full effect!  Engage!

Sometimes people on the internet leave comments on message boards.  Most of the time, these people are idiots.  And sometimes, those message boards pertain to the Batman #1 comic book.  This is the genius that ensues.  (comicsalliance)

The 6 greatest things ever accomplished by a dead body.  Like keep releasing albums, isn’t that right Rolling Stones? (cracked)

Even though I’ve never followed baseball, I collected the cards when I was a kid.  Sadly, my collection does not contain any of these gems.  (manofest)

Will Ferrell’s promo video for his new film The Other Guys, in character, via Funny Or Die.  It’s like if Steve Brule and Ron Burgundy had a baby.  It’s kinda funny but mostly mundane, and you’ve seen those idiosyncrasies a million times before.  (filmdrunk)

Oh, Paul Rudd.  You’re so…dreamy.  I mean cool!  Cool.  You’re so cool.  If only I were a little Jewish girl.  (buzzfeed)

I call total bullshit, but the rumor is that QT could be directing The Shadow reboot.  Yeah, that Shadow.  (pajiba)

Mage movie coming.  Because why write new ideas when you can just use a comic book that’s already been written, isn’t that right, Hollywood? (variety)

Movie-based comic books that never were, but should have been.  Seriously, how awesome would a Heathers comic book be?  I love my dead, gay son! (smoothnnatural)

From my favorite Honoluluan news channel website feed: don’t fuck with Hawaiian gamers.  (khon2)

Even though I’ve never followed basketball, I still admire the shoes.  Hell, you won’t find a finer pair of footwear than a Chuck Taylor Converse All-Star.  Don’t believe me?  Just look at my feet.  (totalprosports)

O’, newspaper blunders.  How I love and hate thee.  So very hilarious.  And yet, you built Jay Leno’s empire.  (manofest)

If you think you’ve had a couple bad yearbook photos, you’ll find solace in this magical website, where everyone’s photo is so much more worse than your worst one ever was.  (badyearbookphotos)

The drollery that comes from pairing Kanye Wests tweets with New Yorker cartoons borders on brilliant.  But don’t tell Kanye that.  Please, for the love of all that is holy, do not tell Kanye that.  (buzzfeed)

So, as mentioned one million times on our site and podcast, Nerd City went to San Diego Comic Con.

Now that a week has passed since our return, I feel I can finally best express exactly what happened. First of all, it must be made very clear, SDCC is absolute madness. When we arrived early Thursday morning, groggy from lack of sleep and free flight drinks (thank you Southwest), the crowd immediately overwhelmed our team.

Heavy-set, costumed, and motivated, the crowd was enormous and wildly irritating, and getting or keeping your bearings was nigh impossible. The show floor was admittedly huge, but made gargantuan by the shear amount of Nerd traffic. As the realization of the amount of patience (and booze) necessary to survive four days of this madness set in,  another concerning observation also made itself apparent: this show has absolutely nothing to do with comics.

The rumblings of that sentiment have been heard for years, but with this being our first ever appearance, it was evidently clear. Very few announcement were dedicated to comic books, and even major publisher (and our good friends) Image Comics had their panel resigned to a small room. If the third largest comic book publisher in the world can’t get a big room, what does that mean for the rest of us?

The saddest sign of the future  of comics @ Comic Con, by far, was artists alley. Stark, and crammed to one side, it almost seemed an after thought, with even the biggest talents left stranded and disconnected from the rest of the show. Even super star creator Mike Mignola’s booth was misplaced and under-attended, and his work HAS been made in to a movie. Even though this was our first time there, it’s just hard to shake the feeling that something sad is happening to the San Diego Comic Con.

This is in some ways, good news for midwest and east coast Nerds, in that newer, more comic-centric shows like C2E2 and New York Comic Con, have a real shot at stepping in to fill the void left by this change of subject matter, casting a Nerd spotlight on their respective cities. That was one of the things that made the biggest impact on the Nerd City crew: how downtown San Diego completely converts to cater to (and exploit) Nerds’ needs.

Every store front was either converted to  direct promotion for a company or title (Syfy Channel, Tron, and Adult Swim had all completely taken over businesses), or concessions had been made by ownership to decorate and theme their places to appeal to the crowd. Every where you went, cartoons and super hero movies and music played, whether buying some contraband hooch to sneak in, or attending the Masters of the Universe message board party at a converted chain Irish pub with Ben and Tim Seeley (the Nerdiest event @ the Nerdiest event) . The way the town had opened up, and the way the people stumbled from location to location, it could only be described as Nerd-i Gras (t.m. Nerd City). I have honestly never seen a cultural event have such a dramatic impact on the surrounding host city. So much so, that you’d have to return just to see what San Diego really looks like.

By far, one of the coolest parts about the trip was getting to go out to California to hang with a bunch of our friends. Our Chicago Nerd Citizens were in full effect, and one of the highlights was drunkenly partying with the gang @ the Hyatt, where I may or may not have completely creeped out H. Jon Benjamin. Also, through our work @ Nerd City, we’ve gotten to meet so many cool industry folks, and it was really awesome to see just how many great friends we have. I think the thing that best epitomized that sentiment, of just being part of something rad, was our “Scenes of A Graphic Nature” Party @ Soda Bar.

Getting a chance to work with two such cool organizations like TFAW.com and Image Comics, was a thrill for an O.N. (original Nerd), like myself. Andrew from Things From Another World is a pioneer, and his vision for the future of Nerd is uber-exciting.  And of course, Image is…you know, Image. Getting to work with all of our friends on the team over there was so great, and just proves why they are where they are.

Honestly, for a grass roots organization like l’il ol’ Nerd City, the chance to collaborate on an event with such cool sponsors was an absolute dream come true. Plus, we got to party with Jim Mahfood, Dave Crosland, Mike Huddleston, Jason Shawn Alexander and crew (including designer Jane Dope), and  DJ Red Sonya and The Burning of Rome.

The venue and party turned out really sick, with the art being so ridiculous. I mean what those guys are doing is so beyond “live art”, it’s almost indescribable. The energy and vibe they instantly bring, it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. Plus, the Soda Bar was such a great venue, the whole staff was so cool, and the booker Peter, saved the day with his kick-ass van.

With Major Taylor in tow, bartender Tommy’s Cicero roots, and our guest list  a veritable who’s who of windy city Nerd-ery, the event couldn’t help but scream Chicago, and we wouldn’t have had it any other way. Just the fact that any of it actually happened is still hard to believe, and the pure amount of alcohol consumed only blurs the issue.

But yeah, we’re back…and having conquered SDCC we’re just about ready for anything. Except maybe another SDCC.

This fall the Wii will be getting a release of Don Bluths arcade game trilogy Dragon’s Lair, Dragon’s Lair 2 and Space Ace all on one single disc. If you can remember when arcades were still around Dragon’s Lair and Space Ace were interactive cartoons that would allow you to play thourgh the adventure by quick reflexes and choosing correct paths, basically playing a series of quicktime events to rescue the princess. Each game will have the full game available to play or if you just want to watch the cartoons themselves you can have the game autoplay as you sit back and enjoy some of Don Bluths fantastic cartoon work. The Don Bluth Trilogy (not the official title by the way) will be released this fall for the Wii at a MSRP of $29.99

Source: Kotaku