Having spent much time  on this here internet, I have admittedly developed a fondness for food blogs. I just think they are cool. Basically, I like food, and I like reading and looking @ pictures about it.

Now, lo and behold, it turns out one of Nerd City’s friends, Shea Hess, runs an awesome food blog called Hungry in Brooklyn, and frankly, it looks delicious. It’s a really cool concept, and all the food looks totally tubular. Shea hung out with us @ Barcade, and showed Nerd City around during our trip to NYC, and it’s awesome to be sharing space with her here on the world wide web.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I am going to get something to eat (boogers, most likely).

Go to Hungry in Brooklyn here.

Just like the previously released Craig McCracken shirt (read about it here), the Nakatomi Invitational continues this time with my favorite artist….Jim Mahfood. Mr. Mahfood has not only a t-shirt available but also a sweet looking print as well consisting of a lovely lady and a shark with nunchucks, what more could you want? The print runs for $30 and the shirt runs for $20, or you can order both for only $40. I got my print and shirt already ordered and you can order your own right here. This print/shirt will only be available till the end of March or when 100 of each are sold, whichever comes first, so order yours soon.

Recently, myself and Nerd CIty beer correspondent  Bob Egan ventured out to local Illinois brewery Flossmoor Station, and it ruled.

Brewers Bryan and Richard were super cool dudes, and our bartender Annie made sure we got nice and ham-boned. For a small brewery, their output is simply unreal.  Their seasonal, Cupid’s Got a Brand New Bag, was fucking delicious, and their Panama Red Ale is the bomb.

Plus, they have really kickass food, including awesome pie (beer and pie:great alone, better together.) The coolest thing is that you can take the train from downtown Chicago and it drops you off right in front of the brewery. Did you hear what I just said? Right in front. Seriously. Flossmoor has also expanded their state-wide distribution, and so we should be seeing a lot more of their brews in the City.

Definitely a field trip to make when a change of scenery is necessary, you’ve got to check out Flossmoor Station brewery.

Learn all about it here.

Now we know there is really only one podcast you should be listening too, but if you are looking for a fantastic podcast being played as one giant mixtape then The Beat Bee Sessions is for you. This podcast features resident NerdCity favorite Jim Mahfood, aka Food One, just playing fantastic and classic hip hop hits along side his partner Jane Dope. As Food one describes it:

The Beat Bee, mysterious cosmic funkanaut of the the intergalactic
spaceways, delivers his magic Mixtapes throughout the universe to
spread the love and joy of real music! He has chosen Food One and Jane
Dope to broadcast his funky signals on planet Earth…and so, we
proudly bring you the first volume of the Beat Bee Sessions…an
all-new, weekly podcast guaranteed to clean the cobwebs out ‘yo
mind.

I was not able to find this on iTunes yet but you can download or stream the podcast right HERE.

Issue 1 of Grrl Scouts: Work Sucks was released yesterday through the iPhone and iPhone touch app store and the best part is, according to comixology.com it is totally free. Like any of Mahfoods work, this book is a fantastic/fun read that all comic fans should check out. You can get it directly off your device or check out the direct site here

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Enjoy your day of eating lots of food and doing a whole lot of nothing.  Then enjoy your day of trampling over people at stores early in the morning on Friday.

Today only is your chance to pick up this sweet t shirt, designed by our friend, MissMonster, for only 10 bucks!  “Ouroboros” is today’s design on Shirt.Woot.com, and it’s awesome!

From Shirt.Woot:

You Have To Imagine The Firework Noises You’ll pay for the whole seat, but you’ll only need THE EDGE.

Hey, loose energy. Think you’ve ridden it all? Think you’re tough? Well, come on down to The Primary Earth Dimension this weekend for a THRILL. PACKED. EXPERIENCE. Ride… THE OUROBOROS.

The Ouroboros is over ten billion years of curved spacetime designed to SIT YOU ON YOUR ASS. From the second you arrive through a Big Bang, you’ll move at the speed of light, feeling the excitement of a universe full of black holes, white dwarfs, green giants, even a nebula or two. And then, when it seems like you can’t take any more, you’ll coalesce in a pressured-filled soup alongside some of your best friends, and everything will really COME. TO. LIFE.

That’s right, you’ll be MATTER. Maybe you’ll be a tree. Maybe you’ll be water. Maybe you’ll be a REAL. LIVE. BOY. Nobody knows what happens. All that we can promise you is that, after you’re released back into your original state around the time of cosmic destruction, you’ll be ready to DO. IT. ALL. AGAIN.

Don’t sit around worrying that you can’t be created or destroyed. Ride THE OUROBOROS and discover a brand new state of being. You’ll wish it could all go on… FOREVER.

(all participants must be of legal age relative to the current time/space dimension height limits will be imposed no food or drink will be allowed on the ride energy must obey the ride operator at all times not every rider will become matter some experiences may vary no refunds or credit will be offered for unsatisfactory rides offer void to pandimensional chtonic parasites)

SEE. YOU. THERE.

Wear this shirt: when you’re feeling cold hearted. Have someone look into your eyes. Oh, oh. You’ll be telling lies.

Don’t wear this shirt: only once. It should be something you wear again and again.

This shirt tells the world: “Here we go again…”

More pics/info after the jump. (more…)

In yet another awesome junk food/video game team-up (See KFC/Guitar Hero, Mountain Dew Game Fuel), Doritos is currently accepting submissions for their Unlock XBox contest. Basically, you video tape your two minute pitch for an XBox Live game, and if the judges like your idea, Doritos will help create the game, and internet voters will pick the grand prize winner. This is a super rad idea for a contest, and what’s great is that you don’t need to know anything about the technical side of game design to win. So if you have an idea for a video game (and who doesn’t), you have to check it out. So get cracking, because pitches are due Oct 4th. Also, no extra points will be awarded for cool ranch residue on submissions. Just so you know.

Get all the details here.

Enjoy these links!

Play Ms. Pac Man online (Break.com)

5 Cartoon Characters with Horrible Food Addictions (Gunaxin.com)

5 Second Films: The Duck Hunter (Babelgum.com)

A to Z of Awesomeness (Neillcameron.com)

Stop Motion Legos (Uniquedaily.com)

8 Redeeming Qualities of the Gobots (Toplessrobot.com)

Kids in the Hall Reuniting to do Murder Mystery Show (Iwatchstuff.com)

Space Invaders Lamp Shade (Meninos.us)

So as you may or may not have heard, there was a recent fan/Rob Liefeld transgression @ Chicago Comic Con. I assume this was during our super awesome panel, as I didn’t hear about it until I re-arrived on planet Earth on Monday.  Basically, this dude in a yellow hat and trenchcoat walked up to Liefeld @ his booth and talked shit on his work with Captain America.

When Liefeld wouldn’t take the bait, the guy (who of course has some shitty blog) (not like this one, of course) went back up to the booth and dropped off a copy of “How to Draw the Marvel Way”, (which regardless of context Is an excellent book). The whole thing was of course caught on video, and the incident has ignited quite a controversy, with Liefeld even discussing it on his Twitter. ( I know).

After having done a little research, I have come to several conclusions. First, this guy in the yellow hat is a nerdy d-hole, and the fact that he just dropped the book off and left demonstrates a serious lack of testicular fortitude. If you’re going to talk major shit on somebody, do it to their face, or on your unlistened-to weekly podcast. Also, the fact that he had a buddy filming the whole thing gives the whole situation a crappy prank-show ripoff feel. I mean, this guy is fucking with Nerd City territory here. We do a lot of video work @ these shows, and anything that makes creators more apprehensive of appearing on camera is bad for us. And that brings me to my point. Rob, Ben has always been a huge fan of yours, and we support our own. So if you’re reading this, Nerd City would like to offer their protective services at any upcoming events or shows. The fact that this went down in our town makes Nerd City sick, and we want revenge. Basically, Nerd City would perform security detail, including food tasting, beer-retrieving, and physical protection against any aggressor under 150 lbs. We want to be the Hell’s Angels to your Rolling Stones.

So let it be heard here: You fuck with Liefeld, you fuck with us. And be warned: anyone wearing a yellow hat, you’re going down.

Happy Friday Nerd City. No sleep till Brooklyn! Beer! If you have not noticed I have been on a bit of a kick with craft beers in a can friends. This week I came across a six pack of Brooklyn Lager. Brooklyn Brewery is from New York city, who knew!?! Brooklyn has been making some fantastic beers, their brewmaster Garrett Oliver is one the most respected guys making beer today. Garrett Oliver is a huge advocate of beer and food, his book the Brewmaster’s Table is an amazing resource for pairing food and beer. Brooklyn Lager is a Vienna style lager, Garrett Oliver speculates that most of the pre-prohibition beers in New York were Vienna style lagers because of influence of German immigrants. The lager has a great malt body, the first sip you get a nice sweetness from the malts, the hops contribute to a nice crisp finish and great citrus aroma. Brooklyn cans are perfect for picnics or fishing or other activities I avoid doing outdoors. The coolest thing about Brooklyn cans is you can find them in Yankee stadium, baseball and craft beer brilliant! Brooklyn also has an amazing line of specialty beers, where Garrett Oliver works with some of the best chefs in New York to create unique one off beers. Garrett Oliver is an amazing brewer and has been a huge supporter of craft beers. Till next time, Cheers!

Our friend, uber-cool artist Jim Mahfood, has two pieces featured in the Hollywood Reporter’s Comic Con edition and as usual, they totally rule.

From L to R: Richard Kelly, David Goyer, Grant Morrison, Gregory Noveck, Eric Gitter, and Brian Taylor.

Our friends over @ Color Ink Book, the DIY art periodical, are releasing their 4th volume @ San Diego Comic Con this week. For those not in the know (for shame), the Color Ink Book is a collection of black and white work from artists including Jim Mahfood, Joe Ledbetter, and Nathan Fox, perfect for the aspiring colorist. This is a really cool project, and must be checked out.

If you can’t score one @ the event, get it here.

Man, I wish I was going to SDCC.  Yesterday, Rotofugi revealed their official plans for the con:

Welcome to the Rotofugi Somewhat Infrequent Update SPECIAL PRE-San Diego Comic Con 2009 Edition!

If you were with us last time you learned that we’re getting ready to embark on an epic roadtrip….to San Diego Comic Con!

In just a few short hours we’ll be hopping in the car and heading south by southwest with the eventual goal of getting to San Diego in time to set up at Booth 4930.

We’ll be eating tasty road food, listening to lots of audio books (Neal Stephenson’s Anathema was my choice) and most importantly…Twittering. Just follow us @rotofugi to keep up with our progress and maybe get a chance to win a little something here and there (think trivia).

Now…on to the good stuff…here’s some of signings and the stuff we’ll have for sale once we get there….

Saturday 12 Noon-1:45PM

Chris Ryniak Signing and Special Release

The Lake Monsters Big Muscamoot
Fire on the Water Version

What was originally meant to be the very first Lake Monster is now a reality! A little bit of trouble with the first batch of vinyl we received delayed this release but we’ve re-grouped, got new vinyl and won’t ever trust that factory with glue again. Orange vinyl with red, orange and yellow sprays. FIRE.

$60

A small number of pieces will be available AFTER SDCC via lottery. We’ll announce details later. Thanks!

Saturday 2-4PM

Ohm Signing and Special Release

Pure Tcho! Captain Biceps by Muttpop

Tcho! figure design Ohm will be on hand to sign and doodle on a blank version of his Captain Biceps design (not shown…it’s the cool robot one!). Limited to just 50 pieces!

$15

Sunday 12 Noon

Special SDCC / Wonder Festival Summer Dual Release

The Lake Monsters Big Muscamoot
Booskamoot Tribute Version

This tribute to one of our favorite Japanese pop culture characters is a dual release at SDCC as well as at Wonder Festival in Japan. Orange base vinyl with ivory, brown and yellow sprays and a fine misting of silver paint to give a rad pearlescent finish.

$60 at SDCC - Limit One
¥5900 at Wonder Festival

A small number of pieces will be available AFTER SDCC via lottery. We’ll announce details later. Thanks!

Available All Days

Handmade Pocket Devil by Shawnimals Debut Release

A new pocket plush, handmade by the fine Shawnimal folk makes it’s debut…with special SDCC Tag!

$15

Available All Days

The Lake Monsters Big Muscamoot Discount Factory Reject Unpainted Figures

These are the not-so-perfect pieces of vinyl our factory sent us (the reason the Fire on the Water Release was delayed). Some have ill-fitting arms, some have glue drips, some just aren’t right….so we’re selling them off cheap! Mostly they look pretty darn good, they just weren’t good enough to be made into final releases (we’re picky). DIY anyone?

$30 each

Available All Days

Rotofugi Toy Nerd 09 T-Shirts

Chances are that if you’re reading this…and will be attending SDCC, then this is the shirt for you. Be proud of what you are in this 100% Cotton Tee! We are! Sizes Small through XXL.

$16 each

Other Stuff

We’ll also have a good supply of Ninjatown Micro Plush, Marshall Series 1 and Tear Drips Series 1 on hand plus a couple Inked Pulp letter press prints and some neato buttons to pique your interest. So, if you’re going to be at SDCC stop on by Booth 4930 and say hi!

Mountain Dew and World of Warcraft have finally teamed up to make sure Nerds maintain the necessary level of obesity and caffeine-ation required for hours of sitting on your ass playing video games. Not since the KFC/Guitar Hero marriage have things been so exciting for the junk-food loving, outdoor-hating gamer. (Myself included)

And because I can’t mention Warcraft without it:

Direct Youtube Link