Nerd News in Brief

Last week Li’ X. celebrated his 3rd birthday. We had his party at the local fire station, which just goes to show you how seriously we take our personal safety and tax dollars in the rural South.

In retrospect, the thing I find the strangest has less to do with the locale and more to do with the presents. His favorite gift seems to be his Play-Doh Fun Factory. This particular model looks strikingly similar to the one I had as a kid, which begs the question why the fuck have we not had any notable advances in Fun Factory technology within the last 3 decades?

I mean, come on, Hasbro, step up your game. Invest some money in Play-Doh R&D and let’s bring this thing into the 21st century. Do it for the children!

• R.I.P.: Let’s start this week’s NNIB on an uncharacteristically somber note. As my friend Matt pointed out to me yesterday, we’ve recently lost a comic book great. Steve Gerber, known best for his creation Howard the Duck (the entertaining comic as opposed to the shitty movie) and more recently his work on Countdown to Mystery: Doctor Fate shuffled off this mortal coil last Sunday. He will be missed.
• Say it ain’t so!: In other heartbreaking news, Glenn Case has left The Grammar Club. Citing the admittedly cliché “creative differences,” Glenn announced his departure early this morning. Quote the Raven, “It's nothing personal against any member of the project. In fact, I hope they will find a better multi-instrumentalist that can lead them to greater success than they have achieved with me.” As sad as I am to see him go, I can’t help but wish Glenn and his former bandmates the best.
• Crit fail: Always on the look-out for the next meme, Church happened across The FAIL Blog, the only site where failure is, indeed, the only option. Go ahead and look; it’ll make you feel better about your own shortcomings.
• All-beverage extravaganza: My Parents Favorite Music's second re-release EP Wheelo Exgirlfriends is here! Again! You know the deal: you give Steffo 5 bucks for a sticker and he gives you a CD to go with it. What’s not to love?
• Nerdapalooza Southeast 2008 update: My boy Rob, otherwise known as mCRT, was nice enough to let me know that he and HexWarrior will be doing their first episode of the new weekly Nerdapalooza News radio show on Rocket Propelled Radio on February 19th at 9:00 PM. He later elaborated, saying that topics covered will include the venue, the performance lineup, ticket info, and dates. Yes, dates. As in more than one!
• Loki Destroys Student-Run Radio Station, Film at 11:00: Last week MC Loki did an interview with RADIOKSOC. In addition to repping the scene in the larger sense, Loki also namedropped Whoremoans, 8 Bit Boys, Don Vito, Nerdapalooza, INFO2k8, and many more. He even made the file available for those who want to check it out.
• Doowhatchalike!: I’m not the only cat making with the Valentine’s themed podcast. Random just released episode 11 of the RandomBeagle Show which celebrates the ladies of hip-hop. It also features an exclusive interview with Shock G of Digital Underground (whom you may remember as Humpty Hump.)
• He’s got wood: killsaly has a new demo available for fans of Mega Man. He says that “Woodman” was “inspired by my own love of Mega Man, and Random’s 'Grow Up' beat.” You can peep the track at killsaly’s site.
• He’s a Toys ‘R’ Us kid: In other Ran-related news, a new remix of Mega Ran's “Grow Up” (by my pal Antisocial) has just popped up over at the Mega Ran group. You have to be a member to hear it, but I think we can all agree that membership does have it’s privileges.
• Vote the Wrock: It’s time for the 2008 Wizard Rock People's Choice Awards. This time around the voting process is pretty straightforward, you simply and paste the categories from Wizrocklopedia into an email and send it to awards@wizrocklopedia.com. For more info and a comprehensive list of awards, check out the ‘Pedia.
• Maple Syrup Recanto: Folks in the Jersey area who are fans of both Wrock and… um… breakfast for dinner are invited to attend Wizards, Witches, and Pancakes at the IHOP in Bloomfield on Sunday, March 9th from 6:00 PM – 11:00 PM. It’s $6 for adults, $5 for youth, and free for kids under 5, and everyone gets a buck off if they come “in costume or HP wear.” Thanks to Church for the link!
• Hotdog-flavored ice-cream and the power of RAWK: Today, I leave you with a fine entry from our friend Z. of PBC Productions. Yes, another delightful episode of Little Miss Gamer! This time around, LMG takes on PS2 classic Gitaroo Man with the expectedly charming results.