Philadelphia’s own Doctor Octoroc, who some of you might know as Levi Buffum, creator of 8-bit music and art, has officially outdone himself. His latest, and possibly greatest project, is his 8 Bit Dr. Horrible.
I could say more, but really… you need to watch it.
Check out Act II and III, and download the soundtrack. And make sure you donate a little something, because seriously, this is fantastic.
Doctor Octoroc
www.doctoroctoroc.com
Earlier this month, Filamena Young and her partner David A. Hill Jr. debuted their new pen and paper table top game, Maschine Zeit, and have been showing it off all over the Philadelphia region.
Unfamiliar with Filamena and David’s projects? Joe interviewed them back in September. Read up, here.
The first presentation of the game took place at 7th Dimension Games earlier this month, but you can still get a peak at the new project this Friday at Showcase Comics out in Bryn Mawr.
The demo kicks off at 6pm. Go check it out. The duo also started a Kickstarter to handle preorders for the game and pay for the first print run. Check it out, and donate, here.
Maschine Zeit
http://bit.ly/9oTq7N
Geekadelphia mega-crush Sara Selepouchin presented at Pecha Kucha 5 at Studio 34 this past Saturday, and spoke to a rather large audience about pursuing what makes you happy. Currently the owner of Girls Can Tell printery, Sara creates some of my favorite handmade crafts here in Philadelphia.
Attendees had 20 seconds to go over 20 slides. The video is a bit long, but totally worth it.
Expect another video (or two!) over the next few days, as I slowly upload them. Great job, Sara!
Sara Selepouchin
www.girlscantell.com
Remember that contest we had last month? And the screening we did at 8static of the winner? Unfortunately, I was on the road for the first half of April, and wasn’t able to post the winning video. I’m back however, the video is uploaded, and the winner is Chooch Schuburt from Washington DC.
You can play the Little Big Philadelphia level whenever you want, and score a Ben Franklin, Love Park, and Liberty Bell object for your own Little Big Planet levels. Just search for “Choochus2″ when looking for the stage. Congrats on winning the Sony PSP Go, Chooch! Your level was awesome.
Have a look at the video below.
Borderlands, an awesome Diablo-esque first person shooter from Gearbox, was easily one of my favorite games released last year. Excellent multiplayer, hilarious, memorable characters, and incredibly addictive loot collecting, made it one of the best titles of 2009.
Luckily for us gamers, Gearbox has continued to release DLC packs for the title. The first (and best in my opinion) of these expansions is currently available as Xbox Live’s Deal of the Week, The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned, for only 400MS Points, or $5.
If you don’t have this DLC pack, do get it for this great price. You won’t regret it.
[ via Joystiq ]
Sorry kids, you won’t find any cellphones during the scavenger hunt. Or will you?*
Next Saturday, the New Kensington Community Development Co. (NKCDC) is hosting “a scavenger hunt based on the historical occupations of Fishtown and Kensington.” Participants will get clues and challenges via text messages that will lead them to historical sites in the neighborhoods, with epic prizes dished out at the end of the hunt.
The scavenger hunt will last about two hours and is free, with teams limited to 15 per group. To register for this event, visit www.nkcdc.org/helpwantedhunt. Good luck!
Help Wanted! Scavenger Hunt Through Fishtown & Kensington
www.nkcdc.org/helpwantedhunt
* You won’t.
What is it that draws the Geekadelphia crew to Pecha Kucha every time? Last time, Bianca and her friend Kim gave an awesome presentation about Philadelphia’s dream robots. You heard me. Dream robots. This time, Dustin and I will be on the scene, talking about some other projects.
Swing by Pecha Kucha Night (Vol. 5!) this Saturday at Studio 34 in West Philadelphia for a “rapidfire creative show-and-tell governed by a simple rule: show 20 PowerPoint slides, talk about each one for 20 seconds.” This Saturday’s line up is outstanding.
* Azeem Hill, Co-captain, West Philly Hybrid X Team
* Danya Henninger, Partner, Imagic Digital, “Deconstructing Dub”
* Liz Seiber: Owner, Omoi boutique
* Nicolas Esposito
* Ruth Schanbacher: Founder, Handmade Philly
* Sara Selepouchin: Owner, Girls Can Tell printery
* Tommy Up: Promoter, restauranteur
* Zoe Cohen: Artist, activist, art educator. “Building an Urban Chicken Coop on a Budget”
That’s right. Geekadelphia megacrushes Sara Selepouchin, Liz Seiber, and Tommy Up will be there, talking about crafts, boutiques, and burgers. Dustin will be discussing his illustrations, and I’ll be talking about my upcoming American whiskey book. Come on out, hear us talk, and meet some cool people.
Pecha Kucha Night Vol. 5
Saturday, April 17, 2010, at 7:30 p.m.
Studio 34: Yoga
www.studio34yoga.com
Chen Reichert, one of my many favorite local crafters, recently launched a website for her adorably quirky wares.
Created under the moniker Botodesigns, her Japanese inspired art, plush dolls, screenprints, and clothing feature cute robots, wild plants, and (especially in the case of her prints) unique scenery.
If you’re a Philly native, you can pick up Chen’s work in several stores through the region, including Nice Things Handmade, Pat-a-Cake Baby, Lost & Found, and the VIX Emporium. If not, well, now you can visit her website, or just shop at her Etsy store.
Congrats on the site, Chen!
Botodesigns
www.botodesigns.com
www.etsy.com/shop/botodesigns
Bradley Cooper’s new film, The Dark Fields, is currently filming here in Philadelphia… and earlier today, they transformed 19th and Market into 52nd and 6th Avenue in Manhattan. Reader Erik B. emailed in some photos…
Walking along Market Street at 19th on my lunch break I somehow ended up at 52nd and 6th Avenue in Manhattan. After some investigation, I learned that I was still in fact in Philadelphia, but near the set of the movie The Dark Fields. They temporarily transformed our great City into the Big Apple.
Erik saw Philadelphia born Bradley Cooper being whisked off the set into a car immediately after snapping these pictures. Have a look!
Our favorite local watchmakers, the Cadence Collective, are teaming up with MakePhilly for an awesome event this month. Cadence are stopping by University of the Arts to give an “unprecedented inside look into how watches are designed, made, distributed, and sometimes recycled.”
As always, the MakePhilly meeting starts at 3pm sharp, on the 5th floor of Terra Hall (211 S. Broad Street). Be sure to bring an ID with you so you can sign in at the front desk. The event is free, of course.
As for the annual Maker Challenge, MakePhilly will challenge guests to design and build a recycled watch project, using old watches that Cadence is donating to MakePhilly. Awesome.
For more information on MakePhilly, visit their official website.
MakePhilly & Cadence Collective
Sunday, April 18th, 2010
www.makephilly.com
www.cadencewatch.com
Axe Cop is currently my new favorite thing.
Ever.
Written by 5 year old Malachai and illustrated by his 29 year old brother Ethan, the online comic tells the epic saga of Axe Cop and his fantastic adventures protecting the world. The cast of characters is all together colorful and hilarious, from the vampire werewolf moon warriors to the uni-baby. According to the comic’s website, “everything in Axe Cop started in Malachai’s head,” and all Ethan does, is bring it to life.
As of this posting, the comic is currently up to issue #14. I suggest going back to the beginning, and following the zany story from the start. If you don’t understand something, you can always submit a question to Ask Axe Cop… just don’t ask him anything if you’re a mermaid. It won’t end well.
Axe Cop
www.axecop.com
Like this, only a little smaller.
It’s been a long time since I went to a good ol’ fashioned LAN party. You know, the sort where you devour giant bags of Doritos for breakfast, lunch, and possibly dinner, while gaming until your eyes are dried up. Well, the IST Club at Penn State Brandywine are bringing the LAN party back, and want you to come join on April 17th.
Called the “80 Man Lan”, this annual event takes place every year at Penn State Brandywine in Media, PA. This year, the event will take place in the new Tomezsko Building (Room 203), from 10am to 11:30pm. It’s an open event, so you don’t have to be a Penn State student to participate.
The first 50 guests to show up will receive a complimentary 2GB flash drive, with that day’s games preloaded, and all attendees can enjoy free food, including pizza, soda, and other misc (Doritos!) snacks.
So bring your desktop, laptop, gaming system, television, monitor… whatever it is you’ll need to play. Expect epic games of Soldat, Counter Strike, Track Mania, Armagetron, Quake, Tribes, Savage, and Stronghold, as well as console games on the PS3 and Xbox 360.
There are prizes, but those prizes are a secret. Come out and find out.
80 Man Lan @ Penn State Brandywine
Saturday, April 17th, 2010
10am to 11:30pm (OMG)
