(I’d love to give proper credit for this picture, if only I knew who to credit.
If you do, please let me know.)

Of course, we could say Happy Avengers Day. One would think that’s the case with all the hoopla surrounding the new Avengers movie coming out in theaters today. But Avengers Day is actually May 19 so we’ll leave that for another day.

Now, on with my favorite links from this week.

• If you know Star Wars, you probably know Firefly. But did you know that one particular enterprising person has started work on a Firefly Lego playset? Check it out. Serenity makes a great Lego ship.
• Giveaway: Calling all lovers of YA sci-fi and fantasy! Tor Forge is giving away four prize packs, each containing 13 YA SFF novels and worth more than $160! Deadline is June 8, 2012.
• You know someone is a Batman fan when they sport a Bat-stache. To make your own Bat-stache, click here to see the man who sculpted his facial hair to look like the Batman logo.
• Do you love stained glass? How about video game-inspired stained glass? DeviantART user Veggie-San creates stained glass art depicting amazing motifs like Halo Legendary Shields. You can order your own from the artist here. (Other patterns are also available, including more traditional patterns like crosses.)
• Have you heard the latest news about the new Hobbit movie? It seems not everyone is excited about what they’ve seen so far, but Director Peter Jackson is defending his work, stating that filming at a faster rate of 48-frames-per-second yields a very different look. To his credit, that should be great for the 3-D format the movie is being created for. Here’s the whole story.
• Are you a Diablo video game fan? Here’s a link to the new 30-second TV trailer for Diablo III, set for release May 15.
• Giveaway: Tor is giving away on Goodreads 10 copies of the YA fantasy Dark Companion by Marta Acosta. Deadline is June 8, 2012.
• I love SFF art! Here’s a picture some say is like a cross between Norman Rockwell and the Transformers — not a bad description, I say.
• What would you say if you saw Link at your favorite coffee shop? Well, since that’s unlikely, how about a chalk drawing of the Legend of Zelda hero by talented artist and barista Sara Jahn?

And now for the pièce de résistance. In honor of Star Wars day, here is The Jedi Hunter in all of its geeky goodness. This fun 8-minute video won the 2003 Audience Choice Award in the 2003 Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards and is one of TIME magazine’s Top 10 Star Wars Fanfilms. Just think “a mash-up of Star Wars and The Crocodile Hunter” and you’ll pretty much get the idea. Click below and follow the now-Australian Boba Fett as he hunts down the deadly Jedi.

Click here to view the embedded video.

That’s it for today. Have a great weekend and May the Fourth be with You!

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Dark Knight Rises, in theaters July 20 (click pic to see trailer)

Time for my weekly wrap up of my favorite links found this week.

• Giveaway: I’m going to start by spreading a little love to author Greg Mitchell, who was interviewed this week over at Christian Bookshelf Reviews, along with a review of Enemies of the Cross, Book 2 in his Christian horror The Coming Evil trilogy. Check out the interview and enter to win a copy of the book here. Deadline is May 7, 2012.
• Are you looking forward to the Summer movie season? io9 has put together a list of 33 sci-fi and fantasy movies to look forward to. Which one is at the top of your list? (Click on the picture above of Batman to see the official trailer for The Dark Knight Rises.)
• Who wouldn’t want to personalize a superhero to look like themselves? At this link, you can buy everything you need to make these action Marvel superhero figures look like you.
• Will the folks over at MIT never cease to amaze me? It seems some hacker over there turned an entire building into a playable game of Tetris. Follow the link for a write-up and 3-minute video.
• How about a solid hardwood coffee table that functions as a workable Nintendo NES controller? It will only set you back $3,500.
• Giveaway: Tor is giving away 10 copies of Earthseed, a YA sci-fi novel by Pamela Sargent. Deadline is May 25, 2012.
• Here’s something for you die-hard geeks: hand-painted Zelda and Link earphones. Those would be sure to start a conversation!
• While we’re talking geek accessories, how about a Luke Skywalker lightsaber lamp?It comes complete with a black laser-cut shade. If you prefer, there is a Darth Vader lamp instead.
• Giveaway: Every month until the January 8, 2012 release of A Memory of Light (the final volume in The Wheel of Time series, the last three volumes of which are written by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson), Tor will be giving offering the chance to win a copy of The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. Here’s a link to the current giveaway of 10 copies, which ends May 25, 2012.
• Are you looking forward to the release of the Avengers movie on May 4? If you’re not sure whether you want to see it, here’s a link to the official trailer. Maybe that will help you decide.
• Geek news: James Cameron and Google have teamed up in a space venture to mine asteroids. Some targets will be gold, platinum and water.

Do you like Game of Thrones? Guitarist Eric Calderone posted his rendition of “Games of Thrones Meets Metal” a few weeks ago. Very nicely done. Check it out below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

That should about do it for this week. Did I miss your favorite? If you have any good ones to add to the list, post a link for us in the comments, okay?

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

• Kudos to Jacob French who just finished walking more than 3,000 miles (5,000 km) across Australia, raising more than $100,000 (£62,000) for the Starlight Children’s Foundation. He started his walk in July 2011 — in a stormtrooper uniform — and wore out 7 pairs of shoes. Here’s an article with some great pictures of this modern-day hero.
• Giveaway: Sarah Sawyer is giving away on her blog a copy of Anne Elisabeth Stengl‘s fantasy Moonblood, Book 3 in The Tales of Goldstone Wood series. The deadline is April 25, 2012. (If you’d like more info on the series, I posted a review of Book 1, Heartless, here.)
• Disney is re-making the Sleeping Beauty movie, but this time from the villain’s point of view — Maleficent will be played by Angelina Jolie. The movie is set to open March 2014.
• If you’re a J.K. Rowling fan, you might have heard the news already, but in case you didn’t, here’s the scoop. Her new novel, a 480-page tome targeted at adult readers, is titled The Casual Vacancy and will hit shelves September 27, 2012.
• Would you be interested in adding a steampunk Game Boy to your collection of old gaming devices? Check out this one of a kind handheld. Maybe it will give you inspiration to make your own. (If you do, send me a pic. I wanna see!)
• Five high school kids are making a motion-controlled flight simulator based on Battlestar Galactica‘s Viper fighter. As of today, 351 backers have signed on through Kickstarter to back their project — the goal was to raise $2,500 and as of today, $10,706 has been pledged, with four more days to go before the funding opportunity closes. Congrats, guys!
• Giveaway: Tor is giving away copies of A.M. Dellamonica‘s Blue Magic and Indigo Springs. Deadline is May 4, 2012.

Mistborn, the movie. Aw, man, how cool would that be??! While it’s not a done deal, movie producers of the popular fiction series written by Brandon Sanderson are currently pitching the project to studios using the very, very cool trailer below. Check it out:

Click here to view the embedded video.

For more info on the Mistborn movie deal, check out this post on Brandon Sanderson’s blog.

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

• First off, let’s have the baddest of the bad: A life-sized Darth Malgus. Yep, all 7 feet of him, complete with a glowing red lightsaber. However, at a price of $5,999.99, I’m afraid I’ll have to save my money for a while before this guy makes an appearance at my house. (Yeah, like hubby’s gonna go for that one! I can just hear the conversation now. “Hey, hon! I found the most awesome decoration for the corner of the front room…” Uh, huh.)
• Are you a horror fan? Named for the inimitable author of Dracula, the winners of the 2011 Bram Stoker Awards were announced this week. If this is your cup of tea, maybe you’ll find new reading material here.
• Percy Jackson news: The sequel to Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief movie, set to be released next year (2013), is based on Rick Riordan‘s second book in his Percy Jackson series. You can find more info here.
• Free Wheel of Time wallpaper for your desktop is being released by Tor, featuring the ebook artwork for the series. The latest is for The Fires of Heaven. I saw this beautiful picture by Dan Dos Santos a while back and it’s always intrigued me.
• Giveaway: Jill Williamson has posted an entry form to win a copy of Robert Liparulo‘s new supernatural suspense book, The 13th Tribe. I believe the deadline is April 9, 2012 at 8 p.m. (PST).

Here is an amazing bit of video shot from the Solid Rocket Booster of the Space Shuttle, complete with enhanced sound mixing by the people over at Skywalker Sound. This is actually an excerpt from the upcoming Special Edition Ascent: Commemorating Space Shuttle.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Now for the jokes. With it being April Fool’s this week, there were lots of fun links to be had. Here are a couple of my favorites.

• Here’s a YouTube video previewing Nintendo’s new dubstep music game for the Nintendo 3DS, coming Summer 2012.
• How about Google Maps 8-bit for NES? Fun for the whole family!
• And my favorite: Assassin’s Creed for Kinect Announced! You too can leap, fight and jump as a member of the Assassin order and learn to execute classic moves with your hidden blade or your bare hands. This YouTube video is priceless.

Now for one last trick. On April 1st, George Takei had an amazing announcement on his Facebook page, as shown below:

Have a great weekend, all!

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

• Hunger Games! Talk about pre-movie hype! It seems practically everyone’s heard of the movie by now. Are you still undecided if you should see it? Over at Geeky Girls Love Sci-Fi, you’ll find 5 reasons why you should watch the movie.
• I never thought I’d have wanted a Star Wars tree house, but this one almost made me change my mind.
• Medieval skeletons? Yep. And some time back, 92 of them were found on a Tudor ship that sank in 1545. The armchair archaeologist in me found this interesting: it seems that archers were on board as guards, as evidenced by the skeletons themselves. (Compliments of Jeri Westerson, author of medieval noir.)
• Darth Maul lives! Apparently he survived being cut in half and makes a return in The Clone Wars. This isn’t new news, but over at torwars.com you can find some related video and a picture gallery you might be interested in.
• Do you love Doctor Who? Apparently someone does, as evidenced by this TARDIS engagement ring. Surprisingly, it’s really quite pretty.
• Hare’s an interesting YouTube video: French Star Wars Ballet Disco. Click through and enjoy four full minutes of, well, I’m not sure what. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Kinda scary, actually.
• Geek news: Scientists from the University of Rochester and North Carolina State University have sent a wireless message using a beam of neutrinos through 240 meters of stone. If Alexander Graham Bell could see us now.
• Giveaway: Fantasy Gazette is giving away two movie tickets to some lucky subscriber of their newsletter. Deadline is March 29, 2012.

And here’s my favorite: a how-to video for those of you looking to improve your skills with a lightsaber. I found this tongue-in-cheek video absolutely hilarious.

Click here to view the embedded video.

That’s it, folks! Have a great weekend!

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

• Giveaway: Author Bradley P. Beaulieu is so excited about his new book, The Straits of Galabesh, coming out that he is having a big giveaway featuring Nooks, Kindles, signed books and more. The deadline is April 3, 2012.
• What’s fantasy fiction without swords? Swordplay is so cool, even Jedi have to get in on the action. Mande Matthews has posted a few video clips of awesome sword fights, from a Con demonstration to the background behind the epic battle behind Inigo Montoya and the Dread Pirate Roberts in Princess Bride. Fun stuff.
• Is John Carter a Christ figure? Redeemer Christ figures often appear in many works of fiction and in an article posted this week, Forrest Wickman writes about how that applies to John Carter. I find it interesting that Christian themes can be found throughout much of Edgar Rice Burrough’s work.
• Giveaway: Onlythebestscifi.blogspot.com is giving away a copy of Songs of the Earth by Elspeth Cooper. I suggest you hurry as I couldn’t find a deadline listed.
• Geek news alert: Scientists have discovered a new species of horned dinosaurs and apparently, they’re among the littlest ones found. All the same, I wouldn’t want one chasing me, even if it were only three feet long.
• Freebie: Matt Forbeck is a writer with vision. His goal is to write 12 novels in 2012. I know! Is that crazy or what? Regardless, I have to respect his ambition — and the fact that he is on target so far. To celebrate, Matt is giving away a copy of his first short story ebook, Goblintown Justice. Also, I want to offer my congratulations to Matt. His latest Kickstarter project was funded at 426%!! For those of you who don’t know what this means, Matt has received more than enough pledges to cover the cost of producing his current series of novels. Good work, Matt!
• Ever heard of the New York Jedi Club? Here’s your chance to read up. The article’s title cracked me up: ‘They come in geeks and go out Jedi warriors’: Inside the strange world of the New York Jedi Club. Nonetheless, I myself wouldn’t mind visiting just to see them in action. You never know, they just might let me hold one of those really cool lightsabers.
• What’s a party without food? How about Star Wars themed party food? In case you’re feeling ambitious, here are instructions on how to make your own (impressive) Death Star cake. For other (easier) Star Wars party foods, check here. The R2D2 carved out of cheddar is kind of cute and who wouldn’t smile at seeing Vader Pataters or Carbonite Jello? But the Yodamole and Trooper Scoopers is kind of scary.
• If you’re looking for more giveaways, I posted a list of Tor/Forge SFF book giveaways yesterday. If you missed them, check here.

To wrap it up, I want to send a little love over to Kevin Hanrahan. This has nothing to do with SFF, but hang with me here a bit. Kevin — a writer, soldier and dog advocate — is the author of Paws on the Ground, a novel about U.S. soldiers and the dogs that protect them in the treacherous terrain of Afghanistan. I haven’t read Kevin’s writing, but something about his project caught my eye.

You see, Kevin has 20 years of Army service, including three combat tours, company commander in Iraq, and Deputy Provost Marshal for U.S. forces in Afghanistan. While there, he was instrumental in spearheading the efforts toward inserting military service dogs into conflict zones. He also lobbied the Army to adopt an explosives-detection dog program. I think he knows what he’s talking about.

If you want to find out more about Kevin and his work, head on over to his web site or his blog. I’m sure he’ll be glad you did.

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

• Giveaway: First off we have a weekly drawing to celebrate author Robert Liparulo’s new website. Every week during March, five people who sign his guestbook will be chosen to win such prizes as signed and personalized copies of Robert’s books and audiobooks, as well as signed books by Ted Dekker, Tosca Lee, Steven James, Eric Wilson, Ronie Kendig and others. To enter, visit the website HERE, click on the thrillers (left hand side of the page), and then the guestbook link.
• How many times have you wished you had a device that could make people stop talking? Well, it appears your dream just might come true. Japanese researchers have invented a speech-jamming gun that forces people into silence mid-sentence. Painlessly, I might add. Wouldn’t want to get carried away now, would we?
• Giveaway: Two copies of Shadow’s Son (Shadow Saga, #1) by Jon Sprunk will be given away via Goodreads. Deadline is March 18.
• Giveaway: Five copies of The Serpent Sea (Books of the Reksura #2) by Martha Wells are up for grabs. Deadline is April 9, 2012.
• BIG Giveaway: Sign up for the Tor/Forge newsletter and you’ll be entered for a shot at their Spring Fantasy Collection Sweepstakes — a collection of eight bestselling fantasy novels. Deadline is April 6.
• Are you a Jurassic Park fan? Check this out — a behind-the-scenes look (including 13 short YouTube videos) at the dinosaur puppets used in the movies.
• Giveaway: Tor wants to giveaway 10 copies of Gift of Fire by Walter Mosley. Deadline is April 6, 2012.
• Free Star Wars e-books: For some time, Random House has been releasing on its Suvudu.com website Lost Tribe of the Sith novelettes. The final installment (Part 8 ) has now been released. You can get all 8 e-books here.
• Need some new short SFF/Speculative fiction to read? SFSignal.com regularly posts links to such. You can find them here.
• Have you heard about the new John Carter movie opening in theaters tonight? Maybe you know all about John Carter or maybe (like me, he he…) you might have heard of the character but can’t remember where he came from. It just so happens that the guy is 100 years old this year. He was created by Edgar Rice Burroughs (you might know him as the guy who wrote the Tarzan books) and first released in a serialized form in 1912. You can pick up most of the original John Carter of Mars books for free (e-books, that is) from your favorite e-book retailer/source. If you want to know about the new Disney movie, click here. You can see a free 10-minute clip of the movie here. And, you know, he’s not bad looking for an old guy. Of course, then again, the leading lady isn’t bad either. Funny how that works. Image downloads available here, which includes a larger version of the one shown here.

Ok, stepping away from my teacher’s lectern now. If I missed any good links, let me know. I’d also be curious to know what you think of the John Carter movie if you’ve seen it. Just leave a note via the blue link below or if you’re on the web page, you can click on the gray comment bubble at the top of this post.

You guys have a great weekend.

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

• Giveaway: Episodes of Girl Genius, the multiple award-winning steampunk webcomic series by Phil and Kaja Foglio, have been collected into an omnibus Volume 1: Agatha Awakens and five copies are being given away. Here’s a link. Deadline is March 23.
• io9 has posted its March guide to science fiction and fantasy movies, TV series, books, conventions and author appearances. Here’s anything you wanted to know about SFF happenings this month.
• Are you an SFF desktop wallpaper junkie? Tor has posted free wallpaper showing the ebook art for The Great Hunt, Book 2 of The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan.
• Tor has released a free mini ebook anthology containing a few of their favorite short stories from 2011. Of course you can read them on the website, but if you prefer, you can get a copy for your favorite e-reader.
• Here’s some very geeky news. Researchers from the University of Sydney have run some numbers regarding the effects of faster-than-light space travel and have come up with some very disturbing conclusions. It seems that warp speed travel could have the unfortunate effect of completely obliterating anyone or anything at the travelers’ destination once they arrived. Nothing like blowing up your welcoming party. Ouch.
• On a lighter side, you can get your Han Solo carbonite crayons here. Yes, that’s right. An image of a frozen Han Solo is available in eight cheerful colors for only $4. If you prefer, you can get crayons of Yoda, R2D2, or horror of horrors, Darth Vader’s head. That’s just not right.
• How about the new Avengers movie? For those of you who can’t wait, a new official trailer is now available. Looks like fun to me. What do you think?
• And finally, I have a fun video clip for you. It’s really kind of a time capsule, actually. I came across a 30-second commercial for the “new” Star Wars lightsaber by Kenner. It’s…um…inflatable. Balloons not included.

Click here to view the embedded video.

How about you guys? Did you find anything fun I missed? I’d love to see it. Just click on the comments bubble at the top right of this post.

Have a great weekend and I’ll see you next week.

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

• Giveaway: The fine folks over at Fantasy Book Critic are giving away a signed copy of Rachel Aaron’s new The Legend of Eli Monpress Omnibus. The deadline is March 10, 2012.
• Are you an R.L. Stine fan? You know he published an entire horror short story line-by-line on Twitter? Here’s a link to the entire story in case you missed it.
• Giveaway: SciFiChick.com has posted an interview with Tobias Buckell along with a giveaway of his new book Arctic Rising. Deadline is March 9, 2012.
• Giveaway: Yes, another one! Tim George is giving away five copies of Mike Dellosso’s new thriller Frantic. If you’re interested, hurry. I don’t know what the deadline is.
• Students over at Lehigh University have figured out how much it would cost to build the Death Star. Wow. The figures are astounding.
• This is really cool. Georgia Tech researchers have developed an open-source Braille-like texting app for iPhones–a boon for our visually impaired friends. Of course, and then there’s the occasional need to text at a conference without offending your boss…nah. It’d never happen.
• Askajedi.com notes that three senior BioWare developers who worked on Star Wars: The Old Republic have left the company to found a new game studio. Currently housed in…a goat shed. It’s not as bad as it sounds, really. Their new project is a game called The Banner Saga.
• Are you eagerly awaiting the release of The Hunger Games movie? It appears you’re not alone. As of Feb. 23, advance ticketing records had already outsold the previous first day advance ticket-seller record held by The Twilight Sage: Eclipse. And it doesn’t open until March 23!
• This is possibly my favorite of the week. Did you know that Isaac Asimov invented a fake chemical compound in order to write a research paper for his PhD dissertation? The funniest part is the numbers of readers who flooded the New York Public Library demanding to see copies of the fake journals Asimov supposedly cited.
• What if Milton Berle had appeared in an episode of Star Trek? Believe it or not, it was almost a possibility, as evidenced by the appearance of the lost script. You can get your own copy for Kindle.
• Calling all fans of the manga Bleach. Warner Bros. Pictures has acquired the rights to adapt the Tite Kubo’s manga series into a live-action movie. Even my kids say this might have promise.
• Giveaway: Graemes Fantasy Book Review is giving away a copy of Naomi Novik’s Crucible of Gold. Hurry! The deadline is February 26, 2012.
• Seems like there’s been an awful lot of Star Wars happenings lately. This is a unique one: Here’s a link to the entire Star Wars: Episode V retold in iconoscope. It’s really pretty entertaining.
• Here’s a heart-warming story. What do you do for a lonely dog forced to spend all day by himself? You invent a robot to keep him company, of course!
• This last link shows a Legged Squad Support System (LS3) developed by DARPA. It could be a wonderful thing for toting around gear but personally, to me it looks kind creepy. Maybe that’s just me. Here’s the 35-second YouTube video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

That’s all, guys! If you have a favorite that I missed, won’t you give us the link? Just click on the comment bubble in the top right of this post. Thanks! I love to hear from you.

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

• Giveaway: Tor is giving away 5 copies of Operation Sea Ghost by Mack Maloney. Deadline is February 24, 2012.
• Geek News: DARPA has been working on virtual reality contact lenses. How cool would it be to wear contacts that would project tiny full-color displays and digital images? That’s exactly what these iOptiks lenses do.
• We’ve been hearing a lot about The Wheel of Time lately (especially with the last volume in the series coming out last year) and Tor is offering new deal: For a limited time, you can download Book 1 of the YA version for 99 cents. Available for Nook, Kindle and iPad.
• Do you like thrillers? For a limited time you can download a free Kindle version of a thriller box set – 5 books from 5 authors: Lee Goldberg, Scott Nicholson, J.A. Konrath, J. Carson Black, and Blake Crouch.
• More Geek News: Scientists have used lasers to create an ultraviolet ruler for light. They’re calling it the Extreme Ultraviolet Frequency Comb.
• Do you play the Star Wars: The Old Republic or World of Warcraft MMOs? Or both? Recent news is that The Old Republic is now outperforming WoW with 1.7 million current players.
• How about some music? John Anealio is at it again. He’s offering free downloads of his newest, Steampunk Girl.
• Giveaway: Tor is giving away a set of 5 books by best-selling author David Weber. Here’s the link to sign up. Deadline is March 9, 2012.
• Giveaway: Tor is also giving away 10 copies of A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron. Deadline is March 1, 2012.
• Here’s something that reminds me of something Michael Crichton would have written. The folks over at KMel Robotics have created nano quad-rotors that can fly in formation. Here’s a less than 2-minute video demonstrating the little devices. So cool.
• It’s time for the Steampunk Chronicle’s Reader Choice Awards. The website is a good place to either make your own nomination(s) or just review others’ favorites.
• More news of LEGO and Lord of the Rings teaming up. Check out new pictures of the minifigures here. Personally, I think Gollum is really creepy. Hopefully he won’t give little kids nightmares!
• Here’s a piece of weird news that absolutely cracked me up. It seems that 33-year-old David Allen Canterbury attacked customers in an Oregon toy store with a pair of lightsabers. He has since been banned from the toy store. Ya think??
• Giveaway: Would you like to win a 50th Anniversary Commerative edition of A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle? If so, hurry. The deadline is February 10, 2012.
• And last but not least, I have a video for you. Are you a fan of the game Portal 2? Here’s a full music video entitled This is Aperture, a remake of This is Halloween (by Danny Elfman) from The Nightmare Before Christmas. If you’re a Portal fan, I’m sure you’ll like it.

Now it’s your turn. Did I miss any good ones? Feel free to leave a comment below. I’d like to see what you found.

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”