I stumbled upon this cover here, and now I have a tremendous urge to track this edition of the book down and read it. I’m 99% sure I’ll love it.

I love this poster.

I’ve been reading this book lately, and I’m crazy about everything but the inclusion of Alan Lee’s art — I like my Tolkien with the author’s scribbles or no pictures at all. The map, hand-drawn by Christopher Tolkien (who drew the original LOTR maps back in the day, too), is a thing of beauty. A few more pics of it can be seen after the break, including the full map.

More…

I finally got around to watching it yesterday, and it really brought a smile to my face. I had a good feeling I was going to like the movie, but I had no idea I was going to be so crazy about it. The fact that Wes Andersen and company had the guts to make it is just awesome.

[Edit -- 5/9] I watched it again last night, and I think I enjoyed it even more the second time. This may very well be the finest English-language animated film I’ve ever seen. And it’s so awesome to see stop-motion in a major production that looks so pure and unadulterated — it’s like the old Wind in the Willows animation all grown up and fleshed out, given room to breathe but not cleaned up too much.

I had never heard of this before yesterday. Awesome.

This is the best take on the situation that I’ve come across.

I just ran across the classic Polaroid logo at random, and I was reminded of how cool it is.

Phantom Leap has finally moved to FeedBurner.

I’ve had a ton going on recently, so one night last week I decided to try and relax with Toshio Iwai’s Electroplankton, an old favorite I hadn’t toyed with in ages. And just like years ago, it was exactly what I needed. Lumiloop has been my main mode of choice this time around — it’s always been my personal favorite — but I’ve been having fun with everything.

You can get each mode (or ‘instrument’) separately via DSiWare for 200 points, but it’s too bad that’s the only choice at present, because EP is one of those games that deserves to be seen in its intended and complete form. The original Japanese edition with its sublime packaging is quite possibly the greatest gaming purchase I’ve ever made. So cool.

I really, really hope Mr. Iwai revisits and expands upon the idea someday.

I’m getting a kick out of this (see Comic Sans), and it’s sure to come in handy. [Source]

From an Empire gallery at EW. I’d love to see it (and the whole script) up close — you’d think images taller than 400px would be standard in 2010. But even at this size it’s awesome.

I found this vintage pic in an excellent analysis of Leigh Brackett’s original draft.

From here:

“Chrome OS computers will no longer be personal because it doesn’t matter which computer you use. After logging to your Google account, Chrome OS will retrieve your bookmarks, themes, settings, web history from Google’s servers. Your data is stored in a central location and you can access it from all your devices.

Computers will boot almost instantly, so you no longer have to wait. They’ll be cheap, easy to replace and to maintain.”

I’m into this band today. A new wave throwback that doesn’t feel like a throwback. Nice.

[Update] Free high-quality downloads here. Wicked cover art, too.

Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings, even with all of its oddities, is one of my favorite films of all time. The backgrounds, like the one above, are simply incredible. So atmospheric.