Phantasmic Links 6.25.07

Sunday morning, our pastor served his last mass. Next week, he'll be assigned to a new church while a new priest joins ours. Rotations are normally more frequent in our dioceses, but for various reasons he's been with us for over a decade, if not longer. I was still an altar server when he arrived.

We had three singers instead of one, all harmonizing, and at the end a trio of bagpipers showed up. His homily covered various things, including the meaning of names, and he joked about his name “Michael” translating to “Who is like God?” He said he thought people often confused him with God, because they'd see him and say, “Oh God, here he comes.” My dad never liked his stand-up routine approach and switched to another church with more traditional services, but we've grown used to Father Mike's sense of humor. He'll definitely be missed.

Sunday was a beautiful day, and after mass I did some shopping and had an adventure. Photos, of course, will tell that tale later in the week. For now, here are this week's PHANTASMIC LINKS:

Willard Wigan creates detailed microscopic sculptures from rice or grains of sand, and he paints them using the single hair of a fly that died from natural causes. That's patience and skill; I don't think I've ever signed my name the same way twice. Hat tip: theGreek.

Batman's new Batpod is ready to roll! He continues to be the Dark Knight of branding. HT: J-No.

What horrible development has brought Citizen Willow back to blogging?

Bumbo is either a very special sci fi baby, or her daddy has lots of free time. The sequel is even better, and I can't wait for the third installment of this trilogy. HT: Rey.

Speaking of super-babies, have you heard about Mensa's youngest member? I'm 32 and I still have trouble tying my shoes...

I wouldn't wear these in public, but these animated Transformers shirts are awesome. HT: Curt(whose site just gave me an error...)

From t-shirts we'll segue to a Transformers Rap. When I was the age of those kids in the video, it was not that cool to be that passionate about robots in disguise. Times change, but never in my favor. HT: J-No.

Bucket playing endures! That guy's no joke, too. HT: B13.

It looks like we've found a new world's ugliest dog. I'm glad that's settled...

You never know when a martial arts street fight will randomly break out. HT: B13.

Uh oh. I think Ring Pass Not is going to be my new obsession. It has color matching. It has shape matching. There's funky music, finite levels so it can be beaten, and somehow a dragon and a wizard are involved. It's a good thing they left out giant robots or I might never get any sleep.

Have a link to a game, movie, article, or anything else you think might be “phantasmic”? E-mail me and it just might appear in an upcoming PHANTASMIC LINKS!