Phantasmic Links 6.22.09

My dad is the best guy I know. I remember my glee when he'd come home from work and let me stand on his feet while he walked me around. He brought home my first comic book, an issue of ROM: Spaceknight that he'd gotten from a coworker. He supported me in my music and encouraged me to practice, and he tried to teach me to be as good a mechanic as he was, though it's only been recently that I've finally taken an interest in learning. So far, I'm capable of doing an oil change and replacing brakes, thanks to his guidance. On Father's Day, we spent the morning honoring his father, whom I never had the pleasure of meeting, and took care of my grandfather's old lot in the town where my dad grew up. After squaring off hedges and mowing the lawn, we headed back home while my dad told me for the umpteenth time about how the neighborhoods we were driving through were all sandpits when he was growing up and the work my grandfather did.

When we were almost home, my dad told me about an incident earlier in the week, while he sat in the parking lot of a local shopping center waiting for my mom outside the supermarket. He saw another guy around his age roaming the lot, looking disoriented. My dad asked if he'd lost his car, and when my mom came out they drove the guy up and down the rows of cars until they located his vehicle, an older model that didn't have the option of beeping the horn with the key remotely, a feature I think we've all used at one time or another to find our cars. That's the kind of guy my dad is, someone who will see someone who needs help and who will offer it. He's been a great example I hope to live up to someday, and though there are times we might bicker I'm glad he's still around. God bless all the fathers out there, on Earth and in Heaven.

Okay, now that I got that mushy crap out of my system, we can move on to this week's PHANTASMIC LINKS:

(1) Who are the 10 Best and Worst Dads in Comics? I might have moved Ben Parker up one on the list, but for the most part I have to agree with those choices.

(2) Witness the heroics of the American president in this 100% factual video footage.

(3) Here's a ridiculously comprehensive account of the origin of video game names.

(4) Civilization is a very cool video installation that takes viewers on an elevator from hell to heaven or vice versa.

(5) Pixar grants a dying girl's last wish. Sad, but mighty decent of them to do what they could.
Hat Tip: Jerry.

(6) Celebrities with Upside Down Faces=More Disturbing than You'd Expect.

(7) Here are 9 fictional characters who really should have looked both ways before crossing the street. After a while, you start to see that coming in shows...

(8) If you're ever in need of a new euphemism, try this Euphemism Generator. You'll be taking the four-legged Mexican minnow before you know it, whatever that means...

(9) A man in California has a life size statue of the Autobot Bumblebee on his lawn. The only way I'd be more impressed is if it actually transformed into his car.

(10) From to the present, TV and film makers have really evolved the designs of spacecraft. When are we going to start seeing some of these for real?
H.T.: Jerry.

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!