Phantasmic Links 7.13.09

There's nothing like seven hours on a bus with loud, old Italian people. It would be very hard for me to type an impression that would do justice to the mix of gibberish, proper names, and Italian words or phrases I actually recognized. They're not yelling; it's how they talk.

Those seven hours were split into three hour and four hour segments, in between which I enjoyed a pleasant afternoon with one of my Italian bands at an annual barbecue and pilgrimage, photos of which will be coming later in the week. For now, I'm hoping the naps I took between the singing and the loud inquiries of “ESPRESSO?? DOUGHNUT? CHE SE DICE?!” will leave me rested enough to face a particularly tough work week, with three more music gigs sprinkled in. With the last ounces of remaining energy I have right now, I shall gather PHANTASMIC LINKS:

(1) These are the 7 archetypical Best Buy employees you might encounter, and as an avid patron of that store, I recognized almost every single one.
Hat Tip: J-No.

(2) What do you think of Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern? I think it's a decent choice, although I always pictured him playing The Flash.

(3) Strong Bad RETURNS! But will every character make it through this latest episode?

(4) Animated Engines show you how various engines work, for those of you who were wondering...

(5) Some mice have been successfully genetically engineered to lose weight by exhaling, converting fat to carbon dioxide. My science fiction brain is already imagining a scenario in which things go horribly, horribly wrong when applied to humans, but I'd definitely try the product once they worked out all the potentially lethal side effects I could envision. And then, instead of sucking in my gut when I saw a pretty girl, I could just exhale it.

(6) Fancy Fast Food is fast food with a cosmetic makeover. It's still bad for you, but it sure looks fancy!

(7) There. I fixed it. Oh, really...? I kind of think the hot dog rake is a patent waiting to happen...

(8) Batman and Superman duke it out in Times Square. That stuff never happens when I'm around with my camera. Wait...MCF is never around when...nahhh, can't be.

(9) Wonder Twin Powers...ACTIVATE!! Say what you will about those characters, but that is some very cool package design.

(10) These are the Top Ten Things that Sound Cool When Spoken by a Giant Robot, specifically Peter Cullen's Optimus Prime.
H.T.: Rhodester.

(11) Do you know How to Raise a Dragon? This game will teach you, and offers several different outcomes based on a variety of variables that you'll be able to modify from any given point, once you play through all the scenarios once. Fun and “educational”.

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!