Phantasmic Links 8.16.10

The weather this weekend was gorgeous, especially Saturday! My dad joined our Italian band for a short procession, though he did get some chest pains before it began. I knew he was getting stressed because at every red light he complained about how long the light was taking, and asked if there wasn’t an alternate route. Mind you, we’d left a half hour early to pick up the band leader and his son at a train station, so not only did we have plenty of time, we had the boss with us. But that’s my dad. I gave him his nitroglycerine pill, and after he sat for a few minutes the pain subsided. When the gig was over, he remarked with astonishment that he felt great coming back in. I tried to explain that he was relaxed because he knew the job was over. I guess he’s too close to see the link between stress and his heart problems, while the pattern is very obvious to me.

Afterwards, we kind of got kicked out by the society. Usually we get a bottle of water and sit at one of the tables, but one of the guys first yelled at us for having our instruments on the table(which was covered in disposable plastic), then told us to go so he could set up “for the people”. You know, because musicians aren’t people. On Sunday night I played another procession with a different band, and despite a few drops and the threat of rain, it went much smoother. It was the 100th anniversary of that feast though, so we had to wait through a ton of speeches and announcements at the end. I think one woman they called up was an impressive 97 years old and had been part of the feast since its 3rd year. I was afraid I’d be 97 before they finished calling everyone up.

All in all, it was a profitable and productive weekend, and I’m ready to go back to the office for another week. Am I forgetting anything? Ah yes, the weekend doesn’t transition to the week before I collect some PHANTASMIC LINKS:

(1) I haven't seen the new Scott Pilgrim movie yet, but I really hope some form of this epic battle appears. Pure win.

(2) I've yet to see Toy Story 3(what the hell have I been doing this Summer?), but I love this comic book fan art(which fortunately doesn't spoil the 3rd film, at least as far as I can tell).

(3) Here's an equation for pure awesomeness: Garfield Minus Garfield PLUS Chewbacca.

(4) What if The Mighty Avengers had a movie as early as 1952? Who knew the past was so cool?

(5) Prototype robots capable of developing emotions have now been created. And I for one welcome our future machine overlords....

(6) Consoul is a short film which follows the life of one man...in 8 bits...and beyond....

(7) Mark Grambau's minimalist superhero posters capture the recognizable true graphic essence of some of your favorite characters.

(8) You haven't heard the history of the Soviet Union until you've heard it sung to the tune of the Tetris theme.

(9) Small Town Noir is a collection of mug shots and the stories behind them, rescued from New Castle, Pennsylvania, when the local police station was throwing them away.

(10) Catapult Madness is a go-the-distance game with a goal: can you help your loyal subjects to safety 50,000 away from a besieged castle, the only radical way you know how?

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!