Link roundup

1. New holiday-themed Sword and Sworcery desktop wallpaper. (I don't think I ever reviewed this game. I love the art and music, but the gameplay gets very tedious after the first delightful 30 minutes or so).

2. Can you guess why death rates rise in good economic times?

3. A look at how an acrylic storefront sign is made. Via.

4. Penelope Trunk's advice on achieving New Year's resolutions.

5. Nightmare fuel - - the wolf spider and its babies.

6. Madeline Flores remembers cassette tapes.

7. Koren Shadmi on the prices freelance illustrators should expect for their work.

Link roundup

1. Christoph Niemann is going to give away art prints on Monday.

2. Secret Restaurant from the people behind Secret Cinema.

3. Win some Thundercats goods.

4. "How Darcie Chan Used Paid Reviews & Banner Ads to Make a Self Published Bestseller."

Link roundup

1. Advice for artists on how to price work.

2. Reuters:

Abdel Majid Mlegta ran the companies that supplied meals to Libyan government departments including the interior ministry. The job was "easy," he told Reuters last week. "I built good relations with officers. I wanted to serve my country." But in the first few weeks of the uprising, he secretly began to work for the rebels.

Via.

3. An assertion that the only states that will matter for the upcoming presidential election are Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Virginia.

4. I'm not sure how credible this list is, since it seems to be part advertisement for a job listings company, but supposedly, "occupational, physical and speech therapists are in particularly high demand but are in especially short supply, making those jobs some of the least competitive."

5. And speaking of suspicious claims, this list of oddjobs claims that you can make $3,000 a year donating plasma.

Link roundup

1. Arguments against attending cooking school.

2. XKCD on media reports of hacking. Penny Arcade on the 3DS.

3. Diablo III will allow players to auction off virtual goods for real money. I wonder if that will be a major selling point, or just a feature that benefits gold farmers (The Old Republic looks nice, but if I can make money while I play...).

Link roundup

1. Some interesting predictions about the future of the legal profession. Via.

2. Apple not only censors emails sent by Me.com users, but doesn't even tell the users that their emails have been blocked?

3. The keys to finding a job in Hollywood.

Link roundup

1. At Photoshop Phriday: Porn Versions of Classic Films, Part II.

2. Perfect advice from Penelope Trunk for dealing with an unsatisfactory job situation (when quitting is not an option):

1. Make the person I’m dealing with feel special and important so they like being with me.

2. Stop letting myself use the language of a victim. If I choose to stay, then I am picking my situation so I need to talk like I mean to be where I am.

3. Find side projects to make life feel better. I tell people to add things to their job description so that the job gets better—different people, different learning goals. These are all things I can do now. To make things better.

(This blog is my side project.)

3. Download for free Reddit's college cookbook.

Link roundup

1. Kevin Tong's advice for artists, including whether you need contracts and representation.

2. Lolcats meet Mel Gibson's rants.

3. "Police in the Irish capital said a penguin stolen from a city zoo was tracked using a microchip and recovered from a city street." Via.

*Buy "I Can Has Cheezburger?: A LOLcat Colleckshun" at Amazon.

Giant Mario Bros. Coin Box (link roundup)

Any room instantly becomes more fun with a giant Mario Bros. item box.

And a few more links:

1. Monkey God illustration.

2. Simon Page discusses his experience participating in the logo contests at Crowdspring.

3. Teaser images of new book cut illustrations by Thomas Allen.

*Previously: Design contest for Chuck Palahniuk's next novel at Crowdspring.

*Buy Nintendo toys at eBay.

Found item sheep (link roundup)

(New to me, but not to the web) Sheep made out of telephones by Jean-Luc Cornec at the Museum of Telecommunication in Frankfurt. Via these sites.

And a few more links:

1. The Gorilla Tough Cuff is the first blood pressure cuff tough enough for a 300-pound gorilla.

2. Todd McFarlane received over 350 rejection letters before his first professional job.

3. Clearly I've made it as a blogger - - just got offered a media pass to Trump's Miss California pageant. I'm assured that "anything can happen" at the event.

*Previously: Found item robots.

*Buy McFarlane toys at eBay.

Star Wars Uncut trailer (link roundup)

Star Wars: Uncut Trailer from Casey Pugh on Vimeo.

Here's the trailer for the Star Wars Uncut project. The first half in particular splices together very funny fan recreations.

And a few more links:

1. Seth Godin describes the three types of valuable worker. Does one of the descriptions match you?

2. Baba Yaga illustration (and more fun stuff).

3. Plush toasted marshmallows.

*Previously: Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man bank.

*Buy Star Wars sketch cards at eBay.

Star Wars Uncut trailer (link roundup)

Star Wars: Uncut Trailer from Casey Pugh on Vimeo.

Here's the trailer for the Star Wars Uncut project. The first half in particular splices together very funny fan recreations.

And a few more links:

1. Seth Godin describes the three types of valuable worker. Does one of the descriptions match you?

2. Baba Yaga illustration (and more fun stuff).

3. Plush toasted marshmallows.

*Previously: Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man bank.

*Buy Star Wars sketch cards at eBay.

Horror Manga Makeup (link roundup)

Go here to see how to apply horror manga makeup. Via.

And a few more links:

1. David Kopel: English courts used "law French," which was all but indecipherable to the common man. One smart move by American colonists was to use plain English instead.

2. Two articles shed more light on the goings on at Letterman's show. Via.

3. Lots of interesting comments about what it's like to run a startup. One of my alltime favorite books is Microserfs, Douglas Coupland's story about a startup. Via.

*Previously: Incoming WNBA players taught how to apply makeup.

*Buy The Late Shift at Amazon.

Horror Manga Makeup (link roundup)

Go here to see how to apply horror manga makeup. Via.

And a few more links:

1. David Kopel: English courts used "law French," which was all but indecipherable to the common man. One smart move by American colonists was to use plain English instead.

2. Two articles shed more light on the goings on at Letterman's show. Via.

3. Lots of interesting comments about what it's like to run a startup. One of my alltime favorite books is Microserfs, Douglas Coupland's story about a startup. Via.

*Previously: Incoming WNBA players taught how to apply makeup.

*Buy The Late Shift at Amazon.

Greedo Lego CubeDude (link roundup)

Greedo Lego CubeDude by Andrew Lee.

And a few more links:

1. Very little content, but I still like the teaser site for the Motorola/Google/Verizon Droid. (I guess the thought of my smartphone being a droid is pretty appealing.)

2. Valuable advice from Malcolm Gladwell to would be journalists - - learn a skill in addition to writing such as by getting a degree in accounting. That way you'll be more than an easily replaceable and glorified summarizer. He also gives his secret to writing a good story, and advice for improving public schools. Via.

3. Undead Ted Williams (with frozen head) costume.

*Previously: Ghastly allegations about what the cryogenics lab employees did with Ted Williams' head.

*Buy Greedo toys at eBay.

Greedo Lego CubeDude (link roundup)

Greedo Lego CubeDude by Andrew Lee.

And a few more links:

1. Very little content, but I still like the teaser site for the Motorola/Google/Verizon Droid. (I guess the thought of my smartphone being a droid is pretty appealing.)

2. Valuable advice from Malcolm Gladwell to would be journalists - - learn a skill in addition to writing such as by getting a degree in accounting. That way you'll be more than an easily replaceable and glorified summarizer. He also gives his secret to writing a good story, and advice for improving public schools. Via.

3. Undead Ted Williams (with frozen head) costume.

*Previously: Ghastly allegations about what the cryogenics lab employees did with Ted Williams' head.

*Buy Greedo toys at eBay.

How to carve a mouse (link roundup)

A pretty clever video shows how Steve Tomashek carves a mouse out of wood. He has woodcarvings on sale here. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Pig cars.

2. Gallery of concept art for Terminator Salvation. Via.

3. Little yellow box.

4. How to get a job in toy design, and what a job doing toy design is like. (Let me second the sentiments from the article. I interview a lot of applicants and am very impressed when the person knows about and is enthusiastic about the job.) Via.

*Previously: Homemade Ashley Wood toys.

*Buy woodcarvings at eBay.

How to carve a mouse (link roundup)

A pretty clever video shows how Steve Tomashek carves a mouse out of wood. He has woodcarvings on sale here. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Pig cars.

2. Gallery of concept art for Terminator Salvation. Via.

3. Little yellow box.

4. How to get a job in toy design, and what a job doing toy design is like. (Let me second the sentiments from the article. I interview a lot of applicants and am very impressed when the person knows about and is enthusiastic about the job.) Via.

*Previously: Homemade Ashley Wood toys.

*Buy woodcarvings at eBay.