'Dark Cake'

Here's a little-known "fun fact" about yours truly: When I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison a decade ago, I did so with a degree in art history (as well as a degree in journalism).

As such, it shouldn't be too shocking to hear that I love it when honest-to-goodness artists turn to video games for inspiration.

That's just what Ashley Anderson has done in a recent series of works that are based on food items pulled from various games. My favorite is "Dark Cake," a 9.5-inch-by-8-inch drawing made with colored pencils.

Here's what Anderson has to say about the piece:

"This cake, despite its resemblance to my much earlier piece Kirby's Cake, is actually from the Bubble Bobble series; in fact, this is from the very first Bubble Bobble. I'm not sure how odd we can consider this resemblance in imagery between two far separate series, given the limitations of the software and hardware of the time. Maybe those limitations formed certain unofficial conventions to take hold in the construction of imagery? It's an interesting question with some significant ramifications, I believe.

"I wanted to re-examine the cupcake image with a little more sophisticated use of light and hopefully color, so I used some of Wayne Thiebaud's work for a reference. I should have pushed the values more, but that's learning for you."

Go here to see more of Anderson's work.

See also: 'Turnip Murder' and 'Your princess is in another castle'

But will it include "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Neigh)"?

According to the always-on-the-ball crew over at gamesetwatch.com, Ubisoft recently registered a trademark for Horse Gaga.

Around the same time, the French developer and publisher registered the following domain name: HorseGaga.com.

Is Ubisoft working on a title that will combine its Horsez franchise with the gay icon formally known as Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta? I sure hope so.

BTW, head over to gamesetwatch.com to see a hilarious Horse Gaga cover mock-up.

See also: 'Lady Gaga + LittleBigPlanet = Little Bad Romance'

Super Peepio Bros.

For the last four years, the Washington Post has held a "Peeps Diorama Contest" in the run up to Easter. This year's contest drew more than 1,100 entries, with Mark Rivetti's "Super Peepio Bros." creation (below) earning a semifinal berth.

According to the Washington, D.C.-based newspaper, it took Rivetti approximately 45 hours to create the diorama above, with all of the characters being crafted from chick or bunny Peeps. Also, take note of the Peep shapes included in the clouds and platforms.

(Via kotaku.com)

It saddens me that Nintendo seemingly spent more money to promote this title than it did to promote Rhythm Heaven

"This title" being the Club Nintendo-only WiiWare offering, Grill-Off with Ultra Hand. Anyway, here's what Nintendo's promotional dollars paid for in this instance:



I'm glad that a portion of the ad is used to show people how to join Club Nintendo, but it kind of begs the question: Why hasn't the company made similar ads that show people how to use the Wii Shop Channel? After all, a lot of people still don't realize you can use said channel to purchase and download a slew of classic titles.

Buy: Rhythm Heaven

See also: 'Rhythm Heaven: My favorite DS game of 2009'

(Via gonintendo.com)

Get a 3DS, (possibly) get some gay lovin'

At least, that's what this rather cute comic strip, created by Nathan Birch and submitted to Cracked.com as part of a recent contest, suggests.

Although Birch didn't win the contest, it's nice to know the Cracked.com crew considered it a contender.

(Via tinycartridge.com)