Angry Puppy

VG Cats has been around for a while, but in case you haven’t seen it:

Basically VG Cats, or Videogame Cats, is a webcomic about videogames along the lines of Penny Arcade. Though the last year or two I’ve tried to focus the comic towards Video Games parodies rather than two gamers. And totally random stuff when I’m bored.

There was recently a cute Cooking Mama parody (how can you not?), but I wanted to show one from the archives which is more suited to this blog. For everyone who has ever wanted to punch that Toad at the end of every Super Mario Bros. level, here’s another alternative (click to enlarge):

Who knew Mario was a bear‽

I’ve written these up out of order, but Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: #12, which will be in the shops next week, is available for pre-order now from Dark Horse Comics.

This is the first in the four-issue arc we mentioned in January (written by Drew Goddard, artwork by Georges Jeanty) in which Buffy and the gang travel to Tokyo to fight some über vamps.

It’s becoming increasingly harder to wait for paperback volumes. I may have to start picking these up as they come out, but I have neither the space to store them nor the heart to get rid of them when I’m done!

Publication Date: Mar 05, 2008
Format: Full color, 40 pages
Price: $2.99

I’ve been neglecting my quest for the goat head guitar on Rock Band, but today’s new DLC has pulled me back in. Trent Reznor loves any time signature but 4/4, so these are a little more engaging than some of the other tracks we’ve seen, i.e. you have to pay attention.

Nine Inch Nails Pack - 440 MS Points or 160 MS points per track

The Collector

• Guitar - There’s a long silence at the beginning, but several half-note runs give you a chance to really rack up the points. I found it really satisfying, like Paranoid. They’ve turned the little piano part at the end of the song into a guitar solo.
• Bass - It’s fairly repetitive and not too engaging, though there are several “bass grooves.” You get the same half-note runs as on the guitar.
• Drums - I’m not a fan of the Rock Band drums, but this one wasn’t bad.

March of the Pigs

• Guitar - This one’s tougher than The Collector, but also really satisfying when you get it right. There are a couple of long silences during the 4/4 parts (”All the pigs are all lined up…”) and no solo.
• Bass - Holy Mother of God, this is the hardest bass song I’ve played on Rock Band. Fun.
• Drums - Pretty rough, but I could get through it.

The Perfect Drug

• Guitar - I found this one easier than the other two, but the song has so many different sections that as soon as you get settled in, everything changes. No solo.
• Bass - If your bassist needs a break after March of the Pigs, this is a good. Except for one tricky riff, it’s kind of dull, and there are two lo-o-ong silences (at the beginning and during the drum break).
• Drums - Don’t even try unless you like playing the drums. Even on easy. Really. I’m seriously.

If you’re at all a NIN fan, this is one pack you could splurge for. If you only want one track, then any are great for the guitar, it’s March of the Pigs for bass, and The Perfect Drug is the way to go for dums.

Those who enjoyed yesterday’s Garfield sans Garfield post will get a kick out of this bonus video. You’ll see the connection to this post about 30 seconds in.

Hey, Angry Puppy readers!

We are happy to let you know that our readership has been growing and growing these last few months, and we appreciate every one of you. We have some administrative stuff we’d like to let you know about.

Angry Puppy on Facebook

At a party last year, we were talking about Battlestar Galactica (and how much we love Katee Sackhoff), when one guy said:

 ”Me too! But I’m usually embarrassed to admit that I like that geeky, sci fi stuff.”

We know that there are other LGBT (and friends) who are “afraid” to admit that they’re geeks or who feel like they just don’t have permission to be gay and geeky. That’s why we started the vlog and, eventually, this blog to accompany it.

In an effort to bring you all together more, we created a Facebook fan page for Angry Puppy. We’d love for you to join us there to meet other readers.

Angry Puppy Gallery of LGBT Characters

Judging by the page views, our Gallery of Gay Action Figures is one of your favorite parts of the site. Those of you who watch the vlog know that we have a lot more figures on the way, including some new ones that were never featured in our videos.

We’ve received a request from several readers for a gallery that is not restricted to characters with official action figures, and we think it’s a great idea. You know that if we do it alone, it’s going to start with Captain Jack, Willow, Jadzia and our other personal favorites. So, we wanted to give you a chance to let us know which are your favorite LGBT characters from sci fi, horror, games, comics and any other medium that we cover.

Send your favorites to us or post in the comments. We’ll tally your requests and start up the gallery in the very near future.

Angry Puppy on your iPhone (and other non-traditional platforms)

We’ve been noticing a surge in the number of visitors using non-traditional browsers and platforms. We expected some Linux and Opera users (it is a geek blog), and we want to give an especially hearty welcome to our PSP readers! I test the site on various browsers, but be sure to let me know if you have any difficulties using something beyond Firefox, IE7 or Safari to access us.

For our iPhone visitors, we’ve added a webclip icon for the site. Just visit us on your iPhone, tap the plus sign, then “Add to Home Screen”. You’ll get a nifty Angry Puppy icon on your home screen, and we’ll always be only one tap away.

It’s no secret that I have a minor fetish for over-exaggerated Welsh accents, from Dawn French’s Catherine Zeta Jones impersonation to Little Britain’s Myfanwy and Daffyd. Of course, now that we know there’s a rift in spacetime in Cardiff (thanks, Torchwood), I’m no longer the only gay who can’t get enough Cymric in my life. (See AfterElton’s recent interview with Gareth David-Lloyd, who plays Ianto Jones, for example.)

So, imagine my delight on reading about this low-impact, hobbitesque home in Wales. OK, so the doorways aren’t completely round, but I think this is about as close as you’re going to get to a livable Hobbit home.

The owner/architect/builder, though, draws no explicit connections to hobbits. According to the website:

“The house was built with maximum regard for the environment and by reciprocation gives us a unique opportunity to live close to nature. Being your own (have a go) architect is a lot of fun and allows you to create and enjoy something which is part of yourself and the land rather than, at worst, a mass produced box designed for maximum profit and convenience of the construction industry. Building from natural materials does away with producers profits and the cocktail of carcinogenic poisons that fill most modern buildings”

Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t be able to get the right permits to build one of these in the East Village.

Via Popsucker