STYNK: Helping Nerdy Causes Edition (with Bonus Rob Imbecility!)

By Rob Bricken October 26, 2012 Miscellaneous 0 Comment

? Allie Goertz, who you might know from her phenomenally lovely “D&D Love Song,” is recording her first album. Her Kickstarter goal has already been met, but it’s effectively a way to pre-order the album, which you want to do. Really. Listen to how good this song asking for your money is.

? Blair Mourer has a dream — to open a nerdy bar in Omaha, Nebraska, which will be called The Android Factory (androids > cheesecake, obviously). As a nerd who loves the sweet, sweet taste of booze, I find this to be the noblest of goals. Unfortunately, he needs some start-up cash for this venture, so if you would like to drink with like-minded nerds in scenic Omaha, you can donate here.

? In the mood for a good card game? Meet Boss Monster:

Boss Monster is a standalone card game that challenges 2-4 players to become videogame-style villains and build deadly side-scrolling dungeons. Players compete to see who can lure and destroy the most adventurers. But beware! You must make your dungeon as deadly as it is attractive, or the puny adventurers might kill you first! Are you a bad enough dude to become the ultimate Boss Monster?

The card art is done in a fantastic retro game style; you should definitely check out the preview here. And since they’ve also met their goal, so it’s a pre-order, too!

? So here’s a funny story: I got an email last week from a gent named Pat Rothfuss, telling me about a “Literary Pin-Up Calendar,” in which each month features pin-up art based on the works of a variety of famous sci-fi and fantasy authors, where all the proceeds go to charity. I thought to myself, “Huh! This random guy has the same name as Patrick Rothfuss, the best-selling author of the tremendously excellent Kingkiller Chronicles books! And he’s telling me about a literary pin-up calendar involving authors like George R.R. Martin, Terry Pratchett, Ray Bradbury, and more! What a weird coincidence!” And then I filed it away to save for whenever I did this little collection of good causes.

So I’m finally writing the article, and I bring up the link to pre-order the calendar (which is only $20, by the way). And I finally notice the website: The Tinkers Packs. Based on the Kingkiller books. And then I check out the full list of authors involved… where Patrick Rothfuss is mentioned dead last.

PATRICK ROTHFUSS, A BEST-SELLING FANTASY AUTHOR OF THE NAME OF THE WIND AND THE WISE MAN’S FEAR, TWO INCREDIBLY EXCELLENT BOOKS I JUST READ AND ENJOYED IMMENSELY, EMAILED ME PERSONALLY SIX DAYS AGO AND NOT ONLY DID I NOT NOTICE IT WAS HIM I STILL HAVEN’T REPLIED.

I am the stupidest motherfucker on the planet. Please go buy the calendar to partially mitigate my shame (and to help feed the hungry). Pretty please. I’m going to go apologize to Mr. Rothfuss now.

About The Author

Robert Bricken is one of the original co-founders of the site formerly known as Topless Robot, and its first editor-in-chief, serving from 2008-12. He brought the site to prominence with “nerd news, humor and self-loathing” as its motto, raising it from total internet obscurity to a readership in the millions, with help from his savage “FAQ” movie reviews and Fan Fiction Fridays. Under his tenure Topless Robot was covered by Gawker, Wired, Defamer, New York magazine, ABC News, and others, and his articles have been praised by Roger Ebert, Avengers actor Clark Gregg, comedian and The Daily Show correspondent John Hodgman, the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Rifftrax, and others. He is currently the managing editor of io9.com. Despite decades as both an amateur and professional nerd, he continues to be completely unprepared for either the zombie apocalypse or the robot uprising.

Related Posts

About The Author