Super Timsy over at Gay Gamer posted this awesome illustration yesterday of a very stout-looking, ("sexy") Italian Mario with little background to be found, so I went trolling around looking for answers and trouble. What I found was a photobucket account with two more Nintendo artwork gems. The Petey Piranha is hilarious, and I fully approve of the squishy-take on Mario.

All that digging, and no additional details have come out about the artist(s) details or whereabouts, but whoever they are, they're tops! Kim Phu

Mario's on Fire [Gay Gamer]

Lurking deep in the Craftster forum is a very dedicated individual who has figured out how to take two ugly chairs from work (free of course) and turn them into eBay millions.

Boingo82 has put together a very impressive NES controller chair that is sewn together with vinyl (very pro, you need a pretty heavy-duty sewing machine to do this, and a lot of patience) and industrial foam. The stitching detail is really very good and it looks like a chair that can be sat in, not just for show.

Hat's off to you! Kim Phu

NINTENDO chair-UPDATE - DONE! [Craftster via Tanooki]

Coming out for Xbox in the US this May (though it has been in Japan for quite some time), Battle Storm: Senko no Ronde is the UbiSoft's American version of the Japanese fighter/shooter that looks like it could melt your mind in about two seconds. I could easily take an epileptic seizure if that's not available, though. Kim Phu

Shooting, fighting, androgyny: Senko no Ronde coming stateside [Joystiq]

Maybe I'm not totally hormonal. One reader actually got the same warm and fuzzy feeling encountering a little invader of his own.

In response to your Invader - Amsterdam story, this is a picture we took in Lausanne, Switzerland. Right around here.

Thanks for making me aware of the artist. We thought we stumbled upon one-of-a-kind video game art, but it's cooler knowing that there are others like this out there.

That's so touching, I think I'm going to cry. Like a lot. Thanks for the tip, Ramdust! Kim Phu

Super awesome crafty deliciousness that doesn't involve cakes! Let's just get off the sugary snacks for a second. We're mature adults, we don't just lie around eating cake and playing video games (...on weekdays). We're creative people, we also do amazing things WITH our video games.

The Amazing Rolo has made an incredible hack/app that uses the handheld wii-mote with the software he's created for a computer to make and edit loopable MUSIC. Each function of the wii-mote (the buttons, the swinging action) all conforms to create different effects of the samples on the app. You can download the software he's created here, but I'd watch the video first, which is an amazing tutorial on what can be done with it. Kim Phu

The Amazing Rolo [The Amazing Rolo via Make Mag]

What is surprising is that it may or may not be offered at the Kwik E Mart!

The Times in Virginia is reporting that efforts are being made between 7-11 stores and the Simpsons Movie to turn eleven stores across the US into Kwik-E-Marts where customers also will be able to buy products usually only available in the show like KrustyO's cereal, Buzz Cola and iced Squishees (the cup says Squishee, but the contents are pure Slurpee.)

Which just begs the questions: Who needs the Kwik-E-Mart? ME! Kim Phu

Real Kwik-E-Marts? Woo-Hoo! [Richmond Times Dispatch]