GET THE LEAD OUT

Pencil case:

Pencil case: Back in the ’80s, mechanical pencils, somewhat incongruously known as “lead pencils,” were a major status symbol in the elementary-school classroom. Who knows, maybe they still are. Dave seems to think so. His blog, dedicated to cutting-edge mechanical pencils, is enthusiastic and hilarious, and the pencils (the latest from Japan and Germany) have a magnetic geek appeal that may send you out to the stationery store with glazed eyes, sweaty palms, and a to-buy list cribbed from davesmechanicalpencils.blogspot.com.

Stick it: Remember those crazy stickman kung-fu-meets-the-Matrix videos from awhile back? Imagine if someone made those into an actual video game, complete with zombies, land mines, pumping SNES-style music, a vast choice of assault weapons, lots of kicking and shooting, and an enormous army of hostile enemy stickmen. If you do, you’re probably imagining wpnFIRE, the Flash game you will be wasting lots of time playing at www.stickpage.com/wpnfiregameplay.shtml.

by Michael Citrome

Comments? mikecitrome@yahoo.com