Remember the digital pet game Tamagotchi? Well, Japan now has the next step in virtual relationship, a Nintedo DS video game called Love Plus where nerdy males can have their very own anime girlfriends.

Lisa Katayama, Boing Boing’s contributing editor, reports that a man who calls himself "Sal9000" has taken the next logical step:

On Sunday, a man named Sal9000 married the love of his life. Her name is Nene Anegasaki, and she lives inside of a Nintendo DS video game called Love Plus. The wedding took place during a Make: Japan meet-up held at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. In attendance were a live audience, an MC, the bride’s virtual video game girlfriend — who made a speech — and a real human priest.

A wife with an on/off switch! I don’t know if this is crazy or genius – maybe both: Link (with embedded YouTube clip) – Thanks Xeni!

These festive robots were built from RoboBuilder kits and synchronized to some classic holiday tunes. OK, just pretend that those little squeaks and servo motor noises are jingle bells. -via Geeks Are Sexy

YouTube Link

In 2007, Tillman the bulldog amazed the world with his video of him riding a skateboard around a park, just as naturally as you please.  Apparently the dog is still refining his moves, via Tony Hawk’s video game.  (Obviously, he’s not playing the game, but he’s definitely into it.)  More videos of Tillman snowboarding, surfing, and of course, skateboarding can be found here.  Tillman’s website.

Nasa hopes the mix of real data and fun will also inspire the planetary scientists of tomorrow.

“We really need the next generation of explorers,” says Michelle Viotti, from the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which oversees Mars missions.

“And we’re also accomplishing something important for Nasa. There’s so much data coming back from Mars. Having a wider crowd look at the data, classify it and help understand its meaning is very important.”

Link to story. Link to game. -via Metafilter

Mark Setteducati and Ken Knowlton have invented a unique puzzle marketed in Japan as "Jingazo." The puzzle includes 300 jigsaw pieces that can be arranged to form a picture of anybody’s face. The puzzle works in conjunction with an online interface. Users upload an image and recieve instructions on how to arrange the shaded puzzle pieces. You can create pictures of yourself, your friends or even your pets. Currently, The Jingazo Puzzle is only available in Japan but a U.S. release is planned for the near future.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by rubin.

Animator Jeremie Duval remixed Super Mario Bros. with the tone and sound of Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. Content warning: not for mushroom lovers.

Via Geekologie

How else would one propose marriage to the woman with the world’s largest Pokemon collection? Especially if you met her at a Pokemon competition? JC Fletcher writes for Joystiq:

When Chris Herbert decided to pop the question to his girlfriend of three years, Belle Starenchak, he picked the most romantic place he could think of: Anime Weekend Atlanta, with both dressed as Pokemon. It … kind of makes sense for them.

Belle, or “PikaBelleChu,” is featured in the Guinness Book of World Records: Gamer Edition for her massive Pikachu memorabilia collection, and Herbert met her by staging a Pokemon auction. So while we might be tempted to laugh, it would seem that the pursuit of ‘em all is a major component of this couple’s lives.

Link via Geekologie

Photo: Erick Kwiecein

This throne, according to Internet rumor, is seven feet tall, can be found in Tokyo, and is made entirely of Nintendo game cartridges.

To be really useful for gamers, it needs to have a built-in toilet and a soda dispenser.

Link via Make

She was experimenting with tiny liquid-filled channels in hopes of devising chip-based diagnostic tests, a discipline called microfluidics. The trouble was, the specialized equipment that she previously used to make microfluidic chips cost more than $100,000–money that wasn’t immediately available.

Racking her brain for a quick-and-dirty way to make microfluidic devices, Khine remembered her favorite childhood toy: Shrinky Dinks, large sheets of thin plastic that can be colored with paint or ink and then shrunk in a hot oven. “I thought if I could print out the [designs] at a certain resolution and then make them shrink, I could make channels the right size for micro fluidics,” she says.

Technology Review has the story: Link. | Photo by Dave Lauridsen

Link to DaneBoe’s channel

I wonder what George Costanza would think?

Stack the Bones is a classic stacking game, just like Jenga … but more gruesome! The game, designed by Chris Collicott, includes 54 wooden "bone" pieces and 1 wooden skull piece. It’s grisly fun for the whole family. From the Neatorama Shop: Link

Three computer scientists at Colorado University programmed several Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners to act like Pac-Man and the ghosts which chase him. Jack Elston, Cory Dixon, and Maciej Stachura did so in order to demonstrate the unmanned aerial system that they are developing. Click on the link for more videos, pictures, and schematics for this project.

Link via CrunchGear

Ever wonder what would happen if you combined true musical talent with a popular video game like Rockband? This is what you would get.

While taking a break from practicing one day, MsFrizzyHair, a recent college graduate with music degree had a bizarre thought as she watched her brother play Rockband. "I wonder if that microphone would pick up a flute…" Check out the video to see the answer!

– via youtube

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by lennie02.

Image: GeekStir

Luis Diaz Santis and Magaly Guerrero Ramierz sent out invitations to their wedding depicting themselves as 8-bit characters in a two-player combat video game. Chris Jacob of Gizmodo suggests that this is a subtle social commentary on modern marriage. Either way, it’s cool, and you can view a picture of the groom proposing in binary at the link.

Link via Gizmodo

You may have to lose once to figure out how the game Drench works, but then it’s a lot of fun! Select your next color to make your paint splotch bigger, and try to cover the entire floor in paint. You only have a certain number of moves for each level. Link -via Metafilter

This chart shows the moral alignments of nine pop culture characters using the Dungeons & Dragons alignment system. Rorschach as Chaotic Good? I think that Chaotic Neutral is more likely. And Neutral Good for John Locke at best.

Top row, left to right: John Locke of Lost, Dwight from Sin City, Rorschach of Watchmen.
Middle row: Indiana Jones, Niko Bellic of Grand Theft Auto 4, Tyler Durden of Fight Club.
Bottom row: Darth Vader, Anton Chigurh of No Country for Old Men, and the Joker.

I’m not sure who’s responsible for this chart — it’s been floating around the net. I’ll edit with a photocredit when someone claims responsibility.

via Popped Culture | Explanation of Alignment System

The holiday shopping season is quickly descending upon us, which means this year’s more popular toys and consumer electronics are soon to become in increasingly high-demand. In recent memory, the Sony Playstation III, Beanie Babies, and of course, the Tickle-Me-Elmo have generated a considerable amount of hype – quickly selling out, and then establishing a re-sale market. But have you ever wondered what the “it toys” have been throughout the decades? We have; and as a result, we decided to compile a time-line which illustrates the top toys from the last 50 years. Here they are, the most popular Christmas toys since 1960.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by jadalan.

This video is a promotional gimmick for the British rock band Kasabian. It begins with craftsmen creating enormous functional buttons on the wall of a London warehouse. These and additional visual effects make a giant version of the video game Guitar Hero. Participants play by kicking soccer balls at the buttons in the right order to the tune of one of Kasabian’s songs.

via The Ampersand

Don’t play poker with those b-o-r-i-n-g playing cards! Check out these: a deck of silver playing cards that will surely liven up your next poker night. It’s a guaranteed winner!

Newly listed – From the Neatorama Shop: Link

Image: Erin McKean

Erin McKean is a Chicago-based lexicographer who writes at the blog A Dress A Day. There she opines on various dresses that she sees and makes. Her most recent creation is a dress inspired by the classic video game Tetris. You can view more pictures at the link.

Link via Geekologie | Interview with McKean

Model train enthusiast David K. Smith has built a miniscule train layout which works – the train travels in an ellipse, including through a “mountain.”

“Thus, what was intended to be a Z scale model of a 4- by 8-foot HO scale layout became a Z scale model of a 2- by 4-foot N scale layout! After I picked myself up off the floor, I made a few quick calculations… the modeling scale would be an eye-popping 1:35,200, and the finished layout would measure .125 by .200 inches…”

The video shows the basics of the layout and the clever solution re the motor.  Further details re the construction are here.

Neatorama has previously posted links to about 80 of the world’s smallest things.

YouTube link.  Via Nothing to do with Arbroath.

People often blanche at the thought of playing a board game, but that’s because they have only been exposed to the old "classics" that really aren’t worthy of the title due to poor rulesets that promote luck over skill. Here are 15 games that are probably superior to the old standbys like Monopoly, including Last Night on Earth, a zombie thriller:

Last Night on Earth is essentially a survival game. Participants can play as either the “Hero” team or the “Zombie” team. The objective is for one team to complete their “scenario objective”, thus defeating the opposite team. The game is designed to have a horror movie feel, and even comes with it’s own soundtrack!

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by redsfaithful.

If you’ve ever wondered what’s inside Hello Kitty, we now know there’s a Valentine-shaped heart with a little bow as well as lungs that look at you and cute little intestines. Of course. Designer Dr. Romanelli made these for MediCom Toy Incorporated. Link -via Buzzfeed

Sean Michael Ragan of Make magazine declares that with this video by inventor Patrick Brawley, steampunk has ‘jumped the shark’:

Introducing the Electro-Flush! Technically, TeslaPunk Urinal. Hand-made solid oak tank with battery powered flush pump, laser aiming assist (aim at the laser dot in the bowl at night), lights, antique gauges, flush capacitor, and cup holder. Bowl is a round 1949 Standard.

via Make

Engineeer and cartoonist Tim Hunkin created an arcade game that at first appears to be an ATM or banking kiosk. When coins are inserted, the banking poster drops and reveals Wack-A-Banker, giving you an opportunity to take your aggressions out on a group of financially oppressive stereotypes. See more pictures and read how this project came about at Tim’s site. Link -via Everlasting Blort

Whoa! This is awesome: Gajitz blog has a nice compendium of the various papercrafts inspired by the Zelda games. I remember fondly playing Zelda II: The Adventure of Link on my NES oh so many years ago.

Link | More at the excellent blog Nintendo Papercraft (you can lose hours there!)

With all the commotion over swine flu, who knew that the culprit – H1N1 Influenza Virus – could be so … cute? Here’s the popular Giant Microbe plush toy based on cause of the global flu pandemic. Get yours before the second wave of the pandemic hits!

Featured Item: every order will get a Free Mystery Bonus. It’s for a limited time only, so get yours today!

From the Neatorama Shop: H1N1 Swine Flue Virus Plush Toy | Other Giant Microbes | Swine Flu: Bacon’s Revenge T-Shirt

Andrew Dobrow of GearFuse worries that we could see more monstrosities like this if Disney buys Hasbro as well as Marvel Comics. The “Donald Duck Holiday Vehicle” is on sale (but backordered) from the Japanese company Takara Tomy for about $40. Most worrisome of all — it bears neither the Autobot nor Decepticon icon.

Link via GearFuse | Images: Hobby Search

While we were waiting for Zubbles, I completely missed the development of black light bubbles! Tekno Bubbles are the creation of Byron and Melody Swetland. They glow blue or gold under ultraviolet light, available in one ounce or gallon sizes. You don’t even have to blow bubbles to enjoy this -you can paint the bubble mixture on a surface to make glowing decorations! Link -via Random Good Stuff

Depending on how you feel about Nintendo and tattoos, you may love or hate this huge collection of Nintendo Tattoos. Some of them have some really great artwork, others…not so much.

Link