Happy Birthday Gabe Newell!

Bad-ass for 49 years in a row. That's one hell of a kill streak.

Co-founder and managing director of the video game development and online distribution powerhouse Valve just turned 49 today. As most of you guys probably know, Gabe Newell is the genius behind the popular Half-life series and a huge face in the gaming industry. He is known as one of the nicest men in video gaming, constantly answering emails and trying to evolve the gaming industry as we know it with services like Steam.

I hope you have a very Half-Life 3 themed birthday! Seriously, we've been waiting long enough.

High Fives From Maru!

Our favorite kitty is back, and he's doling out awesome high fives.  I especially love the look on his face, it's like "You want more high fives?  Well, okay, if it'll amuse you, I'll continue."  Even with the obvious half-assed motions, he's still adorable as always.  We love you, Maru!

22 Bizarre Sculptures From Norway's Vigeland Park

This man had issues. (Via)

If WTF had a park dedicated to it, Norway's Frogner Park would be my nomination. The Vigeland Sculpture park is the result of a certain sculptor, Gustav Vigeland having what appears to be a sculptural equivalent of a bad trip with severe Freudian consequences. As a result the park is scattered with sculptures of men battling babies, women being forcefully carried off, piles of intertwined bodies towering high and some other pretty damn baffling sights. The fact that such a park currently exists is just awesome in our book...I'm adding this park to my bucket list of places to see.

Check out 21 other images from Norway's claim to fame after the break!

Sword Dance Off

What happens when Jian sword dancing comes head to head against Butterfly/Balisong knife technique and a catchy dance track? You get a killer video in someones back yard. Absolutely love the unfazed dog and the grandma.

In case you didn't see the older video that this Youtube channel created (Which I'm now convinced is sticking to this amazing gimmick), check out the original video that spawned quite a viral reaction: Balisong Dancing after the break. That kid in the blue shirt is such a badass.

Mech Hangar

 Refuel, repair, relaunch. (Via)

This is one badass mech piece by Susan Luo, AKA TurnipSue. Absolutely love the atmosphere she captured in this image, and the spot on fluorescent lighting. Lets not forget the mech itself, pretty badass. Susan works as a concept artist at RedStorm entertainment, the studio known for the Ghost Recon franchise. Check out the step by step for this piece below.

Click for fullsize.

The 25th Reich: Campy Retro Scifi Awesomeness

I absolutely love it when movies just go balls out, and go way out of their way to create something truly out there and simply fun to watch. I think the 25th Reich safely falls into that category, with its premise of a squad of men traversing 25 dimensions of Nazi treachery and facing off against every B-movie cliche monster/foe imaginable. Nazi spider robots? Check. Ufo's? Check. Giant bugs? Check and sold.

This Aussie exploitation masterpiece will be screening sometime in 2012, so keep your eyes peeled for any updates on their website. Check out the awesomely retro poster created for the flick after the break! Thanks to Chris V. for the heads up about this movie.

Iluzia

This is a bit difficult to describe.  It's a little bit of quirk, mixed with a dash of WTF.  A tighty-whitey'd clad man is a big fan of a very full figured singer. When their two worlds (and animation styles) collide, they go on a bizarre yet whimsical journey.  The music is something else too.  Something about it really caught my eye.  Or I guess, my ear.  It's hard to believe this is an art school graduation project.

Grand Theft Auto V: The Official Trailer

Grand Theft Auto V's trailer has just landed, and its looking pretty damn spectacular. I remember being wowed by the GTA 4 trailer back in the day, but it looks like they're making use of some of the beefed up open world engines that have come out of products like Red Dead Redemption. The narrator describes a protagonist who appears to have escaped to LA to escape a certain criminal lifestyle, but inevitably gets pulled back in. An awesome teaser that showcases the incredible detail that LA will have to offer. Let the hype train begin.

TORIGUN: Birds Of War

The Robins are a very passionate, fiery and warmongering tribe. (Via)

This series of awesome illustrations was created by a Japanese artist who goes by the alias of 'Sato.' The idea was simple: If each bird species represented a country, what would their military garb look like? His execution of the idea turned out awesome, with each bird wearing a very distinct flavor of outfit to complement their colors, shape and demeanor. Check out 10 more examples from the Torigun series after the break!

Deus Ex Homine

This high end timelapse 'test' was created to test a moving stereoscopic 3d rig, using two Canon 5D Mark II's strapped together. Whatever moving rig they have, the motion it pulls of is nothing short of amazing, as well as some of the vantage points these guys captured. I'd really recommend watching this in full screen mode, because the image quality is pretty damn remarkable. The fact that there's a guy building a cyborg head during the timelapse goes really well with the Deus Ex soundtrack.

Spider-Man Avenging Digital Media

All for the original ideas...(Via)

It seems that Marvel has seen how well the Justice League double pack is selling and has decided to try out the idea for themselves. If you aren't aware, the Justice League comic comes in three different versions: The normal cover and variant covers, but also a version of the normal cover with a code for the digital comic. This version is not that much more expensive than the normal cover and is selling well because it's a smart idea. DC started to roll it out with a bunch of it's new titles since the Justice League hit off, and now Marvel is following suit.

So lets take a step back...What is Avenging Spider-Man in comparison to the dozens of other Spiderman comics out there? It's a new series involving Spider-Man teaming up with a bunch of heroes in the Marvel universe. Sound cool? Well, you should pick up a few issues and see what you think. Will it hit off? You bet. Is it a good idea? Yes. Will people buy it? We shall see. The first, second and third issues of its $3.99 Avenging Spider-Man series will come with digital versions of the comic.

Remember Remember: New Doctor Who Game For November

For Freedom, Anon and Alan Moore! (Via)

Missing Doctor Who on the television? Well, the BBC has you covered with the second series of the popular (and free) adventure games.

The TARDIS lands in London, 1605, encountering a group of men who are plotting to assassinate the Head of State. The Doctor, Amy and Rory realise they are at a pivotal point in time. But so are two alien races, each of which are more than happy to change history to suit their own ends…

Sounds exciting! The game is free on the PC/Mac, at least in the UK. No idea about you Yanks, but I believe the first series was available on Steam for little to nothing. Don't quote me on that, though. Get playing and let us know your thoughts in the comments!

The Art Of Seb Niark

I'll absolutely be there. (Via)

Seb's work is explosively vibrant, graphic and at times incredibly symmetrical. The Paris based artisthad worked for an incredible multitude of clients with his very distinct style. I love how he can throw in dozens of colors without his work getting too loud. Check out 11 more pieces of his unique work after the break!

AANAAT By Maxx Hattler

Maxx Hattler's animation features the buildup of different shapes, textures and patterns in an abstract space, set to an incredibly relaxing chill ambient track. Just the thing to put your mind at ease.

RoboGal's Weekly Cute Mixtape

There's a carpet waiting for me pee.  Just you wait... (Via)

By now you should be recovered from Halloween weekend.  No?  Well, ease your fuzzy mind with some adorable and fuzzy eye candy.  Not that you need anymore candy or anything...  More pics after the jump!

The Light

Ihsu Yoon's piece centers around the themes of light being brought into a realm of darkness, an entity of light being created in the complete absence of light. Pretty incredible work for a thesis project. Check out his portfolio below for even more amazing 3d FX work.