1. Paste Magazine
Like music and movies? Like heavy, expensive magazines? Then grab a copy of Paste, the bi-monthly music and film mag that looks as hip as it actually is. Akin to College Music Journal (or CMJ, as the cool kids say), each issue of Paste comes with its own CD and DVD samplers. Plus, toting it around will make anyone feel mega-tragically cool. Cool.
2. Bret Easton Ellis at Olsson's
Author Bret Easton Ellis will be signing copies and reading from his latest novel, "Lunar Park," on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Olsson's bookstore in Chinatown. Ellis, author of the gory "American Psycho," the college-friendly "Rules of Attraction" and the '80s drug novel "Less Than Zero," is a master of gore and intrigue. He's so good they've made movies out of almost all of his books.
3. Colored Sharpies
Sharpie's new advertising campaign features colored, miniature markers that just scream, "Why wouldn't you want to have me??" Amazingly, the allure of colored permanent markers lives up to the hype - or at least it does here at The Scene. With a pack of 48 colors available for just $12 at Costco, making the trek out to Pentagon City will pay off oh-so-sweetly ... as will the opportunity to write all over everything in sight once returning home.
4. Cryingwhileeating.com
The Scene will abstain from attempting to explain this website, which features submitted home movies of different people crying while ingesting their favorite foods, but it's hard to deny the shameful and hilarious allure of said content. There's Dan, who's eating "pork roast and mashed potatoes" because he "failed to plan ahead;" Josh, who's eating "a powdered mini donut and a beer" because there's "no professional baseball in Las Vegas;" and Sophie, who's eating "tomato soup with sesame seeds" because "The Arcade Fire isn't really that good." Visitors can watch the video for each crier and then submit their own.
5. "Dad n' Me"
Those seeking an extremely stress relieving online flash game should look no further than "Dad 'n Me." This beat-'em-up harkens back to the 16 bit days, when button mashing, side-scrolling fighters were commonplace. "Dad n' Me," however puts a somewhat more edgy, Hillary Clinton-angering spin on this genre of endless action: beat up cartoon children as they play.
Besides the basic arsenal of punches and grabs, players can pick up and throw objects like recycling bins, lawn mowers and tanks of gasoline. It's even possible to disrupt games of soccer and basketball, take a few shots and then smack people with the ball.
All this would probably be kind of disgusting if it weren't for the cute, stylized graphics and animation. "Dad n' Me" is very vibrant with color and feels like an episode of "Itchy and Scratchy." The music can get a little annoying after a while, but there's no better remedy for pent up anger. Check out "Dad 'N Me" at http://www.newgrounds.com /portal/view/254456.
