For a good time, call ...

Remember this post, in which I shined a light on the peculiar pieces produced by artist Kasey Tararuj for the recent 3NES Show (held at the Bottleneck Gallery in Brooklyn, New York)?

Well, today's post is devoted to a few more pieces that were produced for that show, although these pieces--which also focus on Peach, Samus and Zelda and are titled, "For a Good Time, Call Peach," etc.--aren't quite as "safe for work" as the ones Tararuj concocted.

As such, I'm only going to show an extremely cropped version of one of them "above the fold," as it were. To see them in all of their appealingly smutty glory, click on "read more" below.

'Blue is Always Stronger'

I don't know about you, but I always appreciate a good piece of Zelda-themed art--especially when it's as awesome as the example below.

This particular piece was produced by Philadelphia-based illustrator and designer Jude Buffum, by the way. A nine-inch-by-nine-inch giclee print (on canvas) of this image can be bought here for $40. (A bunch of additional Buffum prints can be found there, too, so definitely check out the link if you have both the dough and the interest.)

The one and only reason I wish I were in Los Angeles right now

Although I'm really not an LA kind of guy, I wish I could be in the City of Angels this coming weekend. The reason: That's when Giant Robot's "Water Works" exhibition, which will benefit UNICEF and child victims of the earthquake in Japan, will kick off at the GR2 Gallery.

One of the many pieces that will be displayed--and likely sold--during the exhibition is Jude Buffum's Super Mario Bros.-inspired "Minus World."

On Flickr, the Philadelphia-based Buffum says that 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to UNICEF.

While we're on the subject of helping the folks in Japan, Sean over at famicomblog.blogspot.com recently committed himself (in this post) to donating his entire gaming budget for the next year to a charitable organization helping his compatriots.

I don't really have a gaming budget (much to my husband's chagrin), but I am going to donate some money to this cause. If you'd like to do the same, and if you're at all uncomfortable giving money to the Red Cross, a good choice seems to be Doctors Without Borders, which allocates more than 85 percent of donated funds to program activities.

8-bit terrariums

When "Game Over IV," the show at Giant Robot San Francisco that "pays homage to the continuous evolution of videogames and their massive influence on popular culture," opens on March 4 (it runs through the end of the month), it will include a trio of "8-bit terrariums" created by Philadelphia-based artist Jude Buffum.

The terrarium below, "Toadstool Terrarium," was inspired by Super Mario Bros., while Buffum's other 8-bit terrariums--"Belmont Terrarium" and "Hyrule Terrarium"--were inspired by Castlevania and The Legend of Zelda, respectively.

On his blog, Buffum explains what prompted these earthly endeavors.

"I am actually a bit of a terrarium enthusiast myself, so this idea sort of evolved naturally from that interest. I see a lot of similarities between video games and terrariums; they are both closed systems that seek to nurture and sustain an entire world within a small viewing space. And I get equal enjoyment out of interacting and watching both."

Prints of each of the above-mentioned pieces can be purchased--for between $40 and $70--from Buffum's online shop.

'Super Utamaro Bros.'

If I were a real artist (and, no, I'm not saying that facetiously), this is the kind of thing I'd attempt to create:

For those of you wondering what in the hell you're looking at, well, it's a piece produced by blogger, designer and illustrator Jude Buffum. (I mentioned him earlier today in this post.)

In the description that accompanies this image on the artist's Flickr page, Buffum says he "chose to focus on the erotic fantasies of abalone divers that are quite popular within the art form known as 'shunga.'"

He also mentions that the piece is an homage to Utamaro's "Underwater Assault."

See more of Buffum's stuff here.

Yoshi tastes like chicken, too?

Have you ever looked at a Cheep-Cheep, Chocobo or Yoshi and thought, I wonder how many meals I could get out of that thing?

I can't say I have either, but blogger, designer and illustrator Jude "The Jude" Buffum has, and this is the result of that thought:

To see more of Buffum's imaginative prints, produced for the Pixel Pushers show that's being curated by Giant Robot magazine, check out this blog post.

(Via doyoulovepuppiesido.blogspot.com)