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.