geekosystem

In case you weren't already aware, a 6.6-magnitude earthquake hit a rural area of China's Sichuan province at 8AM local time on Saturday. The exact number of dead and injured isn't clear just yet, but many are reporting at least 100 dead and many times more than that injured. A little strange levity came out of this, though: One reporter -- identified as Chen Ying -- had her marriage ceremony interrupted by the quake, and went on to then cover it in her wedding dress.

We're not saying Pinterest is for the birds, but the social media platform definitely attracts a certain kind of material. If it's not cute pictures of animals, inventive uses for leftover cardboard boxes, or something to do with fashion, it probably doesn't belong on Pinterest. That said, someone over at NBC has totally figured out this social media thing. A recent Parks and Recreation episode saw Ben Wyatt and Leslie Knope tie the knot in their own haphazard way, and NBC put up a faux wedding album for the characters on Pinterest.

In this day and age of MMOverflow (I just made that up!), MMOs need a way to stand apart from one another, especially since most MMOs (EVE Online and Dungeons & Dragons Online excluded) and  get stuck in the same routine of killing or collecting X of Y, leveling to the max level, then killing bosses that drop good equipment, so you can harder kill bosses that drop better equipment, so you can kill even harder bosses that drop even better equipment. Trion Worlds is looking to separate their MMO RIFT from the rest of the pack, not with gameplay mechanics, but by attempting to set a Guinness World Record. Which one, you ask? The most virtual marriages in a 24-hour period, of course!

Cult actor Bruce Campbell, who won our hearts as a guy who killed zombies in the Evil Dead movies, stole our smiles as a guy who killed medieval zombies in Army of Darkness, and played an old guy who might or might not have been Elvis in Bubba Ho-Tep, was recently ordained as a real-life minister, apparently. And he's going to officiate a wedding at a zombie-themed convention. Geekscape reports that Campbell will be marrying one couple at ZomBCon, "the premiere zombie convention being held this Halloween in Seattle." In addition, he'll preside over a mass vow renewal ceremony thereafter. Also: Ted Raimi, the younger brother of Evil Dead and Spider-Man director Sam Raimi and an accomplished gonzo actor in his own right, is going to be the altar boy. Ridiculous? Absolutely. More details here. (Geekscape via Topless Robot)

As we know, geeks take their wedding invites quite seriously. (For instance: Fully playable 8-bit games?) Etsy seller swelser makes some wonderful, totally customized wedding invitations in the style of the pulp comics of yore, packed with the blurbs and dialogue bubbles of your choice. "I’ll make sure you look as though a cover was drawn by one of the top comic book artists from the 1960s to celebrate your big day. I don't just trace the photos, but rather come up with a comic style interpretation that should still be easily recognized as you."

Massive Digg-fixing ring found (Alternet) Steve Jobs turned away from San Francisco pizzeria (AppleInsider) Why hardcore gamers hate n00bs so much (Escapist) Sports viral video roundup (SportsGrid) Wife learns of husband's secret second wedding on Facebook (AP) The great hidden operating system games (Technologizer) Who could beat you up? (CollegeHumor)

Bonus: The first episode of Zach Anner's new travel show, covering Niagara Falls: