Art: Doug Auld.

A recent New York Times article explores the paintings of Doug Ald, an artist whose recent work describes the beauty to be found in the scars of burn victims, displaying the fires that burn within them through the residue of that which has burned without.

Final Fantasy.

Some beautiful new screenshots are up for Final Fantasy XIII. It looks like they're finally going back to a more futuristic setting this time. Thanks to Piotr for this one.

Video Game: Half Life 2: Episode One.

Valve software finally takes the wraps off of the ongoing Half Life 2 episode series. For those of you who don't know, Half Life 2 was among the best stories ever told in a video game format, as well as being one of the best first-person shooters I've ever played.

In other video game news, Supreme Commander has a video of in game graphics up on their website, which looks absolutely beautiful. Check out the zooming feature. I'm really excited about this one.