Posts Tagged ‘geek’
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009
Hey all! I’m off to San Diego for the better part of the next two weeks, but I wanted to fill you in on what to do in the meantime. Because I know you’re all lost without me. (I kid, I kid.) So…
Go to: Sarah Dunant’s signing at Politics and Prose downtown at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 29. She’s presenting “The Sacred Heart,” a 16th-century historical fiction revolving around a convent and perfect for anybody who was a fan of her “The Birth of Venus.”
Read: “Amazing Spider-Man” No. 600. It’s a milestone issue for Spidey, and to celebrate, Doctor Octopus is back! All eight of those mechanized arms will be in full effect, as will an appearance by Daredevil, a wedding the Webhead never saw coming and a return of someone we haven’t seen in a while. All that and Stan Lee, too.
Watch: One of three movies this week, depending on your interests (and age): the Disney family adventure “G-Force,” starring a bunch of guinea pigs who are crazy good at espionage; the chick flick “The Ugly Truth” pitting Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler in a war of the sexes; or “Orphan,” a horror movie featuring one of the creepiest little girls since those twins in “The Shining.”
Buy: “Watchmen” Director’s Cut on Blu-ray. OK, you can get the standard edition, but this is the kind of thing that makes you upgrade your current home entertainment system. While the movie was good in the theater, Zack Snyder’s director’s cut is 30 minutes longer, features more stuff cut from the Alan Moore masterpiece, and looks INSANE in high definition. Seriously, go now. Turn off the computer. It’ll still be here when you get back.
What are your feelings on standard editions vs. super-duper extended extreme editions of movies on DVD? Let me know what you prefer in the comments, and here’s your video of the next two weeks:
Nobody Watches the Watchmen – watch more funny videos
It’s time to party like it’s 1959
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
Instead of writing about 1958 or 1960, Fred Kaplan has picked to write about the many culture-defining events of the the year in-between in “1959: The Year Everything Changed.” In it, he argues that ’59 was the year that kicked off the Sixties and a period of sociological, cultural and political changes. A lot of interesting people make appearances, from Malcolm X and Miles Davis to John F. Kennedy and Lenny Bruce, in this intriguing tome, which Kaplan will be presenting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Politics and Prose downtown.
The store also hosts another couple of events for those interested in world history: Seth Jones will be speaking at 7 p.m. Wednesday on his book about the many world powers that have tasted defeat by invading Afghanistan, “In the Graveyard of Empires,” and Matthew Aid stops by at 7 p.m. Thursday to chat about his chronicling of the National Security Agency, “The Secret Sentry.”
A little bit closer to home, popular chick-lit author Jennifer Weiner will be in town at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Baileys Crossroads Borders and signing copies of her new book, “Best Friends Forever,” a female-friendly story about two childhood pals reconnecting after years apart thanks to unforeseen circumstances.
Many movie and book fans have been awaiting this day for a while, and on Tuesday at midnight, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” finally hits theaters. It was supposed to get released last November, but was pushed to this summer, much to fans’ chagrin.
The sixth book was by far my favorite of the J.K. Rowling series, as it delved deeper into Voldemort’s past and showed how Dumbledore was involved, introduced the all-important seven horcruxes, and allowed Harry and his pals to grow up a little bit more. If the new movie’s even half as good as the book, it’ll probably the best one yet. Director David Yates is back in the saddle, too, which bodes well for the movie franchise after doing a spot-on job with “Order of the Phoenix.” (Of course, I don’t think anyone’s going to come close to what Alphonso Cuaran did with the third film, “Prisoner of Azkaban.”)
So what’s your fave Potter book and movie, and do they match? Let me know in the comments.
Eddie Murphy’s in an iffy live-action kids flick. ‘Imagine That.’
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Friday, June 12th, 2009
For a second, let’s remember when Eddie Murphy used to have a great career back in the day. He was hilarious on “Saturday Night Live,” quote-tastic in “Coming to America,” ROFL-worthy in “Raw.” I blame “Vampire in Brooklyn,” because ever since that 1995 stinker, it’s been downhill ever since. (With the exceptions of “Bowfinger” and “Dreamgirls,” both of which inspired greatness.) Sure, he’s fantastic as a talking Donkey in the animated “Shrek” flicks, but seriously, what was his last truly major live-action hit? “Dr. Dolittle” in ’98? Sheesh. In his defense, Murphy’s films have tended toward the family-friendly, including his newest, “Imagine That.” He’s a struggling financial guru who comes out of his slump thanks to his daughter’s imaginary world. Kids will love his mugging and noise-making, but will the older folks? Well, at least we have memories of funnier times. A better bet for this weekend: John Travolta and Denzel Washington facing off in the train-heist remake “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3,” opening this week at Cinema Arts Theatre and other local multiplexes.
I’m very excited for Tuesday to come because it marks the long-awaited Blu-ray debut of “Ghostbusters,” which is only one of the best movies EVER. With all this talk of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson coming back for an upcoming “Ghostbusters 3,” it’s time to revisit the classic 25 years after it asked us, “Who ya gonna call?” It’s in hi-def and features loads of new featurettes, including a sneak peek at the “Ghostbusters” video game that comes out the same day. (And for those who like to shop online, use the code SONYPIC5 to buy it at Amazon.com for an extra five bucks off.) Also in stores next week: the “Friday the 13th” remake with “Supernatural’s” Jared Padalecki; the Tyler Perry flick “Madea Goes to Jail”; the second seasons of cable TV favorites “Burn Notice” and “Saving Grace”; and the first and second seasons of “Lost,” on Blu-ray for the first time.
Who’s your favorite Ghostbuster: Venkman? Stantz? Spengler? Zeddemore? Let me know in the comments, and here’s your video of the week:
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Friday, May 22nd, 2009
“Terminator Salvation” is the big movie of the week. Now that the whole Christian Bale on-set rant from hell has been remixed and moved out of the news cycle, we can now focus on the movie. But do we want to? The original “Terminator” is one of the classic sci-fi movies. “Terminator 2″ was great — in fact, it was the first R-rated movie I ever saw in the theater (thanks, Dad!), where Cinema Arts Theatre now resides. (That’s how old-school NoVa I am.) But “Terminator 3″ was TERRIBLE.
It was cool on paper — the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the unveiling of the whole sexbot Terminator — but sucktastic in delivery. Now they’ve brought Bale on board to resurrect the franchise as John Connor in an action-packed, post-apocalyptic future with lots of killer robots and such. I don’t put a lot of faith in the Rotten Tomatoes’ vaunted “Tomatometer,” but still … 33 percent? That’s like an F minus — even with a hefty curve.
Speaking of Cinema Arts, they open “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” this week — which features scenes filmed locally at the National Air and Space Museum downtown — as well as “Every Little Step.” The Broadway lovers will want to check out this documentary chronicling the casting of a 2005 revival of “A Chorus Line” and a history of the musical. At least that’s hangin’ tough at 88 percent.
It’s a slow-ish week coming up for DVDs. The Z-grade “Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus” offers Deborah Gibson, Lorenzo Lamas, a mega shark and a giant octopus, and is worth a spot on your Netflix list for the title alone. The science nerds will be down with season three of History’s “The Universe.” “New in Town” is a fish-out-of-water romantic comedy featuring Harry Connick Jr. and Renee Zellweger. Fans of “The Closer,” “Designing Women” and “Law & Order: SVU” can get the latest of those shows’ seasons. And Universal is rolling out new Blu-rays for a lot of its back catalog, including “Children of Men,” “Spy Game,” “Seabiscuit,” “Cinderella Man” and my all-time favorite movie, “Field of Dreams.”
If you see “Terminator” this long weekend, tell everybody how it is in the comments. Now go have yourself a safe and merry Memorial Day after checking out the video of the week:
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, May 7th, 2009
Wow. Just, wow. J.J. Abrams’ new “Star Trek” flick is amazing, stupendous and even a little wowtastic. Yeah, I said it — wowtastic. Now showing at Fairfax’s Cinema Arts Theatre, the Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly and every other multiplex worth its salt, “Star Trek” takes the franchise to a whole new final frontier that will appeal to nerds and the mainstream alike.
Now, I’m admittedly more of a “Star Wars” geek than I am a fan of this sci-fi franchise that started in the ’60s and has had many incarnations ever since, so Abrams’ taking a few freedoms with the “Star Trek” continuity doesn’t bother me very much at all. Longtime “Trek” enthusiasts may bristle a bit, however, but they won’t in the middle of all the action and humor that pervades the work, which sees classic characters reinvented by a bunch of talented, fresh faces.
Chris Pine makes for a great Captain James T. Kirk, making the rebellious role his own yet paying homage to a few of William Shatner’s mannerisms. Same with Zachary Quinto’s Mr. Spock, who at least has the original (Leonard Nimoy) around for a few scenes. There are space aliens and plot twists, villains and heroes, but much like “The Dark Knight” last summer, it takes a franchise film and puts it on a whole new level of coolness. Brave the lines and see it this weekend — it’s totally worth it.
If you want to continue your “Trek” studies and go old-school with Shatner, Nimoy and all the Enterprise crew, the first season of the original series made its debut on Blu-ray this week, and Tuesday brings a collection of the first six films in all their hi-def glory. (The latter one also contains a cool little bonus disc featuring a roundtable with Shatner, Nimoy, “Next Generation” vets Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes, and … Whoopi Goldberg. Oh well, you can’t win ‘em all.)
Also hitting on DVD Tuesday is “S. Darko,” the direct-to-DVD sequel to Richard Kelly’s brilliantly apocalyptic “Donnie Darko.” The fact that it didn’t see a theater release doesn’t bode well, and the cast is more than a little suspect — Daveigh Chase of “The Ring”? Ed Westwick (aka Chuck Bass) of “Gossip Girl”? “One Tree Hill’s” own James Lafferty? Elizabeth Berkley??? But if you’re a fan of “Donnie,” it might be worth a Netflix night.
If you see “Star Trek,” let me know what you think in the comments. And before you go, here’s your timely video of the week:
Special Features: Trek Yourself
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
Like trickery and transfiguration in your fairy tales but not villainy and rescue? Russian scholar Vladimir Propp boiled fairy tales down to their basic plot points, and this fairy tale generator allows you to pick your storylines and see what you get. For use as templates: “Cinderella,” “Snow White” and “Hansel & Gretel.”
A lot of people think Michael Jackson is a bit creepy. I’m not one to judge, although I also do not choose to wear only one glove at a time. This blogger takes a funny look at the recent Jackson auction collection and makes some entertaining insights.
There’s nothing like watching an animated dude falling down a mountain and hearing “AAAAARRRGH!” set to a techno beat.
I had no idea that Simon Cowell hated owls or was a leader of beavers. I’ve just had some knowledge dropped on me.
Japanese toy companies love reimagining our pop-culture franchises. Here, see what happens when you monkey with “Sesame Street” characters and turn them into tchotchke with suction cups.
This one’s for the time nerds: a graphical representation of minutes passing us all by. Carpe diem!
The geek-friendly site Great White Snark offers a cake of the week as one of its regular features. This week’s treat is a Jabba the Hutt cake that’s really quite cool but looks hella unappetizing.
“Snakes on a Plane” is just not a movie made to be edited for TV. Why? Because then you get problems like this.
I am all about a Twitter, but this post looks at several Tweets that may just get you fired. Lying to your boss, calling him an idiot and publicly hating your job are not great ways to keep it.
This random pic is for fans of Queen and the New Gods: Freddie Mercury vs. Darkseid!
Sure, Earth Day may have passed but that’s no reason to not proclaim both your eco-friendliness and your “Star Wars” geekdom. Throw on one of these shirts, grab your green lightsaber and you’ll be ready to save the world. Or at least the ozone layer.
Got a great link? Send it over to novapoppin@gmail.com. Here’s your video of the week:
A cheat sheet for your next trip with Doc Brown
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
If, say, you ever find yourself piloting a DeLorean powered by 1.21 jigawatts or befriending this guy on the left, make sure you print out this handy-dandy cheat sheet for time travel. Scoff if you’d like, but it’s got some important stuff contained within. For example, it would be helpful to know pasteurization if you somehow find yourself in a time pre-pasteurization. (It also suggests you take credit for something like this when it happens. So I guess it should be brianization now, huh?) Quite a few topics are covered, from chemistry and flight to health and technology. Hang it up in your time machine and if you head back to the future, remember to pick up a sports almanac.
Mario, that lovable Nintendo plumber, is a proud member of the proletariat. Check out this very cool animation featuring the People’s Mario laying the smack down on Goombas, Marxist style.
Along the same cartoony lines, you will seriously waste countless minutes randomly taking out clouds on this site. Simple yet effective. Make sure your speakers are on — the popping sound is half the fun.
Sometimes the artistry that goes into web design truly amazes me. This is one of those sites where I have no idea how they did it, but they make the simple action of moving a ball between the hands of seven different figures pure artistry. Another site to play with as a midday stress reliever.
For those wondering what exactly to do in an emergency, follow this list. Thankfully, I’ve been practicing my door-opening karate chop.
I like this page, as it allows one to find out exactly what song topped the charts on your birthdate. It’s C.W. McCall’s “Convoy” for me. Ah, you have to lve any song that includes CB radio chatter.
For those like me who love both “Star Wars” and “MacGyver,” this is a must-see.
I don’t know really what to say about this site, other than it will keep you busy for a while.
Got a great link? Send it to me at novapoppin@gmail.com. And here’s your video of the week, a new classic:
Catching up on Internet superstars you missed
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
When I first saw “Dramatic Chipmunk” on YouTube a couple years back, I thought it was the funniest thing ever. Thing is, it was already old by that time and I was late for the pop-culture train. So while you’re keeping up with the viral Joneses, this site gives you the rundown on 99 Internet sensations that you may have missed. They’re all here: “Chocolate Rain,” “Boom Goes the Dynamite,” “Peanut Butter Jelly Time,” “Charlie the Unicorn” and “George Lucas in Love.” My personal favorite: “G.I. Joe Porkchop Sandwiches.” Just remember — some are pretty NSFW so wear the headphones, kids!
Fairfax’s own ThinkGeek is again the place to get your ’80s on with some of their newest items. Impress your video-game pals with some “Space Invader”-inspired ice cubes in their mixed drinks. But you must serve them wearing neat-o medieval steel gauntlets and an official Adams Atoms shirt just like the one Ogre wears in “Revenge of the Nerds.” NERRRRRRRDDDDSSSS!!!!
This is pretty amazing: the lowest-tech version of “Star Wars” ever.
“Back to the Future II” seemed pretty far out when it set the adventures of Marty McFly in 2015. We’re still six years away, but here’s a list of what the movie has already accurately predicted.
For web-based baseball games, this one’s pretty fun — and morally challenging. “Baseball Juiced” lets you choose between taking steroids or just hitting the gym naturally before swinging for the fences. But what out for random drug testing!
Courtesy of my new favorite website Topless Robot, this list checks off the 10 most likely serial killers among cereal mascots. OK, Count Chocula I can see, but Sugar Bear?!
And those looking for a serious time-waster as well as channel your inner Neil Peart will want to bang these virtual drums to back your fledgling synth band. (Thanks to Warren for the tip.)
Got a great link you want to share? Send it on over to novapoppin@gmail.com. Here’s your video of the week, a tremendous mash-up of “Star Wars” and “Snatch” (again, with saucy language):
A prank that could turn out to be a nerdtastic treasure
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
I have spent many a keystroke showing the love for my favorite pop-culture store, Fairfax’s own ThinkGeek. And it, like many sites on the Interwebs today, pulled April Fools’ pranks on their readers. (Hey, Google — mucho props for the Gmail “Autopilot.”) In all its geektasticness, ThinkGeek put up a joke product today reminiscent of a classic scene from “The Empire Strikes Back”: a Tauntaun sleeping bag for your little “Star Wars” nerd. (The Unicorn Chaser and Squeez Bacon were also ingenious.) The thing is, a LOT of people fell for this fake cool product and a LOT of people really want it to be very real, so ThinkGeek is promising its peeps that they’re getting on the horn with George Lucas’ peeps to see if they can actually make it happen. Stay tuned. I don’t have any kids, but I’ll totally keep it around for when I show them “Star Wars” for the first time.
I have no idea who came up with this entertaining animated video, but the Kenyan tourist bureau should hire them post-haste.
Movie-quote junkies can appreciate this: the 100 best movie lines in 200 seconds.
Who isn’t driven crazy when you need to call some company’s customer service, and are forced to talk with a computer to get the job done. (Oh, if they only somehow understood obscenities.) This hand-dandy link for Dial a Human! is a must for those who love to speak with an actual person, giving you the 411 on what numbers to dial to get somebody real on the phone.
Chances are, most of us will never have to deal with a zombie attack. Yet if you ever find yourself in this apocalyptic scenario, these are the first people you’re supposed to kill. Dang it, nerds are fifth on the list!
Cooking by Numbers takes cooking and turns it right round, baby, right round. Whereas normally if you’re gonna get your chef on, you find a recipe and THEN go get the needed ingredients, this interesting site takes what you already have in the fridge and the cupboard — like, say, beef, butter, chocolate, coffee and eggs — and tells you what you can make. Of course, you have more options with the more stuff you have lying around. Thankfully, noodles and sauce is always a choice.
Got a great link? Send it to me at novapoppin@gmail.com. Here’s your video of the week. Watch it and you’ll never hear Katy Perry the same ever again.
A nerd must-have: the Admiral Ackbar shirt
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, March 25th, 2009
As you might imagine if you’re a regular viewer of this blog, I’m a big fan of action figures. And a big fan of “Star Wars.” One of my favorite figures of that line back in the day was a guy you had to send away for, that being Admiral Ackbar. (If you’re at a loss, he was the red, lobster-y leader of the Rebel fleet against the second Death Star at the end of “Return of the Jedi.” Any geek worth their Lego Millennium Falcon knows who I’m talking about.) So, boy, was I psyched when I saw this Admiral Ackbar T-shirt that featured one of his most memorable lines. The Force is strong with this one, yo.
There are a lot of people with too much time on their hands. But this guy is at least doing something entertaining as he’s taking creative liberties with a gang of Stormtroopers. The political-leaning folks will like this post from the same site: a critical look at bad paintings of Barack Obama. (If you like want to see the art sans commentary, go here.)
Maybe the Stormtrooper guy recently got a pink slip. That means he also has one of these.
What’s that saying, about stuff coming from the mouths of babes? This is a pretty funny list of how first-graders filled in the blanks with famous proverbs.
I pity the fool who doesn’t check out this Tuff Talkin’ Mr. T! Pull the string on a real Mr. T or an action-figure version for one of his many “A-Team” catchphrases. I can get behind this jibba-jabba.
Check out The Virtual Piano and its many chords for a quick musical interlude to your day. Word to your diminished 7th!
Anyone besides me recall those Quizno’s commercials from a few years back featuring weird creatures singing, “We love these suuuubs!”? The guy who created that has his own site and there is some wicked cool stuff on there, usually having to do with chinchillas, crabs and cats in viking attire. This video of a Slayer fan is simply priceless.
Got a lead on a neat-o link? Send it to me at novapoppin@gmail.com. For your video of the week, I present … “Kitten War”!!!
