Where pop culture meets geek culture and they make out a little.
Posts tagged All Things Geek
On a scale of one to “9”
Apr 16th
Stoker here folks. So I was reading Kilian’s article on “Krod Mandoon” and “Harper’s Island” when his comment about the last film he saw struck home. Kilian made mention of the fact that the last movie he saw was “Monsters vs. Aliens” and that he would likely see “Up” next. This is all fine and dandy, I have absolutely no problem with taking the family out to see a kid friendly cartoon but I am a bit concerned that things have gotten a bit too friendly in the past years.
When I was a wee child, I remember going to cartoon movies and seeing things that kept me up at night sweating in terror. How many of us cowered in fear at the thought of characters like Maleficent, Scar or Jafar? These were characters of true terror; murderers, thieves and schemers. It now seems, though, that all of the villains in cartoons have to be incredibly over the top, they no longer posses that evil which so permeated the cartoons of the past. A look at the winner for the Academy Award in animation this year proves my point. The villain in “Wall.E” was nothing more than a castrated version of HAL. I think that the time has come to bring the fear back to children.
Dispatches from the Holonet
Apr 8th
Hey all Jezmon here. I’ve taken it upon myself to bring you Normalinauts a semi-regular update on the state of the Star Wars universe.
As you know, our faithful leader has an unending love for the “holy trilogy” (his son’s middle name is Skywalker for Force’s sake). He and I have shared this love together all through our formative years. Sadly, his literary tastes have taken him far from the galaxy far, far away, but that doesn’t mean someone can’t take it upon himself to keep you up to date.
So what can you expect from this column?
-
Regular reviews of whatever star wars related materials I’m currently reading(novels, comics)
-
Updates regarding new star wars products (toys, rpgs, video games, etc.)
-
Guides to get you up to speed so you can jump into or back into the universe.
Currently I am in the middle of the excellent Legacy of the Force series so my first column will get you up to speed on what’s happened in the timeline up the start of the series. Followed by a review of the first novel.
I’ll leave you with one of the best fake star wars products ever produced. Originally from Thinkgeek’s April fools day site, the tauntaun sleeping bag.
Now even though this is a fake product, I’m sure there are crafty star wars nerds somewhere trying to make real ones.
Because We Don’t Get Enough Site Views…Plus, I’m Kinda a Dick
Mar 11th
So the other day Tengu sends me the following e-mail, posted here in its entirety:
So when is the good old NR going to start doing reviews like PA’s so you can get free swag like them?
Watchmen is Here
Mar 6th
Remember when I said I’d be keeping track of the reviews for Watchmen….I said it like three days ago…geez do you guys even pay attention?
Anyway, as the movie opens today more reviews are in. The main Rotten Tomatoes page has it sitting at a 64% while the Top Critics portion is in at 45%. That’s not too shabby, I think, for a comic book film. Particularly one that has the sensibilities and eccentricities of Watchmen. One thing I will point out, though, is that two of the critics whose opinions I most admire, Roger Ebert and Peter Travers were impressed with the film. Ebert, in fact, says he’s going to see it again in Imax.
None of this, doubtless, will change anyone’s opinion about whether or not to see the film but I always find it interesting to read other’s opinions about films I’m really excited to see.
The Pipettes — Dirty Mind
Quick Items While I’m on Lunch
Mar 3rd
Watchmen comes out Friday, of course. And while this guy won’t be seeing it, I will. Well, probably not on Friday. I still have to arrange for some kind of child care type thing…but I WILL see it soon.
Anyway, I’ve read two reviews thus far, one scathing, one that can be summed up as “meh.” Rotten Tomatoes has it at 76 right now, which is fairly decent. I’m always fairly skeptical about critical acclaim/scorn when it comes to sci-fi/fantasy/comic films because, by and large, they don’t “get” the whole genre. In the “Top Critics” section it’s sitting at 17%. That’s with only six reviews, so that number will likely change come Friday. I’m not really making a point here, other than it’s something to watch.
Greg Grunberg, Parkman from Heroes, upset some people with a twitter… Just one more reason not to use it (even though I do…sometimes). If Heroes does get canceled that’ll leave The Mentalist and Phineas and Ferb as the only shows I’m even interested in anymore.
And speaking of Phineas and Ferb, tengu sent this link over…bask in the awesomeness (especially the song writing, which is one of the strongest parts of the show).
Turbonegro — Don’t Say Motherfucker, Motherfucker
Oh Interwebz, I Thank You for This Bounty
Nov 20th
So remember when I put that post up about A Song of Ice and Fire being turned into an HBO program…OK, that they are shooting the pilot and it may get picked up?
Well, not too long afterward, the gods of the “collection of tubes” we lovingly call the interwebz did grace me with a most bountious bounty in the form of the script from said pilot. I won’t talk about specifics of what I’ve read, but I will say that even the added scenes, that is, the stuff in the script that was not in the books seems to be very sensible additions. It opens up the story so that it is not totally focused on Ned Stark (as is the case early in the the first book) and so gives a good sense of the larger scope of the whole work. The other thing I will say, is that whoever put it together chose and absolutely perfect spot to end the episode. I mean, talk about a mother f’ing cliffhanger! For those that aren’t familiar with the story and happen to see this first episode, I cannot but see how they would want to know what happens next.
Very well done gods of the interwebz, I praise you most heartily on this day!
Hot Hot Heat — My Best Friend
I may have to start paying for HBO again
Nov 13th
Anyone else see this article from The Hollywood Reporter? No, well I’ll sum up. HBO has ordered a pilot be shot based on the George RR Martin novel, A Game of Thrones, the first in the Song of Ice and Fire series.
I previously touted said series, though I’ve stalled into book three because of, what else, school.
I am a swimming in, how do you say, books.
Sep 30th
I’m reading three books right now; Geek Love, The Street of Crocodiles, and The Posthumous Memories of Bras Cubas. I just finished The Names three days ago. I’m also trying to write three (reasonably short) papers and grade 37.
As I type this, there are more than 25 books in my car. If I take a corner too fast I am randomly hit in the head by something like this, or this, or this.
Of course, all of this is of secondary import today.
Of course we knew how it would end.
Sep 8th
JK Rowling, having scored one for the BIG GUY, has won her copyright case against Steven Vander Ark and his publisher RDR Books.
You, faithful Normalinauts, may remember I opined on this subject most vehemently once…
To this day it remains one of the busiest, in terms of site views, we’ve ever had here at ol’ Normality Restored. Most of that thanks to a group of…let’s call them “fans“…of Rowling’s who thought I was wrong, deadly wrong.
In any event, I think we all knew where this case was headed, right? I mean, there was no way a small publisher in Michigan (hint: if you are a publisher in Michigan, then by definition you are small) was going to beat the massed forces of darkness known as the Warner Brother’s Legal Team.
So, no hardcopy HP Lexicon for us. Now on to things that actually matter.
Because, at this point, Watchmen is what I’m really living for…
Aug 19th
OK, well I guess the wife, kid #1 and kid #2 (currently under development…80% boy!) are pretty good reasons to live.
But aside from that, what else have I got going? I mean, honestly, I could probably die happy after seeing Watchmen. At least, that’s what I thought yesterday after reading this article about how Dave Gibbons admits to being excited for the film (I mean, he and John Higgins even worked a bit on the pre-production for the film).
But like sands through the hour glass…
Now it seems that Fox is suing to halt production on the film altogether!
It will no doubt prove to be as mesmerizing and disturbing as a car crash.
Aug 13th
Am I alone in feeling that the “coolification” of geek culture has just as much downside as it does upside?
On the one hand, if graphic novels (hipster for COMICS) never got into mainstream popularity we would have never gotten Hollywood to produce something as good as The Dark Knight. On the other hand, if comics had stayed “uncool” I seriously doubt that Paris Hilton would have had any interest in them at all. In this plane of existence, however, where comics are slowly taking over Hollywood, Paris Hilton is developing, with the help of Stan Lee, a superhero based on herself.
2008 Hugo Winners
Aug 11th
NOVEL
# The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, Michael Chabon (HarperCollins; Fourth Estate)NOVELLA
# “All Seated on the Ground”, Connie Willis (Asimov’s Dec 2007; Subterranean Press)NOVELETTE
# “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate”, Ted Chiang (F&SF Sep 2007)SHORT STORY
# “Tideline”, Elizabeth Bear (Asimov’s Jun 2007)RELATED BOOK
# Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction, Jeff Prucher (Oxford University Press)DRAMATIC PRESENTATION: LONG FORM
# Stardust (Written by Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn, based on the novel by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Charles Vess. Directed by Matthew Vaughn. Paramount Pictures)DRAMATIC PRESENTATION: SHORT FORM
# Doctor Who: “Blink” (Written by Stephen Moffat. Directed by Hettie Macdonald. BBC)EDITOR, SHORT FORM
# Gordon Van GelderEDITOR, LONG FORM
# David G. HartwellPROFESSIONAL ARTIST
# Stephan MartiniereSEMIPROZINE
# Locus, Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong & Liza Groen TrombiFANZINE
# File 770, Mike GlyerFAN WRITER
# John ScalziFAN ARTIST
# Brad FosterJohn W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (Not a Hugo)
# Mary Robinette Kowal
If you’re really interested, you can see the voting results here.
Geek Related News
Aug 7th
Apologies for being absent some this week. What with the migraines and the vomiting and doctors visits, and serious attempts at studying for my MA exam I’ve been neglectful to you faithful readers.
So So Tor now have their very own corner of cyberspace, appropriately enough called Tor.com. It seems to me a very interesting idea. The community portion is, essentially, a hybrid of a standard message board where anyone can register and use it (I’ve already put in one comment, huzzah for me!), as well as a place for Tor authors to blog and post stories. It’s a very natural point of evolution for the sci-fi/fantasy community that has long had at its core an intimate relationship between writers and readers.