Tag: Dani Lawson

King of the Nerds: Royally Wrong or Majestically Right?

Feb. 16 Editor's Pick, Editorials 7 comments

King of NerdsI tried to like it. Really. I did.

Yet, while I don’t like the show, I don’t exactly hate it either.

At best, I am…disappointed.

I gave the producers four weeks — four weeks in which to prove that it wasn’t just another cheesy reality TV show designed to mock people who have already suffered enough cruelty and bullying in their lives. Sadly, all they proved to me is that they are probably the biggest offenders of all.

The producers of ‘King of the Nerds‘ (airing at 10 p.m. Thursday night on TBS) had the chance to show geeks/nerds in a positive light, yet they took the easy route to ratings. Instead of choosing  geeks/nerds who could have been a positive role model for kids, they populated the ‘Nerdvana’ house with some of the most socially backward and verbally inept excuses for geeks/nerds that they could possibly find.

While there are a several positive role models in the house (Moo comes to mind) they are few, with most of the participants being positively cringe-worthy.

I had high hopes for the show. I had hoped it would be a bastion of fluffy geekery, and while there are some ‘fluffy geek’ moments, the vast majority of the show serves to highlight a sad truth — even in a house of geeks and nerds, someone will always be left out, picked last, and made to feel worthless.

In the first episode, I actually cheered when Alana, the ‘odd-geek out’, was not chosen for one of the teams. Everyone fully expected her to go home, yet the show hosts gave her the power to decide not only which team she would join, but as a result, which team would be the first to send someone home (thus balancing the numbers). They effectively took the ‘biggest loser’ in the house, the person no one wanted on their team when teams were chosen, and gave her the power to decide her own fate as well as the fate of others.

Sadly, that was the last truly ‘geek/nerd positive’ moment I have seen on this show.

Since that moment, the show has become just another example of reality show manipulation of players by each other and the producers. Of course geeks/nerds aren’t immune to that oh-so-human desire to be cruel to each other, but you would think they would at least be more compassionate by virtue of the shared bullying they went through growing up.

Apparently that is too much to ask.

I don’t blame the show participants fully for this, as I understand the way reality TV shows work and suspect that what we are seeing has been manipulated by the producers, yet I believe that shows like ‘King of the Nerds’ which could be used as a force of good, are being used as a force of evil by the producers. Instead of presenting geeks/nerds in a positive light and hopefully changing they way this group of people is treated in society, shows like this only continue to perpetuate the negative stereotypes of geeks/nerds.

Until we geeks/nerds stand up and say “We aren’t going to be a pawn of the media machine as it panders to the stereotypes!” we are essentially doomed to be bullied by mass media and continually turned into parodies of ourselves. Until we respect ourselves enough not to let them do this, how can we expect anyone to give us the respect we deserve?

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Geek-Squared (July 29, 2012)

Jul. 29 Editorials, Geek-Squared no comments

 

Highlights of the week include: hospitals treating victims from the Aurora massacre earn their ‘compassion’ badge, more ‘real geek girl’ controversy, 3D movie cures medical malady and Congressman seeks public help to build a better mouse-trap (err… SOPA style legislation).

All in all, it was kind of a weird week in the geek-o-verse.

 

Hospitals treating Aurora massacre victims show compassion

Of the five hospitals treating victims of the Aurora shooting massacre, three of them have announced that they will waive all fees and co-pays for the victims they are caring for. Many of the victims were young adults with minimal or no health insurance and hospital fees are already mounting for the victims and their families, so this move stands to significantly ease the stress for these victims who face a long road to recovery, both physically and psychologically.

According to a statement from Colorado Children’s Hospital, which treated six of the victims,

“We are committed to supporting these families as they heal…”

In addition to the move by hospitals to waive fees and co-pays, donations from Warner Brothers Studio and the public have reached nearly $2 million. The money is ear-marked for helping victims with their healthcare and rehabilitation.

 

“Real Geek Girl’ controversy flares once more

Honestly – can’t we get past this whole real/fake thing? Apparently not.

Stoking the fires this time was Joe Peacock a blogger for CNN’s Geek Out called out ’6 of 9′s’ — or semi-pretty girls (6′s) who can’t make it as models who head to various Cons, slap on costumes or a geeky t-shirt and immediately become ’9′s’.

“What I’m talking about is the girls who have no interest or history in gaming taking nearly naked photos of themselves with game controllers draped all over their body just to play at being a “model.”  I get sick of wannabes who couldn’t make it as car show eye candy slapping on a Batman shirt and strutting around comic book conventions instead.

I’m talking about an attention addict trying to satisfy her ego and feel pretty by infiltrating a community to seek the attention of guys she wouldn’t give the time of day on the street.” – Joe Peacock

While some of Peacock’s argument seems to support geek girls (he does defend Felicia Day as a bona-fide geek girl against the accusations of Ryan Perez) he spends much of his time deriding these ’6 of 9′s’ which only succeeded in getting people up in arms again.

From The Mary-Jane to celebrities on Twitter, the ‘real/fake’ geek girl controversy is still dividing the geekdom – but Joe Scalzi’s scathing retort to Peacock ‘wins the Internet’ for the week! In short:

These are your choices. Although actually there’s a third choice: Just let her be to do her thing. Because here’s a funny fact: Her geekdom is not about you. At all. It’s about her.

Well said Mr. Scalzi!

 

3D movies just might be good for you…

A 67 year-old man who has suffered from stereo-blindness, a lack of depth perception cues found his condition was cured – by watching the 3D version of Martin Scorsese’s film Hugo. And people said the movies are just entertainment! Hah! Unless of course the 3D movie itself was not the miracle and it was Scorsese’s film. Either way, more research is needed. I for one and waiting for a movie (or type of movie) that can cure other things – like ingrown toenails and kidney stones.

 

 

 


A Congressman finally ‘smartens up’ and seeks public help

Congressman Hank Johnson of Georgia is trying an unusual tactic to gain input for creating a better mouse-trap — um…. Internet Privacy Act. In an unusual move, he turned to social media community Reddit to announced his AppRights.us initiative on July 26.

“It’s an open, bottom-up approach to drafting legislation that will protect the privacy of mobile device users.”

The move is unprecedented, as Reddit has been one of the leaders in the anti-SOPA blackout that has seen SOPA and other similar legislation fail due to a grass-roots movement of angry Internet users. Rather than seeing Reddit users as the main reason SOPA and similar legislation keep failing, Johnson is turning to Reddit users and other Internet users to seek their input for what the legislation should contain.

However, unlike previous legislation attempts, it seems that Johnson’s primary concern is actually with protecting user privacy — rather than the interests of businesses. If this is true, then he may just get the information he wants.

 

 

 

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Misogynists Attack x2, GoT Decapitates Former Prez and Food Fights

Jun. 17 Geek-Squared no comments

This week’s Geek-Squared offers more lows than highs. Featured items include: Misogyny Tropes and women in video gamesstrikes twice, Game of Thrones apologize for prop gaff, and last but not least, a legal fight erupts over the Oatmeal. Yup. Just another freaky week in the world of geek.

1. Misogynists Shoot Themselves in the Foot over a Kickstarter Studying — Misogny in Videogames

Seriously… this would sound like a bad web series plot if it weren’t true and didn’t involve some rather disturbing threats. Anita Sarkeesian, a feminist/popular culture blogger/vlogger has found herself at the center of a major geek-troversy. Sarkeesian’s Kickstarter project sought funding for a video series examining tropes of women in video-games.  A firestorm of hatred and, unsurprisingly, misogynist comments have plagued the project this week. The vitriol and outright violent hatred seen in the comments is shocking and sad, as despite commenters’ argument that there is no misogyny, their comments clearly demonstrate exactly the opposite — the video-game world (or at least the ‘community’ of video-game players) seems to be rife with misogyny. (To see some of the comments, CLICK HERE)

Now, this is not to say that all male video-gamers are misogynists, as I don’t believe that for a second.  Most of the male gamers I know are lovely guys who ‘get’ what Sarkeesian was wanting to explore — and as further testament to their nature, every last one of them has managed to find themselves an intelligent, lovely and fun-loving gamer/geek girl partner/wife — something the misogynists in the video-game crowd will be hard-pressed to do. And let’s face it, they are probably quite happy living in their parents’ basement, letting Mommy coddle them, rather than trying to fix their personality flaws and seek out a REAL relationship.

I am pleased to report however, that despite death threats and threats to her personal safety, as well as a range of potentially libelous statements directed at her, Sarkeesian’s kickstarter, which originally only hoped to raise $6k, has now raised over $158k, in retaliation for the hateful comments.

2. Mysogyny Strikes (Part 2)

Seemingly set a world away from the flaming vitriol and hatred related to Sarkeesian’s Kickstarter project, this week saw Aisha Tyler fight back against misogynistic comments fired at her over her role as the Ubisoft press conference spokesperson at E3 2012. As soon as Tyler hit the stage, the Twitter-verse flared with derogatory comments about her presence, motivation and even her legitimacy as a gamer.

Apparently, in the misogynistic minds of some gamers, you can’t be pretty and like video games. Um…seriously? Get a clue!

Not one to take things lying down, Tyler fought back via an open letter on her Facebook page, while Ubisoft also released a statement supporting their decision to use Tyler as their spokesperson.

 3. Breakfast Fights Back — The Oatmeal Faces Legal Action

The Oatmeal artist Matthew Inman has had a somewhat long-standing spat with ‘FunnyJunk’ over their use of his comic illustrations, which he maintains is copyright infringement. Fed up with the way things had been going, Inman reacted on both his blog and The Oatmeal site, resulting in ‘FunnyJunk’ initiating legal action. ‘FunnyJunk’ is claiming that Inman’s responses are libelous and they are demanding $20,000.

Inman fought back once again, with his sense of humor Intact — sadly, the same can not be said for ‘FunnyJunk’. He has said he will give up $20,000, just not to ‘FunnyJunk’ . Instead he created a crowdsourcing campaign entitled “Operation Bear-Love Good. Cancer Bad”. Thanks to the quick-fire spread of information in the Internet and the fact that the legal spat was well known amongst fans and readers of The Oatmeal, the campaign raised the hoped for $20,000 in just over an hour. Within 24 hours Inman had raised over $118,000.

No word yet on whether the potential lawsuit has been retracted, as the lawyer representing ‘FunnyJunk’ has received so many hateful responses he has removed his contact information from his website. All I can say is, good luck removing your digital footprint — the Internet has more information about you than can be found on your webpage, Mr. Carreon!

Silly boy — didn’t anyone ever tell you not to play with food?

4. Game of Thrones Apologizes for Decapitating… George W. Bush

After misogynistic threats and lawsuits, let’s end with something a bit goofy. Game of Thrones producers apologized publicly this week for any offense that may have been caused due to the apparent decapitation of George W. Bush. Apparently, one of the prop heads used in a scene depicting decapitated heads on pikes was of former president Bush.

In a joint statement, producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss said:

“We use a lot of prosthetic body parts on the show: heads, arms, etc. We can’t afford to have these all made from scratch, especially in scenes where we need a lot of them, so we rent them in bulk. After the scene was already shot, someone pointed out that one of the heads looked like George W. Bush….We meant no disrespect to the former President and apologize if anything we said or did suggested otherwise.”

And that was the week in geek!

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Fanboys Versus Zombies 3 – Undead Fun at Comic Con Continues

Jun. 05 Comic Books, Reviews no comments

FvZ cover 2So, I drew short straw again amongst the comic book staff at Word of the Nerd and was assigned to review Fanboys *VS* Zombies 3 from BOOM Studios – what a chore.

Actually, I’m lying. In reality, when the post came through that FvZ was up for review again, I basically jumped at the chance, knocked the other writers out of the way and shamelessly begged my section editors to let me do it again. And you know, I regret nothing! NOTHING!

Written by Sam Humphries (Fraggle Rock; CBGB: The Comic Book) with art by Jerry Gaylord (Pulp Girls, Hollywood Highways, The Brotherhood) Fanboys vs Zombies #3 sees our intrepid, heat-of-the-moment warriors, ‘The Wrecking Crew’ still battling the zombies that have taken over ComicCon.

One of the things I love about the way this story is developing is that they are not writing weak, defenseless women — in fact the women are turning out to be more competent at defending the group against zombies than the men, Of course the lack of ‘male leadership’ could be due to the fact that the men are are either vain ‘cameos’ of certain ComicCon star-regulars, or spend most of their time fighting over the women in the group.

As seen in previous issues, issue 3 is loaded with geeky references sure to make any fangirl or fanboy ‘squee’ with delight (the fact that one of the characters uses a working mech to dispatch a horde of zombies was one of my ‘total-squee’ moments).

Additionally, with a zombie oriented plot-line, it would be so easy for the graphics to devolve into a gore-fest, yet Gaylord resists that temptation. There is enough ‘gore’ splattered about that you can’t forget this is a zombie story, but it is done in such a way that you also won’t forget that at its core, FvZi  is FUNNY. Kudos to Humphries and Gaylord for the fine balancing act they are doing in this work — it isn’t easy to stay on target and balance gore with humor, but they are pulling it off.

And, not to give away a spoiler or anything, but you will NEVER look at energy drinks the same after reading this issue! In fact, I think I may add a case of the stuff to my ‘WTSHTF’ prep kit — just in case.  ;)

 

 

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Geek-Squared: Internet Privacy, Civ 5 for Free, Geek Day and Social Media Monitoring

May. 26 Geek-Squared no comments

It was a busy week in the geek-o-sphere, so choosing the top four items of geek-troversy and general geekery was difficult. (My apologies if one of your top items did not make this week’s list!)

1. Internet Privacy Makes the News – Again!

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and other organizations are currently battling against Congress’s continued attempts to erode individual privacy. At the moment the EFF and various civil liberties groups are continuing to fight the ‘cyber security’ legislation known as CISPA, legislation that is two-kicks off Internet-based, mass surveillance by the military. The bill, which is facing opposition from security experts, as well as the White House, was pushed through the House of Representatives in April and is moving to a Senate vote in EARLY JUNE.

So, if you haven’t paid attention before — NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT! You can email your Senators (click here) or even Tweet them (click here).

Write your senators and let them know that such measures are a gross mis-use of power and will NOT protect network security.

In the words of Benjamin Franklin…

“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”

2. Free Civilization – Sounds Like an Oxymoron

While it sounds like an oxymoron given the #1 item of the week, free Civilization is in this case — true. Sid Meir’s Civilization 5 will be available for free play via Steam until 1 pm Sunday (PDT). It seems that many game companies are hoping on the ‘free play’ band-wagon, and I’m not talking about beta-testing either.

As an added treat, if you haven’t played Civ5 and like it during the free play weekend, you can then purchase the game for $12.49 for the ‘Game of the Year Edition’. Considering that the standard price at launch was $49.99, this is significant savings.

All you need to take advantage of the free play weekend is a free Steam account.

But I’d clear your weekend plans first! Civ5 has a reputation of being HIGHLY addictive. Happy playing!

3. Geek for a Day

May 25th was Geek Pride Day. But seriously, why do we need a whole day devoted to showing off our geekery? ‘Real geeks’ (yes…I dropped the ‘real-bomb’…deal with it) celebrate their geekdom every day. Having a ‘Geek Pride Day’ just encourages people to be nice to geeks one day of the year, instead of every day. I want to see see ‘Geek Pride Year’! Now that is fake holiday I can get behind!

4. Talking about ‘Exercise’ on Social Media Could Be Dangerous to Your Freedom

Due to pressure from a variety of sources, the Federal Government (namely the Department of Homeland Security) has recently been forced to release their list of ‘trigger words’ (pun intended) that they monitory for on social media networks. Who knew that discussing the fact that ‘Exercise makes me sweaty’ could render you ‘of interest’ to the federal government for illicit activities?

Check out the full list here. The number of words on this list that I use on a daily basis for completely harmless reasons is shocking. I guess it is time for the geeks of the world to unite and start creating the ‘double-speak’ dictionary so we can evade the government’s cyber-sensors. (And if you don’t get the double-speak reference, go read 1984!)

 

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Geek-Squared: May 19, 2012

May. 19 Facebook, Geek-Squared, Movies, Uncategorized, Video Games no comments

Avengers1. Avengers Still Assembling Masses of Audiences: In its two weeks in the theatres, Avengers has already become the top grossing movie of 2012, but as of today , it is ranked sixth in the list of the highest grossing movies of all time, having already beaten out Star Wars: Episode I. Grossing over $1.07 billion dollars as of May 18, some media analysts predict that it may top out at the number three spot, just behind Titanic and Avatar.

2. Diablo III Gives Users a Hellish Time: The much awaited launch of Diablo 3 was marred by server problems that kept users from accessing the system for extended periods. Activision/Blizzard took the servers down for an hour at 10:22AM PT, then again from 11:30AM to 1:30PM, AND again from 2:15PM PT until 3:30PM. Yet, when the servers were supposedly up and running, players were still posting on the community help forums reporting their inability to log in or play the game.

After putting players through Hell on launch day, Diablo 3 seems to be living up to its hype and is redeeming itself according to reports and game reviews.

3. Verizon Considering Familicide: Verizon is going the way of AT&T and doing away with ‘grandfathered’ data-plans with no limit. This could have a detrimental effect upon their bottom line, as smaller networks battle Verizon and AT&T for the lucrative smart phone dollars by offering no-limit, 4G service at prices comparable to Verizon’s current ‘no-limit’ data-plan. While the current limited plans offer many people sufficient data usage, others will certainly run afoul of the outrageous ‘excess data’ fees the networks charge for over-usage.

4. Facebook IPO Debuts: As of May 18, the Facebook IPO debuted, to a less than stellar showing. Despite high hopes and predictions for staggering gains, the new IPO closed at $38 a share. It remains to be seen how the company fares on a normal trading day and whether investors, both corporate and casual, stick with them. Personally, I predict a drop in their stocks every time they muck around with privacy settings and general ‘look’ of the site. But then, I’m a cynic.

And that is the week in geek!

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Slayer vs. Slayer in BtVS Season 9, #9

May. 08 Comic Books, Previews, Reviews no comments
BtVS Season 9 Issue 9 Cover

BtVS Season 9 Issue 9 Cover

It is a matter of slayer versus slayer in the latest storyline of the graphic novel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 from Dark Horse Comics.  Issue #9 was written by Andrew Chambliss and Scott Allie, who are no novices to the Buffy franchise, having written four other issues in the past. And once again, this issue is executive produced by ‘the man himself’ — Joss Whedon.

Issue #9, the second part of ‘Apart (of Me)’ sees Spike, Buffy (the bot) and everyone’s favorite bumbling ‘pseudo-Scooby’ Andrew looking for kidnappers:

Andrew doesn’t always make the best choices (see Season 6). And now Buffy finds herself and the very course of her life profoundly affected by one of Andrew’s over-the-top, idiotic . . . hair-brained . . . schemes. Together with Andrew and Spike, the worried Slayer will have to confront herself and her comrades, as well as a long-standing annoyance, the number-one Buffy hater of all Buffy haters: Simone, the gun-toting Slayer.

While penciler Cliff Richards has worked extensively on both the Buffy graphic novels and those for Dollhouse, the graphics for issue #9 lack some of the ‘punch’ of other issues. In fact, there seems to be an inconsistency from one page to the next that disturbs the flow of the story.

That said, I am glad that the Season 9 story arc is working to address the Buffybot issue, although I would like to see more of the Scooby gang (which coming from a confirmed ‘Spike’ girl, is unusual).

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9, Issue 9 ‘Apart (of me)’ hits stores on May 9.

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Preview: Fanboys vs Zombies #2

May. 08 Comic Books, Previews, Reviews no comments
Fanboys vs. Zombies #2

Fanboys vs. Zombies #2

Take a bunch of fanboys (and girls) at ComicCon, throw in thinly-veiled cameo appearances by ComicCon ‘stars’ and liberally mix with zombie mayhem and what do you get? Laugh out loud silliness and a great read. Fanboys vs Zombies #2 from Boom Studios hits the shelves on May 9 and should be a ‘must have’ in any fangirl/fanboy’s collection.

Written by Sam Humphries (Fraggle Rock; CBGB: The Comic Book) with art by Jerry Gaylord (Pulp Girls, Hollywood Highways, The Brotherhood) Fanboys vs Zombies is a fun romp through ComicCon. Seriously, who of us that can’t get there (for whatever reason) doesn’t in some small way wish something drastic would befall the lucky buggers who do get to go to ComicCon — something like, oh…I don’t know… a zombie apocalypse?! Well that is exactly what happens in this whacked out comic. Zombies invade ComicCon leaving a band of geeky friends to fend for themselves as they try to escape being locked in the convention center with a mob of hungry undead. What could go wrong?

Issue #2 offers some great nods to ComicCon staples (*cough* Bruce Campbell *cough*) and includes a slew of geeky ‘in-jokes’ sure to make any fangirl/boy giggle with delight (even those fanboys who swear up and down they don’t ‘giggle’ — trust me, you will!).

Humphries’ writing is brilliant. He manages to keep the story moving swiftly along, while providing more than a few ‘giggles’ with embedded geek references both old (Pokemon) and new (hello — Game of Thrones). The characters continue to develop, both through the intra-group dialogue and the action sequences.

While the storyline is a cynic’s dream (hey, I admit…I have wished just this sort of thing to befall the lucky ComicCon attendees), the art pulls it all together into a slick package — with just enough gratuitous zombie blood and gore to remind the reader that at its heart this is a zombie oriented comic.

And, without giving away any spoilers, let me just say that I am on pins and needles for next month’s issue — there are BIG things afoot and I am dying to know what happens next to our intrepid band of friends, ‘The Wrecking Crew’.

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Explore Art and Identity with ‘The Red Diary’

May. 04 Solicits no comments

The Red Diary/The Re[a]d Diary Cover

The Red Diary/The Re[a

If you want value for money and an intriguing storyline, look no further than THE RED DIARY/THE RE[A]D DIARY, slated for release June 13 from Image Comics.

A collaboration by Steven T. Seagle (from MAN OF ACTION Studios) and Teddy Kristiansen, an Eisner Award-winning painter, THE RED DIARY/THE RE[A]D DIARY using a flip-book format with two front covers, to present two graphic novels in one book. The Red Diary is a story about a Vermeer painting of questionable origin and a diary that unlocks long-forgotten secrets.

In an innovative twist, Seagle re-envisioned The Red Diary for flip-side of the book, taking Kirstiansen’s art to tell the tale of a soldier’s war crimes and how a stolen identity ended up saving two lives in The Re[a]d Diary.

An original graphic novel by Kristiansen, The Red Diary was first published in Europe (in Danish and French) under the title Le Carnet Rouge.

“The images of war were arresting and the sequences set in the world of fine art contrasted them so starkly that I couldn’t get it out of my mind,” said Seagle. “I immediately wanted to bring the book to American readers as soon as I saw it.”

Although Seagle was fascinated by the moody interiors depicted in Kristiansen’s work, he faced one key obstacle — he doesn’t speak French or Danish.

“It started to dawn on me that even though I was taken with Teddy’s book, I had no idea what it was about! Just a story I’d started to make up in my head about what I assumed was happening in his pictures,” said Seagle. “Eventually, I got Teddy to let me write my version of what I thought was going on before working with him on the translation of what was actually going on.”

While waiting for Kristiansen’s translation of his original story, Seagle wrote a story based upon what he thought was happening, leading to this unique graphic novel experience. According to Seagle:

“It’s amazing that one set of images could support two totally different tales. Because despite my best forensic efforts, our two stories turned out nothing alike!”

Seagle and Kristiansen have collaborated on various other projects in the past, including it’s a bird… and House of Secrets.

THE RED DIARY/THE RE[A]D DIARY is presented as a 144-page hardcover, full-cover, graphic novel and will be available June 13.

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‘Riven’ – New Terror Coming from ‘Dark Horse Presents’

May. 04 Comic Books, News no comments

RivenDHP chap1 Riven a new graphic novel is set to make readers of the horror anthology Dark Horse Presents tremble.

Slated for release from Dark Horse Comics on Aug. 22, Riven marks the third joint venture for writers Bo Hampton (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) and Robert Tinnell (The Wicked West).

Presented in three-parts, Riven tells the story of Katya, a teenager with a mysterious and tragic past. Awakening after five years in a coma, she becomes aware of an evolving and terrifying power inside her that bursts to life by the slightest touch of the full moon. Racing against time, Katya needs to solve the mystery of her gruesome and bloody nightmares before they become reality.

“Dark Horse Presents is bringing together such a great mix of talent and stories at the moment that it’s honestly an honor to be included in the book,” Robert Tinnell said. “From all the chatter Dark Horse Presents has been generated, it’s clear the book is appealing to discerning, articulate readers — and those are precisely the sorts of people we hope are attracted to Riven.”

Tinnell and Hampton have a breadth of experience that is sure to contribute greatly to Riven. Tinnell is a screenwriter, director and producer, with a penchant for horror based works. Hampton is no ‘one-trick-pony’ either,  having worked as an artist and writer of graphic novels, but also on full length animation for Extreme Ghostbusters (SONY) and Superman (Warner Bros.). 

Hampton has high hopes for both Riven and his collaboration with Tinnell for Dark Horse Comics.

“It was a great spawning ground in its original incarnation and I’m really happy to be part of Dark Horse Presents now. I’m looking forward to seeing the Riven pages in that format,” Hampton said.

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Geek-Squared: Big Brother and Internet Privacy Meet the Daleks

Apr. 29 Editorials, Geek-Squared, Uncategorized, Video Games no comments

Dalek at MITThe overall theme for the week seems to have been ‘Big Brother’ and the Internet, with flashes of stupidity relating to video games and murder (yup – someone is beating that ‘horse’ once again) and CalTech unleashing Daleks on an unsuspecting MIT population. Just another week of nerdery in the geek-o-verse!

1. Two Steps Forward, One Back — CISPA Passes the House

Okay gang, if you haven’t been paying attention, now is the time to put down the video game controllers and wake up!  The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) passed the House of Representatives this week. This way-too-broad bill would give companies the ability to share our private and possibly sensitive information with the government, without the need for a warrant or oversight. Not only that, but companies could share information with the National Security Agency or any other Department of Defense groups — who could keep our information on file indefinitely.

In a statement that we issued just after the House vote, ACLU legislative counsel Michelle Richardson stated:

“CISPA goes too far for little reason. Cybersecurity does not have to mean abdication of Americans’ online privacy. As we’ve seen repeatedly, once the government gets expansive national security authorities, there’s no going back. We encourage the Senate to let this horrible bill fade into obscurity.”

Unless you particularly want to live in a dystopian society where Big Brother really does rule things with an iron fist and people are afraid to open their mouths for being accused of treasonous words (or thoughts), then you need to make your voice heard NOW! Click here to sign an online petition and monitor what is happening.

2. Steps Taken to Thwart Another Boneheaded ‘Big Brother’ Move

New legislation has been introduced in Congress that would forbid employers from demanding the social networking logins and passwords for potential employees, a practice that was outed this month amidst outrage from the public.

According to Rep. Eliot Engel, who acts as a co-sponsor on the draft legislation:

“No one would feel comfortable going to a public place and giving out their username and passwords to total strangers. They should not be required to do so at work, at school, or while trying to obtain work or an education. This is a matter of personal privacy and makes sense in our digital world.”

If the bill passes into law, the Social Networking ONline Protection Act would see violators fined $10,000 for every offense.

A similar bill is currently being passed for reading through the Senate.

Although the bills are new to Congress, some states have already made moves to put an end to such practices, with Maryland being the first to rule against such behavior in early April. Illinois, Michigan and California are currently debating such legislation as well.

Start communicating with your legislators now! With elections around the corner, at least half of the jokers in Congress are up for re-election, so NOW is the time to make your voice heard and make sure they protect YOUR interests!

3. Video Games Blamed for Contributing to Murder — Again

Yes, we are back on this old saw once more. Earlier this week, Joshua Davis, a 32 year-old, Winter Haven, Fla. man killed two of his gaming buddies and wounded a third, while his six-year-old daughter looked on. While news media and a ‘local psychiatrist’ (who I am sure sees MANY, MANY, THOUSANDS of video game related murders in his local Winter Haven practice) were quick to blame the deaths on the man’s many hours spent playing Battlefield 3, the ‘little’ fact they are quick to conveniently forget is that drugs were also involved.

According to Dr. Walter Afield, the local psychiatrist that apparently specializes in video game addition (at least that is the way local media are making it sound), playing video games is:

“…a way of not relating with people and making that your life. And, those people are a little crazy.”

It would be nice if the media would actually check that their so-called ‘experts’ actually know what they are talking about. To hear Afield tell it, anyone who plays video games is crazy. He is painting a lot of perfectly sane people with that broad brush of his. Anyone want to bet that his secret passion is playing Angry Birds?

4. And the Dalek Invasion is Starting – At MIT

Dalek positioning

It took serious determination to get the Dalek up all of those steps!

With graduation looming, the usual shenanigans are starting on university campuses around the nation. Not to be outdone, this year the enigmatic engineering students of Cal Tech built a large Dalek atop the Stata Center, MIT’s computer science building and a hotspot for inter-university pranks. Check out the location of the building — getting the Dalek up took some serious planning and determination. Way to go Cal Tech — you win this round!

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Review: Jennifer Blood #12 from Dynamite

Apr. 25 Comic Books, Previews, Reviews no comments

JenBlood12-Cov-BradstreetIf I wanted to be cute, I’d say “Jennifer Blood is bloody awful” and sadly, I would mean it.

I volunteered to review this new release from Dynamite because it sounded like it could be fun or at the very least a spot of entertaining, print-based, graphic violence (okay, so I had been having a rough week). While Jennifer Blood #12 definitely delivered on the graphic violence side of the equation, I found there to be a distinct lack of entertainment value — unless you are just into gratuitous violence and splatter shots, in which case you will love it.

A continuing story from writer Al Ewing and illustrator Kewber Baal, Jennifer Blood is a housewife by day, vicious vigilante by night, seeking justice for her slain family members. Her husband doesn’t know what she does when she isn’t playing ‘happy homemaker’, but her son and now her creepy neighbor do. She is currently chasing a singer/celebrity who is also something of a supernatural amazon warrior queen, her sidekick and the three ‘ninjettes’ who are children of about 5-6. Talk about a wholesome family environment!

That said, I think the ‘mild-mannered housewife by day, moonlighting as a vixen vigilante’ storyline isn’t the problem. Although it isn’t a new storyline by any stretch of the imagination, it is an age-old tale of familial vengeance — and who doesn’t like a spot of vengeance in the name of family honor? Nor do I think the problem is the Baal’s graphics, which are gritty and highly detailed — too much so (perhaps) in some places. Of particular note is the intrinsic movement seen in some of the pages, both the movement of action in the panels themselves and the movement/placement of panels on the page.

While Al Ewing was arguably one of the shining stars at AD 2000, his writing in Jennifer Blood just feels like a rehashing of Kill Bill to me — complete with oblique personal dialogue and bad-guys who have the most bizarre speech patterns under the sun. And really, in many ways the very premise of Jennifer Blood is just Kill Bill by another name, from the vengeance fueled violence, through to the hacked off bob (just substitute brunette Blood for blonde Thurman)

All that aside, I am willing to give Ewing the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he is merely fulfilling a plot-line that was set in motion by the series founder Garth Ennis, who left the project after completing the first story arc.

If you are out for gratuitous violence and splatter shots that have a distinctly Tarantino-esque vibe to them, then Jennifer Blood will definitely get your blood pumping.

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Buffyverse Set to Expand with New ‘Spike’ and ‘Willow’ Series

Apr. 23 Comic Books, Press Release no comments

Spike DH Comics PromoFans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer from Dark Horse Comics have a reason to rejoice once more, as Dark Horse announced last week that the Buffyverse will be expanding once more. Both Spike and Willow will return with their own series later this year, offering new story-lines and even new destinations to explore.

Spike, the consummate vampire antihero and fan favorite will return in Aug. 2012, thanks to the writing of Victor Gischler (X-Men, Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth) and the graphic artistry of Paul Lee (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Devil’s Footprints).

In this new series, Spike attempts to escape some of his personal frustration by heading off-world in his ‘bug ship’. But as is often the case with our dear Spike, things don’t work out quite as planned and he gets pulled into a demonic plan to take advantage of the current lack of magic on Earth.

“What I love about working with Dark Horse on Buffy-related material is that they take great care to capture the feel of the characters and stories from the television show, of which I was a huge fan. Getting my hands on the characters I’ve loved so much over the years is a dream come true,” said Gischler.

Willow DH ComicsRunning a parallel story-line, the Willow mini-series will debut in Nov. 2012, thanks to the writing talent of Jeff Parker (Thunderbolts, Agents of Atlas) and artistic skills of Brian Ching (Star Wars: Knights of the Old republic, Witchblade).

In a world without magic, it falls to Willow to not only recover her own magic, but bring magic back to the world — and she will stop at nothing in her quest to put things right. Unfortunately, in the course of trying to return magic to the world, Willow rediscovers the key to dimensional travel (something that was thought to be impossible after the destruction of the Seed) and in the process, forms some ‘questionable’ alliances.

The announcement of these two new series comes on the heels of the recent revelation that the eagerly awaited Drusilla mini-series (announced in late Feb. 2012) and slated to be written by Juliet Landau, will not be happening due to scheduling conflicts.

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Geek-Squared: Pottermore, Diablo III, Robertson Ditches DC and Lawrence Catches Fire

Apr. 21 Comic Books, Editorials, Movies, Video Games no comments

This week in the geek-o-verse: Pottermore was unveiled, Blizzard offers a weekend of free play for Diablo III, Chris Roberson bids goodbye to DC Comics and Francis Lawrence announced to direct Catching Fire.

1. Potter fans get more with then unveiling of Pottermore.

PottermorePottermore allows users to interact with the stories in new ways, starting when they register and are sorted into one of the Houses of Hogwarts. From there users choose a wand (but of course, anyone who has read the books or seen the films knows that the wand really chooses the user).

Pottermore is the place for Harry Potter fans to share and participate in the stories, showcase their own Potter-related creativity, and discover additional information about the world of Harry Potter from the author herself.

The Pottermore experience is available to users in English, French, Italian, German and even Spanish (Castilian), with users not only being able to interact with the stories, but also purchase and download audio books and the Harry Potter e-books, as well as other Harry Potter merchandise.

All this aside, with Rowling’s focus on her new ‘adult’ book, one has to wonder if this is a last ditch attempt to make more money off the Potter franchise. Alternately, a cynic might view this as a way of keeping interest in Potter alive; in case her adult book fails miserably — at least she has the Potter franchise to fall back on.

2. Check out Diablo III Free this Weekend

Diablo IIIStarting April 20 and 12:01 AM (PDT) and going through Monday, April 23 (10:00 AM PDT), Blizzard is offering users the opportunity to preview Diablo III as beta testers. The game, slated for wide release on May 15, is the long awaited, MMORPG sequel to the Blizzard hit, Diablo II. If you want to participate, click here for instructions. So get out there – play alone, team up with friends and create havoc as one of heroic classes as you fight to save the world from demonic invasion. That way when people ask you what you did over the weekend, you can legitimately say, “I saved the world” — and it won’t be a lie!

3. Chris Roberson Leaves DC Comics

The story broke via Twitter on April 18 when Chris Roberson, a science-fiction author and comic book writer tweeted:

Having an afternoon cocktail to celebrate the end of my time at DC.

Aside from the Fairest arc I already committed to doing, iZombie will be the last time I’ll ever write for DC.

The news came as a surprise to fans, who were disappointed that he would not be participating in further DC projects. Roberson’s tweets addressing these fan concerns were telling:

Sorry. In a better world, characters like the Legion would be owned by a more ethical company, but sadly not in this one.

The short version is, I don’t agree with the way they treat other creators and their general business practices.

I decided quite some time ago, but waited until after the cancellation of my book was announced to discuss it.

A publisher in his own right, Roberson is taking a stand and willing to put his personal ethics on the line — something I can completely respect. But just because he is leaving DC Comics doesn’t mean Roberson is forgetting his fans. He mentioned that he is working a new project, that is rumored to be unveiled at San Diego Comic Con. In further addressing his reasons for breaking with DC Comics, Roberson pointed fans to an article by David Brothers for Comics Alliance which details issues regarding DC’s handling of Before Watchmen, in addition to Marvel’s handling of The Avengers.

While we are sorry to see Roberson and DC split, perhaps Roberson will have the freedom to pursue projects that not only sit better ethically, but show off his considerable professional skills.

4. Francis Lawrence Slated to Direct Catching Fire

Since the Hunger Games premiered, fans and pundits have been making bets about who would be tapped to direct the sequel. If you had a bet on Francis Lawrence, then you came out on top, as Lawrence was announced as the director for Catching Fire this week. With his past experience directing the sci-fi, apocalyptic I Am Legend, and various music videos under his belt, Lawrence’s vision for Catching Fire will without a doubt be visually different to Hunger Games.

As to whether it will be the hit that Hunger Games has been thus far, that won’t be seen until the November 2013 release.

And that is the week that was! Go get your geek on!

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Geek-Squared: Lawsuits, Buyouts and Quantum Internet (Oh My!)

Apr. 13 Editorials, Uncategorized no comments

Yet again we offer you Geek-Squared – the top four items from the geek-o-verse as nominated by Word of the Nerd staff. Featured topics this week: Facebook takes on Instagram, Apple’s ‘anti-trust’ lawsuit, quantum internet and J.K. Rowling’s new book.

1. Take a picture, it will last longer…. until Facebook buys it at least.

Facebook and InstagramIn case you missed it, this week Facebook bought Instagram for a billion dollars (literally) effectively turning what was a key rival in the social media arena into their own private photo application. Although Instagram will remain a separately branded application, the acquisition of of the photography oriented social network by Facebook, will allow the two to work together more closely — as well as giving Facebook access to Instagram’s reported 27 million regular users.

While Facebook is happy with the deal, fans were anything but thrilled, with many users promising to delete their accounts before the ‘corporate giant’ takes over. Others are concerned about potential privacy and ownership issues, after Facebook came out awhile back claiming ownership over any photos posted to their site.

With the backlash from users of the Instagram app, Facebook will have their work cut out for them, figuring out how to monetize the app without losing a significant number of users.

2. An Apple a day doesn’t keep anti-trust lawsuits away…

It was announced this week that the Department of Justice was bringing anti-trust violation charges against Apple for reportedly conspiring with six major publishing houses (including HarperCollins, MacMillan, the Penguin Group and Simon and Schuster) to ‘fix’ the price of e-books — we’re talking about some tens of millions of dollars worth of overcharging! Should the case proceed, e-brook prices could drop significantly, virtually overnight.

According to David Balto, the former policy director for the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition:

“I can’t think of an antitrust case that has been brought in the past decade that has as significant of a potential impact on consumers as this case has…. This case isn’t just important for opening up these e-book markets, but it could set down a critical marker for the development of future electronic commerce markets.”

In documents filed by the Department of Justice, not only did Apple negotiate a higher price on the books offered by publishers, they also received a higher percentage of the profits – some 30 percent.

Apple has fought back against the DoJ’s complaint, alleging that the publishers set the prices and they merely go along — but I bet that extra big ‘cut’ of the profit makes it all the easier to accept that the publishers are breaking the law.

If Apple is willing to play dirty pool with e-books, it kind of makes me wonder what other dirty tricks they have been playing on the customers of their other services — iTunes anyone?

3. Quantum Internet no longer a Quantum Leap….

With IBM on the verge of building actual quantum computer prototypes, the need for quantum internet networks is becoming more prevalent (at least to those who understand the bits and bytes of computer networks and Internet stability). In answer to this developing concern, a group pf scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics have created the first working quantum network.

Although this first quantum network is small and ‘primitive’ the components of it sound like a shopping list for the engineering department of the Enterprise. The team used a laser to fire at the first networked atom, preserving its quantum state, while also producing a photon with the quantum state information on it; which then travels along the fiber optic cable to the second atom of the network.

Lasers. Photons. Information. Yup – that is one to beam up, Scotty!

4. Rowling fans rally in anticipation of her first ‘Post-Potter’ book…

JK RowlingThe Casual Vacancy, J.K. Rowling’s first book ‘post-Potter’ is set to be released on Sept. 27, publisher Little, Brown & Co. announced this week. While it is a much anticipated novel, the publisher and Rowling herself, warn fans that it is definitely not a continuation of the wizarding world, in any way, shape or form.

The question then remains — can Rowling’s non-Potter work conjure up the same fan support and sales that the Potter books did.

If pre-sales are anything to go by, we may be looking at a new cult of Rowling.

 

And that is the week’s ‘Geek-Squared’! 

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Eureka Final Season Begins April 16

Apr. 10 Editorials, Television no comments

EurekaEureka fans will begin mourning on April 16, as the SyFy series premieres for its fifth and final season, with the network offering a paltry six episodes to wrap up seven years worth of storylines.

It is not only sad, but downright cruel.

In the middle of season 4.5 last summer, the network committed to a six episode, season six — only to announce the cancellation of the show a week later stating:

“After painstaking consideration, we have had to make the difficult business decision to not order a season six of Eureka. But Eureka is not over yet. There is a new holiday episode this December and 12 stellar episodes set to debut next year, marking its fifth season and six memorable years on Syfy. The 2012 episodes are some of the best we’ve seen, and will bring this great series to a satisfying end. We are very grateful to Bruce Miller and Jaime Paglia, their team of incredible writers, and an amazing cast and crew who have consistently delivered a series we continue to be very proud of. We thank the fans for their support of this show and know they will enjoy its final season in 2012.“ (via EW)

Sadly, it came down to cost. Despite the fact that audience figures continued to climb according to Amy Berg a producer for the show, the death knell for the show came down to profit margins.

“We are the network’s golden child in every way, except profit margins. Fact is, Eureka is an expensive show to make. And we could not maintain the quality of our show with the cuts it would take to make us profitable for Syfy’s new parent company.”  (via Screenrant.com) 

She went on to say that the SyFy executives fought for the show, but just couldn’t make the numbers work for the new parent company - NBCUniversal.

And really, considering some of the critical failures NBC has aired over the past few years, making any profit at all — no matter how small — would seem better than the drivel they have been running. No… it seems that NBC would rather spend a small fortune churning out expensive pilots for shows that can’t manage to stay on the air longer than one season (and in many cases not even the full season).

So, for fans of the show, the six episode ‘wake’ will mark the end of a wonderful seven-year run. I can only hope that the network saw fit to let the writers wrap up the show in a suitably ‘Eureka-ish’ way.

But then again, when did network ‘suits’ ever do something for the fans, when all they care about is the bottom-line?

 

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Leisure Suit Larry Gets a Retro-Refit

Apr. 10 Gaming, News, Video Games no comments

Leisure Suit Larry Reboot AnnouncedRetro games have been popular for awhile now, with mini-arcade style versions of 80s classics like Asteroid and PacMan taking a place beside gaming console versions of others classics including Centipede and Donkey Kong.

Add to this retro-rage the online emulators that allow anyone with an internet connection to play old-school text-based games or early video games (King’s Quest anyone?) and it would seem that our retro dreams had come true.

Sadly, one game was missing — until now.

Leisure Suit Larry, the lounge-lizard extraordinaire is making a comeback.

Replay Games, the current owner of the rights to Larry, has developed a kickstarter program in the hope of remaking the original Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards game. As part of the retro-refit of this classic game, Replay Games plans to incorporate:

  • Mobile play via mobile devices
  • Point-and-click/touchscreen interface (no more awkward fighting for the ‘right’ words!)
  • Updated, ultra-high resolution graphics
  • Fully voiced characters
  • And more of that ‘Al Lowe‘ humor that made the original game a hit

How could they cram more of Al Lowe’s humor into it you ask? Easy — Al Lowe is overseeing the reboot of what is arguably one of his best games.

Perks for contributing to the kickstarter campaign range from: a copy of the game to being part of the game as a character. Other rewards include heading to Las Vegas with Al Lowe and game writer Josh Mandel, with your own private limo and a villa on top of one of the world’s coolest hotels (if you have a spare $50k to donate).

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to dig under the sofa cushions for some spare change to donate to this oh-so-worthy cause.

Lounge Lizards of the World Unite!

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Stake Me Quick! – ‘I Kissed A Vampire – The Rock Musical’ Released

Apr. 09 Editorials no comments

I Kissed A Vampire Rock MusicalI’ve said it before, but it clearly bears repeating — the vampire genre is losing its bite. And yet another nail in the coffin was released to movie theatres on March 30.

I Kissed A Vampire – The Rock Musical began a limited (thank goodness) theatre run at the end of last month. Yet the very existence of this mutant love-child between Glee and Buffy the Vampire Slayer begs the question — WHY?!

The movie, based upon a popular iTunes webseries by the same name, stars Lucas Grabeel (a High School Musical graduate) and Drew Seeley (another graduate of High School Musical and its various sequels), and features 17 original songs including (groan) “Be the Bite”.

Haunted by bizarre dreams about Goth rocker Trey Sylvania (DREW SEELEY), and experiencing a growing lust for blood, Dylan (LUCAS GRABEEL), a not-so-average teenager finds himself transforming into a vampire! It all started when he was bitten by a voracious fanged exchange student, and it’s a process he is desperate to stop – but how? His demented dentist can’t do anything about Dylan’s aching teeth and emerging fangs, and the anti-bloodsucking pills he gets from his para-psychologist just give him a rash. Dylan is terrified and he doesn’t know what to do – especially about his beautiful girlfriend Sara (ADRIAN SLADE). 

Great. As if High School Musical and its various sequels weren’t bad enough (and this from a confirmed Disney-phile), we now have a vampire version with a bad ‘goth kid’ romance undercurrent. Was this really necessary?

Honestly…we have to wonder if viewers are that desperate for a fang-fix that they would willingly part with money to watch this drivel.

Sadly, I doubt this will be the last questionable vampire flick to come out anytime in the next few years, for one very simple reason – money. The vampire genre, no matter how hackneyed it actually is these days, is still viewed by ‘the suits’ in Hollywood as a surefire money-maker. And even more frustrating than the fact that they keep putting these bloodless, fangless, mockeries of vampire films out there, is the fact that people keep paying to see them.

Until the viewing audience sits back and demands better films, we will keep being fed these lifeless, caricatures of vampires. And let’s not even begin discussing the travesty that is sparkly vampires that don’t even drink blood — Nosferatu must be rolling over in his grave!

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Geek-Squared: Got Thrones?

Apr. 06 Editorials, Television, Video Games, Web Series no comments

While the past week was full of geekery worth mentioning, here are the top four ‘tid-bytes’ as nominated by WotN staff…

1. Game of Thrones returns and a NYT writer promptly insults girly-geeks everywhere:

Yes. The wait is over. Game of Thrones has returned, with fans greeting the show with viewing Game of Thrones Season 2parties, special menus and all other manner of geekery — as it should be. Let’s face it, the books were great, the show just builds further on that. All should be well with the universe now that GoT is back on the air. Alas, nothing is ever that simple.

Ginia Bellafante’s review of GoT for the New York Times initially questions the very presence of GoT on HBO’s line-up, suggesting that it is an overdone show that shouldn’t be there. However it is a seemingly throw-away comment near the end of her review that has stirred up the ire of the girlie-geeks who are fans of the show.

The true perversion, though, is the sense you get that all of this illicitness has been tossed in as a little something for the ladies, out of a justifiable fear, perhaps, that no woman alive would watch otherwise. While I do not doubt that there are women in the world who read books like Mr. Martin’s, I can honestly say that I have never met a single woman who has stood up in indignation at her book club and refused to read the latest from Lorrie Moore unless everyone agreed to “The Hobbit” first. “Game of Thrones” is boy fiction patronizingly turned out to reach the population’s other half.

Apparently in Bellafante’s skewed view of the world, only ‘boys’ like fantasy oriented stories full of royal intrigue, fighting and other obviously ‘manly’ pursuits. Quite frankly, most of the women I know would rather read the Hobbit than any of what I’m sure Bellafante would called ‘female-oriented literature’ — which in her mind must be synonymous with Harlequin Romance novels.

Grow up Bellafante. That sort of ‘boys *vs* girls’ dichotomy became outdated the minute you got out of middle-school. To borrow from an old magazine ad – ‘We’ve come a long way baby’. The feminist movement didn’t just give women sexual and financial freedom, it also gave us the freedom to read/watch what we want. Welcome to the new world order, Ms. Bellafante.

2. The launch of Felicia Day’s Geek and Sundry YouTube channel:

Originally announced at WonderCon last month, the Geek and Sundry YouTube channel was geekandsundryofficially launched this week. Within hours of launching the site was a critical success, with Day’s fans across the Internet supporting and promoting the channel. Starting with a core base of shows, the channel is set to expand with children’s programming later this summer.

Day says:

The channel is about people sharing their passions for things and learning from each other and growing because they found somebody who loves something just as much as they did.

And while we are on the topic of YouTube, it was a big week for geeks/nerds on the popular video sharing site….

3. Nerdist Channel debuts on YouTube:

Yes. Yet another geeky/nerdy channel launched on YouTube this week, with the crew from Nerdist debuting their new venture. Also featuring original shows, the Nerdist channel offers some weird and wonderful glimpses of nerd culture:

MONDAYS: All Star Celebrity Bowling
TUESDAYS: Alternating every other week between Face to Face w/ “Weird Al” Yankovic andThe Indoor Kids
WEDNESDAYS: Comic Book Club
THURSDAYS: Ain’t It Cool w/ Harry Knowles
FRIDAYS: Weird S#!t From Japan and classic Kids In The Hall episodes.

4. Mass Effect 3 Update:

In response to the fan outcry over the ending of the new Mass Effect 3, Bioware announced Thursday that they have plans to release Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut over the summer. This DLC will be released free for XBox 360, Playstation 3 and PC users. According to company press the free DLC will feature:

…extended scenes that provide additional context and deeper insight to the conclusion of Commander Shepard’s journey…

And that is the geekery of the week!

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June Release for ‘League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century 3 – 2009′

Apr. 04 News, Press Release 2 comments

Top Shelf Productions (USA) and Knockabout Comics (UK) have announced the June release League2009Coverof the apocalyptic final volume in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen trilogy — with Century 3: 2009.

Written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O’Neill, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century 3 – 2009 offers a earth-shattering finale to the series that sees the prophesied magical child born and must now grow up in order to claim his birthright and fulfill the events foretold in earlier volumes. With no League standing in his wicked way and a myriad of forces pushing the world to the brink of nuclear annihilation, things look pretty bleak. Yet, answers may come from an unlikely source, in the form of a woman in a London mental institution.

A prolific writer, Moore has written a range of issues for DC Comics, including Swamp Thing, Batman, Omega Men, Green Lantern Corps and Watchmen.

Rated for mature readers (16+), the final installment in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century series promises action on a cataclysmic scale.

 

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