I really didn’t see this one coming, but there’s no denying that it actually happened. Suddenly every box under my TV streams video. I feel a little bit behind the times with this one because there have been streaming video products available for a long time, it’s just that now it seems everything is a streaming video player, and more importantly, that there are lots of places to get the video. Read More
Got a geek on your shopping list that you still haven’t bought a gift for? Gotcha covered right here with a drum machine shirt, a subversive comic book collection, a bottle-opening iPhone case and serious hearing protection.
Electronic Drum Machine Shirt
I’ve always thought the music-playing shirts were a cute little novely item. ThinkGeek has taken it to a ridiculous level with the new Drum Machine t-shirt. This thing is no joke. While I may not wear it in public, I can’t stop playing with it. Not only does it have 7 drum pads that can all be played at once, it records loops, so you can layer beats and effects on unlimited tracks and can be as long as 3 minutes. There are 9 different drum kits at your disposal, for a grand total of 63 sounds. On a shirt. Hidden on the underside in a pocket is the mini-amplifier that looks like a tiny Marshall stack with a headphone/audio out jack and naturally, a volume knob that goes up to 11. The electronics all pop off the shirt easily for washing too, or if you’re like me, you prefer a plain black t-shirt and a new drum machine to play with at your desk. Check out the video after the jump for a demo and believe that this is a steal for $29.99.
Prank Packs are fake gift boxes featuring ridiculous, yet plausible items on the packaging, which conceal the real gift inside. I used the Dream Griddle box you see here for a birthday gift recently and it completely worked. In fact, with a couple of little white lies, it worked even better on someone who saw it later on who was amazed by it and was thinking about buying one for her boyfriend. The Prank Pack became a topic of conversation for the rest of the day, not to mention a now go-to joke for who knows how long into the future. Check out the full line of boxes at PrankPack.com for some more gems like the iDrive and iArm, to mount your iPad on your steering wheel or forearm, Snuggies for multiple people, automatic Pet Petters and motorized rolling pins. The photos and descriptions are awesomely realistic and at the same time completely ludicrous. You can easily convince someone they saw these on a late night infomercial. The Dream Griddle’s fine print includes a recipe for Raspberry Pancakes in Bed that tells you to set the Dream Griddle to the ‘Pancakes/Keilbasa’ setting and also boasts an included sleep mask and plug for its sister product, the Dream Fryer, a bedside alarm clock/deep fryer. Definitely recommended to get some laughs at your next holiday or birthday party, and especially great for those awful office Secret Santas. The only catch is you may want to get the box back after the fun is over, as the Prank Packs will set you back $8 each or 3 for $20 on the website. Prank Packs are also available at Bed, Bath & Beyond stores.
It’s easily forgotten now, but when the BBC announced that Doctor Who was returning to our television screens after an absence of 16 years, the general response was one of scorn and derision. It looked a clear case of bandwagon jumping as, at the time, British television had entered a habit of trying to bring once-popular shows back to the public consciousness. Programmes such as Strictly Come Dancing, Crossroads and Gladiators all made re-appearances, with varying degrees of success.
I make this point because it should be remembered just where Doctor Who stood in the minds of the public, in relation to where it stands now. After recently finishing it’s sixth re-booted series, it seems that after a pleasantly surprising welcome back into the televisual firmament, the backlash has begun. Read More
Last weekend I had the pleasure and the privilege to interview the fantastic Gail Simone at Montreal Comic-Con.
Gail Simone is a prolific and fan-beloved American comic book writer most known for her work on Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman, Deadpool, Secret Six, and the recent Batgirl reboot. Before she worked writing comics, Simone was a fan who became known for her online initiative Women in Refrigerators, which documented the frequent use of violence against women as plot devices for male protagonists. This website caught the attention of many people in the comics industry, and Simone was hired to work as a comics columnist. She went on to write many runs and titles for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Wildstorm. Simone is currently writing the Batgirl title for DC Comic’s “New 52” reboot of their universe. She has been writing professionally for ten years.
In my university Creative Writing course, we were assigned to interview a professional or long-term artist about their creative process, and I immediately thought it would be incredible if I could somehow finagle a meeting with Gail, who had a table and two panels at the con. Since Gail is so talkative on twitter, I dropped her an @reply, mostly expecting her to be too busy, but I was immediately replied to with interest and before I knew it I had an interview scheduled with one of my favorite comic book writers. Despite a few obstacles (such as two-hour convention entry lineups) I was able to meet her at her table in Artists’ Alley and we had a lovely chat, interspersed by other fans of hers. It was a wonderful experience.
Sugar Lake, Wright County, Minnesota
By Tony Pucci (host of the Pollyanna Cowgirl Records Podcast)
The air had ceased moving. It hung like a weight around the afternoon’s shoulders, a viscous syrup to be swum through. The sun brushed the ground with a transparent honey, and flies buzzed lazily, if they buzzed at all. The grass stank with a humid sweat as I raced across our cabin’s backyard. I was ecstatic; my grandmother had just given me two dollars to spend at “The Resort”!
My pace then slowed as I stepped onto the dirt road that roller-coasted behind the row of cabins. Typical of any kid during summer, I wasn’t wearing any shoes, and the road had many rocks anxious to become acquainted with the soles of my feet. I kept my stride between the edges of one of the two strips of smooth, worn-down tracks made by years of cars passing through. Filtered by a canopy of trees, rays of sunlight dappled the ground, seemingly dancing with the stream of dark, pungent motor oil spots which had dripped off the boats being charioted on trailers to and from the lakeshore. My excitement grew as I passed the familiar fish-shaped signs, each with a name on it marking another family’s driveway and cabin; they told me I was getting closer. Read More
This article was written by Jakob Rehlinger of the Nerd Hurdles podcast. It was originally published at nerdhurdles.com.
For years people have cocked an eyebrow whenever I’ve said, usually at parties, that I think Empire Stikes Back is not only the worst film in the Original Trilogy, but it’s not even a very good movie. My opinion is normally dismissed out of hand as the ravings of a drunken madman looking for a fight. Their assessment of my state of being might have been accurate, but I maintain my argument stands. I will now, soberly, lay out why I think Empire is not very good.
And by “not very good”, I mean actually kind of sucks gundark poodoo.
Hey, nerds. Kennedy here, from the Starbase 66 podcast. You know what I like? Star Trek and comics, especially when they combine into a powerful new form, like Tuvix.
Actually, that title is a lie. Star Trek has been featured in comics since its inception. Some were good (the terribly drawn, but charming, Gold Key books) and some were beyond dull (Marvel’s take on TMP). Others were just a mess, like the years of stories DC told in its ’80s series; set after Search for Spock as the crew took command of the Excelsior, the series had to go through some weird and very, very stupid convolutions to get them to Vulcan and explain the beginning of The Voyage Home after the movie came out and took DC by surprise. “What? It’s a direct sequel? it takes place a few weeks later? Shit!”
This is my buddy, Maverick, who is totally named after Tom Cruise’s character in Top Gun and not in concordance with some dumb Alaskan politician’s ramblings.
Maverick has learned some things in the past 24 hours, as have I. We’ve learned about skunks. They are not cats, isn’t that right, buddy? Good boy. Sit.
See, this moron canine of mine decided late last night to go chasing one of our Pepe-le-Pew-type friends. He came back reeking. I spent my early morning hours dousing him with a garden hose while the wifey ran to Wal-Mart to get several quarts of hydrogen peroxide to mix with baking powder. He got several baths with the mixture before he was allowed to come inside, where he was bathed again in the tub (with an entire bottle of shampoo). He will get more baths again tonight, because he still smells faintly of death, insanity, orcs, and Star Wars prequels. It’s that bad.
In the midmath (I wish it were the aftermath), here’s some skunk trivia:
First off, this post will contain spoilers. If I’m going to thoroughly review the past seven weeks of Doctor Who then some plot points will be revealed to make this worth posting in the first place. So if you’re like me and are sensitive to spoilers, stop. Stop reading right now. Get yourself caught up and then get on the Doctor Who train with the rest of us.
Ok, have they all gone? Is it safe to spoil now? Last Saturday showrunner Steven Moffat did something unprecedented as far as Doctor Who goes. He broke the season after seven episodes, with Gallifrey’s most famous resident returning to our screens in the autumn. Now a mid-series break is not uncommon for television serials in North America, and the decision was probably taken with one eye on that lucrative market – especially as the show has seemed to grow in popularity over the Atlantic. But as Moffat himself said, he also felt it better to have the series in two chunks – spring & autumn, rather than in a thirteen week spell, only to have to wait six more months for the next adventure. This way, it makes the show more ductile, lessens the waiting period and probably eases the strain on Moffat. Let’s not forget, he doesn’t only have to worry about Doctor Who, but Sherlock as well. Read More
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