‘Half-Life’s’ Crowbar Inspires Geek Meme Collider

May 14th, 2010 Posted in Entertainment, games, humor, nerd culture, science | Comments Off

This is just such a great article on nerd culture and how it influences science and technology, while at the same time science and technology influences us nerds as we grow excited about what can be for the future. For the purposes of this article it seems to me that geek & nerd are fairly interchangeable.

If you have ever played the game Half-Life then you are aware of the storyline of the bespectacled  scientist with a goatee battling aliens and creatures not of this earth. You know the nerdiness & sheer fun of not using a gun in the game, but rather a crow bar as a weapon against the aliens.

If you are a nerd or science buff then you are aware of the Large Hadron Collider. You may have read more than one alarmist comment on how the LHC will cause the end of the world, open up a rift in time, and/or a great many other evil things.

Read on, laugh and admire how awesome this is:

These people are geeks. And they are the Internet’s unofficial hall monitors.

This is not an insult; it’s a badge of honor. Geeks can help give context to the scientific community. Thanks to the Internet, scientists find themselves and their work increasingly scrutinized, absorbed and distributed by legions of geeks worldwide.

Scientists have this incredible, laser-vision approach to specific disciplines, but it takes a geek to make the less-obvious connections. Just as geeks spotted an unassuming electrical engineer in the background of a publicity photo and made a connection to the “Half-Life” character, their cultural depth is different from that of the scientists. And the geeks comfortably straddle both worlds.

It was the geeks who grasped the importance of the LHC, who knew the questions to ask about the project, and who made winking connections to all manner of science fiction, from creation of out-of-control black holes to time travel jokes to science fiction references and other video game references.

GameStation owns your soul

Apr 15th, 2010 Posted in Entertainment, games, humor, nerd culture, technology | Comments Off

GameStation has today revealed that it legally owns the souls of thousands of customers, thanks to a clause it secretly added to the online terms and conditions for the official GameStation website.

Read the story here.

Rise of The Silver Surfer Behind-the-Scenes Clip

Dec 5th, 2006 Posted in comics, movies, nerd culture, press, sci-fi | no comment »

Source: MTV

MTV has posted a new Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer behind-the-scenes clip which features Jessica Alba (aka The Invisible Woman) giving you a tour of the set and art department. You can watch the clip at the link above!

Directed by Tim Story, the sequel hits theaters on June 15.

New TMNT and 300 Trailers this Week

Dec 5th, 2006 Posted in cartoons, comics, movies, nerd culture, press, sci-fi | no comment »

Source: Superhero Hype!

Superhero Hype! has learned that we’ll be seeing new trailers from Warner Bros. Pictures for TMNT (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”) and 300 this week. It looks like the TMNT trailer will be playing in theaters with “Unaccompanied Minors” (Dec. 8th), “Eragon” (Dec. 15th) and “Arthur and the Invisibles” (Dec. 15th). The second 300 trailer looks to be hitting theaters with Mel Gibson’s “Apocalypto”. We expect these trailers will be online very soon as well.

As always, be sure to check with your local theater to see if a trailer is playing with a specific movie, as every location can be different.

Video Playing Watch On Sale at ThinkGeek

Dec 5th, 2006 Posted in movies, nerd culture, press, technology, toys, tv | no comment »

Source: ThinkGeek

If your lifelong dream was to watch 128×128 video on a watch like the one you had in 8th grade, well, now you can die happy. The same watch as sold on Brando, but about $10 cheaper for the 2GB version and ships from inside the US. Of course, the thing uses an OLED display, which means it’s going to be a bit harder to watch outdoors. But if you buy the watch, what are the chances you’ll be going outdoors?

Besides the 128×128 pixel, 1.5-inch screen, the thing can display the time and date (how does it do that?), plays back MP3/WMA, and even has voice recording. Great for surrupticiously recording yourself being fleeced by the local mechanic. What do you mean it costs $79.99 for an oil change?

New Pirates of the Caribbean Photos!

Dec 5th, 2006 Posted in movies, nerd culture, press | one comment »

Filmz.ru has posted five new photos from Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End, featuring Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). The highly-anticipated third installment hits theaters on May 25. Click the image below to view all the pics:

Marvel & Fox in dispute over X-MEN franchise

Nov 27th, 2006 Posted in comics, movies, nerd culture, press, sci-fi | no comment »

Source: Marvel Entertainment

The future of X-men and Spiderman depends on how well talks between Marvel,Sony, and Fox are handled over the next several months…

Sony is so confident that Spider-Man 3 will be a hit that both the studio and Marvel are in active talks about doing more movies with the current cast and film crew. Talks between Marvel and Fox have not gone so smoothly.

At the time of X3’s release, it was widely reported “well this is the last movie” despite the last scenes that were shown. Then the Box Office results kind of made Fox change their minds, at least all of a sudden they became more open to the idea of doing an X-Men 4.

But Marvel has an alternate plan for the future of these movies. One that Fox is reluctant to take seriously. However, they may have little choice in the matter because ultimately the X-Men are Marvel’s characters and with Marvel making even bigger steps to control and have more say in the production of their movies, the news on the future of the X-Men movies (which will be revealed in good time).

Rumor: Apple Jumping on Blu-Ray Bandwagon?

Nov 27th, 2006 Posted in nerd culture, personal, press, technology, toys | no comment »

Source: Think Secret

The rumorhounds over at ThinkSecret have some more juicy details about which next-gen DVD format Apple will be adapting to. ThinkSecret’s anonymous sources say that Apple will be receiving Blu-ray drives in February that will end up being included in their range of computers and laptops. No word on pricing or availability, but expect the drive to add at least $500 to the cost of the desktop or laptop.

Rami to produce “Hobbit”?

Nov 27th, 2006 Posted in books, movies, nerd culture, press, sci-fi | no comment »

Rumors are surfacing that Spiderman Producer/director Sam Rami has been approached to continue the Lord of Rings franchise.

With Peter Jackson not returning,due to a law suit filed against New line Cinema for “Lord of the Rings II” earnings,Rami’s name has been popping up to be the predecessor to the successful trilogy.

But based on the new clips of Spiderman 3 that Sony has released, it’s hard to imagine him prodcuing the “Hobbit”,when it looks like they will want him back to start working on Spiderman 4. Which would be in the works soon, if Sony goes ahead with another film.

Will have to wait and see what lies ahead for Rami, but someone will have to fill Jackson’s spot, and Rami would be a great fit.

Transformers: Skorponok Transformer Pic Online

Nov 27th, 2006 Posted in cartoons, comics, movies, nerd culture, sci-fi | no comment »

This Transformer is not very friendly!!!
Actor Tyrese Gibson runs for his life.