Forces of Geek: we like pop culture: 4/1/10

Friday, April 30, 2010

ROGER CORMAN'S CULT CLASSICS Gets A Fancy New Trailer!

Shout! Factory is about to release their first of approximately 50 exploitation titles from B-Movie maestro Roger Corman on DVD and Blu-Ray and have just put together a new trailer showcasing some of these must have titles.

Check it out after the jump!

Looks like the on again off again Anchorman sequel is off again. Director Adam McKay tweeted yesterday that Paramount has basically passed on the project.

Read more after the jump.

Halle Berry and her hunk call it quits, Lance's 5th Baby, Xtina premiers her kinked up video and more with Gossip Geek!

If you are a lazy Son-of-a-bitch and can't be bothered to look for the "Free Wi-Fi" signs at your local poseur coffeehouse, then this t-shirt by ThinkGeek is for you.

What is Free Comic Book Day?

One of the goals of Free Comic Book Day is to reach out to those individuals unfamiliar with the comic book specialty market, not to mention a comic book shop. So, every year those behind Free Comic Book Day launch a massive promotional campaign that heralds the event and spreads the good word of comics to potential readers everywhere.

Among this years haul are comics featuring such beloved characters and properties as Superman, Iron Man, Thor, Archie, The Simpsons, G.I. Joe, Shrek, Toy Story, The Tick and many more!

To find out how to get yourself some free books, details after the jump!

Sometimes the universe presents you with something so spectacular, so off-the-charts rad that there are no words to properly describe it. One of these is James Kochalka's Dragon Puncher, which follows the adventures of a dragon-fighting cat in a battle suit.

See, I told you words weren't enough.

Marvel Studios has revealed their first look of Chris Hemsworth as Thor!

Check it out and the full press release after the jump!

Stephen King and Imagine Entertainment are close to signing a deal that would bring the author's Dark Tower series of novels to the screen.

Read More after the jump.

FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

Here's a sneak peek at the rain-soaked showdown on the Smallville finale May 14 between Clark and Zod, hat-tip to Entertainment Weekly.

Why do ultimate fights always happen in the rain? Because a thunderstorming throwdown always looks cool, even when it's in something lame like The Matrix Revolutions. Do you need any other reason?

The History Channel appears to be getting bolder by the day. Its latest project, America: The Story of Us, barrels through American history with full-scale dramatizations and CGI that's almost Bruckheimerian.

Well, don't expect the razzle-dazzle to end soon. Now History's calling on Hollywood.

Greg Kinnear and Katie Holmes will star in The Kennedys, the first-ever scripted miniseries from the History Channel.

The creative duo behind the best animated music group since Josie and the Pussycats, sat down with New York Magazine this past week to dish the dirt on their latest (and quite possibly greatest) album, Plastic Beach.

Childhood is often peppered with small, insignificant details that, together, create the person we will ultimately become.

From the first smell of a freshly opened box of crayons that triggers an overwhelming impulse to create works of art over a lifetime, to the slick and solid feel of Lincoln Logs in a fat little hand that will become the building blocks to an architectural career, these are the myriad of things that shape us.

And that is why I’m a bit disappointed that the three most influential childhood moments that have molded me are so damn stupid.

So... You’re having the Day from Hell in the office – your boss is on your case, your clients want everything now, the printer’s not working and Bob in accounts is questioning the bar bill from your last Convention.

The stress is mounting up – and you are SO going to take a baseball bat to the very next person that says, ‘but didn’t you read my email..?’

Stop! You don’t actually need to be breaking the heads of your workmates when there’s a ready and satisfying solution!

Vitriolic, patriotic, slam, fight, bright light...

Novels which present twisted future versions of our society, in which relevant, troubling social issues from today are exaggerated to the point of terror are just the absolute best kinds of novels, don't you think?

I have been a fan of dystopian literature since I read The Giver when I was 9, and found myself simultaneously devastated and enthralled by the society of Sameness depicted therein.

Since then I have genuinely enjoyed reading post-apocalyptic, end of the world, totalitarian regime type books, from classics like 1984 and Brave New World to a number of fairly current young adult titles, several of which I think are destined to become classics themselves.

Which brings me to a list: three dystopian young adult novels that I think you MUST read because they are timely, and gripping, and just really effing fantastic.

If you're looking for something to do this summer and can't handle another trip to Disneyland or worse, visiting family, then pack up the family Truckster and head down to Huntsville, Alabama for Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.

Christina's Sexuality is back, Tom & Gisele Show Us What They've Got, Jim Carrey's Twitter Meltdown and more!

Keep reading for more from Gossip Geek!

Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for their upcoming Jonah Hex.

Watch Josh Brolin and Megan Fox in the trailer after the jump.

Stop! You Young Whipper-Snapper!

You Have a Little Something on Your Face, Ma'am (artist Patricia Piccinini)

I have to give a great big thanks to the Blog of Francesco Mugnai for inspiring this post. As a fan of weird and creepy art, nothing makes my heart beat faster than witnessing the public being confronted by life-size, realistic sculptures that repel as well as awe the viewer.

Kind of like this:

Now even though I could sit here for hours speaking of the marvelous world of scrap booking, I would rather speak of mini comics. For you philistines that don’t know what mini comics are, they are comics produced by local artists and writers. They are inexpensively made and usually feature the work of new creators. They are the experiments of the comic world. They are the beta test of real comics. And as a scientist I can not resist the power they hold. It is time for Lex Luthor’s Secret Mini Comic Pile!

This is what technology looked like in 1978

Polaroid, the cock-tease of the photo world, has decided to bring back the nostalgia buff's favorite camera after murdering it two years ago in cold blood.

The aftermath of the Insta-Camera's demise brought chaos to those who worshiped at it's clunky design and despair to those who fancied themselves connoisseurs of anything "nostalgia-trendy".

Welcome to Authors You Should Be Reading

I read a lot.

Between my huge stack of comics, graphic novels, newspapers, RSS feeds, and magazines, it sometimes seems that I wouldn't have time to keep reading novels. But somehow I find the time and constantly have a book on my nightstand, on my desk at work, and loaded on my iTouch.

So, I figured this was a great place to share the love for some of the great crime writers I am hooked on lately, and that all of you may not have heard of or read before.

Warner Bros. and IMAX released a statement today detailing all their projects through 2013. Within that press release was the new date we can expect to see The Hobbit hit theatres.

Read the whole release after the jump.

This guy is dead...on a motorcycle...doesn't he look natural?

Every time I start to get comfortable with the world it pulls out a whammy and I am pushed back inside myself where crying is my only comfort. In the case of David Morales Colon, I'm sort of dry-heaving.

Mr. Colon was killed last week in Puerto Rico and his family decided to display his dead body on his motorcycle, dressed in jeans, a baseball hat, and sunglasses...at his wake.

Since signing off from his seven-month Tonight Show stint, Conan O'Brien hasn't stepped anywhere near being on TV.

Come this Sunday, no more. O'Brien will break his post-NBC silence to 60 Minutes (7/6c on CBS).

O'Brien is expected to detail the events around how he came to leave NBC after the network wanted to push his Tonight Show a half-hour back to accommodate Jay Leno. The report also will feature footage from O'Brien's current tour, as well as touch on his move to TBS.

Is Steve Carell leaving The Office?

The man behind Michael Gary Scott recently told BBC Radio that he might leave after next season.

Sandra kept secrets from us?

Justin Bieber doesn't look right, and Jamie Lynn moves on from her Turtle....and more in today's Gossip Geek!

Okay, so technically you won't be getting a degree from M.I.T by attending the free classes online, but how killer will it be when you run into that old foe from high school (you know, the guy who continually gave you a swirly before 3rd period English class) and can finally one-up the douche bag by letting him know that you go to M.I.T?

On May 22, The SyFy Network will be premiering the original film Witchville.

It's a difficult sell considering it comes from a channel that in my opinion, in recent years has specialized in bringing genre fans sub-par programming to say the least.

The SyFy Original film has become the stuff of guilty pleasures and under your breath giggles. The kind of CGI that feels as though it were perfected on a Commodore 64 with stories so ludicrous you can hardly make heads or tales of the narrative.

Over the past couple of years there have been encouraging moments, but this is one of those events that I've been waiting for.

A moment where I can get excited at the prospect of a genre channel to watch on basic cable. It's possible that this could be a one time flash in the pan effort, but it could also be the beginning of SyFy's commitment to high quality, high concept, original, entertainment.

In a world so void of originality, wouldn't this be a wonderfully welcomed change?

On my honor I promise to do my best...to make it to the ocean on River Raid

The Cub Scouts have just created a pin for playing video games!

Once, when I was a little girl, I saved a bee from a spider. I won't go into all the gory details (which were epic by the way) but basically it involved me removing the web-spun bee from the clutches of a large hairy arachnid and then spending several hours carefully removing the bee from the web casing using only a soft touch and a safety pin.

While, technically, it wasn't a super-heroic thing to do, I felt that I performed the task admirably and, at the time, I was, in fact, wearing a Batman t-shirt. When free, the bee flew away and I was filled with a sense of profound purpose.

I wanted, no I needed, to save other living creatures.

The shores of San Diego may once again be alive with the sounds of jazz flute. Director Adam McKay confirmed that work has started on Anchorman 2.

Read his quote after the jump.

Private Screening: 1941

1941 was wunderkind Steven Spielberg's first theatrical flop, arriving dead on arrival in theaters in 1979.

The film, which was written by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, who later made I Wanna Hold Your Hand and the Back to the Future trilogy with Spielberg producing, is at times an overlong, loud mess of a film, but at no time is it not fun as hell.

The comedy/musical is loosely based around a real event about a panic in the Los Angeles area that occurs after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. With a giant ensemble cast, 1941 really didn't get the recognition that it deserved (despite three Academy Award nominations) until Spielberg was given permission to re-edit the film into an "extended cut" that aired on television and was later released on DVD.

So sit back, grab a cold one and in the words of Colonel "Madman" Maddox, "To Hollywood... and glory!"

Watch 1941 after the jump!

Look out, Glee. Now that you've done an all-Madonna episode, you've called down the thunder for other artists to want the same.

Britney Spears, what say you?

Glee creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan addressed the ever-increasing Twitter rumors begun by her manager, Adam Leber.

When I was all but a young lass, I once heard a rumor that the Mario games were nothing more than a Russian propaganda tool (never mind that it was created by a Japanese game designer, I mean, what does fact and common sense have to do with a good conspiracy theory anyway?).

So imagine my surprise when I came across The People's Mario. A short video that takes the Commie rumor to new heights by re-imagining what the Mario games would look like had they indeed been part of the Cold War gaming manifesto after all.

Do you believe the porn star or the UFC fighter?

Matt Damon extends his family, Billy Corgan takes the high school route, and more!

Who's next to show some support for South Park?

I love the online purveyor of t-shirt goodness that is Threadless with the wild abandon that is usually only associated with a preteen goth girl and her copy of Twilight (basically, I spend most of my income on t-shirts rather than on say, food).

While this is not my normal posting subject, I felt like I should share this little gem of a video with you that showcases the University of Oregon's all-male a'cappella group On The Rocks as they perform a Lady Gaga medley...choreographed in what looks to be the student lounge.

It's always nice to see my home state going the extra freaky mile just to make me smile.

Congrats U of O, you also made the Huffington Post.

video after the break.

Betty White's SNL promo marries filth, innocent charm

If you missed Gabourey Sidibe's Saturday Night Live hosting gig, like then you did miss the show's biggest surprise when Betty White's promo aired.

White is hosting next week with musical guest Jay-Z. Please, please, please let there be a duet between them.

The promo is classic Betty. Take a look for the first time, or laugh hysterically one more time.

The Cool Chick (adj): A female that embodies the essence of pure, undiluted cool; witty, brilliant, snarky, and most importantly, has bigger balls than her "Cool Dude" counterpart.

Mary Jo Pehl is a cool chick. As a writer and performer on the cult classic TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000, she helped to create one of the most brilliant and subversive shows to ever hit the airwaves (A monumental task considering the show's premise was basically, "a couple of puppets and one human make fun of bad movies").

After a Hollywood bidding war, Sacha Baron Cohen's new film has found a home with Paramount. The Borat star will play a goat herder and deposed dictator who is lost in the U.S., according to Deadline.

Read more after the jump.

Rumor has it that the Honky Wii is about to get served next month when Nintendo releases the sleek looking Black Wii into stores stateside (of course Japan and Europe already got to play on it last year, damn you cruel world)

Reddick: Fringe finale 'blew my mind'

Remember how the first season of Fringe ended?

You spent all this time hearing about The Pattern (remember that?), seeing gross-out monsters, Walter act crazy, Peter be cocksure, Astrid have no lines, and Olivia look earnest-yet-wounded-yet-tough-yet-pretty. And then FINALLY she's on the Other Side with William Bell, staring out of the windows of a still-there World Trade Center?

(As crazy as that was, I was more shocked by the newspaper saying the Boston Celtics won the NBA title led by a still-alive Len Bias.)

Can the end of season two be as good, or even better?

Lance Reddick, who plays Agent Phillip Broyles, thinks so.

Aquaman stakes his claim, Nicolas Cage may be giving up the Ghost, and an Alan Moore opera is in the works as we take a spin around the comic book block in a round-up of recent news.

It's a good day for martial arts fans, as the hugely popular Ip Man films have secured a North American distributor.

Read the entire press release after the jump!

Ceftriaxone: Warrior Princess or a third generation cephalosporin antibiotic?

A fantasy card game, The Healing Blade, has been released to help medical students learn which antibiotics are best suited to fight bacterial infections.

Modeled on Magic: The Gathering, the game was developed by two geeky doctors/gamers, Francis Kong and Arun Mathews, who believe that combining gaming and doctoring will help physicians-to-be remember treatments for potentially deadly diseases.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Some of our celebs sure did.

Find out from the Gossip Geek about who caused some drama this past weekend!

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Friday, April 30, 2010

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Monday, April 26, 2010