Forces of Geek: we like pop culture: 12/1/10

Friday, December 31, 2010

FOG! Asks "What Did You Like Best in 2010?" Part 4!

The year is winding down and we'll have more of the Best Lists through the weekend. Be sure to comment about the things that you liked best in 2010!

Produced by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Scott Rudin, Steven Spielberg

Screenplay by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Based on the Book by Charles Portis

Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen

Starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin,

Hailee Steinfeld, Barry Pepper

Where do the coolest Japanese Robots meet iPhone Apps meet Social Media meet Art Toy design?

Well, meet Kit Robot, Remo and Kiyo, creators of LoveBots – the hottest thing to hit your iPhone since you first downloaded Twitter.

This is the Art Toy Digital Revolution – join the LoveBot Army!

Predictions are basically bullshit made by people with 70s-style hair, who charge a lot of money and deliver almost nothing.

I believe I can handle this task.

So, without further ado, here are my top five Geek predictions for the coming year (and if any of them turn out to be true, well, I’m a freaking genius).

FOG! Asks "What Did You Like Best in 2010?" Part 3!

More picks on the Best of 2010!

Be sure to include your picks in the comments!

This post is dedicated to my close friend Josh Brown who has an unhealthy love affair with these masks and who, I might add keeps a small collection of them in his office on mannequin heads for extra creepy pizazz.

But I am also assuming that there are many of you that also have a secret fetish for Mexican wrestling masks that you can don while creeping around your neighbor's house all "Peeping Tom" style, so think of this as an early Valentine's gift from me to you.

Priced from $24-$49, these highly decorative masks from Corazon are a steal and come in a wide range of styles from the simple:

Here's another batch of responses telling us what made the year what it was.

In a new campaign to get people back to snail mail, the US Postal service will be releasing a collection of stamps based on various Pixar movies to woo people back to Old Skool communication (personally speaking, I wouldn't mind a campaign based completely on the Nipple Slips of drunken starlets...now that would get me to send a letter to family members).

As you can see from the above shot, you get a plethora of choices (although my favorite, Monsters, Inc. is sadly missing) and each is cuter than the next, so go ahead and send a nice letter to your friend this year (written entirely in IM-speak since you knuckleheads can't seem to form sentences without abbreviations).

Note to readers: If you are confused by the whole "written letter" thing here's some step-by-step instructions on how to create one:

Toshiaki Karasawa is one of my favourite contemporary Japanese actors – alongside better-known types like Ken Watanabe, Kiichi Nakai, Koji Yakusho, Yusuke Iseya, Kenichi Matsuyama and Koichi Sato.

Like most Japanese actors Karasawa has no qualms about appearing in advertising on TVs over here, and he’s popped up in some hilarious commercials for muscle-fixing shippu (a cold-patch reminiscent of the pain paste Deep Heat back in former British colonies like Australia and South Africa), and he sometimes gets into weird superhero garb to sell houses.

"History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised again."

– Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

It's that time of year again.

With less than three days left, and without proper reflection, all of us will compile lists of our favorite things from the previous twelve months.

As time wears on our opinions will change. Films that went under the radar theatrically will find audiences on video and on cable television. Books that sat on shelves and bedside tables will be discounted, re-gifted and read. Discs that didn't lead-off with hit singles will be rediscovered on shuffle mode, possibly making it into steady airplay rotation.

With that caveat, in full admission that my selections will likely change, I offer my favorite releases of 2010, and my reasons why.

FOG! Asks "What Did You Like Best in 2010?"

Over the next few days, we'll be checking in with FOG! Contributors, past and present, and friends of the site to get their thoughts on what they liked best this past year.

Forces of Geek is always looking for talented and creative writers to join the site in various capacities.

There are several positions that we're currently looking to fill.

Columnist: A commitment to produce one scheduled column every other week that focuses on a particular area, theme or genre of geek/pop culture. Send a pitch describing your vision for a column and we can take it from there and fine-tune it to meet both of our sensibilities.

Editor: Do you spend hours surfing the web, looking at sites and telling your friends news before they hear it, or just tweet links all day long? If the answer is "yes", you might be a good fit for an editorial position where you report news on a specific area. Each article would most likely be two or three paragraphs. Several articles are expected throughout the day and requires an actual love/knowledge of the subject.

Reviewer: Reviews are always welcome/encouraged. Subjects include comics, books, movies, dvds, music, video games, etc. Write intelligent, thought provoking reviews and we'll all be happy. Review what you find interesting, frustrating or captivating.

Guest Feature Article: A new concept for the site. Pitch an article and go off and write it. It can be a one time piece or semi-regular, but more focused in a particular subject matter than a regular column. Requires a pitch outlining the concept and focus of the piece. Articles should be approximately 1500-2000 words.

FOG! Your Blog! If you are currently blogging and not getting the audience that you want, consider applying to FOG! Your Blog! Essentially, you bring your blog over to FOG!, agree to the site's guidelines and broaden your audience. You will also get an ad on the front page which will directly link to your blog within the FOG! site. Your site must focus on pop/geek culture and your blog will essentially discontinue at it's current address and be absorbed into the Forces of Geek site. Further details can be discussed on a case by case basis.

SEGA (YES, IT STILL EXISTS) RELEASES URINAL-BASED GAME...Gives New Meaning to the Phrase 'Pissing Contest'

In a move to corner the public bathroom gaming market, Sega, has introduced the Toirettsu a gaming console/urinal that lets the gamer control the game by peeing on sensors.

Yes, you read that correctly, you piss on a sensor to make the game action continue.

I can only imagine what the multi-player function would look like:

Of course, the game has only been released in Japan, but if you are interested in learning more about it (and why shouldn't you?) check out the video below for all the pee-filled gameplay your little bladder could want.

Death and resurrection in comics have become such commonplace occurrences that it is often hard to take them seriously when they happen.

Too often they are done for shock value or to show off just how "badass" a villain is and then, within the span of a few years or even months, the "dead" character is back through some editorially mandated mumbo-jumbo.

Note: one character was "reality punched" back to life.

Seriously.

No joke.

Superboy Prime--Punching people back to life since 2005

Rap Artist and Chelsea Handler fornicator 50 Cent, is spending his Snowpocalypse shoveling out his neighbor's driveways for $100 and tweeting about it like it's the most interesting thing in the world.

Which just goes to show you that Twitter really is a waste of time.

Think I'm kidding?

Here's one of the tweets he posted:

SWAT KATS: THE RADICAL SQUADRON COMPLETE SERIES COLLECTION (dvd review)

Warner Archive // Released December 14 , 2010 // Not Rated

The Pitch
Deadly bacteria! Doomsday devices! Robotic spiders! Sound like a big budget sci-fi thriller? Nope. Even better. It’s the 5-Disc, 26-Episode Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron Complete Series Collection. Chance Furlong and Jake Clawson appear to be ordinary junkyard auto mechanics until trouble occurs in Megakat City. In a flash they fly their high-tech Turbokat toward danger as T-Bone and Razor: the Swat Kats. The city is run by the power-hungry Commander Feral and his militant team of Megakat Enforcers. Jake and Chance were once Enforcers but Feral demoted them to working in the scrap yard, where the Swat Kats were born. They take on any kind of menace from the undead sorcerer Pastmaster to lobster-like alien warlord Mutilor. The hardware-heavy action never stops in this animated fan-favorite from Hanna-Barbera Studios that’s fur-flying fun!

Warner Archive // Released December 7, 2010 // Not Rated

The Pitch
Spring is here and Yogi and Boo Boo wake up from hibernation only to find that some major changes have taken place while they slept the winter away. Jellystone Park is closing down! No more Jellystone Park means no more tourists, and that means no more picnic baskets to pilfer! Yogi, Boo Boo and their new friends, the bear cub triplets, take off in Yogi’s homemade getaway mobile – the Supercar – in search of a new home. All the while Ranger Smith, bounty hunter Trapper and his hound dog Yapper are hot on their tails! Some familiar cartoon faces make an appearance on this cross-country trip filled with fun, friends and famous American landmarks!

Warner Archive // Released December 14, 2010 // Not Rated

The Pitch
In this fondly remembered animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera Studios, Bo, Luke and Daisy Duke take their high-wheelin’ country cruisin’ around the world in a race against Boss Hogg for the family farm. No joshin’ – the Dukes speed through France, Italy, Austria, Greece, England – you name it, the General Lee made tracks there! En route, Boss Hogg pulls the nastiest tricks ever, like blinding the boys with a fog machine, having them kidnapped and tricking them into a jewel heist. Why, that Hogg’s as crooked as a dog’s hind leg! But that won’t stop the Dukes from fighting a fair fight and teaching that cheat a few tricks along the way. Y’all need to catch this 4-Disc, 20-Episode Complete Animated Series Collection from the time the pedal hits the metal all the way to the finish line!

Once again the best news program in the world manages to bring to life the problems plaguing the Broadway horror show that is Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and making it seem funny, rather than pathetic.

With the opening date pushed back to February due to the myriad of issues and injuries sustained by the actors, it'll be interesting to see if this production can push past its 'TerryGilliamitis' and finally see the light of day (so to speak).

If not, at least I can keep track of its craptastic-ness through CG.

Video after the break.

2010 was a productive year for Geek Tech news.

New gadgets were unveiled, some became popular, others not so much.

The evolution of computers, especially mobile devices, continued to accelerate at lightning speed, while the usual popular online destinations that have dominated the dynamic web continue to grow in popularity more than ever before.

Yeah, yeah...you're cute and funky fresh, now drop dead.

You know those insanely idiotic YouTube videos of underage girls dancing in
front of their web cams in their underwear thinking that the world wants to watch them do anything other than die horrible deaths?

Well, thanks to the brilliant video White we get to see them doing just that...die.

It brings a tear to my eye knowing that someone has finally looked deep into my soul and realized what makes me truly happy.

Video after the break

I haven't been online for a few days now so that I could blissfully remain unaware of anything going on in the universe (It was a little present to myself) but if I had seen this Gingerbread ode to the greatest television series ever made before Xmas, I might have enjoyed the holidays a bit more.

You see, I loved Firefly with the same passion I usually reserved for Bong making and mix tapes, and its demise made my heart hurt. So naturally,anything having to do with the Joss Whedon masterpiece rates high on my worship meter.

DVD LOUNGE - HOLIDAY EDITION

The nice thing about holiday dvds is that you aren't limited to enjoying them only during the holiday season.

Being Christmas, I thought that I'd review some recently released holiday themed discs.

Keep in mind, even if you don't watch these today, you do have 364 other days to check them out before next Christmas.

So, you've managed to duck out of the holiday happenings long enough to check in.

So as not to disappoint (or force you to watch A Christmas Story another four times before the marathon winds down), here's a sampling of some holiday themed shows, specials or films to keep you occupied.

So, gather everyone around the monitor, enlarge the image to full screen and enjoy!

Warner Home Video // November 23, 2010 // Rated PG

The Pitch
When second-graders Bryce and Juli first meet, Juli knows it’s love. Bryce isn’t so sure. In the days and years ahead, Bryce (Callan McAuliffe) does all he can to keep his wannabe girlfriend at arm’s length – and the smart, independent-minded Juli (Madeline Carroll) continues to give him the benefit of the doubt. This tender coming-of-age romantic comedy from director Rob Reiner takes the pair from grade school to junior high, through triumph and disaster, family drama and first love, as they make discoveries that will define who they are – and who they are to each other.

LISTEN! FOG! Chats With Iconic Television Writer/Producer KENNETH JOHNSON!

Fans of television will recognize the name Kenneth Johnson from the credits of some of the most beloved genre series of all time including The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, V, Alien Nation, The Incredible Hulk and Cliffhangers!

With the recent release of the complete series of The Six Million Dollar Man on DVD, Kenny was generous enough with his time to chat about not only that series, but some of his other television work.

For the first time, we're presenting an audio interview on the site and please let us know if you like it and if you would like more interviews in this format. Special thanks to our own Frankie Thirteen who assisted with the engineering of this piece.

Listen to our interview with Kenny after the jump as well as some pretty neat behind the scenes pics!

Warner Bros. Home Video // Released November 30, 2010 // Rated R

The Pitch
Erin’s (Drew Barrymore) wry wit and unfiltered frankness charm newly single Garrett (Justin Long) over beer, bar trivia and breakfast the next morning. Their chemistry sparks a full-fledged summer fling, but neither expects it to last once Erin heads home to San Francisco and Garrett stays behind for his job in New York City. But when six weeks of romping through the city inadvertently become meaningful, neither is sure they want it to end. And while Garrett’s friends, Box (Jason Sudeikis) and Dan (Charlie Day), joke about his pre-flight calorie-cutting and his full-time relationship with his cell phone, they don’t like losing their best drinking buddy to yet another rocky romance. At the same time, Erin’s high-strung, overprotective married sister, Corrine (Christina Applegate), wants to keep Erin from heading down an all-too-familiar road. But despite the opposite coasts, the nay-saying friends and family, and a few unexpected temptations, the couple just might go the distance.

Ahhh…. The Christmas/Holiday/Solstice Season.

A season of warmth and gentleness in the midst of an otherwise cold and dreary winter.

A time to celebrate family, remember the past year, and look forward to the blessings of the coming year.

And a time to sing beloved songs that, quite honestly, have more than their share of “WTF” moments.

Well, tonight is your big night and I’m sure that you are totally busy with whatever you are doing to get ready to jet around the world bringing toys to all the good little gentile girls and boys, but I would like to take a moment of your time to complain about your methods.

You see, there are a few things I, myself would like this holiday season but due to your blatant bigotry and ageism, I’m pretty sure that tomorrow I will find no presents underneath the potted plant that I hung a paperclip garland on in a festive way.

I’m not that surprised that you ignore non-Christians, the poor, or those who fall short of your high expectations. You probably grew up in a family filled with ethnic people who worked for minimum wage and, to make ends meet, had to engage in behavior that would most likely net them lumps of coal when judged against your criteria for presents.

After-all, most of us want to change certain aspects of ourselves when it comes to our family and I’m sure that your desire to appeal to the whitest people on the planet who love the baby Jesus is your way of erasing the memory of eating foods that smell like wet socks or listening to hours of your relatives complaining about the Anti-Semites at the grocery store who keep all the undented cans of green beans for themselves.

LINER NOTES FROM A MIXTAPE PART 2

Click here for the Part 1 of this series.

Before I start, I'd like to apologize to A Tribe Called Quest for not putting any tracks from The Low End Theory for (28)Years of Sommer. Just ain't gonna work out...word to Mayer Hawthorne.

Part 2 of my megamix leaps into the 1990s. The 90s were my formative years, the wonder years of adolescence where boys become men.

(No "Motownphilly")

Most of the songs here reflect my love of hip-hop and a couple other songs that I picked up since the glorious days of my youth.

Looking for something incredibly cool to check out post-Christmas?

Launching on December 27th on Crackle is LaMB, the much lauded first original production from Animax Asia featuring a cornucopia of big-name acting and design talent who contributed the sleek style of the series which consists of the 42 minute telefilm and 22 webisodes.

What's it about?

The inhabitants of a harsh desert planet called Cerra have perfected a system of imprisonment without walls. Called "Lamination", those convicted of serious crimes are placed in a suit to ensure criminals are productive. But if not free, the criminals become members of society in a system of virtual slavery.

They are hence called LaMBs.

The project is from an original script written by Carmelo Juinio, one of the finalists of the 2007 Animax Awards Pan Asia Animation Competition and features American Taiwanese-based singer and actor Vanness Wu voicing the role of Dr. Jack Griswold, Singapore radio host Petrina Kow voicing the role of Sara Integra and award-winning Hong Kong actress Josie Ho voices the role of Keiko Suzuki. Music featured in the film is performed by the bands Simple Plan and The Click Five and if that wasn't enticing enough, world famous fashion designer Vivienne Tam designed the dresses seen in the film, which were later made into actual dresses for promotional events across Asia.

After the jump, check out a trailer, the first webisode and a faux-PSA and be sure to check out the premiere on December 27th HERE!

Hello Parents,

Before I begin, let me congratulate you on pumping out a healthy unit comprised solely upon your shared DNA. It truly is a miracle that the two of you were able to find another person co-existing on this planet who could stomach your interesting little quirks.

Now, about dressing your child up in fabric black-face for your own racist amusement.

I get that the idea of doing so was insanely funny to the two of you. After-all Mr. T was a cultural icon in the 80s what with Rocky III, the A-Team, and of course, his blockbuster music hit Treat Your Mother Right:

Merry Xmas!

Video Christmas cards are an interesting way to say Happy Holidays for those who just don’t want to make the effort to sign their names to a pre-printed card.

But this particular one from the Beijing Animation studio 39°N, wins the prize for the most insanely depressive Holiday wishes ever (it kinda makes you wonder whether or not they wanted the recipients to kill themselves immediately after viewing said video).

The short animation is based on Neil Gaiman’s poem/story Nicolas Was and will certainly put all your holiday stress in perspective…or, it will give you the permission to finally paper cut yourself to death with wrapping paper.

Video after the break.

'Tis the season for last minute shopping and 2-day Amazon shipping.

Can't A Grown Man Read Comics doesn't want you to disappoint your respective fan-boo or comic book obsessed cousin with piss-poor gift decisions at the zero hour. In an effort to write as little as possible (I have my own last minute shopping to do, y'know) and as an act of good will ('tis the season) I present to you a list of ten items you can easily grab from the internet before Christmas Day.

This is the first ever "C.A.G.M.R.C. Holiday Gift Guide for Procrastinators Who Don't Know $#!+ About Comics!" (Don't worry, I'll keep it simple.)

Tron: Evolution -Xbox 360 (review)

Welcome to the Grid, Program!

Whether it’s a long stay or short is up to you. Though personally, I’d only pack a carry-on.

In Tron: Evolution’s story mode you play as prototype System Monitor, Anon, personally tasked by Tron himself to track down the renegade virus Abraxus who is corrupting the ISOs, Basics, and Tron City itself…

God, I hate you all

Full House was one of those family television shows that made you want to gouge out your eyes with a spork because you just couldn't handle watching 22 minutes of the saccharine-sweet plot devices (at least, this is what I felt every time my mother would force my brother and I to watch it instead of, say, Tales from the Crypt).

But, I might have been a bigger fan if the theme show writers took a death metal approach and allowed the Tanners to be angry, meth-heads, who all lived together in some crack house in the bad part of San Francisco.

But alas, it wasn't so I will instead listen to this alternate-version of the song until I can erase the memory of Uncle Joey from the crevices of my mind.

By Tess Davidson

I first became aware of Tess Davidson through her very funny tweets with such cult geniuses as Michael Rooker and James Gunn and thought she would be the perfect person to interview filmmaker Larry Fessenden.

Larry's the award-winning writer/director of the art horror movies NO TELLING, HABIT, WENDIGO and THE LAST WINTER. He has been a producer on over a dozen films, including I SELL THE DEAD, THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL and WENDY AND LUCY. He directed an episode of NBC’s Fear Itself entitled “SKIN AND BONES.” Fessenden has acted in numerous films including I SELL THE DEAD, BROKEN FLOWERS, THE BRAVE ONE, BRINGING OUT THE DEAD and HABIT. Fessenden founded Glass Eye Pix in 1985 with the mission of supporting individual voices in the arts.

Recently, Larry launched the audio series TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE and the wrote and directed the episode, HOLE DIGGER and he and Tess graciously took some time to talk about the project in a conversation that feels like it was ripped from the pages of INTERVIEW MAGAZINE. - S.B.

Showtime is home to some of the most original series on television, including such fan favorites as Dexter, Californication and Weeds.

Now, the cable network is home to some of the most original shorts on the web, having gathered cutting-edge content creators to tell a short story in an innovative way.

And the results are pretty impressive, showcasing the talent of some of the Internet’s top filmmakers, visual artists, and animators, including the groundbreaking Pes, Academy Award nominee Don Hertzfeldt, and YouTube sensation Levni Yilmaz.

In addition to airing on Showtime, the seven short films will be available at www.SHO.com/shortstories, on Showtime On Demand, and on mobile devices.

The seven shorts are:

The Deep by PES
Wisdom Teeth by Don Hertzfeldt
Goodnight Cleopatra by Jeff Scher
Teachers I Have Had by Levni Yilmaz
Dahlia by Michael Langan
Walks of Life by Cyriak
Music Box by Mixtape Club

After the jump check out other shorts by these talented filmmakers.

He sees you when you're sleeping...

The holidays can be stressful, what with all the baking, the present-buying and the always soul-destroying visits from your parents.

Add to that the Zombie Apocalypse that is bound to come and you've got the makings of a Xmas spent in high-stress hell.

But don't worry, the creative people of Team Unicorn! have created an instructional video that will help you negotiate your way around the holiday mess that is the Walking Undead.

Remember: Just because your home is about to be overrun by the stinking corpses of your neighbors, doesn't mean you have to stop baking pies.

Enjoy!

While travelling through time is a desire that most sci-fi freaks regularly masturbate to, there are, however, horrendous consequences for doing so.

And thank Jeebus, that the good folks of Japan are willing to use the nausea-soothing beverage of 7-up to illustrate what could happen when you make a time travelling wish on a magic tree decorated with empty bottles.

(I didn't say it made a whole lot of sense)

Watch and learn my friends (and you might want to bring some toilet paper)

"I am not alone at all, I thought. I was never alone at all. And that, of course, is the message of Christmas. We are never alone. Not when the night is darkest, the wind coldest, the word seemingly most indifferent. For this is still the time God chooses."

– Taylor Caldwell

It is the evening of the

Winter Solstice as I write this. It was heralded by a total lunar eclipse following a meteor shower in the eye of Gemini. There could scarcely be a better set-up for the arrival of Santa Claus this Saturday.

Celestial metaphors aside, cosmological events coinciding with religious and commercial holidays have a way of adding greater significance to a time of year that brings front and center, joy, tragedy and reflection. In one respect, what are the problems of a few individuals among billions in a vast and ever expanding universe?

But on the other hand, what could be more significant than a set of circumstance so special, that even among the infinite, they remain unique?

This is not my Christmas wish list nor is it my holiday shopping guide.

It's amazing that young kids today are probably unfamiliar with the original Little Rascals, Our Gang.

And, if they are familiar, chances are they only know the horrible movie from the Nineties.

But, as any cinegeek knows, there's nothing like the original Hal Roach shorts.

Alfalfa, Spanky, Buckwheat and the rest of the rascals star in OUR GANG. First seen on the big screen in short films prior to theatrical features the rascals in Our Gang became a piece of Americana through years of syndication on television. These rarely seen episodes can now be enjoyed by kids, parents, and fans anytime and anywhere via iTunes Download.

And we're giving a download away!

A Sending Off For The Rest

This was a great year for reading fantastika.

Not only was there a lot of great stuff published, but I read more of it than I have in quite a while. I discovered new writers, had my love of certain literary things rekindled, and explored fantastic fiction more widely than ever.

This delightful wandering helped me to produce a lot of the columns I wrote for FOG! this year, inspiring me as columnist, writer, and sometimes even as a person.

One of the hallowed rituals of American media in many of their episodic forms is to "round up" the elements of the previous year, from "Best of" discussions to "Top 10" lists, and all sorts of other summaries.

I just did a Top 10 list for fantastika over at my blog, but in the spirit of the season, of endings and beginnings, I thought I would provide something a little different, a short List of Geeky Things That Deserve a Rousing Send-Off for 2010:

Pages

Friday, December 31, 2010

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Monday, December 27, 2010

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Friday, December 24, 2010

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Tuesday, December 21, 2010