Dr. Who, the well known crazy British sci-fi program which has been around since the 1960s, is a nerdy thing I never quite understood. It always seemed a little too out their for me but lately I have been giving it a chance. I'm starting with the first season starring Christopher Eccleston as the great doctor and I am really enjoying it.
I get it now, it's weird but its the greatest kind of weird. It is a perfect canvas for both hilarity and fear. Not always the greatest combination but the doctor makes it work. The depth of character and the writing is great and the weirdness becomes a part of you just like a new pair of shoes eventually does.
You start off fighting plastic creatures and your next turn is watching the end of the world, time travel and space are both very awesome. Combine them and you get the doctor, sorry I'm late to the game but I am catching up as quick as I can.
The Doctor: You can't rule the world in hiding. You've got to come out on the balcony sometimes and wave a tentacle-[Terror of the Zygons]
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
The First Tire Smoked Movie Review!!! : THOOOOR
This previous weekend I went and saw the latest in Marvel's avenger themed movie line, Thor. First and fore most let me say that through out my comic book nerdom I have never had much of a love for Thor. I knew him, he was there and I noted his existence. But with Marvel's Avenger "initiative" what nerd would I be if I didn't go see the movie.
My first impression with the film was how gorgeous the visuals of Asgard were. The CGI was phenomenal for a movie that was probably as rushed as all the avenger's movies have been for the last couple years. Chris Hemsworth who played Thor did a great job getting across the whole Bombastic-entitled-jerk-to-educated-hero...thing. Natalie Portmen is hot as always and did fine as the love interest but the romance in the movie seemed hookey to me. One minute a dude is falling from the skies and the next they're making out but that's not their fault. Kate Dennings is super funny and Anthony Hopkins as Odin was just awesome. Oh and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, I say hell yes.
The action was great and all but as a true blue comic fanatic I know enough to know they deviated from the Thor mythos quite a bit, I understand it on an intellectual level but it still stings a little. I could get into it but if you don't already know what I'm talking about why are you reading this? Anyway long story short I give it 3 flaming tires out of 5, good but Captain America (one of my favorite super heroes) better be great. They already show him using a gun in the trailer...whatever
Oh, no… this is Earth, isn’t it?-Thor(2011)
My first impression with the film was how gorgeous the visuals of Asgard were. The CGI was phenomenal for a movie that was probably as rushed as all the avenger's movies have been for the last couple years. Chris Hemsworth who played Thor did a great job getting across the whole Bombastic-entitled-jerk-to-educated-hero...thing. Natalie Portmen is hot as always and did fine as the love interest but the romance in the movie seemed hookey to me. One minute a dude is falling from the skies and the next they're making out but that's not their fault. Kate Dennings is super funny and Anthony Hopkins as Odin was just awesome. Oh and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, I say hell yes.
The action was great and all but as a true blue comic fanatic I know enough to know they deviated from the Thor mythos quite a bit, I understand it on an intellectual level but it still stings a little. I could get into it but if you don't already know what I'm talking about why are you reading this? Anyway long story short I give it 3 flaming tires out of 5, good but Captain America (one of my favorite super heroes) better be great. They already show him using a gun in the trailer...whatever
Oh, no… this is Earth, isn’t it?-Thor(2011)
Monday, May 2, 2011
Love in the Time of Internet Tools
OK first off this isn't an entry about online dating safe to say a lot of people find it rewarding and it is getting less weird to meet people on a dating site. That being said I would never use an Internet dating service, talk about taking the easy way out. You can't call it love if you ordered it online, only if you drunkenly fell into it at a bar or strip club. Am I right? I am right. what this article is about however is the five Internet tools I love the most and can't stop using even when my lovely girlfriend begs me. SO lets get started:
5. Twitter
I know. Who doesn't use twitter ALL THE TIME?! Well a lot of people actually (most of my friends for example) but I love it. Not just for the ability to get every dumb thought I have out into the ether (their always hilarious by the way, follow me @thesmokingnerd) But because so many of my Internet idols are on it and being a follower gives you special privileges such as knowledge about upcoming The Walking Dead episodes that no one else would know or just the hilarity that ensues from the cartoonists I follow. Everyone has something to gain from using Twitter and I highly recommend it. http://www.twitter.com/
4. Comixology
If you are a comic book reader (and I assume you are) you need to use comixology it allows you to instantly get any new comics that are released and read them digitally with your computer or universal apple tool of your choice (iPhone for me). They also have tons of free comics for newbies or people just looking for a new series to read. The site also keeps you updated on cool stuff like comic creator's podcasts and columns. get on it. http://www.comixolgy.com/
3. Pandora
If you don't already know what Pandora is WHO ARE YOU??!?! no...no I'm sorry but it IS weird. I don't know what it is about this sweet music generating program but it is apparently able to read my soul. I don't even know what I want to listen to but Pandora does. it is awesome. http://www.pandora.com/
2. Nerd News
What more do you need to know? Its news...for nerds. Check it. http://www.nerd-news.com/
1. Stumble Upon
I LOVE stumble upon it is the cream of the crop of Internet time wasters. You feed it all your interests and you hit the stumble button and it just shows you all the coolest darkest corners of the Internet that you would never have found by yourself. Chosen just for you. I use it daily I can't not, I've seen things like set photos from star wars and charts depicting the amount of video games played by country. It is my all time favorite Internet tool. You GOT to check it out. http://www.stumbleupon.com/
Check this stuff out its awesome and it is free to sign up for all of it. The Internet was invented to waste the time of otherwise occupied individuals and these are the greatest time wasters of all time.
It's important for us to explain to our nation that life is important. It's not only life of babies, but it's life of children living in, you know, the dark dungeons of the Internet.”- George W. Bush
5. Twitter
I know. Who doesn't use twitter ALL THE TIME?! Well a lot of people actually (most of my friends for example) but I love it. Not just for the ability to get every dumb thought I have out into the ether (their always hilarious by the way, follow me @thesmokingnerd) But because so many of my Internet idols are on it and being a follower gives you special privileges such as knowledge about upcoming The Walking Dead episodes that no one else would know or just the hilarity that ensues from the cartoonists I follow. Everyone has something to gain from using Twitter and I highly recommend it. http://www.twitter.com/
4. Comixology
If you are a comic book reader (and I assume you are) you need to use comixology it allows you to instantly get any new comics that are released and read them digitally with your computer or universal apple tool of your choice (iPhone for me). They also have tons of free comics for newbies or people just looking for a new series to read. The site also keeps you updated on cool stuff like comic creator's podcasts and columns. get on it. http://www.comixolgy.com/
3. Pandora
If you don't already know what Pandora is WHO ARE YOU??!?! no...no I'm sorry but it IS weird. I don't know what it is about this sweet music generating program but it is apparently able to read my soul. I don't even know what I want to listen to but Pandora does. it is awesome. http://www.pandora.com/
2. Nerd News
What more do you need to know? Its news...for nerds. Check it. http://www.nerd-news.com/
1. Stumble Upon
I LOVE stumble upon it is the cream of the crop of Internet time wasters. You feed it all your interests and you hit the stumble button and it just shows you all the coolest darkest corners of the Internet that you would never have found by yourself. Chosen just for you. I use it daily I can't not, I've seen things like set photos from star wars and charts depicting the amount of video games played by country. It is my all time favorite Internet tool. You GOT to check it out. http://www.stumbleupon.com/
Check this stuff out its awesome and it is free to sign up for all of it. The Internet was invented to waste the time of otherwise occupied individuals and these are the greatest time wasters of all time.
It's important for us to explain to our nation that life is important. It's not only life of babies, but it's life of children living in, you know, the dark dungeons of the Internet.”- George W. Bush
Monday, April 25, 2011
Video games to me...
I don't know about you but I can think back to a time when I could literally spend an entire 48 hours of a weekend sitting in front of a screen completely absorbed into whatever video game I was into at the time. Video games to me are not just and escape and cheap entertainment, they are some of the most fulfilling and influential stories I have ever experienced. One of my all time favorite video games was one entitled Lunar: silver star story complete which was about a boy who dreamed of adventure and went on a quest to find four powerful dragon artifacts to become the next savior of the world. I played this game at a time when I was confused about myself and the direction I was going with my life and i felt a deep connection with the main character. The legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is one of the greatest games ever made and was the first game I ever beat completely on my own, I remember feeling an immense amount of pride.
The thing is is that mainstream culture is only now catching up and starting to realize that games are a legitimate form of media/literature many are just as good if not better than movies but us nerds know the truth. Games have always been a place to get deep, fulfilling, character driven stories that can move you and shape your view of the world. Now I'm not saying you'll get a lesson about life after death and how to eat properly just by eating ghosts and fruit in a game of pac-man certainly there are games that have only the purpose of wasting your time for a few hours but other games like (oh I don't know) Final Fantasy 3- 13, Mass Effect, Fallout 1-3, Baldur's Gate, Diablo1 and 2, Elder Scrolls 1-4, Metal Gear Solid, Dragon Age, Dragon Quest, Red Dead Redemption, Breath of Fire, Secrets of Mana, Fable 1-3, Indigo Prophecy, Heavy Rain, Grand Theft Auto 3-4 (that's four games), Star wars Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2, and Chrono Trigger (just to name a few off the top of me head) have rich character driven plots that make you care and become emotionally invested. I myself recall a well of sadness when I messed up my first play through of mass effect and ended up getting Wrex killed (I love that big lizard). You don't have to take my word for it, play a game, make a virtual friend and tell me if there worth your time or not.
The dozens of poems mourning the death of Aries at the hands of Sephiroth in Final Fantasy 7 can still be found all over the Internet. People care about these characters just as much as people care about characters in movies. Someone told me you won't find a Sophie's choice moment in a video game, wrong, the difference is that in a video game your not watching that kind of choice you have to make it yourself, ask the thousands of people who spent hours just trying to decide who to save Kaiden or Ashley in the first Mass effect.
I'll remember you always Kaiden
It's dangerous to go alone! Take this. - The Legend of Zelda
The thing is is that mainstream culture is only now catching up and starting to realize that games are a legitimate form of media/literature many are just as good if not better than movies but us nerds know the truth. Games have always been a place to get deep, fulfilling, character driven stories that can move you and shape your view of the world. Now I'm not saying you'll get a lesson about life after death and how to eat properly just by eating ghosts and fruit in a game of pac-man certainly there are games that have only the purpose of wasting your time for a few hours but other games like (oh I don't know) Final Fantasy 3- 13, Mass Effect, Fallout 1-3, Baldur's Gate, Diablo1 and 2, Elder Scrolls 1-4, Metal Gear Solid, Dragon Age, Dragon Quest, Red Dead Redemption, Breath of Fire, Secrets of Mana, Fable 1-3, Indigo Prophecy, Heavy Rain, Grand Theft Auto 3-4 (that's four games), Star wars Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2, and Chrono Trigger (just to name a few off the top of me head) have rich character driven plots that make you care and become emotionally invested. I myself recall a well of sadness when I messed up my first play through of mass effect and ended up getting Wrex killed (I love that big lizard). You don't have to take my word for it, play a game, make a virtual friend and tell me if there worth your time or not.
The dozens of poems mourning the death of Aries at the hands of Sephiroth in Final Fantasy 7 can still be found all over the Internet. People care about these characters just as much as people care about characters in movies. Someone told me you won't find a Sophie's choice moment in a video game, wrong, the difference is that in a video game your not watching that kind of choice you have to make it yourself, ask the thousands of people who spent hours just trying to decide who to save Kaiden or Ashley in the first Mass effect.
I'll remember you always Kaiden
It's dangerous to go alone! Take this. - The Legend of Zelda
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Anime: Subbed or Dubbed
In my opinion nothing is greater then a well crafted, well written, Japanese animated epic that I can zone out and watch for a week straight. Series's like Cowboy Bebop and Neon Genesis Evangelion and movies like Akira and Ghost in the Shell are master pieces that I can watch over and over and over again. But one thing that is ever debated(at least among me and my closest nerd friends) is whether to watch them subtitled with Japanese spoken or dubbed with English spoken and no subtitles.
I believe, unlike many, that their is absolutely nothing wrong with dubbed and in fact dubbed is MORE respectful to the art that is Anime. Let me explain, In a live action foreign film it is disrespectful to the work of the actors to watch it dubbed, it also more often than not looks absolutely ridiculous. We've all made the Godzilla jokes so I don't think I'm over stepping when I say you can tell they weren't speaking that language originally. However, actors in live action movies are an immensely important aspect of the film and a movie is often successful because of their ability to properly portray the work of the writers and directors. Not to diminish the work of voice actors because I have certainly watched enough cartoons and played enough video games to know there are good ones and very very bad ones. But, the work of voice actors don't make or break an animated story, it's the animators and colorists that do. It's their work that shines in that medium and pulls everything together and a writers work can be read by anyone of any language so long as the translation is accurate without being absurd. "You have disrespected me harshly and now we will fight" works better in Japanese than it does in English. By watching anime dubbed we never have the neccesity of taking our eyes off the beautiful work of the artists to read text that is disrupting the screen and fluidity of the animation, we also aren't ruining the work of the actors because the actors are just animated characters moving their mouths up and down and when it's done right (which it isn't always) you would never know it was originally meant for japanese dialouge.
Well animated and well written anime is good anime no matter what language you hear it in and the artists of these great works need their due credit and they get the most without subtitles. That being said I'm really glad I wasn't born deaf because otherwise this entire entry would be moot. (insert giant brow drop /sigh moment here)
I'm not a nerd, I'm a specialist.
Sousuke Sagara (Full Metal Panic!)
I believe, unlike many, that their is absolutely nothing wrong with dubbed and in fact dubbed is MORE respectful to the art that is Anime. Let me explain, In a live action foreign film it is disrespectful to the work of the actors to watch it dubbed, it also more often than not looks absolutely ridiculous. We've all made the Godzilla jokes so I don't think I'm over stepping when I say you can tell they weren't speaking that language originally. However, actors in live action movies are an immensely important aspect of the film and a movie is often successful because of their ability to properly portray the work of the writers and directors. Not to diminish the work of voice actors because I have certainly watched enough cartoons and played enough video games to know there are good ones and very very bad ones. But, the work of voice actors don't make or break an animated story, it's the animators and colorists that do. It's their work that shines in that medium and pulls everything together and a writers work can be read by anyone of any language so long as the translation is accurate without being absurd. "You have disrespected me harshly and now we will fight" works better in Japanese than it does in English. By watching anime dubbed we never have the neccesity of taking our eyes off the beautiful work of the artists to read text that is disrupting the screen and fluidity of the animation, we also aren't ruining the work of the actors because the actors are just animated characters moving their mouths up and down and when it's done right (which it isn't always) you would never know it was originally meant for japanese dialouge.
Well animated and well written anime is good anime no matter what language you hear it in and the artists of these great works need their due credit and they get the most without subtitles. That being said I'm really glad I wasn't born deaf because otherwise this entire entry would be moot. (insert giant brow drop /sigh moment here)
I'm not a nerd, I'm a specialist.
Sousuke Sagara (Full Metal Panic!)
Monday, April 18, 2011
What is a Nerd?
The dictionary defines a nerd as
1. A foolish, inept, or unattractive person.
2. A person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept.
I define a nerd as someone who understands life is to short not to obsess about fantasy and fictional worlds. I also consider nerds to be some of the happiest, most endearing and genuine people out there. I am a nerd and I am also attractive (many people have said so), I am very adept at social situations just ask any of my trillions of friends (number unchecked but I assume at least that many) and I am also not foolish (soon to be college graduate yo) but the term was originally an insult. I for one, as many as my fellow nerdom subscribers do as well, wear it as a badge of pride and honor. Were fun people, people who don't take anything seriously (except making sure we get that variant cover that's coming out) and all we want to do is enjoy the world as we see it, a place full of wonder and fantasy fueled by the imagination of both great intelligent people and people who simply appreciate the creations of others.
Video games, comic books, novels of both fantasy and sci-fi genres, movies of similar genres, music (cause who doesn't love music), and gadgets of all shapes and sizes are what nerds are all about and that is why I dedicate this new blog to my nerdy brothers and sisters.
I hope to make everyone who reads this appreciate the same things I do and if they don't then they are not nerds and I feel very very sad for them. It's a nerd's world out their I'm just here to poke loving fun at it.
NERDS RULE!!
Hey A NEW BLOG
Ok so this one will be short and sweet but I got this sweet new blog with a sweet name I was sure would be taken already but I guess most bloggers are self-centered ego drones who just want everyone to see their name and read about how their cat just did the cutest thing. NOT ME, I am going to rant and rave about new tech and movies and comic books and games and some of my (hopefully) upcoming projects.
So this is day one, hopefuly their will be alot of subseqeunt days my track record with this stuff isn't so great.
TO LAZYNESS!
So this is day one, hopefuly their will be alot of subseqeunt days my track record with this stuff isn't so great.
TO LAZYNESS!
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