SUPER NINTENDO GEEK PAD!

The Sprite Stitch blog has some very cool images of a Nintendo themed room:



With Donkey Kong shelving and a NES Controller coffee table this place is Super Sweet. But much like the Star Wars themed cinema and that Star Trek flat it's the sort of Geek fantasy that is fine to dream of but would feel wrong for anyone over the age of thirteen.

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Buy Nintendo @ Amazon.co.uk| Amazon.com

Buy gadgets from Firebox

Fallout 3 LARP Again

I've been thinking about Fallout 3 LARP again after a friend sent me a Google translated webpage with more images and some commentary:


As in all good things, God is in the details and I particularly like the use of computers and the other tech items. Hopefully the laptops actually have a version of the password hacking that features in the game. The most annoying thing in LARP for me is the time-wasting tasks that are in place to simulate things like armour repair and crafting.

If you're Science skill isn't high enough to work up your own Robco Industries Terminal, Chis @ Geek Weekly has some ideas for making couple of simple FO3 props¹:


Of course if you are felling more adventurous take a look at Greg Aronowitz's Barnyard FX webpage for some advice of how to make that Ghoul make-up PIP-Boy perfect².


¹ A Repair skill of 20+ is all that is required.
² WARNING: May cause Severe Radiation Poisoning.

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Buy Fallout 3 @ Amazon.co.uk| Amazon.com

Homemade Iron Man Armour

Now like the Brotherhood armour the other week, this is FRAKIN EXCELLENT!

I would give my hind repulsors to have the time and the skill to make something like this. I've made plenty of fancy dress outfits and my own leather armour for LARP but this will likely always be a pipe dream.

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Buy Iron Man @ Amazon.co.uk| Amazon.com | Forbidden Planet

Bang vs Gadge

Monday night is now Geek Night for British TV as the Beeb's new Tomorrows World for the You Tube era show Bang Goes the Theory attempts to steal the faithful from the veteran that is FIVE's The Gadget Show.



Review | BBC1 | Mondays 19:30-20:00


Bang Goes the Theory is the new kid on the TV block. At a lean 30-minutes it slips in before the old veteran with an episode in-hand and a half-an-hour earlier time slot.

This weeks 2nd show features edible insects (less environmentally damaging than livestock), how-to blow up bin bags (not in the exciting/explosive way though), the search for M-class planets (all scientists base their research on Star Trek: FACT) and a water powered jetpack (which looks more fun than that MJ one).

There's a good mix in the presenters - the enthusiastic engineer, the nerdy scientist, the sexy biochemist and the Gadget Show deserter alumni - each with their own area interest - building crazy stuff, try-at-home science, explaining science and exploring technology.

The show has a definite cool science teacher feel about it with its mix of entertaining but educational bite-sized pieces of science and technology but it's just that variety that lets it down; half-an-hour is very little time to cover four different subjects in any depth.

In support, the web site does provide some Open University backed interactive features and links.



Review | FIVE | Mondays 20:00-21:00


The Gadget Show is now in its 12th series and this year staged a live show/gadget convention at the Birmingham NEC. It's a full hour (or 40-minutes or so minus the ads) from 8 and will be with us until the end of the year.

This weeks episode compares i-Phone-a-likes in NYC, looks at robotic penguins in Germany and builds a remote-control/teleprescence Landrover to race banger cars. And the cherry? The competition to win 160 gadgets worth £24k!

The Gadget Shows' presenters Jason The Game Bradbury, Suzi Sexy Perry, Jon The Godfather Bentley are essentially the royalty of geek TV in Britain. Supported by the go-to guy Ortis and Dionne covering the web-front there's plenty of talent to cover everything from novelty office toys to cutting edge robotics and still leave time for the weekly challenge road testing the latest gadgets and electronics; usually to destruction.

Whereas BGTT tries to educate while entertaining, TGS informs and entertains. Watching the reviews and comparisons feels useful, it provides you with practical knowledge you can use to fill your man-bag or Geek-pad, while still keeping you up-to-date with the latest super-science and cutting edge tech.

Plus TGS's web site is vast, containing 100s of mini-reviews, best-buy guides and blogs published between shows; even when it's off the air.

So The Gadget Show is still king and queen of British Geek TV but Bang Goes the Theory is virtually a new born so I'm not giving up on it yet. Besides there's plenty of space for both on my DVR.

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Buy gadgets from Firebox

Tron Legacy

Preview | Due: 2010 | Disney

Good things always come from Comic Con and Tron Legacy is a VERY good thing.

Tron was the film from the early 80's that even though CGI was in its infancy, with a little florescent paint and a lot of vision, made you believe in an artificially created world. One that wouldn't be surpassed until the Matrix upgrade it 17-years later.

Here Legacy takes all the CGI leaps and bounds of the last two decades to upgrade Tron to version 2.0; retaining its unique look and adding a dark edge. With the original Kevin Flynn returning and Bruce Boxleitner rumoured to be following suit, I have high hopes for this.

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Buy Tron @ Amazon.co.uk| Amazon.com

The Matrix Runs on Windows

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Take the red pill. Get the blue screen. That possibly explains my laptops erratic behaviour; recreational drug use.

I suspect that if the real Martix wasn't made on Macs this would be eerily similar to the first draft of the script.

The SFX and production are excellent on this, considering it is only a comedy short, as well as the script and performances so make sure you check out the other Geek humour shorts like Web Side Story.

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Buy Matrix @ Amazon.co.uk| Amazon.com

Twitter Three

This weeks follow suggestions:

@williamshatner - Needs NO introduction!
@Microsoft_Xbox - News and updates from the Xbox 360 team.
@RockstarGames - New and upadtes from Rockstar Games, makers of Grand Theft Auto.

This week @maycontaingeeks:

#StarTrek DS9 - The Alternate = 2Gs for condescending father figures, Odo the Fun Slime special effects and a suspiciously Dax.

#StarTrek DS9 - Armageddon Game = 3Gs for the start of Julian/Miles bromance, a harsh/logical way to prevent WMDs & coffee in the afternoon.

#StarTrek DS9 - Whispers = 3Gs for 2nd dose of Colm Meaney, suspicious friends and more coffee "Double strong, double sweet".

#StarTrek DS9 - Paradise = 3Gs for the 3rd Chief O'Brien in a row, space Amish and Sisko in the 'hot box'.

#StarTrek TNG - Bloodlines = 3Gs for sons found and lost, those damn Ferengi and "never looking at your hairline the same way again".

#StarTrek TNG - Peemptive Strike = 2 Gs for Ro <3s Picard & old men who have exactly the same history as your dad.

#DoctorWho (9th) - World War Three = 2 Gs for farting aliens, blowing up Downing Street & a promise of a Golden Age that will never come.

#StarTrek TNG - All Good Things (Pt.1) - 5 Gs for Picard back and forth, old friends & the trial that never ended.

#StarTrek TNG - All Good Things (Pt.2) - 5 Gs the future enterprise, for the unknown possibilities of existence and one last game of poker.

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Buy toys and merchandise @ Forbidden Planet

Halo 3: ODST

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Preview | Price: £34.99 | Due: 22/09/09 | Xbox 360 | Bungie/Microsoft

I'm a big fan of Halo 3 now even though I wasn't interested at all at first. I've never been a big fan of FPS games, as I prefer story over shooting, so my first experience was playing four-screen multiplayer on a friends version during our regular Tuesday Geek-night. A couple of games in and I was hooked.

Even then it was only the social play I was interested in. When I bought my own Xbox and copy of the game it was just to play Rocket Ball with my mates. At a loose end one night, I decided to try the single player mission. The next thing I know, I had finished without really understanding half of what had happened.

It's because of that I very glad to hear about Nathan Fillion appearing as Sgt Buck in Halo 3's sequel ODST. Not that I wouldn't be glad to see the Firefly star in anything, but I think this is a sign that narrative in ODST will go above and beyond what we saw in its predecessor. Another good sign is the games broken storyline, with play split between the main, starting character and playable flashbacks as other members of you squad.

Still not sold? What about the news that the game ships with a second disc featuring all the multiplayer maps from Halo 3, including those released as DLCs, plus three brand new ones as well as a standalone version of the multiplayer game.

Get ready to dance in Sep 09.

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Buy Halo @ Amazon.co.uk| Amazon.com

Show me the way to San Diego...

San Diego Comic-Con kicks off today. SDCC is one of THE biggest events in the Geek calendar, along with Gen Con and E3 Expo.

Don't let the Comic part of the title, now that we Geeks rule the entertainment world SDCC is were all the big film and TV people go to pimp their new wares.

Don't take my word for it though, let Kevin Clerks' Smith tell you about five his coolest encounters at SDCC: Part 1 and Part 2.

Sadly I won't be there, so I suggest you follow the latest news with me @:

Comic Book Resources News

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Buy toys and merchandise @ Forbidden Planet

Needs and Wants

Tom Endo write about the need for game merchandise in The Escapist:

If you've been a gamer long enough chances are you've stumbled upon or been tempted to purchase some sort of gaming related merchandise. Maybe it was the Halo cat helmet or a Solid Snake statue.

We've all been there; I've spent the last six-couple of months stalking Fallout 3 Bobbleheads on eBay and who hasn't wanted one of those life-sized statues they have in the Game stores?¹

My OCD² has taken many forms over my 30+ years on Sol 3. I've collected stamps, CCGs, marbles, comics, Star Trek videos, RPGs, books and various kinds of multi-coloured figurines. Most of these things serve no practical purpose, even the things with uses like the books and RPGs spend most of their time gathering dust on a shelf or hibernating at the bottom of a box.

Still there is a need to have these objects of desire. Take this for example:



It's a preview of an amazingly detailed Batman figurine due out next year and it's wonderful. What would I do with it? No idea, it's not like I actually play with toys anymore. Do I want it? Oh yes!

You could argue that at least the figurine has aesthetic value and can be used for as a display object, but what about this?



I've been planning on buying the Batman: Arkham Asylum game for the Xbox 360 since I saw the first video play throughs but when I found out that the HMV collectors edition comes with a Batarang my want turned to need. Do I plan on waging a war on crime with this Bat-themed weapon? No. Do I have any use for it? No.

Do I want it? No, but I need it.

¹ - Not that anyone has anywhere practical/socially acceptable to display it.
² - Obsessive Collection Disorder. Write it down!

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Buy Batman @ Amazon.co.uk| Amazon.com

Buy Fallout 3 @ Amazon.co.uk| Amazon.com

The Keyhole Nebula

Preview | $18 | Sizes: XS-3XL | Threadless


WOW! Now this isn't my usual kind of Tee, it's too bold and reminds me of those cheesy fantasy posters Athena sold in the '80s, but look at the detail! It's like the opening credits of the Twilight Zone. Probably more suited to feminine host but still, WOW!

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40-years from the Moon

That "one small step" landed 40-years ago today. Start the count-down now: 40-years to Mars!

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The Doctors New Clothes

The first look at Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor and his new companion Amy Pond, played by Karen Gillan.



Maryann Johanson writes:

Looks like David Tennant’s 10th Doctor geek chic has been exchanged for... what? Nerd chic?

I concur. Smith is dressed like a geography teacher from the '70s but with Doc Martins added. A hidden punk element or couldn't BBC costumes find some brown brogues in his size? And a bow tie? Not even Jimmy Olsen could pull that one off in the 21st Century!¹

This brings up my other concern about new Doctor/series: age². I was very enthusiastic when I heard that Steven Moffat was taking over as show runner, after all he wrote THE BEST single episode since the shows return, but Smith is 26 and Gillan is 21.

Now, I have no doubt about their acting skill, Smith was excellent in Party Animals, but a young lead and an younger assistant aims the show at a younger audience and as one of 30+ viewers I think the family focus of the new seasons have hindered some of the episodes. Taking off that dark edge that made us hide behind the sofa.

Filming has started now, so I guess we'll find out if the clothes and the man make it in 2010.


¹ - Is this look in anyway connected the John Smith circa Human Nature/The Family of Blood story?
² - I know. Discussing age in Doctor Who is a bit of a joke in itself.

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Buy Doctor Who @ Amazon.co.uk| Amazon.com | Forbidden Planet

Is there a Doctor in the Wasteland?

Slobberblood write in his blog:

Ok, it’s almost impossible, I’m trying to be the 15th Doctor, yes I know, don’t say it...
I’m trying to RPG The Doctor in the wasteland, using tons of mods I have access to upgrading my character to a high level, only picking skills that the Doctor would have.

A great idea, I've always characterised the choices my Fallout character have made, but I have to agree with that first sentence. I guess from his use of mods that he is playing the PC version and I don't have a problem with tweeking the costume or adding a follower, but a squad of Scape Marines? That brings me back to the impossible issue.

Slobberbllood says "The true challenge is NOT killing people", surely being followed around by a group of heavily armoured and armed solders defeats the point of being a pacifist? He could limit his offensive actions to using the Mesmetron but still the Wastelend is a very deadly place and probably not even the Doctor could save.

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Buy Fallout 3 @ Amazon.co.uk| Amazon.com

Buy Doctor Who @ Amazon.co.uk| Amazon.com | Forbidden Planet