Watchmen case settled

The Fox Watchmen lawsuit has been settled at last, and with that nasty bit of business out of the way, can we finally get back to what's really important? Seeing cool movies? I mean seriously.

Now I'm in a mellow Friday mooooood...

Repo! The Genetic Opera

This jaw-dropping I WANT TO SEE THAT movie featuring Giles from Buffy somehow stealthed its way almost to video release before I caught the trailer on the My Bloody Valentine DVD this week:



DVD street date January 20. All y'all just hold off adding it to your Netflix queue until after I've seen it, OK?

Cloak of Invisibility IRL

Invisibility Cloak Closer Than Ever to Reality

Jan. 15, 2009 -- An invisibility cloak for visible light could be made within six months, say scientists from Duke University, who, in a new paper published today in Science, explain how to hide objects from a dramatically extended range of wave lengths.

Really? Really really? I want one for my Wii ComBot!

Geekumentary Database

What the internet really needs is a master list of geekumentaries! The only criteria for inclusion here is that it's a documentary about something geeky. Please add comments if you know of any I've missed.

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GEEKUMENTARIES

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10 MPH (2007)

Two friends embark on a cross-country journey from Seattle to Boston on a Segway.Full review.

An Adventurer is You! (200-something)

The origins of Kingdom of Loathing: From the frozen wastes of Canadia rode filmmaker Chris Ciosk, on a trusty steed made of video cameras and boom microphones. He interviewed us, explored our offices, and cut together a 27-minute documentary that you can show to your non-KoL-playing friends by way of explanation or apology. Heck, your mother would probably like it. Lord knows she's easy enough to please. It's got loads of special features -- lengthy audio interviews with all of the staff (all of the staff as of early 2007, at least,) a behind-the-scenes look at our development process, and a really cool title animation. A must-have for anybody who must have it.

Avatars Offline (2002)

All about people who meet online, and then in real life.

Ball Saved



BBS: The Documentary (2005)

A five and a half-hour epic that chronicles the history of BBS (bulletin board systems), and, by nature, much of the rise of home computing. Full review.

Candyman: The David Klein Story (2010)

The bittersweet tale of David Klein, the man who invented Jelly Belly jellybeans. Featuring Weird Al, so you know it's a geekumentary. This is one I recommend.

Chasing Ghosts (2008)

A look at the classic arcade gaming scene that focuses on Twin Galaxies and the people involved in the LIFE magazine shoot in Ottumna, Iowa.

Classic Game Room (2007)

The rise and fall of a 1999 video game review show. Classic Game Room is also back on the internet as of 2008. Full review.

Darkon (2006)

Darkon documents a group of weekend warriors in Maryland...literally, weekend warriors, as these guys are taking part in an honored geek tradition (oft considered geeky even among geeks), the LARP (Live-Action Roleplay).

Dungeon Masters

about pen-and-paper gaming.

The Dungeons & Dragons Experience (2004)



Frag

About the world of pro video gaming.

Get Lamp (2010)

A documentary about early 80's text adventures (the Infocom-style games like Zork).

Gold Farmers


High Score


His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th (2009)



The History of Pinball


The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)

Two classic arcade gamers battle for the world record Donkey Kong score. Full review.

LARP: The Movie (2008)


Life with a Dice Bag (2005)


Monster Camp (2007)

Monster Camp is about a group of LARPers who belong to the Seattle chapter of NERO (New England Roleplaying Organization). Full review.

Nerdcore for Life (2010)


Nerdcore Rising (2008)

Nerdcore Rising tells the tale of nerd rapper MC Frontalot and his first big tour, leading up to an appearance at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle. Full review.

The People vs. George Lucas


Pinball Passion


Pizza! The Movie


The Planet of the Doctor

A free online multi-part documentary on Dr. Who.

Six Days in Roswell

A feature film docu-comedy about UFOs, Aliens, Sightings, Abductions, Other Worldly Visitors, Extra Terrestrials, UFO Researchers, Government Cover-ups, Close Encounters, Flying Saucers, Alien Spacecraft, an Impact Site, Alien Bodies, an Alien Autopsy, the 509th Bomb Group...

Special When Lit: A Pinball Documentary

This is the definitive story of the rise and fall of pinball as told by the fans, collectors, designers and champion players from across the globe.

Ten Yards: Fantasy Football

A film by 10 MPH's Josh Caldwell and Hunter Weeks, about fantasy football.

TILT: The Battle to Save Pinball (2007)

TILT tells the story of a last-ditch effort to reinvent pinball when one of the biggest manufacturers, Williams, had their pinball division on the chopping block in favor of the slot machine business. Full review.

Trekkies/Trekkies 2 (1997)

Trekkies documents the Star Trek phenomenon, and its devotees.

Second Skin (in development)

A film covering MMOs and the people who play them, including a look into the life of a gold farmer.

Spellbound (2002)

Spellbound is "the story of eight American children who set out to win the National Spelling Bee."

Uber Goober 2004

Uber Goober is about gamers, primarily miniatures gaming and role-playing (pen n' paper, LARP). Full review.

Wordplay (2006)

Wordplay explores the secret world of crossword puzzles. Several celebrities talk about their love of crossword puzzles, including Ken Burns.

Word Wars (2004)

Word Wars is all about Scrabble. Competitive Scrabble.

Dexter, noooOOOOOO!!

Dexter marries his sister



It's a good thing I just discovered chocolate Skittles...



*eats entire bag*

*...and a pint of Ben & Jerry's*

One suggestion, Skittles people...add peanut butter Skittles to this bag. Then your journey to the dark side will be complete.

More movie stuff

Geeks of Doom just informed me that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (from Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz) are going to be starring in the 3-movie Tintin project that Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are working on.

Whoah. That's a lot of info to soak in! I love Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and am always up for a Peter Jackson film. My husband owns the cartoon box set of Tintin, which is a fun little series. So this looks to be cool all around.

PS - Netflixed Trailer Park Boys last night, and I'm trying to remember what blog I read about it on, because I want to say thank you! It was a clever and fun comedy, filmed in Canada (check out the Rush shout-outs on the movie marquee!). The cast and subject matter were great. I loved that the main character's goal is to "get his life back on track" by getting back to growing marijuana...




Not only that, there was a trailer for a movie from the Napoleon Dynamite people called The Sasquatch Gang that looked promising and I'd also never heard of and have just added to the Netflix queue.

BBS: The Documentary

(Part 1)

Started watching BBS: The Documentary today. I say started because the full documentary is five and a half hours long. Now, I really wasn't involved in the whole BBS scene. The closest I got was playing a MUCK called Delusions back in 1994 or so, using dial-up, and owning a baud-speed modem. So while BBS certainly qualifies for geekumentary territory, I didn't think I was going to be quite as into this one as some of the others I've seen.

One of the things that has made this a good viewing experience so far is that history repeats itself. There's enough content I can relate to in this documentary to keep it interesting, and an engaging level of "yeah, it's just like that now, only instead of BBS boards, it's happening on MMO boards." Instead of "twelveyearoldswhogotamodemforChristmas" you've got "twelveyearoldswhogotWoWforChristmas." Flame wars? power-happy moderators? It's all been done before, and I'm enjoying seeing a prior incarnation.

"My first computer came in a kit, cost me $3000 and took 6 months to put together."

- C.E. "Satan" Rawles

Can you imagine the inflation-adjusted price there? As they say in the film, it was often literally a choice between owning a car and owning a computer. Some of these modems were clocking in at 9600 baud, but well over $600. It really does give one pause, to think that nowadays you expect to get the top of the line wireless router for about $100, or a tricked-out gaming machine for under $3000 (LOADS less if you build it yourself).

So even if you didn't have direct experience with the BBS era, if you're interested in the history of it all, or that the first modem was created by Bell in 1963...you should check this thing out! It's a modern-day history lesson.



PS - Jeff Keegan, you GO, I have that Rush t-shirt too! I hate you for apparently owning Theater of Magic, though, almost as much as I hate PLAYING White Water (the two pinball machines in the background during Jeff's interviews).