Actor Wil Wheaton Explains Why the Entertainment Industry Causes Piracy
Actor/ geek Wil Wheaton (Stand By Me, The Guild, Eureka) explains why the entertainment causes piracy through stupidity.
I haven’t really pirated anything in a very long time because I earn enough money to pay for my own stuff. However I have bittorrented movies, music & games after purchasing legit versions simply because the cracked versions were more user-friendly than the locked-down crap I paid for.
Also, it’s become clear that pirates are also the best customers.
(Via techdirt)
Geek Events NYC
A lot of the biggest geek events are in California, but New York City has it’s fair share. Here are the biggies where you might bump into me.
Maker Faire - September 17 & 18
The event I’m most excited to attend.
It’s the worlds largest DIY festival, and that’s not what you think it is. We’re talking DIY robotics, gadgetry and all manner of crazy stuff on both the small, and very large scale.
I’ve only seen video of them, but I can’t wait to see a Maker Faire in person.
Get your Maker Faire Tickets
New York Comic Con – October 13 – 16
The second largest comic con, next to San Diego (I think). I haven’t attended a comic convention in about five years, but I’ve decided to drop in on NYCC mostly to see how much larger these events have become since the last time I went to one. From what I understand these super cons are unfathomably massive.
Get NY Comic Con Tickets
Google Tech Talks (Recurring)
Google’s NYC office holds monthly tech talks hosted by Google Engineers. I went to one, and had a great time; learned a ton; and met many interesting people.
The only drawback to these is that getting a seat is difficult. The events are scheduled through meetup.com. The registration starts at unusual times, and there’s limited space.
If you can get in, it’s absolutely worth it.
Google Tech Talks (Meetup)
Captain America: The First Avenger (Quick Review)
Directed by Joe Johnston, the man behind other period pieces such as The Rocketeer (1991) and October Sky (1999), Captain America is good lighthearted fun.
Set in a fictionalized World War II, and filled with science fiction gadgets and technology, frail yet tough kid Steve Rogers is rejected from military service in spite of many attempts to join. Rogers is entered into an experimental super soldier program and becomes the project’s first and only success. From there it’s all laughs and ass-kicking.
It’s fun, dramatic, and has the balls to deviate from a lot of the typical super hero cliches. They also maintained the core who Steve Rogers is, but smartly deviated from the comic book continuity to make him fit properly in the movies.
The Rocketeer was one of my favorite movies as a child, and I still love it. This feels like The Rocketeer for a new generation, and that’s a good thing… Sadly it doesn’t have the spectacular theme song of The Rocketeer.
Captain America: The First Avenger isn’t going to change your life, but it’s a lot of fun, and it’s far more than your average comic flick.
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“Saga” a New Comic by Brian K Vaughn & Fiona Staples
While I haven’t written about his work much, Brian K Vaughn is hands down my favorite comic writer (and probably my favorite writer in general). He has created some of the finest original comics of the last decade. Titles such as Ex Machina, Y the Last Man, Runaways, and Pride of Baghdad are so good that I keep reading them over (when I’m not loaning them to friends).
When Ex Machina came to its dramatic conclusion last year, my Wednesday pull list became far less interesting. So I was elated when Image Comics announced that Brian K Vaughn and Fiona Staples are teaming up to create yet another new series, Saga.
Details are sparse, but Saga is “about a family thrown together and trying to survive galactic war.” Given Vaughn’s history of writing deeply emotional stories with ensemble casts thrown into horrible situations, this is incredibly fertile ground for him.
Finally, Staples’ art is always stunning. Have a look for yourself.
I can’t believe I have to wait until 2012 to read the first issue.
(Via Bleeding Cool)
“Avengers” Bootleg Trailer
I think these bootleg trailers are being released as part of the movie’s PR campaign, but whatever… I’ll be a pawn for some Madison Avenue agency. I’m pretty excited for the Avengers.
Joss Whedon, please don’t fail us!
(Via Bleeding Cool)
Lady Gaga is a Batman Villain
I’m not sure how we missed it… Lady Gaga is a Batman villain.
It’s been staring us in the face for two years; garish costumes, henchmen, and occasional bouts of insanity.
Lady Gaga Kidnaps Commissioner Gordon, The Onion
The Truth About Transformers
When I was a kid my parents watched a lot of cartoons with me, but there were some shows that drove them out of the room. One of those cartoons was Transformers. I was an observant kid, and I noticed the correlation. I always wondered why, and found my answer in college.
My college roommate was (and probably still is) a huge Transformers fan. He read the comics, had the toys (the Unicron figure was so damn big I wanted to charge it rent), and watched that cartoon a whole lot.
Unicron
One of the many things I learned in college was that the Transformers are fucking stupid.
The animation is crap, the dialog is shit, and I’ve seen porn with a more compelling plot.
I’ll admit Peter Cullen owns Optimus Prime, but that’s where my praise of Transformers media ends.
Transformer toys are great. When you’re a kid there’s nothing cooler than a robot and a truck/ airplane in one. I got more mileage out of the few Transformer toys my parents gave me than just about anything else in my toy-chest.
In this instance, great toys don’t translate into great media.
Convince me that I’m wrong… Or just let your fanboy rage loose on my comment section.
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