Forever Geek |
- Of Geek Culture And Brands
- Handmade “The Big Bang Theory” items
- State of the Multiverse 64
- Become a blood expert like Dexter Morgan
| Posted: 26 Feb 2010 09:31 PM PST
I suppose that the answers are not cut and dried, as some might want them to be. Daniel Donahoo, the blogger, says it so much better: Geek culture is strongly linked these days to brands, commercialism and cash. Apple, Wizards of the Coast, Star Wars, LEGO, Marvel, Pixar (and the list goes on) are all brands that link very strongly with any geek's sense of belonging and meaning. They also, consequently, get a lot of our hard-earned cash. We live in a highly commercialized world, and money helps make it go 'round. But, how much does geek culture need brands and how much do the brands need us geeks? What is the relationship like and are we being charged excessively for our passionate fandom and connection to brands like LEGO and Apple? How do we define our geekiness without these brands? Indeed, how do we define geekiness minus the brands that have become part of our lives? If we didn't have Apple, would we still be considered geeks? That question keeps haunting me, and sad to say, the answers are hard to come by. I was left even more speechless by Donahoo's parting lines: Let us build a generation of geeks who are, like us, critical thinkers. Children who engage with the world around them and see the value of the screen as a tool, and the value of building things with their hands in the back yard and of staring up at the night sky in awe. Perhaps we'll find the answers in the simple things – those that cannot be branded or labeled; in those moments when we tore apart our first radio set or digital watch, just to see what was inside; in those moments that we built our first exploding volcano kit; in those moments when we caught a dragonfly and simply marveled at its beauty… What makes one a geek? You tell me what you think!
|
| Handmade “The Big Bang Theory” items Posted: 26 Feb 2010 12:37 PM PST I have been browsing Etsy lately when I came across “The Big Bang Theory” products. I’m a fan of the TV show and I find it disappointing how little variation of “The Big Bang Theory” items there are for sale. So I was a bit surprised to find some on Etsy. The best ones are the get well card with the lyrics from the soft kitty song that Penny sings to Sheldon when he is sick. These will make great cards to give to family and friends who are also a fan of “The Big Bang Theory”. I have boxes full of get well cards and they sure are nice, especially because the person who send it thinks of you. But the cards texts are barely unique now a day, I have cards all with the same text but different design.
If it was me getting this card it would brighten my day! The other cool “The Big Bang Theory” product on Etsy is the hat Sheldon wore in episode 313, The Bozeman reaction. When he decides to move to Bozeman for its low crime rate. It is that I’m glad that winter is coming to an end otherwise I would have ordered one right away.
If you search on Etsy you will come across more stuff, like t-shirts, magnets, etc. But none are of my taste, unless I come across a t-shirt I like I’m thinking about making my own and have it printed with an online service. Soft Kitty Get Well Card –
|
| Posted: 26 Feb 2010 07:42 AM PST  Blackest Night #7 The End draws nigh! Blackest Night is fast drawing to a close (Praise the Light!), and now the Guardians greatest secret is out. Life in the universe originated not on Oa (or rather Maltus, but let's just ignore that slight continuity error), but on Earth. This is the secret the Guardians swore to keep. On Earth? Come again?!? Ignoring the cosmological arguments against this, considering that it was ten billion years ago that Krona's experiment shattered the universe, erm, then didn't anymore until Alex Luthor's tower kicked in and then it did again, and the earth itself is only 4.54 billion years old, this still strikes me as ridiculous. This is a fictional universe, so one could say that the Guardians altered the evidence to make Earth appear that it is a lot younger than it actually is. I suppose this also allows a period of history where the Homo Magi walked the earth and gives a home to all of the old fantasy titles if they don't already have a realm to be placed in, which almost makes me want Conan to be part of the DCU rather than the Marvel universe. Conan is currently licensed by Dark Horse, but then Kulan Gath is still part of Marvel and he started life as a Conan character, and it seems that Marvel are happy to use the Micronauts again, so I assume that the Hyborian Era is still part of Marvel History. Anyway, I digress. What began for me as a spectacular crossover seems to have descended into a number of clichés and unoriginal plot devices. Having the Light Entity resident on Earth could have been explained through any number of reasons, such as due to it now being the centre of the Multiverse after the events of the various Crises, rather than saying that humanity, or at the planet is older than the Guardians themselves. Not only does this turn decades of DC cosmic continuity on its head, but it seems vastly egocentric, and leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. That is also not to mention the redistribution of rings throughout the Earth-based characters, forming the 'New Guardians'. I just want to look at these. Red – Mera. Now this one sort of makes sense, Mera has always had a rough deal and it figures that she would be angry about all that she has suffered. However she has always comported herself with a most noble bearing, and the wearing of the Red Ring seems to be the equivalent of slumming it. Also the Red Ring may well be the way that the writers kill her off considering that it has replaced her heart, and that would be a great waste. Still, if Guy Gardner can survive it, I suppose Mera can. Orange – Lex Luthor. Cheesy. Very very cheesy. Still, I must shamefully admit it is pretty cool at the same time. Yellow – Scarecrow. Okay, so fear is his shtick. That's about as far is it goes, he is neither being used to the best advantage, nor is he necessarily the most appropriate character for this role, where a more minor character could have had a greater spotlight. Wasteful, if you ask me. Plus how much do Sinestro and Scarecrow really have in common? It strikes me they would knock heads nearly as much as Larfleeze and Luthor, as one is order and the other chaos. Green, well, do I really need to go here? Blue – Barry Allen. As a symbol of hope, yes, I get it. If the ring is using him to spread hope, that makes sense. If the Ring has chosen him due to his personality, then no, I don't see that. One thing that has proven to be the foundation of the Flashes is love, as embodied with Joan Garrick, Iris West and Linda Park. Surely the Sapphire Ring would have been a better choice? Plus, I think combining the Flash costume with the Star Sapphire armour would look far more impressive than the current choice. Blue Flash doesn't do it for me anymore than Wonder-Sapphire. Indigo – Atom. Indigo represents compassion. So Ray Palmers history of slaughtered loves and betrayal through love and then constantly running away from his problems makes him a suitable candidate for the Indigo light? I rather feel that someone was making up the numbers here without a great deal of thought. Violet – Princess Diana, the Wonder Woman. Now in concept, this one sort of works for me, and her mini-series was well put together. Still, her Star Sapphire costume mixed with her traditional armour looks abysmal, making this combination cheesy. These new Guardians seem to be opportunities that have been missed. More minor characters could have been given the opportunity to bear the rings and grab the limelight. Since DC are absorbing the Milestone and Red Circle characters, wouldn't it have made good business sense to have seen these somewhere in the action? If the Superman titles have managed to include obscure references to them, then I am positive that the major universe-wide crossover could have given them at least a tacit glance, if only to introduce them to new readers.
|
| Become a blood expert like Dexter Morgan Posted: 26 Feb 2010 06:01 AM PST Author Rod Englers, an FBI National Academy graduate, wrote a book, “Blood Secrets”, set to be released on April 13. “Blood Secrets” describes tools and techniques used to unravel blood spatter’s code. Any CSI or Dexter fan should read this book.
Rod Englert has forty years experience in law enforcement. A large part of his career he worked in narcotics and homicide. His expertise is in blood spatter analysis and murder scene reconstruction. A must read for forensic investigations fans and for people interested in the real life cases used as an example. The description of the book piques my interest even though I’m not a forensic fanatic, it might make an interesting read when I have a free week-end. The book is published by MacMillan and considering they raised all their e-books price to match their hard copy I would say just buy the hard copy. It will make an interesting book in your bookcase when you have guests that browse through your bookcase. Now lets hope nobody comes with a book on how to be a serial killer like Dexter Morgan.
|
| You are subscribed to email updates from Forever Geek To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment