Celebrate Your Geekdom
from Atom.com:
Legend of Neil 302: The Gloffice
Steve Carell might be leaving The Office, but we have his replacement right here: Ganon. See the pitch perfect parody from the Legend of Neil gang, The Gloffice.
We’re extra excited about the all new episode of Legend of Neil this week, an amazing parody of The Office, Episode 302: The Gloffice. It’s expertly done, looks great, and hey, how often do we get a Ganon and Wizrobe centered episode? Excellent.
from Lucasfilm:
Today at Star Wars Celebration V, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment announced that the complete Star Wars Saga will come to Blu-ray Disc with a worldwide release in Fall 2011. The Star Wars Blu-ray Box Set will feature all six live-action Star Wars feature films utilizing the highest possible picture and audio presentation, along with extensive special features — including documentaries, vintage behind-the-scenes moments, interviews, retrospectives and never-before-seen footage from the Lucasfilm archives.
“Blu-ray is the absolute best way to experience Star Wars at home — in pristine high definition,” said George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars Saga. “The films have never looked or sounded better.”
About Star Wars Celebration V:
Featuring celebrities, costumes, live entertainment, screenings, autographs, collectibles, panels and much, much more, Star Wars Celebration V is THE official Lucasfilm convention — and the biggest Star Wars party in the galaxy! Taking place in Orlando, Florida from August 12-15, Star Wars Celebration V commemorates the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and the ongoing, weekly adventures of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
About Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment:
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC (TCFHE) is a recognized global industry leader and a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News Corporation company. Representing 75 years of innovative and award-winning filmmaking from Twentieth Century Fox, TCFHE is the worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox film and television programming, acquisitions and original productions on DVD, Blu-ray Disc Digital Copy, Video On Demand and Digital Download. The company also releases all products globally for MGM Home Entertainment. Each year TCFHE introduces hundreds of new and newly enhanced products, which it services to retail outlets from mass merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores and e-commerce throughout the world.
from Looney Labs:
It’s been 25 years since Marty McFly strapped himself into a modified Delorean DMC-12 and traveled “Back to the Future” to 1955. Today, Looney Labs, creators of the run away hit card game Fluxx (a coincidental name but no relation to time travel), has created an exciting new card game based on the Back to the Future trilogy. The game is developed through a licensing agreement with Universal Partnerships & Licensing.
Back to the Future: The Card Game is based on all three movies and features an innovative take on traditional card games. One fourth of the cards in the deck are arranged on the table in a grid, forming a “Timeline” of events that functions similar to the gameboard of a board game.
Using a patented game mechanic (US Patent 6,474,650) the Timeline allows players to put themselves into the movie plot and rewrite movie history via time travel. Players take on the roles of future descendants of the characters in the films, who must protect their existence by making sure specific “Linchpin” events are put right.
The game is “pure genius!” says Stephen Clark, Back to the Future blogger. Clark provided expert input into the time of key events to keep them authentic to the story. “The level of detail that Looney Labs was able to pack into this game is incredible. They’ve put quite a unique spin on the timeless film series by making the goal of the game to be the first player to un-invent time travel.”
The game features spectacular new artwork by Derek Ring, noted for his excellent work on previous Looney Labs games including Zombie Fluxx and EcoFluxx.
Back to the Future: The Card Game goes on sale in game stores in the U.S., Canada, and the UK on September 3, 2010 just weeks ahead of the Blu-ray debut and DVD release of the Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy on October 26, featuring all-new restorations of the classic films.
About the Back to the Future Franchise:
From the Academy Award-winning filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis comes Back to the Future — the original, groundbreaking adventure that sparked one of the most successful trilogies ever! Starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, the phenomenally popular Back to the Future films literally changed the future of the adventure movie genre. Powered by innovative special effects, unforgettable songs and non-stop action, Back to the Future is an unrivaled adventure that stands the test of time. Back to the Future immerses you in all the breathtaking action, groundbreaking comedy and sheer movie-making magic of one of the most brilliantly inventive, wildly entertaining motion picture triumphs in Hollywood history!
About Looney Labs:
Based in College Park, Maryland, Looney Labs designs, produces, and markets award winning specialty card and board games. Founded in 1996 by Andy and Kristin Looney, both former NASA engineers, Looney Labs proudly manufactures all of their games in the USA. The Looneys believe that one of the most important things they create is the fun people have while playing their games. To learn more about Looney Labs and to see a complete listing of all their games visit looneylabs.com.
Looney Labs games are for sale in thousands of specialty game stores around the world. To find a Friendly Local Game Store near you visit roster.looneylabs.com and enter your zip code.
from VIZ Media:
VIZ Media has announced special encore presentations of two Bleach animated feature films — Bleach the Movie: Memories of Nobody and Bleach the Movie 2: The DiamondDust Rebellion (both rated “T” for Teens) — on Saturday, August 14th on Adult Swim. Check local times for availability and airtimes (Bleach Show Schedule on Adult Swim).
Based on the wildly popular animated series and best-selling Bleach manga series, created by Tite Kubo (both distributed and published in North America by VIZ Media, and rated “T” for Teens), Bleach the Movie: Memories of Nobody begins as unidentified beings known as “Blanks” start popping up. They are soon followed by a Soul Reaper named Senna who makes them disappear. Puzzled by these unknown beings and the even more mysterious girl, Ichigo and Rukia set out to learn more, but uncover an evil plot when a menacing clan tries to kidnap Senna. Banished from the Soul Society long ago, the clan’s leader has sent the World of the Living and the Soul Society on a collision course, and Senna seems to be the key to his diabolical plot for revenge. Can Ichigo and his fellow Soul Reapers save the two worlds from annihilation?
Bleach the Movie 2: The DiamondDust Rebellion continues the action-packed adventures of Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki. After the treasured Ouin is stolen, Toshiro Hitsugaya disappears and becomes suspected of treason. When the Soul Society calls for his capture and execution, Substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki vows to prove Hitsugaya’s innocence. Will the secret of the Ouin and Captain Hitsugaya’s motives be revealed before his honor, his life, and the Soul Society are destroyed?
The Bleach manga and animated series follows the adventures of Ichigo, a 15-year old student with the ability to see ghosts. When his family is attacked by a Hollow — a malevolent lost soul — Ichigo encounters Rukia, a Soul Reaper, and inadvertently absorbs her powers. Now, he’s dedicating his life to protecting the innocent and helping tortured souls find peace.
Bleach animation can be viewed on Adult Swim and also through a variety of web-based video download and streaming outlets that have partnered with VIZ Media, including iTunes, Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, Amazon, and Hulu. To view subtitled Bleach animated episodes for free online anytime, please visit VIZAnime.com.
More information on Bleach is available at Bleach.viz.com.
from Mimoco:
NEW! Star Wars MIMOBOT Series 6!
Mimoco Releases Star Wars MIMOBOT Series 6 at Star Wars Celebration V
The four new characters — Yoda, Hoth Luke, Wampa and Snowtrooper — and the joint 2010 San Diego Comic-Con and Celebration V exclusive, Lobot, are devoted to Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary. At Celebration V, the new ‘bots will be featured at Mimoco’s booth, #312. Come see us! Buy Now!
Video Premiere: Wampa Attack!
In observation of the 30th anniversary of arguably the “best” Star Wars movie, The Empire Strikes Back, we’ve recreated a lost gem — the infamous “Wampa Attack” Deleted Scene now starring MIMOBOTs. We hope you like it!
Star Wars Deleted Scene: Wampas Attack
FREE Shipping on orders over $75*! Click here for more info.
from The Legend of Neil:
Neil-lovers! Season 3 is here! Check out the first two episodes:
Ep 301 — Quitters Never Continue
Ep 302 — The Gloffice
As always join us on Facebook and Twitter for contests, links to special videos and more! Sorry for the brevity of this blog post but I’ve got to get out of here and edit the next episodes!
from ThinkGeek:
Are we in Athas?
Scorching summer heat FTL. We can has a solution, srsly. Hop into your closet, telephone booth, or nearest TARDIS for a wardrobe change and emerge back into the world feeling fresh and clean. Luckily, we’ve found this amazing machine which will produce a clean new t-shirt just for you. We just fire it up, press this button here, and 99 times out of 100, a random t-shirt appears in your size.
The other 1% of the time, a monkey robot gets his wings.
Random Shirt of Surprising Awesomeness!!
You may not have the time to get geeky clean in the shower with some fireball soap or Shower Shock, but you sure can improve your Freshness Coefficient mid-day with a new t-shirt. And do we have a deal for you! Our t-shirt grab bag is back with a laserspewpewpew twist. Get a random shirt for as low as $5.99. While supplies last!
Find more What’s New items at ThinkGeek!
from VIZ Media:
VIZ Pictures, an affiliate of VIZ Media, LLC that focuses on Japanese live-action film distribution, will debut the Blu-ray Death Note Collection on August 24th, 2010. The 3-disc set includes 2 feature films — Death Note and Death Note II: the Last Name — as well as a bonus disc containing more than two hours of all new behind-the-scenes footage. Both films feature Japanese audio with English subtitles as well as an English dubbed dialogue track. MSRP for the Death Note Collection is $39.98 U.S. / $57.99 CAN.
To celebrate the new release, VIZ Pictures will hold a special screening of both films at VIZ Cinema, located inside NEW PEOPLE in San Francisco’s Japantown (1746 Post St., San Francisco, California 94115) on Saturday, September 4th. Death Note plays at 12:00 noon and Death Note II screens at 2:30pm. Special combo tickets are available for $35.00 and include passes for the screenings, the Blu-ray release and a poster. Regular combo tickets are $15.00 for tickets for both shows (no Blu-ray or poster), while general admission for one screening is $10.00. Tickets and information are available at vizcinema.com.
As a special offer to U.S. and Canadian Death Note fans, VIZ Pictures will award three lucky winners posters for Death Note and Death Note II along with an autograph from one of the three lead actors — Tatsuya Fujiwara (who played Light), Erika Toda (Misa) and actor Kenichi Matusyama (L/Ryuzaki), one of the most promising actors in Japan, who can also be seen in films such as NANA (2006), Linda Linda Linda (2005) and Detroit Metal City (2008). The campaign runs until September 24th. For more details about the campaign, visit viz-pictures.com.
“Death Note is an intense psychological crime thriller and we’re very proud to debut both films in a special new collection on Blu-ray,” says Seiji Horibuchi, President and CEO of VIZ Pictures. “Death Note established a new benchmark for Japanese anime, manga, and film and we invite domestic fans to savor all the tension and imaginative supernatural drama of this exciting new release from VIZ Pictures!”
Death Note is a battle of wits based on the acclaimed manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata (published in North America by VIZ Media, rated “T+” for Older Teens). Law student Light is upset with the justice system and when he finds the Death Note dropped by a Shinigami death god, he vows to rid the world of evil. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies. As criminals all over the world begin to perish mysteriously, a world-renowned detective known only as “L” is put on the case to stop this serial killer that the public calls “Kira”. The battle between Light and L continues in Death Note II: the Last Name as Light joins the investigation team. L suspects Light of being Kira while Light attempts to learn L’s real name. Time becomes even more crucial with the appearance of a second Kira. Whose name will be the last written in the Death Note?
For more information on Death Note or other VIZ Pictures titles, please visit viz-pictures.com.
from StarWars.com:
Building on the huge ratings win from last spring’s second season finale of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Cartoon Network announced today it will premiere 22 all-new episodes for season three of the critically acclaimed CG-animated series from creator George Lucas and Lucasfilm Animation. The special, one-hour season three premiere event of Star Wars: The Clone Wars airs Friday, September 17, at 9 p.m. (et/pt).
The season two finale of Star Wars: The Clone Wars was the highest-rated telecast of the season among all key kid demos — 2-11, 6-11, 9-14. The one-hour special also took the #1 spot as the most-watched telecast of the day (May 2) among boys 6-14, and #1 for its timeslot with kids 6-14 versus all television. Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a thrilling, weekly 30-minute “mini-movie” created by the talented artists at Lucasfilm Animation.
Mystery, intrigue and adventure await our heroes with all-new action-packed episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. As war continues to rage throughout the galaxy, the dark side grows even stronger and the Jedi Knights are pushed to the breaking point. The lines between good and evil become blurred as secrets are revealed, truths are questioned and alliances are betrayed. Loyalties are tested as new enemies emerge and heroes rise — and fall.
In this transformative new season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, surprises wait at every turn, the fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance and the destiny of the “Chosen One” will at long last be uncovered. Thrilling, unpredictable and often humorous, the exciting new adventures of the Star Wars Saga will captivate fans of all ages.
from J!NX:
We’re Not Just T-Shirts Anymore!
Anyone familiar with J!NX knows that we strive to reflect gaming and geek culture in everything we produce. Today we’re proud to announce our very first Lifestyle Line, which not only includes more of the awesome t-shirts that we’re known for, but also a full line of clothing! Polos, buttondowns, pants, jackets… you can now deck yourself in J!NX from head to toe. You can read all about the Lifestyle Line right here, or click here to check out the goods!
I recently read The Worst Thing She Ever Did by Alice Kuipers. It’s the story of a young girl name Sophie who went through a traumatic event and is having trouble going on with her life after it. While my own traumatic events weren’t quite the same as Sophie’s, I could definitely identify with her struggle to express herself and find not only the missing words to do so but discover who she is now that everything in her life has changed.
The Worst Thing She Ever Did is a young adult novel written as Sophie’s journal, so you see inside her head, into what she’s thinking and feeling, as she attempts to open up on the blank pages. At first, the entries are brief with little detail of her daily life and they are spaced days apart. As the book continues, you see her slip a few bits and pieces of the past in as she more fully details her days.
Because a strong theme of the book is finding ways to get unstuck so you can open up and express yourself, I asked if Alice Kuipers could share a bit with us about how she gets unstuck and finds inspiration to get her lost words flowing again.
I’m really glad to be guest blogging for you. Thanks. You asked me to share a few writing tips and so I thought I’d blog a bit about how to get inspired when you’re stuck and you don’t know what to write. In my novel The Worst Thing She Ever Did, the main character, Sophie, is completely stuck with what to say in the face of her suffering. She is lost for words and until she gets unstuck she can’t move on to her future. Turns out, for her, writing is the way forward.
Writer’s block can be something quite terrifying. The blank page stares at you, or more likely the blank screen. That little cursor blinks impatiently. How do you get ideas? Well, there are lots of sources of inspiration so here are five ideas to get you unstuck and get writing.
- Read magazines and newspapers especially if you’re writing SciFi because thrilling and weird innovations and events will get your imaginative neurons firing. I saw an old article about giant sinkholes in Guatemala the other day — that could inspire anything from serious melancholy poetry to wild exotic fantasy.
- Think of a hero of yours and put them in a challenging situation. What would they do? The harder the challenge, the more difficult the situation, the better the story.
- Take a line from something you’re reading and use it to inspire you — it could be your first line for a story or the finishing line that you have to reach.
- Put on a piece of music you haven’t listened to for a while but that you used to love. Let the memories the tune inspires get you writing.
- Imagine you’ve left every thing and every one you know somewhere far away. You’re in a totally unknown place. Are you still you? What happens? Sometimes writing what you don’t know (as opposed to the old adage of writing what you know) can get you fired up and over being stuck.
Getting unstuck is one thing. But being inspired is just the start of discovering yourself as a writer. It took me several years to find the way I wanted to tell the stories I want to tell.
For me, taking my time was the best way to discover my voice, so I have one final piece of advice on finding your voice:
Experiment with every form and genre you can imagine (and read widely to discover forms you’d never heard of) until you find the one that suits you. You might surprise yourself and discover you’re a sound poet, or a comic playwright, or maybe you’re a screenwriter for children’s movies. The more you write, the more comfortable you’ll be in your writer skin.
I have loads more tips and prompts and links on my website alicekuipers.com for emerging writers.
Come and see me there!
Ali
More Alice Kuipers Links:
Browse Inside The Worst Thing She Ever Did
Alice Kuipers’ Official Website
Alice Kuipers’ HarperCollins Canada Website
Alice Kuipers on Twitter
Alice Kuipers on Facebook
from The Guild:
Season 4 continues with episode 4, “Moving On!” Codex deals with her Fawkes “relationship” problem, and another “Cheesy” door opens for her.
View the episode on MSN and Bing video as well as on Zune Marketplace and Xbox Live. And don’t forget to bookmark Microsoft’s Parallel Universe Hub where you can catch the latest episodes of The Guild as they come out.