A search at Amazon.com a few months ago for a LOLcat book led to the amazing discovery that one didn’t exist. That oversight has now been corrected: I Can Has Cheezburger?: A LOLcat Colleckshun is a hilarious guide to LOLcats by Eric Nakagawa and Kari Unebasami — the duo who started the Internet meme and launched the hugely popular icanhascheezburger.com in January 2007 — and co-author “Professor Happycat”.
Professor Happycat pops up throughout the book in cartoon form to explain things to the reader, such as how to mangle spelling and grammar in proper LOLspeak fashion (LOL Speak Poetry Magnets are available for practice), and who Ceiling Cat and other prominent LOLcats are. The book collects over 200 full-colour LOLcat pictures from the website, some classic and some new, and all extremely LOL-worthy. Professor Happycat says, “Mah new book iz teh best book evr”, and it’s hard to argue with that statement if you’re a LOLcat fan.
A note from the publisher states: “In case you’ve somehow missed the LOLcat sensation, here’s the lowdown. It all began in early 2007, when, after a bad day at work,” Eric Nakagawa asked his friend Kari Unebasami via chat to send something to cheer him up. Kari sent him a photo of a smiling fat cat with the caption “I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER?” superimposed onto the picture. Soon, Nakagawa and Unebasami created a blog at icanhascheezburger.com (named after the most popular LOLcat of all) and the phenomenon known as the LOLcat was born.”
The book is small and square, the perfect size to tuck into a bag and carry everywhere, or to stuff into a holiday stocking. It’s a great conversation piece and the perfect gift for geeks and cat-lovers of all ages.
I Can Has Cheezburger?: A LOLcat Colleckshun is distributed by Gotham Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), and its international affiliates. For more information, visit the official book website at lulzftw.com.
Twinkies, long a staple in the geek food pyramid, have remained essentially unchanged by their makers since their creation, so Hostess thought it would be fun to officially showcase the people who have been getting creative and playing with their food, in The Twinkies Cookbook: An Inventive and Unexpected Recipe Collection:
“As part of Twinkies’ seventy-fifth anniversary celebration [in 2005], Hostess put out a call for recipes, asking people to share their ideas for cooking — yes, cooking — with Twinkies. Hundreds of people from across the country responded with an amazing bunch of inventive, homegrown, and sometimes wacky recipes. Nearly fifty of these unexpected creations — both sweet and savory! — are presented in this nostalgic and colorful collection. A delight for the whole family, The Twinkies Cookbook is the perfect snack for the Twinkie lover in all of us.”
The cookbook’s introduction, Twinkies: History of a Sweet Sensation, tells the story of the Twinkie’s origins, and includes interesting quotes, trivia, and archival pictures. There are nine chapters of recipes and full-color pictures that follow: Novelty Twinkies, Twinkies for Chocolate Lovers, Fruity Twinkies, Twinkies Take the Cake, Twinkies à la Mode, Twinkie Drinks, Twinkie Stack-Ups, Gourmet Twinkies, and Twinkies and Meat. The recipes range from those simple enough for children to make, to a few time-consuming productions requiring special equipment and considerable experience in the kitchen.
As a bonus for pop culture fans, this book also clears up the much-debated urban legend that Twinkies have an indefinite shelf life. (Spoiler: The golden snack cake’s real lifespan is 25 days.)
The Twinkies Cookbook: An Inventive and Unexpected Recipe Collection is distributed by Ten Speed Press (US and Canada). For more recipes and information, visit twinkies.com.
Charlotte Usher, the titular “ghostgirl” in the book ghostgirl, walks through life feeling like she’s invisible. She yearns to be one of the popular girls in high school and win the heart of the boy of her dreams, but she can’t even manage to get noticed.
Sound familiar? If you grew up a geek, it does. Being a ghost is the perfect metaphor for the status of those who cling to the fringe of society, looking in but not fitting in.
Charlotte, the poster girl for not fitting in, seems on the verge of finally attaining the popularity she obsesses over when she’s assigned to be the Physics tutor for the school’s star athlete, and her crush, Damen Dylan… but promptly chokes on a gummy bear and dies. Death doesn’t deter Charlotte from her quest, though, so with the help of Goth girl Scarlet, a fellow outcast and the only live person who can see Charlotte, she sets out to achieve in the afterlife what she couldn’t while still alive. Along the way, both girls learn to accept, and find acceptance for, who they really are and where they belong, popular or not.
The book itself is a work of art, its tall and narrow trim size reflecting the shape of a coffin and featuring a coffin die-cut with stamped acetate inlay on the black, silver, and pink hardcover. The cover’s colour scheme is continued throughout the book in the silhouette illustrations at the beginning of each chapter, the flowery designs in the margins, and the silver gilt applied to the page edges. Beneath each chapter illustration is a plot-relevant quote, usually in the form of song lyrics, that emphasizes the novel’s frequent use of music and pop culture references.
ghostgirl originated as a Web project in 2002, so fans can extend the book’s experience by visiting the beautifully designed ghostgirl.com. There’s lots to explore while waiting for the next book in the series, ghostgirl: Homecoming (July 2009), including a MySpace page for main character Charlotte Usher.
Recommended Reading Level: Young Adult (12+) for mild sexual content, Goth Chic-style violence, and occasional adult language.
The geekiest of utensils, the spork, has been given a makeover by Snow Peak and emerged as the Titanium Spork.
“It’s time to get back to lifetime ownership,” the company’s website states, and this virtually indestructible, lightweight spork backs that motto up. According to Snow Peak, “Our vastly versatile Cutlery is fashioned to make camping and backpacking even lighter on your load. The all titanium designs keep weight and size at its minimum while providing a more sanitary eating material. Titanium’s natural composition creates an antibacterial film over the surface during oxidization. This will be the last camp cutlery set you ever buy.” It’s also the ideal accessory to tote along while attending conventions. Aside from its inherent Geek Factor, the Titanium Spork pwns by being a mere 0.6 oz and approximately 6.25″ long and 1.5″ at its widest point, taking up little of the valuable real estate that is the con-goer’s backpack reserved for collectibles and swag.
The Three Laws of Robotics, made famous by Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot, are:
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
The mechanical creatures that populate the world of WALL-E suggest a fourth law: “A robot must be so cute as to merit its own deluxe art book.”
The Art of WALL-E by Tim Hauser is that book. The latest offering in the Pixar “The Art of…” series — which includes The Art of Monsters, Inc., The Art of Finding Nemo, The Art of The Incredibles, The Art of Cars, and The Art of Ratatouille — this volume is a definite must-have for art enthusiasts of all ages, whether you’re a fan of Pixar and WALL-E or just animation art and robots in general.
Designed as a companion piece to the film, and featuring a wide variety of media — pencil, markers, pastels, charcoal, and more — rendered by the talented team of Pixar artists, The Art of WALL-E showcases the highlights of the conceptual art created during production of WALL-E. The beautifully reproduced images, including preliminary sketches, character studies, storyboards, and colorscripts, are interspersed with anecdotes and behind-the-scenes stories from a variety of people who worked on the film, providing revealing insights into the incredible work necessary to bring the completely imagined, futuristic world of WALL-E to life. The nostalgically retro feel of the art is reminiscent of the 1960s style of The Jetsons, whose lovable robotic housekeeper, Rosie the Robot Maid, appears to be an inspiration for the design of WALL-E and his friends.
Even if you’re not a genealogist, this is fascinating research:
The Genographic Project National Geographic and IBM’s Genographic Project explores early human migration and deep ancestry via genetic markers that indicate haplogroups.
Felicia Day as Penny in "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog"
Multi-talented actress Felicia Day was already recognizable for her work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer before she created the smash hit Internet series, The Guild. Now, she’s teamed up with Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly) to present another Internet event, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. She’s costarring along with Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Desperate Housewives) and Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother, Harold & Kumar, Starship Troopers) in this Whedon family project that will be premiering exclusively on the Internet beginning Tuesday, July 15th. Felicia took some time out of her very busy schedule to answer a few questions about Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.
ÜberSciFiGeek (ÜSFG) How did you get involved in the Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog project?
Felicia Day (FD) I had seen Joss on the strike lines a few times and he had mentioned the idea of a supervillain musical to me, perhaps made for the Internet. I thought that was the coolest idea I’d ever heard, A few months later he emailed me and it said, “Can you sing?” You can imagine I was a little taken aback, it’s not a question you hear every day!
(ÜSFG) With a name like Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, one of the first questions that come to mind is, “Does Felicia sing?”
(FD) Yes! I did musical theatre all my life, mostly as a dancer but I had singing parts as well. I moved around a lot so theatre kind of kept my childhood together. Throughout college I took lessons from a professor at UT Austin, Jess Walters.
(ÜSFG) Did you enjoy singing in Dr. Horrible? Have you been in any sort of musical production before, and would you like to be in more of them?
(FD) OMG, singing in Horrible was fun and intimidating! Neil’s voice is amazing, so singing opposite him was nerve-wracking, but as soon as we were done, I wanted to do more! I did a LOT of musicals as a teen and again during college, like Into the Woods and Fantasticks, Oklahoma, you name it. Since moving to LA I’ve had a few jobs singing, a part in Warm Springs, a few plays. It’s not my career but I do enjoy it and would love to do more of it in the future!
(ÜSFG) Was Dr. Horrible always conceived of as a musical, or did that come about only when Joss Whedon learned that you, Neil Patrick Harris, and Nathan Fillion have singing voices?
(FD) I can’t speak for him, but I know when he floated the idea on the strike line to me, it was always connected to the word “musical”. Joss has an amazing passion for music and musicals. His knowledge in the area blows me away. I love the idea of Joss, Jed, Zach and Maurissa getting together and writing this amazing script together and creating songs together, what a cool process!
(ÜSFG) Having worked with Joss Whedon on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, what was it like working with him again? How was it different and how was it similar?
(FD) The Dr. Horrible set was a lot more informal than being on a professional TV set. There was a sense from everyone this was driven by passion and enthusiasm rather than being a “job”. It felt way more like indie productions I’ve done. Of course the quality of production and the expertise of the cast and crew was equal to being on Buffy, because Joss attracts the best at what they do. There were stunt people on both sets : )
(ÜSFG) Captain Hammer has an online comic — will Penny also have an online exclusive? With your background as a gamer, perhaps a mini online game?
(FD) I don’t know anything about that end of it, but that would be cool! Float that idea out there! To be honest I don’t know if Penny is a gamer. I would think she’s more of a knitter or a baker.
(ÜSFG) You’ve produced a lot of Internet content now. How is it different as an actor and/or producer for the Internet than it is for television or film?
(FD) It’s night and day. When you have a huge professional set and 50 people working on it, everyone does only their job, and they do it at the height of their expertise. Internet content is much more blurry as far as those lines go. One day you’ll be producer, the next an actor, the next craft service. It’s necessary because there’s no money to pay people with most the time. But the great thing is you don’t have layers of people to interfere with your vision as a creator, and I think more and more, professionals will discover that to be an attractive area to play in.
(ÜSFG) If Dr. Horrible does well, is another film or related project planned?
(FD) You would have to ask Joss. I would love to play Penny again, in whatever capacity!
(ÜSFG) Your character, Penny, isn’t a superhero or supervillain like Captain Hammer and Dr. Horrible, but if you had to choose a superpower to have in your real life, what would it be and why?
(FD) Gosh, that’s hard. I think invisibility. I like to eavesdrop. I used to only play rogues in games so I could sneak in and steal things from the NPCs : ) I don’t do that in real life, btw.
(ÜSFG) Penny falls for Captain Hammer, at least initially. Who would you, as yourself, get a crush on — Dr. Horrible or Captain Hammer?
(FD) I’d have to say Dr. Horrible. He’s definitely the wounded type, and I would love to try to heal that in him. Hammer is hot, but I don’t go for guys who like to look at themselves in the mirror a lot ; )
The best way you can help us say thank-you to Felicia is to help spread the word! You can learn more about Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog at drhorrible.com. Act one of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog will be premiering online on Tuesday, July 15th. Act two will go up on Thursday, July 17th. Act three will go up on Saturday, July 19th. All three acts will be online until midnight on Sunday, July 20th. Also, if you are planning on attending San Diego Comic-Con, stop by the Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog panel on Friday. Felicia and the rest of the cast of The Guild will also be at the California Browncoats booth signing copies of The Guild DVDs throughout the event. Stop by and say hello!
Superman is turning 70. I’ve been in love with Kal El since I was about 5. I had stickers from my chewing gum/trading card packs on my wall near my head. He was the first person I saw in the morning and the last person I saw at night. He was my hero. I’ve watched every TV show, cartoon and movie. I read the comics for so many years. They kind of lost me in the early 90s when they changed so much of his character.
I’m a comic book dinosaur, prefering the classic heroes to the post-modern flawed ones. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed X-Men and Alpha Flight in their early days, but they lost something, too. Today’s comics seem to me that they are neither good art nor good storytelling.
Every now and then something is a throwback to the good old art of storytelling, but mainly it’s just story after story of people with all of our flaws, all of our mistakes, all of our greed and selfishness, but with cool powers, that we always wish we had, so they can screw things up even worse. Even classic heroes like The Warlord and Turok are irreverently “revived” and rewritten. The problem with that is their “grit” was what made them so amazing in the first place and, lacking that, there is no appeal, nothing to set them apart from the other post-mod antiheroes.
Comics used to help us escape this world or make our own better. Kazar, The Warlord and Turok took us to the center of our own world where dinosaurs still reign. Atari Force took us where we never dreamed existed in the heart of the universe. Superman brought the heart of the universe to us, to make our world better. What do today’s comics give us? Where do they take us? To the confused, chaotic violence, greed and sexual promiscuity that we see every day on our streets, on our TVs, in our movies.
Where have all the heroes gone? Who will save us from ourselves?
When you think of geeks, you often think of people dressing up as their favorite movie, book or game characters. Conventions and fan gatherings around the world are filled with Jedis, Storm Troopers, Vulcans, Klingons, Elves, Knights, Warriors, Wizards, Fairies and countless other imaginative creatures. Getting dressed up to pretend to be someone else is no longer just for kids at Halloween and grown-up geeks at conventions. For decades, small groups have been getting together to act out their fantasy lives in what is referred to as Live Action Role Play.
At the mention of Live Action Role Play, or LARP, the first thing that comes to mind for many people is probably Dungeons & Dragons or perhaps the book, or film based on the book, Mazes and Monsters. There are LARPs of many types, ranging from Vampires (Masquerade) to The Lord of the Rings (Foam Battles), but D&D is probably the most recognizable and notorious because of Mazes and Monsters. More people have seen the movie than have read the book simply because Tom Hanks starred in it. For many people, it was a first look at the world of LARPing, and because of it Role Players frequently are viewed as strange, deranged or even dangerous. In Mazes and Monsters, based on a true story, a group of teens decide to take their D&D game beyond the board and into live reenactment. Unfortunately, one of the members is mentally unstable and the line between reality and fantasy blurs together for him, leading everyone on a desperate mission to save his life.
Not all LARPers have horror stories but I have had several acquaintances recount their own experiences with someone flipping out. The worst I have heard is of a LARPer who became disoriented while playing in caves. In her college days, my friend would have monthly games with friends, and at one game another player brought a friend. The new player became panicked and enraged and started running through the cave swinging his axe around at everyone and everything and, in the end, according to my friend, ended up getting himself killed when he fell down a steep embankment in the dark. While incidents like this happen, they are very rare and most LARPers only play with people they already know well to prevent such incidents.
Another aspect of role playing closely associated with LARP is Historical Reenactments. Everyone has heard of Renaissance Faires and Dinner Theatres where you can wander through the Middle Ages complete with mandolin strumming bards and knights battling for a maiden’s honor. There are many Robin Hood themed fairs or King Arthur themed fairs where weekend warriors gather from around the country to test their mettle or just get away from the complications of real life with like-minded and -hearted companions. While my location prevented me from joining the largest group, the Society for Creative Anachronism, or SCA, it didn’t stop me from learning how to knit chain mail from a dear friend who has been a blacksmith at Ren Faires for many years. His day job is installing industrial refrigeration equipment, but on weekends he sells handmade armor and weapons. Another Ren friend is a seamstress, specializing in corsets but also knowing how to tan leather the “old-fashioned way” without chemicals. This summer, she is supposed to teach me how to do it.
Other Historical Reenactments center around important American events and landmarks. At Colonial Williamsburg, people live year-round in character, a living history museum dedicated to the beginnings of our nation. At Scottish Games festivals around the country, local clans gather in full regalia and show their colors, marching to traditional bagpipe music and waving their clan tartans while competing in traditional Scottish games and battles. Feast of the Hunters’ Moon is a re-creation of the annual fall gathering of the French and Native Americans which took place at Fort Ouiqtenon in the mid-1700s. All around our country, and probably in your own neighborhood, someone is dressing up and stepping into another world, fantasy or fact-based. Be it your love of history and dedication to preserving it or the childhood fantasy that you never outgrew, there are countless adventures waiting to be had. Maybe you’ll never be one to cook over an open campfire and sleep in a muslin tent or hammer your own tools over your very own forge, but even taking a visit to one of these countless communities and festivals is an awe-inspiring experience that I encourage everyone to have.
If you’ve been dreaming of picking up roots, living on the edge, or literally going out on a limb in terms of eco-lifestyle possibilities, then Finca Bellavista: A Sustainable Rainforest Community might be just the thing for you. Located on the base of an almost 6,000 foot primary rainforest mountain on the South Pacific Coast of Costa Rica — not far from the Pan American Highway, Finca Bellavista was created with the sole purpose of preserving 300 acres of local rainforest by offering a unique opportunity for ecologically minded property owners to live sustainably in and steward a managed rainforest environment.
With a principle focus of creating a balance between maintaining a fragile habitat for wildlife and using natural resources wisely, Finca Bellavista aims to implement sustainable energy practices such as hydroelectric and solar power, while operating a full-fledged recycling center and a common garden area for the community. This might make it an eco-utopia for some, but for others it’s a possible solution for dovetailing conservation with development.
As per Finca Bellavista’s guidelines on their website, treehouses in the community must be low-impact, stilt-built or arboreal dwellings that utilize a rainwater catch system to provide water for each unit. Waste that is generated is to be treated with “a cutting-edge technology found in biodigestors”. A “hydroelectric turbine system” will power the entire community. The power grid will run via a system of transformers and underground power cables installed along the horseshoe-shaped main access road that runs throughout the community, producing peak power of 62 kilowatts at the generator leads. The power system at Finca Bellavista will produce clean, sustainable, and extremely reliable power for the community, all the while virtually eliminating any monthly electricity bills for residents.
Fancy a bit of socializing or Tarzan action? Residents can opt for either the community’s system of ground trails or its ‘Sky Trail’ network of zip lines and platforms that deliver them to and from their homes in the rainforest canopy. Missing the outside world? A main parking lot exists at the community’s base area, where high-speed Internet and WIFI are available.
The proprietors state that “these requirements will not only preserve the integrity of the rainforest canopy and its inhabitants, but will also provide an unusual and adventurous lifestyle for human dwellers as well. Imagine waking to the sounds of a tropical bird symphony or catching a zip-line to meet up with friends for a meal or an evening cocktail…” This might be a bit too much of an Ewok housing scenario for some, or a real estate development plan that should simply exist as a rainforest preserve, but for now it is on the table as a possibility for how “going native” might be the wave of the future or the cure for what ails us.
