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Rogue One is an excellent tie into the Star Wars Universe. It answers the dumbest question from the first, original movie: why did they build the Death Star with an vulnerability? Because the designer built it in. D'uh!

At least that was answered. Now for the movie itself. It was somewhat disjointed. Like it could've been another 30 to 40 minutes longer to extrapolate some of the plot points. Who and why Saw Gerrera? Why was Andor sad about his work? Why weren't the Jedi temple protectors Jedi themselves? Also, the technology was weird. From thumb drives to crackly holographs to large tape drives, why can't they settle on a particular technology? It's amusing that these questions should arise almost like this craziness was not thought out.

Anyhow, I was expecting Seven Samurai -- recruit a small team to retrieve the plans and die in glory for the Rebellion. It was actually a Dirty Dozen -- send in a force to do the damage. Plus, then it became the opening salvo to the start of the Rebellion offensive. It also finished up at the beginning of the original movie.

4 of 5 stars.

Labels: geeked, movies, review

Bookstore Haul: Volume 8

This is long overdue. I think I started it on the 23rd of August. Only just posting now. I need to do this quicker.

Git For Teams. Now I will now how to work with people. Using Git!

Labels: bookstore haul, geeked, NewsRadio quote, software development

I didn't think that I would be writing a review of a new Star Wars movie in 2015. I thought we were done with it, but here we are at Episode VII, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

This one finds us 30 years after the final battle of Return of the Jedi. The New Republic is moving along slowly, but is faced with an evil adversary in the First Order. There's a Resistance to the First Order lead by General Solo-Organa. Luke is doing his best Yoda impression. Han and Chewie are bootleggers. There's new characters: Fin, an ex-Stormtrooper: Rey, an orphan stranded on a desert planet: Poe Dameron, the Wedge Antilles character. And we have the dark robot: Kylo Ren of the Sith Knights of Ren. Ni! Ni! Ni!

What is the Resistance resisting? Who is Rey's parents? Why is Kylo Ren so emo? All this will be answered in the upcoming films, but this one lays them out for it.

I loved the part when Rey reaches for the light saber, grabs it, and becomes badass. She's going to be a great character if they do her story arc right.

They killed of Han Solo (SPOILER ALERT!!), but I liked that.

Luke is yoda-ing. The Jedi Knights are incompetent. They may well be the Knights Who Say Ni. They can't even figure out who the Sith are.

Kylo Ren will be saved -- by his sister.

If this cycle of the trilogy ends up better than the prequels, we'll be happy.

If you would have to watch another entry of a beloved sci-fi epic, I would recommend Mad Max. But Star Wars isn't bad either. Watch it. Preferably more than once!

4 of 5 stars.

Labels: geeked, movies, review

Today's the century's pi day! The next one will be 100 years from now, so celebrate this very special one by eating some pie today. I'm gonna choose Banoffee. Yumm.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/jun/26/how-to-make-perfect-banoffee-pie

Labels: geeked, lotd, mmm

Wired commemorates 50 years of X-Men by offering up 10 essential X-Men story lines. The usual suspects are there, Giant Size X-Men #1, Days of Future Past, The Dark Phoenix Saga, as well as mid 90s comic desolation crossovers and latter day reboots. They've hit a good set of stories and arcs to give an overview of the who, what, and why of the X-Men. But like all lists that try to categorize something I have more than a passing knowledge of, it's missing a few arcs that I would deem essential.

I've been an X-Men fan since I started reading comics. I am still picking up the latest issues even when I have no idea what is going on. Now, I'm not familiar with the mid and late 90s X-Men, but I want to add to that list.

I would add a few of the first issues: The X-Men #1-3. I own a copy of #3 with the Blob as the villain. Any list about the X-Men should include the origin stories!

I would add the run of classic Chris Claremont from the mid-80s. These were the stories I grew up on. I would start with the Shi'ar/Brood arc (#155) and run through the Wolverine/Mariko wedding in Japan (#174). That's at least twenty issues of Claremont. It's not leaning on John Byrne, but Claremont on his own.

I would add the Fall of the Mutants arc. The story line I came back to reading the X-Men after a couple years off.

I would add Inferno because that was the last meaningful arc I read.

I have yet to catch up to all the X-Men comics. There's been a lot that happened to them. I should try to catch up on some kind of wiki.

Labels: comics, geeked, NewsRadio quote

I psyched myself up so much that I almost psyched myself out of going to Otakon. I did end up there on Saturday, but I didn't get to experience it all just the cosplaying and the dealer room.

The week leading up to Otakon I couldn't fully make up my mind to go. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go or not. On one hand there is no day ticket; it's $80 at the door for the whole 3 day affair. Would I be able to spend that much time? Perhaps Saturday, but Sunday? To make that $80 go far it would have to be two days.

I went Saturday but failed to make it on Sunday.

Cosplaying is out of hand. I could admire those that put effort into their costume, but most of the time they cosplayer just slaps something on. There's clever and then there's the cosplayers from Otakon. Or is this just an non-japanese thing?

I stood in a line expecting that what I was waiting for would turn out to be worth it. Then I checked the description again, found out they would show several episodes before the special guests would speak, and I jetted. I worked my way to a manga industry panel, Vertical, to see what they had coming out.

That was only thing I sat in on. The day was cut short because I had to go to dinner for a cousin. I left having accumulated several phone charms of K-ON! girls (Waitress Mugi, Jun-chan, and Ui), the special Lawson limited edition Nendoroid petit of some K-ON!! girls (Azusa, Mio, and Yui), and 3 manga of Watamote in Japanese.

It was fun. I'm thinking about next year.

Labels: geeked, let's get together yeah yeah yeah, nerd

Nerds do right by the country. The picture at the top of the article captures it all; it's a bunch of neckbeards working it. Now that's how to win elections.

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/11/when-the-nerds-go-marching-in/265325/

Labels: geeked, John McCain is unfit for the presidency, lotd

In our younger days, we would've been doing this ourselves. What's stopping us?

Let's go. I've got a blaster right here.

http://www.starwarsuncut.com/

Labels: geeked, lotd, nerd

On my way home to start up the torrent machine. Sweet Kami-sama, thanks for the new episode. When's the movie coming?

http://randomc.net/2011/03/16/k-on-s2-27/

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Labels: geeked, K-ON, lotd, want

Sci tech awards. I always need to post this for future references!

Labels: geeked, movies, oscar pool, winners

With the ending of football, it's getting close to baseball season. Pretty soon catchers and pitchers report for Spring Training and then the whole squad. Then 3 weeks of meaningless games and then the big show. Opening day!

In the meantime, imagine that your a fan who has nothing better to do. You're flipping channels between MLB Network and what else's on. You happen upon Ferris Bueller's Day Off and get to the Wrigley Field scene. You too would spend time trying to figure out the actual game that the movie used, right? Or is that too baseball-geeky?


http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=12877

Labels: baseball, geeked, movies, sports

This looks promising. @theSeed: get on this right away.

http://www.eye.fi/

Labels: geeked, lotd, want

the definition of open: "mkdir android ; cd android ; repo init -u git://android.git.kernel.org/platform/manifest.git ; repo sync ; make"

Chief Android Andy Rubin, http://twitter.com/#!/Arubin/status/27808662429

Labels: geeked, hunh?, qotd

Let's keep it light hearted for a little bit.

Fashklork! Foomp! Glank! Kapooshishish!

These are all sound effects by the hilarious Don Martin of Mad Magazine fame.

I just think they're some great words, and they sound completely awesome as non-sequiturs in your twitter timeline or facebook page. Throw some on their and watch people stare quizzically at their screen until their inner geek kicks in and recognizes Don Martin. Have fun and stay safe with these.

Now, where did I put my Sergio Aragones mini sketches?

Labels: geeked, ha ha

Did you know that Akira Kurosawa would've been 100 years old this year if he had lived? I didn't.

The best way to celebrate is to watch one of his films. There are many to see. You could spend a month. So why don't you?

TCM is honoring this illustrious director by showcasing his films all March. Every Tuesday evening a veratible smorgasbord of awesome is being shown. I know you have it on DVD or BluRay, but watching on TCM is great. You'll get a running commentary before each film. You'll do your own running commentary.

http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=290029

Labels: Akira Kurosawa, geeked, it rocks, lotd

Really cute asians can make you cry.

http://www.dannychoo.com/post/en/24986/Alodia.html

Labels: geeked, lotd, nerd, so kawaii

One of the two books I'm currently reading is The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz. And because I am not done it yet, I'm lolly-gagging around the internet looking for more information about it. You see, Díaz, sprinkles some spanish into his writing, and it takes me some time to decipher via context what he's talking about. When I don't completely pick up the gist of the spanish passage, I skip over them and continue on. But I found a site that annotates some passages of the book for you. So if you ever read it, check this site out.

I picked this book up, because I saw the blurb the author supplied on the back cover of Pluto, a manga by Naoki Urasawa. It's an adaption and modernization of an Osamu Tezuka Astroboy story. When I read the quote, I thought that this Díaz fellow, a Pulitzer winner, likes manga? How geeky! Then reading Oscar Wao, you see how much of a geek this dude is: Marvel, DC comics, Robotech (Rick Hunter dude, not Rich!), Appleseed and anime. It's included as well as other geeky tropes such as D&D, Tolkien and the bad luck with the female of the species. But it is a wonderful read, and I do get about 85% of the allusions to the geekdom.

Labels: anime, bookish, geeked, Macross

Leaving the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I was livid in what they had done to the story. They pealed away the best parts (IMNHO) of the book that of Tom Riddle and the how and the why he became Voldemort. They also took out the fireworks, the battle at Hogwarts. What was left was a 2.5 hour prequel to the final book and to the two final movies. It just didn't have to be that way.

This adaptation loses the context to what is going on in the wizarding world. The stakes were raised since the last movie as the resurrection of Voldemort meant increasing conflict with the muggle world, but except, for the opening, you don't get the tension between our muggle and the wizarding world. It is glossed over and meant to have been extrapolated by those that have read the books. The danger to our world is part of the reason that Harry and his allies must defeat Voldemort. The bad want to inflict harm on us muggles. The good wants to live in harmony. The high stakes are not laid out in the movie.

For me, the high stakes are what was central to the books. Not only is it about Harry Potter, but it is about the wizarding world co-existing in our universe. It is about Hermione and Ron, Harry's pals who end up falling for each other. It's about the Weasleys and Ginny. It's about the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's Army, and augurs. It's about the long line of Hogwart's head masters. It's about Tom Riddle and Voldemort, and Snape and the Deatheaters. It's more than just Harry Potter.

But the movies don't give us that. For me, the books progressed from being about Harry to being about his world. He wasn't always the most interesting character. It was the others around him that made him interesting, and his nemesis, Tom Riddle was the most interesting of all. The story expanded around Harry in the books, but the story seems to coalesce around him in the movies. Just as the story gets interesting, the movie jettisons those elements that make it more interesting in order to tell Harry's tale. It's like a meal without salt: there's something off about the taste.

When I got home, I had to read the last chapters of the HBP to remind me of how good the book was. I got the battle at Hogwarts details wrong. Yet, I decided to put the book on my night stand, to read it again and to remember that a story about Harry Potter is more than just about him but of his world.

3 of 5 stars.

Labels: geeked, movies, review

It's the 40th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon mission. Join in real time as they land on the moon and experience it just as our parents would've during that July day.

Labels: geeked, science fiend

It's been three years since the original showing of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was broadcast in Japan. It has been a long wait for the second season. As you know, I've been waiting, then not waiting for the second season.

At first the original season was going to be broadcast, but this time in the chronological order similar to the story path in the light novels. This is when I explain that the original broadcast order was funky with the first four chronological episodes, the literal light novel story, where interspersed with other stories from the SOS Brigade.

It seems like they'll follow chronologically the story so it will take a while for the second season to be fully released


If you can't wait like me, and don't want to get your bit torrent client up and running, then you can follow along as the new episodes of Haruhi are release by reading some anime bloggers.

Labels: anime, geeked, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, why am i telling you this?