Author Archives: Andrew Hales

by | January 14, 2014 · 11:47 am

Confessions of a Geek: Cinematic Influences, Part 1

Continuing on with the Therefore I Geek discussion of influences, today we’re talking about movies and television shows that have influenced us. I have loved movies since I was a little kid. When I’m feeling down and need a pick me up, I turn to movies. They are one of my favorite forms of escapism entertainment—not quite as immersive as books, but also requiring less active thought. They are perfect for those days when I’m feeling brain dead, which occurs more often than I would like. Television shows are great because every week has the same cast of characters involved in some different adventure or dilemma. After a while, the audience starts to feel like they know them as actual people and are part of their lives. These are just a few of the movies and TV shows that have had an impact on my life.

• Star Wars – This one is a no brainer. I can still remember the first time I saw any part of Star Wars. We were on a cross country trip, my dad couldn’t sleep so he was watching TV and Star Wars was on. I woke up and watched a few minutes, was rather confused by what I saw and then went back to bed. Phantom Menace is the first DVD I ever owned and Revenge of the Sith is the first midnight movie showing I went to (also the first time I had Red Bull. It was a memorable night). My favorite Star Wars movie is The Empire Strikes Back.

• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan – While I love all of Star Trek, this is by far the best of the films and the one that made me really love all things Trek. I’ve played Star Trek games, read Star Trek books and had daydreams set in the Star Trek universe. A close runner up is Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, which has some nice action, but doesn’t quite hold the same gravity

• The West Wing – I hate political ads. I hate them so much in fact that I give up watching live television during presidential elections. The real problem with this is that I’m interested in politics, but the ads cause my blood pressure to go through the roof. In comes The West Wing. While I don’t agree with a lot of the political ideas, I love the idealistic view of how politics should work. It also helps that the writing is quite good.

• Alien – One of the greatest science fiction movies ever made. It is one of the few horror movies I’ve ever seen and it scared the crap out of me the first time I saw it. This movie has lead me to look into the other Alien films, B-movies, Ridley Scott’s films and H.R. Giger’s art. That is a serious amount of research all because of one movie.

• The Hunt for Red October – Submarines are one of the things that interest me most and while this movie may not be particularly accurate, it is a great action picture. This movie is one of the things that help me figure out what I wanted to do with my life (and also that I didn’t want to actually be in the Navy).

• Firefly and Serenity – This was, of course, a great show. Despite its short initial run, Firefly has had a significant afterlife on DVD and Netflix. It also happened to be my first real exposure to Joss Whedon. (I’m not very familiar with Buffy; what can I say.) I named one of my cats after everyone’s favorite engineer—though if I’m being completely honest she’s less Kaylee and more Jayne (or that homicidal Russian guy).

I love her… cause she’s pretty!

• 10 Things I Hate About You – This was the first time I’d ever seen Shakespeare that wasn’t literal Shakespeare (Taming of the Shrew in this case). While it is certainly not Ran or Scotland, PA, it’s a fun movie with a surprisingly strong cast (Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles and Joseph Gordon Levitt) that does a good job of telling the original story without the original Shakespearean language that many people find difficult to understand.

• The Big Lebowski – The Cohen Brothers’ parody of The Big Sleep (which is also a fantastic film) is the movie, after Star Wars, that I quote the most. If you include F-bombs, then it is by far the movie I quote most. John Goodman is in rare form as Walter and matches perfectly with Jeff Bridges’ inspired portrayal of The Dude. Because of The Big Lebowski I’ve looked up some classic movies as well as other Cohen Brothers’ films (big fan of Raising Arizona). It’s also got one of the best soundtracks I’ve ever heard.

What movies and TV shows have you found influential? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned for part two, wherein our editor provides her list of cinematic influences.

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by | January 13, 2014 · 4:41 pm

Editorial | RegularJOE, and why I like him

The first time I saw Joseph Gordon-Levitt was not Third Rock from the Sun.  It was Inception.  Since then, and especially over the last couple of years, he’s done a lot of stuff  that has caught my eye… and always in a good way.   It’s appropriate that I mention the first time I saw Joseph Gordon-Levitt (or JGL, as he’s lovingly called by his fans—Joseph Golden Rabbit on reddit), because last week, he introduced the world to his new show HitRECord on TV.  Its first episode was about firsts.

The glasses are a not-so-subtle reminder that he’s a geek just like us

Joe’s geek status seems to have originated organically.  His good friend Zooey Deschanel says that when she first met Joe, he was “Very intellectual. Very, very serious and very intense… you would say something, and he would go, ‘What do you mean by that?’ Not a word went unexamined, you know?”  Now, he’s much more open, friendly, and able to express himself freely; and that is also something he admires in others (such as his older brother Dan, who passed away in 2010).

JGL seems to be enthusiastic about everything that he helps create.  I think it is inherently geeky that he is so in love with what he does and shares.  His big box office hits may make him a well known and wealthy man, but he seems incredibly grounded—even drives a 2005 Honda.    His passion appears to actually be about what he does, rather than about making money by doing things.  He has given multiple interviews in which he declaims the idea of “celebrities” and the culture that makes their words and actions more important than those of other people.  On the internet, he goes by “RegularJOE” or “hitRECordJoe,” to put emphasis on his work rather than his status.

Joe believes that the media plays a large—perhaps too large—role in forming public opinion about the way the world is and should be.  “My mom and dad brought me up to question dominant cultural gender roles,” he says at one point.  The “old media,” as he calls it, is on its way out.  Thanks to the connectivity now afforded by the internet, a new type of media is forming in which artists can connect directly with their audience without the Hollywood song-and-dance.

He’s able to geek out about the same types of things that his fans are passionate about.  “Movies are something I care deeply about,” he says, in an interview about Dark Knight Rises, “Often times in our culture, movies are thought of as something more disposable, a bit of entertainment.  That’s not how I feel about them; and it’s great to be a part of something where people aren’t just looking at is as some piece of disposable entertainment but as something that means a lot.”

Now, after his directorial debut with Don Jon, he’s putting his efforts into a new form of art:  HitRECord.  For the past few years, Joe has been working on a project that is now hosted on hitrecord.org.  Creators of all forms of media—singers and songwriters, artists and animators, even just people with fantastic speaking voices—come together to make collaborative pieces.  Now, for the first time, some of these pieces will be on a television show hosted by Joseph Gordon-Levitt himself.

regularJOEJoe seems to have a unique way of reaching out to connect to his fans, and it shows in this project.  It is hard to comprehend how a young man who has acting for the public’s entertainment is able to empathize so perfectly with those who love his work.  Somehow he always does the right thing—like right now, when he released the first episode of his new show HitRECord on TV a week early to his internet fandom, and announced it with an AMA on reddit.  (You can check out the AMA here and the show here).  His sincerity and zeal are obvious—this type of public relations cannot be taught.  Unsurprisingly, this appeal resulted in an enormous response from his fans.  It seems to have worked, because HitRECord on TV has already been picked up for a second season—still a couple of days ahead of its January 18th premier.

It is rare for me to speak so glowingly of anyone—especially a celebrity—but I just really like this guy. I like his down-to-earth style. I like his grasp on social media, and his ability to advertise without appearing to advertise.  I really, really love his enthusiasm for his life and his art.  I’m excited to see what else Joseph Golden Rabbit and his brave new world of media has to show us and wish him the best in all of his endeavors.

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by | January 10, 2014 · 1:22 pm

Around the Web January 10, 2014

Throughout this week I am sure you have all been bombarded with new and interesting tech updates coming out of the Consumer Electronics Show. With all of the shiny new 4K TVs you might have missed the fact that 3D TVs are becoming a dying breed. When Vizio (who sells the most TVs in the US…who knew?) announced their new model lineup for 2014 there were no 3D TVs to be seen. Now you may say to yourself “It’s only one manufacturer, who cares?” but this is a big deal. With the largest US seller getting out of the 3D business, it’s only a matter of time before the higher end brands start to bail as well. It also doesn’t help that the few content providers who created 3D entertainment (ESPN chief among them) are abandoning the format.

I've always felt this looked more than a little stupid too.

I’ve always felt this looked more than a little stupid.

I’m personally glad to see this fad go. I’ve never been a particular fan of 3D since it requires me to wear a pair of glasses over my glasses, and I was dreading the thought that all entertainment would be headed that direction.

If you are anything like us, you’ve been salivating over the wait for season three of Sherlock. The bad news is that the season will come to an end once again, after its usual three episodes.  The good news is that seasons four AND five have already been plotted out. That’s right folks, we are definitely getting two more seasons of this fantastic show. Not only that, but the creators are claiming that these seasons will be some of their best work, full of exciting twists and turns. If you are in the UK, tune in Sunday for the season finale and then let the waiting begin. If you’re in the US, just… keep waiting.

If I promise to be very, very good can we have more? Please?

If I promise to be very, very good can we have more? Please?

If there is any rhyme or reason in determining the length of a British TV show, it has eluded me thus far.

Thanks to our wonderful Editor, I’ve got an awesome site to share with you all. Whether you’re a poor college student, hard working professional, or just thrifty, Sh*t You Can Afford is the site for you. The site provides a nice mix of useful and novel items, all available on Amazon for around $20. I’ve already started my random crap want list.

Think of all the random crap you can get with just one bill.

Think of all the random crap you can get with just one bill.

Maybe if I were the proud owner of  that portable door lock I could have prevented a couple of embarrassing moments involving bathrooms in Manhattan.

Finally we’d like to share with you the experiences of one of our fellow bloggers. It’s no secret that we are in love with books and that a great customer service experience makes any retail transaction, online or in person, that much better.  Our fellow bloggers The Leather Library share their pretty awesome experience with The Folio Society. Without having purchased anything, I’m already a fan.

Sooooo pretty...

Sooooo pretty…

For those of you in the Hampton Roads and Richmond areas, come join us for MarsCon in Williamsburg next weekend. Despite living in the area for six years, this will be my first MarsCon (my timing has been off the last couple years).  I’ve heard great things and I’m really looking forward to it.

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by | January 9, 2014 · 9:13 am

Winning Science January 9, 2014

Scientists from the US and Canada making use of the Spitzer Space Telescope to study brown dwarfs have made some interesting discoveries. These celestial bodies which are not quite stars, but not quite planets may have rain in the form of molten iron.  Picture being in a deluge, only instead of water, super hot, melted metal is pouring from the sky.  Scientists identified the weather patterns by looking at the infrared light that the brown dwarfs emit and observing variations in it, which indicate changes in weather.

Brown dwarfs fall somewhere in the middle between stars and planets.

Brown dwarfs fall somewhere in the middle between stars and planets.

Somehow this makes Seattle’s weather not seem so bad.

Ever since the Fukushima disaster the nuclear industry has been looking for new ways to turn itself around. Their latest attempt to do so is the Small Modular Reactor (SMR). These reactors are less than 300 Mw, but are often much smaller than this. The reactor can be built in a factory somewhere and then transported to wherever it is needed.  Because of their size and design features these reactors are safer than their larger counterparts and can be placed underground, making them less vulnerable to terror attacks (an unfortunate modern design consideration). The Russians are already jumping on the SMR bandwagon with a modified version of their submarine reactor mounted on a barge.

reactorx-large

An example of a SMR.

SMRs are actually not a new concept. The US Army experimented with Stationary Low-Power Reactors in the 1950’s for use in arctic stations. Unfortunately, the design and operation was flawed, resulting in the SL-1 meltdown which killed three operators.

Former Canadian Defense Minister Paul Hellyer is up to his old tricks again. Mr Hellyer is the only official of a major government to publicly admit to the existence of aliens. You know, those little grey guys that Mulder and Scully were chasing down back in the 90’s. Hellyer made his first public declaration in 2005 and has since stated there are eighty different species of aliens, most of which either don’t care or are not willing to help us.  Of course, they don’t help us because we are too “warlike” and because we have nukes.

Cue spooky music.

Cue spooky music.

Somehow I get the feeling that they are fully capable of dealing with nukes, having mastered interstellar travel and all that.

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