Image via bark on flickr
Ahhh, Lazy Sunday. A day to rest and recharge for the week. Unless, that is, you happen to be on the Dragon*Con MMORPG track staff. If you are and your name just happens to be Michael C. McGreevy (which mine is), Sunday is a day for digging up a bunch of links about geek stuff and making a post with snarky comments about them.
Which, I suppose, isn’t all that bad in the grand scheme of things. He could have asked me to comb his back hair or something. Yeech.
Anyway, here’s your Monday Geek Roundup you lucky dogs! I tried to collect news throughout the entire week instead of just gathering stuff that popped up over the weekend this time, so you may have already caught some of this.
- I’ve always had a bit of a crush on Seattle, but a recent news item out of the state really cemented in my adoration for the city. The Make-A-Wish Foundation teamed up with the city to grant the wish of a young man who always wanted to be a super hero. Fair warning on this one, folks. If you’re the least bit sentimental it’s going to bring a tear to your eye. [Source]
- Rumor has it that yet another super hero franchise is getting ready to undergo the re-boot treatment. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles appear to be poised to take on the big screen again, this time with a slightly more serious tone. Anyone who read the original comics knows that the series really wasn’t started as a kids book (at the end of the first story arc Raphael ran Shredder through with his katana and then they blew his ass up). The mask in the link that follows is supposedly going to be in the new film, and it’s definitely a less “goofy” look for the heroes. [Source]
- In light of rapidly declining sales, Sony announced last week that as of next year they will no longer be making floppy disks. This really isn’t much of a surprise, considering that I’m one of the few people I know that still has a floppy drive in his computer. Really, they only thing they are good for these days is flashing the BIOS anyway, and most (if not all) motherboards will allow you to do that with a flash drive now. Still, I have to admit that this news fills me with a wee bit of sadness. Yet another computer staple from my youth is just so much landfill now. YOU KIDS GET OFF OF MY LAWN!! [Source]
- File this under “why the hell haven’t we done this at Dragon*Con?!?!” G4TV got a group of ladies together dressed up as Slave Leia and held a charity car wash. I realize that for some folks the whole Slave Leia obsession is probably tired, but as someone who was going through puberty when Return of the Jedi came out I, for one, welcome our new metal bikini clad overlords. [Source]
- Oh, you internet. You are so full of clever people. Like the guy who made a really awesome trailer for all of the big movies due out this summer. [Source]
- Looks like the new (and improved?) version of Clash of the Titans is going to get a sequel. I haven’t seen it yet myself, but most reports I’ve heard so far have been pretty solidly in the “meh” category. I suppose it has done well enough, though. Me, personally? I can’t get behind a Perseus that despised his clockwork owl. I’m 100% Team Bubo, ya’ll. [Source]
- Comicsalliance.com has a great little series of “comics that never happened.” While the original was great in and of itself, the recent addition of Aliens vs. Predators vs. Ted Nugent is a move I’d give up some precious anatomy to see. [Source]
- Turns out that Gene Roddenberry’s son is not, in fact, a Trekkie. I guess that makes sense. Children tend to rebel against the things their parents love in order to find their own identity. Hell, I once scolded my son for not playing World of Warcraft enough (no, I’m not kidding…I got over it). In an effort to try and understand why, exactly, so many people loved his Father young Master Roddenberry has put together a documentary called Final Frontier. While Trek documentaries are nothing new, if the trailer is any indicator this could turn out to be a very touching tribute to Gene. [Source]
- The upcoming Jonah Hex movie has a trailer, and while I have to admit that I’ve never read the comic myself this one looks to be pretty interesting. Even with Megan Fox in it. Yeah, yeah. I get it. She’s a hottie and she does geek movies and a lot of you love her. Sorry, my fellow nerds. While I admit she’s decent eye candy I prefer my “geek chicks” to actually have a brain and, I don’t know, some acting talent. I’m sure you have no idea who I could possibly be referring to. [Source]
- Speaking of my favorite red head – Felicia Day is going to be appearing in a SyFy original movie called Red. It’s a modern-day retelling of “Little Red Riding Hood” in which the namesake of the story is a werewolf hunter. The movie is scheduled to premier sometime in 2011. [Source]
- Batman 3 has a release date! Christopher Nolan is going to be bringing the Dark Knight back to the silver screen in July of 2012. From what I’ve heard, Nolan had a three movie story arc in mind when he took on the original project, so this film should be the end of the hero cycle that he set up for the character. It will definitely be interesting to see whether or not The Joker makes an appearance in the next film. Heath Ledger pretty well changed the definition of the character and stepping in to the role after he did so would be intimidating (to say the least). That said, The Joker is, well, insane. Many of his personality shifts (from goofy clown to homicidal maniac) have been explained away as different manifestations of his demented mind. Perhaps the best way to take over the role would be to make him completely different? Details about the film are scant at this point, but we’ll definitely keep in on our radar. [Source]
- Ron Howard (“Opie Cunningham! Opie Cunningham!”) is getting his hands on Stephen King. Well, Stephen King’s work, anyway. Howard’s production company has just gotten the rights to the Dark Tower series, and apparently they are planning a big screen film that will be followed up with a television series to end the story. [Source]
- Marvel has released the first image of Chris Hemsworth as Thor from the upcoming Kenneth Branagh film. I have two words for you, true believers. Odin’s Beard! [Source]
- Apparently someone has optioned the rights to make a movie based on the Magic 8 Ball. You know, that thing you would whisper a question to and then turn over for an enigmatic answer like “Reply hazy. Try again later”? Yeah, that Magic 8 Ball. You know what Magic 8 Ball has to say about this new film idea? “Outlook Not So Good.” [Source]
- Remember the Diva song from The Fifth Element? Apparently if you listen to the commentary the director mentions that he created it by mixing together a whole bunch of different clips from various opera singers and then performing some computer wizardry on it. He goes on to make the claim that it was impossible for someone to sing. Welllll, turns out “impossible” isn’t a word that disneydiva7 is familiar with. She posted a video of herself singing the last part of the song, and she completely nails it (admittedly, the faces she has to make to do so aren’t exactly…normal). [Source]
That’s it for this week, gang! If you see anything newsworthy you think I should include in the Geek Roundup please feel free to shoot me an email!
