I was a little surprised, but I’ve had three completely independent requests from people on multiple continents asking for a way to subscribe to The Geek Whisperer email updates.
Well, ask and ye shall receive… especially when it’s an easy request to fulfill.
Where can you subscribe to these magical email updates?
Look somewhere over there
I finally saw Avatar. The flu, catching up with everything I missed while I had the flu, and then New Year’s kept me from seeing it.
This review is going to have some spoilers because so many people have seen it already, and I also don’t think that the plot is that essential to the movie experience.
Stunning.
I’ve never seen anything like it. The physical design and creation of Pandora, was executed brilliantly. Each plant and creature had a distinct look and physiology.
The battle scenes were amazing. I felt completely engaged and invested in the battles. I was saddened by each fallen Na’vi; the indigenous people, and “good guys” of the film.
The 3D shooting was never gimmicky. Not once.
From a visual standpoint, this is without rival, the prettiest movie I have ever seen.
But that’s where my praise ends.
I don’t need my fiction, music, video games, or any other artistic mediums to agree with my worldview, so when I say that I found the plot thin and disappointing, it’s not because I don’t agree with James Cameron’s politics and philosophies.
The movie was obviously anti-Bush (I can’t stand him), anti-capitalism (I’m all about capitalism), and very critical of America (America’s a good place, but it’s not beyond reproach). I couldn’t care less about any of it, other than it felt dated. I know that James started this movie some eight years ago, and it really showed.
Unobtanium; the ultra rare, excessively valuable ore that the evil humans were mining on Pandora.
Seriously, unobtanium? Are you kidding me? They took the time to design every aspect of every plant and animal in this world, and they couldn’t take ten minutes to come up with a name that doesn’t sound like poo?
In Joss Whedon’s web series Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Dr. Horrible sought to steal a substance called “wonderflonium.” The difference between these two corny-ass names is that Joss & Co. did it to be funny, while James did it because “oil” was already taken, and he didn’t take the time to think of something that was even remotely believable.
We are told that unobtanium is worth 20 million (whatever unit of currency they use in this future) a kilo, and that’s supposed to be a ton of money. If that is the case, why does the corporate head-honcho have a big chunk just floating on his desk? Unobtanium alone broke my suspension of disbelief.
They developed Jake Sully, Neytiri, and Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver is a natural bad-ass), but the other characters were caricatures; especially the hardened evil commanding officer, and the moronic corporate hack in charge.
These characters were so obtuse that I never once looked at them and saw a fully formed human, making decisions based on a personality. The reason is because they weren’t people, they were straw-men for capitalism and American policy placed on Pandora for the Na’vi to prove incorrect.
The Na’vi represent a humanoid species that lives in almost total harmony with the world around them. The problem is that this is unachievable for humans, even though it’s clear that the movie is promoting this idea as the human ideal. The Na’vi live in a world that is designed for them. They can literally link to the animals, plants, and even each other. Humans have no such link. Birds have wings, fish have gills, humans have reason, engineering, and higher thinking. That is how we live and thrive. We have to adapt our environment to survive, we don’t work any other way.
That’s just one of the straw-man arguments that emerged from this. Add in the comparison between the human/ Na’vi war, and the War on Terror. Whether or not you support that war, the differences are staggering. The simple fact that the Na’vi aren’t led by brutal rapist, murdering, warmonger dictators is a big difference.
In Starship Troopers, the humans are actually the villains. It’s done so subtly that a lot of people don’t even notice it the first time. That movie makes a very similar point about human nature, and it does it without beating the audience over the head with a club.
Firefly and Serenity, are filled with absurdest philosophies about the nature of the Universe and God. However, there was always a counterbalance. Sheppard Book was a significant character and man of God.
It’s possible to get a point across without forcing it down the viewer’s throat, and that point is usually more poignant when the viewer comes to the conclusion on his/her own.
I recommend you see this movie in IMAX, because if you aren’t watching it in IMAX 3D, you aren’t doing it right. The visuals are exceptional, and are well worth the price of admission. The plot is thin, and I found it annoying, but I am happy I experienced it.
That being said, there are people I deeply respect who fell in love with this movie, so maybe you’ll like it.
I don’t think I will watch Avatar again on Bluray or DVD.
I am not a man with many traditions, but I spend January 1st planted firmly on my couch watching as much Twilight Zone as my body and mind can withstand.
In fact, I watch so much Twilight Zone on January 1st, that I think they should start shooting new episodes so that they can make one about it.
I deleted everything from my DVR except for the “Bono” episode of South Park, and a Heart concert that I can’t bring myself to erase.
The marathon begins tomorrow, December 31st at 8 AM on the Syfy channel, and it will continue uninterrupted until 6 AM on January 2nd.
WTF is with the Sci Fi rebrand?
In case you are wondering, the classic William Shatner episode, “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet*” will air at 6 PM on December 31st. The following episode, “The Odyssey of Flight 33″ might be my favorite, and that one is at 6:30. Set your DVR.
I know you’ve seen this page before:
This means that for some reason the page you are trying to view doesn’t exist. It could be that the page was deleted, the link is broken, or it’s a bad address.
404 errors are usually boring and ugly, but a recent trend in web design are custom 404 errors.
When done well, they can be quite cool… except for that whole not getting the information you’re looking for part. That still sucks.
You can see a tons of these neat 404’s on WDL.
Thanks to Mark of JerseyStyle Photography for sending the WDL link my way.
Windows, Mac OS, and Linux all have their ups and downs, however none of them are perfect.
That doesn’t stop fanatics from all three camps from being a little bit crazy.
This matrix from Global Nerdy perfectly sums up the points of view of fanboys and girls from all three groups.
Reports are coming in that as a result of the most recent attempted attack on an airliner, the TSA is banning the use of all electronics on many inbound international flights.
That means no iPod, no Nintendo DS, no laptop, no iPhone, no Blackberry, no noise canceling headphones, nothing that runs on electricity.
It also seems that they are requiring everyone to remain in their seats through the plane’s entire descent.
The extent to which these new rules are being enforced seems to be varying from flight to flight without much of a pattern.
The facts are still coming in, so I’m not going to draw many conclusions, but there is a difference between not being allowed to use electronics, and having to check them.
If you can bring your electronics in your carry-on, and not use them, that’s a lot better than a forced checking of electronics.
Why you ask?
That being said, these restrictions are probably total bullshit. Does Israel’s El Al airline put their passengers through this shit? I’m pretty sure they don’t, and they have the best security in the business. Basically all of their flights are international, and everyone who wants to blow up American planes, wants to do the same to Israeli planes as well.
TGW – United Breaks Guitars – In Defense of United Airlines (Arguably my snarkiest post)
This April, a new comic book adaptation will hit the big screen. Mark Millar’s Kick-Ass is an absolutely brutal tale of powerless child vigilantes. That’s the lead in, now watch the trailer… if you aren’t easily offended by violence.
I absolutely can’t wait for the protesters!
OK. I really did intend to start regular content updates starting with my last post… but then I got sick. Now I’m mostly better, and feeling fairly human again, so starting today, I will be back on track.
Have a very merry Christmas.
My guilty pleasure Survivor, came to another spectacular end this evening. If you are mocking me in my head right now, all I’ve got to say is don’t judge it till you try it. The show is awesome and contagious.
This season was especially killer.
During tonight’s finale, they teased next season, Survivor Heroes vs. Villains. Starting February 11th, 20 past survivors will be split into two tribes. One will have 10 past survivors who were known for virtue, and 10 who were known for vice.
I googled to see if I could find a list, and I think I found one. If this is it, I am pretty pumped. It has a lot of my favorites from the past few years.
While googling the subject I noticed live tweets being pumped into my Google search results. It was interesting to see, and a good move on Google’s part. I’m curious if this will be common place on Google or if it will only be for trending topics.
I love Survivor, and the comic geek in me is easily excited by the prospect of a battle of good and evil (or misunderstood).
I’ve been insanely busy, but I promise regular content updates will return tomorrow.
In the mean time, here’s a sketch from Gaping Void that really speaks to me.
If you are unfimilar with Gaping Void, I strongly recommend you take some time and acquaint yourself with his work (they aren’t for people who are easily offended).
Oh Onion News Network, how I love thee:
In case you missed it, there is a new in-game trailer for Halo Reach, the inevitable blockbuster is looking good already:
I was going to install Boot Camp on my Mac so I could play this insane PC/Console RPG; a game like this must be played with a mouse and keyboard.
Anyway, I don’t need to bother with Boot Camp because Dragon Age Origins is coming out on Mac, this December 21st! Sweet.
I finally caved and acquired a PS3. After years of resisting the purchase, Sony had finally answered all but one of my reasons not to buy.
The system is very pretty, and runs almost silent.
It doesn’t come with any HD cables whatsoever. I knew it, but I forgot anyway. I find this pretty obnoxious because HD TVs are so prolific these days, and a major selling feature of the PS3 is the HD/ BluRay experience. You can’t have hi def if you don’t have hi def cables. Fail.
The PS3’s operating system is clunky as hell. It really underscored the greatness of the Xbox 360’s user interface (which makes you forget that it was designed by Microsoft).
While the hardware in the PS3 is excellent, the software is lacking.
Haven’t had time to post much because of personal obligations, and my trip to the Himalayas.
Well not like this guy went to the Himalayas… I’ve been playing Uncharted 2 on my shiny new PS3, and that’s where a bunch of the game takes place.
Uncharted 2 is easily the most enthralling video games I have ever experienced. The story, characters, voices, dialog, landscapes, physics, gameplay, and camera motion are mind-blowing. I started playing the game in front of my family, and they actually started watching, and stayed. Over the course of my 22 year gaming career, that has never happened. It’s like playing a really good movie.
(I recommend clicking through to YouTube and watching this in HD)
Rest assured I will be writing more about it once I have conquered it.
The Mystery Google is a pretty cool idea… with very little functional benefit other than a fun waste of a minute.
You go to the website MysteryGoogle.com, and type in any search phrase. I recommend you search “geek whisperer.”
Then you search, however you will not see the search results for “geek whisperer,” you will see something completely different.
The way it works is that you will always see the search query that the person before you input. So the next person to run a Mystery Search will see your “geek whisperer” search results.
Not functional, but interesting.
But wait, there’s more. I’m going to try and turn this into something that is functional.
If you search “geek whisperer” on the Mystery Search, you will be doing me a favor because you will be funneling traffic to my site (provided the searcher after you clicks the link).
Think of it as a tiny holiday gift for your friendly neighborhood Geek Whisperer.
The brand new Mac beta for Google’s web browser Chrome is really smooth and fast. I mean really really smooth and fast… when it doesn’t crash. It’s a beta, things will improve.
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