I think it is safe to say that fall has arrived. While it is still technically summer ( I know because Coney Island is still open everyday), the leaves are beginning to fall from the trees and crunch underfoot, network television channels are announcing new line-ups, New York Comic Con approaches and Spiderman: Turn off the Dark has officially annouced a start date on Broadway. … Continue Reading
Hello out there all you Terry Pratchett fans! Already I can hear some of you thinking…”Terry Who?” I know he is not a very well known author here in the states, but he is a terrific fantasy/satire writer. He has written over 36 books in the discworld series, all of which satirize a few different themes found here on planet earth (rock and roll, religion, crime procedurals, the banking system, the postal system, etc).
Yes, this is basically a convention for one author. It takes up a whole convention space, and is filled with crazy people like myself that love Terry Pratchett and all the wonderful books he has brought into this world. We watch movies, have masquarades, banquets, and seminars on that range in topics from Terry’s works to how to write your own book and get it published. There is drinking and singing and dancing and board games and free food and great people from all over the world (I met a guy from Switzerland at the first convention). Again, all gathered in one place to celebrate one author. But really, how many authors can claim to have written a truly funny and educational/thoughtful book about the banking system? I mean it sounds like an oxymoron. Or to be the most shoplifted author in 1996? (I have no current stats). How about over 55 million copies sold in over 36 languages? Also, Terry Pratchett has been knighted for his work in literature.
Knighted for work in fantasy literature!
Too cool. How did we not know about this guy in the states? … Continue Reading
Best Chris Tucker performance ever...
A big little company called SpaceX (yes, that is their real name) has decided to privatize the space-race, and get this, the White House couldn’t be happier. … Continue Reading
So Ramin Setoodeh of Newsweek is coming under fire lately for his article stating that openly gay actors, for the most part, cannot successfully play straight people. Of course, Setoodeh does try to make a weak case for two people who got it right:
Portia de Rossi
and
Neil Patrick Harris
Admittedly, these were the first two openly gay actors who came to my mind at first, and that kind of made me feel dirty inside. Why aren’t there more openly gay actors playing straight parts? … Continue Reading
The Associated Press is reporting that robots are being used to lower a giant concrete box onto the oil spill which has destroyed the Gulf of Mexico. According to Bill Salvin, who is some dude from BP, “We are essentially taking a four-story building and lowering it 5,000 feet and setting it on the head of a pin.” Once the monolith is lowered onto the oil spill, robots with headlights and cameras will be used to move it into place (think The Abyss). … Continue Reading
If you have ever attended the National Poetry Slam, you will know that one of the largest daytime events that occurs there annually is the Nerd Slam. We nerds take the stage and pour our hearts out to you regarding our deep emotional losses as related to LARPing or Mario Brothers or comic books. One example of iconic nerd bravado:
April is National Poetry Month, and to celebrate, here are a couple of spots to geek out online, poetically speaking:
Geek Haiku “Forgot your flashlight? / In the darkness you have been / Eaten by a Grue.”
Godzilla Haiku “King of All Monsters / Protector or Destroyer / Soothe my troubled heart.”
Amber Tamblyn You might know her as Joan of Arcadia. You might roll your eyes because she was in those Traveling Pants movies. But her book “Bang Ditto” was recognized as one of the most noteworthy of 2009.
It’s a great month to be a word nerd. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must go compose that love sonnet to my own personal Scott Pilgrim…
April first has always been a big day for Blizzard Entertainment. They make it a point to make huge announcements on this day, like last year when they announced World of Warcraft game coming to consoles in the form of Molten Core, a game built exclusively for the Atari 2600. Anyone can see, with the concept art matching the screen shots so amazingly, that this was going to be a great game.
Well, they’ve outdone themselves again this year, announcing a new equipment rank system for WoW players and two mobile games that are sure to be hits.
Today is a sad day in the world of great television writers. David Mills, who is most famous for his work on the Emmy Award winning shows The Corner and The Wire has died today at the age of 48. He was in a New Orleans hospital and sadly died of a brain aneurysm.
What I most knew him for, though, was his writing for the wonderful show Homicide: Life on the Streets, which starred Andre Braugher and Yaphet Kotto back in the 1990′s. One of my favorite episodes was called “Bop Gun”, which he adapted from a book by college friend David Simon.
The last project he worked on, called Treme, which deals with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, is 12 days away from premiering on HBO. Let’s all, as fans of good television, give it a shot and let David Mills live a bit longer.
Some horror news that is making the waves today and should be known to all of you out there as well.
First off, George A. Romero’s new zombie film, Survival of the Dead, has a new red band trailer, exclusive to IGNhas been posted today and it looks quite fun to this gorehound. Remember though, this film isn’t as action packed as the trailer might show, but it’s still the master at work here. Plus, it has to be better than Diary of the Dead, right?
Next up on the Splatter Menu, we have Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead getting a 6 episode pick up for the fall season this year. October 2010 to be exact, which is exciting news. When hearing that AMC picked up the series, it worried a few people out there. How would the gore quotient be? Would AMC allow the grotesque and harsh violence that makes the comic book a fan favorite? Well, Shock Til You Drop spoke with KNB’s very own Greg Nicotero, where he mentions that KNB will be working on Frank Darabont’s The Walking Dead, which is already exciting for everyone out there. They are the premier special effects group around, not only for horror but for any film that has required special effects work.
KNB worked recently with Darabont on the greatly under-appreciated film The Mist, so in less than a year we’ll find out how much blood AMC allows in the series.
And finally, not necessarily horror news, but the G-Man himself will be coming back to theaters in 2012. Legendary Pictures officially announced today that they will be partnering with Warner Bros. and Toho to make a new Godzilla film. As long as Roland Emmerich is nowhere in sight of this, then we won’t have another abortion of sorts on the big screen. Godzilla was last seen in the film Final Wars, a fun little flick that even poked fun at the American Godzilla mess. I appreciate how bad they made the CGI for the new Godzilla look in the movie. Check out the clip below.
Let Paper Spaceships know if you like this idea for a new article. Being a huge horror nut, I will scour the internet for random news bits that you, the horror fan, would like to know about.
The big news in the gaming world this week: Nintendo announced it has plans to release the Nintendo 3DS, a 3D version of their very popular (I don’t have numbers, but I’m fairly certain it’s the most popular handheld) Nintendo DS. Supposedly, you won’t need glasses, either.
Awesome.
Nintendo, to me, has always appealed to a much wider audience than XBox 360 and PlayStation (which in my eyes makes them a more intelligent company).. neither Microsoft or Sony has really gotten a handle on the non-teenage/young adult-male gaming demographic, but Nintendo has. Yeah, Microsoft and Sony do that demographic VERY well, but what about the rest of us?
Just to illustrate how out of touch Sony is, I give you this quote: “Having been in the portable space for quite awhile, I think it’s an interesting move but one I’d like to see where they go from a demographic standpoint. Eight- and nine-year-olds playing 3D is a little bit of a stretch given where some of our research is right now.” (John Koller, SCEA director of hardware and marketing)
lolwut? Wow. He’s going to be regretting those words for a long time to come.
P.S. Look at how beautiful that logo is.
This work by Paper Spaceships is licensed under a CC-A-NC-SA 3.0 US License.