Stardate 01-01-07
So I sat down and tried to think of all the nerdy things that I did over the last year. Though I know that I can't possibly think of everything, I did come up with a fairly good sized list. I must say that I am a little dissapointed in myself. It seems like there is a lot more that that I can do in order to more fully engulf myelf in all things nerd. It will be my new years resolution to try to be even more nerdy in 2007. I know that Allison will be pleased. The following is a list of items and a thought or two about each of them. They were not necessarily released in '06.
Movies:
X3- better then the first, not even close to the second.
Superman Returns- boring. how many times do we have to see something falling and him swooping down to save the day.
V for Vendetta- Remember remember the 5th of November. I learned that terrorism is ok, as long as its against a Totalitarian Govt. Totally awesome.
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galexy- Very funny. Can't wait to read the book.
Lady in the Water- about the importance in believing in stories. Excellent.
Original Star Wars on DVD- finally. All looks amazing except for when they replaced old Anakin with new Anakin at the end of Return of the Jedi.
The Prestige- Visually amazing. Great story and great movie.
Audio Book
Eragon- narration is a little cheesy, but the story is awesome. I want to be a Dragon Rider.
Eldest- narration is still cheesy and it starts a little slow for those of us who are not completely interested in Elf etiquite. The ending will blow you away.
Across the Nightengale Floor- This is one that most of you probably have never heard of so I will take a little more time on it. This is a four book series about and ancient tribe of Samuri Assasins who have mystical powers. The nightengale floor refers to a specail floor constructed of wood that creeks at the slightest touch. Its purpose is to let those who are sleeping know that an assasin is sneaking in to kill them in their sleep. I enjoyed this download very much and plan on reading the other three.
Snow Crash- my first venture into the Cyber Punk genre. It totally sucked and I could not even come close to finishing it. I will give cyber punk one more chance when I read Neuromancer.
The Prestige- a good listen, but much different from the movie. For me the movie was so much better because you actually get to see the magic.
Books
Star Wars: Heir to the Empire- My first ventrue into the Star Wars expanded Universe. I loved it. I can't wait to read the other two in the series.
Boys Life- a murder mystery about a boy and his father who witnesses a murder. the book is full of mystical happenings. Pretty good, but not great.
The Handmaid's Tale- Precious free time wasted that could have been spent reading a book written by a male. I wont make that mistake again.
The Third Policeman- a book referenced by the TV series Lost. This book is pretty funny, but very wierd. After commiting a murder, the main character gets lost in land where people become bicycles.
Watchmen- probably my favorite thing that I read all year. This is a comic book written by Alan Moore. This thing has influenced just about everyone, including Joss Whedon, JJ Abrams, Paul Greengrass, and the list goes on. Its a comic book about what super heros do after they retire. They are forced into retirement by the goverment. Some of the events take place around a secret lost island. There are many influences from the comic book in the TV show Lost.
TV and TV on DVD
Heros- my favorite new show this season. Mutations in DNA causes changes in the body that bring on super powers. Its pretty much the same as X-Men, but the cool thing about this show is seeing how the charaters have first gained their powers and are learning to use them.
Lost- the end of season two was great. The start of season three has been crappy. I still have hope.
Battlestar Galactica- the best show on TV. Hot cylon babes, great special effects, fast paced action, drama, religion, great story telling and violence. Can't beat that combo.
Firefly- not as good as I had hoped, but very original and entertaining. Great characters and music.
Roswell Season 2- How do you make shows like the OC and Dawsons Creek even better? you set them up in Roswel, New Mexico and add aliens to the mix.
Freaks and Geeks- my favorite new old show. I want to own this one on DVD. Too bad it only lasted one season.
Please let me know if there is anything nerdy that I missed in '06 so I can add it to my list of items to partiake of in '07.
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12 comments:
You forgot: "started a blog with a topical emphasis on science fiction."
You are correct. I did forget that, but I was actually hoping that there was some type of sci fi/fantasy recomendation that you could make to me and my thousands of readers.
Wow Darth Spencer. You have been very busy in 2006! I'm sure your "nerdiness" will continue to skyrocket in 2007.
My family has been impressed with Ian's Star Wars/Star Trek/Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings Christmas tree. "You let him do that?" they ask. I guess not everyone appreciates that kind of coolness.
I have no doubt Ian will have several recommendations for you.
That list is really useful. I'm going to read/watch some of those things.
Your reason of why "Heroes" is good (we see people adjust, experiment, and learn from their new powers) is one thing I thought was missing from the Fantastic Four movie. I saw the trailer for the next installment, "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer", and have some hope for a better movie than the first.
Although it came out in the 80's, Judd gave me the movie "Flight of the Navigator" for Christmas, and it still holds up as a good sci fi movie. (I never realized that Max, the alien, is voiced by Paul Reubens - aka Pee Wee Herman!)
In your list, it seems that video/computer games could be added to your nerd-diet. I've learned that some parents play World of Warcraft online once every few weeks with a group...
A yes Cblakes, you are very correct. Do not worry, thanks to Allison and Christmas, I have remedied my lack of video game play and it will be present during 2007. The Rumbler reminded me about Flight of the Navigator the other day. I need to watch it again. I doubt I fully understood it when I was just a young Reveridian apprentice. I just remember that I liked it because the alien screams at a guy that he's had too many tweenkies, or something like that.
Please elaborate on your World of Warcraft suggestion.
So World of Warcraft is the world's most popular MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) with over 7 million players.
A girl in one of my classes said her husband played WOW with a group of his friends online, every few weeks. It got me thinking that maybe a similar arrangement would work for our budgets and better halves.
I looked into the cost, and right now it is 20 bucks for the software, which comes with a free month of online play. Then, it's around 20 bucks a month to play online. A little much for my budget to do that every month, but maybe once in a while, buying a month of play would be possible.
I'm trying to think of the nerdy things I did this year. Many of them overlap with your activties (watching Serenity and X-Men III, re-watching Return of the Jedi, listening to Aragon and Eldest, becoming a blogger, etc.).
I had a Star Wars/Star Trek/LOTR/Harry Potter Christmas tree again, but I didn't get any new ornaments this year because they quit making LOTR ornaments and the Harry Potter ornament was stupid and cheap-looking.
I asked for software for my birthday, much to the dismay of my in-laws. I think that's pretty nerdy. I asked them for iLife '06 because I wanted the iWeb program and the upgrade on iPhoto and iMovie. I worked on a web page for a while, but I have found that a blog can do just about everything an iWeb web page can do and more, so I've stuck to blogging. I may still launch a web site yet.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'll have to think about it more. I certainly need to do more nerdy things in '07.
WOW sounds totally awesome. I wish we didn't have to pay 20 bucks a month to play online. That seems a bit much. I know that Blizzard used to have a web site where you could just go and play online for free. Maybe we need to look into some way of playing Warcraft II online. Is it even possible? I know Ian said that you have to do something fancy with DOS if you have Windows XP. I know that Duane would like to get in on this action.
I command all my young Sith apprentices to look into this and report back to me.
Master (kneeling) - your command is just and true. In answer to it, I am enrolled in the "Interactive Media and Computers" advanced course at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The course syllabus states that "everyone in the class will be expected to learn, play, and finish a contemporary video game of a new genre."
I will discover the trends and future of video games, and, since it sounds like your Nintendo DS may not be around your household much longer, my recommendations should be very valuable as you may be searching for gaming alternatives.
Apparently I am your only Sith apprentice. Everyone else better get with the program. I agree in advance to slay those slothful Sith wannabes who ignore your commands.
That is the coolest class and sylabus ever. It looks like the Apprentice might become the Master in this instance. While Darth Spencer continues to spend his political capital with The Mrs. to sneak in an occasional game of Tetris, Darth Cblakes will be choosing, playing, and mastering a video game of his choice, all under the guise of "homework" and without having to spend an ounce of political capital. He may even choose to play and master the Revenge of the Sith game, which would increase his mastery of the dark side.
Ah Spencer, your nerdness has truly made me feel a kinship for you. A nerd list is a most excellent idea and if i were to create a list of my own it would be not unlike your own. There is one area you seemed to be lacking in though. This is youtube items. It took me a fortnight and then some to finally succumb to that which is youtube. But so many wonders are found there. Where else can you find numerous occurences of people plunging off a treadmill, an overweight lady toppling over a motorcycle, intros to favorite childhood cartoons, a stylized dance on treadmills(most marvelous), and america's funniest home video montages. Now, seeing that you and I are both quite experienced in the ways of nerdiness I thought I would share with you some youtube treats(besides what I already mentioned). I am not quite sure if our humor is exactly the same, but we do have many of the same interests, so i hope you enjoy these delicacies: Scary Mary, Emo Elmo, and Charlie: Candy Mountain. All odd in their own way, all funny in their own way. enjoy.
Yon dweebish cousin, Paige
Dude, I need your mailing address so Ruby can ship you back your keys (btw, thx again for dropping them off).
Can you just email me at ssuite@skywest.com and then delete this comment? ;)
THX Spence.
ssm
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