An Aggregate of Diverse Topics

An Aggregate of Diverse Topics

Dec 15

As a nerd who is not a hardcore Trek fan, I have to confess that the new Trek trailer (which isn’t exactly new, is it?) gets me going a bit.  As an artifact of the way I viewed TOS, I don’t think I’ve ever really had a grasp on the character behind Kirk, nor have I ever really had it explained to me.  There’s something perfect about that very first scene in the trailer that communicates who Jim Kirk is to me, and he’s a guy I think I like.  The rest of the trailer tries very hard to communicate this grand, epic sentence, and I like its trailer-appropriate stings of sturm and its accompanying drang (it stimulates the part of my brain that sneaks into Michael Bay movies).  However, all of the subsequent fireworks are kind of dross to me after watching some cowboyish little kid drive an incalculably valuable classic car off a cliff for no apparent reason.

If you find Grant Morrison’s work on Batman and/or Final Crisis difficult to follow, you may want to invest in the recently solicited 3-pack of Blank Comic Books.  Not to make your own, but to let your mind get invested in a story that it can follow without suffering psychic damage.  As to Batman RIP, it was really a bit of a non-ending, no? It wasn’t bad at all (and by that I mean that I think it’s quite good, not just the stock, dismissive “not bad,” but expecting more from it wasn’t unreasonable.

Though I have generally broken up with DC Comics, I still maintain that I will fight anybody who dislikes  New Frontier.

Who is Fake Dan DiDio?  Who cares?  BUT — the heavy-handed, thinks-its-witty-but-actually-isn’t tone of the updates makes me think that it might actually be Triple D himself.

Hearing that One Tree Hill sire Mark Schwann is developing the new Melrose Place is causing quite the hubbub (is that still a word?  23 skidoo!) in the lushly appointed Alert Nerd offices.  It won’t be good, but will it be so bad it’s good?  We’ll be sure to give you a full accounting.

Oh, and the amazing amazingness that is Grok #3 drops tomorrow.  It features the complete lyrics to the Ewok Celebration Song.  And that’s only on one of its 69 GIANT SIZED pages.

Grokin' Around The X-Mas Tree 2008: A Holiday Music Mix

Grokin' Around The X-Mas Tree 2008: A Holiday Music Mix

Dec 15

We went through a couple different ideas on how to celebrate the holidays here at the Alert Nerd/Grok compound, and we have QUITE the amazing holiday present for you fine folks coming later this week.

Until then, here’s a little something to get your holiday parties ROCKING OUT: Our first annual holiday mix CD/playlist! Download it today and watch the faces of children, the elderly, and vagrants light up as you crank bitchin’ holiday tunes with a geeky bent out your car window.

I take full blame for the included insert, which sucks desperately.

As for the track list…well, you gotta download to find out! But it’s decent. Most of it’s good stuff, with a bit of novelty sprinkled in–that’s how I like my holiday mixes, and also, my men.

Ho ho ho!

An 8-Bit NES Christmas Album

An 8-Bit NES Christmas Album

Dec 09

You read that headline, and you think, “Sweet Jesus living in heaven high above, is there really such a thing? Could such awesome coolness audacity really exist in the corporeal world? To quote Illinois representative Mel Reynolds, ‘Did I win the Lotto?'”

It exists. It is here. It is wondrous.

Oh Yeah – Yet Another Batman 681 Post

Oh Yeah – Yet Another Batman 681 Post

Dec 04

Here’s the truth: There’s no way this issue could have been anything BUT slightly disappointing.

Marvel = Boys, DC = Girls, Me = Wha?

Marvel = Boys, DC = Girls, Me = Wha?

Dec 03

As Heidi MacDonald recently pointed out, H&M suddenly has a bunch of pretty slick-looking Catwoman t-shirts in stock. I bought one over the weekend. It’s not the one in the photo — full-body shot instead of a close-up, red instead of white. Still neat.

I noticed, however, a Big Two-related bit of oddity while passing through the men’s section. No DC for the H&M-loving dudes. No Bats, Supes, etc. Instead, they get a selection of Marvel-related tees. I bought my husband a Silver Surfer shirt, wherein Norrin Radd pontificates about something super-philosophical-sounding as he glides through the cosmos.

I’m definitely not complaining — finding unstupid superhero t-shirts cut for the female body is a feat unto itself, and should be celebrated when it actually occurs. But if you’re listening, oh gods of discount trend shopping, how about some Marvel love for the ladies? I’ve been having a recurring dream about finding a girl shirt with the Phoenix logo (green and gold, please) for ages now and it has yet to manifest into reality. I would be willing to pay top dollar (which, in H&M terms, means like $16) for such a shirt!