I don’t know how many of you out there in the land of the living read PvP. I do. There was a time when I did not ‘get’ why PvP was popular, but now that I’m down with the full continuity I find it consistently funny. I don’t even really mind that it has basically nothing to do with gaming anymore. Kurtz’s deep fluency in the code of pop …
Gaming & Culture
Indiana Jones and the Unsolvable CAPTCHA of Doooooom
Last week I wrote a piece about CAPTCHAs, which is the name for those images of wavy, distorted letters that you sometimes have to retype in order to make the Web give you something you want, like an email address or whatever. The point of them is to prove that you’re not a bot run by spammers, since software is very bad at reading …
Book Excerpt: Benjamin Nugent’s American Nerd
Below is an excerpt from a truly excellent book called American Nerd, by Benjamin Nugent. I know Ben — he used to work here at Time years ago. But that’s not why I’m posting this excerpt. I’m posting it because it’s truly excellent.
coronation, or why group nerd events are necessary
From AMERICAN NERD by Benjamin Nugent. Copyright …
I’m Starting to Get the Point of That Hulk Movie
There’s a new trailer out for the rebooted Ed Norton version of The Hulk that opens June 13th. It’s here.
I think I’m finally getting the point of this movie. It’s about a sensitive guy who can’t control his super-strong radioactive alter ego. That’s it. There’s nothing else. Norton and this director, Louis Leterrier (the auteur of, …
Some Old-School Marvel Comics Action: Hulk and Thor
The redoubtable Harry Knowles drops the leak-hammer on the upcoming Thor movie. To wit:
This isn’t a Donald Blake, doctor on vacation story. Instead, this is a genuine TALES OF ASGARD story. In the first few pages the creation of everything takes place… the origin of the gods, their universe and how midgard (that’s are [homonyms,
…
You Can Read Joss Whedon’s New Comic Online for Free
I just can’t see why anybody wouldn’t want to do this.
Although if my browser could speak, its reaction to Marvel’s weird comic-browsing setup would be as follows: DO NOT WANT.
Three Movies I Want to See, Starring Jack Black, Strong Sad and Seth Rogen
1. Man-Witch. Jack Black plays a teacher who discovers he has magical abilities. He then has to join a coven and go to magic school with a bunch of girly-witches. There is nothing about this concept that I don’t like. Nothing. IMDB has this as 2009.
2. The Homestar Runner Movie. Don’t misunderstand, there is nothing about the state of …
Marvel Zombies: This One’s a Biter!
Earlier this week I got a copy of the hardcover collection Marvel Zombies, and I have to admit, I’m deeply impressed. With all the corporate ass-covering that goes on in the media world, what other company would be willing to take its flagship intellectual properties, several of which are the basis of forthcoming mega-budget movies — …
My Superheroes Panel: Reliving the Glory
I ran a panel about superheroes at the Tribeca Film Festival yesterday. On hand were: Zak Penn, screenwriter of the latter two X-Men movies, plus the upcoming Incredible Hulk; Andrew Cooke, who directed a documentary about comics pioneer Will Eisner; Joe Quesada, editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics; and Thomas Haden Church, who is famous, …
“I’m a Marvel.” “And I’m a DC!”
A well-done comics-themed parody of the Mac/PC ads. Contents: one joke. But I like the second-order geekness of this.
Superheroes 2007: The Paneling
Next week I’m running a panel at the Tribeca Film Festival. The topic — I’m told, I didn’t write it — is as follows:
Here I come to save the… oh, just forget it. For a genre of entertainment originally devised with children in mind, superhero movies have found real success among bigger babies—adults, to be specific. We unleash
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News Flash: School Principals Really Don’t Get MySpace
They don’t. They just really, really don’t. (Both via Slashdot.)
OK, I’m not a school administrator, and it hardly needs to be said, but treating a satirical MySpace page like a seriously disruptive, threatening act is just bizarre and counter-productive. Nobody who’s likely to read said MySpace page actually cares about it very …
