It probably won’t look nearly as awesome as this.

Attn: Philly Star Wars Geeks. Come Sunday, November 15th, Philadelphia’s Wachovia Center will host Star Wars: In Concert.

The production is narrated live by Anthony Daniels, the guy who played C-3PO in all six Star Wars films, and features a symphony, choir, and visuals from the films on a three-story-tall, HD LED screen. The show synchornizes the live music and film elements to delivery an awesome Star Wars experience. According to the press release “the full dramatic sweep of [John] Williams’ scores can be heard performed live in one evening.”

Along with the show, there’s an exhibit of Star Wars costumes, props, artifacts, production artwork, and more, several of which are leaving George Luca’s house for the first time. Pages from John Williams’ sheet music, for example.

With tickets priced at $25, $55, and $75, this is certainly a pricey event. I’m hoping they’ll offer up discounts for those of us who only want to see the final half of the production. Cause as magical a production as this is going to be, NOTHING is magical about Episodes 1 through 3, except how they magically stole nine hours of my life that I’ll never get back.

You can get more details about the show on the official website.

Star Wars: In Concert @ the Wachovia Center
Sunday, November 15th, 2009
www.starwarsinconcert.com

Seriously. Don’t forget to go.

Tonight, from 8PM to 10PM, Ignite #4 takes the stage at Johnny Brenda’s in Fishtown. Short 5 minute presentations, that are “lightning fast and leave people with a new idea to mull over and talk about.”

Ignite takes place at a bar, so remember, it’s 21+. For more info, visit Ignite Philly’s official website.

Ignite Philly #4
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
www.ignitephilly.org

It’s movie time again, Geekadelphians. If you’re not in the mood to watch this video, allow us to explain. A recent ABC News Web Exclusive explored the idea that Nintendo and Retro Studios may have successfully mastered the art of interactive storytelling with the Metroid Prime Trilogy. IGN’s Michael Thomsen goes on to relate the Metroid series’ success to Orson Wells’ critically acclaimed Citizen Kane, which many argue changed cinematography forever. Alright, now you probably want to watch the video.

If it’s true that Metroid series revolutionized narrative in video games (which would be difficult to argue against), there must be other titles that have at least contributed to video games’ progress as a popularly appreciated narrative medium. Titles like Shadow of the Colossus, which depicts a deep and engaging narrative using minimal dialogue, and select titles from the Final Fantasy series (a traditional-yet-effective approach) come to mind.

Putting Thomsen’s argument aside for a moment, have video games have come so far as to be regarded as an acceptable narrative medium? If so, what titles or franchises come to mind? If not, what is barring video games from achieving this status? Click on that headline and let’s discuss!

(Image via Wired)

Tomorrow night Oct. 13 at 10:00pm Starz will be premiering Starz Inside: Zombiemania – part of their Inside series of documentaries on all aspects of entertainment, this time focusing on all aspects zombie – from movies, books to videogames. After all zombies ARE the new vampires. If you have been reading Geekadelphia for any length of time, you are well aware of my fondness for the living impaired and the folks at Starz were nice enough to send me a screener of their documentary to check out. I honestly found this documentary to be not only very informative for new fans of the genre, but very entertaining for hard-core fans(like myself) as well, with enough information to satisfy you no matter what side of the fence your on. With interviews from the likes of Tom Savini(SFX Great), George Romero(Director of the original Night of the Living Dead), Max Brooks (Author of World War Z, whom I interviewed at Wizard World earlier this year as well) and many more I can honestly say this is one of the best documentaries I have seen on the subject to date.

Part of what makes Zombiemania great is the way it approaches the subject matter, while not taking itself too seriously it tries to deliver the facts both in fiction and reality on the subject matter.  From the roots of the zombie, and its origins in voodoo practices, to the Romero flesh eaters and finally to the plague zombies popularized today – we also get an evolution of the zombie in pop-culture from some of the greatest authorities in the genre today. The interviews in the documentary are mixed with footage from some of the greats from White Zombie to Shaun of the Dead all are represented, and some clips kids are not for the squeamish. For a documentary about the living dead, it has a lot of heart. Watching the pioneers of the genre look back on the legacy of their films, and what they eventually became and how they shaped what has come out today was really fun to watch. The interviews are all new and for this documentary proper, which I think lends a different light to some of them. Where we have seen most of these people interviewed on the bonus features of their respected films, it’s nice to see them not restricted to simply talking about one film and talking about the genre as a whole is somewhat refreshing.

More and a trailer after the jump.

(more…)

Ah, the GameX Media Expo. We here at Geekadelphia have been psyched for this convention since late August.

There are a wealth of exhibitors lined up to show off their wares, including Sega who will be showing off Bayonnetta, EA who are set to present Dante’s Inferno, and television networks like Trion and SyFy. Personally, I’m hoping the SyFy PR team is prepared for an assault by our own Timmy Q and Bianca C. Not because of upcoming shows like Caprica, but because of the ridiculous rebranding. And like any good gaming convention, there are going to be tournaments, giveaways, and of course… all the cosplay you never asked for.

One special guest we’re particularly looking forward to meeting, is Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw, the hilarious host of Zero Punctuation. Dan will be sitting down to chat with him, and I can’t wait to see the interview. Yahtzee is hilarious, and if you’ve never seen his show on The Escapist, please, do yourself a favor and check it out.

Our pals from Zenkaikon will also be at the exhibit, greeting folks and telling guests about their convention, which we’ll also be attending later in November. We had a good time last year. Ben misses the Cat Dancer. Terribly.

We’ll be on the scene with our netbooks, cameras, and Flip Minos, blogging and shooting live from the event… well, as long as there is free wireless internet for the press. Cause honestly kids, we are cheap

You can read up on the expo on their official website, and be sure to follow them on Twitter for updates.

GameX Video Game Summit @ Oaks, PA
October 23rd – 25th, 2009
www.gamexpo.us

So how do you sell an operating system such as Windows 7 in the land of the rising sun? While over here in America we are being barraged by Kylie and her super cute slide shows,(I really think somebody in Microsoft Marketing got it right with these really fun ads, and these almost make me forget those horrible Seinfeld Vista ads) the Japanese are selling Windows 7 with their own brand of  cute, anime girls. The Japanese have always had their own OS-Tans associated with different operating systems. These are basically fan-made anime female mascots that represent the different operating systems in some way, shape or form.

But it surprised more than a few when Microsoft not only adopted the fan practice, but made it official with the invention of Nanami Madobe, voiced by Nana Mizuki, (Nanami Madobe  is actually Japanese wordplay on Mizuki’s name and the Japanese word for “window”) she is best known for her voice work on Naruto as Hinata. Akiba PC is reporting that the premium Japanese set of Windows 7 Ultimate Edition will come with a special wallpaper and sound set for Nanami, thus making if the version of choice or anime fans in Japan and guaranteeing the selling of multiple copies to a single user.(you have to have that unopened copy, just in case)  I can’t tell if this an act of utter desperation or genius by Microsoft, who has lost some of their market foothold to Apple in Japan recently, all I can say is she is a much better mascot than that damn paperclip.

Via Japanator

I can say in all seriousness that I’ve learned more information from the Simpsons than from any other knowledge source in the cannonical k-12 public school pipeline, and I imagine this isn’t too provocative a statement in current company.  I’ll happily put myself in the boat of of the millions of adults who intermittently throw in a “20 dollars can buy many peanuts!” or “the strong must protect the sweeet….” into daily conversation, all to slightly mystified looks and furrowed brows.  It’s definitely polarizing, handily makes few fast friends and many apprehensive acquaintances.  But what it those little Simpsons quotes that peppered my lingo had an extra air of sophistication and approval?

Enter one very clever dead guy, his fine Scottish tragedy, and a kilt-wearing impressionist named Rick Miller.  Next week, he’ll be repackaging MACBETH with about 50 different voices Simpsons.  Homer’s in the lead and Marge plays Lady MacBeth, but a little Youtubery shows that Mr. Miller has a pretty solid grasp on the whole batch of voices that have skewed my reality since childhood.

The performances are going to run Wed, Oct 14 through the 17th,  at the Zellerbach Theatre, no word as to whether Poochie will be present as Fleance.

Oh Zoe Lukas. We heart you.

This time, our favorite local baker whipped up (Get it? Cause she runs Whipped Bake Shop?) this amazingly detailed, hand-painted Yoda cake. You can view several photos of the cake on her Flickr page, as well as another snap after the jump.

It’s also worth mentioning that Zoe’s store will officially open next Wednesday, October 14th, at 636 Belgrade Street, the Fishtown section of Philadelphia. You can buy cupcakes in the store, talk about cakes, etc. You can check out snaps of the store under construction here. We’re super excited and happy for her and her husband, Brennen. Congrats you two. You’ve been hard at work for a while, and deserve all the success in the world.

Whipped Bake Shop
www.whippedbakeshop.com

(more…)

Here’s hoping I can make a setup as sweet as this.

Oh Hive76. You are so full of win.

This weekend, on October 11th, from 5PM to 8PM, head on over to the Hive76 HQ on Spring Garden to learn how to transform your GameBoy into a musical instrument. The staff will help you “be backlight its LCD (for performance in less than ideal lighting conditions), add an 1/8″ audio jack ideal for mixers and amps” and help you test, play with it.

The event is organized by the folks behind 8static, Philly’s awesome monthly chiptune concert, so it’s sure to be an informative hacking session. After all, these cats know what they’re talking about. Sure, the tickets hover around the $50 price range, but that includes the GameBoy and materials you’ll need to work with it.

Geekadelphia humbly requests that anyone planning to do this with a Nintendo DSi, please donate your DSi to us first. We’ll make it play music all the time, most likely while playing Chrono Trigger.

Happy hacking!

Gameboy Modding Class @ Hive76
Sunday, October 11th, 2009
www.hive76.org

You might remember me posting about this back in May, but I thought a timely reminder was due.  This is Domo month over at 7-11 and I thought this deserved a second mention because quite honestly 7-11 is doing something very interesting with this promotion, and I am not simply talking about their Domo inspired Fanta Apple Fuji Frost flavored Slurpee either. Although I do have to say it has to be one of the strangest flavors I have ever tasted – it’s a sweet apple blast with a coconut after taste. If your fans of either I highly suggest it, if that’s not your bag you can always get coke flavor in your limited edition Domo-Cup, well unless the light is blinking.

This month thanks to a Domo dvd and manga release from Tokyopop they are not only giving the usual plastic cup and novelty straw treatment to our favorite NHK mascot, but they are really trying to make 7-11 the “Domo-Destination” in October if you will with Big Bite hot dog containers shaped like Domo’s jaws, a special 99-cent brown Domo coffee cup “to reach younger coffee drinkers,” and an exclusive Domo Attack!  Energy drink. But the big news here is 7-11 is also producing 3 exclusive stop-motion webisodes that tell the story of Domo and his first Slurpee, the creators of the original NHK Domo shorts are producing and animating these as well. Check them out here. I did cringe a bit at the voice acting but that’s just me. Don’t get me wrong I know when I am being direct-martketed to, but it’s Domo after all.

BREAKING NEWS! Well… it is for us, anyway. I just got the press release.

Tomorrow night, you can catch a sneak preview of Black Dynamite at the UA Riverview down on Columbus Blvd. The screening starts at 7:30PM, space is limited, admission is based on capacity. So get there early.

Our friends over at LMBAO (and my cubicle mates) will be on the scene, interviewing the director of the film. Can’t wait to see that, Aaron. Make us proud.

UPDATE: RSVP via this link!

Black Dynamite Screening @ the Riverview
Wednesday, October 7th, 7:30PM

Bit Shifter, performing at the NYC Blip Festival

It’s time for 8static, Philly’s premiere 8-bit monthly concert and visual showcase, and this month’s show is extra special. They’re turning one.

Artists performing at 8static’s one year anniversary? Bud Melvin (Albuquerque, NM), Bit Shifter (NYC), Autoscroll (featuring members of Philly’s Animal Style & Cheap Dinosaurs), Nonfinite (Madison, WI) who will also be running a workshop pre-performance. No Carrier and vBlank will be providing visuals for the night.

What was that about a free workshop? That’s right, Nonfinite will be teaching a Gameboy modding workshop, for free.

Tickets are $8 at the door, $5 with the flier, which you can download here off the official 8static website. And as always, the show takes place at Studio 34 in West Philadelphia.

8static’s One Year Anniversary Bash
Saturday, October 10th, 2009
www.8static.com

Studio 34
www.studio34yoga.com