Being a blogger here on Geekadelphia, I’m accustomed to getting things in the mail; screeners, press releases and other various free swag. But last night was an exception; I got a box in the mail with no real markings. When I opened it, I found a bloody funnel. How is that for something you weren’t expecting?

I am assuming it goes either with some upcoming horror film or possibly some alternate reality game. Whatever it is, I thought it was pretty cool and maybe someone can shed some light on this. The video is courtesy our swanky new Viddler premium account those great guys were nice enough to give to us.

Edit: This is a promo for the Let the Right One In Remake, Let Me In. I figured this out before the post went live, but I thought it was a really fun promo for a movie and a really great reference. I have to say I am cautiously optimistic about this remake being such a fan of the original. But we will see.

Some high-res pics after the jump!

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Alright, I’ll be honest Geeks. I have absolutely no idea what our good friend Joey Mariano (Animal Style) is talking about while describing his new Pulse Sequencer. It’s a bit too techie for me. Though I have to say, his schematic is rather nice looking.

His new sequencer helps apply NES and Gameboy effects to his guitar using… well, what I assume is some sort of black magic. You can see it in action, in this video below.

To learn more about Joey and his awesome work, visit his official website.

Pulse Sequencer @ Animal Style [ www.filefreakout.com ]

Recently the Inquirer reported that a new DC Comics storyline titled Grounded will feature the Man of Steel being super-on-foot for a year. He’ll be walking across the United States doing what he does best, and “getting in touch with his human side” along the way.

But what really piqued our interest is that the DC hero will be starting off his journey at 48th and Larchwood Streets in West Philadelphia. What will he be doing there, you ask? Well, he’ll be sating his Kryptonian hunger with a Philly cheese steak, duh. Also, apparently some drugs get blasted by his burning gaze, among other things.

Oh, and he’ll be roughly following in the footsteps of Philadelphian Mike Gallagher, who left on foot from 2 Street in April and is currently traversing the Rocky Mountains on his way to San Francisco. He is not made of steel, but he’d be happy to know that he blazed a trail for Mr. Kent.

We’re happy to see Superman starting off his latest adventure in Philly. The twelve-issue storyline will conclude in June 2011.

The final installment of Scott Pilgrim hits stores on July 20th… but Brave New Worlds isn’t down with release dates. Release dates are for suckers. Head into Old City on Monday, July 19th, at midnight… to score issue 6 before anyone else.

Not only can you nab this comic early, but you can also meet like-minded comic fans. BNW is hosting their first annual (hopefully, don’t be weird, people) Geeky Mixer.

From 10pm til midnight, you can schmooze with fellow fans, and share your anticipation for the issue, which you can buy right at midnight. Awesome.

Brave New Worlds
www.bravenewworldscomics.com

Amer, tonight’s offering for Danger After Dark, is a hard film to describe. While the French-Belgian film is almost completely devoid of dialog, it more than makes up for it with an intense visual narrative that swallows you whole with its beautiful and horrifying imagery. The film is told in 3 distinct acts, each with a different look and feel that follow a troubled woman from childhood to adulthood on a journey of fear and self-discovery.

The first act is very reminiscent of Dario Argento’s Suspiria for both look, composition and theme. It’s a very dark chapter that lays the groundwork for things to come. The color palettes of Technicolor and the use of blacks and shadows are about as unsettling and claustrophobic as you can get. We are introduced to a very young girl in a very dark and ominous house haunted nightly by a gloved figure, and her recently diseased father; both of which she cannot escape.

More and the trailer after the jump.

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If you follow the site, you’re probably familiar with XipWire, the text-to-pay service. We have used it for several donation drives here on the site, and we have nothing but great things to say about it.

A couple of weeks ago I sat down with Sharif and Sibyl, the two folks behind the service, to chat with them a bit about XipWire. Enjoy.

What are some of your thoughts on mobile payment technology? I know other countries already use it, and it seems like the US is behind the times on taking advantage of this convenient technology.

Sibyl: That is pretty much one of my biggest selling points, is that the United States is one of the only countries that hasn’t adopted mobile text payments. People we approach are very surprised that for developing countries like India and Africa, this is second nature to them; this how they do everything.

We think it’s necessary as a nation, because of how addicted we are to our mobile phones, and what a culture of convenience we have become to adopt mobile payment technology.

Sharif: What you would think is the US would always be the technical innovator, and in a lot of ways we are… but not for mobile technology.  That is partly because of the competition we have when it comes to the carriers we have here. Most countries where you see a lot of that technical innovation there is usually one dominate player in the mobile market, and they kind of dictate what they are going to do, and provide.

Sibyl: We really see it as the way to pay and the next greatest thing. I think what encourages us the most is when someone tries it in front of us, or if we’re at Capogiro and I am using it; and someone is like, “ What did you just do?” That is my favorite question, because people get excited when they find out they can use a text message; something they already know how to do, to pay for things.  They already love their phone and now they have this great-added feature that is really just waiting for them to use.

Sharif: The other thing I think is interesting is really the evolution of mobile payments, because like all things in the world it evolved out of necessity, even when there was not infrastructure. The fact that they had the cell phone towers that came in early on, and people understood “I have this phone, I need to pay and I can sort of add the two together and make it happen.” It was necessity that allowed it to grow in these developing countries; where it’s convenience that I think will make it happen here.

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Quirk Books loves us Geeks. If you’re an active reader of Geekadelphia, you already know that. From sending us prizes for our events to hosting giveaways on the blog, they are wild for folks of the geeky persuasion. So it should come as no surprise that the Philadelphia based publisher is turning to you, dear Geeks, for logo inspiration.

“When I was a geeky high school kid,” says David Borgenicht, the president and publisher of Quirk Books, “the term ‘geek’ was somewhat derogatory, per its origins. If you were a geek it meant you were ‘peculiar, odd, outside the norm,’ and that you probably liked computers and comic books and didn’t have a girlfriend (unless she, too, was a geek).

In recent years, however, the term ‘geek’ has become less derogatory. Now, it seems as if ‘geek’ is simply a convenient descriptive term for someone who is ‘an enthusiast of one sort or another.’ You can be a traditional computer geek or a comic book geek, but you can also be a beer geek, a wine geek, or a tech geek-and with pride.”

Damn right we wear it with pride, David. The publisher of zombies-and-more wants your suggestions for geeky slogans for Quirk, and wants you to leave comments on their site with ‘em. On July 31st, David will personally pick the winner.

The winner will get to see their slogan on Quirk’s site, and will score a care package chock full of Quirk’s best geek lit. Here at Geekadelphia, we’ve received boxes full o’ books from Quirk, and let me tell you, they never disappoint.

Head over to Quirk’s blog to learn more. Good luck, dear readers. Make us proud.

Geek Love Slogan Contest [ www.irreference.com ]

… And we’re back (sorry folks, was busy with graduating)! Welcome to Geekadelphia’s weekly discussion column, Coffee Talk, where we talk about the finer topics concerning video games, technology and all the other things you can’t talk about with your slightly-less-geeky friends. Have questions or suggestions? Send an email to geekadelphia@gmail.com or tweet with us. Follow me on Twitter if you’d like to keep this week’s discussion alive.

A recent study by UK media research firm Ipsos MORI claims that gamers still like their shinies. The study, which surveyed 1000 folks, shows that 64 percent of them prefer physical media over digital download when it comes to how they purchase games.

According to IGN, senior director of Ipsos MORI Ian Bramley attributes the majority vote to the used games industry. While I couldn’t agree more, aren’t we ignoring one major contributing factor? Join us behind the cut. (more…)

Wow, that didn’t take long. Amid some very loud and public outcry, Blizzard has already changed its stance on the use of Real ID on their official forums. Just a few days ago I posted about the controversy here on Geekadelphia.

Everyone was talking about it, including high profile gamers like Tycho of Penny Arcade and Felicia Day. It seems all that talking and backlash has made a difference… sorta. Here’s a quote from the post by Blizzard’s CEO, Mike Morhaime:

I’d like to take some time to speak with all of you regarding our desire to make the Blizzard forums a better place for players to discuss our games. We’ve been constantly monitoring the feedback you’ve given us, as well as internally discussing your concerns about the use of real names on our forums. As a result of those discussions, we’ve decided at this time that real names will not be required for posting on official Blizzard forums.

But don’t expect Blizzard not to push forward with other aspects of Real ID and Battle.net integration. Morhaime’s comments in the third paragraph of his post make it pretty clear that they aren’t going to stop anytime soon. You can read the full statement here on the World of Warcraft forums.

What is it with the Japanese obsession with 80’s cult film Robocop? This is the second ode to Paul Verhoeven’s hyper-violent masterpiece that I have seen a talented Japanese director turn out in the last 10 years; the first being Miike’s Full Metal Yakuza. RoboGeisha, like Robocop is an over the top, intensely violent, visual tour-de-force on bizarre overdrive.

This is actually my third time seeing RoboGeisha and the first time seeing it with English subtitles, which says volumes about this film visually.  RoboGeisha is essentially the story of a geisha who unknowingly joins an evil organization, willingly becomes a cyborg; and once she realizes the organization is evil, puts forth an effort to stop said organization with her new cyborg body. All while still keeping her dream of being a beautiful geisha, and entertaining the men of Japan, alive!

The film became an internet phenomenon with a trailer that was so over the top, one wonders if it could at all live up to said expectations, and in a rare case it actually does. While the plot may not win the film an Oscar, you’re not watching a film like RoboGeisha for the plot, you’re watching it for promised over the top violence, insanity and stunningly mind-numbing visuals; and its delivered in spades. What would you expect from the director of such other Japanese B-movie classics as Mutant Girls Squad and Machine Girl?

More and the Trailer after the jump!

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Photo credit: Michael Ferry

I’d like to preface that I most definitely do not want to get into any kind of <insert smartphone (probably the new Android-running-HTC-of-the-week) here> vs. the iPhone or Android vs. iOS argument. When really, we should just band together and agree that the Kin sucks. It’s been over two weeks for me and my new buddy, the iPhone 4, as well as its operating system, iOS4.

Like many others who were eligible for upgrade, I moved up from the iPhone 3G. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of installing iOS4 on the device, which many are vehemently reporting, performs terribly. I stand with this statement. All things aside though, iOS4 performs beautifully on the device it was made for… the iPhone 4. Besides the remarkable reduction in form factor, the hopefully-scratch-resistant glass back, the brilliantly crisp high-res retina display, it’s when pairing the new hardware and the updated operating system does one find a lot to love:

The speed. In consideration of the hardware, it’s simply amazing. Granted, I never had extensive time with the 3GS, so the change might be nominal. It even looks as though under similar conditions, the browsing speed for the iPhone 4 is a step up over the 3GS. “It’s great to use Google Maps without wanting to throw my phone.” – @radiocolin

The camera. As a photography enthusiast, I’m very happy. Especially when coupled with the ever-popular Hipstamatic (just updated to take advantage of all that is iPhone 4 + iOS4.) Also worth checking out: Camera+, which I honestly believe is the ultimate replacement for Apple’s default Camera app. It includes all of the default camera controls, a whole slew of Photo Booth reminiscent effects and color corrections, as well as the ability to publish straight to Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. In terms of video, and with the advent of iMovie – looking up going rates for my Flip cameras at South Street’s CeX is on my to-do list.

Can the iPhone 4 do video as well as a Canon 7D? Well, in my opinion, no. However, for what it is, it’s fantastic. Throw in the easy-to-use and convenient iMovie app, you’re good for video to go. Let’s also not forget about FaceTime. It’s a lot of fun and very cool, but for practical use, not entirely sure how much real-world use it will actually get. At least they’ve confirmed FaceTime calls will not use airtime minutes. It’s rumored that Apple might even open-source this technology, which we know they don’t ever do. What will happen then? Probably the Chatroulette app we’re all dying to have. In the meantime, at least we have Apple’s very own FaceTime Hotline: 1-888-FACETIME.

Little nuances such as a portrait lock mode and the character count in text messages were obvious missing features that I’m so happy are finally included. It’s great to finally tinker around with Voice Control, and Compass which opens up for a whole world of Augmented Reality apps. These made appearances on the 3GS and for the many of us that skipped over that model, we almost forgot about them.

So, what’s not to love? Well, the antenna issue appears to be very real. For us, it hasn’t been the easiest thing to replicate, and it’s a complicated game that depends on where you are and how the phone is being held. But, it happens with varying results.

Think your screen might be too sensitive or your face too pointy? Are you accidentally hitting buttons with your face while on a call? It’s not your fault. It’s a proximity sensor issue, and it’s ruining my life. Ars Technica has some details on how to possibly resolve this, however we’re looking for a true fix from Apple.

In the meantime, haters can hate, all but one iPhone 4 owner that I’ve talked to seems to be absolutely thrilled.

The Danger After Dark film Festival starts off today with the Greek film Dogtooth, a deranged Academy Award winning drama about 3 adults raised from birth completely within the captivity of an enclosed family estate. Essentially children, trapped within the bodies of adults, they have no real knowledge of the outside world, thanks to their sadistic parent’s bizarre family experiment.

This all comes to an end when a woman brought in to satisfy the carnal needs of the son, sets her eye on one of the two daughters, and begins to give the “children” a taste of the outside world. Their fishbowl begins to shatter as lust, jealousy and lies tear the family apart in a web of sex, incest and violence that culminates in a wedding anniversary their parents will never forget.

While the film is eerily believable, with great attention paid to details, keeping your suspension of disbelief in check.  The film’s morose and unflinching portrayal of how the parents would have to work to keep the “children” trapped in this world on the estate with no desire to leave… it’s like watching a car wreck in slow motion.

More and the trailer after the jump!

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