Comments Closed! See You on Thursday!

Mikey: Eric, didn’t you just giveaway tickets to Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus at the Academy?
Me: Yeah so?
Mikey: It’s just, well, it seems a little much. Two posts? Three if you’re counting the original?
Me: Do you want tickets?
Mikey: Well yeah.
Me: Then shut up.

That’s right. We’re still giving away tickets for the February 3rd screening. For those of you who didn’t win in the original giveaway, we’ve still got three more sets to giveaway, as well as six pairs of tickets to the museum for runners up. Unfamiliar with this awesome event? Shame on you.

Entitled Mega Bad Movie Night, the Academy is screening this hilarious bad film in their beautiful theater, and the Academy’s experts will take the stage to provide running “commentary on scientific absurdities and questionable generally poor filming.” The film is the successor to the cult hit Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus (the shark survived!), and stars Jaleel White. The Academy will host a reception from 6:30pm to 8pm, dishing out movie-themed snacks and drinks. You can explore the museum (including the brand new Bizarre Beasts Past and Present exhibit) before the film, which kicks off at 8pm.

Admission is $15 for non-members, $10 for members of the museum. To purchase tickets, visit the Academy’s official Eventbrite page.

Want to score a pair of passes? The screening is THIS THURSDAY, so this giveaway will only run until Tuesday night. Winners will be notified that evening.

Invent your own original mashup creature to fight the Mega Shark, and leave its description in the comments for your chance to win a pair of passes to the event. We’ve got three sets to giveaway, and I’ll be notifying winners tomorrow evening. Worried you won’t win? Relax, there are second place prizes. Six runners up will win a pair of all inclusive passes to the museum, which includes admission to the Academy’s awe inspiring Butterflies! exhibit.

Three pairs of tickets. Six pairs of passes to the museum. Good luck!

Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus
Thursday, February 3, 2011, 6:30–10 pm
$10/member, $15/nonmembers
anspmegabadmovienightmsvc.eventbrite.com

The 3rd annual Global Game Jam – 2nd annual for Philadelphia – was this weekend, and Philadelphia’s chapter of the IGDA (International Game Developers Association) held theirs at Indyhall.

Participants trickled in and, once many had arrived, the formal introductions began. Grant Shonkwiler, Chair of IGDA Philadelphia, lead the introductions, boasting experience ranging from board game enthusiasts to Unity lovers to professional software developers.

This was followed by the GGJ video, which had a special keynote from Keita Takahashi, the beloved creator of Katamari. And then, with boxes full of Popchips and a fridge full of Bawls – two of the sponsors of the event – the real excitement began.

Brainstorming!

Once all the formalities were out of the way, the teams were formed and the brainstorming began. It was a flurry of activity for a few hours, with everyone talking and running in and out for food. I left around 10, but I was back by Saturday afternoon.

The crescendo was frenzied, with Chris Grant from Joystiq on hand talking to developers and checking out the scenario. I got a chance to sit down with William Stallwood from Cipher Prime and Jordan Santell from Space Whale Studios. Neither were able to participate due to looming deadlines, but they came out to provide encouragement and support for their fellow developers.

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Speaking of film screenings (sup Dan!), the National Constitution Center is hosting a free (with museum admission) screening of Inside Buffalo on Saturday. The screening will be hosted by Fred Kudio Kuwornu, the director of the award winning film.

Unfamiliar with this documentary? Here’s a blip about the film from the NCC’s press release.

[The film] tells the story of the 92nd Buffalo Division, the all-African American combat unit that fought with outstanding heroism in Italy during World War II. Nicknamed “Buffalo Soldiers” after the name given by American Indians to the black members of the U.S. Cavalry who fought Indians in the American West, these men fought two wars at the same time: one against the Nazis, the other against racial discrimination.

Kuwornu, an Italian filmmaker of African heritage, searches out little-known aspects of the story, including details of the friendships forged between African American soldiers and the Italian partisan fighters and villagers they liberated from fascist rule. One of the highlights of the film includes footage of Vernon Baker, the last living African American soldier awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II, and vividly recounts his war-time experiences and the heroism of his unit.

The screening starts at 3pm. Great chance to see a stirring documentary and meet an award winning director.

Film Screening of Inside Buffalo
Saturday, February 5, 2011, 3pm – 6pm
Free with Museum Admission

National Constitution Center
525 Arch Street (19106)
(215) 409-6600
www.constitutioncenter.org

Our friends over at The Trocadero, in conjunction with Damage Case Films,are screening the epic “Rocumentary” Lemmy for one night only, this Thursday, February 3rd.

Lemmy is the lead singer/bassist for the Heavy Metal group Motorhead, and has been touring for over 30 years straight. He’s a rock legend who has rubbed shoulders with everyone from The Beatles to Jimi Hendrix. The movie was filmed over the course of 3 years and features interviews with the likes of Dave Grohl, Slash, Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, Peter Hook of Joy Division/New Order, Dee Snider, Mick Jones of The Clash, Johnny Knoxville, and Steve Vai.

I love documentaries and Lemmy is a definitely a worthy subject for such. Tickets for Lemmy are $8 and can be picked up both at the Troc and here. Till then check out the awesome trailer below.

Guest Post by James David Saul

This is what happens when R.C. Pro-AM goes to the barnyard: Sheeple Chase for iPhone and iPod Touch is a vertical-scrolling fracas where sheep and pigs race to the finish for apples. You are the protagonist sheep, speeding through ponds and meadows, squeezing past tractors and jumping over silos on the quest for Jonagold.

Depending on your ranking at the end of the race, you get one to three apples on your record (kind of like the stars in Angry Birds). In fact, Sheeple Chase is developed by Chillingo Games of Angry Birds fame, but its level of addiction is considerably less. You might lose an half-hour of time in the Sheeple Chase zone, as opposed to hours of bird-flinging time warp with Angry Birds. There are several levels of gameplay so far, with more updates to come.

The game lets you choose between tilt and push-button controls for your fluffy sheep friend. During our review, we preferred the push-button mode because tapping allows for greater control. Others may find that tilting suits their fancy.

Sheeple Chase is is full of so many ridiculous, “oh-no-you-didn’t-just-go-there” puns, we here at Geekadelphia have an extra download code for the commenter with the best barnyard pun. Don’t be afraid to go out on a lamb, and ewe better make it your swine-est!

A friend of ours, Jayk, was in the Walnut St. fire that displaced an entire apartment building. He lost everything except the clothes off his back and his sharp wit. You can make donations over at helpjayk.com.

The guy left his wallet behind saving a cat. C’mon. Help him out.

Help Jay K
www.helpjayk.com

Philadelphia’s own Zenescope Entertainment will launch their newest series this month with Grimm Fairly Tales: Myths and Legends. Zenescope’s Editor-in-Chief Ralph Tedesco was nice enough to discuss the new book and all things Zenescope with me in an email interview.

How did the idea for the new book, Myths and Legends, come about?

Joe and I had always wanted to expand on the past fairy tales that we had already written as part of the main Grimm Fairy Tales series. Issues such as Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and so on were basically finished after just one or two issues and this was a creative way for us to revisit each of these tales and their characters in longer story-arcs.

This book seems to be more of direct spin off from Grimm Fairy Tales than previous books, like Neverland. What made the time right to expand on the core concept with another monthly?

We’ve wanted to do another monthly series for a while, something we knew would make sense and Grimm Fairy Tales fans would gravitate to. There’s enough mythology now in Grimm that we can launch a second parallel series that goes hand in hand with the original title. It just felt like the right timing as we approach issue 60 of Grimm.

What made Raven Gregory the right writer for the book?

He had a great take on the first arc, the revisiting of Britney, the heroine from Grimm Fairy Tales #1: Red Riding Hood. We gave him the parameters and then just let him do his thing.

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Guest Column by Eric Bresler

A few miles north of Center City lies 7,000 square feet of comics and collectibles in the form of Kensington’s Ontario Street Comics. The showroom, formerly a flea market, preserves the atmosphere of its former tenants: aisles are lined with folding tables and display cases that contain everything from vintage novelty trading cards to movie memorabilia. The majority of the store’s inventory though is comic-based: action figures, statues, and approximately 400,000 back issues of all varieties.

Owner and Philadelphia native Bill Fink is described on the shop’s Myspace page as “a slightly delusional guy that firmly believes he is a 216-year-old pirate.” “The Pirate”, as his customers know him, opened the shop with his wife back in 1989 as the aforementioned flea market. They are now the sole proprietors with a staff that includes their two sons and a mysterious bearded man who sits at a computer in the back all day grading and pricing back issues. “We won’t talk about him,” replied Bill when asked about this man.

A vast percentage of Ontario Street’s business is from back issue sales, thus Bill takes his inventory quite seriously. “I find with back issues that you can’t just keep the same number of boxes out forever because when a customer comes in looking for, say, Thunderstrike #98* 14 times and its never there then they’re gonna give up hope for it. If you’re constantly refilling your back issues you’ll have a bigger turnover.”

In addition to the standard Marvel and D.C. boxes, collectors will be pleased to find sizable collections of Dells, Charltons, Archies, and Classics Illustrateds as well as indie and all ages titles. Comics are priced according to Overstreet though they take their grading seriously and will often display multiple copies of the same issue priced according to condition. New comics are sold in bags and boards at no additional charge.

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Am I geeking out over an electric car? I do believe I am.

While I’d gladly run on dino juice until the Triceratops come home, times are a-changing. Straight out of Motor City, General Motors is rolling out the highly-anticipated Chevy Volt. Having already been named 2011 North American Car of the Year, it’s finally here: the industry’s first E-REV (extended-range electric vehicle).

What does that mean exactly? Well, it runs on pure electric power and its small 1.4-liter gasoline engine can generate real-time energy to keep it going when the charge in the car’s primary battery is depleted.

This difference separates it from conventional hybrids, as running on electric power is its primary purpose. According to GM, the Volt has a range of about 25-50mi on electric power alone. Using the battery power first, and then electricity generated by the on-board gasoline-power generator nets in a very respectable range of about 340mi. In more common terms, this boils down to 93mpg equivalent in all-electric mode, 37mpg in gasoline-only mode with an overall fuel economy rating of 60mpg combined.

Fun fact: the car’s primary power source weighs over 400lbs and comes in the form of a T-shaped lithium-ion battery pack that sits low in the rear of the car. The low center of gravity this creates reportedly gives the Volt some impressive handling for what one would normally expect from an economy car. Good handling would be great to pair with its 149-horsepower engine with a comparatively-whopping 273 lb-ft of torque.

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Comments Closed! New giveaway coming soon!

Ah, Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus. Seriously, why isn’t it time for this epic screening at the Academy of Natural Sciences yet? Come on.

Unfamiliar with February 3rd’s event? Entitled Mega Bad Movie Night, the Academy is screening this hilarious bad film in their beautiful theater, and the Academy’s experts will take the stage to provide running “commentary on scientific absurdities and questionable generally poor filming.” The film is the successor to the cult hit Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus (the shark survived!), and stars Jaleel White. The Academy will host a reception from 6:30pm to 8pm, dishing out movie-themed snacks and drinks. You can explore the museum (including the brand new Bizarre Beasts Past and Present exhibit) before the film, which kicks off at 8pm.

Admission is $15 for non-members, $10 for members of the museum. To purchase tickets, visit the Academy’s official Eventbrite page.

Now… as you anxiously await this fantastic event, Geekadelphia is dishing out passes to the screening at the Academy.

First Mega Shark battles the Giant Octopus. Now he’s up against the Crocosaurus. Tell us what fantastical creature the Mega Shark should take on next, for your chance to win a pair of passes to the event. We’ve got three sets to giveaway, and I’ll be notifying winners on Friday. Worried you won’t win? Relax, there are second place prizes. Six runners up will win a pair of all inclusive passes to the museum, which includes admission to the Academy’s awe inspiring Butterflies! exhibit.

Three pairs of tickets. Six pairs of passes to the museum. Lots of winners. Good luck!

Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus
Thursday, February 3, 2011, 6:30–10 pm
$10/member, $15/nonmembers
anspmegabadmovienightmsvc.eventbrite.com

Photo Lovingly Stolen from GPTMC

85,500 bulbs, 300 amps, 47,680 watts of power and over 520 hours of preparation.

That’s what it took to power Franklin Square for the 2010 holiday season. It was hard to miss Franklin Square over the holidays, what with its plethora of festive lights that illuminated the Center City skyline.

Franklin Square is one of the original William Penn Squares and continued the global lighting tradition in Philadelphia. I had the opportunity to sit down with John Wilson, manager of Franklin Square who gave me an inside tour of this historic landmark and waxed nostalgic about some of his favorite technology and gadgets.

John, a former Six Flags event planner has played an integral role in maintaining the sustainability of Franklin Square. Beginning in 2008, John and Historic Philadelphia, Inc. brought the tradition of holiday lights back to the charming downtown space by receiving funding from the city of Philadelphia and with support of the local community. “We’ve been attracting all sorts of people,” John clamored. “Our neighbors from Chinatown come down and practice tai-chi in the springtime.”

There is a certain element about the Square that evokes a nostalgic feeling. The variety of colored lights, simple cuisine in the warm weather, and the holiday atmosphere had me quickly feeling like a kid again.

During our chat, John was seemingly tethered to his iPhone. Keeping with the nostalgic feeling, I asked the Franklin Square manager what some of his favorite gadgets and technology were growing up. “My Atari 2600 without question!” John exclaimed. “I might be dating myself here but I was incredibly addicted to Pong and Space Invaders growing up. Now all I really need is my iPhone, though. It definitely helps me stay connected, I couldn’t live without it!” he added.

Franklin Square will reopen April 1st for the spring, summer and fall. Also, be sure to keep an eye out for seasonal events coming up at the Square!

Franklin Square Park [ visitphilly.com ]

The Glif is an iPhone 4 tripod mount and stand. As Gizmodo said, “the Glif is one impressive little piece of plastic… just a small piece of injection-molded plastic that’s shaped like a bottle opener.” Honestly, I wish it did have a bottle opener function, that’d give it even more utility.

The Glif gained Internet-wide attention last fall when it completely demolished its original Kickstarter goal of $10,000. The project achieved over 5,000 backers and $137,417 of funding by its goal date of November 2nd. I, like many others pledged, at least $20 to snag one of these accessories as soon as they were manufactured.

From initial uses, this thing is damned useful. It quickly dawned on me that I should really get a good tripod now (woops). Let’s face it the iPhone 4 has a fantastic camera, with particular usefulness because you’re unlikely to leave it at home. The Glif just makes it better and it’s great to enjoy hands-free FaceTime, watching videos, using your iPhone as an alarm clock (unless you’re greeted with the most epic fail-glitch of the New Year.)

The Glif is now available to anyone and everyone, check it out: www.theglif.com (Beware of backorders!)