Two weeks ago, we announced the Philadelphia Geek Awards. Last week, we opened tickets up to the nominees. Today, we open those sweet tickets up to all of you. Yes. You.

A well dressed evening of recognition and laughter, the awards are scheduled to go down at the Academy of Natural Sciences on August 19th. It’s a simple concept, three to five nominees in each category, a panel of judges selecting the winners, and at the awards, presenters dishing out the shiny, shiny trophies.

Tickets are technically free, though we are requesting you donate at least a dollar to the Academy of Natural Sciences. After all, they are giving us the museum free of charge. Mark your calendar and register for tickets on the Academy’s Eventbrite. Be there.

Philadelphia Geek Awards
Friday, August 19th, 2011
www.phillygeekawards.com

Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 299-1009
www.ansp.org

Super 8, which opens today, is quite simply the summer film we have all be waiting for. The film stands alone as the most original offering this summer and a well needed respite for the film goer looking for a great narrative that won’t have you on Wikipedia when you get home from the theater.

Super 8 takes us back to 1979, and is the story of a group of teenagers that, while shooting a zombie film, accidentally witness a horrific train wreck. During the wreck, a mysterious creature is let loose, and the film then turns into a mixture of Cloverfield and The Goonies as the kids try to finish their film while strange things are afoot in their small town.

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Like any good geek, I enjoy thoughtful things. As both a lady and art school grad, this obviously includes the most interesting of interesting art and jewelery. And I like an artist that allows me to find a sweet pendant ring and then get my man a matching set of Superman cufflinks. So, naturally, you can understand why I have a crush on Etsy’s Comic Salvage.

Oh, and double props to the artist for being from my hometown zip code. We’ve both probably spent more of our time and money than necessary at Jester’s Playhouse.

Be sure to send Sue of Comic Salvage some love on her Etsy homepage and browse about!

Comic Salvage
www.etsy.com/shop/comicsalvage

Ian Spector has done it again! This New York Times Bestseller of The Truth About Chuck Norris has compiled another hilarious parody about everyone’s favorite crime fighting martial artist.

The Last Stand of Chuck Norris is a compilation of 400 brand new facts about the “most terrifying man in the universe”. In 2007, Spector released his coveted Chuck Norris facts and it won the attention of millions of Chuck Norris lovers.

Now, the facts are raunchier, more complex, and equally hilarious.

Some memorable facts include…

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In this age of YouTube and the internet, pretty much anyone can put together a show and release it to the masses. It is part of what has given so many people an outlet for their creative energy that normally wouldn’t have one. One of the funniest I have seen in a while is Underbelly which, as writer Newt Wallen says “we try to make it nerdy but also keep the comedy high”.

Underbelly is part sketch comedy, part infotainment, all geeky. When I asked about how the group comes up with ideas Wallen replied “Episodes are more or less based on our conversations while watching movies or sitting at a diner. Each of us writes what we know.”

Subjects range from the top sexual Pokemon, the biggest nerd letdowns and reports from places like Wizard World and the My Little Pony Fair. And as a bonus, most episodes are filled in the Philly/South Jersey area since “We know actors and locations so we can get people to come along with us on these dumb adventures”.

Underbelly is some seriously funny stuff. You can watch all the episodes on their YouTube channel and follow them at all the usual social media places.

Underbelly
www.youtube.com/underbellyshow

Beatrice King, a young Canadian actress with multiple film and TV credits – including appearances on “Supernatural”, “Psych”, and “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” – takes a big step forward with the role of Queen Sindel in the Mortal Kombat : Legacy webseries. We got to interview her about that, her upcoming movie with Joseph-Gordon Levitt, and her not-so-secret-love of Yoda.

You’re currently in the new webseries, Mortal Kombat: Legacy – which has been doing phenomenally well. Did you spend more time preparing for your character with martial arts training, or playing the games on Xbox?

Haha! When I did do part of my research on the role, I found that this particular director has a very different vision in mind, so I went back to the script to understand the setup of these characters – as I was a Queen, it was very important to show this regal quality about her, and that sense of duty. That’s what I focused on in terms of the character.

Each episode’s focuses on a new set of characters, introduces the new main characters, and keeps everybody guessing on what’s going to happen next. They’re all intertwined in some way.

Can you tell us about some of the fight scenes? Do you have any background in martial arts?

I actually auditioned for one of the Twins [Mileena and Kitana] first, and I do have a background in kickboxing. I was looking forward to that, but my character does not have a fight scene. There are many fight scenes in my episode.

But you aren’t in any of them? Do you get a little jealous, and think, “I should be doing that! I should be kicking people! Possibly in the head… maybe in the face.”

Absolutely!

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Yeah yeah, new Nintendo Wii, a new Playstation Portable… whatever. Philadelphia’s own gaming development studio, Cipher Prime, have their own piece of news. They’ve released their first update to their hit iPad game, Pulse… with Philadelphia based artists contributing to the soundtrack!

Cooper and the Fantastic Machine: Klokwerk
George and Jonathan: Tidbits
Ghost Fight: Veedja
Zilla Persona: Follow My Voice

I can’t help but wonder if one of those musicians just walked across the hall to record the song. You know, since his day job is with a popular website all about local beverages.

For more information on the update and the artists, visit Cipher Prime’s official website. Congrats, gents.

Green Lantern, which opens Friday, June 17th, may very well be the most anticipated comic book film this summer. This probably is due to it being the first big budget DC adaptation that has nothing to do with The Dark Knight. The film stars Ryan Reynolds as the Lantern and is directed by Martin Campbell, who gave us one of my favorite Bond films, Casino Royale.

For those not familiar with Green Lantern, here it the official synopsis:

“In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, a small but powerful force has existed for centuries. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. A brotherhood of warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers.

But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds).”

Want to win a pass for two to see the film next Wednesday, June 15th, at the UA King of Prussia? We have 15 passes for 2. Simply comment with your favorite Ryan Reynolds film and why, and you could possibly be checking out the film early thanks to Warner Brothers. Check out the trailer below!

The contest will be over and the winners will be notified that Monday, Good Luck!

Note: Author Knows Nothing of Circuits, This Image May Be Wrong

The folks over at The Hacktory are hosting another event with the Prometheus Radio Project, inviting prospective students to learn how to build their very own radio transmitter.

According to the Hacktory, “participants will be soldering parts and tuning up [their] very own FM radio transmitters. At the end [they'll] have a simple low-power transmitter that you can [be] used to broadcast across a room. Beginners are welcome but space is limited.”

For more information on the class, visit The Hacktory’s official website.

Build Your Own FM Transmitter @ the Hacktory
June 18th, 2011, $15

The Hacktory
1524 Brandywine Street (19130)
www.thehacktory.org

After a week off for the holiday, the Roundup returns! This week I check out the latest volume of Fathom and review the first part of the Dream Eater Saga and the first issue of Shinku.

Fathom #0
By Scott Lobdell and Alex Konat

I remember when Fathom fist came on the scene in 1998. It was such a huge deal that Michael Turner was doing a creator owned title and the first issue blew most people (myself included) away. The title continued to impress me during its initial run and then Turner was diagnosed with cancer. The book went on hiatus, Turner left Image and started Aspen and Fathom kind of fell off my radar. But with the launch of volume 4, I decided to check it out and see if the magic was still there.

For this new volume, we get a new Fathom creative team in Lobdell and Konat. In this #0 issue, we get a 12 page teaser of the new series that, unless you have been following the book, will leave you completely lost. The $1 Fathom Primer is supposed to bring you up to speed, but my shop didn’t order any, so I was out of luck. Luckily, Lobdell makes the book as accessible as he can for people who haven’t read a Fathom comic in awhile. The art by Konat is very good and evokes that Michael Turner vibe that any Fathom book needs to have. (more…)

The Awards Won’t Look Like This

Last Thursday, we announced the first annual Philadelphia Geek Awards, a fancy evening of recognition and laughter, scheduled to go down at the Academy of Natural Sciences on August 19th. We were excited, the Internet was excited (the website crashed like crazy when it launched), everyone is excited.

The plan? We’re hosting this thing a lot like a faux Oscars. Three to five nominees in each category, a panel of judges selecting the winners, and at the awards, presenters dishing out the shiny, shiny trophies.

As of now, tickets aren’t available yet (save for the nominees). When they go live, we’ll let you know, via the blog, our Facebook and Twitter, and the awards’ Facebook account. Tickets are free, though we are requesting you donate at least a dollar to the Academy of Natural Sciences. After all, they are giving us the museum for free.

So mark your calendar, geeks. August 19th. Philadelphia Geek Awards. Be there.

Philadelphia Geek Awards
Friday, August 19th, 2011
www.phillygeekawards.com

Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 299-1009
www.ansp.org

Friday night, Lebowski Fest Philadelphia took over the Theater of the Living Arts on South Street, bringing with it a number of costumed fans, a fantastic movie screening, and a visit from Philly’s own chiptune sensation, Chipocrite.

Our man Chipocrite tore it up with an 8-bit remixed Big Lebowski soundtrack, complete with fantastic 8-bit visuals that includes pixelated Jeff Bridges, his rug, and Autobahn. It was a show enjoyed by all, save for a handful of drunken belligerent idiots who heckled from the back of the venue, and we’ve got a handful of photos of the show… and a video!

Check ‘em out after the jump.

Oh, and thanks to Jo, Fatboymonster, and Daniel for the photos and footage. Enjoy, and be sure to check out Chipocrite’s music on his official website.

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