New Year’s Eve photo stolen from VisitPhilly

Well, it’s been a great year geeks.

Between the first annual Philadelphia Geek Awards with the Academy of Natural Sciences and the number of other events we threw over the year, like our Halloween bash at Tattooed Mom with Indyhall, Tim and I’s Show & Tell at PhilaMade, Lebowski Fest Philadelphia, the hilarious Broetry Slam at National Mechanics, judging a special Geek edition of ComedySportz, and more… Geekadelphia has had a pretty stellar year on and off the blog.

Tim and I welcomed on a number of new contributors, launched our Weekly Kickstarter column (thanks Rob) and relaunched our Geek of the Week feature, and come 2012, we’ll have a podcast thanks to Dan and Jo.

And of course, we owe all the blog’s success to you guys and gals that continue visit the site, retweet our tweets (especially our jabs at Technically Philly), and email us your suggestions and tips.

With the holidays upon us, Geekadelphia is shutting down now through the New Year, returning on January 2nd. Me and Tim are looking forward to another awesome year with all of you.

While we’re gone, be sure to visit Technically Philly, Philebrity, DrinkPhilly, and Keypulp for sweet events and local news. We’ll miss you, be good.

Happy Holidays & Happy New Year,

Eric, Tim, & the Geekadelphia Crew

We tend to avoid politics here on Geekadelphia, but when a local talent creates something this awesome… well, we just can’t resist. Plus I think I recognize the dude playing the computer.

Produced by Ritz Reynolds (The Roots, Mac Miller) and shot/edited by Dan King at Stupid Easy, Firewall is Leah Kauffman’s tender ode to the Internet. A lot of you might know Leah from her work over at Phrequency, or perhaps from her viral Obama Girl videos. She wrote the music for that, you know. From Kauffman:

Senate and Congress are debating bills (Protect IP Act + Stop Online Piracy Act) that would allow federal law enforcement to seek court orders compelling ISPs and search engines to filter domain names and block websites merely accused of copyright infringement. This will force websites to censor their users. Our first amendment rights are at stake here. Visit americancensorship.org for more information.

The video is making the rounds across the Internet, popping up on CNET, Boing Boing, etc. Let’s see how popular this thing can get. You can scope out the video here and share it with your friends. Nice work Leah. And dude playing the computer… he’s awesome.

I caused the end of an established franchise, but I wasn’t that bad guys!

Alright, let me start this off by saying these aren’t the best games of 2011. In fact, they are far from it. When I think about the best games of the year, titles like Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Gears of War 3, Fallout: New Vegas, L.A. Noire, Dead Space 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, etc.

The games I’m about to ramble about? These are the best, tragically underplayed games. The titles you ignored because they got poor reviews or were released in the wake of large blockbuster titles (some in the midst of several). Games that had immediate price drops on Amazon and made you suspicious of their quality. Games that I actually enjoyed.

So read on, and feel free to hate. And if I missed a game you think should be included, leave it in the comments. I’m always looking for new games to play. Especially underrated ones.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine – Like I said in my review of this title back in September, Space Marine was the biggest gaming surprise of the Summer, end of story. And now that 2011 is coming to a close, I can say that it was the surprise of the year, at least for me. When THQ asked me if I wanted a review copy of this game, I scooped it up with intentions of just writing up a quick giveaway with some brief impressions (sorry guys!). I really didn’t think I’d end up playing it all the way through, as I assumed it was going to be… well, bad.

Man, was I surprised.

An intense third person shooter, Space Marine delivered a surprisingly engaging narrative (despite me not understanding much of the Warhammer lore), beautiful, albeit very dark and dreary landscapes, and voice acting that was shockingly decent. I poured a lot of time into the title, and tried to nab every achievement I could. The multiplayer was a little meh, but the single player campaign was engrossing enough to forgive that fact. And if you’re like me and seldom bother with multiplayer, it’s a moot point anyway. (more…)

It’s over! Thanks for playing.

Last week, the Franklin Institute started showing Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol in their awesome IMAX theater and as a bonus, the trailer for the Dark Knight Rises trailer.

And at tonight’s screening, the first 200 people will get this awesome limited edition MI: Ghost Protocol print. You can catch the movie in IMAX tonight at 6:50pm, 9:25pm, and midnight.

The Franklin is the only theater for miles that’s showing this right now (next nearest is in Atlantic City), and they were kind enough to dish out a pair of tickets for us to giveaway here on the blog.

Want to score a pair of tickets? Just leave a comment about your favorite installment in the Mission Impossible franchise, and I’ll select one of you at random around noon. I’ll email you and you can let me know what time you can check out the flick.

Easy as that. Good luck!

Franklin Institute
222 North 20th Street 19103
(215) 448-1200
www.fi.edu

Contest Closed! Thanks for playing.

As you all clearly know, I love me some Halo. And if my full suit of Master Chief armor doesn’t hammer home that message, I really don’t know what will. The games, the novels, the movies (Legends wasn’t bad!), the comics… I just can’t get enough. And that includes the hilarious Red. vs Blue series.

Red vs. Blue: Season 9 continues the story of Red vs Blue: Revelation, and breaks the same rules that RvB:R did… we’re introduced to a story being told without the traditional Halo engine, and instead, are treated to pre-rendered CGI.

And while the story this series tells gets a little confusing at times (there are two distinct story arcs through the twenty episode series, one of which goes back and uses the Halo engine), the Rooster Teeth crew continue to deliver a hilarious narrative that Halo fans everywhere will love.

The DVD has all the usual suspects that Red vs. Blue releases tend to include. Hilarious director’s commentary, outtakes and deleted scenes, cast interviews, and the PSAs that Rooster Teeth is celebrated for. Since you can watch the series for free online, it’s a must to include this sort of stuff for fans. And they give you a lot of it, especially with the behind the scenes videos.

The folks at New Video Group were kind enough to send over a bunch of copies to giveaway. I’ve got three copies of Season 9 up for grabs here. Just leave a comment about your favorite game in the Halo series for a chance to win. I’ll pick one of you at random next week and drop a copy in the mail.

Be sure to scope out Rooster Teeth’s website for more information on Red vs. Blue. Old episodes, hilarious comics… they do some great work, those guys.

Our good friends over at Cipher Prime recently re-released Fractal, their very first title, in the Valve Steam store.

Complete with all the “tweaks and improvements [they] added to the game for [their] Mac Store release, including rebalanced play modes, updated graphics, and improved music and sounds,” Fractal has been available on Steam since the end of November.

Dustin reviewed Fractal and loved it, and now we want to give one of you a chance to love it as well. Have Steam? I’ve got a download code for Fractal and Auditorium (another award winning game from our favorite local developer), up for grabs.

Entering is easy. Just leave a comment. I’ll pick one of you at random sometime next week, and email you the code. You can consider it an early Christmas gift. Good luck!

The incredibly skilled folks over at NextFab Studios have announced their second annual Project Challenge, dishing out a $1000 prize (you heard me), to the most popular project submitted to the contest. Here’s some more details from their website:

It’s a $1000 prize for what you’ve wanted to be working on all along. Don’t let that project you’ve always dreamed of working on become another New Year’s resolution you wish you had fulfilled – you can do it now, and you can make it here.

Projects should have some physical, material component to them – something that can make use of NextFab’s tools and services – but otherwise don’t be shy! Art, science, invention, or the amazing but inexplicable – all are welcome.

The contest runs through January 6th, and you can submit your project through NextFab’s official website. All entries will be hidden from the public until January 7th, when the voting begins.

How’s it work? You’ll be able to share your project with friends, family, coworkers… anyone and everyone you think might give you a vote. The project with the most votes on January 20th wins. So yes, this is a bit of a popularity contest.

The winning project will be awarded in person at NextFab’s 2nd Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, January 21st.

For more information, hit up the NextFab website. Good luck!
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Sorry Geeks, but Karabots are not cybernetic robots named Kara programmed to destroy.

The Karabots Junior Fellows Program is an initiative from the College of Physicians of Philadelphia (you know, the Mütter Museum) that aims “to provide practical assistance, mentoring, and academic and social support to a select group of Philadelphia high school students from communities under-represented in current healthcare professions.”

At this month’s Science on Tap, you can meet Jacqui Bowman, the Director or the Karabots program. She’ll be talking about the program and how they “use the world-famous Mütter Museum and Historical Medical library to inspire and encourage Philadelphia teens.”

Should be a good time, as is every Science on Tap. Come learn something.

Science on Tap @ National Mechanics
Monday, December 12th at 6 pm

National Mechanics
22 South 3rd Street Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 701-4883
www.nationalmechanics.com

Contest Closed! Thanks for playing.

Assassin’s Creed. I absolutely adore this video game series, and when Ubisoft released the outstanding Lineage mini-series, I was psyched. Live action Assassin’s Creed? Hells yeah. You can watch the full thing for free on YouTube, or if you’d like to scope it out on the big screen in HD… you could pick it up on DVD or Blu-ray.

Assassin’s Creed: Lineage serves as the prequel to Assassin’s Creed II, Brotherhood and Revelations. In the story we’re introduced Giovanni Auditore… Ezio’s father. Hunted in the midst of a conspiracy (a popular trope in the Assassin’s Creed series), he’s forced to fight for his life as he tries to expose a dark secret held by some of the most powerful families in Italy.

This is a pretty easy Blu-ray to talk about, considering the entire short film runs a little over half an hour. What you’re really paying for here is the amazing digital transfer (it looks gorgeous) and a number of short featurettes, including some making-of clips and developer diaries. All in all, with the series and the features, you’re looking at about an hour of content here.

On DVD, Assassin’s Creed: Lineage goes for a cheap $10, on Blu-ray, about $12 . The cheap price point, the solid story, and decent mini features, make this a great purchase for that mad Assassin’s Creed fan in your life, or even for yourself. It’s definitely worth the buy if you’re a diehard fan.

Now, for those crazy fans still reading, I’ve got THREE copies of Assassin’s Creed: Lineage on Blu-ray to giveaway. Just leave a comment about your favorite Assassin’s Creed character for a chance to win. I’ll email winners sometime next week.

Requiescat in pace…

No no, not that kind of flashdance (what a feeling!). I’m talking about the impromptu kind, from the era when flashmobs didn’t mean you were going to get beaten up on South Street.

Some dancers from the Pennsylvania Ballet popped into the Comcast Center and surprised folks watching their Holiday Spectacular with a short performance in their lobby. Love it.

Thanks to J.T. for the tip!

It’s time for our annual Geekadelphia Gift Guide! Hooray!

This year’s guide features a wealth of local wares. From boutiques in Rittenhouse & Northern Liberties to online Etsy shops, bakeries that whip up Ron Swanson cookies to stores in Chinatown that sell copyright infringing paper lanterns. The guide is pretty diverse, dishing out a little bit of everything from a number of Geekadelphia contributors.

Have a look and enjoy. If you have any of your own picks and suggestions, please do leave them in the comments with information for our readers. There are tons of great local shops and artists here in Philly. Buy something nice from them, would ya?

Happy holidays.

@ericsmithrocks: Looking for something handmade and original? Stop by Sara Selepouchin’s South Philadelphia boutique (and online store), Girls Can Tell, where she crafts wonderful, screenprinted housewares and other super cute things, from journals to prints, tote bags to one-of-a-kind greeting cards. For more information on her wares and the boutique’s hours, visit her website.

For those of you with geeky friends that adore vinyl toys and limited editions t-shirts, there are two fantastic shops you should visit that AREN’T Urban Outfitters… Omoi and Jinxed. Omoi, a favorite Geekadelphia window shopping haunt, is located in Rittenhouse Square, and run by Geekadelphia megacrush Elizabeth Seiber.

If you’ve embarrassed yourself swooning over Liz as much as we have, you can also check out Jinxed in Northern Liberties. The former South Street shop now houses a wealth of repurposed vintage artifacts for hip home decor, from old trunks to point-and-shoot cameras from the 1930′s.

And speaking of cute housewares and collectible prints, you may want to check out Hello World in Rittenhouse Square, or its sister shop Hello Home in Washington Square West. Two great local shops you should certainly spend some time in.

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@allieharch: Whipped Bake Shop. You had us at meat tornado, with your Special Edition Ron Swanson Cookie Gift Box . From the bakery that made Geekadelphia’s epic Battlestar Galactica cake, you’ll find cookies expertly created in the image of the manliest man on earth. Plus cookie steaks.

Secret Lovers. These mega-soft cotton tees from Secret Lovers are so perfectly Philly, I bought half a dozen as gifts for friends. We put a jawn on your jawn so you can jawn while you get your jawn on.

After spending a good chunk of my paycheck to pre-order the new Kindle Fire, I’m leaving the accessories work to you, secret admirers. Rouge Theory make snug-fitting cases for every gadget imaginable, in fabulously graphic fabrics. OMG BABY OWLS.

Check out NomNow and their posters. I’d use this poster as my workday pick-me-up, reminding me to get off Facebook and start creating something beautiful.

Duross and Langell. They make Honey Badger Don’t Care soap! Leave it to a specialty soap store in the gayborhood to make this meme into a reality. (seen here: http://twitpic.com/6mhxo9)

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@mikeyil: Philadelphia-based artist, Britt Miller recently started making her paintings, as prints, available on Society6.com. — She specializes in colorful impressionist/post-impressionist artwork inspired by her surroundings, animals, and life in Philadelphia.

Ed Hall, also based in Philadelphia sells prints of his stunning, modern vector-based artwork. His style is vibrant, filled with visual movement and very modern. He specializes in a combination of detailed illustration as well as repeating patterns compounded with a sharp sense of color.

Rachel Goldfarb, of Rachel Shoshana Jewelry creates one-of-a-kind handmade rings, earrings and necklaces. She specializes working with sterling silver and gemstones. Her work is unique, classy yet has a hip appeal.

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@Danthefan: Support local film and buy a membership for a friend to Philadelphia Film Society.

Signing up at the Best Boy / Best Girl level ($150), you score admit-1 to all year-round filmadelphiaEXPERIENCE screenings, discounts & advance sales for Film Festival tickets, badges & events, discounted admission to all PFS special events throughout the year, one Film Festival 6-Pack (good for 6 regular film screenings during the Festival), and way more.

Scope out some details, here.

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Photo via The Jawn

@PhillyGeekMary: For the furrier members on your holiday gift list, head over to Chic Petique at Liberties Walk for all of your dog and pet needs.

The staff is always warm and helpful, and be sure to say hello to Maesha the store cat! My kitty Flip “Bryz” Roswell personally recommends the wet food brand of Tiki Cat and the Yeowww! Catnip Banana. Chip Petique also boasts the Street Tails Animal Rescue program and the “aPAWthecary,” natural medical solutions for your pet.

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@Saint_Jon: Science geeks are notoriously difficult to shop for during the holiday season. Sodium and potassium need to be stored in kerosene. Dissecting frogs preserved in formaldehyde is smelly and messy. Forget about the process involved in getting a gas container full of hydrogen.

That’s why I go to Spectrum Scientifics in Manayunk. They have all the safe science stuff that won’t land you in jail or on a watch list. I’m getting a wooden trebuchet perfect for office cubicle warfare. Or I may invest in an army of robots to defend my cube. I should probably pick up a planetarium for my niece. Spectrum Scientifics has something for the physics, life science, or electronics geek of any age.

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@ChrisUrie Philly’s tittleandlobe sell awesome awesome looking decals for your oh so stylish macbook. You can get elements from the periodic chart, the silhouette of Don Draper from Mad Men, or a simply a hand written word. Get this one and let people know who you really are.

Bridget McCafferty-Chodak has the graphic tees that you need… if what you need are Probe Droid and AT-AT shirts. Get one for yourself and one for a friend. You can reenact the Hoth battle when it snows! Just don’t hit the person wearing the Probe Droid shirt too hard with a snowball, they might self-destruct.

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@bionicbigfoot Do you have a retronaut in your life? If so, here are some gifts that will blow their minds.

First up, from Chinatown’s mesmerizing Shanghai Bazaar (1016 Race Street) comes a paper lantern emblazoned with the images of Optimus Prime, Megatron, and, for no good reason, Spider-Man. This copyright-infringing wonder is a steal at $1.89, and is certain to give anyone on your shopping list 1980s flashbacks.

And speaking of the ’80s, Brave New Worlds’ Space Invaders magnets transport the timeless videogame from the arcades to your refrigerator. Each blind box toy costs $3.99 and includes two magnets.

And while at the store, pick up Jeffrey Brown’s Incredible Change Bots Two. This sardonic skewering of the Transformers is one of the funniest graphic novels in recent memory. It will run you $14.99, put can you really put a price on hilarity?

Photo by Kate Lynch

Whether you want to admit it or not, the holiday season is here. Christmas music is blasting in every single store you walk into, there are wreathes and trees all over the place… sorry geeks, it is impossible to get away from. Luckily, all the fretting over presents for loved ones is easy to avoid, as the folks at the Hacktory are throwing together an awesome workshop perfect for whipping up unique, handmade gifts.

Fans of the Hacktory are no stranger to the Recycled Electronics Jewelry workshops they throw on an annual basis, and they’ve got another one going down on Saturday, December 10th from 1:00-5:00pm. Here’s some deets from a press release issued by the Hacktory.

The Hacktory promotes the combining of art, technology & recycling–so we created the Recycled Electronic Jewelry Workshop. You can add beauty and interest to the world by reusing electronic components that would needlessly end up in our growing landfills. It’s great fun and sparks creativity.

You’ll learn basic jewelry-making skills including design ideas, basic soldering and assembly skills, and how to choose materials for creating your own jewelry and small sculpture. You’ll also learn fun stuff about new & old electronic parts so you can talk about your creations. No experience necessary.

It only costs $20 to join in the workshop, and that includes all the supplies and materials you’ll need for basic jewelry makig. These tend to sell out, so RSVP while you can.