Don’t talk about “Puck Man’

Geeks and Valentines Day are two things that have never really gone together in most peoples’ eyes, kind of like geeks and anything that has to do with an athletic activity. But the truth is that a lot of us do date.

But what if you are in the extremely rare situation of dating a non-geek? What if the person you are going to spend Valentines Day with doesn’t know the X-Men from Mad Men? What if they couldn’t tell you the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek, neither of which they have seen because they just don’t “get it”?

This was the very situation I found myself in when I began dating the woman who would eventually become my wife. She is about as much of a non-geek as I am a geek, which if you have read my writing on Geekadelphia should tell you something.

I thought that with Valentines Day upon us I would share a few tips if you happen to find yourself dating a non-geek.

Your personal soundtrack t-shirt is a no go.

Tip 1: No ‘Geek Articles of Clothing

Yes, I know you are very proud of your Think Geek t-shirt collection and your G.I. Joe Destro tie and your Nintendo controller belt buckle. But Valentines Day is not the time for it. Leave that stuff in the closet and dress like you have no idea how many Gears of War games have been released. (more…)

Today we talk to Cory Anotado, a good friend of mine and a graduate of La Salle University’s Digital Art and Multimedia Design program. Sadly, since we did this interview, he’s moved down to Baltimore to be an Interactive Production Developer at GKV Communications. However, we’re being nice and posting it anyway.

Of all the geeks I know, Cory is hands-down the biggest game geek, and I’m not talking video games.

How did you get into loving game shows so much?

I blame my grandmother for keeping the TV on while she watched me when I was a kid. Family Feud was at 10, and then the Price is Right was at 11. Various cable game shows, like Press Your Luck, Debt and some USA originals were in the afternoon. Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune came on at 7. I suppose saturation breeds obsession.

Tell me about your favorite game show and why.

Narrowing my favorite game show down to one is an oft-requested, futile task. If it’s based on current consumption, then it would be the British game show QI: Quite Interesting. It’s a panel show flanked at the help by Stephen Fry. They ask seemingly simple questions like, “Who was the first President of the United States? And give the seemingly complex (and quite interesting) answer of “Peyton Randolph.” Other shows I enjoy are Pointless (a British game show best described as ‘Backwards Family Feud’), Jeopardy!, Press Your Luck and Family Feud.

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This Wednesday, February 8th, Nerd Nite Philadelphia returns to Frankford Hall with (as always) a handful of awesome speakers. From a talk about using chemistry to “blow sh*t* up” (with demonstrations!) to a lecture on skydiving, this is easily the best line up I’ve seen Nerd Nite produce yet.

There are some great happy hour specials as well, including $5 half-liter drafts ($10 for a full liter), $6 for a beer and pretzel, or $8 to substitute that pretzel with a sausage. Nom!

Check out the list of the speakers and what they’re talking about, below.

Nerd Nite Philadelphia
Wednesday, February 8th, 7:30pm
philadelphia.nerdnite.com/updates

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Robert Drake is a prominent figure in Philadelphia. He DJ’s at several places around Philly such as Club Fluid and The Bike Stop in addition to opening up for almost every 80’s act that breezes through town (think OMD or the B-52’s). He has a monthly DJ’ing gig on WXPN radio entitled “Land of the Lost” where he shares is New Wave gems.

He is a co-founder of the Zombie Crawl, Zombie Prom and Zombie Beach Party. Amidst all this awesome, he finds time to be on the Board of Directors for the South Street Headhouse District where he is a member as well as serving as Vice-Chair through 2011.

How long have you been DJ’ing? Have you always been most interested in the 80′s music scene?

Robert Drake: I started my DJ stint back in the early 80s with occasional gigs at some of Philly’s underground clubs of the day; Hot Club, Kennel Club and even a guest stint at NYC’s Danceteria. As with most people, you always have a soft spot for the soundtrack of your youth – so do I. Plus, I always felt the 80s got a bum rap in the look-back machine and I made it my mission to celebrate New Wave for those that loved it and those that never really got to explore it before.

How did the Zombie Crawl movement get started here in Philly?

Robert Drake: The Philly Zombie Crawl began over beer at Tattooed Mom several years ago. We were discussing the idea of hosting a party on Easter to celebrate the world’s most-famous zombie on His big day. One thing led to another and the birth of the first Philly Zombie Crawl had happened! It was held Easter 2006 along South Street. After a couple years, the zombies groaned for more – so the Philly Zombie Prom was created to start the Halloween Season in Philadelphia.

Held the final Saturday of September at The Trocadero, the Zombie Prom has become THE event of the Halloween season with over 1,100 zombies gathering in full prom or costume attire. We’ve also created the Zombie Beach Party to start off the summer season – and we are always exploring other creative ways to celebrate the undead all year long.

Awesome! The Zombie Invasion at Dorney Park was also a great success this summer! What are some of your regular Philly haunts?

Robert Drake: Well, I mentioned one – my home away from home, Tattooed Mom on South Street. I also am a huge fan of one of the best dive bars in Center City – but uncharted by many – The Bike Stop. Located on Quince Street; an alley behind The Forrest Theatre; the Bike Stop started as a gay leather bar, which it still proudly is – - however, they have grown to welcome people from all walks of life; especially

Friday happy hours (which I DJ along with my partner John Stanley) … it’s a mix of retro rock and new wave nuggets, cheap drinks and a great cross-section of Philly.

For food – I’m always satisfied at The Latest Dish on 4th Street between South and Bainbridge; also The Perch Pub at the corner of Broad and Locust (overlooking Avenue of the Arts) – a great gastropub; and recently John and I have fallen in love with Circles Newbold – great Asian cuisine.

Geekadelphia loves Tattooed Mom – AGREED! What else do you geek out to?

Robert Drake: Easy: FRINGE.

Who’s your favorite character on Fringe?

Robert Drake: Although I am fond of Dr. Walter Bishop and his quirks, my partner John seems to have the hots for Agent Olivia Dunham. I think it’s her ‘tomboy nature’ that attracts him – HA! The show is just wonderfully written and reminds me of the excitement I had when I first watched such classics as Twin Peaks or X-Files back in the day.

One of the best looking and most entertaining new webcomics to hit the net in the last few months has been Ace Kilroy. It follows the escapades of the title character as he lives a life of mystery and adventure in the early part of the 20th century.

Created, written and drawn by friends Rob Kelly and Dan O’Connor (both local guys), Rob was kind enough to answer a few questions about the comic, themselves and whether Ace will ever make it to Philadelphia.

How do the two of you know each other?

Dan and I attended the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art (located in Dover, NJ) together. At the time, it was the only school that specialized in teaching the art of comic book illustration. Dan and I were in adjoining rooms in one of the houses the school had available for students. As soon as I saw his work, I knew I had a lot of catching up to do, in terms of pure drawing talent, especially when it came to drawing for comic books. I remember being so jealous, and I still am!

Where did the idea for a character like Ace Kilroy come from? What influences went into his creation?

After losing touch for a few years, Dan and I ran into each other at the 2010 New York Comic Con. Since going to school, we both maintained careers as artists, but each of us doing work other than strict comic book stuff. Dan’s art had only gotten better, and I was really horrified that he had so many horror stories to tell me (clients cheating him out of money, not treating his work with any respect, etc.), so on the way home I started thinking of a project that he and I could collaborate on that we’d both enjoy on a creative level. And if we somehow found a way to make it profitable, that would be all the better.

We’re both big fans of the classic newspaper adventure strips of the mid-20th Century (stuff like Steve Canyon, Dick Tracy, Secret Agent X-9, Terry and The Pirates), so I thought doing that kind of strip would be fun for me to write and fun for Dan to draw. I pitched the idea to him as, basically, “FDR hires Steve Canyon to fight the Universal Monsters” and he took to that immediately.

I figured we could work in those newspaper character influences, plus classic monster movies, as well as indulge in our mutual passion for 1930s and 1940s Americana. It’s basically the kind of strip we’d like to read, so we created it ourselves. (more…)

For this week’s Geek of the Week, we talk to Matt Campana, local musician and composer. His work includes an arrangement for the Video Games Live orchestral show, and music cues for Drexel University.

I hope the name of this Drexel U and Berklee College of Music alum sounds familiar to you, as we posted about him back in September.

You’re known for your work in music, how did you get into it?

I started piano lessons in Kindergarten and I took them until 4th grade when we could no longer afford them. That hardship was actually a blessing in disguise. I didn’t play piano for a little because of this, but that’s when I began to develop my “ear” for music.

I started taking lessons again in high school. Due to my ear training any my lessons, I can hear music and play it almost verbatim as to what’s in my head. So, when I hear music it is easy to record it out on the keyboard, edit it, and eventually create a score from it.

At this point, how many instruments can you play?

I play the piano as my primary instrument. I realized that this would be my instrument when someone showed me you could digitally play other instruments using computer software. That’s how I achieve such epic sounds in my music.

However, I also love playing the guitar. I used to carry my guitar around campus so that my friends and I could jam. I was in the Filipino Intercultural Society at Drexel University (FISDU) for all four years of college. Guitar is a staple of FISDU hangouts. It helped me make friends.

I also know enough violin and drums to compose for it and enough drum technique to program for it when recording my music.

Tell me more about your work with Video Games Live. What did you do? I went to VGL once in Anaheim, CA at BlizzCon. Do you know any sweet Blizzard tracks?

I have worked with Video Games Live for 40+ shows. For the show, I have done everything from running a pre-show Guitar Hero competition, managing volunteers to actually intro MC-ing the show in front of 3,200+ people on Broadway. The largest credit I received was for my stage production work with them on their PBS national broadcast Blu-ray release. I helped in the setup and flow of the live event, ensuring on-stage events happened on time. It went beautifully and it’s available on iTunes!

Speaking of Blizzard, I was once backstage when three-time Emmy award-winning composer, Russel Brower (WoW/SC composer) walked over. He had his laptop with him and proceeded to show my boss, Tommy Tallarico, the then-unreleased theme of StarCraft II. I almost died, I was so glad I brought a change of pants. It was the “Wings of Liberty” title track; it’s incredibly intricate. That was definitely a highlight. (more…)

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

Today we talk to Tyler R. Westnedge, Film major turned Web/Interactive guy. He’s currently the Director of At Media, a full-service branding agency in Old City.

Tyler, you seem to be a pretty well-rounded creative guy. What advice do you have for anyone looking to make the move from something like theater or film to web design and development?

I went to Temple University for Film and Media Arts, and one of the most important parts of Film to me was composition. Composition plays a major role in design, layout and usability. The transition is not easy, since the web industry is rapidly changing with new trends and technologies. It takes constant attention and research to stay on top of web design and development.

A majority of my training came from lynda.com (a site with video tutorials on just about any program, software or programming language). I still use it on a monthly basis to expand my skill-set, but now I’m taking on more leadership and entrepreneurial responsibilities (project management, employee management, business development, etc.). My advice would be to do your research, take online classes and training to expand your abilities and put your knowledge to work with real projects.

So what kind of geek are you?

I’m a tech and gadget geek, and have always been. I have a deep appreciation for Apple products and pretty much anything digital. My admiration for Apple products stems from the fact that I appreciate the use of quality design in coordination with technology. Hence the At Media name standing for Art & Technology among other things. (more…)

Today’s Geek of the Week is Greg Lobanov, a student at Drexel University.

He’s roughly a decade younger than the average Geekadelphia writer and already cranking out multiple video games, effectively making us oldheads look bad.

Are you currently in school? Where do you go and what for?

I attend Drexel University, studying Digital Media. I’m currently in my second year, and it’s been quite a learning experience thus far. It’s been my first time working with 3D modeling and animation, I must say it’s been quite a challenge.

How did you get into game design?

I can’t pin it to a single moment or reason—from a very young age I enjoyed making games, though back then it was with paper, cardboard and markers. Something about it felt very natural to me, defining rules of play and making the pieces. I also loved drawing comics and writing stories to go with them. When I started to get into computers and the internet, all those things got tangled up, until some point I was making computer games.

What kind of games or people inspire you?

I think the best (and most inspiring) games are the ones that give the best “feel.” You might be thinking that’s very vague, but I stand by it. I find a lot of games very interesting and effective for all very unique reasons. The qualities that make a good game are far from universal; they’re hard to define in strict germs. Generally, I think that you can realize a game is great from the point of being able to nearly feel the passion that the artists and designers put into it. That passion transfers into my own work.

I liken myself to director Quentin Tarantino and musician James Murphy in the respect that my inspirations are often shown very clearly through my work and combining them in unique ways. (more…)

Photo by Michael S. Zolomij

Illustrator Scott Derby has charmed the heart of TeeFury.com fans with his old school tattoo inspired T-shirt designs, so much so that his most recent design was featured on G4 TV’s segment about cult t-shirts! But he charmed me years ago as a patron of my old comic book shop, Comics and More at King of Prussia mall.

His superhero portraits (Chris Giarusso-esque “mini” portraits) have also been a mainstay of the comic scene here in Philadelphia. Geekadelphia sat down with this hometown hero to get the full story on his love of illustration, comics, and Olde City.

When did you start illustrating? Is it your full time job?

Scott Derby: I’ve been drawing ever since I could hold a crayon or pencil, and pursued a fine arts degree in college, which led to adding media communications and technology as a second degree. I started off doing graphic design right out of college, but I always had more of a focus on the illustration aspect of design. Illustration and graphic design is my full-time gig, as well as my hobby and passion (that also happens to throw a little bit of coin into my pockets)…

What are your geek obsessions?

Scott Derby: I geek out mostly to comics and toys, followed by movies and TV, with games being a distant 3rd. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy video games, I just have such limited time to enjoy my already unlimited hobbies…

I hear ya man. So much awesome, so little time. What’s currently in your comics buy pile?

Scott Derby: I’m in a little bit of a transition period lately, comics-wise. Having been primarily
a DC fanatic for most of my 30+ years of reading comics, the recent DCnU revamp has left me feeling a bit unsure and discouraged, choosing to wait until certain specific titles are compiled into trade paperbacks. In fact, most of my comic reading has transitioned to trade paperbacks, due to both lack of funds and being unable to get to the comic shop on a regular basis.

Do I lose geek cred for that, reading trades instead of monthlies? With that being said, Walking Dead and Invincible are still at the top of my reading list. I am looking forward to trades of a few of the DCnU titles, such as Justice League, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash, Action Comics, Swamp Thing and Animal Man. I may even take a few chances with titles like Batwing and Stormwatch. I also find myself intrigued enough to get back into the Marvel Universe with some of the newly revamped X-men titles such as Wolverine and the X-Men and Uncanny X-Men.

Name some of your fave places in Philly.

Scott Derby: Brave New Worlds comics for all of your pop culture needs (Brian is the man…),
Sugar Mom’s (Bowman and Chad; old friends and great bartenders) in Olde City, For dining; Vietnam in Chinatown, Pod in University city, and Buddakan on Chestnut are a few of many great places to visit in the city of Brotherly Love… Alma de Cuba is another great place to eat…

Love Brave New Worlds and Sugar Mom’s as well! What projects do you have coming up?

Scott Derby: As far as upcoming projects; things are starting to wind down right now with the holidays coming up. Just exhibited in a Bill Murray tribute show with Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles, as well as had my 6th t-shirt design offered on Teefury.com. I’ve got a few side projects to finish up, such as a tattoo design and a few commissions then back to the drawing board for more group shows with G1988 in 2012, and hopefully some more shirt designs with Teefury.

Today’s Geek of the Week column features Brad Guigar, local graphic artist and web comic cartoonist.

Some of you might know this talented local guy from a number of his projects, including Greystone Inn and Evil Inc. Brad was kind enough to chat with me about his background in comic drawing, his inspirations, and how he creates such fabulous pieces of art.

Tell me a little bit about your history with comic drawing. How did you get started?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a cartoonist. I remember getting How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way when I was about eight years old and carrying it with me everywhere. In college, I subscribed to the Detroit Free Press for one reason and one reason alone: Bloom County.

Without giving too many trade secrets away, what’s your usual process? What traditional or digital tools do you use?

I work in traditional pen-and-ink on a heavy Bristol board. I scan in the illustrations, doing touch-ups in Photoshop, add the lettering in InDesign, and send the master files to Ed Ryzowski, who has been coloring Evil Inc for several years now. He returns two versions, a high-res file for print and a low res file for Web. Typically, I have between two and six weeks of buffer – comics that are completely prepped and ready to be updated on the site.

The high-res files are then forwarded to the newspapers that I self-syndicate the strip to. (The Philadelphia Daily News for one) and reformatted into graphic novels, which I sell on my site.

How long have you been publishing your comics on the web?

I started in 2000 with Greystone Inn and switched to Evil Inc. in June 2005.

I’m a huge proponent of what self-publishing on the Web can do for creative professionals. In 2008, I co-wrote How to Make Webcomics which described the “webcomics business model” of making money by giving away your content for free. The book was extremely successful (it’s currently in its third printing) and it launched Webcomics.com, a site I run to offer advice and tutorials to other webcartoonists. (more…)

Ah, Thanksgiving. A time for friends, family, reflection and devouring an unseemly amount of food. A lot of us have had a pretty stellar year and have got a lot to be grateful for. Below, we’ve all sounded off about what we’re thankful for this year.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Geekadelphia. And for those of you prepping to go Black Friday shopping, please be safe, and remember, there is always Cyber Monday. No sense in getting yourself trampled for television at Target, people.

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@ericsmithrocks: this year, I’m thankful for the guys and gals at the Academy of Natural Sciences, especially Carolyn, Dan and Jill, who helped make the Philadelphia Geek Awards such an epic success. It couldn’t have happened without them, and I’m quite grateful to have such an amazing partnership.

I’m also thankful for @technicallyphl launching Philly Tech Week. They continue to be a brave and stalwart enemy. They are the Stark to my Lannister. Chris, Sean, Brian… Winter is coming.

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@bigredtim is thankful for bacon

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@mikeyil: Despite the stunned looks that I drive all the way out to the ‘burbs, I’m thankful for working at SAP. It’s a great place to work and honestly one of the best commutes I’ve ever had.

Overall, I’m thankful for all the vibrant communities (PhillyCHI, PhilaMade, PANMA) we’ve got in Philly that inspire me to keep up with creative work. It also goes without saying that I appreciate all the geeky foodies in town for all the meet[eat]-ups: Yelp Elite Events, Foodspotting meet-ups, Food and Drink writer meet-ups. I never have any doubts that Philly is a great place to appreciate design, whether it be elegant code or delicious dishes.

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@DantheFan: Philadelphia’s great film community for keeping me entertained for another year and @ericsmithrocks for not firing me for another year.

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@DGoodman_NBD: Not to be all sappy, but I am honesty thankful this year for Geekadelphia. This last year has been a wonderful experience of rediscovering why I love being creative and embracing the joy of writing. It has lead to me meeting and talking to a ton of interesting people, rejuvenated the work I do on my webcomic and taken my mind off all the garbage that makes life difficult. They all have my deepest thanks and admiration.

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@JoPincushion First and foremost, I am very thankful for the opportunities that Geekadelphia has given me.  From the great local music to dressing up like the TARDIS–I’ve had a great first year with the blog.  I can’t wait to do more and watch our readers grow!

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@PhillyGeekMary: I am thankful for Philly’s thriving theater scene particularly the Live Arts / Fringe festival this year. Also the ongoing theater scene, especially Plays and Players Theater and Saves the Day Productions with their ongoing Superheroes Who Are Super series: keeping theater geeky, humorous and viable!

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@BiancaCevoli: I’m thankful for Philadelphia’s amazing Geek community. Without you guys, cool things would never happen in this city. I’m also thankful for my kitten, Clawed Monet. He’s the furry, adorable garbage disposal I’ve never had.

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@bionicbigfoot: I’m thankful that the employees at Brave New Worlds don’t openly mock me about all the Archie comics I buy there, Barcade, that’s given me the chance to get soused and play Popeye at the same time, and the cult movie series at Landmark Theatres.

And I know it constantly teeters on the precipice of being overtaken by Jersey Shore refugees, but I’m genuinely thankful for Old City. Where else in Philly can you find pumpkin ice cream (Franklin Fountain), pick up dirt cheap CDs (AKA Music), fuel your passion for old movie novelizations (The Book Trader) and enjoy craft beers/Belgian fries all within walking distance of each other?

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@CollinFlatt: I’m thankful for our thriving local craft beer scene, which has given Philly a sense of national pride we haven’t felt since the authoring of the Constitution. Also John’s Roast Pork, Santucci’s Meatball Pizza, and Tahina Donuts @FederalDonuts.

And all of my geeky colleagues on this site.

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@hey_daniel: I’m thankful for Barcade opening in Philly and proving that arcades (and good beer!) still matter.

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@chrisurie: I’m thankful for being the Marketing Intern at Quirk Books under supreme marketing overlord Eric and for everyone else here at Geekadelphia. I’ve fallen into the best group of friends I could imagine.

I’m also thankful for Tattoo Mom being 50 feet away from my apartment and having dollar tacos on Tuesday.