Mega-Mad Movie Night returns to the Academy of Natural Sciences at the end of the month, on Thursday, May 31st. This time around, they’ll be showing the Oscar winning cinematic gem, Sharktopus.

On stage for the live commentary are Jason Poole, Paul Callomon, and Mark Sabaj-Perez, the Academy’s shark expert. The event is adults only, and guests can look forward to light snacks, beer, and roaming the museum from 6:30 to 8pm when the movie begins in the theater.

Oh! And this time around, the Academy will be hosting a raffling, dishing out a copy of Sharktopus signed by Roger Corman, a bunch of Sharktopus t-shirts, and an (adorable?) Sharktopus plush.

We’re giving away three pairs of tickets to some lucky readers. Just leave a comment with your dream mashup monsters, and I’ll select three of you at random at the end of next week. You’ll score two tickets and be given the opportunity for the best first date ever.

Sharktopus @ the Academy of Natural Science
Thursday, May 31st, 2012
mbmnsharktopus.eventbrite.com

Time stopped for a few minutes on May 4^th last week when word spread that Adam Yauch, better known as MCA of the iconic band The Beastie Boys, had died. Only 47 years old, he had been fighting a courageous battle against cancer since 2009 and leaves behind an impressive legacy of music and fighting to bring freedom to Tibet.

In honor of Yauch and his work, The Awesome Fest and the Trocadero are holding a special screening of the Beastie Boys concert film “Awesome; I F*ckin’ Shot That!” on this Thursday, May 17th. The 2006 film was directed by Yauch and was filmed by giving camcorders to 50 members of the audience at the band’s show at Madison Square Garden.

The event is a 21 and over, free event with a charitable donation of $5 to go toward a charity of the Yauch family’s choosing. The doors open at 7:00 and the movie begins at 8:00 with a DJ and an anthology of Beastie Boys videos before the movie.

So head down to the Troc this Thursday to celebrate the life and work of someone who was truly a unique voice in music.

Awesome; I F*ckin’ Shot That @ The Trocadero
Thursday, May 17th, 2012
http://www.thetroc.com/

Aliens, superheroes, and one heck of a double entendre. This week’s Kickstarter is from two veteran short filmmakers and is packed full of geek staples. Here’s the scoop:

You live with a guy, you love the same goofy sci-fi, you love the guy. But he calls you dude. This is a situation Hal wishes would change with her housemate Olly, a locksmith and wannabe superhero who only has eyes for an extraterrestrial hottie. When Olly has a close encounter with the being of his dreams, things turn very ugly. Sometimes you have to cross the final frontier to find love on your home planet.

Here are some of the reasons we need your help:

Costumes and props: We’ll need to make everyone believe that these superheroes actually existed.  Therefore, we must have custom made unitards, patches, posters, life size cutouts, etc.  These things cost money.

Festival submissions: We could make a brilliant little film, but is a film any good if no one is around to see it (please pardon the “getting all zen/tree falling in the forest moment”)?  Anyway, we will need funds to submit this film to several festivals, starting with the Philadelphia Film Festival this fall (holy alliteration, Max Thrust!).

Meals, transportation, etc.: We all do this for the love of it, but in order to sustain basic life, we see the need to actually feed our cast and crew.  The film will take a few days to shoot, and we must provide proper sustenance so that our actors don’t turn into divas and walk out on set.

Not quite sure what you’re getting yourself into? You can take a look at the last film the guys made, Trouble’s A’Brewin, before you jump in.

The Project: Max Thrust

Creator: Brendan McGeehan and Dom Hilton

The Sweet Spot: $25 gets you into the credits in the “special thanks” section, but for real film buffs (or comics lovers) $100 will get you in the credits, an invite to a private screening of the film here in Philly, and your likeness in a custom comic poster of Max Thrust and Xenon. You’ll even be pictured saving the day. NBD.

Funding Deadline: June 7th, 2012

More Info: The Kickstarter project page has a handy FAQ section, and you can see the duo’s previous film right here. Brendan’s personal page has more.

Every Monday Geekadelphia features a Kickstarter created by locals. Check ‘em out and support our local geek scene. If you have a project that you’d like featured on site, contact geekadelphia@gmail.com

This Saturday, I’m swinging by ComedySportz Philadelphia to guest judge their geek themed improv show. I did this last year as well, and it was an absolutely blast. You should come!

Here are the details on the show, straight from ComedySportz’ website:

On Saturday, May 19th at 10PM, we are letting our Geek Flag fly with the return of ComedyGeekz! It’s still ComedySportz but fortified with Dilythium-Crystal-powered fun: comic books, LARP, video games, Sonic Screwdrivers, knowing Han shot first — your inner nerd will totally be geeking out!

Featuring a distinguished panel of Celebri-geek Judges: Eric Smith Editor of Geekadelphia, Joel Rickenbach from the You’ve Got Geek on You podcast and Tara Bennett, Pop Culture expert and co-author of The Lost Encyclopedia.

Oh man, we are totally stoked! Get out of your parents basement and see this show!

We’re psyched too, ComedySportz! See you there!

ComedyGeekz @ ComedySportz Philly
Saturday, May 19th @ 10PM only

The Playground
2030 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA
$17/$14 (students w/ ID)

One of the most important archaeological finds of last century has arrived at The Franklin Institute. The Dead Sea Scrolls, are extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. For the first time, these 2,000-year-old documents (ranging from 250 BCE to 68 CE) are on exhibit in North America. The scrolls in the exhibition contain passages from Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah and other books from the Old Testament, as well as non-biblical writings.

Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Ancient Times will be complete with over 600 archaeological artifacts from the same time period. This was a time when ancient Israel emerged, various sects of Judaism began to consolidate, Roman forces ruled the Holy Land, and the birth of Jesus was at hand. Visitors will experience the traditions, beliefs and iconic objects from everyday life over two millennia ago.

Unfortunately, we won’t have two millennia to admire these treasures. They’ll be at The Franklin Institute through October 14 and while that’s plenty of time, you’ll want to reserve your tickets to see these artifacts.

For hours, information or to purchase tickets, check out The Franklin Institute website.

Every parent dreads that day, when their precious little offspring asks “Where do trolls come from?” because you know they’re not going to be satisfied with “Scandinavia.”

Prepare yourself for those awkward conversations, or maybe just pick up some fun facts to regale your friends with during your next night at the bars.

Tonight’s Science on Tap features Linda J. Lee, a student in the Graduate Program in Folklore and Folklife at the University of Pennsylvania, discussing how early modern European fairy-tale writers and collectors combined the scientific and magical thinking of their times to address anxieties about infertility, pregnancy, sex selection, and anomalous births.

Science on Tap is a monthly series of informal presentations by scientists and other experts. They’re held at National Mechanics on the second Monday of every month and are a great way to geek out over different topics.

Science on Tap @ National Mechanics
Monday, May 14th at 6 pm
www.scienceontapphilly.com

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

On Tuesday May 15th, The Awesome Fest is teaming up with the folks over at the Trocadero for a screening of Father’s Day, hosted by Mr. Troma himself Lloyd Kaufman. Father’s Day is the deranged tale of a serial killer/urban legend known as the Father’s Day Killer, that you guessed it kills exclusively fathers.  I will admit it’s a lot more sick and twisted then that, but coming from Troma I think you kind of expect it.

While the film is not for everyone, if you’re into exploitation throwbacks you might enjoy it. We’re giving away 2 pairs of tickets to check out the movie. Simply comment with your favorite Troma film by May 13th and two folks will picked at random thanks to Josh Goldbloom over at The Awesome Fest. Check out the trailer below. (more…)

This week we talk to Tara Bennett. You might know her from… oh man, where do I start?! Tara is one busy geek!

She is currently writing for SCI FI Magazine, SFX Magazine, FEARnet, Blastr, Snakkle.com (to name a few), has co-written the Official “Lost Encylopedia”, “Firefly: Official Companions 1-3” as well as authoring “300: The Art of the Film” and all four of the “24: Official Companion Guides.”

Whew! That’s a lot of pop culture awesome right there! We spoke to Tara about all of this as well as living in the Philadelphia area.

You are writing for a ton of awesome publications and sites and have also written extensively about 24 and LOST. How did you get started in “geek related” journalism?

Tara Bennett: I’ve loved film and television since I was a kid. There was nothing better than setting myself in front of the TV after school watching my favorite shows or having my parents take me to the movies. My dad is a huge cinema fan too so we had a huge library of VHS, Laserdiscs and then DVDs with our favorites playing on a loop any given night or weekend. I was a voracious reader of all things Hollywood from behind the scenes magazines like Starlog to novelizations of every movie that interested me. My passion for storytelling became my career goal.

I went to Rowan University (at the time Glassboro State) for their Radio/Television/Film program, graduated and went into corporate and then then live TV production. I loved it but I didn’t love the content I was producing. I wasn’t able to relocate at that time to pursue the kinds of entertainment I always dreamed of making so I actually fell into writing with my day job. I’d write scripts and eventually was a contributor for @Home as a film reviewer.

I stepped up my online writing to include interviews and features and really fell in love with it. In 2003, I got downsized from my producing job and it became the perfect moment to give writing a try as my new full-time profession. Gratefully, I managed to get in the door of some magazines covering sci-fi shows and I never looked back.

As a self-proclaimed LOST-ie, I read the LOST Encyclopedia front to back. How long did it take you and co-author Paul Terry to compile all the information for that epic tome?

Tara Bennett: We love to meet new Losties! The LOST Encyclopedia was hands down the hardest book I’ve ever had to wrestle into submission. It was Paul’s first authorship on a book and it sure was an introduction and a half for him. In November 2009, we basically started breaking down every element of the show alphabetically into an Excel file and ranked everything according to importance.

We then submitted that to the LOST writing team for approval. With everything sanctioned, we broke all of the entries in half and then spent from January 2010 to May 2010 writing every entry of the book with the guidance and clarification of the show’s writing team. They vetted all of our copy, tweaked it and then approved it.

The extra fun part was that we were writing as the last season of the show was unfolding so after every episode we had at least 4 – 10 new entries and we had to continue to add to every existing entry as more story was revealed. We were pretty wiped out by the end of the show and the book.

I can only imagine! It’s a great read. Who is your favorite LOST character (if you had to pick JUST one)?

Tara Bennett: That’s such a hard question and one I can never answer well. I loved so many but I usually lean towards Sawyer, because I am such a sucker for a character’s redemptive arc. I think Josh Holloway really came into his own playing Sawyer and taking him from a surly jerk to a man who learned through love how to be a selfless hero at the end.

My other pick is Ben because he was such a deliciously deceptive and manipulative character. Michael Emerson made him an indelible part of that show’s mythology and an absolute scene stealer that had me riveted to my TV.

You also list comics, toys, movies, TV, and music as your other interests. Name what you’re currently geeking out to in those categories.

Tara Bennett: Comics, I am behind in my comics reading but I was last reading The Walking Dead and Chew.

Toys? I am the proud owner of a Katniss Everdeen action figure by NECA on my desk right now. She’s right next to my Jim Henson by the sadly defunct Palisades Toys and my Bad Robot maquette from QMX. My desk says everything you need to know about me with toys.

I am behind on movies right now too but I did take a breather the other night to re-watch J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (which is still awesome) and I can’t wait to see what Gary Ross does with The Hunger Games.

TV? Fringe! Such an amazing show with such incredible fans akin to the Losties. Music, I went to see Zola Jesus a few weeks ago and she put on a great show.

Fringe is so great! Definitely one of my faves as well! What are some of your places in Philly?

Tara Bennett: I’m usually in Philly to catch a live show with friends so I love the TLA (meandering on South Street before to soak up the sights and sounds and food), WXPN’s World Cafe or the new Union Transfer club. Philly has amazing restaurants so my friends and I like to hit Penang on 10th, either of the Continental’s, or do a chocolate walk at any of the city’s sweet cafes. If you can get access, Ralph’s Cafe in the Comcast Center has the best view of the city.

—

Tara on Twitter and scope out her website and personal blog.

Once upon a time, malls had science stores in them. The science stores had every different kind of rock and mineral displayed on in a compartmentalized wooden case. You could score through them for as long as you’d like and pick the perfect Tiger’s eye. Seriously, remember The Nature Company?

There were bugs, moths and butterflies in glass cases, and those static electricity balls that put your hair on ends. It was like Spencers sans goth medallions and sex toys. As a child, it was the only reason to go to the mall.

For those of you naturalists who remember science stores—or better yet, who enjoy all the super awesome stuff that biodiversity and sediment have to offer, the Wagner Free Institute of Science is ready to examine your collection during their Natural History Road Show. The Institute will be accepting and examine specimens brought by attendees for a never-before-done temporary exhibit in the Victorian era museum.

Your specimens will be identified by a panel of experts including Elana Benamy (Academy of Natural Sciences, Department of Invertebrate Paleontology and Botany), Paul Callomon (Academy of Natural Sciences, Department of Malacology), Greg Cowper (Academy of Natural Sciences, Department of Entomology) and Scott Peters (mineral enthusiast and former President of the Delaware Mineralogical Society).

The event will also include museum scavenger hunts, Biodiversity lectures and photo opportunities with critters and a special presentation by Philadelphia firefighter Olly McDonagh called “The Big Bug Show.”

This event is FREE, open to the public, and will be ASL Interpreted. For more information, visit the Wagner’s website.

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The end of the world turned out to be a bust. Penn Museum’s Mayan sand sculpture was canceled. The mighty Lords of Time were defeated by lowly PennDOT! You’re lost and confused. Listless. Your whole world is crashing down around you. So what’s a kid to do when his or her chosen apocalypse turns out to be hokum? You look for answers in other ancient traditions!

Just in time to cure those End of Days blues, the Franklin Institute presents a lecture series to accompany its newest exhibit, Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Ancient Times. Who needs some dumb old Mayan eschatology when you can receive guidance right from the mouths of a bunch of grumpy cave-dwelling ascetics? ESSENES VERSUS MAYANS DEATHMATCH.

The lecture series begins this Sunday, May 13th and runs through Thursday, October 11th. GASP as archeologists discuss their latest findings and THRILL as renowned scholars explain the ancient world in which the Dead Sea Scrolls originated and their continuing influence today. Topics range from the history of Jerusalem to the intersection of science and religion to the more technical aspects of the discovery and preservation of these priceless artifacts. Disappointed Mayan-sympathizers may wish to attend the lecture held on Thursday, August 9, which will focus on ancient astrology.

Lectures will take place at the Franklin Institute. Attendance for the first two talks is included in the cost of admission to the exhibit. All lectures from June 14 forward are $5.00 and attendance at the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit is not required. But whywouldn’t you want to go? This might be your only opportunity to see such ancient and significant pieces, which include—and this is very cool—a three-ton stone from the Second Temple’s Western Wall. So get a move on. Just in case the Mayans were right.

Franklin Institute Dead Sea Scrolls Lecture Series
Now through October 11th, 2012
www.fi.edu/scrolls/programs.php

The second annual Philadelphia Geek Awards are coming up this August and this year, instead of begging folks to enter into our new awards ceremony, I’m putting out an open call for entries.

After our first awardw show, I had quite a few folks ask how could they could enter next year. Well here is your chance to enter your film to be judged by the Geekadelphia Film Committee.

Want to submit your film for a chance to be nominated? Simply drop me a line at dan@geekadelphia.com with “Geekadelphia Film Submission” in the subject line and we will work out logistics and format. There is no charge (and there never will be) for entering your film.

Films do have to have a minimum length of 50 minutes, and be filmed/produced independently in Philadelphia. Those are the only rules.

Good luck!

It’s been a little while since we talked tabletop games here in the weekly Kickstarter spotlight, but today we’ve got a real doozy. Civil War? Check. Alternate history? Check. Modern day undead uprising? Check, check, and check. Let’s talk Southern Rising.

“Monsters are real. They have always been real. Grant understood that when he ordered Vicksburg quarantined to prevent the plague from leaving the city, Sherman understood that while laying waste to the land, consecrating the dead so they remained dead, and my great grandfather understood that when he put a bullet in the brain of that abomination.” – Jake Booth, descendant of John Wilkes Booth.

Southern Rising is a roleplaying game in which players take on the roles of average citizens (businessmen, school teachers, public servants, police officers, and/or soldiers) trying to stop the rising of the confederacy by any means necessary.

Set in 2011 the game allows modern player characters to take on undead soldiers of the Confederacy, making this a mash-up of genres. It is a skill-based table-top RPG which begs the question, “What if the South did rise again – as UNDEAD!

But wait there’s more – Southern Rising is not the typical skill-based role playing game. it has a unique twist. It is three games in one!

To top it all off, previous Geek of the Week and composer extraordinaire Matt Campana is involved, and will be contributing an original soundtrack if a certain over-funding threshold is reached. C’mon… we all know you’re gonna go see Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter next month. This is just the next logical step.

The Project: Southern Rising RPG

Creator: Ronald Corn

The Sweet Spot: You can get on on the ground floor with a physical copy of the Southern Rising RPG and an additional PDF rulebook for $30. Really digging this idea and have a few open spots in your weekly game? For $200 you’ll get a couple signed copies of the game and the creators will even play a full game with your group via Skype! Authentic Civil War era attire optional, but strongly encouraged (by Geekadelphia).

Funding Deadline: June 19th, 2012

More Info: Check out the Kickstarter page, friend game designer (and history teacher!) Ronald Corn on Facebook, and read more about composer Matt Campana on his site.

Every Monday Geekadelphia features a Kickstarter created by locals. Check ‘em out and support our local geek scene. If you have a project that you’d like featured on site, contact geekadelphia@gmail.com