The Wolverine…well not so much. I can see what they’re going for. Wolverine does have roots in Japan in his history where he slaughters a bunch of ninjas. But his character design is the exact opposite of the Wolverine that we all know. Fan reaction across the ‘net seems to be unanimous. Even the most untrained eye knows that Logan is not a lanky, silky smooth-skinned effeminate dude with the biggest 80′s hair band mullet of all time.

And you can’t say that it’s just “anime” style. There have been plenty of rugged square-jawed heroes found in Japanimation throughout the years. (Yeah I said it, been watching Fist of the Northstar since 1993. Bonnng.) The irony of this character design shown on the right from Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is that he was actually done by Madhouse as well. Give this guy the fly away hair and you’re good to go. He’s even got the cigar!

That said, I think the Madhouse animation style is perfectly suited for American comic book properties. I’d love to see an X-Men or a Wonder Woman, rendered in this style. Stipulated that the characters actually resemble the comics as the Iron Man does above. Besides, this wouldn’t be the first. Batman: Gotham Knight employed Japanese animators and ended up with a pretty nice product.

But what do you think? Should there be more American comics done in this style, or should they just keep anime the hell away from Western superheroes?

You’ve read the line before, some of you can recite it 50 times in a minute — the question is if the same spirit in that ever famous line can be found in the redux of the 2009 Star Trek. Without sounding too poetic, the answer is simply; yes.

Before I start my review of Star Trek, I should probably provide a history of my Star Trek fanhood. I’ve always loved the original series, and never really got into TNG or the other variations of the Star Trek universe. Just give me the good ol’ Spock and Kirk days, everyone else can have their Picard and whoever was captain of the other Trek shows. Now that we have that settled, let’s move onto the review.

Abram’s greatest directorial feat in Star Trek is the balance that it took to create not just a masterpiece, but a film that can be enjoyed by everyone. Trekkies will find obscure references that will make them giddy with delight. Yet the average movie-goer will be presented with a kinetic, yet elegant thrill ride that doesn’t let up until the very end. All of this is able to occur while setting up the characters, specifically Kirk and Spock with great ease.

Speaking of characters, the 64k question is … How are the characters handled?

For the most part, the characters are portrayed wonderfully. None of the renditions ever strayed too far from how the characters acted in the original show. In fact, one of the glaring weaknesses I found in the movie was how two of the performances felt more like impressions than interpretations. Karl Urban tried way too hard to pull off the sounds of DeForest Kelley’s voice as Doctor “Bones” McCoy. What was even worse than that was Anton Yelchin’s portrayal of Checkov. Instead of just providing a russian accent, Yelchin went too far to capture the unique tone of Walter Koenig’s voice. When you hear the “v’s” become “w’s”, you’ll cringe more than smile.

Luckily, the weaker performances of Urban, and Yelchin are propped up with great performances from Pine, Quinto, and Pegg. Chris Pine isn’t quite as charismatic as Shatner, but let’s be fair, there’s no one as charismatic as the ‘Shat’. The storyline of the movie actually supports the difference in the two renditions, but I won’t explain further for fear of the dreaded spoiler. In terms of ‘proximity’, Quinto’s portrayal of Spock is probably the closest to the original show than any of the other characters. Quinto looks like Spock, his voice inflection matches Spock; he really is the ‘new’ Spock. While Pine and Quinto were great, my favorite character and performance was Simon Pegg as Montgomery Scott. Which is odd considering I was most worried about Pegg playing Scott, for fear he would be turned into the ‘comedic relief’. However, Pegg came through and really captured the role of Scott while adding his own little ‘Pegg’ twist to it. He is the comedy relief, but there’s not too much relief.

The plot development, and writing of Star Trek was handled by someone who is definitely a Star Trek fan. There is so much ambiance, and cleverness in the writing that it almost felt like I was watching an extended version of a Star Trek episode. It’s almost too hard to define, but Abrams doesn’t lose that air of ‘goofiness’ that you feel when watching Star Trek. He doesn’t take it too serious, but at the same time provides a story that encapsulates the entire spirit of Star Trek. I would actually explain some of the story, but even providing a pinch would have me applying a spoiler tag. I will say this, the first 15 minutes of the movie is easily the most epic 15 minutes of cinema viewing that I’ve experienced in years.

As I stated earlier, everyone will have a reason to love this movie. If you liked the fact that Kirk got it on with alien chicks in the original show, then you’ll be appeased. If you just like sci-fi action, then the movie has it in spades. If you’re a Trekkie, and love the sense of superiority of explaining things like black holes, time paradoxes, and Vulcan traditions to lesser life forms then you shall not be disappointed.

If you’ve kept up with the history of video games, and Star Wars then you’d know that its mostly been a pleasurable journey. From flight sims, to FPS’s, to even capturing the strategy behind Star Wars. This is a tribute to the greatness of Star Wars video games through out the years. I hope you enjoy it.

Star Wars Tie Fighter — X-Wing — X-wing vs. TIE Fighter — X-Wing Alliance

You could take your pick of any of the games featured above, and you’d be playing one of the greatest flight sim games of all time. When LucasArts first released X-Wing (1993), they could have easily just rested on the laurels of letting gamers man the cockpit of a Rebel Alliance starfighter. Instead, they came out guns blazing and provided an experience that when you first played; you couldn’t believe it. The game started just before the events in ‘A New Hope’ and had you on a mission for delivering the Death Star plans to Princess Leia. Later, the game would act as a parallel to the events that occured in A New Hope. This pseudo-side story really immersed Star Wars fan further into the struggle found in the movies.

The gameplay was pretty advanced, and even with a flight stick there were plenty of buttons you had to remember. It wasn’t just about ship battles. You had escort missions, scanning missions. The game truly offered a varied experience, all the while with smooth and accurate controls.

A year later, Tie Fighter would be released and is the game that a majority of gamers believe is the best of the Star Wars flight sim games. Instead of directly following the original trilogy storyline, the game offered a more independent mythos. It started just after the Battle of Hoth, and ended just before the Battle of Endor. The game had you interacting mainly with Grand Admiral Thrawn, a fan boy favorite. But there were options for side missions with the Emperor, Darth Vader, and even a shady conspirator.

X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter would take the spirit of the first two, and bring it to the multi-player arena. It was one of the first games to ever offer 8-player online co-op , with the Balance of Power expansion pack. If you didn’t have the Balance of Power expansion, all you really had was a multi-player fest.

X-Wing Alliance would be the culmination of pretty much everything that was great about the three games prior to it. It had the same engaging gameplay. Only this time you piloted the Millenium Falcon. The largest addition of Alliance, was the ability to create custom battle scenarios. The game allowed for the inclusion of a numerous amount of starships.

Dark Forces — Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II — Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries Of The Sith — Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast — Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

Since the original Star Wars trilogy, there have been very few Star Wars stories worth telling on the big screen. Yes, I’m including Episodes 1, 2, and half of 3. One storyline that does the Star Wars universe justice is the Dark Forces series. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that the Dark Forces series is the best Star Wars story told besides the original trilogy.

The gameplay behind the Dark Forces series has evolved, and has really changed from the original all the way through Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. In the original Dark Forces, gamers were subject to a standard FPS. The game didn’t come out much later than Doom, and in many ways evolved the FPS genre. This game implemented the ability to have full viewing available to the gamer. You could run, jump, swim, and look around fully which might simple but was revolutionary at the time.

After the original Dark Forces game, we received Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight. This is the game in the series that really set it off, and became a classic in the eyes of most PC gamers. It expanded upon the original Dark Forces, by including well put together FMV sequences. A much updated graphics engine, and most importantly brought us lightsaber combat. Kyle Kataran’s story really fleshed out and brought story telling elements to the FPS genre that really weren’t seen before it. The expansion pack “Mysteries of the Sith” brought a character that has gone down in legend as a cult classic, Mara Jade. This feisty saber wielding vixen was a lot to handle, and really deserved her own spin off series.

Jedi Outcast, which is my favorite game in the entire series took the ideas in Jedi Knight and heavily enhanced upon them. The graphics made a huge leap, and the effects given off by the saber were stunning to say the least. The animations, and move set that Kyle Katarn was given really took Jedi combat to the next level. There were three different stances for saber combat, each with different moves that really added a depth of strategy to saber duels. The online aspect of the game is what really set it off, as you’ll find your most dedicated gamers lurking in the still running Jedi Outcast servers. Jedi Academy was kind of an off-shoot of Jedi Outcast, in that the game no longer followed Kyle Katarn but a jedi apprentice. This game featured Luke Skywalker, Kyle Katarn, Lando Calrissian, and Chewbacca. Billy Dee Willaims, and Mark Hammill both provided voices for their characters. Jedi Academy was pretty weak on the story side, as the game felt very divided in terms of how the levels were laid out. Very little continuity. It more than made up with this by offering a very robust multiplayer experience. On top of the three standard light saber stances, the jedi staff, and dual wield sabers were added. Of course, any JA vet will tell you that the trust single saber is the way to go.

Super Star Wars — Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back — Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

Before the Dark Forces series, and the flight sims, there was the “Super” Star Wars series on the SNES. This line of games has a special place in my heart, and was an important part of my gaming history in the early 90′s. More important than that though, is that this series of games is the only other representation of the original trilogy other than the movies. What’s funny is that the games actually do the source material justice, which was possible during the 16-bit era. Which makes you wonder why they can’t get it right now.

The ‘Super’ series at its core was nothing more than a side-scrolling platformer. What it lacked in graphical prowess it made up with solid gameplay, and a certain charm. All three games allowed you to play through as multiple characters. The original Super Star Wars allowed you to play as Luke, Han Solo, and Chewbacca. And they returned as the cast for Empire Strikes Back, which would allow for the first use of force powers in a Star Wars game. Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi expanded upon the roster by allowing you to play as Princess Leia, and Wicket the Ewok.

I really can’t say a whole lot about the series other than it’s a very worthy side scrolling platform. Its most impressive feat was staying so close to the original stories of the trilogy even when the limited technology of the SNES might have detracted from it. If you have a SNES, and happen to live near a vintage game shop, then do yourself a favor and try to find these games.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) — Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: Sith Lords

I should preface this by saying that I’m a huge Bioware fanboy. I’m really not a fanboy of any other entertainment entity other than Bioware. Of course as they’ve only released quality games throughout the years, it’s kind of hard not to be. Anyway, this leads up to what could be considered an even greater story than the Dark Forces series.

When the news hit that KOTOR would be coming to the PC, and Xbox I was skeptical. I really didn’t think that the Star Wars universe was a right fit for a RPG. The reason is that most of the combat is based on moving, and covering from blaster fire, and the kinetic light saber duels. Then I heard that Bioware would be the dev studio behind the game. I couldn’t believe it, because up until then they only dealt with D&D properties. My skepticism turned to optimism, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the game.

I received the game as a Christmas present, and I played it the entire week of my break. I couldn’t stop. The story, combat, and immersive world were utterly addictive. I believe it took me about four days to beat the game, and that was with me exploring all of the side content I could get my hands on.

The story takes place 4,000 years before the original trilogy. When the Jedi, and Sith were plentiful and locked in a grueling battle for control of the force. The game follows an unnamed character, who is linked to a strong sith lord named, Darth Malak. The game progresses as you find out more about this character, because in the beginning he/she starts out with memory loss. I can’t really go into much more for fear of giving away too many spoilers.

The gameplay of KOTOR should be familiar if you’ve played a Bioware RPG before. They adopted the D20 style combat, and brought it to the Star Wars universe. For the most part it worked, and it added a strategy to combat not seen in any Star Wars game before. My only gripe is that like any RPG, the gameplay feels slower compared to the Star Wars action titles.

If you’re a fan of RPGs, and Star Wars then you need to do yourself a favor and pick up the KOTOR series. With an epic storyline, wonderfully detailed world, and some open-ended strategic gameplay, there’s a whole lot to get involved with.

Honorable Mentions

This is a list of the games that while of good quality aren’t quite as recommended as the ones above. Therefore, not as worthy of a write-up, but if you come across them you might want to try them out.

Conclusion

It’s quite amazing how the quality of Star Wars games has kept up throughout the years. Sure there have been a few clunkers here and there, but for the most part its been a wonderful ride. Even some of the honorable mentions I listed still hold special place in my heart.

If you’ve never played any of the Star Wars games I’ve mentioned then do yourself a favor and check them out. Even if you don’t like Star Wars, these games are worthy to play because they’re fun and of real high quality.

Unfortunately I am of the latter ilk. For one, I am the kind of guy who likes my Terminators to carry strong tones of Austrian/governor accent. Terminators who speak in monotone voices who have very clear missions that can only begin once their first objective is achieved: obtain clothes, boots, and a motorcycle. I come from the school of “The Electronic Murderer” (even though I’m not Polish). Picture courtesy of Answers.com.

I am not so much interested in this. “Oh, but it’s got Christian Bale,” you might respond. Watch Harsh Times and then give me that argument. Was Eddie furlong not available? I can’t imagine that the Night of the Demons remake was a higher priority for him. What happened to Nick Stahl? I wasn’t thrilled to have a new John Connor forced upon me then either, but he did an adequate job.

I’m not saying that Bale can’t cut the mustard. Bale’s not the issue. The issue is that they have gotten away from what made The Terminator a classic, and that was…well, Arnold (not to mention Michael Biehn), James Cameron, and the decade of the 80s. I’m not one to totally live in the past. I realize times have changed, but films like Planet Terror prove that the dark, gritty look of the original are still possible to achieve.

Terminator: Salvation is looking more like a Transformers or Matrix knock off (if not a stylized Robot Jox remake) to me based on some of the robot designs. But I guess that’s what you get when you give the co-creator of Fastlane the reigns of one of the most beloved science fiction/action franchises of all time. I’m a little skeptical to say the least.

But to be fair, I can’t judge it too harshly without having seen it. My expectations are set pretty low, so perhaps I’ll be overwhelmingly surprised. Some of my best movie-viewing experiences have come from low expectations.

See some recently leaked video footage at io9.com. I rest my case.

I’m certain that no one in that room could really conceive of what would happen to the world of entertainment and geekdom when Star Wars made it to the silver screen.  The action figures, the payout, the conventions, the ability to play someone called Cocknocker – none of that would have happened.

And Kurt Russell may also be thinking “Wow, I wasn’t typecast for the rest of my life!”

Mark Hammill:

Kurt Russell:

Cocknocker:

Technorati Tags: video, mark hammill, kurt russell, star wars, cocknocker, lucas, scifi, geekdom, shes your sister

Here’s a guy who claims he is channeling aliens via an energy beam directly to his hairy, slightly repugnant sweaty chest.  The very same chest he then makes an interviewer feel to confirm the alien-beam sweat.

The worst part is, the aliens sound like something out of a 1930′s serial featuring slightly evil aliens with German accents and horrible pronounciation.

As a bonus, the sweaty indivudual being interviewed even includes static as if to signify he’s connecting up with the alien power hour.

Technorati Tags: aliens, sweat, bear-man-chest, sf, fantasy, video, did I mention sweaty chest

Technorati Tags: ninjacat, feline physics, ninja, cat, OMG make it stop, video

I can’t imagine doing any one thing daily for 17 years short of bodily functions.

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Technorati Tags: video, spore, pet, creature creator, giant time sink

Ouch.  Several broken ribs and a broken sternum later, Eric is lucky to be alive.

Technorati Tags: video, mountain bike, world speed record, ouch, crash, volcano

Here’s a quick video essay to introduce you to the Strix – a 120mm, terminally guided, top attack mortar projectile.  This thing will happily find and destroy it’s target, even main battle tanks (MBTs) day or night from up to 7 klicks away.   All you need is a standard 120mm mortar!

I don’t know what’s more interesting.  The presentation, or the cheery, 1970′s science class documentary theme music at the end.

Technorati Tags: mortars, MBTs, weapons, boom, technology, saab, explosions

We have no way of knowing what it is that the inhabitants of the Death Star want, or even if they are friendly. But one thing is for certain. On the fateful day when we must finally engage our enemy in combat, the greatest weapon available to us will be Jeff Goldblum and his Macintosh of Doom.

Technorati Tags: Jeff Goldblum, Star Wars, Independence Day, Macintosh, Death Star, San Francisco, video

A while back I remember hearing rumors that BB was coming to a computer and/or console near you.  Now it looks like it’s a lot closer!  Check out this teaser trailer and the screenshots below.

You can hit up the official site here, where there’s a forum that’s becoming more and more active as the potential release date draws near.

Technorati Tags: bloodbowl, video game, gdw, elfs, orcs, football, bloody, booyah

One of the primary hurdles that Image Metrics faces on a daily basis is the Uncanny Valley.  The Uncanny Valley is a term that refers to the observed revulsion of people viewing objects demonstrating near lifelikeness.  You have experienced the Uncanny Valley any time you’ve been creeped out by a baby doll.

Technorati Tags: Uncanny Valley, animation, facial animation, Image Metrics

Maybe Cyber Command wasn’t entirely ill-informed. Think about it; who’s always flying around in starships, fighting interstellar wars? That’s right, the Navy. Who forms the front line of defense against the insectiod alien menace? Always the Marines. If the Air Force is going to remain relevant in the Hollywood version of the 23rd century it has to start thinking about fictitious threats it could potentially defend the country against. Having already been written off by most of the science fiction genre, they had few options left to them: either they could focus on post-apocalyptic radioactive mutants or scary uber-hackers and their spam cannon equipped bot-nets. With the Cold War having so recently ended (in military years), the choice was clear: the Air Force took the red pill.

Technorati Tags: cyber command, united states air force, usaf, hackers, fearmongering, fiction, stupid

Technorati Tags: crazy, zooming, infinite, art, project, collaborative

This particular piece really stirs something within me. Sure, I love zombies and that’s part of it but it’s more than that.  The look on the kid’s faces, the thought of being trapped at the top of a playground set as hordes of undead children swarm, wondering if they’ll make it with their improvised weapons.  It could also be that one of the children bears a passing resemblence to my own.  It makes me want to go out and write young adult zombie survival fiction.  A group of children, seperated from their parents just at the breaking point of an undead uprising.  How would they survive? What would they have to do?  Would they ever see their parents again?

Definitely stop by Jason’s site and have a gander at his gallery. It will be worth your time.

Technorati Tags: zombies, playground, art, painting, jason chan, braaaaaains

They’ll be working with Red Eagle Entertainment, who produced the Wheel of Time graphic novel adaptations. Here’s hoping they forget to write scripts for books 7-10, and give the rest of the story the treatment it deserves.

Technorati Tags: wheel of time, wheel, time, movie, variety magazine, robert jordan, film, red eagle entertainment, red eagle, polygamy

Which do you prefer?  Or should we just stick with Robot Chicken?

Technorati Tags: star wars, original flavor, special edition, han shoots first dammit, wookies, cgi, movies, entertainment

Text adventure games were a staple of my (and my father’s) diet back in the early 80′s on our Atari 800.  Not only would we wander around for hours solving puzzles and collecting treasure in Zork but we compiled painstakingly drawn maps on graph paper, wrote clues down for other explorers (my little brother) to ease their passage and shared tips on avoiding Grues.

I generally don’t think all that much about Zork or other text adventure games on a regular basis unless something comes along to remind me about them.  This usually happens about once a year.  This time, my reminder comes via MC Frontalot – a nerdcore rapper who’s compiled a wonderful tome of text adventure lingo into “It’s Pitch Dark”.  Words that brought horror to many a Zork player.  With the opening words (and chorus) “You are likely to be eaten by a grue” I was sucked into a style of music I’m not generally partial to.  There are tons of adventure games references scattered throughout the song, as well as references any hardcore gamer will get.  You can check out this (and other) songs here on his site.  For your text-only pleasure, I’ve included the lyrics below as well.  Definitely worth a listen.  If you like his stuff, you can even join the Valued Suckers Program.   The dude gets up on stage and rolls a 20 sided, raps about computer games – in a short sleeved button up shirt.  What’s not to like?

And for you fans of Infocom games who continue to struggle through, there’s the Infocom Documentation Project, featuring manuals, hints, maps and more.

It’s Pitch Dark

You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
If this predicament seems particularly cruel,
consider whose fault it could be:
not a torch or a match in your inventory.

It got narrated at you in the second person.
Every time you booted up, it seemed you got another version
of your life told to you by a status line blinking,
the impossible people you could be without thinking
yourself insane of personality problems,
with a mop on a drop ship or trying to stab a goblin.
That don’t play in public life. You get arrested,
psychoactive medication daily in your big intestine
and attesting that the voices in your head
said the dwarf shot first, embedded arrow then you bled.
But doctors with needles posit repeatedly
that you knocked down that midget in the park unneededly.
This has seeded the idea that you should
never venture from the house, never get misunderstood
by the non-player characters inhabiting Earth,
none of whom are too concerned about Nord & Bert,
not one of whom ever aimed a fish around the room,
trying to get it in the ear canal because doom
beset the last planet they were on, or near
the verge of a set of poetics they wouldn’t hear.
Never peered at the clues with invisible ink.
No SM goddesses ever gave them pause to think.
Never piloted six robots, each distinct.
Don’t matter how many 2-liters they drink,
they’re not gonna follow what you’re saying at all.
They impugn and appall in the scope of their gall,
as you hide in your room in disgust with the lights turned out.
Turn ‘em on in a turn. Leave ‘em off for now.

You read a pamphlet from a mailbox that urges low cunning,
offers cursor and prompt: type >run and you’re running,
and parses what you tell it, pronouns intact,
abbreviations if you need ‘em (better keep it gramat.).
Better punctuate your sentences and never redact
the name of anything ambiguous. You’re about to get asked,
do you mean the red one, the round one, the crooked, or the blue?
Better keep that in your pocket, don’t know yet what it could do.
Could be the spray for the grue; you’re gonna need it if it is —
a situation that reloads, restarts, or quits.
Wonder how many points out of how many points
you’ve got to get before you’re done. Endeavor then to rejoice,
when you wish more ardently, identities shed,
for continuance, the rhyme forever voyaging. Fled
from all lights and colors, from all smells and sound:
just the lyric on the monochrome display and you’re proud
to make another verse appear by solving riddles.
If you didn’t have to sleep, you know you’d never seek acquittal.
You’d be ever in the middle and the midst of quest.
If it weren’t for >don the gown. you’d never get dressed.
In your underwear typing, just like Front,
keyboard attached up to my fingers — wrists bear the brunt —
as I seek to do stunts simply through their descriptions.
I think I went once to some sands that were Egyptian.
And I retain plane tickets, snapshots, receipts,
yet I stand unconvinced that this has happened to me.
I wouldn’t want to misremember or get confused.
Recall of crawling towards a pyramid appearing over dunes.
Recall of entering the thing and descending stairs.
Does it descend from there, adventure to nightmare?
Did I battle a snake? Was the treasure intact?
Or did the TRS-80 in my brain get hacked?
Thanks, Grampa, for buying it. Now my life’s ruined.
Twenty-two years later, head’s infested: got the grue in.
PLUGHing, XYZZYfying, trying to escape,
but I can’t ‘cause I’m up and around and awake.

Technorati Tags: music, nerd, rap, nerdcore, mc frontalot, zork, text adventures, infocom, grue, awesome, art

All we need are Adam West style sound effects.

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How are things going for Anonymous?  How much progress have they made, and what changes have come about in the six months or so that they’ve been in existence?  You can catch the second video here.

EDIT: Nice – the COS appears to be targeting posts about anonymous with ads via Google, like in this image (click for a larger version).  Looks like some keyword blocking may be in order.  It didn’t take long either, that ad appears minutes after the post went up.

Greetings to Anonymous and their allies in the fight against Scientology,

Recently, an invitation was issued to those who left Project Chanology to return and reclaim it. There may be some who are newer to Anonymous, or are associated with them who may have misunderstood the charge and are wondering if they and their methods are still welcome.

In any conflict of this magnitude, every part plays a role. A hive would be nothing more than a horde of insects if not for its singularity of purpose. No part is greater than the other. Is the eye, less useful than the hand – because it cannot grasp?

In sum: all Anonymous are welcome, regardless of their origins, tactics, beliefs, and reasons for their fight. Some may not understand those that created Anonymous in the first place or their tactics, and people fear what they do not understand. What must be realized is the nature of that very fear is what brought attention to Anonymous in the first place by the media, and by the Church of Scientology. It works. So does what you do, but in a different way.

Without darkness, there is no light. Without decay, there is no life. Without fear, there is no hope. The V for Vendetta masks, currently worn by so many Anonymous, is the trademark symbol of a dark vigilante character. Anonymous was born in darkness, and currently some of the symbols of darkness have been embraced. They are powerful, protective, and strong. As Anonymous, or allies of Anonymous, you are free to conduct yourself as you wish as long as you stay on target and keep in mind that you alone are responsible for your own actions. You do not have to cease protest and activism methods such as hug raids or candlelight vigils. Continue to dance and sing. Continue to offer help to those that wish to escape the cult.

If activism of a darker nature leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, do not participate in those actions. If it resonates with you, feel free to contribute your ideas and actions in order to effectively fight this corrupt organization your way. As other Anonymous do not interfere with your works, do not interfere with theirs. Cast aside your ego and your preconceived notions. There is work to be done.

To those who are still in scientology: your orgs are closing. Your friends and family members are leaving. The corruption is coming to light. Course materials are now free for you to find on the internet. People are speaking out in the media and in the streets. It is time to leave. The storm is coming, and in the end it’s up to you to decide where you’ll be standing when it strikes.

We are Anonymous.
We are Legion.
We do not forgive.
We do not forget.
United as one, divided by zero, we are unstoppable.
Expect Us.

Technorati Tags: anonymous, scientology, internet groups, the shadow organizations, culture

Combining zombies, action figures and The Thing – that’s a geek triumvirate of amazingness right there.

Technorati Tags: Zombie zombie, the thing, carpenter, video, movies, tribute, gi joe, action figures, geek films

Technorati Tags: art, video, rice, farming geeks

Technorati Tags: knight rider, television, geek yet macho, kitt, knight industries, oh geek

Be sure to pre-order yours now, because like the Kindle, supplies may not last.

Technorati Tags: deals, amazon, harry potter, beadle, rowling, books, geeks, magic

Just throw in your Zip and you’ll be given a print coupon (that looks like what I have below) and the location of participating stores.  Or you could try and be sneaky and just print out the coupon below and head on over to a Toys R Us with a pocket sufficiently empty to handle the Millenium Falcon.

Technorati Tags: star wars, pocket model, force, droids, geek, science fiction, sf, games, collectible

As an added bonus, it appears that you can now purchase a Barrett .50 caliber rifle through Google ads.  Sweet!  Shopping.com will even comparative shop for you.

Technorati Tags: lucky, .50 cal, rifle, video