All posts in Geek

The Doctor is in

by Drey on April 7, 2008 in Television with No comments

Not the most stellar of premieres, but it was wonderful to see that spinning blue box again.

And another season of Torchwood comes to a close. I hope that in season three they sort out their issue with a cohesive arc that has a more meaningful impact on the finale. So far the showrunners have peppered something of an arc randomly through different episodes and then have “plotlines” I was unaware of suddenly come together completely out of nowhere. While I like the big arcs other shows have, Torchwood is really about each of character’s plotline. That’s what I find myself caring about the most.

I started Haibane Renmei again. I had started on the fansub years ago and then gotten distracted.

1. Veronica Mars
2. Lost
3. Battlestar Galactica
4. Torchwood
5. Doctor Who
6. Flight of the Conchords
7. The League of Gentlemen
8. Haibane Renmei
9. The Mighty Boosh
10. Witch Hunter Robin

Old Ghostboy

by Drey on April 5, 2008 in Movies with No comments

“Can ten years of imaginary training be put to use? Apparently, it can.”

“Let’s show this prehistoric bitch how we do things downtown.”

1. There Will Be Blood
2. Batman Begins
3. Ghostbusters
4. Barton Fink
5. Old Boy
6. My Left Foot
7. Ratatouille
8. Cloverfield
9. Juno
10. 9 Lives

Four live in secret

by Drey on April 5, 2008 in Television with No comments

It’s been so long, Ron. I had almost forgotten what it was like out there in space, on the run, looking for Earth.

1. Veronica Mars
2. Lost
3. Battlestar Galactica
4. Torchwood
5. Flight of the Conchords
6. The League of Gentlemen
7. The Mighty Boosh
8. Witch Hunter Robin
9. Robot Chicken
10.

If You Ever Need to Know

by Drey on March 31, 2008 in Music with 5 Comments

Of course I couldn’t just leave that rich mine of musical data alone.

After much research I have determined what I can say are, in purely scientific terms, the greatest songs ever recorded.

Follow the link for a ridiculously long list: Continue reading →

Favorite Bands

by Drey on March 31, 2008 in Music with No comments

A few weeks ago, a conversation came up about our favorite bands. As usual, I didn’t have a list of favorite musicians floating within easy grasp. I like lots of music. In fact, I’m not sure there is a kind of music I dislike.

So, my obsessiveness kicked in and I decided to figure out who my favorite bands and singers were by sifting through my music collection and counting up the number of songs I really enjoyed by each artist. I briefly considered working out some kind of signal to noise ratio, taking into consideration the volume of work, but that sounded too complicated. So I went for the sheer number of awesome songs.

Here’s what I came up with:

1. U2
2. Weird Al Yankovic
3. Steve Taylor
4. Toad the Wet Sprocket
5. Pink Floyd
6. INXS
7. They Might Be Giants
8. The Beatles
9. The Police
10. Indigo Girls
11. Billy Joel
12. R.E.M.
13. Sting
14. Nine Inch Nails
15. Moxy Fruvous
16. Syd’s Misconception
17. Pearl Jam
18. Soul Coughing
19. Bon Jovi
20. Jars of Clay

So there it is. I think this list comprises types of music that resonate with every aspect of my personality. I see passion, social change, sarcasm, unconventional spirituality, introspection, melancholy, regret, vast inner landscapes, fun, sex, nostalgia, innocence, poetry, feminine energy, anger, depression, friendship, longing, eclecticism, attitude, and humility.

Hiphopopotamus vs Rhymnoceros

by Drey on March 27, 2008 in Television with No comments

 Whoops, forgot to update the TV list.

This is all you need to know about Flight of the Conchords.

1. Veronica Mars
2. Lost
3. Torchwood
4. Flight of the Conchords
5. The League of Gentlemen
6. The Mighty Boosh
7. Witch Hunter Robin
8. Robot Chicken
9.
10.

Barton Begins

by Drey on March 27, 2008 in Movies with No comments

I had forgotten how amazing Batman Begins was. I hadn’t seen it since the theater. The cast is just saturated with talent, a who’s who of amazing non-genre actors bringing their A game to a genre film. As far as I know, this is the only superhero film to have pulled that off.

Since Nukes is sadly behind in his watching of the Coen Brother’s filmography,  we watched Barton Fink last night. This was the first Coen Brothers film I had ever seen. It had been part of a class in college. I don’t think I appreciated it nearly as much as I did last night. It is definitely up there as one of the top Coen Brothers films.

1. There Will Be Blood
2. Batman Begins
3. Barton Fink
4. My Left Foot
5. Ratatouille
6. Cloverfield
7. Juno
8. 9 Lives
9. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
10. Charlie Bartlett

My Left Foot

by Drey on March 10, 2008 in Movies with No comments

One of the Day-Lewis Entity’s earlier appearances in human guise. Superb.

1. There Will Be Blood
2. My Left Foot
3. Ratatouille
4. Cloverfield
5. Juno
6. 9 Lives
7. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
8. Charlie Bartlett
9. The Big Lebowski
10. Jumper

JoCo @ SXSW

by Drey on March 9, 2008 in Geek, Music with 3 Comments

My friend Cory and I decided to check out the Screenburn Arcade at the interactive portion of SXSW. We were walking through the main hall outside the auditoriums and I saw Jonathan Coulton standing there with his guitar. We walked past and then I thought “No, wait, I can’t just keep walking.”

So I backtracked and said hi, asking if he was doing any gigs during the festival. He said he had done a non-SXSW show last night (curses!) and then he was playing at some party tonight. I didn’t have a pass, so I wouldn’t be able to get in. But it was cool to meet him and chat briefly and burst out in uncontrolled fanboy gushing. I did that later. In private.

The Final Saving Throw

by Drey on March 4, 2008 in Geek with 3 Comments

A star went out this morning. Gary Gygax is gone. He didn’t simply help create Dungeons & Dragons. He created a whole paradigm. An entire industry exists because of him. His creation has impacted just about every arena I care about.

My present course was set by Gygax when I was but a child. He, along with Will Crowther and Don Woods, set my mind alight with the possibilities of a collaborative narrative, a story that could live and grow. I became a gamer and role-player at a very young age, but, more importantly, I became a storyteller and world-builder.

Thank you, Gary. You changed my life. One day you and Dave decided it would be cool to add storytelling to wargames and make people roll funny-looking dice. And it has meant everything to me.

Thank you.

This has been a hard day for me. This is the first time I have experienced the loss of someone who was so influential in my life, someone whose contribution helped direct the course of who I would become.

For the record, if Will Crowther, Don Woods, or Roberta Williams die, don’t ask for much of me that day. If it is George Lucas, Neil Gaiman or Stephen King, I’m not even getting out of bed.

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