Tech News » Culture

80′s Makeover of Firefly’s Intro Credits

JRivera — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:00:15 +0000

Me and my wife have had a love-hate relationship with the intro to Firefly. While we both felt that it kinda grows on you over time, we both felt that it didn’t do the series justice. So that’s why this version grabbed my interest so much…

What do you think? How does it compare to the original?

Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don’t care, I’m still free
You can’t take the sky from me
Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain’t comin’ back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can’t take the sky from me
There’s no place I can be
Since I found Serenity
But you can’t take the sky from me…

[Via i09]

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Jedi Junkies Documentary: A Flattering Look at Fandom

Casey — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:15:04 +0000

The recently released Jedi Junkies documentary is a tour through Star Wars fandom, from the sexy to the slightly scary. But unlike some other documentaries I’ve seen that touch on serious fans, this one doesn’t seem to have the mocking undertones. Even interspersed with interviews with a psychologist talking about the nature of obsession, it’s entirely respectful.

Though it touches on a lot of different types of Star Wars fans, the film highlights a few specific components:

Collectors
Tribute bands
Custom-made lightsabers
New York Jedi, a lightsaber dueling/choreography group
Two fan films: one called “Stuck on Star Wars” that included building a life-size Millennium Falcon in someone’s backyard, and one still in production called “Tremors of the Force”
Behind the scenes of Chad Vader
Slave Leias, with a look at one photoshoot we’ve seen before, and interviews with a Leia burlesque dancer and a bellydancer

There are also interviews with Attack of the Show’s Olivia Munn, who spoke about the difference between dorky and sexy when it comes to fans:

“Dorky Star Wars fans are the ones who have to correct you on every single thing. Sexy are the guys who know and are passionate about it and can handle a lightsaber pretty well, and I can sit down and have coffee with you and talk about it without being corrected every third word.”

If you’re a big Star Wars fan, you’ll probably get a kick out of this documentary, particularly the stuff you recognize. A lot of filming was done at conventions; I recognize a lot of Dragon Con in particular. And if you’re not a fan… well, you probably won’t get it. But all in all, it’s very well done and pretty entertaining, and the fans come off as people with a hobby as opposed to scary obsessives (with the possible exception of the collectors, who are at times self-deprecating). It’s now available on iTunes or Amazon.com for purchase or rent. And here’s the trailer!

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MGM Revokes Bond’s License to Kill

Jimmy Rogers — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 04:18:39 +0000

By Jimmy Rogers (@me)
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

Be you British or American (or anything else for that matter), odds are good that you’re a fan of Bond. James Bond’s global appeal as an international man of mystery spans decades of film history. Recent news out of Bond producer MGM, though, will definitely put a cramp in the spy’s style.

It seems that MGM is in the midst of a huge money crunch. Many of their major projects have either been postponed or cancelled, including unnamed Bond film #23. The movie was set to be directed by Sam Mendes and again starring Daniel Craig, but now it looks like both need to look for a new job.

Is the Bond franchise dead? Not a chance! Mark Adams of Screen International said, “This doesn’t mean the end of the Bond films. The question is how long it will take to make another one.” The British spy is in some ways bigger than the movies themselves and MGM will doubtlessly either restart production at some point or, more likely, sell the franchise to one of its competitors. Spyglass Entertainment and Summit Entertainment are both considered contenders for the purchase.

What can we do in the meantime? I suggest holding a Bond-style wake with vodka martinis, tuxedos, and a marathon of Dr. No all the way through to Quantum of Solace. Just remember to bring your laser watches, exploding toothpaste, and your Aston Martin!

[Mirror.co.uk via FlickSided]

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Heston Blumenthal: The Culinary Geek [Part 2]

JLister — Thu, 13 May 2010 20:55:13 +0000

In part one of this series I discussed some of Heston Blumenthal’s approaches to more common dishes. Today we’ll take a look at his more outlandish professional work.

Blumenthal made his name with his triple-Michelin star restaurant The Fat Duck, which has been voted the second best in the world (behind El Bulli in Spain.) To show how popular it is, the £150 (approx US$225) price tag has not deterred demand so strong that there is a two-month waiting list for a dinner reservation.

(I should make clear that I have not eaten at the Fat Duck and that I have no connection with the restaurant other than that I would kill to visit it.)

The main option is the tasting menu, which contains around 13-17 courses. So intricate are the dishes that the official cookbook of the restaurant runs to 400 pages. The main theme, if there is one, is playing with expectations and preconceptions of the diner. For example, one course is simply two squares of orange and beetroot jelly (Jello across the Atlantic). However, the one colored orange is beetroot-flavored (made from the lesser-known yellow beetroot), while the one colored purple is orange-flavored (made from blood orange).

Later in the meal, diners receive a glass of tea. What they don’t realize until they drink it is that one side is hot and the other cold: a sensation that remains true even as it slips down into the stomach. The explanation is that the cold side is in fact a fluid gel broken down into so many pieces that it appears to be an identical liquid to the hot tea.

(Picture credit: Flickr users nako)

Perhaps most famously, the series of desserts are presented in the style of breakfast, complete with boxes of cereal (the flakes are parsnips rather than corn) and the infamous bacon and egg ice-cream. It is in fact nothing more than scrambled egg which has been cooked through cold (namely liquid nitrogen) rather than heat.

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The Geek Alphabet

Casey — Thu, 13 May 2010 11:28:37 +0000

As a geek, you definitely know your ABCs, but do you know these? From A to Z, “away team” to “zork,” here is [GAS]’s take on the Geek Alphabet.

All images used for our geeky ABCs are from Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons licenses that allow for remixing. And they’re “share alike,” which means that you’re welcome to use our geeky alphabet – as long as you credit us and link back to this post!

A is for Away Team, where you should never wear red (mild mannered photographer)
B is for Binary, 1s and 0s in your head (jpstanley)
C is for Cosplay, making cons an awesome place
D is for Doctor, who keeps changing face (great beyond)
E is for Emoticons, that tell you what we’re feeling (neal gillis)
F is for Flickr, whose photos we are “stealing” (tricky)
G is for Gadgets, the way to our heart (slipstreamjc)
H is for Hardware, I took it apart! (jurvetson)
I is for iEverything, love it or hate it (dan dickinson)
J is for Japan, we’re glad Nintendo invaded (oscar mota)
K is for Keyboard, we love every letter (andrew*)
L is for Leias, the more the better! (koadmunkee)
M is for MMORPGs, it’s a magical place (i eated a cookie)
N is for NASA, and the beauty of space (nasa1fan)
O is for Occipital Lobe, we love using our brains (illuminaut)
P is for Programming, ((though lisp is a pain)) (phil_jackson)
Q is for Quilting, and other geeky crafts (athenamat)
R is for Reading, no matter what the path (timonoko)
S is for Science, though the cake is a lie (don solo)
T is for Tabletop, and a 20-sided die (nengard)
U is for Uncertainty, you just never know (neil crosby)
V is for Voltage, oh the places we’ll go! (oskay)
W is for the World Wide Web, it’s more than just porn (shimown)
X is for Xerox, where so much geekiness was born (marc smith)
Y is for Youth, since kids are geeks too (benmcleod)
Z is for Zork, watch out for the grue! (the_tml)

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Heston Blumenthal: The Culinary Geek [Part 1]

JLister — Wed, 12 May 2010 19:45:23 +0000

Most lists of “why to date a geek” will make some reference to cookery. And when it comes to geekdom and cookery, Heston Blumenthal is the undisputed king.

What makes Blumenthal such a kitchen geek is that he recognizes that cooking is both an art and a science. Indeed, as Philip Harben, one of the first TV chefs, put it: “[Cooking] is the application of heat (or cold) to food in order to change its state; not merely to make hot (or cold) what before was cold (or hot), but to change its very form, color, texture, and flavor.”

While Blumenthal is often accused of pure gimmickry, to my mind his approach can be summed up by a few basic rules:

Food is not just about taste, but all the other senses, and perhaps more importantly emotion (notably nostalgia).
The best food is worth making a seemingly ridiculous effort to achieve.
Food should be fun.
Flavors, temperatures and textures work best when in contrast.

Tomorrow I’ll look at the signature dishes of Blumenthal’s restaurant. And on Friday I’ll bring you some clips and recaps of his most outlandish TV creations.

But aside from the “gimmickry”, Blumenthal does apply himself to more traditional cooking, as shown in his TV series In Search of Perfection and accompanying book. Here he takes classic dishes apart and visits their countries of origin in a quest to produce the most divine versions of them.

Some of the results are frankly impractical: the chicken tikka masala requires a barbeque and bricks, while the black forest gateau involves an airtight bag (of the type used for storing clothes under a bed) and a vacuum cleaner. I’ve also been specifically banned by my wife from attempting either the steak which is cooked for 24 hours, or the pizza which involves heating a pan for 20 minute, turning it upside down and placing it under a grill to use as a pizza stone.

But some recipes are more achievable. Blumenthal’s recipe for the perfect roast chicken is perhaps the simplest, consisting solely of a chicken and a knob of butter. The technique works on the basis that while heating meat transforms the protein fibers, overheating it as is the case in most cooking means that the moisture is lost. At the same time, very high heat is needed to give a crispy, golden skin.

The recipe gets around this by first brining the chicken, which simply means soaking it in salted water (8g of salt to 100g of water), then rinsing well. The chicken is then left overnight to dry, then cooked at 60 degrees Celsius (140 (F)) for as long as it takes for the internal temperature to reach 60 degree Celsius, the safe temperature for killing bacteria. The chicken is then very quickly crisped in a hot, dry pan, and then injected for added moistness with butter in which the wingtips have been fried.

Gary Fenn of GrubBlog, whose picture of the dish appears below, describes the results as follows: ” Everyone agreed, many times over, that it was the best chicken we’d ever had. The carving was practically non-existent, no hacking or sawing here. The meat still very firm from having lost none of it’s moisture. And the flavor… it was richer and more intense, and the chicken-ness filling the mouth. It was a superb bird indeed.”

Another “perfection” recipe involved Spaghetti Bolognese and took a far more complex approach. The full recipe is too lengthy to reproduce here, but key points include caramelizing onions with star anise (Heston insists the combination brings out added flavor in meat), using a mixture of pork and oxtail, producing a tomato ragu with a true smorgasbord of flavorings, and taking a total of eight hours to produce the meal from scratch (though it only requires perhaps an hour of activity, the rest being ultra-gentle simmering). As over the top as this may sound, I can attest to the results: so smooth like eating liquid silk.

(Picture via Robin Uit, who describes the Bolognese process here.)

And then there’s the triple-cooked chips, another simple yet mind-blowing piece of cooking. (I would normally note here that chips = French fries, but that would do these pieces of joy a disservice). It involves nothing more complex than boiling the chipped potatoes until they are close to breaking up (as in the preparation for roasting potatoes), cooling them in the fridge, deep-frying at a medium temperature until they begin to color, cooling them again (thus removing any moisture), then deep-drying at a high temperature as normal.

These simple added steps transform the results, into an almost snappably crisp skin and a fluffy light interior. The only drawback was that I had ordinary oven chips a few days later and found them deeply disappointing.

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12 Formative Nerd Moments

Geeks are Sexy — Wed, 12 May 2010 14:33:43 +0000

By John R. Smith
Guest Blogger

A geek’s world is a deep and multi-faceted one. There are so many ways in which a true geek expresses his or her nerdiness, but what about the developing stages in a young geek’s life? Every one of us had to start somewhere. As children, an activity’s nerdiness isn’t typically thought about or even recognized as such — the only thing that exists is being a kid, having fun, and the confusing sting or pride of being rejected or accepted by one’s peers. As the geek begins to grow up, realizations begin to sink in about how geeky the creature is becoming — regardless of whether it’s about well thought out choices or purely reflexive actions. Here are 12 formative moments every young geek experiences or is at least painfully familiar with.

Watching Star Wars or Other Favorite Nerd Movie

Probably one of the earliest formative moments in the geek’s life is being exposed to a cinematic masterpiece. This single film may go on to become one of his or her main obsessions for years, possibly decades, to come. It doesn’t matter if the movie is Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, or any other equally nerdy film — the effect it will have on a developing young geek is endemic and life-changing. The geek becomes obsessed with whatever movie he or she fancies most, latching onto the film in any way possible. They will become interested in all things related to that movie: forums in which the geek can argue over trivia, read his favorite fan-fiction, and show off homemade stop-action lego reenactments of the film itself.

Canceling a Date in Favor of Something Nerdy

There comes a moment in many nerds’ lives where the frightening opportunity of scoring a date with a girl (or conversely a guy) is presented. Many geeks rarely get this opportunity in their teens, but for those lucky enough to happen upon a like-minded nerd or unsuspecting normal person, they know how scary the world of dating can be. However, despite the temptations of romance and sexy time, there are sometimes more important matters at hand. The geek in his natural habitat knows but one thing above all else: geekiness. Sometimes, when the really cute girl from English class accepts your awkward offer to go out for pizza at the local strip mall, she picks the most inconvenient day in your otherwise empty schedule. The night of QuakeCon coverage or your daily Tuesday WoW guild raid must receive undivided attention, no matter how nice the prospect of being on your first date may seem.

Facing Discrimination Due to Nerd-dom

Another epiphany-inducing and rather revelation worthy moment is both confusing and emotional. The geek, semi-used to being taunted and laughed at for their social shortcomings, starts becoming accustomed to receiving “special” treatment for his or her differences. However, nothing can prepare the geek for the sheer humiliation and indignity that follows (usually long after the moment has passed and any opportunity to address the offender has long gone) like being blatantly discriminated against for his or her geeky ways. 23 year old Daniel Jones had one of these moments after he was thrown out of a local grocery store for refusing to remove the hood on his Jedi costume. But Jones had a great reason for his refusal: he claimed to be the leader of the Jedi church.

Becoming More Successful Than the Bully

Many geeks are, quite literally, tortured souls. They face ridicule and laughter from more “popular” peers, are the brunt of countless anti-nerd jokes and are often looked at rather strangely when bursting out with an anecdote or fact a little too intelligent for everyone else’s tastes. But every geek has his day; a sweet triumph is the moment the geek realizes he or she has become more successful than the jocks or popular kids who were the bane of their existence in grade school, high school, or both. A computer programmer opening the door to his sweet loft apartment, afforded with a hefty salary, only to realize that the pizza delivery guy is your old high school bully is a priceless moment of victory.

Preferring Video Game Characters to Real People

Having a best friend is pretty important to most people; discovering a somewhat similar person with whom to share all of your hopes and dreams, admit embarrassing stories to, discuss secret crushes and hatch plans to take over the world is what everyone dreams of.
The world of nerddom can be a lonely place and nerds can feel like there isn’t a soul in the entire world who can relate to them and their peculiar, nerdy ideals. It’s always a thrill when the nerd discovers a creature of the same species — someone to participate in embarrassingly nerdy activities with without being, well, so embarrassed. But sometimes, that BFF is a pixelated anime character trapped inside the screen of a Nintendo DS, or a favored Dragon Ball Z character who just relates to you so much better than anyone in real life ever could.

Trying to Explain Geek Code to Non-Geeks

Trying to explain geek code, geeky trivia, or the reasoning behind geeky conventions like LARPing can be a rather intense moment of sheer isolation no matter how many people are present at the time. There are a few different steps leading up to the final moment of temporary ostracization. First is the mental debate over whether or not to attempt explaining the damn thing in the first place. “Should I just let it go?” the geek wonders, with a lingering feeling that the others just don’t — and wont — “get” it. Secondly, that feeling is washed over either by the compelling need to spread his or her nerdy knowledge, or the nagging questions of peers who can’t wait to know what the hell kind of animal a LARP is. Thirdly, the geek decides to brave forth with his explanation of MMORPGs or ‘guild raids’, ignoring the initial feeling of resistance which still tugs lightly at the back of his or her mind. The last and most important chapter of this fleeting moment is when the geek’s dialogue, although eloquently and carefully spoken, is met by blank stares and transparent chuckles. This moment, where the geek is surrounded by peers who are slightly confused, slightly interested out of novelty alone, is a scorching but important one.

Preferring Virtual Reality Over Real Life

So the geek is sitting around his den when he decides that the perils of school on a Tuesday would pale in comparison to pretty much anything else. Wandering around the city, the geek finds an arcade. Inside, the truth of life is discovered; a Pac Man or Donkey Kong game for a couple of quarters. No acid needs to be ingested for the geek to have a startling revelation about both the importance of these games and the way in which they represent real life in certain ways. The realization that there are ways to escape your homework, peers, and other emotionally traumatizing experiences is an amazing one. We would take Mario’s problems over getting beat up by bullies any day.

Physically Fighting Over a Nerdy Game

People have literally killed friends over fake WoW money or stabbed dad for taking away the Xbox, but we’re talking about something a little less extreme. Geeky games can get pretty serious, and heated debates are known to arise between two disagreeing geeks during important tournaments. It could be after a couple of beers, but it’s more likely to happen while completely sober. If you’ve ever been in a fight because your friend is arguing that your Dungeons and Dragons character doesn’t have enough gold to buy a platinum shield, you know what I mean. Two nerds fighting over a game of Magic is a sight for sore eyes, and while all the geek’s friends are watching in amusement, the pair are participating in a life defining moment.

Crying After Getting PK’d

The online world of multi-player gaming can be a rough one! Getting killed by jerks of a higher level is always going to happen. We know the strategies perfectly well — leveling up is done mostly in an attempt to kill off other nerds like yourself. Although the reason for getting killed could have been simply for being a whiny noob, bullies exist even in the geek world. In fact, plenty of them enjoy participating in the lamented PKing for the sheer joy of upsetting others. Regardless of the “why”, the aftermath of getting killed off can be a raging one. When the nerd smashes off the legs of his chair or begins violently sobbing after his level 40 character whom he has farmed for hours a day over the course of a year has been cruelly slaughtered, does he stop to dwell upon the geekiness of it all?

Online Girlfriend or Boyfriend

A lonely geek can find that the internet, with its screen and lack of physical interaction, is more comfortable and easy when it comes to conversing with others. A geek hidden behind a screen can become anyone, and reading text can portray a person much differently than who they would really be face-to-face. Finding an online boyfriend or girlfriend is another step into the abyss that consumes every nerd’s life. The geek might rush home from school to spend hours on his or her favorite text-based MMORPG, chatting away to the mage Aenius while they hunt the forest for XP on a cute date. Online romances are one thing, but when you meet these people while playing video games or talking about obscure movies nobody has ever seen, it enters into the world of true nerdiness. If you’ve ever spent a weekend in just to play video games with your online girlfriend or boyfriend, then you may have a situation on your hands.

Accidentally Using Internet Lingo in Real Life

Saying things like “brb” and “lol” are perfectly normal (although kind of annoying) to say online, but dropping the “brb” bomb in person is totally embarrassing. Especially when it’s an accident, there is a frozen moment of “Did I really just do that?” after the first time uttering “haxored!” or “lol” to a friend. The nerd just need to embrace the fact that he or she has just made an ass of themselves and continue on like nothing happened, but everyone will still be thinking about it.

Invitation to a High Ranking Clan

If you’ve ever played Counter-Strike or World of Warcraft, you’ll know that there are top teams of highly skilled players running around and wrecking stuff for everyone else by being so skilled at the game they’re playing. The young nerd sees them, and is in awe of them. The day he’s invited to join a high ranking clan is a life changing one. He’ll be scheduled into dedicated and weekly, bi-weekly, or even tri-weekly practices. It will kill most of his social life, if he had any to begin with.
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James Randi’s fiery takedown of psychic fraud

Geeks are Sexy — Wed, 12 May 2010 12:51:40 +0000

Legendary skeptic James Randi takes a fatal dose of homeopathic sleeping pills onstage, kicking off a searing 18-minute indictment of irrational beliefs. He throws out a challenge to the world’s psychics: Prove what you do is real, and I’ll give you a million dollars. (No takers yet.)

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Pub noise a problem? Put on this helmet!

Natania — Tue, 11 May 2010 20:40:26 +0000

Have you ever had to shout just to be heard one seat over at a bar or pub? Ever struggled to hear or outright misheard that geek or geekette you’ve been eyeing all night who finally comes up to you to talk? Well, struggle no more. The BBC profiled the work of a design student in the UK named Elaine McLuskey, who has thought of a device for you. No, not a microchip implanted in your ear; not texting; not special screens. This is much lower tech and yet, somehow, looks much more space aged.

These are huge plastic bubbles designed with acoustics in mind. One of her designs sits right on top of your head like a space helmet and uses the science of acoustics to filter out the loud noises and keep close conversation from being drowned out. The other design sits on top of a table and can be used for more casual conversation, no helmet needed.

But don’t think that McLuskey just had science in mind. While her work is rooted in research, she also wanted to raise awareness for hearing impairment, demonstrating how in many situations we can experience hearing limitations to some degree. Says the designer: “I hope the very noticeable and eccentric appearance starts people talking about hearing impairments.”

What do you think? Think these have the possibility of some geek appeal? Would you wear one of these? I think they’d look fabulous on Admiral Ackbar. Just not sure it’d make the best impression on a first date…

[Image: BBC]

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Google Goggles turns translator

JLister — Thu, 06 May 2010 20:30:39 +0000

Those of us not lucky/smart enough to read foreign languages have, until now, been fairly poorly served by technical replacements to the trusty travel phrase book.

There are, of course, plenty of standalone handheld devices which are simply electronic phrase books with keypads, some of them offering text-to-speech features. An existing Google phone app attempts to href="http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2010/03/09/googles-translation-gets-mouthy/">translate spoken words, though looks to be a little fiddly. And for those with more than $2,500 to spare, href="http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2009/11/06/nec-brings-translation-up-close-and-personal/">NEC has a pair of spectacles which hears speech, translates it, and projects subtitles straight into your eyes.

But now Google has a solution which might deal with the problem of printed text in a foreign language. It comes in the latest edition of Google Goggles, the company’s package of search tools which work from images taken with a cameraphone: for example, a snapshot of a wine label can give reviews and suggested dinner choices to partner it.

Version 1.1 of the Android app can now analyze a picture of a block of text, such as a restaurant menu, then translate it between English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. Users can also use the “region of interest” button on their phone to select a particular phrase or section of text in the picture. Google developers are also working on a version which can cope with non-Latin lettering such as Russian, Chinese or Arabic.

It certainly sounds like a great idea. The only drawback is that users are at the mercy of not one, but two technologies which can have unpredictable results: optical character recognition and automated translation.

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