Geek culture

Last night 20th Century Fox treated me to a screening of the new 3D version of "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace," which is in cinemas now here in England (Friday in the U.S.). As I got to see it for free, it only seems fair I should let you know if it's worth spending actual money to see it.

First off, it's worth mentioning the obvious. No amount of 3D can change the fact that there's waaay too much about trade taxation routes in this film. The whole "is Natalie Portman grooming a child?" sub-plot is still there. Jar Jar Binks hasn't been digitally erased. But if you're reading this, you probably already have your own views about the artistic merit of this movie, so I'll stick to the techy stuff.

Read more of "Is it worth seeing Star Wars in 3D" on Crave UK. … Read more

This is one way to settle the endless Star Wars vs. Star Trek arguments.

If you've never seen "The Graham Norton Show" on BBC, this is definitely one good way to get acquainted with it. With two major movie stars, Liam Neeson and Patrick Stewart, in one room, the outspoken comedian compares each actor's sci-fi action figure to see which franchise he likes best. I never thought I'd see a duel between Jedi Master Qui-Gon Quin and Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

I won't ruin the outcome, but if you think the Picard face-palm meme is hilarious, just wait until you see this. … Read more

Geek love can be a challenge on Valentine's Day. Roses are too old-fashioned, and chocolates are dull--unless they happen to be ThinkGeek's zombie head chocolates.

The $9.99 Chocolate Zombie Head Bon Bons show your special geek that you love him for his tasty brains, not his muscular World of Warcraft avatar.

Each box holds six grimacing, growling dark chocolates filled with cherry cordial brains in a particularly startling shade of red.

Give a box to a loved one and make a romantic pact that whoever turns zombie first will quickly be put down by the other.

Take … Read more

The Manifold Clock from Studio Ve doesn't require special glasses. It didn't take a crew of 300 and a Hollywood budget to create. It's 3D in its purest form: real life.

The Manifold Clock doesn't just tell time with flat hands, it expresses it with ever-changing shapes created by a flexible sheet of Tyvek attached between the hands. Every minute looks slightly different.

There's some delightful mathematical geekiness behind all of this. The design uses the concept of Riemann surfaces.

If you're a math nerd, you probably already know all about Riemann surfaces. Others can brush up with the Kickstarter video below.… Read more

Simpsons fans in Los Angeles are meeting up today to kick off the Ultimate Fan Marathon Challenge in an effort to beat the world record for consecutive TV watching currently set at 86 hours, 6 minutes, and 41 seconds. On today's show, we'll discuss the challenge and propose one of our own that may be a little more difficult to achieve.… Read more

Artist Andrew Golden lives in a world where famous video game characters have escaped from their consoles, signed up for Facebook accounts, and posted photos from their everyday lives.

Golden's imaginings run the gamut from Uncharted Drake's family vacation at the Grand Canyon to Goro from Mortal Kombat showing off his 12-pack stomach and four arms at the gym.

The images don't stop at snapshots. They also include snarky or admiring comments from video game characters' Facebook friends. Mario from Super Mario Brothers hoists a beer at a bar while his sibling Luigi announces his photobomb in the comments section.… Read more

It's a bird, it's a plane...it's a bunch of pixels?

Superheroes and villains from some of the most beloved comic and sci-fi franchises are the focus of "Pixel Heroes" by artist Pahito.

This elaborate piece features 78 legendary characters immortalized in stylish low-resolution pixel form, arranged in no specific order. It is amusing to see some of my favorite friends and foes from X-Men, Batman, and "Star Wars" in glorious low resolution.

Pixel Heroes is available in various print sizes, ranging from a miniature 8x10-inch portrait, at $22, up to a large 21x28-inch masterpiece, conservatively priced at $45. The collection of caped crusaders and masked marauders is available on hoodies, T-shirts, framed art, stretched canvas, iPhone and iPad cases, and laptop skins (Mac and PC).… Read more

What if the vice president of your university were a genius producer who had put together an insanely successful pop group of 90 singers and then approved the creation of identical doll versions of them?

Weird? Not for Kyoto University of Art and Design and Yasushi Akimoto, the Steve Jobs of otaku (supergeeks) in Japan. The school just hosted a hit exhibition of dolls based on the gals in the band he produces, AKB48.

At 90 members, AKB48 is the Guinness-certified world's largest pop band. Its members are all females in their teens and early twenties, and all its bubble-gum singles top the charts on the day of their release.

The music is, shall we say, an aquired taste; it sounds like arcade game tunes drenched in a massive one-part vocal harmony. Yet intense otaku fandom has lifted the hydra-headed, miniskirted band to the highest levels of Japanese acceptability. It's even acting as Japan's unofficial representative in China. … Read more

Adventure, excitement. A Jedi craves not these things. But LucasArts has something that might interest non-Jedi out there, as the publisher today announced that Kinect Star Wars and its special-edition Xbox 360 hardware bundle will both launch on April 3.

Additionally, LucasArts announced a handful of new game modes that will be included in Kinect Star Wars. The Duels of Fate mode will see players develop Jedi skills in a series of battles against Sith opponents, while the Galactic Dance Off mode lets players "battle Darth Vader on the dance floor" to the beat of Star Wars-themed pop songs.

Previously set for release last year, Kinect Star Wars is set primarily during the time of "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones," with overlapping bits of the other prequel trilogy films and nods to the original Star Wars trilogy as well.

Read more of "Kinect Star Wars launches April 3" at GameSpot.… Read more