Category Archives: Entertainment

Books, Comics, Culture, Entertainment

Thor’s Day: Norse Gods and Reboot Culture

thorsdayHappy Thor’s Day, everyone! You all know Thor, right? The majestic blond superhero with the hammer and the thunder? Or maybe the red-bearded god and lover of frost giants? Descriptions of the Norse god are vague and far-reaching across time and space. Why the disparity? And how in the world did he land in comic books?

The character known to us as Thor finds his beginnings in the oral tradition of Norse/Scandinavian mythos as the protector of humanity from the frost giants and other unnatural forces, the god (usually) second in power only to Odin. Characteristically wielding a mighty hammer, he served as the brawn to the other Norse gods’ brains. Continue reading Thor’s Day: Norse Gods and Reboot Culture →

Cinema, Entertainment

J.J. Abrams to Direct Forthcoming Star Wars Sequels

Leave a comment

abrams-starwars

It was announced today that famed director and sci-fi buff J.J. Abrams will be the helmsman of the upcoming installments in the ‘Star Wars’ franchise. This news holds greater significance for science fiction fans as Mr. Abrams has been the primary impetus behind the reboot of the ‘Star Trek’ film franchise. In one swoop, J.J. Abrams has claimed the monopoly on blockbuster interstellar film franchises.

Disney has set the 7th installment in the ‘Star Wars’ franchise for a 2015 release. This film is set to launch a new trilogy in the landmark franchise however it is too soon to determine if Mr. Abrams will be around for more than one episode.

What do you think? Does this put ‘Star Trek’ fans and ‘Star Wars’ fans at odds or does it work to further unite the two?

Source: L.A. Times

Entertainment, Music

Dance Your Cares Away to Ben Folds Five’s New Video

Leave a comment

It’s difficult to discuss music geekery without mentioning the name “Ben Folds”. With a near 20 year music career, Ben has earned repute as a self-taught piano rocker and namesake of the trio “Ben Folds Five” (Yes, they’re a trio). Parting ways circa 1999,  Ben has led a strong solo career. He’s also been seen lately on prime-time television as a judge on the a cappella competition “The Sing-Off”.

This year, however, Folds announced that he was reuniting with his bandmates Robert Sledge and Darren Jessee to release a new album as Ben Folds Five once again after a 13 year hiatus. The album, “The Sound of the Life of the Mind” is released tomorrow, September 18. To celebrate the release of this reunion album, Ben Folds Five teamed up with Chris Hardwick’s Nerdist channel to have another kind of reunion for the video to “Do It Anyway”, a single off the new album. Collaborating with the Jim Henson Company, Nerdist and Ben Folds Five brought in, as you may have surmised from the title, Jim Henson’s Fraggles of “Fraggle Rock”, characters not seen since the early nineties.

Continue reading Dance Your Cares Away to Ben Folds Five’s New Video →

Cinema, Comics

First Impressions: Comic-Con’s “Man of Steel” Poster

Leave a comment

San Diego Comic Con has come and gone and in it’s wake we’ve been left with loads news. Marvel is working on their “second phase” of their ever expanding film universe. And we’ve also been given some peeks into DC’s offerings with their upcoming Superman film, “Man of Steel”. Take a look at this teaser poster they revealed in San Diego.

Look! Up in the sky!
click to enlarge

What do you all think? Personally, I’m not sure what to make of it yet. I’m not the biggest fan of this new trend of adding ornate textures to super-suits. Most recently in Sony’s “Amazing Spider-Man”, many though Peter Parker’s costume had the texture of a basketball (myself included). Regardless, it’s not really what they’re wearing that matters, is it?

Let us know what you think!