Monthly Archives: May 2011

The Art of Tim Burton

by Robin Parrish
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The Art of Tim Burton

If you’re in Los Angeles between now and the end of October, you should head over to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which is hosting the life work’s of visionary director Tim Burton, master of the gothic fairy tale. The art exhibition, which contains more than 700 pieces, has been shown in New York City, Melbourne, and Toronto, and now it’s landed in L.A. The Tim Burton retrospective contains all sorts of images, props, costumes, photos, puppets, and storyboards, including everything from handwritten ideas to Johnny Depp’s Edward Scissorhands costume. There are also tons of never-before-seen sketches and artworks from Burton’s personal collection, and when you enter the exhibit Read more »

Call of Duty: Elite to Enhance Online Gaming

by Robin Parrish
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Call of Duty: Elite to Enhance Online Gaming

It’s not a game, and it’s not an MMO. Activision‘s new Call of Duty Elite is an “online service,” similar to Halo‘s Waypoint or Bungie.net, enhancing gamers’ multiplayer experience within the CoD franchise and offering expert tips and endless interactive features for the hardcore faithful. The idea behind Elite is that while players already spend a large part of their daily free time playing CoD online, this huge community has no networking tools to take full advantage of that experience. And players will be able to access CoDE from not only their game console but from the Web and mobile devices like their iPhone or Android phone. One of the Read more »

Sci-Fi Drinking Games That Will Make You Host of the Year

by Noemi Twigg
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Sci-Fi Drinking Games That Will Make You Host of the Year

Some people have the knack of being the life of the party or throwing parties that guests keep talking about in the months after. Then there are those who like throwing parties, but could use some help in making their events livelier. Nothing worse than a party where everyone sits or stands uncomfortably trying to find something to do! The guys at io9 have the perfect solution for situations like the one described above – drinking games based on notable sci-fi themes. Just like them, I am going to say outright that I am not promoting irresponsible drinking. ;) Remember guys, it’s not all about the alcohol – it’s the Read more »

What the TARDIS Really Looks Like

by Robin Parrish
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What the TARDIS Really Looks Like

We all know Doctor Who‘s TARDIS is “bigger on the inside.” A lot bigger. Even though all we’ve ever seen is the control room, the show has told us forever that there’s a vast world inside the TARDIS with endless rooms, halls, and equipment. (A recent episode, “The Doctor’s Wife,” finally showed us some interior hallways, but no other rooms.) Yet all we’ve ever seen of the TARDIS’ exterior is its construct, the blue Police box. Here’s a look at what’s really in there. Read more »

Review: LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean

by Robin Parrish
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Review: LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean

Fans of Traveler’s Tales Games will be happy to know that their adorably magical LEGO video game formula is firmly intact in LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean, the developer’s ninth game based on a franchise external to LEGO. After eight games, you might think they have nothing new to add to this mix, but you’d be wrong. Well, mostly. Read more »

Lingodroids: Robots That Invent Their Own Language

by Noemi Twigg
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Lingodroids: Robots That Invent Their Own Language

I am in the middle of reading the Ender’s Game series, and my mind has been full of thoughts of aliens, computer programs, and robots as sentient beings. One aspect that has always fascinated me is their means of communication. Language is such a wonderful thing – ever-changing and taking on so many different forms. Of course, we can think all we want about aliens and AI, but we don’t know if we will ever see them become reality in our lifetime. That is why work by people such as Ruth Schulz is so interesting. Schulz and her group of researchers from the University of Queensland and Queensland University of Read more »

The Many Faces of Oda Nobunaga

by Nopy
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The Many Faces of Oda Nobunaga

If you ever study Japanese history, you will no doubt come across the name Oda Nobunaga. An Important historical figure, Nobunaga was the one who started the unification of modern Japan and is known by everyone in the country. For such an important figure, it’s only inevitable that he would make his way into popular culture, and more specifically, anime. Nobunaga is often described as a ruthless conqueror that was very successful in the battlefield. While he was also responsible for modernizing Japan and promoting the arts, most anime tend to portray him more as a demonic character with little or no mercy.  To help implement Nobunaga into an anime, Read more »

Five 80s Flicks That Deserve a Cult Following

by Robin Parrish
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Five 80s Flicks That Deserve a Cult Following

Fans have long devoted cult-like followings to 80s films like Xanadu, Krull, and The Princess Bride. There are so many classic 80s movies that there can’t help but be a few gems overlooked by fandom. So if you’re a fan in search of a new hobby, you could reverse phone lookup every phone number that’s ever called you. Or, you could devote your efforts to raising the banner for these well-known films that have never quite developed the level of fandom that they deserve. Read more »