[Viral Video Chart] Did You Know?

As a geek, I have to admit that I'll always be a sucker for numbers and statistics. There's just something wonderfully comforting about hard numbers no matter what you're taking about.

Of course in this Web 2.0 age, viral videos are some of the best venues to discuss causes, ideas and new concepts. You can create colorful presentations, funny videos or just interesting segments like this one.


#2 - Did You Know

[Comics] Pride of Baghdad

I've always appreciated DC Comics for the quality of their writing - let's face it, they come up with some pretty great stories. While some of their characters are a tad hokey, considering how long they've been in print, but the stories generally make up for things. When they came up with Vertigo Comics as a way of exploring more adult themes, they took the world of comic book based storytelling to new levels.

A friend of mine lent me his copy of this particular title, and I was certainly grateful for it. I have to admit that over the years, I've drifted away from comics to some extent and there are definitely times that I miss them. The expenses involved and the so many choices out there tend to overwhelm me, and so it's always nice to have someone make strong recommendations based on your shared interests.

Pride of Baghdad is an interesting graphic novel that creates a story around a little news item from the invasion of Iraq. As US forces were moving into the capital city of Baghdad, a small group of lions escaped from the Baghdad zoo and started to roam free. This book tries to give them a story.

At first it feels a bit too much like Disney's The Lion King - talking animals will always have some degree of childishness associated with it somehow. Then again, we're talking about a small pride of lions, and so they're not all cute and cuddly. They're wild animals, starved of the hunt due to their captivity.

Vertigo is known for it's edgy stories and of course more adult depictions of violence and this story does not disappoint. Just when you thought they couldn't pull off anything like that with a story about animals, they go on and startle you with the reality of things but blowing the head off a giraffe. That's not really a spoiler - just setting expectations of how violent it can get. They are in the middle of a war zone after all.

The story is a complex one, I have to admit. I don't even know how to discuss it without possibly giving away key part of the story or something. It just operates on so many levels when you get down to it - whether it's just about what survival means and what kind of a life you want to live, or it could be a subtle commentary on the war itself. Whatever. It's something. It's powerful. It's the kind of story you're going to read and re-read in the hopes of understanding things fully.

In other words, it's exactly the kind of story that's worth your time. It's the kind of graphic novel whose visuals amaze you while your brain tries to put everything together. It's definitely worth the purchase.

And I'm glad I got to read it.

[CommonCraft] Computer Software in Plain English

The folks over at the CommonCraft show have come up with yet another great "Plain English" video. Seriously, these are some great videos and I can think of friends or colleagues who could probably benefit from at least 2-3 of these great instructional shows.

This time around they're tackling something that we might take for granted - computer software. There's still a large number of folks out there who are intimidated by technology and have no idea how computers work.

This video will help.


Computer Software in Plain English

[Environmentalism] Earth Hour 2009

Image via Wikipedia

Today is March 28, 2009. Today is the big day for Earth Hour 2009.

For those unfamiliar with what today is all about, Earth Hour is a global movement to get people involved even in a limited way to fight climate change. To do this, willing participants are asked to turn off all their lights for one hour - this being Earth Hour. This year, Earth hour is scheduled for tonight at 08:30pm - 09:30pm local time, depending on where you live. It's just about turning off your lights, but if you want to go totally without electricity at the same time, feel free to do so.

It may not seem like much at the level of the individual, but of course everyone doing this together does make a significant impact on our electrical consumption. More so, it sends a strong statement in terms of how many people around the world are concerned about climate change and the continued reckless use of fossil fuels.

So make yourself felt tonight - turn off your lights during Earth Hour and let's hope that the message gets where its supposed to.

[Movies] Watchmen (2009)

Longer-term readers of this blog should already be familiar with my stand on reviews of adaptations. Whether it's about books turned into movies or movies turned into plays, I always do my best to separate the original source material from the adaptation in order to evaluate things fairly. So far, it's generally worked for me and I do hope you folks enjoy my take on things.

Then again, what do you do with the adaptation is blatantly trying to relate itself to the source material for the most part? I'm not just talking about the branding related to the original work, but to really try to recreate scenes and to try and capture the feel of the original? Now there's the real conundrum since it becomes next to impossible to separate the original from the adaptation. Given that, is it still wrong to relate to two to one another?

Jack Snyder's Watchmen movie, an adaptation of the original comic book created by Alan Moore, is one such case of an adaptation trying to make it very clear that it's an homage to the original work. Snyder's previous work on 300 made it very clear that this director had a feel for trying to recapture the imagery associated with the original comic book and he made sure to apply that same level of skill to this somewhat monumental project.

Many people have said that this is one of the comic books that everyone wanted to see as a movie and yet at the same time admitted it couldn't be done well given the nature of the series. Let's face it, Hollywood struggles with bringing to life individual novels as movie adaptations, what more a 12-book comic of this nature?

Image via Wikipedia

For the uninformed, Watchmen has always been positioned as one of (if not the) greatest graphic novels of all time (although we should probably call it a comic book, hehe). Set in an alternative 1985, the world of Watchmen is a world with "super" heroes of the costumed variety and little else. The Cold War and with it the threat of nuclear war dominates everyone's thinking and Nixon is still president. The story revolves around the death of a "hero" once known as the Comedian. He was once part of a team of fellow heroes called the Watchmen and it seems the death of the Comedian is just the beginning of a larger, more sinister plot against them all.

First, this movie is NOT a typical Hollywood superhero movie. Don't expect the classic three act structure of (1) Origin, (2) Discovery / Mastery of Powers and (3) Confrontation with the Villain. You start well past the initial "happily ever after" in a very dark world that has no more need for superheroes. It's a murder-mystery. It's a political commentary. It's an homage to classic comic book themes and archetypes. It's a non-superhero superhero story. It's all this and more, depending on how you interpret it.

As far as adaptations go, this was a stellar work. Snyder pulled out all the stops this time around and made sure that many of the film sequences captured the same look and feel as the comic, going as far as recreating many key scenes and slowing things down with the "bullet-time" school of special effects in order for audiences to appreciate things more. This movie was beyond visually stimulating, whether or not you read the original title. Of course the highly graphic nature of the movie in terms of the violence, the sex and everything else, it clearly merits the R rating it's been getting across the globe. Still, the movie makes you feel like you're right there in the comic book action, somehow managing to squeeze oneself into the pages in order to experience the story like no other.

What was also very well done was trying to recapture the feeling of the time. I'm talking well beyond just the use of eclectic 80's music in order to remind us it was 1985 - the folks behind the film did a great job of recapturing the feelings of paranoia and eternal vigilance that came with the Cold War. That's no small feat considering the current generation no longer has a clear understanding of Cold War tensions - these days it's all about terrorism given the current post-9/11 environment.

The interpretation and to some degree the updating of the Watchmen themselves was pretty interesting, too. The costumes alone were a lot better, but that's an easy fix considering the time the original comic book was created. At least we didn't get an X-Men style update where the movie folks totally abandoned the original designs and went for some neutral obsession with black leather. There was a clear attempt at still following the original designs while making sure they weren't too tacky considering modern audiences. The actors were largely unknown, which helped avoid potential distractions that comes with the use of bigger name stars.

That leaves us with the story itself, and that's the heaviest piece of all. I mean let's face it, Watchmen is not something for the bored or for those just looking for a rock'em, sock'em action movie. Despite Snyder embellishing things a bit by adding in a few fight scenes not in the original comic books, it's still a heavy, heavy film. It's a movie that requires you to think. Moreso, it requires you to think outside your comfort zone and question things a lot more. It requires you reevaluate many concepts that you've become comfortable with and really consider what defines good and evil? What separates a freedom fighter from a terrorist? Do the ends justify the means in the grander scheme of things?

Watchmen is not for the faint of heart or the weak of mind. Enter the film expecting a smart film, one that requires you to suspend judgment until you get to the end and have all the cards in your hand. The visuals help you survive the nearly three hours that the movie runs for, but that doesn't mean your mind will be allowed to rest. This is a film that's worth seeing even if you didn't read the original comic book or if you're not into superheroes in general. Just be sure not to lump it together with the other films of its genre.

Like the original comic book it was based on, this was a movie that did a lot to break away from similar films in order to blaze a path of its own.

[ImprovEverywhere] Subway Art Gallery Opening

I love the guys over at ImprovEverywhere - they do some pretty amazing stuff. While I doubt something like this week's stunt could be pulled off locally, it's still a great idea and one of their more novel endeavors.


Subway Art Gallery Opening

[Writing] We Tell Stories

Image via Wikipedia

I've always been a fan of creative approaches to story writing, poetry and literature in general. With the countless possibilities offered by this digital age, there are just so many new ways of telling a story. There are those popular classic turned into Facebook-style news feeds and there are people posing as popular fictional characters on Twitter. There are various flash-based videos or YouTube-type streaming videos that freature new ways of presenting information and such - the list goes on and on.

Call me a late bloomer, but I finally got introduced to the Penguin Books project entitled, We Tell Stories, which is a collection of six different tales presented in rather alternative ways. I'm currently reading The 21 Steps by Charles Cumming, which tells the story using Google Maps and allows you to follow the character along as he makes his way across the U.K. It's rather brilliant and a great read for anyone.

It's a rather inspiring site and it really appeals to the writer in me. If only I could come up with ideas as creative as this in time in order to really get a message across! In the meantime, do take the time to visit the site if you're looking for a new literary experience.

[Movies] Wonder Woman (2009)

Not to sound overly, stereotypically gay, but I've always had a soft spot for Wonder Woman. Sure, it's one thing to poke fun at the old TV series that had her spinning around like a top (and with one of the most fabulous theme songs of its time, haha), but on paper she has always been an interesting contradiction.

In more recent years, DC Comics has been putting a lot of effort to making sure she's returned to her more violent Amazonian roots as opposed to just having her be the token female of the group whose sole purpose was to lasso folks and make them confess the truth of their crimes.

DC recently released a direct-to-DVD animated movie about the Amazon's ambassador to the world of man in an interesting update to her origin story. I'm really starting to like these DC movies - more, more, more!

The Wonder Woman DVD movie follows the story of the Amazonian Queen Hippolyta and how she and her warriors face off against Ares, the God of War and ultimately imprison him for his misdeeds. At the same time, the gods bless the Queen with a daughter of her own crafted out of clay - Diana, who eventually grows up to win the trials and become Wonder Woman. As expected, Ares remains the central villain of this tale, as he often has in many Wonder Woman stories, but that seems generally fitting in the long run.

I was surprised that Wonder Woman was voiced by Keri Russell, whom we all remember from Felicity where she was all...well, kinda whiny for my tastes, but that's me. She carried the voice of Diana rather well and certainly made sure she presented herself as the strong Amazon warrior and not just the super-powered girl walking around in USA-themed skivvies.

I was also glad to see that they decided to have Artemis (voiced by Rosario Dawson) in the story, since she's always been one of my more favorite characters in the Wonder Woman universe. You have to admit, she was always presented as the die-hard warrior and perhaps a true Amazon in that sense with one heck of a temper. She was in great form in this movie and not just some random supporting character thrown in for cameo purposes. While in this world her history was altered slightly to make her one of the loyal Amazons instead of being part of a splinter group, it didn't take anything away from her core character.

This was a generally great movie that touched on the major parts of Wonder Woman's origin story while making sure to update the tale to more or less fit in modern times. They did manage to explain most of her powers and tokens of her office and yet frustratingly enough decided to avoid explaining certain big ticket items like why on earth she has an invisible jet, hehe. I guess you can't win them all.

One of the key points that really made this a strong film was making sure to properly embrace the mythology aspect of the Wonder Woman mythos. From the very beginning, this has always been one of the key points of her stories and they returned to this in a rather grand style including their uniquely humorous interpretation of the Greek gods - you just have to see it to believe it.

This is a definite must-see for any fan of DC-brand storytelling or of Wonder Woman in general.

[Viral Video Chart] Filipino Boys Dance to Single Ladies

When videos referencing the Philippines manage to gain global attention, there seem to be two major buckets for these videos. On the one hand, there are the videos that we're outraged about since it implies discrimination or some slur against our people or the country in general.

Then there are the dancing videos. We had those series of videos of prisoners doing dance routines as their morning exercises (you may remember Thriller) and now we have this little version of Beyonce's Single Ladies.

You go boys girls!


#15 - Filipino Boys Dance to Single Ladies

[NWA] Fandom Live WeView: Watchmen

Well, I appeared on another Fandom Live! segment, and it turned out pretty decently after two failed attempts to get it onto uStream. We're not working with YouTube as an alternative and it seems to have turned out decently.

And I remembered to look at the camera a lot more this time.

In this episode, the geeks do a "WeView" of Jack Snyder's adaptation of Watchmen. Don't worry, I still have a more formal review coming in the weeks to come.


Fandom Live Watchmen

[Movies] Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)

The DC Universe Original Animated Movie line is pretty interesting, to say the least, starting with their release of Justice League: The New Frontier (since I wasn't too enthused by Superman Doomsday). One has to admit that they're a lot better than some of the similar direct-to-DVD ventures Marvel has been getting into as of late, and credit definitely has to go to the DC writers behind the original inspiration for their stories.

And to think I was a Marvel Comics kind of guy most of my life.

Thus far they've generally been taking a sort of Elseworlds approach to these stories / movies in order to justify a little artistic license. Marvel's been trying that as well with their Marvel Ultimate stories, although I have to admit those never really left a good taste in my mouth.

Batman: Gotham Knight is positioned as a collection of short animated stories that feature within the context of the Batman Begins / The Dark Knight universe, although without a specific time-place set nor a definite anchor in the Nolan continuity. The point is that this is an early Batman and Gotham is only beginning to appreciate his efforts and even get their facts straight about the mysterious figure trying to keep the city safe. The six stories are done in a style that features heavy <a class=" zem_slink="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime" title="Anime" rel="wikipedia">Japanese Anime influence.

The film reminded me a lot of The Animatrix, given it does perform that "supporting" function in terms of the larger Batman universe. The fact that the animation style matches that of The Animatrix doesn't help much either, haha. The only thing different between the two is the lack of CGI-rendered stories.

There are limited interconnections between the stories, although don't expect for things to add up into one overall story arc by the end. It really is six different stories that more or less stand up on their own well enough and thus you just need to work with that concept. This is not to say that the way things were handled wasn't good - in fact there are moments that are outright brilliant and one wonders why they don't venture into making some of these stories part of a full-blown series.

Any Batman fan is bound to appreciate the efforts here, although the differing styles and ways of depicting Batman will get a tad dizzying at times. It helped that Kevin Conroy reprised his role as the voice of Batman / Bruce Wayne as he has done for previous animated versions of the character within the past decade or so, although there are some stories where the animation doesn't seem to match the fullness of his voice. Oh well.

Batman: Gotham Knight is an interesting venture that is at least worth the once-through, regardless of your appreciation of the Batman universe. Here's to more DC animated movie ventures!

[Movies] 4th Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Trailer

While my brain tries to recover from the heavy-handed awesomeness that was the Watchmen movie, let's all look at something relatively lighter in the form of the latest trailer of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Yes, I'll address the pending reviews this week,I promise.


#19 - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (4th Trailer) (HD)

[Movies] Third Star Trek Trailer

I'm about to head off to the theater to catch the new Watchmen movie and before I get around to being able to post a review, let's kill the time in-between with the latest trailer for the upcoming Star Trek movie.

The trailer has a LOT to show you compared to past trailers and to some extent one might feel they're already revealing too much. Then again, they are trying to attract new fans to the series so it's probably a smart marketing move.


#14 - Star Trek Trailer 3 HD 720p

[Comics] Saturday Morning Watchmen

With the new Watchmen movie already out in theaters, naturally there's a lot of buzz and attention around the franchise. Everything from political cartoons, web comics and news articles keep on making reference to this landmark graphic novel.

Yeah, we all know Alan Moore is probably bashing his head against a wall given what's going on.

Here's an interesting parody of what Watchmen might be like should we ever really buy into the classic Hollywood entertainment philosophy and try to milk the franchise for everything it's worth...


#4 - Saturday Morning Watchmen

[NWA] The Geek on Fandom Live!

A few weeks ago, I finally returned to Fandom Cafe during one of their recording sessions for the Fandom Live! UStream show. It was fun to watch and one thing led to another and ultimately this meant me considering doing a show.

Two weeks later, I found myself back at Fandom sitting in front of the camera talking about Joss Whedon's Dollhouse with some of the other geeks. It was my first appearance on a web show and you'll notice I keep staring at the monitor instead of the camera in the first video, hehe.

Yes, I'm the guy in green.

Broadcasting Live with Ustream.TV
WeView: Dollhouse

Free TV : Ustream
Movie and TV Dolls