Jay appeared on this week’s episode of Trending Cinema, where hosts Jon Tilton and Simon Miraudo are joined by three guests — Jonnie Chang, Tim Hansen, and Jay — to discuss the first entry in the summer action blockbuster season, Iron Man 2. Give it a listen right here, or go straight to Trending Cinema for more information.

About Trending Cinema:

Jon Tilton and Simon Miraudo—two strangers from opposite sides of the globe, united by the cornerstones of Web 2.0—examine the weird and wonderful world of film from their unique perspectives. Funny, honest, easily distracted, well-informed (kind of). At the very least, they always endeavour to keep the conversation Trending Cinema.

Remember this guy?

You probably don’t, unless you read Gizmodo, or watched that iPhone video I posted last week. Well, funny story about him. Last weekend, cops busted down his front door and stole his computer and the iPhone. And other stuff.

I didn’t find out about it until this morning. Thanks, UK, for being  a little late on the news. (Telegraph)

The Transformers ran in the US from 1984 to 1987. Like many weekday afternoon cartoons, it suffered from half-assed animation and, when you look at it, poor writing and one-take voice acting. After its run ended in the US with the three-part Headmasters episode, Japan took it over with Transformers: Headmasters, finishing the arc as they saw fit. Not to be outdone, they continued with another series. Transformers: Super-God Masterforce, Transformers: Victory, and the completely mysterious Transformers: Zone.

A few days ago, I was curious as to what I had missed out on, so I went on YouTube to see. I lead myself through a series of original series episodes, watched the end of The Return of Optimus Prime, and wondered what I was thinking as a child when I had originally watched this.

And then I found Transformers: Headmasters. I don’t know what I watched, exactly, but Alpha Trion—this old Transformer guy— zapped the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, originally the animated movie’s MacGuffin — and then I think Optimus Prime was supposed to save the day by killing himself and then Hot Rod became Optimus prime and then I read a comment that talked about Transformers joining hands and shooting rainbows.

Yes, you read that correctly. The Japanese people turned the Transformers into the Care Bears.

After that I watched a kid scream at his cat Reo for being a cat, and then dug up a clip from American Idol.

And then today, what do I see recommended by YouTube?

(more…)

This was posted yesterday at Gizmodo and would excite just about any tech nerd. It interests me because I finally gave in and decided to want an iPhone.  I even borrowed my brother’s original iPhone (he still has it, and it’s got dead pixels galore and scratches and dents on the screen) to acquaint myself with a new OS and new way of using a handheld device.

(more…)

I say “finally” even though I haven’t been to the site in about a month. But, finally, The Art of the Title Sequence presents Zombieland, and an interview with Ben Conrad, the lead guy on the visual effects for the movie.

(more…)

Please enjoy Axe Cop and Dinosaur Soldier, compliments of Ryan.

The best part? It’s written by a five-year old, and drawn by a 29-year old. And they’re brothers! Also, the theme song kicks ass. For more awesome adventures, visit Axe Cop the website.

Leave it to me to find an article about Sci Fi at Tech Republic, but this weekend’s Geekend asks that age old question, “Does the science in science fiction have to be accurate?”

One great example brought up is Starship Troopers’ gigantic alien bugs. Of course bugs can never be that big. It’s physically impossible for them to be giant-sized. But we still loved the movie anyway, right? OK, we didn’t love the movie, but it wasn’t the gigantic bugs that ruined it for us.

My opinion is, it doesn’t matter so much to me if the science is perfectly accurate—as long as you make your Sci Fi interesting to watch (or read, but when you’re talking to me, “reading” is essentially foreign).

I used to watch Star Trek: The Next Generation because the stories had fascinated me. And also, I’m a sucker for Time Travel—a gimmick on which many science fiction shows fall back, simultaneously rewriting their own rules on the topic—but it never bothered me that this stuff isn’t physically possible. I just liked to watch Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise be British and t3h awesomer than James T. Kirk. That, of course, was before I learned that Kirk was très awesomer than Picard and special effects technology (and the 60′s) was what made the show so hokey.

So, how accurate do you think science needs to be in science fiction?

One last thing to consider, for your two cents. Rod Sterling said something like, “science fiction makes the implausible possible, while science fantasy makes the impossible plausible.” Where would you draw the line between implausible and impossible?

Check this out, from Geekologie.

Though what’s left of the head doesn’t look like it, I’m pretty sure they’re turtles wrapped in bacon.

I don’t know whether I want to eat them, pity them, or take a nap halfway to the finish line.

BBQ???

Or… maybe…. cocktail sauce? Who cares, let’s go to Japan, catch one, and fry it up!!!

(via geekologie)
(also via Nessa

Facebook apps are getting ridiculous.

Farmville, Petville, Zoo-something, send a TARDIS, click here if you want to high five someone, Snow Ball Fight, etc. They are all ridiculous, and seem to solely be usable as timesinks. Which, in and of itself, is fine. But some of them are actually starting to implement pay strategies (“click here to buy more Pet $$!”), and that’s when, in my mind, the line is crossed from “oh that’s kind of cute” to “oh you can just go to hell.”

(more…)