Danielle Riendeau's blog

Picture your average Dungeons and Dragons players, in for an evening of role-playing fun. Now picture your average porn stars, chilling in between shoots. The usual images (one might say stereotypes) don’t really cover the same territory, do they?

Think again. There’s a brand new web series, currently featured on the fantastic gaming website The Escapist that is premised on just that — a group of mostly female porn stars (along with a hair stylist and a stripper) who get together in their spare time and play D and D. It’s a reality show (hence, it’s unscripted and rather free-form) called I Hit it with My Axe, and it just aired its debut episode this week. Check it out (totally safe for work, BTW).

IO9 did a fantastic interview with one of the show’s stars, Satine Phoenix, about the series. Perhaps the most interesting were her thoughts on stereotypes.

Oscar season is always exciting for movie geeks — this year, especially so, since sci-fi films were well represented (Avatar and District 9 were both in the running for best picture). Somehow, something even better happened — Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman in history to win an Academy Award for best director — and best picture.

So, The Hurt Locker may not exactly be a geek fest, but Bigelow has a storied history of making nerd-friendly films. If you’ve never seen her 1987 horror masterpiece Near Dark, you should go Netflix that ASAP. Even better (at least for guilty pleasure purposes) is the classic Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves “epic” Point Break — the best movie about surfing robbers ever made, hands down. Another cult/geek favorite in her filmography is Strange Days, which, in my opinion, competes with Lawnmower Man for best virtual reality schlock of the mid '90s.

Strange Days

I offer my humble congratulations to Bigelow for the honor — and also to Sandra Bullock, for being the first person to win a Razzie (raspberry award, for “worst actress”) and an Oscar in the same year.

There was plenty of other geeky movie news (of the Hollywood sort) this week, just in case your inner Cameron wasn’t already piqued. GeekTyrant announced that Fox has just secured the rights to the lauded The Fourth Realm book series.

From the post:

The books were best-sellers and critically well-received, and it's been compared to the work of Dan Brown, The Matrix and Star Wars. The series explores the ideas of free will and public surveillance, secret societies and good versus evil. This definitely has all the makings of a great story, and should make for a very successful movie. Who doesn't like stories about this kind of thing!?

It’s a female-protagonist-led trilogy that’s received tons of praise — and Watchmen scribe Alex Tse will be adapting it for the screen.

It’s been a surprisingly fantastic season for videogames. The last two months have been chock full of solid, high-profile releases like "Mass Effect 2" and "BioShock 2," the kinds of games that generally only come out in the “holiday” season. As an avid gamer, I’ve been in digital heaven.

However, one thing that’s always been tough for me to reconcile is the general “boys club” atmosphere that surrounds the industry (and a great deal of the games that receive critical attention). As a woman who has written extensively about games and attended a host of industry events, it’s always been something I’ve faced with a mix of humor and genuine curiosity. We know for a fact that most women play “videogames” of some sort (even if that means a few rounds of "Bejeweled" on the iPhone), so why is the culture so male-dominated? It’s a question that gets asked often, though there are few solid answers — other than "T and A sells games."

It’s that time of year again, geeks and girlfriends. Time to rustle up gifts for your valentine (or pick-me-ups for yourself). If you have the great pleasure of being — or dating — a nerdy girl, you’re in luck. I’ve scoured the great wasteland of the internet to find joyously geeky gifts that say “I love you” or “I hate this stupid holiday” in all the right ways.

On the subject of sweets, it’s about time to forget those lame candy hearts. The real way to a nerdy gal’s heart (or a sugar-induced coma) is with these retro-fantastic Pac-Man candies.

Of course, if you’re a Valentine-hater, nothing says “eat your heart out!” like ThinkGeek’s amazing, disgusting Bleeding Heart Gummy Candy. You could certainly use this one as a fantastic workplace prank come April Fool’s Day, if you prefer to partake later on.

This week, District 9 racked up several Oscar nominations, which is great news for sci-fi films. IO9’s fantastic interview with District 9 screenwriter Terri Tatchell, who is floored by her very recent Oscar nomination (for best adapted screenplay). I was very happily surprised when I found out that the film had a female screenwriter (it’s a genre particularly dominated by men), and even happier to find out that Tatchell seems like a supremely cool, talented, down-to-earth talent.

From the piece:

I'm proud of it. I feel proud that people have said they leave the theater thinking about things. As opposed to just being entertained. Because there was a fine line when we were writing it, as to how serious and heavy-handed we wanted to get with the thoughts that were in our head. It was the first film; we had satire written on the wall. We just kept saying, "Satire, satire — let's not take ourselves so seriously." I'm really happy with the balance that came out of the film. I don't know if that's to credit the screenplay, or to credit the director. I think maybe Neill gets the credit for that."

I’ve given plenty of consideration to iPhone apps in this column in the past. From the rather ridiculous to the handy-dandy, it’s always fun to explore the pint-sized software available. Nobody can deny that the iPhone is a cool device. However, whether you think it’s a godsend or an expensive toy for grown-ups, it’s just been given a new accolade: literal lifesaver.

In the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, American filmmaker Dan Wooley actually used his iPhone to help him survive in the rubble.

According to Wired, Wooley used a medical app, along with the alarm clock and illumination features of his phone to keep himself alive.

“After being crushed by a pile of rubble, Woolley used his digital SLR to illuminate his surroundings and snap photos of the wreckage in search of a safe place to dwell. He took refuge in an elevator shaft, where he followed instructions from an iPhone first-aid app to fashion a bandage and tourniquet for his leg and to stop the bleeding from his head wound, according to an MSNBC story.

It’s been a ridiculously newsy week for geeks and non-geeks alike. With Haiti’s devastating earthquake, Sarah Palin’s appointment to Fox news, Gay marriage on the line in the proposition 8 hearings, and Google putting the smack down on Chinese censorship, things have been a bit busy on the old interwebs.

It’s been an exciting time for gadget-and-games geeks as well, as we just saw the end of CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2010. For the uninitiated, CES is a massive, throbbing hive of a trade show, where electronics-related companies show off everything from wireless chargers to awesome 3D TV’s to ridiculously thin laptops.

What was the coolest gizmo of all? In this amateur filmmaker’s opinion, that has to be Panasonic’s 3D Camcorder. If you buy in to the whole 3D craze and purchase yourself a 3D TV, you can make your own 3D movies! Just imagine; the very first 3D lesbian film is on its way. Maybe AfterEllen.com vloggers will one day be recording with an extra dimension!

As most of you probably know, a lot of the writing I do here at AfterEllen.com is on movies — a subject quite near and dear to my heart. So, I believe it’s quite appropriate that, as the year — and the decade — winds down, we take an extra-special look at a subject even nearer and dearer: geeky movies.

It was a pretty great year for fans of sci-fi, superheroes and out-there adventure. Ever since X-Men made comic book movies cool back in 2000, and the money started piling on around 2002 or so (with the release of mega-blockbuster Spiderman), superhero flicks have been all the rage — and this year’s crop had plenty of spice. There were a few fantastic sci-fi options in 2009 as well (up from close to zero in 2008). Fans of high fantasy, 2009 may not have been for you, but cheer up! Harry Potter was pretty awesome, right?

The Good:

Star Trek: Some trekkies/trekkers may not have liked the way it messed with the timeline, but this movie had absolutely everything that makes Trek so fun: tons of action, memorable characters, space battles and sexy alien girls. This reboot also featured Zoe Saldana as an even-more-badass Uhura, so it’s getting my vote as top “genre” flick of the year.

After several years of hints and sneak peeks, we’re finally upon the premiere of Avatar, James Cameron’s (Aliens, Titanic, Terminator) first feature film in 12 years. The story of a disabled marine (Terminator 4’s Sam Worthington) who infiltrates a native planet’s alien people, it’s billed as the director’s return to the spectacular sci-fi epic. After checking that it’s getting positive reviews — 84% “fresh” on review aggregater Rotten Tomatoes — I’m all set for a little midnight premiere action.

I’m not just excited to see the hyped-up 3D visuals, I’m pumped to watch the women of the film kick some serious ass. Everyone’s favorite Alien-killer Sigourney Weaver appears as a scientist in the film, Michelle Rodriguez plays a marine pilot, and my new favorite space-babe, Zoe Saldana (Star Trek), stars as a Nav’I warrior.

In fact, I was struck recently by just how cool (and rare) Cameron’s track record with strong female characters is for a Hollywood director. In preparation for the latest film, I had a little “Cameron-athon” with like-minded buddies. We skipped Titanic (spoiler: the ship sinks) and dipped deep into the darker, heavier action, in chronological order. We cheered the young Sarah Connor in Terminator, stood up and clapped for the “get away from her, you b---h” line in Aliens and swooned when the older, wiser Sarah straps on the heavy weaponry in Judgment Day. We’re dorks, yes, but hey, we’re empowered, feminist dorks.

If the constant barrage of Christmas music in the mall wasn’t enough of an indication, the madness of the holiday season is upon us once again.

It can be a mighty stressful time of year: Families need visiting, presents need buying, commercialism needs flexing and perhaps most of all, good cheer needs spreading. It’s not hard to feel a little Grinch-like (or left out if you don’t celebrate any of the “big three” holidays this month) with all the stress swirling around, but fear not — I’ve rustled up a few geeky tools and projects that will make the season go down smoothly, like a fine eggnog.

First of all, arm your iPhone accordingly with this stellar list of seasonal survival apps, thanks to the good folks at Mashable. Flightcaster and Gasbag will help with travel woes, while ShopSavvy and Yowza should take some of the sting out of shopping. Mixology (also listed here) has got to be one of the coolest drink-related apps I’ve ever seen. I suspect that self-confessed “drink nerd” Rachel Maddow would be proud.

There’s also the business of home decorating and party-throwing. Need to impress the cute girl at the office party with a bit of brilliant geekery? Try out this insanely cool video for a how-to on making holiday lights dance to the beat of your music. All you need is a string of Christmas lights (cheap ones will do just fine), a wire cutter, and a basic sense of the back of your stereo system (you know, that scary, dusty place), and you’re good to go.

I had a genuinely exciting Weekly Geek moment a few days ago when I stumbled upon this new blog, The Border House, which offers feminist/queer commentary on the world of video games. It’s rare that two things I’m so passionate about link up in such a coherent way — and rarer still that they come in such a well-written, diverse and truly appealing package. It’s as if Feministing and AfterEllen.com had a wonderfully dorky baby.

From the site’s mission statement:

The Border House is a blog for gamers. It's a blog for those who are feminist, queer, disabled, people of color, transgendered, rich, poor, middle class, gay, lesbian, and others who belong to marginalized groups, as well as allies. Our goal is to bring thoughtful analysis to gaming with a feminist viewpoint and up-to-date news on games, virtual worlds, and social media.

Recent posts have discussed everything from the gay sex scene in Bioware’s newest RPG Dragon Age to the existence of a foreign game based on rape to the favorable representation of female characters in the recent Uncharted 2. It’s intelligent, meaty (and still very “bloggy”) discourse, all wrapped up in a warm, queer-centered environment. If you’re into games or social media at all, this one deserves a place on your bookmarks bar.

We’re rapidly approaching the fine holiday that our friends in retail like to call Cyber Monday. The day after Americans chow down on turkey (or whatever sensible protein substitute) on Thanksgiving weekend, stores open at ungodly hours offering deals on every kind of merchandise imaginable.

Being a gadget geek, I’m no stranger to this bizarre phenomenon. I’ve done the “wake up at 3 a.m. and head to the nearest retailer offering cheap videogames” thing on Black Friday so many times that it’s become its own little holiday ritual. Naturally, tech-minded geeks benefit a great deal from discounted goodies — ours is an expensive habit to feed.

I’ve compiled a quick list of the better ads and links for the upcoming shopper’s holiday, to help you get the most of your gadget/gaming dollars. If you happen to have a wife or girlfriend nearby who may be shopping for you, now’s the time to leave your browser “conveniently” open on the page.

Few things in this world are geekier than discussions (or more frequently, arguments) about preferred Internet operating systems. Which is why I can’t help but be amused by recent statements by Microsoft's partner group manager Simon Aldous that seem to indicate that Windows 7, Microsoft’s swanky new operating system, was directly inspired by Macintosh’s interface.

From PCR:

One of the things that people say an awful lot about the Apple Mac is that the OS is fantastic, that it's very graphical and easy to use. What we've tried to do with Windows 7 — whether it's traditional format or in a touch format — is create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics.

MAC OS X

Of course, Microsoft issued a blog shortly after, claiming that Aldous’ big bold “admission” was just completely false:

Star Trek Voyager fans, prepare to have your heart rates accelerated to warp speed. Kate Mulgrew, the actress who portrayed the wonderful, dynamic, possibly lesbionic Captain Kathryn Janeway, has expressed an interest in appearing in a new Star Trek film. The Geek Files blog has the scoop:

Asked by Sci Fi Now if she'd consider a role in the new films, she said: "I would, I'd love to return to Janeway. I'd love to do her in a movie. I think he'd be wise to do it, don't you? He should get me and Picard in there. It's a brilliant idea.”

The latest Star Trek film covered its tracks in re-launching the “original” series with Kirk, Spock and the gang — but it also allowed for the possibility for other characters in the universe to appear. With a touch of creative sci-fi imagining, Picard and Janeway could totally make cameos.

In case you didn’t know, the greatest, geekiest holiday of the year is nearly upon us. Yes, readers, it’s time to get dressed up as someone (or something), eat tons of candy and watch horror films. And while that may or may not describe my own personal daily routine, it’s actually socially acceptable for one day every year!

In spirit of the holiday, the Figit blog put out a list of the 15 cursed movie objects that you never want to own. Among the items listed is the puzzle box from Hellraiser, the cursed painting from Ghostbusters 2, the TV from Poltergeist and the videotape from The Ring. It’s basically a laundry list of all the supposedly inanimate objects that can terrorize, murder, torture, hypnotize and/or eat the souls of our beloved movie characters. Spooky!

I’m going to go ahead and add another scary object to the list: the ankh from The Hunger, one of the most popular lesbian vampire movies ever to grace the screen. If you have one of those; sure, you’ll get centuries of youth and beauty, but only at the cost of becoming an undead wraith at the end of your tenure. Not worth it, even if you do get to sleep with Catherine Deneuve!

Referencing the old joke wherein the great tastes of peanut butter and chocolate collided for the first time, it looks like the world’s premiere search engine (Google) will soon combine with everyone’s favorite microblogging service (Twitter). If that doesn’t sound like sweet, delicious digital candy to you, well, I’m not sure you’re reading the right column.

In a blog post aptly titled “RT @google: Tweets and updates and search, oh my” Google VP of Search Products and User Experience laid out the deal:

We are very excited to announce that we have reached an agreement with Twitter to include their updates in our search results. We believe that our search results and user experience will greatly benefit from the inclusion of this up-to-the-minute data, and we look forward to having a product that showcases how tweets can make search better in the coming months. That way, the next time you search for something that can be aided by a real-time observation, say, snow conditions at your favorite ski resort, you'll find tweets from other users who are there and sharing the latest and greatest information.

There’s something wonderful about websites that display the worst of things. From the hilarious lamebook (which we’ve featured here before) to the guilty pleasures of looking at particularly unfortunate wedding dresses, it’s just plain fun to look at things gone wrong.

Thankfully, the internet has no shortage of these kinds of compendiums, with which we’re free to while away boring afternoons at work. Sure, some sites are mean-spirited, but stay away from the really leery ones, and you can find all sorts of guilt-free surfing.

There’s a grand new destination that I’d like to alert you to: Cake Wrecks. That’s right — it’s a blog dedicated to terribly decorated cakes of all shapes, sizes and colors. It’s not every day that your blog making fun of something gets a lush, hardcover book to display some of the best (worst) examples of poor taste, so let’s take a moment to salute some of Cake Wreck’s success:

Picture, if you will, the original Mercury astronauts. You know — the guys with the “right stuff” strutting down the runway. Now, imagine if the original Mercury astronauts were — gasp — women? Well, it could have actually turned out that way, according to a new post at Wired Science.

Unbeknownst to myself, my Sally Ride-era sisters (yes, we’re spoiled), there was actually a Women in Space program (WISP) in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and a “Mercury 13," a corps of women who performed as well as. And, in many cases, better than the men who actually went on to make space history.

From the post:

"They were all extraordinary women and outstanding pilots and great candidates for what was proposed,” said Donald Kilgore, a doctor who evaluated both male and female space flight candidates at the Lovelace Clinic, a mid-century center of aeromedical research. “They came out better than the men in many categories. … The results of the women’s tests are described for the first time in an article published in the September Advances in Physiology Education, and show just how capable they [were].”

I’m not ashamed to say it — Felicia Day is my newest celebrity crush. If you watch her web series, The Guild (about a cast of online gamers), you’ll know why — she’s smart, talented, and, as the writer and creator of the series, geeky as can be.

Best of all though, she’s a gamer. She’s a real, honest-to-goddess hardcore video game enthusiast, out there making quality entertainment for dorks of all stripes. Imagine my excitement when I stumbled upon this Wired interview (written to herald the coming of The Guild on DVD), in which she extols the annoyances of Hollywood stereotyping and the pleasures of a good, geeky life:

In general, there’s nothing more frustrating than that stereotypical gamer — the teenager in the basement with his mom getting him Hot Pockets. That’s why I wrote the show as well; because that stereotype is not accurate. Every quirky girl doesn’t have to be the best-friend character. It’s a very limiting and self-fulfilling prophecy. People only write things that will get green-lit so they write to those stereotypes. And that’s why I think that the audience is crumbling. Because the things they perceive that the audience wants aren’t necessarily what the audience wants. I don’t identify with a lot of the things I see on TV nowadays. I’d probably rather be gaming, to be honest with you.

Amen, sister!

Buffy fans, have you enjoyed your Season 8 of the comic series continuation of the beloved cult TV hit? Well good, because I have some delightful news for you: Joss Whedon (series creator and überdork himself) has confirmed that there will be a Season 9 — after the full run of the current series is over.

From Splash Page:

“Well, 40 issues was always the goal, and that’s how we’re playing it," Whedon said of the current Season 8 run. "We’re around issue 30 now, we’ve got about 10 to go, five of which I have to write, so I have to get on that. Then we’ll pause for breath and then we’ll start Season 9. I have had for a long time a conception for Season 8 that is very different from Season 8. It may not run as long, because 40 issues sounds great until you realize that it’s four or five years."

Geeks, I have some good news and some bad news.

Let’s start with the bad. Cinephiles and LGBT folks everywhere should be very displeased with the unfortunate news that some jerk(s) in South Africa have torn down posters for the 16th annual Out In Africa Film Festival. Featuring funky illustrations of happy, same-sex lip locking, over 700 were ripped from lampposts around Cape Town.

From the festival’s site:

An outraged Out in Africa South African Gay and Lesbian Film Festival director Nodi Murphy has lodged a complaint with police. Some stupid twits with more time on their hands than brains trashed our gorgeous posters. And for what?

Murphy also expressed hopes that the perpetrator(s) get served with community service for their boneheaded deeds.

I would be a very bad geek columnist if I didn't touch on this week's biggest and most shocking bit of news: Disney, purveyor of all things cute and cuddly, just purchased Marvel, the studio behind some of the most bad ass superheroes, as well as their comic books movies, video games and action figures).

Holy cannoli, Batman! (I can say that because Bats is a DC character, and hence immune to the whole deal.)

There's certainly been a big geek response on Twitter. Many fans are not happy about this particular arrangement. Disney has that family image that say, Wolverine fans aren't taking too kindly to.

In the immortal words of Douglas Adams (he of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame): "Don't panic." Disney is probably (well, hopefully) smart enough to know that mixing Mickey Mouse with Magneto is a bad idea. Just look at the way that Pixar operates largely independently, and produces consistently excellent films, many of which are bona-fide geek favorites. (Wall-E, anyone?)

If you need a salve, take heart — you can watch the first episode of the Spider Woman motion comic right on Marvel's site for free.

I’ve got some bad news, Jessica Biel fans: It seems that the sexy starlet has been named “the most dangerous celebrity” on the Internet. It has nothing to do with any of the “usual” things celebrities do to stir up trouble, it’s the chances that some malicious cyber criminal has laced one of her pictures with malware. Apparently, fans searching for Biel online have a one-in-five chance of hitting a website or download that contains a nasty surprise.

She’s certainly not the only celeb who bears caution. The full list is available at CNET, and includes Beyonce, Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Simpson, Megan Fox, Angelina Jolie, Reese Witherspoon and our beloved Lindsay Lohan. In fact, of the top 15, only two men appear (Brad Pitt and Tom Brady, for those keeping count). It seems that women just make better bait for unsuspecting fans. That, or something about the nature of rumors, gossip and celebrity stalking just seems to center on the fairer sex. Women’s studies and media studies professors, get on it!

In any event, search safely. It bears saying that these aren’t necessarily searches for “naughty” photos (remember the infamous Anna Kournikova picture that was really hiding a virus?) — these are just ordinary search engine inquiries for celeb photos or information. Cruise in peace and safety.

Have you ever found yourself reading a print magazine and thought, "Hey, this is nice, but I really wish it were louder!” If so, you have very strange sensibilities — and you should get ready to run out and buy the September 18 issue of Entertainment Weekly, wherein CBS (and Pepsi Max) have planted the very first Video In Print (or VIP) promotion.

VIP (their clever marketing slogan, not mine) consists of a tiny screen that plays a short promo clip. It’s part of a multi-page spread hawking the CBS lineup, and it’s very loud. If you like to ingest your print media in peace, stay away!

Now, the video-enhanced run is only available in certain regions (New York and LA), and, of course, it’s just an advertisement. The only reason it’s so noteworthy is that it’s bridging the print media divide in the opposite direction of the general trend.