Avenger Vision

Alongside the 3D release of The Avengers movie, theaters will have collectible 3D glasses available for purchase. This is what they look like:

While I think they're cool, doesn't the Thor one look like it has a Spiderman theme? And then the Captain America ones are pretty much just...blue. It's a little underwhelming. The Iron Man ones are cool, though.

Game of Thrones Teaser Trailer

HBO finally aired a significant teaser trailer for the next season of Game of Thrones (which premieres on April 1st). I've already watched it twice, and it was a lot more exciting than the previous teaser HBO released (though I suppose teasers are supposed to get more exciting the closer you get to release day). Everything seems significantly awesome, if I do say so. I was a little disappointed we didn't see Brienne of Tarth or Davros Seaworth (though we could have seen Davros because my apartment is way too bright for the dark scenes on Dragonstone, but I doubt it). I also think that showing Pyat Pree/the warlocks from Qarth's House of the Undying, with their blue lips, could be a sweet scene for a teaser trailer.

Anyway, without further ado, here is the video:

And here is the previous trailer, if you haven't seen it:

There's no words in Elvish, Entish or the tongues of men for this awesomeness

IGN reported today that Turbine has announced a new expansion for Lord of the Rings Online--Riders of Rohan. Characters can now reach level 85, and characters will be able to participate in mounted combat AND meet the Ents of Fangorn Forest.

I only dabble in playing LOTRO, so I haven't felt the need to invest in the Rise of Isengard expansion. However, the Riders of Rohan expansion has me excited, and I will probably start playing LOTRO more and buy this expansion when it comes out in the fall. This news, the Hobbit premiere in December, plus the LEGO news reported last week, has made me one very happy Tolkien fan this year.

Procrastination = Pretty Sci-Fi Jewelry

It's only a day later and I'm procrastinating again, this time by looking at pretty sci-fi geekery jewelry on etsy. I was a little disappointed by my A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones findings, but this search is proving to be much more rewarding.

First, Annie Nygard of the shop SpiffingJewelry has made several Firefly quote necklaces. This one is my personal favorite, but there are a few to choose from. Of course, if you get this you probably couldn't wear it to class.

I also love her Han/Leia jewelry and I am getting this snitch necklace for my boyfriend's sister, who is graduating college this spring. Or maybe for her birthday, if it's before graduation (I forget when it is. Oops.)

In honor of the upcoming release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 3-D (not that this is really something we should be honoring), here are some pit droid earrings, which I found absolutely adorable. They are made by Sue Clark and available in her OutFromMyAttic store.

However, I would have to buy this AT-AT necklace, which would go excellently with my recently altered AT-AT tank (I'll have to put a picture of it up once I get it just right). I'm a sucker for an AT-AT, and I'm not sure why. Maybe they remind me of giant, mechanical puppies? I don't know. Anyway, this cute necklace is made by cassasstrophe and for sale at her shop of the same name.

I was always a little bit more of a Trek girl than a Wars girl, though, so here's something I actually squealed over when I found it: a bat'leth necklace. Apparently, the artist, Lindsey Woodward, and her boyfriend are regular con venders--here's hoping I see them sometimes. Their store is TwoTree and their business is Two Tree Illustrations. I'd suggest checking them out--their account suggests that the Vegas Star Trek Convetion would be a good place to start! The store looks amazing, and I want this. so. bad.

Also, they have Borg cube earrings. Squeal again.

Like most other living, breathing individuals, one of my favorite sci-fi video games is Portal. And, since it is so popular, that means that etsy is full of AMAZING pieces. The turrets are some of my favorite...characters... in Portal (mostly because they're polite enough not to hold a grudge when I KO them), and these earrings are excellent.

They're made by knil and for sale in the shop, also called knil. The whole shop is definitely worth a look--it's full of Zelda, Skyrim and Kingdom Hearts merchandise.

Also, while it's technically horror, Resident Evil has a definite sci-fi element to it (I mean, the whole premise is based on the horrors of biochemical engineering). YellerCrakka has come up with the perfect way to show a friend how you feel with these T-Virus and anti-virus friendship necklaces. Of course, if you really cared you'd probably have to give them the anti-virus. You could probably just say you really like blue and keep it for yourself, though, just in case. Once again, the entire shop is worth browsing. It's full of wondrous geekiness, plus some steampunk goodies.

I should probably start doing some of my school work (and work work) now, so have fun browsing!

Resident Evil 6 Announced

      I have good news and bad news.

      Capcom has officially announced Resident Evil 6. That may be the good news--the truly good news, in my opinion, is that you once again get to play as Leon S. Kennedy (and Chris Redfield too). It is said to be released on November 20, 2012.
      Ok, now savor that for a minute.
      The bad news is that each playable character (Leon, Chris, and a yet-unidentified mercenary) has a companion.
       I do sometimes appreciate the companion characters--after all, it allowed my brother and I to play co-op in Resident Evil 5. However, it is only while playing co-op that I appreciate these characters. I hate that they have annoying voices, I hate that they can't manage to be useful, and I hate that they always chase you around with green herbs. I had to force Sheva to use a useful weapon by taking away all of her non-useful weapons because otherwise she wanted to do nothing but stun rod everything, including the chainsaw zombies. I died about a hundred times trying to get through that area until I realized that was what she was doing--using a stun gun and picking up all the ammo, leaving me with none.
      I'm pretty sure Sheva wanted me dead.
      So now, in Resident Evil 6, we get a split-perspective story line (that will undoubtedly meet up at the climax) and three different companion characters (to hate). Were any of the companion characters ever popular? And by popular, I mean appreciated by players that didn't just like to check out the female-shaped pixels. I don't think the answer to this question is in the affirmative, which makes me wonder why these characters keep popping up in Resident Evil games. I do appreciate the ability to play co-op, but I'm not sure it's enough to justify the resentment these companion characters instill in me. What's your position on the companion characters? Does the co-op ability make them worthwhile?

Etsy Treats for the A Song of Ice and Fire Geeks

My currently-reigning obsession is George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series (better known as Game of Thrones to the layman). So, since I am sick and not in the mood to do any political science tonight, I decided to go on etsy and post some of my favorite A Song of Ice and Fire crafts for you fellow fans. I know that as soon as the month rolls around and/or I get paid, I'm going to snag some of these.

This first one is a decal for your laptop, car or anywhere else. Artist Benjamin Daniels of the PerfectlyAligned shop sells a lot of different decals for different areas of geekery, but this is one of my favorites.

Shop owner Jerry Amsterdam (shop jerryamsterdam) has made these coasters for most of the main houses of A Song of Ice and Fire. 

Excellent, right? You can get these in Baratheon, Targaryen, Stark, Lannister, Greyjoy, Tully, and Arryn.

This is a Greyjoy coffee mug (it also comes in Stark, Targaryen and Baratheon) hand-painted by Veronica Sherwood and sold in the GeekCraftee Store. I think that the detail in this painting is excellent work!

This is a necklace with a hand-made dragon egg pendant. It's probably the best one I saw on Etsy, made by Candice Bates and in the sbuderfly store. 

That's all for tonight. Here's hoping I'm more active this week than I was last week!

Space-saving AND Timey-Wimey

     When I move out of my apartment at grad school and (probably) back into my parents' house after I graduate, I will be giving some of my furniture to my sister (who is moving into a house for her senior year in college). Since I will be losing some of my stuff--and will need to redecorate my room at home--I was looking for some cool furniture that reflects both my need for space and my personality.
     Speaking of space, I found it. And I use space in two different ways.
     This was posted back in December on fanboy.com and was created by user msmuse1 and msmuse1's dad. I wonder how much it would cost to commission one and get it sent from across the pond. I think it's absolutely brilliant, and that my Gollum statue (from the Extended Edition of The Two Towers) would look just as much at home in there as msmuse1's.

New DC Logo Already a Bit Stale...

     In a bit of slightly stale news, I would like to take this moment to rant about the new DC logo. I know that when the current logo was revealed, there was a lot of complaints about it. I know that they expect a lot of complaints about the new logo, as well. But I think that these complaints are completely justified.

    This is the logo for DC Comics. The logo for DC Entertainment, the section of the company for movies and other media, is the same--just substitute "Entertainment" for "Comics". 

     The thing about this logo that is so wrong is that it's completely lackluster. This is the home of Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern--characters that are larger than life. Can they really be represented by a small, gray and white logo? I am not saying that the logo itself is horrible--I like how they combined the D and C in a creative way. However, I maintain that it doesn't fit the company. It would work well for something else--does anyone know of a company called Dawson Construction, or something of that ilk?

     I don't mean to be a bitter fangirl (ok, maybe a little), but I just can't get over how this logo just doesn't fit the image I have of DC--and I'm a little resentful of it. What does everyone else think of it?

The First Avenger has the First Perspective

     I haven't worried much about The Avengers movie that is coming out this summer. It's probably because Joss Whedon's at the helm, and those are basically the most capable hands I know of in Geekdom. He's always done well with large casts, from Buffy to Firefly. And I like the way he is approaching The Avengers. While he assures us that all characters are going to be featured equally (though I still can't shake the feeling that Hawkeye is going to get the shaft, pun intended), the movie will be largely from Steve Rogers/Captain America's perspective.
     And this makes me happy.
     First, we aren't going to get muddles down with a thousand different points of view. Second, I think the Captain America movie was the most successful of all the individual movies that led up to The Avengers. I know that this may not be an opinion that is shared by everyone--especially since Iron Man was so well-received. I thought that Chris Evans was great in the role, and I was completely ready for the movie to go on for another hour or two after he work up in the present day.
     So I am basically getting my wish, since Joss made Cap's perspective the dominant one. We get to see him adapt to a whole new world (Thor, though technically in a different world, goes to enough of them that it doesn't really phase him--especially if he has Mjolnir). It's this journey I look forward to seeing.
Also, this gives some credence to the rumors that Hugo Weaving will be reprising his role as Red Skull. Whether he will actually show in the present day, or only be there in flashbacks (though what the flashback to that we haven't seen in the Captain America movie is certainly a question), I'm excited to see him again. Hugo Weaving is excellent in any role, especially when he plays the villain.

Wait...what?

Favorite superhero of the year? Please.

     That awkward moment when the voters for the People's Choice Awards selected Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern as the best superhero this year.
     I appreciate Ryan Reynolds as much as the next person (and as much as the next young woman), but really? I think this is best explained by the fact that 1) most of the people who vote for the People's Choice Awards tend to be in the younger demographic--and not exactly the type of kids who will go see several superhero movies in one year (though I doubt they saw Green Lantern because, really, who did?) and 2) they probably looked at the category, saw Ryan Reynolds' name, and voted for him without knowing anything about the actors or movies nominated.
     Ultimately, of course, the People's Choice Awards don't really matter (so neither does this blog post). This is just my "wait...what?" moment of the day for you all :).

LEGO Successfully Markets a Direct Link to my Bank Account

This summer, LEGO is coming out with sets based on the works by J.R.R. Tolkien. There will be sets based on both the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and the upcoming Hobbit films. I'm expecting that they will be similar to the Star Wars collection (except for buildings instead of spaceships, naturally) rather than the DC Superhero or Indiana Jones sets. I have been pining for the Slave I set, but with this news I've decided to wait until the Lord of the Rings sets come out. Here's hoping for a Minas Tirith or Barud-dur set.

The Dark Knight Rises...Six Months Early

     So the news on the internet is that there are already midnight showings of The Dark Knight Rises which are sold out in New York and LA. Apparently, Warner Bros. gives theaters discretion over when they begin to sell advanced tickets and these theaters began to sell them when the DKR prologue played during the new Mission Impossible movie. 

     Similarly, advanced tickets for The Hunger Games will go on sale on February 22nd. This is an official move by Lionsgate, who have decide to put tickets on 74 days before the release due to the fact that the film revolves around the fictional 74th annual Hunger Games. While the DKR advance sales have only been for the midnight showing, the news  about The Hunger Games isn't clear about which showings will go on sale. 

     Personally, I hope these super-advanced ticket sales won't become a trend. I already plan to see both of these movies at midnight, which means I will have to buy tickets early. At least with The Hunger Games I know what day the tickets will go on sale. It seems like I am going to need to constantly check for advanced tickets for The Dark Knight Rises--which is slightly annoying. Though significantly less annoying than not getting midnight tickets. 

     Is anyone else alarmed by these advanced ticket sales? Do you think they could become a trend?