Posted at 3:30 a.m. - Wednesday, January 7

Here's a little sumtin'-sumtin that came to me via 'Geek Mail':

'Who loves Chicago? The Fuglees love Chicago and the Fuglees love to rock! Polygroin Records recording artist “The Fuglees” will be performing in Chicago this Saturday (January 10th) at Martyr’s. You may already know this entertaining power-pop trio for their hit songs “Crazy Girls” and “David Lee Roth”. Their high energy midwestern sound is reminiscent of Cheap Trick with the humor of Ben Folds. You can take a listen at thefuglees.com.'

'Comic book nerds may know the band’s bass player, comic book artist Andy Kuhn. For the past 15 years he has drawn comics for just about everyone including Marvel and DC. Andy’s current comic book “Firebreather” (published by Image Comics) is being produced as an animated feature for The Cartoon Network. The band’s third CD is due out this summer. If you’re wondering how Andy finds the time to do both, you can come out to Martyr’s this Saturday and ask him in person.'

Sounds like a good time to me!  Tickets are available online through MusicToday.Com.

And as always, if you've got an event that Geek & Nerd Nation should hear about, just drop me a line!

Posted at 1:30 p.m. - Wednesday, January 7

The 'internets' are just chock full of free content from aspiring writers and artists trying to get themselves noticed.  Most are talented folk who have yet to catch that 'big break' to make it into publishing.  And others are established professionals who just have a project that they're passionate about and want to share it in any way they can.

This is one of those 'others.'

Dan Jolley is an established professional writer who has worked for just about every major comic book company and is currently making a name for himself in the YA market.  He's written Batman, Superman, characters from the X-Men universe and numerous others, but today he brings us something...different.

REDEEMER'S LAW is, as Dan puts it, 'a contemporary pulp action sci-fi horror superhero story.'  That's a mouthfull indeed!  And better yet, you get to read Mr. Jolley's entire novel, chapter by chapter, for free and even get to comment on how the narrative is progressing!

That's an opportunity that doesn't present itself every day, y'know.

So I encourage all you superhero/sc-fi/horror/pulp fiction fans to check out Redeemer's Law...

And tell Mr. Jolley that you heard about it on the Geek To Me Blog!

CHECK IT OUT!

Posted at 10:15 a.m. - Monday, December 29

Christmas has passed and I'm still alive, despite catching one wicked flu bug that had me bed-ridden and fuzzy headed for most of the holiday.  I'm on the comeback trail right now, and while not a hundred percent just yet, I'm up and about and on the lookout for New Year's happenings and whatnot.

In the meantime, I'd encourage you to check out my guest appearance on the Around Comics podcast with Chris Neseman and Tom Stillwell of Spinner Rack Comics.

We have a nice discussion about comics and what it's like to write for a licensed property like Xena: Warrior Princess and Army of Darkness.

Please check it out and feel free to comment below!

Posted at 12:05 p.m. - Saturday, November 22

Now here's a fun film that just goes to show the kind of talent we have here in the Windy City!  The League is a 'thesis film' for Chapman University by filmmakers Kyle Higgins and Alec Siegel that features everything you would expect in a big-budget production: solid production design, great costumes and top-notch special effects.

Also involved in the production was professional comic-book artist Eric Wight, who is known for his work on The Escapist for Dark Horse Comics and Justice League of America for DC.

The film plays with all the archetypes of the comics genre, from The Dark Avenger to the sidekick to the cosmic hero and puts them in a perilous world of dark dealings and back-alleys where nothing is quite as it appears to be.

You can watch this gem of film for FREE on The League web site!

CHECK IT OUT!

Posted at 4:40 p.m. - Friday, November 21

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures comes TWO MORE poster images for the upcoming STAR TREK feature film by JJ Abrams:

Eric Bana as 'Nero' and...

Zoe Saldana as 'Uhura.'

Now, I just hope they don't go all 'Dawson's Creek' with the sensibilities of the film.  Yes, Eric Bana brings quite a bit of gravitas to any role he plays, but I, quite frankly, haven't heard much about many of the others in the cast outside of Simon Pegg (Scotty).

Comments!  Comments!  Comments below!

Posted at 8:15 p.m. - Monday, November 17

The 2008 Wonder How To Award winners were announced and a interesting bunch of DIY videos were selected.  Here's one of my favorites, where a guy who specializes in close-up magic scams people into believing he has super-strength.  It's so simple, so obvious, and yet so clever.

http://www.wonderhowto.com/awards08/magic/

Here are the rest:

Hmmm...'Toilet train a cat'?

Let me know if these videos work for you!

Posted at 7:35 p.m. - Thursday, November 13

Courtesy of Yahoo Movies comes a new Watchmen trailer:

Zach Snyder has nailed the opening sequence to the series with this imagery.  As Borat would say: Verrrrry Niiiize.

I'd like to know what Geek To Me readers think about it so comment below!

Posted at 6:30 p.m. - Monday, November 10

Allow me introduce you to one of my new favorite local filmmakers: Joe Avella.  Joe gave me a shout via geek-mail about a month ago and has been sharing his film shorts with me.

Here's what he had to say about himself: 'My name is Joe Avella and I'm an independent filmmaker. I've lived in or around Chicago all my life. Most of my videos are comedies. The first movie I ever made was a zombie move. Hopefully I'll make another one someday. I'm also in a sketch comedy duo called Teenager of the Year. We're legit.'

You can check out his web site to learn more about him, but I wanted you to check out one of his short films: Timecop 2010.  (Geek credits to the viewer who can tell me where the sfx were lifted from.)

If you are a local film maker who'd like me to check out your stuff, drop me a line!

I've got some cool stuff for the Redeye in the works, which has kept me away from the blog for a bit, but it won't be for much longer.  So until I can get back into the groove, here's a little sumthin'-sumthin from the dorks over at Geek Pad.

Sigh.  Will they ever learn...

Posted at 1:55 p.m. - Tuesday, November 4

Using the very best that modern technology has to offer, the votes have all been tallied and the next President of the United States has been determined...

Ok, not really, but Geek To Me readers may recall the Rock The Vote 'election' that took place on-line to determine who would be our next toon leader.

This is from the Peanuts Rock The Vote site:

The red states, blue states, swing states, dog states and cat states have all had their say. The votes have been tallied across the country. And today, the balloons are dropping from the ceiling of the doghouse: Snoopy has been declared the winner in the online (mock) Presidential election at www.peanutsrocksthevote.com.

The fiercely contested five-way race also featured strong showings by Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus and Sally, who offered diverse platforms and campaign slogans (such as Charlie Brown’s “Equal rights for blockheads!” Linus’s “Improving education—about the Great Pumpkin” and Lucy’s “Crabbiness you can count on!”). Voters were also encouraged to register to vote in the real Presidential election on November 4.

Several thousand participants nationwide voted in the Peanuts election, with California boasting a particularly strong turnout. Snoopy was the golden boy in the Golden State, beating the next runner-up, Linus, by more than 2 to 1.  Yet the blanket-clutching, thumb-sucking philosopher found his own independent-minded constituency in New England, winning both Vermont and New Hampshire.

Voters in Nebraska, Montana and Maryland know a real man when they see one, giving Charlie Brown a victory over his own dog in those states. He also made a strong showing in non-wishy-washy South Dakota.

A strong female candidate played well with voters in New Mexico, Delaware and Michigan, who cast their ballots for Linus’ bossy big sister, Lucy: She won New Mexico, tied Snoopy in Delaware, and came in a strong second in Michigan.  While Sally didn’t win any states outright, Charlie Brown’s little sister did come in second to Snoopy in the Sunshine State of Florida—and as the youngest of the group, Sally’s political light may be just beginning to shine.

So...a female President in our future?  Time will tell...