Blogathon Season!

So me being a neophyte in this whole blogging thing (4 months in!) I decided to try one of these "Blogathon" deals, and before I knew it I was wrangled into two!

If you look down my page a bit to the left you will see an image in the sidebar entitled "Shatnerthon" (Hosted by this lovely ladies blog) with a pic of the Shat-man himself. Essentially between July 5th-9th I will be trying to throw some Shatner themed posts up along with several other bloggers. Should be fun, and you should all feel free to visit her blog and let her know if you want to participate in the celebration of one of the greatest thespians to ever wield a phaser!

The second blogathon is from the forums of my favorite movie news site (and employer!) JoBlo.com where a handful of us film geek bloggers decided to host our own round robin style JoBlogathon! The deal is we get recommended a film by one other Schmoe and in return recommend them a flick to watch and then the fun begins, reviews, rants, emotional meltdowns and even possibly the discovery of our new favorite film!

My homework is to watch 2002's Equilibrium, starring Christian Bale, Dominic Purcell and Sean Bean. I can't wait! So stay tuned for my thoughts on Equilibrium and Shatner!

Don't be alarmed if all of a sudden my blog posts actually get awesome!

Real Hovering DeLorean?! Great Scott!

Source: Jalopnik

You built a hovercraft out of a DeLorean?!

Mathew Riese figured if he was going to take the time to build a damn hovercraft he was going to do it in style! This labor of love has taken two years to get to the point it is at now, but it isn't complete yet!

Matt has run into a couple of problems during the development of this wondrous vehicle. The first being that DeLoreans aren't actually that aerodynamic so creating an actual flying car is out of the question until flubber is invented. So he settled on making a hovercraft, which is still pretty legit!

The second major hitch is like all good college students Matt is poor, and he needs financial help to finish what could easily be the coolest thing since news broke about the Back to the Future hoverboard a few weeks ago.

Except this will actually work!

If you can find it in your heart to help out poor Matt you can check out his page here: DeLorean's Kickstarter Donation Page. At the time of this writing he had almost half of his target $5,500. No word yet on if the donation would be tax deductable, but you would be making the world a better place!

Don't think I am pimping this project (Even though I kind of am, because it's awesome!) Matt has his own sales pitch:

"Video games can never be art."

Source: Gizmodo

Those words launched a tirade of criticism, and you may be surprised who uttered them. Or you may recall the esteemed Roger Ebert (I mean that in all sincerity, the dude was the first film critic that received a Pulitzer!) refusing to believe that video games can ever be a legitimate art form.

Whether you agree or disagree with that statement you should know Ebert has just recently come out with an 1,800 word pseudo-apology. Right in the first paragraph he states "I still believe this, but I should never have said so" which is somewhat counter intuitive for a critic to admit.

But since uttering those infamous words gamers have not let him hear the end of it, and he felt it was worth rehashing after watching a TED speech given by video game designer and producer Kellee Santiago that argues against Ebert that video games are, in fact, a legitimate art form.

Ebert's passion for films is indisputable and has always been one of my most trusted sources for film reviews and criticisms, but I have to agree with Santiago on this one. Video games are art, they just happen to be a little more entertaining than a painting.

Idiot-Proof Batteries

Source: Gizmodo

We have all been there, fumbling around with our positives and our negatives.

Sometimes it is the simplest of tasks that can suck out all of your patience. Replacing the batteries can be a real b*tch, but Microsoft has given us a glimmer of a future where it doesn't matter what end goes which way with the creation of its new InstaLoad batteries.

This newly patented technology uses a new contact design that will make having to remember which way the batteries go into your remote a unmissed pastime. InstaLoad batteries will come in all of the usual flavors: AA, AAA, D, C and even CR123 (What the hell are those used for?!)

Finally, Microsoft is thinking about the little guy!

UPDATE: CR123 are lithium batteries, man that was bothering me ...

Redbox Dabbles in Video Games

Source: Home Media Magazine

It is a cautious start, but Redbox now not only rents out DVDs and some Blu-rays but a very limited catalog of video games as well.

Last week Redbox started experimenting with $2 a night game rentals in about 150 kiosks Austen, TX as well as lukewarm efforts in Reno, NV and Wilmington, NC. If you are in one of these localities and are a gamer who rents it may behoove to check this out.

The success or failure of these limited rentals may dictate how and if Redbox decides to make a major video game push. I think Redbox has every intention on adding video games to its wares in the near future, regardless of how these trial runs turn out, as video game rentals is big business racking in about $10 billion dollars annually.

The key to adding video games to the Redbox kiosks is simply a matter of space economy. These entertainment vending machines can only hold so much, and video games will need to be able to earn their place inside of them. If DVDs and Blu-rays can earn more then games simply will not be included.

It has been a while since I actually rented a game (I can't tell you how many times I forced my mom to rent Battletoads/Double Dragon for the NES back in the day) but is $2 a day too steep? Or do you guys feel that is fairly reasonable?