Why I've never been to Dragon*Con...

Years back while searching the internet for conventions I could attend I happened upon the Dragon*Con website. It looked like a lot of fun. It wasn't specific to just one genre I liked, it included just about all of them. I checked the date. Labor Day weekend. Damn. The one weekend each year I have standing plans. So, what could possibly be so important I couldn't miss it? The Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon.

I'm pretty sure most of you know already but for those of you who don't, I have Muscular Dystrophy. There are over 40 neuromuscular diseases that fall under the category of MD and my specific type is Spinal Muscular Atrophy. I was diagnosed when I was two and a half and have been dealing with it's effects ever since. I started using a motorized scooter in high school but I still have the ability to walk short distances.

So far, there is no cure. This is something we strive to change each year with the Telethon and we're getting close. My first appearance on the show was while I was the New Jersey Poster Child for the Muscular Dystrophy Association at age 7. I officially opened the New York portion of the Telethon that year and have added to my on-air duties there with each passing year. It was my involvement with MDA and their Telethon that led me on my chosen career path. I studied Communications in college after learning I had a knack for on-camera work and that I really enjoyed it too. In fact, it was due to my appearance on the Telethon after graduating that earned me my current job as a DJ at 94.3 The Point.

Lots of people have grown up watching the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon but I think it's important now to get a younger generation involved who may not know much about the Telethon or even Muscular Dystrophy itself. If you've never watched, give it a look this year. There's always lots of great entertainment to go along with the education.

Of course, if you have the means I would hope you donate to finding a cure and helping those with MD in their every day lives. The funds raised this weekend will go towards research as well as funding MDA camps around the country and making sure those affected by the disease have the care and the accessibility items they need in their daily routines. I know you probably hear this a lot but any amount you can give is a good amount. 

This year MDA is also doing something a little different to raise money. If you click the picture above you'll see the great variety of auctions going on until September 4. If you can't afford to make a donation I would highly recommend you getting in touch with your local MDA office and learning how you can volunteer. Every volunteer I've ever talked to (and there are a lot) has told me what a great experience it is.

This year will be no different for me. I'll head into an empty New York on Monday where it will look like a veritable ghost town because, for most people, Labor Day weekend is synonymous with vacation. Not for me. Labor Day weekend isn't relaxing, it's when the point is really driven home for me. I spend most of my year trying to forget I've got MD and live a normal life but this will be my 18th year appearing on the Telethon and I'll be 26 this December. Over the years I've seen good people taken by this disease and in my view, Labor Day is a time to get serious and do everything I can to make sure this is the last year I have to spend my Labor Day in a TV studio. We are so close to finding a cure! Some day soon I will be able to attend Dragon*Con and it won't be because they've changed the weekend it's held.

If you're in the NY area and can receive that local broadcast of the Telethon on Channel 9 be sure to watch for me. My taped check presentations from MDA Camp last week will be airing 7:45 am Monday morning and I'll be presenting an award to a good friend of mine live on the show after 5:00 pm Monday as well.

Spoke too soon.

Breaking news of sorts. X-Files star David Duchovny has checked himself into a rehab center. For sexual addiction. No, this isn't (as far as I know) promotion for the next season of Showtime's Emmy Nominated Californication, this is for real.

People.com was the first to report. "I have voluntarily entered a facility for the treatment of sex addiction. I ask for respect and privacy for my wife and children as we deal with this situation as a family," Duchovny said in his exclusive statement to the magazine.

This news comes as a shock from Duchovny who's been married to actress Téa Leoni for over ten years and with whom he has two children. The statment was delivered by his lawyer Stanton Stein and was later confirmed by his publicist Flo Grace to the Associated Press.

The new season of Californication begins September 28. I'm sure the irony of his character, a sex-obsessed writer, and this real life drama will not be lost on anyone in the coming weeks.

Best of luck David.

Am I still awake?

Despite my very best efforts to go to bed early last night I ended up sleeping all of about an hour. Surprisingly I'm still standing. Err...sitting.

Besides a slight hallucination early on, the entire morning went smoothly. Haha. I'm SO not a morning person. But co-hosting the Lou & Liz Morning show was a lot of fun as it always is. Lou is lucky I took it really easy on him. My teasing reflexes must have been off for lack of sleep. 

The Pet of the Week was an adorable dog named Rocks. He's eight months old and gave me lots of kisses. My favorite part was that he loves belly rubs. How can you not enjoy a day that begins with that?

Fellow Point DJ, Web Master and all-around swell guy Dan Alexander was able to scan the Elle Magazine article for me and post it on my bio page. Here it is for any of you who weren't able to get your hands on a copy:

Page One

Page Two (with me!)

Now, barring any unforeseen nerdy news, it's pillow time.

Ok, one last thing and then I'm done for the night.

In the span of two weeks I find myself waking up before noon once again. This is unheard of.

I just got invited to co-host the Lou & Liz morning show tomorrow on my radio station 94.3 The Point. Besides making fun of Lou the entire time, I'll be promoting the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon, which I'll be making an appearance on THIS MONDAY (More to come on that later). We'll also chat about my blog and my recent appearance in Elle Magazine. So don't miss it!

The show runs from 6-10am (EST) but I'll likely be showing up around 7/7:30. The awesome Pet of the Week segment is around 8:15 and I can't miss that! Haha. It was always my favorite part of the week when I produced for Lou & Liz.

If you're in the area tune into 94.3 FM. If you're not, don't worry! We stream our broadcast live on our website.

Also a quick update on a change for TheNerdyBird.com itself. I just installed those nifty bookmarking widgets from Add This below every entry. Now instead of just being able to Digg my blogs you can share it with any other services you might use as well (Facebook, Furl, Reddit, StubleUpon, Technorati, etc.). So get clickin'! I'm gonna go fall asleep now. I hope.

You can help improve the NYCC!

The New York Comic Con will be coming up on it's fourth year this February 6-8. Anyone who's attended the three previous installments knows it's improved with each year but they still have some kinks to work out. Now you have a chance to help.

Lance Fensterman who runs the official NYCC blog, Medium at Large, is looking for fans to volunteer for a focus group of sorts. In his own words:

I'm organizing a NYCC Confab next Wednesday in NYC (most sane people would call it a focus group, but that just seemed lame - plus I won't be behind a one way mirror) and I'm looking for fans with ideas and opinons about the show to help us make it better. What do you get out of it? Free lunch, free weekend pass, plenty of time to thumb wrestle with me and the pride to know that you helped build a better NYCC in 2009.

This sounds like a great idea, unfortunately I won't be around next Wednesday to participate but I thought I'd spread the word. He says space is limited so contact him soon through the blog if you are interested.

The Nerdy Bird Adores - The Brave and the Bold #16

The Brave and the Bold has been a hit or miss book with me. Some have been so great (Supergirl & Lobo) while others (Superman & Ultraman) have not. I'm bound to like it when Batman is teamed up with anyone but this past week they lured me in with another favorite. Catwoman. I'm such a sucker.

"I can hear you."

Sometimes I forget Catwoman used to be a hooker (well, depending on who you ask). That is until she talks about Superman like this, "It's always the bad boys with me. Maybe just this once I should consider a Boy Scout. It's not like I'm going to break him. Despite my very best efforts. Mmmm." Wow, Catwoman just made me blush. The Brave and the Bold has been said to exist "in a really nice apartment right next to continuity," so I guess that's how they get away with it seeming like this is the first time she's run into Superman. 

"Where are the wigs?"

Against his better judgement Superman decides to go undercover with Catwoman at a high-price auction where a map to Clayface's protoplasmic pool is being sold. Of course before they do anything they must find disguises. Catwoman thinks he's doing a lousy job of it and whips an outfit together that is an exact recreation of his usual Clark Kent get-up. It was pretty great to see him bumbling around like usual and her thinking it was an act.

"SMAK"

With barely any effort at all a vial of the pool is back in the hands of the good guys and a few partially Clay-mated bad guys are rounded up and handed over to the authorities.  Catwoman had so much fun she suggests doing it again, next time in Metropolis with Poison Ivy. Superman can't say no enough but asks, "She's the one who dresses just in leaves?" Yep. That'll be a double-no from the Boy Scout. Hrmph. Batman would've said yes.

The Nerdy Bird Adores - Superman/Batman #51

For most of us, comics equals cool. Obviously some people in this world consider them the exact opposite but we'll forget about them for right now. Seeing a superhero overcome great odds or do something really spectacular with their powers makes our hearts swell with pride. A great issue can make us really happy and cause us to wonder how everyone in the world isn't reading comics too. Then there are girls like me. I read comics and react the same way to those great epic moments yet I also live for those adorable panels the wonderful creators seem to stick in now and then. As luck would have it, it's been happening a whole lot lately so I'm starting something new: The Nerdy Bird Adores

"I'm the goshdarn Batma--"

Now, I'm speaking from a girl's perspective, that's not to say that guys don't or shouldn't find this kind of stuff adorable too it's just that I'm probably more likely to admit it in public. How anyone wouldn't find Superman/Batman #51 adorable is beyond me! A younger (?) smaller version of Superman and Batman show up playing the hero just like their larger counterparts and acting very much like children. And we all know how much Batman loves children.

It's all fun and games for the Lil' Capes until they realize the Big Capes aren't taking them seriously. Of course Lil' Batman is the first to go off. He makes sure they know why he became a crime-fighter.

"Two shoves and nothing was ever the same again."

That's right, his parents were pushed, not shot and are still alive. And they were also about the same height as him. Big Batman decides his origin story is best left for another time. Of course Lil' Superman's parents are still alive and well too as is all of Krypton. They sent him away to Earth because it was going to rain. To the writers of this issue, Michael Green and Mike Johnson, you are amazing.

Things got a little weird when the Lil' League showed up. They were all over the place like kids on a jungle-gym and then Lil' Superman scooped up Lois in his arms with hearts floating around his head that were visible to everyone. Then the girls took it a bit too far...

"Are those lips?"

Eeek! Lil' Vixen, Wonder Woman, Black Canary and Supergirl are going after Robin! With floating lips! The rest was cute but this borders on creepy. Notice Lil' Flash's reaction to all the attention?

Obviously Mr. Mxyzptlk is behind it all, though not much else gets resolved in this issue, just a whole lotta adorable. A crew of Lil' Villains shows up as our cliff-hanger for the next issue though. Doomsday says, "Woof." Enough! There's only so much cute I can take in one sitting. Actually there was more than one issue this week that meets these standards but I'll save that for tomorrow. That's it for the first edition of The Nerdy Bird Adores.

In Memoriam (Venture Bros. Spoilers Ahead)

Season three of one of my favorite shows, The Venture Bros. came to a close last night with a bang. Literally. Part 2 of "The Family That Slays Together, Stays Together" was filled with action, suspense and lots and lots of murder. 

I actually watched Part 1 right before the second half so forgive me if some of what I write blends them together. It was one big episode anyway.  First and foremost, thank god Molotov Cocktease finally showed up. I would have been sorely disappointed if she wasn't included this season. Though, did anyone else notice her looking a little haggard this time around? I still wouldn't mind being part of her Black Hearts Elimination Agency, those costumes were awesome.

There was a great line about recording Battlestar Galactica but the one exchange I probably loved the most was Hank discussing Batman with Le Tueur, the assassin who has a thing for Silver Age comics and who happened to be wearing a Batman towel when Hank spots him. Hank actually reveals having knowledge of wearing a Batman costume and jumping off a building (one of the several ways we know he's died) but thinks it was probably just a dream. Le Tueur later reveals he only likes Batman because he's got the best villains.

Other favorite moments; The car chase scene with Herr Trigger that was straight out of Spy Hunter, Go-Fish getting his head taken off by a shark wearing a Brock suit (btw, how long has Brock been wearing a wig?), The Cleaner who I expected to show up looking like Harvey Keitel actually looking like Mr. Clean and Dr. Girlfriend playing Good-cop with H.E.L.P.eR.

Speaking of H.E.L.P.eR, it must be said he's one of my favorite characters. He was really put through the ringer in these episodes. From taking one for the team by acting like landing gear for the jet to getting played by Dr. Girlfriend and ultimately completely blown up, I really felt bad for the little fella. At least he's a robot and can be rebuilt, others are not so lucky. That brings us to...

...Henchman 24. Earlier this season 21 and 24 were gloating about how they always survive even when all the other henchmen around them are dying horribly. Well from what we saw this episode it seems their luck has run out. They decided the best idea during the huge fight at the end was to hide in the Monarchs car, unfortunately that's where H.E.L.P.eR (with a bomb strapped to him) decided to go as well. Henchman 21 dives out of the car and realizes 24 is still there. He was wearing his seat belt in a parked car. “Why did you buckle it? Why would you do that?!” screamed 21. "I don't knooooooow!" replied 24 as the car went careening away and finally blew up throwing what appears to be 24's head into 21's lap. The End.

The unlucky 13th Shirt Club offering is that shot of 24 above (and a big 24 on the back). I'm sure this one is going to be their best seller. All in all I was a little disappointed with the Shirt Club. I was waiting specifically for Dr. Girlfriend and Molotov shirts. I got the awesome mod Dr. Girlfriend shirt and I hope I got my order in on time for the Black Hearts tank, if not, I'll be extremely disappointed. For the most part Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer are happy with the success of the shirts though they've had some bumps along the way as documented on Jackson's Livejournal. I wonder if they'll think it's worth it to do this all again next season.

Season 4 is already partially underway but Jackson says they are going to take a break. Initially he thought they could work straight through just to get it done but he said he'd rather the show not suffer because of that. He's estimating a Fall 2009 start and reported some extremely exciting news; One of the first two episodes of next season will feature none other than Kevin Conroy! I can't even imagine what they're going to do with him. The possibilities are endless.

CRE-ATE! CRE-ATE! CRE-ATE!

My friend passed this along to me and said, "You totally need one." I totally do.

"It exterminates all in it's path and is planning domination of the known universe starting with Wolverhampton." God I love British television.

So, it's powered by a mobility scooter? I have one of those! Seriously, what a great idea. I wonder what it's like for people in England when they see a Dalek roaming the streets. I guess it would kind of be like a Terminator walking down your block. Now that would be a sight!

My favorite line from the whole thing has to be, "Do you think this would go down well with the girls on a night out?" "Yeah, if it had a stripper inside it." Ok, so maybe THAT would be a sight to see.

And yes, he is available for children's parties.

I skipped comics today for a good cause.

I also bravely got up at 7 am this morning which, for me, is a number rarely seen. The reason for these two shocking events was simple. VIP Day at MDA Camp in NY.

I was asked to visit camp once again this year to film some check presentations that will air on the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon in a little over a week from now. You'll only be able to view my piece if you're in the Tri-State area as it will air on the local NY portion of the Telethon. I met some great new people and got the chance to catch up with a bunch of old friends at the same time. Plus it turned out to be one of the nicest days of the whole year.

Above are two extremely talented and warm-hearted individuals who I've had the pleasure of working with on several MDA videos over the last few years, Adam Browne and Brendan Choisnet. Together they co-own the television and video production company, Plywood Pictures. This year the guys won the MDA Broadcast Journalism Award for their Summer Camp Profile/Feature from last year. They really deserve it, they put a lot of hard work into their projects.

Speaking of their projects they have something really special coming up that I'd like to fill you all in on. Adam and Brendan directed a feature film written by their friend Daniel Nayeri called, The Cult of Sincerity. Earlier this year it had it's world-premiere on Youtube. Yup, that's a first. 

Even more exciting is the news I just found out this week. The Cult of Sincerity will be airing on PBS New York City (Channel 13) this Saturday at 11:15 pm! The film will be featured as one of their Reel 13 Indies programming. I honestly loved the movie and I hope you guys decide to check it out. It's very...sincere. Ok, so that was corny, but it's true! 

And don't worry, there are some geek credentials in the film; a Bizarro t-shirt and some massive video game playing. Here is the trailer for you to check out. If you aren't in the NY area you can always view it in it's entirety on Youtube. Enjoy!

And have no fear, I'll get my comics later in the week!  

Who Mii?

This has turned into the Year of Weddings for me it seems. I have to say though, the one I attended this weekend took the cake. So to speak.

In what will go down as one of the coolest (and geekiest) ideas in wedding history, my friends made Mii's that resembled themselves and the entire wedding party to stand around their cake. They were made using Mini Munny's and the wedding party got to take them home at the end of the night. This one pictured is my boyfriend. The resemblence is uncanny. :-)

Confundo!

Friday's are supposed to be fun and relaxing. Instead I woke up to annoying and stupid. Warner Brothers has pushed back the release date of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from November 21 of this year to July 17, 2009. What do you think, Bat-Bogey Hex's all around at the WB?

Harry says, "Noooooo! Keep the release in November!!"

HPANA has been updating all day with new information. Here is the official statement from Warner Brothers President and COO Alan Horn:

Our reasons for shifting Half-Blood Prince to summer are twofold: we know the summer season is an ideal window for a family tent pole release, as proven by the success of our last Harry Potter film, which is the second-highest grossing film in the franchise, behind only the first installment. Additionally, like every other studio, we are still feeling the repercussions of the writers’ strike, which impacted the readiness of scripts for other films—changing the competitive landscape for 2009 and offering new windows of opportunity that we wanted to take advantage of. We agreed the best strategy was to move Half-Blood Prince to July, where it perfectly fills the gap for a major tent pole release for mid-summer.

Translated, all that comes down to is, "We think we can make more money if we release it in the summer." Lame. Even worse is when you add in this comment Horn gave to the Associated Press after the official statement:

The picture is completely, absolutely, 100 percent on schedule, on time. There were no delays. I've seen the movie. It is fabulous. We would have been perfectly able to have it out in November.

Fans are obviously outraged, including myself. If you're so inclined there are three petitions to be signed in protest:

Petition 1

Petition 2

Petition 3

Doubtful if it will do any good but it's worth a try at least. It's just frustrating to know there's a finished film sitting on a shelf somewhere and we have to wait an extra seven months to see it. If the film leaks on the internet beforehand they have no one to blame but themselves. 

I base my fashion sense on what doesn't itch.

Right now, you may be thinking to yourself, "Why on Earth would Jill be posting a picture of Elle Magazine with Jessica Simpson on the cover? I see nothing nerdy here whatsoever." Don't click away yet folks! There's a good reason. I'm in it!

A few months ago I was approached by Maggie Bullock, a Senior Writer from Elle Magazine. She said she wanted to talk to me for an piece she was writing about comics. Really? Elle?? Comics??? I was thrilled but of course, being the cynical New Jerseyan I am, I thought I should make sure this was on the up-and-up. I googled her name and saw that she had interviewed the star of Girls Just Want to Have Fun (and yes, Sex and the City) Sarah Jessica Parker. Sold!

Bullock and I had a nice chat about all things nerdy including the NY Comic Con. She and her friend had braved the con for the first time this year dressed in their own fashion-savvy superheroine creations, Zapgirl and The Nudinator. After a momentary freak-out about how they were going out in public, they relaxed once they realized they were walking into a whole new world where dressing ridiculous is considered absolutely normal. 

"For the next three hours, people shout, 'Zapgirl! Yeah' and 'You guys are awesome!' TV microphones are poked in our faces; the parents of shy adolescents push their reluctant progeny into photos with us," writes Bullock in the article "Supersize Me". As you know, costuming is no joke at cons which is why I wasn't surprised when she told me she'd been asked several times what her powers where and what galaxy she was from. 

I wasn't sure exactly when the article would run or if I would definitely wind up in the final piece so I've kept it relatively quite. Now that I know I'm shouting it to the world! A big thank you to Maggie Bullock for including me. Unfortunately it's not online but if you want to check it out I've got a paragraph in the two-page story (page 483) in the September issue which is in stores now. There's no picture of me but hey, I just got myself mentioned in an international magazine! I think that's pretty damn cool. Next step, 6-page spread shot by David LaChapelle or Gilles Bensimon. Ok, maybe I'll settle for a mention in a DC Nation column someday. :-)

Dead On Arrival - X-Files Review

Back in April I attended a Comic Con panel with X-Files creator Chris Carter and writer Frank Spotnitz. I didn't stay very long after viewing the trailer for The X-Files: I Want to Believe, because they weren't giving out any answers regarding the films plot. It was frustrating but I chalked it up to them having some really phenomenal ideas they didn't want to spoil. I was wrong.

It almost physically hurts me to admit I didn't love the new movie. I'm a huge X-Files fan and while I didn't think a new movie was actually warranted, I was excited about it none-the-less. For the record, I did like the movie but it was littered with too many issues to ignore for fanboy's (girl's) sake. I never begged for another X-Files movie but there were TONS of fans who did. Unfortunately, they didn't put their money where their mouths were. The X-Files: I Want to Believe took in only $10 million it's opening weekend and it's total to-date is a measly $19.7 million. I viewed it the second weekend out, on a Friday, and there were only eight other people in the theater. Ouch.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe should just have been called "I Want to Believe," because at it's core, that's what this movie was about. Unfortunately Mulder's continuing quest for proof of the paranormal and Scully's, for God, wasn't enough to support the plot. Actually, I'm still on the fence as to which was meant to be the main plot and which was supposed to be the sub-plot. 

The film plays like one long and extremely slow-to-get-to-the-point episode. I knew going in this wasn't going to be about aliens but it wasn't until almost the end of the movie that I realized what it all amounted to. Here it is: A possible psychic, in the form of a pedophile ex-priest, (Billy Connolly) leads FBI agents, including a newly re-recruited Mulder and Scully, to a group of Eastern European, I use the word doctors loosely, who've been abducting women, one of whom, unluckily for them was an agent, with a rare blood type in order to use their bodies to transplant an (ill? crazy?) man's head onto. Got it? Ok, I didn't say it was simple or easy. Did I mention there was a two-headed dog?

The prominent abductor was played by Callum Keith Rennie from Battlestar Galactica who certainly has a way with creepiness. He would have shown brightly had this been a plain old horror movie. Actually the (main?) plot was so bizarre it probably would have played much better if it had been a horror flick instead. I see what they were going for, something simple that had nothing to do with aliens but was still scary. They know how to do this, look no further than the unforgettable Home from Season 4 and you'll be convinced, they just got it wrong this time.

I was going to talk about Amanda Peet and Xzibit here but they were completely forgettable characters. Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish could have easily reprised their roles here instead to please fans.

Now the fun stuff. Chris Carter makes a cameo near the end of the film as do real-world names on Mulder's cell phone. The actress who played Mulder's young sister in the series, Vanessa Morley, also appears but as an FBI Agent in passing.  Mitch Pileggi shows up to help save the day near the end. It would have been nice to see more of him. We get to see Mulder and Scully in bed with each other looking like a real couple. Nothing sexual although Mulder makes an amusing inuendo. They even discuss "their son" William during the course of the film. If you sit through the bizarre music video of a credit sequence you get one more treat. Mulder and Scully in a rowboat near a tropical island looking very content. It's kind of wishy-washy but it's a cute nod to the fans when they wave goodbye to us.

In the simplest terms, I Want to Believe was a disappointment. I didn't have any expectations going in but that didn't really help. Great character exploration just wasn't enough to carry this one for me. In a perfect world where I get to choose what kind of X-Files movie should be made it would be nothing like this. 

Having already had one serious alien-themed film in 1998, I would have gone for something on the lighter side. Besides those really intense creepy episodes during the run of the series, my favorites were always the one's that involved subtle (sometimes not so subtle) humor. The Post-Modern Prometheus and Bad Blood from Season 5, Dreamland 1 & 2 and How the Ghosts Stole Christmas from Season 6 and even Sunshine Days from Season 9 are perfect examples. Those episodes were amusing but still involved something unexplainable that was classic X-Files. But alas, I'm not in charge of making any further X-Files films and after this, I highly doubt anyone else will be either.

One helluva letter opener

That's basically what my friend Chuck said when I sent him the link to this Amazon Exclusive Gears of War Lancer replica (now available for pre-order). Unfortunately it's not sharp enough to do even that.

It's a cool idea for use with a costume but that's about it. Here are the "features."

• Trigger activates motorized "chainsaw" sound and vibration feature (ooooh!)
• Side handle folds in & out and slides back & forth
• Removable clip (handy for your imaginary bullet reloading)
• Created from the actual 3-D data used in the Gears of War 2 video game
• Powered by 3 "C" batteries (not included) (of course!)

For $139.99 you'd think they could throw in some batteries but no they spent that budget using blueprints from the game to make the damn thing. I'm pretty sure there's some fans out there who could have done it with their eyes closed. To be fair, pre-ordering the lancer actually gets you the new game for free. Just the Standard Edition though, if you want the Limited Edition Gears of War 2 you need to pay an extra $10.

Of course if you're really serious you'll shell out almost a grand for this replica from Project Triforce.

Honestly, I'm not really into Gears of War, but if I was I think I'd go for the impressive Nerf version instead. 

Global Thermonuclear War

Wouldn't you prefer a nice game of chess?

They say money can't buy happiness. They are wrong. Money bought me the 25th Anniversary Edition of WarGames today and it made me very happy. I also bought Real Genius since it showed up on my recommended list and I love Val Kilmer and it was only $6.99, but that's neither here nor there. What's important is in a few short days I will be able to watch Matthew Broderick hack into his school's computer and change his and Ally Sheedy's grades just like I always wished I could. If only I had a rotary phone...

WarGames is, without a doubt, one of my favorite 80's movies. Broderick's character David Lightman was basically supposed to be a giant computer geek but was ridiculously cool in my opinion. Little did I know, three years later he would redefine cool completely with Ferris Bueller's Day Off. 

David, inadvertently hacking into NORAD's new supercomputer WOPR (a.k.a. Joshua) and almost causing World War 3, seemed completely plausible at the time. In fact, it caused quite a bit of mental stress on young Jill thinking her oldest brother might do the same with his Commodor 64. Coincidentally, WOPR was recently ranked #4 on ToplessRobot's "7 Biggest Asshole Computers In Science Fiction" list.

At any rate, I just found out about the anniversary edition today and was in complete shock and awe to find out a sequel had recently been made. WarGames: The Dead Code was released direct-to-DVD last week. It features Matt Lanter (who voices Anakin Skywalker in The Clone Wars) as computer genius Will Farmer who engages a new supercomputer named R.I.P.L.E.Y. in an online, you guessed it, terrorist attack simulation. Of course Homeland Security comes knocking and yadda yadda yadda, you've got just about the same movie.

Sadly, since I hadn't hear about the DVD release I also didn't hear about the 25th anniversary event that was held at select theaters July 24th to support the sequel. It would have been fantastic to see it on the big-screen. Though, with my luck it probably wasn't playing anywhere near me anyway. I guess I forgot, the only winning move is not to play.

Nerdy News - Fun with animation!

Buffy: Willow, short of the Apocalypse, nothing's gonna keep us from that party tonight.

Giles: Ahh, Buffy, good. We're having an Apocalypse.

Poor Buffy can't catch a break but it seems we have. Remember Buffy the Animated Series? Well, neither do I. That would be because it never aired.

Initially developed in 2001, Buffy the Animated Series was to be produced by Joss Whedon and Jeph Loeb for Fox Kids. Unfortunately, after Fox Kids ceased development no other network was willing to purchase the series which would have been set during the latter half of Season 1 with Dawn included in continuity.

A few years later Fox tried again to create interest for the show and even went so far as to create a four minute pilot with the original actors providing the voices for Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Angel, Principal Snyder, Joyce and Dawn. The voice of Buffy was recorded by Giselle Loren who voice Buffy in two video games. This pilot has just surfaced online for the first time. Here it is via YouTube:

Looks like a lot of fun right? Joss Whedon thought so too. In 2003 he told the Hollywood Reporter, "We had a great animation director, great visuals, six or seven hilarious scripts from our own staff - and nobody wanted it. I was completely baffled. I felt like I was sitting there with bags of money and nobody would take them from me." Maybe with a little luck it could get made now, especially since the comic is doing so well. 

With our first look at this new genre of Buffy some fans have decided it's worth pulling for. Check out the Buffy the Animated Series Facebook page and of course the comments over at Whedonesque to see just how far their willing to go.

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In continuing Ghostbusters news, (no, not about the video game) come November Time Life will release the complete collection of the Ghostbusters animated series. No, not Filmation's Ghostbusters, The Real Ghostbusters. It's a 25-disk set that includes all 147 episodes plus an amazing twelve hours of bonus features. 

Are they trying to bribe us now for the whole no-video-game-thing? Who cares?!

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Last, but certainly never least, Princess Diana a.k.a. Wonder Woman, is going to kick some major mythological ass in her animated DVD movie! Some heroes were made. This one was born.

The trailer for Wonder Woman is now up at Yahoo! Movies and it looks awesome! Though I'll admit, I don't think I've ever or could ever be disappointed by anything DC animated. This time around Kerri Russell is voicing Diana and her co-star from Waitress, Nathon Fillion (a.k.a. Captain Hammer), will be voicing Steve Trevor. It's a great cast all-around but I kind of wished they had stuck with Lucy Lawless for Wonder Woman. I thought she did a great job in The New Frontier and I always thought she would have made the perfect Wonder Woman. Anyway, can't wait!