pop culture
Modern popular culture topics in the geek sphere.
The Day I Met Comedian and Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham and Achmed the Dead Terrorist
On December 31, 2015 I met comedian and ventriloquist, Jeff Dunham, and his puppet, Achmed the Dead Terrorist. The show was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was my fourth time seeing Jeff Dunham live on New Year’s Eve. I went to the show with my mom and sister. The show started at 3pm at The PPG Paints Arena. It was Jeff Dunham’s Perfectly Unbalanced tour, I was so excited for the show. It took an hour to get to the venue. It was snowing outside.
By Jmjulius15 Jay5 years ago in Geeks
How 21 Year Old Nigerian Student Accidently Made 1 Million Dollars
It's always funny when happy accidents happen. When things you didn't plan for end up happening and being for the best. When you start a project thinking nothing would come of it and it ends up being very profitable. Happy accidents are the only kinds of accidents that people hope and wish for.
By Jide Okonjo5 years ago in Geeks
What Happened to the DC Movie Universe?
Back in 2013 the idea of a cinematic universe was pretty much exclusive to marvel. So when the first DC comics movie in the newfound DC Extended Universe (DCEU) pretty much everyone was on board, given comics lend themselves great to universe style narratives and the only other universe had released seven movies two of them making a billion dollars at the box office. The only DC movies in recent memory that were not set to be connected to this universe were Green lantern and Christopher Nolan's Dark knight Trilogy. Given the success of the dark knight trilogy it made sense that DC would separate itself from Marvel by going with the successful dark tone of the Dark knight. However when reviews and audience opinion came in on Man of Steel it already was not looking good. A darker superman is introduced, going against the comic superman, many realizing that this universe was on track to make every movie dark and gritty. After Man of Steel there was a pretty long delay between movies. Unsure of themselves, three years passed before the universe started to actually feel like a universe with multiple releases a year. 2016 saw two releases, ‘Suicde Squad’ and ‘Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice’. Both of these movies are generally considered to be bad by the general audience, with some die hard fans. Which started the splintering of the DC movie universes. ‘Batman V. Superman’ saw an extended cut which was even darker than the original giving it an R rating, extended cuts are not that uncommon for movies and the general narrative stayed the same, so nothing was really affected, but this would continue to grow as an issue later on. ‘Suicide Squad’ started to have rumors of rushed reshoots, enough footage to make a Jared Leto Joker movie with the cut scenes, and the Director David Ayer voicing his frustration with how Warner Brothers not liking his cut of the movie. 2017 Saw ‘Wonder Woman’ and ‘Justice League’, ‘Wonder Woman’ getting the praise as the best DC movie, which I am not going to argue. Justice League had the same treatment as Suicide Squad, with another layer of problems. As it is probably well known, Zack Snyder Filmed almost Four hours of footage before unfortunately his daughter committed suicide and he immedialy left every project he was on to be with his family. Warner Brothers brought on the only director at the time to make a successful superhero team up movie, Joss Wheaton. The theatrical cut of ‘Justice League’ was almost completely reshot or used different takes from Snyders footage. The theatrical cut failed spectacularly both narratively and financially, almost as soon as it released #releasethesnydercut started.
By Jared Laws5 years ago in Geeks
The Problem With Disability Stereotypes In The Media. Top Story - May 2021.
As little as 3.1% of regular primetime broadcast TV characters have a disability, GLAAD statistics reveal. Although this is a record-high number, it still drastically underrepresents the real numbers (14.1 million people in the UK) of people diagnosed with disabilities. Moreover, while realistic representations of the disabled community are increasing, harmful inaccurate stereotypes are unfortunately still all too common and need addressing.
By Saanvi Seo5 years ago in Geeks
"Impact"
"Impact" is a virtual show that was written and acted in a solo performance by Amy Engelhardt. The play is about her life; the catastrophe of Pan Am flight 103 that exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland due to terrorism by Libyan Nationals. In what Engelhardt describes as "Follow Signs"... where and how her life moves, she talks about music moving her during difficult times. A former alumnus of Syracuse University, she was able to know her fellow students by name in the theater department. Her senior year she decided to focus more on music than acting. At The Cell Theater and produced by The Playhouse at White Lake, the play at times is very moving; at other times it can be both slow and more about Engelhardt's corniness than the main issues that she is trying to portray.
By Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).5 years ago in Geeks
An Issue with UFOs and Aliens
There've been a number of reports in recent days about government admissions of UFOs or as they often call them UAPs (Unidentified Alien Phenomena). Even Obama chimed in on the issue. UFOs often stir up comments on aliens visiting the Earth and governments covering it up.
By Daniel Goldman5 years ago in Geeks
Beowulf and the Hero Archetype
The story of the epic poem Beowulf is set during the 6th century BCE in Denmark. The poem opens with Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, opening a mead hall that he calls Heorot for his subjects. The happy and carefree atmosphere of the mead-hall doesn’t last long, as a terrifying monster named Grendel starts attacking the hall soon after it opens. He does this every night for over twelve years, the king powerless to stop the greedy goblin and his subjects not strong enough to defeat it. Thankfully, Beowulf, a great warrior who happens to be the nephew of Hygelac, the king of the Geats, hears of Hrothgar’s trouble and sails to his kingdom. When Beowulf arrives, he tells Hrothgar that he is more than willing to help him, especially since Hrothgar helped Beowulf’s father a while ago and he owes him a favor for that. Later that night, Beowulf waits in Heorot Hall for the nightly arrival of the monster. When Grendel arrives, Beowulf fights him in a hand-to-hand conflict, ultimately ending with Beowulf ripping Grendel’s arm off from the shoulder. The wound is fatal, and the monster returns into the wilderness to die. Beowulf is celebrated the next day, with Hrothgar giving him gifts to show his appreciation. The celebration doesn’t last long, as Grendel’s mother arrives soon afterwards to attack the kingdom and avenge her son’s death. She attacks Heorot Hall while the warriors sleep. However, the warriors wake up during her rampage and force her back to her lair in a cave underneath a lake. Beowulf is called into action. He rushes after the monster with a troop of warriors by his side. Once he arrives at the lake, he dives in alone and swims into her lair, finding the body of Grendel inside. He grabs a sword from Grendel’s mother’s pile of treasures and uses it to slay her once and for all. He swims up in triumph, grabbing her son’s head and bringing it with him to the surface. The village celebrates Beowulf once again before he announces that he must return to his homeland. He sails away, and when he finally arrives home, he is celebrated again and subsequently becomes the king of the Geats. His rule lasts for fifty years until one day, a dragon starts attacking his people. He fights it off and successfully kills it but is mortally wounded in the process. The Geats cremate Beowulf and build a memorial-barrow to remember his legacy as an incredible leader and a great king.
By Jamie Lammers5 years ago in Geeks
I Love Sci-Fi, But...
Okay I love science fiction of all kinds. Star Wars, Star Trek, Jurassic Park and Aliens are incredible stories and concepts and anytime some new piece of information comes out concerning Back to the Future or The Predator I am eating that stuff up. But over the countless years of reading and watching science fiction you tend to pick up on some tropes. Some of them add to the entertainment value for sure. But others just need to either become less common or disappear entirely. Here is a list of things I would like to see less or more of in sci-fi.
By Gray Beard Nerd5 years ago in Geeks
