Section 8 (Left), Tattooed Mom (Right) … Just in case there was any confusion.

Well, it’s here. The Section 8 party at Tattooed Mom. Party kicks off tomorrow at 8PM at our favorite South Street bar. You’ll catch me upstairs, dancing and partying the night away, while I give out posters, raffle off video games, arm wrestle Brian James Kirk (he has the strength of a bear, that has the strength of two bears), and chow down on some tasty custom made cupcakes. You may even catch me talking shop with the Technically Philly boys. After-all, we are throwing the party with ‘em. Where will you be?

The game hits stores on September 1st, but fear not. I’ll have some coupons that I’ll be raffling off, which you can trade in for a free copy of the game. For the PC or the Xbox 360. Your choice, thanks to SouthPeak, Timegate, and their wonderful PR team.

So far we’ve got nearly 50 people RSVP’d on Facebook, including folks from Philadelphia’s VGI, Joystiq, and… according to the rumor mill… a developer or two from Timegate. Awesome. This party is our way of trying to bring monthly video game release parties to our fine city, and we’ve had an excellent response from the community. Come join in the fun. You’ll enjoy it.

Section 8 Bash @ Tattooed Mom
Wednesday, August 26th @ 8PM

The HP Mini XP Netbook – As Photographed on my Couch

Ah, HP. It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced one of your computers. My parents used to have one of your PCs back in the 90′s. It was a 486, and I spent a lot of time taking it apart, playing Day of the Tentacle, and lurking around in AOL Chat Rooms. What? Don’t judge me! I was young, foolish, and in love. Her name was PrincessBlu32, and… hey, wait, a minute. I don’t have to explain myself to you, HP! I’m here to review your new netbook.

Hewlett-Packard recently sent me their new Mini 110 XP Edition netbook, a small, sleek, and surprisingly powerful little computer. With a large (by netbook standards) 10 inch diagonal screen, 160GB hard drive (what!), 1GB of RAM, built in Wi-Fi and SD card slot, three USB slots, a webcam, and a nearly full size keyboard, there is a lot to like about this little fellah.

HP’s webstore describes the 110 as “the perfect companion when you’re on the go. Whether you’re at home, around town, on campus, or across the country,” and I’ve got to say, they’re absolutely right. This little guy weighs in at a little more than 2 lbs! It also comes with Windows XP installed, a brilliant move on HP’s part. If it had come with Vista… well, I doubt I would have been able to turn it on. Thanks HP, you made the right choice.

Rory The Bun Approves of HP’s New Netbook!

Now, when HP emailed me the gift card to purchase this little machine, there were some significant funds leftover. Thanks to their kindness and generosity, they allowed us to spend the extra funds on several brand new printers that we’ll be donating to local in-need institutions. Updates on that in the coming days.

As for the netbook, full review with additional photos after the jump!

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It’s safe to assume that at least 90% of you Geekadelphians are gamers of some level. It could also be safe to assume that a good majority of you have a special someone in your life whether it be a girlfriend, boyfriend or spousal unit. This week’s edition of Coffee Talk is dedicated to you, gamer’s guys and gals.

While perusing the web’s myriad gaming blogs I stumbled across this little gem in the Blogspot network.  It’s author, known as The Gamer’s Girl, provides advice,  anecdotes and amusement surrounding the life of being in love with a gamer. Take a gander and come back for this week’s discussion (and story time by yours truly). Continue Reading…

It is impossible to find a high rez version of Olmec! WTF!

Surely you remember Legends of the Hidden Temple, the kids gameshow that ran in the mid 90′s on Nickelodeon. It goes down in history with games like GUTS, Double Dare, and Wild & Crazy Kids, but holds a special place in my heart for being so Indiana-Jones-ish. Plus winners got to go Space Camp. SPACE CAMP! Everyone wanted to go there as a kid.

Well, this Thursday, August 27th, there’s a Legends of the Hidden Temple themed concert (what!) going on at The Stratum, featuring local Philadelphia bands like Airports, Trenchmouth, and Gransel & Hetel. There’s a good drive for Philabundance going on, so bring some canned goods.

Guests should wear proper Legends of the Hidden Temple team colors. Red (Jaguars) Blue (Barracudas) Green (Monkeys) Orange (Iguanas) Purple (Parrots) or Silver (Snakes). On a related note, why was the Iguana team orange? Shouldn’t the Iguanas have been green? Bah.

So come on down. Maybe you’ll win a Pendent of Life. And with a Philabundance food drive in full swing, you’ll at least give someone else a better one. A better life, that is.

Get more details about the event over on Facebook.

If any of you read my previous article on Avatar you know I was walking into this 16-minute preview cautiously optimistic. I mean I had a strange feeling about this film, that you couldn’t judge this one by the trailer alone. Mainly, because the main selling point of this film is the 3D Theater Experience and how great it is. Which if you think about it is really hard to convey in a 2D trailer that you watch on your computer screen or a review for that matter.

I arrived promptly for my screening and was given a pair of your standard IMAX 3D glasses, which I really liked compared to most standard 3D glasses I have received when going to 3D movies. This is because they actually are designed to fit over your glasses, if you happen wear them. This I noticed was a point of contention online, where some people were saying that you didn’t need glasses to watch Avatar, or that the glasses would be different. Nope they are the same polarized glasses you normally get. Once we were seated and put on our glasses we watched an intro by Cameron(which was also for some reason in 3D) who told us the basic setup for the film and that all the scenes we would be seeing would be from the first act of the film, and shouldn’t really spoil the film for us.

We saw 4 scenes in total from the film, and these were truncated versions of the same ones shown at SDCC. The 3D while being spectacular, I can’t go as far as some reviewers by saying “it’s like a dream”. Another reason I feel I didn’t get the full effect could also could be a product of how we viewed the scenes, it took a minute or two for the 3D to take you in and the scenes abruptly ended and cut to black instead of somehow flowing the scenes together.  I found this very jarring and really felt it took you out of the moment.

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Dammit Joe, way to get me addicted to a new game. I had another game, all lined up to feature on here, but nope. You had to introduce me to Cube Colossus.

Developed by Lucridrine, Cube Colossus is your standard, fast-paced shoot ‘em up space game… with a twist. Keyboard targeting, combo chains, and probably most surprising of all… a story. Sure, you’re trying to escape from an evil cube while countless enemies blast away at you, which isn’t exactly deep, but the storytelling is an impressive feature. Especially in a flash game.

You won’t be able to handle the game solely using your mouse, either. Or just your keyboard. As you advance through the levels, you’ll be targeting using your keyboard. It gets intense, and you’re going to love it.

I recommend putting headphones on if you got ‘em. The music is great, but you don’t want to get fired. Happy Friday!

Cube Colossus @ Games Free

Our boys over at Technically Philly write seriously good pieces. We’re talking quality journalism. We think they deserve more traffic, so we’ll be highlighting their articles at the end of the week. The Internet. It’s about sharing and caring, people.

Technically Not Tech: McJawn – Sean talks about the folks behind McJawn, a blog / magazine, ran by a collective of artsy kids and college students, that seems to be picking up steam. You might recognize them from their 4 Square games in Rittenhouse Square. Have you gotten hit in the face by a kickball yet while trying to read in the park? No? I have. You’re missing out.

NTIA Extends Broadband Stimulus Deadline – Remember that whole Digital Philadelphia thang the boys wrote about last week? You should, it was fantastic. Apparently the deadline for the grant has been extended. Read up.

BFTP Elects Two New Board Members – But they didn’t hire Brian James Kirk. Tsk tsk, guys. Don’t you know he’s a celebrity?

Q&A With Shawn Glisson of Boost Mobile – This was posted last Friday, after I wrote up my round up. Definitely worth including here.

Shop Talk: Vuzit Grow Up – Sean highlights the document sharing site, Vuzit, and their current growth.

Technically Philly
www.technicallyphilly.com

Tonight on the eve before Avatar Day I thought I would reflect a bit about just what has transpired in the last few days, and how long this has been in the making.  In what has to be some of the smartest marketing for a film and an industry in the last few years – and will be a new template for film promotion in the years to come. Because they are not just marketing a film here they are marketing a new technology as well and the hopes of keeping the cinema alive in a home theater nation for years to come.

See Avatar started out its life with a delivery date of 2007, there were rumors of a “super secret” James Cameron project taking advantage of 3D Reality Camera System technology, he had developed for his undersea documentaries Ghosts of the Abyss and Aliens of the Deep. This technology was unlike past 3D and mimicked more how the human eye actually worked, replacing the blue and red 3D glasses with polarized ones. These glasses work by creating the illusion of three-dimensional images by restricting the light that reaches each eye. If you have been to see any of the recent 3D films in the last few years(like Coraline for instance) you have no doubt experienced this new technology not knowing James Cameron’s Avatar was the seed for all of this. The reason being that at Cameron’s insistence that Avatar will only be released theatrically in 3D.

The delay from 2007-2009 was not only  just so Cameron could fine polish his CG on his sci-fi epic but to allow theaters to upgrade to the new projection system to be able to show Avatar.  See, back in 2007 all the theater/Hollywood types got together and realized they were in trouble.  With piracy, high ticket prices and not to mention a sub-par product people were not going to the movies. So how do you get people back in the cinema and curb piracy? Well first you need to give them an “Experience”, simply watching a normal 2D film just doesn’t cut it for almost $10, you have to give them something a bit more, something they can’t just get from Netflix or Blockbuster.  Then along comes James Cameron with a little idea he is working on Avatar.

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Ah, Section 8. The game is almost here, just two weeks away. And here in Philadelphia, we’re throwing a release party. The game drops the first week of September, at next Wednesday we are throwing down at Tattooed Mom.

Check out the story behind Section 8 in the video above, courtesy of Joystiq.

You can RSVP for the release party over on our Facebook page. Nearly 40 people are attending, and we’re hoping for more! We’re throwing the event with Technically Philly, with cupcakes provided by the sweet gals of Open Source Cupcakes.

Let us know you’re coming! Invite some friends!

Section 8 Release Party @ Tattooed Mom
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
8PM – Midnight

Photography by D. Yee and Richard Caraballo

The last time I saw Nullsleep perform, was at Don Miller’s (No Carrier’s) art opening at the University of the Arts. Mixing his music using a Gameboy, his skills with the chiptune… well, it’s a sight to behold and a joy to hear.

This month at 8static, Nullsleep will be performing alongside three other musicians, including Covox (Sweden), Oxygenstar (CT), and Ro-Bear (PHL). This show marks the launch of Covox’s tour.

Visuals will be provided by Paris Treantafeles, an 8static regular.

For more information, and visit 8static’s official website. The show goes down on August 22nd at Studio 34.

8static
www.8static.com

If you’re into horror films and television like I am and looking for something to do this weekend, why not drive up to Cherry Hill, New Jersey for Monster-Mania Con 13. Monster-Mania looks to be a small, but promising horror convention and with such guests as James Marsters(Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and one of my favorite shows Torchwood! And yes, he was also Piccolo in the Dragon Ball Z live action), Michael Biehn(Aliens, The Terminator, The Abyss) and Sid Haig(Kill Bill Vol. 2, Devil’s Rejects and House of 1000 Corpses) the convention looks promising for fans of the genre.  I have to say, I am a huge fan of all the above actors and am have been looking forward to the convention for a couple of weeks now.  Although, I have been reluctant to pre-register for the convention because a proper schedule was only posted within the last few days.

The website promises the convention to be “3 DAYS OF SHEER TERROR!”.  But the schedule posted seems a bit sparse on events and doesn’t seem to take full advantage of the roster of guests listed – which does worry me a bit. They are planning a lot of cast reunions, which are fairly common for horror conventions.  But sadly not all actors present are even involved in panels which seems like a real waste. They will be showing films all weekend, some with introductions by the stars, although it doesn’t say the format in which they will be viewed in either.  I will definitely be stopping by to check it out and I suggest you do too. The convention will be at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey from the 21-23 – Friday to Sunday.  I tried to find a price for tickets at the event but found they had not replaced the advanced tickets sales with that information. But I can tell you, the parking is free.  See ya there!

Did you miss the BBQ the other weekend? Sure you did. Because it rained. We didn’t tell Bianca. The result was hilarious.

So instead, this Sunday, the MakePhilly folks are hosting their third annual Water Rocket BBQ. They’re inviting you to come on out, have some BBQ, and pimp out your own custom water rocket in Fairmount Park. There’s a great tutorial up on Instructables on how to make a soda bottle rocket. It also happens to have an excellent paint job. This water rocket is also a solid pick.

The Geekadelphia crew will be on the scene with some awesome, custom painted rockets. Friendly competition with the regulars? Possibly. Loud swearing and punches dealt between myself and Hive 76? Definitely.

Head over to the MakePhilly website to RSVP for the event. It’ll be fun, promise.

MakePhilly Water Bottle BBQ
Sunday, August 23rd @ Noon
www.makephilly.com

Fairmount Park (Lemon Hill Picnic Area)
Here’s the Location on Google Maps