Revenge of the Nerds Cake

Nerdy cake“Come on Gilbert, let’s go to college!”

If you haven’t seen Revenge of the Nerds–shame on you! Bad geek! Stop reading and go watch it right now! Wait, scratch that. Finish reading this and then go watch it immediately after!

I was watching this comedic master-piece today, and thinking about cake, knowing I had a post due here, I turned to Google, to see if anyone had managed to combine these two wonderful and amazing things–and someone did. This is a Revenge of the Nerds Cake by Claude I stumbled across on Cake Central. I just love it.

Movie Review: Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon

Transformers 3 posterTransformers 3: Dark of the Moon (2011)
Director: Michael Bay
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Josh Duhamel,Tyrese Gibson and John Turturro
Voice actors: Peter Cullen, Hugo Weaving, and Leonard Nimoy
157 min
Rated PG13

You might think that crazy-awesome special effects, a pulsing soundtrack and GIANT FIGHTING ROBOTS would be enough to guarantee an summer blockbuster. And you’d be correct – in terms of box office sales. In fact, Transformers 3 is currently the 47th highest grossing movie of all time.

But if you think the same formula would guarantee a movie worth 2-1/2 hours of your time…not necessarily.

The latest installment in the movie series based on Hasbro’s toy line of yore, Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon, has all the elements of a sure-fire Hollywood hit. Tested director of notable action movies like Armageddon & Pearl Harbor, Michael Bay? Check. Fan-boy favorite producer, Steven Spielberg? Check. Score by Steve Jablonsky, composer of the two previous Transformers film scores? Check. Voluptuous love interest? Check. Mighty morphin’ robots in disguise? Check.

Strong storyline told in logical progression…not so much.

Don’t get me wrong – I know that any Transformers movie is not exactly meant to have an Oscar-worthy script. I’m not expecting rich character development, or to be able to relate to the story on a deeply personal level. I know it’s a summer blockbuster that’s meant to be eye candy. And on that criteria, the movie did deliver. The transformation from vehicle to robot was as flawless as in the previous movies, with all the whirling cogs & gizmos, and usually while in motion. Visually stunning.

But the story seemed all over the place. It was like they just thought up a bunch of scenes, filmed them, and just threw them together. It felt very abrupt and disjointed, and was generally distracting, even with the impressive special effects.

Also distracting was the newly-introducted love interest – Rosie Huntington-Whiteley took over for Megan Fox in this installment. Her role was completely gratuitous to the story, though perhaps that’s to be expected, too, especially after the first two movies. Giant robots and a pretty girl, and fanboys are typically content. (oh I’m sorry, did my bitter resentment show?)

That said, a delightful surprise (for me) was the voice acting by Leonard Nimoy (need I say he played Spock in “Star Trek“?), and the “sidekick” part by Alan Tudyk (“Wash” from “Firefly“) as a rather flamboyant German assistant. So there was a little something for the geek girls – at least THIS geek girl. ;)

Overall, I’d say Transformers 3 is a renter, if anything.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Geek Fabric Tins

My friend Amanda Perl (who I met at my World of Geekcraft signing at Powell’s, when she made a rad comics magnet) gave her husband Steve a super cute set of handmade geek tins for his birthday recently. She picked up tins at SCRAP and covered them with video game prints from Cool Cottons (both stores are here in Portland, come visit us). I love how simple and cool they are. I’ve been holding out on that Pac-Man fabric but I think I need to snap some up!

Tutorial Tuesday: Colour Changing Drinks

This is a must for any of you who are having a Harry Potter movie party.

However you’re preparing for the return of your favourite wizard, whether it’s having an epic 6 movie marathon, getting dressed up, or reading one of the books to your kids (friends/dog?). You can really add a touch of the supernatural to it by serving up some  magical colour changing drinks.

Pac Man Ukulele

Pac Man UkuleleWhen I am not playing Video Games, I tend to dabble in a lot of different things.  One of those things that took my fancy was the Ukulele, due in no small part to a Youtube Video of one of the most talented Ukulele players of our time.

So when I stumbled on this Pac Man Ukulele by celentanowoodworks on Etsy I knew I had to share it with all of you.  It is just too cool.  It took me a while to really piece together what I was seeing.  It’s Pac Man, the fret markings are like power pellets, and the head is a ghost.  It’s like Pac Man was always supposed to be a ukulele, and now HE IS!

Reader Submission: Harry Potter Acceptance Letter

So… you’re planning your epic Harry Potter party, and you want to out-do those muggles down the road who are trying to steal all your guests. How do you make sure your party stands out?

Give your guests personalised Harry Potter Acceptance letters from Nikinut’s Etsy shop.

These are bound to make any Harry Potter fanboy/girl squee with excitement, the attention to detail is enchanting, each one is sealed with a Hogwarts gold wax seal, the letter itself is signed by Prof. Minerva McGonagall, in green ink and includes a list of everything you will need at Hogwarts your first year.