5 Questions that should always be met with frothing incredulity

5 Questions that should always be met with frothing incredulity

Posted inRandom Musings, Rants
Look, if anyone asks you one of these questions, you ought to reconsider your relationship with them. Do you want butter on that corn muffin? Yes, of course I want butter on my goddamn corn muffin, do I look like a savage to you? This is so dumb I don't even know where to start. Do you want cheese on your burger? The only people who should ever ask a question as stupid as this had better be people with fatal cheese allergies who just assume everyone else will die when they eat cheese, too, because CHEESE BELONGS ON EVERYTHING. Period. End of story. Another?…
What I learned from watching all the Star Trek movies in a row

What I learned from watching all the Star Trek movies in a row

Posted inFilms, Geek Stuff
I was a pretty unlikely candidate to marathon all the Star Trek movies. As noted when I started this Trek-a-Thon, I'm a casual Trek fan at best. Star Wars is my star jam. Trek is that other thing I sort of respect and kind of know because you can't run in geek circles without knowing at least some Trek, but despite having seen many original series episodes, most of The Next Generation on TV, and all the movies through Generations, I've never been able to call myself a Trek fan. Hell, I've playfully mocked it over the years because that's…
Star Trek: Nemesis is proof that fan recommendations aren’t worth much, because it’s way better than they say

Star Trek: Nemesis is proof that fan recommendations aren’t worth much, because it’s way better than they say

Posted inFilms, Geek Stuff
Word of mouth and fan reaction can be a funny thing. Fans know their material more intimately than anyone, Trek fans especially, so when word on the street sets your expectations about a franchise, chances are pretty good they'll be met. That has been evident throughout this marathon, when this Trek neophyte's views have fallen almost exactly in line with Trek fandom's. The one major exception has been with the very first Trek movie. And now the last. Because despite the middling reviews and lukewarm word of mouth, I think Star Trek: Nemesis was pretty outstanding and a fitting end…
Speak & Spells, Scratch & Sniffs, and another foray onto Youtube with Hours in the Attic

Speak & Spells, Scratch & Sniffs, and another foray onto Youtube with Hours in the Attic

Posted inGeek Stuff, Random Musings, Videos, Works by Eric
Part of the fun of doing Hours in the Attic with Nerd Out With Me's Tig Carson is that you get to play with the goofy old shit you played with as a kid. And part of that fun is realizing just how damn lame that stuff really was. The Speak & Spell, for instance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq-I2ath5F4 Why was this a thing? I have no idea, as is clear from our all-too-brief video on the topic. Poor Tig. I'm sure he thought we were going to squeeze a lot more out of it than that, too. On the other hand, we…
Star Trek: Insurrection is a glorified TV episode and does not belong on the big screen. Fact

Star Trek: Insurrection is a glorified TV episode and does not belong on the big screen. Fact

Posted inFilms, Geek Stuff
The danger of relying on your television creative team to craft a major motion picture is that your major motion picture may come across as more suited for the small screen rather than the big. Such is the case with Star Trek: Insurrection, which feels not so much like another Star Trek movie as it does like a two-part episode with a slight (very slight) increase in the special effects budget. Which is to say, it’s a disappointment that often borders on being a bore. The fact that it opens in some throwback village and then immediately descends into Data…