NaniCoolJ

Video How-To: Checking for Updates

November 23, 2012 Leave a comment

I made a video!

Filed under Technology Tagged with Android, jellybean, jellybean 4.2

Guess who won Best Group Blog on Black Weblog Awards?

November 1, 2012 Leave a comment

You have one guess. THAT’S IT!

Filed under Uncategorized

Nexus Updates!!!!!

October 31, 2012 Leave a comment

Everyone already knows about my love for ~~Skynet~~ Google products. If you’ve listened to the podcast you know that I’ve been geeked about my Galaxy Nexus phone and my Nexus 7 tablet (even if I’ve failed at writing the blog posts I’d promised to write about them). So imagine all the warm feels I caught on Monday when Google announced their new Nexus products.

THEY’RE FINALLY HERE! With all the accidental shipping of a 32GB Nexus and the rumors of a Nexus 10 device, it’s nice to finally know that all of those rumors are true. Google announced on their blog Monday that there are 2 new Nexus devices out as well as price and storage changes for the Nexus 7.

The Nexus 4 is the new vanilla Android phone coming out unlocked and ready for any carrier. This phone is made by LG (possibly to avoid any of the legal issues Samsung has been dealing with against Apple), and although it’s prices are really good ($299 for 8GB, $349 for 16GB) it doesn’t have as much space as the Galaxy Nexus.

The Nexus 10 is the first full sized Nexus tablet coming from Google. Google’s blog talks a lot about its use for entertainment such as magazines and movies, but it also talks about the tablet’s ability to have multiple profiles on the single device. Working a lot like a computer the Nexus 10 lets you sign in to your profile and use your apps while you’re signed in on it and lets you sign out and let someone else use their profile the same way. This would be good for families who can’t afford multiple tablet devices but still could use the portability of one.

The Nexus 7 had gotten a couple good upgrades in all of this. For one it’s gotten more storage space without going crazy with the price. The 16GB tablet is now only $199 and if you want more space (like I definitely do) you can get a 32GB tablet for $249. Also now, if you’re ballin‘ outta control like that, the 32GB Nexus 7 can go mobile with AT&T or T-Mobile.

So if you’re looking to buy a tablet without falling too deep into debt you should definitely go to the Google Play Store and see what they have to offer.

Filed under Technology Tagged with Android, google, google android, nexus 10, nexus 4, Nexus 7

A Shipload of Confusion (Prometheus Spoilers)

June 20, 2012 1 Comment

So I saw Prometheus on Saturday……
I liked it. Visually it was stunning, and the concept was really interesting but if I’m being honest with myself the plot was confusing as shit. There were plenty of things in the movie that are left unexplained, most obvious of all being the question that the movie is based around, “Why are we here?” Another question unintentionally brought up through the movie would be “Why would you do that?” Several people have already said it, but the movie was about a bunch of supposedly smart scientists making really dumb decisions, but more than that the movie was obviously only supposed to be about 2 specific people, and the other people in it were originally just props that they decided to teach how to speak. The movie itself was trying to do too much in too small a timeframe with too many characters and because of that, a lot of the characters suffered.
The basic plot of Prometheus is that a couple of scientists who are also a couple find a connection between several historical paintings spanning thousands of years that show a giant man pointing at a cluster of stars that are exactly the same configuration in each painting. I’m assuming that this science couple are a couple of archeologists, because why else would they be looking at cave paintings? However there’s reason to believe that at least Shaw may not be seeing that at two points in the movie she seems to be very familiar with surgical procedures. From these paintings they realize that the cluster of stars is actually a constellation in another galaxy and they convince millionaire Peter Weyland to pay for them to go into space and explore the only moon in that galaxy that can support life. Of course during the trip wacky shenanigans ensue, and by wacky shenanigans I mean death and destruction as well as a lot of creep factor weirdness.
A huge problem with the movie isn’t just that the characters in it are talking props, but also that the talking props somehow got degrees in their various fields of science without learning anything about them. Holloway (one of the couple of possibly-archeologists) decides that even though they’ve only got about 6 hours of daylight left, they should go out on an expedition in an unknown structure on a never before inhabited by humans planet without knowing any of the possible dangers they might face. Holloway is also the genius that decides that because the structure has oxygen it’s totally okay to take your helmet off and breath air that could be contaminated by who knows what diseases. If we go on the assumption that he’s an archeologist he should be aware that even on Earth if you’re entering anything that has been closed off to the outside world it’s best to wear some sort of mask to protect you from whatever diseases could still be lurking around. Somehow though, Holloway doesn’t take that into consideration, and it’s a wonder how nobody ended up sick because of his stupid decision.
That was only the first most glaring mistake in character development. The next one would be Fifield, the Geologist who’d done these kinds of missions (with a lot of this crew) before and has these really cool probes that map out the structure they’ve found, yet somehow doesn’t know what to do when he gets slightly flustered. He’s the one in charge of making sure a map of the structure (that the crew of Prometheus conveniently find themselves right in front of on their first ever trip to this distant moon) is plotted by the probes and sent back to the Prometheus ship. However, when they find a decapitated alien body in the ruined structure, him and Millburn the Biologist decide they would rather get back to the ship to avoid any potential danger they may face. Somehow though, the two of them get lost in the structure, despite the fact that they both had communication links to the crew of Prometheus, and Fifield had a link to the probes that were currently mapping out the ruins. So of course this gigantic error ends up getting them both killed, because the Biologist doesn’t seem to understand aggressive behavior in the alien that breaks his arm, eats his face, and sprays acid jizz on Fifield’s helmet that burns through it and into his face.
The two characters who weren’t an afterthought and actually had nuance in them were David and Shaw. Although Holloway was a main character and Shaw’s boyfriend (Shaw’s the other person in the couple), he seemed to only be there as a weak character foil for both Shaw and David. His interactions with them tell you little about him as a character (other than he’s a jerk and an idiot) and more about Shaw and David’s little quirks.
A lot of Shaw’s characterization seemed to be forgotten about as the movie went on, her relationship with her father only sort of explained her interest in the human like Engineer giants, and her infertility was only mentioned right before she was impregnated by an infected Holloway with a rapidly growing alien squid baby. It seems as if we’re supposed to empathize with Shaw simply because she’s the main character, even though we barely know what her motives are. We do know however, that even after she’s had an emergency c-section to get the previously mentioned alien squid baby out of her stomach, she has no trouble running around and jumping over platforms to get away from giants with staples in her stomach, even though zipping up a zipper on her spacesuit causes her to scream in pain.
David on the other hand, we’re supposed to distrust and possibly hate, because of his not quite human behavior and his willingness to infect Holloway with a highly destructive alien disease in order to obey an order he received from his creator. The characterization of these two characters didn’t work for me, because I ended up sympathizing for David after both Holloway and Weyland criticized him for not being human or having feelings when he seemed to be developing them. Even the sneaky way David infected Holloway intrigued me because even though he was following an order, it seemed as if he was also trying to get revenge on Holloway because of how much of a jerk he was.
The other props were just one big jumble of confusion and unanswered questions. Janek and the other pilots had a lot of potential for good characterization, but instead were used for witty quips. Janek himself was there to speak out loud plot developments that the plot should have explained on its own, and had no real set character. He flip flopped back and forth between Team Vickers and the Don’t Engage With Any Lifeforms and Team Shaw and the Don’t You Want To Do What’s Best for Humanities. The last feat of heroics from him and the co-pilots felt like it should have been fulfilling and climactic, but instead left you confused as to why they would sacrifice themselves in such a way.
Vickers, may or may not be a robot. That ends up being very open ended. Although she refers to Weyland as her father (after Weyland states that his robots are his only children) and Janek asked her whether or not she is a robot because he wants to sleep with her, it’s never directly said that she was. Her actions were mildly robotic, and I believe she was a robot, but I don’t know what the writers were trying to do with her and her robotic nature. However her emotions are part of the reason I believe David was actually developing real feelings instead of mimicking them, because Vickersbot showed fear, anger, happiness and other emotions in a more genuine nature and not forced.
The characters in this movie could have been better. Although they tried to make the only two female characters as badass as Ripley was in the original Alien movies, they didn’t come off quite as good, and very few of the other characters were interesting. Whether or not this movie is really an Alien prequel is still up for debate, and even THAT seems like an afterthought. If you don’t think of the movie as a prequel and just enjoy it for the large bag of popcorn you inhaled while watching it, it can still be very enjoyable, but that’s another post for another day.

Filed under TV & Movies Tagged with Alien, Prometheus, Ridley Scott

Nerdgasm News #17

June 8, 2012 Leave a comment

Top Posts 5.30.12 – 6.5.12
Yes, There Are Black People in Your Hunger Games by Roxie Moxie
Black Girl Nerd: A Nightmare On Elm Street 4’s Sheila by Ashlee
The Rainbow Revolution: My 2 Cents Geeks/Nerds of Color In Pop Culture by Ashlee
WWE Tackles Abuse And Fails To Get It? Surprise Face! by Vulgar Woman
Little Known Fact: The Twilight Saga Soundtracks Are EXCELLENT! by Roxie Moxie

New Posts 5.30.12 – 6.5.12
SpaceX: The First Commercial Spacecraft Launch and an iPad by Shareef
Letters From Management by NaniCoolJ
The Rainbow Revolution: My 2 Cents Geeks/Nerds of Color In Pop Culture by Ashlee
TRAILER – Injustice: Gods Among Us: New Fighter From NetherRealm Studios Announced by Kahlief Adams
Summer Of 8-Bit: Smash TV by 8bitanimal
Summer Of 8-Bit: Jackie Chan’s Action Kung Fu by 8bitanimal
It’s 4AM, Do You Know Where Your Children Are? by Kahlief Adams
Summer Of 8-Bit: Anticipation by 8bitanimal

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Filed under Gaming, Technology, TV & Movies Tagged with nerdgasm news, nerdgasm noire

Letters From Management

June 1, 2012 Leave a comment

Hey!

So… usually, there is a podcast episode that goes up today at this time, and you get to listen to myself and my 4 nerdy friends talk shit and get hood about geek things. However this week we did not have an episode because of tech and travel issues.

We’re sorry, and in fact are sad ourselves because we didn’t get the chance to share more nerdery with you.

We will return on June 5th for a special Live Episode, where we will be ~~lamenting~~ discussing the latest literary craze 50 Shades of Grey. Make sure you listen live, and come ~~talk shit~~ join the discussion in the chatroom.

In the meantime, we want to thank you for your continued support, and ask you to please consider donating a few dollars or a tweet to help us expand our reach to even more Nerds of Color. Also make sure you follow us on all social networks;

[ Tumblr | Facebook | Twitter | G+ ]

Also make sure you check out and share any new posts that come up on the blog. Leave nice comments, and support not just us, but the other shows and bloggers we love to support.

Thanks again for the love and support. We appreciate it, immensely!

Filed under Podcast

Nerdgasm News #16

May 4, 2012 Leave a comment

Top Posts 4.25.12 – 5.1.12
Yes, There Are Black People in Your “Hunger Games”: The Strange Case of Rue & Cinna - ROXIE MOXIE
Little Known Fact: The Twilight Saga Soundtracks Are EXCELLENT! - ROXIE MOXIE
First Look: Hunger Games Character Posters - ROXIE MOXIE
The Hunger Games Mall Tour: Atlanta! – ROXIE MOXIE
Black Girl Nerd: A Nightmare On Elm Street 4′s Sheila – Ashlee

The ArmbarCast Episode 10

Filed under Books, Comics & Manga, Gaming, Technology, TV & Movies

Nerdgasm News #15

April 27, 2012 Leave a comment

Top Posts 4.18.12 – 4.24.12
Yes, There Are Black People in Your “Hunger Games”: The Strange Case of Rue & Cinna – ROXIE MOXIE
Little Known Fact: The Twilight Saga Soundtracks Are EXCELLENT! – ROXIE MOXIE
First Look: Hunger Games Character Posters – ROXIE MOXIE
Believe it or not, the reason why I fangirl over the Once-ler isn’t lust – SKETCHYDEZZI
Brilliant! How You Do That? – Check Disk Batch Fun – JP FAIRFIELD

New Posts 4.18.12
Fez: Awesome Is Hiding Under That Hat – THE8BITANIMAL
Believe it or not, the reason why I fangirl over the Once-ler isn’t lust – SKETCHYDEZZI
Brilliant! How You Do That? – Check Disk Batch Fun – JP FAIRFIELD
LGB(me) – ANGRYHARLOT
Flipping Education On Its Head – SHAREEF
Saga: Quite possibly the best 2.99 you’ll spend on a regular basis. – MISSIONMELISSA

The Armbar Cast 9: Fuck Brock Lesnar

Filed under Comics & Manga, Gaming, Technology

Nerdgasm News #14

April 20, 2012 Leave a comment

Wow it’s been awhile since we’ve had one of these. I know, how horrible of me, but that doesn’t mean the action has stopped here.

We’re growing here at Nerdgasm! We’ve gotten 2 new writers, Emotional Exhibitionism and AngryHarlot. Make sure you check out their posts and show them apprecation!

We’re also working on expanding the blog, but we need your support. We’d love it if you’d show your support by donating to our PayPal and also donating your Twitter account to help spread the word about our podcast and blog.

And now on to the posts!

How Felicia Day And Chris Hardwick (Unwittingly) Reinforced Geekdom’s Whiteness

March 31, 2012 Leave a comment

Post written by Racialicious Blogger/Editor Arturo and was originally posted on racialicious.com

(Vid slightly NSFW – language)

By Arturo R. García

You think we’re being racist, my Mom said so many times as I was growing up, when we went round and round about these weird books and movies. I heard an accusation. But what she and my Dad were trying to make me hear was their question: Why do you love a thing that won’t even let you exist within their made up worlds?
- Pam Noles, “Shame” (via Racebending)

The debacle this week surrounding some fans of The Hunger Games made it painfully clear, once again, that geekdom has a major problem with many discussions–or even acknowledgements–of race as part of our day-to-day existences. One would like to think that the new ventures of geek celebrities Felicia Day and Chris Hardwick can, eventually, help with that process.

But the early indications aren’t promising.

Let’s start with Hardwick’s Nerdist YouTube Channel, which he says represents the “full spectrum of Nerdist culture,” even as the clip above showed the most limited of perspectives. The only people of color shown were Asian-American cosplayer Linda Le (who wasn’t even identified) and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. There was also no mention of the channel’s only other contributor of color, Pakistani-American comedian Kumail Nanjiani.

The second trailer for the channel is even more disappointing:

To recap: there’s 30 white people shown, and maybe only four people of color in that trailer; the cast of “Nerdterns,” composed of interns at Milestone Comics in Los Angeles, did not identify itself. But even counting some of its’ members as POC, that’s four out of 34 total people on camera–an 11 percent staffing rate. In any other industry, the “full spectrum” of Hardwick’s vision would come across as very limited, indeed.

The inclusion of a member of Finnish stunt team The Dudesons as the host of “Weird Sh-t From Japan” points to something just as problematic. With that title, it’s not easy to imagine the show doing anything more than reducing the country that gave us Akira, Akira Kurosawa, Captain Harlock, Cowboy Bebop, Robotech,Macross Plus, Ninja Scroll, Battle Royale, 13 Assassins, and the original Godzilla, King of The Monsters, to name just a few examples of works with their own devoted fandoms, to random clips from some “wacky” game show.

And The Dudesons already have their own show on the channel. In the wake of the whitewashing nonsense that derailed film adaptations of both Avatar: The Last Airbender and Akira, was the Nerdist creative team really unable to figure out that perhaps a more respectful look at Japanese contributions to pop culture–or at the very least, an Asian-American host–might have been an easier sell to a bigger audience?

Day’s YouTube channel, Geek and Sundry, will also feature at least a few POC, if perhaps only briefly:Mythbusters‘ Grant Imahara appears in the trailer above for Wil Wheaton’s program “Tabletop,” and the inclusion of Day’s webseries The Guild will mean exposure for at least two characters of color. But none of the shows announced so far for her channel are hosted by a person of color.

Which isn’t to say, of course, that either Day or Hardwick are bad people or individually prejudiced. But while it’s good that Hardwick’s channel includes a show featuring Tyson, as well as How To Be Black author Baratunde Thurston appear on Hardwick’s podcast for a discussion that included race, it has to be said: conversations about race, gender, and culture have to take place outside of Special Episodes.

It’s not enough anymore for people of color and members of the LGBT community to be presented as the Special Guests, or the (x) Friends of the Host, or the Supporting Players. There’s more than enough proof online that our experiences as fans are not automatically divorced from our experiences as members of minority groups, and that there’s many of us looking for more safe spaces in which to discuss them. If some geeks of color don’t want to discuss sensitive topics, that’s fine; that doesn’t mean none of us ever should.

Because while it’s all too easy for people to distance themselves from those racist Hunger Games fans, those viewpoints don’t appear out of thin air, either.

When woman-oriented sites like The Mary Sue don’t report on Issa Rae getting assailed by racist tweeters after winning an industry award, that contributes to the problem. When a sci-fi heavy site like IO9 is content to let Jezebel report on the Games controversy, that contributes to the problem. When Marvel Comics would rather publish stories about the umpteenth version of Dark Avengers than about a group of black Avengers, that contributes to the problem. And when only 11 percent of someone’s YouTube channel talent is made up of people who are not white, that contributes to the problem. Unintentional marginalization is still marginalization.

We are way past the time when Day or Hardwick–or any party wanting to bill itself as a representative of geekdom–can hide behind the explanation that “we couldn’t find anyone” or couldn’t spot content online that might deliver a more inclusive version of geekdom to viewers. Does Hannibal Tabu need to wear Sith t-shirts? What does it say about gaming and that fandom when gamers who aren’t hetero white cis males are made to feel like they should hide their identities? Should the folks at The Border House start podcasting in Klingon to get consideration for a shot in one of these channels?

The near-dogmatic focus on “staying positive”–code for avoiding the topic entirely–does no one any good when it’s just Cheryl Lynn Eaton pointing out that Marvel Comics currently has no black writers while sites like Newsarama and Comic Book Resources keep quiet. That silence, intentional or not, sends the same kind of message to our subcultures as it does to the world at large:

There is an expectation that we can talk about sins but no one must be identified as a sinner: newspapers love to describe words or deeds as “racially charged” even in those cases when it would be more honest to say “racist”; we agree that there is rampant misogyny, but misogynists are nowhere to be found; homophobia is a problem but no one is homophobic. One cumulative effect of this policed language is that when someone dares to point out something as obvious as white privilege, it is seen as unduly provocative. Marginalized voices in America have fewer and fewer avenues to speak plainly about what they suffer; the effect of this enforced civility is that those voices are falsified or blocked entirely from the discourse.

And as this week has reminded us all, geekdom is not immune from any of those problems. Our various communities have been part of fandoms from the get-go– no matter what industry narratives want to say–and it’s people like Day and Hardwick who became stars outside of the traditional studio structure, who are in a prime position to help circumvent those boundaries and create more truly inclusive visions of geekdom. But that’s never going to be until the people who purport to give us the “full spectrum” of our fandoms start facing up to the realities–and privileges–they’ve been content to sweep under the rug for way too long.

Filed under Books, Comics & Manga, Gaming, Technology, TV & Movies Tagged with nerdist, nerds of color, racialicious, signal boost, video, youtube

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Nerdgasm Noire Network

Video How-To: Checking for Updates

Guess who won Best Group Blog on Black Weblog Awards?

Nexus Updates!!!!!

A Shipload of Confusion (Prometheus Spoilers)

Nerdgasm News #17

Letters From Management

Nerdgasm News #16

Nerdgasm News #15

Nerdgasm News #14

How Felicia Day And Chris Hardwick (Unwittingly) Reinforced Geekdom’s Whiteness

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