FIGcast - Episode 11 - "Postmodern Nutella"

We had a big week on the blog with an original report. Learn about it on this week's show.


FIGcast - Episode 11 - "Postmodern Nutella"


Shownotes:

• Darren got to taste Westeros, Trey said good-bye to Buffy, and Tripp got Sucker Punch-ed
• Zach Snyder found his Lois Lane; does Trey approve?
• Green Lantern is still apparently a movie, and we got the first news in months
• NBC....fixed?....Wonder Woman's costume
• Fringe is coming back, Coach Taylor might carry a badge, AMC considers aliens, and Dexter might get a creepy neighbor
• Blu Rays, Coming Attractions, and Box Office Results

We also announced a new "Book Club" feature we're going to test out starting next episode. We're going to read Fahrenheit 451 over the next month, and we'll talk about it at the tail end of each podcast. We will get into spoilers, but we'll warn you before we start, and you won't miss any content after the book stuff is over. If this sounds like fun, we encourage you to grab a copy and start reading the first 1/4 of the book before our next show.

Email: FullyIntegratedGeeks@gmail.com

Twitter: @TheFIGcast

Look for us on Facebook, or the iTunes store. If you're on iTunes, write a review. Trey will hug you as barter.

A Taste of Westeros: Game of Thrones Food Truck

As you may have heard us mention on the podcast, or read on the blog, or seen on a poster or otherwise heard through the proverbial grapevine, HBO will be airing a new series based on the book A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin starting on April 17. They have tried out several new viral marketing tactics to promote the series, the latest of which involved commissioning renowned chef Tom Colicchio (of Bravo TV's Top Chef fame) to create dishes inspired by the cities of Westeros and serve them from a food truck to 300 hungry fans/Twitter followers. Yesterday, I was one of them.



I ventured out to Union Square, the afore-tweeted location, around 5:45pm. As soon as I exited the subway, my phone rang. It was Tripp, reporting the exact location of the truck, and it wasn't far. I walked briskly across the park and eyed it on the corner of 15th and Union Square West, in all its glory. There were already about 100 people there when I arrived, so I took my spot in line and waited patiently.



A nice HBO staffer handed me a shiny menu. Crispy trout with almond butter citrus mostarda, roasted rabbit, honey preserved lemon and stewed pistachio, and of course, lemon cakes. They didn't start service until about 6:30 and the line moved pretty slowly, but I think it was worth the wait. I met some hardcore AGoT geeks in line behind me and answered the question "what are you guys waiting for?" more times than I cared to count.



I rounded the corner about 7:00 and could finally see what I was in for. About 15 minutes later, I had my trout and lemon cake, complete with a little napkin with a direwolf on it and the words "you win or you die". The food was very good but (understandably) very small portions. The trout was cooked perfectly (skin-on, of course) and well-seasoned, and the citrus on top really balanced the almond butter on the bottom. The lemon cake tasted about like a key-lime pie, but with lemon instead.



All in all, it was a fun experience. It's wonderful to live in a city where stuff like this actually happens and I can go be a part of it. Tripp and I are very excited about the upcoming series and think you should be too!

AA to play LL for ZS in S:MoS.

The internets are a-buzz with the news of Superman's new Lois Lane. Zack Snyder has chosen three time Oscar nominee Amy Adams to play the feisty gal reporter. It's an interesting choice. Honestly, she is a name that I never considered, despite being a talented young actress. It will be interesting to see if she can pull off the Lois vibe.

What a "Lois Lane" might look like.

Gentle readers, you might come to a geek-themed blog like this expecting to see someone (read: me) complain about how Ms. Adams is a redhead and Lois is classicly a brunette. I will admit that there was a time when that would have bothered me, but now I am just glad to see a great actress getting a chance to play the part. Plus, when a problem can be solved with a bottle of hair dye, it's a pretty small obstacle.

FIGcast - Episode 10 - "The Tripp Who Cried ZOMG"

Happy Birthday, Darren.

FIGcast - Episode 10 - "The Tripp Who Cried ZOMG"

Shownotes

• Darren continues his gastronomic adventures, Trey continues to worship Whedon, and Tripp goes to the movies
• Wonder Woman continues to circle the drain
• Batman might have another villain/sidekick/barber
• Superman now has parents, but no villain, love interest or boss
• Blu rays, Coming Attractions, and Box Office Results

Email: FullyIntegratedGeeks@gmail.com

Look for us on Facebook, or the iTunes store. If you're on iTunes, write a review. Trey will hug you as barter.

NUMFAR, DO THE DANCE OF JOY!

If you've listened to the podcast, you know that I have been working through Buffy:TVS and Angel for the first time. I've been waiting on something amazing enough to warrant my first post on the subject. Sure, there have been some good episodes I could have posted about. "Hush" was great. "Once More With Feeling" was creative. "The Zeppo" was brilliant. I could have talked about the two shows' ability to create pretty interesting villains. Wolfram & Hart, Darla, and Drusilla are all cool "big bads."

But nothing compares to this:

NUMFAR, DO THE DANCE OF JOY!

Apparently rich Amazonian Princesses in David E. Kelley's world shop at cheap costume shops

Over the years, Wonder Woman has rarely changed her look. For the most part, she has kept to the star-spangled bustier. The few times that she has changed things up, the results haven't been pretty. Yet, nothing compares to the dimestore halloween costume patriotic rubber clown suit NBC and David Kelley putting Adrianne Palicki in. I realize that the red, yellow and blue corset/hot pants combination might have been a hard sell--I get that, I really do. I have absolutely no problem with changing up the costume, but this thing is horrid. It's all shiny and plastic-y.

If it can used as any indication as to the kind of show we can expect, then we could be looking at a campy, tongue in cheek version of Wonder Woman. Now that I think of it, that assessment fits perfectly with the details we have seen leaked from the pilot's script. When we look at the multiple identities, the dungeon of geeks, and Wonder Woman worrying about her bust-line through the lens of this costume, they look even worse. I am trying really hard not to be alarmist about this. I realize that, in the grand scheme of things, it is still early in the process and David E. Kelley's Wonder Woman might not ever actually be broadcast. However, things are not looking too bright for the Amazonian Princess. [Source: EW.com]

Update: So I have been trying to put my finger on why I hate the blue pants. I think I finally figured it out. They SCREAM Donna Troy and not Diana Prince. There is a reason none of Donna's Wondergirl Troia Troy outfits are iconic...they're as uninspiring as that picture above.

FIGcast - Episode 9 - "TnT Advisory" Supplemental Post

In Episode 9 we discussed AT&T's plans to rule the world impose data caps on their customers. In the course of the conversation we mentioned this infographic from waaaaay back in 2009. It may be two years old, but I doubt things have changed that much. Regardless, it should give you an idea of just how much we Americans pay for cruddy internet service.

Source: Gawker.com

The Girl On Fire

Gary Ross has chosen his Katniss Everdeen, and she's an Oscar nominee.



Jennifer Lawrence, recently nominated for Best Actress for her work in Winter's Bone, has been chosen as the lead in the upcoming film adaptation of The Hunger Games. If you haven't heard of the property, the trilogy by Suzanne Collins is the latest Young Adult phenomenon to dominate the book world. The story revolves around a distopian future where once a year the government forces a handful of teenagers to fight to the death for entertainment. In some ways the premise is similar to the story of Theseus, where the subjugated Greek cities were forced to send children to the maze of the Minotaur. It's a great read, and if you haven't checked it out yet I encourage you to do so.

Back to the announcement. On the positive side of things, Lawrence is a great actress. The biggest problem with adapting YA fiction to screen is always finding actors who can pull off the full range of emotions at such a young age. With Lawrence in the lead, I have full confidence that the acting will not be a problem for this project. On the negative end, she's a little bit old. She will almost certainly be 21 before the film wraps, and if it's a success she'll probably be past 25 by the time the third movie is made. The character of Katniss is 16 at the start of the series, and is not yet 18 at the conclusion. Unless they plan to drastically alter one of the main plots of the story, she can't possibly be any older than 18. That has some people up in arms. They're worried that they'll age up the whole story, or change the entire premise. I'm not that worried, because Hollywood has always loved casting people in their 20s to play teenagers. I'd rather see someone who has to act down in age a few years, rather than someone who can't act at all. But that's just me

FIGcast - Episode 9 - "TnT Advisory"

Work together in perfect har-mo-neee... Sorry. Here's our new episode.

FIGcast - Episode 9 - "TnT Advisory"

Shownotes:

• Darren played tour guide, Trey becomes a Whedon-ite, and Tripp went to the movies
• Darren tells us about AT&T, the harbinger of doom
• Trey talks Wonder Woman, Sandman and Kevin Spacey
• Blu Rays, Coming Attractions and Box Office Results

Email: FullyIntegratedGeeks@gmail.com

Look for us on Facebook, or the iTunes store. If you're on iTunes, write a review. Trey will hug you as barter.

FIGcast - Episode 8 - "Dead Tar & Featherers"

If you don't like the title, it's all Trey's fault for not being here to record. But fear not, this episode does contain a few minutes of his dulcet tones. Check it out.

FIGcast - Episode 8 - "Dead Tar & Featherers"

Shownotes

• Darren at the theatre
• "A Game of Thrones" is good, we think you should read it
• Trey tells us how he tricked his advisor into letting him read comic books for homework
• Blu Rays, Coming Attractions and Box Office News

You've found the blog, but this isn't everything. You can email us at FullyIntegratedGeeks@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook. And yes, you can actually find us on the iTunes Store now. Subscribe to us on iTunes, and once you've listened to us write a review there on iTunes. That's the best way to make it easy for other people to find us.

Super 8 - Full Length Trailer

"In the game of thrones...

you either win or you die." That's a direct quote from George R.R. Martin's books, and it's pretty much the perfect encapsulation of the entire series.

This is HBO's official poster for the first season of Game of Thrones, and I think it's basically perfect.

The award for "Most Intriguing TV pilot of 2011"...

Has a front-runner, NBC's Precinct 17. Created by Battlestar Galactica's Ronald Moore, the new show has so far only been described as "an ensemble drama set in the town of Excelsior, where science takes a back seat to magic and the supernatural".

That sounds interesting by itself, and Ron Moore has some pretty serious geek-cred stored up after BSG. Now we're getting some major casting reveals, and it easily bumps the show to the top of the must-see pile...at least for now.












From L to R: Eamonn Walker (Oz); Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica, Outcasts); James Callis (Battlestar Galactica, Eureka); Stockard Channing (The West Wing, Grease); Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica, Burn Notice)

A showrunner from a cult classic and some recognizable genre actors don't guarantee a good show, but they don't hurt. We'll have a lot more coverage of the upcoming TV season as we hear more casting news and move towards full season pickups. Consider this a taste of things to come.

FINALLY!!!

A Song of Ice and Fire is one of the most beloved fantasy series of the last two decades, and is respected around the world. It debuted in 1996 with A Game of Thrones, and only got better with 1998's A Clash of Kings and 2000's A Storm of Swords. Then author George R. R. Martin hit a snag, and the long wait started. His next volume quickly shot past the 1000-page mark, and decisions had to be made. Eventually, the decision was made to divide the fourth book into two parts based by dividing the characters, rather than just cutting the timeline in half. This required some revisions, but in 2005 the public finally received A Feast for Crows. Martin was certain that he would have the next book revised in a year's time, at most. He was wrong.



Yesterday, Martin finally announced an official publication date for the fifth book. A Dance with Dragons will be available on July 12th, 2011. This is convenient, as it will probably be about two weeks after the conclusion of the first season of Game of Thrones, the new HBO series based on the books. Fantasy fans have a lot to celebrate this weekend.

FIGcast - Episode 7 - "Kneel Before Jobs"

We're a wee-bit late posting this week's podcast. Our bad.

FIGcast - Episode 7 -"Kneel Before Jobs"

Shownotes:

• Darren sees a play, Trey + Buffy = Heart, Tripp gets another book.
• We're very disappointed in you, Academy. Now go to your room and think about what you've done.
• We're suckers for Avengers and Dark Knight Rises rumors.
• iPad2 announcement discussion.
• Tripp and Trey can't agree about rehashing Superman's origin.

You can email us at FullyIntegratedGeeks@gmail.com. You can find us at Facebook. You can subscribe to us on the iTunes Store. Be sure to look for us again next week!