March Madness, Geek Force Five Style
Every year in March, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) holds tournaments to decide the national champions in both men’s and women’s basketball. This year, Geek Force Five, in association with the entirely fictional (for now) National Collegial Geekery Association (NCGA), is proud to announce the 1st Annual Geek Force Five Tournament. And you, my friends, are going to help us select the participants.
Here’s how it’s going to work. We’re going to scour the Internet over the next few days to determine the top 16 obsessions in four categories—Movies/TV, Games/Tech, Comics, and Music—and, while we’re doing that, you’re going to submit your picks via the GeekOut box in the sidebar of GeekForceFive.com. At some point early next week, once we’ve tallied all of the votes, we’re going to fill in the big bracket you see here. And then, our obsessions do battle!
For each matchup, we’ll create a page where you can vote to determine the winner. The winner of each matchup moves on to the next round, and so on, and so forth, until we’ve crowned our champion.
Make sense? Good! Let’s go. If you have questions (or if you want to tell me what a genius I am for thinking this up), drop ‘em in the comments.
Three SXSW 2009 Tips
PHOTO: sxsw_wwow_wins on Flickr by Avant Game CC BY-NC
Unfortunately, I’m not going to be among the awesome people in Austin, Texas this weekend at South By Southwest. But, still, that’s no reason I shouldn’t give you a few bits of advice for how to maximize the awesomeness quotient while you’re there.
- “Leave your laptop in your hotel room and bring a notebook and pen instead. This will allow you to listen to the sessions and not be distracted. Plus, who wants to lug around a big bag all day long?” [courtesy of EE Insider]
- Do fun things you would do anyway, but with awesome new people? For example, try {RV}IP Lounge, a Karaoke party on wheels recently written up by Mickipedia.
- And, if you do insist on lugging a laptop around with you all day, try to minimize the time you spend staring at it trying to figure out what to do by using some organizational app of some kind. Like, howzabout PeopleBrowsr? Jennifer Van Grove at Mashable wrote a review the other day, and it definitely sounds worth checking out.
Geek Force Utterz #113 - Connect and Reconnect
Aside from a brief report on how this week’s writing binge is going, today’s Geek Force Utterz is all about tips for preparing oneself for the inevitable fall of the axe and the terrible arrival of the pink slip. Listen in via the embed above, or by visiting Utterli.com.
Apparently, Geeks Can’t Dance
Dancing With the Stars is a show that my wife watches pretty religiously when it’s on. Me, I sort of ignore it unless I have nothing better to do. But last night, last night was different. I actually sat down to watch an episode of the show entirely on my own (Stephanie was out). And why was that? Well, my fellow Apple geeks already know the answer. But for those of you who don’t know: I tuned in to see Woz.
MSNBC.com has a pretty good write-up on the episode, and I think they’re right-on in their description of the Apple co-founder’s performance: “Wozniak certainly proved that it’s endearing when nerds try to dance [but] [h]e can’t actually dance at all.”
Other than Steve’s performance, it was interesting to watch Belinda Carlisle give dancing a try (she was an early crush of mine), and excruciating to discover that an old comedy favorite of mine, David Alan Grier, is a total asshole (or at least comes off like one). The most impressive performances of the night—which isn’t saying much, especially on premiere night—came from dude famous for getting nude in Sex and the City (Gilles Marini) and girl (Shawn Johnson) famous for being flexible. I didn’t stay awake long enough to see Melissa “I was dumped byThe Bachelor” Rycroft’s apparently impressive performance, but she apparently has some dance training too. It would’ve been nice to see someone unexpected shine, rather than these three, who you sort of expected to do well. But maybe that’s what I’m supposed to tune in next time for.
Geek Force Utterz #112 - Could This Be My Everyday?
On the second day of my spring break writing binge (I’m using the time gained by not having to teach to get caught up on my novel), things are going swimmingly. So swimmingly, in fact, that I find myself wishing that the day I am having could be my everyday. Listen in to today’s episode of Geek Force Utterz to learn more. It’s available via the embed above, or by visiting Utterli.com.
Kelly Clarkson’s ALL I EVER WANTED: My First Listen
Since the day I first heard her sing back in 2002 on American Idol, I have been in love with the voice of Kelly Clarkson. The girl has pipes. And, more than that, she knows how to use them. Equal parts rock chick and pop princess, she delivers infectious hooks on nearly every track she puts out.
But, like any pop star, her albums never stand together quite as well as her singles stand alone. The second album, Breakaway, came close to pop perfection, but 2007’s My December was a step backward.
And so, I’ve been greatly anticipating the release of Kelly’s latest album, All I Ever Wanted. I’ve been dying to know if she would finally put the total package together. The first single, “My Life Would Suck Without You”, recalled the awesomeness of “Since U Been Gone,” so there was reason to hope. But how does it stand up? I listened to the whole thing via MTV.com’s The Leak, and here are my thoughts.
All New, All Dark: The Disappointing New Trailer for HARRY POTTER 6
Of all the big movie trailers that popped up last week, the new trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was, for me, the biggest disappointment. And let me put this in perspective: It takes a lot to disappoint me in a movie trailer. I am, on the whole, very easy to please. But this trailer—this trailer just did not do it for me.
Geek Force Utterz #111 - More F’in Snow
I recorded today’s episode of Geek Force Utterz while driving to the bus station, where a bus was supposed to take me to Boston. I am posting it now from the comfort of my home in New Hampshire. What happened? Snow happened. And in today’s episode, you get to hear me chronicle the crazy aborted commute. Listen in via the embed above, or by visiting Utterli.com.
Geek Force Roster Change - 03.08.2009
The Geek Force Five roster for this week is, in many ways, about anticipation. We are all, I suppose, nervously anticipating that day when the current economy will affect us personally (if it hasn’t already), so we’re going to tackle the Pink Slip Parade head-on this week.
Every Apple fanboy is, at least in some deep dark corner of their brain that they don’t talk about at tea parties, wondering what’s going to happen when the Woz takes the stage during this week’s Dancing with the Stars premiere. And those normal people out there who aren’t Apple geeks—like my wife—they’re just anticipating the return of one of the most popular shows on TV. So, we’re going to cover that.
Then, of course, we’ve got Ms. Kelly Clarkson, whose new album debuts this week, just as American Idol is kicking into high-gear. So, let’s talk about what’s become of past Idol winners and alums. Because, heck, why not?!?
And when it comes to anticipation in the tech and social media sphere, few events are anticipated more each year than the arrival of SXSW (South by Southwest). We’re going to talk about that, too.
And, if none of that whets your particular geeky appetite, don’t fret: We’re also talking about the latest movie trailers this week, including killer new clips from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Star Trek, Terminator: Salvation, and more.
Got an idea for an article? Send it over to . I’d be happy to take a look at it.
Geek Force Utterz #110 - NH Media Makers
As has become my tradition, I called in to Utterli on my way home from this month’s New Hampshire Media Makers meeting. Listen in via the embed above (or by visiting Utterli.com) and hear me speak about all the exciting developments, including the possibility that there may someday soon be a Geek Force Five beer.
