66 (Old) Movie Dance Scenes Mashup

There have been a lot of impressive supercuts put up on Vimeo and YouTube lately and I love looking through them, the idea of getting something already created and editing it and altering it to create something new just appeals to me. Well here is another one and this one is a real doozy! Nerd Fest UK has created a mashup of 66 old movie scenes set to the track Uptown Fun and the result is wonderful. In their own words:

My inspiration came from What's the Mashup? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmnSm...) but I didn't manage 100! The idea was to do the same for movies from the Golden Age – meaning no title later than 1953 (although there is one at the end.) Oh, and none of these clips was sped up or slowed down.

So, sit back and enjoy this wonderful slice of nostalgia and maybe discover a new film to purchase and support the cause of film preservation!

Metroid: The Sky Calls

I am a huge Metroid fan, falling in love with the series on the Gameboy with Metroid 2 (I never playedthe original Metroid on the NES until years later) and playing every iteration since. Well, director Sam Balcomb and Rainfall Films have teamed up to present a live action short film set in the Metroid universe with Jessica Chobot (of Nerdist fame).

In their own words:


The classic Nintendo franchise, Metroid, envisioned through the lens of 60s-70s science fiction cinema such as 2001, Alien, and Solaris: this was the concept for Rainfall’s most recent production. Instead of using a modern approach, a style was developed more in tune with the themes that inspired the first Metroid game in 1986: isolation, exploration, and the wonders of deep space.

I watched the short film and loved it, the mood and the music were spot on. There were a couple of elements of Other M in there but not too much, thank god. For any fans of the classic Nintendo series check out the awesome video below!

Noelle Stevenson and Kate Leth Signing in Orbital Comics, London

Orbital Comics is hosting a couple of great signings with creator Kate Leth (Power Up, Bravest Warriors, Patsy Walker Hellcat) and Noelle Stevenson (Nimona, Lumberjanes).

On Wednesday, November 11 from 6pm, Kate Leth will be signing for her fans, then afterwards from 7:30pm she will be recording a live episode of the podcast Orbital in Conversation.

Then on Thursday, November 12 from 5.30pm, Noelle Stevenson will be signing and greeting fans, then from 7:30pm she will be hosting a Directors Commentary nights looking at Lumberjanes Volume 2. I've been fortunate enough to attend these commentary nights with Mike Carey (Lucifer, The Unwritten) and Mark Buckingham (Fables, Miracleman) and they offer a real insight into the process of making comics. If you get a chance to go I would highly recommend it!

Talented Guy Plays Violin to Mario Game

I love the violin, when it is played well it is sublime but boy when it is played badly.... yeeeesh! I went to violin classes for a term several years ago but wasn't good enough to stay on the course (my working hours changed) but for those who can play I am envious. Take this guy in the video below, to quote the yoof of today, he mas 'mad skillz'.

Flyer Fever

Dan Hower, an avid arcade flyer collector, has created a website with over 3000 hi-rez images of flyers and lots of details including the date of the flyer, the publisher and obviously the title. Looking through the page it is amazing to see the evolution of the art styles and the use of colour and imagery. If you are a looking for something cool and unusual then you could do a lot worse than this wonderful site!

Mark Millar Signs My Swag

Mark Millar is the writer of such amazing works like Kick-Ass and Wanted, both of which were turned into pretty solid Hollywood films. Millar has a skewed take on the traditional superhero tropes and stories and it is this original take that I and many other comic fans find so interesting.

When I heard he was doing a signing at Gosh Comics in London I knew I had to get some of his comics signed and meet the great writer. The queue was really long, about 50 people long when I got there half an hour early to beat the rush.

However it was worth the wait and I had a chance to chat with him. I have been told that the next script for Chosen (American Jesus in some territories) has been written so after 10 years we will finally see what happened to anti-Christ Jodie Christianson.

Gameboy Cartridge Keyring

I love going to video game shops and one of the certainties is that you will find shed-loads of old Fifa, Madden and NFL games and also you will find butt-loads of Mary-Kate and Ashley games. Well, I always wondered what the shops would do with these as no-one really plays these games, as there are new iterations or their moment has gone, so all they do is take up room. Well I went to a retro gaming shop called Critical Mass in Exeter and they came up with a novel idea, break open the cartridge and use the circuit board as a keyring! Well, people will probably use it more than some of the old games and it's useful... unlike old Gameboy Advance Barbie games! I think it makes a nice stocking filler for that geek in your life.

Wonderland Dizzy

I'm a huge fan of the Oliver Twins, creators of the classic gaming character Dizzy. I got to meet my childhood gaming heroes last year at the Cambridge Museum of Gaming History and they were wonderful enough to sign my retro Dizzy swag. Well last week they were going back to the Museum to make an announcement, unfortunately prior engagements means that I was unable to go but what followed blew my mind- there is a new old Dizzy game! I'll let the Twins explain themselves the story of their re-discovery in the video below:

Wonderland Dizzy is an old game which was planned for the NES but was never released. The game is available free to play through the link below. For old skool fans like me this is amazing news, especially after the Kickstarter for a new Dizzy game failed to meet its targets. Well, onwards and upwards with classic Dizzy!

How British Video Games Became a Billion Pound Industry

Since its early days of bedroom coders the computer game industry has evolved to become one of the largest industries in the world. The BBC have created an interesting a multi-media timeline charting the rise of the British gaming industry. It's well worth a look and could be useful to integrate into Computing lessons.

Modern Day Icons in the Flemish Style

Sacha Goldberger is a photographer and artist who has taken inspiration from the great Flemish artists of the 16th and 17th century to portray modern day icons as they might have been presented in those ages. It's a beguiling and arresting look achieved through the use of incredible constumes, lighting and models who look similar to the characters they portray.

I've shared one picture below but I would definitely recommend his website where he uses the Flemish art style to portray Marvel and DC Superheroes too!

Cool Geeky Christmas Jumpers

Christmas is coming and to to get yourself in the mood why not spruce up your caboose.... or general chest, stomach, arm- okay top half of your bod. These awesome Christmas themed jumpers put the Festive in Festival. My fav is the Superman insignia on the red snowflaked theme background. What's yours?

Celebrate Back To the Future Day- Tour the DeLorean 3d Style

Perhaps you live under a rock and didn't realise (either that or you're not a fan of social media) but today is Back to the Future Day. There are many memes, articles and videos out there but one of the most impressive I've seen is a 3D model of the DeLorean and the City Hall. The art was created by Alejandro Santell and uploaded to Sketchfab just in time for this momentous day. Check it out in the link below!

Megadrive Portable

There are many ways to play 8 and 16-bit games out there; as well as the simple option of emulation there are the dearth of clone systems and retro machines. There are many ways to play the games of yore but I was recently handed a Megadrive Portable by my cousin who was having a bit of a clear-out. The machine itself costs around 30 pounds and I think this is an excellent value. Its certainly a cost effective alternative to getting an import Sega Nomad and an Everdrive cartridge. The machine comes with an SD card slot and the fact that by downloading roms from sites like emuparadise you can add pretty much have every single Megadrive game ever made is brilliant.

A real perk of the system is that the AV out is great to connect up to your TV or in my case, the projector in my mancave- I have spent many an hour laying down in my futon look up at the projected game on my ceiling plugged into my headphones playing my way through my childhood games.

There are only a few negative points, the main one being that the speaker isn't great quality. The machine doesn't have the Yamaha YM2612, the six-channel sound chip developed by Yamaha, and so the soundtracks don't sound like they used to (not a bad thing in some cases sure, but for games like Streets of Rage 2 or Thunderforce 3 a real loss). The controls are good without being spongy but don't feel as solid as the Megadrive controllers.

Overall the system is well worth the asking price and the litmus test is that my two nephews (aged 5 and 3 1/2) love playing the system. Even though there is no way to play two player in the games there are plenty of great games on the system to sink your teeth into.

London Gaming Market

Wondering what to get your other nerdier half for Christmas. Well, if they are into computer games why not get them some old skool video games? According to their website:

The London Gaming Market is THE place to buy retro video-games, board games and merchandise all in one place.
London Gaming Market will be held every 4 months at the Royal National Hotel in Russell Square London. The launch will be on Sunday 15th of November 2015. Future dates will be March 6th 2016, July 3rd 2016 and November 6th 2016.
The doors open at 11am, tickets available on the door. Early entry tickets cost £5, tickets after 12PM cost £2. Children under 14 can enter for free when accompanied by a paying adult.

I'm looking to go when it open on the launch day and will post pics online, but hopefully it will be a chance to catch up on getting those few rarer items I'd like for my man-cave.... I'm looking at you Donkey Kong Game and Watch.

Lasertime Patreon Swag

I've been a long time listener of Lasertime, an irreverent and fun podcast that looks at multimedia including film, TV, comics, music and pop culture. They look back with nostalgia and give it a fun spin, some of their podcasts include Ultra descriptive title theme songs, Adult jokes in kids cartoons, The best unaired pilots and Animated vanity.

There are many spin-offs and side projects from the original Lasertime and these are:

Cape Crisis

Cape Crisis is hosted by Henry Gilbert on a weekly basis. This show predominantly, if not exclusively features news and discussion about comic books and other forms of sequential art.

VGMpire

VGMpire is hosted by Brett Elston and features discussions about video game music.

Cheap Popcast

Cheap Popcast is hosted by Dave Rudden and is released on a monthly basis, usually near the same time as an upcoming pay-per-view wrestling event. I'm not a fan of wrestling so don't listen to this one but if you are a fan then this would be great for you!

Vidjagame Apocalypse

Mikel Reparaz, hosts Vidjagame Apocalypse, a podcast that features news and discussions exclusively about video games, with some episodes featuring journalists from other game sites including Games Radar.

Talking Simpsons

In June 2015, a new podcast, Talking Simpsons, hosted by Retronauts host Bob Mackey became available to the podcast's patrons on Patreon. The podcast focuses on discussing each episode from the long-running animated series in chronological order. The first season of the podcast is exclusive to Patreon donators, while following seasons will be available to the general public.

Bonus Time

Exclusive to the podcast's Patreon supporters, Bonus Time is a weekly companion to the main Lasertime podcast, hosted by Chris Antista, Henry Gilbert, and Dave Rudden.

As a $5 Patreon supporter I get the Lasertime sticker, it arrived today and I am very happy with it. It takes pride of place on my Macbook. If you haven't listened to any of the Lasertime network shows I heartily recommend that you do.

The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses

The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses will be touring through North America and Europe as part of a world tour. Dates for the shows have been announced, and more will be announced next year.

The Legend of Zelda Symphony includes brand-new music and visuals from Tri-Force Heroes, as well as songs from the previous Zelda games. Game moments from the series will be timed with the orchestral score approved by Zelda composer Koji Kondo.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert had the Symphony perform and boy was it amazing! I'm booking tickets for the London leg of the gig, if you're a fan you should too. The link is below!

This is the current venues and dates announced:

  • Nashville, TN, Schermerhorn Symphony Center; January 21, 22
  • Boston, MA, Symphony Hall; February 23
  • Costa Mesa, CA, Segerstrom Center for the Arts; March 8
  • Toronto, ON, Sony Centre; March 19
  • Jacksonville, FL, Moran Theatre; March 24
  • Kansas City, MO, Music Hall Kansas City; March 26
  • Memphis, TN, The Orpheum; March 31
  • New Orleans, LA, Saenger Theater; April 1
  • Columbus, OH, Ohio Theater; April 3
  • Charlottesville, VA, JPJ Arena; April 8
  • London, UK, SSE/Wembley Arena; April 23
  • Guadalajara, MX, Auditorio Telmex; May 11
  • Monterrey, MX, Arena Monterrey; May 13
  • Mexico City, MX, Arena de Ciudad; May 15
  • San Antonio, TX, Majestic Theater; May 21
  • Los Angeles, CA, Dolby Theater; June 13
  • Austin, TX, Long Center; June 23
  • Montreal, QB, Place des Arts; June 25
  • San Francisco, CA, Davies Symphony Hall; August 21
  • Atlanta, GA, Cobb Perf. Arts; September 10
  • Edmonton, AB, Southern Jubilee; September 21
  • Vancouver, BC, Queen Elizabeth Theatre; September 23
  • Paris, FR, Palais Des Congres; October 8
  • Lisbon, PT, Coliseu de Lisboa; October 14
  • Essen, DE, Grugahalle; October 15
  • Chicago, IL, Chicago Auditorium; November 12

LINK- Zelda Symphony Concert

    The Art of Glen Keane

    Glen Keane is not a name known to many but he is an accomplished artist who worked on many Disney films including Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and much more besides. Having left Disney in 2012 Keane has pursued more personal animation projects and the results are stunning. Below are two wonderful examples of his work; Duet follows the life and love of a boy and girl from birth and Nephtali follows the journey of a ballerina who transcends the dance. Both are beautiful and show the power of traditional 2D animation. I must admit that Duet struck a chord with me, particularly the scene of the young girl growing up as having recently become a father to a girl I get more emotional about stuff like this. Anyways enjoy!

    Titano is a Modern Day Silent Movie Short

    I love silent movies, as I've mentioned several times before on this website, and this new short by Ben Chavda is wonderful. To quote the blurb:

    An old man looks up at a faded movie poster and remembers a time when the world knew him as the terrifying monster TITANO, star of a dozen old films. What he doesn’t know is that once the sun goes down, he will have one last opportunity to give the performance of a lifetime and deliver a scare that will never be forgotten!

    This short only runs at about 5 minutes but hits you in the feels. Wonderful stuff!