GeekSugar

Celebs Get Creative With Spore

GeekSugar — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:00:55 -0700

I am not the only one stoked about the upcoming release of Spore! Geeky celebs are getting in on the action and creating their creatures, too. With the Sporelebrity challenge, you can vote for your favorite creation brought to you by some pretty hard-hitting stars like Neil Patrick Harris, Katy Perry, and the funny dudes from Flight of the Conchords, just to name a few. Check out some of my personal faves in this slideshow, and then head over to Sporelebrity Central and vote for your favorite creation! Source

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Rainn Wilson Shares His Sexy Side With People

GeekSugar — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 11:00:19 -0800

Sure, Matt Damon may be People's Sexiest Man Alive, but there are plenty of sexy geeks out there getting cred this year, too! Uber-geek and The Office star Rainn Wilson may not have made the sexiest list, but he did receive an honorable mention. He sat down with People to create a funny video about being called sexy by the magazine. Here's more:

What's your reaction to being called sexy by People?
What? Oh My God. Ahhhhhhh.
Why is being nerdy so sexy?
Some of the most powerful men in the world are geeks, what with the computers and Internet and all. You see their pictures in the newspapers and everything like that. The geeks didn't worry about being popular so they worked on whatever it was - on music or websites - and became bazillionaires and have risen to prominence.
When do you feel sexiest?
When sitting in a rumbled suit in a plastic toy car.
[Editor's note: He's sitting on a plastic car in the video.]

Rainn also revealed he likes his women "tattooed and dangerous" and has a soft spot in his heart for nerdy men, saying "Masi Oka gets me really riled up." Ugly Betty's nerdy accountant Chris Gorham and Masi Oka from Heroes also shared video secrets with the magazine.

Photos courtesy of NBC

Masi Oka's Ad Appeals to One Laptop Per Child Donors

GeekSugar — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 07:00:10 -0800

The One Laptop Per Child project, an effort to provide $100 computers to children in developing countries, has been in the works for some time, but a recent publicity campaign has catapulted the project into the mainstream. The OLPC has released an ad featuring Heroes star and former Geek of the Week Masi Oka. In it Masi implores the public to purchase and donate computers to children in need.

"Imagine that you give a laptop to a child and that one child can come up with these great ideas," Oka says in the video. "We can give them the power to learn. The power to connect with all ideas around the world. Imagine the difference we can make."

Between Nov. 12 and 26, OLPC is offering a Give One Get One program in the United States and Canada. During this time, you can donate the XO laptop to a child in a developing nation, and also receive one for the child in your life in recognition of your contribution.

Source

Heroes Star Masi Oka Opens Up To Wired

GeekSugar — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 10:00:47 -0700

In the fresh May issue of Wired Magazine Heroes star and one of my favorite Geek of the Week contenders Masi Oka opened up about being a geek in real life and on screen.

The interview was actually just a slice Behind the Scenes With Heroes Creator Tim Kring and "Hiro," Masi Oka, which details the story of how the Crossing Jordan and Chicago Hope creator came up with the idea for the show. For those of you that haven't been watching, Heroes has quickly garnered cred from the mainstream press and viewers as well as the usual sci-fi cult fans.

According to Wired, Oka, who plays time traveler Hiro Nakamura, said he bases Hiro's wide-eyed innocence on an anime character from Dragonball Z.

He also said he "wants Heroes to include more geeky references." "Sometimes I try to sneak one in there," he told the magazine.

Here are some highlights from the story:

Masi Oka, who plays salaryman Hiro Nakamura on Heroes, is scarfing down baked chicken in the back of a strip club in Van Nuys, California, on a break from filming the April 30 episode. "Tim's a great barometer for people who are not into comics," Oka says. "If Tim understands it, the whole world will. The writers might geek out and come up with some time- traveling, mind-bending fifth-dimensional thing. Tim says, 'Whoa, what does that mean?'"

For additional highlights, read more

On the show, Oka's character is an office worker who lacks fashion sense, loves comics and videogames, and quotes Star Trek. But in a cheeky conceit, the chubby nebbish Hiro is the central hero of Heroes. And it's his geekiness that gives him an edge. Because Hiro is so well versed in the myth and lore of superheroes, he's the one with the clearest sense of what to do with his powers.
Oka himself is a geek made good. Before he pursued acting, he was a CG artist at Industrial Light & Magic, crafting f/x for films like War of the Worlds and Revenge of the Sith. (He still does occasional work for the company - no one else knows how to use the programs he coded.) His endearing performance on Heroes earned him a Golden Globe nomination for supporting actor. And for today's shoot, he's ditched his standard nerdy wardrobe for the much cooler "Future Hiro" outfit - a black tunic, soul patch, and badass samurai sword.

NBC And MobiTV Team Up For On-Demand Mobile TV

GeekSugar — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 09:00:37 -0700

Television networks are now trying to play catch up with YouTube by offering consumers prime-time television shows on their cell phones.

On Wednesday, NBC Universal announced that it would let viewers purchase full-length shows like The Office and Heroes to play on their phones. This new service will be delivered through MobiTV 'allowing viewers to stream full episodes of top-rated shows starting at $1.99 for a 24-hour period after the show airs.'

What's great about this is that you don't need to fill up your phone's memory card by downloading shows- unlike Apple's iPod video player. Now you can be watching your fave shows instantly, without the hassle of wasting time and memory.

What do you think? Will this be a popular new trend - TV on cell phones? I think it would be pretty cool if you pay a monthly fee and have unlimited access to certain shows. Now that would be sweet.

[via Reuters]

Source

Geek Of The Week: Masi Oka

GeekSugar — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 11:34:09 -0800

Though he didn't take home a statue at Monday's Golden Globe Awards, Masi Oka, who is the star of NBC's Heroes is my pick for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, and my pick for geek of the week.

Not many people know this, but Oka graduated Brown University in 1997 with degrees in mathematics and computer science and a minor in theatre arts. When he was 12, he was on the cover of the August 31, 1987 issue of Time magazine titled "Those Asian-American Whiz Kids," because he has an IQ of 180-plus. My favorite part about Oka? After getting his acclaimed role on Heroes he told reporters he's still driving his 2000 Honda. Talk about a humble geek!

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Source

Andrea Owens of Think Geek: Geeky Girl We Love

GeekSugar — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 07:00:01 -0700

ThinkGeek has long been a go-to destination for geek shoppers online, so when I was introduced to one of their Merchandising Assistants and she immediately divulged she is a geeksugar fan, I realized we were a match made in heaven.

Andrea Owens, who describes herself as "laid back, high strung, random, a little bit crazy, fun, and a little bit of an organizing control freak," had always been a fan of Thinkgeek and had joked it would be so awesome to work there. After moving to Virginia, she checked the website to look at a gift for her husband noticed they were hiring. Needless to say, that was a match made in heaven.

These days Andrea's job consists of monitoring ThinkGeek's stock of current products, ordering stock, researching (can you imagine how much fun that is?), and the best part, product testing. What's the seemingly perfect geek job really like and what makes Andrea so geek chic? Check out my interview with her!read more

Geeksugar: What is day to day life like at ThinkGeek headquarters?
Andrea: We're a really small operation. When I started there were just 13 people and now there are 19 of us to do just about everything. Most of the year is pretty laid back. Come September we begin preparations for the holiday season and things start to get a little nuts. Hours get longer, people get crazier, and there is too much to do for us to keep track of. The good thing is that when things are crazy we're still mostly pretty relaxed. You'll usually find someone in the halls playing with an R/C toy or a cube weapon. Recently one of my office pals has decided it's funny to shoot a suction cup dart from a blow gun at my office window at 8:30 AM. That could wake the dead! Most people think our office is full of toys and caffeine, and it usually is. (And sometimes there's cake, pudding, and pie!)

Geeksugar: Tell me a little about the team...what percentage are actual geeks?
Andrea: Honestly, most of us would call ourselves a geek of some sort or another. We have coder geeks, gadget/tech geeks, Rennfest geeks, Star Wars/Star Trek/Dr. Who/Potter fans. We have a great mix. There's only one or two that might say they weren't geeks at all. We're a happy little geek family.

Geeksugar: How many hours are you online everyday?
Andrea: Usual schedule is check a few of the important websites before work, email, weather. I am mostly online all eight hours I am at work. Then at home I catch up on personal blogs and friends for a bit. A lot less time online now since I have kicked the Warcraft addiction!

Geeksugar: Your first computer was a ...
Andrea: An Apple IIc, but it was my brothers so I didn’t have it all to myself. My first machine that was all mine was a piece of junk HP, just for the usual school work, IRC, and games. After that I started moving to custom built desktops. Now I get by with a custom box with dual 19” LCDs and a Dell laptop for when I am sitting on the couch.

Geeksugar: What are three things you guys sell that you really want/had to buy?
Andrea: Just three? That is completely unfair. My house is completely filled with ThinkGeek stuff. I can’t help it. Okay back on topic… Three huh? Hmmm. Okay the Nabaztag, Pleo (he is coming soon!!!), and the Sun Jar are my current wants. Just for fun three of my haves, Laser Stars Projector, a small collection of Giant Plush Microbes (Great gifts! Give someone Syphilis!), and an assortment of Japanese toys.

Geeksugar: What is your favorite thing about your job? What is your favorite thing about ThinkGeek?
Andrea: The work environment!! It’s a laid back environment, folks are pretty mellow. Any other place I have worked it always felt like work, what fun is that. Doing product testing on the latest gadgets and toys is tons of fun. We also bring our dogs to the office (sometimes a cat or two) which provide a much needed distraction at times. There are some of us who don't wear shoes in the office! It makes doing the work part much easier to deal with.

Geeksugar: What are five of your favorite websites?
Andrea: Okay, five sites I'm at at least 3 or more times in a day. All of the Sugar sites. It's true, I spend way too much time here! ThinkGeek, of course. My LiveJournal, Engadget, Akihabara News, and right now Etsy is my new obsession.

Geeksugar: Do you use an RSS reader? If so, many feeds do you subscribe to?
Andrea: I read a few. I'm always looking for new ones. Currently I have National Geographic News, Wired News, Mental Floss' feed for the stuff that's a little more adult. For my daily cute fix I have Cute Overload, I Can Has Cheezburger, Stuff On My Cat, and Stuff On My Mutt.

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top three sexiest male geeks in the world?
Andrea: Masi Oka, completely adorable. Alton Brown, he's just awesome. John Fraizer from ThinkGeek. He said he would fire me if I didn't say that, but I don't know that he has that authority. Best not to test it.

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top three sexiest female geeks in the world?
Andrea: Kari Byron from the Mythbusters, cute, artsy, and geeky for the experiments she does. For the anime geek in me, Lain. The last one is always hard to pick. I'm gonna cheat though and say girl gamers are hot. I've known too many awesome gaming females to just pick one. It's completely not a cop out either.

Geeksugar: How do you feel about being called a “geek”?
Andrea: I'm totally cool with it. It feels different being called a geek now than it when I was in school. Back in school it felt like it was meant as an insult but I was well used to being different from everyone else. Now it feels like there's more respect with it. It feels more like something I earned with the years of IRC, BBS, online journals, webcams, history obsession, and gaming. Now it's cool to be a bit of a geek.

Geeksugar: What is the geekiest thing about yourself?
Andrea: I don't know, maybe the anti social behavior. Maybe that I'm planning on getting a tattoo of a cupcake and one of Slimey from Sesame Street. Others in the room are saying that it's my crazy ability to recall song lyrics and other useless things. I think the geekiest thing though is my life long history/anthropology obsession. As far back as I can remember I have loved the past, other cultures, and dead things. Maybe that's a little goth though. I actually remember telling people that I wanted to be an Egyptologist and it baffled them.

Geeksugar: Anything else you want to share?
Andrea: I love the word whomp. I chew my fingers when I'm nervous. I met my husband on LiveJournal. I had the hardest time with the sexy geek questions, really, I did. Chinchillas have 60 hairs per hair follicle. Everyone should buy Rocking With Hawking! I love that shirt!

Reader Profile: Global Geek tdamji Talks Tech

GeekSugar — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 09:00:52 -0700

What makes geeksugar readers so great? The fact that they span the globe. This week's reader profile allows you some insight into the world of tdamji, a certified Interior Decorator and Lighting Expert and visual artist currently getting a degree in Indigenous Art History and Anthropology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

When she's not commenting on geeksugar she can be found gaming on the wii (Zelda is her favorite game so far) and Nintendo DS (she's all about Pokemon Pearl), reading, writing letters to penpals, surfing the net, going for walks, and watching tons of movies. She's lived in four countries - the USA, Canada, India and her most recent home New Zealand. She racked up some serious geek cred with us by admitting the Lord of the Rings trilogy was "a big reason why I came to New Zealand on exchange this year."

To read the complete interview, read more

Geeksugar: How did you learn about the site and when did you start reading?
tdamji: I came across geeksugar quite a few times on other gadgety sites. I started reading regularly about 8 weeks ago and signed up at that point. At first I mainly looked at geeksugar and buzzsugar, but now I pretty much look at everything.

Geeksugar: Do you consider yourself to be a geek? If so, why?
tdamji: Absolutely! My brother has been calling me a geek every since I can remember - so there's no other way for me to be, really.

Geeksugar: How many hours are you online everyday?
tdamji:I am a multi-tasker, so I am not exclusively online for 8 or more hours a day, because I tend to do homework, read, write letters and sometimes eat in front of my computer.

Geeksugar: Name your top 5 favorite websites.
tdamji: Apart from the Sugar Network (I won't play favorites - although its easy to figure out which of the particular sections I most actively visit!), I most enjoy visiting CBC for great news coverage and an interesting arts/ entertainment section with well-written articles, Grist, and fborfw because I can't get enough of Lynn Johnston's comic characters. I've been reading For Better or For Worse for years now and I love seeing everyone grow up! Livejournal, which I use to keep my penpals updated on the goings on in my life (I also like to see what people on the UBC and Vancouver blogs have to say/complain about.

Geeksugar: Your first computer was a ...
tdamji: An Apple IIe, but I can't remember the date. It was maybe 20 years ago. I believe we had another computer at the same time at our house. The Apple was in the office of my mom's montessori. Luckily, I spent a lot of time there - playing California Games among other things.

Geeksugar: Top 3 gadgets you couldn't live without.
tdamji: MacBook, Nintendo ds, ipod (good for drowning out the noise on the walk or bus ride to school!)...unless my Nintendo wii counts as a gadget, and then it would be a hard choice!

Geeksugar: You knew you were a geek when...
tdamji: When I was in elementary school I often gave my homeroom teacher notes saying that I was interested in this or that and got permission to go to the library during homeroom for personal research... also, later on in Junior High I got caught skipping class to hit the stacks!

Geeksugar: How many blogs are in your RSS reader?
tdamji: I do it old-school and just go to the websites everyday - there are about 40 websites in my "dailies" folder. I love opening up at least 10 windows at once with lots of pictures on them and pushing the limits, seeing if Safari will quit on me.

Geeksugar: What are some non-geeky things you do in your spare time?
tdamji:I love to hike and travel, although being a geek helps with both - I am always well-prepared with all the information and gadgets I need! I also love checking out the vegan/vegetarian restaurants wherever I travel.

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest male geeks in the world?
tdamji: Greg my bestfriend of 10 years/roommate of 7 years, David Suzuki (Canadian environmentalist), Masi Oka (He not only plays a geek on Heroes, but is one in real life!), Jean-Luc Picard and John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness).

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest female geeks in the world?
tdamji: Anne Shirley(for being book-geeky as well as a feminist), Hermione Granger (for being very book-geeky), Frida Kahlo (for being politically active, and being an outsider in the art world among other things), Boomer/Athena/Lt. Valerii from BSG (how can you get geekier than being a toaster?) and Marie Curie.

Geeksugar: PC or Mac?
tdamji:Once you go Mac, you never go back. My best friend turned me on to the whole Mac as a personal computer concept almost 7 years ago. I had had one when I was young but it quickly became outdated and we always had a PC at home. I moved out and got my first very own Mac - a powerbook g4 in 2001.

Geeksugar: Did you already get or are you going to get an iPhone?
tdamji: Despite the fact that I have no use for a cell phone and I already have a music/video playing device in my ipod, I must admit that I really want one!

Geeksugar: Anything else you want to share?
tdamji: I recently started a group on Teamsugar: Minimal Harm - For the Love of the Planet, which I'm pretty excited about! Going along with my vegan lifestyle, I am passionate about environmental and social issues.

Geeky Girl We Love: Mia Kim - Part Deux

GeekSugar — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 04:15:49 -0700

Last month we featured some of the cutest geeky couples and bachelors in the blogoshere, which left many of you wondering - what about the women? Fear not my fine friends, we were just saving the best for last. March is Women's History Month so I figured there was no better way to celebrate than to highlight some of the smartest, most creative and successful women on the internet.

This is part two in a series of two interviews with Mia Kim, the founder and editor-in-chief of Popgadget, a lifestyle magazine that embraces technology as a regular and essential part of women's lives. Not only do I look up to her as a leader in the geeky girls movement, but I'm inspired by her business savvy and natural chicness. For part two, read more

Yesterday, Mia shared some of her background and hobbies, which include cooking and not programming a Commodore 64.

Geeksugar: Any funny stories about being a blogger?
Mia: The funniest thing about being a blogger is that you develop real relationships with other bloggers- but you rarely meet in person even if you IM, email all the time and become good friends. At this year's CES, Popgadget had a three person team: me, Stuart Memo from Glasgow, and Evan Hosie who's in California. Our first night there, we were meeting in the hotel lobby, and despite the fact that we were colleagues who knew each other pretty well, we all walked around and around the hotel passing each other because we'd never seen each other. We kept circling each other until Evan called and said, "I think you're standing right in front of me."

Geeksugar: How many blogs are in your RSS reader?
Mia: Yikes, it's over 350. But I have to admit that there are only about 20 that I read every single day. The others get a weekly scan and yet I'm still constantly looking for new feeds.

Geeksugar: Describe a typical day at work for you.
Mia: I just can't do the 15-hour "blogger in their underwear" routine anymore. I was feeling like I wasn't a part of the human race anymore so I break up my work day, make sure I do other things like eat and walk the dogs.

Mornings are rough because I'm a terrible sleeper and have probably been up half the night but I always want to get to email straight away and check on Popgadget posts and start IM chats with the other writers. Then I'm in research mode for a few hours- reading everything in sight. Pop Life Media (the umbrella that publishes Popgadget and Babygadget) also has another side, new media consulting, so I need to set aside a few hours for working with clients and coordinating that work. We don't have a publicist so I'm on the phone a lot, talking to companies and to news people. We also don't have a full-time tech person, so I'm often doing the troubleshooting of the site. We had a server crash a few weeks ago, and after we migrated, I was working on getting the site back up for about a week straight. Never been so tired or stressed in my life.

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest male geeks in the world?
Mia:

Grant Achatz- the chef-owner of Alinea in Chicago. He'd make you dinner, 22nd century style: vaporized cocktails, lobster in the form of edible paper, and an exploding souffle for dessert.
Matt Mullenweg, founder of Wordpress. I'm surprised he's not a bigger tech celeb because who doesn't love a 22-year old genius with a hot property, but he's a soft-spoken, thoughtful guy who'd probably shy away from all that. I'd put him on the cover of Tech Teen Beat.
Masi Oka, who plays Hiro on Heroes. He may not have superpowers, but he's a real-life CGI effects artist, so he could just fake it. And maybe he'd give you some Heroes' spoilers.
Douglas Krone, the owner/founder of Dynamism.com , which imports the most amazing computers and gadgets from Japan about a million years before we'll see them here. I consider myself an early adopter but anytime I see Douglas he's got a phone that does, like, satellite communications with Mars Rover, and is also a high-def video camera and personal MRI scanner.
Ray Kurzweil, the futurist and writer of The Singularity is Near. I believe we are all spiritual beings, I do, but I have doubts and dark moments, and during those times I'd love for Kurzweil to preach to me about how in 500 years, I'll be sitting around with my family and my dogs, in our cyborg bodies, with our holographically assisted brains, and we'll still, essentially, be ourselves. And in 500 years, finally, we will really be driving flying cars. Wouldn't you want to be there too?

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest female geeks in the world?

Gina Trapani, of lifehacker.com. Lifehacker is the site I wish I'd created and Gina just seems like the type of woman I'd love to be friends with. I can just imagine our PC vs Mac conversations over french fries and highly caffeinated drinks in a Brooklyn diner. Sadly, I really can.
Molly Wood, from CNET. At CES this year, I was a bit under the weather and kept complaining that we weren't seeing anything interesting. Then Stuart told me that he spotted Molly Wood at some event and I spent the rest of CES trying to find her so I could casually tell her that she's my favorite podcaster and that I get a thrill every time she mentions Popgadget.
Katherine Moriwaki, of personaldebris.com , who is an interactive artist and new media lecturer. She writes for Popgadget and is a good friend, but I'm in awe of how much she knows about technology, and she's the most uncompromising person I know. She and her husband Jonah Brucker-Cohen are THE tech geek supercouple as far as I'm concerned.
Katie Salen game designer and director of the Design Tech program at Parson's School of Design. She's one of the most engaging speakers I've ever encountered. She's so good that when she came to speak at a class I was teaching, my students had so much fun, it completely changed the chemistry of the class for the rest of the semester.
Rebecca K. Rowe, whose first novel Forbidden Cargo blends hard sci-fi about genetic engineering with politics and lots of action. It's the antithesis to the the unicorn and space princess type type book that so many people tend to associate with women science fiction/fantasy writers.

Geeksugar: Name a blogger you admire and tell us why.
Joseph Stirt of Book of Joe. Joe, unlike so many bloggers, doesn't play the blog game at all, meaning he doesn't just read blogs and link his favorite posts. His posts are about books and art and things he encounters offline. He says he reads no blogs at all and I believe him. That's what makes him a great blogger.

Geeksugar: How do you feel about being called a “geek”?
Mia: I don't mind being called a geek at all. I don't think it means what it used to-bringing to mind someone of questionable social skills and even more questionable grooming. Being a geek is just about being enthusiastic, about really loving something and needing to talk about it, write about it.

Geeksugar: What is the geekiest thing about yourself?
Mia: My friends know it drives me crazy knowing that their virus definitions are three years old and they've got porn pop-ups all over their screen from some site they "accidentally" visited, so I do a complete tech checkup whenever I go over to their houses. After that, I can relax.

Geeksugar: What is your goal for the site?
Mia: It amazes how far we've come and now we're at a point when we're talking to big media companies and investors and trying to figure out the next step to help us grow into a bigger network of sites providing innovative content for women. We are also planning a lot of things outside of the blogs- we want to be a lifestyle brand.

Geeksugar: What else is up in the Popgadget world?
Mia: We just launched our email, which is weekly, and will have all kinds of content that isn't on the site, and will have exclusive discounts and giveaways. We'll be giving away some very cool things and saving some of our best stories for the email. And it's free so people should sign up.