GeekSugar

Have You Created Your Spore Creature Yet?

GeekSugar — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:45:03 PDT

I mentioned Spore way back in January in my 2008 Games Preview, but I'm hoping you haven't forgotten about it since then, cause I'm still totally stoked! Spore is coming this September (finally), but you have your chance to make your own creature now in a free trial download from EA.

If you remember, Spore is an evolutionary game that has you starting out in the first of five "phases" as a single cell organism, collecting enough DNA to evolve into a different creature that you create - which is where the creature creator comes in. I can already see hours and hours of time flying by as I tweak, smoosh, and stretch my creature just the way I want it - the possibilities are endless!

Test out your creative skills now with the free creature creator trial for your PC or Mac, so that you're ready to evolve when Spore hits the shelves this fall on your Mac, PC, DS, and your iPhone!

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Benedict Cumberbatch Calls Sherlock a Great Dane & More Revelations

Kelly Schwarze — Sun, 13 May 2012 17:46:08 PDT

Sherlock's season two US premiere last week brought in a staggering 3.2 million viewers on PBS stations around the country, double that of member stations' average primetime broadcast, confirming that the clever British interpretation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic sleuth story may be the best yet.

During a fan preview of the season, we sat down with creator Steven Moffat, producer Sue Vertue, and Sherlock himself, Benedict Cumberbatch, to talk loyal fans, the wonders of the Internet, and which animals are the detective and Dr. John Watson's spirit animals (hint: they're not otters or hedgehogs). Read on for musings from the crew responsible for the wittiest mystery TV's ever seen.

On the Show's Geeky Credibility

Steven Moffat: I'm the resident geek; me and Mark (Gatiss, Sherlock co-creator) are the geeks. We started all this because we admitted to each other that we liked the Nigel Bruce/Basil Rathbone movies; you're not meant to like those ones, but we loved them.

On Fans Watching Sherlock Before Its US Debut

Steven: People aren't going to wait anymore.

Benedict: It's a carrot and stick thing. You know real fans do it because they just really want it and they don't want to ruin it [with online spoilers].

Check out what the trio have to say on those oh-so-plentiful Sherlock Internet fan memes after the jump.

14 Geeky Languages to Learn With Your Love

Kelly Schwarze — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:15:00 PST

Love may be a universal language, but we're not sure that phrase includes the sci-fi alien races and fantastical creatures that rule the far depths of the galaxy, who express love in words beyond our human comprehension. When you're thinking of a unique way to woo your valentine this year, plan a tutorial to learn together one of these 14 geeky languages. While several of these Trekkie, Tolkien, or computer gaming-inspired languages have enough depth to warrant a university level class, many are not fully realized, so have fun discovering select words and phrases to bring to future geeky date outings.

Wookie - Made up of three dialects, the main Wookie language is Shyriiwook. As you'd expect it consists of lots of barks and grunts, but don't you dare say that to Chewbacca. The Star Wars Christmas Special has detailed examples of this mystifying tongue.
Klingon - The language of Klingons, the sometimes ally of the Federation, is arguably the best known of the imagined star languages. Described by its Hollywood creators as gutteral in tone, dedicated Trekkies maintain the Klingon Language Institue, preserving the galaxy's "fastest growing language."
Vulcan - Known as the language of Spock, one version of Vulcan looks like musical notes. Much of the language is available online today as Gene Roddenberry was insistent when making Star Trek: The Motion Picture that the Vulcans receive their own linguistic treatment.
Romulan - As biological cousins of the Vulcans, the Romulan language is difficult to differentiate from Vulcan to the untrained ear. The Central Institute of the Romulan Language ensures you get the right training to one day know the difference.
Cardassian - Residents of the Alpha Quadrant, Cardassians are a fearsome foe of the Federation. Little is known of their language, maybe because of its rectangular-shaped letters and script.
Andorian - The blue-skinned moon species from Andora appeared throughout the Star Trek series and would of course show up in the directory of a PADD.
Elvish - With a background in linguistics study from Oxford, Tolkien did not take the creation of the Lord of the Rings languages lightly. Based on Welsh and English, you can study Liv Tyler's Arwen in the film trilogy for pronunciation and read the many online Elvish resources, including an English to Elvish dictionary.
Dwarvish - Also called Khuzdul, Tolkien is said to have drawn inspiration for the secret language of the Dwarves from Hebrew, reflecting many of the same sounds and structure. As many Lord of the Rings languages, it's been almost fully realized and you can study up with the Dwarvish dictionary.

Check out even more languages to geek out over after the jump.

The Origins of Smurfette

Annie Scudder — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 02:00:44 PDT

In the new Smurf movie, Katy Perry lends her voice to Smurfette, a character introduced to the original Belgian comic series for potentially cynical reasons. Some speculate that in 1966 a female Smurf was added to prove the all-male Smurf village's heterosexuality and stop rumors that they might be gay. Don't buy that the creators had something to prove about the sexuality of imaginary creatures intended to entertain children? There's another explanation: Smurfette was added in order to market the series to little girls. And in fact, Smurfette is the franchises' most heavily merchandised character.

Within the story, Smurfette's creation myth alludes to Adam and Eve. Gargamel, the Smurfs' enemy, decides to create Smurfette from clay so that she can use her good looks and charm to cause jealousy and competition among the all-male Smurf village. Gargamel hopes the female temptress will bring down the Smurfs, but the blue creatures' kindness makes Smurfett want to be a real Smurf. Papa Smurf can help, and he takes her to his lab. She emerges sweet and with long blond hair, and throughout the comics the lone female Smurf is treated like a prize for the male Smurfs.

The US TV-cartoon interpretation of the Smurf comics follows most of this story. Smurfette works as a spy for Gargamel until she is captured by the Smurfs and put on trial. Papa Smurf shows her mercy and eventually turns her into a real Smurf with frivolous feminine trappings, including blond hair, a frilly dress, flirty lashes, and high-heel shoes. It's a cartoon version of extreme-makeover plastic surgery. Luckily, once the second female Smurf Sassette comes along, she's allowed to keep her red hair and freckles.