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The Fiefdom of Geek is a blog about anything that we think is interesting and geeky. Zeonprime is a science fiction, robotics, and superhero geek. Irene is a book geek first and foremost, followed closely by science fiction and film. We are married and live in Canada.

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The Fiefdom of Geek

I cannot stop playing Bookworm Adventures Vol. 2

August 14th 2009 05:18
I installed Bookworm Adventures Volume 2 (by publisher PopCap Games) a few days ago and have been playing it non-stop (that is, outside of time spent on important things like child-rearing and eating and sleeping--but just barely).

Bookworm Adventures Vol. 2
Meeting one of the bosses in Bookworm Adventures Vol. 2, the Jabberwock

Bookworm Adventures (released 2006) is a great little game that combined word puzzles with adventure RPG elements. The protagonist of the game is goofy bookworm Lex, who spells words for experience points and to battle various enemies. The better the word (in terms of length, gem tiles, magic effects, and power-ups), the more damage the attack causes. Most of the enemies in Bookworm Adventures are from "western canon"-types of literature, such as Agamemnon and Dracula.

Now, Bookworm Adventures Vol. 2 (released July 30th of this year) steps up the gameplay with some new features and many improvements. The three acts in Vol. 2 are based on, respectively, children's lit, classical Chinese literature, and old-school science fiction. I think my favourite part of the game may be the robot breakdance battle that occurs after Lex accidentally pollutes the timeline. Ha!

I've completed the game in Adventure mode already, and can say that Vol. 2 definitely surpasses the original. Not only is it addictive and time-wasting fun for a word and book geek like myself, but the jokes and Lex himself are so silly that I might just die of cuteness before I finish Adventure Replay mode.

Pros
  • Hilarious sense of humour--silly and kid-friendly.
  • Great score and cute, if not mind-blowing, graphics.
  • Lots of literary allusions, which book nerds would appreciate.
  • Having an Adventure Replay mode is a vast improvement over Bookworm Adventures. This provides the ability for players to play again, but with badges and different points systems to make the battles more challenging.
Cons
  • Too darn short! More acts, please!
  • Cut scenes are annoying. I might be in the minority here.
  • The dictionary is kind of strange. It doesn't accept "throe", which is a valid word in English, but it accepts foreign words--not loanwords--such as "zuppa". And its attitude toward proper nouns seems random.
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Deanna Troi, Enterprise-D's dress-up doll

July 17th 2009 16:35
Did you know that the original conception for Star Trek: The Next Generation's Counsellor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) was that she was "exotic" and had three breasts? (Science fiction alumna D. C. Fontana ixnayed that RIDICULOUS idea.) But it seems that the powers behind TNG nonetheless had enough to make Troi the token sex object--a scantily, or snugly, clad exotic alien babe.

Costumes on TNG are often signifiers for characters' personalities. Guinan is mystical and wise, so she wears flowing robes and huge strange hats. Wesley (pre-ensign) wears rainbow-striped shirts and two-toned pants that don't zip up all the way--because apparently that's how teenagers dress in the 24th century. Worf wears a Klingon sash. Picard sometimes wears a special jacket. If clothes make the person, what do Troi's clothes say about her?

Deanna Troi
A few of Deanna Troi's many looks and outfits

If you ever watched TNG, you'll know that Troi is different from the rest of the Enterprise-D's main crew--and not just because she is half-Betazoid. To even casual viewers, she stands out: while the other crew members wear red, mustard, or blue Starfleet uniforms, she is variously clad in brown, grey/lavender, maroon, and turquoise outfits that resemble catsuits more than military dress.

Indeed, Troi dons the Starfleet uniform only once before season 6. in the series pilot, she wears a standard uniform (albeit with a miniskirt bottom and go-go boots). In "Future Imperfect" (4x08), she wears a uniform, though that is part of Riker's subconscious-fuelled hologram. I guess even Riker didn't fancy the catsuits--now that is saying something!

After years of dressing in what Rick Berman thought was a "cross between a cheerleader and a waitress at Denny's"*, Troi gets into a standard uniform for good in "Chain of Command Pt. I" (6x10). Captain Edward Jellico, who relieves Picard of duty, orders Troi to dress more 'formally'. While Troi's wardrobe change is a long time coming, that moment is also uncomfortable and slightly humiliating.

This raises the question of why Picard allows Troi to wear non-standard uniforms at all. One gathers that it must be because of her role on the ship. In her case, her profession is more important than her rank. The only other main cast member to go by professional title instead of rank is Dr. Crusher, who also happens to be female and in a 'nurturing' clinical profession. I understand why Crusher goes by Doctor, but why does Troi have to go by Counsellor? (I know that in North America, at least, military counsellors go by rank, not title.)

So other than actually looking the part of a Starfleet officer, does anything change for Troi after she dons the uniform? Let's look at some of the more significant Troi episodes before and after the uniform:

Before the uniform
  • An alien being wishes to experience life as a human, so it 'impregnates' Troi ("The Child", 2x01). The alien child's growth is accelerated. Then he sacrifices himself to save the crew.
  • Troi, as well as others, is mind-raped by a telepathic historian. Her ordeal is markedly different because it has sexual overtones ("Violations", 5x12).
  • An empathic ambassador uses Troi as a kind of brain dump site for negative thoughts. Transferring his thoughts to her rapidly ages Troi and nearly kills her. She also prowls around the ship like an insane cougar who shares the same stylist as Cruella DeVille ("Man of the People", 6x03).
After the uniform
  • Troi is kidnapped and made to act as a Romulan officer in the Tal Shiar. She is selected for the job because of her background in psychology as well as her empathic abilities ("Face of the Enemy", 6x14).
  • Troi takes the bridge officer test and passes. She is promoted to full commander ("Thine Own Self", 7X16).
  • Troi is seen taking the helm in two TNG movies, Generations and Nemesis.
  • In a big step backward, Troi is mind-raped AGAIN in Nemesis. What is up with that?! Well, at least she got her revenge. Sort of.
One last note to Zeonprime, who likes to joke that Troi sucks because she "crashed the ship! Twice!" I like to think that crashing the ship is a badge of bravery and honour; moreover, I think that if Troi had still been wearing non-standard uniforms by the end of the series, her plotlines wouldn't have been as varied. Can you imagine Troi taking the helm in her grey and lavender unitard**? Or taking the E on a direct course into Reman ship Scimitar (after the Enterprise's self-destruct went offline) in her turquoise dress/pants combo?

*Quote from Enterprise Zones, edited by Taylor Harrison et. al.
**I hate the unitard! She wears it again at the end of the series, when the crew is playing cards with Picard. Unitards are for circus performers and children in gym class, not professional women on Galaxy-class starships.
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"We want information! Information! INFORMATION!"

July 10th 2009 03:39
Short-lived television series The Prisoner, starring Patrick McGoohan, only ran for seventeen episodes before it went off the air. Now considered a cult classic, the series is a fast-paced and sometimes chilling mix of genres, including suspense, mystery, and science fiction.

The protagonist of the show quits his intelligence job and prepares for a holiday. But he's scarcely packed his bags when a mysterious man drives up to his flat and fills the place with a gas that renders the protagonist unconscious.

the prisoner
The Prisoner with Patrick McGoohan

Our man wakes up in "the village", a resort-like villa by the sea. Although all of the people who live in the village are constantly monitored (via some very high-tech devices, including a giant white ball, a.k.a. Rover, which could also disable and/or kill people--trippy enough yet?) and have no way of contacting the outside world, they seem to be content. Are they all acting in an elaborate ruse, or have they been somehow mind-controlled into complacence? (And as a side note, it is very nice in the village. Husband Zeonprime says, "Why'd they want to leave anyway? It's nice and everything is done for you." Riiiight--I hope I never become imprisoned with him in a resort village.) Everyone in the village is assigned a number, with the highest-ranking person known as Number 2. Our man is Number 6 in the hierarchy.

Number 2 claims that he wants 'information' on why Number 6 retired; indeed, many episodes revolve around this plot point, as well as Number 6's multiple escape attempts (a particularly cool one involves Number 6's sculpture for the village art show). After the first few failed attempts at escape, Number 6 realises that he can't trust anyone in the village to help him.

The Prisoner is about much more than just a cat-and-mouse game, however; some significant themes in the series include personal identity, the nature of reality, and individualism. But be forewarned if you don't like open endings: the final episode is extremely ambiguous on a number of issues (who would have thought that "All You Need Is Love" could be used so ironically?).

If you've never seen the series, or if you yearn to see some episodes again, check out AMC's The Prisoner portal. AMC has the entire series available for streaming; it's a promotion for the upcoming remake (miniseries) starring Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen.

Be seeing you!

Simpsons Prisoner parody
The Prisoner parody on The Simpsons
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How I wish Revenge of the Fallen ended

July 9th 2009 03:07
Warning: This post contains spoilers for the movie.

transformers revenge fallen movie poster

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The Fallen vs. the Fallen

July 7th 2009 02:11
When the title for the current Transformers movie hit the nets many months ago it created quite a buzz for the new movie. “Revenge of the Fallen? Really?! Wow, this could be so cool if the producers were going to give us this character!” was the general tone of fan response.

fallen transformers
The Fallen in the comic adaptation of the movie

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The women of Buffy

July 5th 2009 06:30
Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a ground-breaking television show for its genre-bending plots as well as its take on gender relations and feminism. In this post I present my completely subjective AND SPOILERY lists of the best and worst female characters from Buffy and the spinoff series Angel. (Although Angel doesn’t share the feminist perspective, many characters appear in both series, and both take place in the same universe.)

buffy faith
Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Faith (Eliza Dushku) in season 3 episode 'Enemies'.

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He’s got big balls…

June 30th 2009 01:22
Bayhem is now a word. The two-and-a-half-hour experience of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is best described as an adrenaline junkie’s version of a movie. The story, as expected, is lacklustre. For the 30-second attention span generation, however, it is the perfect movie--too bad I’m not part of that generation.

devastator transformer
Devastator (cojones not shown)

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taH pagh taHbe' (Have you experienced Shakespeare in the original Klingon?)

June 12th 2009 19:14
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, which is in my opinion one of the franchise's most under-appreciated movies, features the great Christopher Plummer as Klingon General Chang. He's one of the best baddies in the Trek universe--certainly better than, say, the Duras sisters. And you know Chang's a badass because he's bald and has an eyepatch bolted onto his face.

David Warner, who seems to have played most of the major Trek species, is Chancellor Gorkon in the same film. Like Chang, he has the tendency of spouting Shakespeare, especially text from Hamlet, which he speaks in "the original Klingon". It is this line that apparently drove the Klingon Language Institute to produce The Klingon Hamlet
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Thoughts so far on Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

June 11th 2009 01:20
*spoiler-free*

Whether or not you're a fan of Fullmetal Alchemist, you might've heard of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the second anime series in the franchise that started airing in Japan in May. Fullmetal Alchemist is the insanely popular manga and anime series by Hiromu Arakawa. FMA fever reached its peak in probably 2006 or so, but it still has devoted fans, including me and my geeky family


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Up, up, and up some more… (UP in 3D)

June 8th 2009 16:03
On a spur of the moment request from my son, I attended the movie UP in 3D. I could only remember my last 3D experience of Jaws III and being thoroughly unimpressed with the technology. Boy, was I in for a shock! We purchased our drinks, popcorn, and candy (did I mention I was with a 7-year-old?); rushed into the theatre (thankfully, the cost of a second mortgage's worth of food spared us the 20 minutes of commercials that moviegoers are now inundated with prior to the feature); and found seating as the opening credits started rolling. I had to blink a couple of times and refrain from yelling, “Focus!” as I realised that the image on the screen was supposed to be blurred without the 3D glasses. We donned our glasses and were instantly immersed into the world the artists at Pixar created.

Up movie
UP

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