NGP : Rebirth

NGP : Rebirth

After a grueling 6-month black-out for the guys of NGP (due to many of us becoming first time fathers), the hiatus has finally come to an end! The break not only allowed us the time to spend with our families, but to catch up on reading, gaming, watching and exploring the best of geek culture.

Although I'm using the word "us" here loosely as I can't personally speak on behalf of the entire (original) crew involved with NGP, my plan is to commit to an ongoing weekly post in one form or another - be it written word, video blog, etc. - to keep things here alive and kicking.

For those of you familiar with my posts as ArchangelEZE, you can expect more of the same in regard to the Marvel / DC cinematic universe(s), comics, subscription boxes and of course, Star Wars, as I have quite the back log to cover as my quest to conquer the new canon has progressed significantly since our last interaction.

To mix things up, a few personal stories will be shared as well ranging from random conversations I have with Da_FettMan regarding which Star Wars : The Force Awakens Blu-Ray variant I should purchase to fit my OCD collecting habits to introducing my young son to the best of geek culture one Playskool hero at a time.

To those who have and continue to check back for updates, THANK YOU!

With any luck, I'll be able to pester Demo Destroyer, Da_Fettman, Lando McFly, Opaque and the boys to join hands and sing Kumbaya again.

Questions or Comments? Sound off below, find me on Twitter as @ArchangelEZE and Follow NGP on Facebook for more news and reviews!

Read More

Ernest Cline’s ARMADA Receives it’s Long Awaited Release Date!

Ernest Cline’s ARMADA Receives it’s Long Awaited Release Date!

After months of speculation, Random House has finally announced the release date for author Ernest Cline’s follow-up to his debut novel Ready Player One. Beginning Wednesday, July 15, prepare to immerse yourself in the world of ARMADA.

Check out the Synopsis below, and guarantee yourself a copy by pre ordering through your favorite bookseller!

THE NEW NOVEL FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF READY PLAYER ONE

It’s just another day of high school for Zack Lightman. He's daydreaming through another boring math class, with just one more month to go until graduation and freedom—if he can make it that long without getting suspended again.

Then he glances out his classroom window and spots the flying saucer.  

At first, Zack thinks he’s going crazy.

A minute later, he’s sure of it. Because the UFO he’s staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada—in which gamers just happen to be protecting the earth from alien invaders.  

But what Zack’s seeing is all too real. And his skills—as well as those of millions of gamers across the world—are going to be needed to save the earth from what’s about to befall it.

Yet even as he and his new comrades scramble to prepare for the alien onslaught, Zack can’t help thinking of all the science-fiction books, TV shows, and movies he grew up reading and watching, and wonder: Doesn’t something about this scenario seem a little too… familiar?

Armada is at once a rollicking, surprising thriller, a classic coming of age adventure, and an alien-invasion tale like nothing you’ve ever read before—one whose every page is infused with author Ernest Cline’s trademark pop-culture savvy.

Questions or Comments? Sound off below, or find me on Twitter as @ArchangelEZE and for more exciting news and reviews, follow NGP on Facebook!  

Until next time True Believers,

-ArchangelEZE  

Read More

The Weekly Pull : Marvel Collector Corps

The Weekly Pull : Marvel Collector Corps

Back when we first began New Geek Protocol, one of our monthly staples was to review a monthly subscription box service. Arcade Block, Loot Crate and Nerd Block services all made appearances over the course of the year, but each month was hit or miss for our team and ultimately fell short of earning our hard earned cash for a renewal.

However, a new subscription service contender has entered the ring this week as Funko and Marvel have collaborated to bring us Marvel Collector Corps. Featuring 100% completely exclusive collectables, t-shirts and accessories, each box will focus on a current event taking place in the Marvel Universe beginning with Avengers : Age Of Ultron in this bi-monthly service.

The debut box is scheduled to ship April 2015, and promises an exclusive 6" Hulkbuster Iron Man Pop! Vinyl collectable only available through Marvel Collector Corps! Additionally, one of four exclusive t-shirt designs, an additional vinyl collectable and two premium accessories are also listed as the swag to expect representing over a $50 value.

The second box, scheduled for June 2015, will feature an Ant-Man theme and for my money is the most promising and exciting subscription service to date. Two subscription levels are available for purchase, Founder and Collector, with the Founder level promising an exclusive figure on the anniversary of your subscription when a year (six boxes) are paid in full up front.

Each subscription runs $25 per box, and you know my pre-order has already been placed! To learn more, or to join the service yourself head over to www.collectorcorps.com!

Do you have a comic, graphic novel, comic event or storyline you’re itching to read or learn more about? Sound off in the comments below, find me on Twitter or let us know on the New Geek Protocol Facebook page!

Until next time True Believers,

-ArchangelEZE

Read More

Top Ten Books For Geeks

Top Ten Books For Geeks
It seems as if every successful literary franchise recently has been getting its own movie or TV adaptation. While a lot of these adaptations are amazing in their own right I'm going to go out on a limb and defend reading as the purest and most captivating forms of media. Watching TV or movies tends to be a very one sided event but reading on the other hand is twice as engaging. You read the words and they spark your imagination into creating a world that is truly unique to you. This is a big factor in "The book was way better than the movie!" conundrum. Everyone evaluates literature differently so it is impossible for some else's interpretation to mirror your own and thus the disappointment. I put together a list of the Top Ten Books For Geeks all of which merit you full nerd attention.

10.) Cinder by Marissa Meyer (2013)

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future. (Source)

9.) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep? by Philip K. Dick (1968)

A final, apocalyptic, world war has killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending the majority of mankind off-planet. Those who remain, venerate all remaining examples of life, and owning an animal of your own is both a symbol of status and a necessity. For those who can't afford an authentic animal, companies build incredibly realistic simulacrae: horses, birds, cats, sheep . . . even humans. (Source)

8.) The Road by Cormac McCarthy (2006)

 A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.

The Road is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, "each the other's world entire," are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation. (Source)

7.) A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking (1988)

Was there a beginning of time? Could time run backwards? Is the universe infinite or does it have boundaries? These are just some of the questions considered in an internationally acclaimed masterpiece by one of the world's greatest thinkers. It begins by reviewing the great theories of the cosmos from Newton to Einstein, before delving into the secrets which still lie at the heart of space and time, from the Big Bang to black holes, via spiral galaxies and strong theory. To this day A Brief History of Time remains a staple of the scientific canon, and its succinct and clear language continues to introduce millions to the universe and its wonders. (Source)

6.) Wool by Hugh Howey (2011)

This is the story of mankind clawing for survival, of mankind on the edge. The world outside has grown unkind, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they profess to want: They are allowed outside. (Source)

5.) Old Man's War by John Scalzi (2005)

John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army.

The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce-and aliens willing to fight for them are common. The universe, it turns out, is a hostile place.

So: we fight. To defend Earth (a target for our new enemies, should we let them get close enough) and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has gone on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding. 

John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine-and what he will become is far stranger. (Source)

4.) Stardust by Neil Gaiman (1999)

In the tranquil fields and meadows of long-ago England, there is a small hamlet that has stood on a jut of granite for 600 years. Just to the east stands a high stone wall, for which the village is named. Here, in the hamlet of Wall, young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester. And here, one crisp October eve, Tristran makes his love a promise -- an impetuous vow that will send him through the only breach in the wall, across the pasture... and into the most exhilarating adventure of his life. (Source)

3.) Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979)

Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.
Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years. (Source)

2.) The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (2007)

Told in Kvothe's own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen. The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature. A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard. (Source)

1.) Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (2011)

The year is 2044 and the world is in near-ruins. The Great Recession has taken its toll on the world's economy, and resources are scarce. The Internet and gaming culture have evolved into a creation known as OASIS, a massive multiplayer online simulation game created by James Halliday and Ogden Morrow of Gregarious Simulation Systems (GSS), formerly known as Gregarious Games. Halliday, with no heirs or other living family, dies suddenly and leaves a video will to those in OASIS and a book that was dubbed Anorak's Almanac, which purports to be a volume written by James Halliday's avatar Anorak in OASIS. The video says that whoever can collect three keys (Copper, Jade, and Crystal) that are hidden throughout the universe of OASIS and pass through the matching gates will receive his fortune and controlling stake in GSS. This becomes known as the Hunt and people immediately begin the search for Halliday's Easter Egg. Those searching for the Egg are referred to as "gunters," a truncation of "egg hunters." Gunters devote an enormous amount of time to studying 1980s pop culture, the decade Halliday grew up in and was perpetually obsessed with, in the hope it will assist them with locating and solving the puzzles involved with the Egg. (Source)

Happy reading!
-Demo

Read More

Nerd Block - November 2014

Pretty excited for this weekend’s Grand Rapids Comic Con. Lots of cool people to meet and see. I’ll be going for all three days. There will be plenty of posts about it following the event. For this week’s post I will be writing about this month’s Nerd Block.

I regret to say that this is my last Nerd Block for a while. They haven’t been super exciting for me besides the occasional POP figure and very minimal amount of Star Wars items. I only kept it around for another month because I knew there would be a Boba Fett themed item and Boba is my main man so I couldn’t give up yet.

This month’s block wasn’t too shabby, there wasn’t one thing I didn’t like.

1. Iron Man Coffee Mug (my wife has an infatuation with Iron Man so this mug is all hers)

2. Super Mario Bros. Boo Slap Watch

3. Deadpool - King of Chimichangas T-shirt

4. Boba Fett Fan Wrap for my car (wish it would have been more than just a sticker for my car)

And…

5. The Featured Item of the Month - Batman plush (Adaaaaam Weeeesssst!!!)

Like I said not too shabby, definitely a step up from previous months. If you are still interested in Nerd Block please sign up it is a great service, just didn’t fit for me. Next month should be great as well, every subscriber is guaranteed an autographed Willow print from either Warwick Davis or Val Kilmer! That’s pretty exciting, but I am going to resist. Now if it were an autographed pic of Wicket or semi-decent looking Batman then I’d be all in.

Stay tuned for our upcoming posts on the Grand Rapids Comic Con!

May the Force Be With You!

- Da_Fettman

Read More

The Best Live Action Hero Costumes Ever

Today is Halloween and instead of writing a lengthy tech review or tech recap, I've decided to keep it short and simple. In honor of Halloween, I give you the top 10 live action hero costumes. I researched this and started a list, but came across a site with a definitive list I agree with. Here you go:

1. Hellboy
2. The Red Skull
3. The Dark Knight
4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
5. The Crow
6. 1960's Batman
7. The Avengers
8. Wolverine
9. Superman
10. Ironman

These could have gone in any order, really. Happy Halloween everyone!

Tip of the hat,

Read More

Tough Sh*T: A Short Review

Tough Sh*T: A Short Review

A couple of months ago I picked up Tough Sh*t: Life Advice from a Fat Lazy Slob Who Did Good. It took me two days to read it cover to cover. A month later, I read it again. The only other book that I’ve read cover to cover twice was the Steve Jobs biography, and that shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.

First and foremost, this book is written exactly like his movies. It reads as a poetic composition of some of the best stories and sagas you will ever read. It also holds absolutely nothing back. Whether it’s him mocking himself, talking about sex with his wife, or how he got kicked off a plane for being fat, he writes in poetic candids.

The most interesting part of the book was the inside look on what it took for him to get to where he is today. It was the stories about trying to get Miramax to distribute Clerks, trying to get Harvey Weinstein to produce his movies, and working on the Clerks 2 sequel that will draw you in as an outsider, but it will be the stories about how me met his wife, having a child, and his experiences with Quentin Tarentino that will keep you reading.

This book does not read as a life advice book, but more as a "Here's the way I did it and it worked. Maybe it'll work for you." It is also not safe for kids. He talks about staring at his wife's ass and ejaculating on her leg because she had to leave for an event so they couldn't have sex. Like I said, he holds nothing back and is just as vulgar and brilliant in the book as he is in his movies.

As I said, this is a short review. A very short review. Pick up the book. Read it. Read it again. Now, as a teaser, here is an excerpt from the first chapter : 

“Though if you could ask my father, he’d likely admit that while having his balls in print is flattering, having his balls in my mother’s mouth was way better.”

 He also dedicates the book to his wife. And his wife’s asshole. It is pure Kevin Smith

Tip of the Hat,

Read More

"Beam me up, Scotty." Possible? Yes...kind of.

See how it's possible to be transported at the speed of light!

Everyone knows the iconic phrase “Beam me up, Scotty”, made popular from Star Trek. The real question is whether it's possible to be transported at the speed of light. The answer is yes…kind of. I will start by saying that it is not possible to send any matter/mass/weight at the speed of light 186,282 miles/second (or 300,000 km/second). The reason is simple, E=MC^2. Where E is energy, M is mass, and C is the speed of light.  According to this equation, mass and energy are the same physical entity and can be changed into one another. Because of this equivalence, the energy an object has due to its motion will increase its mass. In other words, the faster an object moves, the greater it’s mass. So basically if an object has mass, as it approaches the speed of light, its mass becomes infinite and so does the energy required to move it. In other words, to move your 235lbs overweight body at the speed of light, you would need more power than all the stars produce in the universe. That’s not going to happen, so now what?

So now what?

The trick is that radio waves have no mass, thus they travel at the speed of light. So even though we cannot send you, we can still send your information. Currently computers do not have the capability to scan every portion or atom that makes you who you are. However, computing power grows at an exponential rate, so in perhaps a few decades, computers will have the ability.

So how will it work?

Let’s say you want to go from your house to Mars at the speed of light. So you walk into your transporter and hit send. It would immediately scan your body down to the smallest building blocks or atoms. It would then take this computer model of your information and send it via radio waves toward Mars. Mars is a long ways away, at its farthest distance it is roughly 378 million km from Earth. So even though your information is traveling at the speed of light, it still takes 21 minutes to get there. Not bad considering. Once your information gets to Mars, another transporter (comparative to a fax machine at the other end of a fax) would decipher the information sent. It would then assemble you to perfection by using a sort of grab bucket of elements (remember we couldn't send your actual atoms because they contained mass).  So there you are in your vacation home on Mars after only a 21 minute trip.

So what’s the problem?

So let’s recap. We scanned you, we sent your information, and then we assembled your exact you at your destination. Are you beginning to see the problem yet? The original you is still at your house siting in your transporter after being scanned! There is now you and the “new you” on Mars. Both identical, both having the same previous thoughts and memories, both being the same boring, overweight, underappreciated you. So now what? The only answer is the transporter has to destroy the original you! You are now on Mars and there is only 1 of you. For all intents and purposes you traveled at the speed of light...good for you! So here’s the mind shattering question: Are you the new you? Or are you now gone and the new you is really not you, even though it is you down to the very last detail and thought (WTF)? Don’t kid yourself, in time technology will have the ability to get to this point, the question is “Are you the man on Mars or are you the dead guy on Earth”?

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

-Gillplane


P.S. God knows what happens if the transporter screws up. Anyone seen the movie The Fly?

See more information at Click Here.

Read More

SURGE is Back!

If you were a child or teenager during the mid-90s, and you remember things like Dunk-a-roos and Orbitz, then you should remember the highly caffeinated soft drink, SURGE. SURGE was a product of Coca-Cola and was meant to be a Mountain Dew killer. SURGE only lasted a few years and slowly fizzled out of existence. In 2011, the SURGE Movement was created on Facebook. They created the page to petition to Coca-Cola that there was still a demand for the energy drink.  This week has brought amazing news that SURGE is back and sold exclusively through Amazon! Amazon sold out it’s first day, but you can sign up to be notified when it is back in stock, $14 for a dozen 16-ounce cans. Be sure to check out the comments/reviews on the Amazon page, they're priceless!

Here is the original commercial from 1997:

I am a Mountain Dew drinker through and through, but I still want to get my hands on some SURGE, to “Feed the Rush!”

Thank you internet for bringing back a piece of the 90s!

Are you excited to see SURGE back? Give us your thoughts in the comments below. If you haven’t already, be sure to follow us on Facebook and follow me on Twitter!

As always, May the Force Be With You!

- Da_Fettman

Read More

Top 5 NFL Video Games of All-Time!

The Top 5 NFL Video Games of All-Time!

And we're back! I hope everyone learned a little somethin' somethin' about the PS Vita last week. I'm still hooked on that little handheld console of awesomeness. Playing through some Batman: Arkham Origins: Blackgate currently. In terms of a handheld Batman game, it's a gooden (and no, I will not define 'gooden').

But, it's a new day. It's a new week. It's a new edition of "The Reset Button". This week, I'm taking it in a different direction. With NFL season fast approaching and my Atlanta Falcons embarking on a season of redemption, I felt it would be appropriate to cover my top 5 NFL games of all-time. I've played a good amount of NFL games in my day and am extremely excited to get my hands on Madden NFL 15 this weekend. But, before that, let's cover the best of the best.

Number 5

NFL GameDay '98

This was my first experience with NFL on a 3D console. Playing this on the PSOne introduced me to new gameplay, at the time awesome graphics, and end zone dances. Running back a kickoff with Jamal Anderson (probably impossible in real life) and seeing him break out the Dirty Bird was awesome. The plays were easy to select and the gameplay was just as you'd expect from the first NFL game with polygonal graphics. Jerome 'The Bus' Bettis graced the cover on this one. And considering it was developed by Sony Interactive Studios, it was a fun NFL game before Madden assumed their position on the throne.

Number 4

NFL Blitz

The Pittsburgh Steelers have seen a lot of video game covers. NFL Blitz featured 'Slash' himself, Kordell Stewart. This wasn't your ordinary NFL game. Brutal tackles, insane passes, and over-the-top gameplay put Blitz on the map. Nothing was more realistic than leg-dropping the running back you just stuffed like you were Hulk Hogan, am I right? Over time, Blitz was toned down and eventually put out to pasture. I guess the NFL didn't want their sport to be deemed "too violent". A little late, if you ask me. But that's why we love the NFL.

Number 3

Madden '96

This is by far my favorite Madden title to date. It still has a fun, nostalgic feeling when you play it. I can recall wowing my friends with my memory skills during the "Coach Rogers" skill-game when creating a player. The longer you repeat the button command Coach Rogers advised you, the smarter your player will be. And he adds on a command after each successful attempt. Getting up to 10 in a row wasn't easy. Needless to say, my QB always had an intelligence of 100. The character models weren't very accurate, but at least there were real player names included in this title. 'Ironhead' Craig Heyward was a fire hydrant with legs in this game. Oh, the memories...

Number 2

ESPN NFL 2K5

This one put all Madden titles to shame. And they did it pretty easily and convincingly, as well. Everything about this game was excellent. The presentation, graphics, audio, controls, options, and difficulty were exactly what you'd want from a NFL game. It's no wonder why people are STILL updating the roster on this game to be current with the NFL season. Fans of ESPN NFL 2K5 are still waiting for the NFL to come to their senses and allow 2K to make another NFL game to compete with Madden. The game launched at $19.99, for cryin' out loud. We haven't seen a 2K Games NFL game since 2005. With us heading into a 10 year anniversary of 2K5, I'm willing to bet you'll see people screaming for a return to the field for 2K football next year louder than ever.

Number 1

Tecmo Super Bowl

THIS was my game. Tecmo friggin' Super Bowl. The masterpiece of simulation NFL football. No clue who the hell is on the cover, as there was no #10 for the Cowboys back when Tecmo Super Bowl launched. It's just some random dude looking all "football-ish" for the buyer. Running with Bo Jackson was a must in Tecmo Super Bowl. Just run in a diagonal line up and down the field with him and you're guaranteed a score. Beating an opponent 70-0 wasn't difficult, but it was just fun to do. I remember breaking the NFL single season rushing record in a single season with Bo Jackson. And I could have easily obliterated it. The 16-bit music was entertaining, there were actual injuries in the game, and the season mode allowed you to pick your favorite team and go for the Lombardi Trophy. I still play this game when Atlanta is eliminated from Super Bowl contention. Unfortunately, that's happen a lot in the past 10 years.

The bottom line is this: Tecmo Super Bowl is the greatest NFL game ever created. Not just because Stone Cold said so, but because it's a scientific fact. Sure, it doesn't have John Madden screaming "BOOM!" or drawing a bunch of stuff on the screen, but it didn't need it. All you needed was a Sega Genesis, some time to kill, and Bo friggin' Jackson.

While you were reading this, Bo Jackson scored another touchdown. He cannot be stopped.

Go check out some of these games if you're a NFL fan. No better way to get ready for the season than by tossing the virtual pigskin around.

Next week, I'll touch on more game-related greatness for you.

As always, until next time...

Game On.

-ML

Read More