Doctor Who World Tour

August 15, 2014August 15, 2014 / Amanda / Leave a comment

Last night was one of the best nights of my life. Getting tickets to the Doctor Who World Tour was like trying to get tickets to see The Beatles in their prime. Of course, the venue is a lot smaller (being that it is a theater and not a concert hall), so there wasn’t an overabundance of tickets. However, Doctor Who has grown in fandom size significantly over the past few years.

Doctor Who screening with my friend Erin back in April 2011.

I remember before they sold tickets to fan screenings in NYC, you had to wait all day on the sidewalk hoping you were able to get into the screening. The first one that I went to was in April 2011 (with Matt Smith, Alex Kingston, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, and Steven Moffat). I arrived around 9am with a few friends, and the screening didn’t start until 7pm. Well, when we arrived at 9am, the line was already wrapped around the block and my friends & I had just made it into the 3rd theater. Not the theater with the cast & writer. It was a simultaneous broadcast in the theater I was in, and they did show the Q&A, but of course we weren’t in the same room. I would say, “we may as well have been watching them online or on TV”, but the experience was fun, and sharing a theater with die hard fans made it all worth it. I would have done it again in a heart beat (although, maybe arrived a few hours earlier).

Several hours into waiting in line for the Doctor Who screening in April 2011.

Three years later, the fandom has grown probably three times the size, if not more. I remember not even two years ago, you had to buy Doctor Who memorabilia online through BBC websites over in the UK, or perhaps at a comic book shop. It wasn’t easy getting your hands on figurines, sonic screwdrivers, a miniature Tardis or Dalek replicas. I made many friends through my love of Doctor Who. I even turned many on to the show, as I was turned onto it by friends of mine. It wasn’t easy coming across a fan randomly, but when you did it was generally an instant friendship. Now, you can’t walk into Hot Topic, Barnes & Noble, or any other nerdy store without seeing a plethora of Doctor Who merchandise. It’s both amazing and annoying. It’s very much a catch 22 for me because Continue reading →

Batman: Assault on Arkham

July 31, 2014 / Rishard Chapoteau / 1 Comment

Batman: Assault on Arkham, is DC’s latest entry in their animated film series. Even though the name of the movie starts with Batman, this is really a Suicide Squad movie that just happens to have Batman in it. The idea of a Suicide Squad movie is actually a good thing, because the idea behind the Suicide Squad is pretty cool. When the government wants a task done, and they don’t care if the operatives live or die, they take captured criminals, put a bomb in their neck and force them to do the job. If they get caught, the bomb goes off. If they refuse to help, the bomb goes off. If they piss off Amanda Waller, the agent in charge of the operation, the bomb goes off. So the Suicide Squad is very motivated to accomplish whatever task they need to regardless of the cost. For the most part this film turned out pretty good.

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Bill Nye The Science Guy

July 21, 2014July 21, 2014 / Amanda / Leave a comment

A few months ago, one of my childhood heroes and one of the most brilliant people ever, Bill Nye (the Science Guy) made an announcement that he would be coming to NYC to do a show at Irving Plaza. I had no idea what he was going to do or say, but I didn’t hesitate to buy tickets (only about $45 a piece, which isn’t at all a bad price)! To me, Bill Nye was the exciting part of science classes at a young age (well, along with the experiments). Whenever a teacher would put on Bill Nye, it wasn’t just watching a boring documentary or educational video that would put us to sleep. The theme song would play, and myself, along with my other classmates would immediately perk up and genuinely be excited to learn. Although I’m no where near a scientist, I still love learning about science, and still get genuinely excited seeing a new experiment, or hearing about a new discovery. In a way, Bill Nye was that fun, quirky teacher that everyone loved attending his class. I’m not alone when I say he’s a major part of my childhood.

Last night was the highly anticipated show! Fellow Nerd-Base member Chris and I showed up closer to 7pm (doors opened at 6:30) and the line literally wrapped around the block. Chris had even made a comment that as many times as he’s been to Irving plaza for concerts and other events, he’s never seen a line that long to get in. It was no surprise all 3 of Bill Nye’s shows this weekend were sold out. I also have to add in here that the staff at Irving Plaza were very friendly and welcoming! Not that I expected jerks to work there, but the staff made jokes while we were waiting in line and were always smiling. It was really nice to have that kind of experience before we even walked in the doors.

When we finally made our way in the building, the staff inside (which I’m not sure if they worked for Bill Nye, Live Nation, or Irving Plaza) were all wearing lab coats! They were very friendly as well, and handed out yellow cards to anyone interested in asking Mr. Nye a question. The halls and stairs were appropriately decorated with Continue reading →

GISHWHES

July 15, 2014July 15, 2014 / Amanda / Leave a comment

As you look at the title you may be thinking, “Are the writers of Nerd-Base drunk or something?” Well, first of all, that’s none of your business, second, GISHWHES stands for the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen. It was created by actor/humanitarian/overlord Misha Collins (who plays Castiel in the hit TV show Supernatural).

If you’re the type of person who hates fun, meeting new people, and all around making your life more exciting, then don’t read on. GISHWHES is not for everyone, and that’s okay. I mean, not everyone enjoys living their life to the fullest. Some people just like to live vicariously through other people who have fun. We are in a techy world, after all! Maybe you enjoy having fun, but you’re a bit shy or introverted. GISHWHES is actually Continue reading →

Shaolin

July 7, 2014 / David Chosid / Leave a comment

Shaolin is a story about warlords during early twentieth century China, their relationship with the Shaolin Buddhist temple, and its resident kung-fu monks. The movie’s title, “Shaolin”, is an overly generic name to describe a simple story. I went into this expecting almost a historical account of all things Shaolin. Nope. It’s just a completely fictional story.

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