Nerd Approved - Gadgets and Gizmos

Darth Maul Lightsaber Wall Light

2012-02-10T16:16:54Z

Just in time for the return of The Phantom Menace in 3D comes this awesome Darth Maul lightsaber wall light. It can be rotated for a horizontal or vertical display and it will illuminate the room with dual glowing blades.

Product Page ($39.95)

Inside The SoulCalibur Writer’s Room [Comics]

2012-02-10T15:59:32Z

Read the full comic after the break.

(via Dorkly)

Shop Our Nerd Approved T-Shirt Store!

2012-02-10T15:50:47Z

Just a quick reminder that “Cthulhu and Friends” is now available in our Nerd Approved t-shirt store! We also have Piece and Serenity and Angry Nerds in stock.

Plus, you can save 10-15% on your total order using codes like “CHEAPASS15″,”buytees15″ or “iheartgeeks” at checkout.

What Famous Movie Posters Would Look Like If They Starred Jar Jar Binks

2012-02-10T15:37:08Z

Next Movie made over 8 famous biopic movie posters to include Jar Jar Binks, portraying him as a star rather than one of the most universally loathed characters of all time. If you have forgiven Lucas for this error and can stomach looking at more Jar Jar, there are some additional examples after the break.

Click the link below to view the complete gallery.

(via NextMovie)

Build Your Own LEGO Cover Book

2012-02-10T15:28:14Z

Everything is better with a little brick. Sure, we’ve got the Lego Moleskine notebooks coming soon, but this journal with stackable covers is nifty. It’s made from 5″ Lego base plates, and you can distract yourself from writing in it by building on it instead. Perfect.

Product Page ($38)

Save Up To 64% On Halo: Reach – $27.25 to $54.16 [Deals]

2012-02-10T15:49:06Z

If you don’t already have it, Halo: Reach is on a super sale right now for only $27.25. That’s 32% off the list price. The Limited and Legendary Editions are discounted even higher at 61% and 64% off respectively.

This Summer You Can Run Up The California Coast With a Lightsaber For Charity [Video]

2012-02-10T15:33:50Z

Lucasfilm Ltd., Nerdist Industries, Octagon and Machinima have teamed up to create an Olympic style torch run with lightsabers. The event, called “Course of the Force” will run from July 7-11, and stretch from Santa Monica to San Diego, finishing up in time for Comic-Con’s preview night.

Participants can purchase and run quarter-mile spots along the course before passing their lightsaber on to the next runner. Best of all is that the proceeds from the event will benefit the Make a Wish Foundation.

Check out the video after the jump to learn more.

(via Nerdist)

The Most Adorkable Marriage Proposals Caught On Video

2012-02-10T15:24:35Z

What do you have planned for Valentine’s Day this year? A nice dinner at a fancy restaurant? A romantic evening at home? Maybe you’re planning to pop the question or even head to the altar. If marriage is in the cards, you might want to check out some of these nerdy proposals and marriage moments for inspiration. And if you’re single, watch anyway. If these nerds can find true love, so can you.

Super Mario marriage proposal
Watch this guy go the extra mile when proposing to his girlfriend (a fanatical Super Mario Bros. fan) after covering the walls of his living room with hundreds of 8 1/2″ x 11″ sheets of standard printerpaper. He even set up a projector to display fireworks. Mario finally got his princess, but his new father-in-law keeps dressing up as Bowser and driving by the house at all hours of the night. Plus, he found a banana peel behind the rear tire of his car at work. — YouTube

Engage!
When Captain Jean-Luc Picard says to “engage,” you had better well do it. Watch as this nerdy couple gets the ultimate marriage blessing. And remember, even if you can’t get Patrick Stewart to help you out with your proposal, youcan still do this. — YouTubevia FashionablyGeek

Marriage with memes
Tim utilized a number of popular Internet memes to propose to his girlfriend Audrey outside of a restaurant, then set the video shot by Crazy Monkey Studio to the song “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri. The result is adorkable to say the least. Maybe they should name their first kid “Success.” — Vimeo via CubicleBot

The Dragonborn dance
YouTuber Malukah’s cover of Skyrim’s “The Dragonborn Comes”is actually a really beautiful song, which is why it worked pretty well for these newlyweds during their first dance. The venue looks nice as well — hard to believe this is taking place in Riften.— YouTube via Nerd Approved

Particle accelerator proposal
You know a proposal is going to be nerdy when it starts out with a ruse about “a rare crystalline deposit in RHIC’s beamline at the STAR detector.” That was the story Kendra’s boss used to get her down to the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at the Brookhaven National Laboratory where her boyfriend, Dave, was waiting to propose to her amidst the section of the machine that examines the energy present moments after the Big Bang. — Dave Mosher

Bruce Campbell wedding
Captain Picard aside, there is no greater honor for a nerdy couple than to be married by the icon that is Bruce Campbell. The dream came true for attendees at ZomBCon in Seattle a couple of years back. Bruce Campbell and Ted Rami presided over a mass vow renewal ceremony for a horde of deadites — and he even got the words right. — Geekscape

Pokemon proposal
Marq proposed to his girlfriend at the New York Comic Con last year with the help of a flash mob. He also dressed as Ash holding a Pokeball ring box. In the end, it seems that Marq didn’t need to catch ‘em all. There was only one that really mattered. — YouTube

Comic book proposal
David and Jennifer both love comic books, so when it came time to pop the question, he decided to make an elaborate graphic novel based on their relationship that concluded with the proposal. Then he threw a party with a bunch of friends and presented Jen with the book. Thankfully, she didn’t complain about the reboot of their origin story and simply accepted her fate. — YouTube via Nerd Approved

Portal 2 engagement
Gary Hudston might be the man to beat in terms of nerdy proposals. He hired three professional designers and Ellen McClain, the actual voice of GLaDOS in the Portal series, to propose to his gamer girlfriend. She said “yes”, but it’s unclear whether or not her answer was based on love or the fear of what GLaDOS might do if she turned him down. — YouTube

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Smallville Will Pick Up Where It Left Off As a Comic Book

2012-02-10T14:06:40Z

To the dismay of fans, the popular series Smallville ended its ten season run on television last May. However, just like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the Superman series will continue its story in comics. Season 11 will launch in April and will pick up right where the show left off. Clark’s wearing the suit now, and it’s bound to get interesting. From the press release:

The new comic book series picks-up where the show left off (with Clark officially now as Superman!) and features other fan-favorite characters including Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, Chloe Sullivan-Queen, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and General Lane. The book features an all-star creative team – in addition to Miller, SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 creators include print cover artist Gary Frank (SUPERMAN SECRET ORIGIN), digital cover artist Cat Staggs and interiors by Pere Perez (BATGIRL).

“Six months after Clark Kent donned the cape and took to the skies to save Earth from Apokolips… enter Season 11!” enthuses Miller. “New allies abound! New enemies afoot! And old friends return where they’re least expected! Pere and colorist Chris Beckett have done a fantastic job of capturing the look of the show and the players, and Gary and Cat are knocking it out of the park on covers. I couldn’t be more excited to help give seasoned viewers and new readers an all-access pass to Clark’s first year in the cape.”

As you can imagine, the fan reaction is mixed. Mostly, I’ve observed satisfaction about the continuation. Loyal fans always want more, and this isn’t the first or last series to find a life after the screen in comics. Though that’s mostly happened with Whedon series like Buffy, Firefly, and Dollhouse, it’s worked and I’m sure DC Comics has noticed that. I think the key is to keep at least some of the same people involved, and they are. Well, at least one of them. A writer from the CW series, Bryan Q. Miller, is penning the new series.

The series will start digitally, and you can download the first issue on April 13.

(via Superhero Hype)

Han Never Shot First?

2012-02-10T14:00:04Z

George Lucas has been making the media rounds lately for Red Tails and the 3D re-release of The Phantom Menace, and of course reporters can’t resist bringing up age old questions about the Star Wars universe. In one of the interviews, Lucas explains why he changed the Han Solo and Greedo scene in the Mos Eisley Cantina. Of all the changes made in the special editions, this is the one you’ll hear fans freak out over most often (there’s no rage quite like nerd-rage). His explanation might fuel the flames of said rage. He basically says Han never shot first—and it’s actually plausible.

Read his explanation after the break.

The controversy over who shot first, Greedo or Han Solo, in Episode IV, what I did was try to clean up the confusion, but obviously it upset people because they wanted Solo [who seemed to be the one who shot first in the original] to be a cold-blooded killer, but he actually isn’t. It had been done in all close-ups and it was confusing about who did what to whom. I put a little wider shot in there that made it clear that Greedo is the one who shot first, but everyone wanted to think that Han shot first, because they wanted to think that he actually just gunned him down.

Huh.

While a part of me has always thought the whole shooting first thing said a lot about Han’s character, he also never quite struck me as a stone cold murderer. I could easily picture him punching Greedo but not necessarily pulling out his blaster without an overt threat to his life (other than the threatened bounty). I’m not saying I like the idea of Han not shooting first, but I’m saying I think it sort of fits. I don’t think Lucas is backpedaling at all either. If he says he shot it with the intention of showing Greedo shoot first, well then, okay. What reason does he have to lie—especially since he’s admitting that one of the coolest scenes in the movie was actually a mistake.

Let us know what you think in the comments and on Facebook/Twitter.

(The Hollywood Reporter via /Film)