Archive for March, 2011

Pro-Tip: Get Quick Search Results through IM

If you’re anything like me, I spend my entire work day with either GMail or Google Talk open on the side.  This means I’m constantly connected to my contacts and can quickly jump in to ask a friend a question, make plans, or just kill time shooting the shit.  Now I can turn my idle time into productive time.

Last Tuesday (March 29th), Google Labs released a new product called Google Talk Guru.  The service (which is a slightly less powerful version Google SMS) offers users quick search results to a number of subjects by simply sending an IM to “the Guru”.  While the concept may seem silly (hey, those nanoseconds add up over a lifetime), it has actually provided some benefits over traditional browser searches.  Particularly in my case, since my office is plagued by truly terrible internet connectivity.  There are times when I have no connection except Google Talk.  With the Guru service, if I want to check the a score of a game I can just type “score Dodgers” and instantly the result returns.

There are some downsides to the service, all times by default are set to GMT and measurements are returned in centigrade/metric format.  As for now there’s no way to alter the units, but it really doesn’t detract from some of the other services like translator, dictionary, or the calculator.

Setup is easy, just add guru@googlelabs.com to your Google contact list, wait a few moments, and you’ll have access.  Even if you don’t use the service, at the least, you’ll always have a friend online.

New “Thor” TV spots show off some new footage, elevate my hopes

Still not 100% sold on Kenneth Branagh’s “Thor” but I want to keep hope alive that it isn’t total shit. These commercial’s here really help in keeping the candle burning. There’s a few new shots in there involving his Mjolnir that look pretty damn noice, I have to say. I think at this point, as long as it’s better than “Iron Man 2″ I will leave the theater happy. Peep out the second spot after the break and let us know How you guys feel about the next film from Marvel Studios in the comments down below. Read more…

Dem Reviews: Sucker Punch

Remember that episode of “The Simpsons” when Homer was given free reign to build a car and ended up throwing every idea he had into the car? After watching “Sucker Punch”, I get the feeling that Zack Snyder is gonna get a friendly note from the studio proclaiming that they have no brother. The film isn’t the most horrible movie ever made but it serves as a great example of a “visionary director” being over ambitious, miscasting torpedoing any emotional connection with the characters and a script that could have used a few more rounds of rewrites. And don’t EVEN get me started on the baby dragon! Read more…

Random Goodness: The Big Lebowski 2

Tara Reid has been a mess for a long time now, I think we can all agree on this. If she’s not flashing her oddly shaped boobs, she’s making outlandish statements like “The Big Lebowski” sequel moving forward. We all know she’s was crazy but I got to give her props because even when the Coen Bros. laughed at her, she still took it upon herself to deliver what she promised in the form of this trailer for the very sequel everyone made fun of her for. So what that she didn’t get any of the original players to return, Reid is such a strong thespian that she took it upon herself to play every role. I see an Oscar is this girl’s future. Wild on, Tara Reid. Wild the fuck on, indeed… [via Slash Film]

Random Goodness: Fantastic Mr. Star Fox

We all know how much Debbie loves Mr. Fox but I have to admit, I was a turned out to be a big fan of the Wes Anderson film. And you may or may not know, I’m a huge fan of having worlds collide so when I saw this awesomely produced video from College Humor, I was in heaven. If only all video game collaborations with Hollywood were this successful but alas, we still get crap like “Prince Of Persia.” Maybe we should let these guys start handling these properties as they seem to be doing things right.

Random Goodness: Relive Your Elementary School Bus Riding Days

Growing up I went to a magnet school.  This meant, to get to school we had to basically go to every elementary school in the entire city before I got dropped off.  The rides usually lasted at least an hour, and as a third grader this seemed like an eternity.  Luckily there were plenty of co-riders with those little handheld games with the LCD screens and a heart for sharing.  I spent many of my bus riding hours hunched over, hypnotized by the soothing beeps, and mashing down the two or three buttons on a variety of games.  In this age of gaming, I had all but forgotten about these gems.  Luckily for us, Hipopotam has digitized his collection and thrown it onto the internetz.  Psh… and you though you were going to get stuff done today.

Thanks to @DuckDuckGeese for the heads up.

Dem Trailers: Captain America

Beautiful! After the Super Bowl commercial failing to blow my stinky socks off, I was kinda wondering if the Summer of 2011 was the one that stopped the Marvel Studio machine from progressing forward after next year’s Avengers. Perhaps a slight delayed, but my shoes are now even stinkier as said socks have been blown off to the other side of the room right now. The tone and look of the film just seems dead on and I’ve finally reached that point of accepting Chris Evans as Steve Rogers. And I loved seeing Tony Starks’ pops in the trailer. Continuity FTW! Awesome sauce! So what do you guys think? This is gonna be 10 times better than “Thor”, right? Let us know in the comments below!

UPDATE: Apple has posted the HD version of the trailer, which you can get over here. Enjoy!