Did You Geek Out This April Fools’ Day?

Luce: Another April Fools’ Day has come and gone, and I’ve listened to Never Gonna Give You Up approximately way too many times since then. Fortunately, there were some awesome pranks out there aside from endless song repetitions, and I’d love to share my favorites with you.

Obviously I had to mention this one. Google has a history of amazing April Fools’ pranks, but god, couldn’t this one have been true? Maybe I’ve just watched way too much Twitch Plays Pokémon, but I swear my heart did a little pokéjig of its own when I saw this. They even put all the Pokémon in geographically viable locations! Someday augmented reality will actually become a viable part of games, and when that happens, Pokémon has got to be the first game they make—but until then, at least I can become a phone Pokémon Master.

via theorlandojones

I may have fallen out of love with Supernatural, but Castiel will always and forever be my favorite character, especially since they brutally killed off Kevin Tran. (Still not over it.) That’s why this image from troll master Orlando Jones was simultaneously amazing and heartbreaking. Castiel and Captain Irving teaming up to fight zombies and snark at each other? Sign me up. I mean, a few months back, Supernatural’s Robbie Thompson even wrote a faux crossover script with Almost Human, Sleepy Hollow, and Supernatural, so that’s basically SuperSleepy, right? What is stopping Cas from breaking Irving out of jail for real and then swooping off together to complain about the respective protagonists of their shows? Nothing, that’s what. Nothing except the cold hard slap of reality.

Book Review: Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore

I love books. I love everything about them. I like the way they look, the way they feel, the way they smell, but most of all, I love that they contain a story. All these together sum up why I was excited to read Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. It is a book about old books, secret societies, ancient puzzles, the ever-expanding limits of modern technology, and the sad and rapid decline of used bookstores. I couldn’t wait to download it onto my Kindle. How ironic.

Movie Review: The Internship

Who would have thought Vince Vaughn had it in him to write a cute little nerdy movie?

The Internship follows two salesmen, Nick and Billy (Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn), who have just lost their jobs and apply to Google for an internship on a whim. They get the internship and then have to compete in teams for full-time positions.

I went to see this movie because my friend had wanted to see it. Driving to the theater, I was bemoaning the fact that I had to see it. I was pleasantly surprised. It was a sweet movie. And it was chock full of nerd references.

I honestly can’t decide who my favorite character is, you guys. Billy and Nick’s team was awesome. You have Neha, the Indian girl who ships all of the things, Stuart (played by Dylan O’Brien of Teen Wolf fame), the too-school-for-cool nerd who is constantly on his phone, Yo-Yo, the home-schooled Asian kid with a tiger mother, and Lyle, the team leader who’s frickin’ adorable. He was such a sweetheart. And I loved how the entire team came together at the end after not getting along (even though I could see it coming).

Now, a lot of these characters are stereotypes, but they prove that they are more than the simple terms I used to define them. I’m not going into it because of spoilers, but I really enjoyed how Nick and Billy brought out their true characters.

I probably found the movie funnier than my other friend, who didn’t catch the nerd references. Toward the end, a character is called Khaleesi and my friend didn’t know what was said. I just turned to her and whispered that it was Game of Thrones and I couldn’t explain it right then and there. There really aren’t that many references, but the ones that are used are so well done that they really enhance the movie.

This is one of those movies where it’s probably better to wait for the DVD since there aren’t any big theatrics that make it better suited to the big screen. But it’s still a great movie and I highly recommend it.

Web Crush Wednesdays: The Internet

Hey it’s Web Crush Wednesday and this week our web crush is…. *drum roll* ….. the internet. Let us explain:

This week’s web crush is on the web itself. Why? Because of the massive massive internet protest of SOPA that happened today.

Check out all the awesome compiled on Bitch Magazine:

• End Piracy Not Liberty: Google’s petition “urging Congress to vote NO on PIPA and SOPA before it is too late.” (They make it easy to share with your social networks once you sign so you can let your friends know what’s up.)
• The Oatmeal’s SOPA cartoon: The aforementioned goat-koala coupling is used to illustrate the potential damage of SOPA and PIPA. It’s funny I swear.
• The Story Behind the SOPA Blackout: Mother Jones’ coverage of today’s SOPA happenings (including newsworthy updates as they occur).
• What Is SOPA? Here Are 5 Things You Need to Know: Colorlines lets you know how all of this affects YOU, the Internet user.
• An open letter to Washington from Artists and Creators from Stop the Wall. Check to see if any artists you support are speaking out against SOPA. Yay Tom Haverford Aziz Ansari!
• Wikipedia Congress Lookup: Makes it easy to contact your representatives and let them know your thoughts on SOPA. You can also phone your representative here.
• The cross-stitchers at Steotch have a surprisingly great links roundup (surprising only in that they aren’t an expressly political site, not that they don’t care about SOPA).

Also check out this awesome article about the protest from The Mary Sue.

 

Many sites today, ours included, blacked out in order to make a point to the government about censorship. We at Lady Geek Girl and Friends urge you to take a stand, sign the petition, write or phone your representatives, and spread the word that our freedom of speech is at stake.

Also save LOLcats.