I’ve posted quite a lot of TED talks in the past on this blog; they’re great presentations, and fantastic resources to learn and hear about interesting subjects. I would love to be able to attend a TED conference in real life someday, but that would mean I should a) earn a lot of money, of b) become famous (this nudges more to the “web”/academic famous). Although I may still be far from attending such an event in real life, I did have the chance to attend the live stream of the conference here in London, organized by Nokia.

I’ve signed up for 3 of the 4 days, the Tuesday through to Thursday. Yesterday was the first day of presentations, and most of them were pretty amazing. Surprisingly, one of the most inspiring talks was from Gordon Brown, showing a more human side of himself than I think I’ve seen from him before. Instead of me blabbing on about what he talked about, just take a moment and listen to his talk yourself:

[Watch on MissGeeky]

For more TED Talks, check out the TED website

Episode 127: *tweet*

Beautiful little animation about a tiny robot:

[Watch on MissGeeky.com]

It’s a bit depressing when a new sci-fi series opens with “From the producer of Grey’s Anatomy”. Yeah, that’s not exactly what I’m hoping for when I hear “sci-fi”. I love Grey’s Anatomy, but basically it’s just a soap set in a hospital. So what can we expect from this? A soap set in space?

The description from ABC also doesn’t seem that hopeful:

Four women and four men hurtle through space with nothing to do for six years and eight billion miles, except maybe solve a powerful and awesome mystery. Maybe, just maybe, some of them will even hook up. How cool is that?

Defying Gravity is a sexy, provocative thriller set in the very near future against the backdrop of our solar system, in which the eight astronauts from five countries undertake a mysterious six-year international space mission on the spaceship Antares.

They can’t run from karma, however, as their past actions reveal intimate and interconnected relationships that have a strange effect on the present. As the astronauts travel towards Venus, we travel into their past with flashbacks to earlier years from the grueling selection and training process. What could have happened?

Maybe there is something to this fate thing after all.

Hmm, it could turn out great, but I’m not keeping my hopes high. It just doesn’t sound right. And here’s the trailer:

Defying Gravity – 2 Hours Series Premiere: Sunday August 2nd

I’m adoring these Giuseppe Zanotti zip-fastening ankle boots:

Turns out though they’re £690. Eek!

Via Shoelust

It’s been ages ago since I actually saw this movie, but it’s one of those rare movies that deserves a bit more exposure than it has so far received.

The Fall is set in Los Angeles in 1915 and revolves around Alexandria, a five-year-old girl, who wanders around a hospital after breaking her arm. There she meets Roy, a Hollywood stunt man who is paralyzed after an ill-fated attempt at impressing a woman. Roy tries to convince Alexandria to bring morphine pills to him, by spinning her a wondrous tale of bandits, princesses and far away kingdoms.

The main reason you should watch this movie is for its visuals. The Fall is gorgeous, and I wish it had gotten a wider release in the cinemas; this is a movie I would have looooved to see on a huge screen. Director Tarsem Singh made this movie during the course of four years, visiting and shooting in over 20 countries to create this beautiful spectacle. This movie contains some of the most stunning cinematography I’ve ever seen, and it’s truly something you must watch at least once.

The weakness of The Fall though lies in its plot. While the premise of a story world within a story sounds great, its execution here isn’t that tidy. I was expecting much more of a fantastical complex story, maybe a touch of romance, a story that matches the beauty of its visuals. It’s still an okay movie, but it would have been so much more memorable and perfect if the tone of the story matched up with this gorgeous fantasy world.

Lee Pace, who shot this before starring in Pushing Daisies, is terrific as his scheming bedridden character. Even though he’s manipulating this sweet 5 year old girl, you can emphasize with him and understand why he’s doing what he’s doing. This was Catinca Untaru’s (the five-year-old Alexandria) first movie, and the director and crew conspired in a lot of the scenes to get a realistic performance from her; most of her reactions and lines are completely spontaneous. A lot of other people loved her “refreshingness”, but to be very honest I found her a bit annoying.

The Fall is a beautiful movie that deserves to be watched on a screen as large as possible. Even though the story isn’t completely up to scratch, the gorgeous visuals are well worth sitting down for an hour of two.

The Fall is available for £4.98 on Amazon.co.uk and for $19.99 on Amazon.com.

Episode 126: *roar*

An archaeologist makes an amazing discovery underneath the ice:

[Watch on MissGeeky.com]

Interesting links for July 8th through July 18th:

• How 16 Electronics Companies Got Their Names – I somehow just always assumed that a lot of these companies were just named after someone, but most of them have pretty interesting origins.
• The Wertzone: Multimedia storytelling in support of TVs and movies – Great article about how storytelling evolved from just one medium to multiple media. Formerly everything other than the main movie/tv show wasn't considered cannon (just filler). For example, anything that happened in the Star Trek books never happened in the TV show. But slowly that changed, with other platforms being used as part of the story. I loved Babylon 5, but I didn't know that all Babylon 5 books and comics are actually part of the complete story. Or that the answer to "What do the numbers mean in Lost?" has actually already been answered in the ARG.
• 10 Things We’ve Learned From Failed Threequels – Film School Rejects – The sequel to a sequel: there aren't really that many good ones out there. Here's a great list of 10 things those movies do wrong.
• iPhone Apps For Movie Geeks | /Film – I don't have an iPhone yet, but this is a handy list of movie apps for those who have one. I wonder though it there are any UK based apps out there?

Coco Avant Chanel: Thee story of Coco Chanel’s rise from obscure beginnings to the heights of the fashion world. Release Date: July 2009 (UK), September 2009 (US)

Despicable Me: A trio of orphan girls cause the normally deplorable and evil Gru to rethink his plan to steal the moon. Release Date: July 2010 (US), October 2010 (UK)

Cemtary Junction: Cemetery Junction, set in 1970s England, follows three blue-collar friends who spend their days joking, drinking and chasing girls. Freddie (Christian Cooke) wants to leave their working-class world but cool, charismatic Bruce (Tom Hughes) and lovable loser Snork (Jack Doolan) are happy with life the way it is. Release Date: April 2010 (UK)

An Education: A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age. Release Date: October 2009 (UK, US)

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief: A young boy discovers he’s the descendant of a Greek god and sets out on an adventure to settle an on-going battle between the gods. Release Date: February 2010 (UK, US)

Whip It!: In Bodeen, Texas, the indie-rock loving Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) finds a way of dealing with her small-town misery after she discovers a roller derby league in Austin and tries to join as Babe Ruthless. Release Date: October 2009 (US)

 @ Yahoo! Video

At previous Hackdays/BarCamps I’ve gotten involved in making ‘funny’ videos, but nothing as elaborate (or professional looking) as what these guys have done. Tom Scott and Matt Grey challenged each other to getting in the most camera shots on the news as possible:

[Watch on MissGeeky.com]

Brilliant!

When young Alec of Kerry is taken prisoner for a crime he didn’t commit, he is certain that his life is at an end. But one thing he never expected was his cellmate. Spy, rogue, thief, and noble, Seregil of Rhiminee is many things-none of them predictable. And when he offers to take on Alec as his apprentice, things may never be the same for either of them. Soon Alec is traveling roads he never knew existed, toward a war he never suspected was brewing. Before long he and Seregil are embroiled in a sinister plot that runs deeper than either can imagine, and that may cost them far more than their lives if they fail. But fortune is as unpredictable as Alec’s new mentor, and this time there just might be…Luck in the Shadows.

I read this book and it’s two sequels ages ago, back when I was still in high school. I loved the story, but never got around to re-reading it. This year though the writer is releasing two more books in The Nightrunner series, and I knew I should pick the first ones up and delve back into that world.

The main thing I love in this book are the characters; Alec and Seregil are both likable and easy to root for characters. It only takes a couple of pages, and you’re already invested and caring for these characters. The loyalty and friendship that slowly forms between them is amazing to read; they are not many writers I’ve seen that are able to pull this off. I also liked that they weren’t your typical heroes; Seregil is a spy/thief and takes Alec on as his apprentice. Most of the book shows Alec’s introduction to this world of intrigue which he never knew about, and the not always “honest” way of making a living.

The world that Flewelling built here is also pretty interesting. There’s sorcery and prophecy, but never falling in the familiar cliches that other fantasy books often do. The wizards here have power, but aren’t all too powerful, and the main characters clearly don’t rely always on magic to save their skins. Besides that, Skala (the main country where it takes place) has a rich backstory, with history and politics going back centuries.

The books after this one venture into slightly more mature themes, and not everyone might be comfortable with that. If that doesn’t bother you at all though, I’d highly recommend this book. It’s a great read, and one of my all-time favourites.

Luck In The Shadows is Part One of The Nightrunner Series by Lynn Flewelling – £5.99 on Amazon.co.uk, $7.50 on Amazon.com