http://www.flickr.com/groups/1276628@N22/

And ask to be added, if you’re interested. We need 36 more images for the video, and hopefully you can help! And you don’t have to be a pro – just creative and enthusiastic!

Halfbrick Blast Off

One of my favorite discoveries of 2009 was Australian independent game developer Halfbrick. With a unique blend of stylized visuals and intuitive gameplay mechanics, Halfbrick has emerged as the true champion of the mini-game market. Though their titles have taken me from deep space to futuristic raceways and into an abstract world of wandering spirits, the common thread throughout is an uncanny brand of addictive fun that manages to marry amazing depth with elegant simplicity.

Also aiding in Halfbrick’s mission to keep the player coming back for more is the studio’s charming musical direction. One of the finest examples is Halfbrick Blast Off, a title available through both the Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Network. As you navigate your craft around planetary gravity fields, attempting to rescue stranded astronauts while managing quickly exhaustible supplies of fuel and oxygen, you are treated to appropriately stirring ambient electronica.

To celebrate the New Year, as well as the critical acclaim garnered by the title, Halfbrick has released the Blast Off soundtrack for free. Torrents are available for both MP3 and Apple Lossless versions of the soundtrack, and, if you enjoy the music, I’d highly recommend that you give the game itself a try. Unlike most bite-sized titles, it’s well worth the price tag!

This means Harry Potter gets in because all the movies belong to the 21st century. But Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel started in the 20th century, so we excluded them. No worries, Joss Whedon, Dr. Horrible made the cut.

Websites were trickier, given how much frequently they update their content, so we did not enforce start dates on them.

Overall, the big winner appears to be: Pixar!

Pixar appears to have nowhere to go but up.

There was also a heavy dose of Star Wars among the geek kids’ favorites. Not the prequel movies, but various videogames and the Clone Wars cartoon, which had the nice effect of bonding old-school Star Wars geek parents with their kids in many geek homes. And, under comics, we noticed that many independent creators made the list for producing some awesome books and strips that appeal to all ages, including Owly, Girl Genius and Bone, none of which originally came from the big publishers.

Note: Game consoles were put together with the toys, while the accompanying videogames went under, well, videogames.

And now, onto the lists:

Best Movies

Best Books

Best Toys & Videogames

Best Websites

Best Television

Best Comic Books

Best Music

Paul and Storm's "It Might Be Christmas"

As Christmas approaches, and every store is filled with seasonal music, you’ve probably asked yourself the same question as all other geeks: When are They Might Be Giants going to come out with an album of Christmas music? Well, wonder no longer, my fellow geek, for such an album is in the works… with a twist.

You may recall that, last Christmas, Paul and Storm produced “The 25 Days of Newman,” wherein they created a series of Randy Newman-esque movie theme songs. This holiday season they’ve chosen instead to produce “It Might Be Christmas,” an album of Christmas songs that TMBG might have written and sung, except of course that they haven’t. So far two songs, “Forgettable Side Dish” and “Backward Santa” are out, and they’ve promised to publish at least one new song each Monday, Wednesday and Friday until Christmas Eve. You can listen to the songs online for free, or download them (in any of several formats) for whatever price you’d like to pay.

I have to say that I find this idea more interesting than last year’s, because, while the Newman songs were funny, they became predictable after only a few entries. There are only two songs in this year’s effort so far, of course, but those two are very enjoyable pastiches of TMBG, and I have high hopes for the upcoming ones. The tone Paul and Storm affect to sound like the two Johns (Linnell and Flansburgh) is nasal enough to be funny but not so nasal as to be irritating.

So we at GeekDad suggest you add Paul and Storm’s “It Might Be Christmas” to your holiday tunes list. We do advise that you listen to the songs before playing them for your kids, as many of Paul and Storm’s songs would probably not be considered suitable for young kids by most parents.

And enjoy this video of Paul & Storm singing the Frogger Song at W00tstock 1.0!

LED menorah photo by Windell H. Oskay, www.evilmadscientist.com, used under CC attribution license.

While all of the gentiles (or goyim) are celebrating a holiday where all the gifts are opened at once — after being delivered through the chimney by an overweight icon in a red suit — I’ll be lighting a candle and opening one gift a night. Starting tonight at sundown. That’s right folks, I celebrate Chanukah. Or Hanukah, Hanuka, Hannukah, Hanukkah, Channukah or just חֲנֻכָּה. Basically, the spelling is up in the air as it’s a translation of sounds like any language based on symbols. I like to use Chanukah for some reason, maybe because the CH sound at the beginning forces me to make it sound like a Klingon word.

Now that we’ve established my religious preference (though if my wife would let me I’d convert to Pastafarian in a heartbeat) let’s take a look at eight random ways you can make Chanukah as geeky (or at least as fun) as humanly (or robotically) possible whether you celebrate it or not.

8. Light ‘Em Up!

Jewish or not, you probably know that Chanukah is traditionally called “The Festival of Lights” and includes the tradition of lighting the Menorah, one candle a night. How can lighting candles be geeky? Well, even if you’re not sitting in a giant LEGO menorah the lighting of the candles doesn’t have to be boring. You could build your own flamethrower to light the candles, or my personal favorite – just use your craft torch!

7. Plate Full of Latkes

One of the foods consumed (in great quantities in my house) around this time of year are Latkes. Simply put, they are fried potato pancakes. Imagine chopped up french fries, covered in onion rings and deep fried in hot oil. I like a little beer batter on mine. Latkes make the perfect all-night gaming snack, and go great with a Mountain Dew and an 8-hour session of WoW.

6. Everyone Can Sing

Jews don’t just say prayers, we sing them. Seriously. Over the years I’ve learned something — no-one in my family can sing. When reciting the blessings every night while lighting the candles, I cringe. Thanks to the magic of the iPhone and the genius of T-Pain, we have the I am T-Pain iPhone app, so you can simply record the blessing into your iPhone and auto-tune it! Amazing! Also, it can be used for all the other blessings, as well as Nana’s kvetching about how things were when she was young and poor.

5. Chanukah Viewing Party

Similar to the tradition of viewing A Christmas Story over and over and over on Christmas Eve, in my household we like to view Adam Sandler’s Eight Crazy Nights every night after we open gifts. It’s a hilarious animated movie that teaches a great lesson to kids about behavior and charity. Recently my brother suggested we add a new film to the Chanukah viewing rotation, for after the kids are in bed. Adam Goldberg’s The Hebrew Hammer. Probably the strangest and most original holiday film ever made. Though I’ve always preferred The Frisco Kid.

4. Go Read Comics

Stan "The Man" Lee. Image from the Wikimedia Commons and used under Creative Commons license. Excelsior!

It’s well known that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby are both Jewish and are responsible for creating a lot of the comic book characters out there. But those guys are real. Here’s a short list of some comic book characters that you may be familiar with that are lighting the Menorah this Chanukah. Except for Magneto, as he was born Jewish but turned his back on religion. Iceman (his mom is Jewish), Marvel Boy (Justice), Microchip (the Punisher’s assistant), Prime and of course, Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde) who wears her faith around her neck.

3. Chanukah Through Music

While we all are familiar with Adam Sandler’s now infamous Chanukah ballads, delighting in naming all the famous Jews and making pot jokes, fellow GeekDad Z helped me compile a list of some other great Chanukah-related music you may not have heard. From nerdcore to TMBG to Sarah Silverman, there is some good stuff here that you can easily find a place to download from (like iTunes, Amazon, etc.) and make yourself the perfect Chanukah mixtape.

Erran Barron Cohen (brother of Sasha) released an album of traditional Chanukah songs called Songs In The Key Of Hanukkah.

A great mashup from DJ Flack called “Dreidl-Bells.”

Senator Orrin Hatch wrote a Chanukah song. Go figure. It’s called “A Melody Fit for a Maccabee.”

A bit of musical comedy from the group Da Vinci’s Notebook (two of whom went on to become Paul and Storm), with their Alice in Chains-inspired cover of “Dreidel Dreidel Dreidel.” Wicked.

Music group The LeeVees put out an excellent album of modern Chanukah songs, Hanukkah Rocks. Among the songs are the very funny “At the Timeshare” and “Kugel.”

The Barenaked Ladies holiday album, Barenaked for the Holidays contains some Chanukah songs in that distinctive BNL style. Side note: Their song “Hanukkah Blessings” made it onto Rock Band.

They Might Be Giants also released a holiday EP a couple years back, with one Chanukah song on it, called “Feast of Lights.”

In the chiptune category, 8 Bit Weapon has included a Chanukah song on their new holiday album, It’s a Chiptune Holiday.

Let us also not forget the timeless Christmas Jews album released by the hilarious 2 Live Jews comedy music duo. It’s a contradiction of sorts, since it’s Jews ripping apart Christmas music with some Chanukah songs sprinkled in.

Finally, for your viewing pleasure (though not all safe for the geeklets) there is Sarah Silverman’s “Give the Jew Girl Toys” and the less inappropriate though still classic Kyle Broflovski’s “Lonely Jew on Christmas” ballad.

2. Record It All

As geeks, it’s our duty to get in everyone’s face with the new video camera. It’s our obligation to Twitter while opening gifts. It’s also in our best interest to take digital picture frames scattered throughout the house. But you already knew all that, you do it every weekend.

1. If You Build It, Presents Will Come

Whenever possible, a true geek doesn’t buy it. A true geek builds it. That rule holds for the centerpiece of the Chanukah holiday, the Menorah. For you gentiles, that’s the thing that holds the candles. For the kids, might I suggest a D.I.Y. Menorah kit? Just remember, whatever you build the Menorah out of, try not to make it flammable. Personally, I like a good solid metal one or one made out of old computer parts. If you are feeling lazy however, you can head over to Thinkgeek and buy one made from a motherboard with LED lighting. Pretty. Though if you want to get really hardcore geek with your Menorah, go with the Star Trek Pez LED Menorah. If you think making a Menorah is too tough, then go make a Droidel.

That’s it! So from all of us here at GeekDad have a fun and geeky Chanukah! Hope you get all eight gifts you asked for and more! I know I’m getting a handful of giftcards. L’Chaim y’all!

The Cast of Glee (image: FOX)

In the ocean of television programming, it’s hard for a show to stand out — especially on the Fox Network, where notoriously fantastic shows get canned for no reason — and especially if it’s a musical. You can count the number of musical television shows that have succeeded in the past on one hand. I’m not counting Cop Rock as a success.

So, when I saw that there was a new show on television that was as much musical as it was comedy, I steered clear. On my wife’s urging, however, I finally gave Glee a chance after a couple episodes and I don’t regret it. I do regret missing those first couple of episodes because I hate trying to figure out what’s going on in a new show.

If you know me, and by my musings and opinion pieces on GeekDad, you might think, “How does this cynical and sarcastic super-genius like a show like Glee?” Well, aside from some great music including mashups of classic R&B with modern rock, Glee speaks to the geek or outcast we were in high school. Don’t stand up on a high horse and pretend you were perfect. Every teenager (thanks to the magic of puberty) goes through a time when they are not sure where or if they belong. I played baseball, but was a huge art nerd and creative-writing wonk so I got the short end of that stick in the school popularity game.

That’s what draws us into Glee and keeps us there. The show presents a character study of every stereotypical high school character and personality that can be fit into 40 minutes outside commercials. We’re able to see ourselves in those characters and along with their eventual evolution — our eventual evolution. With sharp writing from show creators Brad Falchuk, Ian Brennan and Ryan Murphy, Glee creates a high school atmosphere that’s a bit more snarky than I remember, but with as associative nature that feels like an in-joke memory. If all that isn’t enough to make you watch the show, how about the inclusion of a spot-on Jane Lynch, bursting with cocky confidence as the cheerleader coach?

With the season finale of Glee coming up this week, it felt like a good time to talk to executive producer and co-creator Brad Falchuk (of Nip/Tuck fame) not about the direction of the show or any spoilers for the finale (since those topics were off limits, and not because I didn’t want to know) but about some of the successes of the show and if those kids are lip syncing or not.

GeekDad: Creating a musical show is one thing, but keeping an audience for it is another. How do you feel you were most successful at doing that in this first season of Glee?

Brad Falchuk: I think the key is not approaching it as a musical show. One of the main pitfalls of any theoretically “niche” show is that you spend too much time on the “niche” and not enough time on the “show.” We make sure that our stories and characters are compelling first, then worry about the music. The music is a challenge, but what makes people interested in hearing it again and again is that it evokes the memories of the emotional experience they had with the characters when they heard the song on the show.

GD: Speaking about the music, who’s the master behind the musical selection on the show? There have been some great tunes belted out thus far.

BF: Ryan Murphy is the musical genius of the show. I (and others) pitch ideas, but he picks all the songs. He has an amazing musical library in his head.

Glee co-creator Brad Falchuk, happy he’s got a hit show on his hands.

GD: In a lot of programs, playing to the stereotypes of characters has bombed shows. On Glee, it’s worked perfectly. What was the formula for creating the balance between stereotypes and character development?

BF: We really don’t have a formula. Our idea was always to use the stereotypes as starting points — something to make the audience instantly relate to the characters. After that, though, all bets were off and we just try to make them as real as possible. I love it when characters surprise you, just like real people. When I write a scene I just try to make the characters behave in a way that feels natural to them. Sometimes that means they make a left turn and do something unexpected. Those are always the best scenes in my opinion.

GD: We’re geeks, the glee kids are geeks — just for being in glee club. It’s a social by-product. Does any of this come from your own experiences as a teen?

BF: The point of the show is that every teenager is a geek. Every teenager feels a wanting, a desire for something more, to be heard, to be seen. In reality, I was more of the Finn/Puck type in high school (yes, we did throw a kid in the dumpster … a few times) but like those characters, I was unsure of myself and my place. I think the show is working for people of all ages, though because that feeling never really goes away.

GD: Probably one of the most unsure of his place in the world on the show, Kurt (Chris Colfer), is freaking hilarious. Is he that snarky in real life or just really good at his lines?

BF: Any great character is the combination of a brilliant actor and the right writing. He’s much sweeter than Kurt is, but he’s also very wise beyond his years. I find him hilarious (as does everyone else). Writing for him is a blast, because you can basically give him anything and he’ll make it work.

GD: The right writing it is! The writing on the show is particularly sharp. Frankly, it’s the thing that got me hooked. How do you mix the musical aspect with the interpersonal dialogue and still keep both parts fresh and entertaining? A lot of shows fail when trying dual formats.

BF: Like I said in my first answer, the writing is always the priority. Three of us created Glee — Ian Brennan, Ryan Murphy and myself, and we write all of the episodes. That allows for a very uniform voice from episode to episode. Keeping things fresh and entertaining is our job!

GD: Do you think that the popularity of American Idol and those dance shows helped with getting a show like Glee developed? Hypothetically, do you think the absence of those programs would hurt Glee?

BF: Certainly AI gave people the opportunity to see that music works on TV. Without a doubt, it opened eyes and doors. Hard to think hypothetically because AI is not going away any time soon!

GD: There are some deplorable human beings on Glee (namely, Terri Schuester played by Jessalyn Gilsig), no matter their intentions. Did working on Nip/Tuck help with the creation of those types of people?

BF: I have to disagree with you here. I don’t think Terri is deplorable. If you watch her scenes carefully you’ll see that she’s usually right in her assessment of the world and her relationship. She says things many women think about their lives and their spouses. She’s just very honest and selfish — not always a great combination. All of it is fear-based with Terri, though. She’s so scared all the time and certain creatures lash out when they’re scared.

I guess that kind of answers your question — the key to writing “bad guys” is to never think of them that way. Working on Nip/Tuck certainly helped me see the gray areas of humanity a little more clearly — or at least be more willing to explore them.

GD: If you had to pick one actor from the show to sing karaoke with, who would it be? And for that matter, what song would you choose?

BF: Amber Riley (as Mercedes Jones) or Lea Michele (as Rachel Berry), because I could just pretend to sing and let them do all the hard work. They’re so talented you want to kick them. As for a song, probably “In My Time of Dying,” by Led Zeppelin.

GD:Brad, thanks for the interview, one last question. I’ve noticed that sometimes it seems (clearly) that the songs are being lip-synced — though actually sung by the actors right? And other times, it seems like they are actually singing while filming. I’m not going crazy right, that is happening?

BF: The actors sing all of the songs on the show. It’s very important to us that they do all of their own singing and dancing. That said, it takes four to eight hours to shoot a musical number and it would be impossible for the actors to sing the number that many times that perfectly. In order to make it work from a production standpoint we prerecord the songs then have the actors lip-sync on stage when we shoot. We have someone there who’s only job is to make sure the synch is good — 99 percent of the time it works, every now and then it’s not perfect. We rarely have the actors sing live while we shoot.

The cGlee season finale airs Wednesday, December 9th on Fox. For more, heck out the website or head over to Amazon to pick up the soundtracks, Glee: Volume 1 or Glee: Volume 2.

A special hat tip to Brad’s brother Evan Falchuk of the See First Blog, whom you may remember from a previous article I wrote on balancing social media and family, for hooking this up. Thanks Evan!

Jonathan Coulton, classy.

As I’m sitting here, listening to “The Future Soon” by geek rock troubadour Jonathan Coulton, I have to remember that while it might be the future soon, it is currently the present, or it was just the present and now it’s the past. Or the present was the past and that past is now the future. Really, there is no present, not that we can perceive anyway. That is how the music and satirical lyrical styling of Jonathan Coulton makes my brain feel, and that is why I’d like to take a moment out of my day and on behalf of all us at GeekDad wish Jonathan Coulton a very happy undisclosed numbered (39th) birthday!

Unlike many comical or tongue in cheek artists, when you listen to Coulton’s music you get the feeling that he’s completely serious about his subject matter. While there are plenty of in-jokes and sideways thoughts, to me it never seems like Coulton thinks he’s making a joke. With his mix of guitar driven folk and calm lyrics, Coulton creates believable tales of strange love, robotic housekeepers, the joy of talking squirrels and their suggestions of lovemaking outdoors, what it’s like to be Tom Cruise and the rational negotiations of zombies.

Coulton hit super geek stardom with his “Thing a Week” project, where he crafted an original tune every week for a year. Out of this came four great albums and the mega hit “Code Monkey” which was used as the theme song for the show of the same name. He’s held on to his geek cred with constant touring and his website where you can listen to all of his music before purchasing, or downloading some tracks for free. Solidly cementing Coulton in geek lore however was his track “Still Alive” created for the Valve game Portal. Today doesn’t seem like the day to talk about there not being any cake though.

So happy birthday Jonathan, from all of us here at GeekDad and all the music loving geeks around the world! Including Neil Gaiman (who celebrated a birthday last week) who posted this nugget on his Twitter account this morning: “Today we recall the birth of @jonathancoulton, & sing mournful songs about women kidnapped by robotic giant squid-zombies in his memory.”

Here’s a great Anime video mash-up between Coulton’s “Code Monkey” and “Black Heaven.” Or check out this fan made video of Coulton’s “Having a Party” celebrating his birthday.

For the record, my favorite Jonathan Coulton song has to be “Kenesaw Mountain Landis” because it uses banjo and creates a great fantasy tale around a true Baseball legend. What is your favorite Coulton song? Leave it in the comments or just general birthday wishes!