Briana’s pick: The Pluto Files

There’s been some controversy in recent years over the planets in our solar system. In fact, while you were sleeping, we lost one. Back in 2006 the International Astronomical Union essentially voted Pluto out of the club after redefining the definition of what classifies a planet. Pluto doesn’t cut it apparently, so we’re down from 9 planets to 8. Remember this rhyme?

My (Mercury)
Very (Venus)
Educated (Earth)
Mother (Mars)
Just (Jupiter)
Served (Saturn)
Us (Uranus)
Nine (Neptune)
Pickles (Pluto)

Well you can forget about the pickles. As you can imagine, the demotion of Pluto from a “planet” to a “dwarf planet” has stirred quite a brouhaha among the masses. And I don’t just mean the scientific masses. People in Illinois are REALLY pissed as I learned this week by watching NOVA’s “The Pluto Files,” hosted by everyone’s favorite astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson. The PBS show aired earlier this week, but you can watch it online now at NOVA’s website. Before deGrasse Tyson took his story to NOVA, he wrote a book on it, also appropriately called “The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet.” Fascinating stuff. Check out a preview below:

James’ pick: Print-and-play board games

Hey, do you like board games? Well of course you do. What about free stuff? Yeah, that’s good too, right? And what about nerdy papercraft projects with scissors and X-Acto blades and stuff? Trifecta!

Welcome to the wonderful world of print-and-play board games. As the name suggests, these are (typically free) board games that you download as a PDF, print out on white card stock, cut apart, and voila – instant fun!

There’s a massive list of the best ones over at one of my favorite sites, Board Game Geek – but be warned, if games are your thing, be prepared to go through a LOT of ink.

I think the best one I’ve ever played is the solitaire game “Zombie in My Pocket,” which is really well designed and has some great graphics. It takes anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes to play, can literally fit in your pocket and is great for long car trips or plane rides.

And for you grognards and history buffs out there, make sure you check out the incredible “Airborne in My Pocket,” which started as a variation on ZIMP but has evolved into a massive game of its own, complete with five expansion sets. (Honestly, I don’t know why anybody pays for anything anymore, because no matter what you’re into, some really talented person out there is making a free example of it as a labor of love.)

Briana’s pick: Captain EO

Science may have proved that 3D movies hurt your brain (more info here), but hot damn they sure are fun! And since it’s human nature to love what’s bad for you, there’s a whole slew of 3 dimensional films coming to a theater near you (i09 kindly posted a whole list of them in this related blog). Back in the 20^th Century, 3D films were an anomaly, and I won’t forget the first time I donned a pair of magic glasses to view one.

Captain EO, starring Michael Jackson was open to the public in Disneyland in 1986 and viewed later by me in the Imagination Pavilion at Epcot Center (Disney World in Orlando). The film was executive produced by George Lucas, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and reportedly cost $30 million to make (quite a bit considering it’s only 17 minutes long). I won’t give away the plot; just know that it involves outer space, flying robots, lasers and yes, quite a bit of dancing and singing. But it’s in 3 DIMENSIONS!

The film closed in the late ‘90’s due in part to Michael Jackson’s marred reputation. But now, upon his death, he’s more popular than ever! And to celebrate, Disneyland has reintroduced the film via their “Captain EO Tribute” attraction. But in case you can’t make it out to Disneyland, you can check the videos out on YouTube below. Don’t forget your magic glasses!

Captain EO in 3D (part 1 of 2)

Captain EO in 3D (part 2 of 2)

James’ pick: MetaFilter

So, if they told you that the Internet was being taken away from you, but you could pick one website that you could continue to visit, what would you choose? I know for a lot of people it would be Wikipedia, but for me, hands down, it’s MetaFilter.

Dubbed simply “Community weblog,” it’s a relatively free-form discussion place where conversations can happen about any imaginable topic. Big deal, right? That happens all over the place, but nowhere does it happen with so much signal and so little noise. The site has four full-time moderators, ensuring that discussions stay on topic and (relatively) civil.

But more than anything, it’s the intelligence of this community that astonishes me. This is a great bunch of people. And you combine that bunch of people (over 100,000 registered members, although the number of active participants is much lower) with the amazing functionality of the subsite Ask MetaFilter, in which you can pose almost any question and have it answered by the group, and you have the single most useful site on the Internet.

Briana’s pick: Avatar LARPing

Avatar. Sighhhhhhhhhh. The most over hyped, overrated film in the history of the universe has inspired a group of folks up in Wisconsin to start their own Avatar-themed LARP community. If you don’t know what LARP (Live Action Role Play) is all about, check out the very first edition of Down and Nerdy, then go rent the documentary film “Darkon.” Although this Live “Avatar” Role Play video is a parody, it’s well done and probably very much like something happening in backyards, parks, and various wooded areas all over the world right now. Or you know, at a Palestinian protest on the West Bank.

James’ pick: iTunes U

OK, so I’m kinda late to this game, but I just recently got an iPhone. And one of the things that does is it makes you download and use iTunes.

And iTunes is amazing, if for no other reason than iTunes U, which is this really easy-to-use way to browse tons of free educational content for downloading – audio lectures, video lectures, recorded interviews. And it interfaces with big-name universities like Oxford and Cambridge – and did I mention it’s all free?

Really, really great stuff, and you don’t need an iPhone or iPod to enjoy – just download iTunes and you can listen to and watch all of this stuff on your computer. Click on the Store, then look for the iTunes U tab at the top. I’ve attached this beautiful illustration to help you find it.

Briana’s pick: The Best of LCD

WFPK and the stations of Louisville Public Media are near and dear to my heart, it’s true. But I occasionally sneak in a web-streamin’ listen to other national public stations (and yes, I am also a contributing member). The station you will find in my browser right now is WFMU.org. Broadcasting out of Jersey City, New Jersey just across the Hudson from Manhattan on 91.1FM (and also in Mt. Hope, New York at 90.1FM), WFMU is a noncommercial, free-form paradise of listening, doods. WFMU broadcasts some of the bestest (and the weirdest) stuff out there.

From 1986 to 1998, WFMU also produced a companion program guide called LCD (Lowest Common Denominator) which I was never privy to until now. “The Best of LCD: The Art and Writing of WFMU” is a visual counterpart to the airwaves consisting of incredible artwork, opinion pieces, random musings, and absurd satire from listeners, volunteers, and staff members. You don’t need to know the programs of WFMU to appreciate the book. It is packed full of lunatic creativity. Just the way I like it.

James’ pick: Bioshock 2

I’ve been a gamer all my life, but always on the frugal side – games are expensive, so I usually wait a year or two to buy them when they’re a lot cheaper (public radio salary, you know). But for the first time, I bought a game on the day it came out – Bioshock 2, which came out last Tuesday.

The original Bioshock was one of my favorite gaming experiences ever. So smart! So immersive! So bloody terrifying! As the game opens, you’re in an airplane over the mid-Atlantic in 1960. The plane crashes into the ocean, and your only safe harbor is a giant entrance to an underground city called Rapture. As you enter, audio recordings tell you of the man who built this once-great utopia, Andrew Ryan – a pun/anagram/play on Ayn Rand, whose Objectivism is the inspiration for the game. You see, Ryan believes that great men and women should have a place where they are entitled to the “sweat of their brow,” away from the governments and religions that want to take it away from them.

But it all went wrong, and Rapture is now an Art Deco ruin, populated by “splicers,” once-human creatures that have gone drug-mad; by Little Sisters, brain-wrecked little girls that troll the streets of Rapture looking for the drug ADAM; and the monstrous Big Daddies, giant robots with drills for hands that protect the Little Sisters.

Here’s the opening sequence from the first game:

Heady stuff, and sooooo exciting. The visuals, the music, everything – it was a one-of-a-kind experience.

So far, Bioshock 2 is just as great, perhaps even better, more polished. This time it is ten years later, and you the player find yourself inside the suit of a Big Daddy. Rapture has been taken over by the sinister Doctor Lamb, whose philosophies are a 180-turn away from those of Ryan.

The game is pretty emotional, too, as your job is to locate your Little Sister, Eleanor, who appears to you from time to time in dream-like sequences, begging you to “please find me, daddy, please find me!” Yikes. You’ll also find a number of really deep, intelligent storylines, told through audio cassette journals you’ll find laying around Rapture.

Decidedly adult, not just because of the violence but also because of the level of writing and ambition, this is video gaming at its finest. And to celebrate, I’ve done perhaps the nerdiest thing of my entire life – I made an unboxing video of the Special Edition. Watch it if you dare.