The Great Geek Manual

Comics

• Bam Kapow has a great list of 10 Notable Pants Sh*ttingly Scary Comic Book Characters, starting with – you guessed it – the Joker.

Film

• The Chicago Tribune thinks that it’s compiled a list of the Top 25 scary Halloween Movies, but there’s not a single gore, splatter, or vintage zombie flick in the lot, leading me to believe this list’s author grew up in the early eighties, pre-cable. Still, more than a few of these gave me nightmares as a kid.
• Entertainment Weekly hops on the bandwagon with its own list of the Scariest Movies of all Time.
• Heartless Doll runs down the Top 10 Horror Movie Heroines.

Internet

• Topless Robot pointed us to a photo of a Slave Leia Pillow Fight over at Kontraband. No story, just a photo. It’s better that way, really. It leave us more latitude to imagine…

Literature

• Free Fiction: Read “The Girl Who Swallowed the Sky” by Jacqueline Bowen online at Aberrant Dreams.
• Free Fiction: Read “Souling Night” by Kelly Dunn online at Aberrant Dreams.
• Genre author Gregory Frost talks about the inevitable restrictions chain stores are placing on your book selection.
• Tor.com asks, What stops you from buying a book? My answer: it’s availability for free online, duh.

Television

• If the Star Trek reboot is a success, should they relaunch the original Star Trek series?

Video Games

• Heartless Doll has compiled a list of the Top 10 Ridiculous Awesome Undergarments Worn by Women in Video Games.

It is difficult not to wonder whether that combination of elements
which produces a machine for labor does not create also a soul of sorts,
a dull resentful metallic will, which can rebel at times.

- Pearl S. Buck, American author.

1636
A vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony establishes the first college in what will later become the United States, The President and Fellows of Harvard College, which will later be renamed Harvard University.

1868
Thomas Alva Edison applies for his first patent, for an electrical vote recorder.

1946
A five-man commission of civilians is appointed by President Harry S. Truman to become The Atomic Energy Commission, which was established by the August 1, 1946 US Atomic Energy Act. The commission’s mission is to develop and utilize atomic energy for the public welfare, increasing the standard of living, strengthening free competition in private enterprise, and promoting world peace. It will first convene on November 13, 1946.

1970
The International Business Machines (IBM) Data Processing Division (DPD) announces two new products: the IBM System/3 Model 6 and IBM System/7, two low-cost computers for the factory, laboratory, and office.
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Come to think of it… a lot of superhero fashion is gay, and it seems like quite a few eighties icons were pushing the gay agenda…

New Releases

After the Downfall by Harry Turtledove
Night Shade Books. (ISBN: 978-1-59780-130-0) Hardcover. Price: $24.95 Length: 324pp
An alternate history fantasy novel in which the Russians invade Berlin in 1945, and a German officer finds himself transported to a magical world of wizards and unicorns. Publishers Weekly says the main character’s “slow enlightenment breaks no new ground, but his story will appeal to fans of Turtledove’s straightforward style and military know-how.”

The Company by K. J. Parker
Orbit. (ISBN: 978-0-316-03853-9) Hardcover. Length: 419pp Price: $24.99
A fantasy novel about five war veterans who colonize an abandoned island, whose friendship is strained by the discovery of gold. Publishers Weekly says “This exquisitely written novel by a pseudonymous popular author blends gritty military fantasy with the 18th-century ‘island story’ tradition.”

Dark Rain by Tony Richards
Harper. (ISBN: 978-0-06-147466-8) Mass market paperback. Length: 388pp Price: $7.99
Horror novel about a small town in Massachusetts inhabited by descendants of the witches who escaped the Salem witch trials.

Doomwyte by Brian Jacques
Philomel. (ISBN: 978-0-399-24544-2) Hardcover. Length: 373pp Price: $23.99
The latest young adult fantasy novel in the long-running Redwall animal fantasy series. This book tells the tale of the Doomwytes, sinister ravens in pursuit of a fabled treasure.

Foundation by Mercedes Lackey
DAW. (ISBN: 978-0-7564-0524-3) Hardcover. Length: 340pp Price: $25.95
A science fiction novel set in the Valdemar of Lackey’s earlier works, this book follows an orphan slave who is discovered to have special talents. Locus Magazine rather sardonically says that Lackey “returns to her tried-and-true formula: an abused child is rescued when Chosen by a Companion to become a Herald, and turns out to have special talents that may turn out to save the kingdom…”
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Comics

• The 20 most significant comics in American comics history, according to Steven Grant.

Film

• Film School Rejects looks at the Ten Creepiest Masked Killers of all time, and when I saw that The Strangers only came in at number seven, I immediately vowed to watch them all to judge for myself!
• Topless Robot has posted a really decent list of The 10 Greatest Zombie Films of All Time, managing, unlike most lists, to hit all of the great and almost in the exact order I would have choosen.
• Finally, if masked murderers and zombies don’t do it for you, try IGN’s list of the Top 10 Sickest Movies, but be warned (seriously)! I’ve seen two of the films mentioned in this list and for the peace of my own mind, I sincerely wish I hadn’t.
• Wired runs down the 10 Best Geek Characters in Mainstream Movies.

Literature

• Free Fiction: Listen to “Things” by Ursula Le Guin at FreakyTrigger.
• Interview: Stephen King talks with Salon.com about his novel, The Stand, which turns 30 this year.
• Looking for Shakespeare with a twist? i09 has your hook-up with its look at William Shakespeare, Science Fiction Author of the Forbidden Tomorrow Zone.
• Tor trys to explain Why the Vampire Romance is Taking Over Your Grocery Market Shelf, almost apologetically, but I would have preferred a straight up apology.

Television

• Joss admits Dollhouse did almost fall apart, but assures us (for what, the third time?) that everything is back on track.
• Steampunk is no longer hip. The first clue? A five-part series by MTV. Damn it.

Freelance Switch rounds up 7 Intellectual Property Resources Every Freelancer Should Know About.

Good to know: Times Online shares five simple things a day to stay sane.

If ever in need, you can make a small gift box out of two dollar bills folded just right.

Is it just me, or does this look like a parade of hardcore Doctor Girlfriend fans?

Not a tutorial, but a neat suggestion: use a coffee sack to jazz up your bulletin boards.

Print this list out and post it, Amen! 10 things your IT guy wants you to know.
Addendum: 0. Don’t make us tell you. Try rebooting your system first.

SuperPunch has a gallery of food suggestions for your Halloween party.

These 34 Geeky Pumpkins include film, game, and software designs, including several Darth Vaders.

Which of the Seven Stages of Halloween are you?

Wired has posted a gallery of Star Wars-themed Pumpkin Carvings.

With the economy in the can, it can’t hurt to know what to do if you are laid off from a tech job.

Ahhh… Halloween! What cinematic terrors has Hollywood in store for us? What ghoulish horrors?

Only Zack and Miri Make a Porno (R). Damn you, Hollywood. The best night of the year for a good scare and you give us a freaking comedy. The Haunting of Molly Hartley (PG-13) is also supposed to premiere, but it’s not clear whether or not it opens nationwide, and quite frankly, it looks like teen bait. Double damn you. Video rentals are just as devoid of season-appropriate fare. Damn you. Damn you. Damn you.

Video Releases

• Dead Space – Downfall (NR)
• Journey To Center Of The Earth (PG)

Television

• Dark Shadows: The Beginning, Vol. 6
• Millennium: Seasons 1-3
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary [Limited Edition]

Re-Releases & New Formats

• H.P. Lovecraft Collection, Vol. 5: Strange Aeons

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