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The Most Sophisticated Yet Sexy Star Trek Wedding

GeekSugar — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:00:56 -0700

I can't deny the fact that I used to get a good chuckle out pics like the one below, when couples would go the distance by having a geek-inspired wedding. But now I'm realizing that a couple's wedding day is about them, their love, and sharing their special day with friends and family. . . .Therefore, go nuts! Seriously, why conform when you and your hubby are Trekkies and truly want to "geek out" on your day?! This Star Trek wedding is so picture perfect it almost looks fake - like a movie set or something! Thanks to the Hilton in Las Vegas, you can choose from a variety of Star Trek wedding packages. For more geeky wedding ideas, be sure to head on over to mental floss!

Be sure to check out I Do Sugar for all of our wedding coverage!

Geek Out With Star Trek Mania!

GeekSugar — Mon, 11 May 2009 01:45:04 -0700

I wouldn't call myself a Trekkie, but the new Mr. Spock is hot and it's hard not to get sucked in to the current Star Trek mania surrounding the film. Taking top spot at the box office, the Star Trek movie surpassed my expectations. Were you one of the millions that saw it?

How Well Do You Know Your Star Trek Trivia?	Following Up the Movie With the Game	Star Trek: Move Over Kirk, Spock Is Hot
Watch Full Star Trek Episodes on CBS.com	Star Trek Fan Creates Home Theater	Sophisticated Star Trek Wedding
Rosario Dawson Offers Klingon Phrases You Should Know	Surf Google's Klingon Search	Star Wars vs. Star Trek Costumes: Which Are Geek Chic?

Ways to Geek Out Your Wedding Reception

GeekSugar — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:25:14 -0700

Everyone wants their wedding to reflect their personality, but if you're a geek, you don't exactly want to dress as a Star Trek couple (or maybe you do, no judgment). But there are other equally fun ways to incorporate geekiness and gadget love in your wedding reception. Source

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Geeks We Love: Kevin Hall of Dvice

GeekSugar — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:25:24 -0800

I check in daily with Dvice, not only because of its gadget coverage, but also because of its sweet sci-fi influence. So just in case you aren't familiar (and if not, why?), let me introduce you to one of Dvice's endearingly geeky contributors - and one of this year's Geeks We Love - Kevin Hall. Recent Brooklyn transplant, this geek hottie has traveled the world, seen (almost) everything, and can still say that robots are his favorite thing . . . ever.

GS: Pretend I'm a total stranger (and let's be honest, I pretty much am), and tell me a little about yourself.
KH: Well, I'm a 24-year-old freelancer living in Brooklyn, NY. I'm a transplant, though - I was born in La Jolla, CA, and have lived in Indonesia, Pennsylvania, London, and Texas. After graduating from college, I knew I wanted to write and heard NYC is the place to do it, so I moved here. I was lucky enough to get a shot at blogging for Gizmodo, then started writing for DVICE, and editing a SCI-FI channel blog called Visions For Tomorrow. That's all rather boring stuff, I suppose. What else? My favorite color is orange, I love eating at all of New York's fine burger spots, and I'm probably more into robots than anyone made of flesh should be. Seriously, if technology made it possible to implant my brain into a robotic shell, I'd totally do it.

To see how Kevin appreciates old(er) school technology, what gadget is on his hot list, and why I'd go on a Valentine's date with him any day of the week, just read more.

GS: Are you strictly a gadget type of guy, or are you also a sci-fi nerd and/or gaming geek?
KH: All three, I'd say, though mostly a sci-fi and gaming geek. I love gadgets, but I don't camp in lines for the latest thing. In fact, I've got a fat, old Samsung clamshell for a cell that's maybe 4- or 5-years-old now, and the same 3.2-megapixel Sony Cyber-shot that I had in high school. And when it comes to science fiction, all of my favorite shows have come and gone - Star Trek: TNG, Space Above and Beyond, Cowboy Bebop, Futurama, and Firefly. I do enjoy the new Battlestar Galactica, of course, and I still love Star Wars, despite my love of Star Trek. If it's in space, I'll probably love it. I read more sci-fi than I watch.

Oh, how I love video games. I'd say the titles that define my tastes would be Deus Ex, Myth, Shadow of the Colossus, Halo, Tribes, Guardian Heroes (for the Saturn), Everquest, Anarchy Online, EVE - now that I've started, I really could go on forever. The last game I played was Gears of Wars 2, and that was about 20 minutes ago. And now it's five a.m., so yeah, you can see how I enjoy my gaming!

GS: Do you remember your very first gadget? Mine was a pager. No, really.
KH: I think my first gadget was probably a Game Boy. Growing up overseas, most of the games we had access to were pirated cartridges titled something like "99 games in one," but each one would just have maybe five or 10 ripoffs of Mario and Pac Man and stuff like that. I think I've actually owned almost every iteration of the Game Boy, from the old beloved brick to the niche-y Micro. I guess I'm slowing down in my old age, though, as I didn't run out to replace my first-gen DS with a Lite.

GS: What gadget are you lusting over right now?
KH: Boring answer, I know, but the iPhone. I'm really impressed by it, especially now that the App Store has been blown wide open. I'm not hardcore enough to want a Blackberry, and I hate cellphones too much to be interested by anything else on the market. The iPhone seems to be a good blend of functional phone and handheld computer, and that really appeals to me.

GS: Dvice is a Sci-Fi owned blog, so you must get cool insider scoops, right? You know how Battlestar Galactica ends, don't you?! Tell me! Tell me now!
KH: We get our tie-ins and exclusive content, sure, but I can't say much more than that. The last thing I want is one of the Sci-Fi Channel's Terminators to return from the future and kill me in the middle of this interview.

GS: What would a geeky-cool guy like you want to do for your lady friend on Valentine's Day? Take us through your perfect date.
KH: Well, we'd start out by taking a newly constructed hover train from New York to Germany (yeah, doesn't exist, just roll with it - I love trains), and hit up this restaurant called Baggers, which has fully automated service. Then we'd fly over to Russia and hitch a ride up to the International Space Station for a flashlight-lit (I imagine candles would be dangerous) dessert in zero-gee and some stargazing. I think the brilliance of the Earth from orbit would make a pretty romantic backdrop, so we'd probably ride around for a full orbit, uh, "playing video games," and then it's back to Earth for us. Or - for a creepy alternate ending - she could reveal that she's actually a robot from an alien world and I'd follow her home. Or we could just go to Tokyo - it's my favorite place to visit and it's about as close as you can get to living in the future.

Geeks We Love: Doug Aamoth of CrunchGear

GeekSugar — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:06:23 -0800

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, we're kicking off our third annual Geeks We Love interview series to showcase some of the most talented and loved tech writers in the industry. And who better to get things under way, than the charming Doug Aamoth, who spends most of his days reviewing high-tech gadget goods for CrunchGear? I had the pleasure of meeting Doug at the HTC Touch Diamond Event in London last year, and found him to be very much the way he comes across in his work - passionate and knowledgeable about technology, and a really great guy with an addictive sense of humor. By the end of this interview, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about - enjoy!

GS: Considering you're the king of product reviews, what types of gadgets are you most excited to take for a test drive?

DA: I'll review just about anything, but I really like to take a look at stuff that has some sort of technological slant to it instead of being a full-fledged technology product. Basically, if I think it's something that would be interesting to other geeks, I'll review it. We get some pretty good response from stuff like the Penguin Home Soda Machine and a little four dollar keychain breathalyzer that also has a built-in stopwatch and flashlight. Of course, right? Every breathalyzer should have a stopwatch just in case you want to have an emergency footrace outside the bar before you figure out if you're okay to drive home.

As far as "real" technology products go, I'm really enjoying this netbook craze right now. I think it'll get much better, too, once Intel sees some more competition from AMD, NVIDIA, and VIA. Other than that, I also really like reviewing things that make people's lives easier. The simpler the better. Oh, and energy drinks. I love taste-testing energy drinks.

To learn more about Doug, including his "ah-ha" moment and his thoughts on technology and dating, read more

GS: What's the most outrageous and hilarious gadget that's arrived on your doorstep?

DA: I think that one of the best reviews I've done was for a product that never showed up. I spent a few days waiting for the new Flip Mino to arrive, at first thinking it would be here on a Tuesday morning, then being told Wednesday instead, then getting a press release envelope but no camera on Thursday, and finally having it show up Friday morning after all our competitors had gotten theirs on Wednesday. It wasn't really that big of a deal but I thought it'd be funny to chronicle the event as though it were an episode of The Office.

Aside from that, the most outrageous review would definitely be for a product called FyreTV, which is a set-top box that streams, um, "non-traditional" video. It's weird because it's basically a review just like any other. We rarely look at the media content for set-top boxes, but more at the actual hardware and how well it handles streaming. So for the FyreTV review it was like, "Here's the box, here are the connections, here's the remote, it streams stuff really quickly, and the video quality is pretty good. Oh, whoops, sorry I had to blur everything out and block the camera with my hand at certain points but you get the idea."

GS: Describe one of the most memorable moments of your career thus far. . .

DA: I had an "a-ha" moment about six months into my career when I was at this Acer conference in Spain. It was my first real work trip and I postponed my own bachelor party to go to it. I remember getting into this big conference hall with a bunch of other reporters, and sitting down at this long table with my laptop and my voice recorder waiting for the presentation to begin. I looked around and thought to myself, "This is what I'm supposed to be doing with my life. I love this stuff." I've had over 30 jobs in my lifetime (I get kind of restless) but I finally felt pretty calm for the first time.

In retrospect, I wouldn't have moved my bachelor party for a work trip but at the time I didn't know how often an opportunity like that Acer conference would come around. Turns out, it was a lot. It was still a great experience, though. Singing White Wedding at CES this year was pretty cool, too.

Also, any time I meet someone that I used to read before I started blogging is always really cool. Every person I meet always looks at me weird when I tell them I'm a big fan of theirs or that they're like a hero to me. I used to read tech blogs and magazines and think "Man, that would be the best job." Now that I'm actually doing it, I still haven't forgotten that feeling. I consider myself to be really fortunate.

GS: How geeky is your significant other? Who makes the final decision when it comes to gadgets for the home?

DA: My wife is probably about a three out of ten on the geekiness scale. She's not into tech stuff whatsoever, but she'll think some of the things I tell her about and some of the products I show her are cool. So she's definitely not against technology and she's pretty savvy with the stuff she uses on a daily basis. She does NOT like all the boxes we have around the house, but I can't blame her for that. It gets pretty out of hand sometimes.

I handle all the IT administration and technical support in the Aamoth household. Interestingly enough, I've been terrible about picking a good cell phone for my wife. I got her the LG Chocolate a few years ago and she didn't like it. Then I recommended the Samsung Glyde and between the non-responsive touchscreen and the poor reception, it's really been a terrible device as far as our relationship goes. One of these days, though, I'm going to pick out a good phone for her. It's just tough being in the doghouse for two whole years while we wait for her contract to come up for renewal!

GS: In the new movie He's Just Not That Into You, Drew Barrymore's character has the following to say about technology and dating:

"I had this guy leave me a voice mail at work, and so I called him at home, and he emailed me to my BlackBerry, and so I texted to his cell, and now you just have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies. It's exhausting."

What are your thoughts on this topic? Do you think technology makes dating more complicated?

DA: Sure, I can see technology complicating things for people who don't embrace it. As someone who's into all this stuff, though, the thought of having seven different technologies that don't synchronize with one another is mortifying to me. I have a single Grand Central phone number that forwards to any other phones I might currently be using and my various e-mail addresses all funnel into a single Gmail account.

It's funny, though, because people will be like, "Give me your cell phone number, I can never get a hold of you at your work number," and I'll try to explain that my work, home, and cell phone numbers all forward to the same place. So they'll leave a voicemail on what they think is my home number saying that they'll try me on my cell, which leads to them leaving the same message in the same voicemail system two minutes later. Same thing with email: the same message three times to three different email accounts.

I think just starting to date someone would be really weird nowadays with Facebook and Twitter and everything. Do you friend this person right away or what? Is there a rule as to how many dates you go on before you can friend someone? And it'd be super weird if you were dating someone for a little bit and then they told you they were getting too busy with work or whatever, and then all of a sudden you see their status change on their profile and you see photos of them with someone else and all that. My buddy told me he watched his little brother's relationship with his girlfriend fall apart over Facebook, which seems totally surreal to me. That's what happens now, though, I guess. Everyone has access to everyone else's private lives with all the social networking stuff.

I'm really apprehensive to admit this but a former girlfriend and I actually broke up over AIM once. And we'd been seeing each other for a long time - like a couple years. We'd been living together in Seattle and I'd moved home to Minneapolis and I think we were both kind of ready to move on, so the mutuality of it made everything easier. I don't think most breakups would work that well over AIM but if you're both pretty much on the same page and it's going to be a relatively clean breakup because you both want the same thing, then it actually kinda works. Weird, huh?

GS: Now for the lightning round!
Mac or PC? DA: PC
iPhone or BlackBerry? DA: I love my T-Mobile G1 but I'd take a BlackBerry. I need a real, physical keyboard.
MySpace or Facebook? DA: Facebook (as the lesser of two evils).
iPod or Zune? DA: I really like my iPod Touch.
The Hills or Gossip Girl? DA: I've never seen Gossip Girl, but The Hills is absolutely, positively, 100 percent the bane of my existence. My wife has to watch it in our bedroom with the door closed or when I'm not around because the way the brats on that show talk is like fingernails on a chalkboard for me. So Gossip Girl.
Steve Jobs or Bill Gates? DA: Bill Gates. His acting in the Seinfeld Microsoft commercials was mesmerizing.
Picasa or Flickr? DA: Picasa. Great example of a desktop app working harmoniously "in the cloud."
Texting or Emailing? DA: Email. I like the cost better.
WiFi or Wired? DA: I'll borrow from a golf saying here and say WiFi for show, Wired for dough.
Pac Man or Space Invaders? DA: Pac Man, preferably Ms. Pac Man.
Star Wars or Star Trek? DA: Star Wars
Laptop or Desktop? DA: Ouch. That's like Sophie's Choice. I have both and could never part with either of them.
The Bachelor or the Bachelorette? DA: ABC should cut out the fluff and have them marry each other. I mean, they're both looking for the same thing, right? Set them up together and spare us all from having to sit through it.
Coffee or Tea? DA: Monster Low Carb energy drink. Coffee will do in a pinch, though.

Sugar Bits - George Takei To Wed September 14th

PopSugar — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:30:16 -0700

Star Trek star George Takei and his longtime partner Brad Altman received a marriage license in LA yesterday, in preparation for their September 14th wedding. - E! Online
Joan Rivers was kicked off of British talk show Loose Women after using expletives to describe Russell Crowe. She then issued an apology saying she was "f-ing sorry" and hadn't realized the show was live. - People
Thousands of people came to D.C. yesterday to pay their respects to Tim Russert. Today's memorial service will be broadcast on MSNBC at 4 PM EST. - AP
Talk of the Screen Actors Guild strike that might begin July 1st has Hollywood executives delaying the start of movies and TV pilots. - Variety
Katie Holmes' Broadway debut is set for September 18th. - AP

Splash News Online

George, John and Renee Reunite For LA Leatherheads Debut

Molly — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 05:01:00 -0700

After a long trek (of sorts) across the country, Leatherheads finally made its way west last night for its big LA premiere. George Clooney still had Sarah Larson on his arm - apparently he's not one to let a few scandalous photos get in the way. He was also happy to joke about the supposed Jolie-Pitt wedding. Meanwhile, a very handsome looking John Krasinski finally got to pose with his big screen partners and it looks like Renee is especially smitten. The youthful star got some awesome support on the red carpet from his costars on The Office. While we wait with fingers crossed to see how this one turned out - how adorable are they all together?

To see more from the premiere including Angela Kinsey, Rainn Wilson, George Clooney, John Krasinski, Renée Zellweger, and others just read more

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Images include: Cindy Crawford, George Clooney, John Krasinski, Renée Zellweger, Sarah Larson, Kate Flannery, Ken Davitian, Rainn Wilson, Rande Gerber, Angela Kinsey

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Geeky Girl We Love: 14 of Gallery of the Absurd

GeekSugar — Tue, 08 May 2007 09:00:56 -0700

There are hundreds of bloggers I admire for their tenacity, drive, humor and innovative ideas, but very few who embody the combination of artistry, sarcasm and wit that 14, the founder of Gallery of the Absurd does.

14, who is an artist first and a blogger second, has wowed the web with what the New York Post called "Portraits of Shame" - as in satirical paintings and drawings of tabloid favorites like Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Tom Cruise and Alec Baldwin. While gossip blogs talked about the Hollywood Skeleton Girls, 14 painted them - as skeletons. When Star Jones got canned from The View following her shameless quest for wedding freebies and the denial and controversy surrounding her dramatic weight loss, 14 painted her as a fish about to sink her teeth into a giant and shiny bite of "free" bait. No matter what the scandal, 14's hauntingly hilarious images seem to begin where tabloids end and her collection, which is archived on Gallery of the Absurd is an addiction in its own right. I recently found out she resides in San Francisco and that she's a major geek. She was gracious enough to let me pick at her brain. For the full interview, read more

Geeksugar: You've said you love the celebrities you paint because they bring you so much joy and laughter. How do you decide when a celebrity moment or trend needs to be immortalized in a painting?
14: The frequency of the celeb's appearance in the blogs and tabloids plus the ridiculousness of the celeb's actions equals my interest in painting them.

Geeksugar: Which celebrities inspire you the most?
14: Celebrities with huge notions of entitlement are my favorites: Tom Cruise and Paris Hilton. I also love painting the public train wrecks: Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Tara Reid. Anyone who causes me laughter is ripe for my pen.

Geeksugar: Is there anyone you wouldn't paint?
14: I focus my attention on tabloid celebrities rather than serious actors/actresses. I've avoided actresses such as Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johanssen because they conduct their private lives with dignity. However, if they became involved in a Paris Hilton-style scandal, they would quickly become candidates for Gallery of the Absurd. Also, I'm scared to draw Oprah...I dunno, just am.

Geeksugar: Tell me a little about the artistic process. I read you use ink, acrylic, pastels and oils on paper or canvas, as well as digital enhancement.
14: First, I make a pencil sketch by turning the reference photo upside down and drawing it that way. Then I dance around in my studio for a bit and then go back to sketching. I'll do several sketches and to save time, I'll often scan the sketch in Illustrator and convert to a vector and then color and layout in Photoshop. Other times I take several days to paint an oil or acrylic. I'm still teaching myself to draw and paint, so I experiment a lot with different mediums and styles. Now I'm teaching myself Flash and am working with some animators on a Gallery of the Absurd cartoon.

Geeksugar: How many hours do you pour into most works?
14: The average time spent on a finished illustration is about 8 hours each. Sketches with digital color take less time and paintings can take up to a week.

Geeksugar: Do you use a PC or Mac?
14: MAC only. A PC would never enter my studio.

Geeksugar: What non-celebrity websites do you read everyday?
14: I visit art blogs such as Drawn!, I read "alternative" news sites such as a Rense.com and Alternet.org, a few political blogs and...I redden as I type this...I read UFO blogs and paranormal news sites. Blush.

Geeksugar: What are your guilty pleasure TV shows?
14: I really hate TV and can't keep my attention focused on it for very long, but shows such as The Office, Entourage and Wife Swap snagged me in their net and I'm a little pissed about it.

Geeksugar: What do you snack on while working?
14: Raw almonds, strawberries, and olives...but not all at the same time.

Geeksugar: I define about 60 percent of your "interests" as geeky (that's a plus in my book). Do you consider yourself a geek?
14: I am a major geek and I wear it as a badge of honor. I devour a wide range of non-fiction books weekly and enjoy taking things apart and fixing them without the use of directions. I find enjoyment in both a hardware store as well as Sephora.

Geeksugar: I read you have a huge crush on Stephen Colbert. Who do you think is the sexiest geek ever?
14: When I watched Stephen Colbert speak to Bush at the White House Correspondents Dinner, I immediately fell in love. Geeky men with balls and razor wit turn me into mush and make my heart go a'flutter. I'm sure there's other sexxay geeks out there, but I can't think of one now.

Geeksugar: What are some of your other hobbies when you're not painting and creating art?
14: Hiking, people watching, gardening, ufo investigation, yoga, rabble rousing.

Geeksugar: Are you going to buy an iPhone?
14: No, but maybe someone will buy one for me.

Geeksugar: Do you listen to music while you paint, and if so, who are you listening to these days?
14: All the time! Lately I've been listening to The Residents, The The, Amon Tobin, Manu Chau, Sufi music, Mozart and some weird crystal bowl healing stuff that is supposed to "raise your vibrations," but so far I've not noticed anything different.

Geeksugar: Tell us more about your background, how you got started as a blogger and what you've learned from it.
14: My background is in high-tech marketing and public relations, but I quit 7 years ago because I was having more fun drawing my bizarro co-workers than writing marketing plans. After that, I became a free-lance art curator and artist and created several multimedia art shows and events. A sudden move from Seattle to Los Angeles turned my life upside down, so I started Gallery of the Absurd to cope with not knowing anyone in a new town. Now it's my job and I looooove blogging. Who cares if I don't make as much money as when I had to market software? I'm far happier and free now.

Geeksugar: Any celebrity you are dying to meet?
14: I'd love to meet George Lucas. I have so much admiration for him and they way he brought his imagination to life. I'm not so much a Star Wars fan, but I am a fan of Lucas himself. Most of the tabloid celebs I draw don't really fascinate me that much and I'd likely not take notice of them unless they were acting like clowns. I'd love to be invisible and follow Tom Cruise around for 24 hours just to see the full spectrum of whackiness he'd reveal. Maybe it would be fun to have a drink with Courtney Love too.

Geeksugar: What are some of your favorite places in the San Francisco?
14: One of my favorite hobbies is people watching and this city has the BEST! I put on dark glasses and trek miles all around this fine city and am entertained for hours. I also spend lots of time at the SF Botanical Garden, Land's End, and Sutro Park. I love the lychee cocktails at Cafe Claude and the dark chocolate salted caramels from Recchiuti.

14's prints are available for sale on Gallery of the Absurd. Check out more interviews with Geeky Girls We Love.

Sugar Bits: Catching Up

PopSugar — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 19:36:49 -0700

Weekend Box Office won by Silent Hill - E Online
Brad Helps New Orleans - AP
Star Trek is Back thanks to JJ Abrams - AP
It's an ex-files divorce for Gillian Anderson - Contact Music
It was an Elvis wedding for Entourage star and real-life famous brother, Kevin Dillon - US Weekly
Angelina Buys Her Own CountryPage Six