Fanboys Anonymous

Want to know what happened the past few days in nerd culture? WEEK IN GEEK is your quick fix to catch up with the rest of the fanboys out there.

MOVIES

William Shatner wants to be Alfred in the new Batman series.

My take: LOL yeah right. First, prove to us that you can deliver dialogue normally, then we'll talk about taking on a British accent.

Charlie Hunnam has been cast as Christian Grey in 50 Shades of Grey.

My take: Go ahead, ladies. Swoon like they want you to. Swoon, damn it. I'm glad that this means he probably won't be able to play The Flash, as he wasn't Barry Allen to me. That should go to Matt Damon - and yes, I'm serious.


VIDEO GAMES

The Xbox One will support up to eight wireless controllers at one time with a 30 foot wireless range.

My take: The more, the better, am I right?

Sony is teasing voice command navigation for the PS4's camera.

My take: Remember the Gameboy Camera, and how that seemed revolutionary?

TELEVISION

Tonight will be the final episode of Futurama. Don't miss it!

My take: It's sad to see this series end, especially after requiring several returns, but it proved that it was good enough to come back. It didn't diminish in quality like The Simpsons (my favorite show of all time...for the first 12 seasons) has, so it's a shame it has to go. Here's hoping the finale makes me cry.


TECHNOLOGY

Listverse has an interesting article entitled "10 Incredible Cutting-Edge Technologies in Development" that you should check out.

My take: I'm always astounded at the technology that we currently have and what's in the works (and I'm one of those people that thinks there's FAR more advanced stuff that the general public isn't aware of). Still...even if you give me artificial gills, you won't find me scuba-diving.

HOLLYWOOD CELEBRITIES

When Justin Timberlake was asked by Fresh 102.7 FM if he'd be Robin in the new Batman series, he said he would rather be interested in playing The Riddler.

My take: Not going to happen. Timberlake's one hell of an entertainer and he was good in The Social Network, but he's no Riddler. Give that to Ewan McGregor, please.

Miley Cyrus flat out says "I have so many fucking issues. I am so fucked up - everyone does dumb stuff when they are messed up."

My take: It's only a matter of time before she gets into some serious trouble and this is no longer funny.

CYBERCULTURE

Want to check out two stunt artists (Christian Russell and Ronnie Shalvis) doing a Super Mario Bros Parkour video? I know you do:


My take: Pretty cool. What a shame Mario can't keep his hat on, though.

74-year-old David Thomsen from Philadelphia and former computer programmer has over 120,000 edits on Wikipedia.

My take: Yo, Dave, how about you throw some love towards Fanboys Anonymous and Smark Out Moment? Help a fellow Delaware Valley guy out!

Kate Upton was named Model of the Year for the 10th Annual Style Awards.

My take: Honestly, I think she's overrated.

Today's a big day for video game news. After some cool new Pokemon X & Y details, including the announcement of special edition Pokemon 3DS XLs, Microsoft officially confirmed when gamers in 13 countries will be able to get their hands on an Xbox One...November 22!

That's right, exactly one week after the launch of the PS4, players in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, the UK, and of course the US can pick up a Day One Edition, with the rest of the world to follow in 2014. I'm surprised Japan isn't on the list.

Like most other gamers, I was adamantly opposed to Microsoft's ridiculous policies regarding the Xbox One, and what made me so angry about them is they would keep this console from being the amazing one it had the potential to be. However, now that Microsoft has reversed pretty much all of those policies (even if it was only because the higher ups realized they'd start hemorrhaging money if they didn't make a change), I pre-ordered a Day One Edition of my own thanks to a Best Buy credit card and their 18 month interest-free financing. I'm also getting a PS4 on launch day, so hopefully I'll get to talk more about these two consoles once they launch in November.

Who's picking one up on November 22?

In the meantime, what do you guys think? Are you excited for one or both of these systems? Or are you holding off on the next console generation completely, except for maybe the Wii U? I'd love to hear from you, so sound off in the comments!

The Nintendo Direct video with news regarding Pokemon X and Y just aired and the following new information was revealed about Pokemon X and Y.

• Pokemon Bank is an online service that lets you store your Pokemon from Pokemon Black, White, Black 2, and White 2, X and Y on the internet. You can store up to 3,000 different Pokemon in 100 different "Boxes" like in the PC in the actual game. What's more you can use Poke Transporter another new feature to store your Pokemon from Black, White, Black 2, and White 2 and transfer them to your X and Y version. Because the Pokemon Bank will require maintenance and constant keeping up and will allow you to keep all of your Pokemon for many years to come, for future generations, etc you will have to pay an annual fee. But this is absolutely understandable and totally worth it. This kind of thing has been in development for around five years now and this kind of compatibility between older and new games is amazing. Pokemon Bank and Poke Transporter are Add on Software that will be available for the 3DS once X and Y come out. Think of it like Downloadable Content.

• In X/Y your Starter Pokemon will be given to you by your friend and then Professor Sycamore will give you either Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle later on. So in combination with Pokemon Bank and Poke Transporter you can actually obtain all of the starters from each of the first six generations of Pokemon!

• Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise have Mega Evolutions!

• The player's watch combines the feelings of the Trainer with the Pokemon to achieve Mega Evolution.

• The blue and red 3DS XL Xerneas and Yveltal will be released on September 27th in America.

A ton of great information from Pokemon, Nintendo, and Gamefreak about X and Y, it's all positive and really exciting stuff. I'm looking forward to it. Check out Fanboys anonymous for for more information as it comes out you can also follow me on twitter @chrisjester89 and fanboys anonymous @fanboysanonymous.

As most people already know, Google Glass plans on being the next big thing in virtual reality, offering hands free connectivity for pictures, search, video recordings, and video chat via it's connection to the Google Glass app on your smart phone, but I came across something today that might just be the next big thing to rival Google Glass. They are known as Space Glasses by Meta. These will basically turn you into Tony Stark himself, minus the Iron Man suit (although that would be AWESOME!). Here is a little video showing what I found:

How awesome was that? Laser tag on your lunch breaks?! Now, as you all saw in the video there are tons of things you can do with these glasses. My favorite being the "MetaCraft" game which is their version of the popular giant, pixel-like game MineCraft. These glasses offer you a range of options I have never seen before in any device like this. These are just a few of the specs mentioned directly from their website:

Hardware – Augmented Reality 3D Glasses

• Twin 960x540 see through TFT LCD displays at 23 degrees Field of View, via HDMI
• 720p RGB camera via USB

Software – Augmented Reality 3D Glasses

• 3D Sculpt+Print Tool, in partnership with Game Draw 3D
• Laser Tag
• MetaCraft, a MineCraft simulator

For the full list of specifications, visit their site here: Meta - Space Glasses Specifications

First Look Space Glasses

You may also have seen from the site that the glasses only run around just $670 which you might say is quite expensive, but the Google Glasses are suspected to be around $1,300 at the time of their release. You make your choice. Now to nab one of these beauties, you'll need to act fast. There are less than 50hrs before pre-orders end.

Paramount has officially decided to spoil the title AND the plot to Transformers 4 in one fell SWOOP…get it!?

As reported by "Yahoo", the film's title shall function as: Transformers 4: Age of Extinction

Judging by the tongue-in-cheek title and the fossilized remains of this logo, it just might have something to do with the Dinobots.

An uncovered fossil nobody was looking for.

The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammar, TJ Miller and more that are a welcome change from Shia's crew.

After speculation (by which I mean "hope") this movie may never happen, Michael Bay reported months ago that he would, indeed, return to ruin your childhood a little more. They did, however, commit to some redesigns of the robots in "human" form. The movie is filming parts in China and does include some Chinese vehicles for the new designs.

Personally, I have a huge soft spot for G1 Transformers and was pretty disgusted by this entire film series. However, I'm loathe to admit I'll be seeing this in theatres just so I can tell my grandkids to keep those expectations lowered at all times (I'm going to be a great grandpa!).

After the recent announcement of Nintendo's new variation of the 3DS known as the 2DS, the Big N has felt they needed another addition to their family of handhelds.

Before I share this new announcement, here is a breakdown of the features mentioned for the upcoming 2DS. This system strips the 3D functionality and no longer folds up into a clamshell like the DS, 3DS and 3DS XL systems before it. However, much like the 3DS and 3DS XL, it will have Internet connectivity and have access to the Nintendo eShop. The system is set to release on Oct. 12 for a very attractive price of $129.99.

But, it does not end there...

Riding on the heels of anticipation of the 2DS comes an even more affordable option to enjoy Nintendo 3DS and DS games. Ladies and gentleman, my body is ready to reveal to you the Nintendo 1DS.

Nintendo's new handheld, the 1DS.

To further innovate upon the existing line of 3DS systems, the 1DS not only strips away 3D functionality and clamshell fold, it also strips away the unnecessary bottom screen. Much like the 2DS, it will have access to the eShop and Internet connectivity and play 3DS and original DS games.

To coincide with the upcoming release of the 1DS, Nintendo has announced they will be releasing a slew of 1DS games which will be made available. The games will be more advanced, more dynamic and more appealing. Look for 500 Nintendo 1DS titles to be released by year's end.

For more details, go to this website.

DISCLAIMER: The previous story was meant as a parody. You know I am a Nintendo fanboy. Special thanks to fellow contributor Michael Burhan for finding this little piece of satire. The Nintendo 1DS is indeed fake. We here at Fanboys Anonymous just thought it was hilarious and very well done, so we wanted to join in on the fun. Sorry!

The following is an exclusive interview with the winner of the $50,000 cash prize on USA's new hit reality series Summer Camp: Chris Grant. The interview was conducted on Aug 7th, 2013 on The Dace Man Show on Mega Powers Radio.

Follow The Dace Man on Twitter @TheDaceMan

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This year's annual Comedy Central Roast puts the crosshairs on James Franco, a Jack of all trades and a master at seemingly everything in the entertainment industry and then some. How does it match up to previous roasts? What were the funniest jokes in my mind? How did each of the comedians do? Let's take a look.

5 BEST JOKES

Seth Rogen - "Look at me doing all the talking while you sit there doing nothing. I feel like I'm hosting the Oscars with you."

Nick Kroll - "If at any time in the night James fully opens his eyes, there will be 6 more weeks of summer."

Bill Hader - "Funny cops...you're always pushing the envelope, Andy."

Jeffrey Ross - "When Jonah Hill's agent told him Quentin Tarantino wanted him to be in a spaghetti western, Jonah said 'you had me at spaghetti.'"

Jeffrey Ross (on Franco's grandmother) - "127 hours is how long she has left."

BREAKDOWN OF THE COMEDIANS

Seth Rogen - Very nice job. The host should always be on point and never trump everyone else and he did exactly what he was supposed to do. His jokes were funny, but he also maintained control.

Nick Kroll - Not bad at all, though a little bland. I don't like people that do characters and he's done a lot of that what I've seen in the past, but it was refreshing to see him do some straight stand-up roasting instead of making it about some gimmick.

Jonah Hill - Seemed a bit out of place and his laughter was weird. He also focused on everyone OTHER than James Franco, which is always a shame.

Sarah Silverman - Meh. She's better than what her act was tonight.

Bill Hader - As I mentioned with Nick Kroll, I'm not fond of characters on roasts, and this disappointed me from the start. I think Bill Hader is funny and I was looking forward to seeing his legitimate jokes rather than just a skit.

Natasha Leggero - Not too bad, but there's no jokes that really stand out other than her Phil Hartman one.

Andy Samberg - Self-deprecating "I'm awful at this" type with lots of "I sucked dick" jokes. If you like this type of awkward humor, you'll like this. I wasn't a fan and didn't laugh once, but to each his own.

Aziz Ansari - Benefited from his spot and did a nice job.

Jeffrey Ross - He's always one of my favorites on the roasts (despite the cheap jokes of his appearance that he always does) and he didn't disappoint here, either. Best of the night.

James Franco - Most guests of honor do about the same, so I can't fault him for that.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Definitely not one of the best roasts of all time. I thought it was weird that they chose James Franco of all people, considering his age. Perhaps that contributed to this...perhaps it was just the choice of roasters. Either way, I would say you should skip everyone for the most part except Jeffrey Ross.

What did you think of the show? What were your favorite, funniest jokes? Who should they roast next year?

The season finale of USA's newest hit show Summer Camp aired this evening of Labor Day. After a summer full of hijinks, scheming, and drama the winner of the $50,000 cash prize was Chris Grant.

First introduced as the "class clown" of the show, Chris quickly embroiled himself amid controversy. He found himself almost guaranteed to be eliminated by episode 7, cleverly titled "Everybody Hates Chris." However, the trickster pulled another trick out of his hat and has now found himself triumphant at the finish line.

When asked for a statement regarding his victory, Chris had this to say:

It seems like every year, Apple announces a, um, "revolutionary" new iPhone and accompanying new iOS. iPhone 5 left a lot of people unimpressed, and aside from a longer iPhone, not much about it stood out to me. Why look forward to a new iPhone/iOS every year when nothing really changes, besides maybe every 2 years? Well, get ready Fanboys and Fangirls, because the new iOS will be coming this Fall 2013:

Introducing iOS 7

I know what you must be thinking. Maybe the Apple Fanboys are jizzing themselves, but what about the rest of us? PC users whose only connection to Apple is our iPhone/iPod/iPad, or maybe people who are thinking about an iPhone, but might be looking at the other smartphones on the market, like the HTC or Samsung? Well here's a little peak into the world of iOS 7.

Take everything that makes Adventure Time awesome, throw in any jokes or humor from Chowder and Flapjack that fell flat, and then pop an acid tab. That's essentially what Uncle Grandpa is.

Uncle Grandpa riding his "Giant Realistic Flying Tiger."

The child of Cartoon Network's modern version of the Cartoon Cartoon Show, "Cartoonstitute" (which ironically gave birth to one of my favorite modern Cartoon Network shows, Regular Show), the show premiered tonight, September 2, 2013, at 8:00pm EST. Uncle Grandpa is, as one of the taglines of the show says, everyone on the planet's uncle and grandpa.

Incest jokes aside, the main characters seem to be the titular character, Uncle Grandpa (whose catchphrase "Good Morning" gets really old, really fast), the Giant Realistic Flying Tiger (who doesn't move, just changes into other pictures of actual tigers), Pizza Steve (a slice of pizza with sunglasses....and that's pretty much it), and his neighbor Mr. Gus (a cartoonified version of Godzilla). Oh, and if you consider it important, his "Belly Bag" talks, like a creepy version of Dora the Explorer's Backpack.

The randomness that makes Adventure Time and Regular Show awesome just make this show annoying. There's no real plot, nothing makes any sense, and although that may be cute to some, it makes me look back to a time of Dexter's Lab, Johnny Bravo, and Ed Edd & Eddy with both fondness and curiosity: How did Cartoon Network, a channel that had a laundry list of amazing shows, fall so far? The great programs they used to have, like Young Justice, fell apart and were cancelled due to the network's own failings, yet they try to push new shows like Uncle Grandpa on the viewer, where there's nothing deep, nothing intelligent, and nothing that makes you want to come back for more.

If you want to see for yourself, Uncle Grandpa has new episodes Mondays at 8:00pm EST on Cartoon Network. Check your local listings, but honestly, I'd avoid this one if I were you. Thanks for reading! My name is Sam Lascio, and I am a Fanboy!

With over 900,000 apps and growing, iPhone users have an extraordinary selection to choose from when it comes to apps to download, whether they be games, social networking, or just convenience things, like weather or a calculator. It can be mind-numbing trying to figure out what apps to download, especially when they aren't all free, and even the ones that are free, you may not know which ones are right for you. So, Fanboys and Fangirls, I bring you my Top 10 Useful iPhone Apps!



NOTE: This list was compiled excluding social networking (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, etc) simply because I figured that these were apps that everyone would have, and are generally considered no-brainers to download in today's tech-based world. Although I won't go all hipster and be like "Yeah, download this app. You've probably never heard of it," I will try to bring apps to your attention that I think are great to have for consumers ranging from the teens to adulthood. Also, they're ranked according to either how I use them, or how I think others would use them. Doesn't make the list 100% accurate. Also, I didn't include the YouTube app, because almost everyone downloaded it after Apple decided to get rid of theirs.

10. The Adult Swim App
The Adult Swim App earns my #10 spot because it's literally the only thing I tend to watch on weekdays after 9-10pm. Signing in with your cable-provider (for which the list of options are very vast) allows you to watch Adult Swim GOLD episodes of some of their best shows, like Aqua Teen, Boondocks, Superjail!, Metalocalypse, Venture Bros, etc. Even without GOLD, you can still enjoy a few select episodes from different series, and it even provides a schedule line-up, news on new arrivals, and downloadable games like Robot Unicorn Attack 2 and Amateur Surgeon 3. Most of the games I've seen are compatible for iPhone and iPad, but this list will focus on iPhone apps only. If you're a fan of Adult Swim, this app is definitely a must have.

9. Xfinity TV Remote / Player App
I've had a lot of fun changing the channel on my parents from my iPhone, but let's be honest: outside of that amusement, it's only pretty useful if you lose your TV remote. Now, this has happened to me before, and what was I supposed to do, get up and change the channel? I'm not a caveman, so the app was nifty. The Xfinity Player app is the real gold here. Only useful if your cable provider is Comcast though, but if it is, you have at your fingertips TV shows like Breaking Bad, Adult Swim programs, and Adventure Time, and even pretty cool movies, like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Austin Powers. With numerous genres, movies ranging from old to new, and pretty awesome TV shows, Xfinity has earned it's place at #9. Just don't piss others off with the Remote App.

8. GasBuddy App
You're driving around, minding your own business, and what do you notice? You forgot to get gas. Blame the economy, blame your low-paying job, but that doesn't turn the gas light off. What can you do? There's a gas station right here, may as well pull in, right? haha WRONG! With the GasBuddy app, you can either type in the Zip Code of interest, or hit "Find Gas Near Me," and it'll locate you and give you options on listed gas stations. Just near me, I get price ranges of 13 cents. May not sound like a big deal, but it all depends on where you live. Giving you options on Regular, Midgrade, Premium, and Diesel, you should have no problem saving some money at the pump. And today it's 5 cents/gallon saved, but within a year? 5 years? It'll add up.

7. AMC Theatres App
Honestly, there isn't much to this app that stands out. For us iPhone users, we can just ask Siri about movie times. Also, since it's an AMC app, it won't give you any info on Cinemark, Regal, UEC, etc. Pretty limited, right? Well since I live right down the road from an AMC, and considering it's the second-largest theater chain (behind Regal), it's a fair bet you've either been to an AMC or go to one semi-regularly. The special offers are okay, the ability to choose a favorite theater is useful, but what puts it at #7? AMC Stubs. For $12/year, you get discounts on popcorn and soda (pay for a small, get a medium, stuff like that), online fees are waived, and it saves your movie stubs online. Oh, and for every $100 spent, you get $10 on the card. Trust me, it adds up over time. Bonus? You can put it in Passbook, so you don't need the card taking up wallet space.

6. Starbucks App
Okay, so I'm not a film student, drinking a caramel macchiato, while I type my next big screenplay on my macbook, but like millions of Americans, I enjoy a Starbucks frappuccino from time-to-time. So what puts this app at #6? Well if you have a family that loves you, or a good buddy that understands your coffee addiction, you've had a Starbucks gift card. Those gift cards can be registered on the app and used! Much like how the AMC app makes the Stubs card digital, your gift card can be added to Passbook as well. Benefit: It's reloadable! Also, if you sign up, you get free stuff on your birthday, a free song/app download daily (I enjoyed downloading Cut the Rope: Experiments), and the more you use the card, the more benefits you get, like free coffee refills and a free drink or food with every 12 uses, or "Stars" (they give you a Star per use, and more Stars gets you different benefit classes, like Green and Gold). Starbucks makes some cool food, and I love the Java Chip Frapps, so this app, and the card for Passbook, earns its place on my list.

5. Music D/L / Music D/L Pro App
One reason I add the app pictures is so you know which app I'm talking about. There are TONS of apps that allow for "free downloads," but this one is by far my favorite. When my laptop broke and sent in for repairs, I had no way to put new music on my iPod, and because the laptop was new, I had very few songs transferred over. The free version gives you a limited number of downloads from any website you can find! Personally, I looked up a website called MP3Skull, which has a huge database of choices (YouTube is protected, unfortunately). The ability to play an mp3 before downloading it on the site lets you know the quality before a download, and the app itself is set up very similarly to the Apple Music App that comes standard. Now, the only app on my list that costs anything would be the Music D/L Pro version, which runs (if I remember correctly) for $1.99. Now, I had $16 in iTunes credit, so I didn't care, but I know most people like to pinch pennies as much as they can, so why am I suggesting a paid app? Because the free one only lets you download a set number of songs, and it'll keep asking you to upgrade every time you open it, which gets really annoying. The Pro version allows for unlimited downloads, no upgrade suggestions, and all the music is free. I'd say it's worth the price of 2 iTunes songs for 1 app. But, it only pays is you're cut off from a laptop like I was, otherwise you could go to a website on your laptop and download music. But, if you're like me and you have to have your laptop sent in for whatever reason, all the music you download onto the Music D/L app (Pro or Free) can transfer to your computer, so there is no wrong way to go with this app.

4. Flashlight App
This one hits the #4 spot simply for how useful it is. From what I can tell, there's nothing special about this particular Flashlight app, considering there are a dozen others, most claiming to be the brightest one. This app lets you play with the brightness, allows for different strobe effects, and if you're a party girl on her way home alone in the dark, there is an SOS-flash feature. Not sure in what situation you could use that discretely, but hey, it's there if you need it. This app has come in handy whenever I had to go out into my car for something, look under my bed, check for monsters in my closet, etc, so I'd say it's a solid app that would be useful no matter who you are or what part of the world you're from. It's far better than when I used to use the screen's light to find stuff.

3. Bank Apps
Now, I use the Wells Fargo App's picture simply because that's who I bank with, but here's some bank apps I found rather easily:
-Bank of America
-Chase Mobile
-Discover Mobile
-Citizens Bank
-TD
-First National of Omaha
-PNC
-AMEX Mobile
-SunTrust
Why would a bank app be at #3? No brainer: Almost everyone (I say almost) has a bank account with some major bank. I also threw in some credit card apps, since those of us that have one (or two, or three) don't always have to have it through a bank or store. On the go, you can make sure you have enough money to buy that new video game, afford that trip to Comic Con, or if you're like me, can afford the McDonald's dollar menu. You can also deposit checks on a lot of the bank apps by snapping pictures or scanning the check, although I'd advise against this, as it's a pain in the ass and either doesn't work or holds the funds for longer than I want to tolerate. But, it's definitely a great app to have, and it's good to know that even if you switch banks, others have their own mobile apps to assist you.

2. Netflix App
Okay, so maybe the Netflix app isn't as useful to some as the banking apps are, or the flashlight, but you know what? I don't care. Netflix has saved me from countless bored nights, and for only $7.99 a month? Wonderful. Now, that's only if you only want streaming, but I digress. The app works wonders if you're out and about, got some time to kill, and want to watch an episode of your favorite TV show (or like me, favorite childhood TV show). What's even nicer is if you're like me and have an iPhone 5, the longer screen provides, in my opinion, a better picture (not clearer, but like, you know, longer and 16:9 or whatever they call it? I'm not a tech guy, I don't pay attention to this stuff. But trust me, it's better to watch on the longer screen). And, when it's time for bed and you turn off your computer, shut the TV off, and yet can't get to sleep, I personally like watching Batman Beyond or the Justice League (like I said, childhood cartoons) to help lull me to sleep. However you cut it, the Netflix App is great to have, assuming you have Netflix. But seriously, get Netflix. It'll change your life. And probably take away whatever one you had before.

1. Google Chrome / Google Maps / Google Translate / Google Earth
Now, I included all of the Google apps that I have, but most people won't use Google Earth, and not many use Translate, although I like it since I don't speak every language on Earth, but the two that definitely deserve my #1 spot are Chrome and Maps. Now, much like the Marvel vs. DC debate, Fanboys and Fangirls the world over can argue which is better: Google Maps or the Maps app that comes on the device. I use Siri far more than the Google Maps app, but there have been many times where Google Maps has given me better directions when it comes to walking-distance locations (it shows buildings where Apple Maps doesn't always show me the layout), and there are times Siri doesn't understand the address I've given it, and Google Maps came through for me. But by far, my favorite app on this list has to be Google Chrome. FINALLY! Someone heard our prayers long ago and gave us an alternative to Safari. I'm a PC user, so I had never used Safari before the iPhone, and I was definitely not impressed. I used FireFox for years, but when it gave me issues, I took a friend's advice and downloaded Chrome onto my laptop. I took an instant liking to Chrome, and although we could argue what the better browser is, by most accounts, Chrome is at least considered a very good web browser. You can link your bookmarks between the desktop and iPhone Chromes, sign in to Chrome on the mobile app, and opening a new tab gives you a list of your most visited sites, rather than that blank 'Untitled' tab in Safari. Now, Safari has changed from its previously limited number of tabs you could have open, so I can't hold that against them anymore, but I usually have 10+ tabs open in Chrome at a time, so it was an initial draw to the app when I first got it. The only real drawback I can say the Chrome App has is that when you ask Siri to search the web, or you open some link that opens to a webpage, it automatically opens Safari, and as of yet, there is no way to redirect it to Chrome. But, where Safari is usually located on the iPhone, I have ceremoniously replaced it with the Google Chrome App, and I can't say I've ever looked back. Some of you Mac Fanboys may disagree with me, but I lock Google Chrome into my #1 spot because outside of Social Networking, it's my most used app, it's very simple to use, and come on, swiping tabs to close them is fun.

There you have it! We all have our own favorite apps, but hopefully I've introduced you to some new ones that you either didn't know about, or for some like the Music D/L App, gave you an island in that sea of crappy free music apps. Thanks for reading! My name is Sam Lascio, and I am a Fanboy!

Whaaaaaaat?! Is this really happening?! Unfortunately, famed Japanese Animator and Oscar winner Hayao Miyazaki, 72, known for many heart warming animations such as Spirited Away, Ponyo, My Neighbor Totoro, and many more, had said that he will be retiring from making any future feature films after the release of his newest upcoming film, "The Wind Rises", a animated film based on the man who designed and created World War II fighter planes. This also marks this film as Miyazaki's 11th and final film.

Koji Hoshino, president of Studio Ghibli, announced this upsetting news at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday, where Miyazaki did not attend. Hoshino denied any questions about Miyazaki's retirement at a press conference at the film festival, and stated that "He [Miyazaki] sincerely wants to say good-bye to everyone." It has been said that Miyazaki will talk more about his decision this Friday in Tokyo.


Hayao Miyazaki has truly impacted millions of people around the world with his breath-taking animations throughout the years. As upsetting it is to see him step down from Studio Ghibli, his movies will continue to entertain and inspire millions of others for years to come. And with that, I give Mr. Miyazaki my many thanks for years and years of entertainment.

My name's Nikki Mills, and I, am one heartbroken Fangirl.

Welcome back to my weekly Breaking Bad reviews! This week we have a "Rabid Dog." And once again, spoiler alert if you haven't watched it yet.

Another week, another excellent episode of one of the best shows on television. My praise probably seems redundant, but can any of you honestly say the praise isn't warranted? Didn't think so.

I love the parallels between different scenes of Walt sitting at a pool.

After last week's excellent and extremely tense "Confessions," it seemed like it would be difficult to keep that momentum going, and at first, I was a bit disappointed with the beginning of the episode. I liked that it picked up immediately (or so I thought) with Walt entering the house, gun drawn, ready to kill Jesse if absolutely necessary. The disappointment mostly came from that scene, as I knew that Jesse wouldn't burn down the house but I wanted to see immediately what stopped him, and I hoped beyond hope it wasn't just a little change of heart since that would've been such a cop out.

Luckily that answer finally came halfway through the episode. That was a very bold and interesting structural choice and in retrospect I think it was a great move on their part. I thought of different scenarios for what could've stopped Jesse, from the kids coming home to Walt doing something to stop him, but I NEVER would've guessed Hank would be the one to step in and then get Jesse out of there right before Walt showed up. From the moment Hank appeared, I felt a mixture of delight, excitement, and dread about where this uneasy partnership would go.

Meanwhile, the White family is now staying in quite a fancy hotel, probably for as long as possible, and I'm just glad that his family is seeing through Walt's lies. The story about the gas pump malfunctioning was pretty sloppy by Heisenberg standards, and even if Junior just thought it was Walt passing out again, supposedly due to the cancer, I loved the fact that no one believed him. Of course Skyler knows not to believe those stories by now, and the great scene between them in the hotel room showed a few interesting things to me. First there's the fact that Walt still genuinely cares about Jesse. We saw that earlier in the episode when he shot down Saul's suggestion to essentially put Jesse down like Old Yeller, but the hotel scene solidified it. Walt told Skyler Jesse was a human being, not some "rabid dog" that had to be put down (hard not to react like this when something like that happens) and got visibly angry at the mere suggestion of doing so. The other interesting thing about that scene is Skyler; she was so adamantly opposed to murder last year in "Fifty-One," yet once her family is potentially threatened she's ready to spring into action and gets things done. She wants Jesse dead to ensure her family's safety, and as she so succinctly puts it, so many people have died because of them, "what's one more?"

Speaking of a desire for murder, it's really ironic to me that Walt, the cold-blooded killer, is the only person who DOESN'T want anyone to be killed anymore, yet his murderous ways have rubbed off on the rest of the family. Skyler wants Jesse dead, and proving that they really are sisters, Marie has murder on her mind as well. In a very chilling scene, she told her therapist she spent hours online looking up untraceable poisons and that even though she would never intend to act on those thoughts, it still felt really good to think about. Then there's Hank, who flat out told Gomez that he hoped his plan led to Walt killing Jesse so the degenerate drug addict would be out of the way and Hank would have some physical evidence against Walt on tape. Here Hank also takes the family connection one step further in proving that he can be just as ruthless as Walt when he's going after something he really wants.



Then there's that final scene. As much as Jesse wants to take Walt down, he's still justifiably terrified of the man. I was so angry when it was revealed that Walt really was in the plaza alone to try to talk to Jesse about everything because he still genuinely cares about the poor guy and that man standing nearby was just some guy there with his daughter. I wasn't angry at Jesse because considering how close to Walt the guy was standing and how he seemed to be staring Jesse down, I'd be just as suspicious if I were him. That anger was more because Jesse's paranoia may be what screws him over, after Jesse's little threatening phone call led to Walt calling Todd and telling him he may have another job for his uncle. Of course Jesse does seem to have something else up his sleeve, and in my mind (as well as my fellow Fanboy Sam Lascio's), it will involve Walt's family since Jesse told Walt he would get him where he really lives. Jesse knows that the most important thing to Walt is his family, so I'm really interested to see where this goes.

Random Thoughts (Thanks again, A.V. Club!)

• Since this show is now so dark, I really appreciate any humor that's worked into these episodes, and the conversation between Walt and Saul was full of it, from Saul's "Deep down, he loves me" to Walt referring to Badger and Skinny Pete as "Beaver and the other one." Hank referring to Walt as Mr. Rogers with a tumor also really made me laugh.
• Another shout out to Breaking Bad story sync (seriously, it's great) this week for highlighting the shellfish poison, called saxitoxin, that Marie mentioned to her therapist. My pharmacy school training helped me understand a lot of what was included there, including the mechanism of action and whatnot. I also love that the chemical structure was included.
• This really is one of the best casts on television, and they're all really on top of their game. Since these episodes will be eligible for the 2014 Emmys, I would not be surprised if all four of the adult family members and Aaron Paul were nominated. Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul are pretty much guaranteed nominees in my opinion, but Anna Gunn (Skyler), Betsy Brandt (Marie), and Dean Norris (Hank) are all stellar this year.
• Also a big shout out to Dave Porter's phenomenal musical score for the series. I forgot to mention last week how great I thought that music cue in the final scene was, and I loved how this episode started with a variation on a theme called "Disassemble" from the episode "Buyout," when Walt, Mike, and Todd are dissembling the dirt bike and disposing of Drew Sharp, and then the cue turned into something more sinister and intense when Walt was preparing to confront Jesse. Music is used sparingly in this show, but when the score kicks in, it's always extremely effective. I mean seriously, just listen to Crawl Space and tell me it's not an amazing fit for the end of the amazing episode of the same name.

Hello again readers! My name as you may or may not know is Chris Jester I have written a few articles here on Fanboys Anonymous before but this is the first article I will be writing on the Pokemon Trading Card Game!

For those of you who already know how to play the game, this is less for you and more for the people completely oblivious to the rules and its history. Still, I encourage you to read anyway, as I am sure there is something in there you will enjoy.

My backstory in regards to the Pokemon Trading Card Game

I started playing the Pokemon TCG pretty quickly after it came out when I was in about the 4th grade. A classmate of mine noticed I had a Charmeleon notebook and gave me a Base Set Charmander card. My interest was piqued and I had my parents buy me some of the cards. At school, some of the kids would trade cards at recess. An older kid convinced me to trade him one of my first holographic cards (a Victreebel from the Jungle set) in a somewhat lopsided deal. This unfortunately happened frequently to many kids, so after a number of complaints, the school banned Pokemon cards. One day I brought my binder anyway with all of my rare cards and my teacher took it away. I was upset and my parents had to go later and pick it up for me.

My interest in the cards kind of died down a bit, but that is because I always thought they were just for trading! I had no idea there was a game you played with them until I found out my local Toys R Us ran a Pokemon Trading Card Game league. They ran ads for it on TV and in the store since it was a pretty big deal. You could collect badges just like the characters in the show and could even challenge the league gym leader. That went on for a few months and I learned how to play the trading card game from kids there and our league leader. Once she became pregnant and couldn't run the league anymore, it closed down and I stopped playing shortly afterward.

I ended up playing Yu-Gi-Oh! for a couple years and getting really into that. I can thank Yu-Gi-Oh! for sharpening my skills into a competitive card player. I have played numerous strategy games since then and I think if I never got into Yu-Gi-Oh! I probably would have never gotten back into Pokemon. So I quit Yu-Gi-Oh! after a couple years because I grew tired of it.

I didn't do anything strategy game wise for a little while and one day I'm about 21 years old and I'm getting the urge to play Pokemon again. My plan is to just buy a couple theme decks and play with my sister...no big deal. I bought a Steelix/Umbreon deck and a Espeon/Bellossom deck. We played those two decks for weeks. I eventually realized we need more decks to play against and even though I assumed there were no more leagues and the game was dead, one Google search later and it turns out there's a league 20 minutes from my house! This is super exciting and we start going the following Monday. The person who runs the leagues name is Heidi Craig. I find out later her son Orion is a former US National Champion and her other son Eric has gotten top 2 at the World Championships so I guess I was learning from the right family. She helps us with some promo cards of some of the better cards that were legal at the time to help make our decks better because frankly, one of the big problems with people getting into Pokemon is the theme decks are terrible. They don't teach you how to build a tournament competitive deck, you have to almost figure that out on your own. Luckily, I had people at my league to help. One of the days at league I play a guy named Casey, he is playing his Dilagachomp deck, I ask for a game he rolls his eyes smiles and says sure and beats me in like three turns. This motivates me to start building better decks and not get rolled next time.

Why does all of this matter to you?

The reason I am telling you all of this is to show you how great and helpful the Pokemon Community can be to a new player getting into the game and if YOU choose to get into the Pokemon TCG you are surely to run into the same kinds of helpful people. If you want to find a league or tournament near you just go here. Shorten the criteria to what applies to you and check it out. Pokemon events are very friendly to everyone of all ages and I'm sure you will have a great experience no matter what. If you do show up to a league, make sure whatever cards you are playing are legal for the modified format. While you are allowed to play cards from whatever set you like at league, you can not for premier events. Most if not all of the people at the league will be playing modified decks and the game is designed for certain cards to be played with other cards that were out at the time in mind so that one card or combination isn't too overpowered. For example, a deck from today's format would probably dominate any deck from any older format just because the Pokemon have more hp and do more damage than any cards before them. Also if you want to eventually go to tournaments and be competitive (which should of course be your goal) then you need to have a modified legal deck and you need to practice it before hand. There really aren't very many negatives about showing up with at least something at your local league. They'll help you from there.

Finding a competitive deck that fits your play style

You may have been playing an edited theme deck for a bit now and you may think its playable, but tournaments are an entirely different animal. You want to make sure your deck can stand up to whatever tier 1 decks are being played at the time if you want to have a chance at being competitive. You can find out what decks are being played by talking to people at your league and stuff but as well as doing some research of your own. Sites like sixprizes.com, heytrainer.org, thetopcut.net, thedeckout.com and of course here on Fanboys Anonymous are all good resources to learn more about the meta game, get sample decklists, and thoughts from experiences players. You can also connect with alot of people on the forums for some of these sites and that can be great for two reasons. You can connect with new people forging new friendships, and you can make connections so you are a step ahead on that "secret deck" for the next big event. Going to your first event without knowing anyone could potentially be awkward but if you have already made friends online before hand you will have alot more people to hang out with at the tournament and alot more fun when you get there. My first nationals I met quite a few people I had talked to online for the past year and it made the experience alot better. Oh also my friend Justin Sanchez won the National Championships that year as well. Can you imagine the excitement one would feel when you all play this game at such a high level and then a friend wins the US National Championships?! It's an un-real feeling and I was super happy for him. That is a feeling I would have never got to feel if I hadn't started playing this great game.

PTCGO

The Pokemon Trading Card Game Online, or PTCGO for short. Is the best way to play the Pokemon Trading Card Game aside from actually playing with friends in person. The way it works is very simple. You make a Pokemon Trainer Club Account, which you will need if you want to go to league or play in tournaments anyway. The account is free and takes ten minutes to make tops. Then you download PTCGO onto your computer. When it is finished you use your trainer club info to login and are given a starter deck to begin with. Here is where the cool part comes in. Every time you buy a product in real life, whether it is a theme deck or a booster pack it comes with a code for that product on the Online Game. If it's a booster pack you get a pack of the same type as the one you bought with different cards for the online game but nonetheless its two packs for the price of one! So every time you buy a pack of cards for your real life collection you get a pack for your online connection. This is a great way to play Pokemon with those friends you met online through the forums or if you don't have time to meet up with friends in person you can play over PTCGO. It's a really useful tool and it looks great. It also let's you practice the Pokemon Trading Card Game in your free time which is useful as you will need to budget how much time you have for play testing for big events. PTCGO lets things happen on your schedule in case you can't always make it to league or what have you. You can also earn promos for the Online Game from your league as well as earn additional cards and decks by playing through the game's single player mode. There are a ton of things you can do with PTCGO. Soon they are going to implement tournaments. It's definitely the band wagon you want to be jumping on right now.

Some new changes this year

Some big changes were made to the Pokemon Trading Card Game Tournament structure this year and I am going to go over them for you since you are new and may not understand what some of this means.

1) League Challenges: For those of you who did not play before this season this isn't too important but it is in a way. Before this season the entry level premier events were called Battle Roads. They still mattered to the competitive player because championship points were on the line, championship points are what every player needs to compete in the World Championships, if you hit 400 by the end of Nationals you are invited back to the World Championships. League Challenges will still have championship points but they are replacing Battle Roads, the difference is they will be held at League Locations Nationwide. Active Pokemon Leagues with a Tournament Organizer on Staff will be given the option to run a League Challenge at the end of each league season. League Challenges feature Swiss rounds and no top cut. It is up to the tournament organizer if they want to run single game Swiss rounds or best 2 out of 3. The main reason for doing this I believe is to draw more people into the local leagues to play and get more people interested in Competitive play so if you see one of these in your area. Check them out! You can find out where a league challenge near you is by using that link I provided earlier on in the article.

2) Swiss Match Play and Single Elimination Changes: For this next season of Pokemon and for every season following it for the foreseeable future States, Regional, National, and the World Championships will have Best 2/3 Swiss rounds with a 50 minute time limit. Also due to the changes in Swiss rounds all events will have a Top 8 cutoff. Larger premier events will have a two day split. Players who make it into the second day of play will play additional Swiss rounds the following day to determine if they make the top 8 cut.

3) Tournament Entry Fees: Beginning this season as well Entry Fees will be implemented to any player in the Masters division. Masters division players are 15 and above. Fees will be determined by the tournament organizer running the event and will be posted with enough time prior to the event for the attendees to prepare. All entry fees go to prizes for the tournament and travel rewards later on so don't worry this is a very good thing! Younger players will not have to pay entry fees but will most likely not be open to the same prize payouts.

4) Travel Stipends: Those Championship Points I mentioned earlier? Yeah they are good for more than just an invite to Worlds this year. Finishers in the top 100 of Championship Points after Spring Regionals will be given travel stipends for their trips to Worlds. Payouts are as follows.

1st–16th: Travel Award and a $300 Travel Stipend
17th–30th: $750 Travel Stipend
31st–60th: $500 Travel Stipend
61st–100th: $300 Travel Stipend

These are all very exciting changes for those of us currently playing and has sparked some more fire under alot of the players I know as well. Of course not everyone is happy by the decisions naturally but the majority seem to be and as the saying goes you can't please everyone. This is definetly a very exciting time to get into the Pokemon TCG and I encourage everyone to do so!

But how do I play?

I've given you loads of information about the competitive scene of Pokemon but you still don't know how to play do you? No worries I'll give you the basic rundown and then you can start practicing on PTCGO, they have loads of tutorials and you should pick the game up pretty quickly after that. A game of Pokemon starts with each player drawing 7 cards from their 60 card deck. Then you look through your hand and check to see if you have a basic Pokemon. It will say Basic in the top left corner. If you do place it face down on the field this is your active Pokemon. Your opponent will do the same. If you don't you show your hand to your opponent and shuffle it back into your deck. You repeat this process until you have a basic Pokemon to

place on the field. Then he or she gets to draw a card for each mulligan you had but only after you lay out prize cards. Which is the next thing you do. After choosing your active Pokemon you and your opponent lay down six prize cards, these represent the six Pokemon you carry with you in the video games. When you take six prize cards you win the game. So to recap you draw 7 cards, each of you chooses an active Pokemon, you each place six prize cards, you then resolve all mulligans, and then bench any other basic Pokemon onto the "bench" that you wish. Each Pokemon that gets knocked out gives up one prize card. Unless they are a special powerful kind of Pokemon called a Pokemon EX that gives up two prizes. A game of Pokemon ends when one of three conditions are met.

1.) You take all your prize cards.

2.) You knock out all of your opponents Pokemon on the field.

3.) Your opponent can't draw a card to start their turn. This means they have "decked out"

What's a basic Pokemon?

Conclusion

I would like to thank each and every person who has taken the time to read my backstory and my experiences in the Pokemon Trading Card game as well as all of the information at hand here for how YOU can get into this great game. I urge anyone who has never played the game to at least give it a chance! Make a Pokemon Trainer Club account download the game and play it for a bit. It can be really addictive and you can meet alot of great people if you take the next step to go out to events and meet people. Sign up for forums, follow my articles here as I will have tons more Pokemon TCG related stuff for you guys and if you have any questions please leave a comment below or tweet at me @chrisjester89. Please like the article and share it with your friends and check out all of the other great articles we have here on the site. There is something for everyone. Also if you ever wanna play a game on PTCGO with me again tweet at me. I'm always up for a game of Pokemon. Thanks again for reading!

More proof in which Mega Man is "Mega Dead."

As a fan of Mega Man, I have to say I am just as angry as most fans of the Blue Bomber who feel in which Capcom has completely abandoned a gaming icon in favor of "survival-horror" and non-stop updates to popular arcade-style fighting games. Fans have been begging and pleading with Capcom to revive Mega Man and bring him back to his former glory. Apart from licensing the character to appear in Nintendo's upcoming entry in the Super Smash Brothers franchise, they have no intention in doing so.

With this in mind, I give you Mighty No. 9!



Courtesy of Comcept

The announcement of this game was made by Keiji Inafune during PAX this weekend and the Kickstarter page is currently active.

According to Kickstarter, "You play as Beck, the 9th in a line of powerful robots, and the only one not infected by a mysterious computer virus that has caused mechanized creatures the world over to go berserk. Run, jump, blast, and transform your way through six stages (or more, via stretch goals). You can tackle in any order you choose, using weapons and abilities stolen from your enemies to take down your fellow Mighty Number robots and confront the final evil that threatens the planet!"



Courtesy of Comcept

Inafune and his team at Comcept (see what they did there?) are asking for $900,000 for a PC release and the game is slated to come out Spring of 2015. Of course, what is a Kickstarter campaign without stretch goals?

If they raise $1.35 million, the game will be ported to Mac and Linux. However, if they receive $2.5 million in pledges, then the game will be ported to PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii U.

Just to give you all an idea of what we can expect, here is a promotional video about Mighty No. 9:


Pledges will be accepted until Oct. 1. What do you say, kids? Can we do it?!

UPDATE: As of Sept. 2, 11:18 a.m. Eastern Time, No. 9 has been fully funded. In less than forty-eight hours from the announcement from PAX this past weekend, the Mega Man spiritual successor has reached its goal for a Spring 2015 release on PC and is still climbing.



Screen capture courtesy of Travis Goss

UPDATE 2: As of 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, the Kickstarter reached just over $1,000,000. The story will constantly have updates as they develop.

Screen capture courtesy of Travis Goss

UPDATE 3: As of Sept. 3 at 5:42 p.m. Eastern Time, Mac and Linux users will have an opportunity to play the game. With just over $1 million to go which would make No. 9 available to consoles, the pledges are coming in quickly.


Screen capture courtesy of Travis Goss

UPDAATE 4: According to a recent article on Joystiq, Inafune has dropped the stretch goals by $300,000. With this said, it appears it will be a little easier for No. 9 to reach consoles quicker.