Photos: Second Annual Wiimbledon Wii Tennis Tournament

Today, the G'nerd crew spent seven and a half hours at Barcade in Brooklyn, watching and participating in the 2nd Annual Wiimbledon tournament. No, we didn't win, though we did drink beer for free. The fro-picking fellow in the above photo is Dylan Romero, who ultimately walked away with the title of 2008 Wiimbledon Tennis Champ. A full write-up and video highlights are on their way, but for now check out our photos on Flickr by clicking the above photo.

UPDATE: Here's the video. I hope you like exciting sports movies.

Weekanerd NYC: Rap Geeks, Trash Geeks, and Guitar Heroes

Monday, April 7

• MC Chris is Dead Record Release Show
• $5, 11pm @ The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, 307 w. 26th, Manhattan

mc chris doesn't like being called nerdcore, and I think that's fine, because -core is surely the most pretentious of all suffixes. mc will perform his new album for the first time at this show, so if you're a fan of, erm, raps about predominately nerdy subject matter (good), you'll want to be able to say, "I was there."

Free trash talking and a Guitar Hero tournie, after the jump...

Tuesday, April 8

• Adult Education: Trash In The City
  
• FREE! 7:30 @ Union Hall, 702 Union Street, Brooklyn
  

Billed as a "useless lecture series", this monthly event is less expensive than Grad School and almost as likely to get you a job. Four nerds will talk about their experiences in waste managements, and no that's not a euphemism for the mafia. Expect to see some freegans wearing clothes made out of bottlecaps, and hope they play this song at least once:


Wednesday, April 9

• Guitar Hero III Tournament
  
• FREE! 7pm @ The Apple Store Soho, 103 Prince Street, Manhattan
  

Hey remember that game people used to play before Rock Band? Me neither. JUST KIDDING, Guitar Hero will always be Geekanerd's first love as far as pretend-guitar games go. Entrance to this tournie is first come first served, the prize is a gift card for five free songs at the iTunes Store. Wait, what? Are you serious? Apple, you can't shell out more than $5 dollars in prize money for your own in-store events? This is a bad sign people, dump your stock ASAP...

No Thursday this week! Know something good happening on April 10th? Leave it in the comments or use the email link in the sidebar.

Weekanerd NYC: Persepolis Signing, Smashing Tournament, and John Turturro

Friday, December 14th

• Marjane Satrapi
  
• 7pm @ McNally Robinson, 52 Prince St., Manhattan

The Author Marjane Satrapi will be signing and "chatting" about the Complete Persepolis, a new complete edition of her graphic novels, the feature film adaptation of which I foolishly believe will bring dramatic, mature animated films into mainstream American consciousness.

Saturday, December 15th

• Super Smash Bros. Melee Tournament
  
• 12pm@ web2zone, 54 Cooper Square, Manhattan

I wish the world was more like Smash Brothers. We'd have lightsabres, Pokemon, free food...you wouldn't even have to fight all the time, you could just hang out. Registration starts at 10am, $20 entry fee for the single player division, $10 each for teams of two. You could win a prize pack and 60% of the entry fees.

Sunday, December 16th

• Beyond Wiseguys: World Premiere w/ John Turturro and Producers
  
• 4pm @ The Museum of the Moving Image, 35 Ave at 36th St, Queens

For a mere $10 you can see the world premiere of this documentary on Italian Americans in film. David Chase is featured in it, so presumably it won't be all Sopranos bashing. The always awesome John Turturro is a producer and will be present at the screening, which is kinda funny cause many of his most memorable roles are not Italian characters. Maybe he'll talk about that.

New Rock Band Trailer Is More Exciting Than Pixar's Last Two Films

YEAH! Despite having zero to do with gameplay, this is one of the best game trailers I've ever seen. Cartoon Physics + Fast Moving Car + Rock = Winning Promotional Strategy.

The trailer is actually promoting a promotion, namely the Rock Band 2007 Tour, a traveling demo show & competition which kicked off yesterday in Las Vegas. Info after the jump...


I had a look at the Rules and Regulations for this so-called tour - to compete in the "Rock Off Auditions" you need to be part of a four-piece "band". It seems like you'll have to show up pretty early in order to get some practice time in before you play in front of the judges. Bands will be evaluated based on their ability to "demonstrate Rock Band™ game play with proficiency and accuracy, radiate energy, vitality, possess stage presence and are comfortable in front of a camera."

The two finalists get a complicated MTV reality-show prize package, that includes meeting a band and "playing" on TRL. The for-real finalist band gets to "open" for a real yet-to-be-named rock group, so if you've ever wanted to play a video game on stage in front of a screaming rock crowd, here is your chance!

The rules also demand that each four-piece band designate a "leader". Luckily the tour doesn't come to NYC until November 1st, so the Geekanerd Crew has almost two months to wage smear campaigns against each other.

For dates and locations, check the Official Site's schedule for detailed tour info - some important details have changed since the last press release. Such as moving to the tour from my former-hometown of Oakland to stupid Berkeley. Damn hippies.

Weekanerd NYC: 24 Hour Gamer People, Brian Wood, and Bruce Wayne's Bad Night

Friday, September 7, 2007

• LANsomnia Video Game Party
  
• 9pm @ Web2Zone, 54 Cooper Square, Manhattan
  

Okay, so this is pricey at $35 for PC gamers and $25 for consolers, but you can take $5 off if you register before 5pm today. What do you get for your money? 24 solid hours of multiplayer gaming, including free food and soda, with tournaments and prizes all night long. Plus an excuse to leave your room without interrupting your gaming lifestyle. For a list of featured games and registration info, hit the title link.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

• Brian Wood
  
• 8pm @ Rocketship, 208 Smith Street, Brooklyn.

Brian Wood will be signing copies of DMZ Volume III. Also, musician/writer PERCY CAREY (aka M.F. GRIMM) will be signing his debut graphic memoir SENTENCES, and it that's not enough, there will be work on display by artist RON WIMBERLY.

Sunday, September 9, 2007

• The Mask of Zorro
  
• Various Times @ Film Forum Street, 209 West Houston Street, Manhattan
  

Bat-Fans know that this is the film young Bruce Wayne saw on the fateful night his parents were killed. Viewing it yourself, in combination with some form of traumatic personal tragedy, may turn you into a vigilante superhero as well. Worth a shot!

Wiimbledon Comes to Brooklyn

Details are emerging about the Wii Tennis tournament going down at Barcade in Brooklyn on Saturday June 23rd from 12-5pm. It's going to be a single elimination singles tournament consisting of "Best of 5" matches with unspecified prizes going to the winner, the runner-up, and at least four other "bonus" categories (such as best costume, most athletic, most dangerous (?) and shortest shorts).

There will be three chances to register for the event at wiimbledon.net/signup.html, the first being at 12 noon on Monday and then again on Tuesday and Wednesday at the same time. Be prepared to give them a Real Name, a Playing Name, a Team Name (purely ceremonial, there aren't really "teams") and a skill level (either Beg, Int, Adv or your Mii's skill number). Registration appears to be FREE. If you aren't lucky enough to make the cut those days, some walk-ins will be accepted the day of the tourney.

So sign up! We'll be there representing the G'nerd, acein' some fools.

Also check out the Time Out New York article they scored.