Questions About Battlestar Galactica

1. If all superior officers are "sir," even if they are female, lady president included, why is the lady president still referred to as "Madame President?"
2. Which Jamie Bamber do we prefer: Captain Adama or DS Devlin (of Law & Order: UK)?
3. Why do they keep putting Dr. Baltar in the same pose as Jesus on the Cross? 
1. Or is that just a coincidence?

Halloween is SRSBZNZ (Part II)

Last week, we introduced you to the SRSBZNZ Harry Potter-Themed Halloween Costume Series. In this, the second installment, we want to encourage you to get a little kooky, a little craycray, if you will. Of all the costume ideas we came up with, this one's our favorite.

Inspiration (via):

  

 We are DIGGING THE SWEATER DRESS. Also, the weird fringed head scarf? Yes, please. PLUS, this outfit gives us an excuse to go gallivanting around with the humidity-induced fro we were born to rock. In short: this is our Halloween costume. But that doesn't mean it can't be your Halloween costume! Plz to be accompanying us into the weird world of Professor Trelawney.

Click the picture to see where you can purchase any of the items pictured.

We like the fact that she wears a textured (???) sweater dress, because winter is coming and we'll probably need more sweater dresses anyway (except not, because this is Texas and everybody wears short sleeves all through winter because our bodies store the heat from summer and use it to stay warm). Since she's wearing a sweater dress, she'll need some tights, preferably some epic patterned ones that don't really match anything else she's wearing, but no one cares because she's just so out there. We like the combat boots because they are not quite rugged enough to be Doc Martens, which makes them kind of grandma, but in a good way. Sometimes a little grandma accessory is fun, right? 

... [Crickets] ... 

Moving right along, basically all you have to do to look totally crazy is layer on a bunch of hippie jewelry and wear really round glasses. And keep your eyes wide open all night. Bonus points if you carry around a cup of tea leaves all night and tell everybody they have The Grim. 

Halloween is SRSBZNZ (Part I)

Halloween - also known as All Hallow's Eve or The One Evening Every Year When Geeky is Cool - is almost upon us! Okay, so it's not TOTALLY almost upon us, but SRSBZNZ is nothing if not prepared (we're like boy scouts ... not really). But Halloween isn't the only thing coming up for which we want to help you prepare. November 19 marks the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I.

But SRSBZNZ, you may ask, what do these two events have in common? Why are you writing about them together? The answer is simple, friends: They are both events that will be totally epic and involve costumes. We figure, if you dress up as a Harry Potter character for Halloween, you can have a twofer costume - one for October 31st, one for November 19th. Why NOT dress up for the penultimate Harry Potter movie? Ooh, SAT word ... strategically placed to convince you to wear more costumes.

Our first costume idea: Ron Weasley in Dress Robes.

Yes, we know that Ron Weasley is a dude, and this is a GIRL'S guide to sci-fi and fantasy, but fashion loves a little androgyny. And we love Ron Weasley. Also, we may or may not have dressed up as Sgt. Nicholas Angel last year, so we are clearly forerunners in the Breaking of Gender Barriers for the Sake of Halloween.

The goal in posting these costumes is twofold: one, we would like to inspire you to dress like characters from Harry Potter, and two, we would like you not to have to spend a gazillion dollars on some stupid costume-in-a-bag that you will only wear TWICE, because you are going to wear it to your friend's epic party AND to the midnight showing of HPDH1, right? RIGHT? Anyways. We want the costumes to be made from items that you might like to wear to class/work/shopping/lounging around the house because apparently you like to dress fancy even when you're not going anywhere.

Jeez, get to the costumes already! Okay, okay. First, our inspiration (via):

And here is our version:

SRSBZNZ Halloween: Ron Weasley in Dress Robes

You probably already own a pair of black slacks - we don't, because we are rebels, and also because our job doesn't require them. If not, you can substitute with black skinny jeans or leggings. Black shoes of any kind are fine - we are totes into those black patent brogues, though. (Again, since this is a GIRL'S guide etc etc, we're assuming you speak fashion and know that patent = shiny and brogues = a type of shoe.) Also on our Wish List: the lace shirt, top left, and BOW TIE ("Bow ties are cool!" - The Doctor) and we kind of dig that necklace, which was our way of interpreting the "dodgy little collar" that makes Ron get all voice-cracky. GAH WE LOVE RON WEASLEY.

If you want to get totally gender-bendy on us, you might try creating your dress robe costume from a black maxi skirt and pirate shirt. Maxi skirts are totally trendy this fall, so people will say, "Who is this fashion master and can she help us dress like Ron Weasley in our daily lives," while the pirate shirt will be of great assistance next time you want to dress up as Captain Jack Sparrow. Note: We do not suggest that you wear this pirate shirt on a regular basis, unless you are tall and willowy like our friend Katie, who is a goddess and looks good in crazy puff-sleeve blouses because she looks good in EVERYTHING.

We added a magic wand to this collection because, well, duh ... but if you want to get super cheap on Halloween, we suggest a stick. If you worry that a dead twig from your favorite backyard tree won't be authentic enough, you can color on it with a brown Sharpie. Problem solved!

Stay tuned for next week's costume, which will probably be the one we choose to wear for the next two months ...


(Click on the picture to see the original collage on Polyvore and to find out where you can purchase any of the items pictured above.)

Being Human is Made of Win

Contrary to the title of this post, we're - even as of this moment - unsure why we love this show so much. It could be because we have watched the entirety of season 1 and what has aired of season 2 within the past twenty-four hours, but we really can't put our finger on what it is about this show that we love.

Well, yes we can:

That. That right there would keep us watching this show even if it turned into a Heroes-scale trainwreck.

But even without factoring in Aidan Turner's amazing good looks, we adore this show. Here's the lowdown: a vampire (sort of by choice) and a werewolf (by accident) just happen to move into a house haunted by a ghost (by murder). The show focuses on their lives and their attempt at ... well, at being human.

Mitchell, the vampire, has decided he's had enough of killing people for blood, so now all the other vamps refer to him as being "on the wagon." He's had a bit of a bloodthirsty past (understandably), and so he spends a lot of time trying to atone for all the murder. We like that Mitchell tries so hard to be good and to do the right thing now, rather than brooding about having made the wrong choice then. Also, he's really good-looking (see above).

George, the werewolf, is played by Russell Tovey, who is our favorite. In addition to our involvement in sci-fi geekery, we also dabble in historical knowledge attainment. Russell Tovey first caught our attention in a little film known as The History Boys, as our favorite character, Rudge. We admire Tovey's ability to bring depth to characters that could easily be one-dimensional - Rudge is a "dumb jock" who's really not so dumb; George is a shy, unassuming janitor trying to come to terms with that whole werewolf bit. It would be so easy for him to sink into the shadows due to his insecurities, but Russell Tovey brings out every inch of George's personality and shoves it in our faces.

We arrive, finally, at Annie, the ghost, played by Lenora Crichlow. Annie has two habits that really irritate us: one, she spends a lot of time pining for the fiance she lost when she died ... well, for a few episodes, and then she wises up. Two, if a man so much as winks at her, she gets all giggly, and then that man thinks she's flirting and she ends up getting assaulted. And when we say giggly, we mean, BY THE POWER OF GREYSKULL, WOMAN, SHUT UP OR I WILL THROW SOMETHING AT MY TV. That giggly. However, we also admire Annie. She cares so much about Mitchell and George that, when her unfinished business finally resolves itself and the mythical door into the next world appears, she turns it down because Mitchell is hurt and she wants to make sure he survives. When she's not giggling, she can be kind of badass.

We suppose, then, that we love this show for the same reason we love Torchwood: the character development. The cast of Being Human agrees with us.  Sci-fi geeks that we are, y'all know we love a good supernatural showdown; however, we think it has more meaning when we know enough about the characters to want to support them.

The second season of Being Human airs in the U.S. on BBC America Saturdays at 9pm/8 Central.

Photo from here.

Inception

Director Christopher Nolan once described Inception as a "sci-fi action thriller." SRSBZNZ is going to say that Nolan's latest movie is more like the tripped-out, cerebral lovechild of Ocean's 11 and Shutter Island. In other words, Inception completely defies categorization and is one of the few movies to make us realize that - hoshit! - we, the audience, are actually smart and we like intelligent movies!

For a brainy film, Inception's plot is surprisingly simple. Leo DiCaprio is a thief named Cobb who specializes in the art of infiltrating people's minds and stealing their ideas. All Cobb wants to do is go home, but he's a fugitive. Enter Saito, a sinister businessman played by Ken Watanabe, who presents Cobb with an offer he can't refuse: he can go home if he eliminates Saito's business rival by planting an idea in the latter's head (i.e. inception.) The Ocean's 11 bit comes when Cobb assembles the team to help him complete the job.

Inception is a fantastic ensemble piece and the cast is one of the main reasons why the film works at all. Movies based on complicated ideas tend to have a lot of exposition. Indeed, most of Cobb's dialogue involves pontificating about his job and the nature of dreams to the audience. In less skilled hands, this exposition-as-dialogue can kill characterization and plot development faster than an anvil falling on a piano. Nevertheless, Nolan and the cast actually get away with it. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who plays Cobb's right hand man, Arthur, is a good example. From his perfectly slicked hair to his stoic manner, he radiates suavity and competence even when all he's doing is explaining what the hell is happening in the film. The actresses are also outstanding. Ellen Page, as the architectural wunderkind Ariadne, spends the first half of the movie listening to Cobb's lectures, and she still manages to imbue her character with toughness and intelligence.

Devotees of modern art and optical illusions will adore the sets, which range from a classy hotel to a fortress high in the mountains. And the film's soundtrack deserves a special mention. Nolan uses the song "Non, Je ne regrette rien" as a major plot point in the film. The classic number was sung by Edith Piaf, and fans of Marion Cotillard (who plays Cobb's wife) will know that the lovely actress portrayed Piaf in the movie La vie en rose. However, SRSBZNZ does have one gripe about the sound mixing. We like Hans Zimmer's scores as much as the next movie-goer, but whoever was in charge of sound decided to drown out half of the characters' words with overpowering music. It's annoying, to say the least.

As a last note, we personally loved the ending, even though its ambiguity left 90% of the theater's audience crying out in frustration. The director clearly scoffed at the idea that every movie has to have a definitive ending, and we love him for that.

SRSBZNZ gives Inception 3 out of 3 tribbles.

EDIT: SRSBZNZ would like to present a very astute observation made by our friend, Mahak. Regarding the adorable Joseph Gordon-Levitt, she said, "I was amazed that no matter how many times he spun in that hamster wheel of a corridor, his hair *never* moved. It was like MAGIC." Well, there you have it, folks. Forget everything we said in our review - Mahak's comment identifies the real reason why Inception is awesomesauce.

The Greatest Television Couple of All Time ... of ALL TIME!

  ... Okay, maybe we're exaggerating a bit. But we love Amy Pond. We love Rory Williams. It's pretty safe to say that when you put them together, it's MAGIC. Gah. They are our favorite. And yes, everything is our favorite, but still. We love them.

The newly-regenerated (and still a little zonked) Doctor meets Amy when she is seven years old and in the midst of a prayer for someone to come fix the crack in her wall. Shock of all shocks, it turns out to be a crack in space and time. The Doctor leaves "just for a few minutes - he'll be right back, he promises," and it turns out he's gone for twelve years. They - with assistance from Amy's boyfriend, Rory - save the world from the Atraxi, etc. etc, he leaves "just for a mo'" and comes back two years later, on the night before Amy's wedding, which she neglects to mention to him.

Stuff happens, Amy tries to seduce the Doctor, Doctor says, no, you love Rory, howzabout we bring him time-traveling with us?

Thus begins a spectacular partnership (can it be a partnership if there's 3 people involved? We're going to say yes) involving the Doctor, Amy, and Rory and their misadventures with fish from space, a weird dream of the Doctor's, those creepy lizard creatures who live at the center of the earth, and a bunch of other stuff that we will refrain from relating because it involves spoilers. Let's go back to Amy and Rory.


Why We Love Amy:
Besides admiring her badassery, we find Amy refreshing because - attempted makeout sesh notwithstanting - she's not in love with the Doctor. We know, we know: Donna Noble was also not in love with the Doctor. We found that refreshing, too, but it would have been weird for Donna to be in love with the Doctor. Given that the Doctor sort of saved Amy's life when she was like seven, we know how easy it would have been for the writers of this show to create some weird daddy-issues love story involving the two of them. We are so glad they didn't. She makes a conscious decision that she loves Rory more than she loves the Doctor, and we respect her for that.

Also, we are totes jealous of her Scottish accent, beautiful porcelain skin, and fantastic hair. That's what we were going for during those two years we dyed our hair red, but clearly there's nothing like the real thing. Basically, Karen Gillan is gorgeous.

Why We Love Rory:
Rory rolls with the punches. Wayyyyy back when the Doctor and Rose first got together, Mickey wussed out and was like, "No, he's dangerous, you're going to die, time travel is scary, DON'T GO!" While we understood that he was trying to keep Rose safe, and that he genuinely cared about her welfare, we were unimpressed. More than that, we felt sorry for him. We've already discussed how annoying it was to feel sorry for Martha Jones, and Mickey was no different. We wanted to give him a hug, but we also kind of wanted him to go away.

Anyways. The Doctor takes Amy and Rory to 17th-century Venice for some pre-wedding romantic time, and they run into vampire-fish from space. Rory's all like, "Okay, I guess it's time to fight some vampire-fish from space, whatevs." And, okay, there's a little bit of confusion and waffling, but that's it. For the rest of the time he spends traveling with them, Rory is totally cool.

... Admittedly, we also are pretty impressed with the scope of his love for Amy. Dude spends 2,000 years watching over her (okay, partial spoiler - our bad) to make sure she doesn't die. That's pretty sweet.

Image from The Ultimate Doctor Who Site.

Makeover!

SRSBZNZ was feeling a little caged-in by the lonely, picture-less Blogger template. While we're still using our Blogger friends' skeleton, we decided to make it just a little bit more our own.

You may recognize the picture of the Starship Enterprise from our Twitter. We put our extensive Photoshop skillz to use and created our very own banner with it. Blog-Twitter synergy at its finest. Also, we like that it's just a little bit cheesy. It ups the nerd factor.

Do you like our new look, or should we go back to white white white?

Eclipse ... of Our Brain Cells.

We don't even have anything to say about this movie. Just ... this.

This one is our favorite:

Image from here, obviously.

Not to be Confused With That One About the Blue People

Things The Internet Has Established:

1. Avatar: The Last Airbender is awesome.
2. The movie version, known as The Last Airbender on account of the aforementioned blue peepz, is less awesome. By a lot.
3. Hollywood and M. Night Shyamalan are racist for casting white people as Aang, Katara, and Sokka.

Our role here at SRSBZNZ is not to argue with the Internet about whether the cartoon or the movie is better (personally, we prefer the cartoon), or to provide you with diatribes on why the casting of this movie is or isn't racist (Hollywood in general, probably. This movie ... we're not entirely convinced). No. We are here to snark it up and to write about things that make us happy.

Enter the most badass television uncle ever, General Iroh.

Iroh, uncle to the not-so-evil Prince Zuko, accompanies his nephew on his journey to capture the avatar and regain his honor. In the series, Iroh enjoys tea, pai sho, and saying wise things that need to be deciphered. In the movie, we're sad to say, Iroh is Mr. Serious Business (not to be confused with SRSBZNZ, which is really much less serious). The Fire Nation views him as a failure for an unsuccessful siege at Ba Sing Se, the capital of the Earth Kingdom. 

We always feel bad for Uncle Iroh when Prince Zuko goes on one of his, "Must regain honor and make Daddy love me!" tangents and says that his uncle is a worthless loser who doesn't understand what's important. Like, OMG, Zuko, you are one seriously angsty teenager. But Uncle Iroh is wise and understands that Zuko will grow out of it. We're not even going to lie, we mostly feel bad for Uncle Iroh because sometimes we yell at our mom even though she's right. Basically, we're projecting. 

One of our favorite moments in the show, obviously, is when Zuko finally grows a pair and goes to tell his dad, Fire Lord Ozai, that he's deserting the Fire Nation and going to help the Avatar. Zuko proceeds to inform Fire Lord Ozai that he will go to Uncle Iroh and beg for forgiveness, because Uncle Iroh has been a better father than Ozai ever was.

Ozai: (I Think I'm Better Than Everyone Else Voice) "Your uncle? Well, perhaps he can pass down to you the ways of TEA and FAILURE." 

Allow us to share with you our reaction: BAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA

Few more hilarious angry lines have been uttered in our personal history of television watching. First of all, tea is made of win. Secondly, your butt is about to get TOTALLY SCHOOLED by the Avatar. Joke's on you, Fire Lord Ozai.

Our second favorite Dumbass Fire Nation Moment comes when Princess Azula, sister of Zuko, is betrayed by one of her friends, who happens to be Zuko's girlfriend. The betrayal occurs when Mai saves Zuko's life while Azula is trying to kill him. (Reason #23094872 you know this is a show intended for young adults. So much relationship drama! Yeesh.)

Mai: "You miscalculated. I love Zuko more than I fear you."

This is entertaining in and of itself, but wait! It gets better.

Azula: (Angry Child Voice) "No, YOU miscalculated! You should have feared ME more!"

Insert tantrum here. No, really. There is totally a tantrum after this exchange.

In addition to these hilarious moments of Fire Nation Dialogue Fail, the television series actually has a lot of genuinely funny moments. Having seen the movie first, it was difficult for us to transition into Saturday Morning Cartoon mode and enjoy the funny moments without being all like, "BUT THE AVATAR HAS TO SAVE THE WORLD WHY ARE THEY TRYING TO MAKE ME GIGGLE." Eventually, we got used to it, and ended up loving all the slapstick sidenotes in the cartoon. We have to say, however, that we totally support M. Night Shyamalan's decision to make the movie more serious. It is still a horrific adaptation of an awesome show, but all those slapstick cartoon moments would not translate well to live action. And you know we're always going to prefer the version that can be funny on purpose, and not just because it has no idea how awful it is. What we're trying to say is, waste your free time on the TV show instead of the movie. It's worth it just for Uncle Iroh.

Image from http://www.freewebs.com/zutarachick/iroh02.jpg.

So Good, But So Bad: "Doomsday"

 Our favorite episode of Doctor Who is the one called "Doomsday," wherein the Daleks and the Cybermen battle it out for control of the Earth.We cannot even describe the awesomeness of this battle. Two robotic species with mechanical voices, shouting "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" and "Delete! Delete!" as they shoot lasers at each other? Don't even get us started. It is amazing. It is hilarious. It is brilliant and full of things exploding. (Sidenote, gentlemen: We love explosions and spent all day watching the World Cup. Remind us why we're still single?)

Our least favorite episode of Doctor Who is the one called "Doomsday," wherein the Doctor and Rose Tyler are separated forever. We cannot even describe the sadness it causes. We, who never cry at movies or television shows, ever; we, who did not shed a single tear during Titanic, when everyone around us was sniffling and sobbing ... we tear up EVERY TIME we watch this episode. (Okay, maybe that's why we're still single. Who cries at science fiction?)

We think it's rather unfortunate that these two episodes are the same. On the one hand, it is PURE AWESOMENESS; on the other hand, it is the end of an era for Doctor Who. Rose Tyler is our faaaaavorite (although Amy Pond is definitely giving her a run for her money. Man, we love Amy Pond). The first episodes of Doctor Who we ever watched were from season 3, with Martha Jones. We loved Martha Jones ... until we met Rose. Martha's okay, we guess, but she's not Rose. Every episode involves her being clueless for, like, twenty very important minutes before she FINALLY figures out what's going on. And she's kind of whiny. Mostly, though, we just feel sorry for her because she so desperately wants the Doctor's love and he's all hung up on Rose (as we all are). So not only does the best episode of this show involve the end of Rose Tyler, it also signals the beginning of the Doctor's lackluster partnership/rebound with Martha. It totally kills the hilarious alien robot battle vibe.

And this episode had such potential.

Sidenote: Who wants to buy us those action figures?

Image from starstore.com.

For the Ladies: Tips on Purchasing Comics at a Con

SRSBZNZ is going to confess a secret. Recently, at Calgary's Comic and Entertainment Expo, we popped our comic book cherry by dropping hundreds of dollars on back issues. Even though we couldn't afford to buy a McDonald's Happy Meal at the end of the day, we were satisfied. The Canadian half of SRSBZNZ is now the proud owner of several first edition issues of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Plus, we managed to grab the latest Spidey graphic novel, featuring the most obvious superhero team-up in the world: Peter Parker and Barack Obama.

All bragging rights aside, we want to share a few things we learned from our experience at the Expo. We're not comic-book specialists, but girls, keep the following tips in mind when you're at your next Convention.

Tip #1: Bargain, bargain, bargain

We'll be honest: we've never haggled for anything in our lives. As good North American citizens, we follow the price tag and obediently fork over the necessary amount of money without question. However, buying comics at a convention has turned us into a C.H. - a Certified Haggler. You will be shocked, dear reader, at the amount of ruthlessness and sheer business acumen you possess when you want to own that first edition issue, but don't have enough money to cover $100. Bottom line: don't pay the amount on the price tag. However, you'll have an easier time bargaining if you're buying several issues simultaneously.

Tip #2: Be nice to the vendors.

While haggling is a "must" for purchasing comics at a convention, be polite. The sales people will be much more willing to give you a good price on the comics if you refrain from being the customer from hell. Moreover, society tends to think that we geeks lack social grace. What better setting to disprove that theory than a comic book convention?

Tip #3: Display your feminine charms.

Fact: places in which comic books can be found are special ecosystems in which all sorts of species thrive and exist. However, this ecosystem tends to lack a particular type of organism - i.e. humans of the female variety. Being a lady at a convention thus has many advantages. At the Expo, we met a Montreal vendor who kindly cut the purchase price for ten comics nearly to half, because he said that we were "nice," "pretty," and "smelled good." (The vendor later clarified that he wasn't hitting on us, because he was married. Nevertheless, he proceeded to ask us for the name of our perfume so he could buy it for his wife.) Bottom line: it pays to be a decent-looking girl in a comic book store. And there is nothing wrong with taking advantage of what your momma gave you.

Repo Men

"It's bloodier than Inglourious Basterds." - Our mom.

Based on the novel "Repossession Mambo" by Eric Garcia, Repo Men is a sexy, gleefully violent film with a serious message at its core. The premise: in the not-so-distant future, a company called "The Union" sells pricy, artifical organs to the populace. Remy (played by an extremely charming, muscular Jude Law) is an employee of The Union. He's not a salesman though. He's a repo man whose job is to forcibly remove the artiforg from your body if you fall behind in payments. Remy enjoys his career, especially when he works alongside his best friend, Jake (played by a deranged-looking, badass Forest Whittaker.) However, when a job goes wrong, our anti-hero is forced to get an artificial heart. And that's when he starts having second thoughts about his job.

This film is definitely not for everyone. If you're the kind of gal who feels faint at the sight of blood or can't stand to watch those E.R. shows on TLC, you should either stay away from Repo Men or bring a barf bag to the theater. The film is action-packed and has enough scenes featuring vivisection to keep your inner sadistic surgeon happy. Nevertheless, the violence in Repo Men never feels gratuitous. On the contrary, the film's focus on blood, gore, and guts is completely necessary: it highlights how human life has become terrifyingly cheap in a world where good health is a commodity, and not a basic human right.

The soundtrack is one of the best aspects of Repo Men. Most of the songs pay homage to the book title by being of the big band, swing era. More importantly, such happy music only serves to heighten the film's black humor. When the movie opens with Remy humming merrily along to Rosemary Clooney's "Sway" as he slices and dices his latest victim, you know you're in for a treat.

The film's only drawback might be its lack of subtlety. The movie doesn't hestitate to thrust its morals in our face by giving Remy and Jake long monologues that would make Hamlet jealous. But we're going to assume that you won't be seeing this movie for its tactfulness. Go see this movie for its stylized violence, vision of a dystopian future, and the palpable chemistry between Jude Law and Forest Whittaker.

We give Repo Men 2 out of 3 tribbles.

Wednesday is For the Ladies: A Handy Guide to Science Fiction

Being ladies, we understand that sometimes men can be a bit confusing. We also understand that some ladies do not find science fiction as fascinating as we do, and they really only put up with it out of love for said confusing men. It's all good. But if you're looking for a guide to some of the more famous sci-fi characters (and, okay, Jesus), look no further:

Photo credit to somebody's Xanga, via our (and when we say "our," we refer to both writers of this blog) friend Adam. You rock, Adam!

The Enterprise...SHE EXISTS!

If Gene Roddenberry were still alive, he'd be crapping himself.

Sir Richard Branson, billionaire owner of that corporate conglomeration with the really suggestive name - that's Virgin Group to you, peasants - launched his spaceship on its first test flight over the Mojave Desert at 7:05 am yesterday (Monday, March 22.) The spaceship is part of Virgin Galactic's commercial space travel program. She holds six passengers and has been named the Virgin Spaceship (VSS) Enterprise. For those of you hoping to board the mothership, tickets are going for $200,000.

News of the maiden flight makes SRSBZNZ inordinately excited, given the fact that every time a plane flies overhead, we always imagine that it is the Enterprise anyways. We're slightly ashamed to admit, though, that we think that "VSS Enterprise" sounds vaguely dirty. It could moonlight as the title for a new Star Trek-inspired porno. Nevertheless, it's sweet that Virgin tipped its hat to the man who told us to boldly go in the first place.

For more information about the maiden flight, check out this article.

If the VSS Enterprise was a movie, we'd employ our new movie rating system by giving it three out of three tribbles.

NOTE: No tribbles were harmed in the making of this rating system. We may occasionally joke about using tribbles to adorn Zoe Saldana's dress or employing one as a brillo pad, but we're only kidding. Tribbles are awesome: they're cute, furry, make cooing noises, and their only goals in life are to eat and reproduce. If we're being frank, we wouldn't mind living that kind of existence too.

Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter ... Yes, It's Real.

Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, you ask? But what is this magic? Can this be real?

Yes, it is one hundred percent real, it is one hundred percent awesome - okay, maybe like 92 percent awesome, we'll get to the other 8 percent in a moment - and, for those of you who get all your entertainment from the interwebz, it is one hundred percent streaming on Netflix.

The premise is this: Vampires have been murdering lesbians in a town, which is presumably Ottawa, because that is where it was filmed. Why, you ask? Because they can wear the lesbians' skin out in the sunshine, so that they will no longer be limited to night-stalking. Ignoring the fact that that's SO CREEPY (wearing their skin??? GROSS), who can save the lesbians from the horrible fate of becoming just another fur in the shop? Jesus, of course!

We will refrain from telling you more of the plot, but suffice it to say, this movie is kind of epic. Probably our favorite moment while watching the movie was when Jesus pulled out some money and our friend said, "That looks like Monopoly money," and - being expert Canadian money-spotters - it dawned on us that not only was this film a low-budget camp-fest, it was a low-budget Canadian camp-fest. We have a soft spot for anything Canadian because, well, one of us used to live in Canada and the other one still does. Also, Canada kind of rocks.

Our other favorite moment was when a lady vampire tried to kick Jesus in the face, so he pulled off her shoe and whacked her in the head with it.

The only aspect of this movie that we can complain about is the sound quality. Since it's so low-budget, it's often hard to hear what everyone is saying, not to mention the "background" music is often in the foreground. (It's loud.) But let's face it, who needs sound quality when you have Jesus beating people up with tennis shoes?

SRSBZNZ hearts Star Trek, so we're implementing a new film-rating system, right now, as we type this. We're spontaneous like that. We give this movie two-point-five out of three tribbles. It's awesome, but the sound issues were a little irritating.

SRSBZNZ: BZNZ

Dear Reader,

SRSBZNZ is currently experiencing technical difficulties. PLZ to bear with us; we will BBS. We're going to go ahead and say next week. Call it Spring Break, although we'll be working all week.

May the Force be with you (and us),

SRSBZNZ

Oh, and happy St. Patty's day. Send us your pictures of leprechaun sightings.

Friday Whaaaat: the Texts From Last Night Edition

If you're thinking of finally getting out of your basement and becoming a regular member of society by engaging in the practice of imbibing alcoholic beverages, dancing drunkenly, and then waking up to a complete stranger this weekend, SRSBZNZ would like to offer a friendly reminder of what happens when geeks combine texting and alcohol.

Texts Involving "Zombies"

(203): We planned for the zombie apocalypse. In great detail. Of course there was booze involved.

(850): Did you dl zombie porn on my computer?

(704): "Tonight I'm turning swine flu into an std." this might be how zombies came about. Peace civilization.

Texts Involving "Star Trek"

(727): She called me "Spock" and proceeded to ask me to "teach her the ways of the force." I just couldn't do it after that. No way am I f*cking a girl who can't tell the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek.

(413): Somewhere out there, someone is getting laid. And then theres [sic] me, watching Star Trek porn while my roommate plays World of Warcraft next door.

And SRSBZNZ's personal favorite:

(540): what do you have against ST
(1-540): DO NOT ABBREVIATE LIKE YOU AND STAR TREK ARE FRIENDS.

Texts Involving "Avatar"

(484): the only thing i can think of after seeing avatar is "when are they gonna make avatar porn?"

(419): is it weird that i found myself thinking of that blue chick from Avatar while she gave me head after the movie?

Texts Involving "Harry Potter"

(818): i woke up this morning and the first thing i saw was the harry potter tattoo on his left butt cheek.

(720): You can't like Harry Potter and Twilight. You have to pick. Vampires and wizards are mutually exclusive.

And again, SRSBZNZ's personal favorite:

(860): You were so drunk that some guy dressed as Harry Potter pointed his wand at you and screamed "Accio SHITSHOW"

Wednesday is For the Ladies: Oscar Dresses!

Ladies, you know we'd never let you down. SRSBZNZ loves the geekery, but we also love the fashion. See? You can love Sci-Fi and still be interested in the clothes.

We have to say, we were not that keen on most of the dresses this year. The show was pretty spectacular, but the clothes? Boring. Except for the earrings. They were awesome. That said, we're sticking to the sci-fi for this round-up, so we cut out the riff-raff (not in a sci-fi movie? PSHHH, we want nothing to do with you) and kept the relevant.

First up, one of our favorite sci-fi gentlemen, Chris Pine, AKA CAPTAIN FREAKIN' KIRK:

Hello, you attractive gentleman. We like your bow tie. Want to come over to our place tonight? We're making guacamole and we're happy to feed it to you while fanning you with palm leaves.

While we're on the subject of ST, here is Zoe Saldana. You already know our opinion of Zoe: She's pretty, but we'd prefer that she not talk. Also, she was either wearing a piñata or she stole the bag of shredded documents from our kitchen and hot-glued them onto her dress.

Zoe may not be our favorite, but she did co-star in Avatar with one of the queens of science fiction, Sigourney Weaver, who looked FABULOUS in this red dress:

Does this really need explanation? She looks lovely.

Now we switch gears to a franchise that is entirely not Oscar-Worthy. It's cheesy, but we secretly kind of love it. Yes, that's right: Twilight. We'll be gentle and start with Anna Kendrick. She may have been in Up in the Air, but let's not forget she also plays Jessica in these, our favorite teenage vampire-werewolf showdown films. She looked pretty fabulous in this pink number (although Mr. Jay from the E! Red Carpet show insisted on calling it "blush"). Despite its simplicity, we think it might be our favorite nominee dress. The lacy slit gives it just a little bit of edge. Loves!

We were a little ashamed to admit this during the Oscars, and we're a little ashamed to admit it now. We're kind of proud of KStew. Okay, so she went with basic black, and she's totally smirking in this picture because apparently she's too cool for red carpets. And, as usual, she looks like she hasn't washed her hair in a couple of weeks. But the dress is really classy. It fits her nicely, she's not trying to hide her shoulders by slouching like Miley, and she just looks ... well, nice. Good job, KStew!

The 2010 Oscars showed us some good and some bad, but we mustn't forget the noticeable absence of Zachary Quinto. Yeah, Chris Pine made a pretty epic Captain Kirk, but let's not forget how awesome ZQ was as Mr. Spock. In spite of all the beauty we have seen in this post, we must also mourn the absence of our favorite pointy-eared, questionably-eyebrowed, vulcan-human half-breed - errrr, actor. We love you, ZQ! Do our post-Oscar posting a favor and make an appearance next year. Plz?

2010 Oscars: What We're Thankful For

According to 99% of the blogs out there, the 82nd Academy Awards show was an absolute bore. Yeah, the broadcast wasn't perfect. So maybe Kathy Ireland's interviewing skills made us want to punch a baby. So maybe the Steve Martin-Alec Baldwin partnership only elicited tepid laughs from the audience when they weren't making fun of Meryl Streep (though to be fair, George Clooney's Death Stare was not helping the situation.) So maybe there was that really awkward Kanye moment. But so what? We think there were a number of amazing occurrences that made this year's Oscars a success. Here are the moments that SRSBZNZ is thankful for:

Robert Downey Jr. and Tina Fey's presentation speech for Best Original Screenplay

Ah, RDJ. Thank God for you and your Tony Stark-esque suavity and sarcastic wit. As soon as RDJ came on stage sporting blue shades and a radiant Tina Fey on his arm, you knew it was going to be awesome. Our favorite line: "[Movie-making] is a collaboration. It's a collaboration between handsome, gifted people and sickly little mole people." Count on Iron Man and Liz Lemon to make fun of Hollywood at its most self-congratulatory moment.

Michael Giacchino's win for Best Score

Up isn't a sci-fi/fantasy film, but as Eva remarked during the broadcast, we want Mr. Giacchino to be our new BFF. Any person who can compose film scores as diverse as Up, Ratatouille, Speed Racer, and Star Trek is a creative genius who deserves to win.

Ben Stiller as a Na'avi

There was no better way to preface Star Trek's win in the Best Makeup category than having Ben Stiller come out looking utterly ridiculous. The majesty of ten foot tall blue people has officially been deflated. Stiller's best line: (to James Cameron) "I want to plug my braid into your dragon...and my tail." And we can't forget "I see you" followed by that long, uncomfortable silence. Most of the audience didn't know how to react to Stiller, which made the moment even better. The use of a fishing rod to wave his tail around was also a brilliant way to poke fun at Avatar's blatant use of cutting-edge technology.

Films like District 9 and Avatar being included in the "Best Picture" category

This year, the Academy expanded the Best Picture category to ten films. We have mixed feelings about Avatar, and it was clear that District 9 didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning. Nevertheless, it seemed like it was the first time that the Academy was acknowledging the sci-fi/fantasy genre since Return of the King. We hope that such recognition continues in the future.

Chris Pine being sex on legs and knowing how to wear a tux

We're not going to lie: every time Chris Pine appeared on screen, we yelled his name and pointed excitedly at our TVs. The boy brought his mama, which we think is unbearably sweet. And we even got to listen to his super sexy, gravely voice as he did the introduction for District 9. Yeah, we're fan girls. But we dare any straight girl or gay boy to look at Captain Kirk and not say, "Shit son. Break me off a piece of that."

James Cameron didn't win "Best Director"

Without a doubt, James Cameron is a visionary. Avatar was incredible eye candy, even if its story was essentially a retelling of Pochahontas. Nevertheless, we're glad that he didn't win this time around. Sorry, James.

Avatar didn't win "Best Picture"

See above.

Star Trek finally won an Oscar

When Star Trek was snubbed for Best Picture, fans and critics alike were left scratching their noggins in bewilderment. Despite this upset, we're still grateful that ST won something. After almost fifty years and eleven films, it was about time. Oh, and it's clear that Mindy Hall really loves the cast. Congratulations to the makeup team!

Oscars BZNZ

We all know that SRSBZNZ is here for the geek love, be it science fiction, fantasy, real science, or the gentlemen involved in the making of any of those things. But we are ladies, after all, and we love us some Oscar dresses. Instead of writing a real post today, we'd like to share with you some loveliness from our Skype chat during the Academy Awards this evening. This is probably the only post in which you will ever see us refer to ourselves in first person singular. We do love the Royal We, but for the sake of authenticity, we kept the "I" in our snippets.

Lacey: fun fact: cp is presenting the clip for district 9
Eva: yessssss
Eva: but where is zq
Lacey: i'm not sure! but both of them were invited to the oscar pre-party last night, so he should be somewhere. they should present it TOGETHER.
Eva: yes they should
Eva: and they should present dressed as kirk and spock
Eva: but with cp as spock and zq as kirk

Eva: basically the only nominated films i've seen are star trek and harry potter and the half-blood prince
Eva: HMM I WONDER WHERE MY INTERESTS LIE

When somebody won an award and thanked his wife:
Lacey: "i love you more than rainbows"
Lacey: shit, i want someone to say that to me
Eva: uhhhhh
Eva: i would be okay if no one ever said that to me
Eva: i love you like a fat kid loves cake ...
Eva: that i could get behind

When Chris Pine presented a clip of District 9:
Lacey: CHRIS PINE
Lacey: jesus, couldn't the camera have done a close up?
Lacey: i mean, srsly? the camera was like a football field away. WE WANT TO SEE TEH PRETTY

Lacey: HAHA my mom was just like, "how DARE they not zoom up on cp's face?"

When Ben Stiller presented the award for Best Makeup:
Eva: ben stiller gets the award for worst makeup
Lacey: STAR TREK WAS NOMINATED. yes, wear spock ears
Eva: spock ears > blue dude
Eva: i love how he's cursing james cameron
Lacey: plz let it be star trek
Lacey: YEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Eva: STAR TREK
Eva: WINZ
Eva: N00BS
Eva: I LOVE SPOCK
Lacey: CHRIS PINE
Lacey: GODDAMN IT'S LIKE WINNING GOLD AT THE OLYMPICS

When Charlize Theron was presenting ... something ... we were distracted, okay?
Eva: hahaha charlize and her cabbage boobs
Eva: it just looks like a lascivious young pair of cabbages is grabbing her from behind
Lacey: i know it's not related to sci-fi/fantasy, but...sentient cabbages? close enough

When The Cove won best documentary:
Lacey: somewhere hayden panettiere is celebrating.

Image from The Telegraph