Happy Halloween … Boo!

Check out my first attempt at a video game-inspired jack-o’-lantern. Or else.

Weekend Reading

A handful of links that didn’t get their own posts.

Phoenix College book sale benefits scholarship fund

Pick up some new reading material at a good price, and for a good cause.

David Tennant is coming to America

Doctor Who star in a pilot for NBC.

Give ‘Stray Bullets’ a shot! For free!

Read the first four issues online.

No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani ain’t no ‘Honky Tonk’ girl

Activision provokes another lawsuit.

Comic-Con founder, Sheldon Dorf, passes away

Ubergeek was 76.

‘Star Trek Online’ star-dated: MMO launches in February

Atari launching its enterprise before fiscal year ends.

‘The Box’ offers sci-fi morality tale

Turns out Donnie Darko wasn’t a fluke.

Princess Zelda comes out of the dungeon in ‘Spirit Tracks’

Who needs rescuing?

D&Deal: 2 Player’s Handbooks for the price of 1

A holiday bundle to rule them all.

Japanese TV mascot invades 7-Eleven stores

Domo-kun!

Not bad for a vacation week …

Weekend Reading

A handful of links that didn’t get their own posts.

Netflix streaming announced for PlayStation 3

No longer Xbox-exclusive … with a catch.

Join the glorious Klingon Empire — or else

Qapla’!

A Very Browncoat Halloween

Firefly flashback in Nathan Fillion’s new series, Castle.

Is this how the zombie apocalypse begins?

Ground zero: Mexican restaurant in Idaho.

‘Resident Evil Zero’ rises again Dec. 1

GameCube title updated for Wii controls.

Nintendo DSi forced to grow up quickly

Bigger screen coming for older folks.

A scary good TF2 deal!

Were you quick enough?

‘Avatar’ trailer rammed down sports spectators’ throats

James Cameron’s magnum opus teased in Sunday football.

Next ‘Doctor Who’ special arrives in time for Christmas

‘Waters of Mars’ to air in U.S. on Dec. 19.

Who’s definitely not coming back for ‘The Hobbit’

John Rhys-Davies just can’t face it.

Microsoft retail coverage: Windows into media’s Apple bias?

What’s with the snark, NPR?

Weekend Reading

A handful of links that didn’t get posts of their own.

Is the time of making movies Down Under over?

Green Lantern production leaving Australia.

Alltel’s Chadvertising falls in Verizon’s revenge of the nerds

The Circle is now complete.

Sneak peek at ‘Doctor Who’ RPG

Sample pages and a character sheet (PDF).

Get into the Arizona Science Center for free this weekend

Fry’s Food Stores sponsors free admission. But watch out for Supernanny!

12th ‘Wheel of Time’ book out Oct. 27; author visits Nov. 16

Brian Sanderson steps in to finish the late Robert Jordan’s epic.

Bradbury’s biographer to speak Friday at Changing Hands

(Event has already happened by the time you read this.)

Cor blimey, don’t you Brits keep ANYTHING?

Monty Python tapes were nearly erased in the 1970s.

Kindle unbound: Amazon announces PC e-reader software

Look for “Kindle for PC” in November.

Nintendo gives Wii Internet Channel buyers a refund

They’re very, very sorry you had to pay for it.

Here’s a look back at the week in Nerdvana:

Weekend Reading

A handful of links that didn’t get posts of their own.

Troubled ‘Stargate’ game shows up on Syfy series premiere

The game’s Mesa-based developer touts its cameo amid financial woes.

Archives: Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF makes Halloween sweeter

Send away for a collection box or print up your own.

DC’s ‘Blackest Night’ resurrects deceased titles

Comic book heroes and villians aren’t the only thing rising from the grave in this epic storyline.

Monument to gaming god Gygax planned in Wisconsin

D&D co-creator’s widow raising funds for park memorial.

The real reason behind the Large Hadron Collider’s woes?

The future may be trying to tell us something …

Local conventions update: Horror & Sci-Fi Film Festival

Flicks and fun this weekend in Tempe.

Unless you’re reading this via RSS, you probably noticed I changed the graphic banner at the top of the page. It’s not that I don’t love the logo that Nerdvana co-founder Scott Kirchhofer designed a couple years back — I just wanted to take full advantage of the width that has since opened up to us, and as I’ve been designing new nameplates for most of the other Tribune blogs I wanted to introduce more visual consistency.

The original logo — reproduced above — may yet pull a Coca-Cola Classic and return, at least in some hybrid form. In the meantime, I’m curious to hear what you think!

And now, the week’s news:

Local conventions update: LepreCon this weekend

It’s just a “relaxacon” due to a busy year.

Valley losing at least six Game Crazy stores

Don’t get your hopes up for screaming deals.

Weekend Reading

A handful of links that didn’t merit posts of their own.

You can breathe easy: No Darth Vader porn — for now

David Prowse is having a rough couple of weeks.

PS3 owners sue Sony over crippling firmware update

You mean it wasn’t supposed to do that?

New ‘Doctor Who’ logo revealed

Copycats.

Warning: ‘Paranormal Activity’ is spreading

Because YOU demanded it!

DC Comics going Hollywood?

Makes sense … but is it a good idea?

Nobel Prize in physics comes down to Earth

No, President Obama didn’t invent the Internet. For the time being.

Who ya gonna call? Dungeon Masters!

Talk about a ring of wisdom.

More proof that Comic-Con is out of control

Some passes for the summer event are already sold out!

The Force is with the practical jokers at ThinkGeek

The Tauntaun sleeping bag will go on sale next month.

Amazon cuts Kindle price, goes global (not so fast, Canada …)

What gives, eh?

America’s newest sex symbol: Marge Simpson?

Oh, Homie!

Been busy? Here’s a bite-sized serving of the week’s Nerdvana:

From the ARRR-chives: It’s Talk Like a Pirate Day!

It’s a pirate’s life for me, at least one day a year.

Weekend Reading

Half a dozen links that caught my eye but didn’t get their own post here.

Anthony Daniels’ favorite tracks from ‘Star Wars’ score

More from my interview with the actor; there’s even more to come!

Google aliens return!

They’re heeeeeere.

Poke censorship in the eye with free ‘Clockwork’ screening

Bookmans celebrates free expression by hosting a showing of the controversial cult classic.

Comic-book artist’s estate moves to reclaim rights

Not so fast, comic-book-movie makers!

Wii $50 price cut imminent? UPDATED! Confirmed!

Nintendo lowers the price of its popular gaming console for the first time since it debuted in 2006.

Deadpool the Atomic kitten radiates nothing but cuteness

Comic book store plays hero to a little lost feline.

Anthony Daniels on being the voice of ‘Star Wars’ saga

Yes, I AM milking this one for all it’s worth. Thanks for noticing!

Nintendo went crazy with the price cuts this week

But wait — there’s more!

‘Buffy’ to keep on slaying in comic-book form

Joss Whedon announces “season nine.”

Been busy? Here’s a bite-sized serving of the week’s Nerdvana:

D23 Expo: Star Tours II, Fantasyland expansion

Disney’s first fan convention brought us big news about long-awaited updates to its parks.

Weekend Reading

Half a dozen links that caught my eye but didn’t get their own post here.

Campbell gains screentime in ‘Spider-Man 4′

Because it just wouldn’t be the same without him. Hail to the king, baby!

Worldwide D&D Game Day is back (again)

Going on today at your Friendly Local Gaming Store (FLGS).

Those meddling kids of Mystery Inc. ‘Doo’ it again

Jinkies! Cartoon Network’s live-action ‘Scooby’ prequel isn’t half bad.

Free comic books! Sorta.

Marvel is nows posting complete digital version of five comics on their website each week.

‘Star Wars’ scoop: Anthony Daniels on board for ‘Star Tours II’

C-3PO himself confirms his involvement in the attraction’s makeover.

Members of Fall Out Boy go Atomic to promote new comic

The band will be at the Chandler Fashion Center Atomic Comics store from 3-4 p.m. today.

Jones-ing for some D&D? Try Spellcasting Soda

Because slaying dragons is thirsty work.

Anthony Daniels leads a musical tour of the ‘Star Wars’ galaxy

More from my interview with the actor; there’s even more to come! (Yes, I AM milking this one for all it’s worth.)

WizKids back in business

HeroClix, Mage Knight, Pirates brands live again.

Thank God! American audiences safe from Darwin movie

‘Creation’ just too controversial for U.S. distributors.

Knockoff virtual erotic devices on ‘Second Life’ bring lawsuit

Erotic … and confusing.

Nerdcore in the house!

The excellent musical documentary “Nerdcore Rising” about the increase in popularity of so-called nerdcore hip-hop came out on DVD this week.

• Weekend Reading
• ‘Wizard of Oz’ goes HD for 70th anniversary
• Live-action ‘Star Wars’ TV series not so far, far away?
• Neil Gaiman’s personal book heaven
• From the Archives: A Labor Day NerdWord
• Huge team-up for tiny hero?
• 9/9/09: The end of the iPod?
• ‘Gnar Wars’
• Tim Gunn, you look Marvel-ous
• Today there is peace in Middle-earth
• ‘Mr. Bean’ creator to pen ‘Doctor Who’ episode
• Blockbuster Beatlemania: ‘Rock Band’ release party
• Does the ‘P’ in ‘PAX’ stand for plague?
• Clark Kent’s got something on his chest in ‘Smallville’
• They’re coming to induct you, Barbara!
• Disney D23 Expo: Say hello to CactusCarl!
• Apple upgrades Nano, cuts many iPod prices
• Nic Cage out of Seth Rogen’s ‘Green Hornet’
• Another shake-up in the comic industry
• LucasArts unveils 2D adventure puzzler ‘Lucidity’ (UPDATED)
• BIG Disney news from D23 Expo: ‘Pirates 4′ in 2011 with Depp
• Tech Bytes

• ‘Dollhouse’ adds another star from the Whedon-verse
• Weekend Reading
• In Blackest Night, no marketing opportunity shall escape my sight!
• Marvel and the Mouse
• Is Mesa company’s ‘Stargate’ game back on track?
• Nintendo tweaks some stuff, says ‘What console war?’
• Now you can hail a cab with just a text message
• A ‘Kick-Ass’ start to next summer’s movie season
• Favreau saddles up with Downey for ‘Cowboys & Aliens’
• The fall of Syfy ‘original’ movies
• And I thought they smelled bad…on the outside!
• ‘Green Hornet’ finally takes flight
• Phoenix Comicon guest Number One (UPDATED)
• Super sale through Labor Day at Atomic Comics
• Orwell rights resolved, Amazon tries to smooth ruffled feathers