The end is almost upon us, the second half of this season’s Doctor Who is almost here! We’re four days out from the second half of Season 7, having last seen the Eleventh Doctor off to find the connection between the Clara Oswin Oswalds, traveling across time in search of another Clara. So until Saturday rolls around we thought it would be nice to share some of our favourite Doctor Who fan art from around the internet. You can thank us once Saturday finally gets here.

Above: Minimalist art is cool, but minimalist Doctor Who poster art by Michael Parsons is always cool. Carefully picking what to do Michael puts together sweet fan-made posters for everyone to enjoy. Check out his Society6 shop.

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Are you ready for some Real Steel? Sorry, force of habit. What I meant to say was are you ready for the metal on metal action of the Robot Combat League?

The new series from SyFy, hosted by WWE superstar Chris Jericho, pite twelve teams of two against each other in a series of robotic match-ups. And though it doesn’t officially hit the airwaves till next Tuesday, that hasn’t stopped the network from releasing the Robot Combat League‘s first episode, “Rise of the Machines,” one week early and getting fans interested in some oil-spilling fist fights. Even if it isn’t quite like the Hollywood film and Hugh Jackman is nowhere to be seen, the series is actually pretty good and shows off more then just an hour of brawling robots.

Check out the official episode summary and the entire episode, commercial free, after the jump.

Each week Robot Combat League, hosted by Chris Jericho, the wildly popular WWE superstar, features tournament-style battles between eight-foot tall humanoid robots controlled by a human fighter (“robo-jockey”) and an engineer (“robo-tech”). The robots were designed and created by robotics expert, Mark Setrakian (Hellboy, Men in Black), a leader in the sport of robotic combat.

In the premiere episode of Robot Combat League, the contestants are paired into 12 teams, comprised of a robo-jockey and a robo-tech. Each team is then introduced to its own unique robot, which they will control using a high-tech exo-suit that translates their exact movements to their robot. The contestants take control of the robots for the first time in a timed challenge to earn their rankings for the fight tournament. The top-ranked team and the bottom-ranked team then fight for their life in three rounds of non-stop mechanical carnage.

Did you get all that? Good. Now on with the show!

I’m impressed with how all this was pulled off. Using an endoskeleton rig and secondary controller was way different then how I thought the contestants would be controlling their machines. Most people were thinking Robot Wars and what we’re getting is a grown up version of Rock ‘em, Sock ‘em Robots mixed with a bit of the paired fighting people are going to see in Pacific Rim - minus the giant monsters and syncing of brain functions, of course. This looks to be quite the show and something unique for those looking to step away from all the stuff they’re usually attached to.

The first episode of Robot Combat League premieres Tuesday, February 26 at 10 p.m. EST on Syfy and is available on Syfy.com, Hulu.com, XBox 360, Roku and VOD.

Source: Blastr

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Every day the internet produces an astounding amount of goodies and gems. Most hilarious, some amusing, but all worth at least a few seconds of your time. We here at Nerd Bastards try to bring you the best bits of news and nerdery the webz has to offer, with a bit of snark thrown in. But sometimes not everything makes the cut. Monday through Friday we’ll be bringing you our inbox leftovers, our forgotten bookmarks, the nerdy bits that simply slipped through the cracks. You can submit items to Nerdy Bits by emailing us at nerdybits@nerdbastards.com

ABOVE: Cosplayer Dayna Baby Lou pulls off a stunningly accurate cosplay of New 52, and Batman: Animated Series Catwoman. [GAS]

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We’ve all watched a show, or movie and seen a prop that made us think ”Man, I wish I could have that.” In the case of die-hard fans, however,  they’ll spends hours, weeks, or years crafting their own replica. Their efforts build an even stronger connection to that piece of movie memorabilia they hold so dear.

Some people turn this love – and what many would call an obsession-  into a full-time hobby. Often leading them into a career with special effects. One individual,who has done that exceedingly well, is Adam Savage – full-time special effects designer/fabricator and co-host of Mythbusters.

At last year’s XOXO Festival, an arts and technology conference held in Portland, Oregon, Adam shared his knowledge and love for the world of replica movie props and the connection it has to modern society.

Giving highlights to sites like The Replica Prop Builders Forum and his own experiences, this short twenty-minute presentation also revealed some techniques on how to start projects or future businesses of your very own. Watch the video below for the entire presentation.

If you’re interested in more stories from Adam, be sure to listen to his appearance in the Nerdist Podcast from back in 2010. He talks more about building his own movie replicas, including the Blade Runner Deckard gun. He also answers questions on prop builds from the audience. He even does stand up comedy (hilarious, but NSFW)!

Source: Geek Tyrant

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While the flux-capacitor hasn’t been perfected, and we can’t help you fix any past holiday humbuggery, maybe we can help you get this holiday season off to a good start.

For the next 12 days (Dec 1st-12th), the staff of Nerd Bastards will be listing a few of their favorite nerdy things. Gadgets, doohickeys, thingamabobs and more – all sorts of  items that have been Nerd tested and Bastard approved. Basically, stuff you want, things you need, and everything you can’t have.

We hope you’ll  find some unique and nerdtastic gifts among our selections, and that they make their way under your tree, Menorah or Kwanzaa bush.

Hit the jump for Nick Bungay’s list of Nerdful things. Check back tomorrow for Matthew Jackson‘s list. To see archive of this feature, click HERE.

1. Ultimate Kate or Die #1 by Kate Leth

Tattoos, relationships, lesbians and guinea pigs. What does all of this have to do with comics? Everything, that’s what. This collection of comic strips from Nova Scotia artist Kate Leth is on sale now for a steal at $5 a pop, and it’s well worth the price. Featuring strips on everything from cosplay and tattoo etiquette, to the secret relationship between Spider-Man and Deadpool, it’s 32 pages of fun wrapped up in one neat, shelf fitting package. Although, if you live in the Halifax area, just go over to Strange Adventures Comix & Curiosities, they’re always holding a few issues just in case and you might even meet Kate.

MOAR AFTER THE JUMP
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Each and every week we scour the Internet for nothing but the best in nerdy art. We leave no digital stone unturned, we poke and prod every nook and cranny of the Interwebz. Why? Because we love you, and we love to bring you weekly feed of nerd art. On with the dump!

He’s a cybernetic organism. Living tissue over a metal endoskeleton -and now that the Empire has brought him back with the powers of a Sith Lord we are so screwed everyone. Artist Robert Shane originally only intended to draw the Cyberdyne System model 101, but after letting the hate flow put together a “force” to be reckoned with. [Deviant Art]

Hit the jump for the art of Bruce Timm, Minecraft and MOAR.
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While the flux-capacitor hasn’t been perfected, and we can’t help you fix any past holiday humbuggery, maybe we can help you get this holiday season off to a good start.

For the next 12 days (Dec 1st-12th), the staff of Nerd Bastards will be listing a few of their favorite nerdy things. Gadgets, doohickeys, thingamabobs and more – all sorts of  items that have been Nerd tested and Bastard approved.  Basically,  stuff you want, things you need, and everything you can’t have.

We hope you’ll  find some unique and nerdtastic gifts among our selections, and that they make their way under your tree, Menorah or Kwanzaa bush.

Hit the jump for Luke Gallagher’s list of Nerdful things. Check back tomorrow for Adam Donaldson’s list. To see archive of this feature, click HERE.

Keep your desk tidy and pristine by sticking all your junk into the Deadpool pencil holder. Non hardcore fans might not want to see Deadpool in this state. It is part of Gentle Giant’s line of Marvel desk accessories and it comes with two shuriken-shaped erasers and a soft plastic arrow fletching for a pencil cap.  Price: $88.99 [Entertainment Earth]

MORE AFTER THE JUMP

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As a writer for this site you might think that I’ve shared in most of the experiences that the other Nerd Bastards crew have taken part in, but that would be a misconception. There are a few things I’ve personally never been a part of and one of them is going to a convention. So, this past weekend I took part in the third year of Hal-Con, the largest science fiction convention of its kind in Atlantic Canada.

The event, as I’ve said, is only in its third consecutive year. Having begun back in October of 2010 with an attendance of 1500 people, it quickly expanded to an astounding 4000 visitors the following year. The event has a few staple shows that have since become fan favorites of the young convention, but those I’ll touch on later. For now hit the jump and I’ll give you the story of one nerd’s first convention at this year’s three day event.

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Originally attended by 300 people, San Diego Comic-Con has become the Mecca for all things geeky, nerdy and exclusive since 1970, when it was known as “Golden State Comic-Minicon”. For the last few years however, fans have been worried about the con’s possible move to Las Vegas, Los Angeles or Anaheim.  But announcement from San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders now confirms that Comic-Con International has extended its stay in San Diego through 2016!

That’s right people, Comic-Con is staying home – for a few more years at least. Thanks to a $520 million expansion of the convention center, fans will have many more years of waiting in line for hours to see their favorite stars sign their hundred-dollar replicas. And with Comic-Con 2013 scheduled to run from July 18 to 21st, many people have already started the countdown to next year.

Comic-Con spokesman David Glanzer issued a statement over the extension of the event into 2016 saying,

“We really didn’t take the expansion into consideration in making our decision. If by next year and the following year, we have such an influx of people that the added space we use doesn’t work and there’s no expansion, then it could be an issue.”

Honestly, San Diego is the home of Comic-Con; it’s why “San Diego” is in the name in the first place and moving the event anywhere else would spoil it.

Thanks to 130,000 unique visitors per year the event should forever stay in the city, bringing with it the estimated $68 million in spending for hotels, dining, transportation and other related items, i.e. collectibles and Robert Downey Jr. As long as San Diego can keep 130,000 nerds or more entertained for four days a year I say “Let them stay for as long as they damn well please.”

Geek Tyrant

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Every day the internet produces an astounding amount of goodies and gems. Most hilarious, some amusing, but all worth at least a few seconds of your time. We here at Nerd Bastards try to bring you the best bits of news and nerdery the webz has to offer, with a bit of snark thrown in. But sometimes not everything makes the cut. Monday through Friday we’ll be bringing you our inbox leftovers, our forgotten bookmarks, the nerdy bits that simply slipped through the cracks. You can submit items to Nerdy Bits by emailing us at nerdybits@nerdbastards.com.

Above: What’s better than Batman? Batman made out of beer cans, of course! Japanese artist Macaon drank a whole lot of beer and soda to create this awesome caped crusader. Head on over to Geekologie to see more, including Darth Vadar & Super Mario.

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