Diary of a Network Geek

I’ve mentioned Open Culture before, but they’re a great resource.

This week, I’m thinking about movies. Dark movies with rough “heroes” that smoke too much and chase after femme fatales in stories that have grim endings. Yes, I’m talking about “film noir”. The best kind of old movies, in my opinion. The peak of the film noir movement was in the 1940’s and 50’s, but there are certainly examples of great film noir that reach well into the 60’s and even more modern times. I think I identify with the hard-luck heroes from these movies, who are worn down by life and are always scrambling for enough money to get by. That’s why I was thrilled to see that Open Culture has a collection of 60 free film noir movies that I could share with my faithful readers.
There are some I know and some I don’t know there, but there’s also the classic D.O.A. and He Walked By Night, which are well known to fans of the genre. Even if you don’t recognize all the films there will be plenty of stars who you WILL recognize, and there are a lot of movies here to check out.

Besides, they’re free and it’s Friday, so take a look and feel free to leave comments about your favorites!

This post originally appeared on Use Your Words.

A “mecha” or “mech” is a high-tech, man-shaped killer robot suit, popular in science-fiction.

In fact, you may be more familiar with them as “robot armor” or “robot tanks” even, depending on your particular flavor of sci-fi.  For those of us who are, or have been, hardcore Japanese animation junkies, however, they will always be mecha.  And, believe you me, many of the faithful fanboys have dreamed of owning a mecha like this and doing battle with giant, alien invaders just like in [amazon_link id=”B0000639E0″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Neon Genisis Evangelon[/amazon_link] or [amazon_link id=”B005DTGAQQ” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Robotech[/amazon_link].  The problem is, of course, no one actually makes these giant battle suits.  Until now….

Now, thanks to the ultra-hard-core Japanese otaku group Suidobashi Heavy Industry, you, too can buy your very own mehca!  (For the low price of $1.3 million.)
So, start saving those nickels, dimes and quarters now!  (And start placing bets on how long before these actually find their way into real combat somewhere!!)

Well, okay, it might be out of my price range, but, it’s Friday, right?  Who can hold a sweet, Friday day-dream against me?
(Seriously, though, check that link, the video there is pretty awesome!)