Geek culture

Mark your calendars, Facebook masses. November 17 is National Unfriend Day, as declared by late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. "Friendship is a sacred thing, and I believe Facebook is cheapening it," he says. "I go on this Facebook and I see people with thousands of what they call friends, which is impossible--you can't have a thousand friends."

So Kimmel suggests examining your list of Facebook friends and only keeping the real friends (you know, as in people who've actually breathed the same air as you).

Good idea, Mr. Kimmel. According to Robin Dunbar, a professor of anthropology at Oxford University, our brains can't keep up with more than 150 friends anyhow. So, why not? Go ahead and use National Unfriend Day as an excuse to "clean up" your friends list guilt-free.

But before you go on an unfriending rampage, consider the following advice:

1. Keep watch on your frenemies. These days, it seems like the immediate response to being insulted or betrayed is, "OMG I'm going to delete them from Facebook." But don't forget this saying: Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. If life is a battlefield, then for some, Facebook is the front line. Take advantage of it. You don't have to interact with your enemies (er, frenemies?), but you can use the News Feed to keep tabs on them.

2. Value their information. Facebook isn't only about maintaining friendships. Consider other ways in which your potential unfriendees interact with Facebook. Do they post interesting or helpful links? Are they an expert in a field that's relevant to your work? Remember that most people have something valuable to offer, so consider a person's knowledge, skill set, and connections before unfriending.

3. Consider privacy settings. If you're inclined to unfriend someone to protect your privacy, there are other ways to hide your information without deleting someone. You can choose to hide your wall, photos, status updates, or other content from just a few people--or entire groups of people. Also very useful is the ability to control specific posts. Check out this Facebook privacy guide for a clear explanation. Thank you, Facebook. … Read more

Those looking forward to the Michael Jackson Experience, raise your hand. Now put a rhinestone-bedazzled glove on it.

Ubisoft says it's giving those who preorder the game--it launches for the Wii, PSP, and DS on November 23 and other platforms later--a holiday gift. Yep, it's a glove just like the one Jacko was famous for wearing the night he introduced the world to the Moonwalk.

It's a free extra for those who preorder the Wii version only, and the company isn't raising the cost of the Wii version to make up for it. The price will … Read more

The Halloween trend for women, it seems, has been to get sexier and more revealing every year. I'd be lying if I said I think that's a bad thing, but there's a problem. Some things should never, ever be made sexy--like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Optimus Prime, or Ghostbusters.

The problem is that not everyone agrees. So there is a Sexy Ghostbuster costume. And a sexy Iron Man getup. And a sexy Optimus Prime outfit.

Unless your Internet connection lives under a rock, you've probably seen the sexy Chewbacca costume that made the rounds a couple of weeks ago. It's disturbing, but just the tip of the sexy-costume-trend iceberg.

I've done some digging at a wonderfully insane Web site called Buy Costumes and have hereby compiled a list of the 10 worst "sexy" costumes that would enrage, entice, or just plain confuse any self-aware geek. Starting with:

10. Sexy Ghostbuster It would be easy to start this one out with a "who you gonna call?" joke, but that would validate that this costume has anything to do with the awesomeness that is "Ghostbusters" aside from a logo. I simply will not do that. The Sexy Ghostbuster costume contains a revealing dress, Ghostbusters-logo hat, and a fake Proton Pack. Because a real Proton Pack would be cost-prohibitive.

9. Sexy Tin Man from "Wizard of Oz" I'm so confused here. The Tin Man is called the Tin Man, with "man" as part of his name. But they're calling this the Tin Woman. Whatever, the Tin Man showed no skin. Know why not? Because he had no skin, he was made of tin. That's why his name wasn't the Skin Man.

8. Ms. Kruger, aka Sexy Freddie I get the idea here: You're a girl who needs to make a splash (slash?) at a Halloween party. You want to be scary and sexy at the same time. Combining the "Nightmare on Elm Street" villain with a short, ripped dress seems like a no-brainer, but I'm lost on this one. Maybe I'm a delicate guy, but the clawed hand isn't one I'd want to hold while bobbing for apples. Or any time. … Read more

My friend has tickets to a sneak preview of "Tron: Legacy" on IMAX 3D tonight. I have rarely been so jealous. There's not a single movie I've been this excited about since "Crank 2: High Voltage" hit last year. I'm just insane about "Tron."

And I guess I'm almost insane enough (but not quite) to love this 6x10-foot Tron-themed wall mural that goes on like wallpaper. It's not the kind of thing that would look good at my place (Sam Flynn wouldn't work next to Miss June), but … Read more