Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park: the novel vs. the 1993 film
How Spielberg's film reshaped Michael Crichton's 1990 novel: a softer Hammond, reshuffled characters, cut set pieces and two very different endings.
Spoilers: full6 min read
Talk Nerdy to Me
Hi, I'm Andy. This is where I keep the stuff I love: Star Trek, Middle-earth, Jujutsu Kaisen, history, games and whatever else I'm geeking out on this week.
Latest posts
Fresh from every corner of the site.
Jurassic Park
The business lessons people draw from Jurassic Park
Why a dinosaur thriller keeps turning up in leadership talks: complex systems, overconfidence, insider risk, fragile safeguards and launch pressure.
Spoilers: light7 min read
Jurassic Park
How the 1993 film was made: animatronics, go-motion and the CGI leap
Stan Winston's robots, Phil Tippett's go-motion plans, ILM's early CG test, the Dinosaur Input Device, a baby elephant's roar and three Oscars.
Spoilers: none6 min read
Jurassic Park
The Lost World (1995): Crichton's only sequel
Why Michael Crichton wrote his only sequel, why Ian Malcolm takes the lead, what Site B is about and how the book differs from the 1997 film.
Spoilers: light6 min read
Michael Crichton
Where to start with Michael Crichton: a reading guide
Michael Crichton's books grouped by mood, from medical thrillers to Victorian heists, plus his pen names and three easy first picks.
Spoilers: none6 min read
Michael Crichton
The Andromeda Strain and the Crichton formula
How a 1969 novel about a deadly microbe set the template for Michael Crichton's career: expert teams, fragile systems and a just-the-facts voice.
Spoilers: light6 min read
Pick a corner
Every section has its own little home. Pick one and dig in.
Star Trek
Boldly rewatching everything.
Where to start, how the timeline fits together, the crews, the ships and the big ideas that make Trek more than lasers in space.
4 posts
Middle-earth
There and back again (and again).
The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and the adaptations: maps, languages, lore rabbit holes and second breakfasts.
4 posts
Jurassic Park
Dinosaurs, chaos theory and a very bad business plan.
Michael Crichton's novels Jurassic Park (1990) and The Lost World (1995), plus the original 1993 film: the science behind the story, what changed between page and screen, and how the dinosaurs were brought to life.
4 posts
Michael Crichton
Thrillers with footnotes.
The Andromeda Strain, Sphere, Timeline and plenty more: page-turners built on real research, plus Crichton's work on screen, from Westworld to ER.
4 posts
Jujutsu Kaisen
Anime and manga, spoiler-aware.
Fights, techniques, characters and theories from the anime and the manga. Every post wears a spoiler badge, so you can pick your own level of risk.
4 posts
History
True stories that beat fiction.
People, places and turning points worth falling down a reading hole about, with sources so you can fall in too.
4 posts
Games & Tabletop
Roll for initiative.
Classic PC strategy games, the college football games and Dungeons & Dragons: the history behind the games Andy has loved over the years.
6 posts
New here? Welcome aboard
Pick a rabbit hole
Start with whichever section made you smile. Every one is written for newcomers and long-time fans alike.
Check the spoiler badge
Each post says up front whether it has no spoilers, light ones or the full story, so nothing gets ruined by accident.
Follow the sources
Posts end with the books, episodes and articles behind them, so you can keep digging long after you finish reading.
Andy's picks
A few things Andy loves — more to come.
Movie
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
One of Andy's two favorite Star Trek films.
Movie
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
The other of Andy's two favorites.
Game
Master of Orion (the original)
A long-time favorite.
Game
Master of Orion 3
Another favorite in the series.
Game
SimCity and SimCity 2000
Classic city builders Andy loves.
Game
Transport Tycoon Deluxe
A favorite old computer game.
Game
Civilization II, III, IV and VI
A whole series of favorites.
Game
EA's college football games
Played them for years on PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360.
Tabletop
Dungeons & Dragons
Andy used to play and still enjoys it, even though it's been a long time since the last game.
Book
Jurassic Park (Michael Crichton, 1990)
Transformative for Andy growing up.
Movie
Jurassic Park (1993)
The original film, just as transformative as the book.