Ren and Stimpy: That weird episode I always talk about...

Ren and Stimpy: That weird episode I always talk about...

 It is an episode about the pair going into a haunted house and confronting a ghost. The ending is one of the most strangest, random things I've ever seen.

Yes, they give the ghost a drink of poison and he dies. His body fades and he comes back as naked fat black man. Naked man then gets into a car and drives off with their car. WTF? So, most ghost will turn into naked black men when poisoned?

The other thing worth noting is the bloody head fairy scene was cut of certain rebroadcasts of this episode, which seems strange because it wasn't all that bad. Who thinks of a Bloody Head Fairy?

This episode was also a rejected Tiny Toons episode that was never fully animated. You can check out the storyboards here. They added the naked black man. 

Escape Plan trailer

Escape Plan trailer

Yep, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger team up again for another movie. Maybe 15 years ago, I would have been giddy to see this team up of Stallone and Schwarzenegger. I remember all the boys talking about who was better between the two characters. Their standalone movies, The Last Stand and Bullet to the Head, bombed servery.

The movie doesn't look that interesting and a throwback to 90s. It seems to be a run by the numbers type of action movie but with two former action stars. 

Ghost Pepper: A brother tries three ghost pepper

Ghost Pepper: A brother tries three ghost pepper

Just watch what happens...

I love how the damn pepper makes him act silly.  

Note to self, never eat anything with the name “Ghost” in the title. Nothing good can come from eating anything with the name ghost. Yes, the Ghost Peppers are extremely hot. They go by the name Naga Bhut Jolokia and they come from India. They were the hottest pepper in the world, and they are 400 times more intense than Tabasco sauce. I really can't handle Tabasco.

Did I mention they use this pepper in pepper sprays? Yes, this pepper is used as a weapon against people and animals.

BTW, This woman can eat a bunch of them.

Random Stuff

Random Stuff

 ~Paula Dean: I never knew who this woman was before the scandal, and I still don't care about her. Is she the racist version of Chef Emeril Lagasse? She isn't really cute as Rachael Ray or as fun as Lagasse, so I ignored her. She said some stupid things, but do some of the companies that are dropping her really care? She apologized, so I don't like the jumping on her too.  I see her as an old fart set in her ways and less of a total racist.  I've worked with bigots, and she's not even close. 

~Paula:  What is the deal with people named Paula.  Paula Poundston, Paula Dean, Paula (straight up) Abdul, they're all screwed up to varying degrees.  

~Fifty Shades of Grey receives a movie...next year: This book started out a terrible fan fiction and now it has become a major book and movie deal. Are we all out of ideas, and we're plucking from the dark realms of fan fiction? From what I read about the book, it is super hardcore porn in a reading form. Aren't women supposed to be disgusted with these types of sexual acts? I actually remember seeing a woman carrying around one of these books while at work. Isn't that like me carrying around My Baby Got Back 47? And, how are they going to film this type of movie in a PG13 or R form? And, I am not a guy that denies someone their porn.

~Rain and more rain: There seems to be a lot of rain here in the city. It rain a lot yesterday and there was a quick storm today. I hope the storms are short tomorrow. I feel like singing that "rains" Game of Thrones song.  

~Man of Steel review part 3 will be out sometime this weekend. 

~Rihanna vs. Liz Jones: I hate to say this, but I side with Rihanna on this one. There is generally an air of hostility between older and younger women that I've witnessed a lot over the years.  The older woman will always snipe at the younger one every chance she gets. 

Jones wrote that Rihanna promotes rape in her on-stage outfits. Sorry, Liz, that's a cheap shot, and no one really should use that argument outside the knuckle-headed religious types. So, Rih shot back with one of the worst pictures ever present of Liz Jones. To be fair, Jones was probably having a bad week in that photo. I've seen myself look that way many times. 

But, it is a bad picture...ouch. 

Fat guys in wife beaters, please stop.

Public Service Announcement:  Fat guys in wife beaters, please stop. 

 I am tired of seeing overweight guys wearing the sleeveless shirts everywhere. Yes, I know it's hot, but no one wants to see your side-boob. You're not a chick. Women can pull off the look, fat guys can't. And, this is coming from a big guy and you will never see me wear one outside the house.  You also have to love that the term for the shirt type is connected to domestic abuse.  That there are some many cases of people wearing these sleeve-less shirts that have during a domestic case that it is given the same nickname.  Strange... 

There is nothing hot about this mess.

This is the male version of a muffin top on women. Not all of us should wear them.  And, never has a shirt had so much range as a wife beater.  Rednecks, d-bags, blue collar guys, and homeboys wear these things. 

Is this the total denial of guys thinking they're hot shit regardless of their weight or height? 

So, fat guys, put on some bloody sleeves. 

Ellen Page vs. Naughty Dog?

Ellen Page vs. Naughty Dog?

I remember reading a post on Reddit about casting her as the female character if they ever make a movie on the game. The resemblance is there, but this look seems to be the popular today. To be fair to Naughty Dog, animated companies not only ripped off the likeness but entire acts from comedians when they animated shows and movies. Naughty Dog just took a likeness from Page, but I believe they had her in mind.

MC brought this up with Bioshock Infinite with the character of Elizabeth in the promo stuff.  I believe the character of Elizabeth went through extensive changes before the release that they completely changed the look.  

Page wasn't too pleased with the likeness.

From Video Gamer.com, (("I guess I should be flattered that they ripped off my likeness," said Page, "but I am actually acting in a video game called Beyond: Two Souls, so it was not appreciated." ))

And, yeah you can see the likeness in the promotional materiel.

If you remember, Lady Miss Kier from Dee-Lite sued Sega for using her likeness in the game series Space Channel 5. She claimed they asked to use her likeness, but she refused. They used it anyway. She ended up losing the lawsuit and the court forced her to pay the legal fee for Sega somewhere around 600,000. Ouch. So, I am guessing Page won't be suing Naught Dog anytime soon.

By the way, does Ellen Page even age?

Man of Steel Part (2 of 3)

Man of Steel Part (2 of 3)

Despite some of the pacing issues I have with the story, the casting for this movie is brilliant with a few cast members being under-used. Here are a few notable people.

Henry Cavill as Superman: Surprisingly, Cavill did an outstanding job being the main man in the cape. He’s not as boy scout-ish as Christopher Reeve or soft spoken as Brandon Routh. There is a bit of an edge to his portrayal. I liked his performance for the most part because it is also understated.

Amy Adams: Other than the animated version of Lois Lane, this is probably the strongest version of her yet. Again, Adams seems to be an edgier version of Kate Bosworth’s Lois. Lois is a smart and snappy, but not mean like (78) version.

Michael Shannon as Zod: Kneel before Zod! Shannon is convincing as the bad guy. While nothing can compare to Terence Stamp’s version of Zod, Shannon’s Zod actually has a reason for doing what he does, even if it means the total destruction of Earth. Shannon does give a sharp performance as that iconic villain.

Russell Crowe as Jor-El: Two Words: Total Badass. Yes, Jor-El does more than actually talk, he totally kicks ass as Superman’s real father. Crowe has a much bigger role than I even predicted. Jor-El has an interesting character arc that I won’t spoil for you. But, Crowe is different but similar take on Jor-El. I loved watching him on screen.

Antje Traue as Faora-Ul: Again, she surprisingly steals the show as Zod’s main henchman. She is more or less a remake of Ursa. She holds her own against Superman.

Kevin Costner: He does okay as Mr. Kent, but there’s not that much screen time for him. I am sure there is another cut out there with more of Costner playing Clark’s Earth father. I didn't hate his performance, but I got a little annoyed with his message. “You were put on this planet for a reason,” speech. He kept saying in each flashback.

Special Effects

For the most part, all the special effects are amazing. Weta Digital did a great deal of the the effects for the movie. I find it strange that ILM wasn't involved in the effects. The third act with all the shots are truly an outstanding feat.

"Clark, have you ever been to the Matrix?"  

You're going to jail now...

You're going to jail now...

Well, this is embarrassment. I have to say that the cops showed a lot patience. She basically follwed every bad stereotype for a black woman.

1 Being Loud

2 Staying on the cell phone

3 Acting entitled

 They gave her every chance to leave the plane without being arrested, but she still acted “ratchet”. Though it looked like the butch police officer wanted to lock up while the dude cop wanted to escort her off the plane.

She refused to get off her cell phone when the US Airways people told her to put it away.

From the Huffington Post, ((allegedly refused several orders from the flight crew to stop talking on her cell phone on Sunday. The pilot was reportedly forced to return the plane to the gate ))

They gave her a chance to leave, but she acted like a complete fool in front of her child.

This doesn't make her worst than the Donuts Lady, because she didn't intend for the film to get out. But, this video makes me want to hide in embarrassment. Sometimes, we, black people, need to step aside and not fight every fight, let the cops escort us off the plane and get another flight. Your son should have to see you act "ratchet" and then get arrested.  

Man of Steel (Part 1 of 3)

Man of Steel (Part 1 of 3)

 Superman is back and this time with a more action packed story. It is part Batman Begins, Superman The Movie, and Superman II. The action is certainly important to the movie, but there are some nice tender moments thrown in for good measure. Even with a somewhat weak second act, the movie is still entertaining. It is big, especially in the third act, but it isn’t a mess like most of Bay’s recent movies. You get the idea where everything is located. Man of Steel should satisfy the action fans and some of the comic fans with its more modern (New 52) take on the mythology.

The movie is clearly a departure from the Donner-based Superman movie series (though there are subtle references to those movies such as the flyby in space). Where as Superman Returns was directly tied to the first two movies, this one is a complete reboot. Things turn out differently such as his origin story. However, like Star Trek Into Darkness, this is retelling of Superman I & II with more focus on part II.

Credit should be given to director Zack Snyder for not letting his extreme style to take over the movie. While I loved Watchmen, his slow motion some times seemed jarring to the material. Here, he restrains himself in order to director a good movie. It certainly has a Christopher Nolan feel to it, and that is because he was a writer and producer on the film. His influence is felt in the material, and that’s a good thing. This movie could easily fit into the Nolan Batman films. Nolan's narrative style is all over this movie.

Instead of a straight narrative, Snyder and Nolan use flashbacks to the current story in the same manner as Lost. A portion of the present story would be told and then they would flashback to Clark’s time in Smallville. While I would have enjoyed seeing the movie in a straight narrative, this is a newer style of film-making and it works. And, remember Batman Begins was structured in a similar manner. It is a more time saving way of telling a story. I still like this form of storytelling, but I was more use to the Donner style.

Hans Zimmer does a pretty good job with the score. The action cues are great. It is a departure from Williams’ wonderfully brilliant score from the first movie, but this new score is different from his Batman scores too. The simple few notes for the hero theme are a nice touch, but it doesn’t have the sweeping sounds of Williams’ score, and that’s fine. He takes the hero theme and twists it into different versions like his Gladiator score. I enjoyed the score for its action cues, but it lacks the emotional tones in the character scenes like Batman movies.

I also believe Zimmer is paying tribute to Goldsmith’s use of the blaster beam from Star Trek: The Motion Picture. There moments during the score with these low bass guitar riffs that sound just like TMP’s blaster beam. It is nice addition to the score and makes it stand out from the rest.

End of Part 1

 Clark:  "Thank goodness it was a short bus...wait.  Why was I riding on a short bus?"

____________________________________________________________________

 This is one of the shots clearly referencing the flyby from all four old Superman movies.

________________________________________________________________________

 Superman got caught uploading songs to Megaupload.  You can do many things, but you can't fight the RIAA. 

_______________________________________________________

 "Lois Lane, you're very...hot."

Bicycle Stolen (Part 2 of 2)

So, here I was standing there dumbfounded, but not too surprised. Since I am a glass half empty guy, I always expect the worst outcomes in life. So, I wasn't that shocked. I was more angry than shocked. I put a lot of time into the bike.

I went back inside and notified the security guard. The other security guard I talked to before I went outside came back and he was shocked. “Really? Crap.” We went outside and checked where my bike was. He called the university police. I had to wait for University PD to show up.

Now, the first thing to come to my mind was this: That's a long walk from U of L to River Front Park. On bicycle, it takes about 20-30 minutes.

So, the police officer showed up to the library. Keep in mind that I've never had to file a police report before. So, all of this was completely new to me. I generally avoid people on the street that I believe will try to rob me or attack me. I've never had to file a police report before.

The police officer was very nice and took down my report. He was nice guy and he looked like your cool uncle. He told me that I'd probably never seen my bike again, and even I knew that.

He then looked at me and asked, “Where are you parked?”

“I'm on River Road over in the Riverfront Park,” I answered. I knew I had a long walk to my car.

“Give me a minute and I'll give you a ride to your car,” the officer stated.

After I used the bathroom, and went outside to his squad car. I had to get in the back of the police car...the perp seat. I was a little giddy because I've been in the back of a police car. When I got into the back of the police car, I noted that these cars aren't made for tall people. Check this off my bucket list I guess.

I felt like saying, “This is the cleanest and nicest police car I've ever been in in my life,” from Beverly Hills Cop. It was clean, but my knees and feet were killing me.

“So, this is what being arrested looks like,” I thought. Under different circumstances, this might truly be unappealing. I hope I never see a backseat of a cop car again despite the fact the cop was very nice by giving me a ride to my car. However, I want to make sure I never end up in that car for arresting purposes.

While getting that bike stolen it hit me pretty hard, I got back up and bought another bicycle. They can't hold me down too long. 

By the way, you read my report here under June 08 with stolen bike. 

Old fashioned bicycle: Penny-Farthing (Penny-Farting)

Really cool Bicycle on the road today

Most of the time, nothing surprises me. Yesterday, while test riding my new bicycle around town, a high-rise bicycle passed me by. And, I thought, WTF? Did I just pass through a time portal? Nobody generally rides these things anymore because they aren't practical.  But, this passed me and was going good time. 

 I pulled up beside him at a red light, and asked him, “How long have you had this thing? It's really cool.”

“Oh, two years.”

Keep in mind that he had to dismount his bike every time he stopped at a light. But, he certainly got a lot of stares, and he was making some nice speeds on the thing. I liked this older man's style. He was keeping it old school...old-old school.

Now, the bike goes by the name penny-farthing. And, yes, I thought it was first called Penny-Farting. You know, for a guy that farts pennies. The bike also goes by the name High Wheeler. These Penny-farthing (farting) were the first bicycles. While riding around on a old bike might be considered a hipster move, this guy was an old dude, so that makes it perfectly okay. (It was a fixed gear bike)

The name comes from the terms penny and the British coin Farthing. If you put a regular penny besides a Farthing coin, the penny is much larger and looks like the high wheeler bike.

When I saw that picture, I thought, Wow, that's pretty cool. 

TWA Flight 800 cover up?

TWA Flight 800 cover up?

I generally hate conspiracy people and their foolish conspiracies, but I've always didn't buy the conclusion to the TWA explosion. While I don't buy the 911 conspiracies, the TWA one makes more sense. Here's why, this happened in 1996. Do you think the American public was ready to to know there were people out there trying to shoot down planes?

Look, I hate conspiracies because they make the government look better than what they really are: a bunch of people that have no idea on how to run a government. If the government was so well organized, why are there so many screw ups? And, people forget how powerful just one or two people are with an act of violence.

Xbox One drops DRM

Xbox One drops DRM

I personally thought Microsoft would stick to their guns and not drop the DRM. And, things got very testy with certain interviewers when they brought up the DRM. They stood their ground and kept saying they wouldn't drop their DRM policy.

Basically, Microsoft dropped the 24 hour Internet connection requirement and the ban on used games. This is very good news, but make no mistake that they felt the from Sony and knew they were going to lose some of their market. They're still sticking with the 500 dollar price tag. And, that might hurt them in the long run. But, they are going to drop that Always Online nonsense.

John McAfee teaches you to remove McAfee...and other things

John McAfee teaches you to remove McAfee...and other things

McAfee is a piece of shit anti-virus software. John, the original owner of the anti-virus company, seems to get enough hate mail himself over the useless program. I remember having on my desktop years ago and it takes forever to remove. Norton's isn't any better and I still have it on my laptop and I don't know how to get rid of it. It keeps warning me that it isn't up to date.  STFU, Norton! 

John McAfee is a strange fellow.

-He lost somewhere around 90 million, or so his wiki claims.

-He's worked for NASA and Xerox.

-He seems to be on the run or maybe not(?).

-He doesn't even use his own McAfee program.

-He looks like a poor man's Tony Stark.  

Putin: Lord of the Ring?

Putin: Lord of the Ring?

In Russia, ring steals you. 

 I love the fact Putin is so bold to take a man's ring and then stick his guards around him. For his part, Putin claims that he never took the ring. But, you have to give the guy some credit for having the balls to take the ring (allegedly) in front of the owner.

From Yahoo.com, ((Kraft met Putin in St Petersburg in 2005, after the Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl that February. In a statement at the time, he reportedly said he had decided to give Putin the ring as a gesture of goodwill. ))

Yeah, I didn't get my bike stolen, I gave it to the theft as a gesture of goodwill. I don't buy that “Gesture of goodwill” stuff at all. Give someone a gift sounds right including heads of states, but not something that you earned and worked hard for like a Superbowl ring. 

Semicolon; Lonely Island

Semicolon; Lonely Island

Did I just hear a shout-out to Blogger in the song? Yep. Well, that's cool. I've been writing for a good 10-12 years now, and I still don't know how to use a semicolon. I've been told by my fictional writing teacher and my journalist teacher to never use them; ever.

In fiction, their almost a bump in the road. Writing fiction is about the flow of the words and not the true study of grammar.

I love this music video, because it is clearly a parody of “All of the Lights”. Actully, the song might be a complete parody of Kanye West's song. I got the most lulz out of the ending with the “M. Knight” twist. Or “This is a twist; M. Knight.”

“Oxnard”

“ALF”: Yes, someone actually brought out an ALF reference.

So, how do you use a semicolon? I looked it up on Wiki. There are three ways of using it.

Between items in a series or listing containing internal punctuation, especially parenthetic commas, where the semicolons function as serial commas:

Between closely related independent clauses not conjoined with a coordinating conjunction:

Between independent clauses linked with a transitional phrase or a conjunctive adverb:

Note: Semicolons are also used in Arabic too, with similar results.  

Random Things (it's no use!)

Random Things

~Bicycle Stolen: I will finish up the story. I've just been busy with a lot of stuff this weekend. I've been bummed out this whole week, but I did buy another bike.   I will probably get better one this Christmas.

~War Machine Rocks.

~You're Winner!: Yep, you read that right. It is from one of the worst video games ever.

~Man of Steel today: I will embark on going to the theater today and watch the newest Superman movie. I guess we won't have to worry about a comedian ruining the movie this time around like Superman III. I personally liked Superman Returns, but that movie has garnered a lot of hate this time around.

~The Mandarin twist from Iron Man 3: I know a lot of Marvel Fanboys are pissed about the twist in the last IM movie. I actually loved the twist, because it set up that this Mandarin is nothing more than a phony actor being paid by the main bad guys. Played wonderfully by Ben Kingsley and he is clearly having fun playing “both” roles in the movie. I know I'd be pissed if they pulled this twist with the Joker because I am more of a DC fan than Marvel. But, taking a risk like this is the type of things writers should do from the get go. Play around with cliches.  

Dunkin Donuts Rant, This lady is crazy

Dunkin' Donuts is wonderful and this rant is crazy...

 

This woman is beyond serious about her damn donuts! Well, she wanted to show it online.

By the way, here is the full video.

Please, someone give her a coke and a happy meal. 

-She wants her donuts: Why is so angry with Dunkin' Donuts that she is trying to make a viral video?

-If donuts are so important, can you imagine dating her? Every issues will be video worthy.

-I love the old man that doesn't want to be a part of the video. “I have my own issues.” He wants nothing to do with her at all. I want to interview the old man and get his reaction. 

-Sand N-Word? Really? Way to keep it classy, lady. Saying something that hurtful to some darker skinned people mean and rude.

-Uh, I am from Kentucky and this does happen here. When she says, “I'm from Indiana and Kentucky,” that probably means she from the southern Indiana/Louisville area. Great...

-This was all over a receipt. Maybe, she just wanted a free meal. 

-The Employee that had to endure the crap will be honored by Dunkin'. I guess some free coffee and donuts are the highest rewards. 

This rant reminds me of that LSU pizza girl freakout. 

 

Before they are taken down, here are a few videos of her working as promotional person. (PR)

It's no use! Take this!

It's no use! Take this!

Yeah, I've been talking about Sonic 06 and MC talked about the glitch that broke the Game Grumps' back. In that one, the designers didn't even bother programing Knuckle's animation correctly on the rocks. However, one of the worst ones is the one where Silver launches you into freaking space. The designers never meant for this to happen, but it does. I also heard Silver (It's no use!) can throw you into other areas that you're not supposed to be in yet. WTF?

By the way, make sure to check out Game Grumps boss battle with “it's no use”.

And, remember, “It's no use.”

Hans Zimmer's room...

Hans Zimmer's room...

Zimmer did a Ask Me Anything on reddit, and he revealed his den. I love that he calls it his humble den. It looks sweet and it is every music fan's dream. Look at the keyboards on the right with the guitars leaning nearby. This is a nice layout. Could you imagine playing some John Williams through this layout?

Here are more photos from his place. They are sweet.

Did I mention that he had skull lamps? 

 He just needs some crystal skull vodka.

Sony Trolls Microsoft (Used Games)

Sony Trolls Microsoft (Used Games)

Okay, Sony has officially trolled Xbox with this short video. People are still not sure how the damn rented/used games are going to work on the Xbox One and Sony just knocked it out of the park with this short trolling video. Having Kingdom Hearts 3 and a 100 cheaper price doesn't hurt either. 

And, there is no Always On mode, meaning that you can take your PS4 anywhere.  I still think the gaming market will be split down the middle like the current market, because causal gamers will still flock to Xbox One, but Sony is in a better position today.     

You better believe that Sony considered putting in software that blocked used games, but they saw the negative feedback Microsoft received.  And, they probably dropped the price due to Microsoft's announcement of their price.  

They were trolling earlier with a few Tweets about DRM.  

Chad Johnson Slaps his lawyer on the ass...gets 30 days in jail

Bus Driver:  "You're going to jail now." 

Chad Johnson Slaps his lawyer on the ass...gets 30 days in jail

Well, that was pretty stupid, Chad. You almost made it out of jail and you done f'ed up. It should be noted that he's kind of an a-hole. He was in the court room for a probation violation in a domestic violence case.

I know very little about sports, but I noticed he was the one that changed his name to Ochocinco and back to Johnson. Looking through his wiki page, it appears that he lost his job with the Dolphins after his arrest in the domestic violence incident.

From USA Today, ((It was all set until Johnson, when asked by McHugh if he was satisfied with his lawyer Adam Swickle, gave the attorney a light swat on the rear — as football players routinely do to each other on the field. The courtroom erupted in laughter and at that McHugh said she wouldn't accept the deal. ))

So, he was ready to get out of it all and he pulled this little stunt. And, he seemed to have tweeted from jail too. Wait, how did he do that? I thought you only got one phone call.  Is tweeting allowed in jail?  

From his Twitter place ((Love me through the good and the bad because I'm gone love you regardless... See you in 30... ? ))

I've never understood why grown, straight men enjoy slapping other men on their asses anyway. For a bunch of “manly” men, slapping men on their backsides seemed a little gay to me. I've been slapped on the ass, by a woman, and I didn't even like it then. I can't imagine having some muscle bound dude doing it to me.  It is one of the Sports things I will never understand.  

Just give me a hand shake or a high five. It seems odd that this is the way you show your approval for a “job well done”. When it is done outside of sports, it is called a Herman Cain in the workplace. (I kid I kid) And, what about the butt slap in prison? That's a whole other story.