The Green Hour - La Fee

A day late, but here is what I popped my absinthe cherry with. MMM, I like this one, despite the odd color, but the louche is PRETTY. Plus it is yummy, and that, in the end, is the point.

The Green Hour - Le Tourment Vert

this time a french absinthe of a color not found in nature. does it fail? sorts!

The Green Hour - St. George Absinthe

I have finally decided to start my absinthe review series. I figure I can do one a week, that will give me something to do, something to focus on. I have a ton of ideas on other episodes down the line. I suppose concepts are easy when they are on a subject near and dear to my heart. So here you go, and let me know what you think. How is the off the cuff review or would something more structured be better? Let me know, rate, comment, sub, whatever!

is steampunk a sub-culture

i had a hell of a night getting beaten down by popular media. first there was a poor showing on ncis: los angeles. they could have called it anything, but wanted some realism and picked "steampunk" /sigh. then some friends got wise to snot topic was starting a steampunk line. i had known this for a while now and well... that clothing line was just sad and disapointing. what happened next was a heated discussion on a friends my spaze's status comments. the bomb dropped. steampunk was not a sub-culture. the following is a direct message i sent to a friend regarding the event and my nerd rage. names have been changed.

i mean, what DOES make a sub-culture? unique fashion, music, literature, maybe even films. oh shit, goth has all that. so does steampunk. are their steampunk clubs? i would not say right now. not regularly. sure malediction society could be said to have started as one, but only now is it really catching on. but it is only catching. i bet in 1975 there were no goth clubs either.
sure, anime is an obvious inspiration to steampunk. but anime did inspire all the comics and films. howle's moving castle and steamboy are great. they did a lot.
how did wild wild west and briscoe country, jr be inspired by anime?
what about video games? how about the entire final fantasy series? especially 1-6. skies of arcadia. and there are a ton of little flash games coming out all the time. luke sent me a link to a kick ass one.
what about literature? jules verne, obviously, but damn near any good bit of victoriana is a source. and william gibson's "the difference engine" i always tell people steampunk started out as a genre of literature rebelling against cyberpunk. instead of having the future now, what if the present was in the past? from the concept everything else flows from.
everything from league of extraordinary gentlemen, abney park, to the god damn horrible van helsing film.
steampunk IS young. sure i was into forever really, but only now are people dressing like it. trust me, no one was as surprised by that than me. it was a neat feeling to not be "the only one".
i can go on and on. i think i am done venting. i seriously need to relax.



thoughts, comments, concerns, please share them.

V the remake. why god, why?

i spent the weekend before watching the original mini series as well as the final battle in order as a re-freasher course. i was entirely way too young to have watched it but did that stop me from enjoying it? hell no. so anyways, the original was a poignant tale of the dangers of fascism and how it could happen again. sci-fi elements were only tacked on to compete with star wars. great cast (robert englund as a retarded V named willie, yes fucking awesome), acting that was ok for tv and honestly the story rocked. the subplot of having the grandson of a holocaust survivor pretty much joing the V version of the hitler youth spoke to me. despite growing up hearing grandpa's stories of how grandma got gassed he still joins. why? he gets seduced by the power of it all.

why do we need a re-make?

starts off with the world waking up to the visitors in their spaceships turning on the biggest jumbotron and their leader Anna (short for dianna? hmm?) pretty much saying "oh hai!" stupid teenagers commenting on how this is just like the movie independence day and that movie was just a rip off of any number of other sci-fi films. your attempts at being meta fail. so now we have just a straight up invasion story. hell, ed wood did the same thing with plan 9 from other space. whereas the original gave you a little bit of foreplay before the big reveal (i have zero sympathy if this is a spoiler. the original is 20 years old) that the visitors are actually bipedal space lizards bent that want to TAKE OVER THE WORLD. but here, we get the reveal at the 45 minute mark.

it is not all fail. the subplot i am enjoying unfold is of the catholic priest of a ghetto parish who ministers to drug addicts and homeless. he has a crisis of faith as his church pews fill overcapacity. absolute proof of extraterrestrial life does not obliterate faith; it drives people them to examine what god means to them, the existence of god and actually strengthens their faith. WTF? i am a skeptic to the core. extraordinary claims better have extraordinary proof to make me believe them. watching a spaceship come out of the sky leaves little doubt. so until i see angels fight space lizards... one more thing, someone i doubt most any would have noticed or cared about, but the vatican makes the decision that the visitors are proof that we are all god's children being made overnight seemed WAY to rushed. the vatican NEVER does anything that dramatic or fast. especially as something as re-writing thousands of years of tradition. space aliens invalidates all sorts of theological tenants. anyways.

so what do have now? a pre-existing underground movement of humans up against a pre-existing visitor sleeper terrorist network that paved the way for the giant space ships?

i give up. until next time.

ps gerbals are safe, for now.....

Nintendo introduces the "Super Guide"

Can't beat a level? Let the SUPER GUIDE beat it for you!

Sounds lame? You must be a gamer.

http://www.destructoid.com/using-mario-wii-s-super-guide-makes-miyamoto-regretful-152141.phtml

"When a players dies eight times on one of the game's 80 stages, they'll have a chance to hit a green "Super Guide" block. This will trigger a video in which you'll watch Luigi play through the stage. This isn't designed to give away all of the game's secrets -- it won't show you hidden paths or all of the hidden coins, for instance.



It will however give players the opportunity to see how the stage could be completed. At any time, the player can jump into the action and take over, which would give them the opportunity to let the game itself guide them through some of the nastier sections. If the player decides, letting the game complete the level will allow them to move to the next stage. "



"According to Miyamoto, there are a few disadvantages to using the "Super Guide." Players who persevere and decide not to use any "Super Guide" blocks will be awarded with something special (like some cool indicator on the game's title screen), where as those who rely on them will miss out. There's another downside to using the guides -- shame."

"I find that when [the "Super Guide" block] does appear," he says. "I kind of feel regretful and guilty that I've let that happen. So I've often found that playing the game, when that happens, it kind of inspires me [to say] 'I've already done this bad, now I have to clear the level on my own.'"

Nintendo Burlesque? With Nitzer Ebb?

http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/nightlife-and-events/video-game-burlesque-with-memb/

Sometimes the universe swirls and congeals multiple awesome things together in a brief moment of simultaneous awesomocity.

This is one of those times.

Lou Albano: R.I.P.

this.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbCHfETkXD8&feature=player_embedded

9 movie review, Stichpunk saves the Post-Apocalyptic World

lawlz at my hair.

Green/White/Red Ranger Danger

Tommy's a UFC MMA fighter now. Will his opponents disappear when he punches them in the chest? We shall see...

story: http://www.tmz.com/2009/09/02/green-power-ranger-white-ranger-jason-david-frank-mma-ufc/

Disney acquires Marvel: The beginning of armageddon

Reuters: Disney to Acquire Marvel Entertainment

I hope everyone realizes that this means no more Marvel fan art. No more Marvel fan fiction. No more Marvel fan-made youtube videos.... Disney are notorious for pulling Disney-related videos from youtube, claiming 'copyright infringement'. They even pull their own trailers.

So this is the beginning of the end folks. Say goodbye to a once great company.

It has been swallowed by the beast.

Turtles Forever!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtles_Forever

A new direct-to-DVD movie featuring.... get ready.....


..... the ORIGINAL 1987 turtles AND the 2003 turtles..... It's a crossover. The two universes collide and there will be EIGHT turtles. It will also feature Bebop, Rocksteady, Tohka, Rahzar, and KRANG (among others). This is pretty sweet.

You can hear some audio clips of it here:


Theme song HERE:

Thor - God of Metal

AI Tested on 'Super Mario Brothers' Game

AI Tested on 'Super Mario Brothers' Game
Eric Bland, Discovery News

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/08/17/super-mario-brothers.html

Aug. 17, 2009 -- Human players might have defeated Bowser decades ago in the original Super Mario Brothers video game, but a new competition is pitting computers against Koopa Troopas to save Princess Toadstool.



The contest is designed to evaluate the effectiveness of artificial intelligence programs.

"Basically we need a good way to compare different artificial intelligent techniques," said Julian Togelius, an assistant professor at IT University of Copenhagen and who, along with his colleague Sergey Karakovskiy, is organizing the competition.

"Computer games have a design that is relevant to humans, are fast paced and well defined. And besides, everyone loves games."

The computer programs will pit Mario and his brother, Luigi, against the same Goombas, Piranha Plants and Bullet Bills that human players have confronted for decades.

The specific levels, however, will be new to human and computer players alike.

Togelius has developed a random level generator that will create dozens of new, never-before-seen levels. To the possible chagrin of frustrated human players, the original Super Mario Brothers levels would likely be too easy for a computer, said Togelius.

Green Lantern: First Flight Review

People will look back at the summer of 2009 and think "Wow, that summer Green Lantern was everywhere and it kicked ass!"

Not only is the greatest comic book event cross-over Blackest Night centered on Hal Jordon and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps but we also get this straight to home relase.

What we get here is an origin story of how Hal Jordon got his power ring, joined the Corps, and revealed to the Gaurdians how corrupt Sinestro really is. Honestly, how stupid are the little blue guys ? The guy is named SIN-es-tro. Sounds too close to sinister to be a good guy. He has that supervillian moustache. You know he up to no good with that thing. He has red skin like teh satan! and lastly, he is left handed. The only Lantern that is left handed. Goes with the whole sinister thing too.

Back to the plot, Sinestro crafts a plot to overthrow the Gaurdians because frankly, their inaction and bureaucracy is not enough to establish order in the chaotic universe. So he will order things, by his might. Through the Weaponers of Qward he gets an ultimate weapon, powered by yellow power. The one thing the Lantern's green rings are weak to. Will the universe be ruled by Sinestro's iron fist or will Hal Jordon prevail?

As a fan of Green Lantern there were plenty of nods to the books. Lots of blink and you miss them cameos of Corpsmen. Carol Fenris as Hal's boss is adorable and I chortled with every "Poozer!" out of drill sargent Kilowag. My fave fan momment was Sinestro donning his yellow uniform, complete with Paralax symbol. I really wish they got a little deeper into the whole yellow = fear and green = willpower mythology, but there can always be room for that in a sequeal.

In the end we get an action filled story of a man showing what the human strength of will can do in the face of terror itself, as a space-cop. WUUUUUUUUUt? Yea, sounds weird but it works. A non-fan can instantly get into this. It plays like Star Wars meets Men In Black, but fun.

See this thing or else Rage Kitty will vomit acid blood in your face.

Iron Man & Wolverine Anime Teasers

Marvel Entertainment Inc., has partnered with renowned Japanese animation studio Madhouse (Paprika, Tokyo Godfathers) and multiple-Eagle Award winner Warren Ellis to create four all new anime versions of classic Marvel Super Heroes. Get an exciting first glimpse of IRON MAN and WOLVERINE, two of the planned four series!

These Marvel Anime TV series are being created as a way of merging the beloved Marvel Super Heroes of western culture with the bold animation tradition of Japan. The resulting product will be four visually groundbreaking anime series featuring popular Super Heroes redesigned and repurposed as emerging from the fabric of Japanese culture. The series is expected to begin appearing on the Animax channel in Japan in spring of 2010.

wolverine



......uhhh ooookkkk.i really dont know what to say about that..whats up with wolvies HAIR??

iron man



WOW now that looks amazing..do we even get this channel?? anyone know? cause i have to see that one

Turtles in Time.....in 3D?

For those who don't know, this is a remake of an old SNES game

It's pretty cool but... There's something about 2D sprites that give me a warm and fuzzy feeling that this one doesn't give. That's probably just nostalgia.

I noticed that the bosses have health bars now. I don't know how I feel about that. I like the element of surprise in not knowing exactly when a boss is going to die (although they turn red and blink really fast, so you definitely have a clue).

And Leatherhead doesn't have a cajun accent :/ I found that part very disappointing.

What do you think? Talk about it HERE

My Mission

I have found it. I have already been performing it, and i am pleased.

Gah Lak Tus

I've just read the "Ultimate Galactus Trilogy" which I borrowed from a friend (Thanks Andy).

I have very mixed feelings about This new version of Galactus. Let me first say that the trilogy itself was awesome. Any story that incorporates Ayahuasca, Necronauts, Zero-Point Energy, the Multiverse and a planet-devouring entity is AWESOME. That should pretty much go without saying.

But with that being said, the 'Ultimate' version of Galactus just seems wrong.... For any newbs who don't know about Galactus, he's the "devourer of worlds". He's a God who destroys life who acts as a counterpart to the 'Creator God', sort of like the Yin to Creations' Yang or the Shiva to the Hindu Vishnu... Well.... in the old days (1970's to early 2000's), he looked like a Native American God of the Mayan/Aztec/Toltec/Olmec persuasion:



Now... the 'Ultimate' line of Marvel comics introduces a new universe in which the super heroes/villains are different than they are in the 'normal' Marvel Universe. (ie. the Fantastic Four are all teenagers, the silver surfer has wings, Beast has a lion's face etc...). The old version of Galactus will still continue to exist, but The new 'Ultimate' version of Galactus is not a Mayan/Aztec-looking God... He's a 'hive-mind' comprised of hundreds of thousands of city-sized insectoid robots.....wtf? I mean.... that's pretty cool.... I guess.....but......IT'S NOT GALACTUS!! To be fair, Marvel was aware of this fact, so they decided to call him "Gah Lak Tus". Nice try Marvel, but that's pretty lame....

A Living Pokemon In Real Life?

This thing is real. Look it up.

It's called the "axolotl"

It's my new favorite animal.

Ridiculously Awesome Games Announced at E3

Oh my god!

Resident Evil and Metroid look AMAZING!!!! They don't look like 'typical' video games, they seem to be more immersive, like you're "in a film", almost.

Wow.

For an extensive list of all the new games being unveiled at E3, see peterparker's Microsoft E3 report here and the Nintendo report can be found here

Keep on the lookout for the upcoming Sony report at the forum



..

Wii 'Punch Out' Review

If you like the old Punch Out games, I can almost personally guarantee that you will LOVE the new one. It totally feels like the old-school Punch Out style, but with updated 'pretty' graphics. It's the same old system of "wait for the opponent to do something weird (wiggle his eyebrows... shake his body... etc...) and then counter it, get a star... repeat.... stars give you the "super punch" ability to fuck shit up.... you know how it goes.

I haven't even bothered to play with the nunchuk. It's too much fun to play with the sideways wii-mote old-school NES style.

My only minor gripe is that they only added two new characters (one of which is a brand new character named "Disco Kid", the other one is an old Nintendo favorite who has decided to enter the ring with Little Mac. I won't tell you who it is, but you can click here if you're dying to find out.). It would have been nice to see a few more new faces, but the old characters have been given a complete make-over (while remaining true to their established 'personalities'. For example, The Great Tiger's jewel still flashes and he disappears and reappears in puffs of smoke, you punch King Hippo in the stomach and once he falls down, he can't get up, and Bald Bull still has the good 'ol "Bull Rush"), but there's so much new, extra stuff added in that it's almost as if you're fighting all new opponents. Almost...

Overall, I'm completely satisfied with the new 'Punch Out', and I feel that it's a perfect addition to the series. They got the engine right, and the graphics are fantastic (funny cut scenes too). Here's hoping for a sweet sequel with new characters.... *crosses fingers*

Here's what some of the top game critics have been saying about it:

the story of OHMer

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/19633781/detail.html

INDIANAPOLIS -- With gas prices up another 20 cents Tuesday, an Indianapolis man is happy to not have to worry about it.

Patrick Roth uses a fully electric car to take his daughter to school and run errands, 6News' Jennifer Carmack reported.

The car may look like any ordinary Ford Escort, but a closer look reveals that it's anything but. Roth didn't buy the car that way. He built it himself.

"I have taken out all of the components to the internal combustion engine and replaced it with a big electric motor and a bunch of batteries," Roth said. "Essentially, I've turned it into a 100 percent electric vehicle."

Roth said he got the idea while driving his Lexus hybrid. He thought that since the Lexus can go partially off the battery, he could get a car to run solely on electric power.

"I found myself constantly trying to trick the car to run on the electric motor as much as possible, which got me thinking," Roth said. "Why not just have a second car that's purely electric?"

There are electric cars on the market, but they aren't cheap. After a lot of research, Roth tackled the conversion himself.

"It works great, actually. I've tested it on the highway up to 70 mph," he said.

Roth said he checked with both his insurance company and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and found that his converted Escort is legal.

Instead of hitting a gas pump every week or two, he just pulls the car into the garage at night and plugs in.

"In the equivalent, it works out to what it would cost me if I were paying 75 cents a gallon at the pump," Roth said.

Roth spent about 10 weeks building the car, a project he contends just about anyone can do.

"If I can do it with no mechanical ability and no engineering degree, no electrician's degree, then certainly anyone else can do it with basic skills," he said.

Roth bought the car specifically to convert. The cost of the vehicle and the conversion was about $13,000.

Click here to see how he did it: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3155482

The greatest competition in the history of man? I think 'yes'.

ComicCon San Diego 2006 & 2008

The monitor is from 2006 and before I changed my name. Me and Stephanie are standing in the DC booth in 2008 as I point to the second monitor.

Is it the mild, maritime air?  The fact that San Diego is a "healthful" city?  I don't know.  But for some reason it's the base for this really big convention.  It's a mass-mind experience where you're swimming in the pop and anti-pop and thinking about your allegiances... Yes, being a professional nerd has it's many concerns.  I've been twice.  Once in 2006 and again in 2008.  Both times I had two words on the mind: portfolio review.  It has it's protocol.  The first time I rolled into town it was in our beloved burgundy van and I was late to drop off my Marvel submission.  I raced through the booths, dodging otaku, steampunks, what-have-you, and arrived sweaty and beaming.  I was ready to charm if necessary.  The fellow didn't need to look at the work, he quietly accepted it, no problem, I would get my chance at a meeting.  DC Talent Search too.  My name was on the monitors the next day.  Affirming.  That night we slept in our van for the first time (something we would soon know well) and I visited the local gym before entering the hall.  Not to work out, just shower.  I moved away from LA after three years in and for 2008 I flew to San Diego and stayed at a proper hotel.  In line for a meeting I sat beneath an enormous banner of Samurai Girl and smiled to myself that I'd been in LA long enough to befriend the young woman who played the best friend character, Cheryl.  Then they came around to glance at the portfolios in our laps to make sure we were in fact ready to even ask for a meeting.  The reviews themselves had a tone resonating positive: keep going.  But this year I had it in my head that I was going to give a manuscript to a certain alternative publisher in the impromptu fashion.  Without even a look the offer was refused.  Too hectic.  Slightly crestfallen, I brooded in the hotel hot tub.  The next day another DC monitor bore my name and I had a meeting with a Vertigo/Minx editor.  The critique helped and I left feeling that much closer to the level of participation in the industry I crave.  When I wasn't absorbed by career advancement, killing time, I was testing brush tip markers, getting art prints signed, talking to other creators, and getting photos of minor celebrities and cosplaying folk.  You end up seeing or doing something pretty rad just milling around the convention without a specific goal.  I wish I could've slowed on down and gotten a copy of Twilight signed and seen Tori Amos autographing Comic Book Tattoo... plus seen the Eisner awards.  But all in all, there's simply too much at this nerdsplosion to take in.  I skipped 2007 and I plan on skipping 2009 but beware, I plan to nerd-out again in 2010.

OMG it's sooooooo good

This song makes my testicles dance:



If your testicles/clitorii were dancing while watching that, then check out these bad mamma jammas:

http://www.myspace.com/goldenshowergs
http://www.myspace.com/thetwilightdivision
http://www.myspace.com/unkleremis
http://www.myspace.com/8bitphilharmonic
http://www.myspace.com/ftftunes
http://www.myspace.com/swampyboy
http://www.myspace.com/anamanaguchi

A short review of the new Terminator movie

I went to the midnight showing at Bowtie last night. If you were expecting the war with the robots, you'll get a great taste of it, and with 2 more movies eventually coming out, you'll be delighted.

But let me say, about 20 mins into the movie, while in a post apocalyptic city, when you see a decrepit sign of a toy store, it has John Wayne Gacy's clown face on it. Fuck'n shweet. Unexpected, but fuck'n shweet.

Along with beautiful effects, giant human harvesting robots, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and of course Gacy's face, the story was surprisingly brilliant and captivating. To me, an avid fan of all Terminator movies, this is by far the cream of the crop. It's better than Iron Man by a long shot, so expect to change the blog name after seeing it.

Like I said before, I'm not giving away plot elements, a synopsis, or spoilers, the only reviews I'm gonna do are movies that you should blatantly go out and see. And this is one of them.

Looking at the world was very reminiscent to Fallout 3, if your familiar with the game, and I'm a sucker for post apocalyptic anything.

You'll love it. It's just about everything you expected. It's a battle, but as they said in the movie, the war is far from over, so for the big war, I'm sure you'll have to wait for later movies. But go watch it, it's still most certainly worth the 10 er 12 bucks.



Hasta la vista, baby.

-Remo Is Error

Dr. Michio Kaku discusses "the physics of Star Trek"

http://www.popsci.com/entertainment-amp-gaming/article/2009-05/warp-speed-possiblewe-ask-string-theorist

Here's a brief excerpt:

-----------------

PopSci: Let's talk about some concepts that are familiar in the show and that you talk about in your book, like teleportation. There is a scene in the movie where Kirk and Sulu are falling without a parachute, and they have to be beamed up; Chekov decides he has to do it manually. Unlike "The Next Generation," which had "Heisenberg compensators," the movie doesn't mention the Heisenberg uncertainty principle (the more precisely you locate the position of a particle, the less you can know about its momentum.) I know there has been success in teleporting atoms, but will we ever be able to teleport a human?

Michio Kaku: Well, quantum teleportation already exists. For the past 10 years, we've been teleporting photons as well as atoms of cesium and rubidium and terbium. The world record is 1,800 feet, across the Danube River. I suspect very soon that we will be teleporting molecules. I wouldn't be surprised if, in the coming decades, we are able to teleport DNA, or maybe even a virus. But beyond that, it starts to get very difficult. You have to entangle two atoms, they have to vibrate in unison, and that is very difficult beyond the molecular level. But, Star Trek takes place in the 23rd century, so maybe by then we can teleport 100 trillion cells, which is about the number of cells in a human body.

-------------------

To read the rest of the interview with Dr. Kaku, click here: http://www.popsci.com/entertainment-amp-gaming/article/2009-05/warp-speed-possiblewe-ask-string-theorist


For those who don't know who Michio Kaku is, he is a super awesome dude who built an atom-smasher in his garage when he was 14 years old (no lie). It was his science fair project. He also faught in Nam!

I highly recommend his books: Visions, Hyperspace and Parallel Worlds. He has lots of other books that I haven't read, so I can't comment on them, but the three above-mentioned are super easy to read and very well-written. Go to mkaku.org and learn all about Dr. Kaku!!!

As mentioned previously, he is super awesome.

Star Trek Review

caution, lens flare may ruin your experience. it did for me.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCpMlEUAh_8

Remo's 8 Bit Blog Clutter

Tonight there will not be an 8 Bit Game G8 as Remo's 8 Bit Game G8 is beginning to look like Remo's 8 Bit Blog Clutter. It has been over a week since anyone has posted and I'll be watching patiently in my leather sofa drinking martinis and wearing penny loafers with dimes in them (since I'm worth far more than copper) for a post that is not mine. With talented staff such as ZEGH, Vanzetti, Rebo, and the like whom I know skimming through the forum have oodles of entertaining and laughter dripping tid bits to share, I want to see them here, where this is. The last I checked, wanting to nail Flo, the new Black Lanterns, and absolutely astonishing MSPaint artwork are just overflowing with greatness. So share them, here, on the blog part, for the love of Demiurge.

I'm going to have Rumsfield fetch me some caviar and Grey Goose before I watch Millionaire Matchmaker on my 500 inch OLED organic television. I have that kind of money. Don't doubt me. I'll buy your mothers house and the bloody bank it's mortgage belongs to, and send her to India on a row boat to live with the leapers.

Try me.

All your base are belong to me. Peon.

All about MANIAC MANSION!

To learn ALL ABOUT Maniac Mansion (and to read the rest of this week's Game G8), click here: http://ironmanchangedmylife.com/blog/?p=92

Monday Night Game G8 One Day L8

Sorry Rebo, no Pac Man this week, I'm collecting a bunch of niftiness and make'n a special out of it, so woot woot!

1st and foremost, an interview...



Tonight's interview is with Nick Perrin of 8-bit Philharmonic. He's a beatbox'n (though no fan of hip-hop) 8-Bit-hoven who mixes classical intellect with Nintendo class. He's learning to draw manga, thinks music theory is way overrated, and enjoys drink'n liquor str8 when the plan is to get drunk (apparently years of taste-bud-destruction have made it easy). Check his page at www.myspace.com/8bitphilharmonic

My favorite song - "The Belmont Legend" (Castlevania)

*-* When did you form your band?

Some time over a year ago. I had just got into university and there was this videogame shop in the town where I found a whole slew of NES cartridges for sale. I took a list of them and downloaded ROMs to see if any were worth buying to play on my NES clone. This one game, Destination Earthstar, had a catchy main theme that got stuck in my head (the game itself was terrible). While recollecting this theme one day, and probably inspired by Video Games Live, I imagined it as an orchestral piece. I swiftly headed back to my computer and started working on an orchestral adaptation of the repetetive little loop from Destination Earthstar, and when it was done, I liked what I had done so much that I decided to begin a whole project of remaking 8-bit tunes into symphonic pieces. Thus 8-bit Philharmonic was born.

*-* What University did you go to?

I'm currently at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada. Throughout my whole life I've been terrible at school, just in general. Always had problems, and it's still the case in university. And I don't just mean it casually like most people say it, I mean actual academic failures and whatnot. Luckily, the more music-related courses I get to do each year, the better I seem to do. In first year of university I thought I was going to study English since I had enjoyed writing so much in high school and won the creative writing award and all that jazz... but by the end of that first year, I had spent more time learning about, listening to and composing music, that it was obvious what I should switch to start studying. Let's not forget that was also when I formed 8-bit Philharmonic ... All the support from fans made the decision easier :D

*-* What is your music background? Band members?

8-bit Philharmonic is just one guy and some powerful virtual orchestral instruments. I'm Nick Perrin, the arranger behind it all.
My musical background consists of a few years playing trombone, teaching myself piano and listening to lots and lots of film and classical music. In fact, when I started 8-bit Philharmonic and released the first bunch of tracks, I had almost zero music theory knowledge. Everything I had just set out to learn myself, even ear training. Not until this year have I taken a course in music theory. Of course, by that point I had learned almost all that was taught in the course via the internet.

*-* How do you describe your music to people?

"Symphonic arrangements of traditional Japanese classics" XD
I explain it more in depth after they've had a listen. Unless those people are gamers or VGM fans, in which case I gush about it right away.

*-* What does your name mean?

8-bit Philharmonic: A "philharmonic" is a music lover, or a way to reference an orchestra. Coming up with this name when I started this project was a no-brainer. I love 8-bit, and "my orchestra" plays it. Case closed!

*-* Wat got you to make this music and not a "regular" band?

What got me to make this music - and this might sound cheesy - is the sheer brilliance of so many 8-bit works of NES games. There is so much music tucked away in hundreds of titles with nameless composers, so much that is ignored and looked down upon just because it's "beeps and bloops", but the music itself is awesome. Since the NES had limited sound hardware, the tunes could only ever have three notes playing at once. The composers then were forced to be creative BECAUSE of the limits. What came out of that are some of the best pieces of music in videogame history.

So, when I would listen to these pieces, after a while I stopped hearing the 8-bit piece itself, and I began to hear a greater, more complex and full and engaging piece, the full potential of what could be built on and expanded from the pre-existing rhythmic and harmonic structure. Essentially I wanted people to listen to the music, say "this is amazing" then find out that it came from an 8-bit chiptune. Mainly I knew that there was music lost to time and breaking consoles and I wanted to recreate its power.

I didn't need to start a regular band because I already compose a lot of stuff. Thing is, arranging 8-bit pieces actually made me capable of writing my own orchestral pieces. Before that, anything orchestral I did was garbage. Now it's the genre I mainly compose in.

*-* What's stopping you from performing live?

Performing live for me is impossible... until I can afford to rent an orchestra haha. Otherwise the show would be pretty boring, a guy on stage with a CD player going "okay so does anyone here remember that obscure but awesome 8-bit track from when you were kids? I made it into a symphony! Like that guy Mozart! No? No one...?" That's really all there is to it, unless I can figure out a way to make an interesting live show with other musicians out of it. Performing live is something I love to do, I'm a beatboxer. I've done big shows, little shows, shows with an acapella group, etc. so getting up on stage and entertaining the crowd is not the issue - I just don't have a van big enough to kidnap the whole Toronto Symphony Orchestra yet.

"Geek"

"The word geek is a slang term, noting individuals as "a peculiar or otherwise odd person, especially one who is perceived to be overly obsessed with one or more things including those of intellectuality, electronics, etc." Formerly, the term referred to a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken, bat, snake or bugs." - Wikipedia

Interesting. Thought you'd like to know.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also the Playmates Toys website had the following statement:

“Following the success of the ‘TMNT’ theatrical release in 2007, Mirage licensing and Imagi studios have begun work on a new live-action TMNT film for 2010. It’s the turtles like you’ve never seen them before! Shellalicious!”

By "Shellalicious", I hope they mean "Go Ninja Go!" kick-assness. If it's as horrible as the Dragonball Z and GI Joe movies look like they're destined to be, I'm moving to Morocco far away from Hollywood's nostalgic wrong doings and living with a camel convoy.

Playmates Toys recently removed the mention from their page, so I'm guessing we'll have to wait for some ever popular viral marketing before we find out more.

Talk'n bout new movies coming out, also in development:

- He-Man
- RoboCop
- Red Sonja
and a Deadpool spin-off

Interview with 8-bit artist "FTF

For 'Remo is Error's interview with the 8-bit artist "FTF" (and the rest of this week's "Game G8", click the pic or click here: http://ironmanchangedmylife.com/blog/?p=86

The Monday Night Game G8

First and foremost, lemme agree with the Wolvy movie being a bust, but then again, I hated all the X Men movies.

"Well, what would you prefer? Yellow spandex?". My answer, yes.



Back to this thing here, tonight we discuss a "dead" SEGA hero, a GOOD superhero movie, an interview with an 8 Bit musician, some other stuff, and of course, some videos for your lazy ass entertainment.

First and foremost, bow your heads and let us pay homage to a long forgotten hero.



When we think of SEGA, we think of the cute and charismatic blue hedgehog named Sonic. But years before Sonic, SEGA had another mascot, a little monkey boy named Alex Kidd.

He was a boy from Aries that lived on Mt. Eternal. He was a BMX racer, he was a puzzle solver, and even a ninja beating badass. Sporting a red jumpsuit and big ears, he helped put SEGA on the map, but after Sonic broke onto the scene in 1991, he was left with mere cameos in games like Sega Superstars Tennis and Segagaga (Where he works at a video game store. You can't fight ninjas behind a counter! Shredder doesn't fight the turtles with a bar code scanner and a flashy name tag at Walmart dammit!) So in loving memory, I commemorate today, May 4th, as Alex Kidd day. May he rest in peace, eating the fruit and mushrooms of 8 Bit heaven. You will be missed. Probably by only a few. But you will be missed never the less.

Wolverine Orgins Review

and here is my review from...comicbookmovie.com(review section)

Wolverine Origins... A-
OK, so the movie opened good with young james as a kid. Within the first ten minutes in the story there is a twist of who is Logan's real father is. BAM. Then the credits hit. I personally liked how they did the credits.
seeing wolverine and sabertooth fighting side by side in all the great american wars..but by the end of the credits you can tell there is a bitter rivalry brewing between the two characters. it reminded me of the "watchmen" credits.not a bad thing.

after all that stryker finds wolvie and sabertooth locked in jail so he recrits them and you get to see deadpool and the rest of the weapon x team..but there not called that because at this point wolvie is not weapon x yet..agent zero.awesome, wish i saw more of him.

deadpool well at this point he is not deadpool but all i can say is.ryan renolds was the pefect choice..funny as hell and his opening action scene when it was "his turn" perfect!! he needs to be in his own movie..again i wish i saw more of him as as this character..the reason im saying i wish i saw more of them,because after the second "misson" we see..wolvie goes his own way. sabertoth takes it personally and the team go there seperate way.the hunt is on to find wolvie..this movie was fast paced, good story, i think gambit was great also..i know alot of fan are complaning about gambit and his "jumping powers"
but personlly it didnt bother me.because NONE of the "x-men" movies
were right,let alone perfect.so why would i expect THIS one to be.all and all the movie was great i though weapon XI was done ok..if they disfigured his face why wouldnt' they use this, end fighting scene the perfect time to have "deadpool/weaponXI" wear his red and black mask? and if anyone actually stayed until the "END CREDITS" were over they would learn that DEADPOOL IS NOT DEAD..NOR DID THEY KILL HIM OFF!!

..i left out alot of the key plot points..like the murder of wolvies first love,and many others because i think people should see this movie with an OPEN MIND..i am a true comic fan have been for 15 years. so dont think i have no idea what im talking about cause i do. ohh and there is a surprise cameo i DID NOT EXPECT..go see it so the X-MEN FRANCHISE DOES NOT DIE..
-peterparker420

X-Men Origins: Wolverine review

tl;dw version:
kids will like it, if you dug the xmen movies, you will dig this, too many characters means too little screen time for them, and deadpool was awesome till they ruined the character at the end.

"shush!"

X-Men Origins: Wolverine spoilers (also titled: "why this movie sucks")

X-Men Origins: Wolverine spoilers (also titled: "why this movie sucks")


SPOILERS


The first half hour is stupid. Wolverine pretty much just stands around while everyone he loves/cares about is getting killed because he's a pussy and he doesn't want to fight/kill anyone.

So halfway in, he finally gets angry and starts killing people, starting with an asian sharpshooter dude, I'm not sure who he was. The movie gets kind of cool at that point, but I put emphasis on "kind of", because there are sooo many things wrong with this movie....

First of all... the Blob and Emma Frost are each in it for about 5 minutes each... lame. Gambit is in it for maybe 10 minutes. Cyclops is in it for 5. They're not important to the plot and seem to have just been stuck into the movie to make the trailer seem cool. The majority of the movie is actually Wolverine being hunted by Stryker and Sabretooth. They are the main villains. And all other characters are completely secondary.

The worst part is Deadpool....what the fucking fuck? He's in the beginning of the movie for like..10 minutes and then he's "killed".... turns out he's actually being transformed into weapon XI, after which point he returns for 5 minutes again at the end of the film. Wolverine decapitates him, so say "goodbye" to a Deadpool spinoff (unless it's a prequel).....a prequel to a prequel....hfswtf? (holy fucking shit, what the fuck?)

Hold onto your hats folks, it gets stupider....

Sabretooth is now officially Wolverines brother (they have the same father, the mother/mothers is/are never discussed). They changed Wolverines name from "James Howlett" to "James Logan" And get this... Wolverine actually GIVES CONSENT to becoming Weapon X.

Stryker: "Hey, Wolvie....do you want adamantium in your bones so you can fuck shit up...."
Wolverine: "Okay!"

Patrick Stewart is in it for about 20 seconds at the end.

Fuck.

This.

Movie.


/endrant

King Hippo 2009

More Punch-Out!! News & Previews

the new Punch Out comes out May 18th in North America. Woo hoo!

Monday Night Game G8, 2 days L8

I should apologize for being l8 on this post, but since it's the first one and nobody was expecting it, I'll save my breathe. This is the launch of Remo's Game G8 - facts, nostalgia, and other useless to life information that the 8 Bit world has and has-had to offer will be meaninglessly streamed here every Monday, or late Tuesday (since both days are just about the same thing to me) for your viewing pleasure between pron surfing and checking your myspaces. L8er it'll accumulate into interviews with random 8 Bit musicians found on myspace and reviews on emulated NES, SNES, SEGA, ect games long forgotten (or for a few of us, played yesterday.)

So enjoy, any tips or ideas, send 'em to my email address remosantuccione@yahoo.com

(insert deity here) knows, I might use 'em, or ignore them completely.

Let's start with some fun facts shall we?

We shall.

Did you know that Nintendo started it's enterprise more than a century ago? It was back in 1889 when the great grandfather of the current Nintendo president, Fusajiro Yamauchi, founded "Nintendo Koppai". Of course they weren´t making videogames back in 1889, they started out making special playing cards called Hanafunda ( or "flower cards"). All the cards Fusajiro produced were tenderly hand made using the bark of mulberry or mitsu-mata trees. The Hanafunda deck consisted of 48 cards divided into 12 different suits, one for each month of the year. Instead of numbers, the cards had symbols like the wind, a deer, the moon, or the chrysanthemum. Different combinations of symbols and suits were worth different points. The most popular Hanafunda game was a simple matching game that could become very complex. This game was taken very seriously by many players (think about that kid in middle school that cried for 2 days straight when one of his Pokemon foil cards bent in one corner). The cards were sold in Nintendo's own shops in both Kyoto and Osaka (more so in Kyoto). In other regions, Fusajiro sold other cards with different symbols, like swords and mountains. At first the Hanafunda cards were only used as a domestic amusement, and Fusajiro didn´t sell large amounts of the handmade cards (hello, they're hand made). But after a while the cards began to be used in gambling, eventually leading to the Yakuza (The Japanese Mafia, in case you've been under a rock for a ridiculously long time ) to use the cards in high stake gambling games. Since all the professional players wanted to start a new game with a new fresh deck, Fusajiro suddenly had problems keeping up with the demands, leading him to train apprentices to mass produce the cards.

The company grew, and eventually Fusajiro retired in 1929, leaving Sekiryo Kaneda in charge (which after his marriage with Fusajiro's daughter, Tei Yamauchi, got the Yamauchi surname). By now Nintendo was the largest playing cards company in Japan. Sekiryo Yamauchi established a joint-venture partnership named Yamauchi Nintendo & Co.

SPIC part 5, Astonishing X-Men Ghost Boxes

now in vlog form

IMCML member appears on G4TV

Our 'Top Fop' Vanzetti was caught dancing with a buxom woman in L.A. whilst at an Abney Park concert.

He can be seen for roughly ONE second on the 'G4 Underground' episode about Steampunk and Urban Spelunking. woohoo!

There he is in the glasses in the bottom, right corner:




To read Vanzetti's "Steampunk in Comics" series (SPIC for short), click his name in the right sidebar (or click here) and search through his blog posts.....I will compile them all in one place someday... I swear!

The full G4 Underground Steampunk segment can be seen here:

i hate you g4

I do not have g4 on my satelite tier of channels. No biggie. Attack of the show is just meh anyways. However they got this show, g4 underground and they did a segment on steampunk.
With interviews with Abney Park (Gasp!)
Jake Von Slatt (Oh My!)
And recorded an AP concert in Hollywood (Oh my stars and garters!)

They edited out all the interviews with the concert goers. Humbug! not like I have some self-serving motives for being miffed in the matter. It could not be my spiel on comic books ran long and was little boring? Naw, could not be. That would be impossible.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7PQDIf5l2g
in other news, happy zombie jesus day!

New music video courtesy of IMCML

I tried to animate a proper lip-synching using Microsoft movie Maker.

It didn't quite work out as I planned.... Other than that, the video came out pretty well, and I'm like... 80% happy with it.

The music is by IMCML members Nairb McDuck (Ritz the Unsound Mind) and Remis is Error (Unkle Remis)

http://www.myspace.com/unsoundmind518
http://www.myspace.com/unkleremis

Enjoy:

Wolverine Vs Rorschach (in the pc vs mac style)

I found this and thought, huh, how clever. Not balls to the walls hilarious, but funny none the less. If you are one whom enjoys it, there's Wolverine with the other Watchmen cast in the same style. Enjoy children, enjoy.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine has leaked

Here is Fox’s official statement:

“Last night, a stolen, incomplete and early version of X-Men Origins: Wolverine was posted illegally on a website. It was without many effects, had missing and unedited scenes and temporary sound and music. We immediately contacted the appropriate legal authorities and had it removed. We forensically mark our content so we can identify sources that make it available or download it. The source of the initial leak and any subsequent postings will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law – the courts have handed down significant criminal sentences for such acts in the past. The FBI and the MPAA also are actively investigating this crime. We are encouraged by the support of fansites condemning this illegal posting and pointing out that such theft undermines the enormous efforts of the filmmakers and actors, and above all, hurts the fans of the film.”

The movie officially comes out on May 1st, but for any torrent users out there, this is an EARLY RELEASE.

Happy hunting.

Zelda II Review

A few months ago, I beat Zelda II: The Adventure of Link again for the umpteenth time, and I decided to write about it. Well... I never did. Until now.


Zelda II is great. It combines the sidescrolling action of a game like Super Mario Bros. with somewhat of a fighting engine, and combines THAT with the open exploration and item collecting that the series has always been known for. Awesome.


When I say "fighting engine", I'm referring to the battle system. In every other Zelda game (up to 'Ocarina of Time' and the 3D era of Zelda games), you go up to a bad guy, you press a button on your controller and voila, the enemy is dead. Simple. Unless of course you're fighting a boss, in which case you have to repeat the process a number of times until the boss has been bested.


However....


In Zelda II, fighting requires intense concentration. Maybe this is where the game loses people. You see... if you just go blazing into battle with your button-mashing fingers blazing.... you're screwed. You're dead. Fade to black. Return of Ganon.






In Zelda II, you actually need to pay very close attention to what the enemies are doing at all times. For example, if a bat flies low to theground...watch out! There's a very good chance he might transform into a bat-humanoid thing that breathes fire at you. It's okay though, If you expect this, you can just put up your shield and it's no problem. Be vigilant. The best example however, would be the Palace Guard knights. These guys have swords which they can use to stab high or low depending on their whim (I'm pretty sure they were programmed to stab high or low randomly. There doesn't seem to be any order to their stabby-stab-stab chaos). They also have a shield which they can use to block high and low attacks, so in order to kill them, you need to watch for when they pull their daggers and then (very quickly) raise your shield (or lower it) to block their attack and then (quickly quickly quickly) stab them in the area that they are not currently blocking. Sounds tough? It is. And as you progress through the game, they take more and more hits to kill, but they also give you more and more experience points......which leads me to something I haven't mentioned yet....This game incororates RPG elements.


That's right folks.... ZELDA II is the one and ONLY game in the series to utilize experience points.

For some reason experience points are gained in the form of money. Instead of cellecting rupees, you collect money bags. So every time you grab a money bag you either get 50, 100 or 500 rupees (if memory serves me correct). You also get money for killing enemies. In later levels, the knights that you slay will give you over 1000 rupees each. These knights (and all other palace enemies) come back to life every time you leave the palace. So leaving and coming back in is a great way to build experience points. Whenever you gain the sufficient amount of experience to gain a level, you are asked to choose from 'health', 'attack' or 'magic'. If you choose 'health', your healthbar increases (that's right, NO heart containers). If you choose 'attack', you get stronger (you don't collect better swords in this game, you just upgrade using experience), and if you pick 'magic', your magic meter raises (similar to the magic bar in Link to the Past, you even fill it up with magic bottles).


The game is generally quite easy until later on, when you might get to an area and you're thinking "what the hell do I do now". In some ways, it's almost as ridiculous as "Castlevania II". Remember that orb that glows and looks really important, but when you try to touch it nothing happens? Do you remember buying the 'oak stake' and throwing it at the orb to open it up? No?!? Of course you don't. Who the FUCK is gonna figure that shit out?


Luckily, Zelda II doesn't really get retardedly hard until the very end of the game, at which point I would highly recommend talking to EVERYONE! Oh, and try walking through every wall in the later dungeons....cause ya never know....


I give Zelda II 8/10 deku seeds

i google you

The first time I heard this song, I laughed of course. Nothing like mocking today's technologically literate, pop culture. But now, like most of Amanda Palmer's music (yes I know Neil Gaiman wrote the song, not AFP), it speaks to me. I relate the  song to events in my life. Specifically. In detail. I listen to her songs and I think "I know THAT person in that song" or "THAT happened to me, just like that" and on and on.
Seriously, I have the following sentences come up in conversations with friends:
"OMG I love that new hat you wore in that pic on myspace" 
"Oh yea, I read about that happening to you in your blog"
"Wtf, friend me already..."
Has the blogosphere become so ingrained in normal human socializing? I think it has. Twitter is only making this explode faster. I got my first random follower the other day. I have no idea how this person found me, I do not know her from Adam. DENIED.  Do not get me wrong, Twitter is great. I am using it exactly as I intended to. The ability to drunk dial all my friends at the same time.  It will also give me something to do when I am waiting for an airplane.

Marvel: Behind Closed Doors

IMCML members 'peterparker' and 'vanzetti' have been collaborating on a stop-motion series a la "Robot Chicken".

It involves world domination and exploding soup, so gets ta watchin' PLAYA!

episode 1:

"Om3ga-Point" by Se7en Om3gatr0n

It took me three hours, but I've just made a pretty sweet transformers music video (with music by Nairb McDuck aka Unsound Mind aka Se7en 0m3gatr0n, check it:

Building the Millenium Falcon

Building the LEGO Millennium Falcon from Gizmodo on Vimeo.




thanks to Unkle Remis for finding this.

watchmen 2: electric boogaloo

i left in a state of bliss.
the opening credits montage came straight out of the brain of zack synder. not only does it establish the fact that this world has super heroes, it also shows how gritty and grim things can get for the people who put on a costume and fight crime. it is not a normal thing to do, even here. and there are prices to be paid. yup, there are serious consequences to superherodom.. you do not get that in spider-man the musical.

i say this film is about 92 to 95% faithful to the graphic novel. this only shows how awesome comic book films can be when they do not stray from the source material. just look at the punisher films, they got progressively better as they followed the comics more and more. i understand they had to trim things down, that means all the secondary characters have been dumbed down to the status of cameos. shame really since it takes away from the human tragedy of putting a name and a face to the victims at the climax.

want plot synopsis? in a world where superheros really exist, wear masks, always have effed up personal lives. one night, one of them gets thrown out a high rise building and it is Rorschach to put together the retired superheros together and solve the mystery. and tragedy ensues.

some real mindfuck moments come from dr. manhattan waxing poetically on quantum mechanics, time/space, and the relationship of termites to humans. hence he never wears pants. seriously, who the hell is going to tell him to put some goddamn pants on. unless they want to get exploded all over their friends' faces.  give it a second watch if it all goes over your head. when it kicks in, trust me.

now for fanboy squee momments:
Rorschach. everything scene he is in is an exercise in intensity and subtext. it takes a lot to act well and be expressive when wearing a faceless mask (see how hard ed norton rocked in kingdom of heaven). i think the reason why Rorschach is so popular  with the fans is how singleminded he is. he needs to find answers, he breaks fingers till he gets them. real simple like.  i personally thought it was cute when child rorshach beat the living hell out of the two older bullies.  even when rorschach is getting attacked by mobs of swat, he puts up the good fight.. grats to him.

laurie, aka silk specter II becomes a bigger whore as things go on. maybe Rorschach is on to something.
her mom, sally... i am so in love with her. something like a cross of bettie page and wonderwoman. but more domestic with age. but still a total flirt. awesome.

the comedian is a total asshole. really. no joke.  shooting a rioter in the back with a canister of gas was really sadistic and funny. however, i was the only one in the theather who laughed when he shot someone in vietnam.  wont spoil who it was, but it was not nice. not nice at all.

i giggled everytime i saw dr. manhattan's penis. after a while, it even got on my friends nerves. i heard a few "GAWD, frank" my work here is done. i have never seen so much cock outside of porn. it was great. american films have no problem with exploiting the female form but when it comes to full frontal male nudity, oh nose, think of the children!!! guess what, the world did not explode. i guess it is ok to show blue wang.  maybe next time, it will not be CG. fangirls can only hope.

ozymandias, aka adrian viedt, is a total dick. what do you expect from "the world's smartest man"? as he should be. honestly, every scene he was in was fierce and played a one-man ambiguous gay duo. not that there is anything wrong with that. i would not like to run into him in a dark alley. for a multitude of reason.

so if you wonder what the world would be like if superheros were real, check out watchmen.

Attack of the Megamanatee

Crime should be practiced more

Nobody practices at crime, i wonder what the worlds crimerates would be, if criminals put the same effort into their abilities, as law officials and the military does.

So far, in the world, only a very few criminal organizations have the same military capability as a government military force. They can be heavily armed, yes, but rarely as heavily as a real army. The mexican cartels are an example of criminals with the aggressive capabilities of a smaller government army.

But on the street level, the criminal is pretty much a noob compared to the cop, in most activities.

Take driving skills, for example. M-hm, say no more.

There are examples of that too, for example, which type of criminals DO have a pesky habit of getting away from cops? Illegal street racers, and they seem to be the only ones who more than often, do get away. Why? Practice!

marvel 1602: new world, SPIC 4

marvel 1602: new world greg pak/greg tocchini

while the whole 1602 series is just SLIGHTY ahead of what we would call steampunk, by a few hundred years and in colonial america, this particual book is spectacularly steampunk and it all thanks to to lord iron, this world's iron man.

col. america dragged nick furry's body into the singularity that pulled him from his time to this timeperiod and creating the age of wonders, early. that is where we left off in marvel 1602. now we have bruce banner trying to deal the fallout of being affected by the singularity, namely, what we would call the grey hulk. he tries to help some native dinosaurs; shame it takes the hulk to defend these brontosaurs from a pack of meat eaters. back in roanoke we have the budding romance of virgina dare, the first englighperson born in the new world (fact!) who is also a shapeshifter (as per legend!) with peter parquagh, former aid to bruce banner in his mission to find nick furry from king james I, but now printer's aprentice to master jameson. he is only now starting to demonstrate the powers he obtained from the spider who bit him that was affected fromt he aformentioned singularity. whew. it gets better. norman osborne is trying to buy the rest of island from the native (expect they were taught english by col. america and were told to never trust the whitemen. they will lie and break every promise they ever speak) with glass beads and james I sends lord iron, on load form spain, to bring in bruce banner who failed to bring nick furry's head.

who is lord iron exactly? well first of all he is a renassiance man. he makes da vinci look like he rides the short bus to inventor school.

TVZ

*zzzup!*

Welcome back, and give the "Gurus of Salsa" a big hand. Before we begin, let me just point out that we are working on a new title for the show, but to be honest, finding something intelligent to associate with a late night talk-show, is an oxymoron in itself.
Yeah, oxymoron obviously means your a moron thats been oxy'ed or something, but screw that, we're getting nowhere, our first guest tonight is - the prime minister! Please welcome the prime minister, hey!

Host: Have a seat, mister prime minister, please.

PM: Thank you, um, thanx!

Host: You just came back from abroad, didnt you?

PM: That's correct, i was at a meeting in Uruguay.

Host: What exactly do you do at such meetings?

PM: Not much, we talk, take notes, suggest stuff, you know..

Host: That sounds nice, did you guys figure stuff out?

PM: Yes and no, sortof.

Host: What do you do, as a prime minister?

PM: Nothing much, go to meetings, figure stuff out, type on my computer, answer phones, fax stuff, you know, politician-work.

Host: You run the country?

PM: Well... the country would probably run itself, thats what societies ultimately do.

Host: What do you mean?

Paku Paku Gobble Gobble

history is totally cool

When I was little, and went to school, I didn't give a shit. NOW, I do....

History is AWESOME now, I read up on shit all the time. I read up on Norwegian history, cus I'm from Norway, I read up on Spanish and Peruvian, cus I'm from there too, then I read up on places I'm not from at all, all of them, systematically, I want to know everything!

But then i also know, that all written history - is just that: Some dude (usually, most likely a dude.) wrote this. Not only once, but like a billion times over, in tons of languages, and in many different ways of expressing something.
This is especially problematic in Norwegian history, where you dont have to go very far back, before a lot becomes guesswork, and you have to look at drunken songs in order to reveal actual history.
If a drunken song is your ONLY source for an important battle, you know for sure took place, and the song goes on about "tens of thousands of men", what do you then write into the history book?
Such numbers have indeed been used in old sources, but the population of Scandinavia as a whole, at the time, would rarely allow for such armies to gather, its likely no such armies were raised untill at least well after the medieval era was over.
The only refuge against very "uncertain" history, somehow, at least for me, becomes to go further back, to when everything inevitably becomes uncertain by default.
My city name for example, Trondheim, both roots Trond and Heim are ancient. Heim means home, and Trond is a tribal name.
The interesting part is this: the region has ALWAYS been "Trondheim", even after we forgot who the "Trond" or "Trønder" was, even the vikings had probably forgotten, but they also used the same names. Same goes for Rogaland and Hordaland, of the Roga and Hordar. Estimates put the "activity" of these tribal kingdoms several thousand years back.
The "Dane" of Denmark, whos ancient name was "Daneland", is also of unknown ancient tribal origin. Nobody knows who the "Dane" originally was, except that they were, along with the Tronds, Rogar, Hordar, Svear and Götar, they were pre-nordic germanic tribes, who quite possible had the exact same language at this time, its possible that they did not even have had the time to develop regional dialects, as these became apparent as late as the viking age.

gotham by gaslight, SPIC part 3

gotham by gaslight by brian augustyn/mike mignola

we all know dr. thomas and martha were gunned down before their little boy bruce and he grows up living a life of wealth and privledge. then he puts on a fancy suit and becomes batman so that tragedy never happens to anyone else again. what if that happened in the late 1800s? bruce returns to gotham after a grand tour (obviously, training in combat, studing deduction, etc) and cannot wait to do some real good in the gotham's streets, as the dark knight. he does great work, twarting dynamite wielding safe crackers, muggers, the whole criminal element and the newpapers make note of the giant bat haunting the city. the one thing batman misses is jack the ripper returning to public life in 1889 gotham. the police are under tremendous public pressure to find the ripper and put him away. they find some evidence on their prime suspect, bruce wayne. while searching wayne manor they find a bloody knife, how they missed if you set the grandfather clock in the study to exactly midnight/noon the door to the batcave opens up. bruce is put to trial with the shakiest of evidence like a gin-soaked, crazy cat lady and coinsidence as evidence from D.A. harvey dent. despite console from bruce's beloved "uncle" jake bruce is convicted of being jack the ripper. the only people who belive he is innocent is his butler, alfread pennyworth, and inspector james gordon. from his cell bruce gathers what evidence and clues he can be fed from his friend gordon, newspaper clippings, "ripper" letters, photographs, whatever. all that bruce can conclude is the gotham murders are being committed by the same individual in the whitechapel murders, one year ago. in passing looking at a picture of his father's cival war medical detatchment he notices the flag for the unit has the same symbol on the murder weapon. now bruce has his own short list of suspects. he has alfread easily break him out fo jail (way to go G.C.P.D. letting your biggest convict practically walk out...). batman is on the streets and just in time to stop the ripper from murdering another "unfortunate" woman. a chase through the pooered areas of gotham ensues. watching batman chase him down, swining on ropes while avoiding hansome cabs is a real treat. nothing is more "batman" than him flying out of the mike mignola darkness. the chase ends with batman calling out jack the ripper at the cementary. the big reveal is how "uncle" jake is really the ripper. turns out he was always in love with martha, bruce's mother. when he confesses his love to her, she laughs and mocks him. the heartache breaks his mind. he grows paranoid. pychotically so. to him, thomas, his friend from the war, who helped him in getting into high society and a career. even their little brat of a son, bruce was in on the joke. so he had a theif assasinate the family. or as much of the family he could. martha's laughing never stopped. batman takes off his cowl and tells him he is not laughing. at this point, crackerjack gotham PD shows up to save the day, ie take batman and the ripper to jail. jake does not go quietly and takes out a knife and swipes at batman, hoping to take him down in a blaze of glory. gordon is there and shoots him in mid-swing, giving bruce only a flesh wound. jake dies and gordon lets batman run off to fight crime another day.

this only gets 3 brass cogs. batman DOES have his utility belt. that is worth 3 cogs, right?

bonus points for a cameo from this world's joker. 

 

boycott all mass media (not really)

Just hate it with me. Not all of it of course, but the vast majority of it. Most of it. Let's say.. 99,9987% of it.

I hate movies, series, games (and people) i haven't yet gotten to known. I am more than happy to prejudge something. In a videostore, i judge movies by their cover.

"You can't judge a book/movie by its cover!" yes you idiot, you can! example!

This is clearly a low-budget movie, who cares about budget. Budget only counts if you are hoping for huge visual effects. We will get to the lack of good visual effects in some other blog, i have a "hen to pluck" with the gelatinous crap excuse for lava in the "Return of the King" movie.
It shows the main characters actors name, at the top, while the director takes a step back, and hides underneath the movie title. Message: "We spent very little money on this movie, cus the best stories take place in normal real life." The title is purely symbolic, there aren't 7 virgins in this movie, in fact, there are no virgins at all as i recall. This movie does what movies rarely do: They make your ordinary drama realistic enough to "fall" for it. If a man chases you with a knife in real life, you shit yourself, if a man chases another man w a knife in a movie, you wait for the special effects explosions, UNLESS - its REALLY believable, and you actually expect the knife man to kill his fellow actor.
This movie, like many euro movies, stay more slow and realistic, but capture the viewer - on a personal level - more than special-effects-ridden movies ever hope to do.


This is another example, but American, so not to pit euro against american when it comes to pop-culture styles (even tho the reality often IS euro vs american..). Again, it gives the same message. In this case, not even the director or actors names are on the cover, only 3 smiling indians, and a very general title "Smoke Signals" that tell you absolutely nothing of the story. There are no smoke signals in the movie. Its about people, its a story. Its a very good movie.


THIS is a glaring example of stupidity at first glance. "But, its SUPPOSED to be stupid! Duuh!" shut up you imbecile. The title letters, big and cartoony. If i want cartoons, im paying 45 krones for a comic book, that will actually contain some quality, not 350 or whatever, for this piece of shit DVD.
Two hot chicks in the background. Wow. I got internet porn. Two dressed chicks as well, i guess these would be the conflicting babes vs nerds or something. I've actually seen this movie, but my mind has blocked all memories of it. Look, a doggie, i bet the dog provides funny scenes, in the shape of well trained little actions by the innocent little actor-doggie.


what can i say... "No, he's not, you retard. He's an actor, and a poor one at that." Okay, the good movie also sported the actor's name, but theres a difference: the good movie uses a completely unknown actor, he deserves some fame. HARRISON FORD is well known, its not necesary to beef up the letters to that size, they knew, but still they did it.
"is the President of the United States."
WHY do they write that? First sign of a crap movie, is one that - from BEFORE you even watch - treat you like a retard.
"Here, allow me to help you, you stupid stupid person: Harrison ford is president of usa in this movie. air force one is, as you may know, the presidential flight. This movie is about the president, and his flight, and the perils that may occur during this flight."
Idiots.
The LETTERS show: "HARRISON FORD" and "AIR FORCE ONE", the IMAGES show: HARRISON FORD, and AIR FORCE ONE. Just in case your too stupid to figure out wether or not you wanna watch it yet.
(Don't watch it, here, i'll gladly ruin it for you: The president makes it at the end, the bad guy (some east-german or something, played by Gary Oldman) is thrown off the airplane, to Harrison Ford's painfully awkward: "Get out of my plane!!")

I may be an extremist on this field, if it was up to me, Hollywood would be reduced to knitting socks, for all eternity. But don't get me wrong, its not ALL Hollywood, but anywhere that culture gets mass-produced, for example "Bollywood", trillions of movies, all united by ridiculous dance-and-sing scenes, that we all know, are less than realistic.


I can't wait for the sing-and-dance scenes in this one.
Or this one.
I havent seen any of these movies, but i know they both got traditional sing-and-dance scenes. How charming!

I've yet to catch a "Nollywood" movie (go look it up, you ignoramus!)
but in the spirit of avoiding all lame-ass mass media, at the best of my effort, I am in no hurry.
My point is, MOST media today falls into the stupid-ass category. Avoid most media.
Now im gonna go watch tv.
See, here's the thing: I'm smart enough to withstand the enormous stupidity thrown at me from tv and other media. ARE YOUUUUUU????

steampunk in comics part 2, league of extraordinary gentlemen vol. 2

the league of extraordinary gentlemen by alan moore/kevin o'neill.

well then. last we left our party of heros there were funny lights on mars. in reality they were the muzzle flash of escape pods from mars. seems these martians (turns out there are several sorts and even 2 humans, one uses a flying carpet, seriously) got their ass handed to them in a war and are now looking for a new home. one with less resistance. hey how about earth, it is right there and such. giant bullets the size of buildings land across england so what happens? people go and gawk at the damned thing that fell from the sky. a door opens up and out slithers a slimey martian, looks like a giant brain, with tentacles, a beak, and giant black eyes. maybe the martians are bad mother fuckers, maybe they got sick of being watched like monkey at the zoo, or maybe they planned it all along; they attack. their cyclopean, heat ray weapon simpley waves past the crowd and they all catch on fire. men, women, childen, dogs. everything. the league standing a safe distance away take cover and they still get singed. hyde goes into one of his epic rages and wants nothing less than to eat the brains of the martians and shit down the hole he would make in their faces. they make a tactical retreat to the bleak house inn nearby to observe the alien invaders. that night they hunker down and watch the army engage the enemy. they are promptly fried to oblivion. and hawley griffin is revealed to have snuck out the house to parley with the martians. while they cannot see him, he communicates with them with figures drawn in the sand. a plot. to take over the world. the knave! the next morning, the martians obliterate bleak house and the league take a coach back to headquarters in london. on they way they see refugees. who ever heard of such a thing in england? they take a meeting with the new M, mycroft holmes. yes, the brother of THAT holmes. counter-attack plans are hatched. mina stays at HQ and studies everything they have on mars while the rest go back to spy on the martians. as they make idle conversation the coach stop. a martian tripod is set on them and stomps on them, like an AT-AT in star wars.

steampunk in comics, part 1 League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

welcome to steampunk in comics week! what the hell is steampunk you might ask? somesort of really angry punk rocker with steam coming out of his ears. not at all. technically i would call it a sub-genre of science-fiction that is a reaction to cyberpunk, another sub-genre of science-fiction that has a setting of neo-victorian, retro-futurism. basically, what if the computer age started 100 years before the creation of the silicon transistor. there are difference engines (mechanical computers) in every office building, your next door nieghbor is an inventor of steam-powered cars and you travel across long distances in airships. and everyone wears goggles. how i got into steampunk were a few comics 5 or 6 years ago; only now am i realizing steampunk is more than just a litterary movement, but now involves an underground music scene and its own fashion. now that is out of the way, let me start at the begining. at least for me.

the league of extraordinary gentlemen by alan moore & kevin o'neill.

i love victorian literature. there is everything from the best deductive detectives, vampires, flesh golems, white rabbits, invisble men, amoral dandies, and submarines. what if they all met? had adventures? and used clockwork machine pistols? sign me up! from the first page you know this is a fantastical place. a wide shot of a bridge from dover, england to end in france. looks every bit the typical superhighway construction project of today, except these cranes are powered by steam. so we start with wilhelmina murray, last seen fighting count dracula in transylvania, set by a government agent to put together a special team to resolve a special problem. god save the queen! next stop, egypt. mina ends up in a shitty, dive opium den to find allan quartermain. man is this going to be bad. he is too old, past his prime and sucking too well on the devil's dick. however he still has that killer instict and shoots some of the crazed mob intent on raping our dear, poor mina. the outrage! the tragedy! the escape to the docks where they get re-enforcements from captain nemo. no, not the disney version. this is the sikh, british hating, science pirate. did i mention he has a nuclear powered submarine? so he takes out an automatic harpoon gun and watses the mob chasing our heros. now for a quick trip under the sea to paris. something about murders in the rue morgue. not again :(

Nintendo planning friendlier approach to game difficulty

http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/nintendo-planning-friendlier-approach-to-game-difficulty/1278610

"The days of getting stuck in games could be gone altogether, if a patent filed recently by Nintendo comes to fruition.

Nintendo's idea, made public in a patent application this week, hinges on making demonstration videos available to players while they're playing the game, either as a thumbnail view or a full-screen animation. Players could interrupt the demonstration at any point, taking control back to continue playing without assistance. Think of it as a tutorial guide that lasts throughout the entire game.

It also proposes to let players start playing at any point during a game -- a feature that's in many games already, but typically only unlocked once a player has already completed those levels. Just like skimming a newspaper article for the juicy bits, this would allow players to tackle games, in their entirety, at their own whim."

I think this is a fantastic idea.

We've all used game guides, gamefaqs and Game Genie/ Game Shark to skip levels.

We all have friends and relatives who refuse to play video games based solely on the idea that they're "too hard". They pick up a game like 'Zelda: Twilight Princess' because everyone tells them how awesome Zelda games are, and then they want to smash their controllers when they can't figure out where to find the boomerang... or how to find a key.... etc... and then they just STOP playing the game altogether out of frustration.

Well, now they don't have to! Now everyone can play.

I seem to be the only one who likes the idea however... everyone in the IMCML community seems to be completely enraged at the idea:
http://www.ironmanchangedmylife.com/forum/index.php?topic=225.0

I don't see a problem. Nintendo are geniuses. They know what the deal is.