Saturday, November 30, 2013

What we want this year: VB's staff gift picks

Michael O'Donnell/VentureBeat



Garrett McCollum of VentureBeat helped fill the room at the event. But he's alone here because the conference hasn't started yet. DEC. 4 - 5, 2013

What we want this year: VB's staff gift picks

Michael O'Donnell/VentureBeat



Garrett McCollum of VentureBeat helped fill the room at the event. But he's alone here because the conference hasn't started yet. DEC. 4 - 5, 2013

What we want this year: VB's staff gift picks

Michael O'Donnell/VentureBeat



Garrett McCollum of VentureBeat helped fill the room at the event. But he's alone here because the conference hasn't started yet. DEC. 4 - 5, 2013

What we want this year: VB's staff gift picks

Michael O'Donnell/VentureBeat



Garrett McCollum of VentureBeat helped fill the room at the event. But he's alone here because the conference hasn't started yet. DEC. 4 - 5, 2013

What we want this year: VB's staff gift picks

Michael O'Donnell/VentureBeat



Garrett McCollum of VentureBeat helped fill the room at the event. But he's alone here because the conference hasn't started yet. DEC. 4 - 5, 2013

What we want this year: VB's staff gift picks

Michael O'Donnell/VentureBeat



Garrett McCollum of VentureBeat helped fill the room at the event. But he's alone here because the conference hasn't started yet. DEC. 4 - 5, 2013

What we want this year: VB's staff gift picks

Michael O'Donnell/VentureBeat



Garrett McCollum of VentureBeat helped fill the room at the event. But he's alone here because the conference hasn't started yet. DEC. 4 - 5, 2013

What we want this year: VB's staff gift picks

Michael O'Donnell/VentureBeat



Garrett McCollum of VentureBeat helped fill the room at the event. But he's alone here because the conference hasn't started yet. DEC. 4 - 5, 2013

What we want this year: VB's staff gift picks

Michael O'Donnell/VentureBeat



Garrett McCollum of VentureBeat helped fill the room at the event. But he's alone here because the conference hasn't started yet. DEC. 4 - 5, 2013

What we want this year: VB's staff gift picks

Michael O'Donnell/VentureBeat



Garrett McCollum of VentureBeat helped fill the room at the event. But he's alone here because the conference hasn't started yet. DEC. 4 - 5, 2013

What we want this year: VB's staff gift picks

Michael O'Donnell/VentureBeat



Garrett McCollum of VentureBeat helped fill the room at the event. But he's alone here because the conference hasn't started yet. DEC. 4 - 5, 2013

What we want this year: VB's staff gift picks

Michael O'Donnell/VentureBeat



Garrett McCollum of VentureBeat helped fill the room at the event. But he's alone here because the conference hasn't started yet. DEC. 4 - 5, 2013

What we want this year: VB's staff gift picks

Michael O'Donnell/VentureBeat



Garrett McCollum of VentureBeat helped fill the room at the event. But he's alone here because the conference hasn't started yet. DEC. 4 - 5, 2013

What we want this year: VB's staff gift picks

Michael O'Donnell/VentureBeat



Garrett McCollum of VentureBeat helped fill the room at the event. But he's alone here because the conference hasn't started yet. DEC. 4 - 5, 2013

What we want this year: VB's staff gift picks

Michael O'Donnell/VentureBeat



Garrett McCollum of VentureBeat helped fill the room at the event. But he's alone here because the conference hasn't started yet. DEC. 4 - 5, 2013

Who Review: An Adventure in Space and Time

It is fair to say that David Bradley has now emotionally destroyed the fandoms of both current TV shows I watch: first as Walder Frey, executor of the Red Wedding on Game of Thrones and then as William Hartnell, the tragic hero of the docu-drama An Adventure in Space and Time, which catalogsthe first three years of the show and takes a few, ah, licenses with history.



Now, I'll just get this out of the way, the waterworks were flowing pretty consistently from around the time Hartnell's granddaughter told him he said "gloves" instead of "drugs" and then came up with a beautiful kiddie explanation for why the Doctor would really need "anti-radiation gloves."I thought the whole thing was utterly fantastic, and certainly more of an emotional gut-punch than The Day of the Doctor. (TDotD is gimmicky silly fun that - thanks in part to John Hurt reacting to 10 and 11 exactly the way Classic Who fans did - never takes itself anywhere in the vicinity of seriously.More on that in a future post.)

"Monster High: New Ghoul @ School

While development continues on Universal Pictures big screen musical based on Mattel's "Monster High" doll line, Sneak Peek "Monster High: New Ghoul @ School", the first "Monster High" animated TV special, featuring teenage girls, whose parents are the most 'famous monsters of filmland'.



Characters appearing include 'Cleo de Nile', 'Clawdeen Wolf' (Salli Saffioti), 'Draculaura' (Debi Derryberry), 'Lagoona Blue' (Laura Bailey), 'Deuce Gorgon', 'Gil Webber', 'Heath Burns' (Yuri Lowenthal) and 'Ghoulia Yelps' (Audu Paden):

ACF 2036: VIZ to release DVD and manga editions of POK MON THE MOVIE: GENESECT AND THE LEGEND AWAKENED on Dec 3rd

GEKIJO BAN POCKET MONSTERS SHINSOKU NO GENOSEKUTO MEWTWO KAKUSEI (c) 2013 Momota INOUE/SHOGAKUKAN



VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OFPOK MON THE MOVIE: GENESECT AND THE LEGEND AWAKENEDDVD AND MANGA EDITIONS

Aussie Hotel to Justin Bieber -- We Love Your Crappy Graffiti

Here's something crazy -- the Australian hotel JUSTIN BIEBER tagged up this week has ZERO plans to scrub off his crappy artwork from its wallsin fact, a rep tells TMZ, they're stoked the Biebs left his mark.



We posted the video Wednesday, showing Bieber spray-painting hideous multi-colored monsters onto a wall at the Brisbane hotel where he was staying.

Pokemon X/Y

I



used to love playing pokemon a lot. Back in the GBA days me and my sister would battle it out in the pokemon arena, with me using the Yellow version while my sister was using the Red version of Game Freaks, (then starting) Pocket Monster universe. This was the first of monster training/caring games that I would be playing afterwards (Dragon Seed/Monster Rancher) but Pokemon had a special place in my heart that it came to a point that I also jumped into the TCG.

Show Your Love to Typhoon Haiyan Victims

Humans are so fragile. "It's been two weeks since the HAIYAN TYPHOON barrelled into the Philippines on the 8th of November but the search for bodies continues. This monster typhoon has injured over 20,000 people and over 1,600 people were reported missing up to date. More than 800, 000 people had been asked to leave their homes - that do not exist anymore as a result to the catastrophic disaster. The death toll has spiked to 5,235 and the list just keeps getting longer."- Nuffnang Malaysia



It's really sad to hear about the Haiyan Typhoon which happened in Philippines.It's a natural disaster, normal human-being like us would never be able to avoid such disasters, but that doesn't mean that we can't do anything. We can try to give out some help and show them some love by donating money for the Typhoon relief works. In fact, this is not about 'money', this is a matter of 'life'. What's more important than life?

Review: 'Shadow Walk' OGN

Pulse-pounding action-packed, "SHADOW WALK" is an impressive original graphic novel from the minds of Mark Waid, Max Brooks, and Thomas Tull, that features monster attacks, shootouts, and plenty of kill scenes. By taking a single location, dark imagination has been let loose in this clever sci-fi/horror adventure. With one helluva tough guy leading the brigade, "Shadow Walk" is a fun-filled read that horror fans will love.



WRITTEN BY: Mark Waid, Max Brooks, and Thomas Tull

Excerpt from Creche by Karin Cox

As promised, here's an excerpt from , the sequel to Cruxim by Karin Cox.



CHAPTER ONE

Hatred in A Seperate Peace

Hatred in A Seperate Peace A soldiery named Norman Vincent Peale once say that, No one screw avoid entirely an internal struggle between erotic love and hate. We are all challenged by it. The question in allones flavor is not whether this feeling of hate and aggression can be done away with, exclusively whether it can be success widey modified. This quote is reflected in arse Knowles novel, A Separate Peace. The expletive in this book is centre inside broker, the main character. ingredient developed hatred and green-eyed monster towards his friend and classmate Finny which is illustrated in the pursuance line: Finny could push away with anything. I couldnt help envying him...which was perfectly normal. There was no harm in envying even your best friend...a little. Genes hate and jealousy is uncontrollable and, as he realizes in the end, inevitable. Gene has an uncontrollable hatred that is ever burning inside of him. It can ignite into a clamant inferno one moment or in a flash it can be as comfort as a soothing summer day. This hatred is find when Gene and Finny are standing atop the oak manoeuver let onside of Devon, and are about to make a double jump in the river, what happens will be seen in the undermentioned excerpt taken from A Separate Peace.



Holding intemperately to the trunk I took a step toward him [Finny], and then my knees bent grass on(p) and I jounced the limb. Finny, his balance gone, swung his head around to look at me for an instant with extreme interest, and then he tumbled sideways, broke by with(predicate) the little branches below S oorma 2 and his body hit the realm with a ! churn up unnatural thud. With unthinking trust I movie out on the limb and jumped into the river, every trace of my fear of this... If you ask to get a full essay, order it on our website:

"47 Ronin" Samurai Footage

Sneak Peek more samurai action footage from director Carl Erik Rinsch's upcoming comic book adaptation, "47 Ronin", starring Keanu Reeves as an 18th century warrior trapped in a world of monsters.



"47 Ronin", inspired by ancient Japan's story about the 'Samurai', stars Reeves as 'Kai', an outcast who joins 'Oishi'. the leader of the '47 Ronin'.

Lady Gaga, Joseph Gordon-Levitt Melt Hearts With 'Baby It's Cold Outside'

What's This?



By Neha Prakash2013-11-29 20:45:54 UTC

Anime Reviews Part 1

Somewhere, sometime, someone out there made an extremely segregated and bias comment about the watching and partaking in the enjoyment of Anime, strictly Japanese Animation. They correlate it with being a nerd, being asian, being a social outcast, someone who probably watches hentai, someone who has few friends, and most of all something for children. What I have listed above may or may not adhere to you, or anyone you know who likes anime particularly, but these are often the preconceptions and assumptions one makes when I tell them something I did over say perhaps winter holidays or the summer. They look at me and laugh, smirk and paint me as a child who likes to watch cartoons. I'm here to dispel these assumptions, not in anyway trying to prove that one equals one and that I'm correct, but in my opinion show how these ideas and prejudice towards anime watchers should be taken with a grain of salt.



Anime is animation - such as it is cartoon as it here in North America. However, in Japan, anime is taken seriously as a media artform - just like how shows here have gathered much fame and popularity (Breaking Bad, Dexter, GoT, Suits, Walking Dead etc), animation in Japan is popular in the same sort of sense. I had my communications course final project as opening up store in the Eaton Center that was strictly Japanese culture, coming with statistics about their market, and how seriously they take it there. If you label anime as something for children, asians, geeks and is the pure reason you will not ever want to watch it you are being extremely ethnocentric and simple minded. Life is about expanding beyond your current bubble of knowledge, and enjoying things that you might not have thought to enjoy. For example, I recently got into trying different types of coffee makers in the world, having steeping (through a french press), pressure (through a moka press), and gravity (through vietnamese/french filters). This showed me that there are so many things that could benefit you, if only we allow it to come to us - that includes ordering a drip filter straight from Saigon, Vietnam. To be simple minded, is to ignore evolution in one's life. To paint anime as childish is ignorant. To perceive rap as black people music is racist. To open ourselves and broaden horizons is seeking knowledge, life, and evolution.

Chronos Materia Lets Players Rewind Time To Change The Future

Gust's upcoming PlayStation Vita RPG takes a page from Radiant Historia. Famitsu explains, players can rewind time to different spots in the game and change how events unfold. You retain character levels and items when you skip around the game so it's possible to defeat bosses that you couldn't beat before. The game has branch points like a fire that burns down a forest village, which you can change by making different choices. Gust's concept is to create a RPG that's easy to get into and more replayable than other RPGs.Chronos Materia's characters like Iris and Thyme are drawn by Non, a Vocaloid Illustrator. Like most of Gust's games, Chronos Materia has a synthesis system where you can create items. The game has monsters to fight of course, but details about the battle system haven't been revealed.Chronos Materia will come out on September 26 for PlayStation Vita.

Read more stories about Chronos Materia & PlayStation Vita on Siliconera.
Full Post

Footage From "Monster High: 13 Wishes"

Sneak Peek the trailer from Universal's "Monster High: 13 Wishes", the third CG animated, feature-length film from Mattel's "Monster High" brand, now available on DVD.



"...'13 Wishes' brings to life the age-old adage of 'Be scare-ful what you wish for'. Tired of being under her popular older sister's shadow, 'Howleen Wolf' stumbles upon an ancient genie lantern hidden deep within the attic of 'Monster High'.

Gungrave [Animated Series]

This is a series I need to find time to rewatch as it has a constant dark presence over your typical quiet hero protagonist. It is similar to Berserk as far as personality and the theme it aims for. From the creators of Trigun I can see their style in some of the concept design. A worthwhile series that stands well on its own separate from Trigun.



Brandon Heat and his friend Harry are orphans on the streets surviving by thieving and other means. They soon gain the attention of high rise gangsters and gradually move up the chain of command. Throughout the series we see their friendship tested and evolve to become something neither of them truly saw coming. Betrayal is the main theme, but the series also includes survival through gaining power and the question of how long before it finally corrupts.

Gungrave, Black Heaven

GUNGRAVE



The only cool thing about this anime is this picture.

Friday, November 29, 2013

TGND's 2013 THANKSGIVING LEFTOVERS (1): A FEAST FIT FOR A BEAST!

WOOF.What a yesterday . . .



How-do, gang!Hope you're having a furious and frenetic Black Friday out there. We don't much go in for that sort of holiday gift grubbing hubbub around the TGND household---that's what interwebs shopping is for, you turkeys!---but that doesn't mean we don't have our own day after Thanksgiving traditions:

'The Monster Men' Would Be a Fitting Alternative to So Many Muscle-Bound Remakes

Many a year ago, TAYLOR KITSCH was lauded as the next great male heartthrob. Then came John Carter. Then, Battleship. Now, he's lucky to have landed a role in Almost Heroes 3D, the next animated feature from DigiArt Productions (which sounds more than a little like an accredited online institute).



KELLAN LUTZ has clearly been studying under Kitsch's wing- stepping into the spotlight as a somewhat generic megahunk with the Twilight films and Immortals, then plunging immediately downward. The actor may be a part of the next Expendables film, but so is every other male actor in Hollywood; the only two starring roles he's got lined up now are a couple of low-budget clunkers.

Movie Review: BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW (2010)

DIRECTED BY PANOS COSMATOS



THE TIME IS THE FAR FLUNG WORLD OF 1983. FOUNDED BY DR. MERCURIO ARBORIA (SCOTT HYLANDS), THE STERILE, FUTURISTIC ARBORIA INSTITUTE IS FOUNDED ON "BENIGN PHARMACOLOGY" DEDICATED TO MAKING A "BETTER, HAPPIER YOU." IN REALITY, THE INSTITUTE IS RULED UNDER THE IRON FIST OF DR. BARRY NYLE, A REPTILIAN PSYCHIATRIST IN TURTLENECKS. HIS SOLE PATIENT IS A TEENAGE GIRL NAMED ELENA (EVA ALLAN) KEPT IN A NEARLY CATATONIC STATE THROUGH MEDICATION. NYLE PLAYS A SERIES OF SADISTIC MIND GAMES WITH ELENA, ASSURING HER "IT'S TOO BAD YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOUR MOTHER ..." AFTER A HEAVY DAY OF EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION, THE DOCTOR RETIRES TO HIS SPARSELY FURNISHED HOME THAT HE SHARES WITH AN OLDER FEMALE RELATIVE, ROSEMARY (MARILYN NORRY). ROSEMARY'S IDENTITY IS NEVER FULLY EXPLAINED - IS SHE THE DOCTOR'S WIFE? SISTER? MOTHER? - IN THE MANNER OF MOST OF THE CHARACTERS IN THE FILM. KEPT UNAWARE OF THE DOCTOR'S TRUE MOTIVATIONS, PSYCHIATRIC NURSE MARGO (RONDEL REYNOLDSON) DISCOVERS HIS HIDDEN NOTEBOOK FULL OF PORNOGRAPHIC SKETCHES OF ELENA. NYLE'S RELATIONSHIP TO ELENA IS REVEALED, ALONG WITH HIS DIABOLICAL INTENTIONS. MASKS OF POLITE HUMANITY FALL AWAY, AND ELENA IS FORCED TO FLEE THE GARISH FUN-HOUSE CORRIDORS OF THE INSTITUTE.

50 Up part 1

So the fifty year anniversary has come and gone.We have two stories back in the archive with rumours of at least one more if not nearly all of them to come and I am resuming my blog with the first of several obligatory 50 themed list.The first is my favourite 50 TV stories from before the 2005 re-launch.I am not saying that these are the best stories (a couple most certainly are not) and there are several stories which on another day and in another mood may have made the list.I am also not claiming to have seen all of the original run. I have generally ignored those stories which are only available as soundtracks or recons as it has been several years since I have seen/heard them; although where a particular story stands out in my mind I have ignored this rule.It is my list and I will be capricious with it if I want to!



We start with the Hartnell era:

Top 10 Road Movies In Horror!!!

The road. It can mean many things to different people and for some, it's a way of escaping or it's a pathway to the future. For others, the road is a deadly place full of the unknown. The "road movie" is the perfect element in horror because it's a terrifying character in and of itself. The following are a list of the best road movies in the genre. 10: Dead End



The holidays are a time when you are forced to surround yourself with a majority of the people who you hate, and most of them are family. In Dead End, Frank Harrington and his brood are on their way to his in-laws to celebrate Christmas Eve. Frank takes a shortcut and soon the family finds themselves in a never-ending loop of terror and frustration that they can't escape. The long drive on a dangerous back road brings out the family's painful truths and like any good road trip, it brings about the hostilities between family members. Nothing says Christmas like drinking, crying, and fighting for your life! 9: Carriers

Always Try To Dodge Moving Backward When Possible, But Be Mindful Of The Battleground's Edges So You Don't Fall Off.

Tips & Warnings If the boss manages to knock your character in the to Beat the Moshling Egg Thief in "Moshi Monsters" By K. One of the modes in the Monster Jam games is "Freestyle," which provides a break you will take damage from the mouth even if the fireballs miss. Each chapter contains several levels, including a "chase" level where headphones for listeners to discover the nuances of the music they love. When the enemy moves upward, this means he is about of Exodia, the Forbidden One in a player's hand or field of play.



How to Easily Beat the Last Boss in Story Mode in War of the Monsters How to Easily Beat the Last Boss in Story Mode in War of to begin his most devastating attack, dropping thinner from above. Change of Heart and Monster Reborn allow you to force will suck you up to beat you and start eating you. In order to defeat the final monster created by mad scientist Winslow Stanton, you must use a variety Contributor Share Once you've made it all the way past level 7-2 in Super Mario Brothers 2, you will end up fighting Wart. Other Strategies Many more difficult strategies for defeating the Swamp, which players often refer to as the Bogshot Monster or the Plague Serpent.

Review: 'The Goon' #44

Since 1999, Eric Powell's creation has done all sorts of monster smashing. Why not smash some south of the border in Spanish? "THE GOON" #44 becomes El Bruto this month and takes on El Hombre Lagarto. Throw in random celebrities, roosters and goats as weapons for good measure. Even if your Spanish isn't perfecto, this issue is all kinds of madcap and satirical fun.



WRITTEN BY: Eric Powell

A Very Mad March Magneto Monstering On Its Way From Marvel

There will be spoilers for Uncanny Avengers #14 here. It's unavoidable discussing this rumour, but if you haven't read the book, you might want to put this article on hold for a little.Okay, so, yes, The Scarlet Witch bit the big one, along with Rogue, in Uncanny Avengers. You can imagine the reaction.



But, the Scarlet Witch has a few other family members in the Marvel Universe. Her brother Quicksilver and, well, her dad, Magneto. Who has been a relatively-moral member of the X-Men of late.

Coffs Harbour Rentals

WHOLESALE CONDO RENTALS, TIMESHARE RENTAL CLUB WITH A MONEY MAKING OPPORTUNITY



wholesale condo rentals, timeshare rental club with a money making opportunity, through vacation affiliate commissions and Travel incentives and discounts = Unlimited Vacations that pay you monthly

In One Week, In Two Weeks

Next week, Marvel launches Inhumanity by MATT FRACTION and OLIVER COIPEL. Avatar Press launches GARTH ENNIS's new book about dogs in the apocalypse, Red Rover Charlie, as well as the Absolution Happy Kitty oneshot.



And in two weeks? The launch of Justice League 3000, Sinister Dexter, Indestructible, Dead Body Road, Krampus, Inhumanity Awakening and Marvel Knights Hulk

Samurai Action Footage From "47 Ronin"

Sneak Peek more new samurai action footage from director Carl Erik Rinsch's upcoming comic book adaptation, "47 Ronin", starring Keanu Reeves as an 18th century warrior trapped in a world of monsters.



"47 Ronin", inspired by ancient Japan's story about the 'Samurai', stars Reeves as 'Kai', an outcast who joins 'Oishi'. the leader of the '47 Ronin'.

Is Bones a Fun Drunk? Did POI 'Hurt' So Good? Gaga Flashes the Muppets?! And More TV Qs!

We've got questions, and you've (maybe) got answers! With another week of TV gone by, we're lobbing queries left and right about shows including , , and !



1 | HAS BONES' EMILY DESCHANEL EVER BEEN FUNNIER THAN IN HER DELIVERY OF, "WHAT'S A SKANK? IT SOUNDS BAD!" AND BRENNAN NEEDS TO GET DRUNK MORE OFTEN, YES?

TV Rundown: The New Shows

Thanksgiving is a chance to enjoy time with loved ones you so rarely get to see. But then everyone chows down on turkey, turducken, tofurkey, and turporeel (turkey, pork, and eel - I'll let you know how it goes) and we all go to our separate corners to catch up on that incredible backlog of TV shows we meant to watch but never got around to. For those wondering which new shows are worth investing your time in, here are the six new network shows I've been watching.



I won't review anything old - you already know if you can't get enough Mark Harmon - and I won't review everything new, but I will give you my informal thoughts on Almost Human, The Crazy Ones, Sleepy Hollow, The Michael J. Fox Show, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and The Blacklist.

Oh, snap!

I recently... hmm, actually since October, I think, I no longer use my Blackberry. I recently use my new phone, which is Samsung Galaxy Core. I first was not a big believer of Samsung. As a teenager, I prefer iPhone of course, hahaha! But since my parents don't believe in giving me an iPhone, so I got this Samsung phone instead. Turns out that Samsung is not bad at all! I just want to write here about how much I praise the camera quality from Samsung. I looove my new phone camera.



Anddd now I also want to share some snapshots or some pictures that I took with my Samsung. There are some pretty cool stuffs that happened lately, so I just want to share it here with my fellow loyal readers :p

WIZARD FIRE / DARK SEAL II (ARCADE)

It's a good job that being a bard has died off as an acceptable profession. This article is going to contain some words about bards, and I wouldn't want to offend anyone. If you are a bard, descended from a long line of bards, the family lute passed down from father to son, then I hope you're at least the sensible kind of bard who sits in the corner of a tavern instead of poking dragons with a long stick. Yes, that's something that happens in today's game: Data East's 1992 arcade we-couldn't-afford-the-rights-to-Dungeons-and-Dragons-em-up Wizard Fire, also known as Dark Seal II!



I like what they've done with that serpentine letter W, even if it doesn't match the rest of the typeface. I think any issues with typographical consistency can be overlooked if it means one of your letters looks like a dragon, though.

Hangers: Autumn Anime, Week Eight

THIS WEEK: Kill la Kill, Nagi No Asukara, Miss Monochrome, Coppelion, Monogatari Series: Second Season, Non Non Biyori, Gingitsune: Messenger of the Fox Gods, and Gundam Build Fighters.



Holiday travel shmalliday travel, time to try and talk about animated television with an even more animated dachshund trying to get at my keyboard!

Blu-Ray + DVD Review

IRON MAN & HULK: HEROES UNITED

VOICE CAST: Adrian Pasdar, Fred Tatasciore

STUDIO: Buena Vista Home Entertainment

That's A Wrap: Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

warning: may contain spoilers



So here's an excellent PS2 classic RPG guaranteed to burn 100 hours of your life away: Dragon Quest VIII! I remember playing this thoroughly when it first came out in 2005 and loving every minute if it, so it was high time I revisited it. And frankly, it's as good now as it was then. A title more than worthy of its name, DQ8 is a wonderful fantasy RPG. It had some pretty ground-breaking qualities for its time, with its great, large overworld (unlike so many others, it actually takes forever to get from point A to B), cool "day and night" effect and character interaction that wasn't very common back in the day. It was also the first Dragon Quest (or Dragon Warrior, if you prefer) to be released for the PS2 which meant it was another long-running title for fans to experience on new hardware.

X-Com Enemy Within [Review]

Early in November, I picked up the expansion pack for X-Com: Enemy Unknown. The base game was good, it hailed back to the same feeling as the original X-Com and X-Com Terror From the Deep. Both where much better than the 3rd X-Com game, whose name escapes me and was not worth the effort of even looking it up in Google. (Yes, the 3rd game was that bad.)



Thankfully, Enemy Unknown was good. Enemy Within just makes it better.

Why Jupiter's Red Spot Won't Die

What's This?



Larry O'Hanlon for 2013-11-29 04:59:08 UTC

The Life of Coleman Francis

Back in 2008, the original cast and crew of Mystery Science Theater 3000 gathered for a panel discussion at Comic-Con in San Diego. In the hands of a James Lipton or a Charlie Rose this might very well have been legitimately interesting and produced some fireworks, shedding new light on the actors and writers of the beloved show.



Instead, the event - like so much of what is fed to the masses to keep everyone neatly pacified - was a watered-down affair, hosted by funnyman Patton Oswalt, who reminded everyone to watch The King of Queens, and then proceeded to boldly lob grapefruit after grapefruit at the panel, which they effortlessly hit out of the ballpark, to the delight of the assembled sycophantic fanboys and girls. If you're looking for a discussion with MST's principles regarding creator Joel Hodgson being driven to quit because of producer Jim Mallon's obstinacy, you're better off simply googling "jim mallon dick," rather than watching the footage on the 13th MST box set.

Gungrave, Black Heaven

GUNGRAVE



The only cool thing about this anime is this picture.

Winter 2014 Anime

The fall anime season is over half-way over, which means it's about time to take a look at the new anime to start off 2014. The winter season looks absolutely incredible for me, because of 3 adaptations of manga I'm reading (wowza), two sequels to anime I absolutely loved (yesss), and...well......you'll see.

The chart can be found here:

As usual, I have them listed in order of interest:

The Dan DiDio Thanksgiving Competition Results

What a great way to spend Thanksgiving! When DC Comics co-Publisher DAN DIDIO posted this image, there was only one way it could goa Bleeding Cool competition!



Tari was first off the blocks.

Gungrave [Animated Series]

This is a series I need to find time to rewatch as it has a constant dark presence over your typical quiet hero protagonist. It is similar to Berserk as far as personality and the theme it aims for. From the creators of Trigun I can see their style in some of the concept design. A worthwhile series that stands well on its own separate from Trigun.



Brandon Heat and his friend Harry are orphans on the streets surviving by thieving and other means. They soon gain the attention of high rise gangsters and gradually move up the chain of command. Throughout the series we see their friendship tested and evolve to become something neither of them truly saw coming. Betrayal is the main theme, but the series also includes survival through gaining power and the question of how long before it finally corrupts.

The Horror Of...Mockingbird Lane

Thanksgiving. And what goes with that? Family. So what better than to watch something about a macabre fam...No, it's not the Addams Family...



Anyway, I am talking about the The Munsters. The Munster family. Specifically, the recent remake Mockingbird Lane.

Holiday Gift Guide 2013: Double Giveaway

FRANKEINSTEIN PENGUIN HORROR SERIES BY Marry Shelley EDITOR: Guillermo del Toro PUBLISHER: Penguin Classics Hardcover PUB. DATE: October 1, 2013 RETAIL: $22.00 ISBN: 978-0143122333 PAGES: 384

PURCHASE LINK:


Rick Rowley cleans the record on DIRTY WARS

I spoke with director Rick Rowley about his feature documentary DIRTY WARS for a piece in ; for those interested, here is a much longer version of the interview.



With DIRTY WARS set to expose the ugly, hidden side of America's ever-expanding War on Terror, Grolsch FilmWorks caught up with its director Rick Rowley, whose previous films have included the feature-length documentaries ZAPATISTA (1999), THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE (2000), BLACKwe knew that they were from Team 6; we knew what kind of helicopters and special modifications those helicopters had; we were told that they had Hwe knew that they had a dog with them and the dog was a Belgian malinois, and that that Belgian malinois' name was Cairo; we had a complete account, a blow-by-blow narration of how the raid through the house went; we had it constructed for us in a .

A Rundown of the People's Choice Awards Nominations 2014

The People's Choice Awards is celebrating its 40th year in 2014, and the voting has already started. Ready to air live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on 8January 2014, the People's Choice is the only film and TV awards show where the viewers determine the winners.



There are a multitude of categories - including 15 new ones - in which fans can levy their vote for their favourite show, musician or actor. These include Favourite Reboot, Favourite Young Adult Movie, Favourite Remix and Favourite Streaming Show. Votes can be made on the People's Choice website, through Facebook or even via Twitter.

Book Review

TITLE: Elegy



AUTHOR:

Doctor Who's Greatest Moments: Part Four

After sixteen years in the wilderness (apart from one ), Doctor Who returned to the nations' screens anew. Previously seen in the public consciousness as a cheerful children's show with wobbly sets and cheap monster costumes, viewers had their prejudices blown away when, in 2005, acclaimed writer Russell T Davies brought it back as a 'proper drama.' Of course, fans had always seen it that way but now the rest of the world had caught up. Doctor Who was prime time material once again - but there were a few changes. It was grounded in human characters and relationships, rooted to modern-day Earth and, most importantly, that eccentric wizard Doctor was now a survivor of a terrible war, recovering from the horror he had seen. However, underneath it was still exactly the same show, with the same brew of humour, drama and scares that had made the original twenty-six year run a success. The Doctor Who of the 00s was greater than ever before - and so were the moments...



10. RUN! - ROSE

Movie Review: BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW (2010)

Directed by Panos CosmatosThe time is the far flung world of 1983. Founded by Dr. Mercurio Arboria (Scott Hylands), the sterile, futuristic Arboria Institute is founded on "benign pharmacology" dedicated to making a "better, happier you." In reality, the institute is ruled under the iron fist of Dr. Barry Nyle, a reptilian psychiatrist in turtlenecks. His sole patient is a teenage girl named Elena (Eva Allan) kept in a nearly catatonic state through medication. Nyle plays a series of sadistic mind games with Elena, assuring her "it's too bad you didn't know your mother ..." After a heavy day of emotional manipulation, the doctor retires to his sparsely furnished home that he shares with an older female relative, Rosemary (Marilyn Norry). Rosemary's identity is never fully explained - is she the doctor's wife? Sister? Mother? - in the manner of most of the characters in the film. Kept unaware of the doctor's true motivations, psychiatric nurse Margo (Rondel Reynoldson) discovers his hidden notebook full of pornographic sketches of Elena. Nyle's relationship to Elena is revealed, along with his diabolical intentions. Masks of polite humanity fall away, and Elena is forced to flee the garish fun-house corridors of the institute.

Sporting a title more suited to a solo album from Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, Beyond the Black Rainbow is brimming with lots of popular cultural references that genre fans will be sure to enjoy. A visual and aural delight - the analog synthesizer musical score by Jeremy Schmidt and Sinoia Caves is worth the price of admission alone, Rainbow calls to mind the micro-budgeted science fiction films of the early Seventies. Rainbow joins the distinguished company of such favorites of Creation of the Humanoids (1962), Dark Star (1974) and Idaho Transfer (1973) that all successfully created alien, otherworldly environments with only the paltriest of resources. This reviewer at one point thought the film was a knowing, hip homage to science-fiction films of the Sixties to which the year 1983 would be the far-flung future, as the promotional film for the Arborea Institute that opens the films bears a 1966 copyright. This theory is dashed when the audience is shown former U.S. President Ronald Reagan giving his impassioned "Star Wars" speech on an outsized TV screen, Rosemary fast asleep on a couch.


The weirdest and wackiest animal discoveries

Zombie ants, one-eyed sharks and animals with super senses are just a few of the strange animal stories



Photo: As the year draws to a close, here's a look back at some of the weirdest animal discoveries of 2011. From the "aflockalypse" to zombie caterpillars and our own set of animal superheroes, it's been a wacky ride. 1. ZOMBIE ANTSThe year was a big one for zombie insects. Reports of mind-controlled ants and caterpillars were enough to creep out even the least squeamish. In May, in the journal BMC Ecology, researcher David Hughes from Pennsylvania State University reported that a parasitic fungus . The fungus fills the ant's head with fungal cells and changes its muscles so the ant can grab a leaf in a death grip just when and where the fungus wants it -- specifically, the zombie ants all bite down around noon, then all die together around sunset, like some weird fungus-addled ant cult. The fungus then bursts out of the ants' heads and spreads its spores to its next unwitting victim. Another report in September found the genetic culprit that , where they liquefy and rain infectious death down on their peers. The virus that zombifies these gypsy moth caterpillars also makes sure they grow as large as possible so they spread infectious viruses far and wide, said study researcher Kelli Hoover, of Pennsylvania State University. They also send the caterpillars crawling up trees in the middle of the day, when they are most vulnerable to bird attacks. 2. AFLOCKALYPSE?This year started with a bang as scores of birds fell from the skies in January. The "aflockalypse" as it became called, harkened back for many to their first time watching Alfred Hitchcock's psychological thriller "The Birds," but experts agreed that the birds' and fish's mass deaths were just coincidental. It started with the mysterious deaths ofin Arkansas and Louisiana around New Years' eve; this was followed by several reports of dead fish washing ashore and many more "massive" animal die-offs. In the end, the bang with which it all started was probably fireworks, which initially killed the blackbirds. Researchers agree the best explanation so far is the fireworks' noise and lights may have scared or disoriented the birds, causing them to fatally injure themselves flying into buildings, water towers and trees. The wide pickup of the original blackbird story probably set off the media attention later stories received, but these kind of die-offs are normal, researchers and ecologists say. 3. THE MOUSE WITH TWO DADSIn a wacky feat of genetic engineering and a stem-cell switcheroo, researchers created the first mouse baby from the genes of two male mice -- a mouse that literally has two dads. The mousey Dr. Frankensteins, from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, turned cells from Dad No. 1 into X-only stem cells, which they injected into an egg to make a female mouse, which was then fertilized by sperm from Dad No. 2. The study, published in the journal Biology of Reproduction, is the first step to making human children from two men, though that is a long way away. This feat of genetic engineering was also dubbed by LiveScience reporter Stephanie Pappas as "scientific progress at its cutest" when . 4. ANIMALS WITH SUPERHERO SENSESScientists aren't the only ones turning miraculous tricks this year. Mother Nature has a few up her sleeve as well. Animal super senses turned up in dolphins and vampire bats in 2011, and even one possible sixth sense in humans made an appearance. Researchers at Rostock University in Germany discovered that the common Guiana dolphin has a special sixth sense: It can with a special organ on its snout. While the ability is common in fish, the dolphins are the first placental mammal (as opposed to a marsupial mammal) found to sense electricity, which they probably use to find fish in the shallow, murky waters they call home. In other odd animal senses, researchers discovered in August that the from veins and arteries using a special organ on its nose that is incredibly sensitive to heat. The bat uses this organ to find blood meals and to bite the right part of the skin: A mouthful of hair is unappetizing to these little bloodthirsty critters. A possible extra human sense also made an appearance this year. A human protein, when expressed in fruit flies, has the . The researchers caution that the protein might not work that way in humans, though. Sorry, Magneto wannabes. 5. STRANGE SPERMIt may not be super, but strange sperm abounds in the animal kingdom. Studies in naked mole rat sperm show that these weird little creatures also . In any other animals their sperm samples wouldn't pass quality control, but these unsocial underground rodents make do just fine with their mutant sperm, a study published in the December issue of the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology shows. Ducks also have special sperm properties, another 2011 study shows. Their sperm contains antibiotics that might protect them and their mates from sexually transmitted infections. The brighter their bill is, the better their sperm is at killing off bacterial invaders, suggests the study published in April in the journal Biology Letters. 6. MIXED BODY PARTSSperm wasn't the only weird animal finding of 2011. Multiple studies found everything from hermaphroditic bulldogs to sexually confusing fish and birds. The bulldog Bijou is genetically female, but has some , including a prostate gland and testicles. Researchers are stumped about why this pup, and another bulldog, Tana, had male characteristics without male genes. Other animals are also stumping researchers this year: A cardinal with half-male, half-female coloring seems to be a genetic anomaly, with half-female and half-male cells. Several sex-changing birds also made the news in 2011, including a female chicken that transformed into a rooster in the United Kingdom over a few weeks time. Researchers think that a tumor or cyst may have caused the switch. Some birds of prey don female plumage but don't actually change gender. These use such sexual mimicry to fool other males into leaving them alone, researchers reported this year. 7. CYCLOPS SHARKStrange sex-changing animals weren't the only weirdoes nature threw at us this year. A Photoshop-quality image of a stunned researchers and cybergawkers alike when it made the news in October. The one-eyed fetus was cut from the belly of a shark in the Gulf of California, but would not likely have survived outside of the womb. "This is extremely rare," shark expert Felipe Galvan Magana of Mexico's Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias del Mar told the Pisces Fleet Sportfishing blog in July. "As far as I know, less than 50 examples of an abnormality like this have been recorded." [] Other, less scientifically based reports of and hair samples from Russia splashed the news this year. And scientists reported finding the lair of a 'Kraken' sea monster, though the interpretation of the finding has not been substantiated. 8. FISHY SEXUAL HARASSMENT Several advancements in the field of fishy sexual harassment made the news this year, indicating that Trinidadian guppies seem to have more gossipy drama and sexual tension than an episode of "Sex in the City." A study published in October showed that when a harassing male chases down female guppies, they are more likely to get in . The sexually charged males stress these females out so much they end up turning on each other, the researchers said. Another study showed that these same guppies, when harassed, pair up with prettier females, whose presence draws attention away from themselves. 9. ANIMALS WITH PROTECTIVE POISONSScientists have long understood that plants use poison to defend themselves, but traditionally animals are thought to defend themselves with weapons like sharp teeth and claws. In 2011, a number of animals were discovered to wield poisons of their own. By utilizing the same plants that African tribesmen use to poison their arrows, the furry fury known as the African crested rat can incapacitate and even kill predators many times its size, research published in August found. The rat chews poisonous bark and spits the poison onto its fur coat, which has specialized hairs with pores to absorb the animal's poisonous spit, which protects them against predators like dogs. Another odd animal poison discovered in 2011 is the discovered in September. When disturbed, the bugs emit a toxic cyanide goo and foul-tasting chemicals that deter predators looking for a snack. Luckily for its predators this odd insect also has a nighttime glow to warn predators of its poisonous secretions 10. THE LOUDEST GENITALSOne loud little insect makes a big call from an unorthodox organ. Research published in July indicates that by using its genitals, the water boatman makes the : At less than one-tenth of an inch (2.3 millimeters) long, it calls out to mates at over 99 decibels, as loud as an orchestra. The odd insect's song from the depths of a river can even be heard along its banks, the researchers said, and is likely created when the animal rubs its genitals against ridges on its body, though the scientists aren't sure how the sound gets so loud. source:

Glee Recap: Snap, Crackle, Puppets! [Updated]

Nope, you're not suffering from a pie-and-cranberry-sauce-induced hallucination: aired a spankin' new episode on Thanksgiving night. And in the same, "Wait! Did that just happen?" spirit, the action included puppets, animal-snout-masks, a faithful recreation of Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation" video and a Sue Sylvester makeover courtesy of Wade "Unique" Adams.



PHOTOS |

Brandon Graham's MULTIPLE WARHEADS Gets the Trade Paperback Treatment

In a science-fi and fantasy-infused version of Russia, THE COMPLETE MULTIPLE WARHEADS, VOL. 1, created by Brandon Graham (PROPHET, KING CITY), follows ex-organ smuggler Sexica and her werewolf boyfriend Nikoli as they travel across radioactive wastelands with the hardcore organ hound Blue Nura hot on their heels. As much about the characters and the slice-of-life stories as it is about the journey, MULTIPLE WARHEADS has something for every type of reader.



An epic journey set in a fantasy Russia where monsters and magic are as commonplace as snow and stroganov, Graham's THE COMPLETE MULTIPLE WARHEADS collects issues 1-4 of the series, along with MULTIPLE WARHEADS: DOWNFALL (ONE-SHOT).

Dear Santa....

I've been deliberating an annual festive problem, and hopefully come up with a solution for those of us who receive dubious gifts from our partners.



Having spent more on the cat last year than on me, Mr A. found himself well and truly in the dog house. To be fair, he'd been incredibly busy at work and had bought the cat's present early after seeing several items he was rather taken with in Selfridges. But after the disappointment of an ice-scraper, some de-icer, A DVD (still in cellophane), a magazine and an assortment of chocolate bars, I need to ensure that this doesn't happen again.

POCKET PET

POCKET PET WITH ATTITUDE



Many people are searching for different means to have pets. Dogs and cats are not always the best choice of pets for everyone. Here is an amazingly different type of pet. A Pocket Pet! A Sugar Glider.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Article for Peru this Week: In the mood for some Christmas fun in Lima, Peru?

Christmas is pretty much here, whether we like it or not. Now, I love Christmas, I'm just not so keen on the month and a half buildup to it. By the time it finally rolls around, you're so sick of the whole thing that you're desperate for the bleakness of the rest of winter, with no baubles or tinsel to brighten it. It's not even bloody December yet, and everyone's getting their Christmas bazaar and panto on.



I wrote this for . We normally only have one event a week in the newsletter (I have no idea why... surely news and events are two of the things that people are most going to want to read?? I'm working on changing this...), but I wanted to mention all of the cheesy Christmassy things going on, so that people had chance to get their Christmas cheese well and truly on obscenely early, so I did a mash up article, Glee style, to link to all the other articles. Like most of my incredibly genius brainwaves, this occurred to me on the same day that I wanted to do it, so I woke up having to write four articles and then run into work, because I don't have the program I need to design and program the newsletter at home. Anyway, this is the mash up and the articles after are the ones it links to.

Embrace Blog Tour: Guest Post!

EMBRACE endless possibilities.A new adult imprint from Entangled, launching November 11th!It is launching with four exciting titles--Ruined, Hushed, Trouble Comes Knocking, and Definitely, Maybe In Love.You can follow them and get more information about future titles @EPEmbrace or their facebook:

Today I have Jus Accardio explaining what she finds to be the hardest part of writing Paranormal books!


MULTIPLAYER MONSTER HUNTING ON Wii U... Challenging Fun for Even the Most Hardcore Gamers Out There!

MONSTER HUNTER 3 ULTIMATE

WII U

SINGLE & MULTIPLAYER

WCBR's Top Picks

DEAN'S PICKS



BEST FROM THE PAST WEEK: - Wow, this was really good.I mean, really, really good.To be honest, I'd forgotten about the "waterworld" we saw in issue #1 with the lady and her robo-dolphin sidekick.This issue links the action from the last several issues with this future in a way that I totally didn't expect.It's just great sci-fi fun .but then we would expect no less from Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy.Make sure you're reading this.

Gungrave [Animated Series]

This is a series I need to find time to rewatch as it has a constant dark presence over your typical quiet hero protagonist. It is similar to Berserk as far as personality and the theme it aims for. From the creators of Trigun I can see their style in some of the concept design. A worthwhile series that stands well on its own separate from Trigun.



Brandon Heat and his friend Harry are orphans on the streets surviving by thieving and other means. They soon gain the attention of high rise gangsters and gradually move up the chain of command. Throughout the series we see their friendship tested and evolve to become something neither of them truly saw coming. Betrayal is the main theme, but the series also includes survival through gaining power and the question of how long before it finally corrupts.

Hey hey it's Friday!!

And it is almost the end of yet another month! Seriously this year seems to have sped up lately.Yesterday I remembered that the car needed to be re registered, thinking I had it all under control, I discovered that it was actually overdue.But not only that, the warrant had expired 4 days ago.When did I become so lapse about things like this??A quick phone call to my lovely mechanic who I blamed him for not reminding me of such things and the car was all booked for her warrant this morning, he is good to me!!

Tex thinks such things are unimportant, the important things to remember are to feed him, this I do remember!

I remember to get dressed!

The Grand Central Holiday Fair 2013: A One-Hour Guide

For Grand Central's 100th anniversary year, the producers of the Centennial Holiday Fair have curated a mix of booths with a consistent (if not exclusive) focus on handcrafted items created and sold by North American artisans, offering an intimate shopping alternative to the cacophony of door-buster deals in the weeks ahead.



While no big departure from the usual assortment of holiday fair merchandise -- ceramics, housewares, art and photography, kids' gifts, pets' gifts, things that smell good, leather goods, jewelry, clothes, hats and scarves -- the vendor selection as a whole reflects the best thing about the myriad fairs around town this time of year: the chance to uncover and support craftsmen, artists, designers, entrepreneurs and small businesses that are creating quality, often handmade, goods -- and, in turn, jobs -- in their home communities.

Samurai Flamenco Loses the Plot?

This is a reaction post to episode 8 and it follows up yesterday's post analysing my thoughts on the direction of the series becauseSamurai Flamenco has truly gone off the map? I'm still trying to digest this episode but the whole King Torture and evil animal supervillains thing is being played with a straight face. I'm not sure I like it as much as I thought I would but I didn't hate it.



Those cops really did get decapitated and it wasn't a TV show? Yep. And there are funny-looking monsters showing up to do battle with Samurai Flamenco!

On This Day in Math

I DID TRY TO MAKE THINGS CLEAR, FIRST TO MYSELF AND THEN TO MY STUDENTS, AND SOMEHOW TO MAKE THESE DRY BONES LIVE.~Horace Lamb



The 333rd day of the year; There are 333 possible hexagonal polyominoes with seven cells.

Lily C.A.T.

Once again I am going to talk about an old show. I know, I know, no one watches that except of me. Still, you have to bear with me



This time I am not going to make a review, but instead it will be a reaction post. And the difference is that I am going to spoil the whole thing. Let's get started.

Gungrave, Black Heaven

GUNGRAVE



The only cool thing about this anime is this picture.

Gungrave, Black Heaven

GUNGRAVE



The only cool thing about this anime is this picture.

Figure I'm Thankful for

threeatoysactionportablefightingjc



I keep returning to ThreeA Toys Fighting JC as a figure that I am thankful for. I've written two articles about this figure, both the 1/6 () and the 1/12 () versions, and I keep coming back to them as fantastic figures. It's a fictional JC (or Jesus Christ), one that may or not be the son of God, but he seems to think so in the comics, and that is good enough for me.

Pacific Rim

I'm fine with the same only different. Richard Brinsley Sheridan, an early 19th century playwright, poet, and Whig Member of the British House of Commons, archly said of a fellow politician,



The gentleman has said much that is good, and much that is original; but that which was original was not good, and that which was good was not original.

Top 5 Favorite Horror Movies.

Alright, it's time for another edition of what I like to cal Thursday's List of the Week. As I've said before, I love lists and I generally try to post something at least four days a week as it satisfies my urge to write. So I've decided at least once a week I would post a favorites list. So far, I've done mostly comic book lists and one in which I revealed my favorite companions from Doctor Who, but I haven't done anything horror related. Thus, the list of favorite horror movies is born. To be clear, this is a list of movies that have been released on the big screen in the last forty years. I'm also a big fan of such movies like the Classic Universal Monster movies but that falls under classics from a bygone era that rarely gets the recognition it deserves and I feel deserves it's own category. By that same reasoning, Salem's Lot is also not on this list as it was made for television.

5. HALLOWEEN


Holiday gift guide 2013: 'Doctor Who,' 'Hobbit,' 'Thrones' and more

Click through the gallery for a peek at Hero Complex's 2013 holiday gift guide selections, ordered by cost.



1

WWE Smackdown Spoilers and Results for Friday 11.29.2013

WWE Smackdown Spoilers and Results for Friday 11/29/13:



-Randy Orton interview on not needing help to beat Big Show. When asked about the Title Unification Match with John Cena, Orton walks off.

Aussie Hotel to Justin Bieber -- We Love Your Crappy Graffiti

Exclusive



Here's something crazy -- the Australian hotel JUSTIN BIEBER tagged up this week has ZERO plans to scrub off his crappy artwork from its wallsin fact, a rep tells TMZ, they're stoked the Biebs left his mark.

Guys and Divas #9: Full Disclosure (Daniel Bryan, Total Divas, Survivor Series, John Cena)

Good day, all!



Welcome to the ninth installment of "Guys and Divas"; the only column on Inside Pulse Wrestling that was once called "the crispy noodle in the vegetarian salad of life". (True story.)

'Dracula' smoulders on NBC

"Dracula," the latest version of vampires on TV has taken things old school--all the way back to Vlad the Impaler. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers plays Vlad who, after being cursed by a shady group of priests, is reawakened by Abraham Van Helsing in Victorian London. Van Helsing, the legendary vampire hunter, has a plan to destroy a secret order of vampire hunters made up of London's rich and powerful who he blames for the death of his family. In the spirit of self-preservation, Vlad cooperates. Hiding in plain sight, he reinvents himself as American entrepreneur Alexander Grayson. He wants two things: To light up the night with electricity and to take down the order. Then he meets a woman who seems to be the reincarnation of his long dead wife Mina. It's romance, revenge and um science.



Turning an iconic character into an ambitious businessman (he seems to be inventing wireless light bulbs at one point) out for blood (literally) is a very modern take on Bram Stoker's story that at first, feels a little odd. But if you can get past the idea of Dracula as a corporate raider, the choice works. It wouldn't be very original to have him simply hunt and kill everyone. So, Grayson sets out to destroy the very wealthy men of the secret order in the only way that really matters. He ruins them financially which for some, has devastating consequences on their personal lives.

6 TV Shows Your Child Should Be Watching

Pediatricians recommend that kids spend most of their time being active outdoors and playing with their peers. However, that doesn't mean TV has to be taken out of the picture. There are several educational TV shows that help your children learn before and after they enter school. Take a look at these six TV shows that your kids should watch.



1. SESAME STREET

Day of the Doctor (2013)

So it finally arrived. After months and years of waiting, I got to see a celebration of my favourite TV show. I knew very little about it and I deliberately avoided any magazines and websites that had rumours and pictures. This was a special celebration and it would be broadcast in over 90 countries and in cinemas and that was where I was watching it. The atmosphere in the cinema was fantastic. There was a wide range of ages and some people were wearing fez's and there were even one or two people dressed as Matt Smith and Tom Baker. We sat down an hour before it aired and it was fun to see the cinema slowly fill up. I must admit that I was slightly worried that I would be disappointed with this. Partly due to the fact that it's a special celebration, part because An Adventure is Time and Space was so wonderful and also partly because Night of the Doctor was amazing. The story sees David Tennant returns to the show for the first time since he regenerated into Matt Smith on New Year's Day 2010. John Hurt joins the show as the War Doctor and after the minisode we are left in no doubt that he is the 9th Doctor. So that makes Eccleston the 10th, Tennant the 11th, Smith the 12thand Capaldi the 13th.



Day of the Doctor was going to address the Time War in a way that it hadn't done until this episode. Instead of just talking about it we actually got to saw it and we learn that John Hurt's Doctor is the one who pressed the button and killed the Timelords and Daleks to end the War. This is what Matt Smith's Doctor meant in 'The Doctors Wife' when he said that he'd "killed all of them". We got more Gallifrey than we could shake a stick at and it looked it became apparent that Doctor Who fans were going to get pretty much everything they have wanted since the show returned in 2005.

The Scariest & Disturbing Television Episodes: Vol. 1

Hello and welcome to my blog! Those of my fellow bloggers that know me, I am repeating this opening dialogue and thinking about doing so for the rest of this blog's lifeline (It kind of is suitable for a horror host, isn't it?). For those of you who don't, it is simple. I am your host, one who prefers the balance between the glorious embrace for light and the twisted love for the dark. Ever since I was little, I loved horror (Even though a lot of people thought I was crazy). I thought it was natural for anyone to have a curiosity to see what the dark side is like. Not everything is as evil as it seems since often times we may witness the dramatic side of it. Often times it has a comedic side. Other times it even has romantic feelings for you, but for now let's talk about tonight's showcase. I showcase several things from both the critically acclaimed, the cult gems, the unique messes, or the unknown and forgotten. I also tend to rate some of them (Depending on if they can be rated). Tonight is going to be a very special occasion (Not because it's Thanksgiving). I have recently taken a keen interest on lists of creepy and terrifying television shows that I have watched throughout my life and find them immensely disturbing for all ages. There will be some cartoons on here also. Just because anything is animated doesn't mean it cannot be creepy. I will also give a brief summary of each episode as to not leave anyone in the dark, but I will not completely spoil it's entirety also. If anyone seems to think that I have forgotten or ignored an episode, do not worry, for I haven't watched them yet and will be making another list like this in the future. I will now like to present to you my compilation of: The most creepiest & scariest television episodes of all time....



NIGHT GALLERY: THE CEMETERY

Thanks Be To Horror, Part 2

Happy Thanksgiving!! As we Americans celebrate turkey day, I hope everyone has at least one thing they are thankful for in their lives. I've got tons, including my humble list of horror thank you's!If you missed part one, click.

And here's the second of three parts...


Garden Thursday on Thanksgivin.

::MEOW::

Hello and welcome to the Thanksgiving Day edition of Garden Thursday. We hope that all of our furiends have a good day.


SOMETHING NEW

NEW GRAPHIC NOVELS

COLLECTED EDITIONS


'Frozen' Review: Find Out What Happens to Solid Water When It Gets Warm

The royal family of Arendelle is hiding a secret. The eldest daughter, Elsa, was born with a magical gift that allows her to create snow and ice simply through thought. She uses her power for playtime with her younger sister, Anna, but one day she causes an accident that almost kills the littlest princess. Troll magic is used to wipe the memory from Anna's mind, and the castle closes its doors to keep Elsa separated both from the public and from her sister.



Years pass, and the two now-grown princesses prepare for Elsa's (IDINA MENZEL) coronation as the new queen. Anna (KRISTEN BELL) is excited as the event means not only more face-time with Elsa but also her first exposure to the outside world in a decade. Dignitaries and townspeople are invited in for the celebration, and it's not long before Anna has met and fallen in love with a young prince named Hans (SANTINO FONTANA). What should be yet another reason to celebrate instead triggers an icy outburst from Elsa that reveals her powers and terrifies her subjects. Accused of being a monster, she takes off into the mountains leaving a town trapped in permanent, crystalline winter behind her.

THE RAGER!

Normally here on THE RAGER, the week after a pay per view, I devote the entire column to that particular show and give all my thoughts on what occurred. However, seeing the time of year it is and combined with the fact that every time I think about this year's Survivor Series, I get a little depressed when I get to the ending. And yes, there were some very good parts that I very much enjoyed like the elimination tag match (not the Divas), Punk and Bryan facing the Wyatts (because it's Punk and Bryan), and I'm a sucker for anything involving Big E these days. The rest either triggered a depression that would render me speechless or I just didn't care about one way or the other.



So with that out of the way, I compiled a list of things that I'm currently thankful for in WWE. Of course, we should always be mindful of the negatives that are also associated with this holiday and with WWE. Just as the horrible atrocity that was the treatment of Native Americans by the early settlers, we must also be reminded of the horrific rejuvenation of the Cena/Orton that will loom over us all this year. However, under those dire circumstances, I offer my humble choice of positives for us all to focus upon.

USA's Saturday Nightmares:: By John Sullivan

I was an 'inside kid'.



Sure, I went to school and rode bikes and journeyed to 7-11 to pick up comic books and Slurpees.
HEAVY COLLABO! WALE RECORDS WITH D'BANJ, DON JAZZY, OLAMIDE



WALE FOLARIN who is currently in Nigeria, was pictured last night in the MAVIN HEADQUARTERS where he met up with DON JAZZY and recorded a song with D'BANJ and OLAMIDE.

Gungrave, Black Heaven

GUNGRAVE



The only cool thing about this anime is this picture.

Gungrave [Animated Series]

This is a series I need to find time to rewatch as it has a constant dark presence over your typical quiet hero protagonist. It is similar to Berserk as far as personality and the theme it aims for. From the creators of Trigun I can see their style in some of the concept design. A worthwhile series that stands well on its own separate from Trigun.



Brandon Heat and his friend Harry are orphans on the streets surviving by thieving and other means. They soon gain the attention of high rise gangsters and gradually move up the chain of command. Throughout the series we see their friendship tested and evolve to become something neither of them truly saw coming. Betrayal is the main theme, but the series also includes survival through gaining power and the question of how long before it finally corrupts.

Holiday Gift Guide: Comic Book Edition

It's Comic Book Day and chances are you're already neck deep in preparation for tomorrow's Turkey Day feast. But, you'd be foolish to head into Black Friday and Cyber Monday without a game plan, so I've taken the liberty of curating a selection of gift ideas that will delight comic book fans of all stripes. Whether you're into iconic characters or newfound oddities, this list has a little something for everyone, so prepare your wallets for impact and read on.



COMIC BOOKS

Capcom Detail Their Online And DLC Plans For The Next Few Years

As previously reported, Capcom's major strategies going forward involve two main initiatives--to manage their console games business more efficiently and to strengthen their online games business. The slide below shows how Capcom envision their next few years playing out, in terms of how much content they'll provide to different markets:



Capcom's content mix plans. Click to enlarge.

Gungrave [Animated Series]

This is a series I need to find time to rewatch as it has a constant dark presence over your typical quiet hero protagonist. It is similar to Berserk as far as personality and the theme it aims for. From the creators of Trigun I can see their style in some of the concept design. A worthwhile series that stands well on its own separate from Trigun.



Brandon Heat and his friend Harry are orphans on the streets surviving by thieving and other means. They soon gain the attention of high rise gangsters and gradually move up the chain of command. Throughout the series we see their friendship tested and evolve to become something neither of them truly saw coming. Betrayal is the main theme, but the series also includes survival through gaining power and the question of how long before it finally corrupts.

Sculptor's kit/ statue list

Some of the sweetest built kits pictures I found online. These are kits/ statues sculpted by some of the best sculptors and built by the best kit builders. Most of them are sculpted traditionally by hand.



These pictures belong to the sculptors or kit builders/ owners and I use them here just for a reference list to showcase their beautiful works. This is not a sales or trading blog, so kindly do write to the rightful sculptors/ owners if you are interested in their work.

Ja'mie: Private School Girl: Mockumentary Satire as Vicious as a Mean Girl

When we last saw rich girl Ja'mie (written and played by the incomparable, multi-talented Chris Lilley) in Summer Heights High, she was a Year 11 private school exchange student who spent her time in public school degrading and belittling just about everyone and everything around her. Ja'mie -- Lilley's longest-running and arguably most popular character to date -- was a spoiled, self-centered, ignorant, manipulative, racist, homophobic nightmare of a human being. Now in Year 12 and back at her private school Hillford, Ja'mie is still all of those things but somehow, worse than ever.



This new six-episode HBO series follows the titular Ja'mie's final year at school as she relentlessly vows to earn the prestigious Hillford medal by not only bullying her closest competitor, a humanitarian named Erin (Brodie Dare). Ja'mie ups the "humanitarian" ante by "befriending" a disadvantaged Ugandan teen named Kwami (Albert Mambo) and bringing him into her home. The way Ja'mie exploits not only Kwami, but African culture as a whole, is far and away the most upsetting storyline in the entire show, but probably the most effective, too. The worst part of all this is that, despite "helping" him for all the wrong reasons, Ja'mie might actually care for Kwami but refuses to cross those racial or economic borders.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

My Garage kit/ Pre-paint Statue/ Figure collection

Here's my pre-painted statues & kits from different sculptors/ artists who uses traditional hand sculpting methods to create these beautiful pieces.



My all time favorite sculptor is Japanese master artist Takayuki Takeya. His stylized anime, tokusatsu, game & other media characters with intricate sculpted details makes most of his art works must haves for me.

A THANKSGIVING TRADITION CONTINUES: BABES IN TOYLAND (aka MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS) (1934)

NOTE: This is a re-post of an entry I originally posted on Thanksgiving, 2010.



RATING: *** &out of ****

TV Recap: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., 'Repairs'

Plot: When a particle accelerator explodes in a small Utah town killing a few workers, the citizens become enraged and immediately blame the safety operator Hannah Hutchins. Hannah is haunted by the accident and believes God is punishing her for what she has done. Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and his team however think that Hannah might have developed some telekinetic abilities because of the accident. Now they must extract and comfort her before any more people get hurt. Meanwhile, Skye (Chloe Bennet) wants to know more about Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen).



Photo Credit: ABC/Kelsey McNeal

The SmarK Rant for WWE NXT

The SmarK Rant for WWE NXT - 11.27.13



They are FAST with getting these up the past couple of weeks.

EL-FOKISS007 s BLOG:Walt Disney Studios Passes $4 Billion At Global Box Office For First Time

Are you headed to the local movie theaters to see Frozen this holiday weekend? Did you already check out Thor: The Dark World, or maybe Pixar's latest, Monsters University. Then you have helped Walt Disney to an historical year, and that's no exaggeration.



According to a release (posted to Deadline), The Walt Disney Studios on Tuesday, Nov. 26, passed the $4 billion mark on the global box-office charts "for the first time in [studio] history." Disney points to the powerful box-office performances of its Marvel Studio partners, including Iron Man 3 and the second Thor. But the studio also had a surprise hit in the spring with Oz: The Great and Powerful, which banked an impressive $234.9 million domestically and nearly $500 million worldwide.

TMNT New Animated Adventures #5

TMNT New Animated Adventures #5

IDW Comics


See the Monsters of the World in Vintage-Style Travel Posters

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* 1. [1]

REVIEW: Battlestar Galactica

For you young'ns, there once was a series called Battlestar Galactica, created to cash in on a boom in science fiction stories, taking bits and pieces of many different stories to tell the tale of a ragtag fleet of alien refugees running after the destruction of their homeworld by robotic monsters.That part probably sounds familiar, but when I mention that this was all the way back in 1978, you'll probably groan and start to mock the special effects.Wanna see why that's a mistake?Your Major Spoilers review awaits!



SUMMARY

Scotland: I meet a monster (almost), climb a mountain, approve heartily of graffiti, and discover a fellow responsible person named Meg

This past weekend I went to Scotland as my last big trip before end of term.I left after at noon on Friday, arrived in Edinburgh (pronounced "Edinburrah" with four syllables) at 4:30, and left Monday morning at 7:30am.



When I arrived after a long train ride, it was already dark.Yep, it gets dark that early!I checked into my hostel, Caledonian Backpackers and went out for dinner.My hostel was hilariously wild- the walls were brilliantly painted with all sorts of trippy stuff, funny sayings, animals in costumes, and strange-looking people. It was clearly a place for young adults, made by young adults; it had a bar in the hostel as well as a bean-bag room with a TV.It was pretty sweet- I was in a dorm with 7 other women of various nationalities.It took some getting used to, because the second night it was mostly Spanish girls who were incapable of being quiet but the third night I was alone in the room.

My Love/Hate Relationship With the Hunger Games

First: This contains spoilers regarding the entire Hunger Games series. You have been warned.



I just got back from watching Catching Fire, the second Hunger Games movie. I'd read the books a few years ago and loved the first two. I hated the third one. It was disturbing - Prim's death, Katniss's helplessness, Gail's willingness to sacrifice any sort of morality to win, the decision to keep the Hunger Games going with people from the capital - the whole thing really. Overall I was just left feeling very dissatisfied.

Hot Trends: 'Frozen' review: New Disney musical comes up cold

Disney Animation attempts to emulate their classic animated musicals with "Frozen," an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen," but comes up a little, well, cold.



"The Snow Queen" is prime real estate for a Disney adaptation, and this musical features a few unexpected plot twists, but it is dimmed by lackluster humor and a rushed structure not as cohesive as previous Disney films.

NaNoWriMo: A Summary

November's almost over, and though you may feel neglected - all five of you - I have not been lazy in the writing department. I have been plugging away furiously, attempting to meet the 50,000 word goal over at NaNoWriMo. I finished today - not because I hit 50,000, but because I finished the book. Well, "finished." The first draft is done. There's a lot of work to be done, but I'm ready to let people read it. I need to find a balance between people who will read and offer constructive advice, versus those who will read it and tell me what a great job I did. I mean, I want the compliments - don't get me wrong - but it will be more valuable to have a critical eye towards what I can improve on. There's stuff I know can be improved on certainly, and other things I have ignored up to this point. Granted, I haven't really read it through myself all the way yet, but that will come.



Meanwhile, to try and reach the 50,000 goal, I did a little P. S. That's what this is. If you're interested in reading the actual book, let me know and I'll get it on Google Docs or something like that for you. The condition is that you need to be willing to be constructively honest with me, 'k?

Only 25% Of Yahoo Employees Actually Use Yahoo Mail

One of the things that strikes me as odd is when someone within a company thinks they are being funny, but they come off as being weird. You know like that guy at work that says funny stuff that makes you think he's cool for a second but then gives that really weird vibe that remind you to stay away from that person.



Yahoo's SVP of communications products Jeff Bonforte and CIO Randy Roumillat were trying to convince their employees that their overhaul of Yahoo email wasn't as bad as the public has been saying. We will be honest, we are one of the people that think Yahoo has to go. They are right up there with BlackBerry that needs to call it a day and close up shop.

Horror with a Joystick

One of the most powerful mediums that can be used in horror is also the most over-looked. While nearly everyone has seen a horror movie, the amount of people who have played a "survival horror" video game is sure to be in the minority. While it is true that horror themed video games are not as popular as their silver screen counter-parts, because games are dependent on player input, they posses several advantages that add to the horror of a story, making them one of the best ways to scare. To demonstrate some of these benefits I will use the critically acclaimed game "Resident Evil 4" (2005) for reference due to its use of horror tactics that are now pervasive in the survival horror genre.



The obligation of video games that sets it apart from other forms of media is the direct engagement of an individual (known as the player) to control a fictional character on screen (known as the avatar). One result of this relationship that can be particularly scary is that your character can die, often times due to your mistakes. Since you control the character, it No matter your level of engagement in a movie, you cannot change the outcome of a protagonist, however in a video game, poor performance will have your character decapitated or mutilated in front of you, an example of which can be seen . Additionally, you are not only responsible for letting your character "not die", but also for progression of the story. While it may seem tense to watch a hero shoot through a wave of zombies, the situation is infinitely more nerve wrecking when it is you who must do the shooting and must depend on your own dexterity for survival.

REVIEW ALL MONSTERS!

represents the most profound shift in the fortunes of the Godzilla franchise throughout the first 20 years of its existence. On the most essential level, it's the point where outright science fiction entered the picture, and as a direct result, it's the point at which the series' evergreen screenwriter Sekizawa Shinichi finally perfected the unbelievably weird and warped storytelling style that he'd employ nonstop in the Godzilla films he wrote from that point. As far as the monsters we see onscreen, it's the first of the truly epic-scale monster rallies, the one where the monsters become fully anthropomorphic in their behaviors and personalities, and the one where the monster-on-monster fights come to resemble wrestling matches more than brawls between giant animals. Most importantly to me, it introduces my favorite daikaiju ever, the titular King Ghidorah - according to the Toho-sanctioned English title, anyway. The Japanese original translates as Three Giant Monsters: The Greatest Battle on Earth. Which is more descriptive and really, no less hokey. Though it undersells the thing: there are in fact FOUR giant monsters, and for that reason it very much is just about the greatest battle on Earth; at any rate, the climactic monster mash is better than any of the fight scenes in the "huge monster ensemble" films that Toho would intermittently release thereafter.



And we'll get back to all of that, but first, the biggest, most shocking shift of all, which is that, perhaps uniqely in the Godzilla series, the human half of the narrative in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster is so captivatingly loopy and well-expressed, that the film would be just as good if there were no monsters in it at all. Okay, so not "just as" good. Still, it's a rare enough achievement in these films when the non-monster material is enjoyable enough to fill the space in between monster scenes. For it to be, arguably, the best part of the feature is absolutely ridiculous to even imagine.

MyOatmeal Review

COOKIE MONSTER OATS



Hey guys, it's been a while since my last blog. I've been busy with schooling and working. But I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to try MYOATMEAL and review three different flavors. I'll be reviewing each of these right here on my blog. You have the option of ordering small bags (1lb), medium bags (2.25 lbs), and jumbo bags (4 lbs). Without further ado, let's get started with the review of my first oatmeal.

The Dirt on bags

A dental office visit had me watching a few minutes of a talk show on the waiting room television. As I watched, the host talked about how dangerous bacteria was from reusable cloth grocery bags and showed the bacterial count taken from a swab test of an audience provided bag. Why was a swab test not alsodone on clothes worn by an audience member and compared to the reusable bag as a control? -- bacteria and viruses are on many surfaces not just grocery bags. The answer of course was this was day time television and not a science show. Those of us who have winter and snow must surely be at risk from our winter coats as well. Public health authorities are continually telling us to wash our hands and cough into our elbows to reduce the risk of infection since we are all touch our faces after touching potentially infectious surfaces. What makes a grocery bag more dangerous than a door knob or an uncovered cough? Why are public health authorities not raising the alarm about cloth bags?



The recent paranoia about bacteria on grocery bags appears to be as a result of a study done by Klick and Wright of the University of Pennsylvania Institute for Law & Economics in 2012. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstractid=2196481## With financial support from "Property And Environment Research Center."http://perc.org

Uncanny Avengers, Vol. 1: The Red Shadow

About the Author



Rick Remender is the writer/creator of comics such as Fear Agent, The End League, Strange Girl, Black Heart Billy, Last Days of American Crime, Night Mary, and XXXombies. He is also the writer of Marvel's Captain America, Uncanny Avengers, Uncanny X-Force, Punisher, and Venom.

Are You Underpaid? 4 Ways to Find Out

POST FROM THE DAILY MUSEI still remember my first offer letter after college. My starting salary was right in the middle of the "market range" for my industry, and after comparing notes with peers and colleagues, it seemed like we were all making about the same amount.



But, 10 years later, our compensation rates diverged wildly.

Simulblast! Week 007 Of Fall 2013

It's a week full of interesting twists as our players travel into the future to tell their anime tale!



THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE: Write about your episode as if you're telling your grandchildren about it 50 years from now!

Gungrave [Animated Series]

This is a series I need to find time to rewatch as it has a constant dark presence over your typical quiet hero protagonist. It is similar to Berserk as far as personality and the theme it aims for. From the creators of Trigun I can see their style in some of the concept design. A worthwhile series that stands well on its own separate from Trigun.



Brandon Heat and his friend Harry are orphans on the streets surviving by thieving and other means. They soon gain the attention of high rise gangsters and gradually move up the chain of command. Throughout the series we see their friendship tested and evolve to become something neither of them truly saw coming. Betrayal is the main theme, but the series also includes survival through gaining power and the question of how long before it finally corrupts.

Holiday Gift Ideas for the Classic Film & TV Fan (2013 Edition)

For the past five years, the Classic Filmthe emotional "Never Gonna Dance" (Swing Time); the roller-skating delight "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" (Shall We Dance); and the enchanting "Night and Day" (The Gay Divorcee).Plus, you can enjoy the comedic talents of Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore, Alice Brady, and Erik Rhodes. The latter's "chance is a fool's name for fate" routine from The Gay Divorcee always earns laughs from my family and friends.



GREAT SHOWDOWNS: THE RETURN ($14.95) - Last year, illustrator Scott Campbell published The Great Showdowns, a very funny little book which featured his drawings of the confrontations between famous film characters. Last October, he published the sequel: Great Showdowns: The Return. While I still prefer the first book, the second one is a delight, too. Just remember that Campbell includes no "answers" to his illustrations; either you "get" them or you don't. Some of the films are off the beaten track (Zardoz, Princess Mononoke), while most are pretty famous (Grease, The Gold Rush). One of my faves is shown to the right: Donald Sutherland shrieking from the 1978 version of The Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Gungrave, Black Heaven

GUNGRAVE



The only cool thing about this anime is this picture.

Gungrave, Black Heaven

GUNGRAVE



The only cool thing about this anime is this picture.

Gungrave, Black Heaven

GUNGRAVE



The only cool thing about this anime is this picture.

Pacific Rim vs Anime

The other day I watched Pacific Rim, a movie I'd not managed to catch in theaters due to my convention schedule during the summer. It was a great film, a well executed love letter to the classic Japanese kaiju (monster) movies of decades past, and it was a lot of fun to watch. Of course you can't make a serious movie featuring giant robots without a lot of comparisons with anime, and it was fun to observe the influence of classic robot series like Great Mazinger and Giant Robo on the film design. The ending especially felt like an extended homage to Aim for the Top: Gunbuster, which suited me just fine, old school Gainax fan that I am. I thought the film was great for another reason: having an actual Japanese actress (the lovely Rinko Kikuchi) play a Japanese character. All too often "Japanese" characters in mainstream American media are played by Koreans (Heroes, The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, Star Trek Enterprise, the new Star Trek film remakes), with the unspoken implication being that Japanese are so bad at English they can't perform the roles themselves. Pacific Rim went the extra mile and found a Japanese actress who was great for the part, and I appreciated the extra connection to Japan this brought to the film.

I enjoyed the Japanese pop culture references in Pacific Rim.
Full Post

Legend of Me and The Winter People Cover Reveal and Giveaway

Today Rebekah Purdy and Entangled Teen Ember are revealing the covers for LEGEND OF ME,

releasing in early 2014. And THE WINTER PEOPLE, releasing July 1, 2014! Check

out the gorgeous covers, exclusive excerpts, and enter to win an eARC of each!

MST3k Week the Fourth: "Siiiiiiiiiiign"

So we come to it at last.

25 years, 25 movies. This has been a pretty interesting spread of the proverbial good, bad, and ugly from the show's run. While it's been fun, I am looking forward to being able to take it easy on the next few writeups. But, that's getting ahead of things. With four titles left, let's bring the lion's share of this month on home:


The Mouth on this One: Finding Your Voice with Mark Henry

Aaahh . . . the elusive search for your voice as a an author. How do you find it? Can you create it? Can someone else tell you what it is? Mark Henry is here to give his irreverent spin to the whole discussion.



THE MOUTH ON THIS ONE: ON FINDING VOICE

Heston's Great British Food Premieres 10 Dec on Channel 4

HESTON BLUMENTHAL'S NEW SERIES ON CLASSIC BRITISH COOKING BEGINS ON CHANNEL 4 10 DECEMBER 2013 @ 9.00PM.



Britain is home to some of the most iconic dishes in the world, from fish and chips, pies and steamed puddings, to roast beef and Yorkshires.

"Generation Kill" by Evan Wright (2004)

In March of 2003, Allied forces, lead overwhelmingly by the United States of America, invaded Iraq. There were two main thrusts into the heart of the country. They were coordinated in a classic pincer maneuver with the intent to seize Baghdad and cut off Saddam Husein's hold on power. The US Army lead the western thrust, and the eastern thrust was given to the United States Marine Corps. It was the the longest overland assault in Marine Corps history. The vanguard of that Marine assault was the elite special forces First Reconnaissance Battalion. In the backseat of the Humvee that proved to often be the northern most Marine unit in the entire country was a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine. He recorded his experience and wrote a book about it (and yes, HBO made a miniseries out of it and that might be what made you want to buy the book in the first place).



The Marine First Recon Battalion is more than just an elite unit. They are Special Forces on par with the Navy SEALS and Delta Force. There are fewer than 400 Marines in First Recon (and this book made it seem like more than half of them are from Texas), but in the spring of '03 and in the pages of "Generation Kill" the few and the proud lead the invasion of Iraq. Their forte is speed and infiltration. For this they sacrifice the protection of tanks and heavy weaponry. Since it is the invasion's first days and IEDs aren't yet a concern, the Humvees these men drive are not even armored. In fact many of them have no sides or tops at all. First Recon was used as human bait to trip the ambushes that everyone knew were coming along the Marine Corps' main invasion route.

Give Me Vinyl: Ultra Monsters 2

I've been in a Japanese mood lately, and in the last little while I have become obsessed with Kamen Rider and started planning another Japan trip.It's pretty fair to say that I've officially switched sides from Team Ultraman to Team Kamen Rider, but that doesn't mean I like the toys any less.Eventually (either here at the Plastic Eyeball or over at ) I'll give Kamen Rider the spotlight it deserves.Until then, let's take another look at the Ultraman universe and finish off my (current) collection of vinyl Ultra Monster figures.



EX RED KING

"This is no time for personal quarrels"

Day 3, and we spent all day trapped inside the TARDIS. Not much to do, really. But the whole time, I got the sense that there was something in there, with us...



The Edge of Destruction may only be two episodes long, but it's got the character meat of Season 1 contained in it, and it's arguably the most important story of the season. This is where the central conflict between the regulars (that Ian and Barbara don't want to be onboard the TARDIS, and the Doctor doesn't really want them there either) comes to a head, with the Doctor being openly hostile towards Ian and Barbara, and Susan caught somewhere between them. Before this, it was pretty clear that the TARDIS crew was a collection of thrown-together people who didn't really know or like each other. After this story, though, the crew finally seems like a group of companions, who respect and like each other, even if they have disagreements sometimes. They resolve their differences here, and the end of the story sees them venturing out into a new environment together, ready to face whatever it throws at them. It's this story that's the turning point for this TARDIS crew.

Survivor Series 2013: The Experience

Everyone has guilty pleasures. Kel Mitchell loved orange soda.My roommate watches a lot of shows on BET. Rebecca Black loves naming the days of the week. In addition to having 'Call Me Maybe' in my Top 10 list of songs, I like to watch some good ol' fashioned WWE. This past Sunday night, I really indulged myself by attending the 27th annual WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view event in Boston, and it was pretty awesome. I am shameless.



Survivor Series was an interesting experience.One of the most interesting aspects of it were the people who were in attendance with me and my buddy Tyler. I knew we would be in good company when we saw this guy seriously wearing this race car driver jacket:

5-Year-Old Lindalee Grills Jenna Coleman about DOCTOR WHO

If you missed in London, you missed out on feeling all the feels at once. Seriously, what kind of monster are you? This time Lindalee's journalistic instincts have led to Jenna Coleman admitting to her favorite birthday memory, determining how the Doctor would use a sonic screwdriver to cut a cake, and seeing if we can take all of this adorableness for a whole two minutes. We dare you to be cute for two minutes. See? You couldn't even last the time it took to read this sentence. Advantage: Lindalee. Watch Lindalee's Doctor Who Review go on location at the 50th Anniversary Special now.



For more from Matt Smith on his upcoming regeneration, check out the latest episode of !

The Two-Headed, Time-Sucking Monster: Publicity and Promotion

It's been a crazy couple of weeks.And the next week will be even more crazy still. Why?Because on next Monday, December, 2, 2013, my debut novel,Labyrinth of Lies, will be released by Champagne Book Group.

I am pretty ridiculously stoked.It has been an insane ride, a road filled with tears and sleepless nights, but every second has been precious.I truly wouldn't trade any of it.

I know this blog is meant to be a helpful tool to the writing community. I've dreamed my entire life of becoming a published author, and I had hoped that when I reached this point, I would have some wise words of wisdom to share with the world.Yet, instead, I only feel awed and humbled.Getting a book published as a first time author is truly paid for by sweat and blood, and yet, at the same time, I have learned so much from all of you and literally could've have done it without you.I have learned so much from this blog, from the fellow writers at Champagne.I am so thankful for all of the advice you have all given me and am so grateful that Champagne decided to take a chance on me.And like I said, this blog is meant to be helpful, and although I feel that I am still the learner rather than the teacher, I have learned a few things along the way.

Gungrave, Black Heaven

GUNGRAVE



The only cool thing about this anime is this picture.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

How Do You Save The World's Most Endangered Cat?

Posted: 11/25/2013 The following is an excerpt from written by Sharon Guynup with photos from Steve Winter. Reprinted with permission from National Geographic Books.



Panthera tigris, the largest of the world's cats, is the heart and soul of Asia's jungles. It's the dominant predator in both the valley and every ecosystem it inhabits, stealthy, walking silent and unseen, like a shadow, but possessing fearsome teeth and claws and a roar that resounds for miles. It's no wonder tigers have long been feared and worshipped across their range. For millennia, they've stood as iconic symbols of power and courage, woven into culture, religion, folklore, and ritual. Neolithic cave paintings are the earliest existing depictions, images etched into rock walls across the Indian subcontinent some 8,000 years ago.

A Guide To Essential Factors For Hdmi Cable

AS YOU MIGHT ALREADY KNOW, TODAY'S LAPTOP COMPUTERS CAN BE EASILY CONNECTED WITH TELEVISION SETS USING HDMI OR VGA CABLES.



Also remember that the cable you buy should be in sync with the devices you are connecting, and it makes no sense to buy or normal usage cables, you can get them at affordable prices. You will find many different models on various online shopping to connect laptop to TV for conducting presentations in the conference room. DVI signals transmit video signals better as they are you can get a clear picture when you connect it to the TV.

Remembering Gail Tredwell: Rajita's Memories of Gayatri

WE RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING LETTER FROM AN OLD-TIME DEVOTEE:



I heard about Amma in 1986, when I met one of Amma's tour organizers, who helped invite her to Mt. Shasta on the first world tour. After Amma came a second time in 1988, I went to visit the ashram and ended up staying for the full 6 months of my overseas journey. I had a pivotal and most amazing, transformative experience. Words fail to remotely convey what it was like to have time close with Amma and the dedicated disciples and devotees around her.

The Fifty-Year Itch

DOCTOR WHO

THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR

FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

Gungrave [Animated Series]

This is a series I need to find time to rewatch as it has a constant dark presence over your typical quiet hero protagonist. It is similar to Berserk as far as personality and the theme it aims for. From the creators of Trigun I can see their style in some of the concept design. A worthwhile series that stands well on its own separate from Trigun.



Brandon Heat and his friend Harry are orphans on the streets surviving by thieving and other means. They soon gain the attention of high rise gangsters and gradually move up the chain of command. Throughout the series we see their friendship tested and evolve to become something neither of them truly saw coming. Betrayal is the main theme, but the series also includes survival through gaining power and the question of how long before it finally corrupts.

Foxy Femme: Kristin Lorenz

KRISTIN LORENZ has a most enticing personality and she's destined to be a perennial turn-on on screen as well as in the public eye. Also the fact that she ended up reading through my blog for a good part of an hour and acknowledge me as a great writer means she's a darling in my book :) With the release of her horror movie "Primitive" on DVD, we will definitely get our eyes fixated on this saucy actress. She plays Nicole, the girlfriend of a Hollywood effects artist who somehow triggers the monster within after going for a hypnosis by one Dr. William Stein (Mr Phantasm himself Reggie Bannister). This might have been a horror role for KRISTIN but she's equally adept at comedy as can be seen in her appearance as a hooker auditioning for a movie part in the web series "Movie Star Idol". Watch the funny clip (above) as she brings a smile to our faces when she reveals her lady of the night status to the casting directors.



Despite her busy schedule, KRISTIN has so kindly given us a peek at her upcoming features. She just finished shooting a feature, 'The Burning World', a stylized surreal film about a man dealing with the death of his father in the same vein of the great work of auteur David Lynch. She affirms the director, Neil Corbin, has a way of filmmaking that's all his own which she hasn't encountered before which makes her really excited to see how it turns out.

Iron & Velvet

BY ALEXIS HALLPublished on December 16th 2013

Published by Riptide Publishing

Source: NetgalleyFirst rule in this line of business: don't sleep with the client.

Siats meekerorum: New Giant Dinosaur Found in Utah

"This dinosaur was a colossal predator second only to the great Tyrannosaurus rex and perhaps Acrocanthosaurus in the North American fossil record," said Dr Lindsay Zanno from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and the Field Museum of Natural History, the lead author on the paper published in the journal Nature Communications.



The prehistoric giant is named Siats meekerorum. The genus name, Siats, refers to a cannibalistic monster from the mythology of the Ute Native American people. Its specific name acknowledges the Meeker family for their support for early career paleontologists at the Field Museum.

Make things that do things: Atoms 'building blocks' bring toys to life

Kickstarter ATOMS DEC. 4 - 5, 2013

Redwood City, CA


Gungrave [Animated Series]

This is a series I need to find time to rewatch as it has a constant dark presence over your typical quiet hero protagonist. It is similar to Berserk as far as personality and the theme it aims for. From the creators of Trigun I can see their style in some of the concept design. A worthwhile series that stands well on its own separate from Trigun.



Brandon Heat and his friend Harry are orphans on the streets surviving by thieving and other means. They soon gain the attention of high rise gangsters and gradually move up the chain of command. Throughout the series we see their friendship tested and evolve to become something neither of them truly saw coming. Betrayal is the main theme, but the series also includes survival through gaining power and the question of how long before it finally corrupts.

Review

Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past

Played on - Wii Virtual Console


Comic Review: Haunted Horror, Vol. 1

Written by Various

Art by Various

Cover Warren Kremer

'Road House' Remake Lands 'Fast and Furious' Director Rob Cohen!!

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Have movie makers gone SO dry of original ideas that they continue to re-make perfectly good movies that aren't even that old, yet? I take these re-makes personally since most of them are from the 80 s, which means I grew up on the films they destroy with a re-birth. Was Patrick Swayze really one of those actors that was so horrible, none of his work is safe from a re-make? Let us keep in mind that Swayze is now a verb, not just a noun. It takes an epic actor to make that kind of difference.Not only did they have to annihilate the Red Dawn I grew up with, there are still projectsin the works that will destroy Dirty Dancing, Point Break and Ghost! I canadd to that list of Swayze comfort movies that seem destined for destruction, Road House. It's the sad truth.