One Big STEAMER!

Let's roll right into things, shall we?

I have to exclaim the fact that I have seen the second greatest animated movie known to mankind's history. Coincidentally enough, it was created by the man who brought us the actual greatest animated movie known to mankind.

Keep in mind, that as big of a geek as I am, I'm not a raging fan on Japamation, or Anime as it's more commonly know. The whole big eyes and bad voice looping always bugs the frell outta me. But there have been a few gleaming gems peaking out of the rough that I've thoroughly enjoyed. There's a little anime feature that came out over ten years ago called Riding Bean that I found quite enjoyable. Then there's the animated series Cowboy Beebop that, when I have a chance to catch it on the Cartoon Network, I find quite intriguing. And as a youngin' Speed Racer and Battle of the Planets had always kept me captivated.

But Anime such as Pokeman and Yog-E-Ohh I find quite detrimental to the genres of the fantastic. They're more about making money than quality and they seem to be the trend of Anime these days.

Well, I had the pleasure to rent, what I think to be one of THE greatest Anime, let alone animation, movies of all time. It's a little surprise that traveled America in limited release this past winter called, Steamboy by famed anime god Katsuhiro Ottomo who brought us THE greatest animated movie of all time about 20 years ago called Akira.

Where Akira took place in a doomed futuristic Tokyo and had very adult themes to it, Steamboy takes place in an alternate history of Victorian England where everything is run by steam machinery. It is also quite a bit more family friendly than Akira.

The lead character, Steamboy, is a young lad who is particularity gifted in the machinations of steam and how it all works. He falls into a world of corporate greed and must find a way out. It features the voices of Patric Stewart (Star Trek:TNG, X-Men), Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2) and Anna Paquin (X-Men). But all of that isn't the reason you need to see this movie.

This movie is fantastically, visually stunning! And I don't give a crap if that's bad grammar. If you have a soul for the fantastic and artistic, this is a movie for you. Victorian England never looked more wonderful on film. The steam inventions that run the country all seem quite feasible in their design. On top of all that, Katshiro Ottomo always knows how to capture mass destruction in such a beautiful way. He continues that trend with Steamboy.

A great little film, check it out if you have a soul!


Having decided to put CoC:DCOTE on indefinite hold, I went ahead and rented a few other Xbox games to dink around with for a while. Both of them first person shooters (FPS). And I enjoyed both of them quite a bit.

The first one was Painkiller: Hell Wars. Simplistic enough in the fact that you simply acquire 5 different weapons (you can only handle two at a time - a lame trend in most modern day FPS games that started with Halo) while you run around different earthly looking levels of hell shooting up different dead things and demons. Maybe, story wise, this isn't exactly Dante, but visually, it's pretty fan-frellin'-tastic. From a haunted grave yard, to a haunted house, to a haunted military base, to a haunted cathedral, every level has lots to check out and explore, even though the game is very fast paced. A fun rental.

The second one I checked out was simply titled Black. In this one you are a imprisoned ex black operative agent. The whole game is played as a flashback and explains how you got into prison. First my one major grip about this game is that it's to short. Otherwise, it has lots to offer. It's very challenging (without being frustrating) and fast paced! This game will keep you on your toes. I even was shaking a bit after one particular level.

The levels all look excellent. Some are even downright creepy, which is odd to pull off in a game that is based on espionage, terrorism and spy stuff. The settings are very destructable. I don't think I've caused that much destruction in a game that I can remember. There was one level in an abandoned asylum where there was glass and poceline tiles flying everywhere. Awesome.

Sadly, once you find yourself totally immersed in the plot and story line, the game is done. What da...? Hopefully there'll be a longer sequel.


I'd like to congratulate my best bud, Goof, on his becoming a father this week when his lovely wife finally pinched out a baby boy. Both mom and son are healthy! When I heard it was a boy the first thing I told Goof was, "Cool! Now we can buy the kid action figures!" His reply? "Exactly!"


Does anyone else notice the fact that the trees are ever so slowly changing color. I noticed it the other day driving into work. It's like they're already preparing for the season of the dead. There may be no chill in the night's air or odd shadows moving about yet, but the time grows ever so close. Bruhahahahahahaha (lightning/thunderclap).


In other news, my grand media empire of the internet is one big step closer to becoming a reality. Keep your ears and eyes peeled come September when the shat hits the web!

Well, that's about all for now.

Until next time, stay vertical.

Zangz.