Kelly Clarkson gets herself SKOOLED!!

I promise this one will be a quickie since I took the day off to bum around and schlep a bit. So I don't want my blogging time to interfere with either my schlepping or bumming.



First and foremost, I found this little You Tube doosey that I thought I'd like to share with you. No, it doesn't have anything that deals with Sci-Fi, Fantasy or Horror, but how many times in your lifetime can you say that you've seen an intoxicated Kelly Clarkson sing along with a Hair Metal comedy/tribute band called Metal Skool. "None.", you say? Then, by all means, feast your eyes HERE for a bit of a chuckle. (By the way, hope you don't have dial-up, like I do. 'Cause it will take you at least 45 minutes to fully download this post American Idol extravaganza. Oh, also, there is a bit of adult language associated within the video. So if your ears are cursed with a puritanical mentality, best not to witness. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! And please don't Flag me, ya simps!).

See, even teen idols need to seriously kick back, rock out and take no prisoners. Ya just have to wonder what kind of a hangover Ms. Clarkson had to endure the next day.



Anyway, one of the reasons I took off of work today was to rest myself for tomorrow's festivities. The annual Feast of Robhain (aka: my friend, Roberto DelAmorte's, 40th birthday bash) will be in full swing and some of the contests can get quite competitive. So, I have to mentally ready myself for the trails that lie ahead for my team and me. This year's theme is World War II so I suspect there will be lots of references to odd German military jargon like, Panzerfaust and Maschinengewehr 08 and Flammenwerfer 35 and the dreaded Panzerwehrwerfer 69 (ok, that last one I made up.). I of course will let you all know how things went.


Otherwise, nothing to geek out about this week, sad to say. Ok, then. On to more bumming and schlepping. Perhaps tonight I'll indulge in a nice fat cigar. Hmmmmm....

Until next time, Seacrest out.

Zangz.

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.

Sweating in places I never thought possible....

I'm quite glad we've come to the end of one heck of a hot and humid week. I tell ya, I found that I had sweat glands in places that I never thought was humanly possible. Frell! Even my cornias were moist and sticky. But it's cooled down here and is at a comfortable temperature. So, I'm now free to blog on without passing out from heat exhaustion or dehydration.


Well, I guess the big geekafied news this week was that I saw the last big summer movie that I really was anticipating. As you know, I've seen X-Men:The Last Stand, Superman Returns and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. I found all three enjoyable to different extents with Pirates being at the fore front. Last Sunday, I got a chance to hook up with my two buddies, Spanky and Coreboy, and see the fourth movie I've been really looking forward to, Clerks II. Don't expect me to give away the whole story, but I will tell you if you truly appreciated the first Clerks movie that was released back in the early '90's, you'll find this one just as fun!

You will have to keep in mind that it is coming from a different place than the first movie was. Director/writer/actor Kevin "Silent Bob" Smith had made a very low budget, black and white independent film which was able to capture the day in the life of a couple of convenience store clerks. It wasn't the wacky shenanigans that took place throughout that day that made that movie a geek-lovin' classic. It was Smith's wonderfully written dialog that had us geeks in the palm of his hands. Especially the argumentative diatribe of how innocent lives were lost during the Battle of Endor in the Death Star II when many an innocent contractor/workman building the intergalactic monstrosity lost their lives when it blew up.

Even though Clerks II is in color, and isn't an independent film, takes place in a fast food restaurant instead of a convenience store and is not separated into chapters as Clerks was, this film still gives you the same geeky vibe as the last one did. Instead of an argument about the fate of the Death Star's inhabitants, there's a wonderful debate on which geek genre is superior, Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. The battle ends in vomit, and that is just one of the sight gags that may churn the stomachs of the squeamish.

I love when good comedy can push the envelope, and this puppy pushes it all over the place. Political correctness be damned! There's one scene where Jason Mewes, of Jay and Silent Bob, give a special homage (pronounced om-age) to the movie Silence of the Lambs that has to be seen to be believed.

Honestly, this was a real fun movie. It was great to see what the characters of Clerks (Dante, Randal, Jay and Silent Bob) were up to. The new cast members and characters were just as welcome. Especially cute as a button, Rosario Dawson. Though the movie had some edgy humor, it also had loads of heart. You care about what happens to the characters and the outcome in the end is where you want it to be.

In the end I have to say a most definite two thumbs up. Mr. Smith did himself proud once again. Who knows what's next in his Veiw Askew universe? I'm just hoping that this isn't the end! Clerks two is pretty much tied with Pirates as my favorite genre movie of the summer. It shall be summoned to my DVD collection once released!


Guess who's already yearning for Halloween? Yep. It's me. Though it's still, technically, three months away, I start celebrating and getting into the spirit (pun intended) in mid September. And in a month and a half we'll be there folks. Hopefully I'll be able to drag friends to a few more Haunted Attractions this season than the paltry one event I went to last year. Don't get me wrong, the event wasn't lack-luster in any way, it was the amount (1) that I went to that was disappointing. This year I may try and make up for that.


Here's something I forgot to Blog about from a while back. I was lucky enough to go down to my local art museum and see a traveling display on the history of comics. It was quite enjoyable. The subjects I got the most enjoyment out of was the wonderful pulp comics they had on display. Getting to see original prints from Jack "The King" Kirby, Will Eisner's The Spirit and Chester Gould's Dick Tracy were a real honor. Too bad I don't have the money to collect any more. Some of the more artsy-fartsy alternative comics were presented there where I wished they would have concentrated more with modern day artists as Todd McFarlane, Norm Breyfogle and other real comic artists that really know how to give the books more pizzaz rather than modern art crapolla.


I'm still working on that expansion to the Zangz's media empire. Watch for an announcement soon.


Here are a couple of Bond bits that came out of the entertainment media recently. First of all Pinewood Studios had a huge fire that ruined much of the 007 Sound Stage. It apparently ruined a set resembling Venice that was built for Casino Royale. Fortunately, they had finished filming there before it got all pyroed up.

Also, Eon studios have announced who will perform the title track to Casino Royale. Chris Cornell (formerly of Soundgarden, currently of Audioslave) will be lending his powerful voice to the main track. This is the first time that they have had the balls to employ a hard rocker to do the honor. The heaviest Bond title song previously was Paul McCartney and Wings doing Live and Let Die. This should be interesting. November 17th, folks. Hopefully there will be no curse for the producers after unfairly getting rid of Brosnan too prematurely. Cross your fingers.


That's all I have for tonight. Until next time, Smoke 'em if you got 'em.

Zangz.