Pound!: Something that can be done with both beer and sand.

Another hectic work week gone for good. We now have a couple of days reprieve before the shat-storm of a new work week punches us in the the stomach, then stomps on our head as we're down on the ground, then spits on our bruised body that is lying in a gutter. Perhaps your work week wasn't as disappointment filled mine. In any case, lets seize these couple of days and enjoy ourselves to the fullest!!!!

And what better way to start it all off than a good ol' blog from myself. So let's all get this over with so the imbibing can begin!


My friend, Carlo, will be arriving back home from serving our country in the Middle East. So it's great to have him back. There will be a nice big bash for him in a few weeks that I'm going to try and go to. There may be some dog sitting issues I have to deal with at that time. Which leads me to my next subject.


Guess who gets to look after my sister's menagerie while her and my brother in law are driving out to D.C? Yep, Uncle Zangz will be partying it up with a couple of lively dogs, Frodo and Pipen and a bit of a snobby, yet adorable cat, Molly. Perhaps I'll take them to the party. Hope Carlo has enough beer for all of us.


Why do we geeks think Chloe, the anal-retentive computer specialist on "24" is hot? Click HERE and wonder no more, foolish mortals!


Mr. Salty came up to me this week and expressed his slight displeasure at me for "spoiling" a recent major plot twist that took place on Battlestar Gallactica in a previous blog. I would like to take this time to formally apologize to Mr. Salty and the other readers of this blog who've had their heads firmly planted in the sand for the last month and obviously are quite clueless to what's happening in the show. I think I get to watch, maybe, 4 episodes a season and even I know what happened. Jeeze. Ya know what you can all do with that sand your heads been in... GO POUND IT!!!! Now you got me all salty.


I finished the game Prey right before it was due back at the rental place. I strongly advise you FPS fans who have the '360 to check this little under-the-radar gem out. I found it quite engrossing, eye candy for the next gen, and one heck of a detailed game. Plus it wasn't one of those pansy, single player modes. It appears they put as much time and effort into the single player game as they did the multi-player. It actually takes more than an afternoon to get through the game! There's a decent story involved also.


I've also been playing a little of the game Crackdown when I go over to Roberto DelAmorte's abode. I think I may pick this one up soon. I could give a flying leap about the Halo 3 beta that comes with it. Crackdown, itself, has enough open sandbox gaming to keep me happy as a clam for quite some time! The open world could be a heck of a lot bigger, but the gameplay is very addictive.


Zangz's Pod of Geekdom has expanded by a bit of a leap and maybe a half of a bound. If you listened to the last 'cast you'll notice how considerably clearer and more "professional" it is. My producer/technician, a man we'll call "Double A", got hold of some very nice recording equipment. On top of all of that we now have a decent place to record. It's a true lair of geekdom, a secret hidden place where I can truly plot and plan a worldwide take over.

Honestly, podcasting is the one medium where freedom of speech still fully exists. I think that right now is the time to either participate or listen to it. There's something out there for everybody. I tell you that now is the time, before the government and corporate greed take it over as they've done with all other media outlets. So support you local podcasters, won't you? It's one of the true last bastions of freedom of speech and expression.


Tomorrow will be loaded with Star Wars gaming, food, beer, Star Wars gaming, good conversation and Star Wars gaming. I'm sure our gamemaster, Mad Mario has some sneaky tricks up his sleeve. I'm looking forward to see what he's cooked up.

And speaking of gaming, Roberto Del Amorte is threatening to break out the ol' Bureau13: Stalking the Night Fantastic game and run a few. Cool. Let's hope he can put it together a lot sooner than our friend Trish has come up with a D&D game (or myself with a CoC game...doh!)


Ok, well that brings another glorious Blog of Geekdom to a close. Until next time, go pound it!

Zangz.

Check out this AWESOME PODCAST!!!!

Yep. I just popped in briefly here to shill my podcast, 'cause we have another beauty up. You can find it right HERE!

This time it's the second part on the subject of Role Playing Games. Not only does my gamemaster, Mad Mario, join us, but so does his lovely wife, Hope. I think this one is one of my favorites. So check it out!


Other notes? Not a lot. Like I said , I'm just popping in. But here is a few quick notes.


I rented the '360 game, Prey. It's a FPS where you are a modern day American Indian who finds himself having to call on the very spiritual background he has shunned to save the world from an alien invasion. It's pretty cool!!!

There's one part where you can actually interact with a jukebox that plays Ted Nugent and Judas Preist!!! On top of those little treats, the graphics are top notch (and I don't even have HD!). Plus, there are many parts of the game where you get to walk on the walls and ceilings of this Alien airship/base/planet/sphere/whateverthefrackitis. There's actually decent voice acting in this game as well.

Play it if you can get your hands on it.


I found myself, AGAIN, checking out Halloween and Haunted Attraction websites.... in March. WTF?


Well, I gotta get going as "24" is on in less than an hour and I need some food. So enjoy the podcast and I'll talk to you soon.

Zangz.

"I can't believe I died last night.. I'm frackin' DEAD AGAIN!!!"

Holy Bajeezers! It's been a while since I posted something here! We'll, I thought going into March would slow things down a bit, but I'm just as busy as I was in February. In fact, I just got home from work a half an hour ago. But, fret not. I have a cold brew to my side that is fondling my larynx quite nicely.

Ok, let's get going here, then.


First off, I believe there was a brand spankin' new Zangz's Pod of Geekdom posted this past Monday (see how frackin' busy I am. I haven't even had time to plead with you to listen to my podcast!). This time I have a rousing review of the blockbuster "300"!


That will lead me to my next subject, I went to go see the movie "300"!!!! What did I think of it? Listen to my podcast, ya mooks! Christ, am I shameless, or what? Hey, my next podcast will be part 2 on RPGs featuring my good friend Mad Mario and his lovely wife Hope. On top of all that, my podcast just took a leap forward in sound quality. For the most part, we will rarely be using my phone as a microphone anymore. We're now using professional type gadgets, don't ya know.


They killed Starbuck!!!! WTF??????


When I heard that they we're going to do a remake of "Escape From New York" (the movie... not the VH1 reality series with the obnoxious gold digging tramp and her vile mother), I first thought, "Oh crap, not another remake of a golden classic!?!?!" But when I heard that 300's, Gerard Butler would take on the role as Snake Plisskin I thought, "Well, there may be some hope here." Wait and see.


Me and a friend were talking about how frellin' pathetic Van Halen is these days. The only two members to show up for their induction into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of fame were the two members who are no longer in the band!!!!! WTF???? On top of that, the whole reunion tour for the summer has been cancelled due to Eddie Van Halen going to rehab. Sadly, I believe they blew their last gasp at being taken seriously as a hard edged rock band. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. You know, I don't even know why I'm even blogging about these guys.


This past Tuesday really put a dent in my wallet. Everything that rocks my world was released this past week. Casino Royale came out on DVD and Dead Again, from Type O, came out as well. I haven't watched Casino Royale on DVD yet, but I have been listening to Dead Again quite a bit. All I'll say right now is that I wish the title track wasn't only 4 minutes long, 'cause it is one of the best Type O Negative songs ever written! I still haven't gotten my ticket to see them in April when they come here. I better get crackin'.


You know what's also a good CD? Muse's "Black Holes and Revelations". It's about as far away as you could get from Type O, but there's some real good music on that disc. A lot of it hearkens back to Queen, while some of it can be put into the Radiohead category (although, they're probably pretty sick of being described as being like Radiohead).


I think I'll wait to see "Ghost Rider" 'till it comes out on video. I've heard that Cage is quite good in it, yet the plot is a stinkerooo.


Tomorrow is not only St. Patrick's Day, it's also a national holiday called Jenny-mas. Did ya know that? Ya know, it doesn't matter 'cause Jenny doesn't read this blog anyway. So let's move on.


When the hell is Young Sherlock Holmes coming out on DVD, anyway? I friggin' loved that movie! WTF, Spielberg?????


Eh... I got nothin' else.

Zangz.

Get listnin' ya Bastages!

New Podcast up right HERE!

This instalment of Zangz's Pod of Geekdom features my good gaming buddy Mad Mario. We discus the wonderful world of Role Playing Games.

So, stop wastin' yer time doing chores or taking care of your children or catching up on work and do something worthwhile for once in yer life. Treat yourselves to some real geeky conversation.


Oh, the massive snow storm wasn't quite the delluge our wonderful local media went out of their way to make it sound like it was going to be. But more snow and cruddy weather is expected this week. When the frell is spring going to come?

Until next time...

Zangz is outta here.

The Cold, White Sorrow Cometh.

Yep. There's a huge, massive amount of Mother Nature's witchery heading straight toward my Blog of Geekdom headquarters and all surrounding areas. It will pinch out and plop between 7" to 33" of snow upon us within the next 48 hours.

The actual amount is varied and depends on which overzealous, sadistically gleeful media weather dork you watch on TV. Most of them report this kind of bad news one of two ways: 1) In very serious tones as though they're reporting there's a meteor headed straight for earth, or 2) In incredibly happy and silly tones as though it's going to be a real party out there trying to shovel our cars out of the streets.

Either way, I say, "Frack them all!!!" Now some of you meteorologist fan boys out there my cry out in defense of these weather dorks with the age old saying "Don't Kill the Messenger". Let's take a look at where that ol' adage may have come from. Back in the Dark Ages there may have been a king or ruler who's country or land was at war. Messengers would come back from the battlefield and report on how said ruler's army was doing. If it was bad news, there were times where the king would act quite rash and in one quick knee-jerk reaction, sentence the messenger to his death. You have to wonder how these messengers delivered the bad news to the rulers to infuriate them so. If it was with the same shallow, sadistic happiness that our local media do, it's no wonder these guys got the gallows and/or guillotine.

"Hey, hey, hey, King Offwithhishead. It looks like your army really crumbled to pieces out there, letting all the Barbarian hordes into the countryside towns where they'll be raping and pillaging the lands by this evening. Looks like it's going to be one doosey of an evening around here. Whooo hoooo!"

Yep..... let's kill the frellin' messenger.


On to some well needed geekosity to help keep us all warm and cozy.


Trekkie's have reason to rejoice as the Trek franchise gets a well needed kick in the behind with the dawning of the reboot of the Star Trek movies that will be directed by geek god, J.J. Abrams. This is just what the doctor ordered for those films. Not only will it be a bit of a reboot to the mythos, it will be helmed by fan favorite Abrams. Though, a geek, I was never moved as much by the whole Trek franchise as many others (like my friend Spanky). But, I really do look forward to seeing this one. Read more about it here.


New Line are still being a bunch of sodding fools to blacklist Peter Jackson from any involvement the upcoming Hobbit movies. It seems the head honcho there has a silly little child-like beef with Mr. Jackson (the guy who helped promote, if not save New Line with The Lord of the Rings films). Although, I should say that New Line is attempting to make one good move on this whole mess they've created and trying to woo Evil Dead, Spider-man director, Sam Raimi onto the project. Now, I love Raimi's work on the Evil Dead and Spider-man movies like any other fan boy. But there's one big problem with him helming J.R.R. Tolkien's works.....

He's not Peter Jackson.

It's kind of like the current Van Halen reunion. Sure, we're all excited about David Lee Roth joining the brothers Van Halen again. But without Michael Anthony in the fold, it's still not quite Van Halen. I'm sure Wolfgang Van Halen will make a fine bass player, but he's not Michael Anthony. Will he be able to harmonize with Diamond Dave with a high falsetto voice that Mikey had and that helped define the Van Halen sound?

I just wish New Line and Van Halen would stop making choices based on ego and bitterness and do what's right. 'Nuff grumblin' done here... for now.


Been playing through The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion with great relish for the last several weeks. It's most definitely a great addictive game. For the last week, I've been trying to cure my character of Vampireism, which may sound real cool, but it's not so cool when you have to hide out in caves during the day time. By the time you can come out, all the shops are closed and you cant' sell anything that you've horded from dungeon delving. I did finally find a cure for it all. So things are back to normal.

I've also been playing Saint's Row, another open ended, free for all game based A LOT on the GTA series. Not as big of a world to create havoc in, but a fun title to play in between the release of GTA games.

I also took a crack at Perfect Dark Zero. A visually stunning game, but way too quick for the single player mode. It was over just as was really getting into the game play. For a FPS that's kinda sad.


All my favorite shows that plow along during the winter sweeps months are doing pretty well. Lost is still phenomenal and still keeps us guessing (an answer or tow would be nice about now, J.J.). 24 still has some balls to it. Yet, it goes back and forth with the feelings of, "We've done this plot on seasons' past, haven't we?" to "Holy Moses! I didn't see that coming!"


Since February is such a darn, awful month I'm quite looking forward to March as Type O Negative release their long, long, long awaited opus, Dead Again ( you can hear one of the new songs, These Three Things, if you go to thier official site and wait for the into page to load. Hope you have high speed!), AND the movie 300 is released, AND myself and some old tech school buddies will be getting together to share some grog and stories, AND I'll be partaking in another Star Wars RPG session, AND I will be one more month toward warmth AND.... AND... and? Jeeze, there's something else in March that really cool and I seem to be drawing a blank. I know it comes up in the beginning of the month, but I can't think of what it is. I get the feeling that's it's something really really important that if forgotten, great sadness will fill the land. Hmmmm... Maybe my good friend Roberto will help me remember.


Keep you ears and eyes open for another new episode of Zangz's Pod of Geekdom at AZCast.net to pop up at the beginning of the week. This cast features game master extraordinaire, Mad Mario and we discuss the wonderful world of Role Playing Games.


At this point I'm going to fix myself some grub and sit down for a cozy, intimate afternoon of Xbox 360 gaming.

Take care, and stay warm and out of Mother Nature's furry.
Zangz.

New Podcast Up!

February has been kickin' my butt all over the place. The weather has been, not only snowy, but also damn frackin' cold. Work has been extremely busy as I worked last weekend and will do more time this coming weekend. Then there's that god awful holiday that reminds us single freaks of nature what a bunch of misfits we are. That day of mourning hits us tomorrow.

February is certainly not my favorite month of the year.

But I was fortunate enough to squeeze out another Zangz's Pod of Geekdom (or Geekdome if you're a podcaster who can't spell..snicker..snicker).

You can listen to it HERE!

This time I prattle on about some of the really incredible ensemble, serialized, genre TV shows that have popped up in recent years.

Otherwise there's nothing else that really has me in a mode to blog on about. So take care and stay warm.

Zangz.

Death of the Undead and then Dead Again.

Howdy all.

I totally zoned out and forgot to mention some musical notations in my last post, so here we go...

There's a bit of sad news concerning a local band that I've fallowed for a few years. The Psychobilly band, Psychomania have officially called it a day. I talked with the one known as Vince Claw and he said that there were some "creative differences" concerning if they should drink the blood of victims before the victims die or right after. Then there was the whole argument of when you spill the virgin's blood into the middle of the pentagram that's drawn on the floor with the chalk made from bones of the departed, do you summon a demon from the fifth level of hell, or the 6th? None of them were on the same page with that quandary either so they split and returned to their respected graves. It would be nice to seem them do some sort of reunion show some cold, dark Halloween. Who knows. This band was way too twisted to break up! Further proof that there is no god.


Now in better music news concerning dark, spooky music! My favorite band, Type-O-Negative, have posted the track listing to their upcoming opus, 77 minutes of pure dark and twisted joy, Dead Again. It goes as follows.....

1. Dead Again
2. Tripping a Blind Man
3. The Profits of Doom
4. September Sun
5. Halloween in Heaven (with Lycia's Tara VanFlower)
6. These Three Things
7. She Burned Me Down
8. Some Stupid Tomorrow
9. An Ode to Locksmiths
10. Hail and Farewell to Britain

I can't wait to hear Halloween in Heaven! These guys are underrated and brilliant and I'm counting the days 'till March 13th when it hits stores. Whether they believe it or not, they've yet to disappoint!


You want to hear how my luck works? Not 10 minutes ago, I swear to friggin God (the one that hates me.) there was a ring at my apartment door. Not the buzzer from the lobby! The one from the actual door to my Vault of Geekdom! I answer it and there, standing before me, is a very cute brunette in a cute skirt and high heels holding, and I shat you not, a six pack of micro brews. It was suddenly like god decided to give this poor sod a shot of decent luck.

Then it all came to a quick and sharp end as the girl looked at me quizzically and then looked at the apartment number and said sheepishly, "Oh... I'm sorry I have the wrong floor. I'm so, so sorry!" She wasn't the only one!!!! I told her that it was ok and that I, myself, have spent twenty some odd minutes trying to make my key work in the lock of the wrong floor apartment before I noticed I was on the wrong floor, but my humor must have eluded her as she jumped onto the elevator and walked right the hell outta my life.

Frack You, God! You cruel bastage!!!!!




In one last note, you'll be happy to know that the latest episode of Zangz's Pod of Geekdom is up and running. This episode is about bringing comics books to the big screen. Enjoy if you can.


That's all I can think of now. Until next time, stay vertical!

Zangz.

Lost in Oblivion

I know it's been a bit of a stretch between posts. I apologize for that, but I've been immersed in the Xbox 360 game Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The thing is so vast end endless, I may never blog again. Well... that's a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it?

To quickly update you on what's going on in Zangzville....

I finally got up enough courage to activate that dating service present that friends so wonderfully and sadistically gave me. We'll see what transpires, but don't expect me spill any details about it here until, possibly, this whole experiment goes through it's natural paces. I don't kiss and tell. I mostly rub and flounder (whateverthehellthatmeans?)


There's been a bit of a lull in my podcasts also. There's been some technical issues that needed resolving. It looks like it could be "a go" for this upcoming week. Check back then.


It's closing in on my birthday and to tell you the truth, I still feel as though I'm in my 20's rather than my mid to late 30's. See, folks, if you play video games as well as collect action figures well into your adulthood, you'll feel as young at heart as I do. You may never get to date anyone ever again, but you'll die alone feeling young at heart. So, there you go.


The people over at New Line Cinema are still being a bunch of dorklings about the Hobbit movies. One of the head honchos is still forbidding Peter Jackson from having anything to do with the project(s) since the Jackson camp filed a grievance about the payment procedure New Line used to pay him (i.e. they hosed him out of some of the fundage from the Lord of the Rings movies). So this head nimrod has issued a statement proclaiming that Jackson will be kept away from the Hobbit project. Let's face it, folks, here's how the formula works...

Hobbit movies - Petter Jackson = severe suckage! 'Nuff Said.


Here's a quickie "Get Well" wish for my good friend Roberto. Roberto had some surgery done where surgeons replaced the left side of his brain with his knee cap... or something to do with one of his knees... I'm not quite sure what it was, exactly, but the source of the problem had something to do with some drinking and a staircase that could have been better navigated whilst sober. So we here at the Blog of Geekdom wish him well and a very speedy recovery.


I'm done for the evening. And I'm not gunna link anything this time. Look at past blogs you lazy bastages.

I'm off to Oblivion.

Zangz.

First Lame Babble of 2007.

Whew, what a frackin' week it's been! Lots of stuff to deal with at work. For a four day week it's been pretty hectic. I'm glad it's over for now. But, of course, Monday shall come with a vengeance! Well, poo on Monday!

My good friend Roberto, who you may have heard if you've ever bothered to check out my podcast HERE, has complained that there has been a recent absence of a post at my blog. So both he (and a few bottles of bock beer) have influenced me to post something up here tonight.


So what does a geek like me, who isn't a Brad Pitt or a Donald Trump, do when some close friends get him a free 3 month subscription to an on-line dating service for Xmas? I'll tell you what he does. He dives into the dark abyss of rejection and immanent failure with reckless abandon! That's what he does. What do you have to lose outside of dignity and hope? Both are so frellin' overrated, aren't they? We'll see what happens. This could get ugly.


Is anyone else out there sick and tired of these horrific (not in the good way) remakes of classic horror movies? Anyone see the remake for The Fog? It blew! The Amityville Horror? Not that great. But there is one horror remake that looks slightly promising! Halloween! Now, I know that the movie Halloween is sacred ground for many a horror movie fan and that any studio that wants to remake it is bound to frell it up completely. But let's take into consideration who's going to be at the helm of this project. Rob Zombie. Who better to give a bit of reimagineering magic to this classic than a true fan of the horror genre itself? It sounds as though he's not going to try and pull a new revamped look for Michael Myers either. He wants his mask to look as original as the spray painted white William Shatner mask they used in the original flick.

They have Malcom McDowell playing the part of Doctor Loomis and Tyler Mane as Michael Myers. We'll see how this progresses. Please, Rob, don't let the studio screw up one of the greatest horror movies of all time! I know you have a love and respect for this movie. Don't let the sudio dweebs ruin it for you!


And finally, Lucas, Ford and Spielberg are getting off of their butts and have a set shooting schedule for Indiana Jones: 4! They'll start shooting in the summer of this year for a summer of 2008 release date. I'm really hoping that this one can contain the same magic that the last three possessed! People are questioning if a not-too-young Ford (Ford is older than Connery was when Connery played his father) is really going to be able to pull it all off as the resourcefull Dr. Jones. Hasn't anybody heard of Lucas owned ILM? They can pull off many miracles. And if I were going home at the end of the day to Callsita Flockhart, I'd be able to pull of many wacky stunts well into my 60's!


Oh, by the way, I did pull a full weekend go Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivioon on the Xbox 360 last weekend. It's like crack!

That's all I got in me for today, kids. I'm plum tuckered out and need to get in a few rounds of Perfect Dark Zero in on my '360 before hitting the sack. Thanks fer lettin' me borrow this puppy, Roberto!


'Till next time, have a good one!

Zangz.

The Fat Man Does Good by Zangz!

Well, I guess I have to eat a bit crow here. My last post was quite the rant about how Xmas bites it hard as a holiday and how I'm not much of a Xmas kind of guy and that getting an Xbox 360 out of relatives was looking like nothing more than a pipe dream. There was also that smarmy comment about the band Stryper looking like a bunch of bumble bees.

I admit it. I was in quite the Ebeneezer Scrooge mode and must apologize to those of you who might hold the holidays near and dear to your hearts (and also to the throng of outraged Stryper fans). For I was visited by three ghosts on Xmas eve who all reminded me what the true meaning of the holiday should mean to me......

Getting a bunch of money for an Xbox 360!!!! That's right kids, the "Family Donation Xmas Fund to Buy Zangz and Xbox 360 Foundation" came through in a pinch and come this weekend, I'll be playing Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion in a zombie-like addictive game mode type of vibe. Ahhh... ya just got to love Xmas.

Other good news that has come upon this holiday is that my favorite band, Type-O-Negative, have moved up the date of their next recording opus (Tentatively titled: Dead Again) from their original date of the 7th of Never to the 13th of March! It may take them a while to record an album, but once it comes out it is worth the wait! I'll be looking forward to that.

More fun news.....

You may have noticed a slight change here and there to the format of this blog. Blogger.com has upgraded their system so I took advantage of it and added / revamped some of the things you see in the column to the right of this blog. Nothing too crazy, but you'll notice that as you read these blogs, I'll be ever present, watching you. My eye's shall be burning into your skulls, consuming all your thoughts, loves, hatreds and dreams. Bwahhahahahahaha!!!!!!

Well, I'm going to continue to enjoy my day off and bum around a bit. Hopefully I'll jump back in here before the end of 2006. If not, make sure you have a great and safe new year!

Zangz.