MVD Visual Wants YOU To Get Motivational Growth!

Posted on January 14, 2015 by geelw

Well, after seeing the trailer for this February DVD/Blu-Ray release, so do I. And you thought you had problems getting and sticking to your simple New Year’s resolutions. Poor, strange Ian Folivor above needs to get his entire life in order and thanks to a chunk of talking mold in his rather nasty-looking bathroom, he gets the chance. Of course, this being a horror film, all sorts of things go wrong and there will probably be a few bodies hitting the floor before all is said and done. Which is exactly how it should be in cases where a talking mold takes up residence in one’s bathroom.

Coming on home video from Parade Deck Films, Motivational Growth is written and directed by Don Thacker and stars horror veteran Jeffrey Combs (as the voice of the mold), Adrian DiGiovanni as Ian as well as a bunch of other actors you may or may not know who may or may not survive the film. Or their characters may or may not survive. You know the drill, but horror comedies like this are always more entertaining in my opinion because you’re laughing and cringing for all the RIGHT reasons. MVD Visual ships this one out next month, but you can pre-order it here if you’re into this sort of thing.

Since you’re read this far, that must mean you are, so you certainly don’t need any motivation from me at all, right? Ha, I thought so…

Random Art: It’s Not Really A Day Off, As I’m Still Breathing…

Posted on January 13, 2015 by geelw

Yuck. Between the cold weather outside, the home being too toasty (hey, at least the heat is on, but yikes, does it get steamy up in here!) and someone who moved back in recently with his nasty smoking habit (who needs to quit before he gets beaten senseless or drops dead himself), I’m a bit under the weather today.

(Thanks, chshaw87!)

Well, it’s not THAT bad, but past experience tells me that if I get too occupied with cranking out work when I’m starting to get sick, I usually end up this way in a few days. Anyway, I’m going to go out for a short walk (I ran out of aspirin and need a refill), pop back in to get some resty-rest and be back tomorrow with more intelligent things to say. Have a tree in the meantime.

See you all tomorrow. Or perhaps later if I pop up and feel less froggy and possessed.

Mecerdes-Benz’ F 015 Freaks Me Out For A Few Reasons…

Posted on January 12, 2015 by geelw

On one hand, I’m thinking “Ooooh, sexxxxxxy!” about the Mercedes-Benz F 015 prototype self-driving car. Who wouldn’t want to step into the lap of luxury and glide to their destination without touching the wheel or hell, worrying about driving at all? You want to spin around in your seat and have a conversation about last night’s TV shows with your carpool mates? Maybe even watch that episode on the way to work or wherever on those fancy digital doors? A few taps of the touchscreen and you’re there. Granted, this futuristic ride of indeterminate (but exorbitant) price point at least requires someone who can hold a license and take the wheel if necessary. So you won’t see a bunch of schoolkids packed inside by lazy parents who want to shift their chauffeuring responsibilities to the car and be done with them until the brood leaves home for college.

On the other hand…

(Thanks, Orthver!)

I’m getting a total Total Recall flashback, big time… Continue reading →

IndieGala Wants To Scare Your Pants Off Today. Let Them!

Posted on January 12, 2015 by geelw

But make sure to take your wallet out of your pocket first if you keep it there. This week’s IndieGala Every Monday Bundle is a smaller one than usual, but that’s because Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 will most likely scare you to death before you get to the other games in the bundle. To wit:

The other games aren’t horror-themed at all, but you do get some nice indie RPGs and strategy games to keep your heart rate calmer. Still, $1.89 is a fine deal for these five games and if you’ve never played the first Five Nights at Freddy’s, fear not (or perhaps fear a lot!). That one’s still on sale in last week’s Friday Special Bundle which has ten total games for a mere $2.89.

I’ll leave you to it to decide what you want to do, as usual. If anything getting both bundles will keep you warm because of all that jumping out of your seat you’ll be doing in the two games noted above…

Random Art: Parts Is Parts…

Posted on January 11, 2015 by geelw

I’m not on fire in terms of productivity, but it’s HOT as hell on the sun in here. The new boiler that was installed plus some tinkering on it by maintenance has cranked up the non-adjustable heat so that it’s a toasty 70-something degrees in here and probably close to 80. I’d check the thermometer by the window, but ha-ha, the plastic base it was attached to warped from a few days of heat last week and the thermometer popped out and fell into the radiator. Anyway, I’m way behind on updates thanks to the over-stressful hack job that was done on my kitchen (it took about four months for this? I could have done it myself and gone all the way insane in maybe two weeks). Oddly enough, I’ve been able to hack out a few quick little sketches to clear my mind up a bit so I can concentrate more on getting back to writing.

Yeah, yeah, they’re not perfect or that good, but they’re not supposed to be. I did dig up an ancient note to myself about finishing up an Alien story I’d wanted to turn into some sort of comic or novel with some help (I’m not a visual storyteller at all despite one horrific comic assignment under my belt). Eh, we’ll see where that goes this year, as there’s a lot more urgent things to tackle and I should be focusing on those first and foremost. Okay, back in a bit. I need to get outside again before I burn up like an overcooked baked potato. And yes, my poor pepper plants are so confused by this summer weather in the winter with less sunlight.

Archive.org Adds 2300+ MS-DOS Games: So Much For Productivity (Again!)…

Posted on January 10, 2015 by geelw

Oh, good gravy. If the Internet Arcade wasn’t a bad enough way to lose too many hours, Archive.org has just killed off the chances some of you will ever see the light of day ever again. Once again, you can blame Jason Scott and a bunch of other people with too much time on their hands who have very wisely decided to keep videogame history alive and strong for the masses.

All you need to do is point your browser here and hope you aren’t swept away for too long trying out a bunch of classic MS-DOS games. While most are emulated in your browser, you can download some titles and run them on your PC using a decent DOS emulator such as DOSBOX or FreeDOS. I’ll “warn” you in advance that many of these game are really awesome and you may find yourself neglecting basic needs. I’d write more, but a bunch of oldies are calling me to come spend some time with them…

Robot Roller-Derby Disco Dodgeball: Welcome to the Hype-erdome!

Posted on January 10, 2015 by geelw

I tend to avoid promoting many Early Access games because you never know if they’ll actually be completed and there’s nothing worse that getting thrilled over vaporware. Still, after my eyes rolled back in my head when my inbox showed me an email about Robot Roller-Derby Disco Dodgeball, I checked out the YouTube video and nearly fell off my chair laughing. But that’s actually a good thing in this case…

This one’s an instant classic because it’s pure insanity made by ONE guy and seems to have taken Steam by storm. This is what happens when you have time and talent to spare plus a great deal of focus on getting things right. I still dislike multiplayer gaming for a number of good reasons, but I’ll now need to try this out just for the new Arcade mode that’s just been added. The game is being constantly tweaked and according to the press release I got yesterday, has dethroned the mighty Counter-Strike as as the best rated multiplayer game on all of Steam.

Of course, I also have too many painful memories of playing dodgeball in grade school and junior high, so I’d gather my initial hesitation was warranted. I’m not averse to disco, although when it’s in a videogame, I get really awful flashbacks of Cyberdillo, an atrocious wreck of a game for the late, lamented 3DO. Fortunately, Disco Dodgeball plays like a faster-paced version of BattleSport mixed with multiplayer Quake set to some danceable tunes. If you’re bouncing up and down in your seat to the beat of those beats, ten bucks gets you in the door, there’s a no drink minimum and you can hang out as long as you like. If you do decide to grab this one, you may or may not run into yours truly. I still dislike playing online games, but this is one that may make me change my mind for a few minutes at least…

Hikari Friday: Win A Colorful Creature For Your Collection!

Posted on January 9, 2015 by geelw

This week Hikari Friday giveaway from Funko is a sort of amusing one to me. I’ve always seen The Creature From the Black Lagoon as a “serious” (yet somewhat amusing) monster in those films (well, except for the last one when Universal tried to make him a half-man half amphibian thing). However, seeing this week’s giveaway made me crack up because Funko went and made him the least threatening-looking classic Hollywood monster I’ve ever seen. Take a gander at Secret Base Creature Hikari Sofubi Figure:

I was laughing because my first thought was along the lines of “So, what’s that secret base filled with? Fruity Pebbles?”. Clearly, this Creature has managed to sneak his way inside, slaughter all the guards plus Fred, Barney and Dino and eat up every box of Pebbles in the formerly “secret” secret base. Yeah, you laughed too. Anyway, as usual, this one is a limited edition (winner gets #1 of 1500) and entering is easy as pie. Click on over to one of Funko’s social hubs:

Facebook!
Twitter
Instagram

Enter by any rules necessary and you’re all set. If you’re the lucky winner, you’ll be notified next week and soon enough, this glitter filled sea beastie will be decorating your home. Disco ball and strobe lights not included. If you don’t win but still want this cool collectible, just boogie on down to your favorite Funko retailer to grab one for your very own. That one won’t be a freebie, but it’s definitely going to be quite the conversation piece!

BUY IT! Blazing Labbit One-Day Sale at GoHastings

Posted on January 9, 2015 by geelw

Okay. I had no idea Kidrobot’s wonderfully cool Labbits were still being made and this one almost made me cave in with the open wallet. I have more urgent financial needs, so I’ll need to live vicariously through one or more of you out there. However, you’ll need to act quickly. Online retailer GoHastings only has this Marvel Ghost Rider Labbit collectible figure sale up TODAY until midnight, so ~~jump~~ HOP to it already!

$20 off one of these is a big deal and it doesn’t have that Nic Cage crazy smell either. Just pure vinyl formed into a pleasing shape and colored accordingly. Ahhh… I can almost smell this on your shelf. Um, well… if you leave me a spare key under the mat, I’ll come by when you’re not in and do all that Labbit sniffing and leave you a nice note after I’m done.

Hmmmm. This reminds me that I need to see if Kidrobot will be at Toy Fair next month. I guess I should make an appointment to go sniff some Labbits, huh? Back in a bit…

READS: Kirby’s Kamandi Gets The IDW Artist’s Edition Treatment

Posted on January 9, 2015 by geelw

This may, IDW Publishing will be rolling out another Jack Kirby Artist’s Edition, this time featuring his classic post-apocalytic Last Boy on Earth, Kamandi. The 160-page book will measure 12 x 17 inches and feature issues 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 9, along with additional covers and other bonus material. Fans of the King’s artwork will get to see it published in actual size from color scans that show every detail and correction. A close look at that cover shows a great example of composite art, with a photostat of the titular hero placed on top of that Statue of Liberty background. That’s how it was done in the pre-computer art age, kids! Anyway, pricing on this book is TBA, but if previous Artist’s Editions are any indication, expect to pay somewhere between $125 and $150 for this one.