Things I Learned @Toy Fair 2014: I Think A Crowded Coop Needs A Name Change…

Posted on April 7, 2014 by geelw

“How about a REALLY Crowded Coop?”Was what I suggest to Mary Olson after seeing the size of this year’s amazing lineup at Toy Fair, but I think she would have hit me on the head with that prototype Halo bag I’d been ogling. It’s a good thing she didn’t, as I’d then be responsible for the entire first run having a dent the size of my forehead in and I’d like to be a bit less of a negative influence on product design in the future. Where last year, the company had a handful of licenses that yielded a sizable amount of product, this year the booth was about three times the size and there were so many products on display that I had to swing by twice to see them all…
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Child of Light Gets The Always Amazing Amano Touch…

Posted on April 7, 2014 by geelw

While I’ve had the great pleasure of seeing Yoshitaka Amano’s artwork up close and personal, it was too many years ago here in NYC when he was promoting HERO and I even got to chat briefly with him about his art on the Front Mission games thanks to a friend who translated my questions and compliments. Anyway, here he is doing what he does best for Ubisoft’s upcoming Child of Light and making me wish I could actually afford to own one of his paintings one of these days. It’s too bad this video isn’t longer, but oh well – sometimes you have to take the art you can get however you can get it, right? Child of Light will be available April 30 for assorted platforms and yes, you need to buy it.

IndieGala Every Monday Bundle: Hard To Pass Up (And Harder To Put Down)

Posted on April 7, 2014 by geelw

Let’s see now… six games for $1.89 for the next 15 hours, then the price jumps to a still insane $2.99 for the same content? SOLD, even though I already have the excellent A Valley Without Wind in my still hefty backlog of games to be played. Nice. Get this deal HERE and make sure to take a look at the assorted Happy Hour deals on other bundles and the other sales on too many titles while you’re there.

Random Art: All My Ghosts… And A Few Skeletons…

Posted on April 6, 2014 by geelw

Meh, nothing to see here. Move along! Started this before Game of Thrones kicked off, waited until that was over (yes, it was a fantastic premiere to Season 4) and finished it while being not at all impressed with the House of Lies season finale. Bleh, that was an annoying half hour of mostly unlikable people to see. Anyway, here you go. Did I mention i don’t believe much in ghosts, either? Hey, I have enough on my plate in real life to be walking around falling over stuff every time I hear a floorboard creak or see something flit by in my peripheral vision. I don’t even think I liked Boo Berry as a cereal (because Franken Berry and Count Chocula would have beaten the crap out of me if I let one more monster-themed cereal in the house)…

Storing Up Energy For Some Quality Time…

Posted on April 6, 2014 by geelw

Shhh. Quiet back there! I’m kind of taking the day off until Game of Thrones pops up this evening. I made the mistake last night and early this morning of staying up to watch all of those House of Lies episodes I missed when I bailed on the series and man, that was a bad decision. The show is well-acted, but I ended up hating just about everyone on it beyond the point of caring (um… thanks, writers?) and with a season finale popping up, I figure I may as well commit to that at some point this week just to wrap that up as neatly as possible. I’m definitely watching the Shameless finale and may scoot back to HBO to catch the Silicon Valley premiere just because it’s Mike Judge and Office Space is one of my favorite films as a former office drone (in a few too many places in the past) and long time movie lover. Eh, we’ll see… or perhaps not. GoT has all my attention until Orphan Black returns in less than two weeks. As for Mad Men? Coin toss when it returns, period. I gave up caring about that show ages ago…

Godzilla “Extended Look” Trailer: Well, “Look And Run Like Hell” Is More Accurate…

Posted on April 5, 2014 by geelw

Ah, the plot thickens… I’m sure some will be growling and screaming that this trailer “gives away too much”, but given that some have been SO skeptical that a western-made Godzilla would be once again, “crap on a stick” have been proven wrong, I say shut it and enjoy the longer peek at what’s going to pack them into the seats in just over a month. The big guy is back and probably louder than bombs this time out. That and hell, unless you’re reading Empire magazine or looking at comic or toy blogs, you REALLY haven’t seen all of Godzilla yet. Good going, WB and Legendary Pictures!

Reads: To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis

Posted on April 5, 2014 by geelw

When Meriwether Lewis took a couple of bullets too many in his room at the Grinder’s Stand early in the morning of October 11, 1809, I’m sure Urban Dance Squad’s “Famous When You’re Dead” wasn’t playing in his head beforehand, nor was he thinking that he’d be immortalized in countless books, films and other media well into the present day.

In her new book, To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis Charleston, SC based author Andra Watkins brings Lewis back to life in a beautiful and memorable manner, as his ghost becomes the guide for a young girl in 1977 as the pair travel from New Orleans to Nashville. Without spoiling much, the book grabs you from the first page and holds you down page after page thanks to Watkins’ solid pacing and fine writing style that blends fact, fantasy and fiction as the travelers work to overcome a few interesting obstacles of the living and dead variety… Continue reading →

SOMA “Lambda” Trailer: Frictional’s Upcoming Game Is Drowning In Atmosphere…

Posted on April 5, 2014 by geelw

Literally and figuratively it would seem. And all this time I thought it was going to be a more landlocked futuristic experience. Oops. On the other hand, it still may be, as this long teaser doesn’t explain much other than sometime in the future we’ll see a 100 percent waterproof computer that’s probably a few generations too large. Unless, of course this whole wearable tech trend that I despise so much fails miserably like it needs to. That and the death of the “holodeck” as a potential money wasting concept only the stupidly wealthy can afford. Bleah. Just give me a good game, something to play it on and if it’s not a handheld system, a controller and I’m happy. Anyway, SOMA isn’t out for a while (2015, it’s looking like) – more updates to come as they drop.

Orphan Black Season 2 Trailers: I’m Still Not Spoiled, But Thanks For Trying, BBC America!

Posted on April 4, 2014 by geelw

As with other teasers and such about this show, I’m NOT looking at these two trailers at all because I don’t want a single thing ruined for me when things kick off on April 19. Yeah, yeah – I know a little tease is part of one’s entertainment life, but I’m one of those folks that can do without it because it makes the experience fresher when I go in not knowing a darn thing except for where last season ended and where this one will pick up. That said, I’d actually LOVE to see a fake trailer put out for a show that totally fools everyone, sort of like how the end of episode teasers for original episodes of Arrested Development threw stuff at you that wasn’t even close to what took place in the next episode. Of course, I caught on to that really quickly (in a “Hey, what happened to… Oh, ha and ha, ha manner), so maybe it’s NOT a good idea after all.

Heh. One can only imagine the confusion, followed by the internet “outrage” and petitions popping up all over from the modern fan who doesn’t seem to have a functional sense of humor about their favorite show…

X-Men: Days of Future Past Poster Blitz

Posted on April 4, 2014 by geelw

I’m not sure how many “official” posters there are for this upcoming blockbuster, but Comic Book Movie has a nice set of nine new ones up today to check out, all of which are pretty darn cool. Add the ones at the Imp Awards gallery and that’s eighteen posters with who knows how many more to come before the film arrives here on May 23, 2014. I’m glad I don’t collect these things anymore, as I’d need a warehouse for each film that comes out I’m interested in or like already. Ah well… someone is doing the living vicariously stuff on that front for me out there, so no worries…