Where’s The Beef? In My Belly With Some Sake…

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Okay, class. The wi-fi was DEAD at the library when I jetted back uptown after the great Sake in the City II event, or else there would be a post up already about my fun time at the event. Bleh. Anyway, I woke up waaay too early this morning, went out to do some laundry, lost some money in the process and had to make an emergency withdrawal (boo!), but the event and the three seminars I took made up for it. I’ll pop a post in about this tomorrow or Wednesday, but right now I’m BEAT from a long day and way too much sake. I’m not drunk at all, mind you – I just have a bit of a headache from sampling so many types and not having any caffeine at all today, so it’s a confused brain wondering where its real buzz is. Yep, I’m drinking a cup of coffee as I type this and yep, my headache is fuzzing away. A quart of water should take care of that sake swimming pool in my stomach, but I actually didn’t drink all that much (although I stopped counting at 16 samples of 16 different varieties). Okay- let me poke through my email, as I haven’t checked it since last night and I know my mailbox is PACKED. Back in a bit…

Back From The Lap of Luxury…

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Nope, I didn’t take the day off Thursday*, ladies and gents. I was at The Luxury Review for a few hours checking out some incredible products and possibly drinking too many adult beverages. My head will let me know in the morning, but I think the good quart of so of water I’ve been drinking since I stumbled in the door about twenty minutes ago will stave off the Beast from Hangover Square. OK, I need to sleep now… and dream of that $10,000 bed I got to fall on for a bit and now want to sell both kidneys to buy. Back tomorrow… no, wait – later today with some reportage from the event. Thanks to Terry “Valkor” Lewis from The Other View for hanging out woth me as my guest. He’s quite a card, that one…

And ha, ha, ha! My current unread email count is in the many hundreds just from not doing any work yesterday. This will be a “fun” Thursday, that’s for certain… I hope my brain can keep up. We’ll see, I guess… we’ll see… Good Night!

*Aheh. I was definitely feeling the after effects of that free booze bath, kids. Wednesday? Now I’m losing track of what day I attend events! Wooo…

Breaking Bad Ends It Classy… At Least Here In The Big City.

Posted on September 28, 2013 by geelw

If you’re lucky enough to live in and around New York City and have been to the Museum of the Moving Image any time since July 26th, you’re probably more than aware that there’s been a very cool exhibit based around AMC’s Breaking Bad that’s running until October 27th, 2013.

Those in the know about this also know about tomorrow’s really special viewing party for the show’s final episode that’s going to draw in BB fans and toy collectors thanks to the fine folks and AMC teaming up with Mezco Toyz. Tomorrow’s events include a raffle of some of Mezco’s popular Walter White action figures with the already sold-out screening.

Details below the jump. If you’re interested you can most likely pop into the museum to see the exhibits but not the screening unless you’ve got a ticket from somewhere or someone. Fat chance on that happening at this late date, but a bag of blue can get you anything I hear…

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A Friendly Reminder From AMC (Plus A Chance To Chase or Be Chased)…

Posted on September 13, 2013 by geelw

Just a friendly reminder that The Walking Dead kicks off Season 4 on October 12, 2013. If you’d like to give yourself a mild heart attack before that day and you’re in the NYC area, feel free to check out The Walking Dead Escape, the LIVE event where you can be a Survivor or Walker as you either try to make it through a tricky obstacle course or try to stop people from doing so.

As awesome as that latter event sounds… I won’t be attending, as I value my life too much to be trampled to death by some screaming fans. However, YOU can register and step up to the plate and have the time of your life. Have fun if you do go and if you’re a Walker, don’t even think of wearing that makeup job you get on the subway or anywhere else in the city. We’re crazy enough here without having to get freaked out by some grinning tourist dressed as a zombie. And you don’t want to run into a crazed homeless guy who thinks it’s the “REAL” zombie apocalypse and decides to do you in with that shopping cart he’s pushing around (ouch!)…

E3 2013: Ubisoft Media Briefing: News From “La Maison de Wow” Is Always Good…

Posted on June 19, 2013 by geelw

Like their DRM policies or not, you simply can’t ignore Ubisoft’s power in the game industry. A stable of hits, some always surprising new IP popping up seemingly out of thin air (the company KNOWS how to keep a secret and reveals only when necessary) and even some film projects in the works based on some of their best games, it’s clear that they’ll be around for a while. Much of what’s here is so impressive that I’d bet we’ll see some sort of Ubisoft channel coming to future consoles dedicated solely to the companies offerings all playable on whatever you have getting content into your home. Granted, should the internet die thanks to some hack or country to global-scale event, welp… there goes the neighborhood, I suppose and guess what, we’re all starring in at least two of Ubisoft’s upcoming games. I’ll let you peruse this event video to find out which two…

Attention Bat-Fans: Believe it or Not! Mezco Toyz Wants You In NYC For Something Old, Something New

Posted on June 15, 2013 by geelw

Holy “I Get To See The Original Batmobile and Maybe Pass Out On Top of (Or Next To) It!, Batman!!” Mezco Toyz is lighting up the Bat-Signal and letting all you classic to current Batman fans know they’re going to be doing something really awesome in New York City on June 25, 2013. Check it out below and get in on the fun, I say.

The hilarious thing here is as a jaded and cynical Noo Yawkuh (for life! OK, I’ve left the city and traveled plenty of times), I’ve never been to that Believe it or Not museum and in fact, scoot through 42nd street as quickly as possible whenever I’m in the area. Those crowds can be a bit annoying is all I’m saying. Still, I guess it’s a far sight better than the old nastier 70’s and 80’s where you’d want to run like hell away for other reasons (I’m old enough to tell you some mighty freaky true tales)… However, the chance to see the Batmobile of my childhood (and it better not be made of wax, grrrr… oh, wait, that’s Madame Tussaud’s down the street – another place I avoid!)? Oh hell no, that’s not getting passed up one bit. “POW!” “BIFF!!”, “SOCK!!” Er, “SPLORCH???” Hmmm… er… maybe not a “SPLORCH???”… that just sounds too wrong. Anyway, yeah, SHOW UP and bring your camera and a drool cup. Wear a bike helmet or hardhat if you’re prone to passing out from sheer nostalgia (“THUDDD!”)

Ubisoft Does A Bit of Pre-E3 Tease (or: Aisha’s Baaaaack)…

Posted on June 1, 2013 by geelw

Having Aisha Tyler (from FX’s hilarious animated spy spoof Archer) host Ubisoft’s E3 press conference last year was a masterstroke, as she’s a gamer guys and gals can relate to without all that celebrity stuff getting in the way. Well, as you can see here, she’s going to be returning for this year’s show and yes, it’ll be the conference to catch just because it’ll be fun to see her take on some of the company’s upcoming lineup. Of course, Ubisoft always pulls off some major reveals, so those jokes she’s going to throw down should make a nice counterpoint to the sounds of jaws dropping in that hall and in front of computers or whatever device that event is viewed on…

Ken Butler @ AIRPLANE: Return of the Home-made Twang Bar King…

Posted on March 11, 2013 by geelw

OK, class: Time for some art appreciation (siddown, you in the back – you went to the restroom three articles back!). I saw some cool hybrid sculptures by artist/musician Ken Butler last weekend at Brooklyn’s AIRPLANE gallery and found his work to be pretty incredible overall. Some pics are below, but you should probably check out his site to see more and find more about him and his rather amazing work. I also shot a bit of video of one interactive piece I forgot to write the name down of (oops), so take a look below the jump and let your imagination go wild (or back to normal) as you make up your own story to go with the projected images on the wall. The fun thing about this particular work is it’s all found objects put together and transformed into a multi-purpose art piece (that can probably call down an alien spacecraft if played outdoors, make your cat or dog crazy when they’re chasing lights around the room or perhaps give a burglar a seizure if you play the keyboard fast enough when he’s breaking into your place to steal what he thinks is a time machine)… Continue reading →

Applied Design @MoMA: fLow (PS3) “Dancing Bacteria?” Well, OK…

Posted on March 5, 2013 by geelw

Well, I did hear someone say that’s what the game looked like at the event, so I guess that’s how it will seem to a few people who haven’t played it. I was going to title the post “Waiter,There’s a fLow in My Soup!”, but that would mean I’d need to stop writing and go eat something, as food references sometimes make me hungry. Good thing I’m at the library here “stealing” free wi-fi time or I’d be passed out at the pizza place nearby on a cheap (but REALLY good) pie, not getting any work done and feeling not too guilty about it later on.

Applied Design @MoMA: Portal Is Actually Harder If You Start in the Middle.

Posted on March 4, 2013 by geelw

Granted, I haven’t played this in some time, but it’s NOT exactly the toughest game out there. However, if you pick up a controller and try to start playing, expect to get lost fast. This level is actually really simple (I ran through it on the PS3’s The Orange Box collection just to make sure I wasn’t losing my touch), but I just dinked around for a bit so the video could be shot. Anyway, the guy who played after the next guy tried DID remember how to play and it was a good thing, as a video crew caught that fun bit of puzzle/platformer action for whatever site they were filming for… Ah, well. Hey, if they had Cosmic Ark or Thunderground there, I’d STILL be playing today…