Some Random Holiday Ramblings (With A Side Of Mistletoe!)…

Posted on December 23, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, it’s that time of the year when people go insane spending too much money on stuff they then spend the better part of the next year paying for while others complain the spirit of the season is lost as they themselves have probably elbowed someone in the throat in a crowed mall to get a $39 HDTV. Me, I stay away from large crowds and small minds because there’s more room to breathe (and I hate catching a stray elbow in the neck). For perhaps 20 years or so I’ve been “holiday neutral” (for ALL holidays, mind you) but I certainly don’t mind people around me doing it up and having a blast. Heck, when invited to assorted gatherings over the years, I’d be that guy who pops into a party or dinner with gifts for everyone, maybe a pie if I had time to bake one and perhaps a bottle or three of whatever just to watch everyone open up stuff and have a blast. If I like the gathering of folks enough, I may even stick around to help with the dishes. But in general, I don’t go out of my way to throw up thousands of dollars in flashy decorations or leap around wearing a funky-ugly sweater tossing teddy bear mugs and peppermint marshmallows at random strangers with a big grin on my own mug…

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Stupid Stuff I Think Of When I Really SHOULD Be Working #362…

Posted on December 22, 2013 by geelw

(Thanks, MZ774!)

So, I sometimes tend to let my mind wander all over the place when it gets busy around here, but then again, no one is ever in complete control of their brain and what it thinks. Anyone who says they are is lying, but they may also be unaware that their brain is getting the better of them by allowing the very thought of control from outside to creep in just to keep them properly pacified. Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah… I’d been kicking this idea around for a while and some people have even done stuff like it in the past, but I’d always wanted to see popular modern films get reworked as if they were done in different time periods by famous writers of those eras. Now, before you get all “but that’s been done already and a LOT of times, too!” on me, I think a period remake of Death Wish as scripted by William Shakespeare might be a fun bit of business. Or Dirty Harry by Ernest Hemingway (yikes!). And for the ladies? Emily Dickenson’s Mystic Pizza or something like that. Feel free to think up your own favorites and play around with them (I’m not much of a chick-flicker, I’ll admit)…

Eh, maybe this has been done already, but the big hook would be every bit of dialogue would be true to the times each writer lived in, but the films would all be subtitled with the original English scripts. Hell, I’d pay real money to hear how “Gimme your money, or I’ll bust you up!” sounds in Shakespearian English (and you know you would, too!)…

Unconventional Games of The Year Choices Incoming. You’ve Been Warned.

Posted on December 21, 2013 by geelw

(Thanks, movieclips!)

As some of you may know, I hate making “best of” lists, as it’s always a case of what one DIDN’T experience not making the cut almost always being as good or (or better) than what was chosen. That goes double for public choice where popular seems to outstrip good by a few leagues. That said, if you kidnapped me, tied me to a couch with a bunch of random strangers and submitted them to some rather strange blood testing to see who was infected with an alien virus, I’d fess up beforehand that yes, I’m one of those Things just because I hate me the hell out of needles and sharp objects (unless I’m in the kitchen cutting up stuff to cook). I’d also probably admit that out of all the games I’ve played this year, I probably put MORE time into a few than most did because I liked them a lot more than most did. Okay, that and my backlog is insane and I no longer review too many games in a “speed to the finish!” manner, as that’s how you miss some important stuff… Continue reading →

Technogel Gives Your Bedtime Some True Joie de Vive!

Posted on December 21, 2013 by geelw

One of my other big hobbies outside of gaming, film, cooking and generally staying out of most trouble (unless otherwise necessary for a good story later on) is sleeping. I’ve been been known to fall asleep almost anywhere at the drop of a hat. In fact, if you go buy me a hat and hand it to me right now, I could drop it and fall asleep before it hits the ground. Okay, I’m not that good, but I’ve definitely mastered the fine art of snoozing on any relatively flat surface. This is naturally both a very good as well as a very bad thing. Very good as in I can curl up on anything from a lumpy hardwood floor with a scratchy burlap blanket to a nice Italian leather sofa and zonk out with ease. Very bad as in my poor back, neck and other body parts have been through the wringer thanks to some of my sleeping choices over the decades… Continue reading →

The Doctor Has Time To Make A Turkey? This Will Be A Long Christmas Episode, I Guess…

Posted on December 20, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, I know it won’t be a lengthy Food Network-like how-to scene at all, friends. But I got big a laugh the other day when I read the plot synopsis and found that this final Matt Smith episode spans some 300 years (!), which means that’s more than enough time to cook up the biggest bird you can find and then some. Still… I wonder how HUGE a space turkey would need to be to take 300 years to cook and yeah, you’re not putting that raw stuffing inside, buddy. Unless that’s how you need to kill off a massive army of Daleks, Cybermen, Weeping Angels and Silence all intent on doing you in. Of course, that’s NOT how it’s all going to go down (hell, it better not!), but it would be disgustingly awesome to see the episode suddenly turn into that infamous and particularly nasty dining scene from the finale of Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life but with a few spaceships full of aliens barfing all over each other instead of one really massive man making an entire restaurant very sick as he loses his lunch (and dinner and a few breakfasts).

OK, that’s pretty much a big, fat “YUK” just thinking about that happening. But it would be pretty darn memorable, no? Well, then… now that we agree, how about a teeny-tiny slice of pumpkin pie for you, sir or madam?

Beloved Shirts Might Make Me Fall Into A Warp Pipe…

Posted on December 20, 2013 by geelw

Under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t catch me dead in a jumpsuit unless I happened to be in a Bizarro World episode of Breaking Bad where the RV I’m cooking up a btach of meth in explodes after Walter White has his way with a rocket launcher he’s whipped together from some washing machine parts. However, seeing this stupidly awesome Blue Handheld Belovesie Hooded Jumpsuit ($99.00) from beloved shirts has me reconsidering things a little.

Granted, I haven’t worn a jumpsuit of ANY type since some Halloween costume shenanigans many years back, but this one does look cool and those buttons! I’m betting people will want to press them even if I don’t want them to. Hell, with my luck, the day I put this thing on is the day some gigantic kaiju beast storms NYC, see me in it and thinks I’m a Game Boy. Yeah, I’ll run like hell for the nearest subway or old fallout shelter, as there’s No way I’m going to be some scaly brute’s new toy. Anyway, beloved has a nice bunch of other very cool shirts on their site (video game and non-game themed) for almost ages in a few price ranges. The Drew Wise shirts (which that funky blue jumpsuit is a part of) are really awesome. Boogie on over and take a peek, I say…

Random Film of the Week: Night of the Juggler

Posted on December 19, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, TaylorHamKid!)

While reminiscing with a guy I hadn’t seen for close to 20 years this week, this flick came up in our conversation and I had to rush out to write about it while the memory was still fresh. After the great 1972 ABC telefilm Short Walk to Daylight and 1980’s compellingly crazy action/drama Night of the Juggler, I still say James Brolin should have stuck around and made a third New York-centric film to complete some sort of unconnected trilogy about an otherwise decent cop who’s having some really bad days in the Big Apple.

The former film was about survivors of an earthquake (in New York City of all places!) trying to make it out of some deadly subway tunnels with Brolin’s cop leading the way and the latter has his divorced ex-cop now truck driver character chasing after the maniac that’s mistakenly kidnapped his daughter. Neither is legally available on DVD (and it’s a darn shame, I say), but if you’re clever and know how to use the internet, there are ways to snag both gems for your viewing pleasure… Continue reading →

Zombeer Update: Oh, NOW It Makes (Some Awesome) Sense!

Posted on December 19, 2013 by geelw

When I first heard of Zombeer, I laughed quite long and loudly at the idea of boozing it up in order to fight zombies as a gameplay mechanic. talk about becoming an easy target! Later, as screens started appearing, I warmed up to the stylized comic look of the game and my arched eyebrow sunk down to its normal position.Of course, as soon as I found out the game’s mechanic of drinking a certain type of beer in order to keep from becoming a zombie as you rushed to save the love of your life from a similar fate, I had to keep an eyeball peeled (eww) on this one as the months crept onward…

Now, this new kind of NSFW music video shows off an even more intentionally campy tone that makes me want to play this boozed out gorefest just to see if it lives up to the crazy tune cooked up for this clip. Spanish developer Moonbite Studios is making what could be a cult hit for PS3, PC and Mac gamers that, while not exactly screaming visual perfection, just might be fun and funny enough to outstrip any criticism. Besides, the color palette alone is just too awesome to ignore as you’ll see in these new screens:

And remember gang… YOU can even (sort of) be IN the game! Check out this link for the gory details – it’s easy to register and should make a nice surprise gift for someone who’s not expecting it.

Carving Mr. Banks (A New One): Mr. Ellison Gets Out The Proper Knives…

Posted on December 19, 2013 by geelw

Hoo boy, I do love Harlan Ellison. I haven’t read much by the man lately thanks to me reading less over time (something I’m slowly rectifying thanks to people around these parts), but everything I’ve EVER picked up by the man has been a fine read and has never failed to disappoint. We’ve actually met twice, but the last time was so long ago that Forbidden Planet here in NYC had a store uptown near the formerly 59th Street Bridge. Anyway, another Christmas gift for me today was that video above of the man himself poking an elbow in the eyeball of Disney’s new flick, Saving Mr. Banks. Yeah, it’s a long-ish rant if you’re of the short attention span crowd, but it’s ten minutes worth of fine and fair poking at the film, praising the acting while making sure you know that yes, Virginia, movies and particularly movies made with an agenda aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.

Granted, those who read a good deal know exactly what he’s getting on about, but given that the film (like much of Hollywood’s output) is made for the casual viewing crowd that eats up the feel good follies week by week, I’m sure as hell sure that THOSE people don’t know the real deal.

The Time of The Doctor Teaser: Some Of You Whovians Will Need An Actual House Call Afterward, I’ll Bet…

Posted on December 18, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, yeah. Another day… another Doctor, huh? Matt Smith will be missed for sure, but I think the writers on the show can indeed keep things rolling as the Capaldi era gets off to whatever start they want to give it. I can handle the loss of a Doctor, as I’m a more recent re-convert to the show after some years not of watching it regularly. And yes, my re-conversion was swift and amusing back when I did start up again as I got hit on the head hard with a string of episodes and characters that had my taking notes before realizing I was now trapped into the storyline and HAD to see what happened next. Anyway, there are a mere two days to go, so stock up on edibles and perhaps a box of tissues if you’re one of THOSE people. Oh, who am I kidding, most of us will probably BE one of those people by the time the episode ends.

Well, provided those dopey spinning and/or explosive Christmas trees aren’t in this episode. I think I laughed myself off the couch the first time I saw one of those things spring into action…