Looking Forward To A Mildly Hot June

Posted on June 1, 2015 by geelw

It’s June already? Yikes. Well, I have a headache from trying to quit coffee (but it’s not the massive migraine I had last week from other stressy stuff), a pile of work to do (as ever) and some icky things going on with some precious bodily fluids behaving somewhat badly (but not at all painfully, thankfully). Posts are piling up as drafts, but those will get whittled down as I take care of a few things this month. There’s no construction today and I think tomorrow thanks to the rain blowing through here, so that will extent the roof repair a few more days. Shortly after that (barring incident), the screaming starts anew when the apartment gets slammed with hammers and such as a few things are repaired and replaced.

On the *all* good news front, it looks as if I’ll be doing something with a bunch of small peppers that are growing a bit bigger than expected. I’m not sure how hot they’ll be as the plants are from a mixed lot of seeds I’d been saving up that got mixed together by accident. Hot or not, I’m betting a mushroom and some sort of cheese blend would go with them perfectly. We’ll see. Back in a bit. I also have a bit of a backache today. But that may be from getting up far too early this morning and falling asleep with a book in bed that ended up under me (ouch).

A Little Hope on Memorial Day From MVD

Posted on May 25, 2015 by geelw

For those of you who’ve served, thank you for your service. For those of you who remember the late, great Bob Hope doing his part for those who’ve served or want to know what some of the fuss was about, courtesy of MVD Visual here’s a Memorial Day buy that’s not some condescending mattress, car, food or other product not worthy of the holiday. Back tomorrow with some updates.

Monday Goes All Lost Weekend On Me

Posted on May 4, 2015 by geelw

Ha. I was supposed to get stuff done today, but other than getting up too early to do laundry, today was a near total bust. Why? Well… my birthday present to myself came early and I was busy playing with myself.

Oh, wait… this is a family show. Oops. Hey, I got pictures as proof! Look:

What? You were thinking something else? Anyway, Demon Gaze I’ll need to get used to because it’s both great (Wizardry-style gameplay) and pesky (I’m not at all fond of some of the character designs and somewhat icky fan service elements). On the other hand, Earth Defense Forces 2 Portable V2 is amazing on a few levels. Yes, developer Sandlot didn’t change the wacky animation from the original PlayStation 2 game and in fact, Pale Wing slides around and almost tips over like a Weeble even more when she’s not airborne. However, there’s a solid and lovely familiarity to the (smoother) visuals and gameplay that kept me busier than expected. Oops. Well, that Double Nyuutai Pack was a total steal thanks to an overstock, so I’m certainly pleased with my purchase and then some.

I also got a Blu-Ray to review that’s more of a real “not for the kiddies” deal (it’s a pretty icky horror flick from Arrow Video), so I guess I’ll get to that shortly. Saving the earth from robots and too huge insects can be put on hold for the time being. Maybe.

More Monday Bundles to Mix Things Up

Posted on April 6, 2015 by geelw

I must be psychic or something. I was recently telling a fellow horror game fan how I wished one of the indie bundle sites would do an all-horror game deal and *BOOM!* IndieGala Every Monday Bundle, anyone? $1.89 for seven Steam horror games today – the price jets up a bit on Tuesday. Well, that was fast and yeah, I’m looking over my shoulder for a sack of money to fly into my hands from somewhere. Okay, nope on that loot-fest? Damn. Hard work over get rich quick daydreaming it is!

Meanwhile, over at the Humble Bundle site, this week’s deal is Humble Mobile Bundle 11, featuring seven games for an average of $4.29 with MORE titles to be added next week. These time-locked game deals are wonderful because while you don’t know what’s coming, they’re worth the money because the added free games are usually something cool you’ve never played previously. Here’s what in the deal so far:

Nice, huh? Anyway, go get yours out of the two deals or get both because you’re spending a little and getting quite a lot as usual. Now, all one (or all) of these bundle bargain sites need to do is add “create your own bundle” deals where buyers can choose from a long list of indies for a low price point and my psychic powers will be fully revealed (cue ominous music)…

Random Art: Some Monday Musings

Posted on March 23, 2015 by geelw

It’s been a little bit since I posted some art, so here you go. This piece was done while waiting for a download to complete and as I was poring over a long list of articles I need to write or finish writing. For some reason, this past month has been a bit rough in terms of finding some focus but that’s most likely due to the weather, my poor throat being out of whack and some other stuff keeping my thoughts split into a bunch of places. In general, my best story ideas pop into my head at random intervals, usually within a few seconds of looking at a product or checking out a link someone’s sent me. This month or so it’s been some great beginnings to articles popping like mad, but no endings in that corn pile. Things are shifting back to normal as of the last few days, so I just need to dip into my notes and play catch up for about a week or two.

Eh, I’ll get my full mojo back soon enough. My motivation has been on vacation, but things on the horizon are looking up, so that trip seems to be coming to a close. Back in a bit…

TV or Not TV?

Status

SO. I got to see a fun TV taping today which took up the better part of an afternoon, thus the lack of updates on such a busy day. Eh, I’ll get back on the horse tomorrow. I needed a break, the folks doing the show needed the support and much fun was had. Although, I’d have loved to been able to let them know that I have a crazy amount of knowledge about some of the topis discussed. Oh well, perhaps they’ll ask for input next time. I don’t want to be on camera at all, mind you (my non-ego would faint dead away). But I do have the advantage of age and “wisdom” still working for me. Anyway, back in a bit – I need to dive into my email that’s overflowing onto the carpet here…

Apple Watch Gold: Go Save Some Hungry Orphans Instead.

Posted on March 9, 2015 by geelw

Hey, it’s ONLY $10,000. Not including mandatory iPhone 6 so it actually works (!), service contract and whatever other other Apple charges they hit you with. Hell, if I’m paying that much for a watch (and I’m not), that thing better make me Dick Tracy on his Two-Way Wrist Radio (and later, Two-Way Wrist TV!) AND have a battery I can change myself. AND a damn protective case. The thing the I dislike so much about Apple products is for all the ads touting innovation and creativity and how awesome they make every aspect of your Apple life seem, treating the consumer like a dope who can’t swap out their own dead batteries (or maybe download a new OS on an older phone no longer supported even if it still works PERFECTLY) is just too condescending.

Imagine a car you HAD to drive all the way (or have towed) back to the dealership when you got a flat tire, needed wiper fluid or something else anyone an learn to do if they apply themselves. Sure, some people are total tech wipe-outs when it comes to maintenance. But not all of us who want a battery we can swap out are pirates, hackers, or whatever else Apple seems to be scared of. It’s a damn good thing they don’t make flashlights or toilet paper holders, people. Although, I hear there’s some sort of vehicle in development, so perhaps that flat tire and washer fluid thing WILL happen sooner that later. Damn technology is turning us all into Weebles and we don’t give a rat’s ass about it.

Eh, whatever. This thing will sell out all over from the basic model to this exorbitant golf truffle bar supremo. Perhaps I can go scout out a space in line at an Apple Store in NYC and make a mint selling that space to someone who REALLY wants this or any other Apple Watch? Well, I’d do that if I didn’t have more interesting things to tackle. That and I’m not THAT koo-koo (even thought I’m sure I’d make a nice chunk of change)…

Kitchen Nightmares, Part Whatever: Everything AND The Kitchen Sink?

Posted on January 5, 2015 by geelw

Wait, what? Hold on a minute. When last we left the nightmare, the inspector was here and mumbled something at the end of a long bit of other information about the ancient, sturdy and fairly indestructible sink (that’s been in the apartment since the complex was built back in 1939-40) needing to “come out.” My eyebrow went up, but nothing further was said about it and no one from the office called and told us to be prepared to maybe move stuff from the drawers and cabinet next to the sink, as it’s a big deal removal job. Guess what happened this morning?

Yep, a bunch of guys roll in here (as in everyone that SHOULD have in the first place), and some start banging away at the old wooden counter top next to the sink and another guy gets under that sink and start in on the pipes. Of course, I’m happy to see people working in that kitchen who seem to know what they’re doing. However… it would have been nice to know I should have l should have moved everything that’s not covered in plaster dust, tiny bits of wood, well-aged insect egg sacs and who knows what else. Wonderful, and unless there’s a new sink in and working by the end of the day, stuff will need to get gently dumped into the bathtub to be cleaned.

Oh, and what’s this? They decided to remove the wooden counter ACROSS from the sink for some reason? Great. Now all my tableware and whatever else is in the cabinet below are covered in that crap as well. Which is doubly annoying because I cleaned out those drawers and washed everything about two or so weeks back. Yeah, it’s going to be a looooooong day, ladies and gents. On one hand, I shouldn’t be mad at all this because it’s all getting done. But the whole not being told what’s being done until it’s happening with no time to move stuff is kind of a pain in the ass.

Well, so much for a two day job. That and the place still needs a paint job. And the leak in the pipe in the back is back. And the bathroom needs to be done now that they’ve finally noticed the cracks in the wall that have been pointed out to them last year have gotten a bit longer. And so forth, and so on… Gyaaaaah.

Random Film of the Week: To The Devil… A Daughter

Posted on December 22, 2014 by geelw

Swiping bits from Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist while leaving a “Why the hell am I watching this again?” aftertaste, To The Devil… A Daughter manages to be a pretty bizarre and somewhat unintentionally 1976 funny horror film from Hammer Studios. From what I understand by poking around a few books and online, the UK film industry was in a bit of a mess when this mess was made and it shows in a few key areas. Granted, you do get Christopher Lee in a scenery-chewing performance for the ages (including a brief nude scene performed by a double!) and Richard Widmark making a payday and playing an occult writer turned cranky old action hero long before Liam Neeson.

Yes, you also get a too young Nastassia Kinski flailing about and screaming as if possessed (well, she kind of is) in her part as a fallen “nun” and trying too hard to keep up with the other more experienced cast doing their own screaming and flailing about. Yes, the film is also notorious for the infamous bloody baby demon hand puppet molestation and a shot near the finale of her fully nude. While some genre fans may groove on that little detail, for some new viewers those elements will just come off as creepy central.. and not in a good way, either. Continue reading →

Random Art: Monday’s Not as Manic, But a Bit Chuggy…

Posted on November 24, 2014 by geelw

Hmmm. Things are moving NOW with the internet up here, but for about an hour or two it was slow and annoying. I had to reset my computer to make sure things weren’t mucking up on this end (they weren’t), but now things are mostly okay. The crazy news of the day is NYC is supposed to be transforming 10,000 former pay phone locations into public wi-fi hubs, which is stupendous news. Well, if you live in the wealthier areas of the city and its outer boroughs, that is. According to the New York Daily News, some poor neighborhoods (which have MORE people in them, by the way) getting these extremely helpful solutions are getting kneecapped slower service on their kiosks, a bad thing if you consider access to information comes in handy for less educated people who need to be up on things. Granted, it’s up to those communities to put a foot down and demand the same service the hipsters get, but we’ll see what happens when these stations start rolling out.

Anyway, the ~~lady~~, er, tree sketch above came from my head while I was waiting for the service here to kick back in. “Ar my seams straight?” Yeah, they’re fine, ma’am. Okay, now that things are back to “normal”, I need to get back to work!