Weekend Review: Sep 7th & 8th

Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!

The Wire
I've been waiting for most of the summer to talk about this show here. Crystal and I decided to give it a go and see if it lived up to the hype. Three seasons later and we can both confirm that it beats and exceeds the hype. We are still watching it at a regular clip (3-4 episodes a week) and we are consistently blown away by how good it is.

Saints Row IV
Earlier this year I caught up with Saints Row: The Third, a game that I should have made time for in 2011. It was an absolute blast. What started as a GTA clone turned into a goofy parody of the videogame world. Often breaking the 4th wall and throwing out reality and tired tropes in favor of fun. The fourth game in the series actually started as a DLC pack for the third and then ballooned into it's own game. It stands on the shoulders of the third (engine, mechanics and world) and then breaks all of it's rules. Your character is now super powered. Gliding through the air, sprinting at the speed of light and leaping over buildings. There is no need for a car or even guns later on, but the game manages to stay balanced and challenging even as it gives you loads of power. The humor is the main course still though. Eliciting consistent small giggles and even the occasional belly laugh. Totally worth a play through, though you may be better served playing the third installment first.

Putty & Paint
I think I've finally come to terms with the fact that I will never paint a 40k army. I like the idea of painting things to never play with them, but I've only ever painted two minis to completion (Mirado and Odarim) and they were for active tabletop characters I was playing. Seeing as I like the idea of painting and never actually paint. Putty and Paint is the perfect scratch to my itch. Professional level painters showing off their skills and wares in a better looking format than Cool Mini or Not.

Weekend Review: May 25th & 26th

Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!

John Adams
Catching up on six to seven HBO series has been on my to-do list for ages. When I finally get around to one it is always worth it. John Adams is any easy pick. Seven parts that run an hour and a half each. It is not 100% historically accurate, but it gets the broad strokes right and gives opportunities to great actors to do their thing with the moments that founded this country. It is hard to steal an hour plus for TV these days, but this series seems like it will continue to be worth it.

Prison Architect
Sim City and EA shit the bed in March. Turns out I still wanted a deep building/management simulation. In steps Prison Architect. A small studio making a dense simulation of a prison. Build from the ground up, house minimum to maximum security prisoners, assign AI routines and try to prevent a riot or escape. The game has been in a public "alpha" for what seems like ages and is largely crowd funded without Kickstarter. At this point it is fun and feels close enough to a full game to warrant the risk of paying for and playing it in alpha.

Metro Last Light
In 2010 Metro 2033 sneaked in to my list of favorites. It was beautiful, dripped atmosphere and had a few bugs. It was flawed, but worthy of affection. Three years later I can say the same things of the sequel. It is prettier, plays in the same world as the original and has less bugs. All of that and some spark is gone. What was novel the first time through feels too more like an expansion than a innovation. Still worth the price of admission, but not worthy of the underground swell of support.

Weekend Review: May 11th & 12th

Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!

Zojirushi Stainless Steel Mug
For the past three months we have been drinking tea, with splash of honey, every morning and have been doing so out of ultra cheap mugs. They are stained, don't hold their heat and hard to get clean. So this past week I sprung for two really nice mugs from Zojirushi (say it with gravel in your throat). Locking mechanism on the flip top lid, two part spout for easy cleaning, stainless steel body and 6 hours of hot or cold liquid. I had three cups of hot tea every day at work last week and it was fantastic. That is the only downside of course, it keeps the tea so hot you can't actually drink directly from it. So I pour a bit in a cup and enjoy. Which is better than the old mug that would offer up a third of it's liquid as lukewarm swill. Oh and I should have ordered the Japanese one.

Joey Badass
For some reason I slept on this MC for almost a year now. Watching him show up on collaborations I really enjoyed and never following up. This week(end) I grabbed his mixtape and put it into heavy rotation. The title "1999" is apt given how much of a throw back the beats and Joey's flow is. It evokes a lot of Wu Tang and MF Doom (he produced a few tracks) for me. 90's and early oughts staples that scratchs an itch I didn't know I was missing. Really looking forward to his album this fall.

Vice
After catching Game of Thrones every week, I usually stick around to watch a new documentary show from Vice magazine. It is often disturbing, usually covered with some amount of tact and always compelling. Each show is split in to three stories that all center around a theme. From different parts of the world topics are introduced, covered and don't usually get resolved. It is good, but Vice is actually to short. Many of the topics feel important, like they need room to breathe, time to tell all sides of the tale. It is only a half hour of television though and it covers three stories. Still worth a watch.

Weekend Review: Feb 2nd & 3rd

Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!

White Chicken Chili
I had no real rooting interest in the Super Bowl yesterday. Apart from rooting that Ray Lewis not win another in the year he plans to retire and also that the 49ers not win six and tie the Steelers. Either way I lost, but I decided to dull that phantom pain with chili. It is a recipe that I have made at least ten times, it is Slow Carb friendly (see the link above) and taste good. The prep time to break down a whole rotisserie chicken is the only aversion I have to not make it more often. Sundays are for lounging about and cooking long/slow meals though. The chili was great and the game turned out to be not so bad either.

Hardywood Craft Brewery
Saturday night my brother and I went down to Hardywood to see my friend Mike and his band (RPG) play at their record release party. It was a kick ass show and a great venue for it. RPG killed it after debuting their new music video. Being there for the show reminded me just how far Hardywood has come in only a  year. They seem to keep making great business decisions while standing on the back of some of the best beer I have ever tasted.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
In third grade I owned all four ninja turtles, a slew of bad guys and my prize possession was the party van. Two decades later, my three year old ranks TMNT right behind Adventure Time in his favorites shows to watch. Thursday night he completed a long standing agreement that if he learned to write and sound out the alphabet unassisted he could pick out any big toy he wanted. He went with the shellraiser, a turtle van that puts my party van to shame. We spent an hour before bed Friday night assembling it and then having the door bust open for the turtles spill out to stomp the foot clan. It was great!

Weekend Review: Dec 8th & 9th

Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!

Boardwalk Empire
The past week and this weekend I caught up on the third season of Boardwalk Empire. A show that has been one of my favorites since the drop. It keeps getting better and better. Slowly escalating along the same timeline prohibition did. From quiet inception to big time violent and organized crime. Old characters are still great and the new ones are meeting the same benchmarks. Gyp Rosetti as the new villain is flipping phenomenal. Equal parts crazy and humorous, excellently acted.

Thor: God of Thunder
I read more comics this year than any other. The more I do so, the more I am picking up cape and cowl books. A turn around for me, but the New 52 and Marvel Now events have made it very easy to dip my toe. A few different DC books have stuck with me and I have picked up the first two issues of Thor. The art is great and the writing is great. What I really enjoy though is three story lines each book covers. Past, present and future Thor. The plots all have ties to each other, but I feel like I get more story per book and it is really satisfying watching it all come together.

Stealth Bastard: Deluxe
Oddly, Stealth Bastard is not really a stealth game. It is a puzzle platformer with light and dark mechanics. What that means is there is no open world in which you are given tools and abilities to sneak through. There is one path (usually), but discovering that path is what makes the game really fun. The music is catchy and though pixelated the art looks superb. Funny enough, I was aware of this game before it was being sold. The none deluxe version was something I downloaded and never booted up. Charge ten dollars for it though and get a little internet buzz from sites I frequent and I'm your man. Apparently.

Weekend Review: Sept 29th & 30th

Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!

Ward Adam Tabib
This weekend was pretty wild. Friday night date night out at black sheep. Saturday morning soccer game. Saturday night Ward came! He was born at 8:05p and was 7.2 lbs and 19.5 inches. He did not want to wait around either. Crystal spent three hours with minor contractions at home and we decided to head to the hospital just in case at 7p. When we got there things progressed rapidly and he was born an hour later. Everyone is now home, safe and sound. Kaden loves his little brother and wants to hold him all the time. It is pretty amazing!

Get Jiro!
Before babies were popping off and stealing my birthday thunder. Ethan was nice enough to give me a birthday comic. Anthony Bourdain's Get Jiro! An alternate future LA where chefs control everything. They play of mob bosses that battle for the city. Jiro is a new sushi chef in town that is highly skilled and both major factions in the city want him on their side. It is a bit silly, but I think it is meant to be. Bourdain's take on future tech made me roll my eyes a few times, but over all it is a fun story.

New Girl
Unlike last time I got to come home from the hospital Sunday night to take care of Kaden and sleep in a for real bed. I spent the night half awake watching shows on OnDemand. Two episodes of Parks & Rec and two of New Girl. I write off most sitcoms these days. To be honest I'd rather be playing video games,  but New Girl is pretty great. Zooey Deschanel is hot, adorable and funny. The rest of the cast and the writing bring it too. I slept on this for too long. Now I might add it to the slim list of shows we make sure to watch every week.

Wreck Awards 2010

I did this thing last year, the year before that and the year before that, it is an official annualized tradition now. So without further ado, the Wreck Awards 2010...

Game of the Year: Mass Effect 2
Nothing came close to the story or world that BioWare crafted in their sequel to Mass Effect this year. All of the things that bugged me about the first game were either fixed, removed or sanded to a dull point. No more crappy vehicle combat and no more frustrating inventory management. Everything that could be was streamlined in service of the story they wanted to tell. The combat was more fun and as a shooter it felt less random. Overall it was leaps and bounds ahead of any game this year.
Runner Up: Limbo

Game I should have played: Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood 
What I presumed was going to be a cash grab quick follow up to a great game from 2009 apparently wasn't. I skipped it because I was done with Italy as a location for Assassin's Creed. Where is my feudal Japan game?Oh and multi-player crammed into a great single player experience. Yeah like that will work. It did work and quiet well by most accounts. Crap I really need to play this game. 
Runner Up: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit


Movie of the Year: The Town

I heart a good bank robbery film (See: my unhealthy crush on Point Break) and The Town is that and much more. It was beautifully shot, written and directed. The acting was stand out from all involved and specially Jeremy Renner did an amazing job. A great film a great year for movies. See all the ones I didn't pick below...

Runner(s) Up: Toy Story 3, Inception, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World


Movie I should have seen: True Grit
Missing Coen brother films is a cardinal sin for me. Unfortunately this one came out a week before the end of the year. Everyone I know has seen it and is raving about it. Getting a free weekend to see it before it is out of theaters is a top priority in the coming weeks. Wish me luck.
Runner Up: Exit Through the Gift Shop

TV show of the Year: Boardwalk Empire
In a year where I though the Walking Dead would be an open and shut favorite for me I was surprised by how much I loved Boardwalk Empire. The twenties are an era rarely visited in modern story telling. That may be for a reason, but this show captured it and made it damn entertaining while doing so. Buscemi's performance is outstanding and the cast around him plays out at the same level and in some cases even better. In total it was the best story I watched this year.
Runners Up: The Walking Dead & Spartacus: Blood and Sand

Podcast of the Year: Smodcast

In a year where I have listened to more podcast than ever this was probably the hardest category to pick. Smodcast is Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier's podcast where they mostly just shoot the shit and comment on interesting news articles. It makes me consistently laugh out loud though. I knew it was going to win my heart when I took 4 episodes to Libya with me this summer and ended up downloading 4 more from the slow as all get out third world wifi at my uncles house. It is that good.

Runner Up: My Brother, My Brother and Me

Comic/Book of the Year: Planetary

Yes a series that ran from 1999 to 2009 is my 2010 book of the year. It is when I read it though that matters. I can't imagine reading only 27 issues over the course of ten years, but the story as a whole delivers. Not being a comics guy in the past some of the references were lost on me early on. Some had to be explained while others took longer that it would for most to get. The package as a whole is stellar though, really glad I got to read it.

Runner Up: Atomic Robo

Recipe of the Year: Talapia Fish Sticks

While probably not the best dish I served up all year it wins with its consistency, healthiness and taste. I'll expound on my original post and say that is still not easy to get an almost two year old to heat a healthy meal. His go to answer is "hot dog" no matter how you ask the question of what he wants to eat. So having this one in my back pocket every week is a the kind of trait that wins you awards. Your invisible placard is in the mail.

Runner Up: Scratch-Made Brownies

Freaks & Geeks

It has been ages since I watched the box set of Freaks and Geeks with the brothers Brick. Having since discovered and fallen for D&D, it makes it that much better to rediscover this old clip. Enjoy and try to catch the show if you've never seen it.

Lost Finale Invitation

I have been hot and cold on the finale season of Lost up until the most recent episodes. The sideways universe hasn't really grabbed me so most of my enjoyment has only come from the island universe. That must seem confusing as hell to the uninitiated. In any case someone made ultra cool plane ticket invitation for a final episode party they are having (see above) and it made it's way to Digg and now here. Maybe I'll send out severed genitals to my friends when Spartacus reaches it's final leg.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand

I grew up in the 80's watching the original Kubrick Spartacus on television. I saw it maybe 6 or 7 times and had a special fondness for it. It has been a long time since I last saw it, but the new Starz series Spartacus: Blood and Sand is evoking those memories from my childhood. This is not a show for children though. The sex and violence are probably too much for some adults even, but if you can stomach them you are in for a treat. The story they have told so far has me on the edge of my seat and wanting more. What started out as a guilty pleasure has become a must watch for Crystal and me, right along with Lost, House and True Blood.

Wreck Awards 2009

I did this thing last year and the year before that, it is an official annualized tradition now. So without further ado the Wreck Awards 2009...

Game of the Year: Batman: Arkham Asylum
In a year of a ton of great games the world's greatest detective won my video game heart. The game looked fantastic and had a mash up of game mechanics that all felt fully fleshed out (stealth, action, platforming, etc). The story touched on a lot of well treaded Batman villains and some lesser known ones too. Overall it was the full single player package that no other game offered in 2009.
Runner Up: Uncharted 2

Game I should have played: Dragon Age: Origins
While technically I actually did play this game it was on the tail end of some other long games and right before new releases. I think in total I played it for two or three hours when it is nearly a fifty hour journey. I know it is a good game, I just didn't have the time to play through it. It will most likely get the summer treatment like Mass Effect did this summer.
Runner Up: Left 4 Dead 2

Movie of the Year: District 9
The story behind the production of this film was the first thing to get me interested in it long before it's release. Going in knowing little to nothing about the actual film and then loving the story, universe and special effects is what really hooked me. Our world with one or two sci-fi tweaks is a simple enough concept that is not done that often and rarely well. The special effects look like they are apart of the world and seeing it a second time on blu-ray this past weekend really solidified my appreciation for the work they did.
Runner Up: The Hangover

Movie I should have seen: Inglourious Basterds
I love me some Tarantino, save a few of his less than stellar works (see: Death Proof) and some how we didn't get around to seeing Inglourious Basterds. Call it first year baby syndrome, but we went to the movies a lot less in the second half of 2009. Oddly enough I went to pick up the film the other night at the local Blockbuster (I know, I feel dirty, sorry Netflix), but they didn't have it on Blu-Ray. So we watched Julie & Julia instead, a good film, but not Inglourious Basterds.
Runner Up: The Hurt Locker

TV show of the Year: True Blood
It feels rare that a show ever eclipses it's first season these days, but the second season of True Blood did just that. The story got better and the characters, new and old, were better developed. It was the show that Crystal and I looked forward to the most and the one we were most sad to see end for the season. The finale episode didn't feel as epic as the whole, but I don't think they could have done anything that would truly satisfied given the great build up.
Runners Up: Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Comic/Book of the Year: Scalped
I read a ton of books and comics this year, which made this category on of the hardest to pick. Scalped was the work that stood above the rest though. Call it my affection for comics that don't follow the life and times of super heroes. I love comics that follow regular folks into fucked up situations. Scalped does just that on the back drop of a reservation plagued by drugs, violence and corruption. I wouldn't recommended it to the faint of heart, but it is a solid read for anyone who can stomach the depressing, but occasionally uplifting tale it weaves.
Runner Up: Arthas: Rise of the Lich King

Recipe of the Year: Chicken with Lime Butter
Huh, I don't have much experience with writing about food. Most of my commentary about something I like involves primal grunts of "Mmm". I can tell you all about something I make that I don't like pretty easily though. Not the case with Chicken in a lime butter sauce. I made it probably five to six times in the second half of the year, with a side of orzo, that was a killer combination. No complaints from Crystal and I loved eating it, so it's a winner.
Runner Up: Roast Beef

Swimming in Media

Ever since I picked up a new iPod late last year I have been swimming in a sea of audio and video media. First, it has been nice to have the space to just store tons of data on one device. Carrying a huge song library plus enough podcast to last me until the battery gives up the ghost is a nice feeling. Second, the amount of good content that exist to what seems to be a very small niche in some cases is astounding.

A Life Well Wasted (audio)
Robert Ashley was by far the best addition to the original cast of Games for Windows Radio. His newest work is essentially the "This American Life" of video game podcast. Slick editing and music intertwined into the stories told from all over videotape culture. The is no "whatcha been playin" news of the week podcast.

This American Life (audio)
I some how caught the This American Life bug a little late into it's lifespan, in the form of the tv series on showtime. Now it that I do not have every TV channel under the sun, the audio show is a staple of my weekly listening and would be regardless of my channel options.

The Geekbox (audio)
Ryan Scott was the mute of the GFW Radio show, occasionally when he did speak up though it was worth a listen. So when he resurrected his old website and started hosting his own gaming podcast, I was at least a little interested. The crew talks games for sure, but the tangents to comics, movies and TV are what make it really worth a listen. Plus they record in a comic shop, how cool is that?

Gamer's With Jobs Conference Call (audio)
A more PC focused podcast than the other video game podcast I listen to. Pretty standard save the occasional deeper conversation about making games or the way we interact with them. The host may be a little difficult to identify when you first start listening, but you can pick up on it soon enough.

The Giant Bombcast (audio)
I started reading GiantBomb.com when 1Up was sold off to UGO and didn't start listening to the podcast until two weeks after that. Well, the site is good, but the podcast is great. It usually runs two plus hours, that may seem long, but it tends to be two hours of hilariousness. Come for the video games, stay for the disgusting energy drink taste testing and other hijinks.

This Week in Photography (audio & video)
I mentioned my affinity for amateur photographer in my last post and TWIP is my way to live vicariously through professionals. It is like being a fly on the wall at a photography...uh I don't know...some place photographers hang out. They talk shop and I like to listen.

Make (video)
DIY and hacking geek culture is a hobby I at the very least aspire to participate in. Make magazine, blog and podcast cover almost all of the bases and do it with a passion unmatched on the web. The podcast imparticular has how to videos and stories on makers around the globe every week.

I have been really slack on the blog of late, missed post and late post have been the norm. I'll try and do better, but if you need a fix my Tumblr is update regularly.

Sunny Heroes Taken

Taken
Liam Neeson is my favorite new action hero, sure he was the diamond in the rough in Episode One: The Phantom Terrible, but outside of that role I don't know him for his action. Taken is a Commando style plot, meaning the plot exist to film the action. Hell you could call this movie Commando 2 if you like. Dad is a retired spec ops dude, Daughter is kidnapped, Dad flips out and kills tons of bad guys to save her.

My one major complaint about the film is the audio mix. In most films if the volume for speaking is at 5, then the volume for an explosions should be 1o. In Taken every gun, car crash and explosion sounds like it is covered in pillows. Outside of the audio everything else delivers, the hand to hand combat seens authentic, there are a few moments that actually suprised me and it is filmed beautifully.

Heroes
Knowing that a series takes a nose dive after it's first season would you still watch the show? Heroes is that show and I have started to watch the first season keeping in mind what everyone has told me. So far it is a sold storyline, how they screw it up I can't imagine at this point, but my plan is to stop after season 1 regardless. For anyone living under a rock or to thick to pick up on the context clues from the shows title, it is a story about people with super powers. How they come to discover, use and manage those powers is what makes it interesting so far.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Another show that I slept on for the past few years and finally got around to watching. The show is funny as hell and done on what seems like a shoe string budget. Despite the production quality the laughs still come through. I know that Danny Devito joins the cast in season 3 and all I have heard is the show just gets better. I have the second disk of season 1 waiting for me at home, so I will have to watch and find out.

Wreck Awards 2008

So I did this thing last year and now it's that time again!

Game of the Year: Wrath of the Lich King
I some how got in more gaming this year than I did the last and without WotLK in 2008 I would say last year held a better roster of games. Regardless a new LCD TV in my office and purchasing the 360 wireless adapter (still a rip off) made for some great console gaming this year. Which is funny because the best game I played this year was WotLK on the PC. Hands down Blizzard brought it with their newest expansion. More story oriented questing, phasing and end game content for the masses made this a must play for me and 11 million others.
Runners Up: Fable 2 and Castle Crashers

Game I should have played: Metal Gear Solid 4
The Metal Gear series and I have a long on again off again relationship that started when I was in high school. The first title on the original playstation was great. The second on the PS2 was really good , but not great by any stretch and then I hated the third game. I think the controls staying the same for six years may have had something to do with it or my disdain withe the clunky camo system. In any case word is MGS4 fixes those things and brings Snake into the modern world. Crossing my fingers for a 360 port.
Runner Up: Farcry 2

Movie of the Year: The Dark Knight
Not since Terminator 2 has a sequel eclipsed its predecessor like Dark Knight. As far as super hero and/or comic movies go Ironman set a high bar this summer and Dark Knight took a green giant step up, over and beyond it. The late Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker was the stand out roll of his short lived career. I phenomenal acting job by all involved and replacing Katie Holmes with Maggie Gyllenhaal was a great move. It is difficult to think they could raise the bar again with a third film, but Johnny Depp and Philip Seymour Hoffman are rumored to to play the Riddler and the Penguin respectivly.
Runner Up: Burn After Reading

Movie I should have seen: The Wrestler
The TRS guys drooled all over this movie about a washed up B level wrestler who finds love and a new purpose in life. Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei are both fine actors so it could be great.
Runner Up: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

TV show of the Year: House
I've said on a number of occasions both here and other places that House is the best show on TV. I still believe that and think that the current cast is better than the previous or the writting just got better, but watching old episodes can be a let down.
Runners Up: True Blood and Sons of Anarchy

Not Listed
I would have done comic of the year and album of the year, but all of the comics I'm reading were not produced in 2008 and strangely I didn't get around to much music this year.

RIP 1UP
So the whole thing is dead now, UGO bought the site and the magazine. The podcasters have either quit or were let go and EGM saw it's last issue in January. Sad really, I hope everyone who worked there lands on their feet and their feet equal new shows for me to listen to. Update: They have landed!

2009 Wish List
Healthy Baby
Computer Upgrade
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

The Walking Call of Anarchy

COD World at War
After playing the crap out of Call of Duty one and two I thought I was done with the franchise. It was a ton of fun, but I didn't think they could squeeze any more juice out of the WWII FPS fruit. Then came COD4 and I was back on the bandwagon. A change in setting and a new leveling system made the game fun again. The single player was captivating and the multiplayer was so addicting that I probably played enough for two life times.

Last week I got into the beta for COD: World at War. It goes back to WWII and is not developed by Infinity Ward. I distinctly left COD3 out of my brief history lesson above because it was a piece of crap that was not developed by IW. World at War is not a piece of crap, but the magic is gone. The IW touch that made 1, 2 and 4 so great will be saved for COD5 I'm sure. WaW is essentially a very professional WWII mod for the COD4 engine. New skins and models for $60, I'll pass.

Son of Anarchy
How this show is not on HBO or Showtime I don't know. It gets away with violence, nudity and foul language in a 10pm time slot and it is amazing. Ron Perlman (who has been mentioned twice now in two weeks) and Katey Sagal are the only recognizable actors, but the entire cast is great. The series was created by one of the writers/actors on The Shield and has moved quickly in short period of time. The show follows a motorcycle club that shares it's name with the title of the show. The plots catch you off guard and make it is surprisingly easy to root for the bad guys. They are outlaws, but live by their own code of honor. It is violent when it needs to be and has sincere character moments when it needs them to. A must watch if you get Fx.

The Walking Dead
Walking Dead is my new comic that I just can't put down. I ordered the first eight trades on the good faith that Invincible had built and it paid off. Kirkman delivered again. Walking is the ongoing story of the a zombie apocalypses in the United States. It follows a band of survivors that are trying as hard as they can to pick up the pieces. No one is safe from Kirkman's writing axe, but in the time that the characters are alive he builds them up into people you actually care about. It is a great book because it takes what could easily just be a classic rehashing of zombies on the march and turns it on its head.

"B" Grade MMA for the Masses

This topic was sparked by the live Elite XC event that went down on CBS two weekends ago featuring Kimblo Slice vs Seth Petruzelli. Oh yeah, that internet street fighting guy and who? Seth "Failed in the UFC and then took a year off from fighting" Petruzelli that's who. Slice was originally supposed to meet Ken "Why isn't he retired?" Shamrock in what would be his fourth professional MMA fight, but Shamrock played to rough in warm ups and was medically disqualified for the fight. So in the the last minute facing what would surely be an angry crowd, Elite's officials came to Petruzelli to fight their rookie MMA cash cow (Slice).

Slice, a heavy weight street fighter, has supposedly been turned legit MMA fighter over night under the tutelage of Bas Rutten. Prior to the Petruzelli fight he had only fought tomato cans and over the hill legends. Shamrock was supposed to be at least a minor test for him on the ground. What he got out of Petruzelli was a rude awakening. A young guy with some technical skill, power and an unjaded hunger fighters from the old folks home can't muster. He dropped Slice in 14 seconds post opening bell. It was embarrassing, by the time Slice came to he was trying to double leg the referee and Petruzelli was celebrating on the other side of the cage.

While it was nice to see Slice get a slice of reality (Oh man that was bad), it was scary to think about the virgin MMA viewer mistaking this as the premiere offering from the sport. The CBS contract Elite XC scored means all kinds of fresh eyes are watching MMA now. Are they being introduced to the right kind of MMA though? It is like giving someone who has never had a steak a plate full of fat and gristle. It is not just the main events that are minor league, Jake Shields won his fight with a telegraphed arm bar that took near 10 seconds of squating to set up. The show is far less technical and just plain sloppy to be honest.

At the end of the day the UFC, WEC and maybe Affliction seem to be the only legit games in town. If they plan to grow outside of their current markets, which they are doing slowly, they may need to land more high profile TV contracts. Sure the WEC has Versus and the UFC has Spike, but a network deal would mean a big boost in viewership. I'd like to ultimately see a sustained model that did not include any pay-per-view events. One because I hate paying for them and two because new fans won't know the difference otherwise. It is that or the unwashed masses can keep thinking Taco Bell is authentic Mexican food and I'll keep palming my face.

House of True Ash

Crystal is recovering at a rapid pace these days from first trimester woes. She is not out of the woods yet, but the trees are becoming less dense every day. A by product of all her down time was an opportunity to watch television. Not a hobby I care for usually, but I discovered a gem and polished the dust off of an old favorite.

True Blood
I like vampires and HBO makes good shows, that was the simple thought process that went through my head when I decided to sample True Blood. Alan Ball's work on Six Feet Under and American Beauty helped too, but the series is five episodes in and already standing on its own. The back story is simple, Japanese scientist invent synthetic blood and vampires reveal themselves to the world now that they are no longer forced to feed on humans. The shows story focuses on a small southern town and how they deal with the new addition to society. It is humorous, on occasion a little spooky and deals with vampires in a similar manner to civil rights and gay rights. A good mix of character development and mysticism, defiantly worth your time if you are already paying for HBO.

WoW: Ashbringer
The World of Warcraft comics have been largely a disappointment to date and would have been dropped by now if not for a saving throw from the lore nerd in me. So I was not expecting much from the Ashbringer origin mini series. What I got was mediocre sure, but it was better than the on going books. Not a stellar review I know, but if you play WoW and the back story interest you at all it is worth reading. At least the comics are bringing some loose ends up to date for the coming WotLK release this fall. King Varian is back on the thrown and Ashbringer is cleansed and in the hands of Tirion Fordring. Oh nerd alert on this section, but I guess it is too late for that.

House
Crystal has been on to this series from the start and I only started watching last season. I often refer to it as "The best show on TV" now, as I feel it is the best show on TV. Simple enough right? I think what draws me to a hospital show like House and pushes me away from a show like Grey's Anatomy is the tone and focus of each. House is a mystery first and a character drama second. The case the staff is working on trumps their own issues and drives the show forward. Grey's on the other hand focuses way to much on the insignificant personal drama of its characters and near ignors the medical cases. My technical mind will always have a penchant for a good mystery over peoples petty shit I guess.

Comcast Fights Fires

My original post about our experience with Comcast was intended to be venue to vent to friends and family (my regular audience). So I was extremely surprised when someone who works at Comcast commented on my blog (and this was before my story was on the Consumerist). I was asked by user: ComcastCares1 to send my contact information to a Comcast corporate customer service email, where upon some one would investigate and call.

The same day I sent the email I got a response back and a call. I was busy at the time and did not get a chance to answer, but the voicemail had a name and a direct line for me to call. Before I got a chance to call the number they called back again. The lady I spoke with was very understanding as I explained essentially everything I had written on this blog. When I finished my story she reviewed my current plan under the downgrade Crystal had requested. We were paying $128 for bare bones digital cable, high speed internet and DVR. I reminded her that our cable in our office still wasn't working as well. She asked if she could take a few minutes to crunch some numbers on our plan and attempt to fix the cable.

She called back 15 minutes later and had an offer that we could not refuse. For internet, digital cable, HBO, Starz, Encore and DVR our bill would only be $99 a month. She admitted that she could not get the cable working from offsite, but offered to send a tech to our house at our earliest convenience. Usually scheduling someone to come to your house from Comcast means waiting a week to have them come out for a four hour window that they show up late for. When I asked if the tech could come the next day and she said yes and offered a three hour window, I was a bit thrown. The next day the tech arrived on time and everything was fixed with in thirty minutes.

While this solution was great for us and we certainly will benefit from a lower bill and more channels it does leave me feeling a little dirty. Comcast only paid attention to me because I made a some noise on the internet. My problem was fixed, but the problem as a whole is still a glaring sore that needs to be bandaged. It should have never escalated to the point that it did in the first place. Comcast needs to prevent forest fires, not put them out with squirt guns when they have been raging for weeks.

Comcast is an Asshole

Most every Comcast customer I know has some story about poor service or a late/missed maintenance call. Turn to the internet if you haven't had the same experience, we are many. The torch we Tabibs bear is predominantly billing related. A year ago in June we were paying $165 a month for every movie channel, a HD/DVR box, digital phone and cable internet. In July of 2007 we received our monthly bill in the amount of $300. Yes, that's right almost double what we had been paying the previous twelve months (that shit deserves to be bold).

I ended up calling twice and finally getting an "account specialist" to adjust my bill to $185 a month after making a hollow threat to leave for Direct TV. Their explanation was that we had been on some sort of package deal that was some how saving us $115. It made no sense, but I had resolved the issue and that was all that mattered.

History has a pain in the ass way of repeating itself I guess. As of June 2008 our bill was still $185 a month. Our July bill arrived in the amount of $235 and our August bill came in last week at $265. None of our services had changed, we had not requested anything new and there was no explanation on the bill as to why the cost went up. Simple enough, I assumed Comcast wanted to make this an annual event in the hopes that customers too lazy or timid would not call. Neither of us are that customer.

- Monday, I got on the phone and called at 9:30pm to find that their offices were closed at 9pm.

- Wednesday, I called at 8:15pm, got the run around and had to hang up to take care of other obligations. I promised I would call back the following night to discuss the matter further.

- Thursday, I started calling at 8pm...

Call #1-2: The first two calls I was put on hold for ten minutes before getting a tier 1 representative. Tier 1 reps can talk about what is on your bill and why it is there, but can not change anything. When the tier 1 rep put me on hold for a tier 2 rep who could change my account (see above: account specialist) I was disconnected both times.

Call #3: My third call landed me a tier 1 rep again who sent me to hold for a tier 2. When what I thought was a tier 2 rep picked up it turned out to be a tier 1 again. I Expressed my frustration to this rep and was assured that I would be put in touch with a specialist this time. I held for 5 minutes and was disconnected.

Call #4: Call #4 had me back on the line with a tier 1 and begging to talk to someone who could actually help as it was 8:52pm and I knew they closed at nine. I was put on hold for a tier 2 and finally someone from sales picked up. The guy from sales said he could not help me, but would transfer me to a account specialist who could. I told him the department closed at 9pm and that I wanted to make sure I got someone on the line. He assured me that the department was open 24 hours a day even after I told him about the prerecorded message I had heard Monday. At 8:56pm I was transferred and got the message about the department closing at 9pm.

Call #5: While on hold for call #4 I asked Crystal to call as well in an attempt to double our chances. The tier 1 rep transferred her to the tier 2 department at 8:55pm and she got the closed message.

Call #6: Crystal's final call of the night was made at 8:57pm where upon she got to a tier 1 rep who told her that the account specialist office was closed at 9pm. My loving wife pointed out the simple fact that it was 8:57pm and wondered to the rep if every account specialist left early that night. The rep repeated herself again (in her best monotone put out robot voice) and tried to end the call. Crystal asked to speak to a manager and the rep told her that a manager would tell her the same thing and could not make account changes. The rep then wished Crystal good night and hung up.

- Friday came and Crystal had the day off. She called mid day and went from a tier 1 to a tier 2 the first try. She decided to downgrade our package and drop the digital phone. When the phone call was nearly complete the line disconnected. Having had enough phone calls to Comcast in one lifetime she decided to drive up to the Richmond office. When she arrived she got in line exchanged the combo internet/phone modem for just and internet one and got an estimate for what our monthly bill would be ($125 by the way).

When she arrived home she hooked up the new modem and the internet did not work anymore. She called Comcast repair and was told she had two options.

1. Remove the plan downgrade, get a chance to fix the internet and be transferred to a tier 2 rep who could reapply the downgrade.

2. Wait till August 5th (4 days without internet) for the plan downgrade to go through their system and then get a chance to fix the internet.

Frustrated she choose door number two in the hopes that I could fix it when I got home from work. When I did arrive home I made sure everything was hooked up properly (it was) and called the same repair department she had earlier. I actually got a competent person on the phone and had the internet fixed in 20 minutes, without any mention of downgrades.

The cable TV in our office stopped working later that night and has not worked all weekend. Crystal called and they assured her that the only way to fix it was by sending out some one to repair it. I am going to call tonight and roll the dice (more like Russian roulette) that I get someone smart on the phone. That or yell at a twenty something who makes $10 an hour.

The icing on this crap cake... Verizon sent us a postcard in the mail starting a two month count down for Fios in our area. You bet your sweet ass I am switching!

Local MMA

One of my video game friends being a Richmond based MMA trainer is pretty rad (see Kevin's fight from February). Saturday I found out the most recent Ultimate Fighter winner went to my high school and graduated a grade ahead of me (even radder). I liked Amir Sadollah's personality and fighting style from the start of the show, but not until Crystal and I saw the finale and it was announced he was from Richmond did it click. Well for Crystal at least, she claimed she thought he looked familiar and I thought she was dilisional. A quick trip to his wiki page and we found out he was at the same high school as us for three years.

I was already rooting for Amir to crush C.B. Dolloway a second time because C.B. is a douche. His Richmond origin was just wood on the fire. Now we are both big fans, so hopefully he can handle the veteran fighters at 185. There is always the option to drop to 170 and become a big fighter at a lower weight. Only time will tell and when that time comes we will be watching.

Black Lagoon
It has been a really long time since I watched any anime, so when Black Lagoon arrived from the bowels of my Netflix queue I was excited. Well not excited to watch it right away, it sat for a week and a half collecting dust because I was otherwise occupied. When I did get around to watching it I enjoyed it though. I has big action, a weak story and lots of profanity, but is well drawn and animated too. Not a must watch, but a fun time none the less.

Camping
We had fun, more on this fun Wednesday...