Weekend with C, H & KJ

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

Last Friday night after work & watching some of the “Good Eats” collection on Netflix, Izzy & I decided to use the Beer Bread kit that my brother gave to me for Christmas… along with one of our Red Ales… and it turned out pretty damn good. Thanks to Alton Brown, we’ve probably got a pretty damn good recipe to use with some of our other brews for decent bread… but we’ll let you know about that when it comes up. Hmm… chocolate hazelnut porter beer bread? Anyway, here’s our Irish Red Ale Bread…

 

Saturday, our friends C&H from our epic Oregon trip last year (REMEMBER?) visited from their new home in Sacramento… and they also brought along their little six-month old KJ. (Don’t worry… I realize that KJ is a little over six months old… and about nine months before that was right around our Oregon trip… so I’m pretty sure that wonderful trip helped to bring an adorable baby into this world) Anyway, we went on a quick hike up to Inspiration Point, had some lunch at Pizza Orgasmica, wandered around the Presidio a little bit…

 

… and then while sitting around the apartment, we decided to pull out the Robopanda and traumatize little KJ…

 

All weekend, the Golden Gate Bridge was closed to road traffic for some construction (I think adding an alternating lane or some sort of financial rape machine or something) but not to walk across, so Izzy & I thought it’d be a good day to walk from my apartment, to the bridge, across to Marin County, and then back… all in all, about 8 miles. We totally did it… and probably will again… here are some beautiful pictures…

 

Anyway, that was last weekend, so pretty much caught you up on my shenanigans. Tune in next time when we brew another batch of amazing beer, probably review some movies, make Love and/or War & celebrating the great Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, junior. Have a great weekend everybody!!!

Miniature Graphic Novellae

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

It’s been a fairly entertaining week… March Madness is in full swing. Yes, I was one of the many people in America who didn’t even know that Florida Gulf Coast University was a real place (still sounds fake) until they made it to the Sweet 16. By the way, in keeping up with my past tradition of researching school I know little of from past years… the campus is located in Fort Myers, Florida (nice place) & Florida state representative Matt Caldwell attended. That’s about all I’ve got other than their mascot is the Eagles so… GO EAGLES!!!

 

This weekend, Dizzy & I went to the Cartoon Art Museum in downtown for an annual Mini-Comics event they were holding. We went around 2 PM when Dizzy got off work… and there were two people there for the event, one being the organizer. We inquired why… and apparently a few of their releases had the wrong date. Oops! So we sat down… and made some more mini-comics while we were there… which you can find on the official RoboPanda Comics website… and socialized a bit, networking & making a few contacts and points of interest in the Bay Area comics world.

 

Eventually, a family came in & saw what we were doing… so they decided to join in… and Dizzy showed one of them how to draw a cat… it was VERY cute. Before it was over, we exchanged comics with the few people that showed up… and then had a Super Duper Burger dinner. Good times.

 

As for the museum itself, I found it VERY interesting. Though fairly small, there were special exhibits for Chuck Jones (of Looney Tunes fame) and Sam Keith (“The Maxx” and guest spots on a few other series like “X-Men” & “Batman”). There was a wide range of finished works, doodles, very different mediums & presentation formats, I found it all really interesting since I’ve been getting into the comic book realm… and trying to understand the whole creative process & how it meets with the professional part of it. I highly recommend it.

 

This weekend, we watched “Windy City Heat” which is a movie about comedian Perry Caravello and his “friends” pulling off an extremely elaborate prank… and filming the whole thing. Directed by Bobcat Goldthwaite & cameos from all over the comedy world (Adam Carolla, Jimmy Kimmel, Dane Cook, etc) the story is about a comedian named Perry and he auditions for this part to star in a Hollywood noir movie about an investigator from Chicago & the shenanigans that he gets pulled into. The only problem is… he’s horrible… but it’s okay… because it’s all a prank… so he gets the part… and basically they put him through awkward situations & basically make his life hell for their amusement. Now… it’s funny & I kinda liked it… but after a while you have to assume that he knew about it. Still, pretty hilarious. I say give it a shot.

 

Next was “Alex Cross” starring Tyler Perry, Edward Burns, Jean Reno, Rachel Nichols & Matthew Fox. Now, I think this is supposed to be a prequel of the Alex Cross character that Morgan Freeman played a few years back in those movies he teamed up with Ashley Judd like “Along Came a Spider” & “Kiss the Girls” but… we’ll just take this as it is. It’s the story of a Detroit detective named Alex Cross (Perry) and his partner (Burns) as they chase a serial killer named Picasso (Fox). Basically, the detectives do their job & save somebody… and then Picasso turns on them. Oh & Picasso is a highly skilled assassin who gets a major woody for pain & pushing people to the limits of it before he kills them. Now… that’s the story… pretty much… but there’s really no suspense or thrills in the movie… there are a lot of things that don’t make sense… the dialogue is really bad… the shameless marketing of Chevrolet vehicles in just about every screenshot at all times is a little overdone… the acting is… well, it’s okay I guess… but as a whole, not a great film at all. I’d say pass if I were you. Though I wanna go see Detroit for urban spelunking now… so yeah, that may be a future adventure.

 

After that, I showed Dizzy “The Descent” because I wanted to show her a good example of the use of light & dark to establish a theme & tone, as that’s what she’s studying… and we’re trying to make with our comics. I’ve bored you with the details of the movie before, but seriously, it’s a good horror flick. Pass on Part 2 though.

 

Anyway, that oughta do it for today. Easter is coming up… as well as my family coming to visit… so plenty of adventures coming shortly. I’ll keep you posted. And congratulations to K-Fish for getting a new job in Orlando!!! You’re enjoy it!!! Have a great week everybody!!!

Dawn of the Panda Age

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

It's been a busy little time with getting ready for a Mini Comics event this weekend... and in doing so, I completed my first mini-comic. You can check it out at my new blog at RoboPanda Comics. Be sure to follow it & you can keep up on all of the latest RoboPanda updates. Yes, right now it's just a little intro blurb & this mini-comic... but soon... oh boy, you're going to see where YOU can get your RoboPanda comics & various other swag. So excited for it...  Once again, the link is...

 

RoboPanda Comics

robopandacomics.blogspot.com

 

Go ahead... Do it now...

 

I can wait... these movies reviews will still be here...

 

Go on... Thank you for following...

 

and please tell your friends & family...

 

and even strangers if you feel the urge

 

 

These reviews are probably going to be a little more brisk than previously... because it's late... but you'll get the jist. If not, ask me... and I'll gladly elaborate. The first movie up is "The New World" starring Colin Farrell as John Smith, the man who is famous for marrying Pocahontas in the early 17th century. It's a beautifully shot movie by director Terence Malick... and attempts to be more realistic about what really happened during the settlement of early America by the English... and then they try to throw in a whole love story with John Smith (by the way, she was like 12-14 years old when she was married the first time, right? That's just how it was) and then later with Thomas Rolfe (Christian Bale BTW). It's also 2.5 hours long... so yeah, beautifully shot but... pass.

 

Next was "The Man with the Iron Fists" starring Russell Crowe & the writer / director / star / WU TANG MUTHA F**KA The RZA!!! It's the story of a blacksmith (Rza) who is caught in the aptly named Jungle Village between feuding clans & new visitors in feudal China. The director RZA gives his unique view of the martial arts movie genre... and I personally liked it... even if the names are ridiculously distinct to that persons traits or role in the flick, I dig that. The actions sequences are decent, the story is... well, it's a martial arts movie... the soundtrack is... distinct with the Wu Tang flavor throughout... basically I really enjoyed it... and you probably will too if you enjoy the genre. There's fights, one-liners, betrayal, drama, revenge, all that good stuff.

 

Next up is "Silent Hill: Revelation" which is the 3D sequel ten years too late to the original video game adaptation. Basically, this movie picks up ten years after the end of the last one... and if you didn't see the first one, there's ABSOLUTELY no reason to see this flick. I did...and the story didn't make any sense in continuity. Anyway, if you liked the original, still... don't watch this one... for the story flaws... and it's exactly the same eery creatures & sequences as the first one... just done worse with really no scare factor whatsoever... other than how awful the lead actress is... and she'll be in "The Great Gatsby." Don't even want to imagine the amount of BJs to get that job based on this movie. Pass please.

Next is "Seven Psychopaths" starring Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Tom Waits & Woody Harrellson. It's the story of a few writers / dognappers who are on a mission to make money & write the next great American novel / screenplay. It sounds weird... but I absolutely insist that you go see this movie. It's pretty well done... it's crazy... I mean... look at the actors in it... they're all crazy & doing it at their best. You'll love it.

 

Last is a National Lampoon's parody that I caught on Netflix called "The Legend of Awesomest Maximus" starring Will Sasso ("Mad TV" & "Three Stooges") and a few D-list players like the lovely Kristianna Loken ("Terminator 3" & "Bloodrayne") and Ian Ziering (yes, THAT Ian Ziering from the original 90210). It's a parody of the epic Greek movies like "Gladiator", "300", "Troy", "Spartacus" and the like... and it was actually pretty funny at points. I'd say a B on the parody tip. TEN times better than "Meet the Spartans" or whatever the hell that other one was. Check it out... like I said, it's on Netflix.

 

Well, that'll do it for today. I'll catch you up a little better on my life shortly. My mom, aunt & cousin are coming to visit in less than two weeks... so that'll be pretty awesome. Have a great weekend everybody!!!

Tapes or DVDs?

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

I hope that you all enjoyed (what you could see) of my first issue storyboard of “RoboPanda vs Zombie Dinosaurs” and don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll all be HUGE fans by the time that the real drawings come through… and I’m thinking that by Christmas 2015 your children will be BEGGING for the new array of toys, videos & bedding sets… but please keep in mind that you can’t put a price on your children’s happiness… and the proceeds go to a worthwhile cause… my retirement fund. Thank you! From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

Anyway, back in the present, spent most of the weekend not being sick… but not really exerting myself because the flu is going around & I wasn’t feeling it Friday night after work… which is really disappointing because I missed out on a party for some coworkers that are moving on to other careers. I really wanted to wish them well… but also didn’t want to get anybody sick. Congratulations you two!!! Other than that, I spent the weekend with Dizzy watching football, ironing out details for the comic book, planning the menu for Bacon Day: Part Deux next weekend & just enjoying each other. We also met up with some of her work friends for some drinks at Chevy’s to celebrate a 25^th birthday. Good times were had. I’m sure that all interests you… but I also watched some movies… so here are some reviews.

As you know, I have a soft spot for bad movies. I enjoy watching them sometimes… and I’m always curious about movies that critics completely pan even before seeing them (including myself). So Thursday night, I was going through the movie channels the last few days that I’m going to have TV… and I stumbled upon “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” starring Nicolas Cage. It’s the sequel to the Marvel Comics adaptation of “Ghost Rider” and you may recall it from an early Nicolas Cage update that it had so much going for it in the way of bad movies.

1) It was the sequel to a not-so-good original movie

2) Nicolas Cage desperately needs money… and his recent choices in acting gigs has confirmed it

3) Directed by the team Nevaldine & Taylor who brought you the likes of “Jonah Hex” & both “Crank” movies

4) Originally, the storyline was going to be Ghost Rider vs. Dracula… but that changed

5) Christopher Lambert (“Highlander”) made a cameo

The story goes that there is a mother & child being pursued by the Devil (Ciaran Hinds) and his henchmen (AJ from “Empire Records” no joke) and only the Rider (Cage) can protect them. Why are they being pursued? Well, as he put it in the movie “You’re the Devil’s baby mama…” and the story kinda goes from there. There are a LOT of scenes were it’s a mix of CGI transformations, Nic’s bad end of the “crazy-conflicted” spectrum & the usual death metal score that you get from the Nevaldine-Taylor combo. Now, based on the source material, the movie wasn’t absolutely horrible. The Ghost Rider story is very difficult to tell without a whole lot of CGI & questionable motivation and character development (see “Spawn”) but I wouldn’t really recommend this movie to anybody. Sorry Nic. I wish that I could help with your financial woes… but hey, maybe when RoboPanda takes off I can get you a gig as a voiceover to help.

Next up was the Syfy Channel’s “12 Disasters of Christmas” which stars… well, nobody. I think some of them were on WB series but… yeah, I didn’t really recognize anybody. Anyway, it’s set in small town Oregon I think… and there’s a family (conveniently named Joe, Mary, Peter & Jacey… yes, the daughter is Jacey as in JC, wait for it). There are some strange occurrences going on with birds dying, the water turning red, unusually warm weather, and then giant icicles falling from the sky & impaling people in the streets. Global warming? Possibly… no wait, WRONG! It’s the Mayan Prophecy coming true! By the way, did you know that the Mayans invented the song “12 Days of Christmas” and passed it along through the generations & all kinds of languages as a WARNING of the 12 disasters that would destroy the world? Oh it’s documented… the crazy old guy Frank had a whole wall chart made up connecting it… and there is a lineage of protectors that are direct descendants of Mayans (though now some of the whitest people you’ve ever seen thanks to cross-breeding) and they have to find five golden rings that will help save the world (or at least this small town in Oregon) from destruction by Mother Nature. I assume by calling forth Captain Planet and his magical mullet… but I don’t want to give away the surprise ending. Like most Syfy movies, it’s pretty horrible… but if you’re watching in a group, it’s descent to make fun of. Otherwise, forget that it even exists. Big thanks to The Soup for letting me know of this show’s existence.

Saturday night was actually a surprise. Dizzy & I watched “VHS” which is about a group of misfits who videotape their shenanigans (and crimes) to sell to voyeurs in that black market. Well, one of them hires them to break into a house to steal a particular video from the owners… but when they get to the house, there’s a bunch of them, so they have to cycles through them to find the right one… and what they find is a bunch of twisted sh*t. That’s the story… and basically, the movie is a collection of six horror movie concepts by various directors in the “found footage” genre that really would have been a MAJOR stretch for their own full-length feature… so they combine their 15-20 minute shorts into one film. What I was surprised about this movie… is how genuinely creepy some of them were on a shoe string budget. I was expecting it to be pretty cheesy… and I’ll admit, some of the acting was very questionable… but each story had it’s own redeeming quality & were very interesting ideas… except maybe the main story, but even that had it’s moments were it could’ve worked really well. Anyway, without giving too much away, I would say to check it out & judge for yourself. As a horror fan, I give it two thumbs up… and be warned, there is some gore… but overall, it’s a very decent flick. Check it out! It’s on Netflix!

Lastly was a documentary entitled “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” about Jiro, the world’s premiere 3-Michelin star sushi chef who has been doing the job that he loves for over 70 years. The camera crew follows him through his daily routine, other chefs at his restaurant, his family, his friends, food critics, etc. & paints a portrait of this intriguing man. To boil it down, Jiro is a perfectionist who loves sushi. Every waking moment he’s honing his skills to make perfect sushi… and as the title would imply, even during his non-waking moments, he’s dreaming of it. He accepts nothing but the best in every stage of preparation. He only buys fish from masters of their respective crafts (tuna, shrimp, octopus, etc). His chefs are meticulously trained for decades before he’ll allow them to prepare sushi for his guests (a ten-seat restaurant). Even his sons have been learning from him for over 40 years (youngest went off to start his own sushi restaurant & oldest is waiting for Jiro to retire to take head spot). Is it the borderline-obsessive goal of his entire life? Yeah, pretty much… but you be the judge. The man loves what he does. He’s focused on becoming the master of his craft & to push it to the next level… every day… for over 70 years. Some may say it’s crazy. Perhaps those people are not perfectionists & have not found the Passion that he has. I’d recommend checking out this documentary. It’s very interesting… but be warned… you’ll want to go have sushi during & afterwards… so you may want to watch on a full stomach.

It may also make you wonder about your own situation. For example, I’ve been in an industry for over 12 years now. I’ve essentially mastered my specific craft (hence why I can do so many jobs for the pay of one) but have I been “pushing” the craft forward? There have been instances where I’ll see procedures & improve upon them… share ideas with my colleagues with different sets of circumstances for their office… but am I constantly looking forward at the next step? Or have I grown complacent with my position because it’s easier than looking on to the next step, which would require sacrifices? Is this what I want to do for 70+ years (shiver) or until retirement age anyway? Is it my Passion? Is the fact that I’m even asking these questions convincing proof that it is not? Is there something different out there for me? That I would be more passionate about? Or am I just too level headed to put my all into something & widen my range of talents to be a Jack of all trades kind of person?

The saying goes that if you Love what you do, then you’ll never work a day in your life… or something like that… and there’s a few ways of looking at it. Does that mean that you have to find something that you Love to do? Or is it just on you to Love whatever it is that you’re doing? In either case, I guess the saying still holds true… but let’s face it, most of us would probably find it easier to Love being a movie star than a coal miner. Or I guess in a real world sense, let’s say you enjoy being physically fit… and your current job as a construction worker helps you to do that (as long as you don’t get a hernia). Do you just learn to Love being a construction worker? Study in the evenings & work your way to foreman & push your craft? Or do you study to become a personal trainer so you get that same benefit that you’re looking for, but it’s more recreational & you’re basically the master of your own unique craft?

Now, I’m sure you know by now that I tend to think too much for my own good & ramble incessantly… and of course not everybody’s priorities are the same. Some are focused on raising their children, making money any way possible, just getting by & getting high, cross things off their bucket list, seeing the world, continuing the family legacy, whatever it may be… not becoming yokozuna or a legend of the wood carving community or any other master of their given craft… and that’s perfectly fine. However, I do feel that life needs a little direction with goals to continue to grow & thrive. With that being said, that’s another reason why I’m REALLY excited about this new venture with this comic. I’m not an expert by any means… I’ve read a few back in my childhood… I’ve seen a lot of TV shows & movies… read about other people’s characters basically… but I’m not an artist. I have no official training in storyboarding, plotting, structure, or really ANYTHING related to drawing. Yeah, I won a few Reflections contests back in 2^nd & 3^rd grade… but yeah, that was drawing dinosaurs & weird alien creatures… in the 3^rd grade. So how is this going to work? I’m going to research, study, practice, calibrate, collaborate, peat, re-research, re-study, re-practice, re-calibrate & collaborate some more… and of course, repeat. Am I going to have all the skills? Probably not… but if I surround myself in the right people, use what I’ve learned, along with my own ingenuity & spin on things, then I’ll probably be off to a good start. Anyway, that’s the plan… for now. It’ll definitely change… but I can keep you posted…

I’ll also try to figure out how to get REAL pictures on Blogger again. Apparently the “new & improved” version really isn’t improved… but I’m sure it works for them. Have a great day everybody!!!

RoboPanda - Issue One (Rough draft)

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

Well, I've been working as usual... and in the evenings, I've been playing video games with the bro via the interwebs... and working on getting that money MONEY!!! So I thought I'd share with you a little more on my idea thus far... RoboPanda vs Zombie Dinosaurs. The details are obviously still being ironed out obviously... but I'm well on my way. I have the basic concept & story idea, main characters, driving stories, conflicts, settings, etc. Now it's a matter of execution & working out the rough parts.

Basically it's set in the not-so-distant future Shanghai... a few years after a major Earth "Event" that sends a mild shifting in the electromagnetic whatever that has a few startling effects. Humans went crazy... animals get smarter & started to talk... and dinosaurs came back to life as zombies. Why dinosaurs? That secret will be revealed later on... and no, it's not like f**king "Lost" where I just all of a sudden realized that no ending would really work & so just ended the show with more questions than anything... but you need some intrigue, right? I mean... it's random... dinosaurs have been gone for MILLIONS of years... why not people or dogs or other dead animals? Surprises abound. That's all I have to say.

Anyway, the main character is Kong, a panda who has had a rough go since "the Event" and therefore has a robotic left eye & right arm. Yes, because of technology downloaded in "the cloud" the smarter animals have access to all the future knowledge & technologies of humans. Nice, right? Not that it really helps them with zombie dinosaurs, volcanic activity, freaky weather, and all of that seriously affecting infrastructure... but some of the animals find sanctuary in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai, sealing part of it off with a giant wall of rubble & such... and have watches to protect from the outside... and you know, it's your typical zombie survival kind of story from there... but it's going to be awesome.

With that little bit of backstory in mind, I thought I would share a special treat for both of you actually reading this... the storyboard for the first issue of this epic saga. Now, I know that you're not going to be able to read my chicken scratch very well... and I have the artistic talent of a 3rd grader... but hopefully this teases you just a bit... and you get to see some of the action that going to go down when a real artist (Dizzy) puts her skills to it. Also, these pages from my journal that are really I think 4" x 6" & divided into eight frames... so I'm not working with epic scale here. Anyway... ENJOY!!!

If you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a line... and in the meantime, GO NINERS!!! Have a great weekend everybody!!!

P.S. The pictures are grainy as hell because Blogger is "new & improved" so isn't uploading pictures properly... because that's technology. Blame them... :)

Turkey Day 2 - Revenge of the Turks

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

This week has been pretty busy & fun… so I’ll catch you up a bit on it. Last week, I was introduced to a wonderful little made-for-TV Lifetime movie called “The Christmas Counselor” (thanks Soup) starring David Hasselhoff as the ultimate Christmas party planner… and yes, The Hoff was creepy & charismatic… and I highly recommend that you watch it with your friends. Or better yet, do what I did… and fast forward to the parts with the Hoff while watching it with your friends & enjoying a few beverages. ‘Twas awesome for the holidays…

Saturday, Dizzy prepared a little Orphan’s Thanksgiving for some of her friends… and the food was magnificent. That girl can cook. She may make a lucky bastard a very happy fat man someday. We ate for what seemed like hours… behold...

 

Then we watched a little nugget from our childhoods by the name of “Super Mario Bros” starring Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo & Dennis Hopper. Now… if you’ve never seen this movie, you might be kinda lucky. However, it’s not really any more ridiculous than the concept of the video game of which it’s based, just attempted to be made into a movie. Dialogue: Ridiculous. Plot: Preposterous. Visual effects: Early 90’s, so… do you remember the live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies? That kind of stuff. It was interesting to mock as most childhood movies can be… but yeah, definitely don’t watch it alone. You’ll turn it off about ten minutes in, at most. Dennis Hopper is in blonde cornrows. Need I really say more? By the way, I'm pretty sure the Washington Post comment on the movie poster "It's a Blast!" was taken out of context. I'm trying to research it but I think the excerpt it was taken from was something like "This movie? It's a blast in the face of movie watchers from an unwelcome fallus!!! Shield your eyes!!!"

Sunday, I spend most of the day watching football as I feel I should on my day off… but also had fun with Dizzy & Batgirl as they made fun of how homoerotic the sport & its commentary are (it’s a fact, just about everything can easily be turned very dirty and/or disturbing) and also chatting about this & that. I also multitasked by doing some Xmas shopping (via phone) and making lunch (also via phone, Village Pizzeria). It was a pretty chill day of me watching football while they did homework.

Monday was the preview screening of “The Hobbit” (because I’m a G) and let’s just say… it was a LOT more exciting then I thought it was going to be based on the children’s tale that was one short movie and is now being extended to three epics… Peter Jackson is basically just jerking himself off with all of the amazing special effects that he can do… and for being nearly three hours long, it really flew by… like… I drank a liter of Mountain Dew right before the show & didn’t even need to go to the bathroom… I’m assuming because my body was so intensely drawn into the movie that it didn’t even process the juices in my stomach until a later time. Also, Sir Ian McKellen is a badass. Now, I just can’t wait to see the next two movies… because this one effectively teased the reason for watching the whole trilogy… and that’s Smaug the Dragon (not the air over Los Angeles). Peter Jackson & Game of Thrones know where the money is… and it’s in teasing dragons effectively (also, probably one reason why the Eragon series didn’t really take flight). Anyway, go check out this movie as soon as possible.

Wednesday night was a Work Outing with my team of coworkers… and we had a lot of fun. Our first stop was to the Boys & Girls Club to help with homework and make some awesome Christmas ornaments. That was a lot of fun… and of course the kids were mesmerized by my height. Next stop was Floragrubb to make some things for us… basically they’re called airariums… and are like little terrariums… but in ornament sizes, so super mini. Here are a few pictures…

Our dinner & white elephant gift exchange this year was at 1300 Fillmore which is one of my favorite little spots right next to Yoshi’s. We were well fed, well drank (is that right? Drinked? Drunken?) and had a grand time just relaxing outside of the work environment. What was the white elephant that I got? Well, I’d love to share… but I plan on regifting it to somebody who will actually REALLY appreciate it… so to be continued. The food was excellent though, so check out 1300 Fillmore if you’re in the area.

Thursday night, a few of my friends & I met up for a special preview of "Gangster Squad" starring Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Josh Brolin & Sean Penn. Now, I was very skeptical of this movie... because it looked like it was going to try to be an "LA Confidential" kind of movie... but it had a Jay-Z song in the preview... and was from the director of "Zombieland" Ruben Fleischer. Was it going to be serious? A comedy? An abortion? Who knows? But it had great potential for any of them. (By the way, fun fact: The director of LA Confidential Curtis Hanson, also directed an episode of "Greg the Bunny" so diversity isn't necessarily a bad thing) The movie is based on a book, that allegedly is inspired by true events in 1940's Los Angeles about an old school police chief (Nick Nolte) putting together a small squad of the few remaining good cops in the LAPD (back when there were a few) to take down crime kingpin Mickey Cohen (Penn). Now, the movie is almost exactly what you would expect from the preview... there are lots of guns & fighting... and actually a pretty even punch-bullet ratio... there are not going to be any Academy Awards handed out for this movie... but it's well shot, Sean Penn does a pretty convincing insane Mickey Cohen... Gosling & Brolin are who they are... Emma Stone continues to be hot... there are a few laughs, a few tears, a lot of cheesy elements... but all in all, not a horrible movie. It's been pushed back a few times from its initial release date due to all of the shootings in the news given its violent nature (& a few deleted scenes involving a movie theatre) but yeah, if that's what you're looking for, you probably won't be disappointed... except maybe for the over cheesiness at some points. Give it a gander if that's you thing.

 

Also, I got my Christmas present from Dizzy... and she's amazing... and she made me action figures. What? Made? Action figures? That's right. See... we've been working on my side project... which is a comic book... and she made a few of the characters out of other toys & her own artistic awesomeness... so behold a few creatures from... ROBOPANDA vs ZOMBIE DINOSAURS!!!

 

I know... you want to place your orders now... patience, my friends! The first issues should be coming soon... and they're well worth the wait. Unfortunately we just have REALLY busy schedules... but I will keep you posted on the release dates. In the meantime, I'm off to Utah for Christmas vacation in a few days so... HAVE A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY / CHRISTMAS / HANNUKAH / KWANZA / COLLEGE FOOTBALL BOWL / WHATEVER TIME!!!