July Movie review

Well this should be quick...

 The Emoji Movie

A big fat poop emoji for this garbage. PASS!

 Spiderman Homecoming

With all my heart, NOOOOOOOO!!!! I can't live through another Spiderman movie. But Megan wants to see it so I'll probably end up going. I didn't like this kid in Civil War, I don't care that Iron Man is it and I'm slowly becoming disinterested in the MCU every year that goes by. 

War for the Planet of the Apes

I'll see it...at Redbox.

That's it for July, see you later for August!

Deadpool comics

So I finally read through my newly acquired Deadpool comics. I'd never read them before but loved the movie so was interested in checking them out to see what they were all about.

Sadly, they're not as good as you'd think. Deadpool's humor comes and goes but where the comic fails is the odd and confusing story lines they give to Deadpool and his supporting cast. Sometimes it felt as though scenes were missing from the book. I never understood how "so-and-so" went from being in one place to being at another, or being healthy in one panel and patched up on the next page without explanation or reason. 

On top of that, they tried to give Deadpool serious story lines which clashed with the humor they put in the book. I don't mind if the bad guy is whimsical, but if he's in to killing little girls and you show it, it's kind of hard to laugh at that situation where Deadpool burst in the door while he's in the john.  Just weird stuff like that made the book confusing.

Finally and probably the most painful thing in the series was the changing of the guard in new writers coming into the series. Want Wade Wilson's origin story? You'll get it 3 separate times and they're all different because each writer decided they didn't like the previous writers explanation so they changed it....and changed it again....and changed it back. It got annoying and led to several plot holes in the end that didn't make sense.

Also, an annual issue was part of the story line. Like between issues 17 and 18 if you didn't read the annual or special or even crossover that happened in-between you were missing out on the story immediately thereafter. I don't know why they didn't just make a one shot story for those issues and let the ongoing series carry the main story line.

Overall the series was ok but not as great as I'd hoped it would be.

theexpandeduniverse.com

Ok, I'm a little biased here I admit, but I love this new website designed by my friend Chris who brought my vision to reality and created a site where fans of the EU can read about news that matters to them!

I not kidding, even if I didn't know the folks behind this I'd still love it. So many great articles coming out every week I only wish I could donate more time to post on it. As it stands, I only have time to write one a month but if ever things die down for me I'd likely like to do more. I think this is exactly what the fans need. A place devoid of all the bitterness and hate and just focus on something we all love. The Expanded Universe.

If you haven't checked it out some time and you have an interest in Star Wars, I think you should!

The King of Comedy (review)

I never heard about this movie until cruising through my movies channels and seeing this. To think that Jerry Lewis and Robert De Niro worked on a film directed by Martin Scorsese and I didn't know!?! How is that possible?

Anyway it's not a Comedy but a dark movie about a stalker and to top it all off, really good too! If you ever have a chance to watch it, I suggest you try it out!

Mobsters (movie review)

A few weeks ago I got a chance to re-watch on old favorite of mine Mobsters starring the (then hit star) Christian Slater. I have to admit, I was a big fan back then and still am today so this wasn't a hard thin to re-watch. I loved it even more the 2nd time I think.

Smart mafia movie that has good pacing, characters and a story that is loosely based of real events. I really enjoyed it though it made me want to re-watch all my Godfather movies and eat spaghetti.

But cant that be said for all gangster films?

Comic ads

As I continue to read through these comics from the late 90's early 2000's the thing I love looking at as much as the art (and sometimes more than the art) is the ads. Look at this one! HA! if they only knew right?

I'd never seen this ad before. It looks like the network had no idea what this was about and kinda makes sense how Fox totally misunderstood what the series was about!

Anyway, just something fun I thought I would share. Have a good weekend folks!

Why boardgames are better than baseball cards.

Just as a note, there's no way I would have agreed with this suggestion 10 years ago but now I see the light!

It's no secret I'm a big board gamer these days. It's my #1 hobby at the moment. But I've noticed something with the business lately that makes me see why this hobby is on the rise while the baseball hobby is on the decline.

Back in the day baseball card shops were EVERYWHERE! We had 7 in our small town alone! It seemed like every was collecting them back then. Now we only have 1 and I don't even know if they're open anymore.

Card shops has shriveled up and become just half an idle at Walmart and Target now. I tried getting back into the hobby a few years ago by buying a complete set of Topps cards at Target. My second year in doing so I noticed my factory set was missing a card. So I wrote to Topps to ask for a replacement. They declined to give me one stating they're not responsible for "old sets"

Problem was it wasn't even a year old. I'd bought it that December as an Xmas present to myself and didn't open it until the first of the next year. Because of that (they said) they would not send me any replacements missing from the set. Though the new set wouldn't be out in another 2 months. Ridiculous and exactly the reason the hobby is hurting today. They don't care about the fans.

Flip it around to board game publishers. Who not only will replace your missing or broken piece for free but will also ship it to you at no charge as well! It's that kind of incredible service which will continue to fan the flames for this hobby in the years to come.

Topps could learn a thing or two from it as well if they ever want their business to grow.

As for me, I'm done collecting baseball cards. They don't care about me, why should I give them my money?

Ahh, the "commercial age" era of comics...

Bill of goods

So I'm reading through the comic book collection I bought last year for $50. It's all Marvel stuff but I thought it was a good deal and got them anyway to read. However, while reading through them I've noticed an alarming truth, the bags we were sold at stores back in the day to keep our comics "safe" from the environment?

They're garbage.

About half the comics I open up, rip on the side. Some already were ripped from top to bottom, making the bags seem completely worthless overall. My brother stopped bagging his comics a long time ago. Because he knew he had no interest in ever selling them so what's the point? Looks like he saved himself a lot of time not wasted on sleeving each one. Because from what I'm seeing, these things are junk!

All Hail Exiled Julian!

So I just watched the newest Season of "All Hail King Julian" and I have to say it's still one of the funniest cartoons I've ever seen. This season, instead of doing a string of one shot episodes that tie together they did one epic "continued" story arc that lasted the entire season and I loved it. This has got to be one of the most underrated shows on Netflix right now.

The only dissapointment about the season was that every cast member from past episodes got their dues except for my favorite the Snake Doctor, who was thrown in for one line in the last episode but not his classic "IN A CAVE" line, that cracks me up every time I hear it.

Now looking back over that last sentence I guess that won't make much sense unless you've seen the show.....but believe me....it's funny!

My Favorite YouTubers

I watch more YouTube than TV. Here are my favorite YouTubers on the internet today!

 Red Letter Media

Though crude at times, this channel about movie reviews (both new and obscure) has been a great source of entertainment to me over the past few years. Mike and Jay's ability to mock films as well as themselves has been very enjoyable to watch.

 Rhado Runs Through

Right now, one of my favorite board game channels. Rhado runs through a "mock" game to show you how the game is played. Watching his channel is almost as good as playing the board game myself because I really get to see what the game play is all about. The countless hours I've spent watching Rhado plays board games reminds me never to make fun of folks who do the exact same thing watching others play video games on their channels. (which I hate)

The Dice Tower

Tom Vassal is King of the Internet when it comes to board games. His Boardgame Breakfast show is the best thing about Monday's for me. His Top 10 lists are also enjoyable as well and he's a pretty nice guy when I met him at Gencon. Another fun channel to watch.

Those are a few of mine....what's yours?

Taste Test

As you might know, I love trying new things no matter how weird. I proved that again a few weeks ago with these two items here.

 Mountain Dew-S-A is a product I've seen around since early May. I didn't know what it was all about so I picked up a bottle to try it out. I'm not a big Dew fan but I don't mind drinking it either. Dew-S-A sadly it only three other existing Dew products mixed together like a teenager at a soda machine in Taco Bell would prepare. Code Red, White Out and Voltage are the 3 soft drinks they mix making it into some nondescript soda that well be forgotten once you finish it.  

The BBQ Payday was even more bizarre. I had to read it twice to make sure I understood what it was exactly. This Payday uses bbq nuts on it......bbq and caramel....hmmmm...I'll try it!

Bad idea. Anything that taste oddly like sushi but has nothing of the ingredients should tell you something went wrong. Really Payday, what were you thinking?!

Garbage Bag Glory

For the first time in 7 years...I'm having to buy garbage bags again.

That's got to be some kind of a record.

How it started was when my wife in I first moved in to our house. We had each bought garbage bags with us from our own apartments but it didn't stop there. The first two trips to the grocery store my wife kept forgetting we had them and bought a box each trip....but then there's more.

We decided to donate some of our clothes to Goodwill but what I didn't know is my wife went out and bought garbage bags AGAIN for that too! Before our first year living together was up we had a Y2K supply of these things! I forbid her to buy garbage bags again until we went through the stash we have.

7 years later, it's time to buy more. But this time we'll be taking it one box at a time.

Pacman Erasers

When I was a kid my teacher have a "treasure chest of little toys we could have if we did good in class that week. It was filled with all sorts of goodies but we couldn't see what we were getting because there was a black sleeve we had to reach through to get the prize.

For me, nothing was better than getting these Pacman erasers. I've lost them since then but I remember being so proud when I'd finally been able to complete my set. Pacman was easy to feel out but the ghost were harder. Getting all 4 were hard. I went half the school year fishing for them.

Funny to think these erasers were the reason I got good grades back in the day. It was the little things that mattered back then I suppose!

Why toys aren't in cereal anymore

I was walking through the cereal isle at my grocery store when I thought occurred to me. "Why don't they put toys in cereal boxes anymore?" It seemed the phase died out in the mid-2000's and I never knew why.

Now I think I have an idea of what happened.

In 2007 Congress passed a law about how companies can advertise "unhealthy" products to children. Giving away a free toy in a cereal box might have fallen into such category. But isn't it the parents decision on what gets bought? I know we like doing stuff for our kids but toy or not Cookie Crunch is the bomb.com and I'd take it even without a toy inside!

It's kind of weird when you think about it. Parents lack of control over their children caused us to stop this. In that case, should they even advertise for toys anymore? Or video games?! How are they promoting "health" for the younger generation?

You see the occasional "spoon" or "comic" being offered in cereal boxes today but I miss the old days when it seemed every brand gave you something extra with your purchase.

Grumble...mumble...

RIP Adam West

Man oh man, hated to hear the news but it had to happen some day right? Adam West was my Batman, ever since I was a child. I loved his series then and I still love it today. He was a great Batman and I'm glad I got the chance to see him and get an autograph.

Burt Ward and Julie Newmar are all that's left of this wonderful TV show now. Sad day.

Fawlty Towers review

There are few comedies I will watch more than once thru and this is one of them. John Cleese 's brilliant masterpiece is once again available on Netflix and once again I've watched the episodes all the way through. It isn't hard to do either since each of the 12 episodes in the series were only 30 minutes each but the comedy is jammed packed the whole way through.

This has got to be one of the best shows from the 70's that still holds up today! Perhaps I should consider buying the entire series on DVD some day. It's such a good show!

Have a good weekend folks!

MST3K Then and Now

I remember as a kid my Dad stumbled among an unknown channel called Comedy Central where it 3 guys looked to be sitting in a theater making fun of an old horror movie. At first we didn't know what to think until you started listening to their comments. The whole family was immediately in stitches.

Over that summer as Dad would tune in to the ball game, the channel surfing decreased significantly and he'd already have the buttons pressed as the next half inning ended. After a while Dad would even go over watching the show and miss the first out of the ballgame. A huge thing back in our day because NOTHING trumped baseball.

Joel, Crow and Tom became our friends and even late at night when we had sleepovers, Comedy Central would run these back to back. (due to lack of programming) We ate them up. The humor was excellent, witty and fresh. The skits in-between were classic and spoken about in our everyday lives. Their jokes became our jokes and the series just got better and better.

Then Joel left and we got Mike. At first I was furious Like someone had taken my best friend away and tried to replace him with a stranger. I didn't like Mike. I complained he wasn't funny at all. And though I continued to watch, it wasn't the same. But I held on because at least Crow and Tom and the rest of the gang were still there. So I couldn't abandon them.

Sure there were good times when Joel came back for one episode (one of my personal favs) and when they ended the series, I thought it was sad but well done.

When I heard it was coming back I was actually for it. I remember talking to Joel at Dragon Con that year and he said though he wouldn't star in it, the show would have the same feel as the old and I started thinking. Well, with Tom, Crow and Mike back, I'll probably watch it.

Then came Jonah...

Now I don't mind the guy, he seems nice and may work but then I heard Tom and Crow's voice....

 or someone pretending to be Tom and Crow. They didn't get the voice actors back for the roles. Gypsy was different too but I didn't care about that, besides they explain in the show Jonah changed her voice box. Why they thought they didn't have to explain Tom and Crow's voice change I have no idea. But I continued to watch and see what happened.

The villains are Felicia Day and Patton Oswald. I like both actors but they do a terrible job in their roles and seem like they're making fun of the whole show rather than "over acting" for the part for laughs.

The humor's still there but it feels like a bunch of people who were heavily influenced by MST3K went out and made this poor ripoff and after 15 minutes into the movies that's all I could see. Was a bunch of punks trying to copy a classic series that may be passed it's time.

They seemed annoying, like the girl at work who thinks she's funny and tries to hard to be. Yeah, that's exactly what the new show feel like. So it was with heavy heart that I took it off my watch list on Netflix and went on to watch better things.

Sorry MST3K, I love you but your time has passed. 

Dick Van Dyke Show

Took me a couple of months but I finally finished all 5 seasons of the show and wanted to give me review.

As some of you know, I love old TV shows. Andy Griffith and I Love Lucy are classic shows that never feel dated to me. So when I saw Netflix carried this show's entire run, I knew I had to give it a shot.

Though not as good as the previous shows I mentioned, the show did have a few laughs and serious heartfelt moments that surprised me for a "comedy" at the time. Overall, it's worth your time if you're like me but Andy Griffith and I Love Lucy are better so make sure you watch those first if you're squeezed on time.

Sad to know most of the cast is gone now since Mary Tyler Moore passed away earlier this year. Sally (the blonde in the pic), Dick Van Dyke and the kid who played his son are the only surviving members of the show left.

Sad to know but a little heartwarming to think of how some of the best times in their lives are still being shared over 50 years later.

Beta max

Before the VCR my parents owned a Betamax. Just like a VHS payer but more compact and smaller cassettes. I remember the remote control for it was connected to the box but we still thought it was the coolest thing ever!

My Dad recorded all 3 Star Wars movies and both Ewok movies when they came out and we used to watch the recordings all the time as kids! The cool thing about it was the tape player would pop up at the top and you'd slip the cassette in and press it back down. Very cool.

Even when we got a VHS player we kept our Betamax and continued watching it well into the mid-90's. I'm sure my parents still have it in a closet somewhere but it probably doesn't work. Anyway, random thought for the day.

Old tyme grocery list

Back in the day my mom used to have one of these on the fridge. It was a grocery counter so you'd know what to get at the grocery store. You'd just slide the button over to what you'd need to get. I used to love playing with it and Mom didn't use it as much as she thought she would so she didn't mind.

Totally forgot about it the other day until I was out grocery shopping and thought "Man, I need to make a list to write all this down!"

Took me a while to find it online but this is exactly what it used to look like. Funny, because "Beer-Soda" is at the top of the list. Guess that's what was most important back in the day!

What's wrong with America today

Kathy Griffin has never been a funny comedian to me. And this week she proved it once again with something everyone can agree was over the line.

She apologized, she's an idiot. Let's move on. But wait!! Kathy now wants us to believe that SHE'S the victim in all this?!

In her latest news conference she was crying, blaming "white old people" for her problems and basically pointing every finger she could at someone else for HER mistake!?

Take it from someone who loves to "poke the bear" every once in a while. The times I've made fun of others (Like author Chuck Wendig) I had no problem with the backlash that came afterwards. Was some of it over the line? Probably, but you're not going to see me cry out for pity and try to blame everyone else for my actions.

Kathy Griffin is scum. I'm glad CNN fired her and I hope she never has a working gig again. Drop this self righteous bimbo and let's move on.

Of course this is coming from an "old white man" who's now been type cast as the reason for anything "evil" in America so what do I know.

Green with Envy

Ok, so let's talk about global warming. Regardless of what you think of Trump, the man stuck to his guns and made good on one of his campaign promises. Now folks think we've doomed the world because we decided not to pinky promise to "go green" anymore when every businessman in America knows it isn't the case.

By the way, the elephant in the room here is global warming itself. Has everyone already forgotten about how NASA was busted for altering it's data to try and reflect global warming worse than it actually was?

Or how about all the leaked emails between leading scientists for global warming, that admit they fudged numbers as well to make their case. What more info? It's all over the web! Hundreds of stories out there to check out.

I'm not saying we shouldn't take care of our planet. I'm all for using solar and wind energy and doing what we can to make the planet a better place. But when I'm being lied to (or at best over-exaggerated) of something, that's where I draw the line.

How bout you?

Site Warning

So I fell for another scam. No, nothing got stolen, but I bought in to the hype and realized too late it was too good to be true.

This site offers amazing rewards if you book through them....the only thing they don't tell you is that you're paying for the rewards.

Their site overcharges for hotel bookings and gives you some of the money back in gifts cards of your choice....and keep the rest for themseleves.

I got an email from them and thought I'd try them out on a trip I took to Florida last month. When I got their the hotel was run by idiots who charged me twice for the room! What I noticed is their charges were $25 cheaper than it was online. What did I get? A $20 gift card in exchange. Hooray.

So if you hear something that sounds too good to be true.... spoiler alert....it probably is.

Backyard Wrestling

Back in the late 90's Wrestling was back in the spotlight and bigger than ever. Folks were watching all around the world and getting the "fever" for more!

So much so, that "backyard wrestling" used to be a thing. There were video games, home movies and even a little merchandise from some of the "stars" you'd find on the internet.

Backyard wrestling mixed all sort of stunts (jumping from rooftops, ladders) and included several high impact moments that usually ended up smashing someones trash can, table or chair. Pretty brutal but or planned out as wrestling moves go.

It was entertaining and even I admit to renting a few videos at Blockbuster about it back in the day. Even made a few myself. A friend of mine in Detroit made some study belts out of cardboard and duct tape. I followed suit by making a few more and we had our own "league" with champions and all in it.

The first match took place in Detroit, the second in Monroe the third in Virginia and so on. We'd take turns passing the World Championship belt around while the other belts usually stayed within the area so they had something to fight over if the World Champ wasn't in town.

As it stands, I'm still the World Champ though I'd planned on giving it up at our last event a few years ago, it never happened because the guy thought it best I should win and we decided he'd win it in a rematch. (which never came about) I'm also the undefeated Hardcore Champion since I was the only one brave enough to take the hardest "bump" in the game. That was our rule back then. Whoever agreed to pull off the craziest stunt would win the belt.

I won it every time because I'd always agree to it. Setting my shirt on fire during a match (briefly) Getting whacked with a stick in the head (though it was cut to break upon impact) and my personal favorite, falling from a ladder straight through drywall that was held up by saw horses. Fun stuff!

I had also planned to drop the Hardcore belt in Branson, MO for a Backyard Event I had attended but they had a full card that day and promised to let me have a chance the next time I came up. Which ended up being never.

The Tag Team belts are still held by two girls who were best friends at the time but live in different parts of the area. One is still in Detroit while the other's in Southern California. And the Lightweight Belt was still up in Toronto, Canada last I heard.

No one fights for the belt anymore but I do keep in contact with the Tag Team champs who tell me they keep the belts in same place we agreed to keep them at all times....the trunk of our cars. That way, if challenged we'll always have them with us whenever we need it.

If you want to challenge me for either one, I'll be riding around in my car all day today. Just let me know. : )