Memorial Day BBQ(5/31/11)

Finished Burgers and steaks

Finished chicken and first round of Angus Dogs

First round of fire roasted red pepper and onions with asiago chicken sausage

Grilled Salmon

The grilled corn and some more angus dogs

The grilled pineapple

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It was a warm day so that meant me, on the grill, with lots and lots of MEAT. You know the rules of these Throwback posts, as is no editing. So here it is all the pictures, the picture descriptions no words whatsoever

COD:Black ops Laced up, Locked and Loaded(11/17/10)

After doing the initial thoughts blog I've of course been playing, and playing lots of multiplayer, shooting lots of people, using C4, using Nova gas, using semtex, using the RC car, using napalm, mortar strikes. I've been an evil bastard, I will admit.

Okay so let's go boots on the ground with this:the options on the games are outrageous. Once you reach the required level to unlock the ability to do something as long as ya got the COD cash and are the right level buy away. I've bought C4 and claymore's(as my equipment), switched from willie pete's to Nova Gas, gone back and forth between semtex and frag grenades.

Why back and forth? Sometimes its better to have a frag grenade, the ability to roll towards a potential target especially if you cook it first(for those not familiar with the process of "cooking" a grenade its where you pull the pin hold it for a few seconds then toss it makes it harder to run away from) makes it devastating. Where as if you have a person potentially hiding by a door or wall a semtex grenada thrown against a near by wall might protect you from walking into an ambush.

That is also why I switched to nova gas from willie pete's if you aren't prepared for nova gas, the ticking away of you health saves me bullets. Plus somebody injured who walks into it might as well hang it up. Your dead fam, point blank period. The weapons are different then Modern Warfare 2, I miss my scar sometimes, but the Galil is nice. I'm using the AUG right now it does decent damage, has nice range, a large magazine and reloads in an OK amount of time, I may have to switch to slight of hand though. I'm just saying there are times when I could use that extra second or two.
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Aaaah yes black ops, somehow I completely skipped black ops II but I really did enjoy the first one on PS3. This was shortly after my 360 had died(salute *taps playing in the background*) and I had changed over to the "enemy camp" (yes it's in quotation marks because I am an old gamer, it ain about the system it is all about the games. And the shiny new blu ray player the PS3 now had me using). PSN(playstatin network) may have more users on their network currently(as PS4 has shipped more units than Xbox one/Xbone and with the already installed PS3 units even though the 360 won last gaming cycle) but Xbox live always seems to have a better interface. No online interface can be perfect because we all don't use equal broadband providers. Some of us are kicking along with 15 down and 1-3 up while others are dealing with 5 down and .44 up(that's mbps). I remember Black Ops one fondly, I just didn't pick up Black ops II not really for any reason. Just like I didn't get Call of Duty Advanced Warfare, I have Ghosts I just didn't pick up the next one at the time.

I will start another post about DLC(Down Loadable Content, I know download is one word but that is how it is written, don't shoot the messenger), season passes, and the like later. Some feel it is the bane of the current gaming cycle(end of PS3/360 through the Playtation 4 and Xbox one lifetimes) others see it as a POTENTIAL for expanding/extending the life cycle of older games. Like I said that will be another blog. I hope you enjoy this throwback post no matter how short it is

Games I'm playing: Magic Duels

Now way back yonder in the 90's a card game came out called: Magic the Gathering, it is in the line of the Pokemon card game or Yugioh(well maybe not Yugioh, I think you can just play cards period regardless of mana costs in Yugioh), you buy a started deck(usually about 30 to 50 cards), a few booster decks(around 15 cards per pack), you arrange the best cards you find into some semblance of a fighting deck depending on what creatures you have. Many I day did I spend playing this game, Magic is slightly different than other card games in that it is built with a potential cooperative mode from the start. Magic uses 5 different "magic types" white, black, red, green, and blue, if you look at the back of a card the line up in a pentagram pattern:

Like so, and per the old rules who ever was diagonal from you was your enemy(so for white it was red and black, for green blue and black and vice versa) and directly next to you was your friend. Now some of you might be looking and saying, "wait what, but that means both of your allies are also allies with one of your enemies!" yes, yes they are. Which makes for an interesting bit of diplomacy, because sooner or later you are gonna want to go for a kill shot and are going to have to make a request. for black to win white and green have to die, for red to win blue and white, and so on and so forth.

Who ya gonna call, now

The new Ghostbusters trailer has officially dropped here's the link. So obviously the question is, what do I think. It looks like it will be funny, but it kind of looks like a parody instead of a full on reboot. Like silly things happened in the original Ghostbusters movie, but they took capturing paranormal phenomenon seriously. If I'm gonna to be honest, two skinny white women, one chubby white woman and a black chick okay yes it looks like the gender bent ghostbusters. Since none of the names are the same I am a little disappointed that they aren't the daughters of the originals, a passing of the torch would have been nice. Even some sort of tortured legacy(see what I did there, oh come on Ghosts, tortured legacy, whatever it's funny) that the only pick up because the city is in danger would have been a nice romp. Doesn't mean it won't be good, just means its not the sequel/reboot I was hoping for so far.

Now I'm not naive, I know that most of the more recent reboots focused less on being serious and more on making fun of the source material. And the last movie to try and seriously recreate the original(Man from U.N.C.L.E) had lukewarm success at best, I don't think it was because the source material is bad. I think it was because you needed to make it more in line with the times, actually upgrade and modernize the characters, if people wanted to watch the original that's what netflix, amazon prime, hulu, and a million other streaming services are for. What they can't do is pull a Bourne Identity out of their butts easily, the director of the Bourne Identity was brilliant, we were once again hearing tell of shadow government programs of rendition, black ops programs, and possible brain washing. So instead of rehashing a cold war story and putting it on the screen verbatim they tweaked it a little. Even the A-team movie(which I feel should have gotten a sequel) gave you the team, a few of the old cast members, and a story that was believable if a little over the top(which for the A-team is par for the course).

Can these ladies handle their proton packs, maybe and honestly I hope so at first blush it isn't terrible but as a fan of the original I really wanted them to go ahead and admit:This has happened before, things kept going on, but now we have some new blood in the game. The actresses involved(that I know) have been pretty good in past movies, and they might even have good chemistry onscreen(which the original cast had in spades, granted they had worked together in who knows how many movies), but can they be good in this role, treat it with a level of respect AND make us laugh at the same time. I mean they started off with a sliming, and the "every crack" joke was decent(wasn't out of the park, maybe a swallowing joke or a ectoplasmic pregnancy test joke SOMETHING, you got ghost splooged run with it), and it was awesome to see Slimer again.

I plan to see this movie, I want this movie to be good, I want more Ghostbuster movies. They were fun, they were silly, and they were something you and your parents could enjoy without one of the other having to spend half the ride home explaining "what were they talking about" I want to scream GHOSTBUSTERS when Ray Parker Jr. comes on, but at least with this first trailer you don't have me completely sold. My interest is still piqued, but I'm not checking fandango yet for ticket preorders

The makings of a Baby Doo(9/27/11)

For those who have NEVER watched Scooby Doo, Scoob and his owner Shaggy at least once an episode would find themselves in a kitchen, pantry, or other food storage/preparation area.

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This was going to be the silliest post ever, I was making a sandwich a hilariously large sandwich for no other reason than I was bored AND hungry. I probably got busy thus never finished this post which was just silliness anyway. As I said it was scooby doo inspired really delicious and completely unnecessary. This is the fun of doing these posts, going back and wondering what the hell I was thinking at the time

Mutant and proud (6/18/11)

X-men First class is a break from the previous X-men movies, yes there were explosions, yes there were special effects but no it wasn't this polished old soldier against old soldier slugging it out in the trenches type of movie. In actuality First class even with all the "line up" changes was like watching an Xmen comic brought to life. While Charles Xavier is the most powerful Psychic mutant first and foremost he is a TEACHER, he wants to help mutants learn to harness their powers and become not only masters of themselves but also positive members of society. All the other movies there may have been a classroom here or there thrown in, but the lessons seemed unimportant. It was as if they were treating them like you treat schools in other movies, the boring part just thrown in so that the kids can relate. While yes sometimes the mutant kids got bored with their regular school assignments Professor X wouldn't allow them to not equate one with the other. You actually get to see him taking each mutant past his fears to a more positive center.

Eric Lennshur is a complicated man, he was at the concentration camps in Warsaw. One of initial manifestations of his powers was seeing his parents taken away from him when they were separating the parents from their children. I think as far as raw emotion is concerned the scene at the beginning of X-men 1 where you see young Eric grasp the iron gate with his fledgling mutant abilities and be immovable by 8 Nazi soldiers before being knocked unconsciously was epic. So the fact that for X-men:First Class they revisited that scene and went in depth as to "What happens next". You wonder why Magneto hates humans(Thoooooough technically Shaw isn't human more on that later), how would you feel if just to see you special abilities again somewhere hurt a relative? I mean in X-men you just assumed the Nazi's killed his parents and while he didn't see how it happened it was enough to be angry. In First Class it no longer is a guesstimation you see how and why, you see his "Virgin Vader Moment"(yes I mean the scene at the end of  Revenge of the Sith NOOOOOO! scream) and exactly how much power his anger releases. You see the beginning of his quest for vengeance and his distrust of homo sapiens sans superior(marvel has been known to call mutants Homo Sapiens Superior) due to his dealings with the Nazis as a young Jew.
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I forgot I didn't finish this blog, I really did like First Class, no it wasn't perfect but it focused on more than just the relationship of 3 characters. It showed you that while powerful these people are still fragile, that their decisions aren't just straight, direct, and without doubt. I also like how they continued it in Days of future past, I don't remember Mystique being so prominent between Charles and Eric but they really are two brothers fighting for a cause in different ways. One looking at a more peaceful, steady, progression into a harmonies future while the other does not wish to wait. HE wants your action right now, he believes the slow way allows too much pain and if his choice is for the pain of HIS people or the pain of YOURS, yours can suffer until hell freezes over(which depending on if he has somebody mind controlling Bobby Drake may or may not happen quickly).

I love how they showcased Hanks intelligence, I don't think they really did Alex justice but it's hard to explain somebody's motivation when you didn't introduce it. Alex Summers is an orphan, to his knowledge a lone orphan and when his powers manifest he meets his older brother who is already this awesome super hero. Alex and Scott summers are one of the best Sibling Rivalry stories out there but since there is no Scott there really can't be a full Alex. This movie's Angel was a push, Darwin was a semi let down. Seriously the dudes powers are that he can evolve to survive anything, as a matter of fact if the Hulk is coming he evolves teleportation powers and gets outta Dodge. The bad guy played by Kevin Bacon was perfect, I liked their Emma Frost even if somehow she becomes a member of Magneto's Brotherhood instead of the leader of the Hellfire club.

Anyway rules are rules I still have fond memories of this movie and I might revisit the series once Apocalypse drops

Everything wrong with "Green Lantern"

It all starts with an oath, an announcement of a calling, a drive, a determination. Their power is will, and with this they proclaim it's power, is unwavering discipline, and the brotherhood of which they have sworn their allegance.

In brightest day in blackest night No evil shall escape my sight.Let those who worship evil's might Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!!!

They are the core, the Green Lantern core warriors who defend the 3600 sectors of the known(or at least considered under the jurisdiction of The Guardians of Oa) Universe. Now the name of this blog is "everything wrong with" and it was hinted at in my "We are the Core" throwback blog that was lost to some weird technological fluke. The sad part about Green Lantern is that the movie would have been just fine if somebody didn't decide the rush in the last 30 minutes. This movie was like a tall show cake or a sugar sculpture, it took its time, it had a vision, and it was trying to come on down to the presentation.... And somebody got antsy. I will cover a lot of what was right or at least serviceable first, while I haven't seen the movie in years the problems that it had still haunt me to this day. Because I really wanted this movie to work, even though this movie was delaying my ability to get a Deadpool movie(which, have you seen it DUDE when you get it right you get it right) it had the right actor, it had the potential to open up DC's movie universe to include other characters that Superman and Batman(which is sorely needed) and it would give more people a look into a pretty cool comic book character, and then the last 30 minutes happened. So lets get on in to it