Trailer Love

It's been awhile since I loved on some movie trailers. So let's bring back this long-running series with a trailer I stumbled upon the other day.

I'm not really one for "road trip" movies. After having gone to the mountaintop with National Lampoon's Vacation, it's somewhat difficult to imagine anything ever coming close to Clark and Rusty sharing a beer in the desert after giving Audrey her period. Alas, some fine British folk have taken a decidedly alternate take on the road trip movie. I don't want to give anything away because I think watching the trailer says it all.

It looks weird, but it also looks like it could be a lot of fun, in a Shallow Grave kind of way.

Friday Funnies

It's been the week of fantasy football drafts. I've had two this week and one more tomorrow, and throw in a couple survivor and pick em leagues and I've got a full slate of football entertainment coming to me for the next 6 months. Which is good, since UK basketball doesn't start for a few more months and we all know how complete shite the football team is.

So in honor of all my football happiness (both real and make believe), this week's Friday Funnies is brought to you by a guy who wants to kill your bookie and mine.

Game On: Week of Aug. 24

My recent column reviewing Sound Shapes and Hybrid. Thanks to the Evansville Courier & Press and the North Jersey newspapers for publishing.

Friday Funnies

The fellas start rolling in today for our league's fantasy football draft. Yes, we're all grownups and this is how we escape our regular lives. Get over it. Plus, as a bonus, we gamble as well. And that makes everything just a bit sweeter and more enjoyable. To honor our ninth season, let's cheer ourselves on with some cheerleaders. Funny ones, that is.

My Damn Deer

One of the trials of living in Takoma Park is dealing with wildlife. In just three years of living here, we have (on continual occasions) seen squirrels, raccoons, mice, deer and foxes traipsing through our yard.

Drives me nuts. Because let's be honest, Kelly may call my neighborhood Middle-Earth because he can't imagine anyone going more than five blocks for anything in the city, but it's not like I live in pure farmland. I actually live closer to a Metro station than any of my friends (except Douglass) so it's insane that I have to listen to raccoons fighting with the foxes at night over who gets to setup shop in my backyard (hint: the raccoons won and the foxes now live about six houses down).

These damn deer are just up to no good. We had to build a makeshift deer fence (OK, the wife's cousin made it ... he's smart like that) just to keep the damn things from treating our garden like the Blue Boar buffet line. Just the other week, the wife's uncle and aunt came to DC for a visit and I showed him this video that I took a couple days prior in our backyard.



I'm just glad I didn't become this guy. See, the damn deer doesn't give a shit about me walking about 11 feet away from it. It's Honey Badger Deer for all I know. I showed him that video, and his eyes lit up. Her uncle's an avid hunter. He may be a board-certified spinal surgeon during the day, but by golly he saw that deer on the video and said, "Hell at that range I wouldn't even need to use bullets. I could just beat it death with barrel." I think he is exploring real estate options in our neighborhood as we speak.

Game On: Week of Aug. 17

My recent column reviewing Sleeping Dogs and New Super Mario Bros. 2. Thanks to the Evansville Courier & Press and North Jersey papers for publishing.

 

What I've Read: Stay Close

If there is one negative to being in school for a year, it means I have a ton of reading to do each week that isn't exactly what one would call fun. Sure, it's fun because I'm utilizing those brain cells and growing my skillset, but it's such technical reading that there isn't a way to explain how exciting and interesting this stuff is without coming across as a total nerd.

It also means that when I do pick up a book for personal, relaxing reading, it takes about eight weeks longer to read it because I just can't make the time for it. My usual daily train reading gets overrun by class reading. Just not a lot of time for escape reading, even if my version of escapism tends to be nonfiction or documentary films. Damn, I am a dork.

While it took me much longer than it ever should have, I was able to read Harlan Coben's latest. And while the cover looks innocent enough, the subtle break in the fence should warn you that things in suburban New Jersey are once again in a state of "oh, shit." In this edition, a soccer mom gets her world rocked when she (rather stupidly) decides to tread back into her former life that she once abandoned for greener pastures. She can't quite let it go, and it comes back to bite her in the ass when people start dying around her (or being tortured) and she can't quite understand why and by whom. Throw in the ex-lover that always has to reappear and some creepy killer types, and it's a fun read. I was surprised by the limited number of characters in this novel because normally Coben throws a lot of characters at you and does some festive crossover of other novels he has written. But in Stay Close he keeps it simple and that allows him to dive a bit deeper into some of the characters and when things get super-personal later on, it gives it a bit more weight when normally you gloss over some certain events.

After he took some time to develop a more teen-centered novel (clearly trying to being the Twilight type crowd into his brand of novels), I'm glad he's returned to his more adult-themed stuff because I don't know that I was ever going to follow him down the road of Myron Bolitar's nephew. Of course, if this means Bolitar himself isn't returning anytime soon, I'll be definitely disappointed.

Friday Funnies

In honor of Kelly's birthday, I'm going to dedicate this week's Friday Funnies to him. And our video treat is something I'm sure he'll co-sign and spend another hour finding like-minded videos.

It's monkeys that get drunk. Fantastic.

My Night With An Addiction

Celebrating Kelly's birthday today, as he inches one step closer to old man status. What better way to forget worrying about the future than reliving the past. A bunch of us are checking out Jane's Addiction tonight in Baltimore. One of the staples of my formative younger years, here's to hoping that they've aged well and still bring it.

Game On: Week of Aug. 10

My recent column reviewing Wreckateer and London 2012. Thanks to the Evansville Courier & Press for  publishing.

 

Idiot of the Day

Just so you know, I wasn't crazy when I pointed out this guy last week. See, he's back at it again. I can't escape his insanity. Although I did respect the fact that later on in the ride he actually leaned up against the door of the train. Just him and his sudoku, trying his damndest to not touch anything, but in a natural twist it means he instead bumped into everything but the third rail.

Friday Funnies

I refuse to acknowledge the E! channel except for the fact that it brings me The Soup every week. And you all know me, I love me some Joel McHale. Between this show and Community, he's becoming my man crush. Here are a collection of clips showing you why the The Secret Life of the American Teenager is a horrible yet comedy-filled goldmine.

Game On: Week of August 3

My recent column reviewing Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance and Test Drive: Ferrari Legends. Thanks to the NJ Herald and The Stark County Press-News for publishing.

 

Game On: Week of July 27

My recent column reviewing The Walking Dead: Episode 2 — Starving for Help and The Amazing Spider-Man. Thanks to the Evansville Courier & Press for publishing.

 

Game On: Week of July 20

Clearing out the backlog, here is my column reviewing NCAA Football 13 and Spec Ops: The Line.

 

Idiot of the Day

Oh yeah, I love you all that much I'm bringing you another post today.

This idiot has been on my radar for some time now. As a 12-year resident of DC, I'd like to think I've seen all manner of Metro rail passengers. The sleepers, the talkers, the singers, the panhandlers, the almost-nekked, etc. This guy dipped into the rarified realm of being an adult acting like a child.

Many children, especially those of tourist parents, will do what he did when riding the train. They'll stand and avoid holding any of the rails or handles and attempt to ride the train like it's a surfboard. Makes no sense, and 90% of the time they end up banging into a rail, or worse, crashing into someone minding their own business because like anything in life, the Metro trains are completely unpredictable. Drivers ride the breaks like a speed addict, and there are subtle tilts and shifts in the way the trains ride the rails (or don't ride the rails depending on your view of the cluster-eff that is Metro).

Anyway, as I've said, this guy likes to act like a child and not brace himself at any point during his ride. Maybe he's like a Murray or Nicholson character, but that's not a worthy excuse, because if you are that fearful of contracting plague, best thing to do is not board a metal tube of potential sick. But that didn't stop him from being an idiot, constantly bopping around and smacking into both rails, train car walls and people. It was ridiculous if not for its hilarity since this was a grown man acting the fool than for the other passengers who watched this dipshit also try to work his Blackberry while this was all happening. It was horrible. He is an idiot. Can't wait to see him again next week.

Friday Funnies

I know it's been a while since I was actively posting, but trust me I am back and have plenty to share.

First up, some Friday Funnies, always a good time for you readers.

In this edition, it's all about getting geeky with some Star Wars stuff. But this is really good, believe me. What happened is some genius with a computer, a solid DVD collection and some free time culled together some choice quotes from James Earl Jones' blaxploitation films and dubbed them into his Darth Vader role in Star Wars.

Absolute. Genius. I almost shed tears in laughter at a few of these moments. Enjoy.