The X-Factor

Comic-Con!!!! Bigger than Donkey Kong.

2009-07-22T19:44:05Z

So Comic-Con is here and the floodgates of news are about to open. What is everyone looking forward to? I need all my pals on Twitter to tweet massive amounts of updates on all the latest. And when I say all my pals, I mean like two of you. You know who you are. I'm personally looking forward to the dumb quotes from Joey Q and Dan Didio. What idiotic thing can they say next?

Captain America: Reborn #1 Pic Spam

2009-07-07T01:13:15Z

30 Games of Heartbreak

2009-07-06T16:24:46Z

Yesterday morning, the world witnessed an epic test of wills. An unexpected challenge from a surprising challenger that ultimately ended with a predictable result. Andy Roddick danced with the Devil and got burned for doing so. No one expected Andy to be there, and once he got there no expected him to do much of anything. Roger Federer on the cusp of breaking Pete Sampras' record 14 Grand Slam titles. The day belonged to him. A pushover opponent, a slight nuisance on his path to glory and history. Andy Roddick had a much different idea.

After reinventing himself, being in the best shape of his life and defeating Great Britain's own Andy Murray in a spectacular semi-final Andy Roddick found himself poised to play spoiler to Federer's coronation of greatest ever. And he almost did. It began quietly, Roddick takes the first set 7-5, a thin veil of hope is revealed. The second set is the one that we will all remember. 6-6 in the second set, Roddick takes a commanding lead in the tie break 6-2, but Federer was able to coming back and take the set 7-6. He would also take the 3rd set 7-6, Roddick isn't making it easy, but everyone expects him to fall in the 4th. Again, Roddick maybe showing some of that famous American arrogance comes back and dominates the 4th set 6-3. Hope is reignited. The 5th set is one for the ages, Federer begins serving and wins the first game, Roddick comes back and wins the second game. They go back and forth for 28 games when it's 14-14. Already a Grand Slam record for games played, it will take 2 more for Federer to become the greatest and for Andy Roddick to become the undeserving loser. Federer wins his 15th Grand Slam and breaks Pete Sampras' record. Arguably, the greatest ever. Andy Roddick played the best game of his life, yet it wasn't enough.

If it's any consolation, the 5th set was so powerful, he began to win the British crowd over as he held off Roger Federer game after game. To the point where they forgot that two days before this same man defeated their golden boy, the hope of Great Britain, they just stood there in awe of the spectacle they witnessed, a standing ovation for the American, a chant of his name, a curtain call for the man who left everything he had on the grass court but it just wasn't enough. Many speculate now what this loss does to Andy Roddick's confidence. To be so close, yet so far away. We can only hope that after a few days of reflection he is able to come out of this stronger, better and become the great tennis player everyone saw in him for all those years of underachievement. The sadness and pain in his eyes was unquestionable. Federer tries to console him. Comparing his loss to Rafael Nadal in last year's final. Roddick is quick to point out that he had won Wimbledon 5 times before that. A sarcastic grin, a look of completely bafflement to make such a comparison.

Cheeky American.

Transformers 2: Electric Boogaloo

2009-06-30T00:54:47Z

So I saw Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen a few days ago and been meaning to do a review for a while. So here we go. Warning: This will be pretty spoilery and revealing so you may want to wait to read this post. On the other hand, you don't watch Michael Bay movies for the story details so it might be safe.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a complete and utter success in what it's trying to accomplish. Giant Robots? Check. Huge explosions? Check. Hot chicks? Check. Great action scenes? Check. This through and through a classic Michael Bay movie. Everyone wants to hate on him for doing his thing, but people love what he does. Hence, the $200 million opening. But like the famous comic book argument, sales don't equal quality.

The actual story in the movie is kind of complicated for no reason. It boils down to the Fallen being one of the original Transformers who visited Earth back in the days where cavemen and women ruled the Earth, or so we thought. A machine was created that would destroy our sun as it provided a source of Energon, the life force or in simpler terms what made the Transformers run. To activate the machine, a key was needed called The Matrix of Leadership which was long lost. Sam Witwicky, Shia Labeouf's character inadvertently is given the details of it's location when he comes in contact with one of the remaining pieces of the All Spark from the first movie. So now, the Decepticons know he knows, so they want him to tell him what he knows, hence the driving force of the movie. See, if that sounds complicated it's probably the reason the movie doesn't lay this out clearly. So now that's out of the way, here we go with the actual review.

The movie is much bigger than the first one. From the opening scene in Shang Hai (for no real reason) to the huge battle at the end we have more robots, more fighting and much bore explosions. The opening scene does a great job of setting the mood as NEST which is a special division of the Army that deals with the Decepticon threat tries to take down a giant Decepticon. We get introduced to new Autobots Sideswipe and Arcee. We actually don't, because they don't actually tell you. Of course, Optimus steals the scene when he is rolled off an airplane, parachutes down, and takes him down single handedly. Optimus Prime gets a lot of the juicy scenes in this movie. The best scene would be right in the middle as they race through a forest after rescuing Sam from a newly thawed out Megatron and 3 other Decepticons and backup is nowhere to be found. Optimus Prime proclaims "I'll take you all on myself!" and beats the crap out of 3 Decepticons before being taken out by Megatron. Of course, nothing can keep Prime down and he comes back to kick some ass in the finale. The ending in the desert is just fantastic. Decepticons, Autobots and the Army just going at it, Bumblebee kicking ass, Optimus coming back to life and whooping on Megatron and The Fallen. Fantastic. The scene also featured an explosion that took 100,000 gallons of fuel to pull of and holds the world record for largest on film explosion and largest on film explosion with actors present. That's right, Michael Bay almost blew up Shia Labeouf. If there's one reason to see this movie, it's the action.

This movie is also incredibly funny. Shia Labeouf pulls of one of the funniest scenes in the movie when he lets off a huge girly scream when a hot co-ed reveals herself to be a steel tongued Decepticon. Hilarious scene. There are so many funny scenes in this movie featuring John Turturro and Sam's roomate (I forgot his name). This movie is genuinely funny, and not in a racist type of way either.

Which brings me to the controversy behind Skids and Mudflap. These two characters are not racist, whoever designed them is. I'm not even talking about the way they talk, because frankly, a lot of people talk like that that aren't black. No, they're appearance is what makes me question how Michael Bay lets this slide by. Buckteeth, gold tooth, huge ears. It's like Ebony White all over again. Some people want to throw in the fact that they can't read as well which I think it's ridiculous. Not being able to read is a racial thing? Don't get me started on that. But yes, I know Michael Bay is not a racist, but he really dropped the ball on this one. I know he didn't design them, but it's his movie and he needs to be a lot more careful with what goes in there.

This movie has been trashed in the press and by the critics. This is simply a direct effect of The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight and to a lesser extent Iron Man have caused people to question the necessity behind "popcorn flicks". TDK and Iron Man provided us with summer blockbusters that are actual good movies. So now, everyone is expecting the same from many of this year's summer blockbusters. This is the reasoning behind the terrible reviews for Terminator Salvation and Transformers 2. Critics want to review summer blockbusters the same way they review the movies that come out during Oscar season. While it's understandable, is that really fair? I don't really know. All I can say is that when I decide to see a movie, I can't compare Transformers to Schindler's List. They're not the same movie and they're not trying to accomplish the same things. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is what I expected it to be. A summer blockbuster with lots of action and explosions. It never tried to be anything different and it didn't want you to believe it was any different. You want to have a good time watching things go BOOM!, Transformers is for you. You want a movie with great plots and characters, then Transformers isn't for you, and that's ok. I hate ratings but Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen would get like an 8/10 from me, a 3/5 stars or an 81 out of 100. Choose your poison.

Captain America #600 Pic Spam

2009-06-25T03:09:32Z

the dream lives on

Runaways theme song!!!!

2009-06-24T17:58:53Z

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

By Nick Lowe.

Gotta say, I hated it at first. Then, I started thinking about it and came to the conclusion that it would be perfect for an animated series. Pretty generic, but it fits. What do you guys think?

Link: MTV.com

Lets talk about this Alex Ross Moon Knight cover

2009-06-24T15:21:27Z

Pretty fugly right? I've never been a huge Alex Ross for many reasons. His ego, his love of the Silver Age etc. His paintings have always been good. I can appreciate the man's work. He's even doing some more modern stuff lately so maybe he caught up with all of us here in 2009. But this Moon Knight cover is pretty terrible. The pose, the lighting, the coloring. Everything is off. Now, I know what some of you are thinking, "You wish you could draw like that." Yeah, I do, but I'm not a world renowned artist, which believe it or not he is. I just point this particular piece out because I've come to expect great work by Alex Ross. This isn't.

Also, lately I've been thinking a lot about Fantastic Four and their movie franchise. I have a plan to win the lottery, buy the rights from Fox and then sell them back to Marvel. Casting has been an issue too. I got ideas on casting, let me hear yours.

Breaking News: Jack White a Hypocrite!

2009-06-24T02:17:10Z

So I think we all know what Guitar Hero and Rock Band are at this point. These video games have taken the world by storm by allowing people of ages to immerse themselves in a world of music by playing fake guitars and drums. It's supposed to be fun, entertaining, and even allow people to find new music they never heard before. Widening horizons and such. Well, Jack White doesn't think so:

"It's depressing to have a label come and tell you that Guitar Hero is how kids are learning about music and experiencing music,"

and

"If you have to be in a video game to get in front of them, that's a little sad."

Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin had slightly similar comments:

"You think of the drum part that John Bonham did on Led Zeppelin's first track on the first album, Good Times Bad Times," he said. "How many drummers in the world can play that part, let alone on Christmas morning?"

These two are just the latest musicians and artists to take a shot at Guitar Hero and Rock Band. But why? Jack White says "it's sad" that kids are discovering his music through a video game. I ask the question, where else and why not? MTV isn't playing music videos, radio is all but dead. The internet is pretty much the only place to get music these days, and even then, there's so much of it online. What exactly is the issue that kids are possibly becoming White Stripes fans by playing their song on Guitar Hero? None that I can see of.

Sure, playing the Guitar Hero guitar isn't going to teach you squat about picking up a flying V or double neck guitar. But if it drives one kid out of 10, 20 or 100 to go out and pick up the real thing, isn't it worth it. At the end of the day, it's a game. Fact of the matter is, most of the acts featured in the game are popular already. That's why they're in the game to begin with, so the notion that anyone is discovering or experiencing your music through a video game is absurd to say the least.

Jimmy Page, I can respect his opinion. To this day, Led Zeppelin has not been featured in a Guitar Hero or Rock Band game. The White Stripes will have a track featured in Guitar Hero 5. Have fun collecting that royalty check.

NME.com

More comics stuff I haven't commented on: Fraggle Rock, The List, and more.

2009-06-23T16:00:39Z

Fraggle Rock comics?!!! Yes, it's true. Jim Henson Company and Archaia team up to bring a new generation of youngsters to Fraggle Rock. Who am I kidding, this is for that 30 year old guy who can't let go of the past. Someone cue up the Fraggle Rock theme. Also, it's funny to see that Boom! Studios owns the comic rights to The Muppets. So I must ask, where is my Muppet Babies comic?

Marvel continues it's never ending line of event comics with The List. Sidebar: Is it really an event if it never ends? The basis of "The List" is Norman Osborn being a douchebag and deciding to get rid of some heroes as part of a to do list he plans on taking on between lunch and being a homicidal maniac. I have problems with an event that was realized while Bendis and some other writers were playing Halo on Xbox Live. Either way, 8 one shots, probably over priced coming your way this summer. Here's Bendis talking about it.

I want to talk directly to Marvel about something. Can we please stop with the Marvel Zombies? The first one, great novelty, entertaining. The next 17, not so much. I think it's time we shoot this one in the head and lay it to rest for good.

Finally, akoyamiazaki recently asked the question "Who the hell is Rikki Barnes?" There might have been an exclamtion point somewhere, I forget. Anyway, simply put, Rikki Barnes is a relic of the past, a character from the dreaded 90's. Simply put, when Liefeld and Co, did Heroes Reborn, they made a whole new universe where Marvel characters were the same but different, Captain America lost his wings, grew boobs and Bucky was a girl named Rikki. Not like the Lake, but Rikki. We had all forgotten about her until Loeb and Liefeld decided people didn't have enough 90's nostalgia in their lives and did Onslaught Reborn a couple of years ago. It was a mini, that in true Loeb and Liefeld fashion took like 3 years to finish. Ultimately, I didn't read it but by the end of the comic, Rikki Barnes was transported into the 616 universe and was left there, waiting for someone to pick up the storyline. By all that is good in this world, Brubaker decided to pick it up and tie it into Captain America #600. Now, Rikki gets her own mini in Nomad: Girl Without a World by Sean McKeever.

Comics on the internet

2009-06-22T02:41:28Z

I was recently checking out Rich Johnston's new blogsite bleedingcool.com and was wondering where all you guys go to read up on the latest comic book related gossip. Rich is pretty much a love him or hate him dude, but I like reading his stuff and whatever you say, he's right a lot of the time, or at least as much as he's wrong. Newsarama I visit due to force of habit. Really, I miss the old feel and look that site. As for CBR I am shocked that Hannibal Tabu is still allowed to review comics.

Rikki Barnes gets her own series by Sean McKeever. She will apparently go by Nomad now, which makes sense in the literal definition of the world. I wonder if the book will be called Nomad: Cleaning up the mess that was Onslaught Reborn. Seriously, how many people even read that, how many people even knew she was stuck in the 616?

Wednesday Comics by DC, whose buying? Other than some gorgeous artwork and the novelty, I don't see the hubbub* about it. I'll give it a chance but really, how much story can you get out on one page?

*Hubbub is an actual word apparently.

The Grayson Syndrome: Continuing Coverage of Bucky Barnes as Captain America

2009-06-19T16:29:36Z

With the return of Steve Rogers and his inevitable return as Captain America, I've been taking a look at the issues surrounding such a return. I first showed you complications behind the Rayner-West Effect and how fan bases shouldn't necessarily get too attached to any character. Now, I present a new debate using science and logic, I have dubbed it the Grayson Syndrome. Lets take a look at what I'm talking about.

Sidekicks. Many heroes have them, Robin to Batman, Kid Flash to Flash etc. Sidekicks are usually younger than their mentors. Most of the time they're children. Sidekicks provide many uses to their mentors and to the people who read their comics. They help their mentors, they provide back-up and for the readers provide a more relate able character to follow than a 30 year old billionaire playboy. However, the one thing sidekicks are all trained to do is to one day, take up the mantle of their mentors. Kid Flash will one day become The Flash, Aqualad will one day become Aquaman and so on and so forth. That brings us to the Grayson Syndrome. Dick Grayson in comics has been Robin since we all could all remember. He was one day supposed to take up the mantle of Batman once Bruce was unable to continue the fight. Of course, over the years that became more complicated and he had a falling out with Bruce which led him to becoming Nightwing. Nevertheless, we as readers knew that the second Bruce stopped being Batman, it was Dick's job to have. And that's what happened. After the events of Final Crisis where Bruce Wayne was "killed", Dick Grayson took on the mantle of Batman and is currently Batman, for however long Bruce stays dead. Herein lies the problem.

Legacy heroes or sidekicks never work out. Eventually, their former mentors will return and take back said mantles and leave their sidekicks in a lurch. It happened with Wally, it happened with Bart and it already happened with Dick Grayson once. In the sotry Prodigal, Dick Grayson takes over as Batman, albeit it was always supposed to be temporary (Bruce's back was broken by Bane). Now, it's happening to Bucky.

Bucky's case is a little different though. Bucky back in WWII was Captain America's sidekick, but the expectation of him becoming Captain America was never there. He was just a kid that would kick ass alongside Captain America. However, with Brubaker's run, the return of Bucky, his becoming the infamous Winter Soldier and ongoing rehabilitation to the side of good, in honor of his fallen friend he took on the title of Captain America. Now 2 years later, Steve will come back and Bucky will just be Bucky. Does he take on a Nightwingesque superhero name? Does he go by Bucky? Does he take back the Winter Soldier name? Nobody knows, the one thing we do know, he can't be Nomad, considering he killed the guy and apparently Rikki Barnes is taking the name.

The Grayson Syndrome boils down to this. If you are a sidekick/legacy hero or a fan of one, don't get too used to seeing your favorite character take up the mantle. It almost never lasts, and sometimes end badly for the character. Just ask Wally West and Dick Grayson in a year.

James Robinson and Mark Bagley on Justice League of America

2009-06-19T02:53:24Z

James Robinson is a great writer, and I love Mark Bagley. Though, Bagley is better suited on smaller solo titles IMO, I can't see him pulling off any huge fight scenes or spectacles. However, when's the last time we saw any of that in JLA? Also, it's supposed to run off from Robinson's Cry for Justice mini, and that, other than the art looks less than appealing.

The Rayner-West Effect: Bucky Barnes as Captain America

2009-06-17T03:52:53Z

The debate on the internet has begun. Fandom has taken sides and the battle lines have been drawn. New Cap versus Old Cap, Bucky versus Steve. Here are the facts on this debate:

Steve Rogers was killed (we believed) in Captain America #25.
Bucky Barnes, formerly the Winter Soldier takes over as Captain America.
Steve Rogers is coming back as Captain America 2 years after his death.

Now the debate stems from the fact that many people think this is too soon. That the actual storyline has been done so well, they want Bucky to stay as Cap for a bit longer. Being truthful to themselves, they also admit that they knew that Steve would be back sooner or later. Many are mad at Marvel for making the return so soon after his death. 2 years to be exact. They claim it makes Captain America #25 and the aftermath pointless, and that Marvel is dropping the ball on this one. However, this is probably a smart move on Marvel's behalf. It all comes down to something I have scientifically called the "Rayner-West Effect". It pertains to legacy heroes and their effect on their fan bases. A little background might be necessary.

The Rayner-West Effect pertains to DC characters Kyle Rayner and Wally West. Kyle Rayner first appeared in Green Lantern #48 in 1994, where he replaced perennial Silver Age Green Lantern Hal Jordan. Though controversial til this day, he remained the main Green Lantern, carrying his own book for the better part of 10 years until Green Lantern: Rebirth in 2004 where Hal Jordan was brought back from his status as the Spectre to reclaim the Green Lantern mantle. For years before the great geek debate of Kyle versus Hal raged on. Many Hal fans felt he was treated badly in the events that lead to his death and his becoming the Spectre. Yet, a new generation of comic book fans had grown up reading books with Kyle being their Green Lantern so to speak so the events of Rebirth left a bad taste in their mouths. They felt Kyle was in some form blacklisted, put on the back burner in favor of a nostalgic fed creative drive throughout DC Comics to bring back many missing elements from the Silver Age. Part of the problem was, the length of time Kyle was Green Lantern. After 10 years, you're not expecting your favorite character to be put on the back burner in favor of the old school. In comics, dead is never dead. The same can be said for Wally West.

Wally West was Kid Flash for a better part of the Silver Age. Barry Allen was the Flash at the time. Until Crisis on Infinite Earths where Barry Allen sacrificed himself to save the Multiverse. Wally West took the mantle of the Flash almost immediately in 1986. Wally West was the Flash for a better part of 20 years. Until he was seemingly disappeared and the new Kid Flash Bart Allen took over for a short stint before being killed off as well. Wally then was reintroduced as the Flash for a brief period up until recently with Flash: Rebirth which brought back Barry Allen. Again, the same debate was waged, Wally versus Barry, which really is a debate of New School versus Old School.

The whole issue comes down to what the fan base knows. No statistics have been gathered, but from my estimation a vast part of the current comic book reading community seems to range from the early 20's to late 30's. So depending on when you started reading comics, you really do fall in either the Rayner-West fan base or Jordan-Allen one. The problem with comics is, that at some point whatever was old will be new again. This is why Marvel bringing back Steve so soon makes sense.

In a way, you eliminate the whole Old School-New School debate. BuckyCap is just starting to click with readers. If you start telling stories for 10-20 years like DC did with Kyle and Wally and you then all of a sudden want to bring back the old characters, you run the risk of pissing off a lot of fans. Granted, it has worked out for DC so far, moreso on Green Lantern but you still seemingly alienate part of your fan base. Steve Rogers is still very fresh in our minds, especially with the movie talk going on right now. It's the perfect time to bring Steve back. Bucky as Captain America has not found that solid fan base like the Kyle and Wally lovers. But Marvel has a grand opportunity to make Bucky Barnes their answer to Nightwing at DC. In the end, we'll all have to wait and see how this goes through and what this means for fans everywhere.

If you live under a rock....

2009-06-17T00:32:05Z

You don't know that Steve Rogers is on a collision course with being alive again. Or not being dead ever. As a fan of BuckyCap I have to admit that this is kind of a crappy development. On the other hand, Steve was always coming back so not really shocking. Tomorrow, I will expand on this thought in what I call the Rayner-West Effect.

I've missed you all.

Just letting you guys now.

2009-05-22T03:43:56Z

Darthphere is now on Twitter. So all you peeps add me on Twitter now!

My twitter

Three Dots #2: James Harrison does not go Washington

2009-05-19T21:08:09Z

What is three dots? Three dots represents the lack of being able to say anything. The representation of something so shocking, stupid, amazing that there are literally no words to describe it. This is the first of many Three Dots stories.

James Harrison is the reigning defensive player of the year in the NFL and a member of the Super Bowl Champions Pittsburgh Steelers. He also just signed a huge contract extension with them. So life is good right? WRONG! The Steelers were invited to the White House to visit President Obama as is customary whenever a team wins something. Well, James Harrison is skipping the visit. Why you ask? Is he protesting something? Is he a Republican? Well, lets allow him to explain why:

"This is how I feel -- if you want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers, invite us when we don't win the Super Bowl. As far as I'm concerned, he [Obama] would've invited Arizona if they had won."

Amazing....

Link

Vacation, almost over.

2009-05-16T22:48:10Z

I have the rest of today and tomorrow before I hit the ground running again on Monday. I've mostly done nothing this week and that's exactly what I wanted. A week of doing nothing. So now I have to go and do something, which sucks. Well, what can you do? I know, party at my house!

Three Dots: Yankee Stadium Denial.

2009-05-14T18:42:07Z

What is three dots? Three dots represents the lack of being able to say anything. The representation of something so shocking, stupid, amazing that there are literally no words to describe it. This is the first of many Three Dots stories.

Recently, the Yankees allowed local high schools to use their brand new Yankee Stadium for Graduation ceremonies. Pretty cool right? Well not really. As you can in this link there are a lot of empty seats. Why are there so many empty seats, so close to where the actual ceremony were being held? Well those are the "Legends" seats. The very controversial, and very expensive seats no one is buying. Apparently, some high school kids and their parents aren't good enough to sit there. I end this post with this quote from the link from Yankees COO Lonn Trost making a reference to those seats being like homes "“If you purchased a house, do you want people in your house?”Yankess, all I've got to say is ...

EDIT: Apparently, it was an NYU graduation. Dumb college kids getting educations.

Seriously, how is it my fault you can't read?

2009-05-11T18:38:58Z

So as promised, working retail during a holiday weekend sucks. The lines are longer, people are in a hurry and a lot more aggressive. Because they believe that we want them to be in line to buy something for 30 minutes. Trust me, we want to get your ass out of here as quickly as possible. I work customer service in Marshalls. My store has a two line system. One for purchases and a separate line for customer service (returns, exchanges, bitching). The two lines are clearly marked with huge blue and white signs at the entrance of each line. But it just so happens, people don't read anymore and get in whatever line they want. So we come to two different but same situations.

1. The person wanted to make a return but went into the purchasing line. In this situation, the person already waited in line for up to 40 minutes only to be told that they made the wrong line. The customer is pissed and walks over to customer service and just stands there. I the person who works there asks if they need help and they say yes, I need to make a return, I politely tell them that there is a line. Customer is angry says they waited in line and is not going to make another line. I politely point out that they have to make the line as in it wouldn't be fair to the people who made the right line. Customer gets angrier. They make the line but first they speak their mind with the qoute "If you don't want to work stay home." Line is irrelevant, customer is an asshole.

2. The person wanted to purchase but made the customer service line. Person comes with a shopping cart full of stuff to the counter. I politely ask, "Are you returning anything?" Customer looks puzzled, says "No." I politely direct them to the correct line for purchasing. The one that is about half a mile long. Customer asks "Can't I just pay here?" I look at line, line is long and say "No, the line to pay is on the other side." Politely of course. Customer is now angry says they've been in line for 30 minutes, it has actually been more like 5. I respond politely "I can't take you here because if I make the exception for you, I have to do it for everyone else and that's not fair to the people who made the right line." Customer is no angry and spouts the classic line "Wow, this is great customer service." Sarcastically and then begins to walk away mumbling "If you don't want to work stay home." Customer is retarded, and an asshole.

So the moral of the story is, yeah you're right, I don't want to work and next time I'll stay home.

Kings of Leon, LIVE!

2009-05-08T16:42:53Z

So last night, Kings of Leon were playing at UM's Bank United Center. This place is special to me because it's where I got my release from my 4 year high school prison sentence. Only back then it was known as the Convocation Center, whatever that means. Anyway, the show was awesome last night. The opening act was The Walkmen and they were good too but the Kings were rocking. I was surprised by the turnout, it was pretty packed in there by the time the show was rolling along. They played songs from all their albums and it was a nice mix of the old and new. Of course the place erupted when they played Sex on Fire as expected. They rocked out and everyone seemed to have a good time. Caleb however seemed to be sick or something. He kept wiping his nose and then wiping his hands on the back of his jeans. Very rock and roll. All in all a good night, an awesome concert and then we had BK burger shots after. YAY!

I took pictures on my Blackberry, but they suck so yeah.

So, I totally love my laptop.

2009-05-07T02:52:59Z

I've had my laptop for like 2 weeks now and it's like the greatest thing ever. I don't know how I lived without it. The only drawback is that I'm online so much now, I kind of get bored. Amazing! Maybe I should actually respond to my flist's posts. Sorry. Look for me to update more often. Tomorrow, I see the Kings of Leon live, so I'll be posting about that. Also, Star Trek this weekend, and a post about working retail during Mother's Day Weekend. The idea is not to wait til the last minute.

Proving Me Wrong: Playoff Edition.

2009-04-26T03:07:40Z

So my last post was about the playoff picture in the NBA for the East. Like I said, I asked the Heat to prove me wrong, and they have so far. With 2 impressive double digit wins. In this case, I like being proved wrong. I was also wrong about the Sixers being swept by the Magic. The Sixers currently hold a 2-1 series lead. As they say Magic, live by the three you die by the three.

I also never posted my West predictions. I don't want to get into any analysis but it was Lakers in 6 over the Jazz, Denver in 5 over the Nuggets, Spurs in 7 over the Mavs and Portland in 7 over the Rockets.

Playoffs? You're talking about Playoffs?

2009-04-16T17:27:06Z

The NBA Playoffs are set and here we go. The Miami Heat (5) go to Hotlanta to face the Hawks (4). Most analysts say this will be the most intriguing matchup due to how well they matchup. Of course, analysts don't know what they're talking about. I got the Hawks in 6, but once again, prove me wrong Heat.

Lets continue in the East with some Darthphere analysis.

Cavaliers(1) versus Pistons (8). Cavs in 5. I think the Pistons while not the same Pistons of the last 5 years will still provide some trouble for the Cavs. Still, look for the Cavs to get the ball rolling early and often.

Celtics (2) versus Bulls (7)- Celtics in 7. Breaking news has Kevin Garnett out for the Playoffs so this is going to allow the Bulls frontcourt to do some damage against Perkins, Big Baby Davis and Leon Powe. I still expect the Celtics to advance but it's not going to be easy. Paul Pierce needs to stay on top, Ray Allen can't afford to have a slow start like last season's playoffs, and Rajon Rondo needs to be the player everyone wants him to be. Don't be shocked however if the Bulls pull the upset.

Magic (3) versus Sixers (6)- Magic get the sweep. Yup, probably the only sweep I'm going to call. No big man to defend Dwight Howard and absolutely no 3 point shooters to gun it out with the Magic's Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu means no chance for the Sixers in the 6 spot (ha-ha!). Andre Iguodala is a great player but just like another AI so many years ago, his supporting cast isn't there. A lot of exciting young guys on the Sixers, but nothing that is not going to stop the Magic from rolling.

Hawks (4) versus Heat (5)-Hawks in 6. Like I said, the Heat can prove me wrong here. I just don't think that D-Wade is going to be able to do it himself. Against Joe Johnson and Josh Smith, I don't like the Heat's chances here. If some other Heat players can step up, and if Beasley can get rolling (start the damn kid Spelstra) then maybe the Heat have a shot, but if we're going to play "Give the ball to Wade" offense, we're done.

I'll do the West playoff analysis tomorrow.

Navy Seals 1, Somali Pirates 0

2009-04-15T01:51:54Z

A couple of days old, so you all heard about the Navy Seals unlocking the 3 of a kind achievement with 3 headshots on those Somali pirates who kidnapped that Captain. They parachuted from the sky, landed on the boat, went in on some rough seas and fired 3 shots, 3 headshots, 3 kills. That is amazing. I can't even do that on Call of Duty.

People say this will make a great movie one day. One day? This will be the CBS movie of the week by Memorial Day.

Posting on Easter Sunday

2009-04-13T01:56:13Z

So I'm kind of bored so I thought hey, why don't you make a post about stuff. And I was like, Great idea! So here we are.

Breaking News: The Miami Heat lock up the 5th spot in the East for the NBA Playoffs. We'll be facing the Atlanta Hawks in the first round.

Prediction: Hawks in 7. Prove me wrong heat. The Black is Back! (Stupidest playoff motto ever, I preferred White Heat)

In other news, jude_judith82 bought one of those newfangled Nintendo DSi's per my recommendation. It is seriously awesome on every level. If only for the Wifi capabilities. If you have an older DS, look to trade up for this bad boy.

Also, in some sadder news, Kings has been officially canceled. Surprising? No. Disappointing? Yes. I think we all saw it coming but it's a damn shame. I know a lot of people didn't think it was so hot, but I was intrigued. It got my attention and that's saying a lot more than some other shows on TV. I can see why no one wants to invest in watching new scripted shows if they're going to get canned after 4 episodes, but what can you do. If we go into every show with the "I won't bother watching because it'll get canceled" attitude, no show will survive. Irony, Kings didn't make it to Easter. That's not really irony is it though? I confused myself.

In happier news, I bought a laptop. It should arrive by the end of the week. I'm mobile people, get ready, nothing can stop me now. Well, nothing except a crappy wireless connection maybe.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Get ready for the Darthphere Book Club! I'm totally getting into some books right now and maybe I'll post what book I plan on reading next. Give you a chance to read it and then we can talk about it at my house over some margaritas and Hors d'oeuvre.