Scenes Improved By Swearing: American Pie 2

A few weeks ago, I introduced the concept on this blog of movie scenes that would have been improved by the addition of swearing with a re-examination of the finale of Lethal Weapon II. This time out, I am taking a look at another sequel in a long-runnning franchise.

I know that American Pie 2 has a lot of swearing, but there was a particular word that didn't come up during the movie which I think would have been a great additional joke in the movie, though it has been a while since I saw it, so perhaps it was indeed in the movie.

The setup for this is the fact that Paul Finch and Steve Stifler have never liked each other, and the tension between the two was amplified after Finch had sex with Stifler's mom.

So I think there should have been a scene where Stifler called Finch a motherfucker... with the former realizing he just burned himself by using that term.

There was two scenes where I think this might have worked well in.

The first is when Stifler is talking on the phone with someone (who turns out to be his brother), and Finch starts to ask if it was his mother, which Stifler answers in a non-definite, but angry way before walking away. I think if he called Finch a motherfucker and then walked away after realizing he just burned himself with that truthful assessment, it would have been funny.

There is another scene near the very end of the film where Finch was picked up by Stifler's mom, and the other guys are getting ready to head back to Great Falls. Stifler notices a car pulling away from the house, and the others lie about the reason the car was there. Then when they are pulling away, he asks where Finch is, and the others give him three different answers, and Stifler realizes who was in that car and what is about to happen. He would have then called Finch a motherfucker, and one of the other guys might have quipped "Well, I think that's the idea," and then the following scene would have been Finch and Stifler's mom, which was the original ending of the movie.

Perhaps I am thinking too much about this particular topic.

Tags: american pie 2, steve stifler, paul finch, scenes improved by swearing, lethal weapon, seann william scott, eddie kaye thomas, jennifer coolidge

All Your Memes Now Belong to Us

I grabbed this meme from Samuraifrog, and it seemed up my alley. It is all about video games.

1. My favorite genre of game
Beat em Up/Hack n Slash games. Loved them as a kid, and I love them now. Yes, I was seduced by the power of open world games, but that was an affair, not a marriage.

2. Favorite Games
God Hand, River City Ransom, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Super Dodge Ball, Disgaea, Urban Chaos: Riot Response, Guardian Heroes, Unreal Tournament

3. My hated game(s)
My disdain for Raiders of the Lost Ark for the 2600 is legendary at this point. Bring up E.T. for that same console, and I will launch into a diatribe about Raiders.

4. My favorite minion enemies
I always enjoyed killing slimes in the Dragon Warrior/Quest games... and nailing the ones that run away all the time was particularly satisfying. I also enjoyed shooting/tasing gang members in Urban Chaos: Riot Response.

5. My Most Hated enemies
When I read this question, a lot of the minor enemies in Odin Sphere came to mind, because you can hit them, and it doesn't stop them from moving, and there is a lot of them (and it is a game which slows down when there is a lot of enemies on screen), so while I may come up with a better response if I think about this, this seems like a good answer now.

6. My Favorite Enemies (Bosses)
Harvey Volodarski in No More Heroes, The End in Metal Gear Solid 3, Lavos in Chrono Trigger, Lucha Gorilla in God Hand.

7. My Most hated Enemies (Bosses)
Mizuchi and the other SNK-type bosses in fighting games. I hate this cheap douchebag SO much.

8. Most Loved Good Character
I've always been partial to Solid Snake and Sly Cooper, though Samus Aran is high on that list too... she's just awesome. The Prince from the Katamari games is pretty cool too.

9. Most hated good-character
I am taking this to mean protagonist. I was never very fond of Claude in Grand Theft Auto III, which might seem like a shocking pick based on my love of San Andreas.

10. Most Memorable Game
I rented Bubble Bobble once when I was kid... once. The theme song has been floating around my head since then. And there was an arcade game called Xain'd Sleena that I couldn't get enough of back then.

11. Least Memorable Game
There are a lot of Nintendo and Super Nintendo games that I know I played through, but for the life of me, I can't tell you anything about them.

12. Favorite segment of a game
You know when you are playing a game and you've encountered a challenging bit... and you have that moment where you have not yet beaten it, but you are at the point where a breakthrough has been made and you are going to finally beat it. That's elation right there.

13. Least favorite segment of a game
I hate grinding... hate it with a passion.

14. Most loved storyline
Well, I've always been partial to Final Fantasy II. San Andreas and Persona 3:FES rank highly as well.

15. Favorite secret/easter egg/cheat
Two of the classics: The Konami Code, and the warp pipes in Super Mario Brothers.

16. How many games you've think you've played in your life
With Arcade, PC and all the consoles I've had combined, it would easily top 1000.

17. How many games do you (think) you own?
I have around 600 games.

18. Favorite Weapon
Unreal Tournament's Redeemer.

19. Favorite spell/power
I love confusing/controlling enemies, so I tend to abuse those kinds of spells when they work.

20. Hardest boss you've ever beaten
This is a tough one, because I am sure there are some from my NES/SNES days which were brutal that I can't remember now. I beat a lot of games as a kid.

21. Easiest boss you've ever beaten
Oh, Bordin in Urban Reign. I mean, if you avoid getting shot, he goes down in 2-3 punches.

22. Favorite System
Playstation 2

23. Favorite gaming controller
Dual Shock 1/2

24. Best Level Design
There was an early level in the PS2 game Ghost Hunter which had you exploring an eerie mansion, which was just full of all this creepy imagery... and then there is a point where you encounter a painting which is a view of that same mansion... and to progress, you have to walk into it, and it is like walking into the past, while you can still see the room you were just in through it.

25. Console or PC
Console. You know that the game you are playing has at least been superficially tested and designed for that hardware in mind.

26. Scariest moment in gaming
Games don't really scare me. I get tense though. Though when I was a kid, the first time I saw the Giant Baby in Zombies Ate My Neighbors, I got freaked out.

27. Most suspenseful moment in gaming
I remember playing the original Driver, and there was a particular mission in Los Angeles where I ended up almost destroying the car I was driving, and then I had to drive all the way back home to my garage. The police also wanted to talk to me because of my wreckless driving, and if I got into a chase, well, I couldn't drive too fast with that busted up engine, and my car would most likely explode if I hit anything. So I drove that wreck as carefully as possible across the city, and I had to be careful not to be seen by the police. At one point, I ended up wedged into a small area between the sight lines of two cop cars, and I was fortunate that the one in front of me drove past before the one behind me saw my car. But I did make it back.

Tags: disgaea, god hand, urban reign, raiders of the lost ark, e.t., 2600, grand theft auto, san andreas, no more heroes, beat em ups, hack and slash, river city ransom, super dodge ball, unreal tournament, urban chaos, riot response, slime, dragon quest, final fantasy II, odin sphere, the end, metal gear solid 3, mizuchi, snk boss, driver, zombies ate my neighbors, ghost hunter, playstation 2, konami code, persona 3, fes

Sunday Video: Naked Dawn

I am surprised this isn't a real movie, given some of the other movies Rob Schneider has made. I mean, this seems up his alley.

Before you watch this video, be warned there is some bare male asses in it, so if your workplace frowns up on that sort of thing, you shouldn't watch this video.

Disclosure: I didn't hate Big Stan. There I said it.

Tags: big stan, rob schneider, naked dawn, funny or die, red dawn, parody, nudists, mena suvari, vinnie jones

Week 16: Pageant of the Transmundane

A woman refused to take 33 thousand pennies as a property tax payment. I have a feeling the people who were behind him who might have been there to pay their bill on their lunch hour would have had some words for him out in the parking lot if the clerk accepted that payment and subsequently counted it.

Or maybe that is just me.

Anyway, this week's winning entry comes to us from the blog Devilham's Attic.

It is just a picture of Gary Busey. Because Gary Busey is Transmundane all by himself, though the captioning is a massive part of this particular success.

And because this week's winning entry also has to do with babies and the concept of eating, well, Homer as a baby eating pizza.



Congrats Devilham. Here is your badge.



The rules of this little contest: Every week I will be selecting one blog post that I have seen from the vast reaches of the blogging village to bestow with the Homer Simpson Transmundanity Award for being one of the freakiest(in a funny way) things I've seen or read during a 7 day period. It doesn't necessarily have to have been written during the week, I just had to have encountered it. That means that if you find something interesting and repost it like a movie or whatever, if I saw it at your blog first, you get the prize. Of course, creating your own content is also a very good way to win.

This is not a meme. This is an award that I give out, and thus, I am not "tagging" you.

Now, if you see a post that you think is worthy of this illustrious prize, just drop me a line at campybeaver@gmail.com and we'll see if we can't get your suggestion up and award-ready while giving you some credit and a link to your own blog.

Tags: devilham, gary busey, homer simpson, baby, pizza, pageant of the transmundane, evil, eating, pennies, property taxes, parking lot, beating, justified

Nike Maybe Making Self-Tying Shoes

Remember those sweet shoes everyone wore in 2015 Hill Valley in Back to the Future II? Well, Nike has just filed for a patent on that technology.

So we may have self-tying shoes in all of our near future.

Now if only we can somehow get Mr. Fusion Home Energy Reactors and those home rehydrator machines on the market by 2015. That would be sweet.

And remember, there have been prototypes of the Hoverboard built too.

Luckily, we have not been subjected to Jaws 19-3D. Though, we are being currently subjected to Piranha 3D.

Well played, Back to the Future. Well played.

Tags: self-tying shoes, mr fusion, hoverboards, 2015, rehydrator, nike, jaws 19, piranha 3d, back to the future II

Questioning these New Motion Control Schemes

You know, I've really been questioning the value of motion controlled games for a while now, but the issue came to a head for me after I started playing a game on the Wii that really didn't need to have motion controls to begin with, a game which was released outside of North America on other consoles without those controls.

Even though I am not wholly a current gen player, I must admit that my heart sank when it both Sony and Microsoft announced and demonstrated their own motion-based gaming schemes.

I mean, I get why they did it. The Wii is a hugely popular console, and Sony and Microsoft want a piece of that action, but it is an incredibly short-sighted move.

I liken this strategy to another set of decisions in another related industry. I am of course talking about the huge push by the Hollywood studios to make everything 3D.

I mean, 3D is great if from the moment the project started, that was how the film was being developed. But if the project was processed into 3D after principle photography had already taken place, well, the results are usually and predictably awful. Wii Sports/Resort are fun because they were designed for that control scheme from the ground up. There are other games which have been ported over to the Wii from the PS3/360 which are questionable at best because motion control has been laid upon them.

I've heard complaints from some of my peers that because of these new motion control schemes, developers who were working on DLC and new titles are now being told to develop versions of their existing games to work with these new control schemes, so instead of getting new content, the market is going to be loaded with duplicate works, which is also going to take shelf space away from new titles as well. So it is a mistake from that standpoint as well.

And of course, the other thing that people tend to overlook when discussing this matter is the quality of titles that actually come out on the Wii. Aside from the first party stuff Nintendo releases and a few titles from some of the other major publishing companies, the games to put it bluntly, suck. They are the very definition of shovelware.

People talk about E.T. being the thing that killed the Atari and led to the Great Video Game Crash, but that was only one of the factors. The other was the flood of low-cost, low quality games that glutted the market, something which the Wii has an abundance of.

You don't think that those same developers who are currently blighting the Wii with their wares aren't going to now start releasing those same substandard titles on these new platforms. And both Sony and Microsoft, who have invested heavily in this folly, are likely going to support these titles, despite the fact that they denigrate their system and in the long term, will end up costing their respective companies money in lost sales.

They want to appeal to casual gamers, but if someone's first few experiences with modern gaming are terrible, do you think they really going to want to stick around. And because consoles are being sold as a loss leader, they need people to buy first party games to make a profit.

Yes, they have higher standards than Nintendo these days, but if the choice is between having a few quality titles which use motion controls and a decent amount of mostly terrible choices, they will both likely choose the latter and let a few games through that they likely wouldn't let by if they were being designed with a more traditional control scheme in mind.

I think the most likely scenario is going to be that motion control on both the 360 and PS3 are going to be short lived fads, and in the end, there are going to be a lot of unhappy gamers out there who will feel suckered into buying the necessary equipment to play an exclusive, but found little use for it afterward, because Nintendo has this particular niche sewn up pretty tight.

I just think this is a strategy which will end in abject failure for Microsoft and Sony. But I guess I will have to watch the sales numbers when they come in starting next month for Sony and later in the year for Microsoft.

Tags: wii, nintendo, motion control, kinect, move, sony, playstation 3, xbox 360, shovelware, standards, niche, casual gaming, atari, game crash, et, no more heroes

Midweek Video: Frozen Crossing

A few weeks ago, there was a flurry of attention for a video called Time Crisis -Ft Andy Whitfield. I watched a lot of other videos by that same production crew, most of which are awesome action scenes, and I found a hidden gem which I think deserves some more attention.

This crew put together a two part live action Call of Duty inspired mini-movie called Frozen Crossing, and it is totally pro. It is awesome work, and I just wonder what kind of budget they are working with.

The second part is here.

Tags: freddie wong, frozen crossing, time crisis, andy whitfield, call of duty

Color Me Disgusted

There is going to be a sequel to The Human Centipede?

Why, why would anyone do such a thing?

Just the idea of the first one is enough to give me a full body shudder, and now someone is making another one.

I've just looked at the box office for it, and I don't know where they are getting the money for the sequel either.

Frankly, I think I would be more interested in a movie based on the old arcade game Centipede than anything in this now movie series.

Wow. Even I have standards. Who knew?

Disclosure: I worked on a screenplay about a giant centipede killing people in the woods, so I may be also having some professional envy.

Tags: human centipede, disgusted, centipede, atari, horror, professional envy

Trailer Scoffing: Devil

I've been reading stories about a particular set of incidents that have been happening at movie theatres in the past couple of weeks (and I suspect in living rooms now too).

It seems that people have been rather intrigued by the trailer for Devil when they first see it... but that soon turns to derision and laughter the moment the name M. Night Shyamalan is revealed. And the kicker is, he didn't even direct the movie, but merely wrote the story it is based upon.

So yeah, Shyamalan is now both a punchline and potentially box office poison. Given some of the stories floating around out there about him, some of this seems fitting.

Then again, I remember back in 2006, I had read an anecdote about the showing of the trailer for Apocalypto, and the audience was really into it. And then Mel Gibson's name appeared and there was a collective groan of disappointment. That movie still made quite a bit of money.

Let's face it, though, if Mel Gibson was trying to open that movie today, I don't think it would have been so much a groan as booing when his name came up.

I wonder if MNS can redeem his own name at some point or if he will now forever be the stuff of derision.

Tags: devil, mel gibson, m night shyamalan, apocalypto, twist, last airbender

Random Thoughts Redux

-Never in my entire life have I seen anyone buy a single thing from an olive bar at a supermarket. Not once. And yet, they are ubiquitous. Honestly, has anyone aside from the companies that manufacture those carts actually made money from the olive bar? Are they there just for the ambience?

-Was I the only one to see some weird subtext with the hiring Asian actor George Takei as the spokesman for Sharp Electronics' new tv's with an additional yellow color component? Or am I really over thinking this? Don't get me wrong... George Takei is awesome and everything, I just thought there may have been something else going on there.

-Pinups with Robert Downey Jr's face: If I hadn't discovered it this weekend and someone had blogged about it, we'd be looking at an easy contender for this week's Pageant of the Transmundane.

-I so want this as a print. I mean, Princess Peach actually looks like Uma Thurman. Awesome.

Tags: kill bill, super mario brothers, robert downey jr, pinups, sharp, george takei, olive bar, scam

Sunday Video: Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury

I debated whether to post this video or not, because frankly, that title, wow. But in the end, the sheer geekish obsession displayed in this song by Rachel Bloom won me over. Of course, I think it is safe to say this may not

I got some hearty laughs while watching this.

And the news is that Ray Bradbury actually saw this video and liked it:

According to Youtube user sgerbic, they just showed "Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury" to RAY BRADBURY HIMSELF AND HE LOVED IT!!!!!

Happy 90th Birthday Mr. Bradbury.

Tags: rachel bloom, ray bradbury, parody, humor, britney spears, illustrated man, something wicked this way comes, martian chronicles

Week 15: Pageant of the Transmundane

A bank robber was arrested this week after he wrote a newspaper that wrote about his crime and berated them for getting details wrong. The police quickly arrested him after they looked at the personal information it contained. There is one word that describes this individual: dumbass.

Anyway, this week's winning entry comes to us from Semaj's Blog Your Blog.

On Thursday, he found and posted a ridiculous ad for the Snuggie featuring a takeoff of the Macarena. And seriously, what the hell was up with the Snuggie centerfold. That was bizarre, and that was the moment that put it over the top.

And because this week's winning entry has to do with long, flowing robe-like warming devices, I thought that Homer as a Movementarian, in similar garb, would be most appropriate.



Congrats James. Here is your badge.




The rules of this little contest: Every week I will be selecting one blog post that I have seen from the vast reaches of the blogging village to bestow with the Homer Simpson Transmundanity Award for being one of the freakiest(in a funny way) things I've seen or read during a 7 day period. It doesn't necessarily have to have been written during the week, I just had to have encountered it. That means that if you find something interesting and repost it like a movie or whatever, if I saw it at your blog first, you get the prize. Of course, creating your own content is also a very good way to win.

This is not a meme. This is an award that I give out, and thus, I am not "tagging" you.

Now, if you see a post that you think is worthy of this illustrious prize, just drop me a line at campybeaver@gmail.com and we'll see if we can't get your suggestion up and award-ready while giving you some credit and a link to your own blog.

Tags: homer simpson, pageant of the transmundane, semaj's blog your blog, snuggie, macarena, ridiculous, centerfold, bank robber, email

Adventures in Nostalgia: Fun Dip/Lik-m-Aid

I've thinking lately about the things I enjoyed as a child, and I've been wondering how they've held up, and if I can still like them as an adult.

So in a series of recurring posts, I am going to go back and look at some of the things that I loved as a child/teen and see if they've held their appeal.

I thought it would be nice to start with something most kids love: candy.

Unfortunately, most of the candy that I ate as a child I've had as an adult, so there was no great shock when I kept rediscovering them every few years.

However, there was one confection which I haven't had in about 15-20 years, and that is Wonka's Lik-m-Aid, which is also known as Fun Dip (pictured below).



I ran across some of them when I was at a dollar store recently, and I thought it would be an interesting experiment to document what happened when ate it again.

And last night, I documented my experience eating it.

First 10 seconds: That is a nice intense flavor. It is like someone took some pixie dust and smashed some Sweettarts into it.

30 seconds: That is a strong cherry flavor. Is this what is it like to eat ready to mix Koolaid from a packet?

45 seconds: I think I can actually feel my teeth rotting.

75 seconds: Should my tongue be hurting? Is this too much flavor?

100 seconds: Yeah, this isn't good. It feels like I've been licking sandpaper for a few minutes now.

180 seconds: Oh good, now I can't feel my tongue. Wait, yes I can. Ow.

300 seconds: OK, I have to stop now. It is official. The Fun Dip has beaten me.

Looking at the remaining powder, I can tell I haven't even made a dent in either flavor, and with my tongue feeling like steel wool, I don't plan on finishing this treat. So I would say that no, the Fun Dip is no longer fun.

In retrospect, I don't know what I ever saw in this candy. I know I was hyper and everything, but surely there were better ways of getting sugar.

Tags: adventures in nostalgia, fun dip, lik-m-aid, wonka, candy, recurring feature, tongue, burn

Spencer Pratt Writing A Book, Society Yawns

Spencer Pratt is writing a tell-all book about Heidi Montag. I am wondering if I should put the word writing in quotation marks because we all know that you don't write with a crayon, you print.

Now, I am going to save those of you who might buy this book some money and tell you exactly what Spencer Pratt is going to say.

He is going to call Heidi Montag stupid, slutty and a bitch. He is also going to regale the world that cares about his supposedly fabulous stories about The Hills and I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here before devoting a chapter to Heidi's plastic surgery.

I am willing to bet money that I just outline that entire book in those two sentences. The sad part is, someone will actually have to read it to tell me if I am right.

I don't like Heidi Montag at all, but after seeing that douche once, it is clear who I would have to side with in this entirely inconsequential battle, and I basically want him to never make another dime from his celebrity. Is that so wrong?



Though, if someone could convince Vinnie Jones to beat him up on a weekly basis and film it, I would pay a vast sum of money for that. I am sure more people would pay for that than will for this book.

And I think that post is going to be the first and last time I ever discuss this individual. Well, maybe he gets a mention on an enemies list post, but not likely.

Tags: spencer pratt, heidi montag, vinnie jones, epic beatdown, book, punch, kick, smack, video, attack cardio

Midweek Video: HAWP presents Guitar Hero

I'm not feeling too good today, so whatever delightful wordy post I was working on for today (yeah, like I write long entries anymore hehe), will have to wait for tomorrow.

In the meantime, I saw this earlier this week and it really tickled my fancy.

I think this is my favorite Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin' ever.

Tags: hey ash, whatcha playin, guitar hero, hawp, fiber, sick, burn

I Knew Carebears could be Awesome

via Lead Paint Comics.

Go check them out. Seriously.

Tags: lead paint comics, care bears, starship troopers

How am I ever going to survive this?

Marilyn Manson and Evan Rachel Wood broke up again?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I didn't need to know that information. Did any of you need to know that?

Is that going to affect a tour? True Blood? No? Then really, don't need to know it.

Tags: marilyn manson, evan rachel wood, breakup

Fretting About Scott Pilgrim? Don't

Edgar Wright made an excellent 60-85 million dollar movie. But that's sort of what he has done with less, so the fact that with more money, he produced something exceedingly awesome should come as no surprise (as the Rotten Tomatoes numbers indicate).

However, the impression that the media is likely giving a lot of people is that it is an abject failure because it opened in fifth place this weekend, and that it may affect Edgar Wright's future directing projects like Ant Man. I have grave doubts about that.

And let me get this straight: the studio opened a super-geek friendly movie against a movie starring a who's-who of modern action heroes and a new Julia Roberts movie and people are acting surprised that there may not have been enough moviegoers for a saturated threeway opening, and that is Edgar Wright's fault how?

To me, it seems likely that the movie will still make its investment back, and it could even do it while it is in the theatres, so really, there is no reason to fret about the success or failure of Scott Pilgrim right now, given the historical trends with other Edgar Wright movies.



For one, the movie hasn't opened in the UK yet, and Wright's last movie, Hot Fuzz, made 20 million pounds there, and Scott Pilgrim is arguably the biggest movie opening that weekend there. And I could see a version of this movie released in Japan doing very well too based on the tropes it explores and its visual style.

And let's put the Scott Pilgrim opening numbers in context: it made more in its US opening weekend than Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz did in their respective opening weekends combined.

Even if it doesn't do exceptionally well in theatres after all is said and done, it can still do rather brisk business on DVD. Hot Fuzz augmented its theatrical take with a whopping 33 million dollars in additional DVD sales in the US alone. And trust me, if the DVD release has the same level of dedication to extras that Edgar Wright's other releases have, it will be a winner and will likely have longer term appeal.

I remember when Grindhouse was released and it got disappointing numbers and a lot of news coverage about it being a failure. I just looked the numbers up, and between the worldwide theatrical release and DVD sales, it looks like it is rousingly in the black now.

So really, it shouldn't be all doom and gloom about this. Everything is still ok in the Wright/Scott Pilgrim universe.

Tags: edgar wright, scott pilgrim vs the world, michael cera, hot fuzz, shaun of the dead, spaced, universal, eat pray love, expendables, stallone, o'malley, game, japan, uk, box office, tarantino, dvd extras

Sunday Video: Low

I was feeling a little nostalgic, so I thought a little Cracker would do something to scratch that itch.

Ah, the early 1990's.

Tags: low, cracker, sandra bernhard, 1993

Week 14: Pageant of the Transmundane

An ad executive in New York, who was without spare change, let a homeless man borrow her credit card for a few minutes to allow him to buy a few things. He returned promptly with it. How this became a news story, I don't know, but I read it on a site devoted to "news", so it must be so.

This week's winning entry comes to us from the blog ravings of a semi-sane madwoman

This one... maybe you shouldn't watch it at work or when kids are around. It involves elephants and efforts to try to get them to reproduce. Take that as you will.

Here it is.

And since this week's winning entry has to do with elephants, it looks like it is Stampy's day to shine. Huzzah! Though I had thought about having Homer standing in front of a bear and elephant fighting, I thought it was better to save that for another day.



Congratulations. Here is your badge.



The rules of this little contest: Every week I will be selecting one blog post that I have seen from the vast reaches of the blogging village to bestow with the Homer Simpson Transmundanity Award for being one of the freakiest(in a funny way) things I've seen or read during a 7 day period. It doesn't necessarily have to have been written during the week, I just had to have encountered it. That means that if you find something interesting and repost it like a movie or whatever, if I saw it at your blog first, you get the prize. Of course, creating your own content is also a very good way to win.

This is not a meme. This is an award that I give out, and thus, I am not "tagging" you.

Now, if you see a post that you think is worthy of this illustrious prize, just drop me a line at campybeaver@gmail.com and we'll see if we can't get your suggestion up and award-ready while giving you some credit and a link to your own blog.

Tags: homer simpson, pageant of the transmundane, ravings of a semi-sane mad woman, elephant, insemination, credit card

The Tempest

I didn't even know this was coming out until a few days ago, but wow, I have to see this.



I really enjoyed Julie Taymor's adaptation of Titus (which I think puts me in the minority), and I really look forward to seeing what she does with this play.

Tags: julie taymor, titus, the tempest, helen mirren, hollywood spy

Now I am on Twitter!

Last April, I wrote about getting a copy of Guitar Hero after being resistant to its charms for so long.

At the time, I said that given how long it took me to get that game, I would probably be on Twitter sometime in October 2010.

Well, I guess I got on it a little earlier than expected. But for not remembering that date, I think I did pretty well resisting its charms.

That's right. I started a Twitter account, making me one of the latest possible adopters of this form of social media.

I am sure Semaj thinks I am doing this now:



The reason I finally gave in was I wanted to have another place to announce my Coalition of Awesomeness posts aside from here, and there may be another blogging project on the horizon for me, but I still haven't decided if I am going to undertake it. And I see so many excellent links every day that I don't get to share, and now everyone else might get a chance to see them too.

Tags: twitter, culturekills, invasion of the body snatchers, guitar hero, social media, links, stumbleupon

Midweek Video: You Can't Go Home Again

A few weeks back, I posted a video called Come Into My World by Kylie Minogue because of its excellent visuals.

This video has some things in common with that one as this video also shows the same scene with additional elements with each pass through.

Of course, I also like the song that this is a promo for, so that is a plus.

I love DJ Shadow.

Tags: dj shadow, you can't go home again, repetition, addition, kylie minogue, come into my world

Scenes Improved By Swearing: Lethal Weapon II

I am just trying out a new feature where I take a classic scene and explore what it would have been like if an expletive was added.

For the inaugural post in this series, I thought I would take one of the final scenes from Lethal Weapon II and add my favorite curse to it.

Let's enjoy this together.

I think it certainly improves it... and it gives us all a glimpse into a world where Samuel L. Jackson played Murtaugh.

Tags: lethal weapon ii, danny glover, diplomatic immunity, been revoked, samuel l jackson

File this Under Hmmmm

I never knew that Ayda Field had been dating (and recently married) Robbie Williams.

Because when I think of Robbie Williams, the last thing I would ever connect him with was Blue Collar TV.

I guess they met when she was doing Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

Guess I am not keeping up with my gossip.

Tags: ayda field, robbie williams, married, wedding, dating, blue collar tv, studio 60 on the sunset strip

Well, I finally got with the program...

...and got this blog going in Layouts format (it has only been waiting for me since 2006)

There is so much work ahead of me now, but I think it was better to just commit to this and then mess around with it over time rather than dither over the test blog and put off implementing the changes.

But I have noticed one positive difference already. The comments that I thought were lost from my first six months of blogging have returned. Huzzah! I am exceedingly pleased by that.

Over the weekend, when I was contemplating the change over, I kept having one of the final scenes from A Knight's Tale running through my head.

Wat: You have been weighed.
Roland: You have been measured.
Kate: And you have absolutely…
Chaucer: Been found wanting.
William: Welcome to New World. God save you, if it is right that he should do so.

Welcome to the new world indeed.

And at this moment, just typing that makes me realize that I still need a CSS rule for my beloved blockquotes (which I may now have when you read this). So many rules to write... so many things to tweak... and the gap between the content and the sidebar... that has to get tightened too.

Oh dear. This is going to be a lot of work.

Tags: a knight's tale, blogger, comments, template, layout, 2006, css, design, work, blockquote, new world

Sunday Video: Video Game Fighting Tournament

I saw this after I posted my own entry about this, but the similarities in theme made it worth posting. The fact that it is funny and made by Canadians is just a bonus at this point.

What it to the end, as there is a little more after the credits.

And does anyone recognize the sound the phone makes when it rings? I thought that was a neat touch.

Tags: tekken, mortal kombat, goro, soul calibur, street fighter, ufc, loading ready run, jersey shore, king of fighters, soul edge

Week 13: Pageant of the Transmundane

A man named Elvis Presley is running for governor of Arkansas. With name recognition like that, he is a shoo in for public office (as long as a damaging picture with Richard Nixon doesn't surface that is).

This week's winning entry comes to us from a wild and woolly blogging habitat called Casual Slack.

In this case, Jen discovered a wickedly funny captioned picture of Wilford Brimley (that dude should be in everything).

Why this image for this week's winning entry? Brimley on a horse... Homer on a horse... and I couldn't find a good image of Homer being whipped by apes at the end of the Rosebud episode, so here we are.



Congrat Jen on your find. Here is your badge.



The rules of this little contest: Every week I will be selecting one blog post that I have seen from the vast reaches of the blogging village to bestow with the Homer Simpson Transmundanity Award for being one of the freakiest(in a funny way) things I've seen or read during a 7 day period. It doesn't necessarily have to have been written during the week, I just had to have encountered it. That means that if you find something interesting and repost it like a movie or whatever, if I saw it at your blog first, you get the prize. Of course, creating your own content is also a very good way to win.

This is not a meme. This is an award that I give out, and thus, I am not "tagging" you.

Now, if you see a post that you think is worthy of this illustrious prize, just drop me a line at campybeaver@gmail.com and we'll see if we can't get your suggestion up and award-ready while giving you some credit and a link to your own blog.

Tags: homer simpson, pageant of the transmundane, elvis presley, wilford brimley, horse, casual slack, richard nixon

New Post at The Coalition of Awesomeness

Howdy y'all. I just thought it was worth mentioning that I have a new post up at The Coalition of Awesomeness about this little gem:



All hail the SNES... err, Hypnotoad.

The entry is called Airships and Crystals and Spoony Bards... Oh My... thus demonstrating once again why I have never been asked to title a book or name a baby.

Ah, I miss those days when I was really into RPGs. Good times, good times.

Tags: final fantasy ii, ff iv, coalition of awesomeness, the coa, hypnotoad, snes, rpg, role playing game, airship, crystal, spoony bard

The Fighting Game Battle I HAVE to See

I've recently been getting back into fighting games, even though in an earlier post I had said I was totally over them. What, I can't change my mind?

Anyway, aside from trying to find a good arcade stick for the PS2 (and that is a story I will likely tell on another day), I've noticed that I've been going through match ups I would love to see between games and companies. I am sure that those of you who are familiar with fighting games have likely done this too at one point or another.

There was one match that kept coming up whenever I thought about it, and it seemed like an impossibility, but then Capcom and Namco announced they were collaborating on a versus project and now, this collision of two mighty forces seems poised to be unleashed upon the earth like a tsunami of awesome.

I am of course talking about the epic battle between Street Fighter's Zangief and Tekken's Kuma.



First, let's start with Zangief, a man who trained by wrestling bears. That's some Rocky-style improvised training there, though part of me thinks he didn't just wrestle those bears... after all, it gets lonely out in Siberia.

And with his extensive background in wrestling, he is a pile driving machine. He doesn't need fireballs or stretchy limbs or anything fancy like that... he gets the job done with just his hands and his feet.

So what happens when this hulking Russian terror meets up with a bear that was trained in deadly martial arts as well... you know, a bear like Kuma in the Tekken games.



Because the thing about Kuma is, he isn't just some wild bear. He is a trained martial artist and he likes fighting, and he has beaten some quality competitors, and he is a highly loyal and passionate combatant.

Oh, it is going to be a glorious match. And the fact that it is potentially going to be in not just one, but two games, well, that is awesome in and of itself. We have been waiting 16 years for those two colossal forces to meet... it is finally time to see if a large Russian man can piledrive a huge bear who has mad martial arts skills.

If it was in a movie, you'd watch that scene over and over again on DVD and on Youtube.



But as much as I love Kuma, I think Zangief would ultimately emerge as the winner of that battle, and there is no shame in that.

After all, there are some worse pairings Kuma could be involved with:



Of course, if we are talking about wrestling bears, I think that no one is going to beat the Luchabear, El oso pardo Magnífico. No one.

My question to everyone is, what two fighting game characters from different franchises would you like to see go at it?

(Is it wrong that I had the credit theme from Bloodsport swirling around my head as I wrote this?)

Tags: zangief, kuma, tekken, street fighter, capcom, namco, fighting games, harold and kumar, luchabear, coalition of awesomeness, bloodsport, kumite, stan bush

Midweek Video: Why Back to the Future is Secretly Horrifying

This gave me a lot to think about. This may wreck Back to the Future for you, so be forewarned.

>

Tags: cracked, back to the future, wrecking a classic

Reasons Why I am Not An Actor

1. While I am a decent looking guy, and I do clean up nicely, I would never be the leading man, and my fragile ego occasionally needs to be the center of attention. I would be the quirky sidekick or roommate in those scenarios. And even though the occasional more average looking schlub makes it, they are usually bringing a lot of other skills to the table which I also don't have.

2. I have a drifting accent... so if I was in a scene with someone with an accent, within two minutes, I would be talking with that accent, which would be ok if everyone was talking with that accent, but that's generally not how it works. I mean, I've had phone conversations where the other party thought I was mocking them by doing their accent. And without an external influence, I can't maintain any accent, even my own, consistently.

3. I can't remember lines word for word. If I was on a project where you could improvise a little, I'd be great. But anything that requires a verbatim recitation of lines... that would be a little problematic. So that means no stage work, no Shakespeare and the like, which would really limit my versatility.

4. As I indicated in my first point, I am a little bit of a primadonna sometimes. I admit that. But I would likely be the guy that calls other people out for being the same way... and that isn't popular behavior.

5. If I got famous enough, I'd likely belt some people.

6. Scientologists (see 5)

The Venture Brothers as Scott Pilgrim Characters

Now that's a mashup.

Tags: venture brothers, team venture, scott pilgrim, win

I'm the Matt... and I am Awesome....

... or at least part of a Coalition of Awesomeness!



That's right... as well as putting out a quality blog here, I am moonlighting at another collaborative blog as well. Huzzah!

So how did all this come about? It is a simple story.

Lee from Quit Your Day Job came to me with a proposition. We had been looking for a project to collaborate on, and occurred to him that he could get a few of his peers with ninja-like skills and elaborate back stories together and build a team of superbloggers together to fight crime and err, put together a super blog.

From our secret lair, where we learn the skills necessary to kung fu fight aliens while skydiving off the back of an eagle, jump through the air while firing two guns simultaneously (because we love proper action) and how to defuse a bomb with our teeth while blindfolded (a class that Jack Bauer failed by the way), we also put together a series of posts based on a theme. The theme changes every two weeks, so there is going to be a lot of variety.

For our first time out, we have decided to focus on our Favorite Gaming Memories... and I wrote about sports gaming... one particular game from my NCAA Football experiences to be exact. And I will have another post about a particular role playing game later in the week.

Next week (since The Coalition has been going for about a week now), there will be a new, non-gaming related theme, so even if you aren't into gaming, well, there will likely be something of interest for you in the future.

Now if you excuse me, I have to get out of this mask and tights. Bah... with great blogging power comes great blogging responsibility... and wedgies.

Edit: I got a couple emails about the title of this post. It was supposed to be that way. It was a wrestling reference.

Tags: coalition of awesomeness, gorilla high fives shark, ninja, favorite gaming memories, the coa, the miz, jack bauer, nuclear weapons, hot fuzz, kung fu, eagle, skydiving

Oh Yeah... Lisa Simpson Got Married Today

via Icanhaseinternets.

Tags: lisa simpson, wedding, icanhasinternets

Sunday Video: Combat

Yet another Tree Wave/Synthcart creation.

Strangely enough, I had an Atari 2600, but I never owned Combat. I had this weird ripoff clone, which was servicable, but it wasn't Combat.

Tags: tree wave, combat, atari 2600, music, synthcart