Arrested 36 Years Ago Today for Felony Pot Possession - Never Seen a More Bad-ass Mugshot. - Imgur

Arrested 36 Years Ago Today for Felony Pot Possession - Never Seen a More Bad-ass Mugshot. - Imgur

WTF HYR does a TV review post?!?

You're probably wondering why I am doing a TV review post, or you might not be, *shrug*.  As many of you regular readers may know (or RL amigos) I really don't have much interest in television programs of any kind (some programs I actively loathe).  I usually lose interest after a season or two (if that).  However I have been a fan of Law & Order: SVU for a long time and (see previous post) love shows with creature features.  I occasionally get into Showtime/HBO shows but that's rare as well (partially because HBO shows are such a bitch to get).

The series I just got into is Supernatural.  I didn't want to and I did the "I don't wanna..." that little kids do when trying a new food or something.  And then I watched it and now I like it, god damn it.  Here are some of the reasons why:

1. CREATURE FEATURE!  Seriously, every episode has some kind of creature and they run the gamut from rakshasas (a favorite of mine) to vampires (I don't like vampires as a rule but these are okay) to striga (another favorite). 
2. The main characters are not some CW high schoolers and it's not a soap opera with "monsters".  I actually like the main characters, even if their manginas do get a bit sandy now and then (really though, whose doesn't?).
3. One of my favorite modern character actors plays a major role in the show - Jim Beaver.  He imparts Bobby Singer with the same empathy and coarse likability as he did with Ellsworth in Deadwood (a character who I quote quite a bit).  Fun fact:  Jim Beaver was also on The Young and the Restless (1985-2001) and Days of Our Lives (1996-2004) and played a Detective Earl Gaddis on Reasonable Doubts (1991-1993).
4. The show gets kinds of creepy and hardcore sometimes.  Often out of the blue.  Season one and two so far: a lady got a knife shoved through her head, decapitations, children in danger, clowns, slicing, dicing, grave robbery, and lots of people on fire.
5. I'm curious to where the show is going and when it'll start to suck. 
6. Joss Whedon is not involved.  Yes I like the first four seasons of Buffy and Firefly and Serenity but enough with the fucking Whedon fandom, it's almost as sad as Dr Whotards (and before you get mad use your sonic screwdriver to get your panties unbunged).
7. I would make man sex with Dean (but only if Aragorn said it was okay).
8. "They drive a black 1967 Chevy Impala, 327, 4-barrel, V-8 engine, automatic, 4-dr, Hardtop. It was given to Dean by his father, John. It has the license plate KAZ 2Y5. The KAZ is a reference to Kansas, the Winchesters' home state, and the 2Y5 is 2005, the year the show premiered."  Failing to make sex with Dean I will make sex to this car.
9. This show makes me wish I had a Tobin's Spirit Guide.

I also have Game of Thrones to watch but I haven't been particularly in the mood for it (I've read the books so I know what happens as well).

Creature (2011) dir Fred Andrews

I'm a sucker for creature features, monster movies, and beastly beasties.  Hell, I think I love creature features as much as I love haunted house movies.  My favorite episodes of Night Stalker, The X-Files, Buffy, and Supernatural are the creature feature ones.  The problem is creature features mostly suck and by suck I mean, are fucking pieces of shit which make Corman movies look like Kurosawa (though Humanoids of the Deep which was recently rereleased is surprisingly "good").

Fred Andrews' Creature was something I had been waiting to rent (for a price drop) and y'know, it really wasn't too bad at all, and in some ways was pretty awesome. 

The premise is simple, there's a gatorman legend in the swamps of Louisiana.  Six young people (who in some ways actually turn out to be kind of well acted and sympathetic - shockingly) on a roadtrip to NOLA, stop at spooky coon-ass gas station, oh look Sid Haig is creepy, titties! gore! titties!, camping=death!, swamp people=death!, who will survive and what will be left of them?  It's not rocket surgery but the effects were good, the acting was much better than average  - Wayne Pere and David Jensen were particularly awesome, Lauren Schneider and Serinda Swan were particularly attractive (and convincing characters), and the twist wasn't bad in the least.  The climax of the movie kind of made me go, "Meeeeeeh." but it wasn't a deal breaker.  Production value was far superior to a majority of the straight-to-video congealed discharge I've watched a few minutes of - Creature looked like a real movie.

All in all Creature was enjoyable and not a complete disappointment and better than most creature features (fuck you Sci-Fi channel). 

Warhammer 40K MMO cancelled by THQ

Warhammer 40K MMO cancelled by THQ

This kind of fucking sucks.  Why is it so hard for 40K to make the transition?  Grumble grumble grumble.

This used to be one of my jams when I was a kid.

Oh yeah Hooligan Youth Reviews...

donated a ticket to Mental Poison's event this weekend.  There was a contest to win to the ticket but I got drunk and forgot to advert here.  That being said, winning a ticket to their live show is better than winning a vagina razor (unless you need a vagina razor), and congratulations to listeners based on their proximity.  Don't eat the shrimp (Biz's been teaching them how to spawn) or the rats (Craig's only cooking them out of spite).

I cannot say enough good stuff about these guys, despite the filth and the fury it's one of the greatest shows out there.  Fuck, I spent on money on them.  That's saying something.

Napoli's: New Italian Restaurant in Nacogdoches Initial Thoughts

I guess a week or two ago an Italian joint opened in the former Hong Kong Buffet location (next to the former Tabu).  I had kind of forgotten about it until waiting to cross North Street for class and so I went for lunch after I was done on campus.  I wasn't sad to see the buffet go because well I really dislike buffets and the food there sucked even for bad Chinese food.

The interior was pretty nice but what made me happy was being able to see the kitchen on one side and a row of industrial pizza ovens on one wall.  The menu contained standards for Italian joints with a pretty impressive list of lunch specials that I was tempted to try.  The price point is reasonable for lunch out (about $10 with tip and soda)  and though I didn't try it they have slices for less than two bucks each (the waitress told me they are proper folding slices).

I ended up going for the sausage and peppers and a meatball sub (to go).  Sausage and peppers is one of my yardsticks for Italian places.  It was pretty tasty, sausage wasn't greasy or crumbly or burnt.  The peppers were just green, sliced thin, and were a little over cooked for my tastes but that wasn't a deal breaker.  They were served in a tomato sauce that was well rounded, could have used some heat - again that's just me (and there were no chile flakes on the table but by the time I thought of asking for them I had eaten almost all of the plate.  The garlic bread that came with it was good texture wise but lacking on the garlic (then again I'm one of those people who thinks the bread is just the vehicle for the garlic).

I haven't tried the meatball sub yet nor have I removed the foil but it's sizable.  I just hope the meatballs aren't just bland globes of burger.

There was a decent amount of business for a 2pm on a Monday, I hope it means good things.  I'm also excited about Napoli's having calzones, stromboli, Sicilian pizza, as well as fold slices.  I'll post more info as I try stuff.  Definitely make an effort to swing by there though.  It's one thing to bitch about lack of food here and then just go to fucking Chile's.  

No news is...well...no news (plus impending recipe idea).

Been neglecting HYR recently and for that I apologize to you fine folks.  I haven't had much to review or comment on recently.  Netflix has been pretty meh and the new releases I've been watching aren't really review worthy.  I watched the first episode of Game of Thrones which I'm not sporting wood over but it seems like it might be pretty good (and yes I've read the books multiple times).  Many of the problems I'm initially having with the series is based off of quibbles which I probably wouldn't have if I hadn't read the books.  I've watched a couple of "newer" releases, none of which were particularly impressive (Drive was all wasted potential at awesome).  I got bored with SSX and have been grinding towards 50 with my Bounty Hunter in SWTOR (I do want to unlock the Legacy stuff as sad as that might be).  School's been okay, just clunking along through another semester.  I made some spicy beef the other day and it was good.

However - I do have an idea for quiche in my head: Crawfish meat and smoked sausage (with roasted shallots and garlic).  Possibly with a remoulade.  I haven't looked for a recipe and probably won't bother (it's quiche, the world's easiest "fancy" fucking dish) but if someone has some suggestions please let me know (unless it's some wondertard comment about quiche being sissy food in which case fuck yourself, it's scrambled eggs and meats and cheese in pie form).

Hope all is well.

Technology & War

"It's time to rock! To rock around the block!"

Despite my game malaise I am finding myself at turns overjoyed and filled with dark rage at SSX.  I'm also beginning to have some disappointments.

I love the SSX series and played the shit out of it back in the early-mid aughts.  So after playing the shit out of the demo I decided to pick up a copy.  I'm pretty impressed with everything about the game.  The single player is really just an extended trainer for the rest of the action.  The online experience is pretty awesome but something I need to delve into deeper.  I really enjoy the exploration gameplay feature which is open from the beginning (with all regions and characters unlocked).  It's an awesome way to check out tracks and how characters play and level them up.  My favorite are the survival modes in which you must race or solo through a harrowing course which wants to kill you.

The courses range from short and sweet to long and rage inducing (particularly the final areas which feature lots of crevasses which seem to appear out of nowhere to buttfuck your soul).  The final storyline race had me gritting my teeth so hard they started to creak and I still couldn't get more than halfway down the course.  Some of areas are massive almost to the point of insanity (Alaska and Siberia are frigging awesome) and during exploration mode it seems like there is always something to check out or trick off of.  I haven't really checked out the online components of the game but plan to soon.

The downside to SSX is that it's not SSX Tricky and for some bullshit reason Tricky is not backwards compatible for the 360.  What I miss about Tricky is the level of customization, the sense of chaos, and being able to knock other players off their fucking boards in a race.  Additionally the characters don't really feel different from one another.  In the character selection it says that each has their own set of bonuses but I haven't noticed a difference, especially since I can buy equipment that will boost skills.  I also miss some of the stat tweaking like handling.  Most of the music is shite but there are a couple of cuts I like.

That being said I am having good old fashioned fun playing SSX.  Except for the last race.  Fuck that race.  Fuck it in its ear.

The Metacritic score is in on "Mass Effect 3"

and the reviewers from IGN to Destrucoid are making happy noises (It scored an average of 92).  For some reason I'm not thrilled or motivated to play the game.  I apparently enjoyed Mass Effect back in 07 and Mass Effect 2 in '10.  This time around I just don't have the charge for ME3 that some of my friends do.  I played the demo and while it was cool to see humanity getting the dick kicked out of it I just couldn't bring myself to be interested.  The shift in gameplay towards an action 3ps might have something to do with my disinterest.  It plays like Gears of War or Binary Domain, which for you fans of those run and gun and cover and gun and run and cover games.  There's a multiplayer co-op shooter part of the demo that was pretty fun but really was the same as any other multiplayer co-op survive waves of enemies.  Bioware once again has the same conversation wheel that it's been using since KOTOR.  The voice work is still good but the character models have a weird plastic sheen to them that was really distracting (a piddly gripe I know).  The regular cast shows up but here's where I kind of stumbled in the demo and realized I wasn't particularly thrilled:  I didn't care who they were and I didn't remember what the fuck was going on.  Looking back at my reviews I commented that I like the story but frankly I have little to no recollection of what happened.  I remember the "very model of scientist Salerian" and having to fight a shit ton of Reavers and Garrus shot some stuff and there was that idiot savant weirdo alien assassin and I banged everyone I could (including the idiot savant weirdo alien assassin).  Martin Sheen smokes cigarettes while looking at a sun and talking to some hot chick (who I ended up banging).  Oh and there's a cliffhanger, again.

I think my boredom with SWTOR bled over into somekind of Bioware & EA = Meh, been there done that malaise.  Come to think of it - it's very similar to the way I feel about the Final Fantasy games (since VII).  Part of it might be game fatigue as well.  I played the wheels off Skyrim and ended up feeling like, "Is that all there is to Skyrim?".  SWTOR has ended up on the back burner.  Alan Wake was a disappointment and turned out to be a Silent Hill knock-off.  I worry that the next three titles I'm actually excited for are gonna be flops as well.  Sigh.

This is this.

An odd moment of introspection

I was born in 1977.  One of my earliest memories was of news reports of President Reagan being shot in 1981. Another early memory, probably the same year since we were still in DC, was of dressing as Darth Vader for Halloween and peeing myself before trick or treating because I couldn't get the stupid plastic mask and sheet costume off fast enough.

I probably saw but don't remember the classic campaign videos of 1984, "Morning in America" or "The Bear" when they originally aired.  I do remember the Reagan bio that Craig T. Nelson is reading in Poltergeist (a movie that still scares me but it's also a weird time capsule of my youth).

It's strange watching this old footage of Reagan today because in this election year I would probably vote for him.  Yeah, I know, historical hindsight allows me realize x,y, and z but I still like Reagan.  Hell, I probably would have voted for him while everything was going to shit.  Bullshit, I don't vote but I am a fan of his humor.

I am now going to watch my favorite 1984 movies which was a stellar year for cinema.

I love Udo Kier.

I was watching some trailers the other night just to see what movies are in the pipe and I saw the trailer for this:

Udo Kier as Moon Fuhrer and NAZIS ON THE FUCKING MOON WAGING WAR ON EARTH!  This heavy dose of looney toons is premiering in Berlin, April 5 (not the 20th).  I'll wonder if I'll ever get to see it but it looks fucking awesomely awesome.  Moon Nazis, dude.  Moon Nazis.

p.s. Laibach is doing the score.