Wow, There's A Lot Of Dust In Here

This post is going to be straightforward; sorry for not updating in months. Right above these words is the unboxing of the Bishoujo Rogue figure/statue from Kotobukiya. I got it on Monday and expected it to come to me today. It looks really good and I love the design of her from artist Shunya Yamashita. It almost made me consider getting the Black Widow figure/statue. Anyway, I also posted a bunch of pictures of Bishoujo Rogue on Twitter, and you can find them over on my TwitPic account.

More points:
-I advise you or anyone reading this blog to follow me on Twitter. Or, at the very least, bookmark my Twitter page. I update there a lot. Like, heavily. Say what you will about the service, it is bloody easy to become addictive to it, especially with tools like twhirl. It's great.
-Last month, I became a writer/reporter for gaijINside, a nerdy newssite/blog dealing with nerdy things. Cartoons, comics, video games, sci-fi, gadgets, and toys, we cover the bases as best as we can. I will be linking to my reviews/featured articles on here, like my review of Black Lagoon Vol. 7. Black Lagoon is a badass series and well worth your time to watch the anime series and read the manga volumes. Just don't begin with Vol. 7 because you will be lost and partially disappointed.
-I'm also writing for my school's newspaper, The Tiger's Roar. I'll post any articles that hit the net on here and pick up the August/September issue later this month if you live in the Savannah, GA area.
-Also, tomorrow (as of this post), I'll be going to Anime Weekend Atlanta, an anime convention held on Sept. 18-20 this year. I will be doing many things, chief among them is picking up 12 effing volumes of Love Hina.One of my friends on Toon Zone tried to sway me away from this series last Sunday because it sucked to him and gave away spoilers. First off, I enjoy Love Hina. Secondly, I have looked at the cover of the final fucking volume before he even spoiled it (it pays to be at Barnes and Noble for hours without working there!). And finally, the series has been fucking discontinued without any chance of it getting republished. Either way, I have gone off-topic. Next point!
-I will be in Atlanta this weekend. I will have little to no Internet since I'm staying at the con hotel (the Renaissance Waverly), where they charge you extra for Internet regardless if it's wired or wireless. I have my cell phone on me, so expect some updates on my Twitter account. Also, gaijINside (the site I now work for) will be there, and they too will be updating on their Twitter feed as well as the main site. I'll also be bringing my video camera, my Flip video camera (responsible for all of my videos), and my new digital camera, so expect some pictures and videos in the coming days and weeks.

Blocked party Rock...forever

Video Of The Moment: Insane Stand-off

My parents watch Fox News. A lot. It's on right now. It's at a volume where I can faintly hear it in my room. It's annoying. However, it does present itself with advantages, like this standoff from last night in Los Angeles. I was walking to my room when Fox News showed the video, and I laughed my ass off. I kinda feel sorry for him, but then I read the article where the embedded video came from, and I now kinda don't. Watch and enjoy.

Pure Randomness #13 - Muscle March

This is bizarre. And maybe gay. And on drugs. It's essentially Cho Aniki plus Hole In The Wall in terms of gameplay and style as bunch of muscle-bound people and a polar bear chase down people who stolen their protein supplement. Nothing but high-quality weird from the people who brought you a crotch-plate flamboyant king of space and whatever the hell Noby Noby Boy is.

Pseudo First Impressions On The New Version Of Marvel VS Capcom 2 On The PS3!

I'm not lying when I say there is some language.

When I mean by "pseudo," I mean that my real first impressions were from when the demo was first available on April 30th. And my parents were there to see me download it, since the PS3 is in the living room. And, they are not tolerant to me cursing. Plus, there was no camera. But, mark my words when I say that what I'm saying in this video is what I feel about the demo.

Plus, this is the first time I posted a video to YouTube and my first original video for BPR. :) Expect more.

One more thing: F**k the Knicks.

VOTM: "Playing With The Boys" on Top Gun Day

This is Video of the Moment, or VOTM, a whenever-I-feel-like-it series of post highlighting a certain video that I'm liking for the moment. And, today, I'm liking Top Gun, a 1986 movie about US Navy pilots attending a fighter school for advanced pilots. Today, May 13, is Top Gun Day, a fusion of Talk Like A Pirate Day and Tom Cruise. In celebration, here's a video. Above, is one of the most infamous scenes in Top Gun, where Tom Cruise, Gilbert from Revenge of The Nerds, Val Kilmer, and some other dude who isn't as famous as the other three play volleyball. It's so infamous, there's an easter egg on the recently-released iPhone/iPod Touch game where you can play volleyball just by changing your pilot's name to "VOLLEYBALL". Plus, there's two more easter eggs (including another Tom Cruise reference) that are discussed here.

Also, if you're wondering who would win in the epic matchup between them, The Love Of Sports posted 5 reasons why should be rooting for the Ice...man!

Now, if you excuse me, I gotta sing "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" over on Lips for the 360. Who will be my Goose to my Maverick?

Pure Randomness 12 - Mega Man 2 Drumline

You may have seen this, you may have not. I'm going with not. This is the Winter Drumline at Kansas University performing material to Mega Man 2. It is geeky. It is good. It is cheap. It's still good. Drum me up a beat! I want a drumline and a college choir do "Libera Me From Hell". Someone pass this down!

Also, new non-Pure-Randomness post and content coming. Pinky swear.

Video discovered via Destructoid

Pure Randomness #011 - Your Government Not At Work (Featuring the Power Rangers)

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Your Government Not at Work - Jane Harman Scandal
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis First 100 Days

I love The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. I watch it every night. I also love the Power Rangers. They were my childhood heroes and my guilty pleasure today. Although, right now, the current season, RPM on ABC, is by far one of the best shows for kids this year and quite possibly the best PR season in the past several years. When a congresswoman's problems get surfaced, I got peanut butter and chocolate mixed together. The first time seeing this made me laugh hard.

Also, for more RPM, check out Power Rangers On-Air Central. It's the perfect source for figuring out when RPM is on in your area.

Pure Randomness #010 - The Effin Power Rangers Theme

...as performed by Armcannon.

I love the Power Rangers. They have been a part of my childhood since they debuted back in 1993. My older brother took me to see the first movie when it debuted in the summer of 1995. And, with the advent of Power Rangers RPM, the supposedly last season of PR, my interest got shot back up and I now watch it every week. Well, except yesterday, but that's because I had to go to work; anyway, I still recorded it. :)

But, to be fair, this song is the real reason why I'm back into the Power Rangers. Click on the video above (or, if it's pulled out, go on Armcannon's Myspace page) and listen. THAT, my friends, is the definition of EPIC. It is 100% Awesome Sauce. From Rita's opening statement to the final guitar solo, Armcannon made a cheesy 1990s tv show that used Japanese stock footage and made it badass. If the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series is ever revived or remade, this has to be its theme song. No ifs, ands, or JAM Projects about it. It is that good.

Also, some linkage:
If you want to own this song, it will be on Armcannon's next album, which won't be out for a while. Until then, do what I did and get the Child's Play 2008 Charity CD. It has the song plus contributions from MC Lars, MC Frontalot, Anamanaguchi (they kick ass), Jonathan Coulton, Freezepop, Piano Squall, and many more. It's 10 bucks plus shipping and supports Child's Play. If you steaal this album, then you are Jack Thompson. And, no one wants to be Jack Thompson. And, if the song gets you into Armcannon like it did with me, you can still pick up their first album on their website.

Pure Randomness #09 - Me Llamo Cilantro

Cilantro es muy malo. El cilantro es un burro. Cilantro es lapidada. Cilantro va a cantar al diablo.
Aquí está otro vídeo.

Pure Randomness #8 - Stuff I'm Watching

• Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (only if Funimation put the show on Hulu, I will be happy)
• Basquash! (mecha playing basketball; one of the best animated shows out there)
• Power Rangers RPM (It may be the last season of PR, it may not, and hell it's a ripoff of Terminator Salvation and Mad Max, but it kicks ass)
• Shinkenger (if PR survives, this is what year 18 will be based on - the most Japanese season of Super Sentai ever)
• Chaos;HEad (really bizarre, but good)
• RideBack (motorcycles with arms; also good)
• ESPNEWS HD 9best network EVAR)
• Mighty Boosh (it's good)
• King Of The Hill on [as]
• Transformers Animated

Maybe I should call this blog Pure Randomness, since it's the only posts I've been putting up. I'll probably post something about Peggle this week. And maybe a review of FMA: Brotherhood. Speaking of, the OP is up top. PLAY IT. It kicks ass. :)

Pure Randomness #007 - I have a Megazord Made Out of 12 Different Zords

Do you? I got it straight from Japan. Sure, it's traditional to have a Megazord or combination mecha made out of 5 smaller parts. Heck, 3 parts are now in style. But, I want 12 different parts. I want a Megazord where 2 zords make up unnecessary shin guards that go on top of the foot. I want a Megazord so tall, it's twice the size of normal monsters. I want a Megazord who's finishing move is by sliding to the giant monster and teabagging it. That's what I want.

And, strangely enough, it will happen. The video above is from Engine Sentai Go-Onger, which is the basis for this year's season of Power Rangers called RPM. And, both are good in their own ways. While Go-Onger was light and silly, RPM is dark and rips off Terminator Salvation. Both have brought me joy this past month. :)

Pepsi

Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi

Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi

Diet Pepsi Max

Pure Randomness #006 - This Is Not The Big Post You're Looking For

Pic unrelated

Yeah. Sorry for not posting this past week. And, again, sorry if you were expecting a big post. Because this is not it. Work can do that to you. Expect something on Wednesday (if I can pull myself away from the Toon Zone forums). Until then, enjoy this video from the past week of a series I want to finance if I had the cash (found at Topless Robot):

BTW, I'm a PC, and I wrote a blog post.

Pure Randomness #005 - I Am Lazy.

I NEED MOTIVATION!
Sorry for the delays. Also, expect something big next week during Pure Randomness.
Source

Video Of The Moment: "June Madness"

NCAA Expands March Madness To Include 4,096 Teams

I already posted this on my Twitter account earlier, but since today's the proper start of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, it's appropriate to post this gem from The Onion a couple of weeks ago. Enjoy.

BTW, I'll probably film the first installment of "The Assessment" tonight or tomorrow.

Prepare to pay full retail (and then some)

Pic courteously from Destructoid

I was genuinely excited for Hasbro Family Game Night. You can call me a casual dumbass for saying that, but the idea of playing board games with others is an ideal I support. Hell, I even bought a travel version of Sorry! just so I can play with others without having to get the full version. And, the idea of playing Sorry! and several other games (including Battleship and Scrabble) online with others via Xbox Live made me consider getting the game. That is, until the pricing was shown to the public.

The Xbox Live Arcade version of FGN is free, but it comes with no board games. If you want those, they will set you back at 800 M$P (or $10 in US currency) per game. And, only a select few - Battleship, Connect 4, Scrabble, and Yahtzee - are only available with the others (Sorry!, Sorry! Sliders, and Boggle) coming soon. Honestly, I think that's bull-cacca. Even though I spent $9 for SFIV costume packs and blew money on 360 themes and gamerpics, I'm not willing to spend excess cash for these titles (even though they may be technically cheaper than the real McCoys).

And then, I remembered something. I remember seeing this game listed for the Wii and PS2. And, when I went to the official web site, lo and behold, those versions existed. Guess how much they cost? $40 and $20 respectively, and both come with 6 games, the lone excemption being Scrabble. Guess how much it will cost to get all seven on XBLA? 5600 Microsoft Points, or in better terms, 70 bones. 70. United. States. Dollars. Horse Armor is technically better than this price-gouging bullshit.

While curse words fill my head (and probably yours, too), here's something I just discovered along with the price. This is technically a la carte gaming, in which you pay for only the things you care about instead of having to deal with the whole shebang and get crap you won't play ever. I remember hearing and reading about how the FCC has been hammering on the cable and satellite companies to allow the existence of a la carte services, giving the consumers to pay for only the channels they want and supposedly save some cash. This proposal technically led some companies like DirecTV and Dish Network to create cheaper "Family" Packages to allow consumers to get safe-for-the-kiddie networks ranging from kids networks (Disney Channel), kid/adult hybrid channels (Cartoon Network/Adult Swim and Nickelodeon) and general-interest/infotainment channels like Discovery that won't corrupt a child's "fragile little mind" (like the Dirty Jobs host artifically inseminating a cow by shoving bovine semen up a cow's vagina). The problem is that if the channels you want cost more than paying for the Total Choice package that contains the channels you want plus more at a cheaper price, it's just economically smarter to just go ahead and get the Total Choice package and fiddle around with the settings so you can only see the channels you care about.

Technically, I only care about a few games (Sorry! Sliders, Scrabble, Battleship, and maybe Yahtzee). But, there will be a few Xbox 360 users who are going to get all the games. And they are going to get burned big time when they pay $30 or $50 dollars more than the Wii and PS2 versions for the privelage to say, "Hey look! I got the same game as you, but I can play online and have Scrabble included as well!" The creators (EA) and Microsoft need to do what Rock Band (ironically a product that EA distributes) and others do: Offer the board games together at a discounted price. Like, say, the initial 4 for $30 and the next three for $20. Sure, that tallys up to be $10 more than the Wii version, but a logistical counter-argument will be the ability to play online and Scrabble. And, it's still cheaper than 70 effin' dollars.

BTW, Buy The Get The Funk Out Track Pack For The Rock Bands NOW

I love Rock Band, or Rock Band 2 to be specific. It introduced (at least on the home console level) the ability to play as a complete band (guitars, drums, and vocals) simultaneously and made paying over $160 for plastic fake instruments cool and hip. It also pioneered the use of Downloadable Content, with virtually weekly releases of songs that could easily make up multiple versions of Rock Band that could be sold at Gamestop for $60 a pop. Plus, the song selection is eclectic, spanning multiple genres and decades. One week, you can have the best of The Who, and the next you're sampling country music. It's Awesome.

Although, it sometimes doesn't look like variety. Recent stats have shown that there are more rock and alternative songs available for the game. Hell, there's more metal songs than progressive rock, punk, blues, and country songs combined. Check the chart. It's somewhat sad. But, things are looking good, at least for this week. A wide variety of songs came out this week, but the most notable is the "Get The Funk Out" track pack. For about 440 Microsoft Points (or about $5.50 for those with the PS3 version and don't have to deal with Microsoft's Space Bucks system), you get three songs from James Brown, Average White Band, and Earth Wind & Fire. I played through the guitar tracks on each song, but these songs make me want to get some people together and create a band to play these songs. Or, at least get a microphone to wail through "Get Up (I Feel Like a) Sex Machine." If you have Rock Band 1 or 2, and you haven't gotten the Track Pack yet, get it NOW! I'll see you on Xbox Live.

BTW, buy the Track Pack on the 360 here. For a preview of the songs, click on the videos.

Happy Day Of Drink! (aka St. Patrick's Day)

I live in Savannah, GA. And tomorrow (or today, since I was typing this late last night) is going to be one of the biggest days of the year for the city. Why? Because tomorrow's St. Patrick's Day, a holiday which lost all original meaning whatsoever and became nothing more than a holiday for drunkenness. Our city's parade is one of the largest in the country, either 2nd or 3rd biggest (always behind New York's). We dye a fountain green. And, the city will have to deal with drunks, crazed women kissing marching cadets from the local all-boys military school, and more drunks. Crap, the city even tried to contain the purchase of liquor in downtown Savannah (where the parade is held) into one district and have it fenced off, creating a drunk display for a local zoo.

I really have no clue if they're doing it again this year (I believe not) because I don't care about the parade. I've been to it before as a kid, and really have no interest to fight the crowds since I became older. In fact, while the parade happens, I'll be at work bagging groceries; yes, that's my job but it's not my career. But, for the few of you who read this blog (hey, bro!) and to the rest of the Interwebz, I wish all of you a happy and safe St. Patrick's Day. Or, ever since I saw the Family Guy episode "Peter's Two Dads," a happy and safe Day of Drink!

(I couldn't find a clip of FG where Peter and his biological dad start playing "The Game Of Drink," so you get the end of the episode where they engage in a musical number. Still suits the holiday, though. Either way, go watch "Peter's Two Dads" to commemorate the holiday. Even if it means you buying the episode off of Xbox Live or iTunes, or even getting the DVD, do it NOW!)

Pure Randomness #004

The picture above is from the one-shot manga Tonari no Tarō-kun, in which someone who looks like President Obama and his neighbor, who looks like Japanese Prime Minister and self-proclaimed otaku Tarō Asō, get involved in kinky situations. BTW, did I mention this is an erotic manga? No? Okay, then. For more NSFW "highlights" (for a lack of a better term), go here. If you want to learn more about Obama, Asō, and their connections to manga and Japan in a safe-for-work manner, go here.

But, the thing that startled my mind is not that Obama is in an ero-manga, it's who else is involved. In the pic above, you see that fake-Obama's wingpeople are lookalikes of John McCain and Hilary Clinton. McCain doesn't bother me. It's Hilary. Because she's hot. I mean she's hot. Look again at the pic above. Now, look at the pic below of the real Hilary:

Sorry, scotsindependent.org, but your pic of Hil was the first result on Google Image Search

As you can see, fake Hilary looks younger than the real deal. Heck, I now have a plan to use the person I now dubbed "Hot Hilary" in a future post.

Speaking of future postings, here's what else you can expect from BPR:

• Pure Randomness Assessment: After every four Pure Randomnesses, expect a video walkthrough of my stupid thought process. The first Assessment will come later this week.
• Reviews on energy drinks.
• Power Rangers and Super Sentai (the original Japanese version)
• What I dub "The Anti-Twilight"
• Xbox 360 Community Games
• Old-School Xbox 1 games
• Crap that makes me cry
• Songs that should be on Rock Band
• Is Star Ocean 4 erotic?
• Lists
• Features involving lists
• This:

Video(s) Of The Moment: XBLA In Brief - Crystal Defenders/Peggle + Bonus FoD Vids

I enjoy following/reading Joystiq Xbox (formerly called Xbox 360 Fanboy). Sure, most of the posts now are actual posts from Joystiq proper, they still put out some regular features exclusive to the Xbox section like XBLA In Brief. This weekly video series features playthroughs of the week's newest Xbox Live Arcade demos as host Richard Mitchell describes whether or not you should pay full price for them. This past Wednesday's was special. It featured the two new titles out, Crystal Defenders and Peggle. Crystal Defenders is a tower defense style game made by and featuring jobs from Final Fantasy. Peggle is Peggle, a pachinko-like game hailed by many as extremely addicting. If you haven't played Peggle yet, play it here or here if you have IE. I have both games, and both are very good. You can blame the video above for me buying them.

BONUS VIDEOS FROM FUNNY OR DIE!
Funny or Die, the humor video site from Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, gave the geek world two delightful gems. One features Jon Hamm of Mad Men as Lex Luthor. Another stars Malin Akerman (aka Silk Spectre II from Watchmen) and quite possibly the worst roommate ever if you are beautiful and star in geek cinema. Since both are awesome, the full versions are posted below. Watch them if you haven't seen them yet. Or, watch 'em again. Your call. (Metacomment: One day, I'll figure out how to do the "Read More" tags, but I'm too tired to care now)

"Lex Luthor Bailout" with Jon Hamm from Jon Hamm

Watchmen Tour with Malin Akerman from Malin Akerman

Video Of The Moment: Pork

I never really like liked Tim And Eric. Their shows, Tom Goes To The Mayor and Tim And Eric Awesome Show Great Job!, have been hit or miss. Some are genius, like John C Riley as Dr. Steve Brule and Child Clown Warehouse, while others, like when Tim's dad started to treat Eric more like his own son more than his real one, are misfires that question why [adult swim] is wasting money on them. But, to give them credit, they're certainly better than Young Person's Guide To History; God, I hate that show/special.

This clip, and your current VOTM, is from the most recent episode. Of course, I didn't watch it, but if I did, it would have been for this because it was the only thing interesting from the episode's promo. Bring on the pork.

Pure Randomness #003 - Chris Brown On Vacation!

Chris Brown pictured here in his "Thug Life" pose. "Yeah. Look at my muscles." What a douchebag.

Now, I know this is horrible. But, I don't know the full situation between hip-hop/R&B singers/performers Rihanna and Chris Brown. Should we base all of Chris Brown's past, present, and future behavior over one incident when he took a lyric from "Boyz n the Hood" literally and allegedly beat Rihanna? Maybe. Maybe not. There probably is a logical reason why she probably took him back. Maybe it really was a fluke incident and not really reflective of Chris Brown's behavior. Maybe he's great in the sack. Who the f--k knows and who the f--k cares. We'll learn eventually when Rihanna becomes our generation's Whitney Houston and after she embarrasses herself and her career by saying some really stupid things on par with "Crack is whack" and one of Chris Brown's songs gets covered horribly by the biggest teeny-bopper female star out there like what Britney did to Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative." God, that cover sucked.

But, this Pure Randomness post is not about Rihanna and Chris Brown. Not directly, anyway. It's about the covers of the supermarket tabloids like the US Weekly above. They, along with the paparazzi, decided to go after the couple during their recent vacation to a beach (really don't care where). And, of course, 4 tabloids - US, OK, In Touch, and Star, all had covers devoted to the couple this week, with In Touch deciding to go with easy Photoshopping two file photos instead of using the on-assignment paps. What they chose for the Chris Brown cover photos really inspired me to comment on them. Like US Weekly's above. Half of what I'm thinking about when I see "Thug Life" CB makes me think of him as a "Wanksta". Reason? I know he dances for a living! I may be a nerd who loves punk, rock, and Japanese pop, but I study about pop culture and been exposed to MTV and VH1, along with attending a Historically Black College and University (Go Savannah State!) to know what Chris Brown does for a living; it also makes me feel confident to also call him my generation's Bobby Brown. Can't wait to see his potential criminal record. Until then, here's more covers!

Here, we have Star's pick. Note the fact that it's an insert pic, just like US Weekly's (did a good zoom job on that). The zoomed-in on aspect of it, along with Brown's pose, head tilt, and facial expression, makes me think of one of two quotes: "Huh?" and "Where's My Dinner, Woman!" Clearly, the paps and Star want Rihanna to dump Mr. Brown. Also of note is Rihanna's apparent disgust. What is she giving the look to and why? Is it because the paps are there? Did Chris Brown do something stupid? Did she get the wrong order?


Next is OK Weekly's cover. Rihanna looks happy and has her arm around Chris' neck. Two things could have been running through her mind: "I'm so happy to be here!" or "I'm about to choke that bitch Chris Brown's neck!" As for Chris Brown's facial expression, a few things, the two dominant ones being anger ala Gears of Awesome or the Howard Dean scream.


Finally, In Touch went with file photos. The way they're Photoshopped together makes me think Rihanna is cautious about Chris. Menwhile, Chris is rocking one s**t-eating grin right there.

The following VOTM Is Not Safe For Work Or For Baltimore

I found this video over on Deadspin earlier this week. Apparently, someone over at ESPN.com accidentally/purposely made a link to this video instead of this week's "Tuesdays With Mel" column, where ESPN's NFL Draft expert gave you his latest opinion on the upcoming draft. Since I found this video, I have watched it several times. And it's still funny. It even brought me a smile when I was at work just thinking about it and the lines from it. Ladies and Gentlemen, This Is Awesome Sauce.

Just Remember: The video above is Not Safe For Work.
Expect something on Sunday.

BONUS SAFE-FOR-WORK LINK!
Watchmen as a Saturday Morning Cartoon (Newgrounds)

Seth VS Deathbringer

I have been playing Street Fighter IV ever since it came out two weeks ago. And, quite simply, I love it. The fighting mechanics are solid. The graphics are great. And, outside of a few nitpicks regarding features that could have carried over from Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (like you not knowing who your opponent selected), online's a blast. But, outside of the online components, there's one other thing that I don't like about SFIV:

Seth Sucks And Is A Cheap Bastard.

I mean, seriously, he sucks. He is an uncontrollable cheap bastard. In case you don't care about SFIV, Seth is the final boss in the game. He looks like Dr. Manhattan with a frickin' yin-yang ball in his mid-section, he can use the best moves from select fighters (the Shoryuken, Sonic Boom, Yoga Teleport, etc), and his Ultra combo involves literally sucking you inside his midsection and spitting you out. Also, he can be cheap with some of his moves. For example, almost everytime I faced him, he always seem to execute one special where he uppercuts you, jumps up in the air, and then does a spinning piledriver on you. And, he does this move almost every friggin' time I faced him! He sucks ass!

In fact, I'm actually beating the same old drum now. Almost everyone who has commented on SFIV has talked about the cheapness of The Other Blue Naked Man. Some people have even compared him to the final bosses of SNK games like The King Of Fighters. (BTW, I'm getting KOF 2002/2003 on the original Xbox soon) However, there's one other boss Seth reminds me of. That person is Deathbringer from Battle Fantasia.

Battle Fantasia is a fighting game from Arc System Works, the people behind Guilty Gear. And, that's about it since Battle Fantasia dumps GG's love of future-tech and 80's butt-rock for more fantasy setting, excluding one character's usage of a chainsaw/sword/gas-poowered hoverboard mid-battle. The final boss is Deathbringer, a dark knight. When you first encounter him, he's just like every other character and not some supreme d-bag. However, it's not until after you beat him the first time when he becomes a supreme overpowered douche. It is in this final form Deathbringer becomes a true a-hole. All your attacks - punches, kicks, specials - don't do damage to this jackass. It's only when you're in Heat Up mode, the Super Saiyan of Battle Fantasia, that you can do serious damage to him, if he hasn't beaten you to a pulp, cancelling your Heat Up mode, and pull off his final, megaton death blow that I have not yet learned how to avoid, if at all. The final version of Deathbringer has been such a problem, and so much different from his previous form, that I call him Deathbringer Turbo. He's that much of a dick. Hell, he might have even inspired Seth since Yashimori Ono, SFIV's producer, has credited Battle Fantasia for inspiring SFIV's 3D-style-meets-2D-gameplay attitude.

So, how does Deathbringer Turbo like Seth? They're both final bosses and they're both cheap, hard, and almost impossible to beat. On the easiest settings for both games. It took me over thirty times to beat Seth as El Fuerte, and Deathbringer Turbo has made me afraid to even progress further into Battle Fantasia. Who's the bigger douche? Who knows? They could probably be out-douched by the final bosses in BlazBlu (Arc's new 2D fighter) and King of Fighters XII when they come out later this year. And, I'll be getting both, get abused by them, and love every single minute of it. Just the way God attened.

Pure Randomness #002

Sorry about me not posting in a while. Life happens. Like work. And laziness. Until the next post, enjoy the creepiness that is the new Gatorade Tiger labeling.

Video Of The Moment: Kid + Giant Dodge Ball...

Funny - Funny Videos

...equals comedic gold. Found this today while looking through Twitter. I don't have anything to add to this awesomeness. It IS Awesome Sauce.

Well, expect a new post tomorrow that isn't a VOTM. 4 reals. :)

Via KingLaserface's Twitter feed (NSFW background; go read KSK for refrences)

Pure Randomness #001

One week ago today, I decided to create this blog. Two days from now, it will have been one week since my first post. And, come Thurday, will be my one-week anniversary on Twitter. If you came from whatever means, please stick around, and also comment on this blog. I promise more stuff coming out, including a talk about Seth and Street Fighter IV, a game that inspired me to launch the wonder that is Blocked Party Rock, and on February 17th in general. Plus, more Video Of The Moments to keep your brain occupied. Until then, meet a new regual feature, and a way to end the weekend: Pure Randomness. They're like VOTMs, but, instead of being just awesome, they are made with a mixture of Awesome Sauce and Stupid.

See that pic above? Yeah, it's a cover to the latest Cosmo. But, look at the big white text, saying "HIS BIGGEST SEX SECRETS." Ladies, if you're reading this blog, you don't need Cosmo to tell you what our biggest sex secrets are. Ernest Borgnine kinda revealed it for us on Fox and Friends last year (rated WEB-14):

Yeah, thank you Earnest. Not only did you reveal one of our darkest secrets, you also gave away one of the biggest health secrets of all time. Also, the cheapest since it doesn't involve getting a book by Kevin Trudeau.

Also, you can access and spread the love of this blog by copying the following link. You'll be glad you did:
http://tinyurl.com/BPR-Blog

Thank You For Your Support Of Blocked Party Rock.

Why Circuit City Failed

As many of you have heard/read, electronics retailer Circuit City, after trying to get new investors/suitors like Blockbuster and contemplating bankruptcy protection, announced last month to shut all of its stores and began to liquidate and sell all remaining items and fixtures, a process that supposed to end on March 31. It is sad and not awesome to see a retailer collapse, especially one that your parents frequently shopped and got their television sets and Playstation 3s, and it's a little bit cruel to state that you took advantage of liquidation prices to pick up Rock Band 2 and a wired X-Plorer guitar controller for underneath 60 bones, like I did a couple of weeks ago, when it's the same retailer that got you three of your favorite games of all time - Guilty Gear X2 and Amplitude on the PS2 and the Gamecube version of Skies of Arcadia - in one trip many moons ago. However, a trip yesterday to my local Circuit City allowed me to examine why Circuit City failed. The reason?

THEIR PRE-LIQUIDATION PRICES WERE TOO HIGH!

Seriously. They had way higher prices for most of their products when compared to the direct competition like Best Buy (who was actually across the street in Savannah), especially for computers and computer accessories. Example: Yesterday's trip was the result of me wanting a new external hard drive. All they have (beyond the portables) was a 500 GB Western Digital My Book Essential; they had plenty of those on stock. The liquidation price was 30 percent off the displayed price. The displayed price? About $140. [/shock] Yeah, meaning the liquidation price was about $100. A fellow shopper near me, also looking for computer parts, said that he wasn't going to pay those prices and thought about heading towards Best Buy. So, shortly after the little conversation, I went to Best Buy. Guess what? The same 500 GB My Book was available, at $99.99, non-liquidated. You know what happened next? I ended up buying a different hard drive - a 500GB Seagate FreeAgent Desk - which only cost me $79.99. $79.99. And, I ended up using the $20 difference to pick up the Guns N Roses Chinese Democracy album. Talk about adding insult to injury. And, that's just one story! I bought my laptop in 2006 at Best Buy because they did away with mail-in-rebates and factored in the rebates into the actual price you paid up front, a technique I don't even know if Circuit City adopted.

Of course, it's not always about prices, because it it was, we would be ruled by Walmart. When I was at work later that night explaining my trip, a fellow co-worker expressed two seperate instances where Circuit City's customer service was crappy to him. In one instance, the store charged him more for a season set of South Park, even though it was in a bin with a bunch of other South Park seasons on sale for 20 bones. In another instance, he asked a clerk in the gaming department if Guitar Hero 3's Les Paul guitar (PS3 Version) would work with other guitar games on the system; the clerk was clueless (although in this situation, I would have consulted Joystiq's Instrument Compatibility Matrix for help, in which it says it works with all of them). Prices sometimes mean nothing if good customer service is factored in. The last remaining factor, the only place in town that carries said product, can be rendered pointless with online shopping unless you lack the means (again, becomming more pointless with gift cards being able to do online shopping).

So, in hindsight, Circuit City was probably destined to fail. But, I didn't get bad customer service from them when I was there, and if they had the crap I want (like anime) and weren't gouging me for them, I would have shopped there more. Alas, by March 31, Circuit City will join the ranks of Goody's, Montgomery Ward, and Toonami in becomming nothing more than a distant memory. I hope those that are affected (like employees) hopefully land on their feet and get new jobs as quickly as possible, despite how crappy this economy is. And, I hope that the executives weren't Greedy McMoneybags in causing its destruction, like those who sold Midway Games for $100,000 plus the debt.

VOTM: Wall Street Fighter 4

I've been playing Street Fighter IV since I got it on Tuesday. Beyond the ultra-cheap final boss, Seth (expect a much detailed post from me in the coming days about him), the sometimes laggy online mode, the pension of every player online to pick Ken instead of, you know, ANY OTHER CHARACTER (Hell, I would like to see someone pick Ryu when they face me online), and the overall crappiness of the Xbox 360's D-Pad, it's an awesome game. It's truly not like an updated version of SF II or Alpha clone some have been calling it thanks to the combo mechanic and the Super/Ultra Combo systems. And, I'm in so much of a mood, check out the above video from CB FRESH. Maybe if we see Wall Street executives duke it out with thier fists and go all MMA on themselves via Pay-Per-View, the recession would be solved. Or, make us forget a little bit that these are some of the same douchebags that got us into this mess in the first place. Either way, someone's going to get their ass handed to them. Yay!

Thank you, ShadowGUN from the Toon Zone forums!
BONUS LINK: F*CK YOU, SETH! (BahamutZero's blog on Destructoid)

Video Of The Moment: Mad World meets "Mad World"

Mad World is this year's biggest risk-taker. It's graphics are in black-and-white (save for red blood and the comic pop-out words), it's uber-violent, and oh, yeah, it's on the Wii. But, it looks uber-fun and may be the first Wii game I've bought and play since Smash Brothers Brawl last year, along with another M-rated title that came out this year, The House of the Dead Overkill. If you want to see my point, check out the trailers for it, or watch the video above. The good fine people over at Games Radar played the first three levels of it and have set the footage to "Mad World," the song loved by Donnie Darko and Gears Of War fans (right next to the Cole Train song at the end of Gears 1). Watch, enjoy, and be shocked. :)

BONUS STUFF

-Evolution of Death in Video Games (Games Radar) [extra bonuses: things influencing games and game logo evolution]
-Capcom's 10 Commandments (MTV Multiplayer)
-Evangelion 2.0 Japanese release date (ANN) [extra bonus: El Cazador]
-HD 101: Why there are black bars on HDTVs (Engadget HD)

"...Actually, It IS You."

Dear Criterion Games,

I like you guys. I like your games. More specifically, I like your Burnout franchise. I enjoy arcade racers more than sims, and my favorite games from the N64 era were the San Francisco RUSH franchise - which does include the N64-exclusive RUSH 2: Extreme Racing USA, one of my most-played games from the era. I enjoyed the thrill of driving cars really, really fast and seeing them wreck spectacularly, and I was glad to found a potential successor last console generation when I played the original Burnout on the Gamecube. I had fun when you unleashed Burnout 2 on the PS2, but it wasn't until y'all hooked up with EA and gave the world Burnout 3: Takedown. I played that game to death. Being able to take out your opponents with aggressive driving finally made Burnout the RUSH successor I wanted to play. I did get Burnout Revenge, but it wasn't my favorite of the franchise.

That is until you released Burnout Paradise on the next-gen systems. I got a taste of the demo on the PS3 last year, and thought it was the bomb. In that little taste, you gave me a fluid online system and an arcade racer meshing with an open world that makes me happy. And, when I got my 360 later that year, the trip to Paradise City was one of the first games I've ever got. And, it was filled to the brim with Awesome Sauce. The open world was fully realized. The online play mechanics integrated seamlessly into the gameplay. It was literally Burnout meets GTA in the sense that you can race around Paradise City and not even bother with the main quest until you were ready. It was fun, and it also got my brother into the franchise.

And, then, you took the base game and made it better through downloadable content. You did DLC better than anyone last year by offering game-changing content. Cagney was cool, but the Bikes Pack was truly the best and shows why some people (including myself) think you are the only developer worthy enough to tackle a revival/remake of Road Rash, one of EA's classic franchises (which include Wing Commander and the Strike series). And, all of it was free. You added more Awesome Sauce to the game without corrupting it. And, you are still supporting the game, adding in an offline multiplayer mode, 4 kick-ass tributes to pop culture's iconic cars (like the Ecto-1, the General Lee, KITT, and the flying DeLorean), and more coming down the pipline as paid DLC. And, all of it is good and cool. But, this is where we part, Criterion.

Look at the pic above. In order to access the Legendary Cars pack (the pop culture tributes), I have to download the latest update to Burnout Paradise. And, guess what? That update takes up over 870 MB of hard drive space; it's even more annoying that the download to activate the Legendary Cars is a little over 100 KB. And, you did the same thing with the Party Pack - large-ass free update, tiny activation pack. Now, this is fine and dandy, if I had a large enough hard drive. But, instead, I got a 20 GB, purchased when they first went down in price (better known as a "liquidation"). And, I'm not going to delete more space off of my hard drive to support this or any more of your updates. So, it pains me to say/type this, but we have to part ways, Criterion. I can't support your game anymore. My hard drive cannot handle any more updates until I upgrade to the 120 GB, which won't be for a while; other purchases like DVDs, food, graphic novels, and a backup external hard drive for my computer are more important at this moment. So, until then, or when you make another game, we part ways. Just remember: it's not you, it's me...

...Actually, it IS you. STOP RELEASING DLC THAT IS TOO HUGE! Those of us on both the 360 and the PS3 with small hard drives already near the brink cannot hold these updates without deleting stuff we want. Plus, the 1.6 update is gone from the XBLM servers! Do we still need it? I Need Answers!

Signed,
-Jonathan, aka Vyse the tetrisdork (XBL: tetrisdork)

Burnout Paradise's listing on the Xbox Live Marketplace (Xbox.com)
Criterion Games home page
Criterion on Twitter (looks like I know where to ask...)

"Welcome To The Future"

Welcome to the future, Welcome to the future..
Get into the new speed, Get into the enemy...
Mass communication (genemanipulation)
So what's the occupation? (what's your dedication?)
Welcome to the future, Straight into the future

-Lyrics to "Bigtime" by The Soundtrack Of Our Lives

Well, welcome to the future. My future. The Internet's future. A future built at first by blog posts. A future where, at the beginning, will be solely my thoughts, opinions, reviews, stories, and other writings. And, eventually, I will also include videos I created myself. Original productions of mass insanity. But that's in the distant future; how distant, I don't know. But, I do know is that I will deliver every post with an image and/or a video. THAT IS A FACT!

For the foreseeable future, this site is a work-in-progress. I will add more features as time goes on. I will also learn to alter the look so that the site will look purty and more to my style. I am working on it, but until then, this will do.

In the meantime, welcome to my place on the net. A place where games, music, comics, anime, movies, television, books, and sports collide into a smorgesboard of crazy and filled to the brim with Awesome Sauce. Because, it is my goal to build a site made with Awesome Sauce. And, trust me when I say, this is going to be awesome.

Welcome to the future. Enjoy the ride.

Welcome to Blocked Party Rock.

P.S. I love "Bigtime" by The Sondtrack of Our Lives. It fits the tone. :)

Lyrics taken from Dapslyrics.com