Wil Wheaton on Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show

As promised, I finally got a chance to sit down and watch the Wil Wheaton episode of Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show (Season 1 Episode 10), so here are my thoughts. Wheaton guest stars as fictional super slimy Hollywood talent agent Moshi Schwartz, or Mushy Shorts, who is determined to get Kiko to sign with his agency, despite having never seen the show, because the buzz is huge. Instead Kiko dresses him in a flower hat, and they grow together until it is time for nature to pollinate his face, thanks to Panda who is dressed as a bumble bee, before spinning the wheel of fun only to land on "make a deal". Schwartz thinks this is his big break, only to learn that instead he is the winning contestant in a game show a la "Let's make a deal" and after choosing door number one, he is rewarded with a very hairy male order bride?!? Wheaton's running judemental commentary and on going cell phone calls arethe pretty funny, as are Unicow's on going dancing (humping) antics. Wheaton brings his own sense of comedy to the piece, and it works well with the typically zany antics of the cast. Another solid episode of free TV thanks to Crackle!

Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show

This is my latest discovery on Crackle and I have to tell you right now that it is awesome! Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show is an American made spoof of a Japanese talk show hosted by an over the top Japanese character named Kiko. The guest stars are actors, none of whom are expecting to be molested by Kiko's costumed pals: Unicow and Panda. In every episode they spin the wheel of fun for random entertainment. I was highly amused by the total randomness of it all. Here are the synopsis's for the first two episodes: S1E1: Lick Poop: Ichi! Ni! San! Shi! Palaentologist Rick Pope (Lick Poop) gets a bright, J-pop, Makeover when it comes to party time with Kiko. Talk to the hot dog! S1E2: Chief Itchy Balls: Unicow and Kilo get together for fun time with Chef Rick Bowles. A marshmellow man begs to be eaten, and Unicow sacrifices himself for fun! This may not be for everyone, but I appreciate their off the beaten track sense of humour, and the party time sings are funny as hell. Wil Wheaton makes a guest appearance in season one episode 10, which I will totally blog about once I have seen it! They have a full two seasons available online, and I will totally be watching all of it as fast as I can!

Merry Christmas

As the holiday season draws ever closer, I would like to take a moment to share my thoughts.  This is a special time of year when I like to look back and reflect on all of the wonderful people and opportunities that I have in my life.  I consider myself very blessed to have a such a happy, healthy, beautiful child to share the magic of Christmas with.  The Thief may have been naughty at times this year, but since she's right smack in the middle of the terrible 2's, I feel pretty confidant that Santa Clause will somehow still manage to find is way to our house this year. 
One entire side of my extended family will be gathering at my Grandparent's home on Christmas Day this year to celebrate the season and enjoy some quality family time with loved ones.  We aren't always able to all come together as often as we should, but we always make an effort at Christmas.  I have high hopes of seeing the other side of my family while I am home for the holidays, but we haven't made any concrete plans as of yet.  In my mind family always comes first.  I was raised to believe that family values are very important, and I can't emphasize enough how much the love and support of my entire family has meant to me over the years.  The holiday season is an opportunity for us to get together and share our appreciation, just relax for a few hours and catch up on what's going on in everyone's lives.
Friends, both old and new, are also a big part of the holidays for me.  Whether we see each other every day at work, or not nearly often enough,  Christmas is always a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with these friends, and offers an opportunity to express my gratitude.  All of my friends are incredibly generous, selfless, caring people that I appreciate immensely, that I wish I got to see more often. 

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe Christmas season, filled with love, cheer, and happiness.

Merry Christmas from my family to yours.

Christmas Vacation: A Remarkable Discovery

Since the Holiday Season is upon us, I sat down recently to indulge in a little Christmas tradition of mine that has gone by the wayside the last few years. Of course, I mean a Yuletide viewing of that most beloved of Christmas movies: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. This has been my favourite holiday movie ever since it was first released in 1989. For those of you keeping track, I would have been 10 years old at the time. Chevy Chase and a stellar ensemble cast lead us on a fun and frantic festive romp that never fails to fill me with holiday cheer. The adventures of Clark Griswold and his wacky extended family tend to put everything in perspective for me. While much of the holiday trouble they encounter is self inflicted, they always persevere and manage to find the silver lining in every situation. Some of my favourite moments include: The remarkable Christmas light display that Clark creates for his family, Cousin Eddie's trademark holiday tag line as he empties his RV's septic tank into the storm sewer "Merry Christmas, Shitter was full." Clark's pool side fantasy, the Swat Team Invasion, and of course who could forget the squirrel in the Christmas Tree. These and many other moments in this film have always made me laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of the whole scenario, and having seen it as often as I have, I was under the impression that there were no surprises left in this movie for me. This last viewing proved me wrong. Right from the start of the movie, as the Griswold's are driving the family station wagon out into the country to obtain the perfect tree, I noticed something for the very first time. The young son Rusty looked very familiar. I suddenly knew that I recognized him from somewhere, but it took a moment before it dawned on me. I will admit that regardless of how many times I had seen this film, I had never thought to take note of the name of the young actor playing Rusty, as at the time, he wasn't immediately recognizable as someone I was familiar with from other roles. Fast forward 23 years and that has changed dramatically. I had to check the final credits to be certain, but Rusty is played by none other than Johnny Galecki. Okay, so that name may not mean a whole lot to some of you, but I guarantee that you will recognize the name Leonard Hofstadter, from The Big Bang Theory. This revelation floored me! Here was someone that I have I enjoyed watching every week on one of the top rated comedy sitcoms on TV, and while I knew he had appeared on Roseanne as Darlene's boyfriend, David, I had no idea that I had been enjoying his work for over 20 years. Galecki's current work with the ensemble of Big Bang Theory is hands down some of the funniest stuff on TV right now, and the Leonard/Penny/Sheldon dynamic is simply pure genius. This little discovery really made my day so I thought I should share. Merry Christmas.

Beer Town: First Impressions

For those of you not from the Kitchener/ Waterloo area, please allow me to share with you what everyone around here already knows:  We have some of the finest restaurants west of Toronto.  A large selection of these fantastic fine dining establishments are owned and operated by The Charcoal Group.  Last night I had the opportunity to sample the wares at the Charcoal Groups newest establishment: Beer Town.  Located in Waterloo Town Square, Beer town is a upscale public house with, as its name implies, a focus on all things Beer.  With 30 beers on tap, and 98 other varieties available by the bottle, there should be something to keep most beer drinkers happy.  While the focus seems to be fairly heavily biased towards various Canadian Microbrews, (which are fantastic, don't get me wrong!) there is also a strong selection of international beers as well.  The decor is modern, with a few traditional elements thrown in for balance, and the ambiance is very upscale urban trendy.  This may be a place that the local university students occasionally come to experience the wide selection of brews available, but the price point and menu are aimed more at the more discerning 30+ condo dwelling  RIM and Google employees that inhabit the core of  Waterloo.  The highlight of the experience is the various booths with dedicated taps located in the center of each table.  While not every booth has a tap, the ones that do are very popular.  It is my understanding that beer from these taps is billed by volume.  I will have to try it out for myself one day soon.  While I will admit that I struck out with the first 3 beers that I was hoping to find on the menu, after a thorough perusal of their beer list, I was encouraged to discover that there was at least 20 varieties that I had never tried before.  I quickly set about correcting that!
My first beverage, the Edinger Dunkel, a weiss bier of German origin.  Much darker in colour than most wheat beers, the Dunkel has a surprising light taste that is a pleasant surprise to the palate.  Available by the bottle, the Dunkel was a solid choice for wheat beer fans that are looking for a new experience.
My second beverage of the evening was also an offering from the Edinger Brewery.  The Edinger Weiss Bier, which the menu tells me, is ranked the #1 wheat beer in the world.  A cloudy, creamy, golden pint of delicious heaven, the Edinger Weiss has a crisp, clean taste that wheat beer enthusiasts will appreciate, and a strong, sharp finish that sets it apart from any other wheat beer I had ever experienced.  It instantly became my new favourite wheat beer.
Alas, I did not sample the menu last night, but everything that I saw come from the kitchen looked fantastic. 
I'll be headed back to Beer Town soon!

Ginger-Dead Man

Because we share a fixation for the living dead, and she's all kinds of awesome, I felt the need to share this lovely creation with all of you.
Made by Kelly of Taking Life Advice From Rappers, this little Ginger-Dead Man is her take to the traditional ginger bread cookie.
Apparently the cookie cutter has a press on the back side that indents the skull and  all of the bones for your frosting convenience.

I love him.

And he is delicious!

ISSUES - A Crackle Exclusive

Okay, I know I was a little down in Crackle in that last post, but I just found a Crackle exclusive web-series that more than makes up for it.
Issues is a 6 episode series that takes various animated super heroes and puts them on a live psychologist's sofa.  They are rude, they are crude, and they are absolutely friggin hilarious.  Each episode is only 5-7 minutes long, but there is a whole lot of dysfunction jammed into each of these webisodes.
The episodes are written and directed by Josh Cooke and Matt Oates, and Cooke plays the role of Dr. Ted throughout the series.
Various guest stars provide the voice talent of the disgruntled super heroes including Seth Greene, Ron Livingston, Rob Riggle, and Eddie Kaye Thomas.
Download the free Crackle app and check this series out.  You'll be glad you did.

Life after satellite Television.

I recently moved into a condo, and due to the various rules and regulations of the building, I have had to give up my Bell Expressvu account.  Now I could easily have simply switched over to another service provider, but I have made the choice to go without.
Not totally without, I don't think I could do that, but I won't be paying for HD programming any time soon.
So instead I turn to my trusty PlayStation Network, and it's free access to Crackle.
Crackle is online video streaming service filled with B (D) List programming, and a boat load of odd japanamation, that promises to at least satisfy my desire to have something on the television while I lounge on my sofa staring blankly at the screen.  While the programming is mostly crap, it is free, unlike Netflix, so that is a point in its favour.

The first show I attempted was Woke Up Dead, a comedy staring Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite), Krysten Ritter (Don't Trust the B in Apt 23), and Josh Gad.
So far I am only 2 episodes in, but I am intrigued.  It is really more of a web-isode based series as each episode is only 3-7 min long.  Plot vaguely goes something like this: Dex  (Heder) wakes up dead after taking a pill at a party, drowning in his bath tub and being hit by a bus.   But he can still walk, talk, and interact with the living...so he's not a traditional zombie...

It is mildly amusing, and I will likely watch more of it when I have more free time.

What kills me is that all of the programming is in standard definition, and therefore looks terrible on my big HD TV.  Oh well.  I will get over it.

Advertising Genius

I just wanted to share this image with you, since I think it is a piece of advertising genius, all the way from 1987. I found it in an issue of Marvel's X-Men (Issue #213) that I was reading this morning. I am currently working my way through the entire back catalogue of the original run of X-Men just because I can. This advertisement actually appears as a half page ad on one of the advertising pages right next to a real ad. It alludes to a sub plot that has working its way through the series for at least 25 issues at this point, but has yet to come to a head. This is the first example of this kind of subliminal advertising that I have come across in this series, and I am really impressed with the concept. By having this piece masquerade as a real public service announcement in the pages of its own magazine, Marvel draws attention to what is obviously about to become a huge plot point in the series. I imagine at the time of initial publication this ad generated a lot of buzz and hype about the upcoming events. And that in turn would have sold more comic books. Genius, pure and simple.

The Life Of Pi

Last night I finally got the chance to see The Life of Pi in theatres, and let me just start out by saying that it was visually spectacular. Director Ang Lee has done a marvelous job of bringing together a creative team who have been able to work cinematic wonders with this fantastic tale. This film is not your typical Hollywood spectacle, it focuses on the trials and tribulations of a young Indian man lost at sea after the cargo ship he is traveling on sinks in the Pacific ocean. The largest challenge he faces, sharing his life boat with an adult Bengal tiger. Based on the book of the same name written by Yann Martel, The Life of Pi, is a very spiritual reflection on the effect of adversity and isolation on the human psyche. While it has been a number of years since I read the book, I feel that this cinematic portrayal comes close to doing it justice. As a stand alone experience Pi really is quite remarkable, if mainly for its visual aspects. The hardships that young Pi must endure throughout his unexpected exile are often breathtaking to behold, as are the few moments of serenity that he is able to find during his trials. But the true highlight of the film is his adversary, Richard Parker, the tiger. The entire film can really be summed up as an exploration of the relationship of man vs beast under conditions of extreme adversity. Of course, those of you who have read the book also realize that there are strong undercurrents of a a second theme, that of man vs himself, also under extreme conditions. While likely not for everyone, I found myself quite fond of the retelling, and while I was engaged in the narration of the story, there was a significant part of me that kept wondering how they planned on dealing with the epilogue of the novel, that unexpected twist that makes a reader question and re-evaluate everything that they have experienced up to that point. By keeping the epilogue in tact as strictly narrative, the film makers make the conscious choice to leave the viewer with only the image of Richard Parker disappearing into the dense tropical foliage, rather than portray any of the events of Pi's 2nd version of the events, Ang Lee preserves the cinematic integrity of the film. My recommendation: Read the book. Decide which story you prefer, then see the film as a homage to a wonderful piece of creative writing.

Stan Lee On Comic Book Men!

As promised, Stan Lee, the creator of the Marvel universe himself, did make an appearance on Kevin Smith's AMC show Comic Book Men last night.  Stan was being photographed for a charity event, and the producers decided to use Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash as the backdrop for the shoot. The store basically shut down for the day, and the staff had a private audience with Stan.  Which was obviously a dream come true for Walt. The whole event was remarkably reminiscent of Stan's appearance in Kevin Smith's movie, Mall rats, as in both instances Mr. Lee was bombarded with esoteric questions that only true super hero fans could ever appreciate.  This time around though, it was interesting to hear Stan's unscripted answers.  It was actually very endearing to watch Walt, Mike, Ming, and Brian sit down cross legged on the floor on the comic book store to listen to Stan tell stories and answer their questions.
Stan was incredibly poised, funny, and had a great sense of humour about the entire affair.  Stan dodged a variant of the age old question of "who would win in a fight, The Hulk, or Thor" by stating that whenever two super heroes fight in a comic book it is important to have the fight end in a draw so that the fans of both heroes are never disappointed. This way the fans will argue the fine points of the match up for years to come, generating further discussion, and interest.". Well played Stan, as this continued interest also sells more comic books!  During one of the round table cut away scenes, Kevin Smith described Stan as a living legend, a true ambassador for the world of comic books, and I know that I am inclined to agree with this assessment.  Excelsior!

Blogit App - A Fancy New Toy

I just downloaded a new blogging app, and wanted to take it for a test drive. So this post was published on my tablet with Blogit! The official Blogger app from Google has been driving me crazy ever since it was updated 2 weeks ago, and insists on hanging and freezing my tablet every single time I try to upload a photo from my image gallery, or edit an existing post. So while this post may not be super exciting to you, the reader...I think it's pretty cool. It seems a little odd to me that the photo appears as HTML in the body of the text, but I think when I publish it, it should be fine. Had some difficulty publishing initially, but after a delete & reinstall everything seems fine. Win. Perhaps I spoke too soon, it seems to have issues publishing when I include labels...otherwise works great...aha I think I solved the problem...apparently "!'s" aren't allowed in blog titles or labels...blogit wouldn't tell me that, it just refused to publish, but Blogger flagged them when I tried a work around...so there is my new fact for the day.

Super Mario Brothers - Before they were Super!

I found this advetisement in an X-Men comic book I was reading tonight (#187) from 1983 and it brought a huge smile to my face.
Long before they made their debut on the NES Mario and Luigi were just simple plumbers in this classic Atari 2600 video game.  Challenged by the nefarious turtles, crabs and flying thingies...I vaguely remember playing this title a few years after it was released, after I had gotten hooked on Super Mario Brothers for the NES.  I disticntly remember my younger self being like...wow this game is crap!  Now I look back on it and appreciate it for everything that it started.  Ah nostalgia...to think...this was 30 years ago!