Well, as they say, all good things must come to an end. I haven’t mentioned here but I recently was hired for a new job at KRIS (NBC,CBS) to be a camera operator. I’m both crazily excited but nervous as hell as well.
However, there is a price to pay for my new circumstances.
Thanks to the new schedule, I will be no longer able to attend Beer School at the House of Rock anymore (or at least, for the foreseeable future).
So, it was with heavy heart that I attended my final Beer School last night. However, I did have fun as I invited some friends on Facebook to mark the occasion. So, I wasn’t crying into my beer like someone who lost his woman in a freak cockfight accident. In all, I’ll miss you, Beer School. You’ve allowed me to experience new types of beer I’ve probably wouldn’t have heard of. So thanks for the memories (and free swag) and I hope our paths cross soon.
But enough of that maudlin stuff, this is BEER DAMMIT. It must be consumed lest it consume you first. (I think Nietzsche said that, I could be wrong though.)
All the beers that were consumed came fromSixpoint Brewery in Brooklyn, New York. They have a peculiar way of selling it as they only come in a four-pack and they come in a box rather than the open carrying case you usually see for most beers. We only tried five out of the six core beers from Sixpoint but I found out later from the website, we only scratched the surface of the beers they created. Some brews are only made for special events or are “randomly available”.
Crisp - I didn’t notice a particular smell. Taste a bit hoppy but not too much for me to dislike.
Sweet Action - Lives up to its name with a sweet smell. Very light and smooth with a slight hoppy aftertaste to it.
Brownstone - Has a coffee-like smell and taste, reminds me of a stout or a Hobgoblin dark ale. Plus, its name reminds me of the song by Guns N’ Roses.
Bengali Tiger - A kind of fruity smell. While it is hoppy, I can add it to the small list of IPA’s I like.
Resin - Smells and tastes like a stronger version of the Bengali Tiger but somehow is not too overpowering for me.
Jacob’s Best O’ the Bunch! - This round’s going to the Brownstone. If it didn’t have that aftertaste, Sweet Action would’ve made it for sure. But, the taste and smell of Brownstone stayed with me longer and were, overall, a bit more enjoyable. To celebrate its victory, I offer this song.
This will be a short post as I’m only trying 3 beers and 1 cider this time around. These beers were purchased at World Market. Like HEB, they also have a “make your own six-pack” stand. While the HEB will happily offer more hard-working ’Murican domestics, World Market offers the shady-looking immigrants as well. You’re not quite sure what they’re like until you get close enough to one and they start stabbing you in the back of your throat or they give your mouth a sensual massage and show you how to find the “womens” and yeyo.
Magic Hat Heart of Darkness Stout - Has a strong coffee-like smell to it when opened. Has a nice smooth chocolately taste to it, not as strong as I thought it would have. I don’t know why I expect every stout to taste like a Guinness, but I guess when you get burned once… Magic Hat beers has always been hit-or-miss with me but this is definitely one of the hits. (Note: This is the 170th beer I’ve tasted! Huzzah! )
Ska Brewing Pinstripe Red Ale - Has a bit of a skunky smell to it like a Corona. It does taste a bit like a cerveza, but it’s much smoother with a pleasant taste. After letting it sit for awhile, it reminded me of another red ale, the Newcastle Werewolf, My Autumn Seasonal Beer of 2012. Not quite as strong though. Altogether, it’s a beer I’ll be keeping my eye on.
Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen - The smell, to me, doesn’t have any particular scent that stands out. In fact, it reminds me a lot of other domestic beers in its taste and overall appearance (Miller Lite, Bud Light, etc.). That being said, it is a good smooth beer, perfect for watching the skies for real UFO’s
Woodchuck Winter Cider - Now this is a cider that I’ve been waiting to try for a while especially since I fell in love with the Woodchuck Fall Cider. Like most ciders, it has a sweet apple smell, very pleasant to the nostrils. It has a very sweet vanilla taste to it. I can hardly taste the alcohol at all, tasting more like apple juice. While it’s not quite as awesome as the Fall Cider was, it’s still a good and sweet cider on its own.
Jacob’s Best O’ the Bunch! - I’m gonna have to give it up for the Magic Hat Heart of Darkness Stout. I think out of all of them, the taste of the stout really stayed with me and, despite my doubts, was an excellent beer.
(I apologize for the multiple week-long hiatus. There's no real excuse for it except procrastination. I'll get after myself for it...tomorrow)
One of the subjects I’ve always had a love for over the years is the supernatural. Can’t get enough of it. From ghosts and monsters to more new age-y concepts like mystic places and shamanism, I love reading about it. Do I actually believe any of it? I tend to try to stay on the fence about any paranormal views. It’d be nice if it were. I’d feel it’d make the world a little more exciting if there was a Bigfoot prowling around American woods.
So a book and movie about how the U.S. military was trying to train soldiers with psychic powers definitely caught my attention. Also, the book is nonfiction.
The Men Who Stare At Goats is a 2004 book by journalist Jon Ronson, who after being told that a military base has hundreds of de-bleated goats for experimental purposes, finds himself headfirst in a world of psychic spies, subliminal sounds and using the"I Love You" song from Barney the Purple Dinosaur as torture.
Just imagine this for hours and hours...
The book is an utterly fascinating read. It made me wish that the “supersolider” unit, the First Earth Battalion, was actually being used in the war today, using non-lethal, hippy-ish techniques. I’ve been reading it over the past few weeks on my lunch breaks at work and had a hard time putting it down when I had to clock back in. One of the chapters I found particularly interesting was how because of one former solider in the First Earth Battalion had been indirectly responsible for the Heaven’s Gate cult’s mass suicide.
If there was any complaint I had for the book is that there was no real ending. It just sort of teeters off. But as I understand according to the book that, despite the First Earth Battalion being disbanded, the U.S. military still uses the techniques for some uses, particularly torture. I’d love to see a follow-up by Ronson especially since it’s been 9 years since the book was published and see if there’s been any new developments.
I first became aware of the book, though, because of its 2009 movie adaptation of the same name starring Ewan McGregor, George Clooney and Jeff Bridges. Although the book has no real chronological order, the movie does an excellent job of bringing the book to life, speaking about and demonstrating many of the book’s bizarre subjects and generally, being a good summation of the book's themes .
The movie is about a journalist named Bob Wilton (McGregor) who tags along with a toilet contractor named Lyn Cassady (Clooney) who claims that he was a psychic spy for the military. As they get into many hairy situations in war-torn Iraq, Lyn talks more and more about his time in the “New Earth Army”.
While it has some embellishments when compared to the original book, I really enjoyed the movie. Even if you’re not interested at all in the supernatural like I am, it’s still a really funny movie. One of my favorite scenes being this one:
You can actually buy a predator if you like at this website
Happy New Year's to everybody and I hope everyone had a good time. With a new year comes new beginnings, new promises and, for me, new movies.
While I was making this list, I was surprised at the amount of films coming out this year that caught my interest. As of this writing, there are still some movies that are coming out this year that haven't dropped any trailers such as Thor: The Dark World. I'll get to those on a later post, but for now, on with the trailers!
After Earth
What some of you may not know is that this is a M. Night Shyamalan movie. And as you're aware, his last few movies have not been...well recieved. (Goddammit, what did you do to Avatar: The Last Airbender?! Sorry, had to get that off my chest.) This, as I see it, is probably the make-or-break movie for Shyamalan. He has in his advantage Will Smith in the lead, who by this point is just movie gold. Even the worst film starring Will Smith brings in the millions. Shyamalan aside, I really dig the premise of this film. Though they ruined the classic Shyamalan twist in the trailer. The hostile alien planet is...*GASP* Earth?!
Anchorman: The Legend Continues
To be honest, I was surprised they were going to do a sequel to Anchorman. I thought the first movie wrapped things up pretty cleanly. I didn't think it needed a sequel...but damn if this didn't make me want to see it. You might think at first glance I double posted the trailer but no, they released two different versions at the same time. I couldn't pick between the two of them which to post because both made me laugh uproariously. Which one do you like?
Beautiful Creatures
I'm really not sure what to make of this trailer. I'm not familiar with the books series it's based on, though I have seen the title before. The trailer really seems like just "Twilight...with witches! My bad, 'Casters'!" Plus, there are some parts in the trailer that are making me unintentionally laugh. Like when the woman says, "And look at what I am now." at 0:50 just makes me want to answer "You have spooky Darth Maul eyes". There are the hammy moments at 1:37 with Jeremy Iron's "Get Out!" and the weird twirling table and yelling match at 1:49. I mean, why does she scream? That's just bad debate skills. Plus, I love how Jeremy Irons isn't even attempting a Southern accent.
A Good Day to Die Hard
Ah, Good ol' John McCLane. It's nice to see you back. This just seems like the ultimate guy movie, doesn't it, what with the explosions, guns, explosions, girls in bikinis, explosions, helicopters, explosions, crazy stunts, and what else? Oh yeah! EXPLOSIONS!!! I showed this trailer to my nephew and he commented, "Everything's blowing up!" I really liked how they had Beethoven's Ode to Joy, one of my favorite classical pieces, playing in the background throughout the trailer. I commend them for using the finale of the piece to good use, a really overlooked part of Beethoven's 9th Symphony.
World War Z
When I first heard of the movie version of World War Z, I figured it just be a another standard "Oh no! Zombies are loose!" type of film. But...Jesus. I've seen running zombies before, but these are swarming zombies! A literal wave of zombies coming at you! Look at that image before you press play. That's not a mound of inert dead bodies, that's a giant mound of zombies climbing over each other like f 'in psychopathic ants trying to get that sweet sweet flesh. Why couldn't the zombies in the Dawn of the Dead remake be that resourceful? That sold me on the movie more than Brad Pitt did.
Star Trek Into Darkness
Prior to the reboot, I was never the biggest Star Trek fan. (I much preferred Star Wars, thank you.) But the new movie was just the push I needed to get into the franchise, so I was excited that they were going to do a sequel. I don't know what the exact story is for this film, but crap, the stakes look like they have just been raised for the Enterprise crew. And having just watched the BBC's Sherlock series on Netflix, I was happy to see Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain. Rumor has it he might (keyword being might) be playing the new version of Ricardo Monteblan's Khan. Until we get more info, it's just a rumor for now.
Iron Man 3
Oh, this is a big one. The first post-Avengers Marvel movie to come out. You would think after the victory the Avengers had, Tony would be in a better mental state, but no, he seems really nervous and uneasy. In fact, this movie looks really dark compared to the other two films. I'm really glad they managed to finally get the Mandarin (Ben Kinglsey) on the big screen. For those who aren't comic geeks, the Mandarin is to Iron Man what the Joker is to Batman and it looks like he gives Iron Man one hell of an ass-whooping in this flick.
As an Iron Man treat, I gives you the greatest entrance of all time:
The Last Stand
I never realized until I saw this trailer how much I miss seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger in movies. True, he's a lot older now but he looks like he's back in fighting shape. The movie looks like a lot of fun as Schwarzenegger movies tend to be especially with Johnny Knoxville of Jackass fame playing sidekick. Look at him at 1:18. He looks so giddy just feeding bullets.
The Lords of Salem
Damn, this movie looks genuinely creepy. When I first read the plot summary on Wikipedia, I thought it would be more of a slasher film, something's Rob Zombie's done before. Then I saw the trailer. Wow, this looks like an intentionally scary Alejandro Jodorowsky film. It has all the big set pieces and trippy imagery a Jodorowsky film would have. I didn't expect the film would even look remotely like this. I tip my hat to you, Mr. Zombie. You've really outdone yourself this time.
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters
This is a movie that, by all accounts, should sound kind of dumb. I remember just reading the title aloud and groaning. But the trailer really changed my mind. This actually looks a lot more bad-ass than what I pictured in my head. Especially the way they dispatch witches. It seems like the next in a wave of movies reinterpreting fairy tales like Red Riding Hood and Snow White and the Hunstman. I'm honestly looking forward to this one.
Man of Steel
This is another of the big films I'm excited for. I really like this trailer compared to the teaser trailer. That one looked like an art film that featured Superman. It seems like the planets are aligning for this film: Zack Snyder's directing, Christopher Nolan's producing and finally some honest-to-god action for Henry Cavill's Superman. There's more action in this trailer than in Superman Returns. And yes, Dad, no Lex Luthor in sight. (He had some issue with the over-saturation of Luthor in the other films. He has a point though. There are plenty of other villains they could use.)
Pacific Rim
Good Lord, I'm excited for this one. Anyone that knows me knows I love me some Kaiju (Japanese for "Giant Monster"), especially Godzilla. But one of my absolute favorite directors, Guillermo Del Toro, directing a big Hollywood movie with Giant Monsters and Robots?! I'm sold.
I’ve always enjoyed this time of year. The food and drinks, getting together with the family, and, I’ll admit it, the gifts, both giving and receiving. But I’ve always enjoyed the music during this time of year. Yeah, I know it gets annoying after a while (especially if you work in retail) but this is the only time of year when you can listen to holiday music and not look like an out-of-season fool.
So, with this post, I’ll be putting up my favorite holiday songs.
Santa Claus - Harry Connick, Jr.
This is a song I’ve always heard but never really listened to the lyrics. I really like the story of the song about a boy who thinks he’s getting too old to believe in Santa Claus but gets quite a shock on Christmas night.
Feliz Navidad - Jose Feliciano
Oh, this is the quintessential Hispanic Christmas song. I’d be a fool not to included it on this list and it is a nice change of pace from other holiday songs with the Spanish lyrics. Plus, it just sounds so festive and upbeat!
Silent Night - Traditonal
I just love how peaceful and soothing this song sounds. Perfect for curling up by the fireplace.
Snow Miser/Heat Miser - Rankin and Bass
This is the sole reason why anyone watches The Year Without a Santa Claus. I’ve seen the special many times over the years but when these songs come on, I always start singing along. It’s just so damn catchy.
You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch - Thurl Ravenscroft
Again, like the last song, this is one of the reasons why I enjoy How The Grinch Stole Christmas!. You just gotta love that deep voice and those insulting lyrics.
O Tannenbaum - Vince Guaraldi Trio
Another song from a Christmas special, this one from A Charlie Brown Christmas. I know everyone enjoys Linus and Lucy from this special but I’ve always had a soft spot for this song. It just sounds so cool and jazzy.
Run Rudolph Run - The Reverend Horton Heat
I particularly like this version of the song since I got to see it performed live! But I still don’t understand what the lyric “Randolph ain’t too far behind” is supposed to mean.
Jingle Bells - The Brian Setzer Orchestra
This, in my honest opinion, is the most coolest version of this song. ‘nuff said.
So, that’s it for this year at Grimdark Parking Lot. ( I completely forgot the one-year anniversary was a few days ago. :P) Here’s to 2012 (since the world didn’t end on the 21st) and I hope you all have a Happy Holiday! See you next year! :)
Hey, guys. Sadly, I wasn’t able to go to Beer School at House of Rock this month. However, I brought Beer School to me by getting a make-your-own six-pack at HEB Plus. Technically, it’s only a five pack, but they’re all beers I’ve never tried before. This time I went looking for specifically winter and Christmas beers since Christmas is fast approaching. Here are my brief (non-expert) thoughts on them.
(Note: I didn’t drink these all on one night. I’m not that much of a lush.)
Harpoon Winter Warmer - Has a sweet smell. Tastes slightly bitter when it first hits your lips but has a nice cinnamon/spice flavor as it goes down. (Most winter beers have that spiciness to it to warm you up as you drink it or so the ads claim.) The bitterness seems to subside as it sits. Either that or I’m getting more used to it as I go along.
Breckenridge Christmas Ale - It has a tart smell a bit like a fruit. Much more stronger tasting than the last beer but you can really taste the sweet flavoring. A little bitter but not overly so.
Jubelale - Doesn’t have a very noticeable smell. Very strong, bitter taste at first, but seems to get less intense with each gulp. Not as much as I would like though.
Noche Buena - This beer is an imported Christmas beer from Mexico, if the name didn’t give it away. Definitely a Mexican beer by the smell, very cerveza. Goes down very smooth and nowhere near as bitter as the last one. As a side note, I really like the artwork on the bottle. Very appropriate for Christmas.
Alaskan Winter - An interesting thing about this beer is that it is brewed with spruce tree tips according to the label. Has a pleasant smell perhaps because of it. Smooth to drink but hard to pinpoint the flavor. But then again, I don’t usually have beers mixed with bits of trees.
Jacob’s Best O’ the Bunch! - I didn’t think it would happen with this bunch but it was a close tie between Noche Buena and Alaskan Winter due to how both were very easy to drink. But it was hard for me to pick out the better beer, so it’s a tie. I’m a little disappointed with Jubelale because the artwork on the label really sold me on buying it but it was way too bitter for my taste. Alaskan Brewery, once again with this seasonal, is quickly becoming one of my favorite breweries as each beer I’ve tried from them has been great.
Ah, RealmsCon, you've come a long way. The first time I went was during High School and it was at the Ramada Hotel. Now, it's filling the American Bank Center to max capacity.
Imagine this filled with Geeks and Nerds (myself included)
For those wondering what I'm blathering about, RealmsCon is the premier Anime convention of Corpus Christi, TX. It didn't always used to be an Anime convention. When I first went, it was more of a Horror/Sci-fi convention with some Comic and Anime thrown in. I went dressed up as Neo from The Matrix and met Peter Mayhew, the man who played Chewbacca and got Bill Moseley's autograph (Otis from Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects)
From what I've heard, and this is just rumor, was that it changed to an anime convention to attract more attendees. Well, if that's true, it certainly worked as I've never seen so many people at RealmsCon this year in all my years of going.
That being said, a lot of people carried cameras and cell phones, and it was only logical that I would pop out in some videos. I walked around a lot during the Friday and Saturday of RealmsCon so I knew that I was walking past many video camera, just going along my merry way.
The week after RealmsCon, I was looking on Youtube to see other attendees' videos of the con. Imagine my surprise when I saw myself wandering around in some. Some were only blink-and-you'll-miss-it glimpses, but I've found three videos where you can see me more prominently. (The third one especially. Good God, the third one.)
In case, you're wondering what the hell I'm dressed up as, it's my steampunk character, Jake Cordova: Bounty Hunter. I'm wearing a white button-up shirt (with sleeves rolled up), red bandana, brown pants with suspenders, wool fingerless gloves, brown cap and welding goggles. Since my character is the son of a nahual (a type of shaman from Mexico) and because of his conception, he has the legs and tail of a Mexican wolf. I managed to do this by getting a clip-on tail and a pair of bear feet slippers. As a prop, I've got a nerf gun converted to look more steampunk-y.
Here's what the costume is supposed to look like thanks to Gaia Dream Avatar
Isn't it beautiful?
At 8:56, you can see me at the far left walk by. At 9:06, you see me lumber away like Bigfoot. Overall, the 34:00 + long video does give you a good look at what goes on at the con.
Just photoshop my head and there you go.
Here you can see me at 0:40. I was waiting in line for a brunch on Saturday and I saw a guy with a large camera come zooming by. Also, the person behind me in the yellow helmet was really into character and was silent the entire time. She tried to talk to me about my costume using hand gestures.
And now for the big one. Just watch...
This was at a masquerade ball that night when they whipped out the Gangnam Style. What can I say? It's a fun dance. The suspenders actually helped me a lot because when I tried to dance to this at my sister's wedding, my pants kept falling.
So that's it for now. I had a blast and can't wait for next year's RealmsCon.
