Monday, 16 May 16

I updated my Cinema page with the latest and greatest iteration of my home theatre here.

Sunday, 11 Jan 15

I updated my D-Box information to include a new, special page regarding the Home Entertainment Motion Controller (HEMC) here.

Sunday, 8 Feb 14

I updated my Pictures page with the latest iteration of the "Puppet Theatre."

Sunday, 8 Feb 14

I updated my How to Make Your Own Preview Reel page and the D-Box FAQ. 

Wednesday, 25 Dec 13

Merry Christmas!  I updated my Cinema page with a couple photos of my latest incarnation of my cinema.  Pix here. 

In other news, I watched Kick-Ass 2 the other night and loved it. 

Special thanks go out this year to Sideshow Collectibles for their generosity.

Monday, 18 Nov 13

I have moved again and just recently set up my new home theatre.  I must provide great thanks to Dave at Fusion Audio + Video for an incredible HAA-certified audio calibration.  I've had my speakers calibrated multiple times for over ten years now, and Dave is the first calibrator that was able to get my speakers to produce sounds I'd never heard before from demo material that I thought I knew well.  Also, I must give thanks to Anthony at Clearpoint ISF.   Anthony was patient and worked some long hours trying to bring my new projector up to ISF-greatness.  I really appreciated his help and perseverance.  New equipment specs are here, new photos coming soon!

Monday, 1 Apr 13

The Walking Dead came this close [ ] to jumping the shark with this week's season ender.  SPOILER alert for those that haven't seen it, but here's my points of contention:

- Maggie exclaims, "We did it?"  To which I must retort: Did what exactly other than conduct a horrible counter-assault at the prison where there was lots of gunfire but no one died?  It was like an old-school GI Joe battle for crying out loud!

- The dude whose name is inconsequential apparently went on the prison assault without a rear sight on his AK.  Since this is the second time this has happened this season with the Governor's crew, maybe that's just how those morons roll? 

 - Andrea: "I know how the safety works."  Assuming she knew that Rick was going to hand her his revolver, as that's normally the only sidearm he carries, this statement is so asinine.  Ok, for a second, I can cut Andrea a break because she started out as not being very familiar with firearms.  However, this scene really fails when we hear her shoot herself and then instantly hear the sound of a empty case scattering on the floor.  So, let's recap: in the Walking Dead universe, not only does Rick's Colt Python .357 revolver have a "safety" but it also magically ejects brass on its own.  

- Andrea kept stopping to see if Milton had turned yet.  Why on earth would she stop so many times?  That's just poor writing.  I'm so glad they killed her off after showing her character repeatedly performing such nonsensical pausing when time was of the essence.

- Not even a hint of resolution with the Governor?  WTF?

Dear Walking Dead producers: That was NOT a way to end a season and I implore you to hire on-set armorers and get them directly involved in filming anything involving a firearm on-screen.

Friday, 4 Jan 13

Happy New Year!  I wanted to deviate from the norm and pass on some computer advice.  I have an Alienware M17x R4 laptop and lately it's been having some problems with external USB hard drives disconnecting and promptly reconnecting themselves.  This behavior was mostly occurring during large file transfers.  Well, after doing a bit of digging in some unusual places, I found that if you're having this problem in Windows 7, you should download the USB 3.0: Renesas Electronics* USB 3.0 Driver from Intel here.  After installing this driver, you'll find a utility in Programs called "USB 3.0 Host Controller Utility."  Open this utility and check the box that says "Disable USB 3.0 power management functions."  I also went into Power Options -> Change plan settings -> Change advance power settings -> USB Settings -> USB selective suspend setting and disabled this option for both on battery and plugged in states.  Problem solved, problem staying solved, the King of Belgium leads the way.

Monday, 26 Nov 12

Ok, as much as I love the show, I'm calling out the bullshit flag this week on The Walking Dead's poor gunplay this season.  What am I ranting about, you ask?  Feast your eyes on this evidence:

Carl is not really shooting that gun, it's CGI. (Season 3, Episode 1)



In this shot, 1/8 of a second after the gun fires, the pistol's action should be cycling and it's not. So, it's CGI!



In this shot, the CGI tomfuckery is more apparent. (Season 3, Episode 1)



Again, the action's not moving a mere 1/8 of a second after firing.



Maggie's not fairing any better, with a clearly obvious CGI "shot" (Season 3, Episode 1)



Actress Lauren Cohan's doing her damndest for gunplay acting, but the slide's not moving.



Even Lori's hamming it up with a revolver that doesn't revolve. (Season 3, Episode 1)



CGI!!!



If those examples weren't bad enough, here's The Governor taking a rather curious shot for distance with just a front sight. (Season 3, Episode 3)



And here is the shot that really took the cake for me tonight and caused me to write this missive. Michonne says, "They have armed sentries on every wall." Sure, lady, but what you're failing to mention is that one of the guards has a bent rifle barrel! A bent barrel! Seriously, what the hell is he guarding?? (Season 3, Episode 7)



Here's a closer look.

The armorer on the show needs to be fired if he's allowing these inexcusable depictions of firearms on the show.  Even if he's not allowing it, he needs to be fired for letting each director this season royally screw up gunplay on an otherwise outstanding show. 

Concerning the CGI usage, I'm all for CGI enhancing gunplay where necessary, but don't cheapen out by not even using blanks to get the guns to actually cycle and look realistic.  That's just ridiculous.

Other than that, I love the new season.  It's nice to see they are not getting cheap like previous seasons and only doling out enough money for a zombie here and there.  Every week now we're getting some great makeup FX.  Now, if they only can hire an armorer who knows what the hell he's doing and teach the actors and directors a few real-life tips about the operation of firearms...

Tuesday, 6 Nov 12

You can find pix of my first-ever Haunted House creation here.

Thanks to everyone who helped out and made the event a HUGE success.  You know who you are!

Sunday, 16 Sep 12

The D-Box FAQ has been slightly updated again here.  Nothing much more to report right now, other than I got to go hunting in a faraway land recently.  I'm currently in the process of building/refining a new, modest home theatre.  More to come.

Saturday, 30 Jun 12

The D-Box FAQ has been slightly updated here.

I'll try to do some more updates in the coming weeks.  In the meantime, just a few quick thoughts on some recent films.

Cabin in the Woods - Good movie, but too over-hyped.  It's good, not great folks.

Snow White & The Huntsman - Snooze.

The Dictator - Enjoyed it, but like his other two films better.

The Avengers - First movie in a while that I've seen two weekends in a row.  It was such a great time at the movies.  The D-Box experience is the best theatrical "D-Boxing" I've been to until...

Battleship - This movie gives The Avengers a run for its money in D-Box.  This flick was a lot of fun, but I can't say how it would hold up without D-Box.  So, see it in D-Box if you can.

Prometheus - Like The Avengers, I saw this one twice, but this time the showings were within three days of each other!  I can't remember the last time I looked forward to a movie this much and it actually delivered on all counts.  It's a grand film that plays expertly into the heart of the Alien universe.  Also, this was the best 3-D I've seen since Avatar.  You probably won't see any of the creature designs hanging up in my house in the future, but the critters are well-suited for their purpose in the story.  Thank you, Mr. Scott!  I can't wait for the BD which will contain an additional 20-30 minutes of footage. 

Lastly, just as an inside joke to Jake, I'd like to say, "SHAKA MAD!"

 

Sunday, 29 Apr 12

I just uploaded a review of The Puzzle Box Shop's (HELLRAISER) Lament Configuration here.

Sunday, 1 Apr 12

I just updated the Unofficial D-Box FAQ here.

Saturday, 31 Mar 12

Sorry for the lack of posts recently.  I think time just got away from me.  I wanted to make a brief blurb about a neat little place I happened upon today, Yestercades in Red Bank, New Jersey.  For a few bucks an hour, you have unlimited playtime with virtually all the classic 80s and early 90s arcade games: Double Dragon, Duck Hunt, Street Fighter II, Tron, TMNT, Donkey Kong, etc. and even an old Atari system hooked up to an old school console TV!  They also let you play all the latest Xbox 360 and PS3 games from the comfort of a couch.  Oh, and did I mention they have billiards as well?  The guy that created this place is a genius in my book.

While I was in Red Bank, I also made the journey across the street to Jay & Silent Bob's Secret Stash.  I even got to meet Walt from the show Comic Book Men.  It was really fun to see all sorts of View Askew merch and props. 

In other news, I caught The Raid in San Francisco last weekend.  The action scenes and stunts were jaw dropping.  I can't recommend the movie enough on those levels.  It is truly an action spectacle and should be playing nationwide in a few short weeks.

By the way, did anyone else get blindsided by last week's The Ring Blu-ray release that is exclusive to Best Buy?  Regardless of the little fanfare this title commanded, I'm ecstatic this film is finally on disc (goodbye, D-VHS copy!).  And for any D-Box fans out there, I made sure D-Box re-synced this title for Blu within days of the release.  Thanks D-Box!

Two weeks ago I was at the Wondercon.  As always, Wondercon had a lot of good movie panels and some fairly big names in attendance like Alexander Skarsgård, Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Maggie Grace, and Kristen Stewart.  Oh, and let's not forget Sir Ridley Scott!  It was unbelievable to watch Mr. Scott hosting the Prometheus panel.  I'm so excited for this movie, especially after talking with Bill Hunt of thedigitalbits.com at the con.  According to him, the industry insiders he's spoken with who have actually seen the final cut say that it is a "good scary night at the movies, but don't expect Alien." 

New pics are up on the Pictures page.  The NECA Predator 2-inspired collection was originally supposed to be a lot larger, but I haven't had time to shoot more photos for this series.  These particular photos have been sitting around for a bit, so I figured it's better to release them and just revisit the series at later date.

Sunday, 5 Feb 12

I updated my Pictures page with shots from my visits to Universal Studios Hollywood from both 2010 & 2011.

Saturday, 14 Jan 12

I was recently inspired to shoot another NECA @ Night series after seeing this photo from Jova Cheung:

You can find my photos here.

Monday, 2 Jan 12

I have just returned from a wonderful holiday back in my kingdom.  In fact, this had to be one of my best vacations ever.  I was welcomed lovingly back into my old stomping grounds and got to see many friends and familiar faces.  Thank you Belgium for extending such great hospitality, and thank you as well as to my great friends just over the border in Germany. 

To make my experience back in Belgium ever sweeter, my Belgian Confidential Secretary surprised me with two Exclusive Westvleteren XII Gift Boxes.  As this is probably the only site in North America, or even in English for that matter, to be able to host pictures of this rare Belgian beer set firsthand, please enjoy my exclusive gallery featuring this "unicorn" of the beer world here or by clicking the image below.

Also, right before Christmas, in addition to my new Halloween video, I posted a small video of my bar area as seen in December.  You can check out all of the NECA, Sideshow Collectibles, McFarlane, and Hollywood Collectibles Group goodness on display here:

Last but not least, I wanted to give a small plug to my favorite hotel in Athens.  If you're ever needing a budget-minded place to stay in Greece, check out the Ionion Hotel (www.ionionhotel.com).  Telephone +30 210 41 77 537 or +30 210 41 10 820.  The address is 10, Kapodistriou Str., Piraeus-Athens, Greece.  It's located right next to a large tram station that can get you almost anywhere in the city in a few minutes.  It's also just a few blocks from the tourism boat companies that can take you out to the many islands of Greece.  I've stayed there on both of my visits to Athens and the hospitality and location were great.