The Adventures of a Digital Sensei
Tom Seymour and the rest of the guys over at New York Cine Radio asked me to Skype in for their Halloween podcast special and do a small comic book and nerd culture segment. It was a new idea that they wanted to try out and the group thought that I would be the perfect person for the job.
I talked a little about the new Batman: Arkham Origins video game as well as some of the Continue reading “New York Cine Radio – The Halloween Podcast”
The other day I was talking to my old martial arts instructor, Kyoshi Giles, and musing over the fact that only fellow martial artists seem to understand how getting together with close friends to punch, kick, and stab one another over and over can be a beautiful thing. The camaraderie that can be developed by working out with other like minded individuals is not only fun, but also uplifting. I bring all this up because I had just returned from an early morning knife fighting class at the Krav Maga Federation and was feeling pretty good about getting back into the swing of training on a regular basis.
Over the past year or so I had made a number Continue reading “No more excuses”
After months of waiting Batman: Arkham Origins dropped tonight. The new Arkham is the followup to the wildly popular Batman inspired video games Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. I just picked up my copy from GameStop. There was a surprisingly small line for the game. It was nothing as crazy as the launch for Grand Theft Auto V, which made me happy and a little sad. I snagged the collector’s edition, and the season pass that has all of the character skins and downloadable content. I never usually get all the extras but this game is gonna be sick. I thought about
“Paris P. Olgilvie. Antiquities dealer, entrepreneur”
“Richard B. Riddick. Escaped convict. Murderer.”
My son and I just got back from the new movie Riddick. This was one of the summer movies we had been waiting to see since both of us are die hard Riddick fans. This is largely because Riddick is the only dude that could possibly give Batman a run for his money. And unlike some people, we loved the previous film, The Chronicles of Riddick. While not as exciting as Pitch Black, the first Riddick movie, Chronicles had a visual appeal that blew away the low-budget indie look of Pitch Black all while reinforcing the notion that the title character was indeed the ultimate badass.
The title of the new film is appropriately named just Riddick. It seems that after some criticism about Continue reading “You’re not afraid of the dark are you?”
Matt Damon was recently asked about his take on the Ben Affleck as Batman controversy. Damon, who is a long time friend of Affleck, stated that “Bruce Wayne is the more challenging part of the role, and Ben will be great at that”. He then went on to say that “Batman just sits there with his cowl over his head and whispers in a kinda gruff voice at people. Now I understand Matt Damon is just looking out for his boy, but the comments he made about how Batman isn’t a complex character came off as being more than a little ignorant and dismissive of the genre. In fact he only hurts Ben case by reinforcing a commonly held belief that Affleck doesn’t really take preparation for his roles seriously. I am hoping that Affleck does not share Damon’s feeling on Batman/Bruce Wayne or we could be in store for another Daredevil.
The studio isn’t going to back down so we are probably stuck with Affleck. So if I was to give Ben any advice it would be this; Continue reading “Open letter to Ben Affleck, or please shut up Matt Damon”
The news was just released that Warner Brothers has chosen Ben Affleck to be the new Batman in the next DC Comics inspired movie. I am crushed by this news. Seriously. I try to stay relatively informed on important issues of the day like the NSA revelations, the deficit, the Middle East, stop and frisk, and anything to do with improving the educational system. All the I ask for is a small bone every now and then. Can a brother just look forward enjoying a frivolous movie about a childhood comic book hero without Ben Affleck and his massive cranium mucking up the works? No really, look at his head sometime. It is enormous. My only hope is that they will have to recast the part because they couldn’t find a cowl large enough to slide over that freakish mellon.
I have been a comic book Continue reading “Affleck is Batman??? What da…….”
I was interviewed on the New York Cine Radio podcast again. It was the fifth appearance on the show and this time I was asked to give my take on the new Marvel Comic inspired movie. I had to Skype in for the discussion because I was in Oslo for my birthday, and as part of what I hope may become an ongoing tradition, the family had taken me to a summer blockbuster midnight premiere earlier in the week. The film was none other than “The Wolverine“. The Hugh Jackman spinoff of the popular X-Men franchise was the one of the most anticipated movies of the summer. It was also one of my last opportunities to see an enjoyable summer blockbuster after the disappointing Iron Man 3, Star Trek: Into the Darkness, and the heartbreaking Man of Steel. Luckily Hugh did not let me down.
The fourth of July is kind of boring this year with the wife and kids away at summer camp. Still, I shouldn’t complain too much since I am a married man at home without the family for a couple of days. The little things like having the TV and bathroom all to myself are pure bliss. However the house is too quiet and I am trying to keep from going stir crazy.
Right now I am deciding on whether to go to the movies or wait around for my boy Adesola to come over and hang out like we used to do back in high school. Or at least I am hoping he rolls through and brings a brother something to eat. HE KNOWS I CAN’T COOK AND AIN’T GOT NO DAMN FOOD IN ‘DA HOUSE!
I spent the morning sleeping late and watching cartoons. I spent the afternoon at the dojo, sweating profusely and getting punched in the head. The early evening was spent putting together this killer Batman costume I have been making for Comic Con this year. I have some of the main pieces such as the utility belt, the gauntlets, and the boots. However I am still searching for a good cowl.
As always with making one of these suits you have to decide to either go with the old school skintight spandex or the more modern armored batsuit. Unless I am in much better shape by the time Comic Con and Halloween roll around I am leaning towards the modern look. It is more forgiving than the spandex. I don’t want to go out and get called “Fatman”.
Last night I headed out to the land called Astoria to sit down with the guys from New York Cine and talk to them about my perceptions on the new Superman film, Man of Steel. This was my forth time on the show but my first time with them live in the studio. I usually Skype in for the interviews, but this gave me a chance to meet all the guys in person. I always have a great time with them on these podcasts because they are true film and pop culture nerds like me. Anyway, it was a pretty good discussion. So check out the podcast below.
The family and I just got back from the 12:45am showing of Man of Steel. Of all of the summer movies, this is the movie I have most wanted to see. This was especially true after the new Star Trek turned out to be such a disappointment. But while Man of Steel wasn’t perfect, and I had major issues with a number of the plot lines, I did enjoy the film.
However I now fully understand why some of critics hated it while others loved it. Let’s just say that I have a mixed opinion on the film. Without saying too much and spoiling it for those that haven’t seen it yet, this movie is reminiscent of how I personally view religion. At times it makes some really good points and offers you a strong guide for viewing the world, and then, at other times it goes totally off the rails and leaves you shaking your head and saying “that makes no damn sense”. Now before you go writing me off as a typical liberal professor, let me state my point with more clarity. If you don’t want to hear any spoilers I suggest that you stop here. Otherwise let’s get to the meat of the story………… Continue reading “Up…up… and take it away!”