WORD OF THE DAY! 12/14/13!

RICK AND MORTY (EPISODE 1)

RICK AND MORTY (EPISODE 2)

back to the future [back-too-thuh-fyoo-cher]
phrase
1. The oxymoronic title of Robert Zemeckis's 1985 film starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, it refers to time traveler's attempting to return to the present, after traveling to the past, thus making the present they're trying to return to the future.

EX. From Justin "Earl of Lemongrab" Roiland (Adventure Time) and Dan Harmon (the creator of Community) comes my most anticipated Adult Swim show in years, Rick and Morty! It's like Back to the Future but if Doc Brown was actually Marty's grandpa and his irresponsibility had real consequences like grievous injuries, accidental homicide, and world-destroying mistakes that a drunk eccentric madman would create when manipulating time and space like his nipples.

Probably best with a good drink, Rick and Morty is the best new show I've seen this year. Enjoy.

P.S. I've said it before and I'll probably say it again, this is the sort of show I would love to write on...

P.P.S. Will Grum-Grum dream?

SCI-FI FANTASY FRIDAY! WORD OF THE DAY! FT. LORD BRITISH AND SPOONY!

Ultima [ul-tuh-muh]
noun
1. Video game. A series of open-world sci-fi fantasy role-playing games made by its creator Richard Garriott AKA Lord British (pictured above) & Origin Systems, Inc. Several of the games of the series are considered classics & exemplars of the genre.

EX. I'd heard of Ultima a long time ago. I think all long-time gamers are, at least, vaguely aware of the series. It was a seminal part of the history of PC gaming, with several games being heralded for their story-telling and Ultima Online (1997) being the first MMO to reach 100, 000 subscribers, but the game series has not had much exposure to the average gamer in the last decade.

Ultima's creator, Richard Garriott (also known for Tabula Rasa), is one of the most interesting characters in the gaming industry. Not only did he make a name for himself with his video game series, he is also a pioneer in space tourism. In fact, after funding a trip to space for himself in 2008, he became the second person, and first American, to be a second-generation space traveler because his father was an astronaut. Lately, Garriott has been working to get publicity for his newest game,and spiritual successor to Ultima, Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues.

And, in a move that probably made Spoony's dreams come true, he sat down with Spoony for a very special interview and they made some promotional content together. Spoony has always been a big fan and critic of the Ultima Series; check out his incredible Ultima reviews on his website or Spoony VS. The Balrog, and, apparently, Garriot is a fan of the internet's Avatar.

The videos are most intriguing because of their discussions on story-telling in the games, but are even more special than that; can you imagine getting to meet one of your childhood heroes and him asking you for input on how to better do his job?

I can't. But Spoony got to live that dream and more. Check it out.

BRITANNIA BURNS!: RICHARD GARRIOTT INTERVIEW! PT. 1

BRITANNIA BURNS!: RICHARD GARRIOTT INTERVIEW! PT. 2

BRITANNIA BURNS!: RICHARD GARRIOTT INTERVIEW! PT. 3

RICHARD GARRIOTT'S ART GALLERY & ASS-UGLY AKALABETH PICTURES!

BONUS: O BRITISH, WHERE ART THOU? (THE AVATAR VS. LORD BRITISH!)

WORD OF THE DAY! 12/12/13!

WEEBL'S DOGE ADVENTURE!

doge [dohzh]
noun
1. Engrish/Internet.  A slang term for "dog", generally associated with Shiba Inus (or "shibes") and internal monologue captions found on sites like Tumblr or Reddit. An associated meme involves taking pictures of shibes, especially of the one pictured directly below, and photoshopping them onto other images & labeling them with Engrish inter monologue in comic sans for comedic effect.

The meme's origins are considered to be either/or from homestarrunner or an audio file parodying old text RPG games. By now, the meme has spread to all four corners of the internet and has become a mainstream meme (or about as mainstream as a meme can become without becoming viral or showing up on TV).

EX. Above is a picture of my dog of ten years, Ruby. Below is the laziest doge meme ever. I made it in MS Paint. Good luck, good night. Good doge, Rube. Good doge.

WTF WED! POKÉMON MMO WITH UNLOCKABLE HOT, MEAN ELF CHICKS!

POKÉMON RIVALS!

With the Pokémon Origins anime finally hitting the web with an official English dub, check it out here, it makes sense we'd get a parody dub around the same time (and yes I'm aware I'm late in sharing both, but late is better than never, right?!).

Anwho, enjoy this hilarious dubbing from octopimp, the maker of the 50% parody of the swimming anime FREE, and remember that it's a bad idea to put a senile old man in charge of children and a rather extensive Pokébiology research program.

MEAN ELVES!

This seems like a parody hatched up in the half-assed laboratories of a sketch comedy show but, instead, it is a rather aptly executed satire of The Hobbit film and the recent classic teen comedy, Mean Girls.

Do you remember when Lindsey Lohan wasn't a weak punchline or depressing headline?

FREE TO PLAY!

Jaltoid's animations usually rustle more than a few jimmies in the comment sections of youtube and, given that video game fans, especially MMO fans, are incredibly sensitive to such innocent musings as the one found in the video, this one certainly irked a few commenter. But, in my opinion, the commentary is funny and valid with its examination of the weaknesses of the often shallow and misogynistic "Free 2 Play" MMOs that you find lame ads for all over the internet shipped by the ample bosom of some elf harlot.

What do you think of those sorts of games?

WORD OF THE DAY! 12/10/13!

STEVEN SPIELBERG'S HOOK (1991)

happy thought [hap-pee-thawt]
noun
1. Literature/theatre/film. Originally called "lovely wonderful thoughts" in the play Peter Pan, Or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up (1904) or the novel Peter and Wendy (1911), both by J.M. Barrie, they became a mechanic in the Peter Pan universe that, when combined with faerie dust, allow someone to fly (see here and here). In actuality, in the novel it points out the happy thoughts are simply a silly diversion and the power of flight is merely from the faerie dust.
2. The idea or concept that someone holds onto to get them through difficult situations or times in their lives.

SUPER MARIO 3D LAND THEME!

EX. The most recent happy thought I discovered on the internet was the .gif and song posted directly above which, for some reason, I immediately linked to my favorite theme from my favorite portable Mario game, Super Mario 3D Land.

My most favorite of happy thoughts that I use to get through any difficult situation, from a bout of illness to a particularly obnoxious day at work/school to much darker and desperate moments, is the thought of having fun with my friends and family again. An example of such a moment, and some of those people, is pictured above is our yearly tradition of executing the zombified pumpkins left over from Halloween (photo of courtesy of Corey Blouin). In the photo, from left to right, is my father AKA imple, Chris AKA Stinger, Justin AKA Jas, myself AKA implejr dressed in laboratory goggles (for eye protection), a scarf, a light red jacket for my job, shorts, long socks, and green Crocs (I have no shame), and Zach AKA Zach.

And, while we're on the subject of happy thoughts here, I should recommend my favorite film by Steven Spielberg, favorite iteration of Peter Pan, and most likely the origin source of dark humor and whimsy that I try to inject into all of my Dungeons & Dragons adventures, the fairly divisive Hook (1991). Let's keep it brief:

I love this film. If you haven't seen Hook or it's been a while, give it a try on one of these chilly afternoons. Hook is one of my inspirations and one of my happy thoughts. (5/5).

Have a lovely Tuesday.

P.S. I'll do a real review explaining why I love Hook and why I think it deserves a place in any library of family films, but the time for that is not now. Not yet. Maybe... some day.

BONUS: BREAK DANCING OSTRICH

MUSIC MON! DISNEY'S NINTENDOHEMIAN RHAPSODY & CHO'GATH (FROZEN) IN G MINOR!

brentalfloss's NINTENDOHEMIAN RHAPSODY FT. PAT THE NINTENDO PUNK

According to an ongoing conspiracy, that I am making up on the spot as I type this, Shigeru Miyamoto & Regis Fils-Aime are trying to tank the Nintendo Wii-U by wasting everyone's time with reveals like Cranky Kong being the fourth playable character in Donkey Country Returns: Tropical Freeze rather than revealing a next gen Zelda, Smash Bros. character, entirely new franchise or failing completely to educate the population to the fact that the Wii-U is, in fact, a next gen console and not a peripheral for the Wii.

Meanwhile, I am enjoying my Wii-U and 3DS (when I can).

Also, brentalfloss is still the man.

DISNEY'S FROZEN: LET IT GO!

Many are calling it Disney's CG equivalent to Beauty & The Beast (1991), but I like what Rob Walker, of thatguywiththeglasses.com  fame and brother of Doug "Nostalgia Critic" Walker, had to say better: this isn't Beauty & The Beast. This is The Little Mermaid (1989).

The Little Mermaid was the first film in era known as the "Disney Renaissance". If Frozen gets the support it deserves, it could lead to a new Golden Age of Disney animated films and, eventually, we'll get a new masterpiece on par with Beauty & The Beast.

So, if you want to see that happen, go see Frozen in theaters today. I know I will.

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS: CHO GRAPH!

Oh, videogamedunkey & Huey Lewis's The Power of Love & Guns'n'Roses's Knockin' on Heaven's Door all wrapped up into a voidling spew coated video that will leave you questioning all of your calculations, statistics, and graphs for days to come?

You had me at "Man, mah d*** hurts".