The Mosherpit

Week 4

2010-02-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

The color on the whiskey is a little darker. I don't think it's much of a change and it probably won't be anything drastic for awhile. It's probably drinkable now and has a good flavor, but I'll hold out for another month or so. I must say that I'm not an expert on rye whiskey, so I don't know when it's exactly mature compared to bourbon or scotch, but it's getting there. Another month should do it. Five would be overkill, I think.

Week 3

2010-01-31T16:00:00.001-08:00

Sorry. I've been slacking on the new posts. Here are pictures from the past two weeks of the cask. The new one is a bit darker, though not so much where I'd be raving about it or amazed, but it's certainly more noticeable, though possibly not from my shoddy photos. It's still a little woody but I'm detecting a little bit of apples and maybe vanilla in the aftertaste. I'm liking it and I can't wait until it is truly ready to be consumed. I think I've already found the next thing I want to put in it: Fighting Cock bourbon. It's a young bourbon with a high proof that should go with will the aging process in the cask. I'll let you know.

Week 2

2010-01-25T16:58:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late on this one, as I spent the weekend at a train show in Virginia. Bad news, I didn't get to sip any whiskey. Good news, I got to hang out with my brother and my adorable niece, so that was awesome. The show was busy and I'm tired and sore and need another day off, but that's another story.

Upon my return home, I pulled out the sample for this week. Not much darker this time. I have a photo that I can upload later to show this. If your'e my friend, you can see them on Facebook for the time being. If not, I'll have them up here soon enough. Taste is a little woodier, less fruity, which is nice, though I didn't get a full sample as Jen was watching. Drats, foiled again. :)

Week 1

2010-01-17T17:08:00.000-08:00

I got a cask for Xmas, which I have said in a previous post. Well, now I have cracked it open the first week to see the change in color, and it is dramatic. It's gone from clear to a more scotch-like (J&B in particular) amber. That's a pretty drastic color change for a week. Here are some photos to compare it from the first draw and the initial 2 liters that I put in.

Amazing Spiral MTG Tournament Report (01-16-2010)

2010-01-17T05:28:00.000-08:00

Okay, so there is a tournament report from yesterday...

I was playing my Vampires again since it is really the only good tournament legal deck I have right now. I played it Friday night at Legends and went 1-4 (3W/9L) and pretty much finished in last. The on change I made Saturday was swapping out some equipment (Trailblazer's Boots & Blade of the Bloodchief) for 2 more Sign In Bloods which really helped.

	Vampires 1.4 (01-16-2010)

	Creatures		Side Board
4	Vampire Nighthawk	2	Tendrils of Corruption
1	Vampire Nocturnus	1	Doom Blade
1	Malakir Bloodwitch	2	Blood Tribute
4	Vampire Hexmage	3	Duress
4	Gatekeeper of Malakir	1	Underworld Dreams
4	Vampire Lacerator	2	Needlebite Trap
		1	Bloodchief Ascension
	Instants	3	Mind Sludge
2	Tendrils of Corruption
3	Doom Blade	15	Total
4	Vampire's Bite

	Enchantments
2	Sanguine Bond

	Sorcery
2	Blood Tribute
4	Sign In Blood

	Artifacts
1	Whispersilk Cloak
1	Quietus Spike

	Land
23	Swamp

60	Total

My first match was against Joe. His white deck was pretty cool. I was able to win Games 1 and 3 by getting out my lone Malakir Bloodwitch (protection from white) which he had no answer to. Game 2 he pounded me pretty good by Journey to Nowhereing all my Vamps and swarming me with angels that he started pumping out. Win 2-1. Lesson learned -- definitely need more Bloodwitches...

My second match was against Mason's Vampire deck. Mason stomped me in both games with his Bloodghasts and then playing a Vampire Nocturnous. Loss 0-2. Lesson learned -- Bloodghast is a pretty nasty card and I need more Vampire Nocturnouses...

Match 3 was against Allen and his mill yourselft deck. Winner makes the top 4. He beat me in game 1 by unearthing all his black creatures that he had milled and swarming me. Game 2 I hit off a Blood Tribute/Sanguine Bond combo for the win. Game 3 he pulled a bad hand and couldn't get a swamp out so it wasn't a very exciting match.

Top 4 vs. Danny using Joe's red deck. I was a bit nervous about this one because Dan had beat Mason earlier 2-1. This one was basically a race to the finish. He was pulling all those nasty red haste creatures and then unearthing them next turn along with throwing some lightning bolts. First game was close, I won with 3 life left. Sanguine Bond and Vampire Nighthawks w/ lifelink got me the win there. Second game went about the same and I was into the finals.

The final was against Mason again. I pretty much thought I had no chance after the way he stomped me in the round robin. The first game went about as well and Mason won easily. But in the remaining two matches some how he didn't pull any of his Bloodghasts or Nocturnouses. I was lucky enough to get my Nocturnous out and take the final two wins.

My deck still isn't top notch, but the tweaks I've been making week to week have been making it better and better. I have some ideas for some spin-offs of it, so after I get a few more cards hopefully I can try those out with some good results...

One Less Madman

2010-01-16T09:25:00.001-08:00

Holy crap. Tony Fish, who played TP in Madman passed away. That is terrible news. Everyone out there, pop in your copy of the dvd or vhs and pour out a little in honor of the man who gave us the hot tub dance. RIP.

It Lives Again...

2010-01-16T09:05:00.000-08:00

No, not a movie. My Xbox is back from the dead, well, it was repaired, which means I got a refurb unit. Either way I can play games again on it and stream netflix, which I'm already loading with some fun films. Left 4 Dead 2 is pretty awesome, too. I played that a bit last night. The melee weapons are a fun thing to have, though I think the edged weapons are a little better as the cricket bat, while cool, didn't seem nearly as effective as the sword. Oh well. Time to play.

Cask of Rye

2010-01-14T18:34:00.000-08:00

I got a DIY whiskey kit for Xmas from my wife and finally got the cask cured and filled over the weekend. It's a pretty cool little thing and it promises to be rather awesome altogether, as with it you put in the spirits and watch as they age over the weeks into a more mature and flavored drink. It's kind of like beer brewing, though with certainly less involved. It's more like the set it and forget it of brewing, as opposed to crafting it all yourself. I'll be posting pictures soon of it, as I have the cask and spirits from the weekend taken, but I'd like to take pictures of the first sample to see how the color has progressed. It should be getting darker with each week. This being the first week, there shouldn't be too much change, I figure, but it's worth a look.

I think I'll be doing this for at least a month or so. The instructions say 5 months, but everywhere I looked online said 4-7 weeks was more the deal, though they used regular whiskies that they were aging further, as opposed to cask strength spirits. We'll see. I'll let you know.

New Year Custom Progress

2010-01-03T09:54:00.000-08:00

With a massive amount of days off, I've had a lot of time to work on some customs. Unfortunately, today is the only day I've actually done anything on them. I'm currently working on a Orange Lantern Hal Jordan and a Mighty Mugg Power Girl. Just basic apps right now, though the Hal is going to be easiest as it's just a repaint and the hardest thing I have to paint is the ring and the eyes. PG is a whole other story, since the Muggs lack faces, therefore necessitating me to paint them on myself. It should be fun as long as I keep it simple. I'll probably use Amanda Connor's work as my basis, as the cartoony look lends itself well to the Muggs and is simpler compared the the extreme amount of detail others put into their Muggs. I'll keep you posted.

Screamers 2: The Hunting

2009-12-26T07:29:00.000-08:00

Screamers is a favorite movie of mine. Not something I'll pop in to cheer me up like Bruiser, but if it's on, chances are I'll watch it. I'm sure a lot of that is because of Peter Weller, who is just aweesome. The first movie had an interesting premise, with two factions that had gone to war (the miners and the company who they worked for) and in the process created a weapon that eventually made life terrible for the both of them. Well, in the sequel, these robotic land sharks are back and ready to make life miserable again.

A distress signal is sent out early in the film and responding to it is a crack team of alliance soldiers. One their way to find the source of the transmission and rescue whoever sent it before a cosmic storm completely renders the planet unlivable, they find a group of survivors who want nothing to do with them and also a factory that made the screamers that goes from dormant to awake and starts the problems for everyone. The soldiers actually make some fairly smart decisions and decide that the mission is FUBAR and head back to the ship, but the screamers have drained their power cells so now they have to work with the hostile natives and find some more before they're all killed by screamers or the storm, unaware that the threat of a new variety of screamer may destroy them before either of the others.

Not a bad little film and unlike some sequels, a working knowledge of the first film is almost necessary, as there are references that aren't explained fully so you may be a little lost without them and some that aren't explained at all and you won't even notice without the first film. This mainly refers to the repetitive actions that the humanoid screamers do that sets them apart from others. Of course, perhaps they omitted this as not knowing this really keeps the ending a surprise. They could have made it a little better, mainly by cutting out some of the random deaths that didn't really make sense, like the engineer who is killed alone and found later by the soldiers when they return to the ship. It could have been more interesting if the screamers stowed away on the ship and were waiting for it to take off and then were found by the engineer and killed him and then drained the cells and ran because they were discovered. Better than most DTV efforts, that is for sure. There's another death that is random and they miss an opportunity for the later screamer variety to make an appearance via this victim, but so it goes.

It's a gory movie, much more gory than the original and the effects have been done rather well this time around, not suffering as much from the compositing issues of the original and the newer computer effects make for some neat hybrids. If you're looking for a good way to kill some time, check it out.

Christmas Cacophony

2009-12-24T11:26:00.000-08:00

It's almost that day again, in fact, it's the eve of it, and as I sit here on a day off, watching my daughter run around the living room like a lunatic, I'm enjoying myself very much. I got quite a bit done today, from trying to resurrect my newly RROD'd xbox (again) to taking photos of Santa CHUD to watching as many xmas movies as I can. I hope everyone out there has a happy and safe holiday and remember to put out a bowl of angel wings with the milk and cookies for Santa CHUD, the other guy in red that is coming around tonight.

Also, bring me cookies. That is all.

Tekken 6

2009-12-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

I can't say I've ever really played a game in this series, save for 3 which had Gon as a character, but I picked it up anyway for dirt cheap for Black Friday and I'm enjoying it. It seems to me that it is a lot more of a fighting fighter as opposed to the fireball and special moves of Street Fighter or the weapons of Soul Calibur. At least I haven't discovered anyone with a hadouken, though I'm sure the robot chick has something. The character models are done really well and the move sets are varied and interesting and you have 40 characters unlocked from the start, which is nice, as I've played games where you have 3 characters out of 20 or so to start and have to unlock the rest. It's got a robust set of gameplay styles, from Arcade to online to scenario, which has a crazy amount of cut scenes and is almost like an action rpg so far, but rather entertaining and also the best way to earn up money for unlockables. The unlockables could be annoying if you had to buy them all, as they cost a lot and in arcade you only get about 2k a pop. If you do scenario, that shouldn't be a problem. I'm having fun with it and and have only tried about 5 characters so far but there are no problems so far. Check it out.

The Power of Thwack

2009-12-05T08:39:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. Mine was goodly, save for some illness in the family, but the colds subsided and now everyone is healthy. I managed to break 50k and win Nanowrimo for the third year in a row. That was quite happy. I've been puttering around the house and decorating and raking leaves for the most part, until last night, when I wanted to draw on my computer so I busted out the wacom tablet and found that the pen was active no matter what I did.

What this means is that it was registering that it was clicked, even if it wasn't touching the tablet, thus drawing a line when you didn't want to or just being annoying and selecting everything on the page. I tried updating the drivers. No luck. I removed and replaced the nib. No luck. I restarted and unplugged the tablet before plugging it back in. No luck.

What worked? I smacked it against my desk. Now it works. I tried it against my hand but there were no results from that. The desk was apparently the key, so now it's working. Note to other Wacom users--don't store the pen in the tablet, at least not with the nib in. Apparently this can cause the sensor to stick, which is what happened to me, I guess. This could permanently damage your pen and make you buy another one, so it's nice that if it isn't too bad, you can fix it this way.

It's amazing what can be solved by violence.

Modern Warfare 2

2009-11-21T09:26:00.000-08:00

I'll admit it. I missed the boat on Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. I blame my nephew and TJ for that, as they kept saying that Halo was better and they would be playing that so I should buy that instead. They're damn liars, especially since they promptly bought CoD4 almost a day after I got Halo 3. Thanks guys. On the bright side, I picked up MW2 last weekend and I am enjoying it a whole lot. Basically you're fighting for the free world against terrorists all over the place, from Russia to Brazil to Northern Virginia so far, as I'm only part of the way into single player. It's a blast. I think it's probably the best game that captures the feel of an action movie. I swear to god I find my self ducking to avoid bullets as my character does.

Multiplayer is where the game really shines. It's almost like a FPS/RPG, as you can play with a set group of weapons and have fun, but as you fight, you level up, enabling you to use even better weapons and attachments so you can have a fully customized experience. It is unlike anything I've played in those regards and I like it, as it makes you want to play more so you can unlock new things, not just kill people. The team play is fantastic, from what I've seen as well. Team Deathmatch is always a hoot but it's things like Domination and Capture the Flag where the comes to life for me as it feels like you're part of an operation, not just running around and blasting things.

I'll write more as I play but I think this is a game of the year for me, maybe even next year as well. Pick it up. It's worth the money and my old college roomie helped make it, so you get to put some loot in his pocket and support great games as well.

Nano Nano

2009-11-13T17:02:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been out of touch lately. The majority of my time has been spent doing my words for Nanowrimo. For those not familiar, it's a contest with no real prize save for the rest of your goal, which is to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. This month in particular. I'm doing well and hovering at 24k right now, with more words to be added tonight as soon as I get settled. If you haven't done it before, you should give it a try. It's fantastic and rewarding and fun and quite exhausting. I love it.

Halloween

2009-11-01T14:25:00.000-08:00

Happy belated Halloween. I had a hell of a time. We had a Halloween open house and great friends and family came over. Now it'll be a year before the next part. Throwing them really tires you out. I don't know how my sister does it all the time.

One of the highlights was the return of Chiller Theater, with Elvira and the movie The Evil of Frankenstein. Good times and it makes me long for the return of a hosted horror movie show. Maybe they can hire me to do it.

Also, I think I'm addicted to Magic cards.

Chiller Theater

2009-10-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

Watching Supernatural tonight, I see that Chiller Theater is coming back on channel 11. I don't know if it will be only for one day or a continuing show, but god damn, am I excited. I loved all of those types of shows--Super Scary Saturdays, Theater Bizarre, Fright Night--so more of it now is going to be very welcome. Check it out this Halloween. Not sure when, but check your listings.

Midnight Meat Train

2009-10-25T17:39:00.000-07:00

I know, it sounds like a porno, but it's not. It's an adaptation of a Clive Barker story about a man who finds a mysterious serial killer on the subway. The movie, of course, expands quite a bit on the story, but it works. Instead of a man who just falls asleep on the subway, the main character is a photographer who is looking for the next good picture that will put him on the map, and in his pursuit, he finds a man who he thinks is a killer.

The film is directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, director of Godzilla Final Wars and stars Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb and Vinnie Jones, who looks fairly psychopathic to begin with. Great cinematography, good music and suspense and a compelling story make this one a winner. Check it out.

I also took advantage of Best Buy's horror movie sale this week, picking up the previously mentioned Hatchet, as well as Halloween and Halloween 4. I love those damn movies. They had a pretty decent selection too. Well worth visiting to pick up a hard drive.

Almost done with my Black Lanterns too. I hope to finish them up tomorrow, if all goes well. Then I can build my display before Halloween.

Dramatic Readings

2009-10-24T16:36:00.001-07:00

Hatchet

2009-10-24T07:42:00.000-07:00

Now this, this is how you do a slasher movie. Over the top, gory, funny and scary all rolled into a big old taco of a movie that will rock your cinematic taste buds. What's it about? Who cares? Go fucking see it. Ok, I'll tell you a little bit. Ben and his friends are in New Orleans and looking at tits during Mardi Gras. Ben is kinda down as his girlfriend dumped him and the scene isn't doing much for him. He drags one friend down to do a haunted boat tour through the bayou, where they encounter Tony Todd, a Murray brother, Harmony from Buffy and a few other characters. They head off to the tour (well, not Tony) and in the middle of it, the boat gets stuck and sinks and they're lost in the swamp with crocs and snakes. The worst part? There's a psychopathic ghost named Victor Crowley who wants to tear them apart. And he does, one by one.

This movie is so good. It's like Halloween with some gore, pacing wise, and when Victor shows up, chances are someone is going to die. The cast is pretty able and handles their roles well. I liked seeing the morbid intern from Bones as the lead, as he's pretty damn funny. You get to see some nudity too, which is nice. Harmony has a nice body.

I watched this via Netflix and now I need to go buy it, it's that damn good. Seriously, check this movie out. Also, Kane Hodder as the killer. How cool is that?

Oh yeah, google Adam Green (the director) and Dee Snider. It's a story of how Adam came to be in the movies and it's heartwarmingly awesome. Check it out.

The Hills Run Red

2009-10-19T03:43:00.000-07:00

No, it's not the western, but instead a slasher movie that I watched over the weekend, directed by Dave "The Dead Hate the Living" Parker. It focuses on a man obsessed with a lost horror film that was shot and completed but only shown once or twice and then disappeared, leaving only the trailers and some posters and stills to show it ever existed. The film's director goes missing as well and is presumed dead, never to be heard from again. The hero finds the director's daughter and basically kidnaps her and detoxes her and makes her take him and his crew to the director's old house in the woods where a print might still exist. Unfortunately for them, the killer from the movie seems to be stalking them in real life and starts taking them down one by one. Then shit gets weird.

It's a decent enough flick when sticking to the slasher bits. Babyface is a creepy villain and the design of his costume is top notch. The idea of a lost slasher film is great as well. The film seems to fall apart a bit in the third act though as things get a bit meta and deviate from the formula (which normally is a good thing). You don't really get much reasoning behind the killer's motives and a little more exposition on a few parts would really help bring it all together and would take about 3-4 minutes to do, which wouldn't hurt the already lean running time. As it was, I felt kinda cheated in the end and wasn't sure what to make of it. I'm still not but it's worth checking out for the killer alone, as he is rather scary.

Decent performances from the cast and some good gore and dodgy CGI. William Sadler stars as the director of the lost film, and he's always fantastic. Stifler from Band Camp wasn't bad either. I wasn't a fan of the director's daughter. People seem to be raving about her but her performance was one of the weakest in my opinion. Still, she didn't mind showing some skin, so that's a plus in her favor. Give it a viewing and let me know what you think.

Trick R Treat

2009-10-10T07:42:00.000-07:00

I can't remember the last time I saw a horror movie I liked this much. I mean, I watch a lot of them and like a lot of them, but I don't usually make a tradition out of watching them on a yearly basis. This one I will. Like the original Halloween, it's a holiday classic set around the aforementioned day. Unlike Halloween, this is an anthology film, like Creepshow, but with intertwined segments akin to Pulp Fiction.

It's set around a town in Ohio that loves Halloween and makes a big celebration out of it. The four stories (plus one bookend) are about a principal who has a dark secret, some kids who have a Halloween prank that goes wrong, a young woman (played by Anna Paquin--hotness!) who is in town looking for that special man and stalked by a stranger, and an old codger who is terrorized by a demonic trick or treater. All of the characters weave in and out of the other stories, often doing things that affect another one--such as the young boy from the story with the principal smashing all the pumpkins on a street, forcing the pranksters to look elsewhere for them. All of the stories work well and several have multiple payoffs, meaning that you might think it's at an end but are pleasantly surprised when there's more to come.

It's hard to believe that this was shelved for two years (it was completed in 2007). It's even harder to believe that this is a DTV release. The film is strong enough and fun enough that it could beat out the majority of the films out there in theaters right now, especially the horror ones. It's that good. A shame, really, as Warner Bros. really has a hit on their hands that's destined to become at least a cult classic, but could have been so much more. Rent this or buy this--it doesn't matter--as you'll be happy just to see it. Check it out, please. It's a moral imperative to support a film that is THIS good.

You Must Pay the Rent

2009-10-07T19:42:00.000-07:00

Not only words to live by, it's also my new video, shot on Friday nights while my little girl is asleep and my wife is letting me sit in the basement. Enjoy it. It's the first in the series by the Cellar Dwellers, which is usually just me in different masks, but is open to guest spots as well. (I'm looking at you Gerard.)

The Mutilator

2009-10-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

Friday I needed something to do so I popped in this little gem of a movie. The sound was out of sync and the picture kind of sucked but I enjoyed it in all its terrible glory. A young boy accidentally shoots his mother on his father's birthday. Years later, the father has become unhinged and stalks the boy and his college friends at their beach house and kills them one by one. An entertaining movie though not very good. It's got some decent kills, my favorite being one with a chainsaw where the father just hops right out and stabs the guy with it. Must be one of those quick start models. Some nudity helps move the film along too. It's worth it to see just for the father walking around the house with a damn battle axe most of the film, holding it close. Very fun stuff. Also, it takes place in Atlantic Beach, NC, where my wife's friends go to vacation. I might have to head down there and look for the house now. Check it out.

A Very Power Girl Day

2009-10-01T03:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a good day, especially if you love Power Girl like I do. I picked up and watched Superman/Batman: Public Enemies on dvd. It's a faithful adaptation of the first arc of the comic of the same name. All the fights you want to see are in there, save for the Batfamily and Superfamily attack on Luthor in his office. All of the heroes are, except for the aforementioned ones, and Power Girl gets a bit of an expanded role. She only has a few panels in the comic but now gets a bit more characterization as she is part of a team hunting down her cousin from another Earth, Superman. The Ed McGuinness artwork translates well to the screen and makes for a pretty and exciting ride. Every time PG was on the screen I got giddy and I can't wait to watch it again.

Yesterday was also comic book day.

Power Girl #5: This issue starts a new arc where PG deals with three alien fugitives who have landed on Earth and are up to some mischief. She's also trying to balance her job and finding a new apartment while remembering to pack all of her costume into her bag so she's not flying into battle without her boots on. Good issue with snappy dialogue, interesting new characters and of course, Connor's awesome artwork.

GL #46: Blackest Night continues as Hal teams up with Star Sapphire and also Sinestro to fight Mongul as Indigo-1 gathers together the strongest of the various corps to fight the Black Lantern Menace. Also, John Stewart gets a page to himself. Good issue overall with great fights and storylines that make me want to see where they end up and how they do it. Definitely picking up steam and worth picking up.

ASM#507: More of the Black Cat and they finish up their story. Awesome cover, decent story and Spidey gets laid. Fun and presents a crook with an interesting scheme at the end of the day.

JSA: More infighting as the team gets ready to separate and we're still not sure who the betrayer is, as the person they catch seems to be brainwashed. A little too much on the paranoia and not enough payoff, probably because there are so many things going on at once. Still, I'll stick it out for a bit longer.

Marvel Zombies: The Return #5: Decent ending to a good story. Nothing as awesome as volumes 3 and 4 but still entertaining and presents an interesting twist at the end. Van Lente can write these zombies any day, as he does a great job of it.

The Boys: Herogasm #5: The Supies are going on and the groundwork is laid for a big fight at the end. Not much else going on, but Hughie's ass itches, which means he got violated in a different way than I expected. Good, but not as good as the main title.