For over 30 years I have been waiting for Superman to return (pun intended). That's a long damn time to wait with only a few disappointing films along the way (two horrible ones in the 80s and one that was not much better several years ago). So, when I heard of this film being made that was cowritten by Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy) and directed by Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) I was cautiously optimistic.
However, as I caught wind of some rumors that the filmmakers were taking great liberties with the character such as not wanting to actually refer to him as 'Superman' or taking away the implied patriotic nature of the character, I began to worry and grew skeptical. Let me be the first to tell you that all my fears were silenced last night at the midnight screening at Hollywood 20 as I joined some of the good folks from Borderlands Comics and Games.
The film, in my opinion as a huge fan of the first two Christopher Reeve films from the late 70s, was very true to the character in terms of origin and I even thought Henry Cavill resembled Reeve in terms of his expressions of anger and desperation. Granted the term 'Superman' was only used a couple of times and towards the end of the film but was to be expected in an origin story.
The main liberties I thought the film took were the deaths of both his earthly father, Jonathan Kent (played by Kevin Costner) and his biological Kryptonian father, Jor-El (played by Russell Crowe) which I will not give away but I thought both instances were minor and did not alter the storyline in any way.
And let me just say that I loved the film despite all my sketicism going into the screening! It was absolutely and totally....SUPER!!!! Finally someone made a Superman film worthy of today's big special effects-filled summer blockbusters without just churning out a big ol' polished up turd! Heck, I even am starting to like the new symbol which I at first despised!
Tessa and I went down the road to Hollywood 20 to go see the new Star Trek flick Star Trek Into Darkness last Thursday night. I really enjoyed the first installment in the franchise reboot but this one absolutely smoked it! And not to mention that it was a big nod to one of my favorite films from the original series! If you haven't figured it out by now, you soon will! Let's just say that "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few....or the one"!
Tessa and I started out the weekend with a mini date night on Friday night as she was craving some Red Robin (YUM!). We were gonna try to add a movie to the mix but we were too tired so we decided to wait until Saturday to watch the movie we got from Netflix.
As it were, we had to get up early on Saturday anyways so I could make it down to Anderson for my live broadcast at Bike Street USA. On our way back from Anderson, we went by Guitar Center (well I did, rather, while Tessa picked up some dog treats next door at PetSmart) then went to Old Time Pottery for some candles and such.
Once we got home, I finally got around to putting some moth balls along the backside of our fence in our backyard to keep snakes out. But not before I posed for some candid shots with the box of putrid orbs!
After we got settled in for the night, we finally got around to watching Lincoln which was the movie we got in from Netflix. It was a good film but certainly not a very exciting one! I was expecting more of a bio flick, but the movie was based solely around the passing of the 13th Amendment which abolished slavery for good whereas the Emancipation Proclamation was more of a temporary wartime sorta deal.
The movie pretty much jumps right into the task at hand and follows many of the shady, backdoor deals Lincoln had to resort to in getting the amendment ratified. It was interesting to see Lincoln painted in an almost unflattering light but made no mistake in pointing out the virtue of his mission. The movie is certainly well worth viewing but make sure you eat your Wheaties because it is very slow paced and difficult to follow at times.
On Sunday, Tessa and I did our monthly charity work with the food ministry at our church then picked up my mom and Aunt Pat then took off for Rutherford County where we picked up Tessa's mom. We drove back down towards Lyman to show them the venue where we are getting married in October. We stopped in Chesnee on the way to grab some late lunch at Turner's Family Restaurant. As it turns out, we were among the very last few customers as they are going out of business after nearly 40 years in the Upstate.
After we stopped by the site of our future wedding, we took Tessa's mom back home then headed back home ourselves. It was good to spend the day with the fam even though a vast majority of it was in my damn car! I think I'm gonna hitch a ride down to Clemson in the new Planet van this Saturday and give my car a rest!
Okay, it wasn't the fifth chapter of Iron Man but it was the fourth if you count The Avengers! However, it did easily dominate the box office on the weekend of Cinco de Mayo and you know my ass went to go see it! Thursday night at midnight in IMAX! And it was well worth it!
This may be the last film of the Iron Man franchise, but Marvel Studios made it a point to let you know during the credits that Tony Stark will, indeed, return! This would leave us superhero freaks to believe that his return will, undoubtedly, be in the next installment of The Avengers. That would be fine by me since you can't top the ensemble of Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and the HULK! Speaking of which, stay through the credits!
On Saturday, Tessa and I joined my guitarist in SLAVEDRIVER to help my cousin and our drummer Ray move. Ray ordered pizza for us for our services so that was plenty fine by me since he has helped me move so many times in the past....and I'm a fat guy who likes pizza! And LOVES it when it's FREE!!!!
Needless to say I didn't feel like doing much the next day on Cinco de Mayo except grabbing some good ol' Mexican food at El Tejano in Simpsonville then wasting some time and a few bucks at Target. I was more like "Cinco de O' My Back-O!"
Well it's certainly been an interesting weekend leading into an even more interesting week thus far!
Friday night got the train a rollin' with my band SLAVEDRIVER playing Gottrocks here in Greenville with Bonz, the former frontman of STUCK MOJO and his self-titled solo project. Before the show started, Bonz was checking out our merch table which included some previously worn stage gear. One of Moon's tees caught his eye so we hooked him up and, lo and behold, he wore it on stage later that night! Yes, Bonz loves white bitches!
Opening the show was OF GOOD AND EVIL followed by REDEFIND then us. I gotta say that that was the best I have played live with the band yet! I only messed up one of our newer tunes "Drag This Out" and I butchered it pretty badly but, for the most part, I was dead on which I feel was largely attributed to the fact that the sound was amazing! I could actually hear everything including my bass except when I ran over to Moon's side of the stage. And the crowd was spectacular!
Unfortunately, a lot of the crowd left after we played so I felt bad for BONZ having to play to a leftover crowd. I had figured a lot more people would have come for the namesake alone considering his tenure with the mighty STUCK MOJO. However, that didn't deter the band from putting on one helluva show! Did I mention that Bonz wore Moon's shirt on stage?
Once we got done packing our gear, loading it up, dropping it off at the band room and returning the trailer, my ass was starving so Tessa and I went to Waffle House for some much needed greasy substenance!
After my late night gorging, I had to run back to the station to wrap up some things so I didn't make it back home and crawl into bed until around 6:30 in the morning as the Sun was coming up!
I slept in until about 12:30 and Tessa and I started making our rounds for the day with more gorging at Culver's. We then hit up Old Navy and Haywood Mall to pick up some things we needed like a few select pieces of garb. We then stopped by Men's Wearhouse to get some prices on tux rentals for our wedding coming up in October.
Over the course of the weekend, our last two remaining rats finally kicked the rodent bucket. All I can say is that, although I hate to see critters expire, I am glad our house is rid of the vermin as we do not intend to have any more. Having said that, rest in peace Val and Nimh, daughters of the deceased Brisby ("Brisa") and nieces of the also deceased Ella. You will be missed but NOT replaced!
Monday night after work, Tessa and I joined some of her co-workers at Carolina Ale House in downtown Greenville. Thankfully on our there, we ran into Booger and a friend of his. So we had them join us which helped me not feel so out of place. We had a few drinks, some amazing cheese fries and tried to get Booger hooked up with our waitress!
Last night we got the answer to the question, "Can the Handlebar handle GWAR?!" Let's just say that they survived! And barely at that since the show was just what one would expect: a cesspool of campy violence, obscene amounts of fake blood and semen and tongue-in-cheek blasphemy which included the mangling of Adolf Hitler and a mock crucifixion and dismemberment of Jesus Christ. The latter did make me a little uneasy despite the absurdity of it all, but I didn't let it stop me from enjoying the show overall.
Fortunately, a majority of the blood was spewed into the center of the crowd so it missed me and Tessa since we were up front but to the far right of the stage. However, Oderus had us in his sights when it was time for him to have his bountiful orgasm of fake green semen. My damn hands and various other body parts are still green despite a nice hot shower after the show!
Despite the mess, the show was amazing! Security had a helluva time trying to keep the barricade in place with the rowdy crowd and Oderus' mic kept cutting in and out throughout their set but, despite it all, it was one of the greatest shows I have ever....EXPERIENCED!!!! My GWAR cherry got popped and I got to scratch off an item from my bucket list that I never knew was on it to begin with! And I want Balsac's goat hoof boots!
This past weekend Tessa and I went out to Saskatoon for the first time and I absolutely loved it! We had the fried alligator tail for an appetizer then Tessa got a filet mignon and I got the rainbow trout and, man, it was fantastic! Not to mention their fresh baked bread with various butters including blueberry butter! I gotta say, I am a fan!
The rest of the weekend was joyously uneventful but, so far, this week has been on!
Today I had to get up when Tessa did at 5:30 this morning so I could get ready to head up to Chesnee to be a guest speaker at Rainbow Lake Middle School Career Fair 2013. As a guy who started college aspiring to be a high school math teacher, I love working with kids (mainly teens and preteens) so I really enjoyed getting this opportunity! As a whole, the students were very receptive and enjoyed having someone in radio come and speak. And the Planet stickers I brought sure helped!
Thursday night, the little lady and I went to Simpsonville to catch the new remake of The Evil Dead which, you may or may not have noticed, is titled simply Evil Dead. The film, in my opinion, is true to the nature of the original which was never intended to be campy like the sequels were. This, in no way, is a criticism of any of the original films as Evil Dead II is one of my favorite all-time films.
The remake is very brutal and unapologetically bloody as one would only hope. To those who are against this remake being made in the first place, consider that the original filmmakers (Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell and Rob Tapert) are behind the film as its producers so it's not just a bunch of newbies ruining a classic.
Speaking of classic, although the new film isn't nearly as classic as the original, it is, in many ways, superior in its gory effects and superior script and acting, particularly on the part of Jane Levy who plays the film's main character Mia. And make sure you stay through the credits for a GROOVY cameo!
The rest of the weekend I rested as much as possible and caught up on some TV watching and video game playing which included a great deal of newfound home 3D entertainment! I had recently picked up a copy of Resistance 3 after waiting forever for the price to finally drop down to $20 since I hate paying $60 for a video game! And the game just happens to be 3D compatible and, if you read my last blog, you should know that I now am the proud owner of two pairs of active 3D glasses specifically designed for our new TV!
And, when I purchased The Avengers on Blu-ray, I just happened to have picked up a copy with the 3D version of the film! So, between the game and the movie, I spent a LOT of time with those 3D glasses on my face! Needless to say, I was taking a lot of breaks because you're not supposed to wear them for any longer than three hours at a time. I don't even think I ever had them on for any more than an hour or so at a time! That $h!t will give you a headache!
Easter weekend was definitely a tail to tell! Tessa wanted to have an impromptu date night Friday night so, since she had been craving sushi, I decided to take her out to the new sushi restaurant, Tanoshi Sushi Pub. We had this awesome flamin' shrimp appetizer and she ordered a boatload of sushi....literally!
She even gave me yet another lesson in the proper use of chopsticks. I'm still not a pro by any means, but I at least made it through dinner without asking for silverware! That's not to say I didn't use my fingers for a few pieces of sushi!
On Saturday, we made our way up to her hometown in Rutherford County for her best friend Krista's wedding reception which followed the private ceremony. Thank God there was lots of food because I was starving! And burgers and hot dogs at that! Now that's my kind of reception!
On Easter morning, I had my mom play the Easter bunny and drop off a basket I got for Tessa that included some high tech goodies like the new BioShock game and two pairs of 3D glasses for our new TV! I had Mom put it together and she even added a few extra sweet treats to balance the techie heavy basket! She rang the doorbell before 8:30 in the morning which had Tessa in a tizzy wondering who the hell was ringing our doorbell so early. Thankfully she beat me to the door and found what Mama Easter Bunny had left!
After poking and prodding our spoils, we got ready to go to my aunt Pat's church, Temple Baptist which is the church I grew up in. Tessa had never been to a hardcore Southern Baptist church before so, needless to say, it was quite an experience for her!
After church, we went to the Coach House with Mom, Aunt Pat and my uncle James Ray. Man, I love that place! Better than Cracker Barrel!
After dinner, we met up with Tessa's mom and cousin at the house and had some chocolate oatmeal no bake cookies that Tessa had made and some pineapple cake that Mom had made. Needless to say, I resumed my diet with a quickness on Monday!
....this cat will go to his mom's and eat junk food! And that's just what I did when Tessa went to Spartanburg for her best friend's bachelorette party last Saturday night! I took the opportunity to bond with my mom who now lives alone after booting out her ex-fiance and we ate homemade chili burgers and brownies! I'm not even gonna say how many I had but it was more than a couple and less than a dozen!
After gorging myself and watching a couple of movies with Mom, I went home and let the dogs out and played some video games and watched TV with my beloved mutts on the couch where I also slept for the night!
Tessa got home just before noon the next day and she brought with her a bag of Mickey D's dollar menu burgers and chicken sandwiches. So we gorged ourselves and napped off and on the rest of the day.
Finally me and the boys of SLAVEDRIVER got to return to action for the first time since late September of last year. We took nearly six months off so our drummer could prepare for his third child. Now, for the first time in 2013, we returned to the stage at Ground Zero last Friday. We were joined by RED SERIPH and ABSOULUTE CONVIXTION so the lineup was killer! Unfortunately, the turnout wasn't what we had hoped but that didn't stop us from giving it all we had to enslave those who did come out to show support! We also had our new banner and drum riser to make the stage look like a real band came to play!
After the show, it was our favorite time as musicians: packing up and loading in! That's sarcasm, by the way! By the time we got loaded up and got the equipment dropped off at the band room and I helped Ray drop off the trailer, it was 3 in the morning. At that point I took Tessa home and went back to office to tie up some loose ends for the weekend. By the time I got home, washed my sweaty ass and crawled up into bed, it was 6 am!
I had to get up a few hours later and get my car over to Big O Dodge for a routine oil change. Tessa followed me so I could ride with her to get her car washed and to drop some money we had raised for St. Baldrick's the night before over to Borderlands since I was on their team.
We then went and picked up my car and ran by Family Video to rent a few movies and grabbed some pizza from Hungry Howie's next door and went home! We spent the rest of the day napping, eating pizza, snoozing, watching movies and sleeping! Did I mention we caught a few zzzzzzzz's?!
The next day was St. Baldrick's which actually fell on St. Patrick's Day this year! As I said before, I was on Borderlands Comics' team but I was helping Stoneman from Rock 101 emcee the event so I did not get to shave my head with the rest of the team as can be seen in this photo!
Inspired by all the women that have shaved their heads over the past few years, Tessa has decided to shave next year! And her hair is sooooo pretty!
After the event and my head was finally shaved, Tessa and I met up with other members of our team at Fitzpatrick's where we do our monthly geek trivia for some Irish chow! As we were leaving, I had a guy dying to take my pic with all my festive wear and freshly shaved head so I obliged him!
It was a very exhaustive but great weekend! Thank God I got some sleep on Saturday or I probably wouldn't have made it back this week!
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