I Bought Dan Ackroyd's Vodka in a Crystal Skull!

Did you know that when Dan Ackroyd's not out busting ghosts, he is actually making some of the world's best vodka? And I'm not talking about wearing overalls and no shirt and making a batch in the bath. Oh no, I am talking about vodka that is distilled four times and then triple filtered through DIAMONDS. It has not just won a gold medal, but a DOUBLE-GOLD medal. At the Vodka Olympic Games!

Oh, and buy the way... did I mention that the bottle is a GODDAMNED CRYSTAL SKULL?!

Now, I haven't drank much alcohol at all in the last year or so, but I'm a big fan of Dan Ackroyd, I'm one of the few fans of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and I wanted to pay back Dan for keeping paranormal activity in the New York area to an all-time low. Seriously, you guys, I needed to buy some of this crazy expensive supernatural skull vodka. So that's exactly what I did!

Join me after the jump for more photographs as I unbox my bottle of Crystal Head!

Let's Review a Few More New Phantom Menace Figures!

Phantom Menace hype has probably completely run its course by now, as disgruntled, whining fans all over the world have had their opportunity to relive the film in eye-licking 3D. Personally, I was a little underwhelmed by the experience, but it didn't stop me from perking up earlier today when I encounter a massive Star Wars action figure display.

Now, part of me (probably my brain) feels like a bit of a dope for buying new versions of some of these characters, especially when I overindulged on them all in 1999. But the thing is that the new versions are so much better in terms of sculpting, articulation and accessories that it's difficult to resist the urge to upgrade. That's how they get you, folks, and my constant donations ensure that George Lucas is always stocked up on the finest of flannel shirts.

I picked up four of them today, and they weren't without their surprises. Join me after the jump and I'll tell you exactly how it is!

Boss Nass Will Steal Your Cell Phone

Watch out for that Boss Nass... he might just buy your furniture and steal your cell phone.

This went on for about 10  minutes. Lots of calls, no answers, with a loyal army calling for the head of the Gungan leader...

Tomorrow is Four Weeks Since My XBox Live Account Was Hacked

Getting hacked is no fun, folks. What's worse is having just a miserable experience trying to fix the problem, especially with a company with as many resources as Microsoft does.

A little background: about a month ago on a Saturday morning, I randomly got some "you have purchased some Microsoft points" emails from XBox Live and from Paypal, since my accounts were linked. This was similar to the FIFA hack that's been ongoing(!) since October(!!), so I immediately changed all my passwords and got down to business with getting things righted again. I figured it would take a few days, and hey, I was going away for a few days anyway. They were fairly quick with their investigation, and got back to me rather quickly that, yeah, I had "unauthorized access," that the points would be removed, and I would be refunded "within 1 to 2 billing cycles." No definition of what a billing cycle is, and Paypal is, you know, one button. But okay, patience, young Padawan, etc.

This is where things kind of went downhill.

Boards and Beers - Carnival

Ah yes, the carnival. A place where one can go to watch the oddest assortment of people wandering the fairgrounds. It is a place where mullets are in, and sleeves are out, and a mans self-worth is measured only by how much fried food can fit in his belly. It is the one place where you can go and see people who call you neighbors but you never knew of their existence. In a simpler time, these people were not allowed outside the sideshow tent, but we are a more accepting society now. And now, there's a game based on all the excitement there is to be found at the carnival. And what is this mysterious games name you ask?

Pre New York Fair!: Holy Crap! Trolls Are Back! And Megablocks World of Warcraft!?

There's still a few days before New York Toy Fair opens its magical gates, spilling a beautiful bevvy of upcoming plasticky goodness onto the hobo/pigeon/rat infested streets! But already news is breaking around the globe as press releases flood the inboxes of pop culture sites more popular than ours! So far two bits of news have me confusingly excited, and I stole both of them from Action Figure Insider.

Coincidentally, at Christmas I saw a troll doll in the wild and convinced myself that I should probably reunite with one at some stage. Well it must be a Christmas miracle or some shit, because apparent Dark Horse, in partnership with original Troll inventors Dam Things, are releasing a whole mass of crazy coloured trolls - IN MYSTERY BOXES! Yes! Blind-packaged trolls, so not only will you be willingly spending real money on a troll doll, but you'll get the double whammy of not actually knowing which one you're going to get! Maybe you won't even get a troll at all! Maybe you'll get some broken glass or a hornet's nest!

How sad am I that there's only a 1/30 chance of getting a disco ball troll with bright pink hair! But I love blind-packaging so I'm going to buy one blind and see what fate has in store for me. Loneliness/bankruptcy probably! You can read the full press release here.

And join me after the jump for the other bit of news which is far more exciting. And apparently not actually news...

Let's Read Batman: Knightfall!: Prelude + Part One!

Hey you bums, Christopher Nolan's epic Dark Knight Rises will hoarsely scream onto our screens later this year, so it's time for us all to get off our lazy asses and do some prep work! If you didn't know, pumped up Mexican wrestler Bane is one of the biggest villains in the upcoming film, so you and I are going to have to delve back into his comic history and learn some serious shit about him. And what's more we're going to learn this shit from a book! Together! It will be wonderful!

Bane's most famous storyline is Knightfall (1993) in which he eventually snapped Batman's stupid spine like a dried up twig. And luckily for us, I recently acquired a copy of it. So let's read this thing and find out what it's all about - but we'll take it slow because this is pretty heavy stuff. So today we'll just look at the Prelude, and Part One.

So join me after the jump and let's do this shit! I will tell you one thing for free in advance though. Knightfall is super homo-erotic:

Quickly! Click the link to read more!

Rap + Video Game Themes = Awesomeness

There are few things I like more than a good mashup. I also like rap music, and I like video games. So when good rap music is combined with good video game music? Well...

Beyond the jump, enjoy some great rap/video game mashups, and share some of your favorites in the comments if you have any.

Tumblr Rulz: Magic Cards With Googly Eyes!

Forget all of the new(ish) abilities like Hexproof, Shroud, and Deathtouch... the only thing that Magic the Gathering needs to spice things up is a couple of GOOGLY EYES!

More of these after the jump. All of them can be seen at: http://magiccardswithgooglyeyes.tumblr.com

The Dark Room: Creepy John Robertson's Youtube Choose Your Own Adventure!

I know comedian John Robertson and I love the man. He's funny, insightful, and certainly not afraid to take you to a dark place. And now, thanks to the wonderous interwubz technology that is youtube, he is able to take you to the darkest place imaginable... The Dark Room.

Imagine an adventure in a room so dark that you can't see shit and John yells at you. Now imagine that again, but even funnier. Better yet, just play the interactive game that is The Dark Room and see if you can do a lot better than I did. Like I said, I love John, so I felt extra bad when I continually disappointed him.

Brace yourself, and press play below to take your initial steps in the darkest of dark, dark rooms...

If you're able to actually get anywhere in The Dark Room without turning into a nervous, quivering wreck then I'd love to hear from you in the comments section below. And if you'd like to find out more about the enigmatic Mr. John Robertson then be sure to check out his official site. He appears just about everywhere so maybe you can catch one of his shows!

What's Out? 8th of February 2012

What comes out on this New Comics Day?

The Book Was Better Podcast: Ten Minute Teaser for Episode 11!

Jessica and my podcast, Book Was Better is released every two weeks, but the good news is that we now also release a ten minute microcast in our week off! This is a chance for us to reveal what the next book is, as well as read and respond to your comments and questions.

In this week's indulgent teaser we bathe in the glory of your praise, unlock further secrets to Britney Spear's Crossroads, and reveal that Episode 11 will be a terrible novelisation of a fantastic film!

If you can spare ten minutes you can grab the episode FROM HERE!

Nerd History: Long Things are Long

I don't know what prompted this, exactly, but I was reading about The Flaming Lips releasing a 24 hour song and recalled a few things that I've had scratching the back of my brain for a while. So, let's enjoy some long musical things, shall we?

Tuesday Bounty! Glorious Bounty Solves the Problem!

It's that time again for a brand new page of Glorious Bounty, the comic book that swarthy Edward J. Grug III draws and I write!

When we last saw the Bounty crew, Bruce and Deevis had their brains put in recent model PK robots, much to their companion robot, PK's, disgust. The new models have legs, and our old pal PK doesn't. So he's totally pissed off!

With three PK robots running around things are getting awfully confusing, but does dim-witted lizardman Funf have a viable solution? READ ON!

Click to enlarge or check it out on the official site:

And it's never too late to jump on the Glorious Bounty train! In fact entire carriages are empty! You can start at the very beginning of chapter one right here!

Stryder's Favourite Comics - Release Date 2/1/2012

Well, we've come to the 6-month mark for DC's New 52, and as we can see from this post, opinions are mixed at best!  This month I've decided to add a little something to my columns...for all of the issue #6's I'll be showcasing this month, I've also added an overall assessment including some pros and cons, and a completely arbitrary rating out of 5!  Exciting, right?  As always, don't take it too seriously....I'm having fun and I hope you are too!  First off this month, rather shockingly, is the Green Arrow!!
 

Green Arrow #6 - Well, the last book from the old creative team for Green Arrow is out, albeit minus the original penciller, and it's strangely my favourite issue yet!  This achievement comes once more on the backs of two recurring characters I enjoy far more than old Oliver Queen - Blood Rose and Midas!  In this issue we learn a little more about their origin and connection to the Archer, as well as a shocking surprise!  I won't give away any more, but if you liked the first part of the story, you'll like this one too.

So Green Arrow was one of the books I was considering dropping at issue 4...now I guess I better give the NEW creative team at least a few books.  Doesn't hurt that it comes out on a week when only 2 other comics I buy appear...If only I could drum up more enthusiasm for a hero with a bow and arrow...I prefer my heroes to dress up like bats and shout at everybody!  Don't they know? 

Overall Run:

Pros: 
 - The overall story line has slowly been building and becoming more enjoyable
- Back-up characters are likeable and interesting 

Cons:
- The actual business of crime-fighting for Green Arrow is pretty dull, especially the first 4 issues.
- In a world with Superman, Batman, the Flash, etc....Green Arrow just seems silly and small-potatoes.  He's not done anything impressive enough in the new 52 to convince me otherwise... 

Score:  2 out of 5 bull's eyes...need more practice!

As always, more after the jump!!!

Kickstart The Week: Kickstarter Board Game Night!

Saturday night we played 3 games that originated on Kickstarter, 2 of which are still going strong.

We started out with what we thought would be a light game of a print-and-play version of For The Win, then jumped right into a game of last year's hugely successful Dice Hate Me game Carnival, and then closed the night by destroying each others crops in our pre-release version of Farmageddon.

Click through the jump for the full recap:

Oh, OK! Let's Talk About the Avengers Super Bowl Spot!

Full disclosure here - I'm an Australian. So I'm assuming that the Super Bowl is another food-based holiday where American families huddle around a super-sized bowl filled with puréed food and eat without using any cutlery.

But the best thing to come out of Super Bowl Sunday is this brand new trailer for giant ginger noggined pop culture legend Joss Whedon's upcoming Avengers movie. The original trailer left me a little cold, but I have to admit that this one is pretty awesome. Check it:

Joss Whedon you have the Midas touch. Plus clearly a lot of talented storyboarders, designers and animators at your beck and call. Highlights for me are Hulk, the circular pan around the group including the Hulk, the Hulk, Scarlett Johansson, the Hulk, that shot of Iron Man flying into the lasers, and the Hulk. By the way, did you know they have a Hulk?

For me, this was definitely the winner out of the Super Bowl movie spots. Better than that film where Bruce Willis plays a vintage doll.

Board Game Unboxing: 1st & Goal

Our good friends Games and Grub tweeted about 1st & Goal today, and I couldn't believe I overlooked it for Super Bowl board gaming! I was searching for the best game to play with the relatives tonight, so why not keep it all within the spirit of the night?

At this time, I still haven't played the game. I peeked at the rules a few weeks ago, but I've been so busy playing Risk Legacy, Ascension, and play testing my own (and other designers games) that I haven't gotten to a lot of the games I bought over the last few months.

For a full review, head over to Games and Grub. For now, we have a look at what you will find inside the box. Click through the jump for lots of images.

Review: Star Wars Episode One, The Phantom Menace 3D.

Yes, nearly a week early, I was lucky enough to win the opportunity to attend the première of the Phantom Menace in glorious, eye-molesting 3D. And I'm a total unabashed Star Wars/Episode One/George Lucas fan and apologist so I've been amped all week, desperately hoping that the film would sweep me into a frenzy like its 1999 all over again!

So how did it hold up? How was the experience? How was the 3D?  Did Darth Maul's saber blades brush across our noses like a nipple at a lap dance? Did Jar Jar's prehensile tongue leap out of the screen and lap our eager faces like a hungry dog?

To be perfectly honest, despite my fan loyalty and enthusiasm, my feelings are pretty mixed. Join me after the jump and I'll give you the real deal on both the film and the overall première experience...

GFTROU: NFL Flick Kicker vs NFL Flick Quarterback

It's Superbowl weekend in the good ol' US of A, so to celebrate this shiny spectacle we'll be doing a GFTROU FIRST by looking at TWO GAMES in the one week. Two NFL games obviously. Cause otherwise that would make no sense. Jump under the cut to check out NFL Flick Kicker and NFL Flick Quarterback by Full Fat Productions.