Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Birthday Bashing!

So today's a leap year, eh?  The random, mathematically accumulated day that spawns two or three times every decade and has no other significance.

I've heard in the past people celebrating their birthdays only on this day and not the three years in-between, making them numerically much younger than they really are.  At a certain age I'm sure it gets old (pun?), but I imagined someone just sticking with it for the whole ride and what that may look like.

A new Avengers trailer just came out.  I'm doing a valiant job of not squealing in delight right now, so be impressed.  Honestly, I'm on the edge of a media blackout for this movie.  It does look good, but if all the media and trailers and images pump it up to be anything other than an awesome summer punch-em-out super hero blockbuster, I know I'd leave the theater disappointed.  Seeing as how a good chunk of my life is comic books, I'm going to do what I can to protect that inner child and temper my expectations.

Even if the movie doesn't live up, there's a chance that the aforementioned comics will.  With the huge Marvel event coming up, only one of them has to be completely awesome.  I'm willing to believe that both the movie and the comic event can be great.  If so, that would absolutely make this, as I've said numerous times already, a fantastic year.

Punch it, Chewie!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Unnecessary Bit Of Business

So the Star Wars movies are being re-re-re-released in theaters, but now in 3D.  I've invested hundreds of dollars personally into the SW universe, through games and books and movies and whatever else I could get my hands on.  Unfortunately, George Lucas saw those dollars coming in and decided that instead of making original content it was better to make an obvious cash grab.

I'm not old enough to be an original fan but in the '90s when they were trotted out again, it hit me at just the right age.  Ninja turtles and G.I. Joes took a back-burner from then on out.  This move to try and capitalize on yet another generation with new technology and adding in yet more things that weren't in the original feels like a personal betrayal.  I guess he got my dollars already though, and the joke's on me.  Lucas is completely out of touch with the people he provides entertainment to though, so it's hard to blame someone so completely ignorant.

Recently, Lucas spoke out on the whole "Han shot first" nerd chant and explained that Greedo instead fired before Han in that Tatooine cantina.  He then went on to rebuke these diehard fans as bloodthirsty for thinking Han a murderer.  Mr. Lucas, you wrote the movie, so it's troubling that you have no idea what you're talking about.  Greedo announces his intentions to kill Han long before Han pulls the trigger and has a gun on him the entire conversation.  Han just got out in front of the extremely skilled bounty hunter and yanked the trigger first.  There's no need to go back in your later releases and edit it so that Greedo does fire first.  I'd like to say you're better than that, but you're constantly proving that wrong.

Shake it off folks, nerd rant's over for all of you.  I'll live with the rage for much longer, but hopefully you got a chuckle or a "hey, yeah!" out of it along the way.

Punch it, Chewie!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Nerds Assemble!

What's depicted here is more of a future happening, as The Avengers movie still has a few months before it drops in on the world in all its media-frenzy goodness.  When the dust clears, the world will more likely than not be supersaturated with product tie-ins and whatnot, but I get it. That's how Hollywood pays the bills for these awesome actors to show up and play around for our entertainment.

I do wish that I had the guts to actually dress up in full costume for movies or just about anything in a public gathering.  Letting your nerd flag fly like that is more than a little bit intimidating in a Jersey Shore kind of world.  The Epoch crew is settling for T-shirts rather than actual shields, armor and tattered purple shorts.  This is a trade-off that the world will thank us for later.

If this is a safe place, and I can let it all loose, I have to let you all know that I'm aware of the content error in tonight's comic.  Spider-Man won't be showing up in The Avengers, but in his own movie this summer.  That's alright though, because I'd rather doodle webs than a Norse thunder god or a cat-sized suit of armor.  The day that people start to bring that stuff up to me on their own, I know that either I'm losing it or that my audience has finally found me.

Check out the Mass Effect 3 extended trailer if that's what you're into, and actually while you're searching find the Amazing Spider-Man trailer after that.  How many times do I have to say how good a year this is going to be?

Punch it, Chewie!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Back In The Saddle Again

The marketing finally caught up to me.  I preordered Mass Effect 3 last night, and spent what was left of the evening reacquainting myself with it's predecessor.  Dusting off the old save files, I should be in great shape for what will be the final installment in Commander Shepard's story.

I doubt that those running the show at EA will let the universe just fade away with dignity, so don't worry all you people who want Mass Effect games until you're completely sick of them.  It's fairly meta how the game industry itself plays this game of seeing how many versions of the same thing they can put out before people don't buy them anymore.  Vegas in pixels, I'm thinking.

Nothing is official yet, but soon we'll be moving over to ink-and-pixels.com.  Over there, we'll be more than just a comic blog.  Hopefully, there will be even more content as we get into the groove of things and bring it all together.  The site is still under construction, so any bugs or errors you find just let me know.  I'll be posting here and there simultaneously until I can find the appropriate time to make the move final.  Either way, you'll be sick of hearing about it by then.

Alright, we did it.  Tomorrow's the end of yet another, and we've got a few days to think about the next one.  Prop those feet up and do your fair share of forgetting about all that, though.

Punch it, Chewie!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

You Are The Wind Beneath My Cats

So it's Valentine's Day. Let's just get that right out of the way.  It's the day when people either get to celebrate their love, begrudgingly make gestures to their significant other, or bitterly make snide comments that make everyone else uncomfortable.  It's the latter of those options that would, being forever linked to another, understandably make me grimace.  I don't really shove the fact that I was able to (happily) find the exact right person for me in others faces.  I guess that comes with being a private person, though.  Private enough to write a dumb blog about his most inane thoughts and make his doodles public.

I found myself standing in the card aisle of the grocery store earlier today, staring for a few minutes looking for just the right sentiment that would get close to how I feel.  It was after these few minutes that I remembered that tonight's blog was made with the express purpose of being that selfsame card, only a bit more permanent. 

Like I mentioned before, I find myself to be extremely fortunate that I was able to not only find the right woman for me, but to trick her into thinking I was the right man for her.  I keep this up for a few more years and I hear there's a chance I could get a cape and top hat for my magician's routine.

Enjoy your evenings, everyone.  If you're not linked, just do something that you enjoy. Period. Not out of some sense of anti-sentiment but rather out of a more personal valentine to yourself.  Can't take care of someone else until you take care of yourself.

Punch it, Chewie!



Thursday, February 9, 2012

Nothing Less Than The Fate Of The World!

2012 is shaping up to be a stellar year, so if those crazy calendar folk were right then we are poised to go out on a bang for nerd culture everywhere. That is, if they weren't just bored of making calendars hundreds and hundreds of years into the future.

We've got the previously mentioned movies dropping, world-shaking comic book events, tech like the IPad3, heck even all the comedy that comes out of a presidential election are yet to come!

Things will be moving quickly, though.  It's already six weeks into the new year, and those weeks don't slow down once the weather brightens up and social agendas start filling up.  The important thing to remember is to take the time and enjoy whatever it is that gets you amped up, as much as possible.

The week's almost done! Finish strong troops, and we'll see you on the battlefield for the next one.

Punch it, Chewie!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Snow

The smaller of our cats really has a tough job.  That job is to play with, investigate or make noise with any object that otherwise would go completely unnoticed.  We've tried providing toys to distract, giving lots of attention and even moving items we know she can't get enough of out of sight.

Every new box in the house is like we're waving giant flags for her to come and jump inside immediately, so of course the only way she could escalate is to strike up a deal with whoever would be delivering the box to get her time in before we could stop it.  Depending on the day it's either adorable or maddening, usually both.

The Super Bowl was this past weekend, eh?  I found the game to be somewhat entertaining, but without the crew we had around it would have for sure been lacking in excitement.  There were a few standout moments, but of course the chess game in the last few minutes with timeouts and touchdowns was really interesting.  Alright, enough sports: The Avengers had a trailer that premiered!  The extended trailer is on Facebook (if you "like" the page) and I'm impressed with how it's shaping up.  They've done a stellar job so far keeping the villains a secret, it's going to be even more difficult to try and keep myself spoil-less before going to check it out with the Epoch boys.

Punch it, Chewie!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

That Is A Medium

I've got a weak spot for fast food.  The memories of how terrible it is for my body come after the bloodlust of tearing into that burger and finishing off the last too-salty potato-fried companion piece.  Something I've noticed over the past few years is just how gigantic the standard drink is at these fast food chains.

When receiving a drink along with your meal, the drink has grown to the size that not only do they need to start using plastic (they say it's for the environment but don't believe that), the cup itself has to be molded to still fit into a cupholder in your car.  Let me say that again; the cups have outgrown the cup-holders.  I may be crazy, but when they say that the sugars in soda are one of the leading causes of obesity, do we really need to individually test that theory?

The rodent saw his shadow again.  Bill Murray wakes up to Sonny & Cher, chases around Roddy McDowell and hi-jinks ensue.  To date we haven't really been hit with the winter blues, so fingers crossed these next six weeks fly by with similar results.  Not that I have any control over that, though.  I mean, it's not like I'm some random woodland creature that has the power to tell people when the season is over, right?

Super Bowl this weekend! Even if you don't like football, chances are you'll end up at a party for it or watching it for the commercials.  No matter how you find yourself upon it, have a good time!

Punch it, Chewie!