Top 5: Phillip J. Fry

When Futurama first premiered on Fox back in 1999 I couldn't be happier. At the time didn't fully understand what series creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen where trying to create with the show but as far as I was concerned it was going to be The Simpsons in the future...it wasn't, and I was very disappointed.

Cut to my freshman year in college when I saw the series DVDs on sale. This time around I watched a hilarious, deep and sometimes very sad story about a guy whose is, for the most part, completely and utterly alone in a world that is not his own. The guy was Phillip J. Fry who after being cryogenically frozen for a thousand years had to go from being a loser pizza delivery boy that lives at home with his parents to a futuristic space delivery man working for his great(x30) nephew.

The show is a comedy, there is no doubt about that but it is a lot different than shows like the Simpson and Family Guy. The characters, as crazy as they where, where much more realistic. They had feelings, goals and dreams that they wanted to achieve. You could sympathize with them. And for me being someone who was living away from home for the first time in a completely new place I related a lot to Fry. Sure he's dumb, but he's also dedicated. The guy spends the better part of fours seasons and four straight to DVD movies fighting for the love of his one eyed purple haired co-worker Turanga Leela. Our situations weren't identical but watching Futurama was something that always made me feel like everything would end up ok, and it did.

Notorious+Cyrus=Good?

In my experience mixing a good thing with a bad thing usually ends with something absolutely terrible, which is why I was surprised when I heard this mash up of the Notorious B.I.G.'s 1993 hit "Party and Bullshi" and Miley Cyrus' most recent (and unbelievably terrible) pop song "Party in the USA." The chorus is a little weak but it is still one of the most enjoyable ways to listen to Cyrus. Enjoy the song if that kind of thing is your cup of tea.

This Week in Food

Some of the food that I've enjoyed over the last week...well couple of weeks. In case you are curious, starting from left to right starting on top, Torchy's Taco's September special taco the "Mr. Pink," Hyde Park Bar & Grill's famous french fries (Meh), some delicious special from Magnolia Cafe that I could resist eating before I snapped a pic, and last but not least a $3 pizza from Pizza Patron.

Top 5: Tobias Funke

Last night my friend Dane Hurt posted a list of his top ten favorite TV characters on his personal website. The list got me thinking about who'd be in my top ten. Here is the first character to join my top 5.

"Oh here, here. In the dark, it all looks the same."

Words like these have made Tobias Funke one of television's strange characters. Played by David Cross, Funke was the first licensed analyst/therapist, or analrapist, turned wanna be actor on Mitchell Hurwitz's Arrested Development.

The thing that makes Tobias so funny is the way he interacts socially. He is completly oblivious to so much of what is going on around him and the things he says. Funke will spout out sentances like "Michael, you really are quite the cupid. You can zink your arrow into my buttocks any time" without realizing that his statment might be interpreted in more than one way.

He is incredibly outgoing, but lacks real social skills. It's like watching someone new to a country try and figure out a new culture, new sayings, and new social behaviors but instead of being a forigner he is just an idiot. It's good fun.

My Take: Hottest MCs in the Game

Earlier this month MTV released it's list of the "Hottest MCs in the Game" and as per usual I'm a little bit disappointed. The list of course isn't made with my personal tastes in mind, because let me assure it would look quite a bit different, but I can usually understand why they put the rappers where they do. It is all about mainstream rappers and what they put out and do each year. Without further ado, the list:

1. Jay-Z
2. Lil Wayne
3. Drake
4. Kanye West
5. Rick Ross
6. Gucci Mane
7. Young Jeezy
8. Fabolous
9. 50 Cent
10. Raekwon

So what don't I like? Gucci Mane and Fabolous don't deserve a spots on this list.

Gucci Mane got lucky this year, he was featured on a couple songs that recieved a lot of radio play(Mariah Carey's "Obsessed" and Trey Songz's "LOL :-)") and he put out one single that just recently started getting play ("Wasted"). But I've yet to hear him spit a single verse that impressed me. As far as I'm concered he is just a less talented Soulja Boy, and lets be honest Soulja Boy doesnt have much when it comes to musical talent.

Fabolous isn't the worst, in fact I really enjoy his latest single "Everything, Everyday, Everywhere" but there is something about him that just annoys the crap out of me. All he did this year was annoy radio listeners with "Throw it in the Bag" and release a concept album based on the 1993 crime drama Carlito's Way. I don't think a average rapper having a decent year merits the honor of being called 2009's 8th hottest MC.

Who should be on instead? Well first and foremost Emienem. Seem incredibly obvious to me. Within the last year the man has returned from hiatus, released the highly succesful Relapse, was called out on Mariah Carey's Obsessed and precided to destroy her on a single called "The Warning, KILLED on Drake's "Forever" and had a cameo in Judd Apatow's Funny People. If that's not enough to to get you on to the top ten list than I don't think anyone should on the list.

I'd also put Kid Cudi on the list. I don't really care too much for his music but he's had a good year. New album came out. His first single "Day 'N' Nite" has been constantly playing on radio stations for the better part of the year and his brilliant "Make Her Say" feat. Common and Kanye West has just started making its rounds. All that plus two magazine covers, his own custom Bape T-Shirt and solid rhyming skills.

Other than I'm pretty happy. I would probably move a couple around but for the most part the list is fairly accurate.

Any opinions?

Source: MTV

Swedish Rapper Pato Pooh goes 8-bit

Here in America our rappers love to make music about throwing money at women, popping expensive champagne, and showing every one the spinning rims that they put on they're SUV, but apparently in Sweden things are a lot different. I found this video on gaming blog Kotaku and had to share it. There is some profanity in the song, but nothing too terrible.

Game Review: Uncharted Drake's Fortune

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is everything that I wanted Romancing the Stone to be and more.

I originally intended to just play the first hour of the game and write a review about that hour; I figure the first hour is the most important part of a game as its what makes you either want to keep playing or turn it off. Needless to say the first hour had me hooked and I spend a good chunk of the last three days finishing this game.

The game puts you in the shoes of Nathan Drake, a sarcastic and surprisingly intelligent adventurer, and has you traversing islands, tombs and ancient towns in search of the city of El Dorado. Think Indiana Jones and and Brendan Fraiser in The Mummy with a little bit of Nicolas Cage's character from National Treasure. Drake is full of witty one liners and he's prone to action.

The game blends exploration, action, and story almost perfectly. Everything in the game seems necessarily to the story. The gun fights, the mountain climbing, and even the occasional jet ski driving all have a reason to be in the game.

The most brilliant part of Uncharted is the game's story telling. The story itself is sub par, most of the game is extremely predictable and the bits that aren't are way far out there. The game doesn't tell the story in long cut scenes but instead just gives you little bits and pieces as you play. This keeps you submerged in the world. The pacing is spot on giving you the right amount of information about the story at the right times to keep you wanting to know more.

The game is two years old by the graphics still look incredibly realistic. The greens of the forest all look great on a nice HDTV. The character animation is stunning and the controls and sound are spot on. Things like the occasional chirping bird puts you right into the tropical environment of the game.

No game is perfect. The melee attacks in the game are uncomfortable and at a later point in the game the plot takes a very science fiction twist that comes as quite a surprise, but as an experience there is nothing available that is better than what Uncharted brings to the table.

Time management with Dexter

Anyone out there watch Dexter? I recently streamed the first episode through Netflix because I had heard a lot of good things. I watched the episode and really liked it. It was very unique. I liked the story, the action, pretty much everything about it...except for one little thing. The show is an hour long.

I don't mean to make it sound like my time is super valuable, because lets face it I waste a lot of it, but an hour is a big chunk of time. Especially in the world of streaming Netflix. I could spend that time watching 2/3 of a movie, but Dexter wants me to use that hour to watch 1/12 of it's first season story? That's a big commitment.

I realize this seems silly but it's just the way my mind manages time. I really would like to watch the next episode, and ten following that one. But I haven't. It's been about two weeks since I first sat down and watched the first episode. And the more I think about it the more I realize that time is the only thing holding me back.

Maybe tomorrow will be the day that I watch episode 2.

The Expendables Trailer

It has finally arrived! The trailer to Stallone's upcoming, and undeniably awesome, action film. I don't know if the trailer is suppose to be out...but this is it. So why not watch and get pumped!

Bored to Death only a little boring

An HBO tv series starring Ted Danson, Zach Galifianakis, and Jason Schwartzman sounds awesome doesn't it? After watching the first 3 episodes I can safely say that it's pretty alright.

The show follows Schwartzman's character as he struggles to write write the follow up to his first novel. In an attempt to find inspiration after being dumped by his girlfriend he advertises himself as an unlicensed private detective. Galifianakis plays a comic book artist who is Schwartzman's best friend and Danson plays his boss and mentor.

All the characters are interesting, you want to keep watching them just to find out more about their lives, but Schwartzman doesn't ever stand out as a lead on the show. His character isn't as likable as most television leas and he can't play the asshole lead like other HBO stars, Eastbound and Down's Danny McBride or Curb Your Enthusiasm's Larry David.

One thing the show has a lot of is style, it manages to combine a lot of comedy with a little bit of film noir and mystery. And the style and comedy is what will bring me back for the next couple weeks to keep watching.

A gift from Japan: Boss Coffee

This June my girlfriend Emmy went on a two week trip to Japan and when she returned home she gave me a tiny little can of Boss Rainbow Mountain Blend coffee. Today I finally popped it open and tried the Japanese beverage.

Apparently Boss coffee is huge in Japan. You can buy it in vending machines all over the place, and there are billboards every where promoting it. The best thing about the ads? The company's spokesman is Tommy Lee Jones. That's right the academy award winning American actor is the face of a Japanese coffee company. (Check out the commercial below)

Enough distraction though, back to today's tasting. I poured the drink into a coffee cup to make sure it hadn't gone bad in the months that it spent aging in my parent's refrigerator. The liquid looked...well like coffee. Smelled like coffee too. Tasted a lot like you're usual iced coffee. The coffee itself was a little bit stronger than most coffee drinks but packed a pretty standard punch as far as flavor was concerned. Would I drink it again? Yes, but just because I do what Tommy Lee Jones tells me too.

Old News: Yakuza 3 coming to U.S.

You ever get behind something, like a book or a movie, without having seen or read it? Defending it and wanting what's best for it? I'm like that with Sega's Yakuza series.

The 3, soon to be 4, games put the player in control of former Yakuza member Kazuma Kiryu as her returns from 10 years in jail. The games have been acclaimed for their realistic depiction of the Japanese crime world as well as for their pacing, story, and fighting system.

But alas this means nothing to me because I havent played any of them. I keep intending too, and I even bought the first one a few months ago but I still haven't popped it into my Playstation. Why? Well, I've been busy and the idea of starting a big series like this is kind of daunting. I'm going to have to put in a lot of man hours to finish the first two.

The other problem is, or rather was, that this summer Sega announced that the third installment of the series wasn't going to be released here in America. Why waste my time on the first two if I'm never even going to get to play the rest?

Today as I was cruising the Internet I discovered that on Sept. 19 Sega announced that Yakuza 3 is currently being localized and is going to release both in Europe and here in the United States. I couldn't be happier. I am however disapointed that it took me 2 weeks to find out about this, apparently concentrating on school has its drawbacks.

Source: 1up

Comic Update: Blackest Night

Continuity issues have always cause me to stray away from reading the stories about DC characters like The Flash and Green Lantern, but thanks to Geoff Johns' Blackest Night story line I'm finally experiencing the Green Lantern.

Blackest Night is DC Comic's newest event story line that DC and Marvel love to do so much these days. The story, much like Marvel's Civil War and DC's recent Batman R.I.P., tells a big story through several main issues and then subsequent and minor side stories through other comic series. Black Night for example is being told through an eight issue miniseries as through several special issues of Green Lantern, Batman, Superman, Titans, and Green Lantern Corps.

Having only read issues 0 and 1 I can't comment too much on the overall story line, but from what I've read I'm hooked. Geoff Johns writes the Green Lantern very well. The plot is hard to explain, even with the comic book knowledge that I have, but basically tells the story of the Black Lantern Corps rising to power at the command of Black Hand. The Black Lantern Corps uses black power rings to raise an army of recently deceased super heroes.

This has Green Lantern having to both deal with the attacks on the Earth and innocent lives and the emotional effects of seeing his former friends and allies come back as evil. Complicated? Yes. Nerdy? Sorta. But maaan it is good. I'll be heading over to my local comic shop on Wednesday to grab the next couple issues.

Review: The Guild

Thanks to the internet nerds have a place to go where they can be cool, and I mean this in the most endearing way possible. It brings us together, notice I say we...not gonna try and hide anything, and gives us an opportunity to unite and celebrate what we love.

In 2007 Felica Day, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, starting writing, creating, and starring in a web series that did just that. The Guild celebrates the world of online massively multilayer games. Day's character plays an unnamed online multiplayer game that bears a striking resemblence to World of Warcraft and the show chonicles their escapades as a guild.

Let's be straightforward, this show isn't for everyone. You've got to be pretty well versed in video game sub-culture to understand a lot of the jokes the show makes. The show's actors aren't always the best, and the writing could use a little bit of work but regardless of that they are still incredibly charming. The episdoes, which average out at about five minutes, start out with Day talking to her web-cam about her addiction to the game and her lack of real social interaction. It's sad, but very true for a lot of people and that makes her so much more loveable.

For being a free web show you really can't complain. A lot of the humor may go over the head of those who lack general World of Warcraft knowledge but I imagine it could still be enjoyable. The characters are quirky and loveable and the premise is a lot of fun. If you've got some time to kill check out their site and watch a couple episodes.