Wednesday, June 23, 2010

New Website Launched

So I've been away from the blog for a few days, but I've had a decent reason. I've been working on a new website, and it's called "Find Zombie Gear." You can find it at http://www.findzombiegear.com.

It is a shopping website, and our focus is zombies! Movies, books and games, however you like your zombies. So if you get a chance, check it out. I'm still working on some of the aesthetics and whatnot, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment. Thanks!

http://www.findzombiegear.com

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Thoughts About E3

Looks like lots of cool stuff is debuting at E3 this year. One day I'll figure out a way to go and check out this stuff live, but for now I'm stuck reading about it. This is by no means a full collection of what has debuted, but it's just stuff that I've personally found interesting for various reason.

Kinect for XBox 360 (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/kinect)
The motion sensors and camera don't require a controller. The demo videos I've seen look like it picks everything up pretty smooth. Gamestop has is for pre-order at $149, so it's not cheap, but it really could be a lot of fun. (Looks like the scheduled release is November 2010)

Kirby's Epic Yarn (for Nintendo Wii)
This is probably the thing I was most excited about. The screenshots looked awesome, and made me think of Super Paper Mario, in that it's a familiar character, but a very unique look for the world. I'm looking forward to more details on the story and gameplay. Due out in October, it can already be pre-ordered from Amazonby clicking here.

Yoostar 2 (http://www.yoostar2.com)
I've posted plenty of my Yoostar videos on this site, and Yoostar 2 is the next step. Instead of being PC or Mac based, this is going to be on XBox 360 and PS3 using the Kinect and Playstation Move. The game doesn't require a green screen, and looks to have a scoring system, so there will be an actual game to it instead of just the acting. Also, checking out the list of movies that will have scenes is getting me really excited about this.

Nintendo 3DS (http://e3.nintendo.com/3ds/)
Yet another awesome new toy that I really don't need, but I can't wait to see. The screen will be in 3-D, without the need for glasses. I am really excited to see how this looks.

Playstation Move (http://us.playstation.com/ps3/playstation-move/)
Playstation's motion sensor system. It looks pretty cool, although since I have an XBox, this isn't quite as exciting to me. Also available for pre-order at Gamestop. (Looks like the schedule release is September 2010)

Monday, June 14, 2010

Zombies Attack!

It has finally happened, the zombie apocalypse is upon us, and Newsweek.com broke the story!

Well, sort of. Earlier today (and actually, as of about 10PM Pacific Time), you could go to newsweek.com and punch in the Konami Code (Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, ) on the main page, and the main page would change all the headlines to news regarding to the recent Zombie Outbreak. In case it goes down, I've grabbed some screen shots of all the stories (the links on the page just bring you back to the main page, so what you see here is everything that was/is available on Newsweek's site). Click on the images to get a bigger view.





Sunday, June 13, 2010

The Vader Project

On June 12, 2010, we took a trip down to Los Angeles to check out The Vader Project. 100 artists were each given a replica of the Darth Vader helmet and asked to make something with it. The helmets have been on tour and were on display in Los Angeles before making the trip to Pennsylvania to be auctioned off. The day we chose to head down, there happened to be 25 of the artists available to sign the catalog. I have to say, all of the artists were incredibly nice, and I really appreciated that they were there.

Below are some of the pictures we took. As you can see, the artists took their projects in all different directions, using all sorts of different materials.

If you want more information about The Vader Project, go to www.thevaderproject.com. If you get a chance to see it before the art goes on auction, I highly recommend it!

(Click on the picture to see a bigger version)

"The Revenge of Mr. Hahn" by Joe Hahn



"Darth Bacon" by Dan Goodsell



"Carmen Mirandarth" by Girls Drawin Girls



"Nauga-Vader" by Paul Frank



"Unavader" by Ferg



"Full Metal Vader" by Eelus



"Darth from Above" by Marc Ecko



"Untitled" by Dehara



"Hanus" by Jim Koch



"Spy Vader Spy" by Peter Kuper




"Untitled" by Mad



"Darth Banana" by Mad Barbarians



"Praise the Lord" by Plasticgod



"Son of the Suns" by Suckadelic




"Untitled" by T9G

Thursday, June 10, 2010

My Summer Reading List

It's summertime, which used to mean carefree afternoons, being lazy and hanging out, until the last couple of weeks before school when I had to start on the dreaded "summer reading list." There was always a test on the first day or two of school to make sure you'd read the books that were assigned. This type of stuff in school is what killed the joy of reading for me. When I was a young kid, I read all the time, and in elementary school they just encouraged me to read all the time.

By the time I hit middle school and high school, there were assigned readings. And it always had to be a "classic," which (almost always) bored me like crazy.

In recent years I've tried to get myself to read more. I found a few books that I really enjoyed. The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was one I found, and became one of my favorite books all-time. It's definitely one of the few that I have re-read multiple times.

The Harry Potter Series is a series I was introduced to and loved.

But beyond these books, there was very little I loved reading. There was a book here and there that I enjoyed, but nothing that really stuck with me. So that makes 8 books I loved and a handful of others I enjoyed over a period of about 8 years. Not exactly a great average.
In the last few months, I was introduced to a few books that had me hooked from the start. Books that literally took 2 days to finish because I was reading every free minute I had. This has really left me feeling excited about reading, anticipating the next book, a feeling I haven't really had since I was a kid. Fortunately it will keep going. A few of the books I read are part of a series, and I have to wait until at least September for the next book.

But in the meantime, I've decided to give myself a reading list for this summer. There is definitely a theme to most of these books (which should be pretty obvious), but it's a genre I enjoy.

So in no particular order, here are the books I want to try to get through this summer:

The Living Dead - A compilation of stories, including works by Stephen King and Clive Barker.

Play Dead - A high school football team is killed by their rivals, but a local witch is able to bring the team back from the dead to play for the championship. Combining football and zombies? What could be better!

Ghost Road Blues - Sort of a requirement, since I accidentally bought the second book of a trilogy, and this is the first. Gotta go in order!

Clive Barker's Books of Blood 1-3 - I always see this book in the store, and I'm always tempted to grab it, but something else usually grabs my attention. But I do enjoy Clive Barker's work, so I'm going to dive into this book.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Author Jonathan Maberry Visited This Site(!)

So about a week ago, before I went on vacation, I posted a review of the book "Patient Zero" by Jonathan Maberry (Read the review by clicking here.)

Shortly after it was posted, I received a comment on the post from none other than the author of the book. How freaking awesome is that? He thanked me for the review, and mentioned some of the other Joe Ledger books that are out and coming up. During my vacation I did finish The Dragon Factory (so a review should come soon), and started one of his other novels, Dead Man's Song. Maberry is definitely turning into one of my favorite authors, and that position will be cemented if Dead Man's Song turns out to be awesome.

But the news in the comment was also exciting, that there are at least 3 more Joe Ledger novels coming in the future, and I can say that I'll be watching to pre-order them as soon as I can!

Ok, I'm done geeking out about that. Thank you for stopping by!