Wanna Bake Your Noodle?

The official trailer for Richard Kelly's Southland Tales is out, and it's exactly as weird as I had hoped it would be. I can't really explain what it's about, but it's got The Rock, and that's really all you need to know. From the 'Tube:



How awesome is that?

A Quick Note

I'll be trying out some new layout sheets and widgets and so forth for the blog over the next few weeks, so let me know if you see anything you like or don't like. Expect the sidebars and stuff to be funked up for a while. Deal with it. :)

What A Man Should Know

I came across an article yesterday that got me thinking. It was an article in Popular Mechanics, and it was a list of 25 things every man should know. Thier list is OK, but it reads more like "25 things a nerd should know." Here's the list:

I've bolded the ones I don't think belong, and italicized my replacements

1. Patch a radiator hose
2. Protect your computer Cook a full dinner
3. Rescue a boater who as capsized
4. Frame a wall
5. Retouch digital photos Change out a beer keg on a tap
6. Back up a trailer
7. Build a campfire
8. Fix a dead outlet
9. Navigate with a map and compass
10. Use a torque wrench
11. Sharpen a knife
12. Perform CPR
13. Fillet a fish
14. Maneuver a car out of a skid
15. Get a car unstuck
16. Back up data
17. Paint a room
18. Mix concrete
19. Clean a bolt-action rifle How to strip and clean any firearm
20. Change oil and filter
21. Hook up an HDTV Throw a punch
22. Bleed brakes
23. Paddle a canoe
24. Fix a bike flat
25. Extend your wireless network Take a punch

And being the GreatMoose, I feel I should a few more things that are extremely important for any man to know:

26. Change a diaper
27. Change a tire
28. Drive a stick
29. Rip one guy's spine out of his body, with the skull still attached, and beat the other guy to death with it
30. Defend your family against the invading zombie hordes

And lastly:

Know what is best in life: (To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women)


So what are some other things every man should know?

Come Friends! Soak In The Awesome!

The official trailer for Iron Man has been released! It's also hit the airwaves (saw it Nick at Nite), and Great Odin's Raven is it PERFECT! It hits all the right notes, from Stark's suave arrogance, to the clunkiness of the first versions of the Iron Man armor. I can't wait!

Make You Wanna Smack Yo' Mama

I just had what was quite possibly the best meal I have ever had. A brief history: I was recently introduced to yet another FANTASTIC hole-in-the-wall Mexican food joint here in Waco, Taqueria Mexicano #8 (no idea where the first 7 are, but whatever). Looks like a dump from the outside (as any good Mexican food place should), but on the inside is a wonderland of culinary delights. Best Mexican I have had, period. And I'm a life-long Texas resident, and we know our Mexican (not to mention the different between Tex-Mex and Mexican).

Anyway, this was my second experience at this restaurant, and has made me lifelong customer. I ordered two Tacos Al Pastor (marinated pork soft tacos) off their wonderful (and CHEAP!) a-la-cart menu. The pork is very, VERY thinly sliced and marinated (apparently in angel tears), and served on corn or flour tortillas (GreatMoose's note: pork should ALWAYS be served on CORN tortillas), topped with cilantro, onions, and limes. Squeeze the lime over the pork, add a dash of salt, and you have the best tacos on the whole freakin' planet. Oh, and they're only $1.40 a piece!


To finish of this perfection of the taco, my friend, coworker, and resident latino Jesse suggested I get a marzipan. Now, I've had marzipan before, but it was NOTHING like this. This was essentially finely crushed peanuts and confectioners sugar, mashed into a little disc. And it was UNBELIEVABLE.



So, if you need a good Mexican place to take some out-of-town friends, or just need something GOOD to eat, go to Taqueria Mexicano #8 in Waco (or could actually be in Bellmead, not sure), and feed your face. You will NOT regret it.

Wanna Be A Pirate? Vote For Ron Paul!

Coolest freakin' job in the world!

Hugh Hewitt was interviewing Ron Paul yesterday and asked him about his proposal to issue Letters of Marque and Reprisal in order to hunt down Bin Laden if he's elected president. Essentially, you'd get to be a privateer hunting down Bin Laden on your own as a private citizen. THAT is very cool.

Always wanted to wear an eye-patch.

It Has Begun!

Evangelion 1.0 : You Are (Not) Alone was released in Japan today! I can't tell you how excited I am about this. This first of four new movies covers the first 6 episodes of the TV series, and crams it into 90 minutes, with all new animation, sound, and CG. Of course, today's release is in Japanese only (which the GreatMoose has not mastered. Yet.), but soon there should be a fansubbed version available. The good news is, there's already a few English language reviews out there, and while short, they shed a little light on the enigma that has been these new movies. From Heisei Democracy:

With Hideaki Anno’s proclamation back in February that the new Rebuild of Evangelion movies would be all things to all people, present a panacea to the ills of a languishing anime industry, and sate old fans while bringing new ones into the fold, curiosity was high as I entered the theater this morning. Would the new Evangelion surpass the original, managing to heave its ponderous bulk above the weight of twelve years of mainstream merchandising - or would the temptation to stick an IV into the goose laying golden eggs prove to be too strong? Signs point to morbidly obese poultry…

Rei from the new movie

I'll post my own review as soon as I can get a hold of subtitled version.

UPDATE: And now AICN has a great review up.

New AMV By Yours Truly

Welp, made a new AMV. This one is a bit different from the others I've done. The anime used in this one is Last Exile, which is probably my favorite anime ever (yes, even more than Eva, FLCL, Macross, and R.O.D.). The setting of the series is truly unique, a world where technology seems rooted in a steam-powered 1920's, complete with airships, muskets, and wingless airplanes called vanships. It's a great entry into the steampunk genre, which is one of my favs, due to the "alternate history" aspect. Anyway, from the Wiki:

The story revolves around Claus Valca and Lavie Head, a young courier pilot and his navigator, and their adventures in the floating world of Prester. In this romantic sky world based on stylized Victorian fashion and society, two countries, Anatole and Dysis (sometimes phonetically rendered as Anatoray and Disith), are engaged in a long and bloody war under the supervision of the mysterious Guild. Claus and Lavie, piloting their vanship (a small wingless aircraft) find themselves involved in a plot surrounding a mysterious little girl named Alvis Hamilton, whom they must deliver as "cargo" to the much-feared neutral battleship "Silvana".

The characters were designed be the brilliant Range Murata, and are my favorite designs so far in any anime. I've got a special love for Lavie, as she's got roughly the same haircut that MissSpeech did when we first met. Anyhoo, the video I've made focuses on 5 of the main characters (Claus, Lavie, Alvis, Alex, and Sophia), and how their destinies are intertwined. The song is "From Yesterday" by 30 Seconds to Mars. They're a bit more "emo" than I normally like, but it's a pretty awesome song, and fits nicely, I think. Anyway, let me know what you think!

Very Cool!

Just thought this was insanely cool: Rei is on the cover of Rolling Stone this month!



I would assume that it's an article about the SOON TO BE RELEASED Evangelion: You Are (Not) Alone movie. Can't wait to see a translation. Good stuff.

Light Posting

My apologies for the sparse postings recently, life has kind of been busy. I figure I've probably lost BOTH of my readers, but just in case somebody drops by, just know that I've got a few things in the works for posting in the near future. Stay tuned!

Chuck Norris Rescues 26 Sailors

"Chuck" Norris brings the awesome:

On Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007, the British container ship MSC Napoli was damaged and taking in water in a severe storm situation off Lizard Point

Two Sea King search and rescue helicopters from the 771 Naval Air Squadron were immediately commissioned to the sight.

Lt. Guy "Chuck" Norris, 42, has been enlisted in the Royal Navy for 18 years and has flown more than 200 search and rescue missions. This father of two described the tempestuous oceanic surroundings that day as the worst ever.

The helicopter crews found the seamen being tossed about in their lifeboats by swells that were 40 to 50 feet high. Petty Officer Aircrewman Jay O'Donnell was lowered and "trawled" through the waves on a rope to the lifeboats. This 33-year-old father of two later described the scene: "It was the worst conditions I have encountered. The seas were mountainous. When you are there, you are very focused about what has to be done. But looking back at some of the footage which was taken, you think, 'Oh my God, I didn't realize it was that bad.'"

Chuck Norris doesn't rescue sailors from the ocean. The ocean apologetically gives the sailors back to Chuck Norris.
Unfortunately, he then performed a single roundhouse kick which killed all the survivors. The Norris giveth, and the Norris taketh away.

UPDATE OK, I wasn't going to do it, but I can't resist. Some more helpful (and potentially life-saving) facts about Chuck Norris:

There is no global warming, Chuck thought it was chilly out and turned up the sun.
There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of animals Chuck Norris allows to live.
Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.
Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.
Chuck Norris can judge a book by its cover.
Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.
Chuck Norris is the reason why Waldo is hiding.
Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice.
Chuck Norris doesn’t wear a watch, HE decides what time it is.
Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is based on a true story: Chuck Norris once swallowed a turtle whole, and when he crapped it out, the turtle was six feet tall and had learned karate

Feel free to add more!

The Iron Man Cometh!!!

Here he is in all his red and yellow glory on the cover of "Empire" magazine.

Wow.



Just. Wow.

This movie is soooooo gonna rock...

200th Post! Bonus: Canned Ramen Is Nigh!!!

What better way to celebrate this, the 200th dropping of the GreatMoose, than with the world-changing news that ramen noodles will now be offered in canned format! Of course, as we ALL know, ramen is the most perfect food ever developed, so I for one, am very excited. WARNING: Gratuitous ramen pic!



Bonus Bonus: Check out this guy's awesome recipe for grilled ramen! I'v definitely got to try that next time I fire up the ol' Weber.

UPDATE: Rebuild of Evangelion Trailer!!! For Real, This Time!

Ohhhh, The GreatMoose is a happy, happy moose today! The first real trailer for Rebuild of Evangelion 0:1 "You Are (Not) Alone" was shown recently in Japanese theaters! Someone was good enough to do a cell-cam recording of the trailer, and put it onto the 'Tube. Looks farking fantabulous!

UPDATE: Now a REAL, honest-to-goodness trailer! Really clears up a lot, and looks GREAT!



The similarities to the original are astounding, and even with the crappy image quality you can tell some major improvements have been made. Looks gorgeous! All the characters are present and accounted for and LOOK like they should, the first three angels are perfectly represented, and the plot appears to be identical. They even kept the original theme song "Fly Me To The Moon" (albeit a bit more upbeat). All in all, this is very cool, and it really looks like Gainax has done what all us Eva fans were hoping for. Can't wait till Sept. 1st!

Like A Playground, But Evil...

So MissSpeech, Justin, Joni, and myself were exploring the new Legends Crossing development the other day, when we came upon the playground. "Oh, that looks cool," we collectively thought. We ventured forth to avail ourselves of some of the features, when we noticed some things just didn't look quite right. In fact, it looked just plain wrong...

"What is this?" somebody whispered.

"I...I don't...know..." I replied.

"The horror, the horror..."

What is was, was the Lovecraftian design of the Kompan Galaxy playground "system". Seemingly dreamed up by the twisted mind of Great Cthulhu himself, the Galaxy is apparently some sort of Super Soldier training program/population control device, where only the fittest, most agile, most cunning, and most ruthless children will survive. You can view the propaganda video here (CONTENT WARNING: 7 minutes of PURE TERROR!!!).



From the "Argo", a slide with no rails, a zig-zag shape, and purposely designed unstable mounting, to the "Supernova", a tilted, rotating ring designed to fling less adept users to the ground with impunity, to the "Spica", which appears to be some sort of high-G training device, the Galaxy system is designed to breed truly unstoppable killing machines.




From their website:

Galaxy™ has challenging play events that captures the imagination of kids aged 5 to 12+. Only 20% will survive, weeding out the "less than desirable" recruits.

The system components can be customized to create unique constellations to fit any playground and budget, because we know that some militaries are better funded than others.

Inclusion in play enriches everyone's experience on the playground, and Galaxy™ offers access to children of all abilities. Many will enter, few will leave.

Durable materials are used in all components that stand up to the toughest conditions and use, so your recruits can train day and night without needing to provide maintenance for the facilites.

Galvanized steel and contrasting colors creates a look of rugged sophistication that older children find appealing, which helps to draw in officer candidates.

Galaxy's™ transparent design allows it to blend with any environment. You'll never see them coming!

Needless to say, we were...disturbed. Joni broke down sobbing, and MissSpeech pointed out that "it smells like sulfur here." And I noticed that the air temperature had dropped considerably. Yet, we were compelled to climb on this infernal machine, and we even attempted some of the training devices. Never have I felt fear such as that.

We managed to pull ourselves away after a bit without major injury, but I would hazard to say that none of us will ever look at children playing quite the same way again. I know I feel like they're watching me. Maybe they are...

Fear. Fear will keep the populace in line. Fear of our "children".

You know who else had a training program for children...



That's right. Hitler.

Rest well, citizens.