Brianbot

Shows you should be watching: Archer

Archer is a new animated show on FX that I can only describe as Venture Brothers for spies.  It has a seriously adult sense of humor so it’s not going to be appropriate for the whole family, but if you’re like me and have a sick sense of humor, then it will be right up your alley.  If you’ve watched Venture Brothers or other late-night cartoons you should be able to catch on pretty fast.  If you’re asking yourself why these people are still spies if they seem to do such a terrible job, you are not the target audience for this show.

The first 10 episode season of the show wrapped up in March and is now available for streaming on Netflix or on Hulu, so there’s no reason to not watch this.  The show has also been renewed for a second season, so if 10 episodes don’t satisfy you, never fear!

Cage Your Queue

In a follow-up to my Greatest Site on the Internet post, now you can make your Netflix queue the greatest Netflix queue ever by adding EVERY Nicolas Cage movie to it with a single click of a  button.

http://wonder-tonic.com/cageyourqueue/

I just want to thank the brave men and/or women who put this together.  They’re more than public servants.  They are heroes.  Like firefighters or people that go to midnight Serenity screenings.

Supercon Review: Costumes for Newbies

As mentioned in my earlier post, me and my friends Seth and Michelle attended Supercon this last weekend and for the most part, this was our first convention experience.  We wanted to do a costume, but had limited time, money, and skill.

Ultimately we decided to do Scooby Doo because the costumes aren’t very complicated, are made up of relatively normal clothes, and the roles fit us pretty well.  Turns out we stumbled onto the perfect costume goldmine.  I’m not entirely sure how common it is, but it seemed like everyone and their sister wanted to take our picture.  It was the perfect first-time con-goer group costume.  I’ll give you 5 reasons why, and then you can apply that to choosing your own costume.

1. It’s cheap.  The Scooby Doo gang wear relatively normal clothes, especially when compared to the plethora of Anime characters.  We owned almost all the pieces, and really only had to purchase a good shirt for Shaggy ($8) and a scarf for Daphne ($6).  A couple cans of hairspray ($6) and you have a 3 person group costume for 20 bucks.
2. It’s relatively comfortable.  You’re wearing normal clothes, which is good because you’re going to be walking around for 3-4 days.  Aside from Daphne having a little boot trouble on the stairs, we managed quite easily.
3. Everybody knows it.  A lot of the media guests and some of the fans are not into all of the different subcultures represented.  I’m a huge Sci-Fi geek but I don’t know anything about Anime, so all those characters look the same to me.  EVERYBODY knows Scooby Doo and the gang, which was especially good for catching the eye of some of the media guests who didn’t know most of the other costumes.
4. There are no intense Scooby Doo dorks who are going to be a jerk and nitpick your costume.  If you bust out the Star Trek costume you made in your basement, some kid with a bad attitude is going to point out everything you did wrong.  This is a long the lines of #3 in that Scooby Doo has a broad following but not necessarily an intense one.  It’s also a bit retro, which is great because if you go for current broad appeal such as a network TV show (Chuck, Big Bang Theory), you’re going to run into hardcore nerds who will think of you as some kind of sellout.
5. It’s approachable.  Zombies and Vampires are nice costumes but can be off-putting if you’re not “into” that kind of thing.  It’s not a fear thing, but they’re just not adorable.  We had little kids and people in their 60s coming up to us to ask for a picture.  If you’re going to go in costume, be prepared to pose for a lot of photos.  I think it’s fun, and most people would probably agree with me.  The only excuse you have for not taking a photo with someone is “the Firefly panel is starting and we HAVE to get seats”.  Note also that if you walk quickly, with a purpose, people aren’t going to bother you for a photo.  Move quick when you’re in a rush, and plod along at a nice pace to make yourself available for photo ops when you’re not.

So there is some food for thought.  Still no ideas?  Don’t steal ours!  Here are a few suggestions I’d make for great costumes for first timers:

1. South Park: It’s broad, cheap, recognizable, and great for that group of guys that doesn’t have a girl with them (or add a Wendy).
2. Charlie Brown: You have a bunch of characters to choose from and you can buy that shirt anywhere.
3. Powderpuff Girls: Great for the all-girl groups out there.  It’s just a few colors and hairstyles.
4. Ghostbusters: This is a fun one because you can adjust the level of detail based on your available time and budget.
5. The Simpsons: Great family costume that requires almost no investment based on your wardrobe.

I’ve geared this towards group costumes because I think those are always better.  Nobody wants to go alone, and where a single character might go unnoticed, a group accentuates the look and plays down the areas where you didn’t quite get it right.

Cartoons are especially good because most cartoon characters always wear the SAME outfit and are therefore easy to spot.  They also don’t usually have incredibly detailed features, so people aren’t comparing your face to some actor, they’re just looking at your outfit.

So there you have it.  Some suggestions to get you started and don’t worry, everyone at the convention is a dork, so nobody is going to judge you.

Supercon Weekend!

This past weekend was Florida Supercon, and for those of you who missed it, it was awesome.  This is actually the first comic convention I’ve gone to, and it was a great way to get introduced to the scene.  Supercon is a local convention that’s still pretty small but growing each year.  They had some interesting media guests like Richard Roundtree (Shaft!), Tia Carrere and Dana Synder (aka Master Shake).  The panels were alright but my favorite part was roaming the floor, posing for pictures, and checking out other people’s costumes.

The highlight of the event was the 3000 Brigade’s Super Smash Brothers Epic Battle Super Show, a comedy/dance event with sweet costumes, choreography and video game references.  If you have a chance check out their website at 3kBrigade.com.

There may be more posts about the event coming with more specific focus such as costume suggestions for convention newbies and what are the best Firefly themed pick-up lines so stay tuned!

Who ya got? Liddell vs. Franklin

UFC 115 is tonight in Vancouver and it has some good fights, even if a lot of the stars are a bit past their prime.  As I mentioned before, I don’t pick who I think will win.  I pick who I want to win.  So here we go:

Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell vs. Rich “Ace” Franklin

I’ve got my money on Franklin for this one, both because I think he will win, and be cause I want him to.  At only 35, “Ace” has a few good years left and he’s always presented himself as a classy guy, in addition to being a great fighter.  That he is a former math teacher just makes it even better.  Liddell should have stayed retired after his knockout loss to Shogun and, even if he wins this, he’s never going to compete on the elite level again.  He was a one-dimensional fighter in his prime and there’s no reason to believe he’s going to suddenly evolve at this point in his career.

Mirko “Cro Cop”  vs. Pat Barry

I like Barry for the same reason as above.  Mirko has been lackluster at best in his UFC career and a win here isn’t going to turn it around for him.  He was one of the greatest in Pride but the game has passed him by and there are too many people hoping for him to magically transform back into the fighter he was in his prime.  It’s not going to happen.  It’s time for these old legends to step aside and let the new blood in.  He’s had a great career and he seems like a thoughtful guy, but his best days are behind him.

Ben Rothwell vs. Gilbert Yvel

I like Rothwell in this fight mostly because Yvel has established a reputation as a dirty fighter over the years and I’m not about to start rooting for him now.  Rothwell isn’t my favorite either and neither of these guys are going to make a huge mark in the UFC, so I’ll just hope for a good fight.

Martin Kampmann vs. Paulo Thiago

I’m pulling for Kampmann, because I like his style and Paulo Thiago got on my bad side during his boring decision win over Jacob Volkmann a couple of fights ago.

Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald

I’m rooting for Condit here for the n00b reason of I know more about him.  I tend to root for guys whose history I know better unless I have a reason to root against them so there you have it.

All in all, this card is lackluster at best to me.  Of course it is the nature of the UFC that sometimes the cards you are least excited for end up being the best, but there just doesn’t seem to be anything worthwhile on the line in any of these fights.  Not only are there no championship matches, there are no top-contender matches.  Everybody on this card is at least 2 fights from a title shot and with the amount of talent in the UFC, I think they can do better.  Looking forward to Bones Jones on Versus again!

Shows you should be watching: Venture Brothers

That last post was a little on the <rant> side so I’m gonna make up for it with some awesomeness.  Venture brothers is now in its fourth season, so if this is the first you’re hearing of it you have some catching up to do.  Unlike the last couple shows I’ve discussed, this one doesn’t have a whole lot of arc so watching the episodes out of order is mostly OK, but it’s always best to watch any show in order to get a feel for the characters.

I’ll admit it took me about a season and a half to really get this show.  It’s on Adult Swim so that probably tells you most of what you need to know.  It’s strange, so if you’re not into cartoons or even more specifically, not into Adult Swim at all, then maybe you should take a pass at this one. That said, if you’re into comic books, superheros, or sarcasm, this could be a winner for you.

I don’t know how to describe this show other than it is Marvel Comics meets Aqua Teen Hunger Force with a dash of Scooby Doo thrown in.  The characters are great, particularly the bumbling henchmen Twenty-One and Twenty-Four.  You can follow Twenty-One on Twitter if you’ve got that kind of free time.

You can get a handful of episodes on Hulu, or if you want to really sink into it, pick up the first 3 seasons on DVD or Netflix.  Netflix isn’t streaming these yet which is a shame.