Royal Rumble!

Ah, good times. This was our first Royal Rumble match at Llama School, and we invited some folks over to mark the occasion. Most of those kids aren't into wrestling, but everyone seemed to have a good time, regardless. After all, everyone loves dudes hitting each other. Here are some of my thoughts on the matches.

Hardys vs. MNM - Solid enough, although surely there'll be a ladder match sequel in the pipe for Wrestlemania, right? Although since MNM has lost every match involved in the fued, a match like that doesn't seem very climactic. Still, I like watching all of these guys do their thing.

Lashley vs. Test - God. So earlier this week on free TV, Lashley beat Test clean. And then there was this abomination, in which Lashley dominated unti Test decided to just walk off. Because everyone loves a count-out ending. Boo. So now that all of Test's credibility has been burned to the ground, how many top heels are left on ECW? None? That's what I thought.

Batista vs. Kennedy - Kennedy's really grown on me the last few weeks, so I was surprised to hear the crowd actually chant for him. Not to mention that he had Batista pinned but the ref was knocked out. I mean, he's still meant to be a heel, right? Weird bit of booking, unless it's to build Batista turning heel before fighting Undertaker at Wrestlemania? I don't know. The weird role-reversal was really the most interesting part of the match.

Cena vs. Umaga - If you had told me three days ago that I would enjoy this match the most out of the three title shots, I possibly would have slapped you. Still, this was pretty awesome. Cena bleeding like a stuck pig, Umaga smashing through the ECW table (only to get up again!), and finally Cena strangling Umaga with the top rope, leading to an overly melodramatic "Cena wins... BUT AT WHAT COST?" ending that I found hilarious and excellent. Among the viewers at Llama School, this one brought the house down. Emory even expressed a desire to watch RAW tonight. Truly, a Christmas miracle.

Royal Rumble - Actually ended like I expected it to, with Undertaker triumphant, so Emory was a happy man. (That's right, Alan! Undertaker is not only still around, he won the Royal Rumble!) Good times to be had before then, with some of my favorite guys lasting awhile, only to be cleared out by Khali. Plus Edge made it to the final four!

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT:

"Oh, I see. This is all just happening in Ric Flair's head." - Frank, when Kelly Kelly and the other ECW ladies inexplicably began freak dancing backstage with Flair under disco lights that came out of nowhere.

If you're reading this and came out, thanks for coming. Hope you had a good time. I certainly did. Hopefully we'll see you again for Wrestlemania!

For Lindsay

A single page of Scott Pilgrim Volume 4.

http://destroyerzooey.livejournal.com/128432.html

Quick hits

It's possible that, in purely creative terms, Epic Movie is the nadir of modern cinema. To put it another way, I turn it over to Emory Herbertson: "I think I would rather have to commit a murder than see Epic Movie." You heard it here first, folks.

Just because I can't stand Dreamgirls doesn't mean I hate musicals. Just like how if I don't like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days it doesn't mean I hate all romantic comedies. It's just that 95 percent of both of those genres are crappy. Sorry.

I got a new desk. Well, it's not new. In fact, Paul has had sex on it. But still, desk. My room is at last complete. Now maybe I'll work on getting my computer up to snuff, like having working internet again. Wouldn't that be something?

Comics people, Casanova is the best new title of 2006. The 7th issue is out in February and the first trade comes soon after that. Buy it.

On another note, Nextwave #11 might just be the perfect comic book. There are six, count 'em, SIX two-page fight spreads, and they are all excellent. Much has been made online about the MODOK Elvises, but I was partial to the Cyclops Brontasauruses, myself.

24 is great. It's so nice to say those words and mean it.

This is my first post on the new Blogger. You can tell, can't you?

The Oscars

Woo hoo! Suck it, Dreamgirls! Do you know why you are not up for Best Picture? It is because you are bad.

Shame about United 93, though. But at least Greengrass got the directing nod. Although I did think the directing in Little Miss Sunshine was much stronger than the screenplay. The same goes for Children of Men. If only there were a copule more directing slots!

I'm glad Little Children got some nominations. I figured that movie would just completely drop off the radar. I'm also psyched that Mark Wahlberg got a supporting nom over Jack Nicholson. Have I ever mentioned how much I love Mark Wahlberg? I seriously think he is awesome.

I know it's a long shot, but seriously, if Clint Eastwood beats Martin Scorcese for the Oscar again I will set someone on fire. Probably Mike. (Nothing personal.)

Service interrupted

I know I've been posting sporadically lately. Don't expect that to change anytime soon.

The weekend was good. Watched the playoffs as I said already, and Laurel cooked for me (and several others) twice, so that was delicious. Also played a bunch of Wii at Laurel's, including the utterly insane and totally delightful Wario Ware. That game is as nuts as it is awesome. Not much else to report. It was a low-key couple of days.

So we watched the playoffs

Saints/Bears proved boring when it turned from a game into a thorough trouncing. But that was all forgiven when Colts/Patriots turned out to be a barnburner. Nice comeback, Colts. That was rad.

Belated weekend extravaganza

Blogger's being kind of a dick today, so hopefully this will all work out.

This past Friday a few folks came over for a game night at Llama School. A game night, it turned out, that consisted of only one heated game of Apples to Apples. But everyone should remember that Emory bought Mall Madness! Game Night part deux, perhaps. After Apples to Apples (which lasted awhile, since we were above A2A capacity), we broke out the Guitar Hero, because it's what all the kids crave. Emory and I made sure to demonstrate how freaking insanely difficult "Cowboys from Hell" is. That song is my Waterloo. Leslie's old KC friend Sarah was in town, and folks were in high spirits, so it was a good time.

During both days over the weekend Emory watched all the NFL playoffs, and I joined him when I was around. I'm so sick of the damn Patriots.

Saturday night was Amanda's annual Wine and Cheese Party, held in her soon-to-be-moved-out-of apartment. It was the usual good time, and I got a chance to wear my new fancy shirt, which received many compliments. I bought it myself! I'm an adult! Later that night Laurel and I decided to date like normal people, because we are strict conformists.

Sunday was four square day, and Laurel was a good sport and came out, which was a good thing since everyone else didn't and it was just me, Laurel, Ben and two kids I didn't know (I guess they were there the last time). It was fun though, even when I sucked ass the second game.

That's basically it.

The facts

The Ghost Rider movie will be awful.

HOWEVER

Ghost Rider driving his flaming hell motorcycle up the side of a building is awesome under any circumstances.

Quote of the night

"FACT: Beets will not feel you up unless you want them to."

-Emory

I like movies!

Here are 10 movies I liked in 2006!

Brick - I've gone on about this one elsewhere on the blog. It's still so very, very awesome.

Pan's Labyrinth - Del Toro reworks The Devil's Backbone to much more impressive effect.

Children of Men - How did they do that shit?

Casino Royale - Best Bond movie ever.

Little Children - Fine adaptation of great source material.

The Departed - Ditto.

United 93 - Best movie I don't really want to see again anytime soon, thanks.

Monster House - Remember when The Goonies had that "this feels like real kids interacting" vibe? This movie has that. I like that.

Happy Feet - Not wholly successful, but I do have to admire a movie that says "You know what? Screw our stock 'outside finding acceptance' plot, LET'S CHANGE THE WORLD!" Also, points for using real people instead of creepy, unconvincing animated humans.

Borat - Funniest movie of 2006, hands down.

ALMOST ON THE LIST
A Prairie Home Companion - Altman's last movie is a film about death. Weird.

MOVIE NOBODY SAW THAT I FELT GOOD ABOUT LIKING
Idiocracy

MOVIE NOBODY SAW THAT I FELT BAD ABOUT LIKING
The Marine

WORST MOVIE I SAW THIS YEAR
A week ago I would have said Dreamgirls, but Emory, Leslie, and I just caught Lady in the Water. If you want to see something with a script that feels like a first-year film student's first draft based on an idea he had when he was ten, this is the film for you!

Bound to happen sooner or later

Corey Haim's beloved classic Me, Myself, and I (or at least part of it, I don't have time to really give the viewing it deserves) is up on YouTube. I'd embed it, but it might give my blog cancer.

Clash of the titans

How big is 2007 going to be, movie-wise? I mean, look at this release list.

If you've seen me out and about, I've probably been up in your face about how 2007 will be the "Summer of Three-quels," what with Spide-Man, Shrek, Pirates, and Ocean's 13. But get this: there are two more three-quels I didn't even know about! The Bourne Ultimatum (Yaaaaaaay!) and Rush Hour 3 (Boooooooooooo!) And as for more sequels, there's a fourth entry (Die Hard) and a fifth entry (Harry Potter). Oh, and Transformers (I won't lie to you, the trailer where you actually see the robots gets me hot). People, that is NUTS.

Why didn't anyone tell me that they're making a Dark Is Rising movie? I loved those books when I was a kid (they sit on my shelf to this day). It's written by John Hodge, who wrote one great movie (Trainspotting) and several terrible movies. We'll see how it goes. Anyway, that and The Golden Compass will have to slug it out for my Young Adult fantasy love.

It seems Helen Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen have been added to the cast of the Burton/Depp Sweeney Todd. To think, a movie musical I might actually LIKE!

A variety of musings

I know updating has been sporadic lately. I'm trying to update more regularly, mostly to dispel the notion that I have nothing to talk about when all my shows are repeats.

Did I mention my close call in Denver? When I was flying home from KC I was due to go through Denver, which naturally meant that snow started falling there again. All the morning flights were cancelled, but my afternoon flight was still a go. But once we touched down in Denver I had a message from the airline saying they had rescheduled my flight to LA for the FOLLOWING MORNING. Suffice to say, I was not pleased. But once I actually got off the plane, they said that the connection was just at another gate and everything was fine. And it was! Sort of an anti-climax, I suppose, but at least I got to LA okay. Plus, when I got to LAX I had a message from Frank that he was going to Sam's that night, and Sam's is pretty close to the airport, so Frank was able to pick me up and we ate a delicious dinner at Sam's place.

New Year's at Frank's was a good time. Just about all my favorite people were there, and the alcohol flowed freely. One of the better New Year's parties I've experienced out here. And Nelson showed up!

Laurel's birthday was Tuesday, and we made our usual excursion to Big Wang's. Happy birthday to her, and I greatly look forward to the Pirate Adventure on Saturday. Since I was flush with Christmas cash, I could actually afford it! Hooray!

There's a new Atrox comic. Read it!

2007: Kick it in the face!

Your new 2007 slogan comes courtesy of Ms. Lindsay Hollinger. I like its activist, can-do attitude!