That Hector Echavarria is destined to go down as one of the worst people in history involved with MMA. After suffering through "Death Warrior," I'm certain he is the devil. Or just a rich douchebag who paid a lot of big name fighters to be in his films so he can beat them in unconvincing manners while making Skinemax-style sex scenes with below average looking women on the side. Yeah, maybe just a talentless, old, worthless douchebag.
Fuck you Hector. And fuck you for trying to entice UFC/MMA fans with your pathetic attempt at a modern day version of "Bloodsport" or "Battle Royale."
You know there's something wrong when you end up saying "Wow I'm surprised Tapout of all companies endorsed this trainwreck." Yikes.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
A Dead Format
Profile that is!
http://www.deadformat.net/tradelist/Woodshatter
So that basically means my blog for records is dead. Yeah. Not like anyone is gonna miss it.
http://www.deadformat.net/tradelist/Woodshatter
So that basically means my blog for records is dead. Yeah. Not like anyone is gonna miss it.
Monday, November 30, 2009
No One Deserves to Be Here More Than Me
"Maybe they're hiring scarecrows, I can sit in a field in the sun, I don't need the training, I already repulse everyone."
I'm actually relieved the new LP is up for preorder. Band describes my misery better than I could myself.
I'm actually relieved the new LP is up for preorder. Band describes my misery better than I could myself.
Monday, November 16, 2009
You said it best Mr. Eaton
Sometimes the boys
That Should be your best friends
Become strangers with familiar faces...
Currents:
Music:
Kowloon Walled City-Gambling on the Richter Scale (pretty killer sludge/noise. FFO: Breather Resist, Torche, Unsane)
Katatonia-Night is the New Day (band needs no introduction. Good gloomy/dark metal with Jonas Renske sounding pretty bummed as usual.)
The Bronx-I (because it always rules no matter how many times I spin it.)
Converge-Axe to Fall (do I really need to explain how much this rules?)
Movies:
Se7en-For some reason, I had never seen this gem. Very disturbing at times, with a smart and well written script. Brad Pitt was good, but Kevin Spacey and Morgan Freeman easily stole the show here. I already knew the ending going in, but it still felt like a punch to the gut.
Trick 'r Treat-One of the best horror films of the year, and one of the better horror anthologies I've seen in quite some time. How the hell was this not released to theaters? Stupid Warner Bros.
Saw VI-I have a hit or miss relationship with this franchise. I'd rank them III>I>II>V>>>>IV. This is gonna be right behind #3 though. Hell, this one pretty much saved the franchise, though it wasn't without it's faults (poor acting being the primary complaint). This was pleasant surprise though. Good gore, pretty good script, NASTY couple of traps, and for once, a unanimously good reason to root for Jigsaw. Give this one a chance, especially if you gave up on this franchise.
The Thaw-One of the new "Ghost House" flicks put out by Sam Raimi's company. Too derivative of other better Scifi/Horror flicks like the Thing and Slither. At least it had Val Kilmer. Then again, he was barely in the film. Pass on this one unless you're a Ghost House completest.
Books:
Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling- Bret Hart's autobiography is a long one, but it's incredibly fascinating. He goes over nearly aspect of his life, especially his wrestling career. He was one of my favorites growing up, and still remains so, even after reading some pretty disheartening things he did (such as cheating on his then-wife numerous times and even taking steroids and coke a couple of times). This book will most likely reduce the amount of respect you had for Shawn Michaels.
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell- I've had this book for a couple of years or so, but never got around to reading it. I regret waiting this long. Without a doubt, one of the lewdest, rudest, and just all around "assholish" books I've ever read. But good lord is it funny. There were times I was almost in tears with some of his stories he recanted. I can't understand why there are people out there who protest this guy. They're just stories, and more than anything, subliminal cautionary tales on how to not act.
That's it...again...
That Should be your best friends
Become strangers with familiar faces...
Currents:
Music:
Kowloon Walled City-Gambling on the Richter Scale (pretty killer sludge/noise. FFO: Breather Resist, Torche, Unsane)
Katatonia-Night is the New Day (band needs no introduction. Good gloomy/dark metal with Jonas Renske sounding pretty bummed as usual.)
The Bronx-I (because it always rules no matter how many times I spin it.)
Converge-Axe to Fall (do I really need to explain how much this rules?)
Movies:
Se7en-For some reason, I had never seen this gem. Very disturbing at times, with a smart and well written script. Brad Pitt was good, but Kevin Spacey and Morgan Freeman easily stole the show here. I already knew the ending going in, but it still felt like a punch to the gut.
Trick 'r Treat-One of the best horror films of the year, and one of the better horror anthologies I've seen in quite some time. How the hell was this not released to theaters? Stupid Warner Bros.
Saw VI-I have a hit or miss relationship with this franchise. I'd rank them III>I>II>V>>>>IV. This is gonna be right behind #3 though. Hell, this one pretty much saved the franchise, though it wasn't without it's faults (poor acting being the primary complaint). This was pleasant surprise though. Good gore, pretty good script, NASTY couple of traps, and for once, a unanimously good reason to root for Jigsaw. Give this one a chance, especially if you gave up on this franchise.
The Thaw-One of the new "Ghost House" flicks put out by Sam Raimi's company. Too derivative of other better Scifi/Horror flicks like the Thing and Slither. At least it had Val Kilmer. Then again, he was barely in the film. Pass on this one unless you're a Ghost House completest.
Books:
Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling- Bret Hart's autobiography is a long one, but it's incredibly fascinating. He goes over nearly aspect of his life, especially his wrestling career. He was one of my favorites growing up, and still remains so, even after reading some pretty disheartening things he did (such as cheating on his then-wife numerous times and even taking steroids and coke a couple of times). This book will most likely reduce the amount of respect you had for Shawn Michaels.
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell- I've had this book for a couple of years or so, but never got around to reading it. I regret waiting this long. Without a doubt, one of the lewdest, rudest, and just all around "assholish" books I've ever read. But good lord is it funny. There were times I was almost in tears with some of his stories he recanted. I can't understand why there are people out there who protest this guy. They're just stories, and more than anything, subliminal cautionary tales on how to not act.
That's it...again...
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Ages
Since I last posted ANYTHING on here. Even the concert blog is kind of dead, even though I'm still attending more shows than I should considering I have no job. I was considering taking the easy way out and doing haiku reviews for each show, just to save me time.
End of the year is coming up. I first thought that this year's choice in music paled in comparison to last year's, and it sort of does. It still delivered quite a few gems though. Might be just as hard to narrow it down to a top 10-15.
For films, it's nowhere near as stacked as it was last year. Last year was the best year we've had for movies since at least 1999. This year, it's what you could call a "hangover" year (and no that's a pun on the film of the same name...I think): we had such a good time last year, that this year a terrible headache/collection of bullshit was ready for us after we awoke from our slumber.
Other random notes:
-My Halloween was awesome. Went as Hacksaw Jim Duggan, which scored me quite a lot of compliments. It seemed that every 10-15 seconds, someone on the streets of Wilmington would yell something. I also made out with a chick going as She-Hulk, at least that's what she claimed to be. Cool. I accomplished something most nerds on 4chan wish they could do.
-I'm sort of the singer for a local doom band called Beard of Antlers. It's my first time behind a mic, and it's pretty cool. I honestly wish they'd ask me to be the permanent singer, seeing as how I've wanted to do something music-wise for quite some time, and I honestly don't think their "monotone yelling" approach compliments the music very well. We've got a couple of shows coming up (11/14 at Reggie's 42nd Street Tavern and 12/04 at Lucky's Pub with the returning Predecessor). Should be fun.
-In what may shock a few of my friends, there's a strong possibility of me moving to Raleigh sometime in the near future. I've been doing a lot of...well, I hate to call it soul searching, but that's really what it is. Wilmington just hasn't been offering me a lot in the way of opportunity, and though Raleigh isn't without it's faults (WHY DOES EVERYTHING CLOSE SO GOD DAMN EARLY?!), it's a change of scenery and there's a better chance of finding a stable job with enough money to support myself. And who knows, if I can find something nice enough, I could try to get a transfer to another job back down in Wilmington just in case I miss this shithole.
-Tekken 6 is pretty okay so far, but I feel like it wasn't worth the price tag. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, however, is a friggin blast. A great tribute to games like Gauntlet and the like, except with most of your favorite Marvel characters thrown in. So far, UFC Undisputed 2009, Street Fighter IV and Batman: Arkham Asylum are my favorite games of the year though.
There will be more to come soon hopefully. What is "more" you ask? Hell if I know...
End of the year is coming up. I first thought that this year's choice in music paled in comparison to last year's, and it sort of does. It still delivered quite a few gems though. Might be just as hard to narrow it down to a top 10-15.
For films, it's nowhere near as stacked as it was last year. Last year was the best year we've had for movies since at least 1999. This year, it's what you could call a "hangover" year (and no that's a pun on the film of the same name...I think): we had such a good time last year, that this year a terrible headache/collection of bullshit was ready for us after we awoke from our slumber.
Other random notes:
-My Halloween was awesome. Went as Hacksaw Jim Duggan, which scored me quite a lot of compliments. It seemed that every 10-15 seconds, someone on the streets of Wilmington would yell something. I also made out with a chick going as She-Hulk, at least that's what she claimed to be. Cool. I accomplished something most nerds on 4chan wish they could do.
-I'm sort of the singer for a local doom band called Beard of Antlers. It's my first time behind a mic, and it's pretty cool. I honestly wish they'd ask me to be the permanent singer, seeing as how I've wanted to do something music-wise for quite some time, and I honestly don't think their "monotone yelling" approach compliments the music very well. We've got a couple of shows coming up (11/14 at Reggie's 42nd Street Tavern and 12/04 at Lucky's Pub with the returning Predecessor). Should be fun.
-In what may shock a few of my friends, there's a strong possibility of me moving to Raleigh sometime in the near future. I've been doing a lot of...well, I hate to call it soul searching, but that's really what it is. Wilmington just hasn't been offering me a lot in the way of opportunity, and though Raleigh isn't without it's faults (WHY DOES EVERYTHING CLOSE SO GOD DAMN EARLY?!), it's a change of scenery and there's a better chance of finding a stable job with enough money to support myself. And who knows, if I can find something nice enough, I could try to get a transfer to another job back down in Wilmington just in case I miss this shithole.
-Tekken 6 is pretty okay so far, but I feel like it wasn't worth the price tag. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, however, is a friggin blast. A great tribute to games like Gauntlet and the like, except with most of your favorite Marvel characters thrown in. So far, UFC Undisputed 2009, Street Fighter IV and Batman: Arkham Asylum are my favorite games of the year though.
There will be more to come soon hopefully. What is "more" you ask? Hell if I know...
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Currents
Mood: a mixture of depressed, excited, and exhausted. It's lasted for a month or so as of this date.
Music:
Black Breath-Razor to Oblivion
Victims-...In Blood
Amorphis-Elegy
Kylesa-Static Tensions (yes, still. Probably going to be in my top 5 of the year)
Rotten Sound-everything
Movies:
Saw Star Trek. Was cool. Never really dug on the series, though I remember seeing Insurrection in theaters back in the day, despite being somewhat confused during the majority of it.
Trying to catch Terminator: Salvation this week. Ditto with Drag Me to Hell. Sam Raimi's doing horror again. Sweet.
Books:
I finished collecting and reading all of Preacher. What a phenomenal story. I can't really see how one could adapt this into a film, or even a TV series. Oddly enough, I found that the thing I related to the most in here was that every character was flawed, and that Ennis put you in that moral gray area, leaving you to determine if what action was taken was the right one or not. That and a certain Irish vampire being eerily reminiscent of someone I know...
I've had a sudden interest in Dennis Lehane's work. It's most likely due to two of his stories being adapted to the big screen (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone) and them both turning out fantastic. I don't know. I checked out Coronado from the library. I'll see how that is.
Concerts:
Well that's what the other blog is for yeah?
Music:
Black Breath-Razor to Oblivion
Victims-...In Blood
Amorphis-Elegy
Kylesa-Static Tensions (yes, still. Probably going to be in my top 5 of the year)
Rotten Sound-everything
Movies:
Saw Star Trek. Was cool. Never really dug on the series, though I remember seeing Insurrection in theaters back in the day, despite being somewhat confused during the majority of it.
Trying to catch Terminator: Salvation this week. Ditto with Drag Me to Hell. Sam Raimi's doing horror again. Sweet.
Books:
I finished collecting and reading all of Preacher. What a phenomenal story. I can't really see how one could adapt this into a film, or even a TV series. Oddly enough, I found that the thing I related to the most in here was that every character was flawed, and that Ennis put you in that moral gray area, leaving you to determine if what action was taken was the right one or not. That and a certain Irish vampire being eerily reminiscent of someone I know...
I've had a sudden interest in Dennis Lehane's work. It's most likely due to two of his stories being adapted to the big screen (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone) and them both turning out fantastic. I don't know. I checked out Coronado from the library. I'll see how that is.
Concerts:
Well that's what the other blog is for yeah?
Monday, May 4, 2009
Albums I should not like: Part 1
Queensrÿche-Operation: Mindcrime
I really don't like progressive metal/rock. I've always found a majority of the genre to be comprised of pretentious douchebags who were more concerned with impressive themselves than they were with impressing the (potential) fans. There's been a few exceptions over the years, like Opeth and Between the Buried and Me, but like I said, never been my thing.
I had heard for years about this record being a landmark for heavy metal, and oddly enough, after watching someone do a drum cover for "Eyes of a Stranger" on Youtube, I decided to give this record a try. The story intrigued me too, even though concept albums usually evoke the same feelings from me that I feel toward progressive music. It sounds like it could still ring true for today, especially the tales of corrupt politicians and the media being just as twisted.
The first thing I noticed about this was Geoff Tate, who is surprisingly awesome on this record. He's like James Labrie, if Labrie could actually sing. He's also reminiscent of a younger Bruce Dickinson at times. Dude can WAIL if he feels like it.
But anyway, back to the album. The story line here is about a young junkie radical who joins a secret organiztion dedicated to revolution. Through brainwashing, he is turned into an assassin (use the word "Mindcrime" and he's all yours basically). Over time, and through a connection with a prostitute-turned-nun, he begins to question what he does and eventually plots to overthrow his master.
Sound ludicrous? Well, it kind of is. But it WORKS. Every song packs an incredible emotional punch and helps develop the story more and more. This feels like it could make a great film (or even a musical, hehe).
I must have listened to this whole album 3 or 4 times within just one week. I haven't done that in quite some time, even with the albums I chose as my "Best of" for last year.
So yeah, check this out if you get the chance. It's definitely not something you will expect, nor is it like any progressive/power record you've likely heard. I'm gonna get around to checking out some of their other records sometime soon. I'd like to see them at House of Blues, but they apparently aren't playing anything from this record on their latest tour. Oh well.
Standout tracks:
Revolution Calling
The Mission
Suite Sister Mary
Breaking the Silence
I Don't Belive in Love
Eyes of a Stranger
I really don't like progressive metal/rock. I've always found a majority of the genre to be comprised of pretentious douchebags who were more concerned with impressive themselves than they were with impressing the (potential) fans. There's been a few exceptions over the years, like Opeth and Between the Buried and Me, but like I said, never been my thing.
I had heard for years about this record being a landmark for heavy metal, and oddly enough, after watching someone do a drum cover for "Eyes of a Stranger" on Youtube, I decided to give this record a try. The story intrigued me too, even though concept albums usually evoke the same feelings from me that I feel toward progressive music. It sounds like it could still ring true for today, especially the tales of corrupt politicians and the media being just as twisted.
The first thing I noticed about this was Geoff Tate, who is surprisingly awesome on this record. He's like James Labrie, if Labrie could actually sing. He's also reminiscent of a younger Bruce Dickinson at times. Dude can WAIL if he feels like it.
But anyway, back to the album. The story line here is about a young junkie radical who joins a secret organiztion dedicated to revolution. Through brainwashing, he is turned into an assassin (use the word "Mindcrime" and he's all yours basically). Over time, and through a connection with a prostitute-turned-nun, he begins to question what he does and eventually plots to overthrow his master.
Sound ludicrous? Well, it kind of is. But it WORKS. Every song packs an incredible emotional punch and helps develop the story more and more. This feels like it could make a great film (or even a musical, hehe).
I must have listened to this whole album 3 or 4 times within just one week. I haven't done that in quite some time, even with the albums I chose as my "Best of" for last year.
So yeah, check this out if you get the chance. It's definitely not something you will expect, nor is it like any progressive/power record you've likely heard. I'm gonna get around to checking out some of their other records sometime soon. I'd like to see them at House of Blues, but they apparently aren't playing anything from this record on their latest tour. Oh well.
Standout tracks:
Revolution Calling
The Mission
Suite Sister Mary
Breaking the Silence
I Don't Belive in Love
Eyes of a Stranger
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