News and Updates

Fate/Stay Night... One of my favorites!

2012-01-29T08:33:00.000-08:00

Well, I had my eye on this series for a really long time and had a feeling I would really like it. Well, I finally decided to go on the hunt and purchase this series a few weeks ago and finally got it all after hunting down the different disk from various sources on Amazon and eBay.

Well, I can happily say now that I am glad I did. I loved this show, and it now ranks in probably my top 5 favorite anime series! It was really great! I thought it was deep without being overly complicated, and I also liked pretty much all of the main characters a lot. I thought that the main character Shirō was a good mix of not being too strong, confident, cooky, etc but at the same time wasn't too much of a nerd, geek, pervert, pansy, etc. Sabre was cool and complex. She was believable in being a strong, determined character that I also liked a lot. Rin was actually my favorite female character, and I liked how they handled her as well. In the interest of not spoiling the plot for anyone who hasn't watched it, I sort of wished that certain character interactions at the end would have been different, but the door was left open I think for you to take things the way you wanted it to go in your mind afterwards.

Anyway, a great show. Its too bad that it appears to be in publishing limbo right now because of company changes/mergers and all of that. Each disk I went through a lot to find reasonably priced, and while I was able to buy most in new condition, I had to get a couple used. I was glad to grab the complete series and box though. I finished all 24 episodes in less than 5 days, and really wanted more to be honest. I admit I have also been watching Full Metal Panic! at the same time as this, and while I have always heard good things about it, and I admit I like it to a certain degree too, it just doesn't compare. I have been fine just watching a couple of episodes a day of the latter series, while like I said, I can't get enough of Fate/Stay. Also, I have been leaving it alone since I got it due to the backlog of other games, but watching this made me break into my Fate/Extra LE PSP game (yes, not the same story, but very interesting none the less). Ok, I am rambling on so I will stop. Below is a picture of the Rin Tohsaka Revoltech model figure I got. It and the DVD box set will sit on my desk for a while I am sure!

Finished Big O

2012-01-17T12:56:00.001-08:00

I started this series years ago, but things came up and never finished series 1 and didn't even start 2. That changed now and I just finished both. It was a really good series though I admit there were times I either felt I was watching the same episode over and over, or was a little lost in some of the plot points. Overall it was very good though, and I figured most everything out for the most part. I really enjoyed the Gotham like Paradigm city, and really liked all of the main characters. Even ones I didn't like at first like Dorothy really grew on me as it progressed. I wouldn't say its a favorite, but it was a very good and recommended series to watch. I liked it enough that I only had series 1 when I started it, but made sure to order and get in series 2 before I was finished with one to keep the story going. I didn't want to wait for it to continue. Next up is Fate/Stay Night which I already started and Full Metal Panic...

Big O Series

Go Texans!!

2011-12-11T13:15:00.000-08:00

While doing my Fall of Cybertron post, I watched my Texans win against the Bengals and will now go to the playoffs for the first time ever!! Whoohoo!! Being realistic, it will be hard for them to go far I think with all the injuries, but I am just ecstatic they made it!

Fall of Cybertron Official Trailer

2011-12-11T12:26:00.001-08:00

Below is the official "movie" trailer for the "Fall of Cybertron" that was shown last night at the Spike VGA awards last night. Didn't watch the show, but almost peed my pants when watching the trailer earlier today. This game has jumped to the top of my wanted list. Check out the pictures I have scavenged for it and thrown up on my page here: Fall of Cybertron

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron - VGA 2011: Exclusive Debut Trailer, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Masterpiece Rodimus Prime

2011-10-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

Got and added Masterpiece Rodimus Prime to my collection.

What I have been watching over the summer

2011-08-24T14:19:00.001-07:00

Thinking back, I have watched a lot of movies/shows over the spring and summer as time has permitted that I really enjoyed. While I doubt most others care, thought I would list them as more of remembrance for myself...

Movies: (in the order that I am thinking they came out, but could be wrong...)
I Am Number Four
Red Riding Hood
Green Hornet
Fast Five
Suckerpunch
Battle: Los Angeles
Super 8
X-Men: First Class
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (almost didn't put this on the list, but it was better than 2)
Pirates of the Caribbean 4
Thor
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II
Green Lantern
Hangover 2

Shows: (more or less in the order I watched them)

Batman Beyond complete series

Teen Titans (Complete Cartoon Network series)

Young Justice

Tenchi Muyo - OVA

Xmen (Fox '90s animated series) Seasons 1 and 2

Firefly

Samurai Gun

Spawn (The complete HBO series)

Gun X Sword (now watching)

UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie (now watching)

Met Stan Lee

2011-08-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

I met Stan Lee, the god of Marvel comics (creator of Spider-man, X men and many other superheroes) on Saturday at Baltimore Comic Con. I didn't really get much time to be very personal with him, but he was nice and I am thankful for the once in a lifetime chance! Had him sign my Spider-man Omnibus with his work in it as shown in the photo

Autobot Pretenders

2011-08-07T19:35:00.000-07:00

Added my Autobot Pretenders Landmine and Sky High to my collection. More to come...

Metroplex now in my collection

2011-07-08T21:05:00.001-07:00

Well, he is soon to be since I just got him today on eBay. Created my page for him Metroplex. I got him complete, and that's about all I have to say at the moment. Happy to get him, but its late and I am tired, so lets move on. Peace

Transformers 3 movie

2011-07-08T21:02:00.000-07:00

Well, this is really a placeholder if you see this post as written, because while I want to write my personal feelings on the movie, I am tired and it is kind of late. I will most likely update tomorrow. I will leave saying that while I didn't think it was the best movie ever, I was mostly pleasantly surprised. Later...

Out to lunch...

2011-06-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally added something else a little different to my collection. A metal Transformers lunchbox. I have already had the red plastic one that has the original box art scene with Optimus Prime for a while, but haven't gotten around to getting this one until now.

This is mostly due to several things. Starting at the beginning, as a kid I never got it because of the other lunch boxes I had at the time. I had the red plastic one mentioned above, but also I remember having the metal Pac-Man one and I think a G.I. Joe one. I feel like I might have had another, but it escapes me at the moment. Anyway, there weren't too many years I actually carried a lunch box, and I think this one kind of fell in at the end of that run and couldn't make it in. I always thought it was very cool though and wished I had got it years later. Anyway, moving to more recent, I occasionally have remembered to look for it, but every time I have (mostly on eBay) they are usually really beat up and rusty, and are either missing a thermos completely, or have the wrong one with it (the old Optimus Prime/Megatron thermos). If it has been in good shape and complete, it has gone for way more than I wanted to pay for it.

Well, I found the one I just bought now finally on eBay in pretty good shape (far from perfect, but pretty good I think. The best I have seen in a while. It also came with the real thermos that I am pretty sure it was suppose to come with that has Powermaster Prime and other Headmasters etc on it. I will add it to my "Others" page, but you can also see a couple of pics below...

Transformers Whirl

2011-06-28T19:17:00.000-07:00

I completed my first run (1984) portion of Gen1 a while ago, and will now mainly start focusing on Wave2 (1985). I really already have most of this wave as well, but looking to focus on filling in the spots that are missing. That being the case, I started this new run with getting a Whirl. I got him complete, and except for some unfortunate discoloration on one side of him, he is in great shape and is complete.

Philadelphia Comic Con

2011-06-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

I got to go to Philadelphia Comic Con with a couple of friends on June 17th and it was a lot of fun. I have been to Pittsburgh Comic Con many times now, as well as some smaller conventions in Houston, but this was the first "Large" convention for me. It was cool to meet or at least see so many big name celebrities at the convention. The most notable experiences for me was that one of the friends I went with had a family member who worked the Zenescope Comics both and hooked us up. Anyone who knows me knows I am a huge Grimm Fairytales fan so that was unbelievable. I got to meet many of the creators as well as pick up many variants at good prices. I was really excited to get to actually pick up the Philly Comic Con exclusives there in person and at their prices instead of second hand as I have most all of the other convention exclusives I own.

Ok, this blog is on my Transformers website, so the other really big part of that convention I mentioned was meeting Mark Ryan, who did the voices of Jetfire and Bumblebee in the movies. He was really great and friendly and talked with me for much longer than I expected. I bought a print from him which he signed, and managed to get him to also sign the cover of my Revenge of the Fallen Blu-Ray I had brought along. In hindsight, I probably made an ass out of myself by saying I was more of a Gen 1 fan and not so big on the movies, but he was friendly about it, and didn't seem to be bothered. Sure I was being honest and was just saying what I felt at the time, but maybe I should have gone about that differently.... Well, anyway, he was cool and I have his autographs on display in my mancave.

Well, I met or saw many other celebrities, but can't say there is much to talk about. Well, I did almost get tackled by some girls that went crazy on me when I came around a corner saw Bruce Campbell, and tried to take a picture of him with my iPhone I had in my hand at the time. I didn't know you couldn't take his picture!!! Well, I think you can, but you have to pay for it... :p I know they are there to make money, but that was crazy. I also got to meet Lou Ferrigno (Hulk) He was nice but I don't think he wanted to be bothered, Jake Lloyd (Anakin of Star Wars Episode 1) hanging with Daniel Logan (young Boba Fett). Both seemed nice but seemed bored. I said Hi to both and they did the same back, but I didn't have the money to spend at that point and you have to remember they are there to make some cash. Speaking of Star Wars and money, I got to meet Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and he was really nice. I actually wanted to pay for his autograph, but they only took cash, and I was out. Credit card wasn't going to work. He was very friendly though, and I will probably regret it. Especially because I hear and could somewhat see he has some health problems. Hope he hangs in there. I didn't get to talk to him, but I got a friendly nod from John Schneider (Dukes of Hazard/Smallville). He was really busy with a bunch of others around him. Some noticable other TV/movie celebrities were there that I either missed entirely or were too far away was Burt Ward and Adam West of Batman fame (I did get pictures of the Batmobile though), Bill Goldberg from my watching WCW days, Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), Margot Kidder (Lois Lane from Superman), and Kristanna Loken (Terminator 3). As for comic creators, it was cool to see EBas again and many of the other Zenescope creators. I also saw and took pictures of the already mentioned Batmobile, the Torino from Starsky and Hutch (a personal family favorite), the Delorean time machine from Back to the Future, the General Lee and a cop car from The Dukes of Hazard, and also the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo. I took many pictures on my phone and maybe at some point I will upload them to a page and post the link here.

This post got way longer than it was suppose to, so I am going to cut it off. In case you didn't notice, I had a ton of fun!!

Not Transformers Update - Anime

2011-06-15T22:05:00.000-07:00

I noticed I have really been neglecting all of my different collection list for a while now. I will work to update all of them as soon as I can, but took a few minutes tonight to update my Anime collection.

I am probably missing some updating still, but think I got most that where missing. The most notable part was updating to reflect that I now have an almost complete collection of all Tenchi. All 3 different series (OVAs, Universe, and Tokyo) as well as all 3 movies. I am only missing GXP, but everything I have read leads me to believe I need to stay away anyway from it. That is about as bad as the end of the OVAs... I did also update to show GunXSword collection, Mahoromatic collection, Samurai Gun collection and Voltron collection. Now I just have to make time to watch a lot of this.... won't be starting this weekend with the Philadelphia ComicCon here.

Gobots DVD!

2011-06-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

Last month, Warner Archives released a "Challenge of the Gobots" mini-series DVD, and when I heard about it, I made sure to pick it up right away.

As anyone who has read on my Gobots page knows, Gobots were actually my first love over the Transformers, so they hold a special place in my heart. They and G.I. Joe were my friends in some less than ideal times. Anyway, I have been looking for Gobots for years on DVD, and had no luck getting the bootlegs that were out there. The torrents I downloaded were okay, but most of the time there were problems, as well as things being out of order and an overall poor video/sound quality. I really thought that was the best I was going to get too, since Hasbro bought Tonka and now owns the Gobots rights. It seems like they would just leave them buried.

Fortunately, unknown to most Warner owns the Hanna-Barbera rights, thus owns the rights to the cartoons too (unfortunately, things still look grim for the toys). Anyway, that enables them to still re-release the show as they are at least trying out with this 5 episode miniseries that was first launched.

Getting to my point, I finally got around to watching it tonight, and it was fun. Sure, a lot of it seems really silly now, but it was great as a kid. They also really cleaned up and "remastered it" so the colors and lines were pretty good. I loved it and highly recommend it to any former Gobots fan. It is not as good as Transformers I admit, but it is still fun!!

See the link to the Warner Archive site for more info: Gobots on Warner Archive

20th Anniversary (Masterpiece) Optimus Prime "re-stacked"

2011-05-28T06:54:00.000-07:00

Getting my Masterpiece Megatron and seeing him with my Masterpiece Optimus, it became very obvious to me that Optimus was .....lacking, in certain areas...

Well, to restore his manhood and make him the Autobot supreme, I got on eBay and purchased the long smokestacks like those issued with Takara/Japan. Took his arms apart and replaced them, and he is now ready to kick some Decepticon bootie.

Masterpiece Megatron

2011-05-17T18:37:00.000-07:00

This comes a couple of weeks after the fact, but was busy with vacation, family etc. I finally got and added Masterpiece Megatron to my collection. He was one I was afraid I would never get due to his price, the US laws in regards to him (his gun mode looks too real), and also just the overall scarceness of finding him until her was released by Takara.

Anyway, I did finally order one and got him, and he is great. While I opened the box and took him and his accessories out of the clear shell he was packed in, I haven't transformed him yet. That is both because of fear of breaking him (he seems to be somewhat fragile, but also after working with Masterpiece Optimus and various Alternators I know it will take some time I haven't had. I don't want to get into a rush and risk breaking him. He is great though, and blows away even the Gen1 Megatron. Definitely the #1 release to me. I found this great article on him someone else posted on their site with great detail/information on him for anyone interested. http://cybph.multiply.com/reviews/item/83

I really am going to make an effort to get good photos of him and all my other Transformers that need pics up on my pages soon.

Minibot Madness

2011-04-08T12:57:00.000-07:00

Today I added many new Minibots to my collection. They include:

Yellow Bumblebee
Cliffjumper
Pipes
Swerve
Tailgate
Wheelie
Windcharger

Alternity and Predaking

2011-03-30T19:48:00.000-07:00

Probably my last major update/additions for a while. Got and added Alternity Bumblebee & Cliffjumper. I probably won't get the other Alternity figures because to be honest, as cool as they are, they don't compare to the Alternators. The thing I liked about the Alternators is that they feel and for the most part looked like updated versions of Gen 1. The Alternity figures are all cars and most of them weren't in Gen 1. Optimus, Megatron, Starscream, etc. I do really like Bumblebee & Cliffjumper though and hoped that they would blend in with the Alternators since they didn't make Alternators of these characters. It works for the most part, except the scale...

Also finally got the 2010 reissue of Predaking for my collection. Of course the set consist of Divebomb, Headstrong, Rampage, Razorclaw, and Tantrum. This was a significant vacancy in my collection that finally is filled.

More Alternator/Masterpiece additions..

2011-03-25T17:23:00.000-07:00

Got and added Masterpiece Starscream. Also added a custom built Alternator Inferno to my collection. I hope to get more info on the custom Inferno from the eBay seller I purchased him from. I can say from the listing that it is a Binaltech Optimus Prime with custom labels that I believe were gotten from Reprolabels. Looks like he has overhead siren lights from a Prowl.

Masterpiece Grimlock

2011-03-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

Got and added Masterpiece Grimlock to my collection.

Astrotrain

2011-02-01T20:57:00.000-08:00

I finally got and added Astrotrain to my collection. While I was at it, cleaned up my Blitzwing page. Good times!!

Blurr and Kup

2011-01-15T08:58:00.000-08:00

Getting Arcee and creating her page last week made me realize I never made pages for the other movie old timers in my collection Blurr and Kup, who have been there for a while. I guess there were many reasons for this; my focus has generally fallen on the earliest releases (like wave 1, etc), as well as not having weapons and accessories for these guys among other things.

Anyway, I created pages for them this morning, and cleaned up some things I noticed were kind of sloppy in my code. Did the same type of code refresh for Arcee and Hot Rod, though their content is the same.

While doing code cleanup, I took another look at the Bumblebee page and was really bothered that the artwork wasn't red to match the toy I have. I knew I had to fix this. After numerous searches with no luck, I saw the only way this was going to happen was if I modified it myself. The problem is, I have no (0) Photoshop skills. The one thing I do know to do, was just because someone showed me a while back. Anyway, I looked for web tutorials, and played with them mostly unsuccessfully for a while. Finally, with trial and error, I was able to do a makeshift change, and it is what is presented at the top of the new Red Bumblebee page. Maybe I will try the techspec at some point, but right now, I am glad to just be done with the main image. It isn't the greatest, but its awesome for me. If anyone can do better, please help!!

**EDIT** Code cleanup for all Autobots whose name starts with A through H....

Arcee

2011-01-11T22:43:00.000-08:00

I finally added Arcee to my collection. For many years that didn't seem possible, but thanks to a third-party company who makes "unnamed" customs, it is now possible. I have been looking for a great deal, and finally found an open one for less than half price on eBay.

Lots of updating

2010-11-24T07:38:00.001-08:00

Ok, right now I am really into updating my site collection, or at least I have been the past week and a half. Lots of changes. Mostly just cleaning up pages with better code/formatting, but also began updating with additions to my collection that I hadn't gotten in before. This includes Headmaster Brainstorm, Ironhide, Jetfire, Nosecone and Sixshot among others.

Also, I recently went to "Botchs Box Art Archive" and noticed that he had much better box art than what I have been using from previous scans/web images I had found previously. That being the case, I am slowly going to update the pages of each character with his stuff. I already did this with most of my Autobots, and will continue to do so with others as I can. His stuff is really sharp. I highly recommend his site. I don't know how he gets all of this, and at such high quality, but I really appreciate the work.

Hopefully more coming soon as I have time. I might get distracted with holidays and other things going on though.

Sunstreaker

2010-11-14T10:52:00.000-08:00

I finally added Sunstreaker to my collection (the last Gen1 wave 1 figure I was missing), and am working to update my Alternators page as I get it completed.

Incredible transforming costume

2010-10-22T18:50:00.000-07:00

Check out this great MSN video: Incredible transforming costume

Alternators Overhaul

2010-10-08T23:40:00.000-07:00

Pretty much scrapped my work earlier in the week, and being that I have 21 of the 27 Alternators now, gave them and Masterpiece their own page. Much better than the old. Movie figures will replace them on the "Others" page, especially since I have a lot of them that aren't on the site.

Ricochet

2010-10-06T22:26:00.000-07:00

Added the Commemorative reissue, Ricochet to my collection. Will add collection pictures later.

Alternators

2010-10-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

Threw up my Alternators additions over the last few years on my Other Releases page. It is quick and simple, will make it better later.

A actual site update and New Additions to my collection

2010-09-30T18:50:00.001-07:00

Ok, there has been a lot going on the past year and a half. I moved out of state twice and really didn't have a way to display and enjoy my collection. Our new house we got a few months ago changed that though, and I am now in the process of getting my new "dedicated" office/collector room setup, and my collection displayed again. That also means I have started adding to it again.

I recently got Trailbreaker,Broadside and Ramjet, and updated my Collection page to show them. Take a look. They are great and well kept additions.

I will be updating more as I can. I want to add some other additions to my site like my addition of a less than stellar Sixshot, a big growth of my almost complete Gobots collection and display of them, and my rebuild of what was my just sitting Hun grrr, with him added to my Repro page. Stay tuned..

Mighty Gobots

2010-02-16T19:55:00.000-08:00

Well, I haven't posted on here in ages, and even though I occasionally do minor updates on the site, I haven't done anything major in a while. Well, those minor updates have usually been because I have been updating my Gobots collection, even though it hasn't been getting the best treatment itself.

Now seems to be a good time to give it all a overhaul though, because I just recently acquired a sizable collection of Gobots, most notably a significant number (16) of unopened ones in a collection. With that, I decided to dedicate some time updating my inventory list, and I have found I am only missing 7 Gobots, and only 13 backer cards. That is only counting opened/uncarded ones. It can be counted as less if you count the unopened ones I have or the unopened 3 packs.

Thats not counting Super Gobots, only the normal sized ones. I have quite a few duplicates as well, which probably pushes my collection over 100. Anyway, check out my updated Excel checklist on my "Gobots" page if interested, as well as a couple of updated pictures I took. I do wish I could find a good case like I have for my Transformers to properly display them without concern of dust, etc.

I plan to really redo this page as I have time, so if your a fan, check back periodically. I think I have one of the better collections of these guys out there now, so I have to try to do them justice.

My Transformers 2 review (spoilers)

2009-06-27T16:26:00.000-07:00

OK, I have been busy and or lazy since before my move to Washington DC, and haven't put out a new blog entry in a long time. Well, I went to see the Transformers 2 movie last night and decided to get back to this since it has been so long. So on to the movie...

I don't know where to start really. I will say that though I am always pro-generation one and nothing else, I did really enjoy the first movie. If you check back to my June 2007 blog review on my personal website you will see this. Unfortunately, I have to say I do not feel the same about this one. I wouldn't say I hated it because there were some things I liked, but for the most part I left very disappointed. Getting to my specific complaints though, there were many.

First off, I really did not like this Fallen character, and what he represented. First off, he was made into the "leader" of the Decepticons, and Megatron was just a chump next to him. That was just retarded to me and probably any real Transformers fan who thinks about it. I am sorry, Megatron answers to no one. That was always the way it was and should be. Heck, he didn't really even answer to Unicron in Gen one when he had to. I just didn't like Megatron at his best in the movie being second in command, and at his worst in some points in the movie, just being a regular Decepticon drone for the most part.

My second complaint has to do with the technology in the movie, and there are two distinctly different parts about it I didn't like. First off, I thought it was retarded that the US military was complaining in the movie that the Autobots wouldn't share their advanced weapons technology with them. This was dumb because A) They should have gotten all they needed from the many years of having Megatron frozen as a captive in the first movie, and B) They didnt seem to need it anyway. All through the movie they are shown fighting Decepticons, and a lot of times, it seemed that they were really beating them, or at least holding them to a stand still. They didn't need better technology apparently. Finally, where the hell did the Decepticons get the technology to make humanoid robots? The girl who was after Sam at school was a Decepticon soldier?!? While she wasn't hurting my eyes to watch, if they can make these, they should have won this war instantly... I don't know, make robots of world leaders or something?!?!?

This is getting too long and too negative so my other complaints I will try to shorten up I guess. Maybe I am an old man, but I thought there was a lot of risque things in this movie for its rating. I know its not human, but dogs humping each other, robots trying to hump humans (the aforementioned Sam and robot chic, as well as a Decepticon drone/spy humping Megan Fox leg). That and some of the dialogue. I know it is 2009, and nothing in the movie offended me personally, but it is suppose to watchable by kids too, and if I had kids, I would not be comfortable with showing some of the things it showed or did, to my young children. Final complaint, Devastator was a bust. Humans and the small Autobot Mudflap were pretty much keeping him in check, and besides that humans pretty much finished him off with an aircraft carrier gun. Guess that goes back to my earlier technology complaint, but still, we are talking Devastator here. He shouldn't be going down like that...

Anyway, that is enough complaining, though if you pushed me I could give you more. I did like some of the things like the military and Autobots working together. That makes sense in the real world if it was real. I liked most of the action, though I wish it wasn't so close up you couldn't really tell what was going on. I liked that old gen one characters were remade into this one (if you have to remake them). Devastator, Soundwave, Ravage, Jetfire, Skids, and Sideswipe are ones I am thinking of at the moment. I generally like Shia LaBoeuf as Sam. He gets a little too corny at times, but for the most part he is cool and likable. No complaints about Megan Fox of course. I also liked they brought back the funny Sector 7 guy from the first movie back and kind of made him a hero... And the coolest part to me was personal. A large scene in the movie was at the Smithsonian Air and Space museum. I went there with the family last week for Fathers Day not knowing it was in the movie. It was so cool seeing so many things I saw at the museum being in the movie. Especially the Blackbird(Jetfire) and just seeing them walk around it and thinking, "Hey I was walking in the same spot". We took pictures of the museum while we were there, including a couple of awesome Tranformers IMAX displays I will have to throw up on facebook or on a seperate page on my website. Anyway, kind of dorky in a way, but the truth. Well, time to put this to bed. I don't regret seeing this movie, and I am glad it was made, but I do feel it was a step back in my fandom of this movie series. I even got a few of the figures when they came out a few weeks ago to put on my desk that I won't be able to enjoy as much now. I do feel that this is a movie that people who have no previous Transformers history will enjoy more than those of us who grew up on it. I would rate it a B to B-.

Not online much next few weeks....moving to DC

2009-03-31T14:48:00.000-07:00

Well, if anyone wonders where I am online the next few weeks (mostly Xbox live and PSN), I won't be on much because I am moving from Cleveland to Washington DC. It will be hectic. Packing this week, and moving on the weekend. Will be crazy. So getting internet disconnected and reconnected will also cause downtime even if I do find a few minutes to game here and there.

Should be fun to get a new start though, and it will be interesting living in the nations capital. The Japanese fan in me thinks it will be cool to see the cherry trees blossoming the next few weeks there. That is something I never thought I would see. Well, see everyone soon....

My site is back up!!!

2009-02-13T15:08:00.001-08:00

Yeah!! My site is finally back up after being down for almost a week. I doubt anyone knows or cares, but it was driving me crazy. I was due my annual domain name/hosting renewal, and I decided that I wanted to switch to another company. It was a good deal because now I am paying less for 5 years of coverage than I was with my previous host for only 2. Other bonuses include more space, more bandwidth, and American tech support. That last one is important. Don't get me wrong, I am not racist. Actually some of my best friends are from the country that my old providers tech support is stationed. The problem was I couldn't understand them or they couldn't understand me half of the time I had to use them. Plus most of the time I really never felt that they cared. Plus with the way the economy is, I think it is better to have the money go into my countries workforce. Anyway, site is back up now, and all I have to do now is fix all my file extension problems..... :(

Japanese/RPG Mode

2009-01-22T13:02:00.000-08:00

I was just thinking the last couple of days, that I think I am back to full Japanese mode lately. That probably doesnt mean much to most people, but while it is always with me to varying degrees, there are certain times that I really want all Japanese stuff all the time when it comes to recreation.

Now is one of those times, and when it comes all I want to do is play JRPGs, watch Anime, eat the food, etc.

I guess part of it is the deluge of great Japanese inspired things I have gotten lately. Funimation finally got Kanon #6 out, and I recently got 4 and 5, so now I am back to watching that show and it is good. Also, I have found myself mixing in some repeats of my favorites such as Rahxephone, Cowboy Beebop, Evangelion and Shuffle, though I not watching all of that as much as I am finding it sounds as I write this. All awesome shows though. I usually like to really like to immerse myself into it too by drinking some of the Japanese pops I have been buying lately at the Sushi restaurant I go to and from World Market. Sure for the most part they taste very similar to the american drinks, but it is fun to pop that marble in and let it roll around as I drink from the glass bottles.

As for JRPGs, I cant get enough of those either, and my newest one is my main reason for writing this (Ar Tonelico 2). It ,Run Factory 2, and Infinite Undiscovery I have really enjoyed, as well as picking up a few other JRPGs for later, such as Mana Khemia (Love the NIS games, have almost all of the PS2 ones they have made). I have been trying to write a few reviews on Gamespot lately, and really want to for Ar Tonelico 2 because I am enjoying it so much, but I should probably wait to get more into the game. I have invested probably about 4 hours into it the last couple of days, but I hear it is over 100 hours in length.

Anyway, it is all cool. I know Japan is a different world, but I really love a lot of their culture. Its times like this that I can put away my Xbox 360 games like Dead Space (which I like alot), achievements, and my other normal nongaming American things, and not miss them for a little while.

Wow, this self reflecting blog got way longer than it was meant to.... I guess now I am getting too full on myself...lol

My New Car

2009-01-04T10:26:00.000-08:00

I got a new (used) car a few weeks ago, on December 11th, and thought I would take come pictures and put them up. It is a 2006 Pontiac G6. Below is the link to a quick webpage I threw together with the pictures I took of it.

My Pontiac G6

I have reached 100 360 games....

2008-12-31T08:10:00.000-08:00

Well, with the holiday season, I got more games to add to my collection. When updating my website and the list I created, I realized I have hit the 100 game milestone for Xbox 360. And this list does not include arcade games.

I have mixed feelings about this. Obvious it is great to have so many games, and it might be a bit of a bragging right for some. I have to admit though, I look at it and feel a little ashamed of myself... lol Mostly because I do not think I have played half of them. I had passed the same milestone back in the original Xbox heyday, and though I say I will eventually get around to playing them all, it seems I never will as the collection grows. As it has been put by one of my friends on the Gamespot website before, it is mostly from me getting sucked into great buy one get one deals at Gamestop. On that same note, I do not buy most of my games at the new $59.99 price. Unless it is something I really want, or get as a gift, I usually wait until it gets down to at least $30, or I buy some used, a lot for for around $10 to $20 dollars each.

Either way, it does add up to a lot of money though, and I cant help think maybe I should have done something different. The even sadder part is that my anime collection is much the same. Well, I guess I wouldn't be a true die hard gamer if I stopped now. Its nice to spend on the things you enjoy.... My wife would probably kill me if it was all added up though.

If anyone reads this and wants to see my list, the links are:

http://www.thesmeltingpool.com/games.html

or for my anime:

http://www.thesmeltingpool.com/anime.html

I used to use Gamespot for my list, but kind of quit earlier this year when they changed formats. Plus my list makes it easier for my wife to see what I want or have. Also I find pictures make an easier graphical way to digest how nice my collection is compared to them all crammed in my shelves....

Filter /Hard Rock

2008-11-02T15:10:00.000-08:00

This was freaking awesome. One of the best experiences of my life. My friend Matt and I got to go to the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Cleveland for the restaurants 10th anniversary and to see Filter play there on November 1st. My wife hooked us up with the tickets, which included meet and greets.

We got VIP passes and it was cool. We first hung out at the sectioned off bar with a couple of other guys, and got some free alcohol. Then the band just came out and just started hanging out and talking with us. It was really cool. I had them all sign my CD cover to their latest album. Then the Hard Rock gave us all free T shirts, which the band wrote Filter on and signed. It sucked that I brought a camera, but the batteries were dead. Hard Rock did get a picture of me and Matt, and I took some with my phone, but again they suck. Back to the concert. We went and sat in a booth after the band left, waiting for the set up and show. The way it was, Hard Rock just closed the restaurant that night, and just removed all of the tables and put in a small stage. That meant we had prime seating. It was more impressive because we weren't suppose to have the booth. They were all suppose to be reserved. They didn't make us move though, and we wound up having it for the whole show. Once it started, we just stood up or sat on the back of the booth, and had the band playing about 10 feet away. Anytime, we wanted, we could just leave the booth, and with a little bit of work, pretty much get right to the front of the stage. It was awesome. As for music, they pretty much played most of the songs from Title of Record, which you wont hear me complain since it is one of my favorite albums of all time. The opening act, which I cant think of the name of at the moment, was also very good. We met another guy there too who hung out with us and was pretty cool named Bill. An awesome experience, and one that I doubt I will get close to ever duplicating again.

Coldplay

2008-10-21T23:05:00.000-07:00

I went to see Coldplay tonight at the Q and it was a great show. That is one of my favorite groups. My friend Abs and I sat on the left side of the stage and had a great view. We had a bad time seeing though when they went to the far side of the stage and played on the piano to the fans there. It wasn't so much a distance problem, but they had these artsy balls with colors and video hanging and spinning around right in our line of site. I have to say, it really impressed me when the band disappeared off stage and showed up in the aisles in the back of the stadium and played for a couple of songs. They really seem to be cool to the fans. I picked up a T shirt and cant wait to get a chance to see them again.

2008-09-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

I went up to the radio station today, and got to meet Jessica Simpson. My interaction with her was very short, but she was really nice, and I got to take a picture with her. I put it up on MySpace. Anyway, she had several people with her and her dog, which was interesting. We waited while she talked on the air with the morning show, and when she was done with them and some fans that had won the right to meet her, we got to mingle in the hallway for a few minutes. I told her it was nice to meet her, and it was nice to see a fellow Texan. I also mentioned rooting for Romo. She made the appropriate nice acknowledgments, but I am sure it wasn't anything she really was too worried about. She was nice though. She didn't looked like she put some makeup and so on on beforehand, but not all decked out for Hollywood. Of course, I guess I wouldn't expect that for a trip to a radio station. It was cool to meet her though, and when I think about it, she is probably the celebrity that I have met that most people would have the most interest in in one way or another. Its also cool to have to brag to the guys about...

2008-09-23T22:37:00.000-07:00

Went to see Carrie Underwood with my wife. It was a nice show, but rather low key for the most part. Carrie is everything you expect. Sweet, beautiful voice, very pretty. It was nice, and though I wasn't jumping out of my skin to go when previously hearing about it, I am glad I did.

Video Games

2008-09-16T13:51:00.001-07:00

Downtime at work again today, so I decided to create a video games page with links to images of my collection of games. As I am typing this, I am thinking about how pathetic and nerdy it sounds, but I have to do something besides twiddle my thumbs. Besides, it could be useful in the future....

2008-09-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

An actual Transformers update today.... I spent a lot of time and really updated my Transformers IDW cover checklist. I added books I was missing for pretty much every IDW series I have on there. I also updated my Grimm checklist.

American Idol Tour

2008-09-05T07:49:00.001-07:00

Last night went with my wife to the American Idol Tour concert. I have to admit, I really wasn't looking forward to it. I have watched the show with my wife the last few years, but have always felt that the show has a little too much drama, and that most of the time the people at the end won more a popularity contest than talent contest. Last year I did think was better though, and it did translate to me actually enjoying the concert to a certain degree. My favorites were Carly and Cook. I liked them both the best at the concert as well. I guess the best thing is, that there was not anyone in the top 10 I really hated with this group. So for the concert, even the artist that I didn't care for as much still were okay to watch. Cook was awesome at the end with his version of Billy Jean. I actually will probably buy the CD for this winner for the first time. My wife did have fun, and we got her some cool souvenirs for her studio such as a group poster, a program, and photos of Carly and Cook. of course, while she enjoyed it, I do think she is overly infatuated with New Kids right now.......

Indians Game

2008-09-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

I got invited by a good friend of mine Tom to go to the Cleveland Indians game yesterday. My friend John was going too, and he drove us. It was fun. Tom had us in one of the Suites his company has behind home plate. Food was good, and the people I didn't know were all nice. I really enjoyed the game, and it was nice to see the Indians winning. They have been doing well lately, which is nice since most of the season has been a disappointment with the way the season ended last year. Anyway, it was really cool, and it was nice of Tom to invite us. We left a little early, which I normally hate to do, but everyone else was bailing out, and since I have to get up for work early the next day, I wasn't going to put up a fight. Baseball hasn't been as fun for me this season, so this was definitely a highlight.

Browns Preseason Game

2008-08-29T13:22:00.000-07:00

Went to the Browns preseason football game against the Chicago Bears. It was me, my wife, and our friends Dave and Carolyn. It was nice to hang out with them, but the game wasn't so good, since they played a lot of third string players and guys that probably wont make the team. Also, they managed to lose towards the end of the game. I was excited to go though, since the Browns are expected to be good this season, and tickets are probably going to be hard to get during the regular season. I will also say I was pleasantly surprised with the seats we got. It was section 509, which sounds like nose bleeds, but it was towards the bottom of the level, we could see the players pretty well, and it was at midfield. I will have to look for tickets like that in the future. Doubt I will have any luck this season though. I guess I can always cross my fingers....

2008-08-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

Some downtime today, so I finally did some updating of covers of recent books such as the IDW Transformers books, as well as Tarot. I will complete it more, and do more updating as I am able.....

2008-08-25T13:44:00.001-07:00

Thought it was time to make my updates on news on my homepage easier to update, so I am converting to a blog. I think this is better because I can more quickly make changes and also I can do it from anywhere. Also, I know that this a "Transformers" site, but I am going to start making some post on here that aren't really about them. I don't really believe I get that many visitors, and if I do, and they don't want to read my blog, they don't have to (Or if I have to, I will just go back to just Transformers, and do a personal blog elsewhere). Anyway, I just started a new job last week, and have had a lot going on in my personal life the last few weeks, and thought that there are so many milestones I have had in my life that the details have gotten a bit sketchy to me. Why not blog these things, and going forward, I can better remember them. I am going to backdate some entries from the last couple of weeks up to this current one. Guess I will see how it goes. Thanks

2008-08-20T23:55:00.000-07:00

Got to go to Crue Fest at Blossom Music Center, and it was an awesome show. All the bands were good. I was not disappointed with one. Motley Crue and Buckcherry especially. Motley Crue was better than when I saw them last year, though I have to admit the video they showed on the screens bothered me some. I admit I did enjoy some of it, being a guy and all, but the video montage consisted of what I felt was three themes, and all bothered me in some ways. It was war, hardcore porn, and making President Bush look stupid. War is bad, and I generally feel there is not much I have to say there. The porn I felt was just too excessive, and while I know this is an adult show, I felt there were too many kids around for it to be showing like it was. Maybe I am just getting old. As far as Bush, I don't mind if people have problems with him, I just hate the reflection on people it presents. It just seems a little unpatriotic to me to dog out any of our Presidents like this in such a public non-political forum. I also am just tired of seeing it now everywhere you go, and feel it is mostly done now because it is the popular thing to do. Okay, I will get off the soap box now.... Anyway, it was a great show, and the bands all rocked. I really did enjoy it. We saw Poison in concert the week before, and while they also were really awesome, this show with the Crue was definitely better.

Cedar Point

2008-08-17T13:11:00.000-07:00

Just a quick minute to throw this on here. I will come back and edit later....

Poison Concert

2008-08-14T15:12:00.000-07:00

Just a quick minute to throw this on here. I will come back and edit later....

2008-03-08T09:50:00.000-08:00

Minor site updates with IDW books, etc. I added Grimm Fairy Tales page to my books I collect. While it is fairly complete, lots of work to do labeling and marking collection. Moved some of the old news over.

2008-02-20T09:30:00.000-08:00

I got a great Licensing Kit for Gobots, and added it to the GoBots page, as well as the Wendys Kids Meal Gobots. Really cool.

2008-02-17T09:26:00.000-08:00

Added the Dreamwave page to the comics section.

2008-02-09T09:12:00.000-08:00

I had website hosting problems, but they all seem to be fixed now. I don't think I get a ton of traffic anyway, but for any that does come through with any regularity, sorry. I don't foresee having this problem again. Since I was sitting around working on this, I got going, and decided to do some significant work on the Gobots page. Many great YouTube video clips were added, as well as updating names, of those I collected, etc.

2007-12-01T14:53:00.000-08:00

I wasn't feeling that well today when I got up, and found myself sitting on the couch with my laptop with nothing to look at (I did a good bit of web surfing this week while on jury duty.). Anyway, I thought it a good idea to give some love to my much neglected site. Starting out, I thought I should go ahead and put the pictures up, as I have been intending to, of most of my Gobots, on my Gobots page. I did that and gave a few minutes to replace the IDW "Generations" link here on the home page with the "Best of the UK", since it seems to have replaced it. I also did a little more updating of the books on the IDW page for "The Best of the UK", and "Devestation". For the heck of it, added my GameSpot card down with my Xbox gamer card.

2007-11-25T14:36:00.000-08:00

I had a few minutes and thought I would update the IDW pages and links that I have been neglecting the last few months.

2007-09-14T14:23:00.000-07:00

While these guys are a little out of context on some of what they write, I found this article on "The 7 Most Useless Transformers Ever" humorous in some ways and thought I would share.
http://www.cracked.com/index.php?name=News&sid=2175

2007-06-29T13:49:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to get to go see the movie pre-screening last night. I could say a lot of pros and cons about it, but all and all, I thought it was pretty good. That is actually a big compliment from me since I went in with very low expectations, and am die-hard Generation 1, which was definitely not what this movie was about. Anyway, it had a lot of action, and a fairly decent storyline. The transformations were sort of cool, but went a little too fast, and the Transformers turned into big giant metal balls it seemed at times, which made them hard to decipher. There were a lot of really cool moments during some of the transformations though, and I appreciated the homage to some of the old cartoons with the dialogue they used in some of battle scenes, etc. All and all, it was good, just not my "Ultimate Transformer" movie.

News and Updates

Fate/Stay Night... One of my favorites!

Finished Big O

Go Texans!!

Fall of Cybertron Official Trailer

Masterpiece Rodimus Prime

What I have been watching over the summer

Met Stan Lee

Autobot Pretenders

Metroplex now in my collection

Transformers 3 movie

Out to lunch...

Transformers Whirl

Philadelphia Comic Con

Not Transformers Update - Anime

Gobots DVD!

20th Anniversary (Masterpiece) Optimus Prime "re-stacked"

Masterpiece Megatron

Minibot Madness

Alternity and Predaking

More Alternator/Masterpiece additions..

Masterpiece Grimlock

Astrotrain

Blurr and Kup

Arcee

Lots of updating

Sunstreaker

Incredible transforming costume

Alternators Overhaul

Ricochet

Alternators

**A actual site update** and New Additions to my collection

Mighty Gobots

My Transformers 2 review (spoilers)

Not online much next few weeks....moving to DC

My site is back up!!!

Japanese/RPG Mode

My New Car

I have reached 100 360 games....

Filter /Hard Rock

Coldplay

Video Games

American Idol Tour

Indians Game

Browns Preseason Game

Cedar Point

Poison Concert

A actual site update and New Additions to my collection