For fans of: Land of the Dead and 28 Days Later.
Diary of the Dead on Wikipedia | IMDB site for DOTD

Romero’s newest zombie flick follows suit in begging the viewer to contemplate some serious social questions while watching the type of decapitated zombie gore that only he can deliver.

I could review the plot, the effects, and/or any typical aspect a reviewer usually reviews… but why? You already know that Diary of the Dead was filmed in the same vein as Blair Witch and Cloverfield. You already know that Romero’s zombies are relatively slow moving and the effects in the past few years have been great in this genre. You already know Romero’s plots are mostly action driven, but woven with Dickens-eque exploration of social ills. So, I decided to talk more about what you don’t know about this film and what I, personally, took from it. …more… »

To begin this 4 or 5 part blog series, I will say that this isn’t a book review at all (though, perhaps, a review may follow once I have completed the entire book). Despite the fact that I will be discussing Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw, this series will be my personal reflection on the material. I will note a few things about the book and the authors.

I purchased this book primarily because I know Shane and am interested in what he has to say. I was pleasantly surprised to find that a former classmate of mine and friend of Shane’s, Chris Haw, co-authored the book. I know Chris and spent a good deal of time in sociology classes with him at Eastern University a few years back. Shane and Chris have a fresh outlook on theology, life, and Christianity… though I am well aware that I won’t agree with every point they make. I’m sure the point of the book isn’t to just take it in quietly and agree to everything, but rather to drink it in and challenge ourselves as followers of Christ. …more… »

I write for a website called Nerd Lives and recently was reminded how much sex can translate to greater interest in… well, just about anything. I wrote a piece on Forgetting Sarah Marshall entitled “Forgetting Marshall’s Marshall”, in which I discussed how funny the movie is and the message of hope that I believe the movie conveyed to me.

I did, also, highlight the talent of a certain MEMBER of the cast. Inclusion of the word “penis” in the article immediately increased the traffic to Nerd Lives immensely. I briefly mentioned Mila Kunis’s boob shot in the film, as well. A significant number of hits were generated by the word “boobs” being used in the article. Between searches for “penis” and searches for “boobs”, the flow in and out of the site was increased dramatically. …more… »

I have been on a wheat beer kick this Spring and my recent discovery of the bar down the street from my house has furthered this current scourge. The bar only has two prices for beer, one of domestics and one for imports. The night I went over there, I discovered this and sought whatever microbrew or interesting beer I could find in their selection. Thus, for the same price as a piss beer like Bud I was able to get a bottle of Ithaca Apricot Wheat. After one bottle turned into three, I went home realizing that it was quite a good beer.

I often refer to fruit-infused ales as “queer beers”. This isn’t to say I don’t drink these beers at times, but I coined the termed to describe the types of beers that my friend Dan drinks. I enjoy several varieties of such, specifically being a fan of Kasteel Rouge, Rodenbach’s Redbach, Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat, and now… Ithaca Apricot Wheat.

The event that fueled this blog was that I went to the same bar for dinner with my wife and a friend and I grabbed a six pack (for only $7) of Apricot Wheat to bring home. Since that time, I have had the opportunity to consume a few of the aforementioned beers and it inspired me to spread the gospel of the apricot. …more… »

This blog is additionally featured as an article on Nerd Lives. There is also a good discussion about this at Decapolis that inspired some changes that I posted at approximately 9:39 PM on 5/20/2008.

Dance rock can be a wonderful thing, but it has a dark side. Just because rock and/or roll is produced in an upbeat, danceable fashion doesn’t make it worthwhile or new. A few years back, starting with Franz Ferdinand, dance rock became a dominant force on the airwaves. Its power has ebbed and flowed, but I implore you to see that the evil force of painfully repetitive power pop turned dance music is back… and with a new, yet not so new, face.

Since the dawn of time (or at least Y2K), dance rock bands have seemingly come out of thin air and been thrust into the spotlight. Alternative radio stations, satellite radio, and hipsters throughout the nation have, unfortunately, embraced many of these bands as “the next big thing in music.” The more mainstream versions of these acts are often more talented, but cannot be heralded as “cool” because they aren’t exclusive enough. For example, the better dance rock acts of the past few years often get little respect from the underground, yet solid airplay from the mainstream pop and rock stations. Satellite radio’s alternative stations will often throw these bands in for good measure, but save their praise and adoration for the lesser known (and often crappier) bands in the genre. Many larger acts, such as The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, The Hives, and to a lesser extent The Bravery, have produced some of the better music in the genre for the past few years, yet are not lauded the way that the “indie darlings” are. Some of the more underground acts, like The Rapture and Peter Bjorn and John, have taken the dance rock formula and tweaked it to become something more special, but they can never be quite “cool” enough to be fully embraced by the hipster nation. …more… »

For fans of: Attack of the Killer Condom and Jess Weixler’s Toothy Vagina.
More on Vagina Dentata | IMDB site for Teeth

Vagina Dentata is a classic folktale of a toothed vagina capable to chomping an unwelcome penis off of a man during intercourse. Sounds fun, doesn’t it? Well, maybe not, but it does sound like a great idea for a horror comedy. Myths regarding killer anatomy definitely fall into the category of “things that should be made into a movie” in my book, thus when I heard of a film with a plot surrounding Vagina Dentata, it shot directly to the top of my Netflix list. However, after watching this film (yet before writing this review) I decided to look the myth of the killer cooch up in Google. One would assume that this type of thing could never truly happen, but upon this further study it seems to be a possibility according to at least one medical website:

Dermoid cysts are derived from the outer layers of embryonic skin, and they are capable of growing hair and teeth and bones, anything that comes from the outer layers of the embryo. They can occur anywhere.

…more… »