Lá Fhéile Pádraig and Hockey...Oh and 200

Welcome to the 200th post on That F'ing Monkey! That's right folks Ken has been at this for 33.33 (repeating of course) weeks. Let's all congratulate him for starting the Comics Games and Booze discussion and hope that it keeps on rolling along.

Okay, on to my post. That strange phrase in the title is Irish Gaelic for St. Patrick's Day (pronounced - La ale-lah pwad-rig). For some odd reason every year the NHL decides that this is the holiday that is most synonymous with the sport of Hockey.

Now I get the drinking and fighting parallels, but it is still a really strange association to make. It is well documented that we here at That F'ing Monkey loves us some hockey and we loves us some drinking. However I would never buy or wear a Tampa Bay Lighting St. Patrick's Day shirt or jersey.

 
Because Tampa is not what you think of when you think St. Pat's, also because the Lighting are not "old time hockey".

Now perhaps if I lived in Boston or Chicago then I would maybe pick up a Bruins or Blackhawks green shirt, but honestly those are the only ones that should even consider having special Pat's gear.

So yeah, it is a weird yearly thing that always leaves me scratching my head in confusion and wondering why. Perhaps you could tell me. As always Let Your F'ing Voice Be Heard!

Superhero Squad Cars

When Disney purchased Marvel Comics a ton of very talented people jumped to their drawing boards and started creating mash-ups involving the two company’s characters. Images of Mickey Mouse webslinging through the skyline were all over the place. But it was all in good fun, no one actually expected it to actually lead to anything. But it did lead to something. A mash-up I would have never expected in a million years. Disney is crossing Pixar’s Cars with Marvel’s Superhero Squad.

Now I’m not saying Cars 2 is going to have a Captain America cameo. Mater isn’t going to roll onto the next season of the Superhero Squad. As far as I can tell, this cross over is happening entirely in the toy isle. In that regard it makes certain sense. The Cars line has been incredibly popular. The Superhero Squad stuff has been around for a long time, but has really seen a boost due to the cartoon. So they’re taking two properties that are already strong sellers and smashing them together. Is it chocolate and peanut butter? I suppose you have to make that decision for yourself.

In a very odd way they kind of make sense. Sure, turning Silver Surfer into a talking car is strange. But when you think about it, does Spiderman need a Formula 1 race car with his face on it? Do you see Wolverine driving around in a bright blue tank with his name down the sides? There are cars made for Daredevil, I don’t care what his superpowers are, that’s scary. I’m more willing to believe there is an alternate dimension where everyone is cars than I’m willing to believe Iron Man will ever need to use a yellow and red bi-plane with his picture painted on the wings.

The first wave is full of Marvel marketing’s usual suspects. Iron Man, Spider-Man, Captain America, Thor, Wolverine, Silver Surfer, Hulk, and Dr. Doom. The Thor car was really bothering me for some reason and it took me a while to figure out what I didn’t like about it. It’s all the flash color. Dr. Doom is the only other car to have it and he only has a tiny bit around the eyes. Thor looks more like someone pushed his head into a tiny car. Captain America actually looks pretty cool with the wings in the back.

The company that makes these guys is named Maisto and you can check out there website here. Follow the link and you can see all the stuff they have planned for this year. In addition to the Marvel cars they also have the traditional, check out this cool car with Spiderman painted on the side. So if you don’t like this mash-up and still need your superhero car fix you can still get a green van with the Hulk on it. I have no idea when these guys are going to start showing up on shelves, but I have a feeling they’ll sell pretty well. Hopefully they’ll do well enough that we’ll eventually get an Iron Fist.

Flash Friday: The Great Brain Robbery

Tuesday, Dwayne McDuffie passed away from complications during a surgical procedure. I don’t have an amazing personal story about Dwayne, I was never lucky enough to meet him. I do have a love and respect for what he brought to the comic industry. I wanted to put something up on the site that would share how incredible his work is with readers who may not have been familiar with him. Once I picked what I wanted to talk about, I knew it had to wait until Flash Friday. Dwayne was a producer and writer for the Justice League cartoon. He is credited as the story writer and producer for the episode we’re going to talk about today, The Great Brain Robbery.

Strap in, this will be a bit of a long one.

Hangover Thursday: Commercials

It’s Hangover Thursday, how’s your head? Last night was a slow one at the bar, they didn’t even have the early trivia. So my head feels more tired then hungover. Today I wanted to talk a little about beer advertising. I’m going to stay away from print media this time; we’ll leave those awesome “Nice day for a Guinness” ads for a later day. Besides the day I post images of the Bud Ice poster that hung on my bedroom wall all through high school I won’t have room to talk about anything else. Today we’re talking beer commercials.

This is the big one right? You can’t search popular beer commercials without seeing this one from Carlton Draught. It is impressive though. I think I may have had a Carlton once in my life and I barely remember the taste. Sounds like I’m going to have to track it down. I guess the advertising worked on me.

Anyone else remember this one? To this day every time I hear someone say, “There I was,” I want to finish it with, “in the Congo.” Here is the real surprise. Did you know they just stopped making Bud Dry in December of 2010? I can’t honestly remember seeing it for years. It must have been a regional thing.

Is Keith Stone the best beer spokesman ever? You do the math…there it is. Seriously Keystone, we need more. I’ll even buy your beer if that’s what it takes.

This may be my favorite beer commercial ever. I just stumbled across it some time last month. Call me late to the party since I guess it went online in September of 09. It got blasted by a lot of people for being juvenile and it is. I like to laugh at juvenile things. Actually I like to laugh at everything. Is it juvenile, disgusting, and way too soon? I can’t help it, I’ll probably laugh. Just last night someone told me a vile joke that I won’t repeat here, but after he walked up and told the joke he said, “I’ve seen you laugh at some pretty fucked up things in here, so I figured I’d tell you that.”

Obviously Budweiser has a stable full of Clydesdale commercials that are usually funny. I’ve got a story about them for another time too. So what are your favorite beer commercials? Do you miss the Swedish Bikini Team or the Bud Ice Penguin?

Guardian Project: The Southeast Division

Brandon and I are back with our look at the Guardian Project. Today we’re looking at the Southeast Division which probably contains some of the best designs of the whole project. So this should be our most positive Division breakdown. Remember you can check out the mini-comics that we mention in the article at http://www.guardianproject30.com/.

Hit the jump to see what the Southeast has to offer.

Dragon Age 2 Demo Days

There have been a lot of changes made between Dragon Age 1 and 2. The main character is now voiced and has to be human. The class skill trees and specializations have been completely reworked. The dialogue system has been given a complete overhaul. Combat was called more dynamic. Many fans of the first game were worried. There was a lot of talk about the game being “dumbed down”. Starting today we can find out exactly how these new systems work, because today you can download the demo. Pick your poison the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions will both be on their respective networks and the PC one will be available here http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/demo/.

Make sure you are logged into your EA/BioWare account when playing though. If a million people try out the demo, BioWare will unlock two new pieces of DLC to those who buy the game. Both are books, one gives money the first time it is read, the other gives experience.

The Far Cliffs of Kirkwall - Written by a Fereldan refugee as she fled the Blight, this book of poems describes her dreams of a new start in Kirkwall, the city across the sea. Readers will surely be enriched by her insights. (Gives money when read.)

Lothering's Lament - Written by a Fereldan refugee as she fled the Blight, this book of poems contains touching reminiscences of all she had to leave behind. Readers will surely benefit from her experience. (Gives XP boost when read.)

Also looks like a PS3 update spoiled Mass Effect 2’s next DLC. There are three trophies for “Arrival.” You have, The Ultimate Sacrifice (Complete the Arrival DLC), Last Stand (Survive all five waves in the battle for Object Rho), and Covert Action (Rescue Dr. Amanda Kenson without attracting hostile attention). Dr. Kenson should sound familiar, because she was mentioned in the last Cerberus Network’s news feed. If you didn’t know, all the Cerberus News can be found here at http://www.cerberusdailynews.com/?cat=1.

While I really want to play more Mass Effect, I hope this isn’t like the last time where we get Witch Hunt and Lair of the Shadow Broker at the same time. Give me a month with DA2 before dropping that Arrival awesomeness. I can’t believe I asked for them to hold off releasing a DLC.

Nerd Music

If you like music and nerd stuff check out Kirby Krackle.

Also check out MC Chris and MC Frontalot if you enjoy rap (or just nerd stuff)

Guardian Project: The Northeast Division

Brandon and I are back with our look at the Guardian Project. Since we’re looking at the Northeast Division it will be more optimistic then the last one. Remember you can check out the mini-comics that we mention in the article at http://www.guardianproject30.com/. We do question some choices, when each character has eight different powers piled onto his concept it is hard not to. The ideas are cheesey and fun, last night I compared the comics to the old Hostess ads. Realize I meant that in a good way.

Flash Friday: Complete Failure

There was supposed to be a new review for you today.  Due to a total moment of fail on my part, there is not.  I'm very embarrassed.  I should be able to run the review I wanted to next Friday.

All I can offer in apology is pictures of the Flash and Rainbow Dash running a race.

 

Come back tomorrow and check out our next set of Guardian reviews.

Hangover Thursday: In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room

It’s Hangover Thursday how’s your head? Due to my knowledge of trivial current events and mystery authors I scored a couple free beers last night so I’m feeling pretty good. Here in Orlando it looks like the temperature is going to be in the 80s but I’m seeing the North is going to be getting hit with more snow next week. So how can you get yourself over those winter blues? May I suggest, a little Tiki time?

Tiki Bars, those dark little areas of the world filled with bamboo, hula girls, and statues of Polynesian gods might be just thing you need if snow and foul weather are starting to bring you down. Places like Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic’s are famous for dishing up rum laden drinks decorated with umbrellas and plastic animals. Now, I can’t send you palm tress and dancing girls. I wish I could, it’d be the most profitable business ever. I can give you recipes to some of the iconic Tiki drinks.

Planters Punch

• 3 oz. dark rum
• 1/2 oz. grenadine
• Tablepoon of sugar
• Juice of a small lime
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Stir with crushed ice and strain

Trader Vic’s Original Mai Tai
• 2 oz of 17-year old J. Wray & Nephew Rum over shaved ice
• Add juice from one fresh lime
• 1/2 oz Holland DeKuyper Orange Curacao
• 1/4 oz Trader Vic's Rock Candy Syrup
• 1/2 oz French Garnier Orgeat Syrup
• Shake vigorously.
• Add a sprig of fresh mint

Since you aren’t going to find 17-year old J. Wray & Nephew Rum, how about something a little more modern?

Adapted Mai Tai
• 1 oz Jamaican amber rum
• 1 oz Demerara rum
• 1 oz fresh lime juice
• ½ oz Grand Marnier
• ½ oz orgeat syrup
• Shake with ice and strain
• Garnish with mint sprig and empty lime shell for garnish

Classic Daiquiri
• ½ oz fresh lime juice
• ½ oz simple syrup
• 2 oz white rum
• Shake with ice and strain

Like the original Mai Tai, the original Zombie is a little difficult to put together, so I included the original and an easier version.

Zombie (1934) by Don the Beachcomber
• 3/4 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. Don's Mix (2 parts grapefruit juice, 1 part cinnamon-infused sugar syrup)
• 1/2 oz Falernum
• 1 1/2 oz. Lowndes Jamaican rum
• 1 1/2 oz. gold Puerto Rican rum
• 1 oz. 151-proof Demerara rum
• Dash Angostura bitters
• 6 drops Herbsaint or Pernod
• 1 tsp. Grenadine
• 6 oz. crushed ice
• Put all into blender, with ice last. Blend for five seconds.
• Pour into glass and garnish with mint sprig.

Zombie (1947) by Trader Vic’s
• 1 oz Jamaican Rum
• 2 oz Puerto Rican Rum
• 1/2 oz 151 Demerara Rum
• 1 oz Orange Curacao
• 1 oz Lemon
• 1 oz Orange Juice
• 1/2 oz Grenadine
• 1 dash Pernod
• Mix in a mixing glass with a large piece of ice
• Stir well and pour over cracked ice

Hopefully you’ll get some enjoyment out of it. Go to the party store, pick up some cheap leis (hehehe cheap leis), download some surf rock, and invite a couple of friends over.  Extra coolness points if anyone shows up in a grass skirt.

Dragon Age Legends

Dragon Age Legends is a new Facebook game that promotes the Dragon Age series. If you played the Flash based Journeys you already have a good idea about what to expect. It isn’t a direct port of Journeys though; there have been upgrades that make the game better and a few changes to fit with the Facebook structure.

I had mentioned before that through playing Legends a number of items will be available in Dragon Age 2. The rings Air of Confidence and Evra’s Might, Evra’s Trophy Belt, and the amulets Ivo Family Crest and Dura’s Blue Flame will all be available to unlock once the game comes out of Beta. In a neat twist, if you are still playing Legends once DA2 comes out, Hawke the hero of DA2 will become a recruitable ally.

Legends also adds a building a crafting mini-game to the experience. You have a castle which you can choose the style and background for. Once you’ve done that you can start filling rooms with things like worker's rooms, taverns, and crafting centers. The crafting is all time based, spend a couple gold pieces and then come back in a couple hours to pick up your potions. Most the game is timed based actually. Your recruits are good for fight or two and then have to rest before you can use them again.

Does all this sound fun to you? Are you counting the days until DA2? Do you check your inbox every morning for a Beta invite? Remember, at That F’ing Monkey we have your back. I have two Beta Key invites to give out. Click on that F’ing Email button on the right hand side and I’ll send keys to the first two people who respond.  EDIT:  AND BOTH Beta Codes have now been given out.   Also if you haven’t done it yet, make sure to hit the “Like” button in our Facebook plug-in it’ll help us get the word out.

Don’t Worry about Me

I have a confession, the Super Bowl made me sad. It wasn’t who won. It wasn’t anything to do with the teams involved. Hell, it wasn’t even football related. It all had to do with a commercial. The commercial was for The Daily, a newspaper specifically created to be read on tablets like the IPad, While I do like sitting down with a newspaper, I get the majority of my news online, so I’d be a hypocrite if that was what was bothering me.

It was actually the music they used in the commercial that brought me down. They used Joey Ramone’s version of “What a Wonderful World.” I was like three seconds into the commercial I recognized it. This is not a rant about them selling out or anything like that. In fact that exact version of the song has been used in Bowling for Columbine, Freaky Friday, and a Ratchet and Clank commercial. The reason the song brings me down, despite the fact that it is a beautiful version has more to do with the circumstances it was recorded under.

The album Don’t Worry About Me was released in 2002, when it hit the stands Joey had already lost his seven year fight with lymphoma. It is a haunting album, listening to someone who was battling for their life sing songs like “What a Wonderful World,” “I Got Knocked Down (But I’ll Get Up),” and “Don’t Worry About Me” is a strange experience. Even though the album is full of optimistic songs, I still have a hard time listening to all of it in one sitting.

Wrapping up, I don’t begrudge the Daily for using the song. Hearing it just reminds me that another of my musical heroes isn’t around anymore; that’s sad. This April will mark the 10 year anniversary of Joey’s death. I hadn’t even realized that until I started writing this. How depressing. RIP Dee Dee, Johnny, Joey. I was lucky enough to see the Ramones play three times before their break up. It was not enough.

Winter is coming.

Wow, how does one follow an epic like Yank "F'ing" Justice? I remember seeing that damn show as a kid and at one point my brother was a hardcore monster truck fan. Just goes to show that you never know what is going to explode into pop culture at any given time (like the end of the vampire mythos, I am looking at you "Twilight", I never would have thought that I would support book burning...)

Ok on to the subject of this post.

I read quite a bit, in a normal year it ranges in the 50 or so books. So I find it hard to fathom that I had not read George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. With all the talk about the upcoming HBO show based on the first book "A Game Of Thrones" I decided that it was about time I checked it out. I am incredibly happy that I did.

If you have not read this book, do it and do it now. Even if you don't like the fantasy genre check it out. The character development and story progression are amazing, and the setting is extremely well thought out. I will not go into the synopsis because the book has been out for 15 years so the interwebs has had plenty of time to take care of that. Now I am really looking forward to the show, of course I do have a completely hetro crush on Sean Bean but that is for another day...

Some other books I am going back and checking out are "The Dresden Files" by Jim Butcher, "Discworld" by Sir Terry Pratchett, and the "Sookie Stackhouse" series by Charlaine Harris. So far I am really digging on the wizard for hire Harry Dresden, kinda puts one in the mind of a PG rated Cal Mcdonald (from "Criminal Macabre").



"Discworld" is just fun all around. Sir Pratchett is great at off the wall humor that flows well within his own world. If "A Game of Thrones" is a little too high fantasy for ya, then perhaps you will enjoy some fantasy that does not take itself seriously at all.

The "Sookie Stackhouse" books are what the HBO show "True Blood" is based on. Now as much as I hate the "Twilight" series, I was very reluctant to dip my foot into that pool again. (Yep I read the first "Twilight" book, I like to have some knowledge of what I hate so it is not just blind rage.) Although Harris is light years ahead of Meyer in all aspects of literary skill, it is still not my cup of ale. I have just never been a fan of vampires as care bears, Count Orlok is how a vamp should act.

So there ya go, my attempt to class the joint up a touch and focus on some reading that does not have pictures of people in capes. So how about you gentle reader? Have any recommendations for good books? Throw them in the comments or on That F'ing Monkey's facebook page. Let your F'ing voice be heard!! <-- Me thinks that is going to be my catch phrase, kinda like "Excelsior!". Whatcha think?

Yank Justice: Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines Part 2

We are back to our in depth review of the cartoon Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines starring the best named hero ever, Yank Justice. If he didn’t read the first part, I highly recommend starting here. Before we start I just want to talk about the stellar voice lineup here. Slye and Adrian Ravenscroft were voiced by Chris Latta. You can’t ask for a better bad guys. Red, Redder, and Jennifer were all played by Susan Blu. Arthur Ravenscroft was Peter Cullen. That trio alone makes Transformers fans happy. Yank Justice was played by veteran actor Lance LeGault. The guy has been in a million things, but was most recognizable to me as Col Decker from the original A-Team.  Total bad ass. 

We left off with Yank and his friends attacked by swamp ninjas.  They used fire arrows to chase the heroes into the path of Barbarian a giant monster truck driven by Ravenscroft's chauffeur.  Bigfoot tries to fight the larger truck but can't stop from being pushed into a spiked pit by Barbarian. How will Yank, Jennifer, and Bigfoot survive? Read on.

Yank Justice, Great Name or Best Name Ever?

I think the answer is pretty obvious; Yank Justice is the best name ever. But who is the lucky person to be graced with this moniker of awesomeness? Yank Justice is the driver of the Bigfoot monster truck; at least he was in the cartoon Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines. Now unless you were a kid in the 80s or are some kind of monster truck enthusiast, you probably don’t know about Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines. Don’t worry, I’m about to school you on Justice, Yank Justice. This may seriously be the longest article I’ve ever written for the site, but Yank Justice is worth it.

Flash Friday: Flash Figure Thoughts

Did Blackest Night leave you swimming in fake plastic rings? DC isn’t finished yet. It was just announced that in June Flashpoint #2 will ship with a Flashpoint edition ring. The release of Flashpoint will also have a set of pins to go with all the mini-series. So those cool little icons for each series can now be used to accentually stab yourself in the chest. Toy Fair is this weekend so we may be seeing a lot of Flash related toys being released.  In fact the first set of Flashpoint figures has already been revealed.

It starts with a nice looking Barry figure, I’m not sure how different it is from the Barrys that DC Direct has already released. If it is an upgrade I may have to purchase it. The other figures are the Flashpoint versions of Batman, Wonder Woman, and Cyborg; easily skipable for me. It is awesome to see a Flash line of figures, but what about all the members of the Flash Family that still don’t have figures of their own this isn’t the line up I was hoping for. So what am I hoping for? Glad you asked.

We need an updated Wally West figure. The straight across Walter cowl and the Justice League Animated symbol work better then I ever thought they would. We haven’t seen a lot of this costume, but it has really grown on me. I know there is a ton of old style Wally stuff out there, but his new look is more then a year old now. It is time for an updated figure.

The Rogues. If we are just talking the DC Direct line, the Rogues need some serious love. If you’re a long time collector you probably have the DC Direct Captain Cold and Mirror Master. Maybe the Grodd or Boomerang Jr. That’s it though. We need a Weather Wizard and a Heatwave. Give us a Piper in his hooded look. Newly revived Captain Boomerang? Yes please. Axel Trickster with a clear base to make it look like he was walking across the air would be fantastic. We don’t have to stop at the current Rogues either, I’m sure I wouldn’t be the only one buying a Golden Glider figure.

Flash Rebirth gave a new costume to more then just Wally. His daughter took up the mantle Impulse and got a new costume in the process. Now I’m not 100% sold on the new look, to be honest I really liked the yellow and white costume she wore when she was rapidly aging. But then she’d be more of the Kid Flash and I’m not going to get into any Impulse/Kid Flash debates here; those get way too heated. I like Irey and I’d love to have a figure of her to put next to her dad.

Iris and Linda. There hasn’t been many figures of non-powered characters, but I’m pretty sure Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, and even Alfred have had DC Direct figures. I want Iris and Linda. I’ve joked for years that I was going to buy the 13 inch Batgirl, pose her next to the Barry, and tell everyone it is Iris at the costume party. These women play an important part of the Flash’s adventures and I’d love to have them represented in my collection.

I could go on and on asking for more figures. Eventually I’d just start getting more and more obscure. Trust me; it took all of my willpower not to bring up wanting a Walter West figure. I guess I just did bring it up, oh well; there will be no green rings in my future. I wanted to end with this thought. DC Direct has been doing build a scene statues. Could this be the Flash’s year? I’ll start saving my pennies just in case.

Hangover Thursday: EverBeer

I ended the last Hangover Thursday saying something about a classy drink that I was going to destroy myself on. Well let me tell you, it wasn’t just classy, it was fucking classy. Last Saturday I was drinking EverBeer. According to the internet there are a few different versions of EverBeer out there. One of them has you mixing root beer with Everclear. Another one I saw said pour a shot into a Bush Light and chug. The latter is pretty close to what I had put together, but chugging is not classy.

You see, no one came up to me and said, “Hey Ken, you really need to try EverBeer.” About a month ago I was day dreaming or something and realized how nicely the words fit together. Knowing I couldn’t be that original I jumped online and found the two versions I mentioned above. I wanted to drink beer with a shot of Everclear, but I wasn’t sure which beer to use. I figured a cheap beer would be better, because I wasn’t sure how overpowering the grain alcohol would be when I poured it in. My first thought was High Life; it is the champagne of beers after all.

Then I decided to take this experiment high tech and picked up Miller Lite’s Home Draft System. I had seen this in the store before, but never picked one up because I couldn’t imagine when I’d want to drink 5.7 liters of Miller Lite. All it took was the desire to drop more alcohol into it. Anyway, MillerCoors is onto something here. You rip the front of the box off, twist the self contained CO2 system into the on position, and you have draft beer. I’m seriously impressed and would like to see something like this from other beer companies.

With the Beer part we move onto the Ever part. I live in Florida, so this is the 150 proof Everclear. I can’t control what is legal in my state. As you can see in the picture, I also got the red plastic cups, I feel that is an important ingredient to this drink. So I’d pour a shot worth of EverClear into the cup and then fill it with Miller Lite. With a full shot, there is just a bit of an alcohol aftertaste. Go with a half shot of Everclear and you can’t taste it at all. At either half of full strength the last sip carries a bit of a kick. Considering the grain alcohol is mostly masked by the beer, it is a deceptive drink. It is a fun drink though, and I’m sure I’ll make it again the next time I have a big gathering. If you decided to follow my footsteps, I’ll leave you with the words of wisdom I got form the liquor store clerk who sold me the Everclear, “Be careful with that stuff, you can hurt yourself pretty easily.”

Stache Gear

There are few things I’m known for; one of them has to be how closely I follow the fashion industry. So when there is a new celebrity line, I simply…. Okay, obviously that isn’t true. Outside of a few polos for work I own mostly T-Shirts and hockey jerseys. Regardless of that, I am talking about a celebrity’s clothing line though. That man is George Parros of the Anaheim Ducks.

Parros, who plays right wing, is mainly known for being an enforcer. Each season since he joined the Ducks in the 06-07 season he has racked up at least 130 penalty minutes. When Anaheim won the cup in 07 he took it to Princeton, then apparently filled it with moonshine and took it to a pig roast. That’s a party I want to be at.

He is also known for his impressive moustache. I became so popular that people were going to Ducks games wearing giant fake ones. To better take advantage of all that moustache love the Ducks came to him and asked if he wanted to do his own merchandise line. Stache Gear sports a moustache logo that he and his wife came up with along with other pictures and slogans. These items were only available at the Ducks’ team store in the Honda Center, but now through the magic of the interwebz you can order your own at http://stachegear.com/.

Don’t think you’re just getting a stylish piece of clothing; the sales of Stache Gear go to help Childhood Leukemia Foundation and Garth Brooks Teammates For Kids Foundation. Parros is known for throwing a big yearly event where he cuts his hair off and donates it to the CLF. The picture above shows the signed card and personalized note I received in the package with my shirt. I can’t say that this happens to every package that ships, it certainly surprised me when I opened it, but it just goes to show what an awesome guy Parros is.

As you can see I ordered the On-Ice Security shirt. A word of warning if you choose to purchase the same, if you wear it at a bar everyone will think you work there. I figured the “On-Ice’ part would be enough to make it obvious but I hit three different bars Saturday night and was mistaken for staff at every one. I guess I just have that bouncer look.  If you can't tell from the bottom of that gif, it was taken from gifsoup.com; enjoy the flicking.

Tales from the Brain Jar, #12

The last time I did a Tales from the Brain Jar it turned into a multi-sketch epic by the amazing Dan Brereton. Obviously that isn’t something that is ever going to happen again.  Today’s entry comes from the FX convention in 07. Considering last year’s FX was totally canceled a month before it was supposed to happen I’m pretty sure that is a dead convention. Who knows though, maybe it’ll pop back up in another year or something.

This amazing piece is from the Reverend Dave Johnson, one of the best cover artists out there. The character is Cole "the Wolf" Burns from the crime series 100 Bullets. Besides 100 Bullets, Dave has done some incredible covers for Batman, Punisher, and a lot of others. They seriously look like they should be hanging on a gallery wall and not on the rack at your local shop. You know that iconic Superman Red Son cover where he is standing on the hammer and sickle? Yeah, that’s Dave Johnson. Just look at that Batman cover below.  Incredible stuff.  You're going to be able to see a lot more of his art now, Dave just became one of the newest members over at Comic Twart.

As if that wasn’t cool enough, Dave is also a founding member of Drink and Draw. Encouraging artists to go out, meet each other, sketch, and have a few beers. I know a group of local artists in my area have a sketch group at a book store here, but I’d be way more likely to go if I could have a beer. Of course I’d actually need some form of artistic talent, but except for bitchin stick figures, I suck.  Back to the sketch itself for a moment, besides how awesome the character looks, I love the little nods he threw into it from the story.  Anyone who read 100 Bullets will never hear or see the word Croatoa the same again.  And the owner of those glasses is unmistakable.

When I was introduced to 100 Bullets the first three arcs were already in trades. A friend of mine I used to work with handed me the first two and told me to give them a shot. I made it through the first one but I wasn’t blown away. I made a comment to him about not knowing if I liked it enough to read the second one. He insisted that I press on and I’m grateful to him for that. The second book floored me. It tied into so many things in the first book that I had to read it again. That’s 100 Bullets, layers upon layers of double crosses and plots.

If you go and seek out the book (and you should) I whole heartedly recommend that you don’t start with the first trade; start with the first two. After that you’ll really get a feel for if you are going to like the series or not. The series wrapped up at issue 100 and all the issues are currently available in trade. Working on this installment I realized I’m actually more then halfway through my sketchbook. Luckily Megacon isn’t too far away and I should be able to add one or two new sketches. Hopefully you enjoy the artwork and the brief look on the artists and characters involved.

Random Thought Download II

Now that winterocolypse part one is over and part two is merely days away, I have some time. I am going to use that time to throw down some stuff that is stuck in my craw.

First off is the wacky decision by the new owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning to change the logo and colors of the team. This comes just a few years after the last logo change that coincided with the league wide uniform switch over. So we go from this:
 
To this:I guess they were going for a simple design, and they got it. I kinda hate the new one. The one color and simple lines make it look boring and dull. I really liked the previous logo for the striking (no pun intended) look that grabbed the eye. This new one just looks...blah. When it is on the jersey (which has also changed to one color) it is even worse, making it look like the Toronto Maple Leafs at first glance due to how close the colors are. At least I will be saving my money on a new jersey, so I guess that is good...

Next up we have The Green Lantern. I am going comics here folks, not the movie (which I will save my hate filled nerd rage post until after I see it). Now I don't really mind the "skittle Lanterns" in theory. In practice however this story line is becoming a muddled mess. It would not be so bad if all of them were as interesting to read as Sinestro or Larfleeze, but they are not.

The fact that all these characters are getting more "page time" than the titular Green Lanterns is getting kind of annoying. The lead up and execution of "The Sinestro Corps War" was my favorite GL story in a long time. The aftermath was good, but then the lead up and story of "Blackest Night" was boring and too much "look at who we made a zombie!!!!1!!". I am hoping that the GL "Flashpoint" tie-in, Abin Sur The Green Lantern, is at least a fun read if just to break up the slow decline of the book.

And now the Warhammer 40k part of the post that I promised two weeks ago.
 
For those that don't know, Warhammer is a war game that uses miniatures. Really, really expensive miniatures. Really, really expensive miniatures that should in no way be as expensive as they are. Also really, really expensive hobby supplies as well (near four bucks for a tiny pot of paint, fifteen{!!!!!} for a can of primer? You can get primer for $.99 at Walmart {if you are old enough}) Anywho, besides the expense, it is quite a fun game and I used to play it all the time in the mid to late 90's. Flash forward to 2011 and I am in an area of the country that has NOTHING to do. However there is an unusually large contingent of 40k players. There is not a damn comic shop within 2 hours of here, yet there is a hobby gaming shop with lots of Warhammer tables. So I am starting to play again. Using other peoples armies while I slowly build one of my own (used to play Dark Angels Space Marines, now am gonna start an Imperial Guard). Hell it gives me something to do when I am not at work, if nothing else.

Finally, a call to arms. If you like what is going on here at That F'ing Monkey, let your friends know and get them reading the nonsense. If you hate what you read, then let your enemies know and get them reading the utter shit. Either way, lets get some feedback from ya. Be they comments here or messages on Facebook. Let your F'ing voice be heard!