Geek Wills

Forgive me if I get a little bit morbid on you today. While leaving a 7-11 a couple months ago I was stuck at a rather long red light. I spent part of that time staring at the front of a small legal services building. In their window they had a big sign that read, “Wills $75!” I don’t know what the going rate on wills are, so I have no idea if that advertised price is something special or not, but it did get me thinking.

First things first, we’re ignoring the big things here. House, cars, etc… This isn’t about making sure your loved ones are taken care of if something happens to you. This is more about who is going to get that mint in box Jonah Hex figure signed by Jimmy Palmiotti that has been sitting on your shelf for the last 3 years.

This isn’t an open invitation for everyone I know to start laying claim to my things. I’m married, so if something happened to me obviously the majority of the things I owned would default to my wife. She’s picked up a lot of geek knowledge from living with me, but she isn’t going to know or care about the differences between Tracks and Springer (The answer to that is Tracks is an awesome toy who sucks in the cartoon while Springer was awesome in everyway). Obviously those bots need to go to someone who would.

Some of the collections could be sold off for profit. Who knows, your family might need it. But other things in your collection probably have far more sentimental value then monetary. If the piece wouldn’t really sell for much, I’d rather it go to someone who would appreciate it. I can’t be the first one to think about this can I? If I broke up my collection between family and friends my will would probably be as long as one of the trade paperbacks I was giving away. Anyway, this is just something I’ve been randomly thinking about for awhile, tomorrow will be on to happier subjects, I promise.

Muppets: The Green Album

Did you know that the Muppets have a new album in stores right now? Well, it isn’t the Muppets signing, it is actually a number of bands covering some pretty famous Muppet songs. It’s called the Green Album and it was released on August 23rd.

I was very skeptical when I first heard about this. I really enjoy the Muppets and if something like this didn’t have the right feel to it, it would have just made me angry. But this is like everything else the Muppets have been involved with lately, it is handled with care of source material and turned out fantastic. If you want to check it out before you buy anything, thanks to NPR you can listen to the entire album by clicking HERE.

Oh yeah, there is also this incredible video by OK Go. The Muppets have been steadily gaining steam again with all the fantastic web videos. Now we get this fun album. Things are looking up for the movie. I’m still very scared of it; I don’t want to get my hopes up too high.

A Tale Of Two Jesses

Good Monday to ya reader! See I am already more positive than last week. Today is story time with Uncle Cake Fucker. It is a tale of generation gap and TV watching habits.

Ken and I were at a party drinking and shooting the shit when we hear a girls voice over the din of party goers. This voice caught our attention because the speaker was talking about how hot and sexy Uncle Jesse was. We both think immediately of moonshining beards and overalls.

When I ask this group of girls if it is the sweet beard that makes the ladies swoon I received a quizzical look. "Uncle Jesse never had a beard" was the reply. At which point Ken began to argue that he very much did possess a fantastic beard that was the true source of his power. As the conversation went on with both sides thoroughly confused for a few minutes, someone says that Uncle Jesse was portrayed by John Stamos.


Oh, THAT Uncle Jesse. The one with no beard but check out that mullet. For Ken and I "Full House" never entered the equation. It was not a show that either of us watched, let alone grew up on. When one mentions an Uncle Jesse "Good Ol' Boys" by Waylon Jennings springs to mind not a formulaic sitcom with one of the dirties people in comedy.


And that, friends, was the first time that I felt not only old, but the pop culture shift that I get more and more often. I mean really, what the fuck is the point of "planking"?

So which Jesse did you think of? Let your F'ing Voice be heard! In the comments or our Facebook page and I will see you next week.

Tucker and Dale Vs Evil

This may have slipped under your movie radar, I know it did mine, but since this week was That F’ing Monkey goes to the movies, we must talk about Tucker & Dale Vs Evil.  It’s a simple premise; a group of hot college kids go on a camping trip and they run into two creepy looking hillbillies.  You’ve seen that movie before, but in this one, Tucker and Dale (the hillbillies) are actually innocent of all the accidental deaths that are happening around them.



This thing has been tearing up the convention circuit.  It won the Midnight Audience Award at SXSW, the Jury Prize for First Feature at Fantasia, the Best Director award at Fantaspoa, and the Best Motion Picture Award at Sitges.  The movie is available on demand now but will be showing up in some theaters on 9/30.  I really wanted to check this one out on the big screen, but it doesn’t look like it is coming to Orlando any time soon.  You can check out the play dates by clicking here. 

Flash Friday: Headphones

Happy Flash Friday! After talking about so many kinds of Flash branded merchandise I love finding something new to talk about. I like it even more when it is more then one thing and they are all similar enough that they can be grouped together in one article. Today’s post is exactly that, iHip is coming out with a line of earphones with DC branding. The good news is they have more then one Flash item to talk about.

The cheapest of the three items we’re going to look at are probably my favorite of the bunch. The design is so simple and perfect. Color coordinated earpieces and wires with a Flash symbol on each earbud. I’ve talked before how I’d rather have a symbol over the character and I feel the same way here. I’ve seen the price of these buds between 10 and 13 dollars. I’ve seen this version available at some online retailers and a pre-order at the others. The other two versions I’ve only seen as pre-orders so far.

The next item is also a pair of earbuds. In fact the colors of the piece are identical to the one we just talked about. Instead of the symbol on the buds the image is replaced with a picture of the Flash’s head. It doesn’t look like you can see the eye color, so I guess you could pretend it is whichever Flash you want. For no reason that I can find, the pre-order price on this one is 15 dollars, I’ve no idea why it is more then the other earbuds.

The largest and most expensive of the trio are the folding headphones. As you can see it keeps the same color scheme as the earbuds all the way down to the yellow cords. I’m happy to see they went back to the Flash symbol instead of his face; it’s just a cleaner look. The description says they are folding, but I’m not sure how much they’d be able to fold up from the picture. Obviously the headphones will be more then the earbuds but these still come in at the 20 dollar price point.

I haven’t tried any of these, so I can’t comment on the sound quality. If you’re a big audiophile you probably aren’t buying 20 dollar headphones anyway. I’m most likely going to order the first set of earbuds, just because they wouldn’t take up much space in my display case. Ihip also does Batman, Green Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Marvel versions so there are plenty of options out there if you don’t want to rock the red and yellow.

Hangover Thursday: Doomed

It’s Hangover Thursday, how’s your head? The lackluster Guinness Black Lager has had me searching out a more fulfilling Schwarzbier. That journey will eventually take me to my temple of booze where they allow you to build your own six packs, but I haven’t gotten to that part of town lately. Expect a Black Lager rundown sometime in September.

Today it’s about shot glasses. Or one super cool looking shot glass by Fred & Friends. The Doomed shot glass lets you fill your skull with the liquor of your choice. Well, not your skull, but a skull anyway. They hold 2.5 ounces. That’s actually a pretty hefty shot, the “standard” shot glass is 1.5 ounces. These bad boys will cost you 10 bucks when they came out in September. If you find yourself in need of one you can order them at Perpetual Kid.

I really like shot glasses.  I’m not even a huge shot person, but there is something about the glasses that make me happy.  I have way too many shot glasses though.  They became the thing to pick up when on vacation and now I have an army of them.  I still may have to pick this one up though.

House of 1,000 Corpses

That F’ing Monkey Goes to the Movies continues for one more day. If you missed it, on Monday Brandon talked about a horrible movie experience over the weekend. This prompted me to tell a story about 28 Days Later. I’m going to wrap up the theme today with what might possibly be my favorite movie going experience ever. Tomorrow we’ll get back to our regularly scheduled nonsense and monkeyshines.

Today’s movie story happened during the opening weekend of House of a 1,000 Corpses. It was a Saturday night and the theater was packed. Horror and monster movies are really the only movies I’m comfortable seeing in a giant crowd anymore. The noise and crowd participation in that kind of movie actually enhances instead of distracts. We picked a location and time that pretty much ensured the theater was packed too. Brandon wasn’t around for this one, it was two other friends.

We settle into our seats and behind us are five or six teenage girls. You could hear them giggling and gossiping behind us, but the lights were still on in the theater and nothing had started yet so it was no big deal. Then down at the entrance to the theater an even younger head pokes around the corner. He calls to one of the girls a few times and finally walks up the steps to get to her isle. We are sitting fairly close to the end of the isle so this is all easy to see. As he is talking to his sister for a moment his two friends are at the bottom of the stairs. I’d say they are a couple years younger then the girls. Young enough for the girls to consider them the annoying kids but old enough for the boys to notice girls as hot. Anyway, the brother and his friends leave and the movie starts.

Midway through the movie here come the kids again. He spots where the girls are sitting and starts running up the stairs. I’ve already mentioned that this is a very crowded theater. Someone had ordered so much food at the concession stand that they had given them one of those plastic trays to carry the food on. Once they were done with the tray they placed it on the stairs. Stairs + over enthusiastic boy + dark theater…. You know where this is going. He comes running up the stairs; his foot hits the tray and sends it sailing behind him like a Frisbee. At the same time he falls forward and smacks into the stairs face first.

You could hear the smack it made over the sound of the movie. It was an impact that would have made Jill Wagner cringe. I know I jumped up. I may have pointed. There is a possibility I yelled or laughed. Regardless all eyes in the theater have forgotten the movie and are firmly only this highly embarrassed young kid. He jumps up like a champ though and tries to laugh it off. I’ve no idea what he wanted to say to the girls, but he sat up by them for the rest of the movie. Who knows, maybe it gained him some sympathy points with them. I may be a horrible person for finding all of this funny.

Tomorrow and Friday will fall back into our normal themes, but movie week will continue with a trailer you have got to see!

28 Days Later

The beginning of this week is like That F’ing Monkey Goes to the Movies or something. Brandon’s story immediately brought back memories of another movie that he and I saw together. This is to lighten the mood so we have a less rage heavy week. The story is (hopefully) funny, but is also a little sad as it reflects some of society’s views that don’t really make much sense. Settle in, grab some up some popcorn and Milk Duds, and let’s go to the movies.

The story starts about two months after the movie 28 Days Later had premiered. Our particularly run down second run theater had just starting showing it. You know the type, it used to be a nice theater, but that was years ago and nicer places have opened up around it. Now they charge a dollar to see a movie before it moves onto cable and DVD. The theater is dirtier then the theater down the street, but it is only a dollar. Brandon and I are with another friend and decide we need to catch another viewing of some Rage infected zombies.

We quickly loaded up on drinks and snacks; you don’t mind the costs as much when the movie only cost a dollar. The coming attractions were just about to start when we got to our seats, so although we could see there were other people in the theater we didn’t get a good look at them. The trailers are of course catered to the audience seeing 28 Days Later, so it is horror movie after horror movie. Finally the movie starts. If you aren’t familiar with it, it begins with a laboratory. You see a team coming in to rescue the chimpanzee test subjects. As they enter the lab we see monkey brain, cut open chimps, etc. The cages are opened and the Rage infected primates start killing everyone. It’s brutal, it’s bloody, and there is no way to misinterpret what is going on.

The action stops and when then the movie starts anew with a shot of the hero lying naked in a hospital bed. Here my friends, is the moment the mother of the year decides this isn’t the movie she wants her three children watching. Seriously, walking towards the exit is a lady and three kids that aren’t even waist high. I heard her saying, “This isn’t a nice movie.” Remember they have already seen dissected chimpanzees and numerous deaths, not to mention the trailers for eight other horror movies. A barely visible penis sent her packing.

I suppose that says a lot about our society. Violence is perfectly okay as long as no one sees any nudity. A nice tit is worse then a gunshot to the head. To this day we still joke about the experience. I do feel bad for the kids. I mean that opening scene could cause so serious nightmares; I suppose the penis could have too, but probably not as many. Tomorrow I have another movie going experience to share, it may be even funnier then this one.

It's a mad house! A MADDD HOUSE!

Warning: The following post may have an abundance of strong language. So if you do not want to read a rant that has nothing to do with the mission statement of this site, please stop now.


I am going to go ahead and apologize now. My last few posts have been kinda negative. This one is no different. I think that Texas is turning me into a bitter, bitter man. Also I have nothing against children so keep that in mind.

Anyway, this weekend I broke one of my own rules. I went to the theater on a day that would have more people seeing movies than I usually do. Let me tell you if you want to see a microcosm of the issues of the day, don't watch CNN head down to your local cineplex.

This is the epitome of the fucking "Me Generation". Having this experience makes me dread the future for humanity.

I went to see "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" which is rated PG-13 for intense and frightening sequences of action and violence. The theater was FULL of fucking kids under the age of 10, down to at least three ankle biters that had to be 3 or 4 years old. Now the flick is not bloody or gory, however it does have some pretty damn graphic violence and lots of monkeys getting fucking blasted with shotguns and beat with various blunt objects. A kid that young can not make the distinction between fantasy and reality. There is no need for that child to be in that movie...ever. It is bad parenting and just shows that the parents care less about both their kid and other people than their own entertainment.

On top of all the fucking kids there were a handful of fucking shit stains that were texting during the entire movie. If you can't wait to talk to your idiot friends for 2 hours, don't go to the damn theater. Of course when you politely ask this dick head to turn the sound off on their phone and refrain from texting, you're the asshole that is stopping that person from doing what ever the hell they want to do no matter what. This person wanted to get into a physical confrontation because I asked him to stop being a fucking douchbag, acting like it was middle school and saying that he would "see me outside". Of course once the credits rolled he was one of the first ones out and walking to my car I saw no hide or hair of him.

Fuck that. What happened to courtesy to others? When did being a total and complete asshole in public become okay?

Okay, that is done with. Again I apologize, and I know that this has nothing to do with Comics, Games, or Booze. I just had to get it out and rant. And I know that it is a statement that has been expressed many more times by those way more eloquent than myself. Anyway, I promise that next week will be much less bitter.

To lighten the mood here is a picture of a monkey.



So let your F'ing voice be heard in the comments or our Facebook page.

Sci-Fi Programming Suggestions

Brandon started the week off complaining about the news that Eureka has been canceled. I’ve been a big fan of the show since the first season so I was pretty bummed out by the news too. Instead of lingering on the death of a beloved show though, I’m going to help the channel out and pitch them three shows for their channel that would be guaranteed to bring an audience. These are million dollar ideas that I’m giving away for free.

First up, is Team Sharktopus. An elite government team has been put together to take down the deadly shark/octopus hybrid. Thrown together are Michael Allen (the eccentric group leader who directs action back at base), Kevin Reynolds (the hot headed field leader), Kelley Dunn the total ass kicking female who has always been overlooked for being female, and Curtis Clark (the wacky tech guy). Team Sharktopus would travel to a different city every week and stumble across other problems that need to be fixed as they hunt the monster shark. For instance when they travel to Monkey Harbor they cross paths with the town’s corrupt sheriff and eventually have to free the town from his grip, but in doing so Sharktopus gets away again.

Then we have Sharktopus: The Animated series. Professor Eric Green is the top Monster-ologist in the world. To better study monsters of all kinds he builds a mobile laboratory in a state of the art super yacht. Green staffs the yacht with boat captain and security expert Ted Hicks, fellow scientist Brenda Quinn, and Green’s teenage son Jeff. During their first outing Jeff saves Sharktopus from a dangerous fishing net and the two become fast friends. Each week the team would find a new monster, only to be saved by Sharktopus because of its friendship with Jeff.

Finally we have Sharktopus 1880. Set in Victorian England, Sir Reginald J. Sharktopus is the most renowned detective in the world. When the police are stuck with an unsolvable case, they come to Sharktopus. Sir Reginald is usually helped on his cases by his mute manservant Manuel and a trained seagull named Pancho. The reoccurring criminal mastermind Mortimer Pennybottom Esquire would constantly be leaving taunting clues for Sharktopus to find and their rivalry would be the subplot of the series.

There you go Syfy. The ball is in your court. I’ve given you ratings gold, what you do with it is up to you.

Flash Friday: Big Bang.

Happy Flash Friday! We’ve talked a number of times about how many non-comic readers confuse the Flash and Flash Gordon. Lately people seem to be recognizing the Flash a little bit more then they used to and that is due to another media property; namely the television show Big Bang Theory.

So now when I mentioned the Flash I don’t hear “Oh, yeah Flash Gordon. I’ve seen that movie.” Lately it has been more, “On, you’re just like Sheldon on Big Bang. Do you watch that show? It’s so funny.” Apparently most people who mention Big Bang must immediately follow up with a comment on how funny the show is. Yes, I’ve seen them dressed as the Flash. Yes, I’ve seen Sheldon run at super speed. Hell, even the bazinga shirt looks like a Flash shirt.

Can you tell I’m not a fan of the show yet? There are people who obviously love it; my wife is one of them. I just don’t think it is funny. I’d be willing to bet that if you removed all the pop culture references that most comic people wouldn’t be interested in it either. But fandom is so easy to cater to. Throw a few comic statues in the background, make a cliché joke about Aquaman sucking, or mention a popular video game and we forgive any other faults of the series.

I’m not going to spend all day bashing the show. If it’s your favorite show I hopefully didn’t get too offensive. I just can’t stomach it any more. How much do I dislike The Big Bang? I’d rather watch Daddy Day Care again; at least that little Flash kid was awesome. Check back next week and we’ll try to talk about something Flash that's a little more positive.  Check back tomorrow for my proposed changes to the Syfy line up.

Max Overacts Volume One

We interrupt our regularly scheduled Hangover Thursday for some important news. We’ve talked about our love for the web comic Max Overacts a couple times here. Max’s creator, Caanan Grall, is also the person who provided the art for our very own mascot Punch. In addition to all that, I probably bother the poor guy with too many emails.

Caanan is currently putting together the first collection of Max Overacts strips and he needs our help. Books aren’t cheap, so to help with that he has set up an Indie GoGo site. Much like a Kickstater fund raiser there are a bunch of different donation options and rewards. 25 dollars will get you the book, 160 a book and one of the original strips, 500 will get you a guest appearance, etc…

The book is going to be 164 full color pages and measures 8x10. Not only will it contain the first 142 strips, there are 12 never before seen strips involving Max’s sister. I really want this book. You should want this book. Caanan is also looking for information on your local shops and has wholesale rewards for those shops.

Again the link to make a pledge is right HERE. Please check it out and pass it on to everyone who would be interested.

Warhammer Kill Team and Space Marine

Yesterday when we talked about the awesome Games Workshop store in Oak Park I said that we weren’t done talking about Warhammer 40K. Today we’re going to talk about two different games set in the Warhammer 40K universe. The first game is currently available on Xbox Live and the Playstation Network. The second game is the Space Marine game coming to stores on September 6th.

In Kill Team you are a lone Space Marine sent to disable an Ork spaceship before it reaches an Imperial Forge World. It’s a simple top down shooter that adds some replay value by adding different classes of Space Marines to play. As you play through you unlock different bonuses to add to your marine like more health or quicker special ability recharge. The game does offer a few marine chapters to choose from, but the change there is completely cosmetic. Kill Team does have co-op, but it is local co-op only.

It’s a fun game, but a short one. The carnage is glourious.  I’d recommend it for people who already like the Warhammer properties but would give it a pass to those who aren’t already fans. There is another bonus if you plan on picking up Space Marine, playing through a mission in Kill Team will also unlock a Power Sword for you to use in the later game.

Space Marine is a third-person shooter where you’ll control Captain Titus of the Ultramarines as he tries to hold off armies of Orks and Chaos Marines. It seems you’re efforts in Kill Team weren’t completely successful because the Orks reached the Forge World and are trying to steal a Titan. The action looks completely over the top. There is no cover and you’ll regain health from stringing together kill combos. The number of weapons you’ll be able to pick up just looks ridiculous and wonderful.

We can’t talk about any upcoming game without talking about the pre-order bonuses that are coming with it. Emperor’s Elite Pack is from Gamestop and includes Space Wolf and Black Templar armor skins. Best Buy has the Traitor Legion pack including the Iron Warriors and Emperor’s Children. Amazon has a Golden Chainsword. Walmart has a golden bolter. Pre-order on Steam and get a Blood Ravens skin.

 

So yeah, I’m excited. Fear no enemy, fear no death.

Games Workshop Oak Park

Brandon has written a few times about his new war gaming hobby and in those articles I’ve made a few jokes about not wanting to fall back into that addiction. In high school and college I played a lot of Warhammer 40K. I had a pretty sizable Space Wolf army and then branched off into modifying figures, creating my own Space Marine chapter, and writing my own codex for them. Yeah, my ideas would get to big for me even back then.

While recently in Illinois I walked into the Games Workshop store located in Oak Park. I went into the store forbidding myself from buying anything, like a recovering junkie I really didn’t want to fall back into that habit. I did want to see what kind of things Games Workshop was putting out now. Let me tell you, this store is fantastic.

GW’s website lists the manager as Joseph Farnsworth. I believe he is the person I talked to while in the store but I don’t think I actually asked his name while I was there. Anyway he and I talked Warhammer 40K for about 15 to 20 minutes. How the models had changed, the improvements, etc. Many gaming stores can alienate or ignore their customers. This store was one of the most friendly I’d ever been in.

If you’re in the Oak Park area, do yourself a favor and stop by the store. I know on my next visit I’ll be going back. And check back tomorrow for some more Warhammer 40K talk.

It's not spelled "Syfy" you morons

Syfy is the devil. 
Allow me to extrapolate. This does not have to do with the fact the the channel is firmly on the pulse of what an audience wants from a channel formerly know as Sci-Fi. Everyone knows that when you make the brilliant name change to Syfy, that it means more professional 'rasslin. It also has nothing to do with the incredibly well written and produced original movies involving one giant beast vs. another (which of course are fun as hell to watch...for all the wrong reasons).

 
Nope it is none of that...this time. The reason the think tank of executives of Syfy is the devil this time has to do with the show "Eureka".

If you have never seen this fun (actually) well written and acted show, it is currently is on Netflix instant watch. Syfy renewed it for a sixth season. Then promptly canceled it a few days later. Then after getting the cast and crews hopes up, then crushing them they then cut the last six episodes from the fifth and now final season. That is pretty cold blooded, even in the nasty business that is show business. I guess they needed the budget money for Mega Tubeworm vs. Ultra Snail.

In other awesome entertainment news, it has come out that AMC fired Frank Darabont from "The Walking Dead". It was first reported that he had, excuse the pun, walked away from the second season due to being a very busy man. Now however it is being reported that he was fired and the budget was drastically cut to make room for the next season of "Mad Men". 

I like "Mad Men" quite a bit, but when you cut the budget in half for your most watched show EVER to add to a show that is a critical darling, something in the logic does not add up. Guess that is why I don't make the massive bucks to program a mid-tier cable network. So expect to hear but not see lots of zombies this season. That has got to be rough for the cast also as it is a zombie show - no paycheck is safe. It does fit with the comic really well though, the humans are the real villains.

Finally, Austin Powers 4 has been greenlit. Prepare to hear that shitty voice in the office again soon!

And that is your asshole Hollywood update for the quarter. Stay tuned for your regularly scheduled Comics, Games, and Booze talk. As always Let Your F'ing Voice Be Heard in the comments or our Facebook page.

Tonight

I've been playing Dungeons and Dragons or other roleplaying games since I was 8 or 9.  I still look forward to the night of the week I get to spend with my friends and roll some dice, even if they are virtual ones now.  The song below is by Allie Goertz.  If you've ever found yourself huddled around a table with a pizza stained character sheet in front of you then you should find something to relate to in the song.

The MP3 isn't ready yet apparently but it is coming soon. More information on Allie can be found at her Facebook.

Flash Friday: Masks

Happy Flash Friday everyone! I came home from work yesterday to find the package that F’ing Monkey co-writer Brandon has sent me had finally arrived. I didn’t know what it was going to be; just that he was sending me a package. There were two items inside the box, one of them may be the subject of a later article, but the second item was so good that it had to be talked about immediately. That item is a vintage Flash mask.

Brandon found this in a Texas party store that was going out of business. This thing brings back thoughts of being a little kid when almost any store bought costume consisted of one of these plastic half masks and what was basically a smock with the character’s picture on your chest. What is surprising is the amount of paint used on the mask. The white on the ear wings isn’t caused by wear and tear, it’s painted on.

The sticker on the inside of the mask gives some insight on when it was made at least. Besides saying that it is for ages “3 to Adult” it gives us a date of 1991. So this was probably produced for the Flash television show. Was this mask really sitting on a shelf in a part store since 1991? With the store closed, it is impossible to tell.

One of the most surprising things is that a version of this mask is still available and can be purchased at online stores like 80stees. I thought the new masks used the same mold as the one I have, but looking at the ear wings, they seem to point in a different direction. The paint applications are completely different too, the current mask looses a lot of the detail that the vintage one has.

All this mask talk/research reminds me that I need to order the Flash cowl/mask at some point. I’ll have to find some way to display it though. I suppose I could put it on one of those Styrofoam heads that hairdressers use for wigs. It’d be kind of creepy to have a bunch of superhero heads displayed in a room like you were some kind of big game hunter themed super villain. “Ah yes, I bagged the red one just outside Keystone City.”

That’s it for the mask talk this week. Today’s post was originally going to be about the fact that the guys over at ComicTwart had named the Flash as the character of the week. Go check out some artistic awesomeness that happened over there.

Hangover Thursday: Guinness Black Lager

It’s Hangover Thursday, how’s your head? It is no surprise to anyone who has been a regular reader that the F’ing Monkey staff love a pint of Guinness. I think it is also pretty apparent after things like the beer list that I enjoy trying new beers. So finding a new beer made by the Guinness brewing company is like chocolate and peanut butter. Not literally of course, peanut butter beer would be weird. I’d still try it, but I think it would be weird.

I found a six pack of Guinness Black Lager on the grocery store shelves while I was up in Chicago for the weekend. I have to be honest; I had missed the press releases about this one. I wasn’t expectantly haunting my local beer isles waiting for its arrival like I have in the past with some others. It was like a Christmas morning. It was until I drank it anyway.

I fully realize this is not a stout. That’s fine, I like a good lager. I enjoy a black lager. Guinness Black Lager doesn’t taste bad. I had no problem finishing the six pack. The problem is that it doesn’t have much taste at all. On a hot day a lighter tasting beer isn’t a bad thing, but I think they went a little too light on taste. It was missing that something that reminds you that you’re still drinking a Guinness.

I might even have considered buying more in the future except for one thing. Black Lager actually cost me a few bucks more then the regular Guinness did. I didn’t mind paying more for Foreign Stout, because it was amazing. Paying more for the inferior beer isn’t going to happen though. If you see it on your store shelves, check it out and let us know what you think.

Leet Dreams

Light switches are one of those items you interact with so often that you rarely give them any thought. Etsy store AlephDesign is changing that with the Original Arcade Light Switch by Leet Dreams. They replace you’re boring switch with two arcade cabinet style buttons so you can fierce punch your lights on.

When ordering from their store, which you can find HERE, you pick the colors you want for the buttons. They have eight choices; green, red, yellow, blue, white, black, purple, and orange. You also have to pick a white or black back ground. With that many choices you should be able to replicate the game of your choice.

The important electrical specifications say it is a 2 way switch (15A-120/277V AC/CA) and it needs to be installed in a deep electrical box. They also note that this is a custom made product so you have to install at your own risk. I’m sure if you have any other questions about the safety of the product they’d be happy to answer. **Images of the Arcade Light Switch were lifted from Leet Dreams store to help promote their product.

Assemble!

So I am a bit behind when it comes to first run shows. With that in mind I just started watching "Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes" and it is great stuff. We have talked a bit about this show before here. The characterizations are spot on and much like "Justice League Unlimited" it has the potential for fantastic guest stars and cameos. Also much like JLU it goes pretty deep into the comics mythology for those that are paying attention, although I am sure that Hank is not going to be keeping his pimp hand strong. There is however one thing that I can't stand about this show...

...that damn theme song. I realize this is a show geared to kids, but come on. Oh man this crap is painful to listen to. As you can guess I am not a fan of wuss rock/terrible music. It's the Avengers for fucks sake! You could not make the theme a little harder? This thing sounds like Tony will be looking for razor blades, you know just to feel something...

Does that rant make me sound old? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page. Let your F'ing voice be heard! Also yesterday was Ken's birthday so drop him a belated birthday message.

Point of Divergence...or Flashpoint Monday

Welcome to Flash Monday the alternate reality version of Flash Friday!


We here at That F'ing Monkey have not really talked about the DC New 52. For those that just learned to turn on your computer, the New 52 are the re-boots of the DC comics line.


I for one will be waiting until I read what is going on before I make up my mind on this issue, so this is not going to focus on the 52. What it is about is the in universe reason for the re-boot...Flashpoint.

Flashpoint is kinda like The Age of Apocalypse, in other words it's all the characters you know (and a ton of really obscure ones you don't) changed in some way with different histories and what not. So far I am on the fence with what is going on here. On one hand I am actually enjoying Batman, on the other I am underwhelmed with the story itself.


I am liking the Batman character (Spoiler: it's Thomas Wayne not Bruce) in this alternate reality because he is a giant ass. He has no qualms about killing and does not really give a crap about anything but his own quest. However the story so far is just about showing off the strange new reality. It seems to have a through line, but it is really not keeping my attention. To be honest it is kinda boring. It is following Barry Allen as he tries to figure out what is going on while his memories of the "real" timeline are slowly being replaced by this new one. The "hey look at this, wierd huh?" kind of pacing is just not keeping my attention locked. 

As for all the tie-in books, all I am reading is Abin Sur: Green Lantern and Hal Jordan. Both of which are also not that interesting. Abin is written as kind of a pussy who does not want to hurt any one. Hal is just about Mr. Jordan as a test pilot and really does not seem to be very different to his old version. This may have to do with the movie and DC not wanting to confuse new readers. The most interesting character in the GL book is Sinestro (much like the movie...) who again is not very different, he is still doing what he thinks is right. So all in all not a great summer comics event for DC.

So what does this have to do with the New 52? Well it has been stated that the end of Flashpoint will lead directly into the new universe, so it may still be worth it to trudge through the rest of this story. If only to have some idea when all those new #1's hit the stands.


Are you reading Flashpoint and think that I am crazy? Let your F'ing voice be heard in the comments or on our Facebook page.