Ox Tries to Scam You

No, not really.

I've had a sever case of "I don't know what the hell to write about" lately and it's been hurting the blog, so today I just wanted to tell you guys about something I came across.

I've read a few people talk about that Points2Shop website, and of course like every other site that is built like it, I'm always skeptical. I always get excited about 'OOO free stuff" and then get let down and never go back to it. This particular site gives you points to do offers and you can use those points to buy stuff off Amazon.

Now I'm not trying to twist anyone's arm and say "Go to this site NOW", but just for signing up they give you 250 points, and by the end of the day I easily got around 400. Now that only equals too $4, but hell, if there's some old dvd out there you might want then just sign up and use the points to get it. You can even use the points and use your money to pay the rest. Just kind alike a little discount, you could say. If you wanna do some offers go right ahead, but I just wanted to bring this up. I'm broke as hell with nothing to do for the time being, and I spend all damn day sitting in front of a computer anyways, so I figured why not do a survey every now and then and earn another dollar. If you do the same or have lots of free time, then at least just try it out.

Just click here to get there http://www.points2shop.com/?ref=OxMann and sorry for sounding like a crappy car salesman. Be good, all.

Filler Post!

   Hypothetically speaking, if you traveled to the North Pole and were to find the actual apex of the Earth and proceeded to quickly jog around that exact spot, could you not technically say that you have ran around the world? And not only that, but did it in a matter of a few seconds!

Beat THAT, ya prick!

In a Nutshell

   In a Nutshell will be my ongoing review series on the blog. It will be spread among subcategories that will all share the nature that In a Nutshell encompasses; that being to ATTEMPT to be short and to the point while trying not to be spoiler heavy (although there WILL be some).

   So, for the inaugural edition of In a Nutshell, I present to you...

   Today I am reviewing last night's new episode of Doctor Who entitled "The Curse of the Black Spot", which instantly rings a familiar bell concerning a particular pirate movie. I initially found the title a bit cheesy, as Doctor Who generally never parodies such, but in the end I felt it played well with the substance of the plot.

   So on to the show. In a nutshell, the Tardis senses a distress from a pirate ship in the 17th century. Upon arriving, The Doctor, Amy, and Rory...

These guys 

...find themselves in the company of a now dwindled down crew of pirates...

These guys

...who after being injured in any way, such as being cut or becoming ill, develop a black spot on their palm (hence the title) and then become hunted and eventually taken by what appears to be a siren.

This chick

And by "being taken" I mean being lured by her singing when they touch her hand...POOF...they disappear, presumably dead. So, of course it's up to The Doctor to find out who this shiny singing lady really is and why she only comes after the wounded.

   The first thirty to forty minutes of the show involve the Doctor and crew attempting to escape and hide from the siren. A few plot points happen along the way:

- Rory gets accidentally cut and marked

- The Tardis malfunctions and disappears

- It's revealed that the siren can only appear where water is present

-  ^ That revelation is quickly debunked and the new revelation is, at the time, a big "Whaaa?" moment

   Up to this point I was really enjoying the show, feeling it had a good supernatural/mythological premise as opposed to the general alien vibe. I had become pretty anxious to get to the reveal at the end that explains everything, which this show does very well (right along with Scooby Doo). So we finally get to where everyone finds out what is really going on.......and........

.......it's alien.

   Bah!! Shoulda known better! Denial got the best of me there. I couldn't rightfully complain, though. Complaining about a Doctor Who plot that involves aliens is like complaining about water being wet. It comes with the territory. It's done very well, however, in my opinion. Besides the reveal and explanation being a bit rushed and not what I was expecting, I felt the story was laid out nicely. They also throw you a nice semi-dramatic resuscitation scene in the end that I felt was only seconded by The Abyss (She has a strong heart, she wants to LIVE!!!). 

   Oh, and how could I forget one of the best parts of the episode: Pirate Amy

Arrrrr!

   All in all, a very good episode. Just an extremely minor complaint or two. If any of you guys has never given Doctor Who a shot, I highly recommend it. Hopefully next Saturday's episode won't confuse the hell out of me, and I'll be able to muster out another review for you guys *crosses fingers*

 

 

Blog Overview

 
   So as you may can see so far, I tend to be a bit of a geek who likes to rant. I can assure you that you probably won't see as much ranting from here on out as I'm generally a pretty positive guy, but sometimes things just get to me and hell, I gotta vent. For the most part, however, expect in this blog to see a little bit of me spilling my geekdom; be it Star Wars, Doctor Who, comics, games, etc. I may try to sneak in some reviews here and there in the rare occasions where I feel like I know what the hell I'm talking about.

   In addition, I may try to throw some "filler posts" at you in attempt to keep this blog alive and breathing. Some of these may be a 'random thought of the day' or something similar, or perhaps I may feel like going totally off my rocker and spouting pure gibberish. In any case, I will do my best to keep you entertained. Please feel no hesitation in throwing me ideas or any other sort of feedback.

 

May The 4th Be With You All

   Well, it's Star Wars Day. A day to celebrate one of the most popular movie series ever. I have always been a huge Star Wars fan/geek, I was born a year before Return of the Jedi was released so I was just a bit of a late bloomer. I can still remember watching Star Wars for the first time when I was very young, mainly because the Jawas freaked me the hell out. As I grew up, I became to appreciate the movies much more. I began to see that the movie was trying to tell more of a story than just a bunch of rebels trying to usurp the Empire.
   Speaking of Empire, of course my favorite of the original trilogy was the 2nd one. The movie took the already established characters, and took a huge dump on top of all of them. Just about NOTHING went right for anyone in the movie; Luke goes from almost being eaten by a wampa to almost being stepped on by an AT-AT to crashing in a swamp and losing his X-Wing. But it's gets a little better for him; he starts his training and gets his ship back. But straight back downhill from there; loses his hand AND finds out Vader is his father. With what he went through in that movie, I'm surprised he didn't jump out an airlock by the end to end his misery.
   Another reason I loved The Empire Strikes Back is because it revealed the at the time mysterious Boba Fett, who of course instantly became my favorite character. Yes, he is a bandwagon character and I always seem to like the characters that eventually become listed as so, but come on, for what little screen time he had he was badass. The guy just swam in confidence and never showed any fear (excluding that whole Sarlacc incident). And the best part was, you had no idea who he really was or where he came from. He was just a cloud of mystery, and he became popular more so due to intrigue. And then of course I bring up Attack of the Clones which, to some people, totally bastardized him. I agree with that to a certain point. Yes, I was disappointed that Boba ended up just a clone, and I feel the whole Jango/Boba idea wouldn't have even been on the table if not for Boba's previous popularity. His inclusion was a fan service and the story would had gone a completely different direction had it not been for that. But his origin in no way messes with how he was or what he did in the OT. Boba to me will always be a badass. The only difference now is that he is a badass who happens to be a clone.
   Okay, kinda got on a rant there, and that's not what today is about. All in all, I love Star Wars. I even like the prequels for what they tried to accomplish. Are they bad? Kinda. Truth be told, I'd rather stick a lightsaber in my eye sockets than watch The Phantom Menace again. But as horrible as the presentation was, I do appreciate the story it tried to tell. It was a new breed of Star Wars for my generation, and I knew it was never going to live up to the magic of the originals, but that's okay. It's still Star Wars.
   So today let us raise our glasses of blue milk, let us fire our blasters into the air, and let us raise our hands and concentrate really hard and hope that all together we can successfully force choke George Lucas before he drives this franchise right into the ground. And may the 4th (and the Force) be with us all.

I Hate This Place

   Jeff Foxworthy was one hundred percent correct.

   In an older piece of material, Mr. Foxworthy described how after a tornado passes through, the newscasts following always seems to find the least intelligent people to interview concerning the damage. Living in the southern area where the recent slew of tornadoes ransacked, I can completely confirm this. 

   I was at my friend's house watching the news the night after the storms had come through. It was, of course, thirty minutes of pure storm aftermath coverage, and around the 4th or 5th round of interviews with the victims, I came across a realization; I'm really ashamed to claim that I live where I do. Now with living here for almost 30 years, I know that's a bit of an odd epiphany to have so later on so I'm assuming I've just been in denial up until now. I looked at my friend, and with a blank stare declared my immediate and desperate desire to move elsewhere.

   Now I do feel bad for these people. No one deserves having their houses destroyed by uncontrollable circumstances. I also have no hard feelings toward the south. For the most part, it's not THAT bad. I know there is a generalization of people living in the south being dumb illiterates with mullets and no teeth walking around barefoot and wearing nothing but overalls, but to be honest.....well....we aren't ALL like that. Some? Yes. I've seen it, it's not pretty. But in most parts, especially around civilized areas, it's not common.

  So to sum it all up, the south isn't horrible, but the people who live here that make it to television really creates an awful image for us all. I mean, if someone told you they lived in Alabama or Mississippi and you DIDN'T immediately think of a shirtless guy sitting on the porch drinking moonshine with a shotgun in his lap? Those type of people DO exist, and although they are far and few in between, they take the popular generalization of denizens of this area. 

   So next time a tornado comes through, I'm crossing my fingers that it goes right through my house just for the chance of being on television in which I will be sporting a top hat and monocle, describing the situation in a snobby British accent, then looking off camera and asking my imaginary butler Jiles to pull the Bentley around. That'll show 'em.