YouTube in Review - Bowling, Cereal, and a Shelf

It has been a rough couple of weeks in this twin's world. Various life events and one very sick kitty have prevented me from writing for awhile, but I’ve got enough time to pop in and do a quick YouTube in Review. Hopefully I will have a new painting update for next Saturday as I have been painting quite a bit lately.

Anyhow, to the reviews!

#1 – Nerdist All Star Bowling

Nerdist founder Chris Hardwick gets to be a jerk in an adorable way by inviting nerdy celebs bowling. Team Nerdist challenges a variety of different teams (Like Team Geek and Sundry, Team Mythbusters, and the cast of Mad Men just to name a few) in a competition to raise money for charity. If the opposing team beats team Nerdist, their charity gets $2000. But wait a sec… didn't you say Chris Hardwick was a jerk? Ya, little do these nerdy celebrities know, but Hardwick is the son of a national bowling champion. That is correct: Hardwick invites people to compete against him in a sport he excels at on a professional level…for charity.  Thankfully the rest of the revolving team Nerdist tends to suck hardcore at the game, so quite a few teams end up beating Hardwick. Come to watch celebrities fail at something, stay for the witty banter and nerdy trash talking. 8/10 pins.

#2 –  Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

Here is where to go when you want some stupid humor with a side of geekiness. Watching SMBC somehow makes me simultaneously feel better about myself and lose faith in most of humanity. They cover every topic imaginable: from God handing out male vs. female parts and George Lucas ruining our childhoods, to boy wonder Robin giving a press conference and defending his sexuality. Really, you can find a sketch for anyone.  There’s hundreds to wade through, so I recommend you start watching! 7.5/10 golden stars for hilarity, but more than a few awkward moments and some forced self reevaluation.

#3 – SHELF LIFE the Series 

I just discovered this channel starring married voice actors Tara Platt and Yuri Lowenthal after watching the latest Table Top episode in which they play Castle Panic with Wil Wheaton. This dynamic duo has created a web series about four action figures stuck on the shelf of an annoying little boy. Profanity laced and terribly funny, it lets the viewer reminisce about their childhood toys as Hero Man, Hero Lass, Bug Boy and Samurai Snake snicker and bitch about life from action figures' point of view. I’ve only just started watching, but thus far 9/10 plastic figurines. 

Thanks for reading! Like I said, hopefully some fun new art projects will be ready to post next weekend!

-Samantha

Super Paper Mario – Bonus Material

        I’ll just admit right here and now that I have an obsessive personality. Once I start something, I tend to spend countless hours working toward that 100% completion. Be that in school (achievement BS in Biz unlocked, magna cum laude!), perfecting a recipe (my beer bread is amazing), or finishing my DIY projects. The same goes for video games. But not just any video games! No, I tend to obsess over the silly ones.

        For example, all of the LEGO games on the Wii. I played LEGO Harry Potter for, let’s be honest, over 100 hours in order to get all those damn character studs. I just couldn’t let it go! And now I’m playing Super Paper Mario and have 3 recipes to go. Now, I’ll probably never get 100% on catch cards but my REAL problem is completing the 100 Trials in Flopside.



        How about I start from the beginning? Super Paper Mario is a lovely new take on old school Mario. Forget the intense new graphics and 3D game play in Mario Galaxy (another great game). The people at Nintendo decided to go a little retro with a 2D game that plays on the dimensions of good ol’ paper. Mario has the ability to flip between the X axis and the Z axis, turning sideways briefly to escape enemies, find hidden objects, and quite often just to beat the level by finding the door out. Now, I beat the game awhile ago. It’s designed for kids to be able to complete the main story line, so honestly, that was no problem.

        However, there are a myriad of other gaming opportunities hidden in the home level of the game. You can buy maps from a secret dealer on one of the basement levels in order to find hidden objects with one of your pixl companions (I obsessed over that shiz first, 100% complete). Then, you can take the various life saving ingredients you pick up or purchase around the Marioverse to the two kitchens, one in Flipside, one in Flopside. There your polar opposite cooks can alter the ingredients into bigger and better (most the time) meals or drinks to help you in battle. This I obsessed over 2nd but have had a little trouble picking up a poison shroom, dayzee tear or getting the stupid mystery box to do anything! Blargh. I’m sure that’ll pan out eventually…



        Which brings us to the Pit of 100 Trials. I thought this was going to be a cakewalk considering how highly leveled up I am. Turns out the trials ramp up the higher your HP and attack are so don’t bother. The first Pit of 100 Trials (henceforth to be known as 100) occurs in Flipside, the happy, easy, playful side of your hometown. The 100 are relatively easy, just a tedious grind, ending up in a relatively easy boss that you’ve pretty much seen before. The trick is to stock up a few Dyllis Deluxe meals (worth 90 HP) in your items list in order to replenish health when your enemies aren’t dropping enough cake mixes and keel mangos. Okay. 100 on Flipside down, let’s check out the Flopside….

        Wait, WTF. Why are all the enemies in black shadows and so hard to kill!? CRAP. The first time I attempted this 100 I got to about lvl 20 and died. Then lvl 80 and quit because I wasn’t going to make it another 20 levels with only 5 HP. Oh, did I mention you can’t save anywhere between level 1 and 100 in either set? Ya, and when you die in the pit, you lose all progress… unless you take an early exit on one of the levels that are multiples of 10. Like I said, I bowed out early at lvl 80 when I realized it was hopeless. Well, after quite a few tries, I finally beat the Flopside 100… only to learn that once you beat the 100, you have to be the 100 again and then 4 enemy bosses that are reportedly more difficult than the big bad boss at the end of the main storyline. FRACK. At least Shadoo (the big bad) gives our hero a return pipe to Flopside where we can save before attempting the 100 again. Time to make a few more Dyllis Deluxe meals and start all over again. Ugh.


        So here I am, 68 hours or so in and I’m stuck on 3 recipes, a boat load of catch cards, 100 trials and 4 bosses… And don’t even get me started on Door #6 in the main story line where we have to beat 100 tiny warriors in a row. I’ve only attempted that once, so I guess maybe I’ll obsess over that awhile before taking on the Flopside 100 AGAIN. You see, I can’t just quit and move on to another equally silly and fun game because I will always know that I never truly finished SPM. It’ll be a little twitching annoyance in the back of my mind until it’s finished. Just like the spot for that one last character stud for HP 5-7 and the multiple spots reserved for every single book I never finished. I can remember all of them, but the worst being My Louisiana Sky I put down in 4th grade. Hey, I warned you: Obsessive Personality!



Oh Super Paper Mario, why can’t I quit you?!



        So as a review for this game that’s been out for quite awhile? I’d give it a 10/10 for escapism and nostalgia and an 8/10 for overall game play. It’s fun, silly, and PACKED with bonus material. If you are a casual gamer that just wants an easy escape, take Paper Mario for a spin.


-Samantha

Movie Review: The Avengers!

 Joss Whedon has been an inspiring writer for decades and yet it wasn’t until a week ago that he came into the public lexicon. Being children of the 90’s, we grew up with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and have been fans ever since. I’ve read a lot of glowing reviews about the Avengers, but one thing continues to bother me: just because the general populace has remained largely oblivious to the multitude of great projects produced by Whedon does not mean the Avengers is him finally “making it”. He may now have the biggest blockbuster of all time, but it’s been a long time coming! Now that team Whedon has a few million new members, how about some homework to catch up on some past work? I recommend Buffy, Dollhouse, Firefly and Serenity, and Doctor Horrible’s Sing Along Blog as “infection vectors” to the Whedonverse. Give them some of the love they deserve and you will not be disappointed!

Rant Conclusion: Whedon didn’t just finally get it right, people just finally started paying attention!

Okay, back to the review part of this review! Avengers, right.

America loves superheroes… especially flawed superheroes. Here we have a group of them so fantastically flawed and dysfunctional that they tumble in and out of hilarious internal conflict. How could these scrappy ruffians get their shit together long enough to save the world?! Oh ya, through genius, cunning, strength, and skill… and maybe some witty dialog and the loss of a loved one.

Can I just say that I have always wanted to know what would happen if Thor and Iron Man went mano a mano? I pretty sure I was vibrating in my seat with the occasional “EEEEE” of excitement as that scene in the woods unfolded, a behavior my husband was less than thrilled about in a crowded theater….

And then I laughed so hard I cried when the Hulk did that thing to Loki… you know what I’m talking about. Oh geez. Also, I was expecting Black Widow to be largely ignored because, let's face it, she’s competing for face time with Stark, the Captain, and a freakin’ demi-god. But not only did Scar-Jo (ugh, I hate that I just used that abbreviation but I’m too lazy to google how to spell her last name…) hold her own with the boys, she actually manages to be pretty funny when, let’s call it “guiding”, that flying bad guy via knives to the back. The film was surprisingly balanced and almost completely without that ADHD feel that so many other movies tend to get when having so many lead characters.

Great writing, great humor, great timing (HULK). Overall, I’d give it a 9.89/10 nerdyfangirl points!

And ya, we went out for Shawarma after. If just adds to the experience.

Here’s my attempt to copy my sister at this Haiku stuff:

Avenging evil,

Silly Loki Smashed By Hulk

Save the World. Shawarma. 

Hopefully I'll have one of my DIY projects compiled by some time this week! 

-Samantha-

YouTube in Review

I’ve been at this internet thing for awhile now and have formed more than a few lurking habits. I thought I’d share a few of my favorites. Today’s title shall be “WTF Did I Just Watch on YouTube for Six Hours Straight?”

1.       Geek and Sundry -  One of my recent obsessions is with the new Geek and Sundry channel on YouTube. I could probably prove my point as to how amazing this project is by the mere mention of the two producers: Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day. I know, right? Together they bring us Felicia’s Flog and Wil’s Table Top. Miss Day chooses one activity she’s always wanted to try and then proceeds to explore it in her geeky yet adorably awkward way. Mr. Wheaton’s show takes celebrity guests and has them play a beloved board game to the entertainment of all. I promise it is way funnier than it sounds. ***Warning – may contain gratuitous Trek and DandD references!!!!***

2.       Jenna Marbles – Girls been around for awhile now but she still puts out funny shit all the time. If you haven’t already seen her video “How To Trick People Into Thinking You’re Good Looking” then you fail at the internet. 

3.       My Drunk Kitchen – This is my newest reason to binge-watch the tubes. When I ask “WTF did I just watch on YouTube for six hours straight?” the answer yesterday was Miss Harto with the knife in the kitchen. If you like to drink, cook, eat, or more importantly, all of the above at the same time, watch this. Her first attempt was a grilled cheese sandwich sans cheese. Best line ever? “I love cider because it tastes like beer for kids.”

4.       The Piano Guys – Most specifically, Cello Wars (A Star Wars Parody). It’s corny and fantastic. Both of us twins play multiple musical instruments so this brings out our musical geekiness and our love of Star Wars. Watch this dude battle the dark side while playing some badass cello music.

SPEAKING OF STAR WARS (<----check out that segue)

Today is the 4^th of May… You know what that means!

Hope you have a nerdy nerdy day!


~The Evil Twin~