TheSa|nt's Blog

Finally, high school from hell, snowy streets of silence and bone chilling sounds, air-raid sirens, demonic kids, the jails with pyramid head running throughout, radio noise, demon nurses that twitch on movement, walls that fall into ash……merry-go-round at the fairgrounds…..this IS…Silent Hill!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0938330/

Trailer:

I have been reading up looking for a Blu-Ray player that could play MKV (Matroska) files for some time now. Most reviews say its hard to find one that plays them…but really it seems its simply hard to find that that “prints” the fact that it will play them in the specs. I have this Toshiba (cheap…usually $60-$100) only because for the price it was a steal and I needed an extra blu-ray player in the house. I didn’t find out until now that it played MKVs (randomly tried to see what would happen if I stuck a disc in). HD quality…yep, digital sound…yep! Two thumbs up from me!

So all of your MKV formatted anime and whatever else…..here’s your solution to bring it to your TVs and home theaters without having to hook a PC up to them!!

Toshiba Blu-Ray Player — Amazon

(free shipping too ^_^)

So I guess that Nathan as been dropping numerous cameo phrases, teases and all sorts of things throughout the TV series Castle in regards to “Firefly”. Blastr pointed out a few of them here (http://blastr.com/2011/02/7-firefly-nods-nathan-fil.php) but there are more.

It appears that Nathan and some of the other actors are attempting to get everyone back together. Really they have promoted the idea since the show’s demise, but through resources such as their cult fan-following “the brown coats”, they may be able to raise around 300 million dollars to steal the rights to the name away from Fox Network so that they can bring the series back.

Acting members, writers and more have recently admitted they would be willing to drop what they are working on in order to jump back on board. All in a push to convince Fox to either join in or let the rights to it go.

Evil television networks heh. So with all the petitions, all the talk, and now money being raised all over….common Fox…let the rights to it go if you’re not going to play ball.

“It’s no longer about the fans, it’s only about the money”

4 years+ ago you could hesitate for months before getting you tickets to comic-con (and a 4-day at that). Getting there was easy, attending was very little stress and you could get into just about any panel you needed to.

Now? Within the last few years the convention has become horrible. The tickets sell out fast, the location of the convention is way over a comfortable/reasonable capacity, price went through the roof, there is no room to breath or move and most of the panels are pretty much impossible to get into unless you come 3+ panels early into a room and sit there the rest of the day (and some people do this which is why its impossible to see anything). Don’t get me started on the badge pickup line….WOW was that a hike in 2009 winding all over and then around the building down to the back hitting the docks and following them all the way down through to the hotel. I could just imagine what it was like last year or will be like this year. Then if you want to attend any “good” panel, you have to jump right back into a line just as long almost (Hall H…).

For 2011, the registration has been a nightmare since EVERYONE knows registration is going to be a problem, so EVERYONE jumps on all at once to get their tickets. I have seen this happen for concerts and small local events that are considered “limited time only”…but one of the west coast’s largest conventions….server crashes, failed registration dates, and now that the tickets have finally gone on sale via their final attempt…..sold out in ONE DAY.

An entire convention (of that size), sold out in one day. That’s pretty amazing….however, what’s not amazing..is that I ( as well as so many others ), should have been part of that crowd. Instead, I received nothing but “Website is over capacity” error messages from “TicketLeap” and it remained like that for hours.

Finally, it let me through and I chose my 4-day pass and entered all of my information (including payment information) and made it as far as the screen to confirm the information and ……….website is over capacity. Going back to try it again, it claimed it couldn’t complete the process because 4-day tickets were no longer available (sold out).

So much for you having “15 minutes” from the time you add them to your cart. You would think that means you have a guaranteed ticket in your cart (for 15 minutes)..kind of like how TicketMaster works, and the server would prioritize you in it’s load since you have an active sale. Nope….even though you have gotten your cart filled, your no one special.

So after many screens of over capacity warnings, I finally got back to the start and the day by day passes were still there. I chose Thurs, Fri and Sat (no point in adding Sunday since I’m already being forced to spend more than I was with the 4-day passes). I once again made it far into the checkout process and……oh look…….over capacity warning. Going back to try and submit it again…..error…..tickets no longer available. Both Fri and Sat was sold out. Of course, the moment of time spent in shock sitting there wondering “wow…did that really happen”….the remaining tickets sell out and *poof*….another year without the con.

Now I feel not only have they gone out of their way to really wreck this convention into the mess that it is and make it very difficult on you from registration to the end of the event, but they have to kick you where it hurts a few times and leave you on the side of the street with nothing.

I used to go every year, and when I was a real young boy, I remember the El Cortez. Now however I have missed last year and this year. Meanwhile, they keep piling more and more people into that building without expanding (preferred) or moving to a larger location, they continue to raise the price, and they use what’s obviously the lowest bidder for ticket sales/registration partners (i.e., TicketLeap)…even though we pay so much. It’s no longer about the fans, its only about the money.

I don’t think I have ever been so disappointed in something. A long-time tradition officially squashed.

I have had the question asked so many times….”how do I learn to use news groups”. Well, I can recommend software and the advanced way of finding what you need, but some prefer to keep it simple.

Wikipedia shares: A usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from many users in different locations. The term may be confusing to some, because it is usually a discussion group. Newsgroups are technically distinct from, but functionally similar to, discussion forums on the World Wide Web. Newsreader software is used to read newsgroups.

Despite the advent of file-sharing technologies such as BitTorrent, as well as the increased use of blogs, formal discussion forums, and social networking sites, coupled with a growing number of service providers blocking access to Usenet, newsgroups continue to be widely used.

Easynews has gone out of their way to create a nice video tutorial that will walk you through the usage of the very user-friendly service. Easynews acts as a one-stop-shop for using news groups, where you can login, search and download everything from one spot (without the need of external applications or bouncing between sites).

Click Here to access the video tutorial!

Visit easynews now and start off with a free trial. Take the time to dabble and see if they are a good fit for you:

For a more advanced tutorial explaining further access to Newsgroups via desktop application, click here to view my full tutorial.

I really hope this movies proves to be as fun as its predecessors. Those who know me, know how much of a fan I am. Here’s to Jack!

I am really hoping they don’t mess this movie up. Growing up, Green Lantern was one of my favorite super heroes. He was one of the “other guys” that most people didn’t talk about. Batman was always my first but Lantern fell second. He has a fun personality and righteous power and ability to adventure between worlds.

I like Ryan Reynolds as an actor, but so far I haven’t been able to picture him as Green Lantern. I will make my official judgement after I see the movie.  I have been waiting awhile for this movie to make it’s debut. I knew they wouldn’t be able to hold out on it. It took them forever to finally get around to making it, so let’s hope the wait was worth it…because of this movie turns out to be as fun as watching some lame ass Dragon Ball movie….I will be mad

Kick-Ass, the movie (2010)

This movie is nothing less than amazing for it’s genre type. The movie leaves you laughing from start to finish, and at parts…possibly even applauding (despite your age). I don’t know what is so entertaining about a little girl with a gun bringing bad guys to their knees…but it makes me want to go out and train my little step sis how to kick some rear (not that she isn’t perfect the way she is).

This movie offers a little fun for everyone. The younger crowd will simply think it awesome, and the older crowd may be brought back to their younger days and what it feels like to enjoy a tongue-and-cheek super hero presentation. It’s isn’t realistic, yet it isn’t too over-board. It finds a nice happy place in the middle. The audience I watched it in…grunted, laughed, applauded, burst out with comments like “OH HELL YA!!!” and started socializing with each other after the movie to talk about it amongst each other. You would think you’re at some kind of social movie convention.

So I say, get in your cars, trucks, bikes, skateboards, blades, running shoes, parachutes, power wheels, teleporters…whatever it takes…and get down to your local theater and give this movie a watch! Do it quick before Kick-Ass comes for YOU! And….tell your friends.

The movie obviously contains some language (as if the title doesn’t give that away), so that is something that should be noted (if you plan on bringing your kids).

Over-all Rating: 8/10
Rating within it’s Genre: 9/10

Cast:
Aaron Johnson as Kick-Ass
Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Red Mist
Chloe Moretz as Hit-Girl
Nicolas Cage as Big Daddy