Doing Things Other Than Watching Doctor Who Pt. 1: Wrath of Khan

Beer blogging was cool for but simply cost too much. Thanks to my local library, Who Watch 2012 is much cheaper. However, it also makes for extremely repetitive entries. So here we go with round 1 of quick reviews of things other than Who I experienced in the past week.

A John Waters Christmas @ Lupo's 

John Pinette ruined stand-up comedy for me. He's a good, oftentimes funny, guy. However, I grew up next door to members of his extended family. They'd talk about their amazingly talented  cousin and put on Simon Sez or the third Revenge of the Nerds movie. This forged a link in my head between painfully horrid films and his real job during my formative years. I've found over the years that the solution to learning to appreciate something in my extreme-discomfort zone is to look at it through a lens controlled by John Waters. I mean Serial Mom made Barry Manilow awesome. His Christmas show continued that streak and made stand-up-as well as the holiday itself- downright magical.

Only part of it that sucked as much as Junior was the venue-side of the meet and greet. For more than double the cost of a regular ticket, you got to get yelled at about having the right class of stub to be herded into a line. Then someone bellowed at us about making damn sure our cameras were ready or we would get NOTHING. By the time I got the phrase "thank you for your work" out of my mouth, security had me 3/4 of the way through the door. It was like a book signing run by illiterate people who were hell-bent on punishing anyone who could read.

Cabin in the Woods Blu-Ray

I remember being a teenager and getting told how Scream was this staggering work of genius which totally reinvented the wheel then seeing it and wondering if the film was intended as a parody. Similar things occur when I watch most modern horror movies. Things generally seem to be done to some sort of formula which renders it all fairly un-horrific in my eyes. Leave it to Joss Whedon to play with that and co-create a pithy little romp of a film. This is one of two movies I liked enough in the theater to purchase later in 2012.

Stephen Fry Making History

I always loved the What If... comicbook series from Marvel. Some creepy dude with a huge head called The Watcher peered through the curtains of established continuity and asked what if certain key events happened differently. Yet, alternative history novels aren't my thing. I have the attention span of a kitten and they tend to be a bit dull. So I decided to take a chance on Stephen Fry, figuring he would at least break any potential monotony with some humor. Wound up devouring this one whole over two days. Engaging characters, engrossing universe, good read.

Tree House Brewing Co. Snowtober

It's rare for me to do a joyful jig over beer. However, the pour on this badboy was that damned exciting. A perfect head. Beautiful toasty aroma. Astoundingly rich flavor profile. Felt like perfection on every surface as it went down. These guys make me glad I'm broke because I could see myself drinking my liver to death damn quick just because the beers are that damned enjoyable.

THQ WWE '13 (Wii)

Why I keep playing these is beyond me. They've been the same basic title since the N64 days. Yet, I get giddy for about a week then realize the redundancy and give up. Not total  shit but also far from unique.

A Boy and his Blob (Wii)

Nice modernization of one of my more beloved NES titles. Not sure why I liked the original so much. Rarely made it past the first couple of screens without dying. Guess it was something in the premise. Feed a blob jellybeans to solve puzzles. Worked for me then and works for me now. Only real issue lies with the fact my copy keeps crashing and glitching out. Ah well. 

Rayman Origins (Wii)

Nice to see a solid 2D platformer once in awhile. Actually has some difficulty to it. Intuitive controls. Nothing that new going on here but it's quite playable.