Sleepy Hollow, First Impressions

I was finally able to get a chance to watch Sleepy Hollow. I'll admit at first I thought it was stupid, weakly putting together awkward story components. Not to mention killing off Clancy Brown, whom I was happy to see on the screen. Then I was again slightly intrigued with the added twist of the biblical connections the series was trying to make and thought it might have something to offer me (after all). Then the headless horsemen stood up in a room armed to the teeth with automatic weapons, a shotgun, and assorted handguns, as opposed to dawning his usual Ax...at which point I thought, this is garbage. I'm done.

I finished watching the first episode and caught a bit more of the meta story aspect with the biblical scenario the series will be building up toward. I laughed out loud hearing Ichabod's using a reference from revelation about how supposedly he and the other main character in the series will be waging war against evil for seven years. Which I thought was wishful thinking. No way this series would last seven seasons on the air.

The cops are written as absolutely idiotic, trigger happy and are completely inconsistent in terms of how they behave. Orlando Jones who I love as an actor slightly feels like the cliche loud and pissed off black captain archetype we've seen before; something spoofed beautifully in Last Action Hero if you don't understand what I mean. But Jones still delivers his character well, despite all of the above. However, there seems to be a slight amount of foreshadowing early on in his character which didn't seem deliberate by the production but could have been intended in the actors performance. It's only curious and noteworthy because I'm not sure if the series wants me to hate his character or be lukewarm towards him.

I'll keep watching to see if the show actually develops into something of note. The evil lurking in the shadows and the revelation aspect of the show is what is intriguing to me. For the most part I'm not sure I will truly enjoy this series as it's a complete departure of what these characters are supposed to be and in some invariant way my mind continues to tell me I'm watching a poorly revived version of the Warlock film in a televised format utilizing a much more popular story concept like Sleepy Hollow, which was a commercially successful film. It's all too formulaic in a way that is trying to do something unique and isn't really feeling unique at all. It feels oddly clumped together. I also have to wonder if it's a similar theft of concept from Elementary, in a weird I'm-possibly-reaching-sort-of-way. 

All in all, I'm not impressed. I'm curious.

Let's see how it turns out.

Witches of East End

Normally I don't watch shows like Witches of East End but for some strange reason this series, that is generally designed with specific formulaic angst for woman over the age of 18, seems to be holding my interest. Perhaps it's because intellectually I think that this show is not really that good and I'm curious none-the-less to see how it holds an audience. Regardless of its intended influence, it is supernatural fantasy, which I dig. In terms of the angst in the series, it's far better than anything we saw in Twilight. 

Considering that the statement I made above sounds like an indictment on the audience that may love this show, it is not. It's more an accusation of my own intellectual breakdowns of a series. Either way, it has me among its audience members now and I'm extremely curious to dissect how a show like this works for the larger female community involved. 

Aside from the various other ridiculously bad attempts at Supernatural fantasy in circulation today, I'd say this one is much closer to getting it right, than say Teen Wolf, which causes my insides to boil when I watch any portion of that show, it's just terrible and continues to insult the great film it originally was trying to re-imagine or not, as the case may be. 

While I wouldn't put it soundly in the running with a series that has more serious tones and a higher degree of horror like Salem or American Horror Story: Coven; I would say that it has a larger focus on its material than Hemlock Grove which was confused as to what it wanted to do. Something that Penny Dreadful seemingly aspired to and executed with some hesitation in its own season (which ended last night). I perhaps maintain that this shows female audience is its general focus based on the historical audience that Lifetime tends to maintain.

I will admit as a guy seeing these beautiful woman on a screen is not something unwelcome, some of the more tedious issues they deal with are. Perhaps because of the cast in general it's keeping me coming back, especially for some of the more quirkier moments. I just hope that the show grows into its scenario more and ultimately does not become an aborted clone of Charmed. Charmed was a commercially viable and critically celebrated series. I imagine to some degree some of the formula that made that series work is going to be employed here, as is evident in its earliest episodes. But I would like to see this series maintain its own identity and keep itself unique. 

I'd suggest giving it a look if you like Supernatural Fantasy.

From Dusk Till Dawn, The Series

From Dusk Till Dawn The Series | Intrigued me early on, hooked me to a few characters, like Zane Holts' version of Ritchie Gecko and of course Don Johnson's Earl Mcgraw. However, a good portion of the story has become so ridiculous I wonder if Rodriguez truly wrote this recently and not when he was five years old. The dialogue is so atrocious I am starting to wonder if El Rey Network is using subliminal messaging to keep me coming back. Don't get me wrong, the concept and idea for this series is there and is extremely interesting; however has come together in a fashion that is absolutely childish and immature. 

I too wanted a more elaborate explanation of the Aztec Ziggurat, which kept irking Rodriguez to create this series. It was one of the coolest surprises at the end of the 1996 film. However, horrific performances by Jake Busey (among others); D.J. Cotrona unable to add a fresh approach to his role (instead) poorly attempting to channel a George Clooney impersonation has nearly started to upset my stomach. At this point, if the show is still maintaining an audience, Rodriguez should start merchandising D.J. Cotrona bobble-heads from the oft misinterpreted, overacted and poorly copied Clooney mannerisms.

The series does have sparks of imaginative and creative freshness but is peppered with stupid moments that burn away any good creativity; like reprising the stupid penis gun (Cock Cannon) that seems to appear in all of Rodriguez' films (which is idiotic and no one really cares). Seeing Jake Busey in a character that was interesting (originally) to watch Tom Savini play, now watching Busey thrusting that stupid gun, is just painful.

The vampire concept...The weird (yet awesome) and interesting version created in the film has pretty much been ignored and thrown away here in the series. These can walk in the sunlight and are not really vampires anymore, they're Were-Cobras...The term vampire shouldn't apply anymore...Some of the episode prologues are great and attempt to give interesting background on these "vampires" but what comes after is a mish-mash of failing upward story telling that is a 'greatness-steak' wrapped in 'putrefying bacon' - You may think its great at first...but then you start taking bites.

I had high hopes for this series. I normally love Rodriguez' work and I love the original film. I'm at a total loss for what is being delivered to the small screen. I can easily guess because El Rey is his network, he can do whatever he wants and continue to make these episodes until the inevitable, realizing the series needs to go, an overhaul or simply runs out of money. I like old school flicks and El Rey has a ton of them to boot, for this general reason I like the network. It's an interesting collection of old school, cult classics, Kung Fu movies and guilty pleasure films for guys (Did I just describe Netflix?) This series is Rodriguez' flag ship and perhaps he needs to understand that he is too close to the series. If he can make it out of this season without to much flack I'd suggest (quite possibly many of you the same) bringing on new writers that can carry the show into new territory and better flesh out and expand existing characters. Rodriguez may need to step out of the writers chair and remain comfortably in the Directors seat while wearing a producers hat, writing notes on a network executives notepad.

I'm still quite curious about other characters, the awkward direction this whole series is taking, making the ranger some sort of anti-were-cobra savior (i'm not calling them vampires anymore...) While I may still watch the series to its first seasons completion, i'm not expecting any real vindicating episodes or scenes to cause me to rethink my position. I'm simply a purist that prefers a complete view. If this past episode is any indication of what is to come, I weep for Rodriguez' bygone creative ability and wonder where the hell it went. A sword fighting scene against a fireman's axe...really? Is this what it boils down to? I imagine El Rey Network has marketing people that do research and demographics. Somewhere in those offices someone said in cliche fashion, in some random conference room with awkward hopeful smiles, praying whoever is sitting in the bosses chair likes their idea - "We'll use swords! We haven't used them at all for this entire season...but we will now! We'll introduce Carlos as a Conquistador and showcase his sword in that shot." BAM! The sword is in the episode, add an old school stand off with really bad stage combat training and there you have it...

Am I close? Someone (if not many) agreed that this scene was going to be a great one, or would set the stage...Just as much as someone agreed that the cock cannon + Jake Busey thrusts was cool...

Perhaps there are people (I imagine there would) that love this series as it is and to each his own. I'm genuinely hoping there might be some semblance of hope for the show. Because I do like Rodriguez and I want him to succeed, so he can get back to making really good movies.

The Raid 2: Berandal - Film Review

The Raid 2: Berandal

General Information

Released: March 28th (Limited Releases), April 11th (Wide Release US)
Box Office
MetaCritic: 71 Critics 8.9 Audience
Rotten Tomatoes: 79% Critics 94% Audience
IMDB
Official Website

Trailer

Editorial Bias

I absolutely loved The Raid: Redemption. It was a breath of fresh air with happy sprays of blood spatter with every inhalation. It was a marvelous display of what a martial arts film can be when intermixed with some solid crime drama within a bullet riddled canvas.

I was hoping for a sequel film release and its arrival couldn't have come soon enough. I loved TRR so much I would constantly show it to friends and have discussions among my contemporaries comparing it to the recent Judge Dredd entry. Because, in the end, both films were essentially the same, a 'raiding' of a large building to oust the existing drug-lord entrenched at its top floor. The difference is that TRR triumphantly did what the other tried desperately to do with a much larger budget. So with this in mind I had enormous expectations of what a second film could be and wondered how and if it could outdo its predecessor.

Even knowing that originally this film was intended to be released prior to The Raid, which originally was named Inside. I am extremely curious how this film was going to be adapted as a sequel and how it would incorporate Rama's character.

The Good 

Iko Uwais is again a charming and completely relatable young man within a world of horrendously disturbed criminal elements. A one-man-army that slowly begins to regret and realize that he is far deeper than he could have ever imagined; the only way to 'come up for air' is to go deeper and hope that he will make it out to the other side alive. This is similar to the feeling you get when watching this film. You almost forget to breathe. Because there is so much going on, from various characters that are actually being well fleshed out to a few familiar faces that return from the original film. All colliding in a wondrous ballet of appendages that bring you back to the original films remark about one of the characters "a fury of foot and fist."

The Bad

This is a nitpick, but necessary to state; one of the showcased characters in the film is Koso (Prakoso) which is played by Iko Uwais and Garreth Evans fellow friend in film and martial arts, Yayan Ruhian. A nitpick (indeed) because he was eviscerated in the first film as its resident ultimate henchman that appeared then to be unstoppable and appears now just as slightly unstoppable. Is this a complacency on the director that these Asians may relatively look alike and expected no one to notice? I'm not going to shake a race card but its a bit insulting. Otherwise its simply tossing in a great actor that in retrospect should not have been killed and was used to fill another role? High speculation at best.

Here Koso is an interesting character in a near cameo-like role but is utilized with a few distinct plot purposes that seemed a bit awkwardly forced. Of course his action choreography is highlighted in a few scenes with wonderful Silat flair, however the flow of the character was slightly irritating. You want to like Koso because of the tidbits of who he is that are demonstrated. However, you don't get enough time with him to really understand his plight and allow the film to flow or excuse his actions. This digression ended up sacrificing the trajectory of the film and caused the experience to shift in its plight from the protagonist, Rama/Yuda to this completely new character Koso - to only then throw him away for a plot twist. A midst the suspension of disbelief breaking as you ask yourself "didn't he die in the first movie?" Even if you do realize right away its a completely different character, it's an odd thing to have cast him in this sequel. Even if we love his scenes with his extremely vicious and immediate uses of force. 

The Ugly

There are a few scenes where you have to wonder how it is possible for some of the fighting to continue based on a few moments that funnel you into reality unwittingly. I'm not sure if those moments were intended to do this, but they did so exceptionally well. In doing so it throws the air of imagination out of the window and forces you to deal with the reality of what is happening. Like getting hit with a baseball bat in the head...

Silat is a very brutal and direct martial art used gorgeously in all of the Merantau films and while we obviously know our hero is going to be victorious (as we generally hope) sometimes you have to wonder how much can a man really take? Especially if you compare some of the scenes. One example where Rama first encounters Uco and Bejo's men and fights their prime henchman. He loses relatively quick after being struck a few times and is seemingly knocked unconscious. However, later in the film after dealing with many extremely tiring skirmishes, back-to-back, his fight against the same character seemingly runs for a great period of time on top of extreme wounds and fatigue being suffered. I love watching a character have to dig deep...I love it! But there are limits to what I will accept on the screen as being honest and realistic. 

The Great

The murderous intent is palpable and the beautiful carnage of the choreography is effortlessly lyrical. While there are instances of steady-cam use in a manner that is almost distracting. It is obvious the bulk of every principle in the film did most (if not all) of their own stunts, allowing for a seamless set of camera angles to display the sweet bone-destroying opera that is Silat to unfold on the screen naturally and without the need for movie magic to trick you into thinking you just saw some martial arts action. 

The singularly disturbing melee that was the prison riot scene was a joyous feast for the eyes for anyone who enjoys watching martial art films. Not because of wire-fu, or extremely graceful moments of acrobatic prowess. But for the sheer level of horrifying acts of inhumanity. A riot in the true sense of the word. It is nearly chaos personified in a few moments that slowly became difficult to determine who is who in terms of friend or foe; which left me with the distinct feeling in my mind that there is no such concept and may be a subtext in the story. 

...And Amazing?

This film doesn't simply start breaking bones in assembly line fashion or cast aside any dwindled hope for a story. Thankfully not. It has an interesting story of intrigue and heart at its core. A very solid cast of characters with great points of dialogue. The film even brings on an amazing character actor, Epy Kusnandar, who can create an atmosphere of dread simply with his eyes and also played an extremely chilling role simply titled 'Father' in  the 'Safe Haven' chapter of VHS 2; which is quite possibly the best chapter of the film and mostly because of his presence. 

When you look at films that have the undercover concept, you get characters bogged down in multiple complacency's of right and wrong that force scenarios in the plot. This film displays with extreme ferocity a man apart from the system he is working to protect. The lines between right and wrong are not very existent. If they are I didn't notice them. It makes our hero, Rama, a very different kind of character. 

Overall Verdict

As a general action film and as a martial arts film it is a must see movie that will satisfy the most jaded of martial art film enthusiasts. This one can almost gain a subcategory in torture-porn for the ridiculous level of horrifying things that are done to the enemy mid-fight. As a martial arts film it gorgeously displays various techniques in Silat that have similarities in Wing Chun and Muay Thai. Two styles many westerners are somewhat used to seeing on the big screen and can appreciate. Whether they know its Silat or not, the vicious and brutal fighting techniques will amaze. This movie is not for the faint of heart or for people that do not like violence on a level so grandiose that it hails back to the bullet-hell films Chow Yun-Fat starred in during the 80's and 90's; like Hard Boiled and  A Better Tomorrow. There is only one other star in Asian cinema currently that in my opinion matches the level of intensity of Iko Uwais and that's Tony Jaa. So if you love martial art movies, this is the only real film available to watch for the time being. 

4.5 out 5 Martial Art Movie Geeks

Have you seen The Raid 2: Berandal? Did this review help you? Share, comment, tweet, pin, form some words...I know you can. Follow and join the conversation or spark one up @EmanuelFCamacho

Meanwhile...

Changes that have occurred in my life since the last time I wrote into this blog are numerous and varied in scale.

Most recently I was inducted into the South Florida Writers Association and voted into their Board of Directors. Something I am exceptionally honored to be a part of, including taking on the Director of Publications position and editing the organizations Author's Voice. I'll be @ PhilanthroFest 2014 with Jonathan Rose, SFWA's Director of Community Affairs representing the organization and hope I can see a lot of Miamians there.

I recently became a part of the Florida Writers Association and the Miami Film Society. To say that I am keeping myself busy in my chosen professions would almost be an understatement. Although I won't be official with MFS until later this month as a listed Producer on their site. I started doing Indie outreach with UofM's Italian Film Festival with my old high school pal, Manny Rossi, who is a tenured professor at UofM and runs the festival events #UMIFF. Because of all this extra involvement in the community I got a chance to meet Billy Corben from Rakontur, the man behind the company behind the amazing documentary Cocaine Cowboys, which just got reloaded and released here in Miami.

So far I've been back in Miami and working as an Associate Producer for the last few months and oddly enough while here I'm experiencing a bit of a language barrier with the level and intricacy of my Spanish speaking and writing. Despite this awkward difficulty with one of my first languages I am doing well, even being groomed for a higher production position that I will be taking-on later in the year. 

On set @ El Gordo Y La Flaca

My first book, I Think? No, I'm Sure...God Hates Me is out on the market and I couldn't be happier and more proud. Yet I continue to write and work on other books. My publishing company also put out two other novels, Rhest for the Wicked, by Robert V. Aldrich and The Pack, by Dan Coglan. 

Everything has not always been sunny as bumps on the road over the last year sometimes felt like minor drops off a cliff. However, enduring failures and adapting to change has always been one of my strongest suits. I seem to amaze people that constantly ask something to affect of "How do you brush yourself off and carry on?" believing that failures can't be corrected. My simplest answer, "I don't like the floor." Whether I fall flat on my face, ass-backwards or just drop to a knee I always get up and move on. What else would I do? I'm not 'Floor-Spec' (Only World of Wacraft players will understand that last reference).

I meet a lot of folks and constantly wonder why there is so much fatalism, pessimism and general lack of motivation among them, my peers, elders and the incoming generations behind me. It irritates me that working hard, making mistakes, learning and moving on seems to be too much for most people to do; let alone comprehend. People expect a degree is their hall pass into life and things are either handed to them from there on or not. I don't get it...

I digress...

Of the last few films I've seen I wrote an In-Depth piece, as usual, on the Comic Book Movie entry for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which is currently featured on the CBM website. If you've yet to see this amazing film you are missing out on a treat. Check out the review if you need some convincing. For UMIFF I was able to marvel at the beautifully written Io Sono Li by Andrea Segre, which was about two separate immigrants living in Italy. One of which was Chinese the other from the country formerly known as Yugoslavia and the various circumstances that surrounded their simple lives. From the turmoils of prejudice and ignorance to simple sacrifices and love affairs that never were. "ships passing in the night" is the phrase that comes to mind which alter each others courses ever so slightly and ever so profoundly.

Rakontur's Cocaine Cowboy's Reloaded was as amazing as the original, and contained over an hour of additional never-before-seen material. I was able to have a simple conversation with one of the main subjects from their documentary, Mickey Munday, who at one time smuggled well over 56 tons of cocaine into Miami within a year. The stories and ramifications of Miami growing into the metropolis it is from the billions of dollars that flooded the city from this drug money was amazingly staggering to witness come to life in the context of the documentary.

Going back to my review of Winter Soldier, I had noticed that while we (CBM) had a very large and healthy chunk of comic book reviews alongside the websites eponymous pieces; it (the website) lacked Indie Comic reviews. So I sought out to correct that void. Luckily and recently I got to meet quite a few Indie artists and writers at a small but amazing courtyard-side comic-con piggy-backing the release of the Winter Soldier film at a theater location in Miami. There I was granted an enormous trove of amazing and obscure comics by their creators that blew me away. The first of those reviews was Creature Entertainments Ravenous by Juan Navarro and John Ulloa. I also put up another review this week for Cosmic Times' release of Decisions #1 and recently was given access to Decisions #2 and #3 for further review. I'm currently reading through Creature Entertainments Zombie Years and a separate book titled The Thirty-Six, a graphic novel by Kristopher White. I also picked up a campy title named Old Cuban Samurai which tickled my curiosity.

Other news that isn't so new but because I lazily ignored this blog for a small tick of time I will mention it. One of the films I was able to work on as an Executive Producer, The Fellows Hip: Rise of the Gamers was picked up by a great distributor, Phase 4, and released on iTunes, Netflix, Best Buy and Wal-Mart. Basically anywhere you can get DVD's and Blu-Rays. The film was released under a new name, Rise of the Fellowship. I still love seeing peoples faces light up at this wonderful family film. So I hope you get a chance to see it if you haven't seen it pop up on your Netflix or iTunes advertised films. Support #IndieFilms

My kids are growing up fast, my wife digs her toes into my legs as I type this and I continue to make the cheesy joke "I am not a writer, I 'write' on a computer, therefore I am a 'typist'!" and still get a few laughs among my peers. Until next blog post, I'll keep my adventure going and for now I leave you with the view I usually have every morning being back in Sunny #Miami

EFC

Miley Cyrus Twerking And Why Many Of The People Complaining About Her Are Ignorant Lemmings!

I've been reading so much about Miley Cyrus and her twerking antics as of late, and I'm admittedly irritated over its constant attempt at permanence by the media. About how she is so blatantly doing things that are so insulting, racist, exploitative...

No shit...

She's a pop starlet, you geniuses! She is using the same marketing tactics she's been taught to use by the various entities she's worked with that have used the same tactics since the beginning of the business.

I just read a small article - on The Wrap, stating how she is losing a cover on a magazine over this.

Are people honestly this fickle, and hypocritical? I've always thought most human beings are like lemmings, in terms of any number of situations they find themselves in, but seriously. Why is Miley getting so much blatant idiotic hate over a set of behaviors that are done by any number of other people in the media. Why is she being forced to assume a standard?

First example, of why this is stupid.

Let's look at the song, aside from her own, We Can't Stop, she is performing with Robin Thicke, Blurred Lines...A song that clearly states he wants to domesticate a women, calls them animals, and explains that it's in her (their) nature. Mr. Thicke calls them bitches, and has an unrated version of the video with these women dancing topless and rubbing themselves all over him; including the giant foam finger that others argue Miley is using so poorly. Morons on Twitter also were sending tweets commonly paraphrasing this statement "..Miley he's a married Man!", when Mr. Thicke (again as stated) has quite a few gorgeous naked women all over him in the video below, his wife I doubt gives a shit about Miley Cyrus performing with her husband... 

I also didn't interpret any meanings with my statements, those were lyrics I stated...Not to mention it has a moment in the video that states with large balloons "Robin Thicke has a big dick" -- Come on people, think! He probably had sex with the main nude starlet in the video (yes that's speculative), delusion would be to assume he hasn't, or hasn't tried...For people to complain in tweets that he is married over Miley's performance, seriously borders on insane levels of stupid.

I'm not hating on the song, or the music, I listen to it, it has a catchy beat, with the obligatory rap, hip hop singer in the background speaking a line or two in between the melody...in this case "...everybody get up" and "Wooo!".

Sure, I'm not a victim and I listen to music like this all day long, like many of us do. But I don't point a finger at someone with such arguments as to say "She's in the wrong!" it's a damn performance! on a live stage. Truth be told, all of you watching these performances are begging for shock value, and something different. When you don't get those things over time, you don't support the artist. In truth a piece of me wants to grab some of these people and tell them they need to masturbate themselves voraciously until they forget to speak, because most of them have absolutely useless things to say about this topic (and most if i'm honest with my thinking and opinion are indeed useless). 

Point in fact (I seem to have a few on this subject), look at Nascar. Many people will argue that they are not there to watch cars make left turns all day...They go for the excitement of seeing epic car crashes.

I sometimes wonder why people delude themselves into thinking they have some kind of moral high ground. I don't! I know the things that make me an asshole, and I know that I have a variety of them to contend with. I am honest enough about those things to not include myself in a mob of people that think, for one second, Miley Cyrus was doing anything other than trying to suck your attention toward her; and succeeded.

Like any other artists on the planet. Some do it with amazing amounts of taste, I can agree completely, and many also don't attract a lot of negative attention. However, how many of those that don't (actually) last in the marketplace.

Let me continue with the same performance Miley gained so much negative attention on.  

2 Chains also performed. Now, I personally don't listen to his music, because I think it's the kind of music that is essential to the functions in my body toward killing my own brain cells...But that's me, it should not invalidate any of you if you like or love his music. Some Rap and Hip Hop I love, others I want to gag. 

But his opening in the same performance featured a lot of black woman that were only there to shake their asses in as many specific manners as were humanly possible. All of which were very large asses, I might add...

We see this in virtually every possible Hip Hop and Rap video ever made. Perhaps that's an absolute statement and I am making a generalization - Because I am not going to research this to prove my point, let me retract the absolute and make an educated guess that possibly 95-99% of all Rap and Hip Hop music has a woman in some form shaking her ass for the enjoyment of the viewer, or for the purpose of lyrics in the song about shaking asses. Cite my source? Every music video I have ever witnessed. Don't ask me to cite a source, no one cares, i'm using broad generalization from personal experience.

I'm also not making that broad statement to shit on that kind of music; I'm only using it as a partial example, within all music, that there are a lot of situations where woman, or artists, are shaking there asses. Why is Miley getting so much negative attention over this then?

Is it because she's white? Because she's such a "perfectly clean cut" little girl formerly of Disney's Hanna Montana? Is it because she has a tiny little ass that most people would argue is not at all useful for said twerking activities?

I don't know, and I don't really care;  I do think this always boils down to the two most important things in life as I understand it ...Perception and Expectation...Which if we default to a great movie quote by George Clooney will equate to the main item of importance in life, Necessity.

Getting to the end of my observational rant, I am being an asshole myself. Making a (potentially) hypocritical judgment of all the people pointing out the negative issues of Miley twerking at the VMA's, spanking an enormous black ass, laughing at it with her nose practically in it, twerking up against Robin Thicke, and so on. Because I think a lot of these people have absolutely no clue as to what they are saying. They are making a judgment on someone based on the expectations of the perception that Miley is supposed to fit, under their judgment and morality according to what they need her to be.

In truth, whether she is actually self destructing, or not; she is still a pop starlet using traditionally appropriate methods to shed her old robotically controlled, Disney mandated persona - as most starlets born and bred through their system historically have...

Some people may read this and think i'm being overly critical, that's fine. I think if those people also made those moral high ground judgments against Miley without actually understanding the point of a performance, or actually assuming that she is in the wrong, among many other wrongs. Then yes, I'm an asshole, and I think those people are idiots...Stop worrying about a starlet and go read a fucking book you lemmings.

Miley will do her thing regardless...

...End rant!

Random Question: "Hey Manny! Can You Tell Me About All Those Pics In Your Twitter Account? They Are All Pretty Cool! Thanks Joe D."

I'm going to start using Blogger a lot more to talk about the random things that I am not necessarily writing about for other websites. So I'm going to start voicing and blogging about the random, wacky comments, and odd questions I get on my facebook and Twitter. Some of them are funny, some are tedious and strange; others just catch me by surprise, and deserve to be shared with the world. 

To answer the question, I guess listing them is the quickest way to describe them. But here's the TL;DR answer: "They're all pics from years of convention appearances and travels." 

I'll go top to bottom column by column.

Here we go, are you ready?

Column 1

1. A friend and fan created a demotivational of me that reads "Mangod: What If God Was One Of Us"

2. Me teaching a friend martial arts techniques to use in AMT Guard @ Tekkoshokan in Pittsburgh, PA

3. Me in my "Orgasm + Donor" shirt I wore only once at AMA leading a massive panel in Chesapeake, VA

4. Me with my wonderful friend Todd Rogers, King of Video Games, sexiest man alive...I'd tap that!

5. Another great friend I met doing appearances through Virginia that became one of my buds, Greg Miller, he and I are "Black and Tan" like our beers!

6. An old employee and myself having some fun in Boston.

7. Chasing Kroze with a Bullhorn at a convention in Crystal City, VA (If don't know who Kroze is, you haven't lived)

8. Not fully visible me doing a ridiculous aerial dive onto a fellow panelist at the same event as in #7 

Column 2 

9. Me Yelling at Kroze with a megaphone @ MagFest, expressing my disdain for how manly he is! "KROOOOZE!" (which drove Robert V. Aldrich insane...derp)

10. Saying my goodbyes at the closing events of Anime USA in Crystal City, VA

11. Hanging with my Friend Edward James Olmos

12. One of my best friends Kim Cohan, "Kimmy", showing off her tongue at an event that I appeared in, Orlando, FL

13. Taking a photo with my bud Bo Hampton, amazing Comic Book Artist 

14. One of the worlds best Street Fighter Players Daigo Umehara

15. Giving out Prizes in Boston

16. Posing with Fans at SakuraCon

Column 3

17. Posing with Fans at Dragon*Con - Thing 1 and Thing 2

18. At a release party for Tatsunoko vs Capcom with Seth Killian and one of the best Street Fighter Players in the World, my friend Sanford Kelly, as well as "Kurasa", Jeff Blyden, and "Keits", Adam Heart, (two of the countries best players for the title being released).

19. Having drinks with one of my close friends and mentors, Richard Epcar.

20. Posing with an amazing group of my friends at an event in Orlando

21. Giving out more prizes to a great gamer in the Boston Area, Matt Townsend

22. Appearing at Tekkoshokon in 2009 licking the ear of it's chairman and my friend Jim Gogal, while Jeanie (his wife) tweaks his nips...

23. Taking pictures with more fans at SakuraCon in 2009 (I think...O_o)

24. I need to move this picture higher, my good friend and colleague Chris Smith

Column 4

25. Two of my favorite people in different aspects of the anime industry, Chinh Ly from Anime Remix, and Tommy Yune from Harmony Gold, before we got stinking drunk partying in Miami

26. Teaching MMA tactics as a self defense course with my wonderful friend and fellow martial artist, Joel Joly

27. Hanging with Brian O'halloran, also before getting stupid drunk

28. Recording a podcast in Ohio

29. Shooting at fellow nerds with Airsoft rifles @ an event in Ohio (and getting shot at back)

30. Hot tub time with friends after a convention appearance

31. SpookyFest 2008, too much partying messing with people that were drunkenly passed out in my after party at 6AM

32. Two of the most wonderful woman in my life that are not my wife, my mother, my grandmother, or my children. Diane Spyridon-Hetland and Natalie Wood-Faulhaber - if you don't know them, your life is not complete...

Column 5

33. I setup a domino table in the middle of a hotel hallway by it's elevators, started drinking, and turned the hallway into a party...

34. My good friend and colleague Steve Downes, who I love making snort when he laughs while eating my cooking!

35. My bud over at Cox Radio, Dangerous Dave! 

36. Leading a Panel, writing cosmically awesome things on the board...wait, nevermind, i'm on a rant of some kind.

37. Having drinks with fans at an event after-party

38. Dinner with friends and staff after a convention, throwing out the usual gang signs in a pose

39. Posing in Resident Evil Cosplay with some fans - I don't do this enough!

40. Posing with staff at an event in St. Louis

Column 6

41. Greatest weekend ever, I got to guest judge in the Kansas City BBQ Societies Florida State Tournament, eating more ribs and steak than I could possibly ever hope for in a lifetime!!! FAT AND HAPPY!

42. Presenting gaming awards with Dangerous Dave to little kids

43. Two of my favorite people, Michelle, and Sammy, your life sucks if it doesn't have a little of both in it.

44. Two more of my favorite people Richard and Ellyn Epcar

45. Random Convention, i've done 1000+ hard to keep track which ones they all are from photos...O_o

46. Spookyfest in Orlando

47. Random event appearance, somewhere...lol

48. Massive audience in Eyecon

Column 7

Same as Column 12

Column 8

Same as Column 11

Column 9

65. Uncensored & Unscripted @ AMA 2012

66. Some of my previously sponsored Street Fighter players.

67. E3, I love it here!

68. Gaming Event in New England

69. Pittsburgh, Tekkoshokan, I miss Jim, the Speigels, Ellyn, Hoagie! T_T

70. My audience in one of my panels at a convention in Ohio

71. Really Happy Gamers, winning tournaments

72. More Happy Gamers in Boston, Cheering! Winning stuff I'm giving away.

Column 10

73. After-Party with staff, fans, and a lot of friends in Ohio

74. Wearing a Wisconsin Cheddar Head with a friend before leaving for GenCon

75. Getting Bonked on the head by fans cosplaying Ice Climbers 

76. Gamer's cheering in Boston

77. Talking to the MC's Penis and seeing if it answers my cosmic questions while in main events, saying goodbye in closing ceremonies, Tekkoshokan 2010

78. My crazy game room in Virginia 

79. My bigger crazy game room in Boston

80. Sitting in a Panel discussion making a guest appearance in St Louis.

Column 11

81. Teaching Scorpion and Sub Zero how to really kick ass @ Dragon*Con

82. Getting some random cheering

83. Gaming @ GenCon

84. One of my panels full to the brim, doing my top 25 Mech's of all time panel

85. Pop'N Music, I suck at this...

86. More cheering fans! RAVE YOU LUNATICS RAVE! Your raucous noise warms my heart.

87. Leading an epic panel with my wonderful friends and colleagues Steve Bennett, Larry Furry, Kevin Mckeever, and Steve Yun "Teaching Anime, Gaming, and Comic Book Nerds How To Talk To Girls!" in St Louis...we were invaded by fangirls and I got covered in streaming paper...

Column 12

88. Leading a huge panel discussion on one of my books

89. Gaming fun at an event outside of Boston; the organizer ended up kidnapping someone, after the event was over, and leading a multi-county car chase by the cops...fun...O_o (all because he couldn't pay the event bills)

90. Big Smash Bros. Tournament I sponsored

91. Street Fighter Tournament in Brooklyn

92. Massive Street Fighter Tournament in Ohio

93. Leading a crazy 18+ panel @ AMA in Chesapeake, VA 2012

94. Tourney I took 4th in Tekken.  I don't compete as often as I used to, but I love competing in Tekken

95. A lot of us half naked and running around with Keith Apicary at SGC...You had to be there. If you haven't run around naked trolling masses of people with Keith Apicary, you haven't lived. Our friends from Life and Level are also in this picture half naked as well. Same guys got to zap me in the ass with a cattle prod that weekend, demonstrating my manliness...

So there's your answer, wow, um yeah, that's a lot of picks in that background image, a lot of wonderful memories. Hopefully I never have to list them again! O_o (EDIT-> the background on this twitter has been changed but many of those images are still there just in a different order).

Feel free to comment, share, tweet, rant, and rave...Well...less ranting and raving. @emanuelfcamacho