AllMoPs 23

All Manner of Plugs: Issue 23 (3.21.2011)

a weekly informing and recommending email

Written by J.S. Lewis

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PLUG IN

Thanks for clicking this open and now thanks for starting to read. This is the 23rd helping of AllMoPs! There have been some changes to the program. For one thing, The Film Tome Report and Gamerain are no longer to be found in this email. They still exist and are now better than ever (including pictures). I will provide links to them in each issue. In fact, here you are: The Film Tome Report: Issue 23 and Gamerain: Drop 23. The rest of AllMoPs is the same as always and can be found below. Enjoy!

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MVOTW

"Hooked on a Feeling" by David Hasselhoff

This has been on YouTube for five years? I don't know how I went so long without seeing it until now. Special thanks to members of VGAME for showing me this. I do not know how this video came to be, why Hasselhoff agreed to it, or why more people don't watch it on a daily basis. It is one of the most entertaining MVs I know of.

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A LIST

The Hollywood Reporter announces "Hollywood's 10 Most Stupid Tweets."

Yesterday Cracked published "6 Insane Uses of Animals in Wartime (That Actually Worked)." A friend and I actually did a presentation on this topic last year in our Chinese class (learning how to say "incendiary monkeys" in another language has blessed my life). What did I learn? Genghis Kahn is a brilliant strategist. Also, see the related article entitled, "7 Insane Military Attempts To Weaponize Animals."

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MONKEY DO

I will let the title of the article speak for itself: "Woman Goes to Court with a Monkey in Her Bra." 

 

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POLICE BEAT

Assault

March 2: A student reported being told to sit down at the basketball game. He did not comply and he was grabbed and hit in the face.

Criminal Mischief

March 4: Microwaves from Helaman Halls were moved into the hall lounge, where someone destroyed them by running food in them for a considerable amount of time. When officers responded they found the ruined microwaves along with charred remains of a burrito. Police said this has already happened twice in Helaman Halls, and investigation is pending.

Suspicious Behavior

Feb. 18: A writing center employee reported a male student often comes to the center to receive help with sexually explicit stories he has written. The male also pushes to spend an hour with tutors even though most students are only allowed 30 minutes. The writing center is taking action while police are monitoring the situation.

March 2: Officers received a report of a van with fogged windows and seats removed from the vehicle. The caller suspected lewd acts were being committed in the van. Upon arrival, the officers discovered 10 fully-clothed individuals watching a movie.

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RANDOMONIA

This is one of the funniest videos I have ever seen. Well made!

Terrifying.

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UNPLUG

Unestimated chinchillas! If you have any comments, questions, requests, complaints or threats please let your voice be heard by allmops@gmail.com. If you wish to be removed from the AllMoPs send-list, let me know. If you wish to add someone, let me know. Remember, all previous AllMoPs are available at my blog, All Manner of Posts. Have a merry week and thanks for plugging in!

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AllMoPs 22

All Manner of Plugs: Issue 22 (3.7.2011)

a weekly informing and recommending email

Written by J.S. Lewis

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PLUG IN

Missed the last two week, but like a good boomerang I have returned and like a good pizza boy I am delivering (on a Monday!). Sit down and relax, the links are on me. Well, not on me, but provided by me. You know? No? Here:

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MVOTW

"Welcome To Heartbreak" by Kanye West

An interestin' visual to one of the excellent tracks from Kanye's "808s and Heartbreak." It was an experimental mechanical album (entirely done with auto-tune) and this MV seems have the same hard-shelled casing of technology with a flesh and bones message inside. No, your computer is not wigging out, it is supposed to look like that.

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A LIST

Forbes presents "25 Stunningly Dumb Warning Labels." Sadly, there are probably reasons for them.

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NEWS TO ME

Tony Mangan from Ireland plans to run a marathon every day for three years... and I thought trying to watch a movie every day was hard. Video news here.

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GAMERAIN

At the Game Developers Conference this year, Toru Iwatani (the creator of Pac-Man) spoke on the influences and development of the arcade classic from 1980. Check out IGN's entertaining and informative article, "7 Things You Never Knew About Pac-Man."

Xbox Live Arcade is one of the best platforms for gaming today. With new releases every week and with multiple 5-star titles already in the library, it is an easy sale for anyone interested in games. Besides that, every game is required to have a playable demo! Last year IGN posted their "Top 25 Xbox Live Arcade Games." My only grievance is that their placement of "Braid" is much too low... Still, their #1 is a pleasant surprise!

"Pokemon White" and "Black" for the Nintendo DS hit shelves today (on a Sunday, I know, weird right?). Of course, it is the same tried-and-true formula with some new features slapped on, namely the 3D-ish environments. IGN gave the game a 9 and labeled it "Amazing." Click here for access to their written and video reviews. The game currently has an 87 on metacritic.

Before TIm Burton got his hands on the "Alice in Wonderland" franchise (which turned out to be a rather disappointing venture) there was "American McGee's Alice," a macabre and bloody action game based on Lewis Carroll's books. Now, American McGee and his team at Spicy Horse are finishing the sequel, "Alice: Madness Returns," due this summer (June 14th). Here is the trailer and gameplay. I feel the twisted visuals and overall lunacy demonstrated herein surpasses what you may have seen in theaters last year and that is what Alice is all about. Still, no adaptation can surpass the under-appreciated masterpiece that emerged from Disney studios in 1951.

If I am going to buy one game this year, it is going to be "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim." The first trailer (with gameplay!) came out last week. All of the excitement that I had in the months before "Oblivion" released is coming back! It is a grand time to be a gamer. Charles and Ryan from IGN breakdown the trailer in a hearty session ofRewind Theater. There is so much to dissect herein and they do a great job (even managing to point out the nirnroot that I honestly missed!). 11.11.11 is the day.

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THE FILM TOME REPORT

THE TRAILER ROUND-UP

We have had a teaser, a 30-second spot during the Super Bowl and now finally a full trailer! I speak of "Kung Fu Panda 2." I am a fan of the first, which featured one of the most stellar training montages in all of film, and hope this one can match if not surpass it. I think the trailer looks great, more in terms of the visuals than the film as a whole. In any case, Po asks a perplexing question, "How can kung fu stop something that stops kung fu?" We shall be able to find come May 26th.

It's true, the folks at Dreamworks thought it would be a good idea to give Puss in Boots, the metro-swash-buckling kitty voiced by Antonio Banderas from the "Shrek" sequels, his own film. It is called... "Puss in Boots." This silly teaser tells us little of the narrative, but looks to take place in a Latin setting and methinks it will be an origins story for the Zorro-like feline. The "Shrek" series ended off on a very high note with "Shrek Ever After" (although ANYTHING could be considered very high when compared with the king of tripe known as "Shrek the Third"), so I am justified in being a little hopeful.

"Legend of the Fist," starring kung fu master Donnie Yen as kung fu master Chen Zhen will knock your shoes and socks off! Not since the exceptional likes of "Kung Fu Hustle" have I seen a stylized martial art epic set in a 20th century world that looks so sweet. While we yawn our heads off in the West with one superhero movie after another (not to mention one rebooted superhero movie after another), the East is sharpening a knife to slam in the table of contemporary action films. Hiyah!

Rainn Wilson, BKA Dwight from "The Office," stars in "Super" (I am a little envious someone officially used that title before me and in a similar way and for a similar reason), not your typical super hero film. I have yet to see last year's "Kick Ass," but this certainly harks back to its likes. After beholding the trailer I must declare my love for it: The confrontation and abandonment of cliches, the hand-drawn comic book effects and use of blunt humor all seem golden. Kevin Bacon, Liv Tyler and the Ellen Page co-star!

Toss of the Week: The namesake for "A Better Life" seems to be what the father in this film hopes his son will have compared to his own. Father-son relationships are among the most touching to me, add on the situation of a foreigner trying to make a life in America (a situation I have come to intimately learn) and you have a narrative that grips me from the get-go. The lead performances seem promising enough throughout the carefully shot sequences that lend themselves to realism. In this trailer I saw a sort of contemporary retelling of "The Bicycle Thief," a film that reaches greatness on multiple facets. "A Better Life" will hit select theaters on June 24th.

ENLSITED

Will Entertainment Weekly's list of "25 Greatest Working Directors" have you shaking your head in disbelief or nodding in agreement? Thankfully, my noggin did more of the latter. JoBlo responds.

AND THE WEIRD

The rumors are true... Lucas is bringing back "Stars Wars" with a 3D makeover, starting with "Episode 1: The Phantom Menace." It will hit theaters on February 10, 2012. I for one am not planning on being there. On one hand, it will be an interesting experiment and some will see if the conversion works, on the other hand, it seems like business as usual and audiences will surely fill the hungry pockets of some.

Not sure what I feel about a sequel to "Dumb and Dumber." If it is near as bad as the prequel looked, no thanks. Still, the Farrelly brothers seem to be for it and I must ever remember that few duo can make me laugh like Carrey and Daniels.

I thought this spoofed trailer was magnificent! I am a big fan of "The King's Speech," but must accept this a spot of well-done fun. Great to see Tyson's acting chops in "The President's Speech."

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UNPLUG

Underage jabberwocky! If you have any comments, questions, requests, complaints or threats please let your voice be heard by allmops@gmail.com. If you wish to be removed from the AllMoPs send-list, let me know. If you wish to add someone, let me know. Remember, all previous AllMoPs are available at my blog, All Manner of Posts. March on and thanks for plugging in!

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