The Die Cast: Tabletop Spacefaring

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Twilight Imperium is the biggest, longest, craziest game you’ll ever play, an epic space opera that needs a banquet table to play properly. Rex is its smaller, nastier cousin, a game so intimate and mean that you’ll actually need to stand up to catch your breath.

The Die Cast is back! Jacob and Daniel are joined by a handful of special guests to talk about two of gaming’s best science fiction games. One is a sledgehammer to the face. The other is a shiv to the back. One will cost you an arm and leg. The other is reasonably priced. Both are pretty damn great. But which one is better? Well, you’ll have to listen to find out!

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Twilight Imperium Blog

VERSUS

Rex

 

 

Beyond The Movie: Cap In The Comics Currently

With the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the Star Spangled Avenger has once again in the spotlight. Since I haven’t seen the movie yet (but I have heard good things from our own Unusual Suspects in their Highly Suspect Review, which  you should  check out if you haven’t already!) I thought I would let you fine folk in on what is happening with Cap and maybe entice a few more of you to give his most recent book run a shot.

 

Following Ed Brubaker’s legendary run (which the new movie is heavily based on) was a tall order. Brubaker was on the book for seven years and his gritty espionage-based stories were so ingrained in everyone that most people thought that was the only way to write Cap. However, Marvel was promising exciting change with even its most mainstream books as part of its Marvel NOW initiative. While many Steve Rogers fans would have been quite happy if Marvel had  slapped someone in there to ape Brubaker, the House of Ideas was committed to shaking things up and handed the book over to Rick Remender.

 

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The successor to the Brubaker legacy.

 

Remender is known mostly for his dark and crazy over-the-top sci-fi fueled stories that still somehow manage to work. Examples included his Uncanny X-Force run and his work as lead writer for the 2011 video game Bulletstorm (which our good friends over at Rage Select are playing through). Remender was seen as an odd but exciting choice for what was a spy-themed title for nearly a decade. Almost immediately, he made some drastic changes to the trajectory of Captain America’s adventures. Remender’s first arc dropped Cap into an alternate dimension thick with monsters and ruled by Arnim Zola. In addition to keeping himself alive in this fantastical hellscape, Steve also had to protect and raise a child. I know, it’s completely insane.

And it worked.

It worked because despite all the crazy events and creatures, Remender never lost sight of who Steve was. It is that commitment to the emotional core of the character that allowed him to go so far off the beaten trail and still achieve success.  It was a statement that to the world that Cap was still interesting and relevant no matter what sort of story you drop him into, orthodox or not.

 

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Whether he’s fighting Nazis, HYDRA, or monsters, Steve’s conviction never wavers.

Steve eventually made it back, but the time he spent in that alternate dimension and what it cost him to get home have left him a very deeply scarred man. Even more so than before, he is a man out of time. Since then, Remender has had Cap face off against Nuke and Dr. Mindbubble (a scientist who injected the Super Soldier Serum mixed with LSD into his body, giving him crazy powers) who are all pieces of a greater conspiracy. Exciting stuff!

So is the book perfect? No. Sometimes it does get a little lost in trying to be weird and the book stumbled around a bit post-Zola world before it settled into a groove, but every time I crack open a new issue, I know I’m in for something interesting and that is what keeps me coming back. For those of you who saw The Winter Soldier and want some more Captain America in your life, the current run of comics is definitely worth your time.

 

The Pre-Weekend Recap: April 4, 2014

The Pre-Weekend Recap has returned once again! Welcome to the feature designed to help you catch up with some of the features that debuted on One Of Us this week.

This has been another productive week for the members of the One of Us crew. There was a plethora of original content produced and published on the site this week and it would be a shame if you missed out on it. Below you’ll find a few of the features that were posted this week, so consider this the best place to start catching up if you missed anything because life got in the way. Give it a look and get started!

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Future Drinks: Star Trek

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Chris Cox is a man who knows his drinks and he’s never shy about mixing his love of alcohol with his geeky passions. This feature is the first of hopefully many articles about some of the delicious geek-inspired beverages that you can make on your own. All of you Star Trek fans will certainly find something to like in here, so take a look and start mixing! Responsibly, of course.

 

Adapting To Change: When The People We Love Can’t Play The Characters We Love Anymore

One of the most important parts of making an iconic property is selecting dynamic talents to portray the most important roles. However, as a series becomes storied, the people who bring our favorite characters to life may not be able to keep reprising their legendary roles, because of age, contractual obligations, or simply fatigue. Mr. John Eckes examines how franchises can change, for better or for worse, when the people we love have to move on from their most celebrated roles.

 

The 30 Dozen: Sudden Impact

Brian’s at it again with the latest entry in the yearlong series, The 30 Dozen, where he examines 12 films from 1984 and gleans knowledge from them as he too enters his 30th year of existence.  What insight  did he gather form this month’s film, the fourth film of the Dirty Harry series, Sudden Impact? Take a look and find out what you can take away from Clint Eastwood kicking ass as Harry Callahan once again.

 

Trailer: Into The Storm Is a Found Footage Version of Twister

As a born and raised Midwesterner, Luke Crum knows a thing or two about tornadoes. Thus, when the teaser trailer for the upcoming film Into The Storm dropped, his interest was certainly piqued. A found footage weather-related disaster film seemed intriguing and the teaser trailer was compelling, but what did he think of the full trailer? How did it change his expectations about the film? Check out both videos and Luke’s perceptive observations in the article here!

 

An Ode to Oderus Urungus: How GWAR Made the World a Better Place

Dave-Brockie

The frontman of the metal band GWAR, Dave Brockie a.k.a. Oderus Urungus, passed away last week and the world is lesser place without him. GWAR describes themselves as the “sickest band in metal history” and under Brockie’s leadership, they more than lived up to the title. Oderus’ tragic passing has got One of Us’ music man, Matt Hudson, thinking about what the band’s contributions to pop culture are and how they impacted the public consciousness. Check out his tribute to a dynamic personality and an incredible individual right here.

REMINDER: ITL LIVE WRESTLEMANIA COMMENTARY THIS SUNDAY!

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The sports nerds of Inside the Locker will be providing a running commentary for one of the biggest events in sports. A full card of special guests is slated to appear, including John and Amanda from Geek Bombast’s All Rings Considered podcast. For full details, just click the image.

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If you like what you’ve seen here, please be sure to share our stuff with others who might enjoy it. There’s always more internet to conquer, so help us on our quest to unite the internet under one banner! Have a great weekend!

ITL Tournament Edition: Marvel Movies

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The argumentative sports nerds of Inside the Locker continue their Tournament Edition series. This time, in the run-up to the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the guys settle once and for all (this week) which previous Marvel movie reigns supreme. We whittled it down from the Super 16 to the Spectacular 8 to the Fantastic Four and crowned a champion between the final Gruesome Twosome.

That’s right, it’s time for a super heroic version of our…

Totally Accurate, Desperately Necessary Movie Elimination Tournament!!!

And speaking of impossibly heroic feats, our special guest referee for this tournament is none other than Chris Cox from The Original Gentlemen and Digital Noise. Yeah, we actually got Chris to be on the sports podcast, where are our capes? Chris being one of our resident comic book experts, we were quite comfortable letting him have the final say in each individual match-up.

We are anticipating a fair amount of discussion and debate this week from you, the listener, and we welcome that. There were some surprise upsets and a very intriguing final match.

 

Let the fireworks commence!

Iron Man Explosion

 

Scores and Stories (2:50)

We talk NFL free agency, MLB opening days, and some rather controversial former-player opinions on paternity and…”ghetto tendencies?”

 

Marvel Movie Elimination Tournament (19:30)

The starting bracket is pictured below. If you want to see the results (and spoil the fun before you even listen to the show…for shame), click on the image to reveal a filled-in version of the bracket.

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Back to regular show format next week, which will give us time to prep for the Sports Movie Elimination Mega Tournament! Yeah, that battle will be as epic as, well…

Rocky IV

 

 

Make sure to follow us on Twitter. To not do so would be a cruel as Loki shoving an adorable little girl for practically no reason whatsoever.

Loki shove

The Show Account–@ITLCast
Brian–@BriguySalisbury
J.C.–@jcdeleon1
Elliott–@ITLElliott
Adam–@the_beef

Movie Review – Captain America: The Winter Soldier

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We’re over the half-way mark in Marvel’s Phase two leading up to the second Avengers film, and I’d say none of the films has been so anticipated as the sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger. Not just because the success of the original, but because the sequel is based on one of the best superhero comic runs ever, that it has the Black Widow as a main character (rowr), and that it introduces Anthony Mackie as the BEST Cap side-kick ever, The Falcon.

But will all this pedigree lead up to The Winter Soldier actually being as good as some are saying? Will directors Anthony and Joe Russo, who have more experience in TV, be able to cut it as the helmers of a huge Marvel action flick? Fear no more, as the Unusual Suspects are here to dish the dish. Richard, Chris, Brian and Beau fanboy up on our review of Cap 2.

Showcase: ‘Forgiving Amy’

Last week, I had the pleasure to interview independent film maker James Mulholland about his life and work. This weeks showcase is his latest short film ‘Forgiving Amy’.

During our interview he opened up about the creative process behind the film and was very candid about it.

‘Forgiving Amy’ was in my head since I started writing. But I never wanted it to be my first film, I wanted to grow as a writer and a filmmaker before tackling this film, as it meant a lot to me. It originated from a single moment, that it near the end of the film (I won’t spoil it). It was basically, Quigs, does something horrible to Amy, towards the end of the film, that moment is what the film grew out from. After making ‘What If?’ and ‘My Father’s Son’, I felt confident enough that I was ready to write this film and tackle it in a good way, with next to no budget.

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Shooting was extremely hard for this film, It took 8 shooting days to do (I’ve shot 20 minute films in 2 days). But that was to do with location problems and mainly the weather for exterior shots. It was Ireland after all, so the weather was not my friend. One day, we literally had Sun shine, a couple minutes later it was cold and cloudy, a couple of minutes later rain, then finally we had hail stones. The sun eventually came back out but there was no way that scene could cut together due to the ground being soaked and then dry, so we shot another day to get it right.

Editing on this was easy enough, I write, storyboard, direct and shoot my own films, so when it came down to me editing this, I had a solid idea in my head. But, I did have to make two big changes. The film was 25 minutes long, so I cut two scenes out of it. 1. A scene where Quigs comes home and is angry because he didn’t get his ‘supply’, and 2. A scene where Quigs and Amy go to a ‘Cash for Gold’ shop to pawn off a piece of jewelry for money. I needed to get the running time down, for festivals etc.

I asked James what he learned about his own creative process and what worked for him about ‘Forgiving Amy’ and perhaps, what didn’t work so well;

I learned a great deal. The biggest thing I take from the film is what I learned about ‘music scores’. I made the decision early on that this film would have no score. I wanted the tension to come from the fact that I was not manipulating an audience from music, I wanted it to feel real, I wrote the characters to be that way and luckily the actors pull it off. I’m a big fan of music scores and they can enhance a scene to another level, but there is also something about not having music in a scene, that can heighten it to something more.

James was very candid about the run time of the short which is just under twenty minutes which is considered quite long for a short film.

I wanted the film to be 13-14 minutes, but it’s touching 20. So, that’s what really doesn’t work for me. Also, the location that Amy and Quigs, sleep in? It wasn’t the original location (that fell through), so we had to work with what we had, and though it does a decent job, it just wasn’t the disgusting, rotten location that I originally had. Last, Production design, we have no production designer on the film (no budget for it), so we done it all ourselves. It’s ok, but I know that a production designer would have heightened it even more.

After only being publicly released last week, you can watch the film right here. Watch, enjoy and feel free to give feedback.

Want to showcase your own short film, art,comics,writing, etc on OneOfUs like James did? Get in touch at chris-harrison@outlook.com

Movie Review: ‘Noah’

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The studio decreed from on high, “Thou Shalt Not Have a Noah Press Screening.” The heathens known as The Unusual Suspects, decided they were going to see the film anyway and deliver you all from a lack of review. Still, apologies for the tardiness of the posting.


Darren Aronofsky takes on that classic biblical story: The Old Man & The Sea. Starring Russell Crowe as the old man and digital effects as the sea. Brian is joined by Mr. William Goss and, believe it or not, Luke Mullen makes his HSR debut to testify as to the strengths and shortcomings of Aronofsky’s epic. Will it float their boats or just tread water? Thou Shalt ALWAYS Make Puns.


Enjoy this Highly Suspect review of Noah, and feel free to deliver your comments two-by-two.

An Ode to Oderus Urungus: How GWAR Made the World a Better Place

As you may have heard, the lead singer of the metal band GWAR, Dave Brockie aka Oderus Urungus, passed away last week.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with the band, GWAR is a thrash-metal band known for their over-the-top theatric live shows.  They are the self-described “sickest band in metal history.” The band claims that they are aliens who were banished to Earth by “The Master,” accidently created the human race, and are currently working to destroy everything within their path. Think Alice Cooper but heavier, and with infinitely more gore.

GWAR would chop the heads off of giant puppets that were made to look like public figures during their concerts.  People like Paris Hilton, George Bush, Bill Clinton, and Miley Cyrus were all victims on the GWAR stage.  No one was safe from their ire. GWAR’s music was drenched with satire and was a departure from most metal music that was known for taking itself too seriously. They took America’s love of violence, and America’s love of Pop Culture, and put it on display on their stage. Brockie was the creative force behind the band, and as of this writing, it remains to be seen what will happen with the band itself.  It’s hard to believe that GWAR can continue without Brockie, but I believe the world is a better place with GWAR in it.

 

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Just Oderus being Oderus.

I had the pleasure of seeing GWAR live in 2005 when they were touring with a metal festival called “Sounds of the Underground.”  Having only seen pictures of the band and heard a few songs, I was only familiar with GWAR in the abstract at the time. I knew that they were going to spray fake blood on the crowd and I heard that they wore ridiculous costumes on stage.  Early on during the day a lot of bands would come outside to their merch tents and do meet-and-greets with their fans. As I was standing around trying to decide which line I should get in, a golf cart passes by with Oderus Urungus on the back as he yells insults at everyone he sees.  Obviously, I had to go meet this guy.  Naturally, Oderus didn’t relent at the meet-and-greet as he would sign your program and call you “human scum” at the same time.  The live show was everything that I had hoped it would be complete with a beheading of the Pope.  Thanks to GWAR, I came back from that show with a black eye and covered in fake blood.   You should’ve seen the smile on my face.

 

 

Whether you love them, hate them, or have no idea who they are, GWAR is one of the most creative bands that exist in modern music.  Just because they express their immense creative talent through metal, satire, blood, and gore doesn’t make them any less creative.  If we’re lucky we’ll see GWAR again in one form or another, because the world needs GWAR.  We need an answer to the mundane pop princesses who have been designed to grab our attention.  But we also need an answer to the ever-scowling run-of-the-mill metal band.  We need someone who, through absurdity, reminds us how absurd pop-culture is.  The world needs a band that doesn’t just stop at mentioning the taboo, but exists in it.  We need someone who can poke and prod at the things that make us uncomfortable, but do it without an exhausting sense of self-importance. Dave Brockie and Oderus Urungus were all of those things and both of them will be sorely missed.  Rest in peace Oderus.  Rest in peace Mr. Brockie.

ITL Live Wrestlemania Commentary This Sunday!

That’s right, fellow sports nerds, it’s time to climb back into the ring with the guys from Inside the Locker. This weekend heralds the arrival of the single biggest event in professional wrestling, arguably one of the biggest events in sports in general: Wrestlemania!

And once more, we’ll be there to cover it live!

 

 

The guys will once again be joined by Amanda and John from the excellent All Rings Considered podcast. In addition, a cadre of other special guests are scheduled on the card.

Oh, and we’re not just covering the main show, no sir. We are starting the broadcast with the pre-show and we won’t tap out until the very last fall of the very last match. Grab some extra snacks and clear your schedule, this one is gonna be epic.

Tune in to this post on Sunday, April 6th at  5 p.m. CST to listen live and participate in the live chat.

 

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Future Drinks : Star Trek

It’s not the fault of science fiction that I like the booze. Sure, some variation of futuristic hootch shows up in about every canon eventually, but I have only my own desperate need for approval to blame for my dipsomaniacal past. That and it made me stop double-thinking myself long enough to be able to approach women.

But hey, this isn’t a Dr. Nerdlove feature, it’s a One of Us article, so let’s not ruin everyone’s evening by delving into the reasoning behind my past relationship failures, but instead, let’s raise a glass….TO THE FUTURE!

Why not, everyone else is. E.G. the folks in charge of branding over at Paramount, who’ll slap the ‘Star Trek’ label on just about anything with full confidence it’ll double down on the ducats almost immediately. Their latest offering delves into the world of adult beverages, Klingon Warnog.

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Surprisingly, this Dunkelweizen (like a darker hefeweizen) with rye malt added sounds like a pretty tasty quaff. Although I gotta say, I would have figured Klingons to be more of the double IPA type. Or at least Guinness Stout. Assuming this does well at all (note to my bar owner friends: I will drink this), I’d expect more branded beers to follow, and probably not just from the Trek verse.

All that being said, malt beverages never really caught on with the bar-goers of the future. It’s always some sort of weird amalgam of ingredients that, of course, don’t exist (that we know of) that more often than not qualify as a cocktail rather than a frosty mug of suds. Needless to say, lots of geeky mixologists have developed their own variations on the assortment of adult beverages mentioned in passing in any number of fabricated futures.

But here’s where you’re lucky: I have personally (re: spent a lot of time on the internet looking) developed a list of the best versions you can make for yourself (unless you’ve got a wacky theme bar near you) of the most famous, and infamous, of the speculative spirits of space.

And with no further ado…

ROMULAN ALE

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Definitely the most famous of the fictional drinks, Star Trek’s forbidden fermentation (because of a trade embargo, if you care) was nonetheless imbibed by pretty much everyone at any given occasion, with a furtive glance around the room and much celebration. Say what you will about the Romulans, they apparently know how to make the best drink in the galaxy. But if you wanted to recreate it here on Earth, how to even start? The most common recipe I’ve found (barring those that include grain alcohol, ’cause that stuff is poison) is also the tastiest.

1 shot blue Curacao 2 shots vodka
 1/2 shot triple sec
 top with lemon/lime soda

Shake over ice, strain into futuristic looking glasses.

Blue, yummy and a bit dangerous, this should be a satisfying and easy to make drink for your next geeky gathering.

Star Trek has presented a number of alcoholic concoctions though, one of the other most famous comes from the Klingons, and you can only imagine they dig the rough stuff…

KLINGON BLOOD WINE

Bloodwine

Probably the most popular drink amongst the appropriately blood-thirsty Klingons, Blood Wine was first tried by a non-Klingon when Jonathan Archer (“Enterprise”) swilled the stuff while awaiting the verdict of his trial on Naredra III (“Judgement”). Traditionally served warm, but the publicans of the internet collectively have said, ‘screw that’ and come up with variations on the drink that have a mean bite, but at least go down cold. Here’s the one I chose as the best of the bunch:

1 oz. Rum, spiced
1 oz. Tequila, gold
Fill with Cranberry Juice
1 dash Grenadine
2 dashes Tabasco Sauce
Mixing Instructions
Add Tabasco sauce to an ice-filled beer mug or glass.
Pour in the tequila, rum and grenadine, and fill with cranberry juice.
Shake twice and serve.

I don’t know if I can describe this as ‘delicious’, per say, but it’s definitely downable and has the appropriate roughness you’d expect from the favored drink of such a warlike race.

That’s it for this installment of “Future Drinks”. More to come…in the future. But please, remember that alcohol is potentially dangerous stuff, both now and in the future. Remember the bar fight in “The Trouble with Tribbles”? Let’s face it, we’d be dead if we had been there. You can drink and have a good time AND be responsible. Don’t let folks get behind the controls of a star ship or any other kind of moving vehicle while downing these or any other alcoholic beverages. Your friends at Oneofus.net appreciate your caution, as we’d like to keep geeking out with you for many light-years to come.