Andy Gavin's Blog, page 165
November 2, 2012
Prometheus Rebound
Title: Prometheus
Cast:Noomi Rapace(Actor),Michael Fassbender(Actor),Ridley Scott(Director)
Genre: Science Fiction
Watched:October 25, 2012
Summary: Trying to go long! (7/10)
_
In many ways, Prometheus, harkens back to 60s and 70s Science Fiction (novels). Not only is it Ridley Scott’s vague take on a prequel to his own 1979 Alien, but it ambitiously tackles gigantic open ended questions in the manner of Rama, Gateway, and the like. But does it succeed?
Not entirely.
This film is certainly broader an...
October 31, 2012
Horror for Halloween
In honor of that special night when the barriers between this world and the next grows thin, I made a list of some favorite creepy/scary books.
It
bySteven King
No horror list would be complete without the master. And while It isn’t my all time favorite Stephen King novel, it (haha) is one of the scariest. I mean, come on, killer demonic clowns? Doesn’t sound so bad does it? But this is a terrifying read with a host of really good characters. Truth is, often with King, some of the humanvillainsa...
October 29, 2012
WOW Endgames – Vanilla
The original boxes
In this detailed post series,I discuss the evolution of the five World of Warcraft endgames from both a player and game design perspective.
Why Endgames – and a bit on leveling
For the most part, leveling a character in VanillaWorld of Warcraft wasn’t too different than in most single player RPGs. Sure, helpful or hurtful players sped up or slowed down your leveling rate, but you rarely required others. Dungeons were an exception, as these always required five players, but you...
October 26, 2012
CR8 – Savage Romanticism
When Ireceiveda last minute invite to thelatestRoberto Cortez dinner, I immediately jumped on it. I won’t miss one of these unless I’m dying or otherwise seriously incapacitated. I even went to one ten days after breaking my arm in seven places! For those of you who don’t know, Roberto is a world class modernist chef and overall artist of many things.
This dinner was October 24.
Robertodisdainsthe idea ofopeningarestaurantand cooking the same thing everyday, so his food is performed (and that i...
October 24, 2012
Coffin Hop for Halloween
This year I am taking part in the fangtabulousCoffin Hop Blog Extravaganza.Over a hundred masters of horror all sharing their work with the world.
In the meantime please take the opportunity to go and hang out with some of my horror writer pals by taking part in this year’s Coffin Hop Blog Hop.
GO HERE TO LINK UP WITH ALL THE BLOGS TAKING PART
You’ll discover some amazing reads and very talented writers along the way.
First off, if you want to be really creeped out, just pick up my dark fantasy n...
October 22, 2012
More Michelin at Melisse
Location: 1104 Wilshire Blvd.Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 395-0881
Date: October 17, 2012
Cuisine: California French
Rating: Awesome. Something the same, something different!
The Foodie Club wasinauguratedand Melisse, and as such, it holds a unique place in our fatty little hearts. This week therestaurantis doing a special “guest chef” tasting menu with Michelin starred Christophe Dufau of Restaurant les Bacchanales (Iapproveof the name).
Le menu.
From my cellar as usua...
October 19, 2012
Sons of Anarchy
Title: Sons of Anarchy
Genre: Crime Drama
Watched: October, 2012
Summary: Adramaticjuggernaut 10/10
ANY CHARACTER HERE
Sons of Anarchy could be loosely described as The Sopranos with bikers.Fundamentally it’s a focused kind of ganglandensemblepiece set in a fictional hick town not too far from San Francisco. But like anything, it’s executiondependent, and in this case the execution is pretty f***cking awesome.
Against all odds, the larger character structure is based on Hamlet. We have a prince, ha...
October 17, 2012
Harvard Divinity
As readers ofThe Darkening Dreamare aware, nothing is ever black or white. Certainly this is the case withPastor John Parris. Is he a villain or victim? Well… villain, but even the most evil come from somewhere. In this short story, which began life as a chapter in an older larger versions of the novel, we explore some important questions about the creepy little man: 1) How did he come to dabble in witchcraft? 2) Who was Grandmother Grace, and what was the manner of her unpleasant death? 3) I...
October 15, 2012
Mists of Pandaria Leveling
First a bit of background on me and WOW (World of Warcraft):
I bought the game at launch but didn’t start playing until 2005. Once I did, I was instantlyaddicted— truly I’ve never been so addicted to a game in my life— and I’ve played at all stages of the game’s evolution. In Vanilla, my main (Undead Warlock) raided everything except for Naxx. Even my Night Elf Rogue wore Bloodfang. In Burning Crusade, my Warlock tanked Illidan and cleared all but the last bosses of Sunwell. MyPaladinand Druid...
October 12, 2012
Summer of Gazpacho
Lately I’ve become more and more obsessed with gazpacho, southern Spain’s cold vegetable soup. This dish had its origin in Ancient Rome where (minus thetomatoes, which are a new world fruit) it served as a kind of vinegar, salt, stale breadporridge for the army. Ancient army food was notoriously nasty and served only the most practical of functions. In this case, some calories and salt replacement in the hot Iberian sun. Nowadays, it’s basically a liquid salad and a whole lot better.
The trio...
