Get your ass to Mars - Total Recall

I recently saw the new Total Recall movie this weekend, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I'm not really seeing why it's received the negative reviews. Granted it's not the best movie ever to come out, but I didn't want my two hours back and I'll most likely buy it when it comes out on DVD.

After the matinee I went and rented the old "Classic" version of Total Recall. I've forgotten how cheesy it really is. It's campy, filled with classic one liners but overall not that great anymore. I don't think it's held up that well at all.

The new version, I feel, holds actually pretty close to the same story. Granted there's no Mars and no mutants, but thats the only really differences. It really adapted well without those. The acting is solid, but compared to Arnold that's not saying much.

There are those that are going to get there panties in a bunch when they watch the new one because they probably believe that they can't match the old one. But it's really wasn't that great to begin with.

I have a theory about this. People are going to love movies/tv shows/(insert favorite thing here) from there childhood and teenage years. For example, take the old G.I. Joe and Transformer cartoons. As a kid, you loved them. And if you want them to remember them with fondness and greatness, you should never, ever watch them again. Ever. Because they're awful. Truly. I watched a half a dozen of the old Transformers cartoon a few years ago, and I had trouble getting through them they were that bad. Nostalgia does weird things to you.

Granted some things from your past hold up and you can still watch/play/whatever with them on a frequent basis. And to be honest, usually when Hollywood execs remake an old movie it's just to make a quick buck and aren't that great. But sometimes the original movie isn't that great to begin with, that the new one can't help but BE better. So put your nostalgia aside and go see it.

"You know my methods, Watson." - Sherlock Holmes

Ive been rather lackadaisical about posting of late (if you haven't noticed). Ive stopped doing YouTube Fridays because 1. I ran of cool videos to share and 2. It didn't seem like anyone cared. Through some prodding by a friend, Ive started watching the BBC series "Sherlock" a week or so ago. Ive got to say that its been one of the best produced shows that has come out of England Ive seen in a very long time. The acting and writing has been superb. Sherlock is a Highly intelligent prick, Watson is quite likable, and Moriarty is the weirdest, most unstable bastard that Ive ever laid my eyes on. He WILL cut you if you meet him in a dark alley. The stories originate from the Arthur Conan Doyle stories, but with modern flourishes, which I approve. For instance, in The Hound of the Baskervilles, their whole case is centered around a Top Secret Government compound that was into genetic experimenting and making weapons. Each episode is 90 minutes long, which is kind of nice actually. It allows for a better story, so don't be dismayed about having each episode being the run time of a short movie. I don't think it would've been as good if they did it a shorter amount of time. If you can track it down (I think its on Netflix), I highly recommend watching it. Last year I started a Pharmacy Technician program at my local Technical college. The school hours wrapped up the begging of March, and since then, Ive been busy with doing Internship hours. The culmination of all this is that I had to take a National Exam so I can be "Certified" as a Technician. Ive never been a strong test taker. I get really bad test anxiety. I signed up to take the test this last Saturday but since I like to worry about tests, I didn't sleep good that Friday night. Plus, I had to be up at 5:30 in the morning, because the nearest testing Center is about 80 miles away from where I live, and I had to be there at 7:30. I didn't feel like I was going to do that well because honestly, I didn't really prepare all that well for it. But apparently I remembered a lot more information from the class than I thought I did, because it said I passed at the end of everything. I wont know what my finally score was for a few weeks (because it takes them that long to process you and ship things out). Either way, Im happy.

"He conquers who endures.” - Anon.

I dont know where I get or find videos like the following on YouTube. But Im glad I do. I can listen to songs like it all day long. I'm a big believer in Music and the emotional impact it has on a person. But I digress. Todays YouTube video is an animated music video by independent artist, and thought that it was just simply amazing. So here it is:

"I jes trying to get on without shovin' anybody, that's all." - Henry Fonda, The Grapes of Wrath

Its YouTube Friday! Today's video is another one based on Skyrim. Its funny because it wraps all of the weird and humorous stuff that comes out of the game into one, hilarious video. So enjoy!

"Quoting one is plagiarism. Quoting many is research." - Anon

I didn't hear about this song, or the band "Axis of Awesome", until late last year. Then I put it on repeat for like a week straight. I never realized that a lot of songs had such an underpinning of.... Sameness. It goes to shows that its hard to be original now a days.

"We have one simple rule here: Be kind." - Sam Jaffe; Lost Horizon

If you havent seen "The Guild", "Eureka" or never heard the name Felicia Day, youre probably not a nerd. And thats just fine. But seriously, after this, you should track down a few episodes of The Guild on YouTube if you get a chance. Theyre rather excellent. Todays clip is by the talented Felicia Day and her fellow cast members of The Guild. If you were a "Nerd" back in High School, teased relentless and shunned, this might hit home for you.

"Music melts all the separate parts of our bodies together." - Anais Nin

Its Friday again, and you all know what that means here on Sporadic Zen. YouTube Friday! This week Im spotlighting Ronald Jenkees. I first heard about him from a fellow coworker,who told me to go and look him up on YouTube. I absolutely love his music! So much so, that I actually bought his CD through iTunes. Hes so energetic, its infectious! You can tell he loves pounding out music on his keyboard. I hope you listen to at least a few of his songs. I dont think youll be dissapointed. So enjoy!

“Do or do not... there is no try.” - Yoda

Its Star Wars week on YouTube Friday here on Sporadic Zen. No matter how much people think that George Lucas has screwed up the Star Wars series, the fans always stay with it. I love the tenacity of it. No matter how much they get crapped on, the fans have always persevered and thrived. They make fan videos. They write fan fiction. They get together and do charity events (Like the 501st does) so they can share the love they have for the Star Wars universe. It makes me smile to see such dedication. The two videos today are two of my favorite fan made videos that Ive seen. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

"I may fall, I will enter Odin's Hall, I will die sword in hand, My name and my deeds will, Scorch the land' - Manowar: Sons of Odin

Today on YouTube Fridays here on Sporadic Zen, we're going to take a break from posting Music type videos and try an animated short. The first time I saw this it made me laugh hysterically for at least 10 mins. Sometimes its hard for things to do that. On a side note, if I wasn't a member of the Religion I am now, I would seriously consider the Norse Religion. I love the feel of it for some reason. So, without further ado, here is "The Saga of Biorn":

"Ever wonder what the speed of lightning would be if it didn't zigzag?"

On YouTube Friday, Behold the power of SCIENCE! This makes me smile. If a friend and I both had the superpower of electricity, instead of saving the world, or taking advantage of people, we would go around doing dumb stuff like this. But is that really a bad thing?

"What was a prayer, if not creation? Making something where nothing existed. Creating a wish out of despair, a plea out of anguish. Bowing one’s back before the Almighty, and forming humility from the empty pride of a human life." - The Way of Kings

Once again, its YouTube Friday!!! The chick that made this weeks videos Ive become totally smitten with. Shes just so damn cute! And extremely talented besides. So, get watching!

“The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword.” - Eddard Stark; Game of Thrones

Welcome back to YouTube Friday here on Sporadic Zen. As you've all probably gathered, I'm a big Game of Thrones fan. This Sunday, Season 2 of Thrones starts on HBO! HUZZAH! I'm a little excited. I loved what they've done with season 1 and cant wait to see what they do with it in season 2. So for the videos today, Ive got the trailer for season 2 and a couple covers of the intro song to the show. Enjoy:

"I use to be an adventurer like you, until I took an arrow to the knee" - City Guard; Skyrim

As kind of a way for me to get back into the routine of trying to Blog on a regular basis, Im gonna start doing some short little posts every Friday called "YouTube Fridays!" Yeah, I know. Real original. But whatever. They're just going to incorporate one or two videos every post of Videos that I thought where entertaining. You might not think so, but that's your loss. In my last blog, I mentioned that I have been playing a lot of Skyrim, so for this weeks YouTube Friday, Im posting a couple of covers of different songs found in the game. So, enjoy:

“The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon. Too often, we forget that.” - Wit; The Way of Kings

Wow. Its been a long time since Ive posted. But what you gonna do when life gets in the way? (that's what I'm blaming it on because Ive been lazy) Lets see, whats happened since last July... I went and got myself some learning over the last 6 months. I enrolled in a local program to get certified as a Pharmacy Technician. Its been a real eye opener. Who would've thought there would be so many different drugs! And I have to know what they do?! Brain almost asploded everywhere! Lucky, it didn't. Would've been messy (or not, depending who you talk to). I got done with the course work March 1st, and since then Ive been trying to get done my internship hours I have to do. Why you have to do 180 hours is beyond me. And I wont lie, it kinda sucks that you don't get paid to do it. There has been a few things that helped me get through it all. I bought a PS3 on Black Friday last year ($200?! Yes please!) along with a copy of Skyrim. Best. Game. Ever! At least it was the Game of the Year for last year. Which is still pretty awesome. There's been plenty of nights where I went to bed around 4 in the morning. Actually, one of the main reasons I purchased a PS3 is so I could have access to a blue-ray player. I got a bundle of the first 6 Harry Potter movies a few years ago for Christmas, but I had nothing to play it on. Now I do. So who's up for a Potter Marathon? :) Ive read some excellent books the last little bit as well. I made it through a rereading of the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, capped off by reading the latest book that came out last year for the first time. One thing that pissed me off is that I read a spoiler about Jon on the interwebs before I even reading it. So note to self. Don't read through forums about new books that you haven't read yet. And I don't really want to give anything away, so Ill just say it was decent. Not great. Just decent. For my book club, we read Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson. I loved what he did with the Wheel of Time books and was excited to read one of his original books. And it didn't disappoint. The characters where likeable, entertaining, and believable. Since that went over so well, I started reading Sandersons monster of a book, The Way of Kings. It actually took me awhile to get into. I think one of the marks of a good book is how relateable it is. Because the quicker you can start relating with the characters and imagining yourself in that world, the better experience you're going to have. The world Sanderson built for this book is, well, foreign, and it took me awhile to wrap my head around it. One of my friends said it best "There are at least two moons in the sky, the weather would make the eye of Jupiter feel like kite flying weather, and his taxonimy includes flying eels and Jurrasic sized crabs. It is an interesting crosspollination of fantasy and sci fi. You have knights in armor competing for control of a very midieval feeling feudal society, but the armor is some sort of alien armor infused with electricity." But once I got into it, it was great! Now to read his Mistborn series.