Kanye makes huge announcement on stage!

Kanye seen here in his own mind, where he is still relevant.

Unfortunately it isn't that he's retiring from the music business and spending his vast fortunes making amends with every one he has been a complete dick to.

No, the talented but whiny-like-the-queen-of-bitches rapper announced that his girlfriend, former Shannon Young number one draft pick Kim Kardashian, is pregnant with his spawn.

Oh joy. That's what the world needs in these dark times. With all of the negativity and hopelessness swallowing the Earth whole we can now finally band together to ready our armies to fight against this anti-Christ.

Congratulations to the happy couple. If the child inherits half of its parents humility or class...who are we kidding, this little bastard is going to be a fucking nightmare.

Are you a fan of good music?

Bad ass.....sort of.

Then you should listen to Tito and Tarantula. Maybe it's because I'm super tired and everyone at BZ85 headquarters is asleep, but I find myself jamming out to the relaxing tunes of this super awesome band you've never fucking heard of.

Or have you?

This band, formed in 1992 and led by fan-fucking-tastic lead singer Tito Larriva, has been in quite a few Robert Rodriguez soundtracks, and even appeared in "From Dusk Till Dawn" as the evil vampire band. Tito himself appeared in Desperado as one of the antagonists.

Remember that smooth ass song that played in "Desperado" when Antonio Banderas was walking towards Salma Hayek on the sidewalk by being chased by a gunman, conveniently played by Tito?

Yeah, that's called "Strange Face of Love" and that is done by T and T as well. That song alone made me obsessed with Desperado when I was younger, and it's still in my list of top films thanks in so small part to that kick ass soundtrack.

Now that the Christmas spirit and good will to men is dead...

An American treasure.

We return to our regularly scheduled insanity with more frequent updates about our sad, sad existences and the little things that keep us from blowing our brains out.

For some, it's cartoons and ice cream, video games and romance, and all other things that people make songs about.

For me, it's boiling denim and banging whores.

Time to get back to basics.

12-21-12...Only THQ's world might end.

They've really streamlined this process.

As you've probably already read on other sites, one time gaming juggernaut THQ filed for bankruptcy this week. It may not be the complete death of the company, but it is definitely a first step towards the big adios. It's sad news, but even Ray Charles saw this coming.

And he's blind.

And dead.

I'm not one to make light of such a serious situation, especially when people are losing their jobs. Actually, that's a complete lie. I'm the type of asshole that would exactly make light of such a terrible situation, especially compared to more important tragedies that may have occurred lately.

And this does sadden me. I loved THQ games, I still play quite a few of them. I was a huge supporter of the Saints Row series, which I felt were leaps and bounds better than Grand Theft Auto when it came to story and fun factor. I still hop on Dawn of War 1 and 2 occasionally to do the Emperor's will, not to mention crush a few Nazi's in Company of Heroes. I was never a big fan of Darksiders, though I did play the first one thought it was a decent enough game.

I liked the UFC games just fine, and the Smackdown series (later changed to WWE XX) was pretty much the only game in town when it came to professional wrestling. In fact, THQ and the WWE churned out most, if not all, of the best WWE video games dating all the way back to the Nintendo 64 era.

Did I say wrestling up there? I'm sorry, I meant Sports Entertainment. We don't want to mistake whatever the hell it is they do now with what I grew up with.

Hey Jackass! Where's the updates?

You might have noticed things have been pretty damn quiet around BZ85 lately. With Christmas coming up we've decided to focus on our friends and families and let the other sites entertain you with their wit and talent.

Christmas is the least lonely time of the year...

But then we realized that most of us don't have any family and friends, so we looked at each other and said "Let's write some shit!"

And so, we shall. Who needs Christmas, anyway? Presents and loved ones and Jesus may work for some people, but not us. We'd much rather talk about television, video games, and hot women than waste a fraction of a second on this season. Right guys?

......oh right, they do have families and friends. Oh well, you still have me. And really, isn't that the greatest gift of them all?

PRAS Update: It's Not Easy Going Green

This week's winning look by Laura Kathleen

This week our designers went green. They were given the challenge of making a red carpet look from Eco friendly fabrics and their left over trims from past challenges.

A lot of the fabrics they had to choose from were very pretty but I don't know if I like how they translated to the red carpet looks. I feel like they would have been better suited to sundresses and beach resort wear.

Laura Kathleen took the win this week with her pants dress. Personally I hate it. Yes it looks comfortable but that's about it. I'm not a fan of that much pattern in that design either. The model just seems like she'd being eaten up by it. But I'm not one of the judges, nor am I an influence in the fashion world so who cares what I think. I personally felt that Casanova's dress fit the red carpet better and it had a heavy pattern too.

Althea was on the bottom this week. Between a bad fabric choice and too many ideas going into her dress she just didn't make the cut. I think if her dress was just in a different fabric and maybe in a darker color it would have been pretty cool, rather than just sort of odd.


Looks I liked:
Casanova's gown
Joshua's gown
Uli's short dress

Check out all the looks on Rate the Runway.

ANOTHER PETITION?! *RANT*

NEWS HEADLINE:  IU AND EUNHYUK PICTURE SCANDAL (early November)

THE DISH: IU accidentally post a photo of her and Eunhyuk to her Twitter account and takes it back down withing two minutes.

The photo was reportedly of the two sitting on her sofa during the summer during a visit while IU was sick.

ISSUE AT HAND: So called ELFs (fans of Super Junior) are petitioning to have Eunhyuk removed from Super Junior or sent into the military to serve his term. Others have created a petition against his removal from the group/military enlistment.

I don't know why people who claim to be fans of the group do things like this. If you were truly a fan, you would support them all, as a whole and individually, with their decisions that they make publicly and privately... Regardless of what happened with the scandal, these guys are still human and have lives of their own. They should still be entitled to do what they want. Who cares what 'scandals' crawl out of the woodwork. Just because rumors come out and news spreads as scandals, doesn't always mean the truth will come out too about what goes on. People overreact! Let them have a life too.

Just because there is a petition doesn't mean it will do anything! They tried the same thing with SHINee over Jonghyun/Taemin Internet War concert performance. Get over it. Let them entertain and enjoy their music, performances, etc.

Just my opinion ^_^

FYI: For those who aren't aware of the Jonghyun/Taemin indecent, the two got really close as part of what is called 'fan service'. Plus the song is basically about polluting the minds of people (including children) through internet.

The crowd seemed to enjoy it from the reaction heard on the fan cams... but there are those certain 'fans' that went ballistic and basically started to go on a rampage... they had a vendetta against them to kick them out of the group... WTF?! PPL?!?! Seriously?! Anytime someone famous does something that you don't like you are basically going to try to ruin their career and life?! How about someone lock you up on a padded room with no contact with the outside world for the rest of yours, if that is that way you are going to be about things?!

And people complain about this and that without concern for others and their feelings or how it can effect someone and their life... I wish those people would take a moment to see how things would be if the shoe was on the other foot.

Petition all you want, but it is just gonna make you and the others one that silly little list any better of people... all it is going to do is prove how much of a fan you really WEREN'T in the end.

Tis the Season...

Pac-Man Christmas special. Watch it if you never have. It's terrible.

That time of year has rolled around again. I personally am having a hard time getting into the spirit of things so far, partly because of the warm weather we've been having. I grew up in northwestern Pennsylvania, I'm use to being buried in snow by now, but instead here in the Midwest, we're having days hitting seventy. Merry Christmas you don't need a jacket.

One of the things I look forward to every year, besides making cookies and decorating my tree, is watching Christmas specials and movies. I haven't had tv in a couple of year though so I've been making do with picking up my favorites on dvd and blue ray. I wanted to share a few of them with you. Maybe you'll decide to add them to your holiday watch list, if they're not on it already.

My top 15 favorite Christmas specials and movies.

PRAS Update: A Little Gender Confusion

Winning looks of challenge 5 by Emilio

This week was all about androgyny. The designers had to create a look for their models that could be worn by a man or a woman. Their twist surprise was that they would actually be making two looks. One for their usual female model and one for a male model as well. 

 The results were all over the map, but the top scoring designs stood out without a doubt. Emilio took the top spot this week and it was well deserved. When his models walked the runway you really couldn't tell at first which gender they were. Though it did give me weird flashes of the Men on Film sketches from In Living Color. 

Anthony Ryan and Uli both had strong looks this week, but just couldn't top Emilio's style. I feel like my early predictions are playing true so far as the season progresses. Josh is the only one of my top choices who hasn't won a challenge yet, but for the most part he's been consistently safe in the middle. Maybe he's holding out for the numbers to dwindle down.

As always we had to say goodbye to another designer as well. Kayne left us this week. His amazing tailoring couldn't save his lack of editing and seemingly poor color choices. I like Kayne and I'm sad to see him go. Though maybe with him gone I'll stop questioning my own tastes every time I kinda like what he makes....

Looks I Liked:
Emilio's matching red suites
Althea's jackets (but nothing else in her looks)
Uli's female model's look

Check out all of the looks on Rate the Runway

Fifteen on Friday

Aside from my interests in video games, journalism, and yoga pants, nothing captivates me like the unexplained. Before I became obsessed with the supernatural all I could think of was the prospect of life somewhere else in this big old universe of ours. I had seen a UFO or two in my time, and as I explained in a previous segment one incident in particular cemented my love of aliens till my dying day.

One man I have always looked up to in the field of all things alien is Stanton Friedman. If you've ever watched a documentary on UFO's or caught an episode about them on reality TV you've no doubt seen the man. Even if you don't know his name you know his face. He is one of the most outspoken and well versed researches in the field, with various degrees and accolades that make him just that much more bad ass. Even cooler - he was the original civilian investigator in the Roswell crash. 

Yeah, THAT Roswell crash. 

It's an honor to speak to a man of such distinction and intelligence, and gracious that he could take time out of his busy schedule to answer a fanboy's questions today.

It's  Fifteen on Friday - fifteen questions, one interesting person.

2012 MAMAs

Ok, so after quite a hiatus from blogging I am back. The holiday time is such a busy time for me, so please accept my apology for the lack thereof.

I got up before the crack of dawn so I could watch the live broadcast online of the MAMAs (MNet Asian Music Awards) for those who don't know, it is like the VMA or MTV music awards of Asia. The biggest award event of the year for these artist.

Four and a half hours later, here I am. For anyone who is interested in watching they are replaying the awards now... wish I would have known that... I would have watched the replay and gotten more sleep haha. Here is the link to watch the 2012MAMA performances. Not only will you see some great K-pop performances, but also performances by Adam Lambert and B.o.B.

Indeed I was one to vote this year. I am pleased with the results. Some of which include:
Best Solo Dance Performand: PSY, Gangnam Style
Best Female Group: SISTAR
Beat Male Group: BIG BANG
Best Collaboration Performance: Trouble Maker
MNet PD's Choice: B.A.P (YESSIR!!) As much as I would have liked to see them win more I am happy they received an award)
Best Dance Performance Male Group: SHINee (YAYYYYYY!!!!!!)
Best Dance Performance Female Group: f(X)
International Favorite Artist: PSY
Best Music Video: PSY, Gangnam Style
New Asian Artist: EXO (I really wanted B.A.P to win this one... but I like EXO too)
Style in Music: Gain
Guardian Angel Worldwide Performer: BIG BANG!!!!!
Best Rap Performance: Epik High
Best Male Artist: G-Dragon (of BIG BANG) Get ya Crayon!!!!
Best Line Award: SUPER JUNIOR!!!!!!!!!!!! <3
Best Global Female Group: KARA
Best Global Male Group: SUPER JUNIOR!!!!!!! (OH YEAH!!!!!)

And the grand prizes:
Artist of the Year: BIG BANG (!!!!!!!!!!!! just wish I coulda seen them in concert earlier this month TT.TT)
Album of the Year: SUPER JUNIOR, Sexy, Free & Single (YESSSSSS!!!!!!)
Song of the Year: PSY, Gangnam Style (Op, op, op, oppan Gangnam style!!!!)

I would have loved to see TVXQ win an award and for SHINee to win another... and Block B!!!

As always BIG BANG had a FANTASTIC performance. I have to say one of the best performances for the event.

So much is going on and there is so much that I have missed updating on... I hope to get a recap written ASAP!

The Greatest Movies You've Never Seen

We at Team BZ85 pride ourselves on bringing you the best in entertainment. But we know that, more often than not, today's entertainment is an awful experience reserved only for the worst kind of liberals in Hell. So, once in a while, we like to bring to your attention something truly great!

Now, we don't know why you've never seen these classics. Maybe you grew up in the wrong time period, maybe you're poor and can't afford a television, or maybe you're just the kind of idiot who would rather watch Honey Boo Boo.

We don't judge here. We save that for when you leave. In the mean time, enjoy this installment of The Greatest Movies You've Never Seen.

MMO Ramblings From a Veteran

Let me start this one off by reminding you guys of how I came into this wacky industry we lovingly abbreviate as MMORPGs.

I was never much of an RPG player growing up. The first game I can remember playing was at a friends house, on a pre-NES Sega system that I can't for the life of me remember the name of right now. I begged my mother to get me one, but instead she went out and got me the brand spanking new Nintendo Entertainment System.

It wasn't what I asked for, but I forgave her. Quickly. Also, yeah, I'm feeling pretty old right now.

My gaming tastes ran the spectrum from Mario to TMNT to Contra and even one of those point and click detective games that, again, I can't remember right now - possibly because I am so old. However, I never played the RPG staples of the times. I never touched Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior, and to be honest I can't think of a single RPG I played during my much younger days. It wasn't until the SNES came along that I dipped into the Final Fantasy's, that awesome Mario RPG, and the like. I didn't dislike RPG's, I just preferred platformers and sports games at the time. I played a mean game of NBA Jam, let me tell you.

It was around this time period that a friend of my mother, who had also sold us our first computer in the form of a past its prime C64, filled my head with info about this game called Ultima Online. I had played the original Ultima's on that Commodore 64 he sold us and I didn't understand at the time just how influential and epic those games truly were. Ultima Online, though, sounded too good to be true. A completely open world with no levels and complete freedom? BOOMSHAKALAKA, indeed! I could be anything I wanted to be! I could be a warrior, a fisherman, or in my most random and useless personal quest ever - I became a grandmaster detective. I could tell you who opened chests and murdered other players, but not much. Still, it was pretty bad ass that you had that option. That was what UO was about - options.

Beginnings

I'm not going to go into my love for Ultima, again, but I just want to hammer home that point that my addiction to this genre started the first time I got to that starting screen while an MIDI version of the song "Stones" played in the background.

I've been as big a supporter and detractor of the industry as anyone since then. I cheered loudly for World of Warcraft when those gates open. I booed till my throat went sore when SOE turned Galaxies into the bastard child of poor decisions and uncaring greed. I've kicked and fought and screamed and laughed at the events that have shaped this business into what it is today, and make no mistake, it is thriving quite well. Just look at the influx of titles every year in the genre and you can see that we're apart of one of the most popular forms of entertainment going right now.

And that brings me to my point, one which makes me both sad and fearful for our beloved genres future as a whole -

As we grow, we can only grow apart.

Hands on with the Wii U

Remember that craziness when the original Wii hit the scene? Owning it, at first anyway, certainly gave you a special status. It was new and funky and fresh and the gimmick made people stab their own mothers just to get their hands on one.

To hell with your "common sense," get me my Nintendo!

I was working at Steve and Barry's when the Wii launched, and I wouldn't have even gotten one if it weren't for my good friends at EB Games. I got a call while I was working and they told me if I wanted one to get to their store immediately because they had one they could sell. I didn't even know I wanted a Wii until one became available, and then it was the only thing I had ever wanted in my life.

Of course there were the naysayers who claimed it was just a gimmick, but I managed to look past both facts and reality and buy a shiny new Wii anyway. I also picked up one or two games, although if my memory serves me correctly there wasn't a whole lot to be proud of at launch.

I enjoyed the Wii for what it was, but the image of what it could never be always lay in the back of my mind. Save for a few games it wasn't a very attractive system, and that motion control gimmick was either under utilized or poorly implemented in most games. I, like so many other Wii owners, waited and waited for our killer app to shut up everyone who called us morons for picking up the flavor of the week.

I'm still waiting.

Hector Camacho dies from injuries

It saddens me to have to wrap up a week where I said goodbye to childhood face Mr. Food with the death of another one of my favorite memories.

Hector "Macho" Camacho was a troubled man outside of the boxing ring. Inside the ring he was a mix of speed, skill, and flair. He was one of my favorite boxers to watch as a child, even though I hated his arrogance and usually just wanted to see someone knock him out.

With a record of 79-6-3, that was something I never got to see with my own eyes.

Camacho was one of the legends of the squared circle. His quick footwork and punching prowess made him a great boxer, but it was his persona that truly made him special. His style and attitude set him apart from his fellow athletes, and the way he carried himself rivaled the most charismatic professional wrestlers. Hell, his Clark Kent inspired hairstyle alone made him a hated man.

My father and I watched a lot of boxing when I was growing up. HBO and Showtime both had some great boxing in the 90's, and we hardly ever missed a bout. "Macho" Camacho is as memorable to me as Roy Jones, Oscar Dela Hoya, Shannon Briggs, and Lennox Lewis, and the rest of the best that were frequently featured on those channels. I more often than not booed him relentlessly, as at the time I didn't quite understand just how important it was to stand out in a crowd. He may not have been the biggest fighter on television, but he made a impression on you every single time he stepped through those ropes.

Don't Ask Me, I'm Just a Ghoul

 

On Thanksgiving we made the choice to go out into the insanity of "early Black Friday" shopping. Toys R Us was open at 8:00 pm and we figured what the hell, let's go. Mainly it was to get some Wii U games at a discount, which was a success, but I also wanted to see if some toys I'd been eying up had gone on sale as well.

Nothing special on the My Little Pony or Pokemon sectors, but I had one more toy in mind before we left. I've been interested in the Monster High dolls ever since they hit the shelves in 2010. I just haven't been able to bring myself to buy one till now. Early on I thought they were a neat idea, dolls based on monsters. Give the girls of today a different twist on dolls. I've never been a big horror genre buff, like my other half is, so I wouldn't have probably cared when I was a kid,but I had friends who would have begged their moms for them.

I found that one of the characters I've been wanting to get was indeed on sale. The icy girl from the north, Abby Bominable was in a bundle fashion pack for half off. So I finally gave in and bought her.

These dolls are amazing!

Black Friday: The Human Zoo or Zombie Apocalypse

It's Black Friday folks... and you know what that means.

It's that miraculous day where store parking lots turn into human zoos and aisles become events in motion... Where you can park and walk along, gazing at the many variations of human in their natural consumerist habitat, coveting that which they treasure most; dolls, cell phones, microwaves, mp3 players, toaster ovens, spoons...

It's a fascinating creature, this modern day homo sapien. A being that is willing to bring torment onto others in an attempt to get first pick on a current stock of multi colored fisher price toys and nerf guns. An animal that will overturn a masterfully aligned stack of cans, to block the path of 12 others on their stampede toward a bin of 70% Off DVDs.

So head out into this night, not to cash in on deals... but to watch your fellow human act in ways that have somehow been found acceptable in today's civilized culture. Its the perfect event and there will be swarms of them out there, I assure you... even in places very near where you live.

To watch this theatrical show in motion, is a site to behold and I urge you to stay up late to watch the human revert to its brutal basic instincts.

Its kind of like that moment when you realize how sad it is to watch the playful monkeys get angry and start flinging shit at one another. You will soon find the intrigue diminish as you watch the acts of the blessed Black Friday event devolve from hilarious tenting on pavement and the use of urine bags, into wild howling and the ever present aisle 5 fight of two middle aged women going fisticuffs for a baby doll that micturates itself when frightened.

This is our society people... Enjoy the proudest night of the year for mankind.

Merry Day of Consumerism to you all, you wonderful but sad creatures of materialism.

Come to think about it, tonight is also the perfect chance to get a glimpse of what a Zombie Apocalypse could very well feel like. I'd say without the biting... but, this depends on your town.

Happy Turkey Day from BZ85

We hope you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving today.

How all Thanksgivings will look in 9595

Not that we're going to get all sentimental on you, but try to be thankful for all that you have. If you're like us it's probably not a lot, but it's important to appreciate what you do have.

We're personally thankful for good food, good friends, what's left of family, being employed, and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.
 
Oh, and God - thank you for Ziggy comics, little baby ducks, and `Sweatin' to the Oldies' volumes one, two, and four.

Also kittens, Nuketown, and a Nintendo system that I can be proud to say I own. It was truly a monumental year.

Remember to eat up your Taco Pie! I added food coloring because it's a holiday. But it turned black, because I added all the food coloring I had. Then I ate this butter straight out of the tub, because it tastes good. There's a reason behind everything.

Happy Thanksgiving ya'll!

BZ85 Mourns the loss of Mr. Food

I am a child of the eighties. I grew up long before cable and dish television were as common as black presidents, and back then we had four stations on our little TV. Your line up usually consisted of cartoons in the morning, talk shows in the middle, and the news at night time.

Also Wheel of Fortune. Lots of Wheel of Fortune. Pat Sajack and I are BFF's.

I watched the news all the time, not just because I've been interested in it since I was a wee lad, but because my parents watched it every day. I knew all of the cast, what with your Mike Shane's and Jim Reeves and Jim Burns. And then, most importantly of all, was Mr. Food.

You remember Mr. Food, don't you? He was a kindly looking man with a goofy look and a warm personality that couldn't help but make you like him. My father listened to Mr. Food quite exclusively and tried many a dish from his playbook. They were usually hit and miss, but I could tell my father had a fondness and respect for Mr. Food.

Art Ginsburg, known the world over as the delightful Mr. Food, passed away this week. He was eighty one years old, and he left behind a legacy of good food and good feelings. I was very sad to hear of his passing, as he was one of the faces I remember most from my childhood.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I'll be spending part of that day with my father in that hellhole my devil whore sister in law put him in. I'm conflicted on whether I should bring up Mr. Food's passing to him, because I don't know how he'll react. I think he'll say he heard and leave it at that, but I think there is another little part of him that will chip away. That part has been chipping away for years since his brother Stanley passed away, and I've tip toed around bad news since my mother died.

We'll chow down on that turkey and dressing tomorrow and pay our respects to Art Ginsburg. There will never be another Mr. Food, no matter how many cooking shows and artificial chefs they throw at us. He was, undoubtedly, the most sincere of them all. And the food?

As he would say - "Ooh, it's so good."

What Do First-Person Shooters and Multi-Camera Sitcoms Have In Common?

Oh it’s something, man. Don’t say it’s nothing because it’s something.

Both of these are relatively old genres in their respective mediums. Both of these are accessible and popular genres in their respective mediums. But there's more to it.

There’s a commonly held belief, a belief that I can only cite through hearsay but common nonetheless, that both first person shooters and multi-camera sitcoms have become stale and formulaic. I’m of course speaking about cynics on the internet, which tend to be a loud minority, but they’re loud enough to be heard nonetheless.  

Some might not see “formulaic” as a bad thing. Does it really hinder one’s enjoyment of an installment of one of these things? Not necessarily.

For example, the formula for multi-camera sitcoms tends to revolve around a conflict arising causing the main character(s) to have to find a creative solution or scheme their way around it. Fake laughs sometimes ensue. But the genre tends to recycle situations and jokes. Is this bad? Not necessarily, unless you partake so regularly that you get tired of the same ol’ same ol’.

Just spend some time on Tvtropes.com and you’ll see.

As for FPSs, the complaints tend to stem from the idea that for the most part, the average FPS doesn’t let you do anything but run around, point your crosshairs and shoot lots of enemies. Also that the stories are cookie cutter and shallow, merely existing to take your crosshairs from point A to point B.

I mentioned earlier that they are accessible and popular genres. It’s very true. Some might say, the cynic on the internet of course,  they appeal to the lowest common denominator, and that’s what makes them popular. The idea that you don’t have to think, either you point your gun and shoot or you laugh when you hear the laughs out of your TV box. 

That’s a very simplistic, condescending view IMO, but I’ve heard it often either way. 

PRAS Update: Stop the Presses!

Winning look for episode 4 and the designer Anthony Ryan

Another week has passed and our designers have faced another challenge. This was the very first fan interactive challenge for Project Runway. Fans across the world we're asked to submit inspirational photos for the designers to use. In turn the designers were given one day to complete their looks, inspired from the images they chose. The winner of this challenge would also get their design photographed for an article in USA Today, as well as an interview to go along with it.

Once again my favorite to win has ended up on top. Anthony Ryan's graphic dress impressed the judges, though they did warn him that they've seen this dress from him before.

We say farewell to our favorite oddball Andrae

Sadly we say good bye to Andrae this week. The judges just can't seem to get his ideas and were tired of listing to his explanations. I liked the idea behind his look this time. Interchangeable panels in cloths is an awesome idea, maybe it just needed a little more time to execute better. 

Either way the judges some times start to make me wonder if I have bad taste... Maybe I'm just open to things they're not.

Looks I liked:

Anthony Ryan's dress
Andrae's mix and match panel top and skirt
Casanova's pants and top
Laura Kathleen's hand dyed dress
Uli's dress, but I wish it wasn't such a washed out color

Check out all of the looks on Rate the Runway.

Why Fast Food BUGS Me

Har har, see what I did there?

So it's no secret that BZ85 is my love, but it doesn't exactly pay the bills...yet. My indentured servitude to a certain gaming site takes up a lot of my time, so it's hard to give BZ85 the attention it truly deserves. We have a collection of interesting people here with interesting things to talk about, and sometimes they actually post it on the website for all to read. It could be, nay should be, a cultural icon.

"See you on Black Friday, you fucking animals!"

And someday it shall, but for now we all have other jobs to pay those pesky bills that Uncle Bam tells me I have to pay, unless I want to spend a weekend with the pain monster.

My own personal hell is retail management, a plight I'm sure many of you can relate to. I won't say where I work, as the last time I talked about my job I got fired from it. Something about death threats to a company official or something, to be honest I was so drunk on my own power I can hardly recall the exact reasoning.

Well, like a lot of retail workers, I like to save me some cash whenever I can, especially with the holidays coming up. So on my break the other day I decided to go to McDonald's to get some cheap food that would satisfy that craving for torture. Little did I know, this trip would change my life forever.

Well, at least until I'm broke as shit and can't afford anything else.

Hearts of the Art

Animation is one of my passions, even if I'm not currently doing anything with my degree in it. Needless to say it's all around us in commercials, TV shows, movies and web videos. It touches young and old in all corners of the world. But how often do you really think about who's making Hank Hill say "I sell propane and propane accessories."?

That's what I'm here for. To help toss out a few names of the people who have made the genre of animation what it is today. There's a long list of animation greats out there. I'll be bringing to light some names you may already know and several you may not. Heck some of them I only know about because of my beginning animation class back in the day. One thing will be for sure the men and women I choose to cover will have something in common.

They are at the heart of their art.

BZ85 Attends Black Ops 2 Midnight Launch

Just a quick update and you can all go to bed or start playing some zombie mode.

I attended the midnight launch for BlOPs2 at my local gaming store and had a pretty good time. Caught up with some old friends, took in some nostalgic memories, and had a free Dr. Pepper, warm though it might have been.

Unsurprisingly, here are the first guys to get their hands on BO2.

The line was long, but not as long as I had assumed it would be for Call of Duty. The store had a great system in play and had people in and out with their game quickly, clocking the final person out at around 12:20. That's efficiency right there.

I have the Hardened edition in my hands right now and the great dilemma hits me - play some now or save it for after work tomorrow. Yes, as much as I'd like to make BZ85 my only priority, I still have to sling shoes to keep it all going. FML.

I watched a group of people playing the new zombie mode in the game and it has me eager to play. I also picked up the Vita version of Black Ops called Declassified, so maybe I'll lay in bed and play it instead.

I have a feeling there will be a half day taken tomorrow at work.

Stay tuned to BZ85 for my thoughts on the game and how it stacks up to my beloved original Black Ops.

Louie Benson - Making Us Proud

Louie Benson and I go way back.

Happier times, before that whole Disney announcement...

Before he was showing indie wrestlers the right way to do yoga and working out with legends like DDP, Jake Roberts, and underrated WCW star Glacier, I was saving his ass from jocks at GameStop. I witnessed his lame attempts at striking up conversations with cute girls at the mall. I was even his boss once before when I hired him as seasonal help, although he did more sittin' than workin'. We've eaten lunch together, talked wrestling, debated video games, and more than once I've tried my best to shut him the hell up for just a few moments.

It never seems to work.

Louie has always been a loud mouth who is pushing his way into the entertainment world any way he can, short of porn....so far. He's done television, he's done indie wrestling, and his audition tape for "The Biggest Loser" is legendary. In short - Louie Benson is a megastar in the making.

Black Ops 2 TONIGHT - Or - Halo Sucks and I Stand By It

I'm back with a vengeance, bitches. MMOSite may try to keep the man down but today I'm going to talk about something that gets my blood boiling more than the constant disappointment that is the multi massive online role playing game genre.

Halo.

That name carries a lot of weight with it. What once started as a pretty nice FPS on the original XBox has turned into some kind of giant monster stomping through the city in a quest to destroy all others in its path. Well sir, there is only room for one giant monster in this virtual world, and he's sitting pretty on our logo.

Animals are always the first to know...

Halo was a fine FPS, I'll give it to you. It was simple to me, but a lot of games were simple back then. It seemed like a nice little sci fi shooter that, in a baffling twist, became the hottest thing since Sliced Bread on n64. My feelings on Halo have run the spectrum of general annoyance to full on hatred.

I don't think I'll ever dislike the game more than I did during Halo 3's launch. I was working for GameStop at the time and was still relatively new. Sitting there day in and day out while hordes of slack jawed yokels and "hardcore gamers" waddled in talking about the game nearly drove me to suicide. 

PRAS Update: Check Out that Tag

Episode 3 winning look by Emilio

Episode 3 of All Stars took the designers to the streets for a little art appreciation. They met three of New York's best graffiti artists and were given a few tricks of the trade to help with their next challenge. They were given 6 yards of white fabric, various cans of spray paint and two hours to come up with a design idea that could be seen as wearable art.

Emilio took the top score this week with his Harlem, at the beginning of the rap revolution, inspired jacket and skirt. I'm not too big on the skirt myself but I love the jacket, even if the judges thought the belt was bit small.


Suede was the designer leaving us this week. I loved the movement his dress had, but over all it was too costume like and kooky for the judges. I will admit when it was standing still it didn't have much going for it. I hate Suede's need to talk in 3rd person but as a whole I'm sad to see him go.

Looks I liked:
Emilio's jacket
Anthony Ryan's blue and back dress
Casanova's halter dress


Check out all of the designs on Rate the Runway

Writer's Bloc

 Why did I spell "block" that way in the title? Well it wasn't for any clever reason I can tell you that much. It just sounded better than "Writer's Block"

I've been meaning to write an entry that didn't involve TV so I could make the point that just because I'm going by "Tv's Phil", that I don't only focus on TV.(Yes, I'm aware I've only posted twice thus far. Just let me use that sentence anyway!) But I've been drawing blanks. Given, between working full time, sleep, and trying to put together a couple other personal projects, I don't really plan topics out, but these things use to come much easier to me. It probably doesn't help that I'm specifically choosing to avoid politics or spirituality.

But let me get to the subject at hand, writer's block.

Over the past 4 years or so, I've regularly attempted starting personal projects that involve some form of writing. Whether it be a regular blog, a self-published comic, short stories, a movie script, or a YouTube series. I've started all of these things at some point or another and haven't followed through. The desire is still there, but there always seemed to be some sort of mental road block.

I've got quite a few small notebooks full of ideas, sentence fragments, story beginnings, concepts and plans just sitting around. If I don't like how cluttered the notebook has become, I'll get a new one and do the same thing.
But not one finished project. I think I may have finished one short story a long time ago.
I jump around and change ideas before really getting started. I'll have a concept and after I start, I'll suddenly think "You know, this short story would probably work better as a _________."


The thing is, I enjoy coming up with ideas and concepts. I even enjoy collaborating on things. I can NOT come up with endings. And when it's just me, alone with pen and paper, I have zero confidence in what's in my head or in my ability to write. I don't feel my grammar is good enough or that I have no "voice" as they say.  I'll write a few lines of something and just stop. If I come back another time and look at what I've written, I just get in my head and think "Eh, this can't go anywhere." or "I can't get enough story out of this." It really is quite frustrating. Especially when you're self-aware.
I admit to not reading a whole lot. I mean, I read comics, but as far as text only, that's a rarity. But I do enjoy writing. It's a weird combination that probably cancels each other out.


They say a good thing to do when starting out a writing project is to just start writing and don't stop regardless of quality. You can always fix it later. Of course I've tried this. But if I don't have a destination or an ending, I'm just going to lock up and make no progress. And that's what
I have. Lots of beginnings and no where to go.

Another admittance is that I never really set time out to just write. Or if I tell myself I'm going to write, I'll let myself get distracted by something.

Back during the Myspace days and early days of Facebook, I had NO problem writing things, but they were always blog posts or "notes" as they're called on Facebook. Basically, the format of just me talking about life or issues. I never seem to have a problem with that. Ask me to write a fictional story based on an idea or concept I came up with myself, and I get nowhere.


Anyway, I know this isn't an interesting post in the least bit. Heck, I wouldn't have read this far, but think of it as a kind of therapy session for me. Let me get this out and who knows, maybe finishing this or being open about the topic will help kick my brain into gear.

Got any writing tips of your own? Let me know. I'm always open for that, though I'm pretty sure the real answer to my problem is "Just write you idiot! Stop thinking about it so much!"

Killing them NCSoftly

I decided to take some time off from the new WWE 13 game to relax and read a bit. I hadn't caught up on the news in a couple of days and for someone like me that is rare. Last I checked Megastorm Sandy was wreaking havoc on the East coast, Democrats and Republicans were still going at each others throats "for the good of the nation," and the Kardashians hadn't been burnt at a stake for Halloween.

Good for them.

Randomly surfing the web I came across an article that, as an MMO fanatic, made my stomach turn a bit. I was reminded that City of Heroes, the very first super hero persistent world and one of the longest running big time MMO's, was very much near its final days. I believe we're around one month away from City of X closing its doors and leaving many superheroes with nowhere else to go, save for two other similar yet radically different titles.

How depressing.

PRAS Update: Saturday Night Fever

Episode 2 Winning Look by Uli

Episode two of Project Runway All Stars took us back in time to the 70's. The designers were asked to create an updated disco look inspired by shoes from Nine West. 

Uli came out on top this week with her white sequined and fringed dress. It was one of the more interesting looks, but not my favorite. I mostly just like the movement it had to it. Once again I liked Casanova's dress more. Do I sense a trend forming?

The designer leaving us this week was Wendy. I liked her concept of leather bell bottoms and chain accents, but the over all look was a bit cheep and a little red light district. She did leave on the warm note of shedding her "Bitch" character that she was remembered for from season one of Project Runway.

Looks I liked:
Casanova's pink dress
Kayne's gold striped pants and sequined top (the judges didn't like it but I did)
Althea's pink dress


Check out all of the looks on Rate the Runway.

The Secret World - The Revolution MMORPG Fans are Ignoring

With all of the promotion that Guild Wars 2 has gotten since its release, it would be easy to overlook some of the other titles available. After all, the prospect of a top quality MMO with no monthly fee is hard to pass up. In fact, Guild Wars 2 is a must have title and a bit of an odd duck in a bloated market. It's not quite a free to play title, not a pay to play title, but some kind of strange hybrid the likes of which we haven't seen since the "Macho Warrior" Ric Hogan.

Thankfully, Guild Wars 2 stands the test of time a little better than he does. Despite what some may think by reading my previous article about GW2, not to mention the chaos it left in the community, I appreciate the game for what it is and think it is a must purchase for any MMO lover. It is a quality title that can stand up against the best pay to play titles, and the one time purchase fee means that you'll have an MMORPG to play even if you can't afford a monthly fee.
 
I decided to play Guild Wars 2 years ago when it was first announced, and in the months leading up to its release I had decided to give up MMO's altogether and make it my last buy. I was tired of all the launches, the trial months, excitement turning to boredom, and spending money on something I knew I wasn't going to stick with.

Maybe I've become bitter after spending half of my life in this genre, or maybe I had just grown tired of similar games with a fresh new skin.

This is Halloween....but I Don't Want to Scream...

I love this time of year. The weather is cooling off, the trees are all brightly colored, and there's an excuse to walk around in public in costume. Not to mention candy is everywhere. 

While most people take October to indulge in all their favorite horror movies I look forward to my favorite Halloween specials. I've never been a big fan of being scared. I rarely ever watched horror movies on my own growing up. Though now they seem to be played all the time since it's my sweetie's favorite movie genre. I've gotten better about being able to watch them. I just don't handle gore and slasher/torture stuff very well. 

I would like to share with you some of my all time favorite non-scary Halloween movies and specials, along with a few spooky themed animated shorts.

Caption Challenge, The Last Resort, & Goodbyes

For those of you who haven't seen the exclusives on my blog, I am taking a moment to combine and share them here. :P

Has anyone else seen this yet? I woke up today to surf the net before starting the day and THIS is what I see... WTF! Yeah, its Tosh, so I shouldn't be surprised, but I must say that it seems a lot of fans are pretty pissed off... Fans of B.A.P that is.

Needless to say, there is racist banter back and forth in the comments of the blog and fans voicing their disgust over peoples comments (and Tosh in general, but what's new there?), among other responses.

I have seen enough of Tosh.0 to know that no matter what they do, they push the limits. Sexist, racist, rapist... regardless the topic, he is going to make a joke out of it. That is one of the harsh realities of the comedy world.

In all honesty, I don't approve of the use of this image for his caption challenge because I am a big kpop fan myself, but that doesn't change anything. Its already done and the ethnic bickering has begun. I would rather people who don't know who they are to not find out about them in this way.

But hey, it coulda been worse.

Like other fans of the group, I hope that if B.A.P sees this that they will take it lightly and know it is a joke.

If you want to read the growing list of comments to the blog, here is the link.

Curious what B.A.P's manager thinks about this... hmmm...

____________________________________________

There was another video that went viral, a short film by Wong Fu Productions called The Last. I watched it... until the page locked up... I am amusing due to all the internet traffic to the page, so I will finish watching it later. That isn't the main point I am getting to anyhow.

What I really want to mention is David So. He did a parody of The Last that is hilarious which features Jay Park and Dumbfounded. So please check it out below. While you are doing that, I am going to watch some of his VLOGS. ^^

Enjoy... THE LAST RESORT by David So

 ____________________________________________

October 30th is a special day that ELFs and Angels have been dreading and anticipating alike. Super Junior's leader, Leeteuk, will begin his enlistment into the army as a serviceman on active duty.

Many were curious about his haircut after he tweeted about shaving his head. Below are a few images from his last photoshoot before enlistment.

Leeteuk will be greatly missed during his time of service.


Photos before the last farewell of Super Junior are posted on my own blog, so...
don't forget to visit Kpopeyes' Ridin' That Hallyu Wave Like There's No Tomorrow for kpop and other hallyu related news.

Oh, so you need a job too?

With the economy the way it is, I've decided to shamelessly promote myself via BZ85. So, without further ado.......

3D Demo Reel - Osby Tomlin

Here are a couple of websites that I have designed:

www.osbytomlin.com

www.semocopperheads.com

Here are a few examples of my video production/editing skills. Other videos that I've done can be found on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/user/oz2007

Rap music video: Drink's Up

Football: Season Preview 2012 SEMO Copperheads

 Short Film: A Living Nightmare

 

I doubt that this posting will get me a job offer anywhere, but it doesn't hurt. I've been searching for a job for about a month now......so yeah.

SOMEBODY HIRE ME!!!

Love,

Osby

PRAS Update: 1 Down 12 to Go

Episode 1 winning look

The first episode of Project Runway All Stars has come and gone. The challenges started off with a groan of distaste as the designers learned that they would be working in teams right from the get go. Their goal was to design a cohesive collection that embodied an attitude that they as a team had to choose.  

We saw Team Bold and Team Confident. Both had good and bad looks but over all team Confident won. I liked more of their looks too, but to be honest nothing really wowed me. As the judges narrowed down the top and bottom designer I made my guess at who would be in and out. And I was correct. I've gotten pretty good at the guessing game after 10 regular seasons of the runway.

My favorite under dog Anthony Ryan won the first challenge, since his look was modern but still had an element of surprise to it. I thought it was OK, but as far as the top three go, I liked Casanova's dress more. I expected that Peach would be out early. The woman is a sweetheart, but she's a still a bit out leagued by some of these other designers. Plus someone has to be first to go home. She was cheerful about it though. She'll just go continue her work designing tennis wear.

Looks I liked:
Casanova's black leather and lace dress.
Wendy's little black dress.

Check out the first round of fashions on Rate the Runway!

Fifteen on Friday

J.P. Harrod, or "GrimmOmen" as he's known around the interwebs, is an interesting fellow. He's an artist at heart, which is something I can relate to. The only real difference between us is he was successful at it, while I toil away on DeviantArt hoping someone likes the picture I drew of Kirby after he sucked in Richter Belmont.


But J.P. found his success in the business, from his early days working with the 3DO company to his years as CG supervisor and art director at Electronic Arts. For a time he was involved with one of the most influential MMO's of all time. If you remember the old days of persistent online gaming, back when your choices were almost as limited as the American political party system, you have heard of Ultima Online. It was one of the first graphical online persistent worlds, and what it lacked in cutting edge graphics and polish it made up for in pure imagination and creativity. It was also a continuation of the groundbreaking RPG series Ultima, which has continued to influence Western RPG's to this day.


A lot of the great art found within the game can be attributed to J.P., who remains refreshingly humble about his time in the industry. I'm happy to share my time with J.P. with the sexified readers of BZ85, so let's get down to business.

It's  Fifteen on Friday - fifteen questions, one interesting person. 

Are You in the Herd?

Does your pet alligator have a top hat?

My Little Pony fans have just over two weeks left for the long awaited 3rd season of Friendship is Magic. Nov. 10th The Hub will be airing the first of the new episodes. Until then we'll be making do with more teasers on Facebook and YouTube.

We know that Twilight Sparkle fails at something and that there will be a celebration for the Crystal ponies thanks to two preview songs that premiered at this years San Diego Comic Con.

MMOSite signs Shannon Young to Super Contract!

Well, there isn't any real contract, but it sort of feels super.

Yes, dear readers, I know you love reading about games you've never played and probably never will play, but I feel the need to spread the knowledge. So, I've agreed to write for MMOSite. Now you'll still see your favorite MMO articles on Blogzilla 1985, but there will be a bit of exclusivity for those guys. Two places to find me, all kinds of love to give me.

Check out MMOSite for exclusives by me, as well as first shot gaming articles before they touch the golden child, BZ85. This is just another step in the direction of taking over the entertainment world.

What's Happening Wednesday

Hey hey hey, it must be What's Happening Wednesday! Each day after Tuesday and before Thursday I like to take a look at some of the interesting stories going around and give you, the loyal reader, my keen observations about them.

And if we can't find anything good to write about, we'll just make it up.