No Sanctuary: A Walking Dead Recap

This week we welcome back, “Rick’s Man hood” to the walking dead, just in time for the season finale that was both full of action and exposition.  The beginning of this episode was deceptively slow as they jumped from the beginnings of “farmer Rick” to present day man on the edge of collapse.  I think the intension of this episode was to show that although he had faith, like Hershel, that they could bring back a life that didn’t involve a kind of savagery, that kind of life isn’t out there to find any more.

It was good to see Hershel again, as I kind of miss his humanity, but it is short lived as the group is captured by Joe and his group of “claiming” marauders.  Now, it is true that Daryl has been traveling with them, but Rick killed a member of their group and that means he has to pay the price.  The harsh reality is that Daryl must also pay a price for standing up for Rick, and that price is “all the way.”  Joe makes it clear that he will be extracting way more than a pound of flesh from Rick’s family.  He intends to beat Daryl to death, Shot Rick in the head, Rape Mishonne, and then make Carl squeal like a pig.  None of which really appeal to Rick, but the large gentleman holding Carl down seems okay with it.

Rick is above all things resourceful this week, using his biting skills he kills Joe in a fit of savage glory.  I honestly don’t think they could have done that any better, unless of course you added a shot of an “Adam’s Apple” hanging from Rick’s mouth while he holds a beating heart in his closing fist.  Blegh!  Still this is huge as we know now; Rick cannot go back to being the peaceful farmer of days gone by.  It’s almost sad how it seems to almost crush him, and yet there is a look in his eye the next morning of quiet acceptance. 

As the reformed group heads for Terminus there is a feeling of uneasiness that hangs over them like a storm rolling in, a thick grey feeling of change in identity.  Mishonne takes the motherly approach to try to keep Carl and Rick together, but Carl is still afraid of who he might be.  It’s a terrifying thing to realize you may have stronger demons than you feared.

At Terminus, the group decides to come in through the back, but to first prep the surrounding area’s with artillery.  A great plan if Terminus was what we hoped it would be, and at first it seemed like it just might be.  However, the grill is going strong and the meat is a little too plentiful, which kept my mind from being able to relax.  Seriously, I got a headache from trying to focus on all the minor details that screamed evil place.  Rick must have been too, because right away he picked up on the riot gear and Hershel’s watch which caused him to snap and attempt an escape.

Terminus is not the sanctuary it appears to be, and the response was to heard the group with a hail of bullets through the train station.  Bonus points if you saw the collection of stripped carcasses.  The first room is a creepy collection of candles that screams unholy ritual and the words “We first, We Always” or something equally as ominous.  See I’m so right; see these people are nutty freaking cannibals!  I kept looking for the Kuru shakes, I mean technically these people should have them for days as well as bad balance and a wealth of other issues.

For now our heroes have been stored in an empty train car to await their fate.  It is Rick that takes the cake for lines this season, as he completely dusts off his farmer persona.  “they are going to feel pretty stupid when they figure it out.”  Figure what out?  “That they screwed with the wrong people.”    

A second first date: Drop Dead Diva recap

After a long and I mean to the point of overdone, long season opener we return once again to Harrison and Parker to check in on our favorite little body snatcher on Drop Dead Diva.  This week seemed to be more of a filler episode but had a few excellent little dollops of entertainment.  I think the director just really needed a bridge to bring back Kim and get rid of Belinda quickly.

So let’s get into this week’s cases, shall we?  First there is Belinda’s client, the lead singer of a famous rock band called “The Black Petals,” who finds himself in hot water after trashing a hotel room.  After Owen orders Belinda to take Jane with her, Belinda starts to show her true colors and that picture isn’t pretty.  It’s clear that Belinda is more about using her “ass”-ets to propel her forward any way they can including but not limited to buttering up Owen.  So, when Jane uses her clearly elevated negotiation skills to get our troubled rocker off, the claws come out and the fur prepares to fly.  The real strikes however, come from the rocker’s own fist as he knocks out a paparazzi after being served with termination papers.

In the office of Grayson Kent, we find case number 2, a lovely young woman who is trying to save her low income apartment building from becoming another upper middle class condo park by a greedy developer.  The guy is a total slime wad to a T; I don’t think they could get more stereotypical if they tried.  Thankfully, Grayson finds a loop in the form of a famous graffiti artist.  I imagine they are trying to replicate the Banksy tradition of an anonymous tagger creating huge works.

In the less-legal world, Jane decides (with a push from Stacy) to ask out Grayson for their “first date.”  Unfortunately, the legal world always finds a way to interrupt Jane’s attempt at a normal life as Grayson has been jailed for the evening due to a demonstration by the mystery tagger in the courtroom.  Armed with a cake and good conversation, Jane helps Grayson put together a defense from the visiting room of the jail.  This would have been a good jump off point for the two of them but, Grayson holds back with a peck on the cheek.  To a woman, this is an ultimate friend zone move and it devastates Jane’s confidence.

Back in the battle royal that has become the rocker’s wrongful termination suit, Jane notices a shaky hand and decides to order a toxicology report that sends Belinda through the roof.  It falls on Owen to break up the cat fight and restore order to the female combatants.  When the findings are all negative Belinda goes to work on Owen and Jane is left more aggravated than in the days of Kim.  So now, it’s clear that she needs to get Kim’s but back in to office pronto.  Bet you never would have thought that Jane would want to get Kim back to work.

Both cases suffer devastating blows, like they always do that spins into unlikely solutions.  The whole process is becoming very A+B=C.  In the end Grayson save the building and finds that the artist has been there the whole time and Jane helps a supposed troubled rock star uncover a horrible medical secret to get the treatment he needs and lose a manager he doesn’t.  The best part though?  The bands back together as Belinda takes off in order to get Kim back from maternity leave!

So where does that leave our lovers?  I totally thought that this romance had frozen, but it would appear that the writers were going more for a slow build.  In the end I have to check for cavities as Grayson’s sweetness may have rotted my teeth as he called her just to say good night.  YUea I watched my phone after the episode for a few minutes before I remembered that no one calls me… Still the preview look promising for this slow cooking season, so let’s hope we can keep it going.         

         

Good night sweet one: A Once Recap

I don’t know what my TV was thinking Sunday night, but I took a serious hit right in the “feels.”  Kicking things off with Once Upon a Time, I feel like this episode was supposed to inspire the idea of “it’s always darkest before the dawn.”  In the midst of the discovery of rumples return, we go back to Storybrooke to get the answer to another blazing question, “where is Neil?”

We open our story with the search for Rumple in the places that would have the strongest clues; Mr. Gold’s shop which is now being cared for by Belle, the old farmhouse the witch had hidden him in, and even the woods themselves.  Sadly, to poke around the shop they have to tell Belle that the love of her life may still be alive but they aren’t sure where.  How heart breaking to not know.  Just like Emma’s question about where Neil has disappeared to.  Belle, however may have a longer wait than Emma, as Neil comes crashing through the backdoor of Gold’s shop.

So where has Neil been, well to answer that we must go back to the Enchanted Forest, a whole year ago.  Balefire and Belle decide to leave the group and head for Rumple’s castle in hopes of saving him and finding a way back to our world.  Ever the little researcher Belle decides to hit the books in the library that Rumple built for her, where she meets Lumiere, a soul who promises to help them locate the vault of the dark one where they can conjure Rumple back to life.  What seems to be an imprisoned soul to help them, turns out to be another pawn in the game of the wicked witch.  His purpose is to lead them to the vault that houses the dark one and convince Neil to use the key to release Rumple.  Unfortunately for Neil, there is always a price to magic, and this one will be very hard to pay.  The rules of the vault are simple; one for one, so in order to release Rumple Neil must sacrifice his life and is taken in by Rumple.  This is why Rumple has been suffering, his mind has been clouded by both he and Neil’s thoughts. 

Back in Storybrooke, things seem to be heating up as Regina and Robin finally have their introduction in our world and it is electric.  How she can resist that face is completely beyond m, still they meet in front of the old farm house, both looking for clues as to her identity and locations.  Between the witty banter, closeness and half smiles, you could cut the sexual tension with a knife.  This is delicious until Regina sees the lion tattoo and then, everything falls to place and then to pieces.  Regina cannot allow herself to be happy, it’s too scary to let go of anger and hate… and even scarier with a beating heart in her chest.

This episode’s progression was definitely more in Storybrooke than the Enchanted Forest, as we see each of our favorite people both coming to terms with horrible truths and that you may not be able to stop destiny.  Neil decides that he needs to take this time to tell Emma that she will always be in his heart.  It feels like a kind of goodbye as he tells her that all he wants is her to find Tallahase, even if he can’t be a part of it.

As any Once fan I sat on the edge of my seat, praying, crying and ripping my hair out that Rumple would find a way.  After all this time, all the searching throughout the seasons, Rumple must now hold his son for the very last time.  In that moment, there was so much love, kindness, and forgiveness of all the past mistakes.  The vault must have its price and with a tear filled good bye, we lay our sweet one to rest.

With Rumple’s mind now free of Neil, he can tell the group that Snow’s own midwife is the incarnate of the wicked witch.  It is a short lived victory however, with Rumple’s head now clear the dagger once again controls him, and effectively so does the witch.  That means it’s time to go back to his cell a little more lost, as are we all with this loss.  It is a horrible thing to lose someone, but to lose a person so strongly connected to everyone’s life is devastating.  Perhaps the worst, Neil laid his life down for a chance to get back to a son that can’t remember him.

So what now Once?  Well Snow is only going to get rounder as we press on to the due date of Storybrooke’s newest price or princess.  It’s becoming painfully obvious that her baby is crucial to whatever the witch has planned.  My question, why does everyone in these stories want a freakin baby?!  I have a baby, and yes they are rewarding, but seriously why you want to take on someone else’s waking up every two hours…. Seems like a curse to me.             

Baby's Badass Burgers!: Good o'le fashion yum!

So, in addition to an introduction to a great event, Adam inadvertently introduced me to the delicious food truck of Baby’s Badass Burgers. I am totally guilty of knocking the food truck fad, I completely acknowledge that fact. In the case of this truck however I admit I may be mistaken.

What I like about this truck is they aren’t going for something crazy, one glance at the menu will tell you that they are going for something that is truly good using good ingredients. It’s pretty straight forward, burgers and fries… My American cuisine loving heart went “pop.”

I ordered the “original beauty” baby burgers, which was two little sliders with swiss, grilled onions, sautéed mushrooms, and baby’s special sauce and an order of the “pigs tails” or curly seasoned fries. The result of that order was 7 bucks completely well spent. Oh my god, no really, like damn! I’m so happy the arcade had this truck!

Right out of the gate, the brilliance of putting the burger on a Hawaiian roll. I grew up eating these and they are, in my opinion one of the best breads for burgers, right behind toasted sourdough. The reason I came up with why they would use them has got to be the sauce. I usually hate sauce, let alone spicy sauces. This sauce cut through the sweetness of the roll but didn’t over power the delicate nature of the mushrooms. The mushrooms, my god the mushrooms, they were fall apart delightful. The mushrooms were soft and buttery but unlike other burgers, they were not masque by bolder flavors and the light caramel of the grilled onions made a pair that any burger eater would be happy to obtain. The meat itself was well seasoned and not overcooked, almost like a medium well to medium making it soft and yet punched with flavor. The fries were not overly seasoned, which I absolutely loved! I tend to shy away from curly fries but these proved that people still want to make a good side that doesn’t try to be a main dish!

Overall this experience has made me rethink truck food, so rock on Baby’s Badass Burgers!

The Last Arcade on the Planet: Amazing!

Friday found this girl on the go kind of out of her element but, totally loving it. I was invited to an arcade party with a fun 80’s flare at a Santa Ana/ Tustin area warehouse known as The Last Arcade on Earth. So what I gathered was that this was a huge selection of “vintage” arcade and pin ball machines that they set to free play with a fun atmosphere of classic 80’s tunes and fun lighting. Basically, when I walked in the amount of visual stimulation is enough to keep you going but the true gem is the selection of classics that makes you want to know when the next event is. And what do they charge for this play ground of child hood classics? It’s a five dollar door, more than fair when you think about the electricity and planning that goes into this kind of event.

When you arrive, at a location that was not only easy to find, but had tons of parking! It might sound silly to get existed about parking, try enjoying an event with street parking… You will go out of your mind thinking of tickets and morons. There is no doubt you are in the right place when you walk up, if the music doesn’t draw you in, the sheer ease and overall good feeling of the other attendees taking a break outside will. There were a few tables and chairs setup, but I like the tailgate of my xb myself.

Everyone was really friendly and basic arcade laws apply. Their rules at a basic level was don’t hurt the games and don’t be an asshole. Pretty simple and to the point, I like it. What I loved? The games, these are what you grew up on, frogger, miss pacman, pacman, qubert, Mario, donkey kong… It was overwhelmingly fantastic.

In the end I do have to thank my arcade guide, Adorable Adam… I’m the only one allowed that. No really, Adam is a sweetheart for getting this sheltered, single mom out if only for a few hours. I’m totally up to do it again though… Especially if Adam goes.

Check out the next event May 10^th! I’ll be there and highly recommend it.

The Last Arcade on the Planet

1400 E St Andrew Place

Suite E

Santa Ana Ca

Nom box 3: A graze box review

It’s that time again, I received my 3^rd Graze box this week. First off I wanted to take a moment to truly express my admiration for this subscriptions customer service department. It was wed. afternoon and I still hadn’t received my box which had usually come on Monday without fail, after checking my account I could not locate my order so I wrote a nicely worded email. Within 2 hours I not only had a response, I had a complete resolution with a credit for a box as compensation. I now love this company.

So what did I get this week? Well, it was another week of 3 hits and a miss. This week I received the herby bread basket, banoffee pie, seed and fruit flapjacks, and mango chutney and black pepper dipper rice snacks.

First the herby bread basket, this was a mix made up of three distinct yet complementary components, garlic crustini’s, basil baguettes, and oregano crusted rice crackers. The garlic crustini had a lovely crumble with a delicious buttery taste with just a tiny bite of garlic. The baguettes were a tad stronger in herby flavor but, in contrast to the olive oil washed garlic the basil was a welcome flavor to break up the warmth of the crustini. As for the oregano rice crisps, these were the perfect pop of sweet that made a delicious profile. It tasted like a nice crunchy garlic bread, and at 90 cals… send more.

Next I tried the banoffee pie mix that was dehydrated banana slice, almond slices, pecans, and a kind of butterscotch fudge. It was a desert item so of course I was and am all in. I have a sweet tooth and have no problem admitting it. The only thing I would change right off the bat was the banana, while tasty they were just kind of chewy. The mix was missing that idea of a crunchy element, while I know that pie doesn’t usually have a crisp, this mix needed one. Over all it was a delicious deconstructed pie, the fudge bits ramped up the sweetness while the pecans and almonds gave a crunch and warmth that cut through it. Sadly the one component that fell short was in the name. Still, go ahead and keep this one coming graze.

Third came the nut and seed flapjacks. These need to be packaged individually and sold in bulk, because I could have one every morning and it would seriously put me out on the right foot! The rolled oats provide a delicious canvas for a beautiful array of seeds and fruit bits. The fruit itself is still juicy and really fresh tasting. The bar is moist and seems to dissolve with the first bite into a nutty, honey, fruity piece of heaven. I’m a big fan of anything flapjack from this company.

Sadly, the last package was a major miss with me. I had never had chutney before so I decided that I would approach this with an open mind. The mango chutney did have a sweet snap, but the after taste was so decidedly vinegar and bitterness that I just couldn’t go through with it. Sorry graze, I guess chutney isn’t for me… Even if you pair it with black pepper.

I want to say once again, the selection and service has won my business for many boxes to come. Thank you graze’s team of superstars!

Jim Henson Creature Shop: What Lies Beneath

Just when I thought my Tuesday evening couldn’t get any more impacted by series that I just cannot stand to miss, SyFy gives me the Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge.  To say that Jim Henson was a huge part of my childhood would be the understatement of the century.  I was brought up in a family that whole heartedly adored the Muppets, the Labyrinth, the Dark Crystal and so many others that solidified creativity and wonder as a cornerstone of my very being.  So naturally when they are going to run a challenge inside the Jim Henson Creature Shop I was practically jumping up and down with excitement.  Which quantified exponentially when I saw who would be hosting, none other than Gigi Edgley from Farscape.  My god that woman is beautiful, even without the makeup and white wig!  Damn you Chiana!

The first judge the 10 creators meet is Brian Henson, Chairmen of Henson Studio’s and he explains the premise.  These 10 creature creators will be competing in weekly challenges that will be screen tested on the Jim Henson Sound Stage and the winner of the challenge will receive employment with the Jim Henson Creature Shop.  So this is basically a long application process, how awesome is that?!

The first challenge sets off with more of a fizzle than a bang.  The 10 are split into teams of two to create under sea creatures that have never been seen before.  They must completely disguise their actor but to not hinder the actor’s movement as it travels across the floor of the sound stage.  Despite the fact that they are working in teams, in the end they are judged individually and eliminated individually.  This is a test, not only to bring a creature to live in 3 days, but to also work together because in this industry they are always going to be a part of a team.

Now as for the creators themselves, I have to say this is a very well rounded group of ten.  They all come from backgrounds that vary from Disney to machine shops to having their own creator studios.  But, that is not the only variance; they also differ greatly amongst their skill sets and comfortable mediums.  With creators who have never touched a foam piece to artists who start using tinfoil and mattress foam.

The team that was given a lot of focus this week was Tina and Russ, unfortunately for the amount of discord between the two egos.  Tina has a very dominating personality, and quickly takes the reigns of this project which wouldn’t be a knock to her if she had taken the opportunity to include Russ in the design.  I know it might be that I’m only shown one side but it really looked like whenever Russ opened his mouth Tina was more than happy to shut it for him.  These two were just hard to watch.

What was also hard to watch was Robert and Chaz struggle with an overall lack of foam construction.  They don’t seem to grasp how to mold and shape it to fit a performer while allowing him the ability to bring the character to life organically.

The most creative out of all the groups had to be Lex and Josh.  Lex seems to have a taste for the artistic which helps in overall design but, it is Josh’s knowledge of more creative mediums like tin foil and upholstery foam that bring their “baby” to level of difference that the other teams just don’t hit.  As a viewer I love to see these kinds of teams.  They clearly understand that this is greater than their own egos and they need to embrace each other’s knowledge for support and fuel of the most important part of this show, the creature.

Each week the show will provide a mentor and this week the mentor comes from the Jim Henson Creature Shop itself, Pete Brooke.  He is the mater creator for Jim Henson studios and basically who would become your future boss.  He sets to work giving out advice, not only on design but stresses working on story as much as the sculpt of the creature itself.

After the three days of creation, the teams are given an hour to work with their actors and it’s clear that there are several issues.  First off is Tina and Russ’s fish is literally falling apart in front of them as their tail begins to break apart.  Robert and Chaz have been basically suffocating their actor in a tomb of foam.  Neither looks that promising as they all line up for their first screen test.

The screen tests themselves had mixed reviews, first off the clear top looks of this build where Lex and Josh’s devil prawn and Melissa and Jake’s scuttle-slurp.  Both of them stand out by clearly hiding the actor but also bringing to life a wonderful performance training of the actor.  Giving the actor enough room to expand and grow while also giving it little tricks to be able act through.  A great example is the arm fabrication and the bright red belly of the devil prawn that gave it the ability to give the character a real sense of life.  On the other end of the spectrum is “Floyd” designed by Robert and Chaz who are critiqued as being overly cartoony, even for the people who created the Muppets.  The other massively huge mistake is the actor’s inability to breath under the design of this sluggish disaster.  At first it looked like everyone was going to take the judges words in stride but then Russ can’t keep it together any longer and unloads all of the blame for “Ethel” on Tina.  Even if I agree, pushing someone right in front of a speeding bus like that is not how you handle that kind of dysfunction.  Clearly in an environment that demands high levels of team work and low levels of ego, these two obviously don’t understand first impressions.

In the end, the obvious winning build was the devil prawn and it was incredibly well earned with Josh’s molding of tin foil taking top honors this week.  As always the next part is devastating for one hopeful as “Floyd” becomes just too “toonish” and puts an actor at risk, which is one of the biggest sins of a creator.  Thus with a heavy heart this week we say good bye to Chaz but with a strong warning to Russ and Tina to shape up.

watch the episode here

check out the stills gallery

These tattoos are super: An ink master recap

So everyone’s in a hype about the new X-Men movie because this week, right after Face Off does mutations (see my blog for a recap J), Ink master join’s in with actual X-Men Tattoos!  The geek in me is very pleased with this development.  What does not please me is the apparent lack of skill and finesse of this year’s crop of artists.  I had high hopes for a lot of these professionals but, it seems like every week there are only 4 that really shine leaving everyone else to scramble to stay above the bottom.  Also, the introduction of Top tattoo sending an elimination vote, is making this more about the “honorable” vs “the people out to screw everyone.”  Personally I’m on team “screw everyone” simply because it’s a completion.  These people are not your friends, they are all in your way from you getting 100,000.00, and I don’t know about you… But, I could totally use that money.

So kicking it off into the flash challenge this week, host Dave Navarro informs the “inkster’s” that this week they will be working on precision.  Precision in the tattoo world is using strong lines and design to replicate an object and give a definite picture as to what the tattoo is supposed to be.  Basically, this week they are looking for attention to the ultimate details that make an exact and clear image.  How are we going to test this?  This week’s flash challenge is to do a “super powered” inspired tattoo in three hours.

The results of the flash challenge leave little to be desired, with Scott trying to pass a black eagle off as a raven and Roland’s “dripping pizza slice” like cheetah spots; it is up to Matti to take the win and control of handing out the skulls at the elimination challenge.  To be fair he did produce a solid hammer but, in my opinion Bubba’s tree of immortality clearly demonstrated more precision.  Funny side note, the close up on Scott made him look like he was about to cry, seriously I have seen my 3 year old make that face… Still, Matti now has to decide whether to screw over the people who have screwed him or to take the high road.  Kyle showed a bit of spineless ness disguised as crappy attempts at a cunning assault by trying to hint that Matti needs to sand bag Scott.  Really Kyle?  That never works out in the long run for you; I would just focus on producing something solid.

This week’s elimination challenge:  Colored portraits of the X-Men.  So, not only do you need skills in the art of precision to just be accurate, you are charge with tattooing some of the most recognizable characters in all of fandom.  Matti gets to work handing out skulls and it’s quickly apparent that he went the screw you route.  Stacking some of the harder tattoos into the hands of the least talented tattooer’s in a clear attempt to sink the bottom of the lowest hanging fruits.  The interesting mash up?  There are two wolverines, and Matti decides to use them to go toe to toe with Scott.  With such an iconic character on the line, this could either go really well for them or ultimately, very wrong.

Now before I get into my notes for the individual tattoos I want to take a moment to express how disappointing someone’s behavior last night was.  I’m talking about Sausage’s attempt to call out Kyle.  Now, normally I’m all for calling people out on their shit, and yes Kyle has been a little whinny about the judge’s decisions (which Nunez admits he is hard on him to push him to his full potential).  Still knowing these facts I cannot excuse Sausage for trying to step up to Kyle.  Just last week Sausage whined the Scott stacked the deck in his favor at skull distribution.  He threw a huge bitch fit claiming that it wasn’t honorable and whined that Scott was being a coward because he is playing to win.  I just think it’s ridiculous how in one breath you chastise another player for complaining about the judges and then in the next you complain about another contestant.

To the notes:

Gentle Jay:  The subject was young professor X.  What showed up was an over worked and partially beaten mess.  There was no real accuracy to pick from, each piece seemed to be a slightly tweaked version of the original and the nose and forehead wrinkles really bothered me.

Jim:  I still hate this guy, and every week he reminds me more and more of my son’s father… Hell even my mom can see it now.  All of that aside, the color of this tattoo for one is so soft that it already looks faded.  I don’t even want to know what this thing will look like in 5 years let alone 10.  The details aren’t crisp and it seems kind of muddled.

Bubba:  Okay so Mystique in the movies is drop dead sexy.  So please, tell me why you made her look like a lollipop headed alien.  The hair and the forced shine just killed any hope for this disturbing view of a gorgeous character.

Melissa:  Melissa got Bishop, and her canvas seemed determined to screw her out of any detail.  In short it was her wise choice to bring in Halo’s opinion that clearly saved this piece for her.  It was a well done middle of the pack piece.

Halo:  Now here is a man who clearly knows what it is to do a color portrait.  His rendition of Rouge was damn near flawless and should have been recognized as a clear contender for tattoo of the day.  Clearly Halo knows his shit.  Yea, I voted for Halo.

Scott:  Scott’s wolverine looks somewhat confused to me, I think it’s the awkward arch to the eyebrow that looks questionable.  The face is nice but the outfit itself looks comic book and not portrait.  Kind looks like there’s a level missing to me…

Roland:  This is lacking outline, shape, design, placement; I cannot even tell you who this is… Kitty maybe… I don’t know but it’s rough.  For me it really went south somewhere in the creation of the awkwardly shaped mouth.  Yikes…

Sausage:  The tattoo is very close to professor X, however my major beef with it has got to be that one side of his face seems more set in and it lacks overall balance.

Matti:  You lost the wolverine off buddy, this thing is dark and when I say dark I mean, when this thing heals it’s still going to be massively dark.  It in a way looks way more cartoony than I originally was expecting.  Kind of let down Matti.

Kyle:  Kyle had beast and generally I liked it.  Was it an exact portrait? No, was it good enough to advance yes?

King Ruck:  Magneto here seems to be a mix of drawing and portrait, it’s just another middle of the road honestly.

Keith:  This Storm had better thank god that balance wasn’t the challenge because her cheek bone pulls away from any truly wonderful (which weren’t many) from this blown out tattoo.

Lydia:  Who the hell is this?  She just made an androgynous uni-browed wonder with a giant red x… This is sad.  Really… Just gut wrenching.

In a surprise they bring out their special guest judge, Hugh Jackman, which would have been cool… But, he picked a wolverine tattoo which I thought was a little cheap seeing as Halo clearly smacked this one out of the park.  Still the bottom consisted of Roland, Lydia and… honestly who really cares because between those two they were horrible.  In the end we finally dump Roland, which to be honest I’m totally okay with.  And with a so long until next week all I can say is thank god the whining was minimal, maybe next week we can focus back on doing good tattoos…   

Vote Halo!

Face Off gets mutated: A face off recap

This week on face off we trip into the exciting world of mutants!  Each artist was given a super power to convey through a mutant creature that could walk right out films like the X-Men.  To aide them in the creation of their super powered mutations are fellow artists who are studying CGI at the Gnomon School of Visual effects, of which judge Neville is an alumni and a board member.  Using the program, Z brush, the sculptors are given the chance to see their creations in as a 3D sketch.  This, in my opinion, is a huge advantage because not only can you see what your creation will look like from every angle but the Z brush program also includes the ability to design textures.  Now you can not only plan a look but also get an idea how an application may turn out.  How incredible is that?  I was blown away by the accuracy these CGI artists were able to produce to the finished product.

In the lab itself, there are mixed emotions coming from every station about these mutants.  Graham who was given tunneling actually seems to almost resent his choice and is taking it out on a somewhat uninspired mole/mole rat creature.  He does take it in stride though as he includes a “droopy dog” voice during the preliminary application phase.  While funny to watch, there isn’t the same amount of love oozing from this bitterly inspired creation, nothing at all akin to last week’s Dahl inspired creature.

Speaking of last week, Niko is still reeling from being in the bottom looks category last week and is determined to rocket himself up from this with his “coiled” mutant.  His creation must demonstrate magnetic powers, in response Niko has designed a character built out of copper coiled skin.  Thankfully, unlike last week, Niko has decided to tone down his massive ideas and focus on what he can pull of this time.  The best part of the design was clearly the paint job of black and brushed copper that gave it an antique look that sold the creation.

Daren however, may have over shot himself this week.  With panoramic vision as a super power, Daren decides to implement strings of lights into his design.  The problem really occurs when sadly, the model accidently pulls them out as they become entangled on a chair.  This leaves Daren with opaque gelatin molds to apply to her face and a wing and a prayer that the judges see the intended look.  The muddled appearance and rudimentary paint job seemed forced and unclear.  There is nothing that really screams panoramic vision; my suggestion would have been some kind of visor or attention on the eyes instead of a dark resounding skin color.

George needed way more than a wing and a prayer this week, he need a muscle relaxer and a nap, maybe a heating pad… either way he needed medical attention.  It would appear that the strain of this completion had put a toll on his back and shoulder.  Still I must say I admire him for his push forward to create his “impenetrable skin” mutant.  The creation had a nice stone color and shape but sadly lacked texture to become top looks.

Rashaad went to the bottom of the ocean this week, calling upon the idea of an octopus to demonstrate elasticity.  I can see why you would pick an octopus but like Graham’s mole, it might seem a little uninspired.  What sets it apart is some well-done shaping and an intricate paint job that gives it just enough punch to rest in the middle of the road.  I have high hopes for him in the coming challenges simply because of the amount of work he can produce in a short amount of time is outstanding.

Finally we come to my favorite this season, everyone’s little energizer, Tyler!  Tyler received “wall crawling” as a mutant power.  What he created was a kind of fly man in transition.  The paint job was a great use of pallid pinks, purples and grey that was brought to life by hundreds of fabricated hairs.  He took the time not only to do a beautiful sculpt in the face but also to mold tiny “noodles” using a torch to give the illusion of tiny hairs speckled throughout the face and hands.  It was a brilliantly devised look that clearly conveyed a mutation in transition.      

In the end it is Graham’s lack of originality that sends him home.  I’m going to have to say that I strongly disagree and argue that they only kept Daren because of his past works and that to me seems to violate the idea the if you have to bring your best every week, either way, I’m not in charge, so instead I must say good bye to Graham this week and take comfort in knowing that he has a brilliant future ahead of him.  Meanwhile, Tyler takes another deserved top look, beating out Niko’s copper paint job by means of well executed fabrication.  Go team Tyler!


Creature Gallery

 

Facing the fear with your own face: Once upon a time recap

This week on Once Upon a Time, we learn a few things both to advance the story and to take with us in our everyday life. This episode was circled around fear, and the choice face it or to let it control your life, what story will be used for this vessel? Tonight we meet one of the newer princesses to the disney family but, a story whose roots find themselves deep in our fairytale existence, Rapunzel.

In the enchanted forest Charming is having nightmares about the prospect of being a father all over again since losing Emma twice. I’d have to say I’d be a bit gun shy too. After a drink and a tale by Robin, Charming decides to go into Sherwood Forest to find the elusive night root. The fabled night root is said to remove all your fears once consumed, but Rapunzel’s cry for help distracts our hero from eating the purple crystal encrusted root. For a man consumed by fear, he sure is able to put it past him to help someone in need.

After climbing up the tower, and a brief introduction, he finds out that Rapunzel has been trapped in the tower by a hooded witch. More importantly however, is the revelation that she has tried the root and the fear did not leave her, in fact it is stronger than ever and now she has a which keeping her from her land and family. However crushing the disappointment, Charming promises to help Rapunzel escape the hood scourge.

Here is where the lesson comes into play, for the hooded figure has Rapunzel’s face. She is the embodiment of Rapunzel’s fears and insecurities that are keeping her from being the leader her people need her to be. In a bit of a predictable twist her hair has come to represent a binding fear and to vanquish the witch she must cut her hair as Charming and the witch dangle helplessly from it. This is obviously a fight that only she can win and thankfully she takes the chance causing her curse to be lifted and allowing her and Charming to return to their families free from their fears.

So how does this story apply to the real world? Well once again Charming will have to defeat the night root, but this time the fears that he has to face is his own. The big question, how do you get night root in Storybrooke Maine? From Mr Gold’s safe of course. Posing as her assumed identity, the wicked witch is able to dupe Belle into leaving her alone in Gold’s shop so she can brake into his secret safe. Is it just me or was that way to easy? I mean I know they have a lot to pack into an hour but, it seems like the villain can move through the town with out notice or consequence.

As Mary Margret and David Nolen’s mid wife, the witch has all but solidified a strong hold in the town and a direct line to the child of Snow and Charming, which is what I believe is her ultimate goal. This is how David/Charming comes in contact with night root as it is fed to him by the benevolent appearing hands of the midwife in a cup of tea.

Now why would the witch want David’s fears to confront him? It all comes down to courage. She uses his facing his fears through courage to steal a totem, his sword. So, as the episode comes to an end, the witch has courage and a “mad” rumple who I think is the symbol of wisdom… is the next episode the heart?

Shut it mullet: A Walking Dead Review

As we return to zombie ridden Georgia this week on The Walking Dead we catch up with the glory that is Eugene’s sweet, sweet mullet. Oh yeah, and Glenn, Tara, Rosita, and Abraham are there too. They, like everyone else have decided to head for Terminus and the hope that they may find family and friends along the tracks. These feelings are of course solidified by the perverbial carrot that Maggie dangles out on the road signs. Abraham isn’t buying it and continuously repeats his mission of taking Eugene to Washington to save the world. The way I see it, the only way Eugene is going to save the world is by shaving off the worlds last party in the back.

While I’m on the subject of my least favorite scientist, what is with this guy? Seriously, he claims that he can save the world but, it seems like all he really wants to do is look at Rosita’s “hypnotic tits” and talk video games and zombie dinosaurs with Tara… Oh my god he’s every annoying fan boy from comic con! Between you and me I don’t really think that someone whose catch phrase is “Trust me, I’m smarter than you,” deserves my trust or is actually smarter than me. I honestly believe that he is a geek that has clung on to Abraham to help get him through the conditions that on his own, he is clearly ignorant of how to survive. Still Abraham believes and as long as he does he will fallow Eugene, at least until they find a car right?

Zombie kill of the week: I have to say that this episode was one of the most awesome Zombie kills since the Shane double tap of season 2. Essentially, one of the walkers has a “trust fall” moment that goes horribly wrong from a train over pass. He decides, sure zombies can fly and lands in the worst splat noise I’ve heard form this show in a long while. All I could think of “It’s raining men.”

Taking a break from goobers walking along the tracks we segway to douches sleeping in the woods as we catch up with Daryl and the pack of wandering ruffians. This included my second favorite effect of the show, a walker who rubs his face across a strand of barbed wire. For special effects geeks like myself watching the wire tare through his check was awesome. What isn’t awesome? Try the rule of “claim,” according to Joe all you have to do is yell claim before any other man. Claim applies to everything from a rabbit to a woman. Disgusted yet? So apparently these supposed rules come with very strict consequences based on the offense and situation, as Daryl quickly finds out with the help of a little weasle named Len.

Len is one of these assholes that go around calling claim on every little thing, you know like your annoying cousin that calls shotgun the moment you get up to go somewhere. These are the kind of guys that feel like they can pick on anyone new, and with Daryl provides an object of obsession for his outright doucheyness. Len wants to beat Daryl to a pulp, and in his determination attempts to set him up with a stolen rabbit head but, as we have all learned again and again, you never mess with Daryl and Len learns exactly what that means.

Back on the tracks the small team comes upon a tunnel and it’s clear that this is the gateway to dark damp walker hell. Abraham has no intention of walking the worlds savior through hell and decides that it is here where the group will part ways, having Abraham and his crew head to Washing ton as Glenn and Tara plan to enter the mouth of walker hell. Walker hell is just what they find as some where in the last few days a large portion of the ceiling has caved in and the rubble is speckled with embedded zombies. Glenn begins his search for either bodies or a Maggie Zombie and finds neither but does manage to find a way into the roof as a chance of getting over the rubble. The albatross in this scenario is Tara who gets caught in a crevasse of the wall. Theres always something isn’t there?

The end of the episode brought reunions, discovery and revelations of a new location for a few of our friends. The long awaited reunion of Glenn and Maggie is added by Abraham and crew, not that I saw too much… My cheers pissed of my dog. Nothing like a frenchie that hates a round of applause. In a tender moment Maggie burns the picture Glenn kept of her and tells him that he will never need one again. I’ll take this as the couple resolving to never leave each other again.

Meanwhile back on the road Daryl learns about Terminus and Joe explains they are heading that way after Rick and his family for attacking one of their men. Relieved that they may still be alive, Daryl attempts to swallow it down and use the group to get to Terminus to find his “people.”

So, what is this Terminus? Well when the first wave arrives they come upon unlocked gates and sign of peace amongst gardens of flowers and vegetables. It’s beautiful in comparison to the tunnel but still, something is very quiet and off about this settlement. They find a woman grilling huge slabs of meat and with an eerie smile she welcomes them and offers to “make them a plate.”

What do I think this place is? Well my theory runs along the line that this is some kind of doomsday cult that offers a “end of the line,” which is what Terminus means, in the form of last rights. Im thinking cannibals or human sacrifice, either way if it were me… I’m not stopping.

Drop Dead from this long ass episode: A Drop Dead Diva Recap

Part One: “Damage Control”

Last night gave birth to Drop Dead Diva’s sixth and final season, it is kind of heartbreaking to know this is the last season of sassy Jane.  Over the last few season’s so many of us have welcomed the voluptuous lawyer and her bunch of kooky co-workers into our hearts, even through the darkness of limbo that was between Jane and Owen’s botched wedding and “Old Jane’s” return.  So now we can begin our decent into the last season before our farewell.

After last season’s explosive finale I was all to egger to find out if Jane’s secret was seriously going to be revealed.  What we opened with was Jane rearranging the kitchen.  That’s right Jane take it out on a ladle.  Seriously though, the major coping mechanism in this show seems to be strict avoidance so it is a mystery to me why Jane thought Grayson would just want to suddenly talk about the sole of his dead fiancé being trapped in the sole of a plus sized lawyer.

As a distraction we enter the cases that always provide a backdrop for the lessons that our quirky lawyers need to learn.  Jane’s case is one very close to my heart; a lunch lady is fighting the super intendants decision to cut more than 50 kids hot lunches do to their parent’s income being higher than the cut off points.  As a single mom, the most important thing to me is my son’s wellbeing and that he gets the nutrition he needs which is not always easy.  I’m working full time and it’s still hard to make it all work some weeks so when someone decides to cut a budget by removing help some of our children need, it’s degusting.  Personally I think there are plenty of cuts that can be made in things like payroll for school boards, but that’s just me.

Unfortunately, Jane gets a door slammed in her face when she appeals to the school board but, she discovers in the process that her client is wanted by the AUSA for an act of terrorism.  It would appear that her client stole some ammunition 10 years after her son was killed in Iraq siting that it was her hope that the ammunition she stole would not be used to kill anyone else.  In an act of compassion Jane decides to appeal her case to the AUSA and gets another door.  Man, people on this show love to slam doors in people’s faces.

In the midst of all of this Owen is finding himself in a bit of a boiling pot when his brother Charlie comes to town in need of defense in a case against him by a local gentleman’s club.  Owen and Charlie could not be more different, and you can imagine my disappointment in Stacy when she agrees to go out with Charlie.  In her defense at least she didn’t know who he was, that makes a good plausible deniability right?  Oh except that she is carrying Owen’s baby!

So what did Charlie do you ask?  Well he is claiming that a stripper stole his wallet while receiving a lap dance in the VIP room.  Yep, that’s Stacy’s date… Such a man.  This turns out to be a clever rouse to get his hands on surveillance footage which shows the mayor getting some happy time as well.  Needless to say the firm ends up in trouble, again.

Back in Jane’s world our fugitive lunch lady faces 25 years for her “expression” and Jane is offered 50k for her life rights to make a film.  Thankfully Jane has more integrity than, say Charlie.  However, being tenacious Jane refuses to give up and intends to fight for her lunch lady, yet another reason to love Jane so much, that and the zaps of knowledge.  Once again however, we get the fairytale that if you live a good life after you do something bad that you can get some leniency as she argues the 25 years to 3 due to her exemplary life.  But, what about the kids?!  Well our lunch lady decides to donate the sale of her life right’s (valued at 100k) from a movie producer to feed the school’s 50 plus hungry kids.

Owen’s case gives us back the idea that people have to make sad choice’s as he decides to turn his back on his brother and leaves him in the hands of a public defender.  If you’ve ever had free legal counsel you know that you get completely what you pay for.  Equally as tragic is Grayson being ready to talk; he is of course overwhelmed but at the same time seething with anger and hurt.  What is he hurt about?  Well I would go with the lie, but he seems even more upset that she told Stacy but not him.  I would be yelling that when she did try Grayson got hit by a car.  Seriously, did you forget that one Jane?!

I was so ready after Grayson’s scene to go to bed thinking wow what a great season is going to happen, but it was a two partner and I found myself glued.  Come the ring of the alarm this morning, I have learned that I hate “TV Glue.”

Part Two: “Move Forward”

Once again we are pushed into two cases that are of course more about what is going on at the firm than what’s going on in the lives of the clients.  One is a case of an emotionally distraught couple who was trapped on a cruise ship and the other a case of an innocent man who keeps getting denied parole because he isn’t sorry for something he didn’t do.

Now, we throw in a wacky situation to bring in levity, Stacy and Jane’s guardian angel has decided to set up Owen with a new love interest.  I still think Stacy should have stuck with Owen, even with the threat of future discomfort.  I mean she caused a stir and now she’s just dropping it?  Bitch.  Speaking of being bitchy looks like the “honorable” judge Owen carried out a huge miscarriage in Jane’s case.  So now how do you approach Owen with a “hey you were wrong when you sentenced this poor kid to a long ass sentence because you didn’t see other available evidence.”  My answer, you shouldn’t… Jane’s plan?  Poke a badger with a stick.  That doesn’t go well, of course.  So let’s serve Owen so that he has to tell a court that he messed up.  What ensues is Owen making Jane look like an idiot and giving her a sound piece of his mind. 

In the cruise ship case, well I really honestly don’t care what happened there.  Grayson is working with a new temp partner in a case that has them defending “piracy” for pilfering snacks.  We can file that as an excuse to show us Grayson.  Now, back to the temp partner, looks like Stacy has picked her “Stacy-Jane hybrid” to distract Owen.  Belinda, our new temp partner.  After what he did to Jane I don’t think he really deserves it.

Let’s face it we know that the cases will be won, more importantly Jane does something amazing in admitting how shallow she was in not accepting that Grayson would love her being either Jane or Deb.  Grayson tells her that he doesn’t accept this reason, because no matter what he loved her for her.  I don’t believe it at all, not that he didn’t love her, but more so that he wouldn’t have wanted to believe it.

Owen also shows growth by admitting his wrong in Janes case and even comes to her rescue.  Through his omission I believe that he is showing that he can move forward past the confusion of the last season.  It would also appear that he has acquired someone to help in Belinda, hope that doesn't bite Stacy in the ass.

Even more amazing to those of us who have been waiting... Grayson asks Jane on a date.  He explains he wants to get to know Jane, for how she really is.  I got to respect that, he isn't just accepting that this news won't change what has been.  He also knows that Deb may be in Jane, but he also had buried her so this needs to be a fresh begining.

All in all I could have done with breaking this into two weeks, but I have a thought that Season 6 will be awesome!

Running from zombies: A zombie run "black opts" recap

So, what do you do on your Sat night?  Me?  Well I spent mine running through a desert from brain hungry zombies... That's right I said zombies.  Last Saturday night, yours truly ran the Zombie Run: Black Opts 5k.  Now before we get into the details, that left me so sore that even as I am typing this two days later I hurt, let me explain what it was.

The Zombie run is a 5k obstacle course that includes over 15 obstacles produced by Human Movement Management out at the Acton Movie Ranch.  Let me tell you if you want desolate looking land scape, this track is perfect.  Located in Acton California, which is about 25 miles south of Lancaster is a hilly, sandy and altogether challenging bit of terrain the creators of this event filled, not only with climbing, stretching, and jumping obstacles but also with about 200 zombies.

The point of the Extreme Zombie run is simple, for the price of admission you are given a belt with flag football flags and given the chance to run through this gauntlet of fear as the Zombies attempt to take your flags.  Along your trek you will meet with repelling, rope walls, water slides, steep climbs, soft sand and worst of all mud.  What made the black opts so much more fun?  It's at night and it's pitch black!  Shit is crazy!

Now as for the zombies themselves, I think for what they have to work with they are pretty cool looking actually and most of them clearly committed to the brain feasting.  May be a little two much as a lot of the runners claimed to have been grabbed, but guys we are in a zombie apocalypse...  I found most of them to be fun and willing to make this run really worth it for all skill levels.  :).

The obstacles on the other hand were not for everyone.  I for one am not very athletically inclined but I do think you need to try, always try first.  There was a way around most of the obstacles, and in my opinion that might be a little harder than the obstacle.  I did wuss out of quite a few as many did involve feats of upper body strength that I am not currently capable of currently, but it just gives me more of a reason to keep trying.

This year, the team consisted of myself, my sister and her boyfriend, all of us are varying levels of fitness and drive.  Yes, I'm the lowest :P.  But, if all of us can agree that we wanted to do it again next year than Human Movement must be doing something right.  I personally think it was the awesome swag which included a tee shirt, back pack, glowing "human bracelet" and a metal for finishing the run whether you had flags or not.  True it's a little everyone gets a trophy, but at the end of the race like that everyone deserves a damn trophy!  We will be back next year zombie run!

Zombie run website


 

So much more than just a wash...

So on one of my several trips to Target I got a few hair care samples, and as a woman with medium length hair I love hair samples!  Today's sample (the first of three)  was from L'Oreal Paris.  Today I give you the Total Repair 5, a three part system that is intended to repair 5 common issues and desires most women are looking for in their hair care products.  The target area's where 1. Rebuilds fibers, 2. Strength, 3. Vitality, 4. Silkiness and 5. Shine.  The system consists of a shampoo, conditioner, and a balm, pretty straight forward right?

Well, the process is a little longer than I like in the shower, the balm says 5 - 7 min, but I was really hoping for some good results.  As far as pros, I loved the soft smell.  Unlike a lot of damage control shampoos, whose smell can seem overwhelmingly chemical, the sent of the series was soft and playfully floral.  As far as what it did for my hair, I definitely noticed a silky factor on the crown but by the tips I had lost it.  The balm definitely had a softness factor that had eluded other balms that I had used in the past.  Not much else was truly life changing about this system.

Major con came with drying time.  Now, I have thick hair, and lots of it!  So, drying time is just a pain in the ass but, this stuff made me need to dry it till my arms ached.  The plus was a lot of life had invaded my drab locks at the roots, but the tips still felt rough.  I'm considering getting the balm and just working it on the tips of my hair, as for the shampoo and conditioner?  Pass...

Mommy tip on the Go-Go

So I’m used to buying the GoGo Squeez apple sauce for my three year old but, I will say this, the next time you are in that isle of Target stop for a second.  Seriously, give it another look and you will find something amazing!  They have “Fast Fruit” which is a mix of apple, blueberry and pomegranate and it is delicious.

This mix is 100% juice with no gluten, still not sure why that’s a good thing but boy do they advertise it, and are all natural.  The sweetness of the apple helps to balance out the sour of the pomegranate; however the blueberry seems to get lost in the muddled flavor.

The besting about these is that they are only 80 cal. And come in a reseal able squeeze pouch that holds at 120g, the perfect sized for an on the go snack.

Foxy and Co.: A SyFy channel first look!

Last night was the first look at “Foxy and Co.” a show featuring 4 past contestants of Face off who have come together in order to achieve special effects greatness, and have a few good times along the way.  The stars of the shows include Eric Fox, Nicole Chilelli, Rj Haddy, and Roy Wooley from various seasons of Face Off who all come to the table with a various assortment of skills and trades.  Just based on watching these 4 interact I already am pushing for this show to be a real thing!  They start the show by testing a melting face!  I mean seriously how do you top having your face melted off as an opening act?!

Well after a brief welcome to the effects studio the team goes through a checklist of projects that they have to get through for a Zombie project about Zach: The Zombie Exterminator which includes a zombie dog, a gigantic fat zombie suit, a pool skimmer zombie decapitation device and a blood spray system that leaks green ooze.  Yeah comparatively speaking, my job blows.  In addition to the Zombie order, Nicole is presenting an idea for a breast cancer superhero for the Susan G. Komen foundation.

This was very heart wrenching for me after my scare last year, and I know it’s unfair but Foxy would have gotten my vote for that alone.  Her sketches include a dress made from the survivor ribbon as well as beautiful red boots and a beauty makeup to kick cancers ass!  Needless to say, she gets the job and the excitement in me swells.

In preparation for the design of the superhero Nicole meets with a cancer survivor who explains that she has just finished another round of chemo after finding cancer a second time.  By this time in my house, I’m getting way too emotional… I’m a chick, it’s what we do.  Nicole decides to honor the young woman by making the wig of the superhero removable which I believe was daring but, totally necessary.  All women are beautiful, despite what life throws at you!

Nothing however could have prepped me for the reveal.  After a wardrobe malfunction they get it together in a flash and the photographer clicks away at a beautiful superhero that is ready to fight this evil.  That would have been, and trust me was enough, to make my eyes serge tears of joy if it hadn’t been for the wig coming off.  I lost my cool completely.  What she did with that character needs to be everywhere.  It was strong and inspiring, proving that any woman is more than the looks on the outside but is the sum of her strength, grace and poise!  Well done Nicole! Well Done!

Back in the studio RJ and Roy make me wish I had followed my dreams into makeup as they test out various ways to make gooey, runny zombie blood.  Life is so unfair isn’t it?!  More important however, is how this concoction is to be sprayed when the Zombies are being killed.  After several hilarious and I’m guessing delicious by watching RJ’s sampling, attempts they settle on a fire extinguisher.  Now what do you do with a fire extinguisher full of green goop?  Spray it all over your friends… duh.  As Foxy soon finds out, See why I’m jealous?

The next item on the list requires the whole three man team as they prep a bod casting of the actor who with play a junk yard Zombie of considerable size and wrinkle.  What I loved about this is that they really took you through what it takes to make a mold and why this business can get so complicated so quickly.  The mold itself seems to be the enemy in all things special-effectsy, from the trouble in trying to get the full body mold to the trouble of trying to free the mold, and after watching so many episodes of face off… it just seems like molds suck.  I could be wrong now, but that always seemed to be the biggest obstacle.

At a preview of the effects the team shows off the pool skimmer decapitation device.  This thing is wicked.  Roy truly went to the quirky killer place with this one.  The trigger activated saw uses the ring of the skimmer itself to slice through the zombies head.  Brilliant!  Next we have the dog and RJ is all too eager to please the client when he agrees to combine the dog with the Junk yard zombie owner.  What comes out is a zombie choking on a zombie dog that is trying to escape his owners gut.

Altogether a great show that I hope gets picked up.  Go to the voting page and let’s keep Foxy and Co. going because I think we all need a little laugh and more amazing art in our lives!  


Go here, vote for Foxy!