Raymond Padilla

Vaping Diaries #117: How to Properly Pronounce Innokin

Like many vaping reviewers, I’ve been very impressed by Innokin products. Unlike many vaping reviewers, I actually pronounce the company’s name correctly. This is something that has always bugged me; some of the most popular reviewers on YouTube butcher the pronunciation of Innokin. At ECC 2013, I caught up with Innokin deputy manager/vice president Haoran “George” Xia to get the official word on how to properly pronounce Innokin.

To me, it always seemed obvious that the company name was a play on the word innovation. For some reason, some reviewers (*cough* Phil Busardo *cough*) pronounce it In-NO-kin. You don’t in-NO-vate anything. Cool products aren’t in-NO-vative.

So consider this a public service announcement to all the YouTube reviewers that have been mangling the pronunciation of Innokin. Please say the company’s name right in your videos.

Vaping Diaries #116: Mr. Good Vape Gary Riddle Interview

Here’s an ECC 2013 interview with Mr. Good Vape co-owner Gary Riddle. The company was part of the massive Vape Revolution booth at the show. Mr. Good Vape makes some interesting dessert-type flavors and uses playful branding. In the interview, Riddle talks about how the company got started, goes through lineup of flavors, and talks about the two new juices launched at the show. One unique feature of the new Mr. Good Vape e-liquids is that they’re tooled to taste great in cartomizers and rebuildable atomizers.

On a side note, RPadholic N8R had to stop me several times from saying Dr. Feelgood instead of Mr. Good Vape.

Need For Speed Movie Trailer

Here’s the trailer for the upcoming Need For Speed movie starring Aaron Paul. The vibe I’m getting is…not so good. Need For Speed looks like a dumber version of Fast & Furious. The charming thing with the Fast & Furious franchise is that it didn’t take itself too seriously; there was a certain amount of cleverness in its stupidity. By comparison, Need For Speed appears to take itself seriously and looks completely vapid. Plus, Aaron Paul doesn’t have the cute learning disability that makes Paul Walker so mesmerizing.

Speaking of which, I had to look up Aaron Paul on IMDB. His credentials aren’t that impressive. To be fair, it’s tough competing with Walker, Vin Diesel, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, etc. In addition to having a flaccid leading man, Need For Speed doesn’t have the babe concentration that made the Fast & Furious movies so appealing to men (fast cars and hot women are a winning formula).

On the plus side, the movie doesn’t look budget. I was totally expecting Need For Speed to be a ghetto version of Fast & Furious. The production values in the trailer are very high and the action sequences look expensive to make. At the very least, the movie will have a few thrilling minutes.

One possible savior is Michael Keaton. The man is an incredible actor that’s equally adept at comedy and drama. It’s possible that Keaton could have a few scene-stealers that make Need For Speed entertaining. Yeah, it’s probably wishful thinking on my part, but I’m hoping that 10 minutes of excellent action and a handful of Michael Keaton showstoppers will make Need For Speed tolerable at worst and surprisingly fun at best.

Anyway, check out the clip below and let me know what you think of the Need For Speed movie trailer (please!). Is it something you’d see in theaters, wait to see on Blu-ray, or accidentally watch it when it’s on cable/satellite?

Vaping Diaries #115: NicQuid James Weaver Interview

Here’s an ECC 2013 interview with James Weaver, vice president of sales for NicQuid. Weaver talks about how the company got started, NicQuid’s approach to making e-liquids, some of the most popular favorites in the NicQuid lineup, and more. The video is also proof that I should get 10 percent of any wholesale referrals from sales made through RPad.TV. *joke*

Check out the clip to learn about NicQuid and Continue reading “Vaping Diaries #115: NicQuid James Weaver Interview”

Friday Housekeeping: YouTube Woes

Sorry for the sporadic content. I had this grand plan of alternating more ECC video features with written videogame/nerd content…but the recent YouTube backend update killed that plan. While I love Google’s mission to civilize the Internet (Will McAvoy ™) by moving YouTube to Google+ comments, the preparatory update has apparently ruined the ability to monetize new videos. Many people that rely on YouTube for ad revenue are pissed off. I recently made the decision to stop using Blip.TV and use YouTube exclusively. Yeah, I’m kind of regretting that one. *sigh*

Anyway, I have five ECC videos that are edited and uploaded to YouTube, but I’m not going to make them live until I can put advertisements on them. The YouTube monetization issue has been happening for at least 36 hours. In classic Google fashion, there’s nothing I can do about it. I love many things that Google does, but that company has always sucked at support. Amazingly, it has managed to go from suck to completely useless as far as YouTube Partners are concerned. I used to be able to email YouTube Partner support, but now that right is reserved for elite Partners only. As a lower-case partner, I’m stuck with automated help systems that aren’t the least bit helpful and complaining on Google’s product forums, which apparently aren’t read by Google employees that work on YouTube.

I better stop. I’m getting angrier as I type. I don’t feel like editing more features either. Meh. I’m going to go read comics.

Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning Returns Opening Cinematic

Embedded below is the opening cinematic for Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning Returns for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 3. The five-minute clip is a typical Square Enix cinematic, which is to say that it has some of the most gorgeous visuals you’ll see on a console. Keep in mind that some of the details are lost due to YouTube compression, but I assure you that the Lightning Returns video is quite dazzling. The clip shows several familiar faces and some new ones. As you’ve probably figured out, Lightning isn’t dead, which kind of makes her the Jean Grey of the Final Fantasy universe — she’s alive, she’s dead, no wait she’s alive again, lather and repeat as needed.

Many longtime fans have blasted the Final Fantasy XIII series, but I’ve enjoyed it. Yes, it’s quite different from the older games and the exploration aspects are either non-existent or minimal, but the games’ others aspects have entertained me. With that in mind, I’m really looking forward to Lightning Returns. I’m curious to learn about how she came back and to see how her conflict with Snow is resolved. That said, I’m sure there will be plenty of other details that will confuse the hell out of me.

While I’m certain that the graphics, gameplay, and music will be strong, I’m only mildly hopeful about Lightning Returns‘ story. It’s true that several Square Enix stories make more sense with iteration (it took more than a decade, a PSP prequel, and an animated feature for Final Fantasy VII to make sense), but many gamers still find several Square Enix tales confounding. I love me some Kingdom Hearts, for example, but I need to keep the Wikipedia page handy to keep up with the plot and characters.

Anyway, check out the Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning Returns opening cinematic below and let me know what you think of it (please!). Are you excited for the game? Is it a day-one purchase for you?

X-Factor USA: You Better Ask Me to Dance

“You Better Ask Me to Dance” by Second Hand High is the best horrible song I’ve heard since the legendary “Pants on the Ground“. It contains several nuggets of lyrical wisdom like, “Why buy the cow when you can get the leche for free?” Performed last night on The X-Factor USA, the song whipped the crowd into a frenzy. The performance itself was total crap, but that made the power of “You Better Ask Me to Dance” all the more impressive. It’s a strangely catchy tune that got the crowd and judge Kelly Rowland dancing.

Check out the clip below to watch Second Hand High’s performance of “You Better Ask Me to Dance”. It’s followed by a sketch of The X-Factor USA judges performing to the song, including some rapping by Simon Cowell.

I was genuinely amazed by the song. It sticks in your head and makes you want to rap along. While Second Hand High might not have a future as performing artists, the guy that wrote the song might have some real talent. I’m fairly certain that some enterprising producer will make a highly polished version of “You Better Ask Me to Dance” or have some B-tier artists record it. I’m sure it will do reasonably well…and eclipse the power of “Pants on the Ground”.

Please check out the clip above and let me know what you think of “You Better Ask Me to Dance”. Do you think the song is legitimately catchy and entertaining? Or is it only satisfying in that William Hung train-reck way? Take the “You Better Ask Me to Dance” challenge and watch the clip thrice. I guarantee that 92 percent of you will have it stuck in yours heads for a week. Can you stand up to the power of “You Better Ask Me to Dance”?

Vaping Diaries #114: Nosty Inc Ross Deramos Interview

Here’s an ECC 2013 interview with Ross Deramos, owner of Nosty Inc. In addition to making popular e-liquids — many of which feature Filipino flavors — the company works in event promotion and fashion. In the interview, Ross talks about Nosty’s background, its current juice lineup, and upcoming flavors (more Pinoy e-liquids!).

On a side note, while RPadholic N8R was filming the interview, he was determined to buy Nosty’s Sexxxxx e-liquid. That way he could tell his wife that he paid for sex. Bwahahahahaha!!! (And also, I’m jealous that I didn’t think of that joke during the interview.)

As a Filipino-American, I was jazzed about Nosty’s success and am excited for more juices inspired by flavors from the Philippines. I’m also excited for Nosty’s fall clothing lineup. I need new shirts to wear on camera. Ha! (And also, *hint* *hint* *hint* to Ross)

Paula Patton, Colin Farrell in World of Warcraft Movie?

Legendary Pictures’ Warcraft movie, based on Blizzard’s World of Warcraft MMO, should be getting some star power from Colin Farrell and Paula Patton. According to Deadline, Farrell has been offered a lead role and Patton is in advanced negotiations for a lead role. Other rumored casting choices include, “Paul Dano, fresh from the weekend openers Prisoners; Travis Fimmel, a revelation as the star of the History Channel series Vikings; Anson Mount, who stars in the AMC series Hell on Wheels; and Star Trek‘s Anton Yelchin.”

Anything with Colin Farrell in it is better from his involvement. He’s adept at action, comedy, and drama. I have no idea what his role in Warcraft will be, but in my head it would be a combination of his Bullseye character from Daredevil and his Bobby Pellitt character from Horrible Bosses. That would be cool…though highly unlikely.

Paul Patton is famous for being hot and having a lecherous husband. She was lauded for her role as Ms. Blu Rain in Precious and kicked all sorts of ass in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. With beauty, acting chops, and the ability to kick ass, she would be a fine addition to the Warcraft movie.

Sadly, there hasn’t been any news of Mila Kunis being in the Warcraft movie. In addition to being one of the most beautiful women in movies, she was an avid World of Warcraft player. Speaking of which, isn’t it strange how Kunis transformed from super cute to crazy hot seemingly overnight? My theory is that playing World of Warcraft for hundreds of hours triggered her mutant gene, with her mutant power being crazy hotness, of course. That theory aside, it would be awesome for her to be in Warcraft. It would be appropriate..and she’s just incredibly sexy.

Anyway, what do you think of the Warcraft casting rumors? Is there anyone you’d like to see in the Warcraft movie? Kindly share your thoughts in the comments section.

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Vaping Diaries #113: Innokin at ECC 2013 (iTaste VTR, Cool Fire)

Here’s a quick rundown of Innokin’s ECC 2013 lineup. The company showed off several products that will be available in the next few months. The highly anticipated iTaste VTR box mod hits first, with an October release date. The unit’s heft surprised me; it feels like a solid device that’s considerably heavier than its sister product, the iTaste MVP 2. The massive iTaste 134 will soon be joined by smaller siblings. The iTaste 134 Mini will be available in 18350 and 18490 sizes. Innokin showed off prototypes of the Cool Fire series. The Cool Fire 1 is a simple vaping device for people seeking a stylish and easy-to-use setup. The Cool Fire 2 looks like a hand grenade (don’t being it to the airport!) and uses a variable-wattage scrolling wheel similar to the one on the iTaste 134. I was particularly fond of the Cool Fire 2, simply because it looks like a frickin’ grenade!

Check out the video above to see Innokin’s upcoming products. I’m going to dream about using the Cool Fire 2 while listening to that Bruno Mars song.