Raymond Padilla

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Movie Info

Entertainment Weekly has posted a bunch of great info on the upcoming Captain America: The Winter Soldier movie. As a huge fan of Ed Brubaker’s Captain America comics featuring The Winter Soldier, I’m really looking forward to the film. Be sure to read the full article if you’re interested in the movie. Here’s a summary (with some minor spoilers for those of you not familiar with The Winter Soldier):

S.H.I.E.L.D. head honcho Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) should play a major role in the movie
Cap will be teaming up with super spy Black Widow (the oh-so-sexy Scarlett Johansson)
Sebastian Stan will be reprising his role as Cap’s sidekick, Bucky Barnes, who was reincarnated and cybernetically enhanced to become The Winter Soldier
The voluptuously sexy Hayley Atwell will appear in flashback scenes as Cap’s old flame Peggy Carter
Emily VanCamp will play Cap’s current love interest, Agent 13…who happens to be Sharon Carter
Cobie Smulders will return as S.H.I.E.L.D. second-in-command Maria Hill
Anthony Mackie will be playing Falcon

In addition to The Winter Soldier — one of the coolest comebacks in Marvel Comics history — there’s a lot to love about these revelations. Being a heterosexual male, I couldn’t help but notice that this movie is bursting with babes! Between Scarlett, Hayley, Emily, and Cobie, there will be a lot of beautiful and talented women to ~~drool over~~ watch. Score! Also, Falcon is a potentially cool addition, but I’m a little wary of the whole “talking to birds” thing. That said, I’m excited to see his costume and CG flying scenes.

What do you think of the latest news on Captain America: The Winter Soldier?

Source

[Thanks for my pal Jennie for posting the link!]

Comixology’s Marvel #1s Promotion Reborn April 11

Remember the failed promotion by Comixology and Marvel that started at the SXSW conference and ended with the mother of all gamma-irradiated server-issues? The promo — which gives Comixology users access to more than 700 Marvel #1 issues — will be making a comeback on April 11, 2013. At least, that’s the date I received in a recent email (if you have another date, please let me know in the comments section). This time around, access to the promo will be tied to your Comixology login. Here’s an excerpt from the email update I received:

On Thursday, April 11th, we will begin sending out invites with your personalized link to access over 700 FREE Marvel #1 issues, so be on the lookout for your email!

Once you receive your Marvel #1 invite, you will have 48 hours to choose your FREE Marvel #1 issues!

I was able to nab just under 20 #1s before the servers crashed. Hopefully a private link system will help Comixology manage the traffic.

If you’re not a Comixology member and want to take advantage of the promo, click on this link to sign up. If you’re already in the club then please let me know what free comics you pick up later this week.

Coffee Talk #576: Flaccid Finishers at WrestleMania

Did you ever notice that finishing maneuvers aren’t very good at finishing during WrestleMania? For most of the WWE year, finishers mean that the match is over. Every now and then during a WWE pay-per-view event, an opponent will dramatically kick out or power out of a single finisher. At WrestleMania — especially for the last five years and arguably for the last decade — finishers go flat. There have been matches where the victor has to bust out his finishing move three times or more in order to win. In the immortal words of Hurricane Helms…more

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Stevie Wonder at the Academy of Country Music Awards, Carmelo Anthony (barely) edging out Kevin Durant for the NBA scoring lead, or the Yankees not sucking on Sunday, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Looking at it from a mark’s perspective, it could be explained as WWE Superstars having an extra amount of energy and drive during the biggest show of the year. The wrestlers are amped to be at WrestleMania and display powers that they don’t have during the other 364 days of the year.

Smarts and smarks will argue that WWE writers and bookers have been relying on the create-drama-by-kicking-out-of-a-finisher gimmick way too much over the years. The Undertaker’s matches against Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and CM Punk have arguably been the worst offenders. Don’t get me wrong — they were definitely fantastic matches and his scrap with Punk was easily the best of this year’s show. However, I’ve been conditioned not to buy into the first two or three finishers used in ‘Taker’s WrestleMania matches and WrestleMania matches in general. In a ploy to create drama, the bookers and writers have made finishing moves (at least the first three or so) seem less dramatic.

Yeah, I know this is “sports entertainment” and I’m probably thinking about the issue too seriously, but that’s one of the fun parts about being a smark. Ha! What’s your take on flaccid finishers at WrestleMania? Do you have a mark theory on why they’re less effective or why WWE Superstars are impervious to them at the show? What’s your stance on the matter as a smart or a mark? Leave your answer in the comments section (please!).

WrestleMania 29 Predictions (Yours Wanted!)

It’s WrestleMania weekend! Sadly, I am not in the New York/New Jersey area attending the event and hanging out with friends, as I originally planned. However, that won’t stop me from enjoying the biggest pro-wrestling event of the year. Hopefully we’ll be chatting it up on the RPad.TV Google+ Messenger group as the show is happening. For now, let’s go through each match, sharing and comparing predictions. Here’s the lineup with some random thoughts on the matches and my predictions. Please share yours in the comments section!

Wade Barrett vs. The Miz: Here’s a match between two guys that went from ultra-hot to mostly forgettable. It wasn’t that long ago that The Miz was headlining PPVs and Barrett was part of the sizzling Nexus angle. The Miz is infinitely more marketable due to his reality TV background, but I’ve heard lots of stories about management being unhappy with his lack of in-ring improvement. Barrett has much more potential as a wrestler, but hasn’t shown the mic skills or media savvy that The Miz has.
Prediction: In what will probably be a forgettable match, I think I’ll go with Mike the Miz, simply because he has twice as many Twitter followers and I expect WWE to go with marketing over ability.

Tons of Funk and the Funkadactyls vs. The Rhodes Scholars and The Bella Twins: This is the jamming-as-many-people-into-the-ring-to-get-them-on-WrestleMania match. It’s a shame, because I think these guys deserve better. While a lot of smarks are tired of Brodus Clay’s act, I still dig it and am amazed by the mileage he’s gotten out of it. Damien Sandow should get an award for Most Improved WWE Superstar; does anyone else remember his inept run as Idol Stevens? If Sandow continues to progress, the jump from Idol Stevens to Damien Sandow could rival the jump from The Ringmaster to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. As for Cody Rhodes, his daddy was one of my favorites growing up and I’ll always be rooting for him.
Prediction: If this match is second, then The Rhodes Scholars and Bella Twins win. If it’s moved to the opening match then the Funky Bunch will win, simply to warm up the crowd with some goofy dancing.

Chris Jericho vs. Fandango: Jericho’s current run has been curious. He’s had some wonderful matches, but his angles haven’t been all that memorable. As one of the Teflon guys in WWE (losses don’t stick to him), he can usually be counted on to do the job in order to elevate younger talent. However, Fandango has been making him look silly for the last few weeks and Y2J is due for some revenge. Also, the Fandango character is stupid and should be buried soon. Johnny Curtis is going nowhere with this character.
Prediction: Chris Jericho wins and hopefully moves onto some main event work before departing on the next Fozzy tour.

Ryback vs. Mark Henry: Speaking of Teflon guys, Henry has surprisingly attained that status. Before his last major injury, The World’s Strongest Man put together the best run of his career and cemented himself as monster. Ryback has been one of the hottest characters in the WWE for the last, despite his limited ability.
Prediction: It kind of bugs me that Ryback’s rise will continue, but the crowd loves him and the WWE writers are listening. Big man matches are often duds, so I don’t expect a great one here, but I do expect a hot crowd after the Ryback win.

Randy Orton, Sheamus, and The Big Show vs. The Shield: This is another throw-them-all-together match. The faces are established main event guys and a victory here does nothing for any of them. The Shield need the rub and hopefully one of its members has a breakout moment.
Prediction: The Big Show squabbles with his teammates, leading to a victory by The Shield.

Daniel Bryan and Kane vs. Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston: This match irks me. In my mind, Team Hell No should have been finished months ago. Of course I’m saying this as a Bryan Danielson mark that believes The American Dragon should be competing for one of the major titles. Ziggler should also be competing for one of the majors and, objectively, is in the better position to do so. While Langston would benefit from winning the tag team straps, it would only slow Ziggler down.
Prediction: Team Hell No wins, tragically relegating Danielson to mid-card status for several more months.

Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar: This match has the potential to steal the show. Lesnar’s ability is ridiculous and Hunter always saves his best stuff for WrestleMania. The no-holds-barred and retirement angles add some sizzle to this rematch. As an HBK fan, I’m excited to see how he gets involved. The reality is that both guys are part-timers these days, but Hunter has lots of office duties at WWE HQ in Stamford.
Prediction: At this stage of his career, I expect Triple H to do the job in that selfishly unselfish way (Kobe Bryant TM). Lesnar looks like a beast and is available for all kinds of opportunities (part time, of course), while Hunter goes back to the office.

The Undertaker vs. CM Punk: Was anyone offended by Punk throwing Paul Bearer’s (angle) ashes on ‘Taker? It’s been a long time since WWE programming has shown anything that questionable. Whether you were offended or not, the move reeked of desperation. Few people think that Punk has a chance at beating the Dead Man (who isn’t actually dead, as Chris Jericho once pointed out), so it looks like the WWE writers have resorted to shock tactics to keep people interested in this match. It’s working for some people (those that want to see ‘Taker crucify Punk), while others see this as an automatic notch on The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak.
Prediction: It would be awesome for Punk to be “the guy” that ended The Streak and his longtime fans believe he deserves it. It would put him over for the rest of his career. However, I think it would be a mistake to tarnish ‘Taker’s perfect WrestleMania record, especially if it’s because his character is so angry that he gets himself disqualified. I expect The Undertaker goes over with a clean win, but I would be pleasantly surprised by Punk getting put over in one of the biggest ways possible.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger: This is a pick ’em match for me. I really don’t enjoy Del Rio as a face; it seems forced and disingenuous to me (similar to face Randy Orton). In a perfect world, he loses the strap to Swagger so that he can go back to being an awesome heel. Swagger would then serve as a transitional champion that would make way for Ziggler, Danielson, etc. However, you don’t crown transitional champions at WrestleMania and I don’t think that Swagger’s current character is worthy of main events.
Prediction: Del Rio wins and moves onto…you know, I’m not really sure where he goes from here. Swagger loses and moves onto picking on other minority wrestlers.

The Rock vs. John Cena: In my head, this was the easiest match to pick on paper, but the toughest in terms of sending the crowd home happy. It just makes sense for The Rock to lose the belt and set up a rubber match at next year’s WrestleMania. The Rock will go back to making movies before another part-time run and Cena will serve as the full-time WWE Champion. The kicker is the whole “sending ’em home happy” thing. Under normal circumstances, half the crowd hates Cena. While the WrestleMania 29 audience will be much broader than the typical NY/NJ show, I still expect more than half the crowd to hate Cena. Can you really end the show with him winning?
Prediction: John Cena wins and at least 60 percent of the live audience will hate it.

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I’m done playing secret project game, so this weekend I’ll be able to devote all of my time and attention to Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition for Mac OS. As I mentioned in the last Coffee Talk column, playing this game is like reuniting with an old lover. I’m having so much fun rediscovering the joys of Baldur’s Gate — the remake has been exceeding my high expectations. It’s everything I loved about the original, combined with updated graphics and several features from the sequel (class kits rule!). I’ve spent much more time with Lord Ra Ra (currently a level eight assassin) and need to give R.Pad (a prospective fighter-thief) some game time over the weekend.

On a side note, you know the nation of Amn in The Forgotten Realms? In my head, young citizens of Amn are called Amnlettes. That’s hilarious, right?!? *sigh* No one gets me….

So, what’s on your weekend playlist?

WWE PPVs Come to Xbox Live

Microsoft’s Major Nelson (not his actual military title) has announced that WWE programming — including pay-per-view events — is now available through Xbox Live. Naturally, the programming is only accessible to Xbox Live Gold members. While the WWE channel will feature all kinds of information that lets you, “See the WWE Superstars and Divas like never before,” the juicy news is that, “Starting today, all WWE pay-per-view events are available right from your Xbox 360.”

This is another strong move by Microsoft that strengthens Xbox Live’s non-gaming offerings. Considering that there’s a ton of overlap between the WWE’s core demographic and the people that play Xbox 360 games, this is a natural fit. Also, props to Microsoft for using images of AJ Lee to promote the announcement; she’s a true gamer-geek that used to be the ultimate woman (until she got too mainstream).

Will any of you be using your Xbox 360s to watch WWE PPVs?

Source

Fallon & Timberlake: History of Rap 4

While I didn’t enjoy it as much as the previous “History of Rap” medleys, I still had fun watching Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake do their thing for a fourth time. These guys are great together. Check out the clip below and let me know how you think the fourth “History of Rap” measures up to its predecessors. On a side note, I’m thrilled that Fallon will be getting the big show (not The Big Show) in Spring 2014. I was never a big Leno fan and I’ve grown to dislike him for screwing over David Letterman and Conan O’Brien. I hope that Fallon will continue his tech and videogame segments when he gets the major time slot. Nerdism is mainstream now, baby!

Coffee Talk #575: My Return to Baldur’s Gate

On one of my trips to Asia, I was on the back of a motorcycle taxi and got caught in a big rainstorm. I asked the taxi driver to pull over and ducked into the nearest bar. To my shock, an ex-girlfriend — one that I never thought I’d see again — was in the bar, taking shelter from the storm. What followed was three excellent days between two people that knew each other intimately. In the immortal words of Journey, it was the “joy of discovering you.” That experience and that joy reminded me of my last three days with Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition. It’s a game that I know intimately, having played through it 18 times, and so far…more

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Robinson Cano switching agents from Scott Boras to Jay-Z, Mark Cuban saying that he’d give Brittney Griner a shot with the Mavericks, or T-Mobile’s awesome (and mentally unbalanced) CEO, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

On one of my trips to Asia, I was on the back of a motorcycle taxi and got caught in a big rainstorm. I asked the taxi driver to pull over and ducked into the nearest bar. To my shock, an ex-girlfriend — one that I never thought I’d see again — was in the bar, also taking shelter from the storm. What followed was three excellent days between two people that knew each other intimately. In the immortal words of Journey, it was “the joy of discovering you.” That experience and that joy reminded me of my last three days with Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition for Mac OS. I knew the original intimately, having played through it 18 times, and so far it has been an absolute pleasure rediscovering this brilliant game.

Right now, I have two Baldur’s Gate EE games going on. First up is R.Pad, who is currently a level four thief, but will eventually be dual-classed into a fighter-thief. I’m playing this game straight up, without any cheat codes. Then there’s Lord Ra Ra (which is what I will legally change my name to when I marry Stefani Germanotta), the level six assassin (screenshot is a day old). He gets the benefit of the cheat console — stats jacked up to god-like levels and any weapon/item I can think of. It’s fun plowing through the game and relearning the maps as Lord Ra Ra, while using that knowledge to chart an optimal course for R.Pad.

There were a lot of habits I had to relearn during my first few hours with the game. Like many videogames released in the ’90s, the difficulty can be unevenly brutal and you can really screw yourself over by not saving every few minutes. While I love the deliberate pause-and-play combat, it’s something that I haven’t experienced in years. Today’s videogames are all about keeping you in the fantasy and moving things along at a brisk pace. Battles that let you pause several times to thoughtfully plot out strategies are considered passe. While it’s atypical in 2013, I found that it’s something that I still very much love (like the way my ex uses her…never mind). In fact, aside from the (still) moronic pathfinding, I’m loving everything about Baldur’s Gate EE.

Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? Have you ever rediscovered a game that you haven’t played for more than a decade and found it just as captivating as the first time you played it? Now please excuse me as I have to get back to my Baldur’s Gate bliss.

Vaping Diaries #51: Vaping in the Philippines

Going into my trip to the Philippines, I knew that vaping was a pretty big deal in the country. Some of the best rebuildable atomizers and coolest mods are made in the Philippines. Innovative vaping companies like Janty, creators of the bold MiD One, are based in the country. While some Filipinos use vaping to stop smoking tobacco cigarettes, there are some that use it as a status symbol (cigs are super-cheap in the Philippines and high-end vaping gear shows that you have money). Despite knowing all of this, I was still surprised by all the vaping I saw in the Philippines. Below are some assorted thoughts on Filipino vaping and a nifty photo gallery (Vapecon Manila and random vaping shots).

[nggallery id=125]

Gear: For such a small country, the Philippines has a surprising amount of cool mod makers. For vaping devices, Edz Mods and Madz Modz are two of best companies. Both make sweet mechanical mods, including a few that incorporate the sun from the Filipino flag. Budz Worx makes some fantastic rebuildable atomizers (RBAs), such as the ERA and Hornet. Janty is one of the most influential companies in vaping, but it doesn’t get the credit it deserves; it created the original Ego e-cig and the RY4 juice — two of the most-copied products in vaping!

Shopping Malls: One of the biggest surprises was all the vaping stores I found in Manila. I went to five major malls and each one had at least four vaping stands. I also visited a bunch of small standalone vape shops, including one in a poorer section of Makati. It was nuts finding a vaping shop in a section of town most westerners would consider a barrio. By comparison, it’s hard to find many vaping shops in most American cities, especially in malls. Some towns have a nice standalone vape shop or two. Some malls have a vaping kiosk, usually a Volcano E-Cigs stand. In Manila, I stopped by more than 20 vape shops. In the immortal words of Brian Fellow, “That’s crazy!”

E-Liquid: This was the major surprise for me. I had no idea that there were so many juice vendors in the Philippines. There are dozens of the companies that make common flavors, as well as those that cater to Filipino tastes. It was awesome seeing e-liquids based on Filipino desserts like sago’t gulaman, ube halaya, sans rival, and buko pandan. I even saw an adobo-flavored juice. Check the photo gallery for some Adic’s Burn juices that I’m going to review in the future.

Bottom Line: So my two take aways were:

Even though I had an idea that vaping was big in the Philippines, it was even bigger than I thought
For such a small country, the Philippines has a vibrant vaping scene

It was fun learning a bit about Pinoy vaping and making these discoveries. If you happen to be visiting the country and want to pick up some unique vaping goods, my one suggestion is to bring cash, since a lot of the stores don’t accept cards.

Coffee Talk #574: Where Are the Superhero Movie Games?

My friend Paul and I were talking about the large number of 2013 nerd movies that don’t have videogames attached to them (at least, that we could think of). In the past, these games were automatic. If a studio had a superhero, sci-fi, or fantasy movie set for release then there would be a game — usually not a spectacular one — released in conjunction with the movie. The game would help promote the movie and the movie would help drive game sales, at least that’s what the bean counters thought. This year there seems to be lack of videogame-movie symbiosis. Where have all the superhero games gone? Are publishers…more

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the start of the glorious MLB season, the start of what should be a painful MLB season for my beloved Yankees, or the worst team in the whole damn league (Houston Astros) kicking things off with a win, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Off the top of my head, Star Trek: Into the Darkness is the only movie that has a hot game attached to it. Where are the games for Man of Steel, Iron Man 3, Thor 2, and others? One possibility is that movie studios and videogame publishers have learned that mediocre games have few or no symbiotic benefits. History has shown that good movies don’t need mediocre games (Thor, Iron Man) and great games don’t need the rub from movies (Batman: Arkham Asylum). Another possibility is that PC and console games are no longer the best choice for this type of outreach; it’s much cheaper and arguably more effective to promote a movie with a decent Facebook or mobile game.

Still, as a comic-book and videogame nerd, I would love to be playing console games based on this year’s nerd movies. How about you guys and gals? Do you want more videogame-movie tie-ins? What’s your take on why there seem to be less of them this year? Fire off your repulsor rays, blast your arctic breath, and sling your uru hammers in the comments section (please!).