Today’s Poll: The Rock’s WWE Championship Belt

On Monday Night Raw, WWE Champion Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson unveiled the company’s new title belt. The new WWE Championship has removable side plates, allowing it to be personalized to reflect the champion. The Rock’s version has bulls on the side, since one of his nicknames is “The Brahma Bull.” The center piece has the modern WWE logo, with the word “Champion” on the bottom. Some pro-wrestling fans love the new belt and others hate it. What say you? Kindly take today’s poll and share your thoughts on the new WWE Championship in the comments section.

[poll id=”176″]

As for me, I’m giving it a thumbs down (though I like it better than John Cena’s “spinning” belt). The WWE logo is lame and will likely be redesigned in five years. The bulls are hokey, the modern flourishes look tacky, and there’s nothing “regal” about the belt. My favorite championship belt of all time is the NWA title that Ric Flair held for years. It used a classic design, similar to boxing titles — a globe in the center and flags of different countries around the sides. Part of it was the way Flair sold the belt, often referring to it as “ten pounds of gold.” Similar to how he made his opponent’s moves seem bigger than they were, Flair made the belt seem like a glorious thing. It looked and felt special. The Rock’s belt looks like an art project made by a community college student.

Of course I’m no longer in the demographic targeted by WWE advertisers. It’s entirely possible that younger WWE fans think that the new belt is incredibly cool. And I’m sure thousands of young WWE fans will buy replicas of the belt (especially when John Cena inevitably gets the title again).

Now it’s your turn! Fire away against or in defense of The Rock’s WWE Championship belt (please).

Mortal Kombat Legacy Season 2 Trailer

Here’s the trailer for the second season of Mortal Kombat Legacy. Fans of the MK universe will be thrilled to see several returning characters accompanied by new ones. The real star of the show is Casper Van Dien, of course. The Starship Troopers legend plays an older and grizzled Johnny Cage. While I have no idea how good season two of Mortal Kombat Legacy will be, I know that Van Dien’s scenes will rock.

Check out the trailer below and let me know what you think (please!) Continue reading “Mortal Kombat Legacy Season 2 Trailer”

Coffee Talk #562: Your Favorite Super Bowl 2013 Commercials

It began as a blowout, but Super Bowl XLVII ended up being a pretty exciting game. Sports and sports-related matters aside, I want to hear about the Super Bowl 2013 commercials that impressed you. To be completely honest, I was trying to edit video and watch the game at the same time. I’m positive that I missed a bunch of cool spots. If something nerdy came up, I paid attention. If a sexy woman was in a commercial, I paid extra attention. Here are the fun spots that I remember seeing, but…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, wrapping your head around Redfoo and Vika’s relationship, Metta World Peace throwing left hooks at The Palace, or noticing David Otunga at the Super Bowl, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

It began as a blowout, but Super Bowl XLVII ended up being a pretty exciting game. Sports and sports-related matters aside, I want to hear about the Super Bowl 2013 commercials that impressed you. To be completely honest, I was trying to edit video and watch the game at the same time. I’m positive that I missed a bunch of cool spots. If something nerdy came up, I paid attention. If a sexy woman was in a commercial, I paid extra attention. Here are the fun spots that I remember seeing, but I’m counting on you to fill me in on what I missed or don’t remember.

Soda Stream: This spot was initially rejected by CBS. The network didn’t want to piss off Coke and Pepsi. Soda Stream aired a softer ad, but I wanted to make sure you saw the original. The ad itself is okay, but Soda Stream’s problems with “The Man” makes me want to buy one…and I don’t really drink soda at home.

Iron Man 3: The first two-thirds of the ad were underwhelming and I still have doubts about Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin, but the commercial ends with a thrilling flight sequence.

Star Trek: Into the Darkness: I’m so, so amped for this movie, but I was slightly disappointed in the commercial. I want more Alice Eve! She’s totally dreamy.

Best Buy/Amy Poehler: This is a cute spot featuring a wonderful comedian. Part of the reason it’s funny is because she asks silly questions that some people actually ask at Best Buy.

Motorola/Megan Fox: Remember that 2010 Motorola spot that had Megan Fox in a bathtub? The company went back to the well…and I’m totally cool with that. I could spend hours (possibly days) watching Megan Fox taking a bath.

Samsung/Seth Rogen/Paul Rudd: If watching Megan Fox taking a bath isn’t a possibility, I’d love to hang out and chat with these masters of bromantic comedy. Of course they’re a distant second (like another galaxy distant) to Ms. Fox.

Oreo Whisper Fight: I love how this silly argument starts with a whisper and ends in utter chaos. For various reasons, it reminded me of ECW shows that I attended in Queens. Good times.

Now it’s your turn! Please share your favorite Super Bowl 2013 commercials in the comments section.

Today’s Poll: Who Makes the Best Hercules?

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is living the high life. He recently won the WWE Championship and has been confirmed as Hercules. The 2014 mythological-action movie is being directed by Brett Ratner, so expect Rush Hour in loincloths (not really). Seriously though, the news made me think about other portrayals of the Greek/Roman hero. Arnold Schwarzenegger brought unintentional comedy to new heights in Hercules in New York. Thanks to the power of syndication, millions of people around the world love Kevin Sorbo from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. How will The Rock’s version of Hercules compare to those two? Kindly vote in today’s poll and use the comments section to talk about the best Hercules ever!

[poll id=”174″]

Coming Soon: Greg Zeschuk’s Beer Diaries

Shortly after he announced that he was leaving the gaming business, BioWare co-founder Dr. Greg Zeschuk revealed his next project: The Beer Diaries. The site has announced that the first season of the show will launch this month and released the teaser video below. If you’re in close proximity to The Alamo Draft House then you can stop by a special event on January 30, 2013 that will feature the first three episodes (tickets here). Fans of craft beer, Dr. Greg, and BioWare should definitely stop by. Craft beer is awesome. Greg is awesome. Ergo this will be an awesome event and an awesome show.

Now for the trailer!

Let me know what you think of The Beer Diaries when you have a moment. When you have another moment, be sure to subscribe to the show’s YouTube page…and also mine while you’re at it (please)!

Olivia Munn Pulls a Kanye on Taylor Swift

Your favorite no-talent hack and mine, Olivia Munn, continued her plagiarizing ways at the People’s Choice Awards. As Taylor Swift was accepting the award for “Favorite Country Artist,” Munn stole a move from Kanye West’s playbook and interrupted the chronic dater/songwriter’s acceptance speech. That would have been funny if the awards show took place shortly after the infamous 2009 incident at the MTV Video Music Awards. Two and half years later…it seems totally stale.

Oh, I kid, I kid. I’ve been neglecting my Bolivia Bunn writing duties and saw the faux incident as a good way to kickstart my 2013 articles on her. *sigh* It’s going to happen. My nightmare of her becoming the biggest star in America is going to come true and I’m going to spend decades fetching her lattes.

Source

Coffee Talk #549: Best of 2012 Recap

Just in case you missed it, here are my — and more importantly, your fellow RPadholics’ — picks for the “Best of 2012.”

Best TV Show of the Year
Best Comic Book of the Year
Best Gadget of the Year
Best Movie of the Year
Best Game of the Year

Now get ready to enter the bitter barn, as the rest of this week’s Coffee Talk columns will be about…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, getting review units of phones more than a month after the product has been released, Nonito Donaire’s 4-0 2012, or boxing’s return to network television, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Just in case you missed it, here are my — and more importantly, your fellow RPadholics’ — picks for the “Best of 2012.”

Best TV Show of the Year
Best Comic Book of the Year
Best Gadget of the Year
Best Movie of the Year
Best Game of the Year

Now get ready to enter the bitter barn, as the rest of this week’s Coffee Talk columns will be about games, movies, TV shows, etc. that you didn’t like in 2012. Hopefully things will get nasty as you talk about your “Worst of 2012” experiences!

Conan O’Brien Reviews Hitman Absolution

In case you haven’t seen it, here’s Conan O’Brien’s excellent review of Hitman Absolution. It’s another fantastic installment of the “Clueless Gamer” series…and far more entertaining than the vast majority of videogame reviews out there. Give it a watch and let me know what you think (please!). Continue reading “Conan O’Brien Reviews Hitman Absolution”

Coffee Talk #544: Best TV Show of 2012

Kicking off the “Best of 2012” Coffee Talk columns is your favorite television show of the year. It was a tough choice for me and I was very close to giving the nod to Game of Thrones Season Two, but I’m going to go with another HBO show: The Newsroom. A lot of people enjoyed the show for its political commentary and use of real-world events. That stuff was great, but I loved the…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, vaping egg nog e-liquid, the Spike TV VGAs, or Jeremy Hoffman’s outstanding pulled pork, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Kicking off the “Best of 2012” Coffee Talk columns is your favorite television show of the year. It was a tough choice for me and I was very close to giving the nod to Game of Thrones Season Two, but I’m going to go with another HBO show: The Newsroom. A lot of people enjoyed the show for its political commentary and use of real-world events. That stuff was great, but I loved the writing and character interaction. Aaron Sorkin himself describes the show as a romantic comedy and I’m an absolute sucker for rom-coms.

The cast is absolutely loaded, with Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, and Sam Waterston leading the older generation. Alison Pill, John Gallagher, and Thomas Sadoski lead the younger cast members. When the guy from Slumdog Millionaire is your seventh lead then you have a pretty stout cast. Oh yeah, Olivia Munn was there too.

The Newsroom was just a fantastic blend of great writing and strong performances infused with a unique dose of reality. I loved the debut season and can’t wait for more.

How about you? What was your favorite TV show of 2012?

Support Nightwing: The Series on Kickstarter

As many of you know, Nightwing is my favorite comic book character. With that in mind, I was thrilled when RPadholic Iceman sent me this Kickstarter link for Nightwing: The Series. Danny Shepherd and Jeremy Le are putting together a three-part mini-series on Batman’s former boy wonder and they’re looking for Kickstarter funding. The pledging prizes are pretty sweet — batarangs, a Nightwing mask, a Red Hood mask, and a full-on Nightwing costume. Check out the pitch video and the teaser trailer below. Continue reading “Support Nightwing: The Series on Kickstarter”