RPad.TV

Vaping Diaries #274: Saints Vapor Shane Bell Interview (Vapecon USA)

Whether you call them the seven deadly sins, the capital vices, or the cardinal sins, this group of naughtiness is something most are guilty of every week, if not every day. Gluttony (my personal favorite), greed, wrath, envy, lust, pride, and sloth (my second favorite) are things that all of us should endeavor to avoid. They’re also fantastic names for vaping e-liquids. That’s where Saints Vapor comes in. The SoCal e-liquid company has seven juices named after the seven deadly sins, as well as a standalone flavor called Divinity. At Vapecon USA, I chatted with Saints Vapor co-founder Shane Bell to learn more about his e-liquids.

There are some pretty unique flavors in the Saints Vapor lineup. The three that intrigued me the most were Sloth (raisin red oak), Wrath (horchata), and Greed (pineapple ice cream swirl). While it sounds unusual, I was also curious about Pride (menthol with rose). While I only had a brief taste of Saints Vapor e-liquid, I enjoyed the little bit that I vaped and am looking forward to spending more time with the company’s juices. Check out my Saints Vapor interview above to get an idea of what the company is all about.

Balotelli Says Mario Jumps Like a Black Man and Grabs Coins Like a Jew

Ah, Twitter…the social media service that gives a voice to millions of people that should be muted and gives athletes a chance to expose their idiocy. One of the latest instances of athlete Twitter fail centers on Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli. One of the most gifted footballers in the world, Mario Balotelli also has a reputation as an extraordinary bonehead. Urging people not to be racist on his Twitter account, Balotelli asked people to be more like Mario from the Super Mario Bros. series. His description of the Nintendo plumber was amazing. Check it out:

Be like Mario, he’s an Italian plumber, created by Japanese people, who speaks English and looks like a Mexican. He jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew.

Mario Balotelli has deleted his arguably racist “Don’t Be Racist” post and issued an apology.

Personally, I don’t think he was trying to offend anyone and believe that he thought his original post was a positive thing. I don’t believe there was anything malicious behind his original post. All of this is, of course, conjecture.

Having said that, it was idiotic of him to make that post. Being an idiot is something that Mario Balotelli has been accused of thousands of times. Famous people that are in the public eye shouldn’t post stupid things that could be construed as racist. It’s just dumb and leads to more trouble than a 140-character post is worth. Hell, people that aren’t the least bit famous have gotten in trouble for posting stupid things on social media. If normals can get in trouble for misguided social media rants then it should abundantly obvious that celebrities need to be extra-careful with what they say on social media.

What do you think of Mario Balotelli’s Twitter adventures? Does he need to hire a social media editor to censor the dumb ideas he wants to share with the world? Or is he getting too much heat for his comments? Share your thoughts in the comments section (please!).

Stephen Colbert Defends the Crossguard Lightsaber (Star Wars)

One of the latest Star Wars controversies, the crossguard lightsaber shown in the teaser trailer for The Force Awakens has sparked a ton of nerd debate. Some fans think that it looks cool and could possibly serve as an excellent defensive tool. Other fans think that a crossguard lightsaber is almost as dumb as Darth Maul’s double-bladed lightsaber and that it has great potential to damage the user. As with so many situations in the world, Stephen Colbert added some much needed wisdom to the discussion.

In a recent episode of The Colbert Report, Colbert talked about his background as a lifelong Star Wars geek and nerdily gave reasons why a crossguard lightsaber makes sense. Check out the video below for a thorough and hilarious explanation.

As much as I admire Colbert and try to model my life after his, I’m not yet sold on his explanation. A certified master bladesmith told The Washington Post why a crossguard lightsaber would be dangerous to the user. While Colbert knows a great many things that cover an astonishing variety of topics, I think I’m going to go with the certified master bladesmith on this one.

Besides, the crossguard lightsaber clip shown in The Force Awakens trailer seemed like it was trying to one-up the first time Darth Maul busted out the double-bladed lightsaber in the first trailer for The Phantom Menace. Eventually, it’s going to lead to stupid things like this:

Vaping Diaries #273: Beyond Vape / Aria Built Edison Tan Interview (Vapecon USA)

Beyond Vape is one of the most aggressive and successful American companies in vaping. As a vaper, I appreciate that Beyond Vape — and its high-end Aria Built line — reaches a wide variety of vapers through a wide variety of products. From inexpensive mods geared towards beginners and intermediate vapers to high-end gear aimed at vapers that value build quality and performance, Beyond Vape and Aria Built has it all covered. At Vapecon USA, I caught up with Beyond Vape’s Edison Tan to chat about three products in the Aria Built lineup.

Naturally, we spoke about the made-in-the-USA Oros mod. When I chatted with Beyond Vape co-founder Billy Chen in May, the Oros was still being prototyped. The mod has landed and has been receiving great reviews. If you’re looking for a high-performance copper mod with minimal voltage drop then you should definitely check out the Aria Built Oros.

If you’re into hybrids then the Aria Built Hyperion could be a great choice for you. Made primarily from gold-plated brass, this hybrid reminded me of C3PO. It features a T-shaped positive post that gives vapers a lot of versatility; from single-coil builds to quad-coil beasts, the Hyperion can handle anything you throw at it. Since it’s a hybrid, expect great performance from this all-in-one setup.

Last, but certainly not least, Edison told me about the Aria Built Orion atomizer. This rebuildable atomizer was made specifically for vertical-coil builds. It has deep, kidney-shaped juice wells that help keep refilling to a minimum. The positive post features a big block of metal that allows for easy building and also fills out the chamber, allowing for more flavor. The Orion is one of the more original atomizers I’ve seen in 2014. On paper, it should deliver a great combination of flavor and vapor.

Check out my chat with Edison to learn more about these three Beyond Vape products in the Aria Built line.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens LEGO Trailer is Amazing

Millions of nerds were delighted by the teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Arguably the most anticipated nerd movie of all time, legions of fans can’t wait for it, while many fans are dreading it. Although The Force Awakens and all the rumors that surround it can (and will be) debated for thousands of hours, there’s no denying that the LEGO version of the trailer is absolutely amazing. Released the day after the official trailer hit, the LEGO version is an outstanding shot-by-shot remake of the source material. As always, adding LEGO to the mix makes things funnier by a factor of 12.

Check out the LEGO trailer below, followed by the actual Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer for comparison. After you’ve checked ’em out, let me know what you think in the comments section (please). It’s pretty astounding what these cats did in a day, don’t you agree?

The Vaping Diaries #272: The Big Levapeski Brandy Tseu Interview (Vapecon USA)

Inspired by the cult classic film The Big Lebowski, The Big Levapeski is a line of vaping e-liquids that will appeal to fans of The Dude, Donny, and The Jesus. At Vapecon USA 2014, I met up with The Big Levapeski manager Brandy Tseu to learn more about this line of juices. There are a few notes here. First, I didn’t realize that I still had Lilly Evans lipstick on my face while I was interviewing Brandy until I edited the video. So, oops. Secondly, with juice names like “Shut the F*ck Up Donny!” and “Nobody F*cks With The Jesus,” I had to make ample use of the censor sound. Ha!

Check out the The Big Levapeski interview above to learn more about the four launch flavors in this line of juices.

Guardians of the Galaxy Meets…Friends?!?

What do you get when you mashup the smash movie hit Guardians of the Galaxy and the smash television hit Friends? The answer is…a shockingly entertaining video that makes a lot of sense. Think about it for a minute. The witty and sarcastic Peter Quill makes total sense as Chandler Bing. The slow and loyal Drax the Destroyer is perfect as Joey Tribbiani (when you add green skin pigmentation and years of human growth hormone abuse). Since there’s only one lady in the Guardians lineup, I guess Gamora has to be Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe.

Anyway, check out the clip below and let me know what you think of this funky mashup of Guardians of the Galaxy and Friends. In case you missed it, here’s my review of the movie.

Vaping Diaries #271: The Vape Kit Interview (Vapecon USA)

The Vape Kit is one of the smartest companies in the vaping business. The company originally started with a question-and-answer site, similar to a Quora or a Yahoo! Answers for vapers. Considering that there’s a lot to learn in the (relatively) new and (relatively) wacky world of vaping, a crowd-sourced and community-driven solution that answers questions many vapers have was a fantastic idea.

For its second act, The Vape Kit has released a compact and complete toolkit made just for vapers. Again, this was a really smart idea that solves a problem that many vapers encounter. Since there isn’t a vaping section at Ace Hardware or Home Depot, many beginning vapers start out with the wrong tools that end up being a waste of money and space. The Vape Kit toolset packs all the essentials in an easy-to-carry package. You get an ohm reader, tweezers, needle-nose pliers, a wire cutter, precision screwdrivers, and more.

Learn all about The Vape Kit — both the company and the toolset — from founders Aleks Blagojevich and Aaron Silva in the Vapecon USA interview above.

Coffee Talk #648: Your Black Friday/Cyber Monday Wish/Get List

The ludicrous sensations known as Black Friday and Cyber Monday are nearly here! For the next week or so, I’d love to hear all about your wishes and wants for this year’s shopping spectacular. As the deals pile up, please use the comments section to post any sweet deals you’ve snagged or that you recommend to your fellow RPadholics. If you’d be so kind as to keep an eye on Amazon’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals page, picking something up would really help out RPadTV (if you hit the link in this sentence before buying).

Sadly, I’m way too poor to buy much of anything this year. So I’m going to live vicariously through you guys and gals. Hopefully a bunch of you will enjoy some stellar deals so that I can feel a bit of joy and possibly bust out the following saying:

Ha! So let’s have it (please)! Share your Black Friday and Cyber Monday wishes and gets below (again, please).

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 the rocky career of RGKnee, Derrick Rose’s endless aches, or the extremely unfortunate breakup of Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Vaping Diaries #270: Lilly Evans Talks Vaping, Gaming, and Model Water

The highlight of my Vapecon USA 2014 show was hanging out with Lilly Evans at the Ruthless Vapor booth. One of the hottest models in the SoCal scene, Lilly does a lot of work in the Hot Import Nights and vaping communities. She’s also an avid gamer, currently digging Destiny and a longtime Halo fan. In addition to promoting Ruthless Vapor at the show, Lilly Evans was showing off her new Model Water. Yes, you can enjoy a refreshing and healthy bottle of water with a sexy photo of Lilly Evans on the bottle — that’s just genius.

So yeah, Lilly is pretty awesome. She’s sexy as hell, delightfully charming, a vaper, and a gamer. Honestly, I don’t know how I made it through the interview. She’s too much to handle. Ha! Anyway, check out my chat with Lilly Evans to learn about her gaming and vaping habits. Hit her up on Xbox One if you want to enjoy a space-shooting adventure with scintillating model.