Random Thoughts on Iron Man 3

After an action-packed ensemble adventure in The Avengers, Iron Man gets the stage to himself once more in Iron Man 3. The movie is definitely fun, but not as good as the first two Iron Man movies or The Avengers. Director Shane Black adds more humor and snark while retaining the awesome mech-fueled action of his predecessor, Jon Favreau. Unfortunately, his storytelling isn’t as tight and his movie doesn’t have as much heart. Here are some random spoiler-free thoughts on Iron Man 3.

When Did Jon Favreau Get Old?!? — The first thing that caught my attention in Iron Man 3 has nothing to do with the quality of the movie. Seconds after the opening credits, I was shocked to see how old Jon Favreau looks. I knew he was getting larger, but his face was a harsh reminder of my own mortality. He’ll always be that fresh-faced newbie Angeleno in Swingers to me. I can’t believe that movie is as old as McKayla Maroney. Gah.

Jokey Jokesters — My friend Paul and I agreed that this movie had much more humor than its predecessors. The first two had funny moments, but the jokes were interspersed with a little bit of drama and lots of action. The gags in Iron Man 3 are more frequent and felt forced or excessive at times. Especially when…

…Tony Stark is Being a Dick — While Robert Downey, Jr. was expectedly excellent, some of the material he was working with had an unusual tone. The previous movies did a wonderful job of establishing Stark as a narcissistic and womanizing genius that has substance issues and a growing conscience. For some reason, this movie unveiled his dickish side. It lead to some funny exchanges, but seemed out of character. Stark can be stubborn, self righteous, and overzealous — both in the movies and the comics — but there are moments in Iron Man 3 where he’s unusually cruel. Even though Downey delivered the lines with aplomb, the meanness felt out of place.

Mandarin Surprise — When I found out that one of the Iron Man 3’s protagonists was the Mandarin, I was worried. The character works in comics, but is a bit too ridiculous for movies. The movie version of Mandarin was not at all what I was expecting and it totally worked. Keep in mind that I usually hate major deviations from the source material (Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, for example), so I was shocked by how delighted I was with movie Mandarin. Of course it helps that a master thespian like Ben Kingsley completely owned the role.

Executive Mocking Continues — I love how the Iron Man movies poke fun at real-life executives. In Iron Man 2, Sam Rockwell showed qualities of Microsoft Bill Gates and Apple Steve Jobs while playing Justin Hammer. In this film, Guy Pearce takes several cues from Virgin Group Richard Branson. I’m looking forward to Iron Man 4, when Tony Stark will battle a Mark Zuckerberg pastiche, complete with a menacing hoodie powered by Extremis.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Abs — While I vehemently disagree with People Magazine crowning Ms. Paltrow as the most beautiful woman in the world (she wasn’t even the most beautiful woman in Iron Man 2), she’s still a lovely creature that takes exquisite care of her body. Borrowing a page from Padme Amidala’s playbook, Paltrow’s Pepper Potts shows a lot of skin during the movie’s climax. Her stomach looked marvelous and made me dream of what it would be like to eat sushi off of it. It was so yummy that I probably missed some cool tech sequences while I was mesmerized by Gwyneth’s abs.

No Dual Villains — One of the reasons I enjoyed Iron Man 2 so much is that it had separate villains for Iron Man and Tony Stark. I enjoyed that Whiplash menaced the superhero Iron Man, while Justin Hammer threatened businessman and technologist Tony Stark. This is a layered and complex hero, and I loved that the second movie had antagonists for different facets of the character. With that in mind, I was disappointed that the third movie didn’t do the same.

Pacing and Surprise — Iron Man 3 flows at a consistent but predictable pace. The first two movies did a better job of using humor, action, and drama to mix things up. While this movie isn’t paced poorly by any means, it just feels very by-the-numbers. That’s all on Shane Black, who simply isn’t as good at dealing with Iron Man as Jon Favreau was.

Bottom Line — Iron Man 3 is definitely entertaining and enjoyable. It has bigger and better action than the first two movies, but as a whole I don’t think it’s as good. The actors are better than ever in these roles, but the direction and writing have taken a dip. A few of my friends and a few critics have said that Iron Man 3 is the best in the series and the best Marvel movie to date. While I enjoyed it, I completely disagree with that assessment. After seeing Iron Man and Iron Man 2 in theaters, I wanted to see it again. After the Iron Man 3 screening, I’m content to wait for the Blu-ray.

Moby Dick…the Collectible Card Game? (Kickstarter)

What happens when you blend the addictive nature of collectible card games (CCGs) with a literary classic? You get Moby Dick, or, The Card Game, that’s what. An old Happy Puppy colleague dropped me a line to tell me about this Kickstarter project he’s working on. As you’ve probably guessed, it combines Herman Melville’s timeless tale of a man and a marine mammal with CCG mechanics. Here’s a clip from the Kickstarter pitch:

Moby Dick, or, The Card Game is a dynamic and action-packed card game for 2-4 players, lovingly adapted from Herman Melville’s classic novel.

Experience the wonders and terrors of 19th century whaling and interact with some of the greatest characters in American literature in a game that’s easy to learn but fathoms deep.

The game is played using three custom decks with over 100 unique cards, two dice and 40 oil markers.

At last, a game that lets me “experience the wonders and terrors of 19th century whaling.” You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for such a thing.

Seriously though, between the Pokemon CCG and Magic the Gathering, battling with cards is enjoyed by millions of nerds around the world. The idea of using classic literature as the backdrop for a CCG is so wacky that I love it!

When you get a chance, check out the Kickstarter pitch and let me know what you think of Moby Dick, or, The Card Game.

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Yahoo! Bolsters Streaming Content With SNL, WWE

Yahoo! has announced a ton of streaming video initiatives, including six original shows. Direct-to-streaming programs seem like “the next big thing” with Amazon and Netflix paving the way for TV-less television. For fans of traditional shows, Yahoo! also announced partnerships with Saturday Night Live and WWE. The company will be the “exclusive home” of SNL archives. As for WWE programming, here’s some of what you’ll be able to enjoy starting this summer:

  • Monday Night Raw pre-show: A 30-minute pre-show to each new Monday Night Raw will be exclusive to Yahoo!.
  • Original programming: Two weekly series of 50 episodes per year will be produced exclusively for distribution on Yahoo!.
  • Premium archive: Yahoo! will have exclusive access to WWE archives of historical full matches, shows, highlights and other events.
  • Additional live events: Yahoo! will air live, pre-show content for every pay-per-view event.
  • Clips from current TV programming: Clips from all WWE television programs will now be available on Yahoo!.

All of this streaming goodness has me considering cutting the cord to cable (specifically, my crap-bag provider Time Warner Cable). I would certainly miss boxing and pro-wrestling PPVs, but can find other ways to enjoy those shows. I love the shift to direct-to-streaming content. It shakes up the market and is a potential change agent. As for the WWE videos that will be on Yahoo!, I’m particularly psyched for the “premium archive” feature. The WWE has a ton of classic matches in its library, including videos from most of its competitors from wrestling’s “territory” days. There are so many ’80s and ’90s matches that I’d love to see!

How about you guys and dolls? What do you think of Yahoo!’s streaming-video efforts?

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Nintendo Selling Refurbished 3DS, DSi XL Hardware

Nintendo’s online store has been updated to include refurbished 3DS and DSi XL hardware. The products come with a one-year warranty and “are guaranteed to be fully functional, but may have minor cosmetic blemishes.” A refurbed 3DS costs $129.99, while DSi XL units are available for $99.99. On Amazon.com, a new 3DS can be had for as low as $165, while a new DSi XL runs for $143. Refurbished hardware bundles packaged with a game are also available.

What do you guys and gals think of Nintendo’s refurb deals? Are they a good value? Or would you rather buy a new system? Any of you planning to pick up a refurbished 3DS or DSi XL?

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Vaping Diaries #59: Brian Worthy Talks The Vapor-Mart

One of the newer vape shops in Los Angeles is The Vapor-Mart, located on the border of Hollywood and West Hollywood. For those of you not familiar with LA, this is one of the coolest areas in town, full of trendy restaurants and clothing boutiques. Adorned with paintings and sculptures from local artists, the vibe of The Vapor-Mart totally fits the neighborhood. Check out the video interview with co-owner Brian Worthy to learn how the store got started and to see some sweet artwork.

On the hardware side, the store focuses on new to intermediate vapers. There are cig-alike products, as well as smaller kits that feature the eGo-T and eGo Twist. More advanced mods include the SmokTech Bolt and Joyetech eVic. Top-of-the-line products include gorgeous mechanicals like the Atmomixani Gus 22 and 69, as well as House of Hybrids products like the Zenesis Sidewinder and Z-Atty-Pro. In the future, the store hopes to include more mechanical mods and rebuildable atomizers.

As for e-liquid, the shop is proud to only offer juices that are made in the USA. The lineup includes Mountain Oak Vapors, Virgin Vapor, Villain Vapors, Zeus e-Juice, and Desert Horizon. Customers are free to sample all the e-liquids they wish. For tasting, the shop has a great bar setup, with Vivi Nova Mini clearomizers loaded up with 0mg nicotine versions of all the juices. Customers just to need to put their drip on the clearo and the clearo on their battery to find the right juice for them.

The Vapor-Mart has partnered with local Los Angeles artists to offer some beautiful paintings and sculptures. The store gets some unique decorations that make the place look fantastic, while the artists get free gallery space. Should the art sell, all proceeds go to the artist. It’s a win-win situation for the store and the artists.

While there are loads of vape shops north and (especially) south of Los Angeles, there aren’t that many in the city itself. I love that stores like The Vapor-Mart and the Vaping Ape LA have opened up within the last few months. Hopefully this is the start of a burgeoning LA vape scene. On a side note, my fine friend Paul and I often lunch near The Vapor-Mart, usually before a trip to the excellent Golden Apple Comics. It looks like our long lunches are going to get even longer, with good food, nerdy conversation, comics, and vaping on our agenda.

Google Now Available For iOS

Google has updated its Google Search app for iOS to include Google Now. For those of you not familiar with the product, Google Now is an intelligent search assistant that uses natural language input and a card-based system to serve you information. Many tech experts feel that Google Now is a much more powerful and effective alternative to Apple’s Siri product. While there are certainly similarities, I believe that the products are different enough that a direct comparison is somewhat inaccurate. In practical terms, I’ve gotten way more mileage out of Google Now on my Android devices than Siri on my iOS devices.

Here’s a clip from Google’s blog with additional info:

Google Now is about giving you just the right information at just the right time. It can show you the day’s weather as you get dressed in the morning, or alert you that there’s heavy traffic between you and your butterfly-inducing date—so you’d better leave now! It can also share news updates on a story you’ve been following, remind you to leave for the airport so you can make your flight and much more. There’s no digging required: cards appear at the moment you need them most—and the more you use Google Now, the more you get out of it.

Due to the way Apple manages notifications and background processes, Google Now for iOS is slightly less powerful than its Android counterpart. It currently lacks some of the cards found in the Android version too. That said, it’s still a very powerful information tool and I recommend giving it a go.

If you play around with Google Now of iOS on your iPhone or iPad, I’d love to hear about your experience with it in the comments section.

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Vaping Diaries #58: Cafe Ahlusion Opens This Week

Ahlusion is one of my favorite e-liquid vendors in the vaping business and I’m thrilled that the company is opening its cafe this week. In addition to being able to hang out and enjoy some of the best e-liquids around, you’ll be able to enjoy beverages made with the same ingredients as the juices. For example, the company has a sasparilla beverage based on its unique and delicious W&A Sasparilla e-liquid. The site also states, “Don’t be surprised to find some of our actual flavors on our site also avialable in coffee, tea, smoothie or juice form.”

As an added bonus, you’ll be able to watch some RPadTV Vaping Diaries video reviews starring Raina Lee and me. I’m sure that customers will enjoy staring at the super-cute Raina and I’m also sure that I’ll scare some customers away. Ha! Seriously though, I feel honored that Ahlusion’s Wlad and Alley are playing my videos at Cafe Ahlusion. Check out the two photos in the article featuring my reviews. Hopefully I’ll make it out to Swartz Creek, MI some time in 2013, enjoy Cafe Ahlusion, and interview Wlad. It sounds like a brilliant trip — exquisite e-liquids, a cool cafe, and chatting with a true master of vaping juices.

Coffee Talk #580: The Appeal of Videogame Live Streaming?

My friend Paul and I were talking about the popularity of videogame live streaming…and how we don’t get it. Since both of us are out of the target demographic (he’s Statler, I’m Waldorf), there’s a very real chance that it’s simply a generational thing that’s beyond our understanding. Hopefully, you guys and gals can help me understand why millions of people enjoy watching someone playing a single-player game, because I don’t see the appeal. Right now, I’m all Edwin Starr when it comes to live streaming: “What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.”

Where’s the fun in…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, losing count of the number of injured Lakers, attempting (again) to master rebuildable dripping atomizers, or cheesecloth, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

My friend Paul and I were talking about the popularity of videogame live streaming…and how we don’t get it. Since both of us are out of the target demographic (he’s Statler, I’m Waldorf), there’s a very real chance that it’s simply a generational thing that’s beyond our understanding. Hopefully, you guys and gals can help me understand why millions of people enjoy watching someone playing a single-player game, because I don’t see the appeal. Right now, I’m all Edwin Starr when it comes to live streaming: “What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.”

Where’s the fun in watching a person play through a single-player game? Wouldn’t you rather…oh, I dunno…play the game yourself? Do people use live streams to make purchasing decisions? That’s somewhat understandable. I could almost buy the argument that watching a live stream can give a gamer a more honest view of a game. However, I much rather read a review from a critic that I trust. That seems like a more efficient use of time.

It kind of bugs me that I feel like a crotchety old man that just doesn’t get it. That’s where you come in! Please help me understand the appeal of videogame live streaming in the context of single-player games. If you enjoy them, kindly list the reasons in the comments section. If you don’t, but understand why other people do, then please explain it to me. Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

After working on secret-project game, I’m itching to run around and beat the crap out of bad guys using a variety of superheroes. I’m also gearing up for the Iron Man 3 review screening on Monday. With all of that in mind, I think this weekend is going to be all about Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. I love these kinds of action-RPGs — always have. From Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance to X-Men: Legends to Justice League Heroes, I’m always down to beat the crap out of minions, break objects to find power-ups, and occasionally tackle boss characters. For my tastes, it’s a tried and true formula that I can’t get enough of.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Vaping Diaries #57: Ahlusion Review IV

Ah, another Ahlusion review. These are always fun to do because the company is so good. My excellent friend Glenda was over this week and tried some of the Ahlusion goods I had. She had a moment that reminded me of one of Alan Rickman’s lines in Bottle Shock; she got quiet after vaping them and said, “All these Ahlusion juices…are…so good!”  Anyway, back to the review. This time around I vaped the company’s Boba Tea with Lychee, Honey Cured, and Peachy Criminal. Two of the e-liquids were outstanding — easily two of the best I’ve had in 2013. The other was good, but not what I was expecting. Here are the breakdowns and steeping notes.

Boba Tea with Lychee: Raina and I covered plain Boba Tea in January and enjoyed it. I had high hopes for this juice, since I often order boba with lychee in real life. As far as the lychee flavor goes, it’s spot on — very clean and flavorful. Unfortunately, there’s too much of it. It drowns out the milk tea flavor associated with boba. The milky sweetness that I like in plain Boba Tea is overpowered by the lychee, making this juice more like Lychee with Boba Tea than Boba Tea with Lychee. While this juice was definitely well made, the flavor wasn’t quite what I wanted or expected.

The good news is that Ahlusion has changed the formula from when I ordered the juice. The company says that it should be more balanced out now. Considering that the majority of my Ahlusion experiences have been fantastic, I’m willing to give the company the benefit of the doubt and will revisit the flavor in a future review.

Honey Cured: This juice is part of Ahlusion’s phenomenal aromatic line of tobacco e-liquids, which includes two of my favorite tobacco e-liquids: Blue Grass Burley and Vurley. Like those two fine juices, I absolutely love this one, but it’s a little bit different than its sisters. For people intimidated by the aromatic line, this is a great starter juice since it’s not as bold as the others. It’s still way more flavorful than the majority of tobacco e-liquids on the market, but the somewhat lighter tobacco combined with the sweet honey taste makes it more approachable than the other aromatics I’ve enjoyed.

As for the honey flavor itself, its very sweet and natural-tasting. Normally, I don’t enjoy e-liquids that are too sweet, but this one is amazingly well balanced. The strength and complexity of the tobacco combines with the bright honey sweetness perfectly. I’m often amazed by how masterful Ahlusion is with blending flavors. Honey Cured is another example of why the company is better than the vast majority of its competitors. Like the other aromatic juices, this one isn’t ideal for carto/tanks; it tastes great in a clearomizer and tastes divine in a dripping atomizer.

On a side note, I spilled some of this juice on my sleeve and a cute girl in an elevator thought it was “hot” cologne. This is the first e-liquid I’ve vaped that lead to a coffee date. Bonus! (Also, hi Kyung!)

Peachy Criminal: I love peach. I love tobacco. Ergo peach-tobacco e-liquids should be a homerun for me. As I learned with HHV’s Georgia Peach Tobacco, that’s not necessarily the case. Fortunately, this juice surprised me and exceeded my expectations. Some people feel that this juice has too much going on, but I completely disagree. I loved the blend of Smooth Criminal’s nutty and sweet tobacco combined with a fantastic peach flavoring. It comes together brilliantly. Whereas HHV’s juice tasted like the flavors were fighting for supremacy, the flavors in this e-liquid complemented each other marvelously, resulting in a blissful vape.

One caveat with this juice is that you should give it a long steep. For me, the juice started to “bloom” five weeks in and really started to change after two months. Some people like to steep their Smooth Criminal for as long as four months. In my experience, five weeks is good, but two months is better.

While I loved Honey Cured (as I thought I would), I’m going with Peachy Criminal as my favorite of this batch. I’ve had other full-bodied tobacco e-liquids that I’ve enjoyed as much or more than Honey Cured, but I’ve never had a better peach tobacco than Peachy Criminal.

Steeping Notes
On the advice of Wlad from Ahlusion, I’ve been trying a new steeping method starting December 27, 2012. When the e-liquids arrive, I leave them uncapped for five minutes. Previously, I left them uncapped for about two days. After the liquids are given a few minutes to oxidize, the caps are put back on. The bottles are shaken every day for at least two weeks before vaping.

Boba Tea with Lychee
50/50 PG/VG ratio, 0mg nicotine
Uncapped: January 1, 2013 2:12PM
Vaped: April 4-10, 2013

Honey Cured
70/30 PG/VG ratio, 6mg nicotine
Uncapped: January 12, 2013 2:50PM
Vaped: April 5-10, 2013

Peachy Criminal
50/50 PG/VG ratio, 6mg nicotine
Uncapped: January 1, 2013 2:12PM
Vaped: April 5-10, 2013

Review Process (Updated February 17, 2013)
RPad.TV e-liquid reviews focus on the flavor of the e-liquids, since throat hit and vapor production can be altered by the PG/VG ratio and nicotine level selected. Each juice is vaped over a period of days in an atomizer, a cartomizer/tank setup, and a clearomizer. The exception is naturally-extracted tobacco (NET) juice; since those are known to clog up cartomizers quickly, those are vaped in atomizers and clearomizers.