Twilight Imperium

BrotherDave is moving to Arizona in a few days, but we thankfully got in one last game of Twilight Imperium before he leaves. And for all of you who don't know, TI is essentially Risk in space on crack-cocaine.
Sadly, this game didn't treat me too well. BrotherJohn took the early lead in terms of victory points and ability to produce units, but suffered a pretty serious set-back when Nate staged a daring sneak attack against one of John's major sectors. John counterattacked to regain his territory, but then BrotherDave launched a series of surgical strikes against him!
After several turns of build up in my well fortified homesystems, I launched an ill-fated raid against David that met crushing defeat. Thankfully, there were no reprisal attacks, allowing me to attack Nate the next turn, only to again be defeated in what should have been a decisive victory for me. I did, however, steal the ever important Mecatol Rex from John to gain a victory point.
Then last turn consisted of John finishing off the remainder of Nate's forces in his territory as well as battling some of David's forces. I attacked Nate again and crushed his last major outpost, seizing 2 victory points in the process. Nate counter-attacked, but although he inflicted some serious damage to my fleet, I warded him off. It was a pyrrhic victory because David then overwhelmed what few damaged ships I had left with a numerically superior fleet.
In the end, David had 11 victory Points, John had 10, I had 5, and Nate had 4.

So there it was, 10 hours of backstabbing, plotting, scheming, and fun.

Christmas

I have the best family in the world.
My two brother literally got me a box of coal/charcoal.
I laughed so hard.
<3

My sexuality

A lot of people think that I am gay. But I can safely say that, I can get drunk, sleep on the couch with a desirable man, have soft/tender music playing in the background, and not pop a boner.

Heartbreaks and Remakes

I am safely back in Grand Rapids after what amounted to about 20 hours of travel time. Cramped flights, little kids kicking my seats, sleeping pills, and too many layers are just some of the shit I dealt with. But it was worth it. Seeing BrotherDave waiting for me in the airport was like a dream come true. What followed was pizza, beer (Killians...how I have missed you), and some friendly conversation with some good people.

Also...there are plans to "remake" the fantastic film 'The Crow'. All I can say is - fuck you for ruining a fabulous movie. Yes, there is not that much dialogue, the plot is thin, and the movie overall relies on its gothic atmosphere to get by, but it is still super good. So stop fucking with a good thing and go be original for once.

Pure fucking metal

Apologies for the profanity in the title, but that is the only way I can describe last night. Soilwork at the A38, Paul Menn front row. It was insane.
Thankfully, there was only 1 opener, and they were mediocre at their best (the only thing that was good about them was their Frankie Goes to Hollywood cover "Relax"). One Way Mirror, a mix of Nu-metal and industrial and psuedo-melodic death.

And then came Soilwork.

In all honesty, their last two albums just have not done it for me. But they fucking slayed last night. They played about an equal mix of new and old songs. About 3 from "Sworn to a Great Divide", 2 from "Stabbing the Drama", 1 from "Figure Number Five", 3 from "Natural Born Chaos", and 1 from "A Predator's Portrait" and "The Chainheart Machine". Roundabout. I mean, I could go check the setlist because no big deal or anything Peter Wichers simply gave it to me after the show.
Speaking of Mr. Wichers, it is nice that he is back in the band - he seemed totally at ease and was insane while playing the guitar last night.
One of the things I do really enjoy about Soilwork is that they have massive stage presence. Not just "Speed" who is totally imposing as the vocalist, but Peter Wichers (guitars) and Ola Flink (bass) were totally hilarious, dancing around, powerstancing at every opportunity, and generally just being entertaining.
I could probably write a lot more, but I will you with this...
...you have not experienced fear at a concert until you see a 6'4", 250 lbs Hungarian man take a flying stagedive directly at you.


Also, I wish my internet worked better so that I could listen to Primordial's myspace. But ever since hearing them at Heidenfest, I've been craving to listen to their blackened doom metal. Totally sweet band.

I am my fathers son
And his deeds
Cannot be undone...

"Empire Falls" - Primordial

Managanza

Managanza, the long awaited coup-de-grace of Man-night, happened last night. And it was without a doubt a fucking epic win.
It started off in typical man night fashion - shenanigans. Jordan and I ran to Dr. Pizza to grab a few 'zzas for the party, but it was closed. And that was totally lame. So, we ran to Kiraly Pizza and got in 16 minutes before they closed, and proceeded to order 6 epic pizzas. At which point, some totally crazy/drunk guy named Erik Maximus struck up a conversation with us. We drank beer and smoked with him out in the rain. He then regaled us with the same fucking information for about a half hour. A sister in San Fran. A son in Ecuador. Obama (who he referred to as a n*gger and a negroe). I was happy to be out of there.
When we got back to the dorm, I was a bit worried that no one was going to be up for partying hard. But when the first few guests started trickling in, we knew that we had them hooked. We men were all classied up, serving the girls drinks, food, playing a little Belle!Funk in the background...you know, really setting the party mood.
Things soon developed from organized classiness to drunken antics!
In summary, we had a shit ton of wine, liquor, snacks, pastries, pizza, and dance music. And everyone loved it. And we pissed off the deskie. But it was totally worth it.

New music coming out!

Hells yes...hells fucking yes!!
I've been waiting for the new Zeromancer album to be released for several years now, and finally, it is going to be released. From the songs I've heard samples of already, this is going to be even better than "ZZYZX" (a phenomenal album). Februrary 13th, I await you eagerly!

Apoptygma Berzerk is going to be releasing their new album "Rocket Science" on January 23...and from what I've heard so far...I need a bit more convincing. The song titles aren't doing it for me, the fact that Benji Madden (of Good Charlotte) guests on two songs is not reassuring, and the two song samples I've heard are kind of blah.
"Apollo (Live on Your TV)" has a few catchy hooks, but the verses seem pretty bland.
"Asleep or Awake" just sounds kind of...flat and unmotivated.
In all...I'm not mad that APB is turning to a more indie/alt-rock/guitar-driven sound. I just need a bit more convincing that they are doing it well.