Started a new hobby in 2013....
Years ago, my family took a vacation to the east coast. All my sixteen year old self wanted to eat while vacationing was fast food. It was on that vacation, my Stepfather introduced me to the concept of taking in local cuisine. "You can get Taco Bell anywhere. You can't eat at the Philadelphia Fish Market in Columbus" he says. Years later, he opened up the same concept but with beers to me. Don't settle for the shit you can get at the gas station, go to grocery store and find something you can't get at the gas station. It first started with Rogue's Dead Guy Ale, and spiraled from there. Now, I am on the hunt for a good quality beer.
Here's the beers I enjoyed the most in 2013:
1. Rogue's Dead Guy Ale
2.Wild Blue Lager
3. Hobgoblin
4. Young's Double Chocolate Stout
I also got pretty festive around the fall this year with beers as well. Here are two of my fall favorites:
1. Rogue's Pumpkin Patch Ale
2. O'Fallon's Pumpkin Ale.
Blu Ray's:
13 years ago, I welcomed with open arms the divine entity known as the Digital Versatile Disc. My Dad was the first in my family to get one. A few years later, I got one for myself.. Finally, a format that caters to film nerds ! While I was embracing this, most of my peers where like "Fuck you and you're CD that plays movies. VHS is here to stay ! My children and I will be watching Austin Powers 20 years from now on video.". A few years later, everyone jumped on the DVD bandwagon (I mean they had no choice right ?).
I also couldn't persuade people to watch movies in Widescreen. "You're stupid if you enjoy watching a movie with those black bars on the top and bottom of you're screen" people told me. Funny how that one turned out....
Flash forward to 2006, and the introduction of the Blu Ray format. I found myself on the other side of the fence. "Fuck Blu-Ray ! The ivory castle for which DVD is built upon will stand tall for generations !". I just didn't want to accept the fact that I probably had to re-buy my collection. However, I did make the HD jump 2 years ago. Since then, I am embracing and loving high definition. Re-buying my collection does suck. However, re-buying & watching a brand new transfer has breathed new life into the films I love. I am simply re-discovering my favorite films through this format.
I am, little by little upgrade some of my favorites to Blu-Ray, here's my favorite purchases of 2013:
1. Heavy Metal
2. Jaws
3. The Edgar Wright Three Flavors Trilogy (Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz, And The World's End)
4. The Goonies/Gremlins/Gremlins 2: The New Batch
5. Anchorman, The Rich Mahogany Edition Fan Bundle
and last, but certainly least: The Tarantino Collection. Such a wonderful representation of his work. Every Tarantino masterpiece (sans "Django" which was release way after) is in this set. Which is surprising considering most box sets centering around films from a director usually have a few not included due to licensing or studio politics. Not with this set. I think every director whose worth a fuck should have a set like this.
Want a bit of irony ? The worst Blu-Ray release I bought this year was The Lords Of Salem. The transfer is as amazing as I remember seeing it in the theater. My complaint is there are no special features ! Rob always gives us more bang for our buck when it comes to buying one of his movies. He usually has includes a lengthy "making of" documentary, a deleted scenes reel, music video, isolated music score, and a trailer. This is a pretty bare bones release. My only theory is that the studio didn't want to pour money into the home video release considering the film flopped. Hopefully this film will develop enough of a cult following to warrant a special edition release. If that happens, I will gladly buy another copy.
Books:
Let's get literal for just a minute......
One of the resolutions I made this year was to read more. I am happy to say that I actually made good on that ! Been a worthwhile endeavor to say the least. I plan to read more than just autobiographies & horror novels next year.
Rather that rate them, here's what I read this year:
1. "Christine" By Stephen King
2. "Rotten" By John Lydon
3. "Official Truth" By Rex Brown
4. "Foxy" By Pam Grier
5. "The Girl Next Door" By Jack Ketchum
6. "Red Dragon" By Thomas Harris
7. "I Am Ozzy"By Ozzy Osbourne
8. "Firece" By Kelly Osbourne
9. "I Am Legend" By Richard Matheson (RIP)
Films:
Don't really go to the theater that much anymore. I am not really interested in what comes out anymore. However, from time to time I do make exceptions. Here are my exceptions:
1. Lords Of Salem
2. The World's End
3. Through The Never
4. The Wolf Of Wall Street
5. Anchorman 2
6. Star Trek Into Darkness
7. American Hustle
8. This Is The End
Films that where released last year that I seen this year and overly enjoyed: Argo & Django Unchained.
Film wise, there was one film that did disappoint me. A Good Day To Die Hard wasn't all that great. Don't get me wrong, it was great to see Willis play John McClane again. However, it could have been way better. If it couldn't be better, then why didn't you let Live Free Or Die Hard as the last film of the series ? That was a great way to end the McClane saga. This last entry looked like it was done in 2 weeks.
Last, but not least the documentaries I watched this year:
1. Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet
2. Sound City
3. Robert Williams, Mr Bitchin'
4. Mission To Lars
5. Everyman's Journey
The "what the fuck?" award goes to Room 237. As a fan of Kubrick, it was interesting but at the same time I have to ask: who comes up with this shit ? Personally, I don't think Stanley Kubrick took the time to put "hidden meanings" in his films so that they are discovered and explained in a documentary years after his death. Kubrick's was a genius and a master showmen, not a lunatic. But I guess if you're a conspiracy theorist who lives in their mom's basement, I guess you think the exact opposite.
Gadgetry:
Discovered the joy of streaming music this year. I am in love with my Google Music subscription ! Ten bucks a month and I have a endless amount of music at my fingertips. Let's me enjoy old favorites, discover new music, and let's me listen to new stuff. Omits my blind buys entirely. I highly recommend anyone who loves music such as I to get a streaming service.
Also, I've played around with Hulu Plus. Better selection than Netflix. Just saying.....Not ruling out Netflix because they do have "Comic Book Men".
Tunes:
Rather than do the whole "top 10" and "honorable mentions" bit, I decided to lump it into one list. I mean if I liked it as much as my top ten, why separate them ?
"13" by Black Sabbath
"Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor" By Rob Zombie
"Clockwork Angels Tour" By Rush
"Flashback " & "Girls Night" EP's By The Alcohollys
"Adam Ant Is The Blueblack Hassar In Marrying The Gunner's Daughter" By Adam Ant
"Tears On Tape" By H.I.M.
"Anthems EP" By Anthrax
"The Winery Dogs" By The Winery Dogs
"Walk Through Exits Only" By Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals
"Year Zero" By Ghost BC
"Winter Kills" By Devildriver
"Through The Never Soundtrack" By Metallica
"Unnatural Selection" By Havok
"Serpents Unleashed" By Skeletonwitch
"Worse Than Dead" By Iron Reagan
"Revolution Rise" By Kill Devil Hill
"Hail To The King" By Avenged Sevenfold.
"Queensryche" By Queensryche
I also went to some bad-ass shows this year. Seen Cheap Trick, Ghost BC, Iron Reagan, and Adam Ant for the first time this year ! I also went to the best concert I've ever been to this year:
Super huge fan of all 3 bands on this bill. The fact they where coming close to me on a off date from the dreadful touring festival they where was a blessing. The answer was clear: I had to go ! Aside from being there, I had to make it memorable.
I vowed to myself that if Zombie came back and offered a meet & greet package I was going to get one. I made good on the promise. It's definitely an awesome feeling to be able to cross something off you're bucket list. My advice to everyone: if the right opportunity is given, go meet your heroes. Don't ever shy away from doing it. Probably one of the best days of my life.
Well, that's it for this year. I hope you've enjoyed reading this. I've enjoyed writing this. For The Beers, Blu-Rays, Films, Gadgetry, & Tunes Blog, until next year !
