Favorite band or musical act: Massive Attack, Die Antwoord, Bjork.I love strong little badass sultry female vocalists but I can also get down to fat hypey rap or anything from the 90’s.
Movie that scared you the most: Eraserhead was an absolute nightmare, but for some reason alien movies freak me out so much. Cloverfield had me literally screaming in terror, and I watched it by myself on a cute sunny summer afternoon. It was a weird day.
Truth or dare? Ok, dare. Nothing sexual though.
Tell us about your hobbies or the worst date you ever went on: We ain’t even gonna talk about the shitty dates (the past is the past muchacho). I thoroughly enjoy creating graphic art, drawing, painting, reading especially, either from books or articles online and then any vocabulary I don’t know or new information I learn I write down on notecards and study them a few times a week to keep the brain fresh and sharp (a life tip from me to you baby). I enjoy travelling as often as possible, even though my friends are too broke or “can’t take off work”, I take trips to other states alone often (AirBnB, another life tip baby). My weekly pole dance fitness courses are where it’s at, probably the best way to exersise is outside of a gym in my opinion, ladies take note. Go rock climbing or join a dance team. Other hobbies I fuck with are managing my website, manifesting personal entrepreneurial endeavors, and signing up for workshops around Chicago to take a couple times a month to get into trying new things (Verlocal.com, check it out).
By William G Chandler Jr. 2/20/2016 5:00 p.m. Tweet to: W1totalk
The Tekken series, by Bandai Namco Entertainment, lets you hone your strategic fighting skills. Its in-depth fighting system first established itself in 1994, as found at Tekkenpedia. Tekken is set to evolve their system of fighting with the release of Tekken7: Fated Retribution, as found at Wikia, for the Microsoft Xbox One, and Sony Playstation 4. Tekken is the first series that commits to evolution in video game fighting. You must use new fighters, routinely, because of the varied, accurate system of fighting. Tekken is art that more reflects reality, in my humble opinion.
The Street Fighter series is solid, fun, and always has a necessary arcade feel. Dead or Alive is a fun three-dimensional fighter. And the girls aren’t too bad to watch either. Mortal Kombat is its own monster. Tekken can be arcade fun, but also has a profound combat system that makes you learn specific techniques.
There are vastly different fighters I use. Craig Marduk, with his profile at Tekkenpedia, is not my usual battler. I felt it necessary to learn his skills and make up for never using Zangief in the Street Fighter series. I have never been a fan of the large grappler. However, he is a monster I have come to use. He has close techniques and counters that make up for certain fighters’ speeds, and even charge moves that overtake any special techniques.
Robert Richards, with his profile at Wikia, is closer to my common combatant. Bob’s techniques are quick, his special attacks are effective, and his throws seriously harm any other fighter. All fighters have their special methods in Tekken, but unlike other games, Tekken is as serious as they come.
Bob replaces a character I always used to rely on, Martial Law, as found at Wikia. This character, while fast and vicious, feeds your need for speed. This is bad. Speed is important in fighting, but counters are more effective.
Tekken 7 can only permit players to learn newer techniques, prepare them for newer fighters, and that next war bound step.
Jules Morrison, at the Latin Post indicates the game will bring new graphics, which make use of the Unreal 4 engine, to the consoles. The game currently available in Japan, and select United States arcades, will support Playstation VR. The game will include new fighters like Kazumi Mashima, responsible for killing Heichachi Mishima’s wife, and Gigas, as found at Wikia. He looks like trouble.
The game will also bring a character from Street Fighter, Akuma, into the Tekken world. Damien Seeto, of Attack of the Fan Boy highlights what this means. This introduction can prepare the world for a game Tekken X Street Fighter. While Street FighterXTekken, by Capcom, permits Tekken fighters to elevate their skills to Street Fighter’s level, Tekken grounds all characters. For example, fighters who use frivolous, projectile techniques are subject to more punishment in Tekken. Akuma’s moves, while elaborate in some cases, must be more precise and accurate to win bouts. Tekken 7: Fated Retribution has no current release date.
I know lots of people who bought Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I know lots of people who started reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I don’t, however, know many people who finished reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Seth Grahame-Smith’s book has a catchy, awesome premise, and it accomplishes exactly what it was meant to accomplish, but it’s just not very fun to read. After a certain point, the reading experience gets exhausting. It’s a single joke premise, and after the first hundred pages, it becomes clear that the joke is on the reader.
A movie version was bound to be a better experience, for the simple fact that watching a movie is a much shorter process. It’s easier spending two hours on this idea that several days. Also, a lot of the magic of P&P&Z‘s premise is based on mashing up cool visuals, something that works much better on the big screen. There’s a definite thrill to seeing young women in corsets and party dresses when they’re armed to the teeth and hacking at monsters.
It’s just a shame that the visuals weren’t as memorable as they could’ve been. The biggest issue is probably that most of the action is up-close and over-edited. The story makes a big deal out of clashing fighting styles, and yet the differences in fight techniques is never really shown. Some of the action scenes were hard to follow, and a few of them went by too quickly.
The Jane Austen-y stuff was more successful, surprisingly. The zombie elements were well-integrated into the story, driving the narrative toward the same checkpoints as any other adaptation. And Lily James, the film’s Elizabeth, was certainly a capable heroine, spunky and vulnerable at the same time. I found myself invested in the story, but not quite as interested in the zombie-on-human craziness. Going into the theater, that was not at all how I expected to feel.
It was also refreshing that the zombie outbreak wasn’t over-explained. This isn’t a movie about discovering secrets and reversing the undead plague. Instead, it focuses everything squarely on Elizabeth (and, of course, her Darcy). James had a tough job, and she was more than able to carry the film.
Ultimately, though, the movie is a similar experience to the book. The idea is better than the execution.
By Tanner Banks 2/19/2016, 6:30 a.m. Tweet to: @SirJamtrousers
Matty P, The Bearded Gamer, Pimp Daddy Matty, call him what you want because he won’t care. Recently, I had the honor of interviewing one of the most laid back, genuine, and awesome streamers on Twitch. When doing the first interview for Small Streams Big Dreams, my time with Matty was an experience all itself. SSBD’s format is less a strict interview, and more of a chance to get to know some of the smaller streamers who produce good content, interact with the viewers, and maintain a positive atmosphere when playing. We had a chance to talk about a little bit of everything, from his love of wrestling, waking up early to get hours of grinding in of Final Fantasy before school, and being the primary caretaker for his severely ill mother. Without further adieu, let’s get started!
Matty P is a 26-year-old streamer out of southern England, first starting in 2013. Recently he passed 1,000 followers, and to celebrate he did a super long stream that ended up being 13 hours(!) and gave away tons of games on Steam. But for Matty, it isn’t the numbers that he’s celebrating, it’s the people. I asked him about what motivates him and he told me it was the people. “These people have only what I say I am, and they’ve given me so much. They’ve helped me create a community… It’s not me that’s created a community, it’s the people that have wanted this to become a community.”
Matty’s computer is 100 percent the result of community donations (before he was streaming on a six-year-old Samsung laptop) and he is extremely thankful. When asked about donations he said the reason why donations can be controversial is because larger channels won’t even acknowledge it unless it is a large donation, when they’re already making money from their sponsorship with Twitch and other companies. As for smaller channels, he said, “You can physically see how much the smallest donation has impacted that person’s day or that person’s life.” If you ever go to Matty’s channel (which you totally should) you’ll rarely, if ever hear him mention the donation button.
“Twitch.tv has restored my faith in humanity in a larger way than anything in real life that I’ve encountered in the past ten years. The kindness of strangers has absolutely astounded me.”
As for why he loves streaming, it was all about getting to be with others, while making sure to be with his mother. Before his mother fell ill, he had been streaming for about eight months, religiously. After her health took a turn for the worse however, he has returned to his mother’s house as her round-the-clock caregiver. Streaming giving him a chance to “do something I’m real passionate about and be five feet from her” is the perfect opportunity.
His passion for gaming goes back a long way as well. He would get up early to play Final Fantasy and would grind the same enemy for hours on end and level up. The camaraderie came from gaming where he and his friends could plop down on a couch and spend hours having the time of his life. As for Twitch, having so many people watching him and having that much company with him is the future. The world of MSN messenger internet has advanced a long way for Matty. The company that he has on Twitch and the chance to be someone different and escape the world’s problems makes taking care of his mother that much easier.
Although he’s on unemployment, taking care of his mother is a full time job. I asked him what all ails his mother and off the top of his head he listed COPD, osteoarthritis, a failing heart, Type 2 diabetes, desaturated oxygen levels requiring her to be on oxygen 24/7, and an inoperable hernia in her stomach. However, taking care of his mother is no problem as far as Matty is concerned; the government is another question, however. The toss pots in the government have repeatedly denied Matty’s request to receive caregiver benefits despite the fact he is the caregiver for his mother.
But that will not discourage Matty from enjoying his time with his partner Jade, his mum, and the people who follow him on Twitch. In the month of January, Matty logged about 219 hours of stream time, or about seven hours a day. Every. Day. But for Matty, helping his mother and streaming aren’t a job or a chore, they’re what gets him through the day. Getting to play games and chat with people. And it was the people who first told him to add a donation button. While he freely admits he would love to be a streamer for a living, donations are a bit of a touchy subject as mentioned earlier, but one watcher was very generous with his donation leaving Matty lost for words. http://www.twitch.tv/mattyp89/c/2993355
When it comes to a typical stream, it’s like hanging out with your best buddy for hours just shooting the breeze. He plays a fair amount of Rocket League and has rather high in the rankings. (Relative to most, at least.) Whenever he plays, though, you can see him constantly looking at the stream and talking with the stream regardless of if it’s one person or dozens of people. Some of the props that he keeps on hand at all times, outside of his glorious beard, include a fuzzy pimp hat and a John Cena plushie. There’s a constant stream of chat-requested music keeping the hype train rolling. A common sight in the chat are what Matty calls beard battles, where people can bet the beard points they’ve earned by watching the streams for a certain amount of time. These beard points are used to request songs, sound effects, and in the future to do polls to help Matty make decisions on what to do in game.
Matty is as genuine of a guy you’ll ever find searching the vast array of Twitch streamers. Here’s to the first thousand followers, and to many more thousand.
By Tanner Banks 2/17/2016, 3:00 p.m. Tweet to: @SirJamtrousers
In case of zombies, break terms of service. There’s been some buzz surrounding the clause in Amazon: Lumberyard’s Terms of Service stating you can ignore it “in the event of the occurrence (certified by the United States Centers for Disease Control or successor body) of a widespread viral infection transmitted via bites or contact with bodily fluids that causes human corpses to reanimate and seek to consume living human flesh, blood, brain or nerve tissue and is likely to result in the fall of organized civilization.”
ToS Easter Eggs aside, what does Lumberyard bring to the table that engine juggernauts Unreal 4 and Unity don’t? There’s been a steady stream of hype surrounding classic games like Spyro and Mario redone in the Unreal 4, and some of the biggest indie hits of the past years were built on the Unity engine. (Slender: The Eight Pages, Gang Beasts, and Slime Rancher, to name a few.) Amazon has been pushing to get into the game development world for years, between hosting servers for publishers like Ubisoft, starting Amazon Game Studios, and the recent Lumberyard release, Amazon is officially putting everyone else on notice that a new player has joined the battle.
Lumberyard is being touted as “a free AAA game engine deeply integrated with AWS (Amazon Web Service) and Twitch – with full source.” Keep in mind that Lumberyard isn’t a 100 percent new engine though; it’s a modified version of Crytek’s CryEngine that most likely came from Amazon’s $50-70 million licensing deal. This is hardly a knock on Lumberyard, as the CryEngine has made some of the prettiest games on the market. The announcement trailer showed us some of the potential for the young engine with bright pastel-heavy landscapes, dark and gritty monsters, and cartoony pirates. With a fully open source code available, the amount of plugins and modifications down the road will be able to really stretch Lumberyard to its limits.
But what Amazon is really going to be betting the farm on is the built-in Twitch support features. In 2014 Amazon swooped in underneath YouTube to buy Twitch for $970 million with the Amazon Web Service as an “attractive” aspect of the deal. (They should have asked that extra $30 million dammit!)
Current features include “Twitch ChatPlay” and “Twitch JoinIn.” ChatPlay will allow the viewers to type into the chat to affect the game such as “where spectators can vote on game outcomes, gift power-ups to their favorite players, or change the level based on the number of viewers watching the broadcaster.” This sounds like a chatbot disaster waiting to happen. While it sounds good in theory, Twitch’s comment section has been known to be rather vitriolic at times and this could bring the “chat salt” out of the comment section, and into the game.
JoinIn, on the other hand, sounds absolutely brilliant. Cutting out the middle man and allowing loyal followers to join their favorite streamers in one click in real time will allow the fan-to-streamer interactions to be that much closer. With the streamers in control of the invites and not needing to worry about a barrage of in-game requests, the biggest thing will be making sure the security for the connections is high enough to prevent hackers from compromising the privacy of streamers and watchers.
With Lumberyard still technically in beta, whether the engine becomes a fixture in AAA games like it is predicting remains to be seen. But make no mistake about it, Amazon is serious about being a game company. If you check out their jobs section there are 81 positions open in the studio as of 2/17/2016, so they’re looking to make a talented and large team. Having Twitch in their back pocket gives Amazon access to 100 million unique visitors per month, so advertising won’t be an issue. If Lumberyard can deliver on half of what it’s promising, Amazon might prove that money does grow on trees.
Is flyweight contender Henry Cejudo deserving of his title shot?
By: Derek Moody 2/18/2016, 4:30 a.m. Tweet to: @DerekMoody619
Henry Cejudo
Has #3 ranked flyweight title contender Henry “The Messenger” Cejudo (10-0, four knockouts) earned his upcoming title shot? Joseph Benavidez (24-4, six knockouts, nine submissions), the #1 ranked flyweight, certainly doesn’t think so. I feel he’s one fight away from the title shot, either needing to fight Benavidez or John Dodson (17-7, eight knockouts, two submissions), the #2 flyweight in the division, if he decides to stay and not move up to bantamweight and win in great fashion. The Messenger is currently riding a four-fight win streak, all by decision, with only one previous title contender, retired Chris Cariaso (17-8, three knockouts, two submissions), in that streak. The flyweight division has needed fresh talent for some time now; the addition of Olympic gold medalist and his elite wrestling helped bring some of that appeal back.
Does Benavidez have a point? Comparing the two, he just might. Benavidez is on a five-fight win streak taking down two former title challengers against Cejudo’s four-fight win streak defeating one former title challenger. The difference between giving Cejudo a shot versus giving Benavidez a shot is that Benavidez had two prior shots and came up short both times. The first being a split decision for the inaugural flyweight title and the second was a shocking first-round knockout. Most fight fans want to see a new title contender over seeing someone who lost in a very disappointing way receive a third shot leaving us to assume he’ll come up short again.
Is Cejudo ready for Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson? For Cejudo to win, he’ll need to slow down the champ which no one has been able to do in this weight class. This will be the fight where we’ll need to see his world class olympic wrestling abilities and be extra aggressive with it. The last time Demetrious Johnson (23-2, four knockouts, nine submissions) lost was to the current Bantamweight Champ Dominick Cruz (21-1, seven knockouts, one submission) and Cruz had to execute 10 takedowns to seal the deal. That was 11 fights ago, today’s Mighty Mouse has evolved so much in comparison to the 2011 Mighty Mouse but the same strategy applies: slow him down.
The Olympian has to key in on his strengths which is his wrestling and boxing, gain multiple takedowns and create the tone of the fight. Demetrious Johnson has two losses, both by decision where the opponents had 10 takedowns each. Demetrious Johnson was very undersized in the fight against Dominick Cruz, Cruz was able to really overpower and dominate with the angles and takedowns. Johnson slightly edged Cruz in total strikes, but judging a fight is based on who won each round as opposed to total strikes. The other loss came in similar fashion, taken down ten times by Brad “One Punch” Pickett (24-11, seven knockouts, 10 submissions) who Johnson out struck as well but was overwhelmed in the takedown department.
Henry Cejudo on Fox UFC 133.
Henry Cejudo has struggled making weight in the past, if he has a shot at dethroning the champ he needs to focus on George Lockhart’s system so the weight cut is smooth and he’s ready to compete. He’s very confident going into his first UFC title fight, but anyone signing a contract to step in the Octagon better be; believing he can beat the champ is one thing, finishing the champ is another. Nothing is impossible. Recent champions have been dethroned via knockout, technical knockout, or submission quite often as of late (Holm KO over Rousey, Rockhold TKO over Weidman, Werdum sub over Velazquez, Dillashaw TKO over Barao). I’m certain Cejudo will bring his A game, resort to his wrestling when the openings present themselves, but still come up short against Mighty Mouse. Experience is a big factor. I believe he should fight Joseph Benavidez before taking a crack at the champ seeing how Benavidez is the most technically sound fighter in the top 10.
Henry “The Messenger” Cejudo will have his opportunity to be the second fighter to grace the UFC Flyweight Title. Did he earn his title shot or was it a bit premature? Will he make weight and still have something left in this tank to enter the championship rounds? Can his wrestling be effective enough to slow down Mighty Mouse? Stay tuned for UFC 197 on April 23rd and all will be answered.
By Michael Lopez 2/16/2016, 3:00 p.m. Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag
Unnatural, weird, freakish, disturbing, there are very few word that I can use to accurately describe a band that is the literal definition of weird…
The easiest way to describe this concert experience. Think of the most extravagant birthday party you have ever been too. A party in which we celebrate life, death, and all the moments that bring us joy in our lives a good example of this being la Dio de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival in Mexico. In this festival, warm light colors illuminating the night sky like a Van Gogh painting. Balloons littering the floor as they drift through the air as a bird descending onto its nesting ground.
This next part is my personal experience with the band from when I first saw them.
When I first saw the Flaming Lips, it was at the 2013 Free Press Summer Fest festival at Eleanor Tensely Park in the city of Houston. At that point, I had only listened to their music I was so excited to see one of my most favorite bands. I could hardly wait. I was shaking and sweating with anticipation (that was mostly due to the fact that I had been walking through the festival all day but that was beside the point).
I remember standing at the Mars stage just waiting for them to start. That is when I saw the singer Wayne come out for a sound check. I always thought it was funny that he just casually walked across the stage like he gave no amount of fucks. People were yelling his name but he did not even notice them. As he tuned his guitar, the thought ran through my head: Man, I think this is going to be the most amazing thing I am ever going to see.
Then, out of the blue for the sound check, he started playing the instrument leg of one of my favorite songs “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots pt.1.” I remember hearing it and having an eargasm as I started to sing along to the song. The sound check only lasted for the intro, but by then I was fucking pumped for the concert.
When the concert started, all the lights went out the sounds of the amplifiers kicked in. The drummer started beating on the drum. Then, as if an explosion had gone off as they started to play their song “Race to the Prize,” the lights kicked in and confetti started flying everywhere. Everything started to go insane; there were dancers dressed as fairy tale characters, beams of light shot from the stage, and the giant Jumbo Tron behind the band cut on and started playing different clips.
This went on through the night they had play “Yoshimi” again for the crowd, I think one of the most amazing parts came when they started playing the “Yeah Yeah Yeah” song. (I’m pretty sure that you noticed by now all of the titles to their songs are very weird and crazy. You probably wouldn’t believe me if I said that their names just keep getting fucking weirder.) There’s a part in the song were Wayne starts singing the title of the song and when he does this the screen behind him is synced perfectly to his singing and started spelling out the word “yeah” in over fifty different languages. At this point, almost all of the giant balloons had popped but there was still one left it flew toward Wayne, he did a spin and hit the balloon with the end of his guitar shattering the balloon into a million pieces.
I was fucking speechless at this point.
That was when Wayne stopped playing and started blowing up a giant ball. It took about a good five minutes for the ball to be completely full of air. (I’m pretty sure by now, you already know what’s going to happen.) I was standing a good 20 feet away from the stage, but I was in the middle pretty much, when I saw Wayne get into the bubble and started riding it on top of the crowd. He rolled all the way back to where I was, it was pretty much a split second until he was right on top of my dad and me.
He looked me dead in the eyes for what seemed to be like an eternity and suddenly wave at me, calling me a fuckin’ sissy but I was literally in goddamn tears. He rolled on the crowd for a good five minutes before he started to roll back to the stage.
You would think that that would be the grand finale of any other concerts but that was just the first five songs, he announced to the crowd that he wasn’t going to play any more of the old hit, instead he wanted to focus on the cover album of Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” that he had just finished producing that same year.
Cutting forward a few songs, they begin to start playing the song “Money” right before they played the song they brought out five giant balloon, in honor of the song Wayne announced. He wanted to give back to the crowd, so Wayne and all of the artists who played at Free Press Summer Fest (including but not limited to Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, and Primus) had chipped in a grand total of about 10 grand.
And with the beat of the drums, the song began. That’s when Wayne started throwing the balls of money at the crowd. It was a spectacle watching the people in the crowd fight over the money, quite literally a swarm of people gunning for those balls like ants on a mound.
The entire rest of the show followed suit. It was a night to remember.
Words can only do so much for a band like the flaming lips, so I’ll leave you with their tour dates and a link to their website. This part is all up to you; I sincerely hope to see you at their next concerts!
Tour dates for 2016
April 9, 2016, San Antonio, Texas –Maverick music Festival
May 1, 2016, Orlando, Florida – Moonstone Music Festival
May 26, 2016, Morrison, Colorado – Red Rocks Amphitheater
May 29, 2016, Houston, Texas – White Oak Music Hall
In the forthcoming months, we have the X-Men battling Apocalypse, the one mutant who can control ALL OF THEM (where’s the challenge?). We have Batman and Superman going at it over a simple disagreement. Iron Man’s team versus Cap’s team… going at it over a simple disagreement. Will Smith and company fight it out to “Bohemian Rhapsody.” And Benedict Cumberbatch as a Doctor who’s Strange.
Now, while most of these films look grand in scale, emotional to the core in the dramatic department, and visually awesome…if you think about it, they’re all kind of doing the same thing. All with band together after being at each other’s throats to fight a threat bigger than any of them combined. We need a breather, some fresh air…some chimichangas!
The Tim Miller directed, Ryan Reynolds’s Deadpool opened nationwide during the Valentine’s Day holiday, and it couldn’t have been more impeccable. It really is the perfect date night movie. You know the story: a mercenary-for-hire falls in love with an escort who eventually becomes his fiancée but it’s derailed of a promised storybook ending when the cancer is eating up 3/4 of his body, so he decides the only option he has for his story tale ending is to undergo a radical experimental procedure that can cure him of his disease.
The lab is destroyed, but not after Wade Wilson AKA Deadpool is left to die. BUT NOT AFTER the mutation has been triggered, rendering him immortal. He goes on a rampage to find the man who left him to die in order to cure his disfigurement caused by the torture he endured. His fiancée is kidnapped and he recruits Colossus and Negasonic to the final epic battle. See? Perfect love story.
Now with the previews alone you can tell this isn’t your normal superhero movie. For those who know Deadpool, you can and will find nudity, strong sexual content, profanity, and strong violence. Let’s see the X-Men do that! Ryan Reynolds was born to play this role as he in his own way is a toned down version of Deadpool. After this movie though, we will now come to know him AS Deadpool.
Some may know that this is his 2nd time portraying everyone’s favorite merc with a mouth as he had a cameo in Wolverine Origins.
He has since then gone to say that he felt blackmailed into playing that role; either he played it or someone else would. That role, as well as the movie, was a disaster. His love for Deadpool is so deep, that he went forth and accepted, but years later with a strong word of mouth of a three-minute test reel on YouTube, gave the execs an immediate green light and even taking a pay cut to play the titular role, his dream finally came true.
And it was worth the wait! This movie, without giving any spoilers away, is exactly what we need in the superhero realm of genre flicks. It is able to not take itself seriously, poke fun at itself, and have loads of fun. You will laugh, you will shed a tear (either from the love story or the continuous laughter), and you will beg for more. There are plenty of Easter eggs, references, and connections that come bundled up with superhero movies, so keep your eyes peeled. Make sure to stay for an absolute great end credit scene as well.
Final word: go see Deadpool. Zoolander 2 can wait, Pride andPrejudice and Zombies shouldn’t have been made, How to be Single… (Come on?) You shan’t be disappointed!
By Kaiana Miller 2/15/2016, 4:30 a.m. Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag
If nothing else, Bellator’s Friday night event will be entertaining. In the main event, two legends of the sport will meet for a third time when Royce Gracie takes on Ken Shamrock. The co-main event features what is essentially a street fight with 6 oz gloves when Kevin Ferguson, affectionately known by most fight fans as “Kimbo Slice,” faces off against Dhafir “DaDa 5000” Harris. With that, lets get to picks for the main and co-main events.
Ken Shamrock vs Royce Gracie (betting odds even)
In what could potentially be the oldest main event in organized MMA history, 52-year-old Ken Shamrock faces off against 49 year-old Royce Gracie. These men have fought two times already; once way back at UFC 1 in 1993 where Gracie won by submission, and then again two years later in 1995 which ended in a draw. Both men prefer the fight to take place on the ground, where they can utilize elite grappling to submit opponents. 35 of the combined 42 wins from both fighters have come by way of submission.
Shamrock last fought back in June of 2015 after almost five years away from the sport, losing via TKO to Kevin Ferguson who fights in the co-main event on this card. He has won only two of his last 10 fights dating back to 2005. Early in his career, Shamrock was known for his speed and ability to drive through opponents to get the takedown. Now, at age 52, father time and multiple knee injuries have certainly caught up to him. The explosiveness that was once his trademark is no longer there. Never known for his striking abilities, Shamrock has been TKO/KO’d in each of his last nine losses. Size will most likely be Shamrock’s greatest advantage in this matchup, as he could weigh as much as 30 pounds more than his opponent on fight night.
Shamrock vs Gracie at The UFC #1, 1993.
Royce Gracie makes his return to fighting nearly 9 years after his last fight, a decision win against Kazushi Sakuraba. The 49-year-old is looking to potentially hammer the last nail in Shamrock’s coffin with a quick win on Friday. Gracie is, of course, from the legendary Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu family that first started the UFC. Gracie began his MMA career with one goal in mind, to prove that the smaller man can beat the bigger man with proper training, specifically in BJJ. Royce accomplished this goal when he won his first 11 fights, all by submission, before drawing with Shamrock. It remains to be seen whether or not Gracie has anything left in the tank, or if he can even take a punch anymore after nine years away from the sport.
Prediction: If he is smart, Shamrock will try and use his weight to keep the fight standing and attempt to test the chin of Gracie. On the contrary, Gracie will do whatever it takes to get this fight to the ground where he feels that he has an extreme advantage, despite all of Shamrock’s grappling accolades. Gracie will as deadly as ever once the fight gets to the ground. Shamrock will land a solid punch or two in the opening minute, but Gracie eventually gets this fight to the canvas and submits Shamrock in their trilogy fight. Royce Gracie by first-round submission is the pick.
Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson (-400 favorite) vs Dhafir “DaDa 5000” Harris (+300 underdog)
The co-main event for the night provides a stark contrast to the main event as two glorified brawlers will step into the decagon to settle a long feud over who the king of the Miami streets is. To this date, Ferguson is the only person known as a street fighter to successfully merge into big time MMA. He claims that Dhafir Harris has tried to copy his look to try and get what he has. Harris on the other hand, says that he went to school with Slice for their entire childhood and that Kimbo betrayed his city when he turned professional.This should be a quick fight, with both men throwing every punch with bad intentions.
Kimbo Slice is fresh off of a TKO win against Ken Shamrock
Kimbo Slice fought his first professional fight in 2007 under the EliteXC banner. After competing on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ reality series, he fought twice inside the UFC before being released by the organization. He dabbled in boxing for a few years before fighting in Bellator for the first time last year. Throughout his career, Ferguson has been known as a one dimensional power puncher. When his opponents have been able take him to the ground, Ferguson has provided little resistance. However, in his last fight against the aforementioned Shamrock, Ferguson was able to successfully defend against a tight arm triangle before standing back up and knocking Shamrock out. Still, his one glaring weakness is his grappling abilities (or lack thereof).
Dhafir “DaDa 5000” Harris sports his trademark hairstyle in Netflix’s “Dawg Fight”
Harris, for all intents and purposes, will be fighting in his first professional MMA fight this Friday. He is technically 2-0 as a pro, but in organizations with no merit. Harris style is essentially the same as Ferguson’s, swing punches until you eventually knock your opponent unconscious. “DaDa 5000” is more famous for his starring role in Netflix’s “Dog Fight” documentary, and a claim on the world’s worst hair style, than he is for his fighting ability.
Prediction: With DaDa 5000’s only advantage being size, nothing should be expected of him here. If anybody attempts to wrestle it will be Ferguson. That shouldn’t happen though, as bad blood fuels an all out brawl. After a couple minutes of carnage, Kimbo will hurt Harris and everything after that will be but a formality. Kevin Ferguson wins by TKO in the first round, and in doing so stakes his claim as the baddest man from Miami.
By William G Chandler Jr. 12/15/2016 10:00 p.m. Tweet to: W1totalk
Nintendo described its Wii U as “an entirely new system” that would “change the way you experience entertainment.” Lifetime sales numbers, since January 2016, indicated Nintendo’s system trailed the Sony Playstation 4 by 24 million units and Microsoft’s Xbox One by 7 million units. So how does Nintendo succeed with a new console, the NX?
First, how did Nintendo’s Wii U start to fail?
Chris Wood, at Gizmad.com, indicated that an issue resulted from the Nintendo Wii U’s launch before both Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s Playstation 4. This allowed Nintendo to prove the Wii U was a “worthy successor” to Nintendo’s Wii. Nintendo’s Wii U, rumored to be 50 percent more powerful than Sony’s Playstation 3, could have waited for Microsoft and Sony’s next-generation offerings. The console could have been on par with those systems.
I own Nintendo’s console. While Wood indicated the Wii U Gamepad as another cause, I cannot say the same. In terms of Nintendo’s push to present the Gamepad, consumer expectation hurt Nintendo’s true focus. He indicated Nintendo confused their message, as the Gamepad seemed like an “over-sized handheld system.” Nintendo, on their website, defined the controller as one that broke “traditional barriers” between “you, your games, and your TV.” Nintendo wanted Gamepad play to occur in certain areas of the home only.
One clear issue, indicated by Wood, by Brian Crecente, at Polygon.com, and Reggie Fils-Aime, of Nintendo, was the company’s lack of strong software titles at Wii U’s launch. Fils-Aime pointed to the Wii U’s predecessor, the Wii, and the titles Twilight Princess and Wii Sports as the start of that console’s success. I have to agree. Luke Karmali’s, of IGN.com, example of the game, Project Cars, announced for the Wii U at launch, and then canceled in 2015, pushed Nintendo hopefuls away.
This is their only major error. Wii U’s top-sellers Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Brothers, Splatoon, and Super Mario Maker launched later in Wii U’s life. Nintendo miscalculated successful software’s effect on a system launch. As recent as December, as examined by Apolon, of iDigitalTimes.com, Wii U proved to be a record-breaking success.
Nintendo’s NX must get ahead of the competition and this starts with a strong software lineup. Joel Hruska, of ExtremeTech.com, highlighted the NX as a handheld and home console hybrid. Its launch software must be a priority, with annual consistency. Lack of third-party support, as highlighted by Alex Newhouse, at Gamestop.com, cannot exist.
In a comparison of yearly software sales, as seen on IGN.com and ibtimes.co.uk, Wii U sales in 2013 were just 3.61 million total. As of November 2014, Wii U sales increased by “90 percent.” This established a “10 percent increase” over 2013 sales. Super Smash Brothers came to Nintendo Wii U in 2014. In January 2016, with a complete array of software, Wii U sales stand currently at 13 million units, as recorded by William D’Angelo, at VGChartz.com.
Nintendo’s NX, unlike the Wii U, must take advantage of a head start, with their software, to succeed.
Nintendo needs to go back to what they know simple, but high quality with quantity.
This 2015 documentary movie challenges the need for SWAT teams in the United States. Sometimes uncomfortable to watch, Peace Officer (2015) follows former Utah SWAT commander “Dub” Lawrence as he struggles to understand the death of his son-in-law at the hands of the very SWAT team he created. From film directors Scott Christopherson and Brad Barber, it was initially released in March of 2015.
Receiving high scores and praise across the board, the story arc in the documentary film isn’t as strong as it could be. It became obvious very early on in the movie that there was an agenda, and once the viewer knew what that was, there wasn’t much motivation to watch the later 60 minutes of the film. Agree or disagree with the former sheriff and all-around likable guy “Dub,” I felt the film had made its point in the first 25 minutes and spent the next hour working to support it.
However, there was an interesting turn hinted at towards the midsection of the movie when Dub’s investigations into violent SWAT raids across the country took him to Ogden, Oregon. Working relentlessly to recreate the scene of drug search warrant serving gone wrong, he makes an allegation. He suggests that one of two things could have happened at the bloody scene of gun battle. At this shootout several police officers and one suspect were seriously wounded, and one officer was killed. He states that either the CSI were incompetent during their forensic investigation or there was a police cover up of a friendly fire incident.
I felt that the film makers were going somewhere with this. Somewhere dark and sinister. Like an ace up their sleeves. They were building to a mind-blowing climax at the end of the film, where they would have revealed that cops in question had in fact murdered one of their own. A snitch, or a rat, perhaps. But this did not happen, although, during the film’s epilogue, the door is left open to several of the other cases that were featured in the film.
Peace Officer is a topical film. It takes a high road when looking at the subject of police brutality, and has virtually no mention of race or racial tensions is in the film. All the cases in the film feature white on white violence. There are brief nods to Ferguson, Mo, and historical raids on the Black Panthers. There is nothing too scary to talk about, and that is what Dub is doing. Bringing his voice to Utah and the United States about the opinions of militarized police forces. Peace Officer is a documentary film that is provocative and could be a catalyst to “open the doors” to discussion, as Dub Lawrence says.
That is the only way I can really describe The Walking Dead’s mid-season premier called “No Way Out.” This was, in my opinion, not only the best episode this season, but the best episode in the entire series. It was jaw-dropping action and emotion from the start of the episode. Loose ends were tied up, a lot of blood was spilled and a lot of fire was ignited.
During several parts of this episode, I know millions of people around the world could only yell multiple vulgar words at their television. There was a small part where I worried it would slow down again, but I was very wrong. Now, do I wish I could do a review of this episode with no spoilers? Yes, but with so much that happened and so many plot points being brought into focus, it seems almost impossible. So, as much as this is a review of the episode I would also like to consider it a first-ever Slickster Reacts! So let’s get into it, and be warned again, SPOILERS AHEAD!
We start the episode immediately where the season finale left off, with Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham being confronted by Neegan’s gang. After a decent amount of threats going by, the gang says that they will take the group back to where they “hang their hats.” After Abraham asks a mildly stupid question, which we all want to know, the leader of the gang is about the shoot Sasha and Abraham, after a little tease of course, prompting Daryl to blow them all the hell with a rocket launcher acquired from the back. The first fire-filled moment by Daryl. It was by far a huge surprise nobody saw coming, and it really seemed to set a course for a pissed-off Daryl in the future.
Another thing that shocked me was what happened with Father Gabrielle. Now, I won’t lie, I fucking hate the Father with everything and would find him dead to be great, but it seems like some trust or disparity is getting thrown to him, as he is entrusted with taking Judith through the horde to the church to keep her safe.
Now, one of things that kind of got to me was an ignored issue that had to be noticed by many. In the finale, we see the child Sam and some members of the group walking through the horde and we see and hear Sam talking loudly, asking for his mom. A scene which was left teased that we expected to see wrapped up, but sadly that moment was never revisited or explained.
However, this did not matter when one of the most shocking and disturbing scenes happened in this moment. Remember what Carol told Sam in the first part of the season? In case you didn’t, it replays through Sam’s head as he really focuses on the walkers around him, which causes him to go into a panic. Sam breaks into a hysterical moment which causes his end. Now here comes the domino effect. After Sam’s death, his mother, Jessie, breaks down which causes her demise and end of the show.
Carl with his awesome missing eye.
Now here is the HFS moment. Remember that little shit who kept trying to kill Carl? Well the writers did an awesome job at making us believe he was changing, and he and Carl were letting bygones be bygones. Well, a big slap in the face to the audience was unleashed when we watch that same little shit pull a gun on Rick, causing Michonne to put a blade through his back. When this happens, an accidental shot goes off. Well let’s just say Carl should be sporting a new piece of headwear other than that ridiculous hat. Check the picture and you’ll get the idea of what happened.
Now for the thing we all sort of hate to hear but it has to be said. He was almost right about some stuff. The whole time, he was saying bad people can change, we all thought it was a line of crap but the wolf leader actually made him right. Yeah the wolf was still kind of a dick, given he kidnapped Denise and forced her to run through the horde. But there was a moment where she was in danger and he was not, and as we all thought he would run and save himself, but he showed some compassion and turned back for her causing himself to get bitten. We were all happy to see him care, but I was a bit happier to watch Carol unload a clip full of bullets into his torso.
Enid also flipped her script a bit, too. The little girl who wanted to run from it all actually stepped up to plate. As she and Glenn make it to a nearby church, Glenn tells her to stay there and stay safe because he knew she didn’t want to go back and help. Glenn does give her a small morality pep talk, though, making her realize what she is worth and has to do. She fights Glenn verbally to go back with him and help. I believe we all had a little “good for you” feel for her.
Throughout most of the episode we see Morgan, Carol, and Eugene’s story pretty uneventful as their parts are mostly contained of sitting in a house and talking.
Rick makes it to the infirmary with Carl in hand and Denise ready and waiting and the horde moving in fast. Our hearts started to sink at this point, as nobody knew if Carl was alive, and we see Rick’s face getting that mentally unstable look again. Time for fatherhood to prove itself.
Rick walks out into the approaching horde sporting a hatchet in hand and going absolutely bat shit crazy on these walkers. As he is hacking and slashing away other see him and decide to join the resistance. Eventually the whole group joins in on the action and it is a true blood spurting, brain smashing orgasm of television.
Time for another kick in the nuts from the writers, Glenn makes it back! The walkers are bombarding the tower stand and rocking it back and forth, as we see a distraught Maggie standing on top. Glenn starts firing wildly to draw all the attention toward him and Enid climbs the tower to get Maggie. Glenn slowly starts getting backed into a wall and over run by walkers, and for about 3 seconds I truly thought, “This is how he dies?!” But to the rescue come Sasha and Abraham, as they make it back and unleash hell into Glenn’s mini horde, saving his life. But seriously, how did not a single bullet hit Glenn?
Do you love fire? Daryl does. It is here that he concocts a plan to dump gas from his tanker truck into the lake and light the whole thing ablaze. The fire draws most of the horde into the lake, lighting them on fire and, due the water, the walkers can’t escape. The group takes out the remaining walkers. As morning comes, dead walker bodies fill the streets.
Big spoiler now, so if you do not want to know then do not read ahead. What happened to Carl?
Well, Carl is lying in bed, bandaged up with Rick by his side. Rick is giving a semi-long speech about how they are strong and can overcome and start the new world, but he needs Carl to be alive to see it and live it. With the last shot of the episode we see Carl’s hand close and grab Rick’s.
Through all the heart-pounding action, I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us next week on The Walking Dead.
So, there it is. Our summary/review. For more on The Walking Dead and upcoming episode reviews keep coming back to Slickster.com and check us out on Twitter @Slickster_Mag
By Josh Riley 2/14/2016, 1:00 p.m. Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag
For any fans of the previous NHL games before the pro stick control scheme was introduced, when it was simple button commands, the new control scheme may have been harder to play with and difficult to adjust to. For anybody who is entirely new to the NHL games starting with NHL 16, it may have been fairly easy to get used to. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, allow me to break it down for you. The previous control scheme for the NHL series of games was rather simple; if you were playing on the Play Station 2, it would go something like this: X button to pass, Square to shoot, Circle to body check, Triangle to deke, R1 to dump pass, left joystick to move the character. Now the way it works with the pro stick scheme gets a bit confusing at times, but bear with me here.
The layout is something like this, assuming you are playing it on the Play Station 4: If you do not have possession of the puck, then flicking the right stick up while skating into a member of the opposing team will do a body check, if you do have the puck, it will shoot. To pass the puck to a team member, you would hit the R1 button, whereas hitting R1 without the puck will do a poke check. The poke check is a rather useful move when trying to steal the puck from the opposing team.
You are not limited to Pro Stick controls. You can go into the settings and change to the Classic Control scheme using the buttons. Either way you play, it’s a fun game for hockey fans and non-hockey fans alike. Whether you play by the rules, or without them, all that matters is enjoying the game. That, and knowing how to play it!
With the passing of Kevin “The Monster” Randleman (August 10, 1971 – February 11, 2016), I’ve decided to tell a story that I’ve waited a long time to tell. In the post-Ohio State University doldrums of the early 2000s, I worked at a bastardized print shop. Imagine if Kinkos, an underground casino, and your local neighborhood crack dealer had a baby. That closely describes the print shop I was working at. I know this has nothing to do with Kevin Randleman but it is important to the story. All told, it wasn’t a bad job and I enjoyed it. The owners’ fuckup of a son always left a lot of beer in the fridge. I worked the early morning shift and mostly got drunk everyday.
As we all know, Kevin Randleman was mentored by fellow Ohio State University alumni Mark Coleman. The print shop was not far from the Team Hammer House Gym in Upper Arlington, Ohio. While I was working one nondescript day unsupervised, in walked two gentlemen. It was none other then a blond haired Kevin Randleman and heavyweight champion Mark Coleman. They had come into the shop to print off visa documents. They were preparing to travel to Japan and fight in the next Pride competition. This had to have been around early 2005.
At this point in my life, I had never been has terrified of another human being as when I saw Mark Coleman. The only thing I could compare this to was when I went face to face with a shark on a diving trip. Or when I startled a brown bear on the backside of the Pacific Crest Trail while he was eating breakfast. There is a very animalistic instinct inherent in all of us. We know when we are facing another animal that could devour us. Our survival instinct tells us: 1. Do not mess with this individual, and 2. do not mess with this individual.
Now, this was well beyond human cockfighting days of the early UFC cage matches, there was no question that these two men were professional combatants. Scars of battle adorned these fighters. Their ears were mangled. Their jawlines looked like they could stop a sledgehammer. Broken noses. Extremely lean and enormous upper body strength. Perhaps what was the most frightening was the look in their eyes. Well, not threatening, there was a quiet confidence that came with being battle tested.
In short, I knew instantly that either of these men could kill me with their bare hands if they wanted to. I am not kidding. Since then I have relocated to San Diego, California, and it is not unusual to see a Navy SEAL around. For our female readers, there is a particular bar on Coronado Island that many women frequent trying to pick up Navy SEALs. I will leave it up to you to figure out which one that is. But back to the story.
Randleman and Coleman came up to the counter. Coleman did not speak. Randleman told me that my coworker, a cocaine addict who frequented strip clubs, was going to help them print the documents. I admit, I knew of Mark Coleman from his early UFC fights with Dan Severn, but I did not know who Kevin was at that time. The coworker he mentioned, of course, was not there at the time. I was very intimidated by these two fighters, and on this particular day I was quite busy in the print shop. So, I invited them behind the counter and gave them access to a computer. They were able to work on obtaining their documents on their own. Like I would tell them no.
The coworker is integral to this story. It was no secret he did a lot of cocaine. Also, the print shop handled all of the flyers for several of the local strip clubs. I know this coworker sold weed out the back door, and it is not difficult to think he likely sold cocaine on the side, too. He had surely used a lot of cocaine. While Randleman and Coleman set to the task of printing their documents, I went back to work. Remember, this was the early 2000s and high speed internet was not what it is today. It took time to download simple images and/or documents.
Soon, Captain Cokehead had arrived in a furious state. No doubt, he had just done a line or two. He immediately went to help Randleman and Coleman finish up their documents and then switched to some other tasks that was overdue. Randleman and Coleman finished up what they needed to do and went up to the register. They waited patiently to pay the bill, but I did not know what to charge them. I looked over my shoulder at Captain Cokehead and asked what was the amount due. He said not to worry about it and somehow I knew that this was going to be a freebie. However, this is where the story takes a more sinister turn.
If Captain Cokehead dealt drugs and had a cocaine problem, I wondered if maybe he owed someone money. Maybe he had gambling debts. I don’t remember the next exact phrase, but I remember it really stuck in my mind. Basically, Coleman said that the coworker owed someone money. Or something to that effect. Maybe it was as simple as you need to call such and such person. Or you need to make a payment. I honestly can’t remember but my vivid memory was that these two men were some type of enforcers. Not your friendly type of enforcer. I mean the guys who will tie you to a bumper and drag you out into the Las Vegas desert.
What would it be to him to break this lackey’s nose for not paying the strip club? Now that I have painted an American hero like a cheap thug, let me backtrack and say, I do not believe that either Coleman or Randleman would physically abuse someone like this. However, maybe they didn’t have to. Maybe their sheer intimidation was enough to get people to pay. Mark Coleman, please don’t kick my ass.
I soon left that job for another gig. I never saw Randleman or Coleman or Captain Cokehead again. With the tragic passing of a much too young Kevin Randleman, I was reminded of this day. He was a great fighter and his highlight reels are impeccable. He will be missed by his family, fans, and all those competitors who met his fury in the Octagon. Was he a moonlight mafia enforcer? Who knows, but on the day I met Kevin Randleman, I know he left a powerful impression on me.
There are vastly different fighters I use. Craig Marduk, with his profile at Tekkenpedia, is not my usual battler. I felt it necessary to learn his skills and make up for never using Zangief in the Street Fighter series. I have never been a fan of the large grappler. However, he is a monster I have come to use. He has close techniques and counters that make up for certain fighters’ speeds, and even charge moves that overtake any special techniques.
In what could potentially be the oldest main event in organized MMA history, 52-year-old Ken Shamrock faces off against 49 year-old Royce Gracie. These men have fought two times already; once way back at UFC 1 in 1993 where Gracie won by submission, and then again two years later in 1995 which ended in a draw. Both men prefer the fight to take place on the ground, where they can utilize elite grappling to submit opponents. 35 of the combined 42 wins from both fighters have come by way of submission.
As we all know, Kevin Randleman was mentored by fellow Ohio State University alumni Mark Coleman. The print shop was not far from the