LoEB Post - Alestorm Ahoy!

As I left the house this morning, I nearly tripped over a glass bottle on my front porch. I didn't give it much thought and was about to toss it in the recycle bin when I noticed it had a piece of paper in it.

I fished out the paper and unrolled it to reveal its single word message:

Pirates

After reading Shezcrafti's awesome entry in this week's League of Extraordinary Bloggers assignment, it gave me the idea for my own post. I wasn't quite sure where I'd be going with this post until then. Ice Pirates was all I had. Oh no! Space herpes!! As much fun(?) as it would be to do a post on this oddball flick, I passed on it for now.

Pull up a barrel and tap a keg of rum as I introduce you to Alestorm, a Scottish "pirate metal" band. They originally formed under the name Battleheart in 2006. In 2008 they changed their name to better fit their pirate influence. While their songs have an undeniably metal tempo, there's also a strong sea chanty element to them. "Wenches and Mead" here is one of my favorite tracks, which perfectly summarizes the mythical pirate life style.

You can find out more and download a couple of free mp3s on their website.

Hold on mateys, see what other League scallywags are talking about
First time Leaguer Combat Workshop turns the Joker into a pirate
Rediscover the 80s offers the 8 Best Animated Pirate Villains from the last 80s/early 90s
Sneak a look at a cool Pirate collectible minis game at Achievements in Gaming

    

Tron Goes Off the Grid?

 Midnight last night began the airing of the 19th, and likely final, episode of Tron: Uprising on Disney XD. As someone that's been a Tron fan since the original movie, the whole process of how the show has been handled has left me wondering how Disney can not stand behind one of its original properties. Granted Disney has never really been in the sci-fi biz (Lucasfilm acquisition aside) but they know there are fans out there otherwise we'd never have gotten a new movie so long after the original.

Until recent years, genre TV was something that didn't get much respect. When you add the fact that it's an animated series not aimed directly at kids and you'd be lucky to finish your first season. This show is definitely not a cash grab by Disney to crank out more Tron merchandise. I'm still finding the odd Legacy toy in some stores, two and a half years later.

I've been hooked on the show since day one. It's downright gorgeous in HD. They have a stellar cast of vocal talent including Bruce Boxlitner, Elijah Wood, Paul Reubens and Lance Henricksen. Heck, Mandy Moore is even really good in it. The soundtrack by Joseph Trapanese, who collaborated with Daft Punk on the Tron: Legacy soundtrack, is the next best thing to actually having Daft Punk. For this fan, the show was hitting all the right marks.

Uprising is an odd beast. Even though younger kids can watch it for the chases, fights, unique style and pretty colors, the story isn't aimed at their level. It never tries to be anything other than a mature animated series with interesting characters. Uprising has stayed consistent in tone following of a virus-infected Tron training his apprentice, Beck, to take down CLU.

Beck (posing as Tron) and Tron

No matter who they intended as the audience, moving it to a Sunday night midnight time slot is probably the quickest way to lose viewers and keep anyone from stumbling on it. I know the last movie got a lot of flack but I really enjoyed it. My biggest problem with it was how Tron himself was reduced to a very minor character that had a redemption arc that took all of five seconds. I know the films are about the Flynn Legacy but I feel Tron is every bit as important to the story since he sort of started this whole thing.

Uprising started to delve into Tron's character here and there and I was really hoping we'd get some of the missing pieces as to how he became Rinzler. Last night's episode had plenty of great action to it and seemed to have gotten Tron a cure for his virus. Which more than ever makes me want to know what happened to him before Legacy. The season (series?) ended on an amazing cliff hanger that I don't think we'll ever get to see play out.

 I know there's at least one Disney fan/full time artist out there that would love to continue this as a comic book and that would be fine with me!

Wallpaper images from this Tron: Uprising Flickr gallery.

Mailbox Invaders - LEGO & Living Dead

Here's some recent additions to my growing ranks of LEGO minifigs.

Thanks to a trade from all around cool guy William B West, I have the Series 9 Alien Avenger. But I like to call him Space Orc. He's a good counterpart to the Series 7 Galaxy Patrol (Space Marine). I have to wonder if they're both inspired by Warhammer 40k.

 

 It's almost too bad he's got the big armor chest piece. They put some nice detail into his torso. If you look at the larger version, you can see in the upper left of his chest it looks like a name written on it. My best guess is SHANI? Or maybe it's just some random characters.

These next two I got in trades from Miniature Trading which is an awesome site that matches you up with people around the world to swap! They also handle Playmobil and assorted card/mini games.

I'm glad this one is named Rocker Girl, because I don't know otherwise if I'd know she was a girl. Yes, she has lipstick and pink hair but she's also from the glam rock era so it could be a guy. I like how the lightning bolt carries across her face, top and guitar. The only problem with her is her long hair prevents you from turning her head side to side much.

As I mentioned previously, I set my sights on the Ocean King from Series 7 for his tail. Series 10 is supposed to have a Medusa figure but she'll probably have human legs. I want his tail to make an old school Clash of the Titans Medusa. Ok, so it's not exactly a snake tail...close enough! And I'll have to get her a bow of course!

This last one was a bargain score. I found it in Barnes & Noble in the 75% clearance bin. They still had a bit of Halloween stuff in there, but nothing very exciting. It was marked down because the box was open but the bag was still sealed so it was a mystery what I was getting.

This is Walpurigs from the Living Dead Dolls Mystery Box Series 2. She's about 2" tall and came with a cool goblin/bogey standup. She is the 2nd rarest version of this figure in the set with an 8% chance of scoring her in a box. Walpurgis Night is a European spring festival held exactly 6 months from Halloween.