It's been another week and I've been practicing my new found 1v1 play mechanics as often as my free time allows. Consciously, and most amazingly, I've taken to the new control groups like a duck to water and I'm absolutely loving it. Also, I've climbed into the top 1000 for the first time. I've been in and out of lvl 9 many times, but to break the top 1000 is quite an achievement. Practice, practice, practice!

Now for the bad news.

I've hit another new Wehr wall. Well, it's the same wall, but this time instead of clay, it's stone. With some granite thrown in for good measure. Absolutely hell to assail these walls. I'm referring to the Wehr medic bunker (with a HMG inside) with volks/mortar/grenadier support.

Any US player would have faced this incredibly campy style of game play. I say campy as it's a reference to everybody's favourite Pommy faction. Every game vs Wehr I meet mostly one trick ponies whose sole aim is to slowly earn enough CP points for his King Tiger (if Terror), Tiger (if Blitz) or late game arty and 88mm (if Defensive).

The sit-and-wait attitude is doubly frustrating and annoying if the Wehr player had gone with the Defensive doctrine. This gives the bunker an extra 300HP (excessive, if I might add, 150hp is more balanced), which virtually means Wehr has impenetrable forward HQ. With reinforcement and longer range of sight, Wehr has an extremely powerful weapon for only 150MP + 50muni.

Using the same flanking tactics as I've learnt and described in my previous post, I find the success rate to be around 70%. I say 70% as smart Wehr players plant a HMG further behind the medic bunker to further dissaude an American assault. And needing only four dead soldiers to form a new Grenadier squad, I found the war of attrition to be an extremely unwise move for US players.

Also, there're times when I found myself staring at a plain-old bunker with no means of killing it. Having invested all my MP on rifles + nades/bars, I have yet to tech to MP/TD. My flamer engineer squad was killed in the assault, and all I could do was leave the bunker and upcap important points.

Of coz, that's an ideal scenario where zombie Grenadier squads have not been formed. Several times now, my near dead riflesquads successfully defeated the bunkered-down HMG and her support, only for the new Grenadier squad to form. I was forced to retreat. Back to square one.

So you might ask now. What are some of the easier methods to engage/take on this scenario? Good thing at Rifles Ready!, this noob author takes some risks and has come out with some solutions. Surprisingly, apart from the really good players, who wouldn't give me the chance to out-maneuver them, my solutions have been incredibly successful. Bear in mind that while executing my solutions, the same rule of thumb applies for USA: flanking, aggression, keep capping and NEVER group your units in a bunch.

Method 1 - RHS Infantry
This is an unusual path for me. As a 2v2 player, I always go LHS first for Rangers with SMG upgrade to support my ally. In 1v1 vs the Wehr bunker I found it necessary to save the SMG upgrade and wait for my off-map arty to bring hell to the medic bunker. It almost never fails. By flanking, I engage the HMG to fire and suppress my unit/s on one side, while my M8/Ranger squad fires up and rushes to the bunker from the other side. I always mange to fire off a few zook (if Ranger) rounds at the bunker, before dropping the off-map arty on it. Bear in mind that the Ranger/M8 squad has to be supported as well as the Wehr player will defend both flanks. I find a flamer Engineer squad with an extra rifle squad to back the M8/Ranger squad extremely useful. Keep the Wehr units occupied with the support units, and let the M8/Ranger do the dirty work. Oh, and don't forget to retreat when the off-map arty drops!

Method 2 - Back tech to WSC
I have mentioned how I was slaughtered senseless when I backteched to WSC in my previous post. With less fuel, I delay my M8 or TD units. In the last few days I've experimented with a fast WSC after 3 riflesquads. Getting a sniper to kill only the bunkered-down HMG, it eliminates the main threat that the medic bunker poses. Although it's tempting to snipe the support units, I find it's a temporary reprieve as I'm just feeding the zombie grenadier factory. I push up and execute the normal flank method (you'll never know if there's another HMG squad lurking behind). This method is a little less viable against better players, as they just pull the HMG squad back a little, inviting countersnipes/mortar rounds. Remember not to use mortar squads as it, too feeds the zombie grenadier factory.

Method 3 - 105mm Howitzer
Assuming you went Method 1 and focused entirely on the RHS Infantry doctrine, build a 105mm Howi and go crazy with it. The medic bunker - along with every unit protecting it - would have retreated to the HQ. Mop up with units to destroy the remnants of the bunker. Rub salt into the Wehr's wound and rush your M8/fired-up Ranger into the Wehr base (assuming most of the units have retreated), and drop an off-map arty on the HQ area. You're guaranteed a few kills.

Of course, you can always adopt the old faithful method of flank, grenade and out-maneuver with flamer engineer support to take out the medic bunker. But sometimes talking is easier than playing, which is why I theorize less and play more (haha).

On one of my favorites sites, Woot.com, they feature a 4 o'clock flash section.  At 4 pm they highlight a new flash game.  The neat thing about this game, Nine Billion Miles From Earth! is that it's done in stop motion animation, just like the classic si-fi movies were done.  To play it all you need is a flash player and the link, which is here.  It takes a few minutes to load and you need to have the sound on for the full effect. 

My favorite quote is from level six.  'Jiminy Christmas, things are getting hot out here!'.  Please persevere until you reach that level.  Pay close attention to the speak at the end.  Classic eye shot.

And so it goes.

f

In all of the Batman hype, I decided to pick up the original movie from the 60's. I remember the T.V series so well from when it ran in syndication. It was one of my favorite program's after school in the late 80's. I remember watching the movie over a dozen times when I was a kid and I was really excited to visit it again. The excitement didn't last very long because the movie was pretty bad, but the movie is not the reason I'm recommending this title.

This Blu-Ray is jam packed with special features. There is two commentary tracks, four featurettes, an interactive Batmobile tour, trailers, trivia, everything your little bat heart desires. Let's talk about the characters. I'm gonna type a character's name and then list who I think played it the best. Batman: Michael Keaton. Bruce Wayne: Adam West. Robin: Burt Ward. Joker: Jack Nicholson. Penguin: Burgess Meredith. Catwoman: Michelle Phifer. Riddler: Frank Gorshin. I purposly saved the best for last, Frank Gorshin saved this movie for me. His laugh and his energy on screen was truly brilliant. If I'm gonna rate the movie on it's own, I'll give it a 5 out of 10, Frank gorshin and some campy dialouge and action makes this movie kinda watchable. If I factor in all the extras that are included, I have to bump it up to an 8 out of 10. I love good extras, it can turn a bad movie into a good one.

hot or not, this trend doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

cap to the hill digs em, however we feel it necessary to dive into wtf they're all about.

urban dictionary says they're initially grown as a joke to impress one's buddies with the level of commitment necessary to maintain it.

meanwhile the folks over at online etymology dictionary (and the stranger) say that dutch slang has a useful noun, de befborstel, to refer to the mustache specifically as a tool for stimulating the clitoris; probably from beffen "to stimulate the clitoris with the tongue."

hmm...k.

the chicagoist lists the pros and cons of a stache.

why or why not the joes around the hill adorn their facial tufts, it's yet another thing you can use to subtly describe them to your pals without doing the awkward point. ex: flannel guy with the tom selleck is totally adorable.

i grew that mustache because it was easier than shaving, because it was softer than stubble, because it was fun to pet, because in very cold weather it was capable of supporting amusing icicles, because it created vertical lines that made my face look longer and thinner, because it made me look tough and dashing, and to a certain extent because it was silly. - aaron weber, secretly ironic

later aaron says:

but i did not grow it for irony. in fact, there is no such thing as an ironic mustache. perhaps when people say “ironic mustache” they mean “kitschy” or “campy” mustache; wikipedia points out that “‘irony’ as popularly used during the 1990s referred to an aesthetic equated with a fondness for kitsch.” but that’s a misuse of the term “irony.” it might be a sarcastic or camp mustache, grown to mock all mustaches and people who wear them, but it’s not ironic.

our buddy aaron brings up a valid point...are ironic staches mislabled? are they really just campy?

With cycling catching on all over the country there really are no publications that specialize in fixed gear riding. I personally ride a free wheel (I like to cruise) but there are hundreds of fixed gear riders in Columbus alone. Fixed magazine has been shown a great amount of support from riders all over the country and they have released their 1st issue free of charge in PDF format.

Click here to view the first issue of FIXED magazine

Thanks to Hypebeast for the heads up.

LISTEN TO HIM. NOW.

I just wanted to post this for those of you who haven't been graced with this awesomeness. He's really cute, isn't he? :D

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directed by John Waters

Sebagai karya dari salah satu sutradara favorit saya,John Waters, sangat sulit bagi saya untuk dapat menilai film ini secara obyektif. Karena sejauh ini, tidak ada filmnya yang tidak pantas ditonton bagi saya. Semua film memiliki ciri khas dankeunikan tersendiri yang membuat saya hanya perlu duduk santai sambil minum kopi dan menikmati akting serta plot absurd miliknya tanpa harus memutar otak. Serial Mom sendiri merupakan salah satu film di era "aman"nya John Waters. Dibandingkan dengan film - filmnya terdahulu, Serial Mom memang jauh lebih sopan dan komersil. Namun bukan berarti, film ini biasa saja. Seperti biasa, John Waters tetap menghadirkan adegan - adegan satir dan komikal yang absurd dan nyeleneh.

Sama seperti film - filmnya yang lain, Serial Mom mengambil latar belakang di Baltimore, kota tempat tinggal John Waters. Adegan dibuka dengan text yang menyatakan bahwa cerita dalam film ini berdasarkan kisah nyata. Tentu saja, ini hanya akal-akalan saja. Setelah itu, kita dihadirkan pada acara makan pagi keluarga Sutphin. Keluarga Sutphin sendiri terdiri dari Eugene Sutphin(seorang dokter gigi),Beverly Sutphin (tokoh utama dalam film ini, seorang ibu yang mudah terganggu dengan hal - hal yang tidak sesuai dengan keinginannya), Chip Sutphin ( anak muda yang gemar menonton film horror) dan Misty Sutphin (perempuan yang mudah jatuh cinta dengan semua pria yang ditemuinya). Adegan pembuka ini juga menjadi awal perkenalan kita dengan sang karakter utama, Beverly. Beverly digambarkan sebagai ibu - ibu gosip biasa dengan sikap kolot yang "agak diluar batas". Ia mudah sekali terganggu dengan hal - hal yang tidak sesuai dengan aturannya. Sikapnya ini mulai diluar batas ketika ia dengan mudah menghabiskan nyawa mereka yang dianggapnya mengganggu.

Sebagai salah satu film mainstreamnya, John Waters sama sekali tidak kekurangan amunisi untuk bisa membuat Serial Mom menjadi film dengan ciri khasnya.Serial Mom tetap menghadirkan adegan - adegan humor yang campy serta kritik sosial yang cukup dalam dan menarik. Sama seperti film milik Francois Ozon, Sitcom, disini John Waters mengangkat tema tentang sebuah kehidupan yang kelam dibalik "kulit"nya yang terlihat baik. Beverly Sutphin mungkin terlihat sebagai ibu yang kolot dan stereotype namun
dibalik itu ia juga menyimpan rahasia yang kelam, ia suka membaca buku - buku tentang pembunuhan dan diam - diam dia menyimpan kekaguman dengan para serial killer.
BUkan hanya Beverly yang menyimpan rahasia seperti itu. Di balik senyum para ibu - ibu rumah tangga itu, mereka masing - masing memiliki rahasia kelam tersendiri. Salah satu adegan favorit saya adalah ketika seorang ibu diam - diam memiliki kegemaran menonton film Annie sambil dijilat kakinya oleh anjingnya.
Tema yang ditawarkan John Waters sendiri lebih dari itu,dengan beragam adegan seperti adegan makan yang "berisik", adegan seorang wanita kulit hitam yang menangis ketika diberitahu bahwa anaknya bukan tipe anak yang pantas kuliah dan sebagainya, John Waters ingin menampilkan sebuah kehidupan masyarakat yang biasa - biasa saja dari luarnya, namun memiliki kompleksitas yang sangat besar. Semua tema ini disampaikan dengan humor - humor tipikal ala John Waters yang absurd dan kasar.

Film dengan tema serupa mungkin sudah banyak dibuat, namun sentuhan John Waters yang unik membuat film ini menghadirkan sesuatu yang segar dan menarik. Dibandingkan dengan film - filmnya di era "aman" ini, saya rasa Serial Mom merupakan salah satu film terbaiknya. Sama seperti film- filmnya yang lain, setiap adegan disini memiliki momen - momen yang memorial dan unik yang membuat film ini menjadi memorable. Salut untuk John Waters!

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1. My cackling must cease. Chris Matthews should consider this as well.
2. Their needs to be a standard set on the carrier frequency of the caller.
3. Promotion/Agenda for the show.

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Are you the news?

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I had only remembered a few things about the show. Like Twiki's "bidibidibidi"

noise (which drove everyone crazy within 15 minutes), and the fuel lines for the space ships, which are those lighted cables they use for parties now. And the tight jump suit that Erin Grey wore (some things stick with you through adolescence).

Everything else I had really forgotten. I had forgotten that the fighters looked pretty cool. I had also forgotten how much skin they showed. I had really forgotten Gil Gerard's awesome fighting stance. It'll probably take another 29 years to forget it.

I don't think I realized, when I was 11, how much they took from "Battlestar Galactica" in terms of props and stock footage.

I look forward to watching the rest of the episodes. I don't think the rest of the family understands that I need to watch these old shows and movies every once in a while. It's a chance to re-visit my childhood, no matter how cheesy and badly acted they are.

I know far too much about the real Sweeney Todd to ever consider this version anything but fictional.  There were so many places where one had to suspend one's beliefs that in the end I gave up and just enjoyed it for the utter fiction it was.

I now want an apron that says, "Mrs. Lovett's Pie Shop:  Worst Pies in London" on it.

I was going to watch a few sci-fi/horror movies with Elliot when he was here including The Insatiable, Soylent Green and Guyver.  I only ended up getting Guyver since I found out Elliot wasn't coming, and oh by was I in for a surprise.  I thought Mark Hamill was good in Star Wars, and this movie sure is discouraging me from looking any further into his career.  As an actor, he does a fine job, decent.  But the movie is pretty close to god-awful.  It's the typical cheesy 80's puppetry (which they even used in Star Wars) with some crazy sort of twist that involves a scientific corporation developing something in relation to aliens who came to earth and created humans who are shapeshifters and can change into anything at any time, which is where all that crazy puppetry comes in.  Now I know this isn't technically an 80's movie since it was released in 1991, but the puppetry is equal to that of the original TMNT and films like Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal... only bad.  But I guess that's part of the fun of watching those movies now - to remember the fun it was the first time seeing it, and to relive the excitement of a childhood favorite, while at the same time mocking its ridiculous production value, especially in comparison to the stuff we see nowadays with the same kind of studio backing as those 80's puppet-fests.

And I mean wow, did this film let me lose interest.  It's fun to watch, a great laugh-out-loud-at-the-ridiculousness-of-the-thing kind of movie, but nothing I'd watch again, and certainly not under any serious or thoughtful circumstances.  However, if you've got some good-natured friends who loved some of the films I mentioned above, then this might be the choice for you guys to watch and pick apart some night when it's cold and nasty outside and the food's a-cookin' inside, ready for a serious midnight chow-down with some guys and some mockery of a cheesy out-of-it's-time (quite literally) sci-fi puppet movie.  I mean seriously, it just belongs in the 80's, with all the rest of the goofy puppet movies.  Oh well.  Enjoy the (semi)recommendation, if not the others mentioned throughout the entry.  And if your weather's anything like mine at the moment (because it is most certainly my weather), then I hope things are better in the morning for ya.... or else you might just be forced to bring this home and watch it during the day!

Reparto principal:
Tim Roth ... Pumpkin (Ringo)
Amanda Plummer ... Honey Bunny (Yolanda)
John Travolta ... Vincent Vega
Samuel L. Jackson ... Jules Winnfield
Ving Rhames ... Marsellus Wallace
Uma Thurman ... Mia Wallace
Bruce Willis ... Butch Coolidge
Maria de Medeiros ... Fabienne
Eric Stoltz ... Lance
Rosanna Arquette ... Jody
Harvey Keitel ... Winston 'El Lobo' Wolfe

Fotografía:
Andrzej Sekula

Montaje:
Sally Menke

También conocida como:
Tiempos violentos

Palabras clave:
Accidental Death, Accidental Killing, Accidental Shooting, Adult Humor, Adult Situations, Allegory, Anal Rape, Anti Hero, Assassin, Bathroom, Bathroom Scene, Bible, Biblical, Biblical Passage, Black Suit Clad Killer, Blockbuster, Blood, Blood Splatter, Body Piercing, Bondage, Boss, Boxer, Boxing, Briefcase, Burger King, Café, California, Campy, Cardiac Injection, Celebrity Impersonator, Cinema Verite, Cocaine, Coffee, Coffee Shop, Comedy on the Edge, Cons and Scams, Contract Killer, Convertible, Corpse, Crime, Crime Comedy, Crime Drama, Crime Gone Awry, Critically Acclaimed, Cult, Cult Comedy, Cult Director, Cult Favorite, Cult Movie Cast, Dance, Dance Contest, dance-hall, Dancing, Dark Comedy, Dark Humor, Diner, Divine Intervention, Drama, Drug Addict, Drug Addiction, Drug Lord, Drug Overdose, Drugs, Ed Sullivan Impersonator, Elvis, Elvis Impersonator, Elvis Presley, Ensemble, Ensemble Film, Episodic, Ethnic Slur, Fixed Fight, Flashback Sequence, Foot Fetish, Foot Massage, Frontal Nudity, Gang Lord, Gangster, Gangster Film, Gimp, Graphic Violence, Gun, Hamburger, Heroin, Heroin Addict, Hired Killers, Hitman, Homage, Homoerotic, Homosexual Rape, Hostage Situations, Human Relationship, Humorous, Impersonation, Impersonator, Independent Film, Injection, Interracial, Interracial Relationship, Irreverent, Jheri Curl Hairstyle, Katana, Katana Sword, Kiss, Literate, Long Take, Look Alike, Los Angeles California, Loyalty, Macguffin, Machine Gun, Male, Male Nudity, Male On Male Rape, Marilyn Monroe, McDonald’s Restaurant, Mexican Standoff, Milkshake, mob-boss, Moll, Moral Ambiguity, Moral Transformation, Motorcycle, Multiple Story Line, Multiple Time Frames, Muzzle, Neo Noir, Non-linear, Nonlinear Timeline, Nose Bleeding, Not For Children, Organized Crime, Pawnshop, Payback, Philosophical, Phonograph, Postmodern, Postmodernism, Profanity, Pulp Fiction, Quirky, Racial Slur, Rape, Rape & Sexual Abuse, Record, Record Player, Redemption, Religion, Restaurant, Revenge, Robbery, Rousing, Satire, Shot In The Chest, Shot In The Crotch, Shot In The Face, Shot In The Forehead, Shot In The Head, Shot In The Leg, Shot To Death, Shotgun, Splatter, Strong Sexual Content, Substance Abuse, Sword, Syringe, Talky, Taxi, Thrill Crime, Tied To Chair, Toaster, Toilet, Torso Cut In Half, Tough Guys, Twist, Urban, Vendetta, Violence, Violent Movie, Visceral, Vulgarity, Waitress, Watch, Wristwatch

It's a forty hole Campagnolo Gran Sport track hub snowflake laced to a Sun CR-18 rim with DT Revolution spokes.