The Last of Us Looks Sick. Siiiick!

Is anybody else as psyched for this game as I am? Sony has had a banner year this year, and I can't wait for this title. It's from Naughty Dog so it has to be good. Uncharted 3 was probably one of my favorite games of last year. This is gonna be awesome.

There Can Only Be One...Black Guy on The Walking Dead

Now, I love me some horror movies, and I've watched quite a few of them in my time. And for anybody who knows anything about the medium, it's been a running gag that if there's ever a black guy in a horror movie, he might as well be wearing a sign on his back that says "Kill me," because he's usually the first to go.

Thus is the genre.

 (Image taken from: Memegenerator.net)

But The Walking Dead on AMC is an interesting case in that nobody is safe and even popular characters die on the show all the time. Just look at this season (Season 3) as an example. Two major members of the crew died in one episode earlier in the season, with one of them being very popular, and the other being, uh, Lori.

But let's get back to that popular character, because his death has brought an interesting trend along with it. Like Highlander, there can only be one, but by one, I mean black guy on the show. In The Walking Dead, it's usually obvious when that character is going to go because he usually gives some big speech or does something noble before he gets the ax (Or the bite, as is prevalent on this show). Don't believe me. Check this out.

Is season one, we had Morgan and his son. Don't remember him? How about now?

 

  (Image taken from: moddb.com)

Still no? How about now?

(Image taken from: comicvine.com)








Yeah, this scene where Morgan struggled with trying to build the courage to kill his zombified wife was a crucial reason why the first season was so great. So Rick stayed with the man and his son, and then he left. And then...well, we never heard from him again.

Enter T-Dog.

(Image taken from: amctv.com)










Not long after Rick left Morgan, we got the "Aww, hell nawl!" spewing T-Dog to take his place. T-Dog, by the way, is played by a guy named IronE, and no, that E isn't capital by accident. His name is meant to sound like the word "Irony." I like to emphasize the E though, so it sounds like Iron E!!! Anywho, T-Dog was mostly a bungling black guy who dropped a key down a hole, and didn't do much of anything. That is, of course, until one crucial episode in season three, where he gave a major speech about why the new criminals they encountered should be trusted rather than kept as outcasts. This was obviously his death speech, because the sight of two black men on the screen at once was too much for the zombie apocalypse to handle. Oh, well, peace out T-Dog.

(Image taken from: tumblr.com)









Enter the next token black guy.

(Image taken from: forum.bodybuilding.com)









Now, I don't even know what this guy's name is, but the fact of the matter is, he pretty much became an official member the day T-Dog died. And, spoiler alert, just last night, the guy who played Dennis "Cutty" Wise on The Wire entered the show clocking zombies on the head with a hammer, and, yep, you guessed it, forgettable black prisoner gets shot and killed protecting his new crew.

(Image taken from: badhaven.com)









Yep, there can only be one. Let's see how long this guy lasts.

Review: Taiko

Taiko: An Epic Novel of War and Glory in Feudal Japan by Eiji Yoshikawa

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


So, I finally finished Eiji Yoshikawa's "Taiko" and what can I say? It's a beautifully written book of war and glory that focuses mainly on two famous generals in Japanese history-Nobunaga and Hideyoshi. Honestly, I've heard of Nobunaga from the video game series, "Nobunaga's Ambition," but I wasn't familiar with Hideyoshi, who is the focal character of this book, until I read about him here. And man, this guy could talk his way out of anything. He'd turn enemies into lifelong companions, and with such humility and kindness that it would seem outright genuine. Who knows? Hideyoshi, as shown in this book, just might have been. The author, Yoshikawa, never makes Hideyoshi seem like he had ulterior motives, and instead paints him as an ambitious man who rose from nothing and became the man who shaped Japan. It's an inspiring and wonderful read.

That said, it's not as good as "Musashi," which Yoshikawa also wrote. There are too many scenes of war in this book, and too many battles on display. It gets a little tiresome in the middle, and you actually crave more quiet time with the characters. Amidst all the violence, those are the highlights.

There are also a lot of Japanese names being thrown around here, and as a historical text, I know they're important, but I liked the focus more on one or two characters in "Musashi." "Taiko" is a very broad book, while "Musashi" was a much smaller one in scope with a larger than life central protagonist. I liked that honed in focus more.

Still, "Taiko" is a must-read. If you love reading about Japanese history in the feudal times and have also read the James Clavell novels, then you should definitely pick up this book. But, if you have a choice, read "Taiko" first and then "Musashi." You'll be all the better for it.



View all my reviews

Review: The Expendables 2 [Blu-Ray]

(Image taken from cinemablend.com)

The Expendables 2 is a whole lot of hell yeah. See my review for it here.

(Image taken from Complex-mag.com)

Here are, in my opinion, the greatest Playstation 2 games of all time. Find the list here. Do you agree with my top ten?

Review [Blu-Ray]: The Astonishing X-Men: Unstoppable

(Image taken from Cinemablend.com) It's decent, but I don't know if it's worth a purchase. See my review for the disc here.

Why the Wii U Will Probably Do Really Well

A lot of people are doubting the Wii U, and I have a few doubts myself. But I should really have more faith in the Big N since they usually tend to come out on top in the end. Check out this Iconographic if you don't believe me. It's pretty damn impressive. Let's go, Nintendo!