Friday, June 28, 2013

Poppin' Off- Man of Steel and Justice League at Target

This week's Poppin' Off is a Two-Fer! Man Of Steel and the Justice League summer collection at Target.

First up is the Justice League summer collection. I have a Target shopping problem to begin with- I should own stock in Target, that's how much I spend there. So when I saw all the mega cute Justice League items....I really had to exercise self control. I love, love, love all the star prints (I have a thing for stars). I bought the over-sized picnic blanket in the black and white star print, the bistro table in the blue star print, the Batman gardening gloves for my son, the gardening tool sets for both my kids (blue and red stars for my son, pink and purple stars for my daughter), and the kids ground umbrella in blue with red stars for all our outdoor adventures. I also bought the friendship bracelet kit that has Wonder Woman charms and the color-your-own tote bag with the Justice League members on it. There are still so many things I'd like to buy! But their inventories are dwindling, so I can't help but think that it will be gone soon (they start putting out school supplies in the seasonal section around mid July so...). What do you think of the Justice League Collection?



*There are no intentional spoilers here. But if even vague overviews ruin things for you, do not continue reading*

Superman movies always get a bum rap. Fans and critics alike seem to have a love/hate relationship with them and its usually more hate than love. To be completely honest, I don't think I've ever seen a Superman movie aside from Man of Steel. My introduction to Superman came in the form of Dean Cain playing him in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman on teevee with Teri Hatcher teetering after him as a ditzy Lois Lane, so my expectations weren't set particularly high. Shame on me. Man of Steel was outstanding. Its also a great movie to see if you're not to familiar with Superman's back story- a lot of it was explained.

Critics had a lot of negative things to say about it- Christopher Nolan should've been allowed to do more (not necessarily a negative, but the movie was made well as is), there were too many flashbacks and there were too many religious references. I found that the flashbacks to be cohesive with the story line. Whenever he had a flashback, the transition was seamless and the flashbacks really help you connect with this Superman- to see where hes been and what hes been through. The religious references are there- there's no denying it. But even the most hardened Atheist could view them as parental sacrifice and morality struggles instead of religious references if they wanted, and I don't see why someone would take those few references and pan a whole movie for it.

All in all, it was a very good movie. And Henry Cavill is a very sexy Superman. Go check it out.




Wednesday, June 26, 2013

WoW Wednesday -Midsummer Fire Festival and a Few Other Things

So summer is officially here, even in the World of Warcraft. The Midsummer Fire Festival is in full swing, and I have to say, its not really my favorite WoW holiday. The color scheme is pretty (red, orange and blue), but there isn't much offered in the way of dailies (which I love), and the achievements are pretty blah. But I always love seeing WoW all dressed up for whatever holiday it might be celebrating, so this mediocre holiday is still alright in my book. And, its the last in-game holiday until Brewfest (I believe), so there will be a few months with no festivities.

Right now Blizzard is selling the Moonkin Hatchling pet for $5 and I really want it. I know its silly to pay real life money for an in-game pet, and that's why I never have. But this one is cute and its only five dollars, so I'm hoping I'll get to buy it. Its an account wide pet, and changes according to faction. The sale ends on July 1st at 11:59pm PST, so get yours while you can.

And this isn't so much WoW news, but its a bit related. This is the SoundCloud of a guy in my horde guild on Wyrmrest Accord. Its pretty good stuff, and well worth the listen. I don't even know his name, honestly; he was in guild chat talking about his music and he sent the link to his SoundCloud to my husband. But its pretty good and I hope you guys enjoy it too.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Mage Food- Slow Cooked Oven Made Ribs

Mages are the vending machines of WoW. They supply health and mana goodies for their groups. So I thought I would share some recipes with you to make for your family or friends. Maybe pop it in on raid night so you don't get hungry spouse/child aggro. Let me know what you think!

Slow Cooked Oven Made Ribs

You'll Need:
*a rack of ribs
*18oz Sweet Baby Ray's Hickory and Brown Sugar BBQ Sauce
*aluminum foil
*glass baking pan

Directions:
Defrost your ribs the night before. Trying to fast thaw ribs is nasty. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line your glass baking pan with aluminum foil. Pan size should be determined by the size of your rack of ribs. You want the ribs to fit completely into the pan for best results. Place your ribs in the pan so it looks like a rainbow (arched). Liberally apply the barbecue sauce to the ribs (you will use most of the bottle of sauce by the end of this). Then flip the ribs over and repeat application of barbecue sauce. Once you've finished  putting the on the sauce, completely cover the ribs in aluminum foil. Place your ribs in the over on the center rack and let them cook for three hours. Check them around the two and a half hour mark just to be sure (oven temperatures can vary). 

Enjoy!

Monday, June 24, 2013

Monday Mix Up #1

A small little list of links to help you procrastinate the start of another week.

* This video from Jimmy Fallon, Felicia Day, Chris Hardwick etc singing We Are The World Of  Warcraft.
*Super Mash Bros. All About The Scrillions is my favorite.
*Adorable postcards from rarrarpress. The Its Really Not That Far postcard is my favorite.
*Ion television. I love all the reruns of Criminal Minds, Numb3rs, Cold Case and House.
*Kick Ass 2! So looking forward to this.
*Here's a cute little marriage proposal, courtesy of Good Morning America via Yahoo's front page. I  must say, if I was the girl, I would feel so bad taking all that down! Its so sweet :)
*This tote from Geeky Glamorous. I have been obsessing over it! I wish I had money so I could buy one.


Friday, June 21, 2013

Poppin' Off- The Purge

*There are no intentional spoilers here. But if even vague overviews ruin things for you, do not continue reading*

A couple of weekends ago, my husband and I went to see The Purge. The first few times I saw the trailer for it, I really wasn't too interested in seeing it (I filed it as a "rent it" movie and moved on). But the concept of the movie grew on me and that's why I ultimately went to go see it.

Set in the United States in 2022, unemployment is at one percent and crime is virtually nonexistent- thanks to the Purge. For one night in March every year, the government steps back and lets the people do what they want for twelve hours -loot, rape, murder, whatever they wish- and there are no repercussions. And really, only the rich survive the night because they can afford high speed security systems, hence the low unemployment and crime rates. Without giving anymore away, I will say that most of the plot twists were pretty predictable and easily identifiable within the first twenty minutes of the movie. However, there were a a few that really were plot twists, things that weren't so expected.

The best part of the movie for me was the fact that it makes you think. Whether you liked it or not, it forced you to think about what you would do if you were in that type of situation. Would you fortify your home and hide out? Or would you go out and commit crimes because you knew you could get away with it? Also, how do you think our society would react to a scenario like that? I've tried to envision my city taking part in a Purge, and it looked all kinds of ugly. People wouldn't know what to expect, socioeconomic classes would still be a little more balanced so they're be more fighting.....its a crazy thing to think about. Anyway, its a good movie, so go check it out.