Scullder's Awards - Best of 2013

2013 Scullder's Awards are in full swing, and here come the Best of!

This year's Best of categories:
- 2013 Best Movie of the Year
- 2013 Best Games of the Year
- 2013 Best Ride of the Year
- 2013 Best Travel of the Year

Scullder's Awards - Worst of 2013

Well, Happy New Year over there! 2014 has made its way into the world and what better way to celebrate than to look back at what was definitely not the best year ever.

Yep, you knew this was coming... the 2013 awards are here!!

Yep, for real!

And we kick it off with this year's Worst of categories:
- 2013 Most Pathetic Operating System invented by Man
- 2013 Worst Drivers of the Year
- 2013 Worst Trips of the Year
- 2013 Worst Movie of the Year

Here they are:

Legendary Photo

I can't even begin to state how Legenfreakingdary this photo is. You have Keiichi Tsuchiya the man who became a legend through drifting and helped make the AE86 into a legend, now casually chillaxing next to the drifty GT86.

The guy who took the photo was not too shabby either, catch all his pics here: http://www.pmcgphotos.com/automotive/a-gt86-ae86-the-drift-king-a-shoot-for-car-magazine.html

Which reminds me, there's a foxy red fox waiting for me downstairs ... time to hit the road ...

The Zombie Chronicles - Part 1

Prelude

Christmas is coming ... and what could be more beautiful than to share with you a story ... about Zombies. Yup, perfect for XMas, Zombies it is, and in true Hollywood fashion, I'll make it a trilogy.

But first, a few words before we start. Lately, I've been watching a very funny show called New Girl, it's freaking hilarious. There's this guy on the show with whom I have precisely 3 things in common:
1 - he's also a guy
2 - we more or less share the same family name
3 - we're both trying to write something about zombies for some time
And that's the end of it basically, we each go our own way from there on. And, the truth is he actually managed to write the thing, as horrible as it was in the end. So, if Nick I can't finish anything ever in my life Miller is able to write his novel, I'll be darned if I don't write my Zombie Chronicles by the end of the year! Thank you, Nick, you are an inspiration ... or not ...
Anyways, here goes:

Part 1 - World War Zombie

The Zombie hysteria started quite some time ago and it's starting to dwindle down. There's a bunch of people though who've decided to jump on the bandwagon before it's too late some with better results than others. We'll probably get a much better idea of how the hype is holding up next year when Arnold Terminator Conan Schwarzenegger will release his very own Zombie movie.

But back to Brad, and the War on Zombies. I wanted to dedicate Part 1 to him because it's always better to start on a low note and end on a high. And, unfortunately, WWZ is a low note. The movie is toned down so it can be watched by children, so it's nowhere near graphical enough and the zombies themselves are just a mass of CGI moving chaos, which is definitely not in line with what Zombie-loving people want. Zombies need to be slow-ish. They need to appear real, so it's always better to use real actors and make-up. Basically the impression I got was that whoever made this movie doesn't actually understand or like Zombie movies.

It's not all bad though. The one thing that I really liked is the idea stated in a very non-subtle way by Pitt's character in the beginning. There's only one way to stay alive and that is to keep moving, don't lock yourself in your house, don't barricade your doors hoping it will go away. It won't, and you need to get a moving asap. And moving he does, the guy travels around the world to different locations, and we get to see how different people handle the situation differently. The idea is very interesting, and I do wish it was implemented properly.

However, everything I've said until now pales in comparison with something that is completely missing from WWZ and what I think is the single biggest problem this movie has. Pitt is all by himself most of the time, and the characters he encounters don't get enough screen time to create any attachments either between themselves or with the viewers. The real drama in Zombie situations doesn't come from the Zombies themselves. It comes from the way they affect the life of the remaining humans, and mostly on how the world (as it becomes) affects relationships inside and between groups of people. Zombies are stupid, they just want your brain and have a very straight forward way of going about their business .... Humans on the other hand ... now, there you have a real danger... Humans are intelligent and when backed up in a corner there's no knowing of what many things they would do. This idea is perfectly captured by the TV masterpiece, The Walking Dead, which I will blabber about among other things in Part 2, stay tuned...

To be Continued...

The Little Red Ninja

Six months. That's precisely how long we had to wait for the little red ninja to arrive all the way from Japan. But it is finally here, and just in time for the rainy season.

First impressions: it's stiffer than I remembered it to be, it's very responsive on the acceleration, controls are very heavy (pedals, gearbox) and most importantly it's very VERY fun in the wet. TC comes in quite fast, which is good, but you can still slide the back out just enough to splash a wide grin on your face.

Break-in takes the 1000 usual kilometers, but you can rev to 4k, which means you don't really have to hold back too much as long as you keep it gentle. Only ~600Km to go ...

So here it is ... waiting for the rain to come ... eagerly...

Stand by for those massive powerslides ...

Gravitation

Just how fun do you think it would be to watch Sandra Bullock drift away through space for 90 minutes? Not very fun, you say? Think again ...

This movie contains some kind of voodoo magic. It was very intense, with a lot of action, thrills and emotion. And yet, there are precisely 2 (two) actors in this movie ... it was quite funny and unbelievable at the end when the cast rolled in the credits ... Two actors ... producing some of the best action, thrills and emotion of the year ... And the visuals ... oh my, the visuals... Some of the scenes are so immersive that I was grabbing the seats next to me to help poor Sandra out. I think that this may just be the best 3D witnessed on a movie screen ... ever... I just hope you like spinning around ... and around ... in an uncontrollable way ...

Screenplay's a bit over the top ... but I'll let that slide. There was no room for a more down to earth approach ... it really would have turned the movie upside down and probably would have pulled less people in... that's not what it all falls down to in the end for such a movie, but I'm really happy to see it also had a very successful launch at the box office ...

So yeah ... great movie ... just make sure you grab onto your own seat when you see it...

All Hope is Lost?

I''m having an internal debate regarding humanity's hope to escape idiocracy ... it's a back and forth discussion which I want to remember and come back to in the years to come.

1 step back ... the golden iPhone

For years iPhones have been a landmark of great design. Haters can call it snoby, elitistics or whatever they want, but it was a tasteful design ... until now. The GOLDEN Champagne iPhone is here ... yes, gold is not enough, it needs to be splattered by champagne ... let the poor people go cry to mommy ...

This thing appears to have been designed using insightful advice from Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, and that's not a good thing ... because these people are ... well ... f-ing idiots ... And the bigger problem is not that this phone exists, it is the fact that it will sell faster than turkeys on Thanksgiving ... people just love their Kim Kardashian ...  a sad day for human kind everywhere ...

2 steps back ... Hannah Montana gets naked

Lady Gaga, where are you? Nobody is even mentioning the fact you were as butt naked as physiologically possible in your last live performance ... Are you, sad sad joke of a performer, really finished? It certainly seems so, and I almost feel like jumping into my party-hat and dancing of joy ... almost ... Unfortunately, there's no party ... people are now talking about this wrecking ball:

I an quite sure that the discussion that lead to this youtube record-breaking event went something like this:
Manager: Miley, kids don't give too many f#$ks about you any more ... you're basically finished ...
Hannah Cyrus: But my singing ....
Manager: Miley ... you have your father's voice ... it's over ...
Hannah Cyrus: What if I got naked?
Manager: OK, let's go with that...

Same as before, the actual problem is not that there's a pathetic human being that does it ... the problem is that there are sooo many other people that support this type of idiotic behavior ... Yea, you're stupid and naked ... Shut up and take my money !!!!

... another sad day for human kind everywhere ...

1 step forward ... to outer space?

But wait !! Humanity is still doing some intelligent things ... Take this, for example. In a couple of years you might just be able to fly into outer space (kinda) on a commercial flight ... Here's a very recent video of Virgin Galactic firing up their rocket plane to supersonic speeds for the first time. In the final version planned for 2014 (yes, next year!!), the plane-ship will go 3 times higher than in this video ... looks very promising ....

Only problem ... passengers will be taking photos with their golden iPhones ... while listening to Hanna F-ing Montana ...

It seems like all hope is lost ... here's a cat video to raise your morale ...

iPhone X

Before we begin, full disclaimer, I own and love an HTC One, but I like to believe that I have a non-biased approach as we have an iPhone as well in the family.

The next iPhone seems to be incoming on the 10th of September, but why wait until then when you can know right now what is going to happen? Yes, it is the future, right here ... I know, right??

It looks like Apple will take the same approach as the Moto X from Google for their new iPhone 5C (as in Color most probably) with a highly customizable color scheme that allows you to make your own phone with a pink case and green buttons on it...

Together with the new iOS7 flat and colorful design, I think they might be onto something here.

I always thought the iPhone was a bit too posh for its own good, but then again people that usually buy an iPhone put an apple sticker on their freaking car, which is something I never ever understood. So, this is precisely why Apple will also carry on their current non-plastic aluminium gorilla materials torch with the iPhone 5S. They just may end up selling more 5Cs ...

See for yourself more color combinations at: http://sonnydickson.com/

Best Drive ... 4 Real this Time

I did a couple of test-drives recently, and came away frustrated with all sorts of stuff ... And then my friend S told me to give the GT86 another shot. So I did... and liked it... like, A LOT... wait, what? like 4 real? Let me explain ...

I approached the test-drive with more confidence this time and less desire for hyper-performance. We had quite a bit of fun on some roundabouts and hooned a bit more on some side-roads. Unlike the other test-drives, A was not feeling sick when we finished ... it was quite a pleasant experience,  we were both just smiling wide and having fun ... So, it was quite good indeed. Everything came together very nicely, the driving position, which is just perfect, the short short gearshift is the shortest I've seen in any car, the steering wheel has absolutely no buttons on it (which is just great) ...  It involves you in a way the other cars I tested just don't. Also, it's playful but makes you work for it, which means that it feels quite rewarding when you manage to pull something off. On top of it all, it looks fabulous, pictures don't really do it justice. It's so low, wide, with a long nose ... it's a real looker. 

This all sounds very good, but what about all that ramblings last year about how it's very so disappointing? Without further delays, I shall be going head to head against the remarks of the big hater (myself). So ... I previously said that:

1."It's slow"

Not much to be said here, this is not the car to impress your friends with monster torque acceleration at a push of a pedal. It takes skill to impress anyone, including yourself, and it will most likely not happen in a straight line...

2."wobbly"

Uh, that's a tough one to explain. In the Clio RS it's my spleen hugging my stomach telling me we might be in trouble soon. In the 86, it's the car...

3."EXPENSIVE"

They have some discounts going on, so it's a bit more acceptable.

4."CHEAP looking on the inside"

Just focus on the steering wheel, the dials and gear shifter and it'll be just fine. Alcantara seats are not too shabby either.

5."and until we all drift our way around every corner, I'll buy a Clio RS and keep my 7-8k EUR difference thank you very much"

But that mushy interior in the Clio .. yuck ... and the f-ing beeep beeeep shifter ... at ~5k difference like it is now I think it's better to try to drift... at least around one corner ...

6."Or buy a Focus RS and leave it behind wondering if it forgot to turn the engine on..."

That's actually not a bad plan, but remember: with great power comes great responsibility ... the GT86 is so charmingly relaxed in aspirations...  

7."Or, what the heck, I'll just buy a BMW 125d for exactly the same money ..."

Well...That sounded good at the time and the 1 is many things... but, I'm sorry to say, it's not a sports car. It didn't manage to tingle any petrolhead feelings in me. As I was pushing 140 around a long bend I came close to falling asleep. You'd have to get the 135//M, which costs quite a bit more...


And I think that's already too much of my blabbering ... the GT86 ... a cool fun car that doesn't want to rule the world, it just wants to bring a smile to your face ... and a smile came to me after a long time of frustration... so I think we have a winner over here... 4 real this time ...

Wolverine's Butt 2

While casually checking an overview of my blogger, I saw another spike in the hits I get from people searching for Wolverine's butt ... It all makes sense, since there's a brand new Wolverine movie out and, yes, they do show him naked again, and from different angles this time.

Unfortunately, I have hunted high and low and there's no picture to be found online for the best scene of the movie, with him naked in the bathtub. I know, I know, it's very very hard to get over such disappointment, and there's little consolation to be found in the fact that the second movie is about one million times better than the first one. All we can do is hope, that the Wolverine Butt will make another appearance in full glory in the next movie.

Oh, and in case some search engines miss this very highly informative post: Wolverine Butt, Wolverine's Buttocks, Butt of Wolverine, Wolverine naked, Wolverine behind, Naked Wolverine Behind, Naked Wolverine Body .... seems more and more visitors each day find their way here because of these simple and beautiful words.