Omar's Collection Spotlight #3: Mace Windu Force FX Lightsaber

I'm just talking about Shaft! (Sorry, I just had to say it!) But I am talking about a shaft, the polycarbonate blade shaft that not only lights up to that unmistakable motherf***ing purple hue, but it also produces sounds when the blade is swung or struck against an object. (Say another of the many Force FX Lightsabers offered by Master Replicas used by one of your Star Wars buddies as you intricately recreate the massive Arena battle on Geonosis where the Confederacy of Independent Systems took on the forces of the Galactic Republic, and also where Master Mace Windu used said lightsaber to deal a fatal blow to Galactic Bounty HunterJango Fett, single-handedly causing young Boba Fett to become an orphan and planting within him the seed of revenge and hate that lead him, Boba, to ultimately become one of the Galaxy's most feared, as well as effective, bounty hunters!...Ummm...Where was I?)Oh, yeah! I got this little number this past Christmas from one of my brothers, and let me tell you, if you have the opportunity to pick one of these up, by all means, do it! Sure, we've all swung around those cool plastic numbers that you find at your local Toys 'R' Us or Target, but you don't get the sense of what it really means to be a Jedi until you hold one of these babies in your hands. First thing you notice is the weight. These things are heafty! The blade is non-retractable, which makes it a little bit of a pain to put away, but it is well worth it for the added features.

The handle itself is made of a polished metal, with black hightlights and extensions which are intricately detailed. There are gold hightlights as well, that denote the level of Jedi Master, and the large square gold button near the top functions as the on/off switch for the lightsaber. The handle also houses the speaker through which the lightsabers 5 sound effects come from. They are: Power up, idle hum, swing, clash, and power down. There is also a cool feature when the lightsaber is powered up or down. The light itself illuminates the blade in a sort of wave, giving the illusion of extension or retraction. It's actually quite cool!Master Replicas also includes a display stand for the lightsaber, which can be either hung on the wall, or just set up on a shelf or table. It requires 6 AA batteries to function, which of course are not included, but that hardly matters. This item is just one of the many that are available in Master Replicas Force FX line, the latest, and perhaps greatest, being Darth Maul's infamous double-edged lightsaber (available in full length, or battle-damaged half-length!), but gosh darn it if you don't just have to LOVE that purple glow of Mace Windu's lightsaber. I know it holds a special place in my heart. I give this one a 10 out of 10. Up Next: 5 cats, 4 guys, 1 girl...It's a Beastiality Gang Bang of Intergalactic Proportions! (Or IS it?) Stay Tuned...

Omar's Birthday Blowout!

For those of you who guessed that the mystery countdown was for my birthday, congratulations...you get nothing, but thanks for playing! (And in case you are wondering, three of you guessed correctly, but then again, there are only three of you who read my blog! j/k) It was a pretty good day, my mom started early. She was blasting "Las Mañanitas" on the boombox at 3:45am. (Yeah, she gets sentimental around all our birthdays!) Then around 5am, she comes in with the birthday cake.Now, I know what you are saying, and no I'm not 7, I'm actually 27, but my mom said that there was only room for one candle, so since the 2 stayed the same, she went with the 7. (And Omarcito is what she likes to call me, she still thinks of me as her baby, even though I'm the oldest. I love my mom). We went out for lunch at the Souplantation (I could eat there forever, and sometimes it seems like I do!) She surprised me by bringing my girlfriend along, which I was clueless about her coming. (Yeah, I was dooped!)My girlfriend got me "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" DVD, which I had asked for, but then she surprised me by getting me (Ale, you'll love this!) the Harry Potter Illuminating wand from the Noble Collection. Now, usually I'm the one who surprises her, but she went all out this year for me, and I am so proud of her, as well as grateful. (She knows me so well!)My mom and her b/friend decided to giving me cash for my birthday that way I could get whatever I really wanted, so I got a couple of pairs of shoes, some Pumas and some Vans, and a few jackets, 2 Dickies and one Old Navy one that matches my Vans. (Yeah, I know I'm such a girl!)I also found a couple more of the Star Wars Bust-Ups at the Hot Topic in Industry. Picked up a General Grievous (My favorite!), and an Obi-Wan Kenobi from the same series as the Palpatine that I got on Thursday. On top of everything I took a couple of days off of work as well. All in all, not a bad birthday. (If only there was a way to subtract years instead of adding...hmmm).P.S. It was a year ago today that Canela, my girlfriends older dog, passed away. Wherever she is, I hope she is happy and running free, and that she knows how much she is missed.

Going To The Dogs

I just wanted to post a few random shots of Buffy that I took recently. Thought they were worthy enough to share, so here they are.

BRAAAAAAAINS!!

Okay, I'm a wuss when it comes to scary movies. I mean, I can tolerate one every once in a while, here and there, but over all I tend to generally stay away from them. (When I was a kid I used to be afraid of the Michael Jackson "Thriller" video! Yeah, I know, if I could I would kick my own ass!) The ones that really get to me are the zombie movies. I remember when I was little we used to live on a street that ended in a 'T' intersection, and we were about a mile away from a cemetary. Whenever we'd get home real late, I'd always look up to that intersection fearing that one night I'd see a massive crowd of zombies heading our way. It never happened of course, but I never stopped having that fear. I've sort of curbed it now that I'm older, but of course whenever I divulge this fact, I still get ridiculed. (Is it anymore ridiculous that the fear of clowns I know SOME people have??) Recently I've sat through Dawn of the Dead (Zombies should NEVER be able to sprint after your ass!! That's just wrong on all levels! My only hope was that if the time ever came, I could out run a Zombie. Now what do I have, huh???) which was pretty good, Shawn of the Dead is now one of my favorite movies, and Rob Zombie is one of my favorite musicians. (Does that count?)But these past few weeks have been littered with zombie news. First I hear of a guy who wrote a survival book about what to do in case we ever get attacked by zombies. Not just that, but my brother is telling me that he and his friends have been developing a zombie contingency plan. (Shout out to the Zombie Outlaws on MySpace!) The basis of their plan is that the Costco is THE place to be. Then Marvel comics comes out with a Zombie storyline for all their superheroes. The basic premise is what would the characters be like if they were still superheroes, but also had to cope with the fact that they were zombies? (Yeah, we've all wondered that ourselves from time to time.)I also heard that Stephen King's latest novel, "Cell", has been optioned to be made into a major motion picture by Dimension films. Slated to direct is Eli Roth who directed last year's horror sleeper hit "Hostel". The story is primarily about people who get turned into mindless, violent, zombie-like lunatics by a pulse sent via cell phone signals, and a small band of survivors who try to stay alive as well as discover the fate of their loved ones.And the FREAKIEST story of them all is that there is a new virus that has been discovered in Cambodia that is carried by mosquitoes. Basically, the virus infects the body, ultimately killing it and causing brain death, but then it reanimates the heart, causing the victim to RISE AGAIN...check this out...

Cambodian Troops Quarantine Quan'sul

There has been a small outbreak of “zombism” in a small town near the border of Laos in North-Eastern Cambodia.

Cambodian troops moved into Quan'sul after Malaria victims attack populace.

The culprit was discovered to be mosquitoes native to that region carrying a new strain of Malaria which thus far has a 100 percent m ortality rating killing victims in fewer than 2 days.

After death, this virus is able to restart the heart of it’s victim for up to two hours after the initial demise of the person where the individual behaves in extremely violent ways from what is believe to be a combination of brain damage and a chemical released into blood during “resurrection.”

Cambodian officials say that the outbreak has been contained and the public has no need to worry.

General Ary Serey had this to say, "We have obtained samples of this new virus and plan to learn how it starts the heart and other major organs of the deceased. We intend to use this to increase the quality of life for all."

US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice opposed the plan saying that the Cambodian government holds a great biological weapon and should destroy it immediately. Cambodian officials have yet to comment.

A United Nations team will be dispatched to Cambodia to confirm the safety of biological research in Cambodia.

OH MY GOD!!!! Just when I was getting over my fear, something like this comes along and makes me piss my pants all over again. Voodoo Zombies...Mosquito Zombies...Government-Created Zombies (Think about it people, it's only a matter of time if the story above is true!) To the Costco everyone!!

Evil Incarnate

Picked up a sweet Gentle Giant's Star Wars Bust-Ups of Emperor Palpatine at the Hot Topic at the Block at Orange. $6.00, can't beat it! Awesome detail, awesome sculpt. I highly recommend this line. Check them out at Gentle Giant's website www.gentlegiantltd.com.

Rebel, Rebel

In a couple of weeks I'm going to my first real concert ever. (Does paying $5 to see Save Ferris, Fenix TX, and Stroke 9 at Santa Anita count as a concert?) It's actually something that I am doing for my girlfriend, who is really into this mexican pop act called Rebelde, or RBD for short. They're a group of teeny boppers who were spawned from a mexican soap opera of the same name. It's basically about a bunch of high schoolers and all the trials and tribulations that come with being that age. In the show, 6 of the main characters have a band, RBD, that their schoolmates love, and their parents don't know about. They are THE big thing right now in latin america, I mean they create crowds of immense proportions. To give you an idea, they were supposed to have an autograph signing at the F.Y.E. at our local mall here in Montebello, CA., but they had to cancel the appearance because too many people showed up. The store is located on the second floor of the mall, and mall officials were afraid that the incredible number of people who showed up were going to cause the second floor to collapse onto the first. And that's not the only instance. In Brazil, during another autograph appearance where 5,000 people were expected and 15,000 people actually showed up, 3 people were suffocated to death by the immense crowd, and 47 others were injured. This is a phenomenon of Backstreet Boys, N'Sync, and New Kids On the Block proportions. And I'm set to go see them at the Los Angeles Colesium on March 18th. Needless to say, I'm fearing for both our lives!But I'd do anything for my girlfriend, even stare death in the face. (But hopefully it won't come to that!) I just can't wait to see her face light up when she's at the concert. I see how excited she is about the music, and the show, and the DVD's. This is just a little something that I am glad I can do for her. (And at $50 a ticket, those girls better be looking their best!) Although I'm pretty sure my girlfriend will be too preoccupied with drooling over the boys, I'm hoping it will be a great time for both of us. I'll keep you posted.

Take A Stand!

So last night during "24" Fox decided to air the brand new trailer for "X3: The Last Stand", (that's X-Men 3 for those of you who are out of the loop). The teaser that was released a few months ago was a bit of a disappointment. I truly feared for the future of the franchise. I mean, come on, it was one of the first comic book films that brought dignity and humanity to the genre. It wasn't campy or generic, but more of a dramatic interpretation of themes that most of us confront in our lives: descrimination, alienation, isolation, depression, anger, a desire to fit in, search for identity, etc. Without it, Spiderman would probably not have seen the light of day. Anyways, last night totally restored faith in me that the series could end, if not at least continue, in the same vein in which it had begun. Don't get me wrong, I still would have preferred that Bryan Singer had helmed the project, although I understand and respect his decision to take on the monumental undertaking of bringing the Man of Steel back to the silver screen, but the trailer still felt like X-Men (if that makes any sense at all). The teaser felt too much like a music video, which would make sense because that is where Brett Ratner got his start. (Potential Spoilers Ahead! Proceed At Your Own Risk!)The trailer showed us a lot more of the new mutants that have joined the cast, as well as giving us a basic plot of the film. The movie is going to focus on the creation of the Legacy Virus, which is supposed to be a cure for the mutant X gene. The trailer showed that the source of the virus is in fact a mutant, Leech, one of the Morlocks, who has the power to dampen or inhibit any mutant's abilities. This was showed in the trailer when Beast, played by Kelsey Grammer (which I still can't get over the fact that Sideshow Bob's voice is coming out of this guy), was approaching Leech, and his outstretched hand was losing its fur and blue tint. I'm still up in the air about Beast coming on board, I mean Nightcrawler already had the Blue animal-like character slot filled. In the film Beast is the first mutant that Xavier had ever taken in, and is now deeply involved in mutant rights.We also got to see more of Angel in the trailer. The teaser showed us Angel in some sort of laboratory unfurlling his wings, but in the trailer we got a small taste of what it will look like when he takes flight. It seems that he perhaps was an unwilling volunteer to some sort of mutant tests of the Legacy Virus. The subplot of the film involves the return of Jean Grey, an perhaps the emergence of the Phoenix. The trailer showed both Wolverine and Cyclops still trying to cope with the loss of Jean, and her subsequent return. The final shot of the trailer is Jean asking Wolverine to kill her. (Scarred psyche, anyone?) She seems to shift sides, and ultimately stands beside Magneto. The mutant community is forced to make a choice between keeping their uniqueness, or embracing the cure that will help them fit into society better.One cool shot that I liked was one where Juggernaut was chasing Shadowcat right through some walls. As she phased right through them, he would crash through them right behind her. It was a pretty nice visual. (Although I still think that they could have done a whole lot better with the Juggernaut costume).There is also talk that the Danger Room finally makes an appearance in this installment. Some of the shots of Wolverine and Colossus are said to take place in the Danger Room, and perhaps there is a shot of the Fastball Special.All in all, I'm looking forward to this film with cautious optimism, seeing how it could potentially be the last in the franchise, although I hope not. There would be nothing worse than having it all end on a sour note. And it will be the sourest note, if we don't get to see this man......play Gambit in an X-Men movie.

What's In Your iPod?

I've been getting a lot of new music lately, thanks to a few friends, so my musical horizons have been expanded further than I've allowed them to in the past. I've ventured past the Korn's and Metallica's and Linkin Parks of the world. (Although I still like them a lot!). I guess my brother's and their friends have a little wider perspective on stuff like this, so they've introduced me to many new bands as well. Here are a few bands that I'm really into right now.
Bloc PartyPanic! At the DiscoCoheed and CambriaDredgHawthorne HeightsThriceA Static LullabyJack JohnsonMatchbook RomanceHIM

These are a few of the new bands that are on my iPod right now, and that I really like. I know I may be a little bit late to the party on some or most of these, but better late than never, right? If your interested, feel free to give them a try.