Today’s Must own BluRay SteelBook and/or MediaBook in the age of Streaming! Week 40 of 2019!
0 CommentsLeave a comment
vs
Gift – Purchase of the Day / Week : TWO SUN TS102 Knife
I was raised to believe there are a few things every working man needs.
- A good truck.
- A good hat.
- A good book.
- A good shotgun
- A good knife.
- A good goal.
- And a good sense of value to others, before value to just you.
The seven goods I like to call them.
I think they help… not guarantee, but help… set up a young man… to aspire to be a good man, and a man of use, to those around him.
I believe in the seven goods.
Today’s purchase recommendation of the day, revolves around good #5.
I’ve carried a good pocket knife with me for decades. Briefly in the boy scouts, than occasionally in the military, and relatively constantly in civilian life. It’s a daily carry and essential to me in my work and personal life. And I lump multi-tools in with knives.
Anyhow I’ve had a Spyderco knife for years, followed by a Kershaw Clash knife for years. They are both splendid working man’s knives. For me (even though it is out of fashion these days) an old fashioned tip-down, half drop point, half serrated, blacked out blade, remains the height of functionality and usefulness. Open mail, open boxes, strip wires, get out of a stuck seat-belt, removing tie-wraps, even as a prybar in a pinch.
KERSHAW CLASH Get yours here!
I’ll do a list later of my top 5 KERSHAW knives, but click here to browse them yourself.
There is a reason why the Kershaw Clash is one of the best selling pocket knives of all time. It’s not titanium, it’s not on ball bearings, it’s not the metallurgy composition of the moment, it doesn’t have a rad pocket clip, but what it is… is easily one of the best pocket knives ever made.
And no Kershaw is not paying me to say this (Hey Kershaw… Call Me! 🙂 )
In a day where pocket knives are undergoing something of a resurgence, and in large part because of social media, and streaming and youtube knife communities, knives today are being made as sought after collectibles arguably even more so than functional pieces. Knife prices are skyrocketing, as more and more companies, just like car companies, are gearing a segment of their market to those with more money than sense. So pockets knives these days can run hundreds to thousands of dollars.
I personally think once you go over the $150 mark, for a pocket knife, you are paying for the wrapping paper, rather than the product. But each to their own.
As far as a pocket knife for hard use, after many years of hard use, I’ve found no pocket knife related job that a $30 Kershaw can’t do.
But a man does not live by utility alone.
Sometimes you get a thing, because it calls to you, and everything else being reasonable, the cost, the fit, the functionality… you answer the call.
There is no other knife I NEED besides the Kershaw
But I recently found a knife i wanted. Because it was a thing of beauty.
And it is not the HINDERER or THE CHAVEZ or the ABSTRUSE.
I’d no more pay hundreds for those knives, than I would pay hundreds of thousands for a car. Even should I have the disposable income to spend hundreds on knives or hundreds of thousands on a car, it always, being a working man, occurs to me, how you keep money, is by keeping value foremost in your mind regardless how much money you have.
According to articles, some of the people who aren’t just rich, but stay rich, are frugal purchasers. Every purchase has to sustain or keep its value. Very few of the people who maintain wealth through generations, buy without an eye to value.
So, when there is a Kershaw Clash in the universe, paying 10 times what the Kershaw Clash costs for a knife that is not ten times better, and may not functionally be better at all… does not compute.
That $150 limit, kicks in for me. And that limit amount is different for everyone. That price point where acceptable bumps up against a waste of money.
Chinese Knives, as China more and more embraces the benefits of capitalism in a socialist country, and as more and more of American production is off-shored , the quality and status of Chinese Knives has risen, to the point where they are making desirable quality knives at a great price point.
So it wasn’t the multi-hundred dollar Hinderer or Chavez or ZT knives that called to me with a combination of beauty and aesthetics that are beyond the Kershaw Clash, but also at an acceptable value point.
It was a company from China called Two Sun. And it was a specific knife.
The Knife below:
I think the pictures say it all.
And the price on that work of art? Not $700. You can get one today, delivered for around $70.
TWO SUN makes a lot of knives. In my opinion the TS 102 is the finest looking one they make, and the one that called to me.
Get yours HERE!
Please use the links, as purchases made thru them is the best way to keep the proverbial lights on for this blog. Also like this post if you found it useful and subscribe. The 2 seconds it takes you to do that, is really appreciated.
Now the fit and finish on the knife are stellar. Beautiful in person. However it is not without minor issues out the box. It comes over oiled, which will need to be addressed. Also there was a minor speck, scratch on the blade. The one I received had a weak action/deployment, you have to give it a bit of wrist to fully deploy.Because of the extra oomph you have to give it the flipper tab can become rough on your index finger. The pocket clip, while stunning to look at, is so tight that out the box, getting it in to your pocket one handed, not so much, You’ll probably have to work in the pocket clip so it is a smooyh one hand seat and unseat into your back pocket.
The pluses do outweigh the speed bumps, visually it is a showstopper. the feel is solid metal, no plastic here, with a little muscle memory you can get the deployment to work consistently for you. I love the perfect centering and that the blade will smoothly drop shut. And lastly, out the box it is SCARY sharp. It is “you need to respect this knife at all times” sharp. My Kershaw which, functionally, as a pure work knife, EQUALS OR beats this knife in every area, can not hold a candle to the TS102s sharpness.
So report card: In terms of Quality Control, the TWO SUN could use a little work, making sure the blade arrives without any sign of wear, not over oiling it, making sure the action is set properly for reliable full deployment. Those issues taken into account at the $70 price point the knife is a no-brainer of a purchase.
It is today’S and this week’s recommended knife purchase!
Tell em HT sent ya!!!
Movie Posters of the Day!
I’m glad this film is getting good reviews, and hope it is good. However I personally have not loved the trailer. And Todd Phillips helming this film, with a history of only comedies behind him, is a question mark for me. Since I am not a fan or audience for his previous films. Still I hope this is great, but don’t have a big interest in it. The TAXI DRIVER and FALLING DOWN or MAN BITES DOG films, are not my cup of tea, and that seems to be the ground this is aiming for. But I’ll wait to see if the reviews pile up one way or another after opening day. But likely if they are not glowing I’ll wait till it hits streaming.
Nice poster. No interest in the movie.
Another nice poster. No interest in the movie.
The talk of the look of this film and the technology, getting the 120 frames per second thing working correctly, and early positive reviews, has me interested to see this in the theaters. Ang Lee is not a director whose films I typically gravitate to, but I look forward to being pleasantly surprised by this one. And Will Smith is a star for a reason.
Whatever else the film offers, he always comes into it giving a 100%. He’s a star for a reason. And this film where he gets to act against himself, gets to clash the actor he was, against the actor he is… a riveting concept. And it is cool, how much young Will Smith, looks like his son, Jaden.
Today’s 12 MUST OWN DvDs and BluRays in the Age of DIGITAL!!!!
Go back ten years in this blog and you will see I was singing the praises of Walter Hill’s EXTREME PREJUDICE as not just one of Walter Hill’s best films, but one of the best action films ever made.
Here is where all of Walter Hill’s loves and inspirations (from John Ford to Sam Pekinpah) took him furthest and took all involved furthest. Much like Anthony Harvey’s seminal THE LION IN WINTER it was the best film of everyone involved.
So EXTREME PREJUDICE‘s lack of availability in a great Bluray, and better yet Steelbook format, has always struck me as a missed opportunity.
While the US has yet to correct that wrong, Germany and Japan (and the UK had an out of print version as well) evidently know a brilliant movie when they see one, as you can get Walter Hill’s best film on BluRay thru those countries.
Shame on you US!
In my best PLANET OF THE APES growl… “BOW YOUR HEAD!!!” 🙂
But yeah, came across the below BluRay version from Germany…
I have recently gone on a steelbook kick thanks to recent absolutely jaw droppingly beautiful steelbook releases by Shout Factory. I’ve kinda grown to despise the titular blue bar on the top of traditional BluRay packaging. I was never a fan of that branding, but accepted it because, that was all there was.
Well today we have great companies releasing wonderful Blurays done with an eye to aesthetics, that makes not just the film a work of art, but the whole gestalt, the whole process, a work of art. Which is what hopefully anything that takes up space, precious space, in our homes and our lives should be… a thing of beauty.
A thing that makes us smile, to look upon it.
The twelve movies below, including the aforementioned EXTREME PREJUDICE release… make me smile.
Reach out to me, if you need assistance in acquiring any of these.
Without further ado…
Today’s 12 MUST OWN DvDs and BluRays in the Age of DIGITAL!!!!
The Japan and Uk version use similar art for the BluRay, but both are out of print. But they have that blue branding at the top that I can deal with, but does not inspire me to rush out and get a copy. These days I drag my feet before buying anything that doesn’t completely thrill me. Streaming has spoiled us, even us DVD and Bluray fans: today even for an increasing # of us, owning physical media is a luxury that has to justify itself, in an age of Digital.
Digital… meet justification. The German mediabook of EXTREME PREJUDICE…
HOLY … BLOODY… HECK!!!
That is a magnificent cover! And I even forgive it the Blue branding at the top.
Man… when I saw this, even though the book portion is in German (And the title is AUSGELOSCHT which translates loosely to Elimination or Annihilation), I had to have it. Especially when I saw that it was sold out nearly everywhere.
Okay that was one Bluray down, here are today’s other 11 must own BluRays.
Yes, I listed THE THING Steelbook last time, and yes it still takes my breath away. SHOUT FACTORY has just knocked it out of the park with this and their other recent Steelbook releases. I own it now and still am impressed with it every time I see it on my shelf. And people, this is nearly out of print everywhere. Pick it up while you can.
And moving on, here are the remaining must own Blurays of today!
The Blue Branding is just a removable cardboard piece, thankfully, and at the price this classic is a must own.
I do not love THE HOWLING steelbook, but it is growing on me. I kinda like it. And it is currently affordable.
While everyone is proclaiming the death of physical media, I have to tell you, there are people like me, who will always support beautiful things. And while it is great to stream movies, and stream comics, and stream books, and stream magazines, there is no substitution for being able to hold and peruse and showcase a well designed work of art.
So if companies up their game like SHOUT FACTORY is doing, don’t just slap a photo on the cover, but put some bloody creativity into the packaging. Custom artwork, great design, and they will sellout their SteelBook Blurays… just like SHOUT FACTORY is doing. People will support… quality.
Choir… preach. 🙂
Guys if you like this post. go ahead and support this blog by using the links provided. Purchases thru the included links earn this blog a few much appreciated pennies to keep the virtual lights on. 🙂
Thanks for viewing, leave a comment, like or email or subscribe. It is all appreciated. Till next time… be well!!
Best Comic Book Covers of All Time: Joe Kubert’s LOSERS run
What makes a great comic book cover, in this age of virgin variants and gimmick covers, is the same thing that has always made a great cover. When all these flash in the pan virgin covers, are resigned to the 50 cent bin (where most of them belong), the really great covers, will still be… great covers.
They will still have stunning typography, married to great art, with great placement of the various parts, and together the whole, in one moment, both tells a story and sells a product. It is not just this lazy and brainless current fad of a pretty image, but with no context to the story or to the storytelling. Today’s cover artists and editors and art directors, and buyers, confuse a pinup with an effective and affecting cover, and the two are not the same.
Now that is not to say there are not exceptions, where the pinup is so good that you want it for eye candy’s sake alone. That does happen, and is fine, but in my experience it is rare, and is not conducive to books you are actually buying, serialized entertainment you are actually buying,… to read. In that case a pretty picture does not cut it, you need a storyteller as an artist and an art editor, to design a cover that tells a story.
And like i said it is a marriage of many things, some of which are not in the artist’s hands. But when all those disparate elements come together, you have have some of the greatest covers of all time.
There were a lot of people I could have started this new segment with, Neal Adams, Gil Kane, Berni Wrightson, Jack Kirby, but for my money the best cover artist of all time very rarely worked in Superhero Comics, and that is the great Joe Kubert.
Kubert had many magnificent cover runs to choose from but the one that launches this segment is the work of his that made me a Conflict Comics collector. His run on OUR FIGHTING FORCES AT WAR. Not the whole run, because while he did hundreds of covers not all of them have the elements that make an iconic cover. I mentioned a great cover having to do with things sometimes beyond the artists control such as typography and placement of disparate elements on a cover. But Here, for this run of issues, Kubert had complete control over the typography of his covers, and completely integrated that typography into his artwork, in a manner that would have made Eisner impressed. Creating a brilliant image AND telling a story and selling a product.
In the 181 issue run of OUR FIGHTING FORCES AT WAR, all of which had good covers, there are nineteen covers that stand out as masterpieces… only nineteeneighteen. They are not ‘key’ issues, they are seminal issues in the history of comic book cover design. The following scans were the best I could find on short notice, and do not do the books justice. But they give you a taste of the brilliance that make these 19 consecutive issues of OUR FIGHTING FORCES AT WAR a milestone of cover design, and worth owning.
They are…
Issue 142 would signal the end of the ground breaking covers, as well as heralding the end of Joe Kubert as editor on the series (his name would officially be removed as editor two issues later). Archie Goodwin would take over for a while as editor, followed by Jack Kirby(with all due respect to Jack Kirby, I am not a fan of his work on this book). And while Kubert would continue to do covers sporadically for the series up till the end, never again would the typography and mast-head be part of the story-telling. 141 would be the last of that wild imaginative experimentation with art and typography, the last of nineteen issues of the best and longest consecutive run of great covers by one creator in the history of comics. Pick them all up today, while they can still be had affordably.
Use the link below to get your issues today:
https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=180611&AffID=200301P01
If you enjoyed this post and would like to see more like it, please subscribe, leave a like and comment. And what are your favorite cover runs, or cover artists/artwork?
Till next time… be well!!
Youtube Video of the Day : 10 FIGHTS That Made Us Question MMA
I’m a huge boxing fan. And an MMA fan. But perhaps not to the same extent as Boxing. and I’ll get to why in a second.
Combative Sports, seeing talented practitioners display their excellence is a draw, is compelling. That’s why organizations make money, networks make money, athletes make money, because it is a compelling attraction, that people will pay to see.
It appeals to us, to that part of us that lifts, when adversity meets will. There is something inspirational in it, in any athlete at their best.
Whether that is Jimmie Connors on the tennis court, or Sugar Ray Robinson in the boxing ring, those places where will meets adversity, and people come out on the other side as champions and victors… it is rousing.
However combative sports adds an additional layer of danger, in that unlike the goal of tennis or baseball or football or soccer or even rugby, where the goal is to get the ball past your opponent (and I understand these sports, all sports, can be incredibly dangerous, incredibly violent, can be potentially damaging); combative sports, inflicting damage is the goal.
In combative sports the goal is to damage the other person. Not to kill, or cripple, or maim, but enough to get them to submit or to lose. Winning in combative sports defined most clearly by being able to knock out or submit your opponent and have an early night. Now many fights go the distance with no one being knocked out or submitted, but those are potentially even more damaging as you have had people dig deep and go multiple rounds to the finish, trying to knock out or submit the other.
And nothing says highlight reel, like the knockout.
Do a search on youtube for best knockouts of 2019, and you will see that place where will meets adversity, and one person walks thru that door, and one person falls at it.
It is a rousing place for the athlete, and the audience. Look at the crowd or yourself during a great knockout.It impresses, and it rouses.
So I being human, am as guilty of being roused by those drums of wills colliding. So I like combative sports and knockout highlight reels as much as the next person.
But especially with the rise of MMA, and pound and ground, my ‘like’ is becoming more tinged with concern. Because for all the compelling nature of combative sports, we want these people not to be seriously injured or killed for anybody’s entertainment or money.
And I think Boxing has grown a lot in its history to reduce it from its bare knuckle bloodbath war of attrition origins, to the place where you have gloves of a certain weight, and mouth guards, and rules, and a ref there to enforce the rules, and doctors, and corner people, and yes blood baths do still occur in boxing, but boxing has improved greatly to reduce the risk of people getting maimed and killed for a paycheck.
I think MMA, because it is geared to offer us ‘real’ combat, widens the potential zones of attack, and therefore zones of damage. And a lot rides on the ref. Because if boxing’s goal is to knock an opponent down, most boxers know to pull away at that point where the person is down, and the ref gets to give a standing eight count etc; MMA has a more ill-defined goal.
In MMA when the person is down, that is when for the fighter.. the fight begins, and any MMA fight, the fighter on top is pounding away on the person with maiming and potentially killing hammer blows, not because they want to maim, or kill, but because that is the ‘sport’,… you hit until the ref stops or opponent submits. Now a concussed opponent will not be able to submit, so it falls on the ref to quickly keep people from getting destroyed or killed.
It is a potentially disturbing sport, that runs the risk of transcending what we admire about combative sports, to being what we despise about blood sports.
It is a slippery slope, and I think like Boxing will have to adopt better safe guards, as fighters get better, stronger, faster, and arguably more deadly to each other.
Couple things I don’t like about the UFC in particular, is putting people in a cage like pit-bulls to fight, I don’t like people in cages for any reason. Also, I don’t like the corner people removed from their fighter, it delays the response to throw in the towel if needed, or provide medical attention, etc.
I don’t know any easy answers, but I think we have to start looking for them sooner rather than later.
That’s one reason that made me lookup the ‘effects of knockouts’ on Youtube, and that brought me to the below video.
So I’m not saying ban MMA, I am saying increase the safety of your fighters. At the end of the day someone getting maimed or killed, is not a sport. Let’s keep it a sport by keeping it competitive, and keeping it well regulated and well referred.
And I know a lot of people like to see women fight. And there are a lot of great women fighters. However, while I love to see women looking like the above image for any reason, I personally do not like watching women fight. Which is very hypocritical. And I’m not saying they should not fight, if you are good at something, man or woman, and that is your passion, then do it.
I’m saying as a spectator while i don’t mind seeing a guy hit in the face or knocked out, I do not like to see women hit. I do not like seeing beautiful things marred. It’s like splashing grime on a painting. I personally do not like it as a spectator, so I choose not to watch it. But again, I am not saying women are not great fighters,and should not be allowed to fight. If you are great at something and someone is willing to pay you for it, more power to you.
I’m just saying, I personally am not the audience for female fights. And I accept that my feelings are sexist, and chauvinist, and woefully outdated. They are the thoughts of a dinosaur… and you know what… I’m okay with that.
Anyhow hope you found this post useful, if so give a subscribe and a like. And feel free to shoot me a note about your thoughts on this post.
Till next time… Be Well! 🙂
Best Youtube Channel of the Day courtesy of Roku/Amazon Fire!
If you are not watching CEREAL AT MIDNIGHT you are missing out on one of the essential resources for movies on DVD and Bluray, especially of the classic B movie and cult status variety. CEREAL AT MIDNIGHT celebrates those works of yesteryear that are worth picking up, even in this age of streaming.
His latest episode, and he sold me on purchasing the UNIVERSAL HORROR COLLECTION VOL 1 on Bluray.
Mostly because I am a huge fan of THE BLACK CAT. What is the BLACK CAT you ask? Well beyond being the name of the famous Edgar Allen Poe Short Story, it was also the impetus for many films of that name.
This 1934 Edgar G. Ulmer directed BLACK CAT (which only uses Poe’s story as a aesthetic, to go places even Poe dared not) is the best of the half dozen or so feature films to use that title.
Powered by a lurid, and haunting, and maniacal story by Edgar G. Ulmer and Peter Ruric, the film grabs and does not let go. Ruric would never write anything as memorable or deranged or sublime again. Which leads me to believe even though the script is credited to Ruric, that it was Ulmer’s hand you see in it.
Ulmer, an unfortunately little remembered director, was one of the best directors of the strange and the avant-garde (experimental, forward looking), and the disturbed. This film fits perfectly in his mold. And with the best combination of big time studio, large budget, iconic stars, talented craftsmen, that he would ever get, he produced his best movie.
BLACK CAT beyond being Ulmer’s best movie, is without argument the best of the Karloff and Lugosi collaborations, and is arguably the best UNIVERSAL movie, right up there with masterpieces such as BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN and THE INVISIBLE MAN.
Ulmer’s BLACK CAT is so stylized, and so paired to the bone, that like the short story it derives its impetus for, it is entirely possessive of your attention and your awe. And even though I consider BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN a masterpiece, there is something even more heightened and hypnotic in Ulmer’s BLACK CAT.
The only real cinematic comparative to it, would be the feel you get from watching Erle C. Kenton’s ISLAND OF LOST SOULS, which predates BLACK CAT by two years. ISLAND OF LOST SOULS, like BLACK CAT, was both acclaimed and vilified for its horror and its sexuality.
Both are films I consider seminal films, masterpieces of mood, and must own films. And i have owned both films for years in DVD, as generally speaking I do not see the need to upgrade to Blu-ray with these earlier 4:3 Black and White films. However with this new Blu ray also sporting multiple new commentaries, it is worth the double dipping for me.
If you are still deciding check out the video below, and subscribe to the CEREAL AT MIDNIGHT youtube channel… and tell them HT sent ya!
