Asher’s Pub (Thursdays)

Hello fellow Cicerones! It’s Thursday, and my Pub is open once again! I hope you guys are ready for some awesome drinks. Now, let me fix you up something special!

• Blue Heaven Cocktail

Ingredients

• 2 cl amaretto almond liqueur 
• 2 cl rum
• 4 cl Blue Curacao liqueur
• fill with pineapple juice
• 1 slice pineapple

Directions: Pour the blue curaçao into the glass. Fill the shaker with ice cubes and shake amaretto, rum, and pineapple juice. Pour it in the glass and stir. Garnish with a pineapple slice.

• Rye Sour Cocktail

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz rye whiskey
• 1/4-3/4 oz sugar syrup
• 1 oz lemon juice

Directions: Shake well over ice cubes in a shaker.  Strain into a whiskey sour glass, add a cherry, and serve.

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More Of My Favorite Cards From Rastakhan’s Rumble

So, the new Hearthstone expansion comes out tomorrow, and all of the cards have been revealed. I think you guys know what needs to happen. Last week, I posted some of my favorite cards of the new upcoming expansion. This post is a continuation of that one, so I hope you will enjoy it. Now, let’s begin!

• Blast Wave Type: Spell Rarity: Epic Class: Mage Cost: 5 Mana Appearance: A troll casting fire in all directions.  Effect: Deal 2 damage to all minions. Overkill: Add a random mage spell to your hand.

This card has insane synergy with Quest Mage Decks, making it almost Meta-Defining. Since it hits all minions, you’re guaranteed to get at least one or two cards to your hand, and that could turn the game in your favor. Also, if you’re really lucky, you could the complete the Mage Quest easily on turn 6. 

 

• Void Contract (Aka The Thanos Card) Type: Spell Rarity: Epic Cost: 8 Mana Class: Warlock Appearance: A warlock sending a stream of magic at a demonic being. Effect: Destroy half of each player’s deck.

This is one of the most creatively chaotic cards ever made. Destroying half of each player’s deck can be absolutely devastating, and may make or break someone’s strategy. I could definitely see this card being played in a Warlock Mecha’thun deck.

 

• Gral, the Shark Type: Minion/Beast/ Battlecry/Deathrattle Rarity: Legendary Class: Rogue Stats: 2 Attack 2 Health Mana Cost: 5 Appearance: A fucking awesome looking shark with ultra sharp teeth. Effect: Battlecry: Eat a minion from your deck and gain its stats. Deathrattle: Add it to your hand. 

I freaking love this card’s artwork! This is probably the one card that I’m most looking forward to playing. Its stats are subpar, but its effect is amazing. Eating a minion is something that no other card has ever been able to do, and the added Deathrattle effect is amazing. If the shark manages to eat something huge, it becomes a monster on the field that’s very hard to take out. I hope more “eat” cards are made in the future.

Asher’s Art Gallery (Every Other Monday)

Hello fellow art lovers! It’s Monday, and my Gallery is open once again! I hope you guys are ready for some awesome paintings. Now, have fun exploring my Gallery!

• Rainbow Acid by Larry Carlson Archival print on paper 

This is a very fascinating work by “Master Surrealist”, Larry Carlson. It is a mixture of detailed Realism and Carlson’s signature Surrealism. The painting is of two female figures with strange hairstyles. The leftmost woman has long, brown hair with flowers on each side, while the rightmost figure has black hair fashioned like a geisha. They also appear to be nude, and do not have any facial features. Instead of a face, the girls have a dark black void that seems to suck up anything that comes to close to it. There are also rainbow lasers shooting out of both face holes, giving the piece an eerie feeling. I really enjoy the work, and would love to hear what you guys think of it in the comments’ section below.  

 

• Undiscovered Genius by Jean-Michel Basquiat Part of The Daros Suite of Thirty-two Drawings 1982-83 Acrylic, oil paintstick, pastel, crayon, charcoal, and pencil on paper. 

This is a wonderful work by “Amazing Artist”, Basquiat. As expected by the artist, the piece is truly unique, and has many fascinating qualities. It is covered with Basquait’s signature motifs like repeated words, abstract faces, and pseudo-realistic objects. The painting appears to take place in Mississippi during the first half of the 1900’s. We see a depiction of a slave ship, as well as the words “Africa” and “Black Country. There’s also a very detailed picture of an African American musician near the painting’s center. It’s a very unique work, and I’d love to hear your opinions on it in the comments’ section below.

My Favorite Stan Lee Characters

Hello fellow comic book fans! It’s time for part 2 of my Stan Lee tribute. Being a huge comic book fan, I have loved many of his creations throughout the years. This post will be on my favorite of his characters. Now, let’s dive into Stan Lee’s amazing creations!

• Juggernaut Real Name: Cain Marko Status: Villain Ht: 6’10 Wt: 900 lbs First Appeared: The X-Men #12- The Origin of Professor X (July 1st, 1965) Creators: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Powers/Abilities: Extraordinary Superhuman strength, Force field, Invulnerability, Superhuman Speed, Telepathy-blocking helmet 

Cain was the bullying stepbrother of Professor X. In his childhood, Cain was always the second favorite child, with his stepdad favoring his own son rather than him. Then, one unfortunate day, Cain set fire to his stepdad’s lab, and he died saving the boy. Many years later, Charles and Cain were drafted into the military, and it was there when he got his powers. After deserting his troops, he stumbled upon a cave, where he found a mystic gem. The gem gave him incredible strength, stamina, and protection, as well as causing a cave in which seemingly killed him. He escaped years later, with a furious temper, and revenge on his mind. He became a constant enemy of the X-Men, and has nearly defeated them on many occasions. 

 

• Black Panther Real Name: T’Challa Status: King of Wakanda and Hero First Appeared: Fantastic Four #52- Introducing the Sensational Black Panther (July 1st, 1966) Creators: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Powers/Abilities: Genius-like Intellect, Vibranium suit, Master of multiple martial arts, Superhuman agility, Enhanced senses, Weapons expert, Energy daggers, Anti-metal claws, Energy shield, Invisibility, Multilingual, Superhuman strength, Acute healing factor, Exceptionally Durable, Super speed, Superhuman Stamina

T’Challa was a Wakandan prince whose father was a superpowered monarch known as the Black Panther. The nation of Wakanda is technologically advanced due to the discovery of a mineral called Vibranium. T’Challa’s father used this mineral to empower the society, and tried to keep it under wraps from the rest of the world. Unfortunately, the villainous scientist, Ulysses S. Klaw, broke into Wakanda, and killed the prince’s father. Thinking fast, T’Challa turned Klaw’s sound based weapon against him, destroying his right hand in the process. With no one to rule Wakanda, T’Challa performed the sacred ritual into become Wakanda’s new king. Upon claiming the throne, the prince was given the Heart-shaped Herb, an incredibly powerful item that gives the user significantly enhanced physical capabilities. The Fantastic Four visited Wakanda, and were quickly defeated by T’Challa. The king then explained that he was testing the Superhero team to see if they were capable of taking down Klaw. The team became quick friends with T’Challa, and still team up with him on many missions. He also made friends with Captain America, and helped him take down an imposter. Shortly after, T’Challa joined the Avengers, and became a very powerful team member, while continuing to rule over Wakanda. I highly recommend watching Black Panther to get some more information on this awesome and unique superhero.

More Crappy Book Covers (Every Other Tuesday)

Hello fellow book lovers! It’s Tuesday, and you know what that means! Yes, it’s time for us to take a look at some more crappy covers. Now, let’s begin!

• Red Planet by Robert A. Heinlein (October 17th, 2018) Genre: Science Fiction Pages: 258 

This is a Science Fiction novel about a group of school kids that go to Mars and have all sorts of crazy things happen to them. The cover is an absolute train wreck though. There are two ultra deformed people, presumably the students, and a bizarre looking alien. The faces are extremely off-putting, and could give anyone nightmares.

 AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!

 

• At the Point of a Quarrel by Paul Telegdi (September 20th 2016) Genre: Unknown 

This is a book about war in France. The cover is actually quite pretty, well, at least the coat of arms is. Then, you get to the left of the cover, and see a hunchbacked solider with a knife in his mouth. He looks completely deranged and very off putting.

Ridiculous Book Covers (Wednesdays)

Hello fellow book lovers! It’s Wednesday, and you know what that means! Yes, it’s time for us to take a look at some more crappy book covers. Now, let’s begin!

• The Goblin and a Lucky Adventure (Tales from the Forest of the Hooting Owl) by Juliet Boyd Release Date: August 2nd, 2018 30 Pages Genres: Short Story, Kids 

This is a recent book that’s about a goblin that goes on a journey. Unfortunately, the cover is absolute rubbish! It actually looks like somebody vomited the contents of a paint can onto the paper. I’m a big fan of abstract art, but this is so half-assed, it makes me angry. Put more effort into your covers, it’s not that hard!

 

• Gubble Bubble Kingdom by Denise McCabe and Illustrated by Da’an Yahya Release Date: February 21st, 2015 36 Pages Genre: Picture Book

I don’t really need to explain the synopsis of this do I? It apparently is a children’s picture book that was well received on Amazon. The cover is “interesting” to say the least, and could easily give people nightmares. The cover is like a giant LSD trip with an overly happy jester and two kids trapped in a bubble. The jester appears to be pouring a douche filled with water into a green field. I don’t like this cover because it edges way too close to the uncanny valley.

Asher’s Video Game Reviews (One Every 2 Months)

Hello fellow gamers, and welcome to a new game review! I am really looking forward to reviewing this particular game, and I hope that you guys will enjoy it. Now, let’s begin!

Dead Cells Release Date: August 7, 2018 Platforms: PC,PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One Rated T for Teen (Gore, Violence, Blood, Language) Developed by Motion Twin Composer: Yoann Laulan Genres: Metroidvania and Roguelike 

Dead Cells is a game that I wanted the second I saw Tear of Grace playing it. It essentially is what would happen if Dark Souls was an Action Platformer. You take control of a humanoid creature that doesn’t have a head. It’s known as The Prisoner or The Beheaded. You start the game in a prison where you’re told by a guard that you can’t die. Instead of having a Game Over, you get transformed into this green slime, and possess a corpse to take control of it. The object of the game is to presumably escape the prison, and find out why you were captured to begin with. It won’t be easy, however, as there’s tons of enemies and traps in your way. Each time you start a run, you a randomly given two weapons in the form of a sword and a shield. You also collect 2 extremely important items throughout your journey. Whenever you kill an enemy, they will drop money, and may have a chance to drop a glowing blue orb known as a cell. Cells are used to upgrade your arsenal of weapons, and to increase drops in the dungeons. The difficulty comes in the gameplay, as when you “die”, you will drop all of the cells you currently are holding. The good news, is that the cells that you use to upgrade weapons are permeant, so the weapons will stay unlocked. Each enemy has a special type of attack that can massively drain your health, however, there’s an easy cue whenever they perform it. Your weapons range from awesome swords that cause the enemies to bleed, to freaking sandals that allow you to kick your way through huge mobs. The faster and quicker your reaction time is, the better you’ll do in the game. I also have gotta say, the music is absolutely perfect, as it embodies every situation that you run into. The game isn’t complete yet, but you’re guaranteed to have a great time playing it, as the rewards are random with every run. I highly recommend this game to lovers of The Binding Of Isaac and Platforming fans in general. Posted below is Sethorven playing Dead Cells, so if it interests you, buy the game, and you won’t be disappointed. Final Rating: 9.6/10 (Incredibly Fun)