Have you ever read the Hobbit, the Lord of the Rings, and/or the Silmarillion... all by J.R.R. Tolkien?
I've read all of The Hobbit and about half of The Fellowship of the Ring.
If So, what are your thoughts on them and how do they compare to the movies?
I'm not a fan of Tolkein's writing style at all. It is so dry. It is like reading a REALLY dry history book that has way too many details. "Aragorn is the son of Arathron who is the son of Arador who is the son of..." and so on.
It is less of a narrative and more of an account, which I don't really like in fictional writing. The movies on the other hand told the story, and are fantastic.
Do you still read comic books and if so, what titles?
Not as much as I used to. Grant Morrison destroyed all of my favorites (X-Men, Batman, etc). Plus there is just so much mythology at this point, it has almost become impossible to tell a coherent story. I read the Ultimate line (which was less tied down by 40 + years of history) but it quickly became **** as soon as Millar and Bendis left. It became the crossover of the week/let's kill a character off for shock value book so I dropped it. I hear they even killed Peter Parker (but are somehow continuing Ultimate Spider-Man...
). I would consider giving the DC reboots a try if I didn't hear that they were total ****.
What is your favorite comicbook storyline?
Either The Long Halloween or A Superman For All Seasons (I'm a huge Loeb guy).
What is the movie that you've watched completely and liked the least?
I hate Resident Evil, by Paul Anderson. Such a hack of a director.
You've hosted a lot of Survivor... is there any other hype game (currently existing or one from the past) that you'd like to take a swing at?
I wouldn't mind giving your Hype Big Brother a try, though I think I'd rather play again first because Survivor Big Brother was so much damn fun.
Do you have any ideas for new games we could play on the hype that's never been done here before?
Years ago (like 2004 or 2005), I talked to Malice about making a Hype Apprentice, based on the TV show where there would be a series of challenges, after each, Malice would fire someone from the losing team. Eventually, after the challenges weed out all but two, there would be a final challenge and Malice would hire the Hype Apprentice who would get a shot at being a moderator. Mal seemed intrigued but it fell through the cracks. I'd like to revisit the idea...but it seems like it would be difficult to pull off.
I have on occasion.
What are your current thoughts on divisional rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals, with all the roster changes this season?
It is too early to say. They haven't played any really tough opponents this year, aside from San Fran who completely shut down Dalton and Buffalo who they seemed to luck out against despite Cinci's best effort to lose. There is some young talent, but how often have we seen Marvin Lewis and Paul Brown waste potential?
That being said, Dalton hasn't exactly been fantastic. He's been passable (no pun intended). We will see how much potential Dalton (and this whole team) really has in a couple weeks when they play Tennessee, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore back to back to back.
My guess is that they will lose all three games and their remaining two against Pittsburgh and Baltimore. They will probably also lose to Houston and finish 8-8, not really by merit but more because the AFC North plays the NFC West this year (the easiest division in the NFL) plus, they get to play Cleveland so they have 5 freebie games.
Marvin Lewis will have done just enough to justify keeping his job. Which will allow Paul Brown to keep a coach who he can hold by the leash for a couple more years and Cinci will continue to be completely mediocre.
I sympathize with Cincinnati fans, I truly do. They are essentially the Pittsburgh Pirates of the NFL. Their owner does just enough to keep butts in the seats but they will never really be a competitive team as long as Paul Brown owns them.
What is the most impressive thing you've ever built with your hands?
You know, I'm really not that handy.
I can put things together, like shelving units and stuff, and fix things but I don't think that I've ever really built anything from scratch.
What phyiscal possession have you owned the longest and why?
Honestly, my alarm clock. It is probably about 10 years old or so. I'm not really so sentimental that I keep much. I'm sure that I have something older but it is probably packed away somewhere (I didn't unpack much of my stuff following my move).
What is your most prized possession?
Corny, but my daughter. I'm really not that material so I don't value things that much.
Favorite song of the 80's? 90's? 00's?
80s - Born in the U.S.A.
90s - Losing my Religion
2000s - Everything post 96 sucks.
What is your favorite Hype Survivor memory?
Convincing Byrd not to use P.O.V. I went into full panic and scramble mode and lied my ass off on so many levels. It was a tremendous mixture of fear and adrenaline that made that move possible and when it finally happened....it was great.
What is your favorite Hype Survivor challenge (played and hosted)?
Hosted...The Mortal Kombat challenge. They hated it so much.
Played, The murder mystery, which was fantastic.
List some fun memories that you have of your kids (or is it just kid?). Go wild. Brag like a proud papa (as a fellow dad, I thought I'd give you the chance
)
I think I talked about the Paul incident already. There are so many....just the little things are my favorite, from making pancakes with sprinkles in them for her in the morning, to watching TV with her at night while we both fall asleep...I can't sum it up to just a few things.
