A Trip to Aruba Would Be Perfect for Our HoneyMoon

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Aruba Tourism Authority for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I love the scenic views that Aruba has to offer!

Hey there.  I owe my wife a honeymoon getaway.  When we got married, we both worked but we didn't make to much money.  I couldn't afford to get her the wedding ring that she deserved, I couldn't get her the lavish wedding ceremony that she deserved, and I couldn't get her the honeymoon getaway that she deserved.  Next year, it will be our 10 year anniversary and I plan on making up for some of those things.  We're better off financialy, now, than we were before and we are we plan to renew our vows and have a wedding ceremony with friends and family.  I also want to plan that honeymoon trip that we didn't get to enjoy the first time around.  We orignally had our heart set on a Hawaiian honeymoon but a trip to Aruba sounds pretty tempting right now!

Make a Name for Yourself with CelebStir

Hey there.  I have my favorite musical artists.  I also have my own favorite celebrities that I troll on Twitter and on Facebook.  While online, I try to look up some new music or new events or activities that my favorite artists are participating in, but you know what I have a noticed?  It's usually fans, such as myself, that are the ones that are posting about our favorite artists!  Whether it be pictures or events, we, the fans, upload some pretty awesome stuff online.  The problem that I have is that I need to go to several fan forums or websites to get all the best stuff.  Well... not anymore!  You MUST check out, CelebStir!

Metallman Update: Events, Games, GenCon, and More

Hey there.  It's been awhile since I last had a post.  I'm sorry, guys.  I haven't really been feeling well and I couldn't muster the energy to sit and write.  No worries though! I'm back and at full strength and wanted to give you guys a heads up on what's to come.  A few game reviews are coming, in written and podcast form, a few events that I'll be covering, and I received a press pass for a gaming convention!  How awesome is that?!  Ok... so let's get into the details.  Something tells me this is going to be a lengthy post!

Cyanide & Happiness - Spiderman and Metal Shows

You know what, Spidey... if I were you, I'd go to a Justin Beiber concert and do that.

As My Guitar Lies Bleeding in my Arms

Music... poetry without any words

Hey there. I love music. I've always been into music since as far back as I can remember. From my early days playing on a recorder to my later years jamming on a guitar. I strongly believe that music can transcend words.  A beautifully crafted piece of music can saw much, much more than any words can.  As a kid, I would spend more than enough time playing the recorder.  I still remember how to play the thing too.  lol  That seed led to me play more instruments throughout my years:  flute, trumpet, keyboard, bass, guitar...  When I was feeling a little upbeat, I would grab the flute and play.  When I was feeling tense, I would grab my guitar and play.  Guitar...  I'm particularly proud of being to play guitar.  Not because it's "cool" or anything of that sort, but because it was a new instrument for me to learn to play.  The guitar that I learned on  was a 20 fret Fender Stratocaster that was gifted to me by my uncle from Minnesota (which I, in turned, gifted to my son).  Soon after, I picked up an "easy" to learn guitar book with Metallica songs in it and got to work.

BassBuds In Ear Headphones Review and Discount Code

Hey there.  Who is in need of some stylish in ear head phones that also has superior sound quality.  There are other headphones out there but they will cost you an arm and a leg to buy them.  It's difficult to find a pair of headphones that not only look great but also provide superior sound quality.  What is a music afficionado to do?  Well, our good friends at BassBuds may have the solution for you!  Our good friends at BassBuds provided me with a pair of headphones to try out and review and let me tell you, these are one of the best set of headphones that I have ever owned!

Nintendohemian Rhapsody

Hey there. I love me a good NES title. Why? Well because they are fun and challenging!  There was no internet to tell us what to do, there was rarely a strategy guide in sight, and if you died after using all of your continues, that was it.  Game over.  Start from the beginning... AGAIN!  Nevertheless, I loved them.  The video below expresses my sentiment EXACTLY!  Take a listen.  If you are a NES fan, you're going to love this!  Later!

God of War Saga Winner - Persist

Hey there.  I wanted to give a shout out to the winner of the God of War Saga giveaway.  The winner, Persist, made a special request upon winning the giveaway.  He entered to win, but couldn't wait and ended up buying the game before he was chosen as the winner.  In lieu of the game, we decided on a $30 PSN network card.  I want to keep my winners happy, you know.  lol  You can't really provide a picture of PSN codes so I told him that I would give him a winners post regardless!

Persist can be followed on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and many other social media outlets.  He's created quite a few music videos that are pretty awesome.  If you love the hip hop scene, you should check out his music at PersistMuzik.  Congrats, Persist!  Hope you stick around and enjoy the site!  Later!

The Gladiator Rock'n Run at the Rose Bowl was Awesome

Gladiator Rock'n Run at the Rose Bowl

Hey there.  My year of fitness reached a new level last Saturday.  I completed my second obstacle course and the Gladiator Rock'n Run was BRUTAL!  It was a lot tougher than I thought it would be.  I spent a lot of time at the gym the following month trying to level up my fitness stats.  I focused more on endurance than anything else and it definitely paid off.  There were long stretches of jogging in between the obstacles and I'm sure that it was designed that way so that you reach them feeling pretty drained.  Nevertheless, I loved it and would definitely be heading back next year for round two!  Let me tell you about my experience.

The Day I Became a Flute Player

Hey there.  This weekend, while I was relaxing at home, I decided to play some music.  Not on the iPod or radio, but play a musical instrument.  Most of you already know that I play guitar.  I have both an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar.  Both are pretty special to me.  The acoustic was given to me by wife (girlfriend at the time she gave it to me) and my electric is a Kirk Hammet "Skully" (KH-602) guitar.  But I'm not here to talk about guitar, I'm here to talk about my flute playing.  That's right, I play flute.  From time to time, I managed to eek out some time to play.  Last weekend was one of those times.  I grabbed the book that I would practice out of in JR. high and high school and test out my skills.  No doubt that they've diminshed some, but after 18 years of first picking up the instrument, they have yet to completely erode.

2Bach

2Bach is about to get all classical on yo' azz!  lol

August Photo a Day - Something You Hate

Hey there.  Today's picture is something that I hate.  That's pretty easy.  I hate hate.  I hate it when people discriminate against others.  Why hate?  Why not embrace?  Why not learn from our differences?  You know, the world would be such a better place without hate.  No wars, no violence, no stupid racist tweets from Olympic athletes (yeah, that happened).  My motto is "make pride universal."  I stole that from a Pantera song.  When I first heard it, I hit me.  No matter what, be who you be and that's it.  No envy, no greed, no jealousy, and no hate.  Hate is something that we can use a lot less of and I can't wait until it happens.  Later!

What the Hell Happened to Music?

I don't think anyone could match what Freddie Mercury created!

Hey there.  I saw this online sometime today and I realized something...  The music of today sucks.  Well... let me rephrase, the majority of the music of today sucks.  Quite frankly, I just don't listen to the radio anymore... unless it's AM sports talk radio.  I feel as if the musicians of this generation have so many hands in "their music" that it's not really theirs.  Some writer or writers came up with the words, another one came up with the composition, and the "artist" is just the voice that sings (or lipsings) the crap out of that song.  I wouldn't really call myself a musician if that's how my career ended up.  Anyways what do you think?  Was the music simply better back then?  Am I really the only one that feels this way?  Later!

The Kids Showing Interest in Music and Sports

Great job, boy!

Hey there.  When I was in middle school (let's go Edison EAGLES!) I was introduced to a lot of extra curricular activities.  There was the ROTC team, music, running, basketball... It's one of those times in your life where you decide which path to take.  I could have done the sports thing.  I love sports and it would have been great to jump into that, but as many of you know, my love was invested in music.  I went the musical route and devoted my middle school life to that.  Yes, my friends.  I was a band geek.  But that doesn't mean I didn't participate in sports activities in school.  I also did some running for the school and did a few relay races and mile runs.  Nothing too fancy, mind you, but it was done.  With all things considered, it's pretty awesome to see that the kids are following suit.  Check it out.  The boy in his first cross country run (The Long Beach Middle School Cross Country Championship) and my oldest daughter in her first orchestra recital.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Game Giveaway

Who's ready for another giveaway?  I've been on a recent Legend of Zelda binge.  I got all nostalgic and watched a few video of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (my all time favorite Zelda game) and started going down some top 10 best "whatever" Zelda stuffs.  Then I got to playing Zelda music on the flute and guitar.  Yeah, I play flute.  Classical status and all.  So what?!  lol  Anyways, I told myself that I would get around to playing Twilight Princess before getting to Skyward Sword.  So I decided that for those of you that need to catch up, like myself.  I'll give away The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo Selects) for the Nintendo Wii.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World Blu Ray/DVD Movie Combo Giveaway Winner

Hey there. It's time to announce a winner!  Will it be you, maybe you, how about you?  Ok... Ok...  enough goofing around.  And the winner is...

The Lenovo Speaker M0520: Powerful Sound from a Small Package

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Lenovo for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

They there.  Technology has made it that most devices have become smaller and more powerful.  Think back to the early cell phones.  Those monstrosities were big and bulky compared to the sleek designs of many smartphones out today.  Even though smaller might not always seem better, certain items are best in small packages.  It's convenient for easy storage and for mobility.  We all carry around a smart phone that plays music, a tablet that can play videos, or a laptop that can do it all.  Those built in speakers are not always of the best quality so it would be great to carry around great sounding speakers that can easily be carried with you.  That's where the Lenovo speaker M0520 comes in.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World Blu Ray/DVD Movie Combo Giveaway

Hey there.  Who is ready for another movie giveaway?!  Geeks, nerds, and video game enthusiast will agree that Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World is the one movie that mashes all of what we like into one quirky film.  And now you can enter to win your own Blu Ray/DVD combo of Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World movie right here on Metallman's Reverie!  Here's a quick recap of the film:

The Heavy Metal Test

What?!  Teachers don't know nothing!!!

What's Your Favorite Song to Play with Your Windows Down?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kia Rio for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Hey there.  You ever had that dull sensation cross over you when there is abosultely nothing on the car radio that'll get you to move?  It seems to happen more often than not.  Especially on the way home from a long day at work.  You ever had that awesome adrenaline rush over you when the absolute perfect song comes on the car radio that you just have to roll down the windows and sing your heart out?  Yeah, that doesn't happen enough... but when it does, man is it AWESOME!  This is why Kia and Spotify have teamed up to create the ultimate "Best Songs with your Windows Down" playlist.