we finished Battlestar Season Three the other day... yawn. worst. ending song thingy. ever.

the whole season was a MAJOR letdown. season two had me enamoured, and in love, with the series after a rocky start. the honeymoon is over. i guess i can start into season four now. OH! i need to add Razor to my netflix LIKE NOW...

***

we finished Oz Season Five tonight. man... the ending to that was sad, but kinda perfect. Augustus has a knock out final word and the closing shot is a stunner. cant wait to dig into season six... to finish out the series.

***

did i mention we watched 'Bull Durham' the other night. it was a bit of a letdown too... i think i was expecting Caddyshack, but with more heart. instead i got porkys for adults. it was ok.

***

cd updated

The Weepies - Hideaway
The Kooks - Konk

talk about your bad album titles.

and i got Dov's record... i forget the name or his last name... i'll write it down soon.

***

i'm in love. more later. much later.

***

my back is still dead.

***

i'm rambling because i'm trying to remember what i wanted to write about in the first place... wtf was it? justin reminded me of something... but now i'm at a loss... the new Interpol unofficial video is pretty neat... 'Rest My Chemistry' is probably my favorite song from LP3, so it has that going for it.

Color me shocked... the 'Kung Fu Panda' game is actually pretty good! I mean, its still really easy, it's a kids game after all, but for what it is, its great. The combat and action works well, the graphics are really pretty as is the animation.

When I booted up the demo, I was hit with the 'Luxoflux' logo... creators of one of my favorite games, Vigilante 8... an admitted 'Twisted Metal' rip-off, but they actually did everything right and it was a great combat driving game.

They haven't released anything that great since then, but it's nice to see they're still around.

If you have kids, or like simple games and collecting coins, give 'Kung Fu Panda' a look... i don't know if i can say the same for the movie... that looks pretty bad.

***

hung out with matt and tamara last night and pretty much just talked tv and movies for a couple hours. it was fun and we never got around to playing any games or anything.

***

I also gave the 'Sega Superstars Tennis' demo a look on the 360. I hated the PS3 demo, but when I found out it was made by the same group that did Virtua Tennis, I decided to give it another look. It works much better on the 360, much easier to control, oddly enough. I figured they should be about identical. It's still a bit too simple, even for a tennis game. they have you push XA or AX to do lob shots or whatever. you dont use Y or B at all. why not put lob on Y like every other tennis game? it's frustrating. And when you charge up for a special shot, you only get to keep it for one point. its not timed, I guess it would be useful if you're only up by one, but its awkward to initiate as well. the ball has to be in play for you to use the charge, so you cant do it on a serve.... frustrating.

***
cd

Nerf Herder - IV

in a strange twist of fate... my top 2 most anticipated games are both released this week.

GTA IV (duh.)

and

EchoChrome!!!

yup... its hitting PSN today for just ten bones in both PSP and PS3 flavors. i think i'll go for the PSP version. hot damn!

i stumbled through the japanese demo and loved it. i'm sure to get to the fourth level and pull my hair out though.

***

also... looks like we're doing two podcasts today. or something.

***

and!

cd update

Lyrics Born - Whatever dumb title his new album has
David Crowder Band* - Remememedy Deluxe Edition

***

my back was pretty jacked today, so i came home early. watched 'before the devil knows you're dead'. it's good. better in some aspects than i expected and worse in some others. the story is good and its a pleasure to look at (and not just the naked parts), but the acting was... bonkers. i wasnt feeling it. worth a look though. really, the story is great.

i wont spoil it as much as the trailer does, but two brothers rob a jewelry store... their parents jewelry store. the heist goes bad...

***

an mfing spider was just crawling on my ear! how did it even get up there?

hell... now i feel them all over myself. ugh.

HAHAHAHA!

Man... I just love it when GameSh!t fails. Really. I LOVE IT.

Those reservations they shove up your ass everytime you set foot in their stores? Meaningless.

Way to be.



I saw my dad today at my work about an hour before I got off. He said that on the news they said GTAIV was selling out everywhere. I didn't bother with a pre-order because I'm a cheapass and I always wait until I know all my options before I commit to one place or another. When he told me it was selling out though... I got scared.

I ran to Best Buy after work and they still had some left... but not many. WTF? Seriously, I expected copies of GTAIV to be choking the aisles. It's the biggest title of the year, and is already being speculated to be the fastest selling game ever. I figured supply would STILL out rank demand. When Halo 2 was so 'rare' at launch, every store I went to had stacks and stack everywhere for weeks. There was no shortage in my area at all. That was a few years ago, so internet orders were smaller even...

Did GTAIV short ship or what?

of the 10 'friends' logged into their xboxes when i was playing (at a peak... i'd say at least 15 users showed up while i was playing, maybe more) EVERY single one of them was playing GTAIV. one guy did Halo 3 for a while, then went GTA. When Halo 3 launched i had 11 friends on at peak, and only 3 of us were playing halo. just to give a comparison.

***

So what do i think of it?

WELL...

I love it.

BUT.

It really really is more of the same. It's not a revolutionary leap to the next gen. Certainly the graphics and physics are much much better than in previous titles. and there is a ton more swearing and sex talk. but its a fine tuned version of GTAIII really.

not that that's a bad thing. GTAIII is one of the best games ever made and was a massive innovation and landmark title. Everything about GTAIV is better, but pretty much the same as you would expect.

Anyone try the multiplayer? I did just for a bit around dinnertime. I did a Team Deathmatch game. I'm hoping the other gametypes are better. the level sucked and the screen was a mess. you're dressed like some guy or whatever, and there is no team colors. i mean... i dropped in and there was an orange team and a purple team. i was wearing jeans and a navy jacket. uh... who do i shoot? as i was trying to find my bearings, some thug ran up next to me. i aimed my pistol at his face and he said 'what's up man?'... ok... we're purple apparently, or he's just as clueless as i am. he didnt fire at me, so i took off running towards the nearest orange blob on my radar.... he followed my every move constantly asking 'what's up man?'. then i got sniped.

i took down 4 guys with my pistol in 3 minutes and was ranked #1 on my team. i think everyone was confused as hell.

***

also.... the moment i booted the game... i mean... THE MOMENT. the freaking title screen had not even come up yet.... i got an invitation to play. wtf? its 2 in the afternoon on launch day for a historically single player game. please hold off on the invitations a day or two. did anyone really jump right into the multiplayer right away? the beginning of the game is a 10 minute cut scene... peoples...

he sent me 3 more invitations throughout the day. i messaged him and said i wanted to spend some alone time in liberty city. he said that was fine. and then proceeded to send invites anyway. i guess he's just excited.

i have 14 more multiplayer types to try... so i'm sure i'll hit him up soon.

I think i'm about 8% through the main storyline. something like that. i just got an email account in the game. achievements are pretty random. i think i have 4 or so, for pretty random things besides finishing levels.

***

cd update

The Roots - Rising Down or something
Portishead - 3

If you don't know, now you know.

So our trip was fun, but busy... blah blah... everyone writes this kind of stuff, so I'm just going to nail down some highlights before I forget them.

***

I finished two books:

Preacher Collection 1 (if that counts)
I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

and I started the first Constantine collection.
Also, we listened to the audiobook for 'The Ruins'... There were no ruins actually visited in the book... SPOILAR~!!!

Preacher is badass and I can't wait to read more.

***

We went to Amoeba Records twice. I felt a lot of emotions while there. at first, i was pissed because i was (again) incredibly overwhelmed. then i started coming into my own, finding albums, having fun, etc. then i got pissed again because i was finding too much stuff and i had still just barely scratched the surface. i decided to stick mainly to the used and clearance sections just because if its still there and new, i can probably still find it somewhere else.

I passed on a damaged copy of 'Meat Bob' by Bobcat Goldthwait... although i really wanted it and nearly paid the $15 for it.

the haul was small... but also dirt cheap. i think i bought 5 sealed cds, and two of those were EPs... most of the stuff i got are things i've been wanting to hear, but didnt feel like paying full price for, or were so cheap i just wanted to try them. clearly, i hit the comedy section pretty hard as comedy records are hard to come by in ABQ.

here's the rundown.

Sarah Shannon - City Morning Song
Starlight Mints - Drowaton
Interpol - Live EP
Neon Neon - Stainless Style
IllLit - Insound tour EP
ELYK Records Comp
Judd and Maggie - Subjects
Greg Behrendt is Uncool
Love Arcade
Athlete - Beyond the Neighborhood
James Kochalka Superstar - Spread your Evil Wings and Fly
Chromeo - Fancy Footwork
Mark Gross - Meet Mark Gross
Neil Hamburger - Raw Hamburger
Robert Kelly - Just the Tip
Kate Nash - Made of Bricks
Luaka Bop - The Sound of Sound Comp
We Are Standard - 3.000V - 40.000W
Laura Veirs - Saltbreakers
+/- - Let's Build a Fire
+/- - +/-
The Guggenheim Grotto - ... Waltzing Alone
K-Os - Joyful Rebellion
K-Os - Collected
Fun Lovin' Criminals - Livin' in the City
Duran Duran - Thank You (Import)
Jamie Kennedy and Stu Stone - Blowin' Up
The Subways - Young for Eternity
Everclear - Welcome to the Drama Club
The Maccabees - Colour It In
The Naked Trucker and T-Bones - Live at the Troubadour
Fountains of Wayne - Out of State Plates
Suburban Kids with Biblical Names - #3
Creeper Lagoon - Take Back the Universe and Give Me Yesterday
Hovercraft - Experiment Below
Isobel Campbell - Milkwhite Sheets
Spoon - Don't You Evah EP
REM - New Adventures in Hi-Fi (Special Edition)

I thought that last one was a collection of 7" es... but its the cd with a cool box and a giant book.

I think that's about it... besides stuff that Fotini wanted. Kate Nash is hers as well as some Chieftans stuff. I also got a couple copies of Surrogate and some other gifts. All that for about $200 i guess. so... around $4-5 each?

Last time I seemed to favor Astralwerks records... this time Minty Fresh was the repeat offender.

***

We spent a lot of time with Ted, his wife Becca, and their daughter Riley... and their friends a bit too.

Here's a photo of Ted's house:


The Mickey toilet paper was a little unsettling, i mean... wiping with a pillar of your childhood is unusual (insert NKOTB joke here).

Still, we had a good time... lots of Catan and they gave us a ton of information about Disneyland. So much so that I actually ate TWO meals in the Disney park where I didn't feel totally ripped off. The other meals were ripoffs though, and Cafe Uva was so much of a ripoff that it neglects any perceived savings from the two reasonably priced meals.

I saw the Cafe Uva menu posted and fries were $6, a cheesesteak was $9, and after days of having insane prices drilled into my brains, these actually seemed like a 'good deal'. what we received was FIVE french fries. thats right... FIVE. they were like steak fries, but still. FIVE. and the cheesesteak. take an Olive Garden Breadstick, cut it in half and throw one onion slice and a slice of roast beef on it. there's your $9. I AM NO EXAGGERATING. It was literally the size of an OG breadstick.

***

we went to church with the Ted's as well. They go to church in a punkrawk venue. it was black as night and the only lights were christmas lights strung across the ceiling. during the service they turned on some chinese lamps. it was very hip. i'm surprised i didnt fall asleep. it was the perfect setting for an indie show. the church was cool though, and the people nice. the pastor wore jeans and welcomed us. word.

***

we did two days in Disneyland. open to close.

I wore a hole in my insoles. we both need wheelchairs now because our legs dont work. but it was great. a real disney animator taught us how to draw Tigger.

The Bugs Life 3D show thingy is just about the best thing in both parks. i loved the hell out of it. even though they did spray RAID all over us in the audience.

The Muppet 3D thing SUCKED. The preshow was 10 times better than the actual show. You know how the Muppets are famous and have lots of big characters. Kermit, Piggy, Fonzie, etc? well, they decided that all those beloved characters are bullsh!t and instead most of the show revolves around 'The Spirit of 3D'... an annoying CGI bug thing that flies around. it looks like something Pixar would have made 25 years ago as a tech demo. its not even made of FELT. nice.

I've never seen Bugs Life or Monsters Inc... or a ton of other films apparently... but the Monsters Inc ride is pretty great too.

The Jungle Adventure ride thing is still the best thing in the Disneyland park.

The Enchanted Tiki Room was the only 'neglected' attraction we went too. everything in disneyland is PERFECT. clean and trimmed and everything.... really amazingly perfect... except the Tiki Room. damn near everything in there is dusty as hell. half the robots have broken parts. its a room full of birds and singing flowers and stuff. even the walls sing. everything sings. its really great and a big time capsule for what disneyland started as. there are more robots in that one room than on most of the other rides period. that said... many of the birds had half broken beaks, or one eye worked and the other was lazy. its a shame... but i'd imagine its not that big of a draw anymore anyway.

next time, we're paying for a tour guide. no contest. its $50 or something, but you get lunch so thats like a $300 savings right there.

the freaking submarines were always broken or buried under lines.

the longest wait we had was probably about 25 minutes... and it was for the lamest ride ever.... Storybook Land. you sit in a boat and look at miniatures for 3 minutes. i thought it was another robot ride. the second longest wait was for the Casey Jr train... 20 minutes. its identical to the Storybook Land ride except its on land and not sea... i wish i had known they were identical.

The Snow White ride.... WTF? its like... here's all the bad stuff that went down... snow white is done-skis, the dwarves are boned, prince charming is AWOL... RIDE'S OVER KIDS! HOP OUT! it doesnt even wrap up... it was funny how bad that ride was.

Pirates was excellent. i was never a huge fan, it was always ok, but its really good. i mean, you've got ships shooting over your head, and water splashing everywhere... it was awesome.

i'm not going to describe everything... but we loved our time in the magic kingdom. if you go, check the galleries out... we saw a Jane Seymour original!

we also watched a ton of movies. we did pretty much every attraction in both parks that wasnt a crazyass roller coaster. thats a ton. no matter how boring it looked, we did it. and nothing was really THAT bad.

I'll post photos soon.

***

mick bought a freaking '08 BMW... gotdamn man! its nice. his new place is pretty nice too... he's still the same old mick... and dani is the same old dani. we stayed there for 2 days but our schedules were pretty opposite.

***

we saw a big ass dead seal on the beach. its face was all bashed in, but the rest looked ok. must have it a boat blade. weird seeing something that big, that close, that dead.

hung out with my uncle and met his girlfriend. shes 60 and very nice. also checked out the maritime museum... they have the second largest collection of bone ship models. that is to say, models of ships made out of bones. prisoners in the 1700's made them out of their food leftovers. they were REALLY nice too. we saw some maps that Whistler did. before he did his mom. he got fired for drawing on the maps. very cool. my uncle has at least 5 models in that museum... they were really nice.

***

everyone knows how much i hate my Kia, and some of you will remember that the last time i tried to drive to LA my gotdamned KIA broke down two hours outside of ABQ on my way there and i spent my two week vacation in my room with my gamecube feeling sorry for myself.

our rental car was a Kia Sephia.

it got amazing gas milage. i mean... in the 40mpg range. i'm very pleased.

***

i saw Tommy Lee in California Adventure with an incredibly hot blonde girl. it was him though. tats and bad haircut and all.

we didnt go to the free Flight of the Conchords concert, but i did see them driving by Amoeba as we walked in.

as previously mentioned, we saw Norm MacDonald doing standup and he was wonderful. it was a great surprise. we met my friend Jason and he said there was a good comedy club near our hotel in Tempe. he called to see who was performing and we just lucked out! we sat in the balcony, front center. great seats.

there were two hecklers in the crowd... and no joke, they were literally sitting right next to us on both sides. the comics reamed them though and they pretty much shut up after the first comic.

***

we listened to several podcasts, Random X, Penny Arcade, CAG Foreplay, Leo LaPorte, Hijinks Ensue, SModcast... and about 6 hours of the Stern show... most of which involved Arties departure and comeback. nothing like bear porn and ejaculate eating for sustenance talk to start a vacation right.


***

We also watched 'Juno' today.

I was torn because part of me wanted to really like it because everyone does and everyone told me that I would love it. For those same reasons, I wanted to hate it. I wasn't interested in watching it before because it looked like a pretentious hipster movie. I think I liked it better when it was called 'Ghost World' like 10 years ago.... but it was ok. It's the kind of movie that people who haven't seen 'Ghost World' or the like would probably find hip. It was kind of like a Wes Anderson movie, but without the heart. It probably sounds like I hated it, but I didn't. It was just... there. and exactly what i thought it would be. a movie that thinks its more clever than it actually is, but it had some zingers in it as well. JK Simmons and Michael Cera were excellent. Her stepmom was really good too.

I think its funny that someone who calls themselves 'Diablo Cody' and names their lead 'Juno MacGuff' takes the time to make fun of the name 'Madison' in the script.

Also. no one says 'Swear to Blog' or whatever the hell. no one. really. except the 13 year old girls who saw Juno and say it now.

a lot of people said i would like it because i talk just like the characters in the film. apparently i'm a bigger asshole/douchebag/tard than i thought.

i didnt think i needed to say it, but when i write things like 'SPOILARZ!' and 'omg lollerz! and the like... thats not ME, thats me making fun of people who say those words. i'm fueling the fire i guess, and for that i'm sorry. its like if i were 19 and wearing a phil collins t-shirt. word?

(i do say 'word' and 'dig' sans irony however.)

anyway... if you havent seen it... rent 'Rushmore'.

***

I love being a man (sometimes)... I packed all my junks in about 5 minutes. Now I have time for CoD4.

***

MFing Metal Gear Beta update is at 30% complete. I started it five hours ago. These are some biloxi speeds here or something. It's all Konamis fault. It's using an elaborate mirror system.... I'm uploading at 5kb/s... i'm downloading at just over 1. the best i've seen i was downloading at 4kb/s, but i was uploading at 33kb/s... so whoever is leeching me is making out much better than i am.

***

cd update for a while

Phantom Planet - Raise the Dead
Black Francis - svn fngrs

I haven't bought a Frank Black record in years... but when i saw that 'Black Francis' was releasing a new record, my pixies pavlov reflex went off and i instantly preordered it... weird... so it showed up today, and i was like 'why the heck did i just run off and order this?', i threw it in and i'll be damned... it actually sounds kinda pixie-ish.

so then i did some reading, and it turns out thats what he was going for... this is the 'last' recording as Black Francis. and its good. well... maybe not just like the pixies... but its much weirder than his folk country roots rock records. it's like 8 bucks or something on amazon.

phantom planet is much different than their other records... this one is the 'arty' record i guess.... they kinda have a slight radiohead vibe... which is a compliment i guess because EVERY band thinks they sound like radiohead, but this one actually does sometimes. you ask any band what they sound like and they'll say 'like radiohead but...' and then whatever makes them 'unique'. its funny... in the late 90's early 00's, bands said this, then they got into the thing 'like coldplay but...' and now its back to radiohead. right on.

My back is better... just a bit sore.

***

We watched 'Miller's Crossing' and some more BSG last night. I think out of everything we watched, i fell asleep during every single item. every episode and movie we watched. i just always fall asleep when sitting down and not talking anymore. So yeah, it was hard to keep up with all the double crossings and triple crossings on 'Miller's Crossing'. Fotini was awake the whole time and even she couldn't keep up.

***

CD Update of the past week or so...

Liam Finn - I'll Be Lightning
BTO - Greatest Hits or something
POD - When Angels and Serpents Sleep or Dance or something
The Breeders - Mountain Battles

Goodbye old interests:

150: all star united, analog brothers, andrew bird, aphex twin, aqua teen hunger force, astralwerks, audrey hepburn, badly drawn boy, baldur's gate: dark alliance, beck, belle and sebastian, ben folds five, bill murray, black santa, blackalicious, bloc party, bran van 3000, bulletproof wallets, cake, calibretto 13, chris ware, clerks, cupcakes, daft punk, danielson familie, de la soul, deathray, deftones, dexter, discover america, dj assault, dr. dooom, dr. octagon, elastica, elliott smith, engine 88, fine china, fiona apple, five iron frenzy, flan, foo fighters, fotini, frente, gamecube, get up kids, gitaroo man, goldfinger, golf, grand buffet, grape-a-don, greedo, groundhog day, handsome boy modeling school, harvey birdman, heavy blinkers, interpol, jackie chan, jay thomas, jim mahfood, john frusciante, joy electric, katamari damacy, kate, kelis, kevin smith, kings of convenience, kings of leon, kool keith, la symphony, local h, lord grunge, luaka bop, lucerin blue, lyryn, magnet magazine, mallrats, maroon 5, mermen, metallica, mewithoutyou, mf doom, mg! the visionary, model engine, modest mouse, morcheeba, nada surf, nikka costa, nirvana, npr, orange 9mm, os mutantes, ozma, parkway, paste magazine, patton oswalt, paul newman, pearl jam, pedro the lion, pep squad, pigeon john, pixies, placebo, playstation, pulp, radiohead, rammstein, robert schimmel, rodney dangerfield, shuggie otis, silage, sirius satellite radio, skillet, slapshot, smashing pumpkins, snapcase, soul coughing, soul junk, star wars, starflyer 59, sue, tanya donelly, the aquabats, the clouds, the cure, the flaming lips, the frogs, the mark of kri, the negro problem, the promise ring, the rentals, the special goodness, the spice girls, the stereo, the twilight zone, the velvet teen, third eye blind, toadies, todd barry, twothirtyeight, velocity girl, verbena, veruca salt, ween, weezer, wesley willis, wilco, wu tang clan, xtc, yacht rock, zakk wylde

Those that survived the cut:

91: andrew bird, aphex twin, aqua teen hunger force, audrey hepburn, badly drawn boy, beck, belle and sebastian, bill murray, black santas, blackalicious, bran van 3000, bulletproof wallets, cake, chris ware, clerks, daft punk, danielson familie, de la soul, dexter, dr. octagon, elliott smith, engine 88, fine china, fiona apple, flan, fotini, gitaroo man, grand buffet, grape-a-don, greedo, groundhog day, handsome boy modeling school, harvey birdman, interpol, jay thomas, jim mahfood, john frusciante, joy electric, katamari damacy, kate, kevin smith, kings of convenience, kings of leon, kool keith, la symphony, local h, lord grunge, lyryn, mermen, mewithoutyou, mf doom, mg! the visionary, modest mouse, morcheeba, nada surf, npr, os mutantes, ozma, patton oswalt, paul newman, pep squad, pigeon john, pixies, placebo, pulp, robert schimmel, rodney dangerfield, silage, slapshot, soul coughing, star wars, sue, the flaming lips, the frogs, the mark of kri, the negro problem, the rentals, the special goodness, the spice girls, third eye blind, todd barry, twothirtyeight, velocity girl, verbena, ween, weezer, wesley willis, wilco, wu tang clan, xtc, yacht rock.

***

CD Update

The Sword - Gods of the Earth
REM - Accelerate
The Black Keys - Attack and Release

NEW SWORD!

and this is something i've been meaning to talk about for weeks... it's been a very long time since i was looking forward to an REM album... weird that now is the time to get back into them. i found myself really digging the new single, and getting excited about the record... it seems like a lot of people have been. havent heard it yet, so i cant comment... but i think i'm a trendsetter for posers or something. it seems like i get into a lot of bandwagon-ish stuff without realizing there is a bandwagon assembled already. weird.

cd update!

The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple
Let Go

WOO!

***

we went to 'I Scream for Ice Cream' tonight... this little ice cream place in town... its awesome! its all packed with kids stuff and the owner is really nice and funny. great place. jon and nicole were trying to convince David to go see 'Teeth' with them tonight. he didnt know anything about it, and that was the best part. ultimately, he decided against it, so i called him and spoiled the plot on the way home. (its about a chick with teeth in her vajay... its a horror movie... should she get raped on purpose to take out rapists? or not? i dunno!)

the main character is a christian girl, so david said we should do a podcast about it. he said we could get a dentist to come on, and get Justin to talk about the moral decisions in the film... at this point i thought he said 'molars in the film' and i thought that was really funny... moral makes more sense... but molars makes sense too! So justin, if you want to rap about vaginal molars, hit me up.

***

i played a whole lot of 'FlatOut' today on the 360. GREAT GAME. after falling in love with the trailers for the first game several years ago, and then falling out of love with it once i played the demo (floating cars much?), I'm thrilled to see that they finally nailed it and made a really fun game. with great gaming comes great difficulty though... this game is HARD. especially the ragdoll minigames. you have to find zen just to get a bronze medal in any event. i kick ass at the destruction derbys, but thats about it. i cant get the last few bomb runs, or the time trial-ish events down. its getting TOUGH. but its very addictive. the last time i was this in love with a driving game was Burnout 3.

it's been a while. usually i get tired of drifting around, but this game just keeps pushing you...

$20 at best buy... if you own a 360, you could do A LOT worse. even Forza 2 wasnt this much fun.

cd update -

The Lemonheads - It's a Shame About Ray Collector's Edition.

yes... i'm a sucker for these special editions... but The Lemonheads are one of my all time favorite bands... so i feel justified.

dang... i forgot... i have to do another poll!

Poll #1160474
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

And another...

***

seedy update.

Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)
Showbread - Age of Reptiles
Secret & Whisper - Great White Whale

***

When your boss calls in sick, that's a good day.

***

watched 'Powerplay'!

Poll #1158405
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

Round Six

Yes, I know they both have solo careers, and have performed with other bands...

This was actually an easier one, as I'm not really feeling either of them.

Also, Tegan and Sara look too much alike to bother with.

***

CD Update of the past few days...

She & He - Volume 1
Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape (reissue)

I'm man enough to admit it... that Foo Fighters record is one of my favorite albums of all time.

and Zooey Daschanel is hotter than dinosaur bones, but her music ain't.

***

went to church tonight. it was nice... and spiritual. i was trying my hardest to imagine what Christ was thinking on this day. what the people involved, and even the bystanders were thinking. how it felt to be part of the crowd. what it meant to be killed for someone else, or how it would feel to know someone died just for you. my brain can't even imagine it though. i thought of how i would feel if my dad died, or if a close friend did, and i felt a twinge of sadness, but nothing to how the real thing would feel, i'm sure...

and i still think Christian music is far too morbid for it's own good.

Tonight we watched 'Hitman' and 'No Country for Old Men'...

thoughts to follow, but in summary...

hitman sucked.

No country was just what i expected... and that is to say i purchased it sight unseen. i think i've seen every Coen Bros. film except Miller's Crossing, and have enjoyed every single one of them, so it was a safe bet.

Matt hooked me up with some cds... and i paid for some others.

So on the 360, there is an xbox 'news' tab. It's the very first option on the very first screen you see every single time you boot up your system.

Now... in this news section there are anywhere from 8-20 articles (ie. ads) about new content on the xbox. every day or two they add a page or two of news. at the bottom of each article is a link to the product they are hawking, or a link to the view they are talking about.

they had an ad for the new Lewis Black TV show as one of their new pages. instead of offering a link, the offer the instructions 'go to shorts, got to recent, then download'... gee... thanks. then in the marketplace, they have a major tab for shorts... they dont mean that tab. they mean to go under television, then under shorts. but that doesnt matter because...

THE VIDEO IS NOT POSTED!

i looked all over, even alphabetically.

way to go. nice. right on. ok. thanks. great. yes.

in general, i have no complaints about the 360, so maybe i'm just bitching for no reason. its just that they went so far out of their way to promote something thats not there... much like EVERY WEEK IN THE CIRCUIT CITY ADS. see a great deal in the latest CC ad? well you best forget about it because they never even carried the gotdamned thing and will call you an asshole for even asking about it.

***

CD

Michael Showalter - Sandwiches and Cats

***

i found an even worse job than lugging around shopping carts as a lot attendant... and that job is... Gas Station Attendant! B to O to the RING.


***

Fotini went to see 'Juno', so Call of Duty 4 it is! i'm tired as hell tonight though...

The demo for 'Echochrome' hit Japan today... and as it is #2 on my list of 'must have' games for 2008 (with GTAIV at #1), I FINALLY took the time to figure out how to download PSP demos.

And it works!

I'll say this... Echochrome is just what I expected... a very lo-fi title, thats high on the creativity chart.

This video makes it look too easy...



I got stumped on the DEMO. Should be good! Here's hoping for a budget price point, because I don't see it flying in the US otherwise...

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Anyway though... so now I'm downloading all these japanese demos. I downloaded:

- Echochrome
- Hot PXL
- Intelligent License 2 (???)
- Homestar Portable (? - hopefully something to do with homestar runner)
- Mawasakes (?)
- Space Invaders Extreme
- Warhammer 40,000 (haha Justin)
- Blockus Club Portable
- Airport Hero NaHa (??? wtf? sounds either awesome or boring)
- Bounty Hounds (?)
- Comp Science Lab 1 (sounds so dull... it has to be good)
- DJ Max Portable 2
- Doko: Let's Gakkou! (... indeed... lets.)

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CD update

Black Crowes - Warpaint
TODD BARRY - FROM HEAVEN (oh yessssss)...


and i can't believe i'm saying this, but...

U2 - 1980-1990

yes. i not only bought a greatest hits album, thereby making me a soccer mom. i also bought my first U2 record EVER. i liked 'War'... and it was really cheap, so i figured why not?

Tomorrow should be FANTASTIC.

Not only are the Black Crowes FINALLY releasing a new studio album...

BUT TODD BARRY!!!! is releasing a new album as well!

I've listened to the last two records about 5000000000 times, so I'm really looking forward to this one.

speaking of which....

CD update of the past few days

Born Ruffians - Red Yellow & Blue
Cowboy Junkies - The Trinity Session

and yes, its the original version of Trinity... i heard the new version was an abortion according to fans... its totally by conicidence that i bought it now, after 20 years... i didnt even know about the reissue until after i bought it... weird.

***

and i keep going on and on about Hammer No More the Fingers, and no one i know has mentioned them at all... so gotdammit people! get on it! you're all supposed to like what i like, dont you know!???

(mostly safe for work. he says the F word near the beginning, but i've heard the song like 50 times and just now noticed it... also, this song is about doing drugs)




***

and!!!

as everyone i know knows... i am jonny motion sickness. i get sick when i walk too slow. i get sick ALL THE GOTDAMNED TIME.

so... what did i get to do this morning? i got to wrap TWELVE pallets. i get sick when i have to wrap ONE pallet. i came very very close to throwing up this morning, and i almost never throw up. it was awful. in fact, i still feel like a ton of ass. i think i'm going to go lie down and play Patapon.

Guitar Hero III: No Doubt Track Pack
Content: No Doubt Track Pack
Price: 500 Microsoft Points
Availability: All Xbox LIVE regions
Dash Text: [ESRB: T (Teen) MILD LYRICS,MILD SUGGESTIVE THEMES] “Don't Speak”, “Excuse Me Mr”, “Sunday Morning” as performed by No Doubt. For all song credits please visit www.redoctane.com There are no refunds for this item. For more information, see www.xbox.com/live/accounts.

Replace the words 'Guitar Hero III' with 'Rock Band' and you've got yourself a deal... as is, no dice.

***

CD Update

The Slip - Eisenhower
Bleach - Audio/Visual

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Picked up 'folklore' for the PS3 yesterday for $15 new... its really pretty... but i probably wont finish it. Hasting's should give me at least $30 for it though... probably $35.

uh...

February 26, 2008 1:25 PM Sortation Center Departure LOS ANGELES, CA
February 23, 2008 11:32 AM Sortation Center Arrival LOS ANGELES, CA
February 22, 2008 11:28 AM Sortation Center Departure DALLAS, TX
February 21, 2008 4:42 PM Sortation Center Arrival DALLAS, TX
February 21, 2008 3:30 PM Pickup CARROLLTON, TX

For those who are geographically impaired (like myself), Albuquerque is right between Dallas and Los Angeles... so yeah... actually, its closer to Dallas...

***

CD Update

I hit the Chronic for a few minutes after work. I was BEAT and half-sick all day, so I didn't hang around, but I did pick up:

Children 18:3
The Afters - Never Going Back to OK

I was SHOCKED that they had Children 18:3 at launch, but very happy. It's good. Punky rocky musics with some brains (but not too much).

Also... 'The Visitation' showed up in the mail... as well as 3 NetFlix discs... the complete fourth season of 'Oz' as well as 'Darjeeling Unlimited'...

***

I had a 'who's hotter?' planned, but I can't find a good photo Danielle Steele...

Last night we watched 'The Transporter 2'... it did kinda suck. an ok popcorn flick, but the first one was much better. still, that stunt with the carbomb and the crane is pretty damn funny.

tonight we watched most of 'History of the World: Part I'. I made fun of Fotini by asking her who Mel Brooks was at the start of the film, before she could ask me... so she kept quiet until about halfway through when she asked if he made 'that movie about that english guy'... eventually i figured out that she meant 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail', at which point she said 'oh, Monty Python directed it?'...


...


...


...

I still love her.

Only seven more Brooks films to go!

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Oh... and we also watched 'Waterwalker' today... it came in the mail. I was hoping to do it for the next podcast, but I dont think I can give it a kind review and i sorta know the guy who wrote and starred in it. It is what it is and i'll leave it at that.

Jon, you owe me one!

***

CD update from a few days ago...

The White Stripes - Conquest EP
Battles - Mirrored

i was on the fence with picking up Battles for a long time. I was initially really interested in it due to the involvement of John Stanier, as I've been a fan of his since his days with Helmet. I'm not generally into instrumental math rock records, but I couldnt help it with all the great press they've received and the $7.99 price point at best buy. I picked up the only copy on hand sunday morning... and you know what? it got me. From the first track, I've been feeling it. Just when it starts to try my patience, it flips the script and manages a big payoff.

albedo777 give them a listen. you might like what you hear. they're like a jazzier, more coherent (just barely) Mars Volta, but without lyrics... if that makes sense... haha... http://www.myspace.com/battlestheband either way, it reminded me of you.

Tonight we watched the 'Roast of Flava Flav' and 'Hard-Boiled'.

i've never heard fotini laugh as hard as she did during the roast. ever.

Hard-Boiled is technically on a Blu-Ray disc, but it's no kind of high def transfer, thats for damn sure. it looks ok, like a dvd i guess, but the audio is terrible. everything is through the center channel and the dubbing is waaaay off. Tequila will land a punch, and you'll hear it 2 second later.

Good movie... but even I though the gunplay was starting to drag on and on...

***

so Katt Williams hosted the Flav roast. I hadn't heard of the guy, but they talked about him a lot on the roast.

so after the show, i put the dvd in its case and start to walk to the kitchen when i notice on the top of the stack of cds i've got in the dining room I have TWO Katt Williams cds sitting there. i still dont know who sent them to me, but they came in the mail last week. his 'Gangsta Grillz' album and 'It's Pimpin' Pimpin'... anyone want to fess up? i ripped one of them so far, but still havent had it in me to push play.