Farewell Old Friend

I'm going to avoid spoilers, but I promise nothing.

Last night, we saw an old friend pass quietly into the realm of reruns and DVD box sets. It did as it always had, a fine mix of excitement, adventure, deep conversation, life observations and just pure joy for good entertainment. It did as it always had, defied expectations... After years wondering how it would all end, it did as few expected... Happily. And as it ends, it acts as a sort of death cry to one of the last good shows on TV. Our Friday nights will never be the same.


"My career is over!! Yay!!"
I work second shift, so it was a hard pill to swallow knowing that I would not see the initial showing of the Battlestar Galactica finale, and even worse knowing that I wouldn't be home in time to see the recast at 12:11 AM. I felt it in the pit of my stomach, but luckily OnDemand saved the day.

So at 2 AM this morning, I began the journey to say goodbye to an old friend. And I was nervous, as I'm sure many of us were, and rightfully so. BSG has rarely let us down before, but there is always that shadowy figure in the back of every show creator's mind... the one that always says things like "Let's fuck all the people who have made us popular and allowed us to stay on the air for so long. Right in the anus." So I was literally shaking through the majority of the show.

But it wasn't only for the fear of Ron Moore raping my love for great television, I was honestly nervous for these characters and their plight. The Big G has been a home for us for 5+ years also. I didn't want to see Galactica torn to shit and destroyed... I didn't want to see everyone onboard to be absolutely decimated... And most certainly didn't want to see that son of a bitch Dean Stockwell win...

In the end, all was well. I went to bed around 5 completely satisfied. Things were tied up nicely, no one did anything outside of what their character development would allow. Adama was still Adama, Lee was still Lee, and Cavil did exactly what Cavil would do in that situation... even if NO ONE saw it coming.

And on a quick side note, I'm glad they finally brought forth the whole Tori-Cally angle. That really upset me last half-season and I'm glad it was followed up on and resolved. Call me messed up, but I cheered when Dee offed herself and I cheered when this angle came to it's conclusion.

So for once... The survivors of the 12 (13) Colonies got a happy ending. It wasn't the ending they were looking for initially, but it was the ending they deserved. I read that a few people who saw the sneak peek last Monday didn't like the extra tag ending, but I thought it was well done. Sometimes it's nice to see what happens down the line.

So hopefully I didn't ruin anything for anyone, and if you haven't seen it yet... You're in for a good time.D

Well Played GameStop

It has come to my attention that GameStop is pre-selling the new Guitar Hero: Metallica game and they are offering an interesting incentive... A free bass drum pedal for the double-kick action.

Holy dog shit!



I was kinda interested in the game before... I mean, I didn't get the Aerosmith version and didn't feel like I was totally missing out on the Guitar Hero experience, and I'm not a huge Metallica fan. I have the essential Metallica songs and the S&M album, but aside from that, why should I care about this game? To be honest, before I found out about this presale item, I was only gonna get the game for Bob Seger's "Turn the Page" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Tuesday's Gone." But now, I want it for a completely useless peripheral that will make drumming even harder!!

So, I say "well played GameStop!" You've made me want a game that I don't need/ have the money for/ or the time for for no good reason, and had misspelled Lynyrd Skynyrd on your packaging. Well done.

Side Post: This Makes Me Happy

Sorry for going AWOL since last week, and apologies for the rest of the p0pcult. crew... St. Patty's Day does that sometimes.

I'll be posting an article soon about an upcoming video game and the associated pre-sale, but for now...

This.

I am a very happy boy right now.

Indie Audio Geekiness: Welcome to the overinformed

My roommates and I have been putting on a "comedy" radio show for the past few months now, so existing within that using-a-dying-medium-for-attention club has really helped me appreciate others in the same position.  As such, I'm hoping to post something about this field every so often.  

The first, and best example I have for this is what appears to be  (or could be, at any rate) a Master's thesis on underground techno/electronica/jungle -- and the short, evocative drumbeat that has influenced it every step of the way.  Recorded by a Nate Harrison, the entire thing is about 18 minutes long, and don't expect to laugh.  This isn't a comedy piece -- it's a serious exploration of wicked minutia, and it ends up forcing you to think about musical origins as a whole.  You might even finally nail down your feelings on that whole Queen/Vanilla Ice debacle.

I present to you a youtube video that doesn't need (or particularly use) the video part: The world's most important 6-second drum loop.  If you don't enjoy listening to things like NPR or Music History lectures, you won't give a crap.  But if Pop Culture is your game, then you should know where it starts.  That way you can seem way slicker than any beret-wearing, indie junkie with a Van Dyke you come across.

I <3 sleep

I'm in Memphis.

MEMPHIS!

Did you know it takes 14 hours to drive from Chambersburg PA to Memphis TN non stop? Did you know it's IMPOSSIBLE for three people to drive non stop for 14 hours, so a 14 time table is RIDICULOUSLY INADEQUATE?

I love road trips. They are, quite possibly, the best part of the spring/summer for me. I like going new places, learning new things, and seeing new sights. I'm an avid history buff, so any museum-esque display catches my attention. And while I love road trips, I came to the conclusion that all of my road trips up until this point pale in comparison to driving to Memphis. Let me explain.

I woke up on Friday morning at approximately 7 am, after only 5 hours of sleep because I was excited about the trip. I went to work, and all I could talk about was going to Memphis (even though 60% of my coworkers were not there and I was under extreme pressure to get out at a reasonable hour.) I left work and drove to Chambersburg to meet my cohorts, Trey and Negley, and I literally giggled like a giddy school girl the entire way.

The original plan involved us leaving once I arrived in Chambersbug and driving through the night to Memphis. We decided to forsake this plan because I'd worked all day, and sleep would probably have been a good idea. I still think sleep would have been great, but in the excitement of the trip, OF COURSE I didn't sleep. I laid in bed at Trey's, waiting for sleep, praying for sleep, knowing full well I wouldn't sleep. Trey could have slept through the bombing of Dresden, so of COURSE he slept, and Negley sleeps half the day anyway, so he wasn't close to tired. So we watched Silent Hill, and I screamed "WTF is that?!?" while Trey was comatose on the couch, waiting for 4 am when we would leave.

Did I say 4 am? I really mean 5:30, because Trey is a primadonna who has to primp before driving for 14 hours, and while he CLAIMED to have everything ready to go, it still took a half an hour to get his stuff from the house to the car, even though the car was EIGHT FEET FROM THE DOOR (we also had to finish watching Silent Hill, but as that only took an additional 20 minutes from the time Trey regained consciousness, I don't attribute it to the lateness of departure.) We got everything in the car, we got in the car, we stopped for gas and super glue (to afix the GPS docking station to the dashboard, because the suction cup doesn't work worth shit) and FINALLY got underway.

We drove across four state lines in 40 minutes, because I-81 does that. We reached Virginia, and the real fun began. And by fun, I mean the 6.5 hours it takes to get to the Tennessee border. We stopped for breakfast at Cracker Barrel (Best Place EVER) and to pee a lot (because Trey has the bladder capacity of a small squirrel) but eventually made it to Tennessee.

For those of you not familiar with US geography, Tennessee is a WIDE state. While it took us 7 hours with stops to reach Tennesse, it took us 8 hours with only two brief gas stops to cross Tennessee and reach Memphis. By the time we reached the city, I'd been awake for 40 hours, my eyes were blood shot and glaring, and the call of a shower was a Siren's song I could no longer resist. Once clean again, and feeling marginally alive, we decided to call it a night in, got some truly wonderful ghetto Chinese food, and promptly fell asleep at 9:30.

But today began the first real day in Memphis. We were up by 9, ready to find out what secrets the city could impart upon two traveling musicians and an over zealous blogger from the North. We started at Graceland, because if you go to Memphis and don't stop by Graceland, you have no soul. We looked at the Kings house, considered paying $30 each for the tour, and decided, since he wasn't home anyway, that we'd pass. We did roam the over priced gift shops, bought memorabilia, and ate fried peanut and banana sandwiches and cheeseburgers at the diner.

Sun Studios came next, and my GOD, it was amazing. I actually put on my best rockstar face, kicked a leg in the air like Steven Tyler, I posed for a picture with the microphone Elvis used to record "All Shook Up." We bought CDs, more memorabilia, and jumped onto the shuttle to hit the Rock and Soul Museum.

The Rock and Soul Museum is a self guided tour, and I tend to like those better than guided tours, because you can move at your own pace without a group of strangers blocking all the good photos. While you can't take pictures in the museum (which SUCKS) you can see every exhibit for as long as you want without feeling left behind, which is nice. That place was PACKED with artifacts from the early days of Memphis music, and I still didn't see everything in there (because my feet were tired!) But oh God, what an experience.

Did you know that the only reason Wurlitzer juke boxes have colored lights around the faces is because of a Dr. Pepper advertisement conveniently placed atop a juke box in Memphis? NEITHER DID I! But we do now! I also got to listen to the theme from Shaft six times while in there, which is always awesome.

Now we're back at the hotel, getting ready to get some southern BBQ for dinner. Mmmmmmmmm, pork!

Catch y'all tomorrow.