Runaway Pancake Entertainment

WE'RE MOVING

2008-06-12T00:10:00.000-07:00

http://runawaypancake.wordpress.com/

we'll keep this here as a little archive.

GO THERE NOW! all the cool kids are

I'm the best mayne

2008-06-10T14:47:00.000-07:00

On the extra-extra late pass, this is a golden video (and provides much for inside jokes). The best rap battle ever.

Team Fortress 2, your going to laugh your ass off

2008-06-03T00:06:00.000-07:00

Even if you don't know what Team Fortress 2 is, I'm pretty sure you can figure out what is going on. Take sometime, and enjoy a laugh.

Simply amazing

2008-05-27T22:37:00.000-07:00

I think it is better than Asshole Mario (Impossible Timed Super Mario World Trails), but check it out yourself.

Said to have took him 6 months just to make this one level.

I love stupid people

2008-05-20T19:40:00.001-07:00

Bobby Lee - Dragon Slayer 2

2008-05-10T14:41:00.000-07:00

Mike informed me of this sketch from MadTV:

Quick rules about inviting people over for Video Game playing

2008-04-29T22:17:00.001-07:00

So alright guys, one of the biggest games of the year just came out recently and that is Grand Theft Auto 4. I'm pretty sure you wanna invite all your friends over to play and so on and so forth, but remember some important rules before inviting people over. Note these rules are my OWN opinion and do not reflect the opinion of those involved in Runaway Pancake or anyone affiliated with Runaway Pancake. These rules are not directed towards anyone. This is solely for my own entertainment and if you don't like it, I don't care.

1. If your going invite people over, make sure you SHARE the game. At least 1 hour of STRAIGHT game play is sharing. I mean sure, you handed me the controller, but that was like 5 minutes each time 12 times. No, that isn't cool, I wanna saturate in the game, get the feel or at least I get frustrated that I don't wanna play anymore and watching is more fun.

2. Don't brag you have the game and the console to play the game while your friends are over. Its annoying enough facing the fact that A. your friend are too broke and are willing to hang out with you because you have the latest and greatest stuff. B. Your their only friend.

3. If you gotten to a certain part far into the game, don't invite your friend over until you tell them you are far into the game. Seriously now, I came over to check it out and see if it was worth the money, don't ruin what might be the biggest plot twist when I don't know what is going on.

4. Have food and drinks. Seriously, if I'm going to watch you play, let me interact with something.

5. None of that small TV shit. Seriously now people, its like throwing a super bowl party with a 20" TV, I'm not going to be able to see shit and my eye will probably need corrective lens when I'm done.

Anyways, GTA4 is great and all, but I'm more looking forward to this...

The ultimate keyboard

2008-04-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

So I usually like to look at a lot of geek worthy things to buy on Thinkgeek.com and they usually send me new and cool things they are selling for the week. One thing that caught my eye this week was the Optimus Maximus Keyboard basically every button has it own little screen and when programmed differently for each button, the button will change its icon. Its pretty sweet, perfect for gamers and programs that have a lot of buttons that would probably need shortcut like photoshop or flash.

LOSTIES

2008-04-23T02:45:00.000-07:00

Found a new fansite: http://www.docarzt.com/

Beware crazy theories and spoilers!

Crazy MoFo.

2008-04-22T22:39:00.000-07:00

I think this is something we have all tried at one time or another but we never look this cool or do it nearly this well. Chain surfing...I gotta find me one of those.

Hamster Fight

2008-04-18T17:39:00.000-07:00

I don't know what else to say. It's a hamster fight, and that's just badass. Let's just hope, for all the hamster's sake, Michael Vick never sees this because he might get some ideas.

Cloverfield 2?

2008-04-15T17:23:00.000-07:00

All you movie buffs and puzzle solvers, figure this out. Word on the internets is that amaldygma.com is either a website to the sequel of Cloverfield or for the movie Quarantine.

aladygma backwards is amgydala. It's amygdala misspelled. hmmmmm.

Real Life Versions?

2008-04-15T01:40:00.000-07:00

What would our beloved Homer and Mario look like in real life?

FREAKY AS SH!T is what they'd look like.

[SOURCE]

Live for the Swarm!

2008-04-14T23:43:00.000-07:00

So Blizzard has released a Zerg trailer and I have to say, its quite the eye candy and a nice showcase for what is to come later this year. The link to d/l is here. OR! You c an just watch a low quality version here.

Something for you Losties to think about

2008-04-14T15:53:00.000-07:00

3.2 million dollars

Darth Vader Voice Overs

2008-04-07T15:38:00.000-07:00

http://view.break.com/436851 - Watch more free videos

The Translation to the SSBB Theme

2008-04-07T15:33:00.001-07:00

OMELET PREVAIL!!!

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

The First Real Music Game

2008-04-04T18:46:00.000-07:00

Remember when Mario Paint came out and it came with that cool mouse. I loved the music composer with the sound effects as notes. I remember messing around with it for hours. I was recently surfing youtube and I stumbled upon these videos. There are tons of them on youtube but these are my personal favorites. The second video was an actual video capture from the game. The rest are from a program called Mario Paint Composer. Try to guess the songs (except for the third one because it says the title at the beginning). Happy Friday!

A greener future

2008-04-03T22:33:00.000-07:00

Here's an article about Boeing's first hydro airplane. Let's hope they can do this with cars and bigger planes soon.

WII OWNERS

2008-04-02T23:48:00.001-07:00

Another reason you might want to get The Force Unleashed!

You've heard of the fun control options you'll have using the nunchucks... Well here they are

The whole universe is going to die!

2008-04-02T23:18:00.000-07:00

This is probably one of my favorite video next to Over 9000!!!! Over 9000, this and the Protector video is made by the same guy.

The Legend of Zelda Movie

2008-04-01T23:25:00.000-07:00

Finally. A video game based movie that's actually going to be good.

The Legend of Zelda

Gmail's New Feature!

2008-04-01T10:19:00.000-07:00

Did you read the LOST theory that Dom put up the other day? In a related twist of fate, you can have some control over the past now!

Introducing Gmail Custom Time

Too bad we only get 10 uses. )=

Evil Over Good

2008-03-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

I guess The Force wasn't with him.

Darth Vader

A "Lost" Theory

2008-03-27T18:35:00.000-07:00

For all you Lost fanatics, I found this site with a guy's in depth theory of Lost. It's interesting stuff. Let me know what you guys think and what your Lost theories are.

LOST

Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple

2008-03-21T00:16:00.000-07:00

So it's been a while since I've posted here, but I promise I return with goodies. I have been a big fan of Cee-Lo Green since I heard him on Common's "Song for Assata", and I have been a big fan of Danger Mouse since I heard his collabo with MF Doom on Danger Doom and his project, the greatest copyright infringement ever, The Grey Album. So naturally I am a big fan of Gnarls Barkley. The beauty of Gnarls Barkley is the way it seems to be a creative outlet for both artists. You find some of the most personal lyrics off a Gnarls Barkley album. Cee-Lo bears his soul in a way unthinkable to many, and Danger Mouse takes off the mask and plays with sounds most wouldn't dare on a "pop" album. When it all comes together you have, in my opinion, some of the most thought provoking music I've ever heard.

The real story here though is the release date: this album wasn't supposed to be released for another three weeks, but was leaked onto bit torrent so it was rushed to the iTunes store. It was then followed by rushed shipments of the album to brick and mortar stores. They conveniently arrived at the Best Buy I work at today. If you want to cop a physical copy, the Northgate location in Seattle has it. I do have to say the best part about this whole situation was the reason for advancing the release. They said on their blog, "They felt the timing was right to just go for it...With the shifting seasons, furtive romantic entanglements and fierce college basketball rivalries, the latter half of March can be confusing. People need to be soothed and inspired now." They didn't blame the leak for the earlier-than-expected release- they blame basketball and skeazy bitches. That's my style. I would like to let them know that is why I bought the album before downloading it. No screening needed.

The Odd Couple is the second release from the duo and surprisingly sticks to the previous mold they developed and relished in with St. Elsewhere. The mix a solid blend of bouncy upbeat tracks with deep and dark tracks and give themselves plenty of room to play. I have always felt that a well composed album pace, aura, and intention can be derived from the second or third track. I think the first track is used either as some ridiculous intro which many listeners will disregard, or as bait on the hook. The second and third tracks will tell me what exactly I am listening to. It may or may not have been intentional but, they flip-flopped energy on this album. On both albums the first track is definitely bait on the hook. St. Elsewhere's second track is the catchy and fun hit single "Crazy" followed by the dark and thought-bearing "St. Elsewhere". On The Odd Couple track 2 "Who's Gonna Save My Soul?" and is the heavy on the mind, followed by the catchy/upbeat/fast song "Going On". I think this all leads into a deep and sometimes scary journey that is 'The Odd Couple' of Gnarls Barkley.

1) Charity Case
Fun, catchy, good bait, full range of sounds, and I love the synthed female vocals used around the hook.
Favorite lyric - "How are Ya? I think I can help. But I can't help myself."

2) Who's Gonna Save My Soul
Heavy and full sounds, but light on the weight. Doesn't crowd the song with too much audio. Focused on the soulful vocals.
Favorite lyric - "And maybe it’s a little selfish, all I have is the memory, yet I never stopped to wonder, was it possible you were hurtin’ worse than me, still my hunger turns to greed, cause what about what I need"

3) Going On
We are back on that fun, catchy vibe. I love the organ in the background, and everyone loves a song with a hand clap. I think I love the rhythm this track follows the most though. Verse is up high on the energy scale and slows for a line and jumps right back up for the hook. I also enjoy the heavy break at the end. The production is linked with the lyrics and it works very well.
Favorite lyric - "Anyone that needs what they want, and doesn’t want what they need, I want nothing to do with. And to do what I want, and to do what I please, is first of my to-do-list"

4) Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)
Here would be the single and it has that title written all over it. Bouncy, catchy, fun, and it feels very much like non-stop ride. My only gripe is that it feels too short. It won't be as runaway hit as "Crazy", but it will sell records.
Favorite lyric - "You can't win child, we've all tried to. You've been lied to, it's already inside you. Either you run right now, or you best get ready to die"

5) Would Be Killer
Dark, drab, and sinister. Without a doubt the creepiest song from either album. I hear some of the same sounds sampled in "Run". Usually I feel an abrupt change in pace is usually shocking, but in the case of this track it works.
Favorite lyric - "Hurt people, hurt people, this is always how. Oh I've been entered by evil, so someone best love me right now"

6) Open Book
Crazy insane drum beat. Tough to follow because it almost sounds like you are in a drum circle and this is that one guy that can't catch the beat. It works for the sound, but this would be a track I would skip if listening to while walking because I think I would fall over!
Favorite Lyric - "The drumbeat of my heart is tribal, oh the sweet sound of survival, shall serenade this forest for never more"

7) Whatever
Probably the most basic beat on the album with some crazy vocal sounds in the background synths. Cee-Lo is rocking out like whiny little teenager and I have to say it sounds pretty bad ass. An all too true story of life as an outsider child.
Favorite lyric - "I don't have any friends at all, cause I don't have nothing in common with y'all, so who's gonna catch me if I fall"

8) Surprise
Crazy awesome 60/70's backing with a solid rock beat. I think this could be the production highlight for me. This is just a ton of fun to listen to. I know I will be making a fool of myself listening to this on my way to work.
Favorite Lyric - "Now the ending to every story is most enchanting, now whether the ending is heaven of hell, I wear it well. Please forgive me for rambling, I just wanted yall to know that I don't know it all, so when that big ol' smile ends up being just a disguise, don't be surprised"

9) No Time Soon
Very chilled out track- the opening starts with nothing but guitar and flute riffs, then throws in a synth leading up to a heavy drum beat. I find this to be a very pretty song regardless of it's very haunting tone.
Favorite lyric - "This could be one of those days, when we both go our separate ways. Scared for you to be out of my sight"

10) She Knows
Very playful with it's jazz flute running around with rhythmic vocals. Even though it seems as though there are very few sounds being thrown around there is a weird hiss running over the track that makes it feel like more than it is.
Favorite Lyric - "Wouldn't surprise me to see her ghost, she would like me to know she knows, and I'm almost, or I was absolutely nothing before"

11) Blind Mary
Quirky. I really can't think of any other way to describe this. I picture Cee-Lo rocking the fattiest grin and bouncing his head back and forth while singing this because that is exactly what I am doing while listening to it. I want to go skip through a grassy meadow.
Favorite Lyric - "She's my friend, she doesn't judge me. She has no idea I'm ugly. So I've absolutely nothing to hide. Because I'm so much prettier inside"

12) Neighbors
Brings back the haunting vibe but with a revved-up rpm count and brings the sounds in and out. Throws in some bongos and Middle Eastern flutes to mix some things up.
Favorite Lyric - "Now my neighbor likes my clothes, but hasn't seen me with my stars exposed"

13) A Little Better
Very mellow track just screaming we are coming to a close. A very even bass-line carries throughout the whole song and little else thrown in other than the percussion. Easily the most personal song on the album, this ties off the emotional venture we've gone through.
Favorite Lyric - "Ooh it’s probably plain to see, That I got a whole lot of pain in me, And it will always remain in me, So cold it’s a crying shame, Yet here I am trying again, Cause I refuse to die in vein, The circumstances put soul in me, And there ain’t no holding me, I’ve got a heart made of gold in me"

I don't think this is a better album than St. Elsewhere, but it's an accomplishment for the group. Normally I don't focus so much on lyrics but after listening to the album for my first run-through so many of the lyrics caught my ear and I started to realize how much the album was saying. It seemed to be an exercise in creative freedom more than anything else. If it weren't for the last track feeling so much like a testimonial, I wouldn't have thought so much about the project, but after listening to "A Little Better" I thought the album was a little more than I took it. Kind of like how this review ended up being a little more than I thought it would be. I have been working on this thing since 10:00PM and here it is 2:30AM. I feel like this is going to be an album that will grow on me and, in time, will possibly become more of a favorite of mine than St. Elsewhere. Seeing an artist express themselves freely without being constricted is something I enjoy much, and I think this is the best example of that done very well. They aren't holding anything back, and it shows. I think this is a beautiful album and recommend it to all y'all. Go buy it bitches.

**** (4 out of 5 stars)

Band: Boyce Avenue

2008-03-19T14:28:00.000-07:00

Upon 'discovering' something on the internet, I've never really been one to lay claim to it by saying screaming 'I saw it first!' It could probably be due to the fact that there aren't too many things that I'd be so proud of that would illicit such a response.

I'm usually randomly going through youtube videos (who isn't), looking for music videos, covers, and nostalgic 80s videos, when my friend Lamberto sent me a link to Boyce Avenue's cover of Rihanna's "Umbrella". Now I know this song is beyond played out/annoying/what have you, I felt the very same way but upon hearing the lead man's voice and guitar, I was blown away. And in typical youtube fashion and various gateway drugs, one led to another one and to another and another until I found myself subscribe to their account or whatever.

Boyce Avenue's covers are what got me hooked to them, but after running out of covers to entertain me, I turned to their original pieces, which I found to quite good if you like rock music.

Boyce Avenue's All the While [original]
Chris Brown's With You [cover]

Guitar Hero DS

2008-03-19T13:08:00.000-07:00

The DS just got cooler!!!

Add video game sound effects and you got a masterpiece

2008-03-18T23:06:00.000-07:00

So, I thought this clip was pretty hilarious to me being a gamer and all, but it takes the original one shot fight scene with Tony Jaa trying to find his baby elephant in The Protector (Tom Yung Goong) and they put in sound effects from Fatal Fury, Street Fighter and Captain Falcon, with the music from Fist of the North Star.

Hulkamania!

2008-03-14T15:43:00.000-07:00

If your lazy like me, this is the trailer to the new Hulk movie in HD! Its pretty badass trailer. Yes, its a trailer none of that teaser crap we been seeing. Its 2:00 minutes long, it says 10 minutes to preserve the quality of the trailer. Don't stream it, let it load all the way before watching it. Anyways, enjoy!

Paint It Gold

2008-03-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

In time for their new release coming in April, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold, Atmosphere has been coming with a video series, appropriately titled "Paint It Gold". In these webisodes they answer questions from fans who email them at PaintItGold@hotmail.com. The videos are dope and the beats they play are even doper.

Enjoy!

Part I

Part II

Part III

Movies to look out for and movies that I want to see

2008-03-11T23:44:00.000-07:00

If some of you have seen the teasers, heres the trailer. Obiviously a film everyone should check out. I will probably do a marathon of all three movies the day before the 4th movie's release.

A psychological/triller movie about a man who has 88 minutes to live and trying to find who is framing him for murders.

This movie is already out. They are making an American version of this film. Movie is about a couple who hit and run and now mysterious things are happening to them. From what I hear the movie is suppose to be very different from the standard genre like "The Ring" and "The Grudge".

I don't know if I was the only one who didn't know George A. Romano made a new movie, but it's already out. It's a 1st person style zombie flick, comparable to Cloverfield.

another year AGAIN!

2008-03-07T17:55:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday Mark!

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Keep your eyes open on March 12th for the trailer for The Incredible Hulk starring Edward Norton.

Bruce Banner's favorite crossword

You can catch it on MTV, MTV2, MTVU, VH1, Spike TV, Nick at Nite and CMT at 9:56 Eastern Time/6:56 Pacific Time on Wednesday!

asdf #7

2008-03-06T16:03:00.001-08:00

It's picture day on the internet!

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One year from now we'll be blessed with Zach Snyder's film adaptation of WATCHMEN, a graphic novel from acclaimed author Alan Moore. To commemorate this occasion (a tease the shit out of us fans) Zach has posted up some photos of all the characters. They look awesome in my opinion and stay as true as possible to the actually art*.

The Comedian

Nite Owl (II)

Ozymandias

Rorschach

Silk Spectre (II)

I'd have to say they're all spot on (except Ozymandias. Matthew Goode doesn't have the right build- his head's too small). AND WHERE THE FCK IS DR. MANHATTAN?!

Check out Zach's blog for higher-quality pictures.

*Don't know about WATCHMEN? KETCHUP! But you should go out and buy the book. Trust me- it'll be worth it.

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From EW.com Ben Stiller's next film, Tropic Thunder, has some pretty crazy stuff going on. Read the article to see who that black person is. You'll never guess.

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The second chapter in the film saga of The Chronicles of Narnia, TCoN: Prince Caspian, has some new pictures out. Click this one for more:

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and finally Stephen Chow's next film CJ7 now has a proper trailer out. Click the poster to view it.

A long-ass premise, from Apple.com:

"From Stephen Chow, the director and star of Kung Fu Hustle, comes CJ7, a new comedy featuring Chow’s trademark slapstick antics. Ti (Stephen Chow) is a poor father who works all day, everyday at a construction site to make sure his son Dicky Chow (Xu Jian) can attend an elite private school. Despite his father’s good intentions to give his son the opportunities he never had, Dicky, with his dirty and tattered clothes and none of the “cool” toys stands out from his schoolmates like a sore thumb. Ti can’t afford to buy Dicky any expensive toys and goes to the best place he knows to get new stuff for Dicky – the junk yard! While out “shopping” for a new toy for his son, Ti finds a mysterious orb and brings it home for Dicky to play with. To his surprise and disbelief, the orb reveals itself to Dicky as a bizarre “pet” with extraordinary powers. Armed with his “CJ7” Dicky seizes this chance to overcome his poor background and shabby clothes and impress his fellow schoolmates for the first time in his life. But CJ7 has other ideas and when Dicky brings it to class chaos ensues."

360 slim?...Fez gameplay...Pandora

2008-03-06T03:43:00.001-08:00

So it's been a while since I have posted anything, and for that I apologize. But here we go.

I was stumbling around and started running through different versions of the song "Still Alive" from Portal and came across the writer of that song, Jonathan Coulton, performing the song on Rock Band at a Valve party. Yes the video is pretty cool, especially how the crowd sets off the overdrive with their cheers, but what really intrigued me is what I saw at around 15 seconds. Pause the video and take a good look. It looks like new XBOX 360. It looks a little smaller and more slimlined. I don't know if I am just seeing things or if this is a new version yet to be announced. See for yourself and tell me what you think.

I also came acroos a gameplay trailer for a new game coming out called Fez. It was shown at GDC and this really blew me away. The first 45 seconds of gameplay looks very of the norm, but after you see what it's really about, it will blow you away. They use the integration of a 2D frame a 3D frame more so than even Super Paper Mario. Rather than really interacting with the 3D realm you just use the difference of perspective to adjust where you are on the plane. Very interesting and I can't wait to play.

On another note I am in love with Pandora internet radio. Lately I have been in a musical funk, not knowing exactly what I want to listen to and it turns out internet radio was the cure. Just type in an artist you are thinking about and they go from there. They will run through an engine that has been created by tons of music lovers and plays music based on everyones feedback. I type in Danger Doom and they started off with with Blackalicious and justify their choice by saying that they are playing music with both east and west coast rap influences, R&B as well as funk roots, and swinging hooks. There is nothing better than internet radio that justifies it's choices. You can tell it what you don't like and what you do like and it adjusts itself accordingly. Very accurate and very pleasing to the ears. Do try considering it is completely free.

The Odd Couple

2008-03-05T00:52:00.000-08:00

Gnarls Barkley's follow-up to 2006's St. Elsewhere comes out April 8th. Here's the tracklist and album cover followed by some previews

1. Blind Mary
2. She Knows
3. No Time Soon
4. Whatever
5. Who's Gonna Save My Soul?
6. Run
7. Would Be Killer
8. Open Book
9. Going On
10. Charity Case
11. Surprise
12. A Little Better
13. Neighbors

"Run"

"Who's Gonna Save My Soul" w/ ?uestlove

another year

2008-02-28T23:23:00.001-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRANCIS

(he's plugging all.com. see- it's coming out of his mouth)

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Never before have I wanted to get in one, but now all I want is to ride this hot air balloon:

Tell me this isn't dope.

Common Sense

2008-02-26T16:06:00.000-08:00

Mr. Lonnie Lynn is currently working on his next LP, The Believer, and plans to release it in the fourth quarter of this year. Here him speak!

Here's the track he was talking about, produced by Just Blaze: The Light 2008 (It's Love)

finally, here's the classic original, produced by J Dilla:

Common - The Light

99 Problems

2008-02-22T11:59:00.001-08:00

but a bitch ain't one

For everyone who's for/against Mr. Obama!

I AM IRON MAN (c) Black Sabbath

2008-02-20T12:42:00.000-08:00

Damn dude, why the influx of all these comic-related things?!

Marvel Kids has been putting up some animated shorts. Here's one with Iron Man, Spiderman, and Hulk tearing shit up. I'm so glad that Marvel is getting all of their properties back. It makes such a big difference in quality.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Where the Wild Things Are

2008-02-20T11:49:00.001-08:00

If you haven't heard, director Spike Jonze has been cooking up a film adaptation (no pun intended) to the beloved children's book Where the Wild Things Are. Word on the current status on the film is that it's studios, Legendary and Warner Brothers, want to reshoot it the entire project. Sad times. I like Spike's style and think it would've been more than interesting to see his take on this property.

Over this past weekend there was a leak of early test footage, NOT from the actual film. It was filmed for effects purposes- so the actors in this clip are not the ones in the actual film. Enjoy.

Gambit in X-men Origins: Wolverine

2008-02-19T23:08:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard already, Fox Studios will be cashing in with the X-Men franchise by making a Wolverine prequel. Ryan Reynolds will be playing Deadpool, the recently confirmed will.i.am playing Wraith and Taylor Kitsch playing my favorite X-Men Gambit. There is a ton of potential for this movie so I hope the studio doesn't screw this up. Expect some Hugh Jackman-ness fun to arrive May 2009.

Source

Musical Talent...to say the least.

2008-02-15T02:25:00.000-08:00

I stumbled across this video the other day and must say I was extremely impressed with what this guy created seemingly on the fly. I have never really believed in the concept of really improv when talking about a musical performance by a single person. People always have an idea of what they are going to do so it's not really improv, but I do have to say that is as close as it gets, to me that it. This gentleman Reggie Watts is extremely talented producing a very nice track using a loop recorder and do some on the fly editing along the way. This reminds me of the Richard Bona performance that I saw where he used a loop recorder and created an absolutely gorgeous song. This will also probably remind you of the KT Tunstall performance that spread across the interweb. Check it and enjoy.

Reggie Watts: Out Of Control from Jakob Lodwick on Vimeo.

Oh yeah, and I can't stop listening to dance music. I am addicted to Justice and shot straight back to early high school and busted out some Junior Senior. I need to find something new.

Hardcore Picture Taking

2008-02-14T23:36:00.000-08:00

So, being a gamer and all I found this clip to be pretty extreme in terms of video gaming and patiences. This guy literally exploits the game and takes pictures of them in MGS3. It's awesome for anyone that is a fan of the series. I dunno if I wanna challenge this video and do them, too extreme for me.

Happy Valentines Day

2008-02-14T13:19:00.001-08:00

Hopefully it's happy. If not, don't fret! I've got some feel good music for you:

>>>> AB's Valentine's Day Mixtape 2008

I have one CD and one cassette this year. It's probably not going to anyone, but I just wanted to state that there is a real mixtape of this mix. Click the link or picture to enjoy.

Human Tetris

2008-02-13T22:42:00.000-08:00

Yeah, so I was sitting in the Cafeteria with some school friends of mine when they decided to watch Human Tetris. I was like, "What's that?" Anyway, it seems to be a Japanese Television show, I will let you guys decide if you find it funny. I found it to be hilarious. I feel bad for the guy at the end.

Cooking + Beatbox = Delicious Music

2008-02-13T19:39:00.001-08:00

How to Rock the Kitchen Beatbox
Watch more DIY videos on 5min.com

[music video] Flashing Lights (feat. Dwele) // Kanye West

2008-02-13T12:02:00.000-08:00

Finally, after a long wait we get a video from 'Ye (kinda). I guess he's shot multiple videos for the one song. Here's the first one.

Simple and surprising crazy, huh?

ps
This is the chick.

Tolkien Estate vs. New Line Cinemas

2008-02-12T04:35:00.000-08:00

So apparently the owners of the JRR Tolkien Estate and Properties including all rights to his published works are suing New Line Cinemas for creative compensation and punitive damages around The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. They claim that they weren't paid a single penny from the profits of any of the films. They are requesting $150 million in compensation and damages as well ass refusing the rights to distribution or production of any further Tolkien creative works, including The Hobbit films which were announced last year.

I am not a huge fan of LotR. I enjoyed the first film but I thought the latter ones starts becoming a little to stale and distorted. I don't think the separate story lines were handled very well and things became a little convoluted. I was however looking forward to The Hobbit primarily because I think the story can be translated to film far better and in the early discussions that have been taking place it seems as though Guillermo del Toro is most likely attached as director. I hope there is a reasonable settlement that they reach so they can avoid keeping a potentially great film, or possibly two films, away from the public. They are trying to protect his works but I don't see how preventing his creation from reaching another another medium and a whole new audience is doing that.

Beautiful Katamari

2008-02-10T02:55:00.000-08:00

So I picked up myself a XBox 360 the other day and I am enjoying it thouroughly but I think I have a sever case of Katamariitis. Beautiful Katamari is quite possibly one of the greatest games ever made and I think represents the actua potential of gaming and a demonstration of why games are so much fun. It's not about killing people and blowing things up. It's about picking up shit. I will talk about this more later but right now I just have to try and stop looking at random objects and thinking about how big my katamari has to be to pick it up. I think my shoes are about 15 cm. This is sad and pathetic but so much fun. I am going to go and plug a black hole.

IT'S OVER!!!

2008-02-07T21:32:00.001-08:00

I posted awhile back about a tentative deal with the WGA. Now it's official. The WGA has accepted a deal. Now Heroes can return and Scrubs can end the right way.

Strike Over

Insomniac addictions

2008-02-05T04:48:00.000-08:00

So with my current whole not sleeping thing I have been trolling around on the web more than usual which is becoming a little bit of a dead end. I haven't been finding that much stuff I enjoy. Maybe I beat it. I am announcing it right now, from a person that contributes no more than maybe a few paragraphs a week and a few post on message boards a day, and does nothing seriously influential on Guild Wars, I think I beat the internet. We shall see. Al Gore, if you have anything to say about this, I would appreciate it. You should know better than most. Did I beat it? I don't know, I'm asking. This is what I have found that is interesting or entertaining:

I really, really like this dog. I think it is one of the cutest things I have seen for a long time. Maybe I am a little bit within the realm of the whole sad thing and just can't feel it because I find it interesting that this dog is able to show and represent the feeling of sadness of depression without feeling embarrassed. It is something a human would normally hide because they wouldn't want those around them to know that is what they are feeling, but this dog can wear it on it's sleeve, literally.

Super Bowl XLII

2008-02-04T19:39:00.000-08:00

I would like to say that this past Super Bowl was one of the best ones I've seen. The heavily favorite Patriots were playing for the perfect season and the Giants were playing for pride. This game has to be one of the best underdog stories.

The Giants just played better than the Patriots through out the whole game. Even though their first drive only resulted in a field goal, it nearly took them half of the 1st quarter to do it. That's how you beat the Patriots, keep Tom Brady and company on the sidelines. Then on the very first offensive play for the Pats, what happened? The Giants brought the pressure, got to Brady and nearly caused the sack. The Giants started the game fast and strong on both sides of the ball and kept the intensity up through out the whole game. Brady was under constant pressure and always had some one in his face, if not on him. Because of all this pressure, Brady could not step into his throws to complete his deep passes. He was un-Brady like. Being inaccurate for the deep balls to Randy Moss.

Despite Eli Manning throwing and interception (which wasn't his fault) and the Pats driving down the field on multiple occasions, the Giants kept their composure and showed the world why they were Road Warriors ( 10 - 0 on the road, including post-season wins @ Tampa, @ Dallas, and @ the Frozen Tundra that is Lambeau Field). They held the most explosive offense in NFL history to 14 pts. Now that's amazing. I knew the Giants could beat the Patriots. Everyone was saying the Pats were unstoppable but towards the end of the regular season and through out the post-season, the Pats weren't that strong and teams were beginning to figure out how to play them. Brady was just too good and had too many weapons. That's why they were in the Super Bowl. The Giants knew what to do, and finished. They avenged their regular season lose to the Pats, a game the Giants should have won.

As for next season, who knows what will happen. The Seahawks need to strengthen their run game (Shaun Alexander isn't what he used to be). Hasselbeck isn't getting any younger and this will be Coach Mike Holmgren's last. Deion Branch should be healthier and Engram, despite is age, still has a good season or 2 left in him. Our defense will be fast as usual but I feel like we need some size to complement the speed. Bring in some big guys for the middle of the d-line and we'll be able to stop the run more efficiently.

Stayed tuned for more analysis of the NFL and the off-season progresses and training begins. Have a wonderful off-season and congrats to the Giants for being world champs!

Starcraft 2: The new Crucio Siege Tank

2008-02-03T20:26:00.000-08:00

A little about me before I post about the new Terran Crucio Siege Tank; I'm a hardcore gamer, I'm not going to lie. I game a lot and usually don't stick to one game because I get bored easily, but one of the games that has stuck to me in the last couple years was Starcraft. I still play a lot today, but not competitively or for fun. I really just play to keep my skill up. Lately, I just been playing to get ready for Starcraft 2, and now that I got that off of my chest, on to the Siege Tank.

If you check the Starcraft 2 website almost daily as I do, the New Crucio Siege tank was released on the 8th of January. So what does this mean for Terran players and people playing against Terran players? In a nutshell your getting a new tank with a better bombarding system. According to Starcraft lore, the Terran Dominion wanted to upgrade the old existing Arclite model to this new Crucio Seige Tank. In my opinion, I honestly feel developers wanted a cheaper version of the Thor mech unit. The Thor is basically a walking war factory with 4 bombarding cannons strapped to its back with miniguns for arms; it basically looks like a barracks/Goliath.

They originally were in talks of taking out the Thor for balancing reasons, but since they are keeping it in, I assume they wanted to upgrade their smaller/cheap bombarding unit, the Siege tank. With the new siege tank, what has really changed? From what I can see in demo videos and what they have said on the website, it looks like the siege tank will have a stronger cannon, be able to defend itself in its dead zone (when opposing units are too close to shoot) while in siege mode and a stronger defense.

The cost of these upgrades are enough, in my opinion, to balance these upgrades out to make no difference whatsoever unless there was a mass of them. The shooting in siege mode seems slightly slower because of the damage output. I have no idea what they are planning to do for defensive capabilities while in siege mode. The tank is more defensive and offensive in exchange for being more costly.

But there are other things wandering my mind regarding the new Crucio Siege Tank. With the new Protoss unit, The Immortal (3:27), that specifically has the shield that helps it defend against Siege Tank blast, is this why they wanted a stronger siege tank? To give the siege tank an edge against other units like the Zealots which most Protoss players use against siege tanks to exploit that dead zone? Or will the blast damage be so powerful that it render Zerglings useless that they upgraded the Zerglings with a "Kamikaze" (2:06) ability. We really won't know until they release more game play data or more information on the Zerg.

Other things that bother me are the siege mode, yeah it may look cooler, but seems slower. The slower the siege mode, the faster your enemies can advance without you actually having bombarding capabilities, meaning a tougher fight. So how much will the difference be from a couple of tanks to a Thor? How many make the difference? We know that the Thor has a special ability to bombard at a constant rate until all things in that zone are blown to almost nothing, but the Thor is slow and cannot shoot while it's moving, so will the siege tank still have that ability to "run and gun"? Even as a Protoss player, I actually hope they do. Nothing is worse than retreating a unit and it can't even try to fight back.

So yeah, many of you probably are more excited about the Thor like many Protoss are excited about the Mother Ship. Honestly, I'm more worried about the Terran siege tank. Tanks were the bread and butter of Terran pushers, especially since Terran seem to moving towards a more defensive strategy (more about that on my next post). The Arclite lore clearly states that the tank was originally suppose to be a "final defensive unit" but was clearly better as a "movable bombarding tank". If you also follow KesPa (Korea Stracraft Leauge) a lot of the Terran Players use the tank as its main support unit. Whether they're using infantry, mech infantry, or starships, the tanks are in the back line taking out the advancing ground units, while other units are taking out everything else that survives. Hopefully, all new "upgrades" made to the tank aren't nerfs that ruin that gameplay and makes people move onto the Thor, or even worse- make them not use tanks at all.

Superbowl XLII (Go Pats)

2008-02-03T13:07:00.000-08:00

VERSUS

Who are you with?

Songs stuck in my head...

2008-01-31T20:12:00.000-08:00

COCONUT RECORDS - Do you remember Jason Schwartzman? Well this is solo music project and it's a really nice fun listen.
Track to listen to: West Coast

What Made Milwaukee Famous - I'm really excited about these guys new release on March 4th. As their sound has greatly matured, you can compare for yourself on their myspace. Not to mention their drummer, Jeremy, is pretty much a gourmet chef.
Track to listen to: Resistance St

Colour Revolt - I'm putting these guys on in March and their debut full length comes out in April. They are intense and that's all I can really say about them. They've played shows with Brand New, Dinosaur Jr., and Explosions in the Sky.
Track to listen to: Mattresses Underwater

I pretty much stole Dan's format for posting.

I think on my next post - I'll talk about a lot of new features coming out this year for the 'Sony PSP' as I think Skype is going really help Sony expand their audience base for the hand held system.

Hawaii Chair Infomercial

2008-01-31T18:17:00.001-08:00

This is one of the best workout machines ever!!!

Lost Festivities!

2008-01-31T17:12:00.001-08:00

So, I'm doing my Lost homework before the premiere tonight and was enlightened to find this: The Lost Drinking Game. The rules are as follows:

Take a sip every time:
* Hurley says “dude.”
* Ben says something nonsensical...and menacing...and semi-rodent-like, possibly about cheese.
* You notice Future Jack’s beard looks like a small bear is getting sexy with his chin.
* Kate waffles between Jack and Sawyer and then Sawyer and Jack and then Jack and Sawyer...and wait for it...Jack and Sawyer some more. Egads, woman!
* Desmond says “aye” in that saucy way that makes you wish he was your yes man.
* Locke goes crazy, does crazy, exudes crazy, says “crazy,” acts mildly wacky or kills a guy.
* Sawyer uses a nick name.
* Desmond says “brotha".
* Someone answers a question with “it’s complicated.”

Chug every time:
* Claire actually has a line.
* Claire aggravates you because she actually has a line.
* You get misty-eyed when Bernard and Rose are together.
* Sayid kicks ass...and reminds you of how Naveen Andrews was the only good part of "The English Patient."
* Sawyer grimaces and/or furrows a brow...and you want to tell him that if he keeps making those faces, it’s going to stick. Didn’t his mother teach him anything?
* You feel compelled to call shenanigans because Jin said something way too complicated for a guy who just learned English. Although let’s face it, when Jin’s on screen, are we really listening to what he’s saying or are we just staring? I think we’re just staring.

Pour entire keg over your head and dance around chanting, “I knew it! I knew it! You can’t fool me, Lindelof, with your fancy fooling ways!” if:
* Jacob turns out to be played by the ghost of Anthony Perkins.
* Charlie turns out NOT to be dead...in the future! Also, he is now a polar bear.

Feel free to add your own rules! Sip, chug and pour the entire keg over your head responsibly! Happy Lost everyone!

PS: Think we'll see Walt this season? Teehee.

"Walt in Season One, Season Two, and an artist's rendering of his projected appearance in Season Six."

Glow In the Dark Tour, Tonedeff's Cased Closed.

2008-01-31T14:57:00.000-08:00

Another reason to like 'Ye: check the font and tell me where it's from.

I want this poster.

I'll post the tour dates as soon as their posted. Seattle better be on that list.

check out these tracks:

Kanye West // Goodnight (feat. Mos Def)
- a track cut from Graduation

Rihanna // Sell Me Candy
- produced by Timbo, written by The Dream

N.E.R.D. // She Wants to Move (Native Tongues Remix)
- you should know who the Native Tongues are.

Lupe Fiasco // Can You Let Me Know (feat. Verbal and Sarah Green)
- dope track from The Coolest Mixtape

CRS // Us Placers (Extended Cut)
- blended with the ending of Thom Yorke's "Eraser"

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If you've been following QN5, you'll know that Tonedeff won Lollapalooza's Last Band Standing contest in 2006. He received everything he was suppossed to EXCEPT for his $10k worth of equipment from Gibson. Through the QN5 blog we'd join Tone on his situation and how ridiculously long he was going through it. Well, over a year later the fiasco has been handled properly due to Tone's rant/blog on how he was screwed.

Congrats Tone, cased closed.

Links to Some Solid Sound

2008-01-31T02:11:00.000-08:00

Right now my music taste is in one of the most massive unexplainable situations. I can't figure out what exactly what I want to listen to and it is starting to mess with my head, but at the same time I am finding some of the most amazing music I have ever heard. Here are links to some of the Myspace pages for the bands I am listening to right now. Most of it I mentioned in my last blog so I just want to supply you with the links. Again, thank you Tony for introducing me to these sounds that I can't get out of my head. Honestly some of the best and most interesting music I have ever heard. These are listed in the order of how much I am enjoying the respected artists.

The Blow - A beautifully melodic voice comes out of this woman with some interesting sounds to match.
MUST CHECK OUT SONG : Hey Boy

Antony and The Johnson's - The unexplainable voice that this man has is enough to boggle the mind when listening to this. Some of the most hauntingly gorgeous music I have ever heard.
MUST CHECK OUT SONG : The Lake

CocoRosie - Creepy and playful female vocals that match well with the elctro/synth/drum heavy music. You have instruments that range from flutes, accordions, xylophones, to kazoos.
MUST CHECK OUT SONG - Rainbowarriors

Joanna Newsom - Childlike voice that just feels like there is a fantasy story hidden somewhere in every single song. Joanna Newsom is a classically trained pianist a harpist. Bitch plays a mean harp. I just like saying that...but she do.
MUST CHECK OUT SONG : Peach, Plumb Pear; Sadie; Cassiopeia

Bjork - You already know her and you either already love her or hate her. As for me, I think she makes some of the most amazing music ever.
MUST CHECK OUT SONG : Wanderlust; Declare Independence; Innocence SMD remix

Tegan & Sara - For some reason I can't stop listening to this. I think their voices blend together beautifully. The music kind of sucks but their voices are gorgeous.
MUST CHECK OUT SONG : The Con; Back in your Head

So that is what I am rockin' in my iPod right now and pissing off my roommates with. Check it out and get exposed to some new sounds. If you hear something on here that you like and think of some similar sounds please do let me know. Throw me a line on Myspace. Right now I am on a new music hunt. Share with us what you are listening to.

And yes, I do have an iPod now. And yes I hate it just as much as I said I would. The Zune still kicks it in the balls. But I will be back with some tech stuff at a later date.

New Sh!t

2008-01-30T12:15:00.000-08:00

As you can see the blog has a new look. We needed something a bit more user-friendly and I believe it does the job. Hope you like it!

Anywho, I'm going to start regularly posting music downloads in a bimonthly feature I'll call "L!STEN". It'll range from brand new tracks to songs you have may missed in the past.

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L!STEN 01.30.08

Alicia Keys // How to Save a Life (Live Cover)
Ben Kenney // Eulogy (Live)
Blu // Bad News Barnes
Colin Munroe // I Want Those Flashing Lights
Gnarls Barkley // Run!
Lupe Fiasco // Can You Let Me Know (feat. Verbal and Sarah Green)
Mark Ronson // Valerie (feat. Amy Winehouse)
Michael Jackson // P.Y.T. (2008 will.i.am Remix)
Rhymefest // Get Plugged (feat. T3 & Little Brother)
Robin Thicke // Lost Without You (Oddisee Remix)

>>>> Sendspace download

Enjoy!

New Look and a Little New Funk

2008-01-30T04:21:00.001-08:00

First off, lets give it up to Dru and whoever his cohorts were who got the page a spiffy new look. I am feelin' it. Second off, I got hit with a music bubble tonight. I was closing down work tonight and playing music because I was wanting to have Tony listen to Joanna Newsom while we were discussing some of the ridiculousness that was the customers of the day. One woman flipped out on Tony because her friend said a movie was on sale when not only was the movie not on sale, but we don't even carry it, and honestly, have you ever seen Barry Lyndon available in retail store outside of the currently out of print Kubrick box set the included both Lolita and Dr. Strangelove as well as Barry Lyndon? I also had some guy who was absolutely flabbergasted that we were sold out of Guitar Hero 3 for the Wii. People need to learn to use the web and research something before you get heated with me.

So, back to my story. We were closing and listening to some of Ms. Newsom's beautiful music when Tony wants to throw on some of his music that he wants me to hear. He starts off with The Blow, then moves onto Teddybears STHLM, CocoRosie, then Antony and The Johnson's. So I have been in this music rut, not really knowing exactly what it is that I am wanting to listen to when suddenly it's like Tony was more on the ball with my musically equilibrium than I was. Everything he threw on was exactly what I was looking for. CocoRosie has these haunting female vocals with an interesting chilled out, mellow trip-hop beat in the background, The Blow has some ridiculously sexy, sultry, female vocals that make me want o jump on whatever girl is producing this sound and beats in the back that range from a bass heavy R&B groove to a crazy dance rhythm and a hardcore rock sound. Antony and The Johnsons are something I had already heard...kinda. The vocalist was featured on two tracks on Bjork's Volta album. The vocals also have a very haunting sound to it but have a soulful backing that is unreal, with an orchestral background that matches perfectly.

I have yet to fully absorb Teddybears STHLM, but they were more on the rock side from what I had heard. I am just excited because I hadn't heard so much new music that was right on the nose with the mood I am in. I haven't been this absorbed in the music I am listening to for a very long time. Thank you Tony for giving me something to be excited about. Everyone check out these artists and enjoy it thoroughly. I am going to try and go to sleep now so wish me luck.

OMG

2008-01-29T12:51:00.000-08:00

New Smash Brothers footage.

This game cannot come out any faster.

Black Diamond from Stratovarius, Rock Band kits, double bass

2008-01-29T00:09:00.001-08:00

If you don't know, Dru and I have Rock Band at our apartment and I would say we play it a lot. I've been playing a lot recently for study breaks and such and am trying to play every song on expert and get at least a 4/5 stars on them all. I'm about half way done but it's insanely hard for me. I came across this guy on Youtube playing Rock Band songs on expert with ease. I looked through other videos he has put up and he's a crazy, video game drumming machine. He's hooked up 2 Rock Band drum kits to play a Japanese drum game called Drummania. It's insanely fast and confusing but he breezes right through them. Older videos show only having one kit and using a sensor and a pile of pillows as a cymbal. CRAZY SHIT!!!

People Getting Punched Before Eating

2008-01-28T22:17:00.000-08:00

Mmm, watcha say? Now this. People getting punched before eating. Andy Samberg done did it again. Don't blink when the ending nears - it's the best part.

This is completely random. But isn't it hilarious? This gets the LOL stamp.

asdf #6

2008-01-28T13:47:00.001-08:00

The other day I saw DJ Kilmore and Ben Kenney (the DJ and bassist of Incubus, respectively) at El Corazon here in Seattle. Damn good show. I'll have my full review of their sets tomorrow. Ben just released his third LP, Distance and Comfort. Before the show I hadn't heard anything about it's release date or how to purchase it, but I have it here in front of me now, so I'm happy.

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In my humble opinion the best song on the radio right now is Snoop Dogg's "Sexual Erruption". Well this guy right here speaks some truth.

Classic.

(Thanks Sheena to for the link. I'm sure you thought of me first after viewing this..)

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Don't know if any of you frequent the wonderful site, Cinematic Happenings Under Development, but if you do they've recently changed up their look. It's going to take some time to get used to it, but I'll still stick with them.

Anywho, the title of the next Bond movie will be 'Quantum of Solace'

See C.H.U.D.'s article here!

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QN5 has a digital-only release coming out for Valentine's day entitled QN5 Baby Blue for Pink. It's a collection of brand new material (plus one remix) by the QN5 camp for the grown and sexy.

It's available on February 12th on all major online music stores (Amazon, iTunes, etc)

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Harry at AintItCoolNews is reporting that Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) will be directing back-to-back Hobbit films. Weta Workshop will still handle the effects and Peter Jackson will produce.

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Wolverine = Clint Eastwood? Mark Millar is setting up a new story for Wolvie. Check out this article on IGN- it explains how most of Wolverine's comics deal with the now or the past, but since he's the one who has lived the longest (he has the healing factor), what about his future? This is going to be awesome.

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FLASHING LIGHTS MANIA! The official music video isn't even out yet. SHOUT OUT TO DWELE! His new album comes out this spring.

Flashing Lights Atlanta Georgia Dome Battle of the Bands 1/26

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Colin Munroe // I Want Those Flashing Lights

More TED Talks

2008-01-27T22:32:00.000-08:00

So as I explained previously, I am addicted to TED Talks and think it is one of the most interesting things I have found on the web. The ridiculously large amount of information and knowledge available is mind blowing. It is one thing to keep up with current events and world issues but I think some of the stuff they discuss here is just as important.

Violence in societies has been an ongoing issue whether it be the war in the Middle East, tribal slaughters in Kenya, homicide rates in America, or the effect of violence in the media on children and teenagers. Steven Pinker takes a look at the history of violence in western cultures from Neanderthals to present day. He explains how the amount of violence occurring today is far less than that which has occurred previously, yet we are still under the impression that violence is on the rise, even though it is precisely the opposite. He discusses possible explanations for why we think violence is on the rise. Truly a fascinating discussion. Watch it.

Digital Distribution

2008-01-23T16:32:00.000-08:00

an editorial by Dom Acala.

Digital distribution is becoming more and more prevalent as the internet continues to grow. We have Amazon providing streamed movie rentals through their device, Unbox. Netflix recently started to offer streaming movies online and now iTunes added movie rentals to their program. More and more forms of media are turning to the digital world. iTunes is a perfect example of this distribution. You can buy songs and whole CDs and download them to your computer. Then came TV shows. Now movie rentals. More and more companies are turning to digital distribution. Xbox has Xbox Live Marketplace (XBLM). You rent movies and buy TV shows. Walmart.com has a music store. Books and newspapers are turnings digital with Amazon's e-reader, the Kindle, and other various e-readers. Even video games are turning digital, with XBLM, Nintendo's WiiConnect,the Playstation Network and also Gametap.

Many people seem to embrace this age of digital distribution. I don't. I like to go to the store and buy my DVDs, CDs, and video games, go home and pop it in to my media device and watch, play or listen. I like to have a physical object to hold and keep. You can have your friends borrow it. With digital media, it is very difficult to do this. Lets say you bought a game off XBLM and it's amazing and you want your friend to play it. Your friend won't be able to play it because you downloaded it to your Xbox and because of DRM, it will only work on your Xbox. If you had a hard copy of the game, you could just let your friend borrow it so he could experience the amazing game. That is, if you have friends and like the share.

DRM, in short, is something that is encoded with the data in order to prevent piracy. Take iTunes for instance: if you purchase and download a TV show, it can only work on the purchasers iTunes, play on someone else's iTunes (with permission from the purchaser), or play on any Apple product belonging to the purchaser. There are ways around this with video converters and other programs but it can become complicated to someone who doesn't know computers. Now HD movies off iTunes can only be played through the AppleTV. Amazon's video rentals and some e-reader downloads only work with Amazon products and Xbox with Xbox's whom purchased the data.

Our current infrastructure is quite weak to sustain the bandwidth needed to support a total digital distribution of media. If you are unaware, broadband providers are now considering network filters to combat piracy. Some have caps on how much you can download a month. Comcast has a secret limit on their cap, if you go over, your internet will be shut off for an indefinite amount of time. Time Warner is in the works to provide broadband where you have different plans based on how much you can download a month ( i.e. 5GB, 10GB, 20GB, etc.) and you pay for each GB you go over. Broadband providers are going this route because they are too cheap to upgrade their current cable infrastructure to provide faster internet and more bandwidth. As of now, all the illegal downloading is putting tons of stress and slowing down their networks. Verizon has recently started to provide broadband through their newly developed fiber optic network. It's supposedly really faster but it depends on your location since it's a fairly new network. Other countries like Japan have blazing fast internet at the fraction of the cost we pay here. What's up with that?

I'm old fashion with my media and want to have a physical copy of my movies and video games. I want to be able to use them whenever and wherever I please. I won't mind downloading (legally) a movie once in a while, but the time it takes to download it just turns me off. Who knows, maybe 10 or 15 years from now, every form of media will be digital and stored on the internet. Our kids will wonder why our HDTVs sucks compared to their UltraHDTVs*. And I will still be holding on to my DVDs and video games while everyone else has a hard drive as their movie collection.

* These TVs are actually real. They have 16 times more pixels than HDTVs and Japan is planning on setting them as a standard, in Japan, by 2010 or 2011. Why is Japan so much cooler than us?

Sad Times

2008-01-22T15:15:00.001-08:00

Actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his apartment earlier today.

Read more:
- NY Times
- BBC News
- CNN

Mike says:
I was really surprised to hear that Heath Ledger was dead. I kinda thought it was one of those spoof links someone made to get people talking about fake news, but he really is dead. He has done some good roles and a few great ones too, especially his role as The Joker in the new sequel to The Batman, Dark Knight. It sad to see someone with get acting potential going out like that.

Andrew says:
I'm really optimistic about him being in The Dark Knight and how his role as the Joker would really define him as being one of the most versatile actors of today. There was so much potential and I personally believe being the Joker would've led him to make some really great films. It's such a tragic loss for family, friends and fans, as well as the entertainment world.

Dom says:
This is a really sad day. Heath Ledger was an amazing actor. One of the bests actors in our generation. It's a shame he had to go. His up coming role as Joker in The Dark Knight was going to be one of his greatest roles. This role is going to send shock waves through Hollywood, proving he had the chops to be one of the best. I send my condolences to his family and friends.

Rest In Peace
(1979 - 2008)

Drumming to Super Mario Bros. 2

2008-01-22T14:09:00.000-08:00

Even though it was the defunked Mario Bros. game, Super Mario Bros. 2 was still a game we all played and had one hell of a soundtrack for the classic 8-bit console. This Italian drummer, Andrea Vadrucci, takes it to a whole new level and throws in some percussion. Usually I hate these types of videos and find them very old and similar to each other but this is simply badass.

I love what he does with the dungeon theme.

Breaking the Cloverfield Funk

2008-01-22T03:27:00.000-08:00

So There has been Cloverfield post after Cloverfield post so I am going to try and change that up, even though I came on here to post about Cloverfield. I caught it at the Cinerama on Thursday and just decided what I wanted to say about it, but I will be back for that. I will have a full review in the next week. I am going to throw a little bit of science at you...

If you aren't familiar with TED Talks, you should be. TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an annual convention that brings together some of the greatest minds in these categories and then some. It really is fascinating and a ton of fun to go through the clips they offer on the site. There is a plethora of information available and should not be passed up. Carolyn Porco is a planetary scientist working on the Cassini project which sent a spacecraft to Saturn to take photos of Saturn and it's moons, as well as land on Titan, one of it's moons which is a body which has geographical bodies that resembles those of Earth. Cassini's research has produced some of the greatest breakthroughs in Astronomy in the last decade, as well as producing some of the most beautiful pictures ever...
That is a total eclipse of the sun from Saturn. I just thought this was one of the most interesting things I have seen in a very long time and I felt like sharing this with all of you. Go check out TED Talks, browse the videos and tell me what you found interesting so I can go watch more. Here is the Cassini discussion.

On another note my insomnia is in full swing right now and my music tastes is all up in a funk. I fell out of my hip hop rut and I am listening to a whole lot of random and my taste is very confused. Jebus Christ man, I am listening to Tegan & Sara- this just doesn't seem right. I guess I am floating around a lot of female vocalists: Bjork, Sugarcubes, Tegan & Sara, Joanna Newsom, Cat Power, etc. If you have some recommendations for weird and interesting female vocals or something along the weird and interesting, please post them to the comments. I think my mind just needs a jump start with some experimental sounds. Check out Joanna Newsom. She has a childish and haunting voice and plays a mean harp.

I really just wanted an excuse to say "plays a mean harp".

Cloverfield, again.

2008-01-21T21:58:00.000-08:00

A review by Janelle Q.

This weekend has been spent intaking copious amount of Cloverfield and everything related to it. I just knew it wouldn't be made without an crazy underlying story behind it. This movie was such typical J.J. Abrams. And to be honest, I have a love/hate relationship with that guy. He makes thrilling, mysterious, mythological television and films - but he forces the viewers to do their homework, researching clues and searching for easter eggs. So here's my review: Cloverfield is ridiculous, in the best way possible. Abrams really knows how to fuck with my mind. After this movie, I can't separate the fake from reality anymore.

So, http://cloverfieldclues.blogspot.com is fun. Discretion: Not everyone will like this movie, so don't blame me if you want your 10 dollars worth of movie ticket back. We've all heard the bad reviews; the shaky handy cam, the unidentified monster, the wack storyline, etcetera. And I won't lie, I felt completely disappointed right when the movie ended - until I did my homework - now I'm in a world of Slusho!

Anyway, while they're on the Brookyn Bridge, another man is caught videotaping the night's incidents. Perhaps footage from his camera will leak soon? Hope so!

Also, apparently there were unidentified advertisements for Cloverfield on The N (yes, I know you all watch Degrassi. sike.) with white noise and messages saying, "I'm still alive. Help me." See a viewers reaction here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amOv0IEm9Cg. And I'll leave yall with that.

Cloverfield (minor spoilers)

2008-01-20T13:39:00.000-08:00

A review by Dom A.

I just saw Cloverfield last night and if you haven't seen it, stop reading now and see it. It's amazing. I don't want to go in-depth but it's nice to see some originality and something new when most of the movies released now are remakes, sequels or based off books. Being in the perspective of the group of friends makes the movie so much more engaging. The story is just about that group trying to find another friend. That's it. You don't see scientist trying to figure out what the monster is, you don't see the military planning out attacks, or what the moster is doing through out the movie. You see what the camera sees. This point of view makes everything more intense. During some parts of the film, I was like "Holy Shit!! This is crazy!!" It was like being on a roller coaster. I don't think any other camera view would have created that much emotion and even work for this type of movie.

One of my favorite parts of the movie is Hud, the guy behind the camera. The things he says are hilarious. There's a part when the group is in the subway tunnel and he starts talking about the guy who would light homeless guys on fire. It's pitch black and he says, "Man, I'm just scared a flaming homeless guy is going to jump out and attack us". Hilarious! I also like how they capture our human nature to love. From Rob wanting to find Beth, Jason always trying to be by Lily's side, and Hud's small crush on Marlena. I know if anything like that happened to where you live, whether it be a natural disaster or a monster attack, the first thing you would want to do is make sure the people you love are ok. I know I would.

For the monster itself, there is no origin story in the movie but there is a Magna about its origins. It's all in Japenese so I don't know what is means. You supposedly see a meteor hit the water at the end of the "tape" but I didn't see it myself so I don't know. The monster is kind of hard to describe so go see the movie to see for yourself.

Speaking of which, stay until the end of the credits. There is a short sound bite at the end. It sounds static so it's hard to understand. What I got from it was "It's still alive". I know I heard "alive". From Mark's observation about the numbers 36-12-18 being a date (12-18-2036), could the monster still be alive all that time? Could it be that the parasites grow to become that big? Is earth being overtaken by this (or these) things? Who knows? That's what so good about the movie- it ended leaving the audience thinking the moster died but there are so many unanswered questions. I don't want a sequel to be made. It's a good stand alone film. Go watch Cloverfield. You will be pleased. (The shaking camera didn't bother me)

Let me know what you guys think that sound bite at the end was? Post to comments.

Cloverfield

2008-01-18T22:55:00.000-08:00

A review by Mark F.

++ WARNING THIS POST WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS! ++

You have been warned...

Basic opinion - best original movie to come out in a long while. Although it covers a pretty old genre of film they did a great job of creating a 'realism' to the film. When I say original - I mean a movie that kept many of the viewers active in trying to figure out what was going on (viral promotions) and somehow was able to keep many things a mystery.

I've heard rumors of them possibly doing sequels from different perspectives in the city when the monster attacks, but I believe it to be a better stand-alone film. Giving it mystery adds to the entire effect of the movie. I'm pretty sure it was hard for anyone to catch everything the first time they watched the film. I've already seen it twice and was tempted to watch it a third.

Major things I noticed in the film and had questions about.
1) In the beginning the Do Not Duplicate screen shows the numbers 36-12-18. Do you think this is significant to anything? I believe it could be the current date of the person watching the film, December 18, 2036?

2) When it knocked down the bridge you get two opportunities to see it do it. Once at the time of the attack and second when they are inside the electronic store and see it on the news. What part of it's body was it - it looked like a tentacle?

3) Some of my friends didn't realize that the film would go back and forth between the month April (the happy footage between Rob and Beth) and May (the footage of the attack).

4) The monster's origin was never truly answered but in the ending scene on the beach - if you watch the right side of the screen in the ocean near the boat. You will see a meteor like object crash into the water. Meaning I will go with Hud's idea of 'Superman'. Some of my friends still believe it's an underwater creature that came from the seas, due to the hype and ideas originally posted by the viral promotions.

5) After the credits and the awesome playlist for the party scene, there is a sound byte of static where the audio (in my opinion) says, "Help Us". Not really sure how that is going to apply to the next project for Bad Robot.

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Also, I have been running a promotion company for regional/national touring bands in my area for close to a year now. I finally got someone in the local newspaper to start doing write ups for me. You should read her blog here. She wrote a review for that band The New Frontiers full length due out in February and currently out online on Amazon/Itunes. Anyways they have peaked at the #4 spot of most downloaded albums on Amazon.com this week behind the Juno Soundtrack and Radiohead.

News Flash!!!

2008-01-18T12:58:00.000-08:00

The WGA has reached a tentative deal. Hopefully this deal goes through so we don't have to suffer more from Gladiator Mondays!!!

Trekkies

2008-01-18T12:50:00.001-08:00

For all you Trekkies out there. Here is the Enterprise in the re-boot of Star Trek. Enjoy!

CLOVERFIELD: Dru's Take

2008-01-18T02:17:00.000-08:00

a not so in-depth review by Andrew "Alejandro" Bueno.

At exactly a 90-minute running time, the J. J. Abrams-produced, Matt Reeves-directed film
makes you wonder as you sit before the movie, "Is this going to be worth it?"

Maybe.

What kind of film were you expecting? Here's my little breakdown:

GOOD!
+ Story. Just like something J.J. would be associated with, you're given a set of characters put in a situation where the importance is in the present action, not in some wild back-story. As it's been stated before, no one knows the history of the monster. What? When? Where (from)? Why? Mr. Reeves and company don't give a shit- and it's wonderful

+ All the videogame references: The cameraman Hud (or head's up display), the helicopter scene where you're going up to look down upon the monsters path of destruction, the insane belief that you can trek up one building and climb over to the other, even the theory that the title CLOVERFIELD was the name of a level in Rampage, a videogame about monsters destroying cities.

+ The viral marketing campaign. Damn that shit went beautifully and had everyone hungry to see the movie.

+ What really happened in this scene:

BAD!
- Beth had a little less than 2' of rebar sticking out of her left chest cavity. Didn't that completely fuck her up? A minute or two later, homegirl's running fine in the street.

- The abrupt ending. (Some may have thought this was a plus. Personally, na uhh.) The running time comes in at a short 90 minutes. When I see movies, I want at least 91. (=

- I felt misled as I was hoping this was a monster movie, not a love story. It does revolve around the fact that there's a monster running around and reeking havoc, but the story is centered about some dude trying to find his one-night-stand. I wanted more monster dammit. The monster should have been the star, not Rob and Beth. Look at you two! You killed all your friends!

So hopefully no sequel happens. It was a fun stand-alone flick, but studios give a shit when you make around $20 Million on your opening night.

Things to think about:

Were we watching the film as people in the future viewing the evidence of the attack from this memory card's data -OR- were we a government body watching the documented footage. The president? DARPA? Survivors? Is the monster still running amok as we "watch" the film? Pay attention to the beginning of the film next time.

asdf #5

2008-01-17T15:44:00.000-08:00

I forgot to put this up but yesterday (01.16) is the late R&B artist, Aaliyah's birthday. She would've been 29 and were she still here, one of pop cultures biggest acts.

Happy Birthday Babygirl.

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If y'all haven't heard, CHUD.com is reporting that Karen O. of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's is "contributing songs and other pieces of music" for Spike Jonze's big screen adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are.

Didn't see that coming, but damn if that's doesn't sound pleasing. I was never really into the Yeah Yeah Yeah's even though everyone would come and tell me. But since Rock Band, "Maps" has turned into one of my favorite joints, PERIOD.

Hopefully the movie comes out sooner than later!

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Speaking of Rock Band, the latest XBox DLC update (week of 01/14) has three new songs at $1.99 (160 Micrsoft Points) each. They are:

- "Action" made famous by Sweet (cover) - "Last Train to Clarksville" made famous by the Monkees (cover) - "All the Small Things" by Blink 182

I was wondering when some Blink was going to get up.

I also started another profile, where I'll be singing and playing guitar the entire tour. I need my mic stand from home though- I'm dealing with some ghetto shit:

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As I promised before around Christmas time, Little Brother decided to give fans a introspective look at their latest release Getback by posting a series of blogs entitled "The Twelve Days of Getback". It was basically Getback 0.5 or Getback (beta). Haha.

Phonte would put up some story with pictures and/or video and a corresponding song from the folks who helped create the album.

Click this laink to get dem joints!

Click here to read the blogs!

I'm telling you now, if you're not subscribing to their MySpace blog, you're missing on some dope stories.

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Fans of The Procussions- I guess they are no more. A bulletin from their MySpace profile reads:

"

From:	The Procussions
Date:	Jan 17, 2008 11:21 PM
Subject:	Procussions are no more.
Body:	with everything we could say about the industry, the point is, piracy will destroy an independent's career. we want to thank everyone who actually invested in this group and helped it too its last breath! we owe you so much! thats why Stro and I will do our best to carry on our solo careers and work together when possible. but. theprocussions have been inevitably shipwrecked, blows taken in the lower deck from the most fierce of all pirates. love you guys and gals!

"

Sad times. Please do yourself a favor at check out 5 Sparrows For 2 Cents and As Iron Sharpens Iron.

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Now I'm off to see the midnight showing of CLOVERFIELD at the Cinerama! Review to follow soon!

This Kid is Crazy Insane.

2008-01-17T03:37:00.000-08:00

Seriously this kid is one of the most fucked up things I have seen for a long time. Mommy forgot to put is Ritalin in his cereal this morning. Wait fuck Ritalin, I think this kid need some tranquilizers. I love how the kid to his right won't even move at times. Kid is scared shitless and I think I would be too.

The Informers

2008-01-16T23:35:00.000-08:00

The current events surrounding this post are interesting considering I have been wanting to talk about this movie for quite some time now. They announced that Bret Easton Ellis' novel, The Informers was going to be made into a movie about two years ago and I have been looking forward to it for a while. Strictly from the basis of the synopsis and the intriguing characters involved. I have not read the novel, but that should be fixed once I am finished with my current book. The novel follows different peoples living in LA during the 80's. It follows their everyday lives and socially critiques them and their lack of humanism. You have an array of characters from a pop musician, aging newscaster, and naturally a vampire. Ellis has always focused on the inhuman subculture and the immorality, or straight forward disdain for others. We are all familiar with American Psycho, and if you aren't, you should be. This novel was not well received by critics but still has found a nice home with his fans. I personally like his cold, heartless, and almost uninformative writing. He never describes where his characters have been or what has turned them into who they are, he just tells you what they do and leaves the rest up to you. You are free to judge, dispute, argue, hate, or even psychoanalyze the characters you are introduced to. The intriguing portion of this is the recent death of Brad Renfro, which Dru mentioned in an earlier post. He stars in the movie and had recently wrapped for the film before he died. Renfro has had an ongoing bout with drug abuse and run ins with the law and I guess it finally caught up to him. I don't think his death is going to have an impact on the Hollywood and social community like River Phoenix, but those who are familiar with his work know that there is one less great actor in the world. It is interesting though that their is now probably a drug and over indulgence death now associated with this film about drug abuse and the over indulgence of the Hollywood socialites.

More and more

2008-01-16T03:38:00.001-08:00

So I am completely addicted to finding new things to post. I was running through my buddy Brian's Myspace and saw his blog about a new movie called "The Signal". There is an ongoing trend in movies turning technology into a culprit and creator of evil. I find this interesting and annoying all at the same time. If done properly it could be really interesting and if done wrong you can get "Pulse", the American version. I did think the Japanese version of that was actually decent by the way, but that could be just because I was watching it on my computer and there was a reflection on my screen so I was looking at my computer at people looking at their computer and they were seeing a picture of them looking at there computer and seeing ghosts in their room while I had a reflection of me in my room. It was creepy. Sorry that was weird. Here is the trailer. I am excited for this.

There are many different trailers over at Youtube Right now.

I also took a peak and saw this trailer for the new Gus Van Sant film "Paranoid Park" which looks pretty cool. I like Gus Van Sant even though I think he can become to weird for his own good. Sometimes he takes the voyeristic approach too far and it become overwhelming. "Paranoid Park" however looks very cool. The feeling kind of reminds me of "Brick".

2008 Movie Preview

2008-01-16T00:49:00.001-08:00

I was going to write a large article encompassing about ten to fifteen movies I am looking forward to in the coming year but I thought that it would be a little bit easier for you and myself, and ultimately getting these updates to occur more often, if I just leak a few out here and there. So this shall begin an ongoing updated topic.

Dru already got the ball rolling with Doomsday which saves me some time. I am thoroughly looking forward to Doomsday. Niel Marshall has written and directed movies like Descent and Dog Soldiers which I loved. What I want to kick this preview off with is "Clive Barker's Midnight Meat Train".

Everyone who knows me knows that I love me a Clive Barker movie. "Hellraiser" has been one of my favorite movies for a long time and "Candyman" is a horror movie landmark in so many peoples lives. The man has a vision for horror and gore with a story telling sensibility that still makes me open the bathroom door before turning off the lights. He is a horror god. "Hellraiser" is still his prime focus and it is noticeable by all the sequels.

"Midnight Meat Train" is based off a short film by Barker in 1984. It is about a NYC photographer who is trying to capture the city in a way no one has before. When he starts taking pictures on the subway he starts unraveling the mysteries to a serial killer who has been dubbed the Subway Butcher. Vinnie Jones plays the killer which I couldn't be more excited for. I think everyone has been wanting to see him in this type of role since his role as Bullet-Tooth Tony in Snatch. Fool is a beast. Ryuhei Kitamura is directing and I am looking forward to the collaboration. Usually American Japanese mash-ups fail miserably but I think the Japanese influence could be exactly what a movie like this needs. The use of confined space will be interesting. Plus you have a writer like Barker on board which helps the case. Kitamura is the maker of movies like "Versus", "Alive", "Azumi", and "Godzilla:Final Wars" so he has a pretty strong resume. If you haven't checked any of those out, do. I think this movie and it's interesting mash-up should make for some nice horror fun in the coming year, which it looks like it could be a strong year for the horror movie scene in general. More about that later. And here be the trailer. Do enjoy.

asdf #4

2008-01-15T23:00:00.000-08:00

I finally beat ROCK BAND on both guitar and vocals! It took a while because I was hesitant to play alone (big up Ripe Diaper!) and we have already gotten so far in World Tour Mode. Anywho, this video of Conan O'Brien and his staff playing Rock Band has been making it's ways through the internets that I also had to put it up.

*I would've put up the YouTube video, but there're all gone.

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Neil Marshall, director of The Decent, has a new film coming to moviehouses nation-wide this March (same weekend as the Big Climb, btw) called Doomsday. Watch the trailer and see the obvious influences from Mad Max, Escape From New York and The Warriors just to name a few. "Ass Bad" movie that I'd love to waste $10 on!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE TRAILER!

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and finally, some musician dude named John Mayer put up this guitar cover of what i consider THE BEST track on Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds on YouTube:

bonus download:
I Think That She Knows (Interlude)

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Rest In Peace Brad Renfro

The Wire

2008-01-15T22:35:00.000-08:00

I just started watching The Wire about a week ago and I am trying to dig my way through it on Netflix and it is one of those things that when I start watching a disc I really can't stop until I'm done with it. It really is one of the best shows on television and one of the best shows to come out for a very long time. If you enjoyed The Shield you have to check this out.

It follows a group of narcotics agents trying to break down a drug racket in Baltimore as well as the dealers they are following. The depth of characters and the connection between the functioning groups is amazing. They display how power in no matter what area it is possessed still functions the same way. Whether it be the chief of police or the leader of the drug gang they still use the same tactics to influence, intimidate, and take advantage of their subordinates. You have to watch this show. It has been receiving massive amounts of critical acclaim but for some reason kind of just slipping under the radar while shows like Lost are getting massive amounts of public attention when I think The Wire completely blows it away. There are no gimmicks of quarks trying to confuse you into watching. Lost uses the catch and release technique. They will set up the story and introduce you to odd plot point after odd plot point just enticing you to watch to figure out what the hell is going on. I think the beauty of a show like The Wire is that the story is straight forward and you don't really have to question what is going on but the occurances are interesting enough to keep you there. It's direct entertainment. If you don't trust my opinion enough listen to this guy, he gets paid to give his educated opinion.

Watch it bitches!

Unreal Dog

2008-01-14T22:21:00.000-08:00

Jesus frigin' Christ. This is the most intense dog I have ever seen. He could bench press you. I don't know what else to say.

Dancing Yellow Dog

2008-01-14T03:34:00.000-08:00

This duder in a yellow dog suit is dancing on the side of the road in where I am assuming is somewhere in LA and some duder decides to try and show him up. Dancing guy kinda sucks and the fella in the dog suit has some moves. Dude starts crumping in a fucking dog suit! When you start battling a guy in a yellow dog suit and he starts crumping on your ass, you just done did got owned!

Yellow Dog Mascot Has Awesome Moves - Watch more free videos

Lupe Fiasco - The Cool

2008-01-13T22:18:00.000-08:00

Lupe Fiasco - The Cool
Released December 18, 2007
Label : Atlantic / Wea

And it's finally here. My review for "The Cool". I'm sure it's a little too late because you have probably already made up your mind about the album but I still like to put in my two cents. Lupe's first album "Food & Liquor" was something that I think contemporary pop hip-hop has been needing for a long time. A bridge between the geek rap guys like myself and the mainstream community. He is someone I can talk about to a person who isn't as into hip-hop as I am. He has an appeal on all fronts. I think he has production that is appealing to the ears and a flow that feels good. I don't think he brings anything special to the lyrical table but I won't be greedy. Before I make this statement, I am not comparing him to these artists I am about to mention, it's just a comparison of social impact. Just as Talib Kweli offers a connection to projects like Madvillian through Mad Lib, Common to J Dilla, and Gnarls Barkley to DangerDoom, Lupe links you to similar projects through his mass appeal.

"The Cool" feels like a little more of a mature album than "Food & Liquor". Mature in the sense that I think he is falling a little more into who he wants to be than what he is expected to be. He is still a geek and proud of it, still matching flows like "I love Street Fighter 2; I just really hate Zangief; only Ken and Ryu; I find it hard to be Blanka", on Gold Watch, a song about rappers and there public image. This feels less like a personal album though. "Food & Liquor" was a little more about him and this seems to be a little more about...things. He runs around topics like immigration, rape, youth violence, and imbalance of wealth. I guess you are warned of this from the albums intro where a women goes on a social issue rant which still feels out of place to me and doesn't open the album well. Many times the intelligence he tried to display feels a little forced. Anymore people seem to make a political song because they feel like they should and sometimes I just want him to back to rapping about a skateboarding romance.

He doesn't have the laid back flow like he did on "Food & Liquor". More of the tracks are faster paced with heavier beats and a pushed flow. There really isn't a track like "Sunshine" or "He Say She Say". I think this album demonstrates a little more with his defense for the whole "Fiascogate" crap. He grew up listening to groups like UGK, not stuff like Tribe Called Quest, and it shows here. Where I enjoyed "Food & Liquor" more because it was a little more my style of hip-hop I think Lupe feels a little more natural in this form. It works well for him. He has a vocal emphasis in his flow on the bass counts and he feels more accustomed and adjusted to this.

I enjoyed "The Cool" thoroughly and it lived up to it's hype. But for my closing comments I have too point out my issue with the track, "Dumb it Down". Lupe isn't considered a smart rapper. You don't have to dumb it down, you don't have to simplify anything. Sorry duder, but you are no Aesop or Eyedea. It is appropriate that his worst rhymes are on that track though. "The Cool" is a good album, great for some background sound but nothing you can through on and listen to just to listen to. That said this album does have some of the best hooks I have heard for a long time. Do check out "The Coolest" mixtape though. I think it's better than the album.

***1/2 (3.5 out of 5 stars)

Don't eat those brownies!

2008-01-12T10:31:00.000-08:00

So I just have to say this is one of the funniest 911 calls I have ever heard. Cop eats some special brownies and apparently isn't comfortable with the effects of pot.

Cop Eats Pot Brownies, Freaks Out, and calls 911

"I think we're dead". Simply amazing. You would think a cop would know that you can't overdose with pot. But apparently you can go retarded.

I know I am horrible with this Lupe review. BRB

Street Performers

2008-01-09T20:17:00.000-08:00

I have always had a little piece in my heart reserved for street performers because much of the time they have some very sincere talent. I know of at least three percussion performers here in Seattle that I see on a regular basis that are actually really impressive. I came across this video a ways back and felt like sharing it. It's pretty old so excuse it if you have seen it before, but this is worth a second viewing regardless. They are a R&B group called Naturally 7.

I will be back later tonight with a Lupe review. It just depends on how much Call of Duty 4 steals my life. We shall see.

How to win Guess Who?...in one move.

2008-01-07T21:33:00.001-08:00

When I first started to watch this, I was thinking "How the hell do you win in one move?" When the answer came, it was hilarious. I couldn't believe why I didn't think of it before.

Happy 2008

2008-01-03T16:03:00.001-08:00

I hope y'all had a dope new year. If not, well then make sure this one goes well.

2008 will be a great year - plenty of new music, new movies, the election (peace George W.!), etcetera! Looking forward to The Dark Knight, Dr. Dre's Detox, Dwele's new album in March, QN5 releases, OutKast's solo albums, the next Bond film. Too much good shit. I also hope that the WGA Strike is handled properly and ended asap because LOST and HEROES need to get back. Now.

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When I had first heard about Semi-Pro, I thought it was a new film from the Apatow camp, but alas, I see that it is not. A new RED BAND trailer is out. Click the link below!

http://www.semipromovie.com/

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West Coast-based hip hop group Inverse just came out with "So Far", a collection/mixtape to showcase their music.

Get it here.

They've been around for a while too- I first heard them when they collaborated with QN5, specifically the CunninLynguists on a track called "Till the End". Dope, free music.

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Keeping on the free mixtape tip, Chi-Town MC Rhymefest and producer Mark Ronson just released a mixtape "Man in the Mirror". Yes, using vocals and samples from the one and only Michael Jackson

(click the picture for a link to download the mixtape)

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Church-going Ruff Ryder fans will appreciate this: DMX is coming out with a gospel album later this year. That's all I'm going to post. Click here for more.

The New Frontiers - 5 Song EP

2007-12-28T02:25:00.000-08:00

The New Frontiers - 5 Song EP
by Mark Flentge

Nathan Pettijohn - Vocals / Guitar
Ryan Henry - Bass / Vocals
Jacob Chaney - Guitar / Vocals
Guy Turner - Keyboard / Vocals
Alex Bhore - Drums

Label - The Militia Group

1. Man Down
2. Mirrors
3. Walking on Stones
4. Car Doors and Stolen Keys
5. The Sound of Love
click here to buy the album

The New Frontiers are a musical gem that bleeds out soul and hail from the Dallas metropolitan area. Where the current music scene is drowned out by mass amounts of screaming pseudo 'emo' hipsters, vintage dressed dance parties, or southern hardcore kids that like to wave their fists in circles. Basically they don't exactly fit the normal bill for where they come from playing some of the best heartfelt music you've heard anywhere. You should definitly look into them if your a fan of Wilco, Spoon, or The Decemberists. This new EP is a taste of what their full length is going to be like. Which I believe is due out nationwide in late January / early February.

The first track on the EP, Man Down, I believe is going to be used as the single for their full length. The track is just a great opener that grabs your attention throughout ranging from the swelling chorus to the guitar solo that has a very distinct country feel. Not the new pop country, but the old country that was comprised of men that were total bad asses. It gives you a peek of what the band is able to do with only 4 minutes, which makes you really think of how good the full length is going to be. The track isn't totally comprised of some hook that all you remember is the chorus of the song and your done with it. Although the piano and drums do such an awesome job during the chorus it's hard not to get stuck in your head. It's a song that envelops an emotion that is truly memorable.

I originally heard Mirrors as a demo a long time before the guys ever headed into the studio to record it. Hands down this is my favorite track on the EP. The thing that is infectious about this song is the build up into the choir section when all the members of the band sing, "We saw the spark within in your eyes, your face reflected in the light. We all are angels in the sky, we are all mirrors in the skys. We will lift you up. We will place you on your feet. We will pick you up, we will never let you go." Simply amazing. Not for some poetic value, but for the auditory experience of that many people harmonizing and putting soul into their music.

Walking on Stones is a track that just drives all the way through. The track follows a post-rock feel from the soft plucking of an acoustic guitar to the basic bass drum plowing on through with a constant crescendo throughout. The track ends with a simply colossal sound of harmonizing vocals, cymbal crashes, guitar distortion, and static. So much fun, as post-rock is my favorite genre. Go Explosions in the Sky and Godspeed!

Car Doors and Stolen Keys follows a true americana sound, like Tom Petty. With a lap slide guitar being heard throughout the track. The song follows the fantasy of a person running away with someone they are in love with. "This time we watched the sun go down over the city I wanted to hold you close, but I keep forgetting. We were out of control till the day you ran away." The best lines though are "Your father can go to hell, your mother can go as well. We've gone too far to change their minds." The track ends with swirling lap guitar, organ, and great solid drumming.

Sound of Love is a James Iha cover of The Smashing Pumpkins. It sounds pretty much the same, except different vocals. Which leads me to my idea that originals are normally better than the covers.

I'll leave you with a youtube video of theirs. Their old name was Stellamaris.

Also if you check out their myspace they have video blogs of recording the album, being on tour and playing a that 70's show game in front of some bigwig music editors.

Peace and <3>

Evil Eye Baby

2007-12-27T01:19:00.000-08:00

Remind you of anyone? (;

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T19:33:00.001-08:00

Hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday season.

and here's a video to spread some holiday cheer!

This one goes out to all of the Daft Punk fans

Hatchet

2007-12-22T21:30:00.000-08:00

Hatchet
Directed by Adam Green
Produced by Scott Altomare, Sarah Elbert, Cory Neal
Starring: Joel Moore. Deon Richmond, Tamara Feldman
Production Companies: ArieScope Pictures, High Seas Entertainment, Radioaktive Film
DVD Release: December 18, 2007 by Anchor Bay Entertainment

When one of the taglines to your movie is "Old School American Horror" you are actually giving yourself a title that is potentially digging your own grave. You are immediately choosing your target audience of those who know Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser, and Halloween like a 15 year old girl knows Mean Girls or The Notebook. If I start thinking about what "Old School American Horror" means to me, of course I drift back to the classic slashers like the ones stated above, but I also start thinking of a time when I was young and so naive that a simple concept could be scarier than Rosie O'Donnell on a cocaine bender. Movies like Dr. Giggles would make me run to my mom's room in terror, and Nightmare on Elm Street would make me wake up in a cold sweat still seeing Freddy over my bed. A movie didn't need to be disturbing or need an emotionally disturbing element more than a duder chasing you with a machete. That is what Hatchet is. It is simple, classic, gory, horror.

The premise is simple. A group of friends go to Mardi Gras, trying to get a friend, Ben (Joel Moore), to forget his ex girlfriend. He isn't feeling Mardi Gras and drags one of his friends, Marcus (Deon Richmond), to a night swamp tour. The tour is brought to crashing halt when the boat runs into a rock. Once they come to the conclusion they are stranded and there are no other tours coming through the swamp, an introverted girl, Marybeth (Tamara Feldman), explains that the swamp is closed because people have been disappearing around the swamp and these people include her father and brother. She tells the story of a deformed boy who lived in the woods with his father and the story of his demise in a horrible accident,resulting in his haunting and tormenting of the swamp and all those who enter. Then the slaughter begins.

The amazing part about a movie like this is that you don't need anything more than that to make an entertaining movie. It's a simple concept but it gets the job done when it's in the right hands. Hatchet delivers on all basic horror requirements. It is gory, has some decent jumps and scares, it's gory, entertaining cast who works well together, plenty of humor, it's gory, it doesn't take itself to seriously, and did I mention it's gory. The gore surprisingly enough can't be overstated. Usually I come out of these movies disappointed with the amount of violence, but with a few exceptions like Hatchet, Feast, and Audition I can actually have my appetite for blood, gore, and violence quenched.

Joel Moore plays the pathetic, socially awkward, and recently heartbroken guy very well. Keep in mind I am giving natural horror movie acting ability leeway. You can't expect an oscar winning performance from a movie where more than half it's budget is placed in the make-up department. Tamara Feldman is one hell of a badass hottie, and Deon Richmond brings the comedic relief. No one takes their role to serious, so no one overacts. Surprisingly enough everything seems extremely natural and well tuned. I think Adam Green shows promise as a horror director if he realizes that people before him have set the bedrock for this style of film. If you stray to far away from the way things have been done, you either have to have the skill to be a trailblazer or you need an ingenious idea to carry your film. He had a simple idea, and is a new director so he took a page from those who came before him.

People say that horror movies are lame anymore and they will blame people for being uncreative or not having vision to produce something that requires such an emotional response as fear. It doesn't require a brilliant idea, or being tremendously creative, you just have to know your subject matter and the art of those that came before you. If you have a simple story and concept such as that of Hatchet, you can't really stray from that which has already been done, unless you can genuinely do it better, which let's face it, we haven't really seen anyone who can. You either have a brilliant story and concept, or you have the skill to surpass those before you.

When it gets down to it and we come to my conclusion here, Hatchet was a blast. I have been looking for something that can give me a feeling of the movies I have come to love, in a new packaging. I wouldn't say Hatchet is a scary movie by any means, it just reminds you of those scary times you had watching the horror movies of your youth. No wonder Tony Todd (Candyman) and Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger) signed on for their cameo roles. They were a part of everything this movie was all about. "Classic American Horror".

Watch it bitch!

4/5 stars

Little Brother's "Twelve Days of Getback"

2007-12-22T20:11:00.000-08:00

I totally forgot to post this up when this started.

If you enjoy Little Brother I suggest you become friends with them on myspace. I've subscribed to their blog way back when because Phonte writes up insightful posts on a regular basis. As a Christmas present, he has come up with the "Twelve Days of Getback". This 12-day blog will give readers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of their latest album, Getback (2007), with downloads and youtube videos. Check out the blog here and make sure you follow it for some free music (alternate takes) as they will only be up for one day with their corresponding blog.

After all 12 days have gone by I will post up all the songs here.

Current Entertainment.

2007-12-21T17:13:00.000-08:00

Dru has been on point with this more than I have so let's all say thank you to him for that. Thank you. I should be more active after the holidays, electronics retail is sucking the life out of me this holiday. Since I have been so busy lately my current media exposure has been the music I listen to on the way to work and the reading I get done when ever I have that personal time in the bathroom

I suggest that everyone pick up the current issue of URB magazine- it's at the end of it's run so hurry. They got WALE up on the cover with Justice. Thanks to DRU for introducing me to WALE. Hit WALE's stuff up over on Myspace. Download his 100 Miles and Running Mixtape. This guy is reinventing the remix and has a flow that almost matches his production qualities. I am looking forward to seeing that evolve and grow. Right now GQ is in the usually gentlemanly funk and concerning itself primarily with the political race, which is important but becoming garbled with a bunch of slander and that is what they are talking about right now, so they're talking about the least important aspects.

I have been pushing my way through the Grindhouse Experience Volume 1 DVD's which have been enjoyable in their own way. If you enjoyed the Tarantino/Rodriquez Grindhouse project and that is your idea of "Grindhouse" movies, pass on this. I have been a long time BAD movie fan and these are not Death Proof or Planet Terror. These are bad on all counts, and are enjoyable because they are bad. I recommend them because the bang for the buck is there, but quality is not. All transfers are obviously taken from VHS copies that've been through hell.

Since the majority of the music I am listening to right now is all backlogged stuff that I just haven't gotten around to until now, or just pulled off Dru's drive, I won't be doing full reviews on all that old stuff.

Right now I am listening to J Dilla - Donuts, Lupe Fiasco - The Cool (review coming soon), Binary Star - Masters of the Universe, and Madlib - Beat Konducta Vol 3-4.

An introduction is in order

2007-12-21T10:13:00.001-08:00

Yo, this is Francis signing in. Dru had my title wrong; I'm the photographer and killer... ahemofchildrenahem. Though I have rarely expressed extreme opinions, positive or negative, on basically anything, I do have them and I'll do my best to express them here. Not sure what else to say as an introduction, so I'll sign out now.

Later.

asdf #3

2007-12-21T01:53:00.000-08:00

First things first

I'm trying to expand the team here because Runaway Pancake is part of EFF.ESS.YOO (or FSU if you're familiar with what I'm talking about). Added to the roster:

Mike Vu - cOmPUtEr GaMiNg AsiAn!
Mark Flentge - my cuz from Louisiana, fellow Musichead
Dom Acala - roommate and gadget guy
Francis Acacio - photographer and pedophile... j/k
Robert Kipps - the future filmmaker who coined RUNAWAY PANCAKE

Realistically, we all combine to make Captain Planet and act as a collective of knowledge and know-how when it comes to movies, music, comics, videogames, television, art, toys, fitness, and other "geek" subjects.

Hopefully everyone will filling this page up with the most random of shits because I'm getting a good post-load in. Does anyone even read this? Sorry if you do. We're not up "to the level" yet.

It'd be good to know if we're appreciated, so whenever you have the feeling PLEASE leave us a comment or six. Thank ye much!

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Alright, so I'm about to get a little sentimental with it..

So if haven't picked up Lupe Fiasco's The Cool yet, you need to. It's hip hop, rap, rock, industrial, pop, whathaveyou. A featured artist on the tracks "Hip Hop Saved My Life" and "Little Weapon" is named Nikki Jean, part of a band called Nouveau Riche sings the hooks. I found her myspace and her youtube account and saw that she keeps video diaries. She's very dope and very friendly (and very cute).

This video is for all those who have dreams and aspirations to 'make it' someday.

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Meanwhile, I am still excited for CLOVERFIELD come January.

I also am still in concordance with C.H.U.D. that the monster may very well be THIS MOFO

asdf #2

2007-12-19T15:59:00.000-08:00

If you haven't seen The Dark Knight trailer yet, go here: ATasteForTheTheatrical.com

Head to the MTV Movie Blog to read their shot-by-shot description of it with a little bit of insight as well.

I'm very excited for the movie. The Joker seems to be stealing the show. When I first heard of Heath Ledger taking the role I rolled my eyes, but he's doing a magnificent job of bringing out the graphic novel style Joker onto the screen. Badassery at it's finest.

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QBert disciples!

DJ Ryusei (6 years old) and DJ Sara (8 years old)

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Come February will be Thriller's 25th anniversary and what better way to milk your past success by re-releasing it with shitty remakes of classic songs! Enter Akon, Will.I.Am, Kanye, and the highly-talented Fergie! o_O

Michael Jackson // Billy Jean (Kanye Version 2008)
Michael Jackson // Wanna Be Startin Something (Akon Version 2008)

props to Rap-Up.com