MadMup.com

You want to know what my favorite CD is? It's the last one I got. Unless I've purchased a real bummer of a CD, the newest one gets put in the player and left there for a week or better on repeat. "A real bummer" is usually a CD I bought for one song, hoping to like some other songs on the CD, but finding out that the rest of them are awful or sound nothing like the song I bought it for.

My current favorite CD is one I put together myself. There are seventeen songs on it, and I've heard them each about 20 times in the last two weeks. Well, not all of them. See, I was reminded of a weird phenomenon whilst listening to this CD. It happens every time I put together a "mix" CD. I'll put a bunch of songs I like on the CD, but invariably find myself skipping over some songs when I listen to it. Does that even make sense? When you buy a CD, you have no idea what will be on it, so you expect to skip over a song here and there, but if you make the CD yourself, wouldn't it make sense to put songs on it that you know you won't skip over? After putting more thought into it than I should have, I think I've figured out why that is. When you're listening to all the music you have on your hard drive and have it set to "Shuffle," you come to a song like "Sweet Home Alabama" and it's a fun little break in the midst of all the rest of your stuff. But when you have a CD with only 17 songs on it, you're going to find that "Sweet Home Alabama" wears out pretty quickly, and you're going to skip over it almost every time.

Other songs can hold up to repeated playings. My favorite song of this current CD is "Superman" by Five For Fighting. I don't even really know what it's about, but I love the concept of Superman being a regular guy with hopes and dreams, and the song is beautiful. Not only do I not skip this song, I will sometimes repeat it two or three times in a row.

But "Drift Away," a song I love, still gets skipped 2 out of 3 times. Go figure. 0 comments

In my daily readings, I stumbled across this line from Cynical Rantings:

Apparently not all mass swarms of birds are evil, as the movie would have you believe.

While I would encourage you to read her blog, please do not believe this lie. 0 comments

My latest review is up over at DEN. As the title suggests, it's for CSI: Dark Motives, a game for the PC. Those of you dying to read every word I write should hustle on over there and get reading.

Labels: game review

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Man, I was just off tonight. I couldn't get my groove and I kept breaking character. Barry (our instructor) kept saying I was doing fine, but I've been in a groove before so I know what it feels like...and it doesn't feel like I felt tonight.

We did scene work mostly - working with each other to try to build scenes. Next week we'll actually start playing some games.

I hope I'm "on" next week. Blegh. 0 comments

I got one of those irritating phone calls on Saturday. You know the ones - from your credit card company telling you they're giving you some incredible thing to help protect your account.

First of all, I couldn't understand the lady. She had some sort of accent that I couldn't quite place. If you're going to try to sell me something, let me at least be able to tell what it is! I might take you up on it! (I got to thinking this could be a ploy - confuse the buyer and he might buy it! I began to imagine it was actually a nice Iowan girl who had never left the MidWest but was faking an accent just to try to snare some sales.) But, no, I still couldn't tell you what it was.

So I ask the all-important question: what's this gonna cost me?

"Oh, nothing, nothing."

Then, after verifying the spelling of my name and my address, I hear the little phrase "as long as you have a zero balance on your ."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" I ask.

Same muttered phrase. With the muttering and the accent, there was no hope I was ever going to understand it. "Just forget it, I don't want it."

"Let me clarify..." she began.

"Nope, just cancel it."

"Let me clarify..." she said again.

"No! Cancel it!"

"Let me clarify..." she said again.

"You are not listening to me, I do not want it!" I said, rather excitedly.

"Okay."

I waited...

And a bit more...

And then I realized she had hung up. Good. Call back when you can tell me what it is I'm getting and just how much it will actually cost me.

Put up for your consideration by: MadMup / 8:33 PM

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According to NameStatistics.com:



How 'bout that? 0 comments

I wrote this a while back. It needs editing, but I give it to you as is, no guarantees.
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Most of you can tell just by looking at me that I'm a computer geek. Whether it's the pasty white skin, the bloodshot eyes, or the constant flexing of my hands and wrists, there's something about me that tells you I'm a computer geek. I get a lot of flak for being a computer geek...until someone needs their computer fixed.

I get far more flak, though, about not going outside. "Why don't you ever go outside?" I am sure that, somewhere, there is a computer geek that likes to go outside. He takes his wirelessly-networked laptop outside to check his e-mail, post to his blog, and design websites. Let me tell you something about that guy: he's as rare as a speckled albino rhinoceros-sized wombat. The rest of us computer geeks are kind of like vampires: we avoid daylight, we keep weird hours, and we have strange diets.

"But why," you ask, "don't you like to go outside?" Well, it's a difficult question to answer. First of all, when you haven't been outside in a while, your skin reacts strangely when you do go out. I don't know if you're aware of this or not, but if you go outside, your skin can turn different colors! That can't be healthy! Second, after staring at monitors for as long as we geeks have, our eyes have become kind of like those cave-dwelling fish that can see really well in complete darkness. Take that same fish out in the light, though, and he'll bump into things all day long. The sun is far too bright, really. Take me out on a cloudy day and I'm fine.

I'll be honest with you, though. The third reason is really the only reason for me. I can't speak for all computer geeks everywhere, but the main reason I don't go outside is because of birds. Yes, birds. Birds freak me out, man. I'm not talking in an Alfred Hitchcock kind of way where I'm afraid all the birds in a certain area are going to conspire against humanity and start pecking at our heads - I'm really only talking about one thing. How do I put this delicately? Hmmm. Let me say it this way - if there were little bird restrooms along the bird highways that birds would stop off and use from time to time, I might go outside a little more. Yes, I will admit, I'm a little afraid of some bird coming around to peck at my head. When I was younger, I mowed the lawn for my parents. They had a couple of acres, so my dad had a riding mower for us to use. When I mowed what we called the "way-back yard," swallows would appear from nowhere and start swooping around me, as if to drive me off from their sacred burial grounds. The first time this happened, I remember driving the mower back to the garage all freaked out and telling my dad that birds were swooping at my head and that I wasn't so sure that I wanted to mow the lawn anymore, at least not the way-back yard. Of course, my dad knew that the birds were just going after all the bugs I was stirring up with my mowing, and he told me so. He also told me that, yes, I would continue mowing the way-back yard. So I did, ducking all the while.

I also learned to fear birds because I had a "pet" one for a while. I dated a girl my senior year in high school whose uncle and aunt had a love bird that was the meanest, crankiest bird you have ever met. I'm told that love birds get this way when they don't have another love bird around to hang out with. That certainly seems like a possibility, and it also seems like a whole comment on love, too, but I won't go there. This family had a cat, a dog, and this bird. Strangely enough, the pecking order (to coin a phrase) in this house was like this: bird, cat, dog. The cat terrorized the dog, but the cat was afraid of the bird. For some reason - maybe a teenager's penchant for believing he is invulnerable - I was drawn to this bird. It cracked me up that it was so cranky. Well, my girlfriend's uncle said, "Hey, you like the bird? You can have him!" They'd been looking for a new home for him for quite some time, I guess. So I took the bird. I learned quickly to keep my fingers away from his cage. I don't remember what the bird's original name was, but I renamed him Frank. Why? Have you ever heard of a comic book character called "The Punisher"? His real name was Frank. This bird was out to avenge every wrong that had ever been done to bird-kind by any human finger ever. Turns out, he was also after cats. I had my computer desk in one corner of my bedroom, and I put the birdcage behind me in another corner. One day as I was working on my computer, I heard one of the most terrifying meows I have ever heard. I whipped around in my chair to see my cat hanging by one paw from the birdcage - the paw was attached to the birdcage by Frank's beak. Granted, the cat was pretty heavy, so Frank let him drop after a few seconds, but I never saw the cat go near the cage again. The most traumatic times I had with Frank, though, were when he escaped his cage. Occasionally, his cage would need to be cleaned, and even less occasionally he would get out while this was going on. You've never known fear until you've seen an avenging love bird flapping for all he's worth in an attempt to exact retribution for all the ills mankind has ever done to birds. Most bird owners will tell you at this point that you just need to grab him and put him back in the cage. Let me tell you something about these bird owners - they don't know beans about Frank. I'll tell you what I did - I tricked him back into his cage. If I recall correctly, it involved holding the cage door open while I wiggled my fingers like bait inside the cage. Eventually he went back in, and I was able to lead a somewhat normal life again - at least, what passes for normal for a guy who just lost three years of his life in a matter of 10 minutes.

So I have a healthy fear of birds trying to peck my head. But that's really not the reason I don't like them. It's really all about them not using restrooms. I was at a friend's graduation party and was talking to her out by her car, when a bird...happened. On her. Without warning. Nasty. She handled it pretty well - she was raised a farm girl - and I got in my car and high-tailed it home. A couple of years later, I was working as a security guard at a special-care home. It involved doing rounds every other hour, both inside and out. Since this was Wisconsin, we often had flocks of migrating birds flying overhead. On this particular occasion, I was between buildings when I heard the distinctive honking of a flock of Canadian geese. I looked up to revel in this incredible sight: hundreds of these beautiful creatures flying in several perfect formations with the incredible Wisconsin sunset in the background. It was simply awe-inspiring. Until it happened. On me. Without warning. On my shoulder. Nasty. I high-tailed it inside.

See, the worst part is that there is no warning. It's just there, as if it had just appeared. One second, it's not. The next second - it's there. I'm not expecting an alarm bell, but would a whistling sound be too much to ask?

This is the reason I don't go outside much. I can't help but imagine how my life would have changed if I had been looking at those geese like you normally do - head back, mouth open.

So I don't trust birds. And I'm a little suspicious of Canadians. 0 comments

I had my first improv workshop tonight. I was Spider-Man, a super spy, a 40-year-old, a guy in an animal suit at a fair, a retired military general, a chimpanzee, a wallpaper hanger, and a rap artist. And there's more classes yet!

It's a smaller class than I thought it would be - there are only 5 of us: two 50+-year-old women, a 25-year-old guy, a late 30's-ish woman, and me.

My legs are wobbly from all my jumping around, but it was good to get back into improv. It's been about a year since my last foray. This will stretch me, I think. At the very least, I'll need to start stretching before classes... 0 comments

Ever wish you could tell a chicken what to do and it would do it?

Well, wish no more. 0 comments

My first review is up over at Digital Entertainment News. My previous three things were all PREviews, but this one I actually got my grubby little mitts on and played through. The game is Crystal Key 2, if you're interested. Even if you're not, you might enjoy reading through it anyway.

Labels: game review

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Just so you're aware, should you desire to try this Minute Maid Raspberry Passion I mentioned earlier, the "passion" in the title does not refer to "a deep love of the raspberry taste." Apparently it actually stands for "passion fruit," as the drink tastes more like something other than raspberry than raspberry itself.

I'm not sure why we have this national obssession to mix every fruit flavor with every other flavor, but I'm opposed to it. I want just raspberry, not raspberry and Cocoa Mini Wheats.

Simplify! 0 comments

I went to the grocery store this evening because I'm out of towels, so I need quarters so I can wash towels for tomorrow. While I was there, I figured I'd get some milk, too, for all this cereal I've got laying around.

So I go to the grocery store that also has a branch of my bank, get $20 out of the ATM, and go to the Customer Service window. On arrival, I am told they don't have enough quarters and cannot sell me any. Grrrrrrr. I went and looked at their selection of Arizona Raspberry Iced Tea, but decided not to buy any because I was bugged by the lack of quarters.

So I went to Wal-Mart, but first to Burger King. They've recently moved the Burger King into a new building, so I took a few wrong turns getting to it. Grrrrrrr #2. I ordered a hamburger with only ketchup and mustard, and a medium chocolate shake. As I'm driving away and digging into my burger, I find that a) it's a cheeseburger, b) there is no ketchup nor mustard on it, and c) there are pickles on it. The cheese I could handle. I only don't order cheeseburgers because they're more expensive. The lack of ketchup and mustard bugged me, but I could've dealt with that. The addition of pickles, though, was inexcusable. Pickles are the main reason I say the words "only ketchup and mustard." (Someday I will regale you with the tale of why pickles bother me so much.) Grrrrrrr #3.

On to Wal-Mart. The service desk doesn't have quarters available, but the CSM does, so they escape a Grrrrrrr. I pick up an end table/magazine rack I've had my eye on for a while, and then get some Minute Maid Raspberry Passion (never had it before, thought I'd try it). Now I'm headed to the milk...and they don't have half-gallons. Grrrrrrr #4. I get a whole gallon and head home.

Four Grrrrrrrs equal an irritated Mup. I'm a little crabby right now. But do you want to know something else? When I got home, I discovered I did have towels, I just hadn't put them away properly so I didn't see where they were. I could have avoided the whole mess...

Major Grrrrrrr. 0 comments

It's too hot already, and it's only April. Ugh. I hate being stuffy. It's so much easier to sleep when it's a little chilly. I'm a big fan of controlled environments. I'll be the first one to have my air conditioner running, I can assure you. I hate opening my windows (even though they're open now) because I hate the outside noise and I don't like that people could be sneaking around listening to me.

Sure I'm paranoid. Who isn't to some degree or another?

Most of you are all thrilled about great weather and I'm happy for you. I don't necessarily like winter and all its problems, but I do like chilliness, especially at night. If it could be nice during the day and chilly in the evenings/nights, that'd be okay, right? 0 comments

I have a smart cat. Dala will be 5 (I think) in August, and she's always been great.

The other day she was meowing at me and hanging around me and being a pest. I had just fed them and I knew they had water, so I kept telling her to go away. She just kept at it, though, with this worried look on her face. She left me after a bit, and I got up to go do something and I figured out what her deal was.

Nutmeg, the not-as-smart cat, had somehow gotten herself trapped under an overturned laundry basket. Not only that, but she had pushed it from one room to the next, unable to extricate herself. Dala was perched safely atop her mini-tower, obviously concerned.

I freed Nutmeg, after much laughter, and then petted Dala for several minutes, extolling her virtues all the while.

This has happened before - Dala's tried to tell me something, but I didn't heed her until later. I guess I need to follow her around like she was Lassie. People could be trapped in wells! 0 comments

From his website, a message from Al on the death of his parents. I don't think he would mind if I reprinted it here. If he does, I'll remove it.

A Message From Al:

On April 9, my mom and dad, Nick and Mary Yankovic, passed away in their home in Fallbrook, California. It was the result of a terrible accident – that morning they had started a fire in the fireplace with the flue closed, and were asphyxiated by carbon monoxide poisoning. Suzanne called me that afternoon on the bus to give me the news, so that I would hear about it before the wire services picked it up.

Needless to say, I feel pretty much the way you would expect me to feel – shocked and devastated beyond words. I loved my parents so much, and this all still seems like a horrible nightmare that I can’t wake up from.

I want to thank my family, friends and fans for the incredible outpouring of love and support that they’ve shown me. It’s wonderful to know that there are so many people around the world who truly loved my parents, and also nice to know that I am not alone in my grief.

I take some small measure of comfort in knowing that they died peacefully, and that they never had to suffer through the pain and loneliness of living without each other. I'm also grateful that they both lived long enough to see me happily married to Suzanne, and particularly happy that they got to meet our beautiful baby daughter Nina. She filled their lives with so much joy this last year. Nina may be too young to remember playing with her grandparents when she gets older, but don’t worry, we’ll have some great videotape to show her.

Many people have wondered what’s going to happen with the tour. I briefly considered canceling some shows, but I ultimately decided that it would be better for me personally to continue working. Plus, I’ve heard from so many people over the years that my music has cheered them up in times of tragedy… well, I thought maybe my music would help me too.

So far, it has. Going up on stage in front of thousands of supportive fans is a cathartic and somewhat therapeutic experience for me right now. I don’t know if I can say that the concerts really take my mind off of the tragedy, but at least they give me a break from sobbing all the time.

Anyway, I have decided not to cancel any shows – the tour will continue as planned. However, I have decided to put a moratorium on all interviews and meet-and-greets for the time being – I just feel like I need some time alone right now.

The funeral will be a very small, intimate service with only the immediate family attending, so please, I ask that you respect our privacy. Just knowing that your thoughts are with us at this time is more than enough, but if you care to contribute anything, in lieu of flowers, Suzanne and I suggest a donation to the Natural Resources Defense Council in my parents’ name.

One thing I would like to ask everybody to do, though… please, go out and get carbon monoxide detectors for yourself and your loved ones. If my parents had had one in their home, there’s a very good chance that they would still be with us today.

In fairness to the memory of my mother, I should point out some errors that appeared in the press. Although she was starting to have a problem with short-term memory loss (she was taking medication for it), my mother was never diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

As long as I’m pointing out errors that the press has made, it was my Aunt Dot who found my parents when she was bringing them lunch that day, as she routinely did (and not a group of relatives concerned that they “hadn’t heard from them in a while” – the family was close and caring and saw each other several times a day). Also, my aunts and uncles all live in separate houses (not together, as some articles implied), and for what it’s worth, I am not represented by the William Morris Agency either.

I don’t know how much else I can say about my parents that I haven’t already said in interviews over the years. Although I always found it a little uncomfortable, my dad talked a lot about death. He mentioned a few times that he was planning to go on a diet so that his “casket would be easier to carry.” I guess that’s where I got my sick sense of humor from. And he was always talking about how much he was looking forward to seeing his old army buddies again (in the next life). I sure hope they’re having a great reunion right now.

As unthinkable as this tragedy is to me, I just know that my mom and dad were very much at peace with the world and with their lives. And I guess I can take a small amount of comfort in that too.

Thank you all again for your overwhelming kindness and support. It means more to me than you can ever know.

Love,
Al

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My first (for this round, anyway) improv workshop has been moved from tonight to next Tuesday. I'm not sure how that will affect the whole schedule, but it's kind of a bummer.

It gives me more time to work on these games I'm trying to review, I guess. 0 comments

They say you learn at least one new thing a day, right? Well, it's not even 9:00 and I've learned my thing for the day. Can I go home now?

What did I learn? Well, I'll tell you. I learned that ONE Chick-Fil-A breakfast chicken biscuit is plenty. TWO is overkill. 0 comments

To the right of these posts you'll find several links. Now's a fine time for you to look through them, I think. Go ahead. I'll still be here when you get back.

As a general rule, I try to link only to sites I visit almost every day. I also try to link only to sites that aren't objectionable. You'll occasionally find some salty language on a couple of them, but if that's the general rule of practice on the site, I don't link to it. You might also find links from their sites to other sites that are objectionable, but I can't be held responsible for that. I won't! You can't make me!

I read several other blogs on an almost daily basis, but most of them are LiveJournal accounts, and those are, by their nature, more personal, so I don't link to them unless given permission. Most LJ users lock their entries so only friends can read them, anyway, so linking to them might yield few results for you.

You might also notice a handy-dandy e-mail link over there. If you've got something on your mind, give it the ol' click-a-roo.

I'm glad we had this chat. Let me know what you think of my links. 0 comments

Weird Al's parents have died. Here's the article.

Al's had them in a few of his videos and Al TVs, and they always seemed really nice. I'm sure this will be a tough time for Al. 0 comments

A fun IM conversation I had the other day that I wanted to share with you. "Brian" gave me permission, so don't think I just save and post every IM convo I have. "Brian" isn't the "Brian" you think he is, either.
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Brian says: and we're back
Brian says: Today I'm talking to Mark.
Brian says: So, Mark, tell me about your latest movie.
MarkZ says: It's an action-drama-comedy set in war-torn Oregon in the late 2040's.
MarkZ says: I play the village blacksmith who has fallen for the emperor's daughter
Brian says: Interesting
MarkZ says: In a strange twist of fate, it is discovered that my horse is the twin sister of the emperor's favorite horse, so it becomes a power struggle, really, as horses are above all else in deciding the law.
MarkZ says: I don't want to give away too much, but...
MarkZ says: well...
MarkZ says: let me just say this:
MarkZ says: "Two horses enter...one leaves."
Brian says: WOW!!!!!!!!!
Brian says: I'm so amazed.
MarkZ says: The movie's called "Horsefight: 2049"
Brian says: Too bad you don't play the part of a miner
Brian says: cause then you'd be Miner 2049'er
MarkZ says: in the original drafts, I did
Brian says: I'm guessing you encountered some legal issues?
MarkZ says: but we decided that wartorn Oregon was really no place for mines
Brian says: ah
MarkZ says: and we wanted to keep the scenic view of the California border.
Brian says: So no spelunking - I must admit, I'm mildly disappointed.
Brian says: I only hope you watch out with those hot pokers.
MarkZ says: that's not to say there is NO spelunking! Don't be hasty!
Brian says: Oh ho!
MarkZ says: Again, I don't want to reveal too much...
Brian says: Hang on, it's time for a break - Kevin, let's have some more generic crappy music!
MarkZ says: Let me just say this about the miners -
Brian says: Get that annoying girl to sing, too
MarkZ says: if I may, when the music's done
MarkZ says: -
Brian says: Oh sure, go ahead - the music already ended, it's not like they really play for a full commercial duration
MarkZ says: The coal I use for my smithy fires has to come from somewhere!
Brian says: Good point.
MarkZ says: I've said too much!
Brian says: So tell me about your love life.
MarkZ says: I'm not really comfortable discussing that on the air.
Brian says: Word has it that you and J. Lo really hit it off
MarkZ says: Again,
Brian says: "Markifer" is the word, man.
MarkZ says: let me just say,
MarkZ says: the restaurant had an unfortunate seating arrangement...and that's all I want to say about that.
Brian says: Well, let's hope it doesn't do to *your* career what it did to Ben's, m'kay?
Brian says: *cheap fake laughter*
MarkZ says: I actually talked to Ben about that - seems I'm next up for the Daredevil suit!
MarkZ says: *ha ha ha*
Brian says: Very nice, I hear he's a great guy to work with.
Brian says: Just watch that cane of his, if you know what I mean.
Brian says: *wink wink*
MarkZ says: well, *he* won't be in it - the part's designed for those who've been seen most recently with JLo
Brian says: Ah, I see.
Brian says: I thought that was Gigli 2
MarkZ says: That's an insider secret direct from Hollywood - you didn't hear it from me!
Brian says: Maybe *I* need to try and hook up with J. Lo to save my faltering career!
MarkZ says: There are less drastic measures a person could take...
MarkZ says: Start with a TV miniseries, maybe
MarkZ says: or a drug habit
MarkZ says: either way, you're better off
Brian says: Hey, I'll be like Rush
Brian says: Now, if I could do that, AND get J. Lo, man. I'd be set.
MarkZ says: Live the dream, man.
Brian says: However, I don't want to horn in on your gig, man.
MarkZ says: No no - it's all good.
Brian says: or should I say, your gig-li!
MarkZ says: I'm going a whole new direction after Horsefight.
Brian says: I'd sure hope so.
MarkZ says: I'm getting back to nature, no preservatives, carbs, or clothes.
MarkZ says: Or windows.
Brian says: No more 'drates? Man, that's radical.
MarkZ says: well, that's the firs week -
MarkZ says: then you cut out calories all together
Brian says: Man, I bet you burn the fat superfast.
MarkZ says: it's pretty radical, but I think it's the wave of the future.
Brian says: You should market that - the Dr. Z diet.
MarkZ says: well, it's not original with me - I actually picked it up from the trainer on Horsefight - Master Kenudo.
MarkZ says: He's brilliant.
Brian says: I don't believe I've heard of him - can you list some of his prior works?
MarkZ says: I just want to bring his message of peace, acceptance, and winking to the world.
MarkZ says: Oh, he doesn't write.
MarkZ says: He lives, man.
Brian says: Right, I mean, something like past movies he's worked on
MarkZ says: Well, let's see - I think he did some of the foal work on "The Horse Whisperer," but his most famous picture is the epic horse-on-horse battle royale in "The Game of Kings III: Down to the Horses."
Brian says: That was an amazing flick.
MarkZ says: Really, it's the defining horse fight scene of all time.
Brian says: It truly is.
MarkZ says: He could have rested on his achievements after that, but I think you'll find the fight scenes in "Horsefight: 2049" to be a leap beyond
MarkZ says: Some of the wire work will blow your mind.
Brian says: Wow - I can't imagine
MarkZ says: The horses started training for these roles about three years ago.
MarkZ says: You can look in their eyes and tell that they're changed, man.
MarkZ says: It's a way of life for them, now.
Brian says: That is sweet, sweet stuff.
MarkZ says: Well the film comes out next month - we're taking some of Spider-Man 2's thunder, but, oh well!
MarkZ says: it's a dog-eat-dog world out there.
MarkZ says: or,
MarkZ says: a horse-fight-horse world, if you prefer.
Brian says: That does sound a bit more appropriate
Brian says: I'm told it's time for a break - up next, our musical guest Jessica Simpson will be singing the main theme from Horsefight!
MarkZ says: Thanks for having me here today, Brian.
Brian says: Glad to have you. Feel free to stop by anytime.
MarkZ says: Thanks - I'll do that after my sabbatical.
Brian says: Don't lose too much weight now! *forced laugh*
MarkZ says: *guffaw*
MarkZ says: are we off the air?
Brian says: Yes, yes we are now.
MarkZ says: whew
Brian says: Now get the [heck] off of my set.
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And here's a picture of the movie poster we made later. 0 comments

You know what Tuesdays are, right? They're Best Buy days!

Every Tuesday after work, I stop at Barnes & Noble to get a hot chocolate, and I take it over to Best Buy and drink it whilst I wander about. The stores are right next to each other, so that's not as difficult as you might think.

Tuesdays are the day to go to Best Buy for a few reasons:

1) New stuff is released on Tuesdays. I don't know why, but movies and CDs get released on Tuesdays.
2) It's right on my way home from work on Tuesdays.
3) Every day's a good day to go to Best Buy, so with the previous two reasons, it just makes sense.

The big release for today, of course, is The Matrix: Revolutions. Not really the best movie, but if you've got the first two, I think there's a law that says you have to get the third one. I think Ben Franklin sponsored that law...

Sometimes, just for fun, I'll wander into an area at Best Buy that I don't usually go to. See, normally there are a few main areas I hit: Computer peripherals, Computer software, Video Games, Movies, and maybe CDs. So, to mix it up a little, sometimes I'll wander into Appliances or Furniture. It's a very rare day that I wander into Phones or Care Stereos, but it's happened.

Best Buy is kind of like a zoo for geeks. We (the geeks) walk around and go, "Oooh! Look what that one does!" The video cameras will mimic us, just like monkeys. If there's a really good sale, it's kind of like a feeding frenzy. And the friendly Best Buy people are like the managers of the petting zoo part - "Here! Try it out! This one has 5 megapixels!"

It's kind of like a place to unwind. If I could get them to start selling Starbucks' hot chocolate, I could save myself some trouble. 0 comments

If we're going to start saving all of this daylight, are we going to earn any interest on it?

Daylight Savings Time is one of those "hot button issues" that people get fired up about...twice a year, anyway. Maybe they don't in your neck of the woods, but here in Indiana, it's hotly debated every time the non-change comes up. I say "non-change" because the majority of Indiana doesn't "spring ahead" or "fall behind." We stay the same and everyone else moves around us. There are some counties around Chicago that change with Chicago, and some counties down south that change with other major areas, but the majority of us stay at the same time all the time. Arizona and Hawaii also stay put, time-wise.

I like it. You don't have to change your clocks, so that's nice. Most electronical things automatically change themselves these days, though, so if they don't have a setting for "Indiana," I end up changing them once they've changed themselves.

Here's where it gets irritating - TV schedules.

Our prime time is 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., the same as Eastern Standard Time. From October to April, we see shows the same as, say, Georgia. Eight o'clock Indiana time in those months is the same as 7:00 in Central time (Wisconsin, for instance). Wisconsin's prime time is 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., a preferable timetable, in my opinion. So, during the winter, if I'm watching Seinfeld (let's pretend, for the sake of argument, that it's still putting out new shows) at 8:00 p.m., Georgia is also watching it at 8 p.m. and Wisconsin is seeing it at the same time, even though it's 7 p.m. for them.

Now spring ahead with me. If it's 8 p.m. in Georgia, it's 7 p.m. in Indiana and 7 p.m. in Wisconsin. (Half the year I'm on the same time as my EST friends, and the other half I'm on CST with those friends and my family.) Our TV schedule doesn't change. Seinfeld is still on at 8 for me. Here's where it gets confusing: by the time I've seen it at 8, Georgia has seen it an hour earlier, and so has Wisconsin. Georgia and Wisconsin are seeing it at the same time because 8 in Georgia is 7 in Wisconsin. I don't see it until 8 because that's our schedule, even though 8 in Indiana is like 8 in Wisconsin.

Follow?

I'll put it to you this way, if I were an American Idol or Survivor fan, it would really bother me to know that Georgians and Wisconsinites would both know the outcome of the episodes before me.

It doesn't even make sense, does it?

Here's what I would like: I would like for Indiana to stay the course and not change to the clock-flipping nonsense, but I would like Indiana to change its TV scheduling to reflect a 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. prime time. I'm not going to get into how DST saves us money and how it's best if we match up with other parts of the country because I don't care about all of that. Frankly, from what I understand, DST has a lot to do with farmers, and that doesn't make a lick of sense to me. How are farmers affected by the clock? Don't they "get up with the sun"? The sun isn't actually changing anything in its schedule, it's just us fooling around with our clocks.

Anyway, smarter people than me (yes, there are plenty) have debated this for years. The time non-change, not the TV schedule change. It comes up as an attempt to be a bill in the government every year in Indiana, and it gets defeated every time. We're a stubborn, proud lot, us Hoosiers. (We Hoosiers? Can I really call myself a Hoosier if I've only been here four years, even?)

So, CST-folk, welcome to our time zone. EST-folk, we'll see you in about six months when you've realized the error of your ways.

Labels: Seinfeld

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My third preview is up at Digital Entertainment News. This one's about Star Wars: Battlegrounds. I know you're terribly excited about it, but I warned you that I was going to tell you every time it happened. 0 comments

So I went to the concert in Indianapolis last night.

Yep.

And it was awesome! Totally worth the money and the 140-mile round trip!

Let me tell you a little about it...

First thing I did when I got there was stand in line for an Al T-shirt. I'll try to get a picture of it up at some point so you can see it in all its orangeness.

At 7:30 sharp, some guy named "Dave" came out and did some "stand-up comedy." He wasn't very good. Not at all, actually. It depresses me to see people perform who aren't very good. It makes me wonder why I'm not performing anywhere. After all, I'm not very good, so it should follow that I should be allowed to perform.

After he was done yammering, we had about a ten-minute break before Al and the band started. But once they started...oh, man!

The thing of it is, when you think of "Weird Al," you think of goofy songs. What you don't realize is that he and his band have evolved into an actual band, for crying out loud. To do what they do, they have to be able to play all sorts of styles, and they pull it off well.

Man, was it ever loud! I wasn't prepared for that, but it was a good thing, because that way people couldn't hear me singing along :) I wasn't the only one doing it, just so you know.

The crowd was an interesting mix of people older than me and a lot of kids. I would say the crowd was probably 65% male. They also seemed to be mostly new fans, as evidenced by the crowd's reaction to some of the older songs. I got the definite impression that some people were hearing some of those songs for the first time. But when the Eminem parody came up...oh, man.

I actually took pen and paper in with me to write down what songs he played. I know, I know - super geeky. Well, you get the benefit, dear readers, as I recreate the list for you now, along with my comments where applicable.

The UHF Theme - A music only song, good intro music.

Angry White Boy Polka

Party at the Leper Colony - He introduced it by saying "If there's one thing I know about the folks in Indianapolis, it's that they like to hear a good song about the ravages of a terrible infectious disease." It was one of the few times he said anything to us.

Your Horoscope for Today

A Complicated Song

Melanie - He actually messed up some words in this one! Instead of "You weren't impressed when I tattoed your name across my forehead" he sang "You weren't impressed when I tattoed my name across your forehead." It's funny that I caught that, but not really. It's just the sort of thing I would notice.

Dog Eat Dog - an odd choice I thought, but I've always liked it. The album it's from was his least-selling album Polka Party!. He almost stopped making albums after that one did so poorly because he thought people were done with him. He's done 6 more since then...

All About the Pentiums - one of my favorites.

Wanna B UR Lovr - I'm not a big fan of this song. It's odd, the crowd reaction to this one and "Leper Colony" was the biggest, yet they're my least favorite songs. Al did come down into the audience for this one, though. He got within, oh, 30 feet of me.

Trash Day

Medley:
Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies
Jerry Springer - I don't know how he can remember all those words and sing them so quickly!
Jurassic Park
Toppings Will Go On - I'm guessing at the title. It's not on any album. It's a spoof of Celine Dion's song from Titanic and it's about a pizza delivery boy...
eBay
Theme from Rocky XIII
Ode to a Superhero
Lasagna
Pretty Fly For a Rabbi
My Bologna - Al's first hit on the Dr. Demento show 20+ years ago. Back then it was just him on the accordion and one other guy pounding rhythm on the accordion case. They recorded it in the men's bathroom across from the studio Al was DJing in while in college.
Gump
Eat It
(end of Medley)

Smells Like Nirvana - a crowd favorite and one of Al's biggest hits. He even had the cheerleaders on stage!

Amish Paradise - another crowd favorite.

Couch Potato - the Eminem spoof that Eminem wouldn't let him release as a single. Jerk. A great ode to TV.

Fat - dressed, of course, in the famous Fat suit from the video.

The Encores:

The Saga Begins - arguably the best part about Star Wars Episode One.

Yoda/Yoda Chant - I had heard that he did this "Yoda Chant" in the middle of "Yoda" at concerts, but I wasn't prepared for the surreality of it. I can't even really describe it. Sorry.

And that's it. There were three big video screens, and while he was changing costumes they would show clips from Al TV and UHF and The Weird Al Show.

So much fun. Next time, you're coming with me. 0 comments

I hate April Fools Day.

It's because I hate pranks. Always have. Any time someone talks about putting someone's hand in a bowl of warm water or calling them to pretend they're the IRS I just get a disgusted feeling in my gut. You won't find me doing pranks.

Oh, I've done some. But I won't any more. Nope. Sorry.

I hate how I feel when I get pranked, and that's why I won't do it to anyone else. I hate how I'm sucked into their story and, once I'm totally feeling bad for whatever's happened to them, WHAM! April Fools! I hate it.

For as much as I distrust humanity in general, I want to believe them. When they tell me their dog died just this morning, of course I believe them. Why would anyone lie about that? How is that a prank, anyway? I'm totally feeling bad about them losing a dog, only to have them yell, "April Fools!" and start laughing.

You can't possibly understand how much I hate that. I've hardly ever been more serious in my life. I hate pranks.

If you were planning to pull one on me today, please - don't do it. I am really, seriously asking you: please don't do it.

I'll appreciate it very much. 0 comments