All Your Pork and Beans Are Belong To Us!!

If you didn't know, I'm on vacation this week. Part of that is staying away from the computer as much as possible, but I finally broke down to watch this video. I know it's already made the rounds, but in case you haven't seen it, here's Weezers first new video off the upcoming (June 3rd) Weezer: Red Album.

Enjoy

I'm heading back to Liberty City, or perhaps Vegas to keep the country safe from terrah, cause you know, they hate freedom and all that.

The Dead Just Keep On Coming

Coming Right For You!

In even more zombie news. The Hollywood Reporter announced that George Romeros original zombie opus Dawn of the Dead is going 3D! I really don't need another reason to see this film in the theaters but here it is. My mind is already racing at what a 3D treatment will do for certain scenes, chopper zombie anyone, and the true horror here is that we'll have to wait a year to find out. Let's hope they push this up and we see a Halloween release.
For the full story and an explanation of the 3D Dimensionalization process go here.

Summertimes Blues

With summer coming on fast it's time to say goodbye to all my TV friends. Normally this wouldn't be the case as summer replacement shows would kick in. The writers strike screwed all that up and some shows have been canceled (4400, Dead Zone etc.) and some like FX's The Shield and Rescue Me have been delayed. So what's a media whore Geek like myself to do?
Fortunately, there are so many movies I want to catch up on that I shouldn't be hurting too much.
As most of you know, DVD's come out on Tuesday. Yesterday saw the release of a couple of things I'm excited for, and one I'm slightly curious about.

Right out of the gate, probably one of my more anticipated releases. George Romeros Diary of the Dead. If you've been following my ongoing manifesto, you'll know I braved the crushing traffic of Northern Va., and endured the most interminable wait on a movie theater snack line ever to see this film. If you haven't read my NorVa adventure go here. True, I had some issues with the movie, but I still sported a zombie stiffy for this reboot of my favorite franchise and of course I highly recommend it.
Here is my review.
The disc is packed with extras so I'm excited for that as well and will probably watch at least once with the commentary on. There are also featurettes, Romero talking about his inspiration and many others. I know I should wait for the eventual Bluray release, but I'm all about the instant gratification.

Tying in with Diary of the Dead is the 40th Anniversary release of the one and only Night of the Living Dead. I know most of us have this film in several different forms. My understanding is this is the one with Romeros seal of approval. Personally, I own pretty decent copies of this movie, but I will still rent this for any extras I may have missed. Romeros name on this edition leads me to believe he may actually make some money from this one after letting the film slip into public domain. If you don't own this film, pick it up. If you do, now might be a good time to rewatch it. We can all stand around the pyre and blow out the birthday zombies together.


Finally, while it's true I was born in the 60's. I consider myself a product of the 80's and was just entering adulthood in 1982 (still in my teens) and had no idea how a degenerate angry punk rocker was going to fit in...anywhere. Fortunately someone took a chance on a little show called Square Pegs which was the Freaks and Geeks of my time with a much better soundtrack. This show gave us our first glimpse at the fashion icon that is Sarah Jessica Parker, the much much cuter Amy Linker (god I feel like such a perv right now), Jami Gertz (Star from Lost Boys - tell me you didn't have a crush, I dare you!) and valley speaking New Wavers (totally, totally). The show only ran for one season, but it was all we needed. I don't think I could have taken Square Pegs: the College Years where Muffy develops an 80's style coke habit. Does it hold up today? I for one plan to find out. I don't think I'll break down and buy the set, though Amazon is listing it for a budget friendly 25 bucks, but I'll definitely put it on my Netflix list.

You know, maybe the summers not looking so bad after all.

It's The Rhythm Of The Feeling...

Look everyone! It's a new Flight of the Conchords video!!!!
Yay

Generals Sip Bacardi, While The Privates Feel The Pain..

I'm no longer an openly political person. I don't enjoy the verbal sparring the same way I did when I was younger. Let's face it, Reagan Youth was a political band, and we were always prepared to defend our views. As I got older, I became involved in Animal Rights and kept facts and figures at my fingertips to educate any and all carnivores who dared get in my face.
Not only do I not have the energy required to be a political pundit, but I feel my politics are my own. I don't consider myself a Liberal, Democrat, or Republican. I've had a somewhat eclectic life and I no longer believe in black or white. Some of my views, those that would be very unpopular among my peers, are very conservative, while others are strongly liberal.


That said, I wanted to keep politics out of this blog, but when I hear, during my drive to work, on the radio that our Commander in Chief made a statement that he has given up golf since 2003 out of respect for the families of soldiers killed in the Iraq conflict.......I feel dirty, literally, and a bit ashamed that this is the image we are projecting to other countries.
I mean, c'mon....golf? Are we 12, making a deal with mom that if we can go to the sleepover we won't play video games for a week? It's effin' GOLF!! It's not like the guy is Tiger Woods who's living depends on the game!

I can't even equate this non-sacrifice with anything in my personal life since I don't believe I've hurt anybody quite so much to make such a sacrifice for. If I did, here's what I'm gonna do. I'm giving up softcore porn for a month. Yep, that's right, no softcore skinimax action for this noble soul. Hardcore stuff is still ok though, I'm making a sacrifice not taking a bullet.
So there you go. Sacrifices have been made. True, I'm not giving up taking a walk and hitting a ball into little holes for the families of some 4000 young men and women, not to mention the countless others coming back maimed or mentally unstable and their loved ones, but it's a start.

Do not get me wrong. I love the United States, and while everyone I know wants to visit other countries and cultures on their vacations, I feel I haven't seen enough of my own country yet. We're diverse. It's not all strip malls and 7-11's, and I'd like to experience it. Only thing is, today, I'm a little ashamed to admit it.

Reach Out,... But No Touching!

I added a link to contact me directly at a gmail account I set up for this site. Anything you write and send there should be as private as any other mail account. So if you're worried about privacy, please feel free to reach me there. The link is above my picture and called Zom-b-mail Me.
If it doesn't work, let me know.
Of course, I'd prefer comments on what I post to be kept on these pages.

Thanks

Crazy Like A Fox....

Looks like the old Fox Network, you know; the guys with the great unbiased news, are at it again. I'm sad to say they are not renewing New Amsterdam which I was really enjoying and I thought was a refreshing take on the immortal story. I may not ever find out which woman stopped his ticker on the subway, but I know it wasn't the doctor.





Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku's Dollhouse is slated for a mid season replacement. Are you getting Firefly flashback chills yet? Fox has a habit of canceling mid-season shows before giving them a chance. Why do any scripted genre dramas even get shown to Fox? Let them stick to bad reality shows and legacy comedies. Heck, you have a better chance of keeping a show going on the family channel.





On brighter news. It looks like the CW may renew Reaper. We'll know tomorrow when they announce their lineup.

While on the subject of Reaper. I really enjoy this show. Yeah, it's having some growing pains, but oddly enough most of the criticism seems to be that the show isn't going anywhere. Not only do I disagree, but that aside, when did we start needing every show on tv to have a long story arc?

The shows I grew up on didn't have season long stories. The A-Team fought a different guy every week, so did Wonder Woman. The Six Million Dollar Man, Knight Rider etc. all had similar bad guy of the week formulas. Star Trek just boldly went...wherever. Different alien of the week, different situation. Only the faces were the same. Yes there was character development but this happened within the confines of single episodes, and shows rarely referenced what had gone before. it also made shows easier to jump into and enjoy.



Reapers building a little mythology behind it, but for gods-sake it's not Lost. I don't need an answer every week as long as the journey is enjoyable.
Maybe audiences and networks need to remember that this is entertainment.