Ou est le magasin de musique le plus proche?

So, those of you who have been to France. Any suggestions on what to do with my free time in Paris? Is the Louvre worth checking out if I only have one free day? Zhubin, what was the burlesque club you went to?

A Hair-Raising Horror Film!

Shoddy American remakes of original Japanese horror films have practically become a genre all their own. Now in response to this the Japanese seem to be challenging us. Remake this:


It's got Chiaki Kuiryama (Kill Bill, Battle Royale), so it can't be all bad.

Addendum:
Just remembered this upcoming film:

A Whole Lot of Bullshit

Yesterday I gave my first speech in the speech class I'm taking. The topic I decided to use was about video games being used as a scapegoat in cases of youth violence. Anyone with half a brain can look back historically and see that video games are being targeted now, just as rock and roll was in the sixties and comic books in the forties. I take this very seriously because, as a I gamer, I don't like being told that one of my favorite pastimes is a depraved activity that can lead to horrendous violence. Especially not by a bunch of old square politicians and journalists who don't know the first thing about what the thing they're pinning the blame on. (These are the same kind of idiots who freak out when someone plants some pretty lights around town.)

As if on cue, I get home from class to discover this story. Of course, the obligatory connection to video games is made, and this time by one of the murderers. I've felt for some time that the media's obsession with video games is actually giving some of these kids an easy excuse for their actions.
Now Penny Arcade has posted this. It's lengthy, but very much worth reading.

This whole thing pisses me off so much. I need to go play a video game to calm down.

The Rehearsal Process

Some of you have been in plays at some point. Those of you who haven't might be wondering just how something like that is put together. Here's a peek:















And that's how you make a play!

"Did Ever Raven Sing So Like A Lark..."

So, good news. The show continues as planned--same dates, same times, different venue. We were saved by some very gracious people, namely Chris Woodhull. We will now be performing in a community center on Magnolia, which turns out to be a much cooler space overall.
The place is called Tribe One.
The shows will still be (and I understand many of you are getting this information for the first time--sorry) this Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.
For specific details go here. I know the show dates probably won't be good for many of you (seeing as how they were scheduled for a venue that no longer wants us *sigh*), but I hope some of you will be able to come see how awesome I am what we've been working so hard on.

This Certainly Cheers Me Up

In The Grotto

This was going to be a post about when and where you could come and watch me in Titus Andronicus. Unfortunately as of tonight I don't know the answer to either of those questions.
I arrived at what was supposed to be our first dress rehearsal at 6:00, only to find out that we had been evicted from the World Grotto. The owner was trying to make last minute changes to our contract, double booking us with some band. Needless to say that wasn't going to work so she told us to get out and then called the cops.
So one week before opening night we have nowhere to open. Which also means a lot of pre-sold tickets have to be refunded, and we've wasted a lot of production money unless we can find another performance space. But that's going to be difficult to do since the next play goes into production in only a few weeks, and I'll be gone for an entire week before then.
So...yeah. What's new with you guys?

"Happy Valentine's Day,I Got This For You!"

Ah, it's that time of year when couples everywhere make up for neglecting each other the rest of the year.

Early 300 Review

I've posted two trailers for 300 already. So, yeah, I'm pretty excited.

Someone posted a very entertaining review of 300 on Ain't It Cool News. It's chock full of vulgarities, so if that's not your thing don't click.

This quote pretty much sums it up, though: "The movie takes place about a million years ago, and it’s sort of like a prequel to SIN CITY. Except way less guns and cars but twice as much skull splitting. If you watch this movie and go into a Taco Bell, and say to the cashier, “I need some extra sauce packets” guess what? You’re getting twenty sauce packets because your face will punch him in the brain."

ATHF Is Da Bomb!

I never got into 24, but this is pretty good:


And here's yet further analysis of the Boston (not)bomb (not)hoax.

Ninja Warrior!

This show is four stages of the hardest obstacles ever. Here's a guy who makes it all the way through:

Best Sofa Ever

This is perfect for lofts with limited space. They should market it with some sort of brace on the end that will help it keep its shape.

The Only Real Reason To WatchThis Year's Superbowl

As for the game, I called Zhubin during the first quarter to glibly state that I was not impressed.
Of course by the second half I was eating my hat. I recommend starting with the brim.

It Will Be An Explosion Of Extraordinary Magnitude

I'm still obsessed with the whole Boston bomb "hoax". It's unbelievable how badly the Boston authorities are handling the entire situation. This video points out the absurdity fairly well:


This video has a brief interview with one of Boing Boing's contributors. It's a good clip but you have to watch it on ABC News's crappy embedded media player, and sit through a random commercial.

Conan Plays Wii Tennis

Can You Hear Me, Boston?Or Do I Need To Turn It Up?

You've probably heard by now that the city of Boston was brought to its knees by a guerilla marketing campaign for the new Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie. Boing Boing has been covering the story thoroughly.

And of course YouTube is getting its fair share of material:

If everyone in Boston is as quick-witted as this reporter, it's no wonder that the city went apeshit over some homemade Lite-Brites. This guy is so clueless he sounds like a bad parody. Listen to the gravity with which he discusses Err, a character "described as being rebellious and angry."
You can see on the screen that the scary cartoon lights were being labeled as a hoax, which of course implies that there was some sort of malice. As if the people who put these up thought in a million years that anyone would take more than a mild passing interest in them. If it were me it wouldn't have even crossed my mind that something so innocent would be blown up to such sensational levels.
Here's a more clear-headed account of the Mooninite Apocalypse:

These clips also do a fine job of highlighting the differences between Fox News and actual news programs.

So the two guys who apparently did it have been arrested (see the last two Boing Boing links above for details). Now the city of Boston will try to cover their own incompetence by pinning blame on a couple of fanboys. Hey, geniuses of Boston, terrorists don't advertise their explosives with bright colored lights. Kind of defeats the purpose. My question is, how much of this chaos and panic could have been avoided if the Boston authorities hadn't overreacted? Was anyone actually scared of these things until the Bomb Squad was rolled out and major streets were closed?