Matt’s Inner Muse

“Gateworld reports today that Don S. Davis, who protrayed Maj. Gen. George Hammond for seven years on Stargate SG-1 has died of a massive heart attack.”

Being a huge Stargate fan, this is a huge shock. I was looking forward to meeting him at DragonCon. My heart goes out to his family, for the world has lost a great artist and sci-fi icon. Rest in peace, sir.

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This whole democracy thing is getting out of hand, people! Come on? First we have EXTREME everything, and now DEMOCRACY everything? What’s next, EXTREME DEMOCRACY?

Sheesh.

Okay, so the folks at Mountain Dew had this thing where the public could design and vote on a new Dew concoction and now we’re down to three finalists: Voltage, Supernova, and Revolution. Okay, so they’re not the greatest names, but its not like the other Dew flavors have awe-inspiring names either! I just noticed them on the store shelf this past week, and being the cheap bastard I am I picked up a 12 pack of all three! Okay, so I could have saved a ton and just stuck with the store brand cola I usually get, but what’s a recovering Mountain Dew addict going to do? I *ALWAYS* check out the new Dew flavors.

Before I get into the new flavors, I’ll give some insight on where I stand with the existing flavors. Code Red is my personal favorite of the Dews with extra flavors as I’m a sucker for anything with a hint of cherry. LiveWire is also good as I love orange soda. Pitch Black was just okay with me, as I don’t think the whole grape thing mixed well with Dew. Baja Blast is pretty good, but I think its only at Taco Bell and I’m not there a lot. However, the original Mountain Dew still reigns supreme.

Voltage - This is the raspberry citrus flavor, and it tastes exactly like I’d expect a raspberry citrus Dew to taste…. like Ice Blue Kool-Aid. Of the three, this is my personal favorite.

Supernova - Here we have the strawberry melon flavor. Honestly, it tastes like a subdued version of all those cherry limeade sodas that were all the rage not long ago. This would be my second favorite of the three.

Revolution - Wild berry for this Dew. On my first drink it hit with a bite, but the berry flavor came as an aftertaste. It seems that to get the full effect of the berry flavor you need to take larger gulps. I can’t really say that I’m a huge fan of berry stuff, despite liking the Voltage flavor. This is still a good Dew, but my least favorite of the three.

All three of these have a bit of ginseng in them, though I don’t know how much. Since I don’t know what ginseng tastes like, I can’t tell you by taste alone.

In the end, I’ll be voting for Voltage as its the only one of the three that can stand up against the existing flavors. Others may disagree, and that’s fine… this is a DEWmocracy, after all!

This is going to be a short review, as I’m not really good at lengthy reviews. Suffice it to say, I found Indy 4 to be a bit of a disappointment. This is not to say that its not an enjoyable movie. I would put it on par with Pirates 2 as far as enjoyment goes. However, I found the movie to be somewhat braindead and lacked that ultimate smart puzzle solving element that separated Indana Jones from all the movies that came before and after it.

On its own, this would be a decent adventure flick, but its an Indiana Jones movie! It has a hell of a lot to live up to, and in my opinion it did not. Besides the braindead factor, there are two other factors I nitpick… one is the film’s resolution, which I won’t go into as it contains spoilers. The other is the overuse of CGI and post-production effects that create an almost blurry image. The first movies were created before CGI was truly feasible, and I wish they could have gone to great lengths to stick to that tradition.

In the end, I’ll have to give Indy 4… 3/5 stars.

Every summer this happens… I find myself listening to ska again. To appease the purists, I’m listening to third-wave ska-punk… sheesh. I break out the Reel Big Fish, the Catch 22, the Voodoo Glow Skulls, and I always dig something else out that I’ve not listened to in a while or have never listened to. The kicker this year was going to the Less Than Jake show a couple weeks back. Now, that was spectacular. Honestly, I never gave LTJ much of a listen before, but I knew of them and I’ve listened to similar bands… and hell, it was a punk rock concert, so I knew it was going to be one hell of a good time.

So, the day came… I had to work 1PM to 5PM, but until I got to work I had no idea I was getting off at 5PM. As soon as I found that out, I knew what I was doing after. I put out an APB, but only one friend came along… I put on my Doc Martens, my brown LL Bean corduroys, my A-shirt (or ‘wife beater’, if you prefer), and my green and black bowling shirt… and headed off to the show. The first band, a local Knoxville band by the name of Kiss Your Ghost, was actually quite good. They were a bit too pop-punk for my tastes, but still a good band. The second band, The Swellers out of Flint, Michigan, took the stage and hit the crowd with hard and fast punk rock… just enough to get the pit started. When Less Than Jake took the stage, the pit was unstoppable, and my love for ska-punk was rekindled.

Thus began the transformation of my thought process for summer… Soon enough, I was shopping around for a trombone. That’s right, a trombone. I already had a guitar, Josh’s old guitar, to be exact. I wanted a trombone, as I had played one back in middle school. Most of my favorite ska-punk has a trombonist, and I thought it would be super fun to get back into it. So, I finally found a Getzen 300 series trombone for $170. Its not in bad shape, either… basic wear and tear from being used in school marching band and whatnot. Oh, and I actually managed to sound a decent note the first time I tried… a good sign, perhaps?

Alright, so I’m back into the music, I have musical instruments, now its time for the ska shows. The big event around here is Ska Weekend, an annual ska festival where acts from across the nation come to play. This year it is held in the World’s Fair Park right under the Sunsphere. It is going to be one seriously wicked good event with everyone skanking everywhere!

Now, I’m starting to think more ska-punk related with my clothing. I already wear an almost ska’ish get-up to work, what with my rolled up sleeves and tartan plaid tie. Time to take that just a bit further though, with a short sleeved dress shirt and some new black Chucks.

Am I going too far, or is this just another grand summer of ska?

Think back to the 80s when CDs were still in their infancy and the audio cassette was the reigning king. Remember when terms like Hi-Bias and Dual-Head meant something spectacular? This was the time when music piracy was just beginning… where the art of the mixtape first came into being.

Imagine hearing that song on the radio for the first time and thinking “Hey, I’d like to hear that again!” Or, perhaps you’re over at a friend’s house and he’s listening to the new Violent Femmes and you really like a particular song and would like to have a copy of it. Perhaps best of all, when you make a mixtape for someone. You take pride in the product you are creating because you want them to enjoy it as much as you do.

As Rob Gordon said in the movie High Fidelity, “Now, the making of a good compilation tape is a very subtle art. Many do’s and don’ts. First of all, you ‘re using someone else’s poetry to express how you feel. This is a delicate thing.” This is entirely true. You cannot just throw together a bunch of songs and call it a mixtape. You have to start out with a zinger, a real upbeat fun song to catch their attention. From there, you build upon that to a crescendo and set off another winner. After that, its just smooth sailing until you finally lead out to the end of the tape. There is a special flow that you must maintain at all costs.

On top of all that, I want you to imagine taking that tape and creating all of the cool artwork on the back side of the paper liner to make it even more special for the recipient. You might draw art inspired by the artists on the tape, or maybe just put the recipient’s name in big bold letters. It was up to you to decide. It was truly an artform.

In the end, with the Compact Disc age coming and going, and with the advent of digital music, we must say goodbye to one precious art form as it fades away into history…

Or do we really have to?

Making a mix CD is certainly easier if you have a computer and the proper software, but it lacks the bit of passion that went into creating the cassette version. It doesn’t have to be entirely lost, though. You can still follow the guidelines to creating a solid mixtape and make your CD. You can still create the artwork on the CD.

Even better still are the myriad of options for the case itself. My personal favorite is this origami design for a spiral data tato that I found on instructables.com: Spiral Data Tato

In conclusion, we don’t have to say goodbye to the mixtape just yet. It may lack a bit of the charm of yesteryear, but it still has that personal spark that made the mixtape special. I only wonder that when the compact disc finally goes the way of the dinosaur, will the mixtape go along with it?

Like the guy in this article, I am one very insanely happy movie guy today upon reading this. The Boondock Saints is one of my favorite movies, and has become a St. Paddy’s Day tradition that I watch it every year.

From geeksofdoom.com:

Troy Duffy, genius-to-be who was lost in the carnage that is Hollywood, as well as the writer/director of The Boondock Saints, has posted a video officially announcing the sequel that the entire cult following has been clawing and scratching for like Britney Spears at a “Free Crack Samples” stand — The Boondock Saints: All Saints Day.

I am seriously almost foaming at the mouth from hearing this….. suffice it to say, I’m very happy. =)

I don’t know where this is from… I saw it on garry.tv. I laff.

Interesting. Its fairly accurate. It says I am a SCOAI… here’s what it says about that:

(2.8% of women; 4.0% of men)
happy, level emotions, not easily discouraged, optimistic, fearless, self confident, non-hostile, trusting, rarely sad, social, content, positive, knows where life is going, socially skilled, not quiet around strangers, acts comfortably with others, takes on responsibilities, likes public speaking, not prone to worrying, not apprehensive about new encounters, flexible, adapts easily to new situations, not afraid to draw attention to self, likes to lead, not bored while working, likes others, hard to annoy, calm in crisis, does not second guess self, not embarrassed easily, high energy level, easy to understand, thinks before acting, strong sense or purpose, likes crowds, interested in science, not prone to jealousy, comfortable in unfamiliar situations, fearless, not skeptical, true to self in all circumstances, highly motivated to succeed, decisive, easy to get to know, narcissistic, driven by reason, physically fit, passionate about bettering the world’s condition, finishes most things they start, not easily confused, willing to explain things twice, thinks they are extraordinary

…also, it says Inquisitive is my primary trait.

more interested in intellectual pursuits than relationships or family, detaches to analyze factors from multiple perspectives, regularly uses ideas and tools to transform understanding, enjoys playing with random interconnections between ideas and patterns, would describe self as a nerd in high school, likes science fiction, introspective, good at fixing things, more comfortable around adults as a child, feels both special and defective, knows the darkside of life well, is not bothered by going long periods without speaking with people, more intellectual than sensual, can be bitter, problem solver, relys on mind more than on others, driven by curiousity, feels best when working, minimalist

Okay, not perfect, but close. =)

Don’t forget to wear some green, because everyone is Irish today! Break out the Boondock Saints and Jameson and enjoy yourselves!

So, I’ve been thinking about this idea I’ve had for the past couple years and maybe its time I start putting it into motion. Its going to be a Web2.0-centered social networking site that I believe has the potential to rise up to the success of such sites as digg, craigslist, and even facebook. Right now its all in my head, but I’m putting together a notebook of different ideas as I get them.

So, I’ve been living in Knoxville for nearly two months now and I’m still on the hunt for a job. Thus far I’ve had three friends offer jobs to me, but I’ve yet to get a call back from any of them. I put in an application at a used book store nearby, but they didn’t seem to be hiring. Maybe a trip out to Comcast is in order for tomorrow.

I’d also like to say that I’m in need of a new creative outlet and I’m probably going to learn guitar. Music is in my blood. Besides, its no good just letting this guitar I bought from Josh just sit around.