Jim in PA

Psychology of Seating in Church vs. Concert

2010-01-10T19:24:00.004-05:00

So last year while I was unemployed I started going to church. It was a very long time since I attended services, and I needed a change in my life. Actually I think the same time I started going to church is when I stopped updating this blog.

I have attended many concerts over the years. Last year I saw U2 in Dublin (church pic from the church I attended in Dublin) and Pearl Jam (concert pic is from the last show ever) at the last event ever in the Spectrum in Philadelphia. It’s amazing how people will spend lots of money and spends lots of time waiting for a great seat at a concert. The best seats at a concert are up front in the center. Now if you ever go to church, you see the opposite. I think that’s just wrong. People usually sit scattered to the sides and back of the church rather than to the front and center.
I recently saw the movie “Keeping the Faith” on TV last month. I haven’t seen it in awhile and it’s a good flick. This film is Edward Norton’s directorial debut. He plays a priest and Ben Stiller plays a rabbi. They both bring large audiences to their places of worship in the movie. It would be nice if people at my church sat in the front and in the middle like in the film. It doesn’t cost any money to attend (a charitable donation is recommended) and you don’t have to wait hours without going to the bathroom to sit up front and in the center.

Goodbye 2009… Hello 2010

2009-12-31T17:03:00.004-05:00

Wow what a year 2009 has been. If you could believe it, JiminPA has posted more than twice as many blogs in 2009 than my blog side project Texas Dog Party. It’s amazing because Texas Dog Party has more than twice as many posters than JiminPA (Mr. Las Vegas and yours truly). I haven’t left PA for good. I work in NJ during the day and then I’m back in PA.

I have been keeping busy. I have a new job. Life is good. I still will continue to update my Twitter, Yelp, and other blogs. So stay tuned because JiminPA will return in 2010 with more posts than 2009. Enjoy!

Knight Rider Turbo Boost

2009-03-05T10:56:00.000-05:00

I caught this on Jalopnik today. If you can handle Metallica playing over 10 minutes of Turbo Boost scenes from Knight Rider, then enjoy.

U2 Videos and Concert on Comcast On Demand

2009-03-04T14:56:00.000-05:00

The U2 marketing machine is in full force. The last two nights on Letterman were awesome. If you have Comcast, you have access to full concerts and music videos on demand and in HD for free. Make sure to check it out. U2 has some great music videos and works with great directors.

U2 |MTV Music

U2 on Letterman all this week!

2009-03-02T15:51:00.001-05:00

I’m more of a Leno fan than Letterman. But, I will have to watch this week because U2 is on all this week. Late Night with Jimmy Fallon premieres tonight. Conan will be on a vacation because he doesn’t host until the summer.

Too Much TV on Sunday Night

2009-03-01T20:07:00.003-05:00

I’ve said it. There is too much I want to watch tonight. I think I need like five TiVos. I guess I can catch most stuff on demand or on Hulu. Here’s my Sunday lineup for shows I want to see:
NBC – Celebrity Apprentice 9pm. The cast looks very good on this show; Andrew Dice Clay, Joan Rivers, Tom Green, and Dennis Rodman. I never really watched The Apprentice, but I got to see this.
SPEED – Wind Tunnel 9pm. The racing season has started. That means Wind Tunnel is back on Speed. This is a great show where people call in about the week in racing. Usually Dave Despain gets some good guests on the show too.
Comedy Central – Employee of the Month movie premiere 9pm. I never saw this movie. It looks like it can be funny.
MTV – Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory 9pm. I never really watched Rob and Big. But, when I did it was a decent show. His new show is pretty entertaining. I want to work at the Fantasy Factory. Nitro Circus 10pm. This is the new Jackass on MTV and my new favorite show. You gotta check out Travis Pastrana and his friends doing crazy things.
VH1 – Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels 9pm. The first two seasons were good, this season is OK. This is way better to watch than The Bachelor. Tool Academy 10pm. The title says it all. The show started out good, but it’s turning out to be OK. Overall the VH1 reality shows with “celebs” are pretty good.
So what to watch tonight?

Insert Caption Here

2009-02-28T15:47:00.000-05:00

Better check that Carfax report.

Funny Internal Training Video

2009-02-26T11:37:00.001-05:00

I wonder if the trainer in this video is related to Steve Irwin. The Consumerist Blog had a funny video today. It was an internal training video. The female trainer was teaching young douche bags (I mean associates) how to talk, build rapport, and sell to woman customers. Frankly I thought the company’s current promotion to be lousy. This funny video reminded me of other funny training videos I watched and training I conducted around the country when I worked for a computer company.

Oasis: “Falling Down” (Video)

2009-02-06T15:16:00.000-05:00

You can find some cool things on Kanye’s blog. I totally agree with him on the title of this blog entry. You never see music videos on TV anymore. I saw Oasis back in December. This track is my favorite off of their latest album. It’s good to see artists are still making music videos. It is also cool that MySpace has this video posted. While many people are closing out their MySpace accounts and just doing Facebook, I think MySpace is still relevant.
Oasis - Falling Down MySpace Exclusive

More United States Formula 1 Rumors

2009-02-05T00:27:00.003-05:00

Most fans are bummed that the football season is pretty much over. My team (The Eagles) didn’t make the Super Bowl again so I couldn’t care less. I am very excited that two months away is the start of the new Formula 1 season.

Unfortunately for fans in the US, there is no race in America, no American driver, or no American team. I’ve have heard rumors and I will believe it when I see it. Autoblog has a great post here on a possible USF1 team. It would be great if it were to happen. It’s a good read so check it out.

I thought “The Pitch” section was interesting. “As opposed to Major League Baseball, Football and NBA franchises, the crew behind USF1 maintains there are better branding opportunities in F1, not to mention a global audience of three billion viewers, putting F1 among the World Cup and Olympic Games as one of the most recognizable sports in the world.”

Too many tweets!

2009-02-03T15:16:00.002-05:00

I went to go log into my Twitter and I saw this picture. It seems like Hotmail today, the Twitter servers can get too busy. I didn’t know Twitter can go over capacity. Stop tweeting you’re taking a number two and please no Twit Pics!

Tonight: Franz Ferdinand Review

2009-02-03T15:04:00.002-05:00

I have seen Franz Ferdinand once or twice in concert. I have enjoyed their last two albums. I was happy to hear that the Glaswegians came out with a new album. By just listening you can tell this is a Franz album. This is a good thing because they didn’t abandon the sounds that made them famous. But you can tell they tried some different things and wanted more. I really dig this album. I don’t know if it’s their best effort yet, but it sure is good.
Ulysses – What a great opening track. The track seems to get more powerful before the three minutes are over.
Turn It On – Again this track seems to get better before it ends.
No You Guys – This is sort of a funky new-wave and new-age beat that delivers. The hook is very catchy. I dig the vibe.
Send Him Away – I felt this wasn’t as good as the first three tracks. But in the middle you hear some cool guitar riffs and drum beats that set the mood. The beat progresses and some hand clapping are added. The track is saved and is good like the previous three.
Twilight Omens – I get a Halloween vibe when I hear this track. I like it and I think I hear organs or something made up on a computer in the background.
Bite Hard – First song on the album that I’m not really into. I’m not feeling it.
What She Came For – This track has a cool intro. As the lyrics go, you find out you are what she came for. Maybe she came for you because you bite hard. Anyway this track is better than Bite Hard. It has a cool punk rock sound at the end of the track.
Live Alone – This track is 80’s Pop with Scottish Funk infusion. This track could even be cool on the intro of Castlevaina for NES. When you get old, don’t live alone.
Can’t Stop Feeling – I again get a Halloween vibe from this song. The lyrics are good. You hear a hint of disco at the end of the track, but it’s gone.
Lucid Dreams – This is my favorite track on the album. It is also the longest. I thought I was listening to Moby or The Crystal Method when I heard this track.
Dream Again – After Lucid Dream you get to Dream Again. I don’t like this track. This is my least favorite on the album.
Katherine Kiss Me – This track reminds me of the first track of their first album called Jacqueline. Except the track never gets up beat. The piano on the track isn’t too bad. It has an Oregon Trail feel.

The album art concept is cool. I interpret it as tonight Franz Ferdinand is performing. The picture looks like a night of partying too much out on the town after a show. The album produces nine winners and three duds. If you liked their previous work, then definitely check this album out.

My take on the Super Bowl commercials

2009-02-01T23:56:00.004-05:00

Since the Eagles didn’t make the Super Bowl again, I could really care less with the game. I’m not a big football fan in case you didn’t know. I did watch the game and the end was very entertaining. I thought there were way too many penalties called. Some were penalties and some were bad calls.
But, the Super Bowl party is all about eating a lot of food with your mates and watching the commercials. I got to catch a bunch of commercials online through some blogs. Most of the commercials I caught online were for movie trailers and cars. You can’t go wrong with both. I wish I got to see Vince and Sham Wow tonight during the game. Here is a rundown of my opinions on tonight’s Super Bowl commercials:

Funniest Commercials
Pepsi: MacGruber – If you don’t get it, then you don’t’ watch enough SNL. It’s a great skit. What’s even better is the real MacGyver is in the commercial/skit. Pepsi is funnier than coke. I actually don’t remember any coke commercials from tonight.
Hulu: Alec Baldwin – Alec Baldwin plays his 30 Rock type character doing a commercial for Hulu (one of my favorite websites). If you never saw 30 Rock or Hulu, then you should go back and crawl under that rock.
Cash4Gold.com: Ed McMahon and MC Hammer – It makes total sense. They are broke and need to see their gold. I guess this company makes money.
CareerBuilder.com: Tips – This was good. I need a job. Seeing a stuffed animal Kuala bear get punched in the head never gets old.
Bridgestone: Hot Item – Bridgestone make good tires. They do the tires for F1. This commercial was great.
Bug Light: Conan – Conan is great at this commercial.
Doritos: Crystal Ball – This is some great office humor.

Cool Car Commercials
Bridgestone: Hot Item – This is funny and a car related commercial.
Audi: Chase – Jason Statham and Audi car chases. I love his reaction when he looks at the old people getting out of the Lexus.
Hyundai: Genesis Coupe – This was one of my favorites all night. The website is great. I can’t wait to see this at the auto show. You can download free MP3s and screensavers at the website. Hyundai also had four other commercials.

Movie Trailer Commercials
Transformers 2 – This teaser was terrible but I’m still going to see the movie.
Star Trek – I am not a trekky but I want to see this film.
The Land of the Lost – This is a new Will Ferrell movie. But I am going to see it because I’m a huge fan of Danny McBride after seeing him in Pineapple Express
Fast and Furious – This is much better than the new trailer. I am seeing this opening night with my Penn State friends. This will be an IST outing.
The Year One – I didn’t know this was coming out. Jack Black, the dude who knocked up Juno and McLovin’ star in this film. I think I’ll have to see it.

GI Joe – Snake Eyes looks awesome.

Non-Entertaining Commercials
Budweiser – These horse commercials are terrible and already getting old. Plus the beer is lousy.
Gatorade – The whole G campaign is stupid. Stop wasting your money. Vitamin water is cooler.
Godaddy.com – I like the fact that they sponsor racing. But they are starting to be a tease.
NFL – Why do you spend millions on a super bowl commercial and then layoff over 40 employees? That commercial could have paid their salaries.
GE – Why are you playing commercials you played over a year ago?
Castrol Oil – Spend your money on sponsoring race teams. Your commercial was stupid.
E*Trade – Your baby thing is old. Plus your site stinks. You charge stupid fees and I switched brokerage firms.
Taco Bell – Spend all the money you want because I’m going to Baja Fresh or Chipotle.
Sobe – Are you kidding me? I really want a gay Sobe water drink after seeing football players dance around in white tights.

All the other commercials just didn’t do it for me. The advertisers didn’t hit the Jim in PA demographic.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans Film Review

2009-01-31T23:58:00.003-05:00

So I got back home tonight from seeing the new Underworld flick. To be honest, there is nothing currently in the theaters that I really, really, really want to see. I enjoyed the first two so I figured this one won’t be too bad. To the general American viewing public, this film doesn’t have any big Hollywood stars. But you still get to see cool vampire and werewolf fight scenes. I never saw Twilight, but I’m sure this movie (I mean film) kicks Twilights ass any day (or night).

I suggest you see the first two Underworld films before you see this one. You will get the story more in this one. I love hot British women in tights kicking ass in vampire movies. I fancy Kate more, but Rhona Mitra plays a good vampire. The flick was good, but also included a little too much love story (almost like the Hellboy sequel; see my blog entry).
The film was decent. If you haven’t seen a werewolf or vampire movie in a while, then go see this with your mates. I would like to see this film do well so another Underworld film comes out. The story is good and has some future potential. Rating (if I have to do one) would be a 2-3 star or C-B rating.

Best 2009 Inauguration Video Ever!!!

2009-01-26T12:14:00.000-05:00

I think the title explains my opinions:

HIGH-FIVE INAUGURATION! - watch more funny videos

The Last Airbender Casting Call in Philadelphia

2009-01-25T23:58:00.004-05:00

So I attended a casting call with my family at the spectrum Saturday afternoon. I thought it was going to suck, but it wasn’t too bad. M. Night Shyamalan is doing a new movie in the Philly area this spring. The casting call was for The Last Airbender.

The casting call was at the Spectrum. I thought there was going to be a huge line and I was going to wait outside in the cold for hours. Luckily everyone was allowed inside the Spectrum. We sat in the lower level and were called up by sections. The whole process took a few hours. Luckily we got to be entertained by lousy hockey games. While we sat in the Spectrum with hundreds of people, we got to watch some hockey. Adult leagues rented the ice during the time of the casting call.

Once our section was called up we went downstairs to Bullies restaurant. There we met with the casting director. It was interesting process learning about extras in films. Everyone filled out yellow cards with their info. After that we went outside and inside again to wait in another line. This last line was to get our photo (headshot) taken.

The casting company worked on two other Night films and some other major Hollywood films. They are looking for extras to play soldiers for the huge battle scenes. They are primarily looking for males 18-30. The pay looks to be minimum wage if you get called.

Too much of a good thing?

2009-01-24T22:23:00.001-05:00

I’m a huge fan of The Soup hosted by Joel McHale. It looks like the people behind The Soup have come out with two other similar soupy shows. Sports Soup is on VS. network and The Dish is on the Fashion network. It looks like all three shows are filmed in the same E! studio with the same crew members laughing.

Song stuck in my head by Police Squad

2009-01-23T00:24:00.000-05:00

I check out car blogs everyday because I love cars. The Detroit Auto Show saw a lot of coverage. I found a funny video and I can’t get the song out of my head. Maybe you’ve heard it before. I couldn’t stop laughing the first time I saw this.

Naked Jalopnik from Alex C on Vimeo.

If computer nerds wore cuff links …

2009-01-22T12:25:00.002-05:00

I saw this on Kanye’s blog and thought it was dope.

Cool Photo of the Day

2009-01-21T00:55:00.002-05:00

Happy Hump Day! I think I’m going to do Wednesday’s entry with a cool pic or video for your enjoyment. I love the snow, but hate to drive in it when I have to. It really hasn’t snowed too much here in PA. I liked this pic. Enjoy!

Blogs

2009-01-20T00:28:00.002-05:00

So I think I will try to keep my blogs updated more often. I’m looking to keep music, television, and film strictly for the Two for Tuesday. I saw a lot of movies in 2008 I still haven’t wrote reviews for. One of my friends hasn’t updated his blog since November. He finally posted his big top albums of 2008 blog entry. One thing I love about 2008 is all the great album covers and art work. Don't expect a huge post like this from me.

New U2 Single Online

2009-01-20T00:19:00.003-05:00

There is no need to hack the matrix kiddies. You can listen to the new U2 single Get On Your Boots on their MySpace or official website. I can’t wait for the new tour and to hear the rest of the new album.

New 24 Season is Must Watch TV

2009-01-20T00:12:00.002-05:00

Jack Bauer is the freaking man. Kiefer’s character is great. I don’t have time to let TV and the corporate networks control my life. Hulu is my new favorite website. I just caught up on this season of 24. I was shocked to see Janeane Garofalo on the show. I thought 24 Redemption was awesome. I just watched the first four episodes with my Dad. I just got him hooked on the show. He’s never seen the show and he stayed up late watching it. It’s a great show. I would check it out.

Keep Dreaming

2009-01-19T11:49:00.001-05:00

I came across this on Kanye’s blog today. This is a totally awesome playground. I’m glad to see someone made their dreams a reality.

Lifehacker Most Popular Top 10’s of 2008

2009-01-18T22:43:00.001-05:00

Lifehacker is a great blog to check out if you’re bored at work or need some help with that New Year’s resolution. I think the first one I will check out is the Top 10 Ways to Stay Energized.

Two Cougars

2009-01-17T00:09:00.000-05:00

I’ve been watching the Barrett-Jackson auctions on Speed all night. I saw a really funny commercial for Hagerty Insurance. This company does insurance for classic and collector cars. Someone in their marketing department is funny. But, I’m still not sure if they are better than Geico.

Updates on the new U2 album

2009-01-16T16:03:00.001-05:00

The biggest U2 fan I know sent me an update from U2 on their website. I dig the album art and the song titles. I know I said I will never buy a CD again since I subscribe to Rhapsody, but I will probably have to buy this album. No Line On The Horizon will be out March 3rd in five formats.

New Motorsport Hottie

2009-01-15T00:27:00.002-05:00

Move over Danica Patrick, there is a new fast woman in town. Natacha Gachnang drives GP2 over in Europe. Enjoy!

2009 Barrett-Jackson Live on Speed

2009-01-14T00:42:00.001-05:00

With the economy in the crapper, it will be interesting to see what will happen to collector car sales. The big auctions started yesterday on Speed and you can watch them live all week. It will be interesting to see what the GM Heritage cars go for. It would be cool to go one year and see the sights and bid on a car.

Song stuck in my head by Step Brothers.

2009-01-13T17:03:00.000-05:00

Funny or Die is a good humor website if you got some free time to kill. I actually thought Step Bothers was a funny Will Ferrell movie. This is a funny and dirty song. Enjoy!

Step Brothers: Boats n Hoes Music Video (EXPLICIT AND UNCUT) by Will Ferrell

Truth in 24 Trailer

2009-01-09T23:10:00.000-05:00

Jason Statham narrates the new Audi movie documenting the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Song stuck in my head by M.I.A.

2009-01-08T23:40:00.000-05:00

My brother and his girl just bought Pineapple Express on DVD. I wanted to see it in the summer but never go around to it. It was a pretty funny movie. Paper planes was the song from the trailer. I now have this song stuck in my head from seeing the movie. It’s so catchy. The girl in the video reminds me of Downtown Julie Brown.

M.I.A. |MTV Music

LEDs are soo hot right now

2009-01-06T00:38:00.001-05:00

The Audi R8 V10 will be the world’s first car to offer high and low beam LED headlights as standard equipment. This car is soo hot.

Tool Academy

2009-01-06T00:30:00.001-05:00

I like VH1 more than MTV. I can’t believe people still watch MTV. VH1 still plays music videos and has way better reality shows because they have celebs. Rock of Love with Bret Michaels is too good not to watch. This new show looks too funny not to watch.

VH1 TV Shows | Music Videos | Celebrity Photos | News & Gossip

Twitter Celebs Get Hacked

2009-01-05T14:18:00.001-05:00

I have been using Twitter lately and following only a few cool celebrities. Lance Armstrong is crazy into Twitter. He posted this today. It seems someone has hacked into a few celeb Twitter accounts and posted some funny tweets. The Bill O’Riley one is funny. Enjoy!

Crazy Red Bull New Year’s Eve Motorcycle Stunts

2009-01-03T02:17:00.000-05:00

I am just amazed that someone has big balls to do a stunt like this. This is one of the sickest stunts I have ever seen. If you mess this up, then you’re probably dead.

Zunes crash on New Year’s Eve and fix themselves New Year’s Day

2009-01-02T15:55:00.003-05:00

I actually have a 30GB Zune in black. I really never use it. I really dig my Sansa clips. News of Zune 2k9 was all over the blogs here and here.

Cool Tech Design of the Day

2008-12-31T10:54:00.003-05:00

I caught this USB drive on Gizmodo. I don’t know how practical it is, but it sure does look cool. Make sure you have a nice warranty on this thing.

Holiday Miracle by the Captain

2008-12-30T21:40:00.001-05:00

Those Captain Morgan Holiday Miracle commercials are funny. If you haven’t seen them yet, then check them out here.

Giraffes!

2008-12-29T00:01:00.001-05:00

I caught a rerun of SNL Saturday night. I just thought this video was da bomb yo. If your not happy being at work this Monday, then this video should cheer you up or make your boss fire your ass. Giraffes!!!

Song stuck in my head by Rihanna

2008-12-28T23:48:00.000-05:00

Rihanna is so hot and has beautiful eyes. Her new video rocks! When I first saw this video I had the song stuck in my head for a few days.

Rihanna |MTV Music

The Day the Earth Stood Still IMAX Experience Film Review

2008-12-27T01:05:00.005-05:00

Amazingly not many holiday movies are wetting my appetite out there. Studios need to make movies geared to a 27 year old male from PA named Jim I guess. I’m a Keanu fan, and I saw it on IMAX so I gave the film a shot.

I would wait for this film to come to DVD. I wasn’t too impressed. Keanu is the main character and another being from another place. The movie takes places mostly in Jersey between Princeton and New York City. A big giant alien sphere lands in Central Park and the humans go ape $hit. Jennifer Connelly and many top scientists are summoned by the government to help interrogate these aliens. Connelly plays a professor from Princeton. Will Smith’s son, Jaden, plays Connelly’s son. He did surprisingly well in this film. If you can’t get over the color difference, then watch the movie for the explanation.
The movie just isn’t put together well. The producers had a nice budget so the special effects and sci-fi stuff is pretty cool to watch on IMAX. The story and screenplay is very lacking and leaves you wondering more. It just seems like the film was made by a college senior during a last minute cram session. Basically the three main characters run from the authorities from Princeton to the big apple. Along the way they stop at a friend’s house. This friend is a Nobel Prize winning professor played by John Cleese. It would be nice if this scene had more stuff to it. The end the earth gets saved by the emotionless Keanu.

Leaving the film I still couldn’t forget about the product placements. The main characters stop at a rest stop on the NJ Turnpike and eat at McDonald’s. Jennifer Connelly makes everyone see her Citizen watch and LG phone (I got both). My favorite ad in the film was the huge “The Soup” with Joel McHale billboard in Times Square.

I would give the film a 1-2 star or a D-C rating.

New Blog I’m Into

2008-12-26T12:12:00.001-05:00

So I stumbled across a new blog that I really dig. I’ve never really been a fan of Kanye West before. After checking out his blog, I think he’s a pretty cool dude. I might use a similar blog format as the university. Check it out.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T16:53:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas! I’m getting hungry for dinner! Maybe Philly will have a white Christmas next year.

Spike TV James Bond Marathon

2008-12-24T00:23:00.001-05:00

Another reason I love Christmas is because I get to stay in and watch James Bond movies. Spike TV rocks because they have the James Bond marathon again this year. They should just play bond for almost 24 hours straight.

When rappers ride wave runners in tuxedos

2008-12-23T16:37:00.002-05:00

So I was watching the boob tube today and saw a Sean John Macy’s commercial. Diddy is hawking his new fragrance (aka cologne) called I am King. Lebron James should be suing Diddy right now. Diddy has a blog on YouTube that is no way as cool as Kayne’s blog. Diddy is taking this James Bond thing way too serious. Although I would love to see Daniel Craig chase Diddy (on a wave runner wearing his tux) in the next Bond film.

Coolest surge protector ever!

2008-12-22T16:55:00.002-05:00

This is the coolest surge protector I’ve ever seen. It’s too bad it will be stuck in a corner unseen and covered in dust.

New Beer Pong Table

2008-12-20T01:25:00.002-05:00

If I were super rich, then I would have a carbon fiber beer pong table. Like Hansel, it’s so hot right now.

Song stuck in my head by Andy Samberg

2008-12-19T00:01:00.001-05:00

Last week’s song I couldn’t get out of my head was an SNL digital short. It was jizzed in my pants. Thanks to Tom and Kevin for sending me the same funny video. I kept singing this song last week. The video has some great cameos.

Song stuck in my head by Kate Perry

2008-12-18T14:18:00.000-05:00

This week’s song is Kate Perry’s Hot N Cold. I love good music videos. This video is so 80s and so dope. The only thing I didn’t like is the Diesel sunglass product placement. Kate Perry is also super hot. I can’t stand her first single. Hot N Cold is such a fun Pop song. Is she the new Madonna?

Katy Perry |MTV Music

X-Men Origins Wolverine Trailer

2008-12-15T10:11:00.002-05:00

The new X-Men Origins Wolverine trailer debuted a few minutes ago on MySpace. I’m just downloaded the HD trailer and it looks good.

WTF! Mate! 3 Day Long Woot Off!

2008-12-11T14:36:00.001-05:00

Woot.com and all the other woot sites rock. I have ordered a few great deals from Woot. Woot currently has a woot off. This is the third day in a row for this Woot off which is unheard of. Now go get some good deals before Christmas.

Space Beer

2008-12-04T09:34:00.001-05:00

I am not big into the applications (or apps if you’re a crazy teenager) on MySpace and facebook so stop requesting me. The only app I really like is Brew Social. It’s cool if you’re into beer. I am ranked pretty high tasting about 200 different brews worldwide. I caught this post on one of my fav blogs today. I have had Sapporo before. This Japanese brewery brewed the first space beer in history. I wonder what it tastes like.

Christmas Lights

2008-12-01T17:25:00.002-05:00

I think this year I will drive somewhere to see Christmas lights. My car has plenty of windows so I should be able to see a lot. If I had mad money I would travel to Tokyo for their crazy LED light show.

Free HDMI Cables!!!

2008-11-30T19:55:00.002-05:00

You don’t know what HDMI means? You finished you holiday shopping Friday? Well too bad.

You can get free HDMI cables from your cable company.

You like Puma gear? Well take their long online survey. When you’re done taking their survey, Puma gives you a 20% off online coupon. There are plenty of other online deals out there. Tomorrow starts Cyber Monday.

Black Friday

2008-11-28T17:29:00.002-05:00

I just never liked the term Black Friday. When I was a sales manager I never saw things in black and white. All my charts, graphs, and sales figures were always in color. I don’t remember good results being in the black.

I hate working Black Friday more than the term Black Friday. I remember managing a staff of ten people at one of the largest malls in the nation. It was not fun. Working the whole Black Friday weekend is also not fun. So I can understand what retail workers are going through this weekend. This Thanksgiving I am very thankful that I do not have to work in a mall this weekend and this holiday season. I’m very happy I got to sleep in on Black Friday. I haven’t done this in a long time. Everyone who camped out at Best Buy last night in the freezing cold, enjoy your cheap junk.

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!!!

2008-11-27T00:17:00.001-05:00

I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving (or a friend from college once said Sexgiving) today. I hope your day is filled with food, friends, and James Bond movies on TV. I will now wait for the many random text messages I will get today. Those of you, who are still hung over from last night, make sure you stay away from the food making process. Cheers!

Sick Video of the Day

2008-11-26T00:02:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday I posted a sick car video. The video has some great camera angles and engine sounds. The driving is amazing to watch. My Dad and brother liked it. I found another amazing video for you to watch. I want to visit this place sometime. But I don’t think I would jump off anytime soon. Happy Hump Day World!!!

Top Gear Drives 750 Miles on One Tank of Petrol

2008-11-25T00:42:00.002-05:00

So I watched the fourth episode of season twelve of Top Gear Sunday night. It was a very entertaining episode. Episode four had a race between the three mates. The three mates all drove different types of cars that were all diesels. Clarkson drove a Jaguar sedan V6 twin turbo diesel. May drove a Subaru wagon diesel. Hammond drove a small VW diesel. The race was to see who can drive from Switzerland to Blackpool, England on a single tank of gas (750 miles away) in order to turn on the annual Blackpool Illuminations (Christmas Lights). All three drove different routes to their destination. Some of them got caught up in Friday night traffic and others didn’t get stuck in traffic. They drove on highways and back roads. All three of the Top Gear hosts were able to drive on a single tank of gas and make it to their destination 750 miles away. I don’t know any car sold in the US that could do this. I don’t think a Toyota Prius could pull this feat off. All the cars looked normal. But they were all very economical. So is diesel the solution? It may or it may not.

If I drove from Philadelphia, PA to Savannah, GA, then I would drive about 718 miles. If I could drive my car on one tank of gas I would be amazed. I really think we should start building and selling more diesels in the states. Even if normal American consumers don’t want to buy a diesel, then rental fleets and businesses should buy and use diesel. Who really cares if you have to drive a diesel on a business trip or vacation if you rented a car? You would get great gas mileage. I don’t have all the answers. But it doesn’t hurt to adopt some of the practices and technologies used over in Europe. I also want to see the electric Mini Coopers sold in Philly. NY/NJ and LA get to have all the cool limited electric cars.

The Crazy Technology Driving the World’s Largest LED Billboard

2008-11-25T00:32:00.002-05:00

I’ve been reading a lot of stuff on Gizmodo. They have had some great content lately. They also have been making it easy for the blog. I don’t really have a professional blog, so occasionally I’ll post some stuff I actually went to school for or have done on a job somewhere.
I worked in NYC on Broadway last holiday season. We didn’t have anything crazy like this, but we had a 4-6 projector system displaying a single giant image. The hardware was about a third of what drives these LEDs in Times Square. I just don’t want to be the IT guy on call when the system crashes.

The Great Philadelphia Hot Dog Launcher

2008-11-24T22:43:00.002-05:00

I remember the Philly Phanatic riding his quad in the field of Veterans Stadium from back in the day. Now the Phanatic has an even cooler set up in a new ball park. I came across this article over the weekend.

Woot! Off today!

2008-11-19T10:11:00.001-05:00

It is official… there is another woot off today. I guess they are having a pre-Thanksgiving woot off. I wonder if Woot! will do any deals black Friday or cyber Monday. Get some cool stuff today.

I like it when you call me big papa…

2008-11-17T16:12:00.001-05:00

Who doesn’t like free pizza? If you are a loser and not on Facebook, then you are going to miss out on free pizza. Become a fan of Papa John’s on Facebook and you will get a coupon later this month for a free medium pizza. It sounds good. I wan to be a fan of Sam Adams and get a free bottle of Utopias.

Sick Video of the Day

2008-11-12T16:52:00.001-05:00

Don’t worry bloggers, your not watching 2 dudes 1 grande (or whatever they call large at starbuckeros) cup. I came across this video on Autoblog today. This video may seem long, but it is not boring. It has many different camera angles that make the action exciting. Make sure you crank up the volume because the car sounds awesome. It’s is an entertaining video before you end the daily grind today. Enjoy!

Top Gear Goes to America

2008-11-09T01:09:00.001-05:00

Last Sunday was the last F1 race of the season. If you are going through F1 withdraw now the 2008 season is over, have no fear because Top Gear is back. One of the biggest shows in the world, Top Gear, is back for season 12. It started last Sunday after the F1 race. The second episode I can’t wait for. Tonight you will see the three mates go to America to drive the ZR1 and some other American rides. I want to see what time The Stig can do in the ZR1. The first season of Top Gear Australia debuted this year, Top Gear American will drop on NBC next year, and Top Gear Russia has been announced this year. It’s good we have Top Gear to get us through these winter months.

Action Films Get Boosted

2008-11-08T17:51:00.001-05:00

I just heard news online that Stallone is making a new action film. This new film will star Stallone himself plus Jet Li and Jason Statham. This movie should rock. The title is called The Expendables. This is a cool title for an action flick. Shooting begins next year in Costa Rica and Louisiana. We can hope this will be better than Rambo’s last bomb.

Jim in PA loves TV Show Set in PA

2008-11-07T14:23:00.002-05:00

If you aren’t watching The Office and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, then you should. They are the funniest shows on TV right now. It’s also very cool that they take place in PA. One takes place in Scranton, PA and the other in Philadelphia, PA. PA rules!

SEMA this week in Vegas

2008-11-06T12:15:00.002-05:00

I’ve never been to Las Vegas before. I’ve always seen people in the movies drive from LA and Vegas. I would like to do that some day. SEMA is on of the biggest events in Las Vegas. I don’t think it’s open to the public. Instead it’s open to dealers and other people in the automotive industry. You will see most of the latest stuff for your car here. I think if I were to go do Vegas, it would have to be for something. I would go to Vegas for the SEMA show, do a shotgun marriage by Elvis, or loose all my money at a craps table. Although this is the coolest blog I’ve seen on this years SEMA show.

America has spoken…

2008-11-05T10:49:00.001-05:00

America has a new president elect. Congrats to new president elect Obama. I stayed up last night and watched the speeches of both Obama and McCain. I thought both speeches were very good. The scenes on TV of Chicago last night were amazing. History is made yet again.

Blue is my favorite color. It was good to see PA go blue. If you look at those maps last night or today, it still reminds be of the civil war. The north is mostly blue states. The south is mostly red states. Blue states took over the west coast. The northern states around the great lakes also went blue. With all these different colors, I hope the country can still come together and be stronger than ever.

RocknRolla Film Review

2008-11-04T15:35:00.004-05:00

Where do I start with this film? Or should I ask where should have Guy Ritchie have started with his latest film? Guy attempts to go back to what made his career and made him famous. This is another Guy Ritchie British gangster film, but inspired by American cinema. This film is not as good as Snatch. Guy wrote, directed, and produced this film. This movie is all about British actors except for a few Russians and two Americans.

If you have seen Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, then this film sounds familiar. RocknRolla takes different groups of people with different stories. In the end, the stories intertwine almost perfectly together. One group Lenny (Tom Wilkinson) and his number one man Archie (Mark Strong) are London gangsters. Lenny calls London his city. Lenny deals with shady real estate ventures in London with other gangsters. He pays off a lot of people and has his man Archie and his thugs take care of business. Archie is the narrator in this film and also reminds me of Jason Statham in older Richie films. Gerard Butler and his mates are another local thug guy (forgot the name, Wild Bunch I think) group in London. A group of Russians move into the city to get a big real estate venture started with the help of Lenny. Big RocknRolla star Jonny Quid (what a Rock and Roll name) reminds me much like Any Winehouse in London. But he does rock instead of R&B and is a male instead of a female junkie. It turns out later in the film (thanks to flashbacks) that Lenny is Johnny Quid’s step father. Ludacris and Piven play London club owners and Johnny Quid’s manager. Confused yet? There is also a thug who hangs out in his Lincoln Navigator (no Escalade?) and watches TV. Thandie Newtown plays a high society accountant with a high society gay lawyer husband. Newton was way better in Run Fatboy Run. Anyway all these characters speak with a lot of British accents and the movie is slow with little action. Maybe Guy tried to go with a lot of dialogue like Tarantino, but got lost or ran out of time to finish the story and deliver some action. The end of the film was the only entertaining part where everything comes almost together. But unfortunately, you have to sit threw this whole British babble first. Like Pulp Fiction, everyone seems to be after a particular item. This item is a lucky painting that the billionaire Russian owns. Throughout the film you never get to see what the picture looks like. This sounds too much like the briefcase in Pulp Fiction that you never get to see inside of.

I could give this film a grade or star review, but I’m not a paid blogger yet. If you’re looking for a strange weird British trip, then go pay to see this film. If not, then go see something else. I would give RocknRolla a 2-3 star or a D-C grade. Now that Guy is breaking away from Madonna, maybe he can make some proper British films.

Get Out and Vote for Freedom Today!

2008-11-04T14:49:00.002-05:00

It is your right to vote. Don’t waste it today. You still have time. Make sure you go and vote today. It did it and it was easy and simple. It took less than 5 minutes to do.

F1 Crazy Season Finale in Brazil

2008-11-03T15:12:00.001-05:00

Sunday marked the 18th and finale F1 race of the season. If you missed the race, you missed one of the most entertaining and history making races this season. The Brazilian GP was the last GP for David Coulthard. He had a special livery on his Red Bull F1 car to promote his wings for life charity. Unfortunately he crashed out on the first lap and the first corner of the race.
The big news was the F1 championship (like last year) was to be decided in Brazil. The race was even better than last year’s finale. The F1 champion was crowed in the final race of the final lap of the final turn of the F1 season. It was amazing. The announcers on Speed were going nuts. The Brazilian Felipe Massa won his home race and the crowd went nuts. The crowd got so loud I couldn’t hear those V8 engines at 19,000 RPMs. Then in a heartbeat Brit Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line in 5th place. Lewis won the world championship by one point. The weather played a key factor to the race. A sudden flash food thunderstorm wet the track right before the race. Rain started again with about 4 laps to go into the race. Lots of drama happened within those last 4 laps. I felt bad for Felipe, but Ferrari won the Constructor’s championship. Congrats to Lewis Hamilton on being the youngest F1 champion in history. It was an awesome race.

Last Formula 1 Race of the Season: Massa, Ferrari and Sao Paulo, Brazil

2008-11-01T13:50:00.001-04:00

My favorite sound in the world is a Formula 1 engine at full revs. Today was the F1 qualifying session for the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Today was the first time I heard the crowd at a F1 event louder than the car engines. I was in Philly for the first three quarters of game five of the baseball world series. The atmosphere was electric when the Phillies scored in the first inning. But, it’s probably crazier in Sao Paulo. Felipe Massa is a Brazilian born in Sao Paulo driving for Ferrari. The constructor and driver F1 championships will be decided in tomorrow’s race. Massa and Ferrari have a chance to win the true world championship. If Massa and Ferrari win tomorrow, there will be a bigger parade in Sao Paulo than in Philadelphia yesterday. Felipe Massa got pole position today for Ferrari and it is his third in a row at the Interlagos circuit. It would be a nice weekend trip if I went. Make sure to watch the race tomorrow. Since the race isn’t in Europe or Asia, we get to watch he race at the real time zone.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T20:43:00.001-04:00

Halloween is here. The Phillies had the huge parade in Philly today. I know some friends who went down today (starting at 7am). I also know some friends who didn’t make it down because the trains were all full. The logical side of me had a few questions before I went. What would I do for lunch? Where would I go to the bathroom? When would I get home? I couldn’t answer these questions so I stayed home and watched the F1 Brazil practice on TV instead.

I miss running around the neighborhood with my friends getting free candy from neighbors. If you can’t trick or treat tonight, then eat some candy and watch some Halloween shows. I am watching Sci-Fi Ghost Hunters live coverage right now. It’s pretty neat so far. They are in Fort Delaware looking for ghosts. The cast and some “celebrities” are hunting right now. This is quite a big production. The website even has live feed and a panic button.

Not many kids have stopped by tonight. The house looks nice. We will probably have some left over candy.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

2008-10-30T19:57:00.002-04:00

In case you haven’t heard yet, the Philadelphia Phillies have won the World Series! I’m still curious why it’s called a world series and is only played in the United States. But semantics aside, it will be a party in Philly this weekend!

Halloween Hump

2008-10-29T00:30:00.001-04:00

Today is Wednesday and the hipsters like to call today “Hump” Day. Maybe these so called hipsters read too much Moby Dick on hardcover. Wednesday is half way through the work week and getting closer to the weekend.

I like to do a hayride and haunted house at least one weekend in October. The last two years a friend organized a good Halloween night. This year it seems as people are getting older, no one wants do Halloween anymore. What happened? I don’t know anyone from my two groups of friends having a Halloween party or doing a local hayride this year.

Don’t worry… you won’t get Rick Roll’d!

2008-10-28T23:06:00.001-04:00

Today is Tuesday. Some radio DJs like to call today “Two for Tuesday”. I have been using this gimmick in my Tuesday blogs giving my JiminPA fans a double dose on Tuesdays. I would like to keep the Tuesday blog to music only, but I tend venture off topic (from time to time).

I can across this post on Gizmodo. MTV is posting most of its music video library online at MTVmusic.com. A cool feature of the site is band performance videos from MTV and VH1 shows. For example check out this awesome MTV unplugged video. Now you have a new site to waste time away at work. Enjoy!

Korn |MTV Music

Snow storm in October

2008-10-28T18:39:00.003-04:00

So last night I was in South Philly in hope to see the Phillies win the World Series. The weather canceled that experience. It was very cold and rainy last night in the city of brotherly love. I walked by the fountain I saw in last week’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode. I didn’t have tickets last night, but waited in line for a small place inside McFadden’s Irish Bar and Restaurant inside the ballpark. I watched from a cramped space on a TV. I got to see some fireworks outside and some rowdy fans. I was amazed how many fans were outside the stadium wanting to get in. I saw hundreds of people staring in the bars windows. It reminded me of a zombie movie.

I had a late night last night. I woke up this afternoon and was shocked to see a snow storm outside. Snow is still on the ground, but it is raining now.

Great Philadelphia Sports Weekend!

2008-10-27T09:34:00.001-04:00

Well it was a great weekend if you’re a sports fan in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Flyers beat the NJ Devils at home in overtime. Penn State beat Ohio State in Ohio. This hasn’t been done in about 20 years. PSU is still number three, but are even closer to the BCS Championship. The Phillies win game 3 of the World Series at home. Sunday the Eagles win at home. The Phillies win at home big time game 4 of the World Series. Great stuff if you’re a Philadelphia sports fan. World Series game 5 is tonight at home! It would be nice to have tickets.

The Office

2008-10-26T14:31:00.000-04:00

Since I’ve been out of work for a long time, you would think I sit at home all day in my flannels and watch soaps all day like Michael Keaton in Mr. Mom. But, you are dead wrong. To be honest, I really don’t have time to watch all these shows on TV. I really don’t watch much TV. The only TV I really watch is It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia on FX, F1 on Speed, and The Soup on E!. I just fell in love with Hulu. The website is done well and reminds me of a friend’s web layout from college. The aesthetics and look is great. I have just watched about 5 episodes in a row of The Office on Hulu. This is one of my new favorite shows. Screw being a slave to network TV programming, and watch videos on your own time online.

First 5K

2008-10-25T14:54:00.004-04:00

Today I ran my first 5K! I am very proud of my accomplishment and feeling good. I started jogging over a year ago to get back in shape. Over time, I got into running and training more. Over time, I was also able to increase my distance. I wanted to do a local 5K for my first.

Today I completed in the Hatboro YMCA Skeleton Skurry 5K run. The event also had a 2 mile walk. This was a cool event, and I had a great first time. I love Halloween. It is one of my favorite holidays. I also love the annual hayrides and haunted houses (unfortunately I haven’t done any this year). Many of the runners and walkers today wore Halloween costumes. The run took place on two main streets (Main Street in Hatboro) and mostly residential areas. Most of the course had uphill climbs and downhill sprints. About half the 5K course was flat. But, I have been training on a mixed course, so I was OK.
I set three fitness goals for myself. Number one was complete today’s first 5K under a half hour. When I was getting my split time, I thought I could maybe do under 25 minutes (next year’s goal). I crossed the line with race number on my chest in 26:59. I was happy. I came in 124th place. I was passed on the course by many runners, but I kept my pace and never stopped running.
After the race mostly everyone moved inside the elementary school. Local food store Wegmans had free food for the runners. It looked good, but I didn’t take anything (already ate breakfast before I left). The run cost me $20, but it supports the YMCA and Main Street Hatboro. Inside the school a raffle was held for huge gift baskets. After the free prizes were handed out, the running awards and Halloween costumes prizes we announced. There were plenty of free drinks and food, and even a DJ (yes he did play YMCA). I got a free shirt and a “goody” bag. The Skeleton Skurry is well worth the $20 entry fee. I would do it again.
There were many good looking females at this event. As usual, I didn’t talk to any. There was this smoking hot cougar that passed me during the run. She wore black tights. Her costume over the tights was a woman Viking fur bikini costume (with Viking helmet of course). She won an award for top three women in 30’s category. As I was waiting to hear if my race number was called for a prize, there was another hot female in front of me. She was looking around a lot, but I think she went stag like me. She was in a cheerleader costume looking good. Again I failed to initiate conversation. As I was driving home, I wanted to know if she was a high school, college, or Cowboys cheerleader (a good question to see if she was at least 21). Or I could see if she wanted to grab a drink tonight at a bar and watch the Penn State game. Then I could see what age bracket she was in. Next year I will train harder to beat the little kid in the beret that beat me today.

Phillies Phever

2008-10-24T11:23:00.002-04:00

The big thing in Philadelphia isn’t fat free cheesesteaks. The Philadelphia Phillies are the talk of the town. The last time the Phillies made the World Series was back in 1993. The series is tied 1-1 now with the next games being played at Philly. Now time for a stupid Phillies picture.

Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock is Back!

2008-10-23T19:56:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite beers of all time is coming back next month. Chocolate Bock is a great Samuel Adams beer. It was brewed at few years back. Here is some info on the beer I received in an email from the brewery:

There are some, and we'd be among them, that say that the two greatest human inventions of all time are beer and chocolate. It is with that in mind that we once again release Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock. We like to push the boundaries of brewing as far as they can go and this is one delicious example. For centuries, the world's finest brewers have created rich, complex dark beers known as bocks. The best bocks display many layers of luxurious flavors. We wanted to brew a bock beer that would represent the traditional style yet surprise the palate with a unique character and complexity. We started with the complex selection of carefully roasted malts combined with hand-selected Noble hops from Bavaria, the world's largest growing area. After using a centuries old brewing process, called Krausening, we slowly aged the beer on a bed of rare dark cocoa nibs from Felchlin®, a renowned Swiss chocolatier. Known for their quality, these wild cocoa nibs are harvested from the jungles of Northern Bolivia where they grow in their original forests. They impart complex aromas and flavors of chocolate, honey and vanilla in the beer. The resulting beer, Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock, has a big, malty character that is combined with the subtle sweetness of chocolate, giving this brew a complex full-body taste with a velvety finish. Look for Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock in its distinctive 750ml bottle starting the 1st week in November. But act fast because we only made a few batches of this brew!

Brewer's Tip: Do you like chocolate covered cherries? Get your hands on some Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock and some Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat®. Take a sip of one followed closely by a sip of the other and enjoy!

Woot-Off starting at midnight! Woot Staff Eyes Only

2008-10-22T00:02:00.002-04:00

Woot.com is an awesome website. They have three other sites that I know off. If I lived in Texas, I would want to work for this company. The brilliant idea is they sell one item a day at a super low price. Yahoo shopping caught on, so they have a website with Yahoo. They also have a shirt site and a wine site. I just got an email with the subject: Woot Internal Memo. The memo (email) starts off with “STAFF EYES ONLY”. How cool is this company? The Woot email is below:
WOOT, INC. INTERNAL EMAIL
STAFF EYES ONLY

Attention Woot employees -

We are now entering the final phase of preparations for the Woot-Off planned for midnight tonight. This is when we depart from our usual deal-a-day model and sell one product after another, offering a new deal as soon as the previous one sells out. For some reason, Woot members like (your username here) continue to have high expectations for this event. We must make every effort to ensure that they feel disappointed and betrayed.

All workers should be physically and mentally straining to make this Woot-Off a success, like every muscle in a wolf's body strains to capture and devour its prey. We expect total compliance with the following objectives:

Make sure the stables are thoroughly cleaned and the horses properly groomed and shod. As you know, Commander Rutledge prefers to lead us on horseback during Woot-Offs. Charge!
Customer Service department: all vacation requests for this week and next are approved. If you have not filed a vacation request, take one anyway.
The little green pills in the kitchen are there to keep you alert and working. Take as many as you need. Officially, Woot does not believe in the concept of "overdose".
Take at least one of our servers offline, just for laughs.
Go to the landfill and dig up some more Sansa media players. If you see any Digipro Graphics Tablets (and you will), grab those, too.
Place crap bags in company latrines so those orders can be "filled". To this end, the company will provide free lunch today from El Feo, the filthiest burrito joint in Dallas. Do your worst, guys.
Neutralize all negative thinking among our members. We simply cannot tolerate any more posts like "do not want" or "Woot-Off killer". If electronic means like word filters and IP bans do not work, we must reactivate the rapid-response teams to physically eliminate all threats to our reputation.
Last time, spot checks revealed that approximately 25% of products shipped are broken, incomplete, or excessively dirty. This is unacceptable. For this Woot-Off, defective shipments must make up at least 40%.
Remind SmartPost that there's no need to hurry on these orders. Prompt delivery makes our customers spoiled and argumentative. Let them learn humility and gratitude while they wait.

Above all, we must strive to make this Woot-Off even more tedious, disappointing, and lucrative than the last one. The employee who achieves the most toward this end will be rewarded with one brown Zune. Second place: two brown Zunes.

Forward into battle! Remember: to give one's life for Woot is glorious!

Larry Stalin
eCommerce eKommissar
Woot, Inc.

THIS EMAIL WILL SELF-DESTRUCT IN 90 SECONDS

The Verve – Forth

2008-10-21T22:11:00.002-04:00

What happened to The Verve? Like Oasis and the rest of the British scene, the British invasion was ended by the US Navy. But, The Brits are back in force. Oasis has a new album, Keane has a new album, and now The Verve has a new album. Their new album is called Forth. I loved Urban Hymns and I love the new album cover. So I gave it a spin with my Rhapsody account. I dig the first track. The first track Sit and Wonder is a powerful and strong track to kick off the album. The Verve has evolved (11 years since Urban Hymns) but they still haven’t lost their sound. The next track, Love is Noise, you can tell. Noise Epic is true to its roots. It is too long and too noisy. There are a few tracks that are slow and long. But the album still delivers a few British delights. Forth is worth a listen.

The Verve – Urban Hymns

2008-10-21T21:52:00.000-04:00

The late nineties I was still into the Seattle music scene. But, I was also experiencing the new sonic wave of British sea power. I started listening to British bands. Oasis was one of them. I then heard about The Verve. They were sometimes confused with another band called Verve Pipe. But, they had much different sounds. The Verve caught everyone’s attention with Bitter Sweet Symphony. It’s such a melancholy song, yet at the same time shows hints of inspiration. Sonnet was the next track on this great album. Sonnet is a great love song. It can make you feel sad and happy all at the same time. The next track, The Rolling People, starts off with a strong, gritty psychedelic guitar riffs. In The Drugs Don’t Work, Richard Ashcroft’s voice comes alive. Catching The Butterfly is a catchy tune. Listen to track six, Neon Wilderness, and you get jet away to your own little cyberspace. Lucky Man is a great song. I remember the video for this song (back when MTV was good). The US version is much better than the UK version for the video. This is such a great album to check out.

Smile

2008-10-20T19:04:00.001-04:00

So I’ve been down in the dumps. I am just trying not to be depressed. I have been laid off from my only job after college. I have been out of work for over half a year now. My unemployment checks will run out soon. If I don’t have a job by next month, then I will have no more steady cash flow. I still live at home. I went to a friends wedding over the weekend. It was another wedding where I had no date and went alone. After months and months of working out, I still haven’t reached my fitness goal. On top of everything else, I have the “runs” today. Almost anything I eat has been going right through me. My car won’t start. It is sitting in front of my house not moving. So I have been really depressed.

See more Natalie Portman videos at Funny or Die

Eric Bana’s stock just went up in my book

2008-10-20T15:27:00.001-04:00

I was at a wedding over the weekend. I drove to Bristol to return two tuxedos. I was driving home and in love. My car was cleaned last week. I had the t tops off, the windows down and good music on the radio. The sun was out and the sky was clear. The trees were all different colors blurred as I drove by.

Love the Beast - trailer to Eric Bana's new film - as seen on Sunrise @ Yahoo!7 Video

I wasn’t really a huge fan of Eric Bana. He hides his Australian accent well in movies. It really comes out in this video. He seems like a cool guy. Eric Bana is making a documentary called “Love The Beast”. It is about his love affair with his Ford Falcon of 23 years. The documentary includes the biggest car guy in the states and The Tonight Show host, Jay Leno, and the biggest car guy in England and Top Gear host, Jeremy Clarkson. Dr. Phil is in this documentary talking about car love. It comes out next year and I can’t wait to see it. Jalopnik and AutoBlog have the story today.

Full Hunter’s Moon

2008-10-17T00:12:00.003-04:00

So apparently Tuesday night the 14th was a full moon. This month’s full moon is called the Hunter’s Moon. Leaves are falling and turning awesome colors this time of year. I’m not a hunter, but I guess it’s easier to see animals with less tree foliage this time of year. So at night everything is illuminated with this full moon. I guess it makes it easier to hunt. Or you can always get some cool spy night vision. I snapped a bunch of pics of the moon with my Canon SLR. Enjoy!

Barrett-Jackson Auctions rolls into Las Vegas

2008-10-16T23:57:00.002-04:00

Famous expensive car auction Barrett-Jackson is having its first auction ever in Las Vegas. It seems like a perfect fit. Speed’s live coverage starts tonight. Check it out live tomorrow night and Saturday for some big money cars. If you have never seen a car auction like this before, you must check it out on Speed. You can learn a lot about different car history by the announcers. You also might see a celebrity or two by or sell a car.

Thanks Joe the Plumber. Democrats sweep the debates.

2008-10-16T23:51:00.003-04:00

So I watched some of the debate with my Dad last night. I already knew who I was voting for before I watched the debate. I think Obama won if you need to declare a winner from last night. He had great responses to the answers and McCain’s poor comebacks. Obama came off as a smarter and a better man than McCain. McCain kept mentioning Joe the plumber from Ohio. It turns out this “Average Joe” owes taxes and isn’t even a registered plumber. Way to pick your fights McCain. McCain didn’t mention a new energy plan. He just wants to do more offshore drilling to make gas prices cheaper. This way Americans won’t worry anymore because prices are cheap. But, Obama has a realistic plan to get off oil in ten years. McCain just wants to keep people happy with low gas prices and the big oil companies happy with big tax breaks without fixing our energy and oil problem. After watching last night, I really know who I’m voting for now. What if Joe the Plumber was Mario the Plumber? What if this plumber just drives around all day in his Mario Kart?

Give your castle, mansion, home, condo, apartment, double wide, or cardboard box a clean slate

2008-10-14T11:19:00.001-04:00

I’m not a clean freak, but I’ve grown into being more clean and green. Since I have been downsized, I have taken up cleaning the house. I have decluttered, threw out stuff, turned junk into cash on Ebay, and gave some stuff to charity. It feels good to be in a clean house. I understand many people have cleaning problems. Shows like “Clean House” show people with serious clutter problems. I understand it takes time and effort to clean. But slaving away at a 9-5, you can still be clean. Check out Lifehacker’s article on an attack plan for a cluttered, messy home. There are a bunch of good links in the article. Enjoy!

Organize your stuff on the World Wide Web

2008-10-14T10:57:00.002-04:00

I came across this article on Lifehacker. This website, MyThings, is a really cool concept. It made me wish I thought of it back in college when I was a project manager for my web design PSU IST class. I could have launched this site during college. Then some big company would have bought it from me for huge money and I could be living off my dot com money. Now I have to wake up and realize I still live at home. Anyway keep track of all your iPods and iPhones with this website you big computer nerds.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

2008-10-09T01:14:00.004-04:00

My favorite show right now is on FX. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is so good. If you haven’t caught the new season yet, you can catch up for free on Hulu. This show is like Seinfeld on crack. Unlike people hanging in a diner in NYC, this show is about people hanging in a bar in Philly. It’s much cooler.

MySpace Black Curtain Screening Philadelphia Thursday

2008-10-08T08:34:00.002-04:00

This Thursday 10-09-08 at 8PM is a free screening of Sex Drive. The screening features a special guest appearance by Cark Duke. He is one of the main stars in the movie. More info on how to see this movie for free in Philly can be found here. I saw an advance screening in Philly back in August. The movie was funny and I enjoyed it very much. If you don’t have any plans Thursday night, visit the city of brotherly love. You will met a celebrity (I know it’s now Angelina Jolie) and see a free movie.

Hangin wit the WB!

2008-10-07T09:21:00.002-04:00

I’m talking about the WB. The Wildboyz! Wildboyz was a great show on MTV and then MTV 2. Chris Pontius and Steve-O took the great Jackass concept and made it even better. They traveled all over the world and filmed their show. They did have some special guests on the show like Johnny Knoxville, Wee Man, and Manny Puig nature expert. The show was a really great nature show. You can learn some cool things about animals and see some animal footage you may never see again. These guys did some wacky animal stunts. I’m surprised they didn’t get killed with some of the things they tried. They traveled around the world and met other interesting people and performers. Buy the seasons on DVD if you want to see some rad footage. Cheers!

Do you DIY?

2008-10-07T09:06:00.001-04:00

I was checking out Lifehacker and came across an interesting blog. The blog was one hundred DIY skills everyone should have. It looks like I need to practice some skills after reading the list. Check out the list here.

Ford brings more tech to their entry level vehicles

2008-10-06T18:13:00.003-04:00

Ford partnered with Microsoft with the Sync technology. I test drove a Lincoln MKS last week. The technology worked and was very cool. Ford now has introduced MyKey. It’s a special key that parents will give to their kids. When the kids take this car out, the speed will be limited, the radio volume will be limited, and more chimes will be heard in the cabin. Check out AutoBlog for more info. Parents need to practice with their kids and also send them to driving school. Our youth needs practice behind the wheel. They also need to stop texting. Tech in a car is a good thing. But, too much wrong tech is a bad thing.

Lazy Sunday

2008-10-05T17:29:00.000-04:00

I came back home this morning from Brian’s Bachelor Party yesterday. The title should explain enough for you about today. Enjoy the video!

Another reason MySpace is still better than Facebook… Free Music!

2008-10-03T11:08:00.001-04:00

The new Oasis album became available yesterday (a week before its release) on MySpace. The new Radiohead video “Reckoner” is available only on MySpace. Plus MySpace Music is giving a free MP3 download once a week. Check it out peeps!