Friday morning Rebecca came and got my dog Molly and took her to Spartanburg to get spayed.  In case you’re wondering, she knows a place up there that does it pretty cheap.  When she brought Molly back to me, the poor critter looked so pitiful as if we had just done something horrible to her.  Granted I’m sure getting your ovaries ripped out of you is no picnic regardless of what species you are!  So we spent most of the weekend tending to her, watching movies on DVD and hunting for Halloween costumes.

Saturday evening is when we began our actual search for Halloween costumes that would compliment each other (Becca had been surfing the web and sending me ideas).  This was no easy chore because we could not get on the same page for a matching theme.  She wanted to do something with a European or Gothic flavor whereas I prefer classic horror styled costumes.  It’s Halloween, go scare the s**t outta somebody!  After going to several stores on Saturday then back on the net on Sunday, I think we found a suitable compromise!

Saturday night after costume shopping, we watched The Eye on DVD.  The movie was a satisfactory Americanized version of yet another Japanese horror import with Jessica Alba playing a blind violinist who gets a cornea transplant and starts seeing visions of death and those whose lives it claims.  I have pretty much said all that can be said.

The Eye  \m/  \m/  \m/

Sunday night we watched The Golden Compass which was a really good fantasy based on the first book of Philip Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials (thanks Wikipedia!).  I really don’t want to go into much of the plot because it’s rather dense in its fantasy terms such as ‘demons’ which are literally spirit animals as opposed to evil minions and ‘dust’ which is more of a cosmic entity rather than mere dirt.

The Golden Compass  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/

Oh, and Molly was back to her ol’ spunky self by Sunday!

Yesterday I was all geared up and ready for the release on The Incredible Hulk on DVD.  I threw on one of several of my Hulk tees and darted off to Best Buy on my way to the office.  I picked up the 3-disc special edition and ran home to watch the alternate opening and deleted scenes on my lunch break (I love living near the station!).  The deleted scenes were awesome and added a great deal to the story but would have also added nearly an hour to the film!  The film itself, of course, is spectacular as it goes in an entirely different direction than Ang Lee’s 2003 film Hulk with a new origin and cast - and what a cast with Edward Norton leading Liv Tyler, Tim Roth and William Hurt!  HIGHLY recommended!  Don’t let the ‘03 version deter you in any way!

The Incredible Hulk  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

After getting to the office with my purchase in hand, I checked my mailbox and, behold, there was a copy of SKILLET’s new live CD/DVD Comatose Comes Alive!  Having seen SKILLET on the Comatose Tour back in May, this live package was a wonderful and dead-on recap of the concert experience!  SKILLET is one of very few Christian bands I have really admired over the past ten years or so.  Granted, in my high school days, there was a TON of Christian metal bands I loved!  So, if you haven’t been too enthused with the Christian ’scene’, check out SKILLET!  This live CD/DVD is a great introduction if you are not familiar with the band!

SKILLET  Comatose Comes Alive  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/

This past week was so exhaustive and nonstop that I decided to take it easy Saturday night (which means I owe major rainchecks to a few bands) and watched Untraceable with Rebecca on DVD.  The film wasn’t spectacular but it was what I was expecting so it didn’t disappoint me in any way.  You find out the killer’s identity rather early in the film which I appreciated because I am pretty tired of the whole lame ass twist of the killer being someone the main character worked with or someone they were close to the whole time.  Actually, that gimmick was really effective for a while but got played out in the 90s.  I’d say it’s worth a rental now that it’s been out on DVD for five months now!

Untraceable  \m/  \m/  \m/

My decision to stay in and rest Saturday night paid off for our trip to Charlotte yesterday to see TRIVIUM at Amos’ Southend.  I had managed to get us some meet and greet passes with the band before the show so Rebecca and I got on their tour bus for a brief talk, signing and photo session.  Although I’ve been in radio for nearly ten years, I still get all geeky and star-struck when I meet a band I really admire.

The show started promptly at 7 surprisingly as THE HUMAN ABSTRACT took the stage followed by 36 CRAZYFISTS.  TRIVIUM then erupted on stage following FOREIGNER’s “Jukebox Hero” playing over the PA (yeah I thought that was interesting myself) immediately followed by their intro music.  TRIVIUM blew me away with their intense stage performance as it was probably the best live metal show I have seen in YEARS!

Rebecca and I left after their set thus missing ALL THAT REMAINS but neither of us are very familiar with their material and we were both wanting to get home at a decent hour since today is the start of both of our work weeks.  We both love their new song “Two Weeks” and hope maybe we’ll get another opportunity to see them after getting more acquainted with their other songs.

Last night my hometown of Simpsonville played host to quite possibly the largest show Greenville County has seen in YEARS!  STAIND, SEETHER, PAPA ROACH and RED all came out to play at the new Heritage Park Amphitheater with a massive turnout.  It was amazing to me to see all these huge bands play just a mile or so from my birthplace, Hillcrest Hospital and my alma mater, Hillcrest High School (c/o ‘94 for those who wanted to know).  The amphitheater is an amazing structure located well off of Highway 418 and set within a beautiful scenic park that you just have to see to believe.  I was and still am floored!

This morning I ran to Best Buy to pick up a copy of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on DVD.  Of course I walk in and see the gift set including a mini crystal skull so I had to buy it!  My office looks like a shrine to comic book and sci-fi/adventure flicks!  Now I’m ready to go home and watch the new Indy flick!  I loved it despite the bad reviews it received in the theater!  It’s certainly not the best adventure of the series, but it’s a fun ride!

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull  \m/  \m/  \m/ \n

I’m sure you can tell by the title, this weekend was very active!  I think I did everything BUT sleep!  LOL!!!  As a matter of fact, I had to get up earlier this weekend than I do on weekdays!  Saturday I got up and got all cleaned up and put on my black button-up shirt with black tie and black khakis and headed for the grand reopening of BLVD Music looking like Johnny Cash.  Trevor had said that he had a surprise for me since I had been waiting on a new bass for like four months (being a lefty bassist is not easy!).

I got there early and the crowd was already growing.  I kept trying to get Trevor’s attention to find out what the surprise was but he was genuinely busy with all that was going on and I was glad to see that it was going to be a success BEFORE I even went on the air!  I finally was able to catch him for a few minutes so we could do the first on air break together and afterward he unveiled my surprise: a lefty Traben Chaos Obsession which had been custom ordered by THE AUTUMN OFFERING bassist Ritchie Williams who had ordered two but only kept one!  I was told that I was so excited I was shaking!  I didn’t notice because all my attention was on my new toy!

After all the excitement, I had the somber duty of paying my last respects to Mattman’s father, Phil Harris a.k.a. Diddy.  Even Matt got up and spoke during the eulogy without the help of anything written and he didn’t miss a beat.  He and his father were close and I honestly wish I had got to know Diddy better.  I would run into him from time to time while working in my office on the weekends and he was a true delight.  Seeing Phil made me not dread working on the weekends so much when I saw him.  He was truly a great man and I don’t say that just because he is no longer with us as many people do once someone has passed on.

After leaving the funeral service, I called Rebecca and we went back to Spartanburg so she could show some apartments.  Since we were in Spartanburg, we decided to head back to BLVD Music and partake in the reopening after-party.  Rebecca decided to be designated driver so I could have a drink to take a bit of the edge off from a fairly long day.  I had what they call a loaded Corona with Jose Cuervo Tequila mixed in.  Lemme go ahead and say I’m not a big fan but, as nasty as it was, its effect was more than satisfactory as one was all I needed!

Rebecca and I then headed home stopping by Blockbuster so I could use one of my Total Access trade-ins and picked up You Don’t Mess with the Zohan on DVD.  I saw it in the theater but Becca hadn’t seen it and we both were in the mood for a good ridiculous comedy and Zohan delivered!  Highly recommended!

You Don’t Mess with the Zohan  \m/  \m/  \m/

I am very excited being it is the first day of October, my favorite month of the year!  And it happens to come the day after a very eventful day being yesterday was both the day that Iron Man dropped on DVD and the day of Planet Birthday Bash XII!

I left my apartment yesterday morning and went straight to Best Buy to pick up a copy of their Iron Man Limited Edition DVD Gift Set which came with a collectible bust.  I then got to my office to open my new toy only to find that the bust was busted!  Iron Man lost his head!  Literally!  So I got back into my car, went and found some gas (which is a scarce commodity these days!) and went and exchanged my gift set.  I am proud to say Iron Man is now sitting on my desk with his head intact!

After work, Rebecca and I had to haul ass down to Clemson for our twelfth birthday bash with BUCKCHERRY, SHINEDOWN, SAVING ABEL and local favorites PARMALEE.  Unfortunately, I missed PARMALEE’s set but, thankfully, they are local and they frequent shows in town so I’ll have to make a rain check date!  I made it just in time to catch SAVING ABEL put on a great set followed by SHINEDOWN who has never disappointed me!

Turtle and I had the honor of going onstage to make the last announcements of the evening before BUCKCHERRY took the stage.  It was my first time seeing them so I guess you could say that BUCKCHERRY broke my cherry!  LOL!!!

We actually managed to make it home before midnight (well I did; Rebecca still had to pick up her car and head home from my apartment!) and I anxiously ran in to watch some special features (deleted/extended scenes mostly) on my Iron Man DVD and a few minutes of the movie before having to throw in the towel and hit the sack out of pure exhaustion!  Oh well, there’s still tonight!  It’s not like I haven’t seen the movie all the way through three times already!  Remember, I gave it a perfect score of five rockers!  In case you forgot, here it is again:

Iron Man  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/