Man, what a week this has been!  So much has transpired this week that it seems so unreal!  Our Governor Mark Sanford runs off to Argentina for some extramarital activities, Ed McMahon dies on Tuesday, Farrah Fawcett loses her fight with cancer followed by Michael Jackson’s succumbing to cardiac arrest yesterday.  WTF’s next?!

In light of all the events that have taken place in the world this week, my petty actions seem trivial.  However, it is my duty to share with you my twisted world despite how inconsequential it may be.  Having said that, I finally watched Role Models starring Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott as a couple of guys who are court ordered to do community service by being ‘Big Brothers’ to a couple of troubled youths.  I knew I would enjoy the film but I didn’t expect it to be as hilarious as it was!  You gotta see it!

Role Models  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

Wednesday morning I got up just a little earlier than normal to go catch the 9:30 a.m. showing of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.  Overall, I enjoyed the film though it wasn’t nearly as good as the first.  The sequel’s plot was weak, the dialogue was lame but the action and special effects were amazing!  The eye candy, for the most part, made up for the script’s shortcomings but I’m not sure I can forgive the writers for the characters of Mudflap and Skids whose comic relief was painfully awful as they reminded me of Jar Jar Binks from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - only times two!  Still, the film is worth taking in in the theater for all the eye candy: amazing special effects and MEGAN FOX!!!

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen  \m/  \m/  \m/ \n

After the movie, I met with Hugo Ferreira, frontman for TANTRIC and his record rep, Bebop for some lunch at P.F.Chang’s.  They were coming in to promote the band’s new single “Mind Control” and Hugo even came into the studio with me for a few when I went on the air.

Speaking of which, I gotta hit the airwaves and prep for my interview with former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted!  WOOHOO!!!

Saturday morning I had to get up relatively early and head to Greenwood with Dex for our remote at AT&T.  It was a very warm, sunny day and we got to meet a lot of Greenwood P1s!  Before leaving, I took advantage of being on location a few stores down from Marble Slab Creamery as I went in and had them make me a milkshake combining both cheesecake and blueberry ice creams flavors for a delicious blueberry cheesecake milkshake!  YUM!  Also before leaving, apparently Dex got bit by a fire ant, but I wasn’t aware of it until a few minutes ago when he showed me the red, swollen area on his left forearm!  I hate those things!

After the live broadcast at AT&T, I went to go see the new horror flick directed by Evil Dead/Spider-Man director Sam Raimi, Drag Me to Hell.  The movie is about a young woman who is trying to get promoted to assistant manager at a loan office.  Pressured to take charge in order to get the promotion, she denies an elderly gypsy woman a third extension on the mortgage on her house which is being foreclosed.  The woman then begins to beg thus making a scene forcing security to escort the old woman off the premises which brings shame to the gypsy and invokes anger and retribution in the form of a curse which summons a demon to come and drag the young woman to Hell to burn for eternity.

Granted the film is no Evil Dead or Spider-Man, but it is filled with numerous ‘jumping’ suspense scenes and a lot of ridiculous and gory elements you would expect from a Raimi film.  Plus, his trademark yellow Oldsmobile which shows up in all of his films (except for The Quick and the Dead since it was a western) is actually the vehicle driven by the elderly gypsy woman in the film.

Drag Me to Hell  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

The movie didn’t scare me as bad as I thought it would having come from a strict Southern Baptist upbringing where ‘fire and brimstone’ are common themes in their weekly sermons.  I think the ridiculous elements of the film helped take my focus off the grim horrific nature of the overall theme of the film.  This was a relief considering I am truly terrified of Hell and still sometimes feel like a wretched hellbound soul as a result of years of condemning and belittling sermons from my childhood church despite the fact I am a born again Christian who now attends a non-denominational community church.

However, the film did disturb me enough to choose a comedy for later that evening so I went to Blockbuster to trade Fanboys in for Paul Blart: Mall Cop starring Kevin James and my future wife Jayma Mays.  The film was a rather decent comedy about a mall cop (go figure!) who hasn’t been lucky in love but meets an attractive redhead in the mall who gets taken hostage on Black Friday by a group of thugs who are trying to rob the mall.  Of course, our hero takes charge and saves the day thus rescuing and getting the girl.

Paul Blart:  Mall Cop  \m/  \m/  \m

Sunday I just had lunch with my Aunt Pat, Uncle James Ray, cousin Ray and his wife Erin and their son Jay and then I came home to do some dishes and some laundry (I took out the trash on Saturday) and relaxed for most of the day.  I love being lazy on Sundays!

Last night, I ended up working over in the office for a little while after getting off the air.  Before leaving around 8:30, I called Happy Pie (insert shameless plug here) and ordered my usual, a medium mushroom and black olive pizza, then left out to pick it up.  As I picked up my order, I was talking to a young lady who works there out in the parking lot and noticed the oncoming storm approaching from the direction of my apartment.  So, I hurried over to my apartment so I could check my mail and pick up the copy of Fanboys I had waiting on me.

As I pulled into the complex, I stopped by the mailboxes and walked down the walkway towards my box on the left and noticed movement to my right out of the corner of my eye.  I looked down and saw a young copperhead striking at me!  The angry serpent struck at me two or three times as I backed away.

 I then called Rebecca who was already on her way to watch the movie with me and she had me call my property’s emergency maintenance.  In the meantime, I turned my car towards the walkway and my headlights apparently bothered the snake so it retreated into the pine needles.  When she got there, she called her cousin who happens to be a maintenance guy at my apartment complex and just happened to be on call so he had to brave the severe weather to make it in from his home in Piedmont!  She then played watchman for me so I could get into my mailbox to retrieve my mail without worrying about a venomous reptile nipping at my ankles!

We then went in before the weather hit the fan and popped in Fanboys, the long awaited comedy set in late 1998 about a group of Star Wars geeks who go on a mission to raid George Lucas’ famous Skywalker Ranch to steal an advanced copy of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.  The film was actually finished two years ago, but must have faced some distribution issues or something leading to its delayed release.  The movie was well worth the wait as it was filled with great geek-laden humor and numerous cameos including the one and only William Shatner who assists our heroes in infiltrating the mansion owned by the creator of his rival sci-fi franchise.  Did I mention great Trekkie fights?!

Fanboys  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

This morning I got up a bit early to head out to Pebble Creek Golf Course to witness the kick-off of the 6th Annual Rise Guys Big Ass Golf Outing.  After meeting and greeting with a few P1 golfers, I left for Hollywood 20 to catch the noon showing of Pixar’s Up in 3-D.  The film was another heartwarming animated feature from the premiere computer animation company.  However, I did not expect the film to have so many tear-jerking moments as I had to fight back tears at least three times, and not quite successfully each time!  Another wonderful story with even more lovable characters!  How does Pixar keep doing it?!

Pixar’s Up  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/

Wow what a week(end) this has been!  I took in some good movies, found a new bowling technique at the Rock ‘N’ Bowl, went to Morganton, NC and visited the renovated Frankie’s Fun Park!

Monday after work I went to Blockbuster to trade in a couple of my online flicks and picked up Passengers on DVD and Taken on Blu-ray.  I started with Passengers with Anne Hathaway which wasn’t nearly as suspenseful as the trailer leads you to believe.  The film is really slow paced with a decent payoff, but not enough to justify being dragged through most of the movie.  However, the ending did help make up for the rest of the film though it was an ending that was fairly predictable.

Passengers  \m/  \m/  \m/

Later in the week I watched Taken with Liam Neeson as a former spy whose daughter is kidnapped in Paris by an underground prostitution ring.  The film was quite impressive with Neeson’s character showing some even more impressive skills in the hunt for his daughter and her abductors.

Taken  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/

Friday night was the night of my personal favorite event in Test Fest, our annual celebration of manhood, the Rock ‘N’ Bowl.  When Rebecca and I got there, we were placed in the first two lanes which we had to ourselves so we took advantage of it and bowled to our hearts’ content!  We started playing off of some of the P1’s in the neighboring lanes and P1 Boss T and I started randomly coming up with ridiculous bowling techniques including the reverse Granny or as I call it the ‘Goose egg’ because you look like you’re laying an egg and you tend to come out with no pins taken down.  Then, as a joke, I grabbed a bowling bowl with both hands, held it up in front of my face just below eye level so I could aim the ball then thrust the ball forward with rather satisfying results.  Needless to say, I began using this technique since it seemed to be working for me and ended up setting a new personal record for myself with a score of 116 and later tied it!  I grabbed a video camera and had Rebecca film me using this grand technique so hopefully I’ll have it posted here soon!

I had to pack in right after bowling because I had to be in Morganton, NC by 11 the next morning for a remote at Carolina West Wireless.  Being we don’t get to Morganton very often, I had Sarah Berger throw in some extra Planet shirts because I knew the eager NC P1’s would be out in force - and they were!  It was great meeting some P1’s I normally wouldn’t get to run into around town so I was thankful for the trip!

When I got home, I ran to Best Buy and bought seasons 6 and 7 of Tales From the Crypt since they were on sale for $17.99 each!  Now I’m only missing season 5!  I went home and chilled in front of the tv since I needed the rest and didn’t sleep well the night before.  Which is odd, because if I didn’t have to get up early, I would have been out like a light!  Weird!  I also watched Underworld: Rise of the Lycans since I had picked that one up at Blockbuster when I returned the others.  This film serves as the prequel to the Underworld series with some of the original cast reprising their roles to tell the backstory of their characters.  Personally, I wasn’t blown away by the other Underworld films but I really liked this one.  Makes me want to go back and revisit the rest of the series with a renewed perspective!

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

Sunday I slept in getting some much needed rest and then went to Frankie’s Fun Park with Rebecca for the first time since they renovated the place.  We played various video games before going out for a round of miniature golf and laser tag.  I kicked her ass at miniature golf but got my ass handed to me in laser tag!  I’ve ALWAYS sucked at that!

Memorial Day I took in a double feature down at Hollywood 20 and saw Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and Angels & Demons.  The sequel to Night at the Museum was true to the first film, but seemed to lack the charm and wonder of the first installment.  Don’t get me wrong, it was still a fun and immensely enjoyable film.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

There was only about a twenty to thirty minute lay over before Angels & Demons started so I went and got some popcorn while waiting.  The sequel, which was actually written BEFORE The DaVinci Code and serves as a prequel in the novels, was many times a better film than The DaVinci Code.  The film seemed more sinister with the threat of a very old vengeful secret society known as the “Illuminati” attacking the Roman Catholic Church.  Plus the battle of religion vs. science actually showed much more reverence for the Catholic church than the other film thus stirring less controversy.

Angels & Demons  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/

I hope everyone went and saw their dear moms for Mother’s Day!  I did but I’ll get to that in a few.

First off, as I’m sure everyone knows, Star Trek opened on Friday so I went to check it out both before and after my air shift.  After work, I met up with my friend Steve who used to do maintenance at my apartment complex along with his brother-in-law Rich and Jeff and Willie from my band TRAGEDY CHAPTER to catch the 8 o’clock showing on Hollywood 20’s digital projector.

The film was great although I was a bit disappointed I think mainly because I had built it up in my head for many moons!  Still, the film was visually stunning and had a fairly unique and complex storyline.  Trekkies should not be disappointed though I, of course, am a Star Wars geek!

Star Trek  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/

Saturday I loafed around all day and watched Hotel for Dogs with Rebecca since she had it on her Netflix.  It was a cute movie filled with wondrous inventions and that tugs at the emotions of any dog lover - yeah, I may have shed a tear or two…..

Hotel for Dogs  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

Yesterday morning I got up rather early so I could make it to my childhood church where my cousin Ray was dedicating his 7-month-old son Jay.  When I got there, I saw people who have known me my whole life who looked at me as if I were some heathen who’s been out raping babies since I no longer go to their church - which, by the way, is hardcore Southern Baptist.  To top it off, I ran into the former pastor’s son who I went to high school with who also happens to work with my drummer Willie.  He said he had heard TRAGEDY CHAPTER’s music from Willie’s iPod and thought we sounded really good.  Then he had to announce immediately after that he doesn’t listen to my radio station anymore because we’re so ‘anti’ everything he believes in.  Okay, granted, we are a rock station that is predominately, well, sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll with songs like “Crazy Bitch” by BUCKCHERRY, “Bad Girlfriend” by THEORY OF A DEADMAN and “Figured You Out” by NICKELBACK but it’s not like EVERY song pertains to sex and it’s not like we’re advocating worshipping Satan, killing your mother or raping babies!  Now I know why I no longer go there and why so many of my colleagues and I go to a nondenominational church!

After getting home, Mom called me and said she was turning onto Woodruff Rd so I got in my Jeep to meet her at Cracker Barrel.  As soon as got in my car, she called back and said that there was a line of cars just trying to get a parking space.  I then asked her if she was that hungry to which she said she wasn’t so I told her to meet me at the station so I could go charge my iPod on the computer in my office since I don’t have one of my own!  When I got to the station I gave her the rose I got for her from church that morning and the $5 cake I got at the Wal-Mart on Pelham Rd with strawberry filling!  I then showed her around the station since she’s never been inside and then we went over to Best Buy for a little shopping.  She picked up Liar Liar and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford on DVD while I nabbed Night at the Museum on Blu-ray since the sequel is hitting theaters this summer and I haven’t seen my copy of the DVD since I moved into my apartment two years ago.

When then went to Cracker Barrel at about 2 in the afternoon after the worst of the crowd had died out.  We brought the cake in with us, had lunch and some tasty strawberry-filled Mother’s Day cake!  Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!  Love, your TWISTED son Todd!

I got the weekend off to a great start by taking a couple of hours out of the office Friday morning to go see X-Men Origins: Wolverine.  I actually didn’t have very high expectations for this one since it was a spin-off flick, but was pleasantly surprised.  The film actually did very well in telling the backstory of X-Men’s most popular character and keeping it fairly congruent to the other films.  And, despite comic fans’ disapproval, I thought Ryan Reynolds was great as Deadpool.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

Later that night I watched one of Rebecca’s Netflix movies, Choke based on the novel by Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk.  Granted Choke was no Fight Club by any means, but the film was still very complex and compelling - ok, the boobs helped!  Like Fight Club, there’s really no simple way to describe Choke.  Just go pick it up and watch it!

Choke  \m/  \m/  \m/  \

Saturday I got up early for my air shift and then hauled ass to Spartanburg for the Upstate Unsigned/BLVD Music stage at Spring Fling 2009.  I arrived just in time to see THE DIRTY EIGHTIES take the stage as they put on a great set including their cover of METALLICA’s classic “For Whom the Bell Tolls”.  Next was FROM TOMORROW as they brought some hard-hitting metal action to our stage.  THE VESSEL followed with their unique blend of rock and then handed the stage over to EVERY MANS ENEMY.  This was the first time I got to see EME with my friend Mikey playing guitar in the band and I was quite impressed as I knew I would be having briefly worked with Mikey myself.

We then had to take a break as the weather started to get a little rough as did certain dog show hosts.  So after dealing with rain and pissies, DECADENCE took the stage and put on a great show that included a cover of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE’s “The End of Heartache”.  Wrapping up the night was NOXIOUS who took advantage of the extra time we had been given due to the circumstances of the day.  They ended with their cover of TOOL’s “Schism” after dealing with some technical issues.  So, outside of weather, technical difficulties and a few unpleasant dog lovers (don’t get me wrong, I love dogs myself but DAMN!), I had a great time as we had a great turn-out with some great bands gracing our stage!

Yesterday I stayed in except for a quick trip to Blockbuster to do one of my in-store trade-ins on my online account and picked up The Uninvited, another foreign remake only this time the original was Korean as opposed to Japanese.  A tormented girl returns home from a mental institution after witnessing her mother perish in a fire only to find her father is shacking up with her mother’s caretaker.  With the deadly vixen threatening to take over her home, she teams up with her sister to investigate the woman’s past.  I would like to say I saw the ending coming, but no, I did not by a long shot.  Great story with an incredible twist ending!

The Uninvited  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m

Man, I gotta say the past week has been insane!  Monday, I had a phone interview with Richard Patrick, frontman for FILTER as they are getting ready to invade the Bi-Lo Center as one of twelve bands at the first ever Greenville Crawfish Boil Fiday and Saturday May 15th and 16th.  We talked about everything from his early days in NINE INCH NAILS to his brother, actor Robert Patrick to being attacked while overseas playing for the troops.

The very next day I had the one and only Vinnie Paul, brother of the late Dimebag Darrell Abbott of PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN, call in to promote the new SEVENTH VOID cd featuring Kenny Hickey and Johnny Kelly of TYPE O NEGATIVE as they are signed to his very own label, Big Vin Records (BVR).  He also happened to mention the new HELLYEAH disc which is currently in the works as they will be hitting the studio soon.

The day after that, I had a phone interview with Cody Hanson, drummer from HINDER as they, too, will be performing at the Greenville Crawfish Boil.

And, to top it all off, for the fourth day in a row I was exposed to killer rock musicians on Thursday as the Planet played host to a very special P1 Lounge featuring Dexter and Noodles from THE OFFSPRING!  Before their acoustic performance at 5, they stopped in the studio for an interview, a text Q and A session and even a few requested tunes from the guys themselves.  They were amazing to talk with and Dexter’s voice is great live!

If you want to hear all these great interviews and such in their entirety, simply go to newrock933.com, hit the ‘New Rock Music’ tab and click on ‘Planet on Demand’…..or simply click here.

Wednesday night after work I ran to my toy store, Best Buy to spend a little money since I had just got paid.  I needed a new video game so I ran in and grabbed Lego Indiana Jones since I loved Lego Star Wars.  So far, I’ve got through the six levels for the Raiders of the Lost Ark portion of the game. 

Friday night I went to the movies to go see the new horror flick The Haunting in Connecticut.  Not a bad film as far as genuine scares go, but didn’t live up to all the hype I’ve heard about it.  Still, like I said, good for a scare!

The Haunting in Connecticut  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

Saturday, I had Willie, my drummer in TRAGEDY CHAPTER, come by my apartment and help me load my Gallien-Krueger Backline 4×10 and Peavey 1×15 bass cabinets in my new Jeep Compass so I could run them up to BLVD Music and trade them in for a new bass cabinet.  BLVD was having their awesome Red Tag Sale going on so I got a great deal on a brand new SWR WorkingPro 4×10 bass cabinet…..with wheels!!!!  So, needless to say, it was much easier getting it to my ride and back into my apartment than the other two cabinets were!

After dropping my sweet new bass cabinet off at my apartment, I ran to the mall to pick up some new threads.  I nabbed a Watchmen T-shirt from Hot Topic with Rorschach on it and a couple of new wristbands with four-leaf clovers on them that were on clearance for a buck each!

Yesterday I slept in a bit but managed to make it to the noon service at Brookwood Church.  When the service was over, I ran up to their bookstore to get one of the necklaces they had symbolizing the messages in the Easter series: He came, He died, He rose, He ascended and He’s coming back.

As you can tell, I love getting paid - especially when I don’t have a car payment this month!  I suppose that accident was a blessing in disguise!

Ok, bear with me, my weekend was not all bad!  Friday night, Rebecca and I went out to go see the new animated flick Monsters Vs. Aliens featuring the voices of Reese Witherspoon and Seth Rogen.  The film was very creative, well animated and incredibly funny with humor relevant for all ages.  Plus we watched the movie in 3D so that was an added bonus!  Highly recommended!

Monsters Vs. Aliens  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/

Saturday was mostly a lazy day as Rebecca brought some of her Netflix over and we watched Seven Pounds with Will Smith.  Smith plays a troubled IRS agent who is seeking to help change the lives of seven strangers each with very different circumstances in an attempt to pay some penance for something he had done.  Very well written and touching film that stands alone with its one-of-a-kind story.

Seven Pounds  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

Afterwards, we went out to go feed the ducks and geese some of the leftover loaf bread in the bottom of my refrigerator.  As we were feeding them, one angry duck came towards us hissing so we backed away until it diverted its attention elsewhere!  We then finished feeding them and went on our merry way.

Sunday morning I got up and got ready to go to church for the first time in months.  Rebecca said she wanted to go so I left a bit early to go pick her up at her new house in Mauldin.  On our way to church, a woman in an SUV pulled right out in front of us and I had little time to react as I slammed on brakes before making the imminent impact.  The car slammed headfirst into the SUV’s driver side door deploying both of my front airbags and her side airbag.  When the chaos was over and I realized everyone was okay, I had to resist the urge to lash out in anger since the woman had obviously not been paying attention when she pulled out.

I got out and tried to get my scrambled head together so I could call 9-1-1.  The paramedics and police came out followed by a tow truck to take away my car which was, needless to say, undriveable as it was bleeding a concoction of fluids.  I then called my mom to come pick me and Rebecca up and take us back to her house so she could take me home.  On the way to my apartment, we stopped and got lunch to go.  When we reached my apartment, I realized I had left my cell phone in my mom’s car.  So, after we ate lunch, I had Rebecca take me to my mom’s house and back so I could have my cell phone.  After that, I stayed in having had enough for one day!

Today I woke up not in as much pain as I had expected since I had beat up my left forearm pretty good in addition to the airbag burn on it (Rebecca had pretty bad bruises from her seatbelt on her chest and stomach).  I had called Stoneman from ROCK 101 the day before to see if he would give me a lift to work and he agreed so he got me here this morning.  Upon getting in the office, I called my insurance company after having made the claim yesterday after the accident using their 24 hour customer service.  I was able to get an approved body shop to pick up the vehicle from the towing service for an estimate as well as a ride to get a rental car.

So now I’m cruising in a rental car waiting to hear what the fate of my car is going to be…..

Well, my vacation is now officially over and I am pleased to say that I did next to nothing for an entire week!  After getting off work Friday before last, Rebecca and I went out to catch the remake of Wes Craven’s 1972 shock horror flick The Last House on the Left.  This was the rare exception to the rule that the remake is never better than the original since the original in this case was more cheesy than it was shocking.  Granted, it had its shocking moments especially considering it came out four years before I was born!  The updated version is brutal and without the lame ass music and goofy characters like the dimwitted deputy from the original.  Overall, the new version can be taken much more seriously than its predecessor.

The Last House on the Left  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

The weekend was rather uneventful save for some unwanted drama the details of which I will not fully disclose at this time.  Monday was Rebecca’s 26th birthday so I went out trying to find her a gift.  Having no clue what to get her, I ran to Blockbuster to trade in a couple of movies from my online account.  While I was there, I saw a copy of the graphic novel of Watchmen.  After leaving, I realized how much I really wanted to read the graphic novel so I went to Barnes & Noble to pick up a copy and did some shopping for Rebecca while I was there.

When Rebecca got off work, she came over and I snuck out to grab her a birthday cake last minute.  We just stayed in since she’d had a rough day at work and watched one of the movies I’d picked up that day, Lakeview Terrace with Samuel L. Jackson.  The movie was pretty much what I had expected as Jackson’s character is a cop who terrorizes his new neighbors, an interracial couple he more than disapproves of.  Not bad.  Worth a rental.

Lakeview Terrace  \m/  \m/  \m/

Tuesday, of course, was St. Patty’s Day, so I greened up and went out to BLVD Music to see the legendary Victor Wooten give a free bass guitar clinic with his new Hartke rig.  After that, I had to haul ass to get to band practice and rip on bass myself….well, maybe not to the degree that Mr. Wooten does!  LOL!!!

Wednesday I had to get up early and take care of some unpleasant duties and then went home, changed clothes and went to Hollywood 20 to see Watchmen a second time - something I do when I really love a movie!  Then, later that night, as if I hadn’t had enough movie-watching since Watchmen is nearly three hours long, I watched the other movie I picked up from Blockbuster Monday, Zack and Miri Make a Porno.  As usual, when Kevin Smith directs a good dirty comedy, it’s a hit!  Factor in his usual great casting and throw in Seth Rogen to lead, oh yeah!  I don’t really need to summarize the film since the title says it all!

Zack and Miri Make a Porno  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

Thursday I slept in and was just lazy watching tv, reading, etc.  Jeff, my guitarist, was exhausted so we called off band practice.  I went out into the wonderful springtime rain and grabbed a burger and a hot dog from Dawg’s since I’d never actually been there and I had their menu ever since I moved into Roper Mountain Woods!  I brought them home and enjoyed them in front of the tv and watched one of Becca’s Netflix movies, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.  I wasn’t a big fan of the first two films and I liked this one even less with Mario Bello taking over for Rachel Weisz’s character.  It wasn’t that her performance was bad, but it wasn’t Weisz and I feel she tried too hard to be Weisz.  Again, great special effects tainted by cheesy dialogue.  Take it or leave it.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor  \m/  \m/  \n

Friday I went back to Blockbuster for another online trade-in and then met up with Jeff who’d had a great night’s sleep since he was able to go to bed early for a change.  We met at Stax Omega and just sat, had lunch and discussed various issues going on.  I went home and watched my movie, Hulk Vs., a two-in-one animated feature where my favorite comic book character takes on Wolverine and Thor.  Not bad considering animated comic book features are usually fairly cheesy.

Hulk Vs.  \m/  \m/  \m

Saturday I actually spent a little bit of time with Rebecca and went with her to Big O’ Dodge to do some potential carhunting for her.  I was surprised to be approached by none other than Jake Odom as he actually knew who I was.

Sunday, being my last day to do nothing, I did just that!  I slept in and stayed in my boxers all day!  No, I won’t post a pic of THAT!!!  I’d like to have you continue reading my blogs!

Ok, I know my week of vacation was not exciting but it was everything I needed it to be: restful and lazy!

Well it’s been another interesting week in the neighborhood!  Wednesday night, STEEL PANTHER came by the Planet studios to lay down a few acoustic songs as well as some great on air content with Dex.  If you’re not yet familiar with this band you should make it a point to check them out by going to their myspace page here!  Parental advisory there kids!  VERY explicit lyrics!  Think of them as the SPINAL TAP for this generation!

Today, of course, I took the morning off from the office to go check out Watchmen, the new film based on the critically acclaimed graphic novel.  This is not a comic book film for the kids as it does have an ‘R’ rating due to a good amount of graphic violence and sexuality….and the fact that one of the main characters is fully naked throughout most of the film!  Before you guys get excited, I am actually referring to a male character!  Despite being subjected to Dr. Manhatten’s naughty bits, the film is a great, action-packed thrill ride with a grim, morally gray ending that will leave many uncomfortable.  And Rorschach f’in rules!

Watchmen  \m/  \m/  \m/  \m/  \n

Watchmen is the first of many movies on my list for ‘09 and serves as a precursor to the upcoming summer blockbusters.  May usually brings the most heat and this year it will waste no time starting with X-Men Origins: Wolverine on the 1st followed by the movie I am anticipating the most, J.J. Abrams’ take on Star Trek with Zachary Quinto (”Sylar” from NBC’s “Heroes”) as a well-suited choice for “Spock” hitting theaters the following week on the 8th.

To keep this from being a mile-long blog entry, here’s a list of highlighted must-sees according to the Great Twisted:

 X-Men Origins: Wolverine - May 1

Star Trek - May 8

Terminator Salvation - May 21

Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian - May 22

Pixar’s Up - May 29

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - June 24

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - July 17

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra - August 7

Let me point out that many of these are either live-action versions of TV shows or comic books, sequels or BOTH!  Not to mention the ones I didn’t list and will probably pass on like Dragonball Evolution which opens April 8th.  The Hollywood trend is nuts but, for the most part, I’m lovin’ it!