20sb Blog Carnival: Looking Back

The great minds over at Twentysomething Bloggers have decided to restart the "Blog Carnival." For those of you who don't know what the Blog Carnival is, basically it's a time where the team at 20sb picks a topic or theme and the 20sb community writes about it. Pretty straightforward, no?

Well the topic for this month's Blog Carnival is "looking back." The goal being to see who we were when we first started blogging. We were asked to pick a post or two from our first two months of blogging, but I'm going to cheat a little bit -- kinda. You see, the first 2 months of the EAP's existence was pretty rough. Back in 2001, 18 year old Terence wasn't too high on writing for anyone other than himself and it shows. So in an effort to ignore my horrendous early writings (not that I'm much better now), I'm going to pull a post from August 2005 -- a little more than a month after I decided that the EAP could stand on it's own as a proper blog. It's in it's original form, so please forgive any spelling or grammatical errors.

But before we get into that, I just want to remind everyone once again that “This post is a part of 20SB’s Looking Back Blog Carnival, and Ben & Jerry’s is awarding free ice cream to lucky bloggers and readers!” What's that you say? I didn't mention anything about Ben & Jerry's offering FREE ICE CREAM to lucky bloggers and readers? You mean I forgot to tell you guys about the FREE ICE CREAM Ben and Jerry's is offering in celebration of their newest product FLIPPED OUT ICE CREAM? Hmm. Guess it must have slipped my mind...

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Oh I'd love to haul 'em all down around Spartanburg...
originally posted August 31, 2005

During the summer I went up north and visited family in New York. I had a good time, but I wouldn't trade it for living in the south. They would ask me multiple times if I would want to live up there, and my response usually was, "It's nice and fun to visit, but you guys are just packed on top of each other a lil too much for my liking. Plus I'm not a fan of this whole lack of grass thing." I would tell them about how nice Greenville is and how even though I HATE Columbia and Charleston, they're really nice areas to live too. They heard my stories of walking around barefoot at my leisure or being able to park almost anywhere without having to look for change for a parking meter. It wasn't something I talked about all the time, but I'm sure I made a lasting impression.

Well now I have an Uncle who's looking into relocating his family down here. Him, his wife, and my cousin Whitney all came down here Sunday night and I've been floored as to how much they love the stuff I hyped up before, but how much they are just in awe of the things I take for granted. Half of the trip back from train station in Florence was spent either being amazed that there weren't any bars on the storefront windows at 4am or how goregous the stars looked. Two things I see all the time and really don't notice.

Then they were just amazed at how we do things down here. They went on a school tour of one of the middle schools in the area and they were just amazed at how polite and nice everyone was. I think they were floored at the fact that at 2:50 in the afternoon the school principal was willing to take them on a tour of the school. They even loved how nicely they were treated when visiting USC-Sumter and USC-Columbia. They said that in Brooklyn there's no way people would take that much time out of their day to give them all of the information they receieved and to give them guided tours. Between giving them promotional CDs, allowing them to set up audition times in advance, to just general paperwork they got more than enough information. To quote my aunt, "You just don't get treated like that for no reason in Brooklyn."

Even the landscape floored them. They loved the way houses were built, how all of the schools were beautiful, and how everyone had plenty of grass. They even loved how Columbia is set up in that all of the high rises and office buildings are in the hidden in the center of the city. Which is amazing, because I HATE how Columbia is set up (Main St. anyone?), but coming from New York, I guess its a step up.

Then there were the little things, like how people would park a convertible with the top down and not think anything of it. Heck, it took my Aunt about 3 days before she finally realized she could leave her bag in my car without anyone bothering it. I think it took me mentioning how I never took off my CD Player faceplate, even though we'd been in Sumter, Columbia, Florence and everywhere in between.

And even though they developed an unhealthy obessions for Waffle House (seriously, I went more times to the Waffle HouseS in Sumter than I had in my entire life. And in the past week I'm halfway to matching my number of sober trips that don't involve strippers or coming back from a Bowl Game blowout (damn the '02 Tangerine Bowl sucked)), they love all of the food. And the beauty. And the lack of traffic. Looks like the South has converted another select few.

But let's not shout this from the mountaintops. Like they said, "We gotta keep this quiet. New Yorkers get wise to this they'll all be down here." Very true. I don't know about ya'll, but I can do without Dollar Vans running around in the middle of downtown Charleston.

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Dollar Van - Wikipedia

Sunday Night Selections: King of Pop Edition

This was one of the few weeks where I actually had a SnS post ready to go ahead of time. Though due to recent events, I think everyone will understand my decision to just run that post next week...

I don't have many words to add here. And even if I did, they would be unnecessary. We all know who Michael Jackson was and what he became. We all know what he did and what he was accused of doing. This post isn't about any of that. This is a post about his music. No matter who you are or what your musical preferences may be, there's a Michael Jackson song (or three) that you enjoy. So if you do choose to leave a comment or wall post, please try to keep it music-related.

R&B/Rap
The Game ft Diddy, Chris Brown, Polow Da Don, Mario Winans & Boyz II Men - "Better On The Other Side" (Michael Jackson Tribute)
A little too soon? Possibly. I'm not questioning the motives of anyone involved with the track though -- especially Chris Brown. Mr. Brown probably owes 90% of his career to Michael Jackson.


R&B/Pop
The Jackson 5 - "Sugar Daddy"
My love for music probably stems from my mom. She was an avid collector of music and to this day still has crates, boxes, and containers full of old vinyl records. One day when she was cleaning up, I remember her calling me over and asking me to listen to a record. After the song was finished, she asked if I knew who the little boy singing was. Being all of 4 or 5 years old, I had no clue who. After a few unsuccessful guesses, she told me that it was Michael Jackson. I remember being a little dumbfounded, as it didn't sound like the Michael I knew, but she assured me that's who it was. She then told me about how he started out singing with his brothers back in the 60s when she was a little girl. Over the years, my sister and I have broken, scratched, and lost many of my mom's old records, but this the one I always keep an eye out for. It's kind of special to me -- I feel like it's my connection to my mom's youth.
Watch A Live Performance

Pop
Michael Jackson - "Dirty Diana"
If I was teenager in 1987, I'm almost certain that I would have worn out my cassette tape due to the amount of times I would have rewound "Dirty Diana." The guitar combined withMJ's vocals does something for me.
Watch The Video

Pop
Michael Jackson - "Leave Me Alone"
I find it odd that this song never got any love. Not only is it great, but I feel like it's one of the few times Mike spoke from the heart.
Watch The Video

Originally featured April 29, 2007
Retro
Rockwell featuring Michael Jackson - "Somebody's Watching Me"
The only song I know where Michael Jackson plays second banana.
Watch The Video

Song of the Summer 1992
Pop
Michael Jackson - "Jam"
I'll be honest, I've never been too fond of this song. I can't understand the lyrics, the premise of the video isn't my favorite, and it got waaaay too much radio airplay back in the day. Even so, it is the song I remember most from the summer of 1992 -- a summer that was fairly good to 9 year old Terence. I spent my days at the Boys and Girls Club, I got a Super Nintendo (along with Street Fighter II), and I went to Washington D.C. Like a few other songs after it, it may not be the greatest song, but it does warrant a special mention as it serves as a "mental reminder" for a particular time in my life.
Watch The Video

Pop
Michael Jackson - "Smooth Criminal"
I can't count how many times I tried to lean forward like Michael and wound up face first on the floor.
Watch The Video

Even though "Beat It" is my favorite song from Thriller, I'd be a bad fan if I didn't include this one here...

Pop
Michael Jackson - "Thriller"
Watch The Video

Gracias.

#71

71. Watch "Ghostbusters" in a movie theater [link]

OK. So I didn't see Ghostbusters in a movie theater, but I feel like an outdoor screening counts just the same. There was a fairly large sized screen, a fantastic sound system, and great seats (that is if you don't mind sitting in grass). I'm counting it.

This was my first time seeing Ghostbusters on a screen larger than 25", and while it wasn't the greatest experience ever, I had a decent enough time...

The Central Georgia Ghostbusters were on hand, taking pictures with kids and interacting with the crowd. A great set of guys who did an awesome job carrying on the spirit of the Ghostbusters...even if their "No Ghost" patches are on the wrong shoulder.

The CGB's Ecto-1G - a modified Dodge Magnum, equipped with light bar, lambo doors, and 22" rims. It's not quite Ecto-1, but man if it doesn't look fly. Very Atlanta-ish.

The CGB's also brought their proton packs to the showing. They didn't let the kiddies get too close without supervision (for fear of all of the molecules in their body exploding at the speed of light) but as I am a "responsible adult," I was able to get close enough to snap a few pics.

"They showed Ghostbusters at 'Screen on the Green'? Wow. Normally they show bad movies like 'Footloose'."
- @shawnpbutler
They probably would have shown "Footloose" if my fellow Ghostheads didn't vote for it. Much love to fansites like Proton Charging that got the word out. I promise you, I wouldn't have made the trip to go see "Big" or "The Princess Bride."

At 7:oo there was already a ton of people packed onto The Great Lawn of Atlanta's Centennial Park. There were just as many people behind and to the side of me. Considering that it was a beautiful day and they were showing a classic movie, I can't say I was too surprised.

By the time the sun fell and the movie started, the place was PACKED. Finding a clear spot of grass to claim became an adventure in and of itself.

I really wanted a good clear shot ot the title screen with the ATL Skyline behind it, but my camera didn't want to cooperate with me. Way to let me down Nikon.

All in all, I had a good time. It probably would have been better if I haven't been OD'ing on all things Ghostbusters for the past three weeks. Well that and if people knew how to raise their damn kids. Litte bad ass muthaf...

Why Didn't Anyone Tell Me About This?

Rise From Your Grave

Hells Yeah.

After a 15 month absence, Atlanta finally has a good alternative station again.

Mini-Review: Ghostbusters: The Video Game

Since I was asked to do one of these...

Game: Ghostbusters: The Video Game
System: Nintendo Wii
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Red Fly Studios
Released: June 2009

Twenty years after the Ghostbusters' last outing, the boys in grey are back in action to save the city of New York (and by extension, the rest of the world) from a disaster of biblical proportions. For all intents and purposes, Ghostbusters: The Video Game is the third movie. The script was written by Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd, creators of the franchise and almost of the original actors have returned to reprise their roles. Bill Murray is back as Dr. Peter Venkman, William Atherton returns as EPA Chairman Walter Peck, and Annie Potts once again plays the role of the Ghostbusters' lovely secretary Janine. The only noticable holdouts from the movies are Sigourney Weaver (Dana Barrett) and Rick Moranis (Louis Tully). No bother though as new character Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn (voiced by Alyssa Milano) does a fantastic job of filling the role left vacant by Weaver's absence while injecting "new blood" into the Ghostbusters canon. With these key pieces of the puzzle in place, there's no doubting that this game was going to be every Ghostbusters fan dream come true, regardless of the quality of gameplay, but how does it actually measure up? Well, long story short, surprisingly well.

When you start Ghostbusters, you're immediately cast into the role of the unnamed "Rookie." Sure, everyone dreams of being Dr. Peter Venkman, but this creative decision was made to allow for the core Ghostbusters to interact with each other without interrupting the flow of the game. Think of it as a move made to "preserve the funny." Besides, as the rookie Ghostbuster, you get to play the role of "Experimental Equipment Technician" -- meaning you get to play with the cool, new upgrades created for the Proton Pack. I'd say that's a fair trade off.

Once the action starts, Ghostbusters quickly becomes a fun romp that doesn't steer too far away from its source material. No matter what version of the game you play, you're going to spend much of your time chasing ghosts while piecing the plot together, but there are subtle differences that separate the Wii version from its next gen cousins. By large, both versions of the game play the same, but whereas Ghostbusters on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 have action heavy moments that pay homage to games like Gears of War, the Wii version has moments lifted straight out of The Legend of Zelda, where a greater emphasis is placed on solving puzzles. Taken out of context, that may sound like an odd design decision, but trust me, it works. Developer Red Fly even found a way to sensibly tie these decisions into the Ghostbusters universe. Ecto-Goggles doubling as a Lens of Truth...sure, works for me. Nintendo-based inspiration aside, there's still plenty of ghosts to bust along as well as a handful of major bad guys to take down. No fear Wii owners, you've still got a date with Mr. Stay Puft.

Who Ya Gonna Call?

In terms of controlling the action, the Wii version of Ghostbusters controls very much like how you would expect it to. All of your character's movement are controlled by the analog stick on the Nunchuck Controller, while the firing of your Proton Pack is handled by aiming the Wii Remote at the screen. It's a setup very reminiscent of the controls in most major PC first-person shooters and it works extremely well. My only complaint with this control set up is that your character's point of view is tied to the Wii Remote's IR sensor. What this means is that you'll be pointing the Wii Remote at the screen for the entire adventure. Some people prefer this method, as they feel it provides for a greater sense of accuracy. Me? I'm a lazy gamer and would much rather play with my hands in my lap. To each their own.

An area (more like, THE area) where the Wii version of Ghostbusters: The Video Game stutters a bit is in presentation. To put it blatantly, this version of Ghostbusters pales in comparison to the 360 and PS3 versions. Some of the dialogue recorded for the next-gen version of the game is conspicuously absent on the Wii and many levels are made out of fairly simple looking polygons with little to no textures. It's common knowledge that Red Fly did the best they could given the Wii's hardware limitations, but given how good Wii games like Twilight Princess, Super Mario Galaxy, and The Conduit look, you have to wonder exactly how hard they tried. On the flip side, Red Fly did manage to preserve the destructible environments found in the other versions and their characterizations of the Ghostbusters are very, very well done, with them falling somewhere between the look of The Real Ghostbusters and The Incredibles.

Even with its presentation issues, Ghostbusters: The Video Game for the Wii is a solid product. Not only does it include almost everything Ghostbusters fans have wanted from a licensed Ghostbusters game, but it also does so while taking advantage of the Wii's strengths. I'll admit it, the first time I fired off a proton stream from the Wii Remote or slid out a Ghost Trap via the Nunchuck, I smiled from ear to ear. If only Red Fly could have found a way to recreate sliding down the pole... Realization of childhood dreams aside, don't be afraid to give Ghostbusters for the Wii a spin. Sure, when stacked side by side with the next gen versions its shortcomings are apparent, but that doesn't make it a bad game by any means.

If playing through the next-gen versions is equivalent to seeing Ghostbusters III at the theater on opening night, look at playing it on the Wii as watching it at home on cable. Sure, some things will be edited out and the sound won't be as good, but in the grand scheme of things, you're still getting the same story AND saving $20 in the process.

Final Verdict: If you're a Ghostbusters fan, you already own this so continue to enjoy your purchase. If not, you may want to give this one a rental. It's a little on the short side -- an experienced gamer can finish the main mission in 6-8 hours -- with little incentive for repeat play throughs. The Wii's exclusive 2 player co-op mode may have you coming back for more, but that's highly unlikely. Make no mistake about it, this game (as well as the next-gen versions) is a love letter to Ghostbusters fans. If you can't name the forms of Gozer off the top of your head, renting or waiting for a price drop might be in your best interests.

Sunday Night Selections

"The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind. The kind that blind side you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday." - Baz Luhrmann

The music's a little late this week, but that's what happens when real life intervenes. I came home Wednesday for an unexpected funeral and wound up staying a few extra days to help my family with a couple other unexpected things. Fun times, fun times. But all of those thing look to be in the past now as life appears to be smoothing itself back out. As such, let's check out what songs have been getting a decent amount of airplay from me.

Rock
The Killers - "A Dustland Fairytale"
In looking through my archives, I was really surprised to see that I hadn't featured this song. There was a stretch of time during December where I listened to this song almost daily. Wintery goodness aside, "A Dustland Fairytale" stands out for being one of the few songs on Day and Age that explicitly tells a story. "Fairytale" tells the story of the parents of Brandon Flowers, lead singer of The Killers. The couple met in a trailer park as young kids in the 60's and have been together ever since. Unfortunately, while the couple has had a good life together, it doesn't look as if this fairytale will have a happy ending as Flower's mother has been battling brain cancer for the past few years. Surprisingly, with all this back story built into the song, the video goes in a completely different direction...
Watch The Video

Rock
TV on the Radio - "Wolf Like Me"
I have this bad habit of buying multiple albums at a time and then not listening to them all. Back in '98, I picked up Jewel's "Spirit" along with three other albums. I've listened to the other albums multiple times over, but I still don't think I've given "Spirit" a full run through. In more recent news, I picked up Ghostland Observatory's "Robotique Majestique," Straylight Run's "The Needles, The Space," and TV on the Radio's "Return to Cookie Mountain." Looking at the song that's being featured, it's not hard to guess which of those three didn't get a listen to until recently. On the whole, "Return to Cookie Mountain" is an OK album. I'm not a huge TV on the Radio fan, but I felt like the album was missing some of the "oomph" that kept "Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes" in my car stereo way longer than it should have been. Even so, there's a handful of really solid tracks on there -- "Wolf Like Me" being the best of the bunch.
Watch The Video

Song of the Summer 2K9 #10
Pop
Lady Gaga - "LoveGame"
My life would be 1000x better if I could just get this song out of my head. And if Lady Gaga would put on some pants.
Watch The Video

SnS Rewind - originally posted April 20, 2009
New Wave
Metric - "Help, I'm Alive"
For an indie chick, Emily Haines stays busy. She has her own band (The Soft Skeleton), collaborates with other groups fairly often, and still finds time to perform in Metric. Metric is probably the band she's "most known" for, but that's not saying too much. This track is a little different from normal Metric fare, but its still pretty cool. If you ever liked Garbage but secretly wished that they weren't so edgy, this will probably be up your alley.
Watch The Video

Seeing as how She was trying to influence my SnS picks this week, I figured I'd toss her a bone. I haven't listened to this track (yet), so if it sucks take it up with her.

Independently Codependent Track of the Week
Rock
Coconut Records - "Nighttiming"
Watch A Video

The MBA Oath

A some point in the past year, Max Anderson, a student at Harvard Business School, and a team of fellow students came up with the idea for an "MBA Oath." The goal of Anderson and his colleagues was to create an oath similar in purpose to those taken by students of law and medicine, one that would outline the values and ideals to which a manager should commit. [A short version of the MBA Oath can be found HERE.] By graduation, they aimed to have at least a 100 of their fellow classmates sign on to follow and abide by the guidelines set forth in the oath. Things wound up working out for the better as by May, they had over 700 signatures from not only Harvard Business School students, but from MBAs, past and present, the world over. At the time of this post, the list is more than 1,100 names* strong.

In the face of economic turmoil and the ongoing global recession, news like this should be a good thing. The Millennial Generation of MBAs is already stepping up to the mic and saying, "Hey, we won't do what "those guys" did. Promise." And while that is fine and dandy, I question not only the point of this oath but also how closely those who sign it will adhere to it.

On paper, the MBA Oath looks good and it sounds even better when it's read aloud. The cracks in the oath's armor don't become apparent until you consider the broad scope of it. Anyone involved with a business, from the custodian to the CEO, will tell you that it's extremely difficult if not impossible to "safeguard the interests of shareholders" while trying to "create sustainable economic, social, and environmental prosperity worldwide." Even if the stars aligned and a manager was able complete such a task, he wouldn't be in business for long. There's always someone out there willing to forgo the interests of one group in favor the other.

Then there's the issue of what signing this oath means for MBAs, or better yet, what it doesn't mean...

"There's no cost," says Scott Holley, a 2009 Harvard grad who is both an oath signer and skeptic. "You say the oath, and you're done." He doesn't see the code having "any type of an impact on people's behavior." Holley also worries that the oath could become another symbol of MBA hypocrisy if one of the signers turns out to be a bad egg—which he sees as a distinct possibility. The only people likely to sign the oath, he says, are those with no intention of complying, or those who don't need an oath to make them honest.
- BusinessWeek

Mr. Holley makes a good point. Outside of the obvious legal ramificiations, there's no reprocussions for going against the oath. Unlike medicine or law, where one can lose their license for going against "the code," nothing happens when you run your business poorly. Sure you may be fired and have your name drug through the mud a bit, but in the long run things generally work out fine.

But stepping back for a second and looking at the oath as a whole, it's not about keeping those who do a poor job of managing out of positions of power and influence. It's about establishing a code of ethics and expected behavior for those in positions of power and influence. In that regard, I can't knock the oath (even with its flaws) too much. Much of the oath does discuss doing only what's ethically right as the means of achieving business success. It's an honest start to solving the problem that caused the situation we're in now.

It's a shame that we even got to this point though. We shouldn't be at a place where people have to stand up and say "I'm ethical!" If you're smart enough to run a business, you should be smart enough to know that lying, cheating, and stealing is a bad thing...

Nevermind.

*Mine is not one of them. I don't need to attach my name to an oath that in the grand scheme of things means very little. I know how to behave myself.

Rescinded

This post originally started out as part of another post, but it sorta took on a life of its own. As such, I'm going to join this post already in progress...

Since I'm on the subject of job hunting, I've got an interesting story to share. A couple of weeks ago, an employer found my resume and invited me in for a chance to interview for their marketing director position. Why? Who knows as that's not my strongest area, but whatever. As I was getting ready to head to Atlanta that day, I quickly responded to his email and went on about my way. However when I got home some 8 hours later, I was surprised to see that he hadn't responded to my email. The next day, I decided that I would follow up with him -- just to make sure that my email was received.

Well, before I sat down to draft that email, I figured that I should probably check my SPAM folder first, just in case his reply wound up there. Sure enough, Yahoo! had decided that his reply wasn't worth reading. (A little foreshadowing by Yahoo! perhaps?) I read his reply and imagine my surprise to find that instead of a time to come in for an interview was the phrase "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to rescind my offer to schedule an interview with you."

"Huh? Wha? How? Whatfor?" Thankfully, he provided a reason as to why he was canceling our interview before it was even scheduled...

"After looking at the link you provided, it appears that we are not on the same page (i.e. Penthouse)."

"Link? What link? And I didn't do any posts about Penthouse. What's he talk...wait a sec." Apparently in my hurry to get out of the door, I replied to his email with the "wrong"* email signature -- the one with my blog url in it. "OK, so he found my blog. No biggie, but what's this about Penthouse?" A quick glance at my blog answered that question. At the time this post was still on my "front page."

"Awesome. Wait until I tell She that she cost me a job interview." Slightly amused and highly pissed off, I logged into my Google Analytics account to see just how far he drilled down into my blog. I'm sure that in the past eight years I've said or posted something that would be worth rescinding an interview offer over. If he dug deep enough to find something he didn't like, fair enough, but getting all pissy over a picture of Michael Strahan and Melissa Jacobs**, that's borderline ridiculous. Not surprisingly, he didn't dig deep at all. He got to the front page, stayed for less than a minute, and left. He didn't click any links (amazing, because the post just below that one had about 10 of them) and based on the time he spent on the site, he didn't read anything either. Basically, he stayed around long enough to look at the pictures.

At this point, I was really pissed off. Not so much at that I wasn't going to get a chance to interview for the position (I didn't feel as if I was completely qualified to begin with) but moreso at this guy's quick judgement. After taking a minute to collect myself and my thoughts, I responded to his email. In the nicest way possible, I told him that I appreciated him responding back to me in a timely manner and that I respected and understood his mentality in withdrawing his offer for an interview. I also politely informed him that he took the picture in question out of context and that I appreciated his time and consideration anyways.

Well a few days pass and I get another email from this guy. Much like his last email, it was quick and to the point. He apologized for taking things out of context and re-invited me in for an interview. In looking at my GA stats, it appears as if he came back to my blog and actually read this time. Anywhoo, while I appreciated this gesture, I politely declined...

If a recruiter comes across my blog and decides not to contact me because of it, guess what -- I'm over it. I've had this blog since '01 and since then I've had two full-time jobs and gotten two degrees. If my blog is holding you back from inviting me in for an interview, then I probably didn't want to work for you anyways. -4/27/2009

Thanks, but no thanks. I've already worked with managers who've demonstrated the inability to process all available information before making a decision. In the wrong environment that type of personality isn't conducive to getting anything productive out of me.

I need a job, yes, but not that bad.

*I use a few different email signatures. One with links to my blog and LinkedIn profile, one with just a link to my LinkedIn profile, and one with no links at all. Which one I use is really dependent on the company and position I'm applying for.
**I've seen that picture hundreds of times, but I had no clue who Melissa Jacobs was until I made this post. Honest.

Ghostbusters II Was Kinda Scary

Twenty years ago I remember begging my dad to take me to the movies. I'm talking, full out, "I'll keep my room clean forever" begging. What movie did I want to see? Ghostbusters II.

At the time I had never seen the first movie, but I was a devout follower of "The Real Ghostbusters." I had the action figures, the play set, the mini-proton pack, you name it. If it had a "No Ghost" logo on it, I probably owned it. As a 6 year old kid, this was THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT IN MY LIFE. Unfortunately, my parents didn't feel the same way. They didn't take me on opening night, but my mom did have my dad take me the next day, which was just as good.

So here comes Saturday and I'm off to see Ghostbusters II at the Cinema Twin. This is the first time I remember going to this theater and as any long time Sumterite could tell you, the Cinema Twin was THE theater to go to. There was this HUGE ramp that led up to the theater, there were marquees everywhere, and it had the best popcorn in town. Now there could be a little GB-bias shining through on the taste of the popcorn, but I'll stand by that statement anyways.

Anywhoo, after my dad bought our tickets and popcorn it was time for the movie. Life was good. There was the theme song, Ecto-1, and all four Ghostbusters. Sure, things were a little different from the cartoon (why was Egon's hair not blonde?) but all in all, I was a happy little kid. Until, this part...

The first 22 seconds are all you need to watch

Yeah. Those few seconds traumatized me. For about a month, you couldn't pay me to go ANYWHERE NEAR a bath tub. I remember being in the theater and crying and screaming about wanting to leave. My dad tried to convince me that it everything would be OK, but I wasn't having it. I kept crying and yelling (which in turn made my 2 year old sister start crying) until eventually my dad gave up and took me home. When we got home, I remember mom saying, "You guys are home early." I was definitely a little embarrassed as dad told the reason as to why we were home early, but I didn't care. I was safe, I was home, and no bath tub was going to eat me.

And then I found $5.

Not really. But seeing as how today is the 20th anniversary of Ghostbusters II AND the day that the long-awaited Ghostbusters video game gets released, I just HAD to do a Ghostbusters related post. But unlike last time, I figured I'd do a little more than throw up the movie poster and trailer and call it a day.

I care about you guys.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some ghosts to bust. I'm a big boy now. I think I'll be able to handle it. :-)

Sunday Night Selections

I feel like I've done nothing today. Thus far my day has consisted of me waking up, taking a shower, eating some lasagna, and hanging out on Twitter. The lasagna was a welcome part to the day, as it was my reward for making it through a whole business-week without social media, but damn if I don't feel like I just ate a brick. Delicious?, yes. Heavy on the stomach?, you betcha. But food baby aside, I think I've got enough energy in me to actually get this week's Sunday Night Selections posted on a Sunday (or at the latest, before the sun rises on Monday morning).

Metal
Iron Maiden - "Fear of the Dark" (Live at Rock in Rio 2001)
Somehow Iron Maiden never really made it onto my radar of "Metal you need to listen to." Sure, I know who they are and I can name a few of their songs off the top of my head ("The Trooper," "Number of the Beast"), but if they came on the radio, I'd probably change it. So why is this song here? Well, this past week Harmonix released a 12-pack of Iron Maiden tracks for the Wii version of Rock Band 2. The forums were all abuzz about it and everyone was acting like it was the 2nd coming, so I figured I'd check out a few of the tracks to see what the fuss was all about. After listening to a few of the tracks and checking out videos of their notecharts on YouTube, "Fear of the Dark" was the one I settled on. Why? Well, it looked fun to play, the vocals didn't seem to be out of my range, and it was a live version of the track (real crowd singing is always a bonus). The fact that it sounded like pure ball-busting metal was an added plus. *throwsupdevilhorns*
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Country
Alabama - "High Cotton"
Since you guys know what I did on Sunday, I might as well share what I did on Saturday too. Nothing. Well, I did stuff, but it was "much of nothing." (I wonder if Northerners use that phrase? It's fairly common down here.) I spent the day at the lake with a friend then fired up the grill for a nice dinner. That was it, but man if it wasn't great. It was a good day to be outside and just "be." Good day, good company, good food, AND good music. My pal doesn't have a lot of music on her iPod, but the music she had was solid. That is if you like local indie bands, Madonna, The Beatles, and Alabama. There was a lot of good music played as we sat on the deck "chilling out," but this song by Alabama struck a chord in me. The melody more so than the words -- it just seemed like a good 'ol "down home" type of song... One you listen to while hanging out on a warm Carolina night doing "much of nothing."
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Country
George Strait - "You Look So Good In Love" (Live)
What's better than one country song? Two country songs. For this selection you can thank Phats, who specifically requested George Strait last week. I knew nothing about the man's career or music, so I didn't mind fulfilling this request. I'm always open to suggestions when it comes to "new" music.

As far as this song goes, it was the third song by Strait to top the Billboard Country chart. There's a video out there for it, but good luck finding it. This was the first song that George Strait made a video for and apparently he didn't enjoy the experience too much. Even thought the video was receiving significant airplay on TNN (now known as Spike), Strait lobbied to have it removed from television. What a shame too, as it's a really pretty song.

Trivia: Jamie Foxx recently covered this song at the ACM Artist of the Decade event honoring George Strait. Fellas, you might want to find an mp3 of this. In the right playlist, this version could be clutch. *wink wink, nudge nudge*
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I'm goin' for the hat trick...

Country
Miley Cyrus - "Hoedown Throwdown"
Brothas ain't got nothing on Miley. Any dude from the street can "Supaman that ho" or "Do tha Stanky Legg," but can they do the "Hoedown Throwdown?" Fellas, it's time to stop "Swag Surfin'" and start "countrifyin' it." It's only 19 steps. Let's see those "hawks in the sky" guys. Miley's waiting.
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Watch for the genre shift...

Jazz
Esperanza Spalding - "I Know You Know"
A few days ago, Eric heard me playing Sia and inquired as to who it was. I told him and he sounded a little sad that it wasn't who he thought it was. Eric was thinking that it was Jazz performer Esperanza Spalding. After listening to some of her music I can where that comparison would be made -- vocally at least.

As for a little info on Ms. Spalding, I'm going to turn to Jewel of jewelThinks. Like I always say around these parts, "I know when someone else's words are better than mine."

This giant in the making plays the upright bass and can sing in English, Spanish and Portuguese. She is a prodigy, who taught herself to play the violin at the age of 5. She enrolled at the Berklee College of Music when she was Sweet 16 and four years later became the youngest faculty member at the prestigious Boston school.

Esperanza Spalding’s serene, breezy voice is like cool drops of rain on your forehead; like the coolest water quenching your thirst on a sweltering summer day in Louisiana – absolutely revitalizing.

I agree completely. I haven't heard much of her stuff, but what I have heard, I like. And apparently Eric has her CD, so there's a fairly good chance that it's going to find it's way into my "possession" eventually. If you've got a few minutes, give this one a listen. It's definitely worth your time.
Watch A Live Performance

What Happened To Sitting And Playing Video Games?

"You mean you have to use your hands? That's like a baby's toy." - Back to the Future II

I missed out on E3, so now is just as good of a time as any to talk about what was easily the biggest news at the show. At this year's E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo), Microsoft unveiled Project Natal (pronounced na-taal). For all intents and purposes, Project Natal is Microsoft's answer to the Nintendo Wii. Like the Wii, Project Natal receives input from the player not through button presses, but through motion control. However, unlike the Wii, Project Natal doesn't require the player to interact with any peripherals (controllers, balance board, etc.). Through the use of innovative motion sensing technology and voodoo magic, Project Natal receives all of its data from just the movement of the player. In essence, your body is the controller. And unlike the old SEGA Activator, this thing looks like it actually works.

Microsoft's Kudo Tsunoda demoing Project Natal on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Looking at it from the perspective of a casual gamer, this is pretty badass. I can almost hear the screams of everyone now -- "It's like the Wii on steroids! This is awesome. Nintendo's doomed!" -- all of which would be appropriate claims. But looking at it from the perspective of someone a little more in touch with the gaming industry, one wonders exactly what it is Microsoft is trying to do here. The tech that's gone into Natal is very, very impressive, but it's doubtful that it's going to be a "Wii-killer" in it's present state.

No matter what happens, Project Natal will be an additional purchase for the majority of the Xbox 360's userbase. With the exception of the SEGA Genesis 6-button controller and the Wii Fit Balance Board, peripherals that are introduced late into a console's life cycle generally aren't adopted by developers or consumers. What's the point of having an awesome piece of hardware if no one's making or buying games for it? Which I guess leads me into my second concern with Natal: what games are in the pipeline for it? When the Wii Remote was introduced, it looked gimmicky (and to an extent, it still is) but the Wii was being backed by Nintendo, so Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and the rest of Nintendo's franchises were guaranteed to be there. The "Nintendo Difference" alone can support a platform. No offense to Microsoft, but what games are they bringing to the table to support Natal? Without any games, Project Natal will be just another EyeToy. "What's an EyeToy," you ask? Exactly.

I want Project Natal to do well as it has "gamechanger" written all over it, but maybe they should hold back on it. A (tentative) fall 2010 release isn't the time for it. Looking at the Wii's specs, nothing was stopping Nintendo from releasing the Wii Remote as an add-on for the Gamecube. Maybe Microsoft should look at making Natal the standard for the Xbox 720 instead of an option for the Xbox 360. The industry as a whole may be better served if they did so.

One Call Away

Last week when I went on my brief hiatus from social networking, I did something that raised more than a few eyebrows...

Anywhoo, I'm out of here for the next week or so. If you feel so inclined to get in touch with me, be it because of loneliness, boredom, or just plain ol' lust, you can reach me at 803.666.8031. Yeah, I just Mike Jones'd it. Holla at me.

I got called nutty more than a few times across Twitter, facebook, and that post's comments section. Probably because no sane person puts their phone number on the Internet for everyone to see.

Now I've never thought myself sane by any stretch of the definition, but even I know better than to put my real phone number up. The number I provided is a working number and it does ring my phone (as a few of you found out), but it's not the phone number I put down on resumes or emergency contact lists.

The number I used is my Google Voice -- formerly GrandCentral -- number. It's a handy thing to have, as I use it when I want/need to talk to someone on the phone, but don't necessarily want them being able to track me down (i.e. - Craigslist transactions).

I'd invite all of you guys to go over to Google Voice and sign up for a number of your own, but right now the service is open to only former GrandCentral users. So in the meantime, here's a New York Times video clip that highlights some of Google Voice's cooler features...

Let me tell you, that listening in to a voice mail as it's being recorded feature is all sorts of awesome.

Celebrating 25 Years

June 8, 1984

Sunday Night Selections

You don't realize how hard it is to go without social networking until you're forced to do so. Over the week, I'll share a few stories of the things I did to keep me entertained last week, but right now it's time for a little music...

Rap
Jay Z - "D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)"
It's summer time, so it must be time for a new Jay-Z track. "Leaked" off of Jay's upcoming "The Blueprint 3," "D.O.A." takes aim at the recent slew of rappers who have enhanced their vocal talents through the help of a vocoder -- kinda. Not surprisingly, Jay doesn't really take issue with Kanye (who coincidentally co-produced this track) or Lil Wayne, two rappers most known for their overuse of autotune. No bother, it's still a decent enough song and one that will hopefully bring an end to the autotune era. It's no big deal when T-Pain does it, but I don't need every song on the radio to sound like it's been run through a BonziBUDDY.


I'm going to save myself a little time by copy and pasting a previous entry and making edits where appropriate. The 4-step plan to becoming a "b-list rap star" hasn't changed much in the last three years...

Rap
B-Hamp -"Do The Ricky Bobby" Fast Life Yungstaz - "Swag Surfing"
Under normal circumstances, I'd be quick to lump this song into the same category of every other "Soulja Boy" wannabe. I mean, B-Hamp FLY has followed the formula to a T. First TheY cranked out the Myspace page, which generated a the buzz needed to get radio airplay in major markets, which motivated everyone to upload YouTube videos of them dancing to the song. If everything goes as planned you sign the major label deal and make a real music video, much like flash in the pan net rappers 3rd Flo. So what makes B-Hamp FLY different enough to where I actually want to feature his their music here? Well, in all honesty, it's not a bad song. Sure, the lyrics have a few holes in them but I honestly get the sense that this song (and its accompanying dance) was created in the spirit of fun. And even though it's extremely silly, I don't find it degrading to the black community.
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Rock
Custom - "Hey Mister"
In 2002, this song was banned by MTV's standard and practices as they felt the entirety of the song and video was "pedophilic and offensive to women." I won't disagree. Especially after my pal sent me a "video" where this song acted as the soundtrack. *shakeshead* I hope I never have a daughter...
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Rock
The Noisettes - "Never Forget You"
Mmm... Their psuedo 50s sound is delicious. Yes, delicious.
[Re-post from last week because I don't think I was able to convey how much I love this song. For that matter, how much I love this band. The Noisettes are quickly becoming a threat to The Killers for the #1 spot in my book.]
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