Song to close out the weekend: "Carol Brown" by Flight of the Conchords

I've had plenty of distractions lately, but I'm determined to finish up my Spring Mix CD before I head out to the beach next week. Currently I have about 2 hours of songs selected, which I need to narrow down to under 80 minutes. Likely to make the cut: "Carol Brown" by Flight of the Conchords.

I also chose to post this particular song because now there's a Conchords (and Kenny Powers)-sized hole in my Sunday nights. *sigh*

30 rock tumbler

Tonight's new episode of "30 Rock": "Apollo, Apollo"

With Jack's 50th birthday looming, he sets out to achieve his childhood dreams.

Discuss.

Office chatter

Tonight's new episode of "The Office": "Two Weeks"

Michael's relationship with the new vice president becomes increasingly tense, as Michael finds an excuse to goof off even more than usual. Meanwhile, Pam faces the challenge of a new copier and Kelly develops a crush.

Discuss.

So long, productivity, sleep, reading, exercise, hygiene, bathing, and blogging

That's right. As I alluded to earlier, I've got an Xbox 360 now (or, as I like to call it, my Rock Band Machine) and it's consuming pretty much all of my non-working waking hours.



I'm becoming quite the drummer. On the easy level, at least.

As much as I'm getting engrossed in digital wonderment, I've vowed not to fall into the cycle I was in during my PS2 days: buy a game, play it a little, buy another game, play it a little, ad ininitum.

I don't plan on purchasing any more games until I exhaust what I've already got in my modest library*: LEGO Indiana Jones, Rock Band 1 & 2, Viva Piñata, Beautiful Katamri, Dead Rising, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, and Kung Fu Panda.

For future reference, though, what are some of the better games out there? Keep in mind that first person shooters make me physically ill and I suck at racing games. And what last gen Xbox games did I miss out on during my PS2 myopia? (I intend on diving into Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic at some point).

Also, I'm on Xbox Live. I don't plan on doing much online gaming since my free Gold membership expires in a couple of weeks and I don't have any real multiplayer games, but I'll still be your virtual buddy. Just let me know what your "gamer tag" (or whatever the heck it's called) is. When the season rolls around, I'm sure I'll be getting a college football game and will be up for some virtual bouts then.

Man, this is a geeky post.

*Downloadable Rock Band songs excluded. The game comes pre-loaded with only so many Boston and Weezer songs, you know.

Flight manifest

Tonight's season (and most likely series) finale of "The Flight of the Conchords": "Evicted"

Unable to pay off their back rent, Bret and Jemaine move in with Mel and Doug; Murray looks to cash in on a stage play about the Conchords' travails.

Discuss.

Crush of the Week: Katy Mixon

This week's Crush is actress Katy Mixon, who plays April "Big Cannons" Buchanon on the hilarious "Eastbound & Down". Loves me a southern belle.



The first season wraps up this Sunday. I sure hope Kenny Powers crushes it.

30 rock tumbler

Tonight's new episode of "30 Rock": "The Bubble"

Liz learns that Drew's charm has led to him getting a lot of special treatment. Jack attempts to renegotiate Tracy's contract and Jenna gets a new hairstyle to try to capture the public's attention.

Discuss.

Office chatter

Tonight's new episode of "The Office": "New Boss"

Michael has big plans for his 15th anniversary party at Dunder Mifflin, but is in for a shock when the new, no-nonsense Vice President has some ideas of his own. Meanwhile, Jim's prank on Dwight has some unexpected results.

Discuss.

My hero

While the public's love affair with Watchmen is fading - big time* - I'm still pretty geeked out over the film. So much so that I've decided to become a superhero, with a little help from the Hero Factory.

Once I created my superhero, the site dubbed me "The Talented Karate Ninja," but that's just silly. I see my hero being something more along the lines of "The Platonic Friend." What are my super powers? Behold:

• Cloak of Non-Threatening (affects women AND their boyfriends)


• Mad Listening Skillz


• Super Respectfulness


• Keen Mixtape Prowess


• Infinite Sweetness


• Extreme Misplaced Feelings


• Dark Brooding (out of public eye)

Now if you'll excuse me, I must patrol the streets.

*For you nerds who haven't seen it yet, please heed übergeek Patton Oswalt's words.

"I need me gold!"

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Yes, it's the one day out of the year where we're all free to get out our seats and jump around. Go out and have fun. Just remember to take it easy.

Me? I've got twelve eleven bottles of the Champagne of Beers waiting for me tonight. Also, James Brown's "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine - Pt 1" should be available for download for "Rock Band" today, so I'll probably get my funk on with that.

And this seems like an apropos time to post this old, yet new-to-the-blog clip:



I love the amateur sketch. And I've long held the belief that leprechauns are merely crackheads who got ahold of the wrong stuff.

Beware the Ides of March

Sorry I've slacked off a bit here for the last week or so. See, a new bundle of joy has entered my life and it's quite the time vampire. Also, the jackbooted thugs at work are cracking down on personal internet use, so I'm only online about 1/8 of the time I previously was on any given workday. But I'll try to get back on track shortly.

30 rock tumbler

Tonight's new episode of "30 Rock": "The Funcooker"

Liz has to leave Jack and the rest of the TGS cast and crew unmanaged when she has to do jury duty.

Discuss.

Office chatter

Tonight's new episode of "The Office": "Golden Ticket"

Michael causes a huge problem in the office when he comes up with the idea to put "golden tickets" into packages of paper for clients to redeem for discounts. Andy, Jim and Pam give Kevin differing advice on wooing a woman.

Discuss.

Quick movie reviews

Watchmen: In a word, I thought this was excellent. But, if you know me, you know where I'm coming from (read: major dorkitude). Granted, even at its long running time it is very densely packed and it helped a lot that I read the source material beforehand; I could easily see how those coming in completely fresh could get a little lost in the plot. This is an extremely faithful adaption, though. Even the changed ending shared the same spirit of the original. Sure, not all of the acting was top notch, but Jackie Earle Haley's Rorschach, Jeffrey Dean Morgan's The Comedian, and Billy Crudup's Dr. Manhattan stood out as the best of the bunch. Director Zack Snyder gets a lot of credit for producing a coherent vision of a book that's long been considered unfilmable. And for the ladies: lots of nekkid, blue dong.

This was the first IMAX movie that I've seen since The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and I was blown away by the pristine picture and sound. Wow! I don't know if I can go back to watching a regular presentation ever again.

The Heartbreak Kid: I watched this on the recommendation of my brother and, while it wasn't as funny as I had hoped, it was still enjoyable. This doesn't rank up there with the Farrelly brothers' past glories, but it's definitely better than their last several movies. If you like it when Ben Stiller plays Ben Stiller, you'll probably like this one.

Flight manifest

Tonight's new episode of "Flight of the Conchords": "New Zealand Town"

Trying to look cool for a gig at the Grand Opening of New York's one-block New Zealand enclave, the Conchords end up getting hooked on hair gel.

Discuss.

Song to get you through the weekend: "Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran

I'm an alt rock god. No, really. See, this week I got an Xbox 360 and "Rock Band 2" and it just confirms that fact. Step aside, Paul Westerberg. I'm the new Flannel King.

Prior to this week, I'd been rawking out to the "Guitar Hero" series (on my PS2), but I think I prefer "Rock Band," as it contains many more songs from my genre of choice: 90s alternative. Plus it has Squeeze! And Stephen Colbert!

Since I have little to no coordination, the drums are taking some getting used to. But they're fun to pound away on. As for rocking the mic...well, that's a whole lot tougher than I thought it'd be. I always knew that I was a bad singer. This game has shown me that I'm, in fact, a terrible singer. I completely mangled "Hungry Like the Wolf"* last night. My apologies, Simon Le Bon.

The fact that the Beatles are coming to the game (kinda sorta) is just icing on the cake.

So, who wants to come over, down some PBRs, and jam?

*I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that frequent MW commenter SBN1 is an engaging storyteller and master of hyperbole. During a recounting of one of his many sweaty, drunken encounters he used a line that had me rolling: "I looked like I just stepped out of the 'Hungry Like the Wolf' video." Ha ha!

Bonus Crush of the Week: Michelle Monaghan

This week's Bonus Crush is actress Michelle Monaghan, who starred along this week's Crush in The Heartbreak Kid.



No justification needed. I just think she's really cute.

Crush of the Week: Malin Akerman

This week's Crush is actress Malin Akerman, lately making fanboys slobber by playing the Silk Spectre II in this weekend's Watchmen adaption.



I also recently saw her in The Heartbreak Kid and she held her own against Ben Stiller, especially in the funniest scene of the movie ("Hit me!").

30 rock tumbler

Tonight's new episode of "30 Rock": "Goodbye, My Friend"

Liz tries to adopt the baby of a pregnant teen. Jenna tries to alert the TGS crew that it is her birthday so the crew decide to throw a party for both Jenna and Tracy. Frank goes on a "guy's night out" with Jack and tells Jack about his daddy issues.

Discuss.

Office chatter

Tonight's new episode of "The Office": "Blood Drive"

It's Valentine's Day at the office. Michael meets a mysterious woman at a Valentine's blood drive. Dwight and Kevin pair up with single women at the office "Lonely Hearts Party." Meanwhile Jim and Pam are banished from the office for being too publicly affectionate, and have an awkward lunch with Phyllis and Bob.

Discuss.

Get some perspective, people

So, you think these are dark times? Wrong. These are great times!

Song to close out the weekend: "The Fear" by Lily Allen

Initially, this first single off of potty mouth Lily Allen's It's Not Me, It's You didn't grab me. Neither did the album itself, for that matter. But her new stuff really grew on me after a few listens. Sure, the album doesn't hit the highs of Alright, Still (namely, all of that album's singles), but it has its moments and is a bit more cohesive than its predecessor, due to Allen using only one producer this go around.

Bonus: here's a video of some guy playing drums along to my favorite song off of It's Not Me, It's You ("Chinese").

Flight manifest

Tonight's new episode of "Flight of the Conchords": "Prime Minister"

Foiled by the White House, Murray arranges a presidential meeting for the visiting Prime Minister of New Zealand; a tribute gig ends with Jemaine getting mixed up with an Art Garfunkel fanatic.

Discuss.