Sunrise on the Sufferbus

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Dear and the Headlights at Bloomsburg University
2008-04-26 04:02:00
Last night I attended a concert at Bloomsburg University . While a majority of the people in attendance had come to watch Jimmy Eat World or (shudder) even Paramore, I was only concerned with the opening act. Dear and the Headlights wasn't even written on any of the posters I saw for the event but for me at least, they completely stole the show.While there wasn't the mad prepubescent push towards the bar caused by Paramore when DATH took the stage, they did have a handful of fans in attendance. Plus, by the end of their set, they had won over a large portion of the audience with their incredibly strong performance. They played several of my favorites from Small Steps, Heavy Hooves, including "Sweet Talk," "Run in the Front," and "I'm Bored, You're Amorous." They also offered up a selection of three songs from their upcoming album, each of which sounded excellent.After Jimmy Eat World finished their encore and my friends I made our way out of the building who did I luck into...

Bye Bye Bryant Gumbel!
2008-04-12 05:08:00
Worst commentator and play by play guy ever and all around douche, Bryant Gumbel has been terminated by NFL Network. In a move long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long overdue, Gumbel's services as an announcer during games aired on NFL Network will thankfully co...

Y: The Last Man
2008-04-03 05:25:00
Lately, when I've been able to drag myself away from The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon to read anything else, it's been Y: The Last Man. The series, written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Pia Guerra, has been collected in ten trade paperback volumes, but so far I've only made it through the first three, which have all been phenomenal.The story starts off in 2002, everything is going great until suddenly, every species on Earth that has a Y chromosome dies. That is except for a lone man, Yorick Brown, and the capuchin monkey he had been training to aid disabled folks. Yorick isn't sure why he and his monkey appear to be the only males to survive, and neither are the people he comes into contact with.As you can imagine, society is shaken wildly by the instant absence of half the human population, not to mention that despite all the advances of the past couple centuries, the world over we still find men largely in charge of a wide majority ...

Man charged with table fornication
2008-03-29 01:28:00
A man was recently arrested for having sex with a table, according to this article on WTVM. Apparently, Art Price Jr. is the first open tablesexual. I would like to be the first to be a supporter of brave Art here and that other tablesexuals should come out in support of Art here. It seems Art couldn't control his table lust and fornicated with his picnic table in an area where the beautiful act of a man making love to his table was in plain view of school children.Honestly though, if his table was half as good looking as this one right here, how could he resist the siren song of the umbrella pole hole? Can any of you truly say if this table starting going wild in front of you wouldn't find it hard to resist your primal urge to fuck it?
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Alive in Wild Paint
2008-03-29 00:46:00
Equal Vision Records just doesn't stop. It seems that just about every release that is graced with an EVR logo happens to be of tremendous quality. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration but the people at EVR certainly seem to hit the mark with bands they find more often than not, and certainly more often than can be said for most labels out there.The latest album to hit is the debut full length Ceilings by Alive in Wild Paint (formerly Goodbye Tomorrow). Alive in Wild Paint bring a much more mellow sound to the table than most of their labelmates. That's not to say that AIWP's brand of mellow piano rock is inferior to or in any way less enjoyable than other EVR bands.Ceilings is a great debut and I'm really struggling to find anything to knock the album for. I guess on the first few listens, a lot of the songs blended together somewhat, mostly because they're much more piano driven than anything I usually would listen to. However, after repeated listens the songs ...

Ron Dayne
2008-03-21 15:44:00
The scariest man in the NFL is still currently without a contract, reportedly because all 32 teams are too afraid to sit down and discuss finances with him. Ron Dayne, who some conspiracy nuts suspect is really a shaved Kodiak grizzly bear or even a Bigfoot (or wood ape), has gained a reputation as a punishing finisher, coming in towards the end of the last two seasons in typical dominant Dayne style.Dayne has been known to strike fear into his opponents' hearts by stroking his beard and repeatedly shouting his own last name in a guttural roar that measures a 10 on the Richter scale as he races down the field demonstrating his Heisman Trophy award winning speed, power, and vision.It's only a matter of time before a team gathers up the balls to sign Dayne or hires a trained professional big game handler to bring him into camp, and the team that does that is certainly destined to win the Super Bowl.

"I Will Possess Your Heart"
2008-03-21 13:02:00
The wait is finally over, and a few days ago Death Cab for Cutie finally released the lead single from their upcoming album, Narrow Stairs. While Narrow Stairs isn't due until May 13th, you can give "I Will Possess Your Heart " a listen now on their MySpace page. Alternatively, turn on your radio to any station and I can't imagine how they could play anything else really.The radio version is about four minutes shorter than the version that will be included on the album, making it one of DCFC's longest songs. The song starts off brooding and slow and for several minutes it's simply fantastic mood music. Then Ben Gibbard comes in and you know for sure it's still DCFC. It's a little different than Plans, but not enough to alienate any of the fans they gained from their major label debut and it might even win over some old fans they might have lost for whatever reason. If any of the other songs on Narrow Stairs are anywhere near as good as "I Will Possess Your Heart" this wil...

Audiosurf
2008-03-19 15:42:00
Last week I downloaded the most amazing game maybe ever. That game is Audiosurf and from the first moment I tried the demo out to the painful wait for it to download on my laptop so I could play anywhere, I've yet to not have simple and pure fun with it.The easiest way to sum the game up is Guitar Hero meets Tetris but it's even better than you could possibly think that combination would be. What you do is pick what cart you want to pilot from a varied selection that offers some different playing styles and difficulties and then choose a song. This is done by navigating to any music file you have on your computer and then through some sort of magical computer mathematical bedazzlement, the game renders a track that is uniquely crafted to match the speed and intensity of whatever song you've chosen.Fast-paced, electric type stuff moves quickly and the track slopes downhill at a greater angle the faster the song. An acoustic folksy type of song on the other hand, is a more rela...

Be Kind Rewind
2008-03-15 15:10:00
Last week I was going to go see 10,000 BC. The reason I didn't is pictured to the right. This delightful treat of a motion picture turned out to be showing at Regals Cinemas which was a very pleasant surprise for me.One of my favorite directors, Michael Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep) hit another one out of the park here with his unique vision and film making style. Starring Jack Black and Mos Def as an odd couple living in Passaic, New Jersey. Jerry (Jack Black) lives merely feet from the town's power plant and complains to his friend Mike (Mos Def) that it is being used to control his mind. Mike works in a video rental shop owned and operated by Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover) who goes on a trip and leaves Mike in charge. In a botched attempt to sabotage the plant Jerry becomes magnetized and accidentally erases every last tape in the video store to the great displeasure of Mike, who is eager to impress his boss.While Mr. Fletcher is away h...
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Fleet Foxes
2008-03-06 11:58:00
I recently and thankfully stumbled upon a wonderful new band, Washington's Fleet Foxes. Their EP, Sun Giant, was chosen by Pitchfork as some of the best new music, and I couldn't agree more so. Their untitled debut full length is due out June 3rd and has been called Ragged Wood around the blogosphere but according to a post on the band's MySpace, it's still untitled. Although the album's release is still three months away, an enterprising user of the internet can manage to find it, and your ears will thank you if you do. Fleet Foxes show a style that is both familiar and unique on both EP and LP, both startling and embracing in its smooth brilliance. They bring a splendid mix of folk, gospel type harmonizing, and rollicking indie alternative sounds to their sonic table. Both the EP and the LP are highly recommended and I hope to see these guys in concert somewhere down the line.Fleet Foxes on MySpace

Brett Favre
2008-03-06 11:31:00
A legend has left us, and the world of football will never be the same. Brett Favre 's career and his legacy have been discussed in depth so much everywhere by now, I won't go into great detail. Favre leaves the NFL holding virtually every major statistical mark a quarterback can achieve in all-time career categories, including wins, touchdown passes, and passing yards. While it is possible his numbers will one day be bested, we will not likely see that day come any season soon.Favre was a player like no other and I always hoped that the television scheduling gods would look upon me and grace me with a Packers game. Favre will be sorely missed by the entire state of Wisconsin and his fans the world over, myself included. However, from Favre's position, this was likely going to be his best chance to go out as close to the top as he would be able to. Last year was one of his best and finished off an unparralled career.

Yeah, this is how bored I am
2008-02-26 03:22:00
Tonight I found myself so bored and so without anything to do that I took to making pyramidal structures out of Reese's miniatures. This took about 10 minutes of my life up. I'm not sure if I really could have done anything more worthwhile with my time, maybe study for accounting...
More About: Bored , Yeah

Bamboozle 2008
2008-02-25 21:57:00
March is almost upon us as I write this and that means that the lineup for Bamboozle is being finalized. It appears the headliners have been announced and as usual I'm not all that excited by them. Jimmy Eat World (they're ok) will be headlining Saturday and Panic at the Disco :( will be headlining Sunday. There is however, a silver lining on that piece of shit headliner, as it will allow me to leave early Sunday night, which is great because I have a final Monday morning.Also recently announced were one of my favorites, Dear and the Headlights and their Equal Vision Record label mates, The Fall of Troy. Previously announced were Chiodos and Circa Survive (featuring the sexy Anthony Green pictured to the right). Maybe I have an EVR bias, so what. The band I'm most stoked to see might just be the reunited Finch.I figured that they would be on Warped Tour but knowing they aren't seeing them at Bamboozle is even more important because I don't know if they'll do any othe...
More About: 2008

Cinematic Sunrise
2008-02-20 00:50:00
Next to Death Cab's Narrow Stairs, the forthcoming debut EP by Cinematic Sunrise is my most anticipated release of 2008. For those unaware, Cinematic Sunrise is the side project of Craig Owens and Brad Bell from Chiodos that has been in the works for a few years now.Taking a softer approach than Chiodos brand of hardcore and thankfully missing the Cookie Monster vocals of Jesse Korman of The Number 12 Looks Like You, Cinematic Sunrise first crossed my path on the Equal Vision Records (best label ever) summer sampler CD last May. Their song "The Wordless" was the last track listed on the CD, and featured a new Chiodos song, "Teeth the Size of Piano Keys" in anticipation of their at the time forthcoming album Bone Palace Ballet.As far as I know of, five songs have been released online so far. The aforementioned "The Wordless," "Umbrellas and Elephants," "Our Honeymoon at Weston Hills," "You Told Me You Loved Me," and "Ethan's Song." The first three of which can be found on the b...

Persepolis
2008-02-17 22:05:00
Last Friday I had the pleasure of taking in Persepolis . I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that Regals was showing this film because before that revelation it was my understanding there was nothing seeing this week and I would spend the night home bored.Persepolis is an adaptation of the French graphic novel series of the same name by Marjane Satrapi. The four books in the series tell Marjane's story of growing up in a turbulent Iran undergoing a series of violent revolutions, her time abroad in Vienna during the Iran-Iraq War, and her return home to an even more repressive country than she had left.The film, like the graphic novels, is rendered using simple and stark black and white. The style and animation is quite aesthetically pleasing however.Persepolis grants the viewer insight into the hearts and minds of real people from Iran, as opposed to the stereotyped portrayals frequently shoved down our throats by "fair and balanced" news outlets. We get to see that be...

"Crank It" Wyatt West featuring Sanka and Quincy version
2008-02-16 07:22:00
Now, granted the original song is a certifiable piece of crap, but this cover version is simply phenomenal. Very rarely has a music video been able to touch me in the sensual ways this one has.
More About: West , Version , Quincy , Crank , Featuring

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Volume 5
2008-02-14 23:14:00
A little while back the 5th Volume of Aqua Teen Hunger Force was released, collecting 14 episodes from the fourth season. Also included is a real ginchy music video, shown below.I urge everyone who enjoys ATHF or just any Bart Oates fan (and I know there are literally trillions of them) to go out and purchase the DVD.
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Writer's Strike Officially Over
2008-02-13 20:17:00
Today marks the first day of a post 2007-2008 Writer's Guild of America strike entertainment world. The strike, which began November 5th last year, cost the entertainment industry somewhere in the area of a billion dollars. This cost me three of my favorite shows, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and The Office. The Daily Show and The Colbert Report returned at the beginning of the year, but The Office remained out of production for the entirety of the strike. Hopefully, now that the strike is over I will finally get to see that dinner party Michael and Jan are supposed to throw in the next episode. Also, hopefully no more American Gladiators.
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There Will Be Blood
2008-02-13 07:48:00
Last Saturday I had the great fortune to be able to finally see There Will Be Blood . Blood is based on the Upton Sinclair (The Jungle) novel Oil! and was masterfully adapted, written, produced, and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Punch-Drunk Love).The protagonist of the the film is Daniel Plainview, played in a Golden Globe and likely Oscar winning performance by Daniel Day-Lewis (The Last of the Mohicans, Gangs of New York). Daniel is as he will tell you, an oil man, and just like it does today, oil meant one thing a hundred years ago - money.Plainview's single goal in life is to become successful in the oil business, and he puts everything aside to do so, including family, love, and morals. This comes to a head in one of my favorite scenes ever in all of cinema, when Plainview agrees to join the local church in the community he is drilling for oil in. The preacher, played fantastically by Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine) is your typical speaks to God, angry,...
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Ed Wood
2008-02-06 02:03:00
I recently rewatched one of my favorite Tim Burton-Johnny Depp collaborations, Ed Wood . Ed Wood tells the story of the man widely recognized as the worst director in the history of film. Edward D. Wood Jr.Wood is famous for such films as Glen or Glenda and Plan 9 From Outer Space. These films are considered classics today due to their incredibly awful production values, poor writing, terrible acting, and overall crappiness. Basically, they are so bad that they're good.Burton's film stars Johnny Depp as the titular character. Ed Wood is a peculiar fellow who has a fetish for angora and enjoys dressing up in women's clothing. He also happens to be a film maker who fashions himself to be in the vein of one of cinema's greatest directors, writers, and actors, Orson Welles. The only difference between Welles and Wood just so happens to be talent. Wood is struggling as a second rate stage director when he finally gets his chance to make it big in moving pictures. A studio is l...

Local man caught after daring burgelry
2008-02-05 00:06:00
The infamous Dave Jackson was apprehended late last night after spending the last several months on the lamb, terrorizing local school children and elderly Polish women.The 6'9" Jackson, age 34, first walked on the wrong side of the road in early November. The scene was the a local bowling alley. Jackson had just finished bowling a 299 game and was seen emotionally distraught after narrowly missing the final pin, costing him a perfect game. Dave decided to exact revenge upon the bowling alley in the only way his sick criminal mind could come up with. He decided to rob the alley's crane machine. Jackson made off with a gunnysack's full of stuffed animals. Security camera footage shows Jackson reaching into the machine and pulling out nearly every last adorable critter.Fortunately, no one was hurt that night. Unfortunately, the inventor of the crane machine, Phineas R. Twiddlebottom, suffered a fatal heart attack when he found out about the daring robbery. The late Twiddleb...
More About: Local , Caught

Arrested Development movie on the way!
2008-02-04 23:10:00
E! Online is reporting that Jason Bateman and Jeffrey Tambor are both on board and optimistic about a feature film based on the amazing television program Arrested Development . If the movie is anything like the show, it will be the best movie ever and no one will go see it.E! Online article
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House of Leaves
2008-02-03 20:28:00
I recently finished a novel unlike any other book I have ever read. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski is the kind of novel that will keep you up late at night. I've struggled for days over what to say about House of Leaves, not being sure what to say but knowing I have to say something and I have somethings to say. There is so much to be said about House of Leaves it is difficult to decide where to begin.I guess I'll start by saying that I don't believe anyone, and I know not me, can give another person a good understanding of just what reading House of Leaves is like. The only way to really understand this book is to pick it up and read it for yourself.That being said, I will now touch upon a few topics. The most obvious things a reader will first notice about House of Leaves is the unusual typography and page layouts (an example pictured below). A few different colors are used to highlight certain things and text is aligned on pages in parts of the book to engross th...

Toasted Cheese Sandwich
2008-02-02 23:16:00
I have to say that I really love a good toasted, or grilled, cheese sandwich. Now the one I have pictured to the right is one I tried to make myself in the toasted cheese sandwich maker appliance we have. It's not much to look at but damn if it doesn't taste absolutely delicious. It's nothing compared to the toasted cheese sandwiches I used to get triple extra of in high school. The crust was hard as a brick and could crack your teeth but the interior was so cheesy and buttery and warm and yummy.
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The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
2008-02-02 01:02:00
I just finished watching The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters and I would say I was pleasantly surprised by how good a movie about Donkey Kong could be if I hadn't already expected it to be great, and it was.The King of Kong chronicles the rivalry between Steve Wiebe (left on poster) and Billy Mitchell (right on poster). Mitchell is essentially the golden boy for competitive gaming, having been involved with the "sport" at the highest level since its dawning in the early 1980s. Mitchell's high score in Donkey Kong had been standing for nearly two decades when Steve came out of nowhere to apparently dethrone Billy.Controversy arises as to the authenticity of Wiebe's score as it was achieved on a machine given to him by Mitchell's old nemesis Roy Shildt. Mitchell demands that the score shouldn't count as it was only submitted on video tape and is impossible to determine if it is authentic and says that anyone who wants to beat the high score must achieve it in a public foru...

Saosin and Armor For Sleep
2008-02-01 02:06:00
Last night Nipper and I went to Allentown to see Armor for Sleep and Saosin at the Crocodile Rock Café. As usual, the Croc Rock staff and management managed to prove to me that there is a thriving relict population of Neanderthals. I overlooked this, as I always have, because this is the closest a lot of bands come to me so its either put up with it or drive to New York City or Philly. Anyway, we went to see Armor For Sleep and Saosin, and it was a pretty good show. This band, Meriwether opened and they were surprisingly good. Next, we had to suffer through The Bled, who were worse than I would have imagined they could have been.Armor For SleepFinally, Armor For Sleep took the stage. The crowd was really not all that into them and for what reason I don't know because they put on a fantastic show, probably the best I've ever seen them play. They played a good mix of their old favorites ("Car Underwater," "Stay on the Ground," "Remember to Feel Real") and a few new songs fro...

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Season 5
2008-01-28 22:05:00
Aqua Teen Hunger Force is one of my all-time favorite TV shows. The adventures of Frylock, Master Shake, and Meatwad are a seemingly never ending source of comic delight. The Aqua Teens are often joined by their furry neighbor Carl Brutananadilewski. Carl has had episodes revolving largely around him in previous seasons but season five has started off with two episodes featuring Carl as the only main character. It seems that the Aqua Teens have been sent to be cocooned by evil spiders by their (and Carl's) landlord Marcula because they complained too much about a gas leak in their house and now Carl has been trying to shop the empty house.I can't say I don't miss the Aqua Teens and I do think they are funnier and more interesting than Carl alone (but it is three characters opposed to one, not really a fair comparison) and would like to see them return in the future. I am, however, enjoying the fact that ATHF has an ongoing storyline for the first time ever basically and am n...
More About: Season , Season 5 , Aqua Teen Hunger Force

Rambo and two new trailers
2008-01-27 19:05:00
For some unknown reason, perhaps the innate human desire some believe exists to do something simply because we know it is wrong or bad, I decided to go see Rambo yesterday. Predicatbly, Rambo continued sucking right where the second and third Rambo movies left off all those years ago instead of returning to the fine line between sucking and being a half-way decent social commentary raising the question of how a military machine can return to normalcy after a war of the original. There were far too many horrific depictions of genocide that totally sapped the fun out of Rambo killing all the bad guys. Overall a subpar film, and yet still the third best movie I've seen this year (it's only the third movie I've seen this year).Now the real treat was before the movie began. There were two trailers that I was excited about and both for very different reasons. The first one was The Son of Rambow. This movie that was shown at Sundance last year is about two young boys who see a boo...
More About: Trailers

Dear You
2008-01-26 22:13:00
I recently came into possession through regular legal methods a digital copy of one of the most influential albums of the 1990s, Jawbreaker's Dear You. While I can't say I'm in love with this record simply because of the hundreds of awful impostor wannabe horrible emo-esque bands that have emerged in the wake of it's 1995 release, I have been listening to it pretty much non-stop for the last four days.It's true a lot of the bands I listen to, including just about my favorite band, Thursday, owe a lot to Jawbreaker. If it weren't for Jawbreaker, there likely would be no Funeral for a Friend, Chiodos, Saosin, and the aforementioned Thursday as well as countless others. The only problem is that if it weren't for Jawbreaker there might not have been Fall Out Boy, Dashboard Confessional, Panic! at the Disco, Boys Like Girls, Cute is What We Aim For, and name your favorite pop-punk emocore boy band.Anyway, Dear You was the first and only major label release by Jawbreaker. After...

Dairy Queen's Cotton Candy Blizzard
2008-01-26 05:09:00
Oh cruel fate, why must you mock me with seasonal menu items? Dairy Queen's Cotton Candy Blizzard is one of the sweetest treats I have ever had, and apparently I won't have it again for eight months.Vanilla ice cream with cotton candy syrup and little bits of pink, purple, and blue cotton candy - I can't believe it took humanity so many millenniums to come up with it! And I also can't believe that Dairy Queen feels it's in their best interests to not sell this remarkable confectionery creation year round. I went into the Dairy Queen in the Viewmont Mall today looking to purchase one of these sugary masterpieces only to be informed that they were no longer carrying it. I was left with no other option than to try the Butterfingers variety and begin biding my time until the Cotton Candy Blizzard returns.